Eight years can be several eternities in the music world, and it’s a very long time for an artist to go without releasing a new album. But if you’re Sade, D’Angelo or, evidently, pop savant Robyn, you can take your sweet time, because your fans trust that it will be worth the wait. Indeed, after
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October 25, 2018 2:53PM PT Caroll Hall, who composed and wrote the music for the Broadway musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” died Oct. 11 in New York City, her publicist announced. Hall had been living with a rare form of dementia called logopenic primary progressive aphasia for three years. She was 82. “The
Swamp-rocker Tony Joe White, a cult-favorite singer/songwriter whose songs were covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to Tina Turner, died Wednesday at 75. White had just released his latest album, “Bad Mouthin’,” on the Yep Rock label Sept. 28 and had made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry that same night. “He wasn’t ill at
Pencils of Promise, a non-profit that helps to build schools and educational opportunities in developing countries, did not see a scheduled appearance from Justin Bieber at its 10 th anniversary gala in New York Wednesday night, but raised more than $3 million anyway. Bieber is an honorary chair of the event and longtime supporter of
October 25, 2018 1:04PM PT [embedded content] Samsung and Epic Games, along with “Fortnite” streamer Ninja, announced the winner of the #NinjaGalaxySquad contest Thursday. Grand prize winner Hector Diaz was selected out of the entrants to join Ninja’s “gaming squad,” consisting of Blevins, “Crazy Rich Asians” star Nora “Awkwafina” Lum, and rapper Travis Scott for
Ariana Grande today announced the initial run of dates for her “Sweetener” world tour, promoting her chart-topping latest album of the same name. The first leg of The Sweetener World Tour will begin in North America on March 18 in Albany, NY., and finish June 18 in New York, NY. at Madison Square Garden; more dates will
October 25, 2018 10:51AM PT The “Beastie Boys Book,” a sprawling and detailed 600-page history of the group that comes out on Oct. 30, has an impressive and characteristically diverse roster of guest narrators for its audio edition: Snoop Dogg, Elvis Costello, Steve Buscemi, Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart, Will Ferrell, Wanda Sykes, Public Enemy’s Chuck
October 25, 2018 9:35AM PT Just a week before the Nov. 2 release of the Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” 20th Century Fox has released a final trailer for the film. This one is even more Mercury-focused than the previous ones, providing previously un-aired looks at scenes between the singer and his family,
Two decades ago, “… Baby One More Time” was a new single and Britney Spears was another young singer hoping to ride the fast-rising wave of teen pop. As the song rose on the charts across the globe, the burgeoning star, who’d just turned 17, went on a promotional visit to Canada, where “One More
For the first time in its 13 year history, the annual celebration of all things Blizzard from World of Warcraft to Overwatch has an executive producer. The decision, made by the co-founder and chief operating officer of the mammoth company brings into focus just how important BlizzCon is to the company. “They thought that BlizzCon
To say that the 2019 Grammy Awards have something to prove is an understatement of epic proportions. While 2018 seemed set to be a triumph for the ceremony — a return to New York for the awards’ 60th anniversary, capped by possibly the most racially and musically diverse slate of nominees in Recording Academy history —
The term “Nash Vegas” was originally coined as a joke about Nashville getting glitzier, but the tables are turning, as Las Vegas is going Nashville by playing host to more country music residencies. Lady Antebellum announced their own extended stay in the desert Wednesday, using a video of themselves putting on bling inside the Palms
October 24, 2018 2:29PM PT Justin Timberlake has “severely bruised” vocal cords, he announced to fans in an Instagram post Wednesday afternoon, explaining why he was calling off a Madison Square Garden concert at the last minute. “Hey guys, I’m sorry to announce I have to postpone the show at MSG tonight on doctor’s orders.
October 24, 2018 10:00AM PT Excursions to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are set to sail in 2019. Jon Bon Jovi is adding Collective Soul and Grace Potter to the lineup of his Runaway To Paradise cruises. As previously announced, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will perform on two excursions — to the
Universal Music Group today announced that Jaime Weston has been named executive vice president of consumer marketing, effective immediately. According to the announcement, in the newly created role, Weston will develop targeted marketing strategies to grow the global audience for UMG’s artists across platforms, products and initiatives. In addition, Weston will develop a consumer engagement
When “Bohemian Rhapsody” dances into wide release on Nov. 2, it will arrive encumbered by a number of headline-grabbing issues that threaten to detract from what the film was intended to be: a showcase and Oscar launchpad for Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury and a two-hour rock singalong for American moviegoers. Extensive conversations around alleged sexual
Dash Radio announced several landmarks on Wednesday. For one, the company now reaches over 10 million monthly listeners. It also announced the addition of several board members: Kevin Tsujihara (Chairman & CEO of Warner Bros.), John Burbank (Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Passport Capital), and Michael Zeisser (former Chairman U.S. Investments, Alibaba Group, Liberty Media, McKinsey & Co.). And finally, the company announced the close of its
Kristin Chenoweth remembers the day Ariana Grande came to see the original Broadway production of “Wicked.” Adam Lambert fondly recalls playing the role of Fiyero in the touring production before “American Idol” made him a star. Original cast members and first-wave fans of the smash Broadway musical “Wicked” have come together for a salute to
Sean “Diddy” Combs announced Tuesday that he’s pledging $1 million to the Capital Preparatory Schools network to help provide children from underserved communities access to high-quality education. The school has been approved to expand to a third location in the New York City’s Bronx borough, and is set to open in September 2019. Capital Prep
The numbers for Beyonce and Jay-Z four-month-long, time-zone spanning “On the Run II” tour are in, and they’re impressive. The epic jaunt grossed some $254,050,706, according to Pollstar data provided to Variety. The 48-date tour launched in Cardiff, Wales on June 6, rolled through Europe for 18 shows before crossing the Atlantic for another 30
Freddie Mercury was the most majestically debauched of all rock stars. A bad-boy diva with a famous overbite that made him look not just sexy but libidinous, he strutted around onstage with the come-hither flamboyance of a leering vampire prince. And, of course, no one in rock history had pipes like his. In his heyday
Anyone seeking an inspiring music-industry talk with some good stories along the way, look no further than Scooter Braun — manager of Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and on-again-off-again with Kanye West — who’s built a formidable company, SB Projects, and made some stellar investments over the past 12 years. We’ve heard him speak several times before
October 23, 2018 11:43AM PT Tracy Chapman has filed a copyright infringement suit against Nicki Minaj, accusing her of lifting the lyrics and melody from the 1988 song “Baby Can I Hold You.” According to the suit, Minaj sought permission over the summer to sample the song in a track entitled “Sorry,” which was to
“Teddy Pendergrass – If You Don’t Know Me,” the upcoming feature documentary that tells the tumultuous life story of the R&B and soul legend, will go out on Showtime in the U.S. and Sky Arts and the BBC in the U.K., where Moviehouse will also handle a theatrical release. The film will premiere at the Philadelphia Film
Over the past 25 years, multiple women have accused singer R. Kelly of sexual, mental and physical abuse. The singer was charged with child pornography in 2000, and in recent years of holding women against their will in a “sex cult.” While Kelly was acquitted of the child-pornography charges and has never been convicted of
Gibson Brands Inc., the iconic but troubled guitar brand that recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announced on Tuesday the appointment of James “JC” Curleigh as president and chief executive officer. Curleigh joins Gibson from Levi Strauss & Co., where he served as president of the Levi’s brand, and was a member of its worldwide leadership team.
The Recording Academy and CBS announced today the dates for the Grammy Awards in 2020 and 2021. The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will air on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, and the 63rd will air on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021. As previously announced, both shows will take place at the Grammys’ usual location, the Staples Center
October 23, 2018 7:27AM PT Esports organization 100 Thieves completed its Series A funding round with the investment co-lead by artist Drake and entrepreneur Scooter Braun, the company announced Tuesday. Drake and Braun join the founder of 100 Thieves, former Call of Duty world champion and current YouTube personality, Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag as well as
October 23, 2018 6:58AM PT Ariana Grande posted a touching video late Monday of Mac Miller getting dressed for Oscar night, taken just weeks before the couple split and two months before he died of an apparent drug overdose. In the clip, Miller is seen standing alongside two women who may be Grande’s mother Joan
October 22, 2018 2:17PM PT A newly constructed residence in the thickly wooded and relatively unsung but hardly inexpensive North Sea area of Southampton, N.Y., conceived and built by a consortium of investors that include Santa Monica-based boutique developer Confluent Development, NBA player Luol Deng and hip hop heavyweight and social media marketing powerhouse DJ