Tag: The Weeknd

  • The Weeknd donates $2.5 million to Gaza for aid

    The Weeknd donates $2.5 million to Gaza for aid

    Singer The Weeknd has made international headlines after his XO Humanitarian Fund is sending $2.5 million to Gaza to provide four million meals for civilians. Israel is again bombing the vulnerable population where already more than 15,000 civilians have died. Currently, the death toll after the ending of truce is 160 Palestinians.

    The artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaya, stepped into the role of the Goodwill Ambassador in 2021 in October 2021, and set up the XO Humanitarian Fund with the United Nations World Food Program.

    “WFP is working round the clock to provide aid in Gaza but a major scale up is needed to address the desperate level of hunger we are seeing,” said UN WFP’s director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern European Region,  Corinne Fleischer. “Our teams need safe and sustained humanitarian access, and continued support from donors to reach as many people as we can. We thank Abel for this valuable contribution towards the people of Palestine. We hope others will follow Abel’s example and support our efforts.”

    On November 23, Tunasian Egyptian actress Hend Sabri announced on her Instagram account that she was resigning from her role as Goodwill Ambassador from the UN World Food Program because of the organisation’s inability to condemn the ongoing genocide of Gaza.

    “Over the past weeks, I have witnessed and shared the experiences of my dedicated WFP colleagues. Their frustration at being unable to do what they do best towards children, mothers, fathers and grandparents in Gaza. They could only do so much in the face of a grinding war machine that would not stop and would not spare civilians the agony and anguish as war encircles them.”

    “I had faith,” the actress wrote to her 3.3 million followers, “that WFP – which was named Nobel Peace Prize Laureate only three years ago after championing UN resolution 2417, against using hunger and starvation as a weapon of war – would use its voice forcefully as it had done in multiple emergencies and human crises. However, hunger and starvation have been used as weapons of war for over the past 46 days against more than 2 million civilians in Gaza.”

  • AI-generated song with vocals by Drake, The Weeknd submitted for 2 Grammy’s

    AI-generated song with vocals by Drake, The Weeknd submitted for 2 Grammy’s

    ‘Heart On The Sleeve’ has been submitted to the Grammys for two awards this year, including ‘Song Of The Year’ and ‘Best Rap Song’. The song, featuring vocals by Drake and Abel Tesfaya aka The Weekend, is AI generated. The New York Times reports that an anonymous songwriter, Ghostwriter, has written the track, as well as another song ‘Whiplash’ which features vocals by Travis Scott and 21 Savage.

    Here’s the catch: none of these singers have actually sung the songs.

    ‘Heart On A Sleeve’ racked up 600,000 streams on Spotify as well as 15 million views on Tiktok but was removed immediately after Drake and The Weeknd’s label, Universal Music Group, reacted. But, the publication reports, the song was eligible for two awards, since the category recognizes writers, rather than performers, taking refuge in a loop hole in the announcement by the Recording Academy in June which banned AI-generated songs from being submitted for consideration, since the song was written by a human.

    Harvey Mason, chief executive of the Recording Academy, said:

    “I knew right away as soon as I heard that record that it was going to be something that we had to grapple with from an Academy standpoint, but also from a music community and industry standpoint. When you start seeing A.I. involved in something so creative and so cool, relevant and of-the-moment, it immediately starts you thinking, ‘OK, where is this going? How is this going to affect creativity? What’s the business implication for monetization?’”

    Meanwhile Ghostwriter wrote a lengthy statement on Twitter where he called for both 21 Savage and Travis Scott to post a collaboration, and clarified that to respect the artists, he would direct royalties earned from the song to them:

    “The future of music is here. Artists now have the ability to let their voice work for them without lifting a finger. If you’re down to put it out, I will clearly label it as A.I., and I’ll direct royalties to you. Respect either way.”

  • BTS set to perform in South Korea after a hiatus

    BTS set to perform in South Korea after a hiatus

    A popular Korean pop group, BTS will be going to perform in their home country, South Korea for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started.

    The tour, “Permission to Dance on Stage” which was previously postponed is now being kicked off by next month, March. The management company, BigHit announced the concert dates on their Twitter.

    The group will perform at Olympic Stadium in Seoul on March 3,12, and 13, and fans will be able to watch live concerts online as well.

    The company wrote on an online fan platform, Weverse, “We would like to thank all ARMY for patiently waiting for an in-person concert to be held in Korea.”

    The management also released the teaser of the tour on their official channel. ARMY fandom is showing their love and support for their upcoming performances on the tour under the comment section of the video.

    ARMY is an acronym of ‘Adorable Representative MC for Youth’.

    BTS Group has achieved international fame by winning all three awards in which they were nominated in the American Music Awards 2021. The awards included are Favorite Pop Duo or Group, Favorite Pop Song for “Butter,” and Artist of the Year.

    The group competed with Ariana Grande, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd in the category, Artist of the Year.

    Recently, BTS member, V tested positive for covid and is currently undergoing treatment at home.

    Other members RM, Jin, and Suga already recovered from covid in January.

  • Grammy organisers eliminate ‘secret’ nominating committees after allegations of corruption

    The organisers of music’s Grammy Awards on Friday announced an end to the so-called “secret” committees that have led to allegations that the highest honours in the industry are open to rigging.

    The Recording Academy said that nominations for the next Grammy Awards in January 2022 will be selected by all of its more than 11,000 voting members, instead of by committees of 15 to 30 industry experts whose names were not revealed.

    The Academy was slammed last year when Canadian artist The Weeknd got zero Grammy nominations, even though his critically acclaimed album After Hours was one of the biggest sellers of 2020.

    The Weeknd, in a Twitter post last November, said “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”

    The Recording Academy said in a statement on Friday that the changes were significant and were made “to ensure that the Grammy Awards rules and guidelines are transparent and equitable.”

    Allegations that the Grammy nominations process is tainted were made in a legal complaint filed in early 2019 by the former chief executive of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan.

    At the time, the Academy dismissed as “categorically false, misleading and wrong” Dugan’s claims that its members pushed artists they have relationships with. Dugan was later fired.

    American pop star Halsey, also shut out of the 2021 Grammys, last year called the nominations process “elusive” and said she was “hoping for more transparency or reform.”

    Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik called in March for an end to “secret committees.”

    “I’m keeping the pressure on and fighting for transparency and inclusion. We need to make sure we are honouring and celebrating ‘creative excellence’ of all,” Malik tweeted hours ahead of the 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony.

    Malik had also lashed out the awards saying: “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionery.”

    The Recording Academy on Friday also said it was adding two new Grammy categories — for best global music performance, and best Latin urban music album — bringing to 86 the total number of Grammy Awards each year.