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It’s been nearly three months since we launched TDA Culture, if you can believe it. During that time, we’ve been amazed and delighted by the level of support our readers have shown us (that’s you!).
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Quote of the week
“We were disgusted to hear that one of our songs was played by a bunch of wannabe fascists (One Nation) [on Monday]. Like most Australians, we have always been appalled by Pauline Hanson and the toxic nonsense she spouts. This is our message to her and her followers: don’t play our music, don’t listen to our band, do not pass go! We want nothing to do with you. In fact, we wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”
Aussie rock legends the Hoodoo Gurus have released a statement on social media condemning the use of the band’s music during an anti-immigration rally in Brisbane this week.
Stat of the week
2.1 million.
The number of votes cast in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2025. British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean’s ‘Man I Need’ claimed the number one spot, but local artists still impressed, with 54 Aussie songs making the countdown.
Photo of the week
You’re looking at a close-up shot of rapper Nicki Minaj holding hands with U.S. President Donald Trump. The pair appeared at a Government event in Washington D.C, where Minaj described herself as “probably the President's number one fan”.
Image: Jose Luis Magana via AP
I’ve got 30 seconds
The group chat TL;DR
Sydney Sweeney could face criminal charges after hanging bras on the Hollywood Sign to promote her new brand. The actor and her team scaled a fence and climbed up the hill to the iconic 14-metre landmark with bags of lingerie from her brand, SYRN. In a video shared to Instagram, they then hung lines of bras over the famous letters of the sign before posing in front of it. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns the rights to the sign’s image, claims Sweeney was not authorised to access the landmark, “nor did anyone seek a license or permission from the Chamber for that production.” Sweeney and her team removed the lingerie from the sign after filming, although it's alleged some items were left on the hillside.
Dirty Dancing will hope to give a new generation of audiences the “time of their lives”, with a sequel to the 1987 cult classic confirmed. Jennifer Grey will reprise her role as leading lady Frances “Baby” Houseman when production starts at the end of the year. Despite the absence of the late Patrick Swayze, who played Baby’s love interest Johnny Castle, Grey said she’s “long wondered where we might find Baby years later.” One of the film's producers, Nina Jacobson, called the opportunity a “genuine joy” and said she feels “so fortunate to have been invited back… for one more dance.”
A new documentary about U.S. first lady Melania Trump is failing to attract interest in Australia and the UK, with low ticket sales reported in both countries. The movie, titled ‘Melania’, is set for global release on Friday. The film documents her life in the 20 days leading up to U.S. President Donald Trump's second inauguration. Hoyts is screening the film in 12 of its theatres nationwide over the next week. However, just one opening day ticket has been sold in Australia, according to Mumbrella. The UK’s premiere screening of ‘Melania’ has also sold just one ticket. Melania Trump hosted a private White House screening last weekend, which was the first time the President, her family, and close friends saw the film in full.
I’ve got 1 minute
Your Grammys cheat-sheet.
The 2026 Grammys will take place in LA in just a few days, with a handful of Australians in contention, including RÜFÜS DU SOL.
Overall, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga lead the list of nominees, with nine and seven nods, respectively.
Here’s your guide to the music industry’s biggest annual honours.
Context
Grammy nominees and winners are determined by the thousands of industry professionals who make up the Recording Academy.
All members are eligible to vote in the ‘big four’ categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
For other categories, members vote only in their areas of expertise. For example, a jazz musician votes in jazz categories, a producer in production categories, and so on.
This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Trevor Noah, with performances from Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Olivia Dean, Post Malone, and more.
Who’s nominated?
The eligibility period for the 2026 awards was between 31 August 2024 and 30 August 2025. This means the latest releases from Taylor Swift, Cardi B, and Lily Allen will be considered for next year’s ceremony.
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny’s album ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ is nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. He is the first Spanish-language artist to be nominated in all three categories simultaneously.
Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga are considered the frontrunners for Album of the Year. None of these artists has previously won in this category.
Record vs Song of the Year
These two categories are a source of annual confusion, but you’re about to become an expert.
Record of the Year: Deals with a specific recording of a song, recognising the entire team behind it. When voting, members should consider “the performance, production and engineering” of a song, according to the Grammys. It calls songwriting and composition a “secondary element for consideration”.
This year, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s ‘Luther’ and ‘APT.’ from Rosé and Bruno Mars are the favourites in this category.
Song of the Year: Awarded to songwriters for a song’s lyrics, melody, and composition. The Grammys says this category “should represent the best achievement in songwriting,” which is why it’s also referred to as “the Songwriter's award”.
‘Golden’ from KPop Demon Hunters and Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’ are the frontrunners for this one.
Aussie hopefuls
Amyl and The Sniffers are nominated for Best Rock Performance with ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’ — a track from their ARIA award-winning album ‘Cartoon Darkness’.
‘End of Summer’ by Tame Impala (who just landed four tracks in the Hottest 100) is nominated for Best dance/electronic recording, while RÜFÜS DU SOL is up for Best dance/electronic album.
New Zealand-born and Australian-raised singer Rosé (from Blackpink) is the first-ever K-pop act to be nominated for Record of the Year.
The 68th Grammys is streaming live on Stan this Monday, 2 February from 11am (AEDT).
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I’ve got 2 minutes
Kanye West apologises for “reckless” antisemitic rants
Kanye West, who now goes by ‘Ye’, has formally apologised for his past behaviour in a full-page newspaper ad in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The rapper has made many public antisemitic and racist comments over the past several years.
In his WSJ statement, Ye said a car accident 25 years ago left him with a brain injury, which went undetected until recently. He claims this led to mental health issues, causing him to eventually “lose touch with reality” and do “things I deeply regret.”
Ye said he’s not seeking to “excuse” his actions, but that he regrets and is “deeply mortified” by his behaviour.
However, the timing of the apology has been questioned, with the musician expected to release a new album in March.
Context
Ye has shared antisemitic and racist comments in interviews, on social media and in his work. In 2018, he stated he believed slavery was a “choice.”
In December 2022, he made antisemitic comments on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ podcast. Around the same time, Ye was banned from X (Then Twitter), but his account was reinstated eight months later when Elon Musk took over the platform.
In February last year, Ye’s online store, Yeezy, was advertised during Super Bowl commercials in LA, directing customers to the website. The only items for sale were t-shirts with swastikas printed on them.
In May, he released a track called ‘Heil Hitler’. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed Ye was banned from entering Australia, calling his behaviour “bigotry.”
In 2016, Ye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he and ex-wife Kim Kardashian have talked openly about. Last year, Ye claimed he was “misdiagnosed” as having bipolar disorder, instead saying he had been diagnosed with autism.
Accident
Ye was involved in a car accident in 2002. His jaw was broken in three places and wired shut. Ye recounted the incident on his 2003 track ‘Through the Wire’ (which he recorded whilst still recovering from the injury).
This week, Ye explained: “The focus was on the visible damage” after the accident, rather than neurological impacts.
Twenty years later, in 2023, Ye was “properly diagnosed” with an injury to the right frontal lobe of his brain.
Ye said the “medical oversight caused serious damage to [his] mental health,” suggesting it “led to [his] bipolar type-1 diagnosis.”
Explaining his experience with bipolar, Ye wrote: “When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely.”
Apology
The Wall Street Journal published a full-page advertisement in its Monday, 26 January edition, a letter by Ye titled ‘To Those I’ve Hurt.’
The New York City-based newspaper’s print edition is read by more than one million people in the U.S. The WSJ charges around $AU400,000 for a full-page black and white ad.
In the letter, Ye said he is “not a Nazi or an antisemite” and that he “love[s] Jewish people,” blaming his erratic behaviour on the undisclosed brain injury, as well as his mental health issues.
The rapper said he suffered “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed [his] life,” last year.
He also apologised to the Black community, whom he described as “unquestionably the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down.”
“I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness,” the letter ends.
Response
Some commentators have questioned the sincerity of this week’s letter, noting Ye has previously issued similar apologies – only to later retract them.
Creative Community for Peace (CCP) is a not-for-profit organisation in the U.S. focused on addressing antisemitism in the entertainment industry.
Responding to Ye’s apology in the Hollywood Reporter this week, CCP’s cofounders and executive director wrote: “Mental illness and neurological injury can explain impaired judgment, impulsivity or disinhibition. They do not explain the repeated adoption of an extremist ideology, and they do not absolve responsibility for amplifying hate.”
With a new album, ‘Bully’, scheduled for release in March, the timing of Ye’s statement “raises legitimate questions,” CCP said.
The organisation is calling for Ye to show accountability in the wake of his latest comments.
“Real accountability requires more than a statement. It requires sustained action”.
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
Recommendation of the week
TDA’s copyeditor Lucy wants you to watch ‘It Was Just An Accident’:
“I was lucky enough to see this incredible film at the Sydney Film Festival last year. It follows a group of people who were once detained in the same Iranian jail, as they try to determine whether a man they have kidnapped was a guard who tortured them. It’s a tense, thrilling, often hilarious movie, which director Jafar Panahi filmed in Iran in secret so the regime wouldn’t find out about it. Very relevant viewing given the events of the last month. It’s also just been nominated for two Oscars.”
‘It Was Just An Accident’ is in cinemas from today.
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