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The devastating wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles last month destroyed thousands of homes, taking with them countless memories and precious possessions gathered over a lifetime. While it will take years to rebuild and begin to replace some of the things lost in two of the most destructive blazes to ever hit the city, there are small acts of kindness happening every day aimed at helping to ease the pain of all that unimaginable loss.
This week the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, revealed that she’d teamed up with Billie Eilish to create one of those moments. In an Instagram post on Tuesday (Feb. 4), actress/podcaster Markle described how she reached out to the “Birds of a Feather” singer to help a 15-year-old whose family lost everything in the fires.
“I was just told that something arrived that I have been waiting for,” Markle said in a selfie video. “Oh my God,” she added as she looked at a big pile of Eilish merch. She explained that a few weeks ago, she and Prince Harry visited Altadena — the historic neighborhood that was completely wiped out by one of the fires — and they spoke to a mom who had found just a few possessions left in the rubble.
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While speaking to her, she saw the woman’s teen daughter and found out that when they came back to look at their house for the first time, all the girl was looking for was her prized T-shirt from an Eilish concert she’d recently gone to. The teen said she’d left it in the washing machine as they fled. “And of course they now see their home and the washing machine [and] the dryer are ash… they’re not there anymore,” said Markle.
While she admitted she didn’t personally know Eilish, Markle promised the family that she’d figure out a way to replace the beloved shirt. “So I thought of everybody that I knew and I made a voice note and I was like, ‘Please, can someone get this voice note to Billie Eilish? Here’s what I’m asking,” she said.
Markle did what any sensible person would in that situation, she reached out to Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and his wife, model Behati Prinsloo, for some help getting this make-a-wish “over the line.” Getting emotional, Markle flipped through the pile T-shirts and vinyl — “I don’t even know what all this stuff means, but it’s signed for her!” — holding up a lunch box with a gold star on it and asking, “Is that a thing? A lunch box thing?”
She sent a huge thank you to Levine, Prinsloo and Eilish for pitching in. “This is going to mean so much to her,” Markle added. “To everyone who is showing up for people in big and small ways to get through what’s happened in California. Just thank you so much. I’m going to go and email her mom now. Just wanted to share that with you guys.”
Native Angeleno Eilish performed at last weekend’s FireAid concert that raised an estimated $100 million for relief, opening the show with a Green Day collaboration and then returning later for her own set. The Eaton and Palisades fires, which killed 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and structures, reached 100% containment last week.
Check out Markle’s post below.
It will definitely be a family affair at Sunday’s (Feb. 9) Super Bowl LIX. At least according to Jason Kelce. The retired Philadelphia Eagles great confirmed to People that Taylor Swift will be on hand at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to watch boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s Kansas City Chiefs take on the Eagles in their bid to become the first-ever NFL team to win three championships in a row.
Asked who’s traveling to the Big Easy for the game, Jason Kelce said, “Yeah, I think everybody’s coming in,” before he got specific about the guest list. “I mean, I don’t want to speak for everybody, but I think obviously, our whole family. I believe, obviously Trav and Taylor, and his family and his friends. I mean, Trav always travels like, full,” Jason said.
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“Even when he’s in regular season mode… he’s always got a bunch of his friends there. It’s been this way his whole career,” Jason said of his tight end younger brother, who is looking to add a fourth total Super Bowl ring to his collection. “He’s kept in touch much better with a lot of the people from our hometown. So there’s always a loaded contingency for the Kelces, wherever we’re at.”
Swift, of course, has been a regular presence in the family skybox at Chiefs games over the past year and a half, including at the thrilling AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26 that helped punch the Chiefs’ ticket to the big game for the fourth time in five years.
She was also on hand last year when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, where she partied with friends Ashley Avignone, Ice Spice and Blake Lively, as well as Kelce’s parents, Jason Kelce and her own parents.
When Travis took questions from reporters on Monday, he was, naturally, asked if he plans to pop the question to his longtime love at the game. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said with a smile in response to the long-swirling engagement rumors that have followed the couple for much of their relationship.
At press time a spokesperson for Swift had not returned a request for comment on the singer’s plans for Super Bowl Sunday.
Lil Wayne is gearing up to make waves ahead of Super Bowl LIX, teasing fans with a mysterious announcement set for Thursday, Feb. 6—just days before the big game in New Orleans.
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While speculation runs wild, the rap legend is keeping details under wraps, fueling anticipation with a cryptic Instagram Story video.
“Y’all know I’m not going to be there this week, which means I guess there’s a seat to fill,” Wayne said. “Shout out to New Orleans, but I’ve been working on something very special. I got something exciting coming for you Thursday, the 6th. Until then… I’m chillin’.”
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Though he hasn’t revealed specifics, fans are already theorizing what Tunechi has in store. Some are hoping for a surprise single or project announcement, while others are speculating about a Super Bowl-related activation.
With his long-teased album Tha Carter VI expected to drop this year, the timing aligns with what could be a major musical moment.
Back in December, Wayne recently publicly addressed his absence from the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where Kendrick Lamar will headline. Some fans initially expected Weezy to join Lamar on stage, given their past collaborations and mutual respect.
However, Wayne confirmed in a recent interview that he wouldn’t be attending the game and had spoken directly with Kendrick to clear up any misunderstandings.
“I’ve spoken to him, and I wish him all the best and I told him he better kill it,” Wayne told Skip Bayless on his show in December, during which the host revealed that he remains “baffled and angry” that his guest was not tapped to perform on the biggest stage there is in his own backyard.
“For whatever reason I believe it’s over my head,” Wayne said as part of what he described as the “general” reason why he thinks he was passed over for the gig during what is traditionally the most-viewed TV program of the year. “I don’t know why, period. Obviously I believe that it’s perfect… I do not know why.”
Wayne’s Carter series has been a dominant force on the Billboard 200, with Tha Carter V debuting at No. 1 in 2018 with 480,000 equivalent album units—his fourth chart-topping album. His most recent project, Tha Fix Before Tha VI, was released in 2023, serving as a precursor to the highly anticipated Tha Carter VI.
In 2023, the New Orleans rapper dropped the mixtape Tha Fix Before That VI (Bonus) featuring Jon Batiste, Euro, Cool & Dre, Fousheé, TheNightAftr, and DMX and he and 2 Chainz released Welcome 2 Collegrove, the follow-up to their 2016 collab album ColleGrove.
While he hasn’t released a full-length project yet this year, the Young Money boss has been active feature-wise. He appeared on French Montana‘s “Splash Brothers” alongside Rick Ross, Flau’jae‘s “Came Out A Beast,” DJ Premier‘s “Ya Don’t Stop” with Ross again and Big Sean, and he was featured on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign‘s Vultures 2 song “Lifestyle.”
When the news broke of Lamar’s upcoming performance in September last year, Weezy was very candid about being passed over. “First of all, I want to say forgive me for the delay. I had to get strength enough to do this without breaking,” said a somber Wayne in an Instagram post at the time.
“I’mma say thank you to every voice, every opinion, all the care, all love and support out there. Your words turned into arms and held me up when I tried to fall back.”
At the time, he said the news “Hurt. It hurt a lot. You know what I’m talking about. It hurt a whole lot. I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position. So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot.”
On Tuesday evening (Feb. 4), fans were treated to a wicked good treat: an intimate conversation between Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. Following a screening of Wicked at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, a hush fell over the room as the credits silently rolled and all eyes fell on the double doors […]
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale has been in the music industry for over three decades, but even he admits he’s baffled by how young artists can sustain themselves financially in today’s streaming-driven landscape.
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Speaking on Canada’s Q with Tom Power, the rocker didn’t hold back on his concerns about the modern music business.
“I’ve been a musician my whole life, and I’m at a loss to explain to someone how to do it, how to build from the ground up, how to get a career in that,” Rossdale said. “It’s just terrifying because how do musicians, how do young bands get paid? I can’t work it out.”
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The 58-year-old rocker, who is preparing to hit the road with Bush this spring alongside Rival Sons and Filter, He went on to describe the industry’s longstanding financial imbalance, calling it “the same deal—artists getting screwed, record companies making a fortune.”
While streaming may offer exposure, Rossdale pointed out that it doesn’t always translate to sustainability. “Maybe you get one song with loads of streams, but we know that barely pays.”
“You just do the best you can. And you can obviously make money touring, but it takes a while to build up a catalog, so if you wanna come and see you, that’s a crap shoot.”
Rossdale, who rose to fame in the ’90s when CD sales and MTV airplay could catapult a band into the mainstream, pointed out the stark difference between then and now.
“I think it’s much, much harder now, and it was nearly impossible then. So, I don’t know what the odds are, but they don’t feel good for young musicians, which breaks my heart for them because we always need music.”
He added,”We always need people’s opinions. A.I. can take care of many things, but you talk about people relating to other people, it’s by writing that brutally painful, honest lyric that other people can relate and get strength from.”
Rossdale isn’t alone in his concerns. Artists across genres have been speaking out about streaming payouts, with industry veterans and rising stars alike calling for better compensation structures. The issue has even led to policy debates, as musicians advocate for reforms in how streaming revenue is distributed.
Rossdale rose to widespread fame as the frontman for British rock outfit Bush, who reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with their 1994 debut album, Sixteen Stone, which included charting singles such as “Comedown” and “Glycerine”. Two years later, they would best their previous accomplishments and top the chart with 1996’s Razorblade Suitcase. Their latest album, The Art of Survival, arrived in 2022.
Bush will embark on a North American tour this spring, kicking off in April. Tickets are available now.
Head in the Clouds is returning to its spiritual home of California for its upcoming 2025 edition.
Head in the Clouds Music & Arts Festival, put on by music and media company 88rising and Los Angeles concert promoter Goldenvoice, will return to Brookside at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the weekend of May 31 and June 1, with G-Dragon, 2NE1, Dean, and DPR Ian set to headline the event.
The two-day affair will also feature Rich Brian, a Porter Robinson DJ set, a long-awaited reunion of Higher Brothers, and 88rising’s 10-year Anniversary Finale, though specifics are yet to be announced as to what it will entail.
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The list of headliners also features a “mysterious set” described only as ‘The Magic Show?!?’, with a press release noting it “calls to mind a certain similarly titled smash album”. Online speculation has already arisen as to whether this will be a set from 88rising artist Jackson Wang, whose 2022 album Magic Man resulted in a Coachella appearance the next year where he was joined onstage by magician Kevin Li.
As always, producers have promised to turn the Rose Bowl into a “celebration of Asian-centric music, art, and cuisine”. First launching in 2018 at Los Angeles State Historic Park, Head in the Clouds has since expanded globally, with events in Jakarta, Manila and China in recent years.
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In 2023, it also ventured over to the east coast of the U.S., with the inaugural Head in the Clouds New York Music & Arts Festival marking a homecoming of sorts for 88rising, which was founded in New York City back in 2015. The New York debut welcomed NIKI, Rich Brian, Beabadoobee and more.
Presale registration is live from today (Feb. 4) with the general on-sale launching Feb. 7 at 11 a.m. ET and tickets can be purchased at the festival website.
New York City outfit Big Thief are doing their part for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, sharing their new Passional Relations benefit EP
The five-track EP is described by the band as a collection of unreleased recordings, with all tracks taken from studio sessions in either 2018 or 2020. Opening songs “Imagination” and “Light as Light” were made in 2020 with Dom Monks on recording duties, while “Waiting on Blue” was laid down with Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken that same year, with Mat Davidson providing vocals.
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“Zombie Girl” was recorded with Sam Owens at Flying Cloud Studios in 2020, presumably months before the song emerged on vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker’s Songs later in the year. Final song “Shadow Too” dates back to 2018, with the band’s own James Krivchenia handling recording while in Topanga, California.
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“Our hearts are broken for everyone affected by the fires in California,” the group wrote in a statement. “We’ve put together some of our favorite unreleased songs into an EP called Passional Relations, only available on our webstore, and all proceeds will go toward providing relief for those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles.”
According to Big Thief, a majority of the EP’s proceeds will be donated to the PLUS1LA Fires Fund, which aids local nonprofits offering shelter and care to those who have lost their homes. The remainder of the proceeds will be given directly to local musicians, artists and community members who need support in the aftermath of the fires.
“Our hope is that these contributions will not only help address the crucial and immediate needs of affected communities but also help sustain the work, identity, and culture of the artists within them,” they concluded.
The Passional Relations EP is currently available for digital download via Big Thief’s webstore.
Big Thief’s last body of work was released in 2022, with fifth album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You hitting No. 32 on the Billboard 200 – their highest position to date. In 2023, they released “Vampire Empire” and “Born for Loving You”, while Lenker released her Bright Future solo album in 2024.
In July 2024, the group announced the departure of bassist Max Oleartchik, citing “interpersonal reasons” for his exit. “It’s a big change for us and the four of us ask for your trust, respect, and care as we grow into the next chapter of our lives,” the band wrote in a statement at the time.
Teddy Swims scores his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Feb. 8) as his latest album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) debuts atop the list with 26,000 sold in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 30, according to Luminate. That marks Swims’ best sales week yet and first top 10, following three previous entries.
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Also shaking up the top 10: Kane Brown, FKA twigs and Central Cee all see their latest albums debut in the region, while blink-182’s chart-topping One More Time… reenters at No. 4 after a deluxe reissue.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
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Of Swims’ first-week sales, physical purchases comprise 19,000 (with 12,000 on CD and 7,000 on vinyl) and digital download purchases comprise 7,000. The set’s sales were bolstered by its availability across eight vinyl variants (including a signed edition), and two CD variants (including a signed edition). The effort also debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, as well as No. 5 on the Indie Store Album Sales chart.
Kane Brown lands his fifth top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as The High Road drives in at No. 2 with 19,000 sold in its first week. The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across nine vinyl variants (including a signed edition), four CD variants (including a signed edition), and three digital download variants (a standard version, plus two with alternative cover art). On the Vinyl Albums chart, the set enters at No. 9.
FKA twigs notches her biggest sales week ever and first top 10, as Eusexua enters at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with nearly 12,500 sold. It also launches at No. 3 on Vinyl Albums and No. 2 on Indie Store Album Sales. The album’s opening-week sales were aided by its availability across six vinyl variants, signed and unsigned CDs, a cassette and two digital download variants (one an artist webstore exclusive with a bonus track).
Blink-182’s chart-topping One More Time… reenters Top Album Sales at No. 4 with a little over 11,000 sold (up 9,089%), following the set’s deluxe reissue on two vinyl variants and CD with additional bonus tracks. U.K. rapper Central Cee makes his Top Album Sales chart debut with the No. 5 entry of his new studio album Can’t Rush Greatness (nearly 10,000 sold).
Mac Miller’s Balloonerism falls 1-6 in its second week on Top Album Sales (9,000; down 78%), the Wicked film soundtrack dips 3-7 (nearly 9,000; down 8%), Stray Kids’ chart-topping HOP falls 4-8 (just over 8,000; down 9%), Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us falls 2-9 (8,000; down 62%) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess falls 5-10 (7,000; down 11%).
Close to 17 years since their last live performance, reunited Los Angeles indie rock outfit Rilo Kiley have announced a run of tour dates for 2025.
News of the band’s reunion was officially confirmed on Jan. 27, close to two weeks after the leaked lineup for California’s Just Like Heaven festival inadvertently shared the news. The group are one of the highest-billed names on the lineup, appearing alongside the likes of Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, and Empire of the Sun.
“We are so very excited to come back together for Just Like Heaven in Pasadena, California—Los Angeles,” the band shared in a statement. “As a band, we began here, and we feel so fortunate to return among so many artists and friends, to this community we hold so dear, in such a beautiful and meaningful place.”
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After also joining the lineup to Salt Lake City’s Kilby Block Party, Rilo Kiley have confirmed details of their first tour since 2008, lifting a lyric from their song “A Better Son/Daughter” to dub it the Sometimes When You’re On, You’re Really Fucking On Tour.
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“It’s going to be wonderful for us, like going back to the purest version of yourself, that early 20s place where everything is possible,” explained vocalist Jenny Lewis. “You’re in a van and Jason’s got the map, Pierre is behind the wheel, and I’m on the shitty acoustic guitar on the bench seat working out a new song with Blake. I don’t think it’s ever been as good as that, when it was just us against the world.”
The ten-date tour also features an appearance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Julien Baker and Torres.
Rilo Kiley first formed in 1998 with actress and musician Lewis joined by guitarist Blake Sennett, bassist Pierre de Reeder, and drummer Dave Rock. Jason Boesel would replace rock in 2001.
The group rose to fame throughout the ’00s, releasing a total of four albums, including their 2001 debut Take Offs and Landings and its 2002 follow-up The Execution of All Things. While 2004’s More Adventurous would give them their debut on the Billboard 200 (albeit at No. 161), 2007 album Under the Blacklight was their most commercially successful, reaching No. 22 on the charts.
The group would play their final show in June 2008, later announcing they had embarked upon a hiatus. In 2013, however, it was confirmed they had in fact disbanded. During their hiatus, Lewis focused on her solo career, releasing a total of four albums since 2008, and reuniting with The Postal Service for shows in 2013 and 2023.
Alongside their upcoming tour dates, Rilo Kiley will also be reissuing their second album, with The Execution of All Things (Frozen Lake Edition) being released via Saddle Creek Records on April 25.
Rilo Kiley – Sometimes When You’re On, You’re Really Fucking On Tour Dates
May 5 – Fremont Theatre, San Luis Obispo, CAMay 7 – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CAMay 10 – Just Like Heaven, Pasadena, CAMay 12 – The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZMay 14 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, COMay 16 – Kilby Block Party, Salt Lake City, UTMay 17 – Treefort Music Fest, Boise, IDMay 19 – Center for the Arts, Jackson, WYMay 21 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC, CanadaMay 23 – McMenamins Grand Lodge, Portland, OR
Ms. Lauryn Hill, Toni Braxton, New Edition and newly minted Grammy Award winner Doechii are among the established and rising stars booked for Jazz in the Gardens (JITG). The 18th annual music festival will take place March 8-9 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens (Florida). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See […]