Ellie Goulding Releases 2nd Album, “Halcyon”

Prior to the release of her second studio album, she said, “This album for me is a journey from dark into light from confusion to understanding. I didn’t set out to write a break-up record but I think it became one”. (Source)

She burst into the scene with catchy folk-pop electro songs on her debut album, “Lights”, which became the best-selling debut album of 2010 in the UK. In the US, “Lights” has sold more than 2.5 million copies, earning her a legion of American fans on top of her existing UK followers:

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And now, UK sensation Ellie Goulding (also known as the girlfriend of EDM superstar, Skrillex) has officially released the brand new “Halcyon” on Cherrytree/Interscope Records. “Halcyon” is entirely written and co-produced by Ellie herself, with a majority of the track recorded in a converted barn in Ellie’s hometown in the Hay Valley, West England with producer Jim Elliot.

The lead single, “Anything Could Happen” was released digitally on 21st August 2012 and the official music video for it premiered on 5th September 2012:

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Ellie Goulding’s Halcyon is now available at a music store near you. Alternatively, you could also purchase the album off iTunes. To check out more of Ellie via her VEVO, click! You may also send her your love via her Twitter account.


CONTEST: “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” Movie Screening

Did you read all about DreamWork Animation’s new big flick to hit our silver screen soon? Are you ready to say hello to Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) again?

Because hell yeah they’re coming back for us:

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And thanks to United International Pictures Malaysia (UIP), we’ve got an exclusive screening slated to take place two days BEFORE the official release of the movie. Yay! We have also been given THIRTY PAIRS of tickets to give away to a few lucky readers. Double yay!

You, yes you, could be one of the first few people in Malaysia to watch it!

The posts with most “likes” and shares will win ONE PAIR of tickets each to our exclusive screening of Madagascar 3!

Contest is open to those residing in Selangor only and it ends on the 30th of May 2012 (Wednesday). Go on and get going, get cracking. Move it, move it!

For more information, visit the movie’s official website.

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Fans Can Claim Refund For Twice’s Cancelled Kuala Lumpur Concert

It’s been 2 week since Twice fans received the heartbreaking news that “TWICELAND ZONE 2: Fantasy Park” concert in Malaysia was abruptly cancelled.

IME Asia has finally issued the refund procedure for concert-goers to claim back their money. 2 images were uploaded on the company’s social media accounts this morning (Friday, 10th August).

Mark your calendars peeps, the refund mechanism process is schedule to take place from 6th September till 6th October. That means fans who wish to claim back their money will only have 1 month to do so. 2 essential things you’ll need are the original concert ticket(s) and the refund form.

For those who made their purchase using credit cards, you are required to present the original physical tickets and refund form together with your credit card details. A full refund will be made 30 days later. Do note that the refund is only valid for customers who match their personal details with the record in the company’s system.

Tough luck if your tickets were purchased from scalpers or other unauthorised channels.

In case you didn’t know, many got to witness the members of Twice paying tribute to Malaysian Onces by wearing traditional batik clothing when they were leaving the country at the airport. Click here to check out photos and videos taken during that day.


Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3: Why Adam Warlock Could Be The Key To Defeating Kang The Conqueror

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” marks the end of James Gunn’s irreverent, heart-warming space trilogy with the titular Guardians facing off against an enemy that’s sure to leave them, and us, in tears. Be sure to check out our breakdown of the High Evolutionary if you’re interested to know more about the film’s main baddie.

While we look forward to seeing how the film wraps up the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) most dysfunctional alien family, we’re also keen to learn more about Will Poulter’s debut in the franchise as Adam Warlock. Teased at the end of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”, Warlock will be going up against our merry band of anti-heroes under the command of Ayesha and the Sovereign (the golden people from the last film).

A post shared by 8 3 P I X E L S T U D I O S (@83pixelstudios)

So is that all he is? A shiny, superpowered obstacle for the Guardians to blast through? Hell no, especially if the MCU plans on keeping him around till the end of the “Multiverse Saga”. Warlock wields cosmic and magical powers that have the potential to rival that of Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Captain Marvel and even the Watcher. Stick with us as we break down why Adam Warlock just might be the key to saving the Marvel multiverse!

Now, we obviously know that the MCU tends to play it rather fast and loose with their characters’ powers. Sometimes, they depict insanely powerful characters like the Scarlet Witch to be as accurate as their comic book counterpart. Other times, they’ll nerf powerhouses like the Dweller in Darkness into B-plot villains or give upgrades to characters like Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel. For Adam Warlock, we believe that Marvel Studios will omit some of his more god-like powers due to them stemming from his ability to draw power from the Soul Gem. That being said, there’s one particular power that “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” cannot separate from Adam Warlock’s comic book history: Quantum Magic.

In the comics, he previously needed the Soul Gem to be able to cast spells and manipulate spiritual and metaphysical energies but then he learned and achieved the power of Quantum Magic, which is not reliant on the gem. On top of his super-human physique, Adam Warlock imbued with Quantum Magic has telekinesis, telepathy, energy manipulation, pyrokinesis, magical abilities and most importantly chronokinesis. That’s right, with enough practice and time (pun intended), Warlock could use Quantum Magic to not only travel between timelines but to change them at his will. Doctor Strange could perform similar feats of power with the Time Stone. However, if the MCU decides to follow through with Adam Warlock’s cosmic powers, he won’t even need the Infinity Stone.

His magical abilities also grant him matter and reality manipulation but probably not to the degree of Scarlet Witch’s powers. Nonetheless, Warlock could still prove to be a powerful ally for the heroes of the MCU. Especially since they’re facing off against one very pesky time traveller with a bad habit of not dying: Kang the Conqueror.

As mentioned in the season finale of “Loki”, the problem with Kang the Conqueror isn’t that he’s just a hyper-intelligent, powerful mastermind. There is also a seemingly endless ocean of Variants of him waiting to take his place if one Kang falls. In the trailer for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, we see that Kang has been amassing an army and preparing for an invasion within the Quantum Realm. A line throughout the trailer states: “witness the beginning of a new dynasty”. The line is alluding to the future “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” film which is based on the comic-book story in which Kang, along with multiple versions of himself, invades Earth-616 and conquers it.

So how do you defeat an enemy that can call upon Variants from other universes and manipulate the flow of time in his own universe? Well, it turns out that Adam Warlock is just the man for the job. When Warlock fell to the dark side and became the Magus, he managed to use Quantum Magic to manipulate the timeline to ensure that no matter what anyone did, he would win. He wasn’t drawing on the power of the Infinity Gems during that time. No, it was all him! Warlock at full strength is nothing to scoff at and with the help of the new Avengers alongside other teams like the Fantastic Four and Guardians, he can definitely go toe-to-toe with the likes of Kang the Conqueror. Of course, all this is contingent on one very important question.

No matter how big of an MCU fan you are, it cannot be denied that the franchise has an annoying habit of killing off some of its most compelling characters within the span of a single film. Think Killmonger from “Black Panther”, Mysterio from “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and Quicksilver from “Avengers: Age of Ultron”. Oh, and if you’re a fan of Jonathan Hickman’s “Infinity” comic book series, then you know what they did to Corvus Glaive and the members of the Black Order was utterly disrespectful! So when we heard Warlock was making his appearance in the MCU, we were simultaneously excited and nervous. Will the MCU ruin the character the way they did with Taskmaster in “Black Widow” or will they do justice to his character…only to have him get the axe?

While we’re quite certain that someone will indeed die at the end of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (check out our High Evolutionary breakdown for the answer), we know for a fact that it won’t be Adam Warlock. James Gunn in an interview with Empire stated that he chose actor Will Poulter because of his wide acting range and that “you can imagine him being a handy person to have on the board in the upcoming Multiverse Saga”. You heard it from the director himself. Poulter’s Adam Warlock is here to stay, and is a character to look out for throughout Marvel’s “Multiverse Saga”.

For more details about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, Adam Warlock and the MCU, be sure to stay tuned with us!

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#Avengers: Marvel Releases New TV Trailer For #AgeOfUltron

No, Quicksilver, we totally did not see this coming.

It’d be a lie if we say we aren’t excited about Marvel‘s upcoming superhero film, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”. After expanding its cinematic universe with Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man” film franchise, the studio once again drew in a significant amount of fans with a new “Avengers: Age of Ultron” trailer on TV.

Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the film to reprise his role as Iron Man. Although his character contributes a lot for the Avengers team, the new TV trailer showed Chris Evans’ Captain America coordinating the team, which consists of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo’s The Hulk.

After his short stint as Richmond Valentine in “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, Samuel L. Jackson returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Nick Fury, alongside Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill.

The Avengers assemble again to defeat a new enemy, Ultron (played by James Spader), a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction.

The official synopsis of the film is as follows:

Marvel Studios presents “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

The new TV trailer did not feature Paul Bettany’s Vision, but it showed us more than what we need to know about the film, including Quicksilver’s Russian accent.

Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is scheduled for worldwide release on 1st May 2015.

What do you think of the new TV trailer? On a scale from 1 – 10, how excited are you to watch the new “Avengers” movie?

Share your thoughts in the comments box below.


World War Z: “Z” For “Zombie”

There are comic books, there are” comic-book-turned-movie”s, and then there are “comic-book-turn-movie”s that were done well. “World War Z” falls quite comfortably into that category. The thing with “comic-book-turn-movie”s is that they always need to be visually-driven. Very visually-driven. So you can expect that when you step into the cinema to watch “World War Z”, within seconds, you’d have things jumping out at you.

Set in a time of a zombie-like virus outbreak, “World War Z” centers around ex-UN Gerry Lane (played by Brad Pitt) who gets swept up and right smack into the outbreak.

He is then called back (or rather, threatened back) into duty. His task? Oh so easy peasy – to save the world. But herein lies the problem! Nobody can identify where the zombie-like virus originated from and soon enough, Gerry will have to travel halfway across the world to Korea and discover that even that trace has been reduced to a pile of ash.

Note: At this point, you might think that the whole purpose of Korea being in the movie is just a little redundant. You’re absolutely right.

Anyway, then things take a turn when Gerry finds himself in Israel, where the situation is seemingly and oddly under control. The walls are high, containing the uninfected within and separating the horde of (wonderfully fast and CGI-ed) undeads from the living. How did the entire city of Jerusalem know beforehand that the outbreak was going to happen? Were they the ones behind it all?

More importantly, will Gerry find his answers in, of all places, Israel?

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We won’t spoil it for you, but do walk in with an open mind. “World War Z” is here for one and one reason only – its entertainment value. Catch the movie in a cinema near you today!

For more information, visit its official website.

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Covid-19: Residents Fume Over PJ Hotels That Have Become Quarantine Centres

Many residents are enraged that several hotels in Petaling Jaya have been turned into Covid-19 quarantine centres.

One tenant took to social media to vent out their frustration after knowing this. They claimed that they were never given any prior notice about the situation!

A police official said that around 128 people have been sent to undergo their 14-day long quarantine after returning from abroad at the hotel. On the other hand, a few other people have been sent to another hotel in PJ. “No one is allowed to leave the premise. Only the residents are allowed to enter,” he told FMT.

In response to that, one resident, Eng said they have collected objections from 150 owners through a WhatsApp group. “The government’s gazette of the declaration of quarantine stations on April 4 came as a shock to us. This is because serviced apartments within a hotel and mixed development area should not be included in the list,” Eng told the Star.

He added that the building also stores several retail shops and restaurants. “The health risk to us residents and tenants living here should not be underestimated,” Eng was quoted as saying. He further revealed that some tenants are already threatening to move out!

Another resident, Thanusha, told FMT, “This is ridiculous! There were no prior notices from the government and even the National Disaster Management Agency. This concerns me deeply given that if this is true, it is going to put us under a bigger threat of infection.

She further added, “It is inappropriate to turn a place into a quarantine centre out of the blue. The common places will definitely be shared with people who are being quarantined, and we are being exposed to Covid-19.”


Hype’s Exclusive: The Deets On #InsideOut From Awe-Inspiring Director Pete Docter

2 words that carry a lot of weight for all the Disney Pixar magic that you see: Pete Docter.

For those of you who don’t know who he is, we can at least bet our bottom dollar that you know his work.

Peter Hans “Pete” Docter is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer and voice actor from Bloomington, Minnesota. He is best known for directing the animated feature films “Monsters, Inc.” (2001), “Up” (2009), and more recently, “Inside Out” (2015). Pete is also a key figure and collaborator in Pixar Animation Studios.

To date, he has been nominated for 6 Oscars (1 win thus far for “Up” – Best Animated Feature), 3 Annie Awards (winning 2), a BAFTA Children’s Film Award (which he won), and a Hochi Film Award (which he won). To himself he’s just a “geeky kid from Minnesota who likes to draw cartoons” but to others, he’s a genius.

Pete as well as “Inside Out” co-director Ronnie del Carmen were in town last week as part of the “Inside Out” filmmakers Southeast Asian tour. During the press conference, we asked if they’ve had any creative differences in their 5 years of working together, and how they overcame those differences:

Pete: Yeah, there are a lot of creative differences. Sometimes it’s between Ronnie and I. Sometimes it’s with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. But it’s not about who’s right or who’s wrong. It’s about what does the story need. A lot of times, I will be absolutely convinced that this is gonna work and then when you put it up in front of people, it goes “Poof!” and falls over. Or vice versa. In the beginning of the film, Ronnie pitched…Wait, actually, was it you (Ronnie) who pitched the birth or somebody else?

Ronnie: I pitched the birth. It was in discussion with Andrew and John.

Pete: Okay I was convinced that was wrong. And then Ronnie went off and boarded it. I came in and I was just like, “All right I’m just gonna look at this thing and tell him that it’s wro- Oh man, that’s really good. All right I guess we will have to do that.“ So, there are a lot of times you just don’t know until you prove it, one way or another.

Ronnie: And there is one way to describe creative differences in the studio. Creative differences are not antagonistic and they are actually something to be celebrated. Creative differences are actually a way of not having the same voice happen all the time. So if Pete and I are actually one person split up into two bodies, there’s no point in having me, right? Because I will say whatever Pete will say. If Pete is exactly like John or Andrew, there’s no point of having at least 2 of them. You will just need one person. Creative differences is a way of actually having a variety of points of view and that creativity can happen, and you’re going to experience a lot of that when you watch “Inside Out”. It’s not just the product of a certain small group of individuals. It’s done over time, rethink over and going through a lot of creative choices that come from a number of stories that want to help us make this movie. The differences of those opinions make that movie more stronger and more entertaining.

Pete: Yeah, sometimes it’s just yelling at each other, but not very often actually. Most of the time, it’s a very spirited and everybody takes what everyone else’s got and goes, “Oh yeah! And..”

We had the opportunity to speak to Pete later in the day about all things “Inside Out”. Lucky us :)

“Inside Out” now holds the record for the highest opening for an original title in the US. What are your expectations for “Inside Out” in Asia?

Well, I don’t know have any expectations. I have hopes that it will appeal to everyone. Because one thing that surprised me, actually, is that when we did the research on the subject matter, that being emotions, is that they’re universal. Everyone around the world no matter where you are..one of our experts found a remote tribe in the middle of Papua New Guinea that never had any outside contact with anybody and they have the same facial expressions, the same emotions that we all do. So this film has the potential of being very universal and appeal to everybody even though, you know, we have specifics. I think it’s a very universal subject matter.

How many emotions did you originally have before settling down with 5 and why did you settle with the ones made the cut?

What would you guess? How many emotions do you think we have? :)

A lot, yeah! Well, the thing we found was..depending on which scientist you talk to, you get different answers. So there’s no, like, universal consensus, everybody agrees that we have 7. Some people say 4, there was one guy who I think had 27 different emotions. So we made a big list and we started just drawing different characters, and thinking about what would be fun to see. It’s..we did a lot of scientific research but ultimately this is entertainment so it’s supposed to be fun and funny so what characters are going to be the most fun? And we ended up with these 5 really because of clarity and entertainment, and 5 seemed like a good group that you could still have lots of good fights and arguments but enough to really cover pretty much what we needed from Riley. What’s interesting is, and this happened I guess just a couple of months ago, Paul Ekman the guy we consulted said, “We just did a study of 270 different scientists around the world and over 70% of them agreed on 5 emotions.” and they were Anger, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, and Joy. So that was pretty cool!

But if you could add a character to the existing 5 emotions, what would it be?

We did try. We played with Pride as an emotion which was kind of fun. He would walk around and go, “Hello everyone! Yes, please, hold your applause, thank you, thank you.” and he was fun to write for. And his thing was, “Riley is a genius! She should be a president.” but she’s only 11 “It doesn’t matter! Riley is a genius!” What we ended up doing was..we said well..that’s the kind of stuff we want to give to Joy. So we took him out and gave those attributes to Joy as a character. Joy actually inhibits more than just strictly happiness – she also has hope and pride. And some of these are the characters that we played around with.

How long did you take to research for the characters and for the film?

The way I sorta work is..I sit down and I start writing and then like, “Oh, wait a minute, how many emotions are there?” and then I’ll go talk to scientists and then go, “Okay, great!” and then come back and write some more until I get stuck again. So I assemble this list of things that I don’t know, that I’ll go out and specifically ask them for. But along the way you get all this other stuff that in the end will kinda surprise you, that I’ll try to fold in as well. I’d say that in aggregate overall we probably spent about 2 – 3 months doing research, but it was over the course of 2 – 3 years. Even things like, what does the mind look like? I was pretty clear with the guys upfront because this is not the brain, it’s the mind, it’s not the piece of meat in your head. It’s the concept of thought, you know? And dreams, and memories, and things..you can’t really point to those things. It’s much more complex than that. So what that meant was we were left in this place of having to design a world that we had no idea what it looked like. And we had no reference. We couldn’t look at a fish and design a fish like they could for “Finding Nemo”. Some of the research really helped us in that area.

Where the “Inside Out” characters inspired by any Hollywood celebrities during the pre-production stage?

We would..a lot of times we would make lists for characters just to try to get a handle on who they are and be able to talk to each other about at them. I remember Joy was like uhm, Audrey Hepburn mixed with Bugs Bunny, and maybe Audrey Tautou from “Amelie”. So she’s like a combination of those things and obviously we can’t cast any of those people. It’s more of a point of departure so that we’re all kinda talking about the same thing and what kind of person they are. We generally don’t talk about voice casting until quite a bit later. In fact, for this film, which is pretty typical, all of the characters were designed and built on the computer before we got around to thinking, “Oh, Bill Hader might be good for this..”

Which character would you say was the hardest to write and if at any time you were stuck, what reference point did you use to get past being stuck?

Easy. Joy was the hardest. Joy was the hardest because she needed to be joyful and energetic, and every time we wrote for her like, “C’mon, guys! We can do it, let go!” you kinda wanna just like punch her in the face because she’s annoying. When we started working with Amy Poehler, we were pretty upfront about that. I think there were a couple of keys that she really helped unlock in that character because she’s very self-knowledgable about what she can get away with. She actually told us, “I can say things that other people can’t” and she’s right! She can kinda get away with saying certain things and you won’t judge her for it because she’s funny. So that was a real key. We also found little spots to show vulnerability, so instead of..when something awful happens, instead of Joy just saying, “Well! We’re gonna get back and go and solve this problem!”, we gave her little moments where you saw the effect that it had on her. I think..between those couple of things, it was part of the solution but she was really hard to write”

Want more inside scoop on “Inside Out”? Check out some fun facts here. Special thanks to our friends from Disney Malaysia for making this chance-of-a-lifetime interview happen!

We’ll leave you now with the “Inside Out” trailer:

Directed and co-written by Pete Docter, co-directed and co-written by Ronnie del Carmen, and produced by Jonas Rivera, with music composed by Michael Giacchino, “Inside Out” is slated to be released in Malaysian cinemas on 20th August 2015.

For more information on “Inside Out”, visit the movie’s official website or Facebook page.

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April Music Playlist: 10 Fresh Pop Tunes Releases This Week

Ready for some fresh pop tunes music lovers?

This must be our lucky week cause a number of our favourite singers have chosen this week to debut their new singles. Whether you’re a hip-hop fan or a country fan, there’s something for everyone. Nicki Minaj, Zayn Malik, Florence + The Machine, The Weeknd, Carrie Underwood – those are just some of the artists with new singles out.

After a long hiatus, the Queen of Rap has return! The Young Money diva has released not one, not two, but three singles!

First off is, “Chun-Li”, a character taken from “Street Fighter”. Like Minaj, Chun-Li is also known for her thick thighs. As many of you would know, Chun-Li was the first female character in the video game franchise. Likewise, the female MC is also declaring that she’s the leading female rapper to dominate the music game.

The other single “Barbie Tingz” finds Minaj putting them copycats in their rightful place. She leaves no room for competition. While addressing the time away from social media in the verse, “Rap bitches tell their team, ‘Make em like Barbie’. Had to come off IG so they can’t stalk me“, she also takes a dig at Remy Ma.

“It’s time to make hits and it’s time to diss. How you still dissin’, still can’t find some hits? Was it worth it, dummy? I ain’t mind a bit,” she declares over a slick beat. Of her newly-released two singles, “Barbie Tingz” is the real highlight.

In addition to the aforementioned “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz”, Minaj joins Young Thug on a new song titled, “Anybody”. Taken from Young Thug’s “Hear No Evil” EP, the visual for “Anybody” is done in sign language. It’s actually an homage to the rapper’s brother, who happens to be deaf.

The last time we heard from the former One Direction boybander, it was his ballad duet with Sia on “Dusk Till Dawn”. Zayn Malik has now return with a continuation of sorts to his previous ballad with a R&B-infused lovers anthem, “Let Me”.

Directed by Jose Padilha, the mini-film sees the singer and iconic actor Steven Bauer pulling off an impressive heist. However, he gives it all up to run away with his love interest. The “Let Me” visual ends on a cliff-hanger though, hinting that there’s more to come.

In celebration of the 2018 edition of “Record Store Day”, Florence + The Machine returns with a sweeping, string-laden ballad. “Sky Full of Song” highlights frontwoman Florence Welch’s restrained vocals. The almost a capella delivery brings about a welcome intimacy, which is accompanied by a black-and-white video.

“This was a song that just fell out of the sky fully formed. Sometimes when you are performing you get so high, it’s hard to know how to come down. There is this feeling of being cracked open, rushing endlessly outwards and upwards, and wanting somebody to hold you still, bring you back to yourself. It’s an incredible, celestial, but somehow lonely feeling,” the powerhouse said in a statement.

We’re seeing shades of blue in The Weeknd’s “Call Out My Name” music clip. Taken from his “My Dear Melancholy” EP, the Grant Singer-directed video shows a series of special effects. There are bats flying out of Abel‘s mouth, animals frozen midair, fire attacking a mystical forest, and bizarre alien-like creatures to keep you at the edge of your seat.

Jason Derulo is well known for churning out uptempo hits and “Colors” is another extension of that. “Colors” serves as the Coca-Cola’s theme song for this year’s World Cup. Helmed by Gil Green (who also directed “Stupid Love” and “Swalla”), we see Derulo visiting beautiful locales including a magnificent castle in Haiti, as well as a soccer field in Miami. National flags are everywhere and we see the entertainer draping himself in the colours of Haiti. Psst, Wyclef Jean also appears in a cameo.

“PYNK is a brash celebration of creation. self love. sexuality. and pussy power! PYNK’ is the color that unites us all, for pink is the colour found in the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of humans everywhere… PYNK is where the future is born,” Janelle Monáe was quoted as saying. The feminist music video sees Janelle Monáe and her crew hitting the dessert and making bold statements.

After spending her entire career with Sony Music Nashville, this is Carrie Underwood’s first single under music label UMG Nashville. Co-wrote with Hillary Lindsey, Liz Rose, and Lori McKenna, “Cry Pretty” is a powerful country ballad and an honest note to her fans.

“The title refers to when emotions take over and you just can’t hold them back. It really speaks to a lot of things that have happened in the past year and I hope when you hear it, you can relate those feelings to those times in your life,” the “American Idol” champion wrote.

Often times, the biggest challenge in our relationships can be the self-destructive voices in our head. In his new single, “Clumsy”, YouTuber Sam Tsui is battling his inner demon to come out on top. “‘Clumsy’ is one of the most meaningful songs to me on my new album ‘Trust’. The song is about the ways we can inadvertently sabotage our own relationships and push away the people we love without meaning to,” the singer-songwriter told Pride.

He added, “In it, a beautiful duet between two dancers is slowly unravelled by a third figure, who is, in fact, another ‘me’ – a manifestation of that self-destructive voice in our own heads to which I think we can all relate. I am so excited to share this really beautiful and meaningful piece with fans.”

NEW MUSIC VIDEO. TOMORROW. #PTXPerfect pic.twitter.com/HtCg1C7Utn

— Pentatonix (@PTXofficial) April 12, 2018

Serenading us with another cover version of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, because why not?

Which of these music releases are your favourites? Let us know in the comments section below.

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WINNER Debut Week: Album Sampler + 2 Music Videos

It took almost 2 months for fans to get ready for YG Entertainment’s newest K-Pop idol boy group, WINNER, to debut but at last, the highly-anticipated group has finally made their debut on 12th August!

Earlier in August, YG Entertainment announced the release date of their debut album, in which the physical album will be released on 14th August. On 12th August, WINNER dropped the album sampler for their album, “2014 S/S”, that comes with 2 new music videos for their title tracks “Empty” and “Color Ring”.

Surprisingly, their title track “Empty” was composed by B.I. of Team B while the lyrics were co-written by Team B’s Bobby and WINNER’s Minho. However, both Team B members have not appeared in the MV for “Empty” and so far there are no news about their debut either.

Rest assured, Team B’s involvement in their album hinted the possible debut of Team B in the future and YG had asked for continuous support for both of the teams from the reality-survival program, “WIN: WHO IS NEXT”.

As for their second title track, “Color Ring”, the song was composed by the leader Kang Seung-yoon together with YG producers while the lyrics were co-written by his fellow group mates Mino and Seunghoon.

The music videos for both title tracks are incredibly well-shot while the songs that were included in the album comprises of various different genres including hip hop, rock, ballad, and R&B. The physical album has not been released yet but their debut album is currently available for download on iTunes store.

The official merchandise including a poster set, bookmark set, phone case, and more are currently available at YG eShop now. Pre-order for the merchandise opens today until 18th August and the items will be shipped on 19th August. YG Entertainment will be holding a special event for those who purchased WINNER’s merchandise via the YG eShop.

Meanwhile, YG Entertainment has also released the official individual shots of the members in their dapper suits. Aren’t they good looking?

WINNER is expected to perform at “YG Family 2014 GALAXY Tour: Power in Singapore” on 13th and 14th September. Their label mates including 2NE1, Epik High, BIG BANG, and PSY will be performing at the concert tour as well.

For more information, visit WINNER’s official website and Facebook page.


Scheiffer Bates Does Impressions Like No Other!

Affiliated to Voice 123, Schieffer has won the awards for the You Generation Finalist and FOX Stevie Griffin Competition Finalist.

For more on Scheiffer Bates, check him out on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.


The Rib-Tickling “Romantic Fools” To Make Its Runs!

Berjaya Group presents “Romantic Fools”, a humorous take on love, and the perennially mind-boggling relationships between men and women. The 120-minute laugh-out-loud comedy is set to make its run in KL this October, with additional dates in Penang in November.

From the genius of New York playwright Rich Orloff, “Romantic Fools” is a comedic revue consisting of 12 two-character sketches about love, lust, dating, and romance that has since enjoyed over 30 productions around the world.

Directed by Reza Zainal Abidin for the Malaysian stage, it will be led by an all-star cast featuring KL’s “Queen of Comedy” Joanne Kam, and TV and stage actor Tony Eusoff as the male and female leads, with cameo appearances by Chelsia Ng, Iedil Putra, Megat Sharizal, and Sarah Shahrum.

From a caveman with a heart of gold to a couple of vegans with one greasy secret, “Romantic Fools” details the ups, downs and in-betweens of love and relationships told in a series of short vignettes. Written in the comical stylings of “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother”, this is one side-splitting show that brings to light the often hilarious situations faced by men and women in love in a world where no blind date can be too horrific and no relationship too weird.

What do men and women really think of each other? Are men really from Mars and women really from Venus? Romantic Fools will serve to give you an inkling, with amusing results!

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CONTEST: Win Passes To Zouk’s 9th Anniversary!

On 28th March 2013 (Thursday), Kuala Lumpur’s one and only party hub will be throwing a club-wide celebration in conjunction with their 9th anniversary! Dubbed, “Electric“, the night will see our favourite local DJs rockin’ it hardcore Zouk (mainroom), Phuture, Barsonic, Velvet Underground, and Aristo. The question is, do you want to be a part of Zouk Club Kuala Lumpur’s epic birthday celebration?

Because we’ve got 10 PAIRS of VIP passes to giveaway to 10 of our lucky readers/followers! Now you want in, don’t you?

Then you wait for the good news from us! Go on and get tweeting.

For more information, visit Zouk Club Kuala Lumpur’s website or their Facebook page.


Tiger Radler Champions Malaysia’s Creative Talents With #WhatsRefreshing Campaign

A filmmaker sets out on a refreshing video pursuit.

Calling all creative and artistic talents! A cool and refreshing new initiative beckons your ingenious contribution for a short video montage. The mechanics to the project are real simple, all you have to do is submit either a picture and/or a 15-seconds video on what you find to be refreshing.

Titled #WhatsRefreshing, the effort aims at bringing together the creativity of young and aspiring local talents through their video submissions. The idea for the campaign was developed by none other than Melissa Toh, an aspiring photographer and filmmaker whose time abroad made her curious about the talents and views of her fellow Malaysians.

“I’ve lived in Australia and America, and have captured—through my lenses—the wondrous beauty those countries have to offer. The experience of living abroad has opened my eyes to seeing the world differently and I’m interested in Malaysians’ point-of-view on things,” said Toh, a RMIT University and New York Film Academy graduate.

“In order to reach out to as many people as I can, I needed to work with a brand that has established a strong fan base to help in that area. I heard of Tiger Radler and its amazing get-together spirit, which I have witnessed in their Pop-Up parties.  I like the communal backyard party vibe it provides for that special, refreshing experience.”

“Malaysians need to take a step back and enjoy the simple things in life. They are constantly up and about, not taking the time to relish in new adventures and experiences. Through the #WhatsRefreshing concept, we seek to give fans a look beyond their regular day-to-day ins and outs; it’s like a holiday for the mind,” the 26-year-old said.

Tai See Wai, Marketing Manager of Tiger Beer said: “We are more than delighted to support Melissa with her experimental initiative. We at Tiger Beer always encourage upcoming local talents, and we hope more creative talents will emerge through this collaboration and #WhatsRefreshing campaign.”

Submission for the #WhatsRefreshing campaign is now open until November 28th (Friday). All entries must tell a story of what’s refreshing from the participants point-of-view and only the best photos and videos will be selected and edited into a 2-minute video by Toh. The final product will be shared on the official campaign website.

From the lot, videos from five participants will be shortlisted and they will each receive a special edition Tiger Radler T-shirt plus two tickets to the exclusive Pop-Up Party by Tiger Radler in December.

For more information, or a sample video of #WhatsRefreshing, simply log on here.


Fleets: Twitter Finally Doing Its Own Version Of Stories

Hot on the heels of Whatsapp’s new dark mode feature, Twitter is now testing its own version of Stories.

The company announced that their Stories format is called Fleets. Trials are being carried out in Brazil for the time being.

Fleets will allow Twitter users to post photos, videos, and text that disappears entirely after 24 hours. Unlike tweets, Fleets can’t receive likes, replies or retweets. This probably sounds familiar because most of the other popular social platforms have already been using this format.

Snapchat invented stories in 2013 and the app became a major hit. Instagram copied it soon after. Facebook Inc. eventually brought it to its products, namely Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The rest have also hopped on the bandwagon – YouTube got Stories (“Reels”), Skype got Stories (“Highlights”), heck even LinkedIn is on this!

Testers in Brazil simply click on the “+” button to post on their Fleet. Consumers can post videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds in length (or 512MB). So which Fleets will be displayed first on the home screen? For now, Twitter determines the displays first based on recency and mutual follows.

Twitter will run the test for a few months before deciding to roll out to global markets.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


#TheHuntsman: New Chris Hemsworth-Centric Trailer Offers Action & Some Humour

With only a month left on the clock before the premiere of highly anticipated “The Huntsman: Winter’s War“, Universal Pictures has once again piqued our interest with a new trailer.

“If it’s the Snow White tale you’re looking for, discover the story that came before.”

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” is the prequel to 2012’s “Snow White & the Huntsman”. Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron are returning to reprise their roles as Huntsman Eric and Queen Ravenna for a tale that explains how their fates are deeply and dangerously intertwined.

They’re joined by Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, and Rob Brydon.

The official synopsis of the movie reads:

Long before the evil Queen Ravenna was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (played by Emily Blunt), suffered a heart-breaking betrayal and fled their kingdom.

With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen — including Eric and warrior Sara (played by Jessica Chastain) — only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.

When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable, unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.

The action-packed huntsman-centric trailer not only gives us insight on what to expect from “The Huntsman: Winter’s War”, it’s also dotted with some much needed Chris Hemsworth humour. Watch:

“The Huntsman: Winter’s War” arrives in cinemas on 14th April 2016.

Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, and Jessica Chastain are expected to grace the red carpet and a fan premiere at Universal Studios Singapore in Resorts World Sentosa on 3rd April 2016.

For more information, visit the movie’s official website.


Namewee Remixes Japan’s Famous 90s Hit “Boy Meets Girl” With TRF’s Leader DJ Koo

In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Japanese pop band TRF (TK Rave Factory), group leader DJ Koo has collaborated with Malaysia’s multitalented Chinese artist Namewee (黃明志) to release a special remix version of their top hit “Boy Meets Girl”.

Retitled as “Boy Meets Girl 2020”, the song was a collaboration between the production company behind Namewee’s viral earworm hit “Tokyo Bon 2020”, Cool Japan TV along with one of the largest music entertainment companies, Avex Entertainment and also NSP Entertainment.

Presented in multilingual lyrics including English, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, the music video featured viral sensation PIKOTARO, Olympic gold medalist skater Hiroyasu Shimizu, traditional dancer Ukon Takafuji, J-pop trio callme, and Aeon’s mascot Lala from Molly Fantasy.

The Bon dance version of TRF’s remix song also gathered Asia’s Top YouTubers such as Nana Liang, Shen Lim, MaoMaoTV, Yvonne Chua, ErnestDoCrazy, and more.

The music video features clips from the original “Boy Meets Girl” as well as the 1st live performance of the song at Paris, France during “Japan Expo 2018” when Namewee was invited by Cool Japan TV to represent Japan in France back in July. The Bon dance was choreographed by Ukon Takafuji, the heir of the Takafuji clan with over 100 years of history.

“With the upcoming 2020 Olympics, Japan will be the growing center-of-attraction. We hope to bring about Japan’s culture and appeal to everyone through the traditional Japanese Bon dance,” DJ Koo said in a statement.

TRF is a pop band started in early 90s consisting of leader DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yu-ki, dancers Chiharu, Etsu and Sam. Sam was married to J-pop queen Amuro Namie, and they both has a son named Haruto.

A different remix version of “Boy Meets Girl” was used in 2000 as one of the ending themes of “UFO Baby” anime series, and in 2013, it was covered by girl group Prizmmy☆ as the opening theme for “Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live” series.

When Namewee was asked if this song will go viral like “Tokyo Bon 2020” which has now garnered more 38.15 milion views, he said, “I don’t think so because this song is very decent and lyrics are meaningful,” adding that “Tokyo Bon” is a song that many “loves to hate yet loves to watch”.

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#Zoolander2: Ben Stiller Returns As The Ridiculously Good-Looking Model In Teaser

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson‘s surprise appearances at the Valentino show during this year’s Paris Fashion Week have led to this: The first teaser trailer for “Zoolander 2”!

While no footage from the sequel of the 2001 cult comedy classic were shown, it’s clear that the movie is only getting funnier with Stiller returning as the clueless yet really really, really, ridiculously good looking male model, Derek Zoolander.

The teaser, which was released by Paramount Pictures, opened with a voiceover that bears a striking resemblance to Stephen Hawking‘s voice.

By using an 80s speech synthesizer, the trailer explained how the universe came about:

In the beginning, there was nothing. An infinite void. Then, in an instant, everything on command came into being. The Big Bang, the birth of time itself, chaos, and beauty. That beauty created infinite galaxies. Galaxies that would one day create the unimaginable: life. But even more incredible, the human brain.

The clip then took a deep-dive into a human brain, featuring a hilarious collage of the equation “3+4=34″, “e=mc(hammer)”, a dictionary definition for the term “eugoogly”, mermen, and etc. The voiceover continued to talk about the universe and led us to one question “that has puzzled mankind since the beginning of time”:

If God exists, why did he make ugly people?

Stiller then turned to the camera with his iconic “Blue Steel” facial expression, but remained clueless and questioned the spellings of the movie title.

Co-written by “Iron Man 2″ scribe Justin Theroux, the sequel is Stiller‘s directorial follow-up to ” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty“.

Stiller’s real-life wife, Christine Taylor will play Zoolander’s wife Matilda while Cyrus Arnold will play their son. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” star Penelope Cruz has signed on to star in an unspecified role while Will Ferrell will return to reprise his role as fashion mogul Mugatu. Justin Bieber is expected to make a cameo appearance alongside Stiller and rumour has it that various other celebrities including Jonah Hill, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Cara Delevingne, Naomi Campbell, and Anna Wintour will be making cameo appearances too.

Paramount Pictures confirmed that the sequel will hit the cinemas on 12th February 2016.

For more information, visit the movie’s official Facebook page.


One Direction Takes Us Home To Good Ol’ Pop

Very little can be said about one worldwide phenomenon that broke into the music industry and took the world by storm. Very little can be said because we have close to no words to describe their whirlwind rise to the top and their success. In a time where the world was starved of pop groups and boy bands, One Direction came and turned it all around.

To date (whether you like it or not), the boys are perhaps the biggest boy bands in the world, with legions of loyal and loving fans and sales figures to prove it.

Of course, it also helps that the English-Irish boys are practically oozing with good looks and charm. Coupled with the type of upbeat pop music that undoubtedly breathed life into the music industry once again. So when we heard that their album, “Take Me Home” was released, we couldn’t resist.

Leave it to One Direction aka 1D to know the recipe for cooking up a smash hit. Their lead single, “Live While We’re Young”  is a fresh-sounding song that is testament to the fact that the boys have matured ever so slightly from when they first debut in 2010. Some might say that the lyrics are suggestive, yet we can’t deny that the song resonates with the fact that the boys are just having a bit of fun with growing up.

[youtube id=”AbPED9bisSc” width=”600″ height=”350″]

And then comes Ed Sheeran’s work of art, “Little Things“. The ballad, if played bright and early on a slow and “low” start of the day could easily cinch its spot on your playlist as the best thing you’ve heard all morning. Listen to them, all grown up and experiencing love for the first time. Directioners are going to fall hopelessly and helplessly head over heels in love with Harry, Liam, Niall, Zayn, and Louis all over again with this one, that’s for sure.

What, you don’t believe us? Here’s a snippet of the lyrics, all dripping with honey:

You’ll never love yourself half as much as I love you.

You’ll never treat yourself right, darling, but I want you to.

Maybe you’ll love yourself like I love you, oh.

And I’ve just let these little things slip out of my mouth,

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Finally, One Direction really gave us some pop to chew on with “Kiss You“. See, the thing is, no matter how old or young you are, it’s hard to fight your body wanting to give in to the tempo of this tune. So don’t!

We say, get in there and start clapping your hands to this one. Because it’s okay to feel like a teeny-bopper every once in awhile. Really!:

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We guess it’s safe to say that they singlehandedly taught the world to sing (and dance, and clap) again. One Direction, it has been a long time coming.

“Take Me Home” is now available at a music store near you. Alternatively, you could also purchase the album off iTunes here.

For more information, visit their official website.

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Bella-less At The Golden Globes?

The world’s most popular vampire, Edward Cullen Robert Pattinson showed up at the 70th Golden Globes as a celebrity presenter. Of course, this means that he also rocked the red carpet but wait, he rocked it alone. Huh?

It seems that Twihards were disappointed when Kristen Stewart didn’t turn up at the gala event with him. Yup. Rob was “Bella”-less for the night. According to “Life&Style” magazine, Rob and Kristen are going through a rocky phase in their relationship – again! It was said that the couple had been fighting a lot as of recent and Rob ain’t happy about that.

Still, the burning question is, where was Bella?

Apparently, Kristen was seen all dressed down and in the company of two other men at a Starbucks outlet in Los Angeles and, well, neither one of them was Rob. Obviously. Since Rob was busy rocking a suit and rubbing shoulders with award-nominated actors, actresses, and directors at the Golden Globes.

Oh well, Kristen, as long as you’re out gallivanting with random married-with-kids directors again. If you know what we’re saying.


Look Snatched For The Gods When You ‘Raya Bersama Pandora’!

Eid al-Fitr is a time for Muslims to come together and celebrate the end of the month of Ramadan. It’s a joyous occasion when families gather to strengthen their bond and create lasting memories. What better way to create memories than with the unique jewellery of Pandora?

‘Raya Bersama Pandora’ allows you to put your Raya glam on with a variety of Pandora jewellery charms, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces in your very own unique style!

For an elegant and sophisticated look in the day, add on the Pink Family Tree & Heart Dangle Charm (RM229); or Two-tone Openwork Infinity Heart Charm (RM159) engraved with the words ‘Family is Love; or the brand’s all-new Pandora Moments Sparkling Infinity Heart Clasp Snake Chain Bracelet (RM329).

For extra bling, style on Pandora’s new Sparkling Herbarium Earrings & Pendant Necklace (Gift Set, RM479), perfect for visiting any Raya open house.

As much as Pandora is your perfect styling companion this Raya, it’s also the perfect box of surprises. Give the gift of Pandora jewellery in a package customised for each individual, because Pandora is all about personalisation. What better way to show your appreciation to your family and friends with Pandora jewellery as memorable presents?

So let’s all embrace the joy of ‘Raya Bersama Pandora’ and make #unforgettablemoments with our loved ones to cherish forever.

The collections are available at all Pandora boutiques nationwide. Discover Pandora’s Raya Special from now until 24th April with 50% off on a second item, while stocks last.


#EXO: Rumoured To Make A Comeback In January 2015

Over the past few months, EXO have had their fair share of hardships due to members’ departures from the group and dating rumours. However, those are just some of the challenges they must face as idols and they would come back stronger than ever.

That’s right, everyone. Strong enough to make a comeback in January 2015!

But! EXO’s talent agency, SM Entertainment has yet to confirm their comeback and the news originated from an exclusive report by Sport Donga.

According to the Korean media outlet, EXO is reportedly planning to make a comeback in late January with a brand new album. The members are said to be gearing up for the album release as it would be the group’s 2nd full length album. The report comes hot on the heels of the recent rumour about EXO’s comeback.

It was previously rumoured that EXO would make a comeback on October 25 but the plan eventually fell apart due to Luhan‘s lawsuit against the company.

SM Entertainment has yet to respond to the report but if it is true, it would mark EXO’s first comeback in 8 months after the release of their 2nd mini album “Overdose”. It is also the group’s first comeback without the 2 of its original members but fans are curious to find out what the group has prepared for them.

So, what do you think of the comeback rumour? Do you think it’s legit? It was a crazy year for EXO but let’s hope their comeback in January will mark a fresh start for them!

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.


Chadwick Boseman Was Hopeful He Could Regain Lost Weight For “Black Panther 2”

It’s been almost a week since the passing of Chadwick Boseman and tributes to the late actor are still pouring in – particularly from Marvel Studios, industry colleagues and fans.

In a lengthy new report published by The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the 43-year-old actor had been keeping his colon cancer a secret from not just his Marvel costars and directors but also from Disney and Marvel.

The publication revealed that Kevin Feige was made aware on Chadwick’s illness last week on 28th August via an urgent e-mail. No much has been unveiled about the said e-mail except that it was likely about the actor’s sudden declining health.

A source close to Chadwick disclosed to THR that the late star himself was “…convinced until about a week before his death that he was going to beat cancer…” and was even making plans to get back in shape for “Black Panther 2”. Production for the sequel was initially scheduled for March 2021.

THR also reported that Marvel already had big plans for T’Challa / Black Panther to be interlinked with several upcoming interconnected MCU films. However, with Chadwick’s recent death, those plans will either need to be adjusted or revised completely. Having said that, Disney’s focus right now is to offer proper respect to the actor and not on the sequel.

“No one involved with ‘Black Panther’ was aware” of Chadwick’s health condition, the insider said. Only a selected non-family members (including producing partner Logan Coles, longtime agent Michael Greene, trainer Addison Henderson and “42” director Brian Helgeland) had some inclination with “with varying degrees of knowledge“.

It came as a shock to many that even Disney and Marvel Studios were kept in the dark, with the assumption that the actors under contract are required to undergo a medical evaluation for insurance reasons.

Film finance attorney Schuyler Moore offered some insight into this matter, saying, “They are more prevalent in the indie filmmaking world. Sometimes, the big studios will look to insure for a particular actor, but they usually have a particular reason for doing so. Otherwise, studios will just shoulder the risk (of sickness or death).”

When a fan made a comment about how “we could have saved him… if we just saw the signs“, another replied, “He did not want us to know. He did everything he could to keep this private and that’s his right. He did have treatment. He fought (all the way to the end).”

He never lost hope. That’s the important thing.


“Dr. Jason Leong: Ride With Caution” Comedy Special Review: Best Enjoyed If You’re Malaysian Or Singaporean

Malaysia has made a name for itself with some of the most popular comedians in the world hailing from our beloved tanah air. We’ve got Ronny Chieng, a local JBian who has appeared in comedy shows like “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”, done two Netflix specials and has even made an appearance in “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”. Then we’ve got the hilarious Sabahan Phil Wang who continues to be one of the funniest Asian comics out there today with a huge following in the UK. And alas, there’s the one and only Nigel Ng, better known as Uncle Roger. An absolute online sensation with over 7 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, a popular figure in both the comedy and culinary world! Continuing our legacy of laughs is Dr. Jason Leong who returns to Netflix with his second comedy special “Dr. Jason Leong: Ride With Caution”.

The former medical practitioner-turned-comedian made waves with his first special “Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed”, showing the world his own distinctive style of humour. Does the doctor have more tricks up his sleeves? Let’s find out!

The cornerstone of Leong’s entire comedic style, at least based on his recent shows, is observational humour. He’ll pick up on the everyday, mundane minutiae of life and blow it out of proportion for a good laugh. One particularly memorable joke was when he regaled the audience on how he noticed that cyclists tend to wear incredibly tight shirts and pants…with no underwear. Then, he makes quick work of all the chuckle-worthy nastiness of the scene and its implications.

Unfortunately, this bit is also memorable because of how long-winded it was, which is a pattern in his special. Look, we’re not immune to a good bit of gross-out humour but by the time he followed through with an anecdote building on the bit, we were already rolling our eyes. That being said, the Malaysian and Singaporean audience took great delight in his vivid description so there’s definitely a market there. This tendency to milk a bit longer than needed can prove grating at times. Another example of this was the bit when he juxtaposes the absurdity of him comparing the ups and downs of his time as an online comedian during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of his first-responder wife. We get it, the disparity is clear. Please move on.

While the runtime of some of his bits is questionable, one thing Leong knows well is his audience: Malaysians and Singaporeans. He plays them like a fiddle and we won’t lie, he got a big laugh out of us with that Selangor water cut and flood joke. He also does the usual schtick of talking about how Singaporeans are different from Malaysians in terms of behaviour, food and culture. Nothing revolutionary but still quite relatable.

Now, some Malaysians are infamously known for having thin skin when it comes to commentary on the political situation of the country, let alone poking fun at it. Some local comedians like Douglas Lim, however, have managed to ride the fine line between scathing critique and good-natured ribbing. If you haven’t checked out his “110 Flavours” video, you definitely should! All our GE-14 peeps will get a kick out of it! With the political instability of two government changes during the pandemic era in Malaysia, how does Mr Leong tackle these realities? The long and short: he doesn’t. He makes the occasional, general jab at the banal inefficacy of Malaysian public services but he never goes for the jugular. Which is disappointing for us as Malaysians, but not unexpected.

Where Leong lacks in terms of substance, he does manage to make up with delivery. Just as fans of comedians like Uncle Roger and Bill Burr instantly recognise their voices and personalities, Leong is no different. Leong’s short-fused, apek-esque delivery is a unique cross between Jerry Seinfeld’s perpetually puzzled squawks and the annoyed grunts of your uncle down the street. Malaysians and Singaporeans will no doubt feel right at home with him. After all, it does complement a good number of his jokes and punchlines that rely on the laundry list of Asian stereotypes from the deficit (or kiasu) mindset to the competitive parenting trope. Mileage will depend on the viewer. For us, it was a mixed bag.

Then, of course, there are the obligatory COVID-19 jokes that every comedian now seems to have to capitalise on. To be fair, Leong goes a gutsier approach with them, leaning into the darker side of things with relatively strong punchlines. It certainly helps that the man has a solid medical background so when he weighs on these issues, they feel like they come from a more organic place. That joke about people asking whether the mRNA vaccines would alter their DNA was so relatable! We all know that one uncle or aunty who keeps sharing mad conspiracy theories about vaccines online.

One small pet peeve some viewers may have is the way Leong uses frequently swear words or frankly antiquated gay jokes for easy laughs. Look, we’re no prudes when it comes to comedy but we believe that vulgarity in comedy works best when it is layered and unexpected. Tom Segura and Louis C.K. are masters in the way they use potty humour and shock value as a landmine that we trip up on rather than a point-blank shot to the face. Leong’s application of it is at best middling and at worst juvenile. We’re not expecting his comedy special to be on the same level of complexity as George Carlin or for him to be on sixteen layers of meta-irony like the boys from Chapo Trap House but our guy can clearly do better.

Netflix’s “Dr. Jason Leong: Ride With Caution” comedy special is a lot like nasi lemak. For local Malaysians and kindred Singaporeans, it’s a familiar delight you can rely on if you’re looking for something quick and easy.

Amidst the seemingly endless ocean of Netflix comedy specials out there though, more seasoned viewers may find this hard to swallow. If you’re stuck in traffic and are looking to kill an hour with some innocuous fun, then we’d recommend leaving it on during your commute. For those interested, you can catch “Dr. Jason Leong: Ride With Caution” on Netflix today!

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.

Netflix's "Dr. Jason Leong: Ride With Caution" comedy special is a lot like nasi lemak. For local Malaysians and kindred Singaporeans, it's a familiar delight you can rely on if you're looking for something quick and easy. Amidst the seemingly endless ocean of Netflix comedy specials out there though, more seasoned viewers may find this hard to swallow.


#Avengers: “Infinity War” May Reunite Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross With The Hulk

“Avengers: Infinity War” is expected to begin shooting next month in the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Although we will see every possible Avenger assembling to take on The Mad Titan, it appears that we might be seeing some unexpected faces.

According to the UK’s The Daily Record, Liv Tyler, who previously played Betty Ross (Hulk/Bruce Banner’s original love interest) in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”, will be appearing in the movie. The has been no mention of her character since her last outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

To quote Ryan Scott, this piece of information would have seemed less believable before “Captain America: Civil War“, but Marvel has since brought back General Ross (played by William Hurt). Taking that into consideration, it’s possible that we could see General Ross’ daughter Betty Ross lending her expertise to Earth’s mightiest heroes.

If Liv Tyler does indeed return to reprise her role, this would set up an even stronger connection to “The Incredible Hulk”. Of course, she’ll be playing against a different actor. Back then, Bruce Banner was played by Edward Norton. Director Louis Leterrier had preferred Mark Ruffalo, but was overruled by Marvel.

Since things didn’t work out with Hulk and Black Widow, there’s a possibility that Bruce and Betty could rekindle their romance. It would bring the Hulk’s story full circle.

To find out more about the plot details of “Avengers: Infinity War”, go here.


Pink Floyd To Release New Album After 20 Years This October

OMG! OMG! OMG! We are so excited, we can’t breathe!

English rock band, Pink Floyd will release its first studio album since it’s 1994’s The Division Bell sometime this October! The news leaked by Polly Samon, the wife of guitarist David Gilmour who tweeted the news early July 5th (Saturday).

Veteran Pink Floyd backup vocalist Durga McBroom-Hudson further confirmed the news later in the day by posting a photo from a recording session:

Apart from these two sources, the band’s longtime engineer Andy Jackson also confirm Pink Floyd’s latest album release via the fan site Floydian Slip. The band’s upcoming album entitled The Endless River is set to come just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s final album, 1994’s The Division Bell.

To hold you until October, here’s a playlist featuring some of Pink Floyd’s greatest hits. Enjoy and happy Monday folks!


Hype’s Now Playing: Daniel V ft Vince Chong — Take Control

Daniel V. takes control with his latest track.

Daniel Veerapen also known as Daniel V, is a Malaysian music producer who’s work compromises of multiple genres, including electro, drum & bass, house, EDM, NuJazz, jazz, funk, R&B and orchestration work for Film scoring. Throughout his career, Daniel has worked with some of the best and most influential names in the Malaysian music industry and he earned himself an AIM nomination for best producer at the tender age of 19.

Currently on the pursuit of newer sounds to keep up with ever changing music scene, Daniel is always working on pushing his styles to keep up to today’s trends but he never fails to keep in tune with his traditional musical backgrounds at the same time.

Daniel dropped his latest single Take Control on YouTube yesterday and it is nothing but sheer brilliance. Featuring Vince Chong, Take Control is mix and mastered by Bo, also known as Mr. Fluff. The 4 minute long track features Vince’s strong vocals and melodic tone that goes along with the chilled beats before it falls into a drop that gets listeners pumping and wanting more.

For more on Daniel, visit his social networking sites: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram.

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Hype’s Album Review: Krewella — Get Wet

Best known for their hit single Alive, Krewella has released a remarkable full-length album. Made up off sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf and producer Kris “Rain Man” Tindl, Krewella’s debut album titled Get Wet has taken the EDM world by storm. The talented trio are reinventing the sounds of EDM with their debut album.

Sisters Jahan and Yasmine who are the songwriters and vocalists of the trio display their beautiful, smooth and strong vocals in each track on the album. Apart from the vocals, Kris’ choice of instrumentation on each song allows for loops of hooky riffs with groovy dance beats. Each track is so different of each other that the albums serves as a full on dance album that will keep listeners pleased all night long.

Unbelievably catchy, the combination of vocal melodies by the sisters and beats from Kris, will have the tracks on this album cemented into listeners’ brains. Get Wet opens with Live for the Night, a club anthem that builds a ridiculously high amount of energy to kick off the other tracks on the album. Punchy hooks, brilliant contrast betweens change-ups and solid vocals, this track is set to get the crowd in the mood.

Get Wet consists of twelve ear-grabbing tracks that is no short of EDM deliciousness that will turn anyone into an EDM fan. Hype.My loves every track on the album that we can’t pick a favourite!

Check out Live For The Night – the opening track of the album here:

You might also like:

Kings Of Leon — Mechanical Bull Album Review


#Malaysia: RM16 Million Allocated To Upgrade Major Markets In Kuala Lumpur This Year

Fun fact: Did you know that there are over 44 open-air markets, 28 indoor market, and almost 100 night markets in Kuala Lumpur?

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz announced that an estimated of RM16 million has been allocated this year for various upgrading and maintenance works on the city’s markets.

“We cannot plan too far ahead as it is beyond our capacity and we have limited resources to handle such big projects. We have to prioritise and many of the upgrading works are done in phases,” said the mayor.

Currently, Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) ongoing projects include moving Pasar Imbi (Bukit Bintang market) to the 7-storey Pudu Integrated Commercial Complex (ICC) in Jalan Kijang within this month and building a new indoor facility for Pasar Jalan Raja Bot (Chow Kit market) by 2020.

Upcoming projects will also include upgrading Pasar Pudu, Selayang daily market, Pasar Pekan Sungai Besi, and Pasar Jalan Ikan Emas, but not all of them are happy with the facelift.

The plan for Pasar Pudu for instance, is to build a 2-storey building to fit all 1,500 vendors. Pasar Pudu Traders Association chairman Jeff Tan Ker Chiang said, “We are happy with an upgrade but most importantly DBKL must think of our situation. The market has become a semi-wholesale market so we need a place to store our goods, but that will be difficult if we are moved indoors.”

Don’t let the marketing culture die down! Thumbs up to our City Hall’s efforts to ensure that our markets are well-maintained and are in good condition :)

For more information, visit DBKL’s official website.


Step-By-Step Guide On Entering Hype Malaysia’s Contests

Hey folks, so we’ve notice many of you have been getting disqualified for your wrong entries when entering Hype Malaysia’s contest.

So we’ve decided to write a step-by-step guide on doing it the right way. This year alone, we’ve collaborated with our awesome media friends to give free concert tickets, movie tickets, theme park passes, merchandise, holiday vacation, and more. It’s only going to get better!

1. Like Hype Malaysia’s Facebook, follow us on Instagram @hypemy and twitter @HypeMY. (It’s alright if you honestly don’t have a Twitter account.)

2. The more likes and shares you get on your Facebook and Twitter contest posts, the higher the chance we’ll pick you. So get your friends to help you out ;)

3. Your contest post has to be made public.

4. Private message us the share link. An example of a share link looks like this:

So how do you get a Facebook share link?

5. Click on the date of YOUR OWN Facebook contest post.

6. It will direct you to a separate page of only your own post.

7. The highlighted link on your browser is your share link. Copy and paste it to us when you DM us.

8. In your DM, remember to send us the links to your personal Twitter and Instagram accounts too. That will help us verify if you’ve followed the terms and conditions.

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Hype’s Now Playing: Hyunseung – You’re The First

After revealing that a solo release is-a-comin’, B2ST member Hyunseung hasn’t skipped a beat! A week ago, the sexy idol released a couple of teasers as well as the full tracklist for his solo album. The album will focus on the singer’s diverse vocal capability, which unfortunately, has been overshadowed by his talent in dancing. A total of 6 tracks will be included in the album, which aims to present his growth as an artiste after 6 years in the industry.

He also officially announced that the name of his title track, “You’re The First”. No doubt that brought happy tears to his fans ;)

On top of that, fans didn’t even have to wait that long to get a glimpse at the official music video for the mid-tempo dance track “You’re The First” because it has been released! Written by Black Eyed Pilsung and featuring up-and-coming rapper Giri Boy, “You’re The First” embodies heavy synths and some auto-tune with hip hop and trap/EDM beats thrown into the mix.

Of course, it also features Hyunseung looking all (trademark) flirty and grooving to song. Which is a nice way to mark his solo debut, considering the fact that he’s one half of the duo Trouble Maker with CUBE Entertainment labelmate as well as 4Minute member HyunA. He didn’t stray very far from his “Trouble Maker” persona ;)

What do you think? Do you love it or not so much? Are you looking forward to seeing the other music videos (if any) from his first solo release? Feel free to discuss that in the comments box below!


This Raya Short Film Is Being Condemned For Being Too Scary

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is a joyous celebration that is meant to be celebrated with our loved ones, especially our family.

So during this season, you will see a lot of Raya ads with strong family theme, including a certain Raya short film by indie director Ikram Daud.

Titled “Kuih Bangkit”, the 9-minute short film features only 3 main actors; Akmal Ahmad, Farah Ahmad, and Hairi Safwan.

Dubbed as “the scariest Raya ad of all time”, the story features a unique plot and highlights the importance of coming back home to your kampung during Raya to visit your family.

While many complimented the short for its style, bold direction and distinctive way of conveying certain messages, some people criticised it for being too gloomy and depressing, saying that it brings a bad image to Islam and Raya Aidilfitri.

Furthermore, people also complained that the film may scare off younger audience and it can set a bad example to them.

So basically, not everyone can accept the Raya ad as they deemed that it is unsuitable for Hari Raya, which is supposed to be a joyous celebration for the Muslim community.

Nevertheless, we think that “Kuih Bangkit” is a unique approach to covey important moral values on Hari Raya. We certainly hope to see the director coming up with more works in the future!


#JurassicWorld: Movie Breaks Box Office Record; Chris Pratt Confirmed For Sequels

“Guardians of the Galaxy” propelled Chris Pratt to international mainstream fame, but with “Jurassic World“, the star continues to soar to unexplored heights.

And now, it seems like the actor has no intention to let go of his ties with the franchise either, as he has revealed plans to sign on for subsequent “Jurassic World” sequels. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Pratt humorously said, “They (the studios) have me for I think 38 movies or something“.

Nothing else has been revealed of a sequel, but we have loads of time ahead of us, as “Jurassic World” has just hit cinemas last Thursday (11th June). The movie made an explosive debut in the box office, grossing $511.8 million (approximately RM 1.9 billion) worldwide in its first 4 days of premiering.

The achievement has made “Jurassic World” the movie with the highest global box office opener of all time. It has taken over 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2“, which was the previous record holder at $483.2 million.

Directed and written by Colin Trevorrow, “Jurassic World” is the direct sequel to “Jurassic Park” as it takes place 22 years after the events of the original, skipping the events from “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic Park III”.

The movie was executive produced by Steven Spielberg, with Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley in the seat of producers. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver came up with the story, which was then adapted into a screenplay by Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly, Jaffa, and Trevorrow. The movie is currently playing in cinemas.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly, The Telegraph

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16 FoodPanda Riders Pranked After Food Order Arrived At The Same Place

In an incident that happened in Paco district in Manila, Philippines, a total of 16 food delivery riders found themselves pranked by a non-existent fake customer when all of them delivered the ordered meals to the same home address.

The incident became the talk of the town among netizens after the guy who received all the food orders, Vladimir Cuevas, shared the incident on his Facebook account. Speaking to Coconuts Manila, the 25-year-old said the delivery was worth up to USD$ 39.00 (RM157.00) and the orders came from different fast food chains.

Cuevas also suspected that he might have become the target of those who enjoy pranking delivery food riders. According to Cuevas, it is unlikely for him to receive food from so many riders at his home, as he did not use the FoodPanda app that day and the service itself wasn’t facing any disruption at that time.

Through a receipt displayed by one of the riders, the order came from two users – Triple X and Keisha Ann Bernabe. Feeling sorry for the delivery men, Cuevas ended up paying four of the riders and took the food they brought, while his neighbours paid for the food from the rest of them.


Bad Joke, Asthon, Bad Joke

In the latest buzz (well, aside from his dramatic divorce from Demi Moore and dating rumours), Ashton Kutcher has taken on four different comedic personalities for a Popchips snacks ad campaign.

The campaign, with a budget estimated at USD1.5 million includes large-scale ATL (Above The Line) mediums such as video and outdoor ads, coupled with “noise” executed via social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

As much as it was “great working with Ashton” (as quoted from the official statement from Keith Belling, the chief executive at Popchips Inc.), the campaign received poor feedback within the first week of its launch.

Not only did the campaign hold a spoof dating theme, which didn’t bode well with Ashton current personal situation, it was also slammed for being marginally racist. This was especially in regards to the “Punk’d” star posing as an Indian man looking for love. Perhaps it was his accent or the getup – but the “Indian way” wasn’t exactly the best way to sell potato chips.

Well, can’t say we see the connection either.

The ad has since been taken down from Popchips’ Facebook page and YouTube channel after a barrage of online outcries from Indian-Americans but the unofficial versions can still be seen:

[youtube id=”AezA2DPVSGQ” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Uh, what was with the Kardashian comment, Ashton?

Tech entrepreneur Anil Dash called the ad, “a hackneyed, unfunny advertisement featuring Kutcher in brownface talking about his romantic options with the entire punchline being that he’s doing it in a fake-Indian outfit and voice. That’s it, there’s seriously no other gag.”

“If you find yourself putting brown makeup on a white person in 2012 so they can do a bad ‘funny’ accent in order to sell potato chips, you are on the wrong course. Make some different decisions”, he added.

Das Racist (an indie hip hip band) also expressed how unimpressed they are via Twitter:


Local Star Henley Hii Shared How He Proposed To Pauline Tan

20th May is a special day for many reasons. It is not just another Valentine’s day. 520, when read in Mandarin – 五二零 (wǔ èr líng) – is a homonym to I love you 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ). Hence, it is tradition for a lot of couples to share lovey-dovey posts on their social media.

Even local celebrity Henley Hii (许亮宇) is not missing out on this auspicious day! He was generous to share the process of his marriage proposal with his now-wife and actress Pauline Tan (陳俐杏) on his social media accounts commemorating the day.

The Sabahan born actor/singer-songwriter had also released a music video for his latest song “+-×÷” and there were many hidden Easter eggs for fans to catch on. Henley can be seen confessing his feelings to his real-life significant, who played the female lead in the video and was seen wearing a wedding dress at the end of the video. The ‘Just Married’ car plate in the mv also hinted on their real-life marital status.

Adding on to this joyous day of 520, he officially announced his marriage ceremony that was held at the Klang Hokkien Association Hall. In his social media caption, Henley jokingly wrote, “In conjunction with today’s 520, I’m here to inform everyone that Pauline Tan is my ex girlfriend.” He also included the hashtags ‘#老婆大人’ (My wife) ‘许太’ (Mrs Hii) on the post as well. That was accompanied with his Bali vacation pictures and his marriage ceremony pictures.

In regards to the matrimony news, the singer thanked the fans for supporting the new song and shared more to various Chinese publications about his marriage. The couple were married on 17th May, adding, “The timing felt right, and we also wanted to explore our life and future together. So we decided to wed.”

Their bond was strengthened during the 3rd MCO when they were both quarantined together under the same roof for 3 months. The fact that they got along well and had great chemistry, only cemented the fact that they are meant for each other. Marriage was the next logical step.

A post shared by Henley Hii 许亮宇 (@henleyhii)

Instead of a public proposal, Henley opted for an intimate approach when he secretly slipped on the wedding ring while she was asleep during their trip to Bali. Aw… Sweetness overload!

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5 Highlights To Explore At Malaysia’s First VR/AR Theme Park In Mid Valley

Step forward thrill-seekers, it’s time to enter The Rift and exit reality.

The first ever hybrid Virtual Reality (VR)/ Augmented Reality (AR) theme park in Malaysia has just opened in Mid Valley Megamall! Located on the third floor beside Celebrity Fitness, The Rift covers 40,000 square feet and houses over a dozen out-of-this-world attractions.

The Rift offers a unique gaming experience where physical activity meets the latest immersive technology. The new theme park is broken up into 3 sections – Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality and E-Sports, Physical VR / AR, as well as The Rift Junior (which caters to children aged 12 and below).

Although there are more than a dozen virtual worlds and attractions inside The Rift, let us draw the spotlight on 5 must-try activities when you visit the venue.

In addition, visitors will also get to brave through the Minotaur’s maze in VR Adventure, experience a combo of rock climbing and augmented reality at the HoloWall section. Early birds will get to enjoy an opening promotional pricing of RM98 for The Rift package. Alternatively, you may go with the Exit Reality package, which costs RM55.

For more information, visit their official website or check out their Facebook page.


#UMF: Ultra Worldwide Makes History, Caps Off Prodigious Year In Asia

Ultra Worldwide, the world’s most international festival brand, ended a truly historic year across Asia this September, wrapping up a gargantuan 8-stop tour of the continent that saw hundreds of thousands of people attend Ultra events in the space of a mere 4 months.

Stretching across a staggering eight countries, Ultra Worldwide doubled its presence in the region in 2015, hosting debut editions in Macau, Singapore, Bali and the Philippines, in addition to return events in Korea, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan.

With the Ultra Korea festival and Road To Ultra events in Thailand and Macau kicking off an incredible string of events back in June, 5 more followed in the space of one week this September.

Ultra Japan – having expanded to 3 days in 2015 following its 2014 debut – sold out for a second consecutive year, consequently breaking its very own record for hosting the largest electronic music festival in Japanese history, welcoming 90,000 fans into the heart of downtown Tokyo.

Jubilant fans saw an all-star lineup including Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Nicky Romero, Skrillex and DJ Snake rock the main stage to the maximum, with the grounds of the Tokyo Odaiba Ultra Park itself literally shaking to the beat of some of the world’s biggest performers.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th also witnessed Ultra’s RESISTANCE stage make its Asian debut, where legends such as John Digweed, Sasha, Nic Fanciulli and Gorgon City catered to the Tokyo underground massive.

The inaugural edition of Road To Ultra Singapore took place at the iconic Marina Bay Sands Resort on 19th September, as it set a new record for the largest ever indoor music festival to take place on Singapore soil with over 11,000 people in attendance. Running concurrently with the Formula 1 weekend, talent on show at the event included the likes of Skrillex, Alesso and Nicky Romero for the eight-hour extravaganza, which also became the first ever completely cashless event experience at the Marina Bay Sands venue.

Following on from Singapore, Road To Ultra moved its way up the South China Sea, where thousands of revelers turned out to see the star-studded lineup at the inaugural edition of Road To Ultra Taiwan in the capital city of Taipei. Fans were treated to an unforgettable night of high-octane performances from renowned acts including Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren alongside support from Ansolo, Fedde Le Grand and Robin Schulz.

Having sold out within 2 weeks of going on sale earlier this year, Ultra Beach Bali lived up to its reputation as Asia’s most exotic party destination on 24th and 25th September, with the Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak hosting upwards of 10,000 fans in the most idyllic of settings.

With a lineup to match just about any Ultra Worldwide event, the likes of Alesso, Skrillex, A-Trak, Mija, Fedde Le Grand, Zeds Dead and a debut Asian performance from house extraordinaire, Kygo, ensured that there was something for everybody at Ultra Beach Bali, including another outing for the RESISTANCE Stage, which is rapidly becoming a staple aspect of all Ultra festivals.

The last, but certainly not least, stop on this immense journey took place at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Manila, the culturally booming capital city of the Philippines, where Road To Ultra Philippines closed out the mind-blowing tour as it delivered high-class sounds, once again, from Skrillex, Fedde Le Grand, A-Trak, Mija, Vicetone, Zeds Dead, and W&W, that had Ultranauts rocking until the early hours.

The complete list of Ultra tour stops is as follows:

Having created history over the last 4 months in Asia, Ultra Worldwide has, once again, proved its immense reputation as the most successful international festival brand in the world. With the Asian leg for 2015 now complete, plans for 2016 have already begun. Ever pushing boundaries, there are guaranteed to be even more surprises for the region, and indeed throughout the world come 2016.

We’ll leave you now with the official Ultra Miami 2015 aftermovie. Enjoy:

For further details on all of Ultra Worldwide’s upcoming events, go here.

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Netizens Feel Sorry For Boy Group IXFORM Trained Under BLACKPINK’s Lisa

An all-male project group from China has drawn keen attention from K-netizens over their concerning lack of activities. Apparently, this boy group barely had group activities, despite coming from a super famous reality competition program.

IXFORM is the boy group that was formed through the third season of ”Youth With You” (in which BLACKPINK’s Lisa also appeared as a trainer), and is slated to promote for 1.5 years. The group consists of nine talented members. Sadly though, after making their official debut in July last year, the group members only made a total of three appearances together.

After releasing their debut EP “Coming” on November 2021, the boys in IXFORM barely met each other or worked together. So far, the members only appeared on three occasions – when the group was formed, when they first promoted, and also when they released their debut single.

Needless to say, Korean netizens couldn’t help but express their shock and sympathy upon learning about the fate of the boy group. Some even named IXFORM as “the least active boy group in history”. Here are some of the comments left by them:

The survival show “Youth With You 3” attracted huge attention from fans, particularly due to Lisa making her return as a dance mentor. However, it was soon embroiled in a few controversies. Among those that made the headlines include Wei Hongyu’s cheating scandal, Tony Yu Jingtian’s departure, and also the milk-wasting controversy.

Eventually, the live finale was cancelled, and the top 9 contestants made their debut in complete silence.


“Beast” Review: A Thrilling, If Not Predictable, Trek Through The Dark Side Of Nature

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a really good animal survival horror film. The last one that truly struck fear into our urban, macchiato-sipping heats was “The Shallows” starring Blake Lively. A surprisingly effective thriller powered by Lively’s ferocious performance and a focused vision by Director Jaume Collet-Serra. The issue with survival horror films featuring wildlife is that the film is already at a disadvantage. Unlike the mystique of the Feral Predator in “Prey” or the demonic Moder in “The Ritual”, we all have a relatively clear idea of the danger of lions. In fact, we’ve been so well acquainted with them that we’ve come to have this romantic, anthropomorphised idea of them. That’s how we initially felt about adorable St. Bernard dogs but boy did “Cujo” change our minds.

So the question can director Baltasar Kormákur’s “Beast” awaken our primal fear of the wild as seen in films like “The Grey” and “Jaws”? Or will this be a feline filler between our next “Anaconda” film marathon? Let’s find out!

The film follows the story of a doctor named Nate Samuels who takes his two daughters to the wild plains of South Africa in an effort to reconnect with them. Ah yes, the classic tactic of putting your children in mortal danger to bond with them through the joys of collective trauma! He’s joined by an old friend with a lot of history. A daredevil wildlife conservationist named Martin Battles played by Sharlto Copley. It’s clear that the family dynamic between Nate and his two daughters are meant to be an emotional core of the film. We came into the film expecting them to serve as the familial trophy that actor Idris Elba’s character must win through bloody, jungle struggle. Turns out, we were wrong.

The film actually affords a good amount of agency to the two daugters: the older, teenager Meredith “Mare” Samuels and the youngest, Norah Samuels. Do they stupidly put themselves in danger sometimes for the sake of tension? Well, yeah sure but they also play essential roles in aiding Nate and Martin in their battle against a rogue lion on the prowl. Compared to the utterly useless brats in “The Purge”, Mare and Norah are model kids in horror films!

That being said, there are moments when they appear a little too calm and composed in a life-threatening situation. Furthermore, screenwriter Ryan Engle’s background from the School of Expository Dialogue and Yelling Our Feelings is rather telling throughout the film. The most grievous offender here has got to be Iyana Halley’s Mare, who takes snarky jabs at her father’s checkered past in the moments that seem rather out of place. Yeah, we don’t think anyone will prioritise moody, teenage angst over not being eaten by a man-eating animal if they were in her place.

Once you get through the initial introductions and all the necessary, if somewhat tedious, emotional stakes are set between Nate and his daughters, the film quickly bears its thriller teeth. It’s relatively well-paced with Nate, Martin and the girls presented with a terrifying dilemma. In the midst of a vengeful lion prowling near their damaged car, do they choose to brave its many attacks within and risk making their refuge their tomb? Or should they take their chances and make a run for it in the lion’s territory? Set to this backdrop, director Baltasar Kormákur and cinematographer Philippe Rousselot unleash bone-breaking, ear-snapping carnage!

Rousselot utilises the tight, claustrophobic spaces of the car to great effect with the camera squeezing into anxiety-inducing spaces where our desperate protagonists fight for their lives. When they finally do leave the vehicle to search for a way out, it becomes a frightening game of hide-and-seek. One thing to note is that while the film delivers some hair-raising thrills, it’s not exactly the action-packed battle between man and nature as the marketing makes it out to be.

In fact, it’s rather grounded in its tone. Even the final showdown between Elba’s Nate against the rogue lion is framed as more of a staggering war of attrition than a kinetic bloodbath. It’s bits of realism like this that helps in selling the terror and struggle this family has had to endure. The film does provide some commentary on the illegal poaching industry in Africa. Throughout the film, the lion acts as a sort of vengeful spirit who takes up a vendetta against humans by actively hunting them. It is a pretty corny idea to have the lion symbolise nature’s wrath but admittedly the beast does make for a terrible presence on screen, displaying malevolent cunning.

For us, Idris Elba can do no wrong. In spite of the film’s less-than-stellar writing, he still manages to inject some gravitas and levity in dialogue whenever it calls for it. It’s not exactly his most stirring performance but he does make for a likeable fish out of water in a deadly jungle. Sharlto Copley’s effortless charisma as the anti-poacher, safari guide Martin Battles is definitely one of the highlights of the film. The actor has played a man turning into an alien cockroach in “District 9” and a sadistic, hilarious mercenary in “Elysium” but who knew he had cool uncle energy too!

Leah Jeffries and Iyana Halley mostly manage to avoid the annoying child-trope in horror films. Perhaps if the film afforded more time for them to bond with dear old dad, we would have taken to them sooner. For now, we’ll say that we’re glad their not lion chow.

“Beast” offers some good family-friendly thrills starring Idris Elba as a dedicated father caught in an all too real life-or-death situation. While it lacks inspiration in its narrative and premise, Director Baltasar Kormákur makes up for it with a heart-pounding hunt with dynamic use of space and brisk pacing. If you’re looking to take the kids to the zoo but are reluctant to weather through the heat, “Beast” is a great compromise. You can now catch “Beast” in theaters today!

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"Beast" offers some good family-friendly thrills starring Idris Elba as a dedicated father caught in an all too real life-or-death situation. While it lacks inspiration in its narrative and premise, Director Baltasar Kormákur makes up for it with a heart-pounding hunt with dynamic use of space and brisk pacing. If you're looking to take the kids to the zoo but are reluctant to weather through the heat, "Beast" is a great compromise.


#IMSAsiaPacific: The World’s Premier Electronic Music Summit Comes To Asia

The world’s most influential electronic music summit will make its way to Asia in Singapore on December 11. IMS – the International Music Summit – which began life in Ibiza, was created in 2007 and will make its Asian debut in Singapore at the W Singapore – Sentosa Cove as IMS Asia-Pacific.

The Ibiza International Music Summit (IMS) is now revered as one of the world’s most important music industry gatherings in the world. IMS signals the beginning of the Ibiza season. It is both a high level music industry conference attended by the global industry leaders in the dance music scene, alongside a week of the most aspirational dance parties on the island – the official launch of the Ibiza season. It has a captive audience of the global dance music industry’s most important decision makers.

IMS is also a platform for labels, agents, managers and brands to debate, announce and explain new initiatives and strategies music to the industry.

Presented by BBC Radio One’s Pete Tong, IMS is regarded as the premier platform for the thought leaders in electronic music is where announcements for the season ahead are made and deals are confirmed. With talks by some of electronic dance music’s foremost DJs, their managers, and owners of the most significant brands in dance music, it is a place for everyone who is anyone in the dance music industry to network and create important business relationships.

A forum for music technology collaboration and creation, this is where the biggest minds in music come together to create new dance music apps, exclusive remixes, and music technology trials. IMS also showcases opportunities for the newest breakthrough artistes and record labels.

* Ticket price includes entry to IMS; buffet lunch; and drinks at cocktail party.

* 50% discount for students in music schools at SAE Institute and Republic Polytechnic.

* IMS delegates enjoy W Singapore – Sentosa Cove special room rate at S$360 per night (9th – 12th December).

Buy tickets and book rooms at W Singapore – Sentosa Cove here.

Pictures from the previous IMS events here:

For more information, visit their official website.