Music

After selling more than 1 million units worldwide with his album “Si,” operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli is back with an extended special edition which will feature new duets with Grammy-nominated British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Jennifer Garner. It is Garner’s first recorded duet. The track she sings with Bocelli, “Dormi Dormi

Here comes the scion. Giles Martin, the son of original Beatles producer George Martin, has again worked his audiophiliac and curatorial magic on “Abbey Road: Anniversary Edition,” his third 50th anniversary Beatles project in a row, following “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band” two years ago and the White Album in 2019. If anything, “Abbey Road” is

Billie Eilish, Metallica, Lizzo, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, Janelle Monáe, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys and many others will perform in a 10-hour, globally broadcast, multi-location concert on Sept. 26, 2020, as part of a year-long initiative titled, “Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream.” Created in partnership with advisory firm Teneo, the globally broadcasted event will span

Elton John opens up to the BBC in a new TV special, “Elton John: Uncensored,” about his childhood, stardom and battles with addiction. BBC Studios, the commercial and production arm of the British pubcaster, has the exclusive distribution rights and will bring the TV special to the international market. In a separate BBC radio show,

Oscar-nominated performer Andrea Bocelli will receive Variety’s inaugural Intl. Achievement in Music award in December. Throughout the course of his career spanning almost three decades, Bocelli has sold in excess of 90 million albums and achieved new levels of crossover success with his 15 recorded pop and classical albums, three greatest hits albums, and nine

September 26, 2019 1:44PM PT Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings has partnered with independent marketing company, record label and publisher, 740 Project. Based in Los Angeles, 740 was founded by partners Jesse “Punch” Edwards, Rahim Wright and Charley Greenberg and amassed an impressive client roster that includes Migos, Lil Baby, H.E.R., Trippie Redd, Lil Uzi Vert,

It’s a pretty great time to be Jennifer Lopez. Fresh off her much buzzed performance in the movie “Hustlers,” the multi-talented performer has announced she will be hosting the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show alongside Shakira. The duo follow in the recent footsteps of Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Lady

To say that Tuesday’s announcement of the Latin Grammy nominations got a strong reaction from artists, producers and industry insiders is a major understatement: The Latin Recording Academy found itself under a hailstorm of criticism for what many considered a snubbing of the urban Latin music genre. Within hours, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Natti Natasha,

September 26, 2019 9:29AM PT Today X Games has announced the musical lineup for X Games Aspen 2020, the sports, music and festival taking place at Buttermilk Mountain in Colorado, January 23-26. The 2020 event teams up some of the world’s best athletes alongside urban and electronic musical talent: hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, R&B singer

A 50th-anniversary deluxe edition of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” provides occasion to circle back through our pop-culture past and ask some deep philosophical questions. For example: Is it possible for an album that has “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” on it to be the greatest of all time? John Lennon, were he here today, might say no.

Ken Burns’ “Jazz” had a huge impact on jazz catalog sales — the tail of which is still being felt, 18 years later — so it’s no surprise that his “Country Music” series would instigate some kind of stampede back to classic country. Still, there’s room to be additionally impressed at just how thoroughly decades-old

Staci Griesbach is walking the line between country and jazz. Over the last two months, the publicist-turned-vocalist has headlined shows at top jazz clubs in Los Angeles and Nashville, released an album of Patsy Cline classics, performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and saw Rolling Stone magazine call her first single “gorgeous.” A

September 26, 2019 7:42AM PT For a woman who was ready to retire for all of 24 hours back in September, Nicki Minja is showing no signs of slowing down, as 2019 may be her busiest year yet. Her newest single, “Fendi,” dropped a new song this morning with guests Philly rapper PnB Rock and

September 26, 2019 7:23AM PT Alamo Records, the new label founded by former 300, Warner Music and Def Jam exec Todd Moscowitz, today announced the appointment of Tiara Hargrave to the position of Executive Vice President/General Manager at the label. According to the announcement, Hargrave, who joins from Columbia Records, will be responsible for overseeing

Renée Zellweger can’t believe how destitute Judy Garland became toward the end of her life. “I was very surprised and found this shocking that someone who had worked since she was 2 years old, on that level, could find herself in financial dire straits at that stage in her career,” says Zellweger. The Oscar-winner portrays

Kanye West and his music publisher, EMI, have ended their legal dispute, according to court documents, with the parties settling for an undisclosed amount. The news was first reported by The Blast. The documents read in part, “PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that Plaintiffs Please Gimme My Publishing, Inc., West Brands, LLC, Kanye West, and Ye World

September 26, 2019 6:11AM PT After waiting four years to drop his “Western Stars” album, Bruce Springsteen has tripled down: After releasing the album earlier this year, he’s released a film about it and, on Oct. 25, a soundtrack to that film. Columbia Records will release “Western Stars – Songs From The Film,” featuring each

YMU Group, the management firm borne out of private equity firm Trilantic’s acquisition of the James Grant Group, has shuffled its management pack, creating a U.K. CEO position, and naming a new entertainment MD, and head of drama. YMU upped Mary Bekhait to a newly created U.K. CEO role last week that spans sport, music,

“If people in the touring business had been alive 200 years ago, they probably would have been pirates,” says Baz Halpin, who’s responsible for much of what you’ve seen in some of the most spectacular concert outings in recent years, including the past several Taylor Swift and Pink tours. He’s speaking of a maraud-and-run business

In today’s TV news roundup, Freeform ordered “Last Summer” to pilot and PBS announced five new members of its board of directors. DATES “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” will return to Bravo for its 10th season on Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Josephs, Dolores Catania, Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Aydin return as cast members. Danielle Staub

September 25, 2019 3:24PM PT Just days after they ended their brief vacation, BTS is back at it. Early Wednesday morning, the Korean pop group’s management company — Big Hit Entertainment — simply tweeted: “#BTS TikTok Channel Open!” That was all it took for ARMY (BTS’ loyal fans) to follow suit. Some fans, like @taerouge,

King Crimson cofounder and guitarist Robert Fripp is in a dispute with David Bowie’s estate over what he feels is improper credit for his work on the late singer’s albums “Heroes” and “Scary Monsters,” according to a series of posts on his Facebook page. At issue is the designation of “Featured Player,” a term used

BMI announced Wednesday that the performing right organization’s most visible executive in the Hollywood community, Doreen Ringer-Ross, has been elevated to a newly created position, vice president of creative relations, reflecting further programs and events she’s expected to spearhead as she continues to be the top liaison with film and TV composers. Her former job

As if Kanye West’s album releases weren’t already confusing enough, it now appears that contrary to a previous announcement, his next album, “Jesus Is King,” is not being released this Friday, a source close to the situation tells Variety. But according to West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, maybe it is? Kardashian, who has been intermittently counting down

A new trailer for Netflix’s “Rhythm + Flow,” the streamer’s first music competition series, shows judges Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and Tip “T.I.” Harris scouring for undiscovered talent in major cities Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Chicago.  The 10-episode series, which will be released over a period of three weeks — The Auditions

September 25, 2019 8:54AM PT A man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of rapper Mac Miller, who died of an overdose of fentanyl, alcohol and cocaine in September of last year, police in Lake Havasu City, Arizona said, according to the Arizona Republic. Police said they searched the home of Ryan Reavis,

IFPI, an organization that represents the music industry around the world, has released its annual report on global music consumption, and while it includes some encouraging figures about the increased adoption of legal streaming, there are alarming numbers about the everyday acceptance of piracy. According to the study, 34% of all 16-to-24-year-old music listeners surveyed

As Slayer prepares for the final stretch of their farewell tour, the group has dropped a video for “Repentless” in advance of their forthcoming two-part live film and album, “Slayer: The Relentless Killogy,” due on Nov. 8. The clip comes from the “Live at the Forum in Inglewood, CA” segment of the film (recorded on

Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner announced today that he will retire as chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation on January 1. Current Rock Hall board member John Sykes will take over as chairman, while Wenner will remain on the board of directors. Wenner was one of the founding members of the

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshineAnd my tunes were played on the harp unstrungWould you hear my voice come through the music?Would you hold it near, as it were your own?— “Ripple,” Robert Hunter However free-floating and loose the Grateful Dead’s music could get — and even the most devoted Deadheads