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Jimin Is Ready to Show the World Who He’s Become

Ed Sheeran Gets the Lovestruck Chills on New Song ‘Shivers’

‘Lift Me Up’ Review: Rihanna’s Return To Music After Six Years is Understated Artistry

Carly Rae Jepsen’s Latest Album is Pop Perfection

'Hold Me Closer' review: Britney Spears returns in vintage form with Elton John duet

JiminJimin Is Ready to Show the World Who He’s Become

The multi-talented star and BTS member talks about his solo debut album Face — and shares how much his bandmates supported his creative process

rollingstone.com

Before Jimin was sure he could release a solo debut album, his fellow BTS members believed in him first.

It was last spring, and the group was in Las Vegas, carrying out the last shows on their “Permission to Dance on Stage” stadium tour. In between nights, he opened up to his brother-like band members over drinks and told them about the self-doubt he’d been experiencing during the pandemic. That’s when he received the encouragement he needed from the group, who will celebrate their 10-year anniversary this summer, and felt prepared enough to embark on his own project.

“I was thinking things like, ‘Why am I living like this? What am I doing right now?’” he tells Rolling Stone through an interpreter, speaking on an early spring morning from the HYBE office in Seoul. His bandmates assured him that everyone goes through these growing pains. They suggested that expressing himself through music could offer a way forward.

Now, the 27-year-old artist from Busan, South Korea is preparing his vision as a solo pop star with Face, a captivating six-track album. Across the project, which is full of various sonic moods that veer from spiky and hard-hitting to velvety and sleek, Jimin portrays the conflicting feelings he’s had about himself and his journey as an artist. Though he wasn’t originally a singer when he joined Big Hit Entertainment at age 16, he’s developed one of K-pop’s most unique voices: It’s sweet, with delicately sharp edges, and he contorts his vowels as if they were soft curls of smoke. Through these subtle inflections, he conveys bitter isolation on the melancholic R&B song “Alone,” but then quickly switches to explosive anger on “Set Me Free Pt. 2.” On that boisterous, horn-laden hip-hop track, he proclaims that he’s entering a new era where he “won’t hide anymore even if it hurts,” singing as if he’s gritting his teeth.

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ShiversEd Sheeran Gets the Lovestruck Chills on New Song ‘Shivers’

rollingstone.com

Ed Sheeran has released a new song, “Shivers,” which will appear on his upcoming album, = (Equals), set to arrive October 29th via Atlantic Records.

“Shivers” is a punchy blast of lovestruck pop, with Sheeran crooning over crisp handclaps, plucky strings, and the chipper strum of his guitar. The track arrives with an equally ebullient video, directed by Dave Meyers, in which Sheeran and actress Anna Sophia Robb play out a fantastical whirlwind romance that involves everything from waiting desperately for a text, some mild superpowers, a dance number, and a street brawl.

Along with releasing the studio version of “Shivers,” Sheeran will also perform the song for the first time on television Thursday, September 9th, during the opening game of the 2021 NFL season, airing on NBC.

“Shivers” is the latest following lead single “Bad Habits” and the follow-up “Visiting Hours.” The new record marks Sheeran’s first solo LP since 2017’s ÷ (Divide), although it also follows his 2019 collaborative effort, No. 6 Collaborations Project.

 

I took an arrow to the heart

I never kissed a mouth that tastes like yours

Strawberries and then somethin' more

Ooh, yeah, I want it all

Lipstick on my guitar

Fill up the engine, we can drive real far

Go dancin' underneath the stars

Ooh, yeah, I want it all

Mmm, you got me feelin' like

I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes

I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I'm

Like my soul's on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night

Yeah, you got me singin' like

 

 

Ooh, I love it when you do it like that

And when you're close up, give mе the shivers

Oh, baby, you wanna dance 'til thе sunlight cracks

And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

And we'll say, "Ooh, I love it when you do it like that"

And when you're close up, give me the shivers

Oh, baby, you wanna dance 'til the sunlight cracks

And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

 

Into the car

On the backseat in the moonlit dark

Wrap me up between your legs and arms

Ooh, I can't get enough

You know you could tear me apart

Put me back together and take my heart

I never thought that I could love this hard

Ooh, I can't get enough

Mmm, you got me feelin' like

I wanna be that guy, I wanna kiss your eyes

I wanna drink that smile, I wanna feel like I'm

Like my soul's on fire, I wanna stay up all day and all night

Yeah, you got me singin' like

 

 

Ooh, I love it when you do it like that

And when you're close up, give me the shivers

Oh, baby, you wanna dance 'til the sunlight cracks

And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

And we'll say, "Ooh, I love it when you do it like that"

And when you're close up, give me the shivers

Oh, baby, you wanna dance 'til the sunlight cracks

And when they say the party's over, then we'll bring it right back

 

Baby, you burn so hot, you make me shiver

With the fire you got, this thing we started

I don't want it to stop

You know you make me shiver-er-er

Baby, you burn so hot, you make me shiver

With the fire you got, this thing we started

I don't want it to stop

You know you make me shiver

Yeah, you got me singin' like

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Rihanna‘Lift Me Up’ Review: Rihanna’s Return To Music After Six Years is Understated Artistry

thecrimson.com

After six long years, Rihanna’s newest single “Lift Me Up” is the singer’s first solo song released since her last album “Anti” in 2016. The song was released as part of the soundtrack for the upcoming film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' and was made in remembrance of the late Chadwick Boseman. “Lift Me Up” was co-written by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler.

Fundamentally, “Lift Me Up” is not attempting to be another high-energy Rihanna single. Instead, the song utilizes a slower tempo to set up an emotional tone of remembrance for the upcoming “Black Panther” movie. Rihanna’s ballad is beautifully sung, and its pace allows listeners to listen closely and reflect upon each lyric. Having this single predate the release of the film similarly allows for listeners to imagine emotional scenes of the upcoming film alongside the calming hymn.

Rihanna’s single also seems to reflect her since her recent entry into motherhood. “Lift Me Up” is the singer’s first musical release since having a child with rapper ASAP Rocky. “Lift Me Up” plays like a lullaby, with Rihanna’s vocals and humming lulling the song into a steady and calming rhythm. This new style could be emblematic of her experience as a mother to her son, who she gave birth to in May. Moreover, the soft string instruments add to this effect and highlight harp plucking emblematic of African harps, such as the kora.

The slow nature of the ballad is almost entrancing — ensuring that the song elicits more than one listen. In addition, the lyrics of the single pack a punch, as each line is hauntingly powerful and compelling. While upon first listen, the ballad seems short and sweet, each lyric of the song plays an important role in the goal of the single: to remember those that were lost.

While some fans may be surprised at Rihanna’s return to music being a slow hymn, “Lift Me Up” plays an important role in establishing the tone of the upcoming “Black Panther” film and remembering the legacy of Chadwick Boseman. This single is also just the beginning of Rihanna’s return, as she is slated to headline for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in February of 2023. With the release of her new single that differs from her traditional image of a pop icon, only time will tell where the trajectory of Rihanna’s music is headed.

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Carly Rae JepsenCarly Rae Jepsen’s Latest Album is Pop Perfection

thenationalnews.com

The latest album from the Canadian pop goddess delivers high-gloss pop with serious emotional punch

Dating in the 21st century might be a lonely time, but Carly Rae Jepsen has found a way to make an album around those experiences that’s as bright and hopeful as it is grounded. From the euphoric “Sideways” to the heartbreak of “Go Find Yourself or Whatever,” on her sixth studio album, “The Loneliest Time,” the 36-year-old makes one thing clear: It’s rough out there in the dating world.

While the themes of “The Loneliest Time” are timeless, there’s a specificity to the experiences that reflect the modern age. Jepsen’s second single from the album, “Beach House,” is the best example of this. The kitschy song mirrors the experience of endless scrolling on dating apps. After describing a myriad of bad dating experiences and pleading with men to not view dating as hunting season, male vocals join in with tongue-in-cheek promises that get more preposterous as they go, from “I’m probably gonna never call you” to “I’m probably gonna harvest your organs.” It’s a sure-to-be camp classic from the Canadian pop icon.

Despite what are certainly lows described on “Beach House,” Jepsen’s optimism on “Surrender My Heart” shows she hasn’t given up on love quite yet. A highlight of the album, the synth bop opener finds her embracing vulnerability.

“The Loneliest Time” is a collection of songs that encompass the highs and lows of searching for love, a journey full of second chances, mistakes and elation. It can be lonely at times, but as she articulates on the opener, her past experiences haven’t stopped her from opening her heart: “I wanna be brave enough for everything.”

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Britney and Elton'Hold Me Closer' review: Britney Spears returns in vintage form with Elton John duet

thenationalnews.com

Britney Spears has made a career comeback with the help of a maestro.

Hold Me Closer, which was released on Sept. 23, has her collaborating with Elton John while blending some of his previous hits including Tiny Dancer (1971), Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (1976) and The One (1992).

It is the first song Spears has released since her 2016 album Glory.

The proceeding years found Spears's musical career taking a backseat as she battled her conservatorship, which left her father in control of all aspects of her business and private life.

In June, she married Sam Asghari, a fitness professional and model. He met Spears on the set of her Slumber Party video in 2016.

Spears couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to make her return.

Hold Me Closer follows the same format of Cold Heart, John’s previous collaboration with Dua Lipa, another modern melange of earlier tracks Rocket Man (1972), Where’s the Shoorah (1976) Kiss the Bride (1983) and Sacrifice (1989).

Where Cold Heart soared on the back of its smooth synth lines and club rhythms, Hold Me Closer shimmies along to the throbbing disco bass line throughout.

Similar to Lipa’s efforts, Spears’s contribution is heard in the chorus in which she performs an impressive falsetto.

The fact that she sounds so at ease is acknowledgment enough that she hasn’t lost any of her vocal ability.

According to Hold Me Closer producer Andrew Wyatt, Spears was adamant in nailing those sky-high notes.

“She kept going: ‘Nope, again, again, again',” he told The Guardian. "She was really collaborative and had really good ideas about the production. She’s an expert in music to make you dance.”

Despite the personal upheaval of recent years, Elton praised Spears for her professionalism in the studio.

“She sang fantastically,” he told The Guardian. “Everyone was saying they don’t think she can sing any more. But I said: 'She was brilliant when she started so I think she can'. And she did it, and I was so thrilled with what she did.”

Despite all the goodwill and fan reaction online, we are yet to hear what Spears makes of the positive reception to her comeback.

Her Instagram account, with more than 42 million followers, has been deactivated.

The song is on her Twitter account, where Spears expressed how momentous the release is for her career and fans.

"Okie dokie … My first song in 6 years. It’s pretty damn cool that I’m singing with one of the most classic men of our time," she said on Wednesday. "I'm kinda overwhelmed...it's a big deal to me.”

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