Music

Twenty years ago Saturday — June 4, 2002 — 17-year-old Avril Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go. The pop/punk album helped popularize the genre and went on to become one of the best sellers of the decade, moving more than 16 million copies worldwide.

Let Go spun off four massive hits: “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m With You” and “Losing Grip.” The album and its singles collectively earned Avril eight Grammy nominations, four Juno Awards and the MTV VMA Best New Artist Moonman.

Looking back, does Avril think Let Go still holds up?

“Oh, I definitely think my vocals are way stronger now, that’s for sure!” Avril tells ABC Audio. “But … yeah, the songs are cool. I like them. A couple are … I don’t know. My voice has, like, evolved for sure.”

Avril points out one cringeworthy songwriting moment in “My World,” a song about growing up in Napanee, Ontario.

In the song, Avril sings, “Made my money by cutting grass/Got fired by a fried chicken a**/All in a small town, Napanee.” She laughs, “I think it’s hilarious in ‘My World’ that I literally say the town’s name that I came from and my job and that I got fired.”

“I worked at a fried chicken chain and got fired, but I was a really good worker … the guy was a d*****bag,” Avril continues, still laughing. “I literally got fired and then wrote about it and put it in this song … I think that’s hilarious. And part of me is like, ‘Why did I do that?’ But the other part of me is like, ‘Hmm, that’s pretty cool that you did that!'”

You’ll hear all of Let Go‘s hits on Avril’s current Love Sux tour, which wrapped its Canadian leg Thursday night in Halifax.

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British New Wave veterans The Fixx released their first new studio album in a decade, Every Five Seconds, today.

The album features 10 new original songs from the band. Commenting on the themes of the record, Fixx frontman Cy Curnin says, “Life can either be a series of broken obsessive thoughts or it can be a wonderful mosaic of moments. Every Five Seconds reflects this human paradox. The constant struggle between bewilderment and betterment.”

Four tracks from Every Five Seconds were released in advance of the album — “Wake Up,” “Closer,” “Woman of Flesh and Blood” and “Take What You Want.” In addition, an animated music video for the latter tune, featuring enigmatic images of disembodied hands, debuted in April on The Fixx’s official YouTube
channel.

The band will support Every Five Seconds with a U.S. tour that gets underway on June 10 in Las Vegas and runs through a June 30 performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest.

The Fixx scored a string of hits during the 1980s that included four songs that reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 — “Saved by Zero,” “One Thing Leads to Another,” “Are We Ourselves?” and “Secret Separation.”

The group’s most recent previous album, Beautiful Friction, was released in 2012.

Here’s the full track list of Every Five Seconds:

“A Life Survived”
“Closer”
“Take What You Want”
“Wake Up”
“Suspended in Make Believe”
“Lonely as a Lighthouse”
“Cold”
“Spell”
“Woman of Flesh and Blood”
“Neverending”

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—Pharrell Williams is teaming up with Tyler, the Creator and 21 Savage on a new song, “Cash In Cash Out,” with an expected release date of next Friday, June 10. 

He shared the news in an Instagram post, along with 3D-type image of the three rappers. “CASH IN CASH OUT @feliciathegoat @21savage 6/10 💸 Presave at the link in bio,” Williams said.

The super producer’s announcement comes just a few weeks before his Something in the Water festival is set to kick off in Washington, D.C., June 17. The festival ends June 19. 

—Jeannie Mai and her husband, rapper Jeezy, welcomed their baby girl Monaco Mai Jenkins in January, but the former The Real host hadn’t shown images of the baby until Thursday. 

In the latest installment of her YouTube series, Hello Hunnay, Mai, alongside her mother, “Mama Mai,” introduced the couple’s 5-month-old daughter to the world. 

In the emotional monologue leading up to the reveal, Jeannie said she was “so nervous” for everyone to finally get a glimpse of her baby. 

“Please excuse the nerves,” she said before Monaco was carried out by her grandmother to meet mom on the couch. Jeannie then delved into her journey as a new mom, including the anxiety she’s experienced since giving birth.

–In the latest news in the Tasha K/Cardi B. defamation case, Tasha K’s attorney filed an appeal to overturn the judge’s ruling for the YouTuber to pay Cardi $4 million. According to Billboard, Tasha’s legal team says the judge “withheld key evidence about the rapper’s ‘character’ and didn’t let jurors see who Cardi B ‘truly is.'”

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BTS‘ Jimin and Jungkook hung out with H.E.R. after hitting up the White House. They shared videos to their Instagram Stories of them going to an arcade with the R&B singer, where they tried their luck at a punching-bag game and a rapid-shot basketball game. H.E.R. tied with Jungkook on the latter … in second place.

To hype their upcoming single “Skin Of My Teeth,” Demi Lovato is heading to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, June 9. Headline Planet reports Demi will be interviewed on the show and also serve as its musical guest. The Grammy winner will release their new single on June 10.

The Weeknd teamed with Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, for his After Hours Til Dawn tour, reports City A.M. This will allow him to create the first world trek to use Web 3.0 technology, which gives him an “innovative edge.” “There are so many possibilities with crypto and I think this is just the beginning,” The Weeknd said of his new partnership. His tour starts on July 8.

People love Shakira‘s hips — as in, her song “Hips Don’t Lie.” Her smash 2005 hit is the latest member of Spotify’s Billions Club, meaning fans have streamed the song over 1 billion times. “So humbled. Thank you for all of the love,” she said of the surprise honor.

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It’s been 25 years since Aqua released their smash-hit single “Barbie Girl.” To celebrate, the Danish pop group wants fans to get in on the fun.

Taking to TikTok, the hitmakers unveiled a fun new contest where the grand prize is a trip to their native Denmark.  

“Barbie Girl turns 25!  Can you believe it? What an amazing ride,” the group announced, saying they want to “celebrate the life of Barbie Girl and Aquarium [their debut album] with all of you.”

Singer Lene Nystrøm encouraged her fans to, “Share with us your favorite ‘Barbie Girl’ moment” using #BarbieGirl25 on social media.  

She explained the winner will be flown to Denmark to “see us in concert, meet us backstage and hang out” at an upcoming music festival.

It is unknown when the contest ends.

The group recently celebrated their “Barbie Girl” music video hitting a billion YouTube views and told fans, “Absolutely crazy!  Thank you for all the love.”

The song was released in April 1997 and went on to become a global phenomenon. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 after it was officially released in the U.S. on August 12, 1997.  

The debut album, Aquarium, is RIAA-certified three times Platinum after selling over 3 million units in the U.S.

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Carrie Underwood is planning a one-night-only event to celebrate the release of her Denim & Rhinestones album. On June 9 — one day before the album drops — she’ll give a live performance from Nashville’s Historic Bell Tower. You can watch by tuning into Amazon Prime Video or Amazon Music’s Twitch app at 8 p.m. CT.

Next month, Brantley Gilbert is headlining a benefit concert mounted by Shaquille O’Neal and the Pepsi Stronger Together campaign. The show benefits Atlanta’s Henry County Sheriff’s Office Foundation and will specifically raise funds for its three-day summer youth sports camp, which is attended by over 780 local children. Tickets are available now; the show is set for June 22.

Alabama, Sara Evans, Jamey Johnson and more artists hailing from Alabama contribute to the new theme song of The World Games 2022, called “Hope of Alabama.” The video is available now.

Deborah McCrary, one fourth of the sibling gospel quartet The McCrary Sisters, died on June 1 at age 67. The group has set their voices to countless recordings with a genre-spanning list of artists, including Carrie Underwood on her My Gift album. The family announced Deborah’s death in a statement; information regarding services and an honorarium is forthcoming.

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R&B soul singer Giveon is giving fans what they’ve long been waiting for: the singer’s newest album, Give or Take, set to arrive June 24. 

The Long Beach native revealed the album release date Wednesday, along with a cinematic, 48-second album trailer that features his mom’s voice.

As a prelude to Give or Take, Giveon released his hit single “Lie Again” in April, which, as previously reported, seemed to hint at his relationship woes with ex-girlfriend and fellow singer Justine Skye. 

“Lie Again” could serve as a glimpse of the emotional and evocative music — which Giveon is known for delivering — that may show up on the new full-length project.

The “For Tonight” singer shared the presave information when announcing Give or Take on Twitter and apologized to fans for the wait. “Thank you for being so patient with me. Give or Take. The Album. June 24th. pre-save link in bio,” he said. 

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In order for Apple to use Harry Styles‘ music and likeness for their new AirPods commercial, they had to agree to one big condition.

Billboard reports the new commercial features Harry’s song “Music for a Sushi Restaurant.” The Grammy winner told the company that if they wanted to use the song, they would have to donate his artist fee to humanitarian relief efforts.

The funds were directed to the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid effort that works to help people survive crises, then rebuild their lives. IRC announced the donation in a tweet, writing, “From all of us at the IRC: Thank you to @Harry_Styles and @Apple for your generous donation to the IRC.”

The organization continued, “Working in more than 40 countries, your support will help us reach even more refugees and people in need in the world’s toughest places. Honored to have your support!”

The new AirPods commercial is set to air on YouTube, as well as television, and premiered Thursday.

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