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Kanye West predicted superstardom in ‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’: “There should not be no way for me to lose”

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Netflix dropped the trailer for the jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy documentary Friday, and in the clip, Kanye West predicted his rise to superstardom.

In video shot at the beginning of his career over 20 years ago, Ye said, “i just think it was in God’s plan. I just think He has me here for a reason and I have have something to say. There might be people who are better programmers, better rappers. I think I won because I had the heart.” Kanye added, “Hopefully with God’s blessings, there’s should not be no way for me to lose.”

jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy held its world premiere virtually last week at the Sundance Film Festival.

Clarence “Coodie” Simmons, who produced and directed the film with Chike Ozah, says in the trailer, “When I first put the camera on him when I became a producer in ’98, knew he was destined for greatness.”

Two weeks ago, West demanded final approval of the project, writing on Instagram, “I’m going to say this kindly for the last time. I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix. Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image,” he continued. “Thank you in advance.”

His demand was rejected.

On February 10, Act 1 of the three-part documentary, which also features Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z and many more, will debut in theaters nationwide for a one-day engagement. The film premieres in a three-week event on Netflix beginning February 16.

Demi Lovato explains the “funeral” for their pop music: “It’s a new era reminiscent of my first era”

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Recently, Demi Lovato posted a photo that showed them surrounded by their team all dressed in black, with the caption, “a funeral for my pop music.” Then a week ago, they posted a photo of themselves as a young teenager, rocking out onstage in a Motley Crue t-shirt, and captioned it, “15 & it wasn’t a phase.” Now, Demi’s explaining what it all means in regards to their future music.

“I would say it’s a new era. I’m ever-evolving, ever-changing. I’d like to put the rest of my music behind me and start fresh in this new era for this next album — but I do that every album cycle,” Demi tells Rolling Stone. “It honestly wasn’t a funeral. It was a label meeting and we just all happened to be in black and I was like, ‘Wow, this is like a funeral for my pop music.’ There wasn’t an actual funeral.”

When asked if they’re returning to what Rolling Stone calls their “rocky, emo early days,” Demi says, “That, but better. And also, there’s a bit of… and when I say heaviness, I don’t mean lyrically, but heaviness as in some of the sound that I haven’t done before, which is exciting. It’s a new era reminiscent of my first era.”

In other words, the singer notes, “I’m not changing with the new music. I’m just going back to my roots!” They add that they’re “excited to be working on new music.”

While we wait for that, you can hear Demi singing with Winnetka Bowling League on their new collab, “fiimy (f**k it, i miss you),” which is out now.

Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone’s new solo album, ‘Deeper than My Roots,’ released today

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Longtime Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone‘s first new solo album in nearly 50 years, Deeper than My Roots, got its release today.

Coinciding with the album’s arrival, Johnstone has premiered a music video for the first track, “Go Easy on My Heart,” a melodic ballad that, like most of the songs on Deeper than My Roots, is sung by Davey’s youngest son, Elliot.

The clip features Davey, Elliot and former Paul McCartney & Wings drummer Denny Seiwell performing the tune in what appear to be a rehearsal room.

As previously reported, Davey recorded Deeper than My Roots while Elton’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was forced off the road because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to his son Elliot, a number of Davey’s other children contributed to the project. His son Charlie recorded many of the basic tracks at his home in California and contributed keyboard and backing vocals, and his son Jesse played drums on some of the songs. Also, Davey collaborated with his oldest son Tam and Jesse to write, record and produce the two instrumental tracks that are featured on the album, “Black Scotland” and “Walt Dizney,” while his daughter Juliet conceived and designed the cover art.

Meanwhile, Seiwell is featured on three tracks, while Davey’s longtime Elton John band mate Nigel Olsson plays drums on the Deeper than My Roots‘ lead single, the melancholy “Melting Snow.”

Deeper than My Roots also features a pair of bonus tracks, including a cover of The Beatles‘ “Here, There and Everywhere.”

Davey’s only other solo album, Smiling Face, was released in 1973. You can order Deeper than My Roots on CD now at CherryRed.co.uk and Amazon, while the record also is available via digital formats.

Here’s the Deeper than My Roots full track list:

“Go Easy on My Heart”
“One Look in Your Eyes”
“Meh Amour”
“Walt Dizney”
“Melting Snow”
“You Lied to Me”
“Deeper”
“Boxer in the Corner”
“Black Scotland”
“The Final Quarter”

Bonus Tracks
“Here, There and Everywhere”
“All the Time in the World”

Chris Lane thought he never wanted to be a dad — until he met his now-wife, Lauren

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

These days, Chris Lane is a doting dad to a seven-month-old baby boy, Dutton, but the singer admits that earlier in his life, he didn’t plan on ever becoming a husband and father.

“I never wanted kids. I honestly never wanted to get married. None of that,” Chris tells ET Online.

But meeting Lauren Bushnell — a former contestant on The Bachelor — changed all that, he goes on to say. After the couple got pregnant, as fatherhood became more of a reality for Chris, he became more and more grateful that he’d had a change of heart about family life.

“Actually, the day [Dutton] was born…I cried my eyes out, because I felt like I was praying, ‘Lord, thank you so much for not listening to me for all those years that I said I never wanted that,'” the singer continues. “I wouldn’t have known what I was missing out on and it’s truly the best thing in the world.”

Chris has drawn inspiration from his love for Lauren for several of his songs, including “Big, Big Plans,” which he wrote for his proposal. He’ll revisit their love story once again in a new single set to drop in a couple of weeks.

He tells ET Online that the song, called “Howdy,” is a wordplay-filled look back at Lauren’s previous relationships, including her high-profile engagement to Bachelor personality Ben Higgins, and how the couple’s failed relationships ultimately led them to each other.

Elton John tops first-ever ‘Pollstar’ Artist Power Index; Adele, Ed, Taylor not even in top 20

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Elton John‘s recently relaunched Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour has put him on top of a new weekly chart: Pollstar‘s Artist Power Index.

The ranking combines concert ticket sales data with streaming, radio airplay and social media of the top 1,000 artists to determine which ones are truly the most popular. The concert ticket sales data is more heavily weighted, since it usually generates the most revenue.

Elton tops the first chart, because not only is his tour doing well on the road, but he also is ranked fairly high when it comes to airplay and streaming. The rest of the top 10 includes Elton’s former tour mate Billy Joel, plus Bryan Adams, country stars Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Blake Shelton, and rappers DaBaby and Jack Harlow.

As for why super-popular, chart-topping pop stars like Justin Bieber, The Weekend, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift aren’t in the top 10 — or even the top 20 — it’s because their tours either haven’t started yet or they don’t have any live shows scheduled. Pollstar takes into account headline performances over the last 30 days, and an average of ticket sales over the past 36 months.

Pollstar says the new ranking truly reflects “fan passion, audience consumption, and consumer engagement.”

Doja Cat teams with Roku Channel to release longform live performances

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Fans of Doja Cat have a new reason to flock to the Roku Channel — the service is now the only place you can watch her brand-new live performance series before anyone else.

According to a press release, Doja will perform several singles off her Planet Her soundtrack, which includes “Ain’t S**,” “Need to Know” and “Love to Dream.” Called Doja Cat’s Live Performance series, the longform videos will double as an exclusive sneak peek and will only be available on the Roku Channel starting Saturday, February 5, to Sunday, February 6.

The partnership comes from Vevo, who is the flagship operator of the “Official Live Performances” series. The network will then host Doja’s videos starting Monday, February 7.

Robbie Robertson sells music catalog to new company Iconoclast, will serve as its creative adviser

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Robbie Robertson, the founding lead guitarist and main songwriter of The Band, joins the list of rock greats who have recently sold the rights to their music catalogs for big bucks.

Music Business Worldwide reports that Robertson’s music publishing, the rights to his name, image and likeness, and his recorded music interests to date have been acquired by the Los Angeles-based Iconoclast, a company launched by Olivier Chastan. Chastan is the former CEO of Eagles manager Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group.

Sources tell Variety that the deal had a $25 million price tag. According to Music Business Worldwide, the agreement doesn’t include the underlying publishing rights to The Band’s 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink, which were owned by Bob Dylan, and passed to Universal when that company bought out Dylan’s catalog in 2020.

Among the classic songs Robertson composed for The Band are “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek.” Robbie also has had a significant career as a solo artist and as a film score composer.

Chastan tells Music Business Worldwide that as part of the agreement, Robertson has joined Iconoclast’s board and will serve as a creative adviser with the company.

Robbie says in a statement, “Olivier’s deep appreciation for art and creativity infused with his vision for the future of entertainment convinced me that Iconoclast was the right partner to entrust with the legacy of The Band and my catalog.”

Chastan, meanwhile, explains that he’s been a fan of Robertson since he first first heard Music from Big Pink when he was 13 years old, adding, “His sophisticated and cinematic songs changed my life and have never left my musical universe.”

Watch ABC’s ‘Soul of a Nation’ specials: ‘Screen Queens Rising’ and ‘X/onerated’

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Two specials from ABC’s Soul of a Nation are available to watch on Hulu now: Screen Queens Rising and X/onerated — The Murder of Malcolm X and 55 Years to Justice.

Screen Queens Rising focuses on the journey of Black actresses and how they’ve gone from powerless to power brokers in recent years. ABC News’ T.J. Holmes, who sat down with Halle Berry for the special, says he was surprised to hear that the Oscar-winning actress still struggles to earn respect from Hollywood.

“She calls herself a ‘heartbroken fighter,’ heartbroken that she is still the only [Black woman] to win Best Actress,” says Holmes. “She is having to fight every single day, not just for next generation, but also still for validation, for respect..and to hear her tell some of the stories in such a painful way was really kind of eye-opening. It’s a Halle Berry that I certainly had not seen before.”

Holmes says Berry may be a movie star, but her struggle is still relatable to all.

“You are going to hear stories in her voice and her pain that’s going to come through in that voice,” notes Holmes. “And you’re going to be able to relate to something in your own life, your own world, your own struggle, [and] go, ‘Wow! Halle Berry’s dealing with that crap, too?'”

X/onerated, profiles the two men who were falsely accused of Malcolm X‘s 1965 assassination — Muhammed Aziz and the late Khalil Islam — until they were finally exonerated in November of 2021.

ABC News’ Byron Pitts says of the profile, “One of the things that surprises me most about this particular story is this isn’t an example of sloppy police work. This is a story about FBI corruption.”

“The New York City Police Department higher-ups, the FBI…they knew who killed Malcolm X,” notes Pitts. “They knew that these two men were innocent, but yet they still allowed…these two innocent, good and decent men [to be] convicted and sent to prison.”

Navarro, Hawkins & Chaney release debut NHC EP, ‘Intakes & Outtakes’

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Dave Navarro, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Chaney have released their debut EP as NHC.

The four-track collection, titled Intakes & Outtakes, includes two new songs — “One and the Same” and “I Could Be Somebody Else” — as well as covers of Pink Floyd‘s “Fearless” and “Something About You” by English jazz-funk outfit Level 42.

“I’m really proud of this collection of songs as they really showcase the range that we like to explore collectively,” says Navarro. His Jane’s Addiction band mate Chaney adds, “This is a great batch of songs that covers an amalgamation of our combined styles and influences.”

Hawkins says, “We had tons of fun as usual creating these little gems.”

“If you can’t see the connection between what we do, what Pink Floyd does, and what Level 42 did well then you’re just not getting it,” the Foo Fighters drummer shares.

NHC made their debut last fall with the songs “Feed the Cruel” and “Better Move On.” They later followed those tracks with two more original tunes, “Devil That You Know” and “Lazy Eyes.”

Kane Brown adds another leg to his Blessed & Free Tour, with new openers Walker Hayes & RaeLynn

February 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kane Brown’s not ready to call it quits on his Blessed & Free Tour quite yet. The run, which was originally scheduled to wrap this month, will return this spring for eight more shows.

Kicking off May 7 with a stop in Chattanooga, the tour will take Kane across a number of stadiums and arenas. Kane’s got a new batch of opening acts, too. Chase Rice is staying on from the last leg of the tour, but new supporting acts Walker Hayes and RaeLynn have signed on to join the Blessed & Free Tour.

During the first leg of the tour, Jordan Davis was direct support for Kane, and Restless Road also joined the trek.

To be the first to pick up tickets for the spring dates on the Blessed & Free Tour, head over to Kane’s website now to register for the pre-sale.

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