Music

If you’re introducing Evanescence to someone who’s never heard the band before, your first instinct is probably to start blasting “Bring Me to Life.” But frontwoman Amy Lee thinks there’s a different song that’s better for newcomers.

Speaking to Revolver, Lee picks the song “Broken Pieces Shine” — a track off Evanescence’s 2021 comeback album The Bitter Truth — as the best starting point for new listeners

“It wouldn’t be from the first album,” Lee shares. “I feel like we got better after that. I know it seems weird to pick something off our new album, but I think I would.”

In choosing “Broken Pieces Shine” specifically, Lee explains that the song “encapsulates something thematically and lyrically that is very us.”

“There’s something about being the different ones, about being the broken ones, about being the people who have been through something,” Lee says. “Those are our people.”

“I’m going to wear my scars proudly and I’m going to wear my tears as a badge of honor,” she continues. “I don’t want to forget the pain, I want to use the pain. I think there’s a lot of all that in that song where, for me, it’s like, this is what Evanescence is.”

Lee notes that “Broken Pieces Shine” is also “a great song musically, as well.”

“The way that it kicks in, I put a lot of thought into that intro,” she says. “Like, this is gonna be us coming back with our first music that’s the rock stuff, first all-original album since 2011 — we need to come back with who we are.”

Evanescence will be touring the U.S. in support of The Bitter Truth alongside Korn beginning August 16 in Denver.

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OneRepublic‘s latest hit, “I Ain’t Worried,” is from the soundtrack of the record-breaking box office smash Top Gun: Maverick. Frontman Ryan Tedder jokes to ABC Audio that the movie is doing all the promotion for them.

“It was crazy watching [Maverick] for the first time, because, basically, it’s a $200 million music video for our song,” Ryan laughs. “So I couldn’t ask for anything better.” 

But things did get better, thanks to the movie’s star, Tom Cruise.

“When we shot the video … we handed it to him, and he’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I’m going to re-edit your video,'” Ryan says of Cruise. “And he gives us, like, $70 million worth of content [for the clip].”

Ryan laughs, “So it’s the most expensive video in history, if you think about the actual production of what’s in the video. Y’know, F-15s flying all over the place and Tom Cruise … like, it’s crazy!”

And while OneRepublic has had many hits, and Ryan’s co-written a bunch more for other artists, he says he still can’t get over how well “I Ain’t Worried” is doing.

“I mean, the whole thing is still hilarious, in [the] best way. It’s just hilarious to me,” Ryan says. “It’s like, you put out music, you never know what’s really going to be a smash, especially in 2022. And I just kept telling myself, ‘If we just keep putting out great songs, one of ’em’s gonna go nuts.’ And it did!”

OneRepublic is currently out on their Never Ending Summer tour, which hits Denver, Colorado, Friday night. 

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Denim & Rhinestones isn’t merely the title of Carrie Underwood‘s new album, it also captures the spirit of the music she channels into the visual element. 

When naming the project, Carrie says she took every element into consideration and didn’t want to simply name it after a song out of convenience. Instead, she thought about the fun, light-hearted spirit of the album that also carries over into the glamorous aesthetic.  

“When you think denim and rhinestones, you get a picture in your head of something, so that was part of it. It’s nice when you have a theme and you can live there,” she says. “For Cry Pretty, I felt like I was in pink a lot and there’s a lot of glitter and stuff like that. So I like how each album has its own look and feel and vibe and aesthetic.” 

On the cover of the new project, Carrie dons a denim dress with a matching denim jacket and sparkling fringe. The singer notes she’s now seeing similar bedazzled looks everywhere, giving her more inspiration for her style as she prepares to go on tour. 

“I feel like this a fun one. Right now, there’s denim and rhinestones everywhere, so I’d like to thank all the people in the fashion industry that totally made their clothes based off my album,” she jokes. “It helps me when there’s a wide selection of clothes to choose from.” 

Carrie will hit the road on the Denim & Rhinestones Tour this fall, launching on October 15 in Greenville, South Carolina, and continuing through March 2023. Jimmie Allen joins her as the opening act. 

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Alt-rock mainstays The Lemondheads have announced a U.S. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s 1992 album, It’s a Shame About Ray.

The trek, during which Evan Dando and company will play It’s a Shame About Ray in its entirety each night, will launch November 17 in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and will wrap up December 17 in Boston.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 12. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit TheLemonheads.net.

It’s a Shame About Ray, the fifth Lemonheads album, spawned the band’s breakout single in the title track. A rereleased version of the record also included a hit cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Mrs. Robinson.”

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Katy Perry is attributing her success as an artist and footwear designer to the financial obstacles she faced growing up. 

The “Roar” hitmaker’s shoe line, Katy Perry Collections, shared a video of the star  serving as keynote speaker of the PROJECT show in Las Vegas, where she opened up about her childhood. “When I was 13, I was growing up with limited resources,” Katy began. “My family didn’t have a whole hell of a lot. Sometimes, we had food stamps.”

To help get by, Katy said her family depended on the offerings from her church. To further help her family, she would sing for donations. Katy also sang at the local farmers market to raise money, joking she’d earn “about $20 and two avocados.”

The American Idol judge reflected on how that impacted her creativity and sense of style. Katy said she would shop for clothes at second-hand stores “on a shoestring budget.”

“I would go thrifting all the time,” she explained, adding she “trained” her eye to locate stylish items that would suit her. But, because she was rifling through clothes from the ’40s to the ’60s, Katy remarked, “I started dressing like a pinup girl when I was 13, which was interesting.”

However, Katy said that’s what allowed her to cultivate her own style and “stand out in a unique way,” because she wasn’t wearing the latest trends like other girls her age.

Katy also reflected fondly on a pair of dalmatian-shaped flats she bought in a thrift store, which earned her compliments from strangers.

“That was such a big deal,” she said of the attention. “I would wear them everywhere!” Katy says those are the flats that “started my love for shoes”…and of course, the rest is history.

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Måneskin has dropped off the lineup for England’s upcoming Reading & Leeds festivals due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts.”

“We love and miss the U.K. and all of our beloved U.K. fans,” the Italian rockers write in a statement. “We’re absolutely gutted to longer be able to play these shows.”

Reading and Leeds, which consists of two separate festivals featuring the same lineup taking place over the same weekend, will be held this year August 26-28. The bill includes Rage Against the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Bring Me the Horizon, Wolf Alice, Glass Animals, Halsey, Bastille and All Time Low.

Måneskin will be launching their first North American headlining tour Halloween night in Seattle. They plan to return to the U.K. in 2023.

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Charlie Puth confirmed he “just turned in the album,” tagging his label, Atlantic, in a new Instagram Story.  His forthcoming album, Charlie, is due out October 7.

Britney Spears revealed on Instagram she wanted to get married in Italy — more specifically St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The singer made headlines after claiming she wasn’t allowed to get married at a Catholic Church. Britney also revealed she hired the wedding planner who took care of Madonna‘s nuptials. 

Priyanka Chopra is on vacation with Nick Jonas and the two shared an adorable poolside photo of their baby, Malti. The infant is cuddling her mom while Nick is decked out in orange swim trunks and aviator glasses.

Halsey is co-headlining the Krakow Live Music Festival, taking place in Poland from August 19 to August 20. Lewis Capaldi is also serving as co-headliner, as is rapper Future. Tickets are on sale now.

Another teaser for the new season of The Voice, which sees Camila Cabello serving as a first-time coach, is live. It shows her getting along with her fellow coaches Blake Shelton, John Legend and Gwen Stefani.

Speaking of teasers, the boys of BTS tried tapping into their latent psychic powers in a clip promoting the newest episode of RUN BTS. The septet play the game Telepathy to prove they’re so tight-knit they can read each others’ minds.

Ava Max is the latest Sketchers ambassador, and the “Maybe You’re the Problem” hitmaker teased her new collection on Instagram. The Uno Collection contains ultra colorful sneakers that are now available to purchase.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ava Max is the latest Sketchers ambassador, and the “Maybe You’re the Problem” hitmaker teased her new collection on Instagram. The Uno Collection contains ultra colorful sneakers that are now available to purchase.

Priyanka Chopra is on vacation with husband Nick Jonas and the two shared an adorable poolside photo of their baby, Malti. The infant is cuddling her mom while Nick is decked out in orange swim trunks and aviator glasses.

Britney Spears revealed on Instagram she wanted to get married in Italy — more specifically St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The singer made headlines after claiming she wasn’t allowed to get married at a Catholic Church. Britney also revealed she hired the wedding planner who took care of Madonna‘s nuptials.

Another teaser for the new season of The Voice, which sees Camila Cabello serving as a first-time coach, is here. It shows her getting along with her fellow coaches Blake Shelton, John Legend and Gwen Stefani.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.