Music

It doesn’t sound like Ozzy Osbourne is a fan of Black Sabbath‘s last record.

In an interview with Stereogum, Ozzy was asked whether he felt “good” about where Sabbath’s final album, 2013’s 13, “left things.” His response? “Not really.”

“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t really get a charge from the album,” Ozzy shares.

“Although [producer] Rick Rubin is a good friend of mine, I wasn’t really…I was just singing,” the Prince of Darkness adds. “It was like stepping back in time, but it wasn’t a glorious period. Though [bassist] Geezer [Butler] did a lot of lyric writing for me, which he’s very, very good at. It wasn’t an earth-shattering experience for me.”

While 13 marked the first Sabbath album to feature Ozzy since 1978’s Never Say Die!, it wasn’t a complete reunion. Original drummer Bill Ward did not take part, which Ozzy says he now “regret[s].”

“It wasn’t really a Black Sabbath album,” Ozzy says. “I’m not saying that one day we might not all go in a room and come up with the perfect Black Sabbath album. But I’ll say, [13] wasn’t recorded the way Black Sabbath recorded records.”

“We’d gone right back past the point where we took charge, back to when someone else had full control of our recording,” he adds. “Which we never did from [1972’s] Vol. 4 onwards.”

Black Sabbath played their final show in 2017, and though he and guitarist Tony Iommi recently reunited for a brief performance over the summer, Ozzy feels that the band remains “completely done.”

“I think it’s time,” he says.

Ozzy, meanwhile, just released his new solo album, Patient Number 9.

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Björk has premiered a new song called “Ancestress,” a track from her upcoming album, Fossora.

The seven-minute epic is about the Icelandic artist’s late mother, who died in 2018.

“‘Ancestress’ is a letter to my mother, her story seen from my point of view,” Björk says.

You can listen to “Ancestress” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video, which finds Björk leading an elaborately costumed ritual through the mountains, is streaming now on YouTube.

Fossora, Björk’s 10th studio effort, will be released September 30. It also includes the previously released songs “Atopos” and “Ovule.”

In other Björk news, the “Human Behavior” artist, who previously lived in New York, shares in an interview with Pitchfork that she’s returned home to Iceland due to the “violence” in the U.S.

“The violence in the USA is on a scale I can’t even fathom,” Björk says. “And having a daughter that’s half-American in school [in New York], 40 minutes away from Sandy Hook…”

“When we are here, I absorb all of Iceland,” she adds. “If one person is killed in the north, we all hurt. It’s an island mentality. In the States, just being a simple islander, all the violence was just too much for me.”

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 Lil Nas X unleashed his new song “Star Walkin’,” the gaming anthem tailor-made for the League of Legends‘ 2022 Worlds Tournament, on Thursday.

The Grammy winner caught up with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe about the new hit and revealed he spent a lot of time toying around with its sound.

“Making this song was a lot of fun,” he explained. “I had the verses forever, and it took, no joke, 30 different, 40 different 50, I don’t know how many different hooks, to get the hook to a place where I’m, ‘Okay, this is something I like. That’s cool.'”

He added, “But overall I had a fun time in the studio. I had a fun time putting these pop elements and drill elements together.”

Lil Nas X said he wanted to make this song not because he’s a gamer, but because “I have a huge gamer fan base, and this is sick for them.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the hitmaker chatted about his run-in with Madonna at one of his shows. “It was a full circle moment because she brought me back to her show in 2019,” he described. “I didn’t actually get a chance to get a good conversation with her because I was about to go out onto the stage.”

Lil Nas X said he told Madonna he was dealing with some pre-show jitters, and she responded saying that “She’s going to be there and rooting for” him.

As for where he’s heading musically, he admitted, “My creative spirit is honestly in the garbage can. I want to be completely honest. But I feel like it’s coming back.”

Lil Nas X is “super confident” that whatever he makes next, it’ll be “the best s*** I’ve ever made thus far.”

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Wynonna Judd reflects on the death of her mother and The Judds partner, Naomi Judd, in a new conversation with CBS Sunday Morning, the first television interview she’s given since Naomi died in late April.

“I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it,” Wynonna shares in a preview clip aired ahead of the full segment.

Naomi died by suicide after a lifelong battle with mental illness. But, as Wynonna points out, Naomi had frequently gone through difficult periods in the past, so her death came as a shock, even to those closest to her.

“That’s the challenge with mental illness. It’s really, really mysterious,” Wynonna continues, adding that in the wake of her mother’s suicide, she struggles with wondering if there was a way she could have predicted or changed the course of those tragic events.

“Was there anything I should have looked for, or should have known? I didn’t,” she says. “That’s why it’s such a shock.”

The singer says that Naomi’s mental health battles created intense highs and lows. “…It’s this incredibly dark and light experience. She had incredibly great days in the middle of the dark days. That’s why it’s so confusing,” Wynonna explains.

Naomi died just one day before The Judds were scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. This fall, Wynonna will embark on the tour she and Naomi planned as their final tour.

The shows have been recast as an all-star, all-female lineup featuring appearances from acts like Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and Faith Hill. Original opener Martina McBride will remain on the bill for all shows.

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“A Conversation with Ye: Linsey Davis Reporting,” a half-hour ABC News Live special, airs at 8:30 p.m. ET and streams later on Hulu.

In the chat, Kanye West opens up about many topics, from his relationship with ex-wife Kim Kardashian to his relationship with God. 

And yes, he wants to run for president again. 

While Ye admits he’s sorry for causing Kim stress after their split, he shared, “As a dad and as a Christian. And I have a right to have a voice on what my kids are wearing, what they’re watching, what they’re eating. I have a platform where I get to say what so many dads can’t say out loud.”

Ye and Kim, who are in the midst of a divorce, share four children: North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.

“I’m their dad. It has to be co-parenting. It’s not up to only the woman. Like, men have a choice also. Men’s voices matter,” he said.

West also talked about his Simi Valley, California private school, re-branded The Donda Academy in honor of his late mother. 

“So many schools are made to set kids up for industries that don’t even matter anymore,” Ye said, whereas Donda Academy focuses on “practical” classes like engineering, computer programming and farming. The curriculum could “actually turn your kids into, like, geniuses,” he expresses. 

Faith is also part of the curriculum. “When you remove the love and fear of God, you open up the love and fear of everything else,” West says. “It’s easier to control the people if people are not controlled by God…”

He says of his higher power, “He’s got my back.”

Following his 2020 run for the White House, Ye said he “absolutely” plans to run for president again but did not specify when.

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Sam Smith is rocking some newly-bleached blonde hair and a dark new aura for their new music chapter, which the Grammy winner warns is their “villain era.”

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Sam cautioned, “It’s time for my villain era, I think. Time to get sexy.”

The singer is about to unleash their new song “Unholy,” which drops September 22 at 10 p.m. PT. “It’s amazing. It’s so exciting,” Sam raved. “It’s just the chorus that’s out there, so I can’t wait for you to hear the song. It’s a wild song.”

As for why “Unholy” will stand out from the rest of Sam’s music, they teased, “It’s a theater show in one song, and I’m so proud of it.”

The British superstar is very excited to see just how many people on TikTok have already resonated with “Unholy,” even though the song hasn’t been released in full. “That’s the beauty of music, I’m not in control of that. I make music, write songs, throw them out in the air, and hope that it touches people,” Sam said of the positive feedback. “So I’m very happy when it does.”

So, why is Sam trading in the pining love songs for villainy? They say it’s time to not only make a comeback, but to really control the narrative about who they are.

“After COVID, everyone’s feeling hungry to be around people again, and see people, so I’m definitely feeling that,” they said. “I’ve had a transitional three years in my life. I turned 30, I think I know what I want to say now, I think I know who I am a bit more, and I’m ready to have fun.”

A teaser clip of “Unholy,” which also features vocals from Kim Petras, was first teased August 18 and went viral on TikTok. 

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Ghost has premiered a live video for their surprisingly viral 2019 single, “Mary on a Cross.”

The clip, filmed during the Tampa, FL stop of Ghost’s U.S. tour, is streaming now on YouTube.

Despite being three years old and never being released on a proper album, “Mary on a Cross” debuted at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, giving Ghost their first ever appearance on the all-genre songs chart. The song’s newfound popularity stems from — what else? — a viral TikTok trend.

In other Ghost news, Papa Emeritus IV — aka frontman Tobias Forge — is set to throw out the ceremonial opening pitch Thursday at the Chicago White Sox’s matchup against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. CT and should be worth tuning into just to see how the players and fans react when Forge takes the diamond in his full Ghost regalia.

The game is a pit-stop on Ghost’s U.S. tour, which supports their new album, Impera, and concludes this Friday in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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Weezer‘s SZNZ project continues with the Autumn EP.

The seven-track collection, which arrives on the first day of fall, is now available on digital outlets. It follows Weezer’s two seasonally-themed EPs, SZNZ: Spring and SZNZ: Summer, which were released on the first days of their respective seasons.

As they did with Spring and Summer, Weezer celebrated the arrival of SZNZ: Autumn with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! as part of their “seasonal residency” with the ABC show. You can watch their rendition of the lead Autumn single “What Happens After You” streaming now on YouTube.

Weezer had also planned to support SZNZ with a Broadway residency, but the shows were canceled due to what frontman Rivers Cuomo called “low ticket sales and unbelievably high expenses.”

The fourth and final SZNZ EP, Winter, is expected to drop in December.

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It’s going to be a “Pardi of three” for country star Jon Pardi and his wife, Summer: The couple is expecting their first child early next year.

“I’m ready to start a new adventure with my wonderful wife Summer and our new little one — Pardi of three!” the singer tells People, which shared the news this week. “I’m really excited to meet our baby and to have someone to ride around the ranch with.”

Summer also explains that getting pregnant wasn’t the easiest journey for her and Jon, who got married in late 2020 and have been trying to have a baby ever since.

“It was definitely an interesting two years of ups and downs — the constant letdown month after month can be really hard on a couple,” she says. “After years of no luck and meeting with doctors who just didn’t feel like the right fit, we decided to take a break, leave it in God’s hands and just enjoy each other and this crazy, fun life we live together…and then surprise, we’re pregnant!”

Now, she adds, she can’t wait to see Jon become a dad. “He’s such a big kid at heart, always the life of the party and has such positive energy so I can only imagine how much fun this little Pardi addition will be for him and our family,” she adds.

In music news, Jon’s Mr. Saturday Night album came out earlier this month.

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GAYLE‘s been living in Nashville for years but hadn’t managed to run into Taylor Swift until Tuesday night, when both were honored at the 2022 Nashville Songwriters Association International Awards.

The “abcdefu” singer managed to grab a selfie with Taylor, who was being honored as the Songwriter/Artist of the Decade at the event. She posted the photo on her Instagram Stories and captioned it, “I’ve died and come back to life.” She also wrote, “I’m dead.”

You can also see the selfie in a carousel of pics GAYLE posted of the night, during which she and her “abcdefu” co-writers got one of the “10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” awards voted on by NSAI’s professional songwriter members. She got to take the stage at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium to perform the song as well.

“i’ve been going to nashville for almost eight years and have been living here for six so this has been a goal of mine and i’m very grateful that i get to accomplish this with people i love,” GAYLE captioned the carousel.

As previously reported, GAYLE recently canceled her Avoiding College Tour. She still plans to put out a new EP next month.

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