NEWS
Adele
CBSSpotify users listening to Adele’s 30 will hear the album as the singer intended after the streaming service promised to remove the default shuffle feature from the LP, as per Adele’s request.
“This was the only request I had in our ever changing industry! We don’t create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason,” Adele tweeted Saturday night.
“Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended. Thank you Spotify for listening.”
Spotify tweeted back, “Anything for you.” The streaming service, controversially, long allowed for shuffling to be the default playback option for albums, as opposed to the artists’ own curated track order.
(As of writing, the shuffle function — two intersecting arrows — still appeared, albeit much smaller, on the 30 page on Spotify, allowing users to randomize the track list. However, some users on social media reported that the shuffle option had been eliminated for them on the album page.)
In a statement Sunday, Spotify confirmed the change. “As Adele mentioned, we are excited to share that we have begun rolling out a new Premium feature that has long been requested by both users and artists to make play the default button on all albums,” the streaming service said. “For those users still wishing to shuffle an album, they can go to the Now Playing View and select the shuffle toggle. As always, we will continue to iterate our products and features to create the best experiences for both artists and their fans.”
30, Adele’s “best album yet,” arrived on Friday. In addition to streaming, the LP is available in a variety of formats and exclusive editions.
Adele also appears on the cover of current issue of Rolling Stone, and revealed she has a secret TikTok account and dreams of singing the hook on a hip-hop track.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
