Imagine Dragons‘ new album Mercury — Act 1 debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
The fifth studio effort from Dan Reynolds and company enters the chart at number nine with 31,000 equivalent album units, 17,000 of which were traditional album sales.
ID previously peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 with their 2015 sophomore effort, Smoke + Mirrors. With Mercury, all five of the band’s full-length studio records have reached the chart’s top 10.
Mercury — Act 1 includes the singles “Follow You,” “Cutthroat” and “Wrecked.” Imagine Dragons will launch a U.S. tour behind the album in 2022.
New albums from Iron Maiden and Imagine Dragons debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
Maiden’s Senjutsu enters the chart at number three, with 64,000 equivalent album units, 61,000 of which were traditional album sales, making it the best-selling album of the week. Meanwhile, ID’s Mercury — Act 1 starts at number nine with 31,000 units, 17,000 of which were traditional album sales.
For Maiden, Senjutsu is the band’s highest-ever charting album on the Billboard 200. Its debut sales week is the second-best of 2021 for a hard rock album, following only Foo Fighters‘ Medicine at Midnight.
Imagine Dragons previously peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 with their 2015 sophomore effort, Smoke + Mirrors. With Mercury, all five of the band’s full-length studio records have reached the chart’s top 10.
Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Dick Clark Productions
A new documentary called Jagged, focusing on Alanis Morissette’s life and career, includes revelations that the Grammy-winning star says that multiple men had sex with her when she was 15, reports the Washington Post.
According to the paper, in the film, Alanis says, “It took me years in therapy to even admit there had been any kind of victimization on my part. I would always say I was consenting, and then I’d be reminded like ‘Hey, you were 15, you’re not consenting at 15.’ Now I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re all pedophiles. It’s all statutory rape.'”
The Post notes that Canada’s legal age of consent is 16.
Alanis also details how she was pressured to keep her weight down, with a male producer allegedly counting cheese slices to make sure she wasn’t eating them; she notes that led to a decades-long eating disorder.
Addressing the topic of why some women wait “30 years” to reveal such abuse, Alanis declares, “They don’t wait 30 years. No one was listening or their livelihood was threatened or their family was threatened…Women don’t wait. Our culture doesn’t listen.”
Also according to the Washington Post, Alanis won’t appear at Jagged‘s world premiere on Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival, because she’s unhappy about it “for unspecified reasons.” The newspaper notes that isn’t really anything in the film that’s critical of the now 47-year-old artist, and describes her as “enthusiastic” during the interview segments.
Director Alison Klayman told the Washington Post, “Of course I wish Alanis could be there [at the premiere]. It was a privilege to make this film and I’m really proud of it. Hopefully there will be other opportunities in the future for her to come to film events.”
Bush has canceled the band’s upcoming co-headlining tour with Stone Temple Pilots due to “unavoidable COVID-related circumstances.”
“We cannot stress enough how heart-breaking it is not to be able to got out and play after all this time, and after all of our attempted stars and ensuing stops over the past year and a half,” Gavin Rossdale and company write on their social media. “We wish to extend our deepest apologies as this is the last thing we would want for all our great fans as well as our good friends in Stone Temple Pilots.”
The tour was set to kick off September 30 Mesa, Arizona, and stretch into mid-October.
Along with the STP run, Bush’s festival appearances for this fall have been scrapped, as well.
Lana Del Rey is stepping away from social media to give her full attention to her upcoming projects.
The “Summertime Sadness” singer announced Saturday that she will be pulling the plug on her Twitter, Instagram and other social accounts.
“Hi, guys. I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow we are going to be deactivating our social media accounts, my social media accounts,” she told her followers, according to Rolling Stone. “That is simply because I have so many other interests and other jobs I’m doing that require privacy and transparency.”
Naming her announcement video “On the record,” the six-time Grammy nominee expressed gratitude to her fans for supporting her over the years and promised she will continue to release new music and dabble in poetry.
“I’m still very present and love what I do. I’m absolutely out here for the music and that I’m also just going on some different endeavors,” Lana said. “For right now, I think I’m going to just keep my circle a little bit closer and continue to develop some other skills and interests.”
The 36-year-old signed off by telling fans she will now spend her days “living life” and that she had enjoyed sharing “all these very small tidbits” with her followers.
Lana did not reveal when or if she will return to social media.
In the meantime, her eighth album, Blue Banisters, is due out October 22. Last week, she released the single “Arcadia,” which will be featured on the upcoming studio effort.
Dua Lipa is finally getting the chance to bring her chart-topping music to her U.S. fans in person.
The superstar has officially announced the North American leg of her Future Nostalgia tour, which will kick off February 9 in Miami, FL and conclude on April 1 in Vancouver, Canada. The opening acts will vary based on the show date, but they include Megan Thee Stallion, Caroline Polachek and Lolo Zouaï.
The tour will include Dua’s first-ever headlining shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden and at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. Tickets and VIP packages go on sale Friday, September 17 at 12 p.m. local time via Ticketmaster.
“I’m so thrilled to tour again and see my angels in person! How amazing that we all get to dance and celebrate together once again,” says Dua in a statement.
“When I was writing Future Nostalgia, I imagined the songs being played in clubs on nights out with your mates,” she adds. “I’m so excited that this fantasy is finally coming true. I can’t wait to experience these songs with you together live!”
Foo Fighters, Machine Gun Kelly and Twenty One Pilots all performed during Sunday’s 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
Dave Grohl and company, who were honored at the ceremony with the Global Icon Award, performed a three-song medley including the classics “Everlong” and “Learn to Fly,” as well as “Shame Shame,” the lead single from their latest album, Medicine at Midnight.
Meanwhile, Kelly and his Tickets to My Downfall collaborator Travis Barkerrocked his new single, “Papercuts,” and Tyler Joseph and Josh Dunpainted the town with their song “Saturday.”
Kelly also won won the Best Alternative VMA for his song “My Ex’s Best Friend” with blackbear. Other VMA winners include John Mayer‘s “Last Train Home” for Best Rock, and Billie Eilish‘s “Your Power” for Video for Good.
MGK, by the way, seemed to have quite the eventful night. In addition to his performance and award win, he also appeared to get into some sort of confrontation with MMA fighter Conor McGregor on the red carpet. Photos and footage from the event seem to show McGregor charging towards Kelly as the two appeared to exchange words. A source tells People that McGregor had asked MGK to take a photo with him, but was denied by the “Bloody Valentine” rocker’s team.
“Conor went in on it a little bit,” the source said. However, a rep for the fighter denies to People that the photo request happened, and notes that Kelly attended McGregor’s last match. Meanwhile, McGregor spoke with Entertainment Tonight on the carpet shortly after the incident and downplayed the whole affair.
“No scuffle at all,” McGregor said. “I don’t know the man!”
“I only fight real fighters, people that actually fight,” he added. “I certainly don’t fight little vanilla boy rappers.”
ABBA in 2021, in motion-capture suits/Credit: Baillie Walsh
ABBA‘s long-awaited return has British fans saying “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” to their new music.
“Don’t Shut Me Down,” one of two new songs the Swedish superstars released earlier this month, has debuted in the top 10 of the Official U.K. Singles chart. It’s the first time ABBA’s been in the top 10 on that chart since 1982. “I Still Have Faith In You,” ABBA’s other new song, debuted at number 14.
The two new entries brings the band’s total of top-40 U.K. singles to 28. In addition, the group’s best-of album, Gold, is back in the top five on the British album chart for the first time since 2008.
Both of the new songs will appear on ABBA’s new album, Voyage, due out November 5. As previously reported, it’s set a record as Universal Music U.K.’s biggest-ever album pre-order.
All the ABBA hype is leading up to the debut of a virtual concert experience, which will debut next year in London. It’ll feature digital avatars of ABBA’s four members performing all their legendary hits.
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS
After opening Sunday night’s MTV VMAs with Justin Bieber, The Kid LAROI has announced his debut headlining tour.
The End of the World Tour kicks off January 29 in Phoenix, AZ and is currently scheduled to wrap up March 10 in Atlanta, GA, reports Billboard. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 17 at 10 a.m. local time. Following LAROI’s North American tour, he’ll travel to Europe and then to his home country of Australia, plus New Zealand.
Billboard quotes LAROI as saying, “I am beyond excited to share this experience with you all. It’s always been a dream of mine to headline a global tour. I cannot wait to see my fans all around the world and give them something that they won’t ever forget. It’s been a long time coming.”
Billboard reports that the tour will find LAROI performing songs from all three installments of his F*ck Love release, including his smash hits “Stay” and “Without You.”
Following his MTV VMA debut, LAROI tweeted to his fans, “I love you family. Thank you for everything. NONE of this s**t would be possible without you. I’m forever in debt to you all.”
“I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to do what I love and support the people I love most around me,” he added. “There’s no way I will ever be able to repay you.”
Last week, BTS teamed up with Coldplay‘s Chris Martin for an episode of YouTube Originals’ series RELEASED. Now the two are teaming up on music.
“My Universe,” a collaboration between the superstar British band and BTS, will be released on September 24. Produced by Max Martin, it was co-written by both acts and is sung in both English and Korean. You can pre-order it now atmyuniverse.coldplay.com.
“My Universe” is the second single from Coldplay’s upcoming album Music of the Spheres, due out October 15.
