Music News

29 Aug 2023

Kelly Rowland Is ‘Very Proud’ of Blue Ivy Carter’s Work Ethic on Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour

Kelly Rowland couldn’t be happier that Blue Ivy Carter is growing up to be an independent woman, just like her mom. In a recent interview, the Destiny’s Child member gushed over Beyoncé‘s oldest daughter, praising the 11-year-old for the work ethic she’s displayed while assisting her mom on the Renaissance World Tour.

“I’m very proud,” Rowland told E! News. “She works very freaking hard, period. But how could she not, you know? She sees her mother in action and she sees her father in action and how they apply everything, hard work to everything that they do.”

Blue Ivy first graced the Renaissance Tour stage in May, joining Bey and her fleet of dancers for a round of high-energy choreography in the middle of “My Power.” Ever since, the “Break My Soul” singer’s firstborn — whom she shares with husband Jay-Z, along with 6-year-old twins Rumi and Sir — has joined the show on and off throughout the tour’s six-month run, which is expected to wrap in early October.

Rowland got to see her former bandmate in action in June, when she caught a Renaissance show in London. While performing “Break My Soul,” Bey gave an extra special shoutout to her longtime friend from the stage.

The “Motivation” singer has been in Blue Ivy’s life since before she was even born; in fact, it was Rowland who accidentally revealed to the world that Bey and Jay were expecting a baby girl back in 2011, a moment she recently reflected on as “the worst [interview] moment ever.”

“It was bad because it was no one’s business,” she recalled in July of spoiling it for the couple. “I felt terrible because it’s not my news. It was honestly the worst. It wasn’t my news to share, and I didn’t mean it like that. The ‘she’ just kind of slipped out.”

29 Aug 2023

Garth Brooks Launches Music & Sports Station Tailgate Radio With TuneIn

Garth Brooks, who launched his own Sevens Radio Network through streaming platform TuneIn in June, announced the second station under his umbrella today: Tailgate Radio, which will blend music and sports.

Hosted by sports commentator and producer Maria Taylor, Tailgate Radio’s launch is timed to the start of the 2023 college football season. While the station will not air the games — TuneIn provides access to live play-by-play from more than 100 Division 1 colleges and universities on other channels — Tailgate Radio will provide pre- and post-game entertainment for sports fans. 

“This is one of those ideas someone says, ‘Why didn’t we do this a long time ago?’” Brooks said in a statement. “This combines everyone’s passion for sports and music. It also allows you to enjoy your tailgate, barbeque or poolside party without doing the work. There’s so much music on this channel, Tailgate Radio will be everyone’s favorite.”

Tailgate Radio, which will air 24/7, is kicking off with specific programming including Tailgate Top 20 with Maria, a weekly countdown hosted by Taylor that will highlight the 20 biggest songs across all genres from a specific year as well as tying them in with the biggest sports stories from that year. Elsewhere, Block Party will be a Saturday night four-hour mixshow featuring contemporary music from artists ranging from Luke Combs to Beyonce to Eminem. And Tailgate Takeover will feature celebrities, artists and athletes as guest hosts, allowing them to talk about the music and playlists that help them set their favorite vibe; Brooks will host the first edition. 

Tailgate Radio

Courtesy Photo

Taylor and Brooks previously partnered on her middle school mentoring program for girls, PowHER, which linked with his foundation, Teammates for Kids. “Working closely with Garth and his foundation as we created the PowHER program has been nothing short of amazing,” Taylor said in a statement. “And now, we are embarking on Garth’s extraordinary vision to connect sports and music fans with Tailgate.  It’s such an honor to be chosen by greatness to be a partner in the radio space.”

In June, Brooks bowed Sevens Radio with country music channel The Big 615. At the time, he noted that Sevens Radio would, appropriately enough, eventually offer a suite of seven stations. At the press conference for The Big 615, Brooks also stressed the appeal of TuneIn’s international aspect, saying the global reach was his “favorite thing” because it allowed the station to present undiluted country music: “If we go across the water, they ask you immediately to take the [pedal] steel and fiddles off your country music. Ain’t going to happen here.”

TuneIn claims more than 75 million monthly listeners across more than 100,000 stations. Its sports partners include the NFL International, MLB, NHL, NASCAR (Motor Racing Network & Performance Racing Network), Formula 1, IndyCar Radio, US Open, talkSPORT, ESPN Radio and college sports partners (Westwood One, Learfield, Playfly Sports, JMI Sports, Van Wagner and Clemson Athletic Properties).

29 Aug 2023

Lil Wayne Pens New Theme Song ‘Good Morning’ for Skip Bayless’ Sports Show ‘Undisputed’

As sports journalist Skip Bayless assembled his new all-star cast for his revamped Undisputed show — which premiered on Fox Sports 1 on Monday (Aug. 28) — he called on his friend Lil Wayne to complete the comeback with a new theme song. 

Titled “Good Morning,” Wayne — who was the cover star of Billboard‘s Hip-Hop 50 issue — barrels his way through the track with vigor, spewing a bevy of sports metaphors. “If you ain’t got no haters, you ain’t poppin, I ain’t tryin to hate/ Let’s have a Jordan and Lebron debate, I got time of day/ Drippin’ on the chain, my diamonds say what they gotta say/ If you think it’s a game, I commentate, I ain’t got to play.”

Along with debuting the show’s new theme song, Wayne will serve as a guest analyst every Friday alongside Bayless. 

“I try to make everything I do better than the last thing I did,” Wayne said during Monday’s episode. “Just to impress you just because I know how much you love ‘No Mercy.’ Just to capitalize on what you’ve done. It’s not complicated. It’s not hard. I love the challenge of it anyway. I attacked it like an SAT exam — like, if I don’t pass this, I can’t get in.”

Earlier this month, Bayless showered Wayne with praise about his sports knowledge while filming his podcast The Skip Bayless Show. “Brother Wayne is as into our relaunch as I am,” Skip said. “He is the heart and soul into the relaunch and by the way, bigger picture, Wayne has agreed every Friday going forward to doing a segment with me live. He might not always be in the studio, depending on his schedule, but he is going to join me every Friday for a segment.”

Bayless’s new lineup will include former ESPN analysts Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Irvin, along with Seattle’s great Richard Sherman, who will be his co-host.  

Listen to “Good Morning” below.

29 Aug 2023

Here’s Why Dolly Parton Turned Down Tea With Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton may be the Princess of Wales, but the Queen of Country runs on her own schedule. In an interview with BBC Radio 2‘s Claudia Winkleman, Dolly Parton revealed that she was recently invited to have tea with the royal, though she had to turn it down for album promotion reasons.

“This time, Lordy, I even got invited to have tea with Kate,” Parton told BBC Radio 2 after she was asked whether she planned on exploring London while in the city for her promotion cycle. “And I felt so bad … I couldn’t even go! [My team] had all this stuff set up.”

“But I thought that was very sweet and nice of her to invite me to tea,” the “Jolene” singer continued. “And one of these days I’m going to get to do that … That would be great!”

Parton, who’s currently gearing up for the November release her album Rockstar, went on to joke that the future queen “wasn’t going to promote my rock album, so I had to say no.” She added, “I hope she hears it though!”

Be that as it may, there are some English members of rock ‘n’ roll helping out with Parton’s new record. The Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Fleetwood Mac founder Mick Fleetwood, are featured on Parton’s cover of “Let It Be,” which she dropped on Aug. 18. Debuting at No. 2 on Rock Digital Song Sales, No. 15 on Country Digital Song Sales and No. 22 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart, the song marked the first featuring McCartney and Starr — or any of the four Beatles, including the late George Harrison and John Lennon — to be credited together on an entry on a Billboard songs chart outside the Beatles.

A handful of new original songs will be included on Parton’s first ever rock album, but much of it will be made up of covers featuring dozens of rock stars who’ve dominated the charts through the ages. Sting, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks, Elton John and Debbie Harry are all on the billing, as are Miley Cyrus, Pink, Lizzo and Brandi Carlisle.

29 Aug 2023

Miguel Posts Bloody T-Shirt Pic After Concert Body Suspension Stunt: ‘What Is Your Relationship to Pain?’

Miguel previewed songs from his upcoming fifth studio album, Viscera, on Friday in Los Angeles during an event dubbed the “Viscera Experience,” in which the singer warned the small crowd that the performance would include “boundary-pushing artistry including body manipulation [and] skin piercing.”

According to a description of the show posted by Vibe, after taking the stage at Sony Studios in a white tank, baggy black pants and black rubber boots, the “Sky Walker” singer was joined by two men who pushed metal hooks through the skin on his back, then attached them to wires that lifted him off the ground by the hooks. He then hung for nearly five minutes while singing an unreleased song — featuring the apropos lyrics “I’m hanging onto nothing/ I’m hanging from the ceiling” –before being lowered and having the hooks removed.

On Monday (Aug. 29), Miguel posted a series of pics on Instagram showing the aftermath of the S&M stunt, including the series of holes in his back as well as the white tank top, streaked and spotted with his blood alongside the caption, “What is your relationship to pain? What is your relationship to change?”

The type of suspension Miguel used in the performance is typically referred to as a “suicide suspension” and Miguel isn’t he only one who has employed it as type of body modification that dates back at least 5,000 years to India as part of a spiritual piercing rituals during Hindu festivals. Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro waxed poetic about the therapeutic aspects of putting large-gauge hooks through the skin of your back in a 2013 Guardian interview, saying, “To be honest, at first I just wanted to try it because it was interesting; I didn’t know that there was going to be an experience attached to it. I saw it as just a mind-over-matter thing until I got off the ground the first time. Then a lightbulb went off.”

He said while some people are horrified by the act — admitting that there is definitely pain, and blood, involved — he found it to be “a very intensely gratifying emotional release. Sometimes it’s just fun, but it can also be very meditative.”

Last month, Miguel pushed boundaries as part of Sony’s “For the Music” campaign, scaling a massive skyscraper and breaking through a glass window in a one minute visual that director Liam McRae said symbolized the singer’s next era and Sony’s commitment to supporting artists like him breaking through “creative barriers” and connecting directly with their fans.

Viscera, which does not yet have an official release date, is the follow-up to 2017’s War & Leisure; he released the single “Give It to Me” in April.

See Miguel’s posts below.

29 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Extends Record Reign on Artist 100, J-Hope, Hozier & JIHYO Hit Top 10

Taylor Swift spends a record-extending 78th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Sept. 2), thanks to 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and four songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Leading her Billboard 200 saturation is Midnights at No. 5 with 53,000 equivalent album units earned in the Aug. 18-24 tracking week, according to Luminate. Her latest set, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), follows at No. 7.

Here’s a recap of Swift’s current Billboard 200-charting titles.

Rank, Title:

  • No. 5, Midnights
  • No. 7, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 8, Lover
  • No. 13, Folklore
  • No. 17, 1989
  • No. 19, Reputation
  • No. 26, Red (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 31, Evermore
  • No. 35, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 182, Taylor Swift

On the Hot 100, Swift charts four songs: “Cruel Summer” (at No. 4 after reaching No. 3), “Karma” featuring Ice Spice (14-15), “Anti-Hero” (20-18) and “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (71-74).

Elsewhere on the Artist 100, BTS member J-Hope re-enters at No. 6, a new high (surpassing his prior No. 9 peak), thanks to the CD release of his album Jack in the Box. The set, released in July 2022, debuted at No. 17 last year and re-enters at a new No. 6 best (50,000 units).

Hozier re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 7, his highest rank since 2019, thanks to his new LP Unreal Unearth. The album debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (62,000 units), marking his third top 10, following Hozier (No. 2, 2014) and Wasteland, Baby! (No. 1, 2019).

Plus, TWICE member JIHYO debuts at No. 10, powered by her new solo EP Zone. The release enters the Billboard 200 at No. 14 (41,000 units), becoming her first solo entry on the chart. (TWICE has tallied four top 10 albums.)

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

29 Aug 2023

50 Cent Postpones Phoenix Show Due to Extreme Heat: ‘116 Degrees Is Dangerous For Everyone’

It’s getting “Too Hot” out there, even for 50 Cent. The MC who is in the middle of his 20th anniversary Get Rich or Die Tryin’ 20th anniversary tour had to hit pause on tonight’s (Aug. 29) show in Glendale, Arizona at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre due to an excessive heat warning.

“Due to extreme heat, the show tomorrow in Phoenix, AZ is being postponed,” 50 tweeted on Monday night. “For anyone who would like a refund, please go to point of purchase for instructions. I’ll be back in Arizona soon! 116 degrees is dangerous for everyone.”

Some of the comments praised Curtis for being proactive about his fans’ health, with one writing, “Hey at least 50 cent is thinking about his fans and is putting their health and safety before profits… other rappers should take note… having fans get injured or die at a concert is not worth it!!! Salute to 50.”

Phoenix has been roasting under brutal heat all summer this year, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees for 66 days in a row from June 14-Aug. 18, the second-longest stretch of such high temps in recorded history; this year is also on track to be one of the hottest on record in the state, with 91 days above 100 so far.

Last week, 16 people were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses during a Snoop Dogg show in Houston where temperatures reached 104 degrees during the day in the midst of one of the hottest summers in the planet’s history due to what experts say is the effect of human-caused climate change. Those incidents added to the growing list of heat-related effects this summer, following an Ed Sheeran show in Pittsburgh on July 8 during which 17 people were hospitalized due to “heat-related” illnesses and Jason Aldean’s scotched kick-off of his Highway Desperado Tour on July 15 in Hartford, CT, which he had to exit early due to dehydration and heat exhaustion

50’s Final Lap tour, which also features Busta Rhymes and Jeremih, is slated to play the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday (Aug. 30).

Check out 50’s tweet below.

29 Aug 2023

Fan Who Adele Defended During Vegas Show Thanks Her For ‘Standing Up For Me’

One good turn deserves another. That’s the take-away from Adele pausing her Weekends with Adele show on Saturday night in Las Vegas during “Water Under the Bridge” to find out why venue security were so focused on a young man who was standing up during the show.

“What is going on with that young fan there who’s being bothered so much since I’ve been on for standing up. What’s going on with him?” she asked from the stage before demanding that the guards leave him alone. “They won’t bother you again, my darling. Enjoy the show,” she added.

On Monday, the fan who goes by @juanp_lastra on TikTok returned the favor by profusely thanking the singer for her kind gesture and for giving them the night of their lives. “Adele thank you so much for this breathtaking night and for standing up for me, so that I could live your concert as it should be,” read the caption to a clip of the viral moment. “I’m also sorry that I didnt respond back to anyrhing you asked me. you started talking to me and I literally stopped breathing,” Lastra wrote alongside a selfie video in which he is enthusiastically singing along with Adele as a venue staffer comes up behind him and says, “look behind you. Everybody’s upset. Everybody.”

Adele appears to spot the kerfuffle and tells Lastra, “you can stand up now darling. Stand up,” as he absolutely freaks out over the shout-out, leading to several other venue security staffers coming over to ask him to sit down, then saying he can continue standing if he wants, by order of Adele.

Lastra further explained why it meant to much in the caption. “I had been planning to come to this concert for over a year and I finally had the opportunity to come see most beautiful glorious woman this earth has gotten,” Lastra wrote. “I still can not wrap my head around the fact that I was in the same room as ADELE, sang every song with her, and she even stopped the show to defend me. I did not expected everyone in my section to be mad at me for having the time of my life and wanting to stand up and sing with her but I honestly did not care at all about what anyone was saying to me I just was in awe with the master piece I was watching with my own eyes. I did not have time for them haters.”

Adele will be back on stage at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday (Sept. 1).

28 Aug 2023

Meet the 20 Finalists for HYBE x Geffen ‘Dream Academy’ Global Girl Group Contest

Class is finally in session for The Debut: Dream Academy.

HYBE and Geffen Records revealed Monday evening (Aug. 28) the 20 talented contestants from around the world who will be competing for a spot in the first-ever HYBE x Geffen Records global girl group.

The diverse group of young women were selected from more than 120,000 submissions after HYBE and Geffen announced the joint venture — HYBE x Geffen Global Girl Group Audition — in November 2021. The lengthy process of creating the group will be documented in an upcoming Nadia Hallgren-directed Netflix series, which will delve into the journey to global stardom while including insight into the extensive training and development program from HYBE and Geffen Records. The currently untitled series is set to premiere in 2024.

In the meantime, the 20 contestants will participate in The Debut: Dream Academy audition program, which fans can follow along with on YouTube and Japan’s ABEMA beginning Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. After 12 weeks, the final members of the group will be selected and the name of the group will be revealed at the live finale on Nov. 17. Fans will play a crucial role throughout the entire competition via fan voting on Weverse and TikTok.

“I have wanted to form an international group based on K-pop methodology for a while,” HYBE Chairman Bang Si-Hyuk shared at a press event in Los Angeles on Monday night. “To do this, I believed we needed a capable partner. When I met [Interscope Geffen A&M Records CEO] John [Janick], from the first moment, we both felt instantly that we had a connection, musically and creatively. I am very proud of the rich history we have made and the tremendous talent we have found. I am proud of the opportunities we have created within the K-pop universe.”

For his part, Janick added: “Since we began our partnership two years ago, Bang and I have often spoken about our shared beliefs in artist development, music and creativity. To develop a global group with Bang, with the best of K-pop methodology, and our Geffen team, is truly special and will bring to life a first-of-its kind experience in music. Each candidate is incredibly talented, dedicated, and driven, making this an exciting moment for music fans around the world.”

Geffen President Tom March added: “Watching these incredible candidates work so hard to fulfill their potential creatively has been hugely inspiring to me and everyone at Geffen. People are going to be blown away when they see what each of these candidates has been able to achieve so far.”

Below, in alphabetical order, find the names, ages and home countries of the 20 gifted contestants competing to be in the international girl group.

28 Aug 2023

The Weeknd’s ‘The Idol’ Canceled After 1 Season on HBO

After one controversial season on HBO, The Idol has been canceled.

The Weeknd co-created the series with Euphoria mastermind Sam Levinson and writer/producer Reza Fahim. The Ethiopian-Canadian singer/songwriter (real name: Abel Tesfaye) also co-starred in the series as Tedros, a Svengali who enters the life of aspiring pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp) and takes control of every aspect of her world.

“The Idol was one of HBO’s most provocative original programs, and we’re pleased by the strong audience response,” an HBO spokesperson said in a statement accompanying the cancellation news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “After much thought and consideration, HBO, as well as the creators and producers have decided not to move forward with a second season. We’re grateful to the creators, cast, and crew for their incredible work.”

The series was on a roller-coaster ride before it even debuted, from a behind-the-scenes crew shakeup and reshoots in 2022 to a scathing Rolling Stone report of a toxic work environment to a splashy premiere unheard of for a television show at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The Weeknd brushed off the offscreen drama in a Vanity Fair interview in May, saying, “Shows get reshot every day … What are you gonna do? These are the trials and tribulations of it, and that’s what the show is about.” At a Cannes press conference, The Weeknd said he and Levinson were trying to create “something special, something fun, to make people laugh, piss some people off.”

According to THR, The Idol drew 913,000 viewers across all platforms on its June 4 premiere night, with the network saying that the first episode has since reached 7 million viewers in the two-plus months after its debut.

Music from the show landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart earlier in the summer, as The Weeknd’s “One of the Girls,” with JENNIE and Lily-Rose Depp, crowned the July 1-dated tally.