Pop

BTS Discuss How The Mandatory Requirement To Serve In The Korean Army Might Impact Their Future

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In a new cover story for Rolling Stone, BTS addressed one of the things that’s most concerning to their fans who know about South Korea’s mandatory military service: If this looming draft will break the group up? Due to the active tensions between North and South Korea, this 21-month army term is required for all men to start before their 28th birthday, and group member Jin turned 28 last December.

That month, though, the government issued a directive that “a pop-culture artist who was recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to have greatly enhanced the image of Korea both within the nation and throughout the world” can defer their enlistment until the age of 30. “I think the country sort of told me, ‘You’re doing this well, and we will give you a little bit more time,’ ” Jin said of the law, telling Rolling Stone further that he considers serving to be “an important duty for our country. So I feel that I will try to work as hard as I can and do the most I can until I am called.”

He also said he hopes the group will continue to have the success they’re currently experiencing — even if it means without him. “I have no doubt that the other members will make a good decision because, you know, this is not something that I can tell them what to do,” he said. Even if they continued on without him for a while, he added: “I’ll be sad, but I’ll be watching them on the internet and cheering them on.”

Even with the two year grace period, the military requirement remains a concern for the group at large: RM is turning 27 soon, J-Hope is 27 and Suga is 28, too. Who knows if the government will further modify the draft, or if the band will find a workaround, but so far, that requirement seems like the only thing that might slow the success of BTS. Read the full cover story here.

The Weeknd And Oneohtrix Point Never Gave A Rainy Brit Awards Performance Of ‘Save Your Tears’

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The 2021 Brit Awards were eventful, especially for The Weeknd, as he managed to pick up a win in his sole nomination, for International Male Solo Artist. Elsehwere during the broadcast, he also gave a performance of his latest No. 1 single, “Save Your Tears.”

Ariana Grande, whose appearance on the song’s newest version helped propel it to the top of the charts, did not join The Weeknd. Instead, he was accompanied by After Hours collaborator Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin), who joined him in a small half room, which was revealed to be in a stormy outdoor environment.

He also gave a pre-taped acceptance speech. Standing in the rain on the same set as his performance, he said, “Thank you, BRIT Awards! I wish I was there to accept the award. I want to shout out my UK fans for helping me break out into the world. If it wasn’t for you guys, I would not be standing here right now, so thank you, I love you. To my people in Ethiopia who are suffering: You are deep in my heart. For everyone watching, please help where you can. Thank you, bye.”

Watch The Weeknd’s performance of “Save Your Tears” and his acceptance speech at the Brits above.

The Hollywood Bowl’s 2021 Summer Lineup Includes Two Nights Of Christina Aguilera

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It’s been a tough year for some of the nation’s most beloved venues. The onset of the pandemic and subsequent quarantine meant staying away from massive gatherings like crowds at The Forum or the Staples Center was the safe choice, with plenty of canceled tours in the wake, and seeing those musical monuments sit empty has been hard on everyone. Now, there’s light on the horizon, as one of LA’s biggest and best arenas is ready to re-open its doors.

That’s right, the Hollywood Bowl has officially announced their 2021 lineup, and it includes some surprising and unexpected names. For instance, I highly doubt most Stripped diehards had not one but two nights of Christina Aguilera headlining the bowl on their 2021 bingo card, but that’s what we’ve got coming up in July. There’s also big appearances from Kamasi Washington, Earl Sweatshirt, H.E.R., Brittany Howard, Jamila Woods, Herbie Hancock, and a whole lot more.

The entire summer calendar announcement is included below, even the LA Phil dates, so please check out the venue’s website for more information on those bookings. Normally we don’t cover a lot of the classical music performances, but after a year of no concerts, I have a feeling those nights will be more populated than ever.

Check out the full listing below:

05/15 —Dudamel and the LA Phil
05/17 — Pink: All I Know So Far screening
05/22 — Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev with Dudamel (LA Phil)
06/12 — Thundercat + Flying Lotus
06/26 — La Santa Cecilia
07/03 — July 4th Fireworks Spectacular + Kool & The Gang
07/04 — July 4th Fireworks Spectacular + Kool & The Gang
07/15 — Peter And The Wolf with Viola Davis & Dudamel (LA Phil)
07/16 — Christina Aguilera (LA Phil)
07/17 — Christina Aguilera (LA Phil)
07/18 — KCRW’s World Festival: Kamasi Washington + Earl Sweatshirt
07/20 — Tianyi Lu Conducts Pictures At An Exhibition (LA Phil)
07/22 — Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky (LA Phil)
07/24 — Ledisi Sings Nina Simone (LA Phil)
07/27 — Mozart and Mendelssohn with Ruth Reinhardt (LA Phil)
07/30 — Cynthia Erivo (LA Phil)
07/31 — The Princess Bride in Concert (LA Phil)
08/01 — KCRW’s World Festival: Reggae Night XIX, Ziggy Marley, Wailing Souls
08/05 — Schumann & Schumann (LA Phil)
08/06 — Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks (LA Phil, USC Trojan Marching Band)
08/07 — Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks (LA Phil, USC Trojan Marching Band)
08/08 — Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns Tower of Power
08/10 — Dudamel Conducts Gershwin (LA Phil)
08/12 — Dudamel Conducts the “New World” (LA Phil)
08/13 — H.E.R. With The LA Phil
08/14 — H.E.R. With The LA Phil
08/15 — Blame It On Rio! with Sergio Mendes and carnival dancers
08/17 — Dudamel Leads Elgar and Grieg (LA Phil)
08/19 — Dudamel Conducts Beethoven & Falla (LA Phil)
08/21 — Sing-A-Long Sound Of Music
08/24 — Dudamel Leads Márquez and Tchaikovsky (LA Phil)
08/26 — Piazzolla & Tchaikovsky with Dudamel (LA Phil)
08/27 — Carlos Vives (LA Phil)
08/28 — Carlos Vives (LA Phil)
08/31 — Ray Chen Plays Mendelssohn
09/02 — Gershwin and Bonds (LA Phil)
09/03 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/04 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/05 — Maestro of the Movies: John Williams + David Newman conduct the LA Phil)
09/09 — Beethoven & Schumann (LA Phil)
09/10 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/11 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/12 — Black Panther in Concert (LA Phil)
09/14 — Yo-Yo Ma | The Bach Project
09/17 — Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince In Concert
09/18 — KCRW’s World Festival: Brittany Howard, Jamila Woods, Georgia Anne Muldrow
09/25 — James Blake (Hollywood Bowl Orchestra)
09/26 — Herbie Hancock
09/28 — Mozart Under The Stars With Dudamel (LA Phil)

Audrey Nuna Flows Between Rapping And Crooning On The Brief New Track ‘Blossom’

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If you’re trying to figure out what a new artist will be like live, look no further than Vevo’s live DSCVR videos. These clips not only help support emerging artists who might not have a lot of videos banked yet, but will give fans a great sense of what it might be like to watch the artist perform. That’s exactly what their version of “Blossom” does today for rising artist Audrey Nuna, who is prepping the project A Liquid Breakfast for release in just a few weeks.

The Korean-American artist was already making waves last fall for her style, and followed up the recently-released track “Space” with today’s new song “Blossom.” Even though “Space” only came out a month ago, the slow-burning track has already racked up over a million views. “Blossom” showcases a much different side of the Jersey-based musician, proving that her R&B chops might not be the only thing she’s bringing to the table. In just under two minutes Nuna oscillates between straight-faced, effortless rapping and her beautiful, lilting singing voice, proving that she’s just as versatile as they come.

The track also has personal meaning to Nuna, who shared the following quote about the song: “‘Blossom’ is a song about growing up. My grandma recently told me about her childhood and how she had to flee a war by foot. I’m happy I was able to put her voice in the outro.” Look for her project A Liquid Breakfast out on 5/21, and watch the live performance of “Blossom” above.

Lil Nas X Admits He Thought Billie Eilish Winning A Grammy Over Him Wasn’t ‘Fair’

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At the 2020 Grammy Awards, Lil Nas X was nominated for six awards and he ended up winning a couple, taking home the prizes for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video (both for “Old Town Road”). Of the four losses, the one that hurt him the most was Record Of The Year, which went to “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish (who notably won all four major Grammys that year) instead of his own “Old Town Road.” In a new cover story for British GQ Style, the rapper admits that initially, he was jealous of Eilish for her win and thought it wasn’t “fair” that his record-breaking single didn’t get the award.

He said that as Eilish accepted the award, he thought, “Damn, but how? I have the biggest song. That isn’t fair.” Months later while in lockdown, though, he reflected on that evening and found a different point of view. He said, “I put all that energy I was feeling onto her. It became jealousy that wasn’t warranted. You have the longest-running number one song, why the f*ck are you jealous about this award? We are already so blessed. Even if you don’t have these things, you’re here. You’re still alive. You exist. You shouldn’t have any reason to be jealous.”

Read the full feature here.

Conan O’Brien Hilariously Accepts An Apology From BTS’ J-Hope For Getting His Name Wrong

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Over the past few days, Conan O’Brien and BTS have found themselves in a bit of a situation. A few days ago, clip from a South Korean variety show surfaced, in which BTS’ J-Hope misidentified O’Brien as “Curtain” before he and his bandmates realized the error and had a laugh about it. O’Brien featured the clip on Conan and playfully got upset with the group. Now, the saga continues: Today, J-hope offered an apology to O’Brien, which he has accepted.

Taking to the official BTS Twitter account, J-Hope wrote, “Sorry,,,,, Curtain [kissing face emojis] @ConanOBrien.” He then used a subsequent tweet to tack on a selfie of himself pouting his lips. O’Brien responded with humor, of course, replying, “In Hobi’s defense, Curtain makes about as much sense as being named Conan.”

(“Hobi,” by the way, is J-Hope’s nickname.)

O’Brien made it clear on his show that there were no hard feelings about the mishap, as he said through laughter, “I’ll get you, BTS. Oh I’ll get you good. And by that, I mean I’ll silently resent you. I have no power to do anything to you. You’re going to go on to have huge success. I’m very old and on the way out and you guys are pretty much running the world. So when I say I’ll get you, I just mean I’m gonna stew in my own juices for quite a long time, and you’ll be vastly unaware.”

Summerfest 2021 Will Be Headlined By Chance The Rapper, Jonas Brothers, And Miley Cyrus

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The return of in-person concerts is almost here. Music festivals have started setting their sights on late summer and early fall events, and Milwaukee’s Summerfest is the latest to unveil their 2021 lineup. Festival organizers unveiled their first wave of lineup announcements, including headliners like Chance The Rapper, Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus.

Summerfest is scheduled to take place later this year, on the weekends of September 2 to 4, 9 to 11, and 16 to 18. Along with Chance The Rapper, Jonas Brother, and Miley Cyrus, other acts on the Summerfest bill include Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Wilco, Dave Matthews Band, Diplo, Fitz And The Tantrums, Bleachers, Black Pumas, Run The Jewels, Pixies, Rise Against, G-Eazy, Quinn XCII, Internet Money, Indigo Girls, Jai Wolf, and many more.

Jonas Brothers could not be more excited to finally perform in front of a live crowd again. Sharing the news of their headlining slot on social media, the group wrote, “We’ve really been looking forward to sharing lots of exciting updates with you guys and today we get to tell you the first! We said we would see you guys as quickly as we could and we’re so excited to announce we’re headlining @Summerfest in Milwaukee on September 8th!”

In a statement about this year’s lineup, President and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. Don Smiley said, “We could not be more excited to unveil the lineup for Summerfest and introduce a new festival format; more weekends and more headliners, promises to be a big hit among our fans. From first timers, including Chance the Rapper, Miley Cyrus, and Run the Jewels, to Fest favorites including Dave Matthews Band, T-Pain, Styx, and Chris Stapleton, our lineup continues to be one of the most diverse and unique in the industry.”

Check out Summerfest’s full lineup below.

Summerfest 2021

Tickets to Summerfest 2021 are on sale now. Get them here.

Beyonce Once Told Victoria Beckham The Spice Girls Inspired Her Career

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Throughout the course of her storied career, Beyonce has won countless awards and encouraged generations of women to be proud of who they are. But when Beyonce was first starting out as a singer, she also had a number of powerful women to look up to — namely the Spice Girls. Apparently, Beyonce took inspiration from the UK girls group when she was coming into her own career.

Victoria Beckham, formerly known as Posh Spice, recently recounted the time she met Beyonce a few years ago. During their conversation, Beyonce told Beckham just how much the Spice Girls influenced her.

Speaking on the Dear Media podcast Breaking Beauty, Beckham recalled her interaction with Beyonce:

“I think it’s about accepting who you are, and that’s what the Spice Girls were always about. It’s okay to be different; let’s not try and change who we are, let’s celebrate who we are. Let’s celebrate the fact that we’re all different, which is why inclusivity is so important to us. When talk about Spice Girls, and I don’t talk about it much anymore, but what I remember when you were talking to me about it and how we inspired lots of young women. I met Beyonce a few years ago, and she actually said to me, ‘It was the Spice Girls that inspired me and made me want to do what I do and made me proud to be a girl and proud to be who I am. And when someone like Beyonce, who is so iconic and was such a strong woman, says that she was inspired by the Spice Girls, I think that’s quite something.”

Listen to Beckham talk about Beyonce on the Breaking Beauty podcast above, at around the 16-minute mark.

Governors Ball’s 2021 Lineup Is Led By Billie Eilish, Post Malone, And ASAP Rocky

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Music festivals seem like a relic of the ancient past, but slowly but surely, they’re coming back. Now, one of New York City’s biggest events is making a return in 2021, as it was announced today that Governors Ball will be hosting its tenth anniversary event at Citi Field between September 24 and 26. Tickets go on sale on May 6 at noon ET, and ahead of then, the lineup has been shared.

The first day will be headlined by Billie Eilish, while ASAP Rocky and J Balvin will lead the second day and Post Malone will wrap up the final day. Other notable artists on the poster include DaBaby, Leon Bridges, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, 21 Savage, Ellie Goulding, Young Thug, Carly Rae Jepsen, Kind Princess, Portugal The Man, 24kGoldn, Future Islands, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, Earthgang, Tate McRae, Sasha Sloan, Orville Peck, Bartees Strange, RMR, Aminé, Big Thief, Cordae, Cleachers, Chiiild, Jamie xx, Dominic Fike, Smino, Princess Nokia, Jay Som and Palehound’s Bachelor, and 100 Gecs.

Ahead of today’s announcement, organizers shared a tease that read, “We miss the music. The crowd. The energy. The streets were quiet, the venues empty, our gates closed. It’s not the same to scream at the top of your lungs alone, and it sure isn’t as fun dancing at home. For too long there has been too little to look forward to. That changes tomorrow.”

Check out the Governors Ball poster above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Nas X And Olivia Rodrigo Are Set To Close Out ‘SNL’s 46th Season This Month

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May 22 will mark the finale of Saturday Night Live‘s 46th season and in the final two weeks, the show’s musical guests will be two of 2021’s most successful, chart-topping young stars. May 15, “Driver’s License” singer Olivia Rodrigo will perform in an episode hosted by The Prom‘s Keegan-Michael Key, while the season finale will feature Ana Taylor-Joy of The Queen’s Gambit and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” rabble-rouser Lil Nas X.

Incidentally, each of the young music stars’ No. 1 hits have been the subjects of sketches on previous episodes of SNL. In February, guest host Regé-Jean Page and cast regulars Alex Moffat, Beck Bennett, Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, and Pete Davidson participated in a tongue-in-cheek analysis of “Driver’s License” from the ironic perspective of the all-male denizens of a pool hall unexpectedly relating to the song’s teenage emotions. Rodrigo called the sketch “the best birthday present ever” in a tweet expressing her approval.

Meanwhile, the conservative establishment-trolling video for “Montero” was lightly lampooned in an early-April sketch that saw Chris Redd stand in as Lil Nas to address the kerfuffle over the video and its tie-in “Satan shoes” from MSCHF. The sketch saw Redd-as-Nas perform a lap dance on “God” to balance out the bad vibes from his similar moves on the devil in the “Montero” video, minus the neck-snapping at the end. Nas’ reply was equally cheeky, as he joked “SNL going to hell.”

In addition, Nas responded to SNL’s announcement, revealing that he’d be performing a new song in addition to “Montero.”