Music News
Woman Charged With Manslaughter in Shoving Death of Beloved Vocal Coach Barbara Gustern
A 26-year-old woman charged in the death of an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach hurled an epithet at her before shoving her to the ground and walking away while the older woman lay bleeding on the sidewalk, prosecutors said at an arraignment Tuesday (March 22). Lauren Pazienza, of Port Jefferson, Long Island, turned herself in earlier Tuesday to face a manslaughter charge in the death of Barbara Maier Gustern, which police said was the result of “an unprovoked, senseless attack” between two strangers. Gustern hit her head and was critically injured March 10 after she was shoved to the ground on West 23rd Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. She died March 15. Friends told The New York Times that Gustern had just left her apartment to catch a student’s performance after hosting a r...
Eagles of Death Metal’s Tuesday Cross Is Out of Coma & Reunited With Fiance Jesse Hughes: ‘She Is Our Miracle’
Eagles of Death Metal singer Jesse Hughes paced back and forth outside the Mountain View Convalescent Hospital in Sylmar, Calif., on a humid afternoon on March 15. The 49-year-old barely slept the night before, his lids heavy, his hair slicked back into a tight braid with a pink hair tie, smoking a cigarette, as he anxiously counted down the minutes until he was allowed to see the love of his life again. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news His fiancée, 31-year-old Marina Cardenas — better known as EODM’s bassist and keyboardist Tuesday Cross — has been comatose since Jan. 23, after suffering brain damage. It had been 51 days since he last saw her. “Is it time yet?” he asked his attorney Alexandra Snyder via phone, a hint of sadness in ...
In Ukraine, Music Promoters Pivot to War’s Front Lines: ‘Culture Needs to Hold On’
The ritual is the same every August. Promoters for Zaxidfest, about an hour southwest of Lviv, Ukraine, dig into storage containers and haul out electrical generators, walkie-talkies and other equipment to put on the latest edition of the event, which has been held since 2009. This summer will be different. “All our storage goes to armed forces and refugees,” says Yakiv Matviychuk, the founder of the festival, which booked punk and metal bands like Cradle of Filth and Lacuna Coil in 2019 and drew 75,000 fans in a single day. “Unfortunately, I am not a soldier. So I help with donations. All people do what they can do the best.” Many men on Zaxidfest’s staff have joined the military to repel the Russian forces who attacked the country on Feb. 24. They’re scattered throughout Ukraine, from Ky...
Taylor Swift Pens New Song for ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ Film: ‘I Wanted to Create Something Haunting’
Something ’bout North Carolina felt like home somehow. Taylor Swift revealed Tuesday (March 22) that she’s lending her voice and lyrics to the July-slated, Reese Witherspoon-produced film Where the Crawdads Sing with an original song titled “Carolina.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news The 11-time Grammy winner posted the film’s trailer — which includes her lyrics and low register voice filling spaces between leading lady Daisy Edgar-Jones and the rest of the cast’s dialogue — to Instagram, and explained in her caption how “Carolina” came to be. “Where The Crawdads Sing is a book I got absolutely lost in when I read it years ago,” she wrote. “As soon as I heard there was a film in the works starring the incredible @daisyedgarjones and produced by the brilliant @reesewitherspo...
Devo to Donate Song Revenue to Ukraine
Devo, the New Wave music group known for hits like “Whip It,” said they will donate their licensing revenue from their song catalog for the entire month of April, along with personal monetary contributions, to organizations that are helping support the Ukrainian people and refugees. The money will be earmarked for Music Saves UA and World Central Kitchen. Devo is asking others in the music industry to join them in this effort. Explore Explore Devo See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Vladimir Putin’s rape of a sovereign nation, Ukraine, whose citizens are committed to democratic rule of law should not and cannot stand in the 21st Century,” said Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale of Devo. “To help the victims of Putin’s unprovoked war, Devo will be donatin...
Jay Copeland Scores ‘Platinum Ticket’ With Stevie Wonder Cover on ‘American Idol’: Watch
He’s only 23, but Jay Copeland has already faced the forks in the road of life. The Salisbury, Maryland native and American Idol hopeful had to make a tough decision. His grad school program gave two options: either choose music (Idol) or choose acting (grad school). “I was told I couldn’t have it all,” he explains at the top of his audition Monday (March 21). He chose Idol, and, as a result, lost funding through his fellowship. It was a big call, and, thankfully, he had a big audition on Idol. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Copeland hit a Stevie Wonder classic, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” inserting his own style and personality into the performance. “You controlled it, you did it, you owned it, and on top of that you were h...
Kylie Jenner Says Son’s Name ‘Isn’t Wolf Anymore’
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott have changed their minds about their newborn son’s name. More than a month after the makeup mogul announced that her second child with the rapper was named Wolf Webster, Jenner took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (March 21) to reveal that it’s no longer the case. “FYI our son’s name isn’t Wolf anymore,” she wrote on a black screen with two laugh-crying emojis. “We just really didn’t feel like it was him. Just wanted to share because I keep seeing Wolf everywhere [prayer emoji].” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See her post on her Instagram Story before it expires here. Earlier in the day, Jenner uploaded a 10-minute video to her YouTube channel titled “To Our Son,” showing a number of sweet moments from her second pregnancy, including older sist...
Rihanna Declares Herself ‘#PreggoAF’ in New Baby Bump Selfie Video
Rihanna took to social media on Sunday night (March 20) to show off her growing baby bump. “Takin ‘booty do’ to new levels #preggoAF,” the superstar captioned the Instagram Story, which starts with a closeup of her bump before panning to reveal her smiling face. Ever the business mogul, RiRi also took the opportunity to shout out one of her latest Fenty Beauty products, which she just so happened to be wearing in the selfie video, writing, “I’m not gon’ lie we f—-ked this new lip gloss color UUUPPP!!! #BubbleBinge is easily my new obsession.” Explore Explore Rihanna See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Last week, the singer revealed in a new interview with Elle during the opening of Fenty Beauty at Ulta that she’s officially entered into the third trimester...
AleXa Is Repping for K-Pop and Oklahoma In ‘American Song Contest’
“K-Pop” and “Oklahoma” are two words you don’t really think of in the same breath. But one of the 56 artists competing on the Monday (March 21) night series premiere of NBC’s American Song Contest just might change that — AleXa, a K-Pop artist from Tulsa, Okla. Born to a South Korean mother and an American father, she first learned about K-Pop in 2008, through one of her best friends. “The first group I ever saw was Super Junior – they’re a huge senior group in the K-Pop industry, but my gateway was SHINee,” AleXa tells Billboard. “I’ve been hooked ever since.” She moved to Korea in the first quarter of 2018 and competed on two reality shows, Rising Star and Produce 48. She signed with ZB, a label owned by South Korean video production company Zanybros. Her first single, “Bomb,” was releas...
Shooting Wounds 4 in Downtown Austin as City Hosts South by Southwest Festival
Four people were shot and wounded in downtown Austin, Texas, early Sunday (March 19) as the city hosts the annual South by Southwest festival, police said. According to the Austin Police Department, the shooting took place on the 400 block of 6th St. Officers told people to avoid the area at around 2:50 a.m., warning via Twitter that the gunman was still at large. However, police tweeted that a suspect was in custody shortly before 5 a.m. Police and the Austin-Travis County EMS said the victims’ injures were not life-threatening, and all four had been taken to the hospital. The coronavirus pandemic forced the SXSW festival to go virtual the last two years. In 2019, multiple shootings took place as the festival drew to a close, prompting Austin’s police chief to pledge more security for the...
How SXSW’s Only Ukrainian Act Fled Kyiv to Bring ‘Masters of War’ to Austin
To get to this moment — singing “Masters of War” at the Speakeasy in Austin, Texas, on Saturday (March 19) with Bob Dylan‘s guitarist while fans draped in Ukrainian flags roared from the balcony — Oleksandra Zaritska endured a terrible journey. On Feb. 25, the 29-year-old singer for popular regional trio Kazka was living in central Kyiv when Russia invaded her country. Early that morning, she witnessed the bombing from her balcony. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I will remember this for my whole life,” Zaritska tells Billboard, with the occasional help of a translator, during South by Southwest at a downtown Austin food hall a day prior to the Speakeasy gig. As emergency sirens blared throughout the city, Zaritska, better known as Sasha, deci...
Barbara Morrison, Legendary L.A. Jazz & Blues Singer, Dies at 72
Barbara Morrison, a legendary singer in the Los Angeles jazz and blues music community, has died. She was 72. Morrison passed away on Wednesday (March 16), according to her brother Richard Morrison. A cause of death was not disclosed. “We are working on keeping the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center open to preserve my sister’s legacy,” Richard Morrison said in a statement, referring to the L.A.-area facility his sister founded in 2009. In early March, a GoFundMe was launched for Morrison after she was admitted to the hospital with cardiovascular disease, the Los Angeles Times reports. The page helped raise more than $13,000. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Born in a suburb of Detroit in 1949, Morrison moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s at the age of 21 and went o...
