Music

Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson‘s latest solo album, Fierce Bliss, gets its release today.

The 11-track collection was recorded during the last couple of years at studios in Nashville, Seattle, Connecticut and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The album features mostly new originals co-written by Wilson, plus covers of Queen‘s “Love of My Life,” Robin Trower‘s “Bridge of Sighs” and Eurythmics‘ “Missionary Man.” “Love of My Life” is a duet with country star Vince Gill, while acclaimed blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays on “Bridge of Sighs” and “Missionary Man.”

Wilson tells ABC Audio that the Gill duet came about “all of a sudden” while he was visiting Muscle Shoals during one of her sessions there.

“It was so cool,” notes Ann. “It wasn’t even forced. It was just something that happened. It was great.”

As for her “Bridge of Sighs” cover, Wilson says, “[I]t’s maybe my favorite track on the record right now. Kenny Wayne just really succeeded with that one. He blew me away. It’s a blues song incarnate.”

Wilson recorded most of the tracks with a group of “go-to, top flight session musicians [from] Nashville.” She was so happy with the musicians’ spontaneous creativity and her chemistry with them, she hired them as her backing band, christening them The Amazing Dawgs.

As Ann recalls, “[T]here was a moment where all of a sudden we all looked at each other and went, ‘You know, this is really cool. This is more than just a sideman thing. These guys are amazing.”

Wilson also recorded two tracks with Gov’t Mule — “Gladiator” and “Angel’s Blues” — which she co-wrote with the jam band’s frontman, Warren Haynes.

“It was so great working with Gov’t Mule,” Ann says. “They just really get it.”

Here’s the full Fierce Bliss track list:

“Greed”
“Black Wing”
“Bridge of Sighs”
“Fighten for Life”
“Love of My Life” — featuring Vince Gill
“Missionary Man”
“Gladiator”
“Forget Her”
“A Moment in Heaven”
“Angel’s Blues”*
“As the World Turns”

* = on CD and digital formats only.

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HELLYEAH frontman Chad Gray says the band has “two or three” songs still left over featuring drums from the late Vinnie Paul.

Gray shared that info during an appearance on Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ‘s Drinks with Johnny podcast while speaking about the potential future of HELLYEAH.

“We’ve talked about [the idea] to keep writing some music,” Gray said. “We don’t know what the touring plans would be, ever — maybe ever again — but we could still release music.”

“I think there are, like, two or three songs that Vinnie actually tracked drums to…that we didn’t end up writing for whatever reason,” he goes on. “So, I mean, there is a potential for us to write maybe a couple of more songs with Vinnie’s drums.”

Paul, the older brother and band mate of Pantera‘s “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, died in 2018 at age 54. He’d originally joined HELLYEAH in 2006 as a way to get back into music after Dime’s murder in 2004.

In 2019, HELLYEAH released the album Welcome Home, which features Paul’s final drum recordings. The band toured behind the record with Stone Sour‘s Roy Mayorga on drums.

HELLYEAH is currently on hiatus. Gray, meanwhile, has since reunited with his band Mudvayne.

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The Who‘s Pete Townshend and Santana guitarist Carlos Santana, are part of the lineup of the Audible audio service’s next Words + Music series, a program that combines music and storytelling.

The new series of programs kicks off on May 6 with Pete Townshend: Somebody Saved Me, a two-hour presentation that features the legendary Who guitarist/songwriter discussing the period between the 1978 of Who drummer Keith Moon and the 2002 passing of bassist John Entwistle.

In the episode, the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reflects on the music he made with The Who and as a solo artist, his various other creative projects and endeavors, his personal relationships and more. The program also features newly recorded versions of several tunes from Pete’s catalog, including “Let My Love Open the Door,” “Slit Skirts,” “You Better You Bet,” and “Eminence Front.”

A one-minute preview clip from Somebody Saved Me has been posted on Audible’s SoundCloud page, in which Townshend notes that episode will look at a time “when The Who was at its most popular, and when The Who broke up…a time when I made solo records and worked on projects of all kinds outside rock ‘n’ roll.”

He adds, “It was a time that The Who suffered great loss, and then came together again. You could say that in this Words + Music project I’m going to focus on my ‘Middle Ages.'”

Word + Music episodes are available for free at Audible.com. The premiere date for Santana’s Words + Music episode hasn’t been announced yet.

Other artists featured in upcoming Word + Music presentations include Beck, comedy rock duo Tenacious D, Mariah Carey and Aimee Mann.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has teamed up with Ernie Ball to create his own line of signature guitar strings.

Dubbed Papa Het’s Hardwired Master Core, the strings come in a unique 11-50 gauge combo, which Ernie Ball calls “ideal for [Hetfield’s] aggressive style and technique.”

“It’s only taken 40 years for me to have my own strings!” Hetfield laughs in a video making the announcement.

You can order your Papa Het strings, which come in a tin box designed with artwork by Hetfield, now via Metallica.com. They’ll be available through Ernie Ball retailers beginning May 10.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Beck and Tenacious D are the latest artists to take part on Audible’s ongoing Words + Music series.

As its name suggests, Words + Music consists of audio programs from musicians combining storytelling and musical performances.

Beck’s Words + Music episode will premiere July 1, followed by the debut of the D’s installment on August 5.

Previous Words + Music participants include Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, St. Vincent, Gary Clark Jr. and Alice Cooper.

For more info, visit Audible.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ava Max‘s winter-themed music video for “Maybe You’re the Problem” is finally here, which features her dancing on skis, wearing a bikini while being buried in an avalanche, and turning into a video game character as she fights against all the negatives in her life.

Gwen Stefani celebrated a meaningful anniversary on Wednesday — it marked the day she knew she’d found her wedding dress.”One year ago today I tried on wedding dresses to marry @blakeshelton,” she announced on Instagram while sharing a video of her trying the gown and revealing she knew it was “the one,” even though it was only the second dress she tried.

Sam Smith shared the complete first verse of their new song “Love Me More” on their Instagram story. The lyrics go, “It used to burn/ Every insult, every word/ But it helped me learn/ Self-worth I have to earn.” The song drops 11 p.m. British time. “I truly can’t wait for my new song to be yours, not long now…,” Sam teased.

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Lil Nas X continues to shake up the streaming charts.  Chart Data reported that his 2019 hit, “Panini,” has officially amassed over a billion streams across U.S. platforms.  The single was aided by its comedic music video that starred Skai Jackson trying to outrun Lil Nas X’s incessant video advertisements.  The video has amassed nearly half a million views on YouTube.

In other LNX news, he announced he’s adding more dates to his Long Live Montero Tour.  “since tickets are selling out i will be adding more dates in new york, chicago, atlanta, detroit, toronto and la! on sale tomorrow morning at 10am local go to longlivemontero.com,” he announced on Instagram Thursday.

Ava Max‘s winter-themed music video for “Maybe You’re the Problem” is finally here, which features her dancing on skis, wearing a bikini while being buried in an avalanche, and turning into a video game character as she fights against all the negatives in her life.

Gwen Stefani celebrated a meaningful anniversary on Wednesday — it marked the day she knew she’d found her wedding dress.  “One year ago today I tried on wedding dresses to marry @blakeshelton,” she announced on Instagram while sharing a video of her trying the gown and revealing she knew it was “the one,” even though it was only the second dress she tried.

Sam Smith shared the complete first verse of their new song, “Love Me More,” on their Instagram Story.  The lyrics go, “It used to burn/ Every insult, every word/ But it helped me learn/ Self-worth I have to earn.”  The song drops 11 p.m. British time.  “I truly can’t wait for my new song to be yours, not long now…,” Sam teased.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NOTE LANGUAGE) –Rising R&B star Mahalia decided to take a note out of 50 Cent‘s music book with her newly released single, “In the Club.”

The U.K.-born singer’s catchy new track, which samples 50 Cent’s 2003 song “In da Club,” dropped Thursday, accompanied by a low-key music video. 

“‘In the Club’ is a song about letting go of people who are just plain and simply bad for you,” the singer explained. “I grew up in a small town in Leicester and most people didn’t believe that I could make it as an artist. I had a super small group of friends and a lot of people weren’t really ever interested in talking to me or being friends with me and mine…until I started doing well.”

Mahalia has come into much success over the course of the last two years. The singer received a Grammy nomination for Jacob Collier‘s 2020 track “All I Need,” which also featuring Ty Dolla $ign.

–Vevo announced Latto as the next artist in their Ctrl series, which highlights the work of hard-hitting, cutting-edge musicians making an impact in today’s music scene. In honor of the collaboration, Vevo released Latto’s live performance of “Trust No B****,” off 777, her second studio album.

Latto’s performance follows Ctrl sessions from artists such as Rick Ross, Common, Rapsody, Fat Joe, Jeezy and more.

–Congratulations are in order for up-and-coming rapper Saucy Santana, who recently signed a record deal with RCA Records. 

The 28-year-old Connecticut native, who’s known for his close friendship to City Girls‘ Yung Miami, rose to fame after the release of his internet-loving songs “Walk” and “Material Girl.“

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Chris Young is teaming up with the guys from Old Dominion for his next release, a feel-good track called “Everybody Needs a Song.”

The “Famous Friends” star previewed a snippet of his new track on his social media Thursday, also telling fans that the song will be out in full Friday. “Cheers to new music dropping on Friday with [Old Dominion],” Chris wrote.

The video teaser shows the two acts sharing a long-distance drink together, with Chris raising his glass to toast the camera and then — when the glass pulls away — revealing Old Dominion.

Chris has had a lot of success with collaborations lately. “Famous Friends,” his duet with Kane Brown, was not only a number-one hit but also the most-played country radio single of 2021. He and Cassadee Pope scored a big hit in 2016 with their song, “Think of You,” while “At the End of a Bar” — a team-up between Chris and Mitchell Tenpenny — is currently inside the top 30 at country radio.

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