Music

South Korean alt-rocker Loren (stylized LØREN) has written songs for Blackpink and G-Dragon, appeared at South By Southwest and recently partnered with 88Rising, leading to a performance at the influential collective’s summertime Head in the Clouds festival — all before he released his first album. Out Friday (March 24), the EP “Put Up a Fight”

Lenny Kravitz is pumped for his first hosting gig at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards. “I’m just ready to get out there and I’m grateful to still be here,” the 58-year-old rocker tells Variety. “After all the years I have behind me — to still be so vibrant and feel so inspired — is truly

Your eyes have deceived you if you ever took too quick a look at a passing reference to one of the great singer-songwriters of our day and mistook Brandy Clark for Brandi Carlile or vice versa. But those same eyes will not be seeing double if, in the very near future, you end up seeing

Before anything else is said about Lana Del Rey’s new album, let it be noted that however well the record came out, it was foreordained to come in second among her artistic works of the past year. Because absolutely nothing could surpass the mic drop of her placing the sole billboard announcing the new project

Fans of Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro have a lot to celebrate as the couple appeared to have announced their engagement in the music video for “Beso,” the opening track from their newly released joint EP “R&R.” “R&R” dropped Friday alongside a sweet homemade music video that featured footage of the Latin music power couple enjoying

Jay-Z’s net worth has soared to $2.5 billion, according to a new Forbes report published Friday. While the report is slim on details, it notes that the fortune of the man born Shawn Carter 53 years ago reaches far beyond music. “Even in a year without a tour or album release, Jay-Z mints millions from

Kate Davis is a recovering jazz prodigy whose sweet voice and melodic alt-rock masks just how darkly bonkers some of her lyrics are: This album starts with the words, “I wanted more than being left for dead in bed at the midnight hour/ One chained ankle stands in my way.” Despite the alarming subtext, the

Fans at SZA’s Kia Forum tour stop on March 22 and 23 — the final shows of her long-awaited “SOS” tour — were spoiled with celebrity sightings and treated to surprise performances from Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzo. Bridgers appeared on stage sporting a hoodie and jeans to join the “Kill Bill” singer in a performance

Fall Out Boy is back with their first record in five years, and although the musical landscape has changed dramatically since the pandemic and the rise of TikTok, “So Much (for) Stardust” returns to the classic sound many fans grew up on. While recent records like 2015’s “American Beauty/American Psycho” and 2018’s “Mania” were successful,

“These are kind of new glory days for us,” said Queen guitarist and founding member Brian May, who was literally knighted by King Charles III earlier this month. “It’s nice to think that hopefully there will be the demand for that.”  But the guitarist, along with founding drummer Roger Taylor and singer Adam Lambert, was

What surprising thing do more than half of the acts booked at the 2023 Coachella festival have in common? Unless they comply with burdensome, expensive, and exploitative administrative requirements, they would be barred from entering the United States to perform, and would have 30% of their payment siphoned off at source. Why? Because 52% of

It’s 25 minutes before showtime at Krakow, Poland’s Tauron Arena, and Michael Bublé is cool as a cucumber. A February chill in Europe, where he is touring across more than a dozen countries including the U.K., Germany, France, Spain and Italy, is nothing new to the singer raised outside Vancouver. Likewise, the dress- ing room

The BBC has paused a controversial decision to disband its professional choir, the BBC Singers. The corporation confirmed on Friday that it’s “suspending” the proposal to close the group, and that the BBC Singers will also appear in this summer’s annual classical concert series, the BBC Proms. Variety understands that the decision is not officially

Hybe Corp., the talent powerhouse behind K-pop sensation BTS, said on Friday that it will sell its share stake in agency rival SM Entertainment. The move would finalize Hybe’s admission of defeat in a dramatic takeover battle in which it was out-gunned by Korean tech leader Kakao Corp. Hybe initially bought a 14.8% stake in

“God of War” dominated at the Game Audio Network Guild Awards, scoring more than half of the awards. The hit game collected a total of 14 prizes, including audio of the year, music of the year, best original song and best original soundtrack album. On Wednesday night, the Game Audio Network Guild announced the 26

Kakao Entertainment America and Columbia Records have partnered to co-manage K-pop girl group IVE, it was announced on Thursday (March 23). The collaboration is expected to boost IVE’s presence in the North American market, with Columbia, a subsidiary of Sony Music, supporting their upcoming album, “I’ve IVE,” due out April 10.  Columbia will assist with

Sony Music has dissolved the long-running Arista Nashville imprint, a rep for the company confirms to Variety. The news was first reported in Country Aircheck‘s newsletter. Most of the artists will be absorbed into Sony Music Nashville, with Nate Smith is going to RCA Nashville and Old Dominion and Megan Moroney moving over to Columbia

The body of San Francisco radio host Jeffrey Vandergrift was found at Pier 39 on Wednesday, nearly one month after he went missing. He was 55. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his death to Variety in a statement, while Vandergrift’s radio station confirmed the loss on Thursday in a statement posted to their

Guitarist Wayne Swinny, a founding member of the rock band Saliva, died Wednesday at age 59 after suffering a brain hemorrhage the previous day in the midst of a tour by the group. Swinny was the only current member to have been with the nu-metal outfit since its first album in 1996. Over the intervening

South Florida police have issued a statement asking for help in identifying the group of attackers that ambushed rapper Teskashi 6ix9ine in the bathroom of a gym in South Florida on March 21, leaving him hospitalized. The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was recorded getting attacked by a group of assailants and

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. If you didn’t snag tickets to Drake’s “It’s All a Blur” tour during the presale, worry not. There are still affordable tickets available online, many of which are the same price as those offered

Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist protest music and performance art group, will be accepting the 2023 Woody Guthrie Prize on May 6 in Tulsa at Cain’s Ballroom. The evening will conclude with Pussy Riot’s first-ever U.S. performance of “Riot Days,” a multi-media show that showcases the group’s music with documentary footage and political commentary. Member

In February of last year, as controversy broiled around Joe Rogan’s racially charged language and COVID-related misinformation on multiple editions of his Spotify podcast, the streaming giant’s CEO attempted to defuse the situation by apologizing to his aggrieved staff and pledging $100 million “for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and

Lauren Laverne is buzzing with excitement. She woke up to the news that Lizzo had given her a shout-out from the stage at London’s O2 Arena. “Lauren Laverne played my record on Radio 6 and just like that, I was flying to England every other weekend,” declared the singer, who had her first major radio

The Jazz Foundation of America has set performers and honorees for its annual “A Great Night in Harlem” benefit, with multiple Grammy winner Jon Batiste among the talent coming to the Apollo Theater and legendary songwriter Mike Stoller among those being honored for a lifetime of work. The concert portions of the March 30 event

In the midst of Offset’s new album ramp-up, the rapper has shared a song snippet containing a posthumous verse from the late Migos member Takeoff. In the nearly one-minute clip uploaded to Offset’s Instagram stories on March 20, Takeoff — who was shot and killed in Houston last November — can be heard rapping alongside

The newly launched independent music publishing, rights management, and catalog marketing company AMR Songs has acquired by catalogs of former Lovin’ Spoonful frontmany John Sebastian — including such songs as “Daydream,” “Summer in the City,” “Do You Believe in Magic” and “Wecome Back” — as well as Grammy-winning reggae group Soja. Founded by industry veteran/ CEO

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Ne-Yo and rapper Lil Yachty are among the eight notable names who have been hit with Securities and Exchange Commission charges for violating securities laws in touting crypto currencies. The SEC on Wednesday disclosed that charges were filed against eight celebrities in connection with the broader investigation of crypto entrepreneur Justin

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. During her nearly three-hour show, Taylor Swift runs through a whopping 44 songs and 16 costume changes. There’s her Versace bodysuit for her “Lover” set and Robert Cavalli dress for her “Fearless” segment; she

Ana Bárbara, otherwise known as “Grupera Queen,” received her flowers as a BMI Icon at the 30th annual BMI Latin Awards held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 21. The singer — whose blended style of rancheras, norteño and Latin pop helped to define the grupero genre — became the first regional Mexican songwriter