The rollout for Taylor Swift‘s seventh album is barely underway, but it’s already been quite the adventure. Along with a fresh Instagram aesthetic, the unrelentingly upbeat lead single “ME!”, and even a new member of her feline family, Swift’s new era is ushering in the return of something we in the media have long been hankering for: new interviews!
The 29-year-old famously refused to do any press during her brooding reputation era, but she’s (thankfully!) ditched that strategy for her next chapter. On Monday (April 29), for example, she called in to the Zach Sang Show for a brief but illuminating chat that touched mostly on album No. 7 and its sparkly lead single.
The clip sees Urie getting the hang of the language relatively quickly, while Taylor repeatedly refers to her on-set French expert to help her with pronouncing her lines. In one particular scene, after figuring out the correct pronunciation of the phrase “Je suis calme” (French for “I am calm”), the star begins repeating the line louder and louder, much to the enjoyment of her crew.
As the filming of the scene wraps up, Swift thanks one of the French experts on set with a handshake, letting him know that “I appreciate you more than you will ever know,” even adding one final “Merci” for good measure.
“It’s always really difficult to pick a first single for my albums, because I try to make an album that’s so vast in its scope of things,” Swift explained. “There isn’t ever just one song that could sum up what the album is. But I knew that [“ME!”] just felt like a celebration. It felt like something that could make you feel good. And I just want that right now for people. I want that for me when I perform it. I want to feel good and feel positive and feel hopeful.”
“WE never win this! Thank you so much we have had absolutely no shame in asking people every day to vote for this,” gushed Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
The BRIT Awards are back for the 39th year running and some of the biggest stars like Jorja Smith, Mabel and more are going to be hitting London’s O2 Arena.
The biggest night in British music will see homegrown artists and international acts alike take over the capital for an incredible night of live music.
The 1975 picked up two of the biggest awards of the night, for Best British Group and Best Album, for their latest LP A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships.
Jorja Smith, George Ezra, The 1975, Little Mix and The Carters (Beyonce and Jay Z) all picked up awards, and the audience was been treated to some vibrant, superbly choreographed performances from Little Mix and Ms Banks, Dua Lipa with Calvin Harris, and a stripped-down, moving show from Jorja Smith.
We’ve got the full list of nominees and winners right here for you!
British male
Sam Smith
Craig David
Aphex Twin
Giggs
George Ezra – WINNER
British female
Florence + the Machine
Jorja Smith – WINNER
Anne-Marie
Lily Allen
Jess Glynne
British Artist Video Of The Year (voted for by the public)
Anne Marie – 2002Calvin Harris And Dua Lipa – One Kiss
Clean Bandit ft Demi Lovato – Solo
Dua Lipa – IDGAF
Jax Jones ft Ina Wroldsen – Breathe
Jonas Blue ft Jack and Jack – Rise
Liam Payne and Rita Ora – For You Little Mix ft Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me
Rita Ora – Let Me Love You
Rudimental ft Macklemore, Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen – These Days
“As an industry we can do more, and that includes providing a platform for female artists.”
The team behind Scotland’s TRNSMT Festival has responded to criticism of the event’s 2019 line up.
The bill was unveiled a few hours ago, and contains an all-male batch of headliners: George Ezra, Stormzy, and Catfish & The Bottlemen.
Talking to NME, Ellis mentioned that the line-up displays a few of the largest feminine names of the second, and reiterated his remark to “creating feminine artists” as a way to make them the headliners of tomorrow.
One other account claimed that feminine acts solely accounted for twenty p.c of the line-up, and confirmed the massive gaps that happen when ladies are eliminated.
“We attempt to have extra females on the invoice. Jess Glynne is an enormous artist and she or he’s there. Would I choose to have extra feminine artists on the invoice? Sure. But it surely’s additionally about creating feminine artists to make them into headliners. We had Sigrid on the King Tut’s final yr, however we’ve now upgraded her to the primary stage,” mentioned Ellis.
As a result of this, founder Geoff Ellis spoke to NME about the booking policy, and the thinking behind it.
“We try to have more females on the bill. Jess Glynne is a big artist and she’s there. Would I prefer to have more female artists on the bill? Yes. But it’s also about developing female artists to make them into headliners. We had Sigrid on the King Tut’s last year, but we’ve now upgraded her to the main stage”.
TRNSMT is run by DF Concerts, who also curate separate event Edinburgh Summer Sessions on Scotland’s East Coast. Ellis continued:
“You’ve got people like Florence & The Machine who we would’ve been delighted to have as a TRNSMT headliner, but she’s coming in August so we’ve got her headlining two nights at Edinburgh Summer Sessions instead”.
“We’ve got CHVRCHES headlining the Summer Sessions too, so it’s not that we’re ignoring female artists, but you can’t always get them on the weekend of your festival and sometimes you’ve got to get them at different points of the year”.
Chloe x Halle, Little Boots, + many more Every weekend, we bring you #SOUNDCHECK—your new destination for the best of the best new music that hit the web over the course of the week. Because you should always be prepared when someone passes you that AUX cord.
“Step By Step” – Sia
Suddenly it feels like summer again. Sia is “so in love” in this upbeat new track.
Overgrown – Ivy Sole
Queer rapper-singer Ivy Sole released her debut LP Overgrown this week and—if the cover art is any indication—it feels earthy, raw, and real. Kinda like Ivy herself.
“Come Home” – Pip Blom
Guitars! Indie rock band Pip Blom does not disappoint with their newest single “Come Home,” with lead singer Blom’s vocals amplifying the moody yet up-beat track.
“Bottled Up” – Dinah Jane ft. Ty Dolla $ign and Marc E. Bassy
One of our favorite Fifth Harmonizers debut single just dropped, and you better believe it’s going to be on everyone’s party playlists as she teams up with Ty Dolla $ign and Marc E. Bassy.
“Since The Day I Was Born” – lostboycrow
If you haven’t gotten into lostboycrow yet, now is your chance to start with his new single “Since The Day I Was Born.” The wistful melody and nostalgic lyrics are preparing me for sweater weather.
“Loyal To Me” – Nina Nesbitt (Luca Schreiner Remix)
Scottish singer-songwriter dropped the remix of “Loyal To Me,” amplifying her breathy vocals with Luca Schreiner’s electric beats, this female empowerment anthem that you’ll want to blast at the next girls night in.
“Superior Emotion” – AlunaGeorge ft. Cautious Clay
AlunaGeorge and Cautious Clay team up for a dreamy melody and telling lyrics about love, a messy kind of love that we all can’t get enough of but know deep down we don’t need.
BY THE SUN – Emily Hackett
Brimming with warm vocals and a classic country vibe, Emily Hackett’s new EP “By the Sun” will make you wish it was summertime all over again.
“Complicity” – Celia Palli
Barcelona-born Celia Palli’s new single “Complicity” is a bewitching tune that you’ll want to play all weekend. This sensual tune is the first single off her new album. She explained that in Spanish “complicity” is a good word: “If one can sense complicity between two lovers, it is seen as a compliment. I asked Nashlyn to write the lyrics with me and we used the connotations that this word has in English to help us describe the deep connection in the relationship I sing about.”
Acadie : Raw – Allysha Joy
If you love a gorgeous, soulful voice—which, come on, of course you do—you’ll love Alysha Joy and her newly released album Acadie : Raw. Joy’s classic R&B sound and captivating lyrics is a much appreciated addition to the growing list of up and coming young R&B artists.
“Guiding Light” – Mumford and Sons
We can always count on the British band to give us what we didn’t even know we needed—a customarily invigorating single “Guiding Light.” They even announced their new album, Delta, will drop in November to boots.
“Yes, people saw love. And guess what? That’s what we wanted you to see! This is a love song, ‘Shallow.’ The movie, A Star Is Born, it’s a love story. We worked so hard, we worked all week on that performance.”
Ever since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper shared the Oscars stage for an intimate and cinematic performance of “Shallow” from A Star Is Born, the Internet has been speculating whether the co-stars’ on-screen romance has seeped into real life. After all, they looked into each other’s eyes, leaned into each other on the piano bench, and sang lovingly with their eyes closed—they must be in love, right?
To that, Lady Gaga responds with the most epic eye-roll in the history of time:
“And so I was like, ‘What do you think, Bradley?’ and he laid it all out. Everything that you saw, the way that it was shot, the way that they pushed the piano out, you saw them put the piano together, and us walk up on stage—all of it, that was all him.”
The singer added that it was Cooper’s idea to have the audience lit with amber lighting, so she reached out to her lighting design contact from her own performances to help add that touch to their now-iconic Oscars moment. “Bradley wants honeycomb, and we’ve got to give him what he wants!” Gaga quipped.
Apparently Bradley designed the whole look, from the workers assembling the piano, to the audience being lit with amber, to the way it was shot. “From a performance perspective, it was so important to both of us that we were connected the entire time.”
“I’ve had my arms wrapped around Tony Bennett for three years,” she laughed. “When you’re singing love songs, that’s what you want people to feel.”
“I guess we did a good job. Fooled ya!” she laughed.
She did rave about her costar’s performance, though, and said he wasn’t even nervous. “Bradley’s a musician. My favorite thing about the whole experience was I was just so excited for people not only at home but our peers in the room to see him sing live. He sang every take in this movie live, every single time. All of it.”
“And so I was like, ‘What do you think, Bradley?’ and he laid it all out. Everything that you saw, the way that it was shot, the way that they pushed the piano out, you saw them put the piano together, and us walk up on stage—all of it, that was all him.”
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