Music

Beyoncé revealed the cover for her upcoming album Renaissance on Thursday: a steamy, near-naked photo of her sitting on what appears to be a holographic horse.

Queen Bey set the Internet on fire with the Instagram image of her boldly clad only in 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,” the 28-time Grammy winner commented.

Beyoncé announced two weeks ago that she was dropping her seventh studio album on July 29. On June 20, she released the first single, an upbeat dance track titled “Break My Soul.” It begins with a sample from Big Freedia‘s “Explode” and also features a modified sample of Robin S.‘ 1993 classic, “Show Me Love.”

In describing Renaissance, the 40-year-old icon added, “My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. 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 will be Beyoncé’s first solo studio album since her 2016 triple-platinum project, Lemonade. It follows the critically-acclaimed Homecoming in 2019, the live album of her 2018 Coachella headlining performance. In 2018, she teamed with husband Jay-Z for their duo album, Everything is Love.

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After Doja Cat bowed out as the opener for the After Hours Till Dawn tour, The Weeknd revealed her replacements.

The “Kiss Me More” singer announced last month she needed to undergo immediate surgery on her tonsils and would be unable to accompany The Weeknd on his tour. She explained in an Instagram story, “The surgery is routine but the recovery is going to take awhile due to swelling.”

Variety reports that after Doja Cat pulled out of the tour, Live Nation’s president of touring Omar Al-joulani said “the phone was ringing” off the hook with replacement offers. 

With The Weeknd’s tour kicking off next Friday in his native Toronto, the “Save Your Tears” singer has selected several people to serve as his show openers. Hitting the road with him will be rising stars R&B singer Snoh Aalegra, DJ Mike Dean and EDM artist Kaytranada.

The tour schedule has been adjusted accordingly to reflect which artist will be opening on certain dates.

“He’s always been ahead of the curve in terms of the artists that he’s shared a stage with,” said Al-joulani. The Live Nation rep adds The Weeknd welcomed artists such as Halsey, Travis Scott and Jhene Aiko on his tours before they became household names.

Al-joulani notes The Weeknd is paying it forward because that’s how he got his start in the industry. “Early on, he opened for Florence + the Machine one time at the Hollywood Bowl and Justin Timberlake in New York,” he explained.

The Weeknd launches his first-ever worldwide stadium tour in support of his albums After Hours and DAWN FM next Friday, July 8. The North American leg wraps September 2 in Los Angeles. Additional legs are planned for Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.

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Travis Barker‘s daughter, Alabama Barker, and his stepdaughter, Atiana De La Hoya, have shared statements thanking those who’ve shared their support for the Blink-182 drummer amid his hospitalization.

In respective Instagram Stories, Alabama wrote, “Thank you guys for all the prayers and love, I appreciate you and love all of you,” while Atiana posted, “Thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers sent our way at this time. It is heard, felt and appreciated.”

As previously reported by TMZ, Travis was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday for an undisclosed reason. At the time, Alabama shared a Story asking fans to “Please send prayers.”

TMZ, which had published photos of Travis being wheeled out of an ambulance while accompanied by his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, then reported Wednesday that Barker was hospitalized due to pancreatitis.

Meanwhile, a source tells People that Travis was “suffering from extreme stomach pain and could barely walk.”

Neither Travis nor Kardashian have publicly commented on the situation, aside from a cryptic tweet posted by Barker Tuesday reading, “God save me,” which may have simply been a reference to the Machine Gun Kelly song of the same name.

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Like the rest of the world, it seems that Maren Morris is watching the new season of Stranger Things.

The country star recently co-starred in fellow artist Ryan Hurd’s “Pass It On” music video, which just so happened to have some aesthetic overlap with season four of the beloved Netflix show. It was filmed at a roller rink with throwback vibes that might remind fans of the Stranger Things episode where main character Eleven and her boyfriend Mike and pal Will go roller skating.

So, Maren took some scenes from the “Pass it On” music video and set it to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” a 1985 hit that’s currently experiencing a major resurgence thanks to its prominent feature in the new Stranger Things season.

“Had to…” Maren wrote on Twitter alongside her Stranger Things/“Pass it On” mashup.

When Ryan’s video premiered on Wednesday, Maren also shared some snapshots from filming day.

“Slushie girl at your service,” she wrote. “Thanks for having me in your video [Ryan Hurd.] Glad we didn’t break any bones before we go on tour.”

Maren and Ryan are no strangers to musical collaboration. Not only did they first meet as Nashville songwriters, but they scored a hit in 2021 with their duet, “Chasing After You.”

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The suspect in the killing of Nipsey Hussle, Eric Holder Jr., was attacked with a razor while in a jail-holding cell on Tuesday, according to his attorney, public defender Aaron Jansen.

ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV reports that Holder was waiting to be brought to court in the morning when Jansen says he was “assaulted by multiple individuals.”

Holder was cut on the back of his head. He was treated at a local hospital where his head wound was stapled.

The judge sent jurors home for the day “based on some unforeseen circumstances.” Holder returned to court in the afternoon, and the case resumed Wednesday. Jansen spoke with the judge about protecting his client from further violence.

Jurors will hear closing arguments in the case on Thursday.

Hussle was fatally shot outside of his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles on March 31, 2019. He was 33 years old.

Holder was indicted on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. If convicted as charged, he faces up to life in prison.

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Machine Gun Kelly celebrated his sold-out headlining show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Tuesday by giving himself an injury.

Following the concert, MGK posted a series of photos on Instagram showing his face covered in blood. The culprit, as seen in a since-expired Instagram Story, was a champagne glass, which Kelly smashed onto his head during a celebratory after-party.

Kelly and his healing scar then went on NBC’s Late Night Wednesday and offered host Seth Meyers an explanation.

“You know when you clink a champagne glass with a fork to get people’s attention?” Kelly asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t have a fork,” he added. “So I just clinked it on my head.”

Meyers then quipped, “In medicine, they call that, ‘Asking for it.'”

In addition to all the glass smashing, Kelly’s trip to NYC included a visit to the iconic Empire State Building, which lit up in pink in honor of the MSG show and the musician’s new Life in Pink documentary.

“Thank God I didn’t have a champagne glass up there,” Kelly laughs.

Machine Gun Kelly’s tour continues Friday in Milwaukee.

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Singer Conan Gray says he is thankful to have friends like Olivia Rodrigo.

During an interview with People, the songwriter explained why it’s important for him to have friends within the industry. “Friendship is everything to me. I mean, I very much look at my friends like family. And when you’re someone who’s going through all these major changes in your life all at once, it’s nice to have people that you can depend on,” he explained.

Conan joined Olivia on the Vancouver stop of her SOUR Tour, where they performed Katy Perry‘s hit “The One That Got Away.” The two also went viral on TikTok for comically recreating a scene from Twilight.   

He said of the Grammy winner, “She’s a wonderful person and a very, very talented songwriter. It’s nice to have people that you can relate to.”

Conan added while his high school friends are always there to support him, they can only help him so much when he is dealing with music-related problems — that’s when industry friends like Olivia come in. 

He says, “I think throughout my life, I’ve always had friends that I could cry to and rant to and it’s just important, no matter who you are, to have people that you can find comfort in.”

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With Justice Stephen Breyer retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court at noon on Thursday, Ketanji Brown Jackson, his former law clerk, marked a milestone in American representation when she was sworn in as the first Black woman in history to sit on the nation’s highest court — officially taking on the title of justice.

Chief Justice John Roberts, from the Supreme Court in Washington, administered the constitutional oath to Jackson, and Breyer administered the judicial oath.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments,” Jackson said at the White House after her Senate confirmation, “But we’ve made it.”

“And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America, anything is possible,” she said.

Her joining the court also makes it the first time four women will sit on the high court bench at the same time.

Jackson, 51, born in Washington D.C., comes off the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, considered the most important federal court next to the Supreme Court. She has more than eight years of experience on the federal bench, following a path through the judiciary traveled by many nominees before her.

Like other associate justices, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School, but she marks her place in history in multiple ways, as also the first former public defender and first Florida-raised judge to sit on the Supreme Court. She’ll also be the first justice since Thurgood Marshall to have criminal defense experience.

Jackson and her husband Patrick, a cardiologist, have two daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17. Her family joined for the historic swearing-in.

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Jake Owen is the newest addition to the bill for the upcoming PBS 4th of July special, A Capitol Fourth.

“I can’t wait to celebrate the Fourth in D.C. this year,” the singer says. “It’s exciting to be a part of a great American tradition, and to sing a couple songs while I’m at it. See you Monday night!”

The country star will perform two of his number-one country hits: “American Country Love Song” and “Down to the Honky Tonk.” The former is a nostalgic and quintessentially American feel-good hit from 2016, while the latter is a more recent release, coming off his 2019 album, Greetings From…Jake.

Airing live from Washington, D.C., the 42nd iteration of A Capitol Fourth will feature an all-genre lineup, including the National Symphony Orchestra, who will accompany Jake during his performance.

Mickey Guyton is hosting the show. Other performers taking the stage include Cynthia Erivo, Gloria Gaynor and Andy Grammer.

A Capitol Fourth will air on PBS on Monday, July 4 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Rage Against the Machine has been trending on Twitter in response to a Vancouver radio station playing their “Killing in the Name” song nonstop.

As the Vancouver Sun reports, the station started playing the 1992 rap-metal classic early Wednesday morning and continued to do so throughout the day without changing to any other song. Occasionally, Zack de la Rocha‘s declaration of “Now you do what they told ya” would be interrupted by the DJs to take a call requesting a different song, only to cue up “Killing in the Name” again.

Speculation began that the never-ending “Killing in the Name” playlist was a form of protest in support of several hosts who’d announced earlier in the week they’d be departing the station. However, it now seems that it was a stunt to signal the station’s change to an alternative format.

In a video posted Thursday, new host Angela Valiant offered an explanation, essentially summing up that while the “Killing in the Name” loop was meant to introduce the rebranded station, it also reflected all the “reasons to protest” currently, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and the police brutality about which “Killing in the Name” was originally written.

Valiant also quotes a tweet from a Guardian reporter covering the story that declared, “Even if it is a stunt, you can believe it’s a protest.”

Rage Against the Machine, meanwhile, is gearing up to finally launch the band’s reunion tour, which was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outing kicks off July 9 in East Troy, Wisconsin.

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