Music

It’s Friday! Let’s see who’s out with new music …

BTS released their three-disc anthology, Proof, which celebrates their ninth anniversary as a band. It also offers the new songs “Run, BTS,” “For Youth” and “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment),” the latter of which was officially released as a music video.  

Fitz and the Tantrums are out with “Sway,” a summery new single. Said frontman Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, “We’ve always set out to get people up on their feet, smiling and dancing when they hear our music. ‘Sway’ felt like it had that special sauce when we were making it in the studio, and we’re already seeing the song work its magic when we play it live.”  

Alessia Cara teamed with Justin Bieber‘s protege, Eddie Benjamin, for his new song “Only You.” The R&B-flavored song captures the intimate moments of conversations between two lovers.

After a five-year wait, Marshmello and Khalid dropped their second collaboration, “Numb.” Marshmello teases, “The song is a little different vibe” than what fans are used to. Khalid added of their friendship, “When we get together to make music it’s always [a] great vibe.” They first collaborated on the fan-favorite track “SILENCE.”

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Lamb of God has unleashed a new song called “Nevermore,” the lead single off the band’s upcoming album, Omens.

The track certainly lives up to frontman Randy Blythe‘s description of the record, which he called “extremely pissed off.”

You can listen to “Nevermore” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Omens, which Lamb of God announced earlier this week, will arrive October 7. It’s the follow-up to the metal outfit’s 2020 self-titled effort.

Lamb of God will launch a tour behind Omens in September. Killswitch Engage will support all dates, while artists including Motionless in White, Spiritbox and Baroness will be on the bill for select dates.

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Jimmy Eat World has premiered a new single called “Something Loud.”

The track, the first new Jimmy Eat World tune in three years, was partly inspired by the huge reaction to the lineup for this October’s When We Were Young festival, which “The Middle” rockers will play alongside bands that include My Chemical Romance, Paramore, A Day to Remember, Avril Lavigne, Bring Me the Horizon and Dashboard Confessional.

“While I thought I made the most of the early band days, I realize now I missed some stuff,” says frontman Jim Adkins.

“You’re in such a hurry to grow out of the formidable years,” he continues. “Like s***-togetherness is going to magically arrive when you hit some age you thought ‘grownups’ were. Yeah, it doesn’t work that way. But maybe the thing age and experience do reveal is that pivotal moments are hard to grasp when you are in them.”

You can listen to “Something Loud” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Ahead of When We Were Young, Jimmy Eat World will launch a headlining U.S. tour in September.

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Reality star and singer Dixie D’Amelio, aka Dixie, is out with her debut album.

a letter to me features 15 tracks, including Dixie’s Gold single “Be Happy” and her song “Wild.” In a statement, she says, “This is deeply personal to me because it not only shows my growth professionally and musically, but I really wanted it to represent past and present experiences that haven’t been the easiest to overcome for me.”

She adds, “I’m excited for fans and listeners to hear it because I think they’ll all be able to find ways to connect to the songs and the lyrics.”

A video for the album’s title track is out now, and there are lyric videos available for all the songs on the album, as well.

Later this month, Dixie is going on tour with Big Time Rush, a trek that will find her performing at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on June 30.

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More details about Britney Spears wedding are out, thanks to Vogue, which was front and center at the ceremony.

Britney tied the knot with Sam Asghari at her Thousand Oaks, California, home and revealed she knew exactly what she wanted for her big day. “We really wanted to make this a small and beautiful moment with family and friends,” she said. “We wanted warm and feminine colors, including blush, white, cream and gold, and a lot of various shades of pinks, blush and reds.”

The guest list included Madonna, Selena Gomez, will.i.am, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and Britney’s dress designer, Donatella Versace. The fashion icon sculpted a custom, off-the-shoulder white dress with an open neckline and a long slit up the side. As for Sam, he wore a complementary Versace tux.

Among the decorations was a sea of pink, velvet and blush roses and an ornate, princess-like carriage pulled by a white horse with gold hooves. The ceremony lasted 10 minutes, and Britney had three separate outfit changes — by Versace — for her reception.

The outlet reports she and Sam did not have a first dance, but Britney did take over the dance floor with Selena and Madonna. The “Toxic” singer also joined Paris to belt out the heiress’s hit “Stars Are Blind.”

The reception wrapped at 10:15 p.m. The couple climbed into a Rolls Royce and were driven away to their happily ever after as guests waved sparklers in the air.

Britney and Sam first began dating in 2016 after meeting on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video. The Iranian-born actor popped the question in September 2021 with a 4-carat diamond ring.

This is Britney’s third marriage and Sam’s first. Britney shares two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

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With the release of his 15th studio album, Substance, on Friday, gospel great Marvin Sapp is showing no sign of slowing down. 

The 50-minute project boasts 11 message-oriented tracks that, as Apple Music puts it, are “rooted in soulful pop-gospel R&B.”

The Texas pastor and co-founder of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told Rolling Out of the new album, “Substance is what I believe that we need to stand on.”

“I wanted to make sure that this particular record was something that people could stand on, something that they can listen to, and apply the principles of the song to their lives so that the rest of [their] days can be the best of their days,” he said. 

Sapp says the lead single, “All in Your Hands,” which released in March, was born out of the pandemic.

“When we looked at where we were, all of us said the only way we’re going to be able to get through any of this is if we put it in God’s hands, because we’re supposed to cast our cares upon him,” he told Rolling Out. 

Also on the album is a special 25th anniversary remix version of his 1997 hit, “Grace and Mercy.”

Check out Sapp’s new album, Substance, available on major streaming platforms today. 

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Five Finger Death Punch has premiered a new song called “Welcome to the Circus,” the opening track off the band’s upcoming album, AfterLife.

“Welcome to the Circus,” which is available now via digital outlets, is the third cut to be released off AfterLife, following the title track and the cut “IOU.” The whole album is set to arrive August 19. 

Meanwhile, the song “AfterLife,” which is also the record’s lead single, has hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Five Finger Death Punch now has a streak of eight straight #1 hits on Mainstream Rock Airplay, breaking a tie with Shinedown and Disturbed for the most consecutive leaders in the chart’s 41-year history.

Five Finger Death Punch will launch a U.S. tour in support of AfterLife in August. The bill will also include Megadeth, The Hu and Fire from the Gods.

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Machine Gun Kelly has premiered a new song called “More Than Life.”

The track, which features rising teenage musician glaive, will appear on the upcoming vinyl edition of MGK’s new album, Mainstream Sellout, due out June 24.

You can listen to “More Than Life” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Mainstream Sellout, the follow-up to 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall, first dropped in March. The Travis Barker-produced record includes collaborations with WILLOW, Bring Me the Horizon, blackbear and Lil Wayne.

Earlier this week, Kelly launched his U.S. headlining tour in support of Mainstream Sellout. Openers include Barker, WILLOW, blackbear and Avril Lavigne, depending on the date.

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Dolly Parton’s long-standing Buddy Program is getting a new dose of attention, thanks to a TikTok video that racked up 148.1 thousand view and counting in its first few days up.

In the video, a TikTok user named Cam shares a story from his co-worker, who went to the same high school as the country legend. “Not at the same time, but the same high school,” he clarifies. And that would have been notable enough for a story in its own right, but the co-worker added, “And when I graduated, she gave me $500.”

As the video notes, $500 when the co-worker graduated is equivalent to $1,061.34 in 2022, and Dolly’s gift was part of an initiative that made a massive difference in graduation rates. Launched in 1988, the Buddy Program began when Dolly promised every 7th and 8th grade student in her home county that she would personally give them $500 if they graduated.

“And I started looking into it after my shift was over,” Cam continued in the TikTok video. “Tell me how Dolly Parton single-handedly drove down the drop-out rate from 30 percent to six.”

It’s true: In fact, according the the Dollywood Foundation’s website, the program actually took the high school drop-out rate in Sevier County from 35 percent to six percent, and fostered the community to implement more initiatives incentivizing students to finish high school.

“That’s only one of the initiatives from the Dollywood Foundation. There’s more,” the video concludes. For example, Dolly’s Imagination Library gifts a free book each month to children under five.

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