David Lee Roth is opening up about his relationship with his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in October 2020.
In the latest episode of his The Roth Show podcast, Roth shares, “My dear departed Ed. Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed.”
As for their working relationship, Roth notes, “Walt Disney once said, ‘You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had,’” offering, “I’ve gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed was better than any love affair I ever had.”
He adds that some of the tunes they made together in Van Halen “might last forever – or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems.”
The Weeknd reflected on his ultra busy 2022 and teased 2023 will be even greater.
Taking to Instagram, the singer shared a collage of all the projects he took on over the past year. Among the many achievements he enjoyed in 2022, highlights included him releasing his Dawn FM album, his cameo on The Simpsons, launching his sold-out After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour, getting a kitten and performing an original song for the new Avatar: The Way of Water movie.
After walking down memory lane, The Weeknd turned his sights on the new year and released a trailer recounting his sold-out tour to preview what’s to come. “xo bout to F*** up 2023,” he warned in the caption.
A fan responded to the clip by asking the artist how he feels about Dawn FM being almost a year old.
He cryptically responded, “i feel istheresomeoneelsemusicvideo-ish” — thus sparking theories that he’ll soon release a cinematic visualizer for his album’s 10th track, “Is There Someone Else?“
As for what else he has up his sleeve, we will just have to wait and see.
While the Beatles broke up over 50 years ago, they were still making headlines in 2022, with Emmy wins, big tours and more.
Here’s a lowdown on all of 2022’s Beatles happenings:
—Paul McCartney launched his Got Back tour in Spokane, Washington, which featured a virtual duet with John Lennon on the Fab Four’s “I’ve Got a Feeling.” He wrapped the tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, with special appearances by Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. It was also Paul’s 80th birthday, and Bon Jovi led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to him.
–Lennon’s son Julian Lennon covered his father’s classic track “Imagine” for the first time during Global Citizen’s televised Stand Up for Ukraine special.
—Ringo Starr received an honorary doctorate from Boston’s Berklee College of Music.
–McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and was joined by special guests Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. It was Grohls’ first time onstage since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
–McCartney released McCartney I II III, a box set of his three self-titled solo albums: 1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II and 2020’s McCartney III.
–Ringo and his All-Star Band relaunched their tour after 12 dates had to be scrapped in June due to positive COVID tests by Edgar Winter and Toto‘s Steve Lukather. Unfortunately, a month later Ringo was forced to cancel the remainder of the tour after testing positive for COVID himself.
–McCartney made a surprise appearance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in England. Accompanied by The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, the pair teamed up for a version the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.” Sir Paul and the Foo Fighters also performed “Helter Skelter.”
—The Beatles: Get Back won five Emmys at the Creative Artist Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. McCartney and Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison,the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, received trophies since they were all co-producers of the series.
–Ringo released EP3, the third EP of a four-EP collection.
–A deluxe reissue of the Beatles’ Revolver was released, featuring various new mixes of the original 1966 record, as well as a collection of outtakes and a four-song EP. Following the reissue’s arrival, Revolver re-entered the top five on the Billboard 200.
–November marked the 20th anniversary of the Concert for George, celebrating George Harrison with a screening of the all-star concert in theaters.
–McCartney dropped The 7” Singles box, featuring 80 7-inch McCartney singles, all personally curated by the Beatleslegend.
–A new documentary about Abbey Road studios, If These Walls Could Sing, directed by Mary McCartney, debuted on Disney+.
Aside from their professional lives, it was a big year for some of your favorite artists in their personal lives: There were marriages, babies, new romances and more. Here’s a look back at some of them:
— The Jonas Brothers welcomed some Jonas babies this year. In January, Nick and his wife, Priyanka Chopra, announced they’d welcomed their first child, daughter Malti, via surrogate. And in July, Joe and wife Sophie Turner welcomed their second child, a girl whose name has not been revealed.
— In May, Ed Sheeran revealed he welcomed his second child with wife Cherry Seaborn. The baby girl joined big sister Lyra Antarctica, who was born in August 2020. They have yet to reveal the new baby’s name.
–In August, Michael Bublé and wife Luisana Lopilato welcomed their fourth child, daughter Cielo Yoli Rose. Luisana’s pregnancy was revealed at the end of Michael’s video for “I’ll Never Not Love You,” released in February. The birth was via C-section, scheduled around Michael’s tour. Cielo joined brothers Noah and Elias and sister Vida in the Canadian crooner’s family.
— While details surrounding the birth were shrouded in secrecy, Rihanna also became a mom this year. She welcomed her first child, a baby boy, with rapper A$AP Rocky in May.
— In September, it was revealed that Adam Levine and wife Behati Prinsloo were expecting their third child.
— Jennifer Lopez tied the knot with Ben Affleck — twice! The reunited couple — who were first engaged in 2002, but called off the wedding — ran off to Las Vegas in July and got hitched at the Little White Wedding Chapel. In August, they had a bigger ceremony at Ben’s estate in Riceboro, Georgia. In 2023, JLo will release an album inspired by her rekindled romance with Ben.
–In 1987, Cher sang “I Found Someone,” and in 2022, she did find someone: a 36-year-old boyfriend, Alexander “AE” Edwards. The entertainment legend, 76, told Kelly Clarkson, “On paper, it’s kinda ridiculous, but in real life, we get along great … he’s very kind, he’s very smart, he’s very talented and he’s really funny.” When a fan questioned Edwards’ motivation on Twitter, Cher responded, “Let Me Explain…I DONT GIVE AFK WHAT ANYONE THINKS.”
–In April, Madonna, 63, reportedly split with her 28-year-old boyfriend, Ahlamalik Williams, who she’d dated for more than three years. In September, she was reported to be “casually” dating 23-year-old modelAndrew Darnell.
–In August, Adelespoke for the first time about her boyfriend, Rich Paul, raving, “I’ve never been in love like this. I’m obsessed with him.” She denied they were engaged, but said she’d “absolutely” like to get married again.
–In December, US Weekly reported that Dua Lipa had started dating rapper Jack Harlow and that the two “are both excited to see where things go next.”
In 2022, we welcomed a lot of new faces to the music scene, and many of them could thank TikTok for that: They scored radio hits and Billboard chart placements only after their songs blew up on the social media platform.
—Nicky Youre released “Sunroof,” a song he’d written in his college bedroom in December 2021. By November 2022, the song had reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Billboard Pop Airplay chart, thanks to its use in nearly 9 million TikTok videos to date and, eventually, tons of summer radio airplay.
—Steve Lacy, a former member of the alt R&B band The Internet, released the single “Bad Habit” in June. It went on to soundtrack more than half a million TikTok videos, topped Billboard’s rock and R&B charts, and hit number one on the Hot 100 in October. “Bad Habit” also earned Lacy two Grammy nominations.
—Em Beihold released “Numb Little Bug,” a song about the negative effects of her depression medication, in January 2022. Fans responded to its message about mental health, and it went viral on TikTok in February. By the end of the year, it was RIAA-certified Platinum, and had reached the top 20 on several Billboard charts and #32 on the Hot 100.
—Jax, a former American Idol contestant, gained a large following by making TikToks during the pandemic. In 2022, after the little girl she babysits was body-shamed by friends, she wrote a song called “Victoria’s Secret” that slammed the societal pressures on women to be thin. It blew up on TikTok, hit the top 40 on the Hot 100, was RIAA-certified Gold and reached #11 on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart.
—Armani White, born Enoch Armani Tolbert, released his single “Billie Eilish” in May. It was a runaway success on TikTok and racked up 34 million views on YouTube. The song, which features the rapper spitting “Stylish/Glock tucked, big T-shirt/Billie Eilish,” had the real Billie Eilish‘s blessing, became a smash on radio, and scaled both the pop and hip-hop charts.
—GAYLE released her single “abcdefu” in August 2021, but it really took off on TikTok that November after it was translated into American Sign Language, soundtracking more than 2 million videos. In January 2022, the song topped Billboard‘s Global Charts, and in February, it peaked at number three on the Hot 100. In November, “abcdefu” received a Grammy nod for Song of the Year and Gayle landed an opening slot on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour.
—Stephen Sanchez released his retro-sounding hit “Until I Found You” in September 2021, but in 2022, the song went viral on TikTok, soundtracking nearly half a million videos. In April, he put out a remix with Em Beihold and the song became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as a top 10 hit on multiple other charts. He also got a shout-out from Elton John, who called “Until I Found You” “the most incredible record.”
–In May, Rosa Linn represented her home country of Armenia in the 2022 Eurovision Song Competition with her original song “Snap.” She finished in 20th place, but the track soon went viral on TikTok, featured in more than 1 million videos. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100, landing Rosa a deal with Columbia Records and, later, an opening slot on Ed Sheeran‘s 2023 tour.
David Byrne is ready to help America ring in the new year. Rolling Stone reports the Talking Heads frontman has just been added to NBC’s Miley Cyrus-hosted New Year’s Eve special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party.
Byrne joins previously announced performers Latto, Sia, Rae Sremmurd, Liily and Fletcher.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which will be co-hosted by newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dolly Parton and air live from Miami,kicks off at 10:30 p.m. ET on December 31. The show will feature special appearances by Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman and comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy.
Imagine Dragons will kick off 2023 with a hometown benefit concert.
Dan Reynolds and company have announced a show taking place January 5 in Dolby Atmos at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas. The private performance will raise money for ID’s Tyler Robinson Foundation, which supports families affected by pediatric cancer, as well as other Vegas charity organizations.
The audience for the concert will be made up of those who work for and are supported by those organizations. Dolby and Park MGM will also be giving away a limited number of tickets on social media.
“We are so excited to be partnering with Dolby to put on this special concert in Dolby Atmos benefiting TRF and local charities,” Reynolds says. “It’s going to be an incredible night with our fans and TRF.”
Imagine Dragons also supports the Tyler Robinson Foundation with the annual Rise Up Gala, which features a unique acoustic performance. The 2022 edition took place in September.
ZAYN is reportedly working on a fourth studio album, and had a sly way of letting fans know about it.
The former One Direction singer quietly updated his official Spotify bio by adding one more line at the end. It reads, “ZAYN is currently working on his highly anticipated fourth studio album.”
No further information, such as potential album titles or release dates, was shared.
Whenever it arrives, the new offering will follow ZAYN’s third studio effort, Nobody Is Listening, which he released in January 2021. Unfortunately, his ongoing drama with ex Gigi Hadid at the time may have overshadowed the album’s release, as it only enjoyed moderate success in sales and on the charts. It peaked in 44th place on the Billboard 200 albums list and in 17th place on the U.K. version of the chart.
Since then, ZAYN released the Jimi Hendrix tribute song “Angel” and guested on Yung Bleu‘s track “Fire Inside.” He also launched his artistic endeavor, Paynt by ZAYN, which is a clothing and accessory line with designs inspired by his original paintings and drawings.
Thank goodness for Harry Styles‘ mom — otherwise, we wouldn’t have know that the singer happily spent the holidays with his family, and not moping over his split with Olivia Wilde.
On Wednesday, Harry’s mom, Anne Twist, posted a slideshow titled “Christmas 2022.” In addition to some shots of decorations and a table laden with a delicious-looking dinner, she was also nice enough to post a photo of herself posting with a smiling Harry, his sister Gemma and her boyfriend, Michal Mlynowski.
In the pic, Harry’s bundled up in a puffer coat and blue hoodie, wearing sunglasses and a claw clip in his hair.
Appreciative fans expressed their gratitude to Anne in the comments, writing, “Thank you Anne for blessing us with a harry update,” “Thank you for your service,” and “Everybody say ‘thank you Anne!’”
Harry gets back to work starting January 26 with three shows in Inglewood, CA, and then it’s off to Australia, New Zealand and Asia for the next leg of his Love on Tour trek.
A missing person report has been filed for rapper Theophilus London by his familyon Wednesday.
According to a press release issued by the Los Angeles Police Department, London, 35, was last seen on October 15 in the “Skid Row” area of Los Angeles and his family members “lost complete contact” with him that month.
Police are currently investigating the case and are working to locate London. They are also asking for the public’s help and urging anyone with information to come forward. Additionally, many on social media are using the hashtag #FindTheo to spread awareness about the case.
London, whose birth name is Theophilus Musa London, is a popular artist known for his unique blend of hip-hop and electronic music. He burst on the scene in 2009 with his single “Humdrum Town,” and two years later his debut album Timez Are Weird These Days was released. He’s also collaborated with big names like Kanye West for the songs “All Day” and “Can’t Stop,” Tame Impala, and others.
