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mrs-johansson · 3 months

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Escape from LA - Lisa Manobal x Fem!Depp!Reader

Part 1:

“And the Grammy goes to… Y/n Fleur Depp!” The present read out the card and I just let my head fall back as I let out a big sigh. My sister was the first to bring me in a big hug and then my manager and producer who were also such a big part of this album. I hugged everyone around me and at the table next to us was Harry sitting. I looked over and he was already on his feet clapping with a genuine smile on his face. I put my hands together and leaned forward a bit to express my gratitude.

Walking up the stairs will never get old or boring, it’s always a huge honor. Accepting the award I stepped up to the mic.

“Thank you so much for this. Ugh… It’s always an honor to get one of these but I think it’s even more special to me to be named beside my fellow nominees. I would’ve never thought that my name would be in the same conversation as ABBA. Absolutely insane to me,” I chuckled looking down at the award. “And everyone else in the category, you guys are incredible and the art that you all create is what this world needs and I’m just happy to be named beside you. I uhm… I wanna thank Romeo and Phil, my producers and Jenna, my manger. My family, of course, you guys are the best. But mostly my amazing fans, who relentlessly support and love me, and without you, I wouldn’t be standing here, so thank you.”

***

Y/n Fleur Depp parties with sister, Lily-Rose Depp and ex-boyfriend Harry Styles at the 2023 Grammy after party

The Depp sisters enjoy a night out in Los Angeles after the Grammy Awards

Y/n Fleur Depp bags 2 Grammys just before kicking off her Reflections World Tour

Y/n Fleur Depp supports Harry Styles at his Melbourne concert just a week before her world tour kicks off

***

“Tonight we have a very special guest with us, multiple Grammy award winner singer, and songwriter, please welcome Y/n Fleur Depp,” said Jimmy Kimmel, and as the door opened I stepped out, waving to the crowd and making my way to the chair after sharing a hug with the host.

“Y/n, welcome to the show, how are you doing?” Asked Jimmy. “Thank you, happy to be here. I’m great, how are you?” I asked politely. “Great, thanks. Are you and Harry back together?” He replied so fast and my eyes just went wide as the whole crowd started cheering. “Oh no, we’re not. I’m absolutely single, believe me. I don’t need anything right now,” I chuckled uncomfortably. I admit I’ve been talking the most with Harry since we’ve broken up but there’s nothing between us and we both know there’ll be nothing. “Okay, just making sure. Did you enjoy his concert?” “Yes, definitely. He is an amazing performer so I wasn’t worried.” “You start your tour in two days and it’s gonna be a very long journey. You start in LA on February 22nd and the last date is in Soul, Korea on December 22nd. That’s a long tour.” “Yeah, it is. But it’s gonna be awesome. We’ve been preparing for a while now and I’m very excited to see everyone and sing the new songs,” I smiled giddily and the crowd cheered hearing my words. “How do you prepare for a tour like this? I mean obviously, you have the dance stuff and all but mentally and physically?” “Yeah, I prep for the show with all of the dancers 3 times a week for like… 3 months. But I work out every day also, even if it’s pilates or gym. Shows can be very hard on your body when you perform 5 times a week for two and a half hours, so I try my best to prepare for the year. And mentally I guess I just try to enjoy every quiet moment before going on the road. It’s very hard obviously being away from my friends and family but someone always comes to each show so that’s nice,” I explained. “And as I know, you bring your cat on tour with you.” “Oh absolutely. He’s my baby, I can’t leave him for that long.” “His name is Bucky, right?” “Yeah,” I smiled. “How did you get the name?” He asked. “Uhm… I really like the Marvel movies and Bucky is one of my favorite characters of all time so I thought why not? The Winter Soldier already seems like a black cat type of guy so I chose that.”

After the interview, I got back to the green room and I was a little angry not gonna lie. “I go to one of his shows with literally multiple people and have one drink with him at the fucking Grammys, and suddenly we are back together. How does that work? And besides, we broke up over 4 years ago,” I packed up my bag and grabbed my phone. “You know they always do this, don’t bother,” said Chloe, my assistant, as we made our way to the car. “I know they do, but fucking hell, I can’t be single for one goddamn minute.”

***

“Hello, it’s Y/n Fleur Depp and today I’m gonna let Elle ask me anything,” I smiled at the camera.

“What’s your favorite memory from doing your last album?” Asked the journalist.

“I’ve got to work Doja Cat on one of the songs and I think it was one of the greatest days of the album making. We just had such a fun time with that song and we were just vibing a lot. She has a really interesting character and it was refreshing to work with someone like her.”

“What are you most passionate about outside of singing?”

“Ooh, that’s a hard one… food? I don’t know, I just love to try new stuff and cook new stuff. It’s a fun thing to get into.”

“Biggest pinch me moment in your career?”

“Oh my god, on my last tour, I was in New York, performing at Madison Square Garden and it was like halfway into the show and I looked up to the… well VIP section I guess and Rihanna was there, dancing and singing along. I almost fainted.”

“What is the best industry advice you’ve received?”

“Enjoy every second of it. I think especially now with social media, there are so many opportunities for people to make it in the music industry. And now, someone can easily take your place overnight if their song is gonna be a trend on TikTok. So I enjoy every little moment.”

“Who’s your biggest cheerleader?”

“My sister Lily, for sure. She has always been my biggest supporter. Since we were little kids, she always made me sing her favorite songs. And even now, even if I have a show on the other side of the world she will fly out and dance and sing through the whole thing. She’s the best.”

“What’s your 5-year plan for your personal life?”

“Oh damn… Uhm… I just want to be in a secure and stable place. Definitely move out of Los Angeles, it’s been too long for me to live here. I want to live somewhere different and new and have new experiences. And uhm… be in a calm and loving relationship.”

***

“Come on people, night one,” I stood in a circle with all of my dancers. “I just want to say how proud I am of us and the work all of you put into this tour. I am extremely grateful for all of you because everybody in this crew is so amazing, dedicated, and talented. I want us to have fun. It’s gonna be a long road but we’re gonna shake up the world and do some incredible stuff. I love you all and let’s have some fun,” I said and we cheered before putting our hands in the middle. “Reflections on 3, 2, 1!” “REFLECTIONS!”

I stood on the lift and I got my mic handed to me. Then the intro for Ready for it began playing on a loop.

The podium rose and the crowd erupted in cheers and screams. “Los Angeles… Are you ready for it?” I said and seconds later the song started.

About an hour into the show, I was at the front of the runway part of the stage. Sitting on a chair with only a guitar and a mic stand.

“Before we dive into the next song I wanna thank all of you for coming,” I said and as soon as they started cheering I smiled widely. “The last few years were absolutely crazy. ” I looked around the stadium. “But now, we are finally at peace kind of and I think we should enjoy it. We worked so much on these shows because I think we all took doing concerts for granted and me and my crew want to give you the best. It’s so cool to be back on stage, in front of all of you. Uhm… I love you and thanks again,” I smiled and they all cheered which made me smile even more. I just love that they love me.

Doing another hour and a half was a little exhausting but I enjoyed every second of it. “Thank you so much, Los Angeles, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I blew kisses all around the stadium as the lift was moved down.

I walked behind the stage and as soon as I stepped into the hallway, I had champagne sprayed all over me as my friends and family screamed around me. “Oh shit,” I covered my face as the champagne was just coming. “Congratulations!” heard Lily’s voice before she hugged me as soon as the alcohol stopped flowing. “Thank you, it was so fucking cool,” I said. “Oh my god, it was!” She shook my shoulder and I hugged everyone who was around basically then made my way to the dressing room, changing to something that wasn’t covered in champagne.

Once I cleaned up, I checked a couple of messages on my phone when I heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” I said, still scrolling through my phone. “I brought some guests, sissy,” Lily spoke and I looked up immediately, not hearing a noise from the guests.

All of a sudden Blackpink was standing in front of me with shy smiles. I’ve met Jennie before and we clicked really well. She is a very funny and sweet person, but I haven’t met the other members yet. “Oh my god, hello,” I went to hug Jennie and she was quick to greet me too, before turning to her members. “It’s Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa,” she pointed at each of them. “I know, I’m a fan, you know that. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” I said, honestly feeling happy to meet them. “We’re happy to see you, it was an amazing show by the way,” said Rosé with a noticeable Australian accent. I put my hands together and bowed my head. “That means a lot coming from you. We should hang out. Are you guys free for the next…” I looked down at my watch, checking the time. “…couple of hours?” I asked and they all looked at each other before nodding their heads. “What do you have in mind?” Asked Jennie. “We could have some drinks back at the hotel if you’d like. It’s a calm place,” I suggested. “Let’s do it.” Jisoo excitedly said and we all chuckled. “We’re gonna be great friends, Jisoo.”

#lisa manoban #lalisa #blackpink #gxg #rose #jisoo #jennie #lisa x reader #lisa #Lisa x female reader #lily rose depp #singer reader #famous reader #wlw

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i-just-want-to-destroy · 2 years

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allen walker for the character ask, please. I'm very curious to hear what your thoughts are, if you don't mind

awesome!

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them oh my god everythiiiiing hes SUCH a good character! hes my FAVORITE MC TROPE a guy who seems so sweet and so nice but is actually very fucked up inside and SURPRISINGLY manipulative like hes charming because HE WANTS TO BE??? holy shiiiiiit. the blueprint for me!!! no mc has ever done what he did ever since

least favorite thing about them nothing hes peak fiction

favorite line very early in the series where he met crowley at the first time and he was like "haha dont kill urself killing monsters can be your reason to live :)!!!!" or something like that. he said it so sincerely like as if he thinks its a fucking normal mindset to have because this is HIS own mindset because hes literally crazy

brOTP kanda and him. MY blueprint. like :) >:/ pairing. this is my favorite dynamic forever. the contrasting ideologies the fire and ice of it all literally theyre the IT duo. i also love him w the rest of the cast :)) him and lenalee omg i need to see them together again 😭😭😭 him and lavi too.. theyre the brotp4 fr. him and johnny! him and LINK! hes great with everybody.

OTP idc

nOTP idc

random headcanon very artistic :))) in another life he wouldve been an artist, a performing one. likes sentimental stories. its been established that hes good at tricks, i think hes the kind of person whos good at random shit, like a true jack of trades-- like he'd trying doing something and got it right on the first try and then he goes "im just lucky :)" because hes annoying like that. given the chance he would be able to play every musical instrument. he would've enjoyed comic books as well, i really believe that.

unpopular opinion its been such a long time since i was active in dgm fandom (if i was even active at all) and since i read dgm fics but people should really write him meaner and faker hes the #1 fake bitch who is ALSO, at the same time, a genuinely good person with a good heart. the duality. hes literally the ideal mc the layers of him omg. like depicting him as naive is not wrong per se but like understand that whenever hes naive he CHOOSES to be naive. if u get it u get it

song i associate with them im not okay (i promise), the black parade, kill all ur friends, na na na yes yes the whole mcr treatment i dont give a fuck!!!! linkin park too like in the end, LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST,,, PARAMORES BRICK BY BORING BRICK....just 2010s rock treatment do you understand the vibe???!!!!!!!!!!

favorite picture of them the chokehold this pic has on me when i was in middle school like this was THE picture i loved this picture so much its in my 14 year old mind rent free

also this is my favorite hoshino art phase :)

#ask

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callmeblake · 4 years

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Kerrang Issue #1103 (Sources 1, 2)

Photo Credit: Jeremy Harris

Magazine Release Date: 2006

Issue Label: April 15th, 2006

Transcription below the cut (translated by google from Spanish):

You're not in this alone

April 15, 2006

Kerrang April 15th, 2006

Lostprophets & My Chemical Romance

When it comes to million dollar studios / mansions, Los Angeles, where My Chemical Romance is currently doing pre-production for their new - and as yet untitled - album, is very impressive. Built in 1920 for a silent film star, it is covered in such a way as to simulate an Asian palace, with panoramic views of the city, an outdoor swimming pool, acres of gardens, and - according to vocalist Gerard Way - a ghost that opens and closes doors and even takes baths. Gerard crawled out of bed at noon as his old friend, Ian Watkins is coming soon. He and the Lostprophets frontman will meet to discuss their future performances on 'Give It A Name' - a festival that will see them perform to 30,000 people in two days.

When Ian appears the two greet each other genuinely affectionate, talking about many things; from Gerard's art to Bono's sunglasses and, of course, the ghost guest Gerard admits to fear. The two singers are pleasant company, laughing, joking and obviously relaxed, interrupting and finishing each other's sentences as close friends usually do.

When did you meet?

Gerard: It was at the Slims, in San Francisco and Lostprophets was running a show with Head Automatica. I didn't know them, so I got on his bus and he was the coolest singer I've ever met.

Haven't you met singers before, back then?

Gerard:I had met a few, but singers are usually weird guys. They often have a 'lead singer vibe' and he didn't have one, he was so kind, respectful and personable.

Ian: We knew his manager because he had toured with bands that we had toured with. Even before the first My Chemical Romance album came out, he was already talking all day about them. He sent me the record when it came out and I used to listen to it all the time, it was fucking awesome. Did they get along immediately? Gerard: Yeah. I think everyone in both bands hit it off right away. They were down to earth guys. We hadn't met anyone as great as them, so it was a huge impression on our band that they had that attitude. Ian:

And after that, we keep crashing at events, anywhere, like in Japan….

Gerard: That is a very funny story! You have to fly everywhere when you play (at the Japanese festival) Summer Sonic; you can't drive because Japan is made of a lot of big islands. This was when he still used to get screwed. It was one of the last times that I was drunk or high, actually… Ian was in front of me on the plane and he was turning around to try to have a conversation with me, but he couldn't.

Ian: I hadn't realized it at first. I was talking about the songs on the album I was thinking about…

Gerard:… And at one point I just thought 'I can't deal with this man'. I felt really bad about that I had already thrown up more than I had ever seen in my damn life while trying to get my pills; we were sharing a bus on the way to the plane. I must have looked like the most broke asshole. I was ashamed all the way.

How often do you get together?

Gerard: I would say once every five months, maybe more often. We always collide.

Ian: Yes, when you go on tours you always bump into someone. The strangest thing was when I was in New York, having a snack ...

Gerard:Oh yeah! And we just meet! We were on our way to a place called 'Toy Tokyo', which is one of our favorite stores. We passed a restaurant and Ian was sitting there hanging out.

Ian: They came by and I was like 'Oh shit!' because it was so unexpected.

Gerard: And then we did a full US tour together and it was fun, but Lostprophets was still on the UK schedule, so they would fall asleep on the bus at odd hours and stay up all night.

Ian: That was before the My Chemical Romance record took off, so it was before they became rock stars! But it was cool because we did our own shows on off days.

Gerard:Yes, it was fun doing our shows together, because there was always the same vibe.

Do you keep in touch when you are not on tour?

Gerard: Yes, Sidekick! (controlled email senders)

Ian: You're never in yours! He used to be online all day, but now he's very cool for it.

Gerard: I think I changed my username, but I didn't tell anyone, I just hoped they would notice! So no one talks to me now!

They grew up in places as remote as New Jersey and Wales, what common areas do they share?

Ian: I think we are both working class.

Gerard:When you come from a working class place, you have to leave soon or you will be stuck there forever. Jersey is definitely that kind of place. It's very different if you live somewhere in Los Angeles…

Ian: You don't need to try here, you can go to clubs and gigs every day in LA. It is very easy to believe that you are someone in LA until you realize that there is a whole world outside. It's like the same as London and New York.

Gerard: Yes, but to come from the places that we come from; Where you have shitty jobs, you realize that you are nobody.

Ian: And if you want to do something, make a difference or at least enjoy life, you really have to work your ass off.

Gerard:What's the most shitty job you had in Wales?

Ian: I worked in Iceland. A frozen food store.

Gerard: Oh wow that's weird because my first shitty job was at a frozen food stand at a supermarket. They're both sober now, but Gerard wasn't when they first met: Did his using drugs and alcohol affect their friendship? Gerard: No Ian: I just didn't realize I had a problem! Gerard: Yes, apart from that plane trip. But even though he had a problem, I think the press made him look worse than he already was. When we did that tour together, I was already clean.

The two are working on new albums. Has either listened to each other's new songs?

Gerard: No. We haven't played anything for anyone.

People are predicting that they will both transcend the rock scene and come back with a more pop album this time. Is there any truth to that?

Gerard: I think that's what they expect us to do! On the other hand, some people may believe that our album will be more aggressive to compensate for that.

Ian: A lot of bands do that and screw themselves up. They succeed and say 'we have to prove that we are real' and confuse being real with being shit.

Gerard:That is completely true. So people might expect a more aggressive record from us, or maybe one that makes a lot less sense. But I wouldn't say it's more pop, although it's prettier.

Did you see a lot of bands growing up?

Gerard: Yes, because our only escape was to go and find the local show. There were two places that I would go, ' The Pipeline ' and ' Studio One '. The latter was completely hardcore, bands like Downset, Madball, Dog eat dog…

Ian: Dog Eat Dog! Dammit!

Gerard:The most taboo thing there was as a teenager was Slayer. The [Anti-obscenity lobby] PMRC was so big in the US that they made it almost impossible to get their records. They thought Slayer was satanic. You couldn't get WASP or Venom records, but Slayer was a sure door to evil! I remember when I got 'South of Heaven'; it made a big impression on me. Have you been in front of any other band performance? Gerard: Not in the mosh zone, but I was on the floor for Slim's once. Most of the time, I watch from the side of the stage. Ian:

Everything is ground at Slim's! That was a great show, because we met there. As I said; We got to know each other before these guys took off, and that's nice because I think meeting them after that would have been kind of weird.

So is it weird to meet bands that are already big?

Ian: Yes, because they don't care. As Gerard was saying, singers sometimes have attitudes and it is strange to meet a successful band that is still humble. I don't think My Chemical Romance would have been like that but bands get very reluctant when meeting people. They think 'you only want to be my friend because you want something.' It was great meeting Gerard before they grew up, because I know our friendship is honest.

Do things change when you get to the same level as other bands?

Ian: If we played in the US now, My Chemical Romance would top the list, whereas last time we were on them, but that's okay.

Gerard: Yes, when you go out with a band that you love, there is respect and it shows on stage. But if you play with a band that you don't respect, then you go out and destroy them.

Ian: And it's not like we release two albums at the same time. We left and their time came.

So what if both albums were out at the same time? Would they be aware of the other's sales position?

Gerard: Well we're both rock bands, but we offer something very different to people, so I don't feel in competition with these guys.

Ian:If they were assholes it would be horrible to see them get so successful, because it sucks to see idiots doing well. The only thing they do is add to your stupidity! But when you like band music it's always great to see that they do well.

Gerard: Yes, you will always be supporting your friends even if they are kicking your ass!

Ian: And if they're kicking your butt, it just makes you work harder- It's not a sour rivalry, it's a great thing -a friendship and respect.

My Favorite My Chemical Romance Song (by Ian Watkins)

I love 'You know what they do to guys like us in prison'. The first time I listened to their second album, that song grabbed me as soon as it started playing. It had some really cool changes; the way it starts off with a piano staccato, and the lyrics are fantastic. It conjured up a lot of images and I liked the fact that the verse is on the piano.

My Favorite Lostprophets Song (by Gerard Way)

It's easily 'Last Train Home'! When we were working on Three Cheers for sweet revenge, that damn video came out every five minutes and no one could help but sing it. We were saying 'Man, this is great!' I think the chorus is really beautiful. They weren't trying to capitalize on some kind of junk-young culture, the song really meant something, especially when they were playing it live. If someone is really honest with a song, it will always become a favorite song, and that one really stood out.

Translation: Liz

#ian watkins #gerard way #kerrang #jeremy harris #paramour mansion #K!1103

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h1kari · 4 years

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Hellllllo! My name is Natalia. I am apart of the Haikyuu fandom. Here is a list of stuff about me.

I go by she/her pronouns

I am a Sagittarius, tho idk how much that fits. I have really bad adhd and social anxiety but when I am a pretty extroverted person at times. I try to make everyone my friend. I am really really focused on my studies since I have had my parents shoving the importance of it down my throat my whole life. I am also a people pleaser and have a hard time putting myself before others (I am working on it tho). I would also say I am the funny friend cause I use trauma as a coping mechanism🤗. I am again a people pleaser and my few friends mean the world to me so I would probably help them hide a body no questions asked.

I am Italian and Argentinian with brown hair and blue eyes. I am also not confident in myself what so ever. The only thing I like about myself is my eyes cause people’s go to thing to compliment me on is that (although it’s always after I compliment them so it may just be a coincidence). I have fairly curly hair that goes to my shoulders. I am 5’5 and don’t know my weight cause I’m borderlinjng an ED sooo.

I really enjoy clothing and have a vast fashion sense. So I could be wearing a cottage core dress one day then the next a oversized sweatshirt with a collar peeping out and jeans the next. Not so much into like emo, grudge, goth stuff like that tho.

I love acting. It has been a huge part of me for a while. Singing and dancing to. Also when I am bored I like to pick up a new language although I only speak sign language and English fluently (I’m getting pretty good at Spanish tho). I also want to go into the medical field when I am older.

Okay random things. Uhhh my favorite color is yellow, I like reading and writing, and my favorite number is 2. Sorry if this isn’t helpful.

first of all YOU’RE ARGENTINIAN HELL YEA SAME HERE M’AM, ok now yea: i ship you with 🥁🥁🥁oikawa! Aight let’s get to it 😼

So i feel like you’d meet pretty much by chance, like for example, one of you forgets your umbrella on a super rainy day, let’s say that’s you. Except you didn’t ‘forget’ to bring one, you gave yours to one of your friends cuz they themselves didn’t have one (you guys couldn’t share cuz they had to get another route) You were slightly regretting your overly kind gesture while walking down on the pouring rain. Oikawa spots you, he had noticed you before all this tho, he knew how normally good natured you were, your grades, talents, beauty and style hadn’t gone unnoticed either. You’d caught his eye, he just didn’t know how to approach you, yet. As he saw you trying to stay dry, going from shop to shop, he called out to you, waving his umbrella around. You didn’t wanna “bother” as you said but he insisted. So there you were, lightly holding onto tooru’s sleeve while you both walked down the street. Not much time had gone by since oikawa started chatting you up, asking questions, being all popular-star-student charming. You felt calm and appreciated in his presence, like he was genuinely interested, and he was! That rainy day was the exact push he needed to talk to you.

Couple months late and you guys are really close, walking home together, you going to his matches, studying together, shopping together etc. He loved how more extroverted you were now that you were friends friends. He definitely let down his ✨ooh so charming and calm guy✨ mask, i mean- he could still charm your pants off, but around you he was more childish, like when he’a around iwa, yknow? That being said, his team sees his crush a mile away, are you blind or something?? Fr. They’re like god you idiot just ask her out so you can stop fawning over her in secret. You like him too, obviously, but he’s got every girl after him, it just makes you feel icky- like you don’t deserve him, and it’s not like you’d be any different from all the girls after him, right? (NO YOU DUMB BITCH SORRY FOR CALLING YOU A BITCH BUT OFC YOU DESERVE HAPPINESS), then, as you fall for him more and more, you also distance yourself more and more. This leaves oikawa feeling like shit cuz he thought his fliriting and romantic advances were making you uncomfortable so he’s like “got it” all angsty. You guys don’t talk for a while.

Like a week later you have this drama acting show, and dammit of course he’s gonna go! He’s seen you work so hard for it and he knows how passionate you are. Fuck this!! Fuck the uncomfortableness and angst, he just wants to be with you!! He decides, he’ll tell you everything after the show and if you turn him down, he’ll just have to live with it.

You do amazingly, of course, he’s left speechless by your performance and each second he’s more and more eager to see you, actually see you. After the show he finds you, you’re surprised to say the least, but happy to see him again

“What’re you doing he-“

“I have to tell you something”

“...okay”

And so he tells you. He had planned what he’d say but his mind is blank, so he just sputters whatever he’s feeling and he’s felt all this time. You’re like holyshitholyshitholyshit and tell him you feel the same

“I’ve missed you”

(😭)

Aight that was pretty long. bUT now couple shenanigans. You’re both obviously fashion icons, and fashion icon + fashion icon = fashion couple. Ngl sometimes he wants to match outfits w you and you’re like sir-🗿cuz most are pretty cringey, so one birthday of yours he decides to give you a prank like gift, this atrocity:

He jokingly gave you the beast one, and now one of your many inside jokes is “YO-DA”

Another thing, you guys help each other, as all couples should. He’s helped you relax more in terms of studying, telling you it’s okay to take it easy and that he’ll 100% help you to take more stuff off your back. You deserve rest. He’s also helped you become more confident in yourself, putting your needs above other’s wants. He loves how kind you are, but he hates seeing others take advantage of that kindness. OH ALSO you both use humor as a coping mechanism 😍 iwa-chan is very worried.

DATE IDEAS: going to the theatre, you guys get the chance of seeing the ✨arts✨ and you can dress all fancy. You usually go out for dinner at a nice place 😌 also study dates!! He loves bothering you, you just look so cute!! All concentrated!!! Plus it’s a great way to get you to relax more. Sometimes you also teach him languages, he finds it sososo cool that you love learning them, can speak it AND that you’d be patient and willing to teach HIM 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 this mans has heart eyes for you and you only, forever

Hope you liked it!! Have am awesome daynight and thanks for the submission ^^💞💞

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ramblingqueenfangirl · 5 years

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Who gave them the right!!!!!????

Freddie Mercury, an immigrant boy from Zanzibar who had arguably one of the best singing voices ever just naturally like it belonged there as much as the blood in his veins. He could write #1 worldwide hits in less than an hour and if he took longer, would write what some in the music business have called the greatest rock song of all time. Had an ear for music that is so finely honed he can hear a song once, sit at a piano and play it and most likely even improve upon it. Who only had piano lessons for just a few years in school as a kid, and sang in the school choir at 7 and never again had any training in music or anything that it entails, yet sang better than the most trained vocalist ever. Who had one of the most exotic, recognizable, and in my opinion, sexiest looks along with the charisma of a thousand stars in one man. He could play genius melodies on a piano and secretly played insanely unique and awesome rhythm guitar. He had the talent of at least ten of the best musicians the world could produce, and was generous and funny, and just an all around good person and could control an audience of hundreds of thousands with absolutely no effort who were all in sync better than the back ups in a Jane Fonda work out video, with merely one finger. Who even though was very particular and perfectionist about his music worked so hard that not one person who ever made music with him left feeling he wasn’t the best. Who didn’t know the meaning of the word moderation and lived a life filled with more fun in just 45 years than most humans that live to be 100. Would give interviews with some of the most perfect answers just off the top of his head that are still quoted by many almost 30 years after his death. Who was the most generous celebrity ever, and was loved by most of his contemporaries even when they wanted to be jealous of him. Who sang opera that he WROTE, with one of the best opera singers that has ever breathed air, and had her in awe of his ability while fighting an unknown, excruciatingly painful, and deadly disease. A pairing that came about from one short interview in the diva’s home country and started a enormous and lasting trend of rock musicians singing opera and trying to copy the success that he created on a whim, and all others have failed to live up to miserably. A man whose instinctual movements to the music that poured out of his very soul from every pore, were so graceful, odd, and completely unplanned and awesome that it made him one of the best entertainers that ever stepped onto a stage. Who found true love even with every single obstacle stacked against it and managed to have a relationship that though not perfect was so beautiful no fairy tale could match it. Who never slept alone a day in his life and even when penniless lived like the greatest star that ever lived. Who even though a small man, who weighed nothing and wasn’t extremely tall, managed to be appealing to both men and women and personified the word sexy. Who never once in his entire life lost the beat of, both a life lived completely fully every day, or the timeless and completely inspired music he created with absolutely no effort. Who was so naturally gifted that it’s hard to believe he was actually human. A man that had a long and successful career but only took one 20 minute performance to become the most legendary performer in more than a century, all while sick with a throat infection which he refused to let stop his performance of some of rock’s hardest songs ever sung. Who when he shared a stage with the most popular and beloved artists ever and with no lights or costumes, made them all look like amateurs. Who 60 percent of 1.6 billion people voted as the most iconic and great live music performance that has ever been. Who many people believe is one of the greatest singers and frontman that did and will ever exist. When he died the grief never stopped or wanrd in intensity. Who set records in music,and then over 25 years later set a movie industry record with over 900 million dollars spent to see a biopic about his life.

Brian May, not only can use his fingers to make sounds on a guitar that a guitar shouldn’t be able to make, but was so determined to learn guitar he and his father built one from left over fireplace parts. As a child, learned and studied astronomy and physics well enough to get his masters in the subjects and later a doctorate. Has the most recognizable hair of any rock and roll musician ever naturally growing from his head, and while attaining all this education, mastered the art of guitar playing at the same time. Who has a singing voice good enough to front his own band but finds the perfect band mates by complete coincidence and become sone of the best guitar players ever and played in one of the biggest rock bands ever and be a genuinely nice and kind person as well. Taught school while his band was still finding their fame and even at 70 is still one of the coolest and most recognizable musicians on the planet. Who plays the same guitar over half a century later that he built with his dad from fireplace parts and which no one can ever completely replicate and is still the most legendary guitar in music history and he still plays all over the world and who no one has ever been able to compete with that cost less than 50 British pounds to construct.

Roger Taylor, with his baby blue eyes and long blonde hair who was too pretty to be a guy and can play drums with the best ever. He can sing in perfect range to be in harmony with his amazingly gifted lead singer while drumming at break neck speed. Who was the one who met Freddie first and introduced him to his band mate and friend Brian May and cemented one of the greatest music destinies ever. Who got more women than Casanova and could play drums and sing perfectly even when still drunk or hungover. Who has a bit of an ego, but is also humble and kind to fans. Who is the soul mate of one of the best singers that rock ever knew. Not only did they understand each other’s souls but their voices complemented each other so well only the angels in heaven could harmonize better. He could lead sing in and did, lead his own band where he played guitar yet another talent he possesses in spades. Who was made to be a rock star from the minute he decide he wanted to be. A man who could with very little time be certified as a dentist and studied biology with remarkable grades finishing his degree even though he knew he didn’t have to.

John Deacon, a man who is the definition of the word winning, in human form. A guy who on the outside seemed regular and average but was actually one of the most extraordinary musicians that ever picked up an instrument. A human disco ball who not only played bass guitar better than probably anyone but did it while dancing and writing some of the biggest selling songs of his legendary band without being able to even sing. A man who found himself near a dumpster one day and took scraps and built a custom made amp that would define the sound of his band, an amp that he himself invented and no one has been able to exactly duplicate even now. A man who got married young to the only woman he wanted and then had six children while touring and playing with one of the biggest most popular bands in history. Who can do math so well,he did, and still does, the financial business of the multimillion dollar business that his band became. A man so amazing he just left the entire music industry forever without one regret after losing the lead singer, best friend and surrogate big brother from a heart breaking disease because it just wasn’t worth it without him. A man who’s baselines are so epic and well played that his skill is hard for anyone to imitate. He was told as a prank by his fellow band mate he would need a double bass for a song and went home and learned how to play it in a matter of hours. Played not only the bass guitar with unbelievable skill and precision but any instrument. He wrote some of the most famous songs in rock that are universally loved even now more than 25 years later. He had so much integrity that even after doing the lion’s share of the writing of a song insisted his band mate who would sing the songs, take writing credits even when that singer didn’t really want to. Who was the very definition of loyalty to a lost friend who he saw as irreplaceable and refused to continue playing music without him while the others carried on. He seemed quiet, shy and unassuming but when he wanted to do something didn’t care what ANYONE thought including his band mates even during one recording session for an album picked up his stuff and went to Bali with his family on a whim leaving only a small note behind. Who came up with one of the most recognizable bass lines ever in an impromptu jam session with another artist, went out for pizza with his band mates and completely forgot said bass line then when reminded made the bass line so legendary it’s immediately recognizable from the first four notes. He wrote a song that Michael Jackson the king of pop pestered the other members to release it as a single when they were completely against it and after the single debuted became one of the best selling singles of his multi million album selling band. Who has mastered the art of being a hermit yet also being one of the coolest and most extraordinary humans that ever strapped on an instrument. Who has become the best player of hide and seek that ever was and was happy leaving it behind never once looking back.

Every single one of these guys could have been unbelievable and legendary all by themselves, but chose and found three other equally god-like humans to form a band who would become the most prolific band that ever recorded music and has multi-platinum records in every country on 6 continents in the world that are still as popular and relevant today as they were when they started 50 years ago.

WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT to be so amazing?!Individually, they could be Greek mythical heroes as accomplished and great as Achilles or Hercules, but when put together were more epic than any Greek mythology could even imagine, and changed the world, and music forever!

Who gave them the right?!!!!

#freddiemercury #queen #johndeacon #rogertaylor #brianmay #jimhutton #gardenlodge

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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 5 years

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Beyond the Boys’ Club: Kobra Paige of Kobra and the Lotus

"I'm inspired by any woman I've met who is out there, working hard, and grinding this out"

On her early days with Kobra and the Lotus as a woman in the heavy metal and hard rock scene

I feel like all the women were so underground. We would meet each other, but we were all in the underground scene and trying hard to push forward with the bands coming up. Then, the digital age took over, and it was challenging. When we started playing, we were part of street teaming. People would go out and put posters around the city. That’s not part of life anymore, which is so crazy. It has really started to shift as my generation — and the generation a little bit older than me — of women have persisted and kept going with their bands, and now we’re starting to bubble to the surface. It’s a strong movement. It’s common to see more women. It’s an amazing time for music, in general. I think there are so many good bands out there and good music, and women are a big part of that.

On how being a woman in heavy metal and hard rock still surprises people

I was just at a venue, and the owner of the venue was very nice to me and very lovely but thought I was a groupie of the band. She stuck a wristband on me, and the tour manager saw that happen, and he’s like, what did you get a wrist band for? I told him that she thought I was just hanging out with the guys on tour. There are so many bands, and she was so sweet, so it didn’t bother me at all, and after our performance, she came up and was hugging me and apologizing. It didn’t feel degrading. But it shows that it is still takes people by surprise to see a woman doing this.

On the female artists who inspired her to make music

I’ve never idolized anybody. For me, that mentality isn’t healthy in my mind. It’s more about what I can do as an individual to bring to the table in my own way to match this feeling. I do really love a lot of female artists, though. I love Heart and classic rock, and I really enjoy seeing some of the women that are doing their thing now, like [In This Moment’s] Maria Brink, because I think she’s being authentic. [Halestorm’s] Lzzy Hale is also out there being herself and encouraging other to be themselves. I relate to that kind of genuine attitude.

I’m inspired by any woman I’ve met who is out there, working hard, and grinding this out, because I know what the path is like, and I’m honored to be on tour with any of the woman who I’ve toured with. I respect what they’re doing, and they’re so great at their craft. There is so much more room, musically, and it’s great to be part of that.

On whether she’s noticed a difference in the music industry since the #MeToo movement emerged

I haven’t noticed very much in our little bubble. All I’ve seen is the stories and hearing how people we know or friends of people have been impacted. I haven’t actually seen anything change, but now that I think about it, I’ve been much more respected when I’ve taken photos with people on this tour than I have in the past. It might happen by accident — people get excited and pull you in aggressively not knowing. But, now that I think about it, there has been less of that on this latest tour.

On her overall experience being a woman in the heavy music scene

I have learned so much and have become very strong. Every time I’ve had to cross a challenging bridge, it’s made me stronger. I am very fortunate that I didn’t experience anything traumatic in a physical way, but I have had different obstacles that I’ve had to climb over that have not been easy. But, I’m grateful for them, because they made me who I am today, and I have a strong sense of who I am and what I stand for.

On why Evolution is the perfect title for Kobra and the Lotus’ new album

We thought this new album was another evolution of the band, both in our songwriting and sonically. We focused really hard on incorporating textural elements into this record to help us become more identifiable as Kobra and the Lotus. I really brought a lot of the soulfulness in my voice to the table this time around, and we took one step closer to hopefully be really identifiable as the band that we are.

On the song “Thundersmith” from Evolution

I really enjoy playing “Thundersmith” with the guys live. It’s my story. It’s an attitude that has taken my whole 20s to finally step into and be like, I don’t care what people think or the stories people are going to make up or how hard this industry is going to test me. I’m going to do this because I love it and am proud of what I’m made of, and that’s enough. But, it’s supposed to be empowering for people, and that’s definitely an empowering track. So far, the reaction has been really good to the new music, and we’ve been getting a lot of comments, especially from women, saying, “That made me really empowered,” and that’s awesome, because music should make you feel good.

On her recent engagement to Tommy Karevik of Kamelot

I never imagined in a million years that the man I would want to spend the rest of my life with would be in the music industry! I’ve only been exposed to this demographic of people for a long time — I never go to bars, and I’m always just with musicians. I’ve had very typical relationships with different musicians, and those were not very good. I thought that after the last relationship I had, there was no way in a hundred years I would be in another relationship with another musician. I thought that I wouldn’t find a person with the same values I have, because I walk a pretty known tightrope when I comes to my values and code of ethics. So, I got blindsided when I met Tommy. My band was supporting Kamelot in Europe in 2015, and Tommy needed a singer to fill in for the female parts for Kamelot’s next U.S. run, so he invited me. That’s how we met — really on that European tour. It unfolded from there.

On the advice she would give to young people looking to get into music

If you’re passionate and this is your dream, now is the time when you are young to go for this and pursue it. Look for mentors that can give you any pieces of advice on how the industry works, and start getting music out there. Really enjoy what you’re doing, and don’t let fear hold you back. Know that everyone you see who is successful has been through tons of trials and tribulations and has failed time and time again and got back up. It’s going to happen, but they’re going to need to get back up and keep pushing. Don’t let criticism get to you, too. It’s art and subjective, and you’re putting your heart on your sleeve for everyone to judge, so take the good and bad, but don’t take the bad to heart. Know how to separate constructive criticism from non-constructive criticism and keep going.

#kobra paige #Kobra and the Lotus #2019 interviews

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queencrimsonred · 6 years

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Actor AU! Chocobros x S/O(crush)

Headcanons for how the bros met their S/O if all the events in the game were just a part of a movie.

Author’s note: I wrote this at 3 am because I couldn’t sleep, I woke up this morning thinking I wrote this in a dream. Apparently, it was not a dream, so guess I’ll just leave this here and continue on with my day. Enjoy! -Crimson

Word count: 1784

Warnings: None? Maybe like one swear word somewhere?

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Noctis’s S/O is an actor and plays a prominent role as a member of the Kingsglaive.

They first met well shooting a scene after the Fall of Insomnia, they looked battered and bruised, perfectly portraying the horrible event from within the city.

He started to admire them because they performed all their own stunt.

Caught them changing costumes one day and immediately walked away because damn, under all those layers they’re super fit, and he likes their face.

Overall his S/O is a genuinely good person, they take suggestions when needed, nice to everyone, they crack jokes when mistakes are made and can instantly go into work more when they need to. They’re really amazing at their job!

The next shot they have together is after the time skip.

“Oh no, you’re so old now!” They said, overly dramatic, with a teasing smile.

“And you haven’t aged a day??”

“I did! Look! Scars,” S/O dramatically motions to scars.

“Those scars look good on you,”

“You’re killing it with the facial hair!”

They’re supposed to be killed off in the next scene protecting Noctis from a daemon, but plot twist! They aren’t killed off.

Daemon prop is coming charging towards them, and Noctis suddenly stumbles into them, unintentionally sending them into a shallow pool of water.

They both avoided getting hit by the prop, but now his S/O is sitting in water, wet and confused because that wasn’t in the script??

“Cut!”

“I’m not sure if I should thank you for saving my life or lecture you for throwing me into a puddle.” S/O stares, unamused.

“Pft, sorry.” Noctis laughed and pulled them out of the puddle, they have to change costumes again because their costume doesn’t look right anymore.

The director decides to have the script changed and his S/O lives after that

The day after filming ended, Noctis texts them to go to the studio they had been recording at. It’s late, and they’re confused why they’re needed on set.

When they get there Noctis challenges them to a paintball fight and they were more than happy to accept.

They didn’t leave the building until around midnight, both of them were covered in paint splatters, and they couldn’t say the set was in any better condition.

“I have to say, that was a pretty good first date.”

“Oh, so that’s what this was?”

“Yeah, and hopefully there are many more to come.”

There were, in the next movie they starred in they even got to play love interests.

There’s a rumor that there will be a new final fantasy tv series where Noctis lives because of something his S/O did. The rumor also said that they’re supposed to be love interests in this new series, and the shippers are now demanding that they make it a thing.

Prompto Argentum

Prompto’s S/O is a makeup artist, they spent hours making their injuries look real.

The first day they met was, as one would expect, on the very first day of filming, and Prompto was at a complete loss for words when they meet.

Like, his makeup artist is super super pretty??

One day they caught him staring while doing Noctis’s make up, adding bruises and cuts for their next scene.

“You’re next Prom~” they called in a slightly sing-song tone.

Finishes Noctis’s makeup, and quickly moves over to Prompto, he’s nervous and they can tell, they think it’s cute

“You’re going to look super awesome, you’ll love it!”

And he does, the makeup looks so real and a small part of him is tempted to wear it on the street to see how people react.

One day you start chatting about monster makeup between scenes, and Prompto asks his S/O to practice on him.

Who are they to refuse a willing subject for their art??

They spend a lot of time together outside of work now, his S/O practicing their make up while he practices lines.

“How come you like doing make up for injuries?”

“Because the audience can’t feel what your character feels, they need something to see, something to resonate with, and visuals are a very powerful tool to get people to do that.”

Oh no, he’s falling in love with his makeup artist! They’re so focused when they’re working and they’re super passionate, and it’s really attractive?

One day they’re doing his makeup for when he’s found at Zegnautus Keep.

“You’re going to look like you need the kiss of life when I’m finished with you!”

“Only if you’re the one to giving it to me,” and now both of them are blushing, and his co-stars heard, and oh gods he’s done it now.

“Sure thing, but maybe in a different context, after filming?” They’re beaming, and Prompto has short-circuited.

Thinks things will be awkward after that comment and starts avoiding them when he can.

When his S/O finds him hiding out, they pinch him and tell him that they miss their friend. Prompto apologizes and everything pretty much goes back to normal.

The moment filming ends Prompto’s S/O hunts him down and pulls him aside, it’s really late and they’re both tired.

“Now that filming is over, how about we go out?”

“Go out??” Prompto’s blushing

“Yes out, like on a date, I want to get to know the guy who’s been nice enough to let me use him as a canvas!”

“Oh my gosh, hell yeah!”

Cue the pair going to a pizza parlor at 10 pm because it’s the only place open right now. It’s the start of a very fun relationship!

Ignis Scientia

Ignis’s S/O works special effects, they’re responsible for making magic on set.

The first day they met was the day they were shooting the scene where he puts on the Ring of the Lucii, he gets a full look at all the effects.

He has to admit he’s really impressed how much they can do!

Ignis occasionally checks on their work, and soon notices that they spend a lot of late nights at the studio working on effects.

One night he appears in their office with coffee, and they’re shocked because they thought everyone had already gone home??

But no, here’s Ignis with coffee, and he’s kind of their hero now.

“I noticed you spend a lot of late nights here, you looked like you needed the coffee.” Cue S/O blushing a little.

“Yeah, some of these special effects get pretty tricky, and I don’t really trust my trainees to do it justice just yet, so more late nights for me. What made you stay so late?”

Ignis can’t will himself to say they’re the reason.

“I prefer practicing lines in the studio instead of at home,” they know he’s lying but they don’t push it.

“Is that so? Well if you ever need someone to listen to you run lines, I’m here every night.”

And so, they go on with their night, Ignis runs lines and his S/O works on special effects.

They spend a lot of nights like this, and the more time they spend together, the more ridiculous they act. Ignis starts saying lines in different accents just to prove he can, his S/O took random shots of him and his co-stars and added effects of them getting turned into frogs.

They’ve gotten dinner a few times as friends and chatted about how they ended up in their professions.

“I get to make people feel like magic is real, and even if it’s only for a few minutes or hours, that’s still really cool.”

The day after the last day of shooting, he finds his S/O hard at work, working on the last few scenes.

“So, I see you’re still making magic?”

“It’s what I live for, now what excuse do you have for visiting me today Mr. Scientia?”

“I do believe that now filming is over, this would be the appropriate time for me to ask you out on a proper date. Of course, after you finish with your special effects.” S/O stares at him, slightly shocked, and he looks so smug but they can’t say no.

They end up going to dinner together that night and immediately hit it off.

Gladiolus Amicitia

Gladio’s S/O is a stunt double, with nerves of steel!

The day they met, they were filming a scene from the fall of Insomnia, his S/O got thrown through a window.

When they first spoke, they were talking with the director and action coordinator to make a fight look more realistic.

The second they saw Gladio watching them speak, they got excited and waved him over.

“Hey hey! You’re pretty good with that fake broadsword! Your fight scenes look super legit!”

“Thanks! Your stunts are pretty awesome!”

He made them happy when he complimented their stunt work, and a friendship started from there.

“Let’s practice together sometime!”

They end up meeting at the gym several times throughout shooting and learn they have a lot in common.

Quickly learns that they’re really hot, and they wear minimal clothing while training.

And they’re smaller than him but they’re really strong, they can bench press almost as much as him!

Learns they secretly love romance novels but swears that if he tells anyone they’ll deny it and shun him.

They taught him how to make his fight scenes look even better, and he treated them to whatever meal they happened to be closest to.

Learns that they are incredibly fit, but they eat the worst things.

“How do you eat like that, but look like this?”

“I work out like an Olympic athlete and getting thrown around is also a work out on its own.”

They meet his sister one day on set, and she tells them they have to come over for dinner because “Gladdy won’t stop talking about is stunt double friend!”

Gladio didn’t expect them to actually come to dinner, but they did and his family actually loves them?

One day they were practicing a combat scene and they accidentally sent him to the ground. He hit his face pretty hard against the training mats.

He stared at them for a second “traitor...”

Cue S/O apologizing profusely

“I didn’t think I could send a mountain of a man to the ground! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, you can make it up to me by being my date to the premiere.”

“Smooth, but I guess I owe you for kicking your sorry butt.”

They go to the premiere together and his S/O can’t remember a time where they’d been asked so many questions, but overall, they had a lot of fun.

They end up on sets together a lot, and it’s always tons of fun.

They’ve been together ever since

#Final Fantasy #final fantasy 15 #ffxv #ff15 #final fantasy xv #Noctis Lucis Caelum #ignis scientia #prompto argentum #gladiolus amicitia #xS/O #actor!AU #prompto x reader #noctis x reader #gladio x reader #ignis x reader

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huntressjinsoul · 6 years

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The Making Of

Summary: AU. As they decide to turn over a new leaf and a better deal, TBD signs to a new record label and meets their new songwriter, MC.

A/N: Slightly nsfw. Happy Kaitlyn Appreciation Week! Thank you for hosting @aryn-choices

Kaitlyn looked around the building and its surroundings before looking at the man in front of her.

“Alright, welcome, TBD, to HDS Productions. I know it’s a little unorthodox, but I’d like to give you a tour of our building,” the CEO of the record company, Chris Powell said. “I know we’re fairly a new label, but thank you for choosing us.”

“Oh it’s no problem. You were the most genuine label offering us a good contract,” Amara smiled.

“Thank you, we try our best to be authentic to our clients,” Chris beamed. “I’m sorry my partner, Ms. Becca Davenport, isn’t here to welcome you as well. She had to attend to one of our other clients.”

“Oh it’s fine, Mr. Powell,” Annisa replied.

“Please, at this label, we’re on a first name basis with everyone. Now, c’mon let’s start this tour.” Chris led them through the building, noting important people. “While I manage the label and its overall business affairs, Becca looks over the legal stuff and the contracts.” They reached another private office, and knocked before opening it. “This is Zack, he’s in A&R and the head of promo for all of our artists.”

“Hey, you must be TBD. I look forward to working with you guys,” Zack grinned.

“Nice to meet you Zack,” Kaitlyn grinned as she shook his hand.

“Alright, moving on next door is the head of our marketing team and publicity. She also creates the cover art for our artists’ singles and albums,” Chris explained. “I think she’s away for lunch now, but you’ll meet Abbie later. Now onto the most important part, the recording studios.”

As TBD looked around the booths, Kaitlyn heard a loud laugh coming from one of the booths. She directed her attention to the two men and, more specifically, the woman. “Who are they, Chris?”

“Ah, that’s one of our signed artists, Zig Ortega. The other guy is Tyler, our senior producer, and the woman is MC, one of our senior songwriters. It looks like they’re on a break, let’s go meet them.”

Chris opened the door and popped his head in the room. “Hey guys, our new clients are here and I’m giving them a tour.”

“Hey, I’m Zig, one of the artists,” Zig smiled politely.

“Sup? So can I take a look at those drums in that booth there? Because I’m digging them,” Rachel stated. Chris shrugged and nodded before Rachel went inside the booth.

“She’s… not one for talking with new people,” Kaitlyn explained.

“Hey it be like that,” Tyler chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you girls, I’m Tyler.”

“And I’m MC, songwriter,” MC smiled widely. Kaitlyn was enraptured by her smile and was too busy staring at MC to greet her.

Thankfully, Amara saved her. “Hey, I’m Amara. These two are Kaitlyn and Annisa. And the one checking out the drums is Rachel. We can’t wait to work with you guys.”

“The feeling is mutual,” MC replied sweetly. “Now, I’m used to writing more pop and R&B, but I think I can take on the challenge of writing some metal and rock.”

“Oh don’t worry, Kaitlyn can help you. She writes most of our discography,” Annisa said as she playfully bumps her elbow at said girl.

“Cool, it looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together then,” MC grinned at Kaitlyn.

“G-great, I look forward to it,” she hastily replied.

“This is your chance to ask her out,” Annisa told Kaitlyn as they sat in Rachel’s van on their way to HDS Productions. Annisa grabbed a stale pizza crust up from under her seat. “Rachel would it kill you if you cleaned up your van?” She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

“Yes, yes it would,” Rachel replied bluntly.

“What do you mean?” Kaitlyn asked, feigning innocence.

“We all know you’ve got the hots for MC. So don’t play dumb,” Amara interjected from the passenger seat, throwing a smirk at Kaitlyn. For the last couple of days, TBD worked with a few producers and songwriters to get a feel of the artistry. They collectively agreed that it’d be best to work with Tyler, MC, and another one of the senior songwriters, James. “Maybe try not to undress her with your eyes whenever you look at her?”

“Ugh I thought that I was discreet,” Kaitlyn groaned. The last couple of days gave her a challenge between work and pleasure. Through her eyes, Kaitlyn was being discreet and there was a little flirtation between her and MC. In actuality, the rest of TBD suffered second hand embarrassment from all the stuttering and butchered pickup lines Kaitlyn tried with MC.

“As discreet as a bomb,” Rachel deadpanned. “If you don’t ask her out today, I’m going to do it for you.”

A few minutes later, the band was met by MC and James in the studio. “Hey girls. We’re going to do something a little different today. MC and I will talk to each of you individually to compose and write your parts on your single. Amara, Rachel, you’re with me. Kaitlyn and Annisa, you’re with MC.”

“You’re with me first, Annisa,” MC grinned. “Let’s go across the hall for more privacy.” During the wait, Kaitlyn mentally prepared herself for her time with MC. She calmed her nerves as if she was preparing to perform at one of her concerts. After a few minutes, MC and Annisa came back to the studio. “Alright, Kaitlyn, your turn.” She got up and followed MC to the other studio across the hall. “Ok. So I know we settled on a having a socially political song undermining our current government- great idea by the way- but is there anything else you’d like to add? Annisa said that you guys wanted it to be direct, no metaphors, no double meanings.”

“Yeah, I feel like we could use our music to inspire our audience to take a stand,” Kaitlyn explained. “I want it straight forward so everyone can see our stance and understand better.”

“Well, I think that’s an awesome idea. I’ve always believed that artists should be able to connect to their audience and inspire them,” MC smiled widely.

Kaitlyn felt her heart skip a beat upon seeing her smile and decided that now was a good time to bring up asking her out. “Hey, I was thinking, well, wondering. You’re single, I’m single, we should fix that,” Kaitlyn finished off lamely. She groaned and face palmed. “Ok, I really like you. And I’ve been so nervous to ask you out. My bandmates keep teasing me about it, and I’m finally growing some balls. Will you go on a date with me? You don’t have to say yes if you’re not interested, I underst- mmmph.”

She was cut off by a pair of lips kissing her own. After the initial shock, Kaitlyn eagerly kissed MC back. After a few more minutes, MC pulled away, but still remained close, smirking. “I was wondering when you’d make your move.”

“I- you- wha,” Kaitlyn stuttered.

MC giggled and played with Kaitlyn’s hair. “You were pretty obvious, Kait. I can call you Kait, right?”

“You can call me anytime,” Kaitlyn said dreamily. She snapped out of it when she heard MC laugh and blushed. “I mean, yeah you can call me that.”

“Now as much as I want to continue making out with you, we have work to do unfortunately,” MC said as she stroked the side of Kaitlyn’s face softly. Kaitlyn sighed in content and moved her face closer. “We can discuss the details of our date later.”

“One more kiss?” Kaitlyn pouted. MC smiled softly and kissed her once again.

Four Months Later

“Mmmm you sure we can’t just stay in bed all day?” Kaitlyn murmured as she kissed her way up to MC.

“You know I really want to but it’s your first album listening party, babe. That’s a huge deal,” MC sighed as Kaitlyn kissed her way towards her breasts. “You need to get glammed up soon.”

“Is it really that important though? I mean, I could call Amara and say that I’m sick,” Kaitlyn smirked as her fingers wondered down MC’s stomach.

MC groaned, “You really should go, Kait. It’s a party for TBD and your album release. Although, you’re making it really hard for me right now.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s hard.”

“Babe, you don’t have a penis.”

“Ooo but we could get one,” Kaitlyn smirked mischievously.

MC laughed and flipped both of them over. “We’ll revisit that later.” She kissed the rockstar soundly before sitting up to gather her clothes. “Now come on. Annisa texted me to drive you over to her apartment to get ready. And Rachel left a voicemail basically saying, ‘Stop fucking and get our girl over here pronto!’”

Kaitlyn groaned but complied. “We should, like, take a shower together though.” When MC glared at her, she countered. “Hey, I’m serious! We reek of sex and taking one together will be quicker. No funny business I promise.”

There was, in fact, funny business during that shower.

After dropping off Kaitlyn to Anissa and Amara’s apartment, MC drove off and prepared for the party as well. She arrived at the party early and was talking to Abbie and Becca when TBD made their appearance. She walked over to the band and greeted them. “Hey guys! Congratulations on the album! You all look great, especially you,” MC directed towards Kaitlyn, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and kissing her soundly.

“Barf. I’m gonna go drink all of our bosses’ alcohol,” Rachel said as she walked off. Amara and Annisa rolled their eyes at her but followed her after thanking MC.

“Hey, Kaitlyn, congratulations on the release. Chris and I are very sure that this album will blow you guys up bigger than ever,” Becca said.

“Thanks, Becca, but TBD has to thank you and Chris for signing us on to HDS Productions. We made the best choice signing on here,” Kaitlyn replied.

“It’s no problem at all,” Becca grinned. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I heard Zack telling Tyler and Zig that he’s bringing the big guns out tonight and I have to find out what it is. Can’t have the whole flooding fiasco happen again,” she rolled her eyes playfully as she walked away.

When Kaitlyn looked at MC confusedly, MC replied, “I’ll tell you that story later. It was before HDS first opened for business.”

A few hours later into the party, Kaitlyn was resting outside and nursing a beer bottle in her hand.

“Hey, you tired?” MC asked behind her.

“Nah, just needed the fresh air,” she shrugged.

MC walked up behind her and held her from behind as Kaitlyn sighed and relaxed further into MC’s embrace. “I’m really happy and proud of you and TBD, I hope you know that,” MC mumbled into Kaitlyn’s hair.

“I know, and I am so happy that I met you. You, James, and Tyler helped us a whole lot. We’re so lucky to have an awesome record label.”

“I’m so glad Chris and Becca expanded their reach to rock and metal musicians. Without them, I wouldn’t have met you. I love you, Kaitlyn, and I can’t wait to see you grow into the talented artist you are.”

Kaitlyn turned around to face MC and kissed her deeply. She pulled away slightly, “I love you too, MC.”

#kaitlyn appreciation week #Kaitlyn Liao #kaitlyn x mc #the sophomore #fanfic #playchoices

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onestowatch · 3 years

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Frames on Pop-Punk, Sex Work, and Their Debut Album ‘Every Room’ [Q&A]

Richmond, Virginia's very own Frames, have released their heartfelt and hard-hitting debut album Every Room. The record is a nostalgia-charged piece of art full of reflection and retribution, turbulence and tenacity. The band, comprised of Sarah Phung, Carter Wahl, Blake Layman, and Alex Wilson, joining on guitar, bass, and drums, respectively, comes alive with their intense and intimate emo drive and captivating passion.

Ones To Watch caught up with Phung to talk about the transition from being a solo artist to a band, the inspirations that fueled the album's creation, and legitimizing sex work.

Ones To Watch: In an interview with Brooklyn Vegan, you talked about how you intentionally made the music video for "Table Top" compressed and pixelated, wanting to capture the nostalgia and energy we felt from music videos we grew up watching on TRL. Can you talk a bit more about this process and how you went about executing this idea?

Frames: So the video is done by my friend Gavin Stout; we go way back. We've been hometown friends there for a decade, and he's excellent with video. We sat down to talk about treatment and plots, and we threw a lot out there, and I don't know why it came to mind. I was like, “I think we should have some skateboarding B-roll,” and he was asking me for ideas and references. I just couldn't stop thinking about every single video I ever watched pre-2009, and I just really miss real MTV and Fuse, and I'm really bummed that that era is over, because I'll probably never get to live that dream of mine. One of my biggest music-related dreams is being on one of those music video programs on TV, but that culture is over. So I was like, “Well, why don't we bring back that visual of an afterschool music video show with this.” So then the rest of the band all dropped in bits of the idea and formed it together. Gavin's idea was to have the performance take place in his garage, and it has that very homey and throwback feel. We jokingly were like, “Oh, this needs to be shot at like 120p,” and we talked about how it needs to be the lowest resolution possible.

That whole, recorded with a potato kind of vibe.

Exactly! Gavin went out thrifting to look for an old camcorder or something, and when he got back, he had some old hand video camera, and he goes, “Guys, I have bad news. This thing is like kind of good quality for an old camcorder.” It was an old Sony flip-out camcorder, but it was still kind of nice. So he said he'll do what he can to make it look the way we wanted. So it was kind of tricky, because he is good at what he does. I mean, he's a corporate video editor and did commercials and stuff, so it was hard for him to intentionally make it bad quality. It was really funny to have to continuously remind each other that this has to look bad but not like bad because we suck and like we're not good at what we're doing. It has to look intentional, and that's hard to do. We kept looking back to the video “Make Damn Sure” by Taking Back Sunday as inspiration. It's just one of those weird performance videos where they're in some room, and all of a sudden, there's a car crash test zone type of room. So, we were looking at that video and asking ourselves how they did it because watching it now, you can tell that it's not up to industry standard these days, but we can tell that it's the best with what they had. So we figured out that it's not in the resolution, but there are other ways to make the video look very professional and high quality, but this was made in 2004. So yeah, we were just really hyped and hyper-focused on making it look exactly like you're coming home, you throw your bookbag on the floor, turn the TV on, and then hey, it's us.

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It feels like every detail is purposely made to capture the spirit and genuineness of the project, and that energy seeps through the whole record.

We try to be intentional in that way. I think you're right. I hope you're right. We try our best to, you know, being a smaller and not super established band with not a lot of known history, of course on the business side of things, we want to make the right moves so that we can get to a place where making art can sustain us, so we can dedicate more time to it. That's every musician's dilemma where they want to stay true to their craft but also need to make a living, so we have to juggle that a lot. Luckily, when it comes to the creative direction, most of the time, what we want, tends to be like, this is going to work because it has to. We're not going to emulate anything out of thinking that it's going to bring us success. We're doing it purely because I like what we are. I miss the Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Hey Monday days. I wanted to be a part of that, but I didn't get to be because I was young. But now, I'm going to start my own era of that. So hopefully, that works, and hopefully, it sticks, and people get what we're doing.

Frames originally started as a solo project, but recently it's now expanded into a four-piece. What made you want to make that transition, and how has that adjustment been for you?

Pretty much every aspect of the Frames origin story leads back to some early 2000s nostalgia. Pretty much everything leads back to me being 10 years old and loving Avril Lavigne and Paramore, who are pretty much the two greatest female pop-punk artists, and I just knew that I always wanted to have a full band to write with, to play with, to be friends with. I wanted everything that came with being in a band, musically but also personally and socially. I want to share the creative control, and for a while, I didn't have a lot of music friends, and I wasn't deep enough in being a musician to know how to work with the band, but I knew that I wanted to just start getting things out. So with the Frames EP, that was just me, and I already knew then that I would eventually find a full band. Frames is named after my best friend Framers, and I forgot why I thought of that, but I think it came down to picking a name. I hadn't thought that hard on it, but I wanted it to be some sort of tribute to someone or something really important to me, and then I thought, well, he's important to me and also important to my music, because he's been my number one fan since day one. He's always been pushing me to start putting things out because, at that point, he was the only person that would hear stuff that I was writing, and it was just phone demos. So I guess that the two core points of the Frames origin story are me living out my childhood dream of being a power-pop singer and naming my band after my best friend.

That sounds like a good friend right there.

He also introduced me to most of the musicians that end up being my influences.

Like who?

Daughter, Lucy Rose. It's funny I don't talk about Lucy Rose nearly enough, but she's fantastic. Everyone knows Lucy Dacus, but this is my Lucy. She has a song called “Shiver,” and I really liked it, so I learned to play it. It's in an open tuning, so I learned that song in that tuning and that tuning and the general progression of the song is what I used to write last year on the EP and then this year on the album. So these songs are a direct product of listening to Lucy Rose.

How did you meet your current bandmates?

My guitarist Carter Wahl and I met six or seven years ago through mutual friends during Richmond's house show glory days. So he was the first band member from very early on, like well before the rest of the band, because between him and the rest of the band, I had a lot of rotating friends for like, shows and weekend tours. So Carter's a core part of Frames because he writes solid parts, although I write most of the material. And then, Alex. I was asking around, and there were a few drummers that I knew and liked, and I had known Alex through mutual friends, so I reached out to him and asked him if he wanted to play in my band. He is also in this other band called Twin Drugs, and they're like a shoegaze band. At first, he said he didn't have enough time to take on a new project, but after listening to some of our music, he decided he wanted to be in something much different than what he was in. He wanted to, in his words, "I just want to play 4/4." He was like, "I just want to play a simple beat, and I want to be in a pop band," and I was like, "Well, here's a pop band." So he came along, and then I asked if he knew any bassists, and he said he would ask his bassist from Twin Drugs, Blake Layman. I was a little skeptical and kept thinking that this needed to work because we would be spending so much time together, and we would be sharing so much control. This needs to be someone that everyone has to get along with, and it just worked out great. Blake is an actual angel, and we all get along really well.

Sounds like everyone in the band was made for each other.

Yeah, and it's nice that we all have the same ideas, visions, goals, and styles pretty much. So I write my parts, and I give them my thoughts for what I want the song to come out sounding like loosely, but for the most part, they write their parts, and I don't think that any of them have ever come up with anything that hasn't matched exactly what it sounded like in my head. So that's awesome.

What is your songwriting process like?

I'm definitely a very lyric-heavy person. When I was younger, poetry and lyrics were some of my biggest interests and the main focus of my music writing before I became a stronger guitarist and just a better overall composer. Now and then, I'll just have lines or ideas that I'll write down, so I stitch together the lyric scraps when I have music. Other times, I feel the writing rush, and if I have time for it, I'll sit down and just start playing something or start babbling something, and usually, when I do that, I like to sit down to start a song, and I finish it. I don't like to leave it and pick it up later.

What story does Every Room tell? Is it a chapter in the life of Frames with a set beginning and end, or is it more of an anthology series where every song is a separate story?

It's a little bit of an anthology, but with an underlying theme throughout all of them. A lot of my lyrics tend to be talk therapy for me. This collection of songs is from a very emotionally turbulent time but a different type of emotional turbulence than the one I would describe with the EP. The EP was like, pre this specific relationship, and then this album is like all of the emotions that came after that relationship that I was unprepared for, so a lot of it is anxiety. I haven't gotten to talk about "Body Kicks" very much, but that entire song is about anxiety, and if you read the lyrics, you'll know for certain. So a lot of these songs are about me processing a lot of things, not just talking about them. I'm breaking them down and figuring out why I'm feeling them, what I'm supposed to do with these feelings, if I need to just like sit with them and then let them go, or if I need to learn something from them and if I should even be having them, if it's healthy to and how I can communicate them to other people. It's hard enough knowing what you're feeling, but then you're like, well, what now? What do I do with it?

I'm sure that's a situation many people can relate to and find comfort knowing they aren't the only ones who've experienced something like that.

I try consciously to write about aspects of relationships that aren't sung about very much, or we've heard for the most. So we've heard all the heart-achy, gut-wrenching stuff, and we've heard all the butterflies infatuation songs, but there's like something in between that doesn't get explored. I think because maybe either writers don't know how to write it, or they just don't feel that it's as glamorous of a topic to talk about. I think that's where I naturally am most of the time in my head anyway, kind of in between the best and the worst feelings.

Are you describing the grey area of relationships where you're sad but not heartbroken?

Yeah exactly. Sad but not heartbroken. So I'm like, “Well, if I'm not heartbroken, what am I sad about?”

Can we expect music in the future from Frames to dive more into themes like anxiety and relationships, or do you feel like, in the next album cycle you would want to change it up?

I don't know if we'll get to bring it up in this album cycle, but the sex worker part of me has been very briefly mentioned in relation to the band. I definitely want to explore that more as a facet of my musicianhood. I don't know how I'm gonna write about working at a club, but they're definitely connected in some way. So I'm gonna find how they're connected.

How did you feel about the influx of people diving into the world of sex work on OnlyFans when the pandemic first hit?

Early on, when a bunch of previously non-sex-worker women were going to OnlyFans because of COVID, of course, I was like, "You're not a real sex worker," and I thought taking nudes wasn't sex work. But now I'm like, "Who cares? Whatever." I believe if you do sex work, you are a sex worker. If you perform any sort of sexuality in return for money, that's sex work, and I do not want sex workers' money to be messed with.

Right, because sex work is work and shouldn't be delegitimized.

Right. I guess I don't look like I would be a stripper. I don't really show it, and it's not that obvious to the music people around me, but I do talk about it a lot. I think that even people who mean well and believe that they're allies, and are in support of sex workers and sex work, are not even aware of how much they have this idea of what a sex worker should look like, should sound like, or should act like. So I think that me being who I am and doing the things that I do, I like to be very open and transparent about sex work, because then it gives more exposure to the fact that we're just ordinary people. I want to remind people that you never really know who you're around. People love to say that they're an ally or supportive of something when they're not even aware of those people around them.

What would you tell your nine to fourteen-year-old self about the art you're creating now?

Nine to fourteen-year-old me was what I envisioned for my music process, playing music, being a musician. But, unfortunately, I was focused more on the external factors and the whole "being a rock star" thing and not nearly as focused on my actual music writing. I knew how to write a song a little bit, but I was caught up being world-famous and filthy rich as a kid. So, I guess my answer would be don't worry about the external things because they will come naturally. The fame and fortune part is just a Hollywood dream, and even if it could happen, it doesn't always end up nearly as satisfying as just doing what you love to do.

#frames #every room #album review #interview #alternative

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toogoodmusic · 3 years

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THE TOO GOOD TEN with Drew William

The Canadian Football Player and up and coming singer-songwriter Drew William follows up the early 2021 debut EP Room with the latest Message In A Bottle EP.

While playing music in coffee shops and restaurants for the past few years the athlete took advantage of the canceled football season last year to really dive into his musical passion. Now with six songs released, William has proven his ability to pull at your heartstrings with raw and honest songs that while personal to him can be healing and relatable to anyone who listens. A genuine level of intimacy blossoms in every song that gives way for his music to be both enjoyable alone or with close friends and family.

The latest EP release continues that level of intimacy that his fans have come to expect.The two song project features a brand new original release, “California Coastline” that gives ode to William’s home state while also paying respect to a song close to the singer’s heart with a cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” Find out more about Drew William and the latest EP by checking out his Too Good Ten below:

1. Starting from the beginning, when did music start for you? How did you realize you wanted to make a career out of it?

DREW WILLIAM: The beginning is in a one bedroom apartment on Morley Ave. Some discreet little red building in a town most of the world has never heard of; Winnipeg, MB. I picked up the acoustic guitar three years ago in that apartment and have played it every single day since. I came into music naturally. Playing for friends, playing open mics, playing restaurants, pubs, and now going for it in the real music world. Have my first full-set show at Burt Cummings Theatre on April 20th. I feel this is my first big stepping stone.

DREW WILLIAM LIVE STREAM ON RED TIE LIVE’S FACEBOOK ON APRIL 20TH @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

2. You were born in California, went to college in Minnesota and now live in Canada. How have those three experiences make their influence into your music? Any of the (3) stick out as being most influential?

DW: I like the surfer rock style a lot, that nostalgic almost drunk atmosphere that it places you inside. And when I moved to the Midwest it was a lot more folk and ballads. I guess I kind of have two sides to myself: this very twenty-six year old feeling his way through life and this old soul that feels like it’s already made the mistakes and is trying to come out and wisen me up. It’s an interesting mix of the two.

3. Congrats on the release of the debut EP, Room. What was the biggest learning from putting together and releasing a debut EP?

DW: To trust in my gut, and to not be so critical on myself. I knew that mixing and producing my own music was a risk, because It was a lonely venture into a world I was just learning about. I knew that I might not have the skills of a veteran who has been doing it for years. But at the same time, I wanted to enter music absolutely as myself. From the get go I wanted to share myself; no matter how rusty or beginner that sounded. I look at all this as a growth of music and a growth of self. I’m having to learn to let go of a lot of insecurities and fears, and for that I have to thank my own music.

4. And now fans have an additional taste of your music with the release of the Message In A Bottle EP. What’s the EP title mean to you?

DW: “Message in a Bottle” came to me from a line in the lyrics: It says, “On that California Coastline / We’re fire and rain at the same time / I found a bottle on the sea / With a message on the inside / Is a tale about a lost love / From a boy who held these memories.” It’s this goodbye to a past version of myself, to the old loves and it’s this intimate goodbye because it’s more than just memory it’s a part of soul, too, that no longer serves.

So the throwing of the bottle is this closure; a letter written and sealed by the same person. An opening up and a goodbye. This seems to be what growth feels like now. Maybe that will change in appearance, or feel differently, I’ll find out. But for now, this feels like a goodbye to an old self, with a mindset of growing up whilst not losing that child inside that makes all of this fun and freeing.

5. You’re not only a musician but also a wide receiver for the Canadian Football League team Winnipeg Blue Bombers. How do you balance being both an artist and an athlete? What’s the biggest challenge of pursing both careers?

DW: This past season was cancelled so it became a focus point to work on my music. This year as we anticipate a season, I have to tread carefully because it’s something I have never done, two things simultaneously. I used to believe these two worlds had to be separate, music and football. But it has proven to be quite the contrary. It has opened the doors for my music to be heard, and I will continue to see them as supporting roles in my life.

6. As an athlete is it tough for you to show a more vulnerable side through your music?

DW: It is. I’ll be straight up honest. There is a lot of insecurity on a football team. Egos, hyper masculinity, these things exist everywhere. But there are guys who are so much more than this sport. I hope to be an example to kids who are afraid to show their emotions, show them that you can be so many different things in life and still maintain your truest essence. I just live passionately, whether that’s on the field or on stage, I’m putting it all on the line.

7. Do you have any funny/fun/weird fan interaction stories you can share?

DW: I was supposed to play this little curb-side concert, this family won it in a little raffle I held and when I showed up it was just one couple. The wife was wasted and the husband was 30 years older than her. Their son came in and out of the room where I half heartedly played for them (he was schizophrenic but was the most normal person in the house). And then there daughter came up from the basement wearing all leather like she was about to hit the corner. She was probably thirty-five, filming me on her phone.. I was very weirded out. The wife had made bacon pirogi's for me. I told her I was a vegetarian. She didn’t understand why someone would do that…. And she kissed me on the cheek when I left. I was very disturbed ha-ha.

8. If you could headline a music festival – which one would be the dream festival? And who would be your choice for the other (2) acts that would headline the other two nights of the festival?

DW: I really think me, The Lumineers and Ziggy Alberts could all put on a nice little folk fest. I wanna play the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in CO. Just an unbelievable venue. Not sure if there is a festival there though! I’ll go to anywhere that will take me at this point!

9. If you could only listen to (5) artists for the rest of your life who would they be?

DW: So basically my life anyway? Ha, I kid I kid. Truthfully: Mt. Joy, The National, Angus & Julia Stone, Cat Stevens & Zella Day

10. What’s the rest of 2021 look like for Drew William?

DW: A whole lot of learning, relationship building, collaboration, and diving deep inside and bringing out The best and truest art. I can feel my life changing before me, it’s frightening but exhilarating. Ready for this ride!

We’re ready for that ride as well! Shout-out to Drew William for hanging for this Too Good Ten. Keep updated with Drew by following along with the links below and be sure to tune TOMORROW, April 20th @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST right HERE.

Facebook

Instagram

Website

YouTube

The Too Good Ten interview series is dedicated to giving you a quick glimpse at some of the freshest voices in music. Ten Questions. One Artist. Too Good. Let’s go.

While The Too Good Ten is dedicated to just highlighting ten questions from an artist, Too Good Music was lucky enough to score an additional two questions from Drew...check them out below:

BONUS QUESTION #1: Congrats on the new releases of “California Coastline” and the cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” What surprised you/or what might people not know about the process of covering and releasing your own version of another artist’s song?

DW: The part I was focused on was really making it my own version. Something people know but don’t know, so it feels like an entirely different ride. I wanted also to pay my respects to the song. It meant a lot to me. I’m sure it helped a lot of people. It’s also a message I needed to hear, especially now. We all need this reminder. We’re all feeling something right now, no need to hide that. This is a very hard time. But we are resilient people and it’s been a gift to witness and a gift to make music that continues to carry this message of resiliency and strength.

BONUS QUESTION #2: Your Quarantine Campfire series on IG live – where you perform, do Q&A’s and bring along friend’s and guests – is awesome. How’d you come up with that concept and would be a dream guest on the series?

DW: This was an extension of the in-person curb-side-concerts I was doing throughout the summer. Creating an intimate and safe place to share music, highlight some local artists and just have fun with the community. Man… My dream guest. Probably Zella Day cuz I got a lot respect for her music and I once saw her sing “Man on the Moon” on YouTube, all acoustic, and I was blown away. It would hit perfectly on my quarantine campfire.

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deadcactuswalking · 3 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 07/11/2020 (Ariana Grande, Bring Me the Horizon)

You know, it’s odd how that despite two pretty massive albums dropping, both having an impact on the chart, we actually have less debuts than the scattered mess of singles from last week, thanks to silly UK Singles Chart rules. Regardless, this week’s #1 is still “positions” by Ariana Grande and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

The biggest drop off the chart this week is undoubtedly the #1 hit “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi, exiting the UK Top 75 after a run lasting 50 weeks. Nothing really compares to the weight of that drop-out but I guess we do have “GREECE” by DJ Khaled featuring Drake, “Heather” by Conan Grey. “Bando Diaries” by Dutchavelli, “Heart of Glass” by Miley Cyrus, “forget me too” by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Halsey and “Hold” by Chunkz and Young Filly, only lasting a measly two weeks but still peaking high. There is actually a theme to our returning entries as all of these are spooky scary Halloween-themed tracks. The classic “Thriller” by the ever-controversial King of Pop Michael Jackson is back at #57, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr. Is back at #54 – this is my personal favourite of the bunch, mostly thanks to Neil Cicierega – and even “Monster Mash” by Bobby Boris Pickett is back at #50. Oh, and “5AM” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz is back at #66 but that’s just scarily bad. The biggest fall this week was for “Cool with Me” by Dutchavelli and M1llionz down to #64 whilst the biggest gain was unfortunately for “Whoopty” by CJ at #48. Honestly, what’s the appeal here? Sigh, at least we have some really interesting hijinks this week, pretty fitting for a week that saw the messiest US election in history, and I won’t write this in order so you won’t see what I’m leading up to until a while after you read this part but there is some incredible stuff here. You know what’s not incredible?

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Too Many Nights” – 220 KID and JC Stewart

Produced by 220 KID, Joe Janiak and Mark Ralph

I started off this episode by writing about the Bring Me the Horizon songs first. Not only is the album good and I had recently listened to it, but I had a lot more to say about the tracks, obviously since it’s not something you see on the charts every day and there’s a lot more to discuss in these tracks. Hence, after writing nearly 2,000 words on the metalcore boys alone, I have a question: do I really need to cover this emotionless tropical house-pop crap manufactured by labels and DJs who rarely find any interesting instrumentation, songwriting ideas or even samples to cover up their complete lack of innovation and at times even talent, for a quick buck and stupid amounts of unwarranted chart success? I don’t want to say I’m angry and I don’t want to seem pretentious but music is art. Art is, as a result of the society that produces it, a product, but even #1 hits and major-label records are still pieces of art. They can be analysed, appreciated and listened to with a lot of thought and detail. I cannot see that in “Too Many Nights” by 220 KID and JC Stewart. To me, this is purely a product. I’m taking this way too seriously but this really exemplifies what people hate about pop music in three minutes and eight seconds of cheap plastic dance music. Next.

#67 – “Ginger” – Wizkid featuring Burna Boy

Produced by P2J

Wizkid and Burna Boy are both highly acclaimed Nigerian singers and given everything that’s happening here recently, it’s no surprise Wizkid released an album that I would think touches on these issues, Made in Lagos, which is a name I can infer means he will explore Nigerian identity and what it means to be from Lagos and make it big in music. Wizkid is one of the big stars and pioneers of modern African pop music and whilst I should be interested in the album, I haven’t had the time to give it a spin yet so I’ll take this first impression from the track with Burna Boy. This is a pretty sweet tropical tune with an infectious hook referencing the traditional West African dish of jollof rice, and whilst the language barrier does prevent me from fully understanding the song, I can gather that this is a mix of a hook-up jam and typical rap stuff, with him flexing how he lives nice and if people want smoke, he’s got smoke, and a lot about this woman gyrating on him. Seriously, that’s the whole first verse, which only arrives after a really awkward pause. The second verse is kind of awkward here and Wizkid’s voice and flow have never done much for me, especially here where both he and Burna Boy sound checked-out. Burna Boy’s contributions are pretty much relegated to half of the chorus and an outro that quickly fades away and soon enough, this really slow, kind of uninteresting song has already finished. I’m not personally a fan of this but I am still interested in that album – I like the song with Skepta even if it does sound very much like “Ginger”, just with a stronger guest. Now onto the big story, or at least my big story, on the chart.

#55 – “1x1” – Bring Me the Horizon featuring Nova Twins

Produced by Jordan Smith and Oliver Sykes

I never read Kerrang! magazine, mostly because I’m not a loser [citation needed]. I understand that they originated in the 1980s as a metal-focused magazine but I wasn’t there for that. I was there for the Kerrang! TV era of pop-punk whining, scene-core screaming, nu-metal grunting, emo crooning and the Bloodhound Gang for some reason. Listening to this new Bring Me the Horizon album, titled Post Human: Survival Horror, took me back to that place. That feeling of classic Metallica followed by less classic Foo Fighters followed by the absolutely not classic Medina Lake (some of their stuff still slaps, however derivative) – oh, yeah, and like 10 minutes of adverts after six minutes of music. That feeling of All Time Low and You Me at Six playing back to back and being completely incapable of telling the difference between the two. “If we ain’t got that then we ain’t got much and we ain’t got nothing.” They were simpler times. I may be mashing up eras here but it still stands. Hell, the BABYMETAL tracks even took me back to the “Flashing Lights” disclaimers of all things. Rest in peace to Scuzz by the way, and, yes, I said BABYMETAL, we’ll get to that in a bit. So, yeah, I really liked that throwback to turn-of-the-millennium mallcore, but it does keep itself fresh and interesting enough throughout, especially with Sykes’ unique delivery and topical albeit ham-fisted edgy lyrics. You can say a lot about Bring Me the Horizon but at this point at least they definitely have pretty defining characteristics and a lot of likeability even if they do like to stick to a formula at times that makes it pretty obvious where their influences lie. That said, I do think the album becomes a slog by track seven, and it’s a lot duller than it probably should be for the final stretch. Unfortunately, this is track seven. I’m not familiar with the Nova Twins but they’re a punk-rap duo from London and honestly I am interested in checking out that debut album but I’m not really impressed by them or the metalcore boys – which is somehow a better band name than “Bring Me the Horizon” – on this track. Again, there is a formula to the metalcore boys’ banger tracks, and here it feels particularly stale and awkward, thanks to the loudness war that’s present in the album as a whole (Linkin Park’s influence shows up everywhere, even in the production) and the awkward trap elements shoved into the percussion of the first and second verses. I think Amy Love of Nova Twins obviously flows better on it than Oli Sykes who should have handed everything that’s not the chorus – one of the most cookie-cutter on the record – to the Twins, because he sounds pretty off here. There’s a lot less “epic edgy” lyrical content (I’m not sure if that’s a compliment) but that leads to kind of vague and disjointed ideas that don’t all line up to the core theme of the song, which is human guilt for the sins of man or some crap like that. Boys, when you interpolate four of your own songs AND Linkin Park, you’ve got to realise you’re re-treading some ground here. Not even the typical Bring Me the Horizon drop into the metal breakdown from an electronic bridge really feels like it’s worth it or climactic here, which is a shame but who needs the Nova Twins when the metalcore boys have a collaboration with another unique all-female rock duo...?

#51 – “Kingslayer” – Bring Me the Horizon featuring BABYMETAL

Produced by Jordan Fish and Oliver Sykes

When I saw BABYMETAL on this tracklist, I was amused and kind of laughed it off. These guys do have some pretty bizarre collaborations – they have songs with Halsey and Grimes – but BABYMETAL? I remember them when they were half-awesome Japanese pop-metal band and half-complete and utter meme in the early 2010s, and I knew that they had continued being so, mostly because the last time I heard from them they were playable in Super Mario Maker. Seriously, look it up. Now when I saw BABYMETAL on the charts, nearing the top 50 no less, I was ecstatic and honestly shocked. Needless to say this is their first appearance on the chart and whilst metal bands in the 2000s like Slipknot and System of a Down had genuine hits, outside of, fittingly, Bring Me the Horizon, it’s unheard of, especially for a Japanese girl group who happen to have freaking shredders playing on stage behind them. I haven’t listened to a BABYMETAL album but I feel like I don’t need to because of how much they’ve made an impression through singles, videos and live performances. Judas Priest’s Rob Halford called BABYMETAL “the future of metal” and whilst I’m not into the metal scene, I’m half-inclined to both agree and add Bring Me the Horizon to that conversation. I’m just amazed there is a cyber-kawaii metal song on the charts. I’m honestly astonished. Oh, and it helps that the song is incredible. On the album there’s a short interlude that functions as an introduction but honestly the short, aggressive synth riff followed by an immediate crash into the metal groove and Sykes yelling his lungs out works better on its own to just shove you face-first into some insane music. I love how that opening yell is chopped up and digitally re-arranged in the background of the chaotic instrumentation. The cutesy and bleep-bloopy synths that are not new to Bring Me the Horizon’s repertoire are used to their full potential here and yes, it is complete sensory overload, but it’s also kawaii-cyber metal. I mean, what did you expect? It also thematically makes sense. The song is about Call of Duty but it’s also an ode to the people willing to stand up for what they believe in even if it’s illegal and even if it doesn’t abide by rules and regulations. The album is full of these songs that fully support a revolutionary attitude and a clear frustration with keeping up with the old guard for all these years. You can hear how fed up and sick and tired of the political hellscape Sykes is in his shifts between pitch-shifted whining not dissimilar to Blink-182 and gravelly yelling straight out of extreme metal, except unlike most extreme metal I’ve heard, this is actually mixed properly. This track and especially the opener, “Dear Diary”, have so much anarchic energy and that is what I love about the hardcore punk edge to a lot of the album, not necessarily as much sonically as that in content and lyrical themes, where Sykes presents his inner mental struggles and contextualises them on the world stage, making an album that tackles the pandemic, racism and corruption vaguely and with poetic wit without being shallow or impersonal. Most songs that relate to the social distancing will not use the depressive emotional bloodletting of “Teardrops”, the subtly ominous yet still anthemic choruses about lockdown in “Obey” (seriously, these guys can make even YUNGBLUD sound listenable) and even the slow, sour conflict with both Mother Nature and general isolation on the closing ballad that has a name way too long for me to recite, as much as I enjoy upping the word count on every episode. Sykes’ verse in “Kingslayer” discusses opposing points of political opposition and protest, on one hand wanting to express how sick people are of going through the capitalist machine only to be spat back out again but also asking him the condescending question of if he really wants to poke the governmental bear. On the pre-chorus, he voices those frustrations in profanity-laden motivation that is asking not just himself but the general public to wake up, not that they’re unaware of how unfair the system is but instead acting as a call to action. Su-Metal of BABYMETAL takes this ode in a different angle, seeing revolutionaries as idolised figures, so much so that the chorus works as a confession of love or just awe in how the “kingslayer” is destroying castles in the sky and will save “us” from the darkness and from the struggles that the corrupt elite forces onto the populace. In the verse Su-Metal juxtaposes the imagery in the hook of some kind of medieval warrior (“angel of the blade”) with the near-incomprehensible verse, which is half-sung in Japanese with a cry for help responded to in commanding English, which I see as a reaction from the authority that undermines these problems. They call the revolutionary “artificial” and “modified” in a condescending, mocking tone, as well as using so much digital jargon that the verse becomes practically meaningless, especially backed by the heavy, loud music that drowns some of the messaging about and very much intentionally. It also seems pretty intentional that this song sounds like a take on an anime opening, as all of this cyber-punk imagery and anti-authority lyrical content feels a lot sharper when coated in references and criticism of mass-media. Oh, and it also helps that the song rocks, Su-Metal’s melodies are beautifully placed against a frenetic, monotone bass note in her verse, and that final chorus is absolutely perfect. That rapid-fire addition to the chorus took me by surprise on first listen and just completes the song for me. The song ends with one last wake-up call from Sykes about the rabbit hole before his yell is manipulated, screwed and played with by the production, rendering his scream inhuman... and followed by the playful, childlike inflections of BABYMETAL. If we don’t at least try to change in this time, the generations after us will suffer from our mistakes and missed opportunities. Man, this song is a rollercoaster that starts with drum and bass rhythms and ends with Oli Sykes growling gratuitous profanities that get close to feeling like he’s insulting the listener – it’s really brutal – and I’m here for it all the way. There have been songs on REVIEWING THE CHARTS that I like and that I love and whilst I know this won’t stick around (it is still cyber-kawaii metal), this is undoubtedly the best song I think I’ve ever covered on this show and might as well just be one of the best songs I’ve heard this year and maybe ever. I adore this track, please, PLEASE check it out.

#46 – “Flooded” – M Huncho and Nafe Smallz

Produced by Sean Murdz

Okay, seriously for a second: who cares? There’s nothing interesting here. A synth-based soundscape with some cheap flute loops drowned out by trap percussion that doesn’t even drop in, it just awkwardly fades in – yes, even the 808s – and Auto-Tuned mumbling from a nasal-voiced child with an unbearable falsetto. What is the appeal? None of them sound interested, there are no bars of any interest or even a funny line, not even unintentionally. D-Block Europe make me laugh but this tragically awful duo make me bored to death. M Huncho has a cool mask he wears and I wish his gimmick was more than just that and you know, actually translated to the music, but he doesn’t sound intimidating or like a villain. He just sounds like some dude who decided to rap barely on the beat of badly-mixed type beat with bass mastering that should be pitied. He did have a fluke song that kind of slapped called “Pee Pee”, which just comes to show that the more ridiculous and stupid he gets, the more vaguely entertaining he is. So why is he this dull and lame?! The flow is either talking over a beat that refuses to stay still but never truly reaches any kind of climax or even build-up, or just trap-rap word association. “I flooded the chain, it’s like a lake, we runnin’ the game, you pressin’ the brakes.” There’s nothing here, absolutely nothing, and these two hacks cannot sell it. I’m just looking for some effort and even if something is effortless, at least have the charisma to make it sound like you give a damn because this is pretty inexcusable.

#35 – “Paradise” – MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy

Produced by MEDUZA

I’m tired and I feel like I’m almost at breaking point with these songs. What would usually be generic and uninteresting is sounding offensively bad to me right now and I’m not sure why. That doesn’t really matter all too much to me though as this show has never been an in-depth critical assessment... okay, well sometimes it becomes as such but these are usually just my first impressions of tracks that happen to debut that week on the UK Singles Chart and this can range from volatile frustration to immediate adoration to not giving a rat’s ass about a single one of the songs that debut, depending on how I feel that day. That said, this song is fine. I actually really like Kennedy’s delivery, even if his rougher edges are smoothened and cleaned up by the vocal production here, which is pretty reverb-drenched but does allow for Kennedy to actually release rather than editing the vocals to sound really tight and closed-in... except for that really weak, pathetic drop but I do like the lyrical content, fittingly about distanced relationships as England enters a second lockdown. There’s little to say here but it’s worth a listen.

#32 – “Four Notes – Paul’s Tune” – Paul Harvey, Daniel Whibley and BBC Philharmonic

Produced by ???

No production credits for this one for whatever reason. Anyway, I am tired to the point of just complete speechless confusion at why this charted, and especially so high, rather than having any intrigue in why, but I looked it up anyway. Paul Harvey is a man from Sussex with dementia who is able to improvise beautiful piano melodies with only four notes as a reference point, hence the name. This was recorded by his son Nick and posted onto Twitter, where it soon became viral. This composition was then arranged by Daniel Whibley and recorded by the BBC’s Philharmonic Orchestra to be released as a charity single with proceeds being split between the Alzheimer’s Society and Music for Dementia. This isn’t a song I can critique. The arrangement is really pretty and it was in the original video, with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra only serving to make it sound grander and fitting for a single release. Dementia, Alzheimer’s and any kind of brain disorder are all really tragic and really depressing things to happen to anybody, especially to the people it tends to affect: the elderly. It’s sweet that this is a single and I like that it charted high so those organisations that can assist science in treating these disorders and give help to those with family members diagnosed with and suffering from brain disorders have more funding. The song sounds good, it’s mixed well and honestly it’s pretty gorgeous at times, and if this helps people, then it’s done its job, and I commend Harvey and his son, Daniel Whibley and the BBC for letting this happen. Now for something completely different.

#26 – “Deluded” – Tion Wayne featuring MIST

Produced by Steel Banglez and Chris Rich Beats

Steel Banglez, Tion Wayne and MIST? God, maybe we are returning to the new normal; this is a 2019 line-up. Tion Wayne is a character and a presence on the track always and MIST is quite the opposite, but that “So High” song with Fredo was pretty cool, I suppose. Tion Wayne has always been more of an entertaining presence than half this crop of drill rappers, even if his flow and bars suffer from it, but he’s always a lot more fun and he does have a couple punchlines that hit. This particular song uses that “mm-mm” flow that originated on his track “Keisha & Becky”, and both him and MIST sound really interested and enthused here, as they trade bars in the verses and support each other with ad-libs throughout. The two seem to actually have some chemistry and it’s not an unnatural collaboration. Even in Tion Wayne’s solo chorus, MIST is shouting behind him, and it overall makes the song really aggressive and punchy, even if some of the lyrics are just kind of uninteresting or even confusing, like the oddly-specific jab at an unnamed crack abuser, always referred to as “you” in the song. Is the listener a crack addict? Should I be scared? I’m not entirely sure, but this kind of slaps, especially the keys and vocal sample in the outro. It kind of reminds me of a harsher version of the #1 hit back from 2018, “Funky Friday” by Dave and Fredo, except these guys are legitimately menacing in the song and the bass-heavy drill beat never subtracts from that, not to say that “Funky Friday” is a bad song (far from it). It’s not about being able to convince me with lyrics, it’s about being able to sell what you say effectively and interestingly – not even uniquely, but just in a way that’s presentable and leads to genuinely good music. M Huncho and Nafe Smallz could take a couple hints from these guys.

#16 – “motive” – Ariana Grande and Doja Cat

Produced by TBHits, Joseph L’Etranger, Mr. Franks and Murda Beatz

Murda Beatz, huh? Well, I haven’t listened to Positions yet, mostly because I’ve been bumping Goddamn Bring Me the Horizon for the past week, but also because 14 tracks of the same song doesn’t necessarily interest me. For the sake of the show I probably should check the album out – it’s not that long – but don’t expect me to have that a positive opinion on it. I said my peace on Grande last week and given the singles I seriously doubt this album will erase my continuous issues with her projects. I’ve always felt that despite her unbelievable talent, she is also unbelievably disinterested and detached from her own music to the point where whatever artistic contributions and creativity she and her team had is completely washed out by the questionable production, weak-sauce trap beats and misguided song ideas (I still roll my eyes on “7 rings” and “sweetener”). From what I’ve heard from this new album, it has a lot more classic R&B keys and strings undercut by trap skitters and modern vocal production, and this is pretty clear in “motive”, a funky house-inspired dance-pop tune that feels miles less robotic and factory-made than most house on the charts, instead going for an organic fast-paced groove and mildly annoying vocal samples. The trap breakdown in the pre-chorus is what gives Murda Beatz the right to put his producer tag at the start of the song, which is honestly just funny. I do like the verses but the chorus doesn’t hit in quite the same way it should, possibly that pre-chorus is just garbage and it doesn’t build to an effective crescendo for the chorus to build up on off of whispery murmuring. Oh, and Doja Cat is here, which took me by surprise when she started lazily rapping since Ari actually sounded like her in the second verse. In fact, this is a Doja Cat song in all but lead artist credit and honestly, the song kind of suffers because of it. This is decent, I suppose, but a collaboration that doesn’t favour either artist.

#9 – “34+35” – Ariana Grande

Produced by ProdByXavi, Mr. Franks, Peter Lee Johnson and TBHits

Ariana Grande’s albums have disproportionate producer credit to producer effort ratio. At least there’s not a M-M-M-Murda on this one. The song title is stupid but this was pushed to radio so I guess it has to be family-friendly PG clean to some degree. It is interesting how it goes for the absurdity of being dirty over Disney-like orchestral blossoms and pretty nice-sounding strings, but it doesn’t go far enough other than the chorus. It’s missing a good, effective, funny opening line, and I feel that the verses are pretty lacking. The pre-chorus is almost cringeworthy and just going into bizarre levels of horny on main but that is very much the point of the whole thing. “You know I keep it squeaky”? I find it almost difficult to take this song as anything more than a joke, but she does have some pretty commanding tones when she asks him to “just give me them babies” and the snarky laugh in the intro combined with pretty slick albeit absolutely stupid punchlines that go from so bad it’s good territory to just unabashedly ridiculous and embracing itself as such. I love the falsetto in the chorus even if it is just building up to that stupid title that is nowhere near as clever as Ari thinks it is. By the way, she completely delivers here and it’s a pretty damn great performance from her, one of her most enthusiastic on record, even with her now typical “yuh”s spread throughout. Hell, the rap verse actually works this time mostly because her charisma actually comes through and the trap skitter has some energy this time, unlike “7 rings”. I don’t get the end where she says she was never good at maths, though, because “34 + 35 = 69” is a pretty solid and correct albeit obviously simple calculation. You got the answer, give it a tick in a different colour pen.

Got the neighbours yellin’, “Earthquake!” / 4.5 when I make the bed shake

There’s a song in the top 10 that uses the moment magnitude scale as a sex metaphor. 2020, everyone.

Conclusion

Let’s cut to the chase: Best of the Week goes to Bring Me the Horizon and BABYMETAL for “Kingslayer”, which should have been obvious. I’m so glad I expanded beyond the top 40 on this show. It means I can talk about songs like that in depth. Honourable Mention might actually go to Ariana Grande’s “34+35” on plain fun alone, although the similarly numeric “1x1” did get close. The Worst of the Week is really a toss-up because there was a lot of disposable filler between the good and interesting stuff this week had to offer. I’ll probably go with “Flooded” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz, with a Dishonourable Mention to “Too Many Nights” by 220 KID and JC Stewart. Both are just impressively lacking in effort or any appeal I can search for, but knowing my luck, they’ll both be “Old Town Road”-level big. Here’s our top 10:

Thanks for reading this! You can follow me @cactusinthebank on Twitter and I need some sleep. See you next week!

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90sgrungewriter · 7 years

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1. Untitled - Eddie Vedder

Status: Unedited

“Come on, you’ll be able to meet our new singer! The dude is a fucking beast when he gets up there. You promised you’d be at our first show and you bailed, now’s your chance to make it up to ol’ Stoney!” The long-haired man ruffled your hair while you tried swatting his hand away, rolling your eyes as you sat your paint brush and tray down on the small table to your left. You stood up and glared at him.

“Go fuck yourself. I had come back late from my class, you know I felt bad about that!” You spoke loudly. You didn’t understand why it mattered so much that you were there to begin with. Stone Gossard was a popular guy.

You and him had been friends for years, along with Jeff Ament. Since grade school, you guys were the three musketeers. You often sit back and think about those days, and where you’s all are now. It was awesome that the friendship was still strong as ever, even in your twenties. While they had chose the musical way, you leaned more towards art and painting. Not that you weren’t musically inclined, in fact you were just as advanced as Stone on guitar, if not more. But for some reason it just didn’t compare to the way you felt when your paint brush stroked across the surface. That was your thing.

It was a Saturday afternoon, you finally had a day off. You had been painting all day, Tom Petty blasting out your record player. Then Stone came in the picture, begging you to attend his Mookie show. They had recently gotten a new singer, some guy from California. You had heard the infamous demo tape, and he did indeed have the voice of an angel. But its not what you wanted to do tonight. To attend a sweaty show crowded with drunk people didn’t sound very appealing. You wanted some alone time, to just do your thing, but the guilt from ditching his last show still weighed heavy on your heart.

Yes, Stone could be annoying as fuck, but he was still your friend. Almost family. It felt that way anyway. His parents had always treated you like their own, they were so kind. You knew you had to go tonight.

“The guys miss you, they haven’t seen you in forever. You’ve been so busy. Jeff would be happy as all fucking hell if you were there. Please?” He gave his doe-eyed stare and you just turned away and sighed.

“Alright Stone. You got me. I’ll be there-” You were interrupted when he engulfed you in a bear hug, your face squished up against his chest. He was wearing a navy blue sweater with black shorts and his dark boots. He smelled like cigarettes and mint. He had on his Dallas Cowboys hat with a bandanna underneath. He pulled away, a wide smile across his lips his hands rest on your upper arms tightly.

“Thanks Dani! We’ll pick you up around 7. Be ready!” He kissed your cheek and with that, left your small apartment. You chuckled to yourself as you turned back to your painting.

“You’re welcome Stone.” You smiled softly, and brushed the wet paint on to the canvas.

---------

It was currently 6:30 and you were touching up the last bits of your painting. You knew the guys would be here to pick you up soon, so you decided against cleaning shit up. That could wait.

Instead, you made your way to your bathroom and washed what you could of the paint off you. After that, you brushed your teeth and looked at yourself in the mirror. Your short hair that ran just below your jawline was a bit matted, but didn’t look terrible so you just let it be. You had no makeup on, not that you even owned any, and you didn’t quite care. Sure you had breakouts sometimes, but covering that up wasn’t going to make you feel better about yourself. Right now though, that wasn’t the case, thankfully.

You went to your bedroom and quickly changed into your dark, ripped denim overalls and paired it with your black Chili Peppers t-shirt. Just as you were putting on your socks you heard your front door open.

“Honey we’re home!” A male voice yelled. Jeff.

Footsteps approached your room and that infectious smile stood in your doorway.

“Hey Jeff. New hat?” you questioned standing up, observing. He was an avid fan of quirky hats and you loved it. This hat was pink and huge. He grinned and grabbed it with his hand, placing it on top of your head. You glanced in the mirror and giggled. You looked pretty fucking goofy.

“Yes mam! Thrift store down the road from here. They got some pretty wicked stuff in there, man. You should check it out!” He stated enthusiastically and threw his arm around your shoulder. You smiled at the touch.

You slipped on your black boots and the two of you made your way outside, talking stupid shit like always. He led you to the truck they had been using since the good Love Bone days. It was big enough to put all the gear in and it had some value, you figured they would never part ways with it.

There was loud music coming from within the truck, and you had assumed all the guys were in there but as you looked, it was only Mike, whom occupied the drivers seat. He made his way out and around over to you.

“Hey you! Where have you been hiding? Its been a while.” He asks teasingly as he wraps his arms around you. You wrapped yours around his waist equally as tight.

Mike and you were pretty close, Stone introduced you two when you were about 15 years old. He was the one who practically taught you to play guitar. Out of the whole band, you felt like you could relate to Mike the most. He shared your quiet-like features, and definitely understood your anxiety issues. It was something you really appreciated and you enjoyed his company. It always made you happy to see these boys and you would always consider yourself lucky to have them in your life.

“I know, school has been stressing me out to the max lately.” You said as you pulled away and made your way to the back of the truck while he went back for his drivers seat. You were quickly stopped though, before you could even hop in.

“Ladies sit up front, don’t be silly.” Stone teased as he pushed you to the passenger side door that was wide open.

“How chivalrous of you, Gossard. I thank you.” You spoke heartily.

“I am! Whatever the fuck that means.” You laughed aloud and sat in your seat.

Next thing you guys were in the parking lot of the club.

“I’m gonna grab a beer. That cool?” You looked at them both. Jeff was opening the back doors to the vehicle to grab his gear.

“Yeah, if you see any of the guys in there tell them to come grab there shit.” You nodded in response and smiled. He winked and started grabbing his stuff.

You made your way inside and looked around. It wasn’t that bad, but you knew by the end of the night this place would be way more packed than it was now. But maybe some time with your friends was what you needed.

Before you could even find the bartender you spot Stone, so you just decided to make your way over there first. He sport the exact same clothing as before, which didn’t really surprise you.

“Well look who decided to actually show up tonight! Miss Dani, we are honored to have your presence at our second Mookie Blaylock show!” Stone spoke sarcastically, witty smile plastered on his face. You shot him a look. He was with Matt Cameron from Soundgarden and some guy you’ve never seen before. You could only assume that was Eddie. He was cute, his blue eyes gaze into yours for just a moment. You felt a positive energy radiate from him and it made you smile.

“Yes Stone, there’s absolutely no where else I’d rather be on earth right now.” You shot back, with a lot of sass. Matt laughed.

“Hey Dani.” Matt said to you. You waved your hand and smiled wide.

You turned to the curly haired man and held your hand out. “ Hi, you must be Eddie?” He smiled small and nodded, hand enveloping yours gently. “Im Danica. But most people just call me Dani. Nice to finally put a face to the voice! That was some demo tape bud, you got a beautiful style.” And that was the honest truth. His voice was literally liquid gold on that tape. He looked down, face flushing, small smile on his lips and his brows furrowed. He looked like he did not do well with compliments so to help him out you decided to just change the subject. The last thing you wanted to do was make this guy uncomfortable here. He was probably sick of gloomy Seattle and missing the beaches of sunny California already. You wondered how long he had been here for anyway? You pulled your hand back and let it fall to your side.

“Jeff is out by the truck and wants you guys to go get your shit.” You punched his shoulder. He grabbed it in fake hurt. You flipped him the bird and tried not to crack a smile. But that proved to be too hard.

“Yep, lets go Ed!” He chirped and made his way toward the entrance. Ed smiled lightly at you. You took it as an awkward thank you for the compliment you gave him and you returned the smile.

“I’m going to grab a beer.” you stated to Matt as Eddie was trying to catch up to Jeff.

“I’m with you, man.” Matt spoke and you guys made your way to the bartender for a cold one.

You had spoken to Matt on numerous occasions as Mother Love Bone (as well as Green River) have played quite a few shows with Soundgarden. He was a genuine guy, a bit quiet, but so were you. And you appreciated the silence sometimes. It was never awkward.

You guys drank your beers and spoke about upcoming Soundgarden shows. You hadn’t seen them play in a few months as things had been very hectic for them, so you were a bit excited as you learned they would be playing tonight too.

After the boys got their shit together, everyone watched Mudhoney perform an awesome show. Mark was a cool guy, and you were glad that he had a band of his own now. They were great. You all drank your beer and smoked cigarettes and laughed.There were a few joints passed around too so you were in an extremely good mood. People were definitely starting to crowd in.

You couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at Eddie every now and then. He didn’t say much, so people were always trying to get him to talk. You felt a bit bad, so maybe you could try and get him away from everything for at least a few minutes.

While the guys were distracted by Steve’s loud solo, your hand made its way to Eddie’s shoulder and you squeezed gently, trying not to startle him. You didn’t think it worked very well in your favor, as his head quickly turned to find you. His crystal eyes bore into your own hazel ones, face inches away. You didn’t mean to be that close to him and you hoped it didn’t make things weird. You were trying to get closer so you could talk to him without the others really paying attention. Not to mention it was super loud. You also almost forgot that Jeff’s hat was still on your head as it was just grazing Eddie’s forehead. You took a mental note to give it back to him before he goes up there.

Lucky for you, it didn’t seem to make Eddie too uncomfortable, but you did notice his face change. His brows furrowed as he pursed his lips, his cheeks were a light shade of pink and his eyes darted down to your lips for half a second. It happened so fast you almost wondered if it had really happened. But you were pretty certain it did.

“Wanna dip? We could go have a smoke outside? You look like you could step out for a few minutes.” You removed your hand as you spoke.

He merely nodded and you both stood up, leaving your empty bottles by your seats. Looking around, everyone was still just focusing on the awesome show that the Mudhoney guys were giving the crowd.

You made your way to the entrance, Eddie following behind you. Once you’s were outside you each lit one and smoked in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable and you were glad about that.

After a few minutes, you were halfway done your cig and you thought it was time to start up a small conversation, but he spoke first.

“Isn’t that Jeff’s hat?” He rose an eyebrow in curiosity. You giggled and nodded.

“Yeah, he put it on my head before we left my place and apparently its still up there.” You pointed up at it with your index finger. He laughed softly and took another drag.

“So how are you liking Seattle so far? Everything you thought it would be?” you took a puff, eyeing him. He looked sexy smoking.

He chuckled quietly, eyes glued to the ground. You had a feeling you were making it a bit awkward, but you were here now and nothing you could do. Just let it play out.

“I guess. It could be worse, right? I mean, the people are pretty cool.” He looked up at you, you observed his beautiful cheekbones. You noticed you were probably staring too long when he looked away and shook his head.

“I mean, its great.” He stuttered sounding a bit nervous. “I’m sorry, I’m insulting you aren’t I? Fuck, that’s not what I wanted to do. Its just-” You interrupted his rambling with a light chuckle.

“Don’t worry dude, I could give less of a shit what you think of the city I guess. Just trying to make a bit of talk. You miss your family right? I mean I don’t blame you. I would too.” You spoke evenly. He smiled slightly and took the last puff of his smoke and tossed it to the pavement.

“Yeah.” Was all he said.

You finished your smoke as well and put it out. You both still just sat there in silence staring at the street ahead of you. It was a bit busy, but nothing to crazy for a Saturday night.

Then, Eddie broke the silence this time. “Uh - Stone tells me you’re an artist?” You turned to find him already looking at you with a hint of curiosity.

“I guess. I mean, if you wanna call it that.” You smiled.

“I’d like to see your art sometime.” He said quietly, almost like he didn’t know what he was saying, like it just flowed naturally out of his mouth.

“Sounds like a plan.” You stated as you stood up. He got the idea and stood up as well, as you both made your way back inside the dingy nightclub.

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comments-on-kai · 7 years

Photo

[NAVER] 'HT3' KAI X Taemin, From Sexy Dance to Clumsiness "Taking Over Golden Bell"

Translated by: theMoonDreamer @ Twitter (Comments related to EXO KAI only)

[+1168,-38] The two of them were very good!

[+952,-38] I support KaTaem

[+984,-85] Jongin-ie was so cute today ㅠㅠ and his dancing lines was daebak

[+276,-11] KAI & Taemin (friendship) was so nice to behold ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[+274,-12] Actually just watching only KAI and Taemin was already so good ㅋㅋㅋ

[+256,-31] Why is EXO KAI so sexy?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[+255,-21] Our Jongin-ie was so cute

[+230,-27] KAI is real "hot body" his body is freaking awesome

[+188,-19] EXO KAI was really fun really cute & so good at dancingㅠㅠㅠ.. the best

[+133,-16] This was KAI first time doing variety alone..for a first timer he did well KAI fighting!

[+122,-14] I want to see more of KAI in varieties ㅋㅋㅋ not only is he handsome his reactions are good too

[+122,-15] EXO KAI dancing was so cool ㅠㅠ and he looked so pure & cute being surprised during the magic show! A new attractive point!

- KAI was really cute...I thought he was gonna be the silent type but his reactions were good with cute expresions..

- Shocked KAI during watching the magic was so cute ㅋㅋㅋㅋ his lips kept opening wide really cute ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- KAI was really handsome ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he stood up for a while but his legs were really long

- KAI-ya please come out in varieties more often you were very fun~

- Burst out laughing at "I have to pee too" ㄱㅋㅋㅋ I noticed this from Knowing Brothers too I think this friend named KAI is pretty funny

- KAI's dance is really art ㅠㅠ even up until a while ago I had no idea how beautiful his dancing is but I saw KAI's Deep Breath & got shocked...his dancing lines are beautiful and his body is beautiful too. He would be smiling all shy but once he is on the stage he becomes a master of the stage performance... I really understood why Idols kept choosing him as their Idol,and why there are always talks about how good of a dancer he is.. seriously you CANNOT criticize him through his dance it's like a high-grade art ㅠㅠ

- KAI was even no 1 on Naver real-time search he was really cool...

- KAI was really unexpected ㅋㅋㅋ he spoke better than I thought he would and every time the camera showed him he was either surprised or focused or laughing his reactions were good. I hope he would appear on talkshows or varieties more often ㅋㅋㅋ

- I think I know now why other idols picked KAI as their role model KAI was really cool

- KAI looks like someone who is brusque, but I think in Happy Together and just like how it was in Knowing Brother, he quietly speaks well

- Although I know EXO it's the first time I really learn of this friend named KAI. Well as I'm a guy I mostly only watch girl idols on TV but seems like KAI is really popular within EXO even Kang Daniel wants to emulate him

- EXO KAI is really handsome..his body was daebak too..his legs were too long the pants actually looked short on him ㅋㅋㅋㅋ how long are they really...anyways when KAI smiles without knowing it my cheeks rises up too ㅋㅋㅋ anticipating next week episode now

- It was my first time seeing KAI danced he's SO good..when the show was over that was the only thing I could remember. does he have a background in contemporary arts performance? I need to find out more about him

- I knew that EXO KAI is good at dancing but watching him again he's really a good dancer and also very handsome ㅠㅠ

- my mouth fell open when KAI was dancing he was really very good

- KAI was very sexy... he didn't really say much but it was fluttering

- KAI dancing was really no joke he danced really well.. his legs and arms are long.. when he was dancing I thought I was watching like someone bewitched ㅋㅋ

- KAI-nim was very cool as well as Taemin-nim! When I saw Taemin-nim's contented smile my heart felt warm, and KAI-nim himself being more shy when Samuel had to do the aegyo was very cute ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Fighting to both of you!!

- the both of them were really something else~ How did SM find and develop them...incredible

- Isn't Samuel the luckiest? He received praises from the most prominent Idol Dance Masters

- I was genuinely surprised when I saw KAI's footworks wow

- I was watching the live broadcast & got so shocked when I saw KAI's body... how is his legs that long? His reactions are good too I hope he appears more on varieties ㅋㅋㅋ

- KAI had good reactions & when he smiled so handsome... his dancing was so solid I was surprised

- EXO KAI-ssi your dancing line was so cool...you're great...

- KAI was really cool...he's cute and at the same time gentle..I think he has a good personality

- KAI was telling his story ㅋㅋㅋ when he said "what are we doing?" it was real-life way of speaking it was so cuteㅋㅋ

- I think KAI is kinda..amazing

- When the Samuel boy was doing aegyo and KAI was the one who took it personally...why was it so cuteㅋㅋ

- EXO KAI's was SO good at dancing I was shocked.. he was so innocent & cute!

- KAI-nim legs were so long! And Taemin-nim was really smiley ㅋ i think it would be fun if they shoot a variety with just the two of them

- I hope nobody is trying to find fault with KAI. I'm a dude and seriously there wasn't any problem at all. Whatever he was asked to do he did really well & he reacted well...btw I'm really a dude

- watched this with my family & everybody were talking about how cool KAI was~ his dancing was cool too!

- EXO KAI was really cool & the way he talks is fun too~ seriously cool! If this keep happening I might be a fan one day ㅎㅎ

[NAVER] 'Happy Together' KAI, past photos from when he was mistaken as a girl revealed

[+133,-4] KAI is so prety ㅠㅠ

[+101,-3] Cute ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ큐ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[+95,-4] Born beautiful

[+86,-4] Seriously deserving (of being misunderstood)

[+76,-2] KAI doesn't say much but he has this unique aura that's very attractive

- Pretty ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

- EXO KAI is very pretty but also handsomeㅠㅠㅠㅠ

- What's up with this litte boy? So fcking handsome

- KAI is really sexy..I feel like stanning

- So KAI is pretty from very young age

- Now KAI is cool but he's so pretty when he was child ㅎ

- so pretty

- KAI is smiling but why does my heart hurts

- Wow his face during childhood reminds me of H.O.T? And his adult face is fresh..I'm sure ladies love him?

#kai #exo #kim jongin #kimjongin #happy together #exotranslations #jongin #kim kai #nini #commentsonKAI

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superrichlads · 7 years

Text

about Niall: the solo era

HITS DAILY DOUBLE, SEPTEMBER 2016: ″Niall Horan is indeed inking with Steve Barnett's Capitol following another fierce signing derby… The word from people who’ve heard Niall’s record is that it’s outstanding.”

HITS DAILY DOUBLE, SEPTEMBER 2016: “Coming just after UMG’s A&R meetings in Hampshire, UK, Horan’s release is the first offering from a very important worldwide signing for the company and one of the top records of the meetings, according to many of the attendees.”

AMY WADGE, NOVEMBER 2016: “Niall’s a cracking writer, he’s got a great voice, he’s kind of got a Paul Simon thing going on, so I think there’ll be elements of country within [his album], because that’s what he likes, but at the moment he’s recording, and he’s smashing it, he’s doing so well.”

DON WAS, BLUE NOTE PRESIDENT & RECORD PRODUCER, DECEMBER 2016: "He showed up with a bunch of really great songs he wrote, he sings really well… He was thoroughly professional, humble and sweet. He spent time talking with all the musicians, hung out -- everybody loved him… He's the real deal, man. I'm so impressed with this guy."

CHRIS MARTIN, (COLDPLAY), DECEMBER 2016: “I really honestly feel that everything is a touchstone. Whether it’s Chopin or Niall from One Direction, if it’s good I’ll listen to it, and I’ll love it.”

JOE RAINEY, CAPITOL RECORDS VP PROMOTION, MARCH 2017: “I’m excited for what he’s gonna be creating, because in the few times I’ve met with him, that’s a remarkably talented man.”

GARY TRUST, BILLBOARD CO-DIRECTOR OF CHARTS, MARCH 2017: “Even if This Town is not a number one record at Top 40, it sound like to me, because it’s so intimate, I have a feeling that it’s a lot of people’s favourite song… it seems like it could really hit people on a really deep level.”

GOLF DIGEST, MARCH 2017: “One of the music industry's biggest stars—the first artist to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Social 50 Chart with his single This Town late last year.”

LINE OF BEST FIT, MAY 2017: “Niall Horan's new track ‘Slow Hands’ wipes the floor with all the other solo sounds that have emerged since the demise of One Direction. It's one of the year's first proper Song Of The Summer contenders and sees Horan ditch balladeering for slinky riffs and proper raunch. He's shed his squeaky clean onesie and donned a crooner coat, giving us one of the coolest, catchiest choruses of 2017 in the process.”

BILLBOARD, MAY 2017: “Slow Hands doesn’t just put his voice in a bit of a new light, the grittier, funkier tune also presents Horan’s versatility as a solo artist."

ELVIS DURAN, Z100 MORNING SHOW, MAY 2017: “When we saw you, way back at - was it Jingle Ball, in New York City? And of all the people I talked to that night and interviewed, you were the nicest, you were the nicest guy. And I just wanted - I’ve been waiting all these months to say thank you.”

RYAN SEACREST, MAY 2017: “Niall, when he comes in, to me he has the most charisma of all of them… he’s got that, he’s super-nice, and super-normal for being in One Direction and having the solo thing.”

DON HENLEY, MAY 2017: “Niall is a solid guy whose focus is right where it ought to be: on songwriting. He’s got the Irish charm and a healthy, self-effacing sense of humor, which is an essential survival tool in this business. I think that Niall will evolve into a resonant, thoughtful voice for his generation.”

DON WAS, MAY 2017: “Niall’s got the stuff… He drove himself to the studio, carried his own guitar, stepped up to the microphone and was great every take. If they do the Desert Trip festival in 50 years, he’ll be headlining.”

STEVE BARNETT, CAPITOL RECORDS CHAIRMAN & CEO, MAY 2017: “The absolute top in terms of professionalism, thoughtfulness, work ethic and appreciating what he’s got. You’d be proud if he was your son.”

SHAWN MENDES, MAY 2017: “I’m pretty nervous in front of other celebrities still, but he’s so calm and chill… We just started jamming out, and it didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to be good in front of him.’ It was complete fun, no ego, like the reason you play music in the first place.”

ELVIS DURAN, MAY 2017: “I’ll never forget this moment, when This Town - when you first released This Town… this was the first time I’d seen you perform solo, and you came out on stage - Madison Square Garden, not a bad room… you came out on stage by yourself, you and your guitar, it was just you, your guitar, and one little light shining on you, in this huge, huge arena, and you sang that song, and I was thinking: this is probably the most pure, wonderful performance we’re going to hear in a long time. I still, I still - look, I get goosebumps. When you sung the song earlier today, it took me back to that performance… you came out and sang that song and I was thinking: this guy is it, that was it, and that was the perfect song to launch with… that song, it speaks volumes about you, because it’s such a gentle, wonderful song.”

ELVIS DURAN, MAY 2017: “You sound so fantastic that no one believes that it’s live, they think we’re playing a track.”

CLARA AMFO, BBC RADIO 1, JUNE 2017: “I’ve been saying to the listeners, I do appreciate the approach you’ve taken with your solo stuff. No shade to the other guys, but you didn’t really make a big fuss, there wasn’t like these big teasers, you just kind of slyly did it, just casual, you were just chilled with it, I rate that.”

TMRW, JUNE 2017: “For a man so adored and so blindingly good at what he does, he’s modest as anything. Except for golf, he knows he’s good at golf.”

TANYA KIM, ENTERTAINMENT NOW, JUNE 2017: “This Town is one of my favourite songs of all time. Ever. In the existence of music. I have to say it’s so beautiful.”

NOTION, JUNE 2017: “Having travelled around Asia and relocated to LA, Niall is more than ready to re-enter the world of pop, and he’s doing it with surprising finesse. When he released his second single, ‘Slow Hands’, at the beginning of May, the world was taken aback. It wasn’t some radical departure from his work in 1D, it was a more mature, nuanced version of that same guitar music meets pop sound they’d come to specialise in, and more importantly it was great.”

SHANIA TWAIN, JULY 2017: “He's really wonderful. He's very organic and natural... He's a sweetheart and we get along really well. We need to write together. I think that would be a really successful, creative time.”

JULIA MICHAELS, JULY 2017: “He actually told me he was going to cover [Issues] when we did a show together in Minneapolis and I was so flattered, and then when I heard his kind of organic approach to it I was like: oh, this is so magical. Plus, his voice is everything.”

STEVE BRAUNIAS, SPINOFF, JULY 2017: “Is Niall the best solo artist to come out of One Direction? Yes, yes he is... Life after 1D has seen Harry playing Jesus to the lepers in his head, walking on water in that endless video to his endless ballad, looking all profound and troubled and beautiful. ZZZZZZZZZZ! But good old Niall packed up his 1D bag containing a bottle of peroxide remover and got on with the business of making simple, awesome pop. ‘This Town’ was Niall as the sensitive singer-songwriter picking on his guitar. Follow-up ‘Slow Hands’ is Niall laying down a sexy falsetto to a sexy lyric, although it does include the weird line, “like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry”. There’s a raunchy version on Ellen featuring a cat on wah-wah guitar, and the one on One Love Manchester is even better – it shows Niall in his element, a relaxed cat in a hat, in total control of his art. If it wasn’t for ‘Bad Liar’, this would have been the best song of 2017 so far.”

RAISA BRUNER, TIME MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2017: “For a small country, Ireland is on a roll lately bringing out talented, moody male solo artists. First there was Hozier. Then there was the grown-up Niall Horan.”

DAVE FAWBERT, SHORTLIST, OCTOBER 2017: “Niall, all round top lad who, in every single interview that I’ve read, has never failed to come across as anything other than a nice bloke. Having somewhat been in the shadow of Harry and Zayn in the band, his solo career has seen him move from unfancied outsider to the man most likely to be the biggest of all of them. ‘This Town’? Delicate, beautiful track. ‘Slow Hands’? Legit brilliant song. And the rest of Flicker, his debut album? Genuinely really really good.”

ZOE GILLESPIE, CAPITOL RECORDS SENIOR MANAGER, DIGITAL MARKETING, OCTOBER 2017: “talent hard work integrity respect patience hard work talent.”

CHARLES KELLEY, (LADY ANTEBELLUM), NOVEMBER 2017: “I think I may have to head up the Niall Horan fan club after tonight! Killed it at the Ryman... One of the best concerts I’ve seen in a long time, Niall Horan. Thank god for good musicians in this world.”

DAVE FAWBERT, SHORTLIST, DECEMBER 2017: “[Slow Hands] is an absolutely bloody brilliant song. Great groove, great chorus, an absolute giant earworm and no mistaking. And the rest of the album’s great too.”

KATIE LOUISE SMITH, POPBUZZ, DECEMBER 2017: [Flicker] is fucking brilliant and dare I say it, the BEST One Direction solo album so far... it was a bold move to dive head first into this ‘not-quite-pop, not-quite-rock, little-bit-country, little-bit-folk’ genre and many wondered if his fans would follow along with him. (Spoiler alert: They did. In their millions.) While you can clearly hear the influences on the album, it doesn’t sound like a who’s who of Niall paying tribute to his favourite bands… it sounds like a Niall Horan album. He’s not trying too hard. It’s cohesive. It feels genuine. It feels authentic. And you know what, it just feels right. ‘Slow Hands’ is without a doubt one of the best songs the year, he puts Ed Sheeran’s penchant for an Irish folk bop to shame on ‘On My Own’. Even his foray into country music with Maren Morris on ‘Seeing Blind’ had the entire population of Nashville inviting the Irish Prince round for Thanksgiving.”

CHRISTOPHER BUSCHER, ARTMAG, DECEMBER 2017: “[Niall] doesn’t waste time trying to be so edgy and so raunchy and just concentrates on making properly good folk-pop music.”

ANDY CUSH, SPIN, DECEMBER 2017: “No one expected the blonde and boyish Niall Horan to emerge as the breakout artist after the breakup of One Direction last year, not from a band that also included two ridiculously good-looking born stars in Zayn Malik and Harry Styles... but neither has released anything quite as good as “Slow Hands,” Horan’s sexy and soulful second single. He brings convincing grit to a track that bends the industry’s current fetish for the sounds of the ‘70s a little further from Studio 54 and closer to Muscle Shoals, with a simple but swaggering rhythm section and infectious blues guitar line.”

DAN JACKSON, THRILLIST, DECEMBER 2017: “Who will be the biggest star to emerge from One Direction? It's still too early to say -- post-break-up careers are a marathon, not a race -- but Niall Horan makes a convincing play for the grownup John Mayer zone on "Slow Hands," an acoustic guitar-driven R&B track about his skills as a lover.”

TAYLOR WEATHERBY, BILLBOARD, DECEMBER 2017: “Bringing out his sexy side with daring lyrics, sultry vocals and a thumping, bluesy guitar hook was definitely worth the risk, as [Slow Hands] landed Horan his first No. 1 Pop Songs hit as a solo artist, and set the scene for his debut LP Flicker to arrive atop the Billboard 200 in October.”

STEVE BARNETT, CAPITOL RECORDS CHAIRMAN & CEO, JANUARY 2018: “We had the support of [Niall’s manager] Richard Griffiths in buying into the idea that we’re going to be three singles deep before we release the album, and he’s going to go around the world three times and try to touch those fans. Niall is really a unique young man, who’s developed a great relationship with the whole company. He’s beloved at this label. There’s a vulnerability and an authenticity about [Niall’s music]. The band’s fans could relate to that. Those transitions [from boy band to solo star] aren’t easy.”

JOHN BIRD, FEBRUARY 2018: “[One Direction] was obviously an incredible experience for him, he got to see the world… I think he really embraced it, you know, his personality allowed him to enjoy it, and yeah, he just seems very, very happy that it all happened. I don’t feel any negativity towards it at all, and like I said, we’re just lucky to get a little part of that experience, you know.”

RON HART, BILLBOARD, APRIL 2018: "There’s no denying the Knopfler-isms of ‘On the Loose’, perhaps the strongest single off Niall Horan’s thoroughly impressive and organic solo debut Flicker."

LEWIS CAPALDI, JULY 2018: "I say this in a few interviews, but Niall Horan is the nicest guy I’ve met in music, just the way that he carries himself is ridiculous. He’s just so nice."

JOSEPH BRYANT, OUT & ABOUT NASHVILLE, JULY 2018: “Heartfelt and honest, Horan shows a soft, sentimental side. His maturity as a musician really comes through [on So Long]. Reminiscent of those best parts of John Mayer, Horan is making his mark as the smooth charmer the soft rock/pop genre this generation is lacking. He has a fantastic career ahead of him.”

GERRY MORGAN, 180 DRUMS PODCAST, SEPTEMBER 2018: “The first time I heard one of his tracks I was driving – a car, believe it or not, and it came on the radio – it was called This Town, and I pulled over on the side of the road and I remember listening to it and I went – that is a beautiful song. And I kept on listening and at the end the DJ went, in usual DJ fashion, ‘and that was a little song by Niall Horan’, and I just texted him and said, ’This Town, I didn’t realise that was you, that’s a beautiful song and singing’. And yeah, it was a very innocent – not innocent, that’s the wrong word, there was a very pure and authentic style of writing there that I really loved from a songwriter that kind of really ticked all of the boxes for me. So yeah, I met him, we did a lot of stuff just the two of us, went out and did a lot of shows, a lot of promo runs and such, some studio stuff, and we had a really great time I’d jump at doing [anything with him again…] I was just really super-excited to represent him – I was excited because he was coming from such a pop background, like boy band vocal group pop to becoming a legit singer-songwriter, standing up there fronting his own band, with a guitar and a great voice, and he’s Irish as well, and I was just really proud and excited for people to hear what he was going to come out with – because I knew what he was going to come out with, and it was legit, and I just thought that people – other musicians and friends of mine were dubious because of maybe where he had come from, but I was like – nah, wait until you hear this. And the record has done so well, and I’m super proud of him.”

MUST MUSIC, DECEMBER 2018: “At the start of this year, Irish singer Niall Horan scored another success with Too Much To Ask, third single from his album Flicker. A remix of this ballad topped the dance club chart, and Niall also charted on Pop & AC radio. Many doubted Niall as a solo artist, but in the end he has proven to be the strongest – commercially speaking – of the members of boy band One Direction.”

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, DEEP DIVING WITH EOGHAN MCDERMOTT PODCAST, MAY 2019: “I remember when they played me what they had started [Slow Hands], I was like: this is different from the rest of the record, not too far away. I knew it was something good, but I don't think any of us thought it would be number 1 on American radio or anything like that. But Julian was smart, he was like: OK, we have all these songs, but we need that one. And a lot of people have asked me about the production, about the way the vocals sound, and the way the instruments sound, and I really feel like Niall nailed it in the way of just taking that risk, knowing that it was a great sound for him, and not being afraid of that edgier sound, because he had done a lot of more acoustic-folksy stuff for the album. For me, whenever now I see it live and everyone's singing it, I'm like: oh, that's his song. And it's so hard, when you've been in One Direction, you know, you're like, are the fans going to be wanting to hear Best Song Ever or Story of My Life, but they're not, they want to hear Slow Hands. That's what you aim to do when you work with an artist, is to have that moment.”

JULIA MICHAELS, AMERICAN EXPRESS 5 DAY WEEKEND SHOWCASE, MAY 2019: “This next song [What A Time] I did with an incredibly talented human being from Ireland. He's the most amazing dreamboat of a person and I love him to death."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, MAY 2019: “I wrote with Niall in February, can I just say the new music is sounding amazing, I got to hear what he’s been doing with Julian and Tobias and stuff, it sounds amazing, and I think we wrote two really great songs... I love the songs that we did.”

THOMAS RHETT, IHEARTRADIO, MAY 2019: “We’ve written a couple of songs together, I wrote with him about a month ago when he was in Nashville. Niall is such a sweet dude. I met Niall through my producer, Julian, I got to meet Niall through him, and it’s such a cool friendship.”

MAREN MORRIS, ET, JUNE 2019: “Niall and I became such great friends. Our bands became friends on the road last year. I would love to write with him and do something in the future. He's such a great guy. He's a badass."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, SONGWRITER UNIVERSE, JUNE 2019: "Niall had such a vision for his album—he knew what he wanted the album to sound like, and he had this book of ideas. So as a writer, it was a dream collaboration because it was so easy for me to fill in the blanks for him. And we’ve been writing together for his next album.”

JULIA MICHAELS, UMUSIC, JUNE 2019: "The first time I heard Niall sing 'we didn't end it like we were supposed to' I remember just breaking down in the studio and he coming out and giving me a hug, the minute he sung it I knew he was perfect for [What A Time] and it had to be him."

CARA CROKE, THE WHISP, JULY 2019: “We appreciate Niall Horan for more reasons than one. He was the dark horse of One Direction, his solo album was a banger, he’s Irish (duh), and he’s absolutely hilarious on Twitter. Niall isn’t afraid to speak his mind online."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, JULY 2019: “Niall is one of my faves to write with because he’s very involved; he knows who he is as an artist – and he’s Irish, so we always have a laugh as well. It never feels like work when I’m writing with him."

JULIA MICHAELS, LADY GANG PODCAST, JULY 2019: “Niall's one of my best friends... we have such similar personalities, we're super stupid and goofy. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with someone, I'd want it to be someone I could be super silly with.”

BEATA MURPHY (KIIS FM ASSISTANT PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR & MUISCDIRECTOR) & CONNOR HATCHEY (IHEARTRADIO LA DIGITAL PRODUCER), ADD THIS PODCAST, JULY 2019: “'You know who might be in the studio that we'll hear stuff from soon? Niall.' 'Really? Oh, awesome! He was the 1D member that I— it wasn't that I didn't think he was going to put out music, but he seemed perfectly fine golfing & just chillin after they split. But then he ended up putting out This Town which was an amazing song and following it up with Flicker —and he's been like the most successful— ahaha yes! out of all of them. It's not that no one expected it— it's just that everyone put all their eggs into the Harry basket.’”

#niall horan #solo Niall #Niall has the best friends

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sometimesalwaysmusic · 5 years

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ALL DAY BREAKFAST This is an interview with All Day Breakfast: Alan and Stefan.They just got back from an East Coast tour and are gearing up for a weekend run of shows in Toronto and Ottawa in October. Give their music a listen at the links below and check them out when they play near you! (Photo credit: BCSMTH)

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alldaybreakfastmusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alldaybreakfastmusic/?hl=en

BandCamp: https://alldaybreakfastband.bandcamp.com

Latest Release: Piglet (Single, July 2019)

Upcoming Shows: Oct 24th - Bovine Sex Club (Toronto) Oct 25th - Bar Robo (Ottawa)

SA: How did you guys meet and start this band?  ALAN: We met at Algonquin College for the Music Industry Arts program when it was in its second year. Over the course of the program we became friends and started a band with a few other friends there with us. I moved to Toronto after the program ended. Stef came to play a solo show in Toronto and crashed on a pile of laundry in my tiny apartment. He showed me these demos he was working on and I sorta hijacked his idea. We started talking about doing a project that eventually turned into All Day Breakfast.

SA: Who are your biggest influences, musically or otherwise?  ALAN: For me I’d say Conor Oberst, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Born Ruffians, but tons of more stuff is in the DNA of this band. Right after seeing a good movie or episode of a tv show, I sometimes get in the mood to write. I try and let the world around me influence me. I think there will come a point where it will be fun to experiment with different writing styles, but for now I’m pretty patient with it. STEF: As hokey as it sounds, everything is an influence. I could be inspired by, or draw from, my own music library, pop radio, an overheard conversation, a line in an old movie or book, etc. Anything is fair game if you're open to it, and everything I've done is an accumulation of all the influences and experiences that have come before it.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been your biggest success?  STEF: Selling out Live On Elgin during this last tour was a big one. This was our second sellout as All Day Breakfast, but the first at a venue with a capacity that we can be proud to have reached. ALAN: I think success for me personally is just becoming more comfortable on stage. The more fuckin’ shit piss ass show situations we find ourselves in, it makes your armour stronger in a way. So when the shows come where it goes down professionally and smoothly it feels so good and comfy.

SA: On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge you've faced, and how have you dealt with it?  ALAN: Bit of that in my last answer. I think the biggest challenge for us is just that we live in different cities. If we don't put effort into communication and planning we can get caught up in just the whole surviving as humans thing. I think we're getting pretty good though. STEF: Agreed. I find the difficult part is having to plan every step very far in advance. For financial reasons shows, writing trips, recording, and any video/photo shoots all have to be grouped together over consecutive days. Doing one-offs usually means something didn’t work out properly haha.

SA: How do you approach the songwriting process?  ALAN: I mess around till I have a few nuggets of ideas, be it a chorus I’m in love with, or a full-fledged skeleton of a song. Then we do a writing trip. Stef helps me flesh out the songs in ways I am not able. He adds things from his perspective that make my ideas more than anything I could achieve alone. It’s like bringing a singer-songwriter style and trying to elevate it into something thats not just good writing, but good writing that is high energy and engaging. STEF: Alan is a phenomenal lyricist, so my contributions tend to be more about bringing the instrumentation up to that same level.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? ALAN: I think there are lots of dope bands. It feels like home to us, I’d say comfortably. Stef would have more to say, being a lot more involved in it. STEF: I honestly don't think about it much. There are some phenomenal artists here as well as anywhere else. The only genuine argument I’ve heard against our scene is the lack of industry, but between where Ottawa is geographically and the way the world is leaning into the internet, there’s absolutely no excuse for not being able to reach hundreds or thousands of new audiences via touring or social media/streaming platforms.

SA: If you had to choose, what is your favourite moment from your recent tour what would it be and why?  ALAN: I think it was just the people we got to spend it with. Each location we hunkered down in for a night or so we got to spend time with awesome people we love. In PEI we stayed with parents of friends who were incredibly kind and generous with their time and conversation. In Halifax my parents came down for a lil mini vacation for themselves and we did a day trip to Peggy’s Cove and it was gorgeous. Then in Montreal we got to see friends of ours from school who I’d say we consider brothers at this point. Aside from the long drives, the kindness of others kept it from feeling like a drag down slog bog couch sleep tour. STEF: The ocean smelled nice.

SA: You’re forced to choose your favourite All Day Breakfast song. What is it and why?  ALAN: I’d say Piglet honestly. It’s really relaxing to sing. It comes as a break in the live set where I can catch my breath. It definitely marks a point in the road of where we’re going with our sound. Its not all crash bang boom bah. Lot of real emotion behind it too. Which is simultaneously fucked up to relive and also energizing to perform. STEF: It'd have to be All The Rage for me. Its the most fun to play and I'm embarrassingly proud of the guitar parts I came up with for it.

SA: Dream tour: what two bands do you bring along for the ride, and why?  ALAN: Our friends Okies, then Elliott Maginot cause our buddy plays drums for them and I want to see him more. Then like, Bon Iver, or The National so we could draw huge and play awesome venues. Hah. I’m picturing multiple huge outdoor shows. This is a dream scenario so fuck the reality of how shows are built. STEF: I couldn't tell you. Too many great bands and reasons to have em along!

SA: What comes next for you guys in 2019 and moving forward? ADB: We’ve got 3 new songs in the can to roll out over the next little while. We plan on releasing music steadily for the foreseeable future, until either one or both of us dies, or until we need to sell our instruments to buy food, for our mouths.

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