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Nearly a month after his shocking death following a fall from a third-story hotel balcony, Liam Payne‘s body has been released to his family in order to repatriate his remains to the singer’s native U.K. for burial. According to Reuters, an unnamed senior cemetery source in Buenos Aires told the news service that Payne’s body […]
Halsey’s The Great Impersonator debuts atop Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts dated Nov. 9. The set earned 93,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending Oct. 31, according to Luminate. That sum includes 81,000 via traditional album sales. Halsey previously ruled Top Alternative Albums for […]
With the 2024 MAMA Awards around the corner, and for the first time ever, the event will feature a ceremony in the U.S. To celebrate, two new performance collaborations were announced featuring a fuse between global music and K-pop. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Anderson .Paak and […]
Hank Azaria says that learning to sing Bruce Springsteen songs to front his EZ Street Band is “by far the hardest I’ve worked to do any vocal for anything,” even if it is “a genuine joy” for the bona fide Boss fan.
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Still, that’s saying something for a guy who’s won six Primetime Emmy Awards (four of them for voicing numerous characters on The Simpsons, including Moe Szyslak and Chief Wiggum) and has a lengthy resume of film, television, theater and video game roles.
Nevertheless, Azaria assures Billboard that he’s “extremely all-in” on the EZ Street Band. The band hits New York City’s Brooklyn Bowl on Nov. 8 and heads to the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J., on Nov. 15, with more dates to come through 2025. He’s using proceeds from the shows to fund his 4 Through 9 Foundation for social justice, education and recovery causes.
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“I tell stories about myself, as Bruce, on the night,” says Azaria via Zoom, adopting Springsteen’s voice with an earnest, intense expression on his face. “Some of them are what a song means to me. Some of them are just kind of repeating the way Bruce introduced the songs. Some of them are the back stories of how the songs were written that I found fascinating. It creates this evening of theater, of trying to be the best Springsteen band we can be and trying to mimic his vocal and the E Street Band sound as closely as we can. But I’ve never worked harder to prepare for any role I’ve ever done than I did for this.”
Azaria, who’s played a handful of EZ Street Band shows so far — starting with his 60th birthday party at City Winery in New York in April — is hoping there will be an audience for his take on Springsteen. And United Talent Agency, which is booking the shows, is sure of it. “It’s a masterclass of homage,” says UTA’s Ryan Edmundson. “Hank and the band’s devotion to their craft is evident on stage. Their faithful portrayal of the real-life icon Bruce Springsteen honors his legacy in a way we have never seen before. We’re thrilled to introduce the band’s unique artistry to larger audiences.” Glee veteran Michael Novick is managing Azaria’s EZ Street concerns, while his publicist, Seth Cohen, spent nearly a decade as Springsteen’s day-to-day representative with Shorefire Media.
Azaria, who’s met Springsteen twice over the years (more on that later), also received some tacit approval from the man himself.
“A few weeks ago, I got a text from a buddy of mine who’s a dentist in New York,” he says. “He says, ‘Please, please, please, ASAP, send me your favorite video of your band.’ I sent him a video of us doing ‘Thunder Road.’ Later that night he calls me and said Patti Scialfa [Springsteen’s wife and an E Street Band member] was in my dentist chair. I’m like, ‘Omigod, if I’d have known that I assure you I wouldn’t have sent the video.’
“He said he played it for Patti and apparently she loved it. And later that night I got another text saying Patti played it for Bruce and they loved it. They took it for how it’s meant, which was a loving tribute.”
Springsteen and company have an off night when Azaria and the EZ Street Band play the Stone Pony, by the way. But the actor doesn’t need more to get him excited about that particular show. “I can’t wait — it is the mothership,” he says. “Look, I think what carries me through any kind of nerves is this so genuinely comes from this joy of sharing this. I’ve earned my stripes as a Bruce fan.”
Growin’ Up
That devotion dates back to Azaria’s youth, including seeing Springsteen for the first time when The River tour played New York’s Madison Square Garden during 1980. “When I grew up, he was like an uncle — that’s how much I connected to him,” Azaria remembers. “His music and his (in-concert) talks got me through some very hard times as a teenager. I’d say he, almost more than anybody else, encouraged me to try to be a creative person. That was his message to me, for real.”
Azaria got to tell Springsteen about that, too, although neither meeting with Springsteen went quite as he hoped or planned.
While playing “Growin’ Up” during the EZ Street Band shows, Azaria tells the story of when Springsteen came backstage to see him during his Tony Award-nominated run in Monty Python’s Spamalot on Broadway.
“There’s a knock on my door and Bruce is standing there, alone,” Azaria recalls. “I almost had a heart attack. I absolutely lost my mind, to a point. He was very sweet and connected and present. He kinda gave me his review of the show, which he really enjoyed, in detail. We chatted long enough for me to tell him what his music meant to be, but it came out about nine octaves higher than my regular voice and very rushed, kind of screaming at him, as a fan boy. He was very sweet about it, but it was ridiculous.”
The same thing happened, he says, when he attended a Springsteen on Broadway performance and was part of the backstage meet and greet. “Before he could even say hello I started (makes babbling noises). He was very sweet again but kinda patted me on the shoulder and got out of there, and I don’t blame him. My wife just turned to me and said, ‘What is wrong with you?!’ My friend calls it Bruce Juice. It kind of overtakes you.”
Born to Run
The inspiration for the EZ Street Band, Azaria says, was his impending 60th birthday, which “bothered me a bit.” He came up with the idea as “a distraction,” working with keyboardist Adam Kromelow, his son’s former piano teacher, as musical director and studying a wealth of live recordings to familiarize himself with Springsteen’s vocal mannerisms and nuances. “I find that raspy sound he has easier to imitate, and that’s what I’ve always imitated, but (Springsteen) has a lot more than that,” notes Azaria, whose natural singing voice is deeper than Springsteen’s. After employing his well-practiced “homegrown mimicry process” he bought in vocal coach (the EZ Street Band’s Hannah Juliano) to bring him closer to the mark.
“I’m such a singing neophyte that I didn’t realize that these songs were unattainable for me,” acknowledges Azaria, who was had to overcome an anxiety that almost scotched the birthday party performance — where E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg joined the group for a couple of songs. “I started out four or five steps below Bruce; I’ve now kind of, through singing training and practice, worked up to almost at his key, just a step or two below. And the closer you are to his key the more authentic you sound. It’s been a very steep learning curve.”
With the eight-member EZ Street Band, however, he’s found some kindred spirits.
“They are kids in this band,” Azaria says. “They didn’t grow up with this music; only the bass player (Jeff Koch) knew any of it ’cause his dad was a huge fan. They’re all professional musicians, and now they do play it as if they did grow up with it ’cause they’re so good. And one of the joys of this is how much they’re discovering Bruce’s music, and they love it now. They love playing it even more than hearing it. They report to me as musicians how much fun these songs are to play.”
Since the birthday party Azaria and the EZ Streeters have also performed outside of a New York Mets game at CitiField and also at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York. The repertoire is growing: “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Candy’s Room,” “The Price You Pay” and “Jersey Girl” are slated to be played this month, and Azaria voices a desire to take on “The River” and “Atlantic City.” But don’t expect to see the EZ Street Band match the multi-hour extravaganzas that are Springsteen and the E Street Band’s routine.
“We’ll never get there, I promise you that,” Azaria says with a laugh. “An hour 20 (minutes), an hour 30. We’ll never get to two and a half (hours), I don’t think. But it’s getting better and better, and it’s such a joy. People ask me, ‘Do you feel like a rock star up there? Are you living out a rock star fantasy?’ On a certain level I am, but what I much more feel like is what I am, which is a lucky Bruce fan who’s gotten to go up there and share his version of Bruce love with everybody else — with the ability to mimic it better than most have.”
Like a lot of musicians who supported Vice President Kamala Harris in her losing bid to deny former President Donald Trump a second White House term, Sabrina Carpenter took the stage on Wednesday night (Nov. 6) with a heavy heart. During her show at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Carpenter did not refer to Trump by […]
Billie Eilish didn’t mince words on Wednesday night (Nov. 6) during her show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, less than a day after former President Donald Trump easily defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to secure his second White House term. The singer who had endorsed Harris — along with her brother/producer Finneas — was characteristically blunt in her assessment of Tuesday night’s results.
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“Let’s say convicted predator, let’s say that,” Eilish said without naming Trump, who was found liable in 2023 for sexually abusing, and defaming, advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996 and ordered to pay nearly $5 million in damages in that case, as well as $83.3 million in a related case; Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women dating back to the 1970s, has appealed the verdicts in the Carroll cases and denied all the allegations of sexual abuse.
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Seated on stage with an acoustic guitar across her lap, Eilish admitted her heart was beating “so fast” as she referred to Trump, again without explicitly naming him, as someone who “hates women so, so deeply is about to be the President of the United States of America. This song is for all the women out there. I love you, I support you.”
Eilish paused as some in the crowd yelled “f–k Trump!”
“So this song is for all the women out there,” she continued before dedicating her 2021 Happier Than Ever ballad “Your Power” to the women in the crowd. The poignant lyrics include the lines, “Try not to abuse your power/ I know we didn’t choose to change/ You might not wanna lose your power/ But having it’s so strange.”
Eilish also told her fans that when she woke up that morning she “couldn’t fathom” doing a show that night, but as the day went on she realized the “privilege” of getting to perform for them after the let-down of Harris’ decisive loss to Trump, who will become the first convicted felon to ascend to the nation’s highest office.
“And the song that we’re about to do is… about the abuse that exists in this world upon women and a lot of the experiences that I have gone through and that people I know have gone through. And to tell you the truth, I’ve never met one single woman who doesn’t have a story of abuse. Not one,” she said at the show on her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.
“I’ve dealt with some stuff myself and I have been taken advantage of. My boundaries were crossed to say it politely,” she added before telling them, “I just love you so much and I want you to know that you’re safe with me and you’re protected here and you are safe in this room.”
During a performance of her song “TV” — which references the overturning of Roe v. Wade following Trump’s appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices during his first term — Eilish sang, “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial/ While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade,” before standing mute for a few moments and then walking off stage without further comment.
Eilish was one of many stars who spoke out following Trump’s decisive victory on Tuesday night, writing on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday morning “it’s a war on women.”
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton will each perform twice on the 58th annual CMA Awards, which are set for Wednesday, Nov. 20. Post will perform “Yours,” the closing track from his album F-1 Trillion. Stapleton will perform “What Am I Gonna Do,” the opening track from his album Higher. The two stars will also team to perform “California Sober,” a track from F-1 Trillion on which they collaborated.
Shaboozey, a first-time nominee this year with two nods, will perform a medley of his breakthrough smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which is in its 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and his new single “Highway.” Both songs are featured on his album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.
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Performing together for the first time, Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims will offer a mash-up of Rhett’s “Somethin’ ’Bout a Woman,” from his new album About a Woman, and Swims’ “Lose Control,” a recent No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. The two Georgia natives also had a hand in co-writing Rhett’s “Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings),” a No. 1 hit on Country Airplay in 2023. Before that, they teamed on Swims’ pre-fame 2020 song “Broke.”
Dierks Bentley will be joined by Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes for a performance of Tom Petty’s 1976 classic “American Girl.” Bentley performed the rock classic on this year’s Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson, who are co-hosting the show with Peyton Manning, will each perform on the show. Bryan will perform “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” which reached No. 2 on Country Airplay last month, becoming his 36th top 10 hit on that chart. Wilson will perform her current single “4x4xU,” which is currently up to No. 23 on that chart. The songs are featured on their albums Mind of a Country Boy and Whirlwind, respectively.
Ashley McBryde is also set to perform on the show, though her song selection has not yet been named. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Country Music’s Biggest Night is set to air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday Nov. 20 (8-11 p.m. ET). It will air on ABC and be available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
The 58th annual CMA Awards is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer, Alan Carter is the director and Jon Macks is the head writer. Tickets are on-sale now at Ticketmaster.
Bruce Springsteen reacted to Tuesday’s presidential election results in the best way he knows how: by singing a song about freedom, hope, love and loss. “This is a fighting prayer for my country,” Springsteen told the crowd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as he and the E Street Band launched into the 2007 song “Long Walk Home” from 2007’s Magic album.
With that, the band tore into the mid-tempo rocker whose lyrics felt especially timely in light of Springsteen’s vocal, emphatic support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ losing campaign against former and now future President Donald Trump. “Last night I stood at your doorstep/ Trying to figure out what went wrong,” he sang on the song with the poignant refrain: “It’s gonna be a long walk home/ Hey pretty darling, don’t wait up for me/ Gonna be a long walk home.”
Though he didn’t comment further on the relevance of the song’s themes, their plainspoken poetry did the talking for him. “My father said ‘Son, we’re lucky in this town/ It’s a beautiful place to be born/ It just wraps its arms around you/ Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone,’” he sang, followed by another verse layered with Springsteen’s signature dream of a better tomorrow and faith in the resilience of the American spirit: “Your flag flyin’ over the courthouse/ Means certain things are set in stone/ Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t.”
Springsteen had been all-in for Harris, throwing his weight behind the 11th-hour candidacy by filming the moving “Hope and Dreams” campaign video in which he said, “This election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life. Donald Trump does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American. I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who wants to protect and guide our great democracy, who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, who will fight for women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, and who wants to create a middle class economy that serves all our citizens.”
The comments came from an Oct. 28 Harris rally where Springsteen shared the stage with John Legend and former President Barack Obama. That appearance in Philadelphia came just days after The Boss joined a Harris rally in Georgia, where he told supporters that she was “running to be the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant.”
Springsteen was one of dozens of musicians, actors and other artists who threw in with the Harris campaign’s attempt to stop twice impeached Trump from being just the second man to serve non-consecutive White House terms, as well as the first convicted felon to ascend to the nation’s highest office.
Watch a fan video of the performance here.
BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ is set to take on the fiery challenge of Hot Ones.
First We Feast, the channel behind the show, announced her appearance on Nov. 5, teasing, “This week on Hot Ones, we got Rosé vs. The Wings of Death. 💀 Tune in Thursday @ 11AM ET.”
also announced the news over Instagram: “Hi everyone. This is Rosé. Uh I’ll be on Hot Ones this week. Please tune in to see me kill it. Or maybe not. We’ll see.”
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In her Hot Ones episode teaser clips that dropped Nov. 6, ROSÉ didn’t hold back on her love for spice — though she wondered just how far she could go with the “Wings of Death.” “I like spicy food,” she said, adding, “But I don’t know if I like spicy spicy.”
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As the heat began to kick in, she joked, “By the way, my tongue is built differently. It’s built different.” Built different.”
Asked about the inspiration behind her new single “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, ROSÉ explained it was rooted in a playful cultural moment. “APT” is a tribute to a traditional Korean drinking game called “aparteu” (or “apartment” in English), and it’s also the first single from her anticipated debut album, Rosie, set for release on Dec. 6.
“It’s a Korean drinking game APT, one, two, three, four, five, six,” she said. “Whoever gets the top takes the shot.”
Shifting to her craft, she also discussed her vocal technique, explaining the difference between chest and head voice. “I’ve set the key too high,” she laughed, adding, “That’s the difference, I guess, right?”
ROSÉ’s latest hit is taking the music world by storm, smashing records left and right. The catchy tune has been dominating charts globally. In a massive debut, “APT.” soared to the top spot on both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, and held its crown for two straight weeks.
Down Under, ROSÉ’s Aussie fans have shown their love in spades. “APT.” rocketed to No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, making her the first solo female K-pop artist to conquer the Aussie charts. Not only that, but she’s kept the top spot warm for multiple weeks – a feat not seen since PSY’s “Gangnam Style” back in 2012.
In a recent PAPER Magazine interview, she discussed how online criticism inspired one of the album’s most personal tracks, stating, “I realised how vulnerable and addicted I was to this [online] world and that craving for feeling like I wanted to be loved and understood.”
Born in Auckland and raised in Melbourne, ROSÉ moved to South Korea at 15 to pursue music, eventually joining BLACKPINK. The group’s debut studio album The Album skyrocketed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest ever for a K-pop girl group. Born Pink dropped and made history as the first album by a female Korean act to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
ROSÉ has also seen previous success as a solo artist. Her 2021 single “On the Ground” was the first song by a Korean solo artist to top both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. She has also ranked No. 79 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart.
Fans can watch ROSÉ’s Hot Ones episode on Thursday at 11 AM ET to see how she handles the heat.
Los Temerarios were initially supposed to play two shows in Chicago as part of their Hasta Siempre farewell tour, but it quickly expanded to a total of five nonconsecutive shows at the Allstate Arena. Chicago wasn’t the exception. The number of shows in big Latin markets, including Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, doubled or tripled soon after the tour was announced. It’s something that David Zamora, CEO of Zamora Live – the trek’s promoter – had prepared for.
“When we were routing the tour, we held multiple dates with the assumption that, since it is the farewell tour, we would be adding shows,” explains Zamora. “I think all this shows how much the fans love Los Temerarios and how much they will be missed. These are memories to last a lifetime.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 6), the Mexican band – led by brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Ángel – performed the second of its string of shows at the Allstate where thousands of fans gathered to see Los Temerarios one last time together. Gustavo and Adolfo, who founded the group in the 80s, announced last year they were separating after more than four decades together, and a total of 41 entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and 46 entries on Top Latin Albums — more than any other Latin act in history.
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On this particular night, the crowd skewed older millennial, many decked out in Temerarios merch. They were there to celebrate a band whose music has helped heal many broken hearts. “It takes me back to when I was a teen and I’d be sad in my room because my boyfriend had just broken up with me. Those are the songs I’d listen to,” says Yvette, who was there with a group of friends. “Their music means so much to me. It’s nostalgia, it’s Mexico,” adds her friend Lucia, who gets almost emotional.
As concertgoers filled every single seat of the arena — that has a capacity of nearly 20,000 people — the show kicked off at 8:30 p.m. with Adolfo, on keyboards, and frontman Gustavo taking the stage with their five-member live band in tow. The crowd, on their feet for most of the nearly three-hour show, roared at the sight of the brothers, who gave each a high five before embarking on the nostalgia-filled journey.
“What a beautiful welcome,” Gustavo said. ”We are very blessed to have you here tonight. It is the type of support you have shown us for so many years. We have so many memories here in this city, where we’ve performed since 1985.”
Los Temerarios performed its signature romantic love songs that have made zealous fans swoon over and over again, including “Mi Vida Eres Tú,” “Eres Un Sueño,” “Como te Recuerdo,” “Dímelo,” “La Mujer Que Soñé,” “La Mujer de Los Dos” and “Ven Porque Te Necesito,” just to name a few from the packed setlist. From cumbia grupera to rancheras and pop ballads, Adolfo and Gustavo showcased their vast catalog singing all the big hits for their last hoorah.
The brothers mainly stayed in place. Adolfo, who occasionally flashed shy smiles to his loyal followers, behind the keyboards and Gustavo being the charismatic frontman who knows exactly what to say and do to rile up the crowd. Both are perfectly in synch, after all they’ve been doing those for many years.
“My heart is feeling very emotional,” Adolfo added at one point. “I’m sorry if you suddenly feel that I’m overcome with emotion, but my heart overflows with gratitude. We are going to play all the songs you want. Our shows are usually last two hours long, but today we are going to play for three hours. We hope you have an unforgettable night. We will never forget you. Thank you, always.”
Worthy of a farewell show, Los Temerarios delivered an epic set, one that didn’t need for elaborate bits, complex choreographies or even a bombastic production. It was just Adolfo and Gustavo doing what they do best: sing from the heart the songs that have soundtracked Hispanic multigenerational homes for decades.
Los Temerarios’ Hasta Siempre Tour continues with three additional shows in Chicago from Nov. 7-9, and stops in Portland, Anaheim, Calif., and two BMO Stadium concerts in Los Angeles. On tour since February 2023, the Mexican band will end the trek in Mexico City in December.