Music

Metallica has issued a statement commenting on the use of “Master of Puppets” in the new-premiered second volume of Stranger Things season four.

The ’80s thrash classic provides the soundtrack for a significant scene involving the Dungeons and Dragons-loving character Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn. The character had already earned cred with the metal community thanks to the Dio patch he wears on the back of his denim jacket.

In an Instagram post Tuesday, Metallica writes, “The way [Stranger Things creators] The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show, but to have such a pivotal scene built around it.”

“We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away,” the metal legends add. “It’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?”

The post concludes, “It’s an incredible honor to be such a big part of Eddie’s journey and to once again be keeping company with all of the other amazing artists featured in the show.”

Metallica’s comments echo the sentiments of Kate Bush, who issued several public statements amid the resurgence of her song “Running Up That Hill,” which was used in the first volume of season four. The renewed interest in the track was so massive that the normally press-shy Bush even gave a rare interview.

Both “Master of Puppets” and “Running Up That Hill” are featured on the Stranger Things 4 soundtrack, which is out now via digital outlets.

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Luke Combs is making an impression on the charts with his new album, Growin’ Up. 

The singer’s third studio album has debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 following its June 24 release, marking the highest debut for a country album so far this year. It also serves as the highest debut of the week. The 12-track project sold 74,000 equivalent album units in its first week. 

Growin’ Up is the North Carolina native’s fourth consecutive album to reach the top five on the all-genre chart. His wildly successful sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in 2019, while both his debut album, This One’s For You, and EP The Prequel both hit #4 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. 

On the country charts, the current single off Growin’ Up, “The Kind of Love We Make,” is climbing up the top 20. Luke recently acquired his 14th #1 hit with the previously released “Doin’ This,” which served as the lead single off his new album.   

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Prior to releasing his 2013 album, The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake made a documentary to accompany its release — but it never saw the light of day. Now, the film’s director is suing Justin.

Deadline reports the suit was brought on by music video mogul John Urbano, who claims he and Justin locked in a profit-sharing plan before cameras began rolling. He alleges the Grammy winner initiated the agreement and paid him $20,000 to begin.

The director said the video was finished, and upon showing the final product to the “Mirrors” singer, Justin was moved to “tears.” After dropping his third studio album, however, Justin’s interest in releasing the documentary “faded” following the album’s resounding success.

Urbano notes that he lost out on making $2.5 million because the documentary was shelved.

“Instead of fulfilling his obligations to the joint venture, Mr. Timberlake has failed to take any steps to promote, market, and sell the Making of The 20/20 Experience,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Timberlake has increasingly distanced himself from the project and his partner — often using a network of agents, managers, and handlers to interface with Mr. Urbano.” 

Aside from monetary damages, Urbano demands Justin fork over the rights to the Making of the 20/20 Experience movie.  

Justin nor his agency have responded to Deadline’s request for comment at this time, nor have they issued a statement on the lawsuit.

The 20/20 Experience was released in 2013 as a follow-up to his 2010 work, 12″ Masters – The Essential Mixes.  

His third studio album earned him several nods at the 2014 Grammy Awards — winning Best Music Video for “Suit & Tie” and Best R&B Song for “Pusher Love Girl.”

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Many of the hottest celebrities were in attendance at sports mogul Michael Rubin‘s annual Fourth of July party in the Hamptons over the weekend, including Grammy-winning singer Ella Mai and her rumored boo, Jayson Tatum.

Mai, 27, started trending on Twitter after she was spotted smiling ear-to-ear alongside the 24-year-old Boston Celtics player, each sporting their all-white outfits to match the party’s theme. The snapshot image, later shared by The Shade Room, was taken from a recap video that also features famous attendees Meek Mill, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Lil Durk and more.

According to the sports site Clutchpoints, the two may have been dating since October 2020 when she was spotted at his home. 

Fans responded to the news, some shocked at the new pairing, while others were not so surprised.

“This isn’t new 😂. She just moves with discretion, as she should 🙌🏼!” one IG user said, while another said, “boo’d up finally.”

Mai and Tatum have yet to comment or go public with their relationship.

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Harry Styles is once again flying high atop the Billboard Hot 100 after “As It Was” went back to the number one spot this week.

Billboard reports that “As It Was” has not only scored its eighth total week at the top of the chart but is also the fourth song in history to return to number one multiple times.

To recap, the Grammy winner’s song didn’t enjoy multiple consecutive weeks on top of the chart and was regularly bounced out of first place. After it first went to number one, debuting on the April 16th chart, it was bumped from the spot by Jack Harlow‘s “First Class” when the chart updated the following week.

Other songs to temporarily knock Harry from atop the chart was Future‘s “Wait for U” featuring Drake and Tems and most recently, Drake and 21 Savage‘s “Jimmy Cooks.”

This makes Harry’s fourth overall rebound on the chart, and to date, that track is among just a handful of songs that accomplished the same feat. Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” notched four separate number one stays as well as 24kGoldn and Iann Dior‘s “Mood” and Drake’s 2018 song “Nice for What.”

“As It Was” was streamed 18.6 million times over the past week and sold an additional 5,000 copies. Billboard also notes the track is currently leading its annual Songs of the Summer chart for a fifth week — that particular offering is only active from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

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Kenny Chesney has surpassed his own personal best. 

Over the 4th of July weekend, the country superstar, who is on his Here and Now Tour, made his grand return to Kansas’ Arrowhead Stadium and performed for a crowd of 57,852 people — surpassing his previous record at the stadium by about 300 people during his 2018 Trip Around the Sun Tour.

“Thank you, Kansas City. So much of what has happened to us on the road started here. And it still feels the same,” Kenny expressed in an Instagram post that included a gallery of photos of him entertaining the massive crowd and holding up a Kansas City Chiefs helmet. “So connected because you care about this music and the experience of it all. Arrowhead, last night was so magical and I thank you.” 

Kenny also set a record in May when 57,111 people showed up at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, marking the highest attendance record for a single-day concert at the venue. 

The “Everyone She Knows” hitmaker continues on the Here and Now Tour through the end of the summer when it wraps with a two-night stay at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on August 26 and 27. 

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Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary over the holiday weekend.

The heavy metal power couple first tied the knot on July 4, 1982. In a tweet Monday, Ozzy posted photos from the ceremony alongside the caption, “40 Years Ago Today! Happy Anniversary My Love.”

Meanwhile, Sharon took to Instagram to post a more recent photo of her and Ozzy, writing, “2022 is a special year for me. It marks 40 years of marriage to my darling Ozzy.”

“We first met when I was 18, over 52 years we have been friends, lovers, husband & wife, grandparents and soulmates,” she adds. “Always at each other’s side. I love you Ozzy.”

The milestone anniversary gives the Osbournes a reason to celebrate after a few difficult months for the family, which included Ozzy and Sharon testing positive for COVID-19 and Ozzy undergoing major surgery.

In other happier Osbourne happenings, Ozzy and Sharon’s daughter Kelly is expecting her first child, and Ozzy is releasing a new solo album, Patient Number 9, on September 9.

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Why have three Michael Jackson songs vanished from streaming services? After some crazy rumors popped up, his people are clearing the air.

American Songwriter reports that three tracks off his 2010 posthumous album, Michael, were removed from streaming. The songs “Breaking News,” “Keep Your Head Up” and his 50 Cent collab, “Monster,” were also purged from the official Michael Jackson YouTube channel.

It should be noted that some fans believe Michael never sang on these three tracks and have been spreading theories since the songs came out over a decade ago. The songs in question are also part of an ongoing lawsuit filed in 2014 by Vera Serova, who insists the tunes are fraudulent. 

Those rumors gained serious traction after streamers purged the three songs — so Michael’s reps came forward with an official statement to clear the air.

A spokesperson clarified that taking the songs off streaming platforms “had nothing to do with their authenticity.”

“The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be,” the statement continued, “on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog.”

It is unknown when or if these three songs will be restored across all streaming platforms.

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Michael “Killer Mike” Render dropped his latest song and music video for “Run,” his first solo record in ten years. 

The powerful new track features a verse by jailed rapper Young Thug, while the video opens with a monologue by Dave Chappelle.

Chappelle’s speech reads in part, “Mike, the one thing about being a n***a in America, it’s like storming the beach in Normandy. A guy gets popped, another guy goes, another guy falls. You just gotta keep going, gotta keep storming that beach n***a. You gotta keep runnin.'”

The war-themed video sees Mike on a battlefield where Black soldiers fight for freedom against their white oppressors. Mike told Complex of the race-based song’s release on July 4, “There would be no Fourth of July without a Black man, and the fact that Crispus Attucks was the first person to die on the behalf of what would become the republic called America.” He continued, “When people argue about [Critical Race Theory] and stuff like that, they’re arguing over something that you learn in law school, post-undergrad, and how systems have been formed to oppress you.”

The No I.D.-produced track also references the ongoing legal battle Young Thug and Gunna face and the controversial debate of whether rap lyrics should be used as evidence in court. 

“I don’t think that’s fair,” Mike told Complex. “People should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that’s not only for Thug and Gunna, but someone who is presumed to be in opposition, as well, like YFN Lucci.“

“I think we have a First Amendment right, and I think it should be hands-off Black art, so I support those brothers and their campaign to get a bond and get free,” he said.

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