entertainment blog
John Mayer Tests Positive for COVID-19 Again: ‘This One’s Got the Better of Me’
COVID-19 has derailed John Mayer‘s Sob Rock tour once again. The musician announced late on Thursday (Feb. 24) that additional members of his band have contracted coronavirus, including himself — for a second time. “More members of the band tested positive for Covid today, and I was one of them,” the “Wild Blue” singer shared in an Instagram post, explaining that the next four shows will be rescheduled once again. “This is a bummer for everyone in the band and crew, to say nothing of the question hanging over everyone’s head – mine included – as to how I tested positive on PCR twice in two months.” Explore Explore John Mayer See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news He added that while his first bout with COVID was “extremely mild,” he hasn’t been quite as fortu...
Ernest to Release ‘Flower Shops (The Album)’ in March: ‘I Wanted This Album to Be Bulletproof’ (Exclusive)
In 2020, Big Loud artist-writer Ernest (full name: Ernest Keith Smith) was a writer on five Top 10 songs, including chart-toppers for Morgan Wallen (“More Than My Hometown”) and Chris Lane (“Big, Big Plans”). Last year, Ernest co-wrote “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ‘90s” another chart-topper for Sam Hunt. Ernest also contributed to 11 songs on Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which became the best-selling album of 2021. Explore Explore Ernest See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This year, Ernest is breaking through for his own artistry, with a top 20 hit of his own on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with the breakup-and-makeup anthem “Flower Shops,” featuring Wallen. On March 11, Ernest follow this success with the release of Flower Sho...
Here’s How Much Lin-Manuel Miranda Has Made in Royalties From ‘Encanto’ Song Publishing
As Billboard has written about extensively recently, penning a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit as a solo writer is a rare thing in this day and age. But being the lone song author behind an entire hit soundtrack, as Lin-Manuel Miranda has done with the songs to the runaway Disney smash Encanto, is even more unusual — and more lucrative. Billboard estimates that the eight songs that Miranda wrote — each without co-writers — for the animated musical have thus far generated a combined $4.7 million in global publishing royalties. (Miranda’s share of the royalties will depend on what kind of publishing breakdown his deal has — but at the very least, if he has a straight publishing deal without any publisher share, he will get half that amount.) That includes about $1.275 million in publishing royal...
Best New Tracks: Kanye West, Denzel Curry x slowthai, Conway The Machine and More
As the week in music comes to a close, HYPEBEAST has rounded up the best projects for the latest installment of Best New Tracks. This week’s list is led by releases from the artist formerly known as Kanye West, Denzel Curry x slowthai and Conway The Machine, who dropped DONDA 2, the single “Zatoichi” and God Don’t Make Mistakes, respectively. Also joining this selection are offerings from EARTHGANG, Bakar, Kehlani, Toro y Moi, Deb Never, Baby Keem and Robert Glasper. Kanye West – DONDA 2 #Donda2 Experience LIVE NOW @kanyewest (https://t.co/T1k9LnSjNs) pic.twitter.com/Hm7sBOxRAm — Amazon Music (@amazonmusic) February 23, 2022 Almost all the tracks from Ye’s DONDA 2 are available now, but exclusively on the YEEZY Stem Player. Earlier this week, the artist ...
Kanye West Releases New Album Donda 2 on Stem Player
Kanye West has released 16 songs from his new album and Donda sequel Donda 2, and as promised, it’s currently available exclusively through West’s Donda Stem Player. The follow-up to his 2021 LP was reportedly executive produced by Future and features contributions from Migos, Jack Harlow, Soulja Boy, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Baby Keem, the late XXXTentacion, and more. The batch of songs is dubbed the “V2.22.22 MIAMI” release. Some songs that debuted at the Miami event, including the Playboi Carti-featuring song “Mr. Miyagi,” have not been shared yet. It’s currently unclear if more tracks will become available. The version available today appears to be an unfinished version of songs that were shared at the Miami event. At publication time, no album artwork has been shared. Find it ...
Bonnie Raitt Announces New Album Just Like That…, Shares New Song: Listen
Bonnie Raitt has announced her first new album since 2016. The new record, Just Like That…, is out April 22 via Redwing. Below, listen to Raitt’s new single “Made Up Mind.” Raitt recorded Just Like That… in Sausalito, California in summer 2021. She made the album with bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson, drummer Ricky Fataar, keyboardist and backing vocalist Glenn Patscha, and guitarist Kenny Greenberg. Raitt also produced the album, working with mixing engineer Ryan Freeland. Just Like That… follows February 2016’s Dig in Deep. Before that, Raitt released Slipstream in 2012; it eventually earned her and Ryan Freeland the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. Read Pitchfork’s Sunday Review of Bonnie Raitt’s 1989 LP Nick of Time. All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selec...
Russian Rapper Oxxxymiron Cancels Sold Out Moscow Concerts in Protest of Ukraine Invasion
Oxxxymiron, a popular rapper in Russia, has indefinitely canceled six sold out concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and assault on Ukraine, The New York Times reports. The rapper was one of several public figures in the country who called for an end to the war. “I know that most people in Russia are against this war, and I am confident that the more people would talk about their real attitude to it, the faster we can stop this horror,” said Oxxxymiron in a statement (translated by the Times). “I cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine—when residents of Kyiv are forced to hide in basements and in the metro, while people are dying.” Several other Russian musicians—including Kasta, Shym, Vladi, Khamil, Zmey, and Noiz...
Denzel Curry and slowthai Join Forces for “Zatoichi”
Denzel Curry and slowthai have joined forces for the newest Melt My Eyez See Your Future single, “Zatoichi.” The track follows “Walkin” and features production from Powers Pleasant, who carries Curry from a hip-hop track to a drum and bass offering while slowthai hops on the dynamic single’s chorus. “Zatoichi,” which takes inspiration from the legendary 1960’s Japanese samurai movie character of the same name and Quentin Tarantino‘s Kill Bill Vol. 2, also arrives with an accompanying music video helmed by Adrian Villagomez that features Montreal-based dancer and performer Sophia Gaspard. “I like traditional hip hop, I like drum and bass, I like trap, I like poetry, so a lot of that is going to be interwoven in this album including jazz and a lot of genres that I came up on as a kid an...
DNCE Reunites for ‘Dancing Feet’ With Kygo: Stream It Now
After a four-year hiatus, DNCE is back, teaming up with Kygo for the aptly titled “Dancing Feet,” which dropped on Friday (Feb. 25). The band’s frontman Joe Jonas has been teasing the release for nearly two weeks, performing the hit with Kygo at the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl Part in Los Angeles on February 12. DNCE’s comeback has a new lineup with the departure of keyboardist Cole Whittle, and Jonas recently told Rolling Stone that he has a completely new vision for the pop-rock act he launched in 2015. “I can kind of foresee it becoming this E Street Band where members come and go,” he told the magazine. “It could be a great opportunity to have some special guests, like obviously Ryan [Tedder], who is a fantastic musician. I can totally see him hopping up onst...
Tyga & Doja Cat Team Up for ‘Freaky Deaky’: Stream It Now
Tyga and Doja Cat share the fun of being “Freaky Deaky” in their new collaboration, which dropped on Friday (Feb. 25). Tyga teased the release a day prior with an 18-second snippet of the song’s accompanying, Christian Breslauer-directed music video, which features Doja in an assortment of lingerie, Tyga speeding through a neon-lit city in a sports car and a giant mouth coming out of a swirly-patterned wall. Tonight let’s eats ‼️ pic.twitter.com/kwbSgQvESO — T-Raww (@Tyga) February 24, 2022 “Freaky Deaky” comes just a week after Tyga unveiled “Touch It (Remix)” with KiDi. Doja, meanwhile, is still glowing from the success of her 2021 album Planet Her, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. She’s set to be honored with the Powerhouse Award at the 2022 Bill...
Avril Lavigne Unveils ‘Love Sux’ Album: Stream It Now
It’s been three years since Avril Lavigne released her confessional 2019 album, Head Above Water, but the pop-punk princess unveiled her seventh studio album Love Sux on Friday (Feb. 25). The 12-track collection, dropped via Travis Barker’s DTA Records, features collaborations with Lavigne’s pal Machine Gun Kelly on the song “Bois Lie,” as well as Blink-182 bassist-singer Mark Hoppus on “All I Wanted,” and producer-songwriter Blackbear on previously released single “Love It When You Hate Me.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news “I went into this album and just said, ‘I want to make a pop-punk record, a rock-and-roll record. I don’t want to be on the piano. I don’t want ballads, really. I just really want to rock out,’” Lavigne recently told Billboard of her new album...
Midnight Oil Blasts to No. 1 in Australia With ‘Resist’
Midnight Oil fires up Australia’s albums chart with Resist (Sony), which blasts to No. 1 on debut. Resist is the sixth No. 1 for The Oils, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, and the followup to The Makarrata Project, an EP with First Nations Collaborators, which bowed at the summit in November 2020. Peter Garrett and Co. previously hit led the chart with Red Sails in the Sunset (November 1984), Diesel and Dust (August 1987), Blue Sky Mining (March 1990) and 20,000 Watt RSL – The Midnight Oil Collection (October 1997). Spanning a dozen, politically-charged tracks, Resist is the legendary Aussie rockers’ first full-length studio album in nearly 20 years, their 13th overall. And it’s said to be their finale. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and...
