Last night, my partner — who loves music but rarely keeps up with new releases — said to me with total confidence, "Oh yeah, they were playing 'Cappuccino' at King Slice.'" It tracks that someone whose favourite pop hits are of the "Say So," "High Horse," and "Levitating" variety would clock the siren call that is Sabrina Caprenter's latest — separate from me singing nothing but its gummy hooks since its release. At every turn, "Espresso" is elastic. It's one last gasp of air from pop's disco revival that's outlived many a micro-trend, boasting sticky synth licks, sparse beachy guitars and w ..read more

Nicki Minaj continued to unravel her illustrious career in Toronto last night as concertgoers are attacking the rapper online for showing up nearly three hours late to her concert at Scotiabank Arena. Fans are calling for Minaj to "retire" after she left them waiting until after 11 p.m. for the concert to start.  The worst part? Last night's delays marked the third time in as many weeks that Minaj had shortchanged her Canadian fans following late starts in Montreal and her previous Toronto show, at which she was over an hour late, leaving fans waiting for long durations in between sets ..read more

In this day and age, the release of a Taylor Swift album is not only a seismic cultural event, but a lucrative one. Surprising absolutely nobody, The Tortured Poets Department has already footed the bill of being the biggest economic boom yet, with the pop star smashing up numerous streaming and sales records like Matty Healy's bike. Per Universal Music's data, TTPD has had the biggest album debut of the streaming era in Canada. This marks both Swift's biggest Canadian debut and her 14th consecutive No. 1 album, trailing only the Beatles for the most of all time in the country. The Tortured ..read more

Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day weren't the only ones cracking up while portraying Beavis and Butt-Head on SNL earlier this month, but the two were better at staying in character while crashing the red carpet at a premiere of Gosling's newest film, The Fall Guy. Gosling walked the red carpet twice Tuesday at the Los Angeles premiere — once as himself, with co-star Emily Blunt, and again with Day with spectacular make-up to have them appear as Mike Judge's animated duo. Knowing that Beavis and Butt-Head have, historically, had plenty to say about pop culture, it isn't surprising that Gosling and D ..read more

Afrobeats showstopper Arya Starr has announced her highly anticipated sophomore album — the follow-up to her watershed 2021 debut, 19 & Dangerous.  The Year I Turned 21 drops on May 31 via Universal Music, the artist announced on social media. She also shared the album artwork and the tracklist, including previous singles "Rhythm & Blues" and "Commas," which you can find in full below. The 14-track collection features collaborations with Giveon, Anitta, Coco Jones, Asake, Seyi Vibez and Milar. Starr was already knee-deep into her sonic evolution when Exclaim! caught up with her ..read more

How do you make a Laufey set interesting? When the highs are unassuming bossa nova bops and the lows are ballads gentle as falling snow, how do you keep a restless audience enrapt for an hour and half? At Laufey's Tuesday night Massey Hall set, there were no coffee shops to browse, no dinners to multi-task, no second monitors to game on, no homework to review and no books to read. (This last one is technically untrue — TYPE Books was selling novels from Laufey's book club by the merch table). So, my curiosity was potent. As I sat among a sea of coquette bows and sun dresses, I wondered how L ..read more

The JUNO Awards and Slaight Music have officially opened submissions for their 10th annual Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class development program.  The three emerging Canadian artists chosen for the program will take part in an intensive mentorship week, which features performance and interview coaching, networking and collaboration opportunities and more. Artists from the class will also have a chance to receive cash prizes and attend and perform at the 2025 JUNO Awards and JUNOfest. In all, the program is valued at over $100,000. Master Class alumni from its decade-long tenure include ri ..read more

Great rom-coms are few and far between these days — but director and co-writer Michael Showalter's recent entry, The Idea of You, based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, is one that hits the jackpot. Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old art gallery owner and single mother, is frustrated when her ex-husband Daniel (Reid Scott) bails on his plan to take their 16-year-old daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) to Coachella to see the (fictional) band August Moon. Cue the meet-cute. At the festival, Solène mistakes a trailer for the washroom only to find out it belongs to 24-year-old Hayes (Nic ..read more

Organizers behind Real Love Winnipeg's flagship event, Real Love Summer Fest, have announced the lineup details for its 2024 edition, taking place July 26 to 28 in Teulon, MB. Babehoven, Cola, Jennifer Castle, Serengeti, Taylor Janzen, Boniface, Cassidy Mann, Virgo Rising, Slow Spirit, Jamboree, Hut Hut, Beth, Locater, Discovery Zone, Goon, haha Laughing, Neighbour Andy and more will take the stage at the Ignite Retreats site this summer for the ninth annual festival. It will likewise feature local food vendors, art installations, and camping in the woods.  Full weekend, single-day and ..read more

It's a big week for Frank Turner: he's releasing his 10th studio album, Undefeated, on Friday (May 3). That day will now also mark the beginning of ticket sales for a newly announced run of Canadian tour dates with his band, the Sleeping Souls. In addition to the inaugural Toronto edition of his Lost Evenings festival, Turner will stop by five cities in the western part of the country this September. "Of COURSE we're bringing the Undefeated tour to Canada this year," the singer-songwriter said. "I mean, we already have Lost Evenings in Toronto, but there's other places to visit too. Here's s ..read more