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16 Jan 2024

Hot 100 First-Timers: Dylan Gossett Debuts With Breakthrough Hit ‘Coal’

Dylan Gossett’s breakout single “Coal” arrived on Billboard’s charts last August, and now, after steadily gaining over the past five months, the track reaches the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first entry.

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The song debuts at No. 89 on the Jan. 20-dated chart with 5 million official U.S. streams (up 16%) in the Jan. 5-11 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also climbs 27-26 on Hot Country Songs, returning to its peak.

Gossett self-released “Coal” on July 27, 2023, after acoustic initial snippets of the song went viral on TikTok — one such clip has generated more than 6 million views on the platform. After releasing the full song on streaming services, it debuted on the Country Digital Song Sales chart following its first full week of activity.

The song later appeared on Gossett’s debut six-track EP, No Better Time, which he likewise self-released on Oct. 27. In addition to recording the songs himself, he also wrote, produced and mixed the entire EP from his bedroom in Austin, Texas. The set has since reached No. 6 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 17 on Americana/Folk Albums and No. 39 on Top Country Albums.

The release drew the attention of several major labels, and in November Gossett signed with Big Loud Texas/Mercury Records in collaboration with Range Media Partners — Big Loud Texas recently launched as a venture between Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall and Big Loud Records. A month later, Gossett signed with UTA for global representation.

“Tyler [Arnold] and Jake [Levensohn] from Mercury flew down to Texas to meet with me, and we instantly clicked,” Gossett told Billboard of his signing. “After meeting with Jon, Miranda and Seth [England] from Big Loud, it was a dream scenario to be able to combine forces and do this all together as a team.”

Though he released “Coal” in July, Gossett wrote the song two years ago and at the time had no plans to make music professionally. His biggest goal was playing for family gatherings at his grandfather’s lake house.

“Whenever holidays like Thanksgiving or Easter come around, my brother, parents, cousins, we all sit around a campfire and pass guitars around,” Gossett told Billboard in November. “Mainly, me, my brother and my cousin would play songs we wrote, but everyone would sing.”

Gossett has since toured with Wyatt Flores, Brent Cobb, Kolby Cooper and Luke Grimes, and beginning Jan. 17, he’ll open for Noah Kahan at six sold-out shows in Australia. Up next, his first headlining trek, the No Better Time Tour, kicks off next month in Dublin and runs through April.

16 Jan 2024

Dua Lipa Calls for ‘Humanitarian Cease-Fire’ in Gaza

Since the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war in the fall, Dua Lipa has been a fervent political advocate, and in her new Rolling Stone cover story, the “Levitating” singer opened up more about her stance.

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“My existence is kind of political, the fact that I lived in London because my parents left from the war,” she explained, in reference to her Albanian parents. “I feel for people who have to leave their home. From my experience of being in Kosovo and understanding what war does, no one really wants to leave their home. They do it for protection, to save their family, to look after the people around them, that kind of thing, for a better life. So I feel close to it.”

She continued, “My feelings on displaced people [are] very real and raw, and it is a difficult subject to speak about because it’s so divisive.”

The conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated after the horrific Oct. 7 terror attack on the Supernova Music Festival at Kibbutz Re’im by Hamas militants. The assault by air and land by the militant arm of the terrorist organization that governs the more than two million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip included the killing of more than 260 revelers and many more kidnapped at the Paralello Universo Supernova Sukkot Gathering electronic dance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.

That same month, Lipa joined a number of other celebrities to sign an open letter urging President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. “At the moment, what we have to look at is how many lives have been lost in Gaza, and the innocent civilians, and the lives that are just being lost. There are just not enough world leaders that are taking a stand and speaking up about the humanitarian crisis that’s happening, the humanitarian cease-fire that has to happen,” Lipa told Rolling Stone.

16 Jan 2024

Latest Trailer For ‘Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth’ Teases Epic Showdown With Sephiroth & Other Major Story Changes

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'Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth' Gets A New Trailer

Source: Square Enix / Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

We already knew Final Fantasy VII Remake was not just a rehash of the original game with a fresh coat of next-gen paint but a complete reimagining of what many consider the greatest RPG ever made. When Rebirth arrives, you can expect the same and then some.

A new trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is here to excite us for a game we already can’t wait to play. The two-disc JRPG is upon us, and it will remix the beats from the original game that were engrained in our brains and, at the same, add some new twists to the story.

The usual suspects like Cloud Strife, Aerith, Cid, Red XIII, Barrett, Tifa, Cait Sith, plus Yuffie and Vincent are all back and are teaming up to save the world from Sephiroth.

In the original game, Yuffie and Vincent were optional characters, but in Rebirth, they will be a part of the primary team. The new trailer teases the big showdown with the legendary soldier turned wannabe destroyer of humanity.

It also teases possible changes to the original, like possibly confirming that Zack survived the epic battle and his being essential to Rebirth’s story.

Will There Be A Major Death In Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth?

Also, Aerith could be alive this time (spoiler alert); she died in the US version of the original game, much to players’ chagrin.

But, we still could be getting a significant death, and many believe it will be fan favorite Tifa who bites the dust this time around because of particular clips possibly showing her dying.

Again, we don’t know if this is the case, but we know producer Yoshinori Kitase is not afraid to have us clutch our pearls and be in our feels while playing his games.

By heading here, you can peep our interview with Kitase ahead of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Hit the gallery below for more screenshots from Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which arrives exclusively on PlayStation 5 on Feb. 26.