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Music
A$AP Rocky
A$AP Rocky
Harlem born A$AP Rocky, is a multi-hyphenated artist, entrepreneur, and fashion icon. Since his emergence in 2011, his music has accumulated billions of streams working with Lana Del Rey, The Weeknd, Pharrell, Rod Stewart, and many more. He has also refined his visual craft over the years through directing, co-directing, acting, writing, and producing global commercials, films, and award winning music videos. On top of this A$AP Rocky has starred in and creative directed for a host of global commercial campaigns including Calvin Klein, Gucci, Courvoisier, Dior, Puma, and Fenty Skin. His creative agency, AWGE, has launched partnerships with Amina Muaddi, Selfridges, JW Anderson, Under Armour, along with helping kick-start the careers of notable artists like Playboi Carti and more.
Gigi Perez
Artist
sims 2 emo lesbian love story but in the medium of music
Cigarettes After Sex
Artist
Ten years ago Greg Gonzalez was having a really rough Valentineโs Day. Freshly heartbroken with no hope of reconciliation, he spent two hours driving from his hometown El Paso to play a show, and he listened to Sadeโs โBy Your Sideโ on repeat both ways. โThe experience that day stuck in my bonesโit was an idea that I couldnโt forget,โ says Gonzalez, the frontman of Cigarettes After Sex. โI thought, how do I make a record that feels like that?โ With each recordโthe initial 2012 EP, 2017โs eponymous debut album, and 2019โs Cryโ Gonzalez has been faithful to his muse: love. In raw, imagistic vignettes set to entrancing, slow-burn pop songs, Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. But where previous albums have drawn from an amalgam of relationships, for the most part, their third, eagerly anticipated LP, Xโs, centralises on just one relationship that spanned four years.
Frank Ocean
Artist
Visionary American recording artist Frank Ocean is one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed artists of this era. His heavily lauded breakout mixtape โNostalgia Ultraโ in 2011 set the tone for what would be the Grammy-Award winning record โChannel Orangeโ. After a four-year break, Ocean dropped one of the most anticipated albums of all time โEndlessโ, followed a day later by the seminal and game-changing album โBlondeโ. Between then and now, Frank Ocean has released songs including โChanelโ, โProviderโ, and โIn My Roomโ to further acclaim, plus launched the independent American luxury company, Homer.
Gracie Abrams
Artist
Since making her debut in 2019, Gracie Abrams has emerged as one of the most compelling songwriters of her generation. A consummate songwriter who names Joni Mitchell as her most formative influence, she penned her first song at age 8, then went on to amass a devoted following on the strength of her emotionally intimate lyrics. Her debut project minor was released in summer 2020 and features her beloved singles โ21โ, โI miss you, Iโm sorryโ and โLong Sleevesโ. In 2021, Abrams returned with This Is What It Feels Like, a 12-track project exploring such complex emotions as self-betrayal, insecurity, and failed attempts at connection. Her long-awaited debut album Good Riddance, produced by Aaron Dessner of The National, found Abrams opening up about a recent period of intense transformation, bringing even more honesty and depth to her lyrical storytelling. Praising Good Riddance as โone of 2023โs best debutsโ, Rolling Stone hailed Abrams as โone of popโs buzziest young artistsโ. Now the 2024 sophomore album, The Secret of Us, embodies all the breathless urgency of spilling your heart out to your closest friend at the end of a whirlwind night. Created soon after Abrams took the stage at stadiums across the country as support for Taylor Swiftโs blockbuster Eras Tour, The Secret of Us marks her first time taking a hands-on role in the production process. Co-produced by Abrams and Dessner, The Secret of Us ultimately brings a bold new effervescence to her songwriting.
Paramore
Artist
When Paramore revealed they were recording together in January 2022 the response from music fans around the world was immediate and celebratory. In the time since the Grammy-winning, RIAA-certified multi-Platinum band released their last album, After Laughter - and Hayley Williams unveiled two lauded solo albums - Paramore have become more popular than ever. Over the last few years Paramoreโs influence and popularity has snowballed, as the age of streaming organically propelled them into a position as one of the worldโs biggest, most culturally compelling rock bands. For the band, who formed as teenagers in Tennessee, their 20 year trajectory has seen them grow from youthful outsiders to bonafide pop culture icons, permeating the musical landscape by inspiring a new generation of musical talent.
Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are a touchstone for all that is fearless and adventurous in rock, evolving from self-loathing anthems to moody prog rock suites to weathered, if shimmering ballads. Inheritors of a throne previously occupied by <a href="spotify:artist:0oSGxfWSnnOXhD2fKuz2Gy">David Bowie</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9">Pink Floyd</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2x9SpqnPi8rlE9pjHBwmSC">Talking Heads</a> (from whom they took their name), the British band spliced <a href="spotify:artist:0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9">Floyd</a>'s spaciness with <a href="spotify:artist:51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ">U2</a>'s messianic arena rock heft and bridged the gap with guitar skronk borrowed from the '80s American underground. The jagged interjections on "Creep," the band's Top Ten U.K., Top 40 U.S. breakthrough from their debut album Pablo Honey (1993), recalled <a href="spotify:artist:6zvul52xwTWzilBZl6BUbT">Pixies</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6olE6TJLqED3rqDCT0FyPh">Nirvana</a>, but in the throes of the alternative rock explosion, Radiohead were the odd band out, seen as dour art-rock students at home and as one-hit wonders in the States. During the peak of Brit-pop, Radiohead released The Bends (1995), a leap forward that gained them some traction, but it was OK Computer (1997), a bold set fueled by film music, Krautrock, and electronica, that broke down doors for the band upon its entry at the top of the U.K. and U.S. charts. Soon, whenever rock bands dabbled in electronics, it was derived not from tightly sequenced rhythms, but rather, from glassy textures and introspection, a sensibility pioneered by the quintet. Radiohead doubled down on this aesthetic with Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), favoring minimal arrangements and elements of avant-garde jazz over concise hooks. From that point on, Radiohead have occasionally worked with conventional song structures but have been drawn toward unusual paths heard on Hail to the Thief (2003) and In Rainbows (a surprise, pay-what-you-want 2007 release), followed the next decade by The King of Limbs (2011) and A Moon Shaped Pool (2016). Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, Radiohead have focused primarily on catalog releases, side projects, and solo pursuits during the 2020s. Every member of Radiohead was a pupil at Oxfordshire's Abingdon School. <a href="spotify:artist:3E7aH1Yv84NoaP9JWcrMpE">Ed O'Brien</a> (guitar) and <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> (drums) were the eldest, followed by a year by <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Thom Yorke</a> (vocals, guitar, piano) and <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin Greenwood</a> (bass). These four musicians began playing in 1985, dubbing themselves On a Friday, and before long they added <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin</a>'s younger brother <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a>, who'd previously played in Illiterate Hands with <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a>'s brother <a href="spotify:artist:6CbjCavKWLrR6J3FzUwwJI">Andy</a> and Nigel Powell. <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a> started on keyboards but moved to guitar, yet this incarnation proved short-lived. By 1987, everyone but <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny</a> left for university, where many members pursued music, but it wasn't until 1991 that the quintet regrouped and started gigging regularly in Oxford. Eventually, they came to the attention of Chris Hufford -- then best-known as the producer of shoegaze stars <a href="spotify:artist:72X6FHxaShda0XeQw3vbeF">Slowdive</a> -- who offered the group the chance to record a demo along with his partner Bryce Edge; the two soon became the band's managers. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> bit at the group's demo, signing them in 1991 and suggesting they change their name. On a Friday became Radiohead and they recorded their debut EP, Drill, with Hufford and Edge, releasing the record in May 1992. Next, the group entered the studio with producers Paul Kolderie and <a href="spotify:artist:1pYe8ZSmmg4LJDdLDlVh9b">Sean Slade</a> to record their full-length debut. The first fruit from these sessions was "Creep," a single released in the U.K. in September of 1992. "Creep" didn't go anywhere at first. The British music weeklies slagged it, radio didn't play it, and it limped to number 78 on the charts. Pablo Honey, the band's full-length debut, appeared in February 1993, supported by the single "Anyone Can Play Guitar," but neither release gained much traction in their native U.K. and that May's non-LP single, "Pop Is Dead," didn't help matters much, either. By that point, however, "Creep" started to gain attention in other territories. First, the song became a hit in Israel, but the bigger waves came from the United States, which was in the throes of the alternative rock revolution. Influential San Francisco radio station KITS added "Creep" to their playlist and it spread along the west coast and onto MTV as it became a genuine hit, nearly topping Billboard's Modern Rock chart and reaching 34 on the Hot 100, a big achievement for a British guitar band. A re-released "Creep" turned into a British Top Ten hit, peaking at number seven in the autumn of 1993. The band who'd had no success suddenly had more than it could handle. Radiohead kept touring Pablo Honey into 1994, but no subsequent hits were forthcoming, raising the specter of the band as a possible one-hit wonder -- a criticism that weighed heavily on the group, who were anxious to record their new songs. They received the opportunity early in 1994, entering the studio to work with producer John Leckie -- then best-known for his work with <a href="spotify:artist:1lYT0A0LV5DUfxr6doRP3d">the Stone Roses</a> -- with My Iron Lung, an EP released in late 1994, being the first music released from the sessions. Muscular and ambitious, the EP provided a good indication of what would come on 1995's The Bends. Released in March 1995, The Bends not only found Radiohead growing musically -- it was dense and expansive, without skimping on songs -- but also in reputation, as critics in the U.K. embraced the band with the audience eventually following: none of the first three singles ("High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just") rose above 17 on the U.K. charts but the final single, "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," wound up reaching five in early 1996. Radiohead's rise may have been assisted by the mania cultivated by Brit-pop, a term that didn't quite suit the band -- they were far artier and rock-oriented -- but nevertheless stoked interest in indie guitar bands, which the quintet certainly was. Over in the U.S., The Bends stalled out at 88 on the Billboard charts but the record gained a cult following among listeners and the band never stopped touring, taking North American opening slots for <a href="spotify:artist:4KWTAlx2RvbpseOGMEmROg">R.E.M.</a> in 1995 and <a href="spotify:artist:6ogn9necmbUdCppmNnGOdi">Alanis Morissette</a> in 1996. During 1995 and 1996, the group recorded new material with <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Nigel Godrich</a> -- an engineer on The Bends sessions who was now the band's producer -- with songs slowly creeping out during the course of the year. "Lucky" showed up on War Child's 1995 charity LP The Help Album, "Talk Show Host" appeared on a B-side, and "Exit Music (For a Film)" showed up on the soundtrack to <a href="spotify:artist:7HhTERkBV4Ot14KphgBfSh">Baz Luhrmann</a>'s Romeo & Juliet. The latter showed up on OK Computer, the June 1997 album that proved pivotal in Radiohead's career. "Paranoid Android," a twitchy suite released as a single in May of that year, suggested the ambition of OK Computer -- and by reaching number three, it was the band's biggest hit to date in the U.K., placing them on the cusp of a breakthrough. A breakthrough is precisely what OK Computer turned out to be, a record that proved pivotal not just for Radiohead but for the direction of '90s rock. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and corresponding strong sales, OK Computer closed the doors on the hedonism of Brit-pop and the dour after-effects of grunge while opening a new path to sober, adventurous art-rock where electronics co-existed with guitars. Over the next few years, the band's influence would become readily apparent, but the album made a sizable impact upon its release, too, debuting at number one in the U.K. and earning a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. Radiohead supported it with an international tour, documented in Meeting People Is Easy. By the time Meeting People Is Easy showed up in theaters, the group began work on their fourth album, once again reuniting with producer <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a>. The resulting Kid A doubled down on the experimentalism of OK Computer, embracing electronics and threading in jazz. Appearing in October in 2000, Kid A was one of the first major albums to be pirated through file-sharing services, but this bootlegging had no apparent effect on the sales of the record: it debuted at number one in the U.K. and the U.S., becoming their first American chart-topper. Once again, the album took home the prize for Best Alternative Album at the Grammys and although it didn't produce any hit singles -- indeed, no singles were released from the record -- it was certified platinum in several territories. Amnesiac, a collection of new material initiated during the Kid A sessions, appeared in June of 2001, topping the U.K. charts and reaching two in the U.S. Two singles were pulled from the album -- "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out" -- a signal that the album was more commercially accessible than its predecessor. At the end of the year, the band issued I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, and by the summer of 2002, they turned their attention to recording a new album with <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a>. The resulting Hail to the Thief appeared in June of 2003, once again debuting in the upper reaches of the international charts -- number one in the U.K. and number three in the U.S. -- and the group supported the album with live dates culminating in a headlining appearance at the 2004 Coachella Festival that coincided with the release of the B-sides and remix collection COM LAG, a record that helped close out their contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a>. Over the next couple of years, Radiohead entered a hiatus as individual members pursued solo projects. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> released the heavily electronic solo collection The Eraser in 2006, and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny Greenwood</a> embarked on a side career as a composer, beginning with 2004's Bodysong and then striking a fruitful collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson for 2007's There Will Be Blood; <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Greenwood</a> would also work on Anderson's subsequent films The Master and Inherent Vice. During all this, the group tentatively chipped away at their first post-<a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> album. Some unsuccessful sessions with Spike Stent led the band back to <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a> by the end of 2006, and the group completed recording in June of 2007. Still without a record label, they decided to release the album digitally through their official website, letting users pay whatever they wanted for a download of the album. This novel strategy acted as the album's own promotion -- most of the articles about the release claimed it was revolutionary -- and In Rainbows allegedly moved over a million downloads on the first day of its release in October 2007. In December, the album received a physical release in the U.K., followed by a January 2008 physical release in the U.S.; the record sold well, debuting at number one in the U.K., and it earned Grammys for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Radiohead toured in support of In Rainbows into 2009, during which time <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> released Radiohead: The Best Of in June of 2008. The band took time off in 2010, which allowed <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> to form a band called <a href="spotify:artist:7tA9Eeeb68kkiG9Nrvuzmi">Atoms for Peace</a> with producer <a href="spotify:artist:0g7gHEXKEHU4snTwOZSxNO">Godrich</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0Xl5J6iOgiQHFqgri7TF8j">Flea</a> from the <a href="spotify:artist:0L8ExT028jH3ddEcZwqJJ5">Red Hot Chili Peppers</a>. During this time, drummer <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> released his debut solo album, Familial. By early 2011, the group finished a new album and, like In Rainbows before it, Radiohead initially released The King of Limbs digitally through their website. The downloads appeared in February, with the physical copies appearing in March; the album reportedly shifted upwards of 400,000 digital copies upon its release. That autumn brought the release of the remix album TKOL RMX 1234567, and the band continued to tour The King of Limbs material into 2012. Once the tour wrapped up, the group took some quiet time as a new round of solo projects appeared. <a href="spotify:artist:7tA9Eeeb68kkiG9Nrvuzmi">Atoms for Peace</a> released Amok in February 2013 and <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> put out Tomorrow's Modern Boxes in September 2014, just a month before <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Selway</a> issued his second album, Weatherhouse. In the autumn of 2014, the band began work on a new album and continued to record throughout 2015, releasing only "Spectre" -- a proposed James Bond theme rejected by the filmmakers -- that year. The ninth Radiohead album, A Moon Shaped Pool, appeared on May 8, 2016, preceded earlier in the week by the singles "Burn the Witch" and "Daydreaming." Radiohead supported A Moon Shaped Pool with an international tour, and in June 2017 they celebrated the 20th anniversary of OK Computer with a double-disc reissue dubbed OK Computer: OKNOTOK 1997 2017. Featuring a host of bonus cuts and previously unreleased material, its number two showing on the U.K. chart was bolstered by a major televised live performance at Glastonbury. Over the next year, <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Selway</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Greenwood</a> each issued film soundtracks with the latter earning an Oscar nomination for his score to Phantom Thread. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, honored with a speech from <a href="spotify:artist:2x9SpqnPi8rlE9pjHBwmSC">Talking Heads</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:20vuBdFblWUo2FCOvUzusB">David Byrne</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> released his third solo album, Anima, that June. Two years later, Radiohead issued Kid A Mnesia, a collection of previously unreleased material from the Kid A and Amnesiac sessions. It was promoted with the singles "If You Say the Word" and "Follow Me Around." All bandmembers were active during the first half the 2020s. <a href="spotify:artist:3E7aH1Yv84NoaP9JWcrMpE">Ed O'Brien</a> released Earth under the alias <a href="spotify:artist:4CX6yOoTFQeiwL5yxuFuIG">EOB</a> in 2020. <a href="spotify:artist:4CvTDPKA6W06DRfBnZKrau">Yorke</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0z9s3P5vCzKcUBSxgBDyLU">Jonny Greenwood</a> performed and recorded (with drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6U9Bsog9PLNE5hrw45ecDm">Tom Skinner</a>) as <a href="spotify:artist:6styCzc1Ej4NxISL0LiigM">the Smile</a> and continued separate soundtrack work. <a href="spotify:artist:6bdotkIeFswBydfQqzHnKS">Colin Greenwood</a> toured with <a href="spotify:artist:1RM5gp0RFfjpJhCYFPB30p">Nick Cave</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0A8tch4LePxVn1Cn60wGXu">Warren Ellis</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2A59wav3PGiJij2rK7HQYH">Phil Selway</a> released Strange Dance, his third solo album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Role Model
Role Model
Role Model's been in love. He was so in love he wrote his entire debut album, Rx, about it. But not all romances last forever, and the 27-year-old's grieving of that same relationship is at the center of his sophomore album, "Kansas Anymore." He began the project in 2022 but, faced with the ending of a formative relationship, he scrapped much of this early work. On his own and reinspired, he started anew, collaborating with Noah Conrad, Ian Fitchuk, Scott Harris & Jonah Shy to craft "Kansas Anymore" โ a folk-tinged, lyric driven album featuring 13 new songs including "Oh Gemini" and "Deeply Still in Love." Role Model is looking forward to playing these songs live, but more than anything, heโs embracing the sense of pride โ and closure โ he feels about making the album, about turning a personally heavy season of life into something that might move others. As rough as it was to ride that roller coaster of heartbreak and homesickness, Role Model feels these are the greatest songs heโs made yet.
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter has enchanted an audience of millions as a singer, songwriter, actress and style icon. With her music, she has delivered one anthem after another on stage and in the studio, earning multiple gold and platinum certifications, and performing to sold out crowds around the world. On-screen, she has generated mega-fandom through starring roles on television and film. She is signed to Island Records, where she debuted her acclaimed Gold-certified fifth studio album, emails i canโt send, which appeared on many โBest Of 2022โ lists including Rolling Stone and Billboard. In April 2024, Sabrina debuted at Coachella and released her single โEspresso,โ which swiftly climbed to #1 on the UK and Australian charts, reached the Top 5 in the US, and hit #1 globally on Spotify, amassing over 200M streams in its first month. Following this, her second single, โPlease Please Please,โ released in June, soared to #1 on Spotifyโs Global and US charts, Apple Music, and eventually the Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted at #2 before reaching #1. In August, she released her highly anticipated sixth studio album, Short nโ Sweet, which instantly received critical acclaim from the likes of the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Variety. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making it the 3rd biggest first week debut in the US in 2024. Short n' Sweet also topped the charts around the world, reaching #1 in UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, and France.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo
By bringing the authenticity of her life to her relatable songs, Olivia Rodrigo has achieved record-breaking success. Her 2021 smash hit "Driver's License" and subsequent singles "Deja Vu" and "Good 4 U" made the singer/songwriter the youngest artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100, and the first artist to have their first three singles debut in the Top Ten of that chart. These extraordinarily popular songs paved the way for Rodrigo's multi-platinum, Grammy-winning debut album, Sour. Its heartbroken, defiant, and witty mix of pop, folk, and alternative rock captured the highs and lows of a young woman fearlessly expressing who she is, how she feels, and what she wants -- themes she approached with more maturity on 2023's Grammy-nominated GUTS and its chart-topping single "Vampire." While growing up in Temecula, California, Rodrigo's first love was singing. She started vocal lessons in kindergarten and took up piano soon after; by age 12, she was playing guitar. At the suggestion of her vocal coach, she pursued acting, and she appeared in productions at her elementary and middle schools -- experiences that led her to seek professional acting jobs. In 2016, she was cast as Paige Olvera in in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark. It was an opportunity that led to Rodrigo winning the lead role of Nini Salazar-Roberts in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, a mockumentary-style show that follows the on- and off-stage drama that happens when the student body of East High puts on a production of High School Musical: The Musical. When the show's creators -- which included writer and Broadway librettist Tim Federle -- learned Rodrigo was a songwriter, they encouraged her to pen original songs for the series. Written in Rodrigo's living room during finals week of her sophomore year, "All I Want" garnered millions of streams after the show's debut in November 2019 and entered the U.S. and Canada Hot 100 singles charts in January 2020. Rodrigo also collaborated with her co-star <a href="spotify:artist:4VdV2qRAYBLINR6uU72V1J">Joshua Bassett</a> on the duet "Just for a Moment." In the wake of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' success, she continued to work on her own music with producer Dan Nigro (who also collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:6sFIWsNpZYqfjUpaCgueju">Carly Rae Jepsen</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7pyhre5oEEFMqcgMEvJY7q">Sky Ferreira</a>), looking to the confessional songwriting of <a href="spotify:artist:3g2kUQ6tHLLbmkV7T4GPtL">Fiona Apple</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1r1uxoy19fzMxunt3ONAkG">Phoebe Bridgers</a>, and especially <a href="spotify:artist:06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02">Taylor Swift</a> for inspiration. After she signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Interscope+%22">Interscope </a>and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Geffen%22">Geffen</a> in 2020, Rodrigo's debut single, "Driver's License," arrived in January 2021 and quickly topped charts around the world. This included the Billboard Hot 100, making her the youngest artist to debut at number one on that chart. Along with breaking several streaming records, the single was a multi-platinum success in the U.S. and Canada and went platinum in several other countries. That April, her second single, "Deja Vu," appeared, and its debut at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 made her the first artist in history to have her first two singles debut within the Top Ten. A third single, "Good 4 U," arrived in May. Like "Driver's License," it topped the Billboard Hot 100, and Rodrigo became the first artist in Billboard's history to have their first three singles debut in the Top Ten of that chart. In turn, May 2021's Sour became the first debut album to feature two singles that topped the Billboard Hot 100 upon release. Initially intended to be an EP, the album mixed pop, alt-rock, and folk and took inspiration from <a href="spotify:artist:0cQbJU1aAzvbEmTuljWLlF">No Doubt</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4F84IBURUo98rz4r61KF70">the White Stripes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6ogn9necmbUdCppmNnGOdi">Alanis Morrissette</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:70kkdajctXSbqSMJbQO424">Kacey Musgraves</a>, among others. Co-written by Rodrigo and Nigro, Sour was hailed for its genre-defying sound and candid songwriting. It was a massive global success, becoming the second best-selling album in the world in 2021. In the U.S., Sour debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, ultimately spending five weeks total in that spot (an accomplishment that made it 2021's longest-running number one album by a female artist) and 52 weeks in the Top Ten, earning multiple platinum certifications along the way. Shortly after Sour's release, all of its tracks appeared in the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100, with "Traitor" becoming its fourth single to debut in the Top Ten. In the U.K., Sour debuted at number one the same week "Good 4 U" topped the U.K. Singles chart, making Rodrigo the youngest solo artist to have the top-selling release on both charts. The album also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where it spent ten consecutive weeks in the peak position. As Sour broke chart records, Rodrigo's concert film Sour Prom premiered in June 2021. That December, she launched her world tour, performed in Hope for the Holidays, Musicians on Call's second annual virtual concert for hospital patients, won the People's Choice Award for Album of the Year, and was named Time Magazine's Entertainer of the Year. Sour and Rodrigo's accolades continued into 2022. At that year's Grammy Awards, she won the awards for Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance for "Driver's License," and Best Pop Vocal album for Sour (Rodrigo was nominated in all four of the general Grammy categories, making her the second-youngest artist after <a href="spotify:artist:6qqNVTkY8uBg9cP3Jd7DAH">Billie Eilish</a> to earn this recognition). She also won the Juno Award for International Album of the Year; the Brit Award for International Song of the Year; seven Billboard Music Awards including Top Billboard 200 album, Top New Artist, and Top Female Artist; and the ASCAP Award for Songwriter of the Year. March 2022 saw the premiere of Driving Home 2 U, a documentary chronicling the creation of Sour. That April, Rodrigo kicked off her first headlining concert tour. She covered <a href="spotify:artist:0p4nmQO2msCgU4IF37Wi3j">Avril Lavigne</a>'s "Complicated" at every show, and <a href="spotify:artist:0p4nmQO2msCgU4IF37Wi3j">Lavigne</a> joined her in performing the song at the Toronto date. At her Glastonbury Festival appearance that June, Rodrigo and <a href="spotify:artist:13saZpZnCDWOI9D4IJhp1f">Lily Allen</a> performed "Fuck You" as a response to the overruling of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. In September 2022, Rodrigo departed High School Musical: The Musical: The Series at the end of its third season. At the end of the year and into 2023, Rodrigo did more charity work, participating in the third annual Venture Into Cures virtual fundraising event for families with epidermolysis bullosa and other rare diseases, the third annual Musicians on Call virtual concert, and the MusiCares Foundation Charity Relief Auction. She released "Vampire," her first single in two years, that June. Her third single to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it also topped the charts in the U.K., Australia, Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand. That song and August's multinational Top Ten hit "Bad Idea Right?" appeared on September 2023's GUTS. Produced by Nigro and recorded at his garage studio, Rodrigo's second album built on Sour's wry rock and sweeping ballads as she took stock of her tumultuous teen years. The album once again topped the U.S. and U.K. charts as well as those of 12 other countries, while all of its songs appeared in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 Singles Chart in the U.S. GUTS was also nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Grammy Awards. That November, Rodrigo's "Can't Catch Me Now" appeared on Music from and Inspired by the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes; the song ultimately won the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror Film. Later in November, the four bonus tracks featured on limited edition vinyl releases of the album were issued as the vinyl EP That November, Rodrigo's "Can't Catch Me Now" appeared on Music from and Inspired by the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes; the song ultimately won the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror Film. Later in November, the four bonus tracks featured on limited edition vinyl releases of the album were issued as the vinyl EP GUTS: The Secret Tracks for Record Store Day Black Friday. While on tour in March 2024, Rodrigo released GUTS (spilled), a deluxe edition of the album with five bonus tracks. The following month, she made a surprise appearance at Coachella, performing "Bathwater" with <a href="spotify:artist:0cQbJU1aAzvbEmTuljWLlF">No Doubt</a> during their set. Rodrigo and Nigro were also named ASCAP's 2024 Pop Music Songwriters of the Year, marking their second time winning the award. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
Conan Gray
Conan Gray
Conan Gray has quickly cemented himself as one of the most acclaimed pop stars and songwriters of his generation. The kid from central Texasโ known for writing all his songs from his bedroomโhas become one of the biggest artists in the world. Known for his authenticity and originality, Gray emerged with multi-platinum selling hits like โHeatherโ and โManiac.โ In 2020, his debut album Kid Krow reached #5 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and became the biggest new artist debut of the year. In 2022, his sophomore album Superache became his second Top 10 album on the US Billboard 200 Chart. With over 15 billion total streams to date, Gray has been recognized by the whoโs who of tastemakers including The New York Times, Billboard, Rolling Stone, NME, Vogue, and GQ. Along the way, he has delivered memorable performances on television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and many more. Gray has packed venues around the world, including selling out Radio City Music Hall in NY, the Greek Theatre in LA, and the Eventim Apollo in London. In 2023, Conan performed to almost 300,000 people at Lollapaloozas across Latin America and in 2024, he toured the globe with Found Heaven On Tour, which included sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in NY, Kia Forum in LA, and Wembley Arena in London. His highly anticipated third studio album, Found Heaven, is out now.
The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the '80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the '90s. Sonically, the group was indebted to the British Invasion, crafting ringing, melodic three-minute pop singles, even for their album tracks. But their scope was far broader than that of a revivalist band. The group's core members, vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, were obsessive rock fans inspired by the D.I.Y. ethics of punk, but they also had a fondness for girl groups, pop, and rockabilly. Morrissey and Marr also represented one of the strangest teams of collaborators in rock history. Marr was the rock traditionalist, looking like an elegant version of Keith Richards during the Smiths' heyday and meticulously layering his guitar tracks in the studio. Morrissey, on the other hand, broke from rock tradition by singing in a keening, self-absorbed croon, embracing the forlorn, romantic poetry of Oscar Wilde, publicly declaring his celibacy, and making no secret of his disgust for most of his peers. While it eventually led to the Smiths' early demise, the friction between Morrissey and Marr resulted in a flurry of singles and albums over the course of three years that provided the blueprint for British guitar rock in the following decade. Before forming the Smiths in 1982, Johnny Marr (born John Maher, October 31, 1963; guitar) had played in a variety of Manchester-based rock & roll bands, including Sister Ray, Freaky Part, White Dice, and Paris Valentinos. On occasion, Marr had come close to a record contract -- one of his bands won a competition Stiff Records held to have Nick Lowe "produce your band" -- but he never quite made the leap. Though Morrissey (born Steven Patrick Morrissey, May 22, 1959; vocals) had sung for a few weeks with the Nosebleeds and auditioned for Slaughter & the Dogs, he had primarily contented himself to being a passionate, vocal fan of both music and film. During his teens, he wrote the Melody Maker frequently, often getting his letters published. He had written the biography/tribute James Dean Isn't Dead, which was published by the local Manchester publishing house Babylon Books in the late '70s, as well as another book on the New York Dolls; he was also the president of the English New York Dolls fan club. Morrissey met Marr, who was then looking for a lyricist, through mutual friends in the spring of 1982. The pair began writing songs, eventually recording some demos with the Fall's drummer, Simon Wolstencroft. By the fall, the duo had settled on the name the Smiths and recruited Marr's schoolmate Andy Rourke as their bassist and Mike Joyce as their drummer. The Smiths made their live debut late in 1982, and by the spring of 1983, the group had earned a small but loyal following in their hometown of Manchester and had begun to make inroads in London. Rejecting a record deal with the Mancunian Factory Records, the band signed with Rough Trade for a one-off single, "Hand in Glove." With its veiled references to homosexuality and its ringing riffs, "Hand in Glove" became an underground sensation in the U.K., topping the independent charts and earning the praise of the U.K. music weeklies. Soon, Morrissey's performances became notorious as he appeared on-stage wearing a hearing aid and with gladioli stuffed in his back pockets. His interviews were becoming famous for his forthright, often contrary opinions, which helped the band become a media sensation. By the time of the group's second single, "This Charming Man," in late 1983, the Smiths had already been the subject of controversy over "Reel Around the Fountain," a song that had been aired on a BBC radio session and was alleged to condone child abuse. It was the first time that Morrissey's detached, literary, and ironic lyrics were misinterpreted and it wouldn't be the last. "This Charming Man" reached number 25 on the British charts in December of 1983, setting the stage for "What Difference Does It Make"'s peak of number 12 in February. The Smiths' rise to the upper reaches of the British charts was swift, and the passion of their fans, as well as the U.K. music press, indicated that the group had put an end to the synth-powered new wave that dominated Britain in the early '80s. After rejecting their initial stab at a first album, they released their debut, The Smiths, in the spring of 1984 to strong reviews and sales -- it peaked at number two. A few months later, the group backed '60s pop vocalist Sandie Shaw -- who Morrissey had publicly praised in an article -- on a version of "Hand in Glove" that was released and reached the Top 40. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" reached number ten, becoming their highest-charting single amid a storm of controversy about its B-side, "Suffer Little Children," which was about the notorious Moors Murders. More controversy appeared when Morrissey denounced the hunger-relief efforts of Band Aid, but the group's popularity was not affected. Though the Smiths had become the most popular new rock & roll group in Britain, the group failed to make it outside of underground and college radio in the U.S., partially because they never launched a full-scale tour. At the end of the year, "William It Was Really Nothing" became a Top 20 hit and Hatful of Hollow, a collection of B-sides, BBC sessions, and non-LP singles, went to the Top Ten, followed shortly by "How Soon Is Now," which peaked at number 24. Meat Is Murder, the band's second proper studio album, entered the British charts at number one in February of 1985, despite some criticism that it was weaker than The Smiths. Around the time of the release of Meat Is Murder, Morrissey's interviews were becoming increasingly political as he trashed the Thatcher administration and campaigned for vegetarianism; he even claimed that the Smiths were all vegetarians, and he forbade the remaining members to be photographed eating meat, even though they were still carnivores. Marr, for his part, was delving deeply into the rock & roll lifestyle and looked increasingly like a cross between Keith Richards and Brian Jones. By the time the non-LP "Shakespeare's Sister" reached number 26 in the spring of 1985, the Smiths had spawned a rash of soundalike bands, including James, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour, most of whom Morrissey supported. However, all of the media attention on the Smiths launched a mild backlash later in 1985, when "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" was pulled from Meat Is Murder and failed to reach the Top 40. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" revived the band's fortunes in the fall of 1985, and their third album, The Queen Is Dead, confirmed their popularity upon its release in the spring of 1986. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and peaking at number two on the U.K. charts, The Queen Is Dead also expanded their cult following in the U.S., cracking the Top 100. Shortly before the album was completed, former Aztec Camera guitarist Craig Gannon became the band's rhythm guitarist, and he played with the band throughout their 1986 international tour, including a botched American tour. The non-LP "Panic," which was criticized as racist by some observers for its repeated refrain of "Burn down the disco...hang the DJ," reached number 11 late in the summer. A few months after its release, Marr was seriously injured in a car crash. During his recuperation, Gannon was fired from the band, as was Rourke, who was suffering from heroin addiction. Though Rourke was later reinstated, Gannon was never replaced. The Smiths may have been at the height of their popularity in early 1987, with the non-LP singles "Shoplifters of the World" and "Sheila Take a Bow" reaching number 11 and ten respectively, and the singles and B-sides compilation The World Won't Listen (revamped for U.S. release as Louder Than Bombs later in 1987) debuting at number two, but Marr was growing increasingly disenchanted with the band and the music industry. Over the course of the year, Morrissey and Marr became increasingly irritated with each other. The singer wished that Marr would stop playing with other artists like Bryan Ferry and Billy Bragg, while the guitarist was frustrated with Morrissey's devotion to '60s pop and his hesitancy to explore new musical directions. A few weeks before the fall release of Strangeways, Here We Come, Marr announced that he was leaving the Smiths. Morrissey disbanded the group shortly afterward and began a solo career, signing with Parlophone in the U.K. and staying with the Smiths' U.S. label, Reprise. Marr played as a sideman with a variety of artists, eventually forming Electronic with New Order frontman Bernard Sumner. Rourke retired from recording and Joyce became a member of the reunited Buzzcocks in 1991. Rank, a live album recorded on the Queen Is Dead tour, was released in the fall of 1988. It debuted at number two in the U.K. A widely criticized, two-part The Best of the Smiths compilation was released in 1992; the praised Singles compilation was released in 1995. Joyce and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr in 1991, claiming they received only ten percent of the group's earnings while the songwriters received 40 percent. Rourke eventually settled out of court, but Joyce won his case in late 1996. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
