Music

Kendrick Lamar’s fifth solo album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, is finally here.

The rapper dropped the 18-track follow-up to 2017’s Pulitzer Prize-winning DAMN. on Thursday night, featuring guest appearances from Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Kodak Black, Sampha, Baby Keem, and Zola actress Taylour Paige.

The track with Paige, “We Cry Together,” is already setting social media abuzz. The emotionally-charged song features Kendrick and Paige as an arguing couple hurling some pretty intense insults at each other.

On the track “Father Time,” featuring Sampha, Kendrick addresses Drake and Kanye West’s recent reconciliation after years-long beef. “When Kanye got back with Drake, I was slightly confused,” he raps. “Guess I’m not as mature as I think, got some healin’ to do.”

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers doesN’t include “The Heart Part 5,” the song Kendrick released on Sunday along with a video in which he morphed into OJ Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle.

Here’s the Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers track list:

DISC 1: BIG STEPPERS
“United In Grief”
“N95”
“Worldwide Steppers”
“Die Hard” ft. Blxst & Amanda Reifer
“Father Time” ft. Sampha
“Rich” (Interlude)
“Rich Spirit”
“We Cry Together” ft. Taylour Paige
“Purple Hearts” ft. Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah

DISC 2: MR. MORALE
“Count Me Out”
“Crown”
“Silent Hill” ft. Kodak Black
“Savior” (Interlude)
“Savior” ft. Baby Keem & Sam Dew
“Auntie Diaries”
“Mr. Morale” ft. Tanna Leone
“Mother I Sober” ft. Beth Gibbons of Portishead
“Mirror”

(Videos contain uncensored profanity.)

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Pop superstar Lizzo released her new single, “About Damn Time,” recently, and a dance to the song quickly went viral on TikTok.

The “About Damn Time” dance is so ubiquitous that its reach extends all the way to Oklahoma, where Blake Shelton got his hands on it and posted his own version on TikTok — well, sort of.

“Did I do this right???” Blake wrote in the caption, along with video of him gamely attempting to dance along to the music. The country superstar abandoned the viral “About Damn Time” dance moves in favor of some windmill-esque arm movements, before running to the camera in a panic to shut the video off.

Hey, at least he was having fun: Blake smiled gamely throughout the clip, landing his video an “A” for effort, even if the execution was less than flawless.

Perhaps he should be asking his wife, pop superstar Gwen Stefani, for some pointers. Gwen’s active on TikTok and has jumped on several popular trends, including at least one clip that pokes fun at Blake himself.

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Five Finger Death Punch has announced the details of the band’s upcoming album, AfterLife.

The ninth studio effort from the Las Vegas metallers will arrive August 19. It includes the previously released title track, as well as a new cut titled “IOU,” which just dropped Friday via digital outlets.

“AfterLife was hands down my favorite record to make,” says guitarist Zoltan Bathory.

“When we started this record, there was an excitement of impending musical adventures, we knew we could step away as far as we wanted to, there was a freedom of truly ‘anything goes,'” he explains. “This resulted in an album that is way more diverse than our previous ones, while it feels more unified, because there is a framework of overarching stories in [frontman] Ivan [Moody‘s] lyrics and interconnecting musical motifs between songs.”

The same day AfterLife arrives, FFDP will launch a U.S. headlining tour in Portland, Oregon. Megadeth, The Hu and Fire from the Gods will also be on the bill.

Here’s the AfterLife track list:

“Welcome to the Circus”
“AfterLife”
“Times Like These”
“Roll Dem Bones”
“Pick Up Behind You”
“Judgment Day”
“IOU”
“Thanks for Asking”
“Blood and Tar”
“All I Know”
“Gold Gutter”
“The End”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Måneskin has premiered a new song called “Supermodel.”

“We wrote ‘Supermodel’ after spending the best few months in LA,” the Italian rockers share. “At times we were surprised yet intrigued to find how people cared so much about the idea of ‘celebrity’ and status, obsessing over their looks and connections.”

The “Beggin'” outfit adds, “We started to imagine an enigmatic ‘Supermodel’ character. She is really cool, fun and social, yet in reality she is troubled, hiding sadness and addiction. In a way you love her, because she knows how to have a good time, but you also want to avoid her, because she might get you into trouble.”

“Supermodel,” which is available now via digital outlets, is the first new Måneskin tune to be released since last fall’s “MAMMAMIA.” They band also premiered a new track called “We’re Gonna Dance on Gasoline” during their debut at Coachella last month.

This Saturday, Måneskin will give “Supermodel” its live premiere during the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest final, which, of course, they won last year.

Måneskin will launch their first-ever North American headlining tour in October.

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Rita Ora and 13-time Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren have collaborated a new song called “Finish Line” for a four-part ESPN docuseries called 37 Words that’s coming in June. It’s part of the Fifty/50 initiative, marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX. By prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, the federal law drastically increased the number of female student athletes in the U.S. But as Diane explains, the song isn’t just about that.

“It’s an important time for women to feel empowered and really know who you are and what your rights are,” Diane says of “Finish Line,” which she wrote and Rita sings.  Rita tells ABC Audio that the significance of “Finish Line” is “way bigger than us.” 

In it, she sings, “We’re taking it to the limit, ’til we win it/ ‘Til we look behind at the finish line, to the limit/’Til resistance is gone, we’ll keep pushing on.”

“It’s something that obviously applies to this, but it applies to life, it applies to whatever you’re going through,” Diane says of “Finish Line.” “And to me, the key is…making it fit specifically and at the same time being universal…That’s why these songs become anthems…Because you can make it be about your life. You can hear the song and go, ‘I’m gonna get up today and I’m just…gonna change the world!'”

37 Words chronicles the battle for equal rights in education and athletics. Rita says, “You’ll see the journey of not just this specific song…but I think, as well, it shines a light on the journeys of these women.”

A sneak preview of the song’s video will debut Sunday on American Idol.

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In 2021, Rod Stewart announced that he’d extended his Rod Stewart: The Hits residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas into an 11th year.  Those dates begin Friday, May 13, and run through May 21. What keeps the legendary singer coming back to Sin City? Well, the money, of course, but also, Rod just really, really likes the Colosseum.

“I do get paid rather nicely, to be honest,” Rod tells ABC Audio.  However, he adds, “It’s probably the best venue in the world to see your favorite rock star. Or see anybody...your favorite juggler! Yeah, the seats are gorgeous, the best sound…it’s just a privilege to play there.”

Plus, Rod notes, “You only have to play for an hour and a half…you play any longer, they grab you by the neck and drag you off!”

Rod’s exaggerating, but it’s true that Las Vegas shows are generally kept somewhat short, for obvious reasons.

“They want to get everybody back into the casino, gambling,” Rod laughs. “‘Mr. Stewart, only 90 minutes, please!’ ‘Cause I sometimes go on for two hours!”

If you can’t see Rod during this run, he’ll be back in Las Vegas from September 30 to October 1.  But he’s also coming to you: His North American summer tour with Cheap Trick starts June 10 in Vancouver, and wraps up September 17 in Edmonton, Alberta.

In between, Rod’ll play the Hollywood Bowl, as well as Denver, Phoenix, Nashville, Milwaukee, Saint Paul, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and other major cities. Visit RodStewart.com for the full itinerary.

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We don’t know when we’re getting new music from him, but when it comes to performing live, Zedd is back in full force.

Following the announcement of his Zedd in the Park event in Los Angeles on July 8, “The Middle” mastermind has announced several headlining shows. He’ll perform at New York’s Brooklyn Mirage on August 12 and 13; at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on August 31; and at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on October 8.

The general on-sale for the shows starts today, Friday, at 10 a.m. local time via Zedd.net. Zedd is also playing the after-party of the Billboard Music Conference this Saturday night, taking place at Zouk at Resorts World in Las Vegas.

So far this year, Zedd has released two singles: “Follow” with Martin Garrix and “You’ve Got to Let Go If You Want to Be Free” with Disclosure. Over the last few years, Zedd has teamed up with Katy Perry for the song “365” and with Shawn Mendes for a remix of “Lost In Japan.”

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Lindsey Buckingham was supposed to launch his first-ever solo tour of Europe in Dublin, Ireland, this Tuesday, May 17, but the former Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist has had to postpone the trek because he recently contracted COVID-19 and hasn’t recorded yet.

A message on Buckingham’s social media sites shared the bad news, saying, “It is with great sadness that we are announcing the postponement of Lindsey’s European tour which had been due to begin next week. Along with other members of his band and crew, Lindsey contracted COVID-19 at the end of his latest North American tour, forcing that to end prematurely. Unfortunately he’s still recovering and has no choice but to move the upcoming tour to a later date.”

The note continues, “This is heartbreaking for Lindsey, he was so excited to come to Europe for the first time as a solo artist this spring. We’re currently working on rescheduling the dates and hope to have some news to share on that very soon.”

The 11-date tour had been scheduled to run through a June 2 performance at Denmark’s Heartland Festival 2022.

Late last month, Lindsey announced that the last few shows of his spring 2022 North American tour had to be canceled because of a COVID outbreak in his touring party, which we now know included him.

The canceled concerts included an April 28 show in Tysons, Virginia; and April 30 gig in Louisville, Kentucky; and a May 1 performance at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee.

Buckingham continues to promote his latest solo album, a self-titled collection that was released in July 2021.

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Last month, you may have seen a litany of artists including Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong, Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Against Me!‘s Laura Jane Grace mourn the breakup of the punk duo Max Creeps. Two days later, Max Creeps announced that they were reuniting, and planned to release a new album.

This would all be very exciting if it weren’t so confusing. Despite a press release describing them as a “seminal band who birthed punk rock,” there’s no evidence that Max Creeps ever existed before their breakup and subsequent reunion announcement.

One idea is that it’s a secret side-project from GN’R’s Duff McKagan, though the Max Creeps members — named Max Blastic and PC Bulls*** — have denied that the band is a “hoax.”

Even if it is all a made-up, no one is telling. Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, who also claims to be a Max Creeps fan, tells ABC Audio that it’s “absolutely insane” no one else has heard of them.

“The fact they broke up caused such brouhaha,” Jericho says. “I was talking to Slash about it, he was despondent, he could barely speak.”

Max Creeps getting back together, Jericho adds, is “bigger than…if Pink Floyd reunited.”

“But a lot of people don’t know it,” Jericho says. “Max Creeps don’t even know it. They don’t even care. And that’s kinda part of what makes them so special, and also what makes them so f***ing disgusting, as well.”

Whatever Max Creeps is or isn’t, you can judge for yourself by listening to the band’s new album, Nein, which is out today. They’ll also launch a tour in June.

“If they show up [at] whatever toilet they’re playing in, I’ll be there with a hazmat suit on,” Jericho says.

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Luke Combs is once again nearing the top of the country charts, this time with “Doin’ This,” a song that tells his story of doing what he loves for a living.

“At the Grand Ole Opry or a show in some no-name town/ I’d still be doin’ this if I wasn’t doin’ this,” he sings in the chorus.

Even though the song is autobiographical, it’s struck a chord with fans who can relate to Luke’s commitment. “Anybody that’s really passionate about what they do and loves their job, and is doing the thing that they love to do and somehow figured out a way to get paid for it, that is the story,” he reflects.

That isn’t exclusive to people working in the music industry. Others are equally driven to pursue careers as first responders, professional athletes and in so many other fields.

“They would be trying to do that…even if it’s not their job, their job is to make it their job. You know what I mean?” Luke notes. “They’re trying everything they can to get a foot in the door, or find a way to do something that makes them excited to get out of bed every day.”

It’s those people that Luke has to thank for making the song his next big hit. “I think those people have just gravitated to that song, whether they’re in the music industry or not,” he says.

As it creeps up the charts, “Doin’ This” is putting Luke in a familiar spot. If it goes to the top, it’ll be his 13th consecutive solo number-one hit. For those keeping score at home, that’s a record. No other country act has had so many back-to-back chart-topping hits.

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