Music

On Friday, Kanye West released 16 songs from his new Donda 2 album that were debuted at his “Donda Experience Performance” at LoanDepot Park in Miami on February 22. He titled this partial version of the album V2.22.22 Miami. It’s available exclusively through his Donda Stem Player, which costs $200.

Donda 2 was executive produced by Future and features Migos, DaBaby, Jack Harlow, Soulja Boy, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Baby Keem, the late XXXTentacion, and more. It is unclear when the full album will be released. Among the 16 tracks is “City of Gods,” which Kanye performed in Miami with Alicia Keys and Fivio Foreign.

Tyga and Doja Cat get wild in their new “Freak Deaky” video. In the clip, we see Doja wearing an assortment of sexy lingerie, as Tyga speeds through a neon-lit city in a sports car. The duo began recording together in 2016 with “Juicy,” and this is their sixth collabo. Tyga tells Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that he loves working with the five-time American Music Award winner from Los Angeles.

“Me and her, the first collab that we ever, it never came out, it was a long time ago before she really blew up,” the “Rack City” rapper says. “And then ‘Juicy’ was the first real collab that the world seen and I felt like the chemistry was so good there. Working with her is real easy.”

Kodak Black has dropped his fourth studio album, Back for Everything, featuring his RIAA-certified Platinum hit “Super Gremlin.” The 19-track album features guest artist, Lil Durk, who joins Black on “Take You Back.”

Finally, Kehlani released “Little Story,” the second single from her upcoming third solo album, Blue Water Road. It’s the follow-up to “Altar,” which dropped in September 2021

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Before this year’s ACM Awards, the Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives arm will once again host its Tee-Off & Rock On event at TopGolf Las Vegas. Luke Bryan, Jordan Davis and Lainey Wilson are among the acts who will perform during the golf tournament.

Country music and golf have always made a great pairing. In fact, there are lots of country singers who love to wind down by hitting the links, and even a few who almost went pro.

Darius Rucker is a noted golf enthusiast, who has hosted many golf-focused charity events and can often be spotted enjoying the sport himself. One of his superstar golf buddies is Lady A band mate Charles Kelley, who actually played pretty seriously as a kid: He won the North & South championship at Pinehurst when he was 11 years old, according to Golf Digest.

Then there’s Jake Owen, who not only plays as a hobby, but also hosts an annual tournament for charity in his home state of Florida. Jake dreamt of playing professionally, but a wakeboarding accident and subsequent reconstructive shoulder surgery steered him in another direction. Fortunately for country fans, he found music.

“I always believe that when one door closes, another one opens up,” the singer told PGATour.com back in 2011, of his switch from golf to music.

If you’re looking to mix some golf into your country listening, tickets for the pre-ACMs Tee-Off & Rock On show are available now

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It wasn’t surprising when Elton John‘s collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” hit number one in the U.K. — after all, both artists are British. But apparently, Australia loves them even more.

The song, which mashes up four of Elton’s previous songs, has just checked off its 10th non-consecutive week at number one on Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart, which is that country’s official song ranking.

“Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” is now one of only four songs that have spent 10 weeks on top of the ARIA Singles Chart. The others include Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You,”  LMFAO‘s “Party Rock Anthem” and Sandi Thom‘s  “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair).”

Of course, “Cold Heart” has a long way to go before it sets any records: The longest-running song on the ARIA Singles chart is “Dance Money” by Tones and I, which was number one for 24 weeks.

In the U.S., “Cold Heart” peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the only song from this century that Elton is performing during his Farewell tour.  Earlier this week, Elton performed at his “favorite venue in the world” — New York’s Madison Square Garden — for the last time.  He’d performed there more than 70 times.

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Brad Paisley returns to Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Theater next month for a pair of acoustic shows, a continuation of the Acoustic Storyteller concert series that he debuted in 2021.

The engagement is more of a mini-residency, Brad explains to People, noting that he might get tired out by the end of the kind of dazzling, multi-date series of performances  that country stars like Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood are currently mounting in Vegas.

Brad says the first two acoustic concerts he played in Vegas last year they were “the most special shows that I’ve done in at least a decade,” because the intimate, stripped-down atmosphere allowed him to truly interact with the audience.

“This isn’t something that I phone in,” the star adds. “These shows are sort of rare.”

The experience of Brad playing in concert solo with just him and an acoustic guitar, he explains, is “something that you can’t see otherwise.”

“Usually, we’re touring everywhere, and people go see me play with my band,” he points out. “This is something that’s kind of a real special thing because I really interact with the audience.”

Brad returns to Vegas on March 11 and 12. Tickets are available now.

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Hollywood Undead has released a new song called “Chaos.”

The track is the first offering from the rap-rock outfit of 2022, and follows their two 2020 albums, New Empire, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. You can listen to “Chaos” now via digital outlets.

Last year, Hollywood Undead released a pair of songs with electronic artists Imanbek and Blasterjaxx called “Runaway” and “Shadows,” respectively.

Hollywood Undead will hit the road next week on Papa Roach‘s U.S. Kill the Noise tour, which begins March 1 in Anaheim, California. Bad Wolves is also on the bill.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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If you’re hoping to grow your collection of BTS merchandise, you’re in luck.  The “Butter” hitmakers have teamed with Nordstrom for an exclusive line.

The collection, dubbed BTS Themed Merch, went live on Friday both online and in stores and features unisex clothing, buttons, stickers and a whole bunch of other goodies.  Items range in price from about $10 to $110 USD.

The line even includs photo flags that fans hoping to catch their next live performance can wave around in the crowds, but the $9 offerings that had group and individual photos are mostly gone.

Other offerings include a “Boy with Love” pink robe for $110 that comes with matching slippers for an extra $25, a gender inclusive “Black Swan” sweatshirt for $80, a “Mic Drop” black fleece pouch for about $40, and a “Dynamite” reversible knit scarf.   Fans can also snatch up exclusive sweatpants, mugs, beanies, stamps, tee shirts, jackets, and even throw blankets.

Items are selling out already, so if you are dying to grab a little something, better act fast.

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As one of country music’s fastest-rising newcomers, Breland has gotten his fair share of attention from listeners on the Internet — including some negative comments.

“There are people on the Internet who like to troll and I definitely have gotten some pretty hateful messages from people that don’t feel like my brand in country music is authentic,” the singer tells E! Online.

Hailing from New Jersey and pulling influence from gospel standards to Justin Bieber-era pop and more, Breland does indeed have his own distinct sound, which he’s dubbed “cross country.”

But he’s far from the only country artist to make the genre their own. His duet partner on his remixed version of “My Truck,” Sam Hunt, is just one example of someone who’s pushed the boundaries of country music and been hugely successful in the process.

Breland’s message to his haters? “Okay, well, you don’t have to love it. Music is interpretative,” he reflects. “Just because you don’t think that this is country enough doesn’t mean that it isn’t.”

Most recently, Breland joined forces with Dierks Bentley and Hardy for Dierks’ hit single, “Beers on Me.”

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Lainey Wilson knows that “Never Say Never” — her new duet with Cole Swindell — couldn’t be more different than her debut release to country radio, the chart-topping ballad “Things a Man Oughta Know.”

But when she first heard it, after Cole texted it to her while she was “drinking a piña colada on a beach in Mexico,” Lainey says she instantly gravitated toward “Never Say Never.”

“I immediately knew this song was special,” the rising star tells Nashville’s Tennesseean. “Even though it was completely different than ‘Things a Man Oughta Know,’ the song — and no, not the piña colada — made me feel something, so we recorded it.”

That intuition has served her well. Lainey was one of the genre’s biggest breakout stories in 2021, with a hit debut single and an opening slot on tour with Jason Aldean.

“It’s like I was being pulled behind a speedboat on a kneeboard,” she describes, thinking about her ascent to stardom.

There’s more ahead for Lainey, who’s a three-time nominee at this year’s ACM Awards — a turn of events that “blows my mind,” she says.

“I’ve been practicing my dang award-winning ACM speech since I was a little girl, and now that I might have to use it, I don’t know what I’m gonna say,” she adds.

As for “Never Say Never,” Lainey’s gut feeling seems to paying off there, too: The song is quickly cruising towards country radio’s top-fifteen.

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