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Marking his first solo release in two years, Stormzy has returned with a new freestyle entitled “Sorry Rach!” – listen to the track below.
The Croydon rapper has not released an album since the soulful This Is What I Mean sailed straight to the top of the U.K.’s Official Album Charts in November 2022. In the interim period, he has worked on collaborations with a series of major artists, including Chase & Status (“Backbone”) RAYE (“The Weekend”) and Shawn Mendes and Jacob Collier (“Witness Me”), among others.
In March, Stormzy – born Michael Ebenazer Owuo Junior – picked up a BRIT Award in the fan-voted hip hop/grime/rap act category, beating the likes of Central Cee and Little Simz to the prize. The win followed the criticism he received online for teaming up with McDonald’s earlier this year on a promotional Stormzy meal, a controversy which he addresses on “Sorry Rach!” “I heard they wanna hang me out to dry for a nugget meal,” he raps. “The world might never love your way again but my mother will.”
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The McDonald’s backlash began to spread after some of the 31-year-old’s social media followers pointed out that the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement had previously initiated a global boycott of the fast food chain for their support of Israeli forces in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
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Prior to the collaboration, Stormzy had been vocal in his support for Palestine. In January 2024, he performed alongside acts such as Clairo and Mustafa at an event called Artists For Aid in New Jersey to help raise funds for the ongoing crisis in Gaza. In recent months, meanwhile, the rapper appeared to remove an Instagram post from October 2023 that called for a “Free Palestine.”
Speaking on the latter incident in February this year, Stormzy clarified: “I didn’t archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of IG posts last year. In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed.”
In the same statement, he continued to speak on the reaction to his McDonald’s partnership, adding: “The brands I work with can’t tell me what to do and don’t tell me what to do otherwise I wouldn’t work with them. I do my own research on all brands I work with, gather my own information, form my own opinion and come to my own conclusion before doing business.”
“Sorry Rach!” was followed by a second track, “Hold Me Down,” Wednesday evening (May 7). A poignant ballad that reflects on life in the public eye, the latter arrived with a live performance video.
Elsewhere, Stormzy will be performing a short run of European festival shows this summer, with appearances booked for Norway’s Palmesus, Roskilde in Denmark, and Dour Festival in Belgium. Further information and tickets can be found on his official website.
The Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will gather the press in London on Thursday (May 9) for a special announcement tied to a new project titled The Song Is Over.
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According to the band’s official channels, the announcement will include a livestreamed Q&A with fans worldwide, with questions already being collected on social media, building anticipation for what could mark a significant moment in The Who’s six-decade career.
The project’s title references “The Song Is Over,” a deep cut from the band’s 1971 album Who’s Next. The group also performed the track live for the first time in March at London’s Royal Albert Hall, although that rendition was interrupted when Daltrey experienced technical difficulties. “To sing that song, I do need to hear the key,” he told the crowd at the time. “And I can’t hear. There’s no pitch here. I just hear drums, boom boom boom. I can’t sing to that.”
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This would not be the first time The Who has suggested the end of the road was near. In 1982, the band launched what was billed as a farewell tour and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline “The Who The End.” At that time, Townshend was 37 and Daltrey was 38. Today, Townshend turns 80 later this month and Daltrey recently turned 81.
Longtime drummer Zak Starkey, who briefly exited the band earlier this year, is expected to be part of any future live plans. Starkey left following the Royal Albert Hall show but was soon reinstated. “There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily,” Townshend said.
The band has not confirmed that The Song Is Over will be a tour. Fans have also speculated the project could be a studio album, a biopic or even a new rock opera. Daltrey has discussed the idea of a Keith Moon biopic for years, although no official updates on that project have been shared recently.
The Who last released an album in 2019. Who debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s highest-charting album since Quadrophenia reached No. 2 in 1973.
Full details of The Song Is Over will be revealed Thursday.
Gene Simmons has clarified that not all members of KISS may appear together at KISS Army Storms Vegas, the upcoming three-day fan event scheduled for Nov. 14–16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
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“This is much more a fan gathering,” Simmons told 94.3 The Shark radio station in a new interview. “The KISS Army are taking over the Virgin Hotel and we will show up, but I don’t even know if the entire band’s gonna be there.”
Simmons continued, “I know Paul and I are gonna be there, and Tommy. Bruce Kulick probably will show up, and we’ll jam, answer questions and stuff. It ain’t a concert, we’re gonna do none of that stuff. I may even bring my solo band up there just for fun.”
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The event will mark KISS’s first public appearance since the group wrapped its End of the Road farewell tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023. Simmons previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in March that the band would not perform in makeup during the Las Vegas event, staying true to their vow that the MSG show was their final appearance in full costume.
“There’s no stage show. There’s no crew. We won’t have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff,” he said at the time.
KISS Army Storms Vegas will celebrate the fan club’s 50th anniversary and will feature Q&A sessions with Stanley, Simmons and longtime manager Doc McGhee.
Additional performances will include sets from Thayer’s former band BLACK ‘N BLUE, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS Nation: The KISS Tribute Show. Kulick, who played with KISS from 1984 to 1996, is also scheduled to perform. It remains unclear if drummer Eric Singer will participate.
“There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it’s much more personal. And of course, we can’t get by without playing, so we’ll get up and do some tunes,” Simmons added. “What they are, how long, I don’t know.”
Parkway Drive, one of Australia’s heaviest musical exports to date, have returned with “Sacred, their first new piece of music in three years.
Released on Thursday (May 8), the new single sees the heavy metal quintet drawing upon their 22-year history to deliver a piece of work that is a fitting representation of their past and an indication of what the future holds.
“The mission statement for ‘Sacred’ is pretty damn simple. An anthemic wrecking ball of positive energy,” vocalist Winston McCall explained in a statement. “Our lives and the way we exist in the world has been pushed further and further through the lenses and frames of negativity and hopelessness. Obsession with everything we lack, everything we hate, everyone we blame, everything that keeps us down.
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“We sell the unique parts of us most precious just to buy back manufactured pieces of self in order that we may feel whole again,” he added. “‘Sacred’ is our identity. ‘Sacred’ is our time. Never lose sight and never lose hope.”
The release of “Sacred” comes just weeks before the band perform a sold-out, black-tie symphonic show at the iconic Sydney Opera House on June 9, before embarking on an extensive run of North American dates as part of the Summer of Loud tour with Beartooth, I Prevail, and Killswitch Engage.
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Parkway Drive first formed in the coastal New South Wales town of Byron Bay in 2003, issuing their debut album two years later. They received their first top ten album in Australia with 2007’s Horizons, which also hit No. 27 on the Top Heatseekers charts. 2010’s Deep Blue launched a four-record run which saw the group consecutively charting within the top 40 of the Billboard 200, with 2015’s Ire resulting in a peak of No. 29.
Alongside becoming their first release to top the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, Ire also was their first of three consecutive records to top the Australian charts. “Sacred” is Parkway Drive’s first release since their 2022 album Darker Still, which saw them receive their third ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album
Parkway Drive – 2025 North American Tour Dates
June 21 – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FLJune 22 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FLJune 24 – Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GAJune 26 – Dos Equis Pavillion, Dallas, TXJune 27 – Germania Insurance Amphitheater, Austin, TXJune 28 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TXJuly 1 – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, Phoenix, AZJuly 2 – Gallagher Square at Petco Park, San Diego, CAJuly 5 – Great Park Live, Irvine, CAJuly 6 – Toyota Pavilion at Concord, Concord, CAJuly 8 – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, UTJuly 9 – The JunkYard, Denver, COJuly 11 – Somerset Amphitheater, Somerset, WIJuly 12 – Capital Credit Union Park, Green Bay, WIJuly 13 – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, ILJuly 15 – Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ONJuly 16 – Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MIJuly 18 – Ohio State Reformatory, Mansfield, OHJuly 19 – York State Fair, York, PAJuly 20 – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NYJuly 22 – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MAJuly 23 – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJJuly 24 – PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJJuly 26 – Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VAJuly 27 – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
As the controversy surrounding Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap continues to swirl, former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon has weighed in on the debate.
Lydon, who fronted the pioneering U.K. punk band from 1975 until 1978 and on their numerous reunions until 2008 as Johnny Rotten, made his comments in the wake of the myriad controversies faced by Kneecap in recent weeks.
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However, while speaking to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (May 8), the program’s host brought up a recent incident in which Kneecap issued an apology for archival footage which showed the group allegedly calling for the death of British MPs (members of parliament).
Filmed at a London gig in November 2023, it appears to show one member of the band saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” At the time, the Conservative Party – also known as the Tories – were in government with a large majority.
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“If you’re advocating the death of another human being, then you have no cause whatsoever,” Lydon said in response to the incident. “You are my enemy from here on in for the rest of your mediocre existence. You shouldn’t be talking like that, you shouldn’t be making enemies of your fellow human beings. Other than that, maybe they need a bloody good kneecapping!”
In the context of the matter, ‘kneecapping’ – the term from which the trio take their name – refers to how Northern Ireland paramilitaries would take the law into their own hands during The Troubles by inflicting injuries on those accused of criminal or antisocial behaviour, usually with a gunshot to the knee.
Lydon also commented on Kneecap’s apparent attempts to generate controversy in the modern age by claiming they’re taking cues from the Sex Pistols’ playbook. “I think they’re following what they think is the Sex Pistols route,” he added. “It’s helpful, isn’t it, when you get the Financial Times propping you up.”
Kneecap made global headlines following their appearance at the Coachella festival in April, where they projected strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”
The backlash to Kneecap’s comments were swift and varied, with Sharon Osbourne calling for the band’s work visas to be revoked ahead of another North American tour later in the year, while the trio would soon split with their booking agent, Independent Artist Group.
Lydon has been rather prolific in terms of public comment in recent weeks, having recently taken to disparaging the nascent version of the Sex Pistols which have been touring with Frank Carter on lead vocals, and distancing himself from any potential reunions with his former bandmates.
“Not after what I consider their dirty deeds, let them wallow in Walt Disney woke expectations,” he said in response to the notion of returning to the role of vocalist. “They’ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that’s unacceptable.
“Sorry, I’m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”
The Final Jeopardy clue on Jeopardy! on Wednesday (May 7) seemed to be way too easy, but not one of the contestants got it right. The category was The Grammys. The clue: “Best New Artists at the 7th Annual Grammys, this band would be nominated the next six years, but not again until the 39th and 67th events.”
The champion wrote down “Who is the Marine Marching Band,” which was incorrect. The ensemble has never even been nominated for a Grammy.
A challenger wrote down “Springsteen,” which ignored a key part of the clue that it was a “band.” And while Bruce Springsteen has been recording for more than 50 years, the clues indicated a 60-year span of Grammy ceremonies. The Boss hasn’t been around quite that long.
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The second challenger, you figure, has to get it right. He wrote “The Rolling Stones.” As host Ken Jennings pointed out, that was closer, but still not right. To the Grammys’ eternal shame, The Rolling Stones weren’t even nominated for a Grammy until the 1979 ceremony, when they were up for album of the year for Some Girls. And they don’t satisfy another part of the clue, either: They have never been nominated more than two years in a row. But they did win best rock album earlier this year for Hackney Diamonds.
The correct answer, of course, is The Beatles. They won best new artist at the 1965 ceremony, were nominated every year from 1966-1971, and then were nominated again in 1997 (when they won a total of three Grammys for The Beatles Anthology and “Free as a Bird”) and earlier this year (when they won best rock performance for “Now and Then”).
If the contestants had just muttered “Help!” when they saw the clue, and realized they were in trouble, that might have led them to the correct question.
OK, so, these three contestants were not Grammy experts, and perhaps not die-hard Beatles fans. Still, they did very well in other categories during the two rounds of play. This just goes to show that we all have our strong suits and other areas were we draw a blank.
[Spoiler alert: This story contains the identity of the winner and runners-up revealed on Wednesday night’s (May 7) season 13 finale of The Masked Singer.]
In a season that has featured the unmasking of a mess of music stars — including Edwin McCain (Nessy), Method Man (Stud Muffin) and Flavor Flav (Space Ranger), plus actors Matthew Lawrence (Paparazzo), Candace Cameron Bure (Cherry Blossom) and James Van Der Beek (Griffin) and boxer Oscar De La Hoya (Fuzzy Peas), among others — when the confetti rained down on Wednesday night’s (May 7) Masked Singer finale, it was no surprise who came out on top.
Pearl shone the brightest on a night when she reigned supreme over the other three finalists — Boogie Woogie, Coral and Mad Scientist — after a season of dominating the competition with a perfectly executed mix of pop, R&B, rock, Latin and soul songs.
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If you were really paying attention to the clues this season, Pearl’s identity was plain to see. There was talk of a “tough exterior” you had to break through to find the treasure inside, making her own way by playing shows in discount stores and dive bars, Elvis, a bowl of cherries and Aphrodite, goddess of love. She also noted she grew up in a tiny town, split before finishing high school to work in a bar and said that when she started doing what she does, it launched a movement that opened the doors for many others.
The guesses were all over the place, with judge Robin Thicke thinking Melissa Etheridge, to Rita Orr tossing out rockers Pat Benatar and Joan Jett and always-wrong Ken Jeong wildly swinging with certainty that Madonna was under the mask (she wasn’t). Meanwhile, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg’s guesses over the season leaned country, including Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Kacey Musgraves — which turned out to be the right kind of lean.
There’s a very good reason Pearl came out on top, beginning with her gritty, emotional cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 empowerment anthem “You Don’t Own Me,” which Thicke praised for being “sultry and swaggy,” with a touch of soul and grit. Proving her versatility, she also spread that grit on The Outfield’s 1986 rock anthem “Your Love,” then pivoted again with a hip-swiveling take on Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s 1985 classic “Conga.” Other highlights included a killer cover of Dolly Parton’s 1977 pop country No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Here You Come Again,” a rock pivot for Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and an impressive run through the Whitney Houston ballad “Saving All My Love For You.”
She secured the win with Wednesday night’s cover of KT Tunstall’s 2004 rocker “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” which sounded so much like it could have been one of her own songs that Jeong called her the “Meryl Streep of Masked Singer.” Her final song, The Pretenders’ epic ballad “I’ll Stand By You,” soared and, seemingly, locked in the season 13 crown for none other than country star Gretchen Wilson.
Her victory came over Boogie Woogie (Andy Grammer), Coral (Zombies‘ Meg Donnelly) and Mad Scientist (Florida Georgia Line country star and solo singer Brian Kelley).
The singer — whose breakthrough, Grammy-winning 2004 single “Redneck Woman” sat at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks — spoke to Billboard before her win about why now was the right time to do the show, how the flashy costume switched up her public persona and why she didn’t sing a song from her all-time favorite rock band.
This show had you doing more choreo than I imagine you’re used to, so much hip shaking and gyrating. Was that weird to you, or did the costume help alleviate any nerves?
The costume helped with everything. When I stepped into the costume, I was transformed, I became Pearl. All of the different sides of Gretchen Wilson that I’ve never felt comfortable enough to show just took the forefront in the costume. I saw it as an opportunity to show the world there’s a lot more to me than this redneck y’all keep talking about.
What as it about that sparkly costume that appealed to you? You usually are a black T-shirt and jeans kind of woman, and it’s so girly. [For the record, Wilson was wearing a black T-shirt and one sparkly, rhinestone-studded blue glove during our Zoom.]
It was just all of the things I’ve never felt comfortable to do as a grown woman. I took it and ran with it. It’s an uncomfortable costume. You don’t feel all that pretty in it because you’re mostly just sweating. But when you happen by a mirror and see it you’re like, “ooh!,” you just can’t help yourself. I thought it was really good exactly because of that: Everybody just thinks of a plain Jane, girl next door type of thing, and I thought this costume was perfect because it was so opposite of what anybody would ever think they’d see me behind.
You’ve had a wild ride in the music biz, scoring five top 10 singles on the Billboard country charts and then jumping to your own label, so I’m curious: What did you want to prove on the show?
I had some post-COVID health stuff, I’m a long-hauler. I’ve got medications I’ll have to take for the rest of my life — high blood pressure, asthma — these are all things I didn’t have right before COVID. I also was dancing with a 6-year-old boy at a wedding, spinning, spinning, spinning, then I lost myself and I shattered my ankle and my leg, so I spent eight months in a wheelchair in a cast. So all of this was happening to me the last couple of years and it really got me to the point where, health-wise, my weight, I was thinking, “I might be done. It could be over for me because I’m not sure I’ll be able to breathe out there and do this thing as a living anymore.” So when this opportunity came, it was a moment for me to go, “All right, I’ve struggled, I’ve got the weight down, the medication is helping and if I say yes to this and I can go do this then I can do anything.” If I can do this, I can do a 75-minute show in Yuma, Arizona, in August outside.
Your sound was so versatile on the show, from rock to country, pop, Latin and R&B. Why was that a priority for you?
First of all, because I could. I grew up in bar bands. When I was 16, I was in three to four bands all at once, and it was always covers, so I got my start like, “How much can I sound like this one?” That was sort of a hidden gem in my pocket that I had, being able to transform my voice.
You didn’t do a song by your favorite band Heart, though. Why not?
Like any show, only a certain number of songs they have clearance for, so it wasn’t like I could go in there and say, “I want to sing ‘Barracuda’ by Heart.” There was a very good chance they wouldn’t have been able to clear it. Also, had they brought me a Heart song, I would have said no because it would have been a dead giveaway. I felt we got really close with show opener [Big & Rich’s] “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” — those are two of my very best friends. How do they not know that that’s me? I tried to pick songs I love, but also songs my audience would not typically think it would be me singing.
Speaking of which, was it fun to sing “Pink Pony Club” with Rita Ora on the finale?
There’s a song I’ve never heard! Never heard it [before I sang it] and never heard it since. Let me just say [throws up prayer hands]: Nothing against the song, it’s just not my thing.
How cool was it to get that message from your daughter on the last night? Did she know it was you on the show?
In the beginning, I told almost no one. I told my publicist, I had to tell my mom because I have four dogs and she had to come take care of them. The show decided to involve my daughter and her new husband, so that’s how she got on it, otherwise she wouldn’t have known. I’m really glad they did because keeping this secret from her felt wrong not having her involved in the moment.
Your Pretenders cover tonight made Ken cry! That must have felt good, right?
I didn’t remember that! I haven’t seen the final episode yet. I don’t know what my favorite performance is because I haven’t seen them all yet. I was impressed with the “Conga” because that was so far outside of what I normally do, but my friends are all liking “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” and that was my least favorite. I was thinking, “What did I just do? I just chose a song that is going to lose me the competition. Where do I go with this vocal?” I had to be creative and jump an octave, or two, because this song doesn’t go anywhere! I think I did go three octaves in that song.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have launched an official inquiry into the event ticketing business at the urging of President Donald Trump, the agencies announced Wednesday (May 7).
As part of the inquiry, “the agencies invite members of the public to submit comments and information on harmful practices and on potential regulation or legislation to protect consumers in the industry,” according to a press release. Anyone “impacted by anticompetitive practices in the live concert and entertainment industry” will have 60 days to submit comments to Regulations.gov, with the comment period concluding on July 7.
After the comment period closes, the agencies state they will “use the information in their preparation of the report and recommendations directed by President Trump” in his Executive Order 14254, also known as Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market. Signed by the president during a March 31 meeting in the Oval Office with musician Kid Rock in attendance, the order directed the Attorney General, along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the FTC, to submit a report identifying “recommendations for regulations or legislation necessary to protect consumers” in the industry, including by enforcing the Better Online Tickets Sales (BOTS) Act.
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Passed in 2016, the BOTS Act gives both the DOJ and the FTC broad power to crack down on scalpers who illegally use automated technology to skirt the restrictions placed on high-demand ticket sales and prevents scalpers from buying up the best seats to flip for profit. Yet since its passage in 2016, the BOTS Act has only been used once to prosecute scalpers who knowingly break the rules put in place to make ticket buying fairer and more equitable.
“Competitive live entertainment markets should deliver value to artists and fans alike,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division in a statement. “We will continue to closely examine this market and look for opportunities where vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws can lead to increased competition that makes tickets more affordable for fans while offering fairer compensation for artists.”
Added FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, “Many Americans feel like they are being priced out of live entertainment by scalpers, bots, and other unfair and deceptive practices. Now their voices are being heard. President Trump has sent a clear message that bad actors who exploit fans and distort the marketplace will not be tolerated. The FTC is proud to help deliver on that promise and restore fair and competitive markets that benefit ordinary Americans.”
The inquiry comes as several ticketing bills work their way through Congress, most notably the TICKET ACT, which passed the House of Representatives on April 29 and also includes language calling for the enforcement of BOTS Act.
“Illegal bot use runs rampant in the ticketing industry because the FTC has only brought one enforcement action since the use of bots was banned in 2016,” read a statement from Stephen Parker, executive director of National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), shortly after the April 29 passage of the TICKET ACT in the House. He added, “We hope Congress does not miss the opportunity to ensure these laws are actually enforced in the future.”
Brad Arnold, singer and drummer of the Mississippi-based rock band 3 Doors Down, announced Wednesday (May 7) that he’s been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer.
“Got some not-so-good news for you today,” Arnold said in a video posted to social media, revealing that he’s fighting clear cell renal cell carcinoma and that it’s metastasized into his lung.
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Due to Arnold’s diagnosis, the band is canceling its upcoming summer tour, with dates that were set to begin next week in Florida and continued through August.
Arnold said that he’s leaning on his faith through the medical battle (“I have no fear. I really, sincerely am not scared of it at all.”) and asked for prayers from his fans. “I’d love for you to lift me up in prayer any chance you get. And I think it’s time for me to go and listen to ‘It’s Not My Time’ a little bit.”
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He also referenced the 2008 3 Doors Down song “It’s Not My Time” in his Instagram caption, writing: “Thank you for all the memories so far. Now, I believe ‘ITS NOT MY TIME’ is really my song. This’ll be a battle so we need our prayers warriors! Thank y’all for being the best fans in the world. We love y’all!”
Arnold’s comments section was filled with a who’s who of his musical peers, with Creed’s Scott Stapp writing, “If anyone has the FAITH and STRENGTH to face this fight, it’s YOU brother. … I think I can speak for all of us, we are lifting you up in prayer right now believing without doubt for your total healing! I love you bro.”
Chris Daughtry added, “Sending you love my brother,” with Gavin McGraw commenting: “May God bless you brother. Showing us how to conquer the darkness with light.”
“Man I hate to hear that Brad. Praying for ya brother,” Jason Aldean wrote, with Sara Evans saying, “Will be praying for you every day!”
During their early 2000s heyday, 3 Doors Down scored 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including three top 10s: 2000’s “Kryptonite” (No. 3 peak), 2003’s “When I’m Gone” (No. 4) and 2003’s “Here Without You” (No. 5). They also scored two No. 1 albums on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart: 2005’s Seventeen Days and a self-titled project in 2008.
When Rascal Flatts and the Backstreet Boys hit the stage at the ACM Awards on Thursday night, look for their medley to contain a few surprises. “We close out with ‘Thriller,’” bassist/singer Jay DeMarcus jokes to Billboard.
Maybe not, but they will sing a combo of BSB and Rascal Flatts hits with the two groups relying on their trademark harmonies. Rascal Flatts guitarist/vocalist Joe Don Rooney had nothing but praise for their new duet partners following rehearsal.
“They’re just such great singers and their melodies are so good,” he tells Billboard. “They know how to stack them. It’s like a wall of vocals. It’s really, really cool and really an amazing, powerful sound.”
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The medley will include “What Hurts the Most,” Rascal Flatts’ 2006 Hot Country Songs No. 1 that the Backstreet Boys perform with the trio on Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets, a June 6 collection of remakes of Rascal Flatts’ most-loved hits that pairs the trio with such artists as Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson, as well as Jonas Brothers on their new single “I Dare You.”
Rascal Flatts came back following a five-year hiatus for their 25th-anniversary tour, which kicked off a few months ago and lasts through the summer. Following the break, they admit it took them a little while to get their sea legs back. “It took me a couple of weekends,” DeMarcus says. “Definitely the first weekend I got out there, I was winded, and I was like, ‘I gotta get my show legs back.’ My back hurt.”
“He’s like, ‘Are you guys sore at all?’” lead singer Gary LeVox adds.
As the trio revisits their hits in concert, some have taken on new meaning as the years have passed. “When we cut ‘My Wish,’ I didn’t have kids, so now that my kids are 13 and 15, it means a whole different thing to me now when I sing that song,” DeMarcus says. “I think that for all of us, different seasons of life make different songs mean different things.”
“I think what really did it for me was ‘Bless the Broken Road,’” LeVox says. “It’s a moment in the show where just the three of us are up there. It’s a special moment in the show.”
For Rooney, it’s “I’m Moving On.” “It’s very special to me and has taken on a new life in my life. I’ve been through a lot the last five years,” says Rooney, who has been sober for three years after being arrested for DUI in 2021 and going through a contentious divorce. “These guys said, ‘Get out there and sing “I’m Moving On” by yourself.’ It’s been tough. The first couple of weekends, I was extremely nervous, but it’s very heartfelt. I mean everything I say and I just really thank God so much for my life I have right now.”
Their Backstreet Boy pals are set for a Las Vegas residency at Sphere coming up in July, and Rascal Flatts admit that sounds pretty sweet to them. “We’ve had a couple of [Las Vegas] residencies. We were three years at the Hard Rock, two at the Venetian,” LeVox says. “Setting up one time is really nice. That’s really convenient.”
“I wasn’t allowed back in Vegas for a couple of years. I think they’ve lifted that now,” jokes DeMarcus before seriously adding of Sphere dates, “I think anybody would want to play there, you know. It’s a wonderful thing, but it’s a whole other thing for us. You have to spend so much time putting creative into building the show and making sure all the content fits. It’s very expensive to build all the content.”
Rascal Flatts, who are up for group of the year at the ACM Awards for the first time since 2017, are coy when it comes to saying if they plan to release an album of new music.
“We’re trying to take it a step at a time,” DeMarcus says. “We’ve just kind of been thrown back into the deep end, but we really loved being on tour. We really loved cutting the duets record. We’re going to do some more shows this summer, and we’re still talking about what the future looks like. We’re really excited about what lies ahead for us, but we really haven’t made any definite plans yet. I would hate to say never. If we find the right kind of song and we feel compelled to cut it, we have the freedom to do that. So you never know what’s gonna happen.”