Music

After coming out as bisexual, Tinashe proudly celebrated Pride Month in June. She says loved performing at a recent benefit for the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.

“It’s great to be a part of something that obviously gives back to a cause that I am passionate about. I am a supporter of LGBTQ+ community in New York and anti-violence, I think, is so important,” the singer told People.

“It’s something that I’m 100% behind,” she continued. “So, it’s really important to me from that aspect. And then, aside from that, it’s really fun just to be involved in Pride for New York and to celebrate.”

The 29-year-old singer/actress released her fifth studio album, 333, in August 2021 on her own label, Tinashe Music. She tells fans on social media asking about a follow-up to have patience. 

“I think it’s going to take me a second to really get my footing on what direction I want to go next,” says Tinashe. “But I definitely always want to try something new.”

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Being a band that can cover The Four Seasons, Iggy Pop and Britney Spears in the same set, Måneskin is clearly inspired by many different types of music. As frontman Damiano David tells ABC Audio, each of the band members has their own specific influences that they bring to the Måneskin sound.

“[Guitarist] Thomas [Raggi] is very into ’70s and ’80s rock ‘n’ roll, so the more classic, milestone bands,” David explains. “And I’m more into the [2000s], Strokes and Arctic [Monkeys] and stuff like that.”

Meanwhile, bassist Victoria De Angelis‘ tastes range from U.K. punk to techno, while drummer Ethan Torchio is the “mad dog in this conversation.”

“Ethan is f***ing crazy and listens to instrumental songs … classical music,” David laughs.

Those influences are not limited to Måneskin’s wide array of covers, but apply to the group’s original material, as well.

“Every time you hear our songs, you can hear many different things, and all of that will be correct,” David says. “Maybe there’s more of my influence in a song, and in another there’s more of Thomas’ influence.”

“I think that that’s the cool thing about us,” he adds. “We kind of always manage to mix all our different tastes together.”

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Leah Kate’s the latest artist to see her viral TikTok song turn into a bona fide radio hit. After she posted a snippet of her song “10 Things I Hate About You” on the app, it went viral, then blew up on digital service providers and is now on radio stations nationwide. And that’s something that Leah says she just can’t get her head around.

“I don’t believe it. I’m just like, ‘What?'” she laughs. “In my head, I’m so, like, ‘Please listen to my music. I’ll do anything … stream my song!’ … so it hasn’t connected in my brain. Like, reality hasn’t caught up with what the truth is, in my head. So every time I hear it on the radio, I’m like, ‘Oh, how is this possible?'”

And no, despite the song’s title, it was not inspired by the 1999 rom-com starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. “I love the movie, but it actually had nothing to do with the creation of the song,” Leah tells ABC Audio.

She explains, “I was not over this guy and I was like, ‘I need to get over him.’ [But] I could only really remember the good parts of our relationship, [so] I was like, ‘OK, Leah, time to remember the bad parts,’ because there are way more bad parts than good!”

Leah adds, “I started writing this list of everything I hated about him, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is kind of a fun song idea.’… It started out as, like, 100 things, and then I narrowed it down to 10 things.”

You’ll hear Leah performing that song and more as she kicks off a tour with Australian band Chase Atlantic on Wednesday.

“You can expect, like, so much new music in the set,” she promises, teasing “crazy things and visuals.” “It’s going to be really fun. I’m so excited!”

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Lainey Wilson tells a story of resilience in her new single, “Heart Like a Truck,” with lyrics that reflect on the tough times that help shape a person into who they’re supposed to be.

“‘Heart Like a Truck’ is a song about finding freedom and strength, and not being scared of the scars and the dents and the bumps along the way,” she says. “At the end of the day, that’s what builds character.”

Lainey knows firsthand how hard times help build strength. When she first moved to Nashville, she spent three years living in a camper and struggling to make ends meet as she chased her dream. Of course, those lean times paid off: Lainey is now a bona fide country star, with two #1 country singles to her name.

But she tells a different side of that story in the music video for her song. Instead of being centered around a country music hopeful in Nashville, the clip takes Lainey to a ranch, where she plays the role of a young woman struggling to find her way as a horse handler.

“It’s telling a story about a ranch girl who’s got a lot to prove to herself and everybody else,” the singer details. “And in the end, she does it. It’s a song about triumph. It’s a video about triumph.”

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The backlash that Adele experienced after she abruptly called off her Las Vegas residency back in January turned her into a “shell of a person,” the singer told told BBC Radio.

Appearing on an episode of BBC Radio 4’s program Desert Island Discs, which aired on Sunday night, Adele revealed, “I definitely felt everyone’s disappointment and I was devastated and I was frightened about letting them down. I thought I could pull it together and make it work and I couldn’t, and I stand by that decision.”

However, Adele admitted, “I was a shell of a person for a couple of months,” she continued. “I just had to wait it out and just grieve it, I guess, just grieve the shows and get over the guilt, but it was brutal.”

Adele insisted that the show as it was simply wasn’t “good enough,” adding, “I’m not going to just do a show because I have to or because people are going to be let down or because we’re going to lose loads of money.”

Addressing why she hasn’t given fans any updates as to when the residency might be rescheduled, Adele told the program, “Of course I could be someone on TikTok or Instagram Live every day being like, ‘I’m working on it.’ Of course I’m working on it! I’m not gonna update you if I ain’t got nothing to update you with because that just leads to more disappointment.”

In February, Adele told talk show host Graham Norton that the residency would “absolutely 100%” happen this year.  On Friday, the BBC reports, she told the audience at her concert in London’s Hyde Park that she’d been announcing the dates “very, very soon,” and she was waiting for one more piece of equipment to be ready.

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Night two of the much-anticipated Essence Fest concert series at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans saw soulful performances by leading ladies of R&B: Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Walker, Patti LaBelle and more.

Janet Jackson headlined the night’s entertainment with epic song-and-dance showings of some of her most iconic hits, including “If” and “I Get So Lonely.”

Straight out of the gate, the multi-talented singer, 56, proved to be just as energetic and flexible as early ’90s Jackson, sporting a fierce sparkly Black jumpsuit and leading the pack of backup dancers through just about every hit.

Thousands of excited attendees packed the house, returning the love Jackson dished throughout her hour-and-fifteen-minute-long performance and sang along to fan favorites like “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “State of the World” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.”

Before Jackson came the “Godmother of Soul” Patti LaBelle, who in all of her iconic glory, hit the C-Walk dance, belted out notes high and low and commanded the stage as she’s known to do. With songs like “Love, Need and Want You” and “If Only You Knew,” LaBelle seemed to have left the crowd more than pleased.

When Grammy-winning singer Jazmine Sullivan graced the stage, the room went wild with applause. With great ease, Sullivan delivered memorable performances of “Bodies (Intro)” and “On It” from her smash album Heaux Tales.

Adorning her newly announced growing baby bump, Summer Walker kicked off Ladies Night using her calm but appreciated energy to perform hits such as “Girls Need Love” and “No Love.”

The 2022 Essence Fest concert series continues Sunday with City Girls, Lil Kim, Wizkid, New Edition and more, streaming live on Hulu starting at 7 p.m. CT.

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Halsey has been outspoken about their anger over the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court last month, leading fans in a chant of “my body, my choice” at an Arizona concert and telling those in favor of the ruling to “go home right now. I don’t care.”  Now, they’ve written an essay for Vogue detailing their own experiences with abortion and why motherhood has only strengthened their resolve to fight for abortion rights.

In the essay, Halsey reveals, “I miscarried three times before my 24th birthday,” adding, “One of my miscarriages required ‘aftercare,’ a gentle way of saying that I would need an abortion, because my body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention.”

“During this procedure, I cried. I was afraid for myself and I was helpless,” they continue. “I was desperate to end the pregnancy that was threatening my life.” 

Revealing that they’d changed their will during pregnancy so they could donate their organs if they were brain-dead, but their heart was still beating, Halsey noted the irony in the fact that “a beating heart in my womb could mean I couldn’t consent to saving my own life.”

While they’ve since been asked many times if becoming a mother has changed their views on abortion, Halsey writes, “The answer is firmly no. In fact, I have never felt more strongly about it. My abortion saved my life and gave way for my son to have his.”

They conclude, “Every person deserves the right to choose when, if, and how they have this dangerous and life-altering experience. I will hold my son in one arm, and fight with all my might with the other.”

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Travis Barker took to social media Saturday to explain the medical emergency that landed him in the hospital earlier in the week.

He confirmed that he suffered from a “severe life-threatening” case of pancreatitis.

“I went in for an endoscopy Monday feeling great. But After dinner, I developed excruciating pain and have been hospitalized ever since,” Barker tweeted.

“During the endoscopy, I had a very small polyp removed right in a very sensitive area, usually handled by specialists, which unfortunately damaged a critical pancreatic drainage tube,” he continued. “This resulted in severe life-threatening pancreatitis.”

“I am so very very grateful that with intensive treatment I am currently much better,” Barker wrote.

Barker’s wife, Kourtney Kardashian, also broke her silence on the medical scare, writing on her Instagram Story, “Oh what a scary and emotional week it has been. Our health is everything and sometimes we take for granted how quickly it can change.”

She continued, “I am so grateful to God for healing my husband, for all of your prayers for him and for us, for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support. I am so touched and appreciative.”

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After a long day of nonstop experiences, panels, discussions, giveaways and more, day two of the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans rounded out with a star-studded lineup of performances from top Black music stars of today.

For the first time on the Essence Fest stage, Nicki Minaj delivered an hour-long set featuring some of her chart-topping hits like “Moment 4 Life” and “Super Bass” as well as throwback classics like “Itty Bitty Piggy” and “Beez in the Trap.”

Following Tamron Hall’s high-energy introduction of the rap superstar, it took about 45 minutes before Minaj finally made her grand entrance onto the Caesars Superdome stage. But fans were quickly pleased by the new visuals, rare showings of catalog favorites and surprise appearances by Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne.

Lauryn Hill graced the stage alongside her Fugees family, Wyclef Jean & friends, in a nostalgic performance of “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and other classic hits.

The Black joy was in full effect when rap legend Nas blazed the stage for close to an hour. The New York native took fans on a journey down memory lane with his iconic ’90s and 2000s songs, including, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That),” “Hot Boyz” and “Oochie Wally.”

Country star Mickey Guyton kicked off the night’s entertainment. She welcomed fellow country singer Brittney Spencer to the stage for a heartfelt performance of “Black Like Me,” a song released in 2020 amidst the George Floyd protests.

The 2022 Essence Fest concert series continues Saturday with headliners Janet Jackson, Summer Walker, Jazmine Sullivan, Chloe x Halle and more, streaming live on Hulu starting at 7 p.m. CT.

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