With music, stories and news of K-pop all over the place, on Instagram, Twitter, Thread and other social media platforms, and dozens of boy and girl bands emerging from South Korea, believe me when I say that K-pop is irresistible. The Korean wave began somewhere in 2012, and once BTS came on the scene, it became a tidal wave.

Being a member of the biggest boy band, BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), in the world, has a bunch of perks. The seven-member band is known all over the world not only for their music and good looks but for more fans than even the pop band The Beatles ever had.

Bang Si-Hyuk, a producer and songwriter, along with his K-pop label Big Hit Entertainment, created BTS, which debuted in 2013. He began his career at J.Y.P. Entertainment, one of the “big three” companies that helped turn K-pop into a five-billion dollar industry. K-pop, K-dramas and Korean genre films became a source of Korean soft power.

The Bangtan Boys, or BTS, have been the buzz of the music industry for more than a decade now. The lads, Kim Taehyung, Jimin, Jin, Suga, Rap Monster, J-hope, and Jung Kook are the official members of the group.

Jeon Jeong-Guk, known as Jung Kook, is a rapper, singer, and dancer. Like many of his bandmates, he is the heartthrob of young girls across the globe.
Jung Kook’s journey from humble beginnings to being a K-pop sensation was by no means easy. He was born on 1 September 1997 in Busan, South Korea, and spent his childhood with his parents and older brother Hyung. Jung Kook attended Baekyang Elementary School and later switched to Singu Middle School in Seoul. He has enjoyed sports since childhood, and if not for music, he was all set to make sports a career, his first love being the game of badminton.

Get the digital edition of the September 2024 issue to read the full article.

The post Jung Kook appeared first on The Teenager Today.

U.S. based singer Zachary Ray and Mumbai singer Shreya Bhattacharya have been writing and producing electro pop songs for the past two years.

Before they release their EP later this year, the duo have released a single, Chasing The Sun. The song is infused with a cyberpunk aesthetic, blending electronic sounds and pop elements to create a unique and futuristic vibe. The song is a joyful and collaborative process.

For Zachary and Shreya, creating Chasing The Sun was a joyful and collaborative process. They enjoyed combining their ideas and talents to create something special. Together, they fine-tuned the lyrics and melody, creating a cohesive and captivating song.

The post Chasing the Sun appeared first on The Teenager Today.

16-year-old TRISH-A’s song MVP is about her trying to regain her own self-esteem, when she found herself frequently ignored by her closest friend.

“Our relationship had deteriorated into one of apathy and I found myself constantly making excuses for her. Writing this song really helped me reinstate my sense of self-worth, establishing that I am the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in this equation. I will promote this song by sharing content that reiterates the importance of self-preservation in such situations”, says the young singer who started singing when she was just 5 years old.

A Top 24 finalist at the Nexa Music Experience, TRISH-A’s main goal is to have her music resonate with people globally, and with her unique 4-octave range, she is well on her way to achieve that.

The post MVP appeared first on The Teenager Today.

At just 18 years, singer-songwriter Shriya (Rao), has already released 5 singles, and has more than 50 live performances to her credit at prestigious venues across Mumbai.

Shriya’s music blends contemporary R&B/soul and pop, and is inspired by the music of Daniel Caesar, Summer Walker, Erykah Badu, Mac Miller and Tate McRae. When Shriya isn’t producing original music or performing live, she has lent her voice to doing TV commercials for leading brands such as Nykaa Fashion, Tang, and Lenskart.

Some time ago, Sony Music India’s sub label, DayOne, released two of her songs Ride For Me and On My Mind. Both tracks were viewed over 180,000 times on YouTube, with On My Mind alone crossing 50,000 streams on Spotify.

VERUS FERREIRA spoke with the Mumbai-based artist to learn about her musical journey.

How did music get to be a part of your life?
I have been singing as far back as I can remember. Disney movies and my dad singing to me as a toddler were definitely my biggest inspirations. My family was super supportive and started my formal vocal training when I was 9-10 years old. From then on, there was no looking back.

Do you recall your first-ever performance and the first track you ever sang? Were you nervous?
I did sing at many school assemblies, but my first performance on stage outside of school was at an event at the Royal Western Turf Club for my vocal teacher Stephen Fernandes. I still remember that I sang a super intricate jazz song by Nikki Yanoufsky called Something New. Interestingly, my first ever studio recording was also with my teacher of Something New when I was 12 years old.

Did you take up any vocal training to polish your singing skills?
Yes, I trained extensively with Stephen Fernandes (Sobo House of Music), and also did the Pro-junior course at the True School of Music. Then when I was 16 years old, I started training with Stacie Dunlop, a Toronto-based vocal technique coach.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today digital edition to read the full article.

The post Shriya: Music’s On Her Mind appeared first on The Teenager Today.

The Revisit Project is back with another release, one of many single releases this year. Never Too Far talks about how distance helps the love grow fonder between two lovers.

Taking inspiration from Robert Glasper, Erykah Badu and modern R‘n’B, gospel roots, the writing is majorly focused on how stressors are necessary to grow as individuals, and standing through the toughest period of relationships actually teaches us more than the happier period ever will.

The jazz-funk infused single with intricate lyrics is already featured on Indie English on Spotify, and the band was the cover artist on Wynk Music’s Indie English playlist.

The post Never Too Far appeared first on The Teenager Today.

The Wanted have all the ingredients of a boy band. Good looks, good melodies and above all, music that would make you cuddle up or jump onto the dance floor. As is with boy bands, the one thing you can expect them talking about is love, love and more love.

The Wanted, for those who don’t know, are a British pop boy band based in London, comprising of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes. Tom Parker, who was also part of the band, passed away in 2022 due to cancer.

The Wanted burst onto the pop scene in 2010, when the boy band era had almost vanished, with little or no competition, except for co-patriots One Direction on their heels to steal the limelight, if not the girls.

Two members of the band, Siva Kaneswaran and Max George, were in Mumbai in mid-May and performed a concert at Dublin Square, Phoenix Market city, Kurla as part of their India Tour, organised by KCT Entertainment. The duo gave a wonderful performance in front of their fans, with two lucky fans getting a chance to be with them on stage for one of their songs. The boys harmonized well, their vocals were pretty amazing.

Soon after the concert, VERUS FERREIRA spoke to band members Siva Kaneswaran and Max George on their debut visit to Mumbai, the loss of bandmate Tom Parker, the band’s reunion, their Greatest Hits album and the future of the band.

VF: What does this visit to India mean to you? 
MG: Yes we are visiting India for the first time. As a band, we have always wanted to travel to meet our Indian fans. Seeing the online support was incredible, especially for Siva as his heritage is South Indian. 

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Boy Band Blues appeared first on The Teenager Today.

After releasing three indie tracks back to back with Riya Duggal and Lothika Jha, singer-songwriter Yohan Marshall is out with his second release this year — Just For Once featuring Mali, a popular and versatile singer-songwriter on the music scene.

On Just For Once, Marshall collaborates with Mali to deliver an emotional cinematic-pop masterpiece that perfectly blends acoustic singer-songwriter elements with orchestral grandiose. The song is a reminder that anything is possible if you never give up. Acting as a friend reaffirming your faith during your toughest moments, the song speaks about overcoming adversity, breaking limiting beliefs and reaching for your potential no matter what. The song features a short-form content, a high-production music video, and an acoustic version.

The post Just for Once appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Anyone would be rendered speechless in the presence of global icon singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who at 5’10” towers over many singers in the music industry.

Riding high with the launch of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, her eleventh studio album, Taylor is at the pinnacle of stardom, raking in success once again.

Her Look

Taylor radiates large doses of charm, grace and sexiness. After all she is one of the highest-paid singers in the world today. When she smiles, her luminous blue eyes, with that tint of black, sparkle. Her figure stands out, but with neatly tucked in outfits that don’t reveal her true statistics. The same cannot be said of other female music stars who are known more for what they reveal than their singing. With Taylor, it’s the other way round. It was for this reason that I wrote about her and decided she was our cover girl and cover story in The Teenager, September 2009 issue. The Teenager Today always looks at the inner beauty of a person, rather than outside appearances. Taylor fitted the profile perfectly then and even now, 15 years later.

What really makes her the eye candy of social media, newspapers and magazines around the world that serenade her all the time?

Her Lyrics

As America’s sweetheart, Taylor could not be missed on the country circuit that she began with, moving on to a more pop-rock edge as the albums rolled out. She’s been around for some time, and has carved a niche for herself after her self-titled debut album skyrocketed her to superstardom. Since the age of fourteen she has had a full songwriter’s publishing deal, most often in collaboration with many others who helped her music grow.

Now as a 34-year-old, Taylor has been praised for her maturity, right from her second album onwards, in which she sang about boys and heartbreak, fun, sneaking out of windows at night to meet boys, while gently playing the guitar and self-penning all 16 songs on her album, giving her clear leeway to speak her heart out.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post She’s the Greatest Of All Time! appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Indo-Canadian singer-songwriter Neela’s groundbreaking animation music video by Anokhei titled Forgive, delves into the intricate layers of forgiveness and self-worth amidst heartache.

Penned and composed by Neela herself, the R&B soul track promises to captivate audiences with its raw emotion and soulful melodies. She says, “The lyrics of Forgive explore the complex emotions tied to love, forgiveness, and letting go. Despite the heartache, there’s a profound maturity in the willingness to forgive and find self-worth. The song implies that the lessons learned and the healing experienced in this relationship will not be forgotten and passed on to future generations, fostering growth and understanding. The song captures the bittersweet essence of love, forgiveness, and the unpredictable nature of what comes next.”

The post Forgive appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Bangalore-based, ultra-talented singer-songwriter and committed Gen Z icon, Mary Ann Alexander, is slowly but surely getting her music recognized all over the country and probably overseas as well. The Indian audience is now discovering her freshness and her irresistibly moving lyrics. Mary’s unifying and intimate, powerful, melancholic, sweet, mainstream yet trendy songs are generational anthems about love or modern times.

Mary started singing and occasionally playing the piano at a very young age, tagging along with her father when he went to the studio for his music sessions. This got her closer to what she wanted to do — write and sing songs.

The bespectacled and dusky Mary Ann Alexander recently performed at Vh1 Supersonic in Pune. VERUS FERREIRA met up with the singer who he said is very committed to her music and what she wants to do in her life.

Can you share with us your growing up days, academically, and what you intended to do before taking music? 
I went to Carmel Convent School in Trivandrum, Kerala. I grew up in a very encouraging, artistic household. I had a lot of interest in anything art-related like drawing, dancing, baking, and lots more, but I always knew that singing and making music was within me. Since my family was apprehensive of me following my passion for music, my plan was to become a graphic designer. 

So how did you get into music? 
My dad is a playback singer, and I used to spend a lot of time with him in the studio. I started recording for projects at the age of seven. I also took every opportunity to sing on stage. Besides, I can play a little bit of keys and guitar and produce too. But I mostly ideate and arrange music using layers of my voice.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Mary Ann Alexander: Proud Mary appeared first on The Teenager Today.