The Shed — New York City’s new, $475 million arts center “dedicated to commissioning, developing, and presenting original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences” — opens to the public today with the world premiere of “Soundtrack of America.” The five-night concert series, conceived and directed by Steve McQueen with a creative team led
Music
April 5, 2019 7:54AM PT The controversial hit, which was removed from Billboard’s country chart, now has a mainstream name lending his voice. Does that legitimize it for the genre? [embedded content] Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” has been a subject of controversy, in and out of the country music world, for whether it
Hearing a lonely American teen sing softly and sweetly about coming of age — barely out of high school, with his adolescent weed-booze-and romance fantasia freshly intact — is what made Khalid Robinson a crucial fire-starter of the new R&B movement. His rough voice and its melancholy ache were the vocal equivalent of a furrowed brow;
A posthumous album from artist/producer Avicii is coming in June, his family and producers announced in a New York Times feature today. The album, titled “Tim” — after the legal name of the singer, Tim Bergling, who died of an apparent suicide last year — is due out in June, and its first track, “S.O.S.,” arrives
With a new reality show, “Double Shot at Love with DJ Pauly D & Vinny,” about to premiere on MTV April 11, Pauly D is debuting his latest song, “Silver & Gold,” featuring James Kaye, in a Variety exclusive (watch the lyric video above). The track is a slow-burner with a summer-groove, slick beats and
“She used to be mine” — that’s how a lot of Sara Bareilles fans probably felt, losing her to the legit stage, at least as a recording and touring artist, for the better part of five years. With “Amidst the Chaos,” her first album of non-“Waitress” songs since 2013, she’s back, but not exactly as
The city of Chicago is preparing to sue “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett for $130,000 to recoup the costs of its hate crime investigation. Last week, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office dropped 16 counts against Smollett, who had been accused of faking a hate crime against himself. The decision caused an uproar in Chicago, with
April 4, 2019 1:27PM PT Prosecutors on Thursday filed charges of murder and attempted murder against Eric Holder, the man accused of killing South L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle. Holder is being held on $7 million bail, and is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon. The L.A. County District Attorney’s office charged
Let’s get something straight — singer Ian Hunter is 79 years old. That’s older than heart patient Mick Jagger, and older than Bob Dylan too. Not that you’d have noticed when Mott the Hoople ’74 took the stage at the Chicago Theater Wednesday night. Hunter, surrounded by his current Mott compatriots, stood tall and played
After winning Top Female Rap Artist last year, Cardi B leads the pack of nominations at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards with 21 nods. After the release of her debut album “Invasion of Privacy” a year ago, Cardi B’s nominations include Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Selling Song and Top Rap
Kathryn Burns spent four years choreographing the musical numbers on the CW comedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (and won an Emmy in 2016 for her efforts), but before the show signed off for good, she also had the opportunity to choreograph a live concert — variety-show style. Titled “Yes, It’s Really Us Singing: The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
In its first week, Billie Eilish’s debut full-length album is performing like a long-awaited release from a veteran superstar, according to initial sales and streaming numbers. A source indicates that Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” is likely to bow with a seven-day tally of 250,000 to 275,000 equivalent album units.
April 4, 2019 8:47AM PT Ozzy Osbourne will postpone all his 2019 tour dates as he recovers from an injury sustained while dealing with his recent bout of pneumonia, his rep announced today. The 70-year-old singer fell at his Los Angeles home, aggravating old injuries from a 2003 ATV accident that required surgery last month. He will
April 4, 2019 8:19AM PT Beyoncé is signing on as a “creative partner” with Adidas, she and the company announced Thursday, with plans to relaunch her three-year-old Ivy Park brand there as well as to work on coming up with new signature shoes and apparel for the company. “This is the partnership of a lifetime
If you haven’t been up for a trip to Las Vegas this past decade and a half, Celine Dion is coming back to you now. “So many people came to see us, and now we all think it’s time for us to go and see them,” the pop superstar said in a combination mini-concert and
Tom Petty’s widow is fighting a probate battle with his daughter, which could affect the release of compilations from the late singer-songwriter’s catalog. Dana York Petty filed a petition on Tuesday in probate court in Los Angeles, in which she alleges that Petty’s daughter Adria has attempted to seize control of the estate. Petty died
April 3, 2019 2:55PM PT Red Bull Music Academy and Red Bull Radio will both close after 21 years this fall, the company announced today. Both entities will cease operations by Oct. 31. The move does not affect the Red Bull Festival, which was formerly associated with the Academy but separated; the festival announced a robust
April 3, 2019 2:30PM PT Performance rights organization BMI has announced that Sting, Imagine Dragons and music publishing executive Martin Bandier will be honored at the 67th Annual BMI Pop Awards. After nearly 15 million radio plays, Sting’s and the Police’s signature hit “Every Breath You Take” will be celebrated as BMI’s most performed song
April 3, 2019 1:48PM PT Britney Spears has checked into a psychiatric facility after suffering from emotional distress, a source confirms to Variety. The 37 year-old singer was admitted over a week ago, as first reported by TMZ, and is expected to remain in treatment for a month. Spears has been troubled over the past
When Sony/ATV’s $2.3 billion takeover of EMI Music Publishing closed last fall, it was rumored that approximately $200 million in bonus compensation was divided between 10 to 12 top executives, with as much as 50% going to chairman/CEO Martin Bandier, who stepped down from his post last week. Music Business Worldwide today not only published
The grief and disbelief at the murder of Grammy-nominated Los Angeles rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle continues to take hold. Among the mourners is Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook, who put his feelings into action Tuesday night against the Lakers, recording only the second 20 point, 20 rebound, 20 assist game in NBA history,
Ramin Djawadi may not yet be a household name, but his music is surely among the best known of any television series of the past decade. He has scored all 67 episodes of “Game of Thrones” and is now putting the finishing touches on the final six, which begin airing April 14 on HBO. The German-Iranian
High Times Holding Corporation, which includes the long-running cannabis magazine of the same name, has appointed veteran media and live entertainment executive Kraig Fox President/CEO. Adam Levin, who has served as High Times CEO since its acquisition by High Times Holding Corp in 2017, will now serve as the company’s Executive Chairman. High Times is
A year ago, Abba fans received a totally unexpected surprise when the group announced that they had recorded two new songs for a “Virtual Abba” experience in collaboration with “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller. The project first announced in 2016, and was scheduled to premiere, via digital versions of band members, on NBC and ABC at
April 2, 2019 2:15PM PT Since 2007, Reservoir has been a sturdy, family-run, independent music publisher based in New York City representing clients and archives richly vintage (David Crosby, Billy Strayhorn) and coolly contemporary (Lil Jon, Sheryl Crow). Along with a current roster of writers and producers including 2 Chainz and Migos’ Offset, Reservoir holds the
Sheriff’s deputies have arrested Eric Holder, the 29-year-old suspect wanted in connection with the shooting death of Nipsey Hussle, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. Deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lakewood station got a call at 12:53 p.m. from a person who had seen someone matching Holder’s description, said Sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida.
Not exactly being the type of artist who’s all about the braggadocio, Kacey Musgraves surely didn’t title her most recent album “Golden Hour” to be some sort of self-fulfilling career prophecy. But there’s little doubt that she’s one of music’s 2019 golden girls, by virtue of her slow burn of a third studio album having
Gilles Peterson, DJ Playero and Peanut Butter Wolf are among the artists Selina has announced in the lineups for its annual Selina International Music Summits (SIMS), as it gears up to host multi-day events in Medellin, Colombia and Mexico City. Expanding on the success of 2018’s conference in Medellin, SIMS will introduce a second weekend
Travis Scott and Cardi B will headline Jay-Z’s eighth annual “Made in America” festival over Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia, Roc Nation announced today. They will be joined by Juice Wrld, James Blake, Kaskade, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Kodak Black, Bazzi, Jorja Smith, Blueface, Pink Sweat$, Jacob Banks, Kaytranada, Grace Carter, Kayzo, Tierra
Jussie Smollett walked out of a Chicago courtroom last week an innocent man. In exchange for a forfeited $10,000 bond, prosecutors dropped 16 charges alleging that the “Empire” actor had staged a fake hate crime and then lied to police about it. Smollett’s record will be expunged, and in the eyes of the justice system,