music blog
Dave Chappelle Attacker Sentenced to Nine Months in Jail
Isaiah Lee, the man who attacked comedian Dave Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bow in May, has pleaded no contest and been sentenced to 270 days in a county jail, Deadline reports. Lee was charged with misdemeanor counts of battery and entering a restricted area during a live event. The 24-year-old is currently locked up on an unrelated charge, with authorities alleging that he stabbed his roommate at a transitional housing facility last year. His lawyers has sought to place him in a pretrial intervention program designed to help people with behavioral or mental health issues, but the judge rejected the request. Chappelle had been performing at Netflix Is a Joke Fest when Lee stormed the stage and attempted to tackle him. Chappelle was brought to the ground but escaped u...
Daisy Edgar-Jones Cast as Carole King in Musical Biopic Beautiful
Daisy Edgar-Jones can soon cross off biopic on her acting bucket list, because Variety reports that the Normal People star has been cast as Carole King in Sony’s upcoming film adaptation of Beautiful, the jukebox stage musical about the early life and career of the legendary singer-songwriter. An on-screen version of Beautiful has been in the works for quite a while now, with Sony having purchased the rights to it over seven years ago. The stage show, which starred a Tony-winning Jessie Mueller as King, ran on Broadway for five years until it closed in October 2019. It played 60 previews and 2,418 regular performances. “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger,” King said in a statement to Variety. “She’s a tremendous t...
Trevor Noah To Host Grammy Awards for Third Consecutive Year in 2023
Trevor Noah will return to host the 2023 Grammy Awards, according to Billboard. This year’s ceremony will mark Noah’s third consecutive year in the hosting position, after making his debut in 2021 and coming back earlier this year. Earlier this month, Noah stepped down as the host of The Daily Show, following a seven-year stint at Comedy Central. In his post-Daily Show era, the stand-up comedian is preparing to embark on his Off the Record global tour, which begins in January. Elsewhere, Noah’s Zero Day Productions presently hosts a slate of more than 30 projects in development. Noah’s third-time hosting gig is a big feat. In the last 30 years, only one other person has hosted the Grammys at least three consecutive times: LL Cool J. “I don’t think it’s normal to host it once, so I don...
Ozuna to Perform at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony
Ozuna has been confirmed to perform at the 2022 World Cup closing ceremony, FIFA announced Thursday (Dec. 15). The event, where Argentina and France will play for the trophy, will be held on Sunday, Dec. 18, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Since August, the Puerto Rican artist has been making the rounds with his track “Arhbo” alongside French-Congolese rapper Gims, which is part of the official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 soundtrack. The feel-good collaboration is named after the local slang word for “welcome” in Qatar, which “perfectly embodies the welcoming spirit” of the Arabian country that has been hosting the World Cup since Nov. 20. “Arhbo” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart dated D...
The Weeknd Receives 2022 Allan Slaight Humanitarian Award For Social Activism
The Weeknd was named the 2022 recipient of the prestigious Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award this week in honor of the singer’s longstanding commitment to charitable causes. “That this is a Canadian award sits deep with me. Allan and The Slaight Family Foundation are known across the country for their generous philanthropy, and it means a lot to be acknowledged, and is an honor to be recognized along with the legendary Canadian artists who received this award before me,” said the artist born Abel Tesfaye. The award is presented annually to a Canadian artist, duo or group in recognition of their social activism and benevolent support of humanitarian interests and causes,” according to a release from the organization. The Slaight Family Foundation will make a $50,000 donation to the ch...
Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2022: No. 4 — Beyoncé
For this year’s update of our ongoing Greatest Pop Star by Year project, Billboard is counting down our staff picks for the top 10 pop stars of 2022 all this week. At No. 4, we remember the year in Beyoncé — a pop icon who revels in teasing the world until she’s ready to once again make industry history. After Beyoncé held fans over during the pandemic with 2020’s Black Is King, the visual album based on her The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack, and one-off singles “Black Parade” and “Be Alive” (the latter for the soundtrack to 2021 biographical drama King Richard), there were questions of what musical direction the artist would take come 2022. She had turned 40 years old the prior September, after all, and a new decade often sparks a reinvention of sound. “It’s hard goin...
Niall Horan & Lewis Capaldi Deliver a Gorgeous Cover of a U2 Hit: Watch
It’s official: Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi need to start a band together. As part of Niall Horan’s Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar With Lewis Capaldi documentary, the two pop stars teamed up for a duet of U2‘s 1987 hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, and shared a video of the beautifully simple recording process. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The duo kept their setup minimalistic for the cover released Tuesday (Dec. 13), using no backup instruments other than the ones they play themselves. With Capaldi on piano and Horan on acoustic guitar, the two took turns singing lead vocal. After they finished the song, the two exchanged a triumphant high-five. “This place is amazing,” the former One D...
Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Rüfüs Du Sol To Headline Osheaga 2023
Osheaga Music and Arts Festival has unveiled the first installment of its 2023 lineup, revealing Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Rüfüs Du Sol are slated to headline. The event, which is scheduled to occur from August 4 to 6, will take place in Montreal, Canada, at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. Rüfüs du Sol and Eilish both took to the festival’s stage in 2019 and 2018, respectively, and Lamar previously headlined the three-day festival in 2015. For 2023, Rüfüs du Sol will close out Osheaga’s Friday lineup; Eilish will lead Saturday night, and Kendrick will conclude on Sunday. “15 years into this journey we have been fortunate to have some of the greatest acts in the world grace our stages,” said Nick Farkas, Osheaga founder, in a press statement. “I feel that this year’s headlin...
Dancer Extraordinaire & Ellen’s Beloved DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss Dead At 40, Twitter Reacts To Tragic News
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Robin L Marshall / Getty / Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss We are sad to report that Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, the beloved DJ from the Ellen show and exceptional dancer, died at 40. Celebrity gossip site TMZ reports Boss’ death appears to result from a suicide attempt. Per TMZ: Law enforcement sources tell us Stephen’s wife, Allison Holker, ran into an LAPD station Tuesday, and she was frantic because she said Stephen had left home without his car — something that was not like him at all. We’re told, a short time later, police got a call for a shooting at an L.A. hotel … and they found Stephen there, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Holker confirmed the tragic news of her husband’s death in a statement to PEOPLE. “It is with the heaviest ...
Ghostface Killer (Not That One) Comes To New York In ‘Scream VI’ Trailer
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Paramount / Paramount Pictures With the surprising success of 2022’s Scream V, it was inevitable that Paramount Pictures would ultimately add another installment into the franchise but instead of waiting a decade in-between releases, they’re striking while the iron is hot. Earlier today we got our first look at the upcoming Scream VI and it looks like the Ghostface killer (not to be confused with the beloved Ghostface Killah) will be leaving the burbs and taking his talents to the big city, New York to terrorize the surviving victims of Scream V, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jenna Ortega and Mason Gooding. Related Stories Had they been smart about it they would’ve befriended the Wu-Tang Clan and the real Ghostface Killah once they moved to NY for ...
NYC Central Park Entrance To Be Named After The “Exonerated 5”
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Mario Tama / Getty An entrance into Central Park is to be named after the five men who were exonerated after spending years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of beating and rapping a white female jogger more than 30 years ago. The “Gate of the Exonerated” will be inscribed on the perimeter wall at an entrance on 110th Street, according to a report from CNN. The project was unanimously approved by the New York City Public Design Commission during a meeting on Monday. The report notes that the project will also feature a historical sign with background information about the name and a QR code linking to online resources. “The ‘Gate of the Exonerated’ symbolizes the resiliency of the ‘Exonerated Five’ and all those who have been wr...
Peep The Latest ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ Trailer
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Sony / Sony Though we’re still a ways away from indulging in the brilliance of Sony’s highly anticipated Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, a new trailer for Miles Morales’ latest adventure hit the internet yesterday and boy did it get the fanboys a-talkin.’ While the two-minute teaser trailer was mostly compiled of footage from it’s predecessor, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, we did get some cool looks at the multiple Spider-Men and Spider-Women set to join Miles and Spider-Gwen on their latest adventure. According to the film’s synopsis, Miles and Gwen are once again thrown into the Multiverse where they meet various versions of arachnid-enhanced superheroes who do what they can to protect their worlds from tearing apart, but once a new threat eme...
