pop music Archives

June 24, 2019

Kim Petras brings the bubblegum back to pop

On a vaporwave-inspired stage surrounded by pink-washed Roman columns, Kim Petras brought her patent brand of sweet electro-pop to The Sinclair. This sold out stop of the Broken Tour in Cambridge, Mass., had fans packed wall to wall to see Petras at her first-ever headlining North American tour. The pop starlet’s last stop in Boston was as the support for Troye Sivan’s Bloom Tour in October 2018. It's fitting that, after supporting a tour that totted LGBTQA love and representation, she would return during Pride month. Kim Petras by Lauren Zaknoun Though her music is sweet, it’s not without it’s edge. Act II of her setlist boasted several tracks from her Halloween EP, Turn Off the Light, Vol. I. She also showed off some of the tracks off of her upcoming EP, Clarity. Petras has been releasing a single every week in the lead up to her EP's release on Friday, June 27. if Kim Petras' skyrocketing success is...

May 27, 2019

by Lauren Zaknoun

Billie Eilish talks mental health and music

Billie Eilish doesn't shy away from anything whether it's dark music or mental health. The "bury a friend" singer opened up about mental health in a video PSA with AdCouncil. The organization's new Seize the Awkward initiative encourages people to support friends during challenging times and open a dialogue about mental health. "It doesn't make you weak to ask for help, it doesn't," Billie says in the video. "It doesn't make you weak to ask for a friend, to go to a therapist. It shouldn't make you feel weak to ask for ask anyone for help." She reiterates that although these conversations can be difficult or awkward, they don't have to be. Reaching out to a friend can be as casual as "how are you feeling?" "Say 'are you okay?'" She stresses. "Ask somebody." You can watch the full video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XFd0RLKQWA Screaming for more? Follow us on Instagram, Tumblr & Twitter! ...

May 8, 2019

by Lauren Zaknoun

Allie X Looks Back While Moving Forward

The name of the game at this year’s Met Gala was “Camp,” an ode to kitsch and all things bizarre. While some celebs missed the mark, Allie X is the queen of all things camp. From nun habits to carefully-crafted alter egos, Allie X is bringing camp back to the pop scene. Allie X is currently on tour with ionnalee supporting her latest release, Super Sunset. The eight song EP details Allie X’s growth as an artist, grappling with her shift from a “rather naïve” creative to somebody who’s “kind of jaded and just really authoritative” during her five year stint in Los Angeles. “I feel like I’ve changed you know?" She told BANSHEE over the phone. "And I’ve watched myself change. I’m also just growing older so that [change] would’ve happened anyway… I mean, I feel like a boss now but I feel like I’ve also lost my innocence, I guess,”...

January 25, 2019

by Lauren Zaknoun

Ariana Grande accused of brown face, appropriating black culture

The internet flipped when Ariana Grande released her much-hyped “7 Rings” video, a bop about basking in obscene wealth and looking good while doing it. The internet flipped yet again when rapper Princess Nokia accused Grande of ripping off her song. However, the outrage wasn’t for quite the right reason. It all started with hair. The lyrics in question are Grande’s “You like my hair? / Gee, thanks, just bought it!” Princess Nokia compares it to “Beauty shop supply cashier ringing up them numbers / Rock my many styles then go natural for the summer / Hair blowing in the hummer / Flip the weave, I am a stunner / It's mine, I bought it.” You don’t have to strain to see the similarities. Princess Nokia isn’t impressed either. In the now-deleted video, she says, “Ain’t that a little song I made about brown women and their hair? Sounds about white.” The video...

October 15, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

CONCERT: Troye Sivan celebrates gay love on Bloom Tour

Flowers, pride flags, and a unique sense of unity is the scene that was set for the Boston stop of Troye Sivan's Bloom Tour. Longtime fans of Sivan know and recognize Boston as a city of traditions, many of which were revisited on the evening of Oct. 12. Featuring pop comet Kim Petras and longtime collaborator Leland, the Bloom Tour has proven to be a celebration of queerness in every capacity. Every performer is a star in their own right with so much to offer LGBTQ fans who've never had as much music to be excited about as they do in 2018. Leland, after working with Sivan on both of his albums as well as a host of talent ranging from Selena Gomez to RuPaul's Drag Race, has seen his star rise rapidly within the last year. After working in a more behind-the-scenes capacity for some time, his own name has been rising...

October 3, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

REVIEW: Kim Petras gets creepy with Halloween mixtape

Just as Halloween season begins at the stroke of midnight on October 1, Kim Petras switched from pop princess to Halloween queen. After teasing something new on Instagram with a slew of undead-looking portraits by the inimitable Lucas David, Petras released Turn Off the Light, Vo1. 1 on Oct. 1, giving you not one but eight new tracks to freshen up your stale (admit it) Halloween playlists which no doubt kick off with "Thriller," "Monster Mash," and the Ghostbusters theme song. In that order. [caption id="attachment_51310" align="aligncenter" width="457"] kim petras by lucas david[/caption] Citing Britney Speaks and Freddy Mercury as some of her inspirations for this project, the mixtape reveals a new side of Petras who up until now made her mark with hyper-catchy electropop and neon aesthetics. In Turn Off the Light, Petras sees herself through the lens of an "evil" Kim, the Hyde to her Jekyll, sexier and darker than her past work. "Close...

October 2, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

ICYMI: Avril Lavigne’s comeback, Pussy Riot survives poisoning, & more

There’s a lot of music to keep track of and not enough hours in the day. That’s why every week, BANSHEE will catch you up on the music news you need to know! Pussy Riot member "okay" after being poisoned It's hard not to wonder how Pussy Riot manages to continue it's activism under Russia's politically repressive climate, rife with poisoning, arrests, and murders. But last month, the group cut it close. Russian-Candian Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verzilov was hospitalized for probable poisoning on Sept. 13, citing loss of vision, control of his limbs, and even total loss of his memory. Verzilov has more or less recovered from the ordeal and remains largely unbothered by it. "Obviously when you do things like that in Russian, you have to be prepared for certain things to happen to you," he said to CNN. Pussy Riot members were arrested this summer during the World Cup when they ran...

September 25, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

Halsey teases new song on final night of tour

Halsey closed out the final date of her hopeless fountain kingdom world tour by sharing a snippet of her newest music. In a video captured by a fan, the "Bad At Love" singer teased concert-goers at the Sept. 23 show in London with a new track titled "Without Me." A backing video read, “Said I’d catch you if you fall//Does it ever get lonely?” The song is set to be released on Oct. 4. GUYS HALSEY IS COMING OUT WITH A NEw SONG SJSJSJS WITHOUT ME pic.twitter.com/ZFRQctUEnG — claire (@clx1re) September 23, 2018 Not one to leave her fans wanting more, Halsey posted the complete promo clip on Sept. 25. View this post on Instagram Without Me October 4th A post shared by halsey (@iamhalsey) on Sep 25, 2018 at 9:23am PDT "And if they laugh then fuck them all//Maybe I'm the one who put you up there//I don't know why" she sings in the clip. The final installment of the hopeless...

September 11, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

Stop blaming Ariana Grande for Mac Miller’s Death

While most of the world reacted with sadness and disbelief in the wake of rapper Mac Miller's death on Friday, Sept. 7, a loud contingent of people decided instead of lamenting his death or denouncing the tragedy of drug addiction to find a scapegoat: his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Grande. When TMZ broke the story, the outlet was quick to implicate Grande in Miller’s death: “Mac Miller died Friday of an apparent overdose...

July 16, 2018

by Lauren Zaknoun

CONCERT: Halsey says goodbye to ‘Hopeless’

Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom tour may be on its final installment but the Providence, RI stop was still a night of firsts. Her very first tour stop in Rhode Island boasted a sold-out crowd. Avid fans from across the east coast were lining up as early as Tuesday to get into the July 11 show at Bold Point Park. Opening for Halsey was Jessie Reyez who dialed the energy up to 11 when she took the stage, her vengeful track “Gatekeeper” striking some chords in the crowd. “Gatekeeper” calls back on a pivotal and chilling moment in her career when a producer who, early in her career, told Reyez “If you wanna make it in this industry, you gotta suck some dick.” Halsey’s intimate show was replete with her usual pyrotechnics, backdrops, and theatrics typical of her arena shows, now set against the stunning backdrop of the sunset over the water. Opening her...

Kim Petras brings the bubblegum back to pop

Billie Eilish talks mental health and music

Allie X Looks Back While Moving Forward

Ariana Grande accused of brown face, appropriating black culture

CONCERT: Troye Sivan celebrates gay love on Bloom Tour

REVIEW: Kim Petras gets creepy with Halloween mixtape

ICYMI: Avril Lavigne’s comeback, Pussy Riot survives poisoning, & more

Halsey teases new song on final night of tour

Stop blaming Ariana Grande for Mac Miller’s Death

CONCERT: Halsey says goodbye to ‘Hopeless’

We Love This – “Hallucinations” by PVRIS

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