Music

African superstars Fireboy DML, Bnxn fka Buju, Wande Coal, Navy Kenzo, and many more are set to feature on Empire Africa’s debut compilation album, “Where We Come From.” The album — which is set for a Nov. 18 release — also features Tolani, Black Sherif, Leil, L.A.X, and more. The project is being launched with

SM Entertainment, one of the leading agency groups in Korean entertainment, said Friday that it will terminate a contract with Lee Soo-man, a year early, at the end of 2022. “SM Entertainment [..] will sever ties with its chief producer Lee Soo-man at the end of this year,” Yonhap news agency reported on Friday. Lee

Nicki Minaj is protesting the Recording Academy shifting her “Super Freaky Girl” from consideration in the Grammys’ rap division to a pop category, saying that she would be OK with the shift if it were applied consistently to other artists that straddle the crossover line, which she believes is not the case. “I have no

On the heels of a reunion tour announcement, original Blink-182 lead singer Tom DeLonge took a moment to publicly thank the band’s former singer Matt Skiba for his time as its frontman starting in 2015. Skiba assumed the role for the punk-rock band seven years ago following DeLonge’s second departure from Blink, which occurred due

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Another rock star gets the Barbie treatment with a new Tina Turner doll from Mattel, announced today. The Tina Turner Barbie Doll, part of the toy company’s Music Series, features the Grammy-winning and chart-topping

“What we’re trying to present to everybody is that girls don’t just have to be sexy on stage,” said composer, musician, producer and activist Linda Perry from the Troubadour stage in West Hollywood, kicking off a fundraising event Sunday (Oct. 9) for EqualizeHer. “They can be very, very powerful behind the scenes.” Launched in April

For the first time in history, an all-Spanish-language act is the biggest artist in the world. Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — better known as Puerto Rican rap-reggaeton titan Bad Bunny — is dominating the global music market. He has been the world’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for two consecutive years. His fourth studio album, “Un

The courtship between art and commerce is a tricky one, but when a brand invests in music in a way that legitimately benefits not only its customers and the artist but people from the artist’s community, it’s good business all around. And at a time when the concert experience can be downright insulting to the

It’s been seven years since Charlie Puth’s single “See You Again” thrust him into the pop spotlight. While the pandemic cratered the touring business, Puth, like almost all musicians and performers, turned to social media to stay in the public eye. He used TikTok to reach out to fans, replacing some of the energy that

Atlanta rapper Gunna will remain in jail ahead of his January trial on gang-related charges after a judge denied his release due to fears it might lead to witness intimidation. Prosecutors claimed that a co-defendant in the trial offered to “whack someone” on Gunna’s behalf, Billboard reports. Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, has

A show about a down-on-his-luck college dropout and his rapper cousin navigating the music industry as the latter’s star rises; created by a multi-hyphenate who, at one point, was a full-time rapper himself; set in what many might argue was the rap capital of the United States for most of the past decade… You’d think

This past spring, as the omicron wave subsided and the world began a ready-or-not return to something resembling normal, the floodgates opened and thousands of musicians returned to the road. Audiences flocked to arenas and big theaters see Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Elton John and many others. Coachella launched the festival season with a bang,

TikTok parent ByteDance has begun talks with music labels about expanding its music-streaming service into more than a dozen markets in a move that would place it in direct competition with Spotify, Apple Music and other major streaming services, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, the initial plan is to expand

Queen has shared a previously unreleased song titled “Face It Alone,” featuring unearthed Freddie Mercury vocals. The single, recorded during sessions for “The Miracle,” will be included in the 1989 album’s collector’s edition due on Nov. 18. News of the track started trickling out earlier this June when founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor

For the first time in … well, maybe ever, hip-hop fans applauded the Recording Academy in 2021 for “getting it right.” Nominees in the rap album category included unconventional releases that weren’t necessarily expected to get the nod: Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist’s critically acclaimed “Alfredo,” D Smoke’s “Black Habits,” Royce Da 5’9’s “The Allegory,”

Bruno Mars has announced that Silk Sonic — the R&B duo consisting of himself and Anderson .Paak — have withdrawn their album “An Evening With Silk Sonic” from consideration for the 2023 Grammy Awards, he told Rolling Stone. “We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually,

Bad Bunny leads the 2022 American Music Awards nominations with eight nods, followed by Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift with six apiece. The Weeknd, Adele and Harry Styles each earned five nominations. The winners will be announced at the awards show on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. EST/PST on ABC at the Microsoft Theater

With superstars like Bad Bunny and Rosalía up in multiple races, this year’s Latin Grammys on Nov. 17 in Las Vegas promise to be a big draw. A vast array of genres and artists from all over the world, ranging from legends to rookies, graced the nominations list this year. Rauw Alejandro scored a record

When it comes to the 2023 Grammys, it’s easy to jump ahead and look at what we expect will be the final showdown on Feb. 3 between the top two competitors — Adele and Beyoncé. Because, yes, in the top three general categories, it’s likely to be a narrow contest that runs the gamut from

When it comes to the 2023 Grammys, it’s easy to jump ahead and look at what we expect will be the final showdown on Feb. 3 between the top two competitors — Adele and Beyoncé. Because, yes, in the top three general categories, it’s likely to be a narrow contest that runs the gamut from

It wasn’t quite a proper Spinal Tap reunion, but there was some implicit history happening Tuesday night at Largo in Los Angeles as Michael McKean and Christopher Guest joined Loudon Wainwright III, the headliner for the latest in a series of Judd Apatow-hosted “Juddapalooza” benefit concerts at Largo. Besides going back together about five and

Brandy is “following doctors’ orders and getting the rest I need” after reports of her being hospitalized in Los Angeles started circulating on Wednesday morning. TMZ reported that the singer had possibly suffered a seizure; however, neither Brandy nor her reps have confirmed that is the case. According to a note posted to Brandy’s social

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Fender is giving guitar players worldwide a chance to channel their inner-rock star with a brand new line of guitars and basses modeled after the iconic instruments of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. The

Johnny Depp brought his tour with Jeff Beck at the Hackensack Meridian Health Center at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ, Tuesday night, four months after a jury awarded the actor $10 million in damages following his Virginia defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard. The pair kicked off their U.S. tour

The Latin Recording Academy will honor the accomplishments of women working within the arts and Latin entertainment with a ceremony recognizing “The Leading Ladies of Entertainment.” After two years of virtual celebrations due to the pandemic, the event returns live in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Nov. 15, as part of Latin Grammy week. The inaugural

BMI is changing to a for-profit business model, the company announced to its staff in an internal email Wednesday morning. The performing rights organization, like most across the globe, had previously operated broadly on a not-for-profit basis, like its chief U.S. competitor ASCAP, since it was founded in 1939. However, as for-profit PROs, notably SESAC

The most remarkable thing about the new Grammy award for songwriter of the year is that it didn’t already exist. Instead, the song of the year category — a marquee honor given to songwriters — may have been considered as fulfilling that recognition. By contrast, producers have been getting awards since 1975, and the engineered

Julie Greenwald has been elevated to chairman & CEO of the newly created Atlantic Music Group. In her new post, Greenwald oversees Atlantic Records — including the Atlantic, Atco, Big Beat, and Canvasback labels — as well as 300 Elektra Entertainment, which encompasses 300, Elektra, Fueled by Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, DTA, and Public

After more than a decade ago on “The Voice,” Blake Shelton is preparing to say goodbye. NBC has announced that the next season of the singing competition will be Shelton’s last. Shelton has served as a coach on “The Voice” for all of its 22 seasons. Season 22 is currently airing on NBC, and Season

Grammy winning singer and arranger Anita Kerr, whose vocal ensemble the Anita Kerr Singers became a staple of hit pop and country recordings in the 1950s and ’60s, has died at age 94. Her daughter Kelley Kerr confirmed the death in a social media post, writing, “Such sad news and what a great loss for