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A month after his shocking death following a collapse at a concert in Connecticut, that state’s medical examiner’s office has released the cause of death for beloved rapper/hype man Fatman Scoop. According to People magazine, the Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office announced on Wednesday (Sept. 25) that Scoop (born Isaac Freeman III) died due to hypertensive […]
The long wait is over: The Cure have released their new song in over 16 years and confirmed the release date for their upcoming 14th album.
“Alone” will appear on the upcoming LP Songs From a Lost World, which is set to be released Nov 1, 2024 via Polydor/Fiction. Listen to the track below.
The track appeared as the opening song on the band’s Shows of a Lost World global tour throughout 2022 and 2023. The album has been long in the making, with its original release dates mooted for 2019. The album’s tracklist will be revealed in the coming weeks on the band’s social media channels.
Speaking about the song, frontman Robert Smith said that “Alone” was “the track that unlocked the record; as soon as we had that piece of music recorded I knew it was the opening song, and I felt the whole album come into focus.”
He added: “I had been struggling to find the right opening line for the right opening song for a while, working with the simple idea of ‘being alone’, always in the back of my mind this nagging feeling that I already knew what the opening line should be… as soon as we finished recording I remembered the poem Dregs by the English poet Ernest Dowson. That was the moment when I knew the song – and the album – were real.”
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Songs From a Lost World was produced by Smith and Paul Corkett, who co-produced The Cure’s 2000 album Bloodflowers. The album features contributions from Smith, Simon Gallup (bass), Jason Cooper (drums), Reeves Gabriel (guitar) and Roger O’Donnell (keyboards). The latter recently announced he’d been diagnosed with rare and “aggressive” blood cancer a year ago, but added that “I’m fine and the prognosis is amazing”.
In recent weeks the band had been teasing the release of Songs From a Lost World to fans via mystery postcards and puzzles. Smith has been revealing details of the LP for many years, and speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2019, he blamed himself for some of the delays. “I keep going back over and redoing them, which is silly. At some point, I have to say that’s it. It’s very much on the darker side of the spectrum,” Smith added.
“I lost my mother and my father and my brother recently, and obviously it had an effect on me. It’s not relentlessly doom and gloom. It has soundscapes on it, like Disintegration, I suppose. I was trying to create a big palette, a big wash of sound.”
Rapper Tierra Whack and Venezualan phenom Danny Ocean have each partnered with outdoor clothing company Cotopaxi to support causes close to their hearts.
As part of the just-announced campaigns, Whack will work with the brand to support the Philadelphia-based music education non-profit Fam Frequency, with Cotopaxi also donating gear to the organization. As part of the initiative, the Philadelphia-born Whack will also visit schools around the city to talk about the importance of education.
“I got to surprise a young artist in the studio, which was so special,” Whack tells Billboard of working with FamFrequency. “Just seeing her face light up reminded me why I do what I do. I’m here to share my journey and my experiences. I also want to show these young creatives that it’s possible to turn your art into a career, and that you can do it while staying true to yourself.”
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Ocean, meanwhile, is using the partnership to draw attention to the global refugee crisis, which is particularly meaningful to him given the current situation in his home country of Venezuela.
“There’s been an autocratic dictatorship there for 25 years which has robbed and depleted all resources which should go towards helping the Venezuelan people, and they’ve created a historic refugee crisis since everyone has to flee to have any hope for a future,” Ocean says in a statement. “I appreciate that Cotopaxi understands the seriousness of this issue for me and is willing to amplify and help.”
“It’s not just about the music or the fame,” Whack adds in regard to artists using their position to support good causes. “We’ve got a voice and a platform that can reach people in ways most can’t. I feel like it’s our duty to use that for something positive, to uplift, to educate, to inspire. If I can do something good with my platform, why wouldn’t I?
Based in Salt Lake City, Cotopaxi donates 1% of its revenue to support communities experiencing poverty, which the company says has benefited 4.25 million people to date. The company focuses on making products as ethical, sustainable and durable as possible while also having a positive social, environmental and economic impact. As of now, 96% of their products are made with leftover deadstock, recycled or certified responsible materials, with the company anticipating that this number will reach 100% in the next few months.
Additionally, Cotopaxi has partnered with the Global Citizen Festival, happening this Saturday (Sept. 28) in New York City’s Central Park and featuring performances by Post Malone, Doja Cat, LISA, Rauw Alejandro and Jelly Roll. These initiatives mark the company’s first forays into music.
Kylie Minogue’s red-hot moment isn’t cooling off anytime soon.
Australia’s “princess of pop” started her week in Singapore, where she performed for the crowds gathered for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, and fulfilled a lifelong dream when she waved the chequered flag.
Then, on Thursday, Kylie’s name was called out — five times — when the nominations for the 2024 ARIA Awards were announced. Only Royel Otis (with eight) and Dom Dolla (six) collected more nods.
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Next month, the Melbourne-raised pop veteran releases Tension II, Kylie’s 17th studio album and the sequel to her 2023 hit Tension, which led the national charts in the United Kingdom and Australia, and peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200.
Tension II is scheduled to arrive Oct. 18, and is led by “Lights Camera Action,” the lead single due out this Friday, Sept. 27.
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There’s no slowing down for Kylie who, in the early months of 2025, embarks on a global tour.
Choosing which songs to stack in her setlist is a “juggling act,” she tells ABC Breakfast in her homeland. It’s “the hardest part of every tour.”
Of course, Kylie will deliver “the biggest hits and leave some space for some oddities. Not just the same old songs you’ve heard time and time again on tours,” she admits.
The global success of Tension hit “Padam Padam” was both “mind-blowing” and “life-changing,” says Kylie. “I didn’t set out to do that. I just consistently worked and consistently try and keep achieving.”
Tension II has “a similar vibe” to its predecessor, Minogue confesses, and features “a few random collaborations which I’ve really enjoyed,” with The Blessed Madonna, Orville Peck, Bebe Rexha, Tove Lo, and fellow Aussie Sia among them. “You feel like some of the pressure’s off you when you share the load.”
Kylie can apparently do no wrong. Earlier in the year, she scooped the Global Icon Award at the BRIT Awards, becoming just the second woman to win it following Taylor Swift in 2021, and went on to win the Billboard Women in Music Icon Award.
Kylie landed a Grammy Award (best pop dance recording) for “Padam Padam,” completed her inaugural Las Vegas Residency, and signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) for live representation in the U.S. and Canada and acting roles worldwide.
The Tension Tour 2025 is scheduled to kick off Feb. 15 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, following by pan-Asian dates in March, and a trek through the U.K. and Europe in May.
With eight nominations, Royel Otis is all set to reign at the 2024 ARIA Awards.
The Sydney-formed indie act bags nods for album of the year, best group, best independent release, best rock album, best Australian live act and more, following their debut full-length album release, Pratts & Pain, which peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart.
Royel Otis has been in sparkling form heading into the ARIAs. Led by Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic, and developed by Ourness, the music company behind Genesis Owusu, Royel Otis made their debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover of The Cranberries’ “Linger” reaching No. 94, and impacted Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart with another cover, hitting No. 2 with their rendition of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder On The Dancefloor,” which they covered for triple j’s Like A Version.
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They’ve accumulated 9 million followers on Spotify, and more than 318 million combined streams on the streaming platform in the past year. Royel Otis wrapped a tour of the U.K. and Europe last month, and their currently stateside on a trek that runs until Oct. 22.
At the ARIAs, EDM star Dom Dolla is close behind with six nominations, while Angie McMahon and Kylie Minogue score five nods each.
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Amy Shark, 3%, RÜFÜS DU SOL, The Kid LAROI, Tones And I and Troye Sivan each land four chances, while Confidence Man, FISHER, Mildlife, Miss Kaninna, SPEED and Troy Cassar-Daley are each finalists in three categories.
Awards in 29 categories will be presented Nov. 20 during a ceremony at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. On the night, Missy Higgins will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
“This year,” comments ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, “we get to celebrate a deep list of household names in Australian music that span all genres, highlighting the huge shift in positive momentum that the Australian music industry experienced this year. It’s a time to acknowledge those who are achieving amazing things, and spotlight those who are about to, to ensure we continue this momentum forward into 2025.”
The Australian recording industry’s flagship awards night will air live on Stan, with a special broadcast on free-to-air Channel 9. Also, performances and moments will stream globally at the official ARIA YouTube channel.
The ARIA Awards is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and events agency, Destination NSW, and partnered by YouTube.
Visit aria.com.au for the full list of nominations.
2024 ARIA Awards Nominations
Album of the YearAmy Shark – Sunday Sadness (Sony Music)Angie McMahon – Light, Dark, Light Again [AWAL Recordings]Kylie Minogue – Tension [Mushroom Music/BMG]Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN [Ourness/Believe]Troye Sivan – Something to Give Each Other [EMI Music Australia]
Best Solo ArtistAmy Shark – Sunday Sadness (Sony Music)Angie McMahon – Light, Dark, Light Again [AWAL Recordings]Dom Dolla – Saving Up [Three Six Zero/Sony Music]Emma Donovan – Till My Song Is Done [Mushroom Music/BMG]Kylie Minogue – Tension [Mushroom Music/BMG]The Kid LAROI – THE FIRST TIME [DELUXE VERSION] [Columbia Records/Sony Music]Tkay Maidza – Sweet Justice [Dew Process/Universal Music Australia]Tones And I – Beautifully Ordinary [Bad Batch Records/Sony Music]Troy Cassar-Daley – Between The Fires [Tarampa Music/Sony Music]Troye Sivan – Something To Give Each Other [EMI Music Australia]
Best Group presented by Stan3% – KILL THE DEAD [1788 Records/Virgin Music Group]Hiatus Kaiyote – Love Heart Cheat Code [Brainfeeder/Inertia]Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN [Ourness/Believe]RÜFÜS DU SOL – Music is Better [Reprise Records/Warner Music Australia]SPEED – Only One Mode [Last Ride Records/ADA]
Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist3% – KILL THE DEAD [1788 Records/Virgin Music Group]Becca Hatch – MAYDAY [Forever Ever/SonyMusicKita Alexander – Young In Love [Warner Music Australia]Sycco – Zorb [Future Classic]Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers – I Love You [Domestic La La]
Best Pop ReleaseAmy Shark – Sunday Sadness (Sony Music)Jessica Mauboy – Yours Forever (Warner Music Australia)Kylie Minogue – Tension (Mushroom Music/BMG)The Kid LAROI – Girls (Columbia Records/Sony Music)Troye Sivan – Something To Give Each Other (EMI Music Australia)
Best Dance / Electronic ReleaseConfidence Man – I CAN’T LOSE YOU (I OH YOU/Mushroom Music)CYRIL – Stumblin’ In (Spinnin’ Records/WMA)Dom Dolla – Saving Up (Three Six Zero/Sony Music)FISHER Feat. Kita Alexander – Atmosphere (etcetc Music)RÜFÜS DU SOL – Music is Better (Reprise Records/Warner Music Australia)
Best Hip Hop / Rap Release3% – KILL THE DEAD (1788 Records/Virgin Music Group)Kobie Dee – Chapter 26 (Bad Apples Music/Island Records Australia)Lithe – Fall Back (GSL/GYROstream)ONEFOUR – Natural Habitat (ONEFOUR RECORDS)The Kid LAROI – THE FIRST TIME [DELUXE VERSION] (Columbia Records/Sony Music)
Best Soul / R&B ReleaseForest Claudette – Jupiter (Sony Music)Milan Ring – Mangos (Astral People Recordings/[PIAS])Miss Kaninna – Blak Britney (Soul Has No Tempo)PANIA – WE STILL YOUNG (Say Less)Tkay Maidza – Sweet Justice (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)
Best Independent Release presented by PPCAAngie McMahon – Light, Dark, Light Again (AWAL Recordings)Emily Wurramara – NARA (ABC Music/The Orchard)Kylie Minogue – Tension (Mushroom Music/BMG)Miss Kaninna – Blak Britney (Soul Has No Tempo)Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN (Ourness/Believe)
Best Rock AlbumAngie McMahon – Light, Dark, Light Again (AWAL Recordings)Grinspoon – whatever, whatever (Universal Music Australia)King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Flight b741 (p(doom) records)Middle Kids – Faith Crisis Pt 1 (EMI Music Australia)Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN (Ourness/Believe)
Best Adult Contemporary AlbumAngus & Julia Stone – Cape Forestier (Sony Music)Crowded House – Gravity Stairs (BMG/ADA)Emily Wurramara – NARA (ABC Music/The Orchard)Emma Donovan – Til My Song Is Done (Civilians)Fanning Dempsey National Park – The Deluge (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)
Best Country AlbumCasey Barnes – Mayday (Casey Barnes Entertainment/Chugg Music)Henry Wagons – The Four Seasons (Cheatin’ Hearts Records/ADA)James Johnston – Raised Like That (Warner Music Australia)Tori Forsyth – All We Have Is Who We Are (Island Records Australia/Universal Music Australia)Troy Cassar-Daley – Between The Fires (Tarampa Music/Sony Music)
Best Hard Rock / Heavy Metal AlbumC.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops (Damaged Records/Inertia)Dune Rats – If It Sucks, Turn It Up (BMG/ADA)Polaris – Fatalism (Resist/Civilians)SPEED – Only One Mode (Last Ride Records/ADA)Teenage Jones – The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest (Domestic La La)
Best Blues & Roots AlbumCheckerboard Lounge – SUN Sessions (Cheersquad Records and Tapes)Dope Lemon – Kimosabè (BMG/ADA)Georgia Mooney – Full Of Moon (Nettwerk Music Group)Mia Dyson – Tender Heart (Metropolitan Groove Merchants)The Paper Kites – At The Roundhouse (Wonderlick Recording Company)
Best Children’s AlbumBluey – Dance Mode! (Ludo Studios/Demon Demon Music Group/Rocket)Emma Memma – Twirly Tunes (GYROstream)Josh Pyke – It’s Gonna Be A Great, Great Day! (ABC Music/The Orchard)The Wiggles – Wiggle and Learn: 100 Educational Songs for Children (ABC Music/The Orchard)Zinzi & The Zillionaires – Zinzi & The Zillionaires (ABC Music/The Orchard)
PUBLIC VOTED AWARDSBest Video presented by YouTubeREAL LIFE LOVE – SPEED, Jack Rudder, Jem Siow, Thomas Elliot (Last Ride Records/ADA)Cold Treatment – Lime Cordiale, Jack Shepherd (Chugg Music/MGM)U Should Not Be Doing That – Amyl and The Sniffers, John Angus Stewart (Amyl and TheSniffers/Virgin Music Group)Time Of My Life – Peach PRC, Josh Harris (Island Records Australia)Lately – RÜFÜS DU SOL, Katzki (Rose Avenue Records/Warner Music)Beautiful Eyes – Amy Shark, Marcario De Souza (Sony Music)Is It Ever Gonna Make Sense – Budjerah, Michael O’Halloran [ONYX FILM] (Warner Music Australia)Dance With Me – Tones And I, Nick Kozakis and Sela Vai (Bad Batch Records/Sony Music)Blak Britney – Miss Kaninna, Will Hamilton-Coates (Soul Has No Tempo)I CAN’T LOSE YOU – Confidence Man, Zac Dov Wiesel (I OH YOU/Mushroom Music)
Best Australian Live Act presented by Destination NSWAngie McMahon – Making It Through Tour (AWAL Recordings)Barkaa – BARKAA (Bad Apples Music/Island Records Australia)Confidence Man – Laneway Festival (I OH YOU/Mushroom Music)Dirty Three – Love Changes Everything Tour (Anchor & Hope/Remote Control Records)Dom Dolla – DOM DOLLA AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2023 (Three Six Zero/Sony Music)King Stingray – Regional Run 2024 (Civilians/The Orchard)Missy Higgins – The Second Act Tour 2024 (Eleven/EMI Music Australia)Royel Otis – Royel Otis PRATTS & PAIN Tour (Ourness/Believe)RÜFÜS DU SOL – RÜFÜS DU SOL 2024 Australian Summer Tour Dates (Rose Avenue Records/WarnerMusic)Tones And I – P!nk Supported By Tones And I (Bad Batch Records/Sony Music)
Song of the Year presented by YouTubeCYRIL – Stumblin’ In (Spinnin’ Records/WMA)Dom Dolla – Saving Up (Three Six Zero/Sony Music)FISHER Feat. Kita Alexander – Atmosphere (etcetc Music)G Flip – The Worst Person Alive (Future Classic)Jessica Mauboy Feat. Jason Derulo – Give You Love (Warner Music Australia)Kylie Minogue – Tension (Mushroom Music/BMG)Lithe – Fall Back (GSL, GYROstream)Royel Otis – Murder on the Dance Floor – triple j Like A Version (ABC Music/The Orchard)The Kid LAROI – Nights Like This (Columbia Records/Sony Music)Troye Sivan – Got Me Started (EMI Music Australia)
Most Popular International ArtistAriana Grande – Eternal Sunshine (Republic Records/Universal Music Australia)Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft (Darkroom/Interscope/Universal Music Australia)Chappell Roan – The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess (Island Records USA/Universal MusicAustralia)Charli XCX – BRAT (Atlantic Records/Warner Music Australia)Drake – For All The Dogs (Republic Records/Universal Music Australia)Olivia Rodrigo – Guts (Geffen/Universal Music Australia)Tate McRae – Think Later (RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment)Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department (Republic Records/Universal Music Australia)Travis Scott – Utopia (Epic/Sony Music Entertainment)Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan (Warner Records/Warner Music Australia)
ARIA Music Teacher AwardCasey Allen – PLC Sydney, Eora Nation, NSWHayley Wedding – Seaview High School, Kaurna Land, SANathaniel Miller – Bulman School, Arnhem Land, NTSusan Sukkar – Petersham Public School, Eora Nation, NSW
ARTISAN AWARDSBest Cover ArtDaniel Boyd and Nomad Create for KILL THE DEAD – 3% (1788 Records/Virgin Music Group)Giulia McGauran & Sam Chirnside for Tones And I – Beautifully Ordinary (Better Batch Records/SonyMusic)Louis Leimbach for Lime Cordiale – Enough Of Sweet Talk (Chugg Music/MGM)Michael Bryers for Troy Cassar-Daley – Between The Fires (Tarampa Music/Sony Music)Tomas Shanahan for Mildlife – Chorus ([PIAS] Australia/Inertia Music)
Engineer – Best Engineered ReleaseChris Collins for Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN (Ourness/Believe)Dom Dolla for Dom Dolla – Saving Up (Three Six Zero/Sony Music)Eric J. Dubowsky for Angus & Julia Stone – Cape Forestier (Sony Music)Luke Steele, Nick Littlemore, Peter Mayes for Empire Of The Sun – Ask That God (EMI MusicAustralia)Tony Buchen for Mildlife – Chorus ([PIAS] Australia/Inertia Music)
Producer – Best Produced ReleaseChris Collins for Royel Otis – PRATTS & PAIN (Ourness/Believe)Crowded House & Steven Schram for Crowded House – Gravity Stairs (BMG/ADA)Dom Dolla for Dom Dolla – Saving Up (Three Six Zero/Sony Music)FISHER for FISHER Feat. Kita Alexander – Atmosphere (etcetc Music)Luke Steele, Nick Littlemore, Peter Mayes for Empire Of The Sun – Ask That God (EMI MusicAustralia)
FINE ARTS AWARDBest Classical AlbumAustralian Chamber Orchestra/ Richard Tognetti – Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 ‘Eroica’ (ABCClassic/The Orchard)Grigoryan Brothers – Amistad – Music For Two Guitars (Decca Australia/UMA)Orava Quartet – ORAWA (Deutsche Grammophon Australia/UMA)Sophie Hutchings – A World Outside (Mercury KX/UMA)Veronique Serret – Migrating Bird (Migrating Bird Records/The Planet Company)
Best Jazz AlbumAudrey Powne – From The Fire (Barely Breaking Even/The Orchard)Elixir (feat. Katie Noonan, Zac Hurren & Ben Hauptmann) – A Small Shy Truth (ABC Jazz/TheOrchard)Mildlife – Chorus ([PIAS] Australia/Inertia Music)Tourismo – Torque (ABC Jazz/The Orchard)Vanessa Perica Orchestra – The Eye is the First Circle (Vanessa Perica)
Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album presented by StanAck Kinmonth – Scarygirl (Independant)Harlow – This is HARLOW (Music From Paper Dolls) (Helium/MGM)Helena Czakja – Nemesis (Original Series Soundtrack) (ABC Music/The Orchard)Jackson Milas – The Way, My Way (Ambition Records/MGM)Various Artists – Faraway Downs (DTS Productions/Sony Music)
Best World Music AlbumChristine Anu – Waku (ABC Music/The Orchard)Dobby – Warangu; River Story (ABC Music/The Orchard)Joseph Tawadros – The Virtue of Signals (Independant/The Planet Company)Radical Son – Bilambiyal (Wantok Musik/The Planet Company)Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator – History of House (Xelon Entertainment)
OUR SOUNDTRACK OUR ADSBest Use of an Australian Recording in an AdvertisementCancer Council: End The Trend – Bolster Group, JK-47NRL & AFL: WARRIORS & STORYTELLERS – Fox Sports Australia, Kobie DeeQantas Olympics: Already Proud – Howatson+Company, Tones And Irealestate.com.au: Keep Moving – 72andSunny, EuroglidersSpeedo International: Go Full Speedo – Collider/Mirimar, The Beefs
The music of Sophie lives on through her self-titled final album, which surprised dropped late Wednesday.
Released through Future Classic and Transgressive, the posthumous SOPHIE collection is stacked with collaborations with close friends, and houses previously-released cuts “Reason Why” (featuring Kim Petras & BC Kingdom), “Berlin Nightmare” featuring Evita Manji, “One More Time” ft. Popstar, “Exhilarate” ft. Bibi Bourelly, and “My Forever” ft. Cecile Believe.
Hannah Diamond worked with Sophie on the album track “Always and Forever,” recorded in London during the 2020 lockdown. “It ended up being the last ever day that I saw her in person,” Diamond remarks.
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Sophie, an important figure in underground pop and dance music, died the following year, at the age of 34.
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“Our beautiful Sophie passed away this morning after a terrible accident,” read a statement at the time, issued by Future Classic. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell.”
Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Sophie Xeon inherited an interest in dance and electronic music from their father, and started recording their own music at a young age. In the early ’10s, they struck up an association with a few artists on the PC Music label, soon to be at the experimental pop vanguard, and released their debut single “Nothing More to Say” in 2013.
Over the next decade, Sophie appeared on and helmed a slew of recordings, including 2017’s “It’s Okay to Cry,” ultimately named by Billboard as one of the best songs of the year.
Following Sophie’s passing, pop cult favorite Rina Sawayama remembered the lateartist as “the sweetest – an icon and a visionary,” adding, “the world and our community has lost a beautiful soul.”
SOPHIE is released as a double vinyl, with each side representing a different section of the album. The wax comes in standard black as well as translucent neon pink, clear, and silver and is available to order here.
Stream SOPHIE in full below.
Macklemore has released a statement after leading a “f— America” chant at Seattle’s Palestine Will Live Forever Festival over the weekend.
Macklemore performed his new song at the event, “Hind’s Hall 2,” the sequel to his May song of the same name whose proceeds are given to the United Nations Relief and Words Agency (UNRWA), which provides assistance to Palestinian refugees. “Straight up, say it, I’m not gonna stop you,” told the crowd in a fan video from the show. “I’m not gonna stop you… yeah, f–k America.”
On Tuesday (Sept. 24), the rapper was dropped from Las Vegas’ Neon City Festival lineup.
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In his statement, released on Wednesday, Macklemore explains his mindset leading up to the performance. “My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely. Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment. Saturday night was one of those times,” he began his lengthy statement posted to social media.
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“Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words,” he continued, noting that he hasn’t been “OK” in the months since the Israel-Hamas war has broken out. ” I have been in utter disbelief with how our government is showing up at this moment in history. I don’t think I’m alone,” he wrote, “Some days I don’t know how to love something that is hurting others so much. I don’t think I’m alone.”
He continued, “And some days I wake up, see another couple billion dollars given to Israel, or another refugee encampment destroyed, or a father holding a limb from his martyred child, or another speech from a politician justifying the right of Israel to ‘defend itself’ while denying Palestinians the right to exist, and I say to myself…. ‘F— America.’ I don’t think I’m alone.”
Macklemore concluded his statement, “I’ve slipped in front of the world before. I’m sure I’ll do it again. But they will not silence my voice, and they will not close my heart. I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost shows, I’ve lost business ties. I am still here, unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine. I care about humanity and this earth too much to turn back now. My intent always comes back to the pursuit of peace, love, equality and liberation for all. And that isn’t radical, it’s human. I don’t think I’m alone.”
See Macklemore’s powerful statement in full below.
Shakira is joyfully embracing her newfound freedom in her latest track, “Soltera,” an ode to the pleasures of being single.
The song exudes a tropical pop vibrancy, encapsulating a celebration of singledom and self-liberation. With its catchy chorus and sun-kissed rhythms, the track is a jubilant anthem for anyone reveling in independence, underscored by her unmistakable vocals and zestful lyrics that advocate enjoying life unapologetically free. “I have the right to misbehave/ To have a good time/ I’m on my own and now I can do what I want to do/ It’s good to be single,” she sings.
“Soltera” follows her latest release, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, the album which crowned on Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums, marking her as the first woman to secure No. 1 albums in four different decades.
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On September 16, the Colombian powerhouse first teased the new single on Instagram, posting a scene of the music video at the LIV Miami nightclub. The video — which she captioned, “Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica and Venezuela present!” — featured a star-studded cameo with Anitta, Danna Paola, Lele Pons, and Winnie Harlow.
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On Wednesday (Sept. 25), she shared another clip featuring herself aboard a yacht with Natty Natasha, Harlow, Pons, and more, all grooving to her signature moves. “I can’t believe you taught us that first move. Iconic, Shakira!,” commented Harlow on Shak’s IG.
See the song below:
Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars including Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
A new production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet will be soundtracked by Radiohead’s 2003 album Hail to the Thief.
Hamlet Hail to the Thief will see “Shakespeare’s words and Radiohead’s album illuminate oneanother in thrilling new ways as the music becomes a critical part of the narrative” a press release reveals. The production will include a cast of 20 musicians and actors performing the album live onstage during the play.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has collaborated with Tony and Olivier award-winner Christine Jones and Olivier award-winner Steven Hoggett for the production.
Hamlet Hail to the Thief will premiere at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, in Manchester on Apr 27 and will run there until May 18, 2025. The production then transfers to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon, England from June 4 – 28, 2025. Tickets for the production go on sale on October 2; more details can be found here.
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Press
Speaking about the new arrangements of Hail To The Thief, Yorke said in a statement that it was an “interesting and intimidating challenge”. He added: “Adapting the original music of Hail To The Thief for live performance with the actors on stage to tell this story that is forever being told, using its familiarity and sounds, pulling them into and out of context, seeing what chimes with the underlying grief and paranoia of Hamlet, using the music as a ‘presence’ in the room, watching how it collides with the action and the text. Ghosting one against the other.”
Hail To The Thief was released in 2003 by the British band amidst the fallout of the invasion of Iraq and was critical of President George W. Bush’s ‘war on terror’ following 9/11. The album landed at No.3 on the Billboard 200 and at No.1 on the U.K.’s Official Album Charts and its artwork, which is incorporated in the play’s promotional poster, was created by frequent collaborator Stanley Donwood.
Speaking in 2003, Yorke said that the album’s lyrical content was influenced by “the rise of doublethink and the rise of general intolerance and madness, and feeling very much like individuals were totally out of control of the situation” and that “the force of the music gave me licence I think to explore all these things, really”. It spawned three singles, “2+2=5”, “Go To Sleep” and “There, There”.
Jones, who has previously collaborated with Hoggett on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the stage adaptation of Green Day’s American Idiot said that William Shakespeare’s play, written between 1599 and 1601, aligned with their love of Radiohead’s record.
“Paying attention to the lyrics, I became aware of how many songs from Hail to the Thief speak to the themes of the play,” Jones says. “There are uncanny reverberances between the text and the album. For years I’ve wanted to see the play and album collide in a piece of theatre; eventually I shared the idea with Thom, who was intrigued.
Radiohead released their most recent album A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016 and the band members have worked on new projects ever since. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s The Smile will release their third studio album Cutouts on XL Recordings on Oct 4.
The band’s bassist Colin Greenwood recently revealed that the band had recently reconvened to rehearse but shared no news of imminent music.
Katy Perry had the support of the Queen of Pop from day one. The “Lifetimes” superstar joined Australian talk show The Project this week, where she opened up about getting love from Madonna early in her career. “Madonna was really nice to me, well it took a minute because she was testing me and then […]