Music

Among the many losing bets placed in Las Vegas was the bet that Morrissey’s four-show run in Las Vegas would go on as scheduled.

News broke over the weekend that Moz’s scheduled performances at the Wynn Las Vegas, which were set to begin Friday, had been canceled. While that in and of itself may not be the biggest of stories given the former Smiths frontman’s reputation for scrapping live performances, Morrissey wants you to know he is not to blame.

In a post to his Morrissey Central website headlined “MORRISSEY DOESN’T CANCEL VEGAS,” the “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” singer writes, “The shows cannot happen for logistical reasons outside of Morrissey’s control.”

This isn’t the first time Morrissey has used this sort of reasoning when a show’s been canceled. Back in March, Morrissey said he was left in a “catatonic state” upon arriving in Valencia, Spain, for a scheduled concert there because of the music from a local techno festival. He then said that the Valencia show had been “rendered impossible due to sleep deprivation.”

“The show is not cancelled. Circumstances render the show impossible,” Morrissey wrote.

Morrissey is currently set to return to the live stage in September to play Riot Fest in Chicago.

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Usher is responding to claims that he was replaced by a clone at his New Jersey concert over the weekend.

Videos of the singer performing onstage during his R&B Tour stop at MetLife Stadium went viral, with some fans claiming the performer was just a lookalike of Usher and not the real thing.

A post on the tour’s official Instagram account featured Usher’s comments in response. “Ya’ll are funny…clone?” he wrote. “They can’t clone this??”

“How ya’ll come up with this?” he also posted with laughing face emojis. “AI ain’t that advanced.”

Among the comments being left on videos of the singer was one fan saying it wasn’t Usher, it was “Unsure.”

This likely prompted The R&B Tour account to caption their post, “Usure? Wesure.”

The R&B Tour, also featuring Chris Brown, continues Aug. 11 in Toronto.

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Country powerhouses Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen top the country chart once again, as “I Can’t Love You Anymore” rises to #1 on Billboard Country Airplay in only its 15th week. 

This is Ella’s fifth #1 and Morgan’s 22nd, following “Don’t We,” which is just off its second week at the pinnacle.

It’s only the third time in the 36-year history of the chart that an artist has been #1 in consecutive weeks with different songs. 

Tim McGraw first accomplished the feat in 2002, when “The Cowboy in Me” replaced Jo Dee Messina’s “Bring on the Rain,” which features his vocals. 

And wouldn’t you know it? The second time it happened, Morgan himself was the culprit. In 2024, “Cowgirls” with ERNEST succeeded Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help.”

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Ice Nine Kills will help scare up a good time during the 2026 edition of Universal Studios Hollywood’s annual Halloween Horror Nights season.

Spencer Charnas and company are providing music for the Terror Tram, an attraction themed around the Terrifier movies and its terrifying villain, Art the Clown.

“Art the Clown’s got his bloody bag of gifts in tow — and he’s hijacking the Terror Tram to make his own ho-ho-horrific holiday tradition set to music by Ice Nine Kills,” reads a post on the Halloween Horror Nights Instagram.

You may recall that Ice Nine Kills recorded a song for 2024’s Terrifier 3 movie, “A Work of Art.”

The Terror Tram will be open select nights between Sept. 3 and Nov. 1.

As previously reported, Halloween Horror Nights will also feature an Ozzy Osbourne-themed attraction open at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando in Florida.

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Portugal. The Man has released a deluxe edition of the band’s 2011 album, In the Mountain in the Cloud, in honor of its 15th anniversary. Speaking with ABC Audio, frontman John Gourley looks back at In the Mountain in the Cloud, which spawned the singles “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now)” and “So American.”

“It’s kind of a really weird record,” Gourley tells ABC Audio. “I mean, just within that mix, there are just hooks on hooks on hooks.”

Gourley credits mixer Andy Wallace for keeping and bringing together all of those layers to form what he feels is the “most clearly Portugal. The Man album.”

“Like, that feels like Portugal. The Man to me,” Gourley says.

Along with celebrating a decade-and-a-half of In the Mountain in the Cloud, Portugal. The Man is preparing to hit the road on a U.S. tour supporting Muse, which kicks off Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“I’m excited to play with such a talented band,” Gourley says of touring with Muse. “I’m excited to just see the musicianship and be at those shows and kinda see that energy and see what those crowds are like.”

As for his band’s own set, Gourley says he wants to “bring more chaotic energy to it.”

“I really wanna be in this, like, proggy, fun space again,” he says. 

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Ariana Grande’s new album is a bloomin’ success.

Her eighth full-length release, petal, debuts at #1 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 295,000 units. It’s her biggest sales week by units in the 2020s. 

Boosting the album’s sales was its availability in more than 10 different digital and streaming versions, 10 vinyl variants, five CD variants and two cassettes.  Her vinyl sales amounted to 96,000, which is her best sales week in that format ever.

“thank you from the bottom of my heart…” Ari wrote on an Instagram Story post about the album’s debut.

This is Ari’s seventh #1 album. She’s tied with Janet Jackson and Lady Gaga for fifth place in terms of #1 albums by solo female artists. Only Beyoncé, Madonna, Barbra Streisand and Taylor Swift have had more.

Ariana’s Eternal Sunshine Tour continues Aug. 15 in London at the O2 Arena, where she’ll perform 10 shows, wrapping Sept. 1. She then plans to take a step back from the public eye.

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There’s no reining in Olivia Dean and her pal Sam Fender. Their duet “Rein Me In” has topped the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart for an amazing 20th week. Last week, when the song notched its 19th week on top they set the record for the longest-running #1 single of all time on that chart. Elsewhere, Ariana Grande’s new album petal debuts at #1 on the U.K. album chart, and two songs from it are in the top 10: “hate that i made you love me” and the title track.

In the early 2000s, blue eyeshadow was all the rage. That’s why Michelle Branch has teamed up with MOB Beauty to create a shade of eyeshadow called “Spirit Room Blue,” to mark the 25th anniversary of her 2001 debut, The Spirit Room, and its blue cover. “Some colors hold memories. ’Spirit Room Blue’ reminds me of late nights, first records, endless skies, and the fans who’ve carried these songs with me for 25 years. Now it’s their turn to wear the story,” Michelle says. “I especially like the idea of making Spirit Room Blue the signature fan look for the anniversary tour.”

William Orbit, the British record producer best known for his work on Madonna’s Ray of Light and Music albums, plus her song “Beautiful Stranger,” has died, according to a note on his official website. According to the website, Orbit, born William Mark Wainwright, died July 23 at age 69. He also did production for artists ranging from Pink, Prince, Blur and U2 to Ricky Martin, Britney Spears and Sarah McLachlan.

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