Rock
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Imagine Dragons fans will be on top of the world March 26 and 29 when Imagine Dragons: Live From the Hollywood Bowl (with the LA Film Orchestra) comes to theaters around the globe through Trafalgar Releasing. Filmed in October 2024, the nearly two-hour concert film captures the final night of the Grammy-winning rock group’s four-night […]
What started out as something Howie Mandel thought would be a funny bit for his Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast last month quickly devolved into a super-tense, awkward moment the America’s Got Talent host is now expressing regret for. “I want to apologize,” Mandel said on this week’s episode of the pod he hosts with his daughter, Jackelyn Schultz.
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“I feel horrible and I’m sorry, Bill. I’m sorry, Billy. I only tried to do something good,” Mandel added. Mandel noted that he has not heard a “peep” from his longtime friend and fellow comedian Bill Burr since the Jan. 21 episode in which he blindsided him by bringing on Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan for an episode he called “Family Reunion with Bill Burr & Billy Corgan.”
Back in November, Corgan said he told Mandel that his step mom informed him years ago that Burr “might be” one of the children that Corgan’s late father “sired in his days being a traveling musician.” Corgan also recalled that his dad once mentioned that he had a half-brother who was close to his age named Bill; Corgan is 57, Burr is 56.
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As soon as Corgan came out to join the pod, Burr was immediately on edge, which the rocker sensed, saying, “he didn’t tell you? He told me you were totally cool with me coming.” Clearly peeved at Mandel, Burr hissed, “that’s what he does.” Sensing the awkwardness, Corgan offered to leave, but Burr said it was fine, going on to refer to his dad as a “piece of s–t with two kids this close together [and] he named them the same f–king name.”
Burr then said he appreciated Corgan’s music, but that he would “prefer if you just kind of… not [tell] these f–king stories.” The tension continued to mount as Corgan explained that Mandel made it seem as if Burr would be okay with repeating the story he’d originally told Howie in private and then having the men meet on-air.
“He always does that. Because that’s the thing,” Burr said angrily of the comedian he’d earlier praised as one of his inspirations and a longtime friend. “He’s bringing it here, not because he’s trying to heal the bulls–t that we went through growing up. He’s getting here just for the f–king ratings.”
Mandel eventually left the room and the Bills traded stories about the man they both described as their dad as Burr continued to mock Mandel’s IMDb credits mercilessly. “At least we’re not on some f–king awful network show judging plate spinners or whatever the f–k Howie’s career has become,” Burr said of Mandel’s gig co-hosting AGT.
Burr — whose beloved stand-up act is often filled with his irate annoyance, and rage, about what he thinks is the idiotic, inexplicable behavior of others — eventually told Mandel that he still loved him, “even though you did this,” wondering what his friend expected to happen. “Are we going to play catch? We’re both in our 50s,” Burr seethed, with both bald performers agreeing on one thing: that Mandel (also famously bald) is “a d–k.”
Once Corgan had assured him that it was all Mandel’s idea, Burr admitted he was not upset with the Pumpkins singer/guitarist and that he just didn’t like that their first meeting was the result of subterfuge. The two then had a funny exchange about possibly hanging out after the taping, with Burr immediately taking a dig at Corgan’s vegan diet after Corgan said he assumed Burr was a meat-eater. “I can have a cup of coffee while you eat your f–king Brussels sprouts,” Burr spat.
On this week’s pod, Mandel said he texted Burr to congratulate him on a good episode, but has not heard back from his friend since. “The next thing I see is… headlines,” Mandel said while posting a series of news reports about Burr’s anger over the incident. Burr went on the Rich Eisen pod shortly after and referred to Mandel as a “Hollywood whore” for the stunt. “I legitimately thought I was doing something nice, I swear to you,” Mandel said this week. “I thought it was funny.”
Watch Mandel’s mea culpa and a snippet of the original podcast below.
Longtime friends Elton John and Brandi Carlile have joined together for Who Believes in Angels?, a new studio album the pair recorded over 20 days starting in October 2023. Interscope will release the set on April 4, but the title track was released on Wednesday (Feb. 5).
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The pair wrote and created the album with John’s long-time co-writer Bernie Taupin and producer Andrew Watt. The quartet are nominated for an Oscar for best original song for “Never Too Late,” the end-title track to John’s documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, which is included on the album.
“As my Farewell tour came to an end, I knew I wanted to make a new album with Brandi, I wanted to shift gears and do something different from anything I’d done before,” John tells Billboard. “I have always found Brandi so inspiring, our friendship was so close, and I just had the instinct that we could produce something really amazing. Creating Who Believes in Angels? was challenging, and I had a lot of self-doubt, but alongside Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt, we ended up writing 10 songs in 20 days and it was one of the most joyous and exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had in my life.”
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Billboard has an exclusive look at the emotional, candid trailer that captures the recording of the album and the vulnerabilities and frustrations that gripped John as the quartet worked at Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios.
“I’m 76 and I want to do something different. I don’t want to coast,” John says. But the recording sessions proved difficult, given that John was exhausted from finishing his final world tour. “I was a nightmare. Angry, I was tired, I was irritable,” John says, as he throws his earphones down in frustration and Watt snaps at him for being so “impatient.”
“Elton is prone to moments of insecurity, especially when the stakes are high,” says Carlile, who has “idolized” John since she was 11. She admits to “having a hard time connecting to Elton” at times during the process and wondering why he wants to make the album given that is it radically different from how he has created before.
Throughout the trailer, the tension escalates, as John gets so frustrated, he tears up a lyric sheet and throws it on the floor, declaring, “I’m going home,” and Watt directs the crew to cut the mics.
But then John realizes that Carlile, Taupin and Watt are depending upon him and suddenly the process gels and the creativity begins flowing again. “We’ve made an album that I think is spectacular for all the ages,” Carlile says. “My life has been taking me to this album the whole time.” They are joined in the studio by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chat Smith, renowned session bassist Pino Palladino and Pearl Jam guitarist Josh Klinghoffer on the album that spans rock, pop and Americana.
As the trailer wraps, John begins crying, but this time it’s happy tears.
“Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future,” John said in a statement. “I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2.”
“I’m still reeling from the fact that I got to do it,” added Carlile. “I think all ships rise with Elton John’s standards for songwriting, and it was an incredibly challenging and inspiring environment to work in, everybody throwing in ideas, everybody listening to everybody else’s ideas. It felt like a family. The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph. It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me.”
Other than Taupin, John has seldom worked with collaborators: he and his musical hero the late Leon Russell made two albums together with T Bone Burnett and he has collaborated with lyricists like Tim Rice for musicals, including The Lion King and Aida.
Fans who pre-order Who Believes In Angels? are eligible for a chance to buy tickets to An Evening with Elton John & Brandi Carlile at the London Palladium on March 26.
Who Believes In Angels? tracklisting:
The Rose Of Laura Nyro
Little Richard’s Bible
Swing For The Fences
Never Too Late
You Without Me
Who Believes In Angels?
The River Man
A Little Light
Someone To Belong To
When This Old World Is Done With Me
Billie Joe Armstrong can’t say enough good things about that other Billie. Following Sunday night’s 2025 Grammy Awards, the Green Day frontman told Billboard that he was still buzzing about sharing the stage with Billie Eilish at last weekend’s all-star FireAid benefit concert. “The fact that we got to play together… she’s just, she’s a […]
Heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath have confirmed details of their final-ever live show, which is set to take place this summer (July 5) with a plethora of support acts. The event will see the band’s classic line-up – comprising frontman Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – play live […]
Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale has been in the music industry for over three decades, but even he admits he’s baffled by how young artists can sustain themselves financially in today’s streaming-driven landscape.
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Speaking on Canada’s Q with Tom Power, the rocker didn’t hold back on his concerns about the modern music business.
“I’ve been a musician my whole life, and I’m at a loss to explain to someone how to do it, how to build from the ground up, how to get a career in that,” Rossdale said. “It’s just terrifying because how do musicians, how do young bands get paid? I can’t work it out.”
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The 58-year-old rocker, who is preparing to hit the road with Bush this spring alongside Rival Sons and Filter, He went on to describe the industry’s longstanding financial imbalance, calling it “the same deal—artists getting screwed, record companies making a fortune.”
While streaming may offer exposure, Rossdale pointed out that it doesn’t always translate to sustainability. “Maybe you get one song with loads of streams, but we know that barely pays.”
“You just do the best you can. And you can obviously make money touring, but it takes a while to build up a catalog, so if you wanna come and see you, that’s a crap shoot.”
Rossdale, who rose to fame in the ’90s when CD sales and MTV airplay could catapult a band into the mainstream, pointed out the stark difference between then and now.
“I think it’s much, much harder now, and it was nearly impossible then. So, I don’t know what the odds are, but they don’t feel good for young musicians, which breaks my heart for them because we always need music.”
He added,”We always need people’s opinions. A.I. can take care of many things, but you talk about people relating to other people, it’s by writing that brutally painful, honest lyric that other people can relate and get strength from.”
Rossdale isn’t alone in his concerns. Artists across genres have been speaking out about streaming payouts, with industry veterans and rising stars alike calling for better compensation structures. The issue has even led to policy debates, as musicians advocate for reforms in how streaming revenue is distributed.
Rossdale rose to widespread fame as the frontman for British rock outfit Bush, who reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with their 1994 debut album, Sixteen Stone, which included charting singles such as “Comedown” and “Glycerine”. Two years later, they would best their previous accomplishments and top the chart with 1996’s Razorblade Suitcase. Their latest album, The Art of Survival, arrived in 2022.
Bush will embark on a North American tour this spring, kicking off in April. Tickets are available now.
If you asked H.E.R. what her life’s purpose is, she’d tell you it’s to inspire women and young girls. It’s no accident, then, that many of the major projects she’s taken on over the past couple of years have fallen in line with that mission, from contributing her newly Oscar-nominated Diane Warren collaboration “The Journey” to Tyler Perry’s Six Triple Eight — about the all-Black, all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of World War II — to examining her own definitions of womanhood and empowerment on a highly anticipated followup to 2021’s Back of My Mind, which she’s teased is arriving at some point in 2025. And now, H.E.R. is turning her focus on girls in sports, reimagining Bruce Springsteen’s iconic 1975 hit “Born to Run” for Dove’s moving new Super Bowl commercial that premiered Tuesday (Feb. 4) with an important message at its center.
Her full version of the track will arrive one day later.
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In the 30-second spot — which will air during fourth quarter of the ultimate Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles game Sunday (Feb. 9) — a breathless 3-year-old girl sprints through her suburb as H.E.R.’s buoyant take on The Boss’ anthem plays. “These legs are unstoppable,” onscreen text reads. “At 14, she’ll think they’re unbearable.”
Reminding viewers how frequently young female athletes hear critiques about their bodies, the commercial then calls on it’s audience to “change the way we talk to our girls.” It’s a directive that feels especially poignant considering the popularity boom women’s sports have seen in recent years (thanks in no small part to powerhouses like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese), as well as the sociopolitical influx in online communities picking apart players’ appearances (thetransphobic hate cisgender Algerian boxer Imane Khelif experienced during the 2024 Olympics comes to mind). And it’s definitely something that weighs on H.E.R.’s mind as a former athlete and role model to her 18-year-old and 3-year-old sisters, which is why she says she jumped at the chance to translate “Born to Run” into a heartfelt tribute for young girls all over the world.
“I’m seeing myself in all of these young girls and thinking about all these things that we forget to appreciate,” she tells Billboard. “I have a body that simply moves, and I love all the things that it can do.”
“We’re born to run,” she adds, her voice swelling with passion. “There’s so many layers to that message. It’s like you’re born to be exactly who you are, to chase your path and follow your own dreams and your own heart. It’s not about anyone else. You’re born uniquely you.”
Speaking over Zoom just one day ahead of the premiere of Dove’s new campaign, the singer-guitarist broke down how she made Springsteen’s signature song her own, revealed how the project informed her upcoming album’s sound and explained why she aligns so strongly with the brand’s message. Read her conversation with Billboard below.
How did you approach re-recording such a famous song?
The song itself is so iconic, I didn’t want to do a complete left turn in my recreation of it. It’s so uplifting and joyful, and “born to run,” it’s the perfect lyric. It’s the perfect message, and kind of the perfect pace for a message like this.
It was all about the image of this young girl — keeping that in mind was the most important thing. We started with drums to kind of keep the energy but still make it my own, and I played some guitars on it to keep that iconic lead. It was all about adding even more soul to it. That iconic line that’s usually just the guitar line, I turned into vocals. I like doing things like that — taking pieces from the instrumentation and turning them into vocals — and my vocals definitely make [the song] a little more feminine.
Is Bruce a personal hero of yours?
Oh my gosh, absolutely. I love Bruce. I grew up listening to a lot of Bruce with my dad. He’s iconic.
I actually got to meet him two years ago and he was so sweet. I was like, “I’m such a big fan, my name’s Gabi.” He was like, “Oh my god, H.E.R., I’m such a big fan of you, I’ve mentioned you in interviews, you really rock out on stage.” And I’m like, “Man, I get it from you!”
Why does the message of the campaign resonate with you personally?
Where do I begin? A lot of my purpose has been to encourage women to be authentic and comfortable in their own skin and embrace who they are. That to me is one of the most important things I could ever do on this planet. That’s always been my mission, so that’s really what got me excited about this. It’s really perfect timing — I’ve been working on an album and the messaging of this album has really been about empowerment.
I have younger sisters, and it’s always so important for me to show them that they’re — I don’t want to say “enough.” I think we’ve outgrown that word. I think it’s to show them that who they are is perfectly imperfect, you know what I mean? We live in this age of social media, and comparison, like they say, is really the thief of joy. I’ve definitely experienced not feeling adequate. I’ve felt like, “Oh, maybe I need to change this about me, I need to fit into this mold.” But I’ve realized that there is no mold. I’ve tried to maintain that in my own life and exemplify that.
Speaking of your new album, what can you tell us about it?
I’ve been working on it in the midst of this [campaign]. It’s funny, because working on “Born to Run,” working on a Springsteen song, I feel like it’s only enhancing my process in the studio. I’m playing a lot more guitar on this album. And again, [the album] is all about empowerment. It was just perfect timing.
It’s this exploration of femininity and what it means to be a woman, what it means to me, what it means to depend on people around you and depend on yourself and love yourself, and what community means. What your expectations of love are, and the expectations you put on yourself. Just learning how to stand on my own.
It’s a lot of accepting ugly. And I mean that to say the parts of myself that I may ignore, that I think haven’t been enough. The parts that I may be afraid to face. It’s really been about embracing those things and empowering myself, not in the way that you’d expect, where it’s all about being triumphant … It’s more like, it’s OK not to be OK. It’s okay to be in the process of healing. You’re never fully healed. Just trusting the process and being OK with it.
One of your recent projects, “The Journey,” recently earned a best original song nomination ahead of the 2025 Oscars. How does that feel?
Oh my gosh, it’s crazy. I’m super excited about the song. It’s such a powerful song, and it’s also a really, really powerful movie — again, about women empowerment, and under-appreciated women. These stories hadn’t been heard. I feel blessed to be a part of that story, in a small way.
Women’s sports are more popular than ever, but with that there’s been an uptick in certain people picking apart women athletes for not looking “feminine enough.” With that in mind, why is this campaign more important than ever?
It’s discouraging. Telling a woman that her body is not the right type, or that she needs to look a certain way, or that she’s not “feminine enough” — what does that even mean? It just shows you what society’s idea of what’s feminine is, and it’s just not right. This message was definitely to break that barrier.
I played sports in high school and middle school, and I’m really grateful that my parents gave me that confidence to not care. But there’s definitely that shyness in the locker room, there’s those moments of, “Oh man, I’m afraid of myself. I’m afraid that people won’t accept me, that people won’t like me, despite my gifts or my ability.” You should never be discouraged to do something that you love and are passionate about because of the way you look.
There’s also been an outpouring of women expressing fear and uncertainty following the results of the 2025 election. Was that on your mind at all when working on this project?
I think, in general, we can’t live our lives in fear, no matter what. It’s all about empowering each other — I think that’s what it comes down to.
Hear H.E.R.’s cover of “Born to Run” in Dove’s new Super Bowl ad below.
A day after performing an all-star version of Randy Newman’s 1983 pop classic “I Love L.A.” to open Sunday’s (Feb. 2) 67th annual Grammy Awards, Dawes announced that they are releasing their version to help with Los Angeles wildfire relief. The proceeds from sales of the song will go to the Recording Academy and MusiCares’ […]
The Great Escape festival in Brighton, England has announced hundreds of new names for their lineup including The Libertines’ Peter Doherty, Jordan Adetunji, Lynks, The K’s and more.
The festival is also expanding its programme to run for an extra day, and will take place in the city on May 14-17. First held in 2006, the annual gathering showcases emerging talent across the city at a number of independent venues; previous performers at the festival include Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Sam Fender, Japanese Breakfast and more.
On May 14, The Libertines’ Peter Doherty will perform at a special Spotlight Show curated by his record label, Strap Originals. It will feature acts such as Warmduscher and Trampolene at the Deep End venue on Brighton’s beachfront. Tickets for the festival are on sale now.
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Further additions to the festival’s bill include: Armlock Silver, Black Fondu, Bold Love, Donny Benét, Gore, Lemfreck, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Moonlandingz, Namesbliss, Rabbitfoot, Real Farmer, Shortstraw, Sunday (1994), The Pill, Westside Cowboy and more.
The festival has also announced further details about the accompanying conference programme and a raft of speakers and curators for the event. Industry bodies The Council of Music Makers (MMF, MPG, FAC, Ivors Academy and the MU), Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), BBC Introducing LIVE and Youth Music all return as collaborators, alongside The Association of Independent Music (AIM).
Themes across the panels will include the role of government policy in creative spaces, community building for artists and labels and more. See the full rundown at the festival’s official website.
The Great Escape has also shared news that warmup event, The Road To Great Escape, will take place in the preceding week, and returns to key cities Glasgow (May 9-10) and Dublin (May 12-13). The showcases will see a number of acts from the lineup performing live in their home cities before making the trip to England’s south coast.
It’s common practice for artists to thank their families when winning major awards. But, as rock star St. Vincent proved at the 2025 Grammys on Sunday (Feb. 2), it’s rare to see artists reveal that they’re married with kids during a massive event.
During the evening’s pre-telecast awards, Annie Clark (St. Vincent’s offstage name) took home the best rock song trophy for her 2024 single “Broken Man.” During her acceptance speech, the singer surprised fans and audience members by offering a special shout-out to “my beautiful wife Leah [and] our beautiful daughter.” In a later acceptance speech for best alternative music album for her 2024 LP All Born Screaming, Clark thanked her family for a second time.
Clark is known for remaining tight-lipped about her personal life, a fact that she acknowledged in a backstage interview after winning her award. When a reporter from the Associated Press said that they were “totally unaware” of Clark’s marital status, the singer jumped in to add that “most people were,” revealing that she and her spouse have made a concerted effort to keep their relationship out of the public eye.
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“She’s young, we’ve kept it under wraps,” she said, before quickly clarifying her point with a laugh. “The child is young, just to be clear, the child is young, not the wife!” The singer added that she and her family had plans to celebrate her victory with her sisters, but that Clark intended “to be in bed by 10” that night.
Elsewhere in her backstage interviews, Clark reflected on the LGBTQ+ representation at the annual show and across the industry, remarking that queer people existing in the industry and the world at large is not news. “There have always been queer people in the history of the world, and especially in music,” she said. “There’s a bunch of queer people being celebrated this year. And that’s great, of course it’s great — empathy and humanity, let’s go.”
For Billboard‘s 2024 Pride cover story, the singer opened up about the history of queer people in the music business, while pointing out the importance of LGBTQ+ artists remaining on the cutting edge of culture. “There have been plenty of queer people in music. Even if the culture was saying no, there were always queer people in the arts. Please. We have built this,” she said at the time. “If you’re safe for the TV screen, you also invite an aspect of grift [from the outside world]. Which … I raise an eyebrow at.”
The All Born Screaming singer took home three trophies at Sunday night’s ceremony — best rock song, best alternative music album and best alternative music performance for “Flea.” Clark was nominated in the best rock performance category, but ultimately lost out to the Beatles’ AI-assisted track “Now and Then.”