Dierks Bentley is back with another new single, “Gold,” all about finding the joy in the journey of life despite the ups and downs it brings.
“I got some rust on my Chevy but it’s ready to roll / I got a rhinestone sky and a song in my soul,” the singer belts out in the chorus on his song. “It ain’t a smooth ride, life, it’s a winding road / Yeah, it might be gravel but it feels like gold.”
“Gold” follows Dierks’ latest number-one hit, “Beers on Me,” as well as his recent collaboration with Elle King, called “Worth a Shot.”
Amid the new music he’s got planned for this year, Dierks is also keeping busy on the road: He’s in the middle of his Beers on Me Tour, which launched in 2021 and is scheduled to keep going well into September. Currently, he’s out with opening acts Travis Denning and Ashley McBryde. The singer’s Seven Peaks Festival is also set to make its return this Labor Day weekend, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But first up, Dierks and Elle will co-headline ABC’s CMA Fest special, which airs on August 3.
A “deeply remorseful” Will Smith posted an emotional, nearly six-minute long video on Friday in which he addressed his physical and verbal attack on Chris Rock at this past March’s Oscars.
“It’s been a minute,” reads a title card that begins the video, as Smith is heard settling into a chair in front of a microphone. “Over the last few months I have been doing a lot of thinking and personal work,” the message continues, adding, “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer,” before Will’s recorded message begins.
“Why didn’t you apologize to Chris in your acceptance speech?” Will first asks, quoting fans. He answered, “I was fogged out by that point. It’s all fuzzy.”
Will adds, “I have reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he’ll reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”
Will also apologizes to Chris Rock’s mother — who as previously reported gave an interview about the incident — and to Tony Rock, Chris’ writer brother.
“I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in in that moment,” Smith continues. “And I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
As for fans who asked if Smith’s wife, Jada, put him up to the stunt after “she rolled her eyes” at Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane jab at her, Smith denies it.
“I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” Will insists. “Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe. And say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Smith also acknowledges his remorse for “tarnishing” the moment for fellow Oscar nominees and winners, as well as letting his fans down.
“It hurts me psychologically and emotionally that I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” he declares. “The work I’m trying to do is I am deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed for myself. I’m human and I made a mistake.”
The actor — who won his first Oscar at the ceremony not long after the slap — concludes by saying, “I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking. But I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. And, you know, if you hang on a promise, we’ll be able to be friends again.”
Dua Lipa is ready to speak out after someone smuggled fireworks into her Toronto concert and lit them off in the pit during her show.
The Grammy winner issued a statement via her Instagram Stories regarding the incident. “Last night, unauthorized fireworks went off in the crowd during my set in Toronto,” she expressed. “Creating a safe and inclusive space at my shows is always my top priority, and my team and I are just as shocked and confused by the events as you all are.”
“There is an ongoing investigation into the events being conducted, and everyone involved is working hard to find out how this incident occurred,” Dua continued.
The “Levitating” singer noted further, “Bringing this show to life for my fans has been such an amazing experience, and I am so deeply sorry for anyone who was scared, felt unsafe or whose enjoyment of the show was affected in any way.”
As previously reported, an unknown suspect lit fireworks in the concert pit toward the end of Dua’s show at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
A fan filming from the pit captured the incident as well as the singer’s reaction. Dua notices the fireworks going off at the end of the walkway and looks at her backup dancers in bewilderment but continues on with the number.
Three people were injured by the sparks and suffered “very minor injuries,” police told People. All victims were treated at the venue and did not require hospitalization. In addition, the fireworks did not damage the venue.
As Dua mentioned, the incident is under investigation. People must cross through a metal detector to get into the venue, which explicitly prohibits fireworks. It is unclear how the fireworks made it into the building.
The track is described as the brother trio’s version of a “punk ‘F-you’ song.”
“In our political climate and within the landscape of social media, everything is marketing and branding yourself to fit into a political or TikTok trend,” says band member Ryan Met. “It gets exhausting. You lose yourself in fitting into a subsection of culture.”
“In our show and our music, we’re about figuring out what makes you unique,” he adds. “The message is, ‘Be yourself.’ However, we know it’s much easier said than done. We wanted to make a song that inspired others, but also ourselves to be who we are.”
You can listen to “I Won’t” now via digital outlets. An accompanying video was set to premiere Friday morning but has been delayed until later in the day.
“We were up all night finishing the edit and it’s taking forever to export and upload,” AJR says. “Thank you for your patience.”
In the meantime, you can watch AJR’s performance of “I Won’t” on The Tonight Show.
“I Won’t” follows AJR’s 2021 album, OK ORCHESTRA, which includes the singles “Bang!” and “Way Less Sad.”
The first installment, is titled Live from The Summit, Houston, TX, 1977, and features footage from a two-night stand that the rock legends played at the Houston venue in June ’77 during their Draw the Line Tour. The film, which has been digitized from the original analog tape and remastered in HD, will be viewable for one week after its premiere.
As previously reported, the five-part series will offer a new archival “official bootleg” concert film featuring never-before-seen footage debut weekly for five weeks. Each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade and features shows filmed by multiple cameras.
One day after each film premieres, highlight clips from the respective movies also will be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.
In conjunction with the 50 Years Live! series, Aerosmith has launched a contest at Tunespeak.com offering fans who watch the films each week a chance to win two tickets to the band’s 50th anniversary concert at Boston’s Fenway Park on September 8. Those who enter also will have the opportunity to win an Aerosmith t-shirt.
Here’s the complete schedule of the 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults series:
7/29 — Live from the Summit, Houston, TX, 1977 (Draw the Line Tour)
8/5 — Live from the Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989 (Pump Tour)
8/12 — Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 (Get a Grip Tour)
8/19 — Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 (Rocksimus Maximus Tour)
8/26 — Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 (Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble Tour)
Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford has released a new song called “Grace,” which will appear on his upcoming debut solo album, (self-titled).
The track is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a video that a press release says “touches on the cathartic theme of the album.” You can watch that streaming now on YouTube.
“Grace” is the second cut to be released from (self-titled) following the song “Cannibal,” which dropped earlier this month alongside a video directed by Steven Spielberg. The album will arrive in full on September 16.
Mumford will launch a solo North American tour in support of (self-titled) September 19 in Boulder, Colorado.
Jimmie Allen is reminding his followers that you can’t always gauge someone’s mental health by what they post online.
On Twitter, the singer posted a PSA explaining the importance of reaching out to the people they love. “Check in on your friends,” he wrote. “Social media is not a way to find out how people are doing. People are really struggling, it has just gotten easier to hide it.”
Jimmie has long been open about his own mental health challenges, sharing that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 13 and that he also struggles with anxiety. His latest album, Tulip Drive, contains a song called “Settle On Back” that describes his experience with bipolar disorder and also shares memories of his dad.
“When my dad was alive, he was the person that could always pull me back,” Jimmie shared when his album came out. “A lot of people with mental issues has one person in their life that they have the strong connection with.”
Jimmie also recently participated in ACM Lifting Lives’ mental health series, The Check-In.
A woman who accused Bob Dylan of sexually abusing her when she was a minor dropped her lawsuit on Thursday, following accusations that she destroyed key evidence.
The lawsuit alleged that Dylan — born Robert Allen Zimmerman — abused the woman over a six-week period in 1965 when she was 12 years old, saying the legendary singer-songwriter left her “emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged.” Dylan’s lawyers dismissed the accusations as “false, malicious, reckless and defamatory” and a “brazen shakedown masquerading as a lawsuit,” according to Billboard.
At a hearing on Thursday, however, the plaintiff — identified only as J.C. — suddenly asked the federal judge overseeing the case to dismiss it “with prejudice,” meaning the suit cannot cannot be refiled, Billboard reports. The move came after the plaintiff was accused of deleting text messages and emails and was threatened with monetary sanctions.
“This case is over. It is outrageous that it was ever brought in the first place,” Dylan’s lead attorney, Orin Snyder, said in a statement obtained by Billboard. “We are pleased that the plaintiff has dropped this lawyer-driven sham and that the case has been dismissed with prejudice.”
Selena Gomez is feeling super thankful in the wake of her 30th birthday.
The Only Murders in the Building star, who hit the milestone birthday on July 22, shared a video on TikTok on Thursday to say “thank you to every person that wished me a happy birthday.”
“I got to see some of your messages,” she continued. “I don’t read a lot of comments, but the few that I read were really, really sweet and I just want you to know that I don’t take that for granted.”
The pop star also showed gratitude for those who donated to the Rare Impact Fund, a charitable organization that aims to “to increase access to mental health services in educational settings,” according to its site.
Selena closed out the minute-long clip with continued thanks as tears welled in her eyes, telling fans, “And I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being in my life, for growing up with me — for putting up with me.”
When he put out “Fancy Like” in mid-2021, Walker Hayes never could have predicted that the song would go viral on TikTok, turn into a massive breakout hit and kick his country music career into overdrive.
Now, just over a year later, Walker is reminiscing on the release of the song and music video. He shared an outtake from the “Fancy Like” video shoot on social media this week, making a joke about the wheat field where the clip was filmed.
“Guys, I don’t know what y’all are thinking,” Walker says, laughing as he pans the camera over to the wheat behind him. “I can not shoot a video out here. I’m gluten-free!”
Gluten-free or not, something about the song struck a chord with fans: It became a crossover hit, netting Walker a number-one hit on country radio and spawning a remix with pop star Kesha.
“This was the day we shot the ‘Fancy Like’ vid,” Walker wrote in the caption of his throwback post. “We had no idea what was to come.”
Since the success of “Fancy Like,” the country star has released a number of other hit singles, including “AA” and his most recent release, “Y’all Life.”
