Rock
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Lenny Kravitz brought a hefty dose of rock ‘n’ roll to London’s Wembley Stadium prior to the kickoff at the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. Ahead of the match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid on Saturday (June 1), the 60-year-old performed shortened versions of some of his biggest songs. The rocker’s high energy six-minute […]
Steve Miller is sharing his thoughts on Eminem‘s new song “Houdini.”
On Saturday (June 1), the Steve Miller Band frontman praised Em after his group’s chart-topping song “Abracadabra” was interpolated in the rap superstar’s latest single.
“There is a long chain of stories, poetry, lyrics, and musical roots that have crossed cultures and generations inspiring the whole world for hundreds of years and in all those lines of thought, music, and rhythm there are special artists who take it all in and create new original ideas from their own feelings and experiences,” Miller wrote in a lengthy message on Instagram. “You are one of those timeless originators building something new on a long musical legacy of original artists.”
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee continued, “I have always tried to credit, honor, and respect the major influencers in my life and to always credit, honor royalties and share knowledge of their work through my own work. I didn’t know it would be this way when I was a kid trying to make a living playing music and making records, I only knew I had to respect the art that came before me and fight for it too among all the crooks, thieves, and imposters.”
“Abracadabra” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982. Miller’s music has been sampled by numerous artists over the years, including other hip-hop stars like Nas, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Beastie Boys, and N.W.A.
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The rocker added that Eminem is one of the few artists “who take the time or make the effort to stand up for themselves and credit and respect their influencers at the same time.” He concluded his letter, writing, “Marshall Mathers you are an exception and on my short list of people who respect the art. To be included in your process feels good while I’m still singing and playing the music I love. I’m Honored.”
“Houdini” is the lead single off of Eminem’s 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), which is expected to arrive this summer. The upcoming set follows 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
“Houdini” hit streaming services on Friday (May 31). The star-studded accompanying music video features cameos by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, among others.
Eminem announced plans for the new album shortly after his appearance at the 2024 NFL Draft, which happened to be in his hometown of Detroit. He used a clip in the mold of an Unsolved Mysteries episode featuring a cameo from 50 Cent. However, it was actually Dr. Dre who spilled the beans on Em’s next album during a late-night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March.
Read Miller’s full reaction to Eminem’s “Houdini” on Instagram below.
The pop-punk classic made entry on June 1, 1999.
Beyond his illustrious career as an NBA legend and sportscaster, Bill Walton was a massive Deadhead. The 6′ 11″ center died on Monday (May 27) at age 71 following a battle with cancer, and the surviving members of the Grateful Dead paid tribute to their biggest fan during Dead & Company’s residency show at Las […]
The chances of Taylor Momsen turning into a vampire are slim but not impossible after the Pretty Reckless frontwoman was bit by a bat onstage during a recent concert in Spain. In a clip posted by the Gossip Girl alum Friday (May 31), she and her band take a pause while opening for AC/DC. Ironically, […]
Slash charts new territory on Billboard’s rankings, as the guitarist’s new album, Orgy of the Damned, debuts at No. 1 on the Blues Albums chart (dated June 1). The new set, largely comprised of covers, is an all-star blues project, featuring guest vocalists including Gary Clark Jr., Beth Hart, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, Demi Lovato, Iggy Pop and Chris Stapleton, among others. (It’s also Slash’s first entry on the Blues Albums tally.)
Orgy is Slash’s first solo studio album since the rock icon’s 2010 self-titled set. Between the two solo endeavors, he’s released four studio sets featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators.
Orgy also launches in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums and Indie Store Album Sales charts, while also bowing in the top 20 on the Independent Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.
The Blues Albums chart ranks the top-selling blues titles of the week in the U.S., based on traditional album sales. Orgy sold 10,500 copies in the week ending May 23, according to Luminate. It marks the largest sales week for a blues album in a little over two years, since Bonnie Raitt’s Just Like That… launched at No. 1 on the May 7, 2022-dated list, with 14,000 sold in its first week.
In a press statement, Slash said, “I love blues music, but I haven’t really done the blues thing because I was always so busy with something else … [the album] was a very spontaneous thing. We just threw it together. There was no researching or trying to find the right tracks – these are just songs I like.”
Among the songs on the album: Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” with Gary Clark Jr. on vocals and guitar, Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” (made famous by Muddy Waters) with ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons on vocals and guitar, and Peter Green’s “Oh Well” (first recorded by Fleetwood Mac) with Chris Stapleton on vocals.
This year’s 21 Under 21 package features the next generation of superstars who are breaking online and busting down genre barriers.
The latter is something that Jessie Murph has done from day one, exploring new sounds and defining her identity on her “unexpected” debut album due out this year. The 19-year-old has collaborations with Diplo and Polo G, Maren Morris and Jelly Roll already under her belt, proving her ability to hopscotch across a variety of sounds.
Being raised in Athens, Ala. Murph is thrilled with the mainstream moment country music is enjoying — yet she’s contemplating just how much she wants to lean in. “I’m trying to decide that for myself because I feel like everybody’s doing it now,” she tells Billboard in her magazine feature that opens this year’s 21 Under 21 package.
Murph is just one of two artists included in this year’s roundup who explore the genre — the other being Mason Ramsey, who made his return with new music and a matured sound earlier this year. In addition to Murph, the 2024 list includes a slew of new entries including rising folk-pop artist Brenn!, Chilean breakout Floyymenor, K-pop girl group NewJeans, elusive R&B act 4batz, Nigerian singer-songwriter Qing Madi and many more. Such names are featured alongside more familiar chart-toppers (and 21 Under 21 veterans) like Tate McRae and The Kid LAROI, both of whom are on tour supporting their latest albums.
Despite featuring artists across genres and at various stages in their careers, there is one thing each artist on this year’s list has in common; Not only are they set for a stellar year ahead but, given their early start in the industry, their success stories are just getting started.
Methodology: Billboard editors and reporters weighed a variety of factors in determining the 2024 21 Under 21 list, including, but not limited to, impact on consumer behavior, measured by metrics such as album and track sales, streaming volume, social media impressions and radio/TV audiences reached; career trajectory; and overall impact in the industry, specifically during the past 12 months. Unless otherwise noted, Luminate is the source for sales/streaming data.
This article appears in the June 1, 2024 issue of Billboard.
Ángela Aguilar
Image Credit: Sergio Valenzuela
Artist and activist Tom Morello will receive the 2024 Woody Guthrie Prize on Sept. 25 at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The annual award recognizes a recipient who embodies the spirit of Guthrie’s social consciousness and musical legacy. Previous honorees include Pete Seeger, Mavis Staples, Kris Kristofferson, John Mellencamp, Chuck D, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Pussy Riot as well as groundbreaking TV producer Norman Lear.
Following the ceremony, Morello will participate in an onstage conversation exploring his work and inspirations before performing an acoustic set.
“Woody Guthrie was a fearless agitator, a six-string instigator, a poetic truth teller and a harmonizing hell raiser,” Morello said in a statement. “He was the original punk rocker whose life, music, art and lyrics were beacons of justice and liberation for the downtrodden and oppressed. In my own work, Woody has been an inspiration to tell it like I see it without compromise or apology and to play my songs (and his songs) on the picket line and at the barricade whenever and wherever people are taking a stand.”
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“Tom is one of today’s most outraged and outrageously talented artists,” Nora Guthrie, Woody’s daughter, said in a statement. “Lucky for us, he channels this outrage towards injustice, towards inequity and towards anti-democratic vigilantes. He doesn’t just speak truth to power, he screams truth to power. Woody’s favorite word was ‘Union.’ Turns out, it’s Tom Morello’s favorite word too.”
The Sept. 25 event will also feature remarks from Guthrie’s granddaughter, Anna Canoni, and Cady Shaw, director of the Woody Guthrie Center, which is also in Tulsa. The public can join this year’s event through a variety of experience packages available now for members at a discount and for the general public beginning Monday, June 3 at 10 a.m. CT.
Guthrie’s most famous song is “This Land Is Your Land,” which he wrote in February 1940 – in response to what he felt was the overplaying of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” on the radio. Guthrie died in 1967 at age 55 from complications of Huntington’s disease. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early/musical influence in 1988 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2000.
Morello was a founding member of both Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. He also played in the rap/rock supergroup Prophets of Rage and served a six-year stint in Springsteen’s E Street Band.
Morello has won two Grammys, both for his work with Rage. “Tire Me” won best metal performance in 1997. “Guerrilla Radio” won best hard rock performance four years later. Rage was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Morello was also the 2023 Music Will Humanitarian of the Year recipient and is an ACLU Artist for Smart Justice for his advocacy work.
Twenty One Pilots is continuing the rollout of their Clancy album era with a deluxe edition of the project released on Thursday (May 30), titled Clancy – Digital Remains.
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The expanded edition of the album features four live bonus tracks recorded during the band’s recent run of intimate performances alongside an exclusive 121-page digital booklet offering fans an look at the artistry and vision of the band, featuring never-before-seen alternate artwork, handwritten lyrics, rare photographs and personal artifacts from the album’s creation.
However, the Digital Remains edition of the album is only available until midnight ET on May 31 via the band’s website here, so be sure to snag it while you can.
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The original version of Clancy dropped on May 17, marking the final chapter in the Blurryface saga, the long-running story that began on the group’s 2015 breakthrough Blurryface album, and then continued on 2018’s Trench and 2021’s Scaled and Icy – which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. 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,” “Navigating, “Snap Back,” “Oldies Station,” “At the Risk of Feeling Dumb” and “Paladin Strait.”
The band is also hitting the road for its 59-date The Clancy World Tour in support of Clancy. The 59-date tour kicks off Aug. 15 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., before making its way around North America, with stops in Seattle, Phoenix and New York City, as well as Los Angeles, Chicago and hometown Columbus, Ohio. Twenty One Pilots will then start the international leg of their tour in Auckland, New Zealand, on Nov. 17 before heading to Australia. The tour picks up again in April in Germany, then hits Italy, Spain, France and more before wrapping up with two shows at London’s 02 Arena on May 13 and 14.
When Lenny Kravitz makes a promise, he keeps it. And yes, that includes the celibacy pledge he made back in 2005, with the 60-year-old rock star confirming in a Guardian interview published Thursday (May 30) that he’s still holding firm on his vow to abstain from intercourse until he meets his soul mate.
During the interview, Kravitz first broached the subject of sex while discussing how his father — who he alleged in his 2020 memoir had several affairs — once told the singer that he, too, would become a cheater someday.
“He became right,” Kravitz confessed. “After [my] marriage, I became more like him. I was becoming a player … I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to be that guy. So I had to tackle that and it took years.”
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The “Again” musician was married to actress Lisa Bonet from 1987 to 1993, during which they welcomed daughter Zoë. He told the publication that he curbed his negative behaviors “by taking responsibility” and “not letting my own desires take over,” a path that eventually led him to revealing he’d taken a personal vow of celibacy in 2005.
“[It’s] just a promise I made until I get married,” he told Maxim at the time. “Where I’m at in life, the women have got to come with something else, not just the body, but the mind and spirit.”
Nearly 20 years later, Kravitz revealed to The Guardian that it’s been nine years since he was last in a serious relationship. But has he stayed celibate? “Yes,” he said. “It’s a spiritual thing.”
The Hunger Games alum is now fresh off the release of his latest album Blue Electric Light, which arrived May 24. Aside from music, he’s been prioritizing his fitness regimen and spirituality lately — something he opened up about in his recent interview with Billboard.
“Exercising and retaining my faith in God and God’s plan for me,” he said earlier this month when asked about his values. “Exercising faith, patience, all the things that I learned growing up. If [something is] really yours and meant to be yours, you will have it — that takes faith, you know. All these virtues that I learned growing up – building on a strong foundation, no shortcuts – ring true to this day.”