Filmmaker Tyler Perry is set to host a concert tribute to Aretha Franklin that will air as a special next year on CBS. “Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul” will be taped Jan. 13 at the Shrine Auditorium. Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys,
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The name Saul Levine might not ring a bell, but anyone who’s driven on the 405 between Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd. has undoubtedly seen the billboard for his KKGO Go Country 105 radio station, which sits atop the headquarters of Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, Inc. (named after the local peak where he built his
Madonna has a new public relations team. The singer has signed with Kelly Bush Novak of ID, whose clients include Serena Williams, Alfonso Cuarón, Ben Stiller, Pamela Adlon, Cynthia Erivo, Hannah Gadsby, Ellen Page, Janelle Monáe, and David Oyelowo, among many others. Bush Novak founded ID in 1993 and the company, which has offices in New York
December 22, 2018 1:29PM PT Rihanna has confirmed speculation that she will release a new album in 2019. “But when is the new album dropping Robyn?” an Instagram user asked on a promotional photo for a new shade of lipstick from Rihanna’s Fenty beauty line. “Can we have a release date for that?” “2019,” the
Along with Meek Mill — and, sources tell Variety, Jay-Z — the Reverend Al Sharpton has criticized Travis Scott for his still-unconfirmed decision to perform with Maroon 5 at the Super Bowl in February, saying that such a performance is effectively an endorsement of the NFL’s treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The
Warner/Chappell Music has landed Matthew Ramsey, frontman of the chart-topping country band Old Dominion, for a worldwide publishing deal. Last year, Ramsey was named ASCAP’s Artist-Songwriter of the Year at the org’s annual awards in Nashville. That reflects not just Old Dominion’s successful run of No. 1 country airplay singles — they’ve had five, starting
It’s surprising, considering his bona fides — not to mention the A-list guests on this album — that 21 Savage is not yet a household name. An East Atlanta rapper-producer with a laconically flat-lining baritone voice and a whispery liquidly flow, he’s spent the last three years since his 2015 mixtape “The Slaughter Tape,” dropping
When attorney Jackie Fuchs first appeared on “Jeopardy!” Dec. 14, viewers who recognized her from a past life had to wonder if the producers of the show were off their own game, as it were. Was it possible the trivia masters at “Jeopardy!” didn’t even know the night’s ace player was Jackie Fox, bass player
December 21, 2018 11:56AM PT [embedded content] It’s no secret that Cardi B worked as a stripper before rising to fame via VH1’s “Love & Hip-Hop: New York” and then her multiplatinum career as a rapper, and she shows off some of her moves in the new video for “Money,” which dropped on Friday. While
As 2018 draws to a close, on Friday Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge issued a letter to the company’s staff, thanking them for “a historic year.” Read the letter in full below. Dear Colleagues, It is with enormous pride that I can begin my end-of-year letter by reporting that UMG continues to
December 21, 2018 7:52AM PT On Friday morning Sam Smith released “Fire On Fire,” a song he co-wrote with producer/songwriter Steve Mac for the forthcoming adaptation of the classic Richard Adams’ novel, “Watership Down.” The song, which will serve as the theme to the animated mini-series, is a characteristically sweeping Smith ballad, recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra
UPDATED: Two Beyonce albums of old material briefly leaked onto Spotify and Apple Music late Thursday and were quickly removed, according to multiple news reports. Representatives for Beyoncé, her label Columbia, its parent company Sony Music, Apple Music and Spotify either declined comment or did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment. The two
“Pop/Stars,” the chart-topping single from a fictional band created inside the video game “League of Legends,” is coming to an unrelated rhythm game as a playable level. That bit of video game inception involving VR game “Beat Saber” is just the latest sign that Riot Games’ massively popular “League of Legends” game is housed in
Now that America has come together as one and finally settled that whole “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” thing (we did, didn’t we?), it’s time to spend the remaining days of the Christmas season resolving some other debates. Like, who made the best new holiday music of 2018? Okay, that one’s too easy: Clearly, by popular
December 20, 2018 5:15PM PT Kanye West was among those who attended the show, though he left before the encore, “Sicko Mode.” Travis Scott’s sold out show at the Forum on Wednesday night drew an A-list crowd that included Jay-Z and Beyonce, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Halsey and members of Migos. The two-hour show,
December 20, 2018 2:55PM PT Public Enemy cofounder Chuck D has joined the Universal Hip Hop Museum’s celebrity board as chairman, director Rocky Bucano and chairman of the board Kurtis Blow announced Thursday. “Chuck D is one of the most intelligent and well-respected MCs in the culture of hip-hop,” Blow said. “The credibility he brings to
December 20, 2018 1:50PM PT Watch the trio’s live recording of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono holiday classic. [embedded content] Vevo has released a special performance of Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson’s cover of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” featuring Sean Ono Lennon (watch the video above). The holiday classic was originally released by
Neil Young now wants you to keep on rockin’ in the paywall world after a year of offering a free beta version of his Neil Young Archives website while he ramped up the service. But for fans, it’ll be a small price to pay for unlimited access to the voluminous and still-growing library the celebrated
December 20, 2018 11:15AM PT Drake’s “God’s Plan” was the Top Song and Cardi B, Post Malone and Migos had the Top Albums in the RIAA’s Top-Certified Gold & Platinum list of 2018. “God’s Plan” was certified eight-times platinum. Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy,” Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys” and Migos’ “Culture II” were all
UPDATED: Maroon 5’s long search for a top-name artist to perform with them at the Super Bowl appears to be over: According to a report in TMZ, rapper Travis Scott will perform with the quintet at the big game in Atlanta on Feb. 3. Contacted by Variety, reps for Scott and his management declined to
Warner Music Group Corp. today announced that in 2018 its revenue exceeded $4 billion for the first time in company history during its call for fourth-quarter and full-year financial results for the period ended September 30, 2018. It also noted that streaming revenue is up 20.4% (18.5% in constant currency). “We’ve had another terrific year and
As the year winds down, several artist managers are making moves. Moe Shalizi, who represents Marshmello, has exited Red Light to start his own shop, The Shalizi Group. Forbes reports that the 28-year-old will take with him ten employees as well as artists Jauz, Slushii, Southside, Ookay, Ghastly, Sikdope and Marshmello, who the magazine featured
As the daughter of a music industry lifer, I first noticed the music business was a boys club at a very young age. My father, Charles Chavez, had been in radio for years, and later went into management, representing Pitbull, MAGIC! and Ally Brooke. Over the years, he would introduce me to women executives and
Bruce Springsteen called in to E Street Radio on Sirius XM Wednesday morning to talk about the release of the “Springsteen on Broadway” Netflix special, and what’s next on his agenda, with hosts Dave Marsh and Jim Rotolo and director Thom Zimny. In the interview, Springsteen said he is going to focus on making “new music”
Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave and Dionne Warwick will receive Lifetime Achievement Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy announced today. It also announced that impresario Lou Adler, legendary songwriting and performing duo Ashford & Simpson, and Oscar-winning songwriter and arranger Johnny Mandel are Trustees Award honorees; and Saul Walker is the Technical GRAMMY Award recipient.
December 19, 2018 6:40AM PT The Roots are one of the most versatile bands on the planet, and when Ariana Grande brought her new single “Imagine” to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Tuesday night, they brought out the song’s inherent soulfulness in inimitable fashion. Toward the end of the track, Grande shows off her
December 18, 2018 9:20PM PT Spotify was one of many technology companies to which Facebook granted vast access to users’ personal data — far more than it had previously disclosed, according to a New York Times report published Tuesday night. Facebook “effectively exempted those business partners from its usual privacy rules,” the report says, citing
Todd Rundgren has spoken up about his feelings on not having made the transition this year from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee to actual inductee. “I’m heartbroken,” he says. “For LL Cool J. Five times a bridesmaid…” That’s an indication of how seriously he took the Hall of Fame’s much-belated flirtation with inducting
Among the many reasons to celebrate Jeff Tweedy right now — including his first real solo album, “Warm,” and a new memoir, “Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)” — it’s worth throwing a 20th anniversary party for “Mermaid Avenue,” the landmark album he and his band Wilco recorded with Billy Bragg in 1998. There was
Rapper T-Pain, who has been hit with a pair of legal entanglements in the past few days, tweeted on Tuesday, “Just now decided….. I don’t give a sh– anymore. Figure it out. Moving on. I’ve had too much success over the last 13 years. I’m good
.” A rep for the rapper did not immediately respond