djfrosty

16 Nov 2022

SiriusXM and Pandora Launch Artist Development Program, Select Coco Jones as Inaugural Act

SiriusXM has launched a new program aimed at developing and breaking emerging artists, the company tells Billboard.

Created by the SiriusXM and Pandora programming and curation teams, the Artist Accelerator program will select six to 12 artists across a wide range of genres over the next year. All of them will receive focused programming for a sustained campaign across SiriusXM channels and Pandora stations, as well as ongoing marketing support from both brands.

The program’s inaugural artist is Def Jam/High Standardz signee Coco Jones, whose latest single “I.C.U.”, from her debut EP What I Didn’t Tell You, has been playing in accelerated rotation on SiriusXM’s The Heat and Heart & Soul stations since Oct. 21. On Pandora, “I.C.U.” has been added to various playlists and radio stations across the platform, including New R&B, Black Music Forever, Adult R&B, PLATINUM, Today’s R&B and Hip Hop Hits, Women in R&B and more. The streaming service is also featuring exclusive audio content from Jones via “artist takeover” modes currently running on the PLATINUM and Women in R&B stations, where she takes listeners through the process of recording the EP and hand-picks tracks from some of the artists who inspired her.

“Introducing our audiences to new artists and investing in those artists’ development is a core value of both SiriusXM and Pandora and we are excited to unveil our Artist Accelerator program to the industry,” said Steve Blatter, senior vp/general manager of music programming at SiriusXM. “The program brings together SiriusXM and Pandora to accelerate the growth of artists across our combined massive listener base.”

In addition to her burgeoning music career, Jones has been working as an actor in TV and film since she was a tween. The 24-year-old currently portrays Hilary Banks on Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air. On TikTok, where she boasts nearly 2 million followers, she is dedicated to upping representation for dark-skinned Black women.

“I genuinely could not be more excited to be partnered with SiriusXM and Pandora,” said Jones. “The way that they’ve supported me and found new ways to highlight my future while acknowledging my past, is iconic. There’s definitely more to come, this is just the beginning! I’m excited for y’all to come with me through the whole journey!”

SiriusXM is just the latest platform to introduce an artist development program. In 2017, Apple Music launched the artist spotlight program Up Next, while SoundCloud introduced First on SoundCloud the following year. And in 2021, Spotify launched Fresh Finds, an extension of the playlist hub of the same name that provides emerging acts with on- and off-platform support.

16 Nov 2022

SZA: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

A trampoline park in Austin isn’t the first place you’d expect to see hundreds of SZA fans. Yet on a Friday night in October, there they were — lined up, excitedly chanting the lyrics to “The Weekend” from the singer-songwriter’s 2017 debut album, Ctrl. And in fact, it wasn’t a completely unexpected sight: SZA had just wrapped her headlining set at the Austin City Limits festival and sent an open invite on Twitter to “randomly jump w me” till 2 a.m. The former competitive gymnast flipped into the foam pit with the utmost joy, just like her fans.

Altitude Trampoline Park, which bills itself as the “world’s best trampoline park,” also might not be where you’d expect to hear a preview of what RCA Records chairman/CEO Peter Edge calls “one of the most important albums of the year.” But on this particular evening, for any attendees listening closely, it was. Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s manager and president of her label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), played “at least 4 songs off the new album on the loud speakers,” she tweeted the following morning. Unlike this night in Austin, though, getting that album out has been far from all fun and games.

When SZA released Ctrl on June 9, 2017, on RCA and TDE, she immediately established herself as alternative R&B’s girl next door and one of the most exciting new voices in music. Sonically, it was the kind of music SZA had always wanted to hear growing up but never quite found outside of herself — an abstract form of R&B influenced by indie and trap music and shaped by lo-fi beats. And lyrically, it was the kind of ultra-relatable songwriting that young people from all walks of life needed: SZA chronicled familiar coming-of-age quandaries, like wondering if your significant other believes you’re enough, or debating if being normal would benefit your relationships, or, well, questioning everything else life throws at you in your 20s.

Read SZA’s full Billboard cover story, part of our R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue, here.

16 Nov 2022

Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Future, Lil Wayne Top 2023 Rolling Loud L.A. Lineup

Rolling Loud announced the lineup for the 2023 Rolling Loud California festival on Tuesday (Nov. 15), with a jam-packed roster topped by headliners Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Future and Lil Wayne. The three-day event will take place in Inglewood, California at the 300-acre Hollywood Park Grounds adjacent to SoFi Stadium from March 3-5.

The first edition of Rolling Loud in the Los Angeles area since 2019 — the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to San Bernardino in 2021 — will mark Scott’s first major headlining performance since the Nov. 2021 Astroworld tragedy, where 10 fans died and hundreds were injured in a crowd crush. Among the other acts slated to take the stage at the festival are: Kodak Black, Tyga, Trippie Redd, Dababy, Saweetie, Fivio Foreign, Soulja Boy, Lil Baby, Don Toliver, 2 Chainz, Kevin Gates, Lil Yachy, City Girls, Chief Keef, Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, Moneybagg Yo and many more.

“Rolling Loud is deeply honored to be the first-ever music festival to take place at the incredible Hollywood Park,” said Rolling Loud co-founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif in August when they announced the L.A. dates. “We’re pumped to return to L.A. and make our debut in Inglewood, such an important neighborhood in rap history. Rolling Loud California 2023 will be an event worthy of its historic location, celebrating the undeniable influence of the West Coast on hip-hop and featuring some of the hottest rappers in the game. Stay tuned for our biggest and best California festival yet!”

Check out the full 2023 Rolling Loud L.A. lineup below.

16 Nov 2022

Isaac Hayes Estate Threatens Legal Action Against Donald Trump For Playing Sam & Dave Song at Campaign Launch

Donald Trump kicked off his third bid for the White House on Tuesday night (Nov. 15) at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and within an hour the twice-impeached one-term former president was already facing his latest threat of legal sanction.

In the midst of a nest of investigations into Trump’s actions before and during his tumultuous four-year term, the estate of late R&B/soul legend Isaac Hayes tweeted that it was exploring its legal options to stop the former reality star from using one of Hayes’ compositions at his campaign events. “Once again, the estate and family of Isaac Hayes DID NOT approve the use of ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ by Sam and Dave by Donald Trump at his 2024 Presidential announcement tonight,” read the tweet.

“We are exploring multiple legal options to stop this unauthorized use,” it warned. Hayes co-wrote the 1966 hit and in a subsequent tweet the estate added, “Stopping a politician from using your music is not always an easy task, but we are dedicated to making sure that Donald Trump does not continue to use ‘Hold on I’m Coming’ by written by Isaac Hayes an David Porter in further rallies and public appearances.”

As he launches his latest attempt to return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the wake of a middling to poor showing by the large slate of candidates he endorsed in last week’s midterm elections, the warning from the Hayes estate is likely the least perilous legal threat facing the real estate mogul. Trump is facing a Dept. of Justice probe into the large collection of official documents he took from the White House after his failed 2020 re-election bid.

He is also facing two investigations in New York — one civil, one criminal — examining his Trump Organization for allegations of fraud, as well as a probe into his alleged role in the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021 and a criminal investigation into his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Trump, 76, repeatedly fell afoul of number of musical acts during his first presidential run in 2015-2016, as well as during his term as president and his 2020 campaign when he played their music at his rallies. On his way out of office after being defeated by Pres. Joe Biden, the Village People called out the “bully” ex-president for playing their gay anthem “Y.M.C.A.” one more time against their wishes at his sparsely attended farewell event on Jan. 20, 2021.

For years Trump ignored pleas from a long list of famous acts to cease and desist from using their music during his rallies and political events and in addition to the costumed disco act, the legacy manager for Laura Branigan took issue with Trump playing her hit “Gloria” at his final official appearance as well.

Over the five years of his campaigns and presidency, artists ranging from Adele to Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, R.E.M., Aerosmith, Panic! at the Disco, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Rihanna and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince have vociferously objected to Trump playing their music at his rallies. At press time a spokesperson for Trump could not be reached for comment.

See the Hayes estate tweet below.

16 Nov 2022

Megan Fox Congratulates MGK on Grammy Nomination: ‘You Deserve This’

Megan Fox could not be more psyched for her fiancé Machine Gun Kelly. The actress gushed on Tuesday (Nov. 15) about MGK’s Grammy nomination for best rock album for his Mainstream Sellout album, writing in her Instagram Story, “WOW congratulations to my Grammy-nominated fiancé and hottest Edward Scissorhands cosplayer.”

Over a picture of the smiling rapper/rocker sporting a bunch of barrettes in his bleach blonde hair, she added, “You work harder than anyone I’ve ever known and are twice as talented. You deserve this.”

Kelly celebrated the moment on Instagram, writing, “Call me what you want as long as it starts with ‘grammy nominated’… I LOVE YOU,” he wrote along with a metal salute emoji. In a series of photos, MGK also posted the actual envelope with the rock album nominees, with his nom circled in red alongside albums by the Black Keys, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Idles, Ozzy Osbourne and Spoon. The slides show also featured a short video of the moment the nomination was announced, in which Colson — holding hands with Fox — absolutely loses his mind and runs screaming across the room.

In another video, he called longtime collaborator Travis Barker and eagerly delivered the news: “Wake up birthday man, we’re nominated for a mother f–king Grammy!”

Some of his Baker’s pals commented on the good news as well, including Avril Lavigne, who wrote, “F–k yeah,” with another friend producer Blackbear adding, “WTF im on a grammy nominated album !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATSSSSSSS.” The 2023 Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 5 at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.

Check out MGK’s post below.

16 Nov 2022

Bruce Springsteen Returns to ‘Tonight Show’ For ‘Turn Back the Hands of Time’: Watch

The Boss is back, again.

For the second consecutive night, Bruce Springsteen stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, this time to perform a cover of “Turn Back the Hands of Time.”

The song, originally recorded in 1970 by Tyrone Davis, and co-written by Jack Daniels and Bonnie Thompson, appears on Springsteen’s latest offering, Only the Strong Survive.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Earlier, on Monday night (Nov. 14), the rock ‘n’ roll legend dished-up album track “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” and stuck around for a chat with Fallon on those pesky Taylor Swift tour rumors, misheard lyrics in “Thunder Road” and more.

Springsteen’s 21st studio album is a collection of 15 soul covers, including songs made famous by Jerry Butler, Dobie Gray, The Commodores, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Four Tops, The Walker Brothers and others.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data, Only the Strong Survive is on track for a No. 2 debut on the U.K. chart. The Rock And Roll Hall of Famer currently has 22 U.K. top 10 albums, including 12 No. 1s — equal third-best among solo acts, after Robbie Williams (14) and Elvis Presley (13), respectively.

“I had so much fun recording this music,” he previously explained. “I fell back in love with all these great songs and great writers and great singers. All of them still underrated in my opinion. And through the project I rediscovered the power of my own voice.”

Survive is the followup to Western Stars (from 2019), and Letter to You (2020), both of which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Watch Springsteen’s latest late-night TV performance below.

16 Nov 2022

Three Contestants Eliminated as ‘The Voice’ Finds Its Final 13

And then there were 13.

Tuesday night’s (Nov. 15) episode of NBC’s The Voice was a nailbiter, a live elimination round which saw four contestants fight for a single spot.

During the show, Bryce Leatherwood (Team Blake) performed Billy Currington’s “Let Me Down Easy,” Sasha Hurtado (Team Legend) hit Sia’s “Elastic Heart,” Kevin Hawkins (Team Gwen) tackled Childish Gambino’s “Redbone,” and Kate Kalvach (Team Camila) covered Miley Cyrus’ “When I Look At You”.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

There’s no second chance in this saloon.

After Monday night’s performances, America cast its vote, the tension ramped up. The four hopefuls stood, holding hands, waiting for their name to be called out. Only one could be picked as a wildcard entry.

The honors went to Leatherwood.

Earlier, the 22-year-old from singer from Woodstock, Georgia star beat duo The Dryes in a battle.

The country hopeful won-over Blake Shelton with his blind audition, during which he sang Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time”.

“Welcome to Team Blake,” Shelton said after that first performance. “Has there ever been a country-er name than ‘Leatherwood?’ You have excellent taste in music…I don’t feel too ego-y hitting my button for my own record…I was blown away. What a great country name. ‘Leather. Wood.’”

Leatherwood continues to blow Shelton — and many others — away.

“Bryce never disappoints. He always comes out here and gives a solid performance,” Shelton said after this last chance performance. “He’s got tons of fans out here. That’s why I wasn’t too stressed about putting him in this situation, because I really feel like you have as good a shot as anybody. Not just in the bottom four, but anybody in the competition, to pull yourself back out of this situation that you’re in right now. You sounded incredible, dude.”

The Top 13 contestants who advanced are Bodie (Team Blake), Brayden Lape (Team Blake), Parijita Bastola (Team Legend), Omar Jose Cardona (Team Legend), Kique (Team Gwen), Justin Aaron (Team Gwen), Morgan Myles (Team Camila), Devix (Team Camila), Rowan Grace (Team Blake), Kim Cruse (Team Legend), Alyssa Witrado (Team Gwen), Eric Who (Team Camila) and Leatherwood (Team Blake).

16 Nov 2022

Jimmy Fallon Calls on Elon Musk to Help Take Down #RIPJimmyFallon on Twitter

Jimmy Fallon is not dead, and Jimmy Fallon wants people to know that.

A scurrilous hashtag, #RIPJimmyFallon, has been trending on Twitter Tuesday night (Nov. 15) and The Tonight Show host has had enough, calling on the company’s CEO Elon Musk personally to take down the hashtag.

Earlier on Tuesday, the more mischief-making element on Twitter launched #RIPJimmyFallon, with users posting the hashtag often with a picture of someone other than Fallon.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Twitter users, particularly those abroad, who weren’t in on the supposed joke were shocked and confused. One Korean user tweeted, “This came up as a hashtag, so I was taken aback. Really. Oh, it’s funny. Because Melon Musk fired all the people in the information confirmation department, now fake news can hit the market, so this hashtag. Oh, it’s funny real #RIPJimmyFallon.”

Perturbed, Fallon tweeted, “Elon, can you fix this? #RIPJimmyFallon.” Musk, who has taken a highly personal approach to content moderation since he took over Twitter, has yet to respond to Fallon’s plea.

Twitter’s current chaos has seen an uptick in disinformation on the platform, a situation compounded by Musk firing a significant number of people involved with content moderation and dealing with fake accounts and fake news.

Last Thursday, an account using the name and logo of the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. and carrying a blue “verified” checkmark tweeted, “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” The fake tweet led to the pharma company’s stock dropping from $368 a share to $346 a share, which reportedly erased billions in market cap.

This article originally appeared in THR.com.