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As the 2022 People’s Choice Awards reached its climax on Tuesday night (Dec. 6), Lizzo was named People’s Champion. With her acceptance speech, she proved just how deserving she is.
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The Detroit singer and rapper snagged a brace of trophies on the night, including song of the year for “About Damn Time,” which led the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in July and August. But it was her People’s Champion honor, and her inclusive comments that followed, that are resonating on social channels and with those who caught it.
“Imma be honest, when I first heard about this award, I was on the fence about whether I should accept,” she comments. “Because, if I’m the people’s champ, I don’t need a trophy for championing people. You know what I’m saying?”
Speaking without the benefit of notes, Lizzo remarked, “I’m here tonight, because to be an icon isn’t about how long you’ve had your platform. Being an icon is what you do with that platform. And ever since the beginning of my career I’ve used my platform to amplify marginalized voices.”
So, tonight, she continues, “I am sharing this honor. Make some noise for the people, y’all. These are all activists and people that I think deserve the spotlight.”
And with that, Lizzo urged the audience to raise to roof as she introduced to the stage a collection of human rights advocates, freedom fighters, artists, walking inspirations, each of whom she identified.
In the moment, Lizzo blasted the “senseless and despicable gun violence that has become far too common,” and called for organizers and onlookers to give the activists “their flowers.”
Lizzo concludes: “Power will always be to the people. Thank you so much People’s Choice. Follow them, follow them and support them.”
During the show, Taylor Swift won three awards – the female artist of 2022, the music video of 2022 (“Anti-Hero”) and the album of 2022 (Midnights, which has topped the Billboard 200 in five of its first six weeks).
BTS and Selena Gomez were among the multiple honorees at the ceremony, presented at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. Kenan Thompson hosted the show, which aired on NBC and E!
Watch Lizzo’s speech in full below.
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If you want something done, ask a busy person. Selena Gomez is that person.
The pop artist and actor has crammed it in of late. She stars in Only Murders in the Building alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short; helms the cooking show Selena + Chef; and takes the lead on the documentary My Mind & Me, a personal story on mental health, seven years in the making.
The Apple TV+ series My Mind & Me spawned a single of the same name, and an official music video.
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There’s more music to come, says Gomez, who’s keen to switch gears and get back to a party vibe.
On Monday night (Dec. 5), Gomez stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a chat about her hectic schedule.
Does the new single suggest there’s more music coming? “That’s accurate,” she tells Fallon. “Finally.”
Gomez’s last studio album was 2020’s Rare, which, like its two predecessors, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
“I’m so used to writing sad-girl songs,” she tells Fallon, noting recording session are taking place in New York City. “But I’m ready to have some fun and I think people are going to like it.”
Don’t expect 2023 to be a cruise. Filming for season 3 of Only Murders will kick off in January, Gomez admits during her stint on the late-night couch.
Are the two Martins rubbing off on her? Sure, she’s a little snarky, a little grumpy, otherwise not so much. Gomez also recounts her “oh my god” moment when Meryl Streep came over to say “hi” and kiss her hand (“it was such a surreal moment”).
The artist spoke at some length about her charity work and advocacy, and the purpose it gives her. “I do know I won’t stop this fight until the day I die. I think mental health is incredibly important and should be focused on.”
Watch below.
Gomez stuck around to play a round of “Egg Roulette” with Fallon, a game in which the host and guest take turns smashing eggs on their own heads without knowing which are hard-boiled and which are raw.
If she was having flashbacks, the blame could be attributed to playing “Hot Ones” with Fallon in 2019, an eating game, she recounts, that ended with her barfing in her dressing room.
When news of Christine McVie’s death reached the U.K., her fans turned to Fleetwood Mac‘s music.
The English singer and songwriter died last Wednesday (Nov. 30) following a “short illness,” her family explained. She was 79.
Now, based on sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, the group’s iconic 1977 LP Rumours (Rhino/Warner Bros) is surging, and is on track for a return to the top 10.
The set, which led the chart for a single week following its release, rises 28-9 on the midweek survey, thanks to a 200% week-on-week uplift, the OCC reports. Further down the chart blast, Fleetwood Mac’s hits collection 50 Years – Don’t Stop vaults 29-14.
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McVie was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame for her work with Fleetwood Mac, which she joined in 1970.
She wrote and sang lead vocals on a raft of the group’s biggest songs, including “Hold Me,” “Little Lies,” “Don’t Stop,” “Say You Love Me” and “You Make Loving Fun.”
During her lifetime, she received a Gold Badge of Merit Award from the Ivors Academy, the Ivor Novello Award for lifetime achievement, and two Grammy Awards.
With McVie in the lineup, Fleetwood Mac had 25 Hot 100 hits in the United States, including nine top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100 and one No. 1 smash: “Dreams” in 1977.
In the U.K., the band has ten top 10 singles, including a No. 1 with 1968’s “Albatross” (a pre-McVie lineup), and four No. 1 albums.
The Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday.
The queen of Christmas is here to reclaim her crown.
Based on midweek data published by the Official U.K. Charts Company, Mariah Carey’s classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (Columbia) is the race leader, lifting 8-1.
Proving that Brits are in the mood for the holiday season, Carey’s “Christmas” leads an all-yuletide top three on the midweek survey, ahead of Wham’s “Last Christmas” (RCA) and Ed Sheeran’s “Merry Christmas” (Atlantic), respectively.
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All three singles have led the Official U.K. Singles Chart, with “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Last Christmas” taking the long route to the top – and smashing records along the way.
Originally released in 1994, Carey’s “Christmas” finally reached the summit in December 2020 to complete a 26-year journey. According to the OCC, no other song has spent more weeks in the top 40 before reaching the top.
Wham’s enduring pop hit also set a new record when, last Christmas, the single was crowned for the first time in its 36-year history. No other track has taken such a long stroll to the chart apex, an effort that eclipsed the 33-year effort of Tony Christie’s “(Is This The Way To) Amarillo.”
As Christmas playlists around the country get a solid work out, holiday tunes flood the chart blast, including top 10 reentries for Brenda Lee (“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” up 19-7 via MCA), Michael Buble (“It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” up 24-8 via Reprise) and Shakin’ Stevens (“Merry Christmas Everyone” up 29-10 via RCA), while musical gifts from the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson and Band Aid, Bobby Helms and Chris Rea are eying the top 20.
The highest new entry on the chart blast belongs to Lewis Capaldi with “Pointless” (Vertigo), at No. 18. Co-written with Ed Sheeran, it’s the second single taken from his upcoming studio LP Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, and it should give the Scottish artist his seventh top 40 appearance.
The Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday.
Olly Murs‘ Marry Me (via EMI) is walking up the aisle for a U.K. No. 1.
The English pop singer’s seventh studio LP leads the midweek chart, and is heading for a fifth U.K. No. 1 following In Case You Didn’t Know (from 2011), Right Place Right Time (2012), Never Been Better (2014) and 24 HRS (2016).
The X Factor alum has brushed off controversy surrounding the lyrics to Marry Me song “I Hate You When You’re Drunk,” to take pole position on the Official Chart Update, ahead of Taylor Swift’s Midnights (EMI) and Cliff Richard’s Christmas With Cliff (EastWest/Rhino), respectively.
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Meanwhile, Atlanta hip-hop producer Metro Boomin could score a career-best with Heroes & Villains (Republic Records), his sophomore solo studio album. It’s new at No. 4 on the Official Chart Update.
Metro Boomin (real name Leland Tyler Wayne) previously impacted the chart with 2018’s Not All Heroes Wear Capes (No. 16) and 2020’s Savage Mode II with 21 Savage (No. 10).
Veteran British electronic music duo Leftfield could snag a fourth top 10 with This Is What We Do (Virgin Music), their first new studio record in seven years. It’s new at No. 8 on the chart blast. The duo of Neil Barnes and Adam Wren hit No. 3 with their classic debut from 1995, Leftism; No. 1 with 1999’s Rhythm And Stealth; and No. 6 with 2015’s Alternative Light Source.
BTS star RM’s solo debut Indigo (BigHit Entertainment) could enter the top 40 at the first attempt. It’s new at No. 27 on the chart blast. As a member of BTS, the South Korean rapper has enjoyed U.K. No. 1s with Map Of The Soul – Persona in 2019, and Map Of The Soul – 7 in 2020.
Christmas has already arrived on the U.K. charts, with several titles making an impression on the midweek albums survey.
Behind Cliff Richard’s first yuletide offering in almost 20 years is Michael Bublé’s Christmas (Reprise), which is on track for its annual return to the top 5, up 11-5; Andrea, Matteo and Virginia Bocelli’s A Family Christmas (Decca) dips 6-5; Andre Rieu & Johann Strauss Orchestra’s Silver Bells (Decca) is up 10-7; Aled Jones & Russell Watson’s Christmas With Aled & Russell (BMG) lifts 37-29; and the Corrs’ lead vocalist Andrea Corr could grab a solo career-best with The Christmas Album (Atlantic), new at No. 32 on the midweek chart.
Finally, Fleetwood Mac is staging a return to the top ten, following Christine McVie’s death Nov. 30, aged 79. The Rock Hall inductees’ 1977 LP Rumours (Rhino/Warner Bros) experiences a 200% week-on-week gain, and is on track for a top 10 return, up 28-9; while 50 Years – Don’t Stop (Rhino) could lift 29-14.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday.
Jim Stewart, the founder of Stax Records, the iconic Memphis, TN label that launched the careers of Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, the Bar-Kays and many others, and shaped the sound of soul music, died Monday (Dec. 5) at the age of 92.
Stax Records (formerly Satellite) was founded in 1957 by sibling Stewart and Estelle Axton, and would go on to trigger the “Soul Explosion,” a movement that rumbles on to this day.
Born July 29, 1930, in Middletown, TN, Stewart relocated to Memphis as a young man. He served for two years in the armed forces, then tried his hand at music.
Playing in a band wasn’t his strong suit, but Stewart would forge a home and career with music. An allrounder, he was a producer and engineer in the studio, a record label executive, a promotions man on the go, and, importantly, a team player.
As a producer, he oversaw sessions for Carla Thomas’ “Gee Whiz” (1961), Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” (1966) and Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog” (1963), and worked on such albums as Booker T. & The M.G.’s Green Onions (1962), Redding’s Pain in My Heart and Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign (1967).
Stax Records — a combination of the first two letters of the owners’ last names — would rent the abandoned Capitol Theater on McLemore Avenue and, from there, make music history.
“Today we lost an important piece of American music history,” comments Michele Smith, vice president of estate & legacy brand management at Craft Recordings and Stax Records.
Stewart’s legacy “will live on through the Stax Records label that he founded, and the artists, musicians, and fans worldwide that love Stax music. I’m not sure if he ever realized the immense impact that he had on soul music across the globe, and he will be sorely missed. Our condolences go out to his friends and family, especially his children and grandchildren.”
The “Soul Explosion” and the Stax philosophy “wasn’t just about penetrating the market with as much music as possible, it was also about releasing the best music possible,” wrote Billboard in 2019, as Stax celebrated a milestone anniversary.
In the segregated south, Stax was something of an artistic oasis, a space for musicians to come together and create.
Among the many artists who bagged hits on Stax and its Volt subsidiary during the 1960s were Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T. & the MGs, Sam and Dave, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, and Redding.
Following the untimely death of Redding in 1967, Stax would recalibrate and unearth a new fresh crop of stars, including Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, and the Dramatics.
Financial troubles would see Stax enter into involuntary bankruptcy in 1975. Its output during a 15-year golden period, however, would see Stax establish its reputation as a “critical” piece of “American music history,” reads a statement from the label, as “one of the most popular soul music record labels of all time – second only to Motown in sales and influence, but first in gritty, raw, stripped-down soul music.”
During that period, Stax placed more than 167 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and 243 hits on the R&B chart, reads an official statement from the label.
Today, the original Stax property at East McClemore is home to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, with the Stax Music Academy and Soulsville Charter School close by, and many of its classic recordings live on popular culture as samples.
In 2002, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame celebrated Stewart’s career with the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Also, HBO Documentary Films is said to be in production on STAX, a multiple-part documentary series exploring the legendary label.
Stewart is survived by his wife Evelyn Stewart, sisters Estelle Axton and Mary Lucille McAlpin, three children — Lori Stewart, Shannon Stewart and Jeff Stewart — and by grandchildren Alyssa Luibel and Jennifer Stewart.
Plans for a memorial are pending. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Stax Music Academy, which aims to inspire young people and enhance their academic, cognitive, performance, and leadership skills by utilizing music.
Elton John will complete his final lap of the U.K. with a performance on one of the biggest stages of them all — Glastonbury Festival.
The Rocket Man will lift off at the Pyramid Stage on Sunday, June 25, the final night of Glastonbury 2023, for what promises to be a set littered with classics.
“It gives me enormous pleasure to let you know that the one and only Elton John will be making his first ever Glastonbury appearance, headlining the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday night next year,” writes Glastonbury’s co-organizer Emily Eavis, daughter of founder Michael Eavis. “This will be the final U.K. show of Elton’s last ever tour, so we will be closing the Festival and marking this huge moment in both of our histories with the mother of all send offs. We are so very happy to finally bring the Rocket Man to Worthy Farm.”
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Elton is calling time on his extraordinary touring career with a fittingly epic trek, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
Dates began in 2018 and, when it wraps next July at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, it’s expected to set the bar as the highest grossing tour of all time. It’s just the third tour in history to pass the $600 million threshold, following U2’s 360 Tour ($736.4 million), and Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour ($776.4 million).
The British pop legend completed his final run of North America last month with a string of dates at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the final of which was captured for the special, Elton John Live From Dodger Stadium, which streams exclusively on Disney+.
We are incredibly excited to announce that the one and only @EltonOfficial will headline the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night at Glastonbury 2023, for what will be the final UK show of his last ever tour. pic.twitter.com/tpylanY1Rh— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) December 2, 2022
Established in 1970, Glastonbury is the grandaddy of U.K. festivals. And with its enviable reputation as a rite of passage and the place where all the giants of contemporary music get to work, Glastonbury has already sold out its 2023 edition long before the final bill is announced.
Next year’s event, held once again at the Eavis’ Worthy Farm, in south west England, is expected to host about 200,000 people.