JoJo Siwa says Demi Lovato was part of her “gay awakening”

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

JoJo Siwa has revealed that Demi Lovato played a role in her “gay awakening.”

During an appearance on the 4D with Demi Lovato podcast this week, the 18-year-old entertainer admitted that Demi’s “Cool for the Summer” was a huge influence on her.

“I’ve been figuring out my gay awakenings recently,” JoJo said, adding that her first “awakening” was Jenna Dewan’s performance on Lip Sync Battle.

“But do you remember your dancer, her name is JoJo Gomez, and you did ‘Cool for the Summer’ together?” JoJo asked Demi. “I remember seeing that and just being a little too interested.”

Demi was thrilled to hear it, noting that “Cool for the Summer” was their way of testing the waters before officially coming out as bisexual in 2017.

“I’m so happy you can see a little glimpse of that pride through that performance,” Demi said.

JoJo added that Demi also played her role in her girlfriend Kylie Prew realizing she was gay.

“She said she went to your concert and it was that concert — she would have probably had to have been 12, maybe, or 13, and she was there with her mom!” JoJo laughed.

JoJo came out publicly as a member of the LGBTQ+ community earlier this year.

Listen to new Andrew W.K. song, “Everybody Sins”

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Andrew W.K. has released a new song called “Everybody Sins,” a track off his upcoming album, God Is Partying.

The track, which is available now for digital download, is accompanied by a video featuring intense performance footage from the “Party Hard” rocker and his band, mixed with various bizarre, flashing images. The clip also features brief shots of W.K.’s fiancée, WandaVision actor Kat Dennings.

“When we started working on the video for ‘Everybody Sins,’ the director and I were scheming and straining over some of the choreography and camera moves,” W.K. says. “Now, I do realize some people will say life’s too short to scheme and strain like this. And others will say life’s too short NOT to scheme and strain.”

“Still, other people will say both these approaches are incorrect,” he continues. “And what do I say? Everything I just said in the video for ‘Everybody Sins.'”

You can watch the “Everybody Sins” video streaming now on YouTube.

God Is Partying will be released September 10. It also includes the previously released songs “Babalon” and “I’m in Heaven.”

W.K. will launch a headlining tour in support of God Is Partying in September.

Rihanna will be your landlord — if you can afford paying $80,000 a month in rent

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

If you can comfortably spend $80,000 a month, then you are qualified to become Rihanna‘s newest tenant.

TMZ reports that the “Umbrella” singer is renting out her luxurious Beverly Hills mansion, which will cost nearly a million dollars to rent for the full year.

Among the various perks of living in Rihanna’s abode, tenants will have their very own private gym, in-ground pool, patio with a working fire pit, modern library, gourmet kitchen, walk-in closet, master bathroom that leads to a private patio, and breathtaking views of Coldwater Canyon.

In all, the 7,628-square-foot rental offers five bedrooms and seven bathrooms on a 22,000 square-foot lot.

It was previously reported that Rih scooped up the real estate in March for a whopping $13.8 million. It’s unknown why the singer is renting out her new digs.

Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, St. Vincent & more contribute to ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ tribute album

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Artists including Iggy Pop, R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe and St. Vincent are contributing to a compilation paying tribute to The Velvet Underground and Nico‘s legendary debut album.

The record, titled I’ll Be Your Mirror, will be released September 24. You can listen to Kurt Vile‘s version of “Run Run Run” now via digital outlets.

Released in 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico was initially a flop, but later came to be considered one of the best records of all time, as well as a massive influence on the what would become alternative rock. Even if you’ve never actually heard the album, you’d surely know it by its iconic Andy Warhol-designed cover artwork.

Other artists featured on I’ll Be Your Mirror include The National‘s Matt Berninger, Sonic Youth‘s Thurston Moore, Courtney Barnett, Sharon Van Etten and King Princess.

Here’s the track list:

“Sunday Morning” — Michael Stipe
“I’m Waiting for the Man” — Matt Berninger
“Femme Fatale” — Sharon Van Etten
“Venus in Furs” — Andrew Bird & Lucius
“Run Run Run” — Kurt Vile
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” — St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett
“Heroin” — Thurston Moore feat. Bobby Gillespie
“There She Goes Again” — King Princess
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” — Courtney Barnett
“The Black Angel’s Death Song” — Fontaines D.C.
“European Son” — Iggy Pop & Matt Sweeney

Babyface and wife Nicole announce divorce after seven years of marriage

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

After seven years of marriage, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and his wife Nicole Pantenburg have announced their decision to divorce.

In a joint statement to TMZ on Tuesday, the 62-year-old singer and 48-year-old actress said, “After much thought and with great sadness, we have decided to end our marriage. We continue to care and have respect for one another and share eternal love for our daughter and her well-being.”

“We ask for personal privacy for ourselves and our daughter as we navigate these new steps as a family,” they concluded.

Babyface and Nicole married in 2014 after dating for over seven years. They share one daughter, 12-year-old Peyton Nicole.

Prior to Nicole, the R&B singer was married to Tracey Edmonds from 1992 until 2005. They share two sons, Brandon and Dylan.

Garth Brooks sets sights on Baltimore for the next-announced date on the Stadium Tour

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Garth Brooks is headed to Baltimore this fall. The country superstar has announced his first performance in the city for six years, as well as the first time he’s ever played MT+T Bank Stadium.

The show is set for October 2, and tickets go on sale Friday, July 23 at 10 a.m. ET. Those hoping to attend should plan to snag their seats fast, because the Stadium Tour dates Garth has announced so far this year have sold out at a whiplash-inducing rate.

Back in May, fans snapped up 50,000 seats to Garth’s July Salt Lake City show just under 30 minutes after the event went on sale. Not long after, Garth sold 70,000 tickets in the first 47 minutes after sales opened for his Lincoln, Nebraska show. According to the website for football team the Baltimore Ravens, MT+T Bank Stadium has a capacity of 71,000.

Garth has spent much of this summer getting Stadium Tour dates back on the books after the past year’s pandemic-induced touring hiatus. He’s officially back in action as of last weekend, kicking off the tour with a sold-out show in Las Vegas.

As always for Garth’s stadium shows, tickets to his Baltimore set will cost $94.95 all-inclusive. The show will feature in-the-round seating.

Da Baby leaves Twitter divided over interaction with kids trying to sell him candy

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Da Baby has left Twitter at odds after an interaction between him and two kids selling candy made its rounds on the internet.

The moment, which was captured on video, shows the “Masterpiece” rapper holding a wad of cash and approaching the two boys, who say they’re selling Skittles and Gushers in exchange for donations.

“How much for the whole box?” DaBaby asks, to which the young man holding the Skittles box replies, “$200,” despite each unit being only $2 apiece.

He gets the same answer when he asks the other boy how much for his box of Gushers.

After a laugh, Da Baby does the math. “You made $400 off that and you selling them for $2? Let’s count ’em. What’s 34 times two? It ain’t $200. It ain’t even $100. That’s $68,” he explained, before eventually giving them about $4 for some Gushers.

Even though the 29-year-old rapper paid full price for the candy, many took issue with the fact that he didn’t give them more. Others defended the rapper, stating that had the boys not been greedy they probably would have received a generous donation.

“I know y’all did not made [sic] them kids wanting $200 from Da Baby for that candy about integrity. I know y’all didn’t. Not when this generation of rappers flaunts their wealth in the most disgusting ways in front of these same kids who support them,” one Twitter user retorted.

Another commented, “I’m like 99.9% sure if those kids would have gave Da Baby regular price candy he would have blessed them. Nobody likes getting finessed, because now it’s on the floor.”

CCR drummer Cosmo Clifford releasing archival 1986 collaborative album recorded with late Greg Kihn bassist

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford has debuted the title track from an upcoming album of previously unreleased archival recordings called For All the Money in the World that he made in 1986 with late Greg Kihn Band bassist Steve Wright.

The upbeat pop-rock song got its premiere Tuesday on The Aquarian Weekly‘s official website and is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.

The For All the Money in the World album is the first in a series of archival project Clifford is planning to release via his new CliffSongs Records label under the Cosmo’s Vaults moniker.

It features 11 tracks co-written by Clifford and Wright, and boasts contributions from a variety of guest musicians, including guitar-whiz Joe Satriani, as well as keyboardist Pat Mosca and guitarists Jimmy Lyon and Greg Douglass, all of whom played with The Greg Kihn Band around that time. Lead vocals were handled by a singer named Keith England.

Speaking to The Aquarian Weekly about the newly released single, Clifford notes, “‘For All the Money in the World’ has a very nice uptempo groove and it’s a love song, as well.”

Regarding the album in general, Doug says, “It’s a rock ‘n’ roll album, that’s for sure, but it covers many different [rock] genres.”

Wright, who died in 2017, co-wrote many Greg Kihn Band songs, including their two biggest hits — “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)” and “Jeopardy.” He and Clifford both grew up in the same California town, El Cerrito, and had known each other since they were young, before finally collaborating together during the ’80s.

For All the Money in the World will be released on August 27, and can be pre-ordered now.

Here’s the album’s track list:

“For All the Money in the World”
“I Need Your Love”
“She Told Me So”
“Lost Pride Fever”
“I See Your Silhouette”
“Real Love”
“You Keep Runnin’ Away”
“Just in the Nick of Time”
“Weekends”
“Lonesome Boy”
“You’re Gonna Love Again”

Thinking out (very) loud: Cradle of Filth frontman responds to Ed Sheeran’s apparent love of death metal

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100

First we had Justin Bieber wearing a Metallica shirt, and now we have apparent death metal fan Ed Sheeran.

The U.K. tabloid The Sun quotes the “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” singer professing his childhood love for bands including Slipknot and Cradle of Filth, adding that he “would not be opposed” to recording a metal album of his own.

“I’m not saying I could ever step into that world,” the quote reads. “I learnt all those riffs on guitar as a kid. That’s something I’ve never thought about doing — but something I would not be opposed to creating.”

It’s unclear where exactly that quote came from, but needless to say, the idea of a death metal Ed Sheeran album has certainly raised a few eyebrows, including those of Cradle frontman Dani Filth.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Filth wrote in an Instagram post, though he doesn’t seem totally opposed to the idea.

“Fellow Suffolk lad could come good in the end,” he added, referring to he and Sheeran’s mutual home county in England. “‘Dracula’s Castle on the Hill’ anyone?”

Sheeran, by the way, has hinted at his inner metalhead in the past. In 2018, he ran into Korn‘s Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer at a Marilyn Manson concert, and he covered Iron Maiden and Limp Bizkit during a 2015 Tonight Show segment.

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For whom the bell tolls: Metallica announces 40th anniversary concerts

July 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Metallica has announced a pair of concerts to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary this year.

The shows will take place December 17 and 19 at the Chase Center in the metal legends’ hometown of San Francisco. The venue was also the site of ‘Tallica’s 2019 S&M2 concerts, which were accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony.

Tickets will be available exclusively for members of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club. If you are a member, you’ll be able to enter a raffle to win a reservation code to purchase tickets, which will be sent out randomly.

If you happen to be in the S.F. area but couldn’t secure tickets to the big shows, Metallica will also hosting a series of live music and comedy events, as well as tastings for their Blackened Whiskey, throughout the city starting December 16.

For more info, visit Metallica.com.

Metallica was formed in 1981 when James Hetfield met Lars Ulrich after the drummer posted a newspaper ad looking to start a band.

Meanwhile, Metallica will also celebrate another big milestone when their 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album, turns 30 in August. That anniversary will be celebrated with a remastered deluxe reissue, as well as a 53-track tribute compilation dubbed The Metallica Blacklist.

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