Music

Elvis Duran still recalls the phone-in topic on his morning radio show the day of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “We were talking about whether you’re cheating on your significant other if you’re flirting with someone else in an online chat room,” Duran says. “And then playing a song.” Back in 2001, Duran’s top 40

It’ll be a New Year’s Countrified Eve on CBS this Dec. 31, as the network has just announced plans to fill the evening with no less than five hours of live country music performances from Nashville, now being plotted by a new production company put together by “CMA Awards” executive producer Robert Deaton and country

One rarely hears about “spring songs” or “winter songs,” but the songs that resonate during the year’s warmest season are almost their own category. And, in the summer that unofficially ended with Labor Day, Australian newcomer The Kid Laroi rules the roost, according to a song project report Variety pulled from Alpha Data. Laroi’s “Stay,”

New Zealand pop star Lorde has embarked on a new musical journey with the release of a five-track mini-album in Maori, despite not speaking the indigenous language. The new mini-album titled “Te Ao Marama,” which means “world of light,” features five songs re-recorded from the 24-year-old artist’s latest album, “Solar Power.” The songs are performed

Music and technology conference Mondo.NYC have announced that the keynote speakers for its Music & Tech Law Symposium will be the newly-appointed Recording Academy Co-Presidents Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A. Panay, interviewed by attorney Adrian Perry, Partner and Co-Chair of Music Industry Practice at Covington & Burling LLP. In one of their first public

Kevin Lee, better known as Coach K, is cofounder of Quality Control, the multifaceted Atlanta-based label and music-and-sports management company that has brought the world Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, City Girls and more, and also manages many athletes. In just eight years, Coach and cofounder Pierre “P” Thomas have built an empire that is

The evening of Sept. 11, 2001, was shaping up to be a busy but not unusually auspicious one for New York City’s vibrant music scene. Boy band O-Town was scheduled to play at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the Charles Lloyd Quartet would be at the Blue Note, and the mask-clad British alternative quartet Clinic had a

Chris Stapleton and Eric Church lead the crop of nominations for the 55th annual CMA Awards with five apiece, the Country Music Association announced Thursday, with newcomer Gabby Barrett moving in close behind with a surprise four nods, The Country Music Association announced the 2021 crop of nominations Thursday morning as the run-up to the

In Italian director Francesco Lettieri’s “Lovely Boy,” which is the closing film of Venice’s independently run Venice Days section, a rising star of Rome’s never before depicted trap music scene gets sucked into a spiral of self-destruction. “Lovely Boy” is the sophomore feature by Lettieri, who made his debut with “Ultras,” a drama about Neapolitan

Lineups for the Los Angeles and London components of the “Global Citizen Live” broadcast have been revealed, with the L.A. show set for the Greek Theatre on Sept. 25 and featuring Stevie Wonder as headliner. Joining the veteran star on the Greek bill are H.E.R., Demi Lovato, Adam Lambert, Chloe x Halle, OneRepublic, the Lumineers,

Lindsey Buckingham has reopened the wound of his 2018 firing from Fleetwood Mac, placing the blame on former bandmate Stevie Nicks and manager Irving Azoff for his departure — who both responded with fierce rebuttals. In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times centered around his upcoming solo album, Buckingham said he considers himself

Jerold “Jerry” Blair, a music business executive who made his mark in radio promotion in the 1980s and 1990s and went on to work in the Latin music field, has died following a weeks-long battle with COVID-19. He was 60. The family announced this morning that Blair had “passed peacefully,” acknowledging the “outpouring of love,

Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Michael K. Williams is another life lost too soon. While we wait for the official cause of death, it’s been reported that drug paraphernalia was found near the 54-year-old Williams’ body and authorities are investigating his demise as an overdose. The history of Hollywood is marked by so

A singing competition where contestants don costumes of neon animals or creative creatures may seem quaint once viewers set their eyes on the technology-laden “Alter Ego.” “Alter Ego,” which premieres Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. on Fox, features amateur singers who perform behind the scenes, donning special headsets and lending their real voices to digital

Stephen Colbert is channeling his inner K-pop with a BTS-inspired music video featuring Jon Batiste and the Stay Human band, as well as a cameo from Alan Alda, that aired during yesterday’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” In “Excuses Song,” Colbert — rocking a middle part and soul patch — croons about potential excuses

BMI has grown its revenue and distributions to record-setting levels in a fiscal year filled with unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The company announced it has distributed and administered a record $1.335 billion to its songwriters, composers and publishers — its highest distribution ever, up $102 million or 8% over last year — according

A Kenny Rogers tribute concert special that was filmed before the country-pop superstar’s death, “Kenny Rogers: All In for the Gambler,” has been set for airing later this month on CBS. Dolly Parton, Chris Stapleton, Lionel Richie, Reba McEntire, Little Big Town, Lady A and Idina Menzel are the guests who took part in the

Lana Del Rey has announced a new release date for “Blue Banisters,” her second album of 2021, which was originally scheduled for July 4 but abruptly bumped days before its release. She announced the new date along with a new song, “Arcadia,” which is a characteristically cinematic, orchestrated ballad loaded with California references (and opens

Variety has launched a new channel and weekly newsletter, “What to Hear” powered by Audible, the premiere destination for audio content including podcasts and audiobooks. The new section on Variety.com will feature news and commentary focused on album reviews, podcast stories and top breaking news. Variety’s “What to Hear” section will also feature easy-to-consume listicles

Mamie Coleman will lead all music creative for Fox Entertainment from Los Angeles. As the newly appointed exec VP of creative music for Fox Entertainment Music, she will also lead its free streaming AVOD platform and its animation production studio, Bento Box (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Central Park,” “The Great North”). Coleman’s responsibilities as head of Fox

Country music star Trace Adkins has been cast in the upcoming Fox drama series “Monarch.” Adkins joins recently announced cast members Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel. In the series, “Texas Truthteller” and reigning king of country music Albie Roman (Adkins), along with his insanely talented, but tough as nails wife, Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon), have

Motown Records and rapper/songwriter YoungBoy Never Broke Again have announced a global joint venture with his Never Broken Again, LLC record label. YoungBoy and Kyle “Montana” Clairborne will continue to lead the label. In making this announcement, Ethiopia Habtemariam, chairman and CEO of Motown Records said, “I’m excited to work with Never Broke Again, a homegrown brand

Roblox and Warner Music Group have announced the “Twenty One Pilots Concert Experience,” which is described as a pioneering interactive virtual concert powered by the latest Roblox technology. The “fully immersive” performance begins inside Roblox on Friday, September 17th at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT and kicks off the group’s “Takeøver Tour.” The experience was designed in close collaboration

The Foo Fighters, who re-opened Madison Square Garden earlier this year and have played concerts from Lollapalooza to Alaska, have announced a special homecoming show at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club on Thursday night (Sept. 9) — a serious underplay, since the club holds just 1,200 people. Tickets are on sale now if they’re not already

More than a decade after their last reunion tour, Pavement have announced that they’ll be re-reuniting for U.K. and European tour dates in the fall of next year. While there was no mention of North American dates in the announcement, the possibility does not seem far-fetched. As the press release humorously notes, “Back in 2010, we

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has unveiled a new song “Long Way,” the first single from his forthcoming solo album, “Earthling.” No release date has been announced for the album, which will come out on Vedder’s own Seattle Surf imprint through Republic. A lyric video is now online for the track, which sees Vedder collaborating

Leading Chinese social media platform Weibo has suspended nearly two dozen fan accounts for BTS, Blackpink and other major K-pop acts amidst a call from authorities to rein in “excessive” fan culture. The crackdown began days after photos began to circulate of a customized Jeju Air jet funded by a popular Chinese Weibo fan account

In a surprise move, Britney Spears’ father asked a judge on Tuesday to end her conservatorship, which would allow the singer unfettered control over her life, her finances and her health care decisions for the first time in 13 years. Jamie Spears filed a petition with probate judge Brenda Penny, saying that recent events have

Joyce Reeves Milsap, the wife of country star Ronnie Milsap, died Tuesday at age 81. No cause of death was immediately given. The couple wed in 1965, more than a decade before the singer came to prominence, and were often characterized as joined at the hip as he rose to become one of country’s biggest

Jeff Rabhan (pictured), the music industry veteran who spent the last decade as chairman of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, has joined the Los Angeles Academy of Artists and Music Production (LAAMP) as executive director. The one-year intensive music program was launched by songwriting and production duo Stargate’s Tor