Music

First we had Justin Bieber wearing a Metallica shirt, and now we have apparent death metal fan Ed Sheeran.

The U.K. tabloid The Sun quotes the “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” singer professing his childhood love for bands including Slipknot and Cradle of Filth, adding that he “would not be opposed” to recording a metal album of his own.

“I’m not saying I could ever step into that world,” the quote reads. “I learnt all those riffs on guitar as a kid. That’s something I’ve never thought about doing — but something I would not be opposed to creating.”

It’s unclear where exactly that quote came from, but needless to say, the idea of a death metal Ed Sheeran album has certainly raised a few eyebrows, including those of Cradle frontman Dani Filth.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Filth wrote in an Instagram post, though he doesn’t seem totally opposed to the idea.

“Fellow Suffolk lad could come good in the end,” he added, referring to he and Sheeran’s mutual home county in England. “‘Dracula’s Castle on the Hill’ anyone?”

Sheeran, by the way, has hinted at his inner metalhead in the past. In 2018, he ran into Korn‘s Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer at a Marilyn Manson concert, and he covered Iron Maiden and Limp Bizkit during a 2015 Tonight Show segment.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Dani Filth (@danifilthofficial)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Metallica has announced a pair of concerts to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary this year.

The shows will take place December 17 and 19 at the Chase Center in the metal legends’ hometown of San Francisco. The venue was also the site of ‘Tallica’s 2019 S&M2 concerts, which were accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony.

Tickets will be available exclusively for members of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club. If you are a member, you’ll be able to enter a raffle to win a reservation code to purchase tickets, which will be sent out randomly.

If you happen to be in the S.F. area but couldn’t secure tickets to the big shows, Metallica will also hosting a series of live music and comedy events, as well as tastings for their Blackened Whiskey, throughout the city starting December 16.

For more info, visit Metallica.com.

Metallica was formed in 1981 when James Hetfield met Lars Ulrich after the drummer posted a newspaper ad looking to start a band.

Meanwhile, Metallica will also celebrate another big milestone when their 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album, turns 30 in August. That anniversary will be celebrated with a remastered deluxe reissue, as well as a 53-track tribute compilation dubbed The Metallica Blacklist.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Under “unexpected collaborations,” you can put “She’s Fire,” a new track from famed songwriter Diane Warren‘s debut album that features rapper G-Eazy and legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana.

“I’m so excited for everyone to hear ‘She’s Fire!!'” Diane said in a statement. “To be able to work with Carlos Santana has always been a dream of mine…I’ve also been very much wanting to collaborate with G-Eazy and this seemed like the perfect song for the two of them to do together. I expected it to be great, and it turned out even better than I imagined, pure fire.”

Diane’s album Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1. will be out later this year, and features collaborations with artists including Celine Dion, John Legend and many others.  The first advance track came out this past November. Called “Times Like These,” it features vocals by Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish.

Diane’s long list of credits and achievements include nine number-one hits and 32 top-10 singles. She’s also been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar 12 times, most recently earlier this year. Among the hits she’s composed: Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Starship‘s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Cher‘s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Toni Braxton‘s “Unbreak My Heart,” and LeAnn Rimes‘ “How Do I Live.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

You can all “Save Your Tears,” because it seems like a new album from The Weeknd may be close to being finished. 

On Tuesday, the “Blinding Lights” singer sent out a series of tweets alluding to his new body of work, beginning with the cryptic message, “we gettin’ there.”

“Really proud of this one. wow,” he followed up and added, “Massaging it now, being sweet to it. giving it some tlc.”

The 31-year-old Canadian singer then clarified “just so there’s no confusion, it’s a full body of work” and revealed his plans for a tour, which he said “is gonna be MADNESS.”

This isn’t the first time that The Weeknd has hinted at what would be his fifth studio album. He previously tweeted about the project in April.  In May, while chatting with Variety, he coyly addressed the topic, stating, “If the last record [After Hours] is the after hours of the night, then the dawn is coming.”

He also previously told Rolling Stone, “I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over.”

“I’m guilty of wanting to outdo my last album, but it’s never like, ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song,'” he explained. “I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

BTS gave the first-ever television performance of their latest hit “Permission to Dance” Tuesday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The septet, who were beamed in from their native South Korea, pulled out all the stops for their song’s big debut, as they took over a mall and brought back the flash mob craze.  

RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook also chatted with Fallon, in order to dispel or confirm some rumors the late-night host found floating around the internet.

One such rumor centered around the group’s early days, when they were trying to come up with a name for their fanbase, ARMY.  Prior to landing on that name, the group confirmed that they were considering the name Bell because, as RM explained, “When you say ‘bell’ in Korean, it sounds like ‘power.'”

RM noted that the group initially thought it would be cool if fans brought bells to their concerts and started ringing them.  “But, thank God… ARMY is so much better,” RM laughed as the rest of the group jokingly started ringing bells and making a racket.

Jimin was also put on the hot seat, with Fallon asking if it was true he once considered going by the stage name “Baby J.” He confirmed it, but confessed that saying the name in English “sounded really weird.”

V also confirmed the rumor that he didn’t originally try out for BTS, but simply went to the auditions in order to support a friend.  “He failed,” V added of his friend.

Tuesday was part one of the group’s two-night takeover of the late night show.  Tonight, they’ll perform their number-one hit, “Butter.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Britney Spears has reportedly found a new attorney to represent her in today’s conservatorship hearing.

Following a report from TMZ that the “Toxic” singer was in discussions to retain celebrity attorney Mathew Rosengart — who previously represented famous celebrities such as Sean Penn, Casey and Ben Affleck, Steven Spielberg and rocker Eddie Vedder — the gossip website now reports that Rosengart has agreed to represent her and will appear in court.

Britney reportedly signed a legal document stating her desire to hire the mega law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP to represent her in her ongoing effort to remove her father Jamie Spears from the conservatorship.  It would be Britney’s first step in attempting to end her longtime conservatorship, which has been in place for more than 13 years.

However, there is a hitch — Britney cannot sign contracts of any substance without her father’s approval.

Insiders tell TMZ that Rosengart will argue that Britney has a Constitutional right to the lawyer of her choice.  However, while defendants in criminal cases have a Constitutional right to an attorney, a conservatorship is another story.

Rosengart will likely argue that Britney is entitled to due process, which includes the right to a competent lawyer, something of which Rosengart’s resume certainly attests.

Rosengart could further argue against Jamie having the power to disapprove Britney’s choice, because his daughter is actively hiring legal representation with hopes of removing him from the conservatorship.

In addition, Judge Brenda Penny, who is overseeing this case, needs to approve of Rosengart’s appointment.  Should she decline, Spears will then be assigned another court-appointed attorney to represent her going forward – an option the singer previously said she does not want.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

While her sister and musical partner, Halle Bailey, just wrapped up filming Disney’s The Little Mermaid in Paris, Chloe Bailey is busy flexing at home on Instagram.

“Flex Park,” Chloe wrote in the caption of a series photos she posted Tuesday that show her posing in orange swimsuits from Beyoncé‘s latest Ivy Park collection. Chloe got all dolled up with hair and makeup to model a bustier one-piece in the bathroom mirror and a long-sleeve two-piece on a balcony. 

Snoah Aalegra, Lala Anthony and more fans left dozens of heart-eye emojis and orange hearts in the post’s comments. Yet most were left drooling over Chloe’s sculpted abs, toned legs and glowing skin.

“Orange is your color queen,” wrote one fan, while another said, “My wife only allow[s] me to like Chloe, [Rihanna] and Beyoncé pics.”

Meanwhile, others were calling for Chloe to drop her highly anticipated solo single “Have Mercy.” Since her birthday earlier this month, the 23-year-old has been dropping teasers of the song, which has yet to be released. She recently approved the song’s dance challenge, which was created by Tik Tok star Charles Niko. 

“Finally learned @thecharlesniko dance to ‘Have Mercy.’ How did I do?” Chloe wrote on Instagram yesterday, along with a video showing her grooving to a segment of the tune. “Tag me in your best dance videos, reposting my favs #havemercychallenge.”

It’s unclear when “Have Mercy” will be released, but the upbeat track definitely sounds like it’s worth the wait.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Chlöe (@chloebailey)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tom DeLonge will make his directorial debut with the upcoming film Monsters of California, and he doesn’t plan on stopping there.

Speaking with NME, the Angels & Airwaves frontman reveals he has “scripts for another five films in the works.”

“Those ones are much more ambitious,” DeLonge says. “Going forward, my goal is to make big, fun, crazy and thoughtful movies.”

Monsters of California is currently in post-production. DeLonge describes the film as “if [Steven] Spielberg went back and made an R-rated indie paranormal film.”

“It’s a John Hughes coming of age film with d*** jokes,” he adds.

Elsewhere in the interview, DeLonge speaks about the upcoming new AVA album, Lifeforms, due out September 24, and the possibility about touring again with Box Car Racer, his side project with former Blink-182 band mate Travis Barker.

“We have talked about…what it would be like to play shows, but everyone’s so busy!” DeLonge says. “It’s just how do you do that? Travis has a million things going on, I have a million things going on.”

“It’s just not the priority,” he adds. “It’s an awesome, nostalgic thing but nostalgic things don’t run your life, you have to fit them in.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A casual listen to Thomas Rhett‘s “Country Again” might lead you to wonder if the former ACM Entertainer of the Year had begun to doubt his authenticity amid his massive success. But it’s quite the opposite for the second-generation country star: the title track of his latest album is more of a reflection on what he learned during the pandemic.

“For me, the word country means simple,” TR explains. “That would be my favorite synonym for the word, and I think that ‘Country Again’ is that in a nutshell.”

“With the year that we had in 2020,” he continues, “I think a lot of us were forced to not do what we do for a living and forced to slow down and really forced to recognize, like, what are your blessings in life and what are you grateful for?”

For Thomas Rhett, the answers are close to home.

“For me, that was my family, and for me, that was the outdoors: that was getting outside again, going fishing again, going hunting again, going out west and hiking with my family,” he says. “Those are the things that I used to love to do so much, and then life just kind of got in the way.”

The second single from Country Again: Side A is a reminder for us all to not lose sight of the “simple” things.

“I think a lot of us have just been grinding without realizing how hard we’re actually working,” TR points out. “And hard work is great, but I do think every now and then you can slow down and just smell the roses for a second.”

“And that’s what last year was for me,” he adds, “which is kind of where the inspiration for ‘Country Again’ kinda came from.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.