Youtube Originals have announced that leading UK artists including Aitch, AJ Tracy and Dua Lipa will be featured on a live stream from their Youtube channel for a live streamed New Years Eve UK event seeing in 2021 with performances from some of the hottest acts of 2020 and who are sure to be making big waves through 2021 as well.
With the government announcement today that much more of the UK is being placed into tier 4 tomorrow and with covid cases soaring, the whole country is being encouraged to stay at home this New Years Eve so what better way to spend the night than with a night of viral youtubers, comedians and performances from the likes of Dua Lipa and Aitch and AJ Tracy who have taken 2020 by storm despite the global pandemic.
The event is set to be a big hit with the comments feed already buzzing with excited fans of youtubers and performers alike who are set to draw a crowd, especially amongst the younger generation who may feel more at home with an event streamed on youtube than with the relatively outdated television options. It is hard to imaging fans of Dua Lipa, Aitch and AJ Tracy tuning in to Jools Holland for their New Years Eve in isolation.
Dua Lipa has taken 2020 by storm with her second album ‘Future Nostalgia,’ which should would have spent the year touring to promote if it hadn’t taken such a turn for the apocalyptic. Likewise, Aitch and AJ Tracy made some serious waves when ‘Rain,’ came out early this year and have taken a difficult year in their strides. Where all of the big artists of 2020 have got it right is by adapting to the lack of in person events by keeping up a strong online presence.
The rap scene is obviously no stranger to building an online audience, with the GRM Daily Youtube channel providing a platform for many new artists in a way which is very different to the traditional ways of delivering live performance. Yet with many of us these days living much of our lives through computer screens, for better or for worse, it is inevitable that our music will begin to be delivered in that way too. It was not until the pandemic struck, perhaps, that many of us realise quite how much of our culture is consumed online these days.
Someone like Dua Lipa of course is a slightly different story to Aitch and AJ Tracy, as an established artist who came to fame through relatively traditional means, live performance, specifically arena tours across the world, were an essential part of her business. However, she has adapted remarkably well to the pandemic, releasing music videos for more singles from her album on Youtube, collaborating with other musicians on tracks like ‘Fever,’ and even performing her own live streamed extravaganza Studio 2054. I’m sure many of us right now would be happy to be transported 20 years from now into a time where covid is a word only for the history books.
