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In our daily news show, Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos checks in on a few of the headlines everyone is discussing. For today’s episode, watch the video to get a quick take on:
- Lady Gaga “pregnant” with new album
- Former Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge details UFO TV series on History Channel
- Britney Spears songs will soundtrack new princess-themed musical
- Song of the Day: Robyn, “Ever Again“
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Dick Dale, “the King of the Surf Guitar,” has died at the age of 81.
California Rocker first reported that Dale died Sunday. His bassist Sam Bolle confirmed Dale’s death to the Guardian. No cause of death was revealed, but the guitarist suffered from health issues in recent years.
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In our daily news show, Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos checks in on a few of the headlines everyone is discussing. For today’s episode, watch the video to get a quick take on:
- Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ 30th Anniversary
- Bill & Ted ‘Face the Music’ Announcement
- ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Trailer
- Song of the Day: Lizzo and Missy Elliott Collaboration
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Beyoncé delivered a heartwarming speech after accepting the 2019 Entertainer of the Year Award at the NAACP Image Awards Saturday night.
Before beginning her speech at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, she told the audience she wrote her thoughts down ahead of time. The speech also served as a tribute to her fellow nominees, Chadwick Boseman, LeBron James, Regina King, and Ryan Coogler.
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The Grammy-winning, Mexican-American heartthrob Miguel Jontel Pimentel is undeniably Latino — but as an R&B star who sings in English, he’s rarely counted among the league of Latin pop stars pervading American airwaves.
Yet that perception would change in 2017, after Miguel joined Mexican pop singer Natalia Lafourcade in a heartrending rendition of the Coco theme song, “Remember Me.”
http://youtu.be/E7VPdpEV1m0
Miguel would push the bounds even further that year by flexing his Spanish-language skills in the jaunty funk-rock "War & Leisure" which features vocals by Colombian-American songstress Kali Uchis.
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Old Dominion, Chris Janson and Shane McAnally were among the off-camera winners at the 54th ACM Awards. Old Dominion, currently on their Make It Sweet Tour, won Group of the Year, while Janson, who released his new single “Good Vibes” in February, received Music Video of the Year honors for “Drunk Girl.” McAnally was named Songwriter of the Year.
Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne’s collaboration “Burning Man” won Music Event of the Year earlier in the day. Written by Luke Dick and Bobby Pinson, the Number One single appears on Bentley’s latest album The Mountain.
Bentley and the Osbornes are both set to perform at Sunday night’s ACMs, although not with each other. Bentley will team up with Brandi Carlile for a rendition of their The Mountain duet “Travelin’ Light,” while Brothers Osborne join Maren Morris on the pop-country star’s song “All My Favorite People,” off her album Girl.
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The Music Event of the Year honorees join other previously announced winners in the new artist categories: Luke Combs was named New Male Vocalist, Ashley McBryde New Female Vocalist and Lanco New Group/Duo on March 25th.
The 54th Academy of Country Music Awards air Sunday night at 8:00 p.m./ET on CBS, live from Las Vegas. Reba McEntire hosts.
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If you’re setting up your home audio system and floor space is at a premium, consider picking up a pair of bookshelf speakers. Larger than a portable speaker but more compact than floor speakers, bookshelf speakers deliver loud amplification and solid, stereo sound for small to medium-sized rooms.
Though they’re often shaped like a cube or rectangle, these speakers think outside of the box when it comes to audio quality, dynamics and efficiency, creating fuller sound and rounder textures than what a wireless unit can deliver. They don’t just have to sit on a bookshelf either – place them on a table, stand or windowsill, adjusting the height to be as close to your ear level as possible for best performance.
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Bookshelf speakers won’t get you the same room-shaking power or rumbling bass that a full-sized set will provide, but for your office, den, or bedroom, they’ll be more than enough. If you’re setting up a home theater system, pair the speakers with a subwoofer to really amp up your listening experience.
1. Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Speakers
2. Q Acoustics 3020i Bookshelf Speaker
3. Bose 301-V Stereo Loudspeakers
4. Klipsch RP-160M Bookshelf Speaker
5. ELAC Uni-fi UB5 Bookshelf Speaker
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Ahead of tonight’s much anticipated post-Battle of Winterfell episode of Game of Thrones, the Weeknd, SZA and Travis Scott have dropped their new video for “Power Is Power,” their collaboration for the all-star GoT-inspired For the Throne album.
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The video finds the Weeknd emulating Jon Snow, SZA donning Daenerys grab and Scott sitting atop the Iron Throne as key sequences from Game of Thrones plays in the background.
For the Throne features new songs from an eclectic mix of artists like Mumford & Sons, the National, Rosalia, Maren Morris, Ellie Goulding, A$AP Rocky and more. Rolling Stone recently spoke to Jeff Peters, HBO’s Vice President of Licensing and Retail, about the quasi-soundtrack.
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On 2016’s Santana IV, Carlos Santana brought back most of the surviving musicians who made 1971’s Santana III. On his new album Africa Speaks, (out June 7th) the guitarist went in a wildly different direction, recording with an eight piece band – including vocals of Afro-Latin singer Buika and Santana’s wife Cindy Blackman on drums – with Rick Rubin over ten days at Rubin’s Shangri La Studios in Malibu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5OspxMTwis
“It feels like this was meant to be … like a gift from heaven to receive and give to the masses.”
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Santana’s new track “Yo Me Lo Merezco” is an example of that sound – a track that starts out with a hypnotic groove and soulful vocals from Buika before turning into an explosive jam.
Santana is currently on the road, playing an intimate residency in Vegas before the Supernatural Now tour, marking the 20th anniversary of his massive album. The tour hits arenas and amphitheaters all summer.
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A sweater worn by Kurt Cobain during the singer’s last photoshoot with Nirvana sold for $75,000 at auction Saturday.
The cardigan, which Cobain donned at a pre-In Utero photo session in the summer of 1993, more than doubled its pre-auction estimate of between $10,000 and $20,000, Julien’s Auctions said.
Pictures of Cobain wearing the sweater, captured by photographer Jesse Frohman, featured in the photobook Kurt Cobain: The Last Session.
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“The shoot was meant to take place in Central Park in New York City, but due to Cobain being sick just hours before, the shoot was relocated to the basement of the hotel where the band was staying,” Julien’s Auctions noted of the item. “Cobain showed up three hours late to the shoot and immediately asked for a bucket due to his nausea.”
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Everyone’s a musician nowadays — and every tech company is also a music company, it seems. This week alone, two separate news items hinted at where strong winds are blowing for the music industry: first, a paid streaming service created by the owner of TikTok, and second, a new feature within Snapchat that may offer music in users’ posts.
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On Monday, Bloomberg reported that ByteDate, the Chinese parent company of the video-app-slash-meme-wonderland TikTok, will launch a paid music-streaming service in several emerging territories later this year, with ambitions to expand it to other countries as well. And at the close of the week today, the Wall Street Journal reported that Silicon Valley darling Snapchat is in talks with Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group to acquire licenses to “expand the ways users can include music in posts on its flagship Snapchat app,” which would presumably allow the use of thousands of song snippets into the platform’s signature disappearing photos and videos.
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Days after Stephen Malkmus admitted in the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that he would be open to a Pavement reunion, the beloved indie rock band revealed Saturday that they will perform a pair of European shows in 2020. The gigs mark Pavement’s first together since the band’s 2010 reunion.
Barcelona’s Primavera Sound – where Malkmus and the Jicks performed on Thursday – made the reunion official Saturday on social media, confirming that the reunited Pavement would perform at the 2020 Primavera Sound in Barcelona and its sister fest NOS Primavera Sound in Porto, Portugal.
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The 2019 CMT Music Awards are underway at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 5th, with hosts Little Big Town and performances by Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett and Luke Combs. Among the show’s winners is Carrie Underwood, who claimed Female Video of the Year for “Love Wins” from her album Cry Pretty, as well as Keith Urban and Julia Michaels, whose “Coming Home” was named Collaborative Video of the Year.
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Soundgarden, Tom Petty’s ex-wife Jane, Hole, Steve Earle and the estate of Tupac Shakur have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a class against Universal Music Group, seeking damages related to a 2008 fire that allegedly destroyed over 500,000 recordings.
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The suit accuses Universal Music of negligence in not doing enough to prevent the fire, as well as concealing the extent of the destruction from artists while simultaneously pursuing litigation and insurance claims to recoup losses. The suit claims that Universal took in settlement proceeds and insurance claims valued at $150 million, and the class is seeking damages worth half that, plus half of any additional losses.
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Dave Bartholomew, the New Orleans musician, Fats Domino collaborator and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who co-wrote the R&B classic “Ain’t That a Shame,” has died at the age of 100.
Bartholomew died Sunday at a New Orleans-area hospital, his son Dave Bartholomew Jr. confirmed to the Associated Press. “His body simply broke down. Daddy was 100 years and six months old. It was just that time,” Bartholomew Jr. said.
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A trumpeter, bandleader, producer and arranger who worked with artists like Domino, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis and Shirley & Lee, the Louisiana-born Bartholomew had a lasting impact on both the music of New Orleans and R&B of the Fifties, which in turn inspired the rock music that emerged in the early Sixties.
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Festivalgoers in Belgium just had their own Fyre Festival-like experience Friday as the country’s VestiVille was canceled at the last minute after thousands had already arrived. Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, Future, Meek Mill, Migos and more were set to headline VestiVille this weekend in Lommel, Belgium when the festival was abruptly canceled Friday.
Earlier in the day, A$AP Rocky, Friday’s headliner, informed fans that he would not perform “due to security and infrastructure concerns.” “The promoters told me it would be handled but unfortunately for you and me they didn’t,” the rapper tweeted.
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Country music and the Fourth of July go together like a firecracker and a match. This year, a number of Nashville stars are performing at concerts and displays around the country, including the biggies in New York City and Washington, D.C. Here’s how to watch four of the U.S.’s most iconic Independence Day celebrations.
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Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic was back in Austin, Texas, on Thursday to celebrate Independence Day. Alison Krauss returned for the first time since 2016, joining Jamey Johnson, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle & the Dukes, and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, who made their Picnic debut. Luke Combs also performed at his first Picnic, delivering a powerful set of hits like “Beautiful Crazy,” “Hurricane” and his new single, “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”
Of course, it’s the Red Headed Stranger who ties it all together. The outlaw country legend offered his customary staples, from “Whiskey River” to “On the Road Again,” and also nodded to Hank Williams with “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” and “Hey Good Lookin’.”
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It was once “strictly 4 Madonna.” But now, a handwritten apology letter that Tupac Shakur wrote the Material Girl a year before his death is going to auction.
Two years ago, Madonna attempted to stop its sale when she told a judge that her celebrity “does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy.” An appeals court overturned that injunction last month. The letter is headed to the auction block on July 17th with bids starting at $100,000. Auctioneer Gotta Have Rock and Roll estimates it will go for between $200,000 to $300,000 even though scans of it have been floating around the Internet for years and you can even read it in full on its website.
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“We’re the Highwomen, sing a story still untold,” sang Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby at their first-ever performance as the Highwomen Friday evening at the Newport Folk Festival. The supergroup was also backed by a band that included Jason Isbell and the Hanseroth Twins during the hourlong set.
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“This is our first show y’all, and we’re fucking terrified,” Carlile told the crowd early on. But the band’s debut show was rapturously received. The group traded off vocals in each other’s songs, performing their forthcoming debut album in-order before reprising their lead single “Redesigning Women” for a bonus encore performance.
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R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and the Rolling Stones keyboardist/musical director Chuck Leavell will join violinist Robert McDuffie this fall for a tour honoring iconic musicians from Georgia. The trio will perform songs from artists like Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers Band, R.E.M., Outkast, Gram Parsons, James Brown, Gregg Allman, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the B-52s, Brook Benton and more, along with the Mills-composed Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra.
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The four-date trek, dubbed “A Night of Georgia Music,” kicks off September 29th in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour continues October 2nd in Birmingham, Alabama and October 4th in Savannah, Georgia before concluding October 5th in Augusta, Georgia.
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Nicky Wonder, longtime guitarist for Brian Wilson and cofounder of power pop band the Wondermints, has died. He was 59.
“It is with my deepest regret to tell you that our beloved Nicky Wonder passed away last night in his sleep. We are in a state of shock as you can imagine,” Brian Wilson said in a statement on his official website. “But we are going to honor him with tonight’s show. Nicky was my favorite guitar player ever. I always loved the way he used his fingers.”
Born Nick Walusko on May 22, 1960, he formed the Wondermints with Darian Sahanaja in 1992. He and Sahanaja were both fans of Wilson’s work, long before they met him. “When I met Nick Walusko, who I formed the Wondermints with, one of the first things we bonded over was Smile bootlegs,” Sahanaja told Rolling Stone. “We got to know [music historian] Domenic Priore and a small group of us became the Smile intelligentsia of that period.”
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Meat Loaf joined the cast of the Bat Out of Hell musical on Tuesday evening for “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night).” The New York performance marked the singer’s first time onstage in over two years — he last appeared at the Bat Out of Hell‘s video in May 2017.
“OK, you guys have been wanting to do this long ago, so we’re going to do it now,” Meat Loaf told the crowd after seizing the mic from cast member Andrew Polec. “Give me a little, ‘You took the words right out of my mouth!'” The cast takes turns singing each verse, with Loaf joining in for the chorus.
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The singer has been plagued by severe back problems and vocal damage, leaving him unable to tour, much less perform. Onstage in Canada in June 2016, he collapsed while singing his 1993 hit “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” “I was sick and when you get older you get dehydrated,” he told Rolling Stone a month later. “I hit the high note on that song and I got really, really dizzy. I went, ‘Oh, my God, I’m gonna pass out.’ I didn’t want to fall forward and break my neck going off the stage, so I started to go down easily and halfway down I went out. I didn’t wake up until we got to the hospital.”
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Twenty years from now, releases by Tainy, J Balvin and Bad Bunny will be the most exemplary of 2019; but our rock en español playlist will have you raging like it’s 1999. In case you missed it, here are Rolling Stone‘s biggest highlights from the week in Latin music.
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La Era Rockera: 10 Essential Rock en Español Albums From 1999
With urbano music dominating the pop charts today, it may seem like Latin pop has fully crossed over in the United States. Though we’d be remiss to forget the genre’s monumental year of 1999: it was the year Ricky Martin ushered in the so-called “Latin pop explosion” during his video and also when Santana swept the pop charts with his Spanglish hybrid masterpiece, Supernatural. The experimentations pioneered by Latin rockeros set a precedent for more daring music in Spanish; no longer as predictable, 1999 saw rock en español evolve beyond the trappings of the guitar-bass-drum formula, closing the 20th century by making room for cross-genre innovations with mainstream pop potential. Read up on 10 essential rock en español albums turning 20 this year, featuring Maná, Café Tacvba, Gustavo Cerati and more.
and also when Santana swept the pop charts with his Spanglish hybrid masterpiece, Supernatural. The experimentations pioneered by Latin rockeros set a precedent for more daring music in Spanish; no longer as predictable, 1999 saw rock en español evolve beyond the trappings of the guitar-bass-drum formula, closing the 20th century by making room for cross-genre innovations with mainstream pop potential. Read up on 10 essential rock en español albums turning 20 this year, featuring Maná, Café Tacvba, Gustavo Cerati and more.
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“We gotta change around here,” Mavis Staples sang toward the very end of Wednesday night’s 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards Ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Having been presented the evening’s Inspiration Award by pioneering Civil Rights activist and Freedom Rider Ernest Patton earlier in the evening, Staples’ song was a powerful reminder that change-inspiring music-makers are, like Staples put it herself during her acceptance speech, “still carrying on.”
But during a show that at once gestured at the future of the Americana genre while still firmly upholding its rigid past, Staples’ “Change” also served as a commentary on the state of Americana music in 2019. The Americana Honors, hosted by Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale of the Milk Carton Kids, celebrated big names like Elvis Costello and John Prine while highlighting a multiplicity of new voices and sounds from the genre’s wide cast of up-and-comers.
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The sister LP to Workingman’s Dead, released just over four months later, rode the songwriting bonanza, with new influences digested. The result is a slightly fuller sound, a brighter vibe, and maybe, song-for-song, their strongest set ever. “Ripple” and Lesh’s breakout “Box of Rain” are the Dead at their deepest, and “Sugar Magnolia” and “Truckin’,” both delivered by band young’un Bob Weir, nailed the noodle-dance boogie style that took them from collegiate cult band to stadium-filling phenomenon.
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Bruce Springsteen made a surprise live appearance Saturday at the opening of a new exhibit honoring the rocker in his New Jersey hometown.
The career-spanning “Springsteen: His Hometown” exhibit in Freehold, New Jersey held its opening night gala, featuring performances by Bobby Bandiera and Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers. During the latter band’s set, Springsteen – who attended the gala hosted by Monmouth County Historical Association – came onstage to perform his 1988 song “Light of Day.”
“I can’t stay long,” Springsteen told the attendees. “I’ve got my family in the city, but I wanted to just come down and thank everybody for supporting the Historical Association… It’s nice to be honored in my hometown.”
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Kim Shattuck, the singer and guitarist who co-founded and led the SoCal punk band the Muffs alongside contributions to the Pixies and NOFX, died Wednesday at the age of 56. A rep for Shattuck’s band the Coolies confirmed her death to Rolling Stone. The cause was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
“We are very sorry to announce the passing of our bandmate and dear friend Kim Shattuck,” the Muffs’ Ronnie Barnett and Roy McDonald wrote on Facebook. “Besides being a brilliant songwriter, rocking guitarist and singer/screamer extraordinaire, Kim was a true force of nature. While battling ALS, Kim produced our last album, overseeing every part of the record from tracking to artwork. She was our best friend and playing her songs was an honor. Goodbye Kimba. We love you more than we could ever say.”
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In a time when música urbana is queen, the most successful pop singer-songwriters are the most adaptable. This summer the Latin Grammy-nominated songwriter Camilo Echeverry teamed up with his fellow nominee, Puerto Rican hitmaker Pedro Capó, in “Tutu”: an alluring love song, fashioned with a dembow bounce. Now, after amassing over 175 million YouTube views, “Tutu” is further expanding its reach with a surprise A-list remix — starring none other than Colombian pop icon, Shakira.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Echeverry tells Rolling Stone of working with Shakira. “I tried to be the most professional that I could, but I was like fangirling all the time. The first cassette that I had in my life was Shakira’s ¿Donde Están Los Ladrones?.”
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Little Feat’s Paul Barrere, who served as guitarist and vocalist in the boogie rock band for nearly 50 years, died Saturday at the age of 71.
The band confirmed Barrere’s death in a statement. While no cause of death was provided, the guitarist was undergoing treatment in his long battle with liver disease; in 1994, Barrere contracted hepatitis C, and in 2015 was diagnosed with liver cancer.
“It is with great sorrow that Little Feat must announce the passing of our brother guitarist, Paul Barrere, this morning at UCLA Hospital,” Little Feat said in a statement.
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Young Thug is wonderful at many things — rapping, singing, screeching, howling, mumbling, ad-libbing, AutoTune, friendship, complicated hand signs and fixing collars on catwalks. But when it comes to being a firefighter, Thug is extraordinarily terrible. The music video for “Hot,” featuring Gunna and Travis Scott, is one long and elaborate how-to manual on what not to do when your house is burning to the ground.
Thug doesn’t try to save anyone throughout the Christian Sutton-directed visual. Instead, he raps his verse from “Hot,” while his YSL-signee, Gunna, sits calmly in the inferno. Luckily, Travis Scott is smart enough to let himself burn on an expansive football field. The marching band behind him doesn’t do anything to help. Maybe they’re still in shock that one of the most famous rappers in the world wants to deliver a performance, while his arm burns to a crisp.
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“Play our f-ckin’ records. Please and thank you.”
So read the inside of Jennifer Nettles’ cape on the CMA Awards red carpet, while the back of the Sugarland singer’s suit jacket bore the words “equal play.” Early in the evening, it seemed as if the sartorial statement may indicate a more outspoken tone than in CMAs past. As the night went on, however, it was clear that wasn’t the case.
Conversations about the gulf between the representation of male and female artists on country radio have reached fever pitch in recent years, and this year the CMA Awards tried to catch up. The show dedicated a sizable chunk of the telecast to showcasing women, and even trumpeted the evening as one “celebrating legendary women in country music.”
To that end, producers recruited a truly impressive lineup to open the show with a blockbuster medley. Hosts Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton, and Reba McEntire sang “Those Memories of You,” a song that Parton recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris for their 1987 Trio album, while the Highwomen, Tanya Tucker, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Gretchen Wilson, Crystal Gayle, Terri Clark, and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman offered a mix of signature hits (Evans’ “Born to Fly,” McBride’s “Independence Day”) and influential anthems (Tammy Wynette’s “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” Loretta Lynn’s “You’re Lookin’ at Country”).
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Peterson, one of the most accomplished pianists in jazz history, played with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie, among other luminaries. On this 1995 album, he found that the true meaning of Christmas was cool jazz instrumentals. At age 70, he no longer needed to prove his virtuosity; instead, he plays with a light touch and leads a swinging six-piece band. When Peterson finds emotional depth in "Jingle Bells," you know he's operating at a higher level.
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas trees are going up, the decorations are out and artists are sharing their Spotify “Wrapped” results.
Earlier this week, the streaming service released its annual "Wrapped" insights, which explore the top performers of the year and decade. Ariana Grande, Lizzo and John Mayer are among the artists who've unwrapped their own Spotify presents early. And they’re thrilled and surprised with their gifts.
“Not usually a nut for posting numbers, but this one is special,” writes John Mayer in an Instagram post. “Something beautiful happened this year, and I felt it every night, on every stage. You have all brought so much depth to these songs.” Mayer has reason to be happy. More than 54 million people played his songs, totaling more than a billion streams in 2019 alone.
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Christmas is officially around the corner and if you’re a last-minute gift buyer, don’t stress because Billboard’s here to save the day.
Check out the presents below that any Latin music junkie will love, including tour merch from reggaeton’s hottest artists, celebrity fragrances and hand-picked jewelry.
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'Bombshell' also came in behind expectations at $5.1 million, although the true test for all three pics will be their performance over the holidays.
Jedi Knights and singing felines made for a wild, curious ride at the pre-Christmas box office.
Though coming in notably behind the last two films in the trilogy, J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker easily banished the competition to a galaxy far, far away with a huge weekend launch of $175.5 million at the North American box office and $373.5 million globally.
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Neil Peart, the legendary Rush drummer known for his intricate and instanty recognizable solos, has died at age 67 after a battle with brain cancer, the CBC reports. In addition to being behind the kit, Peart was also the primary lyricist for the Canadian prog rock band.
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The Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, got a late present from Santa this week when she was announced to the Songwriters Hall of Fame class of 2020. Carey is now doing exactly what the rest of us would get up to: she’s celebrating.
The pop superstar shared a picture of herself having a blast with her kids Moroccan and Monroe, with an appropriately oversized “Hall of Fame” balloon behind them. The balloons are gold, of course.
“Always celebrate the happy moments in life,” she writes in a social media post.
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When a typhoon hit Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island in August last year, Epizode festival’s organizers braced for the worst. Typhoons are turning more treacherous in Southeast Asia, and the worst flooding in the island’s history, which local officials attributed to climate change, left the beach site a muddy, debris-strewn mess.
“We thought it was going to be another Fyre Festival,” Epizode producer Roy Fridman recently told a dinner table of journalists, flashing photos on his phone of collapsed stages and uprooted trees.
The Russia-based team rushed to Vietnam, rebuilding everything just in time for the 11-day minimal techno marathon’s fourth edition (December 27th, 2019-January 7, 2020). With climate catastrophe battering down their shores, it couldn’t have been a more opportune occasion for the festival to kick off their eco-policy for the first time.
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Johnny Depp is set to produce an upcoming doc about legendary Irish folk-punker (and his friend) Shane MacGowan.
Julien Temple (Glastonbury, The Filth and the Fury, London: The Modern Babylon) will direct Shane, a feature documentary about the man, the music, the Irish diaspora and what the filmmakers describe as his "seemingly effortless facility for writing lyrics to some of the world’s most listened to songs including 'Fairytale of New York,' capturing the spirit of Ireland whilst on his own very personal voyage into the heart of darkness."
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