Grammy Spotlight: Rock and Alternative Artists to Watch, from Wet Leg to My Chemical Romance

EXCLUSIVE: In-demand actress Emma Roberts is in final talks to join Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush in action-comedy Verona Spies, which will be directed by comedy veteran Frank Coraci, known for movies including The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy.

The Government is poised to extend a windfall tax on energy giants after Shell yesterday revealed “obscene” profits of more than £1000 a second.

As Rishi Sunak starts his first full day as Prime Minister he is likely to face a huge number of challenges after taking over from Liz Truss who last just 49 days in office.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has claimed the “optics” of the chaos surrounding Liz Truss’ Government are “awful”. Ross said the Tory Government would “deal” with bread and butter issues like mortgages, weeks after Truss and her colleagues tanked the UK economy.

Thania Garcia The South by Southwest Music Festival has revealed the first round of performers for its 37th annual celebration, taking over Austin, Texas, from March 13-18, 2023.  The full list of artists appears below, but highlights include South Korean artists Balming Tiger and Beenzino, Calle 13’s iLe (Puerto Rico), Ladaniva (France), Max Cooper (England), Mightmare, Núria Graham (Spain), the Orielles (England), Otoboke Beaver (Japan), RVG (Australia), Son Rompe Pera (Mexico) and dozens more. Like previous years, the festival will host multiple events spotlighting the 191 emerging talents on the list — with this being the first of several announcements for its planned showcases that will span six nights.

Wet Leg have teased what their next album might sound like, as well as discussing what it was like to be covered by Harry Styles and Pearl Jam. Watch our video interview with the band above.The Domino-signed indie duo were speaking to NME on the red carpet at the Mercury Prize 2022 last night (October 19), where they joked about the progress of the follow-up to their acclaimed self-titled debut album.“Completed it, mate! Just kidding!” said Hester Chambers, adding that the new album will take in “a bit of this and a bit of that, probably”.Revealing that they’ll be spending much of the next year writing the next record, singer Rhian Teasdale said that fans should expect it to be “like the last one, but longer, bigger, better, faster, stronger and more fluorescent.”The pair also spoke about the “surreal” experience of having one of their songs covered by Harry Styles, and how being covered by Pearl Jam was “very strange and funny and cool”.“It’s just strange when people know that you exist, who you wouldn’t have thought would know you exist,” Teasdale said.

My Chemical Romance wrapped up their five-night residency at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. There, they performed the deepest cut in their entire catalogue: ‘Sister To Sleep’, a song they’d performed live just once before, nearly a decade ago, and never released in any official capacity.Initially written during the sessions for their second album, 2004’s ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’, the band performed ‘Sister To Sleep’ for the first and only time on June 26, 2003, when they played a small club show in New York City.After the only known recording of it – a low-quality bootleg from the New York show – gained traction in forums and on platforms like MySpace, the song went on to become a cult favourite within My Chemical Romance’s online fanbase.

Katie Reul editor Nearly a decade has passed since the disbandment of My Chemical Romance (MCR), the post-hardcore, pop-punk group led by frontman Gerard Way. And as a generation of Vans Warped Tour devotees grew up, so, too, did Gerard’s 13-year-old daughter, Bandit, who is now of age to appreciate her father’s music in all its angsty glory. At the Oct. 15 show of the band’s reunion tour, which had been postponed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gerard’s daughter was front and center at the Kia Forum with a squad of her friends. The vocalist dedicated his 2006 hit song “Teenagers” to her, which was a surreal moment for adult concert-goers whose punk awakening similarly began in early adolescence.

Douglas Ross has been mocked for saying he thinks Liz Truss can win the next General Election despite her disastrous start to her premiership.

Thania Garcia For the first time in history, an all-Spanish-language act is the biggest artist in the world. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — better known as Puerto Rican rap-reggaeton titan Bad Bunny — is dominating the global music market. He has been the world’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for two consecutive years. His fourth studio album, “Un Verano Sin Ti,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after its release in May and has spent 12 non-consecutive weeks there — that’s three months — making it not only the longest-running Spanish-language album at the top of the chart, but the first to hold the position for that length of time since Drake’s “Views” six years ago. Bunny’s previous albums (including a greatest-hits collection and a collaborative set with Colombian reggaeton powerhouse J Balvin) have been certified three, six, eight, 10 and 24 times platinum in the U.S. alone.

Kyle Eustice For the first time in … well, maybe ever, hip-hop fans applauded the Recording Academy in 2021 for “getting it right.” Nominees in the rap album category included unconventional releases that weren’t necessarily expected to get the nod: Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist’s critically acclaimed “Alfredo,” D Smoke’s “Black Habits,” Royce Da 5’9’s “The Allegory,” Jay Electronica’s long-awaited debut, “A Written Testimony,” and the winner, Nas’ “King’s Disease,” which netted the mighty 25-year vet his first Grammy.  The following year’s noms followed suit, with mentions going to Tyler, the Creator’s “Call Me if You Get Lost,” Nas’ “King Disease II,” J. Cole’s “The Off-Season,” Kanye West’s “Donda” and Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” (although the famous Grammy skeptic decided to withdraw the project before the votes were cast). Now the question remains: Will the streak continue? 

Rick Rubin has revealed that he’s working on a new album with The Strokes, having recently completed a recording session with them in Costa Rica.Yesterday (October 12) saw Rubin appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he spoke about some of his upcoming projects. Referring to The Strokes’ seventh album – which is yet to be announced or acknowledged by the band – he said: “A few months ago I was in Costa Rica, recording a new album with The Strokes, and we rented this house up on the top of a mountain and set the band up outside.“So they’re playing… It’s like they’re doing a concert for the ocean, on the top of a mountain.

Dragula is nearly here!

Thania Garcia The Latin Recording Academy will honor the accomplishments of women working within the arts and Latin entertainment with a ceremony recognizing “The Leading Ladies of Entertainment.” After two years of virtual celebrations due to the pandemic, the event returns live in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Nov. 15, as part of Latin Grammy week. The inaugural event will recognize Puerto Rican singer/songwriter and six-time Latin Grammy-winner Kany García; Rocío Guerrero, global head of Latin at Amazon Music; Rosa Lagarrigue, founder and CEO of Spain’s RLM; and Janina Rosado, pianist, musical director, Juan Luis Guerra’s co-producer, and nine-time Latin Grammy-winner as “Leading Ladies” of 2022.