Trendy Artists of the Week: CNBLUE, FT Island, N-Dubz, LANY, Morat, Damso

Lee Hong-Gi of FT Island and Jung Yong-Hwa from CNBLUE to Hold Solo Christmas Events in Japan

While Christmas is not an official holiday in Japan, that doesn’t mean the island nation has none of that holiday spirit in December. In fact, two major musical acts are doing Christmas-themed shows in Japan next month.

And both of them are going solo, despite being best known for being part of a band. Lead singer Lee Hong-gi of the South Korean rock band FT Island put out his debut album as a lone performer, “FM302”, back in 2015. While he’s still part of his band, he also makes sure to get out there on his own. This is exactly what he’s doing on December 23rd of this year, doing a live holiday concert and talk show at the Pacifico Yokohama National Convention Hall in Yokohama, Japan. The event is somewhat clumsily titled “Merry Hong’mas”.

Meanwhile, Jung Yong-Hwa from the K-pop band CNBLUE also wants to have a chance to spread holiday cheer in the Land of the Rising Sun. In the wake of his successful solo tour in Japan back in the fall, he’s back doing one more show on Christmas Eve, December 24. The venue for that event is the same as for Hong-gi’s concert.

Tulisa from N-Dubz Gets Hit in the Face with Cell Phone at Reunion Concert

The British hip hop group N-Dubz is back together after over a decade. The trio broke up back in 2011 so the three artists, Dappy, Tulisa, and Fazer, could focus on their solo careers. However, they got back together and even dropped a new single “Charmer” in May 2022.

To celebrate their reunion, they also went on tour. However, apparently, not all fans are happy about the hip hop group’s reuniting, as one of the members of the audience at their show at the OCO Hydro in Glasgow, UK hit singer Tulisa in the face with a cell phone. Luckily, she wasn’t badly hurt and could continue the show. She even had the presence of mind to quip “Sometimes in life you get hit in the face and you crack the f*** on. Don't we Glasgow?”.

LANY Faces Some Backlash for a Little Stunt at Singapore Airport

This story can serve as a quick reminder that some people online can get real agitated over harmless jokes. As the American pop-rock band LANY arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore to perform at the National Stadium, they decided to have a little fun. So, they stood on the moving baggage carousel to pose for a couple photos. They shared them to their Instagram story, to the chagrin of some. These people weren’t thrilled that the two members of LANY, both in their 30’s, acted like kids in their opinion.

Morat Talks to Billboard Magazine About Viral Remix of Their Hit Single “No Se Va”

Morat was recently in Madrid, Spain at the Los40 Music Awards. While there, Billboard Magazine took the chance to ask the Colombian folk pop band about their thoughts of a remix of their 2019 single “No Se Va” going viral on the internet. The new rendition was made by the Mexican group Grupo Frontera.

Morat expressed their contentment over the development. In fact, as they pointed out, this has happened to multiple songs of theirs. They added: “it’s great that the song is transcending”.

Damso Angers Fans by Refusing to Perform “Amnésie” at Amnéville Concert

Belgian-Congolese rapper Damso recently performed a concert at Amnéville, France. However, some left the event with a bitter feeling as he refused to perform his 2016 hit “Amnésie”, despite multiple requests for it from the audience.