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Get ready, CARATs! After teasing the RIGHT HERE tour in late July, SEVENTEEN announced the U.S. dates for its global trek on Tuesday (Aug. 6) via fan platform Weverse and its social media accounts. After kicking off the tour with two consecutive dates beginning Oct. 12 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea, the K-pop group […]
The Weeknd is definitely up to something, but at this point it’s still not clear exactly what the big picture will be. The “Take My Breath” singer (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye), posted yet another cryptic teaser video on Tuesday morning (August 6) as part of what has been tagged as “Chapter 3” in his musical evolution.
The three-plus minute CGI video, entitled “unprepared certainty,” arrived at midnight with no further explanation aside from the visual starring a digitally animated toddler making his way through a creepy house on the hill. “All I have is my… legacy,” Tesfaye sings at the outset over spooky keyboards bubbling alongside the computer generated sky pulsing with lightning.
As the child follows a shrouded woman into the home, a swell of dark keyboards gives the morose track a funereal feel while viewers follow the child’s progress and the track adopts a slightly lighter feel midway through. “You can change locations/ You can change your name/ They will always find a way,” Tesfaye sings in his signature falsetto over gently strummed acoustic guitars.
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At one point, the child strikes a pose with his left arm on his forehead, as if shading his eyes from a bright light, as he stares into a series of full-length mirrors that appear to show reflections of The Weeknd in a number of previous incarnations, including the signature red suit from his After Hours era. The video ends with the child sitting in the embrace of the woman, with Abel singing, “My mama told me it will never be the same/ They will always find a way.”
At press time a spokesperson for Tesfaye had not responded to Billboard‘s request seeking more information on the video.
The latest missive in the singer’s next era comes after he teased a song fans speculate is called “The Abyss,” which also featured a CGI video starring the unnamed baby and a similarly subdued track. That post was accompanied by a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, “when you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you…”
In another video teaser from July 18, Abel said, “There are Three Chapters in this Tale,” alongside CGI images of his red suit-wearing character driving a car alongside glimpses of some of his former incarnations.
Two years after the release of the Dawn FM album, Tesfaye is gearing up to return to the stage in September with a one-night-only concert in São Paulo, Brazil. The show is booked for Sept. 7 at Estádio MorumBIS and promises “never-before-seen production,” according to an earlier press release. The Live Nation-produced show in Brazil comes nine months after the singer performed in São Paulo for two nights (Oct. 10 & 11, 2023) during his After Hours Til Dawn Tour at Allizanz Parque, as well as Rio de Janiero’s Estádio Nilton Santos on Oct. 7.
Watch the new video (and the previous posts) below.
The image of the legendary singer Celia Cruz is now depicted on a U.S. quarter. Widely known as the Queen of Salsa, the late Cuban artist was chosen along with four other exemplary women from history to be featured on the U.S. quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program this year. She also makes history as the first Afro-Latina to appear on the coin.
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“Celia received so many accolades during her lifetime that it was hard to expect a greater honor than what she had already accumulated during her legendary career,” said Omer Pardillo-Cid, Cruz’s last artistic representative and the executor of her estate, in a press release. “But to have been honored by the U.S. Mint in this way is something that would have surprised her greatly since she was a simple and humble woman.”
Celebrated for her iconic shout “¡Azúcar!” — a phrase also inscribed on the coin — Cruz is acknowledged as a cultural symbol and an influential vocalist in history, boasting nearly 40 albums. On the U.S. quarter, she is depicted in her customary Cuban attire, captured with her characteristic vivacity.
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The U.S. Mint’s other 2024 honorees are Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a women’s rights advocate and Civil War era surgeon; poet, activist, and lawyer Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray; and Native American writer, composer, educator and political activist Zitkala-Ša. The four-year American Women Quarters Program “celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States,” states the official website, which also sells the coins individually and as a set.
“All of the women honored have unique accomplishments that have significantly impacted the history of our nation,” said Ventris C. Gibson, director of the Mint, in a press release.
Pardillo-Cid also announced that starting on Aug. 19, Leon Medical Centers in South Florida will distribute the commemorative Celia Cruz coin in special packaging. The centers are located in Miami-Dade County, home to nearly two million Hispanics, mostly Cubans. “This recognition is a source of enormous pride for all Cubans and for all Hispanics in general,” said Benjamín León Jr., president and founder of Leon Medical Centers, in a press release.
For each year commencing in 2022 and running through 2025, the U.S. Mint will issue five new reverse designs; the head side of the coin will still feature George Washington, but with a slightly different design from the previous quarter program.
See the Mint’s celebration of the coin below:
Tinashe is taking her body language on the road. The singer-songwriter announced her Live Nation-produced Match My Freak World Tour on Tuesday (Aug. 6).
The pop and R&B star’s 23-date trek is set to kick off on Oct. 14 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Calif., before making its way to major market stops including Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville, D.C., Chicago, Brooklyn, Seattle, Toronto and more before wrapping up at the Ace of Spades in Sacramento, Calif., on Nov. 25. The announcement of the tour comes just ahead of the arrival of the “Slumber Party” singer’s seventh album, Quantum Baby.
Though Tinashe has announced only North American tour dates thus far, the tour poster teases that dates for Asia, the U.K., Australia and Europe are “coming soon.”
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Verizon customers will have a first shot at tickets for select shows via the exclusive presale, which runs from 2 p.m. ET Aug. 6 to 10 p.m. local Aug. 8. The Live Nation and Ticketmaster presales will kick off Wednesday (Aug. 7) at 10 a.m. local time, wrapping up at 10 p.m. local time Thursday (Aug. 8).
General onsale begins on Tinashe’s website at 10 a.m. local time Friday (Aug. 9).
For fans who are looking for more than just concert tickets, VIP packages will include access to the soundcheck, an exclusive performance, special merch, early entry, premium tickets and more. These packages will be available via Live Nation’s VIP Nation website.
Since launching her career, Tinashe has landed five songs so far on the Billboard Hot 100, including “2 On” at No. 24 with SchoolBoy Q in 2014, “Slumber Party” at No. 86 alongside Britney Spears in 2016 and “Nasty” at No. 61 in July. Over on the Billboard 200, her 2014 set Aquarius is her highest charting release to date, peaking at No. 17 in October 2016.
See the Match My Freak World Tour dates below:
Machine Gun Kelly has a year of sobriety under his belt and he has girlfriend Megan Fox to thank for helping him stay “completely sober from everything” since he quietly entered a rehab facility last year. “I’m completely sober from everything. I don’t drink anymore. I haven’t drank since last August,” MGK, 34, told Bunnie XO on her Dumb Blonde podcast on Monday (August 5).
Kelly said he went to rehab after wrapping up his European tour in July 2023. “I didn’t tell anybody outside of the [people] closest to me. That was my first time I ever went to rehab,” he told Bunnie, the model/influencer/podcaster and wife of country star Jelly Roll. “They just gave me so many ways to operate the body, show where this anger is coming from, and methods to quell it.”
He said he met with a number of therapists and psychiatrists, some of whom “gave up on me,” before he came to peace with his condition. “It’s a constant tightrope walk,” he said of sobriety after admitting he “went the f–k off” with drugs in his 20s.
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“I continue to embrace that this journey is gonna be hard for me, but I accept it and forgive myself. I’m also really hard on myself, very self-deprecating,” he said, while also thanking longtime partner actress Fox for standing by him. “Megan has for sure been extremely helpful in dealing with the kind of psychological withdrawals that come with [sobriety]. I love that I’m clear when I look at the person I love. I’m really happy that I’m clear when my daughter [Casie] and I are having our conversations and I’m coming from a place of being centered and holding space for what a child needs from their parent, which is patience and advice.”
The one thing MGK joked “kills” him is that at one point Bunnie asked the singer if he was up for a drinking contest with his “Lonely Road” collaborator Jelly Roll, and a sober Kelly had to politely decline. “It just kills me because I just know I would have f–king drank that man under the table!” MGK laughed during what was otherwise a very measured, intense pod.
The conversation also touched on the rapper/rocker-turned country crooner’s difficult childhood, including a mea culpa for the anger he’s previously expressed in interviews about his parents, especially his late father. “They deserve forgiveness,” he said of some of the comments earlier in his career he made about his traumatic upbringing. “He [MGK’s father] was so tormented from some of the most insane s–t I could imagine a kid could go through that he had to figure it out with almost every possible bad circumstance going against him.”
The singer, born Colson Baker, grew up the son of Christian missionaries and he described the trauma of his father being implicated in the murder of his own father when he was nine-years-old. “The story that was always told me was that their dad dropped the gun and his head essentially blew off,” MGK said haltingly about the horrifying accident and the generational “curse” he’s been told about by mediums in reference to the men in his family. “That all happened in the room with my dad at nine-years-old. So him and my grandmother were tried for the murder. They were both acquitted.”
He recalled his dad’s “gnarly” freak outs whenever a young Colson would make loud noises, a reaction that made the rapper “hate him,” though he know realizes that what he was reacting to was his father’s childhood trauma. Though he didn’t go into details, MGK said he discussed the incident with his father when he was on his death bed, which made the musician realize he’s “projected myself to be somebody who has the stamina to endure… all these things that come with fame and criticism and hate because I fought back with all those traumas by becoming what I always wanted my dad to be, which is like tough, and shake everything off and fight anyone that comes at you.”
The nearly two-hour, wide-ranging chat also touched on MGK’s troubled relationship with his mother, whom he also admitted to “misrepresent[ing] her a lot early in my career.”
Listen to MGK talk his rehab stint on Dumb Blonde below (sobriety talk begins at 1:46:45 mark).
As a country artist, Cody Johnson has topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart twice, has won CMA Awards, and has been headlining shows for years. He’s also a longtime cowboy, who recently won a top spot in the World Series of Team Roping Qualifier. But could Johnson have his sights set on the big screen?
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With his riding and roping skills, it would seem that Texas native Johnson would be a natural on Taylor Sheridan’s hit television series Yellowstone — in fact, Johnson had to turn down a role on the show due to scheduling conflicts. But he told Audacy‘s Rob + Holly that he’s been in discussions with Sheridan and his team about some future acting possibilities.
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“We’ve tried a couple of times [to appear on Yellowstone] and my schedule is too busy to put aside the time,” Johnson said. “We’re looking ahead to the future. There’s a few movie things were I’m like, ‘Look, if you guys give me the notice I can make this happen.”
Meanwhile the “Dirt Cheap” hitmaker recently extended his headlining Leather Tour, adding 10 shows to the trek, including a show at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 9. Whether he’s on stage or (presumably at some point) on the big screen, Johnson knows the impact he’s having on younger generations and it’s a role he takes seriously.
“It’s not lost on me that these kids, these young men will come to the shows… eight- and nine-year-old kids and say ‘Mr. Cody, when I grow up I want to be just like you’ and I’m like, ‘Alright, Johnson, you better make sure you’re putting forth a good example… don’t screw this up, because then you’re letting that kid down.’”
Johnson says he wants to be a good role model not only due to his influence on younger generations, but because he’s thankful for the career he’s forged and the family he’s been blessed with.
“In my younger years I was pretty wild,” he added. “I’ve been blessed with an opportunity to have a career that I never thought was possible, to have a marriage that I never thought was possible, and to have two little kids that I couldn’t have dreamed of in my wildest dreams. I think you either screw it up or you man up.”
Of course, Johnson wouldn’t be the first singer to appear on one of Sheridan’s projects. Reigning CMA and ACM entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson has had a recurring role on Yellowstone, while Ryan Bingham has portrayed the role of Walker. And don’t forget, actor-musician Luke Grimes was already a Yellowstone star when he decided to make his foray into country music.
Rihanna went home over the weekend to attend the Crop Over Festival in her native Barbados and, as usual, she came dressed to impress. The singer strutted in the parade on Monday in a towering bedazzled costume that featured brown and gold jewels snaking up from her ankles to her shoulders, with thin strips of […]
Here’s the thing: when you’re a pop star you get to do things that most mortals never get to. And when you’re a gamer pop star you get to do some of those things in a giant stadium while chilling out before your show. At least Ed Sheeran does. The singer posted an Instagram video […]
During a recent interview with Kerrang!, Grammy-winning artist St. Vincent, known off-stage as Annie Clark, didn’t mince words when discussing what she considers the “worst song ever written.”
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Her choice? John Mayer’s 2003 hit, “Daughters.”
“It’s just so hideously sexist, but it pretends to be a love song,” St. Vincent told the British heavy music title. “It’s really, really retrograde and really sexist. And I hate it… It’s so deeply misogynistic, which would be fine if you owned that, but it pretends like it’s sweet.”
St. Vincent’s critique seems to zero in on the song’s lyrics, which advise fathers to “be good to your daughters” to ensure smoother relationships for men in the future.
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Despite St. Vincent’s critique, it’s worth noting that “Daughters” was well-received at the time of its release.
The song earned Mayer a Grammy Award for song of the year in 2005, beating out the likes of Alicia Keys and Kanye West. It also topped Billboard’s Adult Pop Airplay chart and reached No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In the same interview, St. Vincent spoke far more warmly about other songs that shaped her musical journey.
She fondly mentioned Steely Dan’s “Fire in the Hole,” reminiscing about long car rides filled with their music. She also praised Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ “Into My Arms,” calling it a “perfect love song.” But when it came to Mayer’s “Daughters,” there was no such nostalgia or admiration.
The revelation comes amid the release of St. Vincent’s latest album, All Born Screaming, which dropped in April.
“It’s about life and death and love,” she told Billboard in June. “And that’s it.”
“Every record I’ve ever made has been so personal about what’s going on in my life at any given time. I’m queer. I know how to code-switch. The idea of identity as performance has been very clear to me since I was a child… I’m queer, I’m living in multitudes, but this record in particular is not about persona or deconstruction.”
R&B singer-songwriter SZA is hitting pause on her live performances for the foreseeable future.
The “Kill Bill” singer made the announcement on social media following her headlining set at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival on Aug. 5.
Yesterday was my last show for a while . Finally bout to get my life together thank u God .— SZA (@sza) August 5, 2024
“Yesterday was my last show for a while,” SZA wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Finally bout to get my life together thank u God.”
The unexpected news comes after an extensive run of festival appearances and tour dates for the Grammy-winning artist.
SZA has been on the road since early 2023, performing 63 shows across the globe for her SOS Tour before launching into a packed summer festival schedule. Recent high-profile sets included Lollapalooza in Chicago, Glastonbury in the U.K., and her final performance at Osheaga.
Despite stepping back from the stage, fans shouldn’t worry about a lack of new music. During her Lollapalooza set, SZA debuted an unreleased track titled “Cry Baby,” telling the crowd, “It’s not out, but it will be.”
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She’s also been teasing a new project called Lana, which she says will feature previously unheard material.
“Will be dropping the leaks and outtakes from SOS as promised as the deluxe asap,” SZA shared on X in March. “Lana deserves more time and music no one’s ever heard before.” She’s also previously hinted at a potential collaboration with Paramore.
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SZA’s creative juices continue to flow even as she takes a break from performing. She recently shared her admiration for fellow artists on Instagram, notably posting about Chappell Roan’s performance at Lollapalooza.
“She makes me wanna keep making new music n art forever,” SZA captioned a video.
The singer’s decision to take a break comes at a time when she’s at the peak of her commercial and critical success.
Her sophomore album SOS, released in December 2022, has been a chart powerhouse. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has shown remarkable staying power.
SZA’s chart dominance extends beyond albums. Her single “Kill Bill” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2023, becoming her first chart-topper as a solo artist. The track showed stamina on the charts, spending multiple weeks in the top 10.
