Join me in recapping another week abundant in pop culture excitement, ranging from updates on award shows, controversies amongst the BBC, and the commemoration of Amy Winehouse and her iconic Back to Black album. [Trigger Warning - sexual assault addressed in this blog]
Mercury Prize shortlist is revealed
Thursday came with the announcement of this year's twelve Mercury Prize Album of the Year nominees, with the show taking place in Newcastle's Utilita Arena on 22 October. This follows last year's win by Newcastle's own Sam Fender, with his third studio album People Watching, which spawned the number one hit and BRIT Song of the Year winner 'Rein Me In' featuring Olivia Dean.
The list spans various genres and ranges of artist popularity, with the full list of nominees being announced as:
- Dave - The Boy Who Played the Harp
- Dove Ellis - Blizzard
- Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream
- JADE - THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!
- Knats - A Great Day In Newcastle
- Kojey Radical - Don't Look Down
- Nia Archives - Emotional Junglist
- Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving
- Paul McCartney - The Boys of Dungeon Lane
- RAYE - THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.
- Suede - Antidepressants
- War Child Records - HELP(2)
As you can see, the list isn't just defined by major artists in the UK music landscape, but the accompaniment of smaller and upcoming audiences, which is the beauty of the Mercury Prize in showcasing newer artists as equally deserving of Album of the Year amongst veterans of the industry.
Personally, I think Olivia Dean has a major chance of winning the award, solely due to her success last award season at both the Grammys, as well as the BRIT awards. However, Nia Archives has been equally gaining significant traction with her recent Rolling Stone interview, whilst cementing her position in the Drum and Bass/House world for years now, having a collaboration with PinkPantheress on her Fancy Some More remix album late last year.
Who do you think is this year's Mercury Prize Album of the Year winner?
Post courtesy of @mercuryprize and @newcastlecouncil on Instagram
BTS withdraws from this year's GRAMMYs
In other news, this year's GRAMMYs has suffered the lost of arguably the largest K-Pop band in the world, with BTS' withdrawal from the ceremony following the introduction of the 'Asian pop prize' just over a month ago.
The South Korean boy-band have only just recently returned from serving in the country's compulsory military service, releasing their newest album Arirang to global success, dominating the charts and gaining number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single 'Swim', which was also a front-runner for this year's song of the year.
However, the controversy around the requirements to be considered for the best new 'Asian pop music performance prize' meant that 'Swim' would be excluded from the category, as it didn't abide by the "meaningful use" of an Asian language as most of the song is in English. Therefore, BTS have decided to withdrawal their application for submitting music in this year's awards due to this division in music by culture, a category that was meant to encourage diversity and inclusion in the awards, which has caused more harm and segregation than good.
In a translated message to fans, BTS stated:
"We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year, I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
This adds to the debate around the division of English-language pop, from that of Asian and Latin pop, which has also been given its own category in the GRAMMYs, reinforcing this segregation in music and the superiority of English pop over that of other languages. This is despite its undeniable impact on the industry, as well as the ignorance of its popularity, especially by example of Bad Bunny's dominance of the Latin scene which has bled into mainstream culture since his Album of the Year win at last year's GRAMMYs.
BTS' departure from the awards might not seem like a major deal to the award ceremony itself, but it is certainly a major one across the industry, illuminating the ongoing segregation for artists singing in other languages other than English.
Post courtesy of @genius on Instagram
Another controversial week for the BBC
BBC has once again added to their strive to gather £500m of savings within the next three years by cancelling three fan-favourite shows across the channel. 'Blankety Blank', 'Live at the Apollo', and 'Celebrity Mastermind' have each been cancelled in an effort to cut costs in "light of funding changes", according to the BBC.
These changes have not been received well, despite the falling viewership of the shows (which still remained as high as 2.3m viewers as of the most recent series of 'Blankety Blank'), especially with the BBC's newest advertisement questioning "What has the BBC ever done for me?" - ironic with the series of cancellations they have recently made despite a TV license required to watch the channel.
Video courtesy of BBC on Youtube
Furthermore, this week's reveal of the newest 'Celebrity Masterchef' season has raised questions about who the celebrities actually are, with many fans commenting how it is hardly "celebrity" 'Masterchef' anymore due to the lack of actually known contestants. This has also been a common theme with the ongoing announcements of the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing series later this year, which is lacking in A-listers, potentially due to the cuts of BBC funds in an attempt to save more money.
In turn, this has majorly disappointed fans, and is more than likely to decrease the viewership of the programmes more than what they have already suffered, so it is a strange decision for the BBC to not direct their attention to arguably one of their biggest shows, Strictly, to retain this popularity.
The BBC have also reported on Jared Leto's sexual assault allegations through their new documentary Jared Leto: Hollywood's Dark Secret. The allegations outline how Leto, famous for his acting roles in Fight Club, Tron: Ares and Suicide Squad, as well as his role as the front of band Thirty Seconds to Mars, had assaulted four women, with ten women in total coming forward in the documentary. As for now, the allegations are still ongoing, with Leto denying these claims, but the BBC has had a major part to play in portraying this story in the media through the facilitation of the documentary.
Post courtesy of @bbcnews on Instagram
Commemorating Amy Winehouse
Last Thursday marked fifteen years since the death of British icon Amy Winehouse on 23 July 2011, with this week beginning the celebrations for Winehouse's breakthrough album Back to Black, turning twenty years old this October.
Back to Black released on 27 October 2006 under Island Records, traversing the genres of pop and soul whilst addressing the turmoil of her relationship with ex-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil, as well as with drugs, alcohol, and rehabilitation. The album sold 20 million copies worldwide, and became the UK's second best selling-album of the 21st century, behind Adele's 21, spawning numerous iconic hits, such as 'Back to Black', 'Me and Mr Jones', 'Tears Dry on Their Own', 'Rehab', and 'You Know I'm No Good', amongst many others.
Personally, the Back to Black album will always be one of my all time favourites, where Winehouse's traversal of soul weaved into the artistry of her lyricism made for such a pioneering project for the industry, shaping music significantly to where it is today. Winehouse was undoubtedly so ahead of her time, and it is so important that we commemorate her success and her influence on artists today, where Back to Black is perhaps one of the most iconic albums ever made in modern history, especially in the 21st century.
Earlier this week, her Instagram teased a celebration of the anniversary of the album, where fans can sign up now on her website in advance of October. No information has been revealed so far, but we can hopefully expect some exciting new material from the Back to Black era, perhaps including some hidden photos, demos, or extra songs.
For now, though, we remember the legacy of Amy Winehouse and her death more than fifteen years ago - one that will remain such a pivotal aspect of culture and the music industry, for years to come.
Post courtesy of @amywinehouse on Instagram
In other pop culture news...
- Ariana Grande has released her eighth studio album 'petal' - watch out for a review coming next week!
- Spiderman: Brand New Day has released in UK cinemas
- Singer Madison Beer announced her engagement to American football player Justin Herbert
- Netflix have announced an opportunity for fans to play against Luke Littler in a new series, where fans will compete to win $501,000 in a game of darts
- Love Island has ended, with Lorenzo and Julia becoming this season's winners
This has certainly been a jam-packed week of pop culture action - join me next week for another weekly dose of whatever else is new in the pop culture scene!
Blog cover courtesy of @Tobyleveson on Wikipedia under Creative Commons Licenses - remixed/adapted to remove '2022' label and sponsorship
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