NEWS
Japanese Breakfast Performs “Be Sweet” on Fallon: Watch
Michelle Zauner, aka Japanese Breakfast, served as the musical guest on Monday night’s episode of Jimmy Fallon, where she performed her latest single, “Be Sweet”. Additionally, in a nod to her debut appearance on The Tonight Show, Zauner dusted off “Jimmy Fallon Big!”, from 2017’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet, as a web exclusive. Zauner and her band filmed their mini-set at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust. With the exception of a female patron at the bar and an extraterrestrial bartender, the venue was completely empty. As such, the only way to view both performances is by clicking the play button on the videos embedded below. “Be Sweet” is the lead single from Zauner’s upcoming album, Jubilee, out June 4th via Dead Oceans. The record follows 2016’s Psychopomp and 2017’s...
R.I.P. Yaphet Kotto, Homicide: Life on the Street and Alien Actor Dead at 81
Yaphet Kotto, an Emmy Award-nominated actor best known for his role in the TV police procedural drama Homicide: Life on the Street, as well as in films like Alien, The Running Man, Live and Let Die, has died at the age of 81. According to his wife of 24 years, Tessie Sinahon, Kotto passed away Monday, March 15th. A cause of death was not immediately made public. The Harlem native portrayed police lieutenant Alphonse “Gee” Giardello throughout Homicide’s seven season run from 1993 to 2000, appearing in a total of 122 episodes. The NBC drama received universal acclaim, winning multiple Emmys, Peabodys, and Television Critics Association Awards. Kotto will also be remembered for on-screen roles in Alien, where he played the space traveler Parker; in the James Bond film Live and Let ...
2022 Kia EV6 First Look: The Electric Era Is Heating Up
Kia continues to bolster its role in the electric vehicle space with the reveal of the new EV6 crossover. Although the EV6 is not the first battery-electric vehicle from the Korean automaker, it is the first model to strictly rely on electricity for power. Other Kia electrics, such as the Soul EV and Niro EV, are also available with gasoline- or gasoline-electric hybrid powertrains. Although Kia’s mum on the EV6 specifics, the brand likely cribs the architecture and powertrain of its new EV from that of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5. As such, expect the EV6 to offer single- and dual-motor options, with the former setup pushing power to the front wheels, and the latter to all four. Likewise, the most powerful EV6 ought to pack around 300 horses and utilize the same 73-kWh battery pack ...
Kaytranada Dominates 2021 Dance/Electronic Grammy Awards: See the Full List of Winners
Kaytranada has won his first Grammy Awards, sweeping the 63rd annual ceremony’s Dance/Electronic categories. The renowned Haitian-born beatsmith nabbed wins in the Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album categories, taking home the hardware for “10%” with Kali Uchis and Bubba, respectively. It’s been a long time coming for one of the most gifted and versatile producers not only in the electronic community, but the contemporary music scene at large. Check out his acceptance speeches below. Kaytranada beat out a number of formidable artists for his first-ever Grammy nods, such as Disclosure, Flume, Madeon, and Baauer, among others. You can check out the full list of winners below. Record of the Year “Everything I Wanted” — Bill...
Demi Lovato Sets New Album ‘Dancing with the Devil’
Lovato’s latest album will be supported by a four-part documentary series, Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which will stream on YouTube from Tuesday, March 23, and wrapping Tuesday, April 6. The album and the series are interconnected. Both will explore Lovato’s near fatal overdose in 2018, and her journey back. Dancing with the Devil…The Art of Starting Over will feature the song “Anyone,” which Lovato performed at the 2020 Grammy Awards. It’s the followup to Tell Me You Love Me from 2017, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. News of Lovato’s forthcoming seventh album comes soon after she came out, telling Glamour,: “When I started getting older, I started realizing how queer I really am.” In a clip from the upcoming online series, Lovato admits sh...
International Creators Gather For ‘Justice at Spotify’ Protests
On Monday, the U.S.-based Union of Musicians and Allied Workers took a more hands-on approach when it led a worldwide demonstration on the doorsteps of Spotify offices. Among its demands, the Union is calling for a 1 cent per stream royalty rate, greater transparency from Spotify, and an end to lawsuits targeting artists. Artists and music industry professionals gathered in 31 cities, including 10 in the United States, under the banner of #JusticeAtSpotify. “Spotify has long mistreated music workers, but the pandemic has put the exploitation into stark relief,” comments UMAW organizer and artist Mary Regalado, Pitchfork reports. “The company has tripled in value during the pandemic, while failing to increase its payment rates to artists by even a fraction of a penny. Musicians all over the...
The Stone Roses’ Ian Brown Claims Spotify Took Down His Anti-Lockdown Song
Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown has been outspoken about COVID-19 “plandemic” conspiracy theories, which he says had made him a target of Spotify. On Friday, the British musician accused the streaming service of taking down his anti-lockdown anthem, “Little Seed Big Tree”, as an act of censorship. “SPOTiFY stream the streams and censor artists like they have with my last song TOOK IT DOWN just put it down the memory hole!” he wrote on Twitter. “FREE EXPRESSiON AS REVOLUTiON” Consequence of Sound verified “Little Seed Big Tree” is no longer playable on Spotify, but the conspiracy-spewing track remains up on Apple Music, TIDAL, and YouTube. Stream it below to open your third eye. For the uninitiated, the song features lyrics about forced vaccines and microchips. “A forced vaccine, l...
Teenage Fanclub Share New Single “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me”: Stream
Teenage Fanclub have released a new song from Endless Arcade ahead of the album’s April 30th release. It’s called “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me” and it’s an absolutely gorgeous number to brighten an otherwise dreary Monday. Stream it below. This is the fourth song Teenage Fanclub have shared from their upcoming studio full-length, following the lead single “Home”, the downtrodden track “Everything Is Falling Apart”, and the jittery festival-primed song “I’m More Inclined”. Combined, it colors in Endless Arcade as an album that’s equally full of despair, positivity, and a laid-back approach to life. “The Sun Won’t Shine on Me” is a gorgeous, gentle song penned by Norman Blake. Over the course of the track’s three-minute-long runtime, Teenage Fanclub build from shimmering guitar riffs...
Glenn Close’s Performance in Hillbilly Elegy Nominated for Both Oscar and Razzie
Glenn Close has joined the select club of actors nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie Award for the same role. Via The Hollywood Reporter, she owes this achievement to her performance as Bonnie “Mamaw” Vance in the new film Hillbilly Elegy. The Academy Award shortlist was announced earlier this morning, while the Razzies unveiled their lowlights last week. On the plus side, Close will be competing for her first Oscar against Olivia Colman (The Father), Amanda Seyfried (Mank), Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari), and Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. It is Close’s seventh Oscar nomination, following Best Supporting Actress nods for The World According to Garp (1983), The Big Chill (1984), and The Natural (1985), and Best Actress nominations in Fatal Attraction (1988),...
Steve Aoki Announces New Single With Wiz Khalifa and Kiiara
Steve Aoki‘s latest mega-collaboration is on its way. This time around, the barnstorming dance music producer and DJ has teamed up with Kiiara and Wiz Khalifa for “Used To Be,” which looks to be a genre-defying hit in the making. Electronic music fans should recognize pop star Kiiara, who is signed to Atlantic Records, for her many collaborations with some of the genre’s most renowned artists. She has teamed up with David Guetta, Don Diablo, and Jai Wolf, among many others, to release a slew of inescapable dance hits. Wiz Khalifa, of course, has also been championing the EDM world for quite some time. The hip-hop superstar featured on Afrojack‘s “Too Wild” back in 2014 and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike‘s “When I Grow...
VW Aims to Slash Nearly 50 Percent From Battery Costs in Four Years
In the tradition of Tesla’s annual Battery Day, Volkswagen just held its first Power Day. The globally broadcast virtual event laid out the company’s vision for the future of battery chemistry, pack design, manufacture, and recycling, as well as for building out a charging infrastructure, the discussion of which was capped off with this vision and mission statement: “With the right energy management and intelligent storage systems, one day charging will be for free.” Here are the highlights. Volksbattery—An Almost 50 Percent Cost Reduction! To deliver e-mobility the masses can afford, costs must come down. The VW Group reckons it can drop battery costs to around $100/kWh for its entry-level offerings. Here’s where that roughly 50 percent reduction in cost will...
Teen Singer Battling Cystic Fibrosis Proves She’s a ‘Walking Miracle’ in ‘American Idol’ Audition
Before she got her ticket to Hollywood, Brianna Collichio endured a long journey, with hospital visits starting from the age of 7 due to cystic fibrosis. The 15-year-old singer’s older sister Sentina Collichio posted a TikTok on June 27 of Brianna performing Alessia Cara‘s “Scars to Your Beautiful” at a small venue, with hopes that she’d go viral and eventually audition for American Idol so “the world hears her story and beautiful voice.” Brianna was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth, a condition that makes her prone to chronic lung infections. With her sister’s video amassing 2.1 million views, the teen from upstate New York scheduled an Idol audition in August. But unfortunately, she collapsed the evening...
