Anne-Marie - credit: Dominic Marley/Getty Images for Volvic
Anne-Marie is on the hunt to find and celebrate the UK’s best undiscovered artists, offering them the chance to perform at BST Hyde Park this summer. Together with Volvic, she is launching a nationwide competition, to find one final artist to join the lineup of Volvic Emerging Artists set to perform on The Birdcage Stage, presented by Volvic.
Hopeful applicants can now submit their video entry showcasing their talent to secure a coveted festival spot and to unlock a once in a lifetime artist package designed to kickstart the rising stars journey to fame.
With the announcement of the competition, Anne-Marie said, “Making it as an artist is hard, so I understand the impact this support can have on you when you’re starting out. I love hearing new voices and talent so I couldn’t be more excited to begin the search with Volvic supporting the next generation of a music community that has made me so happy and given me so much. We’re looking for passion, promise and an unforgettable performance, so if you think you’ve got what it takes, submit your entry now!”
Hopeful applicants can submit their video entry tomorrow (5th June) at https://www.volvic.co.uk/bst-emergingartists showcasing their talent to be in with a chance of winning. With the competition now live, applicants may enter until 14th June at 23:59 BST.
The full line-up of Volvic’s nine Emerging Artists will be announced on 24th June 2024.
WayV is back with their fifth mini album “Give Me That”, out now via SM Entertainment. Listen below. The six-track EP is the multilingual, China-based NCT sub group’s first release following 2023’s “On My Youth” album.
‘Give Me That’ is a catchy pop dance track with classic funk influence, which sets the tone for a collection of love songs on the project. Watch the music video for the Korean version.
The track is available in Chinese and Korean on the release, alongside four new original songs. ‘She A Wolf’ is a hip-hop dance track that comes to life with WayV’s signature, pristine vocal harmonies as they describe an irreversible attraction to a mysterious being. The sentimental vibes continue with ‘Might As Well’ – a longing, rose-coloured hip-hop dance song where they’re convinced the future of a relationship will play out like a dream. Showcasing their breezy vocals, the R&B pop-tinged ‘New Ride’ is designed for moonlit date nights, while ‘Don’t Get Mad’ is a sincere message to appease a jealous lover.
“Give Me That – The Fifth Mini Album” Tracklisting:
Give Me That
She A Wolf
Might As Well
New Ride
Don’t Get Mad
Give Me That (Korean Version)
Lenny Kravitz headlined the UEFA Champions League Kick Off Show by Pepsi
Rock icon Lenny Kravitz delivered an unforgettable headline performance in London at this year’s UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi. The eagerly awaited show, which took place just moments before the biggest game in European club football, offered those in the stadium an unforgettable experience.
Marking the eighth time that Pepsi has delivered pre-game entertainment, the UEFA Champions League final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi took place in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium crowd ahead of the unmissable clash between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Lenny united football and music fans with an exhilarating performance, featuring an iconic stage, mesmerising pyrotechnics, and world-class special effects.
Lenny Kravitz headlined the UEFA Champions League Kick Off Show by Pepsi
Throughout the performance, the multiple GRAMMY-award-winning artist showcased his renowned stage presence and gave breathtaking renditions of some of his iconic hits, as well as his latest release ‘Human’ from his album, Blue Electric Light, which launched on 24th May. The show ignited every sense for fans in the stadium and those tuning around the world.
Kravitz’s standout performance was complete with dazzling supporting dance performances, large metallic sphere inflatables and electric blue flags which were waved for the duration of the memorable show.
Watch the UEFA Champions League final Kick Off Show by Pepsi performance HERE
Brighton-born musican Chxrlotte releases first attention grabbing single “God No!” taken from debut EP -The single is delivered with power and youthful intent; with beautiful macabre and lyrical poignancy taking center stage.
The Intriguing and rising UK artist emerges from her songwriting sanctuary with forthcoming 5 track EP “The Fall” that confidently disputes the lyrical comfort zone that many emerging singer songwriters fall victim to.
Fueled with powerfully dark, emotional and anthemic turmoil it’s hard to ignore a young artists talent as she sets her sights on a nascent through an intimate yet vast musical space.
The 26-year old’s subversive and consuming storytelling qualities remain prevalent throughout the entire EP with each impressive and evocative vocal performance setting out a bold statement that combined with a lucid religious ambiance gives her contemporary pop-rock sound joyful composure. Casting a fallen angel as the lead protagonist the musical themes tussle with acceptance, gratitude, and emotional purpose.
Chxrlotte originally emerged onto the independent music scene with her 2019 debut release “Come With Me” that has now impressively amassed over 11 Million streams on Spotify. The single was inspired by the comedic fantasy series Good Omens, with the track gaining attention and acclaim after being shared by members of the show’s cast and crew.
Haunting, yet beautifully composed the innate experimentation of her plaintive, poignant voice that much like the delicate piano performances has the ravishing ability to both soothe and unsettle her listeners.
“God No!” by Chxrlotte is out now and The Fall EP set to be released Aug 2nd.
Rita Ora has released single “Ask & You Shall Receive”, ahead of her performance at Mighty Hoopla Festival this Sunday, 2 June, in London.
Co-written by Raye and produced by German (Oliver Peterhof), “Ask & You Shall Receive” is a summery, infectious floor filler infused with carpe diem spirit.
Rita says: “The song is full of upbeat, summery vibes and is about seizing the moment romantically, and diving straight in with that special someone. It was co-written by the amazing Raye, which feels like such a full circle moment, as I have so many amazing memories from when we were on the road together for the Phoenix tour.”
The accompanying video, directed by Dano Cerny (SIA, Labrinth, Demi Lovato) and shot in LA, is set in a nefarious 24-hour laundromat, and draws inspiration from the iconic 1985 Levis 501 commercial starring Nick Kamen.
Rita Ora’s multi-platinum music career has won her commercial and critical acclaim with 13 UK Top 10 singles and four UK Number One singles. In the UK she was among the first to receive a BRIT Billion award after surpassing the landmark of one billion career UK streams. While in the US, Rita’s acclaimed singles and star-studded collaborations have earned her a #3 Billboard Hot 100 song, 7 Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs Chart, 5 of which reached #1, and 6 Top 20 singles on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic SongsChart.
Ella Henderson, Switch Disco and Alok (The Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha) have teamed up on euphoric new single, ‘Under The Sun’. Listen below.
Primed to soundtrack the summer, ‘Under The Sun’ arrives hot on the heels of Ella’s tenth UK Top 10 (‘Alibi’), Switch Disco’s collaboration with R3HAB & Sam Feldt (‘Sleep Tonight (This Is The Life)’) and Alok’s latest single, ‘Seek Love (On The Beach)’ with Tazi, Samuele Sartini and Amanda Wilson.
‘Under The Sun’ also finds Ella and Switch Disco rejoining forces after last year’s platinum hit ‘React’. Peaking at No. 4 in the UK, the single went on to garner a nomination for ‘Song Of The Year’ at the Brit Awards 2024.
Ella shares: “Under The Sun is the song to kickstart all those summer feels. It’s all about living in the moment with someone and dancing off into the sunset. It made me feel so joyous when I wrote it and I hope it has the same effect on people when they hear it!”
Fresh from performing at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Ella will join RAYE, Sabrina Carpenter, Aitch and more at Capital’s sold-out Summertime Ball 2024 on Sunday 16 June at Wembley Stadium.
Swiss folk-pop artist Mary Middlefield has been announced to play at this year’s Glastonbury Festival on BBC’s Introducing stage.
BBC Music Introducing supports the most exciting unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar music across the UK. Launching at Glastonbury in 2007, there are now over 200,000 artists that have uploaded to the platform. Introducing has helped start the careers of Slaves, Florence and The Machine, Catfish and The Bottlemen, Pale Waves, Idles, Little Simz, Sam Fender and Lewis Capaldi to name a few.
BBC Music Introducing has 38 radio shows across the UK finding the hottest acts on their scene and sending them through to BBC national radio. New artists can also get the chance to perform on Introducing stages at the biggest UK festivals, as well as internationally.
The announcement comes shortly after the release of Mary’s debut EP ‘Poetry (For The Scorned and Lonely)’. The release comes alongside her brand new single and live video ‘Poetry’.
The eight track project includes her latest singles ‘Sexless’, ‘Atlantis’, ‘Heart’s Desire’ and ‘Young and Dumb’ as well as four new songs ‘Last Letter (Acoustic)’, ‘Allodynia’, ‘Love Me Love Me Not’ and ‘Poetry’.
On the EP, Mary says “The EP is a collection of songs I wrote when we were on the verge of finishing and putting out my first album. I was itching to dive into something new. I wanted these songs to be edgier, more honest, and raw—especially when it came to addressing tough topics like abuse and grooming, which I hadn’t really explored in my previous record. I was going through a lot of loneliness and sadness then, but it was a different kind than what I was used to. I hope these tracks resonate with anyone else out there battling with those dark feelings of loneliness and sorrow.”
‘Poetry (For The Scorned and Lonely) is a purging of emotion, one that’s allowing Mary Middlefield to move forward with a clear mind and a clean palette. But for now, this is music for the people who are stuck, scorned and lonely. Mary invites you to suffer and yearn and scream alongside her. A lush eight tracks, the EP features previous singles ‘Sexless’, ‘Atlantis’, ‘Heart’s Desire’ and ‘Young and Dumb’, alongside the beautifully delicate ‘Last Letter (Acoustic)’, the interlude of ‘Allodynia’, achingly enchanting ‘Love Me Love Me Not’ and dreamy title track ‘Poetry’.
In Lausanne, Switzerland, wildflower-trails blaze with ultraviolet colour, mountains of myth surround a lake of sapphire. It’s a beauty so intense that it pacifies itself, turns still, and silent. Musician Mary Middlefield – who, for all her life, has called Lausanne home—splits the landscape apart, turning it into a wild scream. Her music is like a howl in the beautiful wilderness.
A former student of classical violin, 22 year-old Mary Middlefield now wields high drama, desire, and vulnerability as keys to making meaning in a complicated universe, where love and abuse coincide. Her roomy, stream-of-consciousness songs veer between a keening pop-punk fueled intensity and a lovely folk-inspired softness, inspired by the likes of Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, as well as more recent artists like Claud, Jockstrap and The Japanese House.
Her story as a singer-songwriter began three years ago with a broken heart and a bruised ego. “He dumped me in the middle of the day while I was carrying his groceries,” she says. With nothing to lose, she figured it was the perfect time to experiment. She picked up the guitar, and taught herself chords and riffs from Radiohead’s songbook. “I hope I’ll get their discography down to a T one day,” she says. From there, piece by piece and note by note, she began stitching herself back together, turning her pain into something generative, fortifying. Through song, she began to reclaim everything she’d lost in that relationship and its subsequent dissolution.
Poetry (for the scorned and lonely) – TRACKLIST:
Sexless
Atlantis
Allodynia
Heart’s Desire
Love me, Love me not?
Young and Dumb
Last Letter (Acoustic Version)
Poetry
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with their new album on August 30th, ‘Wild God’. Today, they release ‘Frogs’, the second offering from the band’s 18th studio album. Listen below.
Global pop sensation aespa is set to captivate the world again with their highly anticipated debut full-length album “Armageddon”. The 10-track project is available now – listen below.
“Armageddon” marks the next chapter in the aespa universe, expanding beyond the real and digital worlds and into a multiverse. aespa encounters different versions of themselves in parallel worlds, facing infinite possibilities and evolving into complete versions of themselves, all presented through this powerful and unique project.
The title track, produced by No Identity (who also worked on aespa’s hit ‘Drama’), is a hip-hop dance song with intense synth bass sounds and an old-school yet trendy track, embodying the second season narrative of aespa’s universe. Watch the music video for ‘Armageddon’ below.
aespa first gave fans a taste of this project with ‘Supernova’, a dance track that offers an introduction to the storytelling of aespa’s universe and likens opening doors to different dimensions to a supernova. The single was featured in The Guardian and NME’s best new music playlists.
‘Set The Tone’ is a hip-hop dance song in which aespa confidently expresses that all atmospheres are dictated by their music. Next, ‘Mine’ conveys the theme of overcoming trauma by revealing one’s true self that has been hidden by internal fears, and instead realising that those fears have all been an illusion.
With ‘Licorice’, aespa cleverly compares the allure of a mysterious person to licorice, highlighting the irresistibility of the feeling. The track is co-written by British hit songwriter Karen Poole (Kylie Minogue) and renowned Scandi-pop producers PhD (Little Mix).
The lively island-style guitar and catchy melodies in ‘BAHAMA’ cheerfully depict the story of taking a tired friend on a trip, with the lively rapping capturing the energetic vibe of enjoying summer nights. ‘Long Chat (#♥)’ expresses the endless and cheerful conversations between friends throughout the night, allowing listeners to experience aespa’s bubbly vocal charm and the synergy between them.
‘Prologue’ highlights a message surrounding the comfort of letting go of worries about the uncertain future and instead of comparing oneself to others, continuing to write one’s story at one’s own pace even if it feels shaky in the moment. ‘Live My Life’ offers another self-love anthem with the bold declaration of breaking away from society’s norms and living life on one’s own terms. The album comes to a close with ‘Melody’, a delicate track that expresses gratitude for a special person whose voice brings strength at the end of the day.
Hailed by NME as one of their most anticipated album releases of the year, “Armageddon” lands in the wake of the 2023 EP, “Drama – The 4th Mini Album”. The latter not only piled up hundreds of millions of global streams, but it also bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top World Albums Chart and in the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. Fittingly, CLASH hailed it as “a welcomed expansion to the aespa universe.”
Prior, “MY WORLD – The 3rd Mini Album” bowed at #9 on the Billboard 200 and marked their second #1 debut on the Top Album Sales Chart. Its predecessor, “Girls – The 2nd Mini Album”, catapulted into the Top 3 of the Billboard 200 and clinched #1 on the Top Album Sales Chart.
Armageddon album tracklisting
1. Supernova
2. Armageddon
3. Set The Tone
4. Mine
5. Licorice
6. BAHAMA
7. Long Chat (#♥)
8. Prologue
9. Live My Life
10. Melody
Billie Eilish’s new album Hit Me Hard and Soft is already fast on its way to becoming her third consecutive number one album. This album is reminiscent of her first – where her second album Happier Than Ever looked forwards, “I’m in love with my future, can’t wait to meet her”, this album looks backwards, showing grief and love for her 2019 self. It is, in her own words, “the most ‘me’ thing that [she’s] ever made”..
Notably, the album has been released without singles. Eilish explained her logic behind this in Rolling Stone:
Every single time an artist I love puts out a single without the context of the album, I’m just already prone to hating on it. I really don’t like when things are out of context.
For Eilish and her song-writing partner, producer and brother Finneas, this is their response to the removal of songs not only from their album context but from their musical surroundings, with the clipping of songs on TikTok creating viral sounds out of five to ten second bites. In resisting singularity, Eilish follows the likes of Prince, who famously proclaimed at the 2015 Grammys, “albums, like books and black lives, still matter”.
This design of the album as a whole is apparent from the production. Songs flow into each other and often the tune or harmony of the next song occurs before the previous song ends, displacing where the songs start.
We hear this at the end of Skinny, where romantic strings (played by the Attaca Quartet) fade out, before a heavy synthesized beat enters at 3:36, leading into the track Lunch. This encourages us as listeners to listen to the album as a whole, because splitting the songs up would leave a jarring beat floating at the end of one song with no payoff to the other.
Songs across the album will often start one way and end in a very different style. Bittersuite begins with dense synths, fades into sparse, bossa-nova influenced glockenspiel backing and then ends back on droning synths and the tune of the final track, Blue.
The string motif from Blue is teased in the first track Skinny and can be heard in The Greatest, comes halfway through. The motif flows from the very first to the very last track, cementing the work as an “album-ass album” . Across its 44-minute length, Hit Me Hard and Soft encourages us to play through, to slow down, and float through the album.
This whole album is fluid and watery – and not just the album cover, the shoot for which required Eilish to spend six hours underwater. Water itself is the ultimate hard and soft – it can both flow gently and become a hard immovable force when hit too forcefully. But musically the album also evokes this sense of being underwater, often due to Finneas’s production.
Multiple songs feature heavy filters, which make Eilish sound far away or underwater. For example, the middle of L’Amour De Ma Vie features Eilish’s voice put through multiple filters and possibly pitch-altered up, giving her voice a far away, ethereal quality.
The end of Wildflower is similar. The song’s separated coda section also features Eilish’s voice heavily filtered, her voice multiplied and split into open octaves, making it sound like an echo.
The Greatest, arguably the emotional climax of the album, features fluid time-signature changes in the middle, which again signify a kind of watery drift. This is because we cannot predict where the beat will come, as the stresses are uneven, we must simply submit to the song’s ebb and flow.
The lack of singles should not imply that there are no stand-out songs on this album. Lunch is fast becoming a queer summer anthem, cementing Billie’s place as a queer icon and officially adding “to the canon of great songs about eating someone out”. This is currently the only song on the album to have a music video, and it evokes the late 1990s/early 2000s through using digital cameras and retro video effects.
Through references to this era, Eilish makes the song’s explicitly queer nature that much more stark – she retrofits the past with the explicitly queer sexual pop that so many of us craved. As multiple YouTube commenters have noted on the music video, Lunch sees Katy Perry’s 2008 hit I Kissed A Girl, which centres sapphic desire around the male gaze and, in stark contrast, unabashedly shouts about the joys of queer sex:
I could eat that girl for lunch
Yeah, she dances on my tongue
Tastes like she might be the one…
Oh I just wanna get her off
Eilish has described this song as “actually part of what helped me become who I am”. This song is an act of self-actualisation, then, not just for Billie but for the rest of us who grew up queer in the early 2000s. And it’s a banger.
