Music

The buildup toward the Weeknd’s next album began early last month with the release of his latest single, “Take My Breath” — but he threw a surprise into the mix on Thursday by dropping an alternate video for his 2015 smash “I Can’t Feel My Face,” and it’s a lot more racy than the official

ABBA, one of the most successful music groups of all time, has announced its return nearly 40 years with a new studio album — hear two songs from it here — and a new concert that will see singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and instrumentalists/songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus performing digitally via avatars

Drake has been mostly tight-lipped about the details of his “Certified Love Boy” album, set to come out late tonight, but he’s heightening anticipation with a city-by-city billboard campaign that is alternately hinting at and outrightly revealing some of the the other artists being featured on the long-delayed release. Each of the messages refers to

Kanye West dropped a video for the song “Come to Life” on Thursday morning, a key track from his long-awaited and controversial tenth album “Donda,” which was finally released on Sunday after four public listening events. The video, lifted directly from the livestream of the fourth and most recent such event, held in Chicago, includes

When YouTube Music launched its Premium service — then called YouTube Key, if memory serves — back in 2014, people wondered why anyone would pay for what they can get for free, albeit with advertising. Well, the formula worked for Spotify and it’s apparently working for YouTube as well: Lyor Cohen, the company’s global head

Fader Label, the imprint launched in 2002 by the long-running magazine, is bolstering the recent success it has seen with releases by Clairo, Slayyyter, Binki, Lewis del Mar, Matt & Kim and more by expanding via new hires and promotions. According to the announcement, the label, launched in 2002 by Fader magazine and Cornerstone marketing

Prosecutors have decided not to file a charge against Britney Spears for allegedly swatting her housekeeper’s phone in a dispute at her home last month. In a statement on Wednesday, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said there was insufficient evidence that a crime had occurred, and noted the lack of injury to the housekeeper

The Recording Academy, Berklee College of Music Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship and Arizona State University have announced the launch of the “Women in the Mix Study,” which will survey women and gender-expansive people working in the American music industry to better understand their roles and realities within the field. According to the announcement, the goal

Once news broke that Olivia Rodrigo had added members of Paramore to songwriting credits on her summer smash “Good 4 U,” observers immediately began calculating what that meant for Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, the credited members of the long-running group. The Disney star/singer’s song bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Despite the convenience of digital technology, an increasing number of music fans are turning to – or returning

If you’d like to see what a challenge it was to stage an elaborate Super Bowl Halftime Show during a pandemic, look no further than the forthcoming Showtime documentary on the Weeknd’s dazzling performance during the 2021 game. The brief clip below shows just how much planning went into the performance, which was seen by

Justin Bieber will perform at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, where he also scored a leading seven nominations this year. This will be the first time in six years that Bieber takes the stage at the VMAs, set for Sunday, September 12, and hosted by Doja Cat. The show will air live from the

Elton John has announced the forthcoming release of “The Lockdown Sessions,” an album of collaborations recorded remotely over the last 18 months, out October 22, featuring more than 20 collaborators, including Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Eddie Vedder, Gorillaz, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Years &

In advance of the Sept. 17 release of his debut full length album “Montero,” Lil Nas X released his full track list and features in a hypnotic video version of his just-released cover art. The album includes the previously released singles “Industry Baby,” “Sun Goes Down” and the title track, although not the seasonal song

A month ahead of his 70th birthday, Sting has unveiled his 15th solo studio album, “The Bridge,” and its first single, “If It’s Love.” The 10-track album was recorded during the pandemic and will be released Nov. 19 via A&M/Interscope/Cherrytree Records. Says the former Police frontman of the lead track, which is reminiscent of a

The legacy of 9/11 and America’s response will be remembered on the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks by country stars taking part in a series of TV specials on the Circle Network, hosted by the Grand Ole Opry and in partnership with the veterans’ group the Wounded Warrior Project. Running on Sept. 11 between

Selena Gomez’s ice cream endeavor is expanding. A year after launching a line of ice cream flavors with Serendipity3, the iconic New York City restaurant now offers the Selena Sundae on its menu. Created by Gomez, the $29.95 dessert features Cookies & Cream remix ice cream covered in hot fudge, cream-filled cookie crumbles, pink sugar

Britney Spears’ lawyer is keeping up his blistering attacks on her father, accusing Jamie Spears of trying to “extort” $2 million in payments in exchange for stepping down from her conservatorship. The attorney, Mathew Rosengart, has been seeking since July to have Jamie Spears removed from his position of control over her finances. Earlier this

Pharrell Williams is still discovering. Almost three decades into his music career, the artist, producer, fashion mogul and entrepreneur is hungrier than ever for the next best thing. Enter “OTHERtone,” Williams’ radio show with co-hosts Scott Vener and Fam-Lay that serves as an exploration into the minds of “culture’s unicorns” as well as a “distraction”

With overall revenue growth of 9% and a 7% gain in EBITDA, BMG boasts of its best first half since parent company Bertelsmann returned to the music business with a new-look model in 2008. While the pandemic stymied growth in music publishing, BMG’s core business, a 29.4% uptick by recorded music carried the day for

The Bonnaroo Music Festival, scheduled to begin on Thursday, has been canceled, organizers announced on Tuesday afternoon. The reason given was not Covid-related, but rather due to heavy rains from Hurricane Ida soaking the festival’s grounds in Manchester, Tennessee. The organizers explained the situation in social-media posts and looked ahead to a rescheduled festival in

Kiss’s next four concerts have been postponed because Gene Simmons has tested positive for COVID-19, just five days after the band had to cancel a show because Paul Stanley had tested positive. The band made the announcement Tuesday, saying that the musicians and crew members will have to stay at home and self-isolate for the

It may feel odd to think of the Beach Boys’ recordings that went down as the odometer on the ’60s was turning over into the ’70s as “mid-period,” given that the group was just then entering the second decade of what still hasn’t come to an end after six decades. But the albums that coincided

The U.K. festival sector just had its busiest weekend since lockdown restrictions on live events were finally eased on July 19. And the biggest noise of the Bank Holiday weekend was undoubtedly made by the legendary Reading & Leeds Festivals – headlined this year by Stormzy, Post Malone, Liam Gallagher, Biffy Clyro, Disclosure and Catfish

DaBaby has met with a group of nine U.S. HIV organizations “to discuss HIV facts and share personal stories of living and thriving with HIV,” the organizations announced via a press release on Tuesday. The organizations had called for the meeting in an Aug. 4 open letter to the rapper, whose controversial homophobic comments in

Two influential music figures — activist and artist Tamar Kaprelian and hit producer Alex Salibian (Harry Styles, the Head and the Heart, Young the Giant) — are pooling resources, talent and investments in launching Nvak Collective, a socially driven talent incubator and record label whose mission is to create safe ecosystems for women, non-binary and

As next month’s Universal Music Group public listing moves closer, parent company Vivendi announced early Tuesday that billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings is acquiring another 2.9% of the company for just under $1.15 billion, based on a valuation of €35 billion, or around $41.3 billion. This follows Pershing Square’s acquisition of 7.1% of UMG for

Dimitri Thivaios, of chart-topping EDM duo, Dimiti Vegas and Like Mike, has teamed up with Michael Uslan, executive producer of the “Batman” extended universe, and his son, David, an expert in the animation and graphic novel field, to create an NFT art collection of Thivaios’ upcoming comic book characters, Alien Samurai Dino Warriors. The collection,

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” is spending yet another week atop the Rolling Stone album chart, heading off Nos. 2-3 debuts by Trippie Redd and Lorde to maintain its No. 1 position, a spot where it’s resided for six of its 14 weeks out. Rodrigo’s debut has 154,700 album equivalent units for the week, with 49,600 of

RCA Records has announced the appointment of Carolyn Williams to the newly created role of executive vice president. According to the announcement, she will work with RCA’s executive team to oversee the company’s artist and label brand-management and marketing operations. RCA’s marketing, brand partnerships and touring and events departments now will report to Williams and