Music

24 Oct 2022

Beyonce Summer 2023 ‘Renaissance’ Tour Seemingly Announced During Charity Auction

Beyoncé may have accidentally confirmed her upcoming tour in support of Renaissance during a weekend charity event. According to Variety, attendees at Saturday night’s Wearable Art Gala 2022 at the WACO Theater were surprised when an A-list concert ticket package was one of the items up for big during the charity event.

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In a photo of a screen bearing the information on the lavish tour package posted over the weekend, the lucky high bidders splashed out for a once-in-a-lifetime experience (valued at $20,000) described as, “United [Airlines] x WACO offers you a chance to see Beyoncé on her ‘Renaissance’ tour starting in the summer of 2023 at any of United’s national and international destinations around the world. This prize is complete with 2 first-class international United Airlines Polaris tickets to select cities with 3-night hotel accommodations at a Marriott property. And, to one of the most sought-after musical performances of all time, 2 concert tickets to Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ 2023 tour with a guided backstage tour with Miss Tina [Beyoncé’s mother]!”

Video of the auction showed the bidding jumping up to $45,000 at one point , then climbing above $50,000 as Bey and Jay-Z clapped at the gaudy figures while in attendance at the inaugural WACO event in Santa Monica hosted by the singer’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson and her stepfather, Richard Lawson.

At press time spokespeople for Beyoncé and United had not returned requests for confirmation on the tour or the auction results. The singer has not officially announced a tour in support of the dance-heavy album released in July and to date has not yet released an official music video from the project aside from a Mark Romanek-directed spot for “Summer Renaissance” that is part of a partnership with Tiffany & Co. for their “lose Yourself in Love” campaign.

24 Oct 2022

Wynonna Judd Is Extending The Judds: The Final Tour

Wynonna Judd has added 15 additional shows to The Judds: The Final Tour, allowing the tour to continue into 2023.

Initially, the tour had been slated as a Judds farewell tour with Wynonna and her mother, Naomi Judd, prior to Naomi’s death on April 30 at age 76, just one day prior to The Judds’ induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Wynonna later revealed she would continue with the tour dates in honor of her late mother’s life and legacy, and welcomed a rotating roster of female artists to join her, including Martina McBride, Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini, Brandi Carlile, Trisha Yearwood, and Little Big Town.

The tour, which had been slated to run through Oct. 29 in Lexington, Ky., will now extend through February 2023, with McBryde, McBride, Ballerini, Carlile and Little Big Town all returning as opening acts on various dates for the 2023 run of shows.

“I have never felt so overwhelmed by this much love and support!” Wynonna said via a statement. “The emotions that flow while listening to the different generations of fans sing back to me each night has been otherworldly. I am so humbled by every artist that has come to sing with me on this tour. They’ve all managed to bring something so unique to The Judds music and I can say that no two shows are the same. It has been so life-giving!”

She added, “The decision to add 15 more shows was a no-brainer for me. The fans have been such a gift during my time of grieving and honoring my mother in song. What an amazing season this is. I look so forward to continuing the celebration of the music that has changed my life forever. In my 39 years of performing, these shows have truly been some of my absolute favorite experiences ever and I look forward to making new memories with the fans and guest artists in 2023.”

The Judds: The Final Tour, will visit Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (Oct. 28).

See the full list of 2023 tour dates below. Presale tickets became available at 10 a.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 24. General public tickets will be on sale on Friday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m. local time.

The Judds: The Final Tour Dates:

  • Jan. 26, 2023 – Hershey, Pa. – GIANT Center                                                    
  • Jan. 28, 2023 – Bridgeport, Conn. – Total Mortgage Arena                  
  • Jan. 29, 2023 – Worcester, Mass. – DCU Center                                            
  • Feb. 2, 2023 – Tulsa, Okla. -BOK Center                                    
  • Feb. 3, 2023 – Kansas City, Mo. – T-Mobile Center                            
  • Feb. 4, 2023 – St. Louis, Mo. – Chaifetz Arena                                
  • Feb. 9, 2023 – Omaha, Neb. – CHI Health Center Omaha            
  • Feb. 10, 2023 – Moline, Ill. – Vibrant Arena at THE MARK         
  • Feb. 11, 2023 – Dayton, Ohio – WSU Nutter Center                        
  • Feb. 16, 2023 – Greenville, S.C. – Bon Secours Wellness Arena        
  • Feb. 17, 2023 – Fairfax, Va. – EagleBank Arena                             
  • Feb. 18, 2023 – Charleston, W. Va. – Charleston Coliseum                      
  • Feb. 23, 2023 – Savannah, Ga. – Enmarket Arena                              
  • Feb. 24, 2023 – Tampa, Fla. – Amalie Arena                                   
  • Feb. 25, 2023 – Hollywood, Fla. Hard Rock Live at Seminole/Hard Rock Hollywood     

24 Oct 2022

Will Taylor Swift Tie This Major Grammy Nominations Record?

Taylor Swift may well make history when the 65th annual Grammy nominations are announced on Nov. 15. If “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” is nominated for song of the year, Swift will tie Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie for the most nominations ever in that marquee category.

Swift’s eligibility in that category was hardly assured. The ballad is an expanded version of a song that appeared on her Red album, which was nominated for album of the year and best country album nine years ago. “All Too Well” was not entered, much less nominated, in a songwriting category at the time.

The Grammy rules and guidelines handbook doesn’t offer clear direction on how the Academy should handle rare cases like this. It states: “A song…must have been released on a recording for the first time, or achieved prominence for the first time, during the current eligibility year.” The Academy decided that there was enough new content in “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” that it should be considered a new song.

First-round voting for the Grammy Awards closed on Sunday Oct. 23.

“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” is thought to have a good chance of landing a song of the year nomination, though the category has more entries (686) than any other this year. Ten songs will be nominated. If Swift is nominated, three of her six song of the year nods will have come since the Recording Academy expanded the number of nominations in the Big Four categories from five to eight (and now 10). This complicates historical comparisons because McCartney and Richie might have amassed more than six nods if there had been more than five nomination slots in their heydays.

“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” is also vying for a nod for best pop solo performance. It is not entered for best country song. This suggests that the screening committees thought the song and performance were more at home in pop than country. By contrast, Red (Taylor’s Version) is competing for a nod for best country album (as well as album of the year), which suggests that the committees thought the album as a whole was more at home in country than pop. “All Too Well: The Short Film” is also competing for a nod for best music video.

Bruno Mars was also in line to potentially land his sixth song of the year nomination for Silk Sonic’s “Smokin’ Out the Window,” but his and Anderson .Paak’s decision to not enter Silk Sonic music this year – on the heels of last year’s awards bounty for “Leave the Door Open” – precluded that possibility. For now, Mars is tied with Swift, Burt Bacharach and John Lennon with five song of the year nods each.

Here’s a recap of the six song of the year nominations for McCartney and Richie and the five for Swift.

24 Oct 2022

Khloé Kardashian Voices Support for Jewish People Following Kanye West’s Antisemitic Comments

Khloé Kardashian is once again distancing herself from former brother-in-law Kanye West. Following blatantly antisemitic remarks made by the rapper, who now goes by Ye, Kardashian is voicing her support for Jewish people.

The reality TV star re-shared a simple but effective photo from cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld’s Instagram account to her own Story. “I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people,” read the post, which featured blue lettering over a black background.

It doesn’t take much to recognize Khloé’s post as a response to comments made earlier this month by Ye, whom Khloé once said was her “brother for life.” The Yeezy founder sparked worldwide outrage after he declared on Twitter that he’d be going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” and then continued to double down on his hate speech in interviews with Chris Cuomo, Drink Champs and more.

By sharing the photo on her story, Khloé — who once called Ye her “brother for life” — joins several other celebrities in denouncing the views of her former brother-in-law. Ariana Grande, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Legend and more have all publicly condemned Ye’s antisemitism in the past few weeks. The “Donda” artist has also been axed from his brand partnership with Balenciaga following his hate speech against the Jewish community, as well as his earlier “White Lives Matter” shirt controversy.

Khloé’s post isn’t the first time this month that she’s addressed Ye. After the rapper once again accused her sister Kim Kardashian — who filed for divorce from Ye in February 2021 — of keeping him from attending their daughter Chicago West’s fourth birthday party in January, Khloé left some biting comments on one of his Instagram posts.

“I don’t want to do this on social media but YOU keep bringing it here,” she wrote, replying to a now-deleted Oct. 5 post on Ye’s Instagram. “You are the father of my nieces and nephews and I’m trying to be respectful but please STOP tearing Kimberly down and using our family when you want to deflect.”

“Again with the birthday narrative,” she continued, referencing previous instances in January and February when Ye alleged Kim prevented him from seeing his daughter. “Enough already. We all know the truth and in my opinion, everyone’s tired of it.”

See the post shared by Khloé Kardashian on Instagram Stories below:

24 Oct 2022

Julian Lennon Unveils ‘Lucky Ones’ Music Video Following Advertising Week Premiere

Last Wednesday (Oct. 19), Billboard sat down with singer, songwriter and humanitarian Julian Lennon to discuss his new music video for the song “Lucky Ones,” The White Feather Foundation, and more. The video, which premiered wide on Monday (Oct. 24), lives at the intersection of art, technology and beauty, depicting a love for music that brings humans from different cultures together as they take steps to nurse our environment back to health.

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“Lucky Ones” was directed by David Dutton and created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Disco Diffusion and Stable Diffusion. The team started by using Google Notebook Colab to write AI code to the footage they shot and animated on a green screen. 

When asked how he decided to use Artificial Intelligence, Dutton told Billboard, “The choice to use AI wasn’t just an experiment to make something viscerally stunning (though we think it is!), but a tool to afford our grand vision we had for this music video. It’s amazing how we were able to enhance the visual narrative with descriptive words. The technology is ground breaking and changing every week. It’s exciting to see what creatives will do next.”

In 2007, Lennon founded The White Feather Foundation to address environmental and humanitarian issues. It was created with the intent to work with partners worldwide to raise funds for the betterment of all life and to honor those who have made a difference. Over the years, he has dedicated his time to working on creative projects across mediums such as music, photography, documentaries, children’s books and more, while donating the majority of his profits to the foundation. 

“Lucky Ones” is the single currently at radio on Julian Lennon’s most recent full-length, Jude. The album was released after the artist’s 11-year hiatus from releasing new music. 

24 Oct 2022

Zuri Craig Dead: ‘America‘s Got Talent’ 2015 Finalist Dies at 44

America’s Got Talent singer Zuri Craig has died. The vocalist and member of the Craig Lewis Band passed away at age 44 on Friday according to a note from his family, who did not provide a cause of death.

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“It is with profound sadness that we announce the transition of our beloved son, brother and friend, Zuri Craig. We thank you in advance for your prayers. Please honor our privacy at this unimaginable time of mourning,” they wrote in a tribute; the family said more information on Craig’s funeral is forthcoming.

Craig appeared on AGT during season 10, performing with Jeffrey Lewis as part of the Craig Lewis Band, which made it to the finals in 2015 thanks to killer covers of James Brown (“This is a Man’s World”) and Mary J. Blige (“I’m Goin’ Down”); the group finished fifth that year. The singer was also a regular in films from Tyler Perry, appearing in Medea’s Big Happy Family and A Medea Christmas in 2011 and singing in 2013’s Medea Gets a Job.

According to The Wrap, Craig was discovered after he posted a cover of The Brady Bunch theme song on YouTube in 2008, catching the ear of Perry, who then invited Craig and Lewis to appear in his stage show, Medea’s Big Happy Family. They then took the stage at AGT — earning a Golden Buzzer from guest panelist Michael Bublé — and released their 12-track full-length Must Be Love album in 2016.

Craig continued to appear on stage after his AGT run, including in The Perfect Pastor, The Truth About Black Men and The House That Misery Built. His production company, ZoReMi Entertainment, recently announced an upcoming live stage production of the beloved 1997 romantic drama Soul Food. At press time AGT had not reacted to Craig’s death.

Check out the announcement of Craig’s death and watch his Golden Buzzer moment below.

24 Oct 2022

Here Are All the MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees

Motown legends Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson are poised to make history as the 2023 MusiCares person of the year recipients. As we reported when the news was announced on Thursday Oct. 20, it’s the first time that two individuals have been co-honorees at the annual fund-raising gala.

But that’s not the only way in which Gordy and Robinson will be making history. The two music greats will be the oldest person of the year honorees to date. Gordy turns 93 on Nov. 28. Robinson is 82. The oldest honoree until now was Joni Mitchell, who was 78 when she was honored earlier this year.

And Motown founder Gordy will be the first non-artist to receive the honor, as well as the first honoree who has not won a Grammy in competition. Gordy has received just one nomination – as a co-writer of the Jackson 5 smash “I’ll Be There,” a 1993 nominee for best R&B song. That requires explanation: The song wasn’t nominated when the J5 record was a hit, but it was nominated 22 years later when Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz covered it. (Gordy probably wasn’t too disappointed when it lost to a then-current Motown smash – Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road.”)

Gordy and Robinson are the third and fourth person of the year honorees who are Motown royalty. Stevie Wonder received the honor in 1999. Lionel Richie received it in 2016.

According to MusiCares, the person of the year award “celebrates our honoree’s creative accomplishments and philanthropic work. This star-studded dinner and concert experience raises funds for MusiCares’ vital programs and relief efforts.”

That blurb hints at what MusiCares is looking for in an honoree. They certainly want to recognize an accomplished artist who seems worthy of the honor, but just as important, they want to sell tables and individual tickets, ads in the program book and auction offerings. So, they’re looking for someone who has the connections and history in the music industry to fill the room. That’s why most of the honorees are well along in their careers by the time they are selected.

The next person of the year event will be held on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 at Los Angeles Convention Center – two days before the 65th annual Grammy Awards are presented at the adjoining Crypto.com Arena.

Here are all of the person of the year honorees to date, shown in reverse chronological order. All years refer to the year the person of the year event was held and the year of the corresponding Grammy telecast (or year of award presentations for the years before the launch of the live telecast in 1971.)

24 Oct 2022

Carin Leon, Nicky Jam & More Set to Perform at 2022 Latin Grammys

The Latin Recording Academy announced today (Oct. 24) additional performers for the 23rd annual Latin Grammy Awards, which include Ángela Aguilar, Marc Anthony, Banda Los Recoditos, Carin León, Nicky Jam and Sin Bandera — all current nominees and past Latin Grammy winners.

Ángela Aguilar is nominated for best ranchero/mariachi album for Mexicana Enamorada and best regional song for “Ahí Donde Me Ven.” Marc Anthony is up for four awards including record of the year and album of the Year; previous Latin Grammy winners Banda Los Recoditos are up for best banda album with Me Siento A Todo Dar.

Meanwhile, first-time Latin Grammy nominee Carin León is nominated for best regional song for “Como Lo Hice Yo,” Latin Grammy winner Nicky Jam is up for best urban song and best reggaeton performance and two-time Latin Grammy winners Sin Bandera are shortlisted for best traditional pop vocal album and best short form music video. Check out the complete list of nominees here.

The newly-announced artists set to take the stage join previously announced performers such as Rauw Alejandro, Chiquis, Jesse & Joy, Sebastián Yatra, and this year’s Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, Marco Antonio Solís.

The Latin Grammy Awards will be held Nov. 17 at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and will air live on Univision beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

The Latin Grammy Premiere, a non-televised ceremony in which the winners in most categories are announced, will take place before the broadcast. Additional details about this ceremony will be announced soon.

24 Oct 2022

Wayne Brady to Host 2022 American Music Awards

Wayne Brady is taking on the role of host at this year’s American Music Awards, dick clark productions and ABC announced on Monday (Oct. 24).

“I’m ecstatic and honored to host this year’s AMAs. As a musician and music lover, it’s amazing to be part of a night where music fans make their voices heard!” said the actor in a press statement. “It’s a big show, so I’m bringing it all… The funny, the music and the moves!”

“Wayne Brady is undoubtedly one of the most talented people on earth and we are thrilled to have him host this year’s AMAs,” added the show’s executive producer and showrunner Jesse Collins. “Viewers should expect an incredible night of music, comedy and fun!” 

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The AMAs will air from the Microsoft Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, and streaming the next day on Hulu. Cardi B hosted last year’s show.

Bad Bunny leads the nominations for the 2022 American Music Awards with eight nods, including his first for artist of the year. If the Puerto Rican superstar wins in all eight categories, he would tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for the most AMAs in a single year.

Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift are close behind with six nods each. That makes Bey and Swift the year’s top female nominees. Swift currently holds the record for the most wins in the artist of the year category (six). She also holds the record for most AMA wins overall (34).

Fan voting is now open via VoteAMAs.com and Twitter in all award categories, except favorite K-pop artist, which will open on Tuesday, Nov. 1. See the full list of nominees here.

24 Oct 2022

Christina Perri and Husband Welcome ‘Magical Double Rainbow Baby Girl’ After Previous Pregnancy Losses

“She’s here!” With that proud, excited announcement “Jar of Hears” singer Christina Perri and husband Paul Costabile announced the birth of their baby girl, Pixie Rose, on Sunday (Oct. 23) in a joyous Instagram post.

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“With a whole lot of faith, trust and pixie dust she has arrived safely,” Perri, 36, wrote. Please welcome our magical double rainbow baby girl.” The joyous message was accompanied by a black and white image of Perri breastfeeding her daughter. The couple already share 4-year-old daughter Carmella Stanley and their newborn’s middle name is a tribute to their daughter Rosie, who was “born silent” in 2020.

The baby was reportedly experiencing intestinal complications and Perri revealed that the infant would have required surgery after birth. In January 2020, Perri suffered a miscarriage at 11 weeks. “We are shocked and completely heartbroken,” she wrote on social media. “We were only 1 week away from sharing the news so i feel like its also important to share this news too.”

Perri used the devastating loss to “help change the story & stigma around miscarriage, secrecy and shame,” she wrote. “i am so sad but not ashamed. i am ever reminded how amazing and powerful women are at making life and at healing. to all the mothers who have been here and who will be here, i see you and i love you.”

After the loss of Rosie, Perri released a lullabies album called Songs for Rosie. Then, in May of this year, the couple revealed that they were expecting with a message delivered by older sister Carmella, who opened a box with a pink balloon attached to it revealing sonogram pictures inside.

Check out Perri’s post below.