Music

After being teased earlier this week, the reported collaboration between Tame Impala and R&B great Diana Ross has officially been announced.

The two will team up for a new song called “Turn Up the Sunshine,” which, as hypothesized, will appear on the soundtrack to the upcoming movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, the latest installment in the Despicable Me animated franchise.

The soundtrack will be produced by Jack Antonoff, and will also feature contributions from artists including St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Bleachers and Alabama Shakes‘ Brittany Howard. The ’70s-themed compilation consists mostly of covers, including St. Vincent putting a spin on the Lipps Inc. disco classic “Funkytown,” and Howard teaming up with Earth, Wind & Fire‘s Verdine White for a new version of “Shining Star.”

You’ll be able to hear the full soundtrack on July 1, the same day Minions: The Rise of Gru hits theaters

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“Take that, take that”… is most likely what Sean “Diddy” Combs is repeating to himself right now, considering the massive deal he recently inked with music empire Motown Records. 

The superstar musician, 52, announced Tuesday the launch of his new R&B record label, Love Records, and the signing of a one-time album deal with Motown. The upcoming album is set to be released sometime this summer. 

“Music has always been my first love, LOVE RECORDS is the next chapter is about getting back to the love and making the best music of my life,” Diddy said in the official announcement. “For the Label I’m focused on creating timeless R&B music with the next generation of artists and producers. Motown is the perfect partner for my album and I’m excited to add to its legacy.”

The new label and album represent Diddy’s return to R&B music. Motown Records’ CEO and Chairwoman, Ethiopia Habtemariam, recognizes the new collaboration as “monumental.”

“This is a major moment for Motown, as Diddy is one of this century’s most important voices in music and culture,” Habtemariam said. “To be a part of his next evolution and album is nothing short of monumental.”

The news comes just a few days before Diddy is set to take the stage in Las Vegas as the host of the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, which airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. 

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Luke Bryan has a new member of the family! 

Mother’s Day was extra special for the Bryan family, as the singer’s niece, Jordan Cheshire Eudy, welcomed a baby boy named Jonathan. In addition to celebrating his wife, Caroline, the family headed down to Luke’s home state of Georgia to meet the new bundle of joy, who was born on May 7, weighing three pounds and 13 ounces. 

“My niece, Jordan, her little boy came a little early. Caroline and I got to go see our brand-new precious little nephew, and he and mama are doing well,” Luke shares with E! News. “We got a new baby. We got a new mama in our family. That made Mother’s Day.”

The country superstar also walked his niece down the aisle when she wed Clint Eudy in Tennessee last year.

“Clint and I are extremely thankful and cannot wait to get him home. We know he was handpicked from Heaven by the sweetest angels,” Jordan writes on Instagram, alongside a photo of the couple holding their new son. 

Luke and Caroline adopted Jordan and her siblings, Kris and Til, after their parents passed away. Luke’s sister Kelly died in 2007 of unknown causes, followed by her husband, Ben, who passed away in 2014 due to a heart attack.

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Taylor Swift‘s boyfriend Joe Alwyn is credited with co-writing and co-producing several songs on her acclaimed sister albums folklore and evermore, but the British actor says his input was purely accidental.

Speaking to GQ Hype, Joe explained, “It was really the most accidental thing to happen in lockdown. It wasn’t like, ‘It’s three o’clock, it’s time to write a song!’ It was just messing around on a piano and singing badly and being overheard and then thinking, you know, ‘What if we tried to get to the end of it together?'”

In addition to co-writing the folklore songs “Exile” and “Betty” under the pseudonym William Bowery, Joe also co-produced those two tracks, plus “My Tears Ricochet”, “August”, “This Is Me Trying” and “Illicit Affairs.”  On evermore, he co-wrote “Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island” and the title track.

The Conversations with Friends star said he chose to be credited under a different name because he didn’t want his take attention away from Taylor’s work. “The idea was that people would just listen to the music rather than focus on the fact that we wrote it together,” he explained.

While Joe doesn’t plan on co-writing any more songs with his girlfriend of six years, he says he did enjoy the experience. “It was fun to do it together, and I was proud of it,” he told GQ. “It was nice getting such a positive reception.”

In addition to a positive reception, Joe also got a Grammy for his trouble: When folklore won Album of the Year, he received his own trophy, along with the other producers who contributed to the project.

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In honor of World Lupus Day, celebrated annually on May 10, here are a few stars within the Black community, who have shared their journey with the life-long, autoimmune disease. 

Almost 12 years ago, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Toni Braxton revealed to the world her battle with lupus after learning of her diagnosis in 2008. According to Billboard, she shared the news while accepting the Women in Achievement Award at the eighth Annual Lupus LA Bag Ladies Luncheon.

In an appearance on Dr. Phil in 2018, the 54-year-old singer opened up about how lupus affects her every day. Braxton said she recalls being shamed for her sickness but now, she shares her story humbly, with hopes it’ll help others who also struggle with the disease. 

Among those who’ve publicly expressed concern and support for Braxton in the past is fellow entertainer, Nick Cannon, who, like Braxton, didn’t know much about the disease until his diagnosis in 2012. 

In a March 2012 sit down chat with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts, Cannon explained how shocking it was to receive the news, especially considering the healthy lifestyle he always tried to follow. 

He later told the Huffington Post, “[Y]ou realize that this is something that you can live with and actually overcome with the proper research and with the proper support system.” 

Though British singer-songwriter Seal doesn’t speak much on his lupus journey since diagnosed at the age of 23, the scars on his face may tell help tell the story for him. 

Speaking to the The New York Times in 1996 about the disease among other life struggles, the “Kiss from a Rose” singer emphasized the power of channeling art and music as means of coping with pain.

“I believe that in all forms of art there has to have been some initial adversity: that is what makes art, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

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Ever since releasing her debut breakout single “No Roots,” Alice Merton has written a lot of very sad lyrics accompanied by very happy-sounding music. Even still, the true nature of “No Roots” continues to elude listeners over five years since it first dropped.

“Everyone’s always like, ‘Ah, it’s so much fun! This is a great, like, upbeat [song]!'” Merton tells ABC Audio of “No Roots.” “I was, like, ‘That came from a really dark place.’ I felt like I had no home, I couldn’t really figure out where I belonged in the world.”

Giving “No Roots” that bright sonic flavor was Merton’s way of putting a “fun twist” on some difficult emotions.

“As soon as you add this fun bassline…it just becomes fun, you know?” she says. “Instead of dwelling on these sad things, I just wanted to give it a fun spin.”

Merton originally wrote “No Roots” about having to constantly move homes throughout her life. Given the travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, one might assume that Merton took the opportunity to stay put for a bit. That, of course, is why you should never assume.

“To be honest, as soon as the pandemic got a little bit easier and there was a gap in between…that’s when I decided to move again,” Merton laughs.

Merton moved to London to be closer to her parents in the U.K., and while she doesn’t feel any more “rooted,” she has a new outlook on the idea.

“I also realized my home is not in certain places,” she says. “It’s everywhere.”

You can hear more of Merton’s sad-happy songs when she opens for Bastille‘s U.S. tour kicking off this Saturday, and on her upcoming sophomore album, S.I.D.E.S., due out June 17.

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Fans who are expecting Demi Lovato‘s new music to describe in detail what it’s been like to fully embrace their queer identity and come out as non-binary in recent years may be disappointed with what they’ve got coming, although Demi assures fans that they won’t be ignoring the topic entirely.

Speaking to Inked magazine, Demi says, “My gender identity has nothing to do with my music or the direction that it takes. But I am proud to be non-binary and I talk a little about acceptance from others in the lyrics of my new songs.”

Regarding their forthcoming project, Demi says, “I’ve only made a few songs so it’s still very new. My writing style hasn’t really changed much. It’s just going into the studio, thinking about a concept that I’m passionate about and wanting to write a song about it.”

Describing their new material as “more rock than anything,” Demi tells Inked, “I hope my fans can find inspiration in my new songs coming out and something to relate to in these times of uncertainty.”

But what the “Sorry Not Sorry” star is most looking forward to, they say, is being onstage. “I haven’t performed any of my new music, which is what I’m looking forward to most,” Lovato says. As for which of their old hits might be on the set list, they tease that they “still love performing ‘Cool for the Summer.'”

Of course, doing an interview with Inked magazine required Demi to comment on their tattoos: They have 22 and counting, and don’t regret any of them. They explain, “It’s important to me to get pieces of art on my body that represent who I am.”

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