Music

Chadwick Boseman is a great actor. That’s no longer anything the world needs to discover. Yet a funny thing happens whenever I get into a conversation about him. I always ask the person I’m talking to if they’ve seen “Get on Up,” and the answer, almost inevitably, is, “No, I missed that one.” Which never

The sleepy Santa Barbara County town of Montecito has more than its fair share of celebrity residents — Gwyneth Paltrow, Rob Lowe, Meg Ryan and most famously Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres — but it’s about to get a big jolt of star wattage from one of its newest homeowners, pint-sized pop music superstar Ariana

If one person has been central to popularizing the concept of artist-hosted radio it’s Apple Music’s global creative director Larry Jackson. Among his credits since joining the tech giant in 2014: Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio, Virgil Abloh’s Televised Radio, Kendall Jenner’s ZaZa World Radio, and most recently, Lil Wayne’s Young Money Radio, which has been

Known for their ideals, activism, bleak humor and bruising sound, Run the Jewels — a.k.a. hip-hop veterans Killer Mike (Michael Render) and El-P (Jaime Meline) — were preparing for the June 5 release of “RTJ4,” when a white police officer killed an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, and America was set ablaze. The murder of George

YouTube’s “Dear Class of 2020” virtual graduation event — livestreamed on Sunday, June 7, over more than four hours — set a new record for the video service. The livestream featured commencement addresses from Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, BTS, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and more, as well as performances by BTS, Katy Perry, Meghan Thee Stallion

Crushing news for Beatles fans: Peter Jackson’s documentary “The Beatles: Get Back,” which was initially set for Sept. 4 of this year will now go close to a year later on Aug. 27, 2021. The move was announced by Disney, the film’s distributor, on Friday (June 12). The film creates a cheerful counter-narrative to the

Composer Terence Blanchard has collaborated with Spike Lee for over 30 years, going back to 1991 when the director tapped him to score “Jungle Fever.” Since then, Blanchard’s credits include over 15 Lee films including “BlacKkKlansman,” “Malcolm X” and his latest, “Da 5 Bloods,” now streaming on Netflix. The story of four Vietnam War veterans,

After being the target of an assassination attempt in Jamaica on December 3, 1976, Bob Marley sought refuge in England. He moved and lived there for the next two years. During this productive in-exile period he recorded two of his best and enduring albums, “Exodus” and “Kaya.” On June 3, 1977, “Exodus” by Bob Marley

Variety Music’s Fri 5 — our collection of the best, most noteworthy or simply most remarkable new songs from the past week — took last week off, out of respect for Blackout Tuesday (and the comparatively low number of songs that came out that week), but we’re back with a pack of great new songs

Some may know Norah Jones exclusively as the immaculately voiced writer of loungey, jazz-inflected tunes perfect for rainy afternoons. Others who have followed her discography since those passionate and endearing early ‘00s gems have seen massive swings intended to redefine and expand her palette. She leaned into cinematic rock with Danger Mouse on “Little Broken

As the coronavirus pandemic has proliferated and social distancing guidelines prevented large gatherings across the country — and the world — the live music industry crumbled with one fell swoop. One after another, major tours and festivals were rescheduled, canceled, or rescheduled and then canceled. Andy Gensler, executive editor of concert industry trade Pollstar, and

Who knew that Bob Dylan was not only determinedly pro-Eagles — take that, Henley/Frey haters! — but that he thinks the Joe Walsh-penned “Pretty Maids in a Row,” probably the least revived song on the “Hotel California” album, is “one of the best songs ever”? No one, probably, prior to Friday’s publication in the New

Tencent Music Entertainment has acquired a stake in Warner Music Group worth $100 million, according to an SEC filing by Tencent Music on Friday. The company has acquired 4 million Class A common stock shares in WMG, according to the filing. The deal, while amounting to a relatively small percentage of Warner’s value, which is

Julien’s Auctions has exclusively announced to Variety that former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman will be donating his complete steel wheels tour bass rig toward MusiCares to aid music professionals who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The legendary bassist helped launch the initiative in which several other high-profile artists will be donating

There have been a lot of songs released in the wake of the protests surrounding George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, but Atlanta rapper Lil Baby has dropped a new single with lyrics that address the issues of police violence against the black community with clear eyes, nuance and sensitivity. “All proceeds

“The Concert for Love & Acceptance,” the annual LGBTQ-supportive benefit show out of Nashville, has revealed a preliminary talent lineup for this year’s webcast that includes Lauren Alaina, Dennis Quaid, Rita Wilson, Kalie Shorr, Terri Clark, Billy Gilman and Lewis Brice. Previously announced were Tanya Tucker, as the show-opening performer, and Kristen Chenoweth and country

In the wake of the protests around George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, many music companies have promised to donate thousands or millions of dollars to Black-empowering organizations. Yet the music industry has a long history of unfair business arrangements, particularly with artists of color, and BMG has taken the music industry’s

Chris Carrabba, lead singer and guitarist for the emo band Dashboard Confessional, revealed that he’s recovering after a serious motorcycle accident from last weekend. “Hi friends on June 6th I was in a motorcycle accident. My injuries were severe but not life threatening. I owe the amazing doctors, nurses and medical team treating me my

Nearly 24 hours after the Riverside County public health officer announced that Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals will not be taking place in October, promoter Goldenvoice confirmed that the two festivals have been rescheduled for April of 2021, as always, at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif. However, the announcement notes the uncertainly surrounding the

Inner Circle’s “Bad Boys” — the unmistakable theme to the TV show “Cops,” which was pulled off the Paramount Network this week after more than 30 years on the air — amounts to a major novelty hit, but one with a long and interesting history behind it (as is so often the case with novelty

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter H.E.R. debuted a brand new song during her iHeartRadio Living Room concert on Wednesday. The song is titled “I Can’t Breathe,” referring to the last words of both George Floyd and Eric Garner as they died as a result of police brutality. The powerful track is just one of many in a wave

Tidal, the streaming platform primarily owned by Jay-Z, is being targeted by a data fraud investigation that was first launched by Norwegian authorities last June, according to Norwegian financial trade Dagens Næringsliv (DN). The formal investigation has been approved by the Norwegian Supreme Court Appeals Committee, according to DN. Tidal’s troubles in Norway begun in

Lady Antebellum, one of the most successful groups in country music, announced Thursday that it is dropping the word “antebellum” from its name “after much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest discussions with some of our closes friends and colleagues.” The trio will henceforth be known as Lady A, the nickname most fans

In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, the past few weeks have seen a new wave of protest songs, and Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter H.E.R. premiered a powerful new one during her iHeartRadio Living Room concert on Wednesday. “Just by the title you know that it means something very painful

While few people expected that the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals would actually take place in October, it’s now become official: Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser announced that the festivals will be taking place next year at the earliest, and multiple sources tell Variety that promoter Goldenvoice is in the process of informing performers.

Last Tuesday, June 2, many major music companies — spanning from record labels to streaming services as well as musicians themselves — participated in the Blackout Tuesday movement by stopping everyday operations to show their solidarity with those protesting racial injustice. It was not a day off: most companies held virtual town halls, discussions and

Pop music’s global superstar Ariana Grande has one less problem on her plate, as it were. After years of renting various Los Angeles mansions and a seemingly endless house hunt, she’s finally found a permanent home in the city. Set high above L.A.’s iconic Sunset Strip, in an exclusive neighborhood known as the Bird Streets,

The 2020 Coachella Festival is still officially scheduled for two weekends in October, as announced on March 10. But it has long been blindingly obvious that short of some unforeseen coronavirus-quashing miracle, there’s no way that the festival will take place this year at all, at least not with an audience. California Governor Gavin Newsom

The Guild of Music Supervisors has unveiled its summer panel series lineup featuring many of the top musical tastemakers and composers working across television and streaming platforms today. The first panel kicks off with music supervisors from HBO’s lineup: Kier Lehman from “Insecure,” Jen Malone from “Euphoria,” Liza Richardson from “Watchmen” and Blake Leyh from

Lady Gaga’s latest album “Chromatica” features multiple co-writers plucked from the world of electronic music — among them Skrillex, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Madeon, Boys Noize and Burns — but a little-known Frenchman, Tchami, has emerged as a key part of the No. 1 album’s early success. Tchami (born Martin Joseph Léonard Bresso) not only co-wrote