Foo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl and Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin have announced “Hanukkah Sessions,” a series of eight songs written by Jewish artists to be rolled out beginning with the start of the eight-day Festival of Lights at sundown Thursday. The pair announced the series in a social media post late Wednesday night that begins, “Hi, I’m Greg
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Grammy-nominated K-pop super group BTS has been named Time magazine’s Entertainer of the Year. Ahead of announcing its annual Person of the Year award on Thursday night, Time hailed BTS and its members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook with the Entertainer of the Year award. During Time’s first-ever Person of the
As part of the Netflix Playlist series which launched on Monday, the directors behind “Miss Americana,” “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” and “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” sat down to discuss working with the biggest names in music today. In a panel moderated by Variety’s Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay, Lana Wilson (dir. “Miss Americana), Caroline Suh,
After actor Tiffany Haddish told Variety that she had been invited to host the Grammy Awards Premiere ceremony but turned down the offer after being told that she would have to pay her own way, Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, jr. posted a public apology on social media, and said that he had apologized
Fast-rising R&B singer Walker has launched her own label, Ghetto Earth Records, a joint venture with Interscope Records that will debut with her first signee, No1-Noah. Noah appeared on Walker’s “Life on Earth” EP and “White Tee” and “SWV.” “I came up with Ghetto Earth because earth is ghetto,” said Walker. “I don’t wanna be
In a surprise announcement, Taylor Swift revealed that she will be releasing a new album at midnight ET tonight (Thursday, December 10) called “Evermore,” which she described as a “sister” album to her latest release, “Folklore.” A video for a new song from the album called “Willow” will arrive along with the album — Swift
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 4, Episode 12 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired Dec. 9 on Fox. The unmaskings took a week off, as Wednesday’s episode of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” was instead a special one-hour holiday-themed sing-a-long edition. The competition returns next week with the Season
Tiffany Haddish was asked to host the Grammys pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony, but the comedy superstar says she turned down the offer when the Recording Academy told her that she had to pay her own way. Not only did they ask Haddish to host the three-hour livestreamed event without any compensation, but she tells Variety that
With the release of “Selena: the Series” on Netflix, a wave of nostalgia has hit fans of all generations and introduced the Texas singer to countless others who may not have been familiar with her music or her tragic story. The show portrays how the “Queen of Tejano Music” became an icon in Latino culture
Jennifer Way has been promoted to senior vice president, marketing at Sony Music Nashville. Reporting to SMN chairman and CEO Randy Goodman, she’ll oversee all marketing initiatives encompassing artist team leads, brand partnerships, digital marketing, international marketing, media and creative services the label group which is home to three imprints, Arista, Columbia and RCA Nashville.
Jessica Simpson has signed a multi-media deal with Amazon. The deal includes a new unscripted docuseries based on Simpson’s New York Times best-selling memoir “Open Book,” development of a new coming-of-age scripted series that is also inspired by the memoir, as well as two new original essays to be published through Amazon Original Stories, an
For nearly 20 years, Yo La Tengo’s annual eight-night Hanukkah concert series has been a staple of the New York-New Jersey music scene. However, as with many events in 2020, this year’s celebration will be taking a slightly different form. On Friday, December 18 at 8 p.m. ET – the last night of Hanukkah – Yo
Concord announced today that two-time Grammy-winner Shooter Jennings will be joining its label group as a staff producer. In this new relationship, Jennings will work closely with Concord’s Chief Label Executive Tom Whalley as a creative executive to develop the current roster, identify new talent and continue Concord’s tradition of making music for Fantasy Records, Fearless Records,
Independent label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has announced a new slate of hires in multiple departments, along with additions to the team’s senior leadership. The new senior talent includes Mario Davis who will serve as Vice President of Global Partnerships, Marissa Philpot as Vice President of HR Operations, and Jasmine Kirkwood as Director of Sync & Licensing. Davis previously held senior executive roles at
Judging from the near-complete takeover of the pop songs chart by holiday tunes, America has turned its attention to wet-ass snowflakes. It wasn’t a matter of whether it would happen, only what week: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has ascended to the top spot on the national singles chart, zipping past
Bad Bunny has a very good chart week, as his “El Último Tour Del Mundo” entered the album chart at No. 1, with nearly double the consumption of the nearest runner-up. The collection accrued 109,200 album units, with 120 million song streams and 12,300 album sales figuring into that tally. The new album was the
Harold Budd, an innovative American composer who collaborated with Brian Eno and Cocteau Twins, and whose own work combined elements of jazz, minimalism and more, has died at the age of 84, according to the Guardian. His manager, Steve Takaki, confirmed the death to Rolling Stone, adding that the cause was complications due to COVID-19.
Downtown Los Angeles’ annual New Year’s Eve countdown party will go virtual to usher in 2021 with DJ Steve Aoki set to perform. “Grand Park’s NYELA” partnered with Fuse and Aoki’s new Latin label, Dim Mak En Fuego, for the event which will be hosted by DJ Eddy One and Jessica Flores. The festivities will
Just days after Jeremih was released from the hospital after a harrowing bout with coronavirus, he and Chance the Rapper have announced that their joint compilation album, “Merry Christmas Lil Mama: The Gift That Keeps on Giving,” will be released on December 11. The album features two new original songs – “The Return” and “Who’s to Say”
On Tuesday, the 40 th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, his former bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as his wife Yoko and other family members took to social media to share messages in remembrance of the great singer and songwriter. Lennon died on Dec. 8, 1980, after being fatally shot in from of
KCRW is turning hosting duties for the influential “Morning Becomes Eclectic” to a two-fer for the first time, appointing two DJs who already had shifts on the Southern California station, Novena Carmel and Anthony Valdez, to become co-hosts in the three-hour morning music slot. The public radio station, based at Santa Monica College, will not
UPDATED: A nightclub in Columbus, Ohio was cited for violating COVID-19 health orders after an estimated 500 people attending an indoor concert by R&B singer Trey Songz on Saturday night, according to NBC News. The club, ironically called Aftermath, received a citation for improper conduct and disorderly activities after patrons were seen sharing alcoholic beverages
It was December 8, 1980, and I was sure I was going to meet John Lennon. I had just interviewed Jack Douglas, producer of John and Yoko’s comeback album, “Double Fantasy,” for Musician magazine. The album had been released just three weeks earlier; a cover story called “Yoko Only” written by Peter Occhiogrosso, my editor
Elliot Mintz is a veteran journalist, radio host and media consultant who became close friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the 1970s. In the days after Lennon’s murder, 40 years ago on Dec. 8, he also unexpectedly found himself as the family’s media representative. While Mintz has interviewed everyone from Groucho Marx to
After moving last year from its longtime New York base to L.A., Cyndi Lauper’s annual benefit for homeless LGBTQ youth has found a new home for these holidays, and it’s online, of course. Taking her 10th annual “Home for the Holidays” special to a webcast format will allow for an even broader array of talent
“This is a dream come true for me,” said Anastasia Brown, who joined VMG as chief content strategist in April, and heads up the label’s A&R. “I have been a fan of Leigh Nash ever since I heard that voice on her iconic hit songs like ‘Kiss Me’ and ‘There She Goes.’ As we have
Music production has proven to be somewhat pandemic-proof as artists continue to create during the COVID crisis. While collaboration poses certain challenges, producers, engineers, mixers and beat-makers have been able work from home for the most part, either in isolation or compact pods. That’s kept the business moving and revenue streams flowing. Representing hit producers
Greg Dorfman has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Promotion for Elektra Music Group. Dorfman, who has been with the Warner Music family for over 25 years, will now oversee the day-to-day operations of EMG’s promotion department, including the Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, and Roadrunner labels. Based in New York, Dorfman reports to EMG Co-President Mike Easterlin. Dorfman,
Gwen Stefani is clearly on a self-retro kick with her new single, “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” which dropped on Monday. The song features a loping reggae/ska vibe similar to her hits with No Doubt — particularly that group’s 2001 album “Rock Steady” — in addition to the title the song’s lyrics contain a reference to bananas (from her
In Jan. 2020, Israeli pop duo Static & Ben El (Liraz Russo and Ben El Tavor) teamed up with Grammy-winning multi-hyphenate Pitfull on “Further Up (Na, Na, Na, Na, Na),” a bouncy interpolation of reggae artist Ini Kamoze’s 1994 hit “Here Comes the Hotstepper.” The track, which features a version of the “Na Na Na