MTV Video Music Awards season is approaching. Last month, MTV unveiled the full list of nominations for the 2022 VMAs, which are set to go down on August 28. Now, what the broadcast will look like is starting to become more clear, as the first set of artists set to perform on the show was revealed today: Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello with Khalid, and Panic! At The Disco. The show usually has a lot more performers than just a handful, so this first artist drop is surely just the start of what should shape up to be a worthwhile lineup.
And this is only the beginning… stay tuned for more 2022 @vmas announcements — and watch it all go down Sunday, August 28 on MTV!!! pic.twitter.com/NHnenw3p2C
It could be an even bigger night for Anitta than just her time on stage, as she’s also nominated for Best Latin with “Envolver.” In that category, she’s up against fellow performer Balvin and Skrillex’s “In Da Getto,” Balvin’s sole nomination. Meanwhile, Panic! At The Disco has a Best Alternative nomination with “Viva Las Vengeance.”
Elsewhere on the nomination side of things, Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow, and Lil Nas X are tied for having the most, as they’ve each racked up seven nods for this year’s show.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Last week, Burna Boy announced that his wildly-anticipated new album, Love, Damini, was being pushed back by a week. Originally scheduled to be released this past Friday, July 2nd, it’s now coming out on July 9th, and it’s giving the Nigerian afrobeats sensation time to tease the lead-up to the drop, juuuust a little bit more. While “Last, Last,” and “Kilometre” are the only tracks released so far from the album, Burna Boy just shared the full Love, Damini tracklist and it’s loaded with worldwide talent across 19 tracks.
For starters, Burna has brought on Ed Sheeran for the track “For My Hand” and then J Balvin for “Rollercoaster.” Kehlani and Blxst will join him on “Solid,” Popcaan appears on “T.A.S.,” grime rapper J Hus is on “Cloak & Dagger,” and legendary South African singers Ladysmith Black Mambazo are on both album opener “Glory,” as well as on the album’s closing title track.
But there’s more, and you can check out the full Love, Damini tracklist below.
1. “Glory” featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2. “Science”
3. “Jagele”
4. “Kilometre”
5. “Cloak & Dagger” featuring J.Hus
6. “Whiskey”
7. “Last Last”
8. “Different Size ft Victony
9. “It’s Plenty”
10. “Dirty Secrets”
11. “T.A.S” featuring Popcaan
12. “Solid” featuring Blxst & Kehlani
13. “For My Hand” featuring Ed Sheeran
14. “Rollercoaster” featuring. J. Balvin
15. “Vanilla”
16. “Common Person”
17. “Wild Dreams”
18. “How Bad Could It Be” featuring Khalid
19. “Love, Damini” featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Love Damini is out 6/30 via Atlantic. You can pre-save it here.
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Khalid is always expanding his sound, and with a voice like his, why not? Over any melody or any style of production, Khalid’s voice is so effortless and timeless, it literally always sounds good. So no, fans won’t be disappointed at all by his new single, “Skyline,” which is admittedly a bit more funky and pop than some of his past, soulful R&B work. “Skyline” is definitely a departure from the other early 2022 song he’s shared, “Last Call,” which came along with the American Teen retrospective, American Teen: The Yearbook, and fit in with the sound of his debut album.
But it seemed clear Khalid was ready for a shift when he released his late 2021 tape, Scenic Drive, which featured a whole host of collaborators like Lucky Daye, 6lack, Kiana Lede, JID, Smino, and Majid Jordan. And if he’s going to go father into the pop world, it wouldn’t be surprising if Billie Eilish showed up somewhere in the mix — after all, the pair already collaborated before on “Lovely,” and Khalid even showed up to perform it with Billie during her Coachella set. Since we know his new album, Everything Is Changing, is on the way, “Skyline” will likely be a part of that. Check out the colorful video up top.
It’s a big day for Khalid. Five years ago today, his breakthrough debut album, American Team, came out into the world. Featuring titanic singles like “Young, Dumb & Broke” and “Location,” it soon topped quadruple Platinum status. Heck, it’s legit been on the Billboard 200 chart for every single day of its five years in existence!
.@thegreatkhalid‘s ‘American Teen’ becomes the tenth album in history to spend its first 5 full years of release on the Billboard 200.
The significance of this day is not lost on Khalid, who has not only shared an interactive retrospective called American Teen: The Yearbook,but also just shared the new single, “Last Call.” He said in a tweet that it represents “The first few steps of another chapter for myself,” adding, “Thank you guys for all of the love & support through my journey as an adult. This is my gift to you.”
Here it is! The first few steps of another chapter for myself. Thank you guys for all of the love & support through my journey as an adult. This is my gift to you. Last Call. song/music video out nowhttps://t.co/dSacYsXCOnpic.twitter.com/22c5uL5WPM
Produced by Digi, Khalid continues to express thanks in the tracks opening bars, singing harmonically: “Search for what will set you free, it’s not 2017 anymore. So you trust in a guy like me, to give you everything in store.” The video for the track features footage of the early days of the illustrious journey he’s been on to become one of the biggest R&B stars in the world.
“I’m really excited to share ‘Last Call’ with all my fans,” Khalid said in a statement. “It’s important to me to commemorate this day and look back at everything that has happened. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years already. I hope you guys enjoy it and celebrate with me and all we’ve done together.”
Last year, Alicia Keys rolled out the 18-track album Alicia, which featured unexpected collaborations with musicians like Brandi Carlile, Tierra Whack, and Khalid. Earlier this month, the prolific singer followed up with the 26-track effort Keys, which featured another Khalid collaboration, the sultry track “Come For Me” with a verse from Lucky Daye. After showing some behind-the-scenes of the making of her album with a short film, Keys has now shared a cozy and intimate video for her Khalid and Daye collaboration.
Keys’ “Come For Me” video gives her fans an inside look at the making of the song. While the three musicians put in a lot of studio time, which can be seen in the visual, they also made sure to make time for having fun. That includes spending some time around the table drinking wine and bonding over board games.
Along with her new album, a video, and a short film, Keys has also been cooking up another project lately. This past week, the singer revealed that her graphic novel Girl On Fire will hit bookshelves soon. Keys said the novel was a long time in the making — five years to be exact — and follows the story of a young girl from Brooklyn who discovers she has superpowers.
Watch Keys’ “Come For Me” video with Khalid and Lucky Daye above.
Keys is out now via AK Worldwide Productions/RCA. Get it here.
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
When Khalid announced his new project Scenic Drive, and distinctly noted that it was a “tape” he was excited to deliver to fans, one thing came to mind. A little over three months ago, the Texas native offloaded a series of tweets that amounted to an honest admission of writer’s block and struggles with the “overwhelming” balance to meet expectations, remain authentic, and grow into something new and different as an artist. It’s truthfully something most, if not all artists, are forced to grapple with around their second and third albums. Sophomore slumps are already pressure-inducing enough, but even when they’re overcome, the pressure to do it a third time is just as high, if not even higher.
Khalid is a star in his own right. Both of his albums, 2017’s American Teen and 2019’s Free Spirit, are multi-platinum bodies of work with the latter serving as his first No. 1 album. Plenty of awards feature Khalid’s name and his work, and it all contributes to the pressures he feels going into his third album, which he already revealed is titled Everything Is Changing. As a musician, there are practically three options when a mental roadblock is hit while crafting art: trudge through it, wait for it to go away, or divert onto a new and hopefully uninterrupted path. Khalid’s Scenic Drive is the result of his decision to do the last option.
On Scenic Drive, Khalid seeks to overcome his self-doubts by just letting things be. The intention behind this project is to seemingly just do it, to just release music, get back into the swing of things, and even self-supply a boost in confidence. The music on Scenic Drive is simple and appetizing at most as Khalid plays things safely while remaining in a comfortable pocket. It’s the kind of easygoing bass-heavy R&B music that’s romantic, lovelorn, and everything in the middle. It falls on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from what he said Everything Is Changing will present. He previously noted that the songs on the album center “around trying to find a purpose and a sense of self in a world where everything is digitally connected but emotionally disconnected.” All in all, a sharp contrast from what we hear on Scenic Drive.
For what it’s worth, Khalid’s latest project is simply an observant journey through one’s love life, whether it be his own or someone else. It touches on all areas, including the shy moments in the early stages where the respective parties are scared to admit their feelings as “Brand New” and “Open” detail. On the flip side, Khalid keeps things honest and straight to the point about a woman who fails to hold her end of the bargain in a relationship on “Retrograde” and “All Is Bad.” There’s also the hesitance to acknowledge that love is fading away on “Voicemail.” However, if there are tracks that are no doubt made from Khalid’s first-person point of view, it’s “Backseat” and “Scenic Drive.” These see the singer relishing in the natural beauty and existence of what surrounds him while appreciating the fact that he’s able to enjoy it all together.
Scenic Drive unwinds a tense mind through effortless music. It’s something that’s apparent from the moment that Alicia Keys’ free-floating harmonies fall from our speakers. Only Khalid himself knows what he sought through creating this project. Maybe it’s a creative dump in the name of clarity or a moment to refine his skills and return to form. Whatever it is, a sigh of relief as Scenic Drive concludes can be felt as Khalid lets go and allows things to be in their most natural sense. Aligning himself with talented artists like Lucky Daye, 6lack, Kiana Lede, JID, Majid Jordan, and more only add to the appeal of the whole project which is filled with good and enjoyable music. Hopefully, this makes things easier and less weighted for Khalid as he returns to working on Everything Is Changing.
Scenic Drive is out now via Right Hand Music/RCA. Get it here.
Majid Jordan is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s been a couple of years since Khalid delivered a project to the world. His last release, his sophomore project Free Spirit, arrived in the spring of 2019, and since then, the Forth Worth singer has released a bunch of singles while he continues to craft his third album. That upcoming project, Everything Is Changing isn’t ready for a release yet, but to feed his patiently waiting fans, Khalid returns with his latest tape, Scenic Drive. “Been waiting for this one and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it,” he wrote in a tweet to announce the project last month and now it’s finally here.
The project is highlighted by its lead single which also features Smino and Ari Lennox. The trio brings their talents together for an enticing record focused on escaping to a better place with your partner. Khalid, Ari, Smino each detail the best aspects of their respective partners that they love to run away to. Elsewhere on the project, Lucky Daye, 6lack, Kiana Lede, JID, Majid Jordan, Quin, and Alicia Keys all make appearances throughout the nine songs that appear on Scenic Drive.
Prior to releasing Scenic Drive, Khalid spoke about the struggles and pressures behind making a new body of work. “I only wanna be the artist I want to be, because creating is what keeps me from losing my mind but my passion goes away a little more every day, he wrote on Twitter. “I just want to finish this album and it’s really driving me crazy at this point.” He concluded, “I’m gonna refocus, finish this album without stress, and put out something that I truthfully believe in.”
You can listen to “Scenic Drive” in the video above.
Scenic Drive is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.
Majid Jordan is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
#VMAs PERFORMER ANNOUNCEMENT
@Anitta
