NEWS
Taylor Swift Calls Out Trump for ‘Calculated Dismantling of USPS,’ Urges Fans to ‘Vote Early’
Taylor Swift took to Twitter on Saturday to slam Donald Trump for tampering with the U.S. Postal Service so close to the 2020 election. “Trump’s calculated dismantling of USPS proves one thing clearly: He is WELL AWARE that we do not want him as our president,” she wrote. “He’s chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans’ lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power.” The president has recently gone to great lengths to attack USPS ahead of November, including tweets casting doubt about the validity of mail-in voting; hiring a Postmaster General (who happens to be a major Trump donor) that wants to uproot the service; removing physical mailboxes; and literally dismantling mail-sorting machines in an attempt to force voters to polling places during the pandemic. “Donald T...
Cavern Club ‘Could Close Forever’ in the Wake of COVID-19
Liverpool’s Cavern Club was the site of nearly 300 Beatles shows before the British Invasion, and now it “could close forever” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, Mayor Joe Anderson warned that despite the UK beginning to reopen music venues with reduced capacity, the historic venue is in danger of permanently closing if its bid to the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund falls through. “The fact that the world-famous Cavern could close forever because of Covid-19 should bring home to the Government how much our hugely treasured music industry is in peril. This virus has caused unimaginable pain and grief but it’s proving to be an existential threat to our cultural scene,” Anderson told The Liverpool Echo. “The prospect of losing a national jewel like the Ca...
Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold Debuts ‘Featherweight’ During Voter Registration Stream
Last night, a number of big-name indie rock artists shared original, self-recorded performances as part of Vote Ready Live — a livestream event encouraging voter registration. Waxahatchee, Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear, and TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton all participated in the online concert, and so did Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, who debuted a new song called “Featherweight.” He also covered Arthur Russell’s “I Never Get Lonesome” and the Roches’ “Hammond Song.” Watch Pecknold’s full performance below. The War on Drugs were also part of the lineup and performed “In Reverse,” as well as a cover of Warren Zevon’s “Accidentally a Martyr.” Kevin Morby, Hand Habits, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Cigg...
Stray Dog Becomes Hyundai Dealership’s Best Friend
It’s 2020, and we’re all in desperate need of some uplifting news. If it involves a lovable dog with a rags-to-dealer story, we are there. And that’s why we’re so happy to be telling you about Tuscon Prime instead of some grim auto manufacturing news. This dog used to be a stray, but with a little luck he became a fixture at a Hyundai dealer—and now he’s getting international exposure. The dealership is located in Brazil, and we came across this story on Hyundai’s Brazilian Instagram account. The story goes that Tucson Prime was a stray, but liked hanging around the dealership. Taking pity on the adorable pup, the dealership “adopted” him. It was a smart move for both, since Tucson Prime became the center of attention—and had a stable living ...
Leaked! Next-Gen 2022 Subaru BRZ Set to Launch Spring 2021
We’ve known for a while that a successor to the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 twins is in the works, but now we know just how close the next-gen jointly developed sports car is. A photo of a Subaru future product presentation was leaked to enthusiast forum GR86.com, and in it is the automaker’s product plans through 2023. There are many juicy tidbits in the timeline, but the one that jumps out immediately is the BRZ replacement, which the leak suggests will launch next spring. That’s earlier than expected, and likely means the car is close to fully developed. A set of spy photos posted to GR86.com confirm that test mules are already out and about, with one spotted testing alongside a Ford Mustang. The car is still heavily camouflaged, so it’s hard to make out any details...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (August 15)
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week: A new version of Soda Stereo’s “De Música Ligera” One of the Soda Stereo’s most iconic songs is a getting a new version thanks to Los Rabanes, Beto Cuevas and Randy Ebright (Molotov) who have joined forces for this forthcoming collaboration. Los Rabanes shared the artwork of the single, out Aug. 28, and a teaser of the ska-tinged cover. Listen below: Ivy Queen & Celia Cruz to unite for epic virtual duet Ivy Queen and the late Celia Cruz will unite for an epic virtual performance that will be showcased during the ...
Declan McKenna, Lovelytheband & More Set For Billboard Live At-Home Concerts: See Schedule
As we head into yet another week of quarantine, Billboard‘s Live At-Home concert series will feature more livestreamed performances for your entertainment. This week’s performances kick off Tuesday (Aug. 18), with a set from indie pop group Lovelytheband. Next up is English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna, and country crooner Danielle Bradbery will close out the week. The shows will stream live via Billboard‘s Facebook page. Check out this week’s full schedule below. We’ll also embed each video below once the performance takes place. Tuesday (Aug. 18)Lovelytheband — 1 p.m. ET Wednesday (Aug. 19)Declan Mckenna — 1 p.m. ET Thursday (Aug. 20)Danielle Bradbery — 1 p.m. ET Billboard‘s Live At-Home series launched in March as ...
Chrissy Teigen Opens Up About Being Pregnant During Breast Surgery: ‘It’s Quite a Story’
Chrissy Teigen has “quite a story” to tell about her surprise pregnancy. One day after revealing she and husband John Legend are expecting their third child, the 34-year-old model and author opened up about how she discovered her latest pregnancy after a breast implant removal surgery in early June. On Friday night (Aug. 14), one of Teigen’s 13 million Twitter followers asked if she knew she was pregnant before going into surgery. “Oh, it’s quite a story. Lol,” Teigen responded before setting the record straight on the timeline. “I did the routine pregnancy test you do before surgery. It said negative. It was not negative,” Teigen tweeted, adding that she took another test, this time with positive results, on June 19, the same day Legend released his new album...
Zedd Unveils Immersive Snapchat Lens for Hit Single “Funny”
Following the release of his latest radio hit, Zedd is keeping his foot on the promo pedal with the release of a themed Snapchat lens. The venerated DJ and producer took to social media to show off the new filter for “Funny,” his breezy dance pop collaboration with Jasmine Thompson. The lens offers an immersive glimpse into the single’s kaleidoscopic visual features, which were also recently gamified in Minecraft by a popular YouTuber named DoodleChaos. Following the July 2020 release of “Funny,” Thompson shared the story behind the “life-changing” single, saying that her producers sent an early demo to Zedd without her knowledge before the Grammy winner fell in love with it. He put his own twist on the tune, and before she knew it, the duo ha...
Chevy’s Shark-Themed Concept Cars: The Apex Predators of Auto Shows in the 1960s
One of our favorite non-automotive times of the year is upon us: Discovery’s Shark Week 2020 began on Sunday, Aug. 9. As such, we’re thoroughly in the mood for some automotive sharkdom, and we figured this is a great time to look back at some of Chevrolet’s cool shark-themed concepts of the 1960s. 1961 Mako Shark concept: Selling the new Corvette Legend has it that the original Mako Shark concept car’s name and color scheme were inspired by the real thing—specifically, a mako shark that GM styling chief Bill Mitchell caught himself and had mounted in his office. The story goes that Mitchell insisted that the blue-grey-white blending on the show car exactly match the shark, and when his staff couldn’t get the car painted to his satisfaction, they stole the shar...
ABT’s Audi RS Q8-R is More Carbon Fiber Than Car
The Audi RS Q8 is a rocket ship of a crossover SUV. It currently holds the lap record at the Nürburgring for a production SUV, bettering its more powerful Italian cousin, the Lamborghini Urus, by five seconds. But for all of its racetrack crushing pace, some might say the RS Q8 is lacking a little bit of wow factor. Luckily, that’s where famed Audi tuner ABT comes in, and it calls this creation the RS Q8-R. To celebrate its 125th birthday, ABT is giving the RS Q8 a bit of a carbon-fiber filled makeover. The changes include adding bits of carbon fiber to the grille surround, front splitter, fender flares, rear window surround, and rear fascia. There are also little winglets at the top of the tailgate that are made from—you guessed it—carbon fiber. The car sits on massive 23-inch rims ...
Brandon Flowers Wrote the ‘Most Romantic Lyric’ for The Killers’ New Single ‘Dying Breed’
The Killers dropped their “Dying Breed” single today (Aug. 14) ahead of their sixth studio album Imploding the Mirage, which is out next Friday, Aug. 21 via Island Records. The rock band first teased the song during an April 24-dated Instagram Live, but frontman Brandon Flowers told NME that the words might be some of the “most romantic” ones he’s ever written about his wife and muse Tana Mundkowsky. “I like the idea of where me and my wife have gotten to and where we headed,” Flowers told NME. “An overriding theme of this record is asking the question, ‘Can two become one?’ I know it’s old-fashioned, but it’s my life. It’s probably the prettiest or most romantic lyric I’ve ever written.&#...
