News Analysis India

Tag: music

  • Game of Thrones  actor Lena Headey set to make her directorial debut

    By Express News Service

    Lena Headey, known for starring in Game of Thrones and 300, is set to make her feature directorial debut with a psychological thriller titled Violet.

    The film is based on the successful recent novel by SJI Holliday. It follows two solo female travelers who immediately hit it off and decide to team up for the next leg of their adventure. As the journey continues things start to unravel because neither of the women is who they claim to be. Lena Headey earlier directed the BAFTA-nominated short film, The Trap. 

    She also directed her GoT co-star Maisie Williams in a music video for singer Freya Ridings. The production of Violet is slated to start in October. 

  • Miranda Lambert announces new album ‘Palomino’

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert is soon going to treat her fans with new music. The country music star recently announced her new album titled ‘Palomino’. The singer’s upcoming album is set to release on April 29 this year. Lambert took to her Instagram account to share the update with her fans and followers.

    She wrote, “New Album ‘Palomino’ out April 29. This record takes you on a journey through songs. I hope y’all are ready to travel with us wandering spirits and meet some cool characters with great stories. “Strange” is out now. Listen & preorder / presave / preadd at the link in my bio.”

    The 38-year-old singer paired the announcement with the release of the new track ‘Strange’, as well as an accompanying video. Talking about the new song ‘Strange’, she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that it was written with Hemby and Dick at her farm in 2020, reported People magazine.

    “We were talking about all the strangeness going on in the world at the time,” she said. She added, “So we kind of wrote it towards addressing some heavy things, but mostly we want people to take away from this song to be lighter on their feet and take a breath and play a song and do a dance and maybe fly somewhere fun, just kind of escape from a reality that isn’t too good.”

    The 15-track album includes a cover of Mick Jagger’s ‘Wandering Spirit’, as well as a collaboration with the B-52s called ‘Music City Queen’. The lyrical content will explore “the world and the people in it, seeking beauty and adventure all around”. “The making of this record has been one of the most fun and creative experiences of my career,” the singer said in a statement, reported People magazine.

    “Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby and I went out to my farm in Tennessee in 2020 and started writing songs. We figured while we have time, let’s go out to the country and see what happens. The first one we wrote was ‘Tourist’ and that set us on a path to create something with a bit of a theme. Since we couldn’t travel at the time, we decided to go on a journey through songs. I hope y’all are ready to travel with us wandering spirits and meet some cool characters with great stories,” she added.

    The Grammy-winning singer released the collaborative album ‘The Marfa Tapes’ last year with Jon Randall and Jack Ingram, but ‘Palomino’ is her first solo album since ‘Wildcard’, which had released in 2019. Apart from a new album, the singer will be also be touring. Lambert’s The Bandwagon Tour, a co-headlining run with Little Big Town, will kick off in May.

  • ‘You Give Me Something’ singer James Morrison struggles to write music during tough times in life

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: ‘You Give Me Something’ singer James Morrison reveals he finds it tough to write music during difficult periods of his life. He told the Metro newspaper’s Guilty Pleasures column: “If I’ve got really stuff going on, it’s not like I can write a song that day and it’s going to help me. The love of music has always been there and, as soon as I stay away from my guitar or the singing for too long, it claws me back.”It’s never gone but sometimes it’s turned down. Going through a lot of s*** with my youngest girl, and having to put my career on the back burner for a little bit, just allowed me to have perspective.”The 37-year-old singer lost his dad a decade ago, and he admitted it might him reassess his priorities, reports femalefirst.com. He said: “I was only on my second or third album at that point, and so all my career recognition that I thought was super-important to me, it turned out it wasn’t as important as my family.” Now, Morrison, who also has 13-year-old daughter Elsie with his wife Gill, is “in a good place” as he tries to strike a “balance”.He added: “I’m still trying to get the balance right. The last few years, I’ve gone through some soul-searching and I’ve come out the other side feeling quite solid and grounded as an artist.”

  • Rihanna: You will still get music from me

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Singing sensation Rihanna has said her pregnancy and impending motherhood won’t stop her from releasing new music.She told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: “Well, yes ,You’re still going to get music from me.”When jokingly asked if she will release lullabies, she laughed: “Oh my goodness, not a lullaby. My fans would kill me that they waited this long for a lullaby!”In December, the ‘Talk That Talk’ singer promised new music is coming “soon, soon, soon”, reports femalefirst.co.uk. In an exchange with a paparazzi, who asked: “Any new music? Anything?”, she replied: “Soon soon soon.” Rihanna previously promised her new album will be ‘worth the wait’, while she has teased fans can expect a “completely different sound”.The ‘Rude Boy’ hitmaker said she is “always” working on her music and despite fans’ pleas for her to share her latest material, she wants to wait until she’s completely satisfied.She said: “I’m always working on new music. Just because I haven’t released an album in a few years doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on it. I’m not just going to put music out because people are craving it. I’m going to make it worth the wait – and it will be worth the wait.” The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker released her debut studio album ‘Music of the Sun’ in 2005.

  • Celebrities defend Taylor Swift after Damon Albarn’s songwriting comments

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: After Taylor Swift slammed Damon Albarn for his comments in which he claimed that she “doesn’t write her own songs,” several celebrities have come to Swift’s defence on social media.

    As per Billboard, in his recent interview, Albarn implied that modern artists are relying on “the sound and the attitude” of their music for popularity. When the writer Mikael Wood suggested that Swift doesn’t fit that narrative, as she’s an “excellent songwriter,” Albarn disagreed, saying, “She doesn’t write her own songs.”

    To support Swift, her ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, were quick to jump on Twitter to comment on how they’re the ones who have actually seen Swift’s songwriting process firsthand — not Albarn.

    “i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb,” Antonoff tweeted.

    i’ve never met damon albarn and he’s never been to my studio but apparently he knows more than the rest of us about all those songs taylor writes and brings in. herb.
    — jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) January 24, 2022
    “Not sure why you @Damonalbarn would try to discredit Taylor’s brilliant songwriting but as someone who has gotten to press record around her …” Dessner mirrored. “Your statements couldn’t be further from the truth…you’re obviously completely clueless as to her actual writing and work process.”

    Singer-songwriter Maisie Peters wrote, “taylor swift could write song 2 but damon albarn could never write all too well 10 minute version.”

    Even the Empire State Building’s official account shared words of support for the 11-time Grammy winner.

    After retweeting Swift’s comments, they wrote, “No one does it better than you.”

    These tweets came after Swift herself responded to Albarn, tweeting, “I write ALL of my own songs,” she wrote. “Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really f–ed up to try and discredit my writing. WOW.”

    @DamonAlbarn I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging. You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really fucked up to try and discredit my writing. WOW. https://t.co/t6GyXBU2Jd
    — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 24, 2022
    “I totally agree with you,” Albarn tweeted in response to Swift’s remarks. “I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally. The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand.” 

  • Kate Hudson addresses criticism surrounding ‘Music’ over autism representation

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: American actor Kate Hudson recently addressed the criticism that her movie ‘Music’ has been receiving for its portrayal of autistic people.

    According to Fox News, the ‘Something Borrowed’ actor was asked about the controversy during a recent appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ where she defended the film.

    When asked about the backlash surrounding ‘Music’, Hudson told host Jimmy Kimmel, “I think when people see the film, that they will see the amount of love and sensitivity that was put into it. But it is an important conversation to have, not just about this movie, but as a whole about representation.”

    She continued, “For me when I hear that there’s anybody that feels left out I feel terrible. It’s an ongoing and important dialogue to be had, about neurotypical actors portraying neurodivergent characters. It is an important one to have with people with experts and who know how to engage in the conversation. I encourage it, truly. I think that it’s important to say that we are listening.”

    ‘Music’, co-written by musician Sia, portrays Hudson playing a recently sober drug dealer who finds herself charged with taking care of her younger sister, a special-needs teen named Music played by actor Maddie Ziegler.

    As per Fox News, the movie, which earned two Golden Globe nominations, came under fire for its portrayal of autistic people as well as the decision to cast neurotypical Ziegler as someone on the autism spectrum.

    The movie also received intense criticism after it was revealed that a scene in the film depicts Maddie’s character being restrained during an episode, something that people in the autism community pointed out can be dangerous for both the person being restrained and the one doing the restraining.

    ‘Music’ had hit the big screens on February 12, this year.

  • Sia deletes Twitter amid controversy over her new film ‘Music’

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: Singer and director Sia has seemingly deleted her Twitter handle amid criticism over her new film ‘Music’.

    As per E! News, ‘Music’, which received two Golden Globe nominations on Wednesday, has been facing backlash for its casting of American actor-dancer Maddie Ziegler as a teenager on the autism spectrum.

    The film, which also stars Leslie Odom Jr., came under fire especially after Sia claimed, on Twitter, that she could not find an actor with autism who could play Maddie’s character named Music.

    The movie also received intense criticism after it was revealed that a scene in the film depicts Maddie’s character being restrained during an episode, something that people in the autism community pointed out can be dangerous for both the person being restrained and the one doing the restraining.

    Sia has pushed back the criticism surrounding the casting of Maddie, who she has worked with a number of times in her music videos. However, on Thursday, Sia took to social media to claim she was “listening” now to those who took issue with that controversial scene.

    Sia apologised and explained that she will be editing the movie’s content and adding a statement to the beginning of the film. “I’m sorry,” she tweeted.

    The ‘Elastic Heart’ singer added, “I promise, have been listening. The motion picture MUSIC will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie: MUSIC in no way condones or recommends the use of restraint on autistic people. There are autistic occupational therapists that specialize in sensory processing who can be consulted to explain safe ways to provide proprioceptive, deep-pressure feedback to help w meltdown safety.”

    “I plan to remove the restrained scenes from all future printings. I listened to the wrong people and that is my responsibility, my research was clearly not thorough enough, not wide enough,” she continued.

    However, shortly after tweeting about the added disclaimer in the film, Sia’s Twitter handle was deactivated. Despite seemingly deleting her Twitter, Sia’s Instagram is still active.

    On Wednesday, she shared a poster from ‘Music’ in honour of the Golden Globe nomination, writing in the caption, “This movie is a love letter to everyone who has ever felt they didn’t have a voice. What an incredible, exciting and unbelievable experience. Congratulations to all the cast and crew, and thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press. What an honor!”

    ‘Music’ is slated to hit the big screens on February 12, this year. The musical film stars Hudson as Zu, a recently sober drug dealer who suddenly becomes the guardian of her younger sister named Music (Maddie), a special-needs teen who communicates through a device that speaks for her, and who always listens to music via large headphones.

  • Apple Is Offering New Users a Five-Month Free Apple Music Subscription via Shazam

    Apple is offering new Apple Music users a free five-month subscription via Shazam as part of a special holiday offer. The offer applies to new Apple Music users in India, Australia, Canada, the US, and some other countries. It is valid till January 17, 2021. In order to avail of the offer, users are required to download Shazam and use it identify any song. This will lead to an option to play the song on Apple Music where you can find the deal offering five months of free Apple Music.

    The offer applies to iOS users who haven’t used Apple Music’s streaming service so far. Apple mentioned the holiday offer on Shazam’s App Store page. The offer is valid for new Apple Music users in Australia, Canada, India, the US, the UK, and some other countries till January 17, 2021.

    As per a report by 9to5Mac, users have also mentioned finding a banner in Shazam’s settings, where the extended Apple Music trial period is being offered. Apple had acquired Shazam, one of the world’s most popular music recognition mobile apps, back in 2018.

  • Apple launched its one-bundled service in India

    Apple has launched its Apple One Bundled service in India. The subscription bundle includes Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage. This means that if you choose Apple One, then you will not need to take subscription of these services separately. The subscription price of Apple One in India is Rs 195 per month and in the US for $ 15 a person.

    The Apple One subscription plan for the family is priced at Rs 365 per month and $ 20 in the US. The service is available in India and you can sign up for it at any time. Apart from India, Apple has made Apple One service available in all other markets.

    As part of a separate plan, the company is offering Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Brahmsdagdi and 50-year-long visual support. In the family plan, the 200-thousand-dollar statement, and all other benefits are getting the same. These services can be shared up to 6 family members.

    The original price of Apple Music is Rs 49 per month for students, Rs 99 per month for individuals, Rs 149 per month for families. Apart from this, the price of Apple TV Plus and Apple Arcade is Rs 99 per month, iCloud costs Rs 75 per month for 50 GB, Rs 219 per month for 200 GB and Rs 749 for 2 TB. Apple News Plus and Apple Fitness Plus are priced at US $ 10 per month.

    A third tier is also available in select markets. These include Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States. It is called Apple One Premier and includes Apple News Plus, the new Apple Fitness Plus and 2 TB of iCloud storage. It is available at $ 30 per month.