Queen’s ‘Greatest Hits’ among the top-10 albums in sales on multiple charts for the first half of 2021

Hollywood Records

Queen‘s Greatest Hits may have been released 1981, but the 40-year-old compilation was still among the best-selling albums in the U.S. for the first half of 2021.

According to music-sales info provider MRC Data, Queen’s Greatest Hits landed at #7 on the Top Physical Albums tally, charting total combined vinyl and CD sales.

The compilation also landed at #9 on the Top Vinyl Albums list. Other albums by veteran artists appearing on the top-10 of the vinyl-sales tally included Prince‘s Purple Rain at #5, Michael Jackson‘s Thriller at #6 and Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours at #10.

Queen’s Greatest Hits also was #2 on the Top Rock Albums list, which is compiled using combined traditional album sales, individual track downloads and on-demand streams. Further down on the tally were Rumours at #3, Elton John‘s Diamonds compilation at #4 and Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits at #5.

Looking at individual tunes, Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” was #3 on Top Rock Songs chart, which is ranked by combining digital song sales and on-demand streams.

As for the Top Radio Songs list, which is ranked by “audience impressions across all monitored formats of radio,” Journey‘s classic anthem “Don’t Stop Believin'” was #5.

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Watch ’90s hitmakers All-4-One turn their smash “I Swear” into an ad for Xbox

David Abbott

It seems like everything ’90s is back — so why not All-4-One?  The chart-topping vocal group is back with a remake of their number-one 1994 hit “I Swear,” which is now promoting Xbox.

Retitled “It’s All There,” the song now promotes Xbox All Access, which features a new Xbox console and 24 months’ worth of Game Pass Ultimate, “all for one” monthly price.  In the two-minute long viral ad, the group passionately sings the song while an oblivious female gamer is completely absorbed in the entertainment she’s getting from her new Xbox All Access.

“It’s all there/next-gen console, games, friends, for one price,” the foursome croons. “Series X or an S/Game Pass Ultimate/All in one place/I can’t believe it/it’s all there!”

The original “I Swear,” a remake of a number-one country hit by John Michael Montgomery, topped the pop charts for 11 weeks.  All-4-One’s other hits include “I Can Love You Like That,” “So Much In Love” and “Someday,” from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This summer, All-4-One will be part of the I Love the ’90s Tour, which kicks off August 12 in South Bend, IN. Other acts on the bill include Vanilla Ice, Sir Mix-A-Lot, C+C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams, Naughty by Nature, Coolio, Young MC, Tone Loc and more. Tickets are on sale now at ilovethe90stour.com.

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Watch Ariana Grande perform “my hair” as part of VEVO Official Live Performance series

Courtesy VEVO

The latest video in Ariana Grande’s VEVO Official Live Performance series has arrived.

This time, Ari is singing “my hair,” from her latest album Positions.  She sings the jazzy, sexy R&B tune while seated on a stool wearing a two-piece black outfit and tall boots. She’s surrounded by her band, on the same garden-like set she used for her previous VEVO clips.

At about two minutes in, she unleashes some very Mariah Carey-like whistle tones as she sings, “Come run your hands through my hair/baby, ’cause that’s why it’s there/come run your hands through my hair/don’t you be scared.”

“the biggest possible thank you to my incredible band,” Ariana wrote on Instagram about the performance, and offered a special thanks to Rashawn Ross “for joining us for this one.” Ross plays trumpet for the Dave Matthews Band, and has worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to The Fugees.

“thank you guys for your brilliance, kindness and for sharing your gifts, ears and time with me,” she adds. “i feel sooooooo blessed to sing with you fellas!”

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Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood surprised Jimmy + Rosalynn Carter with a classic car for their 75th anniversary

John Shearer/Getty Images for the Country Music Association

Garth Brooks + Trisha Yearwood were among the many stars who honored former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in honor of their recent 75th wedding anniversary.

As People reports, Garth and Trisha were on the guest list for an anniversary party the couple had planned last weekend.  But before the festivities began, the two country superstars met privately with the Carters to offer them a jaw-dropping gift with a sweet personal meaning.

According to Jill Stuckey, a close friend of the Carters who spoke to People about the anniversary celebration, Garth and Trisha presented the couple with a red convertible car built in 1946 — the year they wed

Delivering a car to someone’s house in advance without ruining the surprise of the gift is no small feat, but Garth and Trisha managed to pull it off with help from the Secret Service, who stored it in an area of the couple’s Plains, Georgia compound where they wouldn’t see it until the moment arrived.

“Bright eyes, big smiles,” Stuckey says of the Carters’ “very excited” reaction to their gift. “But there was so much special [about the day] because [of] the people that were here from all aspects of their lives.”

Celebrities, politicians, church friends and more flocked to the Carters’ party to celebrate the couple: Billy and Hillary Clinton were in attendance, as was Nancy Pelosi and more.

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Jessie J struggling with mysterious throat ailment that makes it painful to sing

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for evian

Jessie J is giving an update on her mysterious throat issue that has made it painful for her to sing or even talk for extended periods of time.

The singer, who first opened up about her throat pain last month on Instagram, tells Billboard that her doctors still don’t know what’s causing it.

“It just hasn’t got any better — it’s gotten worse and worse,” she says.

She tells Billboard the problems began last year when she was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease, an inner ear disorder, and was put on steroids to treat it. She then started to experience a burning in her throat that she initially thought was acid reflux, but it wouldn’t go away.

“[I’ve] done everything you can imagine, from eating [the same] three things for two months, to acupuncture, massage, medication,” she says. “I’ve had procedures done. I’ve had everything done.”

Thankfully, though the area around her vocal cords is inflamed, she’s been told that there’s no danger of them being significantly damaged.

Still, Jessie says it’s a frustrating experience, especially with a new album coming out soon.

“I just want to do what I love — and obviously, before this whole shebang, we had a year where we couldn’t [due to the pandemic],” she says. “So I’m just trying to stay in good spirits, stay working out, make a diary of everything I’m eating. But I really don’t know when it will be great.”

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Kiana Ledé announces her “dream collaboration” with Kehlani

Universal Music Group

R&B vocalist Kiana Ledé has announced her upcoming collaboration with It Was Good Until It Wasn’tsinger Kehlani

“The moment we’ve been waiting for,” Ledé wrote in an Instagram post Wednesday along with a winking face emoji. “My dream collab is coming to life, and if you know me, you know how special this is for me. Be sure to pre-save my new single ‘Ur Best Friend’ feat. @Kehlani NOW!”

According to the comments, everyone, including Ant Clemons, Sinead Harnett and Melanie Fiona, is excited about Kehlani and Kiana’s soft vocals on the same track. 

“We got one,” wrote Grammy-nominated producer OG Parker, who produced “Ur Best Friend,” alongside Smash David, Mike Woods and songwriter Tenroc.

Ur Best Friend,” which likely will arrive this Friday, follows Kiana Ledé’s “Cut Em Off” from the female compilation album Big Femme Energy Volume 1This marks Kehlani’s fifth collaboration this year and follows her previous releases with T-Pain, Pink Sweat$, Ant Clemons and emerging producer Amorphous

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“Ready?” Camila Cabello will reportedly release a new single on Friday

Mike Marsland/WireImage

On Wednesday, Camila Cabello‘s boyfriend Shawn Mendes dropped a new track: a remix of the Spanish song “KESI” by Colombian star Camilo.  But now it seems Camila may be planning to release something of her own.

The “Senorita” star posted a photo of the side of her face, showing her wearing a gold earring, tons of blush and some winged eyeliner, with her hair in a ponytail.  She captioned the image, “listos?” which is Spanish for, “Ready?”

The other pictures in the series were shots of a brightly colored eyeshadow palette, Camila’s closed eye with the lid done in baby-blue eyeshadow, and Camila’s hand, with each nail painted a different color, resting on top of the palette. According to Billboard, it’s Morphe 25L Volume 2 Live With Love Artistry Palette.

So what is Camila teasing?  Well,  Hits Daily Double reports that on Friday, she’ll release a new single called “Don’t Go Yet,” described as a “big, scorching Latin record.”  If so, it’ll be her first release of 2021.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by camila (@camila_cabello)

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Jimmie Allen’s son is excited to be a big brother again, but thinks “there’s too many girls”

ABC/Eric McCandless

Jimmie Allen and his wife, Alexis, announced this spring that they’re expecting their second baby girl. And while the couple are eagerly awaiting the new addition, the singer’s 7-year-old son, Aadyn, initially had his doubts about adding a second little sister to the mix.

“He’s excited to be a big brother. But he told me if we don’t get another brother, he’s going to be upset,” Jimmie explained to People. “He said, ‘Dad, there’s too many girls.’ He said, ‘There’s Mommy. There’s Alexis. There’s [sister] Naomi and now this new girl.’”

But Jimmie grew up with lots of women in his family, so he could explain to his son that there are advantages to being one of the only boys in the house.

“I said, ‘You don’t got to share your boy stuff. You’re the only one to be able to wear your size sneakers,’” he recounts. “I’m used to it. So I gave him a little insight on how to handle it.”

With several years of dad wisdom under his belt, Jimmie released his first children’s book, My Voice Is a Trumpet, earlier this week. He tells people that he considers himself a “pretty chill” father, explaining that “sometimes it’s okay to let them make a mistake.”

The singer adds, “There are plenty of times when I step in as a father and say, ‘All right, let’s try this, let’s try that,’ [when I] see them struggling. But for the most part, I teach my life lessons to them and watch them become their own people.”

My Voice Is a Trumpet is available for purchase now. 

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Harry Styles announces updated US tour dates

Live Nation

Harry Styles is returning to the stage this fall with a set of updated U.S. tour dates.

The singer announced the new schedule for his Love On Tour, which was originally set to begin next month. Now, due to COVID-19 restrictions, it’ll kick off in September.

Harry will finally get to perform songs from his best-selling Fine Line album live, starting September 4 in Las Vegas and wrapping with three Los Angeles shows at The Forum on November 17, 19 and 20. The trek includes five dates at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, two of which are special Harryween shows on October 30 and 31.

Pre-sale registration to purchase tickets for the new tour dates through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program begins today. Verified Fan tickets go on sale beginning Wednesday, July 21 with general public tickets going on sale Friday, July 23.

Bad news for Harry’s international fans, though. Overseas dates have been deemed not possible at this time due to global COVID-19 guidelines.

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Marlon Wayans’ new comedy special to air on HBO Max; ‘Good Times, The Jeffersons’ head to Amazon Prime & IMDb TV; & more

Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

Marlon Wayans is giving his fans a brand new comedy special.

On Wednesday, HBO Max revealed that Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is will premiere on the channel on Thursday, August 19. According to announcement, Marlon’s new special will explore his fears, which include “raising a daughter, dealing with a rebellious teenage son, and… the realization that his bad decisions are what tore his family apart.”

In other news, Prime Video and IMDb TV have closed a licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television for multiple TV series from legendary producer Norman Lear. Those series include All in the Family, GoodTimes, Maude, One Day at a Time, 227, Diff’rent Strokes and The Jeffersons. Some of the shows will be available on Prime Video’s SVOD platform, while others will be available on ad-supported IMDb TV. Starting tomorrow, July 15, 227 and Diff’rent Strokes will launch on Prime Video and All in the Family,Good Times, Maude and One Day at a Time will launch on IMDb TV. Meanwhile, The Jeffersons,Sanford & Son and Sanford will launch on the SVOD service sometime later in 2021.

Finally, Jordan Sparks is set to executive produce and star in the upcoming Hallmark Channel Christmas film A Christmas TreasureDeadline has learned. The film follows Sparks as Lou, a woman who finds her grandfather’s old journal and “questions whether she should move to New York after Christmas to further her writing career.” The singer also will perform two classic Christmas songs in the film, “This Christmas” and “Oh Holy Night,” the latter of which will feature her accompanying herself on piano. A release date for A Christmas Treasure has yet to be announced.

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