Rina Sawayama

Rina Sawayama Calls Out Matty Healy: “I’ve Had Enough!”

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Rina Sawayama slammed Matty Healy on stage at Glastonbury 2023, over the weekend, to introduce her song, “STFU.” The swipe comes after The 1975 singer recently dealt with a racism controversy regarding an appearance on The Adam Friedland Show podcast. Sawayama, without mentioning Healy by name, also remarked about him consuming “ghetto gaggers” porn.

“I wrote this because I was sick & tired of these micro-aggressions,” Sawayama said on stage. “This goes out to a white man that watches Ghetto Gaggers & mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters! I’ve had enough!”

Read More: Azealia Banks Calls Matty Healy A “Full Incel” After He Brushes Off Ice Spice Hate Backlash

Rina Sawayama In Concert

COVENTRY, ENGLAND – MAY 29: Rina Sawayama on stage during Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2022 at War Memorial Park on May 29, 2022 in Coventry, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

As for Healy’s comments, he, as well as comedians Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen referred to Ice Spice as a “chubby Chinese lady.” They also described her as “Inuit”, “Chinese”, and “Hawaiian.” After plenty of backlash, Healy finally apologized while onstage with The 1975 in Auckland, New Zealand. “I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you. Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a dick. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry,” he said at the time.

He continued: “I don’t want anything like that misconstrued to be mean. I’m not… I hate… I don’t mind being a bit of a joker. […] It’s OK for me to be, like, a trickster or whatever, but I don’t want to be perceived as, like, being barmy. Because honestly, I just love you guys, and I love doing this. […] The truth I just want to say, ‘Hello. This is a bit embarrassing. I’m sorry if I get it wrong. We all get it wrong,’ you know? I just have to do it in public and then apologize to Ice Spice. My life’s just a bit weird. I am genuinely sorry if I’ve upset her because I f*cking love her.”

Rina Sawayama Slams Matty Healy

Healy was formerly a director at Dirty Hit, the label to which Sawayama is signed. Outside of music, Rina Sawayama is also known for her recent appearance in John Wick: Chapter 4. She played the character, Akira, in the film.

Read More: Keanu Reeves Returns In “John Wick: Chapter 4” Trailer

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88rising’s Head In The Clouds Festival Returns To Los Angeles With DPR Live, DPR Ian, And Jackson Wang

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88rising’s Head In The Clouds Festival is returning to Los Angeles for its 5th event on August 5 and 6, once again taking over Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena with a lineup featuring DPR Live, DPR Ian, Jackson Wang, NIKI, Rich Brian, and Rina Sawayama. A number of regulars for the Asian-focused festival return as well, including Keith Ape, Warren Hue, Milli, and more. There’s even a special guest: DJ/producer Zedd, fresh off his appearance in The Muppets Mayhem.

Tickets for this year’s event go on sale next Tuesday, May 30, with a presale on Thursday, May 25 at 10 am. You can preregister for the presale now at the festival’s website. The festival is also bringing back 626 Night Market as its official food partner, ensuring that there will be just as many awesome eats as there are entertaining musical acts.

88rising recently expanded Head In The Clouds to the East Coast with its inaugural festival in Queens, New York, as well as overseas with an event in Jakarta. At last year’s Los Angeles Head In The Clouds, stars like Audrey Nuna, Deb Never, Jay Park, and Raveena helped advance 88rising’s mission to highlight Asian talent in the music world, and this year’s lineup aims to do the same. Don’t miss out.

Rina Sawayama And Brazilian Drag Queen Pabllo Vittar Serve Fierce Looks In Their ‘Follow Me’ Video

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If you’ve been following the work of pop girls who make it a priority to work with queer artists, like Charli XCX, Kim Petras, and Rina Sawayama, then you’ve probably already come across the work of Pabllo Vittar. The activist, drag queen, and singer-songwriter has been making and releasing her own music for years now, but recent pop looks from major icons like Charli and even Lady Gaga has put her on the map in a new way. So does this new collaboration with Rina, and the clubby, glitchy track is reminiscent of her own dance bop, “Comme Des Garcon.” For her part, Rina is thrilled to collaborate with Pabllo on both the song and the video itself.

“I have been such an admirer of Pabllo for so long — she is nothing short of an icon and so for us to collaborate on an original, I wanted a moment that felt fitting,” Rina said in a press release. “When she sent me the idea for “Follow Me” I was just in love with it immediately and the process from then has been a dream. From working on the music to the video, I’m honored to be a part of the song and be let into her world — I hope both hers and my gorgeous fans are as obsessed with it as we are.”

Pabllo said pretty much the same thing, calling Rina an “icon” as well and talking about how fun the video was to shoot. “I’m so excited to release this song with Rina — she is such an icon and I’m so pleased we managed to make this song work as it’s the perfect combination of our music styles,” the drag queen said in a statement. “I really hope the fans love it as much as we do. Shooting the video was so much fun as well, wearing iconic outfits, and strutting our stuff on the runway! SERVE!”

You better! Check out the clip up top.

Elton John Announces A Collaborative Album Featuring Lil Nas X, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, And More

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Elton John has spent a lot of time working with other artists over the past year or so, and now he’s commemorating that era with The Lockdown Sessions, a new album consisting of collaborations. While the project, which is set for release on October 22, is billed as a new album, it is like a compilation in ways, as it features previously released songs on which John is featured, like Gorillaz’s “The Pink Phantom” and Miley Cyrus’ cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”

Aside from the aforementioned, the album features collaborations with Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Lil Nas X, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, SG Lewis, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Surfaces, Years & Years, Young Thug, and others.

John says of the project:

“The last thing I expected to do during lockdown was make an album. But, as the pandemic went on, one‐off projects kept cropping up. Some of the recording sessions had to be done remotely, via Zoom, which I’d obviously never done before. Some of the sessions were recorded under very stringent safety regulations: working with another artist, but separated by glass screens. But all the tracks I worked on were really interesting and diverse, stuff that was completely different to anything I’m known for, stuff that took me out of my comfort zone into completely new territory. And I realized there was something weirdly familiar about working like this. At the start of my career, in the late 60s, I worked as a session musician. Working with different artists during lockdown reminded me of that. I’d come full circle: I was a session musician again. And it was still a blast.”

Check out the The Lockdown Sessions art and tracklist below.

Interscope

1. Elton John and Dua Lipa — “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)”
2. Elton John, Young Thug and Nicki Minaj — “Always Love You”
3. Surfaces — “Learn To Fly” Feat. Elton John
4. Elton John and Charlie Puth — “After All ”
5. Rina Sawayama and Elton John — “Chosen Family”
6. Gorillaz — “The Pink Phantom” Feat. Elton John and 6lack
7. Elton John and Years And Years — “It’s a sin (global reach mix)”
8. Miley Cyrus — “Nothing Else Matters” Feat. Watt, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith
9. Elton John and SG Lewis — “Orbit”
10. Elton John and Brandi Carlile — “Simple Things”
11. Jimmie Allen and Elton John — “Beauty In The Bones”
12. Lil Nas X — “One Of Me” Feat. Elton John
13. Elton John and Eddie Vedder — “E-Ticket”
14. Elton John and Stevie Wonder — “Finish Line”
15. Elton John and Stevie Nicks — “Stolen Car”
16. Glen Campbell and Elton John — “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”

The Lockdown Sessions is out 10/22 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

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

The API Artists You Should Be Listening To

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Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a chance to shine a light on cultures that are often pushed to the margins in American society. This is just as true in the music world as anywhere else, where artists of Asian and Pacific Island ancestry can struggle for visibility despite making some of the most groundbreaking and engaging art out there. In honor of API Heritage month, Uproxx and Warner Music’s API employees wanted to share just a handful of the incredible artists currently catching their attention, showing just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the amazing API tunes being created today. The hope is that this resource introduces you off to your next favorite singer or band, and that it sparks a fire to dig deeper at the countless API acts crafting great music.

ANJL

With an absolutely gorgeous voice and music/lyrics that are deeply relatable, this Indian-Filipina songwriter and producer is a paradigm for talent that deserves massive recognition.

Asian Kung Fu Generation

Some classics never go out of style. This throwback will sure to bring a sense of nostalgia if you first found their music on YouTube in the mid-2000’s, but it’s also not too late to discover them for the first time now.

Hollis

Hollis pulls you into her songs with her dreamy vocals and lyrical imagery. Her greatest strength is in her ability to put emotions into words that listeners often feel but cannot describe. She is also an activist and uses her platform for social change.

Jay Som

Jay Som is strongly influenced by her Filipino roots and expresses her identity and emotions through breathy vocals, funky band production, and romantic music. Plus, she has a new collaborative project with Palehound, called Bachelor, out next month.

Khushi

Khushi’s music is the personification of intellectual conversation with a loved one while you’re snuggled in bed with some coffee. Intimate, sultry, and thought-provoking all at once.

Prateek Kuhad

This Mumbai-based singer-songwriter has already been shouted out by President Obama, but his folk-infused craftsmanship is now ready to be heralded by audiences far and wide.

Raveena

Raveena beautifully blends her South Asian heritage with contemporary, dreamy bedroom pop productions that just wraps you up and comforts your soul.

Rei Ami

With a name based on anime characters who both have very different personalities, this Korean artist creates songs that reflect that dichotomy through a dynamic structure where they can be high energy in the first half and dark in the second half. Or, the other way around. She also has awesome music videos.

Rina Sawayama

If you’re not listening to Rina Sawayama already, what are you waiting for? Rina masterfully blends together pop, rock, and Japanese Visual Kei among many other influences into witty social commentary, heartfelt ballads, and full-out f*ck you anthems.

Tiffany Young

A veteran of the K-pop scene, Tiffany has come a long way from her Girl’s Generation days. Her vocals and creative direction have matured and she is truly shining as a solo artist.

Umi

Umi’s rich voice draws you into her soulful productions. Heavily influenced by her Black and Japanese heritage, her songs are deep and unique but at the same time universal – evoking emotions that anyone can resonate with.

Yerin Baek

Yerin Baek embodies versatility. A Korean singer-songwriter, the music can cover ground from jazzy compositions to more alt and electronic music as well.

Yeek

Yeek is not new to the music scene, but the music is so dang sexy it still feels revolutionary. Blast it up and get someone to cuddle with.

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