Music News

20 Nov 2024

Music Identification App Shazam Surpasses 100 Billion Recognitions

22 years it was first launched in the U.K., ubiquitous music identification app Shazam has announced it has now surpassed 100 billion recognitions.

First launching on Aug. 19 2002, Shazam began its life as an SMS service where users would dial a number, hold up their phones to identify the song being played, and then receive the name and artist via a text message. While it grew in popularity and influence over the years, it was in 2006 that Shazam was launched as an app, before becoming available on both Apple and Android devices in 2008.

By 2011, the service had recognized more than one billion songs, and by the following year, that number had increased to five billion, with the 15 billion milestone following in 2014. In 2017, it was announced that Apple had acquired Shazam for $400 million.

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Now, Apple have announced that Shazam has hit the impressive milestone of 100 billion song recognitions across its lifetime. The news comes just five years after the service celebrated 20 years with news it had surpassed 70 billion recognitions.

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“This monumental milestone not only reflects how much people enjoy using Shazam, but also their appetite for new music,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats in a stateent.

“Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”

Apple have also shared a handful of statstics to put the 100 billion figure into perspective, noting that the number is equivalent to 12 songs identified for every person on Earth, and that one person would need to use Shazam to identify a song every second for 3,168 years to reach 100 billion.

An Apple Music playlist was also created by the company which features the 100 most-Shazamed songs across the app’s lifetime.

Atop the list is Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey” with 45 million identifications to its name, closely followed by fellow Australian act Gotye and his 2012 Kimbra-featuring hit “Somebody That I Used to Know”.

Passenger’s “Let Her Go”, Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us” round out the top five, with acts such as Lewis Capaldi, Hozier, The Weeknd, KALEO, and Sia completing the top ten.

20 Nov 2024

Wilco Detail 20th Anniversary Edition of ‘A Ghost is Born’

More than two decades since it was released, Chicago indie veterans Wilco have announced a 20th anniversary edition of their fifth album, A Ghost is Born.

The new deluxe edition package arrives via Nonesuch on February 7th, 2025 and complements the original recording with a myriad new extras.

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Available in both a nine-CD or nine-LP/four-CD format, the packages include the initial album paired with alternates, outtakes, and demos which chart the record’s conception, in addition to a full 2004 concert recording from Boston’s Wang Center and the band’s “fundamentals” workshop sessions.

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In total, 65 previously unreleased tracks are accompanied by a 48-page hardcover book which features liner notes from Grammy-winning writer Bob Mehr and previously unpublished photos. Alongside its announcement, the band have also shared an alternate version of “Handshake Drugs”, recorded at New York’s Sear Sound in November 2003.

Released in June 2004, A Ghost is Born arrived as Wilco‘s fifth album and as the follow-up to 2001’s difficult (though critically-acclaimed) Yanke Hotel Foxtrot. Peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, it was the group’s highest-charting album up to that point, and garnered reviews that equally labelled it their most “difficult and uncompromising album to date” and “the ever-evolving band’s richest work”.

Notwithstanding, the album went on to be named Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package at the 2005 Grammy Awards, and became revered amongst fans as one of Wilco’s best.

“I was worried the album was going to feel like something dark and not me anymore,” frontman Jeff Tweedy told Mehr as part of the record’s new liner notes. “But the album was ahead of me as a person.

“It was the part of me that I was trying to preserve—enthusiastic and furious about the world, as well as open and loving. I reached that in the music, before I could get there emotionally on my own.”

20 Nov 2024

Jelly Roll & Keith Urban Bring the Fire With Performance of ‘Liar’ at 2024 CMA Awards

Temperatures rose at the 2024 CMA Awards when Jelly Roll stepped out onstage for his second performance of the night, joined by Keith Urban for a rousing performance of “Liar.”

Backdropped by bursts of flames and rhythmic balls of sparks, the two musicians brought the heat, with the “Son of a Sinner” singer passionately belting out his lyrics while the Australian-American country star shredded on guitar next to him. “You ain’t nothin’ but a liar/ Yeah, I walk right out the fire,” Jelly sang, with his wife — podcaster Bunnie XO — mouthing along to the lyrics in the audience. “Yeah, you try to keep me down/ Try to put me underground/ But I’m only going higher.”

Bowing at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart, “Liar” appears on Jelly’s Billboard 200-topping album Beautifully Broken. The Tennessee native previously debuted the track in May at the ACM Awards.

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Jelly was up for numerous awards at the 2024 CMA Awards, including entertainer of the year, which an absent Morgan Wallen won at the very end of the night. He was also in the running for album of the year with 2023’s Whitsitt Chapel and male vocalist of the year, but the prizes went to Cody Johnson’s Leather and Chris Stapleton, respectively.

Earlier that night, the “Need a Favor” musician took the stage for the first time, performing a religious rendition of his collaboration with Brooks & Dunn “Believe.” The three-hour show was hosted by Peyton Manning, Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson and took place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

20 Nov 2024

Paul Simon Discusses Hearing Loss in ‘CBS Mornings’ Interview

Paul Simon might be responsible for writing some of music’s most revered songs, but as he’s revealed previously, he’s progressively becoming unable to hear them.

Last year, Simon explained to British paper The Times that he began to experience hearing loss in his left ear while recording his 2023 song cycle, Seven Psalms. “Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he explained. “So everything became more difficult.”

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Now in a new interview with CBS Mornings, Simon spoke to reporter Anthony Mason about his journey with hearing loss and his search for ways to manage it.

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“It was incredibly frustrating. I was very angry at first that this had happened,” Simon admitted, noting his greatest fear is the possibility or no longer writing or composing. “I guess what I’m most apprehensive about would be if I can’t hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music,” he added.

Though Simon wrapped up his final tour in 2018, he’s still making sporadic appearances here and there. Most recently, he performed a surprise set at New York City’s Irish Arts Centre, and weeks prior, he performed for The SoHo Sessions as part of a fundraiser for the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss

“I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions. It’s all much quieter,” he explained. “It’s not ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ That’s gone. I can’t do that one.”

As part of his CBS Mornings interview, Simon visited with the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss at their Palo Alto, California facilities, discussing how the likes of zebrafish, mice, and other animals are a point of focus for research. While zebrafish have had hearing benefits thanks to a drug which been approved by the FDA, mice are being used as part of gene therapy in an effort to regenerate damaged hair cells.

Per Simon’s own admission though, he tells CBS that his desire to create hasn’t been affected despite his ability to perfectly hear the fruits of his labor.

“You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period,” he noted. “So I don’t think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven’t experienced that. And I hope not to.”

20 Nov 2024

George Strait Pays Tribute to Wife of 53 Years While Accepting CMA Lifetime Achievement Award

With a whopping 44 chart-toppers on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list, George Strait is a bona fide legend in the genre and beyond. And at the 2024 CMA Awards at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday (Nov. 20), Strait made a rare public appearance to accept the Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award from the Country Music Association.

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The tribute opened with a fiery-eyed, ferocious Jamey Johnson performing Strait’s 2006 single “Give It Away,” a Hot Country Songs No. 1 hit that Johnson co-wrote. (Johnson made headlines just days ago after being arrested in Tennessee on Sunday and charged with speeding and drug possession; Johnson has spoken about his sobriety journey before, but acknowledges that he sometimes smokes “a joint.”)

Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum followed with Strait’s 2008 single “Troubadour,” a fitting enough song for the 72-year-old legend given that it’s a meditation on music, aging and legacy (“I was a young troubadour/ When I rode in on a song/ And I’ll be an old troubadour when I’m gone”).

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After that, Strait himself proved he’s far from done, taking the stage with Chris Stapleton for a full-throated duet on “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” from his recent album Cowboys and Dreamers while his wife, Norma Strait, bopped along from the crowd.

“First of allm, I want to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ,” Strait said after wrapping his performance and receiving a standing ovation from the crowd (including Luke Combs, who mimed bowing down to Strait). “I want to thank the CMAs for adding my name to the incredible artists on this small list of recipients, hearing the name of the icon Willie Nelson.”

He also thanked “these great artists” who performed his songs on the CMA Awards stage. “It’s amazing to hear y’all do them – I’m so glad I got to ‘em before you,” he said, laughing, and adding, “Not you, Jamey.”

After paying homage to some of his departed associates (fiddle player Gene Elders, road manager Tom Foote and manager Erv Woolsey have all passed away in 2024), Strait paid tribute to his closest companion for more than half a century. “I want to thank my family who are all here tonight. My wife Norma, my son Bubba, his wife Tamara, my grandkids Harvey and Jillian,” Strait said. “Especially Norma, who has supported me for just shy of 53 years – it’s been an amazing 53 years.”

20 Nov 2024

2024 CMA Awards: Photos From the Show

The 2024 CMA Awards took over Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 20) to honor country’s brightest stars, from fresh talent like new artist of the year winner Megan Moroney to CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award honoree George Strait.

The awards show — hosted by Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Peyton Manning — was packed with performances, from Shaboozey playing his 18-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” alongside his single “Highway” to Brooks & Dunn joining forces with Jelly Roll for a come-to-Jesus performance of “Believe.”

Post Malone pulled double duty, kicking off the show with Chris Stapleton for the F-1 Trillion standout “California Sober” and then showing his sensitive side with the song “Yours,” inspired by his 2-year-old daughter. Stapleton has also hit the stage a few times — with his 2023 single “White Horse” picking up two early awards (not to mention a win for male vocalist of the year) and joining wife Morgane Stapleton for a gloriously harmonized performance of “What Am I Gonna Do.”

Stapleton was also part of the musical tribute to Strait, performing “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” alongside the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.  Their duet was preceded by tribute performances from Wilson, Miranda Lambert and Parker McCollum.

The winners on Wednesday night included Cody Johnson’s Leather taking home album of the year; Old Dominion winning vocal group of the year for a seventh time; Brooks & Dunn taking home vocal duo of the year for a 15th time; Ella Langley and Riley Green winning musical event of the year for “you look like you love me”; and Wilson’s “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” being named video of the year.

Below, find the best photos from the 2024 CMA Awards, from performances to crowd shots to the night’s biggest winners.

20 Nov 2024

Old Dominion Says the World Is ‘Weird,’ Urges Artists to ‘Get Together and Create’ at 2024 CMA Awards

Old Dominion made history at the 2024 CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday (Nov. 20) evening. Not only did the country outfit nab the 2024 CMA Award for vocal group of the year, but it became the second-most awarded vocal group in the history of the Country Music Association Awards.

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Accepting the award from The Oak Ridge Boys, frontman Matthew Ramsey acknowledged the moment: “We just made history, that’s crazy,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

He thanked The Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama and other groups who “paved the way for us,” and urged every creative person watching in the Bridgestone Arena or at home to create art during these “weird” times.

“If you are an artist of any type or a creator or a musician, this is when the world needs you the most, when it’s weird like it is right now,” said Ramsey. “So get out there and get together and create.”

While Ramsey’s speech wasn’t explicitly political or partisan, it arrives just two weeks after a divisive presidential election — albeit one that was won handily by the Republican Party, who nabbed control of the executive branch and Congress. Also, the word “weird,” intentionally or not, echoed the word Minnesota Governor Tim Walz used to describe President Trump and MAGA Republicans in a viral clip from July. Speaking on MSNBC about Republican efforts to censor school curricula and control reproductive rights, Walz said, “These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room … these are weird ideas.” Walz’s viral clip preceded him joining Kamala Harris’ campaign in August as her would-be vice president on the Democratic Party ticket.

Then again, “weird” could apply to any number of things going on in today’s world, from the rise of artificial intelligence to the “Hawk Tuah” girl. And given that country music awards shows tend to veer a country mile wide of anything political, it could be something else entirely.

20 Nov 2024

Post Malone Delivers Moving Performance of Song Inspired by His Daughter at 2024 CMA Awards

Post Malone didn’t have much time to chill in his Bridgestone Arena seat at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards in Nashville Wednesday night (Nov. 20). After opening the show 90 minutes earlier with a run through “California Sober” with multiple CMA-winner Chris Stapleton, Posty was back all by his lonesome later in the broadcast for a moving performance of his daddy-daughter dedication song “Yours.”

The sweet closing track from the singer’s debut country album, F-1 Trillion, brought a hush over the star-studded crowd of luminaries in the house as Malone crooned the lyrics about a father’s stern, but gentle warning to the man in his daughter’s life about who will always come first.

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“I don’t know who you are/ But one day, I’m goin’ to/ And it’s gonna break my heart/ When she gives hers to you,” he sang with an ache in his voice as he closed his eyes tight and emoted over gentle accompaniment from an acoustic guitar and fiddle. Wearing jeans, cowboy boots, a blue Nudie-style jacket and cowboy hat, Posty leaned into the heartbreak chorus, “And she might be wearin’ white/ But her first dress, it was pink/ She might be your better half/ Yeah, but she’s my everything/ We’ll both love her forever/ But I loved her long before.”

His voice rising to a cracked crescendo by the end, Malone followed the final “buddy that don’t mean she’s yours” with a seeming shout-out to his 2-year-old daughter, “We love you, DD”; People reported in 2022 that the “DDP” tattoo across the singer’s forehead are his baby girl’s initials. The musician also told the magazine when he released the “Yours” music video in July that the song was inspired by his thoughts about daughter’s future wedding, calling the track “very special to me.”

Malone went into Wednesday night’s event with four nominations — his first ever at the CMAs — including song of the year, single of the year, music video of the year and musical event of the year for his Morgan Wallen collaboration “I Had Some Help.”

20 Nov 2024

Jelly Roll, Brooks & Dunn Take the 2024 CMA Awards to Church With Gospel ‘Believe’ Performance

For a couple minutes there, Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn turned the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville into a church with a spiritual performance of “Believe” at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards Wednesday (Nov. 20).

With Kix Brooks on piano and Ronnie Dunn sharing lead vocals with the “Son of a Sinner” singer, the trio took the stage in front of a full orchestra to perform their version of the track, which appears on the “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” duo’s 2024 LP, Reboot II. With the emotional density of the track increasing in tandem with the power of Dunn and Jelly’s raw voices, the musicians’ peers in the audience started raising their hands and wiping away tears as the spirit took over the room.

“I can’t quote the book/ Don’t know the chapter or the verse,” Jelly sang, trading lines with Dunn on the song’s bridge.

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“You can’t tell me this all ends/ In a slow ride in a hearse,” jumped in Dunn.

As the song faded away, the “Need a Favor” musician — who pointed up at the sky — said into the microphone, “I love you, Lord.”

Hosted this year by Peyton Manning, Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson, the CMAs are back to honor some of the biggest names, songs and moments in country music over the past year. Both Jelly and Brooks & Dunn scored nominations in 2024, with the former competing for entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year, and the latter up for vocal duo of the year.

Jelly was also in the running for album of the year thanks to his 2023 breakout LP, Whitsitt Chapel. The prize ended up going to Cody Johnson’s Leather.

20 Nov 2024

Shaboozey Sings Pensive ‘Highway’ and ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ at 2024 CMA Awards

Shaboozey proved that there are way more colors in his musical palette than “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” when he took the stage at the 2024 Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday (Nov. 20). The singer, whose signature song has straddled the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 weeks so far — snagging the title for the longest-running No. 1 on the chart this decade and second place all time — dipped into his bag for the pensive “Highway,” the latest single from his smash Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going LP.

Seated on a stool on a smoke-shrouded set made up to look like the outside of a country honky tonk, the singer cut a striking figure in jeans and a lime green fringed jacket with bedazzled lapels and accents. “I see dead ends, but we’re still goin’ strong/ We’ve been headin’ down a one-way street, but it feel like it’s wrong/ Movin’ like a freight train, gettin’ tired of chuggin’ alone,” he sang over acoustic guitars and a lonesome fiddle.

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As he leaned into the foreboding chorus — “I might die on the highway/ With all my regrets/ I’ve been driving for miles and miles and miles, I can’t see where it ends” — the singer, who was up for new artist of the year and single of the year for “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” gave the crowd what they came for mid-song when he made a hard turn into his signature hit.

“CMAs can we turn this place into the greatest dive bar in the world tonight?” he asked as the crowd began to clap and sing along, with many jumping to their feet as a group of line dancers filled the stage and the ubiquitous chorus came around. Keith Urban was not immune, as the cameras caught him mouthing along to the line about the party down of Fifth Street.

The celebration just kept amping up, with a cowboy pulling off impressive moves with his lariat and a dancer doing a back round-off as the song came to a close, and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena crowd couldn’t help but raise their glasses to one of the genre’s rising superstars.