MANILA, Philippines — Carlos Yulo is set to receive P750,000 in special incentives from the Philippine Sports Commission for his double medal feat in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at Kitakyushu General Gymnasium in Japan. The PSC Board approved the granting of P500,000 for Yulo’s gold medal win in vault and P250,000 for his silver […]

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DPR Live and DPR IAN have released a whimsical new video for their song with peace., ‘Diamonds + and Pearls’.

READ MORE: DPR Live: “I just really want to be transparent with my music”

On October 26 at 12pm KST, the duo unveiled the colourful visual via their official YouTube channel, under Asian-American label 88rising. ‘Diamonds + and Pearls’ is the latest track off the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings soundtrack to receive a video treatment, following the NIKI, Rich Brian and Warren Hue collaboration ‘Always Rising’.

In the psychedelic new clip, the Dream Perfect Regime duo float around in space, occasionally perching upon planets as kaleidoscopic lights and trippy visual effects take centre stage. “I stole all the diamonds in the sky / Looks like Lucy’s all alone tonight / I told her one day I’ll make it right / On the day I die,” they sing on the refrain of the high-energy track.

The song was released last month as part of the official soundtrack to Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which was produced by 88rising. The 18-track album features music by label mainstays Rich Brian, NIKI, Warren Hue and more, as well as other Asian artists from around the world including Anderson .Paak, Jhené Aiko, South Korean singers Seori and BIBI, the latter featuring on ‘Never Gonna Come Down’ with GOT7‘s Mark Tuan.

In other 88rising news, the label recently teamed up with K-R&B songstress BIBI on the single ‘The Weekend’. The song is set to appear on the label’s upcoming ‘Head In The Clouds 3’ collaborative album.

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South Korean producer Adora will soon be making her debut as a soloist.

READ MORE: Tomorrow X Together: “We tell stories of our generation, a generation at the crux of growth”

On October 25, South Korean news outlet Media Pen reported that the 24-year-old producer had signed with new agency AURA Entertainment, and is set to embark on a solo career.

“We have signed an exclusive contract with the artist Adora,” wrote the agency in a press statement. “Adora, who has received a lot of attention and love as a composer and producer, is preparing to write her story as an artist. We ask for your interest and love for the artist Adora’s activities, which are about to begin.”

Adora – real name Kim Soo-hyun – was a former member of Big Hit Music’s in-house producer team. She had been recruited in 2016 through the label’s “Next New Creator” audition, and has penned several hits for K-pop superstars BTS, including ‘Idol’, ‘Spring Day’ and ‘Boy With Luv’.

Over the years, keen-eared ARMYs (BTS’ official fanbase) have identified Adora’s vocals in the background of many of the boyband’s songs such as ‘134340’, ‘Home’ and rapper Suga’s solo track ‘Seesaw’, which she had also helped co-compose.

Additionally, the upcoming soloist has previously written and composed songs for boyband TXT such as ‘Blue Hour’, ‘Maze in the Mirror’, and ‘Wishlist’. Under HYBE labels, she had also contributed the tracks ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘Siren’s Call’ to former Source Music girl group GFRIEND.

Adora had also previously been a trainee under Music K Entertainment, and was in the original line-up of now-disbanded girl group The Ark. She was later cut from the act’s final debut line-up for unknown reasons.

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Chaeyoung of TWICE has dropped her rendition of ‘Off My Face’, originally by Justin Bieber.

READ MORE: JYP Entertainment’s “blind package” release capitalises on our deep-rooted FOMO

The singer stays true to the acoustic sound of the original version by Bieber, which was released earlier this year as part of his ‘Justice’ studio album. “Your touch blurred my vision / It’s your world and I’m just in it / Even sober I’m not thinkin’ straight,” Chaeyoung sings in English.

Meanwhile, the cover’s accompanying visual depicts Chaeyoung in a dream-like state, where she’s transported to an ethereal forest where she performs her take on the song from her dark bedroom, only illuminated by the light from her projector.

The cover is the latest addition to the girl group’s ‘Melody Project’ series, where the individual members of TWICE release song covers on the group’s YouTube channel.

Previous ‘Melody Project’ releases include Jihyo’s cover of ‘A Late Night of 1994’ by Jang Hyejin and Nayeon’s cover of Ariana Grande‘s ‘Love Is Everything’. Tzuyu had also teamed up with Stray Kids’ Bang Chan on a cover of Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie’s ‘ME!’ in June this year.

TWICE recently dropped an “opening trailer” for their upcoming third studio album ‘Formula Of Love: O+T=＜3’ ahead of its release, establishing the sci-fi concept of the forthcoming record. The album is due out on November 12 2pm KST/midnight EST.

Meanwhile, the group had also dropped their first ever English-language single ‘The Feels’ earlier this month, although the group had previously released English-language tracks. In 2020, the girl group had released English versions of their singles ‘More & More’ and ‘I Can’t Stop Me’. They also dropped their first original English track ‘What You Waiting For’ as a B-side on their 2019 Japanese album ‘&Twice’.

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Bruce Springsteen was the musical guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night (October 25) – see his solo performance of ‘The River’ below.

READ MORE: A beginner’s guide to Bruce Springsteen

The Boss was on the show to promote his upcoming concert film ‘No Nukes’, which contains never-before released performances from the band’s Madison Square Garden MUSE benefit concerts in 1979.

The concerts were held between September 21-22 at the iconic New York venue when The Boss was between his fourth and fifth studio albums, ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ and ‘The River’.

After sharing footage of the live debut of ‘The River’ track ‘Sherry Darling’ from the film a few weeks back, Springsteen has now taken to late-night TV to talk about the film and perform that album’s lauded title track.

Watch the solo acoustic performance of ‘The River’ and see Springsteen chatting with Colbert below:

Here’s a special performance from @springsteen as he sings “The River” on The Late Show! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/aj2mhJVh0g

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 26, 2021

.@springsteen shares what his song “The River” means to him 40 years after writing it. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/UOzeNkGJXY

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 26, 2021

The new film, whose official title is Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, was edited by longtime Springsteen collaborator Thom Zimny from the original 16mm film alongside remixed audio from Bob Clearmountain.

It’s released worldwide digitally in HD on November 16, followed by physical formats (CD and DVD, CD with Blu-Ray and vinyl) on November 23. Pre-order here.

Zimny said of the work: “A few years ago, I started re-examining the filmed archives for Bruce and the Band’s appearances at the No Nukes concerts of 1979. I quickly realised that these were the best performances and best filming from the Band’s legendary Seventies, and dedicated myself to bringing out the full potential of the footage.”

Meanwhile, handwritten lyrics to Springsteen songs ‘Thunder Road’, ‘For You’, and ‘Night’ are set to go under the hammer at auction later this week (October 28).

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Content warning: This article contains descriptions of alleged sexual misconduct.

Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, who’s also played with Big Star and R.E.M., has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women. The Posies, the Washington power-pop band he co-founded 35 years ago, are “in the process of breaking up” as a result of the allegations, Stringfellow’s former bandmates say.

In an investigative piece published October 25 by Seattle radio station KUOW.org, one woman accused Stringfellow of “forcibly [having] sex with her in a men’s room at a hotel in San Francisco”, while another said she had been in an “abusive” relationship with the musician.

A third woman said she woke up one morning to Stringfellow having sex with her, and that on a separate occasion he bit her arm, leaving marks and bruising. Stringfellow has “categorically” denied the allegations.

KUOW interviewed over 20 people for the story, and says it reviewed medical records, emails and texts as part of its investigation into the claims. Seven women who claimed they had been “intimate” with Stringfellow said the musician had not been abusive towards them, but four accused him of unwanted biting and being “controlling”.

One of those women was Stringfellow’s ex-wife Kim Warnick of the bands Visqueen and the Fastbacks, who said that while her ex-husband was never physically abusive, the relationship was “horrible”, and indicated Stringfellow had had “infidelities”.

In a written statement, Stringfellow said he “would never want to harm anyone with whom I have a relationship – sexual or otherwise”.

“Consent has been the foundation of every sexual relationship I’ve had, and violence has never been a part of any of those relationships. It simply is not who I am as a person who respects women.”

Stringfellow also reportedly said: “I have never been into anything kinky, into anything rough. I experienced extreme violence firsthand as a teen. I’m sensitive to aggression, and it’s not something I can be around. I am not down with violence. I don’t want to hurt anyone, ever.”

NME has reached out to Stringfellow for comment.

The allegations appear to have led to both of Stringfellow’s Posies bandmates leaving the trio. Jon Auer, who formed the band with Stringfellow in 1986, said he left the band “very quickly” about speaking to the woman who accused Stringfellow of sexually assaulting her in San Francisco, who is a friend of his.

“What she described to me was super disturbing, and it made my position immediately clear,” he told KUOW. “I confronted Ken about it on a phone call on Aug 4, 2021, and cancelled our upcoming shows, and flat-out told him that I wouldn’t be working with him anymore.”

Drummer Frankie Siragura resigned from the band on August 9, he said in a post on his Facebook account on September 17, but did not initially reveal the reasons behind his departure. He has since linked to the KUOW article on his account, writing that he was “gutted”.

Since their formation in 1986, the Posies have released eight studio albums, the last being 2016’s ‘Solid States’. They toured regularly prior to the beginning of the pandemic last year, and performed at ZooTunes 2021 in Seattle in July this year.

Outside of the Posies, Stringfellow also performed as a live member of R.E.M. on multiple tours (the last being in 2005) and appeared on several of the band’s records. Stringfellow and Auer were both recruited to join a reunited Big Star in 1993, performing with the band up until frontman Alex Chilton’s death in 2010.

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A new report claims that COVID passports will only reduce overall community transmission by just one to five per cent.

The research, which outline the impact of the government’s potential Plan B for the winter, was conducted by the UK Treasury and the Cabinet Office’s COVID-19 Taskforce, according to The Telegraph.

They found a COVID certification scheme would reduce transmission at mass events by 40-45 per cent.

But the research warned that, because only two to 13 per cent of overall community transmission takes place in venues covered by the scheme, there would only be a “moderate impact from reduced community transmission.”

Nightclub Circus in Liverpool Credit: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

As a result the figures suggest certification would reduce overall community transmission by just one to five per cent.

Reacting to the figures, Greg Parmley, CEO of LIVE (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment) said: “Today’s news confirms that a move to mandatory vaccine passports would be a mistake. These passports would cost the live music industry billions of pounds while aspects of the roll out would be impractical and potentially dangerous.

“Our industry has been unjustifiably held to a higher standard than any other throughout the pandemic. Now the government’s own impact assessment makes it clear that far from reducing transmission rates, insisting on mandatory vaccine passports in venues is likely to do the exact opposite.

“Across the country, music venues and events already have tried, tested and workable systems in place to ensure that live events continue to be safe. As one of the hardest hit industries throughout the pandemic the government should be focused on supporting us to rebuild, not forcing these unworkable conditions upon us.”

Both Wales and Scotland recently introduced vaccine passports for gigs and nightclubs but plans in England were scrapped last month.

Meanwhile, concerns have also recently mounted in the UK’s live music industry over the government’s long-awaited insurance scheme for live events and festivals.

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IDLES‘ Joe Talbot has announced details of three Q&A evenings across the UK later this year, hosted by Creation Records head Alan McGee.

READ MORE: Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Alan McGee

McGee will lead conversations between fans and the frontman of the Bristol band at a trio of shows across November and December.

The talks will begin in The Y Theatre in Leicester on November 19 before heading to The Foundry in Sheffield and finally wrapping up with a pair of matinee and evening London shows on December 4.

Grab tickets for the Leicester show here, Sheffield here, and London (matinee/evening).

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Some rockers mellow over time. Bruce Springsteen is becoming more of a Boss with age.

The legendary band leader, now 72, is showing no signs of slowing down. Consider, since the world-locked down, Springsteen has cultivating his own purple patch.

The New Jersey-bred artist teamed with former POTUS Barack Obama on the eight-part podcast series Renegades: Born in the U.S.A., which has since spawned a book, due out today (Oct. 26).

And next month, Springsteen and The E Street Band’s vault busts wide open with the multi-format release of The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts film, featuring 10 performances and full footage of the entire setlist.

And there’s been a flurry of releases along the way, including 2020’s Letter to You, which delivered a No. 1 in the U.K. and Australia, and No. 2 peak in the U.S., along with the original documentary film; plus the Springsteen on Broadway residency, gigs, interviews, concerts. The lot.

Springsteen was back in Boss mode when he stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday (Oct. 25) for a chat about several of those projects, and a performance of one of his many classic numbers, “The River.”

Springsteen and Obama are, of course, on a first-name basis. Though when asked how he should be referred to, Springsteen quipped, “Mr Boss please.” The podcast and book were the former president’s idea, we learned. “He called me, which of course I thought he had the wrong number,” Springsteen recounted.

Springsteen is an optimist, but he’s not given up the good fight. “I think there’s a great generation coming up who will be interested in protecting American democracy,” he explained, “and things like the fundamental right to vote, all of which has been a sort of endangered species at the moment.”

The Hall of Famer also discussed the tricky art-life balance (“if you fully subsume yourself in it, it’s no way to live”), recalled the story of jumping the fence at Elvis Presley’s house to see if the King was home (he wasn’t), and, for a sweet piece of fan-servicing, he showed off the actual Fender Telecaster that he slings on the cover art for Born to Run. The six-string could tell its own story. Bruce bought it 50 years ago for $185 on Highway 34, perhaps in Belmar. Born to run, indeed.

Springsteen also pointed out a problem with the album cover for the No Nukes concert. Every member of the E Street Band appears on it, with the exception of keyboardist Roy Bittan. It’s a mistake, and Springsteen admits he’s in deep s*** about it. Rather than lose more sleep over it, The Boss looked down the camera and gave a heartfelt apology.

Watch below.

The Beijing Marathon has been postponed indefinitely after Sunday’s race was called off amid rising COVID-19 cases in China, the BBC quoted organizers as saying. Organizers said they were canceling next weekend’s race “in order to prevent the risk of the epidemic spreading (and) effectively protect the health and safety of the majority of runners, […]

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GOT7 vocalist Youngjae has opened up about his longtime goal of making his debut as a musical actor.

READ MORE: Youngjae – ‘COLORS From Ars’ review: a confident display of his vibrant musical palette

The Korean singer-actor sat down for an interview on the Daebak Show With Eric Nam, discussing his recent projects since leaving JYP Entertainment earlier this year in January.

Apart from making his debut as a solo artist earlier this month with ‘COLORS From Ars’, Youngjae also spent 2021 making his name as an actor with a lead role in the musical Midnight Sun. He also starred in Netflix’s June sitcom series So Not Worth It.

“I’ve been wanting to give it a shot for a long time,” revealed Youngjae, when asked how he was able to expand his horizons in such a short amount of time. He added that he saw an opportunity to achieve these longtime dreams of his, especially since “it’s a new beginning for me, and I’m now on my own”.

“I actually finished filming the sitcom a while ago,” he clarified. “As for the musical, I’ve always wanted to try it. When the opportunity suddenly came to me, I had to quickly grab it while I could. While I was preparing for the musical, I was really busy with the production of my album too.”

Youngjae is the fourth member of GOT7 to release solo albums this year, after Bambam, Yugyeom and JAY B. Meanwhile, members Mark Tuan and Jackson Wang have also released a number of solo singles and collaborations.

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South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High have returned with a brand-new single ‘Face ID’.

READ MORE: Epik High’s Tablo: “I’ve gone through long periods where I felt like I was completely alone”

The song arrived yesterday (October 25), alongside its accompanying music video, which featured cameos from the track’s guest stars: K-Hip-Hop rappers Giriboy, Sik-K and Justhis.

The visual shows all five rappers in individual, bright-coloured rooms with its contents being warped and distorted to unnatural lengths, including the musicians themselves. “We’re already on another page / Better not talk, just face it / I mastermind, you’re just mimicking the gestures / Gotta get get get what I want,” they chant in the chorus.

‘Face ID’ is a pre-release track for ‘Epik High Is Here 下, Part Two’, the second half of their 10th studio album. The first half, titled  ‘Epik High Is Here 上, Part 1’, was released earlier this year and featured collaborations with a slew of South Korean R&B and hip-hop acts, including CL and Zico on the hit song ‘Rosario’, Heize on ‘Based On The True Story’ and B.I on ‘Acceptance Speech’.

Notably, ‘Rosario’ was included on NME‘s list of the 15 best K-pop songs of 2021 so far. In her write-up, NME‘s Mariel Abanes called it a track that “emit[s] so much power”, and noted that “from the very beginning, [its] sultry instrumentals and intoxicating opening draw listeners in”.

Epik High had also announced the dates for their forthcoming North American tour in 2022, which is set to begin in March in the city of Seattle, with more dates set in different cities across US states as well as in Canada.

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