The Weeknd may have kept his music out of contention for the recent Grammys, but there’s no shortage of him being name-checked on the just-released list of candidates for the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, where he leads with 17 nominations — three more than the nearest runner-up, Doja Cat, who has 14. There’s a three-way
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It is perhaps a telling sign of this strange era that one of the breakout music acts of the past 12 months was formed for a laugh by a pair of friends — singer-guitarists Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers — who had for years been trying to perform more “serious” music, mostly unsuccessfully. (Oddest of
Since the 1980s, the city of Miami has been synonymous with fashion, art deco and, of course, Latin music. On Thursday, Variety and City National Bank of Miami hosted the inaugural Miami Entertainment Town breakfast — an event celebrating The Magic City’s irrefutable influence over the entertainment and music industry. The Legends and Groundbreakers award
Even if the band name Lucius doesn’t ring a bell, chances are you’ve seen frontwomen Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe at some point — guesting with someone else, if not out on their own — and asked, “Who are those two identical-twin singers… who are not actually identical, but close enough for rock ‘n’ roll?”
What were the odds that the Recording Academy would honor the woman that many consider the greatest living female songwriter, Joni Mitchell, and great living male songwriter, Paul Simon, within a week’s time of one another? And yet that’s what happened as last Friday’s pre-Grammys MusiCares tribute to Mitchell in Las Vegas was followed Wednesday
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “The Dropout” on Hulu. When crafting the soundtrack for Hulu’s “The Dropout,” music supervisor Maggie Phillips and show creator Elizabeth Meriwether sought out, as Phillips puts it, “songs that scream 2010.” Set between 2003 and 2018, “The Dropout” chronicles the rise and fall of Theranos founder
Nominations have been announced for the Folk Alliance International’s Best of 2021 Awards, with such recent Grammy nominees (and winners) as Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, Arooj Aftab, Valerie June, Kalani Pe’a and Sarah Jarosz among the contenders in the association’s three categories. Also set for non-competitive lifetime honors at the May awards ceremony are accordionist
Former rapper Nathaniel Glover, aka “the Kidd Creole,” who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been convicted for the fatal stabbing of a homeless NYC man. Glover was arraigned in 2017 for stabbing 55-year-old John Jolly on the streets of midtown
There is exactly one person on earth who could be serenaded on his 90th birthday by (in order) Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Dionne Warwick, Kenny G, Art Garfunkel, Earth Wind & Fire, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys — and have the whole evening capped off by a brilliant Mark Ronson-helmed “megamix” of great songs from
Jon Batiste’s five wins at the Grammys — and a galvanizing performance on the telecast — sparked a lot of interest in further checking out his music online, as his music enjoyed a 950% increase in streaming following Sunday night’s show. Numbers from Luminate Data (formerly MRC Data) provided to Variety show just how sharp
Pink Floyd has announced that a newly recorded single under the band banner, “Hey Hey Rise Up,” will come out Friday, with lead vocals not by David Gilmour but rather a Ukrainian singer, whose a cappella vocals from an Instagram post shot in Kyiv’s Sofiyskaya Square have been set to music by the veteran band.
MRC Live & Alternative — the division formerly known as Dick Clark Prods. — has tapped Stephen Hill and Rob Bagshaw to serve as executive vice president of creative. The execs will report to president Adam Stotsky, who announced the appointments on Thursday. Hill will oversee creative on all of MRC’s existing tentpole shows, which
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 7, Episode 5, of “The Masked Singer,” “Masking For a Duel — Round 2,” which aired April 6 on Fox. That’s no illusion, it really was Vegas legends Penn and Teller unmasked on Wednesday night’s episode of “The Masked Singer.” Penn Jillette and
Britney Spears is objecting to her mother’s request to pay $663,202.84 in attorney’s fees, in conjunction with her conservatorship. The objection marks the latest move in the pop star’s ongoing and drawn-out legal battle. The singer’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, filed new court documents ahead of a Wednesday hearing — where no decision was made —
This year’s nominees for the Ivor Novello Awards — which honor outstanding songwriting and composing — include Adele, who is in the running for two awards, and Ed Sheeran, who is nominated for three Ivors. Up for four awards, Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover is this year’s most nominated songwriter. He is recognized for his work
Scooter Braun’s SB Projects has announced a new partnership with First Responders Children’s Foundation for the Children of Heroes Scholarship, which aims to support children of first responders and medical personnel directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Children of Heroes Scholarship is valued at $600,000 and will be awarded to three students every year
Walk into the unembellished black building tucked away in Morningside, Auckland, later this year and there’s no telling what musical superstars one might find. Niall Horan could be leading songwriting camps for aspiring musicians, Taylor Swift could be next door working on her next big hit and maybe Lorde will stop by downstairs to play
A New York appeals court has rejected the lawsuit including Bob Dylan that claimed the singer-songwriter was in debt to the estate of one-time collaborator, Jacques Levy, for a portion of his Universal catalog sale. Dylan sold the rights to his song catalog to Universal Music Publishing Group in December of 2020 for a price
The Eagles are down one set of wings. Deacon Frey, who for nearly five years has been singing a handful of his late father Glenn Frey’s songs on tour, has left the group. A band spokesperson says he will not be replaced on the upcoming dates on the Eagles’ ongoing “Hotel California” tour, which resumes
UPDATED: Three members of Congress have written to Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, criticizing him over the company’s policy of promoting an artist’s music on its Discovery Mode platform in exchange for a reduced royalty rate. Among other notes, the letter requests that Spotify label such songs as paid content; the company announced the
Olivia Rodrigo did the first night of her first tour Tuesday night, and there was some anticipation among fans about what she might do to fill out a headlining set, given that her heralded debut album clocks in at just under 35 minutes. Would the freshly minted star dip into the influences she’s accumulated in
Clive Davis doesn’t do anything by half, and his 90th birthday is no exception. Not only will there be a star-studded party tonight at Cipriani in Lower Manhattan, there’s a four-part music-and-interview series on Paramount Plus culled from last year’s virtual pre-Grammy galas; a Clive Davis Gallery with personal items from across his career at
That Ashanti’s name, referencing the Ashanti empire of Ghana, means “woman of strength” should come as no surprise to anyone who’s worked with the singer-songwriter. With a career spanning more than two decades, and numerous hit singles and films under her belt, she’s more than lived up to it. Which is why on April 7,
As predicted, Swedish House Mafia and the Weeknd will replace Kanye West at Coachella on Sunday night for the two-weekend festival. They will perform in the festival-closing Sunday night slot, joining Harry Styles (Friday) and Billie Eilish (Saturday) as Coachella’s 2022 headliners, taking place on the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24. West was
Downtown Music Services has inked a global music publishing administration agreement with Brooklyn-based artist, composer and producer Daniel Lopatin, the company announced Wednesday. Lopatin, who records and performs as Oneohtrix Point Never, has released multiple albums and tracks over the years including his most recent project, “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never.” He also has collaborated extensively
Clive Davis’ name is a synonym for the ultimate record man. In terms of success, influence, longevity, and the artists and executives he has mentored, he has no peer and probably never will. To give just one example, in 1972 he told a young Bruce Springsteen that the debut album he’d just submitted didn’t have
British musician Ed Sheeran has won a copyright lawsuit over his hit single “Shape of You.” A U.K. High Court ruled on Wednesday that Sheeran had not plagiarised the 2015 song “Oh Why” by Sami Chokri. In his ruling, Judge Antony Zacaroli said that Sheeran had “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s work. He added
On Monday, The Seoul Metropolitan Government and South Korean internet company Kakao announced the construction of a new arena in the Seoul area dedicated to K-pop. The Seoul Arena — which is scheduled to be established in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu — will hold a ceremony in June after the approval of future implementation plans and is
When the 2022 Coachella lineup was announced back in early January, Swedish House Mafia had rare, almost unprecedented placement in the hierarchy of the festival’s all-important official poster: in a headliner-sized font, but at the bottom of the lineup, and with no specific date listed. A few days later, Variety unspooled several hundred words speculating
In a move that sounds like a “Who’s on first?” routine, Shira Knishkowy is joining Another Management Company, leaving Spotify after three years to join the company that oversees the careers of such artists as Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus, Mary Timony, Snail Mail, Mdou Moctar and Horsegirl, as well as High on Fire, Protomartyr,