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Olivia Rodrigo has just given her idol Taylor Swift another songwriting credit on one of her songs, according to Rolling Stone.
Olivia has reportedly added Taylor, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent as co-writers on her track “Deja Vu,” because the song apparently borrows its bridge from Taylor’s “Cruel Summer.”
The 18-year-old previously told Rolling Stone that the yelling on the bridge of the song was inspired by the Lover track.
“Deja Vu” is the second single off Olivia’s debut album, SOUR. It’s also the second track off the album that gives Taylor some credit. As previously reported, a song on the album called “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” is credited to both Taylor and Antonoff because it interpolates Taylor’s song “New Year’s Day,” off her 2017 album, Reputation.
Saweetie is setting the record straight when it comes to her past work with producer Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault and emotional abuse by musician Kesha.
The 28-year-old rapper, born Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, has received criticism for working with the controversial producer on her hits “Tap In” and “Best Friend,” with Doja Cat.
Saweetie tells Vulture that, although the singles were respectively released in 2020 and 2021, she recorded them years before she was made aware of the allegations against Dr Luke.
“When I was put in the position to work with him, it was a bundle deal,” she explained. “I had those songs for over two years. So what do you think? Do I compromise my artistry, do I keep them in the vault, or do I release them?”
With everything she knows now, would Saweetie work with Dr. Luke again?
“What do you think?” Saweetie responded to the interviewer, who pressed back, “I’m asking you.”
“I’m asking you back,” Saweetie replied. “I think you have a good sense of my character by now. Hopefully, we keep ourselves out of any controversial situation in the future.”
Zac Brown Band dig into two very different classic country tropes in their new double single release, simultaneously dropping “Out in the Middle” and “Old Love Song.”
“Out in the Middle” is an upbeat ode to the rural life, while “Old Love Song” name-checks timeless love ballads by the likes of Al Green, Keith Whitley and Randy Travis in an attempt to sum up an all-time great romance.
“This is all the songs you fell in love to. It was like a puzzle trying to put together all the song titles we really love,” frontman Zac Brown explains of writing “Old Love Song.” “I grew up listening to oldies — songs a lot older than I was. And this song has that feel to it.”
True to ZBB’s genre-bending ways, “Old Love Song” mixes in tracks from all musical styles, and “Out in the Middle” taps into the band’s well-documented Southern rock flair.
“It’s a tip of the hat to the people who live out in the middle of nowhere and they’re happy being there. People that live in the city often make fun of country people until they come out and experience it for themselves,” Zac points out. “Then they really get into it. There’s a reason that you stay out there.”
Still, the band’s two newest songs fit more seamlessly into the mainstream country genre than much of their recent output, especially in comparison to ZBB albums like The Owl and Zac’s solo effort, The Controversy.
That could be thanks in part to their co-writers. Zac wrote “Out in the Middle” and “Old Love Song” with country stalwart Luke Combs, as well as Ben Simonetti and Jonathan Singleton, both of whom also had a hand in penning ZBB’s current single, “Same Boat.”
Post Malone‘s new single “Motley Crew” features a member from perhaps the motliest crew. Or, should we say, motliest Crüe.
Drummer Tommy Lee stars in the video for the song, which premiered Friday. The clip finds Posty hitting a NASCAR racetrack with Lee and many other friends as they party and race around the course. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
Prior to “Motley Crew,” Malone released a song called “Tommy Lee” with hip-hop artist Tyla Yaweh. He also collaborated with Lee on a remix of the track.
Meanwhile, the band Mötley Crüe is gearing up to launch their long-awaited reunion tour next summer. The outing was originally scheduled for 2020 before getting postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
hree months after DMX‘s untimely passing, a cause of death has been revealed.
The pioneering rapper died of a heart attack caused by cocaine use, which in turn decreased blood circulation to his brain, a source from the Westchester County medical examiner’s office told Vulture.
“His death literally happened immediately because the brain was dead,” the source noted. “So obviously, there were a number of days where he was on ventilatory support and so forth in the hospital.. However, he was diagnosed brain-dead early on… He never woke up from [a] coma.”
Previously it had been reported that the rapper suffered a heart attack, though specifics were inconsistent.
DMX, born Earl Simmons, died on April 9 at age 50. Prior to his passing, his attorney, Murray Richman, confirmed to WABC-TV that the hip-hop icon had been hospitalized in White Plains, New York in “grave condition.” X was placed on life support and never recovered.
Def Leppard‘s second album, High ‘n’ Dry, was released 40 years ago this Sunday, July 11.
The album helped establish the band in the U.S. in advance of its massive 1983 breakthrough, Pyromania, peaking at #38 on the Billboard 200.
The best-known song from High ‘n’ Dry is “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” which garnered the band a lot of attention in the States when a performance video for the tune went into heavy rotation on MTV.
The album also featured the song “Let It Go,” which reached #34 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Both “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” and “Let It Go” were co-written by frontman Joe Elliott and guitarists Steve Clark and Pete Willis. Willis, who struggled with alcoholism, was fired from the group in 1982 and replaced by Phil Collen.
“‘Bringin’ On the Heartbreak’…when that came out on MTV, I think that kind of blew the doors off the place,” Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen tells ABC Audio. “If anything, that record really set up Pyromania perfect. And then…once Pyromania came out, you know, with MTV and everything that was going on at that time, I think that was a big reason for our success. But…I think that was probably one of the most important songs off of [High ‘n’ Dry].”
Allen adds that he also was a fan of the rocking “Let It Go,” which he says was “the closest we’ve ever got to sounding like AC/DC.”
A remix of “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” with new guitar parts by Collen replacing Willis’ original licks, was released in 1984, and made it to #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
High ‘n’ Dry went on to sell over 2 million copies in the U.S.
Here’s the full High ‘n’ Dry track list:
“Let It Go”
“Another Hit and Run”
“High ‘n’ Dry (Saturday Night)”
“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”
“Switch 625”
“You Got Me Runnin'”
“Lady Strange”
“On Through the Night”
“Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)”
“No No No”
Billie Eilish dropped her dark and moody new single “NDA” Friday, the fifth song off of her highly anticipated album Happier Than Ever.
Eilish, 19, doesn’t mince words about her thoughts regarding her diminishing privacy and, in the accompanying music video, uses chaotic imagery of cars racing up and down a roadway to symbolize her distress.
“NDA” is the Grammy winner’s way of venting about the negative aspects of fame and how it makes her wish she could “disappear.”
The gloomy song opens with Eilish reliving one of the most troubling moments of her life, where she dealt with a “stalker walkin’ up and down the street.”
“Did you think I’d show up in a limousine?/ No, had to save my money for security/ Got a stalker walkin’ up and down the street/ Says he’s Satan and he’d like to meet,” Eilish expresses in her opening lines, setting the overall tone for her vulnerable and unsettling single.
Other secrets Eilish divulges are how she “bought a secret house when I was 17” that she hasn’t partied in, which leads to her revealing she once invited over a “pretty boy” but made him sign an NDA before he left.
The young singer also admits she hates going outside and that she dreams of “switching to “a new career/ somewhere in Kaua’i where I can disappear.”
The eerie music video, which Eilish says was filmed in one take, features her walking along a dark highway as numerous cars speed past and circle erratically around her. In addition, a growing crowd of people walk behind her but vanish as soon as she turns around.
The music video ends with an exhausted Eilish knowingly staring into the camera.
Happier Than Ever is due out July 30, which is available for pre-save.
Madonna is speaking out about Britney Spears‘ controversial conservatorship, deeming it a “violation of human rights,” and likening it to “slavery.”
Taking to Instagram stories on Thursday, Madonna passionately defended her “Me Against the Music” collaborator. “Give this woman her life back,” she declared while sharing a photo of herself wearing a throwback Britney shirt. “Slavery was abolished so long ago! Death to the greedy patriarchy that has been doing this to women for centuries.”
The Queen of Pop continued, “This is a violation of human rights” and promised, “Britney we coming to get you out of jail!”
Madonna and Britney famously collaborated on the 2003 hit song “Me Against the Music,” which they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards — that was when Madonna infamously kissed both Britney and Christina Aguilera.
Christina previously spoke out against Britney’s conservatorship, calling it “the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable.”
Numerous celebrities, such as JustinTimberlake, Cherand Mariah Carey, have also come forward to support Britney following last month’s bombshell testimony, during which the “Toxic” singer asked to end her 13-year conservatorship. She also leveled serious accusations against her conservators and members of her family.
“I am traumatized. I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day,” Britney said in her explosive 23-minute statement.
Madonna is speaking out about Britney Spears‘ controversial conservatorship, deeming it a “violation of human rights.”
Taking to Instagram stories on Thursday, Madonna passionately defended her “Me Against the Music” collaborator. “Give this woman her life back,” she declared while sharing a photo of herself wearing a throwback Britney shirt. “Slavery was abolished so long ago! Death to the greedy patriarchy that has been doing this to women for centuries.”
The Queen of Pop continued, “This is a violation of human rights” and promised, “Britney we coming to get you out of jail!”
Madonna and Britney famously collaborated on the 2003 hit song “Me Against the Music,” which they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards — that was when Madonna infamously kissed both Britney and Christina Aguilera.
Christina previously spoke out against Britney’s conservatorship, calling it “the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable.”
Numerous celebrities, such as JustinTimberlake, Cherand Mariah Carey, have also come forward to support Britney following last month’s bombshell testimony, during which the “Toxic” singer asked to end her 13-year conservatorship. She also leveled serious accusations against her conservators and members of her family.
“I am traumatized. I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day,” Britney said in her explosive 23-minute statement.
Late AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott would’ve celebrated his 75th birthday today.
Born Ronald Belford Scott on July 9, 1946, the rocker replaced original AC/DC vocalist Dave Evans in 1974, and sang with the future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers up until his tragic death in 1980 at age 33.
Scott’s tenure with AC/DC was among the band’s most prolific periods, having produced six albums in five years, including the classics High Voltage, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Highway to Hell. His studio output was matched by a tenacious live presence, and he’s now considered to be among the greatest frontmen in rock history.
“Fond memories of our ‘lightning flash in the middle’ Bon, who would be 75 today,” says AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, referencing Scott’s assertion that he was represented by the lightning bolt in the middle of the band’s now-iconic logo.
Following Scott’s death, a distraught AC/DC considered calling it quits but ultimately decided to press on, and found a new singer in Brian Johnson. Their first album with Johnson was the instantly legendary Back in Black, which became one of the best-selling albums in history. Johnson remains AC/DC’s vocalist to this day.
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Scott’s birth, his family has launched a dedicated website, BonScottOfficial.com, that includes testimonials, history, merchandise and more.
“This is an invitation for Bon’s fans and friends to gather and share their memories and observations of him and his music,” the Bon Scott Estate says. “His legacy lives in the hearts and minds of those who love him.”
Also in conjunction with Scott’s birthday, a Spotify playlist has premiered featuring all of his available recordings with AC/DC, as well as with such pre-AC/DC groups as The Valentines and Fraternity.
