Music

Olivia Rodrigo just released the video for her song “Can’t Catch Me Now,” which will appear on the upcoming soundtrack for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The movie isn’t out until Friday, but the lyrics of Olivia’s song give us a little hint about what happens in one particular scene.

Speaking to Variety, Olivia explained that “Can’t Catch Me Now” was inspired by a specific thing that happens in the movie. “One of the last scenes was very inspiring to me. I don’t know how to describe it without giving too much away!” she said. “It’s an overhead shot of a bunch of birds in the trees, and something very important just happened.”

“That was playing in a loop in my head over and over, and I was like, ‘I want to write a song that captures what that feeling is,'” said Olivia, who describes herself as a huge fan of The Hunger Games. “That was the goal.”

However, she told Entertainment Tonight that writing the song was very different from her usual process.

“It was a really fun challenge for me as a songwriter, because lots of my songs are kind of about my personal life,” she explained. “Very diaristic and confessional. So it was a wonderful experience to try to write something from the character of Lucy Gray.” 

That’s the main character in the movie, played by Rachel Zegler. “[She] is a character that I feel very connected to,” Olivia added.

Meanwhile, Olivia is gearing up for her GUTS World Tour, which kicks off in February. She tells E!, “I’m trying to lean into sort of rockier elements. So, I’m hoping people will be able to jump up and down and scream a few songs.”

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Pentatonix launched their annual Christmas tour November 14 in Palm Springs, California, just two months after finishing their World Tour — but switching into Christmas mode isn’t a big deal for them.

“It’s not that hard,” says Pentatonix member Mitch Grassi.  “We’re basically thinking about Christmas the entire year. So it’s kind of like, ‘O.K.,  now is the time for it to actually manifest into the world.'” 

Group member Scott Hoying adds, “It’s also energizing, because it’s like, we’re switching gears, so it feels fresh and new and fun.”  Scott says he always looks forward to one special moment each night.

“I love when we start ‘Hallelujah‘ and the crowd goes crazy,” he says. “‘Cause I know, being at a concert when they play the song you want to hear, you’re just like, ‘Ahhhh!’ You’re like, so excited with your friends. And so to be able to provide that moment for families … I always get a kick out of that.”

The two Pentatonix members who are parents —  Kirstin Maldonado and Kevin Olusola — get a kick out of having their kids on the road with them. Kevin can’t wait for his wife and daughter Kaia to join him for a show.

“She’s now two and a half and she’s extremely eloquent, extremely verbal,” he says of Kaia. “And so I can’t wait to see … what she is looking at and understanding about Christmas.”  

Kirstin feels the same way about her daughter.

“Elliana was 4-and-a-half months old when she came out on tour with us for Christmas, and so she was still kind of like a little baby potato,” Kirstin recalls. “But she would put on her headphones and watch us sing and loved it. Now, [she’s] 15 months … so I’m really excited to see her awareness of everything.”

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Graffiti quoting lyrics from the System of a Down track “Prison Song” has caught the attention of the band.

In a Facebook post, System shares a video of the side of a highway spray-painted with the line, “I buy my crack, my smack, my b**** right here in Hollywood.” That particular lyric is meant to highlight the hypocrisy of mass incarceration in America, which the song protests.

“We approve this message,” System writes in the caption.

“Prison Song” appears on SOAD’s 2001 album, Toxicity, which also includes the single “Chop Suey!” and “Aerials.”

System of a Down is set to headline the 2024 Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, which vocalist Serj Tankian recently told Revolver will “likely” be the band’s only live performance next year.

“I have some other things I’m dealing with right now, which may or may not be affected by travel or touring,” Tankian said. “It wasn’t just a health-related decision as far as cutting down on touring, but also a lifestyle decision. Based on family and vision.”

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The Zutons are readying their first new album in 16 years.

The fourth studio effort from the English rockers, and the follow-up to 2008’s You Can Do Anything, is called The Big Decider and arrives April 26.

The Big Decider was recorded with Chic‘s Nile Rodgers and Ian Brodie, who also produced The Zutons’ 2004 debut, Who Killed The Zutons? You can watch a trailer for the upcoming record streaming now on YouTube.

The Zutons are perhaps best known for being the original band behind “Valerie,” which was later covered by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. They also earned alternative airplay with their single “Pressure Point.”

Here’s the track list for The Big Decider:

“Creeping on the Dancefloor”
“Pauline”
“Water”
“In Your Arms”
“Disappear”
“Company”
“The Big Decider”
“Rise”
“Best of Me”

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Note to any musician who wants to be on Dancing with the Stars: Try busting a move in one of your music videos.

In an interview with GLAAD, Jason Mraz reveals that when the DWTS producers saw him literally singing about dancing and doing all the choreography in the video for “I Feel Like Dancing,” it “ticked a few boxes” for the show’s casting agents, and he got the invitation. However, he says it hasn’t been easy for him to feel comfortable in the ballroom.

“All day you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, and that can be hard for anybody, any human, to accept themselves looking in the mirror,” he says. “On top of it, then my partner is asking me to move in ways that I’ve never moved before, and my reaction is, ‘I look silly.’ And then you break through that and it’s like, ‘OK, I feel kinda cool.’ And then it eventually becomes confidence, and so it is a journey.”

“Dance is an amazing medium for that transformation and for that accepting of one’s self,” he adds.

On that topic, Jason also spoke about coming out as bi in 2018 and his subsequent divorce from wife Christina Carano. “You carry a lot of shame, guilt,” says the singer, who was named to this year’s Out100 list of the most influential LGBTQ+ people.

“You want to heal as many relationships of the past as possible and at the same time, step into this new acceptance and new identity or whatever I’m claiming, and that’s also hard,” Jason says. “So being on the Out100 … it’s nice to be acknowledged.”

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The influence of Kurt Cobain has reached to even the Barbie movie soundtrack.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Billie Eilish describes how the late Nirvana rocker impacted her song “What Was I Made For?” — which she recorded for the Margot Robbie-starring film.

“This is kind of dark, but recently I was reading Kurt Cobain’s suicide note,” Eilish shares. “It’s horrifying. I mean, all of it is the most tragic s*** I’ve ever heard. He was such a pure person and talent. And I feel so much deep, deep, deep sorrow for him and his life and where it went.”

“In the letter he’s like, ‘I have everything in the world, and I absolutely hate it,'” she continues. “He was so ashamed that he wasn’t enjoying it. And I get why he was feeling that way. It’s just not what you think it’s going to be.”

You may recall that Nirvana drummer-turned-Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl is a big fan of Eilish. He even compared her meteoric rise to that of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” outfit.

“The connection she has with her audience is the same thing that was happening with Nirvana in 1991,” Grohl said in 2019.

By the way, Cobain also unexpectedly inspired the music for another recent blockbuster movie: 2022’s The Batman, which used the Nirvana song “Something in the Way.

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HARDY‘s sporting a fresh look, and it’s looking a lot like Joe Diffie‘s.

The “wait in the truck” hitmaker recently shared a video of him getting clean-shaven for a new facial appearance.

“Channeling my inner @officialjoediffie,” HARDY captioned the Instagram video. In the clip, his wife, Caleigh Ryan, also offers commentary. 

“Look at me so that I can get one last look of your cute face,” Caleigh tells HARDY before he picks up his electric shaver and razor to shave. 

“Mustache Michael!” Caleigh says at the end of the video as HARDY, whose first name is Michael, proudly shows off his clean-shaven chin and mustache.

“How good does that feeeel tho. Damn,” ERNEST commented. Travis Denning added, “This is the look. Don’t ever change it.”

HARDY recently announced the upcoming release of HIXTAPE Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE. The Diffie tribute project arrives March 29 and can be previewed with the previously released “Pickup Man” featuring Diffie and Post Malone, and “John Deere Green” featuring Diffie, HARDY and Morgan Wallen.

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Ciara is looking to help increase the number of Black girls who take up coding.  

On Tuesday, the R&B songstress announced the Build a Beat Challenge in partnership with Black Girls Code, a nonprofit providing Black girls and gender nonconforming youth with code and computer programming education. 

The nationwide contest and its mission to “spark a musical coding revolution” empowers students age 13 to 18 to code their own song. Participants will have the opportunity to meet Ciara via a video call and win prizes aimed at furthering their tech dreams.

“I am proud to be supporting this initiative and empowering young people to take their passion for music and use it to develop technology skills that can give them a leg up in life,” Ciara said.

The Grammy-winning singer said Black Girls Code’s mission aligns perfectly with the charitable work that her Why Not You Foundation, which she founded with husband Russell Wilson in 2014, does through education: lifting students out of poverty and inspiring leadership with a Why Not You? attitude. 

After signing up for the Build a Beat Challenge with Ciara, young coders will use learned and newly acquired skills to craft their own songs and remixes, blending together sounds from artists like Ciara, Alicia Keys, Common, Pharrell and more. 

The contest runs from November 14 through December 31 with a total of five winners selected by a panel of celebrity judges, including MC Lyte. 

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Guns N’ Roses are embroiled in a lawsuit filed by a photographer who worked for them for over a decade.

According to Rolling Stone, Katarina Benzova filed a lawsuit accusing the band of copyright infringement, alleging their management company “falsely claim[ed] ownership” over her photographs. She also accused the band’s manager, Fernando Lebeis, of sexual harassment.

But weeks prior to Benzova’s suit, Guns N’ Roses sued her, arguing she “improperly registered” for a copyright for the photos of the band, which they say they own.

“Ms. Benzova was initially contracted to provide tour photography services for Guns N’ Roses in 2010. She worked with the band for 12 years and was paid and treated extraordinarily well,” the band said in a statement to the magazine. “It was only after her services were discontinued in 2022 that she attempted to claim ownership in photos, which her contract clearly states are owned by the band.”

But Benzova argues in her suit that she was just a freelancer and worked without a formal contract throughout her 12 years with the band, with the exception of an 18-week period. She says GNR’s management is falsely claiming to own the photos from the non-contracted period and has been using them without consent in ads, various media outlets and more.

Her suit requests a court order that names her the “sole owner” of any photos taken during that contracted period. 

As for the sexual harassment, she says it began in 2016 and got so bad she went out of her way to never be alone with Lebeis. She says after rejecting him, Lebeis retaliated by lowering her pay, withholding money, and withholding photo credits.

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