KISS celebrates 50th anniversary with new merch collection

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Sunday, February 18, marks the 50th anniversary of the release of KISS’ self-titled debut album, and the band has now launched a new line of 50th anniversary merchandise to mark the occasion.

Items in the collection include a 50th anniversary limited-edition KISS picture disc with an anniversary jacket featuring the KISS logo in rhinestones, as well as a limited-edition gold nugget-colored KISS vinyl, with a 50th anniversary long-sleeve shirt.

There are also a variety of 50th anniversary T-shirts and a separate 50th anniversary jacket, along with a banner, woven blanket, wing-zipped hoodie, socks, gin tumbler set, pin set, sticker, belt buckle and more.

All items are on sale now at shopkissonline.com.

Released February 18, 1974, the band’s self-titled debut featured such future KISS classics as “Strutter,” “Black Diamond,” “Deuce” and “10,000 Years.” It only sold about 75,000 copies when it was first released, but after it was rereleased in 1997 it was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Spotify launches new series, highlights hip-hop and R&B albums that defined streaming era

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Photo by Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/picture alliance via Getty Images

Spotify has launched a new series intended to celebrate classic albums that have stood the test of time, despite changes in the consumption and release of music.

The first iteration of Spotify CLASSICS: Hip-Hop & RNB Albums of the Streaming Era spotlights 30 hip-hop and R&B albums from the streaming era, 2015 to the present day, selected by Spotify’s North American editorial team for their holistic impact and the role they played in shaping this particular era.

Among those included are Beyoncé‘s Lemonade, described as “a visual and sonic tour de force that effectively lifted the star’s otherwise impenetrable veil through a stunning display of vulnerability and catharsis,” and 2022’s Renaissance.

Kendrick Lamar also has two albums featured: To Pimp A Butterfly, which “offered rare social commentary months after the police killings of Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Michael Brown,” and DAMN, which showed he “could deliver crossover hits without compromising a drop of his innovative spirit.”

Jay-Z‘s 4:44 is on the list for being “part confessional and part business manual,” as well as a work of art that “sprinkles food for thought” and reminds folks he “could still deliver a compelling body of work 20 years after his classic debut.”

Rihanna‘s last body of work, Anti, was also chosen for the “wide range of genres” on the record and “the soulfulness of it all that sets it apart.”

The full list of albums are listed below:

Malibu (2016) – Anderson .Paak
Lemonade (2016) – Beyoncé
RENAISSANCE (2022) – Beyoncé
TRAPSOUL (2015) – Bryson Tiller
Mother (2021) – Cleo Sol
Freudian (2017) – Daniel Caesar
Bandana (2019) – Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
DS2 (2015) – Future
H.E.R (2017) – H.E.R
Ego Death (2015) – The Internet
4:44 (2017) – JAY-Z
Heaux Tales (2021) – Jazmine Sullivan
To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) – Kendrick Lamar
DAMN. (2017) – Kendrick Lamar
Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World (2016) – Lil Uzi Vert
Culture (2017) – Migos
Victory Lap (2018) – Nipsey Hussle
Blonde (2016) – Frank Ocean
Die Lit (2018) – Playboi Carti
Anti (2016) – Rihanna
Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (2019) – Roddy Ricch
CARE FOR ME (2018) – Saba
A Seat at the Table (2016) – Solange
Over It (2019) – Summer Walker
Ctrl (2017) – SZA
ASTROWORLD (2018) – Travis Scott
Flower Boy (2017) – Tyler, The Creator
IGOR (2019) – Tyler, The Creator
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (2021)- Tyler, The Creator
17 (2017) – XXXTENTACION

Tyler Hubbard announces new album, ‘Strong’

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Tyler Hubbard is releasing his sophomore album, Strong, on April 12.

The 13-track project is co-produced by Tyler and Jordan Schmidt and will spotlight topics such as love, fatherhood and hometown nostalgia. Featured on the album are its lead single “Back Then Right Now,” the newly released “Wish You Would,” “Turn” and “A Lot With a Little.”

“I wish you would light me up/ Be that fire that’s in my cup/ Break my walls, cross that line/ Take my breath and take my time/ I wish you would trip me up/ Make this old boy fall in love/ Wreck my plans, rock my world/ Be my brown-eyed, blue-jean girl/ I wish you would/ I wish you would,” Tyler sings in the uptempo tune.

“Back Then Right Now” is currently in the top 20 of the country charts.

While you wait for Strong to arrive, you can preorder and presave now.

Here’s the track list for Strong:

“Wish You Would”
“Park”
“A Lot With a Little”
“Night Like That”
“Take Me Back”
“Back Then Right Now”
“Vegas”
“Turn”
“American Mellencamp”
“BNA”
“Summer Talkin'”
“’73 Beetle”
“Strong”

The Black Crowes drop new ‘Happiness Bastards’ track, “Cross Your Fingers”

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

The Black Crowes are giving fans another preview of their upcoming album, Happiness Bastards.

Following the release of the album’s debut track, “Wanting and Waiting,” brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have dropped the second single from the record, “Cross Your Fingers,” which is described as having a “rhythmic chorus infused with the funk and soul of the Robinson Brothers’ Georgia roots.”

You can listen to “Cross Your Fingers” now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

The Black Crowes will release Happiness Bastards on March 15. It is their 10th studio album and their first album of new music in 15 years.

They will also be heading out on the Happiness Bastards tour this spring, hitting 35 cities starting April 2 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

Keane announces 20th anniversary ‘Hopes and Fears’ reissue

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Keane has announced a 20th anniversary reissue of their 2004 debut album, Hopes and Fears.

The expanded package is due out May 10 and includes the original record remastered, along with various B-sides, rarities and previously unreleased demos.

You can listen to the demo of the single “Somewhere Only We Know” now via digital outlets.

“When I think about these songs, I still picture us playing them in little rooms in pubs around the U.K.,” says keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley. “I remember how exciting it was watching the crowds start to grow. Those songs opened the door to another dimension for us; everything that has happened in our lives since then was born out of that moment. It’s an incredible privilege for us that people are still listening after all this time.”

Keane will continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hopes and Fears on a world tour. The U.S. leg kicks off in September.

Watch Billy Joel sing as his ’70s, ’80s & ’90s selves in “Turn the Lights Back On” video

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence is changing the music industry. For one example, watch the video for Billy Joel‘s new song, “Turn the Lights Back On.” It uses what’s described as “groundbreaking technology” from a company called Deep Voodoo to transform Billy from the 74-year-old man he is today to the man he was in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.

The video starts with a shot of the sheet music of “Famous Last Words,” the last song on Billy’s last pop album, 1993’s River of Dreams. It then shows him performing the song in the present day on an empty stage in a theater.

As he continues to sing the song, he suddenly transforms into how he looked in the ’70s, and then he turns into ’80s-era Billy, around the time of “Uptown Girl.” Next, he’s wearing shades and looks like he did in the early ’90s. As the clip ends, Billy is back to the way he looks now, and we see real-life footage of him through the years.

The video for “Turn the Lights Back On” was co-directed by Freddy Wexler, who also produced the song and co-wrote it with Billy, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector.

“Turn the Lights Back On” has returned Billy to the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts — as an artist, not just a writer — for the first time since 1998.

Mariah Carey gets a whole new verse in Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” remix

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

If you team up with Mariah Carey for a remix, you’re not just going to let her sing the same thing as the original song’s lyrics, now, are you?

Ariana Grande‘s remix of her #1 hit “yes, and?” with Mariah is out now. In the second verse of the song, Ariana originally sang, “Now, I’m so done with caring/ What you think, no, I won’t hide/ Underneath your own projections/ Or change my most authentic life.”

But in the remix, Mariah takes over for the second verse, singing, “Now, I’m so done with sharing/ This hypocrisy with you/ Baby, you have been rejected/ Go back, no more pretending, bye.”

Mariah sings along with Ariana in the rest of the song or throws in ad-libs in response to what she’s singing, like, “Don’t you comment on my life.” She does join Ariana for one of the racier lines in the song, but doesn’t say the actual word that Ariana sings. Of course, she also throws in some of her famous whistle tones.

When Ariana announced the remix, she wrote to Mariah, “thank you from the bottom of my heart for this dream come true and for sprinkling your brilliance and magic on my little song … it means more to me than i could ever possibly articulate … and I love you eternally!!!”

Mariah replied, “Darling angel, I am so effing excited to be joining you on the yes, and? remix!! This is such a magical moment!!”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

FEVER 333 premieres new single, “READY ROCK”

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

FEVER 333 has premiered a new single called “READY ROCK.”

The track marks the first preview of the “Made an America” outfit’s upcoming sophomore album, the follow-up to 2019’s STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS.

“Welcome to the function. Soundtrack on the way,” FEVER teases. “And, as always, let them know — there’s a fever coming…”

You can listen to “READY ROCK” now via digital outlets.

FEVER 333’s next album will showcase the band’s updated lineup following the 2022 departure of founding members Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta. Alongside frontman Jason Aalon Butler, the group now consists of guitarist Brandon Davis, bassist April Kae and former Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Hear Carole King sing with Glen Campbell on “There’s No Me Without You”

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Carole King is one of the many artists featured on the upcoming reimagining of the late Glen Campbell’s farewell album, Ghosts on the Canvas, and now we get to hear her contribution to the record.

King is featured on the just-released track “There’s No Me Without You,” a tune written by Campbell and producer Julian Raymond about Campbell’s bond with his wife, Kim.

“Words cannot express how much I enjoyed blending my voice with Glen’s on this incredibly touching love song,” King shares. “Hard to sing when you’re crying.”

This isn’t the first time King has sung with Campbell. In the ’60s she was part of the Keestone Family Singers, which also featured Campbell and The Everly Brothers’ Phil Everly. They released one single, “Melodrama,” in 1962.

You can listen to “There’s No Me Without You (with Carole King)” via digital outlets and on YouTube.

Glen Campbell Duets – Ghost on the Canvas Sessions recreates all the songs on Campbell’s 2011 farewell album as duets, using Campbell’s original vocals. Guest artists on the record include Elton John, Eric Clapton, Sting, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hall, Eurythmics‘ Dave Stewart, Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese and Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen.

Glen Campbell Duets – Ghost on the Canvas Sessions will be released April 19 and is available for preorder now.

Lionel Richie says he didn’t know Katy Perry was leaving ‘American Idol’

February 16, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Katy Perry announced earlier this week on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that this season will be her final one judging American Idol. When Jimmy asked how her fellow judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, felt about her departure, she claimed she hadn’t told them yet. Now Lionel has confirmed that’s true.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 15, Jimmy asked Lionel if he was mad at Katy for not discussing it with him before announcing it on TV. “No, I’m not mad,” Lionel replied. “It just made me run off the road when I heard about it. My phone blew up. But the point was, we didn’t know about it, but it makes sense.”

Noting that the reason he’s on American Idol is because he’s had so much life experience, Lionel said he understood why Katy needs to leave. “When Katy says, ‘I wanna go create some stories’ … you have to take some time and actually be an artist,” he said.

Asked who will replace Katy, Lionel would only say, “It’s gonna be really interesting.” But he said whoever comes next will have to be “humorous forever, and on top of that, knowledgeable.”

When Jimmy suggested Madonna, Lionel said, “Madonna! Give me a call!”

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