music blog
TIM ‘RIPPER’ OWENS Says JUDAS PRIEST Turned Down Tour With IRON MAIDEN While He Was In The Band
During a recent appearance on the “Who’s Your Band?” podcast, former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim “Ripper” Owens was asked how long it took him, after he joined the legendary British heavy metal legends, to feel comfortable enough to voice his opinion when he disagreed with how they went about doing certain things. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, I mean, I don’t know if I’d ever really do that, just because it was JUDAS PRIEST. These guys have done it for so long. I always gave them the respect of who they were. Who am I to tell them [what to do] at times? “It was a really funny thing. When we first started rehearsing… We would rehearse… This is hilarious. I remember Glenn [Tipton, guitar] and Ken [K.K. Downing, gui...
DAVID LEE ROTH Addresses Possibility Of Future Shows Following Las Vegas Residency Cancelation
David Lee Roth has issued a brief statement after the cancelation of the remaining farewell shows he was set to play in Las Vegas. The 67-year-old VAN HALEN frontman had previously scrapped concerts scheduled for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and was to play a total of nine shows as he vowed to retire from performing live. The concerts were scheduled to take place on December 31, 2021, and January 1, 5, 7 and 8 of 2022 at the House Of Blues at Mandalay Bay. When asked if Roth‘s farewell performances will take place at a later date, he told Fox News Digital in a statement: “It’s not about me anymore. When the benefits for Kentucky, Colorado, and Farm Aid kick in; Call me.” In a similarly worded statement to EW, Roth said about the cancelation of his V...
JOE SATRIANI To Embark On Fine Art Tour
Joe Satriani, the legendary world-renowned guitarist, is planning his first foray as a touring visual artist with showings debuting at two Wentworth Gallery locations in January 2022 — Friday January 28, 7-10 p.m. at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida and Saturday January 29, 5-8 p.m. at the Boca Raton location. Satriani has prepared one-of-a-kind pieces for the exhibit, including original canvases and hand painted guitars. Joe says: “Music and art are my passions. I like making the invisible, visible, and the unimaginable real. The image on a canvas, or an electric guitar for that matter, can make you feel something unexpected and revealing, something that is the beginning of a greater personal insight. Challenging the straight line and the concepts of what belongs w...
Original Coal Chamber Bassist Rayna Foss Was Reported Missing Four Months Ago
Rayna Foss, the original bassist of the nu metal band Coal Chamber, was reported missing in September, with her whereabouts currently unknown. The 51-year-old musician was living in a group home in New Orleans at the time she disappeared. Foss was a member of Coal Chamber from 1994 through their initial breakup in 2003. She appeared on the band’s first three albums — 1997’s Coal Chamber, 1999’s Chamber Music, and 2002’s Dark Days. She did not join the band when they reunited from 2011 through 2016. Coal Chamber’s lead singer, Dez Fafara, currently fronts the metal band DevilDriver. At the time Foss went missing, local Fox TV station WVUE issued the following notice via its official Facebook page (as seen below): “MISSING: Rayna Foss, 51, was last seen by a group home manager on Sept. 7, ac...
R.I.P. Classic BlackBerry, Phone with Best Keyboard and Worst OS Dead at 22
BlackBerry, the tech company that shattered the barrier between work and home, has stopped supporting its classic line of phones after 22 years. All of the standard BlackBerry models have turned into paper weights with keyboards as of today, January 4th, though a small number of devices powered by the Android operating system will continue to function. The move was a long time coming. The last version of the BlackBerry OS launched in 2013, and the company mostly moved out of the phone industry in 2016. In September of 2021, BlackBerry announced that it would be discontinuing support for BlackBerry 10, 7.1 OS and earlier to focus on its security software and services. BlackBerry first began in 1996 as Research in Motion, promoting a device it called a two-way pager. That first offering allo...
Seth Meyers Cancels Late Night for Rest of Week After Testing Positive for COVID-19
Bad news for those hoping to catch Late Night with Seth Meyers this week: Its titular host announced today (January 4th) that he had tested positive for COVID-19, and was therefore canceling the week’s remaining scheduled episodes. “The bad news is, I tested positive for COVID (thanks, 2022!),” Meyers wrote on Twitter. “The good news is, I feel fine (thanks vaccines and booster!) We are canceling the rest of the shows this week, so tune in next Monday to see what cool location we will try and pass off as a studio!!!” New York City has been hit especially hard with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Numerous live music events have been canceled in precaution, and late-night hosts are certainly not exempt: Just yesterday, Jimmy Fallon announced that he had tested positive on t...
Jeopardy Contestant Confuses Nickelback with Arcade Fire
At least she got the Canadian part right! Jeopardy contestant Kate Woomer-Deters was quick to pose the question “Who is Arcade Fire?” when given a clue that required the response “Who is Nickelback?” — thus confusing one of the 21st century’s most critically acclaimed bands with one of its most critically maligned acts. The musical faux pas happened within the “Billboard Top 200 Albums in 2021” category on Monday night’s episode of the popular quiz show. Reigning champion Amy Schneider had gotten the first four items correct in the category before the contestants were posed the $1,000 clue, “‘The Best Of’ this Canadian band, ‘Volume 1’ included ‘Rockstar,’ ‘How You Remind Me’ & 17 other songs.” After Woomer-Dieters gave her “Who is Arcade Fire?” response, contestant Harsh Daga rang in ...
2 Chainz Announces New Album ‘Dope Don’t Sell Itself’ Will Release This Month
2 Chainz took to social media on Tuesday to announce that his upcoming album, titled Dope Don’t Sell Itself, will release later this month. “Hey you how you been!? It’s been a minute I know, but im back with something new and exotic,” the rapper wrote on Instagram. “You know I ain’t been around this long with out being a thinker and a constant student & teacher of the game my album DOPE DONT SELL ITSELF drops this month and single drops this week.” “Sincerely Yours, Two Tone Toni,” he concluded the post. Dope Don’t Sell Itself, which 2 Chainz first announced during his set at San Bernardino’s HARD Summer Music Festival in August, will mark the rapper’s final trap album. “This gone be my last trap album, enjoy,” he wrote on Twitter in July. This gone be my last trap album , enjoy — Tity...
Looking Ahead: A Release Calendar of Upcoming Albums in 2022
It’s a difficult task to keep track of all the music that’s being released in a given week, let alone a month or whole year. From pop and hip-hop to alternative, K-pop, country and more, the choices for music fans can feel endless. And that’s not even considering vinyl, re-releases and collectible editions. Below, check out Billboard‘s running monthly calendar of upcoming releases to stay in the know; check back often for updates to our schedule of albums to look forward to each week. Jan. 7 Eric Nam, There and Back AgainRuPaul, MamaruThe Weeknd, Dawn FMThe Wombats, Fix Yourself, Not the WorldTwin Atlantic, TransparencyYears & Years, Night Call Jan. 14 Elvis Costello & The Imposters, The Boy Named IfThe Lumineers, BrightsideUnderoath, Voyeurist Jan. 21 Aoife O’Donovan, Age of ...
Rapper J $tash Dead After Allegedly Shooting Girlfriend, Then Himself on New Year’s Day
Rapper J $tash allegedly killed his girlfriend while three kids were in the home, and then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Year’s day incident in Temple City, Calif. “It appears Justin Joseph, aka J $tash, Shot and killed his girlfriend … before turning the gun on himself,” Homicide Lt. Derrick Alfred of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tells Billboard. “The children were in the home, but it does not appear it happened in front of them. … They heard gunshots, then called 911.” According to an LASD press release, deputies responded to a possible domestic violence call around 7:15 a.m. on Jan. 1, and found a 27-year-old woman and 28-year-old man unresponsive; they were pronounced dead at the scene. “The female victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” according ...
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Keeps Atop Billboard Global Charts
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is again the biggest song in the world, as it holds at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts dated Jan. 8, reflecting activity in the Dec. 24-30 tracking week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Plus, GAYLE’s “abcdefu” remains the top-charting non-holiday global hit, while José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” return to the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. top 10, respectively. Billboard‘s two global charts (which in September marked their first year) rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by MRC Data. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global E...
Kelly Clarkson’s Covers Phil Collins’ Socially Conscious Ballad ‘Another Day in Paradise’
Kelly Clarkson kicked off the Tuesday (Jan. 4) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show with a mystifying rendition of Phil Collins‘ “Another Day in Paradise.” Dressed in a sleek black dress and blinged-out hoops, the original American Idol took on the social problem of homelessness highlighted in the 1989 hit with her empathetic and heartfelt vocals. The star was joined by her four-piece band and legendary bassist Leland Sklar, who has played on hundreds of iconic albums for artists including Collins himself, Rod Stewart, Kristen Chenoweth, Bette Midler, Ray Charles, Toto and many more. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “We always love when Leland comes to play with us,” Clarkson gushed after the performance. Clarkson’s emotional performance follows a number of other impressive “K...
