Giant mechs have never been as popular as zombies or superheroes in the overall zeitgeist and over the past decade, those who yearn for a robot power fantasy have been very underserved, beyond the odd exception like Armored Core 6 and 2016’s Titanfall 2.
Thankfully, mech fans will see their cravings satiated over the coming year or so, thanks to several games on the near horizon.
Steel Hunters
As shown during The Game Awards, Steel Hunters is a free-to-play hero shooter hinged around giant mech battles. It’s described as blending battle royale and extraction mechanics, where you take on other players and enemy AI.
Each hunter mech boasts its own playstyle and unique abilities, as you pursue objectives in matches to level up and acquire gear, culminating in a showdown at the extraction point. It promises destructible environments in Unreal Engine 5 too, if you simply like to watch things break.
Steel Hunters is developed by Wargaming, the studio best known for World Of Tanks. You can request access to a limited playtest on PC now, which runs between December 12-22. There is, however, no release date yet for the final version.
Mecha Break
Developer Amazing Seasun Games revealed a new trailer for Mecha Break during the event. Along with showcasing the frantic combat, it shows off the three modes available at launch: 3v3 battles, an objective-based 6v6 mode, and, similarly to Steel Hunters, a PvPvE mode where you fight bosses, collect loot, and conduct extractions.
The trailer also shows off weaponised gliders and customisable loadouts, although you might be distracted by the incredible amount of lasers and rockets blasting all over the place.
If you want more on Mecha Break, we interviewed the developers earlier this year about the game. We now have a release window too, with Mecha Break set to launch in spring 2025 on Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Untitled project from GenDesign
The studio behind Shadow Of The Colossus have swapped giant monsters for towering robot titans for its next project. While the game doesn’t have a name yet, the trailer shows a masked character climbing a robot, before its head detaches and flies upwards to avoid an incoming shockwave.
The involvement of Fumito Ueda and his GenDesign team will be the main selling-point for some considering his pedigree on Ico, Shadow Of The Colossus, and The Last Guardian. But beyond that, it’s another win for the mech lovers.
If you want more robot optimism, there’s been rumbles to suggest Microsoft is planning to re-release some of Activision’s Transformers games in the near future. These include Transformers: War For Cybertron, Fall Of Cybertron, Devastation, and Rise Of The Dark Spark, which were all released during the Xbox 360 generation.
Nothing has been officially announced but two Transformers’ ratings popped up on the Australian classification board in September of this year, suggesting something is in the pipeline. It feels odd they haven’t been announced already though if they do exist, considering this year saw the 40th anniversary of Transformers and a new animated film.
Elsewhere at The Game Awards, Naughty Dog debuted a trailer for its new sci-fi game (with a robot), while Split Fiction possesses a 50/50 sci-fi and fantasy split. They’re everywhere!
Mecha Break lands in spring 2025 (Amazing Seasun Games)
“Step right up and feast your eyes on the spectacular, the daring, the utterly unpredictable, Haute & Freddy!”
This description of the LA duo’s “Scantily Clad” music video tees it all up perfectly, like a carnival ringleader introducing a show that’ll make you choke on your popcorn — or more simply “clutch your pearls,” as the band hopes. “Scantily Clad” is the first proper visual from Haute & Freddy, the brainchild of Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp, who’ve been carving out space for their self-described “runaway carnie” brand of theatrical pop. (They even refer to fans as a “Royal Court.”)
The Sam Hayes-directed video looks like a drunken opera house riot, featuring a full cast of unruly characters moving through choreography by Melissa Schade. It’s an outsider’s fantasy that reads like a dream sequence, as the group lounges around broken mannequin parts like they’re real life lovers. “Oh, what a disgrace,” Buzz sings, wearing opulent orange hair, as Shipp parades nearby in a black top hat. “Scantily clad woman, scantily clad man,” the hook repeats, with dramatic flair.
Watch the PAPER premiere of “Scantily Clad,” below, and learn more about Haute & Freddy as they prepare their next single, “Fashion Over Function,” coming soon.
What does the hook, “Scantily clad woman/ Scantily clad man,” really mean?
It’s basically a song about clutching pearls at self-expression, people loving who they love, queerness, gender in general being a silly little box, and how medieval it all feels sometimes.
Tell me about the world you’re building, sonically and visually.
It’s all very 18th century runaway carnie-coded. The fans are our Royal Court and we are their humble jesters. We have an antique shopping problem, and we love flea markets and vintage objects. It all bleeds into our visual and sonic world. We’re drawn to old synths, dusty drum machines and anything that sounds like it’s always existed — not something forcibly created. Live, we have a miming balloon artist making crowns for our Royal Court. There’s a stilt walker, and fake mustaches and feather boas adorn the tables for anyone who wants to play dress-up. It’s just us having the most fun possible and creating a world where everyone can be their full selves, loud and proud.
What’s the collaborative process like, lyrically and musically, between you both?
Extremely free. We both produce, we both find synth sounds we like, drums we like, fly by the seat of our pants until melodies and lyrics start falling out and just capture it. Ultimately, we just want each other to be ourselves and so we try to egg on the weird.
So far this year you’ve released “Scantily Clad” and, more recently, “Anti-Superstar.” Do you see a relationship between the two?
Yes, most of our music lyrically is inspired by anything that goes against what is generally acceptable, trendy, polished. It’s ironic building such a beautiful quick fan army on TikTok, but it’s very much like, “Please gatekeep us,” in a cheeky way. Things that are too popular aren’t fun for us. We want to feel like a secret club. “Scantily Clad” is like, How dare you express yourself! Gasp! And “Anti-Superstar” is like, I don’t want everyone to get it.
How did you want to bring “Scantily Clad” to life in video? I love the choreography and all the high drama.
High drama is our life. It all started because Melissa Schade, the choreographer, tagged us in her class and taught a dance to “Scantily Clad,” and we loved it and her so much we had to make it together. We always knew it had to be in an old, charming theater and had to be the after party of sorts — post-scantily clad opera house riot, like the cast ran back to their little theater and made fun of the whole uproar together.
How did you approach casting? Who’s all featured in the video? I recognize Shamu Azizam, who was in our PAPER People LA cover series.
We told [the choreographer] Melissa, “We want unhinged, main characters who look like they ran away from the carnival.” She sent us all these options, it was so hard to pick because everyone was so iconic. We narrowed it down after seeing everyone’s socials because it was video after video of them in their living room or in a field or on some massive tour, all being so clownish and obscure and already dressing the part.
What’s to come from you in 2025?
More live shows and so much more music. We have an album fully written, so we’ll just be creating a metaphorical parade of singles, unique shows and visual feasts leading up to that.
However, something Telltale-esque did debut during The Game Awards last night: a narrative driven superhero game called Dispatch, that’s being worked on by a number of ex-Telltale staff.
The game centres on Robert Robertson, who was once an Iron Man-like superhero called Mecha Man. That was until his fancy mech suit was destroyed, leaving him incapable of performing superheroics.
Instead, he takes up the role of a dispatcher, meaning that instead of fighting bad guys it’s his job to deploy the right heroes to handle crimes and emergencies. All the while navigating his new working relationships, rehabilitating a team of former supervillains, and rebuilding his suit.
Based on the trailer, Dispatch certainly shares all the Telltale hallmarks, with narrative choices dictating how the story progresses. Dispatching heroes though, looks like a fun gameplay mechanic and the game’s graphics and animation is considerably better than the Telltale norm.
Dispatch is in development at AdHoc Studio, which was formed by former Telltale employees in the wake of the developer’s closure, but before its surprise comeback. In fact, this appears to be the studio’s first project, although it is apparently assisting Telltale with its development on The Wolf Among Us 2 as well.
The game’s Steam listing, and the trailer, specifically highlights how Dispatch shares the same writers and directors as the first The Wolf Among Us and the original Tales From The Borderlands.
It also boasts a star-studded cast, from TV stars like Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul and high-profile voice actors like Laura Bailey to big-name YouTubers like Jacksepticeye and MoistCr1TiKaL.
When is Dispatch being released?
Dispatch is slated for a 2025 release but there’s nothing more specific than that at the moment. Assuming nothing goes wrong, it may well come out before The Wolf Among Us 2.
Dispatch is scheduled to launch on PC via Steam as well as consoles. AdHoc Studio hasn’t specified precisely which consoles, though PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S releases feel like a safe bet at least.
The dispatch mechanic itself should help the game stand out compared to Telltale’s work (AdHoc Studio)
Are local co-op games back in vogue? (Hello Games)
The team behind chaotic co-op title Overcooked announced their next project during The Game Awards, and it seems to take a few cues from Hazelight’s work.
Were you aware that two split-screen co-op adventure games, designed specifically for two players, were announced at The Game Awards 2024 last night?
The one with the most buzz was obviously Split Fiction, the latest project from It Takes Two creator Josef Fares and his team at Hazelight. Its name and release date had already leaked beforehand, but its reveal trailer promises a fun premise and unique mechanics for every level.
But Ghost Town Games, the team behind chaotic co-op title Overcooked and its sequel, have been working on something relatively similar, albeit with more cartoonish, Luigi’s Mansion inspired presentation and British voice acting.
Titled Stage Fright, it’s hard not to draw comparisons with Hazelight’s work, as Ghost Town Games describes their next project as ‘an all new co-operative experience for two players’ that can be enjoyed locally or online.
Publisher Hello Games (the same company behind No Man’s Sky) even namedrops It Takes Two when describing how there’s a clear market for such co-op centric games: ‘Overcooked started a little resurgence, but there aren’t enough games you can play with friends. The huge success of Overcooked and It Takes Two shows that folks really crave them.’
We assume they’re referring to games you can play with friends locally. There are countless multiplayer games out there, but couch co-op has certainly become something of a lost art.
If the trailer is anything to go by, Stage Fright will also make use of split-screen, as its child protagonists find themselves separated across two parallel worlds, where actions in one can impact the other.
Although you are limited to just two players, Stage Fright promises ‘Overcooked-style chaotic moments’ as players make their way through escape room-esque challenges.
When is Stage Fright being released?
Currently, Stage Fright lacks any sort of release window, and it’s also only scheduled to launch on PC via Steam.
If it’s anything like Overcooked, though, it’s bound to make the jump to consoles as well. It may even be in the works for the Nintendo Switch 2, since that’s meant to be arriving in 2025, but time will tell if that’s indeed the case.
It seems the protagonists won’t be separate throughout the entire adventure (Hello Games)
Alabama Barker has a vision. Now, the 18-year-old rapper, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is sharing it with the world via her new single and video for “Vogue.”
“The music video’s inspiration was entirely my vision from the ground up,” Barker tells PAPER. “I creatively directed the entire project from start to finish, ensuring every detail perfectly aligned with my ideas. I’m very particular about my craft, and it was crucial to me that everything — from the concept to the final cut — reflected exactly what I envisioned. This project is a true expression of who I am, so when you watch the music video, you’re seeing a piece of my creativity come to life.”
The visuals feature a star-studded cast (AKA Barker’s family), including her father, Travis, step-mom Kourtney Kardashian and brother Landon. In the video, Barker flashes stacks of cash, rolls up to a fashion show amid flashing lights and walks the runway while showing off her unique flow, rapping, “Looks like I’m a fresh out of Vogue/ I never do what I’m told” over a gritty beat produced by ATL Jacob (Future, Nick Minaj). It’s immediately catchy, and Barker’s adlibs (see: “Pretty bitch I’m in the mode” and “if you a bad bitch this is your song”) stick with you after the track, a promising preview of what’s to come from the star.
Below, Barker talks to PAPER about how she hopes fans feel when they hear “Vogue,” being inspired by her Blink-182 drummer dad and what other ventures she has in store for 2025.
What does “Vogue” represent to you, what were you hoping to get across with the track?
“Vogue” is such a fun and culturally rich record. It embodies youth, creativity and a sense of girlhood that’s super relatable. Whether you’re getting ready for a night out, hyping yourself up, or just in need of good vibes, this song is your go-to anthem.
What made you want to venture into making music?
Growing up with my dad’s music, I was surrounded by so much passion and creativity. He’s been my biggest inspiration —not just musically, but in how he approaches his craft and work ethic. Now that I’ve discovered my own love for music, I’m carving out my own sound and journey while honoring everything he’s taught me.
How do you hope fans feel when they hear “Vogue”?
I hope fans feel empowered and confident when they hear this song. It’s been a long time in the making, but all great things take time. This track is all about hyping yourself up, having fun and expressing yourself without limits.
What are you most excited to share with fans next?
Oh, so much! I’ve been in the studio constantly, experimenting with rapping, singing, and exploring new sounds — I don’t want to be put in a box. 2025 is going to have more music from me, but I’m also excited about other ventures like beauty, acting and even hair projects. The possibilities are endless as long as I keep pushing myself.
Growing up with my dad’s music, I was surrounded by so much passion and creativity.
Jade Thirlwall — or as you may simply know her: JADE — is back home in London having just done a round of press in New York City, alongside PAPER’s photoshoot and a pop-up appearance at Brooklyn’s iconic 3 Dollar Bill. Of course, that’s not to mention the multiple music videos she’s planning and shooting or the album she’s undoubtedly wrapping in a seasonally appropriate ribbon.
JADE is busy. But the internet-eclipsing success of her solo debut “Angel of My Dreams” comes after a period of calm and isolation. It’s a little over two years since Little Mix, the girl group she once belonged to, announced an indefinite hiatus. In the time since, JADE has travelled the world, vacationed with friends and maybe most importantly, been to therapy. “It was the best, and the highs and lows, all of it, was such a pivotal and important part of my life,” JADE tells PAPER. “So I needed to take a step back from it to come to terms with that and grieve it a little bit. It was my whole life, so to come out of that was scary.” As to what she learned in that time away: “I love my work. I pour everything into it. So I came out of [therapy] like, ‘Oh, I can have a loving relationship as well as do music. I can have a better balance with that sort of stuff.’”
She also believes her brief departure from the glamour of a pop career is the foundation for her breakthrough success as a solo act. “People didn’t know about me, or what I was capable of, or where I am on my own, what kind of creative vision I see for myself,” she says. “I came out swinging with ‘Angel of My Dreams,’ and people accepted it willingly. I think I needed two years to get to that point.”
Granted, her music has led some listeners to glance backward. “Angel” is about experiences JADE has had in the music industry, she says. Lyrics like “Sellin’ my soul to a psycho/ They say I’m so lucky/ Better act like you’re lucky, honey” have led fans to draw obvious conclusions or even conspiracy theories. A particular figure in the music video, comically large and imposing, has inspired enough videos on TikTok to fill an afternoon, with some pinning red string on a corkboard between words like “psycho” and “SYCO,” Little Mix’s former label.
Lady Gaga comes up more than once in conversation with JADE, herself having built an intricate pop fantasy world conveyed primarily through lyrics and visuals. “I think of Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, I think of the girls that do a video, and it’s a whole movie,” JADE says. “In my mind, the budget never exists. It definitely does, but in my head, there’s always a way of making it work, and part of that is obviously getting creatives involved, directors involved, that feel so passionate about it.”
One of those directors is David LaChapelle, who personally approached JADE about the video for her third solo single, “Fantasy.” Besides having shot just about every diva in the industry — “‘Everytime’ with Britney, and ‘Dirty,’ he’s done the damn thing!” — JADE emphasizes LaChapelle’s hands-on approach. “I went to his studio, and he was blasting ‘Angel,’ and he had a moodboard of me, pictures of me throughout the years,” she says. “He is obviously one of the greatest, and once he is on board with what you’re trying to do as an artist, he’ll ride or die for it.” She laughs, and recounts a particularly memorable moment: “He called me into a room, because he wanted to check my outfit. And I’m standing, literally, on this pedestal. There’s, a room of gays around me, trans people, all members of the community, picking me apart. I was like, ‘This is heaven!’” She laughs. “David LaChapelle is telling me about myself, my gay stylist is tweaking things, a trans seamstress is sewing as we speak, I’ve made it. I’ve truly, truly made it!”
Of all the celeb anecdotes I’ve been told this year, this is maybe the best. Pop music, but especially JADE, can still surprise even a grizzly cynic.
It has been a little over two years now since Little Mix announced the hiatus, and you took some time away. You’ve said you went on some vacations, traveled and spent time writing. What did you learn about yourself, being away from the machine and the noise of a massive pop career?
I learned that I am so much better than I thought I was at what I do. It took me taking a step back from it to look back over the Little Mix journey and be like, The fuck, that was insane. It was the best, and the highs and lows, all of it, was such a pivotal and important part of my life. So I needed to take a step back to come to terms with that and grieve it a little bit. It was my whole life, so to come out of that was scary. I needed the time to have some therapy, do some work on myself, understand and have better relationships and boundaries outside of work, because I’m a Capricorn. I love my work. I pour everything into it. So I came out of that, and I was like, Oh, I can have a loving relationship as well as do music. I can have a better balance with that sort of stuff. I just believe in myself a bit more. Change is good and being challenged is good. It pushed me into starting again creatively, going in writing rooms and being like, No, you’re a great songwriter. Sometimes I maybe would shrink, or I would rely on other people in the room. And so I had to push myself to know that I’m good enough on my own to do all those things. And the minute my creative vision started coming to life, I was like, Oh shit. Jade, you’re pretty good at this. You deserve to be having your moment.
I’ve always thrived on that idea of being the underdog. I think people didn’t know what to expect. People didn’t know about me, or what I was capable of, or where I am on my own, what kind of creative vision I see for myself. So that’s only an advantage, really. I came out swinging with “Angel of My Dreams” and people accepted it willingly. I needed two years to get to that point.
It has been exciting to see someone starting their solo career, and really come out so strong. What did you do to find that sound that you’ve landed on? Did you go back to certain inspirations, spend a lot of time writing?
A lot of writing, and to be fair, there’s so many people that were part of the process. People like MNEK, who is a dear friend of mine. He was the first writer/producer to take me under his wing and be like, Let’s just get in the studio. Let’s write so much music. Some of it will be great, some of it will be mediocre. It’s fine. We’re just going to write and find out who you are. I’m really, really grateful to him for that, because it takes people like that around you who are genuinely passionate about you as an artist and believe in you too. So that was a pivotal part of my journey, being with him for months on end.
Surrounding myself with people that didn’t feel restricted by what a song length needs to be, or, How do we make this a TikTok viral song? How do we make this radio friendly? I’ve done a lot of sessions like that, and yes, you need those at times, but working with people like Mike Sabath or Pablo Bowman, when you’re in the room with them, they don’t care. They just want to write great music. You can change the tempo, you can change the genres. That’s what really makes me tick, being with creatives and collaborating with people that are willing to throw the rubric out the window a bit. Particularly for the first song. That was super important, because I have quite a chaotic, creative brain. I challenge my mind, or I like mixing things together, like Frankenstein. I’m hugely inspired by producers like Xenomania, who did a lot of Girls Aloud…
One of the greatest to ever do it.
Exactly. And I actually think UK girl bands are really great at setting the tone of doing something new. When Sugababes first came out with “Overload,” or Girls Aloud with “Sound of the Underground.” We are good at that, even Little Mix with “Wings.” I’m inspired by that. I knew I wanted to do that for my solo work and I am just a pop fan. I think it is quite evident with the visuals and music.
I love showing other Americans “Biology” by Girls Aloud and being like, “You’re never gonna hear another song like this.” Literally ever. Just like, let it wash over you. It’s six different songs and it’s amazing.
It’s an album squashed into one pop song.
UK pop girls especially, and just the industry at large, is having this moment where the rule book, so to speak, is being thrown out. You’re showing that these unconventional songs can find success. Where do you feel like that is coming from for you specifically?
I just want to do what I want. I’ve spent so many years in the industry, and I feel like I’ve been through a lot of phases in the music industry. When we first started, it was the X Factor era, and it was very strict with time codes for a song. There was a definite structure for a pop song, you churn out the same sort of stuff. And that’s not to say that what we did wasn’t brilliant, because I obviously loved it, but it’s been interesting for me, seeing the gradual change, and what’s popping off, what isn’t. Now is a really exciting time in music, because anything goes. Especially for women in music, it’s not as restricting. You don’t have to follow a certain checklist to make it.
Looking back at that time in Little Mix to where you are now, do you feel surprised at all that you ended up here as a solo artist? Did you always see yourself staying in the group?
I fucking love girl bands. There’s not many of them. It’s hard to make it as a girl band. And I was with the fans in that. I definitely struggled the most with the idea of change. I knew it was going to come. I knew it was inevitable, and I knew I’d be excited for my own music, but I definitely had to grieve that part of my life, maybe the longest. That being said, I was so excited to show everyone what I could do on my own, especially toward the end. We were all itching a bit. Like, we love each other, but people still don’t know so much about us as individuals. And there definitely comes a time that has to happen. And the fact we lasted for that long as well as a girl group is crazy.
I’m curious too, because you’ve talked about feeling like an underdog in the group, or feeling like people didn’t know as much about you as the other members. Was that by design on your part, was it accidental, was the media not paying attention?
It’s a combination of things. Obviously some of the girls were in high-profile relationships, or a couple of the girls put out documentaries, so that gave people insight into what they were feeling. It wasn’t that on purpose, but I definitely loved the collaboration of it all. I’m quite a good team player, I would say. And a lot of the stuff that I thrived in was behind the scenes, whether that was songwriting or the business side. If we’d get a scary business email, it would be forwarded on to me to have to break down. I loved coming up with ideas for videos. It maybe wasn’t so much at the forefront publicly. But as the years went on, it became known that I was a bit of a nerd, or loved a night out, would always pipe up about social issues. I’m not afraid to speak out on things I feel passionate about. My identity became more known, or I’d be the one that wouldn’t take myself too seriously. I liked the idea of being the most mysterious, like, What’s she going to do?
Do you feel like the fan base has evolved with each of your solo careers? You’ve obviously acquired so many listeners that maybe weren’t necessarily Little Mix fans, but those core listeners. Do you feel like they’re excited for what you’re doing as solo artists?
I think so. You do see a lot of comments and interactions. It gets hard to not see that. We’ve got our core fans that support all of us. And you know, it’s inevitable some fans might have a favorite. But what I’ve really loved with my own music is seeing a lot of people being like, Oh my God, this Jade’s really cool. She’s gonna blow up. Who’s Jade? Tell me about her. That’s amazing, because that means it’s reaching new people that maybe wouldn’t have necessarily been into Little Mix. Or my own stuff is individual enough that people are knowing me as that now, which is really cool.
You were on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and you’ve always been very outspoken about your relationship to the queer community, to drag. Where do you think that relationship comes from? Because that does also feel important in this relationship you’ve built with fans, and also the sort of people that feel really excited about this new music.
It does kind of go hand in hand. I feel like it’s organically happened through the years, but ever since a young age, really, I’ve always been in touch with the community, whether that is the environments I was in with music, or musical theater. I saw a lot of drag culture early on, and Mom would always take me to drag shows. So whilst I probably couldn’t have put two and two together, or connected the dots from an early age, I definitely was enthralled by that sort of culture.
It was very surface-level stuff, even at the beginning of the band, to be honest, like I definitely didn’t know how to be a good ally or be better than just sort of basic bitch level. I’ve had to teach myself over the years. We obviously had a huge gay fan base and a huge LGBTQ+ fan base. So I just knew I had to do a bit more. Like I met up with Stonewall, and they literally gave me a history lesson. I still am learning how to be better, when to speak with someone and acknowledge if I fuck up sometimes. It’s ever-changing, but I’m very much aware that I do have a huge fan base from that community, so it’s the least I can do, really, to pipe up and speak up when it’s necessary.
There’s quite a few looks you’ve pulled off that are like drag, at least in their proportions. Or drag in the way Chappell Roan describes her persona. If I can make this assumption, it feels like you’ve been in turn inspired by this community with these characters and fashion moments that you’re having. Do you feel that for yourself?
Even from a sort of alter ego perspective, when I look at drag, I think that’s why, even as a little girl, I was so obsessed. I was really shy and very introverted, and then I’d see these glamorous divas on stage and be like, How do I be like that? How do I channel that, so that I can get onstage and feel safe? So I really relate to drag culture in that respect. On a more creative level, on the “Angel of My Dreams” visual moodboard, there was like, Bimini on there. I do take a lot of inspiration from that, and I would never shy away from saying that. Chappell, you’re right, has literally a persona, whereas I feel like I channel it in my own way. But I think we’re all inspired by drag. People don’t even realize how inspired they are by drag.
It’s cool too, because obviously, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and that first season in particular, went on to become so iconic. You were one of the first judges on the first season, one that people now look back on as the best of the best.
I love that. I was there at the beginning, do you know what I mean? Love that for me, and I am so proud of Drag Race UK, because it’s one of the best ones, because there’s so much heart in that show. Are you watching the new season? Me and my best friend, we watch it every week, and we were sobbing at La Voix.
Getting emotional thinking about it!
It was like, goosebumps! And I think that is the beauty of the show, and that’s what I mean by it being commercialized. I know people will say, “Oh, it’s not ours anymore”, but I do think it is cool that someone might watch that on TV, like a parent, and be like, “Oh shit, that’s a really loving parent, and they’re doing it right. I could learn something from that.”
“Angel of My Dreams” felt like watching Lady Gaga music videos during the Fame Monster era. It felt like something that people are not doing right now. Do you find yourself inspired by Lady Gaga?
With “Angel,” Aube Perrie, who directed it, was so obsessed with the song, and he knew I wanted to tell this story. I wanted it to be a narrative video with so many references to pop culture over the years and a fashion perspective. We’ve got Mariah in there, we’ve got Daphne, we have got a bit of “Bad Romance” with the dance sequence. For me, that was the perfect introduction to show everyone that I am a student of pop. I love a moodboard, and I am going to show you all the things that have made me who I am today in a four-minute music video. There’s a lot going on, it’s very chaotic, but I wanted it to feel like you have been stuffed in the face with pop references.
I remember you saying in another interview there’s a reference to Mariah on MTV’s Cribs, a Victoria Beckham Instagram post. Are you someone who, when growing up, or even being in the industry, has really kept up with and consumed pop culture, TV, variety shows, reality TV?
Growing up, I’d watch all those shows. Every week, me and my friends will sit around the TV and we’ll watch music videos, or we’ll watch compilations of The Real Housewives of New York. We subsume ourselves in pop culture moments. I follow various accounts online that show me that. I just live for it. I think it’s even harder these days, like we do say that now and again, but we’re so blessed that we came from an era where it was still fresh and new. Do you know what I mean? How lucky were we. I think I saw an interview recently of Tate McRae. She was asked about Britney or something. She’s like, well, you know, I grew up with Selena and Ariana. I was like, that’s amazing, obviously we love those artists. But I can’t imagine not growing up with The Simple Life.
I was so obsessed with variety shows. I’m not even from the UK or Europe, and I would watch Eurotrash rips on YouTube in middle school and high school, because I needed to know what’s going on over there.
Like, the dawn of YouTube and Twitter. All those places where we got to see memes. I don’t care if it makes me sound old, but it’s a huge influence with all my work, especially visuals. I feel blessed to be in my 30s, embarking on a solo career now, where I can show everyone that.
It’s clear you have a library of references, and you mentioned Real Housewives. I’m curious, is New York your favorite? Are you a contemporary viewer?
I do love Lisa Vanderpump, so maybe Beverly Hills might be up there as the favorite. The compilations, they’re so messy when they have dinner parties. I don’t have time to watch all the seasons anymore, so I will just watch the best bits. That’s all I need to see, to be honest.
David LaChapelle did the new video for “Fantasy.” I’ve interviewed a few people this year that David has worked with, and they all describe him as an auteur on set, that you get an experience working with him that you don’t get with anyone else. Do you feel the same?
I am still shocked that I got to work with David, he’s always the moodboard. When I was with my creative director two years ago, we had all his books laid out in front of us, and we were like, This is amazing. So to have him reach out to me and love the music and want to be a part of it was like, pinch me.
Even still now, he’ll message me weekly, like he’s seen something online that he loved, and I think that’s incredible. He’s been so supportive of me, and if we’re brutally honest: Did he have to do that video for me? No, he did it because he wants to, and he loves it, so I’m eternally grateful for that. We bonded over our mutual love for the old school divas, like Diana Ross. That was kind of where it began, and that is where the references came from for the video. With David, you’re going to get that beauty moment, you’re going to get the most perfect lighting I’ve ever seen. I remember him saying to me, “You’re going to get Drag Race lighting, do not worry.”
Just like, complete glamour, blown out, sparking from every bit.
He’s gonna make it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. We were adamant that we wanted a Carrie moment, or turn it on its head, shock people again. I’ve always craved that surprise moment in my visuals, so that’s where that came from. We had one take to do it, and David’s so funny on set. He just walks in and commands the room. He doesn’t even need to say anything. There’s so much respect there for him. He works with the same people and crew he’s worked with for years and years. That speaks volumes for the type of person he is. He’s got so many amazing stories from over the years.
I’m sure he’s got too many good ones, since he’s shot all the divas, so to speak.
He’s done, like, “Everytime” with Britney, and “Dirrty.” He’s done the damn thing. There was one moment where he called me into a room, because he wanted to check my outfit. And I’m standing, literally, on this pedestal. There’s like, a room of gays around me, trans people, all members of the community, picking me apart. I was like, “This is heaven.” If I die right now, David LaChapelle is telling me about myself, gay stylist tweaking things, trans seamstress sewing as we speak, I’ve made it. I’ve truly, truly made it.
Do you have a favorite part of the process, in making music? Visuals, the touring, the outfits, the writing and recording?
I do genuinely love the visuals just as much as the music. I think you can’t be a pop girlie and not think that it’s got to come hand in hand. Obviously the music comes first, and I’m super passionate about writing. But then I guess the even more fun part is being like, “Okay, what does this music video look like? What’s the campaign shoot?” I live for that stuff, and I always like telling a story through my music, so my visuals will usually have some sort of movie reference or element to it. We’re shooting the music video next week, and I didn’t realize until someone said, “Wow, you really love horror.” I guess I subconsciously have this underlying theme. Carrie was really obvious, but there’s always this undertone of the horror genre, and I think it’s becauseI love the element of feeling on the edge, or not feeling safe, when you’re watching a visual. You don’t know what’s coming next. I think even “Midnight Cowboy” had this sort of scary paparazzi at night. This next video I’m doing… Maybe I can’t actually say that.
People can expect to be surprised, you’re saying.
They can always expect dark undertones, because I love that. My music reflects that tongue-in-cheek, laughing at my trauma vibe. I like when my visuals feel quite glamorous, but then there’s the seedy, dark undertone. I think all my music, in this record, reflects my experience in the industry in some way or another.
Did you feel more excited by the visuals you were producing, maybe instead of in other iterations of your career? Is it easier now than when you were a part of a group dynamic?
Even from a practical point of view, it’s less glam time. There’s a lot more time to shoot things in the day. You’re not doing three, four solo set ups, and in a group, you all have to want to do the same thing. It’s a group decision. So sometimes your opinion might not be the one that makes it. Whereas I literally say, “This is what I want to do,” and I will man that ship, because it has to come from me, especially now as a solo artist. My worst nightmare is giving into somebody else’s ideas, them not doing well, and maybe I didn’t even want to do that in the first place.
I’d much rather have the creative, or a song, fail because I made that decision. It’s a better pill to swallow, it’s definitely easier in that sense. To be fair, for the majority of the time, the girls were on the same page, but the difference was with different labels or different teams sometimes you’re pushed into certain decisions. If you don’t do this, you can’t have this, or you have to do this song because we’ve got this relationship with this producer. I don’t do any of that now. It’s what I say goes.
If there was a JADE playlist for 2024, or the unnamed album’s sonic mood board, who is on it right now?
I do have a playlist, I’m going to pull it up right now. I’ll tell you, I have “Living for Love” by Madonna on there.
So good.
I have a bit of Solange on there, actually, because I feel like she balances a retro sound, but up to date. Obviously, Diana Ross is on there, like “My Old Piano.” I have Channel Tres on there, I manifested him to be on my track, so that’s pretty cool. “Slow,” by Kylie Minogue.
One of the greatest.
Then, I have, like, “Feedback,” Janet Jackson. I guess underground stuff. There’s a song called “Pancake” by Jaded and Ashnikko. It was cool finding songs that were a bit more daring, production-wise. There’s a song by Prince called “Funk and Roll,” which — nobody knows this actually — really inspired “Angel” for me, because of the switch-up in the introduction of the song. It’s quite eclectic, I suppose. Interestingly, I don’t listen to a lot of new music, I don’t like to compare myself or steer it off and be like, They’re doing that, they’re doing well. I have to do something like that. I like to keep to my references that I knew, and I loved listening to at different stages in my life. That’s my vibe.
It’s become something of a meme on the internet, but it was something that existed prior to it becoming a meme: gay guy music video night. Explains itself, get your friends together and put on your favorite music videos. You mentioned doing this with your friends. Besides the ones we’ve talked about, what are the videos you default to?
I do this every Sunday, it’s a religious event for me. We have a Sunday roast and then we put the kettle on, then we sit and we watch music videos. So, I usually go back to the 2000s. It will be like, maybe a bit of Rachel Stevens or Billy Piper. Oh, girl bands. Sugababes. I love watching Normani videos. She does them very well. A lot of Dave Myers, just because he knows how to do the most. I love watching K-Pop videos as well, like BLACKPINK, just because the budget doesn’t exist for them.
They could probably buy the moon with the money they spend on a BLACKPINK video.
I enjoy this sort of randomness as well with a lot of K-Pop videos. They’re like, Here’s a setup, and now we’re on a war tank in camouflage outfits, and now we’re on a subway. It’s pretty eclectic. But we always look at what’s just come out that week as well. I enjoyed Tate McRae’s visuals, recently. What’s cool about her stuff is we know what she is. Do you know what I mean? It’s like an identity, same with Addison Rae, actually. I like watching her videos because I feel like she’s positively surprising everyone.
A lot of people, including myself, were like, I don’t know if a TikToker can do this, in the first iteration of her music career. Then she came out with “Diet Pepsi,” and I realized I was not familiar with her game.
Yeah, and then “Aquamarine,” with the choreography. Very much enjoying them. I guess a bit of old and new, but they’re some of my favorites I’d say, of late.
You’ve mentioned horror and horror movies. Do you have some that are your favorites, that you can watch on repeat?
I love Host, that’s my favorite. That’s like a Zoom call. Have you seen it?
No, I haven’t. I’ll have to watch it.
I’ve got a Shudder subscription, that’s how much I love horror movies.
I get Shudder from my friends for Dragula. I think that’s all it gets used for.
Sometimes the low-budget stuff is actually the best, and Host was the one that came out in lockdown. It’s literally an hour-long Zoom call. That’s up there with one of my favorites. I love The Conjuring. I like when there’s a bit of humor mixed in with the darkness. I just watched one recently with James McAvoy, I’m going to Google it right now. It was so good. That was like, actually really funny.
I appreciate when they can be a little funny, because the straight horror stuff I can’t handle.
I’ll watch it because I love it, but I prefer the mixture. Speak No Evil, that’s what it’s called. Really enjoyed that. Smile, just as a creative, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed that, having had someone sort of smiling in the crowd. Brilliant, brilliant. They’re the ones that have come to the top of my head, but I live for horror movies. I’m not surrounded by many people that will watch them with me, it’s really sad.
You’ve done TV appearances, you’ve done music, would you ever star in a horror movie?
I’d love to have my Paris Hilton House of Wax moment.
I was gonna say, it’s too bad, because Trap just came out and had a pop star in it. That would have been perfect.
When Smile 2 came out, I would have loved to have done that.
If the pop stars in horror movies trend continues, get JADE on the phone, movie directors.
When I did the Carrie thing for “Fantasy,” I was like, Oh, I love this. I get the appeal now, when you’re just screaming. It’s actually quite a great release of female rage. That’s what I was going to say. My next video channels female rage. Maybe that is something I’m drawn to in horror movies. I love when women are the ones that save the day.
Virtua Fighter protagonist Akira looks like a completely different character in the new game (Sega)
The Game Awards 2024 has revealed two new projects from the Yakuza devs, including a proper revival of Sega’s premier fighting game series.
During last year’s The Game Awards, Sega announced not one, not two, but five revivals of long dormant IPs, including Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi. Since then, though, the publisher’s been awfully quiet about them.
You might’ve thought an update at The Game Awards 2024 would’ve been in order but, unfortunately, that was not the case. But Sega still had more than one announcement up its sleeve.
The announcements included the return of yet another classic franchise, with Sega set to challenge Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 with a brand new Virtua Fighter game.
What is Virtua Fighter?
Much like Tekken, Virtua Fighter is a series of 3D fighting games that used to populate arcades before making the jump to home consoles. In fact, it was the first of its kind and, at the time, the most realistic portrayal of a human ever in 3D (Virtua Fighter designer Seiichi Ishii later went on to direct the first Tekken).
Although it persisted into the 2000s, Virtua Fighter eventually fell out of fashion, although it has popped up in the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series more than once. With fighting games growing in popularity in recent years, though, there was some hope Virtua Fighter would make a comeback.
Virtua Fighter 5 did see an updated re-release in 2021, with a PC port dropping in Janaury 2025, and Sega suggested last year it was considering a full revival. Now, hopeful fans have been rewarded with an entirely new entry that, perhaps appropriately, is being helmed by Yakuza/Like A Dragon developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which already handled the updated Virtua Fighter 5.
When is the new Virtua Fighter being released?
Details are unsurprisingly slim, with no mention of a release date whatsoever. The brief teaser does show off a radically redesigned Akira (the Virtua Fighter equivalent of Street Fighter’s Ryu) fighting someone who looks exactly like Sarah Bryant, another series regular.
A separate Virtua Fighter showcase, however, refers to her as Stella, suggesting she’s either an entirely new character or the game is serving as a full reboot of the series.
While there’s little else to go on, everything so far points to it being precisely what fans want, with the gameplay promising a return to Virtua Fighter’s more grounded martial arts, compared to Street Fighter and Tekken’s more fantastical combat.
This isn’t the only game Ryu Ga Gotoku is working on either. Aside from a new Yakuza pirate spin-off due in February 2025, the studio’s other Game Awards announcement was something currently titled Project Century.
What is Project Century?
At first glance, we assumed this was another Yakuza spin-off, albeit one set in 1915, but there’s no hint of any of the goofier elements the series is famous for.
Project Century is presented as a gritty drama, with the 3D brawler combat depicted in a more grounded and bloody manner and the protagonist most definitely killing some of the enemies.
For now, it seems to be something entirely separate from the Yakuza series, though that may change once Sega settles on a proper name for it. Like Virtua Fighter, it too lacks any sort of release window.
Ironically, Sonic doesn’t even appear in the teaser, with edgy rival, and upcoming movie star, Shadow hogging the spotlight as he drives his race car into a glowing portal.
Sega says the new racer will have ‘a distinct racing mechanic that promises to transport Sonic racing fans into a new dimension’ whatever that means. Given the title though, we hope and suspect this will be a crossover game like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and feature characters from other Sega properties.
While it wasn’t mentioned during The Game Awards itself, Sega is also keen to let fans know that DLC for Sonic X Shadow Generations is now available, adding a new Shibuya (and area in Tokyo) based level for Shadow, inspired by the upcoming movie. It even gives Shadow the voice of Keanu Reeves.
You need to upgrade to the digital deluxe edition to play as Keanu Shadow (Sega)
In many ways, a Meta AI holiday partnership with Hilary Duff makes sense. From her days on Lizzie McGuire, when a young Aaron Carter kissed her under the mistletoe, to her current status as a full-time mom and actress, the 37-year-old has always been a cultural icon for-the-people.
Having grown up and came into massive fame during the Y2K era alongside the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Duff has always somehow seemed to manage the constant surveillance of tabloid culture and the early 2000s paparazzi boom with a graceful ease. “It was a really tough time to come up in the gossip era where people were talking about everything you were doing and everyone you were seen with,” she tells PAPER. “Now, I feel like it’s shifted into something different.”
Just imagine if something like artificial intelligence (at least our current understanding of it) existed during that time. The iPod was created in 2001 and Google first went public in 2004. It was a time when teen stars were being shuffled around on red carpets and worked to the bone and when Disney Channel original movies like Zenon and Smart House portrayed the future of “smart technology” as merely a distant, out-of-reach idea.
“Now we basically have that,” she says. “I actually hate how smart my house is. I want actual buttons to push on things.” Even still, the good side of AI and smart technology can be super helpful, Duff says, and her partnership with Meta AI is based in her actual reality. During the holidays, she uses Meta AI on a daily basis, from planning family trips, gift ideas, planning new school lunch box creations for her kids and for getting answers to simple questions. “If Meta AI could grow some hands and be like an actual person around here sometimes, that would be great,” she laughs.
When I tell Duff that maybe she could get a Tesla Robot (like Kim Kardashian recently did), she says she’s not really interested. “I really don’t think I’m down for another person living in the house. We’re pretty full at the moment.” Even though everything can feel overwhelmingly instant and fast-paced at the moment, it’s also an exciting, colorful time to be alive. As Duff says in her 2003 hit: “Now everything’s technicolor.”
We sat down with Duff to discuss how Meta AI plays a role in holiday planning, Disney Channel Original Movies and secret new projects.
They say that you’re a holiday icon. What do you think makes you a holiday icon, and how has Meta AI helped you with your planning during the holidays?
Oh my god, I don’t know if I’m a holiday icon, but that’s so nice. In my household, I definitely am because I create all the magic. This year, I actually have been using Meta AI to help harness the chaos that ensues in my head because there’s so much to do. So creating checklists, helping me come up with a few amazing appetizers that I have to bring places, gift ideas for kids when you’re just fresh out of ideas because they get everything they want throughout the year anyway. That’s been very, very helpful. Also, I have such a range of kids’ ages that it’s hard to stay organized with everything I’ve purchased, what I need to purchase and by when. And gift-wrapping ideas, itineraries. Like, “Hey, we’re taking this day trip to San Diego or we’re going to Ojai. Help me create three memorable things that we can do there.” And it’s just boom, boom, boom. It’s crazy. I’m about to go have holiday dinner with a big group of girlfriends, and I’m like, “Okay, tell me five of the most talked about restaurants in LA right now, and provide all of their menus.” Boom, it’s there. It’s just a crazy good assistant. I’ve been utilizing it, and it’s been helping me so much. Also, the more you use it, the more it gets to know you, and that’s been really helpful as well.
You came up during the Y2K era and were a celebrity in the early 2000’s when Google was just coming about. Meta AI is like Google times ten. What was that like for you, and what advice would you give to young actresses who are just coming into fame during this crazy AI era?
I don’t really know how to speak on the AI era of it all because some of that is also still kind of confusing to me. Meta AI is different for me than some of the other AI — people that look like you, that kind of stuff. I don’t really know how to wrap my brain around all of that. I will say that for me, it was a really tough time to come up in the gossip era where people were talking about everything you were doing and everyone you were seen with. Paparazzi started to really take off. Now, I feel like it’s shifted a lot into something different. I think there are pluses and minuses to all of it. You take a job in the public, and all of a sudden you lose a big part of people’s lives where they get anonymity. You instantly give that away. Again, there are pluses and minuses. But I think as long as you’re staying on top of and in the mix of the different media that sits in our hands because of our phones now, it’s helpful. You ride the wave of that. I feel like it’s an important part of pop culture. I have so many different directions in which I can talk about it. It brings on new challenges, but it’s also a helpful tool, in a way.
It’s the good and bad. It’s scary, but exciting at the same time.
It’s instant now. So that’s definitely different from when I was coming into the scene. Now, everything is within minutes. Something can come on the internet, or there are reports. Everything’s just instant now.
It reminds me of DCOMs, the Disney Channel Original Movies. That’s all of our lives now. Did you watch those DCOMs, and do you have a favorite one?
Of course. I loved Zenon because I loved the clothes, but I think I liked Smart House more because the Smart House idea of it was so cool. But now we basically have that. I actually hate how smart my house is. It’s way too smart for me. I want actual buttons to push on things. I’ve been able to turn my lights off in my house on my phone forever, and I’ve just started using it. I’m like, “Oh yeah, I left the kitchen lights on. I can turn them off on my phone!”
But there’s something nice to turning off an actual light switch.
Maybe that’s because I think I’m old, I don’t know. I crave that button.
No, you’re forever young.
Thanks!
What’s a day-in-the-life of Hilary Duff nowadays? I know you’re focused on being a mom. How does Meta AI play a part in that? Aside from this partnership, do you find yourself using it to help you out in certain situations?
Yes, all the time. Honestly, this morning, I was like, “Give me some new snack ideas for lunch boxes.” Because your stuff just gets stale. You’re like, “My kids aren’t eating this anymore, what can I do?” You have to be the mind for so many kids that aren’t really there yet. You also can’t be a mind reader, but you wanna try new things and expose them to new things. So that’s a helpful tool with Meta AI — just brainstorming new ideas when you’re tapped [out]. But a day in the life? I wake up around 6 or 6:15 AM. I get up with the baby. I have coffee. We chill, we play. By 6:45 AM, the rest of the house is waking up. I usually pass the baby off to someone and start cooking breakfast and packing lunches and getting backpacks ready to go out the door. Getting everybody dressed. Right now, my six-year-old has to have her hair perfect before she leaves and she’s very particular about that. My 12-year-old’s stuff is scattered all over the house, so if Meta AI could grow some hands and be like an actual person around here sometimes, that would be great.
You could get a Tesla Robot!
I know. I don’t think I’m down. I really don’t think I’m down for another person living in the house. We’re pretty full at the moment [laughs]. But honestly, in more fun ways, sometimes my son will ask me, “Who played soccer in this 1996 team for Manchester United?” And I’m like, “I swear to God I listen to you when you talk to me, and I should know this,” but I’ll secretly just ask Meta AI. Boom, I know the answer, and he’s like, “You’re a genius.” And I’m like, “I know.” Silly things like that, but also planning a girl’s trip — you can throw it into a conversation with multiple people so you can all be asking and coming up with it at the same time, which is really cool. And then if we’re getting back to my day-in-the-life of, usually my husband drops off the kids so I can get a workout in. I’m usually spending at least two hours on emails. I am working on a project right now, so I will usually go to that job that I can’t totally talk about right now for a little bit every single day. And then, it’s usually sports and dance and all the other kid things. Sometimes I’ll grab dinner with a friend, but that’ll be after I put children to bed. Then I’m waking up and doing the whole thing all over again.
Well thank you so much for talking to me. You’re an idol to me.
Thank you so much, Ivan. I hope you have a good holiday.
Tomorrow, just a day before his birthday, Offset will drop his new single “Swing My Way” via Motown Records. The track comes with a polished yet rugged video directed by Kid Art and stunning album artwork — both featuring supermodel Anok Yai. Check out the artwork premiering exclusively today on PAPER, below.
“Working with Anok for ‘Swing My Way’ was great,” Offset tells PAPER. “We matched each other’s vibe and style. This is one of my favorite cover artworks. I’m looking forward to sharing the new song and video I created with Anok tomorrow ahead of my birthday.”
In the album artwork,Yai is shown sprawled out on the hood of a black Cybertruck wearing Offset’s rap chains and little else. “Anok said she wanted to go there, so we went there!” stylist and art director SheShe Pendleton tells PAPER. “With her suggestion, we decided to go for nudity paired with an Alaïa heel and Offset’s famous jewels. That’s it, that’s the look. What better way than to pose on top of the cyber truck, highlighting Offset’s favorite lyric from ‘Swing My Way?’”
In the video which was filmed in Brooklyn, the supermodel wields a knife to put on her eyeliner, licks at a flickering lighter, and struts in front of Offset as he raps, “I pulled up in SoHo in a robo cyber tron/ I don’t care what they’re on I’m two fingers and thumbs/ Shorty swing my way/ I got racks to pay.”
Produced by Turbo (Young Thug, Travis Scott, Lil Baby), the track tells the story of the rapper’s jet-setting, incomparable, opulent lifestyle, reminding listeners, “Baby, I’m not one of them/ I’m really one of the ones.”
The collaboration with the supermodel is just one of many recent ventures into the fashion world for Offset. In September, he kicked off New York Fashion Week by joining Anna Wintour for a ribbon-cutting ceremony as CFDA’s celebrity ambassador. He also walked for Luar and Melitta Baumeister. Yai’s addition to his visuals continues the Vogue cover star’s dominance in fashion, from walking the runways of Versace, Louis Vuitton, Fendi to becoming a staggering video vixen.
Art direction: SheShe Pendleton Styling: SheShe Pendleton Photography: Matthew Gonzales Retouching: Lesly Saint Louis
Collaborating with the original creators on your own cover is heaven, and for The Scarlet Opera, heaven is a place on earth.
The rising Los Angeles band, beloved for their glam rock attitude and frontman Luka Bazulka’s powerhouse vocals, had the recent pleasure of working with Rick Nowels, the original producer and co-writer of Belinda Carlisle’s 1987 classic, “Heaven Is a Place On Earth.” Their new version, polished and revamped for 2025, still packs a massive punch — and arrives today with an equally nostalgic music video.
The visual features all five members in a lo-fi haze, as if it were lifted from an old VHS tape from decades past. Bazulka is pictured alone in heaven, surrounded by glittery clouds and wearing angel wings, as he lifts his bandmates from the flames of hell. Directed by Alexa Cha and edited by Justin Moon, The Scarlet Opera’s “Heaven Is a Place On Earth” has everything from campy choreography to dramatic guitar solos.
“The goal was simple, to have a very good time,” Bazulka says of the release. “I think at first we tossed around the idea of having a little glass menagerie of the boys for me to break in this elaborate set, but the budget permitted us puppets and a green screen instead — and thank goodness.”
“Heaven Is a Place on Earth” follows The Scarlet Opera’s Mirror Mirror EP, released earlier this year. Bazulka is joined by Colin Kenrick (keyboard), Daniel Zuker (bass), Justin Siegal (drums) and Chance Taylor (guitar). Together, they deliver an arena-sized sound that brings a theatrical sensibility to contemporary pop-rock. From the urgent “Catch Me If You Can” to the tongue-in-cheek “Slutty” and anthemic “What Good Is Love,” Mirror Mirror was a real standout this year.
Below, PAPER chats with The Scarlet Opera’s Luka Bazulka about telling Belinda Carlisle’s story to a new generation and championing the “wonderful and enticing delusion” of glam rock.
What initially attracted you to cover this song?
We had been slowing down some of these bouncy ’80s powerhouse records, and really chewing on the words and heart of the songs, mostly to find a new cover for tour. This particular song felt like that scene in Angels In America when the Angel (in this case, Belinda Carlisle) breaks through the wall to share one of life’s most humbling truths: that true love doesn’t send you spiraling obsessively, it calls you home. We were swept away by the good news and needed to sing it for ourselves. A short snippet of me wailing in the garage got the attention of the original producer, Rick Nowels, and Belinda too. It was Rick’s idea to recut and rerelease the record, and when Belinda sent her blessing, it was off to the races.
Are you inspired by this era of music, the late ’80s?
We’re inspired by what was at the core of ’80s music, yearning. That decade gets a bad rap sometimes for being too indulgent, cheesy — and it was so dramatic, but there was always good reason. There’s something so hot and too easily dismissed about caring.
How did you approach bringing your own perspective to this?
When we sat with Rick to build this out, we had already been touring our rendition of the song and had a closeness to it that Rick wanted to maintain. The choice to not begin with the hook (as the original does) gave us the chance to set the scene on our stage every night before taking the audience right up to the pearly gates themselves (as the original does). An eerie lamenting guitar shuffles in the first lyric, “When the night falls down, I wait for you.” We wanted to tell Belinda’s story in a way that maybe felt a bit more fatal instead of reassuring.
In what ways is this release reflective of The Scarlet Opera and your original music?
It’s larger than life, sweeping and romantic. It’s absolutely ridiculous, really, all of our favorite things. This record demands your attention and so do we.
Creatively, how did you approach bringing the cover to life in a music video? Who were some of your collaborators and how did you all work together?
We love Alexa Cha in this house. Hailing from 1824, we’ve been lucky enough to work with her before on a few visual projects. She seems to have a better idea of what we need than we do most times. The benefit of leaning on her (or any other visual artists you trust) is that you get an objective, egoless take on the work you’ve created. The goal was simple: to have a very good time. I think at first we tossed around the idea of having a little glass menagerie of the boys for me to break in this elaborate set, but the budget permitted us puppets and a green screen instead — and thank god.
In what ways are you influenced by glam rock and theater, and how do you see that building as you move into the future?
Glam rock is a genre born out of classical theater, genderless expression and a great fuckin’ time. Decades later, what’s its use? We think about that a lot. We see some carbon copies of the old aesthetic. Attempts to nudge us in that direction have been made, as well. We get it, it’s familiar. It’s safe. You want to believe that Queen 2.0 is here, but they aren’t and besides, Queen was never safe. There’s a desire for honesty from the world at large, the raw naked truth. I want to talk more about growing up in rural Pennsylvania and the magic of my childhood. I want to talk about my sisters going to war and how I’d try on their dresses when I missed them. I think glam rock will be to us what it has always been to the world: a delusion, a very wonderful and enticing delusion.
What does 2025 look like for The Scarlet Opera?
If I may be so bold, I think the theatrical ticking time bomb that is this band will really be set off this next year. Transparently, we’ve been through some personal shit in 2024, it was fuckin’ rough and weird. I’m sure it’ll reveal itself in due time through the music. We are, now more than ever, hyper focused on the preservation of joy. We intend to stay whimsical and elegant and kind.
There’s a desire for honesty from the world at large, the raw naked truth.
