Standing onstage at the El Rey Theatre in March, Gracie Abrams seemed genuinely shocked at the turnout for the first of two hometown shows in Los Angeles on her “This Is What It Feels Like” tour. She blushed and stumbled over her words, rattling off a list of thank-yous and interacting with fans in side
Music
It is an impossible game I keep asking Gloria and Emilio Estefan to play, the game of hypothetical “what-ifs.” Although the husband and wife duo are currently in Vero Beach, Fla., where they have a getaway home and resort, their focus is set squarely on Miami. For the better portion of five decades, the Magic
Artists Den brings “Live From My Den‘” back for another season, documenting today’s most extraordinary artists as they perform from the creative spaces of their homes, studios and cities most significant to their creative processes. New episodes of “Live From My Den” will premiere each week exclusively via Variety.com, beginning Friday, April 8, with an
SaveLive, the platform launched in 2020 by former WME music execs Marc Geiger and John Fogelman to “bail out” concert venues that were struggling during the pandemic, has announced its first round of partners, some 20 mid-size venues across the country (the full partnerships are listed below), with “many more to come.” The company has
Father John Misty is embarking on his first solo headlining tour since 2018. The elusive singer-songwriter has announced North American dates from June through October, and international dates set for late winter and spring 2023. Misty is touring in support of his upcoming album, “Chloë and the Next 20th Century,” which releases April 8. His
“We’re all gonna get COVID.” That was the prevailing sentiment among music industry attendees who made the trip to Las Vegas for the 64th annual Grammy Awards. After two years of lockdown and the stop-starts of the 2022 edition of the show, it seemed many were willing to brave the recycled air and unmasked masses
Machine Gun Kelly gave the Billboard 200 album chart its first No. 1 rock album in more than a year, as his “Mainstream Sellout” bowed on top with 93,000 album-equivalent units. It was one of two albums to debut in the top 10 this week, the other being Daddy Yankee’s “Legendaddy,” which came in at
Sunday’s in-person Grammy Awards on CBS saw just a 1.4% increase in audience size from last year’s partly virtual ceremony, which was a record-low for music’s biggest night. Hosted by Trevor Noah from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the two-month-delayed 64th Annual Grammy Awards drew 8.93 million total viewers across multiple platforms,
Anotha one! DJ Khaled will be the latest recording artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. DJ Khaled’s unveiling ceremony will take place on April 11. The star is on the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard, close to the location of recent inductees the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose star was
On Sunday night, Steven Tyler’s annual Grammy Awards Viewing Party was back in action after a 2021 pandemic pause. As always, the evening benefited the iconic rocker’s Janie’s Fund, a partnership with Youth Villages aimed at helping girls overcome abuse and trauma. The evening raised massive funds to support the cause, which included Aerosmith’s touring
The Grammy Award might be the highest honor in music, but the trophy itself is a bit fragile, something Olivia Rodrigo discovered the hard way during Sunday night’s ceremony. After the show ended, while posing for pictures in the press room, the singer-songwriter dropped one of her awards on the ground, which broke in half.
This year’s iHeartRadio KIIS FM Wango Tango lineup is loaded with performances by Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Becky G, The Chainsmokers, Charlie Puth, Latto, 5 Seconds of Summer, Tate McRae, Lauv, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Gayle and Em Beihold, along with a set by Diplo at Dusk. These artists and more will perform at the summer festival
Kanye West has pulled out of his scheduled appearance at the Coachella festival, a source confirms to Variety. Reps for West and the festival did not immediately respond to requests for comment; West had been scheduled to play the closing night of the two-weekend festival, which runs April 15-17 and April 22-24. The news was
Film footage of an 11-year-old Prince has been discovered in the archives of Minneapolis television station WCCO. The brief clip, filmed during a teacher’s strike in April of that year, captures the future music icon speaking in support of the teachers, and jumping around with his characteristic impish grin on his face. “I think they
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Billie Eilish honored the late Taylor Hawkins during her performance at the Grammys Sunday night. While taking the stage to sing her nominated track “Happier Than Ever,” she rocked an oversized black t-shirt imprinted
SZA revealed that her long-awaited sophomore major-label album, some six years in the making, is finally finished and on the way. “I just finished it up in Hawaii,” she said in answer to Variety’s question. “And it’s coming soon!” Asked for details on her next project, she said, “I think it’s my most unisex album.
Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for Foo Fighters, was honored at the Grammys on Sunday in an emotional tribute video after he died on March 25 at the age of 50. The video, set to Foo Fighters’ “My Hero,” showed live footage of Hawkins along with photos of the drummer taking center stage as a singer.
Lil Nas X took the stage at the 2022 Grammys draped in sparkles and backed by an entourage of dancers to perform three of his “Montero” hits. Following an introduction by Trevor Noah, the seasoned performer started his ground-shaking performance with “Dead Right Now,” backed by a line of drummers. A slew of tall screens
Seven-time nominee Olivia Rodrigo took the stage at the 2022 Grammys to perform “Drivers License,” which has already won the singer her first award of the night. Wearing a white dress, black fishnets and Doc Martens, Rodrigo belted the record-breaking tune against the backdrop of a scant neighborhood street. She began the performance inside a vintage
Trevor Noah opened the 64th Annual Grammy Awards by alluding to Will Smith’s controversial slap of Chris Rock during last Sunday’s Oscars. The Grammys took place just one week after the Academy Awards, where Smith took to the stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head while
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will appear at the 64th annual Grammy Awards to give a pre-taped speech amid Russia’s continued invasion of his country, an insider has confirmed to Variety. President Zelenskyy shot the video within the last 48 hours in a bunker in Kyiv. The video will introduce John Legend’s performance about two hours
BTS brought the Grammys house down on Sunday night while performing its mega-hit “Butter.” Jungkook swooped down from the ceiling in spectacular fashion while other band members sat in the audience alongside stars like Keith Urban. V, who was also in the crowd, playfully flirted with Olivia Rodrigo, who performed right before BTS. In a
It had to happen: a comedian has taken to the dais at a major awards show wearing a helmet. Nate Bargatze was the comic who came packing protection as he stepped out to present awards during the Grammys’ premiere ceremony Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas. Said LeVar Burton, who hosted the webcast in which most
Brothers Osborne won their first Grammy Sunday for the sibling duo’s song “Younger Me,” and that wasn’t the only first — it’s the first country song with an LGBTQ+ theme to win an award in the history of the ceremony. “For those of you who do not know, this song was written really in response
The Grammys touched down in Las Vegas for a weekend of events leading up to the main event on Sunday. While typically, Grammy week stretches over five days and dozens of functions, the abridged version felt like a much more manageable agenda — and awards show veterans, out of practice after two years of lockdown,
Summer Walker, Chloe Bailey, Muni Long, Cordae and Jimmie Allen delivered rousing performances and groundbreaking female rapper MC Lyte and singer-songwriter John Legend were honored at the Recording Academy’s first-ever Black Music Collective ceremony on Saturday night. “It’s been a long time coming, and I don’t feel great saying that,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason
“DaBaby is in the building!” The anticipation for the “Rockstar” rapper’s arrival had been somewhat palpable at Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday, but not like a typical concert. The doors opened at 11 a.m. and the crowd was happily occupied by the crystal blue pools, floating beach balls and seemingly endless
Separately from each other, producers Mike Dean (pictured above) and Jeff Bhasker (below) are both synth gods in their own right. As a unit, performing their first show on Friday (April 1) at OffSunset in West Hollywood, the two were otherworldly. The intimate set reunited the Kanye West collaborators, who each have five Grammy Awards,
There are very few people that can claim to have stamped the collective visual consciousness the way Ukrainian director Tanu Muino has. Her colorful and undeniably memorable iconography is what led her to be nominated alongside Lil Nas X for best music video at the 2022 Grammys for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Muino’s
With due respect to Joni Mitchell’s lyrical prowess, never were there less prophetic words than “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” — if only for the due that Mitchell herself is receiving while she is around to take it in. The queen of singer-songwriters got