Rock
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The stars aligned at Las Vegas’ Sphere on Wednesday night (Oct. 25), as Lady Gaga joined U2 on stage for what turned out to be a mini set.
Dressed in a dark leather jacket, black tights and shades, Mother Monster was introduced to stage by Bono as “the most audacious, vivacious woman in any room she’s ever in,” Variety reports.
Sphere is no ordinary room. It’s a $2.3 billion, next-generation entertainment medium, with floor-to-ceiling graphics, thanks to nearly-580,000 square feet of fully programmable LED paneling — the largest screen of its type in the world. The images that have filtered back from U2’s residency are nothing short of mindbending.
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Gaga came to play, and she dueted on “Shallow,” her Oscar-winning, Billboard Hot 100-leading number from A Star is Born, braced by two U2 classics, Rattle and Hum track “All I Want Is You” and the Joshua Tree hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
U2 & Lady Gaga – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (Live at Sphere Las Vegas) pic.twitter.com/D7K6qJclkX— 𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 🇮🇹 (@LMonstersITA) October 26, 2023
It’s not the first time Gaga and U2 have come together to make sweet music.
Back in 2015, Gaga joined U2 at Madison Square Garden for a rendition of “Ordinary Love,” the rock band’s contribution to the soundtrack for the 2013 Nelson Mandela biopic Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. On that occasion, the pop singer dueted with Bono and played piano.
Gaga is making something of a habit of teaming up with legendary rock bands from the British Isles. Last week, Gaga took the mic during the encore of the Rolling Stones’ intimate show at New York City’s the Racket, for a performance of “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” the collaborative track lifted from the British band’s 26th album released in America, Hackney Diamonds. With a little help from Gaga, Hackney Diamonds led the midweek U.K. albums chart by a country mile, by outselling the rest of the top 10 combined.
Bono & Co. wrap up their 25-concert U2:UV Achtung Baby Live run in December.
Michelle Joy, frontwoman for indie rock band Cannons, shared on social media Tuesday that she was recently groped by a concertgoer while she was performing onstage.
“While performing one of our last shows of the tour, I was groped on stage by an audience member,” she wrote in a black-and-white text post, shared to the band’s social media accounts. “It was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever experienced and a complete invasion of my space, privacy, and body. It left me feeling unsafe and violated.”
Alongside the post, she included the caption, “Just want to create a safe space for ourselves and everyone at our shows so found this important to share today.”
Her post continued: “Sexual harassment will absolutely not be tolerated at any Cannons show. Especially being a female fronted band, we care deeply about our shows being a safe environment where not only women, but everyone regardless of gender, age, race, sex, etc. can come together and share in the joy of our music, ourselves included. If you ever feel unsafe or see something that doesn’t feel right, please let someone around you know. We encourage you to speak up, be kind, and take care of one another.”
Cannons — which formed 10 years ago in LA and also includes guitarist Ryan Clapham and bassist and keyboardist Paul Davis — scored their first Alternative Airplay No. 1 in 2021 when “Fire for You” topped the Jan. 30-dated chart. Initially released in 2019, “Fire for You” found a second life thanks to its 2020 appearance in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever.
On Wednesday (Oct. 25), the band took to Instagram Stories to thank fans for their kind words after Joy’s post about the onstage violation. “Reading through your comments now and just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words, encouragement and support, you all are truly THE BEST and we are sooo [grateful] to have such a wonderful fan base, love you very much!!!” they wrote. “Excited to keep moving forward and make live music a little safer for everyone, see you all again soon!”
KROQ DJ Megan Holiday was among the fans chiming in, writing in the comments section of the original post: “Ugh wtf is wrong with people?!! I’m so sorry Michelle. Sending you all the love and hope you’re okay.”
Next up, Cannons join Lovejoy and littleimage for a pair of concerts in Mesa, Arizona, on Dec. 13 and 14.
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
Dream Theater are getting the band back together. The Grammy-winning prog rockers announced on Wednesday (Oct. 25) that founding drummer Mike Portnoy will be back in the fold when the group head back into the studio soon to work on their 16th studio album and first with Portnoy since 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings. […]
Your perfect Halloween soundtrack has just arrived courtesy of Duran Duran. The veteran new wave group dropped their delightfully devilish cover of the Talking Heads’ 1977 classic “Psycho Killer” on Tuesday (Oct. 24). The song — which features bass from Måneskin’s Victoria De Angelis — appears on their upcoming 13-song Dance Macabre album, which features […]
Green Day announced the release date for their 14th full-length studio album, Saviors, on Tuesday (Oct. 24), revealing that the collection will drop via Reprise/Warner Records on Jan. 19, 2024. The follow-up to 2020’s Father of All Motherf–kers was recorded by singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirt and drummer Tré Cool in London and Los Angeles and marks a reunion with longtime producer Rob Cavallo.
The trio advanced the album with the strident “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” which they debuted live last weekend during a sold-out club show at the 800-capacity Fremont in Las Vegas, as well as at back-to-back headlining performances at the city’s When We Were Young festival.
“As soon we cut it, we said, `Okay, that’s going first,’” Billie Joe Armstrong said in a statement about the topical song that was one of the final ones tracked during the Saviors session. He described the single as “a look at the way the traditional American Dream doesn’t work for a lot of people — in fact, it’s hurting a lot of people.”
The accompanying black and white video that dropped on Tuesday is timed perfectly for Halloween, with the band rocking corpse makeup as they play to a crowd of punk rock zombies in the Brendan Walter/Ryan Baxley-directed clip. “People on the street/ Unemployed and obsolete/ Did you ever learn to read the ransom note/ Don’t want no huddled masses/ TikTok and taxes/ Under the over pass/ Sleeping in broken glass,” Billie Joe sings on the track.
“Saviors is an invitation into Green Day’s brain, their collective spirit as a band, and an understanding of friendship, culture and legacy of the last 30 plus years. It’s raw and emotional. Funny and disturbing. It’s a laugh at the pain, weep in the happiness kind of record,” the group said in an Instagram announcing the project.
“Honesty and vulnerability,” they added, explaining that the album is about, “Power pop, punk, rock, indie triumph. disease, war, inequality, influencers, yoga retreats, alt right, dating apps, masks, MENTAL HEALTH, climate change, oligarchs, social media division, free weed, fentanyl, fragility.”
In addition to “American Dream,” Green Day debuted “Look Ma, No Brains!” at the Las Vegas club show that celebrated the 30th anniversary of their Cavallo-produced breakthrough album, Dookie. They also announced during the show that they are hitting the road next year for a stadium tour featuring support from Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and the Linda Lindas.
Watch the “American Dream” video and see Green Day’s album announce below.
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Blink-182 is returning to North America one more time. Just days after the release of the trio’s new album, Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker have announced plans to bring their new songs on the road in North America next year. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
The title of the U.S. version of the Rolling Stones’ first album was England’s Newest Hit Makers – but that was almost 60 years ago. Their latest is Hackney Diamonds, a polished, straightforward return to rock n’ roll from a band that helped define it. In between, the Stones released 24 albums, went through three guitarists and have had enough diva arguments to fill several books and documentaries. Leaving no stone unturned, Billboard rolled back the pages to shine a light through the past, darkly.Street Fighting Band
Reviewing the band’s U.S. debut single, “Not Fade Away,” in the April 11, 1964, issue, Billboard hailed “another hot GB group that proves how deep the R&B roots have gone over there.” “The Redcoats Are Coming” declared a June 6, 1964, headline of an impending Stones tour; in that same issue, a full-page ad trumpeted, “Watch the Rolling Stones crush The Beatles!” In smaller text: “This space has been given, in the public interest, by an advertiser.”
Paint It, Wack
By the Nov. 22, 1969, issue, the Stones had notched five No. 1s on the Hot 100 (of an eventual eight), but Billboard had a heart of stone when it came to their tour. The show worked, “but more because of who they were than what they did,” we wrote. “[Mick] Jagger’s theatrics became trite at times to an audience much older than the teeny boppers who flocked to see him in 1966.” And we must have been out of our heads in the June 12, 1971, issue, where we erroneously reported that “Wild Horses” featured “Keith Richards taking the lead” vocal.
The Last Time?
Billboard was hip to the Stones by the release of Some Girls, saluting their “diffuse yet coherent sense of rhythm and urban angst” in the June 17, 1978, magazine. In the same issue, Billboard embraced what has now become a 45-year tradition: predicting the end of the band. “Also note major tour. Possibly the last.”
Sympathy for the Regional Promoter
The Dec. 9, 1989, Billboard reported on the band’s game-changing Steel Wheels tour, for which the group embraced sponsorships and “a national promotion arrangement,” which “alarmed top regional tour promoters.” In a Billboard interview, Jagger dismissed the concerns: “I like seeing the most efficient way of doing business … It’s not a charity.” Richards agreed — “What do they want, a pension?” — but admitted to being amused by the flood of Stones-branded clothing. “I’m in the rag trade here,” he said.
As Years Go By
Drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021 at age 80, but the band had been reckoning with his mortality during sessions for 2005 album A Bigger Bang as Watts endured cancer treatment. “There’s suddenly Mick and I looking at each other and going, ‘Possibly we’re the only two left of the originals,’” Richards said in the Aug. 6, 2005, issue. But “you don’t talk about that sh-t, you know?” By then, the Glimmer Twins were getting along glowingly. “There are too many pluses for an odd minus to get in the way,” Richards continued. “Maybe it’s called growing up.”
Travis Barker is the latest celebrity to be transformed into a wax figure for Madame Tussauds, as unveiled Sunday (Oct. 22) at the museum’s Las Vegas location.
Fitted with clothes donated by Barker himself — including a leather jacket, boots, pants and studded belt — the Blink-182 drummer’s statue looks to be one of Madame Tussauds’ most realistic-looking figures to date. His tattoos were replicated perfectly, as were his dark eyebrows and bright blue eyes.
“I’m honored, I’m flattered, I’m shocked,” the musician said at the unveiling ceremony, where he posed for pictures with his wax twin. “It looks so f–king real.”
Barker’s figure even features some of his signature silver jewelry, including his nose rings, chain necklace and wedding ring, which represents his marriage to Kourtney Kardashian. The Poosh founder — who is currently expecting the couple’s first child together — wasn’t in attendance at her husband’s wax figure debut, but the drummer was spotted showing her his duplicate over FaceTime.
The “All The Small Things” artist later posted some of his own photos with his wax lookalike on Instagram, writing, “Come say hi to my clone @madametussaudsusa.”
According to the press release, Barker worked closely with the Madame Tussauds team of sculptors, colorists, hairdressers and stylists to produce his wax figure, which is now the most-tattooed installment ever created by the museum. Each of his 100-plus tats was closely matched using 3D scanning, with the stenciling and coloring processes taking approximately nine weeks total.
Barker and Kardashian, who both have kids from past relationships, are on their way to becoming parents once again. The couple recently experienced a health scare regarding the pregnancy, which led Blink-182 to postpone a few overseas shows “due to an urgent family matter” as the drummer raced home to be with the reality star as she underwent urgent fetal surgery.
“That experience opened my eyes to a whole new world of pregnancy that I didn’t know about in the past,” Kardashian recalled of the incident in an interview with Vogue. “It was terrifying … I’ve finally been able to let go of the fear and worry that everybody else put in us because of this pregnancy.”
See more photos from the unveiling of Travis Barker’s wax figure below:
Neil Young surprised fans on Friday (Oct. 20) when he announced that he’s unveiling a new album, Before and After, on Dec. 8. The album will feature an “eclectic” fresh takes of Young’s favorites lesser-known tracks from his songwriting vault, per a press release. “The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole […]
Green Day fans began to notice on Oct. 9 that something was up on the band’s Instagram. Longtime lovers of Easter eggs and secret tracks, the veteran rockers posted a photo of a concert bill depicting a zombie with two dates for Las Vegas’ When We Were Young Festival (Oct. 20 and 21) preceded by […]