Music

Luke Bryan is returning to host the CMA Awards, but he won’t be doing it alone. 

Luke will team up with NFL legend Peyton Manning to host the 56th annual show live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. This is Luke’s second year hosting the CMAs after making his debut in 2021, and Peyton’s first. 

“Being a part of such a historical night that honors my peers and country music is such a privilege. When I was asked if Peyton Manning was someone I would consider co-hosting with I didn’t hesitate. We have become great friends through the years and what he brings to the table is going make it even more of a blast,” Luke shares in a statement. “Hey Peyton, I hope you’re ready for the night of your life!”

“I cannot wait to head to Nashville and take the CMA Awards stage alongside my friend Luke Bryan. I am such a huge fan of country music, so to have the chance to stand among so many incredibly talented artists is an absolute honor,” adds Peyton. 

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood hosted the show for 11 consecutive years before Carrie hosted with Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton in 2019. Reba and Darius Rucker helmed the show in 2020 before passing the baton to Luke. 

The CMA Awards air live on November 9 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

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Metallica has premiered the live video of their Stranger Things-themed performance of “Master of Puppets” at Lollapalooza last week.

During the song’s solo, the stage’s video screens showed footage from the Netflix sci-fi series, specifically of the character Eddie Munson shredding the 1986 thrash classic during the season four finale. The “Master of Puppets” placement in Stranger Things has led to newfound popularity for the track, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 following the finale’s premiere last month.

You can now watch the “Master of Puppets” live video streaming on YouTube.

The Metallica and Stranger Things collaboration continued throughout Lollapalooza weekend when Eddie Munson actor Joseph Quinn met the metal legends for the first time backstage at the festival. Netflix posted a video of the meeting, which saw Metallica and Quinn jam “Master of Puppets” together. Metallica also gifted Quinn with a signed replica of the guitar he played on Stranger Things.

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Dave Grohl, Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys and The Breeders will all perform at guitar legend Joe Walsh‘s annual veteran’s benefit concert, VetsAid.

The show will take place November 13 in Columbus, Ohio. Walsh, who spent part of his youth growing up in Columbus and went to college at Ohio’s Kent State University, wanted to create an all-Ohio bill for the concert, which this year will specifically support Ohio veterans and their families.

Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio, and NIN, The Black Keys and The Breeders all formed in the Buckeye State.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 5 at 10 a.m. ET. For more info, visit VetsAid.org.

Notably, VetsAid marks Grohl’s first announced live appearance to follow Foo Fighters‘ upcoming Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts, taking place September 3 in London and September 27 in Los Angeles. Grohl publicly performed for the first time since Hawkins’ unexpected death in March during Paul McCartney‘s headlining Glastonbury set in June.

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When Jake Owen goes “Down to the Honkytonk” these days, he sticks to water.

The singer opened up about his sobriety journey in a social media post this week and explained that he’s hoping his story can be helpful to somebody else.

“317 days ago I embarrassed myself after drinking too much alcohol one night,” he says at the beginning of his post. “It wasn’t the first time, either. The next day, I told myself, ‘Never again.’”

Alongside his message, the singer posted a white square reading “Sober 316 days” — which is a little over 10 months. Jake goes on to detail his motivation for getting sober, saying that his daughters Pearl and Paris are a big part of what inspired him to give up drinking.

“I am better than that, and the people I love the most deserve better,” Jake continues. “My family, my little girls and my friends.”

As he concluded his post, the singer also shared a message of hope for anybody who might be struggling with substance use.

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Ne-Yo is asking for “privacy” after his wife Crystal Smith accused him of cheating. 

“For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors,” the “Closer” singer tweeted Sunday. “Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family’s privacy at this time.”

Ne-Yo’s request comes just one day after Smith publicly accused her husband of cheating on her. 

“8 Years. 8 Years of lies and deception. 8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous women who sell their bodies to him unprotected.. every last one of them! To say I’m heartbroken and disgusted is a understatement,” the model wrote in an Instagram post that was simply captioned, “God bless.”

“To ask me to stay and accept it is absolutely insane. The mentality of a narcissist. I will no longer lie to the public or pretend that this is something it isn’t. I choose me, I choose my happiness and health and my respect. I gained 3 beautiful children out of this but nothing else but wasted years and heartache,” Smith continued. “I ask that you all please stop sending me videos or information of him cheating because what he does is no longer my concern.”

“I am not a victim. I’m choosing to stand tall with my head held high. If someone can’t love you the way you deserve then it’s up to you to love yourself,” she added. “With no hate in my heart I wish him nothing but the best – Crystal Renay.”

Ne-Yo, 42, and Smith, 36, married in 2016 and share kids Shaffer Chimere Jr., 6, Roman Alexander-Raj, 4, and Isabella Rose, 1.

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During a stop on NBC’s TODAY, Maren Morris took some time to meet one of her biggest fans.

The singer hopped off stage to meet Lily, a blind super-fan who knows every single one of Maren’s songs. They’d actually interacted a little bit in the past — Maren signed a guitar pick for Lily, and the young fan thanked her for the gift when they finally got to meet in person.

Lily also had a question for the country superstar about her two-year-old son, Hayes. “What is Hayes’ favorite song of yours and how is he doing?” Lily asked.

“He’s good. I think he’s home watching right now — I hope,” Maren replied. “I’m gonna say ‘Hummingbird’ because it’s about him…and he’s a feature on it.”

“Hummingbird” comes off of the track list of Humble Quest, Maren’s most recent studio album, and it features a clip of Hayes saying “Mama” at the beginning of the track. It was also written for him by Maren the day she found out she was pregnant.

“I have the record and his name is on it,” Lily says, in response to Maren’s answer to her question. Maren and Lily also posed for some pictures together before the singer left the TODAY set.

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A Perfect Circle hasn’t released an album since 2018’s Eat the Elephant. While the Maynard James Keenan-fronted band doesn’t currently have any concrete plans, the project never strays too far from guitarist Billy Howerdel‘s mind.

“[I’m] always thinking about what would be a good start for a next APC record, should that come,” Howerdel tells ABC Audio.

As Howerdel explains, his collaborative process with Keenan usually involves him coming up with an instrumental idea and sending it to the Tool vocalist for his thoughts.

“I’ll just say, ‘Hey, are you interested in this?’ And get his take,” Howerdel says of working with Keenan. “He’s the one that’s gotta be turned on by it, and find something … his best work, and anyone’s best work, comes from being inspired by what he hears.”

“So I just try and let go of expectations and throw some things at [Keenan] that I think he might like,” Howerdel adds. “But he’s surprised me before with things he’s picked.”

One such surprise was the song “The Doomed,” which turned out to be the lead single off Eat the Elephant. The track’s origins trace back to a short orchestral section that Howerdel wrote while working on a film score. After Keenan expressed interest in just that small part, Howerdel ended up writing what became “The Doomed” in just two days.

“You have a foundation of something you think has a solid possibility, has potential,” Howerdel muses. “Then having the energy of someone say, ‘Let’s go forward with this,’ I think my best work comes like that.”

Meanwhile, Howerdel just released his debut solo album, What Normal Was, in June.

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Has it really been a year since Billie Eilish released her Happier than Ever album?

The Grammy winner celebrated the sweet anniversary with her fans via a suprise intimate concert at Amoeba Music, an independent record store in Hollywood, on Friday. Billboard reports fans lined up outside the landmark location — some dressed head to toe in Billie merch — to get into the surprise show.

The “bad guy” singer was met with cheers and shouts when she appeared onstage and dove into a performance of fan-favorite “Billie Bossa Nova.” Her brother, FINNEAS, assisted with an acoustic guitar.

Aside from singing tracks off her sophomore album, Billie also performed her newest track, “TV.”  The topical track reflects the singer’s concerns about the current political and pop culture landscape.

Billie intended to make her pit stop a three-song deal, which she had intended to close out with her album’s title track. But, she had a change of heart and instead asked her fans what song they really want to hear. Fans shrieked for “Getting Older,” and the two singers performed an acoustic rendition.

The Oscar winner took a moment to salute her album before heading offstage and told the audience, “Not only is this the anniversary of the album, it’s also [Finneas’] birthday [on Saturday]. He’s going to be 25!”

She then delighted fans by performing “Happier than Ever.”

Billie released her sophomore album on July 30, 2021.  It was nominated for Album and Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

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For country artists, CMA Fest is a benchmark: It happens annually, and each year, performers get to watch their careers grow from the smallest stages all the way up to a headlining slot at Nissan Stadium.

“CMA Fest, for me, has been huge,” says Luke Combs, one of this year’s main stage artists. Though he’s playing Nissan Stadium now, he had to work his way up through the ranks, and looking back on his early years at the festival is a chance to see how his career has grown.

“It’s like this moment in time that exists at the same time every year,” the singer continues. “And you go, ‘Okay, last year I did the stage in the hotel lobby, and now I’m doing the stage in the bar. And then you’re at Riverfront, and then you’re at Ascend, and then you’re here.”

“Here,” of course, is Nissan Stadium: The pinnacle of the festival, where every artist playing CMA Fest hopes to one day end up.

“You can really watch your career progress,” Luke continues. “Obviously, Nissan is the thing that you want to be able to do, and I’m lucky to have gotten to do that.”

CMA Fest 2022 happened in June, but fans can revisit all the action in the CMA Fest television special, which is airing on ABC on August 3. Dierks Bentley and Elle King will host the show.

Fans who tune in will get a front-row seat to all the performance highlights of the most recent festival, including Luke’s set. The special will feature his performances of “Beer Never Broke My Heart” plus his new single, “The Kind of Love We Make.”

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