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27 Jul 2023

Travis Scott Drops ‘Utopia’ Album: Stream It Now

Travis Scott finally dropped his fourth studio album Utopia on Friday, July 28 via Cactus Jack and Epic Records.

The highly anticipated album arrives five years after his last studio album Astroworld, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Sicko Mode,” featuring Drake, which not only became Scott’s first No. 1 hit but also an RIAA diamond-certified single two years after its release. Astroworld was also nominated for best rap album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Utopia was preceded by lead single “K-POP” with The Weeknd and Bad Bunny. Scott was originally scheduled to perform the new album at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt Friday, but the special livestreamed concert was canceled due to “complex production issues,” according to a statement from Live Nation Middle East.

The Houston rapper’s LP is being released in tandem with his new film titled Circus Maximus. Produced by A24 and written and directed by Scott, the movie will “take his audience on a mind-bending visual odyssey across the globe, woven together by the speaker rattling sounds of his highly anticipated upcoming album Utopia,” according to AMC. The film will be available at select AMC theaters on July 27, July 30 and Aug. 1-2.

He also released the five Utopia album covers one by one on his Instagram leading up to Friday’s release date, which were photographed by Pieter Hugo and Kristina Nagel.

Listen to Utopia below.

27 Jul 2023

Offset & Cardi B Take Turns Calling Out Their Haters On New Song ‘Jealousy’: Listen

On Friday (July 28), Offset and Cardi B fired off rounds during their incendiary collaboration, “Jealousy.” Teased earlier this week, “Jealousy” marks the couple’s latest reunion on wax since their multi-platinum song “Clout,” as they take turns throwing darts at their envious adversaries.  

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“B—es don’t wanna go Birkin for Birkin / B—-es don’t go enough hits for a Verzuz,” spews Cardi on the hard-hitting track. 

Offset first garnered attention for the record when he enlisted Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis for a spoof of the late James Brown’s 1988 interview with CNN. Following the clip’s viral success, Offset released the cover art for the song alongside Cardi on social media. The buzzy photo shows an annoyed Cardi mushing Offset’s face as he stands in front of a parked car. They continued the song’s promotion when they unleashed a trailer featuring Cardi talking on the phone with Taraji P. Henson. 

“Jealously” marks the third release of 2023 for Offset after releasing “2 Live” (with Hit-Boy) and “TBS” (with R-Mean and Scott Storch). In an interview with Variety last May, he namedropped the features for his forthcoming album. Along with Cardi, Set nabbed features from Travis Scott, Future, Chloe Bailey, Latto and TakeOff. 

During the interview, he spoke on the passing of his fallen comrade TakeOff, saying: “It’s hard for me to talk about s–t right now,” he said. “I’ve never talked about this stuff. Seriously. Talking about Take is hard, man. Talking about all this s–t is hard. That’s why I don’t, to be honest. That s–t hurts.” Offset attempted to continue the conversation before ultimately cutting things off because of how painful the chat was getting. “Like, it’s gonna put me in a mood, and I don’t want to get in that mood. Some things I don’t never tell nobody. He’s not here. That s–t feels fake, bro. I get through my day thinking it’s fake. And I don’t say nothing to nobody about it.”

Listen to “Jealousy” below. 

27 Jul 2023

Matteo Bocelli Was Drawn to His Ed Sheeran-Penned Single ‘Chasing Stars’ Due to the ‘Shared Value of Family’

Matteo Bocelli‘s relationship with his father, beloved Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, means everything to him.

“Thanks to my dad, I had the pleasure to be on the most famous stages of the world and got to travel all over the planet,” 25-year-old Matteo tells Billboard. “Bringing our voices on stages, we were bringing a story that is true and authentic. As I always say, music is about authenticity, because when you’re not truthful to music, the music won’t work and people won’t feel it. Our duet ‘Fall On Me’ is a song that talks about a true relationship between father and son and it’s probably why people really felt the song and they were so excited to see us together all the time.”

While he’s already had an impressive amount of musical experience thanks to working and performing with his father, Matteo is ready to re-introduce himself to the world on his own — but not without paying tribute to the family who supported him along the way. The singer dropped a new solo single, “Chasing Stars,” on Friday (July 28), which was written by pop superstar Ed Sheeran and his brother Matthew about their own father.

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“When I was younger, my father was my hero / Let me hop on his shoulders, we sang to the moon,” Matteo’s honeyed vocals croon on the opening lines of the heartfelt ballad, which, as expected, Andrea loved. “Once my father heard that first line calling him my hero, he said, ‘I like this song,’” Matteo recalls with a laugh, before sharing how supportive the Italian legend has been while his son worked to carve his own creative path.

“My father helped this big step feel a little smaller,” he says. “I’m very grateful for everything that he taught me, the values that he gave to me and all the vocal techniques. Every time I have jobs, I still go to him and ask him how I should use my voice. He’s always saying, ‘I’m here for you to help you for whatever you need.’ I think that this is what father should always do. Let their sons live their lives but always be there to support and give advice.”

Having a song written by Ed Sheeran on his debut album made the song even sweeter, as Matteo has been a fan of the superstar since he released 2011’s “The A Team.”

“To think that in my very first album, I have a song with him, it’s incredible. It’s really a privilege,” Matteo says, noting that he met Sheeran “multiple times” over the years, but really got to know him back when he worked with Andrea on his 2017 “Perfect Symphony” duet. “We kept in contact, and later on, we asked if it was possible to have a song written by him. We thought it’d be a privilege to have one of his songs and he sent us ‘Chasing Stars.’ I fell in love with the song in the very first moment because it’s beautiful, the melody and also the lyrics. It wasn’t a song that he wrote for me. It was a song that he did for himself — but what’s cool is the song has a theme that is quite common because we both have a shared value of family and a passion for music.”

He continues, “I found so many connections on that song that I said, ‘I’ve got to do it.’ Not only because everything Ed touches is beautiful, but also because all the pieces of the puzzle were fitting perfectly.”

As for the age-old phrase, “Never meet your heroes,” the warning proved to be completely untrue in Matteo’s experience working with Sheeran. “One of the things that I appreciate so much about Ed is that in his music and art in general, he knows what it means to be free and to have the freedom to do what you love in your way,” Matteo says. “Many artists in their career have been judged for what they were doing or the way they were bringing music to people. For this reason, he gave me the freedom to perform the song the way I like. He wasn’t at all the type to be like, ‘No, you got to do this, you got to do that.’ He encouraged me to perform it the way I feel, because he said, ‘At the end of the day, you’re going to be on stage performing the songs.’”

The Parisi-produced “Chasing Stars” will be featured on the singer’s upcoming debut solo album, fittingly titled Matteo, set for release on September 22 via Capitol Records. The 12-track project will feature both Italian and English songs capturing this new chapter in Matteo’s life.

Despite his confidence in taking this next step as a solo artist, Matteo is still growing and learning who he is, just like any 25-year-old. “They always ask me who I am today and I always say, ‘Honestly, I don’t know,’ because it’s truly a specific and particular phase of my life,” he says of how he views himself at this moment. “This is why one of the first ideas we thought of was to call the album Fasi, which means ‘phases’ in English, because it’s a very important moment of my life with many, many changes. I’m super happy about all of the music I made these last two years and this record will be the product of getting to experiment and work with many writers and composers. You learn so many things, you have so many experiences and so many stories to tell. I hope that the concepts and all the stories and emotion will be able to connect with people.”

Listen to “Chasing Stars,” and watch the moving music video, below.

27 Jul 2023

Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg & 21 Savage Will Be Playable Characters in ‘ Call of Duty’: Where to Buy the Video Game

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Call of Duty is getting an upgrade for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg and 21 Savage will appear as playable characters in season 5 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzane launching on Aug. 2.

Minaj will become Call of Duty’s first female Operator when the update, which was announced on the Call of Duty blog on Thursday (July 27), kicks off next month.

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj, Lil Baby, Kane Brown & More ‘Sqaud Up’ for ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II…

The “Barbie World” rapper gets the pink treatment in the video game with a pink gun, pink hair and pink a metallic pink dress, while Snoop’s avatar wears all blue with a blue gun.

And this isn’t her first time working with Call of Duty. In 2022, Minaj appeared in a commercial for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II along with Lil’ Baby and Kane Brown.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II went on to make $1 billion in 10 days becoming the fastest-selling video game in the franchise and the best-selling game in the U.S. last year.

In addition to the rap cameos, the upcoming drop will feature a new operator model named Oz who is modeled after musician Zoltan from the band Five Finger Death Punch, according to the blog post. A returning Modern Warfare map will be featured as well as a new Core Map for Modern Warfare II, the Vondel Champions Quest, Call of Duty 2023 worldwide reveal in Warzone and much more.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare II is available on Xbox, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. You can purchase the game at major retailers including Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon and CallofDuty.com.

Watch the trailer for the Season 5 launch below.



27 Jul 2023

Taraji P. Henson & Cardi B Dish the Dirt on Offset’s Rumored Affair in ‘Jealousy’ Teaser

Offset and Cardi B are reclaiming the narrative surrounding their relationship in their upcoming collaboration, “Jealousy,” and the two enlisted Taraji P. Henson for a hilarious promotional teaser shared on Thursday (July 27).

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In the one-minute clip, Cardi dials up the Girls Trip star, claiming that a women is once again alleging that Offset cheated on his Grammy-winning wife. “That stank h– b—,” Henson replies. “She’s thirsty.”

Cardi then replies, “Since he [cheated] before, whether he did it or not, people are going to believe it. That’s why I want to bag this n—-. Even though it’s in the past, you should have never done it in the first place. That’s why we’re always in this motherf—ing predicament.”

When Henson asks if Cardi’s going to leave Offset, the “I Like It” rapper replies, “I love him but, b—-, I’m tired of his s—.” Offset then comes banging on Cardi’s door to talk out their issues.

Excluding their collaborations through Migos, “Jealousy” will mark the sixth time Offset and Cardi B appear on the same song as soloists. The husband-wife duo first collaborated on the remix of Cardi’s “Lick,” back in 2017. Since then, their string of collaborations have included “Um Yea,” “Who Want the Smoke?” (with Lil Yachty) and the Grammy-nominated “Clout.”

Watch the teaser below before “Jealousy” arrives in full on Friday (July 28).

27 Jul 2023

The Eagles’ 15 Best Songs: Critic’s Picks

During the late 1960s all — or at least many — roads led to Southern California, and the Eagles were one of the destinations.

It was not a band formed with modest intentions. Glenn Frey had already sung on a national hit (Bob Seger’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”) when he came west from Detroit, and Don Henley‘s Shiloh had an album produced by Kenny Rogers. They met Bernie Leadon, late of the Flying Burrito Brothers, while all of them played in Linda Ronstadt’s 1970-71 backing band, while Randy Meisner was a veteran of Poco and Ricky Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band. It was a supergroup of sorts, with a universe of great collaborators such as Jackson Browne, JD Souther and Jack Tempchin, and one that certainly flew to super, and superlative, heights.

Over the course of two tenures and seven (mostly multi-platinum) studio albums, the Eagles have sold more than 150 million records worldwide, while Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) has been locked for years in a battle for best-selling album of all time with Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. The accolades run from six Grammy Awards to inductions into the Rock & Roll and Vocal Group Hall of Fames to a Kennedy Center Honor. And more importantly, Eagles are the first name mentioned in any discussion of California or country rock.

Frey’s death in January 2016 could have grounded the Eagles for good, but the group took flight again with Frey’s son Deacon and Vince Gill in place for tour dates that are set to wrap up later this year with The Long Goodbye Tour. (Meisner, who exited the group in 1977, after the previous year’s Hotel California album, died in July 2023 at age 77.)

Here are our choices for the 15 best Eagles song to date.

27 Jul 2023

Irvine, Calif. Hits Brakes on Live Nation Amphitheater Proposal to Explore Self-Managed Model

Irvine, Calif. officials are considering going the way of the Greek Theatre, pausing negotiations with Live Nation for the development of a 14,000-capacity amphitheater at the city’s Great Park to consider a plan to go it alone and develop and manage a scaled-down 8,000-capacity amphitheater with city resources.

The decision surprised many during a special Irvine city council meeting on Tuesday night (July 25), when the Orange County city’s leaders were asked to approve a contract between the city and Live Nation for the development of a $130 million amphitheater to replace the non-permanent Live Nation-operated Five Points Amphitheater. Five Points opened in 2017 and was created to serve as a temporary replacement for Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, which operated from 1981 to 2016 on property that has since been converted to apartment buildings.

Live Nation had agreed to contribute $20 million to $30 million in capital costs toward the new amphitheater project and to operate the venue as an open amphitheater available to other promoters bringing shows to the region. In total, the amphitheater project would generate a projected $5 million per year for the city and run for a term of 25 years with two renewal options for 10 years each.

While several council members described the project as a good deal for the city, Irvine residents weren’t totally on board, with many complaining of possible traffic impacts as well as concerns about noise emanating from the venue. Other speakers, including John Hanna with the Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters, said the project would bring both jobs and world-class talent to Orange County.

“We feel this is a good project. We think the City Manager has done a good job in terms of negotiations,” Hanna said, noting that the project fits with the original vision of the Great Park, “which was created to accommodate not just city members, but the entire region and this venue will do that.”

Irvine vice mayor Tammy Kim said she believed city officials needed more time to evaluate Live Nation’s proposal, which she said felt rushed through. “I think it’s important that we don’t come across as doing any backroom deals — we’re not Anaheim,” Kim said, throwing shade at the city’s neighbor, which has long been accused of having a cozy relationship with Disney.

A number of high-profile Live Nation executives were on hand to voice their support for the project, including Geni Lincoln, the company’s president of California, who said the new amphitheater would be home to “the most exciting events” and “the most diverse events” and would be open to all promoters looking to bring shows to the building.

After a four-hour meeting with more than 30 public comments, the council voted 3-2 to delay a vote on the project so that the city manager could explore a self-management strategy, which would see the city developing and building the venue itself while managing the bookings calendar between competing promoters.

Later in the meeting, city officials instructed the Irvine city manager’s office to pursue the self-management model, potentially mimicking a plan adopted by the city of Los Angeles, which ended Nederlander Concerts’ exclusive contract for the Greek Theatre in 2015. In Denver, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre has long been managed by the city and even allows visiting promoters to choose their own ticketing system.

While the self-management model at the Greek Theater — with ASM Global hired to serve as a third-party neutral manager — has netted more annual income for Los Angeles, it’s come at the expense of more than $50 million in deferred maintenance at the venue, including important earthquake retrofits.

From 1981 to 2016, Irvine Meadows hosted acts including Michael Jackson on his 1989 Bad tour, the Eagles and the Grateful Dead, who played a total of 15 shows there. Built by private investors and operated by Avalon Attractions, the amphitheater eventually landed in the hands of Live Nation in the late 1990s and served as an important Orange County stopover for bands traveling between Shoreline Amphitheater in Northern California and amphitheaters in San Diego County.

While Irvine Meadows was popular for touring amphitheater shows, the new venue would be hard-pressed to repeat the established success of the Greek Theatre, known for its historic design and location inside one of Los Angeles’ most popular park destinations. Without Live Nation, the top amphitheater promoter in the country, city officials managing the facility could face challenges bringing concerts there given Southern California’s competitive live entertainment market.

27 Jul 2023

Live Nation Quarterly Revenue Jumps 27% As Concert Business Continues to Soar

Live Nation Entertainment continued to profit from the red-hot live music market in the second quarter, beating earnings expectations with $5.6 billion in revenue — up 27.1% year over year and coming in a whopping $680 million over expectations. The company generated earnings per share of $1.02, which was $.40 higher than expected.

The financial results, which marked Live Nation’s strongest second quarter ever, also saw the company’s operating income rise 21% year over year to $386 million this quarter, while adjusted operating income was up 23% to $590 million and operating cash flow came in at $491 million, a 41% increase. The earnings report continues an upward trend at the company, indicating that 2023 will again set a revenue record for the concert promotion giant.

“We believe this is a time on a global basis when live will see incredible growth for years to come,” Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino said on an earnings call after the company’s financial results were released Thursday (July 27).

The report noted that a record number of fans have attended Live Nation concerts this year, with 117 million tickets sold year-to-date for Live Nation shows — an increase of 20% year-over-year. Ticketmaster clients reported sales of 151 million fee-bearing tickets sold so far this year, with Ticketmaster on track to sell 300 million fee-bearing tickets in 2023. The company also reported a double-digit increase in sponsorship revenue and $4.3 billion in event-related deferred revenue, up 37% over last year, while double-digit attendance growth is expected next quarter.

In terms of venue size, stadiums saw the most growth, with attendance up 28% to 8.0 million fans, led by Europe and Asia Pacific. Arenas saw the second-highest growth rate, up 19% to 10.7 million fans, largely from Canada, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Finally, festivals grew 14% to 4.5 million fans, driven by global demand across all markets.

Capital expenditures at Live Nation totaled $158 million year-to-date, driven by investments in on-site venue enhancement and the expansion of the company’s venue portfolio. The 2023 capital expenditures forecast remains at $450 million, two-thirds of which is allocated for revenue-generating projects.

Despite the rosy earnings report, shares were slightly down Thursday after close to $96.93, marking a drop of less than 1%.

Below is a summary of 2023 Q2 results:

  • Total revenue: $5.6 billion, up 27% from 2022 Q2
  • Adjusted operating income: $168.1 million, up 37% from 2022 Q2
  • Concert revenue: $4.6 billion, up 29% from 2022 Q2
  • Ticketing revenue: $709.3 million, up 23% from 2022 Q2
  • Sponsorship and advertising: $302.9 million, up 15% from 2022 Q2
  • North American concerts: 8,111, up .67% from 2022 Q2
  • International concerts: 4,130, down 8% from 2022 Q2
  • North American fans: 18.5 million, up 6% from 2022 Q2
  • International fans: 18.6 million, up 13% from 2022 Q2
  • Fee-bearing tickets: 78.9 million, up 10% from 2022 Q2

27 Jul 2023

Lil Tjay ft. Fivio Foreign “Bla Bla,” Ghost Kids ft. Vince Staples “Goin’ Off” & More | Daily Visuals 7.27.23

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Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life concert, Los Angeles, USA - 31 Oct 2018

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For a while now, Lil Tjay and Fivio Foreign have been carving out their own niche in the game on the Drill Rap scene and though it may not be as prominent as it was a few years ago, there’s still an audience that follows it and them faithfully.

Today the two New Yorkers link up to give their fans some more heat for this summer in the clip to “Bla Bla” in which Tjay and Fivio hit the streets with their respective crews and turn up in various spots around the city and turn everyday blocks in straight up parties with their energy. Looks like fun.

Ghost Kids meanwhile continue to grow grow their popularity and for their latest animated clip to “Goin’ Off,” the rap duo get an assist from LA’s own Vince Staples who’s cartoon version of himself properly rocks a crown as he hypnotizes the Ghost Kidz bear and dog avatars.

Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from EST Gee, Tommy Lee Sparta, and more.

LILTJAY FT. FIVIO FOREIGN – “BLA BLA”



GHOST KIDS FT. VINCE STAPLES – “GOIN’ OFF”



EST GEE – “WORLD IS YOURS”



TOMMY LEE SPARTA – “STREET SMART”



DDG – “HARD ON MYSELF”



DENZEL CURRY – “BLOOD ON MY NIKEZ”



SKILLA BABY FT. RYLO RODRIGUEZ – “FEAR OF GOD”



SLIM $ANTANA – “STIMMY”



DON TRIP – “28 GRAMS”



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27 Jul 2023

Randy Meisner, Original Eagles Bassist & ‘Take It to the Limit’ Wailer, Dies at 77

Randy Meisner, founding Eagles bassist and the sky-high voice behind the band’s 1976 Billboard Hot 100 top five hit “Take It to the Limit,” has died at age 77, the band announced Thursday (July 27).

Meisner died Wednesday night due to complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a statement from the band.

“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band,” the band said in the statement. “His vocal range was astonishing, as is evident on his signature ballad, ‘Take It to the Limit.’”

Alongside Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon, Meisner — born in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska, in 1946 — was a founding member of the Eagles in 1971. Before forming the band, he played with Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band and was the original bass player for country-rock group Poco in the late 1960s.

Meisner was with the Eagles from their self-titled 1972 debut album through 1976’s Hotel California, before quitting the group in 1977. (He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who had also succeeded Meisner in Poco when he had departed the group to form the Eagles.)

The bulk of the Eagles’ vocal duties went to Henley and Frey, but Meisner sang lead on one of the group’s most enduring hits: “Take It to the Limit,” from the 1975 album One of These Nights, peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 1976 and spent 23 weeks on the chart — the band’s longest-charting hit on the tally. The song is remembered for Meisner’s lofty vocals, especially toward the end of the song when his “aaaahs!” rise to new heights.

Meisner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Eagles in 1998.

Tragedy struck Meisner’s personal life in 2016 when his wife, Lana Rae Meisner, was fatally shot in the couple’s Los Angeles home after an “accidental discharge of a firearm,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

According to the Eagles’ statement, funeral arrangements are pending for Meisner.