Author: djfrosty
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There’s a certain feeling Nimino has always been looking for in the music he listened to and then eventually made.
“You know when you listen to a song and there’s a moment that like, a chord strikes and you can’t explain why, but it just pulls a tear from your eye?” he asks rhetorically while speaking to Billboard over Zoom. “And no matter how many times you listen, you’ll get that moment in that song and be like, ‘Oh, f–k.’”
It’s a wave of emotion the London-based artist born Milo Evans loved experiencing, one he’s worked to create since he started producing music at age 13 and one he identified when he first heard “I Only Smoke When I Drink,” a brassy soul song by American outfit Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact, from the group’s 2019 album Running Out of Time.
“I would listen to that song and as soon as it would get past [the title line] I’d lose interest,” Nimino says. “It’s a great tune, but I would just listen to that one bit over and over, because it’s such a crazy little line.”
Enjoying the feeling it gave him and sensing he could do something with it, he grabbed the acapella of the Rebecca Jade vocal “but couldn’t find anything it would fit with, so I had it sitting on my computer for ages.” He was later working on another that song “that was quite dark and felt quite melancholic and definitely had this clubby vibe to it, but I don’t know what needed to be put in it.”
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Eventually, in December of 2023, he thought to pair the pieces “so it was like a call and response between the synth playing and the vocals chatting. Once those were together, it was just like, ‘This is obviously a very exciting song.’”
The internet agreed. Before its August 22, 2024 release on Ninja Tune’s Counter Records imprint (where Nimino signed in the spring of 2024), clips featuring the single generated more than 15 million views, two million likes and 313,000 saves across TikTok and Instagram. He previewed the song online only after a lengthy sample clearing process, as he knew audiences would want to know the release date immediately upon hearing it.
“I was kind of careful with it,” he says, “then as soon as we had the thumbs up, I teased it. It went crazy literally the first night.” While the song went wild online, Nimino celebrated its release in very IRL fashion. The night before the song came out, “a guy hit me up online and was like, ‘Yo man, we’re throwing a house party in London. I’d love for you to come DJ and play that new song. I was like, ‘Yeah, f– it. Why not?’”
Celebrating was appropriate. Since August, “I Only Smoke When I Drink” has generated 17.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 87.2 million official on-demand global streams, according to Luminate. The song is in its 21st week on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and currently sits at No. 15, its highest position thus far.
But this success “hasn’t changed the strategy so much as it expedited things,” says Gon Carpel, the founder of Noted Management who co-manages Nimino alongside Eli Bieber. “The focus remains building a long-lasting artist career by focusing on the fundamentals and making strategic decisions for the long term.” (On the agent side, Nimino is represented by UTA’s Jamie Waldman.)
“But of course, Carpel adds, “the success of the song has allowed him to reach more people in more places much faster, and that discovery is expediting his growth across the board – opening up new opportunities in touring, publishing, sync, etc. The biggest strategy change has probably been in having to be even more considerate with where and when to spend his time and energy, as the whole globe has opened up to him.”
When we speak Nimino is in New Orleans for a show at Republic NOLA. While he’s been touring in the U.S. for the last few years (he says his shows do especially well in New York, Los Angeles and Denver), sets are now selling out much faster. “And I mean, even just selling out is a big jump from last year,” he says. He’s got shows in Nashville, Austin and Orlando this weekend (Jan. 24-26) and says while he can’t reveal much yet, there are big festival plays on the summer calendar.
Warm, funny and generally fairly calm seeming, Nimino doesn’t seem too preoccupied with his virality or with trying to top it. “I’ve had a few viral moments before,” he says. “Never to this level, but I’m relatively well versed in how it feels.” (How does it feel? “Very overwhelming. It’s hard to get off your phone.”)
With single and EP releases dating back to 2018, Nimino is more than a one-trick TikTok artist. His catalog has 56.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 179.5 million official on-demand global streams, according to Luminate. He calls 2023’s “No Sympathy” and 2022’s “Opening Credits” and “Save a Soul” pillars of his sets, which “for my listeners have always been very special moments.”
While “I Only Smoke When I Drink” is putting a lot more eyes and ears on him — earning him new followers, a turn making an Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1 and a remix package featuring edits of the song by Claptone, Felix Cartel and more — he’s in a position to demonstrate staying power. “Virality helps, but virality is not a strategy,” Carpel says. “It still comes down to really great music from an artist with a strong voice and brand who connects with an audience, coupled with the right team and strategy around them.”
Tomorrow (Jan. 24), Nimino will release “Shaking Things Up.” Made from a ’60s soul sample and bouncy piano, the song is bright, but also laced with Nimino’s signature emotiveness. “It was very much a case of having done a song in one style, then saying, ‘F–k it. Let’s shake things up.’ ‘I Only Smoke’ was quite dark, quite clubby. ‘Shaking Things Up’ is so bright, so fun and such an outdoor festival kind of vibe.”
But whether one is a longtime fan or just now hearing his name, Nimino assures he’s got something for you.
“My favorite song of mine is genuinely always the one that’s about to come out, or the one I made yesterday,” he says. “So even if you can’t be bothered to check out the songs I’ve released, just follow the ride.”
Ariana Grande couldn’t be happier to be an Oscar-nominated actress.
Following the Academy’s unveiling of its 2025 nominees Thursday (Jan. 23) — revealing that the pop star is up for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, marking her first-ever nod — Grande shared an emotional reaction to the news on Instagram. Posting a photo of herself as a child, dressed up as Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz, the “Yes, And?” singer began by writing, “picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition.”
“i cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise,” she continued. “i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. i’m so proud of you, tiny.”
The Grammy winner also thanked Chu for “taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader,” as well as shouted out her co-leading lady Cynthia Erivo, who scored a nomination for best actress. “i am so proud of my Elphie, my sister,” Grande wrote of the Pinocchio star. “your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. i love you unconditionally, always.”
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“i don’t quite have all my words yet, i’m still trying to breathe,” added the “We Can’t Be Friends” musician. “but thank you. oh my goodness, thank you.”
Earning 10 nods total this year, Wicked ties with The Brutalist for second-most nominated project at the 2025 Oscars. Only Emilia Pérez has more, scoring 13 total.
Grande shares the best supporting actress category with A Complete Unknown‘s Monica Barbaro, The Brutalist‘s Felicity Jones, Conclave‘s Isabela Rossellini and Emilia Pérez‘s Zoe Saldaña. Erivo is running against Emilia Pérez‘s Karla Sofía Gascón, Anora‘s Mikey Madison, The Substance‘s Demi Moore and I’m Still Here‘s Fernanda Torres for best actress.
See Grande’s post below.
At just 17, Ty Myers has crafted a 16-song debut album (The Select, out Jan. 24 on RECORDS Nashville/Columbia Records) that blends country songcraft, blues-drenched guitar riffs and soulful, gritty vocals in a way that sounds far beyond his years.
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Myers was born and raised in Austin, a Texas city that boasts over 250 live music venues and has garnered the moniker “Live Music Capital of the World.” So, there’s little wonder that while many of his Gen Z musical contemporaries followed the bedroom TikTok-to-hit performer pathway, Myers’ roots extend back to the vaunted singer-songwriter haunts of Austin. His songwriter father regularly played in Austin’s local venues, while Myers’s grandmother played piano in church.
“My earliest memory is sitting at a bar top at four years old,” Myers tells Billboard. “I have pictures of me just passed out, sleeping on a bar top. I should not have been at that age, but I was always just locked in on music.”
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Myers recalls first singing alongside his father at a now-defunct local Austin venue, Nutty Brown Café & Amphitheatre. By eight, Myers was writing his own songs, and by 11, he was doing full-fledged performances with his father.
“We would do songwriter swaps at local places, just trying to get my foot in the door a bit. Places aren’t usually too quick to let an 11 or 12-year-old come play for people who are trying to have a good time and drink,” Myers recalls. “My dad kind of had relationships at a lot of places and he helped me out.”
Beyond the musical talents of Myers and his parents, he is the nephew of Lonestar member Dean Sams, and Myers notes to Billboard that he also has a familial connection to George Strait’s longtime piano player Ronnie Huckaby.
Along the way, Myers soaked in the sounds of Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, George Strait and Chris Stapleton, channeling their influences. By high school, Myers was balancing playing music with playing baseball and football. After he tore his ACL playing football, and realized the recovery process would hinder him from playing for the rest of the season, Myers redoubled his efforts on music, pouring the dogged work ethic he learned growing up on his family’s cattle ranch into songwriting, live performance and guitar playing. He began recording with producer Tommy Detamore, known for his work with artists including Ronnie Milsap, Jim Lauderdale, and The Texas Tornados.
“Growing up, country was always my main influence,” Myers recalls. “So those first sessions were very country-based, which is Tommy’s bread and butter — he’s an old-school steel player. He played with everybody under the sun and he really perfected those first sessions.”
Those sessions created what would become Myers’s breakthrough songs including “Tie that Binds,” “Drinkin’ Alone,” and earnest love song about enduring affection “Ends of the Earth” — and are included on his full-fledged album, alongside songs produced by Brandon Hood, such as the R&B-inflected love song “Firefly,” the horn-laden “Can’t Hold Me Down” and the Americana/country-informed “Drunk Love.”
“I feel like this album is a real culmination of all of my influences,” says Myers, who is managed by Starstruck Entertainment. “I blended everything that I love into one, hopefully unique, sound.”
The album’s title nods to the fictional bar LA Select, featured in author Ernest Hemmingway’s book The Sun Also Rises. “That’s kind of where [the book’s characters] all go,” Myers says. “They leave the world behind, relax and have fun, and lay all their stresses to the ground, which is kind of what I want people to do when they listen to the album.”
The CAA-aligned Myers just launched his 45-show headlining The Select Tour, which is largely sold out and added 19 new dates. Among the tour stops are shows at revered music venues including Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, and New York City’s Bowery Ballroom.
Myers, Billboard’s January Country Rookie of the Month, told us about the making of his album. navigating his musical breakthrough, and some of his favorite past-times beyond music.
“Tie That Binds” was the song that first caught fans’ attention after it was featured on the TikTok Bonfire Specials. What was it like seeing that initial reaction from both fans and the industry?
It was surreal. We were on family vacation in Key West and that day we were going to drive from Marathon Key to Key West. It’s like a 45-minute drive. And in that time, three labels reached out in 25 minutes—it almost felt like somebody’s playing a prank on you and you don’t know what to expect, going from zero to a hundred like that. And in the days that followed, it felt like every day was a different call.
You are signed with RECORDS Nashville and Columbia. How did that joint deal come about?
It was coming down to either RECORDS or Columbia and we had a meeting in New York. The day before the meeting, we were told, “We want to do a joint meeting with RECORDS and Columbia,” and it turns out they wanted to do the deal together and it couldn’t have been any more perfect.
What advice has your uncle given you about navigating the music industry?
He told me that he was the only one out of the group there at an awards show one time, and he went up [onstage] to accept the award. He saw the video two years later and said he didn’t remember accepting the award, and that’s because he was always thinking about what’s next. So he told me to appreciate the moments.
You wrote “Ends of the Earth” by yourself. What was the writing process for that song like?
I wrote it in my room. I would say about 90% of the songs I write are in my room, but I with that, I knew I wanted to write kind of a soul song. That old-school intro, kind of “boom, boom, boom.” The “Ends of the Earth” idea came next, kind of a play on words that I do in the chorus. I just built it off of that and wrote that one probably within an hour.
How does your live show inform your approach to songwriting?
That’s the number one thing I think about when I’m writing songs, because when you’re performing live, that’s the roots of music. I love playing live.
You’ve opened shows for Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen and Cody Johnson. What have you learned from them in regard to live shows?
Randy and Wade love to have fun on stage, so I got that from them. And playing with Cody Johnson, I love studying his show, and how he really gets the audience involved. There’s not very many people who can move at an arena like Cody Johnson..This past year has been a whirlwind for you. What are the moments that stand out?
Opening for Willie [Nelson], getting to sing gospel [music] with him onstage. I could have melted into the stage; it was truly amazing. Looking over and seeing Willie Nelson, and then he says your name onstage, it’s like, “This isn’t real.”
When you are not making music, what do you do for fun in your off time?
Hunting and golf.
Who is your favorite pro golfer?
Tiger Woods, for sure. That’s obvious, though. My second-favorite golfer would be [Jordan] Spieth. He went to [The University of] Texas.
Do you have a favorite podcast?
I love Theo Von. I listen to Theo Von all the time.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton has criticized the potential jury pool for rapper A$AP Rocky‘s upcoming gun trial, saying that from what he has been told it lacks diversity. In an Instagram post on Wednesday (Jan. 22) Sharpton wrote, “It has been brought to my attention, by the National Action Network Los Angeles office, that out of one hundred and six (106) people called to potentially sit as jurors in A$AP Rocky’s trial in Los Angeles, there are only 4 black people.”
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Rocky (born Rakim Mayers), 36, is facing 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges in the trial in which he is accused of firing a weapon at former affiliate A$AP Relli (born Terrell Ephron) at a Hollywood hotel in November 2021.
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Rocky has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and earlier this week the Harlem native rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors that would have had him plead guilty to one felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in exchange for a six-month jail stint along with three years of probation and a seven-year suspended sentence. “I respectfully decline, thank you,” Rocky reportedly told the court in turning down the deal.
At press time spokespeople for Rocky and the Los Angeles Superior Court had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on Sharpton’s claims.
In his note, Sharpton said that although he is not privy to the particulars of the case, he’s been in close contact with Rocky’s friends. “I do know he deserves to be judged fairly by his peers, as is his Constitutional right,” Sharpton wrote. “It is absolutely ridiculous that the jury will be not fair and representative, so as to deprive A$AP Rocky of a fair trial. When we have four (4) black people in the city of Los Angeles, out of one hundred and six (106) — and exactly zero (0) within in the first thirty (30) possible candidates for the jury — something appears to be very wrong with the system.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, L.A. county has a population just north of 9.6 million, which is comprised of 69.6% white citizens and 9% Black residents.
At press time Billboard could not confirm the figures in Sharpton’s post. Sharpton said he will monitor the trial and challenged the L.A. district attorney to “ensure that fair and representative justice is afforded” to the rapper.
The A$AP Mob leader was arrested in April 2022 at LAX and posted a $550,000 bond shortly after; he entered his not guilty plea to all charges in August 2022. Relli testified that the bullets grazed his knuckles as the feud reached a boiling point with his childhood friend. This week, Rocky’s lawyer appeared to preview his strategy for the trial when he revealed a defense argument that his client was holding a prop “stater pistol,” which he said can clearly be seen on security camera footage from that night.
Assuming jury selection wraps up soon, the trial could begin by week’s end.
It’s been nearly seven years since XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed during an armed robbery in Deerfield Park, Florida, in June 2018 at the age of 20. Throughout his meteoric rise, X — born Jahseh Onfroy — established a deep connection to millions of fans as one of the leaders of the SoundCloud generation […]
Challengers received no Oscar nominations this year, but one snub in particular has baffled fans: the best original score category, which showed no love to the project starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor.
After the Academy unveiled its list of nominees Thursday (Jan. 23) — revealing that the Luca Guadagnino-directed film had been completely shut out from all the categories, including music honors — fans flooded social media to protest. Omitting Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ critically acclaimed Challengers album – which the Academy shortlisted in December — the best original score category sees only Daniel Blumberg’s The Brutalist, Volker Bertelmann’s Conclave, Clément Ducol and Camille’s Emilia Pérez, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked and Kris Bowers’ The Wild Robot soundtracks in the running.
The Nine Inch Nails founder and his co-composer also missed out on a best original song recognition for “Compress/Repress,” with only tracks from Emilia Pérez, The Six Triple Eight, Sing Sing and Elton John: Never Too Late making the list.
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Though diehard fans of the film weren’t exactly pleased with any of the snubs, the best original score exclusion hit them the hardest — so much so, the phrase “best original score” as well as the movie’s title were trending on X immediately after nominations went live thanks to an influx of Challengers posts. “No best original score Oscar nomination for CHALLENGERS’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is ridiculous,” one person wrote, while another fan posted, “challengers has the best original score of all time idgaf what the academy says.”
One person thought that “recency bias” must be the reason for the original score exclusion — Challengers premiered in April last year, several months before any of the category’s nominees were released — while another person proclaimed, “challengers original score snub cancel the oscars.”
Reznor and Ross’ snub comes despite the duo winning best original score at the 2025 Golden Globes earlier this month, beating out Conclave, The Brutalist, The Wild Robot, Emilia Pérez and Dune: Part Two. The duo previously won Oscars in 2010 for their soundtrack work on The Social Network and in 2020 for Soul, the latter which was shared with Jon Batiste.
See how fans are reacting to Challengers‘ best original score snub below.
challengers has the best original score of all time idgaf what the academy says— syd ✿ (@sowhatfaist) January 23, 2025
challengers original score snub cancel the oscars— zoë rose bryant (@zoerosebryant) January 23, 2025
Sorry there’s been a mistake, challengers you guys won best score. This is not a joke they read the wrong thing. Challengers. Best score.— kam (@kamrynsfilm) January 23, 2025
No CHALLENGERS in original score… I feared days like this would come— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 23, 2025
No CHALLENGERS for original score, for shame.— Sean Fennessey (@SeanFennessey) January 23, 2025
how on earth did challengers not get nominated for best original score— beatriz¹⁶ ☆ (@margotsprestige) January 23, 2025
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Patrick Houston Jr., reportedly the son of veteran rapper Project Pat, was shot and killed on Jan. 12 according to local reports. The news is making its way to the larger public after a new report, and it appears that the investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
Local outlet Fox 13 first reported on the death of Patrick Houston Jr. on Sunday, January 12, writing that the crime took place around 1:15 local time at a Memphis park. The actual shooting incident took place the Friday prior.
TMZ published a report on Thursday (Jan. 23) and added that Houston was the son of Project Pat. A quick scan of Project Pat’s Instagram page makes no mention of his son’s killing and the rapper was active just four days ago on the platform promoting new music.
According to an obituary page, funeral services for Houston will take place this weekend.
We also headed over to Juicy J’s page, who is the uncle of Houston. There was no mention there of the slaying as well. With the details still in development and everyone seemingly tight-lipped about what is known, this is about as much as we’ve been able to discover on our side.
As additional details continue to come forth, we will return to update this post or provide an update report.
Patrick Houston Jr. was 22 as per the obituary page.
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Photo: Getty
Diane Warren received her 16th Oscar nomination for best original song on Thursday (Jan. 23) — a tally equaled by only three other songwriters in the 91-year history of the category. Sammy Cahn leads with 26 nods, followed by Johnny Mercer with 18 and Paul Francis Webster, also with 16. Warren was nominated this year this year for “The Journey,” sung by H.E.R. in The Six Triple Eight.
Moreover, this is the eighth year in a row Warren has been nominated, which enables her to tie Cahn for the longest continuous streak of nominations in this category. Cahn was nominated eight years running from 1954 to 1961.
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Clément Ducol and Camille have two of the five songs that are nominated for best original song — “El Mal” and “Mi Camino,” both from Emilia Pérez. (They cowrote “El Mal” with the film’s director, Jacques Audiard.) This marks the first time that a songwriter or team of songwriters has had two nominated songs in the same year since 2017, when Justin Hurwitz and the team of Pasek & Paul had two nominated songs from La La Land, “City of Stars” (which won the award) and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream).”
Audiard, nominated for directing and original song for Emilia Pérez, becomes only the third person to be nominated in both the directing and original song categories, and the first to do so for the same film. Leo McCarey and Spike Jonze received their nominations in separate years.
This is the fifth year in a row that one or more non-English language songs has been nominated in the original song category. The streak started with “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se) and continued with “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto, “Naatu Naatu” from RRR and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon.
Elton John received his fifth Oscar nomination for co-writing “Never Too Late” Elton John: Never Too Late. It’s the second nod for his collaborator Bernie Taupin; and the first for fellow collaborators Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt. “Never Too Late” is the first song written by four songwriters to be nominated for best original song since “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever two years ago, which was cowritten by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson.
Best Original Song Nominees
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Like a Bird: from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin
The Motion Picture Academy released a shortlist of 15 contenders for best original song on Dec. 17. One song, “Forbidden Road” from Better Man (Paramount Pictures) was removed from the shortlist two days later because of similarities to a 1973 film song, “I Got a Name” from The Great American Hero.
Among the notable songwriters who were shortlisted but not nominated: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pharrell Williams, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Miranda was shortlisted for writing “Tell Me It’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King. Miranda has been just an Oscar away from an EGOT since 2014, when he won his first Primetime Emmy. He has been Oscar-nominated twice for writing “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana and “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto.
Shortlisted But Not Nominated for Best Original Song
“Beyond” from Moana 2 (Walt Disney Pictures) — Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers (Amazon MGM) — Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper (Netflix) — Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig, Josh Greenbaum
“Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation) — Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi
“Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters (Universal Pictures) — Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnally
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece (Focus Features) — Pharrell Williams
“Sick in the Head” from Kneecap (Sony Pictures Classics) — Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, Adrian Louis Richard Mcleod, Toddla T
“Tell Me It’s You” from Mufasa: The Lion King (Walt Disney Pictures) – Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Winter Coat” from Blitz (Apple Original Films) — Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson
Best Original Score
Volker Bertelmann, who won two years ago for All Quiet on the Western Front, is nominated for Conclave.
Kris Bowers received his first scoring nomination for The Wild Robot. He has been nominated twice in documentary categories, for A Concerto Is a Conversation and The Last Repair Shop (both collabs with Ben Proudfoot).
Clément Ducol and Camille were nominated for Emilia Pérez. They are the third married couple to be nominated in a scoring category. Composer Fred Karlin and lyricist Tylwyth Kymry were nominated in 1971 for best original song score for The Baby Maker. Lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman were nominated for best original song score and its adaptation or adaptation score in 1984 for Yentl, on which they teamed with Michel Legrand.
John Powell and Stephen Schwartz were nominated for Wicked. The film has become the top-grossing film ever adapted from a Broadway musical.
Best Original Score Nominees
The Brutalist (A24), Daniel Blumberg
Conclave (Focus Features), Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez (Netflix), Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked (Universal Pictures) John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation), Kris Bowers
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, two-time winners in the category (for The Social Network and Soul, a collab with Jon Batiste), were passed over for Challengers.
This was not Hans Zimmer’s year at the Oscars. First, his score for Dune: Part Two was ruled ineligible due to exceeding the Academy’s limit on pre-existing music. Academy rules state: “In cases such as sequels and franchises from any media, the score must not use more than 20% of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.” Zimmer’s score for Dune: Part Two incorporates substantial elements from his Oscar-winning score for 2021’s Dune. Zimmer was in on the score shortlist for his work on Steve McQueen’s Blitz, but that score failed to land a nomination.
Andrea Datzman was also passed over for Inside Out 2. With this release, Datzman became the first woman to score a Pixar feature film.
Shortlisted But Not Nominated for Best Original Score
Alien: Romulus (20th Century Studios) – Benjamin Wallfisch
Babygirl (A24) – Critobal Tapia de Veer
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Danny Elfman
Blink Twice (Amazon MGM Studios) – Chanda Dancy
Blitz (Apple Original Films) — Hans Zimmer
Challengers (Amazon MGM) — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM) — Tamar-kali
Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures) — Harry Gregson-Williams
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (New Line Cinema) – John Debney
Inside Out 2 (Pixar) — Andrea Datzman
Nosferatu (Focus Features) – Robin Carolan
The Room Next Door (Sony Pictures Classics) — Alberto Iglesias
Sing Sing (A24) — Bryce Dessner
The Six Triple Eight (Netflix) – Aaron Zigman
Young Woman and the Sea (Walt Disney Pictures) — Amelia Warner
The lineup for Tomorrowland 2025 is here. The organizers of the Belgian mega-festival released a bill with more than 600 dance acts spanning the genre’s sound spectrum on Thursday (Jan. 23).
The bill includes a load of Tomorrowland regulars including Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte, David Guetta, Hardwell, Nervo, Nicky Romero and many others. The bill also includes John Summit, Fisher, Amelie Lens, Alok, Agents of Time, Miss Monique, The Blessed Madonna and other artists making mainstage, house, techno, trance, bass and more.
The gentlemen of Swedish House Mafia will perform twice, once as Swedish House Mafia and once as a b2b2b featuring the trio’s members — Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso — doing a house set on one of the event’s more intimate stages. Solomun will perform not once but thrice with a weekend one set on the mainstage, a weekend two b2b with Anyma and a third set on the festival’s Freedom Stage.
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Tomorrowland will also offer a flurry of b2b sets from Dimitri Vegas b2b Fantasm, DJ Boring b2b Haai, Kevin de Vries b2b Cassian, Kölsch b2b Artbat and many more.
The festival’s 19th edition happens across two weekends — July 18-20 and July 25-27 in Boom, Belgium. The event typically draws more than 400,000 people over its back-to-back weekends. Tickets for Tomorrowland 2025 go on sale Feb. 1.
Before the festival’s flagship summer edition, Tomorrowland Winter happens March 15-22 at Alpe d’Huez, a ski resort in the French Alps roughly two and a half hours southeast of Lyon. 2025 marks the fifth edition of the event, which will host a crowd of roughly 22,000.
See the full lineup for Tomorrowland Belgium below:
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After operating a store on the Sixth Avenue side of Rockefeller Center for a little over four years, Rough Trade is now opening a second location in the complex, the retail chain announced Thursday (Jan. 23).
While the smaller existing store at street level will now be known as Rough Trade Above, and will expand its focus on new vinyl, the new location will cover 4,000 square feet and feature “a large selection of artist/band merch, audio hardware” including turntables and Bluetooth speakers, large sections of new and used CDs and vinyl records, plus movies, collectibles and more.
Since it will be housed in the below street-level retail concourse that connects the world-famous Rockefeller Center to the B/D/F/M subway station, the new store will be known as Rough Trade Below. Just like the Sixth Avenue location, which sees heavy foot traffic walking past the store, located between 49th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, the concourse has a steady crowd flow from the subway. What’s more, the retail concourse, also known as Under 30 Rock, draws office workers from the surrounding office buildings. Altogether, the Rockefeller Center complex — which is home to the annual televised Christmas tree lightening that draws heavy foot traffic during the year-end holidays — enjoys 35 million visitors a year, according to Rough Trade.
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Rough Trade hasn’t yet disclosed a grand opening date for the new store but says it will open sometime this spring, with the company likely targeting an opening before Record Store Day in April.
“We’re extremely excited to be opening Rough Trade Below this spring, helping us further cater to the tremendous demand from music lovers across the five boroughs and beyond,” Rough Trade co-owner Stephen Godfroy said in a statement. “Creating a focus of counterculture in midtown Manhattan has thankfully proved to be a wildly successful move, and we look forward to creating an even stronger creative community as the year progresses.”
One way Rough Trade expects to do that is by bringing back its famed in-store performances, thanks to the new location’s larger footprint. While the smaller 6th Avenue store has hosted acoustic sets — Green Day, for one — and in-store signings, the new store will be able to handle a larger capacity crowd for performances and intends to bring in household names alongside below-the-radar bands across all genres, the company says. Other artists who have held events at the 6th Avenue store include Coldplay, Charlie XCX and De La Soul, among others.
“It’s clear that the ethos of Rough Trade—to narrow the gap between artist and audience—has struck a tremendous chord, here in New York,” Godfroy added. “Creating an even larger mecca for the music lover is an exciting prospect, especially for our intimate live events, where the world’s most exciting artists perform in-store for the admission of purchasing their new album.”
In-store performances were an exciting element of the original New York Rough Trade store, which opened in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood in 2013 and closed in 2021. That store, housed in a 10,000-square foot space, was split about evenly between retail space and the club, with the latter hosting live concerts but also doubling as an in-store performance space, albeit one in another room separated from the retail section by a wall.
The new store will have a performance space directly within the store next to CD and vinyl racks on castor wheels, which when moved aside will allow for greater occupancy. According to Godfroy —who responded to an e-mail—the setup will accommodate more “intimacy and magic” at in-stores and “make performances all the more unique, memorable and special, for both artists and fans.”
The goal, Godfroy adds, is to “replicate the successful model of our U.K. flagship, Rough Trade East,” in London.
Since moving to Rockefeller Center, Rough Trade has continued to curate live public events, including its annual iNDIEPLAZA music festival and a quarterly concert series in the complex’s Rainbow Room. The Rough Trade presence has helped Rockefeller Center’s management company, Tishman Speyer, revitalize the complex, allowing it to remain “a dynamic destination” for New Yorkers and visitors, according to EB Kelly, Tishman Speyer’s senior MD and head of Rockefeller Center.
“We are thrilled to have Rough Trade expanding into a second location on campus, and join our Under 30 Rock collection of shops,” Kelly continued. “In just three years, the store has become one of Manhattan’s cultural touchstones and a pillar of Rockefeller Center’s dynamic transformation. New Yorkers have shown us how much they love the experience of the current store on Sixth Avenue, and the new space in our lively Under 30 Rock community will allow even more people to enjoy the musical taste of this legendary shop.”
The new Rockefeller Center location expands Rough Trade’s retail footprint to ten stores — seven in the U.K (of which four are in London, along with outlets in Bristol, Nottingham and Liverpool); one in Berlin; and now two in New York.