Wiz Khalifa told us about the weirdest sh*t he did on his newest album. It involved getting drunk and experimenting with volumes. “That might sound kinda trippy and sh*t but we did it,” he said “and it came out really awesome.” ANDPOP‘s Jordan Bortolotti spoke to the rapper about experimenting with drugs while recording and the state of rap.
“I want it to really be about the music and the swag and about everything that goes into the project,” he said about his newest album, O.N.I.F.C. “You gotta see what’s going on and not only be able to move forward but be able to take from past inspirations — like listening to albums that when I first got CD players, these were the albums I was going and buying. I’m at that point in my career when I really gotta define who I am and how long I’m gonna be here and those artists did that with those albums.”
Starting your music career while you’re still in high school can be complicated. Between school, touring and making new music, Austin Mahone is a busy guy.
We asked him how he maintains his seemingly “perfect life.” It’s a demanding schedule that can be pretty repetitive — hotel room, venue, sleep. “Honestly, the music business is insane,” he said. “It’s super crazy — I never expected it to be this intense.”
Oh, and we also got some news about his upcoming album! “My album’s gonna come out around the time I’m going on tour with Taylor Swift, which is around March. And so I would say expect a lot of collaborations with huge artists,” he said. “You know, just upbeat pop songs.” Get excited.
Watch it here
Also watch Part One and Part Three here.
The smoking hot guys from The Wanted performed an acoustic cover of “I Found You” during ANDPOP’s LIVE interview with them. They’re amazing artists in the studio but they proved they can put on a wicked acoustic show too.
As always, the guys let loose while performing — clapping to the beat, laughing with each other and fooling around. Especially little Nathan, who stole the show.
Watch it here
We were surprised to hear Bridgit Mendler’s debut studio album isn’t semi-autobiographical, considering it’s called Hello My Name Is.. (Bridgit Mendler). Although it’s self-titled, the songs on the album aren’t all personal to her, though they do appeal to her sense of style and personality. She recently sat down with ANDPOP’s Jordan Bortolotti in Toronto to chat about the writing process.
“I think it’s so brave for artists to tell their own stories,” Bridgit said. “And I would love to do that. But I think another part of the fun of it is not just telling your own story but telling a bunch of different stories.”
“Ready or Not” was the first single off her introductory album. It was an international Top 40 hit and thrived on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The 19-year-old was also at NYC’s recent Big Jingle on Dec. 7.
Bridgit said she’s looking forward to doing more albums in the future that have an over-arching concept, but the eclectic mix of songs was perfect for an introductory album. “For now,” she says, “the main thing I’m trying to convey is ‘Hi! This is who I am.’” And if this is who she is, we’re into it!
Watch it here
It’s no surprise Diamond Rings takes a strong creative license over his unique sound and image, considering he started out by recording and distributing his songs in his bedroom. He’s someone who stands out both musically and artistically in a visually saturated culture — something he feels is important.
“I think it’s really important to take ownership over every facet of what it is to be a muscian in 2012,” he said in an interview with ANDPOP. ”The more I can do on my own to shape who I am and to shape what people think of me the better.”
Now that he’s gaining even more acclaim from fans and music critics, his work is done on a grander scale. To keep himself challenged creatively he’s involving others in the process, or “trying to” he laughs.
The artist performed an acoustic version of “All The Time” at Toronto’s Drake and gave some solid advise for aspiring musicians, or really, anyone in the artistic community.
“I would advise anyone starting out who has a love of music,” he said “to follow their hearts and not be afraid to trust intuition and trust their instincts, and not be afraid to try those things that seem crazy.”
He added: “If your heart is in the right place good things will start to happen.”
Watch it here
Diamond Rings: All The Time (Acoustic Performance) from ANDPOP on Vimeo.
Here at ANDPOP, we’re no art connoisseurs. But we’re pretty sure the painting above was not only executed admirably but the genius who completed it put a lot of deep thought into its message.
The six by six original acrylic depicts the Ikea Monkey as the ruined image of Ecce Homo. So naturally, it’s called “Ikeas Homonkulus.” It even comes with a wire frame for hanging, so you know it’s grade A!!
If you’re still scrounging for some last minute holiday ideas, why not pick up the phone and buy a convenient product from late night TV? To make it easier for you, Jimmy Kimmel curated the best of the best products from various informercials. Included is a fake singing parakeet, an inflatable neck brace and a condiment shaker.
Don’t worry, if your boyfriend isn’t into the ear wax vacuum you bought him (hint hint) then there’s a good chance they’ll send you your money back.
My favourite?
These phone headphones are strong enough to hold a five pound laptop. Because, why wouldn’t you?
Watch it here
It’s hard to believe but Austin Mahone wasn’t always a ladies man. “I was in this little town so all the girls were into the country guys that wore boots and jeans. So I was completely different from everybody else and none of the girls found me attractive,” he said in an interview with ANDPOP.
A year ago he met Taylor Swift in a cafe and she told him to never give up on his dreams. Now he’ll be opening for her during her upcoming Red tour. “It’s gonna be crazy,” he said.
He also talked about the ups and downs of having a loyal social media following. Although it’s been harder to keep in touch with his friends, he loves connecting with his fans. Keep the tweets coming, he reads all of them!
Watch it here
Have you ever wondered if you’re bothering your social media circle? Do you constantly refresh your page hoping to get a new notification? If you’re anything like our staff, you’re probably friends with the type of people we’re talking about. This week ANDPOP weighs in on the most annoying social media platform of all. We all have grievances with Facebook but what about the people on it?
Feel free to post this to your own Facebook page if you want to send a passive aggressive message to that special someone in your news feed. Happy creeping!
Oh! And what are the most annoying things your friends do on Facebook?
The smoking hot guys from The Wanted performed an acoustic cover of “I Found You” during ANDPOP’s LIVE interview with them this past weekend. They’re amazing artists in the studio but they proved they can put on a wicked acoustic show too.
As always, the guys let loose while performing — clapping to the beat, laughing with each other and fooling around. Their energy is infectious.
Watch it here:
ANDPOP interviewed the gorgeous guys from The Wanted for the third time this past weekend and they nearly broke my camera with their smouldering good looks. Check out some of the photos below:
Max looks broodingly off camera. What’s he thinking about?
Every time Jay smiles, 100 girls’ ovaries explode
Likewise, every time Max shielded his face from the camera, 100 girls screamed defiantly
Scooter Braun called us and said our host should change places permanently with Tom. What would you think about the swap? Read more…
We’re streaming an exclusive LIVE interview with The Wanted AND Carly Rae Jepsen from a Toronto location this Saturday, Dec. 1 at 2:15 ET. Hold your screams for the next part: The Wanted will be doing a LIVE acoustic performance too! You can watch it all go down on on ANDPOP.com and our YouTube channel.
Every time we interview The Wanted something crazy happens. One time they prank called a fan and accused them of stealing a dog and the other time Siva made up a rumor about his testicles for kicks (but actually). We’re also dying to ask them details about their forthcoming album!
We’ll be interviewing Canadian hottie Carly Rae Jepsen at 3:30. We’re obsessed with her new album Curiosity (seriously, it’s on repeat) and can’t wait to ask her about life on the road with Justin Bieber.
We know. It’s like Christmas day came early and Santa brought you the ENTIRE WORLD. If you have any questions for them, holla at us on Twitter @andpop or Facebook.
CATCH THE ENTIRE EVENT HERE AT 2:15 EST!!!
One of the most endearing things about indie dance duo Matt and Kim is their wicked sense of humour and candid war stories, including getting blackout drunk or fooling around with “groadies” (groupies + roadies).
Apart from being hilarious, their fourth-studio album Lightning is addictive. They were happy to go back to their DIY roots, recording it themselves from their hometown in New York — which also meant they didn’t have to wear pants (WIN).
In their interview with ANDPOP’s @Jordans_Life, Matt and Kim also revealed how they got their start with the after-hours MTV crowd.
“When we started out we were just playing loft parties and house parties and stuff like that and we ended up hosting a show on MTV really early on before were doing any legit venue shows,” said Matt. “But it’s just probably because the people who were coming to those parties and stuff like that are also —”
” — people who work for MTV or write for magazines,” added Kim.
“So you’re in front of those people just when they’re going out to gett blackout drunk,” Matt laughed.
Either way, we’re happy they caught the attention of those reporters early on because we’re obsessed!
Watch it here
By Jill Krajewski
On top of being a smash-hit superstar, Taylor Swift is the kindest cutie with a guitar out there. The Red singer is even cuter in these childhood pics and videos! Read on to see your favourite country girl growing up.
She shows fans home movies
Taylor Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her parents filmed so many home videos of her and her younger brother Austin that T-Swift made an entire music video with her baby tapes for “The Best Day.”
She was an active kid
Taylor was only nine months old when she rode a horse for the first time. She also started ballet – and striking the perfect pose – when she was just 2 in 1991.
She could belt at 11 Read more…
While Of Monsters and Men had musical aspirations, they never dreamed they’d be full time musicians.
“I always wanted to do it but it just felt silly to say it because it’s just so unrealistic,” said vocalist and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir.
The six piece indie folk band experienced swift success after winning a national battle of the bands competition in Iceland back in 2010. Since then their single “Little Talks” from their debut studio album My Head Is An Animal has topped Billboard’s alternative chart.
The group performed a live acoustic session of “Mountain Sound” for Making Waves. They told ANDPOP they never intended to make an album at first — they just wanted to write songs and word quickly spread.
They also had some apt advice for musicians. While many artists throw off romantic affirmations like “follow your dreams,” vocalist and guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson is a little more practical: “Do it because you want to do it and make music that you yourself like and not that you think everyone else will like,” he said. “Like my dad always says, just keep on keeping on.”
Watch it here
Want to fly to Las Vegas with a friend to see Rihanna live in concert? ANDPOP and Universal Music Canada will fly one lucky fan and a friend to the city that never sleeps to see her show on April 12.
Here’s what the prize includes
- Two roundtrip flights to Las Vegas
- Two nights hotel accommodation (the winner and guest will share a room)
- Two tickets to see Rihanna live
It’s easy! All you have to do is “Like” our Facebook page and fill out the form below. Before you know it, you could be flying to Las Vegas to sing “Diamonds” with RiRi.
Barack Obama’s fave band Two Door Cinema Club performed an acoustic version of “Sleep Alone” for ANDPOP and talked about all the mundane things that excite them in North America.
It’s no surprise they spend more time over here than anywhere else in the world, considering how crazy we are about them. Even the Pres is a huge fan of the Northern Irish trio. There were rumours a couple months ago that Obama booked every seat for one of their gigs in Washington DC and although it wasn’t true, we’d believe it!
“We actually spend more time in America than anywhere else in the world,” said bass player Kevin Baird.
The first album Wiz Khalifa ever bought with his own money was DMX’s single “Get At Me Dog,” which is pretty trippy considering the Pittsburgh rapper has since toured with X for Rock the Bells and his fiance Amber Rose has a soft spot for the guy.
Wiz was growing up in Pittsburgh and had to save up for the album, which included the clean, regular and instrumental versions as well as “Stop Being Greedy” on the B-side.
“I was doing chores at the time,” Wiz told ANDPOP. “I was in second or third grade probably and had $10. There was this place called Edgewood Towne Centre right up the street from where I lived on the East side of town so I had to walk all the way up the street, all the way up the hill. I got the the Towne Centre, looked at everything and for some reason DMX stood out so I was like ‘I’ll get that one,’ and I loved it.”
Wiz also opened up about getting crazy sh*t stuck up his nose and first learning about doggy-style as a “crazy little man” for an episode of “Way Back When.” Naturally, this resulted in obligatory talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, because (duh) Wiz is OBSESSED with the art of ninjutsu.
Scooby is a huge Great Dane but he’s got a soft side too. Watch him cuddle with the adorable baby Cade like they’re BFFs. You’ll probably have to go punch a wall to cancel out your manly tears.
Want to see Rihanna perform a PRIVATE SHOW at a secret location in Toronto? Think of it: Just you, a bunch of journalists and the fierce, incomparable being that is RiRi.
It’s easy! Here’s what you need to do
1. Like our Facebook page to have access to the contest form.
2. Complete the contest form (available here). You’ll be asked general information.
Once everyone has entered, we’ll select the winners.
Contest deadline: Nov. 14, 2012
**Contest is open to everyone in Canada, excluding Quebec. We will not provide transportation.**
