Music

Yet another Imagine Dragons video is now a member YouTube’s billion views club.

The group’s visual for “Demons” has hit the milestone, following in the footsteps of the clips for “Radioactive,” “Thunder” and “Believer.”

Imagine Dragons reacted to the news by tweeting an exploding head emoji.

“Demons” and “Radioactive” appear on ID’s 2012 debut album, Night Visions, while “Thunder” and “Believer” are singles from 2017’s Evolve.

All four songs are also members of the RIAA Diamond club, having all been certified for 10 million units. Imagine Dragons is the first band with four Diamond-certified singles.

Meanwhile, Imagine Dragons released a new album, Mercury — Act 2, earlier this month. The record, the companion to last September’s Mercury — Act 1, features the single “Bones.”

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Lizzo‘s latest hit, “About Damn Time,” is a super-fun, disco-flavored bop, but according to her producer, it’s much more than that — it’s what Lizzo felt “the world needed at that exact moment.”

Speaking to Vulture, producer Ricky Reed said “About Damn Time” is “a core song about love.”

“That might seem weird at first, because it’s not explicitly about being in love with a person. But the thing that she really, really, really wanted to get across was, we need a song and a message to help us collectively step out from fear. So what’s the opposite of fear? It’s love,” he says.

Reed adds, “So, our plan with that song was to make a record that helps people step out from fear, step out from darkness, step out from sadness, whatever form it’s taking, and find your power and find love.”

“She thought that’s what the world needed at that exact moment,” Reed explains. “She put a lot of thought into it.”

Overall, Reed says, Lizzo insisted that the album address the “collective trauma” that is the pandemic and then try to “lift people up.”

He notes, “She’d say this over and over: ‘I’m an artist, I have to reflect the times.’ So we would always make sure, at every turn, that we were going to reflect the times. We can’t do that in the last few years without talking about what’s been going on.”

But of course, the album’s not a downer. It’s just that, as Reed explains, “You can’t lift anyone up without getting through the hard stuff first … before you move on to partying.”

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July has been a very special month for Missy Elliott: she celebrated a birthday and the 25th anniversary of her iconic 1997 debut album, Supa Dupa Fly.

The legendary rapper turned 51 on July 1 and was the guest of honor at a spectacular birthday bash in Atlanta on July 15. The Grammy winner received a Recording Industry Association of America platinum plaque for being the only female hip-hop artist with six certified Platinum studio albums. Atlantic Records also presented her with a custom plaque in recognition of the success of Supa Dupa Fly.

“As a solo artist I’ve been in the game for 25 years, but in the music industry I’ve been here for 29. I’ve been reflecting on that. It’s a huge accomplishment – especially when you’re still around,” Elliott tells Essence.
“It’s just an amazing feeling. You go through a lot of ups and downs, so to still be standing is always a blessing.”

Timbaland, Lil’ Kim, Trina, Serayah, Taraji P. Henson, Jermaine Dupri, Irv Gotti and Kandi Burruss were among the stars greeting Missy at her birthday party. She grew up with Timbaland in Virginia, and they’ve recorded numerous hits together.

Elliott says one of the keys to their longevity is that they concentrated on being original.

“I’m not a person who watches everyone else – I think that’s the biggest thing. When me and Timbaland came in, we weren’t watching other people’s videos, we weren’t listening to the radio like that,” Missy added. “Because if you don’t see, or you don’t hear, then you end up creating your own sound. But if you begin to watch and listen, then a lot of times you end up catering to what’s happening right now.”

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CMA Fest 2022 may be over, but the fun’s just beginning for Elle King and Dierks Bentley, who are co-hosting ABC’s upcoming CMA Fest television special.

The show, which will revisit some of the festival’s best and most exciting performances, gets an extra boost from Dierks and Elle’s fun, easygoing onscreen dynamic. Their chemistry comes from a real-life friendship, Elle explains, which developed over collaborations like 2016’s “Different for Girls” and this year’s new duet, “Worth a Shot.”

“I mean, anything that Dierks and I do together is fun and funny, because we’re just kind of, in the nicest way, idiots. In the best way,” Elle says with a laugh.

For a first-hand look at that goofiness she’s talking about, check out the music video for “Worth a Shot,” where they star as a couple on the rocks in the Wild Wild West. Even though the song’s subject matter is serious, Dierks and Elle’s playful friendship shines through, and it’ll be even more front-and-center when they take the stage for CMA Fest.

“We just make each other laugh. So nothing we do feels like work,” Elle explains.

CMA Fest — which was filmed at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium — airs August 3 on ABC. It’ll be available to watch the next day on Hulu.

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Renaissance drops on Friday, July 29.

On June 30, the 40-year-old superstar on Instagram unveiled on the provocative album cover of her naked on a luminous horse only covered by silver chains.

“Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and to find escape during a scary time for the world. It allowed me to feel free and adventurous in a time when little else was moving. My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment,” Beyoncé said. “A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom. It was a beautiful journey of exploration. I hope you find joy in this music. I hope it inspires you to release the wiggle. Ha! And to feel as unique, strong, and sexy as you are.”

Renaissance track list:

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Elton John can’t say goodbye to the yellow brick road. Billboard reports he added five “encore” tour dates to Australia and New Zealand, set for January 2023. The new dates make up for the two shows he promised to reschedule after coming down with pneumonia in February 2020.

Lindsey Stirling released a subtle PSA about why we all need to learn how to sew. She revealed on Instagram that she split her pants when filming her “Love Goes On” music video. “Literally, in the first take, I kicked my leg up and I felt the pop,” she explained while sewing the “gaping hole” in her pants’ crotch shut.

Ed Sheeran revealed what he left behind now that he’s in his 30s — and that is the fear of missing out. He shared on TikTok, “FOMO. I don’t get it anymore.” He added in the caption that his “FOMO levels are basically at zero.” Must be nice to be Ed Sheeran …

Madonna is celebrating her album Finally Enough Love scoring over 22 million streams on Spotify. She just released the compilation work, which contains her 50 #1 dance hits, from “Holiday” to “Hung Up.” It also celebrates her 40th year as a recording artist. The physical album will be released on August 19.

Michael Bublé shouted out wife Luisana Lopilato in a sweet new TikTok of them traveling the world as part of his Higher tour. “The greatest travel buddy anyone could have,” he captioned the post. A fan later asked why he never stands flat on his feet and he responded, “Weird tick… From when I played hockey. Always balanced on my skates like that.”

Imagine Dragons‘ “Demons” music video has officially surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. It’s their fourth video overall to hit the milestone, following “Believer,” “Thunder” and “Radioactive.”

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Imagine Dragons‘ “Demons” music video has officially surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. It’s their fourth video overall to hit the milestone, following “Believer,” “Thunder” and “Radioactive.”

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow also celebrated a big win. Their “Industry Baby” collab passed 1 billion Spotify streams. The Grammy winner showed off his platinum plaque from the streaming giant on his Instagram Story and captioned it with a white heart emoji.

Speaking of streaming wins, Charlie Puth and Jungkook‘s new song “Left and Right” has been streamed over 100 million times on Spotify — in just 24 days. It is the fastest-growing song from a K-pop solo act to reach that milestone. Its music video also has nearly 120 million views on YouTube.

The long awaited collab between BTS and Snoop Dogg finally has a release date! Their song “Bad Decisions,” comes out next month. It also features Benny Blanco and will appear on his third studio album.  Blanco says the song drops August 4 on his YouTube channel.

Ed Sheeran revealed what he left behind now that he’s in his 30s — and that is the fear of missing out. He shared on TikTok, “FOMO. I don’t get it anymore.” He added in the caption that his “FOMO levels are basically at zero.” Must be nice to be Ed Sheeran …

The Chainsmokers trolled a fan who is actively trying to steal their unreleased collaboration with late rapper Juice WRLD.  They revealed on TikTok that someone is messaging their friends and is offering to pay them to steal their laptop that contains the track “Morning Again.”  The Chainsmokers messaged

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We know Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley on Stranger Things, but did you know she is also a singer? Her sophomore album, Moss, is about to come out and she credits Taylor Swift as her inspiration.

Chatting on Kyle Meredith with … , Maya explained she wanted Moss to have a “cohesive feeling,” which she explained was a sound like “a pulse without a beat … Smooth but not soft.”  

In other words, she was inspired by Taylor’s album folklore. “I was super inspired by folklore, to which, like, I started wanting to work with Jonathan Lowe, who mixed folklore,” she divulged.  

She managed to get in touch with Lowe, who signed up to mix Moss — as well as Maya’s new single, “Thérèse.” Maya is thrilled with the end result and said the sound is not only “smooth,” it also embodies the “idea that you could both run to it and fall asleep to it on an airplane.”

She said that’s the same vibe folklore has and that’s what she aspired to achieve with Moss. 

“What’s so amazing about [folklore] … was kind of that combination of it being both motivating and moving forward without it being, like, the way some pop music — that I love — wakes you up from your nap when it comes up in the playlist,” Maya said. “I didn’t want anything to wake you up in that way. I wanted it all to feel like it could be a part of a dream.”

Moss is due out September 23.

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