Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Nieri (photo: Valentina Valdinoci)With his latest single, “Face,” Nieri explores the fever of perfection through his electro-pop rumination on the value Hollywood puts on keeping up via fillers, cosmetic touch-ups and visuals. Continue reading “New Music: “Face” Nieri Explores The Fever Of Perfection”
Nieri (photo: Billie Black)Randy Report favorite NIKO embarks on a new phase of his music career as Nieri, the next evolution of the Milan-raised / LA-based pop artist. Continue reading “Out Music: Nieri ‘Beautiful Music’”
NIKO releases his latest summer single, ‘Amore’ (photo: McCall Olsen)Romance on the Mediterranean shores was the inspiration for “Amore,” the latest release from out singer/songwriter NIKO.
Tribal beats, infectious synths, and effortless vocals come together for an evocative musical journey. Switching seamlessly between Italian and English, NIKO serenades the listener about falling in love on a hot summer night.
“The idea for the song came when I was reminiscing about Italian summers, and how intense a seasonal romance can feel,” says NIKO. “Summer loves are always fleeting, but you are tricked into thinking that it’s real love because the passion is super strong.”
The collaboration, with producer Joakim Buddee, was truly an international affair with writing, recording and production taking place between Stockholm and Los Angeles. The duo was influenced by artists like Robyn and Britney Spears to create the captivating summer anthem.
Born in Italy, NIKO grew up in a household where the radio was always on and his love for music was informed by icons such as Madonna, Britney Spears and George Michael.
Fueled by his passion, NIKO formed a band and started performing in local venues in Milan. But it wasn’t until he experienced nightlife that he discovered a love for dance music. A new door opened, and he started working with DJs as a vocalist.
After moving to the U.S., NIKO launched his career as an indie artist releasing his first EP RMNC 21 in 2019, a collection of songs inspired by love and lust. He now resides in Los Angeles where he’s working on his upcoming releases, crafting an uplifting soundscape inspired by European pop, immersed in the California sunshine.
You can find my previous coverage of NIKO and his music here. Follow him on Instagram here.
(photo: McCall Olsen)
NIKO releases his latest single “Dance Again” (photo: Billie Black)Some news items you might have missed:
• LA Magazine: Former N’SYNC member Lance Bass is about to open “the biggest gay nightclub in the USA” in West Hollywood. The new club will land at the same location of the long-running, but now-defunct, RAGE.
• NBC News: Amid a slew of anti-transgender bills working their way through state legislatures, the American Medical Association has written an open letter asking governors to veto legislation that would prohibit physicians from providing transition-related care.
• BosGuy: It’s Furry Friday over at the longtime Boston-based gay blog. Click here for previous installments of furry goodness at BosGuy.
(image via BosGuy)• Washington Post: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is an apparent ‘no’ vote on statehood for the District of Columbia. Manchin says there should be a constitutional amendment to move DC up to statehood, but there were no such amendments in making Alaska or Hawaii states.
• Fox5 Atlanta: The family of Ashli Babbitt, the insurrectionist who was shot by Capitol Police while illegally climbing through a window in the Capitol building, is apparently planning on suing the officer and police department for $10 million.
Good luck with that. https://t.co/OCnEIUBuXC
— 🇯🇲Black🇭🇹 Aziz 🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹 (@Freeyourmindkid) April 30, 2021
Inspired by classic 90s trance tracks, the LA-based Euro Pop artist takes us on an uplifting sonic journey featuring effortless shimmering vocals, switching with equal ease between Italian and English, as that groovy bass line bops like a boss.
NIKO says the track was written during the pandemic when he was “missing my loved ones who were thousands of miles away.”
“The track can be interpreted very literally (wishing we could go out dancing like we used to), however, for me, the song’s message goes beyond that,” explains NIKO. “It’s about leaving your home to pursue your dreams, feeling homesick, and looking back on a time when life seemed a little more carefree. “
NIKO (photo: Billie Black)Check out the latest from LA-based Euro-pop artist NIKO – ‘Idol’ – blending acoustic elements with textured electronic leads & thumping dance beats.
“’Idol’ is a song about wanting to be seen and heard,” explains NIKO. “It is also an exploration of the concept of fame, but it mostly can be interpreted as the need for love – the desire to be somebody’s somebody.”
Influenced by 90’s dance and house music, ‘Idol’ brings to mind hints of Robyn, Years & Years and Danny L Harle.
A guaranteed floor-filler, the track is pure, unapologetic pop. And NIKO’s confident, well-honed vocals drive the song like a boss.
Due to the COVID pandemic lockdown, the track is a truly international collaboration.
Working with his producer Joakim Buddee completely remotely, the dynamic duo confabbed via Zoom sessions and email. When ‘go time’ came, NIKO recorded the vocals in a studio on Sunset Boulevard, Joakim mixed the song in his studio in Stockholm, and then whole enchilada was sent to Germany for mastering.
Born in Italy, NIKO grew up in a household where the radio was always on and his love for music was informed by icons such as Madonna, Britney Spears and George Michael.
Fueled by his passion, NIKO formed a band and started performing in local venues in Milan. But it wasn’t until he experienced nightlife that he discovered a love for dance music. A new door opened, and he started working with DJs as a vocalist.
After moving to the U.S., NIKO launched his career as an indie artist releasing his first EP RMNC 21 in 2019, a collection of songs inspired by love and lust. He now resides in Los Angeles where he’s working on his upcoming releases, crafting an uplifting soundscape inspired by European pop, immersed in the California sunshine.
You can find my previous coverage of NIKO and his music here.
Stream ‘Idol’ on Spotify here and on Apple Music here.
Singer/songwriter NIKO (via official website)
Out singer/songwriter NIKO recently released his latest – a dance floor filler titled, ‘Thinking About You.’
After his romantic single, “Try,” NIKO ups the heat and the tempo with this dance track that explores the darker side of love and seduction.
“The song tells the story of someone who is constantly chasing after the next thrill, but in doing that, loses the person who really cares for them,” says NIKO. “It’s about the emotional dynamics of not being able to resist your physical instincts, and then having to face the consequences.”
Singer/songwriter NIKO (via official website)Born and raised in Milan, NIKO’s first musical endeavors began as creative collaborations with DJs as a songwriter and vocalist in the Italian city.
After spending time in the UK, working with music producers in Manchester and London, NIKO decided to launch his career as a solo artist with his first EP RMNC 21 in 2019.
Listen to the new single below and you can check out my previous coverage of NIKO and his music here.
In this week’s podcast:
• The Trump campaign claims the Donald is the “most pro-gay president in American history” – but don’t fall for that
• A federal court rules in favor of a gay couple granting their daughter her legal US citizenship
• Scientists discover an HIV strain resistant to PrEP
• LGBTQ icon Marsha P Johnson gets honored in her home state
• The one and only Cher raises $2 million for Joe Biden hosting an LGBTQ fund-raiser
• Out singer/songwriter NIKO dropped his newest single “Try” dedicated to his partner
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Singer/songwriter NIKO (via official website)Some news items you might have missed:
• Out Music: Randy Report favorite NIKO (above) releases his latest single, “Try,” a romantic, intimate anthem dedicated to his partner. With dreamy synths and soft beats, NIKO tells an autobiographical story about overcoming obstacles and finding love.
Hit the play button below to check out “Try,” and you can find my previous coverage of the talented artist here.
• Vice: Former classmates of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who is charged with killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, say he was known as a “ride or die” Trump supporter. “If you said anything bad about Trump, he’d threaten you. Kyle was the type of kid to wear a MAGA hat or other apparel just for attention, or to ‘trigger’ people.”
• New York Post: Reviewing Donald Trump’s “longest in convention history” speech – “There was no flow, no argument, no central core. He praised himself and he attacked Joe Biden, just as you’d expect. But he didn’t build a case for himself or a case against Biden — and it’s the construction of such cases that provide the dramatic structure a major speech needs to engage both the head and the heart. For someone who relishes drama, Trump provided none.”
• Politico: A former Liberty University student says Becki Falwell, the wife of the school’s then-President Jerry Falwell Jr., jumped into bed with him and performed oral sex on him while he stayed over at the Falwell home after a band practice with her eldest son in 2008. The student, who was 22 at the time of the encounter, said she initiated the act. She then pursued the young man in text messages, and yes, there are screen captures.
• Yahoo Sports: The Mets and Marlins took the field last night for only a 42-second moment of silence – most probably in honor of Jackie Robinson – before leaving in solidarity. The only thing left on the field – a Black Lives Matter shirt.
The Mets and Marlins took the field, had a 42-second moment of silence, and then walked off.
The only thing left on the field: a Black Lives Matter shirt.pic.twitter.com/JyckWkGQai
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) August 27, 2020
New music to add to your playlists this week:
Randy Report favorite Niko reached out this week and shared two new remixes (that I really like).
Like many of us, plans and scheduled were shifted and rearranged due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Niko is of a mind that maybe we could all use some music to bounce to.
“So, I decided to release two remixes that I’ve been sitting on, with the idea that these tracks can make someone dance… I think we all need a little escape during quarantine!”
The double single, RMXD, features a remixed “Maybe” by Detroit-based DJ Voyage, and “Sexual Tension” from Norwegian producer Middelthon.
Out artist Someya playfully explores the fine line between love and lust in her latest single, “Hung Up Over You.”
The mid-tempo bop finds a sweet balance of ambient groove and pensive, summer feels.
The gloomy-day bop also acts as a celebration of the San Jose songstress’s bisexuality, as Someya features her first on-screen female love interest in the “Hung Up Over You” music video.
Bright Light Bright Light (aka Welsh pop star Rod Thomas) is taking fans out for a virtual night on the town in New York City with the release of the video for his disco/house dance-tastic single, “This Was My House.”
Of the song, Paper Magazine said, “It’s not every day that we get a perfect disco song” while Rolling Stone praised its “buoyant beat to dance through pain and trouble.”
The song features Madonna backup duo Niki Harris and Donna De Lory and is an inspired slice of prideful pop that serves as an ode to LGBTQ safe spaces.
The video is an irreverently brilliant, campy look into the NYC LGBTQ+ nightlife scene, and features Bright Light Bright Light leading a merry march of party monsters into the subway system, through a dance club (Bedlam to be specific, which is also the location that the majority of the new album’s vocals were recorded in), and to the East Village rooftop of the apartment building he calls home.
In this week’s podcast:
• The Equality Act is reintroduced in Congress
• Donald Trump finally fills appointments to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
• Utah moves towards a more effective hate crimes law
• Openly gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg qualifies for the first Democratic presidential debate
• Ireland’s gay prime minister meets with uber-anti-gay Vice President Mike Pence
• Out recording artist NIKO releases his new EP
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report