The competition was announced back in July and the winner was just recently crowned. The virtual show featured the five finalists from Europe, the Middle East and Africa perform and receive feedback from the judging panel. The judges included British rock star Yungblud, rapper Denzel Curry, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and the founder of 88rising Sean Miyashiro.

Northern Ireland’s Lemonade Shoelace was the first performer, he brought his highly positive experimental psych-pop to the competition. Miyashiro commented on the performance“Tight band, [it’s] music that I would want to listen to, They have a distinct sound. I love it.”

Next up was London-based singer Kenya Grace who shared her enigmatic R&B creations which won praise from Michaels who said “It’s really unique, I loved her voice. She has dynamics in her songs and she can perform them and sing them live, which is rare.” KY’ORION then followed this up with the Birmingham rapper showcasing his melodic, thought-provoking bars. “He’s just gotta keep going cos I like the vibe,” Curry said. “He needs to come up with some crazy patterns.”

Welsh duo Altered Myths then mixed things up with a two-track performance with immense bluesy riffs and blasting drums. Miyashiro enjoyed the performance stating “They’re fusing a lot of different things together and I think that’s really dope to make it their own style, I think the songwriting is great. I think they’re definitely onto something.”

Paris-based electronic musician p-i used samplers and other equipment to build the layers of her music, fusing them together to form hypnotic tracks that grew greater with each layer. YungBlud liked the act saying “I can see them going on after me, not before, It feels very late night. If I was in the dance tent and that came on, fuck yeah I’m there. Big vibes.” You can view all the artists performing below.

After the artists performed, the judges then awarded each of them a mark out of 10, with a final score being worked out from their average scores. At the end of the concert receiving the highest marks is Lemonade Shoelace with a score of 8.3. Micheals said of the winner “You can tell that they’ve put a lot of time and devotion and dedication into their artistry and their craft, and I’m so happy I got to experience that today,”

As a reward for Lemonade Shoelace’s victory he has won a support slot with Yungblud when he embarks on his UK tour in January 2022, as well as Vans products, Kramer gear, global music distribution, Spotify and Apple Music playlisting and more.

He spoke to NME ahead of the Livestream concert, where he said winning “would mean the absolute world to me. I feel like I’ve won already by just being selected as a finalist, which I never thought would happen,”  to which he added. “It’s great to see recognition for my hard work; I produce everything myself and I’m so happy people are enjoying my output.”

Additionally, the winners will also get the chance to share the stage with Yungblud at his headline shows in January 2022. All new acts from across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific are allowed to enter the competition. Submissions will then be judged by an expert panel consisting of rapper Denzel Curry the Grammy-nominated artist and songwriter to the stars Julia Michaels, and 88rising’s founder Sean Miyashiro, and Yungblud.

Once the judges have viewed all the acts they will pick their top five finalists from each region to perform at the Vans Musicians Wanted virtual concert series in September 2021. There will also be regional grand prize winners selected and they will receive the aforementioned Vans products, gear from Kramer, global music distribution, and playlisting on both Spotify and Apple Music.

If you think you have what it takes to enter the competition simply submit your own original music on the Vans Musicians Wanted website before the July 23 closing date. A message on the site reads:

“Calling all singers, rappers, drummers, even flutists. Whatever your musical vice, enter for the chance to perform with YUNGBLUD. Judges will pick a final five to perform in a digital battle for the grand prize. Content will be posted and shared on vans.eu/musicianswanted and our social platforms. Don’t miss your chance.”

The competition previously took place last year in 2020 and received over 22,000 artist submissions so it would be wise to expect a similar number this year. Winners of the last Musicians Wanted competition include UK rapper and producer JoeJas, Argentinian singer-songwriter Lucia Tacchetti and the Korean experimental rock group numnum.

View this post on Instagram

My sweet boys @glassanimals asked me to hop onto their timeless banger “Tangerine” off their album “Dreamland”! It was a pleasure to be a feature and have a boogie on stage with them for their livestream. Love you boys go smash the link in my bio to listen

A post shared by Arlo Parks (@arlo.parks) on Oct 17, 2020 at 9:58am PDT

The livestream show, that took place on Friday, was titled Glass Animals: Live In The Internet. The band wanted to promote their new album and unfortunately had to do so with a virtual performance due to obvious reasons. The event was, however, enhanced by elaborate sets and visuals -each designed to reflect one of their three EPs.

The presence of special guests Arlo Parks and Denzel Curry, the latter of whom features on the album in song Tokyo Drifting, made the live-stream even more exciting. Park’s verse on Tangerine gives the track a more varied and melancholy feel. In her signature soft vocals she sings wistfully about missing a past love: I wanna see you blooming like a tulip with your hair dyed peach… I used to know the way you smiled// And how you liked your tea// Now your spirited away… I miss that sweet little tangerine.

This is not the first time Parks has collaborated with Glass Animals. Back in April she teamed up with the Oxford band’s frontman Dave Bayley to deliver a cover of Drake’s hit single Hotline Bling. Incidentally, Tangerine and Hotline Bling both have that Timmy Thomas Why Can’t We Live Together backing beat that gives both songs a foot-tapping vibe.

Glass Animal’s Dreamland was a sleekly produced introspective album, that saw the band writing about personal experiences more than before. It was created after a period of intense trauma for the band, due to the fact that drummer Joe Seaward was hit by a truck in Dublin and nearly died. Seaward, who suffered extensive brain damage, had to relearn how to ‘walk, talk, and drum again’.

It is good to see the band being so active after such a period of distress. Hopefully there will be more collaborations, music and live-streamed shows in the near future!

“TOMORROW. MIDNIGHT. EVERYWHERE. 9pm (PST) @denzelcurry u ready?”, the 23-year-old captioned the post that also contains a short teaser with a photo of him holding a lemon with nails pressed into it. The caption includes the classic Yungblud black heart emoji as well as a lemon emoji. This morning (August 13) he also tweeted a series of the lemon emoji. It seems like the new Dom era is all about fruits, given the fact that the Doncaster-born rockstar recently released his latest single “Strawberry Lipstick”. And now there’s something involving lemons.

“They just squeeze my brain, getting off on pain, dripping down your face, like I’m lemonade” he sings in the eight-second clip, which led to the internet guessing that the track could be called “Lemonade”. Denzel Curry can’t be heard in the teaser, so naturally fans are wondering what the rapper’s contribution to the song is. Will we get to hear him rap? Background vocals? A duet with Yungblud? Or will he even sing at all? (To be fair, he most likely will). To find out, we still have to wait another 12 hours until the clock strikes midnight.

tomorrow gonna be heavy af

— YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) August 12, 2020

Last month, Dominic Harrison as Yungblud’s real name is, released the single “Strawberry Lipstick” which, as he recently revealed, was inspired by pop punk legends Green Day. The chorus of the single that marked the beginning of a new chapter in the Yungblud legacy was written by a 15-year-old-Dom who went to a Green Day show when he was just 13.

The collaboration with Denzel Curry, who released his latest single “Lil Scammer That Could” back in June, isn’t the only collaboration that Yungblud has planned. As Bring Me The Horizon singer Oli Sykes recently confirmed, there’s a Yungblud x BMTH collaboration in the works. However, it is uncertain when the emo collab will be released.

So until we get to vote which Yungblud collaboration we prefer, we still have to wait some time. If you’re interested in the Yungblud and Denzel Curry collaboration, head over to Spotify at midnight local time.

The song premiered as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record’ on BBC Radio 1 and fans agree – it already has 1 million plays on Spotify already. Produced by lead singer Dave Bayley, ‘Your Love (Déjà Vu)’ takes inspiration from fellow producers Timbaland and The Neptunes. Bayley discussed the song, saying that it’s about “A relationship that we know on some level is going to keep breaking our hearts.”

The previous single ‘Tokyo Drifting’ featured rapper Denzel Curry and has gained over 16 million Spotify streams. Giving fans an idea of what’s to come on the next album, a music video was made for song – and it was set in a video game. In the video, Glass Animals have created a retro feel and reflect the lyrics, which focus on “being addicted to chaos”.

During their London show at Village Underground, Bayley told the audience “This is extra special because I only live down the road. It’s where we’re recording the next album…maybe this week.” The gig was on 17th February, so fans were already excited about the release of their first single since their previous album in 2016, ‘How To Be A Human Being’. This announcement sparked even more eagerness, though there have been no further details of the album.

The band are currently on a sold out tour, having played two intimate shows in Manchester and London last week. They plan to travel to North America at the end of the month, and appear at All Points East in London on 23rd May.

View this post on Instagram

so amazed these shows sold out so fast! thank you all. its been a while but we had to make sure joe was ready to be on the road again after his accident. we decided to do these tiny shows to remind us of what we almost lost. to those who missed out this time we are really sorry. there is much more touring to come soon though…hang tight and don’t buy off touts! we tried our best to stop em by limiting tickets to 2 per person and making them admissible only alongside photo ID that matches the name they were ordered under. please don’t condone their disgusting ways by buying from them. can’t wait to see you all. we’ve missed you. xxx

A post shared by glass animals (@glassanimals) on Feb 8, 2020 at 12:11pm PST

It’s an exciting time for the band, after they were forced to take a break following their last tour due to the injuries of their drummer, Joe Seaward. He suffered from being hit by a truck while cycling in Dublin. Luckily, he is now able to tour after taking time to recover.

Glass Animals is made up of Dave Bayley (lead vocals, guitar), Drew McFarlane (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Ed Irwin-Singer (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), and Joe Seaward (drums). They have released two studio albums in 2014 and 2016, currently working on their third. Bayley writes and produces all of their music himself, winning an MPG Award for both Self Producing Artist of the Year and UK Album of the Year. The band is known for their amazing live shows, in which they re-vamp their songs to make them more dance-heavy.

After festival organiser, Emily Eavis stated that the remaining bill would be announced “one stage at a time” in the run-up to the Worthy Farm spectacular, the popular Shangri-La area has now unveiled who is on their bill, for June.

Among the names announced were the Idles, who have been confirmed to be making an appearance on the Truth Stage, in a late-night slot. Joining the punk rock band is US rapper, Denzel Curry, who will also perform along with French heavy metal group, Gojira. Joining them on the already electric bill will be The Damned, Craig Charles, and Elvana.

The @ShangrilaGlasto #Glastonbury2019 line-up is here!!
More info -> https://t.co/YCoSmxjbbi pic.twitter.com/Zh8qpuf5H0

— Glastonbury Festival (@GlastoFest) May 1, 2019

The following names have also been revealed to be joining the already stellar line-up, which include the likes of IDLES and Denzel Curry, and also heading to Worthy Farm, this June is Black Futures, Earache DJs, Employed To Serve, Entombed AD, Gizz Butt (Ex-Prodigy) – Keith Flint Appreciation Hour, Haggard Cat, and Heavy Lungs.

Oo-er. pic.twitter.com/Iod4Ji79vM — The Glasto Thingy (@TheGlastoThingy) May 1, 2019

Gizz Butt, former live guitarist for The Prodigy, will perform a tribute DJ set titled ‘Keith Flint Appreciation Hour’, in a set that will honour the late singer, Keith Flint. Joining Butt will be Rob Da Bank and Charlie Sloth – who will be spinning tunes.

In an announcement, released on Wednesday the 1st of May 2019, Glastonbury revealed that the Shangri-La area will take on the theme of ‘JUNKSTAPOSITION: RE-USE – RE-CYCLE – RE-SIST’. The announcement stated: !Shangri-La strives to illuminate progressive culture with great urgency – in the field and beyond.