05/06/2026

LYFE FRIDAY | JUNE 5, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

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I’m Fine disrupts comfort, bares emotional wounds D ANISH pop artiste Maximillian is peeling back the polished facade with the release of his third studio album I’m Fine – a deeply personal 13-track I’m Fine explores the painful contrast between outward appearances and internal struggles – the all-too-familiar habit of insisting everything is okay while silently battling emotional turmoil. “I used to say ‘I’m fine’ all the time while going through anxiety and panic attacks. I would brush it off and smile so people wouldn’t worry too much,” Maximillian shared. o Danish pop star transforms anxiety, heartbreak into his most vulnerable release yet

mental health struggles and personal healing. Opening track Talking About Us examines heartbreak and lingering emotional wounds, while Honest Too dissects the frustration of modern emotional detachment. Elsewhere, songs such as Day & Night and Paramour introduce softer, romantic warmth, offering brief moments of lightness. The album’s emotional complexity deepens with She’s Missing , inspired by a close friend’s unexpected breakup after an 11-year relationship, and Home , a profoundly personal tribute shaped by grief after a friend lost their mother to cancer. Tracks such as Good Life and Worth The Wait offer emotional reprieve, while Best Of Me , Hate To Say and Where Do We Go From This revisit unresolved pain and fading relationships. One of the album’s defining moments arrives with Lifetimes Away , a cinematic duet featuring Danish pop icon Medina. The track explores impossible love and the bittersweet reality of meeting the right person at the wrong time, adding another emotional layer to the project’s overarching narrative. Closing the album is its emotional centrepiece, I’m Fine – a track Maximillian describes as the culmination of the entire project. Inspired directly by the physical sensations of anxiety and panic attacks, the song’s production intentionally incorporates rising sonic tension and unsettling textures to create discomfort. “I wanted people to feel uncomfortable — especially people who’ve never experienced anxiety before,” he said. The accompanying one-take official music video further amplifies this vision, using intimate visual storytelling and subtle progression to mirror emotional suppression and internal chaos. Beyond its sonic ambition, I’m Fine represents a significant personal and artistic milestone for Maximillian, who describes songwriting throughout the process as a form of emotional survival. “Every song felt like something I needed to say or get out of my system,” he revealed. As Maximillian launches a global campaign across Southeast Asia, China, the Nordics and the US, I’m Fine positions him not only as a global pop force but as an artiste unafraid to confront the darker, often unspoken corners of modern emotional life. With this album, Maximillian is not simply delivering pop music – he is offering an emotionally immersive experience that turns vulnerability into connection.

project that confronts anxiety, heartbreak, love and the emotional weight people often hide behind forced smiles. With more than 800 million global streams and a rapidly growing international fanbase spanning Southeast Asia, China, Europe and beyond, Maximillian’s latest release marks a defining creative chapter for the singer songwriter, showcasing his most emotionally raw work to date. Built around the album’s poignant title track,

Drake drops three albums simultaneously CANADIAN rapper Drake has dropped a new album, with two more surprise companion albums to boot – a whopping 43 tracks that stretch over nearly two and a half hours. Drake – who has kept a relatively low profile since his diss battle with Kendrick Lamar ended with the American’s knockout blow Not Like Us and his lawsuit against his own label was dismissed – had announced release of Iceman. But along with it came Habibti and Maid of Honour . Future, 21 Savage and Sexyy Red are among the artistes who were invited to collaborate with the Hotline Bling rapper. And of course, Drake could not let the beef with Lamar go. In Make Them Remember , he mocks the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lamar’s modest height, a frequent source of ridicule during their battle. But Lamar – who performed the song to an audience of tens of millions at the Super Bowl halftime show in February 2025 – was not the only one who came in for scorn. Jay-Z, J. Cole, Pusha T, A$ap Rocky and even NBA legend LeBron James are also in Drake’s crosshairs, according to several media reviews. – AFP Drake disses Lamar’s height in Make Them Remember. – IMDBPIC

Written across Copenhagen and Los Angeles alongside producer Karl-Frederik and a close-knit creative team, I’m Fine moves fluidly across an expansive emotional spectrum. From intimate ballads and cinematic pop to euphoric moments of hope, the album carefully balances themes of emotional suppression,

I’m Fine explores the painful contrast between outward appearances and internal struggles.

Honne marks one decade with new 12-track record TO celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the release of its debut album, Honne has released Honne – 10 , a special re-recording project featuring stripped-back, reimagined versions of some of its most beloved songs and the duo will bring these songs to Kuala Lumpur in August as part of its recently announced Asia tour. Years) and Location Unknown feat. Niki (10 Years) , which has amassed nearly 10 million streams worldwide in just two months and landed Spotify viral charts across Indonesia and the Philippines. Reimagining it now feels really emotional, like returning to a past version of yourself, but with everything you have lived since,” said Beka. Since releasing its first song, Honne’s journey has taken it far beyond anything the duo could have imagined.

“We have been sitting on this for a while and we are really excited to finally share it with you. Spending time with these songs again reminded us why we started Honne in the first place and why this music still means so much to us,” reflected Honne on the project. The album release is joined by the final single Crying Over You (10 Years). “This song holds so much history for me. It was the continuation of a lovely friendship and the beginning of a collaboration that has shaped so much of what came after.

What began as a single late-night track from humble recording sessions in East London quickly grew into a global career, encompassing sold-out tours, multiple albums and a devoted international fanbase. Other than Malaysia, Honne will be bringing the reimagined versions of its songs to South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines across the upcoming tour.

The new 12-track album revisits material from the duo’s first two records, presenting the songs in an intimate, minimal setting. This approach spotlights the duo’s songwriting and emotional core while capturing the honesty and warmth that have made them deeply woven into the fabric of Asia’s pop culture over the past decade. Successful re-recordings so far include Warm on a Cold Night (10

Andy Clutterback (left) and James Hatcher will tour Asia as Honne from July through to August. – PIC BY WILL COUTTS