Machine Gun Kelly has reunited with frequent collaborator blackbear for a new song called “gfy.”
The kiss-off track, which was produced by Travis Barker, finds MGK and blackbear directing the song’s title — first letter stands for “go” and third stands for “yourself,” and we’ll let you guess the second — at an ex that did them wrong.
You can listen to “gfy” now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying video, which stars both artists, now on YouTube.
blackbear previously collaborated with MGK on the Tickets for My Downfall single “My Ex’s Best Friend” and the Mainstream Sellout cut “Make Up Sex.”
Journey is set to release its first studio album in 11 years in July, but in advance of that record, the band’s longtime keyboardist and songwriter Jonathan Cain has delivered his latest faith-based solo effort, Arise.
The 11-collection is the sixth full-length spiritual-themed project that Cain has released since 2016. The album, which combines brand-new tunes with songs that appeared on Jonathan’s 2021 EP Oh Lord Lead Us, is available now as a digital download and via streaming services.
Cain says the songs on Arise encourages Christians to be more fervent in their faith.
“Like faith in action, the music of Arise moves to the spirit of revival,” says Jonathan, who leads worship gatherings at City of Destiny Church in Apopka, Florida, where his wife, Paula White-Cain, is senior pastor. “God is making his presence felt here on earth, and it’s up to us to wake up, to feel it, feel the revival and just dig in.”
He adds, “I hope that this music stirs up and awakens people in a way that they can become a part of what God is doing.”
As previously reported, Journey will release its new album, Freedom, on July 8. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers recently announced a series of four special symphonic concerts that month in Las Vegas — on July 15, 16, 22 and 23 — and the band now has started lining up a variety of other shows around the U.S.
The other concerts on their itinerary are scheduled for July 20 in Paso Robles, California; July 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 in Las Cruces, New Mexico; July 30 in Lubbock, Texas; August 5 in Mount Pleasant, Michigan; August 6 in Canton, Ohio; and August 8 in Canandaigua, New York.
Flea is officially part of the Star Wars universe.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has a role in the new Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries, which just premiered Friday morning on Disney+. He plays a bounty hunter who’s hired to kidnap child Princess Leia in an attempt to lure Kenobi out of hiding after he survived the infamous Order 66, which called for the execution of all Jedi.
The role is especially fitting for Flea since the 1999 Red Hot Chili Peppers song “Californication” includes the lyric “Alderaan’s not far away,” a reference to Leia’s home planet.
Flea’s previous acting credits include parts in The Big Lebowski, Baby Driver and the second and third Back to the Future movies.
In addition to his journey to a galaxy far, far away, Flea is preparing to rock our galaxy when Red Hot Chili Peppers launch their world tour in June. The group will be supporting their new album, Unlimited Love, which was released in April.
Jimmie Allen’s latest song release is a full-circle moment: It’s a collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, the pop superstar who was a judge on Season 10 of American Idol— the same season that Jimmie competed on the show.
Now, the two stars are peers and duet partners. Their pop-leaning new song, “On My Way,” tells a romantic story of all of life’s ups and downs — and how they ultimately lead to the perfect partner.
It’s a harmony-packed remix of JLo’s solo version of the song, which first appeared in the soundtrack for Marry Me, her romcom that premiered back in February. In its new, remixed version, the song appears on the track list for Tulip Drive, Jimmie’s next album.
“On My Way” is one of the few tracks on Tulip Drive that Jimmie didn’t have a hand in writing, and he has said that this collection of music is his most personal to date.
“This is the first [album] where I chose to write songs about my own personal experiences, thoughts and hopes,” Jimmie explained in a statement.
The new project also continues the theme of big, cross-genre duets that Jimmie established on his Bettie James project. The track list of Tulip Drive also boasts a collab with CeeLo Green and T-Pain.
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Harry Styles went the DIY route for his latest music video, with the help of James Corden.
In a segment for The Late Late Show Thursday night, Harry and James scoured a Brooklyn neighborhood for a random apartment in which to shoot the music video for “Daylight” in just three hours with a $300 budget.
After getting rejected a couple of times – “I’ve got to be honest, I thought your face would open a lot of doors,” James told Harry – the two hit the jackpot when they knocked on a door with four young female roommates who were more than obliging.
James then directed Harry in various scenes around the apartment, including one in the bathtub, a party scene and a rooftop scene with James dressed in a green-screen leotard.
“Should we just scrap it? Is it too late to do ‘Carpool Karaoke’?” Harry says to the camera at one point.
In the end, though, the finished product didn’t turn out half bad — and Harry gave four fans a day they’ll never forget.
Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin hit the stage Thursday night at the 28th annual amfAR gala at the Cannes Film Festival.
According to Variety, Ricky opened the night with a performance of “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “La Copa de la Vida.” Christina didn’t perform until late in the evening, but Variety reports the crowd went wild for her five-song set that opened with “Dirrty,” and included “Lady Marmalade,” Beautiful” and “Fighter.”
The event also included an auction to raise money for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, to help end HIV and AIDS. According to Variety, one bidder paid $540,000 for a package that included lunch with Robert De Niro. A guitar signed by Baz Luhrmann and the cast of Elvis raked in almost $190,000, and perhaps most unusual, someone paid $215,000 for a statue of Emma Watson’s head on a mermaid’s body.
The 15-track collection was recorded remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, with frontman Joe Elliott in Ireland, bassist Rick Savage in the U.K., and guitarists Phil Collen and Viv Campbell and drummer Rick Allen all in the U.S.
Elliott tells ABC Audio that he really enjoyed working on the album remotely.
“[T]he creating of the record was beautiful, really, because everybody just was in their own space,” the singer notes. “And…all you needed to do [was] pick up the phone or send an email going, ‘I’ve got an idea,’ and then, bing!, off goes your inbox and there’s an MP3, and you sit and listen to it…and see if there’s anything you can add to it.”
Collen also loved the process, explaining, “It just saved so much energy, and we were just allowed to express and create and be inspired constantly…It was great.”
The album title references a lyrical phrase from T. Rex‘s signature tune “Bang a Gong (Get It On),” and Collen points out that Def Leppard chose the moniker after realizing that many tracks on the record included elements that evoked the early-’70s glam-rock era — a major influence on the band.
“[W]e realized that [between] the songs there was a thread,” Phil notes. “It was like some of the lyrics, some of the ideas, some of the vibes and rhythms and grooves were very…from that period.”
Adding to the glam-rock theme, Def Leppard enlisted longtime David Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson to play piano on two tracks.
Elliott says Garson’s parts “had a little bit of avant-garde, kind of jazzy [feel], but not too much to…make it sound weird.”
Here’s Diamond Star Halos‘ full track list:
“Take What You Want”
“Kick”
“Fire It Up”
“This Guitar” — featuring Alison Krauss
“SOS Emergency”
“Liquid Dust”
“U Rok Mi”
“Goodbye for Good This Time”
“All We Need”
“Open Your Eyes”
“Gimme a Kiss”
“Angels (Can’t Help You Now)”
“Lifeless” — featuring Alison Krauss
“Unbreakable”
“From Here to Eternity”
Chris Young has a personal connection to the military — his sister and grandfather both served in the Marines — but that’s not all: Throughout his career, he’s made it a point to uplift and connect with all those who serve.
“There’s so many people that I’ve met,” he says, explaining that his career has afforded him the opportunity to perform for and meet military service men and women of all description. Every one of them has an inspiring story, he adds.
“If I was going to pick one — my buddy Joe Bowser, who lost his leg while he was serving,” Chris continues. “He and I have been friends for years and years and years…I got to meet him through one of my very first trips over to Iraq and German and Kuwait.”
Chris leans on his fellow country stars for inspiration on how to best use his platform to support the military. In particular, he looks up to the late legend Charlie Daniels, whose Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project raises funds for veteran-focused projects.
“They’ve got a lot of different outreach for veterans, if they’re dealing with something, or they might need help,” Chris details.
“Seeing Charlie’s love for the military, getting a chance to help them raise money and knowing it’s going to help our veterans who might need a leg up,” he goes on to say.
“Having that military connection to my family, having been able to be lucky enough to go around the world playing for military,” he adds,” being able to offer some help to veterans, it’s really important for me to have a chance to do that.”
She says the song came as the result of a mental illness she didn’t even know she was living with. She revealed details about her upcoming album, The Journey, which speaks to just that — her journey through hardship, healing and leaning on faith. In a recent interview with ABC Audio, Maverick City Music member Naomi Raine spoke candidly about intimate life details ahead of her debut TRIBL Records solo single, “Not Ready.”
The inspirational new track provides listeners with a firsthand account of Raine’s honest conversation with Jesus, about grappling with the idea of having everything she’s wished for but at the same time feeling incomplete.
“I think that first line of, ‘Let’s be honest, Jesus I’m a mess’ — I wrote that when I was on my way out of a depression,” she said. Though “nothing was really wrong,” Raine came to the conclusion that she wasn’t living as her authentic, true self. “I was still trying to please everybody else and make everybody else feel good and I felt like my life was slipping away from me.”
But out of her struggle grew “Not Ready,” which has since served as a healing mechanism and reminder of her not just her power, but the power of music.
“I started to write … and get out of some of the funk that I was in. Putting language to it, just began to heal me in a way that I can’t even explain. I think music is miraculous.”
Raine’s realization that her artistry impacts others who can relate to the content of her songs helped her feel better about the lows life sometimes brings.
“I started to feel like, ‘OK, I’m normal,'” she said. “‘Not Ready’ is just a snapshot of my journey.”
Melissa Etheridge kicks off her four-night solo residency show, Melissa Etheridge: One Woman Band, at City Winery New York on May 30. She then heads to City Winery Boston for four more nights — and plans to expand the residency concept in the future.
“That’s one of the things that I’m very hopeful for…that this is something we can do in other places,” she tells ABC Audio. “I’d love to do a longer version of this, because it’s so intimate and it’s just me and it’s really fun.”
“I mean, I love being in front of thousands of people with a rock band behind me, don’t get me wrong,” she adds. “[But] I also like to be able to slip in to this intimate scene and do this, too.”
The set list for these special shows will be different each night — except for the hits.
“I always tell myself, I might do these songs every night, but the people that come to see me, this may be the only time they see me,” Melissa explains. “And they want to have that experience of singing ‘Come to My Window’ or ‘I’m the Only One’ with me, so I’ll definitely do those.”
She’ll also give fans a look at her songwriting process, by playing the components of each song herself in real time — which is basically what she’s been doing virtually since 2020.
“[D]uring the pandemic is where it really grew,” she explains. “Having a year and a half to play all of my songs — like, every song I had ever recorded — I…just really got very good at making a track live and singing to it.”
She laughs, “This is like, you’re coming into my kitchen, [I] got my ingredients. I’m going to make it right in front of you, and we’re all going to sit there, eat it, and enjoy it!”
