Music News
Mickey Guyton, Robert Glasper Headline Otis Redding Center for the Arts Fundraiser
In tandem with celebrating soul pioneer Otis Redding’s 81st birthday and legacy, the Otis Redding Foundation will host a groundbreaking ceremony and fundraiser events for the future Otis Redding Center for the Arts on Sept. 9-10 in Macon, Georgia. Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Robert Glasper and Grammy-nominated country singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton are among the artists set to perform during the weekend celebration. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Slated to open in 2023, the Otis Redding Center for the Arts will be housed in an 11,000 square-foot space. To further foster music education for students from ages 3-18, the center will offer learning labs, collaborative spaces, practice rooms and a stage for performances. “Expanding our educa...
Mariah Carey & More Celebs Targeted by Atlanta Gang, According to New Indictment
A prosecutor on Monday (Aug. 29) announced a sprawling indictment targeting members of what she said is a violent street gang that has been targeting the Atlanta area homes of famous athletes, entertainers and others who flaunt expensive possessions on social media. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Singer Mariah Carey, Marlo Hampton of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Atlanta United soccer player Brad Guzan and Atlanta Falcons football player Calvin Ridley all had their homes broken into, the indictment says. The 220-count indictment was filed Aug. 22 and charges 26 people, most of whom are accused of violating Georgia’s anti-gang and racketeering laws. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the crimes alleged in the indictment ...
Beyonce Narrates New Gatorade Ad to Celebrate Serena Williams’ Final U.S. Open
In tennis, “love” means nothing. But in a new Gatorade ad narrated by Beyoncé to celebrate the final U.S. Open appearance from tennis legend Serena Williams, “Love Means Everything.” That’s the title of the new commercial, which shows women of all ages who are dancers, fencers, roller skaters, equestrians and everything in between who have been inspired by the magnificent career and life story of Williams. The ad debuted during Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards ahead of Monday’s (Aug. 29) first day of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament, which Williams announced in a Vogue essay earlier this month would be her final tournament as a professional player. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “When the world writes her down in history, we’ll begin ...
Demi Lovato & Five Finger Death Punch Crown Billboard’s Rock Album Charts
Demi Lovato‘s Holy Fvck roars in at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts, while Five Finger Death Punch‘s AfterLife starts atop the Top Hard Rock Albums list, all dated Sept. 3. In the Aug. 19-25 tracking week, Holy Fvck, Lovato’s first rock-focused full-length, earned 33,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 20,000 units are via album sales. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news AfterLife tallied 29,000 units, with 22,000 from album sales in the same period. Holy Fvck is Lovato’s first ruler on all three lists. Five Finger Death Punch snags its seventh Top Hard Rock Albums No. 1, tying the Ivan Moody-led band with Pearl Jam for the most No. 1s in the histo...
Addison Rae’s Dad Responds to Yung Gravy Taking His Estranged Wife to the VMAs
Yung Gravy fueled the flame of his feud with TikTok star Addison Rae‘s father, Monty Lopez, when the “Betty (Get Money)” rapper brought Lopez’s estranged wife, Sheri Easterling, as his date to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (Aug. 28). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Following the viral moment, Lopez took to his Instagram Stories to throw some shade at the unexpected couple. “Thank you @younggravy for taking the leftovers,” he captioned a shirtless selfie on Sunday. “I would rather spend time with my daughter and 2 grandkids that Sheri Nicole made me abandon as a child in order to be with her,” he continued, though it is unclear what children he is referring to. Lopez and Easterling 21-year-old Addison and two sons 14-year-...
Taylor Swift Announces New Album ‘Midnights’ at 2022 VMAs & Swifties Are in Shock: See the Fan Reactions
From getting interrupted onstage by Kanye West to winning video of the year in 2015 for “Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift has a long history of making career-defining moments at the annual VMAs. But during Sunday night’s (Aug. 28) show, she eclipsed them all by taking video of the year — one of the biggest awards of the night — for her self-directed “All Too Well” music video and announcing her 10th studio album in one fell swoop. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This, of course, sent shockwaves into the Swiftie community, whose residents just a few hours prior weren’t even certain that the “I Bet You Think About Me” singer would even be attending this year’s VMAs. They’d also spent the past several months theorizing which of Swift’s rerec...
Nicki Minaj, BLACKPINK, Anitta & More: Which 2022 VMAs Performance Was Your Favorite? Vote!
Another year, another MTV VMAs in the book. The annual music awards ceremony took off without a hitch on Sunday night (Aug. 28) and featured some of the most famous stars in pop music coming together to honor their achievements and perform their biggest hits on stage. But which performance was you favorite of the night? Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Prudential Center in New Jersey lit up Barbie pink for Nicki Minaj in honor of her receiving the Video Vanguard Award at the show, which saw the iconic rapper perform a medley of her biggest hits from “Super Bass” and “Moment for Life,” to her newer hits such as “Anaconda” and “Super Freaky Girl,” which recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The audience in the stadium shouted the lyrics...
Nicki Minaj Adds ‘Likkle Miss’ Remix With Skeng to Her ‘Queen Radio: Volume 1’ Compilation
Nicki Minaj has added a new track to her surprise greatest hits compilation, Queen Radio: Volume 1. The Queen of Rap took to social media early Sunday morning (Aug. 28) to share cover art and reveal that a remix of Jamaican dancehall artist Skeng’s “Likkle Miss” has been officially added to her new 29-track release, which dropped on Friday. “Likkle Miss” was originally released by Skeng in early July, and the music video on YouTube for the track had amassed nearly 2.7 million views at press time. Minaj teased in a selfie video on Instagram earlier this month that she was “writing my verse” for “Likkle Miss.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Dancehall need this/ The whole place shake it/ Boom boom/ That a– clapping on his d— all night/ He in Jam...
Notting Hill Carnival Returns to London Streets After Hiatus
The annual Notting Hill Carnival has returned to the streets of London for the first time since 2019, with more than 1 million people expected to take in the music, spectacular parades, dancing and food offerings at Europe’s largest street party on Sunday (Aug. 28) and Monday. The carnival, which celebrates Caribbean culture at the end of August every year, had to take place online for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The carnival traces its history back to 1958, when Trinidadian human rights activist Claudia Jones began organizing a gathering to unify the community after a series of racially motivated attacks on West Indians in west London’s Notting Hill neighborhood. The event has grown from a festival drawing several hundred people to a huge annual street party, with tens of t...
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Four People
Win Butler, who performs with wife Régine Chassagne in Arcade Fire, has been accused of sexual misconduct by four people. In a report published by Pitchfork on Saturday (Aug. 27), three female Arcade Fire fans and a fourth person who is gender-fluid and uses they/them pronouns claimed that they’d had sexual interactions with Butler when they were between the ages of 18 and 23 that they deemed inappropriate; one claimed that they’d been sexually assaulted by the musician. In a statement given to the publication, Butler said that the extramarital relationships were consensual. Billboard reached out to a representative for Butler, who said he had no further comment beyond the statement provided to Pitchfork. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The all...
Mable John, First Female Solo Artist Signed by Motown, Dies at 91
Mable John, the first solo female artist signed by Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, has died. She was 91. The veteran R&B singer passed away at her home in Los Angeles on Thursday (Aug. 25), her nephew Kevin John told The Detroit News. A cause of death had not been revealed at press time. “We loved her and she was a kind person,” Kevin John said of his aunt, who was the older sister of R&B star Little Willie John. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In addition to being the first solo female artist signed to Motown (then Tamla), Mable John also recorded hit songs for Stax Records and she was a singer in Ray Charles’ Raelettes backing band. John was born on Nov. 3, 1930 in Bastrop, Louisiana. The oldest of nine children, she and h...
Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope Call Out Jason Aldean’s Wife Brittany Over Transphobic Comments
Comments made by country singer Jason Aldean‘s wife, Brittany, are coming under fire after she posted a transphobic joke on Instagram. “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life,” Brittany wrote earlier this week, on Aug. 23, as a caption to a before-and-after makeup video set to Beyoncé’s 2006 song “Upgrade U,” (even though Beyoncé is known to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community). Husband Jason left a laughing emoji in the comments and replied, “Lmao!! Im glad they didn’t too, cause you and I wouldn’t have worked out.” In a wordier statement via Instagram Stories on Friday (Aug. 26), Brittany expanded upon her unsolicited thoughts on transgender youth and their rights to gender-affirming care: “Advocating for ...
