State Champ Radio Interview
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On Tuesday (May 15), Nicky Jam showcased his hitmaker status when he took the stage at the 2023 Telemundo Upfront Celebration, a private concert held in New York City. Spanning two decades of hard-hitting reggaeton bangers like “Hasta El Amanecer,” “X,” and the classic “Travesuras,” the singer-rapper — who arrived donning athletic clothes covered by a fly trench coat — held down the sweltering house for nearly two hours.
Born Nick Rivera Caminero, the half Puerto Rican, half Dominican artist is considered one of the pioneers of reggaeton with over 20 years in the space. The 13-time Latin Billboard Music Award winner is known for his Hot Latin Songs No. 1 hits such as his Enrique Iglesias-assisted “El Perdón,” which topped the chart for 30 weeks in 2015, and “Hasta El Amanecer,” which ruled for 18 weeks. Currently, he’s making the rounds with his first regional Mexican song with Luis R. Conriquez, “Como El Viento.”
Ahead, he’ll star in the upcoming Peacock Original Reggaeton: The Sound that Conquered the World, executive produced by Daddy Yankee. According to a release, the doc will tell the story of “a grassroots music movement that grew from a local sound born in the barrios of Puerto Rico, into a global force heard around the world.”
“All I did was just sit down and talk about the years that I’ve been in the music industry and everything I know about reggaeton, the beginnings and the evolution and everything,” says Nicky Jam. “I just feel like a proud dad, like if I had a little baby and I was trying to make my baby be somebody, and my baby finally is somebody.”
Billboard Español sat down with the reggaeton rockstar at The Glasshouse in New York to discuss his starring role in the genre’s evolution and global takeover, stepping into regional Mexican music and more.
You are a pioneer of reggaeton and still at the forefront of it. How has that journey been, from seeing it in the streets to now being a global sound?
It’s a blessing to be one of the guys that knocked on doors for this genre to exist, and to see where it’s at today. I just feel like a proud dad, like if I had a little baby and I was trying to make my baby be somebody, and my baby finally is somebody. I’m happy that I have made a big contribution to this music industry, and I’m still here today. Young kids respect me, they respect my career, all I’ve been through and all [reggaeton] went through to be where it is today.
I was fascinated by your recent regional Mexican feature with Luis R. Conriquez. What do you think about the rise of regional Mexican music?
I love what they’re doing. I love their music. I connect with their music because it’s kind of like urban music. They come from where we come from. They talk about the same things we talk about. [Luis R. Conriquez] is a very humble guy. I enjoy doing music with him. When I did this song, it was before the phenomena [“un x100to”] with Bad Bunny [and Grupo Frontera] and everything that’s going on with Peso Pluma. I’m just happy for them. It’s something that’s growing. It’s like reggaeton at the beginning, that type of regional music. Regional music has been going on forever, but [now there’s] this new color of it.
It’s nice to see. It makes us learn about Mexican culture more, about that version of Mexico, because we all know different parts of it, telenovelas, their music, boxing… But this is like a whole new Mexico for us.
How was it, vocally, to sing regional?
Well, I’m very melodic, so for me, it’s not hard to get into any type of music because I can sing. Just having a feeling, studying what they do and just putting my vibe to it. The best way you could collab with different types of music is by giving it your own color.
You also have The Rockstar Show, where you’ve interviewed key players in Latin music, including Billboard‘s own, Leila Cobo. What led you to host your own show and what’s in store for its future?
I think it was the pandemic. I needed to work, so I started creating all these things, like with restaurants and hospitality [like La Industria Bakery & Café in Miami]. Apart from that, I wanted to do a show where I interview singers, colleagues and people from the industry. That’s why I came out with The Rockstar Show. We’re coming up with the third part of it, so we’re just happy. We’re starting heavy with a lot of heavy hitters. We have J Balvin, and a couple more.
What else are you working on now?
A new movie coming out with Universal and Westbrook, Will Smith’s company. I’m the main actor in this movie. We’re working on it, but we’re not done. It’s going to be my main act. A new album, two songs coming out soon, and the new chapter of The Rockstar Show.
You’re also set to headline a bunch of international festivals: Sueños, Baja Beach Fest and the Milano Latin Festival in Italy. What do you look forward to the most when you travel to these?
I just enjoy working and singing my songs in front of people. I make people reminisce about the reggaeton from back in the days and what’s going on today. A lot of people can’t go on stage and sing you songs from 20 years back and make you enjoy it like it’s 2001. That’s Nicky Jam.
On another note, you have some of the fliest tattoos in the game. Which was your last tattoo and what does it mean to you?
This one [pointing to a hummingbird on his thigh]. To be honest with you, I like being free, and the bird represents freedom for me. That’s why I did this one. I just love tattoos. I can’t stop. I’m going to keep getting more.
From a musical and commercial perspective, SEVENTEEN’s best-ever chart rankings and sales numbers all feel wholly deserved for their 10th mini album FML.
With 135,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate, the set marks the K-pop group’s biggest sales week, plus a new chart peak of No. 2 on the Billboard 200. (With just 3,000 units separating them from ending Morgan Wallen’s two-month run atop the chart). As the top-selling album of the week, as well as the fourth-largest sales week for all of 2023, SEVENTEEN also notch their fifth No. 1 on Top Album Sales as well as seventh No. 1 on World Albums.
After FML racked up over a reported 4.64 million in pre-orders globally to be the most-ordered album in K-pop history, SEVENTEEN tell Billboard that their latest accomplishments are hardly comprehensible.
“I think [our debut album] 17 CARAT sold 1,400 copies and we were really grateful,” Mingyu reflects. “So, 4.64 million is a number that’s really difficult to grasp. [Laughs] It’s close to 3,000 times how many were sold for our debut album—it’s all very surreal. It makes me think a lot about what we need to do to return this enormous amount of love.”
Throughout FML, the 13-member boy band share with fans—known affectionately as CARATs—how they remain honest about life’s hardships but also offer hope.
“Within our album, we offer two ways of defining the expression ‘FML,’” Joshua explains. “There’s ‘F*ck My Life,’ which is what the acronym usually means, and we also offer ‘Fight for My Life,’ which is what we want the acronym to mean. There are multiple other ways to turn the expression ‘FML’ around to mean something else other than ‘F*ck My Life,’ and that’s what we hope our fans, CARATs, and listeners will also take a stab at after listening to the album.”
Adds Woozi, who wrote on every track on FML and co-produced five songs, “From a macroscopic view, we often only see the good parts, the picturesque parts of everyone’s lives, but there are so many battles that are not visible to the naked eye. Everyone goes through rough times, fiercely fighting to live their lives. We wanted FML to be a reflection of these different layers.”
The guys recognize an uncharacteristically boldness in the group’s two new K-pop singles, “F*ck My Life” and the anthemic, energizing “Super,” the latter of which marked SEVENTEEN’s first Top 40 hits on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US, but say it’s necessary in order to express themselves genuinely.
“These are our honest thoughts without an attempt to dress them up,” Wonwoo shares. “By letting everyone know the things we feel and asking ourselves to fight for our lives, we hope those listening will also gain a bit more energy to do the same together with us. I think it’s a mindset that we all relate to even if the trailer and our song might not look like they offer the most pleasing or comforting set of words.”
Through SEVENTEEN’s hard battle as K-pop underdogs—with twice as many members as most groups—members S.Coups, Mingyu Joshua, Woozi, Woowoo, Jeonghan, Hoshi, Jun, DK, The 8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino rose to the top ranks of the global charts motivated not just by their inherent talent to express themselves creatively as a “self-producing” group but find peace from delighting their supportive fans around the world.
“We always work to make our CARATs proud,” SEVENTEEN’s leader S.Coups says. “And I think they would be the most proud of us now.”
Read on for the exclusive track-by-track breakdown with SEVENTEEN below.
“F*ck My Life”
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
Written by: BUMZU, WOOZI
Composed by: BUMZU, WOOZI
WOOZI: It’s the first time ever that SEVENTEEN is singing a lead single of this tempo, I think. But I don’tthink that it’s any less “SEVENTEEN” than our previous lead singles. We might make different choices each time when it comes to how we express what we think and feel, but at every song’s core, it remains the same that we just present and perform what feels true to us at that point in time.
THE 8: At first, the track might be surprising both sonically and because of its title, but “F*ck My Life,” aswell as “Super,” were just the songs we wanted to share with everyone at this time. We really liked them both so couldn’t single one out to be the lead single either. I think the contrast between the two lead singles makes the album more fun, and actually works to better articulate the overall message of the album.
“Super”
Image Credit: Courtesy of PLEDIS Entertainment
Written by: BUMZU, WOOZI, S.COUPS, VERNON
Composed by: BUMZU, WOOZI, Agust Rigo
WOOZI: Initially, we just had the vague idea of highlighting a strong image of SEVENTEEN through the lead single for this album. Thinking about superheroes for that reason, we started pulling together ideas from the many versions of heroic figures we know of and that eventually turned into “Super.”
MINGYU: I also really like the lines “I love my team, I love my crew!” I think it accurately expresses where our heads are right now.
HOSHI: It’s also the perfect song for a performance—it’s exhilarating when over 200 dancers’ footwork begins to sync up and without even thinking, you just know that your entire crew is acting in unison. It’s a different type of energy, which I hope will be passed onto our audience too!
WOOZI: “Super” is also our answer to the question that follows the first track of the album, “F*ck My Life.” If you ask “So, how is SEVENTEEN fighting for ‘your’ life?” “Super” provides our answer by talking about how SEVENTEEN has fought our way through, for whom and with whose support, all of which also continue to propel us forward.
“Fire”
Written by: BUMZU, MINGYU, S.COUPS, VERNON, WONWOO, WOOZI
Composed by: BUMZU, VERNON, WOOZI
VERNON: “Fire” was a fun song to work on. I threw in the idea of adding in the bells, went on the keyboard and asked [producer] BUMZU if he could make it sound this way. Hopefully it will be a song that gets everyone dancing.
S.COUPS: I’m sure all of the Hip-Hop Unit members have already imagined what it’ll be like to put “Fire” on stage. It’s an addicting sound, one that sort of just hooks you on. It’ll be so much fun to enjoy it with our CARATs at a show, I really can’t wait.
WONWOO: In the midst of the addicting sound, I think the Hip-Hop Unit members’ distinct characters also stand out in each of our verses. It adds a great extent of diversity within the track, and it’s fun because we all sound very different and each have a very different [verse].
“I Don’t Understand But I Luv U”
Written by: BUMZU, DINO, HOSHI, WOOZI
Composed by: BUMZU, WOOZI, Nmore
HOSHI: “I Don’t Understand But I Luv U” is our letter back to the heartwarming and beautiful message from our CARATs. When you’re performing in front of thousands of people that have gathered at that precise moment in time and location just to see you perform, and you feel that pure feeling of joy and love in the air; it’s not a feeling and a sight you can ever forget. That air of affection is not something that can be described in words, as is the connection we have with our fans across the world regardless of the language any of us speak. I hope knowing that brings comfort to everyone listening.
JUN: We recorded this song over multiple sessions, starting with a session before the tour and continuing on after as well. I didn’t realize it at the time, but after touring around all over the world, the music must have hit me differently. BUMZU said I sounded different, that there was a change in how I sing the song.
DINO: We have had the privilege of getting to experience these powerful connections firsthand touring around countries and, because of that privilege, I think we need to try harder to make it known how beautiful these emotional connections are.
JUN: Adding on, we are the Performance Unit after all! We’ve never really set a limit to the type of music we perform. The future of our team lies in performances that sound great, look great and something everyone watching can also become a part of.
“Dust”
Written by: BUMZU, WOOZI
Composed by: BUMZU, WOOZI, Kitae Park
WOOZI: The melody came together first, and I thought that there was a sense of loneliness and longing that came with the sound. Outside the bounds of this song too, I think it’s often the case that we feel a mixture of these sentiments all at once—putting the two together didn’t feel difficult or like a struggle.
JEONGHAN: From our point of view, this track is very classically WOOZI, and has SEVENTEEN written all over it. We’ve been seeing a lot of fan responses that say the song sounds like it could be a soundtrack to a cartoon series, which I agree with! I’m happy to see our fans also enjoying and digging into the song.
“April Shower”
Written by: BUMZU, WOOZI, Kareem James, Softserveboy
Composed by: BUMZU, WOOZI, Kareem James, Softserveboy
DK: Looking back, we also made our debut in May, so the saying “April showers bring May flowers” is something we really resonate with! We wanted our 10th mini album FML to console those listening, even if it’s just a little bit. Everyone has troubles of their own, so whatever it is that you’re going through, we hope you will be able to feel a little better and come to have a little bit of hope that brighter days will come after listening to our album.
DINO: We weren’t originally supposed to say it but since it’s been spoiled already by some of our members… We are planning on another comeback later this year. We hope you’ll join us then too!
IVE arrived on the K-pop scene in November 2020 and quickly became the industry’s next reliable hitmaker with three addictive yet distinctly unique singles: the exotically intriguing pop of “Eleven,” the snappy, runway-ready throbber “Love Dive,” and the Gloria Gaynor–sampling disco update “After Like.” But through the differing sounds, the girl group’s identity connected with K-pop fans thanks to undeniable cohesion and confidence to pull off whatever genre or concept that came next. That spirit stays strong in their first full-length album, the multidimensional I’ve IVE, which sees the K-pop stars to watch taking the next big step of their career alongside a new U.S. label partner in tow.
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Even before IVE’s official debut, anticipation was already high for the six-piece led by Yujin and Wonyoung, two of the most popular members from the sensational-but-temporary girl group IZ*ONE (who earned three entries on the World Albums chart and six on World Digital Song Sales during their two-and-a-half years together), as well as fresh faces in eldest member Gaeul, Japan-born Rei, power vocalist Liz, and youngest member Leeseo. From high kicks off the ground to simultaneously spinning and singing, the group developed under Korean super-label Starship Entertainment stood out for moving equally as one, even with varying degrees of original star power between members.
The same substantial stability comes through in I’ve IVE as the girls previewed their LP with the fun and rowdy chant-a-long buzz track “Kitsch” before dropping the power-pop bomb lead single “I Am.”
Within the LP, IVE is keen to present themselves as whatever kind of girl group the listener may enjoy but with their own added bite of self-assurance. The first listen of the sunny “Not Your Girl” recalls any flirty, feel-good ditty until the lyrics make it clear they’re not staying unless there’s a commitment and intention from the love interest. Plus, the opening track, “Blue Blood,” takes a common belief in South Korea that one’s blood type predicts their personality for IVE to declare themselves pure-hearted and exceptional over a dark, marching beat. Other standouts include the bossa nova influences through a plead for honesty on “Lips,” while “Heroine” is an invocation of self-assurance written by Yujin told through quirky electro-pop production, and “Mine” explains adorable infatuation through angelic harmonies and candy metaphors penned by Wonyoung.
Yujin, Wonyoung, Gaeul and Rei all boast writing credits through the LP that IVE says spotlights their belief in self and one another above any style or sound.
“Power and confidence are, outright, the most key concept,” Wonyoung says during an evening Zoom interview with Billboard. The member most comfortable with English, Wonyoung’s warmness is palpable through the screen as she’s eager to speak about the group’s dreams and her perspectives on fame. As untouchable as IVE appear on stage, there’s an undeniable relatability from sitting down to talk with them. Liz has a hilarious, no-bars-held candidness to her responses. At the same time, Gaeul uses her perspective as the oldest to fill in any missing details from her members and ensures everyone gets due credit, including shouting out their leader’s abilities when Yujin prearranged schedule didn’t allow her to join this chat.
“We are very excited to show such a variety of music styles in IVE’s first album,” Yujin says in a statement to Billboard after the interview. “This album is super meaningful to me as it’s our first full-length album and also because I participated in writing the lyrics for the first time. This album is like a package of different versions of IVE, and it has the unique color of IVE. I hope you look forward to our album and many other plans.”
Learn more about IVE’s colors, plans and more below.
Congratulations on this impressive full album, IVe. What’s everyone’s favorite song on the album?
Wonyoung: Mine is “Mine,” I wrote the lyrics too, so, I love it.
Liz: My favorite song is our title track [single], “I Am.”
Gaeul: I like the song “Hypnosis” because me and Rei wrote the lyrics to it, and it was the most fun to write the lyrics for that song.
Leeseo: “Shine With Me” is my favorite song because Wonyoung wrote the lyrics to it to link us to our fans, DIVE. It’s a message to their fans and the melody is especially very emotional to me.
Rei: “Cherish” because when we first listened to the demo, I could imagine how the members would be able to sing the song. And then once I listened to the completed song, I really loved the way it turned out.
We’re only with the five of you today. Does anyone know Yujin’s favorite song?
Wonyoung: “Heroine” or “Kitsch,” maybe?
As you mentioned, you were very involved in a lot of the songwriting on this album, some of you even the sole lyricist. What are your songwriting processes like?
Wonyoung: At first, I just listen to the song, just to get the feeling and set my mind right, usually at my home or in my room. If I get a certain feeling, I just write the whole song first and then just make little mixes, little changes. I love the process and I really love writing lyrics.
Rei: Once I receive the song, it’ll will have a blank portion without the rap, so I just kind of imagine a story and write lyrics according to that.
IVE has been successful with just three singles, but now it’s a full-length album with many more songs. Why was now the right time to make a studio album with “Kitsch” and “I Am” for singles?
Wonyoung: We’ve always had the desire to show a full album and our full power. For “Love Dive,” “After Like” and “Eleven,” I think we just made steps and strides with little-but-strong energy between us and DIVE. Now, we just thought this is the time to show our full-length and full energy to them. We really prepared a lot for this season and, now, we are ready.
Gaeul: We chose “Kitsch” as the pre-release single because we want to show a side of IVE that we haven’t shown before and kind of break free from the image that we’ve always had as a group. We wanted to challenge ourselves. And I feel like “I Am” is the lead single because our album title is I’ve IVE, and we thought that “I Am,” as a track on its own, would fit the most to the concept of the album.
I’ve heard debates about this but, in your own words, what is IVE’s concept or main message?
Wonyoung: I think the most important concept of us is of self-loving and self-love. But not just for us, we always want to say, “Please love yourself” to all of the listeners too. The power and confidence is, outright, the most key concept for us.
There are great messages in the “Kitsch” video too: The “You’re so weird, don’t change” neon sign. Or your jackets with “Books, not gun. Culture, not violence” patches. Can you talk about other messages you’re embracing?
Wonyoung: Mainly, we wanted to say, not just for us, but that you can change like us and can do everything and anything like us. The main [point] was, it’s not just about us—join us, join our culture and join in on everything. We just wanted to give listeners the power of believing in themselves. If we’re honest, the sentence and mottos were a little in cooperation with our director and the director’s ideas too but we worked on it all together.
I want to also congratulate you because IVE just signed with Columbia Records. What can we look forward to with this partnership?
Wonyoung: We’re really honored for that. First, we are really excited to work with another label and with other places like Columbia. We are, right now, really excited, and we’re really looking forward to that right now. For the start with Columbia, we really want to reach out to global fans all over the world. We are, right now, preparing a lot for our global fans.
Are there any plans you can share right now? Any planned visits to the U.S.?
Wonyoung: First, our “Prom Queens” fan-meeting tour will start with the Asia tour, and, hopefully, in the future, we really want to reach out In America, and everywhere else overseas. And not just for fan concerts, but we really want to visit the world to perform our own concerts. So, just keep cheering for us and hopefully you all can join us soon.
I’ve IVE is your first record eligible for the album charts on Billboard. Do you have any chart dreams?
Wonyoung: Even from our first song, we are really honored to have our name on the Billboard chart and really thankful for that. Hopefully, one day, we really want to visit Billboard in America with the six of us. We will prepare a lot in preparation for that day.
You are all very strong and charismatic personalities on your own but also very cohesive as a team—your choreography is seamless even when you spin and kick. What’s your teamwork secret?
Wonyoung: I think it’s the power of believing in each other; we just have a strong sense of belief between us. I let them do everything they want and they let me do everything I want. I think that makes the best cooperation between us; the belief.
Rei: During dance practices, we’ll use counting to match each other. For a really important part, we’ll stop and repeat that part and keep repeating it so that during the actual performances, we’ll think of the practice in our minds. That’s also how we stay so in sync with each other.
Wonyoung: Dance practices are pretty intense. For a long time, we would make and work on the choreographies every day for six hours or something. I think it’s pretty intense, but we’re always enthusiastic to show our fans and DIVEs the performances so I think that is the motivation for us.
Gaeul: Also, Yujin really helps with the details during dance practices and is willing to teach individual members different parts. She really does her part as the leader of the group.
Similarly, how do you stay well? Fans can see you so busy but may also worry about your physical, emotional, and mental health. How do you stay strong?
Wonyoung: If there’s nothing scheduled for the day, I spend time all by myself, just recovering on the outside and, of course, on the inside. Actually, I love to work out and do a lot of different exercises. On an off day, I’ll concentrate on my inside by listening to music; just hanging out by myself and working out helps me too. It feels like I’m healing myself.
Leeseo: I make sure I’m sleeping a lot, making sure I’m taking my vitamins, and taking care of my body physically.
Liz: I believe that you have to be mentally strong, or internally strong, in order for you to be physically or outwardly strong. For me, I really focus on believing in myself and believing in my decisions.
You do show such strength and confidence in yourselves. Wonyoung, you’ve spoken about this in the past, but what would IVE’s advice be for people needing that extra confidence?
Wonyoung: I want to say, you have more of the good times than tough times. Tough times and bad comments do not take away everything that is good: just believe the good, know you’re a good person, and just concentrate on yourself, your positive relationships and the good times. I think that is the important thing—just don’t mind them.
Liz: I like to just focus on the nice people who are saying good things rather than giving attention to the haters or negativity. I think that you have to be certain in yourself so that you don’t get sidetracked by any hate.
Do you have any other messages? Maybe to the international fans hoping to see you soon?
Gaeul: We’re working really hard to reach our global fans, so I wish they’ll just wait a little bit longer for us.
P!nk has always been a fighter. Whether it’s rising up for women’s reproductive rights or slamming body-shaming trolls on Twitter, the “Just Like Fire” singer is always there to use her platform to speak for the voiceless — a trait, she says, she got from her father.
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“My dad was my first God. He was a fighter, a boxer, a scrapper, street fighter. He never walks away from a good fight,” the star tells Billboard before the Los Angeles No Kid Hungry Dinner on Thursday night (April 27), where she was honored as a National Champion for her longtime work for the No Kid Hungry organization to ensure children across the country have access to food every day.
“He was also military, and we did car washes every weekend and I was marching on Washington at three years old. My stepmom was an army Vietnam nurse. She was partially responsible for erecting the nurses’ monument in Washington, D.C., and my mom’s an ER nurse,” P!nk continued of her “civic minded” family that inspired her from a young age. “Everybody but me was of service. I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I want to be a social worker,’ because I was a pretty messed up kid and my guidance counselor in junior high was the first adult that ever stuck up for me.”
While she didn’t turn out to be a social worker, she found that music was the perfect way for her to create a sense of human connection. “I love to sing and perform, and I figured out a way to make it matter to me and to make it more than just about selling songs,” she adds. “To, me it’s a life of trying to bring service into it, with being as honest as I can be about where I’ve been, what I’ve done, what I think and all my flaws and what I struggle with. So yeah, I think I was born this way.”
Her 10-year childhood hunger fight with No Kid Hungry began after she watched the documentary, A Place at the Table, which displays the harrowing reality of three individuals trying to find adequate nutrition in different parts of the United States.
She was so moved by the documentary, she reached out to Billy Shore, the founder and executive chair of Share Our Strength, which is the parent organization for the No Kid Hungry campaign. The two met for coffee in Venice Beach, Calif., and according to Shore, it took “five minutes” before P!nk was dedicated to the cause. “She’s just so down,” Shore tells Billboard, adding that P!nk has taken part in all types of No Kid Hungry events over the years, and even had a booth setup with info about the campaign throughout her Beautiful Trauma tour.
“My favorite thing about what Billy said to me was that this is a solvable problem,” P!nk recalls of first meeting Shore. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I like solvable problems, because most problems feel completely overwhelming. We look at the world and we’re like, ‘What do we go to first? Is it climate change? Is it racial injustice? Like how do we fix that?’ So for this, they’re actually fixing. I mean, in the last 10 years alone, there are three million more kids getting school breakfast. Their moms have a little bit less to worry about.”
She continued, “That makes me want to cry. As a mom, I’ve got two kids, I would do anything to feed them,” before lovingly looking over at her 11-year-old daughter, Willow Hart, who was sweetly reading a book nearby while sipping on a Shirley Temple. “I’m really happy to have her here with me tonight to be able to see what we do, because she’s finally old enough to really understand something outside of bake sales,” P!nk added.
Later on in the night, both P!nk and Willow were all smiles while celebrating the evening’s honorees at the dinner, which included Chez Panisse founder and food activist Alice Waters; chef and cookbook author Sherry Yard; and popular home furnishings company Williams Sonoma, Inc.
The evening also included a dynamic live auction to support No Kid Hungry, as well as a special dining experience curated by renowned culinary legends Waters, Yard and Mary Sue Milliken in partnership with talented chefs across California.
To wrap up the evening, P!nk accepted her National Champion honor from beloved actor Jeff Bridges (“It’s not every day that Jeff Bridges pats you on the back and says, ‘Job well done,’” the singer tells Billboard with a laugh). She also treated attendees to a stripped-down, acoustic performance of a few of her hits, including “What About Us” and “F—in’ Perfect.”
“When we hit a wall, we knock it down. When there’s no path, we create one. When someone says it’s not possible, we show them how it is,” P!nk powerfully told the crowd of 400 people while accepting her honor, proving once again that she’ll never stop fighting for the causes she believes in.
Got to sing and raise much needed funds to end childhood hunger in this country. 1 in 8 kids in America lives with hunger. Join me and get involved so we can make No Kid Hungry a reality. @nokidhungry📷 Tyler Curtis/ABImages pic.twitter.com/LUGwuNrvbk— P!nk (@Pink) April 28, 2023
In the fall of 2012, Richie Hawtin took to the road in the United States for CNTRL, a college campus tour intended to educate young audiences about the history of dance music. The run included lectures by day — and, naturally, dancing after dark.
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The timing wasn’t accidental. This was the dawn of the EDM era, with big room sounds lighting up mainstages at emerging festivals and mega-clubs around the U.S., pulling in a new generation of dance music fans like moths to a pyro flame.
Hawtin, sensing which way the wind was blowing, organized CNTRL to show nascent dance music fans electronic sounds beyond EDM, with Hawtin serving as a key figure of techno and minimal techno since the Canadian producer first got into the sound in the late ’80s. (His hometown in Windsor, Ontario was, after all, just a short drive from Detroit, the birthplace of techno.)
Over the last decade, Hawtin’s vision of getting the masses into techno worked — in fact, maybe too well. Over the last half decade the sound has thumped out of the underground and onto mainstages, with one strain of it in particular — tech house — becoming the United States’ most trendy and hyped dance music genre of the moment, supplanting EDM.
“It feels like what’s happened is, the sound of techno was actually influenced by that EDM boom,” Hawtin says over Zoom from his elegant home in Berlin. “What’s happening in the scene is really a mixture of techno from the ’90s and EDM sensibilities of big drops and personality-led music. It’s been a huge kind of jumbled-up, even confusing development the last four or five years.”
Once again reading the room, Hawtin decided it was time for another tour intended to educate audiences via the dancefloor. Wrapping earlier this month, this eight-show run — From Our Minds — hit cities in the U.S. and Canada and featured a crew of rising techno producers (“other like-minded weirdos,” Hawtin calls them) who he selected for their skills in making techno with a “faster, ferocious type of tempo and strength, but it’s much more minimal.” (One of the featured artists, Lindsey Herbert, in fact discovered techno while attending a CNTRL set back in 2012.)
Hawtin sees this crew — Herbert, Barbosa, Declan James, Decoder, Henry Brooks, Jay York, Michelle Sparks, with support from Deep Pedi, Huey Mnemonic and Jia — as part of a network of underground producers that gelled during the pandemic. He calls this time “a great incubator for new talent, as it kind of leveled the playing field. Anybody who could plug in a computer and stream or make good set had a better opportunity to reach fans sitting at home, and not going to clubs, and not expecting international tours. I think that was the thing, especially in North America, that helped a new generation of artists come through more than they had in the last couple of years.”
The post-pandemic moment in fact reminded Hawtin of his own early days in the scene — just one more full circle moment inherent in From Our Minds. Here, Hawtin reflects on the tour, and and on techno at large.
Given the prevalence of techno currently in the States, do you feel satisfied with where it’s all at? Are you satisfied with the sound?
Yeah, that’s a good question. “Satisfied” is a good word. I think part of me is satisfied that electronic music and even a form of techno has now really become mainstream. It’s huge. Where you could have said in the past on the big stages that it was a form of trance, or some form of house — now it is definitely a form of techno. And yeah, that satisfies the kid who always wanted to see more people come into the door of techno.
But it doesn’t satisfy my need to feel that I’m part of something which is alternative. Because I don’t think all the music that is played on the bigger stages now is actually made, created or enjoyed by people who feel a little bit different than the masses.
How do you mean?
I was talking to everyone on the tour, and we all kind of got into this music because we didn’t really fit in. We felt like we were the weirdos. I guess I don’t feel as weird as I used to be — maybe I’m pretty normal now — but that was a big part of the attraction, that it wasn’t what everybody else was listening to. So although part of my psyche can accept some satisfaction, part of my of my inner being was very excited and satiated and inspired to go back on tour with other like-minded weirdos playing stripped down, minimalistic music, and playing to crowds that when you looked out, felt like they were a bit of the outcasts and had found themselves on another dirty dance floor.
It’s almost like what you were trying to do with CNTRL, in terms of educating mainstream audiences about the roots of dance music, worked too well, and it’s like, “oh, no — it’s so big now that it’s become mainstream too.”
Yeah. Be careful what you wish for. I’ve thought about that a lot — how the juggernaut of techno grew to this size. I remember certain decisions [I made]; I even I reread a couple of old interviews back from 20, 25 years ago, and things I said or did to actually welcome people into this world. I never wanted it to be just so insular and insider that it became hierarchical.
Electronic music, techno music, the music that started my career and that grabbed me back in the late ’80s, was something very different than what else was going on [then.] It made me feel welcome and invited lots of diversity and introduced me to people I never would have met in any other circumstance. I hope those ideals are still on the dance floors I’m playing to. I think as the music and the scene gets bigger and does welcome all types of people, the bigger it gets, the less that happens and the more homogenous the dance floor becomes.
Why do you think size and growth induces homogenization?
Is there an answer? Can I make one without, like, talking down on someone? I think an open, eclectic, free-forming dance floor needs to be led and/or inhabited by lots of very open-minded people. And I actually think as much as the internet and social media has spread the idea of “let’s all be different,” it’s also spread the idea of “let’s all be the same.” When social media and these platforms are our main source of promotion, and marketing, and letting people know what’s out there — the bigger you get, the more focused it becomes on the image, on the sound, on the personality, on everything else.
The globalization facilitated by social media kind of flatlines things in a way where it all looks the same, regardless of territory.
When you’re thinking about music, and places like Spotify, and this long tail that they speak about, it’s all the weird stuff at the end [of that tail.] And the mass stuff isn’t just like, great pop music — it’s a lot of things that sound the same. It’s the same artists over and over again. I was just talking to a friend of mine about a rather large electronic musician who just had a new album out. I was like, “It just seems like they’ve invited a bunch of other people in to collaborate, just like every other pop album seems to do.” It’s so much the same.
You mentioned house big techno has gotten, but how is it evolving into those weirder spaces that you like?
Really, what I intended to showcase on the tour is the type of music I’ve always loved. It takes cues from what’s happening and from other strains of electronic music right now, which is definitely based upon a much faster, ferocious type of tempo and strength — but it’s much more minimal, which of course, I love. It’s stripped of most vocals and any other kind of sample references, and it’s just hypnotic.
I was talking recently with another artist who’d just done a gig in New York. It was a big warehouse party, but they were playing more of that [hypnotic] style of music and weren’t sure about the reaction, because people weren’t putting their hands up in the air. And nothing against hands in the air — [at] an outside venue or big festival, that makes sense. But in a warehouse where it’s dark and pummeling, I think the best thing you can do is let people lose themselves in music and maybe not react, maybe not look at you. Maybe you shouldn’t be on stage. At all of our events, we had everyone basically on the floor, or maybe one step up, just so people could see their heads.
A set-up that de-emphasizes the artist.
Yeah, it does. I don’t know if we want or need to go back to the the faceless DJ in the corner who never got any actual notice or respect — maybe that would be too far. As part of the tour we brought on a company called Aslice, which allows [artists] to upload [the setlist] after the event, and [people can] donate money to those songs — kind of like a tipping jar — to bring some more money to the producers who are making music, and who are just not making enough through all the different avenues out there, specifically streaming.
I’m part of [the company], and I feel very strongly about that kind of initiative. Because one, the artists and producers need that money, but two, it also reminds us that no matter how good the superstar DJ is at the head of the dance floor, if they’re not playing great music, they’re not gonna go anywhere.
Right. It also de-emphasizes the artist onstage and reminds people that it took a lot of artists to create that set.
This tour is also to remember and celebrate that we’re all wrapped up in music [made by people] who aren’t actually there. That’s a really special situation, where other people’s music is being played, and somebody else is controlling it and that people are losing themselves on music they’ve maybe never heard before or will never hear again. That’s not like 99% of people who go to 99% of the concerts out there, who are hoping to hear and sing along with their favorite song.
It sounds like this tour allowed you to present artists you’re excited about in a format you really believe in.
The the format of the dance floor, the dark warehouse, the simplicity of that, is the foundation of where this whole scene came from. As we said, we can be satisfied that it’s actually [become] so many different things. But if the foundation isn’t kept going, and if the foundation isn’t respected, and if the unseen artists and producers [aren’t respected], then it all starts to unravel. If I’ve played a little bit of a part in helping things grow over the last 30 years, and I also want to be part of making sure that foundation stays strong for the next 30 years.
Last summer, MIRROR made international headlines earlier than they had anticipated.
While most news stories noted how the 12-member boy band was revolutionizing Hong Kong’s music scene with a renewed fandom culture for local Cantonese pop artists, the focus was on the tragic accident at one of their 12 scheduled concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum. During the fourth show on July 28, 2022, a large overhanging video screen hit dancer Moses “Mo” Li Kai-yin head-on while also striking Chang Tsz-fung mid-concert, leaving the former in critical condition and the latter with injuries. The show abruptly ended with the remaining concert dates canceled as Mo Li and Chang recovered. Meanwhile, MIRROR and their team regrouped.
Nine months later, amid starts and stops due to the incident and pandemic-related matters, MIRROR took an unprecedented leap for Hong Kong music by releasing their first English single “Rumours” on March 17. A change from their Cantonese-pop, or Canto-pop, hits like “Warrior” (their 2021 social commentary fighting against dated norms with eight million views on YouTube), “BOSS” (the theatrical, funk-pop summer single), or “We All Are” (a piano ballad that marked the group’s fourth hit on Billboard‘s 13-month-old Hong Kong Songs chart), “Rumours” signals a new era for the group.
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With ages ranging from 34-23, the MIRROR members consisting of Lokman, Anson Lo, Frankie, Stanley, Alton, Edan Lui, Jer, Anson “AK” Kong, Ian, Jeremy, Keung To, and Tiger show confidence and maturity in “Rumours,” a significant step forward since their formation on 2018 TV singing competition show Good Night Show – King Maker.
Spiky, sonorous basslines soundtrack the group’s blend of singing, rapping and group chanting, while the James Bond-inspired music video shows the dazzling dozen donning dapper suits and high-fashion spy gear to pull off a mysterious heist.
The guys have spent their first five years together developing their boy band and individual careers alongside Hong Kong entertainment studio MakerVille, but agree that being together as 12 acts as a “base.” While still mentally and emotionally healing from last year’s accident, MIRROR say “Rumours” is a challenging but special project in partnership with Sony Music Hong Kong to help fuel their ambition to return to slaying the stage.
“We’re idols to these audiences; we have to stand up again,” says the charismatic Stanley, who leans into the camera when he speaks to Billboard over Zoom. The 32-year-old singer-dancer leads most of the interview alongside giggly, bubbly Anson Lo, 27, and Edan Lui, 25, to his right. “That’s what we should do.”
“We have a lot of people supporting us,” adds singer-actor Edan Lui, who listens and answers thoughtfully with pauses to find the right, and typically emotional, responses. “We can only say we’re ready to go to work and go on stage again.” Read more with MIRROR for reflections on the past nine months, their next chapter, plus song recommendations for new fans from each member.
To understand your background a little more, what are the characteristics of Canto-pop and how does MIRROR represent that?
Edan Lui: Canto-pop was very popular in the ’80s and ’90s, and the images around Canto-pop have traditionally been more for ballads and slow-paced songs; not really energetic or fast-paced songs. The lyrics have always been very meaningful and Hong Kong people can look into the lyrics deeply, which I think is one of the most unique characteristics of Canto-pop.
Anson Lo: But over the years, I think Canto-pop music has grown so much and I think there’s no difference between countries or languages in music. There are a lot of genres in Canto-pop as well, no different than in countries like Korea, the U.S. or Australia. There are different types of songs we can try or continue trying like we have for almost five years.
Stanley: Yeah, for sure. K-pop has taken over the markets for the past decade, but I do think Cantonese represents a different kind of style of music, especially in Asia. There are a lot of people who want to listen to music with Cantonese lyrics so there are multiple markets.
Paint a picture of the Canto-pop music scene in Hong Kong today. You were created on the singing competition Good Night Show – King Maker. Are there a lot of bands from reality shows?
Lui: There are many newcomers in the Canto-pop industry that come from our show, King Maker. We’re from King Maker One [the first season], there is II, III, IV, and V is coming. We’re just very happy to see that most of the new-artist award winners at many award ceremonies are coming from that show. It makes us feel like a family. It seems like these shows are producing all kinds of talents to contribute to the Canto-pop industry, so we feel really proud.
While you’ve been rising internationally, you had a tragic moment that had a lot of attention with the concert accident. In your own words, I’d like to give the opportunity for you to share what happened and your feelings on the incident.
Stanley: I would say, of course, it was a big accident. But this accident taught me how to treasure everything: Our job, friends, and opportunities to perform on stage. It influenced us so much for sure. We had to deal with our emotions—mentally, emotionally—so, it’s sad for sure. But we try our best to overcome all these kinds of feelings.
Lui: It was a big tragedy. No one wanted it to happen, no one could foresee it happening, and no one could really understand why it even happened. It was a really hard time for us, our dancers, and all Hong Kong citizens. We learned a lot from it, but we hope to learn lessons and try our best to treasure everything, contribute more to society and help more people. We hope our work and performances can bring back more positive energy and joy to our audiences again.
How are Moses and Chang Tsz-fung doing? Do you keep up with them?
Stanley: Moses’ parents share updates on Moses’ situation, so we’re not the best to give that update, but we’re in contact with them. I think they’re doing fine, everything’s going smoothly, and they are getting better.
I’m glad to hear that. Sometimes these situations can be very tough on the artist whose concert they’re at because they may feel responsible. So, how are you doing emotionally and mentally?
Lui: Different people have different ways of trying to get through it. For us, time is probably the best way to heal. But we also have our team mates, band mates, fans, and company. We have a lot of people supporting us. We can’t say we are fully recovered or even that we are “okay” after what happened—we don’t know—we can only say we’re ready to go to work and go on stage again.
Stanley: So many people are looking out for us; we’re idols to these audiences. We have to stand up again. We have to keep focusing on our work and bringing many great performances to our audiences. That’s what we should do.
As you somewhat close that chapter, you’re starting an exciting chapter with the release of “Rumors.” What does it represent in MIRROR’s story?
Lo: Simply, it’s talking to a girl and telling her, “If you ever heard a rumor that we’re cheating on you, liking you or approaching you.” It’s a very straightforward message. But it’s a very special project because it’s a dream come true for us to record a song in full English. The choreography is also very special because it’s, by far, the most complicated routine in our dance history. I think our fans have been really surprised by that.
Stanley: It’s a big challenge for us since the song is in English. We had to sing with different pronunciations and enunciations so we invited our producer Andrew…
Lui: Andrew’s actually our English teacher! He joined every session of our recording because we recorded one by one. Every session is, like, four hours so he’s really, really busy. He talked to us about pronunciation but also how to sing the song beautifully in English. But he’s really encouraging, supporting us, saying things like, “Oh, you did great, you sang well, keep going!” That’s why we can say we’re confident that it’s good. [Laughs]
Stanley: The lyrics are quite intimate and sexy—it’s not really similar to most Cantonese lyrics. So that’s a big challenge for us too.
It’s your first all-English song and you’re making some substantial changes. Why was it important to release an English song now?
Lui: We’re expecting to approach a broader range of audiences—like, maybe, the U.S.—and also we would like to meet our fans outside Hong Kong. I think releasing a full English song could get us far—hopefully! [Laughs] We’re looking forward to performing this song on stage for all the fans throughout the whole world so I think we’re pretty excited about that.
Stanley: Yeah, it’s a good step for the next chapter. We really want to promote Canto-pop to a worldwide audience, I think this English song is like a key to open the door for the audience to learn more Cantonese music.
“Rumours” kicks off alongside a new partnership with Sony Music Hong Kong. How is that so far?
Lo: We have yet to met a lot of people in the Sony Music company in person, but we’ve been putting a lot of input into the music, song arrangement, and music video so we’ve had quite good communication online and through our company.
Stanley: Due to the pandemic and the accident, so many projects have been put on hold. That’s why we’re starting over again, but I think we’ll have more opportunities now working with Sony Music.
Lo: It’s been like a dream and our honor to be working with Sony Music because they’ve helped us through a lot of things and, in a lot of ways, allow us to reach a wider audience, especially in the U.S., so we’re really grateful for that.
MIRROR is so solid as a group, but you’re also individually releasing solo music, acting, earning huge numbers on your individual social media accounts. How do your outside activities help MIRROR?
Lui: I think that is the special part about MIRROR—some of us are good at acting, some of us are good at singing, at dancing, in variety shows. Different members have different ways of pursuing their dreams. So, we have different [roles] when we’re solo, but it’s special that whoever is having solo success brings good things to MIRROR because MIRROR is our base. I think we have a good balance of group and solo [work]. People love us for us, and individually.
Lo: There will be dramas, movie shootings or solo singles, but being back in the group with 12 people, we shine even stronger and brighter. Together as 12 people, there’s a lot more energy; that’s more powerful for the audience and the performance. Being with the group really is a big part of being on stage.
Since “Rumours” may be the first time some audiences meet MIRROR, can each member share a MIRROR song to recommend?
Tiger: I would recommend the song “IGNITED,” it’s got quite an old-school sound but it’s my favorite of all MIRROR songs.
Anson “AK” Kong: Me too. [Group laughs]
Frankie: I would recommend “12,” it’s a Christmas song and that’s hard to find in Canto-pop because Canto-pop releases a smaller amount of Christmas music. But this song is really warm and about being together.
Lokman: For me, “IGNITED” too! Very funky, very groovy; I really like it.
Jer: I would recommend “Rumours.” [Group cheers] It’s such a high-energy song and it represents us as very sexy. [Laughs]
Jeremy: “BOSS” because I think it’s very energetic for us so it always makes me feel very happy and very strong.
Ian: I think “IGNITED” as well because it shows us a little bit differently than the other songs we have. And it’s actually quite unique in Canto-pop songs because we have this funky dance style so that’s pretty fun to present.
Alton: I have two ideas in my mind. “IGNITED” because I do love the funk style and, personally, I love funk music. But it depends on the mood of the day. If I’m going to a party, “IGNITED,” but if I’m going to a theme park, I’d recommend “BOSS” because the music video was shot in a theme park and is perfect for the family.
Stanley: For me, it’s “Rumours” because we put so much effort into it, so I hope listeners love it.
Lui: I also recommend “Rumors ” because I like the chorus; it’s refreshing. I also like the choreography, it’s really cool. We really put so much time and effort into this choreography so I feel like the performance of “Rumours” will be, maybe, the best we’ve ever done.
Lo: I’ll recommend “BOSS” because I think it’s, by far, the funniest music video we’ve had so far. It’s like a musical and we play different characters; it’s like a Broadway-type of vibe. When we released it, I think our fans were very surprised but also very pleased to see us in that funny way. So, I think it’s a really good experience to get to know the 12 of us.
Keung To: There isn’t really a proper English name for our first song [“一秒間”]… “In a Second”?
Lo: “During One Second”? [Laughs] Our debut song!
Keung To: Yes, our debut song! It was so important for us because it was our first song and our first time releasing as a group. It told everyone, “We’re coming.”
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J. Cole keeps a healthy distance between his adoring fanbase and his personal life, so the rare chances to get a deeper glimpse into his life are a welcome moment. In a new interview, the Dreamville Records honcho shared details about his life few knew such as getting caught smoking cigarettes as a boy, his love of basketball, and more.
J. Cole sat down with ESPN’s Lead By Example with Bob Myers, hosted by Golden State Warriors GM, Bob Myers. As one of the top executives in professional sports, Myers’ program might not seem like a likely spot for J. Cole but the interview was wide-ranging, revealing, and full of heart.
Early in the chat, the North Carolina artist born Jermaine Cole shared a story of how he was sneaking around at the age of 6 with friends and got into a pack of cigarettes. While Cole was trying to embody the cool of his older neighborhood pals, his older brother didn’t approve of his actions and told their mother.
Cole went on to say that the moment changed his life and that he learned how to model better behavior and began correcting himself whenever he strayed off his path. In a bid to not disappoint others, Cole says be became a “self-corrector.”
Later in the chat, Cole talks about being passed over at the Grammys in earlier parts of his life, his creative process, and much more.
Check out the discussion between J. Cole and Bob Myers below.
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Photo: Getty
Chvrches has never been prone to releasing one-off singles that aren’t tethered to either a larger project or is a collaboration with another artist. Yet the long-running Scottish trio is kicking off their 2023 with “Over,” a behemoth of a synth-pop track due out on Friday (Feb. 24) that represents a new chapter for Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty — who celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut album this year, and are using the new single to launch their recent major-label deal.
“Something that’s come up recently, that I thought was a nice way to frame this, is that we signed new record deals, and there’s kind of a new lease on life for the band,” Doherty tells Billboard. “It’s a chance for us to work within a new paradigm.”
“Over” dates back to 2017, a product of a few nights in which Doherty and producer-songwriter Oscar Holter would hang out and write a few demos together. “That was before he went on the craziest run ever,” Doherty says, referencing Holter’s work on smashes like The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears” and Coldplay & BTS’s “My Universe” in the years that followed. “We were working on some stuff just for fun.”
The demo floated in the ether for a few years: the band knew “Over” could be a big song for them, but it didn’t fit on a project like 2021’s Screen Violence, which the trio wanted to write and produce completely on their own. At the end of 2022, the band reconnected with Holter, who wanted to revisit “Over” and help flesh it out into a proper Chvrches song.
The trio and Holter punched up the track and “got it to a point where everyone was happy with it,” explains Doherty, “and where it felt like somewhere that Chvrches could be going, potentially — that isn’t to say that’s where we’re going, but something that felt 2023, and not like something that’s been kicking around for a few years.”
In its newly finished form, “Over” is gargantuan, a more muscular version of Chvrches’ synth-rock sound with a classic Mayberry hook designed for expansive festival crowds. As Mayberry’s voice pleads for understanding and romantic comfort, the synth chords are smashed, lonely guitar riffs wander around and the percussion recalls a classic Jam & Lewis beat; the song has a gusto like it were made without album-track expectation or any of its limitations.
“There’s something incredibly freeing and no-strings about thinking outside of a long-form narrative, for the first time in 10 years,” says Doherty. “It’s quite liberating, and quite fun.”
After rising to fame and releasing their first four studio albums with Glassnote Records, Chvrches signed a new deal with Island Records in North American and EMI in the U.K. last year. Mayberry says that the label jump was the product of an amicable split at a time when the prospect of a new direction was appealing. “We’ve always been really lucky to have great partners with what we were doing,” she says. “Making some of the changes was quite emotional … But we’re really excited by what Island and EMI were bringing to the table.
“I don’t know if we’ve necessarily benefited from the kind of old-school approach — getting songs on the radio, et cetera,” Mayberry continues. “I don’t think that blueprint works for us. And a lot of that is based on — alternative radio in America is all f—king men! It’s all men! And there was a time, at the beginning of the band especially, where there was a narrative of, ‘Oh, we’ve just playlisted [another] band with a female vocalist,’ even if they sounded completely different than us. So it was really exciting to talk to people who viewed it more holistically, like, ‘Where are Chvrches fans, and how can we get things to them?’”
After touring behind Screen Violence over the past two years, Chvrches will head to Brazil in March for a string of dates supporting Coldplay on their global stadium tour, and Mayberry cryptically adds that “there’s another batch of shows that are coming, at some point.” When asked how much writing and recording they expect to get done this year, Mayberry admits that the band isn’t sure.
“Whatever we make next, we have to take the time on it,” she says. “It has to move the conversation forward in some way.”
“It’s an incredibly rare and privileged position after such a long period of time,” adds Cook, nodding to the decade-long run of the band since their 2013 debut, The Bones of What You Believe. “We don’t really have any kind of ceiling on things, or know this is how long this is gonna go on for. We’re just taking things as they come in, and as long as we’re enjoying it, we’ll keep doing it.”
The Project
GLOW, out Friday (Feb. 17) via Secretly Canadian/EEVILTWINN
The Origin
Wesley Joseph’s introduction to music occurred through his father, who was in a soul band when his son was born. Growing up just outside of Birmingham, England in Walsall, Joseph (real name Joseph Wesley Ripollés-Williams) remembers hearing music 24/7 around his house. It wasn’t until he saw an early video of Mac Miller rapping into a USB microphone that he realized he could make music from his bedroom, too.
When he was a teenager, Joseph bought his own microphone and used GarageBand to make what he describes now as “really bad rap songs.” After setting higher expectations for himself, Joseph improved on his DIY approach and sharpened his production skills so that he could ultimately make music his way and create a sonic world where he wouldn’t be boxed in.
In 2020, Joseph released his first song, titled “Imaginary Friends.” A year later, he dropped his first EP, Ultramarine, a project that he says shows everything he’s capable of in one, brief moment.
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The Sound
Joseph, now 26, is adamant about not being defined as just a rapper. “Ultimately, [rapping] is third, or fourth even, on the list of things I do when I make music,” he says. “I’m creative-directing everything, I’m producing, I’m singing, there’s so much going on.”
Ultramarine and GLOW are both testaments to his holistic approach to his art. The latter’s first single, “Cold Summer,” starts with an eerie string and piano intro before erupting into a hip-hop-infused beat with Joseph rapping and singing. The project also includes songs like “Sugar Dive,” a dance-influenced record with Joseph flexing his falsetto, and the alt-R&B closer “Light Light.”
While Joseph can’t quite pinpoint his sonic inspirations, he knows that his fondness and use of harmonies, melodies, bridges and chord progressions stem from the American soul music he grew up on. “The weird algorithmic makeup of my musical DNA that makes a bridge happen is probably because I grew up on soul music from America,” he says.
Joseph also has a visual background — he moved to London in 2016 to study filmmaking in university — which explains his cinematic approach to his music videos. In 2020, he released Pandomony, a seven-minute short film which he wrote, directed and scored himself.
The Record
The eight-song GLOW is an evolution of Joseph: he continues his growth by leading with his emotions. “Ultramarine gave me confidence. If that’s me as a baby, then GLOW is me going into school,” he says. For Joseph, GLOW represents the contrast between his euphoric highs and harsh realities. The project is therapeutic for Joseph, as he’s used it to embrace his fears and work through growing pains. “The feeling the record gives is almost like a warm glow in the darkness,” he explains.
The first half of the record — “Glow,” “Monsoon,” “Sugar Dive,” and “I Just Know Highs” — represents light, and the project then shifts to darkness with songs “Cold Summer,” “25,” “Hiatus,” and “Light Light.” Following Ultramarine, Joseph was still in a somber place, which led him to making the dark half first — yet he ultimately decided that having the project transition from light to dark made the most sense. “When you listen to it on loop, it’s a journey,” he says. “When you start it from the top again, it’s like being reborn, and just going through all of the contrasts of life.”
The Breakthrough
Early last year, Joseph signed with indie record label Secretly Canadian. “They understood exactly what I wanted and who I wanted to be, and are completely [facilitating] all of the things that I want to do, in the way that I want to do them,” he says. “I’ve always kind of seen myself as someone who did his own thing, and I felt like they saw the value in my potential.”
The Future
At the end of April, Joseph will embark on his first North American tour, performing in L.A., Brooklyn and Toronto. He is also working on his debut album, which he says is in only in the beginning stages and “definitely not” arriving this year.
Wesley Joseph
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“Currently, my Prophet 6. It’s a really beautiful, old, analog synth. You can make the most unique-sounding sounds with it.”
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“Industry plants are real. I thought that was a conspiracy theory.”
The Artist You Believe Deserves More Attention“I’ve been listening to quite a little bit of Cleo Sol lately. I think she’s so talented. She’s got an amazing collective of sounds and [she’s] a really great songwriter. Little Simz as well. She’s definitely getting her flowers which is really good to see. I would say Sampha too, I think he’s one of the best artists ever.”
Kimbra is very aware of how big things became.
“Let’s be honest: me and Gotye’s names kind of became household names for a period of time,” the New Zealand-bred, New York City-based singer-songwriter reflects after catapulting to unlikely superstardom with their Hot 100-topping, Grammy-winning 2012 smash “Somebody I Used to Know. The duet went on to become one of the longest-charting hits in Hot 100 history, and remains one of the best-selling digital singles ever.
Over a decade later, however, Kimbra now finds herself picking up the pieces from a particularly turbulent period of her life since her last studio album, 2018’s Primal Heart. The title of her new album — A Reckoning, which was released last month — came to her before the songs did, as a perfect summation of what happened to her following a personal loss, the end of a relationship and a deal dissolution with longtime label home Warner Records, all amidst the pandemic.
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A Reckoning is the result of choosing to turn inward and confronting her own emotions and thought patterns head-on. Co-crafted with Son Lux’s Ryan Lott, with features from Erick the Architect, Pink Siifu and Tommy Raps, the honest, genre-blending body of work twists aggressive beats, R&B-influenced melodies and shape-shifting organic sounds around vulnerable confessions, prayers and empowering declarations. “Replay!” is an ode to compulsive thoughts partially inspired by Kelis’ vocal delivery on “Caught Out There,” while “Foolish Thinking” is a moving piano ballad composed as a letter to her future daughter.
“We love people going through the rough, and then emerging to tell us what the war was like,” she says. With a renewed confidence in herself as a storyteller and in her purpose as an artist, Kimbra is ready to share what she calls a “redemption story.”
It’s been a while since 2018’s Primal Heart. What’s happened since?
We’ve all been through so much. The Primal Heart campaign came to an end, and I began to think about what I want to say next. I went through a stage of really struggling to write. Maybe it was because I was struggling to articulate what I was feeling. I hadn’t landed on something that felt honest. I don’t want to sell people something I don’t really believe.
I wrote “Save Me” in 2020 as things were really collapsing. My relationship at the time was coming to an obvious end as well. I was breaking up with my label. My team was changing. I moved upstate. I lost my best friend out of nowhere back in New Zealand. Some real lows.
I think, sometimes, our greatest breakthroughs happen at rock bottom. “Save Me” was a bit of a breakthrough – that feeling of hopelessness and being stuck with yourself. I struggle with a lot of anxiety and difficult thoughts. If I hold them in, it gets dangerous. I named something in me that I needed to get out. That’s where A Reckoning began. I had titled it before I even had all the songs.
Did the thought ever come that music wasn’t going to be the space for you anymore?
No, and that’s the biggest fear of all: that music won’t save me, and I won’t be able to get out what I want to say. When you keep turning up and believing that there’s something there, it comes through. It took other people — like Ryan Lott, the co-producer — to help identify what the sounds were going to be to tell the story. It’s an act of faith to make an album. You can turn a s—t sandwich into a beautiful liberation. [laughs]
Was there a sonic mood you were striving for?
I think the cohesion in my work is often the storyteller at the center, the voice that leads you through these different worlds. There’s a juxtaposition in the aggression of certain sounds against something very soft and tender, which is really me in a nutshell. I have all these conflicting things that live within me. My art is an attempt to translate my inner world to be understood, like all of us. The sonic identity is ever-changing, because I’m ever-changing.
When you talk about longing to be understood, does that extend to your former label?
Yeah. They wanted to extend my deal. It was already at six albums. They wanted to go to eight. They wanted to pick the producer. I can’t work that way. I need to have the agency in my work to put the right people in place to tell the story. I don’t do this to just sell a product. It’s my life.
It was a rock to my confidence. That’s another kind of reckoning: How bad do you want it? Are you gonna fight to get your music out there, form the right team, and keep turning up when you don’t have also someone breathing down your neck saying, “When’s the record done?” Now you have to motivate yourself.
How did you assemble a team of collaborators on your own?
I met Ryan doing a co-headlining tour with Son Lux. He has such a strange sound world to his music. I bring these catchy melodies – an almost R&B thing. That was an intriguing combination. I often bring people in when I’m struggling to finish a song, or there’s something not quite right. Bringing rappers on to jump on songs, or bringing Questlove in to help the rhythm section of the track — who’s doing this in their own work that could throw another color into the canvas? I’m hunting for the moment when I go, “Ah, that captures something I haven’t yet said.”
“Gun” was written in a Rihanna writing camp. Are you writing for others often?
I’ve done a little bit, not a ton. The whole place was dedicated to writing, every person in the studio. Her vocal coach would come through and guide me on how to perform the demo as her. I’m trying to embody the strength I see in Rihanna.
I’m just a kid from New Zealand. I still can’t believe I have a billboard up in Times Square. I look at a lot of the pop stars as being a lot more strong and badass than I am.
Fake it ’til you make it.
Exactly. And that’s what I did for that song. I don’t feel like I’m the s—t right now, but I’m gonna sing “I’m the s—t, so shout my name,” because I know Rihanna would say that and sell that.
There’s a certain kind of oppression that happens to artists, where you start to believe that you are a product of the people. I had to confront the fact that a lot of people I trusted had broken that trust. It’s about building yourself back up again and realizing there’s this inner strength that deserves to be spoken out loud. I just needed to wait until I was at the time of my life where I could sing a song I wrote for Rihanna. I think it was meant to be mine all along.
Can you talk about the collaborative doors that opened after “Somebody I Used to Know”?
I mean, let’s be honest: me and Gotye’s names kind of became household names for a period of time. There was a lot of respect that came from that song. When I would reach out to my favorite guitarist, they would know my name and have an interest in working together. And it wasn’t just, “Oh, you’re that girl with the random, massive song.” It was, “You made something that I really felt.” What a blessing that I got to penetrate the hearts of millions of people all over the world.
Are there sessions that didn’t see light of day that you wish had?
Yeah, there are songs lying around with various people. I just don’t know whether to name them, because it might still come out. The mysterious thing about music is you make things, and they may not reemerge for another 10 years. That’s another act of faith, to just keep making things, regardless of what timeline they’re on.
Are there plans for a musical reunion with Gotye?
Gotye has been working very hard on music. I’m sure he’ll come out the cave at some point to talk about it. It is not my place to talk on that, unfortunately. I’ll leave that up to him. But, let me tell you… anything is possible in this world. [laughs]
Do you retreat from popular music when you’re making music?
That’s a good question. I do take intentional breaks. Maybe just instrumental music for a while. I think constantly listening to vocals is a lot of stimulus for a vocalist. If you listen to SZA all the time, you might be writing a lot like SZA. Sometimes I will just listen to Philip Glass records or something, so I can work out what is my most genuine melodic perspective right now.
I’m really inspired by artists that are very ambitious in their records. I think Kendrick Lamar is one of those artists. He takes on a spirit of jazz that I think is very important — being able to jump around a lot, but have a very clear message and vision. He knows why he’s here and what he’s doing. It’s aggressive, it’s tough, but he can really speak truth to a lot of things in the world, in a very prophet-like way. Frank Ocean has been one of those groundbreaking songwriters in the last 10 years that I still go back to, with some of the most timeless songs.
Do you feel you still grapple with imposter syndrome?
Totally. I have that mentality still of being a young kid, insecure in high school. The only way I try to combat that is to remember that everyone feels that to a certain extent. You got to accept that you never really feel, at any point of your career, that you’re deserving of that place, or that you’ve done enough work to get there. It’s trusting something I’ve done connects with the world. It’s bigger than me.
I try to be humble about that. If they believe I am this person that’s really helped them through it, then let me turn up to that. Even though I feel s—tty today, that’s the service of the work.
What is your approach to feedback about your music online?
More and more, I’ve realized that anytime you take a risk and try to do something slightly daring, there will be people who don’t like it. There are people who like you to stay small, especially with women. Sometimes when I receive negative feedback, I almost take it as an affirmation that what I’m doing is pushing into something new. It makes sense that someone hates that version I did of a Beyoncé song, or something. Don’t get me wrong: it can really deflate me when I get something negative. People can be very cruel. But f—k, it’s just part of it, man. Every job has its thing that you have to be able to armor against.
So many artists who have come before me have experienced people not giving a s—t when their records came out. They were reviewed terribly. And then years later, they’re heralded as absolutely game-changing. People’s perception of you is always going to be changing. You’re not in control of that. At least there’s a reaction! Better than people kind of being like… eh.
You mentioned covering Beyoncé – you recently took on “Break My Soul.”
I’m always looking to find a new angle on something. I love the dissection process of a song that we all know really well. It comes back to wanting to have fun with music. If I’m always thinking about what other people want to hear, it’s not very fun. But if I’m loving it, then chances are someone else is probably going to feel that same way.
You have a Soundfly vocal arrangement and production class. What are your thoughts on the amount of female engineers in the studio? Has there been a shift?
I’ve seen the conversation change most among men. That’s where it’s important. Women have always been talking about this, but if we’re not being heard or respected by the people that have the power, nothing changes. It’s the same with the #MeToo movement. What we really needed was men to be in the conversation, rather than just being outside of it. I’ve seen a shift there.
There’s a musicality that comes from women in production and technical roles that is different. The feminine in all of us is very healing. We’ve been living in a patriarchy for so long. I think people are sensing we need a shift. It starts with conversations. If more people talk about it, we’re going to be more open to our cultural settings changing as well.
As the dust settles after releasing this record, what goals do you have, personally and professionally?
I really want to take this music to people one-on-one, and lift people up after all this s—t we’ve been through. I’m excited for that.
I’ve written more music in the last five years than I think have in my f—king entire career. I have more bodies of work that I’m currently working on: one is highly collaborative, and one is super dance floor with BRUX, the producer who did “Replay!” We started writing a lot of celebratory, anthemic dance tracks. I’m working on a lot of very heavily leaning R&B stuff. And then I want to make a very organic band record.
As I approach thinking about motherhood in the future, it would be cool to get as much out in this time of my life so I can take a break for a bit.
Personally, I’m always on a journey to keep healing. I make music so that I can better myself, and to be a more empathetic person in the world. That’s always my hope, through the vehicle of music, that I’m growing as a person, and hopefully helping people.
