genre rock
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Toby Gad, a German-born musician who made a name for himself in America as a hit songwriter, recently celebrated the deluxe edition of Piano Diaries – The Hits, a collection of his biggest songs (including two co-writes that topped the Billboard Hot 100, Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and John Legend’s “All of Me”) reimagined as collaborations with 17 fresh artists. The collection afforded the songwriter-producer the opportunity to look back on a career that has found him wearing many different hats; lately, he’s been donning a reporter’s cap, interviewing musicians about their careers, work habits and inspirations on his new podcast, Songs You Know with Toby Gad.
The podcast’s latest episode, which posted on Tuesday (April 15), finds Gad chatting with producer Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman about everything from growing up in Moldova to learning English through hip-hop to working with Hozier.
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Gitelman served as a producer on the Irish singer-songwriter’s 2023 album Unreal Unearth and its follow-up, the 2024 EP Unheard. Both projects were inspired by Dante’s 14th century classic Inferno, but Gitelman says he and Hozier initially bonded over a different part of the literary canon.
Meeting up during quarantine to work on new music in rural Ireland, Gitelman says he and Hozier spent “the first day or two just talking about James Joyce” (Gitelman says he’s a fan of Joyce’s Dubliners in particular). For the producer, those discussions were key to finding a trust that helped them as they worked on songs that bridged the gap between Irish folk and soul music (styles that Van Morrison, another artist the two discussed in detail prior to recording together, was especially adept at combining). “A lot of times it’s like, Andrew [Hozier], I don’t know what it is you’re saying in Gaelic, but let’s do,” Gitelman recalled.
The two also went deep on Gitelman’s time working with Mac Miller on Swimming, the final album released during the late rapper’s lifetime, as well as hitting the top 10 on three Billboard producer charts in the same week (Hot 100 Producers, R&B Producers and Country Producers) in November 2023 for his work on Jelly Roll & Jessie Murph’s “Wild Ones” and Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama.”
“It’s a cool statistic, I like numbers,” Gitelman says of the Billboard chart coup. “Coming up from an artistic, musical world, it’s nice. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops, like, ‘Hey I’m pretty good…’ To have the numbers do all the talking is really nice. I don’t think music is a competition… but man, the numbers sometimes give you the freedom to make the art you want to make.”
Check out the new episode of Songs You Know with Toby Gad below.
Malcolm Todd is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist for the first time thanks to his breakthrough single, “Chest Pain (I Love).” Released in December on Columbia Records, the song debuts at No. 68 almost entirely from 7.7 million official U.S. streams (up 45%) April 4-10, according to Luminate. It also reaches the top 10 […]
Two heavy metal icons are teaming up for a 22-city co-headlining tour this fall. Original shock rocker Alice Cooper, 77, will share stages with British hard rock legends Judas Priest for the Live Nation-produced outing that is slated to kick off on Sept. 16 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, MS. The tour will […]
Former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks, who held the spot in the metal band’s lineup for a few crucial years in the late 1970s, had died at 73.
The group members announced their bandmate’s death on Tuesday morning (April 15), writing on Instagram, “We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans. The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class – demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision – Thank you Les – your acclaim will live on…..”
Born in Portadown, Northern Ireland, on Aug. 8, 1951, Binks (born James Leslie Binks), spent time drumming with Eric Burdon and the Animals and War, as well as the pop group Fancy before joining Judas Priest in 1977. The band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and fronted by leather-loving singer Rob Halford released its debut album, Rocka Rolla, in 1974, followed by 1996’s Sad Wings of Destiny.
Binks made his first appearance with group in time for 1977’s Sin After Sin, the band’s major label debut. The sessions saw the exit of early drummer Alan Moore, who was replaced by Simon Phillips for the recording. But, with Moore unavailable to tour, Binks was tapped to hit the road with the band after bringing his signature double-bass barrage to the bonus track cover of The Gun’s “Race With the Devil.”
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The drummer made his biggest mark on 1978’s Stained Class, where his massive, double kick drum sound and blitzkrieg style is a standout from the very first seconds of opening track “Exciter,” one of the songs that set the stage for the speed and thrash metal of the 1980s. The album, considered by many fans to be one of the group’s finest efforts, featured a rare co-songwriting credit for Binks on the ominous prog-metal shouter “Beyond the Realms of Death.”
Binks also appeared on the follow-up, 1978’s Killing Machine (which was released as Hell Bent for Leather in the U.S.), the most commercially oriented collection to date from the Priest, and the LP that would also mark his swan song with the group. Anchored by meaty rock anthems such as “Rock Forever” and the raucous “Hell Bent For Leather,” the album set the stage for what would become the band’s commercial breakthrough on 1980s British Steel, which featured the hits “Living After Midnight” and Beavis and Butt-Head favorite “Breaking the Law”; Binks was replaced on that album by former Trapeze drummer Dave Holland.
Binks’ final record with Judas Priest would be the band’s 1979 Unleashed in the East live album recorded in Tokyo earlier that year, after which he split following a reported dispute with band manager Mike Dolan over compensation for the live LP.
The drummer played with a series of other bands throughout the 1980s and ’90s (Lionhearted, Tytan) and formed the all-star Priest cover band Les Binks’ Priesthood, in 2017. In a testament to the crucial role he played in the development of Judas Priest’s sound, Binks was on stage with the rest of Priest in 2022 when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and performed as part of their three-song set in one of his final public appearances before his death.
Check out their performance at the RRHOF ceremony below.
Sam Fender has shared that he once turned down the opportunity to perform alongside Joni Mitchell.
In a new interview at Coachella with radio station KROQ, the North Shields songwriter revealed that he was once offered the chance to perform with the seminal folk artist as part of her “Joni Jams” series, but turned down the slot down due to nerves.
Fender went on to explain that Mitchell — who has a long history of hosting jam sessions in her living room with musicians — invited him to perform at her home in California. “Can I tell you something mental? I got offered to go to a ‘Joni Jam.’ You know how people were going to Joni’s house, and I didn’t go,” he told KROQ.
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“Honestly, it was nerves. I was like, ‘There’s no way I can sit next to Joni Mitchell and be like do you want to listen to this?’” he added. “I was like, ‘Does she even want these people around?’ Obviously, she did, but yeah, I got offered the chance to go, and I bottled it. I completely bottled it. It’s one of my great regrets, it really plays on my mind.”
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The Joni Jams began as an intimate performance series after Mitchell suffered a stroke in 2015. Organized by fellow singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile, close friends and collaborators would play her music for Mitchell as she recovered, with everyone from Elton John, to Paul McCartney, Harry Styles and others rumored to have been involved over the years.
The sessions later expanded to include public performances. In 2023, the 27,000-capacity Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington, played host to a Jam featuring appearances from Mitchell and Carlile, plus a star-studded guest list including Marcus Mumford, Annie Lennox, Allison Russell, Sarah McLachlan and Lucius.
At the time, it had been 20 years since the “Blue” singer had performed live due to several health issues that plagued the 81-year-old icon, leading to her staying out of the public eye for nearly two decades.
Mitchell made headlines again earlier this year when she took to the stage as part of the LA FireAid charitybenefit show. She was joined by Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Lucius, Taylor MacKall, Blake Mills and Abe Rounds, following a moving set at the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony.
Fender, meanwhile, has enjoyed a banner year. The singer and guitarist shared his third LP, People Watching, in February, which Billboard U.K. described as “as a grand, emotional record which has the potential to become an instant British classic.”
According to data from the Official Charts Company, the record landed the biggest U.K. opening week for a British solo act since Harry Styles‘ Harry’s House in 2022. It also marked Fender’s biggest-ever opening week, selling more units than his 2019 debut Hypersonic Missiles and 2021’s Mercury Prize-nominated Seventeen Going Under combined.
In recent months, Fender has gone on to win a BRIT award for alternative/rock act, and has taken People Watching on tour across Europe and the U.S., including his debut appearance at Coachella over the weekend (Apr. 12).
This summer, he will perform a string of headline stadium shows in the U.K., with dates in London and Newcastle. £1 from every ticket sold on the run will be donated to select cultural organizations such as Youth Music and Sunday for Sammy to support the arts in the North East of England.
Check out the KROQ interview below.
Weezer have used their last-minute appearance at Coachella to reveal to fans that the band are currently working on a movie.
The Los Angeles rockers were added to the Saturday (April 12) lineup of the festival’s first weekend, joining the bill following cancellations from FKA Twigs and Anitta due to “ongoing visa issues” and “unexpected personal reasons,” respectively. Ed Sheeran was also added to the festival, though he will appear on the second weekend, performing on Saturday afternoon (April 19).
Appearing just days after the wife of bassist Scott Shriner sustained non-life-threatening injuries during a bizarre run-in with Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers that ended in a dramatic shootout, the group’s 12-song set featured no material released past 2008. However, just before performing 1994’s “Undone – The Sweater Song,” frontman Rivers Cuomo revealed the band have been active in the world of film lately.
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“We’ve been busy making the Weezer movie back in LA the last couple weeks,” Cuomo told the crowd. “But when Coachella called us up, said, ‘Hey Weezer, could you guys make it out for a surprise appearance?,’ we’re like, ‘Heck yeah!’ It feels so good to be here with you guys and let out these emotions.”
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According to further information shared by fans online, members of the Weezer fan club had received correspondence alerting them that the band would be “doing a private filmed merchandise signing for a select few fans, for a TBA video.” Additionally, it was noted that “selected participants will need to sign a release and NDA prior to arriving,” with a shoot date of April 21 being mentioned.
Elsewhere, fans on X (formerly Twitter) had also shared a photo of a “Notice of Filming” that had appeared in Los Angeles for a scripted feature film. The film, which listed a title of Weezer: Security Threat, also named Watch Me Unravel LLC as the production company (which adopted its moniker from a lyric in “Undone – The Sweater Song”), and alerted those in attendance that that the three day shoot from April 7-9 would feature “simulated bullet effects,” “atmospheric smoke,” and more.
While few details have been officially released by Weezer, it makes them the third Californian band to be the focus of an off-kilter film project in recent years. While Stockton’s Pavement are set to be the focus of the genre-defying Pavements from director Alex Ross Perry, Rodeo trio Green Day are in the process of filming New Years Rev, which is inspired by the group and their years of living in a tour van.
Elton John and Brandi Carlile’s first collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels?, debuts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 19, marking the 22nd top 10 for John and fourth for Carlile.
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John earned his first Billboard 200 top 10 more than 54 years ago, with his self-titled album on the Jan. 30, 1971-dated chart. A living soloist last logged a longer top 10 span on the Oct. 16, 2021-dated survey, when Tony Bennett’s Love for Sale, with Lady Gaga, debuted at No. 8. It gave the then-95-year-old Bennett a 59-year top 10 stretch, dating to I Left My Heart in San Francisco in October 1962.
As for Carlile, she notched her first top 10 on the Billboard 200 in 2012 with Bear Creek, which debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the June 23, 2012-dated list.
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Who Believes in Angels? earned 40,000 equivalent album units in the United States in its opening week (April 4-10), according to Luminate. The album’s sales (36,500) were bolstered by its availability across seven vinyl and five CD variants, including signed versions.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 19, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on April 15.
The new album also takes a bow atop both the Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts, while also opening in the top 10 on Top Album Sales (No. 2), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 2) and Vinyl Albums (No. 3).
John and Carlile ushered in the release of the album with a flurry of media appearances, including CBS News Sunday Morning (CBS, March 30), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (April 3), Saturday Night Live (NBC, April 5) and the concert special An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlile (CBS and Paramount+, April 6), along with interviews with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, NPR and SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, among other outlets.
Meanwhile, the album’s title track extended John’s record for the most top 10s (43) in the history of the Adult Contemporary chart, where it rises to a new No. 9 high on the chart dated April 19.
“Nobody wants another Elton John album like the other 35 [I’ve made],” John recently told Billboard. “This one had to have energy, and it had to have a statement saying: ‘Listen, I’m nearly 78 and I’m gonna be really sounding powerful.’” Said Carlile, “I don’t think it’ll ever really catch up to how incredibly life-affirming this has been for me.”
54 Years of Top 10 Albums: John earned his first Billboard 200 top 10 a little over 54 years ago, when his self-titled album climbed 11-7 on the Jan. 30, 1971-dated chart; it peaked at No. 4 a week later (Feb. 6, 1971). Breaking down John’s 22 top 10s by decade: 13 in the 1970s, two in the 1990s, one in the 2000s, four in the 2010s and two in the 2020s. Who Believes in Angels? is John’s second album with shared artist billing to reach the top 10, following The Union, with Leon Russell, which reached No. 3 in 2010.
John continues to be among elite company of acts with at least 20 top 10-charting albums on the Billboard 200, from March 24, 1956, when the list began publishing on a regular, weekly basis, through the new, April 19, 2025-dated chart. Here’s an updated leaderboard:
Most Billboard 200 Top 10s:38, The Rolling Stones34, Barbra Streisand33, Frank Sinatra32, The Beatles27, Elvis Presley23, Bob Dylan23, Madonna22, Elton John22, Bruce Springsteen21, Paul McCartney/Wings21, George Strait20, Prince
Notably, the Kidz Bop Kids music brand has collected 24 top 10s, in 2005-16, with its series of kid-friendly covers of hit singles. The franchise’s early albums were performed mostly by anonymous studio singers, although later releases focused on branding named talent.
Stevie Nicks has no plans to stand back idly this summer and fall, with the rock legend announcing that she’s getting back on the road with a run of solo tour dates Monday (April 14). Interspersed between Nicks’ previously announced joint performances with Billy Joel, the solo run will begin Aug. 12 with a show […]
Shirley Manson is pushing back against media commentary about her appearance, calling out what she describes as “weaponised” language used to diminish women in music as they age. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Saturday (April 13), the Garbage frontwoman took to Instagram to share a […]
Rob Hirst, the drummer of Australian rock veterans Midnight Oil, has revealed he is currently battling pancreatic cancer.
69-year-old Hirst, who co-founded the Sydney rock outfit in the ‘70s, revealed his diagnosis publicly in an interview with The Australian, explaining that he has been living with the disease for two years. Hirst noted he had received confirmation of his condition about six months after Midnight Oil wrapped up the Australian leg of their farewell tour in October 2023, and he’s been receiving constant medical assistance since.
“So it’s ongoing,” Hirst told the publication. “I’ve had pretty much every treatment known to man – every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I’ve kind of had ‘the works.’”
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Hirst explained that he was diagnosed “early,” with his tumor being caught while at stage three. Upon learning of his condition, Hirst embarked upon months of chemotherapy before an unsuccessful eight-hour “Whipple” surgery to attempt the removal of the tumor. He has since continued with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
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Though initially keeping his diagnosis a secret, Hirst has since gone public to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, noting that it “hasn’t really attracted the attention, for example, of skin cancers or breast cancers or others.” According to data from Cancer Australia, the average survival rate of individuals between 2016 and 2020 was 13%, with men given a chance of 12%.
“Coming up to two years, I thought I just need to get this, literally, off my chest,” Hirst explained. “Also, I think that the lesson for me – and maybe why I’ve lasted this long – is because, if you do have any of that kind of symptom, where there’s something that you feel is wrong, just go and get a simple blood test. It could be life-changing, and life-extending.”
Midnight Oil first formed in Sydney in 1972 as Farm, before adopting their later moniker in 1976. The group initially released eleven albums before splitting in 2002, with their breakthrough coming in 1982 with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which hit No. 3 in Australia.
Their following three albums – 1984’s Red Sails in the Sunset, 1987’s Diesel and Dust, and 1990’s Blue Sky Mining – all topped the Australian charts, while the latter gave them a peak of No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Their 1987 single “Beds Are Burning” is often considered a landmark of Australian music, with its message of Indigenous land rights also resonating internationally and peaking at No. 17 on the Hot 100.
While the band would be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006, they would reform a decade later in 2016, and following a global reunion tour, they issued The Makarrata Project in 2020 and Resist in 2022. While both albums would reach No. 1 in Australia, the former was released just one week before longtime bassist Bones Hillman passed from cancer at the age of 62.