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Rihanna may now have some trouble feeling like the only girl in the world — or the only her in the world, for that matter — thanks to Madame Tussauds‘ newest wax figure. As unveiled Wednesday (Sept. 25), the billionaire superstar is the latest celebrity to be cloned for the wax museum’s London location. Striking […]
Keith Urban proved he’s a man of many talents on Tuesday night’s (Sept. 24) Tonight Show, when host Jimmy Fallon asked him to do an impromptu cover of any pop song that came to mind. After recalling how he got a ukulele as a kid from his parents before switching to guitar at 6, Urban recounted his youthful talent show adventures — including a very embarrassing picture of one of his award-winning performances — as well as a short teenage stint in the metal band Fractured Mirror. Given his eclectic musical background and his penchant for reimagining chart-topping hits during shows, Fallon questioned how Urban chooses which pop songs to cover during his concerts.
“Just [a] well-written song,” Urban said of how he chose his live takes on songs by Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. “Taylor songs are well-written, the bones are good, they’re well written, so you can do them in any form. You can do any well-written song in almost any style,” he added. When Fallon asked if any song was stuck in Urban’d head that moment, the singer suggested Sabrina Carpenter’s summer smash “Espresso,” but do it on banjo.
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So, of course, despite seemingly not having tried that combo before, Fallon surprised Urban by pulling a beautiful six-string banjo out from behind his desk, which Urban proceeded to expertly pick as he sang the song’s indelible chorus while the studio audience clapped along in time.
Urban also had a chuckle with Fallon over a prank they pulled on the singer’s wife, actress Nicole Kidman, at the Met Gala in May.
“I was sitting next to Nic, and she had her hand on mine, and she was talking to somebody,” Urban explained. “And Jimmy came over and talked to me, and I say, ‘Jump in the seat, Jimmy, and just, like, slide your hand in under mine, so she’s holding your hand. She won’t know.’” So Fallon — who will never forget that time Kidman revealed in 2015 that she used to have a crush on him and that he missed his shot at a date with her — slid into Urban’s spot for the switcheroo that totally caught The Perfect Couple star off her game.
“So Jimmy slides in, so Nic’s got his hand like this,” Urban said as the host put his hand over the singer’s hand. “This is Nic and him.” Urban then described walking around to the other side of the table and waving at his surprised wife. “And she was like, ‘What’s going on?!’” Fallon said in his best shocked Kidman voice. “She’s like ‘What?! Jimmy, don’t do that!’”
During the chat, Urban also talked about his new record, High, and said he made a completely different LP called 615 that he had ready to go last year before scrapping it entirely because it didn’t feel quite right before returning later in the show to play the High single “Chuck Taylors.”
Watch Urban on the Tonight Show below.
The Nashville Songwriters Association International celebrated the songwriters in Nashville’s music community at the Nashville Songwriter Awards, held at the Ryman Auditorium, on Tuesday (Sept. 24).
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Ashley Gorley was named songwriter of the year, while Jelly Roll was named songwriter-artist of the year. Meanwhile, the Cody Johnson-recorded “The Painter” — written by Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins — was named song of the year.
The evening also included two special honorees, as Alan Jackson was celebrated with the Kris Kristofferson lifetime achievement award, which recognizes a songwriter whose works have made a significant contribution to the American songbook and who has inspired the careers of others. In addition to contributing writing to the bulk of his 26 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits, Jackson has also written songs recorded by artists including Randy Travis and Faith Hill.
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Meanwhile, songwriter-producer Buddy Cannon was feted with the NSAI president’s keystone award, which acknowledges the significant contributions for the betterment of all songwriters. The recipient is chosen by the current NSAI president. Cannon has produced chart-topping hits for Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire, and has helmed several albums recorded by Willie Nelson. As a songwriter, Cannon credits include Vern Gosin’s “Set ‘Em Up Joe,” “Dream of Me” and “I’m Still Crazy,” George Strait’s “I’ve Come to Expect It From You” and “Give It Away,” which earned song of the year honors at the 2007 ACM Awards.
The inaugural Legendary Song Award, which is voted on by NSAI’s professional songwriting members, with the eligible criteria being songs from 1967-1983, was awarded to “Always on My Mind,” written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher and Mark James and recorded by artists including Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley, Nelson and Pet Shop Boys.
Several songwriters and artist-writers, including Jamey Johnson, Chris Young, Amanda Shires and Nate Smith, were on hand to honor this year’s winners. Josh Turner feted Jackson by lending his commanding rumble of a voice to Jackson’s “Midnight in Montgomery,” which Jackson wrote with Don Sampson. Hailey Whitters performed a sterling version of Jackson’s “Livin’ on Love,” while Lee Ann Womack performed Jackson’s “Here in the Real World.”
Each year, the Nashville Songwriter Awards also present the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written,” which are voted on by the professional songwriter members of NSAI. The songs eligible for the honor must have at least one Nashville-based writer and have charted in the top 20 of a Billboard Airplay chart in the genres of country, christian, mainstream top 40 and/or rock between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024. The highest vote-getter is named NSAI’s song of the year.
Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta and Rob Ragosta performed “Need a Favor,” which they co-wrote with Jelly Roll. Ryan Beaver and Jared Keim performed “Pretty Little Poison,” which they wrote with Warren Zeiders. Meanwhile, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet and Brett Tyler performed the Morgan Wallen-Eric Church hit “Man Made a Bar.” Davis, Higgins and Larkins performed their song “The Painter.”
See this year’s “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” winners below:
“Handle On You”
Written by Monty Criswell, Parker McCollum (recorded by: Parker McCollum)
“I’m Not Pretty”
Written by Mackenzie Carpenter, Micah Carpenter, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams (recorded by: Megan Moroney)
“Last Night”
Written by John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Kasher Hindlin (recorded by: Morgan Wallen)
“Man Made a Bar”
Written by Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi, Larry Fleet, Brett Tyler (recorded by: Eric Church and Morgan Wallen)
“Need a Favor”
Written by Jelly Roll, Austin Nivarel, Joe Ragosta, Rob Ragosta (recorded by: Jelly Roll)
“Next Thing You Know”
Written by Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne (recorded by: Jordan Davis)
“Pretty Little Poison”
Written by Ryan Beaver, Jared Keim, Warren Zeiders (recorded by: Warren Zeiders)
“Standing Room Only”
Written by Tommy Cecil, Patrick Murphy, Craig Wiseman (recorded by: Tim McGraw)
“Try That In a Small Town”
Written by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, Neil Thrasher (recorded by: Jason Aldean)
“Where the Wild Things Are”
Written by Randy Montana, Dave Turnbull (recorded by: Luke Combs)
“White Horse”
Written by Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson (recorded by: Chris Stapleton)
Chappell Roan wants you to remember not to believe everything that you read. After receiving some backlash for a recent interview in which she said she doesn’t “feel pressured to endorse someone” in November’s presidential election after lamenting “problems on both sides,” Roan took to TikTok on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to issue a clarification.
“I have encouraged people to use critical thinking skills, learn about what they’re voting for, learn about who they’re voting for, and ask questions and it’s being completely taken out of context, per usual,” she said in the two-and-a-half minute clip that found the typically glammed-up singer addressing the camera in a sweatshirt and sans makeup.
“There is nuance to what I say in interviews and I think it’s important that people use critical thinking. I think it’s important for me to question authority and question world leaders and question myself, question my algorithm, question if some person that tweeted something about someone else is even true,” Roan, 26, continued.
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“It’s important to question because that’s how I think we move forward. This is my third election in voting and the world is changing so rapidly and I want to be part of the generation that changes things for good because we need it. If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and for what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service, this is not virtue signaling, that my actions have always paved the way for my project and the people who really know me. Actions speak louder than words and actions speak louder than an endorsement,” she said, pausing to let that thought sink in.
She then provided what she said was the full context of what she said in a recent profile in The Guardian, in which she was also quoted telling fans, “I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote — vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.” The original comments drew backslash from some on social media who had expected the longtime advocate for trans rights and the LGBTQ+ community to endorse Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — a vocal LGBTQ+ rights advocate — over former President Donald Trump, who has made repeated false claims about gender-affirming surgery for teens and called for removing federal protections based on gender identity.
“‘I have so many issues with our government in every way,’” she said in the TikTok video, reading from her full Guardian quote. “‘There are so many things that I would want to change so feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides and I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote — vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.’”
She continued reading from the article, “The change she wants to see in the US in this election year, she says instantly, is trans rights. They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.’”
“So, hear it from my mouth if you’re still wondering,” Roan concluded. “No, I’m not voting for Trump and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people and I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in and it’s always at the forefront of my project and I’m sorry that you fell for the clickbait.”
In a Rolling Stone interview in August, Roan encouraged her fans to make their voices heard. “Right now, it’s more important than ever to use your vote, and I will do whatever it takes to protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “My ethics and values will always align with that, and that hasn’t changed with a different nominee. I feel lucky to be alive during an incredibly historic time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee.”
The clarification seemed to clear up any question of where Roan stands on the critical issues in the Nov. 5 contest between Harris and twice-impeached convicted felon Trump, though it did not include a specific endorsement of Harris, who has been using Roan’s song “Femininomenon” in her campaign.
Watch Roan’s full statement below.
Official have released the official cause of death for late Crazy Town singer Seth “Shifty Shellshock” Brooks Binzer. According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office on Tuesday (Sept. 24), Binzer, 49, died as a result of the combined effects of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. The manner of death was ruled “accidental.”
The Medical Examiner’s office said Binzer was found unresponsive at a Los Angeles-area home on June 24 and after a postmortem probe, his cause of death was certified on Tuesday. The “Butterfly” singer’s passing as a result of an accidental overdose came after years of substance struggles for the rap-rock group’s frontman.
After Binzer’s death, group manager Howie Hubberman said in a statement, “Seth Binzer, after struggling with addiction and Crazy Town’s rapid success with ‘Butterfly’, never was able to reach out on a more successful level to deal with his addictions. We all tried, but ultimately we all failed, or Shifty would still be here.”
Binzer was born on Aug. 23, 1974 and met Crazy Town co-founder Bret “Epic” Mazur in 1992. The pair fleshed the group out with members Adam Goldstein (better known as DJ AM, who died from an accidental overdose in 2009), guitarist Charles “Rust Epique” Lopez (who died in 2004), guitarist Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli and drummer James “JBJ” Bradley Jr. The band’s Nov. 1999 debut album, The Gift of Game, peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 on the chart dated March 3, 2001, and remained on the tally for 34 weeks.
The LP’s first two singles, “Toxic” and “Darkside,” didn’t chart, but their third effort and best-known track, the uber-catchy “Butterfly,” ran all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, where it held the top spot for two weeks. The band broke up less than a year after the Nov. 2002 release of follow-up album Darkhorse. With a rotating roster of members Crazy Town reformed several times in the years after, but were never able to regain their early career momentum.
In 2023, Crazy Town were booted from a tour with HedPE after an intra-band brawl between Binzer and co-vocalist/guitarist Bobby Reeves.
Leave it to Lady Gaga to give one of the most famous faces in the world a maniacal makeover. On Wednesday morning (Sept. 25), the singer released a tantalizing 80-second preview of one of the songs from her surprise Joker: Folie à Deux companion album, Harlequin. “The Joker,” a rock-edged track that seems to be co-star Joaquin Phoenix’s theme song is accompanied by a video in which Gaga’s Harley Quinn takes a midnight stroll through Paris’ Louvre Museum for a bout of midnight mischief.
“There’s always a joker in the pack/ There’s always a lonely clown,” Gaga sings over the sound of subtle guitar as she meanders by the signature IM Pei-designed glass pyramid and dances down the steps with the Winged Victory of Samothrace sculpture in the background. Wearing a modest prairie dress, low-top Chuck Taylor gym shoes and polka dot tights, her hair colored red, Gaga (as Quinn), sings, “The poor laughing fool falls on his back/And everyone loves when he’s down/There’s always a funny man in the game/ But he’s only funny by mistake,” a succinct summary of tragic anti-hero Jack Oswald White’s killer clown persona.
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With the whole place to herself at night, Gaga/Quinn takes aim with her finger guns and blasts away at priceless artworks as the song’s tempo and intensity rise to match her character’s sinister plans. “And everyone laughs at him, just the same/ They don’t see his lonely heart break,” she sings as her voice reaches a crescendo and Quinn ekes out a crooked smile and wave while taking in the Mona Lisa.
With the electric guitars cranking up and drums kicking in, Gaga wails, “They don’t care as long as there is a jester/ Just a fool, as foolish as he can be/ There’s always a joker/ That’s the rule, but fate is the hand that I see/ The Joker is meeeee!!” as Harley pulls out a tube of lipstick and gives the most iconic painting of a smiling woman a new, Joker-worthy blood red Chelsea grin.
Satisfied with her work, Gaga walks away, her eye makeup starting to melt across her face as the guitars get louder and she repeats “the Joker is me,” while strutting through the darkened Louvre galleries. “There’s always a joker,” Gaga captioned the video preview, along with hashtags for the museum, the movie and the upcoming “Figures du Fou” exhibit at the Louvre. Not for nothing, the august institution is clearly all-in on the movie promo, as it changed the official image on its X account to the Joker-ized Mona Lisa lipstick smile.
The Figures Du Fou exhibition (which translates to Figures of the Fool), opens on Oct. 16 and is described as examining, “the omnipresence of fools in Western art and culture at the end of the Middle Ages, and attempts to parse the meaning of these figures, who would seem to play a key role in the advent of modernity. The fool may make us laugh, with his abundance of frivolous antics, but he also harbours a wealth of hidden facets of an erotic, scatological, tragic or violent nature. Capable of the best and of the worst, the fool entertains, warns or denounces; he turns societal values on their head and may even overthrow the established order.”
In other words, the Joker.
On Tuesday, Gaga surprised Little Monsters when she announced that the Harlequin album will drop on Friday (Sept. 27). On the LP’s cover, Gaga is depicted standing in a shower fully clothed, with the water causing her clown makeup to drip down her face as it does as the end of “The Joker” video.
On the back of a milk carton Gaga appeared to preview the 13-song album’s track list, which features some recognizable standards, including “Get Happy,” “That’s Entertainment,” “Oh When the Saints” and “World on a String.”
Gaga recently revealed that her upcoming, untitled seventh studio album is due out in February, with a lead single slated to drop next month. Joker: Folie à Deux is due in theaters on Oct. 4.
Watch “The Joker” preview below.
Little Mix member Jade Thirlwall has shared her latest solo song “Midnight Cowboy”, co-written with RAYE.
The new song follows JADE’s debut solo single “Angel Of My Dreams” which was released on RCA in July. The track hit No.7 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Charts upon release and has accumulated 40 million streams to date.
“Midnight Cowboy” features a spoken-word interlude by Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa and includes references to former British Vogue editor Edward Enniful in its lyrics: “I’m the editor, call me Mr Enninful”
Speaking about the song, which was written in 2022, Thirlwall said: “Midnight Cowboy” is a sultry, understated bass heavy bop about owning your sexuality and your talents that come with it.”
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Upon the release of “Angel Of My Dreams”, JADE became the final member of Little Mix to embark on a solo career. In 2021 following a decade of performing and touring, the group, composed of Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and formerly Jesy Nelson, called a hiatus to pursue new projects.
The British group have released six studio albums, most recently 2020’s Confetti, and broke various records both in the U.K. and US charts. The band’s 2012 debut album DNA remains the highest chart entry for a debut album by a U.K. girl group on the Billboard 200. Five of their songs have charted at No.1 in the U.K. Singles Charts and nineteen Top 10s.
Speaking to Billboard earlier this year, Thirlwall discussed the decision to go solo after years in a group. “This is essentially me starting again, so I don’t even know what it feels like fame-wise on my own. I’m really grateful I started this journey now at my age, because I’m just a lot more level-headed. I couldn’t be a solo artist 10 years ago.”
She also discussed the origins of her debut solo single, which samples Sandie Shaw’s 1967 song “Puppet on a String”.
“Angel of My Dreams” is about my love-hate relationship with the music industry, which I’ve been a part of for quite some time,” she told Billboard’s Megan Mahar. “I have a lot to say about that, good and bad. ‘Angel of My Dreams’ is like a love letter to the Industry and how obsessed I am with it and how much I love it, but with that comes some trials and tribulations.”
Scottish producer Barry Can’t Swim has become a fixture on the global festival scene over the last year. He’s performed well-received sets at Coachella and Glastonbury following the release of his debut album When Will We Land? in 2023, which landed a Mercury Prize-nomination earlier this summer. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]
Six months ago, 55-year-old Richard Goodall was a janitor in Terre Haute, Indiana, whose soul-filled vocal talent caught the attention of fans on TikTok. On Tuesday (Sept. 24), Goodall was officially crowned the winner of America’s Got Talent season 19.
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“Being who I am, a janitor for 23 years, now singing songs on TV and singing with Journey. I mean, you can’t make that stuff up,” he tells Billboard of his reaction to the finale, where he performed onstage with the iconic rock band’s guitarist Neal Schon. He took home the trophy over his fellow talented acts, including Roni Sagi & Rhythm, a dog-and-human dance duo; Solange Kardinaly, a magician, Sky Elements, a drone light show and more. “This is beyond surreal. I couldn’t dream up everything that’s happened to me. I mean, there’s a bucket list, and then there’s a bucket list that you didn’t even know existed.”
From his audition, Goodall won America’s heart with his everyday man demeanor and down-to-earth perspective on life. Beyond his lovable personality, judge Heidi Klum was so blown away by Goodall’s effortless vocal ability, that she gave him the coveted Golden Buzzer that sent him straight to the live shows. “She just loved hugging my neck and telling me, ‘Well, what a wonderful job you’re doing’ every single time I’ve seen her. She’s an amazing lady,” Goodall said of the model.
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However, winning AGT is just the cherry on the cake of an exciting week for Goodall, who also married his longtime love Angie just before the finale. “It was long overdue. I had proposed to her a very long time ago, and she had the ring and everything. We’re a little bit older, and we didn’t really need a piece of paper to say that we’re married,” he explains. “The thought had just crossed both our minds at the same time that it was just the time to do it. We didn’t videotape it or anything, just a photographer. So, as far as the show goes, it wasn’t about trying to get votes or anything like that. It was because we both decided that it was time that we did it for real.”
While Goodall is openminded to musical opportunities in the future, he says he’s focused being “smart” about the $1 million prize money and going with the flow of his incredible accomplishment. “[Angie and I] are already talking with a financial advisor, making sure that we’re being smart about all this,” he reveals. “We’re not just two kids that are just flying by the seat of our pants. This popularity, this fame thing is new, but we want to be smart about it, and whatever comes in the near future, we can decide together as adults and as a man and wife and figure out what path we want to take.”
For now, Goodall remains an inspiration to people worldwide who have a dream. “When you see me, I just scream regular person. You could see me standing at the bus stop or going to Ralph’s to pick up your groceries and pick out my groceries. I don’t look like something, you know, that’s extraordinary or supermodel-ish,” he says, before concluding with these words of wisdom: “Nothing is out of reach in this world, but you got to work at it. You gotta put the time in if you want it bad enough. Sky’s the limit.”
One of the shooters involved in Young Dolph‘s murder testified on Monday (Sept. 23.)
Cornelius Smith, who pled guilty to murder, took the stand and implicated himself, Justin Johnson, Hernandez “Quett” Govan and Yo Gotti‘s brother Anthony “Big Jook” Mims in the murder of the beloved Memphis rapper.
Smith testified that Govan organized the hit and Mims put up $100K if they were able to get the job done. Smith said he and Johnson were supposed to receive $40,000 each and Govan was going to get $20,000. However, Smith testified that he only received $800, but Big Jook paid $50,000 in lawyer fees after he was caught.
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He also revealed he and Johnson went ahead with the murder on the same day of his daughter’s birthday. When asked why he choose still go through with it, Smith said he needed the money to make his daughter’s day special. “Man, I was trying to make it right for her,” he said. “I ain’t have no money, I’m trying to get some money that day. So I’m trying to make sure my baby girl have a beautiful birthday.”
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Cornelius Smith, one of Young Dolph’s killers, claims he committed the murder on his own daughter’s birthday to raise money for her birthday party. pic.twitter.com/Yt2XL1oLaw— Episodes (@episodesent) September 24, 2024
According to testimony, Smith and Johnson originally planned on carrying out the murder at an annual Thanksgiving turkey drive Dolph organizes, but they spotted his camo-wrapped Corvette and decided to follow him into the parking lot of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies where they allegedly shot Dolph 22 times.
When asked why he decided to tell the truth, Smith said he felt guilty after being arrested and he sobered up, blaming his drug use on the death of his 9-year-old son in 2020. He also said that he wasn’t expecting leniency and was doing talking to clear his conscience. “I’m going to jail anyway. I can get it off my chest,” he said. “It’s my best out to be honest, to be truthful. Why play with these folks? They already know.”
Big Jook was murdered earlier this year in January.
You can watch the testimony here.
