Music News

13 Apr 2023

Songwriter Ashley Gorley Has 3 ACM Nods for Song of the Year: Who Else Has Done That?

Songwriter Ashley Gorley has three ACM Awards nominations for song of the year. He’s only the third songwriter to achieve that feat in the show’s 58-year history. (The category was introduced in the show’s second year.)

Gorley co-wrote Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave” with Stapleton and Chris DuBois; Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” with Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett and Tim Nichols; and Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” with Josh Osborne and Michael Hardy.

The only other songwriters to notch three nominations in one year are Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, each more than 50 years ago.

Hag was the sole writer of all three of his 1968 nominees – “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde,” “Mama Tried” and “I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am.” He was also the artist on all three songs. The first two reached No. 1 on Hot Country Singles – now called Hot Country Songs. “I Take a Lot of Pride” peaked at No. 3. Jimmy Webb won the award that year for writing the Glen Campbell classic “Wichita Lineman.”

Kristofferson was the sole writer of all three of his 1970 nominees – “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” a No. 1 hit for Sammi Smith; “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” a No. 1 hit for Johnny Cash; and “For the Good Times,” a No. 1 hit for Ray Price. (All three chart references are to Hot Country Singles.) Kristofferson won the award for the sublime “For the Good Times.”

Hag, who died in 2016 at age 79, and Kristofferson, 86, have long been country music royalty.

Haggard was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2006 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2010.

Kristofferson was voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 2006. He was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2006.

Gorley, 45, has written hits for a raft of country artists, as well as such non-country artists as Bon Jovi and Jason Derulo. He has topped Billboard’s Country Songwriters chart for 33 weeks and has headed Hot 100 Songwriters for three weeks.

13 Apr 2023

Doja Cat Makes ‘TIME’ List of 2023’s Most Influential People: ‘She Can’t Be Boxed In’

Doja Cat “can’t be boxed in,” writes Baz Luhrmann of the Grammy-winning rapper, who has been named one of TIME‘s most influential people of 2023.

It’s true: Doja is both unpredictable and exceptionally gifted at stirring the pot, and not just when it comes to her Gen Z-defining music. She also consistently grabs attention with everything from her daring fashion choices to her brazen social media proclamations, all of which earned her a spot on the publication’s annual ranking.

“She’s a rapper, a singer, a performance artist — she’s the canvas on which she expresses a character or an idea,” continued Luhrmann, who worked with Doja in creating Elvis‘ lead soundtrack single “Vegas.” “There’s no ‘brand’ to Doja Cat. You never know what she’s going to do next, and that’s exciting.”

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In addition to having the filmmaker write a brief tribute to the musician, who’s spotlighted as a “pioneer,” TIME also interviewed Doja about being “addicted” to the internet and her upcoming album.

“I might just mess with everybody and completely turn the tables on them,” said the “Woman” artist, who’s been trolling fans about the genre of her next project for months.

When it comes to her explosive posts on social media — which span everything from the times she threatened to quit music, slamming Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp for exposing her private DMs, or went on Instagram Live to shave off her eyebrows — Doja says she’s learning to curb her impulsiveness.

“Social media has been a really big part of what I do,” she said. “I’m just learning to control how much I put out, and the way that I put those things out.”

See Doja Cat’s TIME cover below:

13 Apr 2023

How the Billboard Music Awards Are Being Reimagined for 2023

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards, set for Sunday, Nov. 19, are shaking up the traditional awards-show format.

In addition to the artists who perform live that night, select BBMAs winners will celebrate their achievements through unique performance experiences with their top fans. One-hundred superfans of those award winners will receive a “golden ticket,” which will allow them to attend a performance with the winning artist at a secret location.

Curated in close collaboration with the performing artists, these experiences will connect talent with their most engaged fans, and in the process give artists the creative freedom to deliver awards show performances in a newly imagined way.

The program will weave together these artist-fan experiences with live components from the show in Los Angeles in a first-of-its-kind awards show format. The show will honor all BBMAs winners, as well as a salute to this year’s Icon Award recipient with special tribute performances. Additionally, select industry awards will be presented.

Billboard and Dick Clark Productions announced last month that the show was moving from its customary spring time slot to the fall.

From its debut in 1990 through 2006, the Billboard Music Awards took place in December. Every edition from 2011 onward was held in May, with the exception of the pandemic-delayed 2020 show, which rolled out in October.

The 2022 BBMAs were held May 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and were hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The BBMAs celebrates the hottest names in contemporary music, with winners determined by performance on the Billboard charts, which measure key fan interactions with music, including audio and video streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and touring. 

Awards for the 2023 BBMAs are based on music consumption reflected on Billboard’s charts dated Nov. 19, 2022 through Oct. 21, 2023. Those are the dates encompassing the 2023 year-end chart period.

For more, follow @BBMAs and #BBMAs on socials and billboardmusicawards.com.

13 Apr 2023

Celine Dion Drops Moving Ballad ‘Love Again’ From Nick Jonas/Priyanka Chopra Romantic Drama

Céline Dion is back in her love overload lane on the moving title track to the upcoming Nick Jonas/Priyanka Chopra romantic drama Love Again. The singer dropped the song on Thursday morning (April 13), in which she softly sings, “Cuz you don’t have to move a mountain, just keep moving/ Every move is a new emotion/ And you don’t have to find the answers, just keep trying/ The sun will rise again/ The storms subside again/ This is not the end/ And you will love again.”

The gentle piano and acoustic guitar track was written by Dan Wilson and Rosaileen Scher (and produced by Wilson) and it features Dion, 55, singing the emotional lyrics, “Summer rain, day by day, sadness fades, the wound is healing/ And time goes by, the eyes will dry and you will find someone to heal with.”

The track will appear in the upcoming film in which Chopra plays Mira Ray, a woman mourning the loss of her fiancé who uses texts to feel connected to him following his death. A trailer that dropped on Valentine’s Day showed Chopra’s Mira trying to move on by going on her first date since his death in which she’s set up with a character played by her real-life husband Jonas. “Maybe we should just take it slow,” she says as they try an awkward first kiss in the back of a cab. Dion also co-stars in the film as herself and acting as a guide to journalist Rob Burns (Sam Heughan), who connects with Mira after she accidentally texts him.

“Love Again” is the first new music from Dion since she revealed in December that she is suffering from the rare neurological disorder Stiff-Person Syndrome. “As you know, I’ve always been an open book. And I wasn’t ready to say anything before,” Dion said in a solemn clip in which she revealed her diagnosis. “But I’m ready now… ’I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.”

Stiff-Person Syndrome causes muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Due to the severe muscle spasms that Dion said “affect every aspect of my daily life,” she announced that she could not re-start her tour in Europe in February as planned. Subsequently, all of her spring 2023 dates were moved to 2024 and 8 of her summer 2023 shows were cancelled.

Love Again is due in theaters on May 12.

Listen to “Love Again” below.

13 Apr 2023

Paramount+ Announces ‘Thalia’s Mixtape: El Soundtrack De Mi Vida’ Docuseries

Thalia fans, rejoice! The Mexican pop star and actress is celebrating the music that influenced her throughout her life in an upcoming music docuseries, Thalia’s Mixtape: El Soundtrack De Mi Vida.

Partnering with Paramount+, the three-part music docuseries will premiere exclusively on the platform Tuesday, May 2, in the U.S. and Canada. On May 3, it’s slated to launch throughout Latin America, Australia, the U.K., Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The release will also complement the star’s upcoming album, Thalia’s Mixtape, due April 28 via Sony Music. 

Thalia, who is also executive producer and creator of the upcoming docuseries, takes viewers to her musical foundations, uncovering the classics that inspired her and a generation of fans. She is seen rocking out alongside Charly Alberti, the fiery drummer of the timeless Argentine band Soda Stereo, and Roco Pachukote, frontman of ska-rock group Maldita Vecindad. The series then evolves where she entrenches herself into the current, booming Latin music landscape, meeting up with new Mexican pop stars Kenia Os and Bruses.

“This has been my most personal project,” Thalia said in a statement to Billboard Español. “Four years ago, the idea and concept of the mixtape of my life was born in my mind and heart. This docuseries goes through the songs that influenced my path, forging my destiny. I talk to my lifelong idols, the artists behind these legendary songs that marked entire generations with their music. In this series we delve into the stories and origins of these compositions, and as an absolute fan of these great artists, I have the honor of performing these musical gems with them. It’s an incomparable gift.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KObfELic21k

Through interviews, raw footage and modern renditions of classics with veterans and contemporary artists, the show promises to “revisit the history of Latin music and uncover its future in an intimate way not yet seen before.” Thalia has been a longtime supporter of emerging talent, and she continues to shed a spotlight on the most riveting sounds today. She is also an honoree at Billboard’s premiere Latin Women in Music event, taking place May 6, and broadcasted via Telemundo the next day.

“This has been a labor of love for Thalia — to relive and bring to life the music and the most popular songs of her teenage years, and to document and perform in the film with the original artists is a lifelong dream,” said executive producer and entertainment mogul Tommy Mottola, also Thalia’s husband.

Ntertain Studios executive producers Lex Borrero and Santiago Zapata added: “Collaborating with people you admire will always be a dream in whatever your line of work. Thalia’s Mixtape is the perfect blend of documentary and musical, yet another example of the timeless impact Thalia has had and continues to have on music and culture.”  

Thalia’s Mixtape: El Soundtrack De Mi Vida is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and Sony Music U.S. Latin.

13 Apr 2023

ACM Awards Nominations 2023 Snubs & Surprises

As the final nominees for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced Thursday (April 13), there were the usual number of expected names, as well as a handful of surprises and snubs.

The eligibility period for nominations ran Nov. 16, 2021-Dec. 31, 2022. The ceremony will stream live on Amazon’s Prime Video from Frisco, Texas, on May 11.

Here is a look at some of the year’s notable surprises and snubs.

Snub: Jelly Roll swept the CMT Music Awards earlier this month, and given how ascendent his star seems to be, it was shocking that he didn’t nab a single nomination — not even for new male artist of the year, which is overstuffed with six acts. Jelly Roll, who broke Billboard’s record for number of weeks at No. 1 on the Emerging Artists chart in February when he hit 25 weeks, also seemed like a contender for a song of the year nod after his confessional “Son of a Sinner” hit No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart.

Surprise: Jason Aldean is no stranger to the winner’s circle, having taken home 15 ACM Awards, including artist of the decade in 2018. He’s even won entertainer of the year before three consecutive years, 2015-17. However, he had fallen out of the category after 2018 and makes a return for the first time in five years this year for his only nomination.

Snub: Maren Morris had a solid six-year run of female artist of the year nominations — including winning at the 2020 ceremony — but her streak is broken this year, perhaps because she is off album cycle. The ACMs have shown her plenty of love in the past, as she’s taken home six trophies over the last several years in a number of categories.

Surprise: Prolific songwriter Ashley Gorley has more than 50 No. 1s to his credit, so his inclusion for penning a song of the year entry is no surprise. However, he pulls off a  hat trick, capturing three nominations in the category for co-writing Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave,” Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” and Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots.” He is the only non-performing songwriter to ever land a trio of songs in the category in one year. Songwriter/artists Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson achieved the feat in 1968 and 1971, respectively.

Surprise: Cole Swindell has received only two ACM nominations in his career, including for new artist in 2015, which he won. He’s making up for lost time this year with five nominations, including song and single of the year for “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.” 

Snub: Similar to Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett has been a contender for six years running — in this case for male artist of the year — but he drops off the list this year. He’s not completely shut out, however, as he earns a nomination for song of the year as a co-writer on “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.”

Surprise: Not only is Kane Brown one of the leading nominees with five nods, but a very pleasant surprise is that he scores two nominations for the first time — including the prestigious entertainer of the year. It marks the first time in 50 years that a biracial or Black artist has been nominated in the category since Charley Pride in 1972. Brown, who previously won video of the year for “Worldwide Beautiful,” also snags his first male artist of the year nomination.

13 Apr 2023

Jamie Foxx Hospitalized For Undisclosed ‘Medical Complication’

Jamie Foxx is reportedly on the mend after an undisclosed illness sent him to the hospital. The Oscar-winning actor and singer “experienced a medical complication” this week according to a post from his daughter, Corinne Foxx, who said he is “already on his way to recovery.”

At press time no additional information was available about what sent the 55-year-old Foxx to the hospital or what treatment he received, but his 29-year-old daughter’s post said her dad is on the mend. “We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday. Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery,” she wrote on Instagram.

“We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers,” she added. “The family asks for privacy during this time.” Last week Foxx posted a short video cued to Rick Ross’ verse from Nicole Bus’ “You” in which he was seen chilling on a megayacht. At press time it did not appear that Foxx had commented on his health issue on his socials.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Foxx was recently spotted in Atlanta working on the set of the upcoming Netflix action comedy Back in Action, on which he will re-team with his Annie co-star Cameron Diaz, who is returning to movie making after an 8-year hiatus from acting that began after she appeared in the reboot of the classic Broadway musical; the pair also co-starred in the 1999 football drama Any Given Sunday.

See Corinne Foxx’s statement below.

13 Apr 2023

Foo Fighters Post Instrumental Snippet of New Song, Ask ‘Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?’

The Foo Fighters are a month away from returning to the stage for the first time since the shocking death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last March and on Wednesday (April 12) they gave fans something more to get excited about with a snippet of a new song.

The unnamed track was posted to the group’s socials and though it is only 12 seconds of instrumental rocking, it features the Foos’ classic mix of thundering drums and stadium-ready, air-punching guitar energy. The surprise drop didn’t provide any additional information about the song or where it will end up, but it was accompanied by the question, “are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

While the world has no idea what the Foos are thinking at the moment, fellow rocker Jack Black had a quick response, “I think so.”

Apart from announcing 25 U.S. and European festival and headliner dates for this summer and fall, the band has kept a tight lid on their plans to solider on without Hawkins. To date they have not announced who will replace the energetic, beloved timekeeper whose death at 50 while on tour in South America devastated the group and their fans. It was unclear at press time who plays drums on the track, what it is called or when it will be released; a spokesperson for the group had not returned a request for additional details at press time.

The band already has one of the greatest drummers in rock history in the fold in singer/guitarist Dave Grohl, but speculation about who will fill Hawkins’ seat has run rampant since the veteran rockers announced their plans to return to the road.

The upcoming outing is slated to kick off on May 24 with a show at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, NH and is currently expected to keep them on the road through an October 5 show at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX. Just this week the band added a headliner slot at this fall’s Ohana Festival at Doheny State Beach alongside the Killers, The Chicks, HAIM, Father John Misty and more. They also added six more dates to their tour roster this week with summer and fall shows in Spokane, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe, Virginia Beach, Phoenix and El Paso.

The band’s most recent album was the groove-influenced 2021 release Medicine at Midnight.

Check out the Foos’ post below.

13 Apr 2023

Reunited Classic Blink-182 Lineup Last-Minute Addition to 2023 Coachella

After postponing a planned reunion tour due to drummer Travis Barker‘s finger injuries, the reunited classic line-up of Blink-182 will debut on Friday (April 14) on the first night of this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. The schedule for this year’s fest was revealed on the event’s Instagram on Thursday morning (April 13) with the caption “Take off your pants and jacket,” which is, of course, a reference to the cheeky title of Blink’s 2001 fourth album of the same name.

The group fronted by singer/bassist Mark Hoppus and returning member guitarist/singer Tom DeLonge is slated to take the Sahara stage for a 6:45 dinnertime slot, sandwiched between Vintage Culture and followed by Jamie Jones on the stage that will be closed out that night by Metro Boomin’.

The slot is the first show by the reunited lineup since they announced they were welcoming DeLonge back into the fold for a third time after the Angels & Airwaves leader split the band in 2015; he had also previously left the group in 2005, before returning in 2009 and then leaving again six years later.

Blink had plotted a South American swing to mark their get-back with DeLonge, which was slated to kick off on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico. But Barker injured his ring finger twice in two months, requiring surgery that pushed back their return.

Barker first injured the finger on Feb. 7 during rehearsals for the pop-punk trio’s tour. “I was playing the drums at rehearsals yesterday and I smashed my finger so hard I dislocated it and tore the ligaments,” Barker tweeted on Feb. 8. Then, on Feb. 20, Barker shared an Instagram Story in which he showed off his swollen, bruised knuckle, captioning the image “again.”

Hoppus, Barker and DeLonge announced in October that they were reuniting the band’s classic lineup for the 2023-24 world tour and then released the new single “Edging” late last year. On Christmas Eve, DeLonge teased that the trio were working on “the best album we’ve ever made.”

Friday night’s Coachella lineup will also feature the Chemical Brothers, Kaytranada, Burna Boy, Gorillaz and Bad Bunny and another last-minute addition, British singer/songwriter James Blake, who will play the Do Lab stage at 8:30 p.m.

Check out the Friday night Coachella lineup below.

12 Apr 2023

Tampa Superintendent Uses Taylor Swift Songs to Warn Students Not to Skip School for Concert

Taylor Swift‘s The Eras tour is taking over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday night (April 13), which happens to be a school night. That’s why Hillsborough County Superintendent Addison Davis sent out a letter of caution to students, in a language only Swifties can understand.

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The letter, which let students know that an absence to attend the concert will not be excused, was filled with references to various Swift songs. “I understand I am the ‘Anti-Hero’ here, and ‘Call It What You Want,’ but ‘You’re on Your Own Kid’ if you think being a Swiftie is a good excuse for missing important instruction,” the note posted to Reddit reads. “You know ‘All Too Well’ you ‘Should’ve Said No’ to attending a Thursday night concert. Especially one from an artist who is known for putting on a three-hour AMAZING show.”

Read the full letter here.

Davis had a similar idea to a Texas legal-service provider named Karen Vladeck, who wrote her own pun-filled letter for exactly what the superintendent was dreading: asking that her first-grader be excused from school to attend The Eras tour. According to Vladeck, the teacher simply responded in all caps, “THIS MADE MY ENTIRE DAY.”

Swift is currently a month into her Eras Tour shows, which she kicked off in Glendale, Arizona. Following sets in Las Vegas and Arlington, the “Anti-Hero” musician is headlining three shows in Tampa on April 13, 14 and 15.