Music

Mae Muller is starting off 2022 with “Better Days” because MTV has named her this month’s Global PUSH artist.  

The British singer, who teamed with Polo G and Neiked for the viral hit, was cited for her optimism and evolution as an artist.  Mae, who’s 24, says she is hard at work on her new album.

“I thought it was pretty much done,” she said of the project in a press release, but noted that the success of “Better Days” brought her back to the drawing board. “It’s kind of changed my thought process a bit,” Mae explained.  “All of the songs I have, I still love them so much. But I want to make sure that with my new way that I’m looking at it, I’m looking at it in a much bigger way.”

Mae says her sophomore album is “not quite done yet” but is hopeful fans will be able to hear it this year.  She adds that she is “very, very excited” to release it.  Her first record, Chapter 1, was released in November 2020.

Mae’s PUSH honor now lets her join a roster of heavy hitters that includes the likes of Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Lizzo, H.E.R., Khalid and many others.

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James Mtume, who recorded the 1983 RIAA-certified Gold single “Juicy Fruit,” passed away Sunday, his publicist confirmed to ABC News. He was 76.

The Grammy winner began his career as a jazz percussionist, and recorded and toured with jazz legend Miles Davis in the 1970s. He later recorded five albums with his group, Mtume, including their third album, 1983’s Juicy Fruit. The title track topped the Billboard R&B singles chart for eight consecutive weeks, and went on to become one of the most-sampled songs in hip-hop, including on the Notorious B.I.G.‘s first hit, 1994’s “Juicy.”

James Mtume also composed and produced hits for several other artists with his partner, Reggie Lucas.  Mtume and Lewis’ credits include Stephanie Mills‘ Grammy-winning 1981 single, “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” and the Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway 1978 classic, “The Closer I Get to You.” Mtume and Lucas also recorded with Phyllis Hyman, Lou Rawls and The Spinners in the early 1980s.

Mills commented on Instagram, “I am saddened to hear of the passing of my dear friend and producer #JamesMtume. He was so brilliant and an amazing music mind. The work chemistry we had along with your writing partner Reggie Lucas was second to none. I know you two are about to reconnect and make amazing music. I will forever be grateful and I will continue to lift you up through our music. You will be missed.”

Mtume also co-produced Mary J. Blige‘s 1997 album, Share My World, served as a music supervisor for the ’90s TV series New York Undercover, and scored the 1986 film Native Son, starring Oprah Winfrey.

 

 

 

 

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Steve Miller Band, Stone Temple Pilots and The Smashing Pumpkins are part of the lineup for the 2022 BeachLife Festival, taking place May 13-15 in Redondo Beach, California.

Miller and his group will headline the event’s third and final day, while The Smashing Pumpkins will top the bill on day two, May 14. STP also will be performing on May 14, as will Matisyahu, Sugar Ray, Everclear frontman Art Alexakis and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Weezer and 311 will headline the festival’s first day, which also will boast performances by Black Pumas, Cold War Kids and more.

The May 15 bill also includes Sheryl Crow, UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, The Allman Betts Band, Ozomatli and others.

Tickets are on sale now. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit BeachLifeFestival.com.

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With the holidays officially over, Adele has reclaimed the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.  “Easy on Me” has now notched its eighth week atop the chart.

“Easy on Me” is now officially Adele’s second-longest-running song at number one on the chart after besting the seven-week run that “Rolling in the Deep” enjoyed over a decade ago.  Her song that spent the most time at the the top of the Hot 100 currently is “Hello,” which topped the chart for 10 weeks in 2015 and 2016.

“Easy on Me” was streamed 15.8 million times over the past week and sold an additional 8,000 copies.

In second place is The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “Stay” and, rising to a new high on the Hot 100 is Glass Animals, who sits at number three with their viral hit “Heat Waves.”

With this, the British band has made Billboard history by spending the most weeks climbing up into the top five.  The song debuted at number 100 in January 2021 and spent the past 51 weeks ascending to its current spot. The previous record-holder was Gabby Barrett and Charlie Puth, whose “I Hope” took 45 weeks to break into the top five.

Also making waves on the chart is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s new animated movie Encanto.  The viral hit rounds out the top five, after Ed Sheeran‘s “Shivers.” The track is only the fifth Disney song to break into the top five on the Billboard 100 — following Frozen‘s “Let It Go,” The Lion King‘s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” Pocahontas‘ “Colors of the Wind” and Aladdin‘s “A Whole New World.”

The Encanto soundtrack is currently number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Mitchell Tenpenny is expanding his tour schedule. 

On Monday, Mitchell unveiled dates for part two of his 2 Us It Did Tour, adding 13 shows from January through March. The new leg begins January 21 at the ACM Award-nominated venue Grizzly Rose in Denver, with stops in St. Louis, Indianapolis and Rootstown, Ohio, along the way before it wraps up March 5 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Alana Springsteen joins as the opening act. 

The tour originally kicked off in 2021, and last year’s dates included Mitchell’s headlining debut at the Ryman Auditorium in his hometown of Nashville. The trek is named after his song “To Us It Did,” from his latest EP, Midtown Diaries, which also features the viral hit “Truth About You.” 

“Seeing our fans scream back our songs & especially ‘Truth About You’ was so special on the first half of the tour. I’m so excited to extend this tour and live it again,” Mitchell shares in an Instagram post. “Get your tickets…let’s party!!!!!!” 

Visit Mitchell’s website for a full list of dates. 

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Your week is about to get spookier, courtesy of Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl and company are set to premiere the first official trailer for their upcoming horror-comedy film Studio 666 this Tuesday — or, should we say, Foos-day — January 11. The clip will follow the previously released 43-second “sneak peek” teaser, which dropped last month.

Studio 666, which was first announced this past November, follows the Foos as they enter a creepy mansion to record a new album, and are soon beset by evil and supernatural forces. While the movie is, of course, fictional, it was filmed at the same house where Foo Fighters recorded their 2021 album, Medicine at Midnight, which Grohl repeatedly said was haunted.

Along with the six Foo members, the Studio 666 cast also includes Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Will Forte and Jenna Ortega. The film premieres in theaters February 25.

Check out some killer photos from @Studio666Movie. 🔪 Don’t miss the official trailer TOMORROW! 🤘 #Studio666Movie pic.twitter.com/yje35sw2uD

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) January 10, 2022

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In his native U.K., Elton John scored three number-one hits in 2021. He wasn’t as lucky in the U.S., but he’s kicking off 2022 with his first American top 10 in 24 years.

After its release in August of 2021, Elton’s duet with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” has jumped from number 20 to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The last time Elton was in the top 10 on this chart was back in 1998, with “Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997.”

“Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” features snippets of four Elton songs — “Sacrifice,” “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” — all mixed together by the Australian dance music act Pnau.  It appears on his album The Lockdown Sessions.

Meanwhile, Elton’s fellow Brit, Adele, is enjoying her eighth non-consecutive week at number one with “Easy On Me.”  The song, Adele’s fifth U.S. chart-topper, has now spent more weeks at number one on the Hot 100 than any of her previous songs except one, “Hello,” which led for 10 weeks in 2015 and 2016.

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American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is once again throwing his hat into the political ring with his eyes set at becoming a member of Congress.

The “Invisible” singer is vying for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses the cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point.  He is running as a Democrat.

“Can you believe it’s been almost 20 years since I first got to share my voice with you? That’s a long time. A LOT has changed!,” he tweeted on Monday. “We need powerful voices more than ever, so I’m running for Congress. And my voice is even stronger now!”

Clay, who’s 43, poked fun at how much he’s changed since America was first introduced to him as an aspiring singer in the early aughts. In an official campaign video, he stared at a photo taken during his 2003 stint on the reality singing competition and remarked, “Most of you remember me like this… skinny.”

The singer spoke about how much his life has changed in the years since, such as becoming a father and publicly coming out as gay — but that his love for his home state has stayed the same.

Clay’s platform includes transportation, gun violence, climate change and those he dubs “precious rights” — voting rights, LGBT rights and reproductive rights.

Should he be voted to represent the 6th district, Clay will become the first openly gay congressperson in history to represent a Southern state.  The Democratic primary takes place in May. 

Clay previously ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014.

Can you believe it’s been almost 20 years since I first got to share my voice with you? That’s a long time. A LOT has changed!

We need powerful voices more than ever, so I’m running for Congress.

And my voice is even stronger now! 😉 #JoinTheChorushttps://t.co/aQIm8a2xuZ pic.twitter.com/xBtN2CYF30

— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) January 10, 2022

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Netflix released a teaser on Monday for a three-part Kanye West documentary titled jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy that will debut February 16 on the streaming platform.

The teaser clip begins with footage of Kanye near the start of his career in 2002, one year before he released his debut single, “Through the Wire.” It includes scenes in the studio with Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams, the latter of whom says of Kanye, “This man can do everything himself.”

The doc’s first act, Vision, will be shown in theaters nationwide on February 10 for a one-day engagement.

“Filmmakers Coodie and Chike have created an extraordinary film and we’re honored that they have trusted TIME Studios to produce jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” TIME Studios President Ian Orefice says in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with Iconic Events Releasing to give the world a chance to first experience the once in a generation storytelling in theaters.”

Iconic Events Releasing CEO Steve Bunnell adds, “Through his work as a performer, producer, and entrepreneur, few artists or businessmen have had a greater impact on worldwide popular culture than Kanye West over the last twenty years.”

Meanwhile, Gap announced Friday that it’s expanding its partnership with West to include a new line of YZY products in collaboration with fashion house Balenciaga. Balenciaga creative director Demna served as creative director and merchandise designer for Ye’s Donda listening events last year in Atlanta and Chicago. According to Page Six, West is rumored to be planning to shoot a music video with Cardi B at the Banciaga store in Miami this week.

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