Music

Young veterans are nothing new in the music biz, but it still feels odd that Jade Bird is just 23: Her label, Glassnote, began showcasing her five years ago and she soon followed with an EP and, in 2019, a solid debut album. But her new release, “Different Kinds of Light,” is the proverbial big

Reba McEntire is going the redux route with a triple album she’s announcing today, “Revived Remixed Revisited.” The boxed set, due for release Oct. 8, includes three discs’ worth of fresh spins on hits from her four-decade-plus catalog. “Revisited” has her joining producer Dave Cobb and a small band to strip down some of her

Cardi B has signed with Warner Chappell Music Publishing, Variety has confirmed. The rapper was previously with Sony Music Publishing. Reps for both companies declined Variety‘s requests for comment. The move comes in advance of Cardi’s long-awaited second full-length album, which followed her 2018 debut “Invasion of Privacy.” She’s released a string of singles, features

It’s been a week since standard-bearing crooner Tony Bennett and his collaborator Lady Gaga ripped triumphantly through two sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the first of which celebrated his 95th birthday, complete with a Gaga-led, congratulatory sing-along. And Danny Bennett’s head is still spinning. From his father’s usual concert

China is readying a blacklist for karaoke songs in order to ban tracks featuring “illegal” content, its Ministry of Culture and Tourism said. Such content includes anything that harms national unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity, endangers national security or harms national honor, incites ethnic hatred or undermines ethnic unity, violates religious policies, promotes illegal activities

Universal Music Publishing is disputing wording by Hipgnosis Songs in a statement released Monday announcing Hipgnosis’ acquisition of a song catalog from Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, one of the most commercially successful groups of the past 50 years. The disagreement stems from Hipgnosis’ unusually worded announcement, which can be seen as implying that Hipgnosis

Sam Riback knows a hit when he hears one. Take Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License,” for instance. Though no one could have fully predicted its success — reaching No. 1 on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon overnight, breaking the Spotify record for the biggest debut single by a female artist and topping the Billboard

Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has agreed to step down from his daughter’s conservatorship. The turn of events is a massive win for the international pop star, who has been under a conservatorship for 13 years, ever since Spears placed his famous daughter under the court-ordered arrangement in 2008 when she suffered a very public

Police are monitoring death threats being made to Judge Brenda Penny, who’s overseeing Britney Spears’ conservatorship case. “LASD continues to monitor the social media chatter regarding the ongoing Britney Spears civil court case,” a media spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told Variety in a statement. “Although some of the language on social media

Alanis Morissette is returning to the road today with a powerful message as the newest Soundboard member of the nonprofit group We Are Moving the Needle, an organization that aims to close the vast gender gap in the technical fields of the recording industry. Just before taking the stage, Morissette will feature the organization in

The first “High School Musical” film was released 15 years ago, introducing kids everywhere to the world of the East High Wildcats and bolstering the importance of following one’s passions instead of the status quo. The response was unprecedented for a Disney Channel Original Movie, with its triple-platinum soundtrack becoming the first ever from a

Legendary singer Tony Bennett — who celebrated his 95th birthday just last week, performing with Lady Gaga at two-sold out shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall — has canceled his Fall 2021 tour dates. The tour — consisting of pre-pandemic shows dates had been rescheduled — was slated to begin in September. The

In one of the strongest statements yet made by a major player in support of a pro-vaccination policy in the live music industry, AEG Presents, the second-largest live company in the country, has announced that proof of vaccination will be required going forward for ticketholders and crew at all the venues it owns or operates

Sometimes, when an artist makes a featured appearance on another artist’s song, you can tell that it’s just a payday — the featured artist got a nice check to add credibility to another artist that they don’t really know or maybe even respect. (No examples are necessary — we see them every week.) Then there

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at no point appeared to be in a hurry to record a follow-up to their first album together, 2007’s “Raising Sand,” which was a surprise sales hit and swept all six Grammys it was up for in 2009, including the top two prizes, record and album of the year. But

Plenty of philanthropic organizations had to change plans during the pandemic, but probably none executed a pivot on as successful and publicly visible a scale as Global Citizen’s. In the span of 13 months, the org put on no fewer than six major broadcast/webcast specials, starting with the all-star “One World: Together at Home” emanating

Lady Gaga’s “911” video is getting the virtual reality experience from CEEK VR. The singer/songwriter is teaming with the virtual reality company to provide a behind-the-scenes look on the set of “911″ as she celebrates her No. 1 album “Chromatica” a year after its release. The short film accompanied the third single off the album,

When Olivia Rodrigo went into the studio to start the production process for her debut album, “Sour,” she was a little intimidated. For as long as the 18-year-old could remember, it had just been her voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar or piano — as was showcased often on her Instagram account and her “High

I first met him at his apartment in Trump Tower when Trump Tower was just another glitzy apartment building on Fifth Avenue. “Look at the view of the park,” he said. “Ever seen anything so beautiful? Doesn’t it make you feel like you’re on top of the world?” Before I could answer, he was rushing

Lil Nas X has achieved a pinch-me level of stardom since releasing “Old Town Road” in 2019, which has become the biggest song of the 21st century. Some of the places that journey has taken him include a turn around the dance floor with Beyoncé at her and Jay-Z’s Halloween party — “She said she’s

Justin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion led the nominations for MTV’s 2021 VMAs, which were unveiled by the network Wednesday. Bieber leads with seven nods, Megan is next with six, and several artists followed with five: Billie Eilish, BTS, Doja Cat, Drake, Giveon, and two of this week’s Variety cover stars, Lil Nas X and first-time

For the 2021 Power of Young Hollywood Issue, Variety profiled three young stars making an impact in the entertainment industry. For more, click here.  Criticism doesn’t scare Olivia Rodrigo. If anything, the 18-year-old — whose platinum-certified debut, “Sour,” captured the biggest U.S. opening week sales for an album in 2021 so far — fully embraces

For the 2021 Power of Young Hollywood Issue, Variety profiled three young stars making an impact in the entertainment industry. For more, click here.  Newfound fame has felled many a young superstar, and Lil Nas X, feeling overwhelmed by the massive success of his 2019 hit “Old Town Road,” decided to take a brief hiatas

The city council of Oakland, California has declared August 25 “Digital Underground Day” in honor of the legendary group’s frontman and co-founder Gregory “Shock G” Jacobs, who died in April. The pioneering 1990s hip-hop group is one of the most legendary to emerge from the Bay Area city — Tupac Shakur began his professional career as a member

Veteran hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch and Michael McCall will be honored on Sept. 22, when Grammys on the Hill celebrates its 20th anniversary in Washington, DC. The event brings together congressional leaders and music makers “to recognize those who have led the fight for creators’ rights,” according to

Jack White III has a thing for things that come in threes, so it perhaps follows that there would be a third Third Man Records location. The surprise, perhaps, is that he hasn’t augmented the Nashville and Detroit storefronts by going to one or the other U.S. coasts with a new retail outlet, but has

CAA has signed singer, songwriter, rapper and producer Belly in all areas worldwide. Raised in Canada, the native Palestinian has credits on hits by Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd, with whom he collaborated on half the tracks from the album “After Hours,” including the eight-times-platinum “Blinding Lights.” Belly’s current single, “Better Believe,” features The Weeknd

Bella Poarch, a huge TikTok star and singer, signed with A3 Artists Agency for representation under the alternative programming, digital media, licensing and branding division. Poarch broke out in August 2020 with her first viral post on TikTok, lip-synching to Millie B’s “M to the B,” which was the No. 1 viral video on the

While she only had five concerts on the books for 2021, Stevie Nicks has decided to cancel them all, the singer announced on Tuesday. “These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” Nicks said in a statement. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be

After decades of waiting — and a comic, snafu-filled attempt to get all three members on Instagram Live — De La Soul announced on Tuesday that their catalog, most of which has never been legally available on streaming services, will finally arrive on all major platforms later this year. The announcement follows news earlier this