Skillet and Of Mice & Men have announced deluxe versions of their respective latest albums, Dominion and Echo.
The expanded Dominion, dubbed Dominion: Day of Destiny, arrives February 17. It features five bonus tracks, including the previously unreleased single “Psycho in My Head” and a collaboration with ex-Three Days Grace singer/current Saint Asonia frontman Adam Gontier called “Finish Line.”
You can listen to “Psycho in My Head” now via digital outlets.
Meanwhile, the deluxe Echo is out now and comes with 10 bonus tracks, each of which is an EDM remix of a song off the original album. The remix of the cut “Obsolete,” recorded in collaboration with Sullivan King, is accompanied by a video, which is streaming now on YouTube.
The original Dominion dropped in January, while Echo was first released last December.
The brand-new titillating drama series HUSH has arrived starring Joyful Drake, Caryn Ward Ross, Candiace Dillard Bassett and more.
The show follows Dr. Draya Logan, who has built a successful practice discreetly catering to the between-the-sheets lives of her rich and famous clientele. The character is portrayed by Drake, who tells ABC Audio the show is “sexy and spicy.”
“I would say, there’s not anything like this on TV where you see these dynamic, beautiful, powerful Black women making choices to live their lives in a way that is just, I guess, free from all rules and restrictions,” Drake says.
That salaciousness, in part, is what drew each of the ladies to their respective roles, with RHOP star Dillard Bassett adding that it’s the differences between herself and her character, Syleena.
“I am not doing most of the things that Selena is doing in this series,” says Bassett, “but that made it fun to really have to study who this this woman was and figure out what made her tick and make it appear real.”
“It was fun and liberating to play someone who is, you know, sexually fluid,” she continues, adding, “I love how Syleena rides for her husband…I call them a Bonnie and Clyde-esque duo because they get into some things and they hold each other down. So that part I loved portraying of her character of her.”
For Ward Ross, it was the opposite, in that it was the similarities she shares with her character Jordan that enticed her.
“I actually feel like the character is 100% me,” she shares. “The difference is maybe in how we choose to execute our life. I’m not necessarily doing the things that she does, but I certainly understand them.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
Catch new episodes of HUSHevery Thursday on ALLBLK.
After teasing it in a recent interview, Roger Waters has now releasedThe Lockdown Sessions.
Waters recorded the five songs on the project — a digital-only release — at home during the COVID-19 lockdown between 2020 and 2021. One song postdates those tracks, though: a new version of “Comfortably Numb” that was recorded during Waters’ 2022 This Is Not a Drill North American tour.
The songs include material from both Waters’ solo career and Pink Floyd: “Mother” and “Vera” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall; “Two Suns In the Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from Waters’ final album with Floyd, The Final Cut; and “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” from his 1992 album, Amused to Death.
Explaining why he chose to record these particular songs, he writes, “Our Us and Them Tour lasted three years … At every gig we did an encore after the main show…[we] closed with ‘Comfortably Numb’… the encore was always ‘Mother’ … I can’t remember why I decided to start doing other songs? Anyway, at some point after the end of the tour … I started thinking, ‘It could make an interesting album, all those encores … The Encores — yeah, has a nice ring to it!'”
He continues, “Then … I’m in England doing the Ginger Baker tribute gig one Tuesday night at the Hammersmith Odeon with Eric Clapton and … the following Saturday marching from The Australian Embassy to Parliament Square to make a speech in support of Julian Assange, when, bugger me, Covid! For me it was Friday March 13, 2020. Lockdown! So much for the Encores project.”
Waters adds, “We’ve tacked C. Numb on the end of the collection, as an appropriate exclamation point in closing this circle of love.”
The European run of This Is Not A Drill will kick off March 17 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Friday night, superstar-in-the-making Jelly Roll will storm Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, headlining a marquee hometown show and using the proceeds to benefit the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center, where he himself was incarcerated as a teen.
“You couldn’t write a Cinderella story cooler than this,” the singer tells Billboard ahead of the show. “Saying that I have a headlining show at Bridgestone while I have a top-ten at country radio. I look at it like it’s my introduction party to Nashville, even though I was born here.”
Jelly — who hinted at some special surprises and guests during tonight’s set — says he hopes his story will inspire others.
“I think what I think I represent is just a beacon of hope,” the singer continues. “…I just feel like I represent the guy who looks at himself in the mirror every day and goes, ‘Yeah, guys like me don’t make it.’”
He goes on to say that the decade between ages 14 and 24 were rocky for him, and that he spent quite a while either incarcerated or dealing drugs. While those were dark times, his stint in the youth detention center also provided him his first real introduction to music.
“A lot of what we heard was just rapping to each other, and that got me involved in the art form,” he says, pointing out that the detention center is where he had his first rap battle. “It was our only source of entertainment. Adult jails at least get headphones.”
Jelly’s breakout country hit, “Son of a Sinner,” is currently inside the top ten at country radio.
Lil Nas X and Bad Bunny have been honored by Money in its annual Changemakers list. Only 50 people secured the prestigious title, which honors those with enough power and influence to shape the country’s finances.
Lil Nas X was listed with seven others under the “creators” category, sharing the title with people like Diana Sinclair, YouTube star MrBeast, and Hank and John Green. Money saluted the artist’s “glow-up of epic proportions,” going from working at Taco Bell as a teenager to serving as the chain’s chief impact officer.
Money states he is changing what career commitment looks like, and noted he is “one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world” because of his creativity and strategic moves in marketing. “Lil Nas X is changing what it looks like to be hard-working and setting an example for millions of young people — many of them LGBTQ+ — by being unapologetically himself,” the magazine added.
As for Latin superstar Bad Bunny, he is found under the “trailblazers” category alongside investor Alexis Ohanian and Affirm CEO Max Levchin. The outlet says he is changing celebrity advocacy.
The rapper is infusing his advocacy into his television appearances, music and live performances. His tireless support of his native Puerto Rico and demanding justice for those who don’t have a voice has brought attention to unsolved murders, income inequality and pitfalls in infrastructure.
“While Bad Bunny’s turns at speaking out may vary in terms of subject, they all point back to one cause: a better quality of life for Puerto Ricans,” the finance brand states.
This Saturday marks the 15th anniversary of Led Zeppelin‘s 2007 reunion show. To celebrate the occasion, the “Stairway to Heaven” legends have announced an online global watch party of their Celebration Day concert film, which captured the historic performance.
You can watch the stream beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on YouTube.
Recorded December 10, 2007, at the O2 Arena in London, Celebration Day featured the reunion of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, along with the late John Bonham‘s son Jason Bonham on drums. It marked Led Zeppelin’s first live performance since their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and their first full concert since their 1980 breakup following John Bonham’s death.
Celebration Day was screened in theaters in 2012, and was released as a live album and on home video later that year.
R&B star SZA‘s much-anticipated new album SOS is out Friday and with it comes her previously teased collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers.
The “Kyoto” singer guests on a track called “Ghost in the Machine,” lending her vocals to lines including “You said all of my friends are on my payroll/You’re not wrong, you’re an a**hole.”
You can listen to “Ghost in the Machine,” along with the rest of SOS, now via digital outlets.
Bridgers’ other recent features include guest spots on Marcus Mumford‘s (self-titled) solo album and on Taylor Swift‘s Red (Taylor’s Version). Her most recent album is 2020’s Grammy-nominated Punisher.
Next year, Bridgers will be opening for select dates on Swift’s U.S. stadium tour.
Stevie Nicks is on a roll when it comes to social media posts. After praising Lizzo for her People’s Choice Awards acceptance speech earlier this week, she’s now written a letter expressing her happiness that basketball player Brittney Griner is back in the U.S.A. A plane carrying the WNBA star landed in the U.S. early Friday, nearly 10 months after she was detained in Russia.
“Welcome home Brittney Griner!” Stevie wrote on Instagram. “I found out at 5:30 this morning that you were ‘in the air’ on your way home. I am crying, seriously, and just so happy that you have been released. You are free … Today is a beautiful day. Love Stevie Nicks.”
Griner was detained in Moscow in February for possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil, an illegal substance in Russia. She pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to nine years in prison on August 7. Griner’s appeal of the sentence in October was rejected. It was revealed Thursday that she was freed in a swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who had been imprisoned in Illinois.
Nicks’ post prompted numerous comments from fans who are unhappy about the prisoner exchange because of Bout’s past crimes and also because former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is still imprisoned in Russia.
In other Stevie Nicks news, more stadium dates for her co-headlining 2023 tour with Billy Joel have been announced. They now have a total of seven shows lined up, spanning from March 10 in Inglewood, California, to September 23 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Police in Brazil are on the hunt for a lot of official Harry Styles merchandise after armed robbers managed to steal a van full of it.
British publication Daily Mailreports police confirmed the incident, which involved three men hijacking the vehicle as it was driving toward Curitiba, a city south of São Paulo, for Harry’s December 10 show. Police say two of the robbers were armed.
Prior to confirming the van was carrying merchandise, it was previously reported it had been part of the touring party and was carrying instruments. Police say the truck was not part of the group and say no instruments were on board.
At this time, no suspects have been identified. The van has not been recovered and police say they are actively searching for it.
Neither Harry nor his team have publicly acknowledged the report.
Harry is slated to perform in Curitiba December 10. He will then travel to São Paulo to perform on December 13 and December 14, which will conclude the Brazilian leg of his Love on Tour.
In the wake of Elton Musk‘s takeover of Twitter, Elton John has become the latest rocker to announce that he’ll no longer use the social media platform.
In what’s apparently his farewell tweet, Elton writes, “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world. I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”
It’s not clear if anything specific spurred Elton’s decision, but it comes after Twitter updated its online rules on Monday to read, “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.” Since he took over, Musk has reinstated the accounts of some users who were previously banned for spreading COVID misinformation.
Other rockers who’ve famously left Twitter since the Musk takeover include Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Jack White.
In other Elton news, he’s mourning the death of his beloved aunt. On Instagram, he writes, “My beautiful Auntie Win passed away this morning at 95 years of age. I loved her so much and will miss her terribly. She was kindness personified.” His songwriting partner Bernie Taupin responded in the comments, “I’m so sorry, she was one of a kind.”
