Music
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Elton John made it to the opening night of his new musical in London on Sunday night (Dec. 1), but the pop icon admitted that he could hear the show, but could not see any of it.
According to the Associated Press, John, 77, said he struggled to watch the stage debut of The Devil Wears Prada because, as he told the audience, “I haven’t been able to come to man of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight.”
John added, “So it’s hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight.” The singer wrote the score for the stage musical based on the beloved 2006 movie about an eager young journalist (Anne Hathaway) trying to make her mark at a fashion magazine lorded over by an imperial, demanding editor (Meryl Streep).
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The London production at the Dominion Theatre stars Vanessa Williams as lacerating editor — memorably played by Streep in the film — Miranda Priestly, with music by John and lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and a book by Kate Wetherhead. Sunday’s gala opening night was a fundraiser for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and featured an A-list crowd, including designer Donatella Versace and former Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the rumored inspiration for the Priestly character. The famously exacting fashion figurehead gave a typically tart-tongued assessment of the musical, referring to it as “entertaining.”
John recently told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts that he suffered an eye infection this summer that has turned into a complete loss of vision in his right eye, which has impacted his ability to work on new music.
“I unfortunately lost my eye sight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France,” said John. “It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see. And my left eye is not the greatest.” John teased a new album last year, but now that project is up in the air as the manages his poor vision.
“There’s hope and encouragement that it will be okay,” John said. “But I’m kind of stuck in the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording… I don’t know. Because I can’t see a lyric, for start.” John’s most recent album was 2021’s Record Store Day reissue of a shelved late 1960s album Regimental Sgt. Zippo.
AC/DC will hit the road next spring for the veteran hard rock band’s first U.S. tour in nine years. The 2025 Power Up North American tour is slated to hit 13 stadiums across the nation from April 10 through May 28.
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The outing is slated to kick off on April 10 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN, before moving on to Arlington, TX, Pasadena (CA), Vancouver, Las Vegas, Detroit, Foxborough (MA), Pittsburgh, Landover (MD), Tampa, Nashville and Chicago before winding down on May 28 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.
Tickets for the tour will go on sale on Friday (Dec. 6) here.
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The North American swing in support of the band’s 2020 Power Up album is an extension of the 2024 European leg of the tour, which also filled stadiums. The band’s current lineup includes longtime singer Brian Johnson, founding member and lead guitarist Angus Young, as well as rhythm guitarist Stevie Young (who officially joined the band in 2014, replacing his uncle Malcolm Young, who retired due to dementia), drummer Matt Laug (who joined in 2023, replacing longtime drummer Phil Rudd) and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, who also came on board this year replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams.
Check out the dates for AC/DC’s 2025 North American spring tour below:
April 10 — Minneapolis, MN @ US Bank Stadium
April 14 — Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium
April 18 — Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl
April 22 — Vancouver, BC @ BC Place
April 26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
April 30 — Detroit, MI @ Ford Field
May 4 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium
May 8 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Acrisure Stadium
May 12 — Landover, MD @ Northwest Stadium
May 16 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
May 20 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
May 24 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
May 28 — Cleveland, OH @ Huntington Bank Field
Some of the greatest names in new wave, punk, electronic and alternative rock will come together on June 22 in Milton Keynes, U.K. for the inaugural Forever Now festival.
The one-day even will feature sets from dance minimalists Kraftwerk, as well as “Rebel Yell” singer Billy Idol, punk veterans the Damned, Public Image Ltd and the Jesus & Mary Chain. The bill will also include former Smith guitarist and solo star Johnny Marr, the Psychedelic Furs, The The, the Happy Mondays, Bauhaus singer and solo performer Peter Murphy, Berlin and Theatre of Hate at what a release described as a “cultural phenomenon of the darker underbelly of creativity, from new wave to post-punk, psychedelia and alt-rock.”
The event is a sister act to the U.S.-based Cruel World festival, which will fill the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA on May 17 for a day-long concert featuring New Order, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the Go-Go’s, Devo, OMD, Death Cult, Garbage, Madness, She Wants Revenge, Alison Moyet and more.
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Additional acts slated for the U.K. show include: Chameleons, UKDecay, the Motels and She Wants Revenge. Fans can sign up for a Dec. 5 pre-sale now here; the general onsite will open at 10 a.m. on Dec. 6. In a statement, promoter AEG Presents said, “From the fashionably dark to the fiercely unconventional, all are welcome to revel in a day of unforgettable music and community. This is a festival where nostalgia meets discovery, where new and devoted fans unite, and where forever truly begins now.”
In addition o music on two stages, the U.K. show will feature a third stage, the Echo Chamber, which will be curated by music journalist John Robb and feature interviews, panel discussions and artist conversations.
Check out the announcement below.
Kesha released her latest single, “Delusional,” over the long holiday weekend, gifting fans with new music the same week she delivered a music video for “Joyride.”
“Delusional” — co-written by Kesha, Zhone, and Madison Love, and produced by Zhone — is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and more, and can be purchased on the iTunes Store. Preview the song below.
“I’ve been living the goddamn dream/ My time expensive and you’re just too cheap/ The way I’m single, do it so obscene/ Watch me gettin’ hotter on your cheap TV/ I’m in the heavens, I’m on 11/ You’re like a four, but who’s keepin’ score?/ Live for the heartbreak, it gets my bills paid/ Thank god you walked out that door,” Kesha sings on “Delusional,” leading up to the chorus: “Baby, you’re delusional/ Thinking you could ever find/ Something that’s as beautiful/ Someone with a love like mine.”
On Wednesday, Kesha had teased the release of “Delusional” at the end of her new “Joyride” video, perhaps launching a high-speed journey into a new chapter of her career.
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“Joyride,” which premiered in July, was the first single to be released via the singer’s own Kesha Records.
Kesha’s independent label has a global distribution deal with ADA that gives her full creative control and ownership of her work. ADA is also working together with Crush Music, Kesha’s management company, to oversee marketing and promotion for the pop star’s next album, expected to arrive in 2025. In the announcement of the partnership in September, Kesha noted, “I am excited to take control of my narrative and rewrite my story in the music business.”
Kesha’s record label launch and her newly released tunes follow the settling of a defamation suit filed by Dr. Luke in 2023, which came several years after the singer filed a suit against the producer in 2014 alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
See the “Delusional” single art below. The song is available to listen to now on streaming platforms.
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More than a decade since it first launched, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer has announced the closure of his Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee line.
Kramer announced the news via a message shared to the coffee brand’s website on Friday (Nov. 29), citing “no realistic alternative” to its impending closure.
“To all of Rockin’ & Roastin”s loyal subscribers and my coffee loving fans along the way – It is with deep deep sadness that we have had to make the decision to close the business of Rockin & Roastin’ Coffee,” the message read.
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After the years of working to recover from the devastation to our business from the impact of Covid, significant increases in the cost of doing business and the tragic, painful loss of my wife, Linda, there just is no realistic alternative but to close our proverbial doors.“
Kramer closed the post by noting that all orders received trough Saturday, Nov. 30 would be filled, but no orders will be taken thereafter.
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Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee was first launched by Kramer in 2012 after years spent on the road as a touring musician and being subjected to copious cups of bad coffee.
“I set out to streamline my experiences and become a coffee expert,” he said. “I knew I had to come up with something that would satiate even the most discerning java enthusiast.
“After countless amounts of research (I might be an honorary chemist by now), sampling endless batches and hitting the presses in nearly every continent, my Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee dream was born. The result? Some of the finest, purest kick-ass coffee on the planet, sure to please the palate of any ‘coffee-sseur.’”
In 2013, Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee landed a hotel partnership deal, and in 2016, Joey Kramer‘s Rockin’ & Roastin’ Cafe opened its doors in North Attleboro, Mass., about 40 miles outside Aerosmith‘s birthplace of Boston.
The news comes just months after Aerosmith announced their retirement from touring amid Steven Tyler‘s ongoing vocal cord injury.
“We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side,” the group wrote in a message on social media in early August. “Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible. We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision – as a band of brothers – to retire from the touring stage.”
Aerosmith thanked their crew and team before concluding with a message to their fans. “A final thank you to you – the best fans on planet Earth. Play our music loud, now and always. Dream On. You’ve made our dreams come true,” they wrote.
After a 16 year wait for a new album, The Cure are getting a little prolific.
The veteran post punk outfit have today (Dec. 1) announced the release of a new live album, recorded during their recent London performance.
Fittingly-titled Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV and recorded at the titular venue on Nov. 1, the album captures “a very special night” which served as the launch of their first album in 16 years, Songs of a Lost World.
The show itself was livestreamed to YouTube, with the band performing the entire eight-song album in full on the day of its release. Additionally, the set also featured 23 more songs from their illustrious career, including a five-song suite of tracks from their second record, 1980’s Seventeen Seconds.
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While the full show will remain available to stream on YouTube, the Robert Smith-mixed audio will be releleased on vinyl, CD, and cassette in early 2025. Pre-orders for the record have been made available now, with all profits to be donated to U.K. charity War Child.
The release of The Cure‘s Songs of a Lost World has been a massively successful one for the veteran group. In addition to giving the band their first U.K. No. 1 since 1992’s Wish, the record also made a return to the top of U.S. charts as well.
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It became the band’s first No. 1 on the 33-year-old Top Album Sales chart and the act’s highest-charting effort on the Billboard 200 (No. 4) since 1992. It also bows at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales.
The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across five vinyl variants (which sold a combined 23,000 copies; the band’s best week on vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991), a standard CD, a CD/blu-ray audio package, two cassettes, a standard digital download and a deluxe digital download with five bonus live tracks (exclusive to the band’s webstore).
Oasis aren’t planning on making their upcoming reunion tour a voltaile affair.
One of the biggest reunions in recent musical history is set to take place next year, with Britpop veterans Oasis announcing they’ll be getting back together for the first time since 2009.
Given the the famously-contentious relationship between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, many fans assumed that such a reunion would likely never happen, or could be derailed due to the pair slipping into their old warring ways, which occasionally resulted in onstage physical altercations.
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Famous incidents included a performance at Los Angeles’ Whisky a Go-Go in 1994 which saw Noel quitting the band after his brother hit him with a tambourine. Another incident occurred during the band’s MTV Unplugged recording at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 1996. After Liam pulled out due to a purported case of laryngitis, Noel took on vocal duties – only to be heckled by a well-sounding Liam from the balcony above.
However, while speaking at London’s National Portrait Gallery for the launch of Zoe Law’s Legends exhibition, Noel Gallagher has asserted that the upcoming dates will be far more reserved than history suggests.
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“No, it won’t be as raucous as back in the day, because we’re on the wrong side of 50 now, so we’re too old,” he said, as per The Sun. “We’re too old to give a s**t now, so there won’t be any fallouts, there won’t be any fighting. It’s a lap of honour for the band.”
Despite the siblings’ infamous reputation in the public eye, Noel Gallagher also took the chance to note that the pair’s mother “couldn’t give a s**t” about their reunion. “My mum never gave a s**t, never,” he added. “You know what Irish mums are like?”
Oasis’ upcoming Live ’25 Tour reunion tour is set to launch in July next year, with dates scheduled for the U.K., North America, Asia, Australia, and South America.
Despite the level of international excitement the reunion has inspired, Oasis’ upcoming tour dates have also made headlines for the wrong reasons, namely due to the usage of the controversial dynamic pricing practice.
Backlash from U.K fans was so intense that upon the announcement of their U.S tour dates, Oasis issued a statement noting the practice would not be used for their North American dates.
“It is widely accepted that dynamic pricing remains a useful tool to combat ticket touting and keep prices for a significant proportion of fans lower than the market rate and thus more affordable,” they said in a statement.
“But, when unprecedented ticket demand (where the entire tour could be sold many times over at the moment tickets go on sale) is combined with technology that cannot cope with that demand, it becomes less effective and can lead to an unacceptable experience for fans.”
Khalid and Normani are back together with a new song, “Personal,” six years after having a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit with “Love Lies.”
The pair’s fresh collab, first announced by Khalid on social media, will be released this Friday (Dec. 6).
“The door is open/ You don’t even need a key/ You’ve been pushing on me so relentlessly,” Normani sings on the track, which Khalid teased on Instagram on Sunday (Dec. 1). “12/6,” he captioned the “Personal” clip.
The Insta video is filmed on a photo shoot set, with the duo posing in front of a green backdrop. They take a break to interact with the camera, bringing the genuine vibes of the track to life.
The clip has a candid feel, with a smiling Khalid lip-syncing along to their recording: “So sensual and/ You know I can never stay mad at her,” just before turning the shot to Normani, who happens to be improvising some flawless moves to the single.
“Put your body on my body/ Get personal,” they sing together to the track that welcomes a relationship getting physical.
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‘Tis the cozy season, and the timing feels just right for “Personal,” their second duet. It follows the summer release of Normani’s debut album, Dopamine, and Khalid’s third studio album, Sincere.
Six years ago, Normani told Billboard that Khalid is “one of my closest friends.” Of “Love Lies” — which was not only a top 10 hit on the all-genre Hot 100 in 2018, but also reached No. 1 on the Pop Songs airplay chart — she said, “We knew that the song felt good, but we didn’t necessarily know… you hope for the best, but you really don’t know. So it’s just really cool to see it soaring and spreading its wings and doing so amazing and connecting with so many people.”
Watch Khalid and Normani’s cute teaser for “Personal” below. The song will be available on music streaming services on Dec. 6.
Camila Cabello is loving the new Wicked movie. On Saturday (Nov. 30), the 27-year-old pop star took to social media to share her excitement about the live-action adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. “You were brilliant,” Cabello captioned a black-and-white video of herself on her […]
Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 7), marking his fifth chart-topper, all earned consecutively. It launches with 319,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 28, according to Luminate — the year’s sixth-largest debut frame. The set’s opening week was largely driven by streaming activity, and the 12-song effort launches with 2024’s third-biggest streaming week for any album. GNX arrived with no warning on Nov. 22 around noon ET.
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Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, the Wicked film soundtrack enters at No. 2, notching the highest debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever. The new Wicked film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is based on the long-running stage musical of the same name, which has played on Broadway in New York since 2003.
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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 7, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Dec. 3). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of GNX’s 319,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 285,000 (equaling 379.72 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 32,000 (it was only available as a widely available standard digital download, in both a clean and explicit edition; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), and TEA units comprise 2,000.
GNX scores 2024’s sixth-largest opening week, by equivalent album units, among all albums. Further, with 379.72 million on-demand official streams generated by its songs, the album yields the year’s biggest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album. Further, among all albums, it logs the year’s second-biggest debut streaming week, and the year’s third-largest streaming week overall. (The year’s two bigger streaming weeks were the first and second weeks of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, with 891.37 and 428.54 million, respectively.)
Lamar previously led the Billboard 200 with Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), DAMN. (2017), Untitled Unmastered (2016) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). Earlier in 2024, he nabbed a pair of No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with his solo cut “Not Like Us” (in May), shortly after he led the list with the co-billed collaboration “Like That” (in April) with Future and Metro Boomin. Neither song is included on GNX.
GNX precedes Lamar headlining turn at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. He was announced as the star act of the festivities on Sept. 8. It will mark his second appearance at the halftime show, following the all-star 2022 hip-hop showcase with Dr. Dre at the helm.
The Wicked film soundtrack takes a bow at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut ever by a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical.
The last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago danced in at No. 4 — over 21 years ago, on the Feb. 1, 2003 chart — on its way to a No. 2 peak a week later. Setting aside debut ranks, the last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to reach the top two was Les Miserables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the Jan. 19, 2013-dated chart. (It debuted at No. 33, and then moved to No. 2 and No. 1 in its second and third weeks.)
Among all soundtracks in 2024, Wicked is the second soundtrack to reach the top 10 for the first time this year, and the highest charting, following Twisters (No. 7 peak) in August.
Wicked launches with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 28 — the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week (Oct. 17, 2018, chart; down from its 162,000 bow). Wicked also logs the biggest week for any stage-to-screen musical soundtrack since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014.
Of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000 (it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales, SEA units comprise 52,000 (equaling 67.66 million on-demand official streams of the album’s tracks; it’s No. 4 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 2,000. With 67.66 million streams generated by its songs, Wicked has 2024’s biggest streaming week for any soundtrack, and the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.
Wicked’s first-week album sales score the largest sales week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since A Star Is Born’s second week (86,000). Wicked has the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls opened with 92,000 (Dec. 23, 2006 chart). The last time a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack sold more than Wicked this past week was when Les Miserables reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 in its third chart week (Jan. 19, 2013, chart).
Wicked’s opening week sales were bolstered by its availability across six vinyl variants (including a signed edition, autographed by Erivo and Grande), four CD variants (including a signed edition) and a standard digital download album.
Sabrina Carpenter‘s chart-topping Short n’ Sweet rises 5-3 on the Billboard 200 (69,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Tyler, The Creator’s former No. 1 CHROMAKOPIA falls 3-4 (61,000; down 24%) and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft rounds out the top five, rising 9-5 with 50,000 (up 2%).
Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us steps 8-6 (48,000 equivalent album units; down 5%); Rauw Alejandro’s Cosa Nuestra falls 6-7 (44,000; down 35% in its second week); Swift’s former leader The Tortured Poets Department climbs 11-8 (43,000; up 1%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time ascends 12-9 (42,000; up 2%); and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a non-mover at No. 10 (42,000; down 2%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.