MTV shutdown: What happens when music channels die?
As MTV and other music networks fade, streaming and social media are shaping how South Africans discover and experience music.
In this article, Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo explores...
MTV Music bows out: The end of an era for music television
As MTV’s global music channels prepare to shut down by the end of 2025, Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo reflects on the network that once defined what it meant to watch and feel music.
How celebrity casting is reshaping modern theatre: Trisha Paytas joins ‘Beetlejuice’
On Friday, October 10, influencer Trisha Paytas was announced as part of the West End cast of Beetlejuice - timelines filled with shock, laughter, outrage, and curiosity.
Some fans saw the choice as a chaotic but fitting match between cult musical and viral personality. Others saw it as another sign of theatre bending to spectacle rather than skill.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz expands on celebrity casting decisions in theatre.
Skinty Fia: A look back on Fontaines D.C.’s big break - Irish identity and moody reflection
In 2025, Fontaines D.C. is a band known to anyone remotely interested in the music scene, writes Music News Blitz’s Charlie Gardner.
By 2020, they had broken through, releasing two albums each with songs that pushed the band into popularity.
Dogrel (2019) pushed the band into the public eye, before A Hero’s Death (2020) cemented their place, while still uniquely experimenting with their sound.
Annatoria and the Gospel debate: Fans weigh in on her love for secular music
Fans are divided as gospel singer Annatoria faces criticism for enjoying secular music, sparking a wider conversation about faith, freedom, and the evolving identity of modern gospel artists, writes Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo.
Travis Scott brings Utopia to South Africa: A night of chaos, energy, and unforgettable sound
Houston rapper Travis Scott’s explosive Johannesburg performance marked his long-awaited South African debut with a night of high-octane visuals, mosh pits, and pure musical chaos that left fans in awe, writes Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo.
Fans divided as Taylor Swift’s new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ sparks mixed reactions online
On Friday, October 3, Taylor Swift released her long-anticipated album The Life of a Showgirl, and as expected, the world stopped to listen.
Following a whirlwind weekend of talk show appearances, a movie release, and nonstop online chatter, the internet quickly erupted with conversation.
But this time, fans aren’t all in agreement. The reactions to Swift’s latest release have been distinctly divided.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz explores the online debates currently taking over social media, where praise, disappointment and memes collide in true Swift fashion.
Women who move the world: How female artists are redefining power in global music
From Tyla to Taylor Swift, women are not just topping charts, they are reshaping how the music world works, writes Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo.
In an industry long dominated by male gatekeepers and narrow expectations, 2025 feels like a turning point.
Across continents and genres, women in music are no longer content with breaking ceilings. They are rewriting the architecture entirely.
Whether it is South Africa’s Tyla redefining pop identity through amapiano rhythms, Billie Eilish expanding the boundaries of vulnerability, or Karol G commanding Latin stages once ruled by men, female artists are transforming what power sounds, looks, and feels like.
Rocking the Daisies 2025: Two decades of sound, soul, and South African sunshine
Inside the 20th anniversary of Africa’s most beloved music festival, Rocking the Daisies is a weekend where global beats meet local roots, writes Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo.
For three days in early October, the quiet vineyards of Cloof Wine Estate in Darling, a small town just outside Cape Town, were transformed into a technicolour landscape of music, art and energy.
The annual Rocking the Daisies festival, affectionately known as RTD, returned from October 3 to 5 for its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of uniting people through rhythm, creativity and community.
Everything Swifties need to know about Taylor Swift’s new album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ - a release week guide
Taylor Swift is about to light up the stage once again, this time with her brand-new album The Life of a Showgirl, arriving this Friday, October 3.
Swifties have been counting down the days, and now the glittery time card dropped on her social media sites has given us the ultimate schedule of everything to expect during release week.
In essence, it’s not your usual album release - it’s a full-blown event you will not want to miss.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz breaks down everything you need to know before the release.
AI-Generated hits: Are we listening to real artists?
From deepfake vocals to algorithmic beats, Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how we experience music.
The music industry has always evolved with technology. Synthesisers in the 1980s, auto-tune in the 2000s, streaming algorithms in the 2010s, and each innovation reshaped the way we listen and the way artists create.
Now, a new force is emerging. AI-generated music, where entire songs, lyrics, melodies, beats and even vocals are created by machines.
As AI-generated tracks populate streaming platforms, social media, and ads, fans and artists alike are asking; Are we still listening to real artists.
Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo explores...
Global Citizen: Where music meets activism
From protest anthems to stadium-sized festivals, Global Citizen is turning music into a megaphone for change.
Music has never just been about melody. It has always carried the pulse of social movements, from Nina Simone’s politically charged soul to Fela Kuti’s fiery Afrobeat critiques of power.
In our time, the Global Citizen movement is redefining what it means for music and activism to share a stage, literally.
Here, Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo dives into all things Global Citizen.
The return of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ - Who are you backing for the win?
Much-beloved show Strictly Come Dancing waltzed its way back onto our screens on Saturday for its 23rd season.
The cast is jam-packed with celebrities, from huge sports personalities to your classic soap stars from Eastenders, Emmerdale and even Neighbours!
But when you think about that final, who can you see competing for the shiny Glitterball?
Music News Blitz writer Rhys Rogers shares his top five picks for the season.
The Xania Monet debate: AI won’t kill music - unless we let it
Technology can expand creativity, but unchecked, it could strip away the soul of the songs we love. The industry’s next big disruption demands balance.
Music has always been more than just sound. For most of us, it carries memory, emotion and history, acting as a heartbeat that reflects the times we live in.
From jazz to classical, hip-hop to K-pop, every genre has been personally shaped by human experience.
Now, as AI music companies begin generating tracks that mimic voices, melodies and entire bands, the industry finds itself at a tricky turning point.
The challenge is making sure that technology amplifies creativity, instead of hollowing it out.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz expands on this multi-faceted dilemma.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Grand Ole Opry debut: When pop meets country tradition
Pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming Opry debut sparks questions about genre boundaries, cultural authenticity, and the evolution of Nashville’s most hallowed stage.
Music News Blitz writer Lindokuhle Mlombo explains more.
Music news: Lewis Capaldi and the art of vulnerability
Music News Blitz writer Lindokuhle Mlombo takes a look at how Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi’s honesty, humour and openness about mental health are reshaping pop culture and redefining authenticity in music.
From Marshmello, Travis Scott, and Sabrina Carpenter on Fortnite, to Lady Gaga and Lil Nas X on Roblox: How music artists are teaming up with gaming platforms
The worlds of music and gaming have always brushed shoulders - think epic soundtracks and rhythm games - but lately they have collided into full-blown collaborations.
From Fortnite’s blockbuster concerts to Roblox’s fashion-driven festivals, artists are stepping inside virtual worlds not just to perform, but to expand their brands, reach new fans, and reimagine what a concert or album launch can look like.
Essentially, music is no longer the background noise in gaming. It’s a main character.
Music News Blitz writer Anna Ferraz delves deeper into this music x gaming phenomenon.
The meme-ification of music: When songs become jokes, they become hits
Music News Blitz writer Lindokuhle Mlombo looks at how internet humour, TikTok edits, and viral challenges are rewriting the rules of music discovery.
In this age of TikTok, a song does not need a radio plug, a glossy music video or even a traditional rollout to become a hit.
Sometimes all it takes is a joke. A sped-up clip, a goofy dance challenge or a remix that sounds like it was cooked up in 10 minutes can suddenly turn a forgotten track into a global anthem.
This is the strange but undeniable reality of the meme-ification of music: where songs blow up not because of their sonic brilliance alone but because they become internet jokes first.
Spotify Wrapped anxiety: How listening stats became social currency
What our obsession with end-of-year music data reveals about taste, identity, and the quiet pressures of digital life, writes Music News Blitz’s Lindokuhle Mlombo.
Every December, timelines explode with neon-coloured infographics. Top artists, top genres, top songs and total minutes streamed.
Spotify Wrapped has become more than just a quirky recap. It is a cultural event.
However, while many share their results with pride, others feel a twinge of embarrassment, even anxiety.
Wrapped was designed as a celebration of listening, but it has also turned music into a scoreboard, raising the question: are we enjoying songs or curating a performance of ourselves?
One of British music’s revolutionaries are back - Radiohead return after an eight-year absence
Born into an era dominated by Britpop bands like Oasis, Blur and Pulp, Radiohead took a route of their own to bring people a listening experience unlike many others of the time or even since, writes Music News Blitz’s Gabriel Mills.