Rock
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Lenny Kravitz straps up, plugs in and flicks the switch for Blue Electric Light, his 12 studio album and first in five years.
Arriving at the stroke of midnight, Blue Electric Light (via Roxie Records/BMG) was written and recorded by Kravitz in his studio in the Bahamas, and features the previously-released cuts “Paralyzed,” “TK421” and “Human.”
The collection, he told Jimmy Fallon for a late-night interview that aired in March, is about “celebration, life, humanity, sexuality, sensuality, spirituality.” Blue Electric Light is “just that vibration of love, of god, of spirit.”
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Kravitz wrote and played most of the instruments on the new LP, with longtime guitarist Craig Ross. He’ll get the chance to dish up some new tunes for U.S. audiences at the Blue Electric Light Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, set for Oct. 18-19, 23, 25 and 26.
But first, he’lll headline the UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi on June 1 at Wembley Stadium in London, followed by a summer European arena and festival tour, kicking off June 23 at Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany.
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The Champions League soccer contest, the most prestigious club match on the planet, will pitch German heavyweights Dortmund against Spanish colossus Real Madrid. According to tournament reps, 90,000 fans will fill the stadium, and a global audience of 100 million will be watching on their screens.
Kravitz has been a steady presence at awards ceremonies this year. In a short timeframe, he was immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, received the music icon award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards, the CFDA’s fashion icon award, and scored a nomination for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
The American rocker has landed two top 10s on the Billboard Hot 100, including a No. 2 for 1991’s “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over,” and scored three top 10 appearances on the Billboard 200.
Stream Blue Electric Light in full below.
The boys are back. After a three-year break between albums, Twenty One Pilots dropped its latest studio LP Clancy at midnight Friday (May 24), complete with 13 new tracks. Led by the singles “Overcompensate,” “Next Semester” and “Backslide,” Clancy also features the tracks “Midwest Indigo,” “Routines in the Night,” “Vignette,” “The Craving (Jenna’s Version),” “Lavish,” […]
Twenty One Pilots don’t do anything small. The Columbus, Ohio duo of singer/guitarist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun are fans of expansive world-building who’ve cooked up an alternate universe filled with evil empires, oppressed subjects and mysterious forces across a series of albums featuring more hidden clues than Taylor Swift’s Easter basket.
But, like all good things, every story has to come to an end eventually — and for 21P, the final chapter in their long-running Blurryface saga has arrived in the form of their seventh studio album, Clancy. The 13-track collection was originally timed to drop exactly nine years after the Blurryface album, which introduced fans to a title character that Joseph has said represents his (and our) insecurities and anxieties.
On the 2018 concept album follow-up, Trench, the duo introduced the character Clancy and additional elements of a shadowy alternate cement-walled world called Dema on the continent Trench, governed by a group of nine totalitarian bishops and their leader, Nico, who are trying to keep down a rebellion by the Banditos. The story continued on 2021’s Scaled and Icy, a more pop-leaning effort on which Nico was betrayed and narrator Clancy escaped to a an island where he was give the same powers as the Bishops.
Always happy to let their music do the talking, the duo have not spoken at length about the conclusion of the story told on Clancy. The album opens with the ominous first single, “Overcompensate,” a classic combo of Dun’s skittery, hard-hitting drums and Joseph’s signature mix of singing and rap-like cadence over lyrics that sprinkle in bits of the ongoing mythology.
As always, Joseph’s storytelling seamlessly intertwines personal struggles with big picture storytelling, from suffocating anxiety that feels life-threatening (“Next Semester,” “Backslide”), to the dread of insomnia (“Routines in the Night”) and the knot-in-stomach ache of a painfully shy person forced to keep brave-facing it in public appearances to keep the show going (“Lavish”).
The album bears the expected hallmarks of the pair’s by-now-familiar rock-meets-beats sound and vision, layered with some new wrinkles of frenetic, punky new wave (“Navigating”) and gentle 1970s AM radio balladry (“The Craving (Jenna’s Version)”).
Keep reading to see how Billboard ranks the songs on 21P’s new LP Clancy, from worst to best, below.
“Snap Back”
Knocked Loose lands at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart for the first time, reigning over the May 25-dated survey with You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To. The set starts with 24,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. May 10-16, according to Luminate. The sum includes 18,000 in album sales […]
On the second night of a two-night stint at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Wednesday (May 22), Pearl Jam brought the energy with a powerful, no-frills rock show that delivered on the hits.
More than 30 years after the band catapulted to stardom with its diamond-selling, grunge-era classic Ten, Eddie Vedder’s voice (oft-imitated, never duplicated) remains a vital instrument, while the rest of the band — including guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron — boast the tight, well-oiled chemistry of a lineup that has, remarkably, remained consistent ever since Cameron joined up in 1998.
Though it brought the firepower in spades, Wednesday night’s show — which marked the latest stop on Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter World Tour that launched in Vancouver, B.C., earlier this month — started on a somber note when Vedder launched into “Long Road,” a track off the band’s 1995 Merkin Ball EP. Leading up to the performance, Vedder paid tribute to his late uncle, John Vedder, noting that Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of his death. “He kinda shaped me from an early age,” Vedder said from the stage. “I just had to get it out of my system before we played tonight.”
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That was far from the only tribute paid by the band on Wednesday, bringing a melancholy undercurrent to the roughly two-and-a-half-hour set. At one point during the evening, Vedder also paid homage to a host of iconic rock drummers who have died within the last several years. “A couple of years ago, just randomly, some of the greatest of all time, we lost,” said Vedder, who rattled off the names of Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts and Rush’s Neil Peart before segueing into a performance of Dark Matter‘s title track.
Later in the evening, Vedder also remembered the great Tom Petty by revealing that the red guitar he was holding on stage was one the late rock star had given him years earlier. “The day before we left, [when] we were starting the tour, I went into this back room of mine, and I had space to take one more guitar on the road …This guitar was screaming out, ‘Pick me, pick me,’” said Vedder before launching into a cover of Petty’s hit 1989 single “I Won’t Back Down.”
Though new tracks from Dark Matter were sprinkled liberally throughout the performance — including “Wreckage,” “React, Respond” and show-closer “Setting Sun” — Wednesday night’s set understandably leaned heavily into the first decade of Pearl Jam’s career, when the band was at its commercial peak.
Of those early albums, the muscular Ten received a particularly bright spotlight, with Vedder and company busting out renditions of “Even Flow,” “Black,” “Alive” and fan favorite “Jeremy,” which the band performed off the back of the propulsive Yield standout “Do the Evolution” during an extensive encore. Another highlight on Wednesday included the band’s performance of Vitalogy cut “Nothingman,” which served as a particularly potent showcase of Vedder’s still remarkable voice, which retains its clarity and power to move more than three decades on.
The night’s most rousing moment arrived with the second-to-last song, a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which boasted special guest appearances from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith (who Vedder had noted was in the house earlier in the evening); Dark Matter producer Andrew Watt on guitar; and the members of Deep Sea Diver, the Seattle-based indie rock outfit that’s serving as the opening act on the first North American leg of the tour. During the extended performance, the band managed to turn the Forum into a full-on dance party, with Vedder flinging tambourines with abandon into the eager hands of the satiated crowd.
Full setlist:
“Long Road”
“Nothingman”
“Present Tense”
“Go”
“Scared of Fear”
“React, Respond”
“Wreckage”
“Untitled” (tour debut)
“MFC “(tour debut)
“All Those Yesterdays” (tour debut)
“Even Flow”
“Dark Matter”
“Corduroy”
“Won’t Tell”
“Black”
“Waiting for Stevie”
“Comatose”
“Rearviewmirror”
Encore:
“I Won’t Back Down” (Tom Petty cover)
“Dance of the Clairvoyants”
“Do the Evolution”
“Jeremy”
“Alive”
“Smile”
“Rockin in the Free World” (Neil Young cover, with Chad Smith, Andrew Watt and Deep Sea Diver)
“Setting Sun”
For Noah Kahan, describing the past year as a whirlwind is an understatement. “It’s really been two years now,” Kahan tells Billboard of grinding out various tour legs in support of his breakthrough 2022 album, Stick Season, and watching his audiences balloon month after month.
“I’ll have a two-month run, and then three or four days off, and then I’m back,” he continues. “It’s not enough time for me to find myself again, and I think it’s been hard to have these little tastes of a normal life. Don’t get me wrong — this is my dream job, I love touring and playing every show. I’m just trying to find ways to make it a healthier experience for myself.”
With that in mind, Kahan has announced the details of how his mental health initiative, The Busyhead Project, will be present on his latest tour, as he kicks off a North American leg of arena shows this weekend and also commemorates Mental Health Awareness Month. The ascendant singer-songwriter’s We’ll All Be Here Forever tour will resume in Nashville this weekend and run across North America through early August before returning to Europe for another month.
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Kahan’s tour will feature multiple activations and partnerships coordinated by the Busyhead Project, which launched last year: Each tour stop will include a Busyhead Project Action Village that amplifies local mental health organizations and features a community wall that allows fans to share positive messages. In addition, HeadCount will be on site in the Action Village to encourage voter registration.
For Kahan — who has been vocal about his struggles with anxiety and depression throughout his career, and has advocated for greater mental-health understanding during his time in the spotlight — the goal is for his charitable actions to scale up with his profile.
“In my own life and career, I feel like things have continued to build for me in small ways, and I want to make sure that my passion for talking about mental health and raising money for it is following the growth of like, my venue capacity, and my staff,” he says. “I’m a big believer in striking while the iron is hot — if you see my tour schedule, you understand that — but along with that is taking moments where there is momentum and visibility, and doing as much good as possible.”
In addition, The Busyhead Project has announced a new partnership with Backline, a national non-profit that connects music industry professionals with mental health and wellness resources, and is offering therapy for his touring crew while on the road. “I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more support in this industry — not just for the artists, or the band, but for the crew, the people working their asses off from 7 in the morning to 2 in the morning,” Kahan explains. “Touring isn’t nine-to-five, and if you’re struggling on the road, it’s really hard to find time to step away and take care of yourself. … It’s been really special working with Backline, and knowing that that [resource] is going to be on my tour makes me feel really good.”
The success of Stick Season, Kahan’s third studio album, has included its title track becoming the Vermont singer-songwriter’s first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100; high-profile collaborations with artists such as Post Malone, Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves; a Grammy nod for best new artist; and graduating from low-capacity venues to multiple headlining gigs at Madison Square Garden next month. Kahan says that he’s “always working” on new material in the midst of that extended breakthrough, although finding time to craft the Stick Season follow-up has been difficult amidst all the travel and performances.
“It’s been really tough for me to find a moment of grounding in all of this,” Kahan admits. “It’s just this feeling of not being able to access this thing I love so much, which is songwriting, and understanding myself. And it’s been really, really hard, and tiring for me to try to find time to be creative. With the way music is released now, I’m like, ‘Man, I should have a new record by the fall!’ And I just don’t! I can’t make something that doesn’t feel joyful for me.”
That doesn’t mean that the creative well is totally empty, though. “I’ve written some songs that I really love,” Kahan says, “and I have an idea for my next album that I really feel is important to me. It feels like it works in the world of Stick Season in a way, but isn’t just doing the same thing. It just feels like that same feeling of, conceptually, something really deep. I think that’s there.”
Above all, Kahan wants to practice what he preaches when it comes to his self-perception, in the middle of the biggest performances of his career to date and ahead of the Stick Season follow-up. “I’m trying to be kind to myself, and get some time to be creative soon,” he says. “Sometimes it’s hard to feel like I’m out there doing good work for mental health awareness, and then not taking care of my own as well. It’s been a struggle, but I’m finding ways to make it work.”
The trailer for the upcoming Hulu four-part music documentary series Camden features a number of A-listers singing the praises of the influence the London neighborhood has had on their music and careers. The 1:44 trailer for the show — executive produced by Dua Lipa — features the “Houdini” singer, as well as Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, the Libertines’ Pete Doherty and Nile Rodgers describing how inspiring the Camden scene was.
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“Camden, so full of life and music,” Martin says over images of graffiti, punks hanging out and sweaty rock clubs. “It’s got a heartbeat, it’s got a vibe, it’s got an energy to it,” adds former Oasis co-founder and High Flying Birds frontman Gallagher.
Dua shows up as well, walking into a record store and doing the time honored flipping-through-vinyl-in-a-bin bit as she says, “I don’t think you’ll find a single record store in Camden that doesn’t have an Amy [Winehouse] record.” The teaser also features Doherty describing spotting Noel Gallagher’s estranged brother, former Oasis singer Liam, in the city and wanting to play him some of his band’s music.
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“There’s so much legacy here,” Dua says in the trailer of the place she says has a vibe of “radical acceptance,” as the Roots drummer Questlove adds, “It’s the place where stars are born.” Martin also tells the story of his band’s first-ever gig as Coldplay in Camden on a bill where they opened for a headliner who took their drum kit away, forcing the band to play the stage as the bass drum.
“We were celebrating women’s lib, gay lib, Black power, through our music, it all happened in Camden,” Chic leader Rodgers says.
The series that premieres on Hulu on May 29 was directed by Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna) and also has contributions from Mark Ronson, Little Simz, Carl Cox, Madness, Boy George, the Roots’ Questlove, Yungblud, Black Eyed Peas, Public Enemy’s Chuck D and more.
In a post sharing the trailer cued to the Libertines’ “Don’t Look Back Into the Sun,” Dua wrote, “CAMDEN!! this is a big full circle moment for me and i’m so proud to be an executive producer and to have worked on a new original documentary series that celebrates the very place I started everything!!! Camden will always have a special place in my heart and I’m humbled to share that with some of my absolute musical heroes.”
Watch the Camden trailer below.
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No, they’re not reuniting, and a tour is off the cards, but Oasis will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album with a deluxe edition.
The Britpop-era Manchester rock heavyweights will release the special, expanded editions of Definitely Maybe on Aug. 31, featuring “unheard” versions from Monnow Valley Studio, near Rockfield, versions and outtakes from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, where the LP was re-recorded.
The collection will be available on deluxe 4xLP, 2xCD, colored vinyl, cassette and digitally with new artwork and sleeve notes, reads a statement.
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Discovered and signed by Creator Records founder Alan McGee, Oasis went on to become one of the most successful bands to emerge from the U.K., amassing eight No. 1 album, including all seven studio recordings. Definitely Maybe, with its top 40 hits “Supersonic,” “Shakermaker,” Cigarettes & Alcohol,” and the all-time classic “Live Forever,” was the album that started it all. The recording spent just one week at the chart summit, but has logged 541 weeks on the tally — and counting.
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By the time Oasis dropped their third album, Be Here Now, the band was virtually untouchable in their homeland. That LP broke sales records following its release in 1997, shifting 696,000 units in just three days, and 813,000 across its first full week.
Oasis is no longer an active group due to ongoing friction between the Gallagher brothers, Noel and Liam, though their legacy was recognized with a nomination for the Rock Hall class of 2024.
Long-suffering fans got a taste of what they were missing with the 2021 live recording of Oasis’ legendary Knebworth Festival concerts, presented on Aug. 10–11, 1996. Knebworth 1996 opened at No. 4 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, and was accompanied by a documentary film, directed by Jake Scott.
Kings of Leon scores its sixth top 10-charting effort on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the band’s latest studio release, Can We Please Have Fun, bows at No. 3 on the May 25-dated tally. The set also makes a splash on a number of other rankings, including top 10 debuts on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Current Album Sales, Indie Store Album Sales and Vinyl Albums.
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Can We Please Have Fun sold 14,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending May 16, according to Luminate.
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department holds atop the list for a third nonconsecutive week, Knocked Loose scores its best sales week ever and highest charting album with the No. 2 debut of You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, and Scotty McCreery’s Rise & Fall starts at No. 6 – marking his sixth top 10 set.
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Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Swift’s Poets captures a third nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on Top Album Sales (41,000; down 19%), while Knocked Loose logs its best sales week and highest charting effort yet, as You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To enters at No. 2 with 18,000 sold.
SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEEN Best Album ‘17 Is Right Here’ slips 3-4 with 11,000 (down 78%), Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is a non-mover at No. 5 (8,000; up 9%), McCreery’s Rise & Fall bows at No. 6 (7,000), Swift’s former leader Lover is stationary at No. 7 (nearly 7,000; up 7%), Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism falls 1-8 in its second week (6,000; down 89%) and Swift’s chart-topping Midnights motors 11-9 (just over 5,000; up 4%).
Rounding out the top 10 is Hozier’s Wasteland, Baby!, which jumps 16-10 with 5,000 (up 30%), following the recent release of a new Amazon-exclusive vinyl edition of the album.
The video for Disturbed’s take on Simon & Garfunkel’s classic, “The Sound of Silence,” has surpassed one billon YouTube views, the video platform revealed on Wednesday (May 22). The milestone marks the metal band’s first entry into the Billion Views Club. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]