Music

09 Jan 2023

MONSTA X Drops ‘Beautiful Liar’ Music Video & 12th Mini-Album ‘REASON’

MONSTA X unveiled the music video for their new single “Beautiful Liar” as well as their 12th mini-album, REASON, on Monday (Jan. 9) via Starship Entertainment.

Describing the song as a “power funk rock track” in a video shared to their social channels, the K-pop idols spend the associated visual dressed in matching leather suits of blood red as they perform in a burning warehouse surrounded by a bevy of masked backup dancers. (“Just like how your cold eyes play with me/ I get attracted to that irrejectable beautiful lie,” Minhyuk laments on the chorus.)

Elsewhere in the boy band’s message to fans, Joohoney said the new project includes “tracks of various genres that are produced by our members” before asking, “So what more reason do you need?”

“MONSTA X is nothing without our signature performance,” I.M added. “We prepared a lot for you guys, MONBEBE, so please look forward to it.”

This past November, Kihyun sat down with Billboard to answer 20 questions about his debut solo EP Youth, collaborating with his bandmates and celebrating seven years as a group. Meanwhile, leader Shownu is continuing to fulfill his mandatory service in the South Korean military, which he began in July 2021.

Watch the music video for “Beautiful Liar” and stream MONSTA X’s REASON in full below.

09 Jan 2023

Gracie Abrams Announces Debut Album That ‘Allowed Me to Let Go’ & a Headlining Tour

Gracie Abrams is planning to have a busy 2023, and just added her debut album release and a North American tour to her calendar. The singer-songwriter announced both projects on Monday (Jan. 9).

“MY DEBUT ALBUM ‘Good Riddance’ OUT FEBRUARY 24TH,” she shared on social media along with the album cover, and also noting that single “Where Do We Go Now?” drops Friday, Jan. 13. Accompanying the announcement was a heartfelt statement from the 23-year-old singer-songwriter.

“It’s difficult to imagine these songs living anywhere other than my most secret places, but Aaron [Dessner] reminded me that holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point,” she shared in the lengthy note about her debut set, giving the producer-songwriter-musician — who also helped her produce her 2021 EP This Is What It Feels Like — a shout-out. “He is one of the very few people in this world capable of making others feel safe to their core when they are exploring the parts of themselves that are most raw. He is rare and generous.”

Elsewhere in her statement, Abrams shared how working on Good Riddance has helped her grow. “I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for the opportunity to have made this album. Writing this record allowed me to grow up in ways I needed to,” she wrote. “It forced me to reflect and be accountable. It allowed me to walk away from versions of myself that I no longer recognized. It allowed me to let go.”

After the announcement of her debut album came the tour reveal. “THE GOOD RIDDANCE TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have MISSED. YOU. PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” she captioned the tour’s official poster — a black-and-white image of her staring into the camera, along with the series of dates — on Instagram. “I can’t wait to see you… we already know I’ll be in tears.”

The 18-date trek — which features support from Tiny Habits — will kick off on March 7 in Chicago, and includes stops in Boston, New York, Atlanta, Nashville and Vancouver before concluding in San Francisco on April 10. Abrams’ post also contained useful information for fans trying to score tickets to her tour. “You can sign up for my mailing list on gracieabrams.com for early ticket access tomorrow,” she informed her followers. “All tickets go on sale this Friday [Jan. 13] at 10am local time in each city.”

The tour is in addition to Abrams’ dates as a supporting act for select dates on Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour. She shared her excitement over hitting the road with the pop superstar on Nov. 1, writing, “@taylorswift you know i will never have the words. THE ERAS TOUR IS HAPPENING AND I WILL NEVER HAVE THE WORDS @taylorswift Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. Thank you. I love you. holy. s–t.”

See Abrams’ album and tour announcement below.

09 Jan 2023

Rema & Selena Gomez’s ‘Calm Down’ Climbs to No. 1 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. Chart

Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, jumping from No. 8 and marking each act’s first leader on the list.

Plus, two songs reach the Global Excl. U.S. top 10 for the first time: NewJeans’ “Ditto,” up 11-4, and RAYE’s “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake (32-9).

All songs in the top 10 of the latest Global Excl. U.S. chart, which reflects the Dec. 30-Jan. 5 tracking week, vault in rank as holiday hits melt away. (The only seasonal songs on the newest survey are Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which tumbles from No. 1, where it has spent eight total weeks over the last three holiday seasons, to No. 169, and Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” down from its No. 2 high to No. 190.)

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” jumps from No. 8, besting its prior No. 4 high set in September, to No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 53.3 million streams (essentially even week-over-week) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 18%) in territories outside the U.S. Dec. 30-Jan. 5. Nigeria native Rema (real name: Divine Ikubor) released the original version of the song last February as the second single from his debut solo LP, Rave & Roses. Its remix with Gomez arrived Aug. 26, and that version’s official video premiered Sept. 7.

Rema tops Global Excl. U.S. in his first appearance on the chart – and becomes the first act from Africa to reign. Gomez also lands her first leader, among two top 10s since the chart began, after “Ice Cream,” with BLACKPINK, ranked at its No. 6 high on the inaugural list in 2020.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” rebounds 12-2 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, following eight weeks at No. 1 beginning in October, and David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” jumps 16-3, after it reached No. 2 in September.

NewJeans’ “Ditto,” released Dec. 19, roars to No. 4, from its previous No. 11 peak, on Global Excl. U.S. with 41.9 million streams (up 12%) and 3,000 sold (up 35%) outside the U.S. Dec. 30-Jan. 5. The South Korean quintet, comprising members Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein and Minji, achieves its first top 10 on the chart, following prior entries “Attention” (No. 34 peak in August), “Cookie” (No. 198, August) and “Hype Boy” (No. 32, September).

Rounding out the Global Excl. U.S. top five, Harry Styles’ “As It Was” rises 19-5, following a record 13 weeks at No. 1 starting last April.

Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, RAYE’s “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake, soars 32-9, its new rank overtaking its prior No. 19 best, with 27.9 million streams (up 12%) and 2,000 sold (up 14%) outside the U.S. in the tracking week. British singer-songwriter RAYE and New Jersey native 070 Shake (aka Danielle Balbuena) each score their first top 10 hit on the chart, as the song simultaneously reaches No. 1 on the Jan. 14-dated Official UK Singles chart. “This is proof: back yourself, no matter what,” an emotional RAYE shared in a video posted to her social accounts of her accepting an award from the U.K.’s Official Charts Company in honor of the song’s coronation. “Thank you … this is mad. These are happy tears!”

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Jan. 14, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

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.

09 Jan 2023

SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ Bounds to No. 1 on Billboard Global 200 Chart

SZA’s “Kill Bill” surges to No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. The (thankfully fictitious) murder-confession song marks her first leader on the list.

Plus, two songs reach the Global 200’s top 10 for the first time: NewJeans’ “Ditto,” up 26-8, and RAYE’s “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake (33-9).

All songs in the top 10 of the latest Global 200, which reflects the Dec. 30-Jan. 5 tracking week, bound in rank as holiday hits retreat. (The only seasonal song on the newest chart is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which falls from No. 1, where it has spent 13 total weeks over the last three holiday seasons, to No. 167.)

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

SZA’s “Kill Bill” bounds to No. 1, from No. 11, surpassing its prior No. 5 high set upon its debut three weeks earlier, on the Billboard Global 200 with 64 million streams (up 7%) and 2,000 sold (up 1%) worldwide Dec. 30-Jan. 5. The song becomes the first No. 1 for the St. Louis-born, New Jersey-raised singer-songwriter, among three top 10s. It’s from her album SOS, which notches a fourth week at No. 1 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200.

The song reigns despite the absence of its official video, although SZA teased a clip of it (“A film by Christian Breslauer”) Dec. 29.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” rebounds 13-2 on the Global 200, following four weeks at No. 1 beginning in October; David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” jumps 28-3, after it reached No. 2 in September; Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” climbs 17-4, besting its prior No. 5 high established in November; and Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” lurches 20-5 following four weeks at the summit starting in November.

Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top 10, NewJeans’ “Ditto,” released Dec. 19, ascends to No. 8, from its previous No. 26 peak, with 46.5 million streams (up 12%) and 4,000 sold (up 41%) worldwide Dec. 30-Jan. 5. The South Korean quintet, comprising members Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein and Minji, earns its first top 10 on the chart, after prior entries “Hype Boy” and “Attention” hit Nos. 52 and 54, respectively, in September.

Plus, RAYE’s “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake, soars 33-9 on the Global 200, outpacing its prior No. 24 best, with 38.5 million streams (up 13%) and 2,000 sold (up 11%) worldwide in the tracking week. British singer-songwriter RAYE and New Jersey native 070 Shake (aka Danielle Balbuena) each score their first top 10 on the tally, as the song concurrently hits No. 1 on the Jan. 14-dated Official UK Singles chart. “This is proof: back yourself, no matter what,” an emotional RAYE shared in a video posted to her social accounts of her accepting an award from the U.K.’s Official Charts Company in honor of the song’s coronation. “Thank you … this is mad. These are happy tears!”

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Jan. 14, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

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.

09 Jan 2023

Wet Leg to Open for Harry Styles at Rescheduled Los Angeles Tour Dates

Two months after Harry Styles rescheduled four of his Love on Tour dates in Los Angeles due to the flu, the Grammy winning superstar revealed the new dates on Monday (Jan. 9) as well as the opening act.

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Wet Leg will join Styles for the rescheduled shows on January 26, 27, 28 and 29 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, according to the official Harry Styles HQ’s Instagram Stories. The indie rock band retweeted the exciting news, adding a hand heart emoji to the announcement.

Styles has been a longtime fan of Wet Leg, and even covered their song, “Wet Dream” back in May at BBC Radio’s Live Lounge. The whimsical alt-rock anthem, appears on the group’s 2022 debut self-titled album.

“I was in your wet dream, driving in my car,” he sang, moving his hands to the rhythm. “Saw you at the side of the road, there’s no one else around/ You’re touching yourself, touching yourself, touching your — touching yourself.”

Made up of bandmates Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, the duo shared their excitement over one of the world’s biggest pop stars putting his spin on their song by retweeting a clip of Styles’ performance and adding a melting smiley emoji.

Styles’ Love On Tour is in support of Harry’s House, his Billboard 200 chart-topper that features the hit single “As It Was,” which was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 15 weeks.

09 Jan 2023

Here Are All the Presenters & Performers for the 2023 Golden Globes

EGOT recipient Jennifer Hudson, two-time Oscar winners Hillary Swank and Quentin Tarantino, and second-generation Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis are among the presenters set to appear on the Golden Globe Awards, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at their usual home, the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The ceremony will air live coast to coast from 5 to 8 p.m. PT/8 to 11 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

Jerrod Carmichael, who won a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a variety special for his HBO/HBO Max special Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel, will host the show. Eddie Murphy will receive Cecil B. DeMille Award. Ryan Murphy will receive the Carol Burnett Award. 

Also participating on the telecast is Ukraine’s president Vlodoymyr Zelenskyy, offering a special message of peace. It will be introduced by actor (and two-time Oscar winner) Sean Penn.

This marks the Globes’ return to the airwaves following a one-year break when the show wasn’t televised. After being the Globes’ regular broadcaster since 1996, NBC declined to air the 2022 ceremony following a series of reports in The Los Angeles Times about ethical lapses and a lack of diversity in the organization. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has taken steps to address those issues, which led NBC to agree to air this year’s show, though only under a one-year contract.

The Banshees of Inisherin is this year’s most nominated film with eight nods, followed by Everything Everywhere All at Once with six nods, and Babylon and The Fabelmans with five nods each.

Abbott Elementary is the most nominated TV show with five nods, followed by The Crown, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Only Murders in the Building, Pam & Tommy and The White Lotus with four each.

Pianist Chloe Flower is set to perform on the show. Flower’s eponymous debut album, released on Sony Music Masterworks, reached the top five on Billboard‘s Classical Crossover Albums chart in March 2022.

The HFPA — originally known as the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association — was founded in 1943 by a group of entertainment journalists based in Los Angeles. Since 1944, the group has hosted the annual Golden Globe Awards. According to the organization, the licensing fees from the Golden Globe Awards has enabled the organization to donate more than $55 million over the last three decades to entertainment-related charities, film restoration, scholarship programs and humanitarian efforts.

This year’s show is produced by dick clark productions and Jesse Collins Entertainment in association with the HFPA. Collins and Dionne Harmon, a top executive in his company, will serve as executive producers.

Presenters

  • Nicole Byer
  • Jennifer Coolidge
  • Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Claire Danes
  • Ana De Armas
  • Colman Domingo
  • Jay Ellis
  • Ana Gasteyer
  • Henry Golding
  • Harvey Guillén
  • Regina Hall
  • Cole Hauser
  • Jennifer Hudson
  • Natasha Lyonne
  • Mo Brings Plenty
  • Tracy Morgan 
  • Niecy Nash-Betts
  • Jenna Ortega
  • Salma Hayek Pinault
  • Billy Porter
  • Glen Powell
  • Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
  • Hilary Swank
  • Quentin Tarantino
  • Letitia Wright

Performer

  • Chloe Flower

Special Segment

  • Sean Penn 
  • Ukraine’s President Vlodoymyr Zelenskyy

09 Jan 2023

Makin‘ Tracks: Tyler Hubbard Enlists Keith Urban for Upbeat ’Dancin’ in the Country’

It’s not a song that will change the world, but it might well change a listener’s mood for three and a half minutes.

Tyler Hubbard’s second solo single – “Dancin’ in the Country,” released to country radio by EMI Nashville on Nov. 21 via PlayMPE – is 21st-century redneck disco, a four-on-the-four backbeat topped with a joyous melody, carefree lyrics and an unfettered country band, freed to play smart fills and jaw-dropping passages that defy the genre’s historically conservative approach to arrangements.

It’s generated from Hubbard’s home life, where rambunctious energy is welcome.

“Every night after dinner, we have a dance party,” he says. “A lot of times I’m playing them songs that I’ve written, and when the kids love the songs, whether it’s songs I’ve written or other songs, it just makes them feel good and want to dance.”

Hubbard brought a story about that experience into the room and submitted it as a guiding principle when he wrote the song on Nov. 3, 2021, at a Black River studio. Originally, the writing session was booked with fellow composers Jon Nite (“Pick Me Up,” “You Didn’t”) and Ross Copperman (“Gold,” “I Lived It”), but Hubbard amped it up a few days early when he invited Keith Urban to sit in.

“I don’t think I even slept the night before,” Nite recalls, “because I was all keyed up on the nerves of like, ‘Do not screw this up.’“

Nite wasn’t sure if they were writing for Urban or for Florida Georgia Line – he didn’t know until sometime during the co-write that Hubbard was cutting some solo material – and it wasn’t fully verbalized during the process. “The whole time I was laughing because I felt like I was writing for the song,” Nite says. “Keith would be like, ‘This would be great for Tyler’ when Tyler was in the bathroom. And then Tyler would be like, ‘This would be great for Keith’ when Keith was in the bathroom.”

It took a bit to find a direction, though Hubbard was definitely in a mood to write something cheery and upbeat, and he had the “Dancin’ in the Country” title as workable idea. Copperman built a rhythm track, and Urban kicked into a guitar groove that launched with a C chord, complicated by an extra D note that creates dissonance with two of the three foundational tones in that chord.

“That [note] is what’s giving you the disco vibes,” Copperman says.

They fashioned the chorus first, starting with the title and capping the stanza by repeating it two more times. In between, the melody pushes forward with a relentless repetition, each of the first four verses ending with the same melody. It’s an approach that wouldn’t work in another setting – it would have killed a thoughtful ballad like “The House That Built Me” – but it enhances the sing-along quality of “Dancin’ in the Country.”

“It’s an ear worm, and it’s hooky, and it’s really repetitive,” Hubbard agrees. “But it still feels right, you know. It feels appropriate.”

When they developed the verses, the narrative began in a bar, where a couple yearns for a little privacy. They end up in a pasture, playing “some Alabama and Jackson” – presumably, Alan Jackson, though with the danceable beat, one could make a case for Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson or even Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson.”

With the plot serving up a little romance in a field, it’s tempting to call it a bro-country story, though it stays away from the drunken-group dynamic. And it bears some authenticity for Nite, whose first date with his wife ended with the two of them dancing in a field along Soncy Road in Amarillo, Texas during their high-school years.

“That’s where I fell in love with my wife,” he says. “We were out there listening to George Strait on the radio. Our trucks were parked off the edge of this road, and we were just watching stars.” (Romantic sidebar: Some time later, Nite draped flowers over the fence posts and barbed wire in that same location to propose.)

The musical format of “Dancin’ in the Country” got an extra boost of energy from a hip-hop-like pre-chorus. The supporting instruments dropped out, except for a volley of tribal toms and a growling bass, and that chord-less section makes the chorus feel like a blast of sound when the whole band re-emerges. “It just felt like we needed that musical break,” Copperman says. “Maybe that’s why the nursery-rhyme chorus works. You drop out all the chords, and then the chorus hits, and it feels so good.”         

Hubbard laid down a vocal for the demo, then split for a late-afternoon appointment, though before he did, Urban created some clarity about which artist would keep “Dancin’ in the Country.” “When we got finished writing, Keith said, ‘I think we just wrote your first single,’” Hubbard remembers. “It was nice that Keith put his stamp of approval on it.”

Urban and Copperman stayed for another two hours, playing with a multitude of sounds and instruments as they completed the demo, stopping occasionally to ask Nite if he thought what they were doing was working. “It was like watching an artist paint the Mona Lisa,” Nite says.

Hubbard co-produced the final version with Jordan M. Schmidt (Mitchell Tenpenny, Ingrid Andress) at Ocean Way in Nashville, assembling an A-list team of musicians and letting them follow Urban’s template from the demo. Bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas provides the melodic movement in the intro and offers a few uncharacteristically bold fills, guitarist Rob McNelley recreated a key riff and fashioned a compact burning solo, and banjo player Ilya Toshinskiy wraps the whole package with a wicked flurry of notes.

“What got me into playing and learning instruments was hearing cool s–t and just being like, ‘How did they play that?’ and then sitting there and trying to learn it,” Schmidt says. “Sometimes I feel like as producers we can dumb stuff down so much, but I’ve really taken the opposite approach now. Like, ‘Let’s inspire newer generations to be players and come up with that s–t, because that’s awesome.’”

Justin Schipper’s steel added a little extra country flavor to offset the dance groove in what proved to be a drama-free experience. “We just had a lot of fun,” Schmidt says of the tracking date. “There wasn’t really anything crazy that happened. It was just a great energy, and it felt like a good new start for T-Hub.”

“Dancin’ in the Country” made its debut on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart dated Dec. 10, 2022 and steps to No. 40 on the Jan. 14 list. Hubbard is convinced that the good-time vibe that music generates in his household is the right tonic for a much wider audience.

“We’re at this point in culture and our lives where everybody needs an escape from reality for three-and-a-half minutes,” Hubbard says. “That’s kind of the intention behind this song.”

09 Jan 2023

The Chicks Announce Las Vegas Residency

The Chicks will soon be taking over Sin City! The trio has announced a six-night residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, beginning May 3.

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The Chicks’ Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer said via a statement, “Finally getting to play live in 2022 left us hungry to continue our tour. After so many years without new music, last year felt like a long time coming. We hope our fans are ready for more in 2023 because we are not done! There is a lot more to come this year and we are excited to get it all started in Las Vegas at the Zappos Theater this Spring.”

Zappos Theater has previously hosted residencies from Shania Twain and Gwen Stefani, with current residencies including Miranda Lambert’s Velvet Rodeo The Las Vegas Residency, and Keith Urban: The Las Vegas Residency,

The trio’s most recent album, Gaslighter, was released in July 2020, and included the singles “March, March,” “Julianna Calm Down” and “Sleep at Night.”

The shows will run May 3, 5-6, 10, and 12-13, with each show beginning at 8 p.m. Pre-sale for the residency begins Tuesday (Jan. 10) at 10 a.m. PT with the code SINWAGON.

Since the release of their debut single, “I Can Love You Better,” in 1997, the trio has earned 12 Grammy wins, including four best country album — Wide Open Spaces (1998), Fly (1999), Home (2002), and Taking The Long Way (2006). They also earned the CMA’s entertainer of the year honor in 2000, and have taken home the organization’s vocal group of the year honor four times.

09 Jan 2023

Janis Ian to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2023 International Folk Music Awards: Full Nominations List

Janis Ian will receive a lifetime achievement award at the International Folk Music Awards, which will be held at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 1 – the opening night of the Folk Alliance International’s 35th annual conference.

Ian is also nominated for artist of the year at the awards show, along with Aoife O’Donovan, Jake Blount, Leyla McCalla and Prateek Kuhad.

Ian, 77, is a two-time Grammy winner. She won the 1975 award for best pop vocal performance, female for her coming-of-age classic “At Seventeen” and the 2012 award for best spoken word album for Society’s Child: My Autobiography. She received her 10th Grammy nomination this year for best folk album for The Light at the End of the Line. The nod comes 55 years after Ian’s first Grammy nomination (best folk performance) for 1967’s Janis Ian.

The Folk Alliance International bestows three lifetime achievement award each year. Ian is set to receive the award for a living artist. Josh White, who died in 1969 at age 55, will receive the award for a legacy artist. Oh Boy Records, which was founded in 1981 by John Prine, Al Bunetta and Dan Einstein, all now deceased, will receive the business/academic award.

O’Donovan, McCalla and Anaïs Mitchell, who won a Tony and a Grammy for her work on the musical Hadestown, are each nominated in two of the three competitive categories – album, artist and song of the year. Nominations in those categories are based on U.S., Canadian, and international industry year-end lists as well as folk radio airplay. Winners will be determined by the voting membership of the Folk Alliance International. Voting is open until Jan. 17.

Two of the nominees for album of the year are also nominated for album awards at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 5. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree is up for best bluegrass album at the Grammys. Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder’s Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, is Grammy-nominated for best traditional blues album.

McCalla is also set to receive the People’s Voice Award, which is presented to an individual who “unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers.” Past recipients include Jason Mraz (2022), Jackson Browne (2021) and Ani DiFranco (2020).

Alisa Amador will receive The Rising Tide Award, which was launched in 2021 to celebrate an artist under 30 who “inspires others by embodying the values and ideals of the folk community through their creative work, community role, and public voice.”

Shambala Festival, a four-day contemporary performing arts festival in Northamptonshire, England, will receive the Clearwater Award, which is presented to a festival that “prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production.”

Appearances at the ceremony are confirmed by McCalla; keynote speaker Valerie June; The Milk Carton Kids; and 2012 Mercury Prize nominee Sam Lee.

Presenters will include author and NPR Music critic Ann Powers, NPR Alt.Latino’s Catalina Maria Johnson, Ashley Shabankareh, Chris Porter, Sara Leishman, Ayappa Biddanda, Reid Wick, Michael Kornfeld, Laura Thomas and Brandi Waller Pace. All are members of the board of directors of Folk Alliance International.

The organization, based in Kansas City, Mo., was founded in 1989. Today it has more than 3,000 members — artists, agents, managers, labels, publicists, arts administrators, venues, festivals, and concert series presenters.

The organization defines folk broadly as “the music of the people” and programs a diverse array of sub genres including Appalachian, Americana, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, Cajun, global roots, hip-hop, old-time, singer-songwriter, spoken word, traditional, zydeco, and various fusions.

Here are the nominees in competitive categories as well as the recipients of honorary awards:

Album of the year

Anais Mitchell, Anais Mitchell
Crooked Tree, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Get on Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder
Marchita, Silvana Estrada
Queen Of Sheba, Angélique Kidjo & Ibrahim Maalouf

Artist of the year

Aoife O’Donovan
Jake Blount
Janis Ian
Leyla McCalla
Prateek Kuhad

Song of the year

“Udhero Na,” written by Arooj Aftab, performed by Arooj Aftab and Anoushka Shankar

“Dodinin,” words written by Atis Indepandan; music by Atis Indepandan, adapted from slave song, performed by Leyla McCalla

“Bright Star,” written and performed by Anais Mitchell

“How,” written by Marcus Mumford and Brandi Carlile, performed by Marcus Mumford featuring Brandi Carlile

“B61,” written and performed by Aoife O’Donovan

The Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Awards: Janis Ian (living), Josh White (legacy), Oh Boy Records (business/academic)

The People’s Voice Award: Leyla McCalla

The Rising Tide Award: Alisa Amador

The Clearwater Award: Shambala Festival

The Spirit of Folk Awards: Steve Edge, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, Marcy Marxer, Adrian Sabogal, Pat Mitchell Worley

The Folk DJ Hall of Fame: Robert Resnik, Marilyn Rea Beyer, John Platt, Harry B. Soria Jr.

09 Jan 2023

Hilary Duff Cheers on Lea Michele in ‘Funny Girl’: ‘You Shine So Bright’

Lizzie and Rachel! Hilary Duff spent a girls night out in New York City over the weekend supporting Lea Michele in Broadway’s Funny Girl.

“Lea, what a treat to see you in this role! You shine so bright … it was made for you!” the Lizzie McGuire star wrote on Saturday (Jan. 7) alongside a photo of herself and three pals — including Younger co-star Molly Bernard — posing with the Glee alum at the theater.

Within the slideshow, Duff also shared snaps smiling in front of the Funny Girl marquee outside the August Wilson Theatre, and showing off multiple copies of the musical’s playbill from her seat. For her part, Michele appreciated the social media shout-out, writing, “Love you hil” with a simple red heart emoji in the comments.

The Broadway star’s stint as Fanny Brice in the musical revival has been a resounding success since she stepped into the role in September, replacing original star Beanie Feldstein. In late December, her star power helped the show bring in more than $2 million across eight shows, setting a new record for the historic venue that’s also been home to Tony nominees such as Mean Girls, Jersey Boys, Slave Play and more over the years.

During the holiday season, Michele also dished on the heartwarming letter she received in her dressing room from original Funny Girl star Barbra Streisand in an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Duff, meanwhile, shared an adorably chaotic Christmas card with her rocker husband Matthew Koma and kids Luca, Banks and Mae.

See Duff and Michele celebrate Funny Girl below.