Music

October is going to be a great month for Queen Naija and Meek Mill fans.

First up, Meek Mill has set a Friday, October 1, release date for his long-awaited, fifth studio album, Expensive Pain. As part of the announcement, the Philly rapper unveiled the album artwork, which was created from an original painting by renowned artist Nina Chanel Abney. The album will include Mill’s newly released songs, including “Sharing Locations,” featuring Lil Durk and Lil Baby, and “Blue Notes 2,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. Expensive Pain serves as Meek’s first full-length album since 2018’s Championships, which included collaborations with Jay-Z, Drake, Cardi B, Future, Ella Mai and many others.

Expensive Pain is available for pre-order now.

Also scheduled for October, Queen Naija is taking her music on the road. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the singer announced The Butterfly Tour, which officially launches in Atlanta on October 17.

The tour — which comes after Naija took the number-one spot on Billboard‘s Top R&B Albums chart with her debut album, missunderstood — will include shows at Brooklyn Steel in New York City and St. Andrews Hall in Queen’s hometown of Detroit. Chicago-based R&B singer-songwriter TINK has also been confirmed as a special guest on most of the tour’s scheduled dates.

Tickets for The Butterfly Tour go on sale this Friday, September 17, at 10 a.m. local time at IAmQueenNaija.com.

 

 

 

 

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The Wendy Williams Show‘s season 13 premiere date of September 20 has been delayed following the show’s announcement that host Wendy Williams has “tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.”

Williams’ diagnosis was shared on Wednesday via her official Instagram account, which noted a new season 13 premiere date of Monday, October 4. “In the meantime, repeats will be scheduled,” the message read in part. The show’s rescheduled date comes less than a week after it was announced Williams would be stepping back from “promotional activities” due to “ongoing health issues.”

In other news, The Lion King returned to Broadway on Tuesday night, following the 18-month shutdown of the theater industry due to COVID-19. The star-studded event was attended by Carson Daly, Gloria Steinem Kristin Chenoweth and John Riddle, among others. Also, in a Broadway first, Tuesday night’s performance of “Circle of Life” was livestreamed on TikTok, giving fans from all over the world a rare opportunity to see the production’s opening number.

Meanwhile, Disney is also bringing out the stars for their The Proud Family revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In honor of The Proud Family‘s 20th anniversary Wednesday, Disney announced they have added some of music and entertainment’s biggest names, including Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr., Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, Debbie Allen, Courtney B. Vance, Marsai Martin and Jaden Smith, among others. As previously reported, original stars Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, Paula Jai Parker and JoMarie Payton are all expected to return. The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder launches in 2022 on Disney+.  Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

 

 

 

 

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When Lady A changed their name from Lady Antebellum amid the racial tensions across the country last year, they never imagined the firestorm that would follow. But when blues singer Anita White, who also goes by Lady A, balked at their name change, Charles Kelley, along with band mates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, had an initially pleasant and hopeful conversation with her, before things quickly went awry. And apparently, the entire affair is still unsettled.

“I think there were some lawyers that probably knocked on her door and said, ‘There might be some money to be made here,'” Charles tells AZ Central. “And that’s when it kind of turned into something a little bit nastier.”

Lady A filed a lawsuit to be able to continue to go by thatr name, but Charles is still holding out hope for a resolution.

“Our intentions are true with this,” Charles says. “And I think her intentions are true with this. We just need to get on the same page of how to move forward.”

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Skillet has announced a new album called Dominion.

The outfit’s 11th studio effort is due out January 14, 2022. It’s the follow-up to 2019’s Victorious, which features the singles “Legendary” and “Save Me.”

“Dominion is about the celebration of freedom, a liberation from fear — to be who we want to be, say what we want to say, believe what we want to believe,” says frontman John Cooper.

“In some ways it’s a reminder of the God-given rights that we were born with,” he adds. “It’s time to regain some sort of control over our lives and not be a slave to fear. I hope this record is going to make people feel empowered, inspired, uplifted and want to rock their faces off!”

The first single from Dominion is called “Surviving the Game.” You can download that now via digital outlets.

Here’s the Dominion track list:

“Surviving the Game”
“Standing in the Storm”
“Dominion”
“Valley of Death”
“Beyond Incredible”
“Destiny”
“Refuge”
“Shout Your Freedom”
“Destroyer”
“Forever or the End”
“Ignite”
“White Horse”

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Selena Gomez is featured in the latest installment of YouTube’s Artist Spotlight Stories.

In the mini documentary — designed to look like a pop-up storybook — Selena explores her Mexican heritage and family history, and talks about the inspiration behind her Spanish-language EP Revelación.

“If I can speak to the Latinx community, I would say, ‘Be proud of who you are. You are meant to be exactly where you were meant to be, however it looks, whatever it may be. Don’t stop trying,’” Selena says in the doc.

Produced by YouTube Music, Selena Gomez: Artist Spotlight Stories is available on Selena’s YouTube channel now.

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Rival Sons have announced a reissue of their 2011 album, Pressure & Time, in honor of its 10th anniversary.

The package will be available on standard CD and vinyl, due out November 12, as well as a limited edition deluxe version, which will be released in March 2022.

In the deluxe, you’ll find Pressure & Time on a gold vinyl LP, as well as a bonus single and a 48-page photo book. If you pre-order it before November 12, you’ll also get a signed print of the band.

Earlier this year, Rival Sons announced that they’d be reissuing some of their earlier work via their newly launched Sacred Tongue Recordings. Prior to Pressure & Time, the band’s 2009 debut album, Before the Fire, and their 2010 self-titled EP have also received the reissue treatment.

Meanwhile, Rival Sons are embarking on a 10th anniversary Pressure & Time tour starting September 29 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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Jermaine Dupri will have to find another artist to go toe-to-toe with him in a Verzuz battle after Diddy says the So So Def founder is not on his level.

It all started when Dupri tweeted at Diddy during Tuesday’s night Verzuz battle between Fat Joe and Ja Rule.

“Somebody let @Diddy know I’m @thegarden right now !,” Dupri wrote, offering an invitation to Diddy for a potential battle. “And he gon need some training for me.”

A few hours later, Diddy responded, officially declining Dupri’s invitation.

“Beloved you my n**** but your arms too short to box with God!!!,” Diddy tweeted back. “You aiint got enough hits. I’ll smash you with just [Biggie] n [Mary J. Blige]. But I do have the upmost respect on you as a musical legend.”

The Bad Boy founder then noted which producer he felt was “worthy” of a Verzuz challenge.  “[Dr.] Dre the only one can get in the ring w me,” Diddy declared.

Dre has yet to respond to Diddy’s apparent Verzuz invitation.

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CHVRCHES has shared a cover of “Cry Little Sister,” the 1987 single by Gerard McMahon made famous by the film The Lost Boys.

Lauren Mayberry and company recorded their version for the new Netflix movie Nightbooks, which is out today. You can download the track now via digital outlets.

The “Cry Little Sister” cover is the latest movie-themed project from CHVRCHES. In recent weeks, they released a rendition of the Echo and the Bunnymen song “The Killing Moon,” which was famously used in Donnie Darko, and recorded a remix of a song by iconic horror director and composer John Carpenter.

Oh, and the new CHVRCHES album is called Screen Violence.

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Rachel Platten has given birth to her second child with husband Kevin Lazan: a baby girl named Sophie Jo.

The 40-year-old “Fight Song” singer announced the happy news on her Instagram Wednesday, revealing her daughter was born at home in a water birth on September 9 after “2.5 grueling days of labor.”

“When I thought I couldn’t take anymore, this amazing, wise little one kept whispering to me ‘we can do this mama, we can do this,’” Rachel writes, alongside photos of her snuggling in bed with the newborn.

“So i kept going one contraction at a time,” she continues. “I feel like a warrior and I will NEVER doubt my strength again. Thank you Sophie for showing me what I am made of and for completing our family.”

The singer concludes her Instagram post by thanking her fans.

“And Thank YOU all so much for your love and support and for allowing me the privacy these last couple of months to just be with my family and prepare for this new life,” she writes. “Sending you all the coziest new baby snuggles. please, please positive comments only.”

Rachel and Kevin are also parents to two-year-old daughter Violet Skye. They announced they were expecting baby number two back in April.

 

 

 

 

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