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The Grammy Museum has announced the expansion of Grammy Camp, a week-long program for high school students interested in pursuing careers in the music industry. Starting in summer 2025, Grammy Camp will be held in New York and Miami, in addition to its flagship Los Angeles program. The 2025 Grammy Camp season will take place […]
Kesha is on the run from a gang of really bad seeds in the action-packed video for her single “Joyride.” In the visual that dropped on Wednesday (Nov. 20), the singer makes a seemingly cheeky reference to her split with former producer/label boss Dr. Luke, with a voiceover saying that she is “set to be released after nine years of wrongful imprisonment” thanks to new evidence overturning her conviction.
Forget all that, though, because the high-octane clip co-directed by the singer, Laura Gorun, Dimitri Basil and Cooper Roussel is a cheeky homage to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series, with Kesha playing the part of a red leather-clad hell-raiser on the run from a group of colorfully named hired assassins. From the fonts to the names of her tormentors, the clip has QT’s influence all over it.
After finding out — in Italian for no apparent reason — that her unnamed tormentor only has “60 miles of blacktop” to stop her from achieving her goal, Kesha slips into her driving leathers and hits the road as a helicopter fires rounds at her ride while she speeds down the desert highway in a vintage Jaguar convertible.
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“Are you a man?/ Cuz I’m a b–ch/ I’m already rich/ Just looking for that mmmmm/ This party sucks I’m ’bout to ditch,” she sings over the bouncing rhythm of the Zhone-produced song that dropped on July 4. The high-speed pursuit includes a procession of would-be sharpshooters taking potshots at her, including Yippie & the Kiyays, Sadie the Stabber & the Crazyboys, Rowdy Ricky & the Red Flags, and the mega-jacked Derk Delusional (the One to Outrun).
Try as they might, their bullets never hit their target and the video ends with Kesha striking a series of poses on her ride before she hits the gas, seemingly on a collision course with a sawed-off shotgun wielding, shirtless Derk. The action ends with a tease for her upcoming single, “Delusional,” which is out on Nov. 29.
“Joyride” is the first single Kesha has released on her own label, Kesha Records, following the settling of the defamation suit filed by Dr. Luke in 2023, which came years after the singer filed a suit against the producer in 2014 alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse; Dr. Luke has denied all the allegations.
Watch the “Joyride” video below.
Lady Gaga has conquered music, movies and Las Vegas. But there is one item on her bucket list that has been annoying elusive. Until now. After Mother Monster was announced as one of the headliners for next year’s Coachella Festival, the singer took to her socials to gush about how the booking is the realization of one of her rock and roll fantasies.
“I have long dreamed of throwing a massive night of chaos in the desert,” Gaga wrote on Wednesday (Nov. 20) after the lineup for next year’s event in Indio, CA was unveiled. “I’ve had a vision I’ve never been able to fully realize at Coachella for reasons beyond our control but I wanted to come through for music fans. I have been wanting to go back and to do it right, and I am.”
Gaga, who is preparing to release her as-yet-untitled seventh studio album in February, headlined Coachella at the last minute in 2017 when she replaced Beyoncé, who was pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir Carter, marking her only appearance to date at the event. “I’m headlining and starting the weekend off at Coachella. Can’t wait to hear you all singalong and dance dance DANCE till we drop,” she added.
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Gaga has plenty of other big news to celebrate at the moment, including a new guitar-heavy version of her current single, “Disease (The Poison Live),” and the news that her collab with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” just became the fastest song to reach 1 billion Spotify streams.
She will also have plenty of A-list company from fellow headliners Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott at the festival that will take place over two weekends — April 11-13 and 18-20 — which will also feature sets from Missy Elliott, Benson Boone, LISA, FKA Twigs, GloRilla, Tyla, Charli XCX, Anitta, Clairo, ENHYPEN, Jimmy Eat World, T-Pain, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, JENNIE of BLACKPINK, Beabadoobee, Ty Dolla $ign, Rema and Shaboozey, among many others.
A presale will kick off at 11 a.m. PT Friday (Nov. 22), with 2023 and 2025 attendees getting early access starting 11 a.m. PT the day before. You can also register for the presale now on Coachella’s website.
See Gaga’s post below.
Netflix’s Emilia Pérez and composer Hans Zimmer each received three awards at the 15th annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA), which were held on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at The Avalon in Hollywood, CA. The HMMA honors composers, songwriters and music supervisors for their contributions over the previous year in music for film, TV, video games and more.
Emilia Pérez won for music-themed film, biopic or musical and also song – onscreen performance (film) by Zoe Saldana, who performed “El Mal.” The film’s French composers and songwriters Clément Ducol & Camille also won for score – feature film.
Zimmer received three HMMAs, the most awarded this year to any one individual. He won for score – sci-fi/fantasy film for Dune: Part Two; for his score to the documentary TV series Planet Earth III, which he composed with Jacob Shea and Sara Barone; and for song – TV show/limited series for “Love Will Survive” from The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which he cowrote with Kara Talve, Walter Afanasieff and Charlie Midnight. Barbra Streisand performed the song.
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Universal Pictures’ animated film, The Wild Robot, and legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin each received two awards.
The Wild Robot received top accolades in two animated film categories, for its score composed by Kris Bowers and its original song “Kiss the Sky,” performed by Maren Morris, who co-wrote it with Ali Tamposi, Michael Pollack, Delacey, Jordan Johnson, and Stefan Johnson.
Taupin received the HMMA Outstanding Career Achievement Award. In addition, he shared the award for song – documentary film for “Never Too Late” from the Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. John and Brandi Carlile both co-wrote and performed the song, and collaborated with additional co-writers Taupin and Andrew Watt.
Diane Warren won this year’s HMMA for song – feature film for “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight, which was performed by H.E.R. If the song is nominated for an Oscar, it will be Warren’s 16thnomination for best original song, and her eighth year in a row with a nomination.
Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, and Andrew Wyatt won for song – independent film for “Beautiful That Way from The Last Showgirl. Cyrus also performed the track.
The HMMA Awards were held nearly a month before the Oscars are set to announce their shortlists of 15 original songs and 20 original scores on Dec. 17. Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 17. The annual HMMA nominations and awards are our real first peek inside what may be vying for music awards at other awards shows in coming weeks.
Here are the 2024 HMMA nominations in film categories, with winners marked, followed by a listing of other award winners.
Song – feature film
“Winter Coat” from Blitz – Written by Nicholas Britell, Taura Stinson, and Steve McQueen. Performed by Saoirse Ronan.
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers – Written by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Luca Guadagnino. Performed by Mariqueen Maandig Reznor.
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – Written by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard. Performed by Zoe Saldana.
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – Written by Clément Ducol and Camille. Performed by Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramírez.
“Forbidden Road” from Better Man – Written and performed by Robbie Williams.
“Periyone” from The Goat Life – Written by A.R. Rahman and Rafiq Ahamed. Performed by Jithin Raj.
“The Idea of You” from The Idea of You – Written by Savan Kotecha, Albin Nedler and Carl Falk. Performed by Galitzine and Anne-Marie.
WINNER: “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight – Written by Diane Warren. Performed by H.E.R.
“Out of Oklahoma” from Twisters – Written by Luke Dick, Shane McAnally, and Lainey Wilson. Performed by Lainey Wilson.
Song – animated film
“Double Life” from Despicable Me 4 – Written and performed by Pharrell Williams.
“Beyond” from Moana 2 – Written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. Performed by Auli’i Cravalho.
“Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” from Moana 2 – Written by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. Performed by Dwayne Johnson.
WINNER: “Kiss the Sky” from The Wild Robot – Written by Maren Morris, Ali Tamposi, Michael Pollack, Delacey, Jordan Johnson, and Stefan Johnson. Performed by Maren Morris.
“Just as You Are” from Thelma the Unicorn – Written by Taura Stinson, Darien Dorsey, and Brittany Howard. Performed by Brittany Howard.
Song – documentary film
“Pain Has a Purpose” from Americans With No Address – Written by Cindy Morgan and Jonathan Kingham. Performed by Rachael Lampa.
WINNER: “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late – Written by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt. Performed by Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
“Mis Cuatro Letras” from Night Is Not Eternal – Written and performed by San Miguel Pérez and Chad Cannon.
“Piece by Piece” from Piece by Piece – Written by Pharrell Williams. Performed by Pharrell Williams, and Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers.
“Growing Up Is for Losers” from Red Herring – Written and performed by Xav Clarke.
“Harper and Will Go West” from Will & Harper – Written by Sean Douglas, Kristen Wiig, and Josh Greenbaum. Performed by Kristen Wiig.
Song – independent film
“Wi Sabi Wi” from African Giants – Written by Justin Schornstein. Performed by Malik Mayne, Patrick Dillon Curry, and Justin Schornstein.
“City of Dreams” from City of Dreams – Written by Linda Perry. Performed by Luis Fonsi.
“Hold on to the Dream” from Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End. Written by Arli Liberman and Tiki Taane. Performed by Arli Liberman, Tiki Taane, and Louis Baker.
“Right Where He Ought To Be” from Kim Kahana: The Man Who Changed Hollywood – Written by Richard Lynch and Kenny Day. Performed by Richard Lynch.
“The Creatures of Nature” from Sasquatch Sunset – Written by Toto Miranda, Yvonne Lambert and Josh Lambert. Performed by Riley Keough.
WINNER: “Beautiful That Way” from The Last Showgirl – Written by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li, and Andrew Wyatt. Performed by Miley Cyrus.
Song – onscreen performance
Cynthia Erivo – “Defying Gravity” from Wicked
Nicholas Galitzine and Anne-Marie – “The Idea of You” from The Idea of You
Saoirse Ronan – “Winter Coat” from Blitz
Timothée Chalamet – “Blowin’ in the Wind” from A Complete Unknown
WINNER: Zoe Saldana – “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
Score – feature film
Blitz – Hans Zimmer
Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
WINNER: Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol and Camille
Gladiator II – Harry Gregson-Williams
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – John Debney
Saturday Night – Jon Batiste
The Six Triple Eight – Aaron Zigman
Score – sci-fi/fantasy
Deadpool & Wolverine – Rob Simonsen
WINNER: Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – Tom Holkenborg
If – Michael Giacchino
Red One – Henry Jackman
Score – independent film (foreign language)
Girl You Know It’s True – Segun Akinola
Ka Whawhai Tonu- Struggle Without End – Arli Liberman, Tiki Taane
Mongrels – Hao-Ting Shih, Tae-Young Yu
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Karzan Mahmood
The Shadow of the Sun – Sandro Morales-Santoro
WINNER: The Goat Life – A.R. Rahman
Score – independent film
African Giants – Justin Schornstein
In the Land of Saints and Sinners – Diego Baldenweg
Sasquatch Sunset – The Octopus Project
September 5 – Lorenz Dangel
WINNER: The Room Next Door – Alberto Iglesias
Thelma – Nick Chuba
Score – horror/thriller film
A Quiet Place: Day One – Alexis Grapsas
Here After – Fabrizio Mancinelli
Longlegs – Zilgi
WINNER: Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
Speak No Evil – Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
The Substance – Raffertie
Score – animated film
Dragonkeeper – Arturo Cardelús
Out 2 – Andrea Datzman
That Christmas – John Powell
WINNER: The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Lorne Balfe and Julian Nott
Score – documentary
Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge – Allyson Newman
Endurance – Daniel Pemberton
Frida – Víctor Hernández Stumpfhauser
Jim Henson Idea Man – David Fleming
October H8te – Sharon Farber
WINNER: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Ilan Eshkeri
The Donn of Tiki – Holly Amber Church
WILL & HARPER – Nathan Halpern
Music-themed film, biopic or musical
A Complete Unknown
Back to Black
Better Man
Bob Marley: One Love
WINNER: Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard. Prodcued by Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux, Valerie Schermann, Anthony Vaccarello
Wicked
Music documentary / special program
Elton John: Never Too Late
I Am: Celine Dion
Music by John Williams
One to One: John and Yoko
WINNER: Piece By Piece, directed by Morgan Neville. Produced by Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, Mimi Valdes, Joshua R. Wexler, Pharrell Williams.
The Greatest Night in Pop
Music supervision – film
WINNER: Dave Jordan – Deadpool & Wolverine
Frankie Pine – The Idea of You
LaMarcus Miller and Livy Rodriguez-Behar – Jim Henson Idea Man
Steven Gizicki – A Complete Unknown
Rachel Levy – Twisters
Susan Jacobs and Jackie Mulhearn – Out of My Mind
Here are more winners from the evening:
Song – TV show/limited series: “Love Will Survive” from The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Written by Hans Zimmer, Kara Talve, Walter Afanasieff, and Charlie Midnight. Performed by Barbra Streisand.
Score – TV show/limited series: Shōgun – Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, and Nick Chuba
Song – onscreen performance (TV): Ashley Park – “Ruins” from Emily in Paris
Main title – TV show/limited series: Masters of the Air – Blake Neely
Score – short film (live action): Spaceman – Spencer Creaghan & Chris Reineck
Score – short film (animated): Fly Hard – Daniel Rojas
Score – short film (documentary): Motorcycle Mary – Katya Richardson
Score – documentary series -TV/ digital: Planet Earth III – Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and Sara Barone
Score – TV show/limited series (foreign language): Women in Blue (Las Azules) – Lucas Vidal
Score – video game (console & PC): Delta Force – Johan Söderqvist and Zio
Song – video game (console & PC): “The People’s Cry (Main Theme)” from Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – Written by Pinar Toprak and Paul R Frommer.
Song/score – mobile video game: Honor of Kings – Volker Bertelmann, Matthew Carl Earl, Laurent Courbier, Robbie Say, 2WEI, Zeneth, Henrik Lindström, Martin Landström and Rasmus Faber
Music supervision – TV show/limited series: Fallout – Trygge Toven
Music supervision – video game: Honor Of Kings – Jing Zhang, Shuqin Xiao, Corey Huang, Peiyue Lu and Samuel Siu
Song/score – commercial advertisement: Ram “The Convoy” – Emily Bjorke / In The Groove Music
Soundtrack album: Deadpool & Wolverine – Hollywood Records
Song – short film: “No Wahala” from Alkebulan II. Written by Matt B, Buguma Mark, Performed by Matt B and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Score – TV/streamed movie: The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat – Kathryn Bostic
Music design – trailer: American Horror Story – Delicate Part 2 – Fjøra X Nocturn
Main title – tv show (foreign language): Hotel Beyrouth – Suad Bushnaq
Music video: Lainey Wilson – “Out of Oklahoma”
Live concert for visual media: Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour – Olivia Rodrigo
Exhibitions, theme parks, special projects: Braveship: The Live Symphonic Spectacular – Matt Cook (Composer, Producer), Dan Merceruio (Producer), Leslie Ann Jones (Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer), Mirusia (Soprano).
Special recognition – New Media
Special recognition: Bullet Symphony – Live Coding for Everyone – Yang Zhang
For the complete list, visit: https://www.hmmawards.com/2024-hmma-nominations/
As this year’s CMA Awards drew to a close on Wednesday night (Nov. 20), Chris Stapleton became the evening’s foremost winner, picking up three trophies, single of the year, song of the year (both for “White Horse”) and male vocalist of the year. Morgan Wallen took home the evening’s biggest win, entertainer of the year. Meanwhile, Cody Johnson picked up album of the year for Leather. Brooks & Dunn extended their streak of the most wins in the vocal duo of the year category, nabbing a 15th win in the category. Megan Moroney picked up her first CMA Awards win, for new artist of the year, as did Riley Green and Ella Langley, in the musical event of the year category, for “You Look Like You Love Me.”
Outside of the award winners, many of the brightest moments at this year’s show came via a host of performances from artists ranging from legendary artists to buzzy newcomers. The soundscape highlighted a range of music under the country umbrella, including classic Texas honky-tonk, soul and rock fusions and bluegrass-leaning jams.
This year’s performances included several collaborations, including Kelsea Ballerini teaming with Noah Kahan, Post Malone performing with Chris Stapleton and Jelly Roll partnering with Brooks & Dunn on a stirring, gospel-tinged version of Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe,” included on B&D’s new Reboot II album. Plus, Dierks Bentley played alongside a trio of bluegrass music luminaries: Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes.
Artist tributes also contributed to some of the top moments, with Ashley McBryde paying homage the late singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. George Strait was honored with the 2024 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, and was feted with all-star performances from Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson.
Meanwhile, Eric Church continued to bring awareness to those impacted by Hurricane Helene through his stirring performance of “Darkest Hour.”
Every artist brought a unique artistry and talent to the CMA Awards stage. Here, we count down the top performances.
Post Malone Offers Familial Ode on “Yours”
22 years it was first launched in the U.K., ubiquitous music identification app Shazam has announced it has now surpassed 100 billion recognitions.
First launching on Aug. 19 2002, Shazam began its life as an SMS service where users would dial a number, hold up their phones to identify the song being played, and then receive the name and artist via a text message. While it grew in popularity and influence over the years, it was in 2006 that Shazam was launched as an app, before becoming available on both Apple and Android devices in 2008.
By 2011, the service had recognized more than one billion songs, and by the following year, that number had increased to five billion, with the 15 billion milestone following in 2014. In 2017, it was announced that Apple had acquired Shazam for $400 million.
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Now, Apple have announced that Shazam has hit the impressive milestone of 100 billion song recognitions across its lifetime. The news comes just five years after the service celebrated 20 years with news it had surpassed 70 billion recognitions.
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“This monumental milestone not only reflects how much people enjoy using Shazam, but also their appetite for new music,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats in a stateent.
“Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”
Apple have also shared a handful of statstics to put the 100 billion figure into perspective, noting that the number is equivalent to 12 songs identified for every person on Earth, and that one person would need to use Shazam to identify a song every second for 3,168 years to reach 100 billion.
An Apple Music playlist was also created by the company which features the 100 most-Shazamed songs across the app’s lifetime.
Atop the list is Tones and I’s “Dance Monkey” with 45 million identifications to its name, closely followed by fellow Australian act Gotye and his 2012 Kimbra-featuring hit “Somebody That I Used to Know”.
Passenger’s “Let Her Go”, Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us” round out the top five, with acts such as Lewis Capaldi, Hozier, The Weeknd, KALEO, and Sia completing the top ten.
The 2024 CMA Awards, held on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, had its fair share of snubs and surprises. To be sure, many races went exactly as expected. Old Dominion won vocal group of the year for the seventh year in a row, the longest continuous winning streak in that category’s history. […]
Morgan Wallen was crowned entertainer of the year at the 2024 CMA Awards, which were held on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Wallen’s coronation comes less than four years after a career-imperiling moment where he was caught on video using a racial slur, and suggests that he is now back in Nashville’s good graces. (He did come up short in his other six categories this year, so he’s perhaps still not all the way back.) Wallen was a no-show, perhaps sensing that he was still persona non grata.
Wallen’s win for entertainer of the year means that Chris Stapleton has now lost in that category eight times without winning. That’s the most nominations for entertainer of the year without a win. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood are currently tied for second place on the list of artists with the most nominations without a win (six).
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But Stapleton won three awards on the night, more than any other artist. This brings his career total of CMA wins to 18. Only two other artists have won 18 or more CMA Awards. Brooks & Dunn, who won another award this year, lead with 19 awards. Vince Gill, like Stapleton, has won 18 awards. At this year’s show, Stapleton pulled ahead of George Strait (17 wins) and Alan Jackson (16).
Stapleton won male vocalist of the year for a record-extending eighth time. He’s far ahead of the pack in terms of most wins in the category. Runners-up, with five wins each, are Gill, Strait and Blake Shelton. (By way of comparison, the top winner in the female vocalist of the year category, Lambert, has won it seven times.)
Stapleton also won single and song of the year for “White Horse.” It’s the third time he has doubled up and won both awards on the same night. He also won both awards for “Broken Halos” in 2018 and “Starting Over” in 2021. Stapleton is the first artist in CMA history to win single of the year three times. Stapleton’s single beat a pair of long-running No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey and “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone featuring Wallen.
This was also Stapleton’s third win for song of the year. Only two other songwriters have won three or more times in this category. Gill leads with four song of the year wins. Don Schlitz also won it three times.
Lainey Wilson won two awards, second only to Stapleton. She took female vocalist of the year for the third year in a row. She’s the sixth woman to win in this category three or more years in a row. Tammy Wynette was the first singer to accomplish the feat (1968-70), followed by Reba McEntire (1984-87), Martina McBride (2002-04), Underwood (2006-08) and Lambert (2010-15). Wilson also won music video of the year for “Wildflowers and Wild Horses.” This ups her CMA tally to nine wins, all in just three years.
Old Dominion won vocal group of the year for the seventh consecutive year. They’re the first group ever to win in this category seven years running, though they still have a ways to go to catch up to The Statler Brothers for most total wins in the category (nine).
Brooks & Dunn won vocal duo of the year for the 15th time; the first time since 2006. Everyone was wondering if Brothers Osborne or Dan + Shay would win this time, or could The War and Treaty possibly win in an upset? Few thought Brooks & Dunn would reclaim the award they won 14 times between 1992 and 2006. When Brooks & Dunn first won the award, they beat reigning champs The Judds. With this latest win, they beat reigning champs Brothers Osborne.
Megan Moroney won new artist of the year on her second nomination. She lost to Jelly Roll last year. (Artists are allowed two nominations in this category.)
Cody Johnson’s ninth studio album, Leather, won album of the year. Its win was considered a surprise given the strong competition, including Stapleton’s Higher and Jelly Roll’s Whitsitt Chapel.
Guitar player Charlie Worsham won musician of the year for the first time, ending Jenee Fleenor’s five-year hold on the award. With Worsham’s win, steel guitarist Paul Franklin lost in the category for the 32nd time. That’s not a typo – Franklin has been nominated, and lost, in the category 32 times.
Jeff Bridges is many things – and “legendary actor” is certainly one of them. Not only did Bridges bring The Dude to life in 1998’s The Big Lebowski, creating one of the most beloved (and imitated) cinematic characters of the last 30 years, but he beautifully portrayed an alcoholic country singer in 2009’s Crazy Heart […]
More than two decades since it was released, Chicago indie veterans Wilco have announced a 20th anniversary edition of their fifth album, A Ghost is Born.
The new deluxe edition package arrives via Nonesuch on February 7th, 2025 and complements the original recording with a myriad new extras.
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Available in both a nine-CD or nine-LP/four-CD format, the packages include the initial album paired with alternates, outtakes, and demos which chart the record’s conception, in addition to a full 2004 concert recording from Boston’s Wang Center and the band’s “fundamentals” workshop sessions.
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In total, 65 previously unreleased tracks are accompanied by a 48-page hardcover book which features liner notes from Grammy-winning writer Bob Mehr and previously unpublished photos. Alongside its announcement, the band have also shared an alternate version of “Handshake Drugs”, recorded at New York’s Sear Sound in November 2003.
Released in June 2004, A Ghost is Born arrived as Wilco‘s fifth album and as the follow-up to 2001’s difficult (though critically-acclaimed) Yanke Hotel Foxtrot. Peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, it was the group’s highest-charting album up to that point, and garnered reviews that equally labelled it their most “difficult and uncompromising album to date” and “the ever-evolving band’s richest work”.
Notwithstanding, the album went on to be named Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package at the 2005 Grammy Awards, and became revered amongst fans as one of Wilco’s best.
“I was worried the album was going to feel like something dark and not me anymore,” frontman Jeff Tweedy told Mehr as part of the record’s new liner notes. “But the album was ahead of me as a person.
“It was the part of me that I was trying to preserve—enthusiastic and furious about the world, as well as open and loving. I reached that in the music, before I could get there emotionally on my own.”