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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Amazon is gearing up for Black Friday deals, but rather than give you a few days to take advantage of major […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
The War & Treaty‘s Michael Jr. and Tanya Trotter are having a moment this year after earning their first-ever CMAs and Grammy nominations, as well as collaborating with country star Zach Bryan on his self-titled album. To celebrate these milestones, the couple got together with George Dickel to share a glass of the Tennessee whiskey brand’s new 18-year-old limited edition bourbon whiskey, which follows the brand’s eight-year-old version and is now available to buy in select U.S. markets for around $510.
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“Words cannot truly express how we feel,” Michael tells Billboard. “You can say all the good things and it’ll just fall short of what we truly, truly feel.”
The duo — who were nominated for CMAs’ best vocal duo but lost to Brothers Osborne and snagged a Grammy nod for best new artist — performed “That’s How Love Is Made” off their album Lover’s Game during the Nov. 8 CMAs ceremony. The track was particularly special, as it’s one of the few the husband-wife duo have written together.
“When we first started working together, Michael primarily wrote all the songs,” Tanya explains to Billboard. “And this is probably — I’m not going to say the only song — but probably [the] top five songs that we’ve written together, so to be able to do a song with him that we did together on the award show, and to have that record Lover’s Game that was, again, all the songs written by Michael and one of the songs produced by him — I think you have to sit back and look at your journey and say, look how far we’ve come.”
The couple — who talked to Billboard ahead of the CMAs — also discussed how the collaboration with Zach Bryan came about, their upcoming new album, the best gifts they’ve received from each another and the one person they turn to for fashion advice.
You’re going to be opening for Zach Bryan. How did your collaboration come about?
Tanya: We actually met him [when] we were doing the Outlaw Festival with Willie Nelson. I hadn’t heard of him before and I came backstage and I said to our tour manager, I was like, “I don’t know who this guy is, but every young girl in the audience is singing every single word.” I was just amazed. And then he came backstage and he was passing out T shirts, he introduced himself and it was very friendly, and that was the first time we met.
So we did the ACMa, performed and he happened to be there with his dad. Afterwards, he ran up to us as everybody was leaving, and he was like, “holy s–t, what just happened to me? I was sitting there and my legs were shaking, and I had chills up and down my arms.” He was like, “We have to work together. I don’t know what we’re going to do — let’s exchange numbers.”
It’s very kind of cliche, it happens all the time in the music business where you see other artists, and it’s always like, “We got to do a record together.” He and Michael connected, and we were on a three-way text, but Michael and him had the bond of being in the military and serving, and so the dialog happened. One day he called us and maybe two weeks later, he had a song, and he was like, “I want to hear what you guys sound like on this song.” So we put a voice memo together, sent it to him, he loved it and it was on Instagram I think in less than 20 minutes.
Also, Tanya, I love your denim cowboy boots and matching purse. Where are they from?
Tanya: I got these boots from, I want to say Amazon. My daughter, she’s like, “Mommy, Tanya, you have to carry the bag.” She’s a little fashionista, so she made me carry the bag. (See a similar style here.)
And you teased a new album in the works. What can we expect from this one?
Michael: We are intending to touch as many people as we can, whether they don’t look like us, look like us, whether they come from our walks of life or not — especially [in] country music. I think it’s important to be intentional in targeting people that look like me and Tanya. I think that you have to get rid of all of the things that you may think. Like Black people don’t do whiskey or Black people don’t do country music. And I think that that’s a thing that Tanya and I are here as proof and our intentional spirit to really take this back to the communities that look like us and to say it’s time to try new things. It’s time to love again, it’s time to trust again — especially in our country. I think that the intentional thing to say now is it’s time for us as a people to have faith and fall in love with each other again.
What is your favorite gift you’ve ever given one another?
Michael: OK, Dec. 8, 2010. Ty and I were in what we thought would be our first place to rent. We were sleeping on the floor, Tanya was pregnant, we had no money — no anything — but the greatest gift that Tanya has ever given me was that night. Her word that her heart belonged to me. I will never, ever forget that night.
Tanya: For me, with Michael, it’s his listening. There’s not anything that I can’t say to him. Just in random I could say something right now, like, “I want this” or “I can look at something,” and he’s always paying attention. He’s always listening, and when you have somebody that has a heart like his and listens and pays attention to the details of what you have, you can’t get that — you can’t pay for that.
That’s beautiful. And what do you think is the best gift someone can give their partner?
Michael: I think we’re living in a day and time where people can’t afford a lot. People can’t afford to play games. So many relationships we find ourselves in the lover’s game, but I think that the greatest thing you can give someone is honesty. That was the first thing I gave to Tanya. I just told her the truth, I said, “Listen, I’m bumming right now” … and I said, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it, but I know how to love.” And Tanya, the way Tanya looks and the way her heart is, Tanya could be with anybody in the entire universe, but she chose me. And I said, “You know what? I give you my word, I won’t let you regret that choice.” I like to think 13 years later, I’m making good on my promise.
Tanya: I would say the gift of time. The one thing about Michael that I’ve learned from him is I’m very anal retentive when it comes to something. So like this brownie, I’m going to finish this brownie because I like to finish things. But Michael could be in the middle of anything and any of our kids can walk into a room and he zones in on just that, and he does that with everything. I think that that’s the gift that you’re not able to replace, is your time. It’s the one thing you can’t buy and you can’t get back.
While LGBTQ+ representation among artists in the music industry currently enjoys an all-time high, there was a time when it was not socially acceptable for artists to talk about their sexuality — and Barry Manilow is ready to talk about that time.
In a new interview on Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, Manilow sat down with the veteran journalist to discuss his storied career — which includes his decision to come out publicly in 2017. While the singer maintained that his coming out “wasn’t a big deal” at age 72, it could have been catastrophic when he was approaching the height of his popularity.
“Well, in the ’70s, you didn’t [come out]. It wasn’t the same as it is today,” Manilow explained in the interview. “Now, being gay is no being deal, but back in the ’70s, it would’ve killed a career. And Clive [Davis] kind of told me that in his own way: ‘Don’t do that, not yet.’”
Manilow added that along with the fact that “the public was not ready for anybody to come out,” he was also not in a place where he was ready to talk about his sexuality. “Frankly, it was just too personal. I just didn’t want to talk about my personal life anyway, I never did that; I was happy talking about music,” he said. “But talking about my personal life was just kind of creepy to me, so I just never did.”
The “Mandy” singer met his now-husband Garry Kief in the late-’70s, when Kief became Manilow’s manager. “Garry actually kind of saved my life, because as my career exploded … going back to an empty hotel room, you could get into a lot of trouble if you’re alone night after night,” Manilow said. “But I met Garry right when everything was exploding, and I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms; I had somebody to cry with and to celebrate with.”
As for his decision to ultimately come out? “I think it was a non-event for me,” he said. “Really, Garry and I have been together for so long, it just never dawned on me that we were going to come out. But, when we got married, it was a big deal, so we did.”
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Walmart is bringing Black Friday deals a little earlier this year, which means you can score everything for a fraction of […]
Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a dressing room in New York City, the members of Boygenius — Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus — cannot seem to stop smiling at one another. It could be because they just finished a rehearsal for their performance on Saturday Night Live this weekend (Nov. 11). Or it could be that they just earned a bunch of 2024 Grammy nominations.
On Friday (Nov. 10), the trio found out that they were nominated for a whopping six awards at the 2024 Grammy Awards, including nods for both album and record of the year for the record and “Not Strong Enough,” respectively. Bridgers, earning a seventh nomination for her work with SZA on the song “Ghost in the Machine,” ties Victoria Monét and engineer Serban Ghenea as the second-most nominated artist at the annual ceremony, with SZA leading at nine nominations.
“It feels like I’m in a simultaneous come-up and come-down from a high,” Dacus tells Billboard, looking to her bandmates with a smile and a confounded expression. The group posted a photo of themselves on Instagram, where all three hug one another after finding out about their album of the year nomination. In their dressing room, Bridgers, Baker and Dacus regularly reach around to grab each other’s hands, still processing the news.
Below, Billboard chats with Boygenius about their six nominations, their preparations for SNL, what it means to be nominated alongside rock greats like the Rolling Stones and the Foo Fighters, and why LGBTQ+ representation at the Grammys matters — but not nearly as much as LGBTQ+ rights.
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Before we even get into the Grammys of it all, how have SNL rehearsals with Timothée Chalamet been going so far?
Lucy Dacus: Pretty good, we have another one tonight.
Phoebe Bridgers: It’s scary, it’s like The Imp of the Perverse.
Julien Baker: Yeah, it’s all really live.
Bridgers: You’re like, “I could do something that people will see across the nation.” Well, actually, that’s guaranteed. But I could do something bad, like trying to drive your car into the median.
Well, congratulations on the Grammys nominations! How are each of you doing after finding out?
Baker: I was like, “If it happens, we’ll get one, maybe.” But no, we got six.
Dacus: Well, it’s seven if you count the sound engineering one [best engineered album, non-classical].
Bridgers: I mean, it’s not our names, but the people who helped make our collective Boygenius project. But yes, we are over-caffeinated, f—ed-up, and I’m gonna take a nap after this.
Baker: You know when you get so excited that you just have to go to sleep? It’s like when a fuse bursts and then there’s just no power. It’s a power surge, for sure.
You’re nominated for record and album of the year alongside artists like Taylor Swift, SZA and Olivia Rodrigo, while also being nominated in the rock categories with icons like The Rolling Stones and the Foo Fighters. What does being in that kind of company mean for the three of you?
Bridgers: Pretty dope. I think we’re gonna have to fight Dave Grohl in the parking lot.
Baker: Yo, we should do that. We should challenge him to beef.
Dacus: Hey, I’ve seen in-person how hard he hits the drums; I’m not gonna fight Dave Grohl. His arms are something else. Like, he’s got the muscle and he’s scrappy.
For Lucy and Julien, these are your first-ever nominations at the Grammys—
Baker: And last! [Laughs] No, this is a thing that is completely not able to be conceptualized. Like, this is a fake dream, almost. You’re like, “One day, I’m gonna hit the big time.” And then we play The Wiltern, and it’s like, “Okay, cool, that seems pretty good and achievable.” And then we got nominated for a Grammy, and I’m like, “That’s actually what people fake aspire to.”
Dacus: Yeah, I feel like I need a whole new bucket list.
Bridgers: It is pretty sick, to have a dream when you’re f—ing 15 that you achieve, and then you go, “What weird sh– can I do next?”
I also want to congratulate you three on leading the pack of LGBTQ+ nominees this year, alongside artists like Victoria Monét, Miley Cyrus and Brandy Clark. What does that mean for you, as a group, to see that level of representation in the nominations?
Baker: It’s cool, because when you’re saying “this class of people,” or “this demographic of folks” … it’s like, if there’s enough people that fit that category within the organization, it stops becoming a novelty.
Bridgers: Yeah, or even just as much of a commodity.
Baker: Exactly, it allows all of those people to be individuated more.
Dacus: It would be so sick if the way all queer people were treated got more normal too. Like, we have a friend that, during Pride Month, said, “It’s cool to see the rainbow on this Shell gas station sign. Why am I still getting looked at funny as a trans woman walking around?” Like, it’s cool that there’s more queer people getting nominated for Grammys, but it would also be super cool if more queer people had their full rights and were treated like people.
These nominations come after a huge year for Boygenius, between putting out the record and the massive tour you just wrapped up. Where do you feel these nominations rank among the other cool things you’ve gotten to do this year?
Dacus: Honestly? I don’t know yet because it just happened. [Laughs]
Bridgers: We haven’t fully processed, and Julien keeps pointing out that sh– keeps happening to us, where you are then confronted with each other or other people being like, “How sick is that?!” Like, I haven’t even had a single private thought about how sick this is yet.
Baker: Right, “Tell us how special this is!” And I’m sitting here like, “Dude, I don’t know!”
Bridgers: But it’s been really cool. We all got to FaceTime special people in our lives.
Baker: Yeah, we FaceTimed Catherine [Marks], our producer, and texted with people who worked on the record. I will say, that felt really nice, because it’s not just a momentary thing. All of the shows we’ve done always feel so sick in the moment, and I’m very much the one who’s like, “I’m just ready to play the gig.” But it’s cool to have so many people who are attached to the physical work, to the master we created, getting acknowledged.
Dacus: For sure, and I’d even say that, even when it’s something like a photo shoot that’s the three of us, we get sick of our own faces. But to have this event that overtly recognizes everyone behind the scenes — like with the engineering award the album was nominated for — that feels even more special.
11/10/2023
From practical everyday items to smile-inducing finds, these stocking stuffers will make the holidays extra delightful.
11/10/2023
November means the start of classic end-of-year traditions: preparing for the holidays, seeing family… and finally seeing which artists did (or didn’t) get nominated for Grammys. On Friday (Nov. 10), the Recording Academy unveiled the full list of nominees for the 2024 Grammy Awards, set to take place Sunday, Feb. 4. In the latest round […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Not every space is granted a the luxury of a built-in fireplace, and as the weather cools down, the heating bill […]
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
While the original PlayStation 5 was released back in November 2020, Sony just released a new generation refresh of the gaming console, which drops on Friday, Nov. 10.
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Priced at $499 at Walmart, and $499.99 at Amazon, Best Buy and Target, the new PS5 “Slim” has just about the same specs and features as the previous model, such as 4K gaming with HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture quality for vivid colors and deep black levels, up to 120fps (Frames Per Second) with 120Hz output for buttery smooth action, backwards compatibility with PS4 games and more. However, it’s more than 30% smaller by volume and 18% lighter.
Best Buy
PS5 Slim – Call of Duty Modern Warfare III Bundle
This is the disc edition of the console and it comes with a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray drive that’s detachable to make it even slimmer when not in use, while the console retains its white look and feel with a new four-panel design that makes it more customizable. The top two panels are glossy, while the bottom two are matte.
Walmart
PS5 Slim – Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Bundle
The new Sony console comes with four USB ports (two front-facing USB-C and two rear USB-A) for expansion, inputs and peripherals, as well as HDMI out and Ethernet ports. It also includes 1TB of on-board storage, which is increased from the previous model’s 825GB SSD (Solid-State Drive).
Inside of the box, you’ll find a Sony PS5 DualSense wireless controller, an HDMI cable and an AC power cable. While it comes with a horizontal stand, it doesn’t come with a vertical stand, as the photo above would suggest, unfortunately. It’s sold separately for an additional $29.99.
The new PS5 Slim model is bundled with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (digital download) at Target, while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is included with the console at Walmart. And since Modern Warfare III and Spider-Man 2 have a $69.99 value each, it’s like getting the game for free when you buy the console.
The Sony PlayStation 5 Slim model (Disc Edition) bundled with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III or Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 comes out on Friday, Nov. 10. It’s available for $499 at Walmart and $499.99 at Target.
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Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best over-ear headphones, wifi extenders, laptop deals and more.
As you peruse through this year’s Grammy nominations, why not listen to some top-tier new tracks from your favorite queer artists?. Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
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From Kim Petras’ new collaboration with David Guetta to 070 Shake’s hypnotic new song, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
David Guetta & Kim Petras, “When We Were Young (The Logical Song)”
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When you combine a legendary French DJ, a German-born pop princess and a British rock group, you get something pretty magical in return. With “When We Were Young (The Logical Song),” Kim Petras teams up with production superstar David Guetta to put their own twist on a Supertramp sample, making for a chaotic joyride through the pair’s shared Eurodance DNA. Pulsing with house pianos and a relentless German techno beat, Guetta’s electronic flourishes fit perfectly with Petras’ powerhouse vocal as they look back on the good old days.
070 Shake feat. Ken Carson, “Natural Habitat”
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Among her many talents as an artist, 070 Shake’s ability to create a sonic universe in the span of less than four minutes has always reigned supreme. Yet on her latest single “Natural Habitat” featuring Ken Carson, Shake shows just how good she is worldbuilding. Over the course of this hypnotic, deeply chaotic new track, the rising star immediately employs disorienting distortions to throw listeners off balance as she spins a story about feeling stuck inside a lover’s head. With a fiery verse from Carson and some top-tier songwriting, Shake perfectly encapsulates her song’s delirious message in this mystifying new track.
Dove Cameron, “Sand”
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With her latest single, Dove Cameron asks a nearly-philosophical question of her listeners from the outset; “What’s worse — being wanted but not loved, or loved but not wanted?” For the duration of “Sand,” the pop singer-songwriter’s latest track off her forthcoming album Alchemical: Volume 1, Cameron examines the end of her relationship with omniscient clarity, declaring that their romance was doomed from the beginning because “you couldn’t love the way I can.” The swelling, orchestral accompaniment is only further punctuated by the singer’s vocoder-assisted chorus, making “Sand” an entrancing piece of heartbreak that’s as fragile as its namesake.
Sleater-Kinney, “Say It Like You Mean It”
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There is a quiet fury to Corin Tucker’s voice on “Say It Like You Mean It” when she tells her lover, “I need to hear it before you go.” That underlying frustration permeates Sleater-Kinney’s new song, as Tucker and Brownstein pay tribute to the messy, bitter, infuriating ending of a passionate love affair. With a droning riff diffusing the background of the song, the pair go to work deconstructing both their sound and their own emotions on this thrilling, heartbreaking new song.
Aurora, “Your Blood”
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Best known for her haunting, ethereal voice, Norwegian pop star Aurora is ready to give that voice something important to say. On “Your Blood,” Aurora pushes aside the nihilism that tends to weave its way through modern conversation to embrace empathy and compassion, singing to a friend to share their burden with her. Accompanying that weighty goal is a truly undeniable pop banger, fueled by sparkling synths and cheerful guitars, accentuating her missive of hope with a glittering pop spectacle.
Peach PRC, “Like a Girl Does”
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Australian pop sensation Peach PRC is not known for her subtlety — and on “Like a Girl Does,” she raises her curt songwriting to a new level. The glitching new track sees the singer once again lambasting silly boys in her music, but this time bringing the Sapphic themes explored throughout her discography right up to the forefront as she proudly declares that a man who tries to “change your mind with his d–k” simply couldn’t “love like a girl does.” The playful, catchy melody immediately worms is way into your ear, and within moments, you’ll find yourself throwing your middle finger up at the nearest f–kboy.
Laura Jane Grace, “Hole in My Head”
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After a mind-numbing week of work, sometimes you just need some catharsis — luckily, Against Me star Laura Jane Grace is here to deliver you the goods. On the short-but-oh-so-sweet “Hole in My Head,” the rocker plugs into a fuzzy punk sensibility to celebrate the mood-shifting beauty of a good rock song. Sure, Grace argues, you could try and numb the monotony and the pain of your day to day life — but “that would be a real bore.” Instead, press play on this song and let all that pent-up rage out for a minute and a half.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below: