Video: Jin Akanishi feat. Jason Derulo – “Test Drive”

It’s not often an Asian pop star crosses-over into the English market, but that’s exactly what Jin Kanishi is attempting with his new single “Test Drive” featuring Jason Derulo. A superstar in Japan [and former member of boy band KAT-TUN], Jin has hit #1 in the U.S. on the iTunes Dance Album Chart with “Test Drive” and was recently cast alongside Keanu Reeves in the Hollywood film 47 Ronin.

However, “Test Drive” is very much a cookie-cutter track that leans heavily on its Jason Derulo feature as a selling point – with Jin adding little else to its appeal. The track does great at replicating the urban-dance sound that is so favoured at the moment, but if Jin has real hopes of forging a music career outside of Japan, he needs to start bringing something inspired to the table.

This is not it.

2 Minutes with Timomatic

It was barely a year ago that Timomatic was laid-up with a back injury, slowing the momentum from his stint on So You Think You Can Dance and interrupting a budding career as a professional dancer.

However, it would prove a rare blessing in disguise.

The injury forced the 24 year-old to refocus attention on his true passion – music – and has seen his dream career serendipitously unfurl with opportunity after accolade over the past six months.

An appearance on Australia’s Got Talent lead to a recording contract with Sony Music, then came the release of his platinum-certified debut single “Set It Off”, and the signing of a worldwide publishing agreement with music goliath EMI.

And as if that were not enough, Timomatic was recently granted the pleasure of spending 2 minutes with Rhyme & Reason – where we asked him a bunch of questions that have absolutely nothing to do with anything.

Check it out:

How do you start your day?
Usually I like to start my day listening to some inspiring and motivating music then hit the gym.

If you were to open a restaurant, what would it be called and what cuisine would you serve?
I would call it Tim’s Chicken. It would be a restaurant specialising in the many different delicious flavours of chicken.

How do you want to be remembered?
Wow, deep question [laughing]. I want to be remembered as a person who gave more than he got, a person who inspired others to pursue their dreams, and a person who lived passionately.

If you were limited to a vocabulary of five words for the rest of your life, which five words would you choose to keep in your lexicon?
Fresh, Thanks, Yes, No, and Incredible.

What is your biggest regret?
That I didn’t chase my dream sooner.

If you could relive any moment from your life thus far, what would it be?
Hearing my song on the radio for the first time… that was epic for me.

If you were allowed to listen to just three albums for the rest of your life, which three albums would you choose?
Off The Wall by Michael Jackson, Confessions by Usher, Year of the Gentlemen by Ne-Yo.

What was your first job?
Cleaner at a Chinese restaurant in Darwin.

What city would you love to adopt as your second home?
The Gold Coast.

When was the last time you were left speechless?
Watching the movie The Help. Powerful movie.

If you could banish one food from the face of the Earth, what would it be?
Mushrooms. They gotta go.

If you could banish one item of clothing from the face of the Earth, what would it be?
I would banish those Crocs shoes for sure.

Timomatic’s debut single “Set It Off” is available on iTunes here.

Mixtape: J Star – ‘The Plane Is My Home: What Did You Expect?’

Canadian rapper J Star has pulled Rosa Acosta, Hoopz and DJ Whoo Kid to host his new mixtape The Plane Is My Home: What Did You Expect?, which also features production from fellow Canuck Boi-1da and guest verses from the likes of Trae Tha Truth and Vado.

“I chose the name for my mixtape because everyone has an expectation of a project even before they hear it, even artwork draws a certain expectation. With the range I’ve collected there is music for everyone on this effort. The only thing I ask is that you pick out what you want and put it on replay,” say J Star.

You can check out The Plane Is My Home: What Did You Expect? by downloading it HERE.

The Roots ‘Undun’ Video Teasers

As The Roots prepare to release their thirteenth album Undun next week, ?uestlove and crew have prefaced its release with four visual teasers that set-up the story of the album.

“‘Undun’ is the story of a kid who is a criminal, but wasn’t born a criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive “bug-eyed” gunrunner… he’s actually thoughtful and neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes most sense to him at a given moment… Atthe end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?“ – The Roots

Watch the four superbly shot video teasers after the jump: Continue reading »

Gallery: Take40 ‘Stars of Summer’ Party

This past Saturday saw Sydney’s social set gather at the glorious $20 million Point Piper mansion of catering king John Lanzafame for the Take40 Australia Stars of Summer Party, presented by the new Toyota Yaris.

The rain paused and the clouds parted as guests enjoyed gourmet nibblies, vodka shots and performances by Havana Brown and Sneaky Sound System – which was made only more spectacular by the gorgeous Sydney Harbour backdrop.

Browse the Take40 Stars of Summer Party gallery below:

Timomatic “Set It Off” Freestyle

Last week, Timomatic unveiled his debut single “Set It Off” and its accompanying music video – and now the singer/dancer extraordinaire offers us some behind-the-scenes insights from the video shoot. 

“The director asked if I could freestyle dance the entire song in one take,” explains Timomatic of the concept behind the “Set It Off” clip, before detailing his relationship with dance and the long road to his current deal with Sony Music.

Watch as Timomatic freestyles his way through the clip below:

Kanye West Sideshows Announced

Kanye West will perform two sideshows during his Australian visit next year as part of the Big Day Out 2012 festival. The all ages sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne also bill yet-to-be-announced “special guests”.

See below for sideshow dates and venues. Pre-sale tickets are available from 2nd December at 9am from Ticketmaster [pre-sale password = MYBIGDAYOUT]. General admission tickets go on sale 6th December at 9am.

Friday 27th January – Sydney Entertainment Centre
Tuesday 31st January – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne

ARIA Awards 2011 Recap

The 2011 ARIA Awards were presented last night in a star studded ceremony held at Allphones Arena in Sydney Olympic Park before a capacity audience comprised of members of industry heavy weights and music fans.

The event kicked off with a “hair raising” performance by West Australian MC, DRAPHT and included stunning performances by GOTYE and KIMBRA, BOY & BEAR, ART vs SCIENCE, GURRUMUL with MISSY HIGGINS, CUT COPY, THE LIVING END and GUY SEBASTIAN, as well as a surprise appearance by DELTA GOODREM who performed a moving tribute to those artists who have passed away over the ARIA AWARDS’ 25 year history.

It was a special night for ARIA HALL OF FAME recipients, KYLIE MINOGUE and THE WIGGLES, both of whom shared the night with their family and friends. PRIME MINISTER JULIA GILLARD inducted our international pop princess, KYLIE MINOGUE, while Killing Time star, DAVID WENHAM took on the induction duties for THE WIGGLES. It was a double celebration for THE WIGGLES who also took out BEST CHILDREN’S ALBUM, their tenth, for Ukulele Baby!

Sydney quintet, BOY & BEAR, capped off a busy year by winning five ARIA AWARDS for their critically acclaimed, self-produced, debut album, Moonfire. The band, who has already won accolades like Rolling Stone’s Artist to Watch of 2010 and triple j’s Unearthed Artist of the Year, won BEST ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST – SINGLE, BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST – ALBUM, BEST GROUP and the coveted ALBUM OF THE YEAR for 2011.

Capping off an extraordinary year, GOTYE has taken out the much coveted ARIA AWARDS in the categories of SINGLE OF THE YEAR, BEST POP RELEASE and BEST MALE ARTIST adding to the three Awards (PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, BEST VIDEO and ENGINEER OF THE YEAR) already bestowed at the ARIA Awards Nominations Event in early October, all for the hit single, Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra).

New Zealand born, KIMBRA, who rose to fame in 2011 for her work with GOTYE, has taken out her first solo ARIA AWARD as BEST FEMALE ARTIST for her debut album, Cameo Lover.

Singer/songwriter KASEY CHAMBERS has proven that she is Australia’s official Queen of Country Music taking out her ninth BEST COUNTRY ALBUM Award for her 5th solo album, Little Bird.

In an ARIA AWARDS first, the legendary BILLY THORPE has posthumously won an ARIA AWARD for his final masterpiece, Tangier. Collecting the ARIA AWARD on the night were Billy’s wife, Lynn, and daughters Lauren and Rusty.

Two-time ARIA AWARD winners, THE AUDREYS, collected their third BEST BLUES AND ROOTS ALBUM, for their third album, Sometimes the Stars.

Sydney three-piece, ART VS SCIENCE, who in 2008 were named triple j’s Unearthed Artist of the Year, tonight added their first ARIA AWARD to their mantles for their debut album, The Experiment, taking out the Award for BEST INDEPENDENT RELEASE.

West Australian MC, DRAPHT, whose album The Life of Riley debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Album Chart, has taken out his first ARIA AWARD for BEST URBAN ALBUM.

Three time ARIA Award winners, THE LIVING END, added two more pointy trophies to their collection taking out the hotly contested BEST ROCK ALBUM Award for their 6th long player, The End is Just the Beginning Repeating. The hard-rocking threesome also took out the inaugural ARIA Public Voted Award, presented by HP and Intel, in the category of MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN LIVE ARTIST.

Radio and TV funny men, and all round nice guys, HAMISH & ANDY have won their second BEST COMEDY RELEASE ARIA Award, this time for their Celebrating 50 Glorious Years Album.

Sydney hard rock outfit, FRONT END LOADER, won their first ARIA Award today taking out the BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL ALBUM AWARD and Melbourne dance outfit, CUT COPY, also took out their first Award for BEST DANCE RELEASE.

Taking out the Awards for HIGHEST SELLING ALBUM of 2011 was ALTIYAN CHILDS for his self titled debut album and four-time ARIA No. 1 Chart Award and ARIA Award winner, GUY SEBASTIAN took out the HIGHEST SELLING SINGLE Award for Who’s That Girl?

Last year’s BEST ROCK ALBUM winner, BIRDS OF TOKYO, took out the Award for MOST POPULAR AUSTRALIAN ARTIST, and (almost) honorary Australian, P!NK, took the honours as MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL ARTIST as voted by the Australian public.

See the full list of 2011 ARIA Award winners after the jump: Continue reading »

Video: Timomatic – “Set It Off”

This is the moment Timomatic has been toiling towards for years now. Beginning his journey on So You Think You Can Dance, Timo parlayed the momentum from the talent show in to a lead role in Fame The Musical, before popping-and-locking his way back on to television as a finalist on Australia’s Got Talent 2011.

Now signed to Sony Music, the dancer/singer is finally set to realise his dream with the release of his debut single “Set It Off” – set for release this Friday. Check out the official music video for “Set It Off” below:

Nike Sportswear Housewarming Party

An oceanfront mansion in Bronte played host to Nike’s recent Housewarming Party where the sportswear brand previewed its Winter12 collection and celebrated the iconic Air Force 1 sneaker – which will clock its 30^th anniversary next year.

Tacos, burgers and beers were ferried around to guests – which included NBA baller Patty Mills, footy star Jarryd Hayne and Sydney FC’s marquee player Brett Emerton – while artful product displays fuelled conversation and DJ Nino Brown weaved the night’s soundtrack.

A mammoth pair of sculpted legs, sporting equally huge AF1s, dwarfed party-goers in the courtyard and an oversized Nike shoebox played display table to a colourful showcase of the classic sneaker. Then there were the comically large AF1s guests were invited to slip on for an awesome photo opp…

Nike sure have made an art out of the media preview. Check out photos from the night after the jump: Continue reading »