Tinashe – Songs For You

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2015 18:48:27 GMT -5 Zinc. said:

“I feel like I still have to represent the community,” Tinashe continued. “That has been what has been my struggle... There is a Beyoncé, there is a Rihanna, there is Zendaya, there is a Jourdan Dunn. There is a black girl in all of these positions and we don’t need another one. It’s just kind of ridiculous because there are like a hundred blonde, white actresses and leading ladies. There are a hundred rappers that all virtually look the same, sound the same, and dress the same and no one cares. But for some reason, when it comes to young women, they want to pit them against each other... There can’t be five black girls winning. It’s weird.”

Fader

Does she have a point ?

On the one hand, I agree with her. I really can't think of the last time there have been several black women 'winning' all at once, but it wasn't always that way. If you're a new black chick on the scene now you're going to get compared to Bey, Rihanna, and/or Aaliyah, and then promptly dumped on because you are not Beyonce, Rihanna, or Aaliyah. And Aaliyah is effing dead - God bless her memory but it really shows how far people are willing to go to not let these newcomers have too much shine when they won't even let you win against a standard set by someone no longer here to uphold it.

On the other hand, it also seems like she is trying to give a subtle excuse for why she hasn't really broken through yet. While the dearth of success for black female singers is a systemic problem, that doesn't mean that T, her management, and/or label haven't made some missteps themselves. She should not let the uphill battle keep her from considering the things she could improve about herself - she's got the goods but the branding has been off and she could use a crash course in social media management.

[Zinc.]

Pitchfork: Tinashe's World Domination Plan

In Tinashe’s childhood bedroom in Los Angeles—where she still lives with her parents—the 22-year-old has a makeshift motivation wall set up. It includes some familiar tokens, including dance trophies she won as a kid and pictures of her friends growing up. But below those is a more exclusive keepsake: a platinum plaque for “2 On,” the de facto turn-up anthem of 2014 that launched the onetime child actor headfirst into the R&B spotlight. That song, and the rest of her sensuously murky, self-assured major label debut Aquarius, proved that Tinashe has always had something bigger in mind when it comes to long-term goals, something that began when she taught herself Ableton via YouTube tutorials in that same bedroom three years ago. Looking toward the February release of her second album, Joyride, she says, “I hope it’s a huge step toward world domination.” She’s only half joking.

And such pop ambitions are not totally irrational for someone like Tinashe, who has been toiling at various levels of the music industry for nearly a decade, building up a unique sound and style that flourished on heady mixtapes like Black Water and Amethyst. Last summer, she nabbed opening spots on two massive tours from Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry, bringing her physically-demanding live show to international audiences while proving that those early dance trophies were no fluke. Her recent Joyride singles, “Party Favors” and “Player,” have racked up more than 20 million views on YouTube, though neither has cracked Billboard’s Hot 100.

Where Aquarius was limned with spoken-word interludes and other traces of the intimate, lo-fi mixtapes on which Tinashe made her name, Joyride sounds and feels like the HD upgrade. The album is meant to reflect the massive life changes that Tinashe has undergone since hits like “2 On” and “All Hands on Deck” put her on the map, and finds her collaborating with pop titans like Max Martin and Dr. Luke as well as R&B/hip-hop loyalists Boi-1da and Mike WiLL Made-It. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot this past year,” she explains. “Every time I reach a milestone I get really excited, but I always have so much more that I’m looking to do.”

Keeping up with that voracious attitude toward creating music is part of what makes being a Tinashe fan so exciting: For every radio banger like the Chris Brown-featuring “Player,” there’s something like “Touch Pass,” a hushed Joyride cut that evokes Velvet Rope-era Janet Jackson applied to the Tinder age. “Party Favors,” meanwhile, with its groggy, drug-addled swagger, showcases the singer’s penchant for the dark, depraved edges that line pop music. “I’ve always been attracted to that juxtaposition between lightness and darkness, and being able to play in both worlds,” she explains. “Especially with my voice being so bright, I like to be able to balance that out with some darkness in the music.”

Some new songs show that the bedroom sensibility that made her mixtapes and Aquarius successful is still present on Joyride, even as Tinashe pushes her sound in arena-filling directions. Still, does creating a more universal bid for quintessential stardom come at the cost of what made her so unique in the first place? If so, this artist does not seem worried about it. "I genuinely enjoy being undefinable and living in the gray area—I don't like to be black or white," she says. "That's what life is about: always changing and evolving and growing and progressing. Not just staying the same."

Pitchfork: How do you feel you’ve changed as a person since Aquarius? Was there anything you did on that record that you wanted to change going forward?

Tinashe: I wanted to keep a similar essence to what I’ve always done and for there to be songs that feel like I did them alone in my room—I recorded some songs that way—but I also want to show people that I’ve expanded my sound as well. I definitely learned a lot about how different cultures interpret music from visiting Japan, Europe, and South America, and that’s been a big inspiration on my live performance and the way I dress and everything.

Pitchfork: You’ve mentioned that you’re often boxed into narrow-minded, appearance-based judgments. Do you read your own criticism or let it affect you at all?

T: Sometimes I do, only because I’m human and things get to you. But I try to not let those things bother me because I know at the end of the day I’m not gonna stop. People can underestimate and doubt me all they want, but there isn’t any sense of true discouragement in what I’m doing at the end of the day. I’m going to continue to make the music that I love, create art, and perform. I just hope that along the way people will take the time to get to know me more and open their eyes to the depth that I have as an artist and stop looking at me so shallowly.

Pitchfork: How do you think Joyride will help people understand you?

T: It will inspire people to learn that I’m not so easily defined. The music can sometimes feel like it lives in multiple genres, and that’s what I really love about it. Hopefully people will understand I’m not just one type of person, artist, genre, any of the above.

Some songs on the album are definitely more pop-leaning than stuff that I’ve done in the past, which I don’t think is a bad thing—I am a well-rounded artist and entertainer. It’s obviously a little daunting at first, because you just don’t know how people are going to react. You just have to hope that people understand that there are different sides to who I am as a person and an artist.

Pitchfork: You’ve grown up in the industry in a way, and it’s interesting to chart your progression as a person through your music as well.

T: Yeah, absolutely. People have really been able to watch my career from the very beginning, and I’ve been so out in the open the past few years, ever since I was a teenager starting to create my own music in my room to the success I’ve achieved now, and it’s really cool to have fans that are able to experience that with me through social media, blogs, and all the ways I’m able to connect with them. We’re able to grow up together.

pitchfork.com/features/interviews/9783-tinashes-world-domination-plan/

[Zinc.]

Tinashe Announces 2016 Joyride World Tour Dates

Tinashe will be jet-setting across the globe for her upcoming Joyride world tour. The singer announced the first round of dates for the outing in support of her upcoming sophomore effort Joyride.

The RCA Records signee flourished in 2015 as an opening act for Nicki Minaj's Pinkprint tour and Katy Perry's Prismatic Tour. She was also a participant in the BET Awards dance tribute to Janet Jackson alongside Ciara and Jason Derulo.

Tinashe, 'Aquarius': Track-by-Track Review

To drum up hype for Joyride, Tinashe also released two singles including "Party Favors," featuring Young Thug, and the Chris Brown-assisted "Player." The Los Angeles-bred songstress also linked with pop wunderkinds Max Martin and Dr. Luke for the project, eyeing success beyond genre lines.

"I don't see myself as an urban niche act," she told Billboard last August. "I want to have mainstream success that doesn't feel forced or label-made."

Rising R&B Star Tinashe: 'I Don't See Myself as an Urban Niche Act'

Tickets for Tinashe's Joyride stint will be available on Friday, Jan. 15, on her official site. See her loaded itinerary below.

February 28, 2016 - Mill City Nights - Minneapolis, MN - USA
February 29, 2016 - The Ready Room - Saint Louis, MO - USA
March 2, 2016 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL - USA
March 3, 2016 - St. Andrew’s Hall - Detroit, MI - USA
March 4, 2016 - The Phoenix - Toronto, ON - Canada
March 6, 2016 - Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC - Canada
March 8, 2016 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY - USA
March 9, 2016 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA - USA
March 11, 2016 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven, CT - USA
March 12, 2016 - Webster Hall - New York, NY - USA
March 13, 2016 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ - USA
March 15, 2016 - Theatre of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA - USA
March 16, 2016 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD - USA
March 19, 2016 - Center Stage - Atlanta, GA - USA
March 20, 2016 - The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC - USA
March 21, 2016 - The Cannery - Nashville, TN - USA
March 22, 2016 - Iron City - Birmingham, AL - USA
March 24, 2016 - House of Blues - New Orleans, LA - USA
March 25, 2016 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX - USA
March 26, 2016 - House of Blues - Houston, TX - USA
March 29, 2016 - Ogden Theatre - Denver, CO - USA
March 31, 2016 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV - USA
April 1, 2016 - The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA - USA
April 2, 2016 - The Belasco Theatre - Los Angeles, CA - USA
April 5, 2016 - Warfield Theatre - San Francisco, CA - USA
April 7, 2016 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR - USA
April 8, 2016 - Showbox SoDo - Seattle, WA - USA
April 10, 2016 - Vogue Theatre - Vancouver, BC - Canada
April 26, 2016 - Vega - Copenhagen - Denmark
April 28, 2016 - Debaser Midis - Stockholm - Sweden
April 30, 2016 - Sentrum Scene - Oslo - Norway
May 2, 2016 - Koko - London - UK
May 4, 2016 - O2 Institute - Birmingham - UK
May 5, 2016 - O2 Ritz - Manchester - UK
May 7, 2016 - Paradiso - Amsterdam - Netherlands
May 9, 2016 - La Cigale - Paris - France
May 17, 2016 - Duo - Tokyo - Japan
May 18, 2016 - Duo - Tokyo - Japan
May 20, 2016 - The Powerstation - Auckland - New Zealand
May 21, 2016 - Max Watts - Brisbane - Australia
May 24, 2016 - Enmore Theatre - Sydney - Australia
May 25, 2016 - The Forum - Melbourne - Australia
May 26, 2016 - Metro City - Perth - Australia

[Zinc.]

https%3A//soundcloud.com/tinashenow/tinashe-energy-ft-juicy-j-prod-by-mike-will-made-it

[Deleted]

Energy is hot. Hope RCA actually sends this one to urban instead of sequestering it to rhythmic like they did with almost all her other singles.

[vithor]

Is Energy second single or will it go down same path Party Favors did?

[Zinc.]

http://instagram.com/p/BBSgxhXS2F_

[Zinc.]

http://instagram.com/p/BBSmsJYmCDh

[Zinc.]

Full Interview @ Complex

Complex

[Ivy Leegue™]

Why is she so hot?

[tamed09]

Ride Of Your Life is out produced by Metro Boomin

[Glove Slap]

Damn, her touring schedule is relentless. She's one of the hardest working people out there right now. I wish RCA hadn't bet so much on a 4Q crossover attempt launch. Had they dropped Player at the start of January, and properly pushed it, they'd be in a better place now. She would have been in much better hands at Island. They did really great work with Nick Jonas and Tove Lo, more than most would expect would have been possible at first glance.

[Linnethia Monique]

Loved the interview! I'm contemplating whether or not to get a ticket to her HOB show in Houston in March. It's only $25 for GA, but the Meet & Greet is $100. The added plus is that Ryan Hemsworth is one of her openings and I love his work. Decisions, decisions.

[Snowbeast]

Feb 2, 2016 17:04:06 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

Damn, her touring schedule is relentless. She's one of the hardest working people out there right now. I wish RCA hadn't bet so much on a 4Q crossover attempt launch. Had they dropped Player at the start of January, and properly pushed it, they'd be in a better place now. She would have been in much better hands at Island. They did really great work with Nick Jonas and Tove Lo, more than most would expect would have been possible at first glance.

OMG it's $25. Go.

[Deleted]

My inner dilemma is whether I'm going to go see her when she's in Silver Spring or wait till she hits up Birmingham... So rarely do tour dates for my faves line up with my schedule for even one date, never mind two. For $25 though I might just see her twice.

[Deleted]

She's in such a tricky position re: crossover success. It worked for The Weeknd because he had established himself within his target r&b audience before he crossed over through features and a couple urban hits. But urban radio is so horrendously sexist that we haven't seen a female artist establish herself as even a semi-staple since...Nicki? And she was a rapper.

Tinashe shouldn't just cash out and go full Ariana pop because...what is the guarantee that that will make people buy her records? She could end up alienating everyone with another album that tanks commercially. It's like she needs to build up capital at urban to crossover but she can't do it because Urban radio is so wishy washy with female artists.

Anyway Ride of Your Life has me wanting to do a line of coke off Blac Chyna's synthetic ass.

[Deleted]

I really don't like Ride of Your Life but I have a feeling I'll be okay with it when I listen to the album in full.

There are certain artists that I spend way too much time playing bedroom Clive Davis (^TMIvy Leegue™) in my head, and Tinashe is one of them. I just keep thinking, how does a label screw up such easy star potential? I have a lot of thoughts about the continual series of unfortunate mishandled events that is her career...but looking at the bigger picture, I suspect the industry is simply not ready or willing to launch a new female r&b crossover star right now - well, for that matter, they're not even ready or willing to launch a new female star just for urban. When urban radio and urban fans won't even support them, for all the reasons @soblu pointed out, why would a label reasonably believe that they could break one out across multiple formats? But if that is the case, then I question why they bother signing someone like Tinashe just to squander her talents. If it weren't for her ability to tour internationally I'd think she was better off remaining an indie queen, since she isn't and probably won't get anywhere close to being the big star she wants to be.

[Zinc.]

I'm rooting for her deep down because she's talented. But she just doesn't have that IT factor. That WOW factor.

[Deleted]

Does anyone know when Joyride is set for release?

[wavey.]

Feb 5, 2016 22:12:03 GMT -5 @soblu said:

Does anyone know when Joyride is set for release?

Was March, now TBA.

[Deleted]

Feb 6, 2016 0:01:42 GMT -5 wavey. said:

Feb 5, 2016 22:12:03 GMT -5 @soblu said:

Does anyone know when Joyride is set for release?

Was March, now TBA.

Dammit I thought it was coming out next week and now you're telling me her tour for the album will be half over before we even hear the damn thing?

[wavey.]

Feb 6, 2016 15:22:47 GMT -5 @antigonerising said:

Feb 6, 2016 0:01:42 GMT -5 wavey. said:

Was March, now TBA.

Dammit I thought it was coming out next week and now you're telling me her tour for the album will be half over before we even hear the damn thing?

Right? RCA fcking up again.

[divasummer]

When is the song "Ride Of Your Life" coming out for purchase??

[Ivy Leegue™]

I thought it was supposed to be out last month.

[SHOOTER]

Feb 6, 2016 22:45:03 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

I thought it was supposed to be out last month.

January 29th was the original release date.

[Zinc.]

The rollout will start with Tinashe, who worked on the “Times Nine Palette” of eye shadow ($32; maccosmetics.com), which borrows names for each shade from track names like “All Hands On Deck.” “I was really intrigued by the chance to bring my creative vision to this,” says the R&B artist who is about to embark on a world tour for her forthcoming sophomore album, Joyride. “I got to design the packaging, pick out the colors and create something that I felt like I would use.”

For Detroit rapper Dej Loaf, whose rosy-nude lipglass ($15) will hit stores on April 14, the opportunity is described as an invaluable one — the first of what she hopes will be many more lucrative collaborations. “Music was just a stepping stone for me, I want to get into other things outside of music . . . creative things. This first step [with M·A·C] is a big first step,” she tells Billboard.

Perhaps the edgiest of the capsule, is a gunmetal matte lipstick ($17) by Halsey, whose blue hair, rebellious spirit and 2015 debut full-length Badlands saw her sell out Madison Square Garden (the show will happen on August 13) and collaborate with Justin Bieber.

The campaign will wrap on April 28 with a gorgeous metallic gold Liquidlast Liner ($21) by Hervey, who along with music partner Lucas Goodman is set release Lion Babe’s debut full-length Begin this year, which reportedly involved work with an all-star team that includes Pharrell Williams, Jeff Bhasker and Andrew Wyatt.

[allow that]

Feb 5, 2016 22:12:03 GMT -5 @soblu said:

Does anyone know when Joyride is set for release?

I think it's on the "we need a hit first" calendar.

[Deleted]

So she's gonna be going on this tour without the album out? Hm.

[Deleted]

popcrush.com/tinashe-watch-me-work-rihanna-work-billboard-confusion/
Watch Me Work has debuted at No.5 on Bubbling Under and is now on iTunes.
Charted as a result of the Rihanna Work craze.

[Deleted]

Feb 9, 2016 16:53:25 GMT -5 @mirza said:

popcrush.com/tinashe-watch-me-work-rihanna-work-billboard-confusion/
Watch Me Work has debuted at No.5 on Bubbling Under and is now on iTunes.
Charted as a result of the Rihanna Work craze.

LOL, I was actually thinking last week how funny/sad would it be if Tinashe's Work ended up becoming a minor hit because of that. I guess RCA better run with it, since they don't seem to know how to run with anything else.

This might be the first time an intentional mislabeling of a video has actually been a good thing.