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Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide.
Lisa Marie Presley was so overcome with grief following the death of her son Benjamin Keough that she kept his body packed in dry ice in her home for two months. According to NBC, the shocking revelation is included in the new memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which daughter, Daisy Jones & the Six star Riley Keough, completed after her mother’s death at 54 in January 2023.
“My mom had my brother in the house with us instead of keeping him at the morgue,” Keough wrote in the book. “They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home, so she kept him in our house for a while on dry ice.”
Keough said that it was important for her mother — the only child of late rock legend Elvis Presley — to have proper time to say goodbye to her son, who died by suicide in 2020. “The same way she’d done with her dad. And I would go and sit there with him,” she said, noting that California doesn’t have any laws that mandate exactly when a body needs to be buried or disposed of. Keough used archival tapes of her mother’s memories to help finish the book.
“My house has a separate casitas bedroom, and I kept Ben Ben in there for two months,” according to Presley, who had begun working on the memoir before her death; Presley died of a small bowel obstruction caused by complications from prior weight loss surgery. “There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately. I found a very empathic funeral home owner,” Presley wrote. “I told her that having my dad in the house after he died was incredibly helpful because I could go and spend time with him and talk to him. She said, ‘We’ll bring Ben Ben [her nickname for her son] to you. You can have him there.’”
She added, “I think it would scare the living f—ing p-ss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.” Lisa Marie was nine-years-old when Elvis died in 1977.
The room where Benjamin’s body was reportedly kept at 55 degrees and Presley and Keough got tattoos that matched Benjamin’s from an artist who came to their home. When asked if they had any photos of the piece they wanted to replicate, Lisa Marie told him, “no, but I can show you,” referring to ink Benjamin had on his collarbone with Keough’s name and another on his hand with Presley’s name; the mother and daughter got Benjamin’s name tattooed on the matching parts of their bodies.
Even by the unusual rules that the Presley’s lived by, Keough said the tattoo incident was one of the most bizarre ones she’d experienced. “Lisa Marie Presley had just asked this poor man to look at the body of her dead son, which happened to be right next to us in the casitas. I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five,” she wrote.
Shortly after that, one of Keough’s brothers made it clear he didn’t want the body in the home anymore and Keough, channeling her late sibling, imagined how he might have observed the scene. “‘Guys,’ he seemed to be saying, ‘this is getting weird.’ Even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying, ‘This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f—!,’” Keough said.
According to People, the book details how the family held a funeral service for Benjamin in Malibu and Keough placed a pair of her yellow Nikes that her brother had always loved in the casket. In a previous interview with People prior to the book’s release, Keough revealed, “My mom physically died from the after effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart.”
Both Presley and her son are buried at Graceland, where Elvis is also interred.
Wagakki Band shocked fans earlier this year when it announced that the group will be going on hiatus indefinitely after Dec. 31, 2024. The eight-member band has forged out a singular space in J-pop music through its unique ensemble including traditional Japanese instruments and featuring the distinctive singing style of frontwoman Yuko Suzuhana. After a decade of enjoying brilliant success both in its home country and abroad, the group has summed up its career so far in a best-of collection, called ALL TIME BEST ALBUM THANKS – Yasou no Oto -.
Wagakki Band members Suzuhana, Beni Ninagawa (Tsugaru-shamisen), Kurona (wadaiko, Japanese drums), Machiya (guitar & vocals), and Wasabi (drums) sat down with Billboard Japan and spoke candidly about why they chose to take a break on their anniversary year, and the process of producing the 18-track greatest hits album that also includes re-recorded versions of familiar hits and two new songs.
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The announcement that the band would be taking a break indefinitely took me by surprise when it came out in January. Could you tell us how you came to that decision?
Yuko Suzuhana: We formed Wagakki Band and made our debut in less than a year and spent an extremely busy ten years since. But at the time we first got started, all the members each had their own bands or were doing solo work. Wagakki Band suddenly attracted a lot of attention, so we stopped everything else we’d been doing until then and poured everything into this project. We’d been discussing for over a year about how it might be a good idea to stop the band for the time being and focus on our individual activities.
Beni Ninagawa: We figured we’d do our best until the end of our tenth year, then after that, we needed some time to reflect on ourselves and further improve our skills. It’s a positive decision that will allow us to get together again after we’ve improved and make even better music.
Suzuhana: The band wasn’t going downhill, so the timing of the announcement might have come as a surprise for some, but we said the hiatus would be indefinite simply because we haven’t set a time limit. This news is being inaccurately reported, especially outside of Japan, that we’re disbanding and I’ve received many inquiries from overseas.
Listening to this greatest hits album, I was touched by how it traces the history of your past ten years in a very dramatic way.
Machiya: We didn’t want to make a best-of album that just lined up our famous hits. Since it’s the tenth anniversary of our debut, we decided to re-record some of our early releases and make the collection into a retrospective of the ten years we’ve spent with our fans. It’s a pretty conceptual structure that allows you to trace our history by listening to the songs in release order.
Ninagawa: What’s more, the earlier songs that we re-recorded have a completely different sound quality compared to the original recordings, so that’s something for our fans to enjoy.
Wasabi: In particular, the original version of “Rokuchounen to Ichiya Monogatari” sounds quite light. There are parts where we should have made more solid, but it’s a fast-paced song and we weren’t able to express that at the time. But thanks to the things we’ve cultivated over the past decade, we’ve finally been able to give it shape, and I think you can feel the weight of our ten years in the sound.
After listening to the re-recorded version, I was struck by the magnitude of the wadaiko’s presence.
Kurona: Rock music can be made with just a guitar, bass and drums, so traditional Japanese instruments aren’t really necessary. But in this band, they can’t just be discreetly included; they have to become indispensable and the sounds should be there because they’re necessary. There were no precedents before Wagakki Band and we’re still the only ones that do this… We’re still in the process of trial and error.
The tracks “Rokuchounen to Ichiya Monogatari (Re-Recording)” and “Senbonzakura (Re-Recording)” were released digitally ahead of the album. My phrases and calls haven’t changed at all since (the original), but maybe because the way we recorded has changed, I’ve had people tell me that they think I’ve added more wadaiko phrases and calls. In that sense, I feel that my trials and the results of how to make Japanese instruments sound richer, including the significance of my own presence, are expressed in these re-recorded versions.
“GIFT” is a positive up-tempo new song credited to Yuko.
Suzuhana: I imagined what I’d be like, what kind of melody I’d like to be singing at the end of our tenth anniversary before the break. I came up with a positive, bright melody and tempo in a day or so, and wrote it on the piano. I named it “Gift” because this band was a gift to me. My life changed completely thanks to this band, and of course I hope that the music we eight members created will also be a gift to our fans. So this song is about how the existence of Wagakki Band has changed all of our lives for the better.
Ninagawa: Everything we want to convey is packed into this song, isn’t it?
Machiya: If you listen to this song after reading this interview, you might be able to see that our hiatus is a bit different from what those who interpreted it as a negative move thought it would be.
The other new song, “Yasou Emaki,” is credited to Wagakki Band.
Machiya: What’s different about this best-of album from previous ones is that we asked our fans which songs they wanted included. We made the selection based mainly on the top answers from the survey, but those songs are to be expected, right? Among the top 100, there were lots of tracks in the midrange that didn’t make the cut. We wanted to meet the expectations of our fans who voted for such songs, so we started working on this new track with the idea of mashing them up as much as possible. I was the one who did all the actual work, but we made it together in that it samples phrases that we all made, so we put it out under the name Wagakki Band for the first time.
I’ve forgotten how many I ended up using, but I took samples of over 80 songs. I exported all the melodies and chords in the same key, and then spent about two weeks extracting the words from them.
You’ll be touring from November to December with this album and wrapping up your decade of music for the time being. Can your fans expect the tour to be a joyful celebration?
Kurona: We know that our fans have bought tickets with some sadness and feeling of loss about our break in the corner of their minds, so we want to make sure that the shows will outlast those feelings for as long as possible. We want people who were feeling down to go home with a brighter outlook, saying things like, “I had a great time” and “I’m glad I came today.” To that end, we’ll put on an even cooler show than ever before.
“ALL TIME BEST ALBUM THANKS – Yasou no Oto -” is streaming now https://wgb.lnk.to/thanks_digital. Click here for information on tickets to “WAGAKKIBAND Japan Tour 2024 THANKS-YASO NO OTO-” Tokyo show on Dec. 10 for overseas residents https://wagakkiband.com/contents/857663.
—This interview by Tomokazu Nishibiro first appeared on Billboard Japan
Coldplay’s Moon Music has stormed to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart upon its release, becoming the fastest-selling album of the year by a British act, U.K. Official Charts can confirm.
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In just 72 hours, the band’s latest album has already sold over 160,000 chart units, setting Coldplay on course for their 10th consecutive No. 1 studio album, as per the latest Chart blast.
It marks the biggest first-week sales in the U.K. for a British act since Adele’s 30 in 2021, which debuted with 261,000 chart units. If Coldplay maintains this momentum, they might edge closer to Taylor Swift’s record, which claimed the fastest-selling album of 2024 with The Tortured Poets Department, which moved 270,000 chart units in its first week.
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It marks the biggest first-week sales in the U.K. for a British act since Adele’s 30 in 2021, which debuted with 261,000 chart units. If Coldplay maintains this momentum, they might edge closer to Taylor Swift’s record, who claimed the fastest-selling album of 2024 with The Tortured Poets Department.
Public Service Broadcasting are eyeing their third Top 10 album with The Last Flight, which is currently at No. 2, while The Smile — an offshoot of Radiohead — follows closely with their latest effort Cutouts at No. 3. James Bay’s Changes All The Time is also expected to land in the Top 5.
The 1975’s Being Funny In A Foreign Language is projected for a re-entry into the Top 10 at No. 6, driven by the release of an exclusive liquid-filled vinyl.
Alison Moyet is on track for her first Top 10 album in over a decade with Key, marking a triumphant return for the singer-songwriter.
In the lower half of the Top 10, Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II (No. 8) and Jake Bugg’s A Modern Day Distraction (No. 10) are set for strong debuts.
Further down the chart, FINNEAS could score his first Top 40 album with For Cryin’ Out Loud!, predicted to debut at No. 20. Caribou’s Honey is on track to become the Canadian producer’s third Top 40 album, while indie favorite Orla Gartland is set to land her second Top 40 album with Everybody Needs A Hero (No. 25).
Elsewhere, former Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep’s debut solo album The New Sound is on course for a Top 40 debut (No. 31), and Leon Bridges’ Leon follows closely behind at No. 34.
Stay tuned as Coldplay’s Moon Music battles to cement its place as the year’s biggest release in the U.K., with Friday’s final chart reveal set to determine if they’ll match or surpass Swift’s 2024 milestone.
Shirley Manson, the iconic frontwoman of Garbage, has given fans a hopeful update as she recovers from surgery following the band’s decision to cancel all remaining 2024 tour dates.
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On Oct. 7, Manson took to social media, sharing a photo of herself in a hospital bed with the simple caption, “She lives.”
In another follow-up post, the iconic singer expressed her gratitude to those supporting her during her recovery and reflected on the challenges she’s faced over the past few months.
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“I’m choosing to remind myself, as I lie here trying to recover from major surgery, that there are still beautiful things in the world. Animals, flowers, oceans, trees. I’m so grateful to all the people who have gone out of their way to love on me, take care of me, check in on me. I cling on to their kindness and their thoughtfulness and their care,” she said.
“Mostly, I have spent the week in bed. Mostly, I have been doomscrolling. As you can imagine, like everyone else, I’m trying really hard not to lose my mind,” she shared.
Manson also used the post to call for peace amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, writing, “We are all living in the same world. We all deserve a life of peace and happiness. No one will convince me otherwise. Where you have inequality and injustice there will be suffering.”
The update comes after Garbage announced in August that all remaining tour dates for 2024 would be canceled due to an injury Manson sustained during the band’s European performances.
On Aug. 7, Manson shared more details about the toll the injury had taken, revealing that she had returned from the tour “an absolute hot mess.”
In her post, she explained, “So broken that my poor husband had to push me through Heathrow and LAX airports in a wheelchair. I also had a dose of laryngitis and a massive cold sore on my lip.”
Fans were understandably concerned about her vocal health, but Manson reassured them in a follow-up post that everything was under control.
“I was freaking out that I had somehow managed to damage my vocal cords on top of everything else, but yesterday I was scoped and everything is as it should be,” she shared, offering a glimpse of her vocal cords for good measure.
Though she hasn’t gone into detail about the surgery, things seem to be looking up. Garbage is gearing up for their 2025 South American tour, where they’ll be joined by L7 for shows across Bogotá, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo, starting in March.
On top of that, Garbage fans can look forward to a special Record Store Day Black Friday release on Nov. 29. The band is dropping copy/paste, a collection of covers they’ve performed as an homage to luminaries such as David Bowie, Ramones, Patti Smith, U2, Big Star, Siouxsie and the Banshees and more.
The original Broadway cast recording of Suffs hits No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart for the first time, as it re-enters atop the list dated Oct. 12 following the set’s CD release. Shaina Taub wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics, while the project counts Hillary Clinton as one of its producers. Billboard’s Cast […]
J Balvin teams up with Chencho Corleone for their first collaborative No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, as “Polvo De Tu Vida” rises 5-1 to rule the Oct. 12-dated survey. The song is the second single from J Balvin’s album Rayo, which reached the top five on Latin Rhythm Albums in August.
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As “Polvo De Tu Vida” shoots to No. 1, it gives J Balvin his 36th No. 1, who breaks from a tie with Daddy Yankee, for the latter’s second-most rulers. Here’s the recap of the acts with the most No. 1s on Latin Rhythm Airplay since its inception in 2005:
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36, J Balvin35, Daddy Yankee31, Ozuna25, Bad Bunny20, Maluma20, Wisin & Yandel19, Wisin
Thanks to the new hit, Corleone adds his sixth champ, dating to his featured turn in Tito El Bambino’s “A Que No Te Atreves,” which dominated for five weeks in 2014.
“Polvo De Tu Vida” climbs four spots to No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay, sporting the biggest jump to the chart’s peak in 2024, among the 14 songs that have landed at the summit so far. The single commands with 6.13 million audience impressions earned among U.S. monitored radio stations, that’s a 26% increase from the week prior, during the tracking week ending Oct. 3, according to Luminate.
Although not a record, the song wrapped a 14-week journey to the penthouse, tying with Venesti’s “Es Normal” for the fifth-longest climb to No. 1 in 2024. Here are the songs which endured the longest wait to the top on Latin Rhythm Airplay this year:
Weeks to No. 1, Artist, Song, Peak Date20, Bad Bunny & Feid, “Perro Negro,” April 1320, Manuel Turizo & Yandel, “Mamasota,” July 2018, Ozuna, “Baccarat,” March 3017, Yandel & Myke Towers, “Borracho y Loco,” Feb. 314, Venesti, “Es Normal,” July 2714, J Balvin & Chencho Corleone, “Polvo de Tu Vida,” Oct. 12
Balvin is back atop Latin Rhythm Airplay after “Dientes,” with Usher and DJ Khaled, ruled for one week last November. Corleone last dominated through “Podemos Repetirlo,” with Don Omar, in September 2023.
J Balvin will speak at Latin Music Week Oct. 14-18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach. To register, please visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com
The mad villains have linked up once again. Madlib, the MF DOOM estate, Stones Throw Records, and Rhymesayers Entertainment have released “One Beer (Madlib Remix)” to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the late rapper and producer’s fifth solo album MM..FOOD. The version featured on the album is also produced by Madlib, but was credited to […]
Justin Timberlake was scheduled to bring his Forget Tomorrow World Tour to New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Tuesday night (Oct. 8). However, shortly before doors at the venue were scheduled to open, the star took to Instagram to announce that the show has been postponed. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
Amazon Music is continuing the Amazon Music Live fun with three new episodes announced on Tuesday (Oct. 8). The livestreamed music series will now also feature performances from Big Sean, Halsey and J Balvin. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The show takes place after Thursday Night on […]
Celine Dion‘s heart will definitely go on for Kelly Clarkson. Following the Kelly Clarkson Show host’s powerful Kellyoke cover of the icon’s classic Titanic ballad “My Heart Will Go On,” Dion shared a tearful reaction to the tribute in a video posted to social media on Tuesday (Oct. 8). “I just saw you singing ‘My […]