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BTS Light Up New York In VMA Debut — All The Way From South Korea
The path to the 2020 Video Music Awards for the South Korean band BTS has been paved with gold. By the time the septet released their first English single, “Dynamite,” they had already topped the Billboard 200 album chart four times, while their 2018 album Love Yourself: Tear was the first Korean-language album to hit No. 1 stateside. Last year, they even took home two VMAs. The plain fact is, BTS is a global force, capturing the adoration of fans worldwide with their catchy charisma and cinematic concepts, which have even verged on mythological. Their debut VMA performance solidified that. The seven Bangtan Boys — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — appeared dancing in suits of various before a number of iconic New York locations. Film via green scre...
Megan Thee Stallion Addresses Her Shooting In Raw New Freestyle
It’s been quite the summer for Megan Thee Stallion. While she’s suffered her share of horrible personal traumas, her star has also continued to rise, most recently through “WAP,” her 2020-defining collaboration with Cardi B. And last night, at the 2020 VMAs, Meg took home the award for Best Hip Hop for her indelible track “Savage.” She popped a bottle of champagne in a short-but-sweet victory speech to celebrate. “We gon’ keep turning up,” she said as part of her acceptance. It’s clear that Meg was feeling herself this weekend, and not just because of her VMA win — her second, after nabbing Best Power Anthem last year, where she also performed “Hot Girl Summer” during the pre-show. Earlier on Sunday (August 30), Meg po...
Sneak Peek: This Is What It’s Like To Be 16 And Recovering
MTV’s brand-new limited series 16 and Recovering highlights Northshore High School, which specializes in supporting students struggling with addiction. And with a sneak peek of the four-part documentary, premiering tomorrow, viewers get an inside glimpse of the unprecedented access the network was given to tell the stories of the students and faculty at this Massachusetts-based community. “I think if you’re walking into Recovery High and not knowing what it is, it would feel really odd to you to think this was a school,” principal and founder Michelle Lipinski states in the clip above. “The most students I’ve ever had enrolled is 75. Right now, we’re around 50. They have access to counseling pretty much any single time they need it. They have acces...
Doja Cat Says Her New Album Integrates Dancehall, Afrobeat, Funk, House, And More
When Doja Cat made her VMA debut last night (August 30), she went full pink. Her first-ever performance on the awards-show stage found the artist bathed in hot fuchsia as she delivered her hits “Say So” and “Like That,” songs that span nu-disco and pop-rap and are just a sample of the styles she keeps in her toolbox. Her 2019 album Hot Pink, for example, layered a rusty Blink-182 guitar arpeggio over a trap-inspired beat, and by the closer, she was diving into the technicolor realm of sparkly R&B. Doja had another big moment during the show: when she took the stage to accept the PUSH Best New Artist award and thanked her fans as well as her mom, cementing her place as a unique talent to continue watching. But what could possibly be next for her as she plans her ...
BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT Feat. Former CHILDREN OF BODOM Frontman ALEXI LAIHO: New Music Is In The Works
BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT, the new band launched by ex-CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho, is working on material for its debut album. Joining Alexi in the group are drummer Waltteri Väyrynen, guitarist Daniel Freyberg (ex-CHILDREN OF BODOM), bassist Mitja Toivonen (ex-SANTA CRUZ) and touring keyboardist Lauri Salomaa. In a new interview with Finland’s Kaaos TV, Toivonen stated about BODOM AFTER MIDNIGHT‘s present and future activities (see video below): “We had plans for the summer, and then it backfired [due to the coronavirus pandemic, like we know. It came pretty fast, and we had to figure out something else to do. But then again, I’m not sure if necessarily, in our case, the kind of, let’s say, break before even starting was a bad thing, since we...
METALLICA’s ROBERT TRUJILLO Says ‘Maybe There’ll Be Another Performance Or Two’ Amid Pandemic: ‘There Are Things In The Works’
Robert Trujillo has told The Oakland Press that he and his METALLICA bandmates are looking forward to doing more stuff together, just days after they broadcast a show to hundreds of drive-in and outdoor theaters across the U.S. and Canada, as part of the “Encore Drive-In Nights” series. “Obviously these are crazy times, and it takes a lot to take that first step, and I feel like we’ve done that,” the bassist said. “We have some ideas about how we want to pursue making music together. We’re going to put something together and it’s going to be exciting musically, and maybe there’ll be another performance or two — not exactly sure when or how or what, but there are things in the works. “We’ll get through this stuff now and star...
DARK ANGEL Is Still ‘Attempting’ To Write Long-Awaited Comeback Album
Reactivated California thrash metal pioneers DARK ANGEL are continuing to work on material for their long-awaited comeback album. The band’s first CD since 1991’s “Time Does Not Heal” will feature the lineup that has performed sporadic live shows since reuniting in 2013: Gene Hoglan (drums), Eric Meyer (guitar), Jim Durkin (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass). Speaking to DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar for the band’s “Alive & Streaming” Internet show, Hoglan stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for DARK ANGEL‘s next disc (see video below): “We are attempting to write another DARK ANGEL record. A bunch of things happened outside the music business that just sapped any sort of time, creativit...
QUEENSRŸCHE Singer TODD LA TORRE Is ‘Super Excited’ To Release His Debut Solo Album
The long-in-the-works solo album from QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre has been mastered for a late 2020 release via Rat Pak Records. The disc was mixed by Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who has previously worked with ROB ZOMBIE, ICED EARTH and HATEBREED, among others. On Monday (August 31), La Torre tweeted: “Listening the final mastered version of my new solo album. Super excited to unveil this in the near future! Stay tuned here, my fb, and make sure to follow @ratpakrecords as well for news and info coming soon.” This past March, Todd said he would use the coronavirus downtime to write or co-write a few more tunes and “shape up existing songs/demos” for his solo album with his lifelong best friend Craig Blackwell. He also said that he and his QUEENSRŸCHE band...
Kanye West Responds to Speculation Republicans Are Paying Him to Help Trump’s Re-Election
Kanye West has addressed the speculation that Republicans are paying him to run for U.S. president this year to be some kind of distraction. “Bro, can’t nobody pay me,” West said in an upcoming interview on Nick Cannon’s podcast, Cannon’s Class. “I got more money than Trump.” The rapper also added, “I’m not running for president. I’m walking.” In the interview that’s going live tomorrow (Sept. 1), Cannon traveled to West’s mountain ranch in Wyoming to talk about his life, career and of course, his run for elected office. Aside from his sit-down chat with Cannon, West’s campaign is currently in trouble with Virginia election officials because voters who were identified to support his campaign said that “they didn’t know what they were signing up for,” the Virginia Mercury reported. This is ...
Polymorphous Producer Au5 Debuts the SSKWAN Label with Wondrous “ALCHEMY” LP
Last year, the Wakaan bass label culminated a five year journey from beginning to fruition with Wakaan Music Festival, which hosted 50+ artists and 10,000 fans in Ozark, Arkansas. Rather than relish the success, Liquid Stranger—the label’s founder—announced mid-performance at WMF that he would be debuting a new sub-label, SSKWAN. Now over halfway through 2020, this promise has manifested via a 7-track LP from New Jersey producer Au5, who provided support on the first Wakaan tour with Liquid Stranger five years ago. With his polymorphous production style that features trance, dubstep, ambient, house, and downtempo, Au5 was a perfect choice to debut the new imprint. ALCHEMY delivers on the hype for SSKWAN’s debut. Fans are christened on the introduction track “Alche...
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![Felix Jaehn on Normalizing the Conversation Around Mental Health: “There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel” [Interview]](https://www.wazupnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/felix-jaehn-on-normalizing-the-conversation-around-mental-health-theres-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-interview-80x80.jpg)
Felix Jaehn on Normalizing the Conversation Around Mental Health: “There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel” [Interview]
Holed up in a seaside village in Germany next door to his mom’s house, Felix Jaehn has no complaints. He’s taking walks in the countryside, cooking meals with his family and gardening in his backyard. Last weekend, he celebrated his birthday with a weekend trip to Denmark. It’s almost like he’s a normal 26-year-old, putting a Freaky Friday-like spin on his typical superstar DJ lifestyle. This change-up surprisingly comes as a relief for Jaehn. In 2015, at just 20 years old, he found himself launched out of his tiny, 100-person village and into a global touring schedule, following the now triple-platinum certified release of his remix of OMI’s “Cheerleader.” Since then it’s been life in the fast lane, releasing his debut album, the two-sided I, in 2018 and playing two—sometimes even three—s...
Pioneer Raises the Bar for Affordable Quality Headphones with HDJ-CUE1
There’s a reason Pioneer DJ has become the industry standard for all things DJ-related over the years. The brand is no stranger to impressive craftsmanship, durability, and of course, quality audio. Pioneer DJ has now just released its brand new headphone model, the HDJ-CUE1, raising the bar for entry-level headphone models that don’t skimp on sound quality. Pioneer DJ’s latest headphone model comes at the most affordable price yet for the brand’s headphone models, but that doesn’t mean quality is sacrificed. In fact, the HDJ-CUE1’s specialist sound tuning is directly adopted from the HDJ-X5, ensuring that users are treated to top-notch sound at a professional level. Low frequencies come through the dynamic drivers with impeccable clarity, so that t...
