Music News

16 Feb 2023

Machine Gun Kelly’s Guitarist Sophie Lloyd Slams Rumors They Had an Affair: ‘It’s Disrespectful’

Sophie Lloyd wants no part of the Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox drama. After the “Jennifer’s Body” actress hinted on Instagram that she and her punk rocker fiancé had split, and some fans were quick to try to connect the dots back to Lloyd, who plays guitar in MGK’s band. But in a prompt statement sent out by her management team, Lloyd shut the rumors right down.

“Sophie Lloyd is a professional, accomplished musician who has been needlessly dragged into the media based off of meritless accusations made by social media,” read the Wednesday (Feb. 15) statement, according to People. “Any suggestion that she has ever acted in an unprofessional manner or stepped out of her relationship are untrue.”

“It’s disrespectful to her as a female artist and poor journalism and social commentary to be reporting anything else,” it concluded.

The drama first began when Fox deleted all traces of MGK, born Colson Baker, from her Instagram account Sunday (Feb. 12). And keep in mind, there were a lot of photos of them together, given that the couple had been engaged since January of 2022.

She proceeded to unfollow the “Emo Girl” singer and follow his famous nemesis, Eminem, on the platform. And as if all that wasn’t enough to get her message across, Fox posted a video of a burning envelope with a caption quoting “Pray You Catch Me” from Beyoncé‘s Lemonade, an entire album more or less dedicated to the pain of being cheated on: “You can taste the dishonesty/ it’s all over your breath.”

Before deactivating her account altogether, fans commented on the post with speculation that Baker had cheated on the New Girl alum with Lloyd. “He probably got with Sophie,” commented one fan, to which Fox responded, “Maybe I got with Sophie” alongside a fire emoji.

The rumors of a breakup certainly felt sudden to fans who’ve kept up with MGK and Fox’s romance, considering the pair had just appeared together at the Grammys on Feb. 5. After the “My Ex’s Best Friend” singer, who was nominated for best rock album, walked away empty-handed that night, Fox posted a sweet message on Instagram praising him for handling the loss with “a grace and maturity that I haven’t seen from you before and I’m so proud of you.”

“Watching you walk in humility and gratitude, watching you grow into yourself and become a better man is an immeasurably more satisfying experience than watching you accept an award,” she continued. “Although those will come… and this is irrelevant I guess but I will just never ever get over how beautiful your face is.”

16 Feb 2023

Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-Winning ‘Just Like That’ Reaches Multiple Billboard Charts

After it won the Grammy Award for song of the year Feb. 5, Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time, debuting on multiple lists dated Feb. 18.

The song even reaches No. 1 on one of the surveys, bowing atop Rock Digital Song Sales with 9,000 downloads sold in the Feb. 3-9 tracking week, a 9,947% increase over a negligible amount the previous period, according to Luminate.

It’s Raitt’s first No. 1 on the chart, which began in 2010. Previously, she reached a No. 3 best in 2020 via her co-bill with John Prine, “Angel From Montgomery,” following Prine’s death.

“That” also debuts at No. 6 on the all-format Digital Song Sales ranking, her first top 10.

Elsewhere, the track is No. 26 on the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. In addition to its sales, “That” earned 1.4 million official U.S. streams, a 2,955% boost from 45,000 the previous week.

Raitt’s album of the same name, released in 2022, returns to the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart at No. 46 with 7,000 equivalent album units earned, up 1,121%. It premiered at No. 6 in May 2022.

The set also re-appears on Americana/Folk Albums at No. 9, after debuting at No. 1 in May 2022.

In all, Raitt’s song catalog jumped 109% in streams, to 5.8 million Feb. 3-9 vs. 2.8 million the previous week. Removing “That” from the equation, it’s still a 62% leap to 4.4 million from 2.7 million.

Meanwhile, one of her classic returns to a Billboard chart: “Something to Talk About,” which debuts at No. 18 on Rock Digital Song Sales (1,000 sold, up 679%). It became a No. 5 hit in 1991 on the Billboard Hot 100, to date her top-performing song on the survey.

The self-written “That” won song of the year honors at the 65th Grammy Awards, marking Raitt’s second big-four category victory, after Nick of Time took album of the year honors in 1990. “That” is also now being promoted to adult alternative radio as the new single from her latest set, after “Made Up Mind” hit No. 17 on Adult Alternative Airplay last April.

16 Feb 2023

Hoobastank Had No Reason to Shelve Collab With Then-Unknown Rihanna: ‘Total Lack of Foresight’

Music history is littered with tales of shoulda, coulda, woulda. But after Rihanna soared to new heights during her instant-classic Super Bowl LVII halftime show one of the least likely headlines to emerge in the wake of her performance linked the singer to the last band on Earth you’d imagine.

“True story. There is a version of a @Hoobastank song featuring @rihanna when she was a ‘newer’ artist,” tweeted the California nu-metal band’s singer, Doug Robb on Tuesday. “Displaying a total lack of foresight, we didn’t use that version of the song for the album. We also didn’t think ‘The Reason’ was a single though either so… Oops.”

The accompanying video mashed up a clip of Rihanna’s halftime extravaganza with ‘Stank’s hit “Crawling in the Dark.” After a fan asked, Hobbs said the unreleased version was for the song “Inside of You,” the second single from the group’s third album, Every Man for Himself. When another wondered if it would be kosher to release it now as a bonus track, Robb said, “not sure.”

Robb also did an interview with ALT98.7FM radio host Ted Stryker elaborating on the story. He said during the sessions for Every Man, their label Island/Def Jam — Rihanna was signed to Def Jam at the time — approached them asking if they’d be up for including one of their new acts on a song. “Which is pretty common… we’re like, ‘cool, sure, like, what song?’,” he said they asked.

They landed on “Inside of You,” which the band sent to RihRih’s camp back in 2005. “They chopped it up and rearranged some parts because it wasn’t written as a duet or anything, so they had to extend some part and they sent it back and they basically put this pre-chorus where Rihanna wrote some new lyrics and sang a melody,” he said. The group listened to it and because they were so used to hearing it the way they originally wrote it, “nobody really loved it.”

Robb said they ran into Rihanna a few times during that album cycle and she was always, “super cool and so there was never any hard feelings.” And, believe it or not, Robb said they don’t regret saying no to the feature. “I don’t think anybody loved it at the time,” he said, admitting that he hasn’t listened to it in years, but that the subject comes up every once in a while and they all have a laugh about it.

“‘Dude, can you believe we nixed Rihanna on one of our songs?’,” Robb said the band’s members ask each other.

Check out Robb’s tweets below.

16 Feb 2023

Dave Davies Asks Elon Musk to Stop Twitter Blocking His Band: ‘Just Trying to Promote Our Kinks Music’

Dave Davies learned the hard way this week what happens when there’s a glitch in the Matrix. After The Kinks announced the upcoming release of a 60th anniversary celebration of the legendary British band with a two-part anthology called The Journey, Twitter apparently flagged the band’s name as “sensitive content.”

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That sent guitarist Dave Davies down a Twitterhole, unleashing a flurry of tweets in which he told chief Twit, Elon Musk, that he’s tired of waiting for him to get it right. “Dear @elonmusk would @twiiter please stop putting warnings on everything from ‘the Kinks’. We are just trying to promote our Kinks music,” Davies tweeted on Wednesday. The tweet linked to a previous one in which Davies invited fans to check out the band’s TikTok promo for the set, which featured a message at the bottom that read, “We put a warning on this Tweet because it might have sensitive content.”

A short time later, Davies gave Musk a bit of a lesson on his group’s background, tweeting, “The Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963.” When another user told Davies that Twitter had apparently reviewed the matter and removed the sensitive content warning, apologizing for helping them “catch that mistake,” Davies was not impressed.

“That’s impossible,” he wrote. “The word robot should be banned. We got robots running our lives. At least I’m a Kink and not a f–in robot.” He also had a bit of fun in the end, responding to a fan’s plea to Musk to “Give the People What They Want!” — a play on the title of the band’s 1981 album — quipping, “give the people what Elon Musk wants.”

The Twit Snit came just hours after The Kinks announced the March 24 release of The Journey — Part 1, a 2CD, 2LP collection that will kick off a two-year celebration of their 60th anniversary. Part one of the anthology — curated by the band according to themes including “Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl” — will feature such beloved hits as “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” “Tired of Waiting For You” and “Waterloo Sunset.”

Check out Davies’ tweets below.

16 Feb 2023

Get Ready For ‘The Show’: Niall Horan Teases First Single, Cover of Third Album

Niall Horan is gearing up to release his third solo album. The singer announced on Wednesday that The Show will drop on June 9, with the first taste of the collection, “Heaven,” due out this Friday (Feb. 17).

“This album is a piece of work I’m so proud of and now it’s time to pass it over to you to go and make it your own,” Horan wrote on Instagram in a post that featured the cover, in which he is depicted leaning on his elbows in a window and staring up at the title. “Thank you so much for being there for me all this time and I can’t wait to share the next couple of years of this new era with you. I’ve missed you all so much. It’s good to be back.”

Earlier this month Horan posted a short clip of what appears to be the video for the dreamy, Beach Boys-inspired “Heaven,” in which he sings “Doesn’t get, doesn’t get better than, better than this/ God only knows where this could go/ And even if our love starts to go out of control/ And you let me go up in flames/ Heaven won’t be the same,” over a montage that takes fans from baby Niall’s first plastic toy microphone to his teen troubadour years, through the X Factor audition process, the rise of One Direction and his solo stardom.

In his latest TikTok tease of the album, Horan said it is “by far and away my favorite stuff I’ve ever worked on.”

“Heaven” is Horan’s first new release since “Our Song” and “Everywhere,” his pair of 2021 collaborations with Anne-Marie. The singer’s last full-length album, Heartbreak Weather, contained singles “Nice to Meet Ya,” “Put a Little Love on Me,” “No Judgement” and “Black and White”; the album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 after its March 2020 release.

Check out Horan’s announcement and the “Heaven” preview below.

15 Feb 2023

Madison Beer Announces Debut Memoir ‘The Half of It’: ‘Can’t Wait to Reintroduce Myself’

Madison Beer shared the news on Wednesday (Feb. 15) that she’s coming out with her first-ever memoir, The Half of It.

“It feels truly surreal to be announcing this book and i am so excited to share my story with you in a way i never have before,” she posted on Instagram of the memoir, which hits bookshelves April 25 via HarperCollins. “From the reality of being signed at twelve, to everything that followed, where i am now, and my journey of reconciling with everything that came before. it has taken me a lot of extremely dark times to get here but i feel incredibly ready to tell you these chapters of my story. i hope you love it. i can’t wait to reintroduce myself to you.”

Showing a glimpse of The Half of It‘s title page, Beer shared the book’s dedications, which read: “For my mother, my brother, and my father—thank you. I know it hasn’t been easy. For the younger Madison I’m writing this about—thank you for getting me here. I hope I’ve made you proud.”

The pop singer’s mom, Tracie Beer, gave a sweetly emotional show of support for her daughter’s venture into autobiography in the comments section of the post, writing, “Me bawling like a baby… So incredibly proud of you & to be part of this journey alongside of you through it all!!!” and adding the hashtag, “#proudmom.”

Beer dropped her debut studio album, Life Support, back in Feb. 2021. When discussing the book reveal in an interview with People, she opened up about working on her soon-to-be-released sophomore follow-up.

“I am so excited for this next album which will be coming soon,” she teased. “Music has always been my first love; it’s what lead me to this memoir and what drives me daily. I am really excited for what is next with my music this year.”

Check out Beer’s memoir announcement — and get a first look at its vulnerable cover — below.

15 Feb 2023

Even Rihanna’s Super Bowl Dancers Didn’t Know She Was Pregnant

Rihanna shocked the world when she appeared onstage for the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday (Feb. 12), appearing in a stunning red outfit that highlighted her stomach curving with maternity. But as it turns out, none of the “Work” singer’s dancers for the Halftime Show were knowledgeable about her pregnancy either.

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Back-up dancers Laila Hayes and Luhnyae Campbell revealed to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday (Feb. 15) that Rihanna’s pregnancy was kept under wraps during rehearsals, due to her bundling up because of cold weather. The pair noted that all of the dancers did not find out about the pop star’s pregnancy until watching footage from the televised event.

“We were all confused watching it during the real thing when she went up there and was showing her stomach,” Hayes said. “She wore the same outfit for one of the dress rehearsals but it was zippered up.”

“I never saw a bump,” Campbell added. “Not even the day of. I had to rewatch the performance on YouTube to realize.” In a Feb. 13 TikTok video, Campbell further elaborated on the matter, and said Eih “came into rehearsals with big fur coats, or Fenty sets all the time — like the big sweatshirt ones … I was surprised too.”

Shortly after Rihanna’s Super Bowl spectacle, a representative of the pop star confirmed she and boyfriend A$AP Rocky were expecting their second child together. The Fenty Beauty founder welcomed her first child — a boy — with A$AP Rocky in May.

Watch Campbell discuss Rihanna and the pop star’s Super Bowl pregnancy reveal below.

15 Feb 2023

Rihanna Reveals First Photo of ‘Perfect’ Son With A$AP Rocky

He’s finally here! Rihanna unveiled the long-awaited first look at her baby son with partner A$AP Rocky in a new cover story for British Vogue published Wednesday (Feb. 15).

“My perfect baby!!!” the superstar captioned the photo on her Instagram, which features the tot — whose name she and the rapper still have yet to share publicly — smiling the camera as he lays on his back with his teeny tiny feet in his hands.

In the associated profile, Rih dished on how motherhood has changed her entire perspective, telling the magazine, “It’s everything. You really don’t remember life before, that’s the craziest thing ever. You literally try to remember it – and there are photos of my life before – but the feeling, the desires, the things that you enjoy, everything, you just don’t identify with it because you don’t even allow yourself mentally to get that far, because…Because it doesn’t matter.”

Of course, the “Diamonds” songstress is currently readying her world for baby number two following that epic baby bump reveal during her Super Bowl LVII halftime show performance. The 13-minute set featured the Savage x Fenty mogul running through her massive back catalog of hits including the likes of “Where Have You Been,” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and more.

Rihanna also teased the likelihood of finally releasing her long-awaited ninth album in the British Vogue interview, saying, “I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”

See the first look at Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s baby boy below.

15 Feb 2023

Camila Cabello & Lox Club CEO Austin Kevitch Break Up Months After Sparking Dating Rumors

In Camila Cabello‘s own words, “That’s just life, baby.” After first sparking dating rumors in June, the “Bam Bam” singer and Lox Club founder/CEO Austin Kevitch have ended their relationship after eight months together.

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Though Cabello and Kevitch did not speak on the allegations themselves, the news was confirmed in a recent newsletter sent to Lox Club (a membership-based dating app primarily for Jewish people) members. “Austin is single again,” the newsletter read.

The former Fifth Harmony member was first linked to Kevitch in June, when the pair were spotted on an outing together in Los Angeles. By August, things starting heating up between the two when paparazzi caught the singer and dating app founder kissing and holding hands during a coffee run. Cabello previously dated Shawn Mendes; the “Señorita” collaborators dated for two and a half years before ending their relationship in November of 2021, stating they “will continue to be best friends.”

Cabello previously spoke about her experiences with dating apps during an October appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. (She did not clarify if the dating app was Lox Club.)

“I was on a dating app for like 24 hours then I left,” she told the host. “Because the first guy that DM’ed me was like an aspiring singer-songwriter from Nashville and I was just like, I feel weird because somebody could be using me. Does that make sense?….You don’t know their intentions. But even that, I’m like, I don’t even know. When you are just trying to make friends, you’re going to meet guys that are vetted by your friends, which is amazing.”

15 Feb 2023

Demi Lovato Gushes Over Boyfriend Jutes in Valentine’s Day Tribute: ‘My Best Friend, Soul Mate, Twin Flame’

Demi Lovato‘s Valentine’s Day Instagram post just made her followers’ hearts grow two times in size. On Tuesday (Feb. 12), the “29” singer shared a series of photos with her singer-songwriter boyfriend Jutes in celebration of the romantic holiday.

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“Life has become so enriched by you. Life has become a dream come true. I’m so beyond grateful to have found my person in you,” they captioned photos of their intimate moments with Jutes, including rides in the backseat of a car, vacation pictures and spending time at home with dogs. “Falling asleep and waking up next to my best friend has made me so filled w joy I can’t even begin to explain.. my best friend, soul mate, twin flame, honeybun.. and the list goes on… the fun and laughs never stop w you.”

The Disney Channel alumn continued, “I can be my weirdest goofy self and you never judge me. Thank you for making me the happiest lil thing on earth.. happy first Valentines day together.. I love you @jutesmusic.”

Jutes was touched by his girlfriend’s sweet message, and took to the comments section to write, “who let all these butterfly in here!?!? so grateful that i found u again. love u so much.”

But the love didn’t stop there. The couple — who made their relationship Instagram official in August — continued to gush about each other on Jutes’ respective Valentine’s Day Instagram post in a carousel of his own that also featured intimate moments in his relationship with Lovato. “To my best friend twin flame soulmate sugar pie sweet pea honeybun ladybug dream girl… u make me so happy,” he captioned the post. “Ur the sweetest hottest funniest weirdest most talented human on earth and i’m very lucky u choose to spend ur time w me. happy first vday together baby. love u forever.”

Lovato hopped in the comments section of Jutes’ post to continue the love parade. “You took all the names!!! So to MY best friend twin flame soulmate sugar pie sweet pea honeybun babybel dream man… YOU make ke so incredibly happy and fulfilled.. I can’t imagine life without you.. I’m so grateful for you baby.. happy first Valentine’s Day!!!! Here’s so so many more,” she added.

Valentine’s Day news aside, Lovato is gearing up to release a song for Scream VI. The singer shared a poster of her holding a knife closely to her face that holds Ghostface’s reflection to her Instagram page. “What’s your favorite scary movie? Still Alive 3.3.23,” the singer captioned the photo.

See Lovato and Jutes’ recent Instagram posts below.