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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Spotify confirm hundreds of K-pop releases removed from platform worldwide: “It is our hope that this disruption will be temporary” - NME

Hundreds of K-pop releases have been removed from Spotify worldwide as the streaming platform continues to try and reach an agreement with distributor Kakao M.

Spotify launched in South Korea on February 1, 2021, but did so without music from artists with licensing deals under Kakao M, including IU, Zico and more.

Now, releases distributed by the Korean label have been removed from Spotify around the world. Kakao M distributes a large share of Korean popular music, with 37.5 percent of the songs featured on the 2020 Top 400 Yearly Song Chart from Gaon Music Chart under the company.

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In a statement given to NME, a spokesperson for Spotify confirmed that Kakao M’s catalogue would no longer be available to users around the globe from March 1, 2021 “due to the expiration of our licence”.

“We have been working with KakaoM over the last year and a half to renew the global licensing agreement, so that their artists’ music would remain available to Spotify’s 345M+ listeners in nearly 170 markets around the world,” they said. “Despite our best efforts, the existing licensing deal we had with KakaoM (which covered all countries other than South Korea) has come to an end.

“The fact that we have not yet reached agreement on a new global deal is unfortunate for their artists, as well as for fans and listeners worldwide. It is our hope that this disruption will be temporary and we can resolve the situation soon. We remain committed to working with local rights holders including KakaoM, to help grow the Korean music market and overall streaming ecosystem together.”

Mamamoo
Mamamoo CREDIT: RBW Entertainment

Kakao M’s parent company also owns and operates the MelOn streaming service, one of the top digital music platforms in South Korea. Epik High’s Tablo suggested on Twitter that a disagreement between the Korean company and Spotify had led to the issue.

“Apparently a disagreement between our distributor Kakao M & Spotify has made our new album Epik High Is Here unavailable globally against our will,” he wrote. “Regardless of who is at fault, why is it always the artists and the fans that suffer when businesses place greed over art?”

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When Spotify launched in South Korea, a spokesperson for Kakao M told the Korea Herald: “We are still talking with Spotify [about distributing our songs through their platform].”

Twitter user @lemonphobic has compiled some of the artists affected by the issue, including IU, Cherry Bullet, Cravity, GFriend, Mamamoo, CL, Nu’est and many more. You can see their full thread of artists here and a sample below.

Artists signed to SM, YG, JYP and BigHit Entertainment (excluding BigHit Labels) are unaffected by the removals.

Fans have reported artists losing massive amounts of streams on Spotify due to the removal. A fan account dedicated to SEVENTEEN’s Spotify statistics and updates said the group, who are signed to Pledis Entertainment, had lost nearly 1billion streams after their music was removed from Spotify.

Meanwhile, earlier this month SM Entertainment found Lee Soo-man said he believes that K-pop needs to expand into the Chinese market in order to continue growing. The Korean music industry’s influence in China has been muted in recent years due to a ban on South Korean culture in the East Asian nation that stemmed from a political dispute.

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Why did Clio remove Stray Kids as brand ambassador? Cosmetics label deletes band's pics after bullying row - MEAWW

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Luke Bryan Says Cecil Ray Baker Is “Perfection” After Singing Morgan Wallen Song On ‘American Idol’ - Music Mayhem Magazine

Luke Bryan thought 20-year-old Cecil Ray Baker’s audition was “absolute perfection” on American Idol.

The machine operator from Texas performed an impressive cover of Morgan Wallen’s If I Know Me track, “Talkin’ Tennessee,” earning him quite the praise from all three judges.

“I think you are absolute perfection,” Bryan added. “Listen, you are what we’re about here at American Idol.”

“Your voice is really distinctive and interesting and really good enough to potentially do really well in this competition. We always want this male, country kid slot and you may be the best we’ve seen this year potentially in that slot, in my opinion,” Bryan said.

Katy Perry compared the contestant to a country version of Justin Bieber.

“You are a fireball. You remind me of a country Justin Bieber. He has sold a couple of records,” Katy Perry gushed.

“Cecil, sometimes in your career, people can see your potential, before you can see your potential,” Lionel Richie said. “You have no idea in your rawness, what it is that you have.”

The performance not only earn praise from all three judges but also a golden ticket to Hollywood.

Watch his audition below.

New episodes of American Idol air each Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

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K-pop songs under Kakao M are no longer available on Spotify | - Bandwagon

As February came to a close, music fans all over the world were stunned to discover that some of their favourite K-pop songs were no longer available on Spotify.

The global streaming giant recently launched in Korea, competing alongside the likes of Melon, Genie, Flo (플로), and more. Melon is one of the top music streaming services in Korea and home to an extensive catalogue of homegrown songs.

Its parent company, KakaoM, is the distributor of thousands of K-pop songs including hits by IU, MONSTA X, SEVENTEEN, LOONA, MAMAMOO, THE BOYZ, GFRIEND, (G)I-DLE, ASTRO, and more.

On 1 March, songs distributed by Kakao M have been reportedly removed from the global music platform, leaving both fans and artists devastated by the news.

Epik High's Tablo took to Twitter to tell fans that their latest album, Epik High Is Here, is no longer available to stream on Spotify. He also expressed his frustration at the current situation saying "Why is it always the artists and the fans that suffer when businesses place greed over art?"

Meanwhile, EN Management founder Eddie Nam (who manages artists like Epik High and Eric Nam) appealed to both parties to come up with a solution for both fans and artists' sake.

[UPDATE 1 MARCH 2021] A Spotify spokesperson confirmed the news to Bandwagon, saying that they've been working with Kakao M for the last year and a half to renew the global licensing agreement. "The fact that we have not yet reached an agreement on a new global deal is unfortunate for their artists, as well as for fans and listeners worldwide. It is our hope that this disruption will be temporary and we can resolve the situation soon." 

Read the full statement below:

Spotify can confirm that starting March 1st 2021, KakaoM’s catalogue will no longer be available to our listeners worldwide due to the expiration of our licence.

We have been working with KakaoM over the last year and a half to renew the global licensing agreement so that their artists’ music would remain available to Spotify’s 345M+ listeners in nearly 170 markets around the world.

Despite our best efforts, the existing licensing deal we had with KakaoM (which covered all countries other than South Korea) has come to an end.

The fact that we have not yet reached an agreement on a new global deal is unfortunate for their artists, as well as for fans and listeners worldwide.

It is our hope that this disruption will be temporary and we can resolve the situation soon. We remain committed to working with local rights holders including KakaoM, to help grow the Korean music market and overall streaming ecosystem together." 

Kakao M has also released an official statement regarding the removal of their catalogue from Spotify. According to Soompi, Kakao M stated:

Unrelated to our preexisting global licensing agreement with Spotify, Kakao M has been separately negotiating with Spotify regarding a domestic contract for the supply of music.

We separately received notice of the expiration of our license on February 28, and we requested a renewal of our existing global contract.”

With K-pop now a global phenomenon, thousands of international music fans voiced out their thoughts on Twitter.

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DSP Media says they are 'still checking' on accusations that April members bullied Hyunjoo - allkpop

DSP Media is apparently still checking what happened with April and Hyunjoo.

Yesterday, someone claiming to be Hyunjoo's little brother (with proof) posted that Hyunjoo had been bullied by the other April members to a point where she attempted suicide. Her friend later posted that Rachel and Chaekyung, who joined the group after Hyunjoo left, had nothing to do with it, but the rest of the members, including current KARD member Somin, were all perpetrators.

After being accused of staying silent, DSP Media told Asia Today, "We are still checking on what happened with Lee Hyunjoo."

Stay tuned for updates.

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Samantha Sharpe & The Sharpe Family Singers: Instagrams, TikToks & What To Know - Bustle

Claudia Conway and Benson Boone aren't the only TikTok stars on American Idol Season 19. Samantha Sharpe also auditioned for the show after a video of her Broadway-fanatic family — now known as the Sharpe Family Singers — went viral on the platform at the start of the pandemic. Next thing they knew, Idol was calling.

Ahead of her audition, here's everything to know about Samantha and her musically gifted family.

The Sharpe Family Singers' TikToks & Other Music

Comprised of Samantha, her brothers Logan, Aidan, and Connor, and her parents Ron and Barb, the family has accrued 5.5 million followers on their TikTok account, where they post a cappella versions of popular songs. Ron and Barb met on Broadway while playing Marius and Cosette in Les Miserables, so she and her siblings grew up around music; before the pandemic hit, they performed together nationwide.

After gaining exposure online, the family released their debut album A Sharpe Family Christmas, and are set to release another this spring, per Medium.

The Sharpe Family Singers' Instagram

The family has 360,000 followers on Instagram, where they mostly re-share their TikToks and keep fans up to date about their lives.

Samantha's Instagram

Though all of the Sharpes are talented singers, Samantha's voice often shines the most in their videos, which is why Idol reached out and asked her to audition. "They found the family and me," she said on The Tamron Hall Show. "It was crazy."

On Instagram, Samantha shares — you guessed it — more singing videos, the occasional selfie, and pictures with her boyfriend. Lately, she's been posting a lot about her Idol journey.

Samantha's TikTok

Considering she makes so many TikToks with her family, it's not surprising that Samantha's personal TikTok page is a little more sparse. But the few videos she has further show off her Disney princess-like vocals.

If she doesn't win Idol, the "happiest place on earth" may be calling her next.

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Post Malone, Katy Perry, J Balvin to unveil new Pokémon album - Geo News

Post Malone, Katy Perry, J Balvin to unveil new Pokémon album

Post Malone, Katy Perry and J Balvin have recently decided to drop their very first Pokémon album collaboration in celebration for its 25th anniversary.

News regarding the upcoming album was brought forward after Pokémon’s virtual concert swept across YouTube and featured an ambiguous end card that contained Balvin and Katy Perry’s name on the front.

Shortly after that even Balvin reached out to Rolling Stone and claimed, “We’re gonna come up with a crazy song. It’s going to catch everybody’s ear. It’s easy to make a Pokémon song if you just want that fan base, but we’re not close-minded. We want everybody to vibe with Pokémon.”

For those unaware, the album itself will contain a total of 14 songs under the title Pokémon 25: The Album and will be crafted by 11 different Universal Music Group (UMG) artists under Capitol Records.

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Why did Seventeen's Mingyu go on hiatus? Agency slams bullying allegations as 'false', fans say he's 'innocent - MEAWW

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Watch a CGI Post Malone headline the Pokémon 25th Anniversary Concert - NME

Fans have been reacting to Post Malone‘s virtual performance at the Pokémon 25th Anniversary Concert – watch it below.

The concert took place on February 27, billed as ‘Pokémon Day’, and saw the rapper play a 12-minute set in a variety of colourful settings from the franchise – with onlookers including Pokémon favourites such as Gyarados, Umbreon, and Lugia.

The set featured a CGI-rendered Posty performing ‘Psycho’, ‘Circles’ and ‘Congratulations’, as well as his recent cover of Hootie and the Blowfish’s ‘Only Wanna Be With You’.

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Post Malone Pokémon
Post Malone performing at the Pokémon 25th Anniversary Concert. CREDIT: Pokémon/Republic Records/YouTube

Many fans appeared to be both delighted and bewildered by the juxtaposition of Post Malone singing lines about sex and drugs while a variety of characters from the series watched on.

“My favorite part of the Pokémon 25th anniversary concert was when Lugia flew by as Post Malone was singing about being in a relationship just for the sex,” one Twitter user commented.

See more reactions and the full set below.

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Set to kick off Pokémon’s year-long ‘P25 Music’ programme, the Malone gig is just the first taste of the franchise’s partnership with Universal Music Group which is promising “more music surprises” in 2021. The set ended by promising virtual concerts by Katy Perry and J Balvin, who are due to present new material inspired by the Pokémon universe.

All three artists are set to feature on a special anniversary record for the Pokémon franchise, titled ‘Pokémon 25: The Album’. Balvin, Colombia’s “Prince of Reggaeton”, confirmed the news in an interview with Rolling Stone, revealing that the 14-track compilation album will be released this autumn via Capitol.

“We’re gonna come up with a crazy song. It’s going to catch everybody’s ear,” Balvin said in the interview.

“It’s easy to make a Pokémon song if you just want that fan base, but we’re not close-minded. We want everybody to vibe with Pokémon.”

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Pledis Entertainment confirms Mingyu never bullied disabled classmate after conversation with classmate's mother + Mingyu to take a break from activities as Pledis checks other accusations - allkpop

Pledis Entertainment denied all accusations that Seventeen's Mingyu was a bully.

The label issued a statement saying, 

Hello, this is Pledis Entertainment.

We are making a statement on accusations that are being made online about Seventeen's Mingyu's school days. First, we apologize for not issuing a faster statement. After the accusations were made, we made detailed investigations, including confirming with Mingyu and checking facts that we needed. During that process, we confirmed that there were differences between what was stated and what really happened.

As there are a lot of situations with school bullying lately, our label believed that a thorough and definite check of the facts was necessary and we are currently checking every single detail. Our statement was delayed because of that.

As we stated earlier, we used various methods to contact the victims so we could confirm the truth. We are currently still contacting people and checking with various classmates and others to check what happened.

To tell you what we have found out so far, it is completely false that Mingyu bullied a disabled classmate. Mingyu remembered clearly who was being named as the victim, so after investigations, we were able to contact the classmate's mother. After we checked, she confirmed that Mingyu and the classmate were friends. The classmate's mother remembered the names of the actual bullies, and we confirmed that with her as well.

Currently, the classmate is doing well in society and they do not want their past to be known. Even with that, they confirmed the details for Mingyu.
Our label is currently still actively confirming the details of the other accusations. However, we are facing difficulties because it is hard to figure out who the exact poster is, and because many of the victims do not want to be contacted. We respect those who do not want to be contacted, and also will respect anyone who wants to meet with us any time to confirm the truth.
We believe that the victim in bullying situations must be respected. However, we also believed that we had to take the necessary steps to confirm the truth, including from the victim. Because the problematic accusations are from when Mingyu was in elementary and middle school, we believe that we have to get as close to the actual situation as possible to uncover the truth.

Mingyu is sincerely sorry to his fans that something like this even happened. He will be taking a break from promotions for the time being and is working hard to confirm all the details with the label. We also apologize for the concerns relating to our label artist.

This is not the last statement that we will be making about the situation. We will continuously check the facts and take action accordingly. However, we ask you to understand because the process is not an easy one.

It is most important to meet the victims and help them heal. Additionally, we cannot make the decision on our artist's life so easily. If we check the truth and we find any wrongdoing, we will clearly take action.

We apologize once again for causing an inconvenience.

What do you think about the statement?

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"You're the reason that I'm okay", Billie Eilish tells fans in new documentary - Happy Mag

Billie Eilish has released a brand new documentary showcasing her rise to fame, titled The World’s a Little Blurry. 

Being a teenager can be difficult. It’s a time of self-discovery, a time to make mistakes, and a time to grow from them. Being a teenager on the world stage is even harder – just ask Grammy award-winner Billie Eilish. The singer has just released a documentary all about growing up in the spotlight, and it has just dropped in Australia.

Directed by R.J. Cutler, the title of the film comes from a line in one of her songs Ilomilo, where Eilish sings, “the world’s a little blurry, but maybe it’s my eyes”. 

Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Photo: AFP via Getty Images

The documentary follows Eilish and her brother, co-writer, producer, and also Grammy winner, Finneas O’Connell. The pair, who are extremely close, recorded Eilish’s album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go in her childhood bedroom. Following the release of said album, the documentary highlights Billie’s extreme rise to fame.

The documentary is created from home footage and candid moments, as well as behind-the-scenes footage. The documentary is completely raw, with most of the footage being recorded by her family, or Billie herself. She candidly shows her struggles with anxiety and self-doubt. Opening up to her fans is just one of the many reasons why Eilish has connected to so many people out there.

Billie Eilish was just 13 when she recorded one of her most iconic songs, Ocean Eyes, and 14 when she released it. When uploading the song to SoundCloud, she only intended for one person to listen to it. Little did she know that seven years later, the song would have over 710 million streams on Spotify. 

Eilish’s fans are like no other. The singer has a personal connection with them, not counting them so much as fans, but more like friends that she can share not only her successes with but also her struggles. “You’re the reason that I’m okay”, she tells a packed concert of screaming fans during a scene in the documentary.

Her live shows are unique, crazy, and everything you would suspect from the singer and more. Late last year, Eilish released a live stream of one of her shows, a virtual concert for everyone in lockdown in their loungerooms. The show was recorded in 2019 from Atlanta’s Music Midtown and gives the world the full experience of what a Billie Eilish show looks like.

Cameos from pop-star Justin Bieber are included in the documentary. A huge role model and now close friend, Bieber has helped Billie navigate through the pandemonium of fame. Eilish, who has always been open about her love and obsession with Bieber, admits in the documentary that she was convinced that she would marry Bieber.

“I would literally kill my dog if he asked me to”, she jokes in one scene.

The World’s A Little Blurry is in select Australian cinemas for the next few weeks or can be streamed on Apple TV+.

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Billie Eilish: Will Gompertz reviews new film The World’s A Little Blurry ★★★★☆ - BBC News

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+/BBC

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry could so easily have been a bland hagiography that told us nothing about the singer-songwriter, her work, her family, or the music business.

That it is not, and is instead a revealing and moving portrait of a young, vulnerable artist in the process of making her first album, is down to the notable skill of the documentary's director.

R.J. Cutler isn't famous like Michael Moore is famous or Louis Theroux is famous or Asif Kapadia is famous. But he is one of the preeminent non-fiction storytellers working in the burgeoning medium of contemporary documentary film. Anyone who has watched The September Issue (2009), about the lead up to the publication of an edition of American Vogue, will know that he is a fine filmmaker.

The September Issue was built around the strained relationship between Vogue editor Anna Wintour and its creative director, Grace Coddington. The upshot was a compelling insight into the sniffy opulence of high-end glossy magazines and the nature of the people who run them.

He has pulled off the same trick with his 2hr 21min Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry.

Once again, he is following the making of a major piece of content and those responsible for bringing it into the world.

This time around it is watching the work-in-progress that becomes Eilish's debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? We witness its development as a lived experience for the teenage singer-songwriter and her immediate family.

Given that the record company, the artist, her mum and dad, and assorted PRs will have been all over this project like a rash, it was never going to be a fly-on-the-wall exposé, a point about editorial control Eilish makes more than once by knowingly mugging to the camera and thereby making clear she is fully aware of, and complicit with, its presence.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+

But, such is the trust Cutler must have built with Eilish, Finneas - her older brother and creative collaborator - and their parents Maggie and Patrick, he was still able to produce a film with substance and something to say.

It starts with a brief Billie backstory.

She was born in Los Angeles in 2001 to two professional actors who were also keen musicians. They started their kids' music education almost immediately, as we see in a home movie clip of a proud dad holding baby Billie over a piano keyboard and playing it by gently bouncing her up and down on the keys.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Billie Eilish/Apple TV+

There is archive talent show footage, in which we see a very young Billie singing, Finneas providing harmony, her mum playing the guitar, and her dad on the keyboard. Maybe it is with the benefit of hindsight, but brand Billie appears to have been something Maggie and Patrick had envisaged from day one: a star not so much born as conceived by her parents.

Both children were home-schooled and shown how to write and produce songs. They encouraged them to make music together, which they duly did, with Finneas's bedroom acting as their HQ.

"My family is the reason I'm the way I am" Billie says, over a clip showing her at around two years old sitting on a piano stool next to Finneas as their mother excitedly announces off-camera "your first duet!"

Everything seems pretty laid back and really tense at the same time. The dream has become reality. Billie's career is taking off, record execs are sitting on Finneas's bed as he plays them a backing track while his little sister, sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, sings while looking at the lyrics on her smartphone.

Nobody says much, but everything you need to know about the music business is captured in that one scene.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+

The documentary centres on Billie as a 17-year-old, a year into which she packs what would fill two lifetimes for most people.

She never stops: writing, touring, singing, practising, working, working, working on her album with Finneas.

They tour Europe (with mum as a constant chaperone, which leads to some memorable scenes). Billie gets injured, she mentions having Tourette's syndrome; she falls in love.

She tells us how she once dreamt truly, madly, deeply about Justin Bieber, and now guess what? He's facetiming her!

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+
1px transparent line
Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+

She says she dreamt of owning a matt black Dodge Challenger one day, and guess what? She's got one on the drive!

Billie has everything, everything she could possibly have wished for.

Everything.

And yet, she is often miserable, frequently lonely, constantly dreads internet trolls, and is clearly under far too much pressure for someone so young.

When you watch this documentary you realise Noel Coward knew a thing or two when he told Mrs Worthington not to put her daughter on the stage.

His advice was based on the daughter being insufficiently gifted, which categorically does not apply to Billie Eilish, who is a generational talent. But, as we know from all the docs that have gone before that chart the careers of brilliant teenage artists, there is a heavy price to pay for a talent that gives pleasure to millions.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry
Apple TV+

Billie comes across as a lovely, caring person, with her own physical and psychological challenges to overcome. She has the courage to share some of her darkest thoughts and fears in her songs, she is an artist wearing her heart and soul on the sleeve of her record.

There is a foreboding sense in this film of we've seen all this before, it is Act One of a three-act story.

You can't help but think of the recently released Britney Spears documentary, she was a talented teenager who had a lot of parental input but whose life and mental health suffered under the pressure of fame and expectation.

Turning a person into a product works for just about everybody except for the artist. It is the epitome of a Faustian pact, with an important exception: it is rarely the teenage prodigy who does the deal.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry is a refreshingly candid, intelligent documentary, if a little a long, which leaves you wondering if a life of relentless celebrity and trying to please everybody but yourself is actually a good plan.

You wonder exactly whose dream is coming true?

I found it sad rather than uplifting, but the music is exceptional and so is the woman making it.

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry is available on Apple TV+

Recent reviews by Will Gompertz:

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Saturday, February 27, 2021

Watch: George Clooney finds a unique way to enjoy BTS’ `Dynamite` - WION

Is George Clooney the new member of the BTS Army? Well, his recent act did amuse the stans.

On Friday night, as part of a virtual celebration for W’s annual Best Performances Issue, one of the magazine’s cover stars, George Clooney, performed a lyrical improv reading of BTS’ first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit 'Dynamite.' 

“Hello, I’m Brad Pitt,” Clooney says with a straight face in the introduction. “And I’m going to read ‘Dynamite’ by BTS.”

He mostly gives the song a pretty straightforward reading in the Lynn Hirschberg-directed video, save for a few asides, like when he reads the lyric “Jump up to the top, LeBron” and adds: “And we know who that is.”

But the best part of the black-and-white video is when he turns the page and says “Oh, Jesus” as he encounters the “Dy-na-na-na-na-na-mite” portion of the song. 

Clooney’s W cover story celebrates his performance in 'The Midnight Sky'.

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Pokemon 25: The Album Set for Fall 2021 With Katy Perry, J Balvin, and Post Malone - IGN - IGN

The Pokemon Company has announced that Pokemon 25: The Album will be released in Fall 2021 and will feature Katy Perry, J Balvin, Post Malone, and more.This new album is part of the celebration of Pokemon's 25th anniversary, and J Balvin was confirmed to be joining the project following the global virtual Pokemon music concert starring Post Malone.During the concert, Post Malone performed a cover of Only Wanna Be With You by Hootie & the Blowfish that was remixed with the Ecruteak City theme from Pokemon Gold and Silver.

Katy Perry, J Balvin, Post Malone, and one more surprise guest will each release a song that is inspired by the Pokemon franchise, and each song's release will be joined by a music video and "an exclusive merchandise collection celebrating each artist and Pokemon."

There will also be other songs from some of the "buzziest new artists from around the world," and these songs will be released in "very 'Pokemon' ways."

Pokemon 25: The Album will be released by Universal Music Group's Capitol Records later this year and will features a total of 14 songs.

This new album is one of the many ways The Pokemon Company is celebrating this 25th anniversary, and follows the reveals of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Brilliant Pearl, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and much more.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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Billie Eilish doc follows singer's meteoric ascent - Associated Press

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  1. Billie Eilish doc follows singer's meteoric ascent  Associated Press
  2. Documentary captures Billie Eilish's rise to fame  Reuters
  3. "You're the reason that I'm okay", Billie Eilish tells fans in new documentary  Happy Mag
  4. Billie Eilish: Will Gompertz reviews new film The World’s A Little Blurry ★★★★☆  BBC News
  5. View Full coverage on Google News
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Post Malone - Only Wanna Be With You (Pokémon 25 Version) - PostMaloneVEVO

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  1. Post Malone - Only Wanna Be With You (Pokémon 25 Version)  PostMaloneVEVO
  2. P25 Music Presents: Post Malone Virtual Concert Experience! #Pokemon25  The Official Pokémon YouTube channel
  3. J Balvin Joins Katy Perry and Post Malone on Pokémon Compilation Album  Rolling Stone
  4. Post Malone Pays Tribute to the Wide World of Pokémon in P25 Music Virtual Concert  Variety
  5. Watch: Post Malone headlines Pokemon Day virtual concert Saturday  CNET
  6. View Full coverage on Google News
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Post Malone Pays Tribute to the Wide World of Pokémon in P25 Music Virtual Concert - Variety

Post Malone and Pokémon: a combination so crazy that it just might work.

Malone had the honor of kicking off P25 Music, a year-long celebration in partnership with Universal Music Group, on Saturday — the official Pokémon Day, no less — with a virtual concert that livestreamed on Pokémon’s YouTube and Twitch accounts, and its website. The tribute was short, clocking in at just under 15 minutes, but set the stage for what the rest of P25 Music might look like: a showcase of the vast world of Pokémon while also appealing to your casual listener of the Hot 100.

And it’s not as if Malone was on stage with his rendition of the classic PokéRap (although this writer, for what it’s worth, would’ve loved to see it). It might have looked like any other virtual concert — if it weren’t for the various Pokémon that swirled around Malone throughout the show. Like the Travis Scott “Fortnite” concert that came before it, the P25 Music kickoff took advantage of its format to make the experience one that was truly unique, if not a little surreal.

The concert kicked off with an animated version of Malone (one that debuted in preparation for the event earlier this week) greeting a stadium of what looked like hundreds of thousands of pixelated fans, jumping into his hit “Psycho” as a giant Pikachu electrocuted the stage. As Malone continued to perform, he was swept away on a floating piece of land to tour various environments to find different types of Pokémon. After soaring among the Butterfree, he found himself in a dark forest, surrounded by the glowing Shiinotic and Umbreon as he transitioned into one of his biggest hits, “Circles.”

Eventually, he was also whisked away to more of the Pokémon world — from the skies with Braviary, down to the seas with Jellicent. He went on to virtually perform his new contribution to P25 Music, his cover of Hootie & the Blowfish’s “Only Wanna Be With You,” which samples the Ecruteak City theme from “Pokémon Gold and Silver” to give it that Nintendo flare, while dancing along with Charizard and Groudon.

Is there something a little bizarre about watching a cartoon Malone vibe with a legendary Pokémon while singing his rendition of a Hootie hit? Sure there is. But, in its own way, that alone is a fitting tribute to Pokémon’s long relationship with top musicians. After all, who can forget Donna Summer’s powerful vocals on “The Power of One” to cap off “Pokémon: The Movie 2000”? Pokémon has always recruited famous artists to celebrate their Pocket Monsters — Malone (who’s apparently a Pokémon fan himself, holding onto a Game Boy Color just to play the games) is just the latest in a long legacy.

After Malone returned to the stadium, closing out his set with his Quavo collaboration “Congratulations,” he teased some of what’s to come in P25 Music: new music from Katy Perry, J Balvin and “many more artists.” And it’s anyone’s guess as to which Pokémon Perry and Balvin will dance with, or which of the game’s classics they might sample in their new offerings. But it’s clear The Pokémon Company is pulling out all the stops to celebrate 25 years of one of the world’s most durable franchises.

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BTS's Racism Incident: Halsey, Zara Larsson, and Other Celebrities Show Support for the K-Pop Group - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

BTS is one of the most popular groups in the world, but their popularity does not sit well with everyone. As a group with members of Asian descent, BTS has been subjected to countless xenophobic and racist remarks.

With the latest round of such remarks, a number of celebrities are rallying around the group and showing support for them.

BTS | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

BTS recently appeared on MTV Unplugged and performed, among many tracks, a rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” While fans celebrated the group’s historic appearance on the show, a German radio personality had less-than-stellar things to say about BTS.

According to the Associated Press, Bayern3 host Matthias Matuschik called their “Fix You” performance of “blasphemy.” He, then, called the group to “some crappy virus that hopefully there will be a vaccine for soon as well.”

Matuschik also tried to shield his comment from accusations of xenophobia, stating, “I have nothing against South Korea, you can’t accuse me of xenophobia only because this boyband is from South Korea… I have a car from South Korea. I have the coolest car around.”

However, Teen Vogue noted that, according to Matuschik’s Instagram page, he has a Daihatsu Copen, which is a Japanese car.

Anti-Asian comments have been thrown at BTS for a long time now, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has added another layer to the discrimination the group often receives.

Bayern3 issued an apology that called Matuschik’s comment an “opinion” that was presented “in an ironic, exaggerated way” and “went too far.”

The station said, “He just wanted to express his displeasure over the aforementioned cover version… That does not change the fact that many of you found his statements to be hurtful or racist,” Bayern3 said. “We apologize for this in every way possible. We will work on the matter with Matthias and the team in detail again in the next few days.”

Celebrities condemn the remarks and show support for BTS

RELATED: BTS: The Unique Way the Group Helps Young People Deal With Harsh Economic Realities

Although BTS has not commented on the situation, a number of celebrities have stood up for them by condemning Matuschik’s action.

For example, Halsey, who is known to be close with BTS, wrote on Instagram, “I am horrified to read the comments made by Matthias Matuschik. Racism and xenophobia cannot be thinly veiled as ‘on air humor.’ Irresponsible and disgusting statements in a time where hate speech and violent behavior towards Asian communities are skyrocketing.”

Meanwhile, singer MAX wrote on Twitter that BTS “deserve all the success they’ve earned” and that he was “sick” to hear what Matuschik said about them.

Zara Larsson had stronger words for Matuschik. She wrote, “I hope you will never sleep peacefully again, knowing you ruined your career over being racist.” 

Other celebrities, including Steve Aoki, Lauv, and Jonah Marais of boy band Why Don’t We, also criticized Matuschik and called for the discrimination against Asians and Asian-Americans to stop.

Additionally, BTS’s American label, Columbia Records, released a statement supporting the group. MTV also pinned a comment underneath a video of BTS performing “Fix You” that shows their condemnation for anti-Asian hate.

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Justin Bieber's Heartfelt Letter to Billie Eilish In Her New Doc Will Make You Cry - Decider

If you didn’t know that Billie Eilish was a huge Justin Bieber stan, you’ll know it for sure after you watch Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry.

Directed by R. J. Cutler, the new Billie Eilish documentary—which began streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday—takes fans behind the scenes of Eilish writing her debut, Grammy-winning studio album alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell in their childhood home in 2018, as well as on the road with Eilish to her very first Coachella performance. But the most touching moment of the film is not about Eilish and her music, but rather the moment she meets her childhood idol.

As Eilish explains to a radio talk show host, she was fully obsessed with Justin Bieber when she was 12-years-old, as were so many 12-year-old girls across the nation. She knew everything about him, right down to the minute he was born. So when Bieber reaches out to Eilish not only to collaborate but to meet, you can hardly blame the then 17-year-old for losing her cool.

The two musicians meet among the crowd at Coachella, with Cutler and his film crew capturing the moment. At first, Bieber just looks at Eilish intently. Then, finally, they hug. It’s more than a hug, really—Eilish clings to him, while he lightly strokes her hair. It’s incredibly sweet and intimate, and it almost feels wrong to be intruding on their moment.

Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish
Photo: Apple TV+

But wait, there’s more. After they meet, Bieber sends Eilish a heartfelt message of gratitude and encouragement, which she reads out loud for the camera. It’s so sweet, so genuine, and so sincere, that it’s hard not to feel emotional when you hear it, whether or not you ever had a Bieber phase.

The young musician reads the note from Bieber out loud, her voice quivering with emotion, and tears streaming down her cheeks:

It’s moments like tonight where I’m reminded what I mean to people. Your love for me touched my heart. You are so special, not for what you can do, but for who you are. Remember that. I am so impressed by your aura and presence. You carry a heavy calling. You are an idol to so many. I’m excited to watch you flourish. You are beyond special. Thank you for tonight. It meant just as much to me as it meant to you. I also want to let you know that it feels like yesterday I was 15 singing “One Time,” and now I’m 25, and that was 10 years ago. It flew by like a flash. Enjoy every minute of what you are experiencing. Embrace it all, believe you are great, but not greater than anyone.

At this point, Eilish is so overcome—in a good way—that she tilts her head back and wails.

Billie Eilish crying
Photo: Apple TV+

You can’t help but feel moved for both of these young musicians, who both are going through something incredibly intense and weird. It’s clear Bieber understands the pressure Eilish is feeling in a way no one else can—and that he wants to help her.

Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, feels similarly. She later says in a separate interview that she considered taking young Billie to therapy for her Justin Bieber fever. “She’s lovesick, just like, desperately in love with Justin Bieber!”

For Baird, watching her daughter meet her idol was incredibly moving. “She couldn’t process it, she couldn’t take it in,” Baird told the camera, getting emotional herself. “She sobbed in his arms, she was crying, and he was so sweet to her, and it meant so much to her, and it seems to have meant a lot to him. Your heart kinda breaks for him, because he’s 25 years old. That is so young, you can’t even process how young that is.”

You can’t help but feel you’ve witnessed the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Watch Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry on Apple TV+

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Netizens, entertainment circles mourn death of Hong Kong veteran comedian Richard Ng - Global Times

Photo: Weibo


 Chinese netizens are flooding to social media platforms to mourn the death of Richard Ng Man-tat, a veteran actor in the Hong Kong film industry who had worked with Hong Kong actor and director Stephen Chow in a series of comedy films and vividly interpreted the happiness and sorrow of life with a number of classic characters. 

Ng died of liver cancer at the age of 70 on Saturday afternoon. Hong Kong media reported that earlier on Saturday, his condition suddenly turned critical and he fell into a coma and was transferred to the ICU for medical treatment. 

“Uncle Richard, you have left us with so much fun and we will never forget you. Please rest in peace,” a large number of fans left such a message under his Sina Weibo account. 

The last Weibo he posted was “I am a Chinese,” reposting a campaign launched by state media on safeguarding the Five-Starred Red Flag, China’s national flag, on August 4, 2019, when violent protesters in Hong Kong removed a Chinese national flag and threw it in Victoria Harbor, enraging locals as well as people from the Chinese mainland. 

The post is frozen on his Weibo page, just as his life was frozen at that moment, making his fans’ cries even more louder. 

Hong Kong superstars like Andy Lau, Stephen Chow as well as many others from the mainland and the island of Taiwan expressed their deep grief over his death. 

Dubbed a “golden supporting actor,” Ng impressed audiences with many “nobody” characters and was acknowledged as one of the most accomplished actors in Hong Kong. Born in 1951 in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian Province, he moved to Hong Kong when he was seven. Working with his good partner Stephen Chow, they created a genre of slapstick comedy unique to Hong Kong –mo lei tau films (in direct translation: senseless or brainless films). 

They starred in a Hong Kong TVB television series called The Final Combat in 1989, and also the popular 1990 film All for the Winner, where he played the role of Chow’s uncle. From then on, the two collaborated in numerous mo lei tau films that broke Hong Kong box-office charts in the 1990s, bringing the glories of Hong Kong film to the mainland and deeply influencing the Chinese generation of the 1960s to 1990s.  

“This is a world full of farewells, but we are still not good at saying goodbye,” many netizens said. “Uncle Richard was the best memory of our childhood who made us laugh, cry but enlightened us to reflect on life when growing older. It is hard to believe he is gone.” 

What left people with the freshest memory was his performance in the Chinese science-fiction blockbuster, The Wandering Earth, in 2019. In previous interviews, he admitted that shooting this film was one of the toughest days he had ever been through and he could not believe that the script was written by the Chinese. He said he wanted to make some contributions to China’s sci-fi film industry. 

Global Times 

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BTS subjected to racism by German radio station - Geo News

Bavarian radio Bayern 3 found itself in hot water after its host Matthias Matuschik was accused of passing racist remarks to K-pop boy band BTS.

Matuschik wrongly drew parallels to the band and the Covid-19 virus describing them as "some [expletive] virus that hopefully there will be a vaccine for soon as well."

His comments came after he listened to the band’s cover of Coldplay’s Fix You.

"These little [expletive] brag about the fact they covered 'Fix You' from Coldplay, this is blasphemy," he said. "For this you will be vacationing in North Korea for the next 20 years!"

The comments were not received well by Army fans who in turn took to Twitter with hashtags like #Bayern3Apologize and #Bayern3Racist while also calling out the host for his insensitive comments, who in turn did not acknowledge his mistake. 

"You can't accuse me of xenophobia. I have a car from South Korea. I have the coolest car ever," he commented.

While the station admitted that their presenter took it too far, they defended the idea that the host is eligible to express their opinion "clearly, openly and unvarnished".  

"It is the character of this show and also of the presenter to express his opinion clearly, openly and unvarnished," the station said in a statement.

"In this case, he overshot the mark in his choice of words in an attempt to present his opinion in an ironically exaggerated manner and with exaggeratedly feigned excitement, and thus hurt the feelings of the BTS fans. But, as he assured us, this was in no way his intention. He only wanted to express his displeasure about the above-mentioned cover version."

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Ng Man Tat Passes Away At 70, Days After He Was Confirmed To Have Liver Cancer - TODAYonline

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  1. Ng Man Tat Passes Away At 70, Days After He Was Confirmed To Have Liver Cancer  TODAYonline
  2. Veteran actor Ng Man-tat dies at age 70  Hong Kong Standard
  3. Veteran Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat passes away  Taiwan News
  4. Hong Kong actor Ng Man Tat dies aged 70  AsiaOne
  5. Legendary Hong Kong actor Ng Man Tat dies of liver cancer at 70  The Star Online
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What to Watch: The New Billie Eilish Documentary on Apple TV+ - Tatler Hong Kong

There's a moment pretty early on in the new Billie Eilish documentary The World's a Little Blurry when a discomfiting sense of familiarity sets in. The two-plus hour film, which chronicles the creation of Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go album and ensuing tour, feels like a flashback—a time capsule of pre-pandemic collective memories: the sensorial overload of live shows in crowded venues packed with screaming teenagers; the outpouring of emotion triggered by accidentally running into someone you've loved; the visceral friction of reluctant interactions with strangers; the last Coachella. 

"It's like the world screeched to a halt within weeks of our wrapping," Director RJ Cutler tells Tatler. "In fact, I think my last shoot with Billie was on March 9th, which was a Monday night. And March 13th, which was a Friday night, was the night the country shut down."

Through an intimate narrative in which everyone who is or has ever been a teenager will likely recognise a piece of themselves, Cutler and his film crew follow Eilish over the course of a whirlwind career-defining year, from her childhood home in Highland Park where she still lives with her parents Maggie and Patrick, around the world and back. With unfettered access and the trust of the family, Cutler was also able to include never-before-seen footage from Eilish's childhood—an early peek at the musical prodigy and how her creativity and talents were nurtured from a young age.

"Having been born in 2001, Billie's entire life has been captured, to some degree, by a video camera," Cutler says. "Some of Maggie's footage is absolutely astounding: a point of view that only a mother could have. And they knew they were going through something special while they were creating the album, so they made sure to find ways to record key moments."

Billie Eilish first made waves in the pop culture landscape when, as a 14-year-old, she and her brother Finneas wrote, produced, and uploaded the song "Ocean Eyes" on SoundCloud. A music video, a record deal, and a hit EP followed quickly thereafter, and Eilish headed out on tour in 2017.

"From the moment I met Billie [in 2018], I believed we were onto something special," Cutler says. "My producing partner Trevor Smith and I were invited to meet with Billie and her family and we went to their home and we sat around the picnic table in their backyard. There was a trapeze. And a lot going on. The house was filled with things that people had sent her. She was 16 at the time and I was engaged from the moment we met. In part because I instantly felt that there was a certain amount of miracle going on that was beyond comprehension.

"Who is this young artist who seems so fully formed but is so clearly still becoming?" Cutler continues. "Where does it come from? Is she from another planet? And then there's this very human person. There's this person who's a daughter and a sister and a kid and very much a human being. When I talk about the miracle, it's not just the art, it's also the empathy. It's also the pain she's experiencing--and the joy--on behalf of her audience. It's the connection to millions. It's something mythic."

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