Music

16 Nov 2022

Here Are the Best Reactions to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Ticketmaster Mess

Swifties across North America will forever remember Tuesday (Nov. 15) all too well. After an unprecedented number of fans visited Ticketmaster in the hopes of buying presale tickets for Taylor Swift‘s 2023 Eras Tour online, the company’s website experienced mass outages and extreme delays that caused some to wait for several hours in a virtual queue, just to walk away empty handed.

Naturally, people had some thoughts. Even before the whole debacle was said and done, droves of Swifties took to social media to air out their frustrations with Ticketmaster in hilarious posts, videos and homemade memes. Someone, for example, photoshopped the company’s logo over Tay’s face in the “Anti-Hero” music video, captioned with one of the song’s lyrics: “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me.”

“Taylor swift walking onto stage with no one in the audience, because that ticketmaster queue never did move,” quipped one fan, sharing a photo of a concert arena, completely empty except for one single person in the audience.

“Being stuck in the ticketmaster queue really has you wondering how different your life you be if you never listened to Our Song on the radio in 2006 that one time,” joked another.

Ticketmaster shared a statement shortly after 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, about three hours after the East Coast venue presales began. It said that the company wasn’t prepared for the “historically” large demand for tickets, and postponed presales for West Coast venues and Capitol One cardholders scheduled for later that same day.

Many frazzled Swifties felt confused as to why so many presale codes had been sent out if the site wasn’t ready for them all to be cashed in, and couldn’t resist cracking jokes at Ticketmaster’s expense. “Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by ticketmaster,” wrote one fan, quoting Mean Girls and sharing a screenshot from the film.

See more of the best reactions to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Ticketmaster crisis below.

16 Nov 2022

Billy Ray Cyrus Confirms Engagement to Singer-Songwriter Firerose

Following weeks of speculation by fans, “Old Town Road” singer Billy Ray Cyrus, 61, has confirmed that he is engaged to wed Australian singer-songwriter Firerose. Rumors swirled last month after both Cyrus and Firerose posted photos on social media that depicted Firerose wearing what looked like an engagement ring.

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Cyrus and Firerose confirmed the engagement to People, noting that Firerose moved into Cyrus’s Tennessee home during the summer. Cyrus proposed in August.

Firerose said that there was no traditional proposal — no ring or getting down on one knee.

“Billy looked at me and said, ‘Do you, do you wanna marry me?’ And I was just like, ‘Of course I do. I love you.’ He said, ‘I love you. I wanna make this official. I wanna be with you forever.’” Firerose later selected a diamond and designed her ring.

Cyrus and Firerose first met on the set of the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana 12 years ago and stayed in touch over the years.

“Our friendship was so solid over the years,” Firerose told People.

During the early days of the pandemic, they began writing songs together and in July 2021, they released the song “New Day.”

“She plays all of her own instruments and writes her own songs. We began sharing music, and it just evolved,” Cyrus said.

“Billy confided in me a lot of what was going on in his life,” Firerose added. “I was just the best friend I could possibly be, supporting him.”

“There was sickness and death, and hard times,” Cyrus said of how the pandemic impacted his life. “All of the sudden, the life that I’ve always known as a touring artist didn’t exist anymore. A moment of so much change. And at the same time, Firerose, who had been such a light of positivity, such a best friend. And then when we began sharing the music, it just evolved more into, as musical soulmates, to soulmates, happy, pure love that to me, I didn’t know could exist. Again, we’re musicians, first and foremost, both of us. And we found this harmony, and this rhythm, this melody to life.”

The new relationship follows Cyrus’s split from his ex-wife, Tish, in April, after three decades of marriage. Tish placed the divorce filing, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause. TMZ reported that according to court documents, the couple had been living apart for the past two years.

Billy Ray and Tish later provided a statement to People, saying, “It is after 30 years, five amazing children and a lifetime of memories, we have decided to go our separate ways — not with sadness, but with love in our hearts,” the statement read. “We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths. We will always be family and look forward to a continued and loving shared experience as friends and parents. We have not come to this decision lightly or quickly but with so much going on in the world, we wanted to provide some clarity and closure, so we can remain focused on what is important…With Love and Hope… Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus.”

16 Nov 2022

SZA: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

A trampoline park in Austin isn’t the first place you’d expect to see hundreds of SZA fans. Yet on a Friday night in October, there they were — lined up, excitedly chanting the lyrics to “The Weekend” from the singer-songwriter’s 2017 debut album, Ctrl. And in fact, it wasn’t a completely unexpected sight: SZA had just wrapped her headlining set at the Austin City Limits festival and sent an open invite on Twitter to “randomly jump w me” till 2 a.m. The former competitive gymnast flipped into the foam pit with the utmost joy, just like her fans.

Altitude Trampoline Park, which bills itself as the “world’s best trampoline park,” also might not be where you’d expect to hear a preview of what RCA Records chairman/CEO Peter Edge calls “one of the most important albums of the year.” But on this particular evening, for any attendees listening closely, it was. Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s manager and president of her label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), played “at least 4 songs off the new album on the loud speakers,” she tweeted the following morning. Unlike this night in Austin, though, getting that album out has been far from all fun and games.

When SZA released Ctrl on June 9, 2017, on RCA and TDE, she immediately established herself as alternative R&B’s girl next door and one of the most exciting new voices in music. Sonically, it was the kind of music SZA had always wanted to hear growing up but never quite found outside of herself — an abstract form of R&B influenced by indie and trap music and shaped by lo-fi beats. And lyrically, it was the kind of ultra-relatable songwriting that young people from all walks of life needed: SZA chronicled familiar coming-of-age quandaries, like wondering if your significant other believes you’re enough, or debating if being normal would benefit your relationships, or, well, questioning everything else life throws at you in your 20s.

Read SZA’s full Billboard cover story, part of our R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue, here.

16 Nov 2022

Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, Future, Lil Wayne Top 2023 Rolling Loud L.A. Lineup

Rolling Loud announced the lineup for the 2023 Rolling Loud California festival on Tuesday (Nov. 15), with a jam-packed roster topped by headliners Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Future and Lil Wayne. The three-day event will take place in Inglewood, California at the 300-acre Hollywood Park Grounds adjacent to SoFi Stadium from March 3-5.

The first edition of Rolling Loud in the Los Angeles area since 2019 — the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to San Bernardino in 2021 — will mark Scott’s first major headlining performance since the Nov. 2021 Astroworld tragedy, where 10 fans died and hundreds were injured in a crowd crush. Among the other acts slated to take the stage at the festival are: Kodak Black, Tyga, Trippie Redd, Dababy, Saweetie, Fivio Foreign, Soulja Boy, Lil Baby, Don Toliver, 2 Chainz, Kevin Gates, Lil Yachy, City Girls, Chief Keef, Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, Moneybagg Yo and many more.

“Rolling Loud is deeply honored to be the first-ever music festival to take place at the incredible Hollywood Park,” said Rolling Loud co-founders Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif in August when they announced the L.A. dates. “We’re pumped to return to L.A. and make our debut in Inglewood, such an important neighborhood in rap history. Rolling Loud California 2023 will be an event worthy of its historic location, celebrating the undeniable influence of the West Coast on hip-hop and featuring some of the hottest rappers in the game. Stay tuned for our biggest and best California festival yet!”

Check out the full 2023 Rolling Loud L.A. lineup below.

16 Nov 2022

Isaac Hayes Estate Threatens Legal Action Against Donald Trump For Playing Sam & Dave Song at Campaign Launch

Donald Trump kicked off his third bid for the White House on Tuesday night (Nov. 15) at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and within an hour the twice-impeached one-term former president was already facing his latest threat of legal sanction.

In the midst of a nest of investigations into Trump’s actions before and during his tumultuous four-year term, the estate of late R&B/soul legend Isaac Hayes tweeted that it was exploring its legal options to stop the former reality star from using one of Hayes’ compositions at his campaign events. “Once again, the estate and family of Isaac Hayes DID NOT approve the use of ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ by Sam and Dave by Donald Trump at his 2024 Presidential announcement tonight,” read the tweet.

“We are exploring multiple legal options to stop this unauthorized use,” it warned. Hayes co-wrote the 1966 hit and in a subsequent tweet the estate added, “Stopping a politician from using your music is not always an easy task, but we are dedicated to making sure that Donald Trump does not continue to use ‘Hold on I’m Coming’ by written by Isaac Hayes an David Porter in further rallies and public appearances.”

As he launches his latest attempt to return to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in the wake of a middling to poor showing by the large slate of candidates he endorsed in last week’s midterm elections, the warning from the Hayes estate is likely the least perilous legal threat facing the real estate mogul. Trump is facing a Dept. of Justice probe into the large collection of official documents he took from the White House after his failed 2020 re-election bid.

He is also facing two investigations in New York — one civil, one criminal — examining his Trump Organization for allegations of fraud, as well as a probe into his alleged role in the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021 and a criminal investigation into his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Trump, 76, repeatedly fell afoul of number of musical acts during his first presidential run in 2015-2016, as well as during his term as president and his 2020 campaign when he played their music at his rallies. On his way out of office after being defeated by Pres. Joe Biden, the Village People called out the “bully” ex-president for playing their gay anthem “Y.M.C.A.” one more time against their wishes at his sparsely attended farewell event on Jan. 20, 2021.

For years Trump ignored pleas from a long list of famous acts to cease and desist from using their music during his rallies and political events and in addition to the costumed disco act, the legacy manager for Laura Branigan took issue with Trump playing her hit “Gloria” at his final official appearance as well.

Over the five years of his campaigns and presidency, artists ranging from Adele to Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, R.E.M., Aerosmith, Panic! at the Disco, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Rihanna and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince have vociferously objected to Trump playing their music at his rallies. At press time a spokesperson for Trump could not be reached for comment.

See the Hayes estate tweet below.

16 Nov 2022

Megan Fox Congratulates MGK on Grammy Nomination: ‘You Deserve This’

Megan Fox could not be more psyched for her fiancé Machine Gun Kelly. The actress gushed on Tuesday (Nov. 15) about MGK’s Grammy nomination for best rock album for his Mainstream Sellout album, writing in her Instagram Story, “WOW congratulations to my Grammy-nominated fiancé and hottest Edward Scissorhands cosplayer.”

Over a picture of the smiling rapper/rocker sporting a bunch of barrettes in his bleach blonde hair, she added, “You work harder than anyone I’ve ever known and are twice as talented. You deserve this.”

Kelly celebrated the moment on Instagram, writing, “Call me what you want as long as it starts with ‘grammy nominated’… I LOVE YOU,” he wrote along with a metal salute emoji. In a series of photos, MGK also posted the actual envelope with the rock album nominees, with his nom circled in red alongside albums by the Black Keys, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Idles, Ozzy Osbourne and Spoon. The slides show also featured a short video of the moment the nomination was announced, in which Colson — holding hands with Fox — absolutely loses his mind and runs screaming across the room.

In another video, he called longtime collaborator Travis Barker and eagerly delivered the news: “Wake up birthday man, we’re nominated for a mother f–king Grammy!”

Some of his Baker’s pals commented on the good news as well, including Avril Lavigne, who wrote, “F–k yeah,” with another friend producer Blackbear adding, “WTF im on a grammy nominated album !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATSSSSSSS.” The 2023 Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 5 at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.

Check out MGK’s post below.

16 Nov 2022

Bruce Springsteen Returns to ‘Tonight Show’ For ‘Turn Back the Hands of Time’: Watch

The Boss is back, again.

For the second consecutive night, Bruce Springsteen stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, this time to perform a cover of “Turn Back the Hands of Time.”

The song, originally recorded in 1970 by Tyrone Davis, and co-written by Jack Daniels and Bonnie Thompson, appears on Springsteen’s latest offering, Only the Strong Survive.

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Earlier, on Monday night (Nov. 14), the rock ‘n’ roll legend dished-up album track “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” and stuck around for a chat with Fallon on those pesky Taylor Swift tour rumors, misheard lyrics in “Thunder Road” and more.

Springsteen’s 21st studio album is a collection of 15 soul covers, including songs made famous by Jerry Butler, Dobie Gray, The Commodores, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Four Tops, The Walker Brothers and others.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data, Only the Strong Survive is on track for a No. 2 debut on the U.K. chart. The Rock And Roll Hall of Famer currently has 22 U.K. top 10 albums, including 12 No. 1s — equal third-best among solo acts, after Robbie Williams (14) and Elvis Presley (13), respectively.

“I had so much fun recording this music,” he previously explained. “I fell back in love with all these great songs and great writers and great singers. All of them still underrated in my opinion. And through the project I rediscovered the power of my own voice.”

Survive is the followup to Western Stars (from 2019), and Letter to You (2020), both of which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Watch Springsteen’s latest late-night TV performance below.

16 Nov 2022

INXS Fans Mount Campaign For Rock Hall Induction  

Despite their treasure chest of songs, style and, in their late-80s heyday, the ability to fill stadiums a long way from home, INXS is one of many bands waiting for a Rock Hall nod.

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A dedicated group of fans is trying to change that.

A change.org petition, simply titled “Induct INXS into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” is well on its way to reaching its target of 15,000 signatures.

At the time of writing, more than 11,000 fans have joined the petition, which declares: “After many years of amazing music and dynamic “live” performances, it’s time to ensure the legacy of one of the greatest bands in the world – INXS!”

The campaign was established by “Team Induct INXS,” comprised of fans Dina Ghram, Shanon Steele and Jim Skivalidas.

“All three of us are big music fans and have a deep appreciation of bands that have touched our lives and inspired us throughout the years,” the trio write in a message to Billboard. 

“INXS is at the top of all three of our lists – we’ve grown up with them, seen them ‘live’, bought all their albums, and come to think of INXS as a family of sorts.”

Alongside the Rock Hall petition, the team invested in a website at inductinxs.com. “We wanted to make sure that the fans knew we were taking this induct campaign seriously,” they explain.

Despite Australia’s renowned pedigree in rock music, few acts from the great southern land have graduated to the Rock Hall.

The Bee Gees and AC/CD are both immortalized, as is Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea, who was born Michael Balzary, in Melbourne. The Bee Gees, AC/DC and INXS are all members of the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Formed in Perth, Australia in 1977, and fronted by the charismatic Michael Hutchence, INXS kicked on to become one of the most popular alternative rock bands of the ‘80s.

Across their career, the new wave act sold over 60 million record sales worldwide, according to their label, Petrol, and bagged No. 1s on both sides of the Atlantic.

The rockers scored six U.K. top 10 albums (including a best-seller with Welcome To Wherever You Are from 1992) and five U.S. top 20 albums.

The 1987 album Kick went on to become the group’s highest and longest-charting album in the U.S., with a peak of No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It remained on the survey for 81 weeks, and four of its singles cracked the top 10 on the Hot 100: “New Sensation,” “Never Tear Us Apart,” “Devil Inside” and the “Need You Tonight,” which led the chart.

INXS was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, four years after the death of Hutchence, aged 37. The band has been eligible for induction into the Cleveland, Ohio-based Rock Hall since 2006, though, to date, their name hasn’t been called. 

Though the surviving members of INXS have called time on touring, a popular podcast, INXS: Access All Areas, led by Haydn Murdoch and Bridgit “Bee” Hewitt, explores the band and their many hits, which include “Original Sin,” “What You Need,” “Don’t Change,” “Burn For You,” and others.

The recently-inducted 2022 Rock Hall class included contemporaries Pat Benatar, Eurythmics and Duran Duran, who tapped Nile Rodgers to produce their 1983 hit “The Reflex” after hearing his slick sonic work on “Original Sin.”

“We are not stopping this campaign until INXS is nominated and inducted,” note Team Induct INXS. “This should have happened years ago.”

15 Nov 2022

Blueface Arrested Following Shooting in Las Vegas

Blueface was arrested Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 15) in connection with a shooting last month in Las Vegas, and is expected to face several charges including attempted murder.

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The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Johnathan Porter, had warrants out for his arrest following a shooting that took place Oct. 8 near Sunset Road and S. Las Vegas Blvd, reads a statement from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

LVMPD detectives apprehended the artist at approximately 2.40pm, and were set to book him into Clark County Detention Center on warrants for attempted murder with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm at/into an occupied structure, the statement continues.

The department also supplied Blueface’s mugshot.

Based in Los Angeles, Blueface had a commercial breakout in 2019 with “Thotiana,” which peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Thotiana” remains his only top 40 entry, and is one of three appearances on the chart, including “Daddy,” with Rich The Kid (peaking at No. 78); and “Slide,” with French Montana and Lil Tjay (No. 90), both from 2019.

The hip-hop artist’s debut mixtape, 2019’s Famous Cryp, reached No. 29 on the Billboard 200, and is one of his three entries on the chart.

The controversial rapper first got attention thanks in part to his high-pitched voice, which observers have likened to cartoon character Courage the Cowardly Dog. A series of memes took off on YouTube, with clips of his music soundtracking the cartoon.

Blueface was in the news in August of this year when his girlfriend Chrisean Rock was detained and arrested after she punched him during an altercation in an Arizona bar.

He tested his talents outside of the studio last year when he participated in the BKFC 19 — the official Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship pay-per-view event, airing on FITE.tv.