News Roundup

 After a quick hiatus I'm back and ready to dive into another news roundup in one of music's biggest weeks: Spotify Wrapped week. If you're anything like me, you've probably been asked at least ten times this week who your top artist was or how many minutes you listened to. Controversially, I actually use Apple Music but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of the cultural significance of Spotify Wrapped, especially when I'm scrambling to find my Replay to compare it to my friends. There's definitely been a mix this year, and it is always so interesting to find out what everyone's been listening to and who you might share elements of your music taste with that you never even realised. So, as annoying as it can be to be asked for the millionth time your top five artists, I would say that Spotify Wrapped is more than just a genius corporate publicity stunt and it's actually something you can make work for you, finding new artists to talk about with people you might not have otherwise spoken to. 

In terms of new releases, an exciting collaboration dropped on Friday between Holly Humberstone and MUNA. 'Into Your Room' was originally released by Holly on her solo album earlier this year, and this reimagining is a great combination of both acts styles. Although I'm looking at it from a perspective of knowing more about MUNA, this collab has definitely reinforced what I already knew which is that I need to get into more of Holly's work. Lyrically, I found the line 'My sorry ass revolves around you' very interesting because, despite being written by Holly, it made me think about the song 'Around U' from MUNA's 2017 debut album. This awesome little Easter egg has definitely hooked me, and I'll be coming back to listen to this one some more. 

Finally, of course I couldn't do today's news roundup without mentioning the Variety Hitmakers Event last night which saw SZA receive Hitmaker of the Year with Olivia Rodrigo, Boygenius and Billie Eilish and FINNEAS all being recognised in other categories. If this event is anything to go by, the Grammy's are going to be spectacular next year. As more and more red carpet interviews are posted today, it will be interesting to see how this one develops.