#but then explain why their solo albums eat up their collective ones

[dancefloors]

sorry to say it but I am circling back to the opinion that the Beatles are ass like.. everytime I put them on its pure British rambling girl u are not damon albarn you are not one direction.

[twisted-tales-of-all]

Hi! I'm the anon that requested shinee last time and I loved your Mihno fic! Thank you!

I saw your new prompts for confessions and I miss taemin so much I wanted to ask you for something for him with this: "You have no idea how much I love you, dont you?"

You can make it as he confessing or the other person, however you like! ❤

Hi anon! I'm so glad you enjoyed your last request and came back for more ❤ also thank you for helping me add to my SHINee masterlist because I keep feeling like I don't write enough for them quite yet. I also miss Taemin :( so I hope you enjoy! It's a bit angsty and slightly sad timing, but I think it's still pretty sweet and light-hearted overall.

---

You and Taemin have been friends for as long as you can remember. You watched him become who he is today and you couldn't be more proud of your best friend. You attended as many concerts as you could and hold a collection of all his solo and group albums, trying to support him in any way possible. You also message him on a daily basis with reminders to stay healthy and to not overwork.

His idol friends always jokingly refer to you as his partner due to always seeing your contact pop up on his Kakao notifications, but you're certain he's too busy to even consider you - or anyone, for that matter - as anything more than a friend. The clumsy boy you watched grow up has turned into an extremely dedicated and talented man, and you will always be more than content to remain a part of his life through everything.

However, he's about to go into his military service, which means that you won't have nearly as much communication with him. He asks you to meet him a couple days before his scheduled assignment, so, when the time comes, you quickly climb into his van as he picks you up at home. He seems a lot more tense than usual, so you try to lighten the mood with a joke.

"How come you can make any hairstyle look good, Min? This seems a little too unfair that you get all the good looks AND the talent."

"Who said I have all the good looks? Have you looked in a mirror lately, Y/N? Clearly, you have some, too!" He retorts back, pouting at you.

"Oh, come on. You're just saying that. Anyway, what are we up to today? It's our last time meeting before you head off, so we should do something really fun. Ooh, how about some bingsu! The last time we shared one was when we celebrated your debut!"

He smiles and agrees to your plan, asking his driver to drive to your favorite bingsu spot. You continue recounting memories throughout the trip, while he mostly listens and smiles at you, only responding when necessary.

As you both leave the van and walk into the shop, the owner recognizes you and leads you both up to the VIP table that he has in the back so that Taemin won't be bombarded by fans. As soon as you sit down, Taemin asks for the same dessert from the experience you mentioned in the car. You lean your head on your hand as you shoot him an innocent smile.

"Y'know, I've known you for decades now, but you've never been this quiet around me. You always have something to say. Why are you silent today? Is it just because you're leaving?" You confront him, concerned that he may be having bad thoughts again.

"It's just- I don't know. I guess I just don't really know what to say. I'm gonna miss you while I'm gone." His head low, he admits his concerns.

"Taemin, we'll still be able to message, just not as often. You're always busy anyway, so it's not going to be too much different than when you're swamped in concert work or comeback promotions. Don't worry, I'm still going to be nagging at you to eat and sleep properly. I'm not going anywhere."

With a sigh, he folds, "You have no idea how much I love you, do you?"

Laughing, you poke his cheek, "Of course I know, dummy. We've been best friends for how long now? How could I not know?"

"No, Y/N, I don't think you do."

With his sudden seriousness, you simply tilt your head and wait for him to explain. You feel your heart beat faster as you try to assure yourself that there's no way he means it the way you wish he would.

"I hate that it took me this long to say something to you, but I love you. Not just as best friends. I want to be a couple, bun. We already act pretty close to one - even my friends think I'm your boyfriend - and we take good care of each other, no matter the distance. Do you think you'd want to date me?"

Shocked, you stare at him open-mouthed for a few seconds before shaking your head to bring yourself back to reality, "Uh, Taemin... You want to date me? Really?"

He simply nods in response, waiting for a response. So, you take a moment to think before responding.

"Yes, Taemin. I'd love for you to be my boyfriend, but should we start dating today or wait until the end of your service? What should we claim as day one?" You ask, as you'd prefer to spend special days with him.

"Let's wait until I'm back to claim day one. But your mine and I'm yours starting now, okay?" He smiles brightly, happy that you've accepted him as your partner, "Can I kiss you?"

"Of course, love."

[anabsolutetrainwreck]

for your eyes only || h. styles

warnings: swearing, references to drugs

word count: 2.5k

summary: harry is feeling the pressure of making his new album...

You were already in bed by the time Harry got home. Though still awake, your eyes were heavy and your body ached for rest. But you’d never been able to sleep without knowing Harry was safe at home. 

The slamming of the front door echoed through your house. You listened silently as he hung up his coat and kicked off his shoes. You heard him wander into the kitchen, turn on the tap and pour himself a glass of water. After a couple of minutes, he ventured upstairs, heading straight into the bathroom. He began brushing his teeth. 

All the while, you stared out the window of your bedroom. It looked out onto the London streets, dimly lit by the street lights. The bedroom was dark, only illuminated slightly by the outside sky and all of its stars and the moon. 

Harry had been at the studio all day. He’d been stressing about writing his new album. He had started coming home late and leaving early. You barely saw him anymore. You always left him some leftovers in the fridge for him to eat when he got in or take for his lunch. Every time you tried to ask him if he was okay or if he needed to take a break, he’d just shrug you off and tell you he was fine. 

You’d seen a similar thing when he was making his first album, but it was never as bad as this. You’d seen it when he was trying to finish Watermelon Sugar, but it was never as bad as this. 

You felt the bed sink beside you, which consequently woke your cat, who was sleeping at the bottom of your bed. His name was Podge. Rolling over to face Harry, you smiled softly at him. You wanted to be angry at him for never telling you where he was anymore or prioritising his album over your relationship, but you just couldn’t be. You always knew where he was. He went to the studio all day and then would go back to Sarah and Mitch’s for a bit during the evening. “How are you?” he whispered, wrapping his arm around your body.

“Tired,” you replied, squeezing him tightly.

He pressed his lips lazily to the top of your head. You smiled at the feeling of his touch. “Go to sleep then,” he mumbled. 

“But I haven’t seen you today. And I won’t see you tomorrow,” you sighed. “I just miss you. And I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, love. You know I’d tell you if I wasn’t.”

You sat up, turning back to him. He frowned, propping himself up against the headboard. “That’s the thing. I don’t think you would tell me.”

“What? Where did you get that idea?” 

“Well, you never told me when you were making your first album. You never told me when you were trying to finish Watermelon Sugar. You don’t have a great track record of being transparent when it comes to telling me when you’re not okay,” you explained. “Instead, all you do is come home and go to sleep. Then you wake up before me to get to the studio early. And even when you finish at the studio, you go back to Sarah and Mitch’s. She’s fucking pregnant, Harry, give them some time alone.”

He sat there and took it like a small child being scolded by his mother. He played with his fingers as you tried not to shout. You both knew it would only be a matter of time before you broke and all your feelings would come pouring out. 

The sound of Podge whining at the bottom of the bed interrupted your heated rant. He plodded his way up to the two of you, settling in between you both. He often did that. He’d clamber up to the top of the bed to sleep between your bodies when everyone was comfortable.

Harry reached down to run his hand along Podge’s soft back. You sighed, throwing the covers off your legs. “I’m going to get a drink,” you told him as you left him alone in the bedroom. 

He watched you leave. He didn’t call out or beg for your forgiveness. That was never how arguments were handled in your relationship. He sighed, getting comfortable in bed again, waiting for your return. The sound of Podge purring was enough to calm his nerves as he listened to you pour yourself a glass of water in the kitchen. He listened carefully as you walked around a bit, before he heard the back door open and close. 

You often went outside to take a moment to collect your thoughts whenever you and Harry got into an argument. Harry knew this. 

You set your glass down as you sat down on the bench against the wall. The fabric was cold against your thighs. You looked up at the bedroom window, wondering whether Harry was contemplating everything you’d said or if he was comfortably falling asleep. 

Harry waited for you to return. You never did. You’d gone to sleep in the spare bedroom. The two of you were too tired to take it too further tonight. So, you both slept, knowing tomorrow would either be full of shouting and tears of frustration or pettiness. 

However, when Harry woke in the morning, he climbed out of bed to apologise to you. Podge followed after him, his claws loud on the floor. But you were gone. The bed in the spare bedroom was made. He slowly made his way down to the kitchen, his nerves getting the better of him. Had you really left? 

There was a note on the kitchen counter by the bowl of fruit. ‘GONE OUT FOR BREAKFAST WITH GEM’. Harry looked over at the clock on the wall. It was thirteen minutes past nine. But he didn’t know when you’d written the note. He quietly poured himself a glass of orange juice and buttered some toast. He went out into the back garden, sitting down in the very spot you’d sat in a few hours earlier. 

The weather was nice. The sky was blue and there was a moderate breeze in the air. His phone buzzed on the table, the screen lighting up to reveal the picture of you he had set as his lock screen. Your slightly pixelated smile was electric through the screen as you cradled Podge in your arms when he was just a kitten. 

The notification was from Mitch. He couldn’t make it to the studio. Harry replied quickly, telling him it wasn’t a problem. It was Saturday anyway. Granted, Harry could probably do with a day off. But, even when he lay in bed all day doing absolutely nothing, he was still working.

That was the trouble with making an album: it plays on your mind until it’s finally out in the hands of the public. More so, Harry noticed, with his solo albums. And that was why Harry seemed to spend every waking moment in the studio. He figured that he might as well be in an environment where he can turn his epiphanies into harmonies.

He heard the front door open and close. You were home. Harry finished the remnants of his orange juice. Podge appeared in the doorway, rubbing his head along on the edge of the threshold. Shortly after, you followed. You were standing in the doorway, shuffling awkwardly. “Not going to the studio today?” you asked, sitting down opposite him. 

He shrugged, “Might do. It’s still early yet.”

You nodded. There was no pettiness. There was no shouting. There was just silence with intervals of small talk. Harry watched you as you fiddled with your fingers, your knee bouncing. You were nervous, he could tell. “How was Gemma?” he asked. 

“She was great,” you replied. “Asked how you were.”

“Yeah? What did you tell her?”

“I said you were fine,” you shrugged. “Just busy with the album.”

He nodded slowly, “Right.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, sitting up straight. You felt Podge run his body along your leg beneath the table. “What? Was I wrong to say that?” you asked, worrying that you’d done something wrong. 

He shook his head quickly, “No, no.”

Harry didn’t say anything more. He was closed off. There was something he wasn’t telling you. You’d been with Harry long enough to know this. Usually, he was quite open with you. He told you what felt like everything. But this never applied to his music. His job. You and his job were two separate things. He made that explicitly clear from the very beginning. You were never to get mixed up with his music and his music was never to get mixed up with you. The line between the two was never blurred. 

But this meant he hardly ever told you when he was struggling or when he felt like he needed a break from it all. You only ever heard songs when they were finished. You only ever saw music videos when they were complete. You had only ever been to one awards show with him - the 2020 Brits. You had never even seen the inside of the studio. You had only met his band on a handful of occasions, all of which had been on nights out or for celebratory dinners, never when they were rehearsing. 

It was like he was leading two lives. 

“You are okay, aren’t you?”

He nodded, “Sure. Just a bit stressed.”

You sighed, exasperated, “You always say that! Every time I ask if you’re doing alright, you just shrug and tell me you’re ‘a bit stressed’. Harry, ‘a bit stressed’ isn’t spending every day at the studio. It isn’t spending all night at the piano, trying to get a song just right. It isn’t constantly comparing yourself to other artists, trying to work out what worked for them and what didn’t. It isn’t getting high every time you fuck something up. It isn’t acting like you have no life outside of the music you make.”

“I don’t! I don’t have a life outside of the music I make. Don’t you get it? I’ve dreamed of this my entire life. I reached the top with the band. And once you’ve had a taste of what it’s like to own the fucking world, everything you do becomes about trying to get there again. It’s like a fucking drug. When it’s been in your system once, it lives there forever and you can’t stop thinking about it. You crave it,” he snapped. You winced as you watched him become so worked up, tears of frustration falling down his cheeks. He dragged his fingers through his hair, tugging on the strands harshly. 

It took you a moment to absorb everything Harry had said. Last night, it had only been a matter of time before you’d broken. Today, it had only been a matter of time since Harry broke. You were sick of it. Harry was sick of it. You let out a shaky breath, nodding slowly as his words registered, “I don’t know if you need to hear this from me. I don’t know if anyone has ever actually said this to you. But you’ll never be as big as the band.”

Harry looked up, his eyebrows knitted together. He looked offended. As anyone would be, you supposed. “What?” he squeaked out. 

“I know it’s brutal. And I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but you’re never going to be as big as the band. And it’s shit, Harry, I know. But you’re a fifth of that band. Some fans left with Liam, and some left with Zayn, and some left with Louis, and some left with Niall. And some left with you. And some left with all five of you. But the point is you’re missing four of the components you had when you owned the world. That band was fucking massive, Harry.”

He didn’t say anything for a while. You didn’t expect him to. You’d said all you felt you needed to say to him. And, while you knew you’d never be able to relate to exactly how Harry was feeling, you’d seen the devastating consequences stardom has on a person. You pressed on, “You owned the fucking world, Harry. But you owned it with four other guys. And I don’t think you could do it on your own.”

He sighed, nodding, “It’s just hard.”

“I know, baby. But it won’t get easier if you just don’t stop. You need to step back from this toxic mindset you’ve got yourself into. You literally just won a Grammy, give yourself a break,” you said. 

“That’s the point. I won a Grammy for Watermelon Sugar. What if I can’t make that again?” he sighed.

“Harry, you’ll never be able to make it again. Surely that’s the beauty of it all, right? Nobody wants to hear you put out another Watermelon Sugar. I can guarantee your fans would be happy to listen to what you want to make,” you said. 

It felt so foreign to be talking to Harry about these kinds of things. You’d reassured him and given him advice on all sorts, but never about the music industry. That was his area of expertise. But spending time with Gemma always put you in some sort of healthy frame of mind.

You reached across the table to squeeze his hand. There was no way you could still be angry at Harry for spending so much time away from the house. He wiped away the stray tears that clung to his cheeks. He reached down to cuddle Podge, who’d jumped up onto the bench at some point or another. “Thanks,” he said quietly, finally looking you in the eyes. “I’m sorry for getting so worked up over this. It’s so pathetic.”

“Don’t apologise, H. I love you and I’m always gonna be here for you. Please don’t be embarrassed about these things. I’ll never judge you for being emotional,” you smiled softly. 

“You’re too good for me,” he said, grinning across at you. 

You leaned back in your chair, shrugging, “Probably. I do think of this relationship as more of charity work.”

He laughed, “You’re so selfless!”

“I know! What can I say, some heroes don’t wear capes,” you smirked. 

It was moments like these, with the sun beaming down at the two of you, that you’d missed. Harry was smiling again. It felt like something you hadn’t seen for weeks. 

The truth was, Harry had always found it easier to express his feelings through the art of music. And, while this posed many benefits for him, it meant that, when he was trapped with writer’s block, he found it difficult to free himself of the burdening stresses of his industry. 

You got to your feet, extending your hand to Harry, “Come on, you’ve not had a shower for days. You stink.”

[whereisten]

True Love

A Jeno fic that’s a part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: You, an employee at an entertainment company, are immune to the charms of their biggest star Lee Jeno.

Pairing: Rockstar! Jeno x female reader

Genre: romance, drama, fantasy, suspense

Warning: alcohol use, smut mention, stalking, manipulation 

Word Count: 4.3k

(A/N: Hiya! I’m so sorry for the delay! It’s been so hectic lol! Thank you so much for your support and patience! Hope you enjoy! And shoutout to Krys for keeping me sane and for all of her love and support. I love you! :D)

___

To everyone in the world, Lee Jeno was the epitome of perfection and rock royalty. He was a gifted musician from the very young age of five, having specialized in several instruments in his childhood. However, his heart gravitated to the guitar. He became a trainee at LCF Entertainment and along with four other trainees, they became the world famous rock band, Temptation.

He was ranked in the top 23 in World Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive this year. He was a walking and talking Adonis with a heartwarming smile.

Jeno was a man of many talents but he certainly didn’t let it get to his head. He was a humanitarian, a UNICEF ambassador, fostered shelter animals, was the proud owner of three cats even though he was allergic, a great family man (funding his siblings’ college tuition and providing for his parents so they could retire early), etc. He did it all and he had it all.

How could anyone be immune to his charms?

People wondered who would be the queen that would reign beside him when he settled down. Frankly, one couldn’t be anything short of a supermodel on the verge of sainthood. So many hopeful contenders were discouraged from pursuing him.

Jeno’s dating life was non-existent, the paparazzi dreaded to inform.

But you were an employee of LCF Entertainment so you knew the truth, as well as the true nature of the famous Lee Jeno. He was basically like any other young man with an inflated ego. He was cocky, a huge flirt when the cameras were off, very picky, and demanding. But no one ever dared speak a word of his true nature to the paparazzi. And you always wondered why. Someone had to bring him down a few pegs.

You were the staff photographer and videographer, in charge of capturing Jeno’s good and “relatable but still unbelievably glamorous” sides. When the camera was on, that was when you felt at ease.

It didn’t help that Jeno liked you either. Although you’d been working with Temptation and the individual members for a few years now, it was only recently that Jeno really was set on it pursuing you.

When you switched off the camera after the recording of Jeno’s backstage vlog, he sat comfortably at his makeup chair and proceeded to ask, “Y/n, will you go out with me now?”

You answered immediately, “No.”

Jeno gave you a sad puppy dog face. “Why not?”

“We’ve gone over this. I would get fired.” You wanted to spare his feelings so that was what you always said when he asked you out.

Jeno groaned. “You would not. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

You snorted. “You think you have that kind of power, Lee?”

He liked when you called him by his last name. “That’s because I do have that power, y/n. The new company building is funded solely out of my earnings from my last solo album.”

You whistled. “There’s that humility I’m always reading about in O!What Magazine…”

Jeno smiled. “You read articles about me?”

“I do when my name is in the article, boss.” You started packing up your equipment, ready to call it a day and head home.

Jeno got out of his chair and stood over you. He smelled of Dior Sauvage, cologne from his latest brand endorsement. He wore his stage clothes from his solo concert rehearsal. A sleeveless jean jacket top that parted down the middle to show his abs. Along his abs, silver chains dangled and added a nice glimmer effect when he was on stage. The entire team was thrilled to see how the audience would eat it up.

He whispered into your ear, “Y/n.”

Truthfully? He was attractive. You’d always had a little crush on him but it was of a shallow nature. You liked him for his looks. Not so much for his personality. You’d known too much.

If Jeno had been any other regular guy, you would’ve been open to a one-night stand.

But Jeno wasn’t just any regular guy.

You tried to hide the fact that shivers ran down your spine. “Stop.”

He chuckled. “But I can see you through the reflection, y/n...You're crossing your legs…”

You’d hoped he wasn’t that perceptive but it turned out he was. You hid away the fact that you were turned on. Your panties were damp but you’d be damned if he ever knew that.

You met Jeno’s perfectly lined eyes as he looked at you unapologetically. Everyone else from the staff already left. Jeno’s manager was waiting downstairs to take him to the radio station J-423 for his upcoming interview.

You were breathless now. “Jeno, you’re going to be late-”

He pulled you into him and kissed you, easily slipping his tongue into your mouth and working magic against yours. You couldn’t help but return his kiss. His mouth was paradise and you wondered what else he could do with it.

He let you go after a few minutes and cupped your face. “So are you going to deny that there’s something going on here?”

You tried to catch your breath as you wiped your lipstick off of Jeno’s mouth. “No, I guess not...But this is where it stops.”

Jeno frowned. “Y/n…”

“I know where I stand. And you know it, too. And Jeno, I don’t like you that way...I’m sorry.” You caressed his face and grabbed your things, leaving Jeno with an unreadable expression on his face.

___

As a member of LCF Entertainment, your ultimate goal was profit. That was what you had to know from the very beginning. There was no such thing as LCF Family or truly prioritizing the idols. Everyone was after themselves. Whoever brought the most money to the company would get the most attention and special treatment. And that was Jeno.

And you, an aspiring film director, were thankful to be on his team because this experience could open doors for you in the future as a director. Sure, Jeno was a diva and he couldn’t stop flirting with you, but the experience wasn’t all that bad. And yeah it was frustrating that the media and the public perceived Jeno to be the nation’s sweetheart. But in the end, he wasn’t hurting anyone.

He was only hurting people’s wallets.

Temptation’s merchandise always sold out quickly but Jeno’s individual merch was always the first to sell out. And it was the first to get resold for twice and sometimes even triple the price. The fanbase was very merciless and selfish with each other. However, the scalpers were the true evil. That was less money going to your company, after all.

Even though frontman Jeno was the most popular member of Temptation, it was Temptation’s drummer Xiaojun that you had a massive crush on for a long time now. You even accumulated a secret collection of his merch. You were two photocards away from completing your Xiaojun album photocard collection.

Xiaojun even admitted to liking you back but you both kept it a secret from everyone else in the world, especially LCF. You two weren’t about to compromise your jobs. However, since Temptation was the biggest moneymaker in the game and the boys had been with the company for quite some time now, their dating ban was lifted.

Which explained why Jeno had been asking you out all week, not caring who listened and it freaked you out.

If Jeno’s fans ever found out he asked you out, they would pin the blame on you.

A week had passed since you told Jeno you weren’t interested in him. You felt bad for hurting him but you were also worried about his mood. He had the power to get you dismissed. You refused to believe he would be so cruel.

And up until this point, you were right. You were still employed and Jeno spoke with you like any other day, talking about camera angles and new concepts for upcoming shoots.

The end of another work week and Xiaojun surprises you on your way to the bus stop.

“Y/n,” Xiaojun pulls up beside you in his Porsche. He looked so elegant in a pale blue sweater and blue jeans. His face was concealed by a mask so he could leave undetected. But you’d recognized those eyebrows anywhere.

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I...I think we should finally talk…”

“About?”

He smiled. “About dating.”

You nearly dropped your phone out of your hand from the shock. “Really?”

He said, “Get in so I can drive you home!”

You nodded fervently and got into his passenger seat. Was this really happening?

On the drive home, Xiaojun told you he wanted to take it slow and have indoor dates with you first. You couldn’t agree more. He even surprised you with a brand new pair of AirPods after you told him that your brother took them from you.

The first of many gifts, he told you.

You got home that night and screamed excitedly into your pillow so as not to frighten your roommates

___

It has been a month since you and Xiaojun started seeing each other. You were on cloud nine. He would visit you at your apartment and would play with his dog Bella. Bella loved you a little more than she loved Xiaojun so you two would always bicker and end the night in each other’s arms.

Jeno noticed the spring in your step as you filmed his cooking vlog. He was showing his fans how he cooked breakfast for himself when he had down time. He was in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of drawstring trousers. He looked relaxed and for many, delectable, as his hair was wet from a shower. He was trying very hard to get your attention once again.

He anticipated you averting your eyes and stuttering at the sight of him but nothing. You whistled while you adjusted the tripod’s position.

“What’s got you so happy?” Jeno asked.

You nearly jumped at his question. You decided to be upfront. “I’m seeing Xiaojun.”

Jeno’s cool facade nearly cracked before your very eyes. “Oh?”

You apologized. “I’m sorry, Jeno. I should’ve told you that I liked Xiaojun…”

Jeno was furious. What the hell did Xiaojun have that he didn’t? Jeno was more muscular, taller, more talented, wealthier, more attractive...He was superior to Jeno in every way and everyone else knew it, too.

He honed his acting skills and replied evenly, “Why are you apologizing, y/n? So you like someone else...I’ll live.”

You realized maybe Jeno didn’t like you as much as you thought so you felt relieved to hear his dismissive tone. “Right. Good. I just...thought you should know…”

You and Jeno continued the shoot. He acted like nothing had happened and even behind the scenes, he joked with you and asked you which of the female trainees he should ask out. You berated him because female trainees were not allowed to date and he knew this very well. Jeno was back to his arrogant self and you were relieved.

___

You got a text from Xiaojun that he was finishing up a filming schedule with his bandmates. You wouldn’t be able to see him today because the schedule was running overtime.

He told you to go to dinner with some friends at Osaka Moon. His treat. He was good friends with the chef, apparently. You were on your way to the restaurant to meet your friends.

You were shocked at how down-to-earth Xiaojun still was after achieving so much fame and then he would do things like this. It gave you whiplash but you were having the time of your life with him.

However, you noticed him across the street. Xiaojun always wore different wigs and masks for his disguised outings with you.

But this time, there were no disguises. His side swept blonde hair and his thin framed glasses. There was no mistaking that it was him.

Was the filming for the show at the Downtown Hotel?

You were about to call his name when you saw another woman wrap her arms around him and squeeze his ass. She had long wavy brown hair and a slender frame. She could’ve been a model or a singer. They both entered the expensive hotel. Very bold of him to take her out so publicly when he was still intent on hiding you.

You felt like someone knocked the breath out of you. You shook your head in disbelief.

Immediately, you dialed Xiaojun’s number and there was no answer. You called four more times and nothing.

Son of a bitch, you thought.

He played you. You should’ve known he was no different than any other dickhead A-lister.

You decided to call his bandmates. It turned out that the filming they’d done today wrapped up over two hours ago.

Haechan had no idea where he was. Jisung didn’t either. Jaemin was equally perplexed. Last but not least you called Jeno.

He answered. “Hello?”

At this point, you couldn’t hold back your tears anymore. “Jeno…”

“Y/n? What’s wrong?”

“Do you know where Xiaojun is?”

“Not specifically...he did mention he had a reservation at the Downtown Hotel…”

You sniffled. “He did?”

“I thought he was meeting you…”

“No, he wasn’t…”

“Oh...Oh, shit, y/n. I am so-“

“It’s okay...Thanks Jeno. I’ll see you on Monday…”

You told your friends to have dinner without you and to make sure to spare no expense because your so-called boyfriend was buying. You told them Xiaojun finished at the last minute and wanted to take you dancing.

A total lie so you could wallow at your local bar.

You sat right by the bar and downed a few glasses of beer. Just to feel anything else besides the betrayal you felt.

A half hour later, you were even more buzzed now. A young man sat beside you at the counter.

He started, “Hello, gorgeous.”

You looked at the young man. He was stunning. Another face that belonged on television. Another one of those who was capable of seducing you and tossing you away the very next second.

You flipped the bird. “Bite me.”

The young man scoffed and tried again, “Feisty, aren’t we?”

He got closer to you and you began to feel uncomfortable. “Please leave me alone…”

“Tsk tsk. A beautiful girl like you in tears? You need someone who will bring your smile back.”

“And you’re the man for that job?” Someone interrupted.

You were shocked to find Jeno here. He looked gorgeous in a black leather jacket and dark jeans. His hair was slicked back the way you liked it most and wow, you may have had one too many drinks...A few customers recognized Jeno and started whispering and taking their cameras out.

“Jeno?” You nearly lost your balance as you got up from your chair.

Jeno grabbed you immediately before the other guy could.

The stranger said, “Why do you get to put your hands on her? Just cause you're some pretty boy with mediocre music...I’m sure she’s nothing compared to who you’ve bedded before-“

Jeno socked him in the face and escorted you out of the bar. The stranger cursed you both out as you left. Jeno led you quickly into his manager’s car that he borrowed for the night. You felt a little dizzy.

Jeno fastened your seatbelt.

You smiled at him. “Thanks.”

He looked at you in concern. “Are you okay?”

You shook your head. “Why are men scum, Jeno?”

Jeno sighed. “I’m so sorry about-“

“Don’t say his name...I...never want to see him again...God, now I have to sell all of his merch…”

Jeno frowned in confusion and continued, “I’ll take you home…”

You didn’t want to face your roommates. “No...Can I…Spend the night with you?”

It took all of Jeno’s might not to get out his car and raise his fist in the air. But he composed himself. “Are you sure?”

You nodded, wanting to forget all about Xiaojun and have one thoughtless night with Jeno. “Yes.”

Jeno drove you two to his penthouse suite. He was cautious around you and you were ready to shrug away your inhibitions.

Jeno helped you remove your coat at the entrance. “Take a seat. I’ll get you some water.”

You sat yourself on the couch and opened your legs wide, exposing your panties underneath your skirt. “Jeno, fuck me right now so I can forget his sorry ass.”

Jeno hesitated then but seeing how irresistible you were...He couldn’t help himself.

He asked again. “Are you sure?”

You nodded. You were buzzed but not that buzzed. You wanted to spite Xiaojun. You wanted to acknowledge the part of you that longed for Jeno for so long, too. You’d be stupid to deny that you fantasized about a night with him.

You hesitated before but now you said, why the hell not?  

You and Jeno made love that night. Jeno was over the moon that you were finally in his arms. Sure it was a rebound but the look in your eyes when he was inside you had to mean something. There was a promise there and Jeno held onto that glimmer of hope.

Jeno took you home the next day and he was very cool about the whole night. Right before you returned home. you reminded him about how this was a one night stand and thanked him for a wonderful night.

You were resolute in dumping Xiaojun and simply going back to work. Thankful you only ever worked for Jeno anyway. And as expected, Jeno was his usual self: cocky, flirty, sending his food back for random reasons.

Xiaojun came under the fire for going to a hotel with a potential prostitute. The identity of the woman he was seen with remained a mystery. He tried convincing everyone that the woman was not a prostitute but he couldn’t remember how he met her or what she looked like. That night and along with how crazy Xiaojun sounded caused the company to encourage him to leave. Xiaojun’s contract with LCF Entertainment was terminated.

The week after you and Jeno made love...You started catching feelings for him. Every glance. Every fleeting touch. It drove you mad. And suddenly that one night stand was something you wanted again. And again. And again.

You accompanied Jeno and his manager as he attended a gallery opening. You were in charge of his photos for his social media. He looked extremely dapper in his red suit. You just wanted to rip his clothes off and make love to him in front of all of the guests. Becoming a work of art yourselves.

These thoughts you’ve been having used to scare you but now...you owned them. Tonight, when you got him alone, you would tell him how you really felt. You hoped you weren’t too late.

Jeno’s manager excused himself to get some refreshments. Jeno observed a painting while you took some more photos.

“Stunning,” you said aloud.

Jeno’s eyes grew at your words. “Wow, y/n...All the years we’ve worked together and you’ve never made a comment about my looks…”

Your face grew warm then. “I’m feeling a little bolder these days…”

He grinned. “Is that so?”

“Jeno, I won’t beat around the bush…I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night…”

“Y/n…”

“I know I said it was a one night stand and...You’ve moved on…”

Jeno started, “I haven’t…”

You were shocked to hear it. “Really?”

He moved closer to you and moved the camera away from your line of sight. “What are you saying, y/n?” His voice was dangerously low.

“I’m saying...that I want to be with you, Jeno.”

Jeno’s smile looked so gorgeous then. He was the true work of art at the gallery. “Well, y/n, I’ve made my feelings abundantly clear for a while now…”

He kissed you then. And the cameras started flashing.

You were on cloud nine. You finally released your suppressed feelings for the rockstar before you.

___

You’ve been together for two years now. He made you feel safe and loved. He showered you with gifts and trips to the most beautiful parts of the world.

As for the response from netizens and the company? Jeno had all the power and he could handle a few naysayers. Your job as his photographer and videographer remained intact. And you were well on your way to transitioning to your own film projects: your dream.

You and Jeno had become a couple to root for. They called you The Prince and The Pauper Turned Princess. You hated your label but whenever you looked at Jeno’s eyes, any anxiety or anger quickly faded.

Jeno had a solo performance in your city tonight and you were seated in a private booth. He was performing so well, moving from instrument to instrument. Driving people to tears with his long low notes. And then he surprised everyone with his announcement.

“Before I perform ‘Changed Your Mind’, I want to give a shout-out to the woman of my dreams, y/n, who is here with us tonight.”

The stadium roared in excitement and many heads turned to you. Your eyes never left Jeno.

“Y/n, I love you so much. We’ve come so far, baby. And I want us to never stop. Which is why…”

He got down from the stage and was escorted by security down to the crowd. He ran his hands past adoring fans as he made his way to you.

He entered your booth with his camera crew and security close by. “Y/n, will you marry me?”

You cried out, “Yes!”

Jeno picked you up and spun you around. You kissed passionately. The crowd’s roars thundered now. It was a celebration. You didn’t care that all eyes were on you now, as well. All you cared about was Jeno. And he loved you more than anything else in the world.

You truly found your soulmate and you couldn’t be happier.

___

Jeno finished his show and was backstage cooling down with a bottle of water.

“Good job tonight,” a woman said as she stood at the door of Jeno’s dressing room.

“Thank you, sis. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Jeno’s older sister Yeeun sat on the couch of the dressing room. “How does it feel to have her in your clutches now?”

Jeno smirked. “Pretty damn great.”

“And I’m here to collect my payment, little brother.”

Jeno sighed. “Really? It’s been two years.”

Yeeun looked at her manicured nails. “I’ve been busy.”

Jeno laughed. “Screwing over taken men? I’m sorry, I meant screwing taken men?”

“Nope. That task was a one-and-done deal. How is that poor boy doing these days?”

“Xiaojun? He’s back at school getting his master’s...He’s happy.”

“Has he tried to contact y/n since then?” Yeeun asked.

Jeno chuckled. “No. Why would he?”

She smiled at him. “They were sweet together. And you tore them apart because you couldn’t take no for an answer, could you?”

Jeno rolled his eyes. “And what about it? I have a right to get whatever I want. Do you know who I am?”

Yeeun sighed. “Yes, you repeatedly tell the family group chat who you are every week. And we all take it because you pay us well…”

Jeno and Yeeun had conspired against you and Xiaojun. Jeno stole Xiaojun’s phone and Yeeun charmed Xiaojun to join her for a night at the hotel. Jeno planned for you to go to Osaka Moon so you could see Xiaojun and Yeeun together.

Jeno watched you as you broke down in tears, calling each of his bandmates. He made sure he was far enough away by the time you called him. He played the part of a concerned friend very well. He had to take up acting, another field he would surely dominate. And with you as his director? It made him hard just thinking about it.

Jeno didn’t coincidentally find you at the bar. He’d been tailing and that stranger who hit on you was only an added bonus. Jeno could play the unsuspecting hero and you would eat it up. And that you did. He was satisfied to know that you wanted to sleep with him. He didn’t care about being a rebound.

Even so, he wasn’t going to take any chances. So after you left his penthouse the next morning, he took the bedsheets you came on and the strands of hair you left behind and got to work.

Did you really think Jeno amassed such success and wealth all on his own? He had a little help from his family and their friends from Hell, of course. Jeno’s family came from a long line of Satan-worshipping witches. Jeno was the youngest of the descendants.

Human sacrifice was only a small token of the Lee family’s appreciation to Lucifer. So Jeno’s deception of Xiaojun was almost nothing in the list of gruesome things Jeno has done to reach the top of his game.

Yeeun was able to literally charm Xiaojun with her own special concoction. Once she and Xiaojun had sex, she wiped his memory of that hour and left him alone at the hotel. Confused. Disoriented. Worried.

As for you? Well, you were the most irresistible creature in this world. Your immunity to his charms was only the first step in his growing feelings for you. You were brilliant and talented at your craft, always capturing his best features on camera. You were gorgeous. He was surprised you didn’t become an idol at LCF yourself. You were warm and sweet and giving. Even if the company was cutthroat, he saw how you’d be with your coworkers and the other idols. You were just a pure, loving girl. And he desperately needed you. Desired you. Craved you.

He simply had to call you his.

With your samples, he was able to create the perfect spell to make you his.

Forever.

That was what Jeno called true love.

[Fin]

[floral-and-fine]

Heaven Bent part 4

Daryl Dixon x female reader

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

A/n: Hope y'all enjoy this next part :) Thank you, everyone, who has left comments or shown support, really helps keep me motivated to write!  Other than a few specific scenes, I’m not quite sure where this fic is going or for how long. Thank you @ewokiee​ for helping me when I was stuck, seems to have happened a lot.

Summary: The reader finds Sophia lost in the woods, too bad neither of them have any sense of direction. 

You were laying out on the grass, in front of the prison, enjoying the feeling of the sun on your skin. Turning your head, you could see a couple of walkers banging on the fence, but there wasn’t any urgency. Closing your eyes and sighing, you continued soaking in the warmth of the sun’s rays.

After months of traveling and living on the road, it seemed like finding a new home, a new safe haven was a dream of a dream.

Seeing so many houses and towns abandoned made the world seem like a shell of itself. It was almost like living in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Every day you would come across something that reminded you of how things used to be, such as while rummaging for supplies in an empty home, you’d end up finding a forgotten family photo album or family portrait, and deep down you longed for that safer, easier life.

Then there were the walkers, a never-ending threat, a fear that everyone had to live with, and that worry whenever entering a new building if you turned a corner or opened a door that it could be your last.

Who would’ve believed that you’d find such comfort and peace behind a fence or behind bars?

“Hey,” a voice said as their body plopped down beside you.

“Hi buttercup,” you smiled, keeping your eyes shut.

Sophia stretched her arms above her head, looking around. “You know what this place needs,” she mused. “Flowers.”

You nodded your head, “Ah yes, big yellow sunflowers would be nice.”

“Those are pretty,” she commented.

“And useful,” you added. You could feel her giving you a skeptical look, you smiled wider. “We can roast and eat the seeds, and there are some medical uses too.”

“Are there other flowers that are helpful?”

“There are,” You said sitting up. “And lots of other plants that can be helpful too. I’ll keep an eye out for seeds next time I’m on a run. Would you like to be my helper?”

“Yes! We’ll start our own flower garden!” She said eagerly.

“Yep, I think that’s exactly what this place needs,” you murmured to yourself. You stood up and started scanning the area, trying to decide where the garden should go. “We should probably ask Rick first.”

There was a nice spot over by the east side of the prison, plenty of sunshine in the mornings and in the evening it would be nicely shaded. Water was scarce, but if you could figure out a way to collect rainwater that would help.

You turned around and looked back at Sophia, “Race you to the prison.” With that you took off running, laughing as Sophia called you a cheater.

Still giggling, you found Rick and some of the others inside the prison.

“Hey Rick,” you greeted, rocking on the balls of your feet with your hands clasped behind your back.

“Need something?” He asked, turning his attention to you.

“I was thinking of starting a small garden, over around there,” you explained, vaguely gesturing with your head. “Wanted to make sure it was alright with you first.”

“We’re going to plant flowers,” Sophia butted in.

Rick smiled and shrugged, “Don’t see why not.”

Sophia squealed beside you and you laughed, “Still have to find seeds and whatnot,” you told her. “But we can start tomorrow morning by getting the soil ready.”

…

You wiped the sweat from your brow and leaned against your shovel. The garden was starting to come along, you hadn’t found many things to plant yet, but it was better than nothing.

“So, what did you do before all this?” Glenn asked, walking over and admiring the work you had done so far.

You shrugged, “a little of this and a little of that.”

“Oh come on, that’s worse than Daryl’s answer!” Glenn complained. “Anytime anyone has asked, he always replies with its none of your goddamn business.”

You smiled, you could easily picture Daryl scowling at the question. “Well that’s probably because it is God’s business,” you joked.

Glenn laughed lightly, “still can’t believe he lets you get away with all that angel talk. It’s probably because the two of you are sleeping together.”

Your fell face at the comment, but just as you were about to question him, Hershel approached.

He was getting quick on those crutches. He smiled at the beginnings of your little project. “It’s looking good so far,” he chuckled.

You rubbed the back of your head, “I guess so. Nothing compared to your farm of course.”

…

Daryl was doing maintenance on his bow when Sophia quietly shuffled into the room.

“Mr. Dixon,” she started, standing by the door. Even after everything, Sophia was still shy around most everyone with the exception of her mother, you, and Carl.

“What is it?” He asked, focused on what he was doing.

“We’re going to be starting a flower garden, y/n and I,” she explained, smiling brightly.

Daryl nodded, still working.

She fidgeted with her necklace for a moment, moving the pendant side to side.

“Y/n was hoping to plant some sunflowers, and I was just thinking if you come across any kind of seeds you could bring them back with you, y’know? We’re hoping to plant all sorts of flowers.” She rattled off.

Daryl sighed, looking over at Sophia, who was looking at him hopefully, “Alright, if I see any I’ll bring them back.”

“Thank you!” She shrieked, giving him a quick hug.

He clenched his jaw for a moment, mulling things over, “what flowers did you say she wanted?”

“Sunflowers!” Sophia shouted as she skipped out of the room.

…

Daryl pulled up to the gates, he had left for a solo supply run just as the sun was rising. He had scoured a few abandoned homes, killed a couple of walkers, nothing too eventful or worthwhile.

You sat your tools aside, and dusted yourself off, heading over and meeting Daryl by the gate.

“Did you have any luck?” You asked.

“Not really,” he said, getting off of his motorcycle. Opening his pack he pulled out a shoebox that had probably seen better days.

“Shoes?” You questioned, lifting your brow.

He shook his head and thrust the dirty worn box into your hands. “Here,” he muttered before heading inside.

Curious, you opened the lid, finding that it was filled with seed packets inside. You bit your lip and sat on the ground. Carefully, you started going through the packets, setting aside the most useful ones.

You were bubbling with excitement over the find, if you could manage to gather enough water and get some extra help, you could have a pretty nice crop going besides just a little flower garden.

You paused, noticing underneath the top layer of packets, was a sunflower, the stem had been cut by a serrated knife leaving it rough and jagged, it was also missing a few petals, but still, it was a beautiful sight.

Looking back at the prison, you wondered if there was something you could do for Daryl in return. Most people wouldn’t have bothered even looking in this box, figuring it was probably just junk. Plus, you couldn’t even put into words how you felt over the flower.

You clutched the flower tightly, you had been meaning to do something for him for months now, even before this new surprise. You narrowed your eyes, what the hell would he even like?

...

“Guess who finally picked the lock to the warden’s office,” you sang, joining Daryl on the watchtower.

Daryl looked up at you, blinking in surprise over the dried blood on your shirt, “what the hell happened to you?”

You looked down at the stain, “Oh yeah, that, there was a walker inside, but I took care of it.”

Daryl shook his head, “you’re gonna get yourself killed doing stupid shit like that.”

“Sorry,” you sighed, feeling bad for making him worry. “But look at what I found.” You held up the fancy bottle of scotch and smiled. “Thought we could share it.”

Daryl rolled his eyes but scooted over for you to sit next to him.

You opened the bottle and took the first drink before handing it to him. Closing your eyes, you listened to the crickets and Daryl breathing. It was a cool and peaceful night, perfect for relaxing and loosening up a bit.

“Thank you for the seeds and the flower,” you said, breaking the silence.

He didn’t reply, simply taking another swig from the bottle, and staring out into the distance.

He wasn’t quite sure what motivated him to do it. The box of seeds was one thing, but searching for a Goddamn sunflower just so he could bring you one was another.

Daryl could practically hear Merle in his head taunting him, telling him he’d gone soft for some bitch. His hands balled into fists involuntarily, the thought of a Merle referring to you as a bitch pissed him off.

‘What’s a matter with you boy?’ Imaginary Merle asked. ‘Never thought l’d see my kid brother wrapped around some woman’s finger.’

Daryl leaned back, clenching his jaw, all this was unfamiliar territory, all these things he felt, the way he thought about you. Maybe he was going soft… scowling he drank more, hoping to put an end to the voice going on and on in the back of his mind.

You took the bottle from him, taking a big drink and sighing as a wave of nostalgia washed over you, “I remember getting my heart broken on a night like this, damn bastard.”

Daryl peeked over at you. You rarely cursed and you rarely seemed anything other than sweet and happy. But the bitterness and hurt in your voice were evident.

You examined the bottle in your hands, a quarter of it already gone. “I was dumb, so fucking dumb. I left home without a second thought and followed the man I loved across the country. I don’t know what I expected… marriage and babies, I guess, but instead what I ended up with was an immature manipulative dick.”

“I packed up what little I had, and left that small crappy apartment in the middle of the night... I couldn’t go back home, so I hitched a ride going as far as the driver would take me,” you wrapped your arms around yourself. “Since then my entire life could fit in one suitcase.”

Tossing your head back you took another big gulp, and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand.

You could easily recall that night you left, standing on the street corner feeling like a lost soul in the dark. No one to turn to, nowhere to go, it was scary but there was also a certain freedom to it. You were on your own, nothing tying you down or holding you up.

“You been on your own since then?” Daryl asked.

“Mostly,” you shrugged. “I’ve been fortunate though, met some decent people on my travels… and some interesting ones.”

You passed the bottle back to him,“I heard from the others about what happened with your brother,” you started. “Sounds like you and him have been through a lot together.”

He nodded, “Merle’s tougher than nails, none of these walkers would ever get the jump on him. He’s out there somewhere.”

“The two of you have that in common then,” You smiled. “From what I’ve gathered, it sounded like the two of you were inseparable, always having each other’s backs and whatnot.”

Daryl frowned. “Not all the time,” he corrected you.

Merle had been the first one to leave, having left Daryl behind without a second thought. This time around, Daryl didn’t have a choice, at least not in the same way.

“But I guess we’re even now,” he murmured.

“It must’ve been hard not going after him,” you commented. “But I know we’re all grateful that you stuck around. We need you.”

Daryl sighed, he didn’t regret his choice, he was needed here. But he still felt like he’d owed it to Merle to find him. They were family, blood, Merle was all he had in this world.

Taking another sip, your eyes wandered over to the beginnings of your garden.

“Y’know the best thing about my childhood home were the sunflowers that grew outside of my window,” You laughed dryly wiping a few stray tears. “Guess I’m just hoping this could be home for all of us.”

Daryl nodded, “If we’re smart, and if we’re careful, it can be.”

Resting your head on your hand, you admired Daryl, he was a handsome man, there was no doubt about that, but it was his arms and hands that stood out to you the most. There were many mornings you wished you could wake up in those arms.

You glanced at his face, your angel seemed to have a lot on his mind. You had hoped when you found the bottle of scotch it would’ve helped him relax a little.

But by now, you had enough to drink that you were feeling that buzz of confidence.

“Angel,” you whispered leaning forward, your eyes closed, and your hand reaching out to cup his face.

Immediately, Daryl placed his hands on your shoulders, stopping you from getting any closer.

There was a part of him that wanted this to happen, to pull you close and run his fingers through your hair, but there was also fear. He had never really been one for relationships, he didn’t have much experience with romance either. Not to mention, it seemed wrong to want to kiss a drunk woman.

You opened your eyes slowly, looking at Daryl full of confusion. Immediately backing away when you saw his face.

“Sorry, sorry,” you stood up, keeping your eyes downcast, unable to look at him. Your face felt like it was on fire.  “I-I should go,” you mumbled, stumbling as you took a few steps forward.

“Wait,” Daryl spoke up, grabbing your arm. “You’ll break your damn neck trying to climb down drunk.”

You kept your head down but nodded trying desperately to hold back tears. You were feeling absolutely overwhelmed by your emotions, and your inebriated state making it harder to control them.

“I’ll climb down first,” he explained, that way if you lost your footing and slipped and he could try to catch you.

Once you made it to the ground, you were still so flustered that you quickly wished him a good night before brushing past him and heading towards the prison.

Daryl watched as you briskly walked away, eventually climbing back up to the watchtower once you were inside. He grabbed the bottle of scotch taking one more drink before replacing the lid. He hoped he hadn’t just fucked things up.

Tag list: @twdeadfanfic​  @xaestheticalien​  @x-roscpctals-x   @amaroho​  @theonlyone-meeeee​  @mysterious-398​   @marss-anonymous​   @thecaptainsgingersnap​

[dailyniallnews]

Niall Horan interview: "Top of my bucket list? A Grammy, a sold-out tour and a Number 1 album"

Niall Horan talks biscuits, his bucket list and the best and worst One Direction songs.

As we sit down for a chat with Niall Horan, he fits as much of a biscuit in his mouth as he can and eats it. We’re in a suite at a London hotel, and there are plates of them strategically placed everywhere. It’s shortbread. He peers at the remaining half and says it before we do. “Shortbread is a very Niall Horan biscuit to like, isn’t it? Plain. Buttery.” We proffer “sweet” and “understated” as more flattering alternatives.In short(bread), it’s a pretty on-the-nose comparison. Even in One Direction he was the safe, dependable member. That quality extended into his first solo album Flicker, a collection of solid if slightly predictable folk-pop that topped the charts in America and peaked at Number 3 on the Official UK Albums Chart.Then, last year, he returned with Nice To Meet Ya; a track that caught fans off guard for its trippy, '90s rock-inspired edge. A show-er as well as a grower, it hung around the UK Top 100 for 15 weeks. It sets the tone perfectly for his second record, Heartbreak Weather, which finds Niall exploring his pop-rock-folk sound with a new, infectious confidence. Loosely a concept album, it tells the story, he explains, of "the end of a relationship and the feelings you have around a breakup and attaching them to weather". It’s more Viennese biscuit than shortbread. 

“I definitely feel like my voice has got better,” he says of the album. “That’s just repetition from singing every night on tour. I wanted to write what I thought were good pop songs and not overthink it. What the first album did has blown my mind, but I felt like I was pigeonholing myself into writing a certain type of song. This time I wanted to focus on writing good songs and dress them up however we felt necessary afterwards. I feel like I know my way around a studio and my way around a pop song, so f**k it, let’s have a good time.”

What makes Niall stand out compared to his former bandmates and pop peers in general is how easy he makes the whole popstar thing look. "Everybody says that to me," he says, rolling back with laughter. "It’s not easy, I promise. I must just look like the smiliest person on the planet. I just love it. When I was a kid, this is what I wanted it to be. I think about that on a regular basis - remember who you’re doing for, that five-year-old running around the house.”

When is your favourite time to listen to music?

“I love going out for a drive at night and listening to music. That’s how I listened back to this album. I’m going to sound like the biggest fan of myself here, but the songs on this album are brilliant and I’m not bored of them in the slightest.”

Forget Heartbreak Weather - what is your ideal weather?

“25 degrees with a slight breeze. That’s a good English summer. With a pint and sitting by a river. I don’t need much, I’m a simple man.”  

There’s a song on the album called Small Talk, which you probably have to do a lot of in your line of work.  Any tips?

“I’m really s**t at it, and it happens all the time. Like with most people it’s happened when meeting my idols, but even when I’m chatting to girls, I get sheepish and socially awkward - even though I’m not socially awkward generally.”  

What’s the first song you’d point people towards on the album?

“I’ve track-listed the album on purpose to tell a story, so if you want to know the whole story, listen to the album from start to finish. As a vibe-setter Heartbreak Weather is track one – it’s feel-good and a song to bop to. Otherwise, Black And White and a song called Still at the end of the album, which sort-of sums up the whole story.”

What would your superpower be?

“To get rid of jetlag. I spend my whole life jetlagged or feeling like I am.”

What personality trait about yourself annoys you most?

“Probably talking too much. And I’m a s**t communicator, which is probably why I’m a songwriter. It’s probably a man thing – we’re all s**t at talking, but I’m determined to get better at it.”

What’s your phone wallpaper?

“It’s a photo of my tour manager Paul. We went to Julia Michaels’ birthday party in January and it was ‘90s prom themed. I had no idea what to wear so ended up going in a Miami Vice look. Paul decided he was too old for that, so he dressed as a teacher and we took a picture of him looking like this – so sweet yet so sad at same time.”

What would be your last meal?

“How long have you got? The one I think of most often is Wagamamas: I’d get Chilli Squid, Ebi Katsu and a Chicken Katsu Curry. Then I’d go around the corner to a pub and have about eight pints of Guinness. Did you know there’s a Wagamamas at Heathrow airport? I once had a Katsu curry at 10am.”  

What is top of your bucket list?

“I’d love to win a Grammy. This year I’d like a Number 1 album and a sold-out tour. Now that I’ve got to a certain point in my career, I’d like to stay at this level or get bigger. It’s what drives me – I always want to out-do myself. Last album I played Brixton Academy in London, this album I want to play Wembley Arena.”  

Who would play you in a film about your life?

“Allen Leech from Downton Abbey. People tell me all the time we look the same, and let’s be honest, they’re not wrong.”

What is your most treasured possession?

“I wouldn’t like it if my house fell down. There are certain things I think about a lot like old footage, awards, stuff like that, but - and this is going to sound very random - but I’ve become close with Paul Smith and he sends me these little notes all the time. If I lost those I’d be really upset.”

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

“Frank Sinatra because he’s my number one and I’m starting to dress like him. Bruce Springsteen, who would have great stories. Also Ellen DeGeneres for the craic and Michelle and Barack Obama. I’ll bring the beer and everyone else can cook.”

On reflection, what’s the best One Direction song?

“I was listening to a few recently because I want to put one or two in my live show. I love a song called Stockholm Syndrome. A track called Girl Almighty as well. Basically, the last two albums are f**king brilliant. Drag Me Down is also a great tune. Also Walking In The Wind and What A Feeling.

And the worst?

Na Na Na from the first album. There’s a few from that first album that are howlers. It still got to Number 1 though!

Niall Horan's new album Heartbreak Weather is out now.

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (3.4-3.10.20):

NEW MUSIC:

·         Blink-182’s Travis Barker, YUNGBLUD and Machine Gun Kelly shared that they are currently in the studio working on a brand new track for the latter’s upcoming pop-punk album, Tickets to My Downfall. Kelly also revealed other previous collaborators on his new project.

·         In a recent Instagram posts, Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba replied to a comment saying we can expect a new EP very soon. Skiba explained the three upcoming songs are mixed and mastered, and come out the day before their tour with Bad Religion.

·         Asking Alexandria revealed their sixth full-length record will be titled Like a House on Fire, which comes three years after their self-titled 2017 release and arrives on May 15th via Sumerian Records. The band also delighted fans with a single, “Antisocialist.”

·         FEVER 333 wrote, recorded and released a new song, “Presence is Strength,” in light of last Tuesday’s primary elections in 14 U.S. states. In addition to the song, lead singer Jason Aalon Butler also released a new solo track, “Bulletproof.”

·         Machine Gun Kelly gave us his new music video for “Why Are You Here” after it was leaked by a fan. The video is colorful, action-packed and centered around fruit, and Kelly went on to ask fans to stream the track as much as possible.

·         Boston Manor surprised fans with two new songs, “Ratking” and “On a High Ledge,” off of their upcoming third album Glue. The aforementioned album is set to release on May 1st via Pure Noise Records.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         PVRIS dropped a new song, “Dead Weight,” as well as announced the “Use Me U.S. Tour” that will take place two months prior to their tour with Halsey this summer. The tour kicks off on May 8th in Columbus, Ohio, and finishes up on June 10th in Seattle.

·         Sadly, YUNGBLUD is the latest musician to join the list of performers that have canceled shows in Asia over coronavirus concerns. The singer took to his Instagram to announce the unfortunate news.

·         My Chemical Romance officially announced another European show in St. Petersburg, Russia, which offers another look at the skeletal figure from their previous “An Offering…” video. The gig takes place two days after their performance in Moscow.

·         Falling in Reverse canceled the final show of their tour on March 4th, which was set to take place in Sacramento, California. The band cited its reasoning to drummer Johnny Mele’s food poisoning and emergency surgery for Ronnie Radke’s girlfriend, WWE’s Paige.

·         Hayley Williams is celebrating the release of her debut solo album by heading out to Europe and across North America on a tour this summer. The vocalist gave her first single, “Simmer,” its live debut at Collina Strada’s show during NY Fashion Week in mid-February.

·         Armor for Sleep revealed the support for the whole tour, Never Loved, as well as the Cold Seas for all East Coast dates and Silence of You for all West Coast and Central dates. The tour celebrates the 15th anniversary of the 2005 album What to Do When You Are Dead.

·         SXSW’s website stated they have been forced to cancel this year’s festival by the City of Austin, Texas. The festival is exploring options to reschedule the event and is working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants.

·         Post Malone fans expressed concern for his well-being after performance videos from the second leg of his Runaway Tour began making the rounds, where he appeared unwell. The rapper has since addressed the claims from the stage of his latest tour stop.

·         Halsey played her Bring Me the Horizon collaboration “Experiment on Me” from the Birds of Prey soundtrack live for the first time in Glasgow. Prior to this date, she had been closing her sets out with the songs “Ashley,” “Gasoline” and “Without Me.”

·         Scary Kids Scaring Kids are resuming celebrating 15 years of The City Sleeps in Flames at the end of June. The band has recruited the Classic Crime, Picturesque and Eidola as supporting acts for the new leg.

·         Four Chord Music Festival is returning for its seventh year this summer in Pittsburgh. In the first wave of announcements, the annual event has revealed Blink-182 and the Used will appear as headliners at the July 11th date.

·         Linkin Park is planning on celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Hybrid Theory all year long, asking fans for contributions to help make the events they have planned special. The band members asked fans for submissions of videos, photos and souvenirs.

·         Jimmy Eat World announced the Criminal Energy Tour in support of their latest album Surviving, which will kick off on August 6th in Atlanta and end September 5th in Phoenix. They will be joined by the Front Bottoms, Turnover and Joyce Manor.

·         City and Colour declared he is playing a one-off show in Toronto for the 15th anniversary of his debut album Sometimes. The show will take place at the Budweiser Stage on August 7th, which marks the 10th time he has performed at the venue.

·         According to YourEDM, Coachella is being moved ahead six months to give more time to assess the coronavirus outbreak. Fans and local residents initially started a petition to have organizers cancel the event over the growing issue.

·         After revealing the 320 Project, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and 320 Changes Direction founder Talinda Bennington announced the first-ever 320 Fest, taking place on May 9th at L.A. Live. The free event strives to bring awareness to mental health.

OTHER NEWS:

·         The Hit Like a Girl drumming contest has returned for its ninth year of competition, which gives female drummers and percussionists the opportunity to show off their skills. Executive director of the organization, David Levine, first created the contest in 2011.

·         The Maine drummer Pat Kirch and his wife Shacara Nemetz announced that their first child, Charlotte Rose, was born on Leap Day. Kirch shared photos of their family’s newest member with a brief, loving caption.

·         A new app, Jadu, was revealed that allows users to interact with holograms of their favorite musicians and share them to social media accounts. Among the app’s familiar faces are Palaye Royale, Poppy, Vic Mensa and more.

·         Green Day announced they are auctioning a guitar on Reverb.com to raise funds for ALS research. The gesture is in memory of Kim Shattuck, leader of iconic 90s punk outfit, the Muffs.

·         At the very end of their tour in Sacramento, California, the Word Alive posted that they were robbed of nearly $10,000 worth of personal effects and merchandise. In response to the crime, the band later released a new merch item, a shirt, to cover the expenses.

·         According to Deadline, Machine Gun Kelly is set to star alongside Sam Worthington in the action western film The Last Son of Isaac LeMay, which begins production in Montana next month. The rapper’s role will see him as the leader of a gang of young outlaws.

·         Dance Gavin Dance announced they are creating a graphic novel called Robot’s Tale: A Dance Gavin Dance Graphic Novel, which will hit stores this May. The book is a collaboration with Z2 Comics, which has also worked with BABYMETAL, YUNGBLUD, Poppy and more.

·         Dr. Martens and Sanrio, the creators of Hello Kitty, revealed their new collaborative line is celebrating anniversaries for both of them after they released a similar collab a decade ago. The new collection includes multiple sets of boots, kids’ footwear, sandals and a satchel.

·         On March 7th, Twitter and Reddit users realized all of Fall Out Boy’s music videos the From Under the Cork Tree era have disappeared from YouTube. In attempting to access the links, viewers are told, “Video unavailable. This video has been removed by the user.”

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[rovalent]

After months preparing for their comeback, it’s time to show their new song to the world!

But before they come back, they are pulled aside by the manager for some exciting news. After showing solid results with the past albums, the company decided to create the first LUXE’s first subunit to show a different side of the group. The subunit will be called Lemon Syrup inspired by real life Orange Caramel and their first release will be a double single with ‘Magic Girl’ and ‘A-ing’, which the line distribution can be found here. The members chosen to join are Ella, Yena and Zoe. They are told to learn the lyrics because the plan is to debut them next year. 

Ella is also informed that she will have a solo fashion pictorial with Marie Claire Korea. The photo session will happen on October 10th and the photos will be released next month on the magazine’s November issue. You may use the following images as references (here).

To promote their first full album, the members of LUXE will all go to the recording of Ask In A Box inspired by this episode on October 12th. This episode will be uploaded on their Youtube channel on October 23rd. On October 14th, the members will take part in the filming of ‘Running Man’ inspired by Episode 428 which can be seen here under the theme “Everyone has secrets”. This episode will air on October 25th. 

Their comeback date is on October 17th and the showcase will start at 7PM. A specially prepared video will play on the big screen highlighting different parts of their music video with the instrumentals of ‘Ah Yeah’ as the background music before the members walk onto the stage to perform their title track ‘Ah Yeah’. The MC Kim  Minchul will appear once they’re done to thank the public for coming. The members will answer questions about their comeback preparations and new album as any other major activities that happened during their hiatus such as drama participations. They’ll then perform ‘Too Good For Me’ followed by ‘Oh Boy’, from their previous album. The MC will then ask more personal and variety questions and their goals for the future. They’ll finish it off with a performance of ‘How Why’ followed by ‘Up&Down’ to finish it off.

The following is the music show promotion schedule for LUXE’s ‘Ah Yeah’ activities:

10/18, 10/25, 11/01: SBS Inkigayo

10/20, 10/27, 11/03: MTV The Show

10/21, 10/28, 11/04: MBC Show Champion

10/22, 10/29, 11/05: Mnet M!Countdown

10/23, 10/30, 11/06: KBS Music Bank

10/23: Arirang Simply K-Pop

10/24, 10/31, 11/07: MBC Music Core

During the first week of promotions, LUXE will use ‘Oh Boy’ as their sibling song and will perform it alongside the title track. For any day that you do not have to perform or have any other schedules, you may have a break at the dorms unless said otherwise.

Music show promotions will last for a total of three weeks this time. Programs will begin pre-recording early in the morning and groups are expected to stay at the broadcasting station until the live broadcast takes place later in the day. Although music shows in real life follow varied recording schedules, for IC writing purposes, the schedule for every music show will follow this consistent pattern:

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: return to broadcasting station: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: greet senior artist groups at their respective dressing room/spaces, accompanied by a manager. you may not sleep during this time, up until the live broadcast.

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in the dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in the waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

On applicable Fridays, members leave the KBS building for recording Arirang Simply K-Pop which airs 1PM ~ 2PM. Due to ISAC recording schedules, LUXE will pre-record their stages early in the day on the 24th and 25th before they have to leave.

On October 19th, all the members will go to SBS Power FM where they’ll answer questions as well as sing their own songs. On October 23rd, they’ll all go to Idol Radio. On May 27th, Cheri and Yena will go together to Kiss The Radio. They won’t be the only guests of the day.

As explained in the previous month, LUXE will be joining the recordings of the biannual ISAC. They'll be taken to the event with their manager on October 24th and 25th and they should use this time to make friends, have fun and, of course, win the games to get more screen time. Once arriving, they will change into lilac uniforms and pose for the press before the recording start. 

Along with the other idols, LUXE was invited to the annual Samsung Halloween Party. The girls are expected to abuse of their creativity and ROYAL has left their costume makers and makeup artist available for the girls to borrow help from. They’ll be taken to the event with their manager on October 31st and should use this time to enjoy themselves. All the members have their presence as obligatory. They’ll be sharing a table with Lee Yuna.

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of October. There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - ROYAL ENT - OCTOBER SCHEDULE (for the November 4 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

IF DO MAX REQS. :  +1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #3 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

DEBUT POINTS SPENT ON THE IDOL SHOP THIS MONTH:

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

[novaent]

PER_SE’s comeback is right around the corner, set to happen on July 12th.

Ahead of the comeback to help with promotions Hui, Hugo and Yuchan will go together to a recording of Hello Counselor as based on this episode on July 3rd. This will air on July 19th. On July 7th, Jungwoo and Junju will join the recording of a segment of Happy Together. This will air on July 23rd.

Their comeback showcase starts at 7pm, an hour after the official release. The MV teasers will play on the big screen followed by the ‘O Sole Mio’ music video. The MC of the night Lee Joohyun will step onto the stage to start things off. The members will be called onto the stage and introduce themselves to the public, as well as their brand new song. They’ll perform ‘O Sole Mio’ for the first time. The MC will start a section of questions and answers regarding their new album and comeback preparations, as well as other major events during their hiatus period such as drama participations. They’ll then perform ‘Twilight’ followed by a performance of ‘Why’. During the next break, the MC will ask a few personal and variety questions, as well as their goals for this comeback and the future. They’ll sing ‘Tell Me What It Is’ with standing microphones and then freely move around the stage during a performance of ‘Promise’. Their outfits will follow the one on this image.

The following is the music show promotion schedule for PER_SE’s ‘O Sole Mio’ activities:

07/14, 07/21, 07/28, 08/04: MTV The Show

07/15, 07/22, 07/29, 08/05: MBC Show Champion

07/16, 07/23, 07/30, 08/06: Mnet M!Countdown

07/17, 07/24, 07/31, 08/07: KBS Music Bank

07/17, 07/24: Arirang Simply K-Pop

07/18, 07/25, 08/01, 08/08: MBC Music Core

07/19, 07/26, 08/02, 08/09: SBS Inkigayo

During the first week of promotions, PER_SE will use ‘Twilight’ as their sibling song and will perform it alongside the title track. For any day that you do not have to perform or have any other schedules, you may have a break at the dorms unless said otherwise.

Music show promotions will last for a total of four weeks this time. Programs will begin pre-recording early in the morning and groups are expected to stay at the broadcasting station until the live broadcast takes place later in the day. Although music shows in real life follow varied recording schedules, for IC writing purposes, the schedule for every music show will follow this consistent pattern:

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: return to broadcasting station: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: greet senior artist groups at their respective dressing room/spaces, accompanied by a manager. you may not sleep during this time, up until the live broadcast.

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

On applicable Fridays, members leave the KBS building for recording Arirang Simply K-Pop which airs 1PM ~ 2PM.

On July 14th, PER_SE will be guests on Idol Radio and on July 15th on Cultwo Show. On July 17th, Hui and Nori will go to the radio SBS Power FM. 

Apart from that, PER_SE will also have to prepare a different kind of stage. The Music Bank episode on the 24th will be changed in favor of a Summer special concert and the group was invited to participate. They’ll perform two of their songs: ‘Twilight (short ver.)’ and ‘O Sole Mio’. They’ll also have a special stage in which they’ll perform the popular song ‘Boy With Luv’ originally by MADTOWN. You may find a line distribution to the special stage here. The special stage will be pre-recorded earlier in the day in outfits similar to the ones showed in the reference video.

On July 31st, Samsung will be hosting a summer party in a hotel for their staff and trainees. While PER_SE members may attend, their presence is optional and the manager will suggest not spending too much time there in case they choose to go. They’d only be available after the end of the Music Bank recordings for the day. Idols will have their own area to sit at separate from the others, but they may interact with trainees in case they go out of it. More information can be found on the trainee evaluation post.

On July 16th, they’ll record an episode of ‘MV Commentary’ for their ‘O Sole Mio’ music video for the S-POP Channel. July 27th, the group will record an episode of ‘After Mom Is Asleep’ as based on this episode. On August 2nd, they’ll go to Idol Café.

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of July. There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - NOVA ENT - JULY SCHEDULE (for the August 5 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

IF DO MAX REQS. :  +1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #3 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

DEBUT POINTS SPENT ON THE IDOL SHOP THIS MONTH:

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

**** Their music show performances give 26 EXP and their promotions on tv and radio shows give 5 EXP. The group’s performances on the Summer Festival gives 2 EXP. Their appearances on the S-POP channel give 3 EXP making it a total of 36 EXP. For more information regarding GROUP EXP, refer to the idol tier page.

[purplesurveys]

642

If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? My obvious choices would be Beyoncé and Hayley Williams. But to change it up a bit, I would love to meet Meghan Markle. What's the first line of the nearest book you can reach? It’s the preface, and it says, “The MSA Simulated College Admission Test Modules are written for the potential college freshmen who need to prepare for college entrance tests given by the country’s finest universities and colleges.” Hah, it’s a college entrance test reviewer. Gabie’s sister is part of the next batch who will be taking the exams, so I’m passing on my old reviewers and modules to her which explains why this is the book nearest to me right now. What does the last text message on your phone say? “Let’s talk on fbc” If you could be any colour of crayon, what would you be? Burgundy or maroon. I like bold colors. If you could be anywhere in the universe right now, where would you be? I woulddddd like to be at the farthest tip of the universe, just so we can finally learn just how big it all is.

Do you have a strange talent? If so, what is it? I can recite the entire screenplays of Titanic, The Proposal, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which makes me an awful companion for these movies. If you discovered a new species of animal, what would you call it? I’d leave it up to the scientists to name it tbh because I might probably give it an awful name without meaning to. What's the weirdest name for a phobia? Most of them already sound pretty weird to me lmao. For instance I’d never expect acrophobia to refer to a fear of heights, because it just sounds like a fear of acrobats :(( And triskaidekophobia sounds nothing like a fear of the number 13. If you ever had the chance, would you eat a frog? Yes. I’ve already eaten frog legs as it is. They taste just like chicken. Do you prefer being indoors or outdoors? Depends on where I am when it comes to either. I can enjoy both. When you're indoors, what will you most likely be doing? Indoors can mean a lot of things dude. I can be strolling around, eating, going through my phone, playing bowling, watching a movie, etc. Are you good at lying? I can lie if I have to, but I hate doing it. What was the last lie you told? I didn’t technically lie but like I had to act fake last Friday around a guy I don’t particularly like, but had to hang out with because he’s Angela and Hans’s friend. I kinda had to lie through my personality and show him that everything was okay, which I think counts? Hahaha. I can’t remember the last verbal lie I had to tell. The next song that comes up is a new emotion: I don’t have anything playing on my Spotify. What's your favourite food? Burgers, for sure. What is your greatest weakness? Chewy chocolate chip cookies. What's the weirdest thing you've said whilst drunk? I don’t remember half the shit I say when I’m drunk, but I bet those bits that I forget are the weird ones. Do you collect anything obscene or unusual? If yes, what do you collect? Nope, no weird collections in my room. Finish the sentence: What if... Everybody hates what ifs, there’s no need to trigger right now. What's your favourite smell? I like food smells, basically. I like the smell of chicken being fried, curry being cooked, cookies being baked, the smell of bakeries and coffee shops, my order getting placed in front of me... I just love food aahhhh. If you were ever granted one single wish, what would you wish for? To have all the money that I would ever need and want. You're given the chance to name a newly found city. What do you call it? I’d probably have to borrow an ethnic word for this, because the Filipino language is pretty badass. What do you like about your favourite band? Their songs are always intensely personal and relatable, they aren’t afraid to switch music styles, they keep going back to the Philippines heheheh, and they ALWAYS insist that they’re a band – it’s seen in how Hayley always wants to be credited as ‘Hayley Williams from Paramore’ in all her gigs, and never just as Hayley Williams. Are you creative? I wouldn’t say that. But now you got me all spooked because this was the theme of the first episode of the Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared videos D: What is the meaning of life to you? I never go on Tumblr for deep questions like this, so pass. What do you consider yourself a number one fan of? That’s a bold statement, but I’d like to think that’s me with Audrey Hepburnnnn. What's the luckiest thing that's ever happened to you? One time I was driving a little fast when the car in front of me suddenly stopped to take a turn. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to hit the brakes and if my car could slow down enough not to hit them; and at the time I was already thinking about either crashing to my death or dealing with an angry driver (even though they were the dumbass for suddenly stopping). I didn’t hit the car, but there was a literal centimeter of space left between my car and theirs; my car also got shaken up from its brakes getting floored that the engine made a weird sound for a few seonds. I was left overwhelmed and with so much adrenaline so I ended up crying for like a full hour after. Imagine you've just started a band. What would the band be called? I’m terrible with names so I hope this is the last question asking me to come up with a name for something. The name of your first album: BOY AM I WRONG. The name of your first single: You write your autobiography, the title is: What's your biggest pet peeve? Gotta be a tie between freeloaders and arriving late. What do you wish the weather could be like right now? I’m always wishing it were raining and that it could always be a little colder. What's the weirdest pet name you've ever heard? Recently I saw someone I know have the pet name ‘bubbap’ for their bf, which was new to me. What were you doing this time last year? Ooh, luckily I had a 2019-themed Instagram where I tried to take one photo every day for the year 2019 and it covers January 14! My photo for that day was my wrist covered in lipstick swatches, which I now remember as the day Kate, Jo, Aya, Laurice, and I went to UPTC, snacked at a milk tea place and browsed through makeup. I don’t remember the rest of the stuff that we did, though. What will you be doing this time NEXT year? I’m guessing I will be asleep because I have to wake up early for my job, whatever it is. If you were a superhero, what would your magic power be? Time travel. What's your biggest secret? This Tumblr. What makes a great relationship? It’s such a cliche answer but communication really makes everything better. Also, knowing one another’s love languages. What goes through your mind when you see 'that awkward moment when' posts? Nothing, I just internally hope that the rest of the sentence pertains to an actual awkward moment and not just a completely normal situation, which seems to be the case for most of those posts. How do you win over people's hearts? I’m a listener, so I just whip that weapon out and let them talk while I nod along and ask questions every now and then to let them know I’m paying attention. What's your biggest obsession? Food. What's the worst decision you've ever made in life? I don’t know. I don’t dwell on bad decisions so I’ve most likely forgotten the ones I did make in the past. What do you want written on your gravestone? I’m not yet sure. Something witty, for sure. Your favourite quote is? It’s 12:17 AM and I’m all outta energy to think of quotes that I like. What is a weird habit you have? Playing with, and sometimes pulling at, my eyebrows and eyelashes. It mostly happens when I have bouts of anxiety. If you were on a plane beside your favorite celebrity, what would you do? Say hi, tell them I’m a fan, and get on with my business so that I look all cool :((( I don’t know if I can pull that off with Kristen but that’s definitely my plan. Describe yourself with a song title? That I’m So Tired song by Lauv and Troye Sivan. Why would someone use an umbrella? Because rain? Or sunlight? If you could see into the future, what would you do? I’d look into it, because I hate uncertainty. Why is shampoo clear and conditioner not? Idk about yours, but mine both aren’t. You've created your own recipe. What do you name it? U g h. Do you have lots of floor space in your bedroom? No, not really. This room was meant for my youngest sibling so it’s been small from the get-go. For some reason I called dibs on it when I was 10 because my parents meant to have me share a room with my sister and I was NOT a fan of that – simply put, I called dibs on my current bedroom because it was a solo bedroom (my brother was 4 at the time and didn’t want to stay in a room all by himself, so it was technically up for grabs). I have the smallest room now, but honestly it’s ok. I don’t need a lot of space and besides, I’m moving out very soon hahaha. What time do you like to stay awake until? It’s different every night. Are you a dedicated person? To causes or responsibilities I’m passionate about, yes. What happened in the last dream you had? Not sure. I forget most of them. What's your favourite day of the week and why? Friday, because weekeeeeeeeeeeeeeeend. If you're at the beach, what are you most likely doing? I’m always doing either of these: sunbathing, or swimming in the sea, just relaxing. The name of your favourite movie: Two for the Road and Good Will Hunting. It’s always been a tie. What's your favourite thing about Christmas? All the food.

Are you stubborn? Yes. If you could forget about one memory that you have, what would it be? Embarrassing ones. I won’t delve into them because the whole point is to forget them, lmao. If you were made out of paper, what would you do? Google what just happened lol. Do you act differently to certain people? Yeah. You have to sometimes. How I am with my college friends isn’t 100% the same as how I am with my high school friends (I switch to a different sense of humor, but otherwise it’s still all me), and both these personalities are so not how I act around family. What's your favourite sport? Pro wrestling. Your favourite tweet ever made by your favourite celebrity? The first time Punk and AJ ever tweeted each other. They were talking about human doodles and human poodles. It was WILLLLLLDDDD experiencing that as it happened haha. Did you enjoy this quiz? Sure! It was random enough for me. The name generator questions just scared me a bit. If you were on the titanic, would you be a survivor? I guess, because I’m a woman and they had that women and children rule. Where would be the weirdest place to randomly start dancing at? A bank? I dunno. What do you do when you can't sleep at night? I turn to Reddit or YouTube. 101% effective, every single night. Do you trust people easily? Yes. I can also take away that trust easily. If you could tell the whole world anything right now, what would you say? Please donate whatever you can to help out the animals in the areas affected by the Taal eruption. I wish it were this easy to yell it out to the world. Your opinion on the royals: I’m proud of Meghan and Harry, y’alls. GO DITCH ‘EM. Don’t get me wrong, I love the royal family, but what Meghan and Harry did was pretty fucking awesome, too. Why is your favourite TV show your favourite TV show? It’s not deep, it’s funny and I can rewatch every episode as many times as I want and still laugh at the same punchlines, it’s relatable, and it’s helped me through some dark times. Would you rather be the leader or the follower? Leader for tasks I know I’ll succeed in, follower for responsibilities that I know are way too big and pressing for my capabilities. What's your favourite pastime? Netflix, and my newest hobby, painting :)

[peonybane]

My main groups

Oh boy. Thanks for the ask, I’ll try to go as in-depth as possible. Get ready for me to just fucking gush.

So I have two main groups: VIXX and BTS.

Please read below the break because this is long as hell. This is also a repost as Tumblr is a dumb dumb.

VIXX:

Voice, Visuals, Values in Excelsis (I know doesn’t make sense but that’s what the boys names themselves). They are the Concept Kings for a reason: Space Vampires, Voodoo Dolls, Cyborgs/Androids, Time, the Greek God trilogy, Perfumes, Duality (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and so many others.

I consider myself to be a STARLIGHT in terms of kpop first before anything else other than just enjoying all of it. VIXX will always be my number one group because they helped me out of a really dark place in my life and because of that, I can’t really replace them with anyone else. With that being said, I look at them as if they are my older brothers, which makes looking at them in a sexual way almost impossible for me (despite one of the fancams later, I just think that fancam is so interesting). So I am very, very soft towards them. I almost cried at a concert for Ravi because I was so moved at being able to meet someone I very much look up to.

So even though I was technically introduced to kpop via either BigBang (with Fantastic Baby) or BTS (with DNA), it wasn’t until VIXX that I really got into them.

My first song with VIXX was Error. I had never seen anything like Error before and it fascinated me, I was really hooked by that video. My sister and I watched that video about… 20 times in a row. And I never looked back.

My bias is Ravi. For those who don’t: he is the Rapper of the group as well as one of the main dancers. He has a deep ass voice, he looks rather scary, but he is probably one of the purest human beings on the planet. He’s a workaholic, he’s the best dog dad, he’s a shy, sweet mess (he’s best friends with Jimin of BTS and Kai of EXO, if that don’t explain much, nothing will). I saw him in concert this past May and it was just… I was in awe. He’s very down to earth and tall as fuuuuuuuuck (all of them are, the shortest is 5′11). He recently left Jellyfish Entertainment (Jelpi) to start his own production agency, GROOVL1N. The most fascinating thing about this for me is that he left on good terms with Jelpi and is still part of VIXX. No entertainment company is perfect, but I think is pretty damn close. They give their artists artistic freedom, they protect their privacy fiercely (STARLIGHTS not particularly invasive, but no one really knows anything about their private lives), and they don’t force their artists to do things that would be bad for them (I can’t find the footage, but there have been instances where instead of telling Leo not to eat, they try to make him eat, I’ll talk about that more later). What Jelpi lacks is promoting and caring about international fans. I’m pretty sure that’s why Ravi left because even though they are on good terms, that is what Jelpi lacks and Ravi really makes the international STARLIGHTS (I mean they all do, but Ravi especially) feel like they are loved.

Favorite song is kinda hard. For Title Tracks, G.R.8.U., On and On, and Fantasy are definitely tied for first place. For non-title tracks, Trigger and Light Me Up (little bit of a cheat, this is one of my favorite performances and this the Rock version) fuck me up and get me hyped. My favorite Japanese Track is Depend on Me which is basically the exact opposite of Chained Up. Because they love their STARLIGHTS so much, they have a song dedicated to us on each album, so my favorite STARLIGHT song is Milky Way.

My bias wrecker (lord help me) is Hyuk. Hyuk is the maknae of the group. He started out of the pipsqueak of the group and now dominates his hyung. He clocks in at about 6′4 and is a fucking wall. He looks like a Samoyed. He’s got a lovely voice. He sounds like Onew of SHINee. He’s incredibly manly and is weird AF. He recently made his solo debut this last winter with the ballad, Boy with a Star.

So my favorite Era was… the Conception Era. This is sort of a cheat as it encompasses a concept trilogy. It’s based on three greek gods of masculine traits which tell a love story conceptually: Zelos (god of rivalry, zeal, and jealousy) with Dynamite, Hades (god of wealth, the afterlife, and desire) Fantasy, which I think is a retelling of the Orpheus myth, and finally Kratos (god of strength and rule) with the Closer. It’s just a beautiful interconnected era.

My favorite fancams…

This Chained Up Ravi Focus (gird your loins)

This “Manager Kim” Concert video

This “(Im)perfect Boyfriends to Order” Concert video

Hyukspatch

Toy Story Fantasy Performance (if you watch nothing else, watch this)

There’s certainly more but this is what came to mind immediately.

Little tidbits otherwise, I’ll never get to BTS:

Hongbin is my icon. He’s the visual of the group, the sub rapper, he’s a gamer (has his own twitch, don’t know how to get to it since I don’t have twitch), and he’s probably the most under appreciated. Enjoy his Cool Love collab with Hyungwon of Monsta X.

N, Mr. Cha Hakyeon, is the leader of the group and he’s your favorite whether or not you believe it to be. He is currently doing his military service. We all though we would not see or hear from while he’s doing his service… I see his face everyday on my dash and I love his egg head. He was in the Children of Nobody and he’s an amazing dancer.

Ken is the would be maknae of the group and I would say that’s he’s got not only the best voice in the group, but also the best eyebrows. He’s all about acting cutesy. He is a stage actor and is absolutely amazing. I want to see one of his plays one of these days.

Now, before you come for me with your pitchforks, I love all of them, just some of them piss me off more than others, but I wouldn’t get this mad if I didn’t care. Leo pisses me the hell off. He needs someone to take care of him because he’s sacrificing his mental and physical health to satisfy people who don’t actually care about him. At roughly 6 feet tall, he weighs between 130 to 145 pounds. He’s talked about some behavior that is incredibly unhealthy and it breaks my heart (he talked about how he once binge ate then worked out until he practically passed out). He’s talked about how he’s absolutely drained after a practice for his solo and… his choreography is incredibly simple. I hate that he feels like he has to be impossibly skinny for people to love him.

Moving on from the angry stuff, VIXX is one of the nation’s prides. The president of Korea is a known fan of VIXX and the last time I checked, N is STILL one of the promotional images on the president’s website.

If you have any questions for me about VIXX, please let me know and I’d love to talk about it.

BTS:

I’m going to be a little more brief with BTS, since the majority of people know them.

So as mentioned before my first song with BTS is DNA. It didn’t leave a big impression on me. It was simply something I’d play in the background while I was finishing up work for the evening at my old job. Dope is the song that really pulled me in. I don’t know what it is about it, but it just really pulled me in.

I am *sigh* double biased, something that @ropeseok​ has made me come to terms with. My ideal is Namjoon. I really like his voice, I think he’s adorable with his hard exterior and ooeygooey center. It also helps that he’s, well, kinda like me in that he’s a brain. My other bias is Taehyung. He is probably the more realistic type of person to me. I like the idea of Namjoon. But Tae… Tae is more of the person that I need. He’s very touchy, he’s emotional, he’s true, he’s sweet, a bit child like, he’s very intelligent, but keeps it on the down low. If that makes sense.

My favorite title track is Boy in Luv. I can listen to it forever. For non-title tracks it would be First Love, Magic Shop, and Persona. My favorite Japanese Track is Crystal Snow.

Since Tae had been my bias wrecker for a while, I don’t really think I have one BUT because of someone’s influence… probably Jin. Fine, I’ll admit it, I’m a Kim line heaux.

My favorite era…. it really depends on each boy. Like for Namjoon, I love the Danger and Not Today eras. For Jin, it would have to be, ironically enough, anytime of the early eras cuz he looks lovely as hell with eyeliner and I just think he’s got this hidden bad boy energy that was able to come out during this time. For Yoongi is would be MIC DROP. He was in his fucking element. Plain and simple. For Hoseok, it was Blood, Sweat, and Tears, BST was probably one of their best eras overall, but Hoseok just fucking made it his bitch. For Jimin it was BST as well but also any of the early eras. Like Jin, he’s got this hidden ferocity that I feel like is being kept hidden behind a closely guarded wall. I also just like his hair black and when he wasn’t necessarily starving himself. For Tae… Fake Love. I think he really found his element with the ballads like Singularity and darker themes, especially now that he’s all grown up and doesn’t look like a child. For Jungkook… Dope. There was something about the uniform and the energy that really just fit him.

I’m not going to do favorite famcams as the moment I start collecting videos, I’m going to be overwhelmed with different versions and this is already ridiculously long.

Tidbits:

I really like their darker works. I really wish they’d go back to those.

I don’t want anymore collaborations with Western artists. I think it would be really cool if they collabed with another Korean group or artist. I would like to see Jimin and Ravi work together. I think their different voices would work amazingly together.

I am probably the most similar to Jimin. Everyone’s who’s ever known me and knows Kpop often compares me to Jimin.

Yeontan, along with Ravi’s dog, Butt, are my fashion icons.

Once again, I love them all, but if I had to name my least favorites, it would have to be Jimin and Jungkook. Jimin because, he’s incredibly hard for me to write. I get extremely frustrated writing about him. I work best when there’s a certain amount of emotional/psychological distance between me and the person I’m writing about because then I can comfortably extrapolate. He and I are way too close, which makes it hard for me to really describe him as someone else if that makes sense. As for Jungkook, I have a very hard time understanding him. I know that a lot of people love mysterious people, but I find them to be incredibly frustrating. I think he’s incredibly talented and nice, but I’m frustrated by the fact that’s impossible for me to get an idea of what he’s like beyond that surface layer.

So that is that.

I hope you got your answer sweet Anon. I am so sorry that is was so freaking long.

-UwU~

250 followers ask game

[ktent]

After what feels like too long, but only a few days after their 100 days celebration, is the day of ECLIPSE's first comeback. Its release date is set for the 5th of April along with the MV they attentively recorded the previous month.

Their showcase will be held the same day with the time to start at 6PM. While people wait inside, songs from their first mini-album play in the background to set up the theme. By now, though, they should already know that is not what to expect. When 6PM hits, the lights will dim and the sound of a grandfather clock will play six times, announcing not only the time but that the six girls have arrived. They'll walk to the stage in their black concept outfits and greet the crowd with the help of MC Kim Eunbin. After being asked about the concept for this comeback the girls will reply with “why don't we show you?” which will be the gate to their performance of 'Chase Me’. Once they're done, the members will have a bit of a chat time with questions regarding their comeback, new album, and concept, as well as how they prepared themselves for the change. After doing so, they'll prove they can fit any concept they want by performing their debut song 'Love Whisper’. A new round of questions will start with more of a focus on personal questions than their concept. To end the showcase, they'll sing to 'Trust Me’ from their newest mini-album.

A day earlier, on the 4th, the girls will record the dance practice to their title track to be released a week later of the release, on the 12th. The 4th, however, is the same day the staff will notify that, for both the showcase and during promotions, the member Jennie will have to lip sync during their performances. The staff will explain it as her not having met their expectations and criteria. A pre-recorded audio will play in the background during each of her parts so that there won't be a chance for her voice to give out during strong performances such as with their own title track. From then on, it won't be a subject talked about much by the coaches since they would rather not acknowledge it (and were probably given a stern talk for not preparing the idols correctly).

The following is the music show promotion schedule for Eclipse’s ‘Chase Me’ activities:

4/06, 4/13, 4/20: MBC Music Core

4/07, 4/14, 4/21: SBS Inkigayo

4/08, 4/15: Arirang Simply K-pop

4/09, 4/16, 4/23: MTV The Show

4/10, 4/17, 4/24: MBC Show Champion

4/11, 4/18, 4/25: Mnet M!Countdown

4/12, 4/19, 4/26: KBS Music Bank

On April 11th, Eclipse will record their dance relay for ‘Chase Me’ during their time waiting for M!Countdown to be uploaded on the same day (you can use this to see how it works).

Music show promotions will last for a total of three weeks this time. Programs will begin pre-recording early in the morning and groups are expected to stay at the broadcasting station until the live broadcast takes place later in the day. Although music shows in real life follow varied recording schedules, for IC writing purposes, the schedule for every music show will follow this consistent pattern:

06:20AM: at broadcasting station: basic first rehearsal on stage; no makeup, casual clothes.

06:45AM: head to salon: get makeup and hair done.

07:45AM: return to broadcasting station: eat breakfast, nap in dressing room/space.

09:00AM: dress rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

09:20AM: return to dressing room/space: rest, eat, nap.

11:00AM: final camera rehearsal on stage; stage outfits, makeup on.

11:15AM: greet senior artist groups at their respective dressing room/spaces, accompanied by a manager. you may not sleep during this time, up until the live broadcast.

07:00PM: live broadcast; when not performing, must stay in dressing room/space until the ending stage of the show.

08:00PM: line up in waiting room area to formally greet producers, director, and senior staff.

09:00PM: meeting time with fans who attended the recordings.

10:00PM: return to dressing rooms to clean up, change back into casual clothes.

11:00PM: arrive back at dorms.

To help with promotions, the girls will go to a recording of the show After School Club on the 9th of April at 1PM. This means they'll leave the The Show set after lunch for recording and then return before it's time for the live broadcast. The episode will follow the happenings of the one in this video but modified to fit the personalities of the girls from ECLIPSE. Any Red Velvet reference will be changed to ECLIPSE and their own discography. Members who can speak English will be instructed to use it as often as they can since the goal of the show is to help groups interact with their international fans.

Not only that but on April 15th, a VLive official account will be created under the name of ECLIPSE with an announcement that their first Vlive will happen on the 22nd. Fans will have the chance to build up the number of hearts before the day of the stream.

On that same day, the 22nd, the girls will leave early in the morning to record a special video for their song 'Trust Me’. It'll follow the same line out of the video seen here with intentions of it being uploaded on a later date to surprise their fans.

In the afternoon, all six girls will take part in the live which will be aired from one of KT's practice rooms. A table will be brought inside for the girls to sit by and they'll have relative freedom regarding the contents of their live, but their manager will be behind the camera the entire time to make sure they won't do or say anything wrong. They're allowed to comment they were recording something earlier in the day, but not give out any details or spoilers about it. Since it'll happen during their last week of promotions, fans will probably take it as the possibility of a quick comeback, but the more hype the better, no matter what will actually happen.

Anything can happen, after all.

You will gain +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +3 DEBUT POINTS and +2 ACHIEVEMENTS for completing the written requirements explained on the idol tier page. As this is a song promotion month, one of your chosen achievements must be relevant to the above schedule and all required content should be written about activities listed on the above schedule for the month of April. There is a capped maximum of five solos, sets of starters and/or partnered threads you may write to collect this month’s points.

To clarify, the only form that needs to be submitted at the end of the month is a verification form for your debut points and achievements. Any SP points earned can be collected as soon as you finish the requirement for them. At the end of the month, as you did with your previous evaluation forms, you will submit the following form to the Points Verification blog:

IDOL’S NAME - KT ENT - APRIL SCHEDULE (for the May 1 verification form)

PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]

POINTS: +00 SP [ distribute these however you like ]

TOTAL POINTS EARNED: +00 SP +00 DBT

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #1 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

+1 WK ACHIEVEMENT #2 [ NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL ]

DEBUT POINTS SPENT ON THE IDOL SHOP THIS MONTH:

NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

**** For participating in a total of 20 music show performances during this promotion period, Eclipse will earn 20 EXP for their overall group experience. Their appearance in After School Club will award them 1 EXP and the 1 Vlive will give 1 EXP. The dance practice gives 1 EXP and the dance relay 1 EXP, making it a total of 24 EXP. For more information regarding GROUP EXP, refer to the idol tier page!

* Rookie and trainee characters are allowed to attend pre-recordings and fan meetings to interact with idol muses if they choose to do so. Just be realistic about the scheduling; trainees who skip too many lessons to support idol muses will be noticed by their company staff!

[dprdabin]

DPR: ‘We Did this Ourselves From the Ground Up’

From a hit debut album to an upcoming world tour, producer DPR REM and artist DPR LIVE talk about their hip-hop crew’s ambitions and expansion plans

Talking to the members of DPR is almost always like a productive frisson that leaves you breathless and excited for the things to come. On the day we chat, the voices of producer Scott Kim—better known as DPR REM—and Hong Dabin, aka DPR LIVE, crackle through the phone on a fine Seoul evening, merging together in waves of introspection and quiet, focused ambition. They’re gearing up for their first world tour, but also trying to wrap their heads around the fact that it’s finally happening.

“Everything is just still so surreal for us. It’s not like we’ve done this in a past life or we had experiences in other entertainment companies. This is all ‘Do It Yourself’, like DIY,” says DPR REM. “Every day is a new experience and a new journey, and I think this world tour is one of the biggest steps we’ve taken in that direction.”

On the off chance that you’re a stranger to DPR, short for Dream Perfect Regime, it’s worth noting that ‘Do It Yourself’ is the cornerstone of the septet’s philosophy. The crew, which has morphed into one of the most prominent and creative voices to emerge from the Korean hip-hop scene, is a completely organic and independent effort–a rare feat in South Korea’s label-saturated music industry. They first gained prominence through their captivating and cinematic visual output which included music videos for K-pop acts such as Big Bang and MOBB, courtesy of in-house director and free-spirit extraordinaire, Christian Yu (known as IAN within the collective.)

Rapper DPR LIVE, essentially the face of the collective, is both a founding member and their first formal artist. LIVE started out by uploading his music on YouTube and eventually commanded people’s attention through his tightly packed, spitfire rap on the viral collaborative 2016 hit “Eung Freestyle.” Then in 2017 came Coming To You Live, his debut EP featuring an impressive roster of collaborations and an even bolder declaration—DPR had arrived in full swing. This, however, was followed by the comparatively mellowed out HER the same year. While Coming To You Live was a grand display of confidence, HER was more focused and convergent in its themes, essentially a one-man act that took DPR LIVE to No. 8 on the Billboard World Albums Chart. “I think going off of CTYL, it was hard to just really stick with one theme because there was just so many people involved. We wanted to keep it open-ended for the artists to translate and interpret the way they wanted to,” says DPR REM, who’s produced both albums. “On the cover album for CTYL, we have a change of seasons going on in the background.” DPR used that as a metaphor of how they wanted to offer different varieties of songs and themes, so it not only introduces DPR LIVE as a rookie artist but also incorporates a lot of the other artists that featured on this project to display their thematic lyricism.

However, REM goes on to explain that when it comes to HER, it became a very solo project for LIVE. “It was solo for being not only for his own experimental purposes, but also in that he really wanted to zone in on his artistry and portray his story, and really give the fans like, ‘Okay, this is me, really like raw, without anybody around. This is the music I want to do right now, the vibes I want to put out.’ I think that’s the distinction.”

At just 26, LIVE is succinct but assertive, prefers to channel his words through music and is always aware of his values and goals thanks to his time in the army, which he says brought focus to his music. “I went to school in Guam. I knew how to speak Korean, because that was the only language my mom and my dad can speak, but I definitely wasn’t good at it.” When his family came to Korea, he had to enlist in the army within a year of arriving. “You have to stay in this military camp for two years, being told what to do, when to eat, when to sleep, and stuff like that. I actually really just honed in on myself, my goals, what I wanted in life, my values, and I learned patience and focus there. I think it was a very good thing to do though, because I don’t think I would have learned another way,” he says.

With millions of online views on their videos and the label of an underground collective left in the past, the members of DPR are gearing up to perform at sold out shows in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Here are excerpts from our conversation with REM and LIVE, where they discuss their success, music, and plans for expanding in the future.

On their collaborations with other artists and Coming To You Live:

LIVE: I think for collaborations, it’s always important to meet the person you’re working with, to get a vibe of their energy, their lifestyle, their beliefs. Just getting to know someone as a human is so helpful in understanding them as an artist. Through various talks and meet-ups, I think that’s where the music just naturally comes about. At least in my experience, that’s how you can be versatile. Meeting with various individuals and just communicating – it really opens you up to new thoughts and experiences.

REM: We were actually very lucky with that, because it just all timed perfectly. Usually, you hear a lot of stories where schedules don’t match up or you’re waiting for some other person and they get back to you, which is very often in the entertainment industry, but just—I don’t know what it is. I like to think it’s a lot of luck, to be honest, there’s a lot of great timing and luck that happened.

On music videos and DPR’s visual output:

LIVE: Not just my input, but everyone’s input goes into our visuals. It’s a collective effort, and that’s exactly the reason as to why I think we are able to deliver top notch quality works. We each present a different piece to the puzzle.

REM: I dedicate a lot of that to Christian. He’s a genius when it comes to that. I really think he’s just a crazy gifted kid that you just can’t put into words at times. It just happens for him.

“I don’t want our tour to just be your typical ‘show’ or ‘performance.’ I want fans to gear up for an actual party–a family reunion,” says DPR LIVE. Photo: Courtesy of Dream Perfect Regime

On being independent artists in South Korea:

LIVE: We really did this ourselves from the ground up. Countless mistakes were made, but through just pure diligence, we were able to get to a point where now we can constantly create and make what we want to. That freedom is priceless.

On their Billboard charting and online success:

LIVE: Although I’m super grateful and humbled, I try my best not to focus on stuff like that. The more you start thinking about certain stats and whatnot, I just believe it tends to really limit and almost negatively impact your career. Constantly being burdened and stressed with thoughts like that seem to do way more bad than good. I think these days I’ve just been working on trying to create constantly and explore myself as an artist more and more.

REM: We’re still young kids if you really think about it. Beyond the fame, beyond the success, it’s the fact that we have influence, and that’s what drives us, right? I think we’ve gone various letters in the email and handwritten letters from our fans all across the world, saying ‘Your music has shifted me in this direction and it’s for the better’ and ‘Your music has really inspired to go and pursue my dream, my passions.’ When we get things like this, it’s a very surreal experience. I’m sure a lot of artists feel the same way, but for us, really coming from the ground up, really not knowing anything that we were doing, going through countless mistakes, countless failures, it’s a really rewarding experience, more than anything.

On getting more people to hop on board:

REM: The short answer is: of course, we’d love to build this movement. I think the betterment of the team is just getting more people on board. The bigger your movement becomes, the bigger impact you get. The long answer to that, now, is that because we’re so family oriented, it does get a bit tricky. You have seven kids that grew up together making this DPR dream a reality. At this point, and we’ve said it before, we know each other so well. If we had disagreements and communication problems, it’s exactly how a family would handle it. This is not a company vibe at all, and I feel like, going off of that, we want to conserve that culture as much as can. That’s where it gets difficult, because you have somebody from the outside coming in, and it’s just like… can they really adapt to this environment? Can they adapt to this culture that we’ve set up before it already? I think that’s the hard question for us.

On the upcoming tour and possible new locations:

LIVE: Besides the fact that I’ll be able to finally see my fans face to face, I’m most looking forward to just being in a space filled with people who really support our movement and resonate with us. I don’t want our tour to just be your typical ‘show’ or ‘performance.’ I want fans to gear up for an actual party–a family reunion. Anybody that supports DPR knows up front that our culture goes hand in hand with family. So for us, this tour is similar to like seeing your long lost relatives, or getting together with family members you haven’t seen in years. That’s the level of excitement the team and I have.

REM: We really tried to include as many cities as we could in this tour. It is a world tour and we wanted to hit as many cities as we could, even despite our physical health or whatever. We really wanted to make the time and effort to get to any place that really knows of us or wants us. Even other Spanish-speaking countries or places like India or South Africa… we have tons of fans hitting us up saying we have fans here and there, and we want to cater to those markets much as we can, but at the same time just thinking about the whole bigger picture of the scheduling and the logistics it just couldn’t work out.

That’s what we told our fans, that ‘Hey, just because we’re doing this first world tour doesn’t mean it’s the last world tour. We’re just getting started here, right?’ This is just the beginning, so it builds momentum for the next few cities that we have yet to hit. We’re like, ‘Hey, we see you guys. We know you’re there. Just wait for us.’

© Lavanya Singh @ Rolling Stone India

[my-pain-of-salvation-experience]

I had a world of my own It is still there Only I am gone

(The 3rd part of the interview with the PAIN OF SALVATION leader Daniel Gildenlöw)

Did you or do you feel like living your dream? Did you have any time for daydreaming? Your career of a musician began so early and naturally?

I think I never really considered whether it was I’ve just wanted to start a band and I had nothing to compare. Looking back at that point now it’s probably not the most common thing to start a band at 11 and only with just writing your own music. We played covers every once in a while, but just for ourselves. I remember we played “Fade to Black” by METALLICA at one point, “The Mission” by QEENSRŸCHE and stuff like that, but normally we just only played our own songs, as I never had the need of playing other music. I could listen to that music, but I didn’t have to play it. I wanted to play the music I wrote by myself.

The first song was really interesting. As I’m looking back now the old songs had probably much more hit potential than PAIN OF SALVATION today. (laughs) You know I had more straight rockier approach and then I made my way closer and closer to the metal music. Then of course it needed to be cool and heavy…. So, I remember one song (it was a very early one) was called  “Lightning in the House”. (laughs) I’m just taking the stupid stuff pointing at that moment. There were lots of more regular titles too, but “Lightning in the House” was, I thing, really the first song with lots of chords and lots of sections. I remember the bass player, who really couldn’t play the bass, being very frustrated… I remember one song that went with E minor, G, D with a F sharp in the bass and then back to E minor and then that starts over again.  And every time he played it, first he played E and then he played G – like four each, four of the D, four of the F sharp and then four of the E and then back to the G again: “No, you have to play twice length of E when you get to the E.” – “Why?” – “When it starts with an E and ends with an E. And when it starts again you go to another E.” And we tried that many, many times and he never did it. Trying to explain sort of the physics of the song was impossible. I was like: “So, then just count four and eight, eight, eight all the time to the end and then you play four again. And then just play four again and that’s the end of the song.” And then once we had “Lightening in the House” it was way more complicated and what happened in the end was that he just hit the bass with the battery, ‘cause there was no chance for him to learn it. (laughs) If that’s not odd music, then what is?

And then, we had “Danger Ice”...  of course not Eyes! (laughs): “It’s white hardened you can’t stop it – Danger Ice”. (laughs)

  Daniel with his first accoustic guitar

Don’t you consider releasing some CD or even CD’s with all these songs?

So many times! I have to sort and collect them, because I wrote tones of songs back then. I started collecting them. I think I’m up to like a hundreds now with old songs. The problem is… I don’t know… I seem to have a remarkable memory when it comes to some things and to some other things I don’t... I never seem to remember when to water the flowers. If I will be left alone in our house, the flowers… they would all die, because I can never remember to water them.  On the next day they look almost dead and I am like: “Oh, yeah, I should water them, I should go down the stairs and get a can of water and go up and water the flowers.” And then I go down and I forget what I was doing and start doing something else. And the next day I notice it again. And then I go back to the second floor and I’m like: “Oh, the flowers! I need to do the flowers. OK, after I finish this, I will do this… I’ll go downstairs doing myself a cup of tea and then I’ll bring up water for the flowers.” And then I don’t have a break. I just sit the whole day without eating or anything and I forget the flowers again. But I do remember songs that I wrote when I was like 11 years old. The only problem is I usually remember the first verse, the chorus, the solo and the end, but the second verse the lyric of the second verse is always very hard to find. I don’t know why, but the second verse is almost always gone.

   One of the Daniel´s guitars in his rehearsal room and studio

I can understand this from the position of a listener, but when it’s your own song…

You know, it’s a long time ago I have to bring it as excuse, but probably when you make a song, the first verse is what triggers the song many times or the chorus. And the second verse is the one you write to complete the song. The first one is more intuitive, more a part of you, I think – or usually it’s like that. But I have started to collect the material. So it could be quiet a number of albums, If I start to record that. It would be very fun. I can record them myself too. It will be pretty fast. Back then I had to teach everyone to play. I’ve been playing everything and then I had to wait for them to learn the song. We will see what will happen…

Hey, we can do a REALITY REVIVAL! And then we can play Sweden Rock. (laughs) They love the revival bands: “Hey, we are a reunion band, can we, please, play? – Of course you can! How old are you? I’m almost 40 (note - the interview is 10 years old) – Well, OK then, I would wanna you to be at least 50 or older, but OK. You are still a bit young to play Sweden Rock, but…” (laughs) – (Note: It was a reaction to one of my first questions when I got off the bus from Stockholm and asked him, why POS didn´t play that year at the festival)

Anyway, I’m kind of surprised, when I look back at that material, that some of the songs are really thought-worthy. I was like: Oh, that’s pretty clever!  Or… not clever maybe, but sort of philosophical which is interesting now. I get that all the time when I get back to strophes that I wrote five years ago every time, I’m like: “Did I write this? Hmmm, it’s pretty good!” (laughs) You don’t remember writing it you don’t remember the actual sitting down and writing it. So, you could really like it like if someone else wrote it which is interesting.

I have full respect for the stuff that I made when I was between eleven and sixteen. And then there is period when I was between sixteen and eighteen or nineteen that I feel much less connected to. I don’t know if it’s like that for everyone, but that’s an age when, I think, you’re doing stuff that’s less real. I mean at that specific age you are thinking much more about sort of surface level. For me that triggers much more into type of metal and sort of like… fantasy … like all about the good and the bad, the conflicts, lots of probes – like the way I can feel it in the power metal.  This genre is full of mirrors, sand and swords, shadows…  And I think that can still be fine, if you use it with depth with some sort of real need for it…

  “This is actually the guitar I’ve played at that contest, when I was fifteen. (Note: I hope I didn´t pick a wrong picture - the stuff is really old.) One journalist from the city asks me every year since I was fifteen: “Don’t you wonna sell that guitar?” But I’m never doing that. It’s gonna be here.  Every guitar I’m regretting selling afterwards, ‘cause it becomes part of your history. I’ve sold only the Ranger, the Melody, the Mason, the Ibanez, the white Fender… I think five guitars.”

But our creative work ever reflects our specific approach to the world at the time of its creation.

I think everything we create has to be a sort of reflection of who you are at that moment and then what the world around you is. You can never really look away from the fact that there are very specific trends going on. And the younger you are, the more perceptible you would be for the trends. But it’s still interesting to listen to it. And I’m the only one who’s listening to it. That’s the most annoying part, because it’s not recorded, so, I can just hear it in my head and no one else has that. I can’t compare it to anyone else’s picture, because anyone else can’t hear it in your head.

You have no records?!

No. I have some stuff recorded… fom the stuff that I’ve written, but the most of it is not... I made some demos when I was 14 or 15. I need to find those. I don’t know where they are. Somewhere has to be some recorded stuff that I‘ve sent to that contest… But even if I will be able to locate them, they might be ruined anyway. It’s a fragile media.

[thisisheavynews]

The Big Read – Sheer Mag “So much rock music is so bad and meaningless”

Five years in the past, Sheer Mag had been the buzziest DIY band on the planet. Now, they’re a full-throttle unbiased rock ‘n’ roll machine who sort out home abuse, prejudice, loss of life and anxiousness on ferocious new album ‘A Distant Call’. Singer Tina Halladay tells Ben Homewood why the world wants the Philadelphians…

On November threerd 2015, Sheer Mag began a seven-week European tour with a present at Bologna’s Freakout Club. Its title was an ideal match. 

Back then, Sheer Mag had been the 12 months’s most hyped band, freaking individuals out with their buzzing, big-hearted rock‘n’roll, and exploding out of south Philadelphia’s DIY circuit. Accentuating the perfect bits of the basic rock they beloved and subverting its macho stereotypes, that they had an excellent, scratchy emblem and appeared like a bar band excavated from the 1970s. They lived, and recorded, in a spot referred to as The Nuthouse, its compact areas the right incubator for his or her greasy noise. They had launched two self-made four-track EPs, ‘I’ and ‘II’, and their songs gave the impression of they had been on fireplace. The likes of ‘What You Want’, ‘Point Breeze’ and ‘Fan The Flames’ had been white sizzling, insanely good. Sheer Mag had been unsigned and they weren’t doing interviews. Word was spreading, and tickets had been scarce.

“That first European tour was insane,” says the group’s singer Tina Halladay. “Our tour manager messaged me beforehand and said, ‘You will probably break up!’ I was like, ‘Yeah whatever, I guess we’ll see…’”

Photo: Angela Owens

Sheer Mag simply needed to play, so they flew to Europe, employed a van and proceeded to spend infinite hours inside it, freezing. Halladay first met guitarist Matt Palmer and the Seely brothers, lead guitarist Kyle and bassist Hart, who grew up in Syracuse, at Purchase College, New York. Their pal Ian Dykstra was on drums in these days, certainly, Sheer Mag have by no means actually had a everlasting drummer (present touring member Giacomo Zatti is their fourth). Clearly, the shut confinement was intense.

“We only had one day without a show and it was spent travelling on an overnight boat to Finland, so we really didn’t have a day off,” Halladay remembers. “It was freezing cold, I don’t think any of us had headphones, mobile phone data or any distractions. It was a pretty torturous seven weeks, but every single venue and every single person was amazing. Every promoter was like, ‘This is the most people we’ve ever had and the most money we’ve ever made.’ The fans were the only reason we survived.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Four years later, Halladay can snort on the recollections. NME finds the singer recent from a go to to the publish workplace, at residence along with her brother in Philly. She’s getting ready to place her life in a bag as soon as once more to hit the street this week till early November, in assist of recent album ‘A Distant Call’. Another pulverising few months beckon, however Sheer Mag are nicely accustomed by now. 

They accomplished their EP sequence with the blistering ‘III’ in 2016, and debut album ‘Need To Feel Your Love’ adopted in 2017, including disco, plus touches of Abba and Fleetwood Mac to the combination. If their debut confirmed their vary, ‘A Distant Call’ stands tall as their most full work up to now, 10 tracks of straight up rock‘n’roll, pressing and unruly. Mixing from Arthur Rizk provides heat and gloss to recordings first tracked within the freezing snow of DeRuyter, New York. 

It’s additionally their most private launch, ruthlessly exposing Halladay’s experiences (by a fictional protagonist, it offers with physique picture points and particulars a whirlwind interval during which she was fired, damaged up with and misplaced her abusive father) in a means that simply wasn’t potential till now. Sheer Mag wanted to develop into inseparable to make this report, and Halladay says freezing collectively of their van 4 years in the past was the primary main step in getting there.

“We’re all incredibly close, we’re like siblings at this point,” she says. “We struggle, we go on [laughs] and annoy one another and yell at one another. We’ve been by so much.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Halladay has come to cherish her relationship with Palmer specifically, after the group’s artistic course of thrust them collectively. Sheer Mag songs are made in a manufacturing line: first, the Seely brothers conjure groove, snap and corkscrew solos, then Halladay and Palmer summon melody and lyrics. On ‘A Distant Call’, Palmer got here to inhabit the singer’s thoughts like by no means earlier than.

“In the writing relationship we have, Matt ends up doing the final arrangements of the melody and lyrics, he writes most of them,” Halladay explains. “Our relationship had to get to this point for him to be able to do justice to my experiences, like my father and our relationship and his death and how that affected me, and body image and just going through the world as a fat woman. It took 24 other songs [on the EPs and ‘Need To Feel Your Love’] to get to the point where he could do it justice and make it really meaningful.”

Photo: Marie Lin

What they got here up with grabs you and doesn’t let go.

“How may I be taught to like from someone so abusive?” asks ‘Cold Sword’. “I pulled again and went away, to nurse my coronary heart’s bruises”. On ‘The Right Stuff’, Halladay sings, “Eyes stare and individuals flip, my coronary heart begins to race and my face burns.”

Looking again, she says, the recording course of was taxing within the excessive.

“The conversation around body image is a lot more open now, so that wasn’t too difficult, but the stuff with my father made me confront some things I’d maybe been ignoring or hadn’t been able to articulate,” Halladay explains. “That was really therapeutic and really hard, I think it was hard for Matt to even attempt it. You don’t want to mess something like that up.”

Perhaps the perfect instance of what she means could be discovered inside ‘Cold Sword’, the album’s motoring centerpiece. You’ll need to dance to its thrusting rhythm, however its message is altogether extra severe.

“It’s about my father and it’s the one that was the most difficult to write, record and deal with,” she says. “I’ve told Matt a lot about mine and my father’s relationship and his actions towards me and the rest of my family. I wrote it all down. I wrote everything I could remember, every experience, like being terrified and upset, just every moment that he terrorised mine and my family’s life. I wrote pages and pages of what I could remember in order and gave it to him to work with.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Elsewhere, in amongst the anxiousness and ache of Halladay’s revelations are bursts of Sheer Mag’s customary imagery: picket traces, crooks, dodgy offers, bombs, jail cells and the mayhem of conflict and politics. These songs are a blur of private candour and common truths, set to unrelenting groove and whole guitar hedonism, providing wonderful distinction to their blackened content material. Bass traces pulsate, guitars shimmy and shake, drums thwack. As at all times, it capabilities as one large rallying name, and Halladay is proud to say so. Sheer Mag are right here to say that the private and political aren’t divisible.

“What a lot of people in the world don’t realise is that politics is in everything,” the singer says. “The life that you live, the food you eat, the people you meet, it all has to do with politics and the way our systems are built and created. The people you’re attracted to, the people you see every day, all those things have to do with politics, so there’s no way to not be political. To say something like, ‘I’m not political’, is just showing your ignorance or your privilege.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Avoiding politics can be “a cop out” for Sheer Mag, and Halladay regales us with some latest drama round planning their tour merchandise for instance the purpose.

“We’re planning to sell a poster that will benefit some Planned Parenthood [sexual healthcare organisation] schemes in Wisconsin and they said, ‘Are there certain places you don’t want to sell it because maybe people will be upset and not agree with it?’” she says.

“Hell no! Anyone opposed to Planned Parenthood is not someone I want to be my fan or be at my shows, so no thank you. I just don’t see how someone who could feel that way would like our music.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Halladay spits out the tip of her sentence, completely mystified. Her confusion is no shock: Sheer Mag’s bond with their followers is apparent. People wait patiently to speak to the band after reveals, forming snaking traces for the merch desk, desperate to get nearer.

“It’s always very overwhelming and awesome, especially women coming up to me and telling me things like, ‘I started a band because of you.’ I’d never expected for people to care so much and be so excited, especially so early on,” says Halladay.

The singer has a idea to clarify the devotion and love, too. 

“It’s a lot of [reasons], but the one I feel the most is that I don’t look like every other person in a band and I don’t sing about the same things every other person sings about,” she says. “It’s important for people to see themselves, people can relate to me because I’m other and I’m different and that is important to people.”

Photo: Marie Lin

Halladay noticed the identical in Judas Priest singer Rob Halford and Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, who she describes as her “favourite” (she has Lynott inked on her proper thigh and named her canine The Rocker after him). But whereas she says “this band and me being in it wouldn’t have existed 30 or 40 years ago,” she notes there’s nonetheless “a lot of bullshit to deal with”.

“It’s like, bouncers automatically stopping me and no one else, if I don’t have my [backstage] pass or something,” she explains. “Even promoters who haven’t done their research saying, ‘Oh are you the tour manager? Or are you doing merch?’ I’m just like, ‘No, my picture is on the wall right behind me.’ It’s just ignorance, it’s silly. It makes them look stupid.”

Halladay has acquired used to setting such individuals straight in no unsure phrases. When NME first interviewed the singer at SXSW in 2015, it was after a present at which she shoved a person again into the gang as he came upon stage fumbling on the crotch of his denims. “Get your dick back in your pants dude,” she advised him.

Ever since their earliest days, there’s been a way of necessity about Sheer Mag; they’re a band the world wants and they understand it.

“There are a lot of people who want to see themselves. There are young girls out there who’ve never seen a person who looks like me leading a band like this, that representation and seeing yourself is really important for people to realise their potential and what kind of a person they want to be,” says Halladay. “White men have all of these different role models in the world being shown to them, it’s not the same for everyone.”

Photo: Angela Owens

Sheer Mag, then, current an exciting various. Two albums in, they’re thriving.

“So much rock music in popular culture is so bad and meaningless in my eyes,” Halladay continues. “I love rock‘n’roll, so for people to have to dig so deep to find music that is meaningful sucks.”

Thankfully, it’s not essential to dig to seek out Sheer Mag. They’re nonetheless placing music out by their very own Wilsuns RC imprint, ordering vinyl and dealing with merch, however their stance on the music press has softened and they’re extra seen than ever.

“At the beginning we were just trying to figure out what kind of a band we were, so we didn’t want to just latch onto these ideas or anyone that could take advantage of us or control us,” Halladay says of their preliminary reticence. “At this point we know who we are as a band, we know what we want and we have the confidence and power to say, ‘Ok, people want to hear this, so let’s see what’s important for us to say.’”

As for the mechanics behind constructing their empire, the band now have a supervisor and have simply taken on “people to help us with money and business stuff”. Halladay paints a easy, contented image.

So, is the label chase over?

“If we are being chased then they’re not contacting me!”

The singer laughs, clearly blissful Sheer Mag are doing this on their very own. Really, it’s the one means it is sensible. Their music comes from a primal place, mixing our most instinctive emotions into hopeful, important rock‘n’roll, stuffed with motion.

“This band, it’s not a want, it’s a need. Every day,” Halladay sums up. “It’s so important and good for me to be able to perform and let out all that aggression, anger and energy inside of me that needs to come out. When I’m not on tour for a long time I lose my shit. I need that release, that feeling, to not feel totally crazy and restless.”

Tina Halladay can’t cover the thrill in her voice and no marvel. Sheer Mag are on the street once more.

  A Distant Call

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  from Heavy News https://thisisheavynews.com/the-big-read-sheer-mag-so-much-rock-music-is-so-bad-and-meaningless/

[rbeatz]

Bob Marley’s Son and The Reggae Collective, White Tiger Society

White Tiger Society is a New York-based Soul, Reggae, and Hip-Hop collective comprised of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dajla “The White Tigress” and Grammy Award-winning engineer/producer Comissioner Gordon Williams. They recently released their new single, Why, featuring Bob Marley’s son, Stephen Marley.

Why is from their debut album, Sound of the White Tiger, set to be released on September 15th via Lalabela Music Group.

Comissioner Gordon Williams adds, “Stephen and I have a long relationship in music, going back to the days of The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, all the way up to Welcome To Jamrock, on which we worked together, as well as his latest album, The Fruit Of Life. Stephen actually picked Why to collaborate with us on, and we are thankful to have ‘Ragga’ as part of the White Tiger family!”

The song combines reggae, heart-felt soulful vocals and that positive feel similar to what we’re used to hearing from the music legend himself, Bob Marley. It’s difficult to listen to Why and not feel that uplifting feeling.

Comissioner Gordon Williams is a legend in the music industry, with his nickname given to him by KRS-One. He’s won multiple Grammys including two Album of the Year Grammys for The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill and Santana’s Supernatural.

Dajla is a musician to the core. A student of classical and jazz piano from ages 6 to 16 at the national music conservatory in France. She also found inspiration at home, listening to her parents’ Soul, Jazz, Reggae, and Blues record collection. Dajla has released two albums and an EP to date, while sharing the stage with the likes of Angelo Moore from Fishbone,De La Soul, Nneka, Sa-Ra, and The Brand New Heavies.

White Tiger Society was born in In 2013 when Gordon and Dajla met in New York City through their work as a writing/production team.

We had the pleasure of interviewing White Tiger Society below. Play their new single, Why, featuring Stephen Marley and read the full interview below for the FULL White Tiger Society experience. Dajla answered some and Comissioner Gordon Williams did others as noted.

  Where does the name White Tiger Society come from? 

DAJLA – It comes from an Asian legend – The White Tiger is a mythical creature that appears when the world goes off balance. It represents Justice. Although it does not harm people, it becomes angry when the ruler of the land conducts evil deeds.

How many musicians are in your group? 

DAJLA – WTS is a collective fronted by Gordon Williams and myself, and we work with musicians in the studio and on stage. For live shows, we have different line ups, DJ sets, or a full band.

 Where are you from and how has that shaped the musician you are today?

DAJLA – I was born in France, on the west coast. The great thing about my hometown was that I could attend the national music conservatory, so I studied classical and jazz piano and music theory there from age 6 to 16. It gave me solid music foundation that I would use years later for songwriting. But my influences were shaped at home, as I grew up listening to my parents’ reggae, soul, rock, funk and jazz record collection, and artists such as Bob Marley, Ray Charles, James Brown, Michael Jackson and Carlos Santana.

What instruments did you play when you were younger?

DAJLA – I started playing piano age 6 at the conservatory, also did Oboe for a couple years but it gave me migraines lol. I taught myself the bass age 17.

Are there an instruments that you currently wish you COULD play?

DAJLA – I would really like to learn to play the guitar. Great for some writing and performing solo.

Tell us the story of how you started creating music on your computer?

DAJLA – In 2005, a producer friend of mine introduced me to Digital Performer (music software) and showed me how to use it. I slowly started making simple beats and used it to make demos of the songs I’d write. I had a very simple set up, good enough for me. My Macbook Pro, an M-Box, a couple of Genelec speakers, a Brauner microphone, a Nord Electro and my Fender Precision bass. It was great!

What was your favorite studio moment when producing your newest single, Why?

DAJLA – My favorite moment was to go visit Stephen Marley in his studio in Miami. He and Comish go way back, and it was the first time I met him, so I was really honored. After listening to the track a couple times, he just went in the booth and instantly came up with his part. Truly amazing and memorable experience!

What was it like working with Bob Marley’s son? 

DAJLA – It’s like a childhood dream come true.

What do you like to do when you’re simply hanging out – aside from music?

DAJLA – I like to spend time with my close friends and family. Love to go dancing too. NY has some good club nights (Timmy Regisford, Tony Touch…).

Are you involved in any extracurricular activities?

DAJLA – I coach young artists – piano, vocals and songwriting, to help them prepare for recordings or live performances. Gordon has a music Academy – The Lalabela Music Academy that teaches music and music engineering to under-privileged children and teenagers, in the US or abroad. I am joining the Academy as a music instructor and to create a brand new modern, fun and hands-on approach to teaching music. Music can also act as “therapy” for some of the children I work with. Music heals!

Who are your musical influences?

DAJLA – Each period of my life helped me discover amazing artists – There was reggae from early age, and funk/RnB with James Brown, all the jazz greats, too many to mention…From Billie Holiday to Thelonius Monk – a solid hip-hop foundation in the 90s, with bands such as Public Enemy or the  Fugees, Lauryn Hill of course…Also hung a lot in the ska scene and absolutely love Jamaican music (The Skatalites, Ken Boothe, and the electro scene, Drum and Bass, House, Garage…Most recently I have been listening to a lot of Ethiopian Jazz – Mulatu Astatke is one of my favorite artists.

What DAW do you use and why?

COMISSIONER GORDON – Pro Tools. I have been a Pro Tools user many years. I am the most comfortable with it, but I do like Studio One as well.

Do you have a typical music production process? If yes, can you explain it?

DAJLA – I usually write songs on the piano, basic chord progression and lyrics. I let Comish hear the song, think of a style or direction, i.e. reggae, soul, ska…depending on the beat he hears. He then gathers a team of musicians to cut it in the studio. He then adds beats/effects, and finally mixes it, adding his magic touch of course.

Who has been one of your favorite artists to collab with?

DAJLA : So far Comish is the best artist I’ve collaborated with. His vision with regards to my songs is always on point and his experience in recording and writing pushes me to another level.

What is your favorite MIDI Controller or instrument to produce with right now? 

COMISSIONER GORDON – Can’t say that I have a specific controller. I have worked with so many. I still use my original MPC 3000 from time to time. And I like the MPC Renaissance

What is one of your favorite or go-to VST Plugin? 

COMISSIONER GORDON – mmmmmm trade secret lol

Do you have a key production tip for our young producers out there? 

COMISSIONER GORDON – Be true to the music that is inside of you.

What are some of your favorite venues to play and why?

DAJLA – I really like medium capacity venues, which are more intimate and create a great experience and bond with the audience.

What is your favorite color?

DAJLA – I love all colors

What food do you eat the most?

DAJLA – Mainly vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds… At home, I mainly cook North African/ French Mediterranean dishes, and I also enjoy Caribbean food…And Tunisian cookies

Do you have a favorite in-studio snack?

DAJLA – Does Pinot Noir count as a snack? lol

What is your favorite social media platform and why?

DAJLA – Each media has something great to offer… Facebook because it allows fans to reach out directly to us, and it’s very practical too for events. It is also a great tool to find and connect people.

What is next for White Tiger Society?

DAJLA – We’ve just dropped our new single Why ft Stephen Marley here in the US, and more music will come out this fall. The next step for us right now is touring the US and Europe, this fall and in 2018.

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