Music

December 1, 2019 1:50PM PT [embedded content] The Pussycat Dolls reunited for their first live performance in a decade on Saturday, performing a medley of their songs on U.K.’s “The X Factor: Celebrity Final.” The popular girl group, comprised of Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Carmit Bachar, and Kimberly Wyatt, played new single “React”

December 1, 2019 9:44AM PT Irving Burgie, a singer and songwriter who wrote many calypso hits for Harry Belafonte and others, including the 1956 hit “Day-O” (“The Banana Boat Song”), died on Friday, according to the New York Times and multiple news outlets. He was 95. His death was announced on Saturday by Prime Minister Mia

As radio stations everywhere turn to an all-Christmas format, what song would listeners most like to jingle all the way to oblivion? That question remains unsettled in America, but over in the UK, a poll has singled out Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” as the most annoying holiday song ever. The

Kid Rock may not just have a thinking problem, based on footage obtained by TMZ of a sexually explicit tirade the singer went into against several female talk shows hosts on stage at his own Nashville bar this week, in a state the website described as “clearly intoxicated.” The video posted by TMZ ends with

November 29, 2019 8:55AM PT The march to Grimes’ first album in more than four years continues with a lush and haunting new song called “My Name Is Dark.” The track, the fourth she’s released in the past few months, is from her forthcoming full-length “Miss Anthropocene.” The song was written, produced, performed, and engineered

Korean pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon were handed prison terms Friday for raping women on two separate occasions in 2016. Both cases emerged from the so-called Burning Sun scandal that was uncovered earlier this year. Singer-songwriter Jung was given a six-year sentence for drugging a woman and raping her while she was unconscious.

November 29, 2019 7:10AM PT Just three days after he dropped his new single “Heartless,” The Weeknd followed with another early Friday morning. This one’s called “Blinding Lights” and it follows in the early ‘80s vibe of its predecessor, with vintage gated-drum sounds and echo-drenched synthesizers, and is much more upbeat than the songs on

It almost seems wrong to call this semi-annual installment of Record Store Day the Black Friday edition, since so many of the 182 official releases are on colored vinyl or picture disc, it’s really more like Blue, Pink, Green, Purple and Yellow Friday. But if you try, really try, you might find some actual black

For years now, decades even, many music fans have had an intense interest in the childhood trauma of sisters Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne — along with expectation that we’d never really hear too much from them about it. Journalists and fans mostly kept their respectful distance from bringing up the unaddressed tragedy, and it

“Queen & Slim,” which hit theaters Nov. 27, begins with a bang, when Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya) shoot a police officer in self-defense and go on the run. Slim thinks his action will be justified in court, but Queen, a young prosecutor, knows better.  Directed by two-time Grammy winner Melina Matsoukas and

You may have a pretty clear idea of what a Judy Collins album titled “Winter Stories” would be. The clear-voiced Collins singing of comfort and warmth by the hearth of her long-time Colorado home. That sort of stuff. Or not. The opening, tone-setting song on “Winter Stories,” a collaboration with Norwegian singer Jonas Fjeld and the North

Madonna canceled her intimate “Madame X” tour dates in Boston on Wednesday, stating she was experiencing “overwhelming” pain and would not be able to perform at the Wang Theatre during her scheduled dates from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. “Please forgive this unexpected turn of events. Doing my show every night brings me so much

Singer-songwriter-producer Bazzi, who was honored at Variety’s Hitmakers event last year for hits including “Mine” and “Beautiful,” has signed with Brandon Silverstein’s S10 Entertainment for worldwide management. Bazzi’s longtime managers the Heavy Group will remain part of his management team, working in tandem with S10. The 22-year-old singer joins an S10 roster that also includes

At a time when stars have easy access to their own megaphones to reach fans, there’s a growing wariness in the celebrity industrial complex about engaging in old-school journalistic efforts such as the access magazine profile or get-to-know-you meetings with reporters. And that’s a huge mistake, in the eyes of Sean Cassidy, president of the

David Archuleta is getting into the holiday spirit with his new cover of ‘N Sync’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,” and the “American Idol” Season 7 runner-up is giving Variety a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video, with outtakes featuring his good cheer-spreading co-stars Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick. “It was a lot of

Following the dismissal of Fader editor in chief Eric Sundermann for sexual misconduct earlier this month, the company announced today that longtime publisher Andy Cohn will be stepping down from his post as well, according to an internal letter obtained by Variety. A rep for the company confirmed the document’s authenticity. While the company initially

Kelly Clarkson built her career by blending country, pop, R&B and rock influences into a soulful sound all her own. As it turns out, the singer-songwriter has a touch of Dinah Shore in her as well. Clarkson has delivered an impressive performance so far with her move into the daytime talk-show arena as host of “The

When it comes to Hollywood, there is a lot to give thanks for in 2019. From baby Yoda to Marvel and various aspects of “Succession,” here’s what the Variety staff is thankful for this year. When it seems so hard to get an honest answer out of anyone in Hollywood, I’m thankful for Werner Herzog and

November 27, 2019 7:50AM PT Jeff Vaughn, a vice president of A&R at Mike Caren’s APG (Artist Partner Group and Artist Publishing Group), is headed to a senior position at Capitol Records, multiple sources tell Variety. Promoted to the VP position in 2017, he was responsible for many of APG’s urban signings, developing such acts

November 26, 2019 9:26PM PT Following the new normal of teasing a new single with a cryptic social-media message, The Weeknd tonight dropped his a new single called “Heartless.” “The fall starts tomorrow night,” he wrote in an Instagram message Monday, alongside a blurry photo of himself wearing a pair thick-rimmed glasses. “Tomorrow night we start again.”

In an article published today under the rather alarmist headline “Beck fears most of his music has been destroyed,” the artist expressed concern that some of his early master recordings could have perished in a 2008 fire that tore through the archives of Universal Music Group, although he admitted that he is unaware whether any

In an article published today under the rather alarmist headline “Beck fears most of his music has been destroyed,” the artist expressed concern that some of his early master recordings could have perished in a 2008 fire that tore through the archives of Universal Music Group, although he admitted that he is unaware whether any

Robert F.X. Sillerman, the entertainment entrepreneur who helped shape the modern concert industry, has died at 71 due to a respiratory illness. Sillerman made his name in the music business by buying up a series of regional promoters, including Ron Delsener’s New York operation, San Francisco-based Bill Graham Presents and Florida’s Cellar Door Concerts, consolidating

Dolly Parton is celebrating a half-century of being an official Grand Ole Opry member with “Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry,” a two-hour special that airs tonight on NBC. But if you want to talk about how long she’s really been associated with the Opry, she’s not bashful about noting that you can actually tag

The Who’s Pete Townshend has never been terribly cautious with his public statements or sentimental about his departed bandmates — less than a year after drummer Keith Moon’s death in 1978, he spoke of how it “saved” the band, which had been marred by the legendary drummer’s unreliable playing as his health declined. But he

Veteran music manager and mogul Irving Azoff will sit down with his client Nicki Minaj for a keynote conversation at the Pollstar Live Conference, set to take place Feb. 4 to Feb. 6 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Azoff’s management roster includes the Eagles, Jon Bon Jovi, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer,

The United Nations will award Cyndi Lauper with the first High Note Global Prize award for her promotion of human rights and impacting work to prevent and end homelessness for LGBTQ youth, the organization announced today. On U.N. Human Rights Day — which is December 10 — the High Note Global Prize will be presented

In just over a year, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment has stealthily assembled a slate of nearly 20 documentary feature and TV series projects, with distribution partners such as Netflix, Showtime and Apple TV Plus in place. The prestigious lineup features filmmakers and producers including Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Berg, Morgan Neville

November 26, 2019 6:35AM PT Saro is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter whose music can loosely be described as alt-R&B. The new video for his song “Nothing Remains,” from his third EP “Die Alone,” was directed by Alex Cook and finds him as a sort of narrator while a young girl wanders around an empty house

“Committee” is a dirty word, or at least a subject for derisive humor, in most avenues of business. That’s proven true in the awards world, too, where much ire has been directed at the Grammys for using so-called blue-ribbon committees to select the final nominees in most of the 84 categories, including all the major