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Cher finally found a way to turn back time — but it isn’t exactly what she was hoping for. In a hilarious new commercial for Uber Eats that premiered in Australia, a mysterious time machine is delivered to the superstar’s doorstep just as she’s listening to her own 1989 smash “If I Could Turn Back […]
The countdown has begun for Amazon Studios’ premiere of You’re Cordially Invited. Lift-off for the highly anticipated comedy starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon is set for Jan. 30 on Prime Video. In advance of the premiere, Billboard is now cordially inviting viewers to watch an exclusive clip above from the film’s opening scene featuring […]
A series of special performances will highlight the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 2), including a salute to the life and legacy of Grammy legend Quincy Jones, tributes to the spirit of Los Angeles, which is beginning the long process of rebuilding after devastating wildfires, and the annual In Memoriam segment.
Brad Paisley, Brittany Howard, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, current Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo, Herbie Hancock, Jacob Collier, Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Lainey Wilson, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent and Stevie Wonder are set to appear in these segments.
Jones, who died in November at age 91, won 28 Grammys across six different decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s. He was a friend and mentor to generations of talented artists, including Hancock, Wonder, Legend and Collier. He won just about every award the Recording Academy has to give, including a trustees award in 1989 and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992.
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Live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and hosted by Trevor Noah, Music’s Biggest Night will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
Previously announced performers include Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Doechii, RAYE, Sabrina Carpenter, Shakira and Teddy Swims.
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards will be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy for the fourth consecutive year. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.
Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and the Grammy website.
Justin Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year for co-writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe,” is set to host the Premiere Ceremony. Tranter also hosted last year’s Premiere Ceremony, where the vast majority of Grammys are presented.
The opening number on the Premiere Ceremony will feature a performance by current nominees Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo, and Taj Mahal. Six other current nominees — Joe Bonamassa, Joyce DiDonato, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, Muni Long and Kelli O’Hara — are also set to perform, as is Grammy-winning contemporary classical composer Kevin Puts.
This year’s Premiere Ceremony, to be held at Peacock Theater at the LA Live complex in Los Angeles, will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on the Grammy website.
As announced last week, this year’s Grammy telecast will carry an added sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders. Since launching the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort to Support Music Professionals last week, the Recording Academy and MusiCares have raised and pledged more than $4 million in emergency aid to music people affected by the wildfires.
On Grammy Sunday, fans can access exclusive behind-the-scenes Grammys content, including performances, acceptance speeches, interviews from the Grammy Live red-carpet special, and more on the Grammy website.
In the 50-year history of Saturday Night Live, the show’s myriad musical highlights have been paired with plenty of controversies, but creator and producer Lorne Michaels has asserted that no musical guest has ever been barred from returning.
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Michaels’ claims emerged in the new three-hour documentary Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music, which premiered on NBC on Monday (Jan. 27). Alongside notable revelations in regards to the show’s musical history (including the fact that no one seems to know the melody to the SNL theme song), Michaels pushed back at long-standing reports that numerous artists have been banned from the show for various reasons.
“I’ll read it sometimes in the Post, ‘So and so’s banned for life,’” Michaels explained. “We’ve never banned anyone. We’re way too crass and opportunistic. If something’s hot, we’re going to go for it and have it on.”
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Though it’s not exactly clear where the reports that artists have been banned from SNL have emerged from over the years, a number of controversial appearances make it easy to see why bans would be expected.
One of the earliest incidents of an apparently banned performer came from a December 1977 episode in which Elvis Costello stepped in for the Sex Pistols. Despite planning to perform “Less Than Zero”, Costello switched up his set at the last moment and instead performed “Radio Radio” – a track that was critical of commercial radio in his native U.K. Undeterred by the negative reaction his appearance generated from the show’s staff, Costello later returned to the show in 1989, 1991, and again in 1999 where he parodied his first performance alongside the Beastie Boys.
Among the most notable examples of controversial musical guests was that of Sinéad O’Connor, who tore up an image of Pope John Paul II during an a cappella performance of Bob Marley’s “War” in 1992. Protesting sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, O’Connor’s urging for viewers to “fight the real enemy” became one of the most infamous moments on the show’s history.
Other instances also include Los Angeles punk outfit Fear appearing on the show at the insistence of John Belushi in 1981, with their rowdy set reportedly causing $500,000 in damage. A 2004 performance from Ashlee Simpson also gained international notoriety after she was revealed to be lip-syncing due to illness, though she would later return the following year without incident.
The nascent documentary also featured further information about Rage Against the Machine’s 1996 performance, in which they appeared alongside then-presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
Following a version of “Bulls on Parade” (which was planned to feature upside-down American flags hung from their amps until stagehands intervened), bassist Tim Commerford vented his frustration by throwing one of the flags into Forbes’ empty dressing room. The incident caused the Secret Service to respond on behalf of the billionaire, locking the band down in their dressing room until the completion of the show.
The 50 Years of SNL Music documentary – which is co-directed by Oscar-winning Roots drummer Questlove – is part of SNL’s 50th anniversary programming, and arrived following the premiere of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night on Jan. 16.
Cynthia Erivo defied the laws of vocal gravity at the end of Wicked, when her character Elphaba lets out a passionate riff to conclude the “Defying Gravity” number. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The riff has since gone viral, with fans constantly attempting the difficult belt […]
01/28/2025
The contestants offered their best compilation album commercial impressions in this week’s challenge. See which queens reached the top of the charts, and which ones fizzled out.
01/28/2025
At just 32 years old, Miley Cyrus has had a truly wild life and career. And in a sit-down with personal hero Pamela Anderson, the star confirmed that she has no regrets — except for maybe just a few small things here and there. While talking with the star of Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, […]
When the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday (Jan. 23), Diane Warren found herself nominated for best original song for the 16th time. Warren, never one to rest on her laurels, is already back with a song that may be put her back in the running at the 2026 Oscars – “Dear Me,” sung by Kesha in the new the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless.
Warren was already a hit-making songwriter when Kesha was born in 1987. Little-known fact: Kesha’s mother, “Pebe” Sebert, was a member of the songwriting community as Warren was breaking in (though the two writers never collaborated). Sebert co-wrote Joe Sun’s 1978 single “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You),” which reached No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. A cover version by Dolly Parton reached No. 1 in 1980.
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“We all know that Diane Warren is one of the most iconic songwriters of our time, but many people don’t know that my connection with her is multigenerational,” Kesha said in a statement. “My mom used to write songs alongside Diane Warren in the ’80s. I’ve heard her name in our home growing up since I was a baby. Once my music broke into the scene in 2008, we have worked on projects together … but none of them ever were publicly released.”
“I’ve written a lot of songs for movies but this is the first time I’ve ever written a song for a movie that’s about me,” Warren said in a statement. “This song isn’t just about me though, it’s for anyone who’s ever wished they could have a conversation with their younger self and tell them no matter what they’re going through that it’s going to get better. When I was thinking who would be the perfect artist for this, I could think of no one better or more authentic than Kesha. I felt that not only is she a great artist who would sing the song magnificently which of course she did, but that this would also speak to her and her fans on a very deep level.”
Diane Warren: Relentless, directed by Bess Kargman, is currently in theaters and streaming exclusively on MasterClass.
It’s fairly rare for a song from a documentary to receive an Oscar nomination for best original song, but it does happen. Just this year, “Never Too Late” from the Disney + doc Elton John: Never Too Late was nominated, where it is competing with Warren’s “The Journey” from the Netflix film The Six Triple Eight. Elton John co-wrote “Never Too Late” with Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin.
Billboard’s Stephen Daw wrote warmly about “Dear Me” (released on Kemosabe/RCA Records) in his Queer Jams of the Week column. “For her contribution to the new documentary Diane Warren: Relentless, Kesha decided to strip back the artifice and sing from the heart. The result is “Dear Me,” a Warren-penned, Guy Roche-produced ballad where Kesha looks back on her younger self and offers some salient advice — primarily, to know that she can get through whatever pain comes her way. It’s no surprise that Kesha sounds as good as she does here; it is surprising, though, to get such a poignant song in a week when so many of us need to hear this.”
There’s just no telling how far the Moana 2 cast will go to perfectly capture their character! The popular Disney sequel is heading to digital retailers this week, and as part of the release, a new bonus feature will show the cast inside the recording booth having some creative fun as they bring their characters […]
A who’s who of country music artists will help the Grand Ole Opry celebrate its 100th anniversary when the live event concert, Opry 100: A Live Celebration, airs live on NBC (and simulcast on Peacock) on Wednesday, March 19.
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Grand Ole Opry member Blake Shelton will host the three-hour live celebration event, which will air from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. Opry members Ashley McBryde, Shelton, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Clint Black, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Marty Stuart, Reba McEntire, Trace Adkins, Trisha Yearwood and Vince Gill will all take part. Opry member Randy Travis will make a special appearance, while other Opry favorites set to take part include Amy Grant, Eric Church, Jelly Roll and The War and Treaty. The broadcast will feature performances from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, as well as from the historic Ryman Auditorium, the Opry’s most famous former home.
“Becoming a member of the Opry is a highlight of my life and career, and 15 years later I still get that same feeling of reverence and excitement every time I walk out on that stage. The Grand Ole Opry has been connecting the country music family for 100 years, and I’m so proud to be part of this historic celebration,” Shelton said in a statement.
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“We’re pleased to partner with our Grand Ole Opry members to create a truly unforgettable evening as we kick off the Opry’s 100th year,” Opry Entertainment Group CEO Patrick Moore in a statement. “This special night of programming will connect millions of country music fans to the magic of the Opry, and we hope it inspires them to join us in Nashville as we celebrate this milestone all year long.”
The telecast will be executive produced by Silent House Productions’ Emmy Award winners Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn, along with R.A. Clark and Steve Buchanan. A limited amount of tickets will go on sale starting Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. CT on the Opry’s website, while a pre-sale for Opry subscribers will launch Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. CT.
The Grand Ole Opry launched in 1925, and has had a series of homes over the years, among them the Nashville offices of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company (WSM-AM’s call letters are an acronym for National Life’s slogan, “We Shield Millions”) and Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. The Ryman Auditorium was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, before the Opry moved into its current location in March 1974. The Opry still returns to the Ryman Auditorium each winter for a special run of Opry at the Ryman shows.
The Grand Ole Opry has become the longest running live broadcast show in the world, featuring weekly performances from established country music artists and regularly featuring and supporting rising artists. Each week, fans gather at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville to experience live shows, or take in the music through WSM Radio and online, or watch the Opry Live broadcasts on Saturdays, as well as other Opry content, on Circle Country.
On Jan. 3, the Grand Ole Opry launched its first show of 2025 with the Opry at the Ryman series, with the show featuring current CMA musician of the year Charlie Worsham, “The Gambler” and “Forever and Ever, Amen” songwriter Don Schlitz, singer Connie Smith, harmonica maestro Charlie McCoy, singer Mandy Barnett, singer-songwriter Craig Morgan (“That’s What I Love About Sundays,” “Redneck Yacht Club”) and nine-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) entertainer of the year winners The Travelin’ McCourys.