Artwork for Bryan Adams’ new single ’51st State” (Badams Music Limited))
Wednesday is Canada Day, and Bryan Adams is celebrating with the release of a new patriotic song.
The Canadian rocker just released the track “51st State,” which appears to be a response to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Canada should become part of the United States.
“Let me give it to you straight/ When you’re talking about my home/ You better show some respect/ Cuz up here we take care of our own,” Adams sings in the chorus. “So let me give you some advice mister/ You might have too much on your plate/ Go’n load us up with tariffs/ But we’ll never be the 51st State.”
“I wanted to write something about Canada because Canada is home,” says Adams. “There is more that binds us than divides us. This is a tribute to the pride and spirit of my fellow Canadians – the rest is just noise.”
“51st State” is now available via digital outlets and as a limited-editon colored vinyl 7-inch single.
There’s no word on whether the song is part of a future Bryan Adams album or just a standalone single. He released his last studio album, Roll With The Punches, in August.
Adams is set to launch a North American tour on July 24 in St. Louis, Missouri. A complete list of dates can be found at BryanAdams.com.
Elton John and Rod Stewart were among the acts who performed at the Concert for Diana at the newly opened Wembley Stadium in London.
The concert was a celebration of Princess Diana, who would have turned 46 that year, hosted by her sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
Elton opened the show with a performance of “Your Song,” and later closed the evening, performing “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Are You Ready for Love,” while Rod Stewart’s performance included “Maggie May,” “Baby Jane” and “Sailing.”
The concert also featured performances from Duran Duran, Supertramp’s Roger Hodgson, Tom Jones, Bryan Ferry, Joss Stone, Fergie, Lily Allen and more.
The concert raised money for charities Diana supported, as well as ones Prince William and Harry were patrons of.
Victor Willis of Village People performs on stage at PNE Amphitheatre on September 2, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images)
Village People lead singer Victor Willis, whose onstage costumes and catchy songs — including “YMCA,” “In the Navy” and “Macho Man” — made the group a household name far beyond the disco era, died on Tuesday, the band said in a social media post this week. He was 74.
Willis died after a “short, but aggressive” illness, his wife wrote in a separate statement posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday.
“The family request privacy at this time of great loss,” the statement added.
Willis was born in Texas in 1951 and grew up singing gospel music in the church where his father was a Baptist minister.
In 1977, he teamed with late producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo to create the Village People, embodying the group’s “Cop/Admiral” character. Willis left and returned to the group several times in the years that followed but returned for good in 2017.
When the group’s hit song “Y.M.C.A.” was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in March 2020, Willis said in a statement, “I had no idea when we wrote ‘Y.M.C.A.’ that it would become one of the most iconic songs in the world, and fixture at almost every wedding, birthday party, bar mitzvah and sporting event.”
“I am glad that the music of Village People has made the world smile for over 40 years with our music,” he continued. “On behalf of my partners Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo, we thank you and are honored to be in such elite company.”
“Y.M.C.A.” was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021.
President Donald Trump, who frequently plays “Y.M.C.A.” at his campaign rallies and events, mourned Willis’ death in a social media post Wednesday. He took credit for reviving the song, which was first released in 1978 as the lead single on the Village People’s Cruisin’ album.
The group had initially asked Trump to stop using their songs “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” at his rallies, but later supported the use of them and even performed at Trump’s victory rally on the eve of his second inauguration in January 2025.
“[Willis] was a great and happy guy who loved that I used his groups song, YMCA, at my Rallies,” Trump wrote in part on Wednesday. “It became a ‘monster’ hit, again, 30 years after its original launch.”
Willis was previously married to actress Phylicia Rashad from 1978 to 1982. He remarried in 2007 and is survived by his wife Karen Huff-Willis, an entertainment executive and attorney.
Guitarist Phil Collen of Def Leppard performs at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on February 03, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation Las Vegas)
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is giving fans some insight into the band’s next record.
During an interview with the Thunder Underground podcast, Collen discussed the new album they’ve been working on. He notes that their latest single, “Rejoice,” which was released in January, is “one style of a song that’s on there.”
As for the rest, he says, “There’s some stuff on there that’s, like, ‘Whoa.’ You’d go, ‘This is really wacky.’ And so, I like that.”
“I love the fact that we’ve kind of, not got brave, but we haven’t got scared to express ourselves,” he adds. “Whoever writes whatever song, everyone puts 100% into it. So it kind of, again, takes on another life when you do that as well.”
He says that when it comes him and his bandmates writing songs “everyone gets involved.”
“It’s really diplomatic and it’s a democracy,” he explains. “But good ideas win.”
So far there’s no word on when Def Leppard will be releasing their new album. The record will be the first album of new material since 2022’s Diamond Star Halos.
In the meantime, Def Leppard is currently on a tour of Europe and the U.K. and will play the O2 in London on Thursday. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.
Is it your desire to have multiple versions of Bananarama’s album True Confessions? Consider your wish granted.
The British trio is rolling out special versions of the album in honor of its 40th anniversary. The album features their biggest U.S. hit, “Venus.” Among the offerings are three CD versions, each featuring artwork based around a single band member, plus audio from that member talking about what it was like making the album in 1986.
The album is also being released on picture disc, a double-LP vinyl version featuring bonus remixes, several vinyl variants and another CD version with even more remixes. All feature remastered audio and will be released Aug. 28. Reproductions of the group’s original 1986 merchandise are also available.
One of the remixes is a new take on “Venus” by Richard X, which is available now. The song was originally recorded in 1969 by a Dutch rock band called Shocking Blue. The group hired U.K. pop producers Stock Aitken Waterman to turn it into a dance song after they heard the producers’ work on “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive.
“They said it couldn’t be done because you couldn’t have guitars on a pop record!” recalls group member Keren Woodward. “Thankfully, we were very persuasive.”
“Venus” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the producers would go on to produce additional hits for Bananarama, as well as for Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue, Donna Summer and more.
(L-R) Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Ronnie Wood attend the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at The Weylin on May 05, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for UMG)
Fans of The Rolling Stones are disappointed they have no plans to tour this year, but Mick Jagger insists that doesn’t mean they will never play live again.
In a new interview with NME, Jagger says they’re not touring this year because Keith Richards “couldn’t commit” because “he wasn’t feeling so great about touring and everything.”
Jagger says they hope to do some shows next year, realizing the next question is going to be about the possibility of a residency somewhere.
Asked whether they were open to a residency in Las Vegas, Jagger replies, “Well, no,” but then explains what he thinks will work for them.
“I mean more like Harry Styles doing [multiple shows] in Amsterdam and London. But then he’s still touring though; he’s not just staying in one place,” Jagger says. “But we are gonna get live dates in for next year, hopefully … I’ll let you know when I know.”
The Rolling Stones are set to release their 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, on July 10. It is the follow-up to 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, and Jagger is already looking toward the next album.
Asked whether there’s “another album in the tank,” he replies, “Yeah, it could be a trio [of records]… I’ve already started writing songs anyway.”
“They could be for other people though,” he says. “When you write a song, you sometimes decide ‘that’s not for me, but it could be for the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers’ or whatever.”
“I’ve got a lot of stuff, and not all of it’s suitable for The Rolling Stones,” he adds. “It shouldn’t stop me writing them, you know. If you get an idea, just write it.”
Stephen Bishop performs at the Rock The Yacht 2015 at Mayo Performing Arts Center on July 15, 2015 in Morristown, New Jersey. (Photo by Bobby Bank/WireImage)
Stephen Bishop is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his debut album, Careless, with his first live performance in seven years.
The 74-year-old “On and On” singer will take part in an intimate evening at the Grammy Museum, which will include an acoustic performance by Bishop. He will also share stories behind the songs, answer questions from the audience and take part in a live conversation, moderated by his wife and manager, Liz Kamlet.
The Grammy Museum evening is happening Oct. 9 at the Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets are on sale now.
Bishop is also marking the 50th anniversary of Careless with a new limited-edition reissue of the album, featuring two unreleased bonus tracks, on Aug. 14. The tracks, “Back Again” and “I Don’t Know You Anymore,” were both written during the Careless era.
The original album was released in October 1976. It featured Bishop’s iconic song “On and On,” which peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as “Save it for a Rainy Day,” which was a top-40 hit.
Melissa Etheridge’s current album is called Rise, but in November, it’ll also stand for “Research, Innovation, Science, and Education.”
Melissa will launch the first R.I.S.E. Summit, which is being hosted by her charity, the Etheridge Foundation, on Nov. 12 in Irvine, California. She established it in 2020 after her son succumbed to opioid addiction.
“As many of you know, this work is deeply personal to me,” Melissa says in a statement. “After losing my son Beckett, I knew I wanted to do something to help other families find hope and new ways to heal.”
The R.I.S.E. Summit will focus on innovative new treatments for addiction, including the use of psychedelics. Melissa will host a fireside chat on that topic with an addiction expert, Dr. Gabor Maté, who will also discuss the larger issues of addiction, recovery, trauma and healing.
You can learn more about the summit and buy tickets with early-bird pricing at EtheridgeFoundation.org.
Melissa is currently on tour with country music legend Wynonna Judd; she’s donating $1 from every ticket sold to her foundation.
KISS is set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of their historic concerts, releasing it for the first time as a live album.
The band will release KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 on Aug. 21. It’s a recording of their Aug. 20, 1976, Anaheim Stadium show on their The Spirit Of ’76 Tour, aka the Destroyer Tour.
The show had KISS playing in front of over 42,000 fans, their largest audience to date. The recording, taken from the original multitrack tapes, features performances of such iconic KISS tracks as “Detroit Rock City,” “Strutter,” “Black Diamond,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and more.
Members of the KISS Army are getting a bonus from the band. They can now access exclusive material in connection with the announcement, including soundbites from Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sharing their memories of the show.
KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 will be released in a variety of formats, including CD, two-LP black vinyl, two-LP picture disc, two-LP color vinyl and digitally. The band has also launched a new merch line in connection with the release.
Cover of Peter Gabriel single “I Belong to the Sky”/Artwork by Berndnaut Smilde. (Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing/Peter Gabriel Ltd.)
To coincide with Tuesday’s strawberry moon, Peter Gabriel is treating fans to yet another new song.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has released the new track “I Belong to the Sky” from his upcoming album, o/i, the follow-up to 2023’s i/o.
“It’s another song which has taken a while to grow,” says Gabriel. “It was a candidate, in some form, for the i/o record, but didn’t get finished off, but it was always one of my favourites.”
“I’m a strong believer that reality is more malleable than we imagine and that if you really make strong pictures of something happening, you really affect the chances of it materializing,” he adds. “Visualising … how dreams leave their nest, is the main topic of the song.”
As he did with i/o, Gabriel is releasing a new song from o/i with each full moon of the year. The entire album will be released by the end of 2026, along with Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes handled by Tchad Blake and Mark “Spike” Stent, respectively.
“I Belong to the Sky (Bright-Side Mix)” is out now via digital outlets.
