December 18, 2019 10:06AM PT The new musical drama, from “Smash” executive producer Joshua Safran, is a well-meaning series of missed opportunities. Netflix’s new musical drama “Soundtrack,” from “Smash” executive producer Joshua Safran, is a deeply frustrating entry to the genre. Originally pitched as “Mixtape” for broadcast network TV, “Soundtrack” uses a vague framework of
Music
December 18, 2019 9:21AM PT To celebrate her 18th birthday today, Billie Eilish posted an adorable video that combines footage of her as a child with clips of her and brother Finneas (presumably filmed by her mom, Maggie) performing in arenas on their recently wrapped tour. The clip opens with Eilish at around 4 years
It’s hard to imagine that R. Kelly would be in jail today without “Surviving R. Kelly,” the Lifetime docuseries that aired just under a year ago and threw decades of sexual-assault and misconduct allegations against the singer into dramatic relief. Just six weeks after the series aired, the singer was arrested on a new set
Sean “Diddy” Combs (a.k.a. Puff Daddy) will be the 2020 Grammy Salute To Industry Icons honoree in recognition of his 25-year career and “continuous influence on the music industry and beyond,” the Recording Academy announced today. The three-time Grammy winner will be celebrated at Clive Davis’ annual Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, the night before the
Spoiler Warning: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the second part of “The Voice’s” Season 17 finale on NBC. “The Voice” Season 17 crowned its winner on Tuesday night’s part two of the season finale. Jake Hoot took home the series’ top prize, beating out fellow top four contestants Katie Kadan, Ricky
Taylor Swift fans have been waiting for the superstar to do “Carpool Karaoke” on “The Late Late Show With James Corden.” Ever since a tweet sent out by the CBS show’s Twitter account earlier this year sent Swift loyalists into a tizzy, there has been speculation on if — or when — the carpool collaboration
“If Only,” the song Andrea Bocelli recorded with Dua Lipa for his 2018 album “Si,” sat untouched in Filippo Sugar’s drawer for eight years. Sugar, whose family-owned Sugar Records has a deal with Universal Music Group via Decca U.K. to handle Bocelli’s recordings, was sure the song would work for the Italian tenor. They just
The country duo Sugarland has signed a new contract with Big Machine Records, marking the first time the act has been signed exclusively to the label. In 2018, after years spent apart on solo projects, the reunited twosome released a comeback album, “Bigger,” in a joint venture between Big Machine and Sugarland’s previous label, Universal
Of all the plaudits Linda Ronstadt expected to receive when she was bestowed with kudos at the Kennedy Center Honors, “Rollerskate Hooker” was probably not among them. Yet that was one of the captions in a Ronstadt photo montage when CBS broadcast an hour of highlights from the annual Washington, D.C. ceremony Monday night. The
December 17, 2019 7:51AM PT It’s good news and bad news for Van Halen fans. David Lee Roth has been announced as the opening act for the apparent final months of KISS’ farewell tour, with dates from February through October of 2020. That puts a nail in the coffin of whatever dim hopes fans might
It’s impossible to predict the future. If studio executives, filmmakers, musicians and showrunners knew what trends were about to take hold, they’d have gone into streaming two decades ago, bought Marvel before Disney did and invested in Spotify when it was a struggling Swedish startup. Alas. But that’s not stopping the bright minds in our
Dick Clark Productions and ABC today announced that Post Malone will join America’s most-watched New Year’s Eve special, “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020,” with a headlining performance live from New York City’s Times Square, just minutes before the ball drops. Making his Times Square debut, Post Malone will be joined
Warner Music UK today announced that Briony Turner and Ed Howard have been promoted to Co-Presidents of Atlantic Records UK, effective January 1. Turner, who joined Atlantic in 2009, is upped from Co-Head of A&R for the label, while Howard is currently MD of Asylum Records UK, the Atlantic UK imprint that he joined upon its
Pink has been named Pollstar’s 2019 Artist of the Year after reaching No. 1 on the media platform’s Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tour chart. Her “Beautiful Trauma tour” raked in $215.2 million, more than Elton John and Ed Sheeran, and drew more than 1.8 million fans to 68 performances. Statistics also revealed an average
Although most pop fans probably assume it reached the milestone years or decades ago, Mariah Carey’s holiday staple “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the No. 1 song in the country by official acclimation for the first time in its 25-year history, topping both the Rolling Stone songs chart and the Billboard Hot
December 16, 2019 12:14PM PT Maluma has extended his worldwide administration deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the company announced today. The Colombian artist is among the most popular Latin acts and is up for a best Latin pop album category at the 2020 Grammys for the album “11:11.” He won a Latin Grammy for best
West coast rapper Roddy Ricch barely made a blip on the charts when his debut mixtape came out last year, but he didn’t have to worry about being overlooked with his proper solo bow, “Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial.” It debuted at No. 1 on the Rolling Stone albums chart with 101,500 album units,
Foo Fighters, Alice Cooper, H.E.R., John Legend, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., the Jonas Brothers, Emily King and Yola will perform in homage to Aerosmith at the 2020 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute concert on Jan. 24. Greg Phillinganes will be the musical director, with additional guest performers to be announced. Aerosmith is being
December 16, 2019 6:55AM PT Independent label and distribution powerhouse EMPIRE, home to Young Dolph, Iggy Azalea and Too $hort, among others, has promoted Eamon Mulligan to VP of product and e-commerce; Moody Jones to VP of digital and creative; Kush Arora to director of operations; and Harrison Golding to director of marketing and creative.
December 16, 2019 6:44AM PT Chance the Rapper announced on Sunday that he has cancelled his arena tour in support of his most recent album, “Big Day.” He had postponed it just five days before it was scheduled to start in September; the tour had been rescheduled to launch in San Diego on Jan. 15. “Hey
Late last month, James Blake scored his first solo Grammy nomination in six years — so how better to celebrate than a solo piano tour, with comedians as the opening act? It’s actually a fittingly unpredictable move for an unpredictable musician. An accomplished singer, songwriter and pianist, he made his name early this decade with
When Taylor Swift announced that a mere four stadium shows in two cities in California and Massachusetts would be the only official U.S. dates on her “Lover” tour next summer, the emphasis at the time was on the American. Additional dates have been scheduled for overseas festivals and stadiums, and speculation that she would be
Taylor Swift celebrated her 30th birthday with over 20,000 of her closest friends onstage at Madison Square Garden for iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball, hosted by New York City’s Z100. Swift took a moment to thank fans for coming to her party. “I had a choice,” she said. “Where would I want to spend my 30th
Harry Styles strutted, sashayed and transfixed the crowd at the Forum on Friday night (Dec. 13) for his combination record release party and one-night-only superfan affair. “Fine Line,” as his album is titled and the engagement touted on the outside of the venue, featured the live debuts of nine new songs including standout stunners “Golden,”
Ten years before “Señorita,” another famous twosome recorded a romantic duet together: Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson, who joined forces on “Relator.” It was the first single from an entire album of collaborations, 2009’s “Break Up,” which was inspired by the songs of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot, but fans hardly ever got to hear
Last week, Senator Thom Tillis and four other members of Congress sent a letter to an organization you may never have heard of, the American Law Institute (ALI). The letter questions the ALI’s ongoing project to publish a competing version of the Copyright Act – or, as the ALI calls it, a “Restatement” of copyright
Tom Petty’s widow and daughters from a previous marriage have settled their bitter legal battle, according to a report in Rolling Stone. Earlier this year, Adria Petty and Annakim Violette, the late singer’s daughters with his former wife Jane, sued his second wife, Dana York, for $5 million, alleging that she had deprived them of
Desiree Perez has been elevated to CEO of Roc Nation after serving at chief operating officer since 2009. Along with Jay-Z, Perez is a co-founder of Roc Nation. In her new position, Perez is tasked with overseeing all 14 Roc Nation verticals, which includes music management, publishing, sports agency among a slew of diversified businesses,
What stands out about Theodore Shapiro’s score for “Bombshell” is that the music isn’t frantic despite being set in a fast-paced environment — Roger Ailes’ newsroom at Fox News. Instead, the score straddles two worlds: that of Ailes and that of the women who worked for him. “[Director] Jay [Roach] and I talked about finding
In a move that inspired and environmentally conscious companies will hopefully emulate, as a holiday gift to its employees, Warner Music Group is partnering with the One Tree Planted organization to plant trees in the fire-ravaged Amazon forest. The company is planting 10 trees in the Amazon for each employee — a total of 48,210