July 6, 2019 4:22PM PT Legendary R&B singer Stevie Wonder is taking a break from touring to undergo a kidney transplant. Wonder shared the news Saturday during his set at the British Summer Time Hyde Park music festival in England, explaining that he would still be performing in three more shows before undergoing the procedure
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July 6, 2019 3:06PM PT João Gilberto, a Brazilian musician best known for his pioneering work within the Bossa Nova genre, died Saturday, his son confirmed on Facebook. He was 88. “My father has passed. His fight was noble, he tried to maintain dignity in light of losing his sovereignty,” his son Marcelo Gilberto wrote.
July 6, 2019 11:43AM PT A number of stars were left unsettled by Friday night’s 7.1 earthquake, the second in two days in the Los Angeles area. “That earthquake was intense,” wrote Nicki Minaj, one of several music artists who commented on the seismic event. She was also joined by a number of film and
The Bird and the Bee are hot for Van Halen and all heated up for Beck, too, in “Hot for Teacher,” one of the key tracks off their upcoming tribute album to Dave, Eddie and company. Variety has the premiere of the indie-pop duo’s cover of the incendiary ‘80s rock classic, which precedes the August
Ed Sheeran dropped two new songs from his forthcoming “No. 6 Collaborations” album: “Blow,” with Bruno Mars and Chris Stapleton, and “Best Part of Me” with Yebba, who is heavily featured on Mark Ronson’s new album. Sheeran’s album drops on July 12. The surprisingly metallic “Blow” is produced by Mars, while the acoustic ballad “Best
The 40th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, which comes to a close this weekend, marks the last time festival founders André Ménard and Alain Simard curate the 11-day showcase of top-notch jazz players along with hundreds of artists playing all styles of music in a variety of settings. The 2019 edition
July 5, 2019 6:16AM PT A$AP Rocky will be detained in Sweden for an extra two weeks after he was arrested Tuesday following an altercation with fans in Stockholm, according to the BBC and the New York Times. The court ruled on Friday that is a flight risk and must to be confined to a
July 5, 2019 5:11AM PT Lil Nas X spoke about the backlash to coming out as gay in a BBC interview, Friday. The “Old Town Road” rapper had hinted about his sexuality earlier in the week in series of Tweets highlighting his lyrics and the artwork on releases of his songs. “I kinda revealed it,”
July 5, 2019 12:04AM PT Forza Music, the Slovakian entertainment company founded in 1994 that’s home to music from the region released over four decades going back to the 1960s, has been acquired by Warner Music Group. The deal also encompasses the catalog of OPUS, Slovakia’s former state-run record company and the second biggest label
Dylan Jones spent more than 20 years working in the music industry, specializing in public relations for MTV in his native England then moving on to Music Choice and EMI, where he led corporate communications for the recorded arm through its 2011 sale to Universal Music Group. Jones went solo soon after and currently holds
Patti LaBelle received one of the highest honors a music star can get: a street bearing her name. On July 2, Patti Labelle Way made its debut in Philadelphia as the block of Broad Street between Spruce and Locust Streets. The ceremony was officiated by Jim Kenney, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, Michael DelBene, president and
July 3, 2019 12:46PM PT Polo G is having a very good 2019. Just one month ago, the Chicago native unleashed his highly-anticipated debut album “Die A Legend,” which boasts standout singles “Finer Things” and “Pop Out” featuring Lil Tjay — the latter of which recently achieved platinum status, certifying more than 1 million units.
In the wake of Sunday’s blockbuster announcement that Scooter Braun has acquired Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Label Group — and with it the rights to Taylor Swift’s first six albums — most reports have noted that Swift could have purchased the rights to her music and/or the label itself. While that is true, the playing
July 3, 2019 7:18AM PT Rapper A$AP Rocky was arrested in Sweden late Tuesday night under suspicion of aggravated assault in the wake of an incident with fans that took place on Sunday, according to CBS News. A Swedish Prosecution Office spokesman told the outlet that the rapper (real name: Rakim Myers) was arrested for
July 3, 2019 4:01AM PT The Spice Girls’ Geri Horner and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall will be guest judges on the upcoming U.K. version of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for the BBC. The pop pair will join “Game of Thrones” star Maisie Williams who has already been announced as a guest judge. Mama Ru, Michelle Visage,
Composer-arranger Sid Ramin, a longtime associate of Leonard Bernstein who won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Grammy for his work in film, TV and theater, died of natural causes Monday (July 1) at his home in New York City. He was 100. Ramin won a 1961 Academy Award for adapting the music of “West
Louis Tomlinson took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he never approved the animated sex scene between him and fellow One Direction star Harry Styles portrayed in “Euphoria.” In the HBO drama’s most recent episode, which aired last Sunday, the character Kat Hernandez writes a fan-fiction about the boyband members, titled “Larry Stylinson,” which
Q&A, the music and tech company launched in April by former Lady Gaga manager and Spotify executive Troy Carter and his longtime associate J Erving, officially announced today that it has struck a partnership with Warner Music. The announcement follows a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in May; the news was first reported by Music
Friends At Work, the management firm founded by Ty Stiklorius in 2015, has in less than four years become a major powerhouse in entertainment, extending its reach beyond music to television, film and all manner of visual content. Its client roster includes John Legend, whom Stiklorius has represented for more than a decade, Lindsey Stirling,
UPDATED: One thing is clear from both the lead-up and the aftermath of the firestorm that has followed Scooter Braun’s acquisition of Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records and Taylor Swift’s back catalog: None of those people do anything without a motive — and usually several motives. Several agendas were revealed in the wake of Sunday
July 2, 2019 10:43AM PT Said the Panic at the Disco singer: “It’s a sh—show to learn how awful people can be just for a profit.” In the ongoing public feud between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun, Panic! at the Disco front man Brendon Urie is showing his support for the “Me!” singer. Urie said
It’s not quite a return to the ultra-NSFW Miley of 2015, but the video she dropped this morning for “Mother’s Daughter” — the latest track from her EP “She Is Coming” — is plenty NSFW anyway. The Alexandre Moors-directed clip, which costars a wide range of performers of varying genders, features Cyrus in a bright
Kehlani has had a standout 2019, spawning both the critically acclaimed mixtape “While We Wait,” and a beautiful babygirl, Adeya. Both follow an almost-as-standout 2018, which saw the Bay Area singer-songwriter featured on Cardi B’s “Ring,” a single from the rapper’s multiplatinum debut album “Invasion Of Privacy.” The song’s official music video has racked up
As if it weren’t enough that Mustard — formerly DJ Mustard, one of hip-hop’s hottest hitmakers and owner of the 10 Summers label — dropped the hit of the spring season with “100 Bands,” featuring Quavo, 21 Savage, YG and Meek Mill, he had to go and follow it up with Friday’s release of “Perfect
July 1, 2019 2:55PM PT Six weeks ahead of a new Sleater-Kinney album release, drummer Janet Weiss has exited the band. In a post on social media captioned “Big changes,” Weiss wrote, “after intense deliberation and with heavy sadness, I have decided to leave Sleater-Kinney. … it is time for me to move on.” Signed to
The tempest in a tea cup that took over the news cycle on Sunday continues into the holiday week, as Taylor Swift supporters like Haim and Allesia Cara add their name to the social media squad, while Scooter Braun defenders include clients Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber. Braun’s SB Projects is home to such artists
A new Leon Bridges song will premiere in the final episode of Season 2 of HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and be featured on the second soundtrack for the series. “He had great timing,” says music supervisor Simon Astall. “We got this demo for a song that’s going to be on his next album and it
“MY FIRST TIME IN ANOTHER COUNTRY!!! INSANE,” tweeted Lil Nas X on June 30 along with a video of him stealing the spotlight from both Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival. But as far as impressive firsts go — like re-writing the hip-hop rulebook with his twang-trap sound, or rocking Europe’s
July 1, 2019 9:01AM PT Broadway audiences will soon be singing along with “Cracklin’ Rosie” and “Sweet Caroline,” at least if the producers of a new musical about Neil Diamond get their way. Producers Ken Davenport and Bob Gaudio announced that they are eyeing a run on the Great White Way for the stage show.
The masses assembled for Billie Eilish’s Glastonbury debut defied categorization. There were teens as well as kids as young as eight years-old. You saw babies strapped into Ergo carriers and Grandparents well into their seventies. One thing they did have in common? All looked collectively enraptured by Eilish’s inaugural performance at the massive U.K. festival.