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heejinkwan · 2 months

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FALLEN ANGEL is the second mini album by ASTELLA, a South Korean soloist. It was released on February 23, 2024 by StarShip Entertainment. The album consists of seven tracks, one including title track NOBODY KNOWS. It is available both physically and digitally.

ASTELLA promoted the album for 4 weeks total, promoting NOBDODY KNOWS and b-side MANIAC for 2 weeks each. NOBODY KNOWS peaked at 2 on the gaon charts while MANIAC peaked at 11. although unpromoted, Kingdom Come and Lucid Dream also charted, peaking at 19 and 25 the week after the album's release. The album received global attention as well, peaking at 10 on the US Billboard 200, also charting in 20 other countries including Japan, Brazil, FinLand, Thailand, and the UK. ASTELLA won a total of 9 music show awards for this album, NOBDOY KNOWS winning 7 with MANIAC earning 3.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ i. the tracklist !

i. ✭ . nobody knows ( title track )

ii. ✭ . maniac

iii. ✭ . rewind

iv. ✭ . lucid dream

v. ✭ . kingdom come

vi. ✭ . automatic

vii. ✭ . thirsty

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ get your photocards here !

*ੈ♡⸝⸝ ii. the styling !

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ iii. the reception !

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ iv. the notes !

₊˚ෆ the concept of this album was basically an omen to her performance on fictitouscore, her being a fallen angel, like the title of the album says.

₊˚ෆ the album was automatically a banger, earning a 7.2 score on pitchfork, astella garnered many new fans off of the release of nobody knows itself.

₊˚ෆ a lot of stellars believe that they should’ve made kingdom come be the title track, seeing that it’s gone so viral, but others understand why nobody knows was chosen for the title track.

₊˚ෆ astella blew up on tik tok! people already saying that nobody knows is soty and that it was the best release so far!

₊˚ෆ she did many challenges with julie and hanuel of kiss of life, karina of aespa, joy of red velvet, and yeji of itzy.

₊˚ෆ she made many new friends including yeji, who she met from being friends with karina.

₊˚ෆ and all the rumors are true! the album may or may not be about yeonjun, who she has been rumored to be dating ever since 2020 west they had a minor acquaintance.

₊˚ෆ she began being close to him while being in promise, but after leaving he was one of the only people she talked to all the time, the rest being her family, the promise members, and karina.

₊˚ෆ they began officially dating in 2022 but never actually confirms it so nobody knows is like her saying it but not actually saying it.

₊˚ෆ when it peaked number two on billboard, heejin’s family called her and they celebrated with a cake, congratulating her on her success.

₊˚ෆ she literally did a live at like 1am happy, which turned into her crying because of how overwhelmed and happy she was that the song was doing well, the comments were congratulating her and telling her not to cry.

₊˚ෆ during maniac promotions, a lot of people felt like the song did not fit the album and complained that it was being promoted and not kingdom come, which was gaining more streams than maniac.

₊˚ෆ starship released two videos of the recording process of both nobody knows and maniac, which gained so much traction on twitter and tik tok with videos with over 1m+ likes and views.

₊˚ෆ even though she hadn’t planned it, heejin ended up finding out that she will be performing at coachella 2024 in california alongside other kpop artists such as lesserafim and ateez.

₊˚ෆ even though no one expected it, rewind also ended up getting popular! after many stellars posted the song in a sped up version, making people who did even stan heejin wonder what the song was, it even got non kpop fans bopping to it!

₊˚ෆ after catching onto it, heejjn ended up posting a lyric video of rewind on her channel, and after a week it charted at number 8 on top 100: south korea on apple music, youtube music charts at number 1, and gaon chart at number 5.

₊˚ෆ stellars can really say this is their favorite era of astella so far, when the music is good how can you not stan?

₊˚ෆ very much inspired by this by @dr3amluc1d

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thepensociety · 1 year

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4 MEMBERS OF APINK LEAVES 1ST ENTERTAINMENT.

BY: MARK GIL CODILLA

Four members of Apink left the company after the expiration of its contract. Chorong, Bomi, NamJoo, and Hayoung left the company after staying with it for 12 years, while Eunji remained and renewed her contract with the entertainment company. Naeun left the company and the group in April 2022.

Apink is a six-member girl group under 1st Entertainment, formerly known as Play M Entertainment. The group consists of Eunji, Chorong, Bomi, Naeun, Hayoung, and Namjoo. The girl group debuted on April 9, 2011. This date marked the group’s official career, with the lead track "Mollayo" featuring BEAST’s Gikwang in the music video. This was the first introduction to Apink’s signature concept: the sweet, innocent, and bright girls. Apink later took the world stage after releasing bop songs like Mr. Chu, LUV, Nonono, and My My.

During the whole career of Apink, they bagged countless awards. With the release of "Mr. Chu" in 2014, they cemented their reputation as a dependable group in K-Pop. Which peaked at No. 2 and earned the group their first position on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart. Additionally, the girls won six music show awards while in promotion, and by the year's end, "Mr.Chu'" had become their eighth-best-selling digital song. With Bomi and Namjoo forming the subunit Apink BnN, their official Japanese debut, their fanclub surpassing 100,000 members, and their first No. 1 rank on the Gaon charts with the release of "Luv" in November, this proved to be the group's breakthrough year. By the year's end, Apink was the third-best-selling K-pop act.

In addition, the girl group won the "best celebrity award" at the Asia Artist Award in 2017 and "Song of the Year" on Gaon in 2015 with its song LUV, among many more awards to be listed, including awards they won in Japan. Aside from its hit songs, the group was also known for its chaotic and fun personalities, far from their innocent concept.

Many fans were saddened by the news, but still, a lot of fans were happy for the members who left the company since it was time for them to take a new path with the help of a new agency in the future if they found one. As a fan who supported them for almost 7 years, I was also saddened by the news since it could be a sign that the group might be disbanding, which the company and members have not announced yet. Still, it's a big sign for me.

I became a fan of them when I was in 8th grade. They were introduced to me by a classmate. The first song that got me into them was their song Mr. Chu. It was a very cute and cheerful song. Since then, I have become obsessed with them, along with other K-pop girl groups. I even dance to it every time I'm alone or even in the bathroom. I sang along to their songs even if I didn't know the lyrics or read Korean. In short, they became part of my life. Looking back on it, I still can’t believe that now that I'm turning 22, I'm still their fan. With this news, it’s something that really saddens me, but I'm still thankful for them in so many ways.

I'm actually writing this blog to thank them. I want to say thank you for being my comfort. This blog is intended for them, even if they won't probably notice that I wrote a blog about them. You guys are wonderful, just like your songs. You guys also brought colors to my dark life and happiness to my desolated story. A hope for my hopeless world and inspiration for my dream

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billy-crudup · 4 years

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Here's the thing, Romy baby - your protection is based on the fact that people are scared of you. Just like they're scared of Mr. J. But I'm the one they should be scared of. Not you. Not Mr.J. Because I'm Harley Fucking Quinn! Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) dir. Cathy Yan

#birds of prey #dcedit #usergina #userjen #userel #filmedit #filmgifs #dcfilms #bopedit #birdsofpreyedit #userbbelcher #userstream #margot robbie #harley quinn #creations tag #dc #gifs #happy bop digital release date #i want them bloopers in hd now....

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tessandscottforever18 · 3 years

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Sept 12

Fresh off the UK release of Amazon Studios’ reimagined 'Cinderella', pop icon Camila Cabello talks to Nick Levine about her starring role in the film and her next chapter.

Camila Cabello is in a very good place right now. The utterly joyous video for “Don’t Go Yet”, the lead single from her forthcoming album Familia, shows her dancing around a dinner table surrounded by family, friends and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Valentina. An eyepopping colour palette definitely complements the song: a bright and buoyant Latin bop banger that hits like musical serotonin. In the comments beneath the YouTube video, the singer has added a sweet message: “Hope you guys love this and that it inspires many wine drunk kitchen dance parties for you and your familia.”

The video may be a visual feast, but it’s no fantasy. Cabello says it reflects a recent healing period during which she focused on “collective joy and community and really growing the seeds of my relationships”. The casual dinner parties she threw with partner Shawn Mendes became a nourishing ritual as she stepped off the pop star treadmill for the first time in nearly a decade. This breather was long overdue given that Cabello’s career has maintained an upward trajectory ever since she entered the US version of The X Factor in 2012. Though she auditioned as a solo artist, she ended up landing a record deal as a member of Fifth Harmony, a girl group formed One Direction-style on the show. Four years later, she went solo and cemented her A-list status with “Havana”, one of the bestselling digital songs of all time. She now has more than a dozen platinum singles to her name, including 2016’s collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly, “Bad Things”, and 2019’s “South of the Border” with Ed Sheeran and Cardi B.

Still, Cabello’s pace of life slowed down last year for one reason only: the pandemic. “It’s been an absolutely traumatic thing that’s happened to the world,” she says today, speaking on the phone shortly before she records Spanish overdubs for her movie debut in a feminist reimagining of Cinderella. “But in terms of my mental health, before that particular moment, I was really approaching… ” The 24-year-old pauses, then corrects herself. “I mean, I don’t think I was even approaching, I think I was burned out. And I feel like that necessary forced pause [caused by the pandemic] just allowed me to look at my life differently. It allowed me to recalibrate what makes me happy and what is important to me. I feel like it saved me in a lot of ways.”

Cabello has spoken candidly in the past about her struggles with anxiety, which in turn led to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Today, she likens managing this anxiety to a “constant ebb and flow”, which is made easier by her new therapist, but says the pandemic let her rethink her attitude towards work. “I’m fortunate enough to choose what I say yes and no to,” she explains. “That’s what’s really important to me this time around. If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

“I feel like the public and the media could almost have become a third person in our relationship.”

A project she’s clearly fully invested in is Cinderella, a new film version of the familiar fairy tale, directed by Pitch Perfect’s Kay Cannon. Cabello stars as the title character opposite Broadway legend Idina Menzel as her non-wicked stepmother and Pose actor Billy Porter as her fairy godparent. According to Cabello, these reimagined characters are just two of the film’s progressive elements. “Those classic fairy tales were all written by men. That’s why the story [of Cinderella] is that of a woman who’s saved by a prince,” Cabello says. “But in our version, which is written and directed by a woman, she’s saved herself and is trying to build her own life. It’s a much more empowering version of the story.”

In fact, Cabello’s Cinderella story has “no evil people in it at all”, because it places the focus firmly on the heroine’s self-actualisation. “Cinderella’s dream is to live an independent life at a time when women aren’t allowed to have careers,” she explains. “So she’s seeing something that’s wrong in the world and not waiting for someone else to correct it for her – she’s doing it herself. I think that’s a really necessary, positive update.”

Cabello has also been using her formidable social media presence – 54.5 million followers on Instagram, 11.9 million on TikTok – to spread some very necessary positivity. After being papped on a run in mid-July wearing “a top that shows my belly”, Cabello told her TikTok followers she thought “Damn!” before remembering that “being at war with your body is so last season”. Today, she says she experiences much less body insecurity since sharing this post. “I felt like I was not alone in feeling that or alone in my frustration,” she says. “And so next time there are pictures of me where my belly is out, there’s gonna be a community of women who have heard me talk about the way that makes me feel and who support me. And that is honestly so liberating.”

She has even used TikTok to break down a human rights issue that is close to her heart. In July, Cabello shared a well-received video explaining that recent protests in Cuba aren’t “about lack of Covid resources and medicine”, but are really “the latest layer in a 62-year-old story of a communist regime and a dictatorship”. She says speaking out in this way was a matter of moral obligation for her. “You know, I’m Cuban and I still have family on the island,” she says – Cabello was born in Havana, then moved to Miami with her parents when she was six. “And so much of what I do is Cuban culture. I mean, ‘Havana’ is one of my most successful songs so far,” she adds. “So when I’m in the United States, showing the beautiful part of Cuban culture, I feel like I also have to be there for the hard part, for the people there who are struggling.”

“If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

“Havana”, a sultry and infectious celebration of the Cuban capital, was so huge that it could easily have overshadowed her debut album. But thankfully, 2018’s Camila was a cool and cohesive affair that also spawned the brilliant angsty banger “Never Be the Same”. Then in 2019 Cabello launched her second album, Romance, with “Señorita”, a massively successful duet with Mendes that has now racked up 1.9 billion Spotify streams. When Cabello and Mendes confirmed they were dating shortly after its release, they became gossip-site staples – something they remain today – and were accused of faking the relationship for publicity. The impact of this negative coverage on their mental health was barely even mentioned.

Still, more than two years later, Cabello says she and Mendes have managed to maintain their privacy. “I feel like the public and the media could almost have become a third person in our relationship,” she says. “But that’s not been a thing for us because Shawn and I don’t even look at social media like that. Even though we know it’s there, it’s almost like it doesn’t exist for us. And that’s why we don’t live in LA. We live in Miami or Toronto, where there’s less paparazzi and that kind of attention is less of a thing.”

Looking ahead, Cabello says she’s excited for fans to hear Familia, which she feels has greater “intimacy” than her previous albums because she worked so closely with core collaborators Scott Harris, Ricky Reed and Mike Sabath. Because she trusted them implicitly, Cabello says she was able to “freestyle” during recording sessions and really pour her heart out. “You know, there’s one song [I’ve recorded for the album] where I’m talking about my mental health and anxiety without [specifically] saying it’s about anxiety,” she says. “But it’s about what anxiety looks and feels like for me in my body and in my mind. And that wasn’t something I came into the room intending to write about. Ricky just showed me a piece of music he had and it all came out of me.”

Cabello says this “stream of consciousness” songwriting style “never would have happened” when she was recording Camila and Romance because, for her, there was still too much “tension” in the room. But this time around, she felt comfortable enough to be truly vulnerable. In this respect, Cabello draws a comparison between her own creative evolution and that of Billie Eilish, who recently released her acclaimed second album, Happier Than Ever. “I saw this quote from Billie where she said, ‘I wasn’t scared, it wasn’t forced, there was no pressure, it was just really nice.’ And I feel the same way about this album’s process for me,” she says. The message is clear: in both her personal and professional lives, Camila Cabello is in a very good place.

#camila cabello #interview: hunger tv #hunger magazine #cinderella promo #cinderella #don’t go yet #familia #shawn mendes

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shelovescontrol91 · 3 years

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“If it’s affecting my mental health in a negative way, I’ll say no and do it another way.”

#camila cabello #shawn mendes #shawmila #cinderella #familia

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shefanispeculator · 4 years

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Track is latest offering from couple From the No. 1 song on the iTunes all-genre chart to the most-added single at country radio upon release, superstars Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s “Happy Anywhere” continues to occupy the top of the charts.

One week after release, the “joyous duet” (People) takes No. 1 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart, selling nearly 27,000 tracks.

The single has staked its claim in the streaming space as well, garnering nearly 4.5 million streams and nearly 60,000 U.S track equivalents to date.

“I’m glad everyone is loving the song as much as we do,” states Shelton. “It’s been fun for us to perform the song a few times and I can’t wait to be able to play this song on stage with an audience. Until then we’re going to be happy where we are.”

“Happy Anywhere,” written by Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne and Matt Jenkins, is proving to be a favorite among critics.

MusicRow described the song as “bopping, sunny and bright, plus loaded with romantic optimism,” stating:

“If I’ve ever heard a quarantine/pandemic love song, this is it.” The Oklahoman proclaimed that Shelton and Stefani “have another sweet, surefire hit duet on their hands.” The two hit-makers debuted the single on release day on NBC’s TODAY Summer 2020 Citi Music Series.

The accompanying music video, directed by Todd Stefani and featuring footage captured from Stefani’s personal cell phone, has garnered nearly three million views to date.

The feel-good duet is the follow-up single to Shelton and Stefani’s “Nobody But You,” which has been RIAA-certified platinum and held No. 1 on the country charts for multiple weeks, marking Shelton’s 27th career No. 1.

The duo debuted the track on the 61st GRAMMY Awards earlier this year, where Shelton was also nominated for Country Solo Performance for his massive single “God’s Country.” The title track off his most recent album Fully Loaded: God’s Country, the anthemic song took home the CMA award for Single of the Year last year and is currently up for Single, Song and Video of the Year at the 55th ACM Awards. [Read More at themusicuniverse.com/blake-shelton-gwen-stefani-top-country-digital-sales-chart/ © The Music Universe. All Rights Reserved.]

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fmdjoosungarchive · 4 years

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sung vs element’s title tracks/singles

word count: 851, blurbs only

tldr; thots and feewings on element’s eras. obviously lots of mentions of the other element members, a specific mention of yujin

Oh Na Na (Pre-debut single, released December 13, 2016)

in some way, oh na na feels more like a debut than hola hola. they didn’t promote for the song, like they would later on, but the release was still something that made him a “celebrity”. it was the song that started them off. looking back at himself and the other members then, he thinks that they look so young, despite it not even being four years since then. musically, it’s not his favorite release of theirs, but he does enjoy it. it’s a song he’s found himself going back to more than some of their others, though that could be largely due to the connection he feels with it being their first ever song

Don’t Recall (Pre-debut single, released February 16, 2016)

musically, sung quite likes don’t recall! it’s definitely higher on the list of element title tracks he likes to listen to, just because. this was the song that Really started their trajectory upwards, which makes it hold a high.er place to him as is. he’s not a massive fan of the choreography, but he’s also not massive on any of their choreography. also a big earworm for him

Rumor (Pre-debut single, released April 24, 2017)

don’t correct me if i’m wrong bc i’m too lazy to check exactly but i THINK this was the era element started touring. which, to sung, is absolutely fuckin wild. not many groups have pre-debut projects, and much less do they get to the point that they can do a world tour before ever debuting. around this time is when sung felt the Highest about element’s possibility. however, it’s also his least favorite pre-debut single musically, and he’s not as excited about performing it live as some of their other songs

Hola Hola (EP, released July 19, 2017)

as element’s official debut, sung holds this era high above the majority, and bonus: he really enjoyed the era. no matter how nerve-wrecked he was, the song, to him, was fun and enjoyable, very summery, a great chance for him to bond with the other members even more, and it’s something he can look back at and definitively see how far they’ve come as a unit. he absolutely loves performing the song too, because it brings up good feelings for him. but,,,, he really hates the amount of people that have come up to him saying ‘can i get your attention baby girl’

You & Me (EP, released November 21, 2017)

like any person with good taste, sung loves you in me as a song. he thinks it’s the most musically interesting release to date, and the most interesting title concept. it’s creepy, but enough he can still watch without having nightmares. as an era, it was a beginning to their downfall, but sung doesn’t like to think of it as that. he prefers to focus on how much he enjoyed the era itself, and how the title gave him and yujin lots of time together

Ride On The Wind (EP, released August 8, 2018)

it’s like going back to their “roots” musically, and it was a great summer bop... that came in at the end of summer. sung liked the sound a lot, but he felt Big Uncomfy at the time, because it was the beginning of gold star saying, hey why don’t you get big and buff and we’ll have you shirtless all the time. if you wanna know where the ‘sung sexc wh0re’ image comes from, it all started here. so even though he enjoys listening to the song, he’s not always big on performing, or going back to watch the title video, because it just reminds him of how uncomfortable he was then

Bomb Bomb (Digital single, released May 15, 2019)

this is a song that sung needed time to come to like. although his taste is eclectic, noise music is quite low on his list. with enough listens, he did come to like it, but just that. it really pushed sung into the place of being regarded as ‘sexy’, and he wasn’t a fan. it was only shortly after this that his solo career started being pushed to the heavens, so he wouldn’t say it’s his Favorite period of time, even if there were a lot of good moments for him then. on the plus side, bomb bomb did really well comparatively, and almost matched up to where they were at their height. unfortunately, that still wasn’t enough in gold star’s eyes

Dumb Litty (Digital single, released May 17, 2020)

this era hasn’t happened yet, but indulge me, i’ll give thoughts anyway. firstly, it’s his favorite choreography by Far. and it’s impossible to talk about this track without mentioning that sung wrote it. he Had written it with element in mind, after bomb bomb, but when he handed over his music to gold star (whom he’d been telling for two years he’d be happy to write for, since there aren’t many co-ed songs coming in) sung didn’t think they choose that one. it’s not his favorite thing he’s ever written, but it does hold some importance for being a song he feels like he can call His that’s gifted to element. the most disappointing part of it will be how it completely fails to live up to bomb bomb, but he refuses to think it’s the doing of the music itself, or the members. rather, just luck, or in this case, the absence of it

#mayhaps im too nice to hola hola bc i live in vegas lmaoo #self para #element

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letterboxd · 5 years

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Most Picture.

There are many ways to predict how the Oscars will go. How much money is the studio spending on the campaign? How highly rated are the nominated films? How much work have nominees put in during the awards season? Is it simply their time?

For this 2019 horse race, we thought it would be fun to go for a different metric. A fool-proof statistical analysis to find not what is the Best Picture, but what is the Most. And with that, we set about investigating the stats on rewatches of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

It turns out that plenty in the Letterboxd community have logged the Best Picture nominees more than once, and in some obsessive cases, well into double figures. We had a feeling, based on anecdotal mood and general noise, that A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody would be right up there in the stanning stakes. And they are (read on for our Q&A with Letterboxd’s most obsessive A Star Is Born fan). But also: The Favourite made the top three, and the film you have rewatched the most left the other seven in the dust.

Without further ado, Letterboxd presents the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards, ranked by the number of members who’ve watched the 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominees two or more times (total in brackets, as of today).

Each film features a review from its greatest fan, i.e. the Letterboxd member who has logged the film more than any other (at the time of writing).

And the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards go to…

1. Black Panther (13,268)

“Would I see this movie a personal record high of seven times in theaters? For Wakanda? Without question.” —Krys (12 watches, seven in cinemas)

2. A Star Is Born (5,943)

“TIRED: discourse about whether or not the film hates pop music, all think pieces about whether the film thinks Ally is a sell out and what that means for feminism, discourse on whether Why Did You Do That? is a bop or not.

WIRED: discourse about whether or not Jackson Maine even had an ass good enough to inspire such pop perfection.” —Juliette (16 watches)

3. The Favourite (5,378)

“I miss this so much I dreamt it. Instead of riding, Sarah was doing cartwheels.” —CBotty (15 watches)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (4,928)

“The critics can go fuck themselves. THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN! (for the fifth time).” —Iain (16 watches)

5. Roma (4,270)

“Yes I’ve seen this twice today, yes i cried like a bitch both times, yes this is the only movie.” —Eve (7 watches)

“My feelings regarding Roma are complicated to say the least. It’s like dating the girl of your dreams, only to realize that you are completely incompatible, which ends in desperate clinginess for an ideal that was never true to begin with. It’s been a strange journey of love, disappointment, and eventual acceptance, where I’ve come to terms with my feelings. I still admire the hell out of it, and I hope it wins all the awards in the world.” —Orrin (7 watches, admittedly more times than they have actually seen it)

6. BlacKkKlansman (3,669)

“This movie is so fucking powerful, and I loved every second of it.” —Kota (6 watches)

7. Green Book (1,370)

“OK what a way to start the new year. I love this movie so much. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are for sure going to get nominated (and it’s well deserved).” —Anthony (5 watches)

8. Vice (1,164)

“8.4/10” —Harrison (4 watches)

Unpacking the re-watchability of A Star Is Born.

“I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.”

Of the eight Best Picture finalists, Black Panther has been out the longest, had the largest budget, and has done the rounds of the streaming services. It was always gonna take the top spot in a rewatch match. But to figure out the rewatchability of second-place-getter A Star Is Born, we went to the film’s hardest stanner, Juliette, to help us understand why fans keep coming back even though it’s a complicated watch.

While Juliette’s multiple reviews are meme-tastic, quippy, punctuation-free gems of observation, when we asked her to explain herself, she went remarkably deep. Her replies may just make you want to take another look at Ally and Jack. [Note: this interview contains spoilers for the film’s plot.]

How many times do you think you have seen A Star Is Born? Juliette: I think I have seen the film sixteen times? I know for certain I have seen it fourteen times in theaters, but I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched it in the comfort of my own home since it’s been released on digital. There’s just something about the energy in a theater while this film is being screened. It gives me chills just thinking about it!

What keeps you coming back to it? It's so hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that draws me back to this film time and time again. I love a good love story when properly executed! I’m kind of obsessed with celebrity culture! I love a great musical! And like many people, the subjects of this film: alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, self-doubt, the cultivation of the self, love, mentorship, and reconciliation of one’s experiences with a flawed parental figure are all things that have permeated my life. Some of these things, I understand and have a firm grasp on, they feel definitive and their impacts are a tangible output. Some of these things, I still grapple with daily. There is little definition, largely just confusion and sporadic outbursts of pain.

When I return to this film, which I often do, the thing I don’t expect it to give me is answers. I don’t expect the film to be able to define for me what I must come to define for myself. I don’t expect it to clarify my confusion. I don’t expect it to eradicate the pain. I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.

There’s a scene towards the end of this film where, while mourning the loss of his brother, Bobby explains how he heard one of Jackson’s songs performed at a bar. At first, it angers him. He feels like no one really knew Jackson. But then, something shifts and just hearing the song begins to soothe him. It reminds him that, in spite of their trauma and their turmoil, it isn’t all for nothing.

That’s what this film is for me. It soothes me. It reminds me that the facilitation of our healing can come through art. It reminds me that for people, who once felt broken and irreparable, it is possible to find love and happiness not just with another person, but within one’s self. It reminds me that our pain and our devastation can be met in equal measure with (and even maybe be overcome by) our brilliance, our triumph, and our devotion to one another.

What have you noticed with each rewatch? What I notice most with each subsequent rewatch of the film is what a massive undertaking the sound editing and mixing for this film must have been. I have such deep and profound respect and admiration for all the work that went into crafting the audio for this film! The film is such a visceral experience, one that truly engages all of the senses. I remember physically recoiling in the theater the first time I heard the sound of Jackson’s tinnitus. I remember feeling my entire seat shake in time with the music during the concert sequences.

I also have a sincere recommendation! Once you watch the film a few times, I really encourage you to watch the film just through the lens of watching Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in the background of the pivotal scenes. It adds so much dimension to scenes you thought you already knew!

What is the single greatest scene in this version of A Star Is Born? As clichéd or “basic” as it may seem to say, there is no denying that the greatest scene in this film is when Ally joins Jackson on stage and the two perform Shallow together. It’s a cataclysmic and mesmerizing moment.

It’s the way Jackson physically steps back and acquiesces his spotlight to new talent. It’s the combination of awe and support in Jackson’s eyes as he watches Ally assume center-stage. It’s the way Ally assumes her place at the mic for the first time. It’s how Ally—all at once terrified, shocked, overwhelmed, empowered, and free—finds a version of herself she had long thought impossible to access under the stage lights. The arc of which is punctuated by Gaga’s impeccable performance in this scene, most noticeably by the shift in her physicality, from her hands covering her eyes, unable to make eye contact, to grabbing the mic and belting her now patented cathartic wail.

It’s the way, two artists—no, two people—are separated physically on the stage singing into their individual microphones, but slowly find their way to meet in the middle and sing as one. In itself, this scene is the film in miniature. If this scene hadn’t worked, it’s very unlikely the rest of the film would have worked.

Not to mention, the scene is just absolutely stunning. Of course, the music is heavenly, that’s a given. In terms of the composition, I love how the camera moves around and captures each protagonist in different ways. And the color palette is gorgeous. The way that blue and red light dance around our protagonists throughout the sequence is just jaw-dropping. It’s the kind of high an artist, and in a turn a viewer, could spend their whole life chasing.

What do you wish haters understood about the film’s greatness? My first priority would be to tell the haters that Lady Gaga is not playing herself in A Star Is Born! Just because Gaga is a singer playing a singer, doesn’t mean she isn’t acting!

Furthermore, to me, it feels unfair that the power of her performance is sometimes diminished just because she sings in the film. Anyone can sing in a way that is technically proficient with enough training, but to tell a story through song? To act a song? To perform with every iota of your being musically? That’s a whole other skill and it is just as worthy of recognition and respect as any other leading performance this year.

Secondly, I would like to convey that just because something is a remake doesn’t mean that it lacks value or that it lacks something to say. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about this story that seems to capture the collective imagination every few decades, but I think it has something to do with how it presents ascension at the expense of descent, art as both artifice and freedom of authentic expression, and love in spite of sacrifice and self-destruction. There’s something about that cocktail that becomes the perfect receptacle for the expression and examination of our cultural anxieties.

Its malleable formula allows for questions to be asked about how we think about celebrity and fame, the self-identification process, and the value of art. In that sense, a remake of A Star Is Born is vital and refreshing, and certainly not tired and uninspired, and most importantly, it doesn’t lack something to say. It’s inherently reflective of the culture it was created in by its very nature. It allows us to ponder not just how Hollywood tells stories about itself, but also how we tell stories about ourselves. And if you ask me, there’s so much value in that.

What do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? Well, I’m clearly biased towards A Star Is Born, but I would not be mad to see Roma or The Favourite walk off with the evening’s top prize!

What do you think will win Best Picture? My heart says Roma, my head says Green Book.

#oscars #oscars 2019 #academy awards #roma #best picture #the favourite #black panther #a star is born #film #movies #letterboxd

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huniieebee · 6 years

Text

Warnings: Cussing

April Fools ch.2

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cover photo by: @peachvii (check out “when our stars align”)

“Who the heck is this” I said looking at the text.

I was currently out with Sicheng, Lucas, Jungwoo, and Kun at our apartment (well, Kun and Sicheng don’t live here but the other butt heads do)

“Hey guys do you know who this is?” I asked showing them my phone.All of them shook their heads but Sicheng.

“I think I know who that is, let me check” he said taking his own phone out.

“Oh snap it’s Johnny” he said showing me his phone with the exact same number as the one that texted me.

“What does he want” Lucas said taking a bite out of his chicken. I shrugged my shoulders cause I literally have no clue.

“Ask him” Sicheng said, I just nod and text him

I groaned setting my phone down.

“What’s up booboo the fool” Lucas said stop their conversation

“Johnny just said something weird and idk” I said

“What’d he say” Kun said raising an eyebrow

I picked my phone up and showed them the conversation

“Oh man” Lucas said

“Hm?..Maybe I can ask them tomorrow ?” Sicheng said

“I guess, it was kinda weird and sudden” I said shrugging

*ding*

“Wow Y/N you’re famous” Jungwoo snorted

“Shut up” I said picking my phone up again

Taeyong: hey Y/N I have a question

Holy....Shit.....

“GUYS” I said getting their attention

“What?, Taeyong text you?” Jungwoo said jokingly, little did he know

“yeah!” I said shoving my phone in their face

“Wow Y/N, haven’t you been crushing on him since high school” Lucas said

“Lucas shut you mouth hole before I glue it shut” I said glaring at him

“And yes I USED TO have a crush on him” I said

“You still do” Lucas mumbled

“lucas what did I tell you” I said picking my chopstick up and threatening him with it

“Y/N we all know you go lovey doves heart eyes every time you see him, just admit it” Jungwoo said sipping his water

“I hate all of you” I said sulking in my seat

Me: hey Taeyong what’s up

Taeyong: hey I’m going to be gone Tuesday so can you do me a favor and send me the notes 😗

Me: yeah sure!

Taeyong: Thank you so much Y/N!!

Me: yeah no problem 😁

“What did he ask” Sicheng said leaning over my shoulder

“Notes” I sighed

“I mean no offense but what did you expect, a date?” He said jokingly

“I dunno maybe” I pouted

“Y/N do you realize there he’s never going to see you as more than a classmate” Sicheng said

“Y/N I love you and I’m supposed to hype you up on your crushes or whatever but Sicheng is right” Lucas said

“You know...Jaehyun seems like a good guy” Jungwoo said biting into his chicken

“What is up with people sayin that” I said sighing

“I’m just saying Y/N, he’s a good guy. I mean he smart, funny, he dances and sings too” Jungwoo said

“It sounds like you’re the one interested in him” I said smirking

“Y/N NO IM TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU HES ACTUALLY NOT THAT BAD” He said pointing his chicken at me

“Whatever” I said going back to my food

After we finished eating we watched some movies and all of us went to bed

Kun ans Sicheng decided to sleep in the living room since it was pretty late out

I laid my bed thinking about what Jungwoo said. “Maybe he is right” I whispered to myself

Turning to the digital clock on my nightstand it read “4:40 am” As my eyes were about to close there was a ding and my phone lit up. Groaning debating on if I should get up and get it or if I should answer in the morning. Finally deciding that I should get it, I walked up to my desk where my phone laid

“Snapchat from Jaehyun”

“What the...” I whispered

I went onto the app and read his message

“Hey Y/N I know this is weird and all but can you do me a favor

Me: hey what’s up

Jaehyun: so there’s this thing for Student Council tomorrow and we’re going to this theme park...

Me: yeh I heard, so what’s the problem?

Jaehyun: they said we could bring anyone as long as they have a ticket..and I have an extra ticket...so I was hoping you could come, my other friends said they couldn’t so you’re my last hope :/

Me: Jaehyun...I would love to but I’m sorry I can’t. I’m busy tomorrow :(

Jaehyun: it’s fine, goodnight Y/N :)

Me: Gn

After that convo I flopped onto my bed and thought about what happened. I felt bad for saying no but I was actually busy tomorrow. Sighing I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

When we woke up in the morning Kun and Sicheng were gone. Sicheng texted up saying he dropped Kun home and went home himself too. Jungwoo had a morning classes so we had a few hours to do what ever before going out. When Jungwoo got back it was around 4 in the afternoon. We got ready and headed to Kun’s place to pick him up. Jungwoo was driving while Lucas was in the passenger seat. I sat in the back looking out the window and bopping my head to music.We picked Kun (sadly Sicheng was on that student council trip) up and headed to a park. We parked the car on the side stayed in the car and tried to decide where to go. It was always like this when we went out. We parked somewhere and debate where we should go. Sometimes we would go somewhere new or go to our favorite places, moments like these were fun though. We would get off topic to talk about the drama at school or tell jokes and laugh with eachother. After about an hour of talking we finally decided just to get some boba and some snacks.

*at the boba shop*

We walked into the shop laughing about that one time Lucas got drunk and tried to prove that he wasn’t drunk by doing a cartwheel and walking in a straight line. Of course he fail cause boy was drunk as fuck.

“Oh hey isn’t that Sicheng” Jungwoo pointed to him. He was accompanied by 3 other people

“I’ll go order, you guys can go sit with them I guess” Kun said while walking to the counter to order As we walked closer their table I hear voices that sound familiar. It was Jaehyun Johnny and Taeyong (with Sicheng ofc).

“Hey Y/N look both of your boyfriends are here” Lucas bent down to whisper that into your ear.

“Lucas shut up before I rip your hair off and feed it to everyone” I whisper yelled

“Woah Y/N I didn’t know you were that kinky” Johnny said smirking at me. I blushed not realizing I said that a little boy too loud

Great Taeyong probably thinks I’m a crazy person, I thought to myself. Kun came back with the drinks and snacks. Everyone sat down and before I could sit down next to Jungwoo lucas pushed me out of the way. I glared at him and looked for another seat, it happened to be in between Taeyong and Jaehyun.

“Hey” Jaehyun said smiling

“Hi” I said sitting down.

Surprisingly we actually talked the whole time, he offered some of his snacks and I offered some of mine. When we talked my heart beat so fast I was afraid he might’ve heard it. By the time we were done it was about 8 about to be 9pm. We took Sicheng with us while Jaehyun Johnny and Doyoung left. In the car I was sat in the back on the right side, Lucas in the middle, and then Jungwoo. Kun offered to drive since Jungwoo was tired and Sicheng sat in the passengers seat.

“Where to now” Kun said starting the car

“Just drive around” Lucas said

“I got an idea” Kun said smiling and pulling out of the parking spot. I laid my head on Lucas’ shoulder looking out the window

“You okay” he whispered “Yeah I’m fine just thinking” I replied back in the same tone

“Hey Y/N” Sicheng said

“Hm?”

“I talked to Jaehyun and Johnny today about last night, Let’s just say Jaehyun found some interest in you and wants to get to know you more” he said smirking

“Oh...” I said blushing. A few mins later Jungwoo snoring off into dream land and soft RnB was playing on the radio. Every time I look out the window I always feel the need to think, sometimes is happy and sometimes not so happy. I thought about how stupid my crush on Taeyong was and what Sicheng said about Jaehyun. I looked up at Lucas who was texting some girl he met in his class.

“Lucas?” I whispered

“Hm?” He said finishing his text and turning to me

“Do you really think Taeyong won’t see me as more than a classmate?” I said feeling dumb after saying it

“Y/N look, I love you and we’ve been friends for so long but he isn’t good for you. Taeyong just isn’t going to see you as that way, and I hate that I have to say that but it’s true.” Lucas said putting his head on mine

“Okay...” I said...“Do you really think Jaehyun is a good guy” I said playing with a piece of thread from my shirt” I said after a few seconds of silence

“From what Sicheng And Jungwoo say, he sounds like a good guy” Lucas said sighing. I didn’t say anything after, I just looked out the window thinking...should I really try to give Jaehyun a chance?

April Fools ch.2

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A/N: HEYYYY, so again like ch.2 idk when ch.3 will be released, performance is coming up in 2 weeks so we’re working extra hard to perfect our performance and we still need to go over formations. I just got a break from practice today so I’m working on this English essay 😔, again I’ll try to write as much as I can if I have enough free time. Hopefully after the performance I will be able to be a little more active :D. It’s also a little weird towards the end so im sorry. Tumblr was being weird

#nct jaehyun #NCT #nct127 #jaehyun au #jaehyun scenario #jung jaehyun scenario #nct scenarios #nct au #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun angst #April Fools #niexzy stories

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iheartmoosiq · 5 years

Video

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A new song from Arizona, aka A R I Z O N A, is an imperative must. No delay is acceptable when it comes to this beloved New Jersey band’s indie electro meets alt pop sound, not after they made waves with their gargantuan 2017 album debut GALLERY, and not after the exultation they brought us with their subsequent sold out tour. The Atlantic recording group is back today with the release of their hugely anticipated new single, Find Someone, an instantly hooking 80s vibe bop whose adorable companion video stars the best thing ever.... BABY ANIMALS! Prepare yourself for cuteness overload and another propulsive charging, anthemic moving treat from the band. A R I Z O N A sings about finding someone who loves you better on their new song. They might be on to something when they suggest with their video that it’s our furbabies who love us the best, in an unconditional manner. “We wanted to find a fun way to portray an alternate take on a song like ‘Find Someone’ with the music video. The idea is: if someone or something is not good for you in your life, there are many simple ways and places to find happiness,” says Zachary Charles of the new video. “In the case of our video, that ‘someone’ who can always be there to love you better and turn your day around very well might be your puppy! Or chicken... or turtle... or goat... or baby bunny... or... well you get the idea. We love animals and literally couldn’t contain ourselves the entire day we were shooting this. It probably shows.”

Find Someone is our first look at A R I Z O N A’s upcoming sophomore album. In support of Find Someone, A R I Z O N A is embarking on their biggest live adventure to date. They’ll be continuing their opening slot on Panic! At The Disco’s arena tour, which hits Europe later this month. The New Jersey trio will then headline their own sold-out shows in Europe, including a show at London’s Heaven on April 8th, followed by a return to the U.S. for their Coachella debut in April. Find Someone is available via retailers/digital streaming services, here.

#A R I Z O N A #Find Someone #music video #baby animals #animals #music #song #alt pop #alternative pop #electro #synthpop #electropop #electronic pop #alt #alternative #band #indie electro #indie electronic

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felicityb-reviews · 6 years

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Seventeen “Director’s Cut” Special Album Review

So like...

Who else saw it coming?!?!?

Hello loves!! My name is Jace (aka Felicity B), and welcome to my first album review!! And of fucking course, it's on Seventeen's repackage (sorry, Special Album™) - Director's Cut!! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm complete and total Svt trash (I might have cried watching Thank You for the first time), so I am *very* excited to be doing Seventeen for my first ever album review.

I might have had plans to do a Teen.Age review as my first post on Felicity B Reviews. No one can prove that, but it might have been a thing!!

1. Thinkin' About You

Thinkin' About You is Classic Svt™, kids.

You can expect three different types of tracks to be present on most (if not all) Seventeen albums

Gay up Straight up, balls to the wall Funk that has a ridiculous ass routine and looks amazing performed live (Boom Boom, Very Nice, Clap).

A soft Radio Ballad type song that would make the perfect intro track at a concert (Beautiful, Without You).

An acoustic(-sque) ballad that makes your heart go pitter patter (Smile Flower, Campfire).

I told y'all I was complete and total Svt Trash.

Thinkin' About You is a Funky Disco Pop number that combines the first and second Svt archetypes (tropes, if you will), and I fuckin' love it. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's no way I could ever *not* like this type song from any group, much less Seventeen. There's just something so Right™ about Seventeen doing high energy, pure pop numbers. Most boy bands outchea are trynna act like they're all badass and what not (not that Seventeen isn't), but Seventeen know what the fans want.

I know I said above that these type of songs would be perfect for opening a concert, but I actually think Thinkin' About You would be great to close out one?!?! Or for an ~encore~ stage. It's interesting that they chose Thinkin' About to open the repackage (*ahem* Special Album), because there's an element of finality to it. It does its job well enough, but it'd be interesting to hear how it'd sound if they had placed this at the end.

2. Thank You *title*

The ugly tears I bawled watching the video for the first time, y'all...

Firstly, whomstever leaked the original draft of my Teen.Age review??!? Yeah, ya mama's a heaux. I (very jokingly) complained about Clap not having enough Jisoo, and only did they come out with that ~remix~ of Clap that's literally WonSoo looking hot to a trap beat, but Thank You has an explosion of Jisoo.

It's too much.

Thank You is an EDM track that I'd usually expect from Performance Unit. And that's not shade, cause I fucking love Thank You. But sis, y'all could put ha next to Dance of the 13th Month and HIGHLIGHT, and it'd be a trilogy of slayery.

I don't actually recommend doing that unless your edge control is blessed by God, cause you will look a hot ass mess afterwards.

The best way to describe my thoughts on Thank You is "When will your faves?". All of my feelings on this song boil down to that question. Jisoo told us to be ready, but once the teasers hit, I had accepted my fate. My edges will never be the same, just like consequences. I will never stan another like I do Seventeen. How could I when they deliver such high quality, forward thinking songs that are still true to their brand of public friendly pop bops like Thank You??!?!?!

Dramatics aside, Thank You is just a really nice, really healing type of song. This song feels like renewed hope in a jar. Thank You doesn't make me feel like I can conquer the world, it makes me feel like I can live for another day. It makes me feel like I haven't struggled and fought in vain. And as someone who has had many a depressive episode that's left her feeling like complete and total trash, that feeling is not to underestimated.

3. Run To You

Sis, tell me how Seventeen delivered a J-Pop style track, while also making the song sound distinctly theirs?!?!?! I'm very sure if another group performed this, it'd still have that patented Svt feel to it.

Legends only.

Let's get the obvious out of the way - Run To You sounds like an anime theme song. A very nice anime theme song, but an anime theme song nonetheless. I'm a little confused as to why they'd include a song like this on a Korean album, because this style is very hit or miss when done in Korea. My thoughts on Run To You tie very heavily into how I feel about Director's Cut as a whole, but I'll get into those later.

Run To You has a grit to it's severely dulled by the mixing and mastering process, and it makes me wanna hear it live. This is exacerbated by the Svt's very clean, very pop style mixing, but to be fair, it is a complaint I've had about pretty much every Korean rock song with high production values.

I really would not mind if Seventeen ever decided to do a punk/pop sub-unit. Yes, I do realize Run To You isn't punk/pop, but that could easily be fixed. Seventeen gave us MCR inspired aesthetics with the Teen.Age teasers, and I was A Fan™. And several of the members play instruments (I'm having war flashbacks to their KBS Song Festival stage). It wouldn't be hard for them to pull off. It'd be a super cool foil to their power pop/Boys Just Wanna Have Fun™ group concept.

PLEDIS!! MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

4. Falling For U (Jeonghan and Jisoo)

In case anyone is interested, I prefer to use Jisoo's Korean name over his American one (even though he uses that as a stage name), because Joshua is my deadname. And it's really uncomfortable to call one of your biases a name that has the potential to make you extremely dysphoric.

Moving on.

Falling For U is Svt archetype number three. And even though I have love for every song on Director's Cut, Falling For U is my clear favorite. Outside of featuring 2/3 of my Svt biases (I am a gay trash can, leave me be), it's an Acoustic Coffee Shop RnB Midtempo.

And y'all know how much my gay ass loves those.

It's missing the RnB overtones you typically hear in this type of song, but it's still pretty rad.

Falling For U is another really nice, really healing song. She sounds like springtime dates with bae. Like you're in that Honeymoon phase and you just wanna be all gross and sappy all the time. Falling For U also gives me the feel of a couple that's been in love for a while now. Everything feels easy in that moment, because you're just so in love. It's a nice feeling.

I frequently talk about how K-Pop fans need to unplug every once in a while because they be sippin' the Kool Aid a lil bit too much, but sometimes, I just wanna listen to a cute love song by a cute boy (or cute boys #GayTrashCan).

And speaking of cute things by cute boys, HanSoo's cute rap during the bridge. Sis, my heart exploded with feels. Jisoo has such a nice lower range (you wouldn't know it by how high his vocal parts are, but he's got a lil oomph to his voice for a lyric tenor) and Jeonghan has rasp for D A Y S.

I wanted it to be longer, you guys.

Overall And Final Thoughts

Director's Cut does what a repackage/special album is supposed to do - extend the life of an previously released album cycle with a new look and some new music. I liked that three/four of the songs featured here are group tracks as opposed to unit ones; Teen.Age was a great showcase of Seventeen as individuals, but it felt more like a singles collection than an album because of it. The tracklisting was a hot mess that exacerbated the problem, but the root was how varied the sound of the album was. Adding in the group tracks definitely helps make the album feel more cohesive.

I mean, there's the task of actually integrating the tracks into the body of the album, but that's the beauty of the Digital Revolution.

At the same time, I almost wish they'd waited to release these songs?!!

I've heard that Seventeen are planning a Japanese debut soon, so why not save these songs for that album. Most groups release a remake of a Korean song as a debut single in Japan, but Seventeen could have released Run To You. If there's a few thing sI've learned about successful Japanese campaigns for K-Pop groups are, it's that groups a) need to be proficient (at the very least) in the language and b) you gotta tailor your sound to the market. And what do ya know, Run To You would have Perfect™.

Idk, I'm very happy with this comeback because it breathed new life into an already amazing album, but at the same time, I think Seventeen's first release in 2018 should not have been a repackage. Especially one with a tracklisting this poorly thought out. Seventeen's albums have always had iffy tracklistings, but Director's Cut takes the cake, sis.

It doesn't take away from the quality of the music, but it makes you wonder where their management's priorities lies.

#Seventeen #Director's Cut #Review #Album Review #Felicity B

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morganbelarus · 5 years

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‘So flawed and problematic’: why the term ‘world music’ is dead

Artists, record labels and even this months Womad festival agree that the term is outdated. Is there a better way to market music from across the globe?

Ask most musicians what genre they play and youll likely get a prickly response. As one well-known, and slightly tipsy, jazz musician once told me: If you all stopped obsessing about me playing jazz, maybe I would be playing festival stages rather than tiny clubs by now. But while there have been meandering debates about jazz during its long history, another genre has become far more contentious in recent years: world music.

Dreamed up in a London pub in 1987 by DJs, record producers and music writers, it was conceived as a marketing term for the greater visibility of newly popularised African bands, following the success of Paul Simons Johannesburg-recorded Graceland the year before. It was all geared to record shops. That was the only thing we were thinking about, DJ Charlie Gillett, one of the pub-goers, told the Guardian in 2004. The group raised 3,500 from 11 independent labels to begin marketing world musicto record stores. It was the most cost-effective thing you could imagine, said record producer Joe Boyd. 3,500 and you get a whole genre and a whole section of record stores today.

Founders of the term provided vague justifications for lumping together anything that wasnt deemed to be from a European or American tradition looking at what artists do rather than what they sound like, as editor of fRoots magazine Ian Anderson said. The World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival, AKA Womad, which was founded seven years before the term gained prominence, similarly used it as a catch-all for its roster of international artists. There were no other festivals like ours at the time, artistic programmer Paula Henderson says. We werent pop or rock, so we were happy to advertise it as world when we began.

But the term soon faced opposition. Talking Heads frontman David Byrne founded the label Luaka Bop, which has released artists who might be placed in the world category, including William Onyeabor and Susana Baca. In 1999, he wrote a scathing op-ed in the New York Times called I Hate World Music in which he argued that listening to music from other cultures, letting it in, allows for it to change our world view and to reduce what was once exotic into part of ourselves. World music meant the opposite: a distancing between us and them: Its a none too subtle way of reasserting the hegemony of western pop culture, Byrne wrote. It ghettoises most of the worlds music. A bold and audacious move, White Man!

Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 performing at Walthamstow garden party, London, in 2018. Photograph: Gar Powell-Evans

The current president of Luaka Bop, Yale Evelev says: We always considered it a pop music label. When people said we were a world music label, we wanted to crawl into a hole. Instead of signifying a certain emotional honesty, it is a marketing rubric. A rubric that is seemingly none too successful, either. The world category falls at the bottom of year-end streaming and sales figures lists, accounting for 0.8% of album sales in the US and 1.6% of total streams in 2018.

So why has the term persisted? Strut Records manager Quinton Scott, who releases a range of artists, including soul singer Patrice Rushen, spiritual-jazz icon Sun Ra and Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela, says: As labels we need to guide buyers to the right place to find the music as quickly as possible, especially in the chaotic digital marketplace. For that reason, a general term or genre still does work as an in-point for music buyers.

Yet as a general term, he admits, it does feel dated. Musicians have successfully cross-pollinated styles much more in recent years, to complicate matters further, so it could be changed to something that sounds more contemporary. But I dont think there can ever be a catch-all phrase that avoids overgeneralisation. As Womads Henderson puts it: If the consumer wants to class it as world music, as long as they buy the ticket or the music, thats fine by me.

Other industry heads are less equivocal. Its the antithesis of art, says Pete Buckenham, founder of the independent label On the Corner. At its best, its bad culture, dialled-down and made safe for a generic, mostly western consumer as imagined by a marketing department. At worst, the term is out-and-out racist. For Buckenham, world must be abolished and the industry should lead the way. When the term is so flawed and ideologically problematic there is no alternative.

It only helps reinforce the narrative that other peoples music is less evolved Sarathy Korwar. Photograph: Gaurang Anand

The musicians who have found themselves in the world record bins largely agree. Indian jazz drummer and producer Sarathy Korwar finds the term lazy. It only helps reinforce the narrative that other peoples music is less evolved and important than your own and doesnt deserve a more nuanced approach, he says. Multimillion selling Senegalese musician Youssou NDour believes the label has served its purpose and can only now be applied to collaborations that span across the globe, geographically taking in the world through their mixture of cultural traditions.

For Runion Island musician Jrmy Labelle, the initial labelling of his amorphous electronic music as world was enticing, allowing him to broaden his appeal to a network of world music festivals and events. But I quickly understood that this label was very dangerous, especially for music like mine that seeks to create bridges between aesthetics, he says. Congolese funk band Bantou Mentale, encountered similar issues. Their solution? Abolish all generic descriptors, since categorisation equals discrimination.

It is a question of ethnicity as much as one of perceived authenticity and category. London-based trio Vula Viel centre their work around the west African xylophone, the gyil, which bandleader Bex Burch learned when she spent three years with the Dagaaba people in Ghana. Burch hails from Yorkshire and the other members of Vula Viel are white. Ive had world music industry people say my band does not fit the world genre because Im not African, she says, raising the issue of cultural appropriation. The sad fact is that musicians from African countries are still refused visas and have much less access to the music industry. So, the white saviour tries to bring the black or brown musicians from a village to a studio or festival stage and profits from them. The fact Im told I need a black member of my band to qualify is another example of tokenism and the blatant exoticising of black skin.

Railing against tokenism Vula Viel. Photograph: Alex Bonney

In 2018, Womad experienced visa denials for its acts, with at least three having to cancel appearances, yet Henderson disagrees with the white saviour term. Visas are so expensive and the Home Office can be so prohibitive when it comes to bringing artists from other countries here, she says. Often, its only with the help of western festival organisers that we can mitigate the denials otherwise an act will pay 6,000 for a visa, be denied, and never see that money or a potential new audience again. We always make sure our artists are paid fairly and arent exploited.

My first experience of world music went unnoticed. It was the Bollywood songs that played through our kitchen radio and that my grandma listened to religiously. It was the devotional music I heard at temple, and perhaps even the reggae records my mum put on. To me, this was simply music to be included with the other formative records and artists of my childhood: Motown, hip-hop, jazz.

Korean musician Park Jiha. Photograph: Kim Jaewoo

When the Guardian began its world music coverage, it was a reflection of a music industry coming to terms with a new, globalised landscape one not only confined to the recesses of the record store. Now, with the internet at our fingertips and streaming services providing endless hours of musical discovery, the world has reached far beyond the meaning of world music. The Guardian has therefore ceased using this tag on its articles: only a relevant genre tag such as pop and rock, dance music and metal will be used. Rest assured that we are more committed than ever to telling the stories of music around the world, be it disco divas from India, techno from Uganda, reinventions of classical Korean instrumentation, or political Turkish psych-rock.

Our world album of the month column has, meanwhile, been renamed global album of the month, which does not answer the valid complaints of the artists and record label founders who have been plagued by catch-all terms. Yet, in the glorious tyranny of endless internet-fuelled musical choice, marginalised music still needs championing and signposting in the west. The term world music has become toxic, so a new word for this monthly planet-spanning roundup, however reductive, is needed. As Vula Viels Birch says: Is world helpful? Musically, no, but as a genre to champion and curate this fantastic world of music, sure.

For its latest edition, Womad is also moving on from the term, simply calling itself the worlds festival. We understand world music is ghettoising for a lot of the artists, festival director Chris Smith says. Were respectful of the term because its our heritage, but we need to evolve it because the music has evolved. All that matters is championing new music for people to hear and enjoy. We dont want these artists to be held back by genre, we want to see them at Glastonbury and beyond. Were international, world, whatever you want to call it its just music.

Womad festival is at Charlton Park, Wiltshire, 25-28 July.

Original Article : HERE ;

‘So flawed and problematic’: why the term ‘world music’ is dead was originally posted by MetNews

#MetNews

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dbcreepr-blog · 5 years

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Artwork Development, Project Announcement & Marketing

Part 1: Artwork Development & Project Announcement.

The past week was initially dedicated to completing artwork for the project, so that promotion can officially begin. While there has been a been mild teaser in the form of a promo video that was posted around a month ago, The name and release date of the project had not been publicly announced.

As stated previously, the decision was made to collaborate with a friend on designing the albums Artwork alongside an artist logo, both of which were completed in a weekend. The design and assembly of the artworks images were done in person, which allowed both of us to communicate creative decisions and ideas as work was being done.

The artwork was made by combining a mix of various public domain Retro futuristic and sci-fi images, and putting them together in photoshop.

Below is an example of some of the images used:

The process only took a few hours, as the workflow was incredibly smooth, we both listened to some tracks of the album while designing the cover in order to maintain a clear image of what we felt was needed, the final product can be seen below.

Designing the artist logo was a simple process that combined by my own face with the famous hijacker D.B. Cooper’s, which can be seen below:

I was very pleased with the end results of the album artwork and artist logo.

Trailer

To announce the project, I made a trailer by putting a 1 minute skit from the album over the albums cover art in iMovie. As the project has not yet been mastered I ran the premaster through an ozone mastering preset. As the only format the trailer will be in is an MP4 on Facebook and Instagram, It seemed suitable considering both websites compression rates (Bossetta, 2018). The trailer can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEbkK4w8yxA&feature=youtu.be

Album announcement

The trailer was uploaded to Facebook and Instagram and The project was announced on Thursday the 21/03/2019 at around 5.30pm. The choice of date was based on the day being a Thursday a day that studies have shown Facebook engagement rates are 18% higher on (Pagoto et al., 2016). I applied the same logic to Instagram due to the face of them being owned by Facebook

While the Facebook Post was posted on my private profile, and the video was set to ‘public’, the Instagram video was uploaded to on my artist page alongside a higher resolution image of the album artwork as a seperate post. and I made the decision to implement paid promotion on Instagram for 48 hours, which cost just over £15. The promotion was fairly successful, with the post garnering 150 likes and over 9,000 views. Screenshots of Facebook and Instagram Posts can be seen below:

The reception of the announcement of the album has been extremely positive At the time of this post, the Facebook video has almost 600 views whilst the Instagram Video has almost 9,100. Two artists who are rappers and producers have also reached out to me asking to collaborate once the album has been released.

Over the next month until release promotion will involve the release of a music video, and other teasers that will be made from material that won't make into the full album, and will be posted to Facebook and Instagram.

Production Analysis 3: Sampling

Although Sampling is often utilised and associated within the Hip Hop scene, Its practice is an often divisive in the music industry in regards its use as production technique throughout the music industry, and its integrity has often come into question (Behr, Negus and Street, 2017). Due to some of these concerns, the samples implemented throughout the album are heavily manipulated in order to greatly differentiate from the original sound.

In this post I will be breaking down how I utilise sampling in two examples, displaying the original sample, then discussing the processes that lead to its use in the end product. One will focus on vocal manipulation whilst the other will focus on the use of a melodic sample.

The chorus of the track First Contact is comprised of a distorted and manipulated vocal sample which was taken from a short excerpt of a song called ‘This Guys In love With You’. the clip was then pitched down by 6 semitones and the audio was chopped up and rearranged in in Ableton, resulting in a sample with a disjointed uncomfortable feel, when compared to its original format.

After I was happy of how the sample now sounded, I routed the audio through my SP and used its vinyl sim and pitch effects. The Wet audio then had sidechain compression to the drums applied. Its evolution from dry sample to i implementation into the chorus of the track can be heard here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zww5Kl0FAcs99v_-4sI-BFupgDJuInLy/view?usp=sharing

The use of vocal manipulation in this example took partial inspiration from how Flying Lotus implements into his tracks, by ‘chopping’ the samples up drastically, and then using heavy sidechain compression to cause the vocals to duck under the kick drum every time it hits, providing the track with additional dynamic edge that is intended to complement the overall head bopping sound associated with Hip hop (Hodgson, 2011)

The main melody heard throughout the track solace is of a Rhodes sounding instrument, consisting of a two bar loop playing a few keys. While on a superficial level it may seem like a relatively simple melodic implementation, the tone the sample relays thoroughly reflect where the journey of the album is at, as this is the last full length track before the album's final skit. Once the sample was edited into a two bar loop it was routed through the SP-404’s Compressor and Vinyl Sim, which consisted of flutter and vinyl crackle sound effects, the timbre of which added a considerable difference to the original sample. The stages of the samples processing can be heard here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iQOQ6NizrXD03K4jjVLHMMotUJewWNVb?usp=sharing

The warmth and texture of the sample after it was processed can be seen within the DAW, when both images are compared:

The role of this melodic sample is to serve as a focal point for the rest of the composition to build upon, and work around in various ways for example adding progressive elements throughout that accompany the original melody in a way that adds to the intended atmosphere of the song, which will be heard in the full track.

The next step in the progress of the project is getting each track finished and mixed down so that the pre-masters can be sent off to Imperial. As the pre-masters for the album have been agreed to be ready by the end of March/start of April. The rest week and a half will be solely focused on finishing the project. Once the pre-masters have been sent future posts will be discussing putting the album onto tape, promotional activity and further analysis of techniques used throughout production, alongside how some of the main concepts have been realised.

References

Behr, A., Negus, K. and Street, J. (2017). The sampling continuum: musical aesthetics and ethics in the age of digital production. Journal for Cultural Research, [online] 21(3), pp.223-240. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14797585.2017.1338277 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2019].

Bossetta, M. (2018). The Digital Architectures of Social Media: Comparing Political Campaigning on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in the 2016 U.S. Election. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, [online] 95(2), p.484. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077699018763307 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].

Hodgson, J. (2011). Lateral Dynamics Processing In Experimental Hip Hop: Flying Lotus, Madlib, Oh No, J-Dilla And Prefuse 73. Journal on the Art of Record Production, [online] 1(5). Available at: http://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/lateral-dynamics-processing-in-experimental-hip-hop-flying-lotus-madlib-oh-no-j-dilla-and-prefuse-73/ [Accessed 26 Mar. 2019].

Pagoto, S., Waring, M., May, C., Ding, E., Kunz, W., Hayes, R. and Oleski, J. (2016). Adapting Behavioral Interventions for Social Media Delivery. Journal of Medical Internet Research, [online] 18(1), p.e24. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4752690/ [Accessed 25 Mar. 2019].

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lesbiancarat · 3 years

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True, true. Unless seventeen decided to do a 1+1 moment of promotion a TTT song WHILE their new comeback but i doubt that will happen haha. (Plus not a common thing in kpop) ahh indeedy! While I would love to see a storyline from the boys, its also ok if there isn't one! Despite that I do like the idea of love because love is so many things! It can be romance, platonical and even bittersweet *ba dum tss* which leads me into the song bittersweet and ahhh just, yes and yes and once again yes! The fact they have a collab with leehi makes me smile so much because fudge yeah get that big name collab boys! As everyone said, their vocals all blend beautifully. Such a perfect song for rainy days which ironically it is raining for me as I type this haha. Interesting choice to start with bittersweet, the theme for love. Then again seventeen always go the different route for musical releases since debut so legends lol. Bittersweet love can mean a few things I think, like in the mv it can be seen as "oh we're all friends but some of us dating each other" which can also be awkward. Or it can be thinking back on a past love of any kind. I can make a giant essay about this but I won't cx (btw your tags under a post asking if the girl D worded made me laugh for an entire minute so thank you for that) instead am just going to bop about. Ah by random i should have wrote that its not related to any of the series (love or TTT) my apologies there. Its possible! Maybe the boys all got hyped for China line solos that it soon became a collective idea to make it into TTT! Either way I am happy because I love seeing all the members solo stuff as they all do their own thing (I still am waiting on those concert solo HQ version though pledis fksnfjs I wanna bop to touch in crystal clear audio thank you)

Oohh I think that would be helpful for fans if they do wanna buy albums and support! Of course do it if you are up to! I know you do alot enough with updates so don't force into it! But a general rule of thumb is us stores like target and such will count for billboard. Stores like music choice la or yesstyle will count for the Korean charts (they will say in their faqs for this as well!)

Ahh its fine! ^.^ I gave up on final fantasy because I couldn't pass a boss fight so I played a different game instead lolol. And she was!! While she wasn't the most cuddles bunny (though she was spoiled with petting, she was a fan of that) she was a lively bunny in many ways.

Lolol just imagining seventeen as old men doing aju nice STILL for the god knows many times on stage makes me laugh too much. But same here, I wasn't here since day one but did join around DWC and am forever thanking my friend to watch that mv because am in this group till the end lol but agreed! While it is something to think about, not really the right time. It will happen when it will happen as I say c:

yes! I'm so glad they were able to collab with Lee hi, wonwoo and mingyu were right when they said her voice fit perfectly ;-; and yeah honestly there are so many theories floating around about the storyline for bittersweet it's really interesting to see. but I'm glad my silly comment made u laugh dhfkfj

and omg yes I'm still holding out for ideal cut solos official release. there aren't any signs they plan on releasing them but a girl can dream dhfkg i always think maybe they'll be granted to us on a special occasion like Svt's 10th anniversary or something but that's probably wishful thinking dhfkjf

maybe I'll make a list of what stores count for which charts later then... but yes people can usually look up what charts sales count for if they're really concerned about it in the meantime dhfjjf

fair enough! i don't play a lot of video games bc I'm not that good at them but when i have played them i get stuck on boss fights a lot TT i always think it's interesting to see pets different personalities, like some like to be cuddled and some don't, but they all have their own ways of showing love ^^

djfkfj i never even thought of SVT doing endless aju nice as old men that would be so funny. reminds me of how one of the members (i think dino?) said on weverse or something recently that he'd like for them to do concerts even when they're old :') honestly i feel so much comfort when they say things like that just casually bc i can tell they mean it and aren't just saying it for the camera u know? like in the 6th anniversary behind the other day cheol said 6 doesn't feel like a big number bc they're gonna be together in the double digits anyway ;-; and i love that bc in my mind I'm in this for the long haul too :')

#melia.ask #📖 anon #long post

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 9/10/20

BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 2 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – The balance in this series is nearly perfect. You’d expect, given the premise, that there would be more focus on Ichinoi, and we do get a lot about her current life, her classes she teaches, meeting her daughter, etc. But Urara’s side of the equation is just as strong—she’s not simply there to introduce her elderly friend to the world of BL, as this isn’t that kind of series. The two enjoy discussing their passion for the work, but also find out more about each other, come see each other for other reasons, etc. Urara’s teenage friendships also permeate the volume, and the best exchange in it may be Eri hearing Urara call herself “nobody” and taking it personally, as she knows who her boyfriend really likes. Fantastic stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Bloom Into You, Vol. 8 | By Nakatani Nio | Seven Seas – With the emotional climax of the series coming at the end of the last volume, it’s tempting to simply call this an epilogue, but that isn’t quite right, as Touko and Yuu still have to negotiate the boundaries of their new relationship. To some (Sayaka), they’re really obvious, but not everyone knows about it. Moreover, how physical do the two of them want to get? (Turns out, they do want to get physical.) We then get a flash forward seeing them relatively happy, as well as the fate of some others. (Sayaka has a girlfriend, as you will find out if you read the third novel about her life.) Overall, this did not go quite in the directions I was expecting, but it improved with each volume, and I greatly enjoyed it by the end. – Sean Gaffney

I Love You So Much, I Hate You | By Yuni | Yen Press – As always, very happy to see a yuri manga that’s not about girls in high school with their touching first romance. Fujimura is an up-and-coming office worker. Asano is her hard-working, driven boss. They are secretly having an affair—Asano is married—and trying to keep things as “just a casual thing.” Unfortunately, events conspire against them, both externally (another office couple is caught and one of them resigns) and internal (their growing love for each other). The tension between the two leads is the main reason to read the book, and it feels quite real—though there’s not quite as much of the ‘I’m dating my boss’ power issues as I’d expected. If you’re looking for a solid portrayal of an adult couple, this is a good choice. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 8 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – This volume has the school trip, something Komi hasn’t done before (last time her class did it she didn’t go due to communication issues). Fortunately, she has Tadano with her this time. UNfortunately, the groups for the trip are segregated by sex, so she’s going to have to be on her own most of the trip, with two of the lesser-known cast members alongside her. We get to know those two, and their awkwardness but try-hard attitude around Komi, and as you’d expect the results are mostly heartwarming—a good time is had by all. She even gets a quiet moment with Tadano towards the end. This is a manga that knows exactly the mood it wants to set, a balance between funny and touching. – Sean Gaffney

The Man on the Other Side | By Poteto Ueno | Futekiya (digital only) – Takuma Sano is a rather boring salaryman who has trouble connecting with people. The only friend he has is “S,” a Twitter follower whom he hasn’t met in five years of chatting. Finally, S proposes a meetup and turns out to be Sayaka Narumi, a popular and handsome actor. They both want to become friends, but their relationship is hampered by Sano’s profound social awkwardness—I love how Ueno doesn’t depict him as shy or withdrawn, just oblivious to social cues—and Narumi’s paranoia, after having recently been in the tabloids, that Sano is going to blab. This is a very chaste title with only a couple of smooches, and the big payoff comes when they can both finally clearly communicate their feelings. I enjoyed it, and was particularly amused that a photograph of (presumably) roasted chicken served as a sort of bat signal for the couple. Recommended. – Michelle Smith

Our Wonderful Days, Vol. 3 | By Kei Hamuro | Seven Seas – I think I forgot to brief the second volume of this, and now it’s come to an end with the third. The series does a good job of showing us exactly what a series like K-On! or Lucky Star would be if it had genuine yuri in it instead of tease. Mafuyu and Koharu grow closer as a couple, thanks mostly to some nicely surreal dream imagery, but the series seems to be more dedicated to everyday life with friends than budding romances. Which is fine, as the friendships here are great, particularly the beta couple Nana and Minori—though the gag at the end shows off that those two aren’t actually a couple after all. (Honestly, given Nana’s brain, they may just not be aware of it.) This won’t be in a top-ten list, but it’s cute. – Sean Gaffney

Primitive Boyfriend, Vol. 2 | By Yoshineko Kitafuku | Seven Seas – After the first volume returned our heroine to the present, I wasn’t expecting to go back to the caveman era quite so soon. But most of this second volume has Mito once again bopping around the jungles and plains, sent back there to find Garhi. She runs into another primitive man, and manages to befriend him in much the same way, while also getting herself into peril, etc. Naturally, it turns out that she’s way in the future, and that this man may be Garhi’s descendant. She ends up back in the present at the end, and the implication is that she has to find Garhi’s soul in someone in modern times. Will it be one of her many potential boyfriends? We’ll know soon; this ends with the third book. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 10 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – Well, we couldn’t go too far without another kidnapping, and that’s what we get here, with our favorite sacrificial heroine allowing herself to become a hostage to save the rest of the boat. That’s not something that can stand, and while the king is (for now) restrained, several are coming to her rescue, including the former villainous chancellor. There’s a lot in this series about vows of loyalty overriding most other reasons, and I really liked Sariphi showing her mettle against her captor, indicating that gifts and luxuries are nothing without the feeling behind it. This feels like it’s going to be wrapping up soon, but this is a typically strong volume, and an underrated series. – Sean Gaffney

Venus in the Blind Spot | By Junji Ito | Viz Media – I’m always glad for a new volume of Ito’s manga to be released, so it shouldn’t be surprising that I was looking forward to Venus in the Blind Spot, a “best of best” collection. The anthology brings together ten of Ito’s short manga as well as a small selection of illustrations, a few but not all of which have previously been released in English translation. It’s an interesting mix of stories ranging from original tales of horror to adaptations of work by other authors, including two which are based on stories by Edogawa Ranpo (“The Human Chair” and “An Unearthly Love”). As a fan of Ranpo, I was particularly excited to read these, but I was also especially delighted to discover the inclusion of one of Ito’s autobiographical pieces (“Master Umezz and Me”). Ito’s short masterpiece “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” is here, too, adding to an already great collection. – Ash Brown

Waiting for Spring, Vol. 13 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – Mitsuki and Asakura-kun officially became a couple in the previous volume, so now it’s time for Ryuji and Nanase to sort out their status. Although Waiting for Spring doesn’t do anything unexpected with its plotting, I do like how it focuses on communication issues for these couples, with Mitsuki somewhat troubled by Asakura’s perpetually calm exterior and Nanase worried about the age difference and the things that will be new for Ryuji that aren’t new for her. You never feel like either pairing is in actual jeopardy, but there will be things that they will have to talk through together. We also see Mitsuki successfully deliver a heartfelt speech to the incoming first-year students. The main story ends here, but there will be one more volume, featuring bonus stories and an epilogue. Anashin hasn’t started a new series yet, but I look forward to reading more by her someday. – Michelle Smith

With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day Is Fun, Vol. 1 | By Hidekichi Matsumoto | Vertical Comics – This manga is mostly presented as a series of two-page strips. On the first page, Inu-kun, Matsumoto-sensei’s dog, will be full of innocence and energy on a given topic, and on the second page, Neko-sama, the cat, will be… a cat. Topics include things like laptime jealousy, bathroom visitors, the pets trying to cheer up Matsumoto-sensei, etc. I definitely snickered at a few different things, but wasn’t prepared to end up sniffling, too. The story about Matsumoto’s previous dog and how a friend’s comment revived happy memories that had long been obscured by sad ones really got to me, as did the part about lingering regrets affecting how a person interacts with pets who yet live. I know exactly how that feels. So, yes, it was the sad bits that really won me over in the end, but the cuteness is undeniably beguiling, as well. – Michelle Smith

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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thereviewsarein · 4 years

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Katy Perry has a lot to smile about these days, with the release of her new album, the birth of her beautiful baby girl, and the reception of fans for all of it. Already, Smile has been crushing the iTunes charts and activating KatyCats all over the internet as they celebrate the release.

Smile comes as Perry’s sixth studio album (yes, we’re counting Katy Hudson), and packs 12 tracks into just under 40 minutes of listening time. The album includes five pre-release singles, kicking off with Never Really Over in the track #1 slot. The Top 10 hit acts as a great starting point for the album, offering familiarity and an uptempo launch into some introspective and personal pop.

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For more about Katy Perry and Smile, we reached out to our friend Elizabeth Di Filippo (Lifestyle Editor at Yahoo Style Canada) who is the biggest KP fan we know. These are her words…

Disclaimer on this review: I am a massive Katy Perry fan. I love Lady Gaga, I love Taylor Swift – but I worship Katy Perry. The colourful, eccentric singer/songwriter first drew me in with One of the Boys picking up in my pop music education where Britney and X-tina left off. From there, it was a roller coaster ride of hit after hit, Teenage Dream, Firework, Part of Me, Roar, Dark Horse and my personal favourite, Wide Awake. Nearly every hit went straight to the top, but then came the era of Witness, where the critics turned their heads with every strand of raven locks she shed.

The sexy, Betty Boop Katy was gone – replaced by Katheryn Hudson, experimenting with sound and trying to reclaim her identity with her newly shorn blonde hair.

Anyone who watched WitnessWorldWide, the 72-hour Big Brother Style web series Perry created to celebrate the release of the album could see the star was struggling – but nobody knew just how much.

This is where I might lose people. I still listen to Witness all the time. It didn’t get enough radio-play, but it boasts some of my favourite songs from Perry like, Save As Draft. It was different – but like Perry and Gaga have taught countless fans, different isn’t a bad thing.

After the Witness era, Perry kept her new look and kept pushing her sound. She appeared on the Calvin Harris bop Feels and was featured on Zedd’s 365 both great songs that did well, but somehow didn’t give Perry any of the credit. There was still the myth perpetuating that Perry had lost her touch. Then came Never Really Over – perhaps one of Perry’s best songs to date, followed by the light and plucky Small Talk (which sadly didn’t make the cut for Smile) and die-hard Perry fans like me could feel it: this wasn’t old Katy – this was a new, stronger, happier Katy.

When Daisies was released, I was at one of my lowest points mentally. It was as if it was a gift from Perry herself, a 2020 Firework for me to blare while I went on long drives to clear my head and get my confidence back.

youtube

I’ve listened to Smile in its entirety four times since it was released at midnight, a day after Perry announced the birth of her daughter, Daisy Bloom. Perry’s digital press tour gave a glimpse into her state of mind making the album: she struggled, she was on the mend, she was ready to work and do the work to stay happy and healthy (whether she repeated her past successes or not).

From start to finish, Smile is perhaps Perry’s most cohesive album to date. Each song flows into the other, with Perry singing about pain and resilience while fans dance along. The singles, including Harleys in Hawaii are the strongest on the album (nothing will beat Never Really Over or Daisies for me… nothing!) but Teary Eyes and Cry About it Later are the sequel to songs like Walking On Air – she makes music for different areas. It might not be for the radio – but these songs will fit on any dance floor, any club or any social distance dance party in your house.

That’s where Smile reminds me of (Lady Gaga’s) Chromatica and even (Taylor Swift’s) Folklore – Perry, like Gaga and Swift have proven themselves, achieved more than their male counterparts (in any genre) and are bucking the expectation that they need to measure themselves by the same standards as they used to. There may be songs for the masses, but instead, each is making music they love and they think fans will love. That authenticity will deliver success and resonate with fans. And as a KP fan through and through, Smile 36 minutes of fun, hopefulness and escapism.

Smile earns its spot among Teenage Dream and One of the Boys as one of Perry’s best albums to date.

Did Josh really think I would say something bad about the Queen? Never.

After Elizabeth shared her thoughts with us, she said she couldn’t wait to hear what I thought. So here it is. I think that Smile bangs, but it’s also much more than that. This album is way more introspective and personal than I could have expected (because I’m not deep into her on a regular basis), and I applaud that as a fan of artists who aren’t afraid to go all in on themselves when they create. In listening to these songs it is clear that this is a grown woman, owning all of the things about her life and managing to turn it into important pop music.

I hope that Perry’s fans embrace the personal depth on this album and I hope that pop music fans give it a good listen as well. And, if I’m really reaching with hopes, I hope that Smile and the songs and stories included, get measured alongside other pop albums that are celebrated for their writing just as much as their sing-along potential or danceability.

Check out the full tracklist for Smile now and hit play on the stream to give it a listen. Enjoy!

Katy Perry, Smile Tracklist

1. Never Really Over 2. Cry About It Later 3. Teary Eyes 4. Daisies 5. Resilient 6. Not the End of the World 7. Smile 8. Champagne Problems 9. Tucked 10. Harleys In Hawaii 11. Only Love 12. What Makes A Woman

Katy Perry, Smile Album Review Katy Perry has a lot to smile about these days, with the release of her new album, the birth of her beautiful baby girl, and the reception of fans for all of it.

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