Music

Andy Grammer is known for being the good guy in the music industry, but he admits he sometimes struggles with his mental health — and says that’s perfectly normal.

Speaking to Healthline, the “Fresh Eyes” singer said the pandemic forced him to take a hard look at how he was managing and coping with his mental health struggles. 

“[When] it got completely quiet and I was not allowed to leave my house and not allowed to be around thousands of people and not allowed, honestly, to just be distracted, I was forced to sit with myself, and that was not super fun,” Andy admitted. 

He added, “[I] realized, oh, I got a lot of work inside, invisible work to do here that I don’t think I would have done as soon if it hadn’t been for the pandemic.”

Andy is encouraging his male fans to take their mental health seriously in an upcoming appearance on the Man Enough podcast. His forthcoming episode tackles “what it is about guys that we feel like going to therapy is weak or something.”

“I had to be completely destroyed to say, ‘Ok, fine, I’ll go to therapy.’ Why does it have to be that way? Why do I have to be so clearly not capable of going about my day to then say, ‘Ok, I think I need some help,'” he questioned.

Andy also hopes to normalize going to therapy because it can be scary for some.

“I was afraid to own the darker sides of myself. So, therefore, it’s just a little bit scary to acknowledge that to even yourself that you’re not perfect,” he explained. He urged his fans to “deal with the stuff inside yourself” so you can become “a complete version of yourself.”

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Lainey Wilson is previewing her upcoming album, Bell Bottom Country, with another new song called “Live Off.”

It’s a tune that’s particularly special to her, the singer shared on Twitter. “[‘Live Off’] is all about the things that make my world go ‘round,” Lainey explains. “My hometown, my dog, my family, my friends.”

A twangy, midtempo anthem, the song’s story is structured around all the things Lainey “lives off.” Even more important than food or money, she sings, is the place where she comes from and the people (and pets) she shares her life with.

Bell Bottom Country is due out on October 28 and features other previously released songs like “Heart Like a Truck” and “Watermelon Moonshine.”

It’s also got a song called “Those Boots (Deddy’s Song,)” a track that’s extra meaningful in light of the health problems that Lainey’s father has faced. When her dad was hospitalized recently, the singer canceled a couple of shows and opened up with fans about her close relationship with him as she requested their prayers.

Lainey is also a featured vocalist on the newest single from Hardy, a grisly story song called “Wait in the Truck.”

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After filing a $28 million lawsuit against Triller for allegedly missing payments for their Verzuz series, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have settled with the video service.

“Verzuz has always been a platform that is by the artists, for the artists and with the people,” the Grammy award winning producers said in a statement, according to Rolling Stone. “We’re glad to come to an amicable agreement with Triller and continue giving fans the music and community that they’ve come to know and love from the brand.”

Swizz told Rolling Stone he was ready for a battle with Triller.

“Was I ready to go to war? Yes. Am I used to it? I’m from the South Bronx. But I had to take my emotions out of it,” he says. “There were too many creatives for me to lock this whole thing in the lawyers’ box.”

When asked if Verzuz will return, Swizz added, “Yeah, harder than we ever went.”

Following the settlement, Triller Executive Chairman Bobby Sarnevesht said in a statement, “This is a victorious moment in the Triller and Verzuz relationship as we march together toward the public markets.”

“At the end of the day just like any Thanksgiving or family gathering, there are disagreements, but like any good family we all forgive each other in the end and come back stronger than ever,” he added. “We are glad we put this disagreement behind us and couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter.”

As the pandemic temporarily stopped concerts, Beatz and Timbaland launched Verzuz in 2020 as an online alternative for hip-hop and R&B performances.

Triller bought Verzuz in 2021 for an undisclosed amount. As part of the settlement, Swizz and Timbaland are receiving an unspecified increased ownership stake in the company.

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Ozzy Osbourne has premiered the second episode of his ongoing series, which documents the making of his new solo album, Patient Number 9.

The episode, titled “The Sabbath Connection,” focuses on Ozzy’s reunion with Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi on the record. Iommi plays on two Patient Number 9 songs: “No Escape from Now” and “Degradation Rules.”

In between, a number of the other Patient Number 9 guests and collaborators — including Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo, Black Label Society‘s Zakk Wylde, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith and producer Andrew Watt — share what Black Sabbath means to them.

You can watch “The Sabbath Connection” streaming now on YouTube. The third and final episode premieres next Friday, September 30.

Patient Number 9 was released earlier this month. It also includes guest spots from Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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Did you know Barbra Streisand had another album in mind to serve as her debut? Almost six decades later, the legendary singer is finally releasing Live at Bon Soir, which she had recorded in November 1962.

Rolling Stone reports Barbra was just 20 years old when she recorded the album over her three-night residency at the Bon Soir nightclub in Greenwich Village — a month after she signed with Columbia. The Grammy winner intended for this to become her debut album, but plans changed.

Barbra went on to redo several of the album’s songs as studio recordings and then compiled them into the 1963 effort The Barbra Streisand Album. She earned several Grammy wins with the project, including Album of the Year.

Now, 60 years after Live at Bon Soir was shelved, Barbra is finally sharing her original vision with her fans. The album was compiled from the master recordings that had been sitting in her personal collection. 

As engineer Jochem van der Saag explained, some editing needed to be done in order to perfect the songs.

“There was a lot of leakage from the instruments into her vocal mic,” he said. “If we wanted to lower the volume of the piano for example, the vocal volume would decrease, too. To give listeners ‘the best seat in the house,’ we used cutting-edge spectral editing technology, clarifying the true artistry of Barbra and her band.” 

Barbra hailed the album’s impending arrival on social media, writing, “Live at the Bon Soir… the way she was. This album, which was intended as her debut solo album, will be released November 4th.” The effort holds “Barbra’s earliest live recordings.”

She has since released the original version of “Cry Me a River,” which is now available to stream and download.

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Stevie Nicks‘ new version of the 1966 Buffalo Springfield classic “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey, What’s that Sound)” is out now — but she says she’s wanted to record it since 1968.

Speaking to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Stevie explains that she was a fan of the song, penned by Stephen Stills, when it first came out. When she was living in San Francisco in 1968, she told herself, “I’m going to record that song one day.” Then, earlier this year, Stevie says, “It just came into my head”; she recorded the song in May. 

Stevie claims she had “no idea” that Stephen originally wrote the track about the Sunset Strip curfew riots in LA in the ’60s. But she feels that “For What It’s Worth” is relevant today because in that song, Stills managed “to cover everything that everybody’s complaining about, and fighting against, in the entire world.”

The song includes the lyrics, “There’s battle lines being drawn/nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong.”

“He managed, in that song, to touch on everything so subtly,” she explains. “You could have said, ‘Okay, is that song about gun violence? Is that song about women’s rights? Is it about immigration?’…you could take it all in, to be about anything that you personally wanted it to be about.”

Stevie tells Lowe it “seemed to be the right time” to cut the song and adds that her message to fans is, “I hope that…whatever your views on anything are, I hope that you can rise above that and take it for what it is. And also, I just hope you like the song.”

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The Beyhive may be able to hear their queen sing songs from her new Renaissance album live next year.

Beyoncé is reportedly booking stadiums for a world tour in the summer of 2023, according to Page Six.

The “Break My Soul” singer last went on tour in 2018 with her husband, Jay-Z, for The On The Run II Tour to promote Everything Is Love, their duo album as The Carters. They headlined 48 shows around the world for over two million fans, grossing over $250 million.

Beyoncé’s last solo tour was The Formation Tour in 2016, which promoted her sixth studio album, Lemonade.

One of the most popular songs on Renaissance is “Cuff It,” which inspired a viral dance challenge. Since summer has ended and cuffing season has arrived, Queen Bey chose 25 of her favorite “Cuff It” social media dance videos and posted them on Instagram Thursday under the title, “Cuff It Picks.”

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