Training Example: VMAN – Review the Data, Give Your Score & Compare to the Real AI Evaluation

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VMAN
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Up Close & Personal with Jack Innanen
To the TikTok star turned Hollywood actor, fashion is no joke. Almost everything else is

May 19, 2026
Lucy Bedroque & kuru Enter Their Next Era

Two of young hip-hop’s coolest talk new and upcoming music, their joint tour, colorful style, Asian influences, straddling genres and avoiding internet anxiety

May 18, 2026
Getting Ready: Alexander Ludwig Has Checked In at Cannes 2026

Touch-ups, tie adjustments, and a custom Ami Paris tuxedo: the actor lets us in on the ritual behind his Cannes red carpet moment

May 15, 2026
Tour de Force: People I’ve Met Bring Their EP ‘Bunny’ to Life in New York City

The band gives VMAN a behind-the-scenes look before they hit the stage for their latest show

May 15, 2026
Getting Ready: Paul W. Downs Attends Dior Cruise 2027

The actor, writer, and director suits up for Jonathan Anderson’s debut Dior Cruise show.

May 14, 2026
Tyshawn Jones embodies Shines in Louis Vuitton’s Pre Fall 2026 Menswear Campaign

The brand breathes the life of a skateboarder into its new collection

May 11, 2026
Getting Ready: Matthew Kim for Gold Gala with Hennessy

As a guest of Hennessy at the 5th Annual Gold Gala, Matthew Kim shares how heritage, celebration, and personal style shaped his getting-ready ritual—from a custom Heon Kim look and meaningful Korean craftsmanship to an old-fashioned with Hennessy before one of the biggest AAPI nights of the year.

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VMAN
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VMAN 56: Game Changers with Kit Butler
More booked, more visible, and more in demand than ever, Kit Butler sets the pace for the modeling game

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ON THE COVER
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VMAN 56: All About Adam DiMarco
The star of Netflix’s upcoming series ‘Something Very Bad is Going to Happen’, talks about some good things happening

[H5]
ON THE COVER
[H3]
VMAN 56: Jeremy Pope Rewrites The Script
In a season of reflection and reinvention, the actor and star of ‘The Beauty’ is sharpening his voice as he steps into a defining year

May 9, 2026
VMAN Archive: The Other Face of Ashley Olsen

The media darling has found a home for herself in fashion with her luxury-basics line The Row, which launched its first men’s collection in Fall 2009

May 7, 2026
What are Timothée Chalamet & Adidas Cooking Up?

For the past few weeks, Timothée Chalamet has been showing up courtside at MSG in Adidas Sambas, and V have been asking questions

May 5, 2026
Here Are The Best-Dressed Men at The 2026 Met Gala

Prosthetics, capes, and pussy-bows—the 2026 Met Gala theme, “Costume Art,” pushed the best-dressed men into avant-garde territory

May 5, 2026
Huron, California Proclaims May 3rd ‘Willy Chavarria Day’

On Sunday, May 3, the city of Huron, California, gathered to commemorate one of its most notable natives, fashion designer Willy Chavarria. May 3, 2026, also marked the 75th anniversary of the city’s founding, making the day particularly resonant for those celebrating the community’s roots. Since founding his brand in 2015, Chavarria has interwoven his […]

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ON THE COVER
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VMAN 56: Taylor Zakhar Perez Takes Over
Having conquered the modern fairy tale with ‘Red, White & Royal Blue,’ Taylor Zakhar Perez is claiming a bigger kingdom of his own

May 4, 2026
CORTIS Releases New EP ‘GREENGREEN’

The group’s sophomore EP continues the journey for self-definition they embarked on in ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES’

May 4, 2026
Getting Ready With Stephen Kalyn From “Off Campus”

The ‘Off Campus’ breakout suits up in SIMKHAI for his biggest premiere yet

May 1, 2026
Formula 1 & Nahmias Launch Their New Collaboration

Sir Jackie Stewart fronts the campaign

May 1, 2026
Louis Vuitton x j-hope Unveil The LV Buttersoft Sneaker

A Y2K-inspired silhouette steps into a new era, blending performance, craftsmanship, and global star power

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ON THE COVER
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VMAN 56: Sombr Before The Storm
The Grammy-nominated rocker is arguably one of the most famous 20-year-olds in the world—but he’s standing on the edge of something much larger

April 27, 2026
Conan Gray Discusses His New Release, ‘Wishbone Deluxe’

The singer-songwriter doubles down on his most successful and authentic era yet

April 25, 2026
DC-642 Sneaker Touches Down in Milan

Dsquared2 launched their newest sneaker design with a celebratory cocktail party in Milan

1 month ago
Jacob Elordi Is the New Bleu de Chanel Boy

Who is Bleu?—Following Timothée Chalamet, the ‘Euphoria’ star is unveiled as Chanel’s newest fragrance ambassador

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Sombr is the Face of Valentino Pre-Fall 2026

The VMAN 56 cover star steps into Cy Twombly’s legendary palazzo for Alessandro Michele’s Pre-Fall 2026 campaign

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ON THE COVER
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VMAN 56: Connor Storrie Breaks the Ice
Perhaps not since Robert Pattinson’s ‘Twilight’ era has a lead inspired such a global, devoted following overnight. But what’s next for Connor Storrie, the 26-year-old actor-turned-overnight-household-name? Nobody knows—but the whole world is watching

1 month ago
João Neves Leads Ami Paris Into Spring

The PSG midfielder steps into the Spring collection, bringing one of football’s most promising talents to the forefront

April 15, 2026
Giveon on Coachella, Performing With Kehlani & New Music

“There are some surprises.” After shutting down Coachella, Giveon sat down with us to talk about what comes next

April 8, 2026
From the Track to L.A. With Charles Leclerc

PUMA and Doni Nahmias team up on a new collaboration blending each brand’s distinct influences

April 8, 2026
Venezuelan Artist Rodolfo Agrella Brings Pop Art To The Vatican

Ahead of his return to ICFF as Art Director, Rodolfo Agrella reflects on designing legacy works for Madre Carmen

April 6, 2026
Milo Manheim’s Moment

In the midst of gearing up for Disney’s live-action Tangled, the actor is stepping into his role as Hollywood’s next leading man

April 3, 2026
VMEN: Stephen Dawes Is a Rising Force Gaining Ground with Every Release

The underground force growing louder with every hit

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VMAN
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Introducing The VMAN x BENCH 2026 Calendar by Steven Klein
Step into the jungle year-round with the VMAN x BENCH 2026 Calendar photographed by Steven Klein

April 2, 2026
What The ‘Performative Male’ Is Wearing (& Reading) This Season!

The most compelling thing a man can carry right now is a book.

April 1, 2026
Actor Corey Mylchreest on His Craft, ‘Queen Charlotte’ & the Latest BOSS Campaign

The British actor moves between genres and eras without skipping a beat

April 1, 2026
VMEN: For Will Swinton, the Stage Is Everywhere

The emerging voice turning the world into his stage

March 30, 2026
VMEN: Meet Rising Rap Maverick Saam Sultan

The 20-year-old is making waves as a rapper set on defining the sound of summer.

March 28, 2026
VMEN: The Thrilling Rise & Reign of Hunter Doohan

The heartthrob of ‘Wednesday’ has scene-stealing talent and a destiny in the spotlight.

March 26, 2026
OMEGA Breaks a Watchmaking Barrier With Its First Two-Hand Master Chronometer

A new acoustic testing method, developed at the Laboratoire de Précision, makes the seconds hand obsolete in precision certification, opening a new chapter for the Constellation

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VMAN
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Kid Cudi & Lakeith Stanfield Discuss The Art of Rebirth
America’s renaissance man stars as our latest VMAN Digital Cover star

2 months ago
What VMEN Want: OMEGA’S Next Moonwatch Is Out of This World

OMEGA’s newest Speedmaster Moonwatch proves that the moon’s the limit this spring

March 19, 2026
Dolce&Gabbana Goes Into Sport Mode with ’47 Hats Collaboration

The fashion titans collaborated with licensed sportswear brand ’47, bringing its signature print into the world of sport

March 19, 2026
Tour Diary: From East to West Coast With Guitarricadelafuente

From Venice Beach to Chicago, the Spanish singer-songwriter takes us inside his first-ever U.S. tour

March 19, 2026
VMAN News: What to Play, Watch, and Experience This Spring

Past the runway, a new frequency is emerging. The high-octane pulse of art, music, and culture curates the spring’s most essential shifts

[H2] Lucy Bedroque & kuru Enter Their Next Era

Two of young hip-hop’s coolest talk new and upcoming music, their joint tour, colorful style, Asian influences, straddling genres and avoiding internet anxiety

[H2] Lucy Bedroque & kuru Enter Their Next Era

Two of young hip-hop’s coolest talk new and upcoming music, their joint tour, colorful style, Asian influences, straddling genres and avoiding internet anxiety

May 19, 2026

Text by John Norris

In early May, VMAN first met two of the most captivating artists to emerge in post-pandemic music, backstage in Brooklyn. But Keegan and Jeremiah are better known to the Discord-connected hip-hop and electronic underground – and increasingly, the overground – as kuru and Lucy Bedroque: Like-minded experimentalists from opposite coasts, labelmates at deadAir, among the zeitgeistiest indie imprints on the planet,  they’ve teamed up – along with New Zealand-born producer, artist and friend 9lives – for one of the coolest outings on the road this spring, one that’s packed out venues coast-to-coast, including two sold-out nights at the  Music Hall of Williamsburg.
For kuru, who is only six months older but has been in the game and in something of a spotlight longer, it means a chance to showcase songs from their latest and best album, Backstage hologram, which dropped last month. Headliner Lucy Bedroque is in a different spot, but has also taken things to a new level in the past year. Lucy rose to prominence a couple of years after kuru, first making their mark under the alias lostrushi, through hazily sweet, fiercely DIY singles. In 2024, they adopted their current name, and in quick succession, dropped three EP’s that heralded Lucy as a singular new voice in fractured, ethereal future pop. Epitomized by the gloriously sui generis tune “How to Pretend,” it was stuff so unique that it made Lucy’s 2025 turn all the more head-spinning.
Unmusique, released almost exactly a year ago, marked a major change. For the first time, Lucy was working with outside producers – a baker’s dozen of them – and took a sharp turn into the “rage”-ier side of the underground. Wildly blown-out tracks like “Ultraviolet” and “G6 Anthem” were catnip for the mosh pits, and if less autonomous and “ambitious” (Lucy’s word), the project connected like nothing they had dropped before, opening new doors. It’s also meant decision time for their upcoming, much-anticipated next album.  Simply titled c – which could stand for “crossroads” – it begs the question: does Lucy continue the crowd-pleasing, chaotic collabs? Or return to the beloved, if less turnt, self-prod weirdo-pop? If a flurry of recent track drops on Soundcloud and the ton of new songs Lucy has been featuring on the road (around ten, on an average night) are any indication, the former seems to be winning out, though Lucy doesn’t want to entirely abandon the latter.
Photography by Athena Merry
VMAN: Guys, thanks for doing this. I have so much to ask you both, but first and most obviously, the tour is now three weeks out and a couple more weeks to go. Is it going well? I know you also did a mini-tour in December, where you both kinda got sick…
kuru: This has been going way better than the mini-tour, I can tell you that. I mean, one, it just feels good not having to fly everywhere. Like I have my complaints about driving too, because I am a whiny bitch when it comes to travel? But it feels so nice being able to get proper rest and not being like, “Aw shit, I gotta go do TSA at 4 in the morning,” and this and that. It feels awful doing that. So this is just much more calm, I guess more streamlined?
VMAN: Has there been a high point? A best city yet?
[both]: Atlanta!
VMAN: Really? Well you also played there in December.
kuru: Yeah we did, but like this Atlanta stop?
Lucy Bedroque: I would say it’s the craziest show we’ve done so far. The energy was just amazing. People doing the “A-T-L” chant, which was just, mind you, voluntary on their end. And then it was an immediate encore as well, and overall, really good energy. But then besides the ups of the show, there were definitely…
kuru: [laughs] The biters?
Lucy: There was a bunch of biters in the crowd. Just biting each other.
VMAN: Oh wow. Could you like, see it?
Lucy: I didn’t see it but there were people on social media saying it happened? One of them was out of self-defense, but other people were biting people just to bite people!
I was just like, “Why were y’all biting each other?” Cause like the Atlanta show we did in December, it was probably the calmest in the four-stop run. But now I’m like – I’ve never even heard of people biting each other at shows, especially within the scene? I’m kind of like, “Damn!”
VMAN: Well Jeremiah, tomorrow is a big day, is it not?
Lucy: Yeah
kuru: Lucy’s birthday!
VMAN: The big 2-oh! Happy early birthday!
Lucy: Thank you.
VMAN: And being back in New York, even though you’ve lived most of your life in L.A. you are actually originally from New Rochelle, right?
Lucy: Yes, well, mostly The Bronx. I was born in New Rochelle, which is ten or fifteen away from where I lived.
VMAN: Do you have any family left back here?
Lucy: My dad still lives in The Bronx. He was here last night, and he’ll be at the show tonight.
VMAN: Oh great, And [to kuru] have been living in our city for a while now?
kuru: Close to three years at this point?
VMAN: Did you go kind of straight from school to New York?
kuru: No, actually – my origins are kind of weird. I was like bouncing around a lot when I was a kid…
VMAN: Rockville [Maryland] and Harper’s Ferry [West Virginia]?
kuru: Yeah, Rockville and Harper’s Ferry, but what I haven’t really mentioned that much is that when I was maybe 1 through 12, I would do this thing where I would spend like half a year in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, then back to Maryland. I was kind of home schooled, until let’s say seventh grade, for real? So it definitely took me a while to kind of get back into like, socializing, with other humans? Honestly it kind of came back to me deciding, “Oh shit, I should play basketball” in middle school, and that’s how I was kind of like re-learning human interaction, and all that stuff.
VMAN: So where in New York do you live?
kuru: I live in Queens, below Jackson Heights. So like, mad Indonesians, very home type of vibe. It’s so crazy to just step outside and be able to speak a language that I haven’t bothered to be fluent in since I was 12. So it feels good to talk to the locals.
VMAN: There’s a line in I think it’s in “U wld never do it” where you say, “I don’t got a home / nowhere to return to” – isn’t that a line?
kuru: It is, it is. Yeah I was kind of on my nomadic shit, for a little bit? And I still am, on occasion. But it’s always nice having like a bed to sleep in. I just have a complicated relationship with the concept of “home.”
VMAN: It occurred to me that this tour represents two kind of different things for each of you. Jeremiah for you, Unmusique blew up last year, took you to another level, everyone is anticipating this much teased next project, and more than half the songs you’re playing on this tour are really brand new. Either absolutely the first time people are hearing them or in some cases stuff you have just recently dropped on Soundcloud.
Lucy: This project that I’ve been working on – it’s been in concept since maybe November of last year – and I was planning on doing a little like mixtape kind of drop, and then a full LP? But over time, I was trying to get the sound that I wanted to get, and it kind of wasn’t coming together like I wanted? And so I just kept making more and more and then, especially in March, that was the month that I kind of figured out the sound and imagery I wanted to go with for this project. And it felt too ambitious for me to kind of just say, “Okay this is a mixtape, I’ll just put some songs on here.” I was actually supposed to submit the project April 17th! That was my plan. And in my head it was like kind of finished, but even now on tour I’ve decided that I wanted to have myself more involved in the project, in terms of production? Initially it was only gonna be two tracks that were self-prod, but I wanted to add four or five more? So that it actually has that feeling of a unique project. Because, as much as I consider myself a singer-songwriter-rapper, I also consider myself a producer.
VMAN: Right! And I think that’s been a question among some fans, because the early projects were self-prod, and Unmusique last year wasn’t just musically a different place for you, it was the fact that  you worked with, what a dozen collaborators?
Lucy: Yeah
VMAN: So I think for some the question has been, “Is that gonna be the path that Lucy continues on, or will it go back to how it was…” and it sounds like it is gonna be a mix.
Photography by Athena Merry
Lucy: Yeah I think it’s safe to say, a good mix. At least that’s kind of what I want it to be? I think a lot of people like the more ambitious projects? Like some of the older things that were produced by me, and are less the kind of hip-hop oriented songs that were produced by other producers…
VMAN: Rage-y?
Lucy: Rage-y, yeah! [laughs]
VMAN: So with all this new music you’re playing live, plus half a dozen songs you’ve dropped on Soundcloud recently, are you kind of testing out the responses to them? Are these songs that will even necessarily end up on the album?
Lucy: I feel like a lot of people think that they are like singles, from the project?
But – and I don’t want to call them “throwaways” necessarily – I will say there are only maybe two tracks of the seven that I have uploaded in the last few weeks that will actually be included on the project. Initially I was thinking of having around sixteen songs for the project, but I think I am going for 21. Which is a very large number, it can seem very intimidating. But I think that I’m kind of like ego-tripping in my own music.
VMAN: And then Keegan for you, Backstage hologram, which is so great, just dropped last month. Your set is pretty much 50-50 between that album and [2025’s] Stay true forever, and from what I could tell last night, people are just as into the new record as the last one. “Noir kei” for example, went off.
kuru: Yeah it’s definitely been like a major response. Honestly, when I dropped Stay true forever, I wasn’t really expecting much. Cause after the debut album? [ re : wired, 2024] I was just kind of like, “Okay this is cool, but this is like kind of a concept album to me?” Like, granted it’s like what I imagined the end product to be? But it’s not the end product. I honestly think my vocal inflections on that are super weal. So I feel like Stay true forever was just like, “Give me two weeks. Give a TLM 103 [microphone]. I’m pressing go. I’m going every night, just punching shit out.” Eighteen tracks, I got it done in like two weeks, I just went for it. So I wasn’t expecting too much, I didn’t expect it would change my life, like six months later? Cause I feel the traction from it came at a much later date. But it is kind of weird, because I think it kind of blew up the reception for the new album. And it’s very – it kind of feels like everything is kind of completing a little bit.
VMAN: And Jeremiah, the name of the new project, whenever it comes, is c, right?
Lucy: c. Yeah.
VMAN: And that refers to carbon?
Lucy: Yes? Um…It’s kind of a multitude of things. “c” is for whatever reason, one of my favorite letters. But also C is carbon and on the periodic table it’s 6 and like, my birthday is 2006, so. But I think c though now is more a variable. It could mean like a lot of different one-word things, that start with the letter c.
VMAN: The new songs you’ve uploaded and have been performing include “C-section”, “I Know”, “Hello World” with Prettifun….
Lucy: Yeah but that I won’t be including.
VMAN: So some of them will make it on the project?
Lucy: I would say the majority won’t. I think my idea of doing more self-produced songs has inspired me to create like more of like a concept. Also, visually what I’m going for in this project is kind of more horror-esque? And kind of weird. And I will say that I just kind of want to be involved, in that sound. And there are other producers that are involved, but I also want to be as involved as I can be.
VMAN: I talk to a lot of young artists who don’t lean into style that much. But you both seem to really know the value of distinctive looks and presentation. Jeremiah, how would you say your style has evolved over time, even going back to the lostrushi days, and what has inspired you?
Lucy: I would say I’ve been very inspired by a lot of music – like thinking about it, there’s one of Japan’s biggest bands, a rock band, and I don’t know how to pronounce the name, but the lead singer is…[to kuru] you know, Hyde…?
kuru: Oh yeah I know….
Lucy: I am not sure how to pronounce it. [Lucy is referring to Hyde of Osaka alt-rock vets  L’Arc-en-Ciel]. Or even bands like [Japanese metal stalwarts] Dir En Grey.
kuru: Yeah, kind of like the visual kei type of stuff.
Lucy: There’s always within the younger community, where like people kind of – and right now I’d say it’s more the Hedi boys, who are now trying to dress themselves in Dior jeans and stuff. But I’d say a lot of them were like trying to get that whole visual kei type of style, back in 2023? And I feel like a lot of them were not really cultured to the music behind it, or really like, knowing anything about it besides the clothes.
VMAN: So it was more costume than anything.
Lucy: Yeah and like, I am someone where I really like the idea of going all out, and dressing up. And I discovered that when I got into visual kei, after I had watched a lot of [theatrical 90s Japanese band] Malice Mizer DVD’s and stuff, and they instantly became one of my favorite bands. So since then I’ve always wanted to kind of, well, wear kind of visual kei-adjacent clothing, but I’ve also wanted to dress up like full-on costumes, wigs and makeup, shit like that. Cause I feel like that’s really part of that culture, and I feel like it’s sick as fuck. But I think a lot of people are afraid to try that because to them it’s very queer…and not even queer in a gay way.
VMAN: One of your new songs is “Married To My Jeweler” and I do like your jewelry cause you wear a lot of silver and I like silver, I don’t really like gold.
Lucy: I’m the same way.
kuru: I am too, I think we’re 100 per cent! [laughs]
VMAN: Any story behind that song? Do you have a favorite jeweler?
Lucy: Um, not necessarily. It’s kind of just a song,  But I am more into jewelry than I ever have been in my life, I would say. I think it’s such an essential for an accessory to a wardrobe.
VMAN: Keegan, as a longtime fan of Comme des Garçons I loved seeing Rei Kawakubo get a mention in your song “Noir kei”.
kuru: Yep! [makes a heart sign]
VMAN: Rei’s the GOAT. And in one interview I saw you talking about people’s style and how

[H2] Getting Ready: Alexander Ludwig Has Checked In at Cannes 2026

Touch-ups, tie adjustments, and a custom Ami Paris tuxedo: the actor lets us in on the ritual behind his Cannes red carpet moment

[H2] Getting Ready: Alexander Ludwig Has Checked In at Cannes 2026

Touch-ups, tie adjustments, and a custom Ami Paris tuxedo: the actor lets us in on the ritual behind his Cannes red carpet moment

May 18, 2026

Text by Juliet Amorina

Best known for his role as Björn Lothbrok in Vikings and the ruthless, axe-swinging tribute Cato in The Hunger Games, Alexander Ludwig arrived at this year’s Cannes Film Festival red carpet sharply dressed in a custom Ami Paris look designed by Alexandre Mattiussi. This particular stretch of the French Riviera feels fitting as Ludwig is about to swap loafers for flip flops in The White Lotus Season 4, which HBO confirmed on April 15th will follow a new slate of hotel guests and employees over the course of a week, all unfolding against the backdrop of the Cannes Film Festival itself. According to a press release, the new season is filming on the French Riviera, in locations including Cannes, St. Tropez, and Monaco.
On the carpet, Ludwig wore a black smoking with a duchesse lapel, paired with a black Moroccan silk shirt, and topped it off with an asymmetric black duchesse bow tie. Here, he gave VMAN an exclusive behind-the-scenes look as he prepared for the festival.

[H2] Tour de Force: People I’ve Met Bring Their EP ‘Bunny’ to Life in New York City

The band gives VMAN a behind-the-scenes look before they hit the stage for their latest show

[H2] Tour de Force: People I’ve Met Bring Their EP ‘Bunny’ to Life in New York City

The band gives VMAN a behind-the-scenes look before they hit the stage for their latest show

May 15, 2026

Text by Ailbhe Killalea

Filling Mercury Lounge with moody fans and melancholy sounds, budding alt-rock band People I’ve Met took to the stage to unveil their debut EP, Bunny. Serving as a testament to their depth in lyricism and composition, the EP’s energy is a balance of heartbreak and yearning, loving and leaving.
The trio, made up of childhood friends vocalist and guitarist Moses Martin, drummer Orlando Wiltshire, and bassist Andrew Suster, is sonically sharing in the triumphs and struggles of early adulthood, with a sound that is soon to be topping playlists globally. With an album set to drop later this year and upcoming performances in the United Kingdom in the coming months, the band took VMAN along for the ride to look at their performance process for their May 2nd show.
“Lando’s nap“
“Pre show tune“
“Orlando’s jokes”
“loving one rehearsals”
“He’s not so original”
“soundcheck”
“Who are all these people”