Since the original video games Pokémon Red and Green launched in Japan in 1996, Pokémon has become an industry all of its own, with it launching lucrative enterprises in television, film, trading cards, toys and fashion among many others. Their instantly-recognisable critters have been a staple of the lives of children worldwide (and a great many adults) since Pokémon fever truly set in at the turn of the millennium, with no sign of it ebbing away.

While the video games are well-known for their iconic soundtracks, ranging from the Game Boy’s chirpy melodies to the modern era’s magical high-definition soundscapes, The Pokémon Company has also forged relations with many stars from the world of music. The franchise marked its 25th anniversary in 2021 with the P25 Music program, producing a full album with an international selection of guest performances by Katy Perry, Post Malone, Mabel, Jax Jones, J Balvin and others. Their collaboration with self-confessed lifelong Pokémon fan Ed Sheeran yielded single ‘Celestial’, which was used for the end credits in 2022 games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Kicking off their 30th year, in February Pokémon bought a Superbowl advert slot, reportedly costing an average of $8 million for a 30-second feature, which they used for a trailer of celebrities interviewed about their favourites from the roster of more than a thousand creatures. Pop-superstar Lady Gaga won hearts with her selection of the Pokémon Jigglypuff, and BLACKPINK’s JISOO chose franchise mascot Eevee. The month also saw them partner with London’s Natural History Museum for exhibits and a pop-up shop, as well as the launch of a Game Boy jukebox, which played tracks from Pokémon Red and Blue’s scores.

This week they announced ‘Pokémon Night Out’, a one-of-a-kind clash of Pokémon, EDM and illumination, targeting adults who grew up with their media. Their two events at Los Angeles’s Intuit Dome and London’s O2 Arena this autumn will be “the ultimate fusion of electronic dance music (EDM) and the vast and eclectic world of Pokémon, curated for audiences seeking a deeper connection with the brand.” They also describe it as “an unforgettable musical experience for attendees, featuring cutting-edge technology and animation to bring Pokémon to life in ways you’ve never seen before.”

Musical entertainment for both shows come courtesy of Alison Wonderland and headliner Marshmello. American DJ Marshmello did a Q&A video to promote the gigs, and when asked why he chose to sign up he said “honestly, I grew up with Pokémon, and when you guys asked me to do this, especially on the 30th anniversary, it’s just such an honour, and I’m just so excited to be a part of that.” He then hints that he will be playing “a very special, very curated unique set for everybody there.” Most importantly, he claims that his favourite Pokémon is Mewtwo, one of 1990s cinema’s most iconic villains.

‘Pokémon Night Out’ Los Angeles is on the 24th of October, with the London date at the O2 falling on the 10th of November. Tickets for London go on sale at 10AM local-time on Friday the 17th of April, through the O2’s website. Also in the announcement were their ‘Days Out’ events, which they call an immersive, “more family-focused celebration” – these will be happening in New York City, Dresden, Bordeaux and Mexico City this summer.

The singer, known for songs like ‘Problem’, ‘Break Free’ and ‘We Can’t Be Friends’ will head on the ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Tour starting in North America June 2026 and then in the UK August 2026.

The tour announcement comes after the release of her album ‘Eternal Sunshine‘ last year.

The pop singer will play 5 nights at London’s O2 Arena next year, with shows starting on August 15 and ending on August 23.

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A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande)

At the moment, these are the only UK dates that have been announced.

The ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Tour will be Ariana’s return to stage for the first time in six years following her ‘Sweetener’ World Tour.

The new tour follows the release of her seventh studio album, ‘Eternal Sunshine‘, in March last year. It was followed up by a deluxe version earlier this year, ‘Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead’, which featured nine bonus tracks and six brand-new songs.

Tickets for the UK shows will go on pre-sale September 16 at 10am via Live Nation and Ticketmaster. To participate in the artist pre-sale, sign up here by September 7 at 7pm.

General sale for UK shows will begin September 18 at 10am and will available here.

There will be a number of options available – including VIP packages, which will include premium tickets, exclusive invitation to the pre-show Ari’s VIP lounge, a specifically designed VIP gift item, early entry into the venue and more.

2025 UK dates:

London O2 Arena

August 15

August 16

August 19

August 20

August 23

Three dates have been confirmed by London Grammar with them saying via their Instagram “You asked, and we listened…  UK arena tour incoming!! “. The run of dates will see them perform at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro and Manchester’s AO Arena before finishing playing a huge show at the O2 arena in London on the 14th of November. As well as this the trio recently announced that they will be embarking on a European tour, playing dates in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin in October and November this year.

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A post shared by London Grammar (@londongrammar)

Tickets for their upcoming arena concerts will be available on general sale at 10am BST on the 12th of July and you can buy tickets here. Fans can also gain access to the pre-sale for the tour if they pre-order ‘The Greatest Love’ here before 3pm BST on the 9th of July. Access for the pre-sale for tickets will begin at 10am on the 10th of July.

The full list of London Grammar’s 2024 EU and UK dates are below:

Thu October 31 – PARIS Zenith
Fri November 01 – BRUSSELS Forest National
Sun November 03 – AMSTERDAM Ziggo Dome
Tue November 05 – FRANKFURT Jahrhunderthalle
Thu November 07 – BERLIN UFO Velodrom
Mon November 11 – GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Tue November 12 – MANCHESTER AO Arena
Thu November 14 – LONDON O2 Arena

This announcement follows the band  the release of their fourth album ‘The Greatest Love’. The three members of the group have all had their own individual projects going on alongside being in the band with lead singer Hannah being a painter and writing her own solo songs, Dot being a DJ and releasing his own electronic music and Dan being a producer for other artists.

Speaking on their upcoming fourth album, singer Hannah Reid said “This album is probably the last time that we’ll appear in our music videos. I love the fact that I can walk down the street and nobody knows who I am – and yet we can fill huge spaces with people who love our music. We’ve worked really, really hard, and it has paid off.”

She also added that she hoped the group will “keep making music together until we’re old, wrinkly, and completely irrelevant. As long as we prioritise the art, there is no reason why we can’t go on for decades.” 

The Indie pop trio have previewed the album with three singles so far titled ‘House’, ‘Kind Of Man’ and most recently ‘Into Gold’ which was released last month. ‘House’ was released with an accompanying video which you can watch below.

The band are just coming off the back of of an amazing headline performance of the Park stage at Glastonbury last weekend. They are also set to play at Latitude later this month.

This year, the grand event has announced their nominees in a total of 13 different categories. Following on from the update in 2021 on getting rid of gendered categories in order to be more gender inclusive, a suggestion made by non-binary artist Sam Smith after only getting nominated for best Solo Artist in 2020. However, only ridding of the latter categories the possible female inclusion in the awards decreased greatly. Smith argued “I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in. Let’s celebrate everybody, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality and class.” This proceeded to introducing an advanced set of genre focused ones instead. The added sections included an Alternative/Rock Act, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Dance Act and Pop/RnB Act.

The nominees this year include; Harry Styles for best Artist, best Song and best British Album, Stormzy for best Artist, Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act and best British Album, The 1975 for best British Album and best British Group, Ed Sheeran for best Song and International Song, George Ezra for best Artist, Sam Smith as best Pop/RnB Act, Arctic Monkeys for best Alternative/Rock Band, Eliza Rose as best British Dance Act and best Song, Central Cee for best Artist, best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Dave for best Song and best Hip Hop/Grime/Act and many, many more.

A great host will be leading the night, comedian Mo Gillian, once again this 2023. Furthermore, the stage will be taken over by some exciting performances by Harry Styles, Stormzy, Lizzo accompanied by Wet Leg, Lewis Capaldi, Sam Smith, Kim Petras as well as David Guetta, Becky Hill, Ella Henderson and Cat Burns.

This past year has not been a quiet one, considering the number of brilliant outcomes from current artists. This years edition will undoubtedly be a gripping one.

In this year’s BRIT Awards, he is a current nominee for another ‘Song Of The Year Award for “Forget Me”. To this day, he has 5 top-ten singles plus 4 number-ones including Someone You Loved, being the UK’s all-time most-streamed song and finally, the biggest-selling UK album since 2019 and 2020.

Capaldi expressed his thoughts on being the final performer for the 2023 BRIT Awards, “Last Time I performed at THE BRIT Awards, I was so scared that I had a panic attack before I went on, and then got hammered afterwards. Looking forward to more of the same this year x.”

Completing The BRITs 2023 performer line-up – @LewisCapaldi

On 12th January 2023, the 2023 nominations were revealed via a live stream which was hosted by Vick Hope.  Major artists who are nominated for multiple awards are Aitch, Arctic Monkeys, Beyonce, Cat Burns, Dave, Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Nova Twins and so many more artists. More information about all the nominations will be here.

The main host for the BRIT Awards will be stand-up comedian, Mo Gilligan. Secondary hosts on the red carpet will be TV and radio presenters Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and radio host, Roman Kemp. All the hosts shared their thoughts about their role as hosts.

Clara said, “I’m so excited to hit the BRITs red carpet to capture all the excitement from this year’s nominees, performers and future winners for everyone watching at home! Anything can happen on what is set to be another memorable night in the music and TV calendar!” Maya said, “I’m really excited to be co-hosting THE BRITs Red Carpet show again this year, and I was just happy to be asked back! Last year was such a great experience, so I’m looking forward to working alongside Clara and Roman on it this time around. It’s gonna be a good one.

Roman added, ” I am so excited to be joining my friends Clara and Maya in presenting this year’s BRIT Awards Red Carpet show and being part of the celebrations for this year’s BRIT Awards in its first-ever Saturday night slot! I love seeing so many of my favourite names in music come together for such an amazing night.”

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/lewis-capaldi-to-be-the-final-performer-at-brit-awards-2023/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/biffy-clyro-announce-uk-and-ireland-tour-with-architects/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/biffy-clyro-announce-uk-and-ireland-tour-with-architects/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2022 10:11:55 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=56823 “It’s been way too long…” say the Scottish alt-rock giants that are Biffy Clyro as they announce their first full-scale UK and Ireland tour since 2019. Simon Neil and co are currently touring the world’s festival circuit so the idea of an arena scale tour was never a million miles away, it was just a matter of time. Tickets go on sale this Friday (24^th June) at 9am BST here.

It’s been way too long… we are so excited to announce our tour of UK/Ireland this November and over the moon to have @Architects join us on what is going to be a very special tour. You will not want to miss it

…1/2 pic.twitter.com/7Lw1dIFkBw

— Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) June 20, 2022

While the band did recently commit to their “Finger Crossed Tour” in 2021, these dates were more of a celebration that we were actually allowed to go outside again (remember that??), so the group took to a handful of venues generally about ¼ the size they’re used to, to play mostly songs from A Celebration Of Endings, and its companion album The Myth of the Happily Ever After. Any fans that were lucky enough to get tickets to the exclusive dates heard most of the, at the time, untouched albums. But now, with a little time to breathe, and a few larger festivals under their belt for the year, the band are swapping the O2 Forum Kentish Town for the O2 Arena. What a jump.

It has also been announced that Brighton’s own answer to metalcore Architects will be joining Biffy on tour. Fans and critics alike have almost exclusively praised the band for their recent output. Their 2018 LP Holy Hell in particular made some big waves throughout the community. But now, off the back of their tour in support of For Those That Wish To Exist, the group have grown more accustomed to their fame and seems far more comfortable on stages of this size. Their time with Biffy should bring along a hefty chunk of new fans.

Biffy headlined the infamous Download Festival for the 2^nd time last week. Their first soiréeat the festival in 2017 was met with a lot of confusion. Off the back of their, at the time, poppiest album yet, the band seemed like an odd choice for a festival known for its metal and hardcore sounds. But with a few choice dips into their back catalogue and a carefully curated list of new material, the band managed to maintain the agro-aesthetic whilst also covering their bases and banging out the hits. This year’s appearance then came as a breeze, with no confusion about whether or not they’ve got the chops. Just rock up and smash out the tunes. It definitely helps that the album tracks from the last few LPs are embracing the band’s older style. You can watch a clip the band put onto their socials below.  

This time last week… @DownloadFest : @joe_guppy #DL22 pic.twitter.com/AyTWKDE9sC — Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) June 19, 2022

See the band’s full tour schedule below:

5/11/22 – Leeds  – First Direct Arena
6/22 – Glasgow – OVO Hydro
8/11 – Dublin – 3Arena
9/11 – Belfast – SSE Arena
11/11 – Birmingham – Resorts World Arena
12/11 – London – O2 Arena
14/11 – Cardiff – Motorpoint Arena
15/11 – Bournemouth – International Centre

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/biffy-clyro-announce-uk-and-ireland-tour-with-architects/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/justin-bieber-adds-more-uk-dates-to-justice-world-tour/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/justin-bieber-adds-more-uk-dates-to-justice-world-tour/#comments Sun, 21 Nov 2021 17:13:21 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=49325 Last week Justin Bieber announced a run of dates for the UK leg of his ‘Justice World Tour’, taking him through London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Today, due to massively high demand, Bieber has confirmed the 3^rd night at London’s O2 Arena, as well as 2nd dates at both Manchester’s AO Arena and Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena. Despite the tour beginning in 2022, the 10 total UK dates won’t be arriving until February 2023, almost 6 years after his last full UK show at British Summer Time 2017. Get tickets for any of the dates on the UK tour here.

The tour, initially planned to kick off last year, was delayed until next year after COVID-19 restrictions cancelled essentially everyone’s plans. But according to Bieber in a press release with NME, “We’ve been working hard to create the best show we’ve ever done, and we can’t wait to share it with fans around the world. I’ll see you soon,”. So fans should be confident the tour will be well worth the wait.

The UK gigs will take place after a 52-night tour of the US, after being rescheduled to March – June of 2022. Bieber will then visit Europe, South America, Africa, and Australia, before returning to Europe for the UK shows almost a full year after the tour begins. As of yet, the tour is set to finish in Poland on March 25^th 2023. See the full list of dates on the world tour here.

So far, the only support act announcement to be made for any dates with Bieber is with Jaden Smith, Eddie Benjamin, and TEO performing on the North American Leg of the tour. The other 4 legs of the tour will be given tour support presumably in the not so distant future.

Bieber has also announced his involvement with The Wave XR, a digital concert-going experience. His final performance with the service will be today. See below for details on how to catch the final date.

Today @thewavexr 6pm PT / 9pm ET #BieberWave Join me here: https://t.co/8KNStRidql pic.twitter.com/yj5ULPrV7R

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) November 18, 2021

See below the current line-up of dates on Bieber’s tour.

08/02/2023 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
11/02 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
13/02 – The O2 – London
14/02 – The O2 – London
16/02 – The O2 – London
22/02 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
23/02 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
25/02 – AO Arena – Manchester
26/02 – Utilita Arena – Sheffield
04/03 – AO Arena – Manchester

 

 

 

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/justin-bieber-adds-more-uk-dates-to-justice-world-tour/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/gorillaz-announce-free-live-show-for-nhs-staff-and-their-families/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/gorillaz-announce-free-live-show-for-nhs-staff-and-their-families/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2021 19:33:08 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=37803 British virtual outfit Gorillaz will be performing a very special show on 10th August 2021. The concert is a free show for NHS workers and their families to show gratitude for the hard work which the nation’s healthcare staff have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The show will not just be the band’s first live performance in two years but will also mark the O2 arena’s reopening, the famous venue was forced to temporally closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions which have been put in place due to the health crisis. The free show will be in support of the NHS staff who have proceeded to be on the front lines of the current health crisis, NHS workers and their families will be able to attend the concert by showing their NHS pass along with their tickets. The gig will take place a day before the band’s original rescheduled date on 11th August 2021, the sold-out event will also take place at O2 Arena.

The group took to their Instagram page to announce the news, the post also featured a message of thanks from drummer Russel Hobbs.

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A post shared by Gorillaz (@gorillaz)

The O2 Arena’s VP and General Manager, Steve Sayer, has also commented on the importance of the show as well as the venue’s excitement to be back at business. “This is such a big moment for us. Our first live show in over 500 days, with one of the UK’s best bands playing to an audience made up of NHS staff and their families. We have missed the fans and live performances so much, we couldn’t be more proud to reopen with this event and to welcome such a great audience.”

The live dates in August will not be the group’s only live performances, the group has also been announced to play at Primavera Sound Festival in 2022. The festival is set to take place at the Parc del Forum located in Barcelona Spain and will be held across two weekends in the month of June. Over the two weekends, 2-4 June 2022 and 9-11 June 2022, ticket-holders will get to see over 400 acts perform. Other acts including Gorillaz on the line up include Lorde, Tame Impala and indie icons The Strokes.

The group consists of non-virtual and virtual members, the non-virtual bandmates include Blur member Damon Albarn, comic book artist Jamie Hewlett and producer Remi Kabaka Jr. The ‘Feel Good Inc’ performers also include virtual and animated bandmates, 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs. The band recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album ‘Gorillaz’ released on 26th March 2021. The album featured the now-legendary track ‘Clint Eastwood’ which launched the group into immense popularity, the album also gained the group entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. They were included within the impressive roster of achievements as the Most Successful Virtual Band and the album reached a phenomenal 3 million global sales. For this year’s Record Store Day the band also marked their debut album’s birthday celebrations with their participation in the event, the group released a box set of six of their studio albums. The box set was entitled ‘G Collection’ and was a popular item for Record Store Day.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/gorillaz-announce-free-live-show-for-nhs-staff-and-their-families/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/squeeze-reschedule-first-socially-distanced-show-at-londons-o2-arena/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/squeeze-reschedule-first-socially-distanced-show-at-londons-o2-arena/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2020 12:43:49 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=26726 Rock band Squeeze had been set to re-open the O2 Arena with a socially-distanced show on 5th December with an audience of 4,700 in the 200,000-capacity venue. This would have been the first gig at the arena in nine months after Covid-19 prevented live performances, however it was announced today that it will be moved to instead take place in March 2021.

This morning, organisers posted to the O2 website to reveal that the event will now go ahead on 27th March because of the new lockdown in place currently in the UK. Despite its supposed end on 2nd November, government advice suggests that it will not be safe to hold a large gathering, even with the strict rules which would be in place.

Squeeze, the first socially distanced live music event due to take place at The O2 on Saturday 5 December, has been rescheduled to Saturday 27 February 2021. Tickets remain valid for the new date. Read more >> https://t.co/3yVYX2is1J pic.twitter.com/AYvecLyKh4

— The O2 (@TheO2) November 19, 2020

Tickets are on sale now, selling in groups of two, three and four to ensure safety. Any tickets already purchased will remain valid for the new date.

O2 General Manager Steve Sayer commented, “Our arena is the beating heart of The O2 and we hugely miss the live experiences that we’re used to sharing with our fans. It’s disappointing to have to delay this show but I would like to say how grateful we are for the support we’ve received from the industry, fans and our partners and we look forward to Squeeze performing in the arena next year.”

Also postponed are Gary Barlow’s two tour dates at the O2, which have now been rescheduled along with the rest of his tour to winter 2021. The future of live music is still very uncertain, but it is hoped that by next year it will be able to go ahead again. Many artists and venues have already managed to hold live gigs throughout the summer, with the successful outdoor set-up of the Virgin Money Unity Arena. For the moment, musicians are continuing to hold live-streams with the help of platforms such as Bandcamp Live and Melody VR, who are collaborating the Brixton’s O2 Academy.

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