Was Apple Music wrong in naming Tyler, The Creator the Artist of the Year?
Also, it's New Music Friday.
TGIF. New Music Friday? More like ‘Kinda-New’ Music Friday. Also today: did Tyler, The Creator deserve the Artist of the Year honor from Apple Music? Plus, The Weeknd breaks touring record, Charli’s BRAT film, and more.
New Music Friday
It feels like a weird New Music Friday this week. There are some good releases, but nothing too major. It is a week of reissues and deluxe versions.
Tate McRae is putting a bow on her So Close To What era by giving us the deluxe version of the album with four new songs. Demi Lovato also pulled out three more tracks for It’s Not That Deep. Meanwhile, Kesha gives us SIX new songs as she celebrates the 15th anniversary of Animal and Cannibal.
The release I’m most looking forward to is Aerosmith and Yungblud’s collaborative EP, One More Time. I felt their first song together, ‘My Only Angel,’ was pretty decent. I expect the EP to be a pretty solid body of music if it is anything like it.
We also got a surprise EP drop from Tems called Love Is A Kingdom which I’m excited to listen to. Stray Kids also dropped one called Do It.
On the singles front, we have The Kid Laroi’s new track ‘A Perfect World,’ which has got to be about his breakup with Tate McRae. Tainy and Karol G put out a good song in ‘Unica.’ Also, holiday singles are starting to come out: this week Meghan Trainor and Victoria Justice spread the holiday cheer.
And, of course, the soundtrack to Wicked: For Good is out now.
Albums
So Close To What??? (Deluxe) - Tate McRae
It’s Not That Deep (Little Bit Extra Version) - Demi Lovato
Wicked: For Good - Wicked Movie Cast
everything, in time - Ella Eyre
Anthology 4 - The Beatles
Knees Up - Olly Murs
QUIMERA - Maria Becerra
EPs
One More Time - Aerosmith & Yungblud
Do It - Stray Kids
Love Is A Kingdom - Tems
Singles
‘A Perfect World’ - The Kid LAROI
‘Changing’ - Kevin Jonas
‘Say My Name In Your Sleep’ - Maisie Peters
‘Implosion’ - Labrinth
‘Gifts For Me’ - Meghan Trainor
‘Friends’ - Leigh-Anne ft. rvssian
‘Santa Darlin’’ - Victoria Justice
‘Save My Soul’ - Bastille
'Simple Things’ - Ne-Yo
‘Break’ - Jhene Aiko
‘Unica’ - Tainy & Karol G
‘Love Won’t Wait (Original Demo Edit)’ - Madonna
‘Songs I’d Rather Not Sing’ - The Fray
‘LA FKN VIBRA’ - Sebastian Yatra & Xavi
Apple Music names Tyler, The Creator as Artist of the Year
Tyler, The Creator was named Artist of the Year by Apple Music today.
They described him as “a generational voice, an artist brave enough to follow the flight path of every musical great that preceded him, an MC and producer who will always zig when expected to zag, leaving the game better for it in the process.”
One thing is for certain: Tyler has been working non-stop. You can go back to April 2024, when he headlined Coachella to rave reviews. Later that year, he released Chromakopia, which he went on to tour earlier this year. While on the road, he worked on the excellent Don’t Tap The Glass, which he released this past summer. “Sugar On My Tongue” became a viral hit. At the same time, he was headlining festivals around the US, including Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, among others.
Many people had plenty to say about this. On X, many users responded negatively to Apple Music’s announcement, expressing that the honor should have gone to Lady Gaga or Bad Bunny instead. While there is definitely a case to be made for either one of them (and I say this as a Little Monster), I’m not mad at Tyler getting it. He had a great year by any measure. Let him have this, let Bad Bunny have the Super Bowl, and, please, let Gaga have the GRAMMYs.
What do you guys think?
A BRAT winter?
Are you missing BRAT? Me too, but don’t worry. Today, Charli XCX shared the official trailer for The Moment, a film that seemingly chronicles the biggest, craziest, and truly best(est) era of her career. And yes, it’s an A24 film.
It hits theaters January 30.
Tour Biz Talk
The Weeknd now has the highest-grossing tour by a male solo artist. His After-Hours Til Dawn tour reached over $1 billion from ticket sales - surpassing Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour which ended with $969 million. Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour ($2 billion) and Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour ($1.5 billion) are the only ones that have earned more.
» Speaking of the business of touring, Live Nation filed a motion to dismiss a federal antitrust lawsuit that seeks to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. They argue that the plaintiffs have produced “barely a molehill” of evidence after an 18-month investigation.
» On a more embarrassing note → Ticketmaster issued an apology after a fan pointed out that nosebleed tickets to Olivia Dean’s tour were listed at $753.45 at face value. The ticket company said it was a “typo” and that the correct price was $53.45. Refunds were issued to anyone who bought tickets at the inflated price. Geez.
Breakup Album?
The Kid Laroi announced a new album today. Before I Forget is set for release January 9. He put together the album in the last four months after scrapping another album he had already completed. It definitely seems like his breakup with Tate McRae over the summer had something to do with it. Read more here.
A Wicked Positive
If it’s not a crazy fan, then it’s corona. Ariana Grande tested positive for COVID-19 while on the Wicked: For Good press tour. She took to her Instagram Stories to share a photo of her appearance on The Tonight Show with the caption: “Moments before COVID.” Yikes! Jimmy Fallon better go get tested. Ha! (ICYMI - they had a lot of fun on the show.)
Must Reads
» Kiana Fitzgerald writes about how Sydney Sweeney’s stardom has little to do with her actual acting. (Consequence)
» Pinkpantheress interviewed Zara Larsson, with whom she put out a remix to her song ‘Stateside’ but had never actually talked to. (Interview)
» Justin Bieber’s album Purpose just had its 10th anniversary (which is insane) and Daniel Bromfield revisited the album reminding us of the context of what 2015 was all about. (Paste)
P.S.
One week of The Banger Brief already done! Thank you so much to everyone that is reading it. Thank you to everyone that subscribed. It really means a lot.
There are already some changes coming to it next week. The goal for the next few months is to make it as good as possible. Again, I’m always open to any feedback: peter@bopsandbangers.com.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! x
Peter Stavros