Author: Rap Hooks

Kylie Cantrall is entering a new era with the release of her upcoming EP, Valley Girl Problems.

The Disney star’s latest project is set for release on July 24. Valley Girl Problems is an eight-track EP that marks a new chapter for the Venezuelan-American artist, as she continues to transition from her acting career and her role as Red in the Descendants franchise to becoming a household name in pop music. 

The EP’s lead single “Carrie Bradshaw” was released in April, while other tracks include “Grwm,” the title track, “Closet,” “Girls Like U,” “Yuck!” and two interludes titled “The Problem” and “The Answer.”

“I’ve always heard people say, ‘Write what you know,’ and that’s exactly what I did with this EP,” Cantrall said of the project. “Valley Girl Problems truly captures everything I’ve experienced over the last year and how I’ve embraced this new chapter of my life.”

Valley Girl Problems was produced by Tricky Stewart — known for working with artists such as Rihanna and Tyla — and written alongside Tayla Parx, who co-wrote the song inspired by the iconic Sex and the City character and is a hitmaking co-writer for Ariana Grande, Panic! at the Disco and more.

The release of Valley Girl Problems will follow Cantrall’s return to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, a sequel to The Rise of Red, debuting July 16 on Disney Channel. The Disney production marks the fifth installment in the Descendants franchise, in which she portrays the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, played by singer Rita Ora.

Earlier this year, the actress and singer signed to Republic Records, in partnership with APG and Heroine Music. Last year, Cantrall released her debut EP, B.O.Y., which included the singles “Boy for a Day,” “Goodie Bag,” “Denim” and “See U Tonight.”

The Valley Girl Problems track list:

Dave Grohl has heard plenty of great albums. But when asked to name a “perfect record,” one Pixies classic immediately came to mind.

In a new interview with BBC 6 Music, the Foo Fighters frontman named Pixies’ 1988 album Surfer Rosa as one of the records he considers perfect, praising its production, songwriting and vocal chemistry.

“I love that record so much for a lot of reasons,” Grohl said. “One, that it was produced by the almighty Steve Albini. And it was maybe the first album to become popular and showcase his incredible engineering sonic technique.”

Produced by Albini and released as Pixies’ debut studio album, Surfer Rosa became a defining alternative rock release, pairing jagged guitars, sharp dynamic shifts and surreal lyrics with the vocal interplay of Black Francis and Kim Deal.

Grohl pointed to that combination as part of what made the album so enduring for him.

“[Black Francis], the singer of the Pixies, was an amazing lyricist,” Grohl said. “His lyrics were just… they kind of teetered back and forth from abstract intellectual to things that just sounded so absurd and almost like dumb in a way.”

He continued, “His voice and Kim Deal, their two voices together, it was just such a wonderful blend. And it was unusual at the time. They really did sort of coin this specific dynamic and the simplicity of it was really powerful.”

Grohl’s admiration for Surfer Rosa is hardly surprising, given the Pixies’ widely acknowledged influence on the loud-quiet-loud dynamics that helped shape alternative rock in the late ’80s and ’90s. Nirvana, in which Grohl played drums, were among the bands often associated with that lineage, while Foo Fighters have carried elements of melodic noise and hard-charging guitar rock into their own catalog.

The Foo Fighters leader ended his praise with a simple measure of the album’s staying power.

“That record I’ve probably listened to 10,000 times, and I still love it,” Grohl said. “I could still listen to it every day.”

Grohl’s comments arrive as Foo Fighters continue their latest era behind Your Favorite Toy, the band’s 12th studio album. Released in April, the album followed 2023’s But Here We Are and marked the band’s first studio album with drummer Ilan Rubin.

Duffy has taken another step back into music with a secret London concert. The Welsh singer performed an intimate show at Hoxton Hall on Sunday (July 5), marking her first full concert in roughly 15 years.

The performance followed a fan ballot announced last month, with the venue kept under wraps until the day of the show.

The “Mercy” singer, born Aimée Anne Duffy, invited fans to apply for the small-capacity event in June, telling followers that she planned to perform new music.

“I’m doing a secret intimate gig in London on the 5th July, next month, and I would love nothing more than for some of you to attend,” she wrote at the time. “It’s only small capacity so we can only select a few, but really looking forward to it. I will sing some new songs.”

While a full set list has not been made public, one fan wrote on X that they were “front row” to hear Duffy perform “Warwick Avenue” live, adding, “That voice is insane!”

The London show comes as Duffy continues a gradual return to public life after years away from the spotlight. In May, she shared a photo from a recording studio on Instagram and wrote, “If only I could find the right words to explain how much I’ve missed you all. Working on coming back to you.”

Duffy rose to global prominence in 2008 with her debut album, Rockferry, and the breakout single “Mercy.” The album won best pop vocal album at the 2009 Grammy Awards, while Duffy was also nominated for best new artist and best female pop vocal performance for “Mercy.”

Her second album, Endlessly, followed in 2010, after which she largely stepped away from the music industry. In 2020, Duffy publicly shared that she had been drugged, kidnapped and sexually assaulted, later explaining that the trauma was the reason for her long absence from music and public life.

Earlier this year, Disney+ announced an upcoming Hulu Original documentary, which will follow the singer as she shares her story in depth. The project is produced out of the U.K. and will feature access to Duffy, along with interviews with friends, family and music industry figures.

Missy Higgins, The Teskey Brothers and ICEHOUSE will help launch The Point, a new Fuzzy-presented concert series at the Fleet Steps at Sydney’s Mrs Macquarie’s Point.

The spring series will take over the harbourside site across September, October and November, with Hot Dub On The Harbour and Harbourlife also part of the lineup. Performances will be staged on the Fleet Steps’ floating stage, placing the run of shows against one of Sydney’s most recognizable outdoor music backdrops.

ICEHOUSE will open the series on Wednesday, Sept. 30, with support from Little Quirks. Higgins follows on Thursday, Oct. 1, for what is billed as her only Sydney show of 2026, while The Teskey Brothers will perform on Friday, Oct. 2, with a 10th anniversary show for their debut album, Half Mile Harvest.

The Point continues in November with Hot Dub On The Harbour on Friday, Nov. 20, before Harbourlife returns to the site on Saturday, Nov. 21.

Fuzzy’s connection to the Fleet Steps dates back more than two decades, with Harbourlife first launching at the location in 2003. For the promoter, The Point also arrives as it approaches its 30-year milestone.

“We have been hosting shows at Fleet Steps since Harbourlife launched here in 2003 and the magic of this location has never worn off,” Fuzzy CEO Adelle Robinson said in a statement. “As Fuzzy approaches 30 years, launching The Point feels like the perfect way to mark that milestone, opening up this extraordinary setting to even more artists and audiences. We cannot wait for Sydney to experience what we have planned.”

For Higgins, the show adds another major date to what has been a busy period for the Australian singer-songwriter, following the continued success of her 2024 album The Second Act, which flew to No. 1 in Australia, and its accompanying national run.

“I’m really excited to be playing with my band at The Point Series in Sydney this October,” Higgins said. “It’s a spectacular setting at Fleet Steps and we’ll be performing on a huge floating stage right on Sydney Harbour. This is our only Sydney show for 2026 and it’s going to be very special.”

The Teskey Brothers’ appearance will mark 10 years since Half Mile Harvest, the Melbourne band’s 2017 debut that helped establish their soul, blues and roots sound with a wider audience.

Tickets for ICEHOUSE, Hot Dub On The Harbour and Harbourlife are on sale now. Tickets for Missy Higgins and The Teskey Brothers go on sale to the general public at 12 p.m. AEST on Thursday, July 16, with a Fuzzy presale beginning at 12 p.m. AEST on Wednesday, July 15.

The Point 2026 dates:
ICEHOUSE with Little Quirks — Wednesday, Sept. 30
Missy Higgins — Thursday, Oct. 1
The Teskey Brothers — Friday, Oct. 2
Hot Dub On The Harbour — Friday, Nov. 20
Harbourlife — Saturday, Nov. 21

Yungblud has received support from fellow musicians and celebrities after sharing an emotional post about online criticism, industry skepticism and accusations that he is an “industry plant.”

The British artist, born Dominic Harrison, opened up on social media after headlining Bludfest in Králové, Czechia, where he became visibly emotional onstage in front of thousands of fans. In a lengthy caption, he said he debated whether to share the clip because he did not want the moment to seem performative, but ultimately decided to post it because “this is what happened and it’s genuine.”

“To be truthful. Recently, I’ve been really struggling,” Yungblud wrote, adding that after leaving the stage feeling elated, he later had “a breakdown” alone in the shower.

He went on to describe the difficulty of processing major career moments in an era where artists are expected to move quickly from one milestone to the next. “Being an artist in this day and age is so strange because everything moves so quickly,” he wrote.

Yungblud also addressed the criticism that has followed him throughout his rise, writing that “the amount of hate and disbelief” from strangers online and “bitter musicians” had weighed on him. He said all he had tried to do over the past decade was “spread love, build something I believe in and unify people in a safe space.”

The rocker also referenced a recent Blunt Magazine article that pushed back on the “industry plant” discourse surrounding him, writing that he felt validated by the piece.

The musician ended the post by thanking his fan community and acknowledging that he needs time to process the pace of his career before moving into his next chapter.

“To all my beautiful community reading this I just want to let you know how lucky I feel to have you all,” he wrote. “What an honour it is to spend this life with you.”

The post drew supportive messages from across the rock and entertainment worlds. Slayer and Exodus guitarist Gary Holt rejected the “industry plant” label in the comments, writing that an industry plant “cannot do what you did at Back to the Beginning,” referring to Yungblud’s performance at last year’s Black Sabbath-linked event.

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian also praised the performance, writing, “I stood side stage at BTTB and watched you breathe rarified air the way you elevated ‘Changes.’ You’ve earned it all Dom. Cheers brother.”

SZA offered a brief message of support, writing, “Rooting for you,” while actors Alyssa Milano and Charisma Carpenter were also among those responding. Milano praised Yungblud for allowing fans into his heart, while Carpenter said the post made her want to discover his music.

The moment comes on the back of a genuinely significant run for the artist born Dominic Harrison. His 2025 double album Idols debuted at No. 73 on the Billboard 200, while his collaborative EP with Aerosmith, One More Time, released in November, reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Albums chart, marking his first U.S. top 10.

Zara Larsson has signed with RCA Records, a source confirmed with Billboard. The singer-songwriter was previously with Epic Records, her label home for more than a decade.

The signing was first reported by Hits Daily Double.

Larsson, a native of Sweden, has released a total of five studio albums, including her debut, 1, in 2014 when she was just 16. But she scored a major breakout beginning last fall, when her verse on the remix of PinkPantheress’ “Stateside” caught fire and eventually landed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.

Meanwhile, her 2016 single “Lush Life” went viral on TikTok, pushing the song back onto the Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 35. The renewed interest around the singer’s catalog pushed “Midnight Sun,” the title track from her 2025 album, into the upper reaches of the Hot 100, where it hit a new peak of No. 19 on the chart dated July 4. Last month, the song also landed at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart, where it has remained for 23 weeks.

In the wake of this burst of success, Larsson was named Billboard‘s Women in Music Breakthrough for 2026.

“I think this year cemented me as not only a girl with popular songs,” Larsson said in an April interview with Billboard, “but a girl worth talking about in pop culture.”

Larsson released the remix album Midnight Sun: Girls Trip in May.

RCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment/confirmation on the signing.