Trendy Artists of the Week: André Rieu, Metallica, Dan Balan, Simone Mendes, Tom Odell

André Rieu and His Orchestra to Play In Abu Dhabi For the First Time

It’s a rare occurrence that a classical violinist makes our list of Trendy Artists. Yet this is just what happened to André Rieu. The Dutch virtuoso and conductor has garnered a lot of our users’ attention lately. Perhaps it’s because it’s been recently announced that he and his Johann Strauss Orchestra will be performing in the United Arab Emirates for the first time. As part of his world tour, Riue will be playing the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on March 9th, 2024.

Metallica’s James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo Shares His Goals For 2024

In the latest episode of the Metallica Report podcast, vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo talked about what they are planning for the new year of 2024. Evidently, Metallica’s M72 World Tour - which started in April 2023 and goes on until September 2024 - was a major topic of conversation.

However, we also got to learn some about their personal lives; such as that Trujillo started learning French during the pandemic and wants to keep learning new languages in the New Year. Meanwhile, Hetfield said he is not a fan of new year’s resolutions at all, he is just looking forward to being on the road and doing live shows again.

What Has Happened to Dan Balan and O-Zone Since Numa Numa?

If we wrote, a few paragraphs above, that it is rare to see a classical violinist on this list of ours, then what should we say about a Moldovan musician? Yet, without any major news breaking about him for stimulus - or at least not what we could find - Dan Balan of the band O-Zone was among our most viewed artist profiles this week. So, let’s take this opportunity to see what has happened to Balan since his band's 2003 internationall hit “Dragostea Din Tei” (better known as “Numa Numa” in the English-speaking world) came out.

O-Zone remained popular in Romania and Moldova until their break-up in 2005. However, they failed to retain the worldwide attention they got for Numa Numa. Balan moved to Los Angeles, California after the break-up, trying to make it as a solo artist in the US, but even the album he recorded never got released. He moved back to Eastern Europe. However, his famous Numa Numa song was heavily sampled on T.I. and Rihanna’s 2008 single “Live Your Life”, which brought him some additional success after all.

Simone Mendes and Sister to Appear on New Reality Show

Brazilian sertanejo (essentially, Brazilian country music) singer and actress Simone Mendes has been confirmed to appear on Big Brother Brazil’s new series next year. What’s more, the famous artist’s sister will also be on BBB24, exciting their fans across the South American country.

New Tom Odell Single “The End” Released

This may not be the happiest tone to end the old year, but British indie pop singer Tom Odell just released his new single “The End”. It is a sorrow ballad about an addict linking up with his old lover, trying to make things right and start again. Let’s hope 2024 will leave us feeling the exact opposite way this song does, and everyone has a very happy and successful New Year!