We’ve been away from Yow Yow! for some time, but I promise this post was worth the wait! I got wind of The Linda Lindas recently when their performance spread across my Instagram stories. Intro’ing their song, they referenced a classmate of theirs who was both sexist and racist and if this wasn’t the theme song to all of our childhoods, I don’t know what is. In 2021, this is the energy that we aspire to have! Also, these young women have the coolness we all wish we had. Major props to them for this overly catchy track and may they continue to have a successful musical career. I heard this week they just got signed!
We are back to our regularly scheduled festival announcements again! While Bottlerock is historically in the springtime, they’ve rescheduled due to COVID to be at the end of summer instead. I’m not particularly excited about the headliners, but I miss concerts and festivals so much, I would consider buying a ticket. San Francisco festival goers will be thrilled to have Bottlerock and Outside Lands back to back in September and October. Locals will know that these tend to be our summer months anyways. Readers, do you feel comfortable yet attending large scale events like these? I’m curious to know! Luckily, we’re many months out until this event, but it feels like things are opening up safely again.
For some reason, the last concert I could remember seeing was Leon Bridges. Though this time has been challenging on everyone, I’ve actually loved seeing artists become more inspired during the pandemic. And because we have some time to slow down, I’m finally able to catch up on all the new releases that are being put out. Instead of listening to a new track just because it’s out, I get to spend more time with it and be reflective because I have the time to do that. We’ll always love anything that Leon puts out and “Motorbike” is a breath of fresh air.
If there is one artist that truly dominated TikTok in music this last year, it was Doja Cat. She was incredibly talented before, but it’s very clear that the social app put her on the map. Every single she put out had a catchy accompanying dance that everyone loved to create (myself included!) This joint single along with SZA is sure to become another summer bop. Also much praise to them for including an Asian male lead! We love to see it!
In case anyone needed a little mid-week pick me up, this clip of Tiny Tan dancing to Dynamite is so cute. Tiny Tan are characters based off the real life BTS members and honestly, the creators have done a great job with them!
I know some of you are over this suspected Disney love triangle, but I am not. Whether it’s true or false, I’m actually loving this story even if it does end up being fictional. And I know this might be controversial, but I think I love this song more than “Drivers License!” It has a very pretty poppy vibe to it. We’re much old to be engulfed in things like this, but I know a younger me would have imagined that I could relate to these songs even though my life was not anywhere near close to this.
If you’ve been with Yow Yow! for some time, then you know that we always cover awards shows. Every year, we discuss the winners, the red carpet, the snubs, and the things we learn after it all goes down. It’s not lost on any of us that the public are calling on award shows to be more diverse and inclusive. The pattern is that they give enough for us to be grateful, but also to shut us up. As a newly BTS stan, I watched myself become more invested in the group’s wins and aspirations. They are the group that you want to root for. Days and weeks leading up to the award show, their promos were everywhere. Celebrities were even getting in on this and it felt like there was a campaign rallying for a “Dynamite” win.
In 2019, BTS presented an award for the first time and said on stage, “we’ll be back.” Sure enough, they did return in 2020 to perform “Old Town Road” alongside Lil Nas X.” While it was a performance on the Grammy stage, the guys wanted a chance someday to perform their own song. It was 2021 in which they not only were receiving a nomination, but also invited to perform. It was supposed to be their year actually. Plenty of media outlets predicted a win and that they’d have one of the best performances of the night and it was! Now, no one here is saying that “Rain On Me” wasn’t a summer bop. It was a great song, but if we’re looking at the numbers, there is no comparison. That begs all of us to wonder, “how are winners actually being determined?”
For an award show who boasts about BTS being a part of their program, they sure have a funny way of showing their love to the group. BTS participated in numerous interviews with the organization leading up to the event. Ahead of the award show itself, they did a special performance for MusiCares – a virtual concert featuring a number of artists. Tickets were $25 and while BTS was headlining, they only played one song at the end of the event. Best Pop Duo/Group – the category that they were nominated for was not going to be a part of the main show. Of course, every year there are too many awards that they have to present some before the main event. You would think a category like this would be primetime, but it’s not. The disappointing part of this is that if they had won, they wouldn’t have had the chance to give their speech in front of everyone else the way others have had that opportunity previously.
As someone who worked in events, I understand production logistics. I’ll let that part slide. The thing that I cannot forgive though is the award show teasing in every commercial break that BTS “was coming up next.” As ARMY, we know better. American awards recognize the pull and influence that BTS has on their fans. Keeping them hanging onto the very last minute of the show with BTS performance brings up their viewership. Well the joke is on them because despite doing that, the Grammys last night pulled in its lowest ratings at 8.8 million. Jungkook’s VLive a couple weeks ago pulled in 22 million viewers alone.
We’re not exactly saying the Grammys are racist or xenophobic, but we call it like we see it! ARMY root for BTS to receive the Grammy award because they know how much it means to the group. It’s the thing that they’ve been working towards that they haven’t achieved yet. Given all they have done, they don’t need it and in fact, it’s the Grammys that needs BTS more than they need them.
It sort of felt like all eyes were on BTS during their Grammy weekend, but one big K-pop release was the anticipated 2-song album my BLACKPINK’s Rose. She had given a snippet of what we could expect during their virtual concert back in January, but the music video release on Friday was the first time we were ever hearing “On the Ground.” I actually quite like and it even reminds me of a Taylor Swift tune? Let me know if you catch that also!
It’s a big weekend for now Grammy-nominated group, BTS. This isn’t their first appearance at the award show, but it is the first time they are nominated and it feels like everyone is rooting for them to win. In 2019, they appeared as presenters and in 2020 one of their last international appearances before the pandemic, they performed a modified version of Old Town Road with Lil Nas X and company.
Their moment on stage was brief, but somehow I think they knew they would be back. It has been a goal of theirs to not only be nominated, but to return and perform their own music. The award they are nominated for will be announced before the main show, but as told in interviews they gave this week, the guys are more excited about their performance. It’s still unclear whether or not the guys made it to LA for this Sunday’s show, but as we know, they love surprises. In tonight’s performance for MusiCares, the guys performed their hit “Dynamite” and with a surprise appearance of Jungkook on drums!
