Music

If something about this weekend’s 66th annual Grammys look familiar to you, credit Jon Batiste and his armful of nominations. Same goes for March 10’s Oscars ceremony. In the run-up to the 2024 Grammys, the New Orleans native has again bolstered his Technicolor brand of R&B jazz fusion with gospel, hip-hop, dancehall and beyond for

It’s the eve of the long-awaited release of the Last Dinner Party’s debut album, but lead singer Abigail Morris is thinking about the Brixton-born band’s first single, “Nothing Matters.” Released in April of last year, the anthemic tune — complete with Kate Bush-esque vocals, an earworm hook and a killer guitar solo — is on

If her near-lifelong career is any indication, Coco Jones has put in the work. As a kid, the Tennessee native sang Whitney Houston covers at Nashville talent shows before rising as a Disney star in the 2012 film “Let It Shine.” After parting ways with Disney’s record label, the now 26-year-old regrouped, releasing music independently

Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist renowned for his reporting on dark corners of the music industry, died in January at age 71. No exact date or cause of death has been given by the family. As one of the Los Angeles Times‘ most prominent entertainment journalists in the 1990s and 2000s, Philips shared

Universal Music CEO Lucian Grainge issued a letter to UMG employees on Thursday to announce a restructuring of its current operating model. In the memo obtained by Variety, Grainge writes the move marks “the start of the next powerful wave of [UMG’s] commercial and creative growth and success,” under which Interscope Geffen A&M’s John Janick and Republic’s Monte Lipman will

Bruce Springsteen‘s official Instagram announced on Thursday that his mother Adele Ann Springsteen died Wednesday. The rocker paid tribute to his mother by quoting lyrics from his song “The Wish,” which describes his younger years. “I remember in the morning mom hearing your alarm clock ring. I’d lie in bed and listen to you getting

Now in his fourth year as executive producer of the Grammy Awards, it would seem like Ben Winston’s job would get easier: After all, his first two years in the job were 2021 — i.e. the extremely complex,first-ever socially distanced Grammys — and the slightly less restricted 2022 awards, which had to be moved to

Every year, there are Grammy parties with jaw-dropping collections of stars that most mortals don’t get to attend. Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy gala is the gold standard, and artists from Frank Sinatra to Prince to Adele have probably thrown stellar private bashes over the years. But Daft Punk’s epic 2014 post-Grammy fete at the ornate, 1924-vintage

January in the British music industry is all about new artists, particularly the publication of two influential tips lists: the BRITs rising star award and the BBC Radio 1 Sound Of 2024 poll.  Voted for by key industry tastemakers, the awards have a habit of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies, with previous joint winners including a pre-fame

Travis Scott brought out Kanye West to play a slew of hits, including “Runaway” and “All of the Lights,” at the Orlando stop on his Circus Maximus tour. The controversial rapper’s appearances as of late have mainly centered around “Vultures,” his upcoming collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign. And though he did play the project’s

Tracy Chapman, who has not performed in public in years, will return into the spotlight to perform a duet of “Fast Car” with Luke Combs at the Grammys on Sunday night, sources tell Variety. Combs, who had a massive hit with his cover version of “Fast Car” last year, was already announced as a performer

“If you’re here, you already ‘get it,’” SiriusXM host Jenny Eliscu declared at the Resonator Awards, held Tuesday to honor six trailblazing women — recording artists Alanis Morissette, Caroline Polachek, and Corinne Bailey Rae, and behind-the-scenes innovators Catherine Marks, Laura Sisk, and Jennifer Decilveo — for their work as producers, engineers and mixers. The inaugural

Showtime has been hit with a lawsuit over “George & Tammy” by the estate of country star Tammy Wynette‘s fifth and last husband, George Richey. His heirs contend that the critically acclaimed miniseries disparaged Richey as the “villain” of the tortured love story between Wynette and George Jones, in violation of a previous non-disparagement agreement

Ten days before her 55th birthday, Kylie Minogue released “Padam Padam,” the first single from her 16th album, “Tension.” Since last May, the tune has become ubiquitous on social media, emerging as a worldwide anthem for the LGBTQ community and qualifying as the singer’s biggest hit of the streaming era. Named for the sound made

Shakedown Street, meet the Sphere. A year after announcing their final tour, Dead & Company will reunite at Las Vegas’ hottest, roundest new venue. Information is scant, but the Grateful Dead offshoot band featuring John Mayer posted a video to social media that reads, “In 2023, Dead & Company played their final tour. But there

Presumably, most people don’t do anything four times voluntarily unless they enjoy it, and Trevor Noah confirms that he does, indeed, enjoy hosting the Grammys. Considering that his first year was the show’s imaginatively socially distanced 2021 Covid edition — 2021 was held as a small yet star-studded outdoor gathering — and the following one was

Three years ago, Victoria Monét lay on a delivery table in a Los Angeles maternity ward, phone in hand, strategizing with her team about her latest single “F.U.C.K.” Wracked by sporadic contractions, the R&B singer-songwriter had been in labor for two days preparing for the arrival of her first child, Hazel, when doctors ordered an

Adele is headed to Munich, Germany after wrapping her critically acclaimed Las Vegas residency this summer. The pop star will perform on Aug. 2, 3, 9 and 10 at Munich Messe in “an open-air environment that has been exclusively created for these special shows,” according to a press release. “The bespoke arena will feature a

Melinda Wilson, whose love story with husband Brian Wilson was portrayed in the biopic “Love and Mercy,” and who is widely credited with helping bring the Beach Boys‘ founder back from psychological ruin, died Tuesday morning at age 77. No cause of death was immediately given. The death was announced on Brian Wilson’s Instagram page,

More than 20 years after the song was first released and following a recent surge in popularity — thanks almost entirely to Barry Keoghan‘s naked dance scene in “Saltburn” — Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s “Murder on the Dancefloor” is getting a major moment at the BAFTAs. The British Academy has announced that Ellis-Bextor will perform her smash hit at

Andre 3000 knows a thing or two about breaking molds: Over the course of his career, the man also known as half of the pioneering hip-hop duo OutKast has been known for furry Hammer pants, scoring a global hit single (“Hey Ya!”) by singing instead of rapping, and following that song and Grammy-winning album’s success

Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has signed Coco Jones to an exclusive publishing agreement. The R&B artist is up for five Grammy awards, including best new artist, at the upcoming 66th Annual Awards after receiving widespread acclaim for her EP, “What I Didn’t Tell You.” Born in South Carolina and raised in Tennessee, Jones started her

Joni Mitchell has announced her “Joni Jam” concert to take place at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on October 19. The performance, featuring frequent collaborator Brandi Carlile, marks the singer-songwriter’s first official performance in L.A. since 2000. It comes on the heels of news that the 80-year-old will have another first: a performance at this Sunday’s

Victoria Monét has partnered with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) to launch the BMAC x Victoria Monét Music Maker Grant. The grant, which will be officially announced at BMAC’s Grammy Week Music Maker Dinner on January 31, will reward Black emerging artists with $5,000 to boost economic empowerment. In addition to the monetary grant,

BMG is to part ways with Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd co-founder whose inflammatory comments about Israel, Ukraine and the United States have caused no shortage of controversy, Variety has learned. The German-based company signed a publishing agreement with the musician in 2016 and was scheduled to release a newly recorded version of Pink Floyd’s

The University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has crunched the numbers for 2023 to reveal its annual findings on inclusion and diversity in the recording studio. The results this year are strikingly more positive than what has been a consistent result of previous years: women producers and singer-songwriters are drastically underrepresented. Though gains are

Megan Thee Stallion is going on tour this summer. During an appearance on “Good Morning America,” the rapper confirmed that she’ll be hitting the road soon in support of her forthcoming third album. “Oh, we’re having the tour this year. The Hot Girl Summer tour is going to be 2024, summertime,” she said. “I feel

Elton John and Bernie Taupin will jointly accept this year’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the Library of Congress announced Tuesday. A tribute concert celebrating their songwriting will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 20 and broadcast on PBS stations April 8. No lineup has yet been announced for the tribute, which will be

Jack Harlow‘s “Lovin on Me” reigns for another week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 songs chart. “Lovin on Me,” a song that samples Delbert “Dale” Greer’s “Whatever,” marks a fourth non-consecutive week at No. 1 since the lone single climbed to the summit on the Jan. 8-dated list. The song debuted at No.

A new U.K. parliamentary report has found that the music industry remains a “boys’ club” with female artists facing a litany of challenges including discrimination and sexual harassment. Areas of the music industry that are particularly male-dominated include A&R, sound engineering and production. The report also looked at racism in the industry as well as