Slash and his solo band Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators have announced a streaming concert to celebrate the release of their upcoming new album, 4.
The virtual event, which will feature a live performance of 4 in its entirety, will premiere Friday, February 11, at 2 p.m. ET, via Slash’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. YouTube Premium subscribers can also tune in for a live Q&A session after the show.
4, the aptly titled fourth studio effort from the Conspirators, will also be released February 11. The record includes the lead single “The River Is Rising.”
Meanwhile, Slash is set to appear on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Wednesday, February 2, for an interview and performance with the Conspirators. The band will hit the road on a U.S. headlining tour February 8 in Portland.
Jon “Johnny Z” Zazula, co-founder of the influential label Megaforce Records, has died at age 69.
According to Variety, Zazula passed Tuesday while surrounded by family and friends in Florida. A statement posted to the Megaforce Instagram reads, “The world of rock and metal would not be what it is today without Jon Zazula. Jon’s love of music and musicians was unwavering. A giant was lost today. Rest In Peace Jon.”
Zazula launched Megaforce alongside his wife, Marsha Zazula, in 1982, and soon signed a then-unknown Metallica to their first-ever record deal. Megaforce would eventually become the home of artists including Anthrax and Testament.
Marsha Zazula passed away in January 2021.
The story of Megaforce Records — and of the Zazulas’ relationship — is detailed in Jon’s 2019 book Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness.
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Janet Jackson‘s Lifetime/A&E documentary took “Control” of a lot of people’s TV screens this past weekend.
The two-part doc scored the best ratings for a non-fiction premiere on cable since ESPN’s The Last Dance in 2020, and the best ratings for a Lifetime non-fiction show since 2019’s Surviving R. Kelly. It was also the most social program for Lifetime since Surviving R. Kelly, sparking 1.1 million social media interactions.
And the documentary sent viewers rushing to download her music, too. Three of her albums — Control, Design of a Decade and Rhythm Nation — hit the top 10 on the iTunes U.S. chart, and she had a total of eight albums in the chart’s top 20 overall. Janet’s music videos took all top 10 spots on the U.S. Pop Videos iTunes download charts as well.
Lifetime will re-air the documentary this Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. You can also watch it on VOD, aetv.com and mylifetime.com.
Ed Sheeran‘s set another chart record thanks to his latest hit, “Shivers.”
The song has topped Billboard‘s Adult Pop Airplay chart, becoming his seventh one to do so. That makes him the solo male artist with the most number ones on this chart, which has been around for 25 years. The record was previously held by Shawn Mendes, who had six.
The only other artists who’ve had more number ones on the chart than Ed are a band and three women: Maroon 5 is tops, with 15, followed by Pink with 10 and Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, with eight each.
Shawn, meanwhile, is now tied with Adele, whose latest hit “Easy on Me” was her sixth chart-topper on Adult Pop Airplay.
So far, each of Ed’s last three solo studio albums have spun off two Adult Pop Airplay chart-toppers. X (multiply) gave us “Thinking Out Loud” and “Photograph,” while ÷ (Divide) gave us “Shape of You” and “Perfect.” Ed’s current album, = (Equals), includes “Shivers” and “Bad Habits.”
As for Ed’s seventh, it’s “I Don’t Care,” his duet with Justin Bieber from his 2019 album No.6 Collaborations Project.
CD and digital versions of Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge‘s new live album, The Royal Affair and After, were released in mid-January, and now a limited 180-gram vinyl edition of the record pressed on blue vinyl has arrived.
As previously reported, the 10-track album features performances by Lodge and his solo group, The 10,000 Light Years Band, from a Las Vegas concert they played during their stint on the Yes-headlined 2019 Royal Affair Tour and from their subsequent U.S. headlining trek.
Coinciding with the arrival of the blue-vinyl LP, Lodge has debuted a video for his rendition of the classic 1971 Moody Blues ballad “Isn’t Life Strange” on his official YouTube channel.
The Royal Affair and After includes renditions of several well-known Moody Blues songs, including “Isn’t Life Strange,” “Ride My See-Saw” and “Nights in White Satin,” the latter two of which features guest vocals by current Yes frontman Jon Davison.
Also on the album, is a version of the Days of Future Passed interlude “Late Lament” written by late Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge that features a recording of Graeme reciting the spoken-word piece made especially for Lodge’s tour.
“I’m absolutely delighted by the incredible reaction to the album,” says Lodge says. “[I]t truly is ‘the soundtrack of my life’…It also makes me so very happy that Graeme did his special performance of ‘Late Lament’ for the album, he will be deeply missed, but always stay with us in our hearts and on this album.”
Lodge will launch a new U.S. solo tour on March 8 in Norfolk, Connecticut. Visit JohnLodge.com to check out his full schedule.
Meanwhile, a black 180-gram vinyl version The Royal Affair and After will be released on February 11.
Here’s the LP’s track list:
Side One
“Steppin’ in a Slide Zone”
“Saved by the Music”
“Legend of a Mind”
“Late Lament” (with Graeme Edge)
“Nights in White Satin” (with Jon Davison)
Side Two
“Sunset”
“Gemini Dream”
“Isn’t Life Strange”
“I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band)”
“Ride My See-Saw” (with Jon Davison)
Megan Thee Stallion, Kevin Hart and Mary J. Blige are among the stars previewing their Super Bowl commercials this week.
Megan’s vocals are featured in a Frito-Lay Flamin’ Hot spot that features a sample the 1988 Salt-N-Pepa classic, “Push It.”
“I bring heat to everything I do, so it only made sense to partner with Flamin’ Hot on this campaign,” the three-time Grammy winner said in a statement. “Filming this Super Bowl spot and paying homage to Salt-N-Pepa was an incredible experience and I can’t wait for my Hotties to check it out.”
In the commercial, the “Hot Girl Summer” artist transforms into a fiery songbird and is joined by a cast of animal characters, including a beatboxing fox voiced by singer Charlie Puth, who was featured on Wiz Khalifa‘s 11-times-Platinum “See You Again” from Furious 7 in 2015.
Hart appears in a comical Sam’s Club commercial promoting an app that allows members to bypass the checkout line.
“Who wouldn’t be excited about this opportunity? I’m starring in an ad during one of the largest sporting events in the world,” the Night School star told People. “Everyone knows I love football, so partnering with Sam’s Club to help them share VIP status felt like a natural partnership.”
Mary, who is performing during the Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg, stars in the “Her Health Is Her Wealth” spot for the Hologic medical technology company encouraging women to have regular wellness and medical screenings.
“I chose to do this ad with Hologic because it spoke to me authentically with its health message and gave me a chance to talk to other women about the importance of putting their health first,” the Queen of Hip Hop Soul said in a statement.
Walker Hayes is celebrating a major career achievement.
Following the release of Country Stuff: The Album on January 21, the project debuts at #2 on the BillboardTop Country Albums chart and #9 on the Billboard 200, selling 33,000 equivalent album units in its first week. This marks the first time that the hitmaker has had an album land in the top 10 on the all-genre chart.
“This is wild…” Walker tweeted in response to the news.
Country Stuff: The Album was released in the wake of the massive success of “Fancy Like,” which topped both the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts after going viral on TikTok, and earned Walker his first Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. It also expands upon his Country Stuff EP released in 2021, adding seven new songs to the mix, including current single “AA” and recent release, “Drinking Songs.”
The chart news comes hot on the heels of Walker’s halftime performance at the AFC NFL championship game, where the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs and clinched their spot in the Super Bowl.
Teen punk band The Linda Lindas have announced their debut album.
The record, titled Growing Up, will be released April 8 digitally, and June 3 on physical formats. You can listen to the title track now via digital outlets.
The Linda Lindas previously opened for Bikini Kill in 2019, but became an sensation last year with their Los Angeles Public Library performance of their song “Racist, Sexist Boy,” which earned raves from artists including Tom Morello, Flea and Hayley Williams. The group then got signed to long-running punk label Epitaph Records, and performed on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!
This Wednesday, The Linda Lindas will perform on CBS’ The Late Late Show. You can also catch them live in October performing at the much-hyped When We Were Young festival.
Slash and his solo band Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators have announced a streaming concert to celebrate the release of their upcoming new album, 4.
The virtual event, which will feature a live performance of 4 in its entirety, will premiere Friday, February 11, at 2 p.m. ET, via Slash’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. YouTube Premium subscribers can also tune in for a live Q&A session after the show.
4, the aptly titled fourth studio effort from the Conspirators, will also be released February 11. The record includes the lead single “The River Is Rising.”
Meanwhile, Slash is set to appear on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! this Wednesday, February 2, for an interview and performance with the Conspirators. The band will hit the road on a U.S. headlining tour February 8 in Portland.
India.Arie has joined a growing group of musicians who are pulling their music from Spotify, but unlike them, she’s got a different reason for doing so.
Rock legend Neil Young started the movement, pulling his music from the streaming service because it hosts Joe Rogan‘s wildly popular podcast, and Young feels Rogan is spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
Fellow music legend Joni Mitchell then joined Young, citing the same reason. Young’s Crosby, Stills & Nash band mate Graham Nash said he agrees with Young and he’s requested that his “solo recordings” removed from Spotify.
But on Instagram, India writes, “Neil Young opened a door I MUST walk through. I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews. For me, it’s also his language around race.”
“What I am talking about is respect — who gets it and who doesn’t,” she continues. “Paying musicians a fraction of a penny? And him $100 [million]? This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep. I’m tired.”
India captioned the post, “I wonder who else is tired.”
On Monday, Rogan posted a video in which he denies “trying to promote misinformation,” adding, “I’m not trying to be controversial. I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.”
