Just Jaded Weekly
Written By: Brooklyn Poutra
New Music Monday - Anne Marie
Happy Monday, and welcome back to this week's New Music Monday! This week we are so excited to share our favorite new release, Anne-Marie’s new album titled ‘Therapy’! After an all too long wait, Anne-Marie’s album has been everything we could have possibly wanted!
Anne-Marie's album was released on July 23rd, and was introduced by four singles. The singles include “Don’t Play”, “Way Too Long”, “Our Song”, and “Kiss My (Uh-Oh)”. All of these singles include amazing features like KSI, Digital Farm Animals, Nathan Dawe, MoStack, Niall Horan, and our current favorite, Little Mix! Little Mix are featured on the track “Kiss My (Uh-Oh)”, and an accompanying music video was released along with the new tune. The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who has previous directing credits with ‘Thank U, Next’ by Ariana Grande and previous Anne-Marie hits like ‘Perfect To Me’ and ‘Rewrite The Stars’.
‘Therapy’ is an album full of self love and empowering songs and Anne-Marie has said that music has been a major way of healing for her. She took to Instagram to announce her album and say that since the previous release of her first album in 2018 she’s “written so many songs since ‘Speak Your Mind’ and I have grown and changed so much during that time too. I’ve been very high and very low, and I’ve been lost and now I’m found.”.
Following the theme of the title ‘Therapy’, Anne-Marie has also voiced her struggles with mental health, and the journey she has been on to navigate the path of mental health. She has said that “Since the pandemic I had time to realise I needed some help with my brain and I finally found the light. As well as music being my therapy, I’ve also been seeing a professional psychologist for about a year now, once every week and it has completely changed my life.”.
‘Therapy’ is full of songs that follow all different kinds of emotions, and is an album that talks about so many different everyday life situations that can be difficult to put into words, but Anne-Marie eloquently puts emotions into the form of song. In her song ‘Unlovable’, featuring Rudimental, she sings “I've been looking for the one to take me as I am, I'm a broken mess, I must confess that late at night, I wonder is there anybody out there who could love me?” She sings these heartbreakingly real lyrics about self-reflection and depreciation over an upbeat, trap, dance track, that is the perfect song to dance to with your friends while sing-screaming the lyrics.
She also sings a self-love and kindness anthem with her track ‘Beautiful’. She discusses things that all too many of us can relate to by saying “I found myself looking again, wondering why my body doesn't look like them, know it might sound weird but I refuse to pretend, and then you probably think the same every now and again”. She then goes on in the chorus to say Are we beautiful? All of us, cause we got something natural, it's a part of us, darling when they put you down like that, yeah, you can reply right back, you are beautiful, yeah”. Anne-Marie spreads the all important message of fighting fire with love, and understanding that we all have insecurities.
In the words of Anne-Marie ‘Therapy’ is “full of happy, sad, revenge, love, and revelation and I hope you feel all of those things when you listen to it. I love you all. More than you could ever imagine. If you’re looking for a sign to reach out to someone and ask for help, this is it.”
Artisr Rec Friday - Mayyadda
Welcome back to this week’s Artist Rec Friday with Jaded Productions! This week, we are so excited to introduce one of our favorite artists, Mayyadda!!
Mayyadda is a singer/ songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She makes R&B/ soul music and has been releasing music since 2016. She has two EPs and an album out, and her most recent release is a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Her cover was put out in late February of this year, and has already amassed over thirteen thousand streams. Mayyadda is rapidly growing her career and is represented by Lunar Desk Management.
With almost three thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, Mayyadda aspires to make her music to make people slow down and find themselves in a story. Her uplifting lyrics and silky, heartfelt voice does a wonderful job of doing exactly that.
Mayyadda has had a very musical life, and aspires to help others feel hopeful through her music. She has said that she has been singing for as long as she can remember, and her music shows her passion for singing. She began playing piano when she was only two years old, and when she was fourteen, she taught herself to play the guitar.
Her first EP titled ‘Blue’, was released in January of 2016, and her second EP, ‘eightynine’ was released a year later. Her most recent album titled ‘Holding Space’ was released in July of 2018, and has a little something for everyone. ‘Holding Space’ is “a study in being fully human and embracing the full emotional range that comes with the human experience.”. Throughout all of Mayyadda’s projects, but especially in ‘Holding Space’ she shows off her powerful and silky voice and tender and real lyrics.
In a previous interview Mayyadda did with Twin Cities Daily Planet has said that her music is “both political and personal”. She stated that “as a Black woman, everything I’m writing is about the Black Experience.” Mayyadda has songs that she has written about the devastation that so many felt after the Charleston Massacre and Michael Brown’s death.
Mayyadda showcases her buttery voice and empowering song lyrics throughout all of her projects, and we know that you’ll love her just as much as we do! If you like artists like SZA, India Arie, Lauryn Hill and Chloe x Halle, then be sure to check out Mayyadda’s projects wherever you stream music. We know you’ll love her!
One Direction Anniversary
Happy eleventh anniversary to arguably one of the most popular boy bands of all time!!! If you're a One Direction fan, you know the stresses of crazy fan theories, the excitement of listening parties, and the fun of meeting new Directioner fans from all across the world!
If you happen to have been living under a rock and have missed the boy band that has sold over seventy million records to date, let me introduce you to the British- Irish pop rock band that ruled the 2010s.
In 2010, during the seventh season of the British reality singing competition called The X-Factor, five teenage boys entered the competition as solo artists in hopes of making their music industry dreams a reality. The five boys that would eventually end up together in a band were from all over the U.K. and one from Ireland. The five boys were all eliminated as solo competitors on the show, but put together to form a group. Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik were the five eager eyed teenage boys who would ultimately become one of the biggest boy bands of all time. The band ended up coming in third place in the X Factor, but that loss did not impact their successes.
One Direction released their debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ in February of 2012. ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ has gone four times platinum in the U.S. alone. The instant hit was followed by their debut album ‘Up All Night’. ‘Up All Night’ was released in May of 2012, and their second album ‘Take Me Home’ was released in November of 2012. Also in 2012, One Direction opened on tour for another boy band that is very close to our hearts, Big Time Rush. 2012 was a big year for the boys, and they even headlined Madison Square Garden which is a feat they accomplished very early in their career.
In 2013, One Direction released their album ‘Midnight Memories’ and their concert documentary ‘This Is Us’. ‘Midnight Memories’ had a majority of the songs written by the boys, and they were given more creative control than they previously had. Another crucial One Direction event in 2013 Liam Payne tweeted ‘Are u not reading what I’m saying its a SNAKE HABITAT TURN AROUND”. In November of 2013, we experienced the mystery that was 1D Day. The boys held a live stream for over seven hours, and it was interesting to say the least. In December of 2013 one direction made their second appearance on Saturday Night Live alongside host Paul Rudd.
2014 was an equally big year for Directioners, because Harry started showing off his own personal fashion sense. He started wearing floral suits, half buttoned shirts and women’s jeans, and let's just say it was one of the best things to happen to humanity. Also in 2014, One Direction released their fourth album FOUR.
2015 was the downfall of our sanity. 2015 got off to a very rough beginning with our beloved Zayn Malik leaving the band in March. In more positive news, Louis announced that he would soon become a father to his son Freddie. In November ,One Direction released their final album ‘Made In The A.M’. The boys had the most creative control with this album, and some of the boys say that it is their favorite of their releases for this reason. In December of 2015, the band officially went on hiatus. They claimed that the hiatus would only last eighteen months, but six years later, we are still anxiously awaiting a return from the boys.
Even six years after the split, One Direction is still being celebrated. Our very own street team member, Maria Barillas, was able to attend a 1D night at a local club near her. Here’s what she had to say about the event:
“Attending a One Direction night on their 11th year anniversary was truly something great. I was able to make new friends and we made amazing midnight memories. Hearing everyone in the room scream out the lyrics to their songs felt so special and is something every One Direction fan should experience.”
Love for the boys has still persisted eleven years after the initial formation of the band, and while all of the boys have gone on to their own solo careers, we are proud and excited to see all of the feats they are still to accomplish.