Music

“Taylor’s Version” of the 2008 Taylor Swift hit “Love Story” was greeted as a new hit by much of her fan base. The re-recording has entered the Rolling Stone songs chart at No. 4, with 137,100 song units to its credit in its first week out. “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” accumulated 14.3 million streams during

ICM Partners has reshuffled its concerts division, elevating Mark Siegel (pictured at left) to head of worldwide concerts and Robert Gibbs (pictured at right) to head of music. In addition, Matt Bates has been named head of international/head of Europe. ICM partner Rob Prinz, who had been head of worldwide concerts, is stepping down from

Daft Punk, one of the most influential and popular groups to emerge in the past 30 years, have announced their retirement via a video titled “Epilogue” posted Monday morning. The duo’s longtime publicist, Kathryn Frazier, officially confirmed the split to Variety and declined to provide further details. The eight-minute clip features the duo — Thomas

Black History Month is also, unofficially, Black Record Store Day Month. The Record Store Day organization has made it a mission throughout February 2021 to put the spotlight each day on a different Black-owned music shop in the U.S., a cause that has involved bringing in Common to help shine the spotlight on independent retailers

Two of Latin music’s biggest young stars, Bad Bunny and Rosalia, teamed up for a steamy duet on their song “La Noche de Anoche,” on “Saturday Night Live” on Feb 20. Rosalia’s appearance was rumored but unannounced, and while the two are not known to be an item, they nuzzled intimately while performing the song,

The teen-heartache anthem Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is not only for those who’ve just gotten their learners’ permits in life, per a “Saturday Night Live” sketch that had guest host Regé-Jean Page and much of the show’s male cast bonding over the ballad’s supposed power to rend the hearts of even hardened barflies. Rodrigo, who

“Saturday Night Live” has booked Nick Jonas for its Feb. 27 episode. The musician, actor and “The Voice” coach will appear as both the episode’s host and musical guest on the fifth episode of 2021. Although he has performed on the show before, this will be his first time appearing as the host, as well

In trying to explain the man and phenomenon that is Tekashi 6ix9ine, Showtime’s new docuseries does its best to embody him. “Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine,” directed by Karam Gill, alternates between self-consciously shaggy found footage and slick, stylized interludes. Like its subject, “Supervillain” depends on social media to build itself up. It stitches

A research study released during this week’s virtual Country Radio Seminar zeroed in on how DSPs have encroached on — and in some ways pulled ahead of — traditional radio during the pandemic, while stopping short of pushing the panic button for terrestrial FM radio. “Pandemic times have been good for DSPs,” read the header

Nick Cannon is back on Los Angeles radio, seven months after he was last heard locally on KPWR-FM “Power 106.” The Meruelo Media-owned station is set for Cannon’s return to the “Nick Cannon Mornings” show next Thursday. As part of Cannon’s return to Power 106, he has sealed a new multi-year deal with both Meruelo

Kim Kardashian has filed for a divorce from Kanye West after almost seven years of marriage. A representative for Kardashian confirmed a Friday report from TMZ but declined to give a statement, and a court source told Variety that the divorce paperwork had been filed. Sources with direct knowledge told TMZ the divorce is “amicable,” saying

Eve is set to play a leading role in the ABC drama pilot “Queens,” Variety has learned. The pilot is about four estranged and out-of-touch women in their 40s who reunite for a chance to recapture their fame and regain the swagger they had as the Nasty Bitches – their ’90s group that made them legends

Grammy Award-nominated K-pop sensation BTS is set to perform at a special edition of MTV Unplugged franchise, “MTV Unplugged Presents: BTS.” The performance, which was teased by MTV in a sneak preview, will premiere Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on MTV in the United States and will also air around the world starting

Popular music has always been an escapist art form, but in 1974, it went extra soft. Olivia Newton-John’s teary, chart-topping “I Honestly Love You” would go on to be the Grammys’ record of the year, and 1974’s other number-ones, were, for the most part, easy listening, from Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” to Helen

It’s hard to imagine now, but “Queer As Folk” wasn’t immediately embraced in all corners of the LGBT community. “I remember when we went to film on Canal Street — it’s the gay quarter in Manchester — and there were bar owners who objected to the title,” “Queer” creator Russell T Davies tells me from

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has announced his second feature film as a director quickly on the heels of winning both the grand jury and audience prizes at Sundance this month for his first documentary, “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).” He’ll return to that same era and musical milieu with a

In today’s Global Bulletin, the U.K. selects James Newman for Eurovision 2021, Ringside and Newen close scripted deals in the U.K., BBC commissions a young men’s mental health doc with Roman Kemp, and the New Voice Awards announces its 2021 short lists. EUROVISION BBC, BBC Studios and BMG have confirmed that Brit Award-winning and Grammy-nominated

The abuse allegations against Marilyn Manson have taken a new turn with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stepping into the case. “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Bureau is investigating allegation(s) of domestic violence involving Mr. Brian Warner also known as ‘Marilyn Manson,’ who works in the music industry,” the Department said

Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD foundation is helping those affected by the severe winter storms in Texas. The singer is teaming up with Adidas and Bread of Life, a Houston disaster relief organization to provide grants of up to $1,000 for those in need due to winter storm Uri. Residents of Texas and other states hit by storms

TikTok star Tayler Holder is officially making the transition from influencer to musician with his first single, “100 Rounds.” But his debut may not be what some expected. Backed by an atmospheric beat that showcases Holder’s smooth vocals, “100 Rounds” is an outright, intimate display of sensuality. With a powerful chorus that sees Holder exercising

Mark Anthony Morales, known as Prince Markie Dee of early rap group the Fat Boys and a hit songwriter and producer for Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and others, has died, according to his manager, Louie “Uncle Louie” Gregory. He was 52. While the Fat Boys were often considered a novelty act of early hip-hop,

Kingston, Jamaica born-and-bred vocalist Ewart Beckford, better known as the reggae artist U-Roy, died on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at his home in Jamaica. He was 78 years old. An influential singer of gently melodic reggae, his conversational rapping was also known as “toasting.” “As we mourn the loss, we have the memories of this amazing

The sister trio Haim has managed to make its song “Gasoline” even more inflammatory with the edition of a special guest, Taylor Swift, on a remix released late Thursday. Swifties had been salivating since earlier in the day when the group posted a short video of singer Danielle Haim singing along with the song while

As part of its mission to invest $100 million in organizations focused on achieving social justice, the Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund has announced its initial six grant recipients: Black Cultural Archives, Black Futures Lab, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), Howard University, REFORM Alliance and Rhythm & Blues Foundation. The WMG/BFF SJF

Wolfgang Boss is no stranger to finding hits that work their way around the world. The German-born, London-based executive vice president of A&R at Sony Music has signed or steered many platinum-selling songs over the past decade, but he has enjoyed the biggest success of his career in the past few years thanks to a

Dolly Parton took to social media Thursday to declare that she doesn’t want the Tennessee legislature to approve putting up a statue of her at the state capitol… probably one of the few conceivable things that could have united lawmakers from different sides of the aisle in the current political climate. “I want to thank

Universal Music Group has announced the launch of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, a “new global network delivering premium and flexible artist and label services to the industry’s most dynamic entrepreneurs and independent talent worldwide, inspired and influenced by the spirit and ethos of the iconic Virgin Records label.” The long-running label, originally founded

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Beach Boys have become the latest artists to sell their catalog and other assets: The group announced Thursday that Irving Azoff’s recently launched Iconic Artists Group has purchased a controlling interest in its intellectual property, including their sound recordings, the brand, select musical compositions, and memorabilia. According to

Quavo, one-third of the Atlanta hip-hop trio Migos, will make his feature-film debut alongside Robert DeNiro, John Malkovich and Jack Huston in the forthcoming film “Wash Me in the River,” which is directed by Randall Emmett (“Midnight in the Switchgrass”) and is currently filming in Puerto Rico. According to the announcement, Quavo (real name: Quavious

New performances from H.E.R., John Legend, Haim and Jhene Aiko will lead “Music on a Mission,” the 2021 MusiCares virtual concert being held during Grammy Week on Friday, March 12. The event — which, as always, is a benefit for MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charitable wing — takes the place of the traditional Person of