music

In this age of self-isolation and quarantine, it’s never been more important to check in on each other and to connect. This goes for artists, too, who have been social distancing alongside us: livestreaming concerts and hangouts, creating their own talk shows, and… well, that’s what we want them to tell us, with Remote Access. Last month, the neon-haired, pop-punk revivalist Yungblud released a blissfully metallic anti-anxiety anthem, “Weird,” along with a homemade video shot from the roof of a Los Angeles Airbnb, where the singer is currently social distancing with a few bandmates and his manager. Featuring lyrics detailing hard-won battles with mental health (“I can’t think, I can’t lie / I feel anxious all the time / If I smiled I would be lyin’”...

Way back in April, comedian and writer Joel Kim Booster tried to manifest something massive. “Lorde honey now is the time,” he tweeted, attempting to summon the pop star from the unofficial break she’s been taking since her Melodrama tour wrapped in late 2018. A month later, Booster’s plea seems like it might’ve worked — at least it terms of giving an update. On Tuesday night (May 19), Lorde reemerged to give an important update to her fans via email, one that spans her current musical state of mind and is very good news for Booster and other fans. “I can tell you, this new thing,” she wrote, “it’s got its own colours now. If you know anything about my work, you’ll know what that means.” (Lorde’s got synesthesia, a con...

By Carson Mlnarik Lay down vocals, film a music video, design new merch, play a couple of video games; nevermind the coronavirus pandemic, it’s business as usual for Los Angeles five-piece Peach Tree Rascals. From under the same roof, the up-and-coming collective has stayed hard at work on their breezy pop-R&B bops, sunny visuals, and rigorously chill Instagram aesthetic — making an appearance on the On My Block Season 3 soundtrack, creating a line of hoodies, and dropping two new singles and videos, all while social distancing at their communal home. But living as roommates isn’t just a means of boosting productivity in an industry that has been all but upended; this has always been their way of doing things. “Quarantine lifestyle is similar to the way we were living before it ha...

UPDATE (5/14/20, 10:00 a.m. ET): Mac Miller’s breakout mixtape K.I.D.S. debuted at No. 112 on the Billboard 200 chart just weeks after its release to streaming services on April 29. April 29 marked the 10-year anniversary of the commercial release of Mac Miller‘s breakout mixtape, K.I.D.S. It was his fourth project overall, but thanks to songs like “Nikes on My Feet” and “Senior Skip Day,” along with its references to the 1995 coming-of-age drama Kids, it broke Miller to the mainstream and led to him going on his first-ever tour that sold out at every location. These memories, moments, and music are finally out on streaming services as K.I.D.S. is now available everywhere. It’s time to pour back ove...

A few months ago, Minnesota’s somegirlnamedanna (that’s “some girl named Anna”) introduced herself to us with a simple song titled “Hello I Am.” On her latest release, she’s gone deeper, probing back into her childhood on “Kitchen Table,” a personal entry that looks back on her life so far. As she told MTV News, she wrote the song while studying and working in Nashville, homesick for both her family and the younger days she’d never get back. “I started writing freely about what I missed back home, and I noticed that a lot of it surrounded my kitchen table,” she said. “I remember drawing rainbows in my notebook there even when times were hard, feeling love, telling the truth, getting caught for skipping a class an...

Who’s ready to watch BTS perform live from the comfort of their couch? Well, get excited! The South Korean musicians are among the many artists around the world who are finding new ways to engage with fans and keep the live-show experience alive during the coronavirus pandemic. In April, the pop sensations launched their own virtual concert convention, the two-day streaming event Bang Bang Con that allowed listeners to revisit past tours and and fan meetings via streaming. Garnering 50.6 million views in total, the band teased ARMYs at the end of the broadcast with a note that they would soon be returning to fans’ rooms. And next month, the septet is making good on that promise by with a new virtual performance on the horizon. On Thursday (May 14), the group...

In February, rising Brooklyn drill rapper Pop Smoke was shot and killed during an apparent home invasion in the Hollywood Hills. He had spent the preceding months spreading his deep, gravelly voice across songs with Nav, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, and more, and though he’d dropped two successful and well-received mixtapes, he still had yet to release a proper debut album. Next month, that will change. Pop Smoke’s label and family have shared a promotional image for his posthumous debut LP – as of yet still untitled — that will drop on June 12. The head of his label, Steven Victor, posted the image to his Instagram today (May 14), along with the date. A few weeks ago, Victor posted additional information about the rollout of posthumous Pop Smoke material. “The public show ...

It might be springtime, but Kailee Morgue just wants to go to Halloween Town. The spooky shop in Burbank, California is home to props, accessories, masks, and all things ghoulish, and for Morgue — a 21-year-old rising artist whose sound blends sharp punk influences with a cloudy contemporary pop sound — it’s all she can think about while self-isolating in the new, sparsely decorated apartment she moved into just before she had to hunker down. “They have the masks from Halloween III that are like $500, but I just want them. I’m like, ‘Yes! I will drop $500 for those masks!'” she told MTV News recently. As she crouched on the floor of her new place and took a recent Zoom call, she discussed her new EP, Here in Your Bedroom, a six-song collection with nary a cree...

Earlier this year, Jonas Brothers celebrated their continued hot streak — one that began last year with their reformation, comeback, and smash success album Happiness Begins — by releasing new single “What a Man Gotta Do.” That was way back in January, but since then, they’ve also put out a concert experience titled Happiness Continues, the end credits of which featured a funky, brand-new song called “X.” Before now, the only place you could hear it was in those end credits. But as of today (May 15), “X” is finally here, complete with falsetto from Joe, frisky lyrics from Nick, and a Spanish-language verse from Karol G. And that’s not all. The JoBros are celebrating the weekend with another new song as well — this one is called “5 More ...

If you’ll recall, Katy Perry is having a baby girl. We first learned this via her music video for “Never Worn White,” an ode to her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, which dropped in March — and back then, Perry promised it was going to be a “jam packed summer.” She made good on that by dropping “Daisies,” a vibey new track, at midnight (May 15). On it, Perry’s blissed out, though the production suggests a slight return to her clubby hits of the early 2000s. There’s a cool moment at the end of the chorus where she sings the title word three times, and on the final turn, her voice crackles into a blur of electronic echoes. What’s missing is a massive backbeat — but that’s replaced here by an overall empowering feeling, made good by the ...

On April 6, Charli XCX announced her intention to try an experiment. Over the course of the next five weeks, she’d create a brand-new album — including meeting the demands of music videos and promotion — all entirely from scratch while self-isolating. The end result of that period of creativity is finally here: As promised, it’s called How I’m Feeling Now, and it’s simply a vision. The album comes loaded with the singles “Claws,” “Forever,” and “I Finally Understand,” all trademark future-pop looks at her life in quarantine that also saw her embracing more stream-of-consciousness lyrics she shared with fans in real time as she was making them. The other eight songs here range from insanely catchy (“7 Years”) and sugary...