Music

15 Mar 2023

The Cure’s Robert Smith Says Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan System Is ‘Far From Perfect’ as N. American Shows Go on Sale

Robert Smith is explaining the serious measures The Cure is taking to avoid outrageous ticket prices for their upcoming North American tour. In a shot across the bow at re-sellers, when the tickets for the 30-date run of Shows of a Lost World Tour went on sale Wednesday morning (March 15) to those who pre-registered using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system, will be non-transferrable in order to minimize resale and keep prices at face value.

The singer went on a tweet spree on Tuesday (March 14) in which he explicitly described how and why the veteran goth rockers decided to go their own way on this outing. “TM HAVE JUST TOLD ME ‘ALL tickets for The Cure Shows Of A Lost World Tour will be made available during tomorrow’s Verified Fan Sale,’” Smith tweeted, adding, “SEEMS THE RESPONSE TO REGISTRATION HAS BEEN PRETTY OVERWHELMING – THANKS! HOWEVER, I REALISE THERE ARE PROBLEMS, SOME MORE REAL THAN OTHERS…”

He then noted that the group had “final say” in all the ticket pricing for the tour, with Smith determined that those prices would not be “INSTANTLY AND HORRIBLY DISTORTED BY RESALE.” Smith referred to touts as being part of a “sophisticated business” expert at acquiring tickets and reselling them on marketplaces such as Vivid, Stubhub and Seatgeek.

Smith also revealed that the Cure were told that TM’s Verified Fan platform “has been used more than 400 times to qualify buyers and reduced the % of tickets on the secondary market” and that using VF has regularly reduced scalping by 80%, with less than 5% of tickets typically ending up on the secondary market.

By making the tickets non-transferable, scalpers will be unable to purchase tickets and then resell them for a profit since the original owner will have to be present to enter the venue. For fans who purchase tickets but can’t make it to the event, they will be able to resell the ticket on a face-value ticket exchange.

“WE WERE CONVINCED THAT TICKETMASTER’S ‘Verified Fan Page’ AND ‘Face Value Ticket Exchange’ IDEAS COULD HELP US FIGHT THE SCALPERS,” Smith wrote. “(WE DIDN’T AGREE TO THE ‘DYNAMIC PRICING’ / ‘PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET’ THING… BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION!).”

When the band announced the world tour earlier this week, they established that “there will be no ‘Platinum’ or ‘Dynamically Priced’ tickets on this tour,” which includes stops at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Moody Center in Austin, Madison Square Garden in New York and State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The singer also tweeted that though TM’s Verified Fan is a “far from perfect system,” the reality is that if there aren’t enough tickets on sale, some fans will miss out no matter what system the Cure use. “At least this one tries to get tickets into the hands of fans at a fair price,” he said. In the final comment in the Twitter run, Smith noted he’d been told that TM will continued to sell tickets to Verified users “until there are no more tickets to sell.”

The Cure’s efforts to combat resale ticketing comes after a season of in-demand tours facing astronomical price increases due to dynamic ticketing and scalpers. Ticketmaster is currently facing government inquiries into its handling of the disastrous Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale, which left many fans outraged when service delays and website crashes (caused in part by bots) prevented many of them from securing tickets.

See Smith’s tweets below.

15 Mar 2023

Just Blaze Reveals Michael Jackson Was Originally on Jay-Z’s ‘Girls, Girls, Girls (Remix)’

In the early 2000s, Michael Jackson and Jay-Z had some memorable moments together. The King of Pop popped up at Jay-Z’s headlining set at Hot 97’s Summer Jam concert in 2001, and the Brooklyn MC even made a cameo on Jackson’s “You Rock My World (Remix).” In a new interview with Noah Callahan-Bever for Bloomberg’s Idea Generation, longtime Roc-A-Fella producer Just Blaze added more tales to their storied relationship by revealing that Jackson contributed to the once-fabled “Girls, Girls, Girls (Remix).”

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Produced by Blaze, the single originated from Jay-Z’s 2001 opus, The Blueprint, and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During quarantine, Blaze unearthed rare vocals from the Thriller legend on his own computer and realized that the urban legend of Jackson teaming up with Hov was indeed fact.

“So Michael Jackson is on the ‘Girls, Girls, Girls remix’ — the A version,” begins Blaze. “And I never knew that. I don’t know if I didn’t go to the studio that day. I thought it was an urban legend or something that Jay said like in jest one day or just was some kind of a myth.

He continues: “So one day I was looking for something on the server and I find this straight folder that says ‘MJ vocals.’ And I’m like, ‘MJ — don’t that mean Michael Jackson — oh whatever.’ And I’m thinking it’s probably stuff from — remember Jay had or remember they had the ‘[You] Rock My World’ — so I’m thinking it’s, like, takes from that session. And I’m like, ‘I don’t think they recorded this at Baseline, but let me take a listen and see what it is.’ And I realize as I’m listening to it it’s him singing on ‘Girls, Girls, Girls.’ And I’m like … ‘It’s true.’ The last 20 years, I just found it during quarantine. So all these years, I’ve never known it was a real thing. And turns out the files had been sitting downstairs this entire time.”

Watch Blaze’s full interview with Idea Generation below.

15 Mar 2023

Yo La Tengo Dress in Drag at Nashville Show to Protest Tennessee’s Law Restricting Drag Performances

Yo La Tengo made a statement during the second half of their show at The Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday night (March 14). In a rebuke of Gov. Bill Lee’s recent signing of a bill that puts restrictions on drag performances in public, the New Jersey trio’s male members, singer/ guitarist Ira Kaplan and bassist James McNew, came out after a short intermission dressed in women’s clothing.

According to the Tennessean, Kaplan wore makeup, a red dress and along black wig, while McNew donned a shawl and a sun hat, while drummer Georgia Hubley kept her same outfit. The paper said the band did not mention Lee or the controversial new law, which prohibits, “adult-oriented” entertainment, including “male and female impersonators” on public property, as well as limiting such entertainment to age-restricted venues.

And while they didn’t specifically explain their action, in a statement (via Pitchfork), said, “What we did last night coldn’t have been clearer, and requires no further comment.”

The law, which takes effect on April 1, is among a flurry of new laws being passed by conservative politicians across the country taking aim at the LGBTQ community, including a number that seek to deny gender-affirming health care to transgender children; Lee also signed a total ban on such care the same day as the drag bill. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Tennessee has passed more anti-LGBTQ laws than any other state in the U.S.

Cyndi Lauper and The B-52s also recently joined the rising chorus of voices speaking out against new laws being passed by Republicans targeting the trans community and seeking to ban drag artists.

“Equality for everybody, or nobody’s really equal,” longtime LGBTQ alley Lauper told ITK according to The Hill. “This is how Hitler started. just weeding everybody out.” Hitler’s Nazi Germany tagged gay people as “enemies of the state” and many were jailed or killed in concentration camps and Lauper said it’s imperative that we keep “fighting for civil rights.”

In a sharply worded statement issued on Wednesday (March 8), the B-52’s — also longtime advocates for LBGTQ causes — wrote, “We, The B-52’s, are deeply concerned about the numerous new bills that promote transphobia and discrimination against transgender individuals and drag artists, which have been introduced in the United States. We strongly denounce these bills and stand in solidarity with out LGBTQ+ community.”

Paramore singer Hayley Williams, a native of Tennessee, criticized her state’s governor in an Instagram story this week, writing, “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills. We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them. Drag is not a crime. Gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.”

Williams will perform at the March 20 Love Rising benefit show supporting Tennessee-based LGBTQ organizations that will also feature Maren Morris, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Brittany Howard, Julien Baker and many more.

Check out photos of the Yo La Tengo show below.

15 Mar 2023

Queen Guitarist Brian May Knighted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace

Brian May said he had “no words!” for the honor of being knighted by England’s King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday (March 14). In a photo posted on Instagram of the gilded ceremony, May smiled beatifically as Charles laid a ceremonial sword tap on the Queen guitarist’s left shoulder.

May, 75 — who will now be known as Sir Brian — was knighted for his services to music and charity during the investiture ceremony where he received the title of Knight Bachelor. The official Queen Twitter account shared a congratulatory note, writing, “Arise Sir Brian May. Brian’s investiture as a Knight of the Realm took place at Buckingham Palace. The knighthood was presented to Brian by His Royal Highness, King Charles. Many congratulations, Sir Brian!”

Queen drummer Roger Taylor has also been honored with a royal title, following his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020; May was also previously given the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005.

May joins a long list of English rock stars who’ve been knighted, including Live Aid organizer/Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, Cliff Richard, producer and “Fifth Beatle” George Martin, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Elton John, Placido Domingo, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Bono, Van Morrison, the Kinks’ Ray Davies and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb.

Becoming a knight or a dame is one of the highest-ranking awards in the British honours system, followed by CBE, the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). A knighthood or damehood entitles recipients to use the title of sir or dame if they wish to do so. 

Check out a snap from May’s ceremony below.

15 Mar 2023

BTS’ J-Hope Nervous to Meet His ‘Muse’ J. Cole in Behind-The-Scenes ‘On The Street’ Video

It’s a mutual admiration society in the behind-the-scenes video for “On The Street,” BTS member J-Hope‘s collaboration with his longtime idol J.Cole. “Being able to meet my muse, J. Cole is nerve-wracking,” Hope says in the video’s open, during which he’s getting final-touch make-up applied backstage before the shoot begins.

One way the K-pop superstar soothes his nerves is by writing Cole a letter, telling the MC, “working with you has been a meaningful moment,” while repeatedly stopping to comment on his poor handwriting and trying to put himself in ARMY’s shoes when his fans pen gushing odes to him.

“Look at this horrific handwriting,” he laments as he holds the note up to camera and says that it’s not only an honor to work with Cole, but actually the realization of a childhood dream. “You’re always an inspiration to me and always give me good energy,” he writes in the note. The BTS star then heads to the set, where he can’t hide his excitement upon finally meeting his hero.

Hope beams as Cole starts filming his bits, watching the performance in a monitor and marveling at how he went from watching the rapper as a child on TV to filming a video with him on a bridge in Manhattan. “Is this real life? Is this a dream or is this real life?” J-Hope asks as the two share a series of handshakes and Hope hands over a gift bag featuring the note and some other goodies.

The rest of the 13-minute chronicles the process of shooting the video on the streets of New York, including a freestyle dance scene in a subway station.

“On the Street” is particularly meaningful to J-Hope. While BTS has long shared their admiration for the North Carolina-raised rapper — revealing in 2013 their reinterpreted take on J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” with “Born Singer,” which was only officially released last year on Proof — J-Hope has always shared how Cole is one of his ultimate favorite singers.

“On the Street” is J-Hope’s first new solo song since hopping on “Rush Hour” with Korean R&B singer “Crush,” while Cole dropped a surprise song in mid-January, “Procrastination (Broke).”

Check out the “On the Street” behind-the-scenes video below.

15 Mar 2023

The 21 Special Guests We Hope to See on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour 

While many details surrounding Taylor Swift’s feverishly anticipated Eras Tour remain obscured just days before Friday’s monstrous kickoff in Arizona, there’s at least one aspect fans should count on: There will be special guests. 

Since the Speak Now Tour in 2011, Swift has established herself as the ultimate “sharing is caring” mega-headliner, welcoming a long list of artists — newcomers and icons alike — to her sprawling stages. The guest list from her 1989 tour alone was well over three dozen acts long.

But who’s most likely to appear over the next few months? As Swift has made new friends, forged new collaborations and released a heaping pile of music since the Reputation Tour in 2018 (her last roadshow), the possibilities for surprise guests are nearly endless.

We can still speculate, however! These are our best guesses for who’ll be waiting in the wings — and in which cities some may pop up — broken down into three categories: 

Should Happen: The duets that feel most likely and maintain some precedent or clear link, where Swift would be remiss to not make it happen. 

Could Happen: Educated guesses, but still slightly wishful thinking — based on recent trends, friendships, influences and past encounters, even if there isn’t exactly precedent. 

Break the Internet Moments: The once-in-a-lifetime sort of pairings with fellow icons, which would go instantly viral and help to define the Eras Tour as the unforgettable pop culture phenomenon it’s likely to become regardless.

NOTE: Our picks do not include any scheduled Eras Tour openers, as those features feel a bit too obvious. And we’ve only selected musicians here, though we wouldn’t mind seeing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds trot out for a dance party.

15 Mar 2023

FKA Twigs Teases Unreleased Song in Calvin Klein Spring 2023 Campaign Video: Exclusive

Calvin Klein unveiled its spring 2023 campaign on Tuesday (March 15), and FKA Twigs has returned one of the faces of the sultry new advertisements.

In a new black-and-white clip featuring the singer, Twigs is toned in a black lace underwear set, as she gracefully moves around to the tune of an unreleased track. The new campaign, shot by photographer duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, continues the popular fashion brand’s “Calvins or nothing” concept by highlighting the today’s most dynamic talent and showcasing their unique confidence and sensuality.

Other stars of the spring 2023 campaign include Blackpink’s Jennie, Kendall Jenner and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

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In other news, the “Cellophane” singer recently debuted her new boyfriend on Instagram. “The whole of my career i’ve been hunted for who i am dating. so this time i’m pipping you to the post and taking control of the situation,” she captioned a screenshot from Daily Mail, asking for emails with information on FKA Twigs’ “mystery man.”

She also shared a series of photos posing with director and photographer Jordan Hemingway, whom she called “a beautiful artist whose heart has restored my faith in love,” before adding, “Pap pics will always be rough so swipe for the hot pics. and now i’d like to go back to my nice private life with the dogs.”

15 Mar 2023

Drew Barrymore to Host 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards

Drew Barrymore is set to host the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday, May 7, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The evening will honor achievements in both movies and television, across scripted and unscripted.

Barrymore’s eponymous daytime talk show debuted Sept. 14, 2020. In January, the show was renewed for a fourth season.

Barrymore has won three Golden Popcorns, as the award at this show is known. She and Adam Sandler won best kiss for The Wedding Singer (1998) and best on-screen team for 50 First Dates (2004). She, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu won that same award, best on-screen team, for Charlie’s Angels (2001).

Barrymore was nominated for best talk/topical show at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards: UNSCRIPTED. The Drew Barrymore Show was one of two daytime talk shows to be nominated in the category (along with The Kelly Clarkson Show). Both afternoon talk shows lost to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In 2020, Barrymore and Sandler were also honored as dynamic duo at the MTV Awards: Greatest of All Time. 

This is the 31st edition of this show and the sixth to jointly honor movies and TV. Two years ago, MTV broke the show in two and presented awards for film and scripted television on one night and awards for reality television the following night. Last year, the two shows, though still distinct, aired on the same night. This year, the two shows will be rejoined.

Vanessa Hudgens and Tayshia Adams were hosts of last year’s show, with Hudgens hosting the first half for film and scripted television series, and Adams hosting the second half for awards in reality television.

Executive producers for the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards are MTV’s Bruce Gillmer, Wendy Plaut and Vanessa Whitewolf, along with Den of Thieves’ Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski. Jackie Barba and Alicia Portugal are executives in charge of production and Lisa Lauricella serves as the music talent executive.

Further news, including nominations and presenters, will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Last year, special awards went to Jennifer Lopez (Generation Award), Jack Black (Comedic Genius Award) and Bethenny Frankel (MTV Reality Royalty Award).

15 Mar 2023

FC Barcelona Jerseys Will Sport Rosalía’s ‘Motomami’ Logo for El Clásico Match

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Rosalía‘s Motomami, the Grammy-winning album’s logo will be on FC Barcelona’s jerseys for their El Clásico match against Real Madrid.

The Spanish superstar becomes the first artist to be featured on both the men’s and women’s teams home kits as part of Barcelona’s partnership with Spotify. The limited-edition shirt with the Motomami logo will also be available for fans to purchase.

Rosalía follows Drake who, in October, had his OVO brand owl logo placed on the front of the FC Barcelona men’s jerseys for the match after becoming the first artist to surpass 50 billion streams on Spotify.

“We’re honored to give up our space on the FC Barcelona shirt to celebrate Rosalía – the most streamed Spanish artist on Spotify in 2022,” Marc Hazan, vp partnerships, Spotify said in a statement. “It’s a chance to continue the celebration of our unique partnership with FC Barcelona and continue to bring the worlds of football and music together.”

In 2022, Rosalía was the most-streamed Spanish artist in the world on Spotify, with streams of her tracks growing by more than 110% year over year, and she was also the most-streamed female artist in Barcelona, according to the company.

Juli Guiu, vp marketing, FC Barcelona, added: “Seeing such a renowned artist as Rosalía on the beloved Barça jersey is a wonderful surprise for our fans around the world. Music and football form a special partnership with a long future ahead of them and we are happy to add another chapter to the story alongside the world’s most popular music streaming platform, Spotify.”

Barcelona’s El Clásico match will take place March 19. The women’s team will then also wear the Motomami jerseys at theirs on March 25.

Both team’s players will also be curating the El Clásico Matchday playlists featuring the top songs to motivate the players in the build up to the matches, which will, of course, include their favorite Rosalía songs.

Rosalía’s Motomami peaked at No. 3 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart. It won the Latin Grammy for album of the year. Most recently, Rosalía confirmed a joint three-song project with Rauw Alejandro titled RR, set to drop March 24.

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FC Barcelona / Germán Parga

15 Mar 2023

Bad Bunny Sings Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ For ‘Carpool Karaoke’: Watch

If you get the feeling Bad Bunny is everywhere at once, all of the time, well, you’re not entirely confused.

The record-smashing Latin artist is a verified global superstar, and his career seems to be rolling along, gathering momentum by the month.

Need a snapshot? In recent weeks, Bunny (real name: Benito Ocasio) scored his tenth music video to hit one billion views on YouTube (with 2016’s “Soy Peor”); he opened the 2023 Grammy Awards; presented at the Billboard Women In Music; and video game publisher 2K released a first look at Bad Bunny in WWE 2K23, the newest instalment of the WWE video game franchise.

Pull back a few years and, Bunny made history with El Ultimo Tour del Mundo (2020) and Un Verano Sin Ti (2022), which both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the only artist to top the tally with a Spanish-language album — not once, but twice.

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Un Verano Sin Ti went on to become the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammys, and it won the IFPI Global Album Award, making Bunny the first Latin artist to ever win an IFPI global award.

Add to that big-office dynamite, both on tour and at the movies, and a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin, this Bunny just keeps bouncing along.

The Puerto Rican rapper was in the spotlight again on The Late Late Show Tuesday night (March 14), for a round of “Carpool Karaoke”.

Sitting alongside host James Corden, Bunny played along and answered those questions we all wanted to ask.

Among them, how did it go down with his folks when he announced he’d use the stage name Bad Bunny instead of Benito (he initially wanted to hide his features behind a bunny mask, à la Deadmau5 and Marshmello. “I never wanted to be so famous. So then I just went with the flow.”) Also, why “Bad Bunny” (no matter how bad he is, a bunny is “still looking cute…that’s me.”), and was there truth behind the rumor that Bunny nearly failed to make it for his Grammy-opening medley performance (yes, blame L.A. traffic).

The hip-hopper also discussed his love of drawing and wrestling. He demonstrated it, at one point enticing Corden into the ring with WWE wrestler Rey Mysterio.

The best of the action, however, was saved for the “karaoke” element, with host and talent hitting “Dakiti,” “I Like It,” “Tití Me Preguntó,” and covers of “Break Free” by Ariana Grande featuring Zedd, and finishing things up with Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” the biggest hit in the world last year.

Watch below.