Music

Michael “Finatik” Mule and Isaac “Zac” De Boni, better known as the production duo FnZ, were scouring YouTube for fresh sounds when a clip from the obscure ’70s horror movie “Invasion of the Bee Girls” caught their attention. They turned a portion of the soundtrack into a spooky sample, which would eventually accompany the viral

“It’s more than a concert,” says Beyoncé near the beginning of her sprawling concert movie “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” “It’s a culture, it’s a state of mind, it’s a release, it’s a fantasy come true.” For fans who were able to catch the record-breaking Renaissance World Tour before its conclusion in early October, they

For the past seven years, Variety has honored the top songs of the year and the Hitmakers behind them, with a special issue of the magazine and accompanying online rollout, and a celebration taking place in Los Angeles. We’ll be presenting all of the above over the coming week — including major articles on our

Jennifer Lopez‘s ninth studio album finally has a release date. The full-length “This Is Me…Now” will arrive on Feb. 16, 2024, in tandem with a new short film that has been acquired by Amazon MGM Studios. “This Is Me…Now” is Lopez’s first studio album in nearly a decade and celebrates the anniversary of its sister

Kanye West appeared on stage in Dubai on Sunday night alongside Lil Durk and Ty Dolla Sign, where the trio gave a surprise performance of their new song “Vultures.” The performance took place during Lil Durk’s show at night club Blu Dubai, which posted clips of the song on social media. On the club’s Instagram

Love hurts, and so, if you’re a Gram Parsons fan, does the idea that the world has had to do without him for 50 years, as of September of this year. Imagining how his style might have changed over the subsequent half-century is never-ending, as is conjecturing how he might have simply have brought the

An appeal court in China on Friday confirmed the original trial verdict which ruled against Chinese Canadian rapper and actor Kris Wu (real name Wu Yifei). An appeal hearing by the Beijing No. 3 People’s Intermediate Court in July heard the performer’s appeal case away from cameras and the public and said that it would

The mystery of why Daryl Hall obtained a restraining order against John Oates has been solved, at least in part, now that part of the case has been unsealed by a Tennessee judge who previously ordered all details to be kept under wraps. It’s now been revealed that Hall is attempting to block his longtime

“Brutal out there” may be a good description for how Record Store Day Black Friday will feel for those customers who have their appetites set only on the limited-edition piece that Olivia Rodrigo has coming out for the occasion. Rodrigo is essentially playing the role of Taylor Swift this time around, in drawing the attention

Less than a week after settling a lawsuit with former Bad Boy artist Cassie which accused him of rape, Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing more sexual assault allegations. In a complaint filed on Thursday in New York Supreme Court and obtained by Variety, Joi Dickerson-Neal alleged that Combs “drugged, sexually assaulted and abused” her and

In the midst of a legal battle that includes a restraining order against his longtime musical and business partner John Oates, Daryl Hall played a concert with a setlist filled with Hall & Oates classics. Hall took to the stage at the Tokyo Garden Theater in Japan on Nov. 23, and performed plenty of the

Every year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade promises larger-than-life floats of widely beloved characters, an appearance by Santa Claus himself and, of course, an abundance of musical performances. This year’s iteration of the longstanding holiday tradition features an extensive lineup of artists, including Cher, Brandy, Jon Batiste, Bell Biv DeVoe and Pentatonix. Find a full

Mirror, the Hong Kong boy band that shot to fame in 2018 but had its live career cut short by a tragic on-stage incident, will return to in-person live performances in January. The 12-piece band will play 16 shows at the Asia World Expo auditorium, one of Hong Kong’s largest venues, as part of their

A “Jane Doe” anonymous accuser has issued a summons with notice to veteran music executive Jimmy Iovine, accusing him of sexual abuse and harassment, among other allegations. Representatives for the plaintiff filed the summons earlier today in the Supreme Court of the State of New York County. Court documents do not go into explicit detail

You won’t even have to already love Wilco to find joy in the experience of reading Jeff Tweedy’s new book, “World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music” — although nothing about coming in as a fan will exactly hurt. His tales about how dozens of pieces of

Phil Quartararo, the veteran record executive who played a major role in the success of the Spice Girls, Linkin Park and many others, has died, Variety has confirmed. Billboard reported that the cause of death was pancreatic cancer; he was 67. A familiar and friendly presence at countless concerts across the decades, “Phil Q.” —

Was there anyone who didn’t have an opinion — and the strong need to express it — when the Beatles‘ “last single,” “Now and Then,” came out earlier this month? The surviving members’ long-aborning completion of a 1970s John Lennon demo profoundly moved millions of fans, and put off some others, but no one in

Lauryn Hill is putting a halt to her anniversary tour after suffering from the nightly use of a numbing steroid to aid her vocal cord injuries. On Wednesday morning, the five-time Grammy winner took to Instagram to reveal she was taking Prednisone for her vocal strain. Although the medicine aims to help, it is more

Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential legal battle that has led to Daryl Hall getting a restraining order against his former music partner John Oates. Little information about the lawsuit is publicly available, as the court documents are sealed, but based on court records, Hall filed an undisclosed complaint against Oates on Nov.

BTS, the biggest act in K-pop and one of the world’s hottest contemporary music acts, will be forced into hiatus through 2024 and much of 2025 after it was confirmed Wednesday that four band members — RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — will imminently enlist in the Korean military. The four follow Jin, who

Bjork’s albums over the last 20 years or so have been epic journeys, deep in innovation and imagination, but often not exactly approachable — sort of like a James Joyce novel, the listener is constantly trying (and usually failing) to get a foothold. None of which is a criticism: She’s one of the most brilliant

BMI’s transition to a for-profit model took the next logical step forward Tuesday as a New Mountain Capital-led shareholder group announced a majority growth investment in the organization. Along with ASCAP, which remains not-for-profit, BMI is one of the two largest performing rights organizations in the U.S.; the deal is expected to close by the

Public Enemy, R.E.M, George Clinton, Steely Dan, Bryan Adams, Tracy Chapman, Timbaland are among the nominees for the 2024 class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The full list of nominees appears below. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first significant commercial release of a song. Eligible

As expected, Spotify unveiled its updated streaming payment policies for artists and labels on Tuesday morning, and they are essentially the ones that have been previously reported in recent weeks: efforts to cut down on fraudulent streams; increasing the minimum payable track length for what is called “noise” content (the often-cited “rain falling on a

Lana Del Rey, Pulp and SZA are among the headlining acts for next year’s Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain. Other bold-faced artists performing at the festival include Disclosure, FKA Twigs, Justice, Mitski, the National, Phoenix, PJ Harvey and Vampire Weekend. Also on the stacked lineup are Arca, Beth Gibbons, Bikini Kill, Charli XCX, Clipse,

As expected, the Rolling Stones have announced they are going back on the road in 2024 behind their recently released “Hackney Diamonds” album. The group, led by core members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood, will perform in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada, playing a combination of classics, deep cuts and songs

Mars Williams, a saxophone player known for his work as a member of the Waitresses and later the Psychedelic Furs, died Monday at age 68. His hometown newspaper the Chicago Tribune first confirmed Williams’ passing and reported that the cause of death was ampullary cancer. Williams was diagnosed with the rare cancer a year ago.

Grupo Frontera, the Texas-bred música Mexicana hitmakers behind “Unx100to,” has signed a management deal with Habibi, Bad Bunny manager Noah Assad‘s firm. Habibi’s roster also boasts chart-topping Colombian artist Karol G (Bad Bunny is not a Habibi client). The news, first reported by Billboard and confirmed by Variety, comes on the heels of the group’s

Stray Kids returns to the peak of Billboard’s 200 albums chart with its eight-song mini album “Rock-Star.” It becomes the eight-member K-pop outfit’s second No. 1 album this year with the equivalent of 224,000 albums sold throughout the United States. “Rock-Star,” with lyrics in both English and Korean, is only the sixth mostly non-English album

Taylor Swift did not offer an introduction to “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” when she performed it as a surprise song at her concert Sunday night in Rio de Janeiro. But she didn’t have to — fans implicitly understood her live premiere of the number, arguably the most wrenchingly emotional song in her catalog, as