Lil Nas X named new Yves Saint Laurent Beauté ambassador

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lil Nas X is the latest U.S. ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté.

As part of the new gig, the “That’s What I Want” artist will appear in content featured on YSL Beauté’s digital platforms, promoting both the brand’s men’s fragrance, Y, as well as its new lip color, Rouge Pur Couture: The Bold, and latest eye product, Lash Clash Mascara. There will also be a new, unreleased track from Nas tied into the campaign.

“It’s been a lot of fun working on this campaign with YSL Beauté – they’re such an iconic brand, and I’m happy to be a part of something so unique and groundbreaking in the beauty world,” the rapper said in a statement. “Shout out to YSL for embracing me and my campness and for inspiring change for the next generation of beauty.”

A YSL Beauté exec says in a statement, “Lil Nas X embodies YSL Beauté’s vision for the future of the beauty industry: boundary-breaking, unique, unapologetic, bold.”

Blondie drummer Clem Burke says band’s new ‘Against the Odds’ box set is “a great collection”

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Blondie‘s expansive new box set, Blondie: Against the Odds 1974-1982, which focuses on the influential New Wave band’s original heyday, hit stores today.

The retrospective, which is available in multiple formats and configurations, contains remastered versions of Blondie’s first six studio albums, as well as a variety of outtakes, demos, remixes, home recordings and other rarities.

“It’s a great collection,” founding Blondie drummer Clem Burke tells ABC Audio. “The first six albums have been remastered at Abbey Road, which we were happy about, ’cause we weren’t really satisfied with the way they were remastered the first time around…[T]his time we kind of took control of everything and…really kind of made it representative of the history of the band.”

Burke says a cool highlight of Against the Odds is a collection of demos recorded in 1974 and ’75 that includes an early version of Blondie’s chart-topping hit “Heart of Glass” titled “Once I Had a Love.”

Clem points out that besides “Once I Had a Love,” “the rest of the demos…have never really seen the light of day in an official Blondie recording moving forward, so it’s good that they’re on there.”

The box set also comes with a book that includes new interviews with Burke, singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, as well as with the four main former members who played with the band between 1974 and 1982.

“[I]t’s great that everyone, all original seven members of Blondie, as it were, participated in the interviews,” Burke says.

Meanwhile, Burke explains that the box set’s title partly relates to “the fact that it’s kind of unbelievable that we’re still here and doing shows, and the amount of success that we’ve had over the years…with the music being the legacy of the band.”

DJ Khaled releases 13th album, ‘God Did’

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

If you want to know what God Did for DJ Khaled, just listen to his new album. The 18-track record has officially dropped, marking the producer’s 13th studio album. He spoke to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the project.

The album title, Khaled revealed, came from one of his repeated motivational sayings in which he declares, “They didn’t believe in us, God Did.” He said he decided on the name after seeing fans’ responses to the statement.

“When I came up with the title, it resonated with me to the point where I had to let it out, my soul, and spread it to the world,” said Khaled. “What happened was it resonated with the fans, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, they feeling what I’m feeling,’ and that’s when I said, ‘It’s going to be the name of my album,’ because I had another name for my album … When I said, ‘They didn’t believe in us, God Did,’ I felt like I was speaking for all of us.”

As for the features, God Did has over 30, including Jay-Z, who Khaled thanked for being on the album.

“I’ve always been a fan not just from his music, just from his moves,” he told Lowe. “For him to bless my album the way he blessed my album … That was such a blessing and that meant so much to me, because not only does he trust me, he know it’s special.”

God Did is available on streaming services. In honor of its release, Khaled launched an augmented reality Lens experience that’ll bring the album cover to life. Fans who scan the artwork or a Times Square billboard with their Snapchat camera will see Khaled’s portrait reciting the lyrics to “Grateful.”

The producer will also release music videos over the next week.

“Glimpse of Us” singer Joji to release album ‘Smithereens’ in November

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Joji, whose song “Glimpse of Us” has become a global hit, will release his third album, Smithereens, on November 4. It’s now available for preorder.

The album is the follow-up to 2020’s Nectar and features “Glimpse of Us,” as well as a new song that’s available today: “Yukon (Interlude).” It comes with a video that, unlike the clip for “Glimpse of Us,” actually features Joji. In fact, it’s his first music video appearance in nearly two years.

The Japanese-born singer kicks off his sold-out North American tour September 1 in Palo Alto, California. It’s set to wrap up October 22 in Miami, Florida.

Muse premieres spooky “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween” video alongside ‘Will of the People’ album

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Muse has premiered the video for “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween,” a track off the band’s new album, Will of the People.

The clip follows a group of masked figures who sneak into a house, only to find out it’s haunted, with references to a number of classic horror works, including The Shining and It.

At one point, there also appears to a nod to one of Corey Taylor‘s Slipknot masks. Frontman Matt Bellamy previously told Apple Music 1 that Slipknot influenced some of the heavier moments on Will of the People.

You can watch the “You Make me Feel Like It’s Halloween” video streaming now on YouTube.

Will of the People, the ninth Muse album, is out now. It also includes the singles “Won’t Stand Down” and “Compliance.”

Muse will play a brief run of U.S. shows in support of Will of the People in October.

“Trust your rebel heart”: Lauren Alaina co-designs new limited-edition Maurices T-shirt collection

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lauren Alaina has been a brand ambassador for fashion line Maurices for a while, and now she’s upping her partnership with the company with a new, limited-edition line of T-shirts.

The collection, which features styles for the fall and upcoming holiday season, is packed with Lauren’s signature personality and features slogans from her songs.

One design features the phrase “Two Hearts Tequila Talking,” which comes from a lyric in Lauren’s song “Written in the Bar.” That track comes off her 2021 project, Sitting Pretty On Top of the World.

Another shirt features the slogan “Trust Your Rebel Heart,” a line from Lauren’s 2016 hit single, “Road Less Traveled.”

Anyone who follows the singer on social media knows that she’s a huge fan of punning and wordplay, so a third tee reads “Bull Shirt,” along with a graphic of a steer embellished with a floral design.

Lauren’s Maurices shirts are all available for purchase now.

Blake Shelton shows off his Kubota tractor as he gears up for fall on the farm: “This is not a drill”

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

It seems hard to believe, but summer is nearly at an end — and for Blake Shelton that means plowing the fields on his Oklahoma ranch property.

On his social media, the singer shared a glimpse of what prepping the fields looks like at his house — and it prominently features his Kubota tractor.

“This is not a drill, people. It’s almost September,” Blake exclaims from his seat of the tractor’s cab. He then pans the camera over to the stretch of field in front of him — “not plowed” — and behind him — “plowed!”

He adds, “Kubota hauling a**!”

Blake’s not the only country star spending lots of quality time with his tractor these days: Luke Bryan has also showed fans glimpses of life out on his farm, and he even released a line of limited-edition snack popcorn with AGCO’s Fendt.

‘Revolver’ will be the next Beatles album to get the box-set treatment

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Apple Corps and Universal Music have confirmed The Beatles‘ 1966 album Revolver is next in line to to get a remix and bonus-filled box set, according to Variety.

An official announcement is not expected to come until sometime in September, along with details on the deluxe package’s contents and release date. As with previous Beatles box sets, the Revolver collection reportedly will include remixes by George Martin‘s son, Giles Martin.

There was wide speculation that Revolver — considered by many to be the band’s best work — would be the next to get the deluxe treatment, following 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and continuing chronologically with 1968’s The Beatles — a.k.a. The White Album — 1969’s Abbey Road and 1970’s Let It Be.

However, producing remixes of the tracks on Revolver could prove to be a tricky task, since The Beatles’ pre-1967 albums were recorded with two-track tape machines that combined multiple instruments or vocals onto a single track, making the separation of those elements technically challenging.

Also, unlike later Fab Four projects, not many outtakes from Revolver have been made available via bootlegs, leaving fans to wonder what bonus tracks might be included.

“You know, we have to look into what technology we can do to make things de-mixed and all this kind of stuff, which I’m looking into. So I’m looking for the technology to do it with,” Giles told Variety in 2021. about how he might approach remixing pre-Sgt. Pepper Beatles material. “I think we’re getting there with technology. I think we are. I’m not doing it at the moment, though, I can tell you that much. But hopefully. So, yeah — watch this space.”

Rick Ross teams with all-Black symphony to headline inaugural Red Bull Symphonic

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Red Bull is launching its very first symphonic concert in the U.S. this fall. The event will bring artists together with world-renowned orchestras to create reimagined renditions of their work. Kicking off the inaugural event is the biggest boss Rick Ross, who’ll be teaming up with Orchestra Noir, an Atlanta-based, all-Black symphony that’s previously worked with Cardi B, 2 Chainz, Migos and T.I.

The rapper, per Red Bull, will work with the group’s musical director, Jason Ikeem Rodgers, to reinterpret some of his biggest hits and newer songs. The new versions will be performed by the 50-person choir and special guest musicians from Georgia State University and other historically Black colleges and universities. Ross assures it will be a moment to remember.

“From The Biggest Boss I’m going to make sure I give y’all an unforgettable and one night only performance,” he said in a statement. “Red Bull Symphonic is helping us celebrate heritage, musicians, and more importantly Black excellence. We gonna innovate big that night.”

The U.S. debut of the Red Bull Symphonic is scheduled for November 4 in Atlanta, Georgia. Hip-hop/soca/afrobeat violinist Mapy and musical group/trap choir party SAINTED will also take the stage.

Dirty Honey frontman reflects on debut European tour: “That was a big, big deal for me”

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Before Dirty Honey was “California Dreamin’,” frontman Marc LaBelle was Europe Dreamin’.

The band took their music to the other side of the Atlantic for the first time in their career earlier this year and, in doing so, realized a lifelong goal for LaBelle.

“That was a big, big deal for me in particular, because it’s just something I wanted to do my entire life,” LaBelle tells ABC Audio. “I wanted to get over there in a van and just try and make it happen over there at one point in my [Los Angeles] journey.”

“That was just an idea, like, ‘Let’s just move over there for a month, I’ll book some shows, let’s see if we can’t get this thing going,'” he continues. “The goal for me since starting this thing was to go to Europe with my boys and have a good time and tour and play music and do what we love.”

In a pleasantly surprising turn of events, the singles “When I’m Gone” and “Rolling 7s” broke big in the U.S., and Dirty Honey achieved success in their home country before they could get to Europe. So when the European tour finally did happen, LaBelle achieved not only his initial dream, but beyond that, too.

“Quite honesty, I got somewhat emotional,” LaBell shares. “When I finally got through security and was coming home, I was, like, ‘Wow. This is something I’ve been trying to do my whole life, and I just did it. And now I’m going back to my life as a musician on the road.'”

That life resumes with Dirty Honey’s California Dreamin’ tour, which continues Friday in Minneapolis. “Rest in Peace” rockers Dorothy will join the bill in September.

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