“I really want to take a selfie with the crowd,” Itzy‘s Lia says. “I just miss them,” Chaeryeong adds. It’s been a long year without seeing their fans or hearing them do chants and cheer for the group, and Itzy is dying to see them again. Assembled in 2019 by …
Read More »Black Pumas Bring Live Music Roaring Back to Austin After a Hard Year
From the green room at Stubb’s BBQ, a narrow hallway lined by rope lighting leads to the stage. On any other night, the glowing amber string would be merely an accent to guide performers down a dimly lit passage. But last Wednesday, when Black Pumas played the first full-capacity show …
Read More »J-Hope on Growing Up in BTS, His Next Mixtape, and More
O ne of BTS‘ many high-profile fans,Late Late Show host James Corden, says the group is “at their core, a force for good.” With his dimpled smile, warm manner, and fierce stage presence, 27-year-old rapper, dancer, songwriter, and producer J-Hope embodies the group’s combination of fundamental goodness and overwhelming talent; …
Read More »Arlo Parks Is Building Worlds of Self-Love
The 20-year-old poet and singer Arlo Parks started releasing music as a teenager, courting blog interviews in between her final exams. Parks, who was raised in London by Nigerian and Chadian-French parents (her full name is Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho), went on to release a pair of acclaimed EPs, Super …
Read More »Best Albums of March 2021: Lana Del Rey, Serpentwithfeet, Selena Gomez, Adult Mom
Lana Del Rey, Chemtrails Over the Country Club Though Del Rey’s overall project has remained remarkably consistent throughout her career, her growing disillusionment with fame, and with this country’s prevailing iconography of wealth and success, has loomed large as the national mood has grown more dire. Her observations are somber …
Read More »Last Call
W hen Prince Royce arrived at the Forum in L.A. on March 12th, 2020, he had already learned that the growing coronavirus pandemic had wiped out the remainder of his world tour, costing him untold amounts of money. But he had a more immediate concern: that night’s show, and the …
Read More »Drakeo the Ruler Still Doesn't Feel Free
When we get on the phone, it’s only been 18 hours since Drakeo the Ruler’s first mixtape of the year dropped. Even though the South Los Angeles rapper doesn’t sound like he’s in a celebratory mood, he says the project surpassed his expectations. Released on February 24th, The Truth Hurts …
Read More »Brandi Carlile on Indigo Girls: 'They've Never Asked for Credit, But They Deserve It'
For this year’s annual Women Shaping the Future issue, we asked 12 of today’s top musical acts to talk about the women who have inspired them most in their lives and careers. Here, Brandi Carlile talks about what the Indigo Girls meant to her as a young fan, how they …
Read More »How Odd Future's Jimmy Fallon Debut Brought Tumblr Energy To The Mainstream
Ten years ago, the members of Odd Future wore balaclavas with sharpied inverted crosses on them for an appearance on network television. Tyler, the Creator was 19 years old, Hodgy Beats about 16 months older, and Earl Sweatshirt was still sequestered in Samoa. They took the soundstage of Late Night …
Read More »Rina Sawayama Has No Time for Pop's Old Borders
Given all the strange, terrifying, and unexpected events of the past year, it may not surprise you to learn that a pop star chose to mash up Christina Aguilera-style Y2K melodies with Disturbed-ish nu-metal on her debut album. Even so, Rina Sawayama’s SAWAYAMA still felt like an unlikely – and …
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