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18 May 2023

Billy Porter, Charlie Puth & More Join Global Citizen as Ambassadors

Global Citizen — the international advocacy organization with a long history of teaming with artists such as Mariah Carey, Metallica, Usher and other music industry power players — announced the addition of five new ambassadors on Thursday (May 18).

Bill Nye (yes, the Science Guy), EGT winner Billy Porter, hitmaking singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, actress Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, Nashville, The White Lotus) and actress Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) are joining longtime ambassadors John Legend, Usher, Hugh Jackman, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and more in the fight to end extreme poverty.

Last September, Global Citizen held two simultaneous star-studded concerts in New York City’s Central Park and Accra, Ghana’s Black Star Square. The organization began holding global concerts in 2012 to mobilize people and pressure world leaders to take decisive action in the fight against extreme poverty; since then, the organization also rallied to fight COVID-19 during the pandemic and continues to focus on climate change, noting that science-based research overwhelmingly predicts that climate change will hit the world’s poorest people the hardest.

“The most pressing issues facing our planet – like climate change, equity for girls and women and the global food crisis – require drastic action and immediate change,” said Katie Hill, svp of music, entertainment and artist relations at Global Citizen. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with these ambassadors to grow our community of global citizens, drive action and impact and show people around the world how taking action can make a difference.”

Global Citizen’s latest campaign, Power Our Planet: Act Today. Save Tomorrow, aims to galvanize people around the world to take action and call on world leaders to demand global financial reform to help developing countries combat climate change and extreme poverty.

18 May 2023

Country Ties Pop on Top, R&B Overtakes Hip-Hop: The State of the Hot 100 Top 10 in 2023 Q1

What were some of the most notable trends on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in the first quarter of 2023?

Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Hot 100 hits, has released its State of the Hot 100 Top 10: Q1 2023 report.

Here are three takeaways from Hit Songs Deconstructed’s latest in-depth research.

Country Ties Pop on Top, R&B Overtakes Hip-Hop

In the first three months of 2023, pop and country tied as the most common primary genres in the Hot 100’s top 10, each contributing to 26% of all top 10 hits.

Country surged to its “highest level of prominence in over a decade, largely thanks to Morgan Wallen’s five top 10s from his album One Thing at a Time,” Hit Songs Deconstructed’s report notes. Wallen’s haul has been led by “Last Night,” which first topped the Hot 100 dated March 18.

As for pop, despite its domination, its 26% share of all Hot 100 top 10s in Q1 continues a decline for the genre, from 35% in all of 2022; 39% in 2021; 40% in 2020; and 47% in 2019.

At the same time, as Hit Songs Deconstructed noted earlier this year, while country ascended in Q1, driven by Wallen’s hits, the genre boasts notable similarities to pop songs.

In third place for Q1, dance/electronic accounted for 17% of all Hot 100 top 10s, “its highest year-over-year level in a decade,” per Hit Songs Deconstructed, with David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” a key contributor to the genre’s growth.

R&B/soul placed fourth among primary genres in Q1, at 13%, powered by the likes of SZA’s “Kill Bill,” followed in fifth place, at 4%, by hip-hop – as “the top genre in 2022 all but disappeared save for Drake and 21 Savage’s ‘Rich Flex,’ ” Hit Songs Deconstructed points out.

Thus, not only did hip-hop join pop in dropping in Q1 – hip-hop had never been below 34% in any year since 2019 before plummeting to 4% in the first three months of 2023 – but comparing hip-hop to R&B/soul since 2019 is likewise striking. The genres’ respective Q1 shares of 4% and 13% contrast from hip-hop’s runaway wins between them in 2022 (38% for hip-hop vs. 8% for R&B/soul), 2021 (34% vs. 18%), 2020 (41% vs. 8%) and 2019 (34% vs. 10%).

Love Songs Get Their ‘Flowers’

“Lyrically, love/relationships held tight as the most popular lyrical theme[s], skyrocketing to 83% of songs” in the Hot 100’s top 10 in Q1, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed.

Leading the way for such songs (representing, naturally, a range of emotions about love): Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” which soared in at No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated Jan. 28, along with Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” and The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You.”

Also per Hit Songs Deconstructed’s Q1 analysis of lyrics, “the top 10 continued to trend toward fewer song title appearances, with just over half of songs featuring between one and five in their framework. The most popular place to find the song title continued to be the chorus, followed by the outro and vocal break post-chorus.”

Or … not at all, as SZA never explicitly sings the title in “Kill Bill.”

Instrumental Instruments

“Instrumentally, electronic drums, synths and synth bass continued to be at the core of most top 10s” on the Hot 100 in Q1, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed. “However, their use was notably down compared to years prior. Conversely, there was a notable uptick in the use of guitar (electric, acoustic and lap steel), largely thanks to the rise of country.”

As for atypical instruments and sounds in Hot 100 top 10s in Q1, they include the brass section in “Cuff It”; mallets, in Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero”; and even birds chirping in JVKE’s “Golden Hour.”

18 May 2023

Live Nation Rolls Out $99 All-In One-Day Tickets For Festivals Including Roots Picnic, Governors Ball & More

Live Nation has expanded its summer concert week promotion with the announcement of Festival Weekend pricing, which will allow fans to buy $99 all-in one-day tickets to more than a dozen festivals across North America. The special price plan will kick off on Friday (May 19) at 10 a.m. ET and last through midnight on May 22, or while supplies last.

Among the 13 festivals on the list are the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia (June 2-4) featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill, Diddy, Dave Chappelle and Lil Uzi Vert, The Governors Ball (June 9-11), with Lizzo, Haim, Odesza, Lil Baby and Kendrick Lamar the Afro Nation Afrobeats fest in Miami (May 27-28) with Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Fireboy DML and more.

Other festivals getting the $99 treatment are Adjacent (Atlantic City, May 27-28), Lavender Wild (Toronto, June 4), Broccoli City (Washington, DC, July 15-16), FairWell (Redmond, OR, July 21-23), TidalWave (Atlantic City, August 11-13), Catbird (Bethel, NY, August 19-20), One Fine Day (Philadelphia, Sept. 9), FORMAT (Bentonville, AR, Sept. 22-24), Sound on Sound (Bridgeport, CT, Sept. 20-Oct. 1) and Greenville Country (Greenville, SC, Oct. 20-22); the offer is available for a limited weekend and on a first-come, first-served basis.

The $99 all-in price includes all fees upfront, with taxes applicable by city and state.

Live Nation previously announced the return of $25 all-in tickets for more than 3,800 shows across North America this year. The weeklong program that rolled out earlier this month offered limited-time low-dough tickets specials for shows by more than 300 acts, including Janet Jackson, Fall Out Boy, Don Toliver, Maroon 5, Shania Twain, Snoop Dogg and many more.

18 May 2023

Fourth XXXTentacion Killer Gets Reduced Sentence After Plea Deal

A Florida man who testified against three former friends who murdered rising rap star XXXTentacion during a robbery five years ago will spend the next two years in prison, a judge ruled Wednesday (May 17).

Circuit Judge Michael Usan sentenced Robert Allen to seven years in prison, with credit for the five years he has already spent at the Broward County jail. He will then spend 20 years on probation. He could have received a life sentence.

Allen, 27, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and testified earlier this year against Michael Boatwright, 27, Dedrick Williams, 27, and Trayvon Newsome, 25. They were convicted of first-degree murder in March and sentenced to life in prison.

During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked Allen, Boatwright, Williams and Newsome to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store. They stole $50,000 and made cellphone videos hours after the shooting showing them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills.

XXXTentacion, whose legal name was Jahseh Onfroy, had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend when an SUV swerved in front of him and blocked his BMW.

Surveillance video showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one shot him repeatedly. They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away. The friend was not harmed.

Boatwright was identified as the primary shooter with Newsome being identified as the other gunman. Williams was the group’s leader and the driver of the SUV.

Allen testified that the men set out that day to commit robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to buy Williams a mask. There they spotted the rapper and decided to make him their target. Allen and Williams went inside the shop to confirm it was him. They then went back to the SUV they had rented, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge and ambushed him.

18 May 2023

Weezer Rock the Hollywood Writer’s Strike Picket Line With Impromptu Unplugged Set

Weezer became the latest stars to support the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike on Wednesday (May 17) when they played an impromptu acoustic set at the Paramount Pictures lot for the picketers. Singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo, guitarist Brian Bell and bassist Scott Shriner brought their guitars for the mini-set that included their 1994 hit “Buddy Holly” and 2005’s homage to the glamour life, “Beverly Hills.”

And while their laptops remain slammed shut, the picketing writers were happy to lend their voices to the keening chorus of “Holly,” happily singing along with the trio on the campfire-like unplugged jam, shouting the refrain, “I don’t care about that!”

As the strike that has shut down all movie and TV productions lingers into its third week with no signs of movement, picket line pop-ups have become part of the daily scene outside major studios, with a number of actors and musicians dropping by to lend support to the writers who are fighting to get what they say is a more equitable pay scale for their work.

Last week, Imagine Dragons showed up on the Netflix picket line, with singer Dan Reynolds and guitarist Daniel Sermon playing unplugged versions of their hits “Radioactive” and “Whatever It Takes” for the writers. Their drop-by followed Bupkis star Pete Davidson handing out pizzas in Greenpoint, Brooklyn two weeks ago and Ted Lasso producers/stars Jason Sudekis, Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt joining the Writers Guild of America picket lines in solidarity with the first writer’s strike in 15 years.

Watch fan footage of the surprise Weezer set below.

18 May 2023

Andrew Penhallow, Australian Dance Music Trailblazer, Has Died

Tributes are flowing for Andrew Penhallow, the dance music visionary who created twin platforms for the genre, exposing millions of young Australians to DJ culture and electronic tunes through his Volition Records label, and in a live setting with Big Day Out’s Boiler Room.

U.K.-born Penhallow got his career underway in the 1980s when he and business partner Paul Gardiner pooled together $30,000 and set up Gardiner and Penhallow company, otherwise known as GAP.

“Paul got $10,000, I got $10,000 from my then mother-in-law. Then Paul got another $10,000 from his wife’s ex-husband who was a brain surgeon,” he recounted to Scream City fanzine.

Through GAP, Penhallow and Gardiner landed a licensing deal for Factory Records, the label helmed by the late Manchester scene-builder Tony Wilson. Factory Australasia would operate as an extension of that great British label, unleashing its roster of alternative rock and indie gems onto the Aussie market, from Joy Division and New Order, to Happy Mondays and others.

Penhallow learned the business, formed contacts and embarked on a path that would lift dance music from the underground and into the spotlight.

With the formation of Volition Records in the late 1980s, Penhallow assembled a stable of this country’s finest electronic acts, from Severed Heads to Boxcar, Itch-E and Scratch-E, Single Gun Theory, FSOM, Southend, Vision Four 5, and Sexing The Cherry.

The hits would come, thanks in part to the expansion of the BDO and the national rollout of the triple j radio network, which latched onto Severed Heads’ remix of “Dead Eyes Opened,” Southend’s “The Winner Is…” and Itch-E and Scratch-E’s “Sweetness and Light,” an ARIA Award winner for best dance release.

Volition’s acts were at home in the buzzing rave and club scene of the 1990s, but with a Penhallow masterstroke, found a fresh new audience with the traveling Big Day Out, and its Boiler Room, a specialist dance-music space within a wider one-day riot of rock and alternative.

Penhallow’s signings, and other major stars of electronic music, from the Prodigy to Fatboy Slim and Aphex Twin, would pack out the Boiler Room, which he co-produced (the Gold Coast Parklands leg was, appropriately, a site storage room which would reach boiling point late in the day).

At its peak, the Big Day Out, co-founded by the late Ken West and Viv Lees, would sell 330,000 tickets in one round trip. Many would have been exposed to DJ and PA culture for the first time by paying a visit to the Boiler Room, a space that “impacted the electronic live music space in Australia for eternity,” reads a message from the producers of Sydney’s Electronic Music Conference. “Thank you for your incredible contribution, and thank you for the music, Mr. Penhallow.”

Penhallow even had a hand in the breakthrough of OMC and their hit “How Bizarre,” by inviting the NZ group on the 1997 BDO tour.

Volition would reach its end in the late ‘90s, and Penhallow ultimately handed his Boiler Room duties to the next generation. But his legacy is being remember by those who worked with him.

“We’ll miss you so much AP,” reads a social post from Boxcar. “You changed us and Australian music forever, from Severed Heads to Falling Joys, Vision Four Five, Itch-E & Scratch-E, Single Gun Theory, Sexing the Cherry, FSOM, Sisters Underground, Southend, Scattered Order, Ups & Downs…the sensational Robert Racic and Factory Music before that! A.P was a TRAILBLAZER”.

A post from Vision Four 5’s reads: “Definitely way too soon for a man with such drive, passion, energy and damn good artwork – ALWAYS. You’ll be missed Andy – you changed many many people’s lives for the better.”

Details on Penhallow’s death were unclear at the time of writing. He’s survived by his partner Virginia and brother John.

18 May 2023

Genesis Owusu Sets Sophomore Album ‘Struggler’

The struggle is real, and Genesis Owusu is taking us for a closer look.

Announced today (May 18), the Ghana-born, Australia-raised funkster will release his sophomore album Struggler on Aug. 18, via Ourness.

Spanning 11 tracks, Struggler was recorded between the United States and Australia with such producers as Jason Evigan (Rufus Du Sol, SZA), Mikey Freedom Hart (Jon Batiste’s 2021 Grammy of the Year Album, We Are), and Sol Was (Beyoncé’s Renaissance).

The first taste from it is “Leaving The Light,” a tale of survival and perseverance, and, musically, a fusion of punk and rap over a synthwave soundbed.

On it, he sings: “Put my hand up on my heart, I beat my chest/ The chaos moving down and down, seep in my flesh/ The obstacles wont block my path, I see the test/ They can try and swat me down, boy I’m the pest.”

The official music video, a collaboration with visual artist Lisa Reihana, dropped Thursday (June 18) and can be seen in full below.

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Owusu was anything but a struggler with his debut full length album from 2021, Smiling with No Teeth, which cleaned up nearly every major award in Australia.

By the time it had completed its victory lap, Smiling with No Teeth had won the Australian Music Prize, triple j’s J Award for Australian album of the year, ARIA Awards (including album of the year), a hattrick of AIR Awards (including independent album of the year), an APRA Award (for breakthrough songwriter), and his song “Gold Chains” won the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition and earned a spot on President Obama’s 2021 playlist.

Few artists in living memory has swept the Australian awards calendar quite like Owusu.

The forthcoming set is said to take inspiration from a close friend who hitting rock bottom, but got through, along with Owusu’s contemplations of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis.

Genesis is currently touring North America in support of Paramore and Bloc Party, including dates at Madison Square Garden. He’s set to return home later this year for a six-date tour, kicking off Friday, Dec. 1 at Ice Cream Factory in Perth.

Struggler tracklist:

  1. Leaving The Light
  2. The Roach
  3. The Old Man
  4. See Ya There
  5. Freak Boy
  6. Tied Up!
  7. That’s Life (A Swamp)
  8. Balthazar
  9. Stay Blessed
  10. What Comes Will Come
  11. Stuck To The Fan

17 May 2023

Ke Personajes, Big One & FMK Rule Billboard Argentina Hot 100 For a Fourth Week

Ke Personajes, Big One, and FMK’s “Un Finde: Big One Crossover #2” claims a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated May 13). The song enters into a tie with Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” for the second-longest reign in 2023, trailing Big One’s own “En La Intimidad,” with Emilia and Callejero Fino, which dominated for seven consecutive weeks starting the Feb. 25-dated ranking.

BM’s “M.A (Mejores Amigos)” holds strong at No. 2, four weeks after it became his first No. 1 (chart dated April 15).

The Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Emilia’s “Jagger” at No. 11. With the latter plus ”No_Se_Ve.Mp3,” with Ludmila, debuting at No. 41 this week, Emilia collates her 21st entry on the Argentina Hot 100 and joins the exclusive group of female artists with 21 entries or more: Maria Becerra has secured 39 entries, Karol G posts 30, Tini holds 29, while Nicki Nicole has claimed a total of 26 career entries.

Overall, Bad Bunny continues at the lead with a total of 58 chart entries.

Further, Duki’s “aPoLLo13” launches at No. 32. With the new entry, the Argentinian rapper adds a 40th entry to his account, the fourth-most after Bad Bunny’s 59 titles, J Balvin’s 49, and Bizarrap’s 43 chart appearances.

Khea and Tiago Pzk’s “Para Amarte a Ti” take the Greatest Gainer honor of the week as the song climbs 26 rankings, from No. 76 to No. 50.

Elsewhere, Mesita picks up his first entry as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act, as “Dale Mecha” starts at No. 81.

The chart boasts six other debuts this week, starting with MYA and Rusherking’s “Mya Live P1: Chanel De Coco” at No. 84. Meanwhile, Lola Indigo and Quevedo’s “El Tonto” bows at No. 87; WOS’ “Descartable” joins at No. 89; Luck Ra and La Renga’s “Bebe Dame” debuts at No. 90; while La Joaqui’s “Cachorro” arrives at No. 97.

Lastly, thanks to the biographical Nexflix series El Amor Después del Amor, a classic of singer-songwriter Fito Páez makes its chart debut as “11 y 6” starts at No. 99. With the new arrival, Paez captures his fifth entry.

17 May 2023

Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom Featuring Miguel, Kirk Franklin, Coi Leray & More, Will Air on CNN & OWN

Following their 2022 debut concert, Live Nation Urban and Jesse Collins Entertainment are returning with this year’s Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom, set to take place at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. This year’s lineup includes Miguel, Kirk Franklin, SWV, Davido, Coi Leray and Jodeci, with other performers and presenters to be announced.

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The show will air live worldwide across all CNN platforms & nationally on the OWN network in a dual simulcast on Monday, June 19 at 8 p.m. EST. “We are proud to once again partner with Live Nation Urban to broadcast this powerful Juneteenth event on our platforms,” says Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. “We want to be a destination for people to both understand and celebrate a holiday of this magnitude.”

The shows musical directors will include Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Adam Blackstone and The Roots co-founder Questlove, who both also contributed to the Grammys’ Hip-Hop 50 dedication. “OWN is honored to simulcast this year’s concert. Juneteenth continues to be deeply important to our audience and it’s this deep significance that makes this simulcast really feel like an opportunity to be of service,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN TV Network & OWN OTT Streaming. “We are taking this day to celebrate alongside American families and reflect on this historic turning point for our nation.”

Throughout the concert, CNN and OWN will air programming to “uplift and educate viewers about Juneteenth on its 158th anniversary.”

Last year’s celebration included an array of artists across genres, like Yolanda Adams, Billy Porter, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye, Robert Glasper, and The Roots.

17 May 2023

Medusa Talks Winning ‘Masked Singer’ & How Her Snakes Felt Like ‘Good Luck Charms’

Spoiler alert: This story contains the identity of the winner of season 9, revealed on Wednesday night’s (May 17) episode of The Masked Singer.

Like something straight out of Greek mythology, Medusa’s journey to the Masked Singer crown was a heroic one.

It was a star-studded season, which featured iconic actors Dick Van Dyke, Malin Akerman, George Wendt and Lou Diamond Phillips; impressive singers like Sara Evans, Debbie Gibson, Michael Bolton, Dee Snider and Pentatonix; and every type of celebrity in between. It all led up to The Masked Singer‘s final battle of season 9 on Wednesday night, in which two of the season’s favorites, Macaw and Medusa, went head-to-snake-filled-head.

Throughout the season, Medusa wowed judges with mystical, powerful renditions of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Shawn Mendes’ “Mercy,” My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” and more. However, it almost came tumbling down during New York Night, when Medusa and California Roll competed in the Battle Royale, singing “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel. The panel of judges chose California Roll to go on to the next round, but used their first-ever save on Medusa when judge Nicole Scherzinger rang the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell.

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Before getting crowned the winner of The Masked Singer on Wednesday night, the judges were perplexed when it came to her identity. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg initially thought she might be Ellie Goulding or Halsey, while Ken Jeong thought Medusa might be the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, and Robin Thicke guessed Kesha. Scherzinger predicted Tove Lo or Lorde, before accurately guessing the woman behind the myth: British-American singer-songwriter, Bishop Briggs.

The star — known for her passionate vocals in hits like “River” — spoke to Billboard before Wednesday night’s finale, sharing her emotion-filled journey to the crown, the inspiration behind her upcoming EP When Everything Went Dark and how Medusa helped turn her weaknesses to stone.

Congratulations on your big win! How does it feel?

Thank you! It is the coolest thing ever. I can’t believe that I can even share that this is happening.

Did anyone in your personal life suspect that Medusa was you?

I definitely got a lot of text messages and I tried my best to keep it a secret. I just can’t wait to text them all back tonight and tell them they were right.

You had the judges pretty stumped throughout the season. Was it exciting to be the secret but incredible talent on the show?

I wasn’t super surprised that I didn’t get guessed just because I’m still an up-and-coming artist. I will say though, when Nicole eventually guessed me, all of a sudden you feel very exposed [laughs]. I felt very aware of my body and mannerisms. It was nice to fly under the radar, though.

On the other hand, you got compared to some amazing artists. The judges thought you might be Ellie Goulding, Halsey or Kesha. How did that feel?

Never forget, they also said Lorde at one point. I’m definitely holding on to those and never forgetting that it’s the coolest thing ever.

Nicole Scherzinger also saved you earlier in the season. Do you know her personally and how did it feel to be championed by her throughout the show?

I do not know her personally, but I am obviously obsessed with her. Coming into the show, she was vocalist that I really, really admire and I feel like she’s really underrated for what an incredible vocal talent she has. I mean, she sings like Whitney Houston. So the fact that she had any response to my voice, it meant so much to me. And with the bell, that moment, I cannot even explain how everything turned into slow motion. They were all yelling ‘Take it off!’ I really thought that I was going to be going home. You really learn in those moments how much you want to be there.

We have to talk about your amazing costume. Why Medusa?

I feel that she is someone who was really misunderstood and I was balancing a lot when I was on the show. I was six months postpartum. I was a new mom and I was pumping in between performing. I feel like the idea that women can be so many different things all at once really is Medusa to me. To be able to use Medusa strength when I really needed it, meant so much.

Balancing your postpartum journey with this show sounds tough.

I barely balanced it at all. I was writing notes to my son even if I was away only for a few hours and I was bombarding him and my husband with FaceTime. There is no such thing as balance, but we can find that space where we get to do what we love, and also be present as a parent. I think finding those moments means everything and it’s not talked about enough. I’m still on the journey of postpartum and it’s crazy how much your mind and body completely evolves and changes.

With the physical struggles of postpartum and choosing such difficult songs to perform, how did you manage it all while in a costume?

I love performing so much, and my favorite thing about performing is really losing myself in whatever song I’m singing. I feel like I got to use the fact that I really lean into the emotion of every song to my advantage. I also feel like the snakes were good luck charms and they whispered to me. The company kept me warm at night, so I think there was a side of it where I wasn’t alone on stage.

It’s an exciting year for you. You released a new single, “Baggage,” and your EP, When Everything Went Dark, is out June 23. What’s the story behind your new music?

It’s about these past few years, the past, present and future. I lost my sister really unexpectedly. The journey of grief is an ever evolving one and, with that and becoming a mom, I felt like exploring the topics of love, loss, grief and, hopefully, by the end of it, feeling empowered to keep going. That really is the main thing that I really am trying to work on, not only as an artist and through the EP but as a human being. Then I have a tour coming up, that I’ll be bringing the baby on, of course. I’m really excited to be able to perform the songs.

Is it strange to have grief co-exist with the joy of bringing a new life into the world?

Yes, and it’s so hard. You can’t help but feel like perhaps the new life was a gift left behind from that loved one. The amount of times that you hear about these things happening in such close proximity, I always wonder that because my son is someone that really helped me continue. Even when I was pregnant, I made sure to work on my mental health just to make sure that I was going to be a grounded mom that could talk about what has happened.

What do you hope viewers take away from your Masked Singer journey?

Everything we’re talking about, which is you can be multiple things all at once. Don’t be afraid to lean into those different sides of your personality and your spirit, and I hope that people feel empowered to do so.