Music

Lee Brice is in the mood for good-timing romance in the music video for his latest single, “Soul.” Set at a wedding, the video follows the bride and groom — plus a handful of other couples, all at different stages in their relationship — through a romantic and irrepressible dance party.

Just like lines from the song such as “Kiss you from your head to your toeses,” the video brings a dash of unapologetic cheesiness into the mix, but at the root of the song is something much deeper.

“The idea that our souls truly connect to each other in unexplainable ways has always been at the core of what I do as a musician, a writer, a producer, a singer…” Lee explains. “And I think it’s a good reminder to keep with me every day. I hope everybody loves this song as much as I do.”

“Soul” is currently climbing the charts at country radio. It follows Lee’s latest chart-topper, “Memory I Don’t Mess With.”

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Janet Jackson has personally weighed in on the rumors that she and ex-husband James DeBarge secretly welcomed a child during their brief marriage. The two were married between 1984 and 1985, but the rumors persisted that they had a child and had it raised by other members of the Jackson family.

People obtained an advance copy of the upcoming Janet documentary, which sees the hitmaker addressing the nearly 40-year-old rumor.

“Back in the day they were saying that I had a child and I kept it secret… I could never keep a child away from James. How could I keep a child from their father? I could never do that, that’s not right,” she said, according to People.

The Grammy winner has an idea what sparked the rumors, saying she was put on birth control at the time she was recording Fame and that caused her to gain weight.  Apparently, the paparazzi took it as a sign that she was expecting.

Janet also opened up about why she and James went their separate ways, saying she was unable to overlook his drug addiction. She said she would search for him on the streets and, if she found any drugs in the house, she flushed them down the toilet, adding, “We would be rolling on the floor fighting for them. And that’s not a life for anyone,” according to People.

“I cared so much for him, and I saw the good in him as well and I just wanted that to take precedence as opposed to this ugliness,” she added. “‘Cause I knew that he needed help. But I wasn’t the help that he needed.”

The two-night Janet event premieres this Friday at 8 p.m. ET on both Lifetime and A&E. 

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Las Vegas in the summer is scorching hot…but it’s about to get even hotter: Katy Perry just added 16 new shows to her new Las Vegas residency, PLAY.

Katy will now perform three dates in May starting May 27, plus five shows in June, two shows in July and six dates in August. Tickets for the new dates at the Resorts World Theatre go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. PST — the same day she returns to Saturday Night Live for her fourth appearance as musical guest.

In addition, tickets for Katy’s performances on March 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 16, 18 and 19 are currently on sale.

PLAY features Katy performing all her hits as a doll who goes through various adventures before finally finding her forever home with the right child. And since Katy is playing a doll, all the props and set pieces are larger than life: They include a 16-foot-tall toilet, a 12-foot-tall bed, a 10-foot-tall cereal box, six-foot tall toilet paper rolls and a giant 11-foot-long, 12-foot-high snail.

Here are Katy’s new PLAY dates:

May 2022:27, 28, 29
June 2022:3, 4, 8, 10, 11
July 2022:29, 30
August 2022:3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13

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The Smile — the new band featuring Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood — has released a new song called “The Smoke.”

The tune is the second offering from The Smile, following the group’s debut single, “You Will Never Work in Television Again,” which premiered earlier this month. You can stream “The Smoke” alongside its accompanying lyric video now on YouTube.

Along with the Radiohead guys, The Smile also features drummer Tom Skinner of the band Sons of Kemet. The group made their live debut at the Glastonbury 2021 livestream event.

The Smile will play their first officially announced concerts this weekend with a series of three consecutive shows taking place in London over a 24-hour period between January 29 and 30. The performances will also stream live online.

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BTS were rolling in the dough last December — and then some, according to the Billboard Boxscore.  After crunching the numbers, the publication reports that the K-pop sensations earned a jaw-dropping $16.8 million dollars from only two concerts.

Boxscore tracks how much money an artist makes every month while on tour, and the septet earned the third-highest amount, overall.  Besting them is the British rock band Genesis, who placed second after amassing $22 million across nine shows.  In first place is the Christmas staple Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who played 71 shows in December and made a little over $42 million in ticket sales.

Still, BTS is turning heads because raking in $16.8 million after playing just two shows is no easy feat.  About 107,000 fans turned up at both performances at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. 

The Grammy nominees also topped the Billboard Boxscore in November, when they played two dates late that month and earned roughly $16.5 million.   When adding the totals of their four concerts combined, BTS raked in an impressive $33.3 million and clinched the title of highest-grossing Boxscore in nearly 10 years.

Also, the “Dynamite” singers can say they earned the most money in a single-day concert out of all other touring acts.  In a distant second is Latin sensation Bad Bunny, whose single-day best earning was $6.4 million, after 70,000 fans showed up to his show in Puerto Rico.

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On Country Stuff The Album, Walker Hayes brings back a new version of one of his most important older songs: “Craig,” a track that originally appeared on his 2017 project, boom.

Back when he first released it, “Craig” was a fan-favorite, and even led to the foundation of Walker’s Be a Craig Fund. The song tells a special story about the singer’s friendship with a man he met at church, who helped him navigate his then-nascent relationship with his faith.

Craig also went above and beyond to help out Walker’s family, gifting him a minivan when he was too broke to buy a vehicle with enough seatbelts for all six of his kids.

It’s a great story, and a true one. On social media, Walker recently introduced his fans to Craig Cooper, the real-life person who inspired the song. Craig joins Walker in the video, while they’re in the middle of playing a family game of Horse — or, as they call it, “Craig” — in a driveway.

These days, Craig and Walker are more than just buddies: They’re also neighbors. The pair are also working together on a new book, Glad You’re Here, which will be out in May.

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Former Hinder frontman Austin John Winkler has returned with a new solo song.

The track is called “SuperJaded,” and is available now for digital download. You can watch its accompanying music video streaming now on YouTube.

“SuperJaded” is the first official solo release from Winkler to follow his debut EP Love Sick Radio, which dropped in 2016. In between, Winkler was dealing with various health issues.

Winkler fronted Hinder for their first four albums — singing on hits including “Lips of an Angel” and “Get Stoned” — before leaving the group in 2013. Hinder has since released two albums with current lead singer Marshal Dutton.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Lizzo enjoys that she is not only able to connect with people through her music — but also through the power of TikTok.  The “Truth Hurts” singer spoke with Billboard about why she is fascinated by the social media site.

“I see social media like I see my music, because it still is an avenue in which I’m connecting with my fans. I can connect with my fans over a TikTok just as much as I can connect with them over a song,” the Grammy winner said. “This has never happened before, and we are truly in the beginning of the thick of it. It’s exciting.”

“I love TikTok, and I love being as outrageous as I could be,” she added. “From food videos to the silly s*** I post online, I love connecting through video format. I used to love pictures and all that, but now I really get a chance to talk to people.”

Lizzo speaks about that in Logitech’s new Defy Logic brand campaign, which features her all-new song “Special” in its advertisement.  The song promotes self-love and confidence in spite of other people’s negative opinions.

She says about the song’s theme, “I’m all about celebrating myself. I’m a walking birthday cake!”

“Famously, I use songs and music to express all of my feelings, especially my heartbreak or sadness or getting over something or empowering myself for the good days and the days I wish could be good days,” she added.

And now she is expressing herself on TikTok — most recently by trying that viral food hack that has people squirting mustard on Oreos.  When asked if it’s any good, she replied, “Oh yeah, baby!”

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Heartbreak anthems are taking over the radio thanks to teen artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, The Kid LAROI and GAYLE — and the “abcdefu” singer has an idea why teenage angst is making a roaring comeback.  She thinks it’s because her generation isn’t afraid to make people angry.

“Like other young artists, I’m just drawing from my own personal experience and other people are seeing that, too. I talk about what I’m passionate about, and if that [ticks] people off, then OK! Being comfortable with [ticking] people off is one thing that I think young artists have started to accept and utilize,” the 17-year-old told NME. 

GAYLE added, “Art is uncomfortable at times; you want to make somebody feel something, even if they hate your song. It is clearly sparking an emotion within them, which means you’re doing something correctly.”

When it comes to “abcdefu,” the viral hitmaker said, “I’m still getting comfortable with its success. It’s interesting because if a song gets overplayed on the radio, people can get sick of hearing it. People can literally become mad at you for being successful.”

GAYLE revealed she “was planning on releasing an entirely different song” as her debut single because she was “convinced that people wouldn’t like [“abcdefu”], so I played mind games with myself over it for ages. But I’m glad I stuck with it… we knew it was special.”

GAYLE also shouted out Olivia during her interview, but clarified they will not be jumping in the studio together any time soon.  “I saw this rumor on Instagram that said that I’ll be featuring on the next Olivia Rodrigo album – I love her, but that’s not a thing that’s happening,” she said. “I haven’t even hinted towards a collaboration with her, but hey, I’m down for it!”

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