Music

Before proceeding any further, let’s acknowledge the clear superstars of the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards: Lady Gaga’s mask designers. They should be given his own awards, at some point, for being the individual who kept us on the edge of our seats during a show that has never drummed up much suspense about winners,

No one expected this year’s MTV VMAs to be typical. The event, which usually takes place at an arena like New York’s Barclays Center, was forced to go virtual this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop the network from trying its best to keep the spirit of a live show, well,

Not even a pandemic was going to stop Lady Gaga from serving up some seriously iconic looks at the 2020 MTV VMAs. With her creative team —  director and designer Nicola Formichetti, makeup artist Sarah Tanno, stylist Marta del Rio and hairstylist Frederic Aspiras — did not disappoint fans or fashion, collecting some of the

“Rain on Me,” the hit duet by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande was the centerpiece of an elaborate medley of songs from Gaga’s latest album, “Chromatica,” on Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards. Following the same futuristic theme and bright-pink color scheme as the song’s music video, Gaga, Grande and a troop of dancers delivered

BTS debuted the first television performance of its new single “Dynamite” during Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards. Following the retro-themed, history-making music video that dropped on Aug. 21, the South Korean boy band — made up of RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — delivered fresh disco choreography with pitch-perfect vocals. BTS

SiriusXM and the Blues Foundation are set to announce on Monday that they’re teaming up for the latter org to provide content for the B.B. King’s Bluesville channel. The collaboration will have the Foundation providing archival content from signature events like its annual Blues Hall of Fame induction events, along with the broadcast premiere of

Host Keke Palmer began this year’s MTV VMAs by dedicating the show to Chadwick Boseman, the late star of “Black Panther” who died on Friday at 43 due to colon cancer. “We dedicate tonight’s show to a man whose spirit touched so many,” Palmer said. “He is a true hero, not just on screen, but

Even in a pandemic, the VMAs found a way to start off their show with a bang: The Weeknd performed his smash single “Blinding Lights” 1,100 feet above New York, from the city’s highest observation deck, Edge at Hudson Yards. Weeknd was in the guise of the busted-nose character he portrays on his latest album,

The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards are kicking off on Sunday, looking a little different than usual amid the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of taking place at a packed Barclays Center, artists are taking the stage in audience-less locations around New York City to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Those performers include BTS, The Black Eyed

The 2020 Video Music Awards will take place on Sunday over various outdoor locations spread throughout New York City. Originally intended to take place in the Barclays Center, the awards show adapted to safety concerns presented by the coronavirus pandemic by providing outdoor stages in front of either no crowd or a limited one. The

Sony Pictures Television Latin America is developing a new Colombian drama series inspired by popular hip hop band ChocQuibTown that will examine racism in Latin America and what it means to be Afro-Latino. Announced Sunday during the American Black Film Festival, series “Somos Los Prietos” (“We Are the Black Ones”) marks the first cross-company collaboration

With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging on, almost every event – including the MTV Video Music Awards – has had to go virtual since March. But, the lack of live performances has birthed a new music industry obsession in the form of livestream concerts. Therefore, it’s only fitting that the VMAs came up with a

Variety‘s Chris Willman won the prize for entertainment journalist of the year at the 62nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, held virtually Saturday evening amid the ongoing pandemic. Willman also won in the music criticism category for his reviews, as well as in the music and theater news or feature category for “Interview with Radiohead’s

The Smashing Pumpkins have confirmed a new studio album is on the way, teasing the forthcoming release with two new songs, “Cyr” and “The Color of Love,” which arrived Friday via Sumerian Records (full album release date is TBA). The retro-styled songs have electrified fans of the band, which features founding members Billy Corgan, James

Virginia’s Lockn’ Music Festival has been officially canceled for 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A music festival based in Virginia, Lockn’ provided an annual space in Arrington for the jamband community. It was originally set for October 2-4 of this year, although the official lineup had yet to be released prior to the cancellation.

How long has it been since the day this year’s Record Store Day exclusive releases were announced, up to the point a good number of them will finally reach stores Saturday, in the first of three substitute “drops” dates? It’s been this long: When the John Prine boxed set that’s coming out now was originally

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return as Bill and Ted for another adventure in “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” on-demand and in theaters on Aug. 28, and their quest this time is to find a song they wrote and save the world through music. But what’s the story behind that song? It took a

Lady Gaga wrapped her weekly “Gaga Radio” series on Apple Music today (Aug. 28) by talking with French House producer Tchami, with whom she collaborated on “Rain on Me,” “Babylon,” “1000 Doves” and “Stupid Love” from her sixth album, “Chromatica.” Tchami’s first big credit as a producer was “Applause” from Gaga’s 2012 album “Artpop.” Lady

Toots Hibbert, Jamaica’s answer to James Brown, is 80 years old and still cranking out music that sounds as fresh as his original records in the mid-1960s. His latest under the Toots and the Maytals banner, and first full-length since 2011: the album “Got to Be Tough.” Raised in Kingston, Toots’ career mirrored Bob Marley’s.

Every week, the avalanche gets bigger: Even though we’re reaching the end of the proverbial dog days of August, the songs keep coming, in greater numbers each week. I got nearly 400 emails between midnight and noon, and easily half were about new songs or albums (NOT COMPLAINING but wow). And that’s not even including

Bettye LaVette is widely — and wisely — revered as one of our greatest living rhythm and blues singers, and maybe right there at the pinnacle. Her star as a knock-down, drag-out, leave-no-prisoners stylist has risen in the decade and a half since she made her return to prominence in her late 50s, 60s and

Though they bought their current Beverly Hills residence barely 18 months ago, music phenom Justin Bieber and his model wife Hailey Baldwin have already scratched the itch to upgrade, shelling out millions for a supersized 90210 house in a particularly celebrity-infested neighborhood. Sited high in the mountains above Beverly Hills, the new Bieber-Baldwin estate lies

When Katy Perry sings that it’s “Never Really Over” at the top of her “Smile” album — a year-old introduction to a brand new collection — you can hear it as an expression of romantic regret, as intended, or take that title for what it really means for Perry: a vow of career imperishability. By

Toni Braxton was one of the biggest pop and R&B stars of the 1990s, and after a few years out of the spotlight, began a career resurgence began with 2014’s “Love, Marriage & Divorce” album with Babyface, which continued with 2018’s “Sex & Cigarettes.” Now, a mere two years later, she’s back with “Spell My

K-pop titans Blackpink are joined by Selena Gomez for a new song and video called “Ice Cream,” the second single from the quartet’s debut album, set for release via YG Entertainment/Interscope Records on October 2. The song was penned by a lineup of songwriters that includes Gomez as well as fellow pop icon Ariana Grande, plus Victoria

Public Enemy, the legendary rap group that helped shape socially conscious hip-hop into what it is today, have returned to Def Jam Recordings, the label that hosted their most iconic recordings. The reunion launches with a remix of the group’s classic 1989 song “Fight the Power (Remix 2020),” which opened the 2020 BET Awards in June featuring Nas,

The concept of the remix album dates back to the 1980s, when record companies would slap together several “dance,” “club,” “house,” “street” or “funky fresh” remixes into full-length albums, creating a relatively low-overhead addition to the catalogs — and balance sheets — of artists ranging from Madonna and David Bowie to the Human League and

Harvey Mason jr., interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, and Grammy-nominated recording artist Aloe Blacc have joined the list of keynote speakers for a conversation at Mondo.NYC 2020 on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. This year, the conference and music festival, aimed at music and tech industry insiders and innovators and emerging artists and their fans,

Staging an awards show in a pandemic is a steep challenge, but for the VMAs on Sunday night, MTV and Toyota will present Latinx music stars Maluma and CNCO performing at a special drive-in location, where fans can enjoy the performances in a safe and controlled environment at an undisclosed iconic location overlooking the New

Superstar K-pop band, BTS has released two additional remix versions of current hit single “Dynamite.” One is a cool ‘Tropical’ version, the other a refreshing ‘Poolside’ version. “Both (are) the perfect tunes for the summer,” agency Big Hit Entertainment said. “With the latest renditions of their all-English-sung “Dynamite”, BTS further spreads a message of hope