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Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). They have sold 10 million albums in the US and more than 35 million worldwide.[1]

After signing to Geffen Records in 1993, Weezer released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, also known as the Blue Album, in May 1994. Backed by music videos for the singles "Buddy Holly", "Undone – The Sweater Song", and "Say It Ain't So", the Blue Album became a multiplatinum success. Weezer's second album, Pinkerton (1996), featuring a darker, more abrasive sound, was a commercial failure and initially received mixed reviews, but achieved cult status and critical acclaim years later. Both the Blue Album and Pinkerton are now frequently cited among the best albums of the 1990s. Following the tour for Pinkerton, the founding bassist, Matt Sharp, left and Weezer went on hiatus.

In 2001, Weezer returned with the Green Album with their new bassist, Mikey Welsh. With a more pop sound, and promoted by singles "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun", it was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. After the Green Album tour, Welsh left for health reasons and was replaced by Shriner. Weezer's fourth album, Maladroit (2002), incorporated a hard-rock sound and achieved mostly positive reviews, but weaker sales. Make Believe (2005) received mixed reviews, but its single "Beverly Hills" became Weezer's first single to top the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and their first to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2008, Weezer released the Red Album; its lead single, "Pork and Beans", became the third Weezer song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart, backed by a Grammy-winning music video. Raditude (2009) and Hurley (2010) featuring more "modern pop production"[2] and songs co-written with other artists, achieved further mixed reviews and moderate sales. Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014) and the White Album (2016) returned to a rock style that was reminiscent of their 90s sound mixed with modern alternative production and achieved more positive reviews; Pacific Daydream (2017) once again featured a more mainstream pop sound.[3] In 2019, Weezer released an album of covers, the Teal Album, followed by the inspired Black Album.[4] In 2021, they released OK Human, which featured an orchestral pop sound and was met with critical acclaim, followed by the hard rock-inspired Van Weezer. In 2022, they released a series of EPs based around the four seasons. History Formation and first years (1986–1994)

Vocalist and guitarist Rivers Cuomo moved to Los Angeles from Connecticut in 1989 with his high school metal band, Avant Garde, later renamed Zoom. After the group disbanded, Cuomo met drummer Patrick Wilson, and moved in with him and Wilson's friend Matt Sharp. Wilson and Cuomo formed a band, Fuzz, and enlisted Scottie Chapman on bass. Chapman quit after a few early shows; the band reformed as Sixty Wrong Sausages, with Cuomo's friend Pat Finn on bass and Jason Cropper on guitar, but soon disbanded.[5] Cuomo moved to Santa Monica, California, and recorded dozens of demos, including the future Weezer songs "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" and "Undone – The Sweater Song". Sharp was enthusiastic about the demos, and became the group's bassist and de facto manager.[5]

Cuomo, Wilson, Sharp and Cropper formed Weezer on February 14, 1992. Their first show was on March 19, 1992, closing for Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar.[5] They took their name from a nickname Cuomo's father gave him.[5] Cuomo gave Sharp one year to get the band a record deal before Cuomo accepted a scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley.[5] In November, Weezer recorded a demo, The Kitchen Tape, including a version of the future Weezer single "Say It Ain't So".[5] The demo was heard by Todd Sullivan, an A&R man at Geffen Records, who signed Weezer in June 1993.[5] The "Blue Album" (1994) Main article: Weezer (Blue Album) Current guitarist Brian Bell (pictured in 2013) replaced Cropper while recording the Blue Album.

Weezer recorded their debut album with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[6] Cropper was fired during recording, as Cuomo and Sharp felt he was threatening the band chemistry. He was replaced by Brian Bell.[5] Weezer's self-titled debut album, also known as the "Blue Album", was released in May 1994.[7] Described by Pitchfork as integrating "geeky humor, dense cultural references, and positively gargantuan hooks",[8] it combined alternative rock, power pop, polished production and what AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called an "'70s trash-rock predilection … resulting in something quite distinctive".[9]

Weezer's first single, "Undone – The Sweater Song", was backed by a music video directed by Spike Jonze;[10] filmed in an unbroken take, it featured Weezer performing on a sound stage with little action, barring a pack of dogs swarming the set.[11] The video became an instant hit on MTV.[12] The song reached No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] Jonze also directed Weezer's second video, "Buddy Holly",[10] splicing the band into footage from the 1970s television sitcom Happy Days.[14] The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV[15] and won four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards.[16] "Buddy Holly" peaked at No. 18 on the Hot 100 Airplay and No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.[13] The song is included on Rolling Stone's 500 Best Songs Of All Time.[17] A third single, "Say It Ain't So", followed. It was met with critical acclaim and later Pitchfork ranked it #10 on the top 200 tracks of the 90s list.[18] The song reached No. 51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and No. 7 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.[13] Additionally, the track was included in Rolling Stone's list of "The Top 100 Guitar Songs of All Time".[19]

Their debut album gained critical and commercial success. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it number 294 on The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.[20] Weezer is certified quadruple platinum in the United States as well as Canada, making it Weezer's best-selling album.[21][22] Pinkerton (1995–1997) Main article: Pinkerton (album) Cuomo in 1997 Matt Sharp (pictured with the Rentals in 2007), co-founder of Weezer, left in 1998 after the Pinkerton tour.[23][24]

In 1994, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays.[25] Cuomo traveled to his home state of Connecticut and began recording demos for Weezer's next album. His original concept was a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole, that would express his mixed feelings about success." The album featured a story in which each member of the band played a character. Other characters were played by Rachel Haden (The Rentals and That Dog), Joan Wasser (The Dambuilders), and Karl Koch. The story was set in 2126, with the spaceship Betsy II embarking on a galaxy-wide mission.[26][27] Cuomo conceived the story as a metaphor for his conflicted feelings about touring in a successful rock band.[27] The ship's name Betsy II is taken from Weezer's first tour bus, nicknamed Betsy; M1 represents Weezer's management and record label; Wuan and Dondó represent the part of Cuomo that was excited about success; Jonas represents his doubts and longing; Laurel and Maria represent his relationships with women.[27][28] Weezer developed the concept through intermittent recording sessions through 1995.[29] At the end of the year, Cuomo enrolled at Harvard University, where his songwriting became "darker, more visceral and exposed, less playful", and he abandoned Songs from the Black Hole.[30]

While attending Harvard, Cuomo experienced loneliness and frustration while also undergoing an extensive surgery for his left leg. These experiences influenced his songwriting for the next record.[31] The other members of Weezer decided to embark on their own side projects during this time. Sharp started The Rentals who released their debut album, Return of the Rentals, in October 1995. The album also featured Patrick Wilson on drums. Wilson also formed his band, The Special Goodness, during this time.[32][page needed] Bell decided to work on his band, Space Twins.[32][page needed]

Weezer's second album, Pinkerton, was released on September 24, 1996.[33][34] Pinkerton is named after the character BF Pinkerton from Madama Butterfly, who marries and then abandons a Japanese woman named Butterfly. Calling him an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star", Cuomo felt the character was "the perfect symbol for the part of myself that I am trying to come to terms with on this album".[35] It produced three singles: "El Scorcho", "The Good Life", and "Pink Triangle".[36]

With a darker, more abrasive sound,[33] Pinkerton sold poorly compared to the Blue Album[37] and received mixed reviews; it was voted "one of the worst albums of 1996" in a Rolling Stone reader poll.[38] However, the album eventually gained a cult following and came to be considered among Weezer's best work;[33][39] in 2002, Rolling Stone readers voted Pinkerton the 16th greatest album of all time,[40] and it has been listed in several critics' "best albums of all time" lists.[41] In 2004, Rolling Stone gave the album a new review, awarding it five out of five stars and adding it to the "Rolling Stone Hall of Fame".[42] Pinkerton was later certified platinum in 2016.[43]

The album became an emo masterpiece and some credit it to "rewriting the emo blueprint" as it became quite influential for a number of bands and the genre itself in the 2000s.[44][45][46]

In July 1997, sisters Mykel, Carli, and Trysta Allan died in a car accident while driving home from a Weezer show in Denver, Colorado.[47] Mykel and Carli ran Weezer's fan club and helped manage publicity for several other Los Angeles bands, and had inspired the "Sweater Song" B-side "Mykel and Carli". Weezer canceled a show to attend their funeral.[48] In August, Weezer and other bands held a benefit concert for the family in Los Angeles.[49] A compilation album, Hear You Me! A Tribute to Mykel and Carli, was dedicated to their memory. The album included "Mykel and Carli", as well as songs by Ozma, That Dog, and Kara's Flowers.[50] In 2001, Jimmy Eat World released "Hear You Me" which was dedicated to Mykel and Carli.[51] Hiatus (1997–2000) Mikey Welsh (pictured in 2010) played bass with Weezer from 1998 until 2001.

Weezer completed the Pinkerton tour in mid-1997 and went on hiatus.[52][53] Wilson returned to his home in Portland, Oregon to work on his side project, the Special Goodness, and Bell worked on his band Space Twins.[54][55] In 1998, Sharp left Weezer due to differences with the band members.[24] He said of his departure: "I certainly have my view of it, as I'm sure everybody else has their sort of foggy things. When you have a group that doesn't communicate, you're going to have a whole lot of different stories."[56]

Cuomo returned to Harvard but took a break to focus on songwriting.[53] He formed a new band composed of a changing lineup of Boston musicians, and performed new material.[52] The songs were abandoned, but bootlegs of the Boston shows are traded on the internet.[57] Wilson eventually flew to Boston to join Homie, another Cuomo side project.[citation needed] The members of the band were composed of Greg Brown (Cake and Deathray), Matt Sharp, Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing and Sulfur), Adam Orth (Shufflepuck), and future Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh.[32][page needed] Although a Homie album was being recorded, they ended up only releasing one song called "American Girls" for the 1998 film Meet The Deedles.[58]

In February 1998, Cuomo, Bell and Wilson reunited in Los Angeles to start work on the next Weezer album. Rumors suggest Sharp did not rejoin the band and left the group in April 1998, which Sharp denies.[24][59] The group hired Mikey Welsh, who had played with Cuomo in Boston, as their new bassist.[60] Welsh was also previously a bassist for Juliana Hatfield. Weezer continued rehearsing and recording demos until late 1998. Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late 1998, Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo. In November 1998, the band played two club shows with a substitute drummer in California under the name Goat Punishment, consisting entirely of covers of Nirvana and Oasis songs. In the months following, Cuomo entered a period of depression, unplugging his phone, painting the walls of his home black, and putting fiberglass insulation over his windows to prevent light from entering.[61] Eventually during this time, Cuomo started experimenting with his music and ended up writing 121 songs by 1999.[32][page needed] In the meantime, Wilson continued to work with The Special Goodness while Bell again worked with Space Twins. Welsh continued to tour with Juliana Hatfield.[32][page needed] Comeback and the "Green Album" (2000–2001) Main article: Weezer (Green Album) Scott Shriner (pictured in 2019) has been Weezer's bassist since 2001.

Weezer reunited in April 2000, when they accepted a lucrative offer to perform at the Fuji Rock Festival.[62] The festival served as a catalyst for Weezer's productivity, and from April to May 2000, they rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles. They returned to live shows in June 2000, playing small unpromoted concerts once again under the name Goat Punishment.[63] In June 2000, the band joined the American Warped Tour for nine dates.[64][65]

In the summer of 2000, Weezer went on tour, including dates on the Vans Warped Tour.[66] Eventually, the band went back into the studio to produce a third album, the "Green Album". Due to the mixed reception of Pinkerton, Cuomo wrote less personal lyrics for the Green Album.[67] The band hired Ric Ocasek who had also produced the band's debut album.[68] Shortly after the release, Weezer went on another American tour.[63] The album was supported by the singles "Hash Pipe",[69] "Island in the Sun",[70] and "Photograph".[71] Executives suggested that "Don't Let Go" should be chosen as the first single.[72] However, Cuomo continued to fight and "Hash Pipe" eventually became the album's first single.[72] "Hash Pipe" peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and No. 6 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[13] "Island In the Sun" was released as the second single and became a radio hit as well as one of their biggest overseas hits.[13] The song peaked at No. 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song has gained increasing popularity over the years as it later joined the digital song sales in 2008, only to peak at No. 18 in 2022.[73]

The label tried to postpone the release date of Weezer further until June, but they ended up sticking to the album's original release date of May 15 release date.[74] The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and has since been certified platinum.[13]

After suffering a breakdown from the stress of touring, undiagnosed bipolar disorder, and drug abuse, Welsh attempted suicide and left Weezer in 2001.[75][76] He later joined The Kickovers for a short stint before retiring from music. He was replaced by Scott Shriner.[77] During this time, Spike Jonze returned to film a music video for "Island In the Sun".[78] Matt Sharp was originally intended to appear in the video, but it did not end up happening.[32][page needed] Maladroit (2002) Main article: Maladroit

Weezer took an experimental approach to the recording process of its fourth album by allowing fans to download in-progress mixes of new songs from its official website in return for feedback.[79] After the release of the album, the band said that this process was something of a failure, as the fans did not supply the group with coherent, constructive advice. Cuomo eventually delegated song selection for the album to the band's original A&R rep, Todd Sullivan, saying that Weezer fans chose the "wackest songs". Only the song "Slob" was included on the album due to general fan advice.[80]

The recording was also done without input from Weezer's record label, Interscope. Cuomo had what he then described as a "massive falling out" with the label. In early 2002, well before the official release of the album, the label sent out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official, sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shut down Weezer's audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos.

In April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among several accusations, that he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs. The suit was later settled out of court.[53]

The fourth album, Maladroit, was released on May 14, 2002, only one year after its predecessor.[81] The album served as a harder-edged version of the band's trademark catchy pop-influenced music, and was replete with busy 1980s-style guitar solos. Although met with generally positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for the Green Album. Two singles were released from the album. The music video for "Dope Nose" featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular rotation. The song reached No. 8 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.[13] The music video for "Keep Fishin'" combined Weezer with the Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega.

Spin reviewed it as the 6th best album of 2002.[82] A Rolling Stone reader's poll also from that year voted it the 90th greatest album of all time.[83]

Weezer released its much-delayed first DVD on March 23, 2004. The Video Capture Device DVD chronicles the band from its beginnings through Maladroit's Enlightenment Tour. Compiled by Karl Koch, the DVD features home video footage, music videos, commercials, rehearsals, concert performances, television performances, and band commentary. The DVD was certified "gold" on November 8, 2004. Make Believe (2003–2006) Main article: Make Believe (Weezer album)

Before working on new material, Cuomo discovered vipassana meditation which became a large influence to his songwriting.[84] He decided to take a more personal approach to his writing once again. One song during this process, "The Other Way", was written for Cuomo's ex-girlfriend Jennifer Chiba after her then-boyfriend, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, died by suicide. Cuomo said, "I wanted to console her, but I was confused and skeptical about my own motives for wanting to do so, so I wrote that song about that."[85] Before recording material for their 4th album, Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson worked on their own projects. Bell's Space Twins released The End of Imagining which Rolling Stone critic, John D. Lueressen named the 7th best album of 2003.[86] Meanwhile, Wilson's The Special Goodness released Land Air Sea. Weezer performing in 2005

From December 2003 to the fall of 2004, Weezer recorded a large amount of material intended for a new album to be released in the spring of 2005 with producer Rick Rubin.[87] The band's early recording efforts became available to the public through the band's website. The demos were a big hit, but none of the songs recorded at this time were included on the finished album. That album, titled Make Believe, was released on May 10, 2005.[88] The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.[13] Despite commercial success, Make Believe got a mixed reception from critics, receiving an average score of 52 on the review collator Metacritic.[89] Although some reviews, such as AMG's, compared it favorably to Pinkerton,[88] others, among them Pitchfork, panned the album as predictable and lyrically poor.[90]

The album's first single, "Beverly Hills",[91] became a hit in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. It became the first Weezer song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.[92] "Beverly Hills" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for the band.[93] The video was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.[94] The second single released from Make Believe was "We Are All on Drugs" which peaked at No. 10 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[95][96] MTV refused to play the song, so Weezer re-recorded the lyrics by replacing "on drugs" with "in love" and renaming the song "We Are All in Love".[97] In early 2006, it was announced that Make Believe was certified platinum, and "Beverly Hills" was the second most popular song download on iTunes for 2005, finishing just behind "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani.[98] Make Believe's third single, "Perfect Situation",[99] reached No. 1 U.S. Billboard Modern Rock chart and No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[92] "This Is Such a Pity" was the band's fourth single from the album, but no music video was made for its release.[100] The Make Believe tour also found the band using additional instruments onstage, adding piano, synthesizers, pseudophones, and guitarist Bobby Schneck. The "Red Album" (2006–2008) Main article: Weezer (Red Album)

After the success of Make Believe, the band decided to take a break. Cuomo returned to Harvard where he ended up graduating cum laude and as a Phi Beta Kappa in 2006.[101] Cuomo also married Kyoko Ito on June 18, 2006, a woman he had known since March 1997. The wedding was attended by the current members of the band as well as Matt Sharp and Jason Cropper. During this break, Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell appeared in the 2006 film Factory Girl playing John Cale and Lou Reed respectively and contributing a cover of the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" for the film.[102] Also during this time, Bell started a new project, The Relationship. Weezer performing in Arizona in October 2008

Weezer (also known as the Red Album) was released in June 2008. Rick Rubin produced the album[103] and Rich Costey mixed it. The record was described as "experimental", and according to Cuomo, who claimed it at the time to be Weezer's "boldest and bravest and showiest album",[104] included longer and non-traditional songs, TR-808 drum machines, synthesizers, Southern rap, baroque counterpoint, and band members other than Cuomo writing, singing, and switching instruments.[105] Pat Wilson said the album cost about a million dollars to make, contrasting it with the $150,000 budget of the Blue Album.[106] The album was produced by Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee.[107] The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 while receiving generally positive reviews.[13]

Its lead single, "Pork and Beans",[108] topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts for 11 weeks while also peaking at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.[109][13] Its music video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.[93] The second single, "Troublemaker", debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 2. In October 2008, the group announced that the third single would be "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)" which was met with critical praise.

On May 30, 2008, the Toledo Free Press revealed in an interview with Shriner that Weezer would be unveiling the "Hootenanny Tour", in which fans would be invited to bring their own instruments to play along with the band. Said Shriner: "They can bring whatever they want… oboes, keyboards, drums, violins, and play the songs with us as opposed to us performing for them."[110]

The band performed five dates in Japan at the beginning of September and then embarked on what was dubbed the "Troublemaker" tour, consisting of 21 dates around North America, including two in Canada. Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club joined the band as support at each show, and Brian Bell's other band The Relationship also performed at a handful of dates. Shortly before the encore at each show, the band would bring on fans with various instruments and perform "Island in the Sun" and "Beverly Hills" with the band. At a show in Austin, after Tokyo Police Club had played its set, Cuomo was wheeled out in a box and mimed to a recording of rare Weezer demo, "My Brain", dressed in pajamas and with puppets on his hands, before being wheeled off again. This bizarre event later surfaced as the climax to a promo video for Cuomo's second demo album, Alone 2. Raditude and Hurley (2009–2013) Main articles: Raditude and Hurley (album)

Weezer toured with Blink-182 in 2009, including an August 30 stop at the Virgin Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Drummer Josh Freese joined Weezer on a temporary basis to play drums on the tour, while Pat Wilson switched to guitar. Wilson said in an interview for Yahoo! Music that Cuomo wanted "to be active and more free on stage and him having guitar on was an impediment." Freese stated he was a Weezer fan and did not want to pass up the opportunity to play with the band.[111]

On August 18, 2009 Weezer released the first single for their upcoming album, "If You're Wondering If I Want You To". The song peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] The title of the album was called Raditude which was a suggestion from actor Rainn Wilson.[112]

Raditude's album artwork was revealed on September 11, featuring a National Geographic contest-winning photograph of a jumping dog named Sidney.[113] The record's release was pushed to November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. On December 6, 2009, Cuomo was injured when his tour bus crashed in Glen, New York due to black ice. Cuomo suffered three broken ribs and internal bleeding, and his assistant broke two ribs. His wife, baby daughter, and their nanny were also on the bus, but they escaped injury. Weezer cancelled the remaining 2009 tour dates the following day.[114][115] The band resumed touring on January 20, 2010.[116]

In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that new material would still be released, but the band members were unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label.[117] Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph.[118] Cuomo performing in 2010

Weezer co-headlined The Bamboozle in May 2010,[119] and performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June.[120] In August, 2010, Weezer performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival,[121] and performed at the Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans, LA in October 2010.[122]

The album Hurley was released in September 2010 through Epitaph Records. The name comes from the character Hugo "Hurley" Reyes from the television show Lost. Jorge Garcia, the actor who portrayed Hurley, stated that being featured on the album cover is "one of the biggest honors of [his] career."[118][123] The first single, "Memories" was chosen as part of the Jackass 3D soundtrack with the music video featuring members of the cast contributing backing vocals.[124]

Weezer used internet streaming service YouTube as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, "going along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes." The band was promoted through popular channels such as Barely Political, Ray William Johnson and Fred Figglehorn. The Gregory Brothers solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its compositions built around speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Barack Obama. Weezer called the promotion "The YouTube Invasion".[125]

In November 2010, Weezer released a compilation album composed of re-recorded versions of unused recordings spanning from 1993 to 2010, Death to False Metal.[126][127] The title track, "Turning Up The Radio" was a collaborative effort with many fans on Youtube. On the same day a deluxe version of Pinkerton, which includes "25 demos, outtakes and live tracks" was also released.[128] A third volume of Cuomo's solo Alone series, titled Alone III: The Pinkerton Years, consisting of demos and outtakes from the Pinkerton sessions, was released on December 12, 2011.[129] The band also contributed a cover of the Cars' "You Might Think" for the Disney-Pixar film Cars 2 as well as a cover of The [DATA EXPUNGED]s' "I'm a Believer" for Shrek Forever After.[130]

Weezer began working on their ninth studio album in September 2010 with the intent of a 2011 release,[131] but the year ended without seeing a release. On October 8, 2011, former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead from a suspected heroin overdose in a Chicago hotel room.[132] Weezer performed in Chicago the next day and dedicated the concert to Welsh, who was expected to have attended.[133] Welsh had previously joined Weezer on stage for a few performances between 2010 and 2011.

The band headlined a four-day rock-themed Carnival Cruise from Miami to Cozumel that set sail on January 19, 2012.[134][135][136] In July, Weezer headlined the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio.[137] In early 2013 the band brought its Memories Tour to Australia—the band's first Australian tour since 1996. The band played its first two albums in full at several venues. The band also headlined the Punkspring 2013 tour in Japan and later in the year toured Canada and USA. They played multiple nights in cities around the U.S. The first night shows were dedicated to playing their hits, then the Blue album in full, front to back. The second night, they played Pinkerton in the same fashion. Koch did a "Memories" slide show at the Gibson amphitheater in Los Angeles (And most likely many other venues around the U.S.) The slide show consisted of photos of gigs over the years and highlighted the loss of their fanclub team members Mykel and Carli Allan in 1997.[138] Everything Will Be Alright in the End and the "White Album" (2013–2016) Main articles: Everything Will Be Alright in the End and Weezer (White Album)

Over 200 tracks were considered for their next album, but they were able to narrow it down to 13.[139] According to the album's official press release, the album is organized thematically around three groups of songs: "Belladonna", "The Panopticon Artist" and "Patriarchia". "Belladonna" includes the songs "Ain't Got Nobody", "Lonely Girl", "Da Vinci", "Go Away", "Cleopatra" and "Return to Ithaka", all of which deal with Cuomo's relationships with women. Tracks under "The Panopticon Artist" include "Back to the Shack", "I've Had It Up To Here" and "The Waste Land" all deal with Cuomo's relationships with fans. The final group of songs, "Patriarchia", are "Eulogy for a Rock Band", "The British Are Coming", "Foolish Father" and "Anonymous", which deal with relationships with father figures, "with a new spin".[139]

In January 2014, Weezer began recording with producer Ric Ocasek, who had produced the "Blue Album" and the "Green Album".[140] A clip of a new song was posted on the band's official YouTube account on March 19, 2014, which confirmed previous rumors of the band being in the studio.[141] On June 12, 2014, it was revealed that the album title would be Everything Will Be Alright in the End. It was released on October 7, 2014[142] to generally favorable reviews, becoming the band's best-reviewed release since Pinkerton.[143] The first single, "Back to the Shack", reached No. 5 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[13] Weezer performing at the City of Trees Musical Festival 2016

On October 26, 2015, the band released a new single, "Thank God for Girls", through Apple Music and to radio the same day. The following week, the band released a second single, "Do You Wanna Get High?". Cuomo claimed in an interview with Zane Lowe, that the band was not working on a new album.[144] Later, on January 14, 2016, Weezer released a third single, "King of the World", and announced the "White Album", which continued the critical success of the band's previous release.[145]

While writing the album, Cuomo joined Tinder to meet with people to get inspired for new songs.[146] He also started to explore other songwriting techniques including a cut-up technique, stream-of-consciousness, and writing melodies with a piano instead of guitar.[147]

Weezer was officially released on April 1, 2016 and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.[148][149] The album is considered a concept album exploring the themes of gender dynamics, modern dating experiences and references to religious iconography.[150] Musically, the album serves as a throwback to the band's first two albums, Weezer (1994) and Pinkerton (1996), while also serving as a tribute to the Beach Boys.

The album received a grammy nomination for Best Rock Album for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.[151]

In support of the album, the band performed on the Weezer & Panic! at the Disco Summer Tour 2016 with Panic! at the Disco in 2016.[152] The band later signed to Atlantic Records as part of a joint venture between Warner Music Group and Crush Management.[153] Pacific Daydream (2017–2018) Main article: Pacific Daydream

Soon after the release of the White Album, Cuomo discussed plans for Weezer's next album, provisionally titled the "Black Album'. Cuomo said the album would tackle "more mature topics" and be "less summer day and more winter night", and suggested the band could return to the recording studio as soon as October 2016.[154] Weezer delayed recording after Cuomo felt his new material was more "like reveries from a beach at the end of the world [… as if] the Beach Boys and the Clash fell in love by the ocean and had one hell of an amazing baby".[155]

To write the album, Cuomo utilized various musical and lyrical fragments he had collected over time. He kept an archive of song ideas and hired programmers to organize a spreadsheet of lyric snippets by beats per minute, syllable, and key to call from whenever stuck. "Instead of trying to force myself to feel inspired, I can just go into the spreadsheet and search […] I just try them out to see which ones work magically."[156]

On March 16, 2017, Weezer released a new song, "Feels Like Summer", the lead single of the upcoming album.[157] The song drew a mixed reaction from fans but became their biggest hit on Alternative radio in a decade (peaking at number 2 on the Alternative Airplay chart ).[158] On August 16, Weezer announced Pacific Daydream, released on October 27.[159] On August 17, the promotional single from the album, "Mexican Fender", was released.[160][161][162] The following month, "Beach Boys" was released, and the month after, they released "Weekend Woman" to positive reception.[163][164] "Happy Hour" was chosen as the second official single of the album, peaking at No. 9 on the Alternative Airplay chart.

The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[165] The "Teal Album" and the "Black Album" (2018–2019) Main articles: Africa (Toto song), Weezer (Teal Album), and Weezer (Black Album)

Following a persistent Twitter campaign by a fan, Weezer released a cover of Toto's song "Africa" on May 29, 2018.[166][167] Prior to this, the band released a cover of "Rosanna" to "troll" their fans.[168][169] "Africa" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in August 2018, becoming the band's first number-one single since "Pork and Beans" in 2008. Two days later, on August 10, Toto responded by releasing a cover of Weezer's single "Hash Pipe".[170] "Africa" eventually peaked at No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.[13] The success of the "Africa" cover led Weezer to record an album of covers, the Teal Album, a surprise album released on January 24, 2019.[171][172] The album was a commercial success as it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. In addition, all tracks charted on the Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart.[149]

On September 20, 2018, Weezer released "California Snow" as a single for the 2018 film Spell.[173] It was chosen as the closing track for the "Black Album". On October 11, 2018, Weezer released "Can't Knock the Hustle", the lead single from their upcoming album.[174][175][176] On November 21, they released the second single, "Zombie Bastards",[177][178] and announced the "Black Album", produced by Dave Sitek and scheduled for March 1, 2019. An arena tour of the U.S. with the Pixies and supporting and international tour dates were also announced.[177][178][179] On February 21, they released "High as a Kite" and "Living in LA" as the next singles.[180] They would later play them on NPR Music to promote the album for their series of Tiny Desk Concerts.[181]

During a Beats 1 interview by Zane Lowe on Apple Music on January 24, 2019, Cuomo announced that Weezer had already recorded the "basic tracks" to the follow-up album to the "Black Album". The album is being produced by Jake Sinclair, who produced the "White Album". Cuomo said the songwriting for the album is piano-based, and that some songs have string parts already recorded at Abbey Road Studios. For the recording process, Weezer departed from the modern "grid music" style (music recorded via modern software using grids to organize and manipulate the individual elements of recorded music) and did not perform to a "click" (i.e., metronome) for a more natural style.[182] Cuomo said the album is tentatively titled "OK Human" and that the inspiration for the album is the 1970 album Nilsson Sings Newman. Furthermore, Cuomo said he is currently working on an album with the working title "Van Weezer" that harkens back to their heavier rock sound after noticing how crowds go nuts for big guitar solos at Weezer shows.[183][184] OK Human and Van Weezer (2019–2021) Weezer plays Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, August 2019 Main articles: OK Human and Van Weezer

On September 10, 2019, the band announced the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day and Fall Out Boy as headliners alongside themselves, with the Interrupters as an opening act. They also released the opening single, "The End of the Game", off their upcoming fifteenth studio album, Van Weezer.[185] The song reached No. 2 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[13] Cuomo said that the band would return "back to big guitars". He remarked that when the band would perform "Beverly Hills" live in concert, he would perform a guitar solo that was not present on the recorded version of the song. "We noticed that, recently, the crowd just goes crazy when I do that. So it feels like maybe the audience is ready for some shredding again."[186]

The band recorded a version of "Lost in the Woods" for the 2019 film Frozen II, which was included on the soundtrack album.[187] A music video was shot for the song, featuring the band and Frozen voice actress Kristen Bell.[188]

On May 6, 2020, the band released the single and music video, "Hero", a tribute to essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, they announced the delay of Van Weezer for a time to be determined.[189] The song reached No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[13] On May 10, Weezer guest-starred on an episode of The Simpsons, "The Hateful Eight-Year Olds", where a snippet of their song "Blue Dream" from Van Weezer was played.[190] On August 14, 2020, the band announced that the album had been delayed to May 2021 in order to coincide with the rescheduled Hella Mega Tour. That same day, the third single, "Beginning of the End", was released as a part of the soundtrack for Bill & Ted Face the Music.[191]

On October 6, 2020, after Eddie Van Halen died, the album was dedicated to him.[192] In addition to Van Halen, the album is also dedicated to Ric Ocasek, who produced the band's debut, The Blue Album, The Green Album, and Everything Will Be Alright in the End, as Ocasek had died in September 2019.[193]

On January 18, 2021, the band announced their fourteenth studio album, OK Human (a play on Radiohead's OK Computer).[194], following cryptic promotional floppy discs and links sent to some members of the Weezer Fan Club a few days prior. The announcement came with a release date of January 29.[195][196] The single "All My Favorite Songs" was released on January 21.[195] The song reached No.1 on the Alternative Airplay chart and was later nominated for Best Rock Song in the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[13][197]

The album was planned to be released following Van Weezer, but when the album suffered a year-long delay following the COVID-19 pandemic,[198] the band decided to shift their focus to completing OK Human first.[199] Work on OK Human began as early as 2017, when the band decided to make an album that combined rock instrumentation with an orchestra.[200] The band hired a 38-piece-orchestra and recorded the album entirely with analog equipment to achieve their desired baroque sound. The album was additionally inspired by The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Sings Newman (1970).[200]

The fourth single, "I Need Some of That" was released on April 21, 2021.[201] Van Weezer was released on May 7, 2021 along with an animated music video for "All the Good Ones".[196] The album has been compared to their fourth studio album Maladroit (2002), and is inspired by 1970s and 1980s hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Kiss, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Van Halen (the last of whom inspired the album's title).[202] SZNZ (2021–present)

After delays due to the pandemic, the American leg of the Hella Mega Tour finally kicked off on July 24, 2021, in Arlington, Texas.[203] The European leg saw Weezer, Green Day and Fall Out Boy performing in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Ireland, Scotland and, finally, France.

While doing an interview with NPR about the OK Human and Van Weezer albums, Cuomo hinted that the band were working on a four-album box-set called SZNZ (pronounced as "seasons"). Cuomo also described the potential musical styles of Spring and Fall, saying: "Spring can be a very breezy, carefree acoustic-type album, whereas Fall is going to be dance rock." He later stated that the albums, titled Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter respectively, are planned for release in 2022 on the first astronomical day of each relevant season.[204] Each season is linked to their own emotion. "Spring is optimism, Summer is anger, Autumn is anxiety, and Winter is sadness."[205]

On March 11, 2022, Weezer officially announced the project, now titled SZNZ, would consist of four extended plays, with Fall renamed to Autumn. The first, SZNZ: Spring, was released on March 20, and the lead single "A Little Bit of Love" was released on March 16.[206] The song reached No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[13]

On June 20, 2022, Weezer appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, debuting "Records", the lead single from SZNZ: Summer. The song reached No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[207] The EP released at midnight on June 21, along with news of a Broadway Theater residency planned for September 2022.[208] In August 2022, the residency was cancelled due to high expenses and poor ticket sales.[209]

On September 19, 2022, the band performed once again under the name Goat Punishment at Troubadour (West Hollywood), where they played SZNZ: Winter for the first time. They also debuted the single "What Happens After You?" from SZNZ: Autumn, which was released on September 22, 2022. "What Happens After You?" was later performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[210] A music video for the single was released on November 29, 2022.

On December 9, 2022 Weezer released "I Want a Dog", the lead single from the last EP in the SZNZ series, SZNZ: Winter.[211] SZNZ: Winter was released on December 21, 2022, alongside a music video for "Dark Enough To See The Stars". Musical style and influences

Weezer has been described as alternative rock,[212][213][214][215] power pop,[214][216][217][218] pop rock,[212][219][220][221] pop-punk,[222][223][224] geek rock,[212][225][226][227] emo,[218][228][229] indie rock,[212][230] emo pop,[231] melodic metal,[232] and pop.[233] The members of Weezer have listed influences such Kiss (with direct references in the song "In the Garage"), Nirvana, the Pixies, the Cars (whose member Ric Ocasek produced several Weezer records), Cheap Trick, Pavement, Oasis, the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and Wax.[234][235] Cuomo credited the Beach Boys as a major influence, specifically Pet Sounds; Bell described Weezer's sound as "Beach Boys with Marshall stacks".[236] Operas and musicals such as Madama Butterfly (1904) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) influenced Pinkerton and Songs from the Black Hole.[237] The band members' worship for hard rock and heavy metal music was the source of inspiration behind Van Weezer, including 1970s and 1980s bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, Rush, and Van Halen (the last of whom inspired the album's title).[238][239][240]

Artists such as Paramore, [241] Fun.,[242] Pete Wentz,[243] Fall Out Boy,[244] Panic! at the Disco,[245] Blink-182,[246] Steve Lacy,[247] Taylor Swift,[248] Charli XCX,[249] Real Estate,[250] Dinosaur Pile-Up,[251] Cymbals Eat Guitars,[252] DNCE,[253] Ozma,[254] Wavves,[255] Joyce Manor,[256] Origami Angel,[257] and the Fall of Troy[258] cite Weezer as an influence. Solo work and side projects

Patrick Wilson started his side-project the Special Goodness in 1996, for which he sings and plays guitar and bass.[259] In May 2012, he released his fourth record with the Special Goodness, entitled Natural.[260]

Brian Bell started the Space Twins in 1994 releasing an album, The End of Imagining, in 2003.[261][262] In 2006, Bell started a new band called the Relationship, and did not contribute any songs for Weezer's Raditude in order to save material for the Relationship.[263] The Relationship's self-titled debut was released in 2010, with a follow-up, Clara Obscura, released in 2017.[264]

Former bassist Matt Sharp started the Rentals in 1994.[265] After releasing Return of the Rentals in 1995, Sharp went on to quit Weezer in 1998 to focus more on the Rentals.[265][23] Sharp has also released work under his own name.[266] Mikey Welsh toured with Juliana Hatfield[267] and played bass for the Kickovers.[268] Scott Shriner played bass for Anthony Green's debut studio album Avalon.[269]

On December 18, 2007, Cuomo released Alone - The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, a compilation of his demos recorded from 1992 to 2007, including some demos from the unfinished Songs from the Black Hole album.[270] A second compilation, Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, was released on November 25, 2008, and a third, Alone III: The Pinkerton Years, on December 12, 2011.[271] The album was sold exclusively with a book, The Pinkerton Diaries, which collects Cuomo's writings from the Pinkerton era.[272]

On March 20, 2013, Cuomo and Scott Murphy of the band Allister released Scott & Rivers, a Japanese-language album.[273] They released their second album in April 2017.[274] In November 2020, Cuomo released thousands of unreleased songs and demos from throughout Weezer's career on his personal website for purchase and download.[275][276] Musical contributions

In 1994, Weezer contributed the song "Jamie" to DGC Rarities Vol. 1, which is a compilation of demos, B-sides, and covers recorded by bands on the label.[277][278] It was the first appearance of the song until it was released as a B-side for the single of "Buddy Holly" and again on the Blue Album Deluxe Edition.[279][280]

In 1999, Weezer contributed a cover of the song "Velouria" by The Pixies to the tribute album Where Is My Mind? A Tribute To The Pixies.[281]

On July 22, 2003, Weezer contributed an acoustic cover of Green Day's "Worry Rock" to the compilation album A Different Shade of Green: A Tribute to Green Day.[282]

On December 4, 2008, iOS developer Tapulous released the game Christmas with Weezer, featuring gameplay similar to Tap Tap Revenge and six Christmas carols performed by the band. A digital EP featuring the songs, titled Christmas with Weezer, was also released on December 16, 2008.[283]

On March 9, 2010, Weezer appeared on an episode of the children's daytime television show Yo Gabba Gabba! and performed the song "All My Friends Are Insects". The song appeared on a compilation soundtrack album for the show, Yo Gabba Gabba! Music Is…Awesome! Volume 2, as well as a bonus track for the Weezer album Hurley.[284]

On June 11, 2010, the band released a new single, "Represent", as an "unofficial" anthem for the US Men's soccer team to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Although technically unofficial, the song was embraced by the team, and on June 23, 2010, US Soccer released a music video on their official YouTube channel featuring dramatic footage of the US team spliced with footage of Weezer performing.[285]

In 2010, the band recorded a cover of "I'm a Believer" for the movie Shrek Forever After.[286] Previously, Weezer had planned to include an early version of "My Best Friend" from Make Believe in Shrek 2, but it was rejected due to the song sounding "too much like it was written for Shrek".[287]

In 2011, the band covered "You Might Think" by The Cars for the Pixar movie Cars 2. The song appears on the movie's official soundtrack.[288]

In 2011, Weezer recorded a cover of "Rainbow Connection" with Hayley Williams for Muppets: The Green Album, a cover album of Muppets songs which also included OK Go, The Fray, Alkaline Trio, and others.[289]

On September 20, 2018, Weezer released "California Snow" for the film Spell, which Cuomo also provided voicework for.[290] The song later appeared on the Black Album.[291]

In 2019, Weezer recorded a cover of "Lost In the Woods" for the Frozen II soundtrack.[292]

In 2020–2021, Weezer released "It's Always Summer in Bikini Bottom" for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run's film soundtrack.[293]

In June 2021, Weezer contributed the song "Tell Me What You Want" to the video game Wave Break. The song is featured in a special level of the game called "Weezy Mode".[294]

In August 2021, Weezer contributed a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" to The Metallica Blacklist, a compilation of Metallica song covers by various artists, with each song getting several covers by different artists.[295] Band members

Current membersRivers Cuomo – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards (1992–present) Patrick Wilson – drums, percussion (1992–present), backing vocals (2007–present); lead guitar, keyboards (2007–2012) Brian Bell – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (1993–present), keyboards (2000–present) Scott Shriner – bass, backing vocals (2001–present), keyboards (2007–present)

Former membersJason Cropper – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals (1992–1993) Matt Sharp – bass, backing vocals (1992–1998)[23][24] Mikey Welsh – bass, backing vocals (1998–2001; died 2011)

Former touring musiciansBobby Schneck – keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass (2000–2005) Josh Freese – drums, percussion (2009–2012) Daniel Brummel – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2012–2014) Dave Elitch – drums, percussion (2022; substitute for Patrick Wilson)

Timeline Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Award is an award presented by the Recording Academy to recognize achievement in the mainly English-language music industry.[296] Weezer has received one award from five nominations. Year Nominee / work Award Result 2006 "Beverly Hills" Best Rock Song[93] Nominated 2009 "Pork and Beans" Best Music Video[93] (Director: Mathew Cullen) Won 2017 Weezer Best Rock Album[297] Nominated 2019 Pacific Daydream Best Rock Album[298] Nominated 2022 "All My Favorite Songs" Best Rock Song[299] Nominated

iHeartRadio Music Awards

The iHeartRadio Music Award was founded by iHeartRadio in 2014. From 2014 to 2018 the event was broadcast live on NBC,[300] and in 2019 the event was broadcast on FOX.[301] Year Nominee / work Award Result 2019 "Africa" Alternative Rock Song of the Year[302] Nominated Best Cover Song[302] Nominated

Kerrang! Awards Year Nominee / work Award Result 2008 "Pork and Beans" Best Video[303] Nominated

MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV Europe Music Award is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks Europe to honour artists and music in popular culture. Year Nominee / work Award Result 1995 Weezer Best New Act[304] Nominated "Buddy Holly" Best Video[304][305] (Director: Spike Jonze) Nominated 2008 "Pork and Beans" Best Video[306] (Director: Mathew Cullen) Nominated

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Award is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Weezer has received five awards from eight nominations. Year Nominee / work Award Result 1995 "Buddy Holly" Video of the Year[307] Nominated Best Alternative Video[307] Won Breakthrough Video[307] Won Best Direction (Director: Spike Jonze)[307] Won Best Editing (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)[307] Won 2001 "Hash Pipe" Best Rock Video[308] Nominated 2005 "Beverly Hills" Best Rock Video[94] Nominated 2008 "Pork and Beans" Best Editing (Editor: Jeff Consiglio and Colin Woods)[309] Won

Teen Choice Awards

The Teen Choice Awards were established in 1999 to honor the year's biggest achievements in music, movies, sports and television, being voted by young people aged between 13 and 19.[310] Year Nominee / work Award Result 2005 "Beverly Hills" Choice Music: Rock Song[311] Nominated Discography Main articles: Weezer discography and List of songs recorded by WeezerWeezer (Blue Album) (1994) Pinkerton (1996) Weezer (Green Album) (2001) Maladroit (2002) Make Believe (2005) Weezer (Red Album) (2008) Raditude (2009) Hurley (2010) Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014) Weezer (White Album) (2016) Pacific Daydream (2017) Weezer (Teal Album) (2019) Weezer (Black Album) (2019) OK Human (2021) Van Weezer (2021)

{That's blueengland, alright}

#epprbcu #reference mark q&a #referencen't markn't

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jajanvm-imbi · 8 months

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Hazbin Hotel 4 episode premiere review Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

I got my main criticisms out of the way so now I get to have fun and gush about the stuff I enjoyed and hopefully will continue to enjoy! Because honestly even though I think the writing and pacing are objectively bad, I'm still having fun with this series like I do with Helluva Boss, and its mainly for one reason:

The voice cast is singlehandedly carrying the show.

Viv may not be great at character design or storytelling, but if she's good at one thing she is damn good at casting.

The voice cast is perfect, they all understood the assignment. Like everyone who was saying the new cast was gonna be worse than the pilot cast for the sole reason that they weren't the pilot cast were just flat out wrong. They all ate and are all easily the most enjoyable part of the series.

Erika Henningsen was the perfect choice for Charlie, she fits the role of "Disney Princess in Hell" like a glove. She's bubbly and sweet and excitable and kind! She fits this role way better than she fit the role of Cady in the Mean Girls musical (I said what I said) She sounds so much like Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, another favorite character of mine!

Blake Roman's performance???? As Angel??? Hello sir???? My jaw was on the floor during Angel's scene with Valentino because I was absolutely blown away by his performance. It was heartbreaking and raw and impactful, a stellar performance. I have a good feeling Blake Roman is gonna get the Alex Brightman treatment after this winning combination of his performance as Angel Dust and his Broadway debut in "Harmony: A New Musical". Blake Roman is a STAR

Speaking of Alex Brightman, man do I love his voice. I've been on the Alex Brightman stan train for years now, waaaaaaaaay before Helluva Boss. I've loved Alex Brightman since his performance as Dewy Finn in the School of Rock Musical (which is criminally underrated. There could not have been a better casting decision for Dewy) Hearing Alex Brightman sing a more rock style song for the first time since his School of Rock days was so so wonderful. "Hell is Forever" was the best part of ep 1 there I said it. Not to mention his performance as Sir Pentious is also quite enjoyable. All of his voice work has gotten him so much positive exposure too! I'm so glad he's getting all the love and attention he deserves after being so underrated for so long. Its like the universe is apologizing for kicking Beetlejuice out of the Winter Garden Theater and replacing it with the Music Man and also robbing him of his Tony back in 2019. (Alex Brightman deserved Best Male Lead in a Musical at the 2019 Tony's argue with the wall)

Christian Borle as Vox was such a fun choice! I've also been a Christian Borle stan for many years now, since I listened to the "Legally Blonde" musical for the first time back in 2017 where he played Emmett Forrest. I'm always happy to hear one of my Broadway faves perform in something, and I was thrilled to find out he was going to be part of the cast!

Lili Cooper as Velvette was also a pleasant surprise! She killed it. She's brash and loud and confident and the accent was a nice touch too! Loved her as Sandy in the Spongebob musical, love her as Velvette.

I don't really have much to say about the rest of the main and supporting cast, they all sound great! I can't wait to hear Jeremy Jordan as Lucifer, Leslie Kritzer as Roise and Darren Criss as St. Peter!

And last but not least, Amir Talai as Alastor. Holy shit is he fun! Amir Talai was the voice that inspired Alastor in the first place, so I'm glad they got him in the cast! I kept seeing people say that he wasn't "intimidating enough" as a Alastor and that he was much weaker than Edward Bosco and all I have to say is:

How does it feel to be wrong?

Because Amir Talai ATE THIS UP. He devoured. Not a CRUMB IN SIGHT. I get all giggly when I hear him sing "let's begin", its so playfully sinister and perfect and lovely. Every single line delivery is perfect.

But even with such a spectacularly talented Broadway cast, the decision to make Hazbin a full on musical was.....interesting. Helluva Boss is similar because they have at least one song per episode, but Hazbin has two, and sometimes they're kind of shoehorned in with no buildup. Ep 3 is the biggest offender of this. I enjoyed Lili Cooper singing "Respectless" but the song was unnecessary. Neither one of the songs in ep 3 made any sense and honestly felt like they were there to fill the quota of "two songs per episode". "It Starts With Sorry" in ep 2 was also kinda weird, but not unforgivable.

The best songs so far are easily "Stayed Gone", "Poison" and "Losers, Baby". All three are bangers and everyone slayed. "Happy Day in Hell" is fun, feels like a typical Disney song, and "Hell is Forever" also slaps, but both songs have a lot of unnecessary swearing that throws them off course.

So yep that's pretty much it for my positives about Hazbin! I'll happily keep watching Hazbin just to hear the cast continuing to slay.

#ill do another review when the season is complete but I probably wont do it in 3 parts lol #the cast is what brings the show together #i GARUNTEE you if the cast wasnt as strong as it is Hazbin would be Dead on Arrival #theyre the ones who make it enjoyable #so the story may suck so far but Ill watch the series just to hear this cast bounce off each other #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel spoilers

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popculturebuffet · 1 month

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Next up for Disney TVA, who is your favorite character from the cartoons in the second half of the Disney Afternoon era (1993-96): Marsupilami, Aladdin the Series, Gargoyles, The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show, Timon & Pumbaa, Quack Pack, and Mighty Ducks the Animated Series? Skipped Bonkers since you said in the last ask that you haven't seen it yet.

Okay so getting this out of the way again (And yup haven't seen bonkers) So in addition to bonkers Marsupliami (though ti looks good and snookums and meat . Aladdin the Animated Series: No faviorite as I've only seen maybe one episode in recent years , but I do hear it's a fun adventure show and remmeber it being okay as a kid. never realized as a kid the two dtv movies werne't their own movies but the pilot for the show and it's finale respectivley (both still stand find on their own and return has if nothing else I can remmeber your only second rate)

youtube

Gargoyles: I LIVE AGAIN! I really need to watch this series in full at some point.. honestly reviewing it might not be a terrible idea as it'd at least get me around to it. I'll figure it out. Faviorite is Xanatos. Even just READING about him I loved the guy, a villian so damn good at gambits tv tropes named it after him and whose clever as he is self serving. The show itself is again one I BADLY need to watch as i've only seen a few scattered episode but the one that sticks in my mind I Had on vhs in high school, Deadly Force sticks out. It handles gun saftey.. in a way that dosen't feel hackned or over the top. Elsa gets shot.. but she made the mistake of leaving her gun unmprotected and apparently the show is consitent in making sure she never does again. IT's a show with a deep intretsing mythos, voice acting royalty, and is worth a look. Again I wouldn't mind doing a retrospective at some point (Splitting season 2 up a bit ) covering the first two seasons, the slave labor graphics comics and the recent revivial comics following up on those. Not plugging there either I just think gargoyles is neat. It's disney's equilvent to batman the aniamted series in my mind and it's a shame they never really captlized on it

Timon and Pummba: Only seen some of this for a review, it seems.. okay. Not terrible by any means but nothing I really want to watch despite loving these two characters.

Quack Pack: Daisy whose redesign while attractive is also fun and is that nice sweet spot of being fed up with donalds shit sometimes but not you know cheating on him, abusing him or everything three cabs daisy did. Don't be three cabs daisy folks. The show itself i've only seen a few eps of, some for reviews some on my own time but honestly.. it's okay. It has a reptuation for being awful, for being garbage that brought down the whole disney afternoon.... but really.. it's fine. I think a lot of people raging against it forget that donald getting into domestic scraps is just as much a par tof his dientity as donald duck the greatest adventuerer who ever lived. most of his shorts come from some small incident such as his car breaking down, a raido cooking show or his cousin showing up to eat everything he has. So going back to that with a bit of advneture weirdness ocasionally thrown in seems fine. Some plots do sound.. insane but the show seems okay. The versions of the boys.. are a bit weaker but it's less for characterization (thier about the same as they were in ducktales just older) , and more for trying to make them sound cool and that despite giving them unique va's.. they didn't do much in the ones i've seen to actually defenrtaite them. And honestly the redesigns are solid

Daisy and Donalds are great an dth eboys are fine. Their hair and Louie's backwards hat are 90s as hell but honetsly they aren't half bad and now I think about it dewey's would perfectly fit the 2017's dewey's love of attention and need to be seen as a jock. The show is far from perfect and some episodes seem nuts again like Huey's dental surgery turning him into a super villian.. but overall it's just fine. Not super mediocre, but not as bad as it gets a rep for. Also the humans thing... eh why not. I prefer an all furry universe, but I get Donald has interacted with humans before.

Mighty Ducks: One I haven't revisited and don't really.. intend to. It's a weird piece of the duckverse, with aliens, 90's super powers and hockey. I might check it out for the novelty as I have gained a love of hockey due to certain canadian television series

But otherwise it's just kinda.. there. There are other 90's action shows to visit. Gargoyles is just down the block. BTAS exists. I just really.. dont' care.

#aladdin the series #marsupilami #quack pack #gargoyles #mighty ducks the animated series #disney #donald duck

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sinceileftyoublog · 1 year

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Heartworms EP Review: A Comforting Notion

(Speedy Wunderground)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

A Comforting Notion, the debut EP from Jojo Orme’s dark dance project Heartworms, is the platonic artist’s statement. That is, the four tracks that make up the South London artist’s release are uniform in their aesthetic, cohesive in their themes, and provocative in their visualized form. Released on Speedy Wunderground (and produced by label founder Dan Carey), the record is classic goth-punk: wiry guitars, metronomic drum loops, vocals that elevate from whispered sprechgesang to shouted chants. “Ugly is the man, he’ll chew his eyes,” Orme sings, sinister and foreboding. On word workout “Retributions of an Awful Life”, she bounces back and forth over harmonic bass wobbles, glassy synths, and propulsive percussion, reciting lines like, “Very stressed, unimpressed / This is fun / In fact, it’s keeping me awake,” like she’s going down a checklist, yet fully knowing that moods are anything but simple, often multitudinous.

Best, Orme is aware of the genre’s history and what came before her. Her interest in military and aviation imagery is legit, having started volunteering at The Royal Air Force Museum, and she appropriates it without succumbing to the genre’s dabbling in fascism. In essence, she ironically finds a sense of individuality in donning uniforms while performing, something distinct from the all-black palate of her forebears. Taken in context of a song like “24 Hours”, a dissociative track about Orme not fitting in at school, Heartworms’ at-times monochromatic vocalization and percussion is a powerful push-pull between conformity and individuality. Orme named the band after the 2017 album from The Shins, whose sunny melancholy is as far a cry as possible from Heartworms’ grey soundscapes. Funny enough, James Mercer’s father was in the U.S. Air Force, and while that has never really made it into the New Mexico band’s music, the factoid is the cherry on top of Heartworms’ mood board, unexpectedly deep and wide.

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#album review #heartworms #speedy wunderground #the royal air force museum #a comforting notion #jojo orme #dan carey #the shins #james mercer

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annyuh · 1 month

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this all of my favorite artist's album, her songs is so soothing for me , its recommadable artirst if u like music like me , fun fact;''Lana Del Rey has one of the most enigmatic personalities of modern pop, and it’s won her one of the most devoted audiences of the 2010s. ''amazing right ,she is very famous in both genders, MORE FUN FACTS ABOUT HERRR ,At age 18, Lana began performing in clubs around Brooklyn, NY under various monikers including Lizzy Grant, May Jailer, and Sparkle Jump Rope Queen. Around the same time, she began attending Fordham University in The Bronx, where she majored in philosophy with a specific focus on metaphysics.and

was interested in God and how technology could bring us closer to finding out where we came from and why

Is what she said about her degree when asked. The theme of God and science remains persistent in all of her music. Alongside her college major, some of her song themes were the effect of attending a Christian high school.

She signed her first recording contract with 5 Points Records in 2007 and her first digital album, Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant, was released in January 2010.

Traces of this era can still be found online but this commercially unsuccessful epoch was ultimately abandoned to make way for the rebrand of Lana Del Rey.

In 2011, a homemade music video for “Video Games” was uploaded to Lana’s YouTube channel. The track became a viral sensation, sparking widespread interest in the artist, and she signed with Interscope/Polydor in the October of that year. On the acknowledgements for her fifth studio album, Lust for Life she wrote

''Abel, I still think of the day u posted video games on your Tumblr. Grateful for u.'' now information about her

Since then, Lana has delivered a flair unlike any other artist of her generation, praised for its cinematic sound and references to various aspects of pop culture, particularly that of the 1950s and 1960s Americana.

After many studio releases that were removed from streaming platforms to make way for her rebrand, Lana explained the meaning of her stage name and how it was influenced by her time in Florida while in college.

I wanted a name I could shape the music towards. I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba – Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.

Before using Del Rey, she initially chose the alternate spelling Lana Del Ray and released an album under that name, but ultimately chose the latter moving forward.

On January 27, 2012, Lana’s first major-label project, Born to Die, was released. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it is the second-longest charting album on the Billboard 200 by a female artist, and gave Lana her best-known smash hit “Summertime Sadness”.

Later that year, the Grammy-nominated EP Paradise was released, and was packaged alongside the reissue of Born to Die.

Two years later, the atmospheric album Ultraviolence was released, showcasing a slightly darker sound and theme. The term comes from the Anthony Burgess novel, A Clockwork Orange, and refers to excessive or unjustified violence.

2015 saw the arrival of Honeymoon which Lana described as being “a tribute to Los Angeles”. The album became the subject of much critical acclaim, garnering the most praise of all of her projects before it, with some even calling it her best work yet.

Her fifth studio album Lust For Life followed in 2017, packing some high-profile features with artists including The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti and Stevie Nicks. Billboard called it a “new-age folk” record and it was named in the Top 50 Best Album of the Year lists by several high-profile music publications.

After much anticipation, teasing and at least one deferred release date, on August 30, 2019, Norman Fucking Rockwell! was debuted to the world. This album earned her Grammy nominations and places on year-end lists, launching her further than ever into the limelight.

Only days after NFR!’s release, in an interview with The Times, Lana confirmed that a new project entitled Chemtrails Over the Country Club (originally called as White Hot Forever) was in the works with a potential release in 2020. Nearing the end of 2019, Lana also announced she would be releasing a spoken word poetry album on January 4th, 2020, as the book itself was taking long to hand-bind.

Similar to the way Chemtrails Over The Country Club was announced, Lana took to Instagram after the release of Chemtrails to announce a follow-up eighth studio album called Blue Banisters (which was originally supposed to be called ‘Rock Candy Sweet’) that was expected to be released on July 4th, 2021, however was delayed for October 22nd of the same year. Three singles from Blue Banisters were released on May 20th, 2021.there is more but lets move on there now im going to tell my recommedation for her songs , in top 10 is born to die , i love this song , it is really famous in most countries , like western , and other more in top 9 is venice b1tch[this is is i cannot say]this song melody is so good , her songs it rymthys so good , this song is about love song and the american-made in top 8 is brooklyn baby this one is also amazing ,it is about her boyfriend, its love song again,which means se saying ''Del Rey declares, “You’re the man of my dreams, ‘cause you know how to leave.” top 7 is ''high in beach'' it is a moody and melancholic after being alone in 2015 top 6 is ''ride'' which the song is about ''No one loves a small-town Americana escape-meets-Lolita story more than Lana Del Rey, and “Ride” delivers a swelling ballad that recalls the quiet brilliance of “Video Games.” in top 5 is '' of to the races'' ''Lana Del Rey’s love of literature is underrated — but hyper-obvious — throughout her discography, but it’s on full display on this singsong-y track, which casts Del Rey as a life-hardened Lolita and her “old man” as a less gentile Humbert'' in top 4 is ''norman f0cking rockwell'' it means uhm i cant really say it but uh ill just put it ''Lana Del Rey opens her 2019 album of the same name with the stinging lyrics “Goddamn, man-child/You fucked me so good that I almost said ‘I love you,'” in top 3 is ''west coast '' it means ''Ambition and romance are warring forces on “West Coast,” one of Del Rey’s most psychedelic, unconventionally structured songs. In the “A” section of the rock ballad, the surf guitar is driving and tense, '' in top 2 is the greatest'' the meaning is “The Greatest” is the climax of Norman Fucking Rockwell!, a brilliant bicoastal reflection of pop culture in the same vein as Bob Dylan’s “Murder Most Foul,” Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” in top one is ''video games'' made in 2011 its about

''The song that started it all: Lana Del Rey’s debut single under her new name created a whole aesthetic movement, changed the goal posts for pop music, and most importantly,'' that is all thank you[the image it isnt mine]

#lana del rey #music #born to die #west coast #video games #fun facts #about lana del ray

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nollywoodprofilesgist · 2 months

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David Adedeji Adeleke Profile

David Adedeji Adeleke born November 21, 1992, who is better known as Davido, is an American-born Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, US, and raised in Lagos; he made his music debut as a member of the music group KB International. He studied business administration at Oakwood University before dropping out to make beats and record vocal references. Davido rose to fame after releasing "Dami Duro", the second single from his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo (2012), from which six additional singles—"Back When", "Ekuro", "Overseas", "All of You", "Gbon Gbon", and "Feel Alright"—were taken. In 2012, Davido won the Next Rated award at The Headies. Between 2013 and 2015, he released the hit singles "Gobe", "One of a Kind", "Skelewu", "Aye", "Tchelete (Goodlife)", "Naughty", "Owo Ni Koko", "The Sound" and "The Money".

In January 2016, Davido announced on Twitter he had signed a record deal with Sony Music and a few months later founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), to which acts Dremo, Mayorkun, Yonda and Peruzzi are currently signed. In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP Son of Mercy, which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa". In April 2017, Davido re-negotiated his contract with Sony due to creative control issues and later that year he released five singles including "If" and "Fall". "If" generated worldwide social media activity while "Fall" became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history.Davido released his second studio album A Good Time in November 2019. It was supported by the previously released singles "If", "Fall", "Assurance", "Blow My Mind" and "Risky".

David Adedeji Adeleke was born on November 21, 1992, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father Adedeji Adeleke is a business magnate and his mother Vero Adeleke was a university lecturer. Davido is the youngest of five siblings and his father's second-born son. He attended the British International School in Lagos and at the age of 16, he moved to Alabama, US, to study business administration at Oakwood University.Davido bought musical equipment while at Oakwood and started making beats. He also worked with his cousins B-Red and Sina Rambo to form the music act KB International.Davido dropped out of Oakwood University to pursue music full-time and relocated to London, where he worked on his vocals.After returning to Nigeria in 2011, Davido paused his music career and agreed to honor his father by enrolling at Babcock University. In July 2015,he graduated from Babcock with a degree in music after his father paid the university to start a music department for an inaugural class of one student.

Davido started working on his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo in 2011. The album's music is a mixture of Afrobeats and hip hop. Davido worked with Jay Sleek, Maleek Berry, GospelOnDeBeatz, Spellz, Dokta Frabz, Mr. Chidoo, Theory Soundz and Shizzi to produce the album.Omo Baba Olowo features guest appearances from Naeto C, Sina Rambo, B-Red, Kayswitch, Ice Prince and 2 Face Idibia.It received generally negative reviews from music critics, who panned its lyrical content and Davido's songwriting.The album won Best R&B/Pop Album and received a nomination for Album of the Year at The Headies 2013.It was also nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

The Naeto C-assisted track "Back When" was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2011. It was produced by Davido and received frequent airplay.Davido told television channel Factory 78 he recorded "Back When" in London.The Clarence Peters-directed music video for "Back When" was uploaded to YouTube on May 9, 2011.The album's second single "Dami Duro", which was released on October 30, 2011, was jointly produced by Davido and Shizzi. In an interview posted on the NotJustOk website, Davido said he recorded the song in August of that year. The song was leaked three months after he sent it to some of his friends. The accompanying music video for "Dami Duro" was released on January 8, 2012, during the Occupy Nigeria protests.

The album's third single "Ekuro" was released on January 25,2012.Its music video was recorded and directed in Miami by Antwan Smith.Nigerian singer Aramide released a soulful rendition of the song.The album's fourth single "Overseas" was released on May 6, 2012; an unfinished version of the song was leaked prior to its official release.The GospelOnDeBeatz-produced track "All of You" was released as the album's fifth single on September 28, 2012. Davido told Factory 78 TV he recorded the song with GospelOnDeBeatz after meeting him at a mall.

2013–2016: Standalone releases, The Baddest and Son of Mercy

On February 25,2013, Davido released the Shizzi-produced track "Gobe".It was ranked second on Premium Times' list of the Top 10 songs of 2013.In a review for Vanguard newspaper, Charles Mgbolu said the song "exudes fun from start to finish". The music video for "Gobe" was recorded in South Africa by Godfather Productions. Davido announced on Twitter "One of a Kind" would be released on May 13, 2013.The song was also produced by Shizzi. The video for "One of a Kind" was recorded and directed in South Africa by Tebza of Godfather Productions.It depicts a united Africa that is rich in culture and music.

"Skelewu" was released on August 13, 2013.It was ranked fifth on Premium Times' list of the top 10 songs of 2013.Davido promoted "Skelewu" on 18 August 2013 by uploading an instructional dance video that was directed by Jassy Generation to YouTube.The video's release was accompanied by an announcement of a "Skelewu" dance competition.

"Skelewu" was supported with two music videos.The first music video, directed by Sesan, was released on 15 October 2013.It was uploaded to YouTube using a parody account. Shortly after the video's release, Davido said someone betrayed him by releasing it and that he would make another video with Moe Musa, a UK based music video director.In a statement released by his team, Sesan said Davido was satisfied with his contributions to the music video; he also said it would be immature for Davido and his management to release inaccurate statements to defame his brand.The official music video for "Skelewu" was recorded and directed in London by Moe Musa,and was released in October 2013.

Davido released the T-Spize-produced song "Aye" on February 1, 2014.The video for the song was directed by Clarence Peters and released on February 7, 2014. In the video, Davido plays a poor farmer who falls in love with the prince's fiance.[48] Davido's collaborative single with South African duo Mafikizolo, titled "Tchelete (Goodlife)", was released on April 30, 2014.It was produced by Oskido and Shizzi, and distributed by MTN's Play and Callertunez platforms.Prior to recording "Tchelete (Goodlife)", Davido networked with Mafikizolo at MTN Nigeria's Elite Night event in December 2013. The music video for "Tchelete (Goodlife)" was recorded and directed by Twenty Twenty Media.Oskido and Uhuru made cameo appearances in the video.

In June 2014, Davido collaborated with Mi Casa, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond Platnumz and Tiwa Savage on "Africa Rising", a song that was used for DStv's eponymous campaign to inspire Africans to partake in community-based social investment projects. The accompanying music video for "Africa Rising" was recorded and directed by South African production house Callback Dreams.The artists performed the song at the Africa Rising launch ceremony in Mauritius.[55] In June 2015, Davido released the Meek Mill-assisted trap song "Fans Mi".[56] He teased fans with the audio and behind-the-scene photographs of the video prior to releasing it.

Davido's 20-track album The Baddest was first scheduled for release in June 2015[58] but its release was postponed to October 10 that year.Two days prior to this date, the album was delayed because of an unnamed corporation's interest in distributing it.Davido had released the album's cover art and track listing earlier that year.The Baddest was going to feature production from Shizzi, Del B, Spellz, J Fem, Don Jazzy, Puffy Tee, Uhuru, Kiddominant and Young John.It was also going to feature guest artists such as P-Square, Don Jazzy, Runtown, Uhuru, DJ Buckz, Akon, Meek Mill, Wale and Trey Songz. In January 2016, Davido announced on Twitter he signed a record deal with Sony Music; his announcement was met with mixed reactions.The record label put out a press release to confirm the deal.Davido's record deal with Sony requires him to release two albums and allows him to retain the rights to his music and performances.

Davido founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) a few months after signing with Sony. Dremo, Mayorkun, Yonda and Peruzzi are currently signed to the label.In July 2016,Davido signed a record deal with RCA Records. His record deal with Sony Music altered plans for The Baddest's release. According to Pulse Nigeria, Davido's contract with Sony required the album to have an international appeal to allow for global distribution of it. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP Son of Mercy, which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa".The EP features guest appearances from Simi, Tinashe and Nasty C.

Davido won Best African Act at the 2017 MOBO Awards. He released "If" on February 17, 2017. It was produced by Tekno, who ghost-wrote the track for Davido.The song was certified diamond by the Recording Industry of South Africa, indicating shipments of 200,000 units."If" won Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018.Reviewing for OkayAfrica, Sabo Kpade described the song as a "slow burner" with an "unfussy beat that sounds hollowed out and isn't cluttered with instruments".The music video for "If" was recorded in London; it was directed by Director Q and produced by Tunde Babalola. Davido teamed up with menswear designer Orange Culture to release a capsule collection inspired by "If".

Davido released "Fall" on June 2, 2017.It samples a line from Kojo Funds's track "Dun Talking". "Fall" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa, was one of the top-100-most-Shazam-searched singles in America in January 2019, and was a top-10 record on Shazam in New York.In February 2019, it became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history. "Fall" was ranked at number 163 on Pitchfork's list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.The accompanying music video for "Fall" was directed by Nigerian-born British video director Daps. In December 2018, the video surpassed 100 million views, becoming the most-viewed video by a Nigerian artist on YouTube.

Davido released "Fia" on November 10, 2017. The song was described as a neo-highlife track and was produced by Fresh VDM.In its second verse, Davido addresses his arrest and Caroline Danjuma's role in fueling the rumor he was involved in the death of Tagbo Umenike. A writer for Native magazine praised Davido's songwriting and said the song "manages to reflect some of his recent personal struggles, without directly dishing into sensitive details". Reviewing for Music in Africa, Kayode Faniyi said "Fia" offers an "existential conflict" and that it is "undoubtedly the song of Davido's career—at least till he outdoes himself". Daniel Orubo of Konbini Channels described "Fia" as a "coherent" track that uses Davido's "croaky voice". "Fia" was nominated for Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018.The accompanying music video for "Fia" was directed by Clarence Peters.The Stefflon Don-assisted remix of "Fia" was released on March 30, 2018.The song retains many of the elements from the original recording but incorporates a patois-tinged flow. Davido won Best African Act and was one of the Best Worldwide Act recipients at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards.

In February 2018, Davido sold out the O2 Brixton Academy venue, performing several songs including "Gobe", "Fans Mi", "Skelewu", "Aye", "If", "Fall" and "Fia". Davido released "Assurance" on April 30, 2018; It samples Paw Paw's "Biggie Biggie". The song was produced by Speroach Beatz and has been described as a love track. he dedicated the track to his girlfriend and released it to coincide with her 23rd birthday.In an interview with Konbini Channels, Speroach Beatz said he made the beat in an hour and that Davido spent 30 minutes recording the song.Reviewing for Native magazine, Toye Sokunbi said the song "speaks volumes for the importance of clarity in the age of emojis, validation from our loved ones and putting love first, against all odds".The accompanying music video for "Assurance" was directed by Meji Alabi.Davido won Best International Act at the 2018 BET Awards, becoming the first African artist to receive his award on the main stage.In his acceptance speech, he urged patrons and American artists to visit Africa and eat the food.In September 2018, Davido performed alongside Meek Mill,Post Malone and Fat Joe at the Made in America Festival.Prior to the festival, he performed at the House of Blues in Boston as part of his "The Locked Up Tour",which commenced in August and ended in September.

In January 2019, Davido sold out the The O2 Arena in London, becoming the first solo African artist to do so.He was introduced on stage by Idris Elba and performed several of his hit singles with the backing band The Compozers.The gig featured additional performances from Mayorkun, Peruzzi, Idowest, Dremo, Yonda, Tomi Agape and Zlatan.Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian gave a four-stars-out-of-five review of the concert, calling Davido an "alpha" and saying "many of his mannerisms are influenced by the American rappers with whom he has worked, including Young Thug and Swae Lee".Davido announced on Instagram that tickets sold out a few hours before the concert. Critics, however,said he did not sell out the concert, citing an article in The Guardian newspaper.Davido posted a screenshot of an e-mail conversation between his management and the arena's customer care team, confirming the concert was sold out.

The Chris Brown-assisted track "Blow My Mind" was released on July 26, 2019.It was produced by Shizzi and was initially intended to be released as the album's lead single. "Blow My Mind" contains lyrics are about a girl who blows Davido's mind simply. In the Edgar Esteves-directed visuals for "Blow My Mind", Davido and Chris Brown spend quality time in a motel with their lovers. The video amassed one million views in 11 hours, surpassing Wizkid's "Fever" and "Come Closer" to become the Nigerian music video to achieve this feat most quickly. It also became the Nigerian music video to gain the most views within the first 24 hours of its release. "Risky" was released on October 23,2019. It features guest vocals from Jamaican singer Popcaan, who asked Davido to appear on his 2018 single "Dun Rich".The music video for "Risky" was directed by Meji Alabi and pays homage to the crime drama television series Top Boy.In the video, a female member of Davido's and Popcaan's crew informs upon them to police.

Davido's second studio album A Good Time was released on November 22, 2019. The album features the previously released singles "If", "Fall", "Assurance", "Blow My Mind" and "Risky". Davido recorded A Good Time in Atlanta. He told Vibe magazine he wanted to record in a new environment.Davido described the album as a body of work for everybody and said it would consist predominantly of Afrobeats but would incorporate elements of other genres.Davido disclosed the album's title during an event held in Lagos in September 2019 and said it would be released the following month. He also unveiled excerpts of four songs from the album during the event.Following his performance at Powerhouse 2019, Davido spoke with Power 105.1's DJ Self and said the album will feature collaborations with artists including Summer Walker, Gunna, A Boogie and Chris Brown.All but of the tracks on A Good Time were produced by Nigerian producers.The album's cover art features Davido, his father and a sculpture of his mother.

On April 6, 2012, Nigerian Entertainment Today reported Davido had signed a ?30 million endorsement deal with MTN.The deal unveiled him as the face of MTN Pulse, a marketing campaign aimed at Nigerian youth.On October 24, 2013, Pulse Nigeria reported Guinness Nigeria had signed Davido for an endorsement deal. As part of the deal, Davido performed at the Guinness World of More Concert alongside artists including P-Square, D'banj, Wizkid, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide, Phyno, Chidinma, Waje and Tiwa Savage.On May 9, 2018, Guardian Life reported Davido had signed an endorsement deal with Infinix Mobile, a Hong Kong-based smartphone manufacturer.

Davido has three children.He is engaged to the mother of his third child.

In May 2014, Davido criticized the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) after missing his flight to London, and accused them of pestering him for money. On May 11, 2014, the PR officer for the NIS denied Davido's allegations and said they did not issue him an exit permit because he did not have the correct travel documents with him.

In December 2015, Vanguard newspaper reported Davido and the mother of one of his daughters were embroiled in a struggle over custody of their child. The mother and her family filed a petition against Davido and his family for alleged child trafficking. In a petition sent to the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Davido and his family were accused of keeping the child away from her mother and of trying to flee Nigeria with the baby. Davido said the allegations against him were false but apologized to Dele Momodu, the cousin of the girl's mother..

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nel-world · 3 months

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Early Life, Family, and Education

Birth and Family:

Born on February 15, 1995, in San Antonio, Texas.

Mother, Holly Thomas, moved to Houston shortly after her birth.

Holly Thomas, a rapper known as "Holly-Wood", took her daughter to recording sessions instead of daycare.

Childhood and High School:

Grew up in the South Park neighborhood of Houston.

Moved to Pearland at age 14 and lived there until 18.

Began writing raps at age 14 and showed her skills to her mother at 18.

Mother required her to wait until 21 to pursue rapping due to the suggestive nature of her lyrics.

Attended Pearland High School and graduated in 2013.

Father died during her freshman year of high school.

College:

Attended Prairie View A&M University, where she began uploading freestyle videos on social media, gaining a following.

Took a break from college to pursue music but later resumed her studies at Texas Southern University, graduating in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in health administration.

Stage Name:

Adopted the stage name "Megan Thee Stallion" due to her height (5 ft 10 in) and body frame, as voluptuous women in the southern United States are sometimes colloquially called "stallions".

Career

2016–2017: Early Beginnings

First Releases:

Released first single "Like a Stallion" in 2016.

Followed by SoundCloud-exclusive mixtapes Rich Ratchet (2016) and Megan Mix (2017).

Made professional solo debut with EP Make It Hot in September 2017.

"Last Week in HTx" became her most successful single during this time.

Auditioned for Love & Hip Hop: Houston, but the spin-off was postponed indefinitely.

2018–2019: Tina Snow and Fever

Signing with 1501 Certified Entertainment:

Signed in early 2018, becoming the first female rapper on the label.

Performed at SXSW Festival in March 2018.

Released 10-song EP Tina Snow in June 2018.

Tina Snow received positive reviews, with praise for her raw and confident style.

Signing with 300 Entertainment:

Announced in November 2018, making her the first woman signed by the label.

Supported Iggy Azalea on the planned Bad Girls Tour, which was later canceled.

Breakthrough Single:

Released "Big Ole Freak" in January 2019, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Released second mixtape Fever in May 2019, receiving critical acclaim.

Featured on XXL's "Freshman Class" list in June 2019.

Released single "Hot Girl Summer" featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign in August 2019, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Signed a management deal with Roc Nation in September 2019.

Starred in a Halloween horror series, Hottieween, in October 2019.

2020–2021: Career Stardom, Suga, and Good News

Early 2020:

Released "Diamonds" with Normani for Birds of Prey soundtrack.

Released lead single "B.I.T.C.H." from debut album Suga.

"Savage" from Suga went viral on TikTok, with a remix featuring Beyoncé released in April 2020.

"Savage" became her first chart-topper in the U.S.

Judge on HBO Max's Legendary and released "Girls in the Hood" in June 2020.

"WAP" Collaboration:

Featured on Cardi B's single "WAP" in August 2020, which became her second U.S. number-one single.

"WAP" broke records for most streams in its first week of release.

Accolades and Ambassadorships:

Became a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon in August 2020.

Nominated for Top Rap Female Artist at the Billboard Music Awards.

Featured in Time 100 list of most-influential people.

Received eight nominations at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards and six at the 2020 People's Choice Awards.

Megan Thee Stallion's career has been marked by her bold personality, viral hits, and significant influence in the music industry, establishing herself as a prominent figure in contemporary hip-hop.

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greensparty · 10 months

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Talking with Pete Stahl

I feel like after this year, I should publish a book about punk rock legends! Earlier this year I got to interview Glen Matlock and then Exene Cervenka, both of whom did legendary work decades ago and are still doing some great work today. Same can be said for Pete Stahl, singer with D.C. hardcore punk veterans Scream. In addition to his work with Scream, he has been a part of Wool, Earthlings?, and Goatsnake. But last month, Pete and Scream released their first album in over thirty years. I got to review DC Special and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars (check it out). I recently caught up with Mr. Stahl via zoom where he actually showed me his home in the California desert (I was jealous based on the Northeast weather) and we talked about the new Scream album, the current tour and more.

Pete Stahl...and a dog

Me: Let's talk about the new Scream album DC Special. It's the first new album in 30 years, technically more than that, but first to be released in 30 years. How did this new album come about?

PS: Well, we'd been wanting to do a new record for quite some time, but because we're all over the country and everyone's involved with their day to day lives with work and family, it's so difficult. We get together and play shows occasionally and little short tours. But we just hadn't been able to do a proper recording session. We planned on it around 2015-2017, but our last EP came out in 2011 and we never got around to a new one and then the pandemic happened. It was during the pandemic that I heard that the studio was closing[Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA], so I thought, man we need to get back in there. We had all begun working on the record remotely and having written songs and we booked some dates there in September of 2021. Then I had a concept but I couldn't quite wrap my head around it, so I made like a vision book and shared it with my band and with people we wanted to collaborate on this album with. We wanted to celebrate our town and our band's story through the record and everything that kind of shaped us. Something that spoke to the past but was about now and then and moving forward. So it was the studio closing that lit a fire under our ass and we went in there and did it.

DC Special album cover

Me: After the album was recorded, drummer Kent Stax passed away in September. Sorry for you and your bandmates' loss.

PS: It's trippy, because we had been in a band for over 40 years together. Kent left for a few years to raise his family. Other than that, we've always been in a band. Enoch [bassist Skeeter Thompson] has known Kent since he was in second grade. My brother [guitarist Franz Stahl] has known him since after elementary school. I met Kent in my early 20s when we first formed the band. We're a tight knit family even though we go years without hanging, you know how it is, you just pick up right where you left off. So it's trippy especially to have this record come out that he is a big part of. The core of that record is me, Franz, Enoch and Kent. So it's really bittersweet to carry on, but it's also awesome to have this document of us one last time with him - thank God because he's a really great drummer. But it's great to be able to travel around, have people hear the record and now that he's passed away he's still alive though the music.

Kent Stax

Scream circa late 80s with Thompson, Franz, young Dave Grohl, and Pete

Me: Yes, it feels like this beautiful full circle moment for the band that you had one last album with original drummer Kent Stax and you also have a guest appearance from Stax's replacement Dave Grohl as well [NOTE: Grohl joined Scream in 1986 as a teenager and was with them until their 1990 breakup just before he joined Nirvana].

PS: Yeah a lot of people came to hang out at the recording studio. Dave had done a television episode [of Sonic Highways] about that studio. That studio is really important to a lot of people. Dave, of course, is a past member of the band, and I reached out to him. I reached out to Harley Robert Davidson, who had been with us for a number of years. But people like Harley didn't make it, but Dave kind of surprised us by showing up at the last minute and then he spent a few days there. But a lot of people came out of the woodwork because we were there and because they knew it was the last time there. So Dave came and hanged, but he really just played percussion on one song. I wished we had gotten a song with him on drums but we Just kind of ran out of time. But that is true that we got both of those drummers on the same record which is great.

We also got Scott Garrett on the record too, he's a drummer we played with last Summer. He's an old friend of ours, he played in Dag Nasty for a while. Also Jerry Busher plays on the record, a lot of people might know he was in Fidelity Jones and he was with Fugazi. That's who is playing with us now. We just finished this whole Side Scream Tour up and down the West Coast and we'll continue on to the East Coast in December. TheN hopefully we'll take it to Europe. We also have Derrick Decker on the record too, who the previous Summer we went to Europe and did some shows in Poland and a show in Prague, and Derrick played with us on that tour. That was just a few months after Kent was diagnosed. But he was already starting to go through chemo. We had always planned on doing these shows with Kent and we always hoped he'd get through the treatment and bounce back and had glimmers of hope through this process and I'm sure a lot of people who had family or friends who have gone through cancer know that cycle.

So all those drummers are on that. There's also this drummer Mark Cisneros, who actually plays bass on the record too. People might know him from the Hammered Hulls, but he's really a multi-instrumentalist. Great musician, plays with a lot of different bands. There's a lot of great drummers on this! We've been blessed as a band to have had two of the greatest drummers that ever came out. I can't tell you how great as a drummer Kent Stax was. Maybe someday you'll interview Dave Grohl sometime [NOTE: I would love that] but he will tell you about Kent's finesse. He came from a background of marching cymbals and a love of jazz and different styles. He taught me a lot about drums. I learned so much from him and I really miss him. I want to honor him by talking about him and keeping him close by playing his music. I think that's what he would want. He had a trio in town and he'd play with them every week, right up until he couldn't stand anymore. He was a working man musician.

Me: Since Scream's initial break up in 1990, you and Dave Grohl have overlapped on numerous projects. You mentioned the episode of Sonic Highways, but Grohl played with your band Earthlings?, you were both in the Teenage Time Killers, you sang with Foo Fighters on their Sonic Highways album, and just earlier this year you joined them at Atlantis in D.C. Not to mention Scream's EP Complete Control Recording Sessions was recorded at Grohl's 606 Studio. Grohl, himself, has spoken very fondly about Scream and how his experience in the band paved the way for everything that came after. Could there be another collaboration with Dave Grohl sometime soon?

PS: You know, he has become such a huge force in music. He's very busy, I can't even imagine all of the things that he does. You know, I don't know. You never know what will happen, but I hope so. I like playing with him. Everyone does [laughs], it's kind of a running joke, like you saw Lionel Ritchie playing "Easy" and this guitar solo as Dave walks on. He does a damn solo for that song and he does it perfectly, of course.

I mean that's what we need to do as people is help each other out when you have the opportunity to. He has his 606 Studio and gave us the opportunity to go in there and record. I'm glad we had that opportunity and I'll jump at any opportunity to play with Dave. I've been so lucky in my life and my brother's life to be able to play with a wide variety of musicians that are just amazing. When Scream ended around that time, when Dave joined Nirvana and Franz and I decided to stay in L.A. and start a new band - it really opened up a new chapter in our lives and also musically we fell into a new music community in Los Angeles. There was this whole group of friends who became our community who we played with. I met a few people I'm still friends with and work with, like L7 I work with them and they are dear friends of mine.

Pete singing with Foo Fighters at Atlantis in May 2023

Me: You were actually a featured interviewee in my friend Scott Crawford's documentary Salad Days about the D.C. punk scene in the 80s. One of the big themes of that doc is how the Reagan administration inspired so much rebellion at that time. Based on the state of the world right now, what do you think is punk music's place in commenting on all of the injustices that we're seeing right now?

PS: Well that hasn't changed. I think we as individuals have a responsibility and especially if you have a platform like being in a band to incorporate your point of view in what you're doing - it's just how you do things and when it's appropriate, but it's crucial to us to speak power through storytelling and songwriting. That's what we do as a band. Everyone has their own approach to things.

As far as punk rock it's always been about being an individual and nonconformity. But also in a wider sense also speaking against injustice and the powers that be that control systems that we all have to live in and work in. So addressing politics has always been a big part of Scream in our consciousness and we live it. We all run into it all the time. We continue to try to find ways to get my point of view out there. I always try to write a little bit of tongue in cheek or a little bit of humor through stories. But I think it's a responsibility that we as people have to teach each other and help each other. That's when the perfect storm happens when you're doing a show, because we're looking at you, you're all looking at us. We're singing to you, you're all screaming back at us!

Lyrically every album we have has political moments, because we're living through moments in time that are important to sing about, speak about and reflect upon. We're living through this transformation with what's happening with social media, the fragmentation of our culture and the polarization of our culture, the massive swing to the right in politics that's happening, what's happening in Israel and Gaza. These are moments in time that we are all living in together. And we're so caught up with our phones and our tablets and computers, but there's all this stuff going on around us that can be overwhelming and I think that's why some people don't deal with it. But these are all really important things that affect so many different people. As a band like Scream it's important to communicate to the people around us. There's all kind of injustices going on in the world and we need to figure out ways to work together, live together and progress as a society.

Me: You mentioned Scream is going on a tour, including Deep Cuts in Medford, MA on December 9. Tell me about playing these songs with Franz and Enoch again.

PS: Well we never stopped even when we were in Wool or other bands, we'd still get together especially when we'd all go back home to the D.C. area. My Mom still lives there. A lot of us still have family still there. So we would go there and maybe play the occasional show. We're always struggling to find that thing. That's the problem when you have drummers like Kent and Dave, now with Kent gone we have to start over. So we're kind of going through that process right now, playing with different drummers right now. Jerry has been amazing and we're really looking forward to playing with him.

I wish we had more time, we're all older now. We used to practice three or four times a week. We all lived in the same house - it was a whole different kind of thing. Now we just kind of get together when we can, rehearse for three or four days real quickly, and then go play a show. Because we can't really afford to play much more than that. It's really hard to do justice to the things you want to do, but we just go for it and put everything we have into it. And hopefully you come see us on a good night. [laughs]

Me: In addition to Scream, you've kept very busy with a number of bands including Wool and Goatsnake, you've also been and are a tour manager as well. In addition to this new Scream album and tour, do you have additional musical endeavors coming up, solo or side projects?

PS: I've always played around with that. I've always had songs that don't seem to fit with the bands I'm in. So yeah - I have a group of songs that I don't know if I'd ever have a chance to put it all together. Right now I'm working on a project right here in Joshua Tree called the Rancho, it's the 30th anniversary of the studio. There's a project being put together by Dave Catching and Paul Frasier, celebrating that studio and its impact on music. So a lot of people are coming out who have recorded here over the years. A really cool mix mosh of people playing together. That project will ultimately be a record, a film and a concert. Other than that, I've been talking to some other people about doing stuff. So we'll see what happens!

For info on Scream

For tickets and info for Scream's show at Deep Cuts on Dec. 9, 2023

#pete stahl #scream #interview #music nerd #kent stax #dave grohl #franz stahl #skeeter thompson #d.c. punk

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anewswire · 1 year

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Hooligan Hefs Networth, Biography, Career, Income, Home & Age

Hooligan Hefs Net Worth, Biography, Wife, Age, Height, Weight, and many more details can be checked on this page. Hooligan Hefs is an Australian musician who has a net worth of around $1 million in 2023. Hooligan Hefs is a very famous musician from Australia, who has done pretty decent work in his career. He is known for his Hip hop and EDM music, which has given him all the success he has currently. Hefs is a resident of New South Wales, and he also began his career there. He is also a very well-known rapper and composer who has produced some amazing work in recent years. Since his debut in 2017, he has also put out an extended play and a few singles. Even though he is doing well, he is still quite new to the field. No Effect, one of his singles, was released in 2019 and later earned a platinum certification from ARIA. For his accomplishments, he has received praise. Hooligan Hefs Net Worth Hooligan Hefs is a very well-known and successful figure in Australia. Although being relatively new to the business, his success speaks for itself. After his debut in 2017, he has released a number of singles. He has established a name and achieved enormous success despite not having yet produced any records. His EP, Living In Sin, was a huge hit. Many of his singles have received positive reviews as well. He currently has a $1 million estimated net worth. Name Anthony Roussos Net Worth (2023) $1 million Profession Rapper, Songwriter, musician Monthly Income And Salary $10,000 + Yearly Income And Salary $1,00,000 + Last Updated 2023 Hooligan Hefs Assets Home – Hooligan Hefs is a very famous name in Australia, he is doing exceptional work in the music industry. He began his journey from New South Wales, where he still lives. Although, he hasn’t shared any details regarding whether he owns any property or not. Car collection – Hooligan Hefs is still very young in the industry, and he doesn’t own a lot of cars to showcase. He maintains secrecy around his life and he barely shared any details about it. Hooligan Hefs Net Worth Growth Net Worth in 2023 $1.0 million Net Worth in 2022 $0.9 million Net Worth in 2021 $0.8 million Net Worth in 2020 $0.7 million Net Worth in 2019 $0.6 million Net Worth in 2018 $0.5 million Hooligan Hefs Biography In Australia, Anthony Roussos, often known by his stage name Hooligan Hefs, is a well-known and well-loved star. On July 31, 1997, Anthony was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He used to reside with his family in Doonside, New South Wales, where he was raised. However, because he maintains his personal life separate from his business life, very little is known about his family. Before making his professional debut, he used to write songs and make music online because he had always been interested in music. Also keeping his relationship information private is Anthony Roussos. He apparently has a girlfriend right now. Real Name/Full Name Anthony Roussos Name/Celebrated Name: Hooligan Hefs Birth Place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Date Of Birth/Birthday: 31 July 1997 Age/How Old: 25 years old Height/How Tall: In Centimetres – 178 cm In Feet and Inches – 5’10” Weight: In Kilograms – 68 kg In Pounds – 149 lbs Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black Parents Name: Father – N/A Mother – N/A Siblings: N/A School: N/A College: N/A Religion: N/A Nationality: Australian Zodiac Sign: Leo Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Straight Marital Status: Single Girlfriend: N/A Wife/Spouse Name: No Kids/Children Name: No Profession: Musician, rapper, songwriter Net Worth: $1 million Last Updated: 2023 Hooligan Hefs: Career and Awards A highly well-known figure in the public eye, Hooligan Hefs debuted in the music business in 2017. As a featured artist in Pistol Pete and Enzo's Ten Toes, where he initially found fame, he set out on his career. Afterwards, he produced numerous of his own tracks before refraining from releasing anything in 2018. He came up with a few singles in 2019, and several of the lists went on to become quite well-known. No Effect, his second song, received widespread acclaim and was certified platinum by ARIA. Tell 'Em I'm Doing Eetswa, the final single of the year, also earned a gold certification. Later in 2020, he issued his first EP, Living In Sin, as well as a number of more songs. In Australia and New Zealand, it managed to climb as high as 9 and 39, respectively. It featured the song Party With Gang, which is extremely well-known. Sends It, his final single for 2020, is earned platinum certification as well. He has made significant progress to this point and has recorded a lot of singles. Also, he has performed as a featured artist and contributed to other tracks. He has received an ARIA music award nomination. He has also been nominated for an APRA award, though the outcome is not yet known. Hooligan Hefs Top Hit Songs - No Effect - SEND IT! - IYKYK - Rolling Loud - Who’s Real? - Ruthless Hooligan Hefs Social Media Accounts Education Hooligan Hefs has not shared anything about his education. Although, he has been raised in New South Wales, where he might have done his early schooling from. Although, he began his journey in music at a very young age. He was also not interested in studies a lot. Conclusion Hooligan Hefs is a very hardworking and dedicated person, who has given his all to music. He has also an incredible amount of work in Hip Hop and EDM music, where he has worked as a musician, rapper, and songwriter. Many of his singles have been certified platinum and gold. He has also done pretty well with other artists. Hefs is still very young and has a long way to go. Frequently Asked Questions What is the net worth of Hooligan Hefs? Hooligan Hefs’ total net worth is around $1 million. How old is Hooligan Hefs? Currently, Hooligan Hefs is 25 years old (31 July 1997). How much does Hooligan Hefs make annually? Hooligan Hefs earns an estimated salary of $0.1 million + Per Year. What is the height of Hooligan Hefs? The height of Hooligan Hefs is 1.78 M. What is the name of Hooligan Hefs Wife? Hooligan Hefs is currently single. Read the full article

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pineforphantompain · 2 years

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2022 Drama Year in Review

My 2022 in Asian Dramas + Film

As usual starting with the movies: (HK) Come Drink With Me (1966) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) Mambo Girl (1957) This was assigned viewing, but is very much the sort of thing I enjoy watching anyway. Rating: 7.5/10 (HK) Centre Stage (1992) A woman-focused movie combining film history and personal tragedy!? Yeah, I loved it. Rating: 9.5/10 (HK) Police Story (1985) I would not have likely watched if I didn’t have to for school, but it was surprisingly quite fun and I can now say I’ve seen at least one Jackie Chan movie. Rating: 8/10 (HK) PTU (2003) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) The Big Boss (1971) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) Chungking Express (1994) Rating: 7/10 (HK) Durian, Durian (2000) Rating: 7.5/10 (Australia/HK) Floating Life (1996) Rating: 7.5/10 (K) Kongjui and Patchui (1978) So, I stumbled across this while working on a paper and knew I had to watch it once I finished. I have no idea if it is a masterpiece or total garbage, but it has a certain charm and was oddly quite enjoyable. Rating: 8/10 (C) Never Said Goodbye (2016) I had high hopes for a sad love story with a terminal illness plot starring an actor I really like, but alas, it was kinda disappointing. Not bad, just not great. Rating: 7/10

Now onto the dramas: Money Heist: Korea Part 1 (2022) 6/6 eps watched I was just here for Hyunwoo, but it was good. Rating: 7.5/10

Anna (2022) 6/6 eps Excellent vibes and Suzy (*-*). Honestly cannot tell if it was actually good storywise, but it was exactly what I watched it for. Expectations were met, no more and no less. Favourite drama of the year. Rating: 8.5/10.

Remarriage and Desires (2022) 8/8 eps I like Kim Hee Sun and it had the right vibes, but was mostly just meh. Rating: 6.5/10.

Money Heist Part 2 (2022) 2/6 eps watched (I have now finished it. Rating: 7.5/10)

Green Mothers’ Club (2022) 5/16 eps I started watching when it was airing, got behind and put it on hold, but I have just revisited it and hopefully will finish this year. (Update: I’m now 10 episodes in so making progress!)

(Rewatch) Judge vs Judge (2017) 32/32 eps Surprise, surprise I’m rewatching the same things again. What can I say about this drama (too much actually). It has such a hold on me and I desperately wish more people watched it. I considered watching PEB’s new legal romance drama, but instead I just watched this again. Must a show be “good”? is it not enough to permanently alter my brain chemistry? Rating: 7.5/10

(Rewatch) SUFBB (2012) 16/16 eps I have rewatched the first two or three eps many times, but this is the first time I have rewatched the whole drama. On my initial viewing I had to force myself through pretty much the entire second half, but I enjoyed it so much more this time around. Over the years I had realized I was too harsh, stopped considering Ji Hyuk one of my most hated male leads (he truly dropped from fifth place to probably not even making top ten, maybe not even fifteen). So I decided it was finally time to not be unfairly bitter and revisit the rest of the show, at least for the elements I did like (and turns out there was even more of that than I remembered!). Still don’t care for the romance (the main couple especially, but I’m not into the other two either) and did skip through some scenes. Also the mentor figure of the teacher/manager still bothers me. The end is basically the perfect narratively satisfying ending, but getting there was a little rushed in the final episodes. I’ve always liked the OST, have a soft spot for the cast, the set up is phenomenal, and it is just a solid show overall. Previous rating: 6/10. Updated rating: 7.5/10.

(Rewatch) My Lovely Girl (2014) 16/16 eps This is my new rewatch obsession, not because it is good (far from it), but it fills a particular desire for me and just really takes me back to 2014 (and in a (mostly) good way!). I love the music and the cast is filled with my faves. Also Shi Woo is so so special to me I do not care. (Still upset by Dal Bong’s storyline, the last several episodes are so bad especially the very end, and also the male lead is reprehensible). Same rating: 6.5/10.

Welcome (2020) 6/24 eps If it wasn’t obvious (see the rewatches) I was kinda on a Myungsoo kick (I love him and playing an actual cat is an even more perfect role for him than Angel’s Last Mission was). The cat stuff is fun and cute, but once I saw him sit in a box I didn’t feel an urgent need to continue. I’m sure I’ll return to it eventually. (Would be better in my opinion without any romance between the leads; let it be slice of life roommate hijinks and maybe a romance subplot with the second lead please!).

Plans: How did I do on last year’s? (Not great) I didn’t do any of the extra ones, so I’ll just ignore those. 2/3 movies watched (not for class - if only I hadn’t set that criteria, I watched plenty…) Kongjui and Patjui and Never Said Goodbye. 3/3 dramas from 2022 watched (YAY). They were all short, so feels a little like cheating, but oh well. Rewatched Judge vs Judge (that one was easy). Did not watch F4 Thai or anything from the backlog (unless I can count Remarriage and Desires since I did leave it on-hold for months lol).

Hope to watch 2023: Watch at least 5 dramas including: 1 or more from 2023 1 or more J-drama 1 or more from the partially watched backlog. Watch at least 3 movies. Complete some episodes of my Nail Shop Paris rewrite (yeah, that’s a thing I am doing, but since I was mostly planning and watching clips instead of sitting down and watching from the beginning I didn’t count a rewatch this year, but it’s something I’m working on and being normal about).

#drama year in review #2022 drama watching #ignore the fact that it is february #wonder how late next year's will be lol #asian dramas

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eriellesudario · 7 years

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Vacancy Review + Interview with Room 25 (now Breakfast Road)

youtube

On February 2018, Room25 released their new debut EP – Vacancy. The EP consist of 4 songs, 2 make a return from their old EP – Prelim. I was able to sit down with the band when it came and asked them about their music and the band itself.

The band first performed in 2015 in a high school talent show but they covered songs that they’d enjoy, mostly the ones with a lot of ‘na na na‘. But by 2016, they performed their first single – Passive Aggressive to an audience of 3000 people and performed 3 more songs during their live performance in 2017 in their school talent showcase.

The band takes inspiration from artist such as Blink 182, Strokes, Smiths and Arctic Monkeys and have some mentoring by King Farook’s Antonio Chiappetta, who was their music teacher back in high school.

All 3 members are going to university but they do plan to do more gigs and write more music.

Review

The EP consist of 4 songs:

Don’t Believe Me

Run Away

Sunny Day

Passive Agressive

Don’t Believe Me and Run Away are their newer tracks while Sunny Day and Passive Aggressive make a comeback as it has some sentimental value for both the band and their fans. Comparing the past versions of the last two songs to the ones on the EP, it is clear that the sound quality has improved. There hasn’t been any changes in the lyrics or instrumentation.

It has become of an inside joke between the band and I that ‘if you don’t have all versions of Passive Aggressive, you’re not a true Room25 fan‘. According to PJ, both Sunny Day and Passive Aggressive had terrible sound treatment back then and that he wouldn’t want to make a music video with a ‘garbage-sounding’ song.

I feel like Sunny Day and Passive have the most potential out of all of them. The issue is that it sounded like ABSOLUTE GARBAGE! And I’m not gonna make a music video for a garbage-sounding piece of crap! – PJ

The EP has this summer/chill vibe into it… until you reach Passive Aggressive as it gets… well… aggressive. The songs feel simple yet it’s a good introduction to who the band is as the songs are able to show off their musical capabilities.

According to the band, Vacancy is about emptiness and its about following the thoughts of the narrator as he goes through life, which could explain the ‘chill’ vibes I sense in most of the songs. Some of the songs, mostly with Passive Aggressive had some influence with real life event the members had.

(Passive Aggressive) does have different meanings to different people. One time, I was listening to it during the abysmal HSC. And I just discovered that it could be just about the HSC. Over and over and over again. – PJ

Comparing both Prelim with Vacancy, you can see a sense of change when it comes to their image based on the music alone. An example, Prelim had this Intro which sounded really ‘immature’ (in a sense) in a sense but it showed off their youthful side. Actually, the vibe Prelim presented was the fact that these boys enjoy being a band and making music together, whilst Vacancy felt more mature in a sense due to the improvement of music style based on how the songs are presented.

Passive Aggressive is about things in life not going your own way. It’s about being discontented with kinds of circumstances, whether its your girlfriends, or family, or friends. But it’s not just about things like that, its more of a multidimensional, faceted song – Briant

In short, Vacancy showed a huge change on the band’s image (I can see why they’ve pull off Prelim out of Spotify and iTunes sadly).

Overall Thoughts

It’s seen through their music, comparing both the old with the new, that there is a chance for them to make it through the industry. I think Room25 deserves a chance and that their music should be heard.

I give them a 3.5/5. The music in Vacancy is a good start but there is a lot more to improve. But nevertheless, their music should be given a chance.

Follow Room25:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

PS: My connections with the band has no influence with the review. This is all based on my own judgement and critique.

#interview #2018 #music #breakfast road #room 25 #Youtube

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columnistfromtheabyss · 2 years

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Review: Fall Of Seraphs – From Dust To Creation (Memento Mori)

My review of Fall Of Seraphs' From Dust To Creation, written for Heavy Music HQ:

Fall Of Seraphs’ first full-length From Dust To Creation, the follow-up to their 2017 debut EP, is full of moments that delight its listeners. Territorial integrity is founded on old school death metal, but eager to explore the horizons of modern death metal.

Although From Dust To Creation tries to reach the point of excellence, it does not have a unique voice, but it is a considerable musical work. It has a destructive and tremendous force, and its power and wonder owes its property to the effort to process and represent the powerful sound of death metal’s progenitors. Morbid Angel, Immolation and Angelcorpse influences are eloquently heard throughout the album, which is part of the album’s dormant bliss; but another part of this joy is the impressive performance of Fall of Seraphs. By crossing technical-tinged death metal with gentle black metal touches, From Dust To Creation aims to make a pleasant time for its audience.

Rating: 3.5/5

#fall of seraphs #death metal #short review

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namjhyun · 7 years

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School 2017 Episode 9

First, let me tell you that I wanted to review this show episode per episode from day one but life has been really busy lately, so I choose not to. But it turns out School 2017 gets better and better each week and it has all the elements to call it “my kind of crack”. I’m no less busy but who cares when this show is giving me life?! Let’s move on to what matters, get ready because I have a lot to say:

What the fudge did Hee-chan do to Bo-ra last year? Why isn’t she talking? And what exactly did Dae-hwi cover up? It’s clear Hee-chan’s violent nature is a result of the pressure his family puts on him to excel at school and his feeling of entitlement come from the fact he never suffered the consequences of his actions, protected by his mother or -as we find out today- Dae-hwi himself. I’m not trying to excuse him for the things he has done, keeps doing and probably will do in the next episode, but I guess the show has made it possible to see where he’s coming from and why he’s like this. The fact he has no real support system in his friends (they’re totally the ones spreading the rumors in order for him to do badly in the finals) is also a factor of what I believe will be his debacle. I don’t know if in the next few episodes he will be able to redeem himself but I do hope he suffers a take down. His mother too. Mainly, I’m hoping Bo-ra speaks up because it would meant a lot of character growth for her. She has isolated herself thanks to an abusive ex boyfriend, Dae-hwi’s wrongdoings and a teacher who betrayed her trust. But today’s flashback gave me hope that perhaps she will be able to recover that spark that made call Hee-chan on his behavior and dump his ass.

I feel the rest of the episodes in the show will be more about Dae-hwi correcting all the the things he has done wrong in the past year since his friend died. I have to give credit to the show because at the beginning Dae-hwi seemed like the perfect put together, good student, handsome boy next door, and even when Tae-woon was constantly warning us about his “true nature”, I couldn’t quite grasp why. The first time I saw what Tae-woon was talking about was when Dae-hwi assessed -outside the coffeeshop- that his former friend has feelings for Eun-ho and throw it in his face like a threat, right after she told him she had protected him by not saying anything about the stolen exam. From then on the show has properly develop this character for what he truly is: a misguided and lonely boy, with no real support from his family, spinning out of control. And today’s episode showed us a little more on just how far Dae-hwi was actually capable to go in order to get ahead. I’m a little afraid to find out what he has been covering up for the rich kids, I don’t believe it’s only Hee-chan he has dirt on, but at the same time I feel expectant of what he could do with all that. While Tae-woon has been running around school “outing” the corrupt ways of the faculty and students, it’s really Dae-hwi the one who has the information to actually change something.

As for their broken bromance, nothing will change until Dae-hwi is willing to let go of his need of survival. Don’t get me wrong, in a way I’m proud of him for all his hard work but it’s the way he has achieved that perfect school record that taints his character, when I can see that at his core he’s a good kid. It’s the same reason why he feels like he can’t keep on dating Nam-joo. When he found out the truth about her, he wasn’t disappointed or hurt because she lied to him -he understands and knows her reasons- but he realized a big part of the attraction was because he believed her to be rich. Which of course hit right into all of Nam-joo’s insecurities and gave her even more misguided reasons to feel like she’s less or ashamed because her father is a taxi driver, when in reality she should be proud that he’s a decent and hardworking man, trying to make a living for his family and doting on her like the sun rises and sets with her. Nam-joo has been so far a small character but I want to see more of her storyline. This lie is bound to be exposed one way or another.

Personally, I think Dae-hwi and Nam-joo really like each other and now that there’s no longer a wall of lies between them, I hope they can find a way to patch things up. They never really got the chance to be themselves around each other or actually enjoy their romance.

As for the other characters like Sarang, guitar boy Kyung-woo, and precious soul Byung-goo, I hope they get more storyline in the next few episodes. I would love to see them team up with Tae-woon and Eun-ho.

Speaking of which... I have sold my soul to this couple. I love the relationships that are based on friendship and mutual understanding of each other, which is why Tae-woon and Eun-ho keep on giving me all the feels week after week. Yes, they are incredibly cute together and their chemistry is undeniable but one of my favorite things about them is that they are their own person, apart from how they are together. Can I say they are a couple? Unofficially, at least. Although I’m pretty sure it was made official today in a low-key way when Tae-woon declared he will do whatever he felt like it or when he made it clear to Hee-chan why he was meddling in her business; and Eun-ho gave him the thumps up with a knowing look and smile at the school’s corridor. These two.

Tae-woon isn’t perfect and I love him even more because of it. It’s been a pleasure to see him work through his grief over the loss of his friend with the help of Eun-ho, making it possible for him to actually start caring for others and meddle once again into Dae-hwi’s life. The thing about Tae-woon is that he seems to have no filter and a bad temper, this makes his reconciliation with his bestie a lot harder than it should be. I wish they could have a proper talk, one where they are not staring daggers into each other and actually speak about what happened a year ago. Why aren’t they friends anymore? Did they gradually come apart or did they really just throw punches at each other the minute Joon-ki was no longer in the picture? Did Tae-woon ever talk about the accident with Dae-hwi? Or about what his father had done?

Of course, that same no filter and bad temper does wonders when he goes Alpha Man in order to protect his lady’s honor or when he dotes and worries about Eun-ho. He was behaving like such an Oppa today, it got me all giddy. I love it when he becomes Tae-Swoon, which it’s something that comes natural for him when he is around Eun-ho. Yeah, floor meet Tae-Swoon.

Hee-chan and his mother clearly have plans for Eun-ho but they are very wrong if they think she has no support. This is what I worry about on this subject: whatever Tae-woon does in order to protect Eun-ho, his father won’t let him take the fault for anything. So, what if his father tries to do something similar as to what he did with Joon-ki and his family but with Eun-ho’s? Maybe this will be a breaking point for Dad and Tae-woon. In the last two episodes, Dad seemed to have been trying with his son and I grasped that maybe he’s just rough around the edges; that he had to raise Tae-woon by himself and had no-one who could help him see another way of doing things. I hope these two can work things out too because they are adorable and funny.

As for Eun-ho, aka Wonder Smile, I love her to pieces. She is caring, sweet and a truly happy kid who loves her friends and family, who genuinely tries to get along with everyone and is willing to work really hard to achieve her dream. She’s everything the rich kids aren’t, even when they had a hundred more opportunities and chances than her to achieve what they want. She’s also everything that Dae-hwi isn’t thanks to the lack of parent guidance. Eun-ho’s family is key to understand the way she is. Dad, Mom and even Oppa adore her and support her, even when they might not have a dime for her to assist extra classes, but the fact that she has grown to be such a good person shows that money isn’t everything. That it doesn’t make you a better person or student.

Tomorrow, Eun-ho will be going against Hee-chan and I know she will thrive, but I hope that people (apart from her family and Tae-woon) will come through for her like she has done for everyone else.

#school 2017 ep review #kdrama #school 2017 #kim se jeong #kim jung hyun #jang dong yoon #seol in ah #kim hee chan #park sewan #ro woon #seo ji hoon #z.hera #hong kyung #han bo bae #han joo wan #han sunhwa

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absolutebl · 3 years

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Top 10 BLs Out of Taiwan

(Presented in order of my personal preference.)

We Best Love: No 1 for You & We Best Love: Fighting Mr 2nd (2021 WeTV) - the 1st season is a short run classic university set BL combining the best of Korea & Thailand’s modern takes on genre. The 2nd season moves into the office, and employs Japanese style in terms of setting, obsession, and mature concepts. WBL thus successfully managed to pick up and combine the best features of Korean, Thai, and Japanese BL right now. Couple that to the insane chemistry from the leads, and we have one of the best BLs of all time, cooking to a recipe I doubt anyone else will ever be able to replicate since only Taiwan is this flexible. Full review here.

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (2018 Viki) - Taiwan’s best example of classic BL with a sports romance foundation using some of the most prototypical and least offensive yaoi tropes.

Be Love In House: I Do (2021 Viki) - A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns, plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan. Full review here.

See You After Quarantine? (2021 Viki) - Taiwan’s answer to Gameboys is just as charming and adorable and still quintessentially Taiwanese as one might hope. It features a Japanese love interest and the cutest most confused disaster gay. The two have almost no actual screen time together and yet manage some truly amazing chemistry. Honestly how does Taiwan do it? Full review here.

DNA Say Love You (2022 GaGa) - DNA deserves extra marks for an upbeat approach to a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled with sadness (in the guise of realism). There is a twist, which I found predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show. The leads are luminous and engaging, and it’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. Full review here.

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong (2018 Viki) - another one that picks up and uses a classic yaoi tropes that most other BL producing countries have dropped - teacher/student. I happen to be okay with this power dynamic (and the child abandonment issues) and really like the grumpy/sunshine leads. But this is basically a happy reboot of Japan’s 2007 Boys Love, one of the first ever live action yaoi.

HIStory 3: Trapped (2019 Viki) - not quite BL, more a mafia set cop versus criminal cat-and-mouse gay romance, where the leads end amorphously but the side couple ends up together, but wonderfully acted, and the SUITS are to die for. Literally.

About Youth (2022 Gaga) - a truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst story. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. Lots of BL tropes but also this is quite queer and very Taiwan with an earnest depth I haven’t seen since My Ride, and an almost real world authenticity. Full review here.

HIStory: Obsessed (2017 Viki) - very strongly sourced in yaoi, this one features the obsessive stalker love trope and “kill the gay” but with a twist that allows for an HEA in what I would call almost self-referential poking fun at all those murder gays Japan gave us for so many years. The strongest seme/uke Taiwan has ever give us.

My Tooth Your Love (2022 Viki) - earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten by an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues. They fall madly in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus crumbs = 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. Fun premise, killer dialogue, there was a solid lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, and delightful smiling kisses and stinkingly cute domesticity. Trigger for family abuse.

Honorable mention to the amazing BL side plot in Love is Science? Seriously, watch this!!!!

Taiwanese BL in Brief

Taiwan is relatively new to the BL genre. Their first actual BL offering was 2012′s high school set queer coming of age mircofilm Pair of Love, which featured both gay and lesbian couples, ending happily for one pair but not the other. But it wasn’t until the first of the HIStory series entered the fray in 2017 and proved successful that Taiwan really started producing consistently.

(Prior to all these there was 2006′s YA coming of age Eternal Summer(s) which is not dissimilar to Thailand’s Love of Siam in that it owes more to queer indie than to BL.)

Like early Chinese BL, Taiwanese BL owes a lot to the Japanese gay cinema and “the dark side of BL” (which I talked about in Japan’s entry in this series). There’s a lot of obsession, death, and even some kidnapping in Taiwanese stuff. It also tends to lean higher heat and use more mature actors (if not in character behavior and emotional maturity).

It’s grittier than a lot of other BL, for lack of a better word. It’s settings and filming style is grungy, sticky, and raw (although not as much as the Philippines). It’s also overtly queerer.

Taiwan is great on their chemistry and workshopping to ensure sex and kissing appears authentic, possibly because they have one of the least homophobic cultures in Asia.

Speaking of which, unlike other BL producing countries, Taiwan has something to prove. Gay marriage has been legal there since 2019 and they have been spearheading a supportive agenda and pro-queer messaging since 2017, which is GREAT and boy do they deserve to flex those (pretty pretty) muscles. (The platform GagaOOLala with all queer streaming content is based out of Taiwan.)

Their 2017 BL microfilm Faded is so short and yet uses so many BL tropes in order to get across a strong message of inclusivity, and it was clearly made for Taiwan’s older generation in an effort to tip the marriage equality vote. (Yes, it’s a queer propaganda piece!)

That said, Taiwan’s BL is inconsistent in terms of length and HEA.

With some series running short at only an hour or so total, like Korean BL, while others that go all the way up to 20 episodes or more (see HIStory’s season 3). They seem to have no set pattern, and as they don’t produce that many BLs in a year, no pattern seems to be forthcoming.

They are a very small film production country in general, and with only one or two houses even intersted in making BL, we just don’t get much from Taiwan. However, what we do get tends to be high quality. They even came out with a quality historical gay drama, Your Name Engraved Herein (not HEA and not really BL so I don’t list it, but it is an excellent movie as a movie).

Because of their tiny industry Taiwan is king of cameos. You will see the same actors over and over again, and often the same pairs in little nods (especially within the gay universe of, our goddess, Lin Pei Yu.)

But Taiwan is inconsistent and bifurcated in their approach to BL, producing both light BL new wave (more like Thailand), and dark BL old style (more like Japan).

For example, 2021′s HIStory 4: Close to You proved divisive because it showcased both these story styles at once. Each one a classic example of BL’s yaoi roots:

the side stepbrothers plot which has all the dark obsessive elements that gave us Japan’s favorite early oeuvre of “death and the murder gay” (dark BL) contrasted to H4′s lighter more comedic...

friends-to-lovers office fluff piece that feels a lot like Japan’s 2014 Docchi Mo Docchi decided to reboot itself in Mandarin, only as gay as it was always supposed to be (light BL)

H4 is, in a way, Taiwan’s internal dialogue with its own style of BL and where it wants to go. Whether it is willing to go up against Korea in the arena of shorter run strong concept but ultimately happy new wave BL, as it did with We Best Love, or whether it wants to continue down the shadowy path of amorphous endings which risk a discontented fan base but garner critical acclaim as they did with HIStory 3 and Your Name Engraved Herein.

You can all guess which path I’m hoping for. (Full H4 review here)

Taiwan may be my favorite BL production sphere, it’s no accident that I chose them to cast and produce MY ULTIMATE FANTASY CAST AND BL MASTERPIECE.

Here’s more on Taiwanese BL:

Taiwan’s relationship with BL and how they can more honestly represent gayness than some of the other BL producing countries (as well as mess with the seme/uke dynamic) as a result of local politics and marriage equality.

Why Taiwan tends to gravitate towards taboo tropes.

Here’s the Taiwanese BL industry casually flexing Taiwan’s marriage equality muscles.

Taiwan futzes with seme/uke (and why)

A Guide to the HIStory Franchise (and here I am Remaking the HIStory Franchise) and the damaging tropes within it

Top Ten Best Kisses from Taiwanese BL

This is part of a series on top 10 BLs from each country coupled with a history of BL. I try to keep it up to date but tumblr doesn’t make that easy.

Japanese BL

Chinese BL

Taiwanese BL

Korean BL

Thai BL

Where of watch it? Taiwanese BL usually launches and/or ends up on Viki (they are why I have a subscription). With very few exceptions, everything else is on GaGa, with soem of the very old stuff showing up on YouTube.

ALL BLS OUT OF TAIWAN

That I have watched and rated, by date & then rating out of 10. Top ones highlighted.

2006 Eternal Summer - 2 2012 Pair of Love - 3 2014 100 Apples - 4 2016 Friend or Lover - 6 2016 He's Out There Somewhere - 1 2017 HIStory: Obsessed - 8 2017 Red Balloon - 7 2017 HIStory: Stay Away From Me - 6 2017 HIStory: My Hero - 6 2017 Faded - 5 2017 We Are Gamily - 5 2017 Dark Blue and Moonlight - 3 2018 HIStory 2: Crossing the Line - 9 2018 HIStory 2: Right or Wrong - 8 2019 The Teacher - dnf 2019 HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count - 2 2019 HIStory 3: Trapped - 7 2019 Departure - 3 2019 Bro and Me Bro & Me - 3 2020 Because of You - 7 2020 Craving You - 5 2020 Our Memory - 3 2020 Your Name Engraved Herein - 2 2021 We Best Love No. 1 For You - 10 2021 We Best Love Fighting Mr. 2nd - 10 2021 Be Loved In House I Do - 9 2021 Love is Science? BL Cut - 9 2021 See You After Quarantine? - 8 2021 HIStory 4: Close to You - 8 2021 Papa & Daddy - 7 2021 My Type - 7 2021 Innocent - 5 2021 Light - 5 2021 Friend or Lover - 5 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2022 Plus & Minus - 8 2022 DNA Says Love You - 8 2022 Papa & Daddy 2 - 6 2022 About Youth - 8 2022 HIStory5: Love In The Future - 7 2022 My Tooth Your Love - 8 2023 Stay By My Side - 8 2023 Kiseki: Dear to Me - ? 2023 You Are Mine - ?

(This is as of Nov 2023. source)

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