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Billie Eilish, The Strokes & More To Perform At 2019 Corona Capital Mexico City
The Mexican fest that aims to bring more international acts to the country has announced the 2019 lineup for its original Mexico City edition, happening Nov. 16–17
GRAMMYs/Jun 4, 2019 - 03:39 am
Corona Capital has announced that Billie Eilish, The Strokes, Flume, Interpol, Weezer, Keane and Franz Ferdinand will be the headliners of its flagship Mexico City festival taking place November 16 and 17.
Nick Murphy, SOFI TUKKER, The B-52s, Noah Cyrus and The Raconteurs are among other performers to play sets at the festival to be held at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the fall.
The Mexico City fest and its Guadalajara counter part, Corona Capital Guadalajara, aim to bring more international acts to the country. The Recording Academy was on the ground at the Guadalajara edition in May, chatting with fest performers including Christine and the Queens and The Joy Formidable. We also spoke with Ricardo Gomez, who works on the talent side of Corona Capital, about how lineups for the fests are chosen.
"It's a combination of acts that haven't been in the market or haven't been here in at least a few years so we can have that performance as some sort of value," Gomez told the Recording Academy.
Corona Capital Guadalajara's 2019 lineup included Tame Impala, The Chemical Brothers, Boy Pablo, Kimbra, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Goo Goo Dolls, to name some. For their edition, Gomez said a mix of new acts and acts that felt nostalgic aimed to attract audiences of all ages.
"You can go and check out [an act] that maybe you remember being a fan of and [then enjoy a] ... fresh interesting project from the earlier time slots ... and finish with a band like Phoenix, or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or The Chemical Brothers, who you listened to 10 years ago."
The pre-sale for Corona Capital Mexico City takes place June 5–6; for more info on how to get tickets, visit the fest's website.
Corona Capital Is Bringing English-Speaking Artists To More Mexican Cities
(Clockwise from bottom left): Kamasi Washington, Mdou Moctar, Billie Wilish, Arooj Aftab, Zayn, Twenty-One Pilots, Dua Lipa.
Photos: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella; Ebru Yildiz; Kelia Anne MacClusky; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images; Ashley-Osborn; Kevin Winter/Getty Images For The Recording Academy
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15 Must-Hear Albums In May 2024: Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Sia, Zayn & More
A fresh crop of spring releases is on the way in May from much-loved pop, rock, and alternative artists. From Dua Lipa's 'Radical Optimism,' to Sia's return on 'Reasonable Woman,' read on for 15 thrilling May releases.
GRAMMYs/May 1, 2024 - 02:18 pm
As a month that welcomes rising temperatures and blooming flowers, May will also bring a flurry of new albums. In its first week, Dua Lipa will put forth her third LP and inject the world with a good dose of Radical Optimism. She will be joined by Sia and her tenth album, Reasonable Woman, and by R&B newcomer 4Batz, who will debut with the mixtape U Made Me St4r.
On May 17, it's Billie Eilish's turn to drop the much-awaited Hit Me Hard and Soft, as well as the return of Cage the Elephant with Neon Pill, Twenty One Pilots' final concept album, Clancy, and former One Direction member Zayn experimenting with new sounds on Room Under the Stairs.
Later on, Sam Tompkins and Tems will both make their studio album debuts with hi my name is insecure and Born in the Wild, respectively. The month will close off with Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab's Night Reign, but before that, there's plenty of other releases to explore.
GRAMMY.com compiled a list with 15 must-listen albums dropping in May 2024 so that you can take a stroll at this month's burgeoning, diverse garden.
Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism
Release date: May 3
"A couple years ago, a friend introduced me to the term 'radical optimism'," said Dua Lipa in a press statement about her upcoming third album, out May 3. "It struck me — the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm."
This perspective on life inspired the British-Albanian singer both personally and musically. Radical Optimism comes brimming with the "pure joy and happiness of having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face." With 11 tracks and production by Danny L Harle and Kevin Parker, the record spins psychedelia and Britpop into a "tribute to UK rave culture," as Lipa described it in an interview for Rolling Stone.
Read more: Dua Lipa Danced The Night Away with "Training Season" & "Houdini" | 2024 GRAMMYs Performance
A preview of the sounds she will approach in the successor of 2020's Future Nostalgia can be seen through singles "Houdini," "Training Session," and "Illusion." Starting June, Lipa will perform a string of concerts in Europe and headline Glastonbury Festival in the U.K.
Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement
Release date: May 3
It's been six years since jazz virtuoso Kamasi Washington released his latest album, 2016's Heaven and Earth. Hence, his return is highly anticipated: Fearless Movement will come out on May 3, and is described in a press release as Washington's first "dance album."
"It's not literal," he explained. "Dance is movement and expression, and in a way it's the same thing as music — expressing your spirit through your body. That's what this album is pushing."
Fearless Movement was also inspired by the here-and-now, and the changes that Washington went through since the birth of his first child. "Being a father means the horizon of your life all of a sudden shows up," he shared. "My mortality became more apparent to me, but also my immortality — realizing that my daughter is going to live on and see things that I'm never going to see. I had to become comfortable with this, and that affected the music that I was making."
Washington's daughter also earned songwriting credits in "Asha The First," after coming up with a melody while playing on the piano. In addition to her, the LP also features appearances from André 3000 on the flute, Terrace Martin, Thundercat, Patrice Quinn, George Clinton, BJ The Chicago Kid, and more.
Soon after the release, Washington will kick off a North American tour throughout June, and then head over to Europe and the U.K. in October and November.
Charlotte Day Wilson - Cyan Blue
Release date: May 3
Following her acclaimed 2021 debut LP, Alpha, Canadian multihyphenate Charlotte Day Wilson dives into Cyan Blue for her sophomore release. "You passed through me like a light, but part of you would always remain," she shared about the record on Instagram. "Imprinted, stacked, a palimpsest of love and pain that left me with a world of blue. These are the stories and the palette I was given to paint them with."
Read more: Press Play At Home: Watch Charlotte Day Wilson Perform A Lithe Version Of "I Can Only Whisper"
Day Wilson has a gift for turning intimate reflections into timeless artwork, and this album sees her experimenting with a more carefree approach. "Before, I was extremely intentional about creating music with a strong foundation, a bed of artistic integrity…" she shared in a press release. "But that was a bit stifling, like, ‘Let me just make a great piece of art that will stand the test of time, no pressure.' Now, I think I'm getting out of this frozen state of needing everything to be perfect. I'm more interested in capturing feelings in the moment as they happen and leaving them in that moment."
Cyan Blue will feature 13 tracks, including singles "I Don't Love You" and "Canopy." For those lucky to experience Day Wilson's inimitable voice live, she will be touring North America from May through July.
Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice
Release date: May 3
"This album is really different for me," shares Mdou Moctar, the band's namesake, singer, and guitarist, in a press release about their upcoming release, Funeral for Justice. "Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the U.S. and Europe came here, they said they're going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution."
Funeral For Justice doesn't hold back on examining the struggles of Niger and of the Tuareg people (of which Moctar, guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim belong.) Recorded during the two years that the band spent touring after the release of 2021's acclaimed Afrique Victime, it is described as "louder, faster, and more wild," with fiery guitar solos and "passionately political" lyrics that permeate nine meteoric tracks.
"Mdou Moctar has been a strong anti-colonial band ever since I've been a part of it," adds bassist and producer Mikey Coltun. "France came in, f****d up the country, then said ‘you're free.' And they're not." So far, the band shared lead single "Funeral for Justice" and the mesmerizing "Imouhar" — an elegy to their Tamasheq language, which is at risk of dying out. "People here are just using French," said Moctar. "They're starting to forget their own language. We feel like in a hundred years no one will speak good Tamasheq, and that's so scary for us."
After performing at Coachella in April, the band is set to tour the U.S. in June and Europe and the U.K. in August. The run includes several festival appearances, like Bonnaroo, Green River, and Glastonbury.
4Batz - U Made Me A St4r
Release date: May 3
Viral R&B and hip hop singer 4Batz initially announced his debut mixtape, U Made Me A St4r, for April, but the release was postponed for a month. "Been making some of the best s**t of my life the last couple weeks," he shared on Instagram. "So ima push the mixtape to 5.3.24 so it can be perfect for yall."
The contrast between 4Batz's tough appearance and high-pitched love songs propelled him to the stars. He garnered the attention of artists like Kanye West, Robin Thicke, and Drake — who ultimately signed him to his record label OVO in order to release this mixtape. Drake also featured on a remix of 4Batz's 2023 hit, "act ii: date @ 8."
Although there's not much info on the tracklist or any upcoming activities, the Dallas-born singer is excited by the mystery: "I'm really in love with this EP," he told Billboard in a recent interview. This EP's gon' break the f**kin' internet, world, all this s**t."
Sia - Reasonable Woman
Release date: May 3
Since the release of lead single "Gimme Love" in September 2023, fans have been eagerly awaiting for Australian superstar Sia's new album. Titled Reasonable Woman and set to drop on May 3, this is her 10th studio release overall, and her first proper pop solo LP since 2016's This Is Acting.
Anticipation only grew as Sia shared a number of lofty singles in past months, including the Kylie Minogue collaboration "Dance Alone," "Incredible" featuring Labrinth, and the recent "Fame Won't Love You," with Paris Hilton. Through the LP's 15 tracks, the singer collaborated further with Chaka Khan, Tierra Whack, Missy Elliott, Kaliii and Jimmy Jolliff.
Behind the scenes, Reasonable Woman also held a star-studded list of producers, engineers, and writers, such as Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Benny Blanco, Bülow, Cashmere Cat, Mark "Spike" Stent, Rosalía and more.
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft
Release date: May 17
In April, when a series of billboards and posters with lyric snippets and Billie Eilish's signature "blosh" logo appeared in major global cities, fans knew that her anticipated third LP would be announced soon. A few days later, the GRAMMY and Oscar-winning artist shared a video teaser for Hit Me Hard and Soft, set to release on May 17.
Eilish took it to Instagram to disclose her excitement, and that she is "not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once." As usual, the record was written by herself and brother, producer, and musical collaborator Finneas O'Connell. According to a press release, Hit Me Hard and Soft includes ten tracks, and "does exactly as the title suggests; hits you hard and soft both lyrically and sonically, while bending genres and defying trends along the way." The album launch also focuses on sustainability by using "the most sustainable practices available" with a page on her website dedicated to ecological production details.
In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the musician teased title track "Hit Me Hard and Soft" and b-side "Chihiro," which references the main character in Studio Ghibli's 2001 animation, Spirited Away. "I feel like every time you put anything out, it feels like your nudes leaked a little bit, and I think this [album], specifically, is like that," Eilish added. "Something that Finneas and I said to a couple of people when we were starting to play it for people was that we kind of made the album that if somebody had said, you know, ‘I want you to make an album, and no one is gonna hear it'... We pretty much, with exceptions, made that album. We made an album without really any — or much — thought of other people."
Of Montreal - Lady on the Cusp
Release date: May 17
Lady on the Cusp is the 19th album from of Montreal, the band project of multi-instrumentalist and singer Kevin Barnes. Inspired by a relocation from Athens, GA — where Barnes lived for nearly three decades — to Vermont together with his partner, songwriter Christina Schneider (aka Locate S,1), Lady is shaped by his reflections on that experience.
According to a press statement, the album is a "reintroduction" to of Montreal, comprising 10 "funny and sad, sexy and brooding, playful and serious" tracks. This carefree approach can be seen on lead single "Yung Hearts Bleed Free," which was influenced by Leos Carax's 1984 film Boy Meets Girl and by Bootsy's Rubber Band, as well as on the laid back "Rude Girl on Rotation."
Two weeks after dropping the album, of Montreal will embark on a major tour across the U.S., starting in Athens, GA, and wrapping it up on July 2 in Asheville, NC.
Cage the Elephant - Neon Pill
Release date: May 17
After winning Best Rock Album at the 2020 GRAMMYs for Social Cues, Cage the Elephant went through a rough patch. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, lead vocalist Matt Shultz weathered a mental health crisis, and the band lost several close family members and friends, including Matt and Brad Shultz's father.
Five years later, the alt-rock sextet is ready to reemerge with their sixth studio album, Neon Pill, out May 17. "To me, Neon Pill is the first record where we were consistently uninfluenced, and I mean that in a positive way," said Matt in a statement. "Everything is undoubtedly expressed through having settled into finding our own voice. We've always drawn inspiration from artists we love, and at times we've even emulated some of them to a certain degree. With this album, having gone through so much, life had almost forced us into becoming more and more comfortable with ourselves… We just found a uniqueness in simply existing."
Produced by John Hill, the record spans 12 tracks that "alchemized a season of tragedy and turbulence" into a whirlwind of riffs and emotions. A preview of Neon Pill can be seen through the title track and singles "Out Loud" and "Good Time." To celebrate their return, the band will tour North America throughout the summer, including performances at Bonnaroo, Hangout Music Festival, and Oceans Calling.
Twenty One Pilots - Clancy
Release date: May 17
On May 17, 2015, Twenty One Pilots released their breakthrough LP, Blurryface. The record also marked the beginning of an intricate concept album series — which is due to come to a conclusion almost a decade later, on May 17 of this year.
Titled Clancy, the final piece of the puzzle states that "a new chapter begins," while making several references to the GRAMMY-winning duo's past works. On lead single "Overcompensate," for example, they mirror the outro of "Levitate" and rehash lyrics from "Bandito," both tracks off their 2018 LP, Trench. Clancy was produced by frontman Tyler Joseph and Paul Meany, and contains 13 tracks.
Most recently, TOP shared the single "Next Semester," alongside dates for an extensive world tour that will cross North America, Australia, New Zealand, The U.K., and Europe.
Zayn - Room Under the Stairs
Release date: May 17
For his fourth full-length album, Room Under the Stairs, British singer and One Direction alum Zayn enlisted an unforeseen co-producer: Dave Cobb. Known for his work with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Bruce Springsteen, and Lady Gaga, Cobb is responsible for aiding Zayn to step into a new musical direction.
Swiping his signature moody R&B, Zayn dives into country and adult contemporary for the upcoming release, as can be seen in debuted singles "What I Am" and "Alienated." In an interview for the Call Her Daddy podcast last year, the singer shared, "I'm doing a record I don't think people are really gonna expect. It's a different sound for me. And it's got some more narrative going on, like real-life experiences and stuff. My daughter's mentioned in there a couple of times".
"I think the intention behind this album fully is for the listener to get more insight on me personally as a human being," Zayn explained in a teaser video. The 15-track collection follows up 2021's Nobody Is Listening, and was written over the course of several years at Zayn's home in rural Pennsylvania. "That's why it's raw," he added. "It's just me writing this. I didn't want anybody else to be in between me and the music and the music and the people listening to it."
Sam Tompkins - hi, my name is insecure
Release date: May 24
"I really like being in the company of my friends," shared rising British singer Sam Tompkins in a press statement. "But if you take me out of my comfort zone, and have me hang out at a party or an event or whatever, I just go inside myself and I find any excuse to get out of it."
That statement helps explain why Tompkins titled his anticipated debut album hi, my name is insecure, set to drop on May 24. Despite a genuine talent to produce stirring songs, the Brighton native still struggles with social anxiety and depression — themes that appear often in his lyrics, and contribute to his global resonance.
Tompkins is "championing authenticity without taking himself too seriously," and that might be why his work is so relevant. A tracklist for the LP has yet to be revealed, but Tompkins's sensitive writing can be seen in a slew of singles, including "phones in heaven," "someone else," and "see me."
Tems - Born in the Wild
Release date: TBA
Nigerian singer Tems earned the eyes and the ears of international media with her Afrobeats-infused R&B. First raising attention with her feature in Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence," she later built up a devoted fandom through two EPs: 2020's For Broken Ears and 2021's If Orange Was a Place. In 2022, she was credited as a featured artist in Future's "Wait For U," which led her to win a GRAMMY for Best Melodic Rap Performance.
This month, Tems will finally release her long-awaited debut album, Born in the Wild. The official announcement came with a teaser video for the title track, disclosed one day after her Coachella set in April. "It's all over the news, all over the news, I know this/ Under the sun, struggling to find my focus/ When I was young, younger then/ I was always running away," she sings, reflecting on her childhood in Lagos. "I grew up in the wilderness/ Didn't know much about openness."
Born in the Wild follows Tems' 2023 singles, "Me & U" and "Not an Angel." The singer has yet to reveal further info about the record, as well as a definite release date.
Kameron Marlowe - Keepin' the Lights On
Release date: May 31
Powerhouse country singer Kameron Marlowe is gearing up to release his sophomore effort, Keepin' the Lights On, at the end of May. "The namesake of the album came from a conversation with my dad over the holidays about how he's always thanking the man upstairs for keeping it all together, especially when times get tough," he shared in a statement.
"For me, this record is a reminder of hard work, dedication and keeping the promises that we make," he continued. Featuring 16 tracks, including previously released singles "Quit You," "Strangers" with Ella Langley, and "Tennessee Don't Mind," Marlowe stated that the LP "explores everything from loss to love, depression to joy, and overcoming the voices in your head telling you you're not good enough."
"It's still crazy to me that people are listening to a small town boy from Kannapolis, North Carolina, but here I am releasing my second album. I can't wait for y'all to hear it," he added. Marlowe is currently on his Strangers 2024 North American tour, where he plays some of his new tracks.
Arooj Aftab - Night Reign
Release date: May 31
Just like the night, Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab's voice is deep and mysterious. Unsurprisingly, the night is also her "biggest source of inspiration," as she shared in a recent press release about her upcoming record, Night Reign, out May 31.
Following 2021's Vulture Prince (from which single "Mohabbat" won Best Global Music Performance at the 2022 GRAMMYs), the album is a nine-song compilation about how "some nights are for falling in love, some are for solitude and introspection, some are to be annoyed at a forced social gathering — and so go the stories of Night Reign." The list of collaborators include the soulful Cautious Clay, musical ensemble Chocolate Genius, jazz artist James Francies, and more.
Aftab shared the single "Raat Ki Rani" as a preview of the album, and announced a North America, U.K., and Europe tour throughout the rest of the year. She will also support Khruangbin for a run of fall shows in Washington, DC, St. Louis, MO, and New Orleans, LA.
Inside Neil Young & Crazy Horse's 'F##IN' UP': Where All Nine Songs Came From
Colombian singer Shakira performs with Argentine record producer and songwriter Bizarrap on the Sahara Stage during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on April 12, 2024
Photo: VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
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Coachella 2024 Weekend 1 Recap: 20 Surprises And Special Moments, From Billie Eilish & Lana Del Rey To Olivia Rodrigo With No Doubt
Weekend 1 of Coachella 2024 is a wrap, and the internet can’t stop talking about it. Here are 20 surprises and special moments from Coachella so far, including inspired team-ups, wackadoo moments in the clutch, and much more.
GRAMMYs/Apr 15, 2024 - 09:11 pm
It may be hard to believe, but Weekend 1 of Coachella 2024 is already over. Clearly, time flies when you’re having fun — particularly when beholding the world’s leading artists, convened in the Indio desert in California.
If you weren’t there, the festival was filmed, of course. You can enjoy Coachella from the comfort of your own home, sans-sunburn, undrenched with champagne.
As you survey Coachella’s sold-out first weekend, read on for 20 performances, debuts and moments that surprised and touched us from Coachella Weekend 1.
Lana Del Rey's Headlining Set Brought Out GRAMMY Winners Billie Eilish, Jon Batiste & Jack Antonoff
After rolling deep up to her desert set on a fleet of motorcycles for her Friday performance, Lana Del Rey infused her iconic sad-girl pop persona into every facet of her Gatsby-esque performance.
Her headlining set also included some special GRAMMY-winning guests: Jon Batiste and 2024 Producer Of The YearJack Antonoff both accompanied on piano, while Billie Eilish joined her idol on stage for duet performances of "Ocean Eyes" and "Video Games." Sharing a moment with her hero on stage at the end of the set, Eilish declared, "This is the reason for half you bitches’ existence, including mine.”
Tyler, The Creator Brings Out Childish Gambino, A$AP Rocky, Kali Uchis and Charlie Wilson
Saturday's main stage event kicked off with a ruckus 80-minute set by creative magnet Tyler, The Creator, who transformed the stage into an ever-changing desert scene to host fellow performers.
First up, Childish Gambino hit the stage to perform a duet of "Running Out of Time," before A$AP Rocky joined for a performance of two tracks, "Potato Salad" and "Who Dat Boy."
Tyler admitted he once saw both as rivals, but now considers them friends. Kali Uchis also returned to the desert stage with Tyler for a quick appearance as well as legendary singer/songwriter Charlie Wilson, who made an unexpected appearance to accompany Tyler on a laid-back version of "EARFQUAKE."
No Doubt Made Their Grand Re-Entrance (With Olivia Rodrigo!)
Social media is currently abuzz at the allegedly unresponsive audience for Blur — but what’s a viral, out-of-context clip supposed to prove, anyway? Whatever the case may be, after their rollicking set, Damon Albarn and company declared that the Britpop icons were entering another hiatus.
Bizarrap Brought Out Shakira
Mega-watt Argentine producer Bizarrap brought his BZRP Music Sessions to the Coachella stage and included a surprise appearance from superstar Shakira.
Shakira and Bizarrap won the Latin GRAMMY for Song Of The Year at the 2023 Latin GRAMMYs for "Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53," a featured track on her fresh-out-the-trap album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.
Billie Eilish Threw A Special “Billie & Friends” Party & Hyped Up The Crowd With The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”
After surprising fans during Lana Del Rey's Friday set, Billie Eilish treated fans and special guests to a preview of her new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft at the Do LaB Stage on Saturday night.
The previewed songs were well-received by an enthusiastic set of attendees who were introduced to yet-to-debut tracks "“Lunch,” "L’Amour De Ma Vie," and "Chihiro."
"Yo Gabba Gabba!" Showed Up To The Aquabats’ Pool Party
Christian Jacobs, lead singer of the Aquabats, co-created the "Yo Gabba Gabba!" TV show — and the colorful cast of costumed characters showed up to their pool party! This marks yet another example of ska picking up at Coachella — see the transcendent No Doubt and Sublime performances.
Sublime Made Their Coachella Debut With Jakob Nowell
As you may have read, Sublime are back, against the odds — not with Rome, but with Jakob Nowell, original Sublime frontman Bradley’s son. (It must be said: Bradley died at 28, ending the band’s original run; as he takes the guitar and mic, Jakob himself is 28.)
Speaking of the guitar — he wielded his old man’s, in an emotional and electrifying set that proved these songs’ durability and beyond.
Vampire Weekend Brought Paris Hilton Onstage To Play Cornhole
Dance/electronic sensation Dom Dolla returned to Coachella for a charged set featuring festival first-timer Nelly Furtado who joined to perform their GRAMMY-nominated track, "Eat Your Man."
Furtado gave her all during the rousing performance, a testament to the duo's synergy after Dom Dolla brought the singer out of a six year hiatus to work together on the song.
Sky Ferreira Made A Surprise Appearance With Kevin Abstract
If Sky Ferreira seems like an unlikely candidate to belt out a Lady A hit, think again. The singer/songwriter brought newfound heft to the five-time GRAMMY winners’ classic hit, “Need You Now,” with Kevin Abstract.
Does this foreshadow a reappraisal of the country mainstays’ catalog? Once the dust settles re: the ska revival, we’ll have that conversation.
Kesha Showed Up To Rock With Reneé Rapp (And Diss A Certain Disgraced Rapper)
Billie EilishPhoto: William Drumm
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Billie Eilish's New Album 'Hit Me Hard And Soft': Everything We Know About Release Date, Close Friends Campaign & A More Eco-Friendly Release
On May 17, Billie Eilish will release her third studio album with brother Finneas — a release that emphasizes sustainability. Read on for everything about 'HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,' from the singer's eco-conscious production to innovative cover art.
GRAMMYs/Apr 8, 2024 - 10:20 pmBillie Eilish has announced her third studio album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT out May 17.
Fresh off a sweeping set of award wins for Song Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media at the 2024 GRAMMYs and Best Original Song at the Oscars for her hit single, "What Was I Made For?" from the Barbie soundtrack, Eilish is swapping Barbie pink for submerged shades of blue.
Her new album, another collaboration with brother Finneas, comes almost three years after her sophomore effort, 2021's Happier Than Ever.
Ahead of the official press announcement and Instagram post on Monday, Eilish unleashed a viral ad campaign teasing the release. Billboards featuring the nine-time GRAMMY winner's "blohsh" symbol (a genderless human stick figure) with what fans guessed were cryptic lyrics, appeared in blue font on a black background across major cities, including Los Angeles and New York City's Times Square. Then, Eilish changed her social media icons to a shade of blue and treated Instagram followers to some more mystifying visual content via a set of story posts that included her millions of fans being added to Close Friends on the app.
That strategy paid off, exploding the number of followers Eilish counts on the platform to over 120 million (up from 110 million on Friday) in the span of just three days. One fan summed up the collective rush to join the inner circle with a comment that's racked up over 10,000 likes: "Not a big deal but I’m on her close friends."
As she dives into deeper artistic waters with her third album, Billie Eilish continues to push the boundaries of music and environmental activism, blending her unique sound with a strong commitment to sustainability. Read on for everything GRAMMY.com has unearthed about Eilish's upcoming release.
There Won't Be Any Pre-Released Singles
Fans hoping for an early taste of what's to come will have to wait almost a full month to quench their thirst for any new music.
Eilish confirmed via Instagram that the album will drop in full, without any pre-released singles. “So crazy to be writing this right now i’m nervyyyyy & exciteddd," Eilish wrote. Continuing, "Not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once. Finneas and i truly could not be more proud of this album and we absolutely can’t wait for you to hear it. Love you love you love you.”
The Track List is ‘Spirited Away’
On April 18, Eilish posted the full tracklist for Hit Me Hard And Soft on her Instagram in a post that lists 10 tracks including one named "CHIHIRO," a title borrowed from the Japanese animated film Spirited Away.
Eilish teased a 15-second snippet of the track in a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music which included Eilish softly singing, “Today, maybe tomorrow/ Open the door for me/ I know you said before/ You can’t cope with it no more.”
In the same interview with Apple Music, Eilish noted that she and brother Finneas created the album as if no one would ever hear it. "We kind of made the album that if somebody had said, ‘I want you to make an album and no one is going to hear it. You don’t have to worry about anyone’s ears or opinions or anything at all. It’s in your contract to make an album but no one can hear it,’ Eilish told Lowe. "We pretty much made that album. We made that album without much thought of other people.” Watch the full interview below.
It's Her Most Daring Work To Date
The album is set to debut in a year poised to feature some of the most significant releases from major musicians, each exploring and redefining genre boundaries, trends, and soundscapes.
"HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs, ideally listened to in its entirety from beginning to end," a press release accompanying the announcement stated. "The album does exactly as the title suggests: hits you hard and soft both lyrically and sonically while bending genres and defying trends along the way."
The Cover Art Is Haunting
The cover art is elusive and mysterious, featuring a dark and moody image of Eilish that matches statements about her plunging to new depths as an artist. Dressed head-to-toe in dark colors, she is depicted sinking into the depths of a body of water, beneath a stark white door floating at the surface.
The cover art tracks against the statements in the press release that note, "HIT ME HARD AND SOFT journeys through a vast and expansive audio landscape, immersing listeners into a full spectrum of emotions."
The Release Is Focused On Sustainability
Eilish is hoping to turn the power of her fans into a force for good — her latest album hopes to set a new standard for eco-conscious music production with sustainability baked into the production of CD, cassette, and vinyl releases.
In an interview with Billboard Eilish said, "The fact that I have a far bigger audience and platform than I’ve ever had in my life means I can reach that many more people, and that’s such a huge responsibility and privilege to have." She continued, “If I don’t use that privilege to do some good in the world, then what’s the point?"
According to a new sustainability page on her website, fans can anticipate eight distinct vinyl variants, each unified in track-listing but varied in their sustainable creation. Available through her website and major retailers, the standard black vinyl is crafted entirely from recycled materials. The other seven vibrant variants use ECO-MIX, which repurposes leftover vinyl pieces, or BioVinyl, reducing carbon emissions by 90 percent with ingredients like used cooking oil. The packaging itself is also focused on environmental responsibility, featuring certified recycled content and plant-based ink.
On building more sustainable processes into her album release as a major artist, Eilish told Billboard, “I can’t just ignore what I know and go about my business and career and not do something. That’s just not how I was raised, or how I want to live my life."
Watch Billie Eilish & FINNEAS’ 2024 GRAMMYs Red Carpet Interview
Femme House participants and LP Giobbi (center) at a Seattle workshop.Photo: Sarah Northrop/@sartakespics
interview
How LP Giobbi & Femme House Are Making Space For Women In Dance Music: "If You Really Want To Make A Change, It Can Be Done"
Piano house DJ/producer LP Giobbi, who co-founded Femme House, tells GRAMMY.com about the motivating power of belief, getting asked to remix Taylor Swift, and creating a more equitable dance music scene.
GRAMMYs/Mar 25, 2024 - 01:36 pmBack when LP Giobbi played synth in an all-woman band called LJ Laboratory, seeing Grimes perform and learning that she produced all her own music was a game changer. Although she'd been in music for a while, she'd never thought about producing her own. This is where she felt firsthand the power of visual representation — being able to see and imagine herself in spaces she hadn't before.
After the Oregon-born artist found her way into DJing and music production, her friendship and fruitful creative partnership with GRAMMY-nominated dance pop duo SOFI TUKKER gave her the support she needed to grow in dance music and find her artistic voice.
Today, the "All In A Dream" producer is doing all she can to pay it forward. Through Femme House — an education program and party series that supports women and nonbinary people in production and DJing — Giobbi, co-founder Hermixalot, education lead Mini Bear and their small-but-mighty team are working hard to bring provide useful resources, workshops and a platform to as many people as they can.
“My partner is in the music industry and he does so much business on the golf course. We need our golf course, where we're building friendships, booking each other and collaborating on each other's work — all those things that happen when you have community,” LP Giobbi recently told GRAMMY.com. She has witnessed Femme House’s in-person workshops as a fruitful example of this.
Given that only 6.5 percent of the producers of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023 were female (in 2022, that number was 3.4 percent), there's a lot of work to be done to make a male-dominated profession and industry less so.
On March 1, Femme House released their second compilation album on Insomniac Records, highlighting the wealth of emerging women in dance music. The all-female tracklist features Hermixalot and educators Mary Droppinz and Mini Bear, along with a talented cast of newer names and rising acts including Baby Weight, PAUZA, Lisbona Sisters, and ZOF. Given the massive reach Insomniac has in electronic music, the release will likely expose them to a new, wider fanbase and lead to other opportunities.
"At a time when the music industry was recognizing a problem, but not really providing any solutions or being proactive, LP Giobbi and Hermixalot took it upon themselves to do the hard work and actually create an entity that puts money where their mouth is," Baby Weight said via email. "The amount of opportunities they have been able to provide through workshops and sponsorships and takeovers at festivals is honestly super inspiring — and it should be proof that if you really want to make a change, it can be done."
Femme House has also intentionally created safe spaces for all women and queer people, not just white cis-gender women.
"As a transgender woman, I sometimes feel like I don’t belong with the other girls in the industry and the cisgender straight males don’t understand me either," Baby Weight added. "The Femme House community, however, didn’t blink and welcomed me with open arms and acknowledged me for who I am. So being able to be a part of this tapestry, and provide that same validation to others out there who may have felt the same way, means the world to me."
Since Femme House launched in 2019, they've educated over 12,000 women and gender-expansive people through online classes and free workshops. They also offer six annual scholarships for creators in the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community, which include free gear, one-on-one classes, and professional development.
"One of the reasons I decided to teach music production is because I knew how important it was to create safe and supportive learning environments for people who haven't traditionally had spaces where they can take up space and wholly be themselves," Mini Bear wrote via email. "I want to create the kind of space I wish existed when I was starting out, and to uplift those who have been underrepresented and shut out."
Femme House has grown at an impressive rate since its founding, adding new classes and workshops as well as more femme-centered parties and releases. They also sell affordable go-at-your-own-pace online courses on production, and a wide offering of free monthly classes on specific elements of DJing, production techniques, songwriting and more.
Read on to hear from LP Giobbi about the work Femme House is doing to bring more women into dance music and production.
Let's start with the Femme House Vol. 2 compilation album. It follows the first Femme House album that came out on Insomniac Records in 2022, but how did this one come together and how did you choose the artists and tracks for it?
Insomniac has been an amazing partner on this. I worked closely with their A&R team on both the first and second compilation. I had a list of artists in my mind that have been really supportive of the mission and that we've worked with.
I had some ideas in my head and then sat within the Insomniac team. They had a lot of great ideas and turned me on to some artists that they had been supporting early on, so I got to discover new music through them. I really want to reiterate how amazing Insomniac has been on this mission. They do the biggest electronic festivals in the U.S. and so they have such a [huge] platform and a lot of power in the industry. So to see them put their hand up and care and realize Maybe we need to work harder on making sure our lineups are diverse [is really awesome]. How do you get diverse lineups? You have to help build artists from the beginning.
They really are aware of what this compilation could do for an artist and how it can help them and build their story. After we finally put it together — they were like "We really want to keep supporting these artists to eventually book them for EDC and our other big festivals." They really truly are partners in the sense of caring not just about this one compilation but the larger industry at whole.
How else is Insomniac helping you support women in building their DJ careers?
It's this chicken or egg thing that we really work hard on at Femme House: How do you get booked for a festival? By getting booked for a festival [before]. Promoters will look at other lineups and see who's playing. So we do a lot of stage takeovers with Femme House [with slots for artists who've never played a festival].
Insomniac was the first [promoter/event brand] to reach out to us and asked us to do one at EDC. We were able to book a full female and gender-expansive lineup. That's where our partnership started with them. Most of the folks who played that [EDC with us], it was their first time playing a festival. It really allowed them to start building their story and sort of sell what they're capable of and what they've done. Whenever we do stage takeovers, we save the opening slot for [the winner of] a contest we run where if you've never played a festival before, you can send us a mix.
Your track with Femme House co-founder Hermixalot that opens the compilation reimagines the Rapture's "How Deep Is Your Love"— the first dance track you fell in love with. How did y'all approach covering such a memorable tune while giving it your own touch?
My fiancé is the one who showed me electronic music and the Rapture, which was kind of a gateway for me. I remember listening to "How Deep Is Your Love" [when we first started dating] and having the most epic dance party... It was probably the most fun five minutes of my life. I always wanted to have a version of that song I could play in my sets. I made an [instrumental cover] track with harder hitting drums, and started playing it out and sets. I would throw in that piano line over a bunch of different tracks and was always weaving it throughout [my set] because it's so simple but it's so catchy.
I played a festival set and Hermixalot was like, "That 'How Deep Is Your Love' [cover] is so sick, I love that track." Our musical tastes don't usually overlap; she's more R&B and everything outside dance music. I asked if she wanted to sing on it. She came with such a cool, unique [take]. She did a few different versions — some that had her more R&B flair to it where she did a few different runs — and we ended up piecing them together.
To get to cover my favorite dance track with the person that helped me believe I could be an artist and who created Femme House with me — where our mission is to be what you haven't normally traditionally seen — just so it feels so fitting and really special.
Can you talk about the Femme House tour you did last year, where you had workshops in each city you headlined during your Light Places tour?
The workshops are free. They're safe spaces for women and gender-expansive folks, but all are welcome. I would play the show and an afterparty and then get on the first flight out because I needed to get to the workshop [in the next city], which was happening in the daytime. I would be [so tired] and then show up at the workshop and feel so fueled [by it].
We partnered with Ableton who brought on their female certified trainers in each city. I think there's only seven, which is like two percent of their trainers, but talk about a company that really cares about the mission. They have been so wildly supportive.
The workshop was Intro to Ableton, so we were targeting newer users. [The class helps you] get comfortable opening the program, loading a track and starting your idea, which sometimes can be the scariest part. We really wanted to focus on the basics and try to reach new people because once you're in, we have all sorts of online courses that cover topics way more in-depth.
We also had our lead educator, Mini Bear, [a.k.a.] Lauren Kop, who's on the compilation, did a few workshops. The opener for the tour is an amazing artist named Bad Snacks, who studied electronic music at Berklee School of Music and is one of the most proficient humans in Ableton I've ever met. She taught some of the workshops as well.
What else is coming up for Femme House in 2024?
We're doing a big activation soon at Miami Music Week. We are [also] partnering with Armada [Music] to do an educational series with them and their Armada University. We are also doing a few more festival stage takeovers that I can't announce yet. We'll have that contest for the opening slots to make sure we're booking somebody that's never gotten to play festival before.
[Femme House is] getting so many awesome incoming opportunities. The education is first and foremost, we'll continue to have monthly production and DJ courses and we are adding [online] show photography courses, which I'm really excited about.
The photographer I tour with a lot, Sarah [Northrop] — SarTakesPics is her Instagram — is gonna teach. Touring photography is also a male dominated industry. On the last tour, she started a program where at every one of my shows she picked a photographer to shadow. She would meet with this person and sit with them for an hour, share her knowledge, how she got there and let that person ask questions. That person would do a photo shoot with me to practice portraits, and they would shoot the show as well and have full access to the stage. It was an incredible program, so we'll keep doing that. She'll have a shadow at a few events at Miami Music Week.
And we have a series called Backstage Pass where we invite folks from the industry, not artists or music makers, but agents, promoters and managers and folks come and talk. Our community Zooms in and the [special guest] tell their story on how they got where they are.
I think the contacts part is so important because some people start from nowhere. You had Sofi Tukker, who you've talked about being so vital to your career.
Yeah, oh my god. SOFI TUKKER had some success and they met the head of electronic [music] at Spotify and sent them my songs — they were promoting [their own] songs, but they sent mine. That is what changed everything for me, and then allowing me [the space to] learn how to DJ. That's why Femme House is so important to me, because the power of an artist supporting another artist is life changing.
I just launched a label this year, Yes Yes Yes, in partnership with Defected. There's one artist I just signed, Mascolo — how Sophie and Tucker felt about me, I feel about this artist. I'm gonna bring him on tour with me. I'm releasing his first records at the end of April.
I'm sick of talking about myself and seeing myself in flyers. This artist has given me new energy again. This is so much more fun to me; to listen and believe in their music and see the little seeds of growing their own fan base.
He's the most talented songwriter, producer and artist I've ever been in a room with. He was signed with Ryan Tedder, so he was writing pop songs for massive pop stars. He started showing me some of his dance tunes. And I was like, "Dude, what?" His music is very different but he's like a Frank Ocean as far as a freak genius. I believe in him so f—ing much. I believe in him more than I believe myself. This feeling of deep conviction over somebody else is a really beautiful, powerful feeling.
I think we all need champions and affirmations, even as simple as when someone compliments your work.
SOFI TUKKER gave me a stage, literally started a label to release my music—they did everything for me. But the biggest thing they did for me was they believed. There's no greater gift than the power of belief because then you start believing maybe it is possible. It's not just the belief, it's all the work you have to do to get there. That gift allowed me to do everything I needed to do to actually sustain myself as an artist. I'm so excited to give that to somebody that I really believe in.
What do you think we can start doing now as a dance music community to support more diversity and equity across the genre and scene?
We at Femme House really believe that this change [needs] allies. It cannot just be the underrepresented people doing all the f—ing work. That goes for all movements, I believe. It takes the gatekeepers. It takes the people who are booking the festivals to go, "Wait, is this diverse enough?" When I get booked, I have my agent send out this thing that says if you're still in the process of booking your lineup, here's a bunch of women and gender expansive artists. I had a big learning lesson when one of the first Femme House workshops was all white women. That is why we started the BIPOC scholarship.
The most amazing thing about Femme House has been to see how many of these gatekeepers have come to us saying "How can we make a change.?" On a festival, 90 percent of the tickets are sold by the headliners. So that means that the undercard, the other 50 artists that you're booking, you have so much opportunity to diversify that bottom half of the festival bill. And I do believe that slowly but surely that's happening.
The more women we have on these lineups, the more people in the audience will, subconsciously or consciously, go Oh! That would be a possibility for me. Then they'll do the work if they want to and slowly everything changes.
What are your biggest dreams for Femme House and for women and non-binary representation in dance music and music production?
My biggest dream is to have anybody believe they can do anything. At Femme House, we don't expect having more female DJs or producers will change the world. But having anybody believe they can do anything will change the world. Our outlet just happens to be electronic music, but I would love for everybody to see themselves represented in whatever they want to do and believe they can do it.
You had a really big year last year, which included remixing Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer." How did that official remix come about and how did you feel taking it on?
I was in Marbella, Spain, about to go on stage and my manager called me. He's like, "I know you're going on stage right now but Taylor Swift reached out to work with you." And I was just like, "Wait, what? She knows my name?" [Chuckles.] I was so confused and blown away. [When] I got off stage, I immediately started working on it because I wanted to beast mode it without even having to be asked for it. She listened to it and liked it. I had no idea about a release or anything else.
I was asleep on an airplane flying to Amsterdam for [Amsterdam Dance Event]. My tour manager comes over and wakes me up to tell me Taylor Swift is gonna release the remix tonight. These things happen a lot and oftentimes nothing will come from it. You never say anything until it's actually happened. [Laughs.] I couldn't believe it. When I landed, literally every human I've ever met that maybe had my number had contacted me. Then I saw that she tagged me on her Instagram [post]. The last person Taylor Swift tagged in an Instagram post was Beyoncé, so that was crazy. She definitely did help change my career.
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