GRUNGECAKE

Author: grungecake

  • South Korea-based superstars XG to make Coachella debut as only Japanese act on lineup

    The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2025, one of the biggest music events in the United States, has announced its highly-anticipated lineup for next year. XG will perform for the first time at the acclaimed event. The festival will take place over two weekends: April 11-13 and April 18-20, in the Coachella Valley desert in Indio, California. XG will perform on April 13 and 20, as the only Japanese artist on the lineup.

    This year’s headliners include Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone, Missy Elliott, Charli XCX, and Megan thee Stallion. XG is listed on the second tier of the lineup—just below the headliners—a first for Japanese female artists, highlighting the buzz around their appearance.

    XG comprised of seven members—Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Harvey, Juria, Maya, and Cocona—debuted in March 2022 with their single Tippy Toes. Since then, they’ve made waves globally, becoming the first Japanese artists to top the Billboard Hot Trending Songs Powered by Twitter chart and appearing on the cover of Billboard magazine as the first Japanese girl group to do so. They’ve also performed at major festivals like Head In The Clouds.

    [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGqEuk8Om-4&h=315]

    In 2024, XG launched their first world tour, ‘XG 1st Wol’d Tour: The First Howl, performing in roughly thirty cities worldwide. The tour has drawn 120,000 fans across Asia and 50,000 in North America. Currently, they’re performing in six European cities, including Manchester, London, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

    On November 8, XG released their second mini-album, ‘AWE’, which debuted at #3 on both the Oricon Weekly Album Ranking and Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart. Globally, it reached #12 on the Apple Music Worldwide Album Chart and charted in 48 countries and regions on Apple Music’s Top 200 Albums. The lead track, ‘Howling’, trended on YouTube in 10 countries and landed at #8 on the US Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales chart, cementing their reputation as a rising global phenomenon.

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  • Rosé signs global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music

    Rosé reigns as the top K-pop soloist with the most monthly listeners in Spotify history, at over 50 million

    Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed a global administration deal with K-pop superstar Rosé. Known as the lead vocalist of the world-renowned girl group BLACKPINK, Rosé is one of the most celebrated K-pop artists in history. Her recent collaboration with leading WCM hitmaker Bruno Mars on the single ‘APT’ has spent four weeks at #1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excluding US chart. It also debuted at #1 on both charts, making Rosé the first female K-pop solo artist to do so simultaneously. In addition, the single hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 – another historic milestone for Rosé as the first female K-pop act to reach these positions.

    On Friday, she released her newest single ‘Number One Girl’, and her long-awaited solo debut album, ‘Rosie’, is set to follow on December 6.

    Rosé said: “I am beyond excited to join the team at Warner Chappell. There is so much more to come that I can’t wait to share—it’s going to be an amazing journey.”

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    Ryan Press, President, North America, WCM said: “Rosé has earned this moment, and it’s a huge honour to officially welcome her to our Warner Chappell family. As she breaks record after record, she’s singlehandedly redefining the K-pop genre whilst also paving the way for a new era of cross-cultural expression. We’ve already hit the ground running with our partners at Atlantic to support Rosé’s bold vision and explore new creative opportunities for her songs. Above all, we can’t wait to see where her music takes us next.”

    Born in Auckland, and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Rosé moved to South Korea at fifteen-years-old to pursue a music career. In 2016, she rose to global fame as the lead singer of the K-pop quartet BLACKPINK. They quickly became a leading force in the music industry, setting new records as the first K-pop girl group to win a VMA and the first to appear on the cover of Billboard magazine. Additionally, they were the first Korean act to headline Coachella and become recognised by the RIAA with their gold-certified ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’, as well as join Spotify’s Billions Club with their hit ‘How You Like That’, amoung many other achievements. In 2021, Rosé launched her solo career with the release of her debut single, ‘R’, featuring the lead track ‘On the Ground’. The song debuted at #1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding US chart.

  • Wizkid releases sixth studio album ‘Morayo’, dedicated to his late mother

    Today, Wizkid released his eagerly-anticipated sixth studio album ‘Morayo’. On the sixteen-track album, the Nigerian superstar doesn’t change course in his sound much and brings new faces to the fold (French rapper Tiakola and French and Gabonese singer-songwriter Anaïs Cardot). Regarding the project, the cut with Brent Faiyaz has to be my favourite track because it exists in its universe. Therefore, I wouldn’t mind hearing a joint EP with the two artists in this lifetime.

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    For context (for anyone unfamiliar), Wizkid’s beloved mother passed away in 2023. According to the description on Apple Music, this album is a tribute to the woman who gave birth to one of the world’s exceptional African entertainers.

  • Watch rising R&B star Odeal’s dreamy visual for ‘You’re Stuck’ featuring Summer Walker

    They share an intense exchange on their short elevator ride.

    This week, rising R&B star Odeal released the official video for his collaboration ‘You’re Stuck’ with his siren labelmate, Summer Walker. In the song, the South East London-based artist sings about always being in first place, tasting heartbreak and more. During her spicy guest verse, the ‘Girls Need Love’ superstar responds and sings about the ease of replacing him, knowing her value, and moving how her heart and mind guide her.

    [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBEXXNDbw08&h=315]

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    Check out the glossy Primo-directed visual to hear the Atlantan starlet croon about not holding back if she decided to give the potential suitor a chance. ‘Lustropolis’ is the singer-songwriter’s latest work, boasting seven autobiographical tracks, including the lone featured track ‘You’re Stuck’. In July, the genre-fluid artist of Nigerian descent released a stellar four-track Afrobeats EP that we love from top to bottom called ‘Sunday at Zuri’s’.

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  • Cordae announces 2025 headlining tour ‘The Crossroads’: See dates

    Two days ago, American rapper Cordae announced his 2025 North American tour. Don’t forget to listen to Cordae’s brand-new album, now available through Atlantic Records.

  • Hear Jack Harlow step into his loverboy bag for ‘Hello Miss Johnson’

    “Let’s go to Nice and give your sister a niece”

    As promised, Jack Harlow has released a new track detailing the depth of his admiration and commitment for someone’s daughter. On the track, he reveals how crazy he is about her, lists where he wants to go with her (Monaco and Nice) and happily shares the need to communicate with her daughter, whose eyes he gets lost in. Listen to the love-wielding track below to hear how this mystery woman has a strong hold over the Louisville-bred artist. Strangely, it feels like an opposing perspective to Outkast’s ‘Ms Jackson’.

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  • ScHoolboy Q announces ‘Blue Lips Got New Songs’ tour: See dates

    The Los Angeles-bred GRAMMY-nominated artist announced his latest headlining tour, spanning the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

    Today, ScHoolboy Q announced his next tour — after his remarkable high-energy performance at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles, California. The talented rapper and songwriter begins the nine-city 2025 tour dates at the top of the year in January. Check out the list of dates below.

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    FYI: The Las Vegas date has a typo. It should read “NV instead of “CA” on the posted promotional asset. The artist addresses the mistake on his verified Instagram account with more than four million followers.

  • André 3000 plans to release new music soon

    No, it will not be a Hip-Hop/Rap release.

    Amid a GRAMMY nomination high for his solo work on ‘New Blue Sun’, famous flautist and legendary rapper André 3000 has shared his plans to release new music in 2025. According to notes from his recent interview with Touré, he wants to “keep the momentum” and added that “the next stuff is very interesting, too.”

    During the conversation, André 3000 does not specify a genre or a style, but he is leaving himself open to the beauty of creating as a non-confirming artist.

    “We’re almost a third — or halfway — into it. I don’t know when it will be ready. Who knows.”

  • Taylor Swift rumoured to feature on Kendrick Lamar’s highly-anticipated next album

    According to the trending news online, Taylor Swift is rumoured to feature on Kendrick Lamar’s forthcoming album. Transparently, we do not have any inside information about what’s been swarming on the internet. If the globally recognised American recording artists do, it would be a reunion (of sorts). If you recall, the pair collaborated in 2014 on the American superstar’s track ‘Bad Blood’ from her incredible album ‘1989’ (originally). Let’s stay tuned to see if the two will release the alleged record or collaborate next year. It would be interesting to see if Kendrick Lamar releases his highly-anticipated album ahead of the Super Bowl or afterward.

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  • Tems announces official video for ‘Turn Me Up’

    Five hours ago, Tems, the global Nigerian Afrobeats superstar, posted an image online to announce the coming of her official music video for ‘Turn Me Up’. In the photo, Drake and Future collaborator is seemingly in the driver’s seat (unless she’s in another country) with shades, lipgloss, jewellery and two individuals near the vehicle. It comes out on Wednesday, November 20, at 6 PM WAT (or West African Time).

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