Music

David Johansen, the frontman and last surviving member of proto-punk band New York Dolls, who went on to become a lounge singer under the name Buster Poindexter and act in films such as “Scrooged,” has died. His daughter Leah Hennessey confirmed that he died Friday at home in New York. He was 75. A statement

If at first you don’t succeed — and if, in fact, at first you misfire badly enough that it starts a national conversation — try, try again. After a healthy seven-month interval, in this case. Since singing what turned out to be a notorious version of the National Anthem at a high-profile ballgame last July,

Sean Combs, long known by rap aliases like Diddy and Puffy, is facing an avalanche of lawsuits and legal trouble. The latest in his ongoing issues includes a new lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was drugged and assaulted by Combs in 2000 when she was 16 years old. In the suit, filed

Reclusive Japanese singing sensation Ado is reaching astronomical new heights — literally — as her music travels beyond Earth’s atmosphere in an initiative backed by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX. The 22-year-old J-pop phenomenon, who boasts 7.8 million YouTube followers and recently broke attendance records with a 33-show international tour spanning 30 countries, has become the first

The Pinnacle, a pristine new 4,500-capacity venue in Nashville, made sure its opening night on Thursday was special, with an intimate concert from Kacey Musgraves. And Musgraves herself made sure the evening was memorable by bringing her full arena stage set, and even premiered a new song called “She’s My Bitch” — but before the

A Japanese woman is facing potential harassment charges after allegedly kissing BTS member Jin without consent during a fan event last year, South Korean authorities confirmed Friday to AP. The incident occurred at Jin’s celebratory free hug event in Seoul, which the 32-year-old K-pop star held in June 2024 to mark both his completion of

Lizzo has shared a new solo single dubbed, “Love in Real Life,” her first solo release since her participation in the “Barbie” soundtrack in 2023. The single arrived Thursday night alongside a cinematic music video, with Lizzo losing it at the club before being cornered by backup dancers on the street — and succumbing to

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with four new lawsuits from plaintiffs alleging sexual assault, all filed under the Gender-Motivated Violence Act with a lookback window closing on March 1. The suits, filed in New York, all detail similar allegations of sexual assault, with accusers claiming they were drugged and subsequently subjected to sex acts

Kevin Liles, the veteran music executive who has played a key role in D’Angelo and Young Thug’s careers, has been sued by a Jane Doe claiming that he sexually assaulted her during her employment at Def Jam in the early 2000s. In the suit, filed in New York Supreme Court and reviewed by Variety, Doe

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sued by a male escort over accusations of sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2012. The accuser, who filed his lawsuit as John Doe in the Southern District of New York on Feb. 26, claims Combs sexually assaulted him and then threatened him to keep quiet by allegedly saying, “If

Sabrina Carpenter is heading back on the road as part of her “Short n’ Sweet” tour, with plans to perform in five different cities across several nights later this year. The singer plans to start her next batch at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 23-24. She’ll stage three nights at New York City’s Madison

Sara Bareilles, Jackson Browne and Kristin Chenoweth have been added as honorees and performers, alongside the previously announced Wyclef Jean, for a concert gala in New York benefiting Music Will, which is described as the nation’s largest nonprofit music education program for schools. The org’s annual event takes place April 9 at Gotham Hall. Michael

ASCAP, the only remaining not-for-profit performing rights organization in the U.S., delivered a record-breaking $1.835 billion in revenue in the 2024 calendar year, an increase of $98 million, or 5.7% over 2023, with $1.696 billion available for royalty distributions — up by $104 million, or 6.5%. The numbers mark the highest amount in revenue and

SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for Season 13, Episode 3 of “The Masked Singer,” “Rat Pack Tribute Night,” which aired February 26 on Fox. Singer, former Danity Kane member and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Aubrey O’Day was the latest celebrity to be revealed Wednesday on Fox’s hit music competition series “The Masked Singer.” O’Day was unmasked as

R. William (“Bill”) Freston, a longtime executive at Columbia Records and a founder of the early digital radio service Click Radio, died in New York on Feb. 20 after suffering injuries in a fall on the Caribbean island of Bequia. He passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family according to the announcement. Freston, brother

Adam Lambert is currently living out a dream, playing the role of the Emcee in the current Broadway run of “Cabaret,” or, as it’s officially known in this production, “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.” That extended titling reflects just how immersive the club-like transformation of the August Wilson Theatre is meant to be, with

Playing “The End” on the “SNL50” special hardly marked the end of what fans will be hearing or seeing from Paul McCartney this year. He announced Wednesday that he will release a book, “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,” tracing the history of the group he helmed through most of the 1970s

OVO Sound, the label founded by Drake, Noah “40” Shebib, and Oliver El-Khatib, has promoted Lauren “Shug” Ritzer to general manager. In her elevated position, Ritzer will oversee the daily operations of the label home to Drake, PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Roy Woods and Naomi Sharon. “There’s a lot of momentum at OVO Sound right now,”

Drake has officially postponed the final four dates of his tour of Australia and New Zealand due to what is described as a “scheduling conflict.” “We are actively working on rescheduling these dates along with adding some additional shows,” the artist’s reps said in a statement to Rolling Stone Australia-New Zealand. A rep did not immediately

The sequel to 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” subtitled “Surviving Michael Jackson,” will be available to watch on YouTube in the U.S. and Canada. Little Dot Studios, an All3Media company, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the exclusive U.S. and English Canadian rights to the sequel and will premiere it on Real Stories, Little Dot’s

The Federal Communications Commission has warned radio station owners that it is cracking down on what it describes as “payola” practices. In a letter sent Monday to iHeartMedia CEO Robert Pittman, FCC chairman Brendan Carr says the FCC is scrutinizing the company’s activity particularly around the live music events it hosts throughout the year. Specifically,

My Chemical Romance, Blink-182 and Deftones are scheduled to headline the Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Music Festival, taking place September 19-21 in Piedmont Park. Vampire Weekend, Lenny Kravitz, Cage The Elephant, Alabama Shakes, the Black Keys, Sublime, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the Marias, Public Enemy, Lucy Dacus, Devo, Pixies, the Backseat Lovers, TV On The Radio, the

Chris Jasper, a former member of the Isley Brothers who helped define their classic sound, died at the age of 73. Jasper’s family announced his death on social media, stating that he passed away on Feb. 23 following a cancer diagnosis in Dec. 2024. His son Michael confirmed his death to Variety. As a member

Sam Fender‘s third album, “People Watching,” has been a long time coming — and it didn’t come easy. The 30-year-old British musician hit a career high in 2021 after the release of his sophomore record, “Seventeen Going Under,” which catapulted him to mainstream success thanks to its cathartic title track about his rough upbringing in

The Songwriters Hall of Fame announced today that Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams will be the 2025 recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award, honoring young songwriters. The honor will take place at the 54th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner slated for Thursday, June 12 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The Hal

Keith Urban will be headliner of “The Road,” a new singing competition show from CBS that tests up-and-coming musicians’ ability to perform in front of live audiences. The series, releasing this fall, follows Urban’s special performances across Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma. The show’s participants will open for Urban, and the audience at each venue can

Tributes from the music industry have poured in for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” singer, Roberta Flack, who died at age 88 on Monday. The Grammy winner died of undisclosed causes but passed “peacefully surrounded by her family,” according to her representatives. “We are heartbroken that

Once you put into perspective that chart-topping pop and R&B vocalist-composer Roberta Flack started her career accompanying opera vocalists on piano at one club, performing quiet jazz and blues at another, and playing the sacred music of the Methodist church at home, a fuller picture of the artist is revealed. Music was a prismatic and

ADA, Warner Music Group’s global independent music distribution and artist services arm, has announced their partnership with Three Six Zero Recordings, which will see the company cover global distribution for all new releases from the label’s roster. Three Six Zero Recordings is home to artists including Willow and Jaden Smith, while the first releases under

After taking a time-out since 2022, the American Music Awards will return to the air in a new time frame — Memorial Day — as well as from a new city, Las Vegas, and on its new network, CBS. Dick Clark Productions and the network had teased last fall that the show would return on