Music

Halsey expressed shock and dismay over the Supreme Court’s leaked opinion on Roe V. Wade, which hinted the court was going to overturn the 1973 decision that made abortion a constitutional right.

“The overturning of Roe V Wade will mark a catastrophic shift in our fundamental rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive health care,” the “Nightmare” singer expressed on Twitter. “We are constituents and we have the right and responsibility to fight this.”

They also penned a letter, which read, “The effects of this decision will spiral into lethal situations for our entire country,  Most seriously impacting people of color, rural areas and socioeconomically impacted communities.  The time to take action is now.”

The Grammy nominee urged their followers to attend rallies, donate to causes dedicated to protecting reproductive rights and “educate” themselves on their local legislators.

“This is not a false alarm,” Halsey warned. “I cannot stress enough the implications of this moment in history.  This is a cruel attack on our fundamental right to choose if and when to have a child.  I felt this way before I became a mother and I feel this way even more now after having my son.”

Halsey isn’t the only artist speaking out. Ariana Grande wrote on her Instagram story, “It’s never been more necessary to make sure you and everyone you know and care about are registered to VOTE in ALL elections.”

Billie Eilish said, “i’m so tired” on hers while Ava Max, Demi Lovato and Alessia Cara shared the phrase, “You can’t ban abortion. You can only ban safe abortions” to theirs. 

Harry Styles, Adam Levine and Britney Spears’ fiancé Sam Asghari reposted an infographic to their stories that said, “Men shouldn’t be making laws about women’s bodies.”

Also signaling their disgust was Mariah Carey, Jessie J, Kesha and Sara Bareilles.

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Rob Halford has shared his reaction to Judas Priest‘s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in an interview with Billboard.

“It’s a very, very important institution for recognizing various people that have been in music since music began, right from the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll,” Halford says. “To be part of that is, like, wow…”

After being nominated twice before, Priest will finally be inducted as part of the Rock Hall’s 2022 class, with the Musical Excellence Award. Halford and company’s exclusion from the Hall has long been a sore spot for metal fans, who’ve criticized the institution for not properly recognizing heavy music.

“Glory hallelujah, there’s another metal band in now,” Halford says. “That’s the blessing we’ve all been waiting for.”

Halford adds that being inducted with the Musical Excellence Award, as opposed to in the more publicized Performers category, is “a really sweet addition.”

“They really look at you beyond the simple band that you are,” Halford says. “They really dig deep as to this album and that album this song and that song. I think that really supports what we’ve always tried to do.”

Halford is also hoping to see any former Priest members who wish to attend at the ceremony — “They have every right to be a part of the event,” he says — but has one main goal for induction night.

“All I want is a self(ie) with Dolly Parton,” he laughs.

The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place November 5 in Los Angeles. Parton is among the inductees in the Performer category, along with Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.

Meanwhile, a video of Halford sharing his excitement about Priest’s impending induction has been posted on the Rock Hall’s YouTube channel.

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Camila Cabello continues to play coy about when she’ll head out on tour to support her new album, Familia, but she does want it to happen.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight about the possible road trip, Camila said, “I would absolutely love to tour this album. I love this album,” though she added, “I don’t know [when], but I want it to happen.”

Camila first began teasing her Familia tour in February, where the “Bam Bam” singer shared a TikTok titled, “The US during the Familia tour.” The snippet showed her pretending to be on stage and holding out the microphone to hear the imaginary audience sing along while the first notes of Daddy Yankee‘s “Gasolina” blare in the background.

The audio then cuts to a woman horribly flubbing the lyrics as Camila jokingly looks around in confusion.

The last time Camila hit the road was on her headlining Never Be the Same Tour, which wrapped in March 2019.  

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Seeing as many country stars were raised in or around farm life, it should come as no surprise that one of the favorite animals among the country community are cows. 

Among the cow-lovers is Jon Pardi, who has a trio of Highland cattle on his farm in Nashville named Holly, Kyle and Opal. Last year, the “Dirt on My Boots” hitmaker gave fans an inside look at his farm animals, joking that Kyle was on his way to becoming “hamburger meat.”

Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood is also an avid fan of cows, as her husband, Mike Fisher, gifted her two cows for Christmas in 2020 that their eldest son, Isaiah, named after sweet treats, Brownie and Oreo. “I love cows. They’re my favorite animal,” she told ET Canada. “They make me happy.”

And seeing as the Oklahoma native is a longtime vegetarian, she insists that the animals are being kept as pets. “I don’t want them for any purpose…just to love them,” she asserts. 

Another country superstar that isn’t above farm work is Cody Johnson. Seeing as the native Texan is also known for being part of a roping team, he knows his way around cattle, so much so that he celebrated the release of his chart-toping double album Human by purchasing a pair of “roping steers” off a friend, according to People.

Catch a glimpse of Cody in action roping at the 2019 Houston Rodeo here.

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Linkin Park has announced a new fan newsletter called Notes from the Band.

The digital, monthly dispatch will find the LP members sharing “tiny snapshots into our daily misadventures.”

“Two decades in and our LP community continues to inspire us,” the “Numb” rockers write. “Your passion and dedication is the lifeblood of what we’ve built together with you. And it doesn’t go unnoticed. We thought it was about time to begin sharing a little more regularly with you.”

They add that “there’s no concrete plan” with the newsletter, noting, “That’s what we like about it.”

You can sign up for Notes from the Band now.

LP’s announcement comes a few weeks after Mike Shinoda said that the band didn’t currently have any new music or tour plans. The group’s future has remained uncertain since the death of frontman Chester Bennington in July 2017.

In fact, Notes from the Band marks one of the few joint projects Linkin Park has announced following Bennington’s passing. They reunited for a guest-filled memorial concert in October 2017 and released a 20th anniversary Hybrid Theory reissue in 2020, but have otherwise remained quiet.

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If you can’t make it to Southern California’s 2022 BeachLife Festival later this month, you can still enjoy the beach vibes, and some of the musical performances, from the comfort of your own home.

Select sets from the three-day event, which will be held May 13-15 on Redondo Beach, will stream live online for free. Among the many artists you’ll be able to watch are Steve Miller Band, Stone Temple Pilots and The Smashing Pumpkins.

The stream begins May 13 at 1 p.m. PT via BeachLifeFestival.com and at Volume.com/BeachLifeFestival. The livestream of Miller and his band’s set will take place Sunday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. PT, while Stone Temple Pilots’ and The Smashing Pumpkins’ will be livestreamed on on Saturday, May 14, at 6:20 p.m. PT and 8:50 p.m. PT, respectively.

Other artists on the BeachLife Festival’s livestream schedule include Weezer, 311, Sheryl Crow, UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, Sugar Ray and Matisyahu.

BeachLife tickets are also still available for those who wish to attend in person.

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Legendary Memphis DJ Bobby O’Jay passed away Tuesday at the age of 68. As of now, his cause of death is unknown, according to Billboard.

O’Jay was both an air personality and program director of the city’s WDIA radio, the country’s first radio station programmed for Black listeners. The beloved radio personality spent 38 years as an important and respected voice for the Black community, including interviewing high-profile celebrities such as Whitney Houston and Muhammad Ali.

O’Jay’s contributions to Black music and culture garnered WDIA’s induction into Tennessee’s Hall of Fame in 2013, as well as his recognition in 2020 by the Living Legends Foundation.

Upon learning of the news of O’Jay’s passing, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland posted a note on Twitter saying, “I’m very sorry to learn about the passing of Bobby O’Jay. I know for many Memphians, including my wife, the day was not complete unless they tuned in to hear what Bobby had to say. I always enjoyed being with Bobby on his show or otherwise.”

Likewise, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, expressed his condolences in a message on Twitter.

“Our thoughts and our prayers are with the family and friends of legendary Memphis radio personality Bobby O’Jay, who passed away today,” wrote Harris. “For so many of us, our mornings were not complete without a dose of Bobbyology. He will truly be missed.”

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He’s now based in LA, but The Kid LAROI‘s home country honored him Tuesday night at a ceremony in Melbourne, Australia.

LAROI took home three awards from APRA, the Australasian Performing Right Association, at its annual ceremony honoring songwriters.  His trophies included the APRA Song of the Year for “Stay,” Most Performed Hip-Hop/Rap Work for “Without You,” and the overall Songwriter of the Year award.

According to Billboard, LAROI accepted via a live Zoom from LA.

LAROI just released his long-awaited new single “Thousand Miles,” which he says he wrote when he met his current girlfriend, and realized that he “couldn’t give her the relationship she deserved due to the direction my life was heading.”  In the song, he warns her to stay away from him because he’s going to hurt her but, obviously, she didn’t listen, because they’re still together.

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