It’s not even Halloween yet and the first shoots of Christmas cheer are already popping up. Too soon! How do we know it’s a bit early to start leaning into the holiday season? Christmas Queen herself Mariah Carey said so. In a hilarious video posted on Wednesday night (Oct. 20), Mariah chilled out in her dressing room as a friend wearing an MC-themed “Get Festive” Santa hoodie announced — in Portuguese for some reason — “Look what I found today! Can I wear it?”

Wagging her finger, Mariah cheerfully responded “Not yet!” followed by an adorable smile and shrug. And she should know, because Carey is the undisputed titan of tinsel time thanks to her 1994 classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for the second time last December.

In addition to “All I Want” becoming a perennial holiday smash, Carey’s barometer of when it’s too early to unwrap your holiday cheer has become an annual tradition as well. Last year, Carey told some of the Lambily to pump the brakes when she saw that the song was already picking up steam just a few days before Halloween.

“Not yet,” she responded to a post that declared “it’s happening” alongside a Google Trends graph showing the rise and fall of interest in the song over the previous 16 years. Of course, just a few days later Carey was back with a short video in which she gets a call from Santa telling her it’s time to bust out the wrapping paper and Christmas cheer.

Check out Mariah’s tweet below.

MANILA, Philippines—Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons are set to compete in the first tournament of the Beach Volleyball Republic on Tour after two years but the two are also looking ahead at another international competition. The Filipino bets will represent the country in the Asian Seniors Beach Volleyball Championship on November 23 in Phuket, Thailand […]

The post Sisi Rondina eager for learning experience in BVR return appeared first on Inquirer Sports.

MANILA, Philippines—Mikey Williams’ first game in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup finals could be the start of a more consistent performance from the rookie. The 2021 fourth overall pick poured in 21 points, on 8-of-15 shooting, with 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals in TNT’s dominant 88-70 win over Magnolia Wednesday at DHVSU Gym […]

The post Game 1 showing a ‘confident boost’ for Mikey Williams appeared first on Inquirer Sports.

Newcastle has asked fans celebrating the club’s Saudi-backed takeover not to wear Arab-style clothing to matches in case it causes offense. Some supporters wore traditional robes and others donned headdresses for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Tottenham, the Magpies’ first game under their new owners. The £305 million ($420 million) Newcastle takeover was rubber-stamped by […]

The post Newcastle asks fans not to wear Arab-style clothing after Saudi takeover appeared first on Inquirer Sports.

Four months ago, few would have guessed how quickly things would drastically change in Britney Spears’ conservatorship. In the coming weeks, circumstances could prove just as rapidly evolving, with the new temporary conservator of her estate digging into more than a decade’s worth of documents and her new legal team investigates the bombshell allegations she’s made about abuse she says she experienced over the past 13 years. The next phase is likely to be a discovery fight, according to probate attorneys consulted by The Hollywood Reporter.

“The appointed replacement conservator is a CPA chosen by Britney, John Zabel,” says Vatche Zetjian of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, an attorney who specializes in estate, trust and probate litigation. “Therefore, seemingly, the last chapter of the conservatorship has become a third-party forensic accounting to investigate James [aka Jamie] Spears.”

During a Sept. 24 hearing, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny suspended Spears as conservator of his daughter’s estate and instructed him to turn over to Zabel the financial books and other related documents. “Best case scenario is Jamie turns over everything and Britney’s camp reviews it and decides what additional claims she may want to bring,” says Benny Roshan, chair of Greenberg Glusker’s trusts and probate litigation group. But she doesn’t expect it to be that easy.

“There have been smoke signals on these issues that make a reasonable person think a fight is coming, especially since Britney has made it clear there’s going to be a top-to-bottom review of the record and Jamie is not going to escape liability by trying now to do the right thing.” With an attorney and conservator of her own choosing in place, Zetjian suspects Britney is likely less concerned about the conservatorship itself still being active. “I’m sure she still wants to end it, but she’s on the offensive now,” he says. “She can use the conservatorship as a resource to get to the bottom of things she thought harmed her.”

In a footnote of a Sept. 27 filing, just before the suspension hearing, Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart did indicate he’ll go on the offensive and argue that any attorney-client privilege Jamie had while conservator of the estate ended when he was suspended. He cites case law that boils down to this: A fiduciary such as Jamie only holds attorney-client privilege on behalf of the estate while in the role, and if that power is transferred the privilege transfers along with it. So, here, it’s expected Rosengart would argue John Zabel, as Jamie’s successor, is now the holder of the attorney-client privilege on behalf of Britney’s estate and has unfettered access to communications between his predecessor and lawyers with regard to the conservatorship.

Rosengart argued that avoiding the document turnover is one reason why Jamie Spears was pushing for the court to terminate the conservatorship, which would have rendered his suspension petition moot. “He knows that when he is suspended he must turn over the conservatorship files, including purported attorney-client privileged documents (communications with his lawyers), to the new temporary conservator,” he wrote in the filing (bold italics in original).

“In light of the most recent disclosures of his misconduct according to the New York Times’ reporting, he is, and should be, particularly concerned about the release of these communications, to be followed by further interrogatories and his sworn deposition.” The New York Times released a second Spears-centric documentary on Sept. 24, just days before the suspension hearing. In Controlling Britney Spears and a coordinating print piece, a former security employee for a firm that had been hired by the conservatorship alleged Britney’s communications were secretly monitored, including conversations with her then-attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, through an audio-recording device hidden in her bedroom and an iPad that was set up to mirror Spears’ iPhone.

He claimed he was instructed to erase a USB drive containing about 180 hours of recordings, but he kept a copy because he didn’t want to “delete evidence.” In the heated Sept. 29 hearing, Jamie’s attorney, Vivian Thoreen of Holland & Knight, pushed back against the claim that her client had any ulterior motives in moving to terminate the conservatorship and vehemently denied any wrongdoing. She emphasized that ending the arrangement entirely instead of mulling a suspension would save the court time and “free” Britney sooner.

After Spears was suspended, she issued a statement calling the decision disappointing and said Jamie has been “biting his tongue and not responding to all the false, speculative, and unsubstantiated attacks on him.” Regardless of the underlying motivation for filing a termination petition, given the allegations of misconduct, probate attorneys expect the document transfer to be a fight. Zetjian says the Evidence Code provides the conservator is the holder of a conservatee’s attorney-client privilege. “In the case of trusts, case law provides the privilege regarding communications concerning trust administration belongs to the trusteeship, and would thus pass to successor trustees,” he says.

“Mr. Rosengart will argue that this same rule should apply to conservators, who, like trustees, act as a fiduciary, which is a compelling argument.”Roshan agrees. “Upon his suspension, Jaime must turn over all conservatorship files and documents to the interim conservator of the estate including privileged communications,” she says. “The holder of the attorney-client privilege is now Zabel and, unless Jaime can show he is entitled to withhold certain defensive documents from production, he must turn them over.” Determining which documents would qualify to be held back won’t be simple, either.

“Obviously, the tactic is to get the Holland & Knight emails and hope to find evidence from the horse’s mouth regarding purported wrongdoing,” says Zetjian. “Communications regarding avoiding personal liability maintain privilege, as opposed to communications about administering the conservatorship. But when communicating with the same attorney and paying that attorney from conservatorship funds, it will be difficult to distinguish personal versus administrative communications. Therefore, it is possible the court orders James Spears must produce to Mr. Zabel all his communications with counsel while he was acting as a conservator.”

The next major hearing is currently set for Nov. 12 — which had fans celebrating that #FreeBritney could happen before the artist’s 40th birthday on Dec. 2. That could be, but there’s no roadmap for a unique case like this, and unwinding a complicated arrangement can take time. The petition for termination of the conservatorship filed by Jamie Spears on Sept. 7 is currently unopposed. That doesn’t mean someone couldn’t oppose ending the arrangement, but there’s no clear indication of who would.

Without an opposition on record, it’s possible Judge Penny could opt to terminate the conservatorship on Nov. 12 without further proceedings. However, probate litigators say it’s likely she will tread carefully to ensure ending it is in Spears’ best interest. “If all parties before the court — conservator, conservatee, and any other friends or family who have appeared in the case — and the investigator’s report all show total unanimity that the conservatorship is no longer needed, these petitions can be summarily granted,” says Matthew Kanin, an attorney at Greenspoon Marder who specializes in estate planning, trust and probate law.

“However, those are rare circumstances. The law does not favor an outcome where the probate court just abruptly lifts all protective measures.” The probate code doesn’t offer guidance on the amount or type of evidence that must be considered, which makes the outcome even more difficult to predict. It merely states: “If the court determines that the conservatorship is no longer required or that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship of the person or estate, or both, no longer exist, the court shall make this finding and shall enter judgment terminating the conservatorship accordingly.”

In the time since Britney shared her emotional testimony on June 23, Penny has allowed the star to choose her own lawyer and approved the temporary conservator of the estate suggested by her team despite objections from Jamie about his qualifications. Those decisions, combined with statements Penny has made in court about Britney’s ability to successfully work over the years, could indicate she’s been shown sufficient evidence that the artist has the capacity to make personal and business decisions for herself.

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

YouTube is giving back to music makers of color.

On Wednesday (Oct. 20), the streaming platform announced the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2022 — which includes a total of 53 international artists, songwriters and producers who will receive partner support, seed funding to help develop their channels, bespoke training, workshops and access to networking programs from the company.

The 53 classmates will also have the opportunity to co-write and collaborate musically. Also exciting, YouTube named music pioneer Slick Rick The Ruler as the inaugural mentor member of the #YouTubeBlack Voices Artist Class of 2022. As a mentor member, the “Children’s Story” hitmaker will share his wisdom and guidance with grant recipients.

“It’s an honor to partner with YouTube via the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund initiative to utilize my platform and art to share as an example of what endurance, the power of imagination and pure authenticity look like,” Slick Rick The Ruler said in a statement.

This year’s class includes creatives from the U.S., Nigeria, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom and Canada.

Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube said in a statement, “YouTube is still committed to amplifying Black voices and music on our platform, so we knew we had to go even bigger for the #YouTubeBlack Voices Music Class of 2022. We’ve added new members, new regions, and of course the legendary Slick Rick The Ruler, as our first ever mentor member. Let’s continue walking the walk.”

See the #YouTubeBlack Voices Artist Class of 2022 and the #YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriter & Producer Class of 2022 below:

#YouTubeBlack Voices Artist Class of 2022

Azawi (Kampala, Uganda), Barkaa (Barkindji Nation, Western NSW), Blanco Brown (Atlanta, Georgia, United States), Bree Runway (East London, England, United Kingdom), Budjerah (Fingal Head, Australia), Cico P (Jacksonville, Texas, United States), Cimafunk (Pinar del Rio, Cuba), CKay (Anambra, Nigeria), Dijon (Ellicott City, Maryland, United States), Elaine (Pretoria, South Africa), EST Gee (Louisville, Kentucky, United States), Jonathan Ferr (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Jords (Croydon, England, United Kingdom), Kadhja Bonet (Long Beach, California, United States), Kamille (London, England, United Kingdom), Liniker (São Paulo, Brazil), Liza (Toronto, Canada), midwxst (Carmel, Indiana, United States), Monaleo (Houston, Texas, United States), Nija (Union City, New Jersey, United States), NorthSideBenji (Toronto, Canada), NSG (London, England, United Kingdom), Omah Lay (Port Harcourt, Nigeria), Rico Dalasam (São Paulo, Brazil), Savannah Ré (Toronto, Canada), Tai Verdes (Palos Verdes, Los Angeles, CA), Tamera (Kent, England), Tasha & Tracie (São Paulo, Brazil), Teezo Touchdown (Beaumont, Texas, United States), whiterosemoxie (Detroit, Michigan, United States) and one of the globes most legendary voices in hip hop, the legendary Slick Rick The Ruler (from The Bronx, New York United States)

#YouTubeBlack Voices Songwriter & Producer Class of 2022

Cadenza (London, England, United Kingdom), Compass (North London, England, United Kingdom), Dallas Woods (Wyndham, West Australia, Australia), Dj Lag (Johannesburg, South Africa), Gloria Kaba (Irvington, New Jersey, United States), HARV (Kansas City, Missouri, United States), IamTash (Boston, Massachusetts, United States), Jay Versace (Pleasantville, New Jersey, United States), jetsonmade (Columbia, South Carolina, United States), Kobie Dee (South Sydney, Bidjigal Land, Australia), Léo Casa 1 (São Paulo, Brazil), Major League DJz (Johannesburg, South Africa), Mu540 (Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil), Nova Wav (Tallahassee, Florida / Atlanta, Georgia, United States), OG Parker (Atlanta, Georgia, United States), P.Priime (Lagos, Nigeria), RDD (Paulo Afonso, Bahia, Brazil), Rodriguinho (Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil), Telz (Lagos, Nigeria), Walshy Fire (Miami, Florida, United States), WondaGurl (Toronto, Canada), YAOB (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

As filings to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) become public in the next few days, a more informed conversation about future rates paid to music publishers will begin. As we start to assess the potential impact of the various rate proposals, my hope is that we can look beyond rhetoric of songwriters versus streaming services. That framing does very little to achieve positive long-term results for anyone within the industry.

I’m reminded of a heated group conversation I was part of a few years ago, when someone observed: “I’m hearing a lot of listening for judgment and very little listening for understanding right now.” Everyone was simply waiting for their turn to speak and tell the last person why they were wrong. This has me reflecting on what I understand songwriters to be frustrated about, where I understand streaming services are coming from, how those pieces fit into the context and facts of a music industry that has changed dramatically over a short period of time, and, most importantly, whether there is any chance of finding common ground.

Songwriter frustration has been growing in parallel to the broader resurgence of the music industry driven by streaming. In the United States alone, music fans now generate well over $10 billion from streaming and the overwhelming majority of that money makes its way to rightsholders. Publishers reported a nearly 10% increase in revenues in 2020, reaching $4.1 billion for the year. And in the first half of 2021 alone, recorded music revenues grew 27% to $7.1 billion from the same period in 2020, with streaming accounting for 84% of total revenues. Just yesterday, the flow of capital into the music industry from hedge funds and private equity continued, with KKR purchasing a portfolio of rights for over $1 billion. Songwriters have made clear that they believe not enough of that money makes it to them. How can it be that streaming drives record IPOs, billions invested into song catalogs, and incredible annual growth in publisher, PRO, and label revenues and that songwriters feel they are undervalued?

I think much of it can be traced to the fact that streaming has changed the way we consume music—from buying a collection of individual songs and recordings packaged in an album, to listening to whatever song or recording we want at the push of a button. That transition from album sales to singles listening has direct economic impact—the biggest songs get the biggest share of streaming revenue—but it also impacts the viability of songwriting as a career.

Because mechanical royalties for CD sales were split across all the writers on the album, album tracks were a way to support and sustain the work of writing, even for writers whose song wasn’t the hit or drove sales. Writers for the hits made more money, not through mechanicals, but through performance royalties because their songs were performed more.

Streaming (unlike CDs or radio before it) pays for both mechanical and performance rights and both payments are tied to the same act of listening. This has pushed virtually all the money into the hits, whether new releases or catalog tracks that experience the kind of resurgence that only streaming can generate. The value of the average song and the money that a songwriter makes has been fundamentally altered. The issue is compounded by the fact that more and more songs (particularly hits) are credited to more and more writers meaning even the money for the most popular songs often gets shared across five or more writers. Finally, there is the fact that the availability of accurate and authoritative data of who owns what music still lags, which leaves songwriter money caught up in the system far too frequently.

All of this helps explain the seeming cognitive dissonance between headline after headline about the value that streaming delivers to the entire music industry with the very vocal claims that streaming doesn’t value creators. It is the difference between the macro and the micro. In the aggregate, music is making a lot of money from streaming. Publishers are making a tremendous amount of money from streaming. Labels are making even more. Publishers and labels have the advantage of operating at scale. That’s the name of the game for any sort of consumption-based model. But songwriters don’t operate at scale. Because of these dynamics, a huge increase in mechanical royalty rates will benefit rightsholders operating at scale far more than it will help those frustrated by the changed value of the average song and the impact on songwriters.

What of the streaming services? Much like songwriters, they aren’t monolithic. The upwards of 50 digital services operating under the mechanical license at issue vary in size, scope, and focus. They are innovative companies competing vigorously to offer ways to connect fans to music. Whether a genre-specific service, a service reaching a particular set of users like audiophiles or fitness instructors, or a service that focuses on emerging and independent creators, they bring in billions in revenues to publishers and labels that weren’t available in the pre-digital industry.

Streaming services operate in a highly complex licensing landscape that no one would have designed if we were starting from scratch. None of them, regardless of their size or market cap, can absorb massive cost increases for only one necessary component without negative impacts somewhere else. Some folks will say the labels should take less. Others will say that services should operate on lower margins.

On that latter point, streaming services already operate on margins far lower than record stores at the height of either vinyl or CD sales. What should it be worth to have a record store, radio station, MTV, liner notes, fan club, concert marketing hub, mp3 (or CD) collection and smart music friend all in one experience? What is the right operating margin for a service that requires constant investment and innovation to retain fan interest in a saturated, highly competitive media environment? What is the value of obliterating traditional barriers to entry and offering unlimited shelf space to creators who never would have known what door to knock on, let alone had that knock answered, in the pre-streaming industry? How do we foster a diverse and competitive digital music landscape for fans, creators, rightsholders and entrepreneurs? And how, at the end of the day, do we balance the unquestionable value delivered by streaming to fans and the music industry writ large with the frustrations of those who believe their contributions are not adequately reflected in how that value is shared?

These are questions that deserve to be part of a larger conversation, not brushed aside. I remain an eternal optimist, in part because the fundamentals are incontrovertible. For both streaming services and music to exist, we all need songwriters. That truth can serve as the starting point of meaningful conversations.

There are thoughtful people in the industry who want to find solutions that make a difference rather than further entrench the underlying challenges. To find those solutions, we will all need less listening for judgment and more listening for understanding.

Garrett Levin is president and CEO of the Digital Media Association (DiMA), which includes Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and Pandora as members but is not representing them in the rate trial because the services have chosen to participate individually.

IDLES have shared the second part of their video for ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ – check it out below.

The first part of the video was shared last month alongside news of the band’s upcoming fourth studio album, ‘Crawler’.

READ MORE: IDLES: “Loads of people don’t fucking like us”

While the first part of the video was made up of sweaty close-ups of frontman Joe Talbot, the follow-up sees the band suited up and performing the track in a ballroom.

Watch the new video for ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ below:

Set to be released on November 12 via Partisan, ‘Crawler’ – which is co-produced by Kenny Beats and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen – was recorded at Real World Studios in Bath during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s the most important song on the album, really,” IDLES frontman Joe Talbot said of ‘The Beachland Ballroom’. “There’s so many bands that go through the small rooms and dream of making it into the big rooms.

“Being able to write a soul tune like this made me go, fuck — we’re at a place where we’re actually allowed to go to these big rooms and be creative and not just go through the motions and really appreciate what we’ve got.”

IDLES are currently on a sold-out 23-date North American tour. They’ll begin 2022 with a run of sold-out UK and Ireland shows throughout January and February, including a four-night stretch at the O2 Academy Brixton in London.

See the UK and Ireland dates below:

JANUARY 2022

16 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
17 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
18 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
19 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
21 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
22 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
24 – Vicar Street, Dublin
25 – Vicar Street, Dublin
26 – Vicar Street, Dublin
28 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
29 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
30 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

FEBRUARY 2022

1 – O2 Academy, Sheffield
2 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
3 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
4 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
5 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

The post IDLES share second part of their ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ video appeared first on NME.

Coldplay performed their song ‘Human Heart’ with special guests We Are King and Jacob Collier on The Late Late Show with James Corden last night (October 20) – you can watch their performance below.

The track is taken from the band’s recently released album ‘Music of the Spheres’, and is one of three collaborations on the record.

READ MORE: Coldplay: “This is our period of having no fear”

Coldplay continued their week-long Late Late Show residency last night by linking up with We Are King and Collier to perform ‘Human Heart’.

The performance saw the band’s frontman Chris Martin performing vocals with Collier and We Are King sisters Amber and Paris Strother – you can watch them play ‘Human Heart’ below.

Earlier this week Coldplay performed ‘Let Somebody Go’ with Selena Gomez live for the first time as part of their Late Late Show residency.

They also played ‘My Universe’ from ‘Music of the Spheres’ on the Corden-hosted US talk show.

‘Music Of The Spheres’, meanwhile, is well on course to becoming the first album to surpass 100,000 UK chart sales in a week since Ed Sheeran in 2019.

Coldplay are set to embark on a sustainable world tour in 2022 in support of their new record, with UK dates set in London and Glasgow.

“Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band,” Coldplay said in a statement. We’ve been planning this tour for years, and we’re super excited to play songs from across our whole time together.”

Speaking to NME for last week’s Big Read, Martin revealed that Coldplay are only intending to make 12 albums during their career.

The post Watch Coldplay perform ‘Human Heart’ with We Are King and Jacob Collier appeared first on NME.

Jeon Somi has announced a release date for her upcoming debut album ‘XOXO’ and released its tracklist.

READ MORE: Somi’s latest single ‘Dumb Dumb’ is a frustrating comeback that lacks originality and spark

The Korean-Canadian idol took to social media on October 20 to announce the release date  of her long-awaited solo debut full-length album ‘XOXO’. She captioned the post with: “You ready for round two?” ‘XOXO’ is due out on October 29 at 6pm KST.

JEON SOMI ‘XOXO’
10.29.2021 6PM (KST)
You ready for round two?
#JEONSOMI #전소미 #JEONSOMI_XOXO #THEBLACKLABEL pic.twitter.com/p2c0liLXnE

— SOMI (전소미) (@somi_official_) October 20, 2021

Earlier today (October 21), Somi also dropped the tracklist for ‘XOXO’, revealing that the album will feature a total of eight songs including a title track of the same name. The project will also feature the song, ‘Don’t Let Me Go’, with rapper Giriboy.

In additional, four of the eight tracks are previously released songs from the K-pop idol: 2019’s ‘Birthday’ and ‘Outta My Head’, ‘What You Waiting For’ from 2020, and ‘Dumb Dumb’ which dropped earlier this year.

JEON SOMI ‘XOXO’ THE FIRST ALBUM

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOWhttps://t.co/2Db6VtRa1E

ALBUM TRACKLIST#JEONSOMI #전소미 #JEONSOMI_XOXO#QUEENSOMIISBACK #THEBLACKLABEL pic.twitter.com/POvShnoMLr

— THEBLACKLABEL (@THEBLACKLABEL_) October 21, 2021

Somi’s agency The Black Label previously confirmed last week that the singer was set to release ‘XOXO’ this month. At the time no details about the release, including an exact release date and its tracklist, had been revealed.

The album’s release was also previously teased by Somi herself on Instagram, when she shared an image of a pile of pink and white albums, with the title ‘XOXO’ and her name printed on them on October 1.

Prior to her solo career, Somi had participated in the first season of Mnet reality TV competition Produce 101, where she came in first place. She later joined the group I.O.I in 2016, alongside other contestants like Chung Ha and former Gugudan member Kim Se-jeong, and stayed with the 11-member group until early 2017.

The post Jeon Somi unveils release date and tracklist for debut album ‘XOXO’ appeared first on NME.

Aurora has shared the new video for her recent single ‘Giving In To The Love’ – you can watch the clip below.

The song is taken from the Norwegian artist’s upcoming new album ‘The Gods We Can Touch’, which is set for release on January 21, 2022 via Decca.

READ MORE: Aurora talks ‘Cure For Me’: “Why is it so difficult to let others be themselves?”

The video for ‘Giving In To The Love’ has been released this week. Directed by Aurora and shot in Oslo, the clip features the singer dancing among scenes of nature before she seemingly brings a statue to life.

You can watch Aurora’s video for ‘Giving In To The Love’ below.

Speaking to NME back in July about ‘The Gods We Can Touch’, Aurora said that her new record wouldn’t be dealing in “doom, gloom, COVID and horror”, but would instead be “more playful and fun” while still “representing a lot of things that bother me with society and our history”.

“It’s quite sensual actually, and very much about the dark, the light and the absurd combination of the two,” she said. “To me, music has always been very serious and no fun. I always write about really serious things, and I can see myself standing on stage every night for an hour and being really sad all the time.”

Aurora will head out on a UK and European tour in support of her new album from February through to April 2022.

The singer will also speak and perform at a special climate and culture event next month during COP26, the upcoming United Nations climate change conference.

The post Aurora shares ethereal new video for ‘Giving In To The Love’ appeared first on NME.

CL has shed some light on her hiatus from music, admitting that it was “the hardest thing” she has had to do.

READ MORE: CL – ‘ALPHA’ review: an incandescent return well worth the wait

The musician recently spoke to W Magazine about how her break from music, which she took following her solo performance at the 2018 Winter Olympics, had been both rewarding and challenging for her.

“I was working since, I don’t know, 15 or something, constantly,” CL noted, referencing her time as a 2NE1 member since the group’s debut in 2009 and the beginning of her solo career in 2013. “So for me to take some time off, even that was the hardest thing. I didn’t know how to do it.”

She also recalled her reaction to her sudden change in lifestyle during her break, describing it as “unexpected”. “I never went on a trip where I just had days of nothing happening—just resting and eating good food and spending time with family,” she admitted. “It was like a really tense rubber band breaking at once.”

However, now that she has released new material in the form of ‘ALPHA’, the singer-rapper is able to reflect on the merits of her hiatus. “Looking back, I re-programmed myself and allowed myself more layers to perspective in life, my experiences, seeing myself. I needed time for that,” she concluded.

Released yesterday (October 20), CL shared her hopes for her debut studio album ‘ALPHA’ prior to its release, saying she hoped her album would “empower” other idols in K-pop. “[I want them] to be like, ‘Yes, you can continue doing this independently whether you decide to go to another label, however way it is’,” she added.

The post CL says taking a break from music was “the hardest thing” appeared first on NME.