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09 Oct 2024

Julie Williams Opens Up About Artistic Vision Behind New EP ‘Tennessee Moon,’ Advocacy Within Nashville’s Music Industry

On singer-songwriter Julie Williams’ new five-song EP Tennessee Moon (out Oct. 17) the Florida native draws listeners into songs that evince all the facets of who she is, both as a person and as an artist, intertwining elements of folk, ‘90s country, and pop with her soothing vocal.

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“Music was always in our household in every single car ride, my mom and I listened to ‘90s country women like The Chicks and a lot of folk too, indigo Girls, John Denver, Dan Fogelberg, that was the soundtrack to my mom’s car,” Williams tells Billboard. “And my dad played a lot of Michael Jackson, Prince, the Temptations. So there was music constantly.”

In elementary school, Williams became involved with music programs, then singing and performing at church. By middle school, Williams was singing the national anthem prior to Tampa Bay Rays baseball games. A friend from church who played guitar began giving Williams guitar lessons and eventually they formed an acoustic music duo and playing at bars around Tampa Bay.

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Williams’ aspirations have always centered around making a difference in the lives of others, and to that goal, she studied public policy at Duke University, but was also still drawn to music. She signed to Small Town Records at one point, and continued writing songs more regularly, pouring out songs of elegance, vivid detail and forthright honesty.

In 2019, shortly after graduating, she chased her musical aspirations to Nashville. Williams, a proudly mixed-race, queer singer-songwriter, found her musical breakthrough when she wrote “Southern Curls,” detailing her experience of growing up in the South, but with, as she sings, “the wrong kind of Southern curls.” The sharply-written, exquisitely-sung track also delves into forging her own path in her early days in Nashville, with the lines, “Twenty-three in Music City with dreams and high heeled boots/ Singin’ for a crowd of blue eyes/ Will they want me too?”

“That’s when it felt like, ‘Oh, I’ve tapped into who I am as an artist and the type of songwriter I want to be,’” Williams says.

She continued writing and performing songs, resulting in her 2023 self-titled EP. Meanwhile her music and artistry caught the attention of The Black Opry, as well as CMT. She was named a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country class in 2023, and was part of the CMT and mTheory Equal Access program.

Her keen artistic mission further evolves on her new five-song EP. Williams is a writer on every track, working with writers including Melody Walker and Natalie Closner. She looks back on the last moments of a relationship in “Tennessee Moon,” while “Reckless Road” meshes banjo, pedal steel and acoustic guitar, evoking the timeless feel of ‘90s country songs.

“I know it’s not going to be an easy road,” Williams says of her journey as an artist. “Every single day is a grind and a step. But for me, if I’m moving in an authentic way and I know that I have people around me that love me, I don’t care. I just love it so much. I’m just going to keep doing it for as long as I can.”

She just launched her Tennessee Moon Tour, which runs through November. Billboard spoke with Williams about her inspirations, career journey, her new EP, her work with the Black Opry and more.

What is one album you could play forever and never get tired of playing?

Eva Cassidy was one of my first musical influences and my dad used to play [Cassidy’s versions of] “Autumn Leaves” and “I Know You By Heart.” Her album Songbird is one I listen to, and it feels like my Dad is with me.

Who would be your Mount Rushmore of country music?

The Chicks, 100 percent. I remember when they got kicked out of country music radio and I was so mad. I remember in my fourth grade class, we had to write a speech. I wrote about how mad I was at the president [then-president George W. Bush] because he got my favorite band kicked off the radio. And then Sara Evans, I loved “Born to Fly,” and all of the late ‘90s, early 2000’s country.

What inspired the title track to Tennessee Moon?

I went to Percy Priest Lake [in Nashville] with a former partner, and I took this photo of them under the sunset, as the daylight was fading away. I could just tell that the relationship was fading, but I wanted to capture it and hold onto what it felt like in this golden era. Something about sunsets, as beautiful as they are, you can’t quite capture them. I think there’s beauty in how fleeting it is — and there are people in our lives aren’t necessarily meant to stay, but we just appreciate them when we have them.

One of your frequent collaborators on this project is Melody Walker. How did the two of you connect as musicians?

I believe we met at a Song Suffragettes show. I was a big fan of the music she was making and we sat down to write and came to her with that photo that inspired “Tennessee Moon.” I just said, “I want a song that feels like this picture.” Within two or three hours we had the whole song and we just keep coming back to each other because if we really do have that writing chemistry, I think we push each other in some ways. I can sometimes get so lost in lyrics and verses — if I could just write verses for the rest of my life. She’s like, “Okay, what’s our hook? What’s our big moment?” We work well together and it’s great to have people in Nashville that you feel a hundred percent comfortable to be yourself around.

Another song on the album, “Just Friends?,” also highlights part of your journey as a queer woman. How did that song come about?

I was playing shows with an artist called Denitia, and she has a song that’s called “Old Friend.” And I was hearing her play this song night after night about looking back at an old friendship, and it made me think of some friendships in my past and one in particular. I just was wondering why I am not close with that person anymore and why looking back at it, I felt so much pain and regret, almost felt like it was a breakup. I look back now, and realize, “I think I had feelings for that person,” but I didn’t even know at that time.

That was just such a powerful time to write this song that touches on that confusion of young love, of friendship, female friendship, especially for queer women, kind of discovering who it is that you love — it can be a confusing process at first. I grew up with very, very liberal, accepting parents and I still felt confused. So, I wanted a song that would capture that and I wanted to give myself a little bit of grace, too. I was very lucky that my queer journey, it wasn’t a sad one. I was very lucky that when I told my family they were accepting and my friends as well, but it still was something that took that time. So, I wanted to show the beauty in that journey, too.

What was your journey like in finding community as an artist in Nashville?

I didn’t find that community when I first moved to Nashville, but also because I don’t think I really knew myself too much then. I still was straightening my hair. I found this picture of the first Whiskey Jam [concert] I was playing, and I used to spend hours straightening my hair just to then curl it into those big, southern curls. I was like, “Why am I straightening and curling my hair again just to get a different curl pattern, because I think this is what people want to see?”

I moved here and I was in a long-term partnership that I thought this was going to be the person that I was with for the rest of my life, and I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to explore my queer identity and I didn’t really know myself. Writing songs like “Southern Curls” and getting connected with organizations like Song Suffragettes and the Black Opry, I met some of my favorite people that I work with and my favorite collaborators.

How has the Black Opry been instrumental in your career?

I met [Black Opry founder/leader] Holly G and a number of the Black Opry folks, and just sat with them in a hotel room and passed around a guitar and played songs. I told Holly at that moment, “I will play whatever show you have. It could be in a dumpster and I’ll be there.” I was really wondering if I was going to stay in Nashville. I had gone and visited friends in New York and DC and was like, “I think I’m going to go back into the policy world. I don’t know if this is going to work out over here.”

Right after that was when I first went on my first Black Opry tour, and it really changed everything. I started playing with Black Opry and then realizing that there were opportunities outside of Nashville, that there were venues and places that wanted to be a part of what Black Opry was building.

How did you build upon those shows you played with the Black Opry?

I would just reach out to [those venues] as an individual — this is before I had an agent. I would just reach out and say, “Hey, I saw you booked Black Opry this time. I’m a Black Opry artist. I would love to come and play.” And so I started booking myself and doing my own tour. That’s when [management company] Prater Day saw what I was doing and wanted to jump in, too.

The past few years, I’ve played over 120 shows and I think it’s 26 states now and a few countries. And I think that once again touches on that magic that I had found when I first started playing. But now I get to feel that all around the country and the world and meet new people. And so, I think my career is now growing because of my time on the road and the road will continue to have a huge part in my story.

You are also an activist and in 2023 launched Green Room Conversations, to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music industry, and to offer a safe space for women to discuss navigating the industry. Why has that been so important for you?

I wanted to start that organization, just being a touring musician and just a woman in this industry. I’ve had my own share of stories, and I think you could throw a rock and ask somebody to share a story that they have had in the music industry. I wanted to empower people with those little frank lessons that can help save people from a lot of uncomfortable situations. I remember when I first met [singer-songwriter-radio host] Rissi Palmer in a little café in North Carolina, it was just before I moved to Nashville. I remember asking if she had any advice for me and she said, “Do not take a business meeting with a man past 6:00 p.m.. That’s not a business meeting; that’s a date. If he wants to work with you, you can get coffee the next day.”

I think music is an industry, where at least for artists, there is no HR [department]. It’s an industry where show are late at night, that often involve alcohol. You could be in a position where you have to share a hotel with a co-worker because there’s not enough money to get everybody solo hotel rooms. Or you’re writing a song about sex and love, but that doesn’t mean you want to sleep with your coworker.

We come into this industry with so many hopes and dreams and we tell people to say yes to every opportunity because that could be your next break. We’ve been going to different colleges, talking with music business students. We’re just saying those frank things that women have been saying in green rooms forever, like, ‘Watch out for this guy,’ or ‘This person who you think holds so much power over you in your career, you don’t have to work with them.’ Sometimes you need that permission to say no and know that it’s not going to destroy your career. And in fact, there’s people out here that can support you.

What book or podcast are you into right now?

One that I’m reading right now that I’m really liking is called Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. It’s a little weird, but I love it. It’s so cool. I’ve just been just diving in.

09 Oct 2024

How a French Phenom Became the King of Modern Funk: ‘Nobody Has His Reach’

“I have a question,” Dabeull asked. “Do you have the funk?”

There was only one answer at Brooklyn Steel, an 1,800-capacity venue in New York City — an affirming roar.

The French producer was in New York City in September promoting his new album, Analog Love, with his first ever full-band tour. But the short jaunt, which also stopped in San Francisco and Los Angeles, was freighted with extra importance — less of a tour, more of a mission of renewal. “My job is to make funk a modern music again,” Dabeull says. 

He speaks about this goal in unabashedly grand, romantic terms. “I don’t make funk music for money,” he explains. “I make funk music for people’s dreams.”

That is no small task, but Dabeull’s efforts have been more successful than most. His top five songs on Spotify have over 135 million streams combined, outshining many of his funk-obsessed peers — not to mention many of his early influences, whom have often languished in obscurity in the streaming era. 

Dabeull “is one of the best, if not the best, modern funk artists out there because of his analog aesthetic — it’s all raw synths recorded live,” says Ivan “Debo” Marquez, one of the co-founders of Funk Freaks, a DJ collective and record label from Santa Ana, California. “Nobody in the modern funk scene has actually had the reach that he’s having.” 

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It took a while, though. For years, Dabeull had to prioritize other styles of music, like electro house, to help generate income, as he wasn’t established, and the genre he adored was out of favor. 

He grew up in Paris, and discovered American funk through friends and increasingly frequent trips to record stores as a teen in the late 1990s. “I never went to school for music,” he says. “My school is reproducing the Bar-Kays, Kleeer, really good funk from the 1980s.” (Kleeer’s 1981 album is titled, appropriately, License to Dream.)

A young Dabeull would play LPs on repeat, picking apart the grooves: “What bass is that? What guitar is that? What effects are on that guitar?”

In the U.S., much of the vital funk of the early 1980s — often known as “boogie” — never got its due outside of the Black community, “hampered by a disco backlash at pop radio,” as Nelson George wrote in his book The Death of Rhythm & Blues. “Of the 14 records to reach No. 1 on the Black chart in 1983,” George noted, “only one reached the pop top 10.” 

This freeze-out still has lingering effects to this day. As Dabeull put it, “for a lot of people, funk music [from this era] is seen as cheesy.” 

Dabeull

Dabeull performing in Brooklyn

Lucia Aboytez

It’s an unfortunate phenomenon: Nearly universal love for the hits of Michael Jackson and Prince doesn’t necessarily trickle down to Midnight Star’s “Wet My Whistle” or Kashif’s “I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On).” Some indelible music from this period, including tracks from the S.O.S. Band, the Chi-Lites, and One Way, never even made it to Spotify — another obstacle to fandom in the modern era, as finding the good stuff can take on elements of an archival project.

In many of these songs, the bassline is the true star, svelte and muscular like an Olympic athlete. This is why good DJs can still rely on these records to whip up dancefloor mayhem. “Some people like steppers, the slower stuff,” Marquez explains. At Funk Freaks parties, in contrast, “we like the get-your-ass-dancing, sweat-the-alcohol-out feel” of boogie. 

And Dabeull’s strongest productions can hold their own alongside the original gems. On songs like “On Time” and “JoyRide,” a track for frequent collaborator Holybrune, the basslines are formidably plump, but still limber. Synthesizers flash like emergency flares; the drums remain curt and clipped; vocalists trace breathy arcs in the space cleared by the bullish low-end.  

Holybrune also sings on “You & I,” Dabeull’s most popular song, which sounds as if he took Dennis Edwards’ 1984 classic “Don’t Look Any Further,” crumpled it into a compact ball, and then shot it out of a cannon. Dabeull’s band shores up its bona fides by hurtling through other throwbacks: At the show in Brooklyn, they played a snatch of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” along with the Rah Band’s “Messages From the Stars;” one guitar riff evoked “Get Down Saturday Night,” Oliver Cheatham’s sparkling ode to weekend debauchery. (The band also delivered a runaway-train version of Michael Sembello’s Flashdance anthem “Maniac” — less groovy than “Boogie Wonderland,” but no less effective.)

In case anyone doubted Dabeull’s fealty to 1980s funk, when it came time to record Analog Love, he got his hands on the mixing console Jackson had used to record Thriller. “He’s a bit of a perfectionist,” Marquez says. (Funk Freaks released a vinyl-only Dabeull 7″ in 2020.) Dabeull prefers the word “picky.”

Dabeull

“We are not here just to play the songs on the album,” Dabeull says. “We want to bring it back to the way it used to be.”

Lucia Aboytez

The console, which weighs more than 1,000 pounds, had previously been in the possession of the French band Phoenix, who paid $17,000 for it during the sessions for their 2013 album Bankrupt! But the equipment had fallen into disrepair. “They said, ‘If you can fix it, you can have it,’” recalls Julian Getreau, who serves as music director for Dabeull’s nine-person band, and is credited on his releases as Rude Jude. 

While that mending process took two months of “working every day,” according to Dabeull, it was worth every ounce of elbow grease: “Making funk on this board was magic,” he says reverently. “To keep the funk alive, you have to do it properly,” Getreau adds. “You cannot go the easy way.”

Maybe it’s the board — there’s a touch of the Jacksons’ “Walk Right Now” in the hard charge of the Analog Love track “Look in the Mirror,” while some of the louche slink of Thriller‘s closer, “The Lady in My Life,” seeps into Dabeull’s “Fabulous Kisses.” “Let’s Play” goes another direction altogether, reimagining West Coast G-funk as tender music for lovers.

A sizable chunk of the crowd at the Brooklyn Steel show was not alive in the mid-1980s when Jackson conquered the world with Thriller — that was their parents’ music. The importance of this is not lost on Dabeull. Many listeners who worship funk are “a bit older; they get nostalgic about what they heard when they were younger,” he says. “We want people that are younger to get intrigued and get into it, so it’s not seen as an old kind of music.”

His plan seems to be working, at least in the three American cities he visited on tour. Because Dabeull’s show in L.A. sold out quickly — “that’s the Mecca of funk,” Getreau notes — some fans hopped a plane to see him play in New York, adding the price of a cross-country flight to their concert ticket. (Holybrune kindly ferried their posters backstage for Dabeull to autograph.) Another fan made the pilgrimage south from Montreal, declaring the show “the most fun she’d ever had.”

After his performance, Dabeull seemed slightly dazed by all the attention Stateside. “For us, it’s unbelievable,” he said. A few minutes later, a member of his team informed him that all the merch had sold out. “It’s crazy,” Dabeull replied. “Why?” 

His publicist offered a gentle retort: “Because people like you.” Or, perhaps, they really do have the funk.

09 Oct 2024

Piers Morgan Apologizes to Jay-Z & Beyoncé for Airing Jaguar Wright’s ‘Totally False’ Allegations

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have received a public apology from Piers Morgan after the polarizing talk-show host aired inflammatory allegations about them on his program. 

About a week after interviewing Jaguar Wright on Piers Morgan Uncensored — during which the singer-songwriter called the Roc Nation founder and Sean “Diddy” Combs “monsters,” and claimed that the famous couple had hundreds of victims — Morgan kicked off the Tuesday (Oct. 8) episode of his show by sharing he’d been contacted by the Carter family’s lawyers, who denied Wright’s allegations. Noting that “there are legal limits” that even he must follow, Morgan went on to explain that he’d obliged a request from the attorneys to remove the claims from his on-camera interview with Wright before issuing an apology to Bey and Jay. 

“Jaguar Wright unexpectedly made several serious allegations about Jay-Z and Beyoncé during that interview,” he told viewers of his Oct. 2 interview with Wright. “As I said, in the moment, they were not present to respond or defend themselves, but now they have. Their lawyers contacted us to say that those claims were totally false and have no basis in fact.” 

“We’ve therefore complied with the legal request to cut them from the original interview,” the former host of CNN’s Piers Morgan Live continued. “Editing interviews is not something we do lightly on a show called Uncensored. But, like the proverbial cries of fire in a crowded theater, there are legal limits on us, too. And we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.” 

Billboard has reached out to Wright for comment.

Elsewhere in his opening remarks Tuesday, Morgan tried to justify why he’d invited Wright on his show in the first place. “The reality of the modern world is that pretty much everyone has a platform as long as they have something to say that other people want to hear,” he said. “The people making these claims have an audience with or without shows like mine.” 

Morgan also noted that Wright has been garnering a lot of attention amid Diddy’s ongoing fall from grace. The Bad Boy Records founder is currently being held in custody as he awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering following his Sept. 16 arrest. 

Watch Morgan’s apology to Beyoncé and Jay-Z below.

09 Oct 2024

Post Malone Added To Joe Walsh’s 2024 VetsAid Show Alongside Eric Church, Kool & the Gang

Post Malone has been added to the lineup for the upcoming eighth edition of Eagles guitarist and solo star Joe Walsh‘s VetsAid benefit show. The 2024 concert, which will take place at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY on Nov. 11, will also feature previously announced guest Eric Church, Toto, Kool & the Gang and Walsh.

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“VetsAid is for EVERYONE: fans of all ages, backgrounds and musical genres,” Walsh said in a statement. “So who better to join the party than Posty – the man who can do it all? And do it so well?! Mix in the best of country with Eric, rock with Toto and funk with Kool and The Gang and you have a VetsAid for the ages. What better way to honor our veterans and their families this Veterans Day than with a night you will never forget?”

Tickets for the event whose proceeds go to veterans’ service charities are available now here. The grant recipients who will benefit from this year’s show are all based in New York and New Jersey and have committed to using the funds exclusively in those states, according to a press release.

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The 2024 large grant recipients are: Travis Manion Foundation, Fourblock, Hire Heroes Foundation, America’s VetDogs, Vets4Warriors, Our Military Kids, Foundation for Women Warriors, HunterSeven Foundation, Merging Vets & Players, while the community grant recipients include: Homeward Bound Adirondacks, Project Refit, AMVETS Service Foundation of New Jersey, North Country Veterans Association.

The first VetsAid took place in 2017 and featured Walsh — a Gold Star son — jamming on his own songs and collaborating with Zac Brown Band, Keith Urban and Gary Clark Jr., while subsequent editions welcomed everyone from Chris Stapleton, Haim and Ringo Starr to ZZ Top, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Brad Paisley, Eddie Vedder, Gwen Stefani, Metallica’s James Hetfield, Nine Inch Nails, Black Keys, the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Flaming Lips and Stephen Stills. To date, the events have distributed $3.5 million.

For more information on VetsAid click here.

09 Oct 2024

How to Watch MLB Division Series Without Cable

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With the MLB Division Series in full swing, there are four teams in the American League and four teams in the National League looking to advanced to the Championship Series in their respective leagues.

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Who’s Playing During MLB Division Series?

There are four series (best-of-five games) scheduled. All of these post-season games broadcast across Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV, and stream on Max.

Wednesday, Oct. 9:

  • Game 3 — Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers: 3:08 p.m. ET/12:08 p.m. PT, TBS/Max
  • Game 4 — Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets: 5:08 p.m. ET/2:08 p.m. PT, FS1
  • Game 3 — New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: 7:08 p.m. ET/4:08 p.m. PT, TBS/Max
  • Game 4 — Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres: 9:08 p.m. ET/5:08 p.m. PT, FS1

Thursday, Oct. 10:

  • Game 4 — Cleveland Guardians at Detroit Tigers: 6:08 p.m. ET/3:08 p.m. PT, TBS/Max
  • Game 4 — New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: 8:08 p.m. ET/5:08 p.m. PT, TBS/Max

Where to Watch MLB Division Series for Free

For cord-cutters, there are a few ways to watch MLB Division Series on Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV if you don’t have cable. DirecTV Stream has a five-day free trial, while other streaming services, such as Hulu + Live TV, also offers a free trial, so you can watch games for free.

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Keep reading for more details on how to watch MLB Division Series with DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo.

How to Watch MLB Division Series with DirecTV Stream

A subscription to DirecTV Stream — which comes with Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV for MLB Division Series baseball — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels starting at $69.99 per month. The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free if you sign up now.

You can watch local networks such as NBC, CBS and PBS, while you can also watch many cable networks, including ABC, ESPN, Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, Cartoon Network, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, CNBC and many others.

How to Watch MLB Division Series with Hulu + Live TV

The MLB Division Series on Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV is watchable with Hulu + Live TV too. Prices for the cable alternative start at $76.99 per month, while each plan comes with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ at no additional cost.

Hulu + Live TV might be best for those who want all of these streaming services together in one bundle. It also features many other networks, including CBS, ABC, ESPN, Hallmark Channel, BET, CMT, Disney Channel, NBC, Fox Sports and more.

How to Watch MLB Division Series With Fubo

To watch MLB Division Series on Fox and FS1, Fubo starts at $59.99 per month (the streamer’s current deal) with nearly 200 channels — including local and cable — that are streamable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and on web browsers. And with a seven-day free trial, you can watch for free, if you act fast and sign up now. Fubo doesn’t include TBS and truTV with any of their plans.

The service even gets you live access to local broadcast networks including NBC, Fox and CBS, while it also has dozens of cable networks, such as ABC, ESPN, Bravo, CMT, ID, TV Land, VH1, TLC, E!, MTV, FX, Ion, OWN, Paramount Network and much more.

How to Watch MLB Division Series With Max

During the MLB Division Series, games that are broadcasting on TBS and truTV are also available to steam on Max via the B/R Sports hub. The services starts at $9.99 per month and features hit movies and TV shows, including Barbie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Dune: Part II, Civil War and more. It also features pro sports from leagues such as NBA, NHL, NCAA March Madness and others. Learn more about Max here.

MLB Division Series broadcast across Fox, FS1, TBS and truTV, while these post-season games are streamable with DirecTV Stream and Max.

Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.

09 Oct 2024

Insomniac Music Group Launches Insomniac Publishing

Insomniac Music Group is expanding with the launch of a new publishing vertical, Insomniac Publishing.

The current Insomniac Publishing roster includes 2Night Management (which represents the artists Matroda, San Pacho and Bruno Furlan), Aryay, Avi Snow, Benni Ola, Jasper, Joris Mur, Mattilo, Nuala, Omer Horovitz and Rami Jrade. Members of this group have writing credits on songs including Gordo and Drake’s “Sideways,’” AMÉMÉ’s “Richa,” Blond:ish’s “Different Way,” Dillon Francis and Galantis’ “Pretty Low,” with more music soon to be released.

A pair of writing camps have taken place at the Insomniac headquarters in Calabasas, Calif., where the company — which also produces major electronic music festivals like EDC Las Vegas — has just completed Insomniac Studios. A pair of writing and recording rooms have already hosted more than 100 unique artist sessions: The first studio, dubbed the “Mainstage,” is equipped with outboard gear for production and vocal recording, while a Dolby Atmos room provides space for writing, mixing and recording.

Insomniac Publishing is intended to create music for Insomniac Records and the wider dance music community while also providing synch opportunities. Music under the Insomniac Publishing umbrella has already been synced by companies including Apple, Coca-Cola, Netflix and NBC, with songs also placed on the Paramount+ program Mayor of Kingstown and The Lake on Amazon Prime. The Insomniac Publishing catalog includes more than 1,000 songs and tracks in styles that span the broad spectrum of electronic music.

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Through all of these initiatives, Insomniac aims to propel the careers of its songwriters and emerging talent within dance music.

09 Oct 2024

Kelly Clarkson Blown Away By Celine Dion Crying Over Her ‘Titanic’ Cover: ‘I Can Quit Now in Life’

I’m not crying, you’re crying. In the case of Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson, both things can be true. On Tuesday (Oct. 8) Dion posted a tear-stained video of her reaction to Clarkson’s moving Kellyoke cover of Celine’s iconic 1997 Titanic ballad “My Heart Will Go On” on the singer’s daytime talk show last month.

“I just saw you singing ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ and I’m crying again,” the Canadian star said in the clip where she was seen wiping away tears. “You were absolutely incredible, fantastic. I loved it so much. I hope we can see each other in person soon.”

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“So, I got this video sent to me and and it all flooded… I was working with Jason [Halbert] my musical director here at the show… we were actually doing stuff for Kellyokes, and all of a sudden I get this thing from my manager and I cried,” Clarkson said while describing her reaction to Dion’s high praise in a two-minute video posted Tuesday night from what looks like her dressing room.

“Because it was Celine Dion saying that she saw my performance and she knows my name,” Clarkson, 42, explained with a beaming cat-swallowed-the-canary smile while casually swinging her arms and throwing an aw shucks look up at the ceiling. “So that’s cool.” Clarkson then rolled the Dion video and said that it blew her away, adding that there was one thing in particular that made the compliment extra special.

“Twenty-two years ago on American Idol I got laryngitis,” the OG Idol winner recalled, noting that everyone got sick at the time and despite her vocal struggles she had to take the stage to belt Dion’s equally challenging 2002 ballad “I Surrender All.”

“I bawled that night because I’m just mortified that Celine Dion is going to see this performance,” Clarkson, who was 19 at the time, said of her impressive take on the song, delivered while wearing an asymmetrical, one-strap black dress and bejeweled choker. “I could have cared less about votes at that point. I just didn’t want to see Celine Dion see or hear this because it was so bad, because I was so sick.”

Cut to 22 years later, and Clarkson said she finally got the Celine performance she’d always wanted. “And I felt like I sang it all right, you know?” she said. “I got to honor someone who is such a hero to me, vocally, like she is one of my main inspirations of why I’m a singer.” Clarkson said she’ll probably watch the video over-and-over, while also not-so-low-key, inviting Dion to come visit her on her show. “Like, I can quit now in life,” she gushed about checking off the ultimate career bucket list item.

Along with the video posted on X, Clarkson wrote, “@celinedion you have no idea how much you even noticing my existence means to me! Thank you so much for being such an amazing example of true passion and being one of the greatest vocalists of all time that I am still, to this day, inspired by [heart emoji].”

Check out Clarkson’s video below.

09 Oct 2024

Luis Miguel to Wrap His 2024 Tour in Mexico City

Mexican superstar Luis Miguel will close his international tour in Mexico City at the GNP Seguros Stadium on Nov. 30, Mexican promoter Ocesa announced on Tuesday (Oct. 8).

Known as “El Sol de México,” which loosely translates to “México’s sun,” Luis Miguel has chosen the Mexican capital as the stage for one of the most important moments of his career to make a spectacular closing of his Luis Miguel Tour 2023-2024, which grossed $318.2 million and sold 2.2 million tickets in its first 146 concerts, according to figures reported in September to Billboard Boxscore. This made it the highest grossing tour of all time among Latin artists.

Tickets for the last show will be available at the Gran Venta HSBC on Oct. 14 and 15, and the following day at the venue’s box office or through ticketmaster.com.mx, Ocesa said.

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The singer of “La Incondicional,” “Culpable o No” and “Suave” returns to Mexico City, where he began a series of concerts at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico on Tuesday that will end on Oct. 24, with which he will set a new record as the artist who has had the most number of concerts at that venue, with 18 presentations, according to the promoter Zignia Live.

Luis Miguel’s current tour began last summer, with 10 concerts at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then another 10 at the venue of the same name in Santiago, Chile. Those 20 initial dates grossed a total of $28.1 million and sold 227,000 tickets, establishing it as the third highest grossing tour of his remarkable career. After that, he toured the U.S., Mexico and Latin America, returned to the U.S., traveled to Spain and, most recently, returned to Latin America.

Luis Miguel’s U.S. stint was fruitful, grossing $49.8 million, but his return to Mexico — his native country — was even more successful, generating $57.5 million from 20 concerts. By the end of 2023, he had earned $141 million, still far from the all-time record, but enough to easily surpass his own 2018-2019 Mexico Por Siempre tour, which grossed $101.4 million, making it his most successful tour to date.

Luis Miguel has captivated generations with his unmatched voice, unique style and stage presence, which continues to establish him as the most beloved Latin artists of all time. He has been honored with multiple awards, including Billboard Latin Music Awards, Grammys and Latin Grammys. His discography is one of the most acclaimed in the industry, selling more than 15 million copies of his album Romance. He holds the record for the longest tour by a Latin artist, and is also the singer with the most performances at the Auditorio Nacional, one of the most important cultural venues in Mexico and Latin America.

09 Oct 2024

Diddy Appeals Bail Ruling In Sex Abuse Case, Says Fears of Witness Tampering Are ‘Purely Speculative’

Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs filed their opening salvo in an appeal of a judge’s ruling denying him bail, arguing the “sensationalism” of the case led a judge to rule based on “purely speculative” concerns about witness intimation.

In an opening brief filed late Tuesday, the rapper’s lawyers urge the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit to grant him bail – their third attempt to secure his release from a Brooklyn jail while he awaits trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

Combs’ attorneys argue that a lower judge had relied on “exaggerated rhetoric” and “speculation” when it ruled that Combs posed a flight risk and might threaten witnesses.

Trending on Billboard

“The sensationalism surrounding his arrest has distorted the bail analysis,” writes Alexandra A.E. Shapiro and Jason A. Driscoll. “Mr. Combs is presumed innocent … and presented a bail package that would plainly stop him from posing a danger to anyone or contacting any witnesses.”

Combs, also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, was once one of the most powerful men in the music industry. But last month, he was indicted by federal prosecutors over accusations of sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and bribery. If convicted on all the charges, he potentially faces a sentence of life in prison.

Prosecutors allege that Combs ran a sprawling criminal operation aimed at satisfying his need for “sexual gratification.” The charges detailed “freak offs” in which Combs and others would allegedly ply victims with drugs and then coerce them into having sex with male sex workers, as well as alleged acts of violence and intimidation to keep victims silent.

“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” prosecutors wrote in the indictment. “To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”

A day after the indictment was unsealed, Judge Andrew L. Carter denied the rapper bail. Combs’ legal team offered to pay a $50 million bond and submit to strict monitoring to allow him to reside under house arrest at his Miami mansion.

But Carter (who has since been replaced by another judge) ruled instead that until trial Combs must remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center — a federal correctional facility long criticized for dysfunction and dangerous conditions. He was swayed by arguments from prosecutors that, if released, Combs would likely use his considerable wealth and power to obstruct the government’s case by pressuring witnesses.

In Tuesday’s brief, Combs’ attorneys argue that there was little hard evidence to support that conclusion. They say the government’s warnings had been based on “untested allegations” of contact with witnesses involved in the civil lawsuits against him, as well as his public denial of some of those claims.

“If denying accusations by civil plaintiffs could justify pre-trial detention, the liberty protections of the Bail Reform Act and the Constitution—not to mention the First Amendment—would be meaningless,” his lawyers write.

Read the entire brief here:

09 Oct 2024

Scarface Grateful For Recovery After Health Scare

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SCARFACE REVIEW

Source: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty