Music

What was it like filming the “2step” music video in 20-degree weather? Ed Sheeran answered that question while treating fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his newest clip that was posted Tuesday on his official YouTube channel.

As previously reported, “2step” was filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine, prior to Russia’s invasion of the country, which has reduced portions of the capital city featured in the music video into rubble. The Grammy winner has since pledged to donate royalties from YouTube streams to ongoing humanitarian efforts for the Ukrainian people.

“Come behind the scenes with me on a video shoot I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Sheeran captioned the new making-of video, which starts with Ed dressing appropriately for the chilly, winter weather. “I have all my thermal gear on,” the singer explains as the video cuts to the bundled-up production crew directing the shoot.

The video also shares more images of the city around the singer-songwriter, from lit-up shops to apartment buildings to intact bus stops and billboards. Other clips show him bonding with the extras, reviewing footage and, finally, toasting with a warm drink once he’s satisfied all his shots.

The “Shivers” singer previously announced that he’ll donate royalties from YouTube streams of  the “2step” remix, which features rapper Lil Baby, to DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which works to provide food, water, shelter and medical assistance to those in need.

“Ukraine is a proud and resilient country and I’m grateful to have had the chance to film my video there,” Ed previously expressed. “I stand will Ukraine.”

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Old Dominion gave their road crew a unique gift. 

Backstage at a recent show, the band gathered the crew to present an end-of-tour gift, revealing that after a brief delay, they had received the official documentation that they are official lords and ladies in Scotland. With the certification comes a piece of land for each person — albeit only a square foot. The news incited laughter and cheers from the crew.

Frontman Matthew Ramsey then lead a toast thanking the crew for their hard work, remarking that it felt like they came through the ranks together. 

“We love our road family so much, they inspire and drive us every day to be the best entertainers we can, they really run the show. So we thought let’s make it official. So we present… Lords (and a Lady) of Scotland,” the band writes alongside the video. 

Old Dominion is currently on the road opening for Kenny Chesney on the Here and Now Tour.

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Viola Davis‘ portrayal of Michelle Obama in the Showtime series The First Lady didn’t quite resonate well with some fans. And in response to the backlash she’s received — most of which was addressed at the “duck lip” face Davis made throughout the premiere episode — the actress is firing back at critics.

“Critics absolutely serve no purpose,” Davis said in a recent interview with BBC News. “And I’m not saying that to be nasty either.”

The Oscar winner said that while it is “incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work,” she’s reminded of her role as an actor and creative, which is to make necessary work decisions. “Ultimately I feel like it is my job as a leader to make bold choices. Win or fail it is my duty to do that,” Davis said.

After the First Lady episode’s airing on April 17, the social media commentary poured in on Twitter. 

“OMG trying to watch The First Lady and it’s just too hard. All your thinking is WTAF is Viola Davis doing with her damn lips, I couldn’t watch…” one of the many tweets read.

Davis acknowledged that criticism is an “occupational hazard” of acting but also stood firm in her decision to make “bold choices.”

“They always feel like they’re telling you something that you don’t know. Somehow that you’re living a life that you’re surrounded by people who lie to you and ‘I’m going to be the person that leans in and tells you the truth’. So it gives them an opportunity to be cruel to you,” Davis said. 

The 56-year-old actress said it’s tough to move on from the “hurt” and “failure,” but declared, “You have to. Not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance.”

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Fans anxiously awaiting to see the Wicked musical turn into a Hollywood blockbuster will now enjoy double the fun after its director decided to split the film into two installments.

Director Jon M. Chu took to Twitter Tuesday to make the big announcement, saying it would be a disservice to cram the Broadway adaptation into a single film.

“As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” he said in a statement. “As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.”

“We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth,” the statement continued.

As previously reported, Ariana Grande will play Glinda while Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo has been cast as Elphaba, or the Wicked Witch of the West.

Chu said of the leading ladies’ commitment to making the film, “[We] pledge to create nothing less than an experience that honors its foundation for all fans who’ve waited for this movie.”  He then unveiled the first film’s release date, saying the first installment arrives in December 2024.

Wicked, a musical retelling of The Wizard of Oz originally starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, made its Broadway debut in 2003.

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Well tell us how you really feel, Future!

The “Mask Off” rapper gave just a little taste of what to possibly expect on his ninth studio album, when he revealed the “brutally honest,” as Billboard calls it, title for the project. 

I NEVER LIKED YOU is the name of Future’s upcoming album, which is set to drop this Friday, April 29. 

When the “best rapper alive,” as he was called in Future’s recent GQ cover story, unveiled the title on Monday, fans weren’t that surprised by its direct message. The rapper is well-known for speaking his mind publicly, even when it comes to personal issues. 

For example, the lyrics “Magic City, I’m the owner // Tell Steve Harvey I don’t want her,” his verse on 42 Dugg‘s “Maybach,” were subliminally aimed at his ex-girlfriend, Lori Harvey, after it was announced that she and Michael B. Jordan were dating. Future also shaded ex-fiancé Ciara and her husband, Russell Wilson, for their relationship dynamic.

I NEVER LIKED YOU is highly anticipated by the hip hop world. Future told GQ it’ll feature Drake, Kanye and Gunna. “[I’m] sharing my pain with the world. Sharing my ups, sharing my downs with the entire universe,” he said.

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PSY is making his musical comeback after introducing Western radio to K-pop a decade ago with “Gangnam Style,” and he’s tapped BTS‘ Suga to produce lead single from his upcoming album.

The “GENTLEMAN” rapper recently unveiled his upcoming studio work, PSY 9th, which will be his first album in about five years. PSY has been teasing a crop of new music over the past few days to excite fans about the upcoming effort and, on Monday, unveiled the track “That That” on Twitter.

PSY also shared the promotional artwork for the new song, which is second on the track list, and confirmed it is also the “title track.”

The 44-year-old rapper then shared a video explaining how this collaborative work with Suga came to be, in which he speaks about his excitement to work with younger artists and attests he doesn’t “want to be someone who’s hard to approach.”

Suga, who is 29, also appeared in the promotional video and said he was “quite nervous” to collaborate with PSY, explaining, “He’s many years my senior and someone who’s so well-respected in the business.”  He quickly learned that his fears were misplaced and described, “It felt like working with a childhood friend, so it made the songwriting process that much more fun… We became besties in a way!”

PSY joked being upgraded to “bestie” status is “great for me” because, as he remarked, “How much younger does that make me?”

The two then teased just a few seconds of their new song, but fans won’t have to wait too long to hear it.  “That That” drops Friday at 6 p.m. Korean time.  

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Chris Stapleton is feeling the impact of giving back to his home state. 

Over the weekend, the singer headlined A Concert for Kentucky, a show he put together two years ago but that had been repeatedly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While performing for more than 55,000 people at Kroger Field at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Chris used the opportunity for good, raising more than $1 million for he and wife Morgane Stapleton‘s Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund to donate back to local causes close to their hearts.

Among the charities receiving grants are Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, UK Healthcare Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the Community Foundation of Western Kentucky’s Disaster Relief Fund, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. 

“Every night we walk on a stage, we do our best to help people forget their troubles or celebrate or remember or hope or heal. As a musician I can’t think of a greater honor than reaching a point where we can play a show for 40,000 people and give all of the profits back to a community that has been so unfailingly loyal and supportive,” Chris shared in a reflective Instagram post. “It is a tremendously pure and rewarding moment to get to provide the medicine that is music in that space.” 

This marked the first show ever at Kroger Field, with Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and Madeline Edwards also on the bill.

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A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel has revealed the details of his upcoming debut solo album.

The record is titled What Normal Was, and arrives June 10. It includes the previously released single “Poison Flowers,” which now has an official video.

“This is me stepping back into my early teen self and making the record I would’ve made if I had the means and the knowledge when I first picked up a guitar — just in 2022,” Howerdel says. “It’s that moment as a kid when you hear a record, close your eyes, and go somewhere else. That was the time I found my lane, so to speak.”

Along with the album news, Howerdel has announced a full-length solo U.S. tour, running from June 11 in Ventura, California, to July 20 in Phoenix. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 29, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit BillyHowerdel.com.

As previously reported, Howerdel will also be opening for two dates on Puscifer‘s upcoming tour. Puscifer, of course, is fronted by Howerdel’s APC band mate, Maynard James Keenan.

Here’s the What Normal Was track list:

“Selfish Heart”
“Free and Weightless”
“Ani”
“Beautiful Mistake”
“The Same Again”
“Poison Flowers”
“Follower”
“Bring Honor Back Home”
“EXP”
“Stars”

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If you work at an Amazon warehouse in the U.K., chances are you are very familiar with Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa‘s songs.  Their music tops the list of the most-played songs at “industrial premises.”

British publication iNews obtained the report from PRS for Music, which tracks the royalties artists make when their music is played in the background of these British facilities, which generates about $22.8 million annually.  The two most-played songs on this list are Ed’s “Bad Habits” and Dua’s “Levitating.”

The study also found that Glass Animals‘ viral hit “Heat Waves” was the third most-repeated song in warehouses.

PRS also noted that a Mindlab International study found that listening to pop music at work helps motivate those working more active jobs by improving their speed and accuracy.  Most interestingly, PRS believes music containing a dance-like beat “enhances proof-reading skills,” which might explain why “Bad Habits” and “Levitating” are respectively first and second on the list.

The outlet also noted the money made by warehouse streaming helped supplement the earnings artists lost when COVID-19 slammed the brakes on touring and other live performances.  Overall, revenue for the live music sector dipped by 29 percent in 2021.

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