Music

She’s mostly known for her powerful vocal abilities heard in songs like “When I See U” and “Truth Is,” but Fantasia Taylor, formerly Barrino, can also be recognized as an artist who often spoke openly and honestly about her personal life. Speaking recently to ABC Audio, she opened up about her “great” but “bittersweet” journey on season 3 of American Idol, reflecting on her win 18 years later. 

“It was the door that opened for me that allowed so many things, good and bad,” Taylor said. She not only emphasized the fact that she was just 19 when crowned the winner on May 26, 2004, but also the idea that she was unaware of the musical ride she was in for as a young Black girl from a small town. 

“I had to go through so many things, nobody prepares you for the industry,” she said. “I knew how to sing, OK, I’ve been doing that since I was 5 years old, that was easy. But the industry is a different world.”

Reiterating her belief that Idol, like many other competition shows, is a great opportunity for unknown talent, the now-37-year-old married mother of three urges hopeful show contestants to prepare for all that is to come.

“I just hope that all of those young people who are going have a team around them, honest people, loyal people, and that they’re ready to fight because … once you step in, you gotta put on your gloves and try to stay in there.”

The Grammy winner says she’s glad the show is still running and opening doors for people, but reminds those who plan to embark on an Idol journey of their own, “know that [to whom] much is given, much is required; anything worth having is worth fighting for.”

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After teasing the “tour edition” of his album Equals, which is dropping on Friday, Ed Sheeran has revealed the full track list for the package, which includes a whopping 24 songs. But the version you get may not be the same one that, say, your friend who lives overseas gets.

“Be on the lookout, some countries will get their own unique track list,” Ed writes on Instagram. He didn’t indicate which countries will get which tracks, though.

The track list that Ed has posted, meanwhile, includes all 14 songs from the original album — including “Bad Habits” and “Shivers” — plus, as he previously revealed, two unreleased songs he recorded for the movie Yesterday: “Penguins” and “One Life.”

In addition, you’ll find his 2020 single “Afterglow”; the version of “The Joker and the Queen” that he did with Taylor Swift; the single “Peru” he did with Nigerian singer Fireboy DML; the new version of “Bad Habits” he recorded with British metal band Bring Me the Horizon; and two remixes of “2step,” one featuring U.S. rapper Lil Baby and one featuring British rapper Potter Payper.

On top of that, there are two completely new songs: “I Will Remember You” and “Welcome to the World,” whose title suggests it may have been inspired by one or both of Ed’s two daughters.

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The first new Yeah Yeah Yeahs song in nearly a decade is dropping next week.

The track is titled “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” and features indie pop artist Perfume Genius. It’ll premiere Wednesday, June 1, and is available to presave now.

In announcing the news, the “Maps” outfit declares, “We present to you with heads bowed and fists in the air ‘Spitting Off the Edge of the World’ featuring [Perfume Genius] out June 1.”

“Spitting Off the Edge of the World” marks the first fresh material from Karen O and company since their last album, Mosquito, was released all the way back in 2013.

The song will arrive just ahead of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ upcoming U.K. tour, which launches June 5. The group will play Montreal’s Osheaga festival in July and Chicago’s Riot Fest in September, followed by headlining dates in New York City and Los Angeles in September.

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In the wake of Tuesday’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, many people have spoken out about gun control laws in America. The commentary from celebrities on social media comes less than two weeks after the Buffalo tragedy, when a gunman allegedly opened fired at the Tops supermarket, killing 10 Black people.

Among those who’ve expressed their grief is poet and activist Amanda Gorman, who shared her thoughts in a series of tweets. “It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity—it’s inhumanity,” she said. “What might we be if only we tried. What might we become if only we’d listen. The truth is, one nation under guns.” Gorman’s series of tweets ended Wednesday night with an updated post about the “half a million dollars” raised for gun safety nonprofit Everytown. 

Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson tweeted, “every time this happens I watch the conversation move toward the why. Mental health, race, class, domestic dispute etc. I kind of can’t stand that because all it does is protect the only constant in each case: a gun.”

In response to fans’ request for a school shooting episode of Abbott, Brunson referenced a Wednesday press conference in which Texas politician Beto O’Rourke told Gov. Greg Abbott the shooting was “totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”

“please use that energy to ask your elected official to get on Beto time and nothing less. I’m begging you,” Brunson said.

Gabrielle Union expressed her thoughts, saying, “Babies. We can’t get numb to this … How many of our babies need to be murdered for folks to be moved to action?” 

Jon Batiste offered a brief statement, saying, “We need to make some changes now.” 

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BTS is going to help Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month go out with a bang.

On May 31, the last day of AANHPI Heritage Month, the group will join President Biden at the White House to talk about Asian inclusion and representation, and also discuss anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes, which have increased in recent years in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March of 2021, BTS issued a strongly worded statement condemning the recent wave of anti-Asian hate and violence in the U.S. “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence,” the K-pop superstars wrote. “You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”

The group also detailed their own experiences as the victims of racism, writing, “We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason…these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem.”

They added the hashtags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate.

President Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021, which provides law enforcement with resources to identify, investigate, and report hate crimes, and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to AA and NHPI communities.

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Add Justin Timberlake to the growing list of superstars who’ve sold their song catalogs, presumably for big bucks.

According to multiple reports, the company Hipgnosis Song Management has acquired 100% of Justin’s catalog of musical compositions, as well as his share of the money he gets when the songs he’s written are performed publicly.  The worldwide rights to the songs were also included in the deal, though the current rights holder, Universal Music, has them until 2025.

Songs included in the deal include “Cry Me a River,” “SexyBack,” “What Goes Around…Comes Around,” “Mirrors,” “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” and “Suit & Tie.”  The monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In a statement, JT said that he was “excited” to be partnering with Hipgnosis and its CEO, Merck Mercuriadis, adding, “He values artists and their creative work and has always been a strong supporter of songwriters and storytelling. I look forward to entering this next chapter.”

Mercuriadis called Justin “one of the most influential artists of the last 20 years” and “one of the greatest songwriters of all time” and says his many hits “are among the most iconic of the period.”

Justin may have gotten the idea to do this from his good friend Timbaland, who sold his catalog to Hipgnosis in 2019. That means Hipgnosis already owns Tim’s share of the five Justin Timberlake albums he produced.

Among the songs Hipgnosis co-owns:  “Umbrella,” “Single Ladies,” “Girls Like You,” “Uptown Funk,” “Shape of You,” “Despacito” and The Chainsmokers’ “Closer.”  It also owns or co-owns catalogs of Jack Antonoff, Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shakira, Bon Jovi‘s Richie Sambora, two members of Fleetwood Mac, and dozens more.

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Things are heating up between Brandy and Jack Harlow, most recently with the R&B artist putting her spin on the rapper’s latest hit, “First Class.”

On Wednesday, a freestyle of Brandy rapping over the song’s beat while simultaneously giving an overview of her legacy was released on SoundCloud. The piece comes after Harlow, ion an interview, couldn’t identify Brandy’s 1998 song “Angel of Mine” and didn’t know that she was Ray J‘s sister.

During the freestyle, Brandy introduces herself as “world-famous,” “one of the greatest” and a “living legend” before adding, “Did I mention my resume is amazing?”

“Over 20 years and I’m still a topic / A b**** is worth a million and I’m feeling philanthropic / Popular but now I’m poppin’ shit for those out of pocket,” she jabs at Jack.

Later in the almost two-minute-long rap, she references her show Queens getting cancelled and raps “but you can never cancel the queen,” then jokes about being “built tougher than my brother Ray J’s glasses.”

The freestyle is just the latest in the back and forth between the two artists. After the “Nail Tech” rapper’s interview, Brandy playfully tweeted, “I will murk this dude in rap at 43 on his own beats and then sing [h]is a** to sleep.”

“See, I can have a little fun too hehe…all love,” she wrote in a following tweet.

Jack may not have taken it as a joke, though, later posting an Instagram Story of the brother-sister duo along with Brandy’s part on Kanye West‘s “Bring Me Down” playing in the background.

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Even if you can’t make it to Nashville next month for CMA Fest, you can check out the Country Music Association’s 19th prime-time special, which airs Wednesday, August 3, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

This year, Dierks Bentley and Elle King team up to host the three-hour extravaganza for the very first time. The pair first teamed up in 2016 to top the chart with “Different for Girls,” and they’re back together on Elle’s new single “Worth a Shot.” Of course, Elle recently returned to #1 with Miranda Lambert and “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”

CMA Fest returns to Music City’s Nissan Stadium for the first time since 2019 on Thursday, June 9, with Dierks set to play the final night on Sunday. Expect plenty of surprises and superstar collaborations during the star-studded event. 

Tickets still remain via CMAfest.com, with artists donating their time so the CMA Foundation can use the proceeds to fund music education programs across the country. 

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