22/07/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | JULY 22, 2025

25

When two worlds collide

o Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner of Championship club Swansea

group’s first official live concert footage. The MV Edition features a brand-new music video along with a behind-the-scenes clip, giving fans a deeper look into the creative energy behind the project. The group has also collaborated with Korean group Epex, and kicked off a three-part mini album series beginning with Temporal Transition released in July last year. The second instalment Dimensional Bridge followed in February this year. Cosmic Resonance is the final release completing the trilogy. The album reignites Shazza’s sonic soundscape that draws from her inner struggles while embracing a new era of her artistry. From soaring anthems to intimate confessions, Happy, Wretched & Terrified offers no easy resolutions – only emotional honesty with all its contradictions. It is an album for anyone learning to live with the chaos, to laugh in the wreckage, and to love through the uncertainty. encapsulates its emotional core: the paradox of feeling happy, wretched and terrified – often all at once. It paints a picture of the tension of growing into adulthood, where transformation is constant and emotions rarely arrive in neat, manageable pieces. For Shazza, creating the album went beyond an artistic endeavour, it also served as a musical diary of her personal evolution. “It taught me how to embrace change, how to let go. And most of all, that I need the music as much as it needs me,” she reflected. As she navigates her 20s, the music became a mirror and a lifeline. “Regardless of how this all goes and what is to come, I am profoundly proud of this album, and I always will be.” Milan at the age of 39 after leaving Real Madrid, had acquired a stake in the club. “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile,” Swansea’s owners said in a statement. “Snoop’s colossal global fanbase and audience will certainly help us do that, and he has made clear to us throughout this process just how excited he is at the prospect of joining the club. Snoop has openly shared his love of football and his desire to be involved in the game – and we expect his involvement to support us putting as competitive a team as possible out on the field.” Swansea’s Welsh rival Wrexham has achieved a meteoric rise to the Championship, the second-tier of English football, since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the club in 2020. – AFP

in November 2024. Swansea expressed hopes that Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, can use his 100 million-plus social media followers to boost the club’s profile as it seeks to return to the Premier League for the first time since it was relegated in 2018. Swansea’s owners have said they want to generate greater revenue, which would allow them to invest more in new players under the profit and sustainability rules in British football. The 53-year-old rapper said on the club’s website: “My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City. “The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me. I am proud to be part of Swansea City.” Swansea announced in April that Modric, who this week joined AC

SINGAPOREAN singer-songwriter Shazza has emerged stronger and bolder with her sophomore album Happy, Wretched & Terrified, a raw and fearless exploration of coming-of-age, heartbreak and healing. Released last Friday across all digital platforms, the album captures the chaos, contradictions and catharsis of young adulthood. Describing the project as a “coming-of-age in real time”, Shazza, whose real name is Shareefa Aminah, traces the jagged path of her 20s – a period marked by transformation, uncertainty and growth. Through aching ballads and bold, genre-blurring anthems, she confronts themes of heartbreak, self-worth, anger, desire and the messy beauty of choosing change, even when it hurts. The nine-track album features recently released singles Perfume , the stunning ballad Medieval and Olivia Dean , the sprightly pop track featuring fellow Singaporean creative Benjamin Kheng. Since her debut album Chapter One in 2023, Shazza’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable – from appearing on a Times Square billboard, receiving a personal S NOOP Dogg has become co-owner of Championship side Swansea City in an unlikely alliance between the world of rap and football, the Welsh club announced. Snoop Dogg joins former Real Madrid stalwart and Croatia World Cup finalist Luka Modric in the club’s ownership structure. He made a surprise appearance on the club’s social media channels last week modelling its new home jersey for the 2025-26 season and the club announced he has become an investor. His involvement comes after American businessmen Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen took over the club

Soyou displays renewed artistic direction with latest single The rap superstar is a keen sports fan and believes his stake in Swansea FC will raise the club’s international profile. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @SNOOPDOGG

Shazza confronts chaos of adulthood in bold sophomore album

SOYOU made her official return to the music scene last week with the release of new single PDA – the first new music since signing with indie label Magic Strawberry Sound. PDA stands for “public display of affection”, and the track explores love that blurs the lines between emotion and desire – from Soyou’s perspective of a self-assured woman. With its lively rhythm and polished production, the single showcases an expanded sonic palette that signals a striking departure from Soyou’s previous image. PDA captures a moment when emotion overrides reason, portraying the irresistible impulse to express affection without filters. While public displays of affection are often viewed as something to be hidden or restrained, Soyou’s new single embraces the intensity of such moments and amplifies them. The line “BRB (be right back) for our PDA” encapsulates the desire to step away from logic and surrender to raw emotion. Built on a foundation of R&B, early 2000s pop and dance influences, the track features a smooth yet intuitive arrangement that draws listeners into the heat of the moment. Particularly in the latter half, a Miami bass-inspired rhythm adds a danceable twist, driving the emotional climax and

Soyou is a former member of girl group Sistar.

giving the song its irresistible pulse. More than just a fusion of genres, PDA is a sensory experience that reflects the emotional urgency of a specific time and place. Using the act of public affection as metaphor, Soyou leads the listener into a world of private passion and emotional liberation. This single not only highlights her refined sensibility but also reveals a bolder, more instinctive side of her artistry. The accompanying music video and concept film reinterpret the nostalgic aesthetics of Y2K through a modern lens, offering a fresh and visually exciting experience. As her first release under a new label, this comeback marks a pivotal moment in the singer’s career – highlighting a renewed artistic direction musically and visually.

The hijabi songstress has her heart set on breaking boundaries and sparking change. shoutout from Coldplay’s Chris Martin, sharing the stage with The Click Five, representing Singapore at the Osaka World Expo 2025, to being named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025. Despite these milestones, she reserves her most vulnerable reflections for her music. This new album reveals a depth and honesty that captures the fear, hope and excitement of forging one’s path. The album’s title, extracted from the lyrics of the powerful final track,

Exile Tribe’s Fantastics drops new record FANTASTICS have dropped its new mini album Cosmic Resonance containing six tracks about everything the group’s been building this year: from viral moments to stadium stages. Fantastics from Exile Tribe is a Japanese vocal and dance boy group formed and managed by LDH Japan and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone. Fantastics is part of the collective supergroups Exile Tribe and Jr.Exile – comprising two vocalists and six performers, having been formed as a performance unit in 2016. The focus track of the mini album Candy Blaze also takes the spotlight as the theme song for the upcoming Kamen Rider Gavv film, Kamen Rider Gavv: The Invaders, from the Candy House, which will hit cinemas starting this Friday. Fantastics members Sekai, Natsuki Sawamoto, Keito Kimura and Sota Nakajima appear in the movie, bringing even more firepower to the group’s presence on screen this summer. Cosmic Resonance is available in two editions: The Live Edition includes 10 songs from their Fantastic Disco 2024 performance, marking the

Fantastics from Exile Tribe is a dance and vocal group, comprising eight members.