Sam Smith and Summer Walker add a heartfelt touch to “You Will Be Found” for the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack.
Sam’s signature falsetto voice shines on the uplifting lyrics, while Summer provides gentle harmonies. The chorus proclaims, “So let the sun come streaming in/’Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again/Lift your head and look around/You will be found.”
The beloved song comes at the end of Act I of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical,which has been adapted into a film starring Ben Platt, reprising his role as the titular character. It also stars Julianne Moore, Amy Adams and others.
Dear Evan Hansen is set for release on September 24, the same day as its soundtrack.
The idea of ’80s crooner Rick Astley, of “Never Gonna Give You Up” fame, singing a song by The Smiths is hard to imagine, but it actually happened — and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has weighed in on the performance. Let’s just say that, unlike the promise he makes in his song lyrics, Astley has, indeed, let Marr down.
This week, Astley and the U.K. band Blossoms performed The Smiths’ classic “This Charming Man” in London. Marr responded on Friday by retweeting the video of the performance and noting, “This is both funny and horrible at the same time.“
When one fan asked how Astley and Blossoms got approval for the cover, Marr replied, “Well, I met The Blossoms a few weeks ago and they elected to not mention it. Nice.“
When another fan suggested that the legendary guitarist should be flattered, he responded, “I’ve got no problem with tribute bands or with anyone doing anyone’s songs good or bad. I’ve got no problem with Rick Astley. There’s a back story. That’s that.”
Unfortunately, Marr didn’t reveal what the “back story” was.
Meanwhile, Astley and Blossoms are playing two Smiths tribute shows in the U.K. in October. Blossoms shared a video of themselves rehearsing another classic, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” with Astley on vocals.
Some fans are loving the collaboration, with a few petitioning for a new version of The Smiths with Astley replacing the now-problematic-yet-iconic Morrissey on lead vocals.
Meanwhile, Marr will release a solo album called Fever Dreams Pts 1-4. As previously reported, the record is made up of four different EPs, the first of which arrives October 15. Next year, he’ll tour with The Killers.
Earth, Wind & Fire has returned to the top 10 of Billboard‘s Adult R&B Airplay chart for the first time in 28 years with their new single, “You Want My Love.”
The last time the legendary funk/soul/R&B group charted that high was just a few weeks after the Adult R&B Airplay chart debuted in 1993, when their hit “Sunday Morning” peaked at number 10. Many of EWF’s best-known hits, such as “September, “Shining Star” and “Let’s Groove,” pre-date the Adult R&B Airplay list.
Additionally, the group — whose members include Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson — made it into the top 10 in just its fourth week on the chart, thus making “You Want My Love” only the fifth of 32 top-10 hits to do so in under a month.
“You Want My Love” is a reimagined version of Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1976 hit “Can’t Hide Love” that they recorded in collaboration with acclaimed producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and up-and-coming R&B singer/songwriter Lucky Daye. “Love” also gives Daye his second top-10, following his debut release, “Roll Some Mo,” a #8 hit in 2019.
Elsewhere, “You Want My Love” jumped from 31 to 24 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which measures audience totals across both adult-leaning and mainstream-oriented stations.
WALK THE MOON is bringing New Wave back with their new song “Fire in Your House,” one of two fresh tracks that the band released Friday.
The song and its video feature the late, legendary South African musician Johnny Clegg and his son, Jesse Clegg, both of whom co-wrote the track. The recording of “Fire in Your House” was Clegg’s last before he died in June of 2019.
Calling the song a “once-in-a-lifetime collaboration,” WALK THE MOON frontman Nicolas Petricca says, “Through his unprecedented music, which celebrated and intertwined African and Western styles and languages, and his defiance of the race laws of Apartheid, Johnny Clegg became an international symbol of uniting people in diversity.”
Petricca adds, “It’s an honor to have created music together with the Cleggs, and I’m excited for WALK THE MOON listeners to hear the New Wave and African flavors on ‘Fire in Your House.'” Petricca also praises the “tribal and hypnotic textures” on the band’s other new song, “DNA (The Keys).”
But that’s not all: WALK THE MOON has also announced that its new album HEIGHTS will be out November 12. Their Dream Plane tour kicks off September 20 in Tampa, Florida.
“Fire in Your House” and “DNA (The Keys)” follow WALK THE MOON’s previous drop of three songs from HEIGHTS: “Can You Handle My Love??,” “Giants” and “I’m Good.”
This year marks the 45th anniversary of the release of KISS‘ classic fourth studio album, Destroyer. To commemorate the milestone, the costumed rock legends will reissue the record on November 19 in multiple configurations, including a Super Deluxe box set featuring four CDs, a Blu-ray audio disc, a bevy of collectible items, and a 68-page hardcover book.
The first CD features a remastered version of the original album. Disc two boasts demos that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons made of songs from the Destroyer era. The third CD includes various outtakes, alternate versions, single edits and more, most of which are previously unreleased. Disc four features an unreleased concert that KISS played at Paris’ L’Olympia theater in May 1976.
The Blu-ray offers up Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes of Destroyer, created by lauded studio whiz Steven Wilson, plus two bonus tracks.
The box set’s memorabilia include a replica KISS Army newsletter, plus posters, photos, an iron-on, stickers, trading cards, flyers, a replica Destroyer tour program and more.
Released in March 1976, Destroyer peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200, and became KISS’ most successful studio album, selling over two million copies. It features “Beth,” the band’s highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. The ballad, which was sung and co-written by drummer Peter Criss, peaked at #7. The album also includes the top-40 hit “Shout It Out Loud” and such other enduring songs as “Detroit Rock City,” “King of the Night Time World” and “God of Thunder.”
The Destroyer reissue, which you can pre-order now, also is available as a two-set set, as a double-LP package pressed on black or limited-edition colored vinyl, digitally, and via streaming.
To mark the release of their new album Ain’t It Tragic, Dead Sara have dropped a video for one of the album’s tracks, “Hypnotic.”
Filmed in LA, the video has a distinctly retro vibe, somewhere between the ’80s and ’90s. At one point, frontwoman Emily Armstrong is seen standing on a fire escape wearing a skintight white bodysuit with a red patch over her nether regions.
Ain’t It Tragic is Dead Sara’s first release since their 2018 EP, Taking Up Space. The band’s tour kicks off tonight in Milwaukee, WI and is currently scheduled through October 9, with an appearance at the Welcome to Rockville festival on November 12.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — when Michael Bublé announces a deluxe edition of his massively successful album, Christmas.
Michael is going all out for the 10th anniversary of the multi-platinum holiday album with the Super Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set, which features a bonus album with seven additional songs. They include the original song “The Christmas Sweater,” co-written by Michael, and a new rendition of “Let It Snow!” recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.
The Canada native also duets with Rod Stewart on “Winter Wonderland,” and offers his 2015 holiday single, “The More You Give (The More You’ll Have).”
Also featured in the box set is a green vinyl pressing of the original Christmas, a DVD with behind-the-scenes footage from the recording studio, and holiday-themed swag in the form of a Christmas ornament, wrapping paper and cards.
Upon its 2011 release, Christmas reached #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, and is one of the best-selling albums in the past 20 years.
The limited edition box set is available on November 12 in the U.S. and November 19 internationally.
T.I. and his wife Tiny Harris will not faces charges of sexual abuse because the ten-year statue of limitations on the case has expired.
“Without the strength and weaknesses of the evidence being evaluated, the case is declined due to the expiration of the Statute of Limitations,” Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told the court, according to People.
In May, the Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation after a woman accused the couple of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2005. Later that month, attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn said he was representing multiple women claiming to have been sexually assaulted by the couple during a “span over fifteen years.”
T.i. and Tiny have consistently denied the allegations.
“Mr. and Mrs. Harris are pleased, but not surprised, by the District Attorney’s decision to dismiss these meritless allegations,” their attorney Shawn Holley said in statement following Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announcement. “We appreciate the DA’s careful review of the case and are grateful to be able to put the matter behind us and move on.”
“S*** didn’t happen, the “Live Your Life” rapper said recently on the Big Facts Live podcast, as reported by Complex.
Brett Eldredge loves everything about Christmas, including the music. The Illinois native just announced his new album, Mr. Christmas, due out on October 22. The record will feature both holiday classics and original songs, including the title track.
“Mr. Christmas is something that I’ve been planning out for quite a while,” Brett says. “This album is so much fun and full of joy and magic. From the album cover, you can find the magic of Mr. Christmas standing in the window front, looking out just like the old stores on the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and people passing by in the window.”
Brett, who previously released the Christmas album Glow in 2016, wanted to return to the holiday feeling with Mr. Christmas.
“We captured that nostalgic, classic feel that Christmas brings and mixed it with the soulful side of my music influences,” Brett says. “It’s got a lot of heart and magic — it’s a special one for people to hear.”
Brett will headline his own Glow Live Christmas Tour, kicking off on November 13. You can pre-order Mr. Christmas now from all of the usual outlets.
Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett have dropped the video for “Love for Sale.“
The video takes us inside the studio as they record the Cole Porter classic originally released in 1930 as part of the musical The New Yorkers. Gaga treats it more as a performance than simply singing into a microphone, dancing alongside Tony as they sing, amid close-up shots of the big band.
“We got that ending, we stuck it,” Gaga confirms at song’s end, the friends ending the session with a hug.
“Love for Sale” is the title track of Gaga and Bennett’s latest collaborative album, which features covers of jazz standards. It’s the second single off the album, preceded by “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
This will be the final studio album of Bennett’s career, following his family’s announcement that he’s been living with Alzheimer’s since 2016.
