Global pop/rock band The 1975 have announced a huge Dublin 3Arena gig ahead of the release of their fourth album.
Notes On A Conditional Form is hot on the heels of the band's third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, which garnered widespread critical acclaim after it's release.
The band released People to confused fans, with Matty Healy going into screamo mode for the tune. We personally love the change, and the boys also collaborated with climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The 1975 gave a phenomenal headliner set at Electric Picnic two weeks ago, where they blasted the Saturday evening stage.
The band will return to Ireland next May for their 3Arena show, with tickets set to fly out the door. Notes On A Conditional Form is scheduled to be released on February 21.
The tour confirmation comes after the band unveiled their latest tune last month, described by NME as “a bone-rattling rallying cry for humankind to sort their shit out”. Sounds like Matty, eh?
Westlife have announced a massive gig in Wembley Stadium, with the boys set to play the iconic venue for the first time ever in their 20-year career.
Mirror Online reports that the Irish boyband announced the once-in-a-lifetime show this morning, following the success of their Twenty Tour celebrating their two decades in the music industry.
Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan sold out shows in 13 different countries and 27 cities.
The momentous concert will take place on Saturday, August 22, 2020 and will see the global pop stars perform their greatest hits.
Swear It Again, Flying Without Wings and You Raise Me Up are on the setlist, as well as brilliant new songs from their upciming album Spectrum, such as Hello My Love, Better Man and Dynamite.
James Morrison and All Saints will support the boys, who have achieved phenomenal success during their comeback.
Mark Fehily exclusively told Mirror Online: "Wembley Stadium will be the biggest show of our lives.
"Twenty years after we started, it is unbelievable that the demand is still there for us to put on a huge show at Wembley. It is going to be absolutely fantastic."
Mark is expecting his first child with fiancé Cailean O'Neill, mentioning: "Cailean and I will have our baby with us then. It is likely it will be her first Westlife show.
"That will make it even more special. 2020 is a big year in so many ways. Wembley will be the icing on the cake as we celebrate starting a family and 21 years in music."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we’re incredibly excited for a show which will be different and more spectacular than anything we’ve ever done before," they added.
"This will be our biggest ever concert in the UK." Westlife's new album, Spectrum, will be released on November 15.
Tickets for the Wembley Stadium gig go on sale on Friday, September 20 at 9am at LiveNation.co.uk
The Academic have turned more than their fair share of heads in 2018.
The Westmeath indie rockers have toured with some massive names, released their debut album Tales From The Backseat to critical acclaim, and have played some of their biggest gigs to date.
We had a chat with Craig Fitzgerald, lead vocalist and guitar player from the band, to ask him about their fanbase, plans for 2019 and exactly how they capture that infectious energy on stage.
The four-piece band have an undeniably dedicated fanbase, clearly responding to lyrics lamenting youth and everything else that comes along with it.
The group is comprised of Fitzgerald, Matthew Murtagh on guitar, Stephen Murtagh playing bass and Dean Gavin on the drumkit, and they are all in their early twenties.
Tales From The Backseat is a hugely impressive debut, and features some of the catchiest songs around right now.
Choosing tracks for the anticipated first album appears to have been a careful affair, the boys recorded most of it in North Hollywood with music veteran Tim Pagnotta.
It's no surprise that the musical offering flew to the top of the charts on home soil.
WE ARE NUMBER ONE!
We just got the news that our debut album 'Tales From The Backseat' is NUMBER ONE in the official album charts!!! Thank you to every single person who picked up a copy. It's an absolute dream come true for us.
Craig, Matt, Stephen and Dean pic.twitter.com/jS3oQHAD94
The boys make music with big pop choruses and indie lyrics, and if you're hearing their songs for the first time, you'll know every word by the time the track concludes.
The lead vocalist and his bandmates have a clear talent for writing music which garner a youthful audience, but does he feel the fans will grow alongside the group?
"I definitely think so. In the first album, there were songs from when we were young, so it made sense. The songs seemed to resonate with younger people. We would like to mature our sound, and that would hopefully intertwine with the fans getting older."
They've clearly figured out how to find comfort on stage, effortlessly show-casing their extensive touring experience.
Craig describes the special ability of their fans to relate their own adolescence with that of the boys' through his lyrics;
"When we go on tour, we do a lot of meeting the fans, we like to go to the merch table and we like to hear what they thought and we get to say hello," he says.
"A lot of the time what amazes me is that the songs are just stories that were specific to me as a teenager, but it’s amazing how someone can adapt the story to something that they’re going through."
From tales of fake ID's on nights out, to the turbulent relationships and friendships which parallel adolescence, The Academic paint a relatable picture of the unique energy of that time in a person's life.
It's immediately obvious when you see the band play live that they value their fans' enjoyment of music, and nerves are a thing of the past.
The band met while still in school, and began gigging once they secured their drummer Dean.
Roughly five years later, the lads are essentially pros at what they do, but touring outside of Ireland can be a game-changer for any group or musician.
"When we started and we were playing shows, you begin shy and just want to make sure that you get up and play well," the 24-year-old cites about their initial shows.
"We’ve been given so many great opportunities to go on long tours, like month long tours in the States and Europe and the UK, and I think particularly when you support so many bands over the last couple of years we’ve become so comfortable as musicians together," he added.
"Even more so than when we were just in a shed playing together. I definitely think you lose that scared feeling that you had, because you just have to get up in front of people and play."
The band have learned some valuable lessons on the road, from song-writing to making friends in high musical places, to general tips on how to command a stage. They keep one important thing in mind in particular;
"That’s one thing I think we’ve learned in the past year, is that if we’re not afraid, people won’t be afraid, and they’ll have a good time with us. When we toured with The Kooks, we just kind of watched them and loved how they were just having fun on stage and it wasn’t too serious."
"One thing that I always try to do when I go on stage, is to break down the wall and say let’s not be afraid to make a fool of ourselves."
"The whole thing is crazy, like the fact that people are staring at you playing music. They drop their barrier when they see you having fun."
Confirmed; we stared, we dropped our barrier, we had fun. Then we bought the t-shirt…
The lads give a lot of time to their fans, and are both aware and respectful of how powerful a fan's love of music can be;
"We appreciate everyone for all their weird and wacky stuff. Music makes them feel a certain way and we appreciate that no matter what it is or whatever song it was that made them attached to us."
Despite their youthful tracklist, high-energy set and the fact that they've only released their debut album this year, the lads have been penning tunes since they were in their mid-teens.
Craig reminisces on the tricks and tips of the trade which his years of the music industry has taught him;
"I’ve been writings since the age of about 15/16, and a lot of those songs are actually on the first album.I think in the beginning, so it’s five years now of song-writing experience, there’s a naivety and you’re not afraid to do anything. Then you start picking up tricks," he muses.
"The one thing I have learned now that we’ve been a band for so long, is that I always want the music to be catchy. One thing I’ve learned is that if it’s catchy, don’t be afraid of it."
For a band who are considered new to mainstream audiences, they have a level of maturity worth noting, especially when it comes to songwriting;
"That’s what people want to come and see, they want to sing along. You shouldn’t lose your innocence about song-writing, you can still think of crazy things and put them in," the vocalist says.
"The beauty is in the imagination, use it, and don’t be afraid to think outside the box. It’s very important."
When we asked Craig where he would be if The Academic was never formed, his answer remains musical, unsurprisingly.
"Maybe I would have finished college. I went to BIMM, so I would probably work in a musician’s field. Probably in the studio, that was nearly just as strong as songwriting for me. I enjoyed playing with bands too much, so I made that decision." Thank God he did, for our sakes at least.
After catching their big break after releasing Different from their first EP, radio stations took notice, and it all took off from there. The rest was indie-pop history, but do the lads ever disagree with each other?
You know us, we live for some drama…
"We’re not on the same page all the time (laughs). We usually are in sync when we know a song is good. If a song is obviously screaming out ‘Hey, I’m a good song’, we’re all on board. If there’s a more moody song or more emotional song, that’s when you can have arguments."
"We’ve always written songs together and made sure that everyone’s happy. We’d never really go ahead with a song if one member wasn’t fully happy." Creating absolute bangers and remaining diplomatic? Fair play boys.
We also wanted to know if there's a band out there that Craig would join, you know, if The Academic didn't exist of course. Which would be tragic.
"That’s a really good question, I’ve never been asked that before. We have a band on tour with us as support called Inhaler."
"The reason I enjoyed that band is that it’s so nice watching them because they’re like us four years ago. I’d love to step back to where they are now, getting support slots, heading out and being brand new again. That would be fun. Or else Fleetwood Mac would be great."
If you're wondering what 2019 will bring for the boys, it's some exciting new shows and a return to the studio to nail down some of the material written on the road.
Tickets for our return to the Iveagh Gardens are on sale at 9AM tomorrow morning!!! Act fast! pic.twitter.com/bB5N0Py529
The band will be making a big return to Iveagh Gardens in July, one year on from their concert at the famous outdoor venue, with some brand new (as yet unrecorded) music.
"What I would say we’re really excited about at the moment, is that we haven’t had any studio time in about a year. We’ve been writing songs on the road but we haven’t gotten to play them at all."
In terms of their landmark moments, their most recent gigs remain their favourites;
"I’d have to say, I think we’re all pretty blown away by the weekend we’ve just had. Two Vicar Street gigs and a headliner in Limerick, it was three in a row and every night was brilliant. It got better every time. We’re all still on a high."
The Academic have made some incredible memories in 2018, but they're just getting started.
McFly’s Danny Jones has revealed the band’s upcoming reunion has been put on hold.
And yes, we're devo.
We've loved the band back since they burst onto the screen in the early Noughties with their spiky hair and baggy jeans.
The band hasn't released an album since 2010 and Danny thinks that the music world is different now.
The Voice Kids judge said, ''If you go too hard for too long, you burn out.''
He continued, ''You need a bit of change to come back because you don’t want to burn out and not enjoy it. I’m not saying we did, but I feel we could have.''
In January Danny’s bandmate, Dougie Poynter said that the lads were heading back to the studio to record some new music.
But they haven't so far and Danny says it's also because the industry is not like it was in their heyday.
While they may be on a very extended 'break', Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson became millionares after chugging out album after album in a short space of time.
First of all, 1D sales are beyond insane. According to RIAA, One Direction has sold $13.5 million in digital singles, which is basically in downloaded singles alone.
Their album sales are also on the high end of the spectrum; 2013’s Midnight Memories was that year’s best-selling album, selling a whopping 4 million copies worldwide.
Let's not forget the merch, shall we? Piles of cash came in from their 2014 Where We Are Tourin particular. It became the highest-grossing tour of the year with $290.2 million.
Their 2013 Take Me Home tour also made $114 million, and 2015’s On the Road Again Tour made $208 million. So they've got plenty to brag about.
Bear in mind, the money had to be divided in five as well as siphoned off to their management and those who worked on set and on tour with them. STILL, it's cold hard cash.
Their merch strategy was out of this world; they could have sold a dirty old sock and fans would pay millions for it. You can still find merch of the bands actually..might get some more?
Their This Is Us movie earned a casual $8.9 million on its opening day alone, so there's that too. We confess, we went to see it, Twice.
One Direction also made sure to work with brands to get endorsements, such as Toyota and Pepsi.
Apart from all that coin he made in the infamous boy band, Harry also had his self-titled debut album and movie roles as part of his earnings.
His self-titled musical offering sold well, with one million copies being bought to be exact, and his solo tour making $62 million
His role in Dunkirk presumably paid well, and his modelling for GUCCI tailoring also gave him a handsome salary.
His L.A. home was only recently put on the market for $7.495 million, so he's got some money tied up in real estate property, and a $6.8 million NYC apartment, as well as his $3 million London home.
Which means…according toCelebrity Net Worth, our boy Harry has a total of $75 million to his name.
We just shed a single tear for the state of our financial independence…
It's official: the Jonas Brothers are BACK with their single Sucker, and it's 2008 again. We're sporting frizzy hair, kissing their posters on our walls goodnight and blaring Burnin' Up on repeat.
Their six-year-long hiatus really did break our hearts, but all is now rejuvenated. Joe, Kevin and Nick have reunited and it's clear by their new video that they're taken men. They've put rings on it, so to speak.
The partners of all three brothers feature in the track's new vid; Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas, all looking flawless as they parade around a fancy mansion while their men serenade them..
The three brothers sing the lyrics to Sucker while gazing at their respective lovers, and it's intense; “I’m a sucker for all the subliminal things no one knows about you."
It's a quirky video filled with glamour and colour, and PDA of course. Priyanka and Nick literally can't keep their hands away from each other, and they're eye-f*cking WAY too much for us to feel comfortable.
Priyanka shared the video to her Instagram with the caption; “
"#SuckerVideo OUT NOW. This is the first time we’ve worked together but not for a moment did it feel like work. Such a fun family affair…#JonasBrothers and the #JSisters cheering each other on! Proud of you husband.”
The brothers teased their reunion in a Carpool Karaoke slot for The Late Late Show with James Corden, with their last album being released back in June of 2013.
The video looked like a lot of fun to film, with Sophie Turner sipping wine while soaking in a bathtub, gazing on as Joe looks at her with awe. We want that look too, we have to admit.
The costumes are pretty extravagant, and Nick made sure to brag about his new wifey on his Twitter account;
The memes of Sophie Turner licking her lips of course have done the rounds, and it's pretty gas.
The song is already racing up the iTunes charts, and the video is getting the attention it deserves. We're so glad the brothers are returning to fix 2019, we needed some serious nostalgia and the lads have delivered.
*Seeps into bubble bath holding a glass of champagne*
Start your engines, JONAS are Burnin' Up. We had to get that joke out of the way, our apologies…
The Jonas Brothers have sent Twitter into a meltdown, apparently reuniting after six long, hard years of separation. They got engaged, got married, and even started a family, in Kevin's case.
Now they're back with brand new music, and rumour has it they're releasing a song named Sucker tonight at midnight, March 1.
Kevin, Joe and Nick are back as JONAS, after Joe became the frontman of DNCE and Nick began a solo career; but it's all changing now.
The news comes after they reactivated their accounts and set the images to black, which ALWAYS means that something major is about to drop:
Their social media has made their return imminent, after reactivating their Instagram and deleting every post on all channels, and uploading a black square for their profile picture. Very "It's 2017 and I'm going to cause a furore".
Back in October 2014, the JoBro's announced their break-up and devastated fans around the world, but their fans are LOSING IT at the prospect of their return:
The fact that Jonas Brothers are making a comeback brings joy to my 12 year old heart pic.twitter.com/sP2UBhFGfm
We're ready for them to ruin our lives again, anytime. Can you believe the Jo-Bros are back before One Direction? It's scandalous… we love it. Long may it continue.
Her ex-husband Ben Foden admitting to his infidelity last week, but instead of dwelling on it, the former Saturdays singer stormed the runway at London Fashion Week and turned every head.
The 37-year-old appeared in Oxfam's Fashion Fighting Poverty Catwalk Show at Ambika 3 last night, showing off her fashionista roots.
"It was a real honour to walk the Oxfam #fashionfightingpoverty fashion show as part of London fashion week this evening", showing herself in a black svelte outfit with a plunging neckline. She's looking FIERCE.
The mum-of-two sported gorgeous black boots and loose black trousers, with her hair styled simply and tucked behind her ears. Very Parisian chic, we feel.
She flashed a smile at the end of the catwalk, showing her excitement at representing the iconic charity in their fashion foray.
The glamorous Irish star could easily pursue a modelling career, she looks like she was born on the runway. We're glad she didn't let her ex-husband's confession dampen her moment.
In a recent interview, Ben admitted that he cheated on Una, but also claimed his infidelity wasn’t the only reason for the end of the relationship.
"At the moment anything that’s published about me is never very good and pretty rightly so because I was the one who committed adultery. But at the same time, it wasn’t the only reason for our divorce to go through."
"It’s not ideal, but we’re very amicable, we’re getting through it, we’re not the first people in the world to get divorced. We’ve got two little kids we adore," he concluded.
Una is since loved up with her new boyfriend, Tipperary hurler David Breen, and appears unfazed by her ex.
She's absolutely slaying the fashion runway anyway, and for an unreal cause. Herself and fellow singer Emeli Sande walked alongside supermodels as they took to the catwalk for Oxfam’s show to highlight sustainable fashion.
The musicians joined top models Stella Tennant and Laura Bailey at the Fashion Fighting Poverty event, showcasing Oxfam clothes specially picked by stylist Bay Garnett from the organisation’s online and high street shops.
Thank the Gods: SO many of us didn't get tickets to see Westlife in Croke Park this July, and were pretty f*cking devastated.
Why should anyone miss out on the nostalgia, the final tour, the emotional rendition of Flying Without Wings? It wouldn't be fair, right, nor JUST we say.
Lucky for everyone involved, EXTRA DEMAND tickets are going onsale next week for one of the biggest gigs of their career.
GAA tickets for their stadium dates at Croke Park on Friday July 5 and Saturday 6 will go onsale this Tuesday February 12 at 9an from Ticketmaster nationwide.
When tickets for The Twenty Tour were first released, they were snapped up ridiculously quick in October, so the announcement comes as unreal news for any fans who missed out.
The lads are expected to be performing their absolute BOP of a new single Hello My Love, alongside their greatest hits and their 14 number one hits; Swear it Again, World of Our Own, Uptown Girl and When You're Looking Like That being among them.
Have we all seen THAT insane Harry Styles face tattoo? The one that made everyone gasp out loud and question her sanity and life choices?
Singer Kelsy Karter got the attention she was looking for, but not from Harry himself though. Twitter users were quick to point out that the ink actually resembled Frankie Cocozza far more, but still.
As many of us have guessed, it has now been revealed that the tattoo was all a hoax in order for Kelsy to promote her new single, Harry. Yes, she's that dedicated to promotion.
She's admitted the hoax was all for the sake of Harry Styles noticing her new song about him, and she has dropped a video explaining the whole fraud.
She said she wanted to get the inking to ‘cut through the noise’ and get her music noticed by top music execs, and the general public. Oh, and it's dropped on Harry's 25th birthday.
The New Zealand-born singer elaborated, saying she dedicated the song to the Kiwi artist after going through a rough patch last April;
"My dog Diva died. My relationship ended. And the last thing I wanted to do was write another sad song about it."
Kelsy directed and produced the video for the One Direction hero for only $300, but didn't have the cash to promote the song;
"But how were we going to cut through the noise to get noticed? What would the rock legends that inspired me have done in 2019?" Celebrity tattooist Romeo Lacoste was enlisted for the sake of the tattoo, which was based on Harry's Rolling Stones cover.
The 25-year-old said Romeo traced the image and applied it to her face, and then used a special FX makeup artist.
She added; "‘BTW we know it looked ridiculous. That was the point.I had your attention." We were thinking that Romeo's talented skills needed to be brushed up…
Of course, the absurd inking went totally viral. Websites and news sites globally covered the tatt, and everyone was talking about it. TMZ wanted to chat to her, and she even considered reapplying the tattoo.
Because it's Harry's special birthday, Kelsy has made the choice to confess her fib.
"This has always been about rock ‘n’ roll. Harry is an anthem for the fans. The tattoo is gone. All that’s left is the music. Which is what my rockstar team and I had planned all along."
We have to respect her commitment, and the plan is pretty ingenious. The song is also a complete TUNE. We'd love to hear a comment from Harry on the matter though…
Danish band Lukas Graham have landed in hot water after covering the late rapper XXXTenacion's song SAD!, claiming to have no knowledge of his violent past.
The track was covered as a stripped-down version for the Spotify Singles series, and now the lead singer Lukas Forchammer has stated that the song will be removed from streaming services.
He posted a now-deleted statement to Instagram, writing; “Our cover of ‘SAD!’ will be taken down ASAP. I had no knowledge of his violent history. I’m very sorry for the pain I’ve caused. Again, I’m very sorry.”
The band allegedly had no clue about the deceased rap artist's controversial history with the law.
At the time of his death back in 2016, he was facing trial for a number of charges including false imprisonment and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.
The band's apology referenced XXX's domestic abuse charges from October 2016, after he was shot and killed in June of that year.
XXXtenacion was charged with false imprisonment, witness tampering, and aggravated battery of a pregnant victim in OCTOBER 2016. Even after all of this he dropped his album on August 25th 2017 and his album still fucking debuted number 2 on the Billboard 200.
The 20-year-old's multi-platinum-selling posthumous album ? has been boosted and featured by a number of famous hip-hop and rap artists.
The rapper confessed to “f*cking up” his ex-girlfriend, in addition to a number of other violent crimes in a secret video which was made public after his death.
Real name Jahseh Onfroy said in an interview with the podcast No Jumper that he nearly killed his gay prison inmate who was staring at him. He laughed throughout the interview, showing no remorse.
"I was going crazy,” he told the interviewer. “I smear his blood on my face, on my hands. I got it, like, in my nails. I got it all over me. I was going f*cking crazy.”
Westlife have officially made their long-awaited return to our lives, thank the gods, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows back in the day for the boyband.
The band stopped by The Graham Norton Show last week to perform their brand new single, Hello My Love, but Nicky Byrne revealed some spicy drama.
According to the radio DJ and member of the group, Liam Gallagher told the band to "f*ck off" the first time they met. Ouch, someone take the lads to the burns unit STAT.
The group's new single is their first release in almost a decade, and it was penned by pop legend Ed Sheeran.
Hello My Love went straight to number one on the iTunes on Thursday evening, and Westlife even got a congratulatory message from ex-band member Brian McFadden, despite rumours of bad blood.
Hello My Love has been popular with fans, but frequently compared to Sheeran’s hit Castle On A Hill as opposed to “your typical Westlife song”.
Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan will embark on their Twenty Tour this summer, playing two huge gigs in Croke Park in July.
Kian reiterated his opinion that their fans would be “taken aback” by their new sound, according to Metro UK; “Good songs are good songs, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Westlife song or not.”
The Twenty Tour is their fastest-selling ever, selling a whopper 400,000 tickets within 48 hours of release.
