After taking months away from social media, Elyar is finally back with his new EP Svfari. When Elyar began his break I was quite apprehensive as to whether he would actually return, and if he did, would the wait be worth it? However, when he did finally return with the release of the song Beautiful Human, I knew that his new music would be worth the wait. Beautiful Human is completely different to anything Elyar has previously released, and you can tell how much he has grown and developed as an artist. This unique and mature sound that Elyar has embraced has a lot of potential, as I believe there is no one currently in the charts that is like him at the moment.
Yesterday when the EP was released I was both excited and curious to know what Elyar had been working so hard on, and after just one listen, I was already incredibly impressed. While the whole EP has a certain 'sound' to it, Elyar manages to make each song unique and individual, which is incredibly impressive. Judging from other EPs that I've listened to, I think it's quite hard to make all the songs stand out individually in their own right, but somehow Elyar manages to successfully do this. 
The song that  stands out to me though is Switch Your Love. This song really highlights not only his maturity, but how much he has developed as an artist to find a sound that really suits him. I also love both the lyrics and the fantastic beat in this song, which I imagine will sound incredible when performed live.
For Something You Love... is another interesting song on Svfari. Although it's a slower song, Elyar's unique sound has still managed to be embedded within it, and I find that quite an impressive thing to do. Elyar has clearly found the type of music that he wants to create, while also keeping each song fresh and interesting, and to me that is something that only very talented artists are capable of. Overall I love this EP, and I think that it is such a brilliant comeback, but what do the fans think? I decided to run a Twitter poll (@Pop_Affairs) to engage with Elyar's fans to see what they thought about the EP, by asking them if they thought Svfari was worth the wait. Over 80 people voted on this poll, and even Elyar himself tweeted that he was curious about the  result. Overall the result was very positive for the EP, with 88% of people saying that it was worth the wait. @perfectlyelyar commented "100%!! It shows how much he's matured as an artist, and the lyrics and production  are so amazing, you can tell he spent so much time on it", while @pepperoninose said "When I saw he was coming back I thought it was going to be trash, I was very wrong". 
Overall there has been so much love for the new music from the fans, which is definitely deserved. 
Welcome back, Elyar!

Listen to Svfari here:
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After months of anticipation, this week Zara Larsson released her new album So Good. I have been really excited for this because the singles leading up to the album have been really good, which meant I had very high expectations! My first impression of this album was that the songs seemed quite different to the ones she had released as singles. This is arguably both positive and negative because it means the album has a strong variety of songs, but one of the main reasons I downloaded it was because I loved the singles and wanted to hear more songs like that (obviously not exactly the same though). That being said, after a few listens of the whole album, I am definitely not disappointed! The opening song What They Say starts off quite slow showing off Zara's great vocals, with the chorus then gradually speeding up the song. I really like the song because while it is quite different to her usual sound, you are able to hear what a great voice she has, and I can definitely imagine it being played on the radio as it is very catchy.
The song that stands out to me on the album though has to be One Mississippi. ​The song starts off quite soft, but also seeming quite dark, and then builds up into a very powerful chorus. I think that this would be the perfect next single for Larsson because it's very different to her usual pop songs that get played on the radio, and it has a maturer tone that I think many listeners may be quite surprised by.
Overall this album has really shown off Zara's talents and versatility, and I would really encourage anyone reading this to download it!

Luke Rainsford is a solo artist from Wolverhampton, and later this month his second album I Feel At Home With You is due to be released. I was lucky enough to listen to the album before its release date on February 17th, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!
Before listening to I Feel At Home With You I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but after listening to the first song All My Songs Sound The Same, I started to get a rough idea. The song starts out with a humorous ‘Aw Fuck’, creating an instant connection between Luke and the listener. From early on in the song you can tell that Luke has a very distinct and unique voice, as well as producing songs with incredibly catchy lyrics.
What I really love about listening to this album is how much Luke’s English accent can be heard when he sings. There are some English artists that for some reason sing with an American accent, but when listening to Luke, especially in the song Fingernails, this definitely isn’t the case. Fingernails also excellently portrays the truth behind relationships, with very honest lyrics. It’s refreshing to hear someone sing about love in a more realistic way, and I think that’s what is so great about Luke Rainsford, he doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
When I interviewed Luke (see link at the bottom), he discussed how artists such as The Wonder Years inspire him, and how he likes to put his own acoustic spin on their sound, which I think he definitely does well. The fact that Luke is an acoustic artist that is inspired by bands such as The Wonder Years rather than the likes of Ed Sheeran makes him really stand out, and after listening to this album I believe that there is definitely a gap in the industry for him. 
Overall I would really encourage anyone reading this to listen to the album when it comes out, because even though this isn’t an album I would typically listen to, I really enjoyed it. 

Read the interview with Luke here: 
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And don't forget to get the album on February 17th!

Today Nathan Sykes released his debut album Unfinished Business. There was a big wait for this album, with Nathan releasing a number of singles prior to the album’s release. The singles have had a mixture of sounds, from the piano ballad love song Over And Over Again, to the more up-tempo song Kiss Me Quick. This therefore made me wonder if the album would have anything new going for it, as I was worried that Nathan had shown all he was capable of already. However, the opening track Good Things Come To The Who Wait made my worries disappear. Not only is this song extremely powerful with a really strong beat, it also shows the listener that this album would show many sides to Nathan that we may not have previously seen. For me this song is an excellent opener to the album because not only is the beat incredibly gripping, but the whole tone of the song is uplifting, leaving the listener feeling good.

As the album progresses, there isn’t a song that I would want to skip. The third track on the album, Money, sounds different to Nathan’s usual sound due to the fast paced nature of it, contrasted with the much slower song I Can’t Be Mad further into the album, overall highlighting the diversity of this album. What I love about this album is the fact that no matter what the song is, whether it is fast paced or slower, Nathan’s vocals always remain at the top of their game, pretty much putting a large number of artists currently in the music industry to shame. Nathan has used this album to showcase his ridiculously incredible vocals, and shown that he is able to create a diverse range of songs, rather than a collection of songs that all sound the same.

Overall I am so impressed with this album, and it is definitely one of my favourite albums of 2016. Well done, Nathan!

This month Lady Gaga released her highly anticipated fifth album. Since her last album ARTPOP was released, everyone started speculating what ‘LG5’ would be like. Unlike the lead up to previous new music, Gaga kept the theme of the album (and the title) secret until only a few weeks before the release date. Once Gaga announced the name of the album, I knew it would be her most personal album to date. Named after her late aunt, Joanne, the album explores a side to Gaga that hasn’t been properly seen in her pervious work.
As the release date was getting closer and closer, all over Twitter I read tweets saying that this new album was going to have a more country theme, and I did honestly get a bit worried. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like Gaga’s talent means that she would be able to pull off any genre of music, but it just wasn’t what I wanted for her new album.
When the lead single Perfect Illusion was released, all of the worries I had vanished. The mix of both pop and rock together meant that there was something new and unique in the charts, and I loved it.
When the day finally arrived that Joanne was out, I was both excited and nervous to hear what Gaga had been working on for the past three years. The opening track, Diamond Heart, automatically sets the tone that this album will be one of her best, as it draws you in with a strong beat and strong lyrics, preparing you for the masterpiece of an album that you’re about to hear. The second track on the album is the promo track A-YO, a song that makes you want to grab a guitar and sing along with Gaga. This song is upbeat, but not in a typical Gaga way that would have a dance routine attached to it. While some people might not like this song because it’s quite different to her old work, I find it refreshing to hear Gaga create diverse music. The third song on the album is the title track Joanne about her late aunt, with the lyrics being all about grief. When I first heard this song I genuinely cried because I felt that the lyrics really spoke to me (as I have lost loved ones before as well). After listening to this song I felt like I had some kind of connection with Gaga, as we have both been through the same pain of grief before. This is probably one of my favourite songs, not just by Gaga, but ever. It’s not my favourite because I love to make myself sad or cry, but because it’s a song with such meaning and love, not just random lyrics that don’t mean anything.
As the album progressed, each song was different, which kept me hooked wanting to know what the next song would sound like. Towards the end of the album, the song Just Another Day really stood out to me because it sounds like something that would have been on Gaga’s debut album The Fame, as it makes me think of her song Brown Eyes. Although this song is only available on the deluxe edition of Joanne, it is definitely worth listening to if you want a song that will just make you smile.

Overall, Joanne definitely didn’t disappoint, and I would urge anyone reading this to give it a listen!

When it comes to music I'm not fussy. No matter what the genre is, if I like it, I like it. However, it is quite strange listening to a genre of music that you're not familiar with.

I've been a fan of Tinie Tempah since he released Pass Out in 2009, and I've been following his work ever since. With countless number ones, Tinie's talent can't be denied, and when I heard that Tinie was releasing the Junk Food mixtape I was really excited. This mixtape is something Tinie has done without a label helping him, and so there was a high level of anticipation created around it.

We first heard We Don't Play No Games and Autogas before the mixtape came out, and it honestly was not what I expected. When I think of Tinie I think of his hit songs such as, Pass Out and Not Letting Go, however these two songs were the complete opposite. ​We Don't Play No Games features Sneakbo and Mostack, artists that I don't usually listen to. Therefore, I was quite out of my comfort zone when first listening to it, as it wasn't the type of music I would typically sit and listen to. However, I don't think you can make a decision about a song until you've given it a fair chance and have listened to it at least five times. So, I sat and listened to the song at least another three or four times in a row, and by the fourth time I actually really liked it. This made me realise that stepping out of your comfort zone in terms of music can really benefit you, and allow your music taste to grow as it introduces you to a whole new range of artists out there.

When Autogas (featuring Big Narstie and Mostack) dropped I was a bit apprehensive at first, but I remembered to give it a chance and listen to it multiple times. It took me a bit longer to like Autogas compared to We Don't Play No Games because I found the repetition of 'Autogas' at the start of the song quite annoying. However, I really liked the rest of the song, so of course I kept listening, and again found myself playing it any chance I could. Therefore, when the whole mixtape dropped, I was really eager to hear the rest of the songs,

My two favourites on Junk Food are, I Could Do This Every Night and 100 Friends. I Could Do This Every Night features Yungen, Bonkaz and LIV, again artists that I don't usually listen to, but they are all absolutely incredible in this song. The chorus is really catchy, and the whole song just makes you want to sing along. I find this song a bit lighter compared to others on the mixtape, which is something that I really like because it means there is a variety, and no two songs sound the same. Furthermore, 100 Friends only features one artist, J Hus. I hadn't heard of J Hus before, but after listening to this song I actually really like him, This song keeps the listener interested throughout the entire song, as the tone of it changes throughout, something that I think makes a really good song.
Overall, I think Tinie has done incredibly well on making Junk Food, especially without the help of a label, and he deserves a lot of recognition for it.
​ I would strongly advise anyone who reads this to listen to it.

Listen to We Don't Play No Games here: