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Just a few weeks after finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cher could receive a Grammy nomination for best traditional pop vocal album for her first holiday album, Christmas. The nominations will be announced on Friday Nov. 8.
The worlds of rock and roll and traditional pop were once far apart, but those worlds been coming together in recent years as genre lines blur across the board. Six artists who are in the Rock Hall have won Grammys in this category – Joni Mitchell (for Both Sides Now), Rod Stewart (Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III), Paul McCartney (Kisses on the Bottom), Willie Nelson (Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin and My Way, a tribute to Frank Sinatra), Elvis Costello (Look Now, with the Imposters) and James Taylor (American Standard).
Should Cher’s album win when the Grammy Awards are announced on Feb. 2, it would be the first holiday album ever to win in this category, though many have been nominated.
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Cher has won just one Grammy over the course of her six-decade career – best dance recording for her 1999 megahit, “Believe.” Her nominations stretch back to 1965, when Sonny & Cher were nominated for best new artist.
Cher is vying for a nomination in the traditional pop category with Stephanie J. Block, who portrayed the icon in The Cher Show on Broadway in 2019, winning a Tony Award for best actress in a musical. Block is represented with her own Christmas album, Merry Christmas, Darling. (The title track is a cover version of the ballad made famous by the Carpenters in 1970.)
Several other Christmas albums are vying for nominations, including Brandy’s Christmas With Brandy, Johnny Mathis’ Christmas Time Is Here, Seth MacFarlane & Liz Gillies’ We Wish You the Merriest, Gregory Porter’s Christmas Wish and Jim Brickman’s Brickman Sings Christmas. Brandy has received 12 Grammy nominations over the years, winning for “The Boy Is Mine,” her Billboard Hot 100-topping collab with Monica. This would be her first nomination in this category.
Mathis is a four-time nominee in this category. He was nominated in 1991, the year the category was introduced. But Mathis’ history with the Grammys goes back much further than that. He received his first nomination in 1960, the third year of the Grammys, for his exquisite recording of “Misty.” Shockingly, Mathis, 89, has yet to win a Grammy in competition. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2003.
MacFarlane is a three-time nominee in this category. This is his second collab with Gillies.
Stewart is vying for a nomination with Swing Fever, a collab with Jools Holland. Stewart is a five-time nominee in this category, winning once.
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration (Live at the Sondheim Theatre) is a strong contender. Last year, two of the nominees in this category were salutes to the legendary Broadway composer, who died in 2021 at age 91. Liz Callaway was nominated for To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim. A Various Artists collection, Sondheim Unplugged (The New York City Sessions), Vol. 3, was also nominated last year. “Old Friends,” which is part of the title of the new collection, is a highlight of Sondheim’s 1981 show Merrily We Roll Along, which won a Tony for best revival of a musical in June.
Another celebration of legendary Broadway composers is on the entry list — My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert (Live from Theatre Royal Drury Lane/ 2023.
Broadway legend Patti LuPone is entered with A Life in Notes. LuPone has won Tonys for her performances in Evita, Gypsy and Company. Ben Platt, who won a Tony, Daytime Emmy and Grammy for Dear Evan Hansen and related projects, is entered with Honeymind. Nine-time Grammy winner Dave Cobb was one of the album’s producers.
Raye & the Heritage Orchestra are entered with My 21st Century Symphony (Live at Royal Albert Hall). Raye has a good chance to receive a best new artist nomination next week. She took home six Brit Awards in March.
Two albums by past Grammy winners for best new artist are vying for nominations — Norah Jones’ Visions and Paula Cole’s Lo. Jones has received two nods in this category.
Janis Siegel and Yaron Gershovsky are entered with The Colors of My Life. Siegel is a nine-time Grammy winner for her work with Manhattan Transfer. Straight No Chaser has two albums on the entry list – 90s Proof and Stocking Stuffer.
Other notable albums on the entry list of 78 albums include Crowded House’s Gravity Stairs, Toby Gad’s Piano Diaries – The Hits, Gaither Vocal Band’s Let Me Be There, Il Divo’s XX: 20th Anniversary Album, Joe Jackson’s Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in ‘What a Racket!,’ Ingrid Michaelson’s For the Dreamers, Steven Pasquale with John Pizzarelli’s Some Other Time and The Sound of Rusic by the cast of Rupaul’s Drag Race.
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Brandy, Christmas With Brandy
Cher, Christmas
Ben Platt, Honeymind
Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration (Live at the Sondheim Theatre)
Rod Stewart & Jools Holland, Swing Fever
In July, when Ricky Skaggs surprised Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artist Steven Curtis Chapman with an invitation to become an official member of the Grand Ole Opry, it marked a full-circle moment for the Paducah, Kentucky native. Chapman grew up listening to the sounds of the Grand Ole Opry each week on his father’s radio. Chapman’s father ran a small music store in Kentucky and on the weekends, he would play music with friends including dobro player Jack Martin, who played with bluegrass pioneer Lester Flatt and performed on the Opry.
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After receiving his invitation, one of the first things Chapman did was call his parents back home in Kentucky to tell them the news.
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“I said, ‘You’ll never believe what happened tonight.’ And [my father] said, ‘I know exactly what happened–I’m still crying. I was listening.’ He was so proud and excited,” Chapman recalls. “They are going to make plans to be there and [I’ll have] my whole family to celebrate the moment. It’s going to be very special.”
When Chapman is officially inducted as the 239th member of the Grand Ole Opry on Friday (Nov. 1), he will be the first CCM artist to receive that honor.
Chapman made his Grand Ole Opry debut at 18, as a performer at Opryland USA theme park, singing Skaggs and George Jones songs during a matinee. He estimates he’s appeared at the Opry 50 times in the last four decades.
Over the last 40 years, Chapman has become one of CCM’s foremost architects, thanks to songs including “The Great Adventure,” “For the Sake of the Call,” “Dive” and “Love Take Me Over.” He’s had nine projects reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart and earned five Grammys and nearly 60 GMA Dove Awards.
“We felt it was time for Steven to become an Opry member, looking at his incredible career and his connection to the Opry since he was a teenager. He loves every style of music that’s played out here and can play that style of music,” the Grand Ole Opry’s senior VP/executive producer Dan Rogers tells Billboard. “He brings his own genre to the show, and his credentials are impeccable, but we often say when someone’s inducted, that at its core Opry membership is about relationships — relationships with fans of the Opry, between members and the between artists and the ideal of the Opry.”
Chapman’s induction also acknowledges the deep shared history of faith-based songs and country music. Over the decades, country artists have recorded gospel albums or included gospel songs in their sets—an approach that counterbalances country music’s songs of alcohol, broken relationships and cheating, highlighting the duality of Saturday nights are for sinning and Sunday mornings are for redemption that the genre is known for.
Hank Williams, Sr.’s “I Saw the Light” traces a spiritual conversion story, while Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me” is a plea to a higher power for grace and mercy. The country music anthem “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” looks at death through a spiritual lens. Dolly Parton’s “Silver and Gold” and “He’s Alive,” the Brad Paisley/Parton collaboration “When I Get Where I’m Going,” Johnny Cash’s “Jesus Was a Carpenter,” George Strait’s “Love Without End, Amen,” Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Something in the Water,” Garth Brooks’s “Unanswered Prayers,” Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus,” and Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” all weave in sentiments of faith.
“One of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar was [Cash’s] ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’” Chapman notes. “Songs [with lyrics about] ‘I was on my way to prison… but I saw the light,’ you have to have both of those. And that is the Grand Ole Opry in a nutshell, those songs are so baked into the DNA. You listen to Bill Monroe and all these songs… ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’ ‘I Saw the Light,’ ‘I’ll Fly Away,’ those songs are synonymous with the Opry.”
One of the Grand Ole Opry’s earliest homes-from 1943 to 1974- was the church-turned-music venue the Ryman Auditorium. The building, originally known as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, was built by riverboat captain Thomas Green Ryman and opened its doors in 1892, seven years after Ryman attended a tent revival in Nashville led by evangelist Samuel Porter Jones. Ryman was inspired to build the Union Gospel Tabernacle as a place people could join in worship (the building was later renamed the Ryman Auditorium).
In 1994 came the first incarnation of the Ryman’s “Sam’s Place—Music For the Spirit,” (named after Jones), which welcomed some of the top names in Christian, gospel, bluegrass and country. Two decades later, Chapman helped revive the series at the Ryman.
In 2008, the Grand Ole Opry released How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites From the Grand Ole Opry, a collection of country artists’ Grand Ole Opry performances of gospel standards. For the past four decades, the Opry House has also hosted the annual Sunday Mornin’ Country, with country artists expressing their faith in song.
In recent years, several CCM and Gospel artists have made their Grand Ole Opry debuts as the Opry continues welcoming a breadth of genres to its stage, including Wilson, for King & Country, We the Kingdom, CAIN, Blessing Offor and Naomi Raine. Opry inductees in recent years have included bluegrass/southern gospel group The Isaacs, bluegrass icon Rhonda Vincent and comedians Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer.
“Half of our crowd is here because they love country music and the other half is in Nashville and they know the Opry is a microcosm of the music of this town,” Rogers says. “We try to program the best country music show we possibly can, but also give them a real taste of the different styles under the country music umbrella.”
Lady A’s Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood will induct Chapman, while Friday’s performance lineup will also feature Skaggs, Carly Pearce, Russell Dickerson and alternative rock band Colony House, which includes Chapman’s sons Caleb and Will.
One of the songs Chapman will perform is “The Grand Ole Opry Stage,” a song he crafted for the induction, which chronicles his journey.
“The song ends with the lyrics, ‘We’ve all been invited to the unbroken circle of the Grand Ole Opry stage,’ and I’ll go into ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken,’ and my family and Ricky Skaggs and any artists that are there that will join me and finish out my induction by singing that song,” Chapman says, adding, “Of course, I’ll be a blubbering mess by the end of it, just taking it all in.”
Brat summer is now endless. After the title of Charli XCX‘s smash sixth album became an inescapable meme this year, the Collins Dictionary has dubbed the “brat” its word of the year for 2024.
The dictionary announced the designation on Friday (Nov. 1), noting that “brat” refers to someone who is “characterized by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude.” According to the full entry, “Brat, newly defined in 2024 as ‘characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude’, has been named Collins’ Word of the Year 2024. Inspired by the Charli XCX album, brat has become one of the most talked about words of 2024. More than a hugely successful album, brat is a cultural phenomenon that has resonated with people globally, and ‘brat summer’ established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life.”
The singer’s own definition of “brat” is “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” which, when paired with the album’s signature lime green square background and blurry Arial font created an aesthetic that ruled the summer. Charli’s also described the aesthetic as, “me, my flaws, my f–k ups, my ego rolled into one” and “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes. Who feels herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like, parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”
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Some of the necessary items for a brat girl summer, according to Charli, include: “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter, and a strappy white top with no bra.” The vibe became so hot, in fact, that Vice President Kamala Harris began using it to boost her presidential campaign after Charli declared “kamala IS brat” in July.
Experts at Collins comb through their 20-billion-word database to make their annual list of new and notable words that represent the evolution of the English language. Other words that were short-listed for this year’s WOTY included: brainrot, era (defined as “a period in one’s life or career that is of a distinctive character” in honor of Taylor Swift’s global tour), as well as looksmaxxing, rawdogging, anti-tourism, delulu, romantasy, supermajority and yapping.
Finally! Mariah Carey was right on time on Friday morning (Nov. 1), ushering in the holiday season with her annual Christmas kick-off video. The Queen of Christmas officially declared that the countdown to the most wonderful time of the year had begun with her eagerly awaited “It’s Time” video.
This year, her Instagram post featured a video of Carey, 55, dressed as Morticia Addams from the Addams Family. The clip opens on a dark and spooky night, complete with a full moon, howling wolves and a steady rain falling on a haunted mansion. Cut to Carey in a sparkly black dress, a black wig and dark makeup taking the hand of a dancer dressed as Gomez Addams as they do the couple’s signature terrifying tango.
But after a few spins and dips, Mariah gives Gomez a hard push out of frame, tosses a dagger at his face — which narrowly misses her smiling beloved — and then gives a knowing look right down the lens and uses her mind to open a curious cabinet as the final calendar pages from October fly away.
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You know what was inside: Mariah’s red and white Santa jumper, of course. “IT’S TIME!!!!” Mariah wails in her signature whistle register from the seat of a sleigh filled with presents as the scene fills with fake snow, Gomez is transformed into a snowman and, of course, MC’s iconic holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” blasts out.
The video ends with Carey smiling broadly as she and her reindeer prepare to take off in her sleigh. Carey had been teasing the launch of Christmas season for weeks, including dropping a “Christmas Time Set List” on Apple Music, unwrapping the cover art for four new “All I Want For Christmas” physical singles and, as always, posting a “not yet” video to make sure nobody jumps the gun on her favorite holiday.
Now that the skeletons needs to be packed away for another year, ’tis the season to crank up “All I Want,” because Carey is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her Merry Christmas album on the Merry Christmas Time Tour, which is slated to kick off on Nov. 6 in Highland, CA. Last year, “All I Want” topped the Billboard Hot 100 once again, marking the fifth year in a row that the holiday classic has topped the tally since first doing so in 2017.
Watch Carey’s “It’s Time” video below.
U.K. rapper Central Cee has announced the release date for his long-awaited debut album, Can’t Rush Greatness. The LP is slated for release on January 24, 2025 via Columbia Records and will be the first full body of work since his 2023 mixtape 23.
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The 26-year-old shared the news on his social media feeds alongside the artwork, which you can see below. Pre-orders are now open on Cench’s website.
No tracklist has been released for the album so far, but it has been confirmed that his new song “One By One,” which was recorded in a Colors session, would not feature on the record.
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A press release also confirmed that the album was recorded in multiple locations over the last year, and it will feature guest producers as well as an appearance from fellow U.K. rapper Dave. The pair collaborated on the single “Sprinter” in 2023, which topped the U.K.’s Official Singles Charts for nine weeks and landed at No.10 on the Billboard Global 200.
2024 has seen a number of singles from the west London artist. In May, he teamed up with Lil Baby for “BAND4BAND” which landed at No.18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at No.3 on the Official Singles Chart in the U.K. The song was the highest-charting U.K. rap single on the charts in Hot 100 history.
Elsewhere there was an appearance on Ice Spice’s debut Y2K, a team-up with Afrobeats star Asake on single “Wave” and most recently with RAYE on the single “Moi” in September.
Speaking to Dazed, Central Cee elaborated on the process of the making of Can’t Rush Greatness. “With the mixtapes, I was living in [the same] house I grew up in,” he said. “Now we’ve elevated, we’re actually musicians. There were times it was hard to say man’s a musician. I was just a guy that [went into the] studio [sometimes]. Now, I’m an artist.”
Last week, Central Cee was named as an additional headliner for Spain’s Primavera Sound Festival in June 2025, topping the bill alongside Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan.
Amyl and The Sniffers are turning heads on the ARIA Albums Chart this week, debuting at No. 2 with their high-energy third album, Cartoon Darkness.
It’s a big moment for the Melbourne punk rockers, who’ve managed to climb even higher than their self-titled debut in 2019, which landed at No. 22, and almost match their 2021 release Comfort To Me, which peaked at No. 2. Their chart presence, paired with three ARIA Awards (including Best Group in 2022), marks them as a fierce force in the Australian music scene.
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While Amyl and The Sniffers were poised to snatch the top spot, it was hip-hop innovator Tyler, The Creator who claimed No. 1 with Chromakopia. Released on an unusual Monday schedule, Tyler’s album marks his seventh studio effort and his first ARIA Albums Chart topper, narrated by none other than his mother, Bonita Smith. The record features the hit single “Noid,” debuting at No. 13, alongside four other tracks in the Top 50. Tyler’s star power in Australia continues to rise, building on his previous top 10 albums, with Igor reaching No. 3 in 2019 and Call Me If You Get Lost landing at No. 2 in 2021.
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Meanwhile, Aussie favorites Sheppard re-enter the chart at No. 10 with their fourth album, Zora, which had earlier peaked at No. 8, meaning they’ve now locked in four consecutive Top 10 albums.
Green Day makes a throwback splash, too, with the 20th-anniversary edition of American Idiot hitting No. 12. The 2004 classic, which spent two weeks at No. 1 upon its initial release, is proving its staying power, especially as fans celebrate its recent reissue.
On another nostalgic note, Powderfinger’s Parables For Wooden Ears re-enters the chart at No. 36 for its 30th anniversary. Originally peaking at No. 51 in 1994, the album now returns as fans reflect on Powderfinger’s legacy, including six No. 1 albums and a massive 18 ARIA Awards to their name.
On the singles front, Rosé and Bruno Mars continue their reign at the top with “APT.,” making history as Rosé becomes the first solo Korean artist to hold the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Singles Chart for more than a week since PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
Bruno Mars also holds steady at No. 4 with his duet with Lady Gaga, “Die With A Smile,” showing his consistent staying power in the Australian market.
With Cartoon Darkness, Amyl and The Sniffers remind us that punk is alive, well, and making serious waves on the charts. Their gritty, unfiltered sound is resonating louder than ever, bringing fresh energy to the Australian rock scene and showing that they’re here to stay.
Just after POW reached their first anniversary, the rock-inspired K-pop boy band dropped a new EP, Boyfriend, whose lead single title track paid homage to one of the scene’s favorite artists — pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne.
For “Boyfriend,” the quintet reinterpreted Avril’s 2007 single “Girlfriend,” the Canadian superstar’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and one of the year’s biggest tracks. POW kept the original’s stomping production and undeniably catchy chorus intact for the hybrid track with a new mix of Korean and English lyrics.
POW members Jungbin, Yorch, Hyunbin, Dongyeon and Hong tell Billboard that the superstar played a significant role in their musical backgrounds and made a song like “Boyfriend” happen.
“We’ve loved band sounds and Avril Lavigne’s songs were always on our playlist,” the group says. “We think she was the first to show how punk can be so appealing in pop music. We’re grateful she made it possible for us and so we’ve worked hard to release ‘Boyfriend.’”
“For this remake, I listened to all of Lavigne’s albums,” adds POW eldest member Yorch. “I was drawn to her timeless drum sounds and couldn’t get over the rawness and cool beat of the drums. I recently got an electric guitar and she’s opened my eyes to acoustic real sound. And, it’s something K-pop should also look out for.”
When honoring both the sound and aesthetics from Avril’s debut in 2002, the A&R for POW’s record label, GRID Entertainment, saw their work as helping connect K-pop more extensively to music culture today.
“We believe that youth culture is the essence of mainstream K-pop,” a representative from GRID’s A&R says. “Rebellious, grunge-like, and youthful innocence defines K-pop and POW’s music is grounded in real rock and band sounds. It still feels like the 2000s era, a period where analog and digital collide. That is why we find Avril Lavigne’s music relevant, powerful and resonating with people in their teens, 20s, and 30s. It’s her greatest strength and the reason her music inspires us for interpretation.”
From bands like POW, SEVENTEEN and Stray Kids to solo superstars like BoA and former LOONA members Yves and Heejin, here is a collection of K-pop stars who have expressed their admiration for Avril Lavigne.
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Image Credit: Courtesy Grid Entertainment
Snoop Dogg’s new single, “Gorgeous,” featuring Jhené Aiko, marks an exciting return to his roots while ushering in a fresh era in his collaboration with Dr. Dre.
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The track, released today via Death Row, Aftermath and Interscope and produced by Dre alongside Blu2th, Preach Bal4, and FredWreck, is the first official single from Snoop’s upcoming album Missionary, set for release on Dec. 13.
With “Gorgeous,” Snoop channels his signature West Coast style, blending laid-back rap verses with Aiko’s ethereal vocals to deliver a track that’s smooth and reflective, an early taste of the creative synergy expected on Missionary.
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“Gorgeous” isn’t just a new single; it represents the continuation of a storied partnership between Snoop and Dre that has shaped hip-hop since the early ’90s. Their history began with the theme song for the 1992 film Deep Cover and quickly escalated with The Chronic, where Snoop’s voice became synonymous with Dre’s groundbreaking production style.
The collaboration peaked when Dre produced Snoop’s debut album, Doggystyle, which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and cemented Snoop’s status as a hip-hop heavyweight. Since then, Snoop has amassed 12 Billboard Top 10 hits, with career-defining tracks like “Gin and Juice” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” the latter marking his first No. 1 single.
Dr. Dre’s role in Snoop’s career has been pivotal, with each collaboration underscoring their mutual influence on the sound and legacy of West Coast hip-hop. Snoop’s recent milestone of achieving Billboard Top 10 hits across four consecutive decades—joining the ranks of Jay-Z and Mariah Carey—only highlights his enduring relevance in the industry.
Alongside Jhené Aiko, “Gorgeous” sets the stage for Missionary, which will feature an array of high-profile guests, from Eminem and 50 Cent to Sting and the late Tom Petty.
Stream “Gorgeous” below.
The Cure has finally released Songs of a Lost World, their first new album in 16 years since 4:13 Dream in 2008.
Available on all major streaming platforms, this album marks a long-awaited return for fans and captures the haunting, atmospheric sound that has defined The Cure’s influence on music for over four decades.
The album’s journey began with the first single, “Alone,” released on Sept. 23. Frontman Robert Smith described the track as “the song that unlocked the record.”
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“As soon as we recorded that song, I knew it had to be the opening song, and I felt the whole record come into focus,” he said.
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Smith had spent significant time searching for the right words to encapsulate the record’s tone, ultimately returning to a phrase he had been considering for years. “For some time, I tried to find the right opening phrase for the right song that would lead the way for the project, working on the concept of ‘being alone,’ always with the nagging feeling of already knowing what the opening phrase should be.”
Inspiration struck when Smith recalled Dregs, a poem by the English poet Ernest Dowson. “As soon as we finished recording, I remembered the poem ‘Dregs’ by the English poet Ernest Dowson,” Smith noted. “That was the moment I realized that the song—and the album—had become something concrete.”
Another notable track, “A Fragile Thing,” continues the exploration of vulnerability and the inevitability of change. The song’s lyrics, “Nothing you can do to change the end,” reflect a poignant acceptance of life’s impermanence.
Produced by Smith and longtime collaborator Paul Corkett, who also worked with the band on Bloodflowers, Songs of a Lost World is available in various formats, including standard LP, double LP, exclusive indie-store colored vinyl, CD, deluxe CD with Blu-ray, and digital editions, giving fans a range of options to experience the new record.
To commemorate the album’s release, The Cure will perform their only scheduled show of the year at Troxy in London, which will be live-streamed on their YouTube channel under the title “Show of a Lost World: The Cure Live at Troxy” at 7 a.m. AEDT on Nov. 2. Tomorrow, BBC2 will also air a night dedicated to The Cure’s music and legacy in celebration of the album launch.
With more than 30 million albums sold, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2019, and four Glastonbury headlining performances, The Cure’s legacy as one of the U.K.’s most influential bands is undeniable. Formed in 1978, the group has continually reinvented itself while staying true to its dark, introspective style.
Stream Songs of a Lost World below.
Shawn Mendes just released “Heart of Gold,” a new single that’s as touching as it is personal.
Written about a childhood friend who passed away from a drug overdose, “Heart of Gold” taps into the raw emotions of losing someone too soon.
In the song, Mendes opens up with lines reflecting the regrets of not being there when it mattered: “Honestly, it’s been a while since I thought of you / In the end, we didn’t talk much / I didn’t know what you were going through / I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.” Then, in the chorus, he celebrates his friend’s legacy: “You had a heart of gold, yeah / You had a heart of gold / You left too soon, it was out of your control.”
Recently, Mendes gave “Heart of Gold” another layer of meaning by dedicating it to late One Direction member Liam Payne during a live show in NYC on Oct. 18. Stopping the music to speak to fans, Mendes shared, “We heard the news about Liam. It felt like… It felt completely devastating. I got to meet him a couple times, and he was a beautiful soul and his eyes gleamed — it was beauty, shining into his eyes.”
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He explained that the song is not just about loss but about celebrating those who have left an impact: “It’s about grieving those we miss with tears, but it’s also about celebrating them… who they were and what they’ve left in this world.” Mendes added, “I just want to take a second to send so much love to him wherever he is up there… Liam, we love you! And the world is crying for you, brother.”
As he launched into the song, Mendes dedicated the night’s performance to Liam, saying, “This one’s for you tonight, Liam, from all of us.”
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Throughout his career, Mendes has scored four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, with his debut album Handwritten kicking off his career by landing at No. 1 in 2015. His collaboration with Camila Cabello, “Señorita,” topped the Billboard Hot 100, and he’s had big hits like “Stitches” and “Treat You Better” reach the Top 10. Mendes has also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart three times.
Stream “Heart of Gold” below: