With the government announcement today that much more of the UK is being placed into tier 4 tomorrow and with covid cases soaring, the whole country is being encouraged to stay at home this New Years Eve so what better way to spend the night than with a night of viral youtubers, comedians and performances from the likes of Dua Lipa and Aitch and AJ Tracy who have taken 2020 by storm despite the global pandemic.

The event is set to be a big hit with the comments feed already buzzing with excited fans of youtubers and performers alike who are set to draw a crowd, especially amongst the younger generation who may feel more at home with an event streamed on youtube than with the relatively outdated television options. It is hard to imaging fans of Dua Lipa, Aitch and AJ Tracy tuning in to Jools Holland for their New Years Eve in isolation.

Dua Lipa has taken 2020 by storm with her second album ‘Future Nostalgia,’ which should would have spent the year touring to promote if it hadn’t taken such a turn for the apocalyptic. Likewise, Aitch and AJ Tracy made some serious waves when ‘Rain,’ came out early this year and have taken a difficult year in their strides. Where all of the big artists of 2020 have got it right is by adapting to the lack of in person events by keeping up a strong online presence.

The rap scene is obviously no stranger to building an online audience, with the GRM Daily Youtube channel providing a platform for many new artists in a way which is very different to the traditional ways of delivering live performance. Yet with many of us these days living much of our lives through computer screens, for better or for worse, it is inevitable that our music will begin to be delivered in that way too. It was not until the pandemic struck, perhaps, that many of us realise quite how much of our culture is consumed online these days.

Someone like Dua Lipa of course is a slightly different story to Aitch and AJ Tracy, as an established artist who came to fame through relatively traditional means, live performance, specifically arena tours across the world, were an essential part of her business. However, she has adapted remarkably well to the pandemic, releasing music videos for more singles from her album on Youtube, collaborating with other musicians on tracks like ‘Fever,’ and even performing her own live streamed extravaganza Studio 2054. I’m sure many of us right now would be happy to be transported 20 years from now into a time where covid is a word only for the history books.

As reported in an article by Rolling Stone, “Dear Class of 2020” has been described by YouTube as “a virtual commencement celebration bringing together inspirational leaders, celebrities, and YouTube creators to celebrate graduates, their families, and their communities,” compensating for the widespread cancellation of high school and university graduation ceremonies due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Introducing the cover of his band’s most famous hit, Bono made an impassioned speech discussing the current state of the United States, as well as referencing the nation’s significance to him as a residing immigrant.

“As an Irishman, I’ve always believed that America is not just a country, it’s an idea, it’s a dream that belongs to the whole world. Now I know in recent times,” he said, “the world is being reminded that America is an idea that doesn’t even belong to a lot of Americans. And for many Black Americans, Lady Liberty’s torch is far from a beacon of hope. It’s often a flashlight in the face.”

Across the online broadcast, keynote presentations were also made my Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Michelle and Barack Obama, Justin Timberlake, and, notably, Beyonce, who spoke at length about the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement. “We’ve seen that our collective hearts, when put to positive action, could start the wheels of change,” she says in the digital commencement speech. “Real change has started with you, this new generation of high school and college graduates who we celebrate today.”

At nearly 1 million streams on Spotify already, the song is a hit with its quick drumbeats and synth bass. Yungblud said that his inspiration for this track was “an LCD Soundsystem and Depeche Mode thing.” Although the lyrics are about anxiety, they also have an uplifting spirit, telling the listener “Don’t wreck your brain, It’ll be alright, We’re in a weird time of life.” The artist also went as far to discuss the track on his social media pages, with a long message to fans.

tomorrow … plz read https://t.co/h8t7b8bFHE pic.twitter.com/Hjtt8WPWub

— YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) April 21, 2020

Also advertised on Yungblud’s social media was a colourful and playful music video teaser. The full video will be released on YouTube today at 5.15pm (BST) and fans are counting down the hours. ‘Weird’ is one of the singles from the artist’s upcoming second album, which is due to be released later this year. In an interview with NME, he said that the album is finished and ready to be shared with fans.

tomorrow 9.15am. u ready ? pic.twitter.com/DD7WiV4zZR — YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) April 26, 2020

During this time, the 22-year-old has been incredibly vocal about dealing with anxiety and emotions while in isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On 16th March, he ran a YouTube live stream called ‘The Yungblud Show’, in which he performed songs, chatted to friends, and even included a cooking segment. This brought fans together from around the world, bringing them hope and comfort.

Now, he has created series ‘Stay At Home With Yungblud’ in collaboration with YouTube Originals. Each episode will show the singer in his LA home (where he was based when lock-down was put into place), with two friends and fellow musicians. It will show their daily life in isolation with hope to “make people feel like they’ve got a mate.” There will be new episodes on Yungblud’s YouTube channel every Monday, with the first instalment going up today at 5pm (BST).

no walls, no boundaries, no make-up , no insecurities just us being fookin idiots in our fookin house during quarantine. see you every monday on @youtube #stayathomewithyungblud https://t.co/zhcols4E7C pic.twitter.com/4v7ILKSbam

— YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) April 24, 2020

The singer is set to tour through the summer, travelling around the UK and Europe. However, these plans are likely to change given that Covid-19 is still spreading and that he is currently in lock-down in LA.

Yungblud, real name Dominic Richard Harrison, released his self-titled debut EP in 2018, before putting out a second EP the next year, as well as his debut album. The young singer-songwriter has always used his music to express political and social opinions, to fight back against inequality, and to offer hope in times of darkness.

Capaldi is the first artist to participate in the series, named ‘Birthday Song’, but there are more to come. The 20 minute episode showed the singer, along with his friends, family, and teachers, discussing his growing up and musical journey. Fans were even treated to videos of a teenage Lewis Capaldi playing with his band.

From a young age, the singer-songwriter performed originals at jam nights with his friends, following in the footsteps of his older brother. One friend in particular, Adam Warrington, who played guitar with Capaldi, went on to play for Yungblud, and another, Aidan Beattie, still plays bass for Capaldi in his band.

The former landlord of pub and music venue The Grange spoke about Capaldi, saying “I remember the first time I heard Lewis sing – it feels like a long time ago – but he stuck out clearly then. He had a tone and a sound that was different to most pub bands or pub acts that will ever be, even as a young kid.”

The artist spoke about how incredible it is that he now has number 1 one songs of his own, and joked that maybe in the future someone would be covering his song for the ‘Birthday Song’ series. He gave an insight into his writing process and how he arranged the Noel Gallagher song to create a new sound.

Ultimately, the cover took on an emotional, slow, acoustic arrangement and viewers were able to watch Capaldi record the song. “This is going to be interesting…I hope I’ve done it justice,” he shared, continuing in his usual cheeky manner, “The only person who’s not gonna like it is probably Noel Gallagher”.

This alludes to the Scottish singer’s previous feud with Gallagher, after the Oasis star hurled insults at Capaldi, who responded in inventive ways which made fun of the situation. It was also revealed that ‘Setting Sun’ was not the first Gallagher song the singer has covered. He played ‘Live Forever’ by Oasis in a school talent show, saying it was the first song he learnt how to play.

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FUCKING WILD. TWO SOLD OUT NIGHTS AT WEMBLEY START TONIGHT!!! 26,000 OF US!!!! x @zakarywalters

A post shared by Lewis Calamari (@lewiscapaldi) on Mar 12, 2020 at 10:55am PDT

Lewis Capaldi recently finished the UK tour for his debut album ‘Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent’, hours before the Scottish ban was put into place, calling off all gatherings of over 500 people in an attempt to control the coronavirus. The rest of the tour is planned to run from June to October with dates around the world. Find tickets on his website.