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“I think I was born under a lucky star,” Belinda Carlisle muses.
“My life has been a series of amazing happenstance and coincidences,” she says. “The fact that I’m sitting here, still doing this since 1977 … I’m in tune with the universe, I guess.”
Carlisle is discussing her new EP, Kismet, whose title reflects, in many ways, the singer’s life as a whole, as well, more specifically, the path that led to the collection – her first of English-language pop songs in more than 25 years.
Released May 12 on BMG, the five-song set of Carlisle’s trademark anthemic pop was written by Diane Warren, who has penned nine Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, among 32 top 10s. The pair previously teamed for the No. 2-peaking 1988 hit “I Get Weak,” from Carlisle’s second solo album apart from The Go-Go’s, 1987’s Heaven on Earth. (The LP also includes the Warren-written “World Without You,” a top 40 hit in 1988 in the UK.)
It truly was kismet that sparked Carlisle’s new music: her son, Duke, saw Warren at a coffee shop, and she (adamantly) told him that his mother needed to record some of Warren’s new songs.
“I can’t say ‘no’ to her,” Carlisle says. “I thought, ‘Do I really want to make that commitment?’ Then I heard ‘Big Big Love,’ oh my God …,” she adds of the song that became the set’s first single, with an accompanying official video. “The fact that she gave me these amazing songs is like a gift. I’m 64 – usually things like that don’t happen to singers my age. I mean, maybe Cher, when she had ‘Believe’ …”
The Los Angeles native, now living in Mexico City, first stormed Billboard’s charts in 1980 with The Go-Go’s’ “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The group – Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin – sent the song to No. 20 on the Hot 100 in 1981, while follow-up “We Got the Beat” soared to No. 2. Parent album Beauty and the Beat crowned the Billboard 200 for six weeks in 1982 – and remains the only set by an all-female rock band to have led the list. Interspersed with breakups and reunions, The Go-Go’s’ chart archives include four more albums through 2001, and three more top 40 Hot 100 hits.
Carlisle went solo in 1986. Her debut album, Belinda, that year, as well as Heaven on Earth, hit No. 13 on the Billboard 200, while 1989’s Runaway Horses rode to No. 37. She has notched six top 40 Hot 100 hits, including four top 10s: Belinda’s “Mad About You” (No. 3) and Heaven on Earth’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” (No. 1 for one week), “I Get Weak” and “Circle in the Sand” (No. 7). (Runaway Horses lead single “Leave a Light On” reached No. 11, and the Adult Contemporary top 10, and features George Harrison on slide guitar.)
Earlier in 2023, Carlisle extended her Billboard chart history by entering Digital Song Sales with another Warren composition, “Gonna Be You.” The all-star song, from the comedy 80 for Brady, brought Carlisle together with Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry.
Reinforcing the new EP’s title, Carlisle says that Warren wrote “Big Big Love” “a couple days before” her son ran into her, and Warren thought that Carlisle would be the ideal singer for it. Warren also wrote the set’s “If U Go” with Carlisle in mind, while the other songs were already in Warren’s stockpile. “She writes every single day,” Carlisle says. “She has thousands and thousands and thousands of songs. She has like a catalog inside her brain: ‘Oh, this’ll be good [for a particular artist] …’ ”
Warren’s intuition was confirmed by Carlisle’s reaction. “This was five out of five,” Carlisle felt upon hearing the songs that would become Kismet. “She didn’t show me anything else, and I loved them all.”
Carlisle’s favorite song on the EP? Its closing track, “Sanity.” “It’s the hardest song I’ve ever sung in my whole career,” she notes. “And I love it. This is really out there, but it kind of reminds me of a cross between Jay and the Americans and the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz at the end. You know, ‘oh-ee-oh …’,” she sings, laughing. “There’s a harmony that’s very Jay and the Americans – I’m really dating myself, ‘cause that’s the ‘60s. That song is a mishmash of different styles of an era gone by.”
Notably, the release’s “Big Big Love,” “If U Go” and “I Couldn’t Do That to Me” feature Caffey on backing vocals, making for a partial Go-Go’s team-up. (“If U Go” sports a “go, go” echo – although Carlisle says that Warren didn’t originally plan for two Go-Go’s to sing that line. More kismet.)
Rounding out the set is “Deeper Into You,” with that and “I Couldn’t Do That to Me” its gentlest songs. (Carlisle says that the latter was modeled, as it was being recorded, after Sinead O’Connor’s Prince-penned “Nothing Compares 2 U” – “one of the greatest songs ever written.”) Carlisle is best known for uptempo hits, although her discography includes such other ballads as Runaway Horses’ “Vision of You,” a UK chart hit in 1990 written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley – who authored “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” “Circle in the Sand” and many other of Carlisle’s solo songs. (Carlisle credits Steve Nicks for suggesting that she collaborate with Nowels after he and Nicks co-wrote her top 20 1986 Hot 100 hit “I Can’t Wait.”)
Apart from one-offs, including her hooky 2013 track “Sun,” Kismet – which Mathia-Mathithiahu Gavriel produced, with Peter Stengaard having co-produced “Big Big Love” and “I Couldn’t Do That to Me” – returns Carlisle to traditional pop as a soloist for the first time since 1997’s A Woman & A Man, which generated two more UK top 10s. In between, The Go-Go’s returned with God Bless The Go-Go’s in 2001 and, as a soloist, she released the French pop album Voila in 2007 and the chants collection Wilder Shores in 2017; the lattermost set hit No. 4 on both Billboard’s New Age Albums and World Albums charts. She also released her autobiography, Lips Unsealed, in 2010.
Carlisle looks back on her hits with pride, describing them as a mix of “big, lush choruses … lots of melody … lyrics that are poetic … background vocals … romance.
“I always said that if I was going to record pop in the same vein that I did in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, it would have to be on par with those songs,” she says. “I’m not going to record a song just to record it.”
Belinda Carlisle
Christie Goodwin
In perhaps yet another validation of the new EP’s title, the set’s release coincides with a host of recent ‘80s-influenced hit songs, including The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” and Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” while Kate Bush’s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” sparked by its synch in Netflix’s Stranger Things, surged to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2022.
“When you hear an ‘80s song, you know it’s an ‘80s song,” Carlisle says. “There’s something sonically that tells you that. And there was so much diverse music coming out at that time – rockabilly, punk, new wave, electronic, new romantic … and it was all great.”
The Go-Go’s’ ‘80s albums launched the band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2021. “I was over caring” about potential induction,” Carlisle says, “but when it actually happens, you care. It was great, the band getting the recognition like that. It feels really good.”
Carlisle also feels that the honor is benefiting her solo career; in addition to Kismet, she has U.S. tour dates set through August, followed by shows in Australia beginning in November.
Carlisle’s highest-charting solo contribution to the ‘80s canon, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” topped the Hot 100 in December 1987. “I was doing a charity event at the Universal Amphitheatre [in Los Angeles] with Chicago and other artists and I was on-stage,” she recalls. “I had just finished or was about to sing ‘Heaven’ and some of the people from the record company [MCA] and some of the guys from Chicago came out and said, ‘You’re No. 1!’ I was like, ‘Oh my God … that’s the first time that’s happened.’ ”
As detailed in Lips Unsealed, in between releasing A Woman & A Man and Kismet, Carlisle found sobriety, supported by her husband of 37 years, producer/actor Morgan Mason. She calls that span, which also included being dropped from a record label deal the day after her 40th birthday in 1998, “the most interesting time of my life … up to the present moment.
“Good things always come out of something like that,” says Carlisle, who is also a contributor to multiple charities, including Animal People Alliance. “For me, it was self-reflection. I always identified myself as a singer, or a Go-Go, but never really cared to dig any deeper. It forced me to dig deeper. I think I’m more centered, for sure. I have a very strong spiritual foundation that I live my life from. It’s a very happy life.”
Meanwhile, Carlisle is open to more than the five songs on Kismet. “When we were toward the end of recording, Diane goes, ‘Let’s make an album!’ And it was like, ‘Well, it’s a little bit too late now that they have a release date for it …’,” Carlisle says with a chuckle. “I kind of wish it was an album. But this is five great pop songs.”
More than 14 years after her legendary crowning on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle was back on the stage for Sunday night’s season 16 finale to sing the song that helped launch her into improbable global stardom. But this time she was joined by the West End cast of Les Misérables for a performance of […]
Sam Smith had some good news for fans this weekend about the vocal cord issues that caused the singer to unexpectedly exit a show in Manchester early last month. “I’ve just come back from the doctors today. It’s actually really positive news. My vocal cords are healing, and after a week of vocal rest, it’s […]
Lewis Capaldi apologized to fans in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday (June 5) in which he revealed that he’s taking the next two weeks off to spend time at home with his family in the lead-up to the Glastonbury Festival later this month. Capaldi, 26, regretted to inform them that he was canceling upcoming planned shows in Glasgow, Dublin, London and Norway in the coming weeks to “rest and recover.”
“This is a really difficult message and one that hurts me a lot to have to type. But I’m really sorry to say that I’m going to have to cancel all commitments from now until I play Glastonbury,” he wrote of the festival that takes place from June 21-25 at Worthy Farm, with Capaldi slated to take the stage on the 24th. “It’s been such an incredible time leading into this new album, and seeing all of the support from everyone has been beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of,” he added.
“That said, the last few months have been full on both mentally and physically, I haven’t been home properly since Christmas and at the moment I’m struggling to get to grips with it all. I need to take a moment to rest and recover, to be at my best and ready for Glastonbury and all of the other incredible shows coming up so that I’m able to continue doing what I love for a long time to come.”
Capaldi, who has bee touring in support of his Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent album — which just notched a second week atop the U.K. album charts — said he needs to take some time over the next few weeks to be “Lewis from Glasgow for a bit,” and spend time with his family and friends and “do normal life things that are an important part of me feeling better. I hope everyone understands.”
The “Wish You the Best” singer has spoken in the past about the impact of fame on his mental health as well as his struggles with Tourette’s syndrome and panic attacks related to his rapid rise to the top of the charts, which were chronicled in his Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now.
The singer lamented the cost to fans who spent money on tickets, travel and hotels to the scotched shows, “which I appreciate more than ever with how difficult things are economically,” he wrote. “So I’m extremely sorry for the impact this will have,” he added. “The fact that you’re willing to come out and spend your time, money and love on these shows is beyond comprehension and I feel incredibly lucky.”
Lewis concluded by assuring fans that he’s getting “all the help and support” he needs from his team at this time. “I take none of this for granted and can’t wait to be back doing it again.”
See Capaldi’s note below.
For years, Ariana Grande was usually seen in a signature makeup look that included a thick, winged eyeliner and plump lips. Nowadays, the “Positions” singer is opting for a more natural makeup look, mostly focused on fluttery lashes and hydrated skin, and she took to TikTok to share a hilarious video poking fun at her […]
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
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These 10 tracks from artists including The Aces, Madison Beer, Blonde Redhead and Boys World will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Ilsey with Bon Iver, “Heart of Gold”
Singer-songwriter Ilsey Juber has worked with everyone from Miley Cyrus to Kacey Musgraves and dozens more across the last decade. On “Heart of Gold,” her warm tone takes on the affecting Neil Young classic with an assist from Bon Iver: there’s a fullness to Ilsey’s rendition — and with the slightly faster pacing, the ongoing search for that illusive heart of gold sounds more urgent than before. — Lyndsey Havens
Gabriels, “Glory”
Rising three-piece band Gabriels, a British-American act formed in 2016, have uncovered a kind of magic when they combine, and “Glory” is a stellar example. Though the song clocks in at under three minutes, with its heart-racing cymbal taps, full-bodied harmonies and soul-stirring fusion of jazz and gospel, the moments that Gabriels manage to pull off within that frame have a lasting impact. — L.H.
The Aces, “Attention”
Indie-pop quartet The Aces kicked off Pride month with the release of its uplifting third album I’ve Loved You For So Long. Standout track “Attention” focuses on the recognition of your own limits, and what you can give: “I’ve become your enemy / You’ve started resenting me,” sings lead vocalist Cristal Ramirez with a touch of remorse, before admitting, “I’m tired of tearing you apart / Know your heart has had enough.” — L.H.
Alicia Creti, “Strange”
Montreal singer-songwriter Alicia Creti only debuted last year with the piano-led “Congratulations,” and on “Strange,” she’s sticking with what she does best, delivering impressive range over soulful R&B-pop production — and, of course, led by keys. “Strange” sounds less pristine than her debut track but in the best way possible, allowing her unfiltered vocals to hit full force. — L.H.
Madison Beer, “Home to Another One”
“Home to Another One” may sound like a stylistic exercise by Madison Beer on first listen — the respective sounds of Tame Impala and Lana Del Rey, springy psych-rock and lilting pop, smushed into three minutes — but Beer’s performance stands out within the mash-up, synthesizing those influences into a sturdy groove and reflection on betrayal. The long-simmering pop artist’s sophomore album, Silence Between Songs, is due in September, but “Home to Another One” was wisely released in time for summer spins. – Jason Lipshutz
Becca Mancari, “Over and Over”
“I wanted to write a queer pop song that has meat on its bones,” Becca Mancari explains in a press release for new single “Over and Over”; to accomplish this, the singer-songwriter combines a novelistic lyrical approach (“Line cook, janitor / That year I was invisible / Back in the closet, celibate / But we don’t have to talk about it”), a killer refrain centered on its titular phrase, and backing vocals from their pal Julien Baker. The product is both airy and substantial, one of the more satisfying pop tracks of the year — in other words, mission accomplished. – J. Lipshutz
Blonde Redhead, “Snowman”
Back with their first album since 2014, Blonde Redhead have previewed the forthcoming Sit Down for Dinner with a breathtaking five-minute comeback statement: “Snowman” draws upon experimental Brazilian music, but exists in the warm comforts of 2000s indie rock, Amedeo Pace’s voice swirling across the layered production like a long-lost siren from the blog era. The length and depth of “Snowman” suggests that Blonde Redhead’s return will carry lofty artistic ambitions — as listeners, we’re all the better for them. – J. Lipshutz
Porsh Bet$, “Moving On”
Over a gentle yet prickly guitar, Porsh Bet$ tells a soon-to-be-ex, “We’re holdin’ on to what’s left of nothing / what’s the point of a long discussion if we’re moving on?” With a chorus like that, you might expect a sneering delivery, but the Harlem-raised indie singer-songwriter asks the question with a wistful warmth, making this a rare breakup song that isn’t pained or pissed off – just grateful, but ready to call it a day. – Joe Lynch
Los Aptos & Cuco, “Miel”
Los Aptos and Cuco are a match made in heaven on collaborative track “Miel.” The group – which consists of trio Juan Ortega, Jony and Alex Rivera – effortlessly croon about the beauty their lover possesses (“Y esos ojos hermosos color a miel” — “Your beautiful eyes are the color of honey”), and dare to consider what life would be like without the object of their affections, a perfect complement to Cuco’s romantic musings. – Starr Bowenbank
Boys World, “me, my girls & i”
Heartbreak doesn’t stand a chance against the girls of Boys World – Elana, Makhyli, Queenie Mae, Lillian Kay and Olivia Ruby – and their new track, “me, my girls & i.” The track sees the quintet uplifting the unofficial sixth member of the group (the listener) out of her “sad b—h” state of mind, and employs all the trappings of mending a broken heart: going out, dancing, spending time with your closest pals. With nearly three minutes of girl power themes, high-energy beats and bouncy instrumentation, the track acts as an antidote to emotional slumps of any kind. – S.B.
Drop everything now, Swifties — Taylor Swift just unveiled the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) track list, including the names of vault songs and collaborations with Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Fall Out Boy.
“I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version),” the pop star wrote on social media Monday (June 5), sharing the album’s back artwork. “Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album.”
According to the artwork — on which Swift poses in a flowing purple dress and ballet slippers — Williams will guest on a vault track called “Castles Crumbling,” meanwhile Fall Out Boy will appear on a vault track titled “Electric Touch.” “They’re so cool and generous for agreeing to support my version of Speak Now,” she added of her collaborators.
As Swift has previously explained in regards to Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version), her 2021 re-recorded projects, vault songs are previously-unreleased tracks that were ultimately cut from their respective original albums. As revealed in Swift’s post, the other (solo) vault songs on the updated Speak Now are called “When Emma Falls In Love,” “I Can See You,” “Foolish One” and “Timeless.”
Re-recorded versions of all 14 songs from the original Speak Now will also appear on the new version, which arrives July 7 — as will 2010 bonus tracks “Superman” and “Ours.”
“I recorded this album when I was 32 (and still growing up, now) and can’t wait to unveil it all to you on July 7th,” Swift concluded her post, referencing a lyric to Track 11, “Innocent.”
Swifties have been waiting for this since early May, when the “Anti-Hero” singer first announced that Speak Now would be the next of her albums to get the “Taylor’s Version” treatment during an Eras Tour concert in Nashville. “I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20,” she wrote on Instagram after the show, also revealing the album’s front cover art.
“The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness,” she added at the time. “I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing … and living to speak about it.”
And while Fall Out Boy’s involvement likely comes as a major surprise to many, a lot of Swifties had already detected that Williams would be featured on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) prior to Swift confirming it in her Monday announcement. That’s because the “Still Into You” singer did some major teasing at a meet and greet last week, winkingly telling a fan who’d given her a Speak Now friendship bracelet that the gift was “coming at a very interesting time.”
See Swift’s announcement below:
I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version) including the vault tracks and collaborations with Hayley Williams from @paramore and @falloutboy. Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most… pic.twitter.com/UJOqUNfCGp— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 5, 2023
Taeyong’s debut solo album is finally here. On Monday (June 5), the NCT 127 member released his highly anticipated project, SHALALA, alongside a high-energy music video for the lead single of the same name.
The visual for “Shalala” sees the K-pop star playing a hacker who is so talented at what he does, he disrupts several multiverses, travels hundreds and thousands of years back in time, and even distorts the shape of Earth. Throughout the hip-hop track’s infectious chorus, the NCT 127 rapper expertly hits choreography with the help of a few back up dancers.
“Wow, wow, wow, wow/ Bounce (We jumpin’ around, let’s go)/ Sha-la-la-la, la-la, oh-my-my/ Sha-la-la-la, la-la, I’ma shine,” the K-pop star raps on the track.
SHALALA arrived with six songs alongside the title track: “Move Mood Mode” featuring Red Velvet main vocalist Wendy, “Ruby,” “Gwando,” “404 File Not Found,” “Virtual Insanity” and “Back to the Past.”
Though Taeyong and several other members under the NCT umbrella have released solo songs via their label, SM Entertainment’s SM Station project, he marks the first member of the group to make a solo debut with an album. Taeyong’s last solo release was 2022’s “Fine,” which was uploaded to SoundCloud in November.
As for NCT 127, the group made moves on the Billboard charts earlier this year with the release of Ay-Yo, the album repackage of its fifth studio album, 2 Baddies. The repackaged set peaked at No. 13 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and spent two weeks on the tally.
Watch the video for “Shalala” above, and stream the album in full below.
Lizzo just kicked off Pride Month with a bold statement. At her Friday (June 2) concert in Thousand Palms, Calif., the hitmaker invited a group of drag performers to dance with her onstage, and afterward posted a sweet message reminding the LGBTQ community that she’s always going to be here for them.
In a video posted to Lizzo’s social media accounts following her Special Tour’s first show of the month, the “About Damn Time” singer waves a huge pride flag up and down while surrounded by drag queens Kim Chi, Angeria Paris Van Michaels and Kahanna Montrese, as well as drag king Tenderoni.
“Drag is not a crime!” yells the Yitty founder into her microphone, prompting loud cheers from her crowd at Acrisure Arena.
“You’ve always had my back, and I’ll always have yours,” Lizzo later captioned the video, adding, “Happy Pride,” bookended with LGBTQ and transgender pride flag emojis.
Tenderoni was delighted to join the star on stage. “Still can’t believe I performed with @Lizzo tonight!!!!!” he shared in one of several tweets after the show.
It’s not the first time in recent months that Lizzo has used her concert stages as literal and figurative platforms for drag performers. In April, she was joined onstage by Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Asia O’Hara and Vanessa Vanji during a show in Knoxville, Tenn. — aka, the state which has been the center of controversy following Gov. Bill Lee’s signing of anti-LGBTQ and anti-drag laws.
“In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘Don’t go to Tennessee,’” she told her crowd at the time. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most?
“Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences?”
See Lizzo’s video below:
Halsey and Suga‘s “Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem)” music video is here. The dark and moody video — directed by Henry Hobson and released in collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo IV and released on Monday (June 5) — was filmed inside Chapelle des Jésuites (Jesuits’ Chapel) in Cambrai, France, where the ceiling was covered with game-inspired […]
