Music

Carrie Underwood’s Denim & Rhinestones album has been out for under a month, but it’s already getting a makeover: She’s releasing the record on special purple vinyl.

Along with the new vinyl, signed CD and vinyl box sets of Denim & Rhinestones are also available. Those include a number of extra perks like an exclusive t-shirt, rhinestone pack, denim tote and more. Only a limited amount of special package sets are available.

This August, Carrie will complete the throwback feel of the Denim & Rhinestone album cycle, releasing a cassette version of the project.

The new merch comes on the heels of Carrie’s promo week in the U.K., where she also joined legendary rock outfit Guns N’ Roses for two shows at their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium performances.

It marked something of a reunion for the unlikely pair: Carrie, a longtime rock fan, brought GN’R’s Axl Rose on stage during her Stagecoach set back in April.

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Conscious rapper Vic Mensa will be joined by poet and activist Aja Monet at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! music festival in Brooklyn, New York on Friday, July 8. 

Kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET, at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park, each of the artists will showcase their talents for a night concert celebrating the power of art to make change.

A South Side, Chicago native, Mensa can be known for using his voice and platform to advocate for social change, starting with efforts in his hometown and including the creation of the environmental justice foundation called Save Life Save Money.

In 2018, Mensa opened up about his social work to XXL Magazine. “Chicago, I feel, is a microcosm for the segregated, violent environment that is America,” he said. “I try to not only speak about these things in music, but also try to address these things in real life tangibly with action.”

As for Brooklyn native Monet, who’s known to be a change agent in the poetry space, she was nominated for an NAACP Literary Award in 2018 and was recognized for her cultural organizing work in South Florida the following year.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! is a free music festival featuring performances, food and culture-forward events. The 44th annual fest kicked off on June 8 and runs through Aug. 6. For a full list of experiences and guests, visit Bricartsmedia.org.

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Toast, an album that Neil Young recorded with his frequent backing band Crazy Horse in 2001, finally got its release day Friday.

The seven-track collection, which was recorded at Toast Studios in San Francisco, includes three songs that were never released in any form — “Standing in the Light of Love,” “Timberline” and “Gateway of Love.” The album is available now on CD, as a two-LP vinyl set and via digital formats.

Those who purchase Toast on CD and vinyl at Young’s Greedy Hand Store will receive a high-res digital download from the Xstream Store at Neil’s Archives website.

Coinciding with Toast‘s arrival, the 10-minute-long “Gateway of Love” has been issued as a digital single.

In a message first published on NeilYoungArchives.com in 2021, Young writes, “Toast is an album that stands on its own in my collection, unlike any other. The songs of Toast were so sad at the time that I couldn’t put it out. I just skipped it and went on to do another album in its place.”

He continued, “The music of Toast is about a relationship. There is a time in many relationships that go bad, a time long before the breakup, where it dawns on one of the people, maybe both, that it’s over. This was that time.”

Neil also praised Crazy Horse’s performance on the tracks, writing that the band “shows a depth never seen or heard before on any other Horse recording.” He added, “For the greatest group I have ever met — Crazy Horse — this is a pinnacle. Where they let me go, where they took me, was unbelievable. I couldn’t stay.”

Here’s Toast‘s full track list:

“Quit”
“Standing in the Light of Love”
“Goin’ Home”
“Timberline”
“Gateway of Love”
“How Ya Doin’?”
“Boom Boom Boom”

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Meghan Trainor is gearing up for the release of her fifth studio album, Takin’ It Back, and revealed it’s not only “heavier” than her previous works — it’s sexier.

Speaking with E!’s Daily Pop, the Grammy winner opened up about the album’s flirtier track “Dance About It.”  And while the song sees Meghan embracing her sensual side, the “No” singer revealed she worked on it with her brothers Ryan and Justin Trainor.

“It’s weirdly not awkward,” she said of making a sexy song with her siblings. “We were all together in a room writing it, and it’s like, why argue when we can just dance about it?  It’s like, let’s just hook up and have a good night, and I’m like, ‘God, I’m writing this with my bros.'”

“But it’s just like normal for us. We’re just writing songs, like telling stories,” Meghan explained. 

Revealing more about the album, Meghan also dished about a song called “Don’t I Make It Look Easy,” which is a tongue-in-cheek single about how people lie about their lives on social media.

“I talk about how we post on social media, how easy our life is. We don’t post the bad,” said the hitmaker. “And I’m like, ‘Don’t I make being a mom, a hardworking mom look easy?’ That’s what I’m really talking about. But also, social media’s a lie.”

Meghan has since released the first track off the album titled “Bad For Me” and is so happy to hear how fans have responded to it. The song is about leaving a toxic relationship.

“On TikTok, I see a lot of people telling their stories in it. It makes me emotional and makes me feel like, ‘Oh, it’s important that we put this out,” she said.

Takin’ It Back arrives October 21.

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Jimmie Allen’s Tulip Drive is his most personal album to date, and there’s no song on the track list more personal than “Settle On Back.” With lyrics that speak to his career as a busy touring artist, it stresses the importance of taking breaks from the road to spend time with the ones that know him best.

For Jimmie, there’s no one that knew him better than his late father, James “Big Jim” Allen.

“‘Settle on Back’ is a song I actually wrote about my bipolar disorder,” Jimmie reveals in a conversation with Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music. “When my dad was alive, he was the person that could always pull me back.”

When Jimmie was in a bad mental place, his dad would take him hunting or fishing, he continues. “A lot of people with mental issues has one person in their life that they have the strong connection with,” Jimmie goes on to say.

“…So when that person’s gone, I’m kind of stuck,” he adds. Jimmie’s dad died in fall 2019 at the age of 65. “So for me now, that song, I wrote it about what I do now when I feel frustrated or the entertainment business is too much,” said Jimmie.

Tulip Drive came out late last month.

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The Hu has announced a new album called Rumble of Thunder.

The sophomore effort from the Mongolian rockers will arrive September 2. It includes the previously released song “This Is Mongol” as well as a newly premiered track called “Black Thunder,” which is available now via digital outlets.

“‘Black Thunder’ is the crown jewel of our second album,” says vocalist Gala. “The music video is split into two parts and conveys the core values of men through visuals…We hope that our pride in our culture shines through, as we aimed to bring viewers joy and a piece of our culture through this video.”

Rumble of Thunder follows The Hu’s 2019 debut, The Gereg. The 2020 deluxe version of the project includes collaborations with Papa Roach‘s Jacoby Shaddix, Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale and From Ashes to New.

The Hu will hit the road ahead of Rumble of Thunder‘s arrival on a U.S. tour with Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth and Fire from the Gods, kicking off in August.

Here’s the Rumble of Thunder track list:

“This Is Mongol”
“YUT Hövende”
“Triangle”
“Teach Me”
“Upright Destined Mongol”
“Sell the World”
“Black Thunder”
“Mother Nature”
“Bii Biyelgee”
“Segee”
“Shihi Hutu”
“TATAR Warrior”

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Jhené Aiko and singer-songwriter August 08 have teamed up for the new single “Water Sign,” which dropped Friday as part of August’s six-song EP Towards the Moon.

August can be most notably traced to DJ Khaled‘s hit “I’m the One,” where he’s credited as a co-writer.

According to Variety, the LA-based artist recently signed with Allel Sound, Aiko’s joint label with Def Jam Records.

“August is an incredible writer, singer and artist whose music speaks to me on so many levels,” Aiko said, per Variety. “As a fellow Los Angeles native, I am so proud of him. August’s talent, love for songwriting and hands on approach with his art is something I can relate to and have a great amount of respect for. It was a natural evolution of our friendship and musical collaboration to have him become the first artist signed to Allel Sound. I couldn’t be more excited to work with August.”

Towards the Moon is the second installment of August’s two-part debut album titled Seasick. The South LA native released Towards the Sun via Def Jam in April. 

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Pentatonix singer Kirstin Maldonado is a mom! The 30-year-old mezzo-soprano welcomed a daughter alongside partner Ben Hausdorff.

Sharing a carousel of photos of the happy parents and their newborn Elliana Violet, Kirstin wrote, “I can’t believe a week ago you were still in my tummy. After a bit of an unexpected and difficult delivery, we finally got to meet our beautiful baby girl 6/28/22 and have been so over the moon in love with her.”

Kirstin didn’t go into further details and instead focused on what it’s like being a first-time mom.

“We are soaking up every beautiful perfectly imperfect newborn moment,” she continued, “every late night cuddle, feed, cry is all worth it with our sweet baby and my perfect partner in crime @hausdo.”

Kirstin said of her daughter, “Elliana Violet, your mommy and daddy feel so lucky to have you and love you SO much, it’s insane!! We had no idea our hearts could expand this much. You are worth everything and more. Welcome to the family, sweet Evie baby.”

Hausdorff shared the same photos to his personal Instagram and expressed, “Welcome to the world and to our fur family Elliana Violet. You are already so loved and so tiny!”

He called Kirstin “an absolute warrior” and praised, “Thank you for giving life to our gorgeous, precious, sweet baby Evie.” Hausdorff said he is excited to start his new “forever journey.”

Pentatonix has also shared the couple’s photos and accompanying announcement on their page. “We are SO excited about the announcement of your new baby girl Elliana Violet,” they wrote. “The two of you are going to be incredible parents!! We can’t wait to meet her!”

Kirstin and Hausdorff have been dating since 2018. They revealed in March that they were expecting their first child together.

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The Killers have announced a new single called “Boy.”

The track is available to presave now. You can watch Brandon Flowers and company’s debut performance of the song at Spain’s Mad Cool festival via The Killers’ Instagram.

Speaking about “Boy” in an interview with NME, Flowers explains, “There’s an optimism to it. It’s in the dust, it’s in the gutter, and it’s looking at the stars. It’s writing in more of a new wave vehicle.”

“Boy” will follow The Killers’ recent one-two punch of albums: 2020’s Imploding the Mirage and 2021’s Pressure Machine. In an interview with NME last year, The Killers shared that yet another record was already in the works.

Following their current trip through Europe, The Killers will launch a U.S. tour in August.

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Keith Urban is back with new music this week. On Friday, he dropped his newest song, “Brown Eyes Baby,” a mid-tempo burner that follows a girl who’s still hurting from a breakup, but just might be able to patch up her heartbreak with a little help from someone new.

“I can put the sun right back in your sunshine / Bring a little love into your late night / Ain’t gotta be nothin’ but one more drink and maybe / I can take the blue out of your brown eyes, baby,” Keith sings in the song’s chorus.

The song’s subject matter has some common DNA with one of Keith’s previous hits, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” but its melody features a smooth, sway-a-long groove that’s a perfect fit for a live show. Keith’s already been trying it out at some of the stops on his The Speed of Now Tour, and now that it’s officially out, the singer says he can’t wait to keep performing it live.

“We’ll be bringing this one to life every single night with all of YOU out on tour!” the singer said on social media when he announced his song’s release.

“Brown Eyes Baby” is Keith’s new single. It doesn’t appear on the track list of his latest album, The Speed of Now Part I, meaning that a new batch of music just might be on the way.

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