Music News

04 Sep 2024

Jelly Roll Shows Off His ‘Redemption Chain’ Featuring Diamond-Encrusted Jail Key & Handcuffs

Anyone who has heard a Jelly Roll song is familiar with the themes of struggles and redemption that flow through the lyrics of tracks such as “Halfway to Hell” and “Son of a Sinner,” and his fans are well aware of the former Billboard cover star‘s own redemption story of going from an incarcerated teen to Grammy-nominated, CMA Award-winning country star.

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So recently, Jelly Roll had some special jewelry made that symbolizes his journey. Having spent an ample amount of time in the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility in Tennessee, Jelly Roll was gifted a symbolic key to the jail by the Davidson County Sheriff. He commemorated the meaning behind the key by getting a replica attached to a handcuffs chain necklace and encrusted with 150 carats of diamonds. Each of the cuffs has a small plaque noting each time Jelly Roll had been behind bars.

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“The Nashville, Tenn., Davidson County sheriff gave me a key to the jail for all the work I do since I got out of there,” Jelly Roll said in the video shared by jewelry company Icebox, who designed the iced-out chain. “So I ended up with a key to the same jail that I was in.”

The company delivered the new bling to Jelly Roll ahead of the opening night of his headlining Beautifully Broken Tour, which launched Aug. 27 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“This is the redemption chain, baby, that’s what we’re calling this,” Jelly Roll said in the video. “A set of handcuffs for every time I’ve been in handcuffs.”

Watch the video below:

04 Sep 2024

Halsey Reveals ‘The Great Impersonator’ Release Date After Fans Uncover Main Album Cover

Halsey has dropped the curtain on new album The Great Impersonator‘s release date and main album cover after sending fans on a scavenger hunt across the world.

The 29-year-old singer shared the details on X Wednesday (Sept. 4), revealing that the project — which marks her fifth studio LP — is set to arrive Oct. 25. “I made this record in the space between life and death,” Halsey wrote. “And it feels like I’ve waited an eternity for you to have it. I’ll wait a bit longer. I’ve waited a decade, already.”

The three-time Grammy nominee also shared the album’s main cover art, which features a black-and-white close-up of them with rosy cheeks and a star-shaped sticker boasting its title on their forehead. “Step right up, ladies and gentlemen,” the sticker’s fine print reads. “Behold the marvel of a century. Witness the uncanny ability of a woman who can become anyone, anything your heart desires.”

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Halsey’s post comes in response to fans tracking down the mystery location of one of five time capsules hidden in cities all over the world based on clues posted by the “Closer” singer, the first of which they found at an International Magic store in London. Planted somewhere in New York, Toronto, Los Angeles and Sydney, the next four capsules will be themed around different decades and reveal variants of The Great Impersonator‘s cover.

“You must work together, as the next city’s clues will not be revealed until the previous city is found,” the About-Face Beauty founder cautioned when first announcing the scavenger hunt Tuesday (Sept. 3). “Don’t blink … or you’ll miss it.”

The Great Impersonator will mark Halsey’s first album since 2021’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. So far, they’ve released a few singles ahead of the new record: “The End,” “Lucky” and “Lonely Is the Muse.” On Friday (Sept. 6), a fourth single — titled “Ego” — is set to arrive.

See Halsey’s tweet and photos from the first mystery location below.

04 Sep 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Says It’s ‘Irresponsible’ to Not Vote When Trump Is on the Ballot: ‘Why Even Aid Him?’

As the self-proclaimed Hot Girl Coach, Megan Thee Stallion is ready to see a strong Black woman take the wheel as President of the United States.

And in her cover story with Billboard published Wednesday (Sept. 4), the 29-year-old rapper emphasizes that people need to get out and vote in order for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to make it happen. “I don’t like it when I see people saying, ‘I’m not voting. F–k it,’” Meg shares. “What the f–k are you talking about? You’re going to complain about what you don’t like but you’re not going to help the cause?”

“I think that’s very irresponsible because if you don’t like what Trump has going on, why even aid in him being the president again?” she adds.

The Grammy winner has been one of the most vocal musicians supporting Harris’ campaign against Republican nominee Donald Trump, performing at the the Democrat’s July rally in Atlanta and posting TikTok videos with her afterward. Later, during her headlining set at Lollapalooza in August, Meg hyped up Harris on stage. “Kamala said she wants a ceasefire,” she told her crowd. “Kamala said she supports women’s rights. And she said she’s tired of those high-ass gas prices … It’s Hotties for Harris, goddammit!”

While speaking to Billboard, the Houston Hottie also opens up about feeling inspired by the possibility of Harris becoming the first woman and second Black person — after Barack Obama — to ever be elected POTUS. “To be alive in a lifetime where a Black woman or a woman at all could be the president, I feel so blessed,” she says. This is what the future is about. We really about to get a strong, Black female in there. I feel like America needed a woman to come in here and put a woman’s touch on it.”

“It’s been going a little crazy lately, and we need somebody to put their foot down,” she adds. “I feel like Kamala, she gon’ do that.”

04 Sep 2024

Green Day Giving Away Custom ‘Holiday’ Video Convertible In Wheels For Wishes Sweepstakes

Green Day are about to make a wish — or hundreds of wishes — come true thanks to their latest collaboration with Wheels For Wishes. The charitable organization that raises money to help children via the donation of used vehicles has teamed up with Green day on their sold-out Saviors stadium tour by announcing a sweepstakes for the chance to win the 1968 Mercury Monterey convertible featured in the veteran band’s “Holiday” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” videos.

“Thanks to Green Day and their immense generosity, Wheels For Wishes will be able to grant hundreds of new wishes through Make-A-Wish chapters across the country,” said Randy Heiligman, co-founder/CEO of National Fundraising Management. “We want to thank Green Day and Propeller for helping us spread awareness of this sweepstakes and for giving up their iconic 1968 Mercury Monterey Convertible in the name of helping the ‘wish’ kids of Make-A-Wish.”

Wheels For Wishes is partnering with social impact group Propeller on the sweepstakes, which is the second time the band has worked with Wheels For Wishes after donating their restored Bookmobile tour bus in 2017. According to a release, as of July 2024, Wheels For Wishes has donated more than $114 million to Make-A-Wish kids, accounting for 13,672 wishes granted. The Propeller site notes that the car features custom upholstery, shift knobs and detailed interior, as well as the iconic heart-grenade hood ornament and custom BRKN DRM vanity plates.

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Interested bidders can visit the Propeller site for details, or to submit their entries; entries are 10 for $1, with the deadline for entries running out just before midnight on Nov. 6 for the Nov. 7 sweepstakes drawing. Entrants must be 18-year-old and show proof of insurance and a valid driver’s license. No purchase is necessary to win the vehicle with the approximate retail value of $45,000, and a purchase or donation will not improve odds of winning.

Check out the convertible in the “Holiday” video below.

04 Sep 2024

Katy Perry Explains Why She Worked With Dr. Luke After ‘Woman’s World’ Controversy

Katy Perry is finally talking about it. After going months without addressing her controversial decision to work with Dr. Luke on her comeback single “Woman’s World,” which dropped in July, the 39-year-old pop star opened up about her reasons for working with the producer Kesha accused of sexual assault in 2014 on the latest episode of Call Her Daddy.

In the podcast episode posted Wednesday (Sept 4), Perry acknowledged that the collaboration “started a lot of conversations.”

“He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with,” she continued of Dr. Luke, who helped craft “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream” and several more of her biggest hits over the years. “But the reality is, it comes from me. The truth is, I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis, and he was one of the people to help facilitate all that. One of the writers, one of the producers.”

“I am speaking from my own experience,” Perry added. “When I speak about ‘Woman’s World,’ I speak about feeling so empowered now as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life … I’m still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that. That’s where I’m speaking from. So I created all of this with several different collaborators, people that I’ve collaborated with from the past, from the Teenage Dream era, all of that.”

Word that the “Roar” singer had enlisted Dr. Luke for “Woman’s World” emerged shortly before the singer dropped, leading many to criticize Perry for doing so in spite of the producer’s nine-year legal battle with Kesha. After the “Tik Tok” artist accused the Kemosabe Records founder of drugging and raping her at a 2005 party, which he strongly denied, he countered with a defamation lawsuit that the two parties eventually settled in 2023.

Other critics also pointed out the irony of “Woman’s World” — which Perry branded as an ode to female empowerment — being produced and written by a team of mostly men, with a male director helming its music video. Luke also worked on the singer’s followup single “Lifetimes,” which dropped Aug. 8.

The interview comes a few weeks ahead of Perry’s new album, 143, which is set to arrive Sept. 20. Her conversation with Cooper also spanned the American Idol alum’s relationship with husband Orlando Bloom and how they’re raising their 4-year-old daughter, Daisy. At one point, Perry apologized to parents of kids who innocently sang along to her cheeky track “Peacock” in 2010 — because now she’s going through the same thing with her own child.

“Even now my daughter sings the song ‘Peacock’ — dancing around the house — that I wrote as a double-entendre, funny song about dicks,” Perry said, laughing. “And I’m like, ‘Don’t sing that song!’ My karma has now served me.”

Listen to Perry’s episode of Call Her Daddy below.

04 Sep 2024

Diplo Dips His Cup For a Glacial Water Taste Test, Proclaims It ‘Ludacris’

Diplo isn’t afraid to take a taste on the wild side. After Ludacris gained traction last month for checking a major item off his bucket list when he sampled some pure Alaskan glacial water, Diplo figured if it’s good enough for Luda, it’s good enough for me.

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In a 20-second video posted on Tuesday night (Sept. 3) the DJ/producer is seen bundled up and kneeling on a glacier as a he dips a silver cup into the clear blue water in an undisclosed location. “Gonna try this glacier water,” he narrates as he dunks his glass in for a healthy fill-up. “Oh that’s good boy, bottoms up!”

The clip, which features a text overlay reading “this glacier water is ludacris,” also has the disclaimer: “it’s clean everyone, it’s literally clear.”

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The stunt came a few weeks after Ludacris drew concern, and some condemnation, following his recent trip to Alaska, which included a sip of Alaskan glacial water. “Half of the world’s glaciers are here in Alaska. I couldn’t come here and just have a show. You know I got a bucket list — or as I like to call it the f— it list,” Luda said in his video. ” I’ve never tasted fresh glacial water in my life and this is a first. Here we go.”

After taking his slug, Luda ended the video with a cliffhanger in which he said, “Oh my God.” Commenters noted that glacier water can reportedly contain some dangerous bacteria, parasites and viruses, which are invisible to the eye and can cause serious health issues if ingested without purification.

Luda gave an update a few days later, assuring fans that as a “water snob” he could definitively say it was the, “best tasting water I’ve ever had in my life and as I drank it I felt like every cell in my human body was being hydrated and rejuvenated at the same damn time… Listen man, I’m here. I feel like Superman.”

Commenters on Diplo’s post had similar concerns, including: “Hows it clean if everyone walks with dirty boots?,” “Diplo about to be dumplo for 2-5 weeks,” “But what if a polar bear just dipped his b–ls in it?” and “how’s the diarrhea bud?”

Check out Diplo’s video below.

04 Sep 2024

Why & How Manager Bruce Kalmick Bows Wyatt Road Records: Exclusive

Artist manager Bruce Kalmick has launched independent record label Wyatt Road Records in partnership with Firebird, which will provide distribution and label services. 

The new label, which is owned solely by the Austin, Texas-based Kalmick,  will cater to what he calls “contemporary western rock & roll artists.” He coined the term, he explains, as he tried to “nail down what this new explosion of country music should be called to the everyday listener. I think it properly captures the country, southern rock, alternative, folk, indie, and bad-assery of this very vague genre.”

The label’s initial artists include several of his WHY & HOW management clients, including Whiskey Myers, Angel White and Southall, with plans to also sign artists not affiliated with the management company. Promotions and artist development label veteran Laura Bender will oversee daily operation of the label out of Nashville. 

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The majority of artists on Wyatt Road will retain partial ownership of their masters with levers to full ownership. “The more seasoned and successful an artist is, the more we believe they should own their masters,” Kalmick tells Billboard. “A band like Whiskey Myers have always owned their masters and that won’t change with Wyatt Road. But new developing artists, like Angel White, will start their career with a more traditional arrangement, yet with more upside and an easier path to gaining full ownership.” 

Bruce Kalmick

Bruce Kalmick

Frank Dipinto

Artists on the roster will also have the opportunity to profit share in streaming royalties once they have hit certain milestones, Kalmick says. “The goal is to ensure all Wyatt Road artists get at least a 50/50 partnership, but we will look towards more favorable splits for the artist. We want to push for nothing short of endless blue sky when it comes to what the artists can earn off consumption of their work.”

Kalmick, whose management roster also includes Chase Rice, Danielle Bradbery and Echosmith, says he formed the label because he feels “the current label system is broken, where shareholders matter more than the artists and the music they put out into the world,” he says. “This conflict of interests has effectively removed the essential work needed to truly develop artists and cultivate new acts. With a pioneering approach and forward thinking partnership with Firebird, we are able to put the artists first every step of the way.”

WHY & HOW was already in business with Firebird. In 2022, Firebird acquired a stake in Coran Capshaw’s Red Light Management. Then in May 2023, WHY & HOW partnered with Red Light, with all 20 WHY&HOW staff members in marketing, creative and brand endorsements joining Red Light Management’s operations. 

“Deciding to partner with Firebird was an easy decision because we both share the same ideology that artists should regain their independence, and this creates a stronger tie to streaming success and their bank accounts,” Kalmick says. “It’s our belief that extra revenues will be used to further build their career on the road. The cost to break a band all over the world is higher than ever, so we are finding ways to put the earnings back in their accounts and push them to break in new territories like New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and beyond.”

“Firebird Music is excited to expand our relationship with Bruce Kalmick by partnering on Wyatt Road Records,” Kenny Weagly, Firebird vp and head of artist & label service, said in a statement. “This allows us a greater opportunity to apply our complimentary artist-first mentality, global distribution, recorded music muscle, and wide array of internal resources via Firebird Label Services.”

The first release from Wyatt Road Records, White’s Ghost of the West: Volume 1, is out now. 

04 Sep 2024

The Weeknd Reveals Title of Final Album in ‘After Hours/Dawn FM’ Trilogy

The Weeknd is gearing up for the final chapter in his After Hours trilogy. The singer (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye) revealed the name of the third album in the series on Wednesday (Sept. 4) in a dramatic video setting up the denouement of his musical story arc.

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Though Hurry Up Tomorrow doesn’t currently have an official release date yet, Tesfaye set up the follow-up to After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022) with yet another elaborate backstory filled with intrigue and vague menace.

“Yesterday was fourteen years ago… We held our breath, falling into a shimmering sea in the after hours of the night,” began the scroll in an Instagram video backed by spare, ominous instrumental music that teased his next era via phrases from earlier songs.

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“Attempted to cleanse the wounds with melodies and lights, a bulletproof bandage to shield what lies beneath,” he continued. “In a place where the seasons never changed, where time ceased to exist. But therein lays the problem. Today has felt like an endless spin, I keep distorting the truth, immune to the dizziness, numb to the nausea. What lies beneath — screams in silence.”

The spooky story continued with more allusions to the songs that came before, with the crawl adding, “I look in the mirror and feel both old and new, stuck in limbo and unable to move. I still haven’t faced myself. More songs could help, but what do I have left to say? Woe is me in my gilded cage, right? The very thing that once made me invincible failed me on the world stage. A new trauma surfaced, opening floodgates… when today ends, I’ll discover who I am.”

According to a press release announcing the album, it represents “the creative apex of the project, serving as the third and final chapter crafted with existential and self-referential themes as seen with the latest visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.”

Last month, Tesfaye posted a cryptic three-minute CGI-heavy teaser featuring a digitally animated toddler crawling through a creepy mansion. A previous teaser from July featured the vague promise that “There are Three Chapters in this Tale” along with a trailer in which a digital toddler runs through a field and eludes danger before ascending to heaven.

The singer is performing a special one-off concert at Estádio Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil on Saturday (Sept. 7) which will be livestreamed on YouTube; 10% of the proceeds from all merch sales at the show and online will go to the Brazilian Soul Fund of BrazilFoundation, which supports communities affected by natural disasters and economic hardship in southern Brazil.

Tesfaye is also about to open the “Halloween Horror Nights” experience at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, “The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy,” which opens on Thursday (Sept. 5) and runs through Nov. 3.

Check out the preview below.

04 Sep 2024

Katy Perry Reveals Which Household Chores a Partner Can Do That Get Her Seriously Hot and Bothered

There’s simply no polite way to say the following: according to Katy Perry, there are a few household chores her partners, such as, say, fiancé actor Orlando Bloom, can do around the house that will result in specific, enthusiastic, sexual acts.

Perhaps it’s best to just let Perry explain, as she did in NSFW language in a preview of her upcoming appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast. “If I come downstairs and the kitchen is clean, and you’ve done all the dishes and closed all the pantry doors, you better be ready to get your d–k sucked,” Perry said emphatically.

“That is my love language! I don’t need a red Ferrari … I can buy a red Ferrari,” the 39-year-old singer screamed to Cooper’s delight. “Just do the f–king dishes! I will suck your d–k! It’s that easy.” Perry and Bloom, 47, have been dating since 2016 and they are the parents of four-year-old daughter Daisy Dove.

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Perry, who was previously married to right-wing British comedian Russell Brand (2010-2023) and dated guitarist John Mayer for two years (2012-2014), also told Cooper that she’s “no longer attracted to narcissist,” without naming names. “Anyone that is constantly the goalpost or pulling the rug out from you emotionally… not it,” Perry said of her dating red flags. “Someone that says they know you better than you know yourself. Someone that just won’t help.”

In the preview for the full episode which drops on Wednesday (Sept. 4) Perry also revealed that during her conservative upbringing as the daughter of Pentecostal pastors she was forbidden from trick or treating, eating Lucky Charms cereal — because the idea of luck is “derivative from Lucifer” — or even allowed to acknowledge the opposite sex growing up.

Perry will be front and center next week when she receives the Video Vanguard Award and performs at the 2024 MTV VMAs on Sept. 11. The singer’s upcoming sixth major label studio album, 143, is due out on Sept. 20.

Watch the preview of Perry on Call Her Daddy below.

04 Sep 2024

Queen Guitarist Brian May Reveals Recent Minor Stroke Left One Arm Frozen: ‘The Good News Is I Can Play Guitar’

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed that he recently suffered a minor stroke that resulted in damage to his left arm. The 77-year-old rock icon described a “health hiccup” last week that made him temporarily unable to control the hand he uses to pick out chords on his guitar, even as he assured his fans that he’s on the mend.

“I think good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days and I say this because it was in some doubt because that little Health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke and all of a sudden — out of the blue – I didn’t have any control over this arm so was a little scary,” May said in a video posted on his website in which he wiggled his left hand as proof that he’s getting better.

“I have to say I had the most  fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital where I went blue lights flashing… the lot. Very exciting!!,” he added. May said he initially didn’t want to say anything because, “I really don’t want sympathy. PLEASE DON’T DO THAT cuz it’ll clutter up my inbox and I hate that.”

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The good news, he said, is that he’s okay now and that he’s listening to his doctors, who have “grounded” him, which means no driving, no flying and no raising his heart rate too high.

The health update came as May is busy promoting his recently aired new documentary, Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me, which chronicles his decades long campaign to end the UK’s annual culling of badgers. According to the Guardian, around 200,000 badgers have been killed over the past decade in the UK over fears that the badgers are responsible for the spread of bovine tuberculosis, which results in the slaughter of around 20,000 infected cattle per year.

Back in 2020, May revealed a “near death” experience he had after suffering a heart attack.

See May’s video below.