Why the LOLathon was the highlight of Comic Relief 2021

 Well folks...it's that time of year again...this week just gone, the UK gathered to spread some joy, laughter and raise some much needed money for charities. 

For those who are not in the UK or the USA (they have an American version), Comic Relief is a Bi-annual charity event, aiming to raise money for charities in the UK and Africa, culminating in a TV event with comedy sketches, performances from some of the biggest music stars and highlights of the various challenges celebrities and members of the public have done in the run up to it.

One thing that has been a regular Comic Relief feature since 2017, is the LOLathon, involving Scott Mills and Chris Stark putting on a 24+ hour broadcast, consisting of jokes and stupid activities.

In the past, Chris Stark literally brought a horse into a bar (yes...really), done a Knock Knock joke at 10 Downing Street (again, that really did happen) and their fellow Radio 1 DJs, Adele Roberts and Jordan North, went out to find the dodgy sounding names of places in the UK (you would be surprised how many there are!).

Of course, things have been different for 2021 (the previously mentioned things happened in 2017 and 2019 respectively) yet Scott and Chris still managed to pull off a really good 24+ hour broadcast.

So why is the LOLathon the highlight of Comic Relief? Well, it means Scott and Chris can be let loose and do, to some extent, whatever they want (I mean their show is essentially like this in my opinion). However, they do even more crazy stuff than they usually do, particularly after 9pm.

During the day, three features were brought back in the form of Super fan Steve (Chris Stark) taking part in a quiz with Little Mix, with hilarious results (the unedited full version is even more hilarious) and Where Do You Think They Were, featuring Emily Atack and her mum, Katy Robbins (those who are regular listeners like me will know what this is about...). Scott also did some vocal coaching with MNEK, singing one of the biggest songs of 2020, Head & Heart

Little Mix, MNEK and Emily Atack weren't the only celebrity guests on the LOLathon. There was also KSI having his report card read out to him, Ian McKellan read out the lyrics to Babycakes by 3 of a Kind (does anyone else remember that song?) and Joe Lycett read some of Scott and Chris's old tweets. We also had a guest appearance from the Young Theatre Company, who performed a musical dedicated to the Scottish Beyoncé (his words not mine), Lewis Capaldi.

However, it wasn't just old features making a return and special guests. Each of the Radio DJs had a task to do. My personal highlight was Jordan North's "Running Jokes" challenge, which involved him being on a treadmill, whilst reading out jokes, with the rubbish ones causing the treadmill to speed up. There were a lot of classic jokes in there (mainly to do with cheese) and Jordan did really well, i.e. he managed to stay on his feet when the treadmill sped up.  

The other highlight for me was Clara Amfo attempting to break a world record in terms of naming the most Beyoncé songs based on the first line of the song.  Scott read the song lyrics and a Guinness Word Record adjudicator joining Radio 1 on Zoom (because of COVID restrictions), assessing whether Clara had managed to achieve this or not. Well...she did it! To be honest, why would doubt creep in when Clara is the resident Beyoncé fan of Radio 1? Clara also had the pleasure of hosting the first ever (and last...probably) Live Lounge for the 4 lads in Jeans who sang (what else) The Wellerman, after them singing it went viral on TikTok.

Other tasks set included Nick Grimshaw finding a group of Drag Dads (who called themselves Billie Irish, Jackie Beaver and Daddy Long Legs) and getting them to record a version of a song that went viral, when the Drag queens performed it on Drag Race UK. The song? UK Hun. Matt Edmondson organised Mollie King's hen do (complete with a life drawing session of Matt dressed up and Una Healy singing a special version of Issues) and Greg James found the funniest listener, who turned out to be someone singing in the style of Kermit the Frog and Annie Mac delivered possibly the best and worst mix ever, with a varied tracklist from Darude's Sandstorm to the Thomas the Tank Engine Theme.

Of course, the even better part is after 9pm, when (to some extent) anything can be said and done on Radio 1. There was a rude Whoooo game, a special non-official LOLathon anthem Yungblud wrote (in the style of Queen's I Want to Break Free) that jokingly implied Jack Saunders hated his Radio 1 colleagues (he doesn't) and Melvin Odoom read a letter sent to him from an ex, in front of Scott and Chris, and his colleagues, Charlie Hedges and Rickie Haywood Williams. The DJs also told some rude jokes live on air and took part in an alternative film quiz with Radio 1's film expert, Ali Plumb, complete with rude team names. It was quite interesting to hear Greg James, Clara Amfo and, of course, Scott and Chris, swear...

At the end of the day (or day and a half?) a very tired Scott and Chris finished hosting a 28 hour show and raised (at the time of ending the LOLathon) a massive £507,089. Of course, it is worth mentioning they have raised more since then (the total revealed during the Comic Relief telethon was £538,431) .

Click the video below to see highlights of the most hilarious 28 hours ever: 

Em x

PS: to donate to Comic Relief (if you can), visit donation.comicrelief.com

The 2021 Grammy Nominations Have Been Revealed!

 So...it is that time of year where nominations for the various awards ceremonies that go on around the world. A couple of them, like the BRIT Awards and the Academy Awards (AKA Oscars) have been pushed back, due to COVID-19 (no surprises there then...). The Grammys were pushed back as well, with the ceremony usually taking place in February, like the other main music and film ceremonies (oh...and the NME Awards), but were rescheduled to 14th March 2021.  

However, despite the rescheduled ceremony, there is still the small matter of who has been given a nomination. Of course, we have the usual suspects but if I tell you these now, there won't be any point of this blog post!

Before I get into the nominations, I am only doing the "general field" nominations because otherwise I would be here forever as there are about 100 categories. However, I will touch upon a few of the other categories where I see fit.

So...let's get into it. Here are the nominations for the grammys 2021...and who I think will win.

Record of the year:

Black Parade - Beyoncé

Colors - Black Pumas

Rockstar - Dababy featuring Roddy Ricch

Say So - Doja Cat

Everything I Wanted - Billie Eilish

Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa

Circles - Post Malone

Savage - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

There are a couple of these songs that could win...I mean Beyoncé seems to always win at least one Grammy and she is nominated twice in this category. However, she has got some competition in the form of the younger stars, like Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish. Both, in the past, have won multiple awards on the night, so could they beat the Queen B? Quite possibly...

So, who do I think will win? I think it is going to be a close call between Beyoncé (either on her own or with Megan Thee Stallion), Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish. Can't choose between them. 

Album of the year

Chilombio -Jhene Aiko

Black Pumas - Black Pumas

Everyday Life - Coldplay

Djesee Vol 3. -Jacob Collier

Woman in Music Part III - Haim

Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

Hollywood's Bleeding - Post Malone

Folklore - Taylor Swift

This is a tough category as there are three people that could win this: Haim, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift. Those who know me will probably say "what about Coldplay?" Well...unfortunately after the fantastic album release (and tour) that was A Head Full of Dreams, Everyday Life wasn't as good. Anyway, if I had to choose between the three, I would probably pick Taylor Swift. 

Song of the Year:

Black Parade - Beyoncé

The Box - Roddy Ricch

Cardigan - Taylor Swift

Circles - Post Malone

Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa

Everything I've Wanted - Billie Eilish

I Can't Breathe - H.E.R

If the World Was Ending - JP Saxe and Julia Michaels

This is becoming a bit of a theme but there is not a song in this list that I can say "They will definitely win." Any one in this category could win it but I think those with the highest chance of winning are Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. 

 

Best New Artist:

Ingrid Andress

Phoebe Bridgers

Chika

Noah Cyrus

D Smoke

Doja Cat

Kaytranada

Megan Thee Stallion

In terms of this category, there are two stars that I think deserve the win. Both Megan Thee Stallion and and Doja Cat have had great success over the last year, with Doja releasing her hit, Say So, and Megan Thee Stallion collaborating with both Cardi B and Beyonce. Therefore, I would like to see either of them win.

Regarding other categories, there is tough competition, particularly in the pop categories. This is notably the best pop vocal album category, which puts Justin Bieber (Changes), Lady Gaga (Chromatica), Dua Lipa (Future Nostalgia), Harry Styles (Fine Line) and Taylor Swift (Folklore) against each other. Who knows who is going to win this as they are all massive artists but I think the win could go to either Dua Lipa or Taylor Swift. 

 

It is also worth mentioning that Billie Eilish could win another grammy for the James Bond universe, as No Time to Die is nominated for Best song written for visual media, but it does have some strong competition in the form of Into the Unknown from Frozen 2.

Of course, we couldn't talk about The Grammys without mentioning the lack of nominations for The Weeknd. Despite having the biggest song of the year in 2020, in the form of Blinding Lights, and having a majorly successful album, After Hours. Furthermore, he had done a stunning Super Bowl Half time show (the best since Beyoncé in my opinion). All this is despite some of the other nominees being released about two years ago.

So there you have it, my rundown of (almost) all things regarding The Grammys. Due to living in the UK, I won't be tuning in because of the time difference but it will be interesting to see the results of the general field categories, as well as the other categories. Additionally, for those who can watch, you'll have the chance to see performances (presumably filmed from home because of COVID-19) from the likes of BTS, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Chris Martin and Miranda Lambert to name a few.

Anyway, good luck everyone!

Em x

RIP Daft Punk: 1993-2021

Hello

So...in news that absolutely no-one saw coming, the legendary dance act, Daft Punk announced their retirement/split. 

Yep...the dance duo that had been going since 1993 (yep, I can't believe it either...) announced their split in only one way that Daft Punk can...as robots. Don't get it? Let me explain...

They put out a video called Epilogue,  based on a film they released back in 2006 called Electroma. Within it one of the members sets the other member to destruct. Yep it sounds weird but what else would you expect? Anyway, if you don't believe check out the random video below, if you have a spare 7 minutes:

But what made Daft Punk one of the most successful dance acts of all time? At the time, not many dance acts had released music like what they released before. The best way to describe Daft Punk's music is experimental robot dance music. In fact, they did a song called Robot Rock to further emphasise my thoughts into what I think their type of music should be called. Due to the different and new sound, fans instantly latched on, with songs like Around the World, One More Time and Technologic becoming big hits. Oh and of course, we have to mention the massive summer song Get Lucky, which featured two musical legends, Pharrell and Nile Rodgers.  It became the top streamed song in the UK in 2013 and it became a million seller within 2 months (the song was released in April and this happened in June).

But it wasn't just music fans who had become obsessed with Daft Punk and their music. Fellow entertainers had also shown their love for the two musical robots. Famously, Kanye West sampled the smash hit, Harder, Faster, Stronger as part of his hit called Stronger. Furthermore, Daft Punk have featured in a Family Guy sketch and were parodied in The Angry Birds Movie (yes, really as...Daft Piggy). It is also clear that they have influenced other fellow musicians in terms of sound: it is clearly heard in Pharrell Williams' song, Frontin'. You could also argue that Mark Ronson might have been influenced by Daft Punk's sound, notably, I think, in Late Night Feelings. 

So, thank you Daft Punk for giving us some great timeless songs that we can dance and sing along to, which I think we all need at this time.  You left a great legacy and for that, music fans are eternally grateful. 

Em x