Music

Creating the music for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” took composer Ludwig Göransson to Mexico, Nigeria, London and back, and involved an estimated 2,500 hours of recording. “It was a more emotional experience than I’ve ever had on any project,” the Swedish-born musician tells Variety. Göransson won an Oscar for the first “Black Panther” movie and

When it was announced that Bruce Springsteen would celebrate the sweet sounds of soul music with a new solo album, “Only the Strong Survive,” one could, in the words of the immortal James Brown, go into a cold sweat. The idea of an album of classic soul covers from a man who truly understands the

To capture the essence of Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” on Netflix Dec.9, composer Alexandre Desplat came up with an ingenious idea: a score performed only with wood instruments. “I always like to find an ensemble of instruments that reflect the film or soul of the film,” the composer tells Variety as he shares two exclusive

Paramount+ has announced new episodes of the documentary series “Behind the Music” — featuring Jennifer Lopez, Boy George, Jason Aldean and Remy Ma — will premiere on the service in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday, Nov. 29. [embedded content] Additionally, seven remastered episodes spotlighting iconic artists Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan, Hootie

Almost one year ago, Reneé Rapp got her heart broken — and in a “really shitty way,” as she puts it. But instead of falling into despair, the “Sex Lives of College Girls” star immediately called her manager. “I explained it to him like, ‘I feel it in my fingers that this is going to

Following the success of the HBO concert special and Sony Latin album “Piano y Mujer,” pianist Arthur Hanlon will join forces with an array of Latin female singers in “Piano y Mujer II.” The HBO concert special and album features Hanlon with reggaetón legend Ivy Queen, Mexican power duo Ha*Ash, Colombian singer Catalina García of Monsieur

Producer Mike Dean (pictured at left), known for his work with the Weeknd, Beyoncé and Travis Scott, is launching a new record label, Apex Sound, with longtime collaborator Apex Martin. Its first signing is New York-based singer, composer and producer Sash. The SoundCloud regular releases the noir-ish single and its equally dusky video, “Lemon Sorbet,” today, ahead

Taylor Swift announced Friday morning that she has added 17 additional dates to her ‘Eras Tour’ of U.S. stadiums, bringing the total number of gigs to 52. That amended number makes it her biggest tour to date, and one that could easily break her own record for a gross in North America. Below is an

Country star Zach Bryan, who was not nominated for any CMA Awards and did not participate in Wednesday night’s telecast, has assured fans he is not crying in his beer about being left out. In fact, he has declared he doesn’t want to be put up by the Country Music Association’s membership for any nominations

Hong Kong police made a series of arrests early on Friday morning in connection with the severe injuries that happened in July when a large LED screen fell on to the stage where local Canto-pop group Mirror was performing. Media sources in Hong Kong said that police raided the homes of several people from 6:30

A feature documentary on the life and career of Ecuadorian-American pop singer Christina Aguilera has been announced, in partnership with Time Studios, Roc Nation and director Ting Poo. The film will focus on Aguilera’s life story, spotlighting pieces from her personal archive. Rare footage will showcase the singer’s early days as a pre-teen Disney star

Mark your calendars, ARMY: BTS’ very own RM will be releasing his debut solo album, “Indigo,” on Dec. 2. Big Hit Music made the announcement via the global fandom platform WeVerse on Thursday, which also included a short statement from RM. “Finally, my 1st album will be releasing thanks to everyone,” he wrote. “I worked

Eight-time Grammy-winning singer Anita Baker has announced a special run of live dates for 2023. The 15-date tour, produced by Live Nation, launches on February 11 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. and wraps in Oakland, Calif. on December 23.  The tour celebrates the 40 th anniversary of Baker’s debut album, “The Songstress,” and marks the

Phoebe Bridgers is no longer facing a $3.8 million defamation lawsuit filed by producer Chris Nelson, who alleged Bridgers was using her platform to make false and defamatory statements against him. The decision to dismiss the suit was issued by Judge Curtis A. Kin of the Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Billboard. There were

Universal Pictures has acquired rights to Susanna Hoffs’ novel “This Bird Has Flown,” setting a feature adaptation with Liza Chasin and Bruna Papandrea producing. “This Bird Has Flown” is the debut novel for Hoffs, the singer and co-founder of pop-rock band The Bangles. Due April 4, 2023, from Little, Brown and Company, the book serves

Composer and cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir wrote a great deal of music for “Tár” that is never heard in Todd Field’s film about the classical music world. However, one piece that does feature in the movie has now become a music video from Deutsche Grammophon. The three-and-a-half-minute piece is titled “Mortar,” an unsettling, minimalist piece performed

For all its vast cultural influence, YouTube is a fairly opaque and anonymous company, with even its top executives stepping into the spotlight only occasionally. That dynamic extends to YouTube Music, where chief and industry veteran Lyor Cohen tends to do the talking — yet there are literally hundreds of people who work on the

Keyboardist Tyrone Downie, also known affectionately as Jumpy and Organ D, died on Nov. 5 in a Kingston, Jamaica hospital. He was 66. He touched all of our lives with his magical style, performing on music by Taj Mahal, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, The Abyssinians, Beenie Man, Black Uhuru, Buju Banton, Junior Reid, Tom Tom Club,

The 56th annual Country Music Association Awards are being presented tonight at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Variety is updating the list of winners as they are announced. The telecast is going out live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET/7 CT, with a tape-delayed broadcast for the west coast beginning at 8. Scroll down to

When Audacy announced that Kevin Weatherly was coming back to his longtime home at Los Angeles’ KROQ after two years at Spotify, it signaled another return: to the programming that defined the alternative sound of Southern California for much of the 1990s and 2000s. It was a little over two years ago when KROQ decided

The Boss is taking over NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” with a string of late-night musical appearances. Bruce Springsteen will make his first of four stops in New York’s 30 Rock starting Monday, Nov. 14, through Wednesday, Nov. 16, plus one special appearance on Nov. 24, for the show’s Thanksgiving episode. Fans can

The incredible true story of rap icon Snoop Dogg is headed to the big screen, with serious pedigree attached. An untitled, definitive biopic about the multi-hyphenate is underway at Universal Pictures. Set to direct is Allen Hughes, who made the classic “Menace II Society,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “Dead Presidents.” The project will feature Snoop’s

Alabama looked like us. Jeans, T-shirts and sneakers; they were working class and basic as they come. But what the 2005 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees had back when they created a new kind of country was a rock swagger that brought big arena-filling energy to a genre that was most often polite, twangy

Apple Music has selected Bad Bunny as its 2022 artist of the year, marking the first time since the Apple Music Awards launched in 2019 that a Latin artist has been given the honor. The award acknowledges the musician’s “artistic excellence and influence on global culture in 2022,” according to the official announcement. He joins

Dan McCafferty, lead singer of the hard rock band Nazareth, known for such ’70s hits as “Love Hurts” and “Hair of the Dog,” died Tuesday at age 76. No cause of death was immediately given, although he had retired from the group in 2013, after a 45-year run, due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. McCafferty

“You never know how or if an album will impact or if something is going to last, but ‘Dirt’ stuck around,” says Jerry Cantrell, the guitarist for Alice in Chains, looking back on the Seattle band’s classic 1992 sophomore release. That may be an understatement: the album isn’t just resting on its five-times-platinum laurels, but

Hardy was named songwriter of the year Tuesday night at the BMI Country Awards ceremony in Nashville while Luke Combs’ “Forever After All” was tagged as the org’s country song of the year. Publisher of the year honors went to Sony Music Publishing, which represented exactly half of the 50 songs that were being honored

Living on the road for much of 2022, Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail yearns for a taste of home. Home for Jordan is in Ellicott City, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore where she grew up, first picked up guitar at the age of five and started the indie rock band in 2015. Fast forward seven

In a remarkably rapid growth surge, YouTube’s Music and Premium services now have more than 80 million paying subscribers combined, a rep informs Variety — up a whopping 30 million from the 50 million the company announced in September of last year. It’s a dramatic leap, especially for a platform where so much can be

Rihanna has scored her 32nd top 10 single — and her first in five years — with “Lift Me Up,” the first track to emerge from Marvel’s blockbuster sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The song debuts at No. 2 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100. Taylor Swift did not relinquish the top spot, as “Anti-Hero”