The “Judas” rockers have announced that they have a new drummer: Grant Brooks of the band Through Fire. Brooks takes the place of original Fozzy drummer Frank Fontsere, who’s leaving the band to “focus on his family and other projects.”
“We are stoked to unleash the pure energy and talent that Grant brings to the band and we are ready to EXPLODE in 2022,” Fozzy says.
The band adds that they “wish [Fontsere] nothing but the best and thank him for his years of maximum rock.” Fontsere joined Fozzy when they were founded in 1999, and has played on all of their albums.
Fozzy’s 2022 plans include the release of their new album, Boombox, which is due out April 15.
Halsey is treating fans to one last post-holiday present — a surprise, expanded edition of their Grammy nominated If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power album that is out now.
This new version comes with three several extra tracks, including two versions of their 2019 hit “Nightmare” and an updated version of “People Disappear Here.” The latter bonus track was previously exclusive to the Target edition of IICHLIWP, while “Nightmare” was only available on albums sold at Walmart.
The expanded album is now available to stream and purchase everywhere.
This is the latest update of Halsey’s fourth studio album. Last month, they released a new video for “Honey,” which depicts the Grammy-nominee being covered in the golden liquid as they belt out the track.
IICHLIWP was released on August 27, 2021 and has since been nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
On Monday, the superstar singer confirmed that she is releasing a new song on Friday, “Circles Around This Town.” She shared the news alongside the cover art that shows her wearing a tassel crop top and ripped jeans and leaning against a vintage car. She accompanied the post with the tagline “get lost, get found” and a pair of map emojis.
Fans flooded the comment section with their excitement, with one celebrating, “Yes yes yes!!!!! This year is starting out amazing,” while another added, “New year and already NEW MUSIC?!?!? UUUUGH WE STAN. So excited!”
Maren teased “Circles Around This Town” on December 22 with a video showing her walking around the back of the car, which has a license plate displaying the word “Go” as a guitar riff from the track plays in the background.
“Pedal down, 2022,” she captioned the clip, along with a red ring emoji.
Maren’s last album, 2019’s Girl, spawned three singles, including back-to-back #1 hits “The Bones” and the title track. “The Bones” was named Song of the Year at the 2021 ACM Awards and 2020 CMA Awards. She recently topped the charts with husband Ryan Hurd with their duet, “Chasing After You.”
Anyone holding out hope for an Oasis reunion in 2022 had that dream dashed mere hours into the New Year.
On the morning of January 1, Noel Gallaghershared a demo of a new song called “Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone: Part 1.” The track apparently found its way to the ears of Liam Gallagher, who decided to share his review of his estranged brother and former band mate’s latest offering.
You can probably see where this is going: Liam’s six-word analysis read, “Miserable a**e cheer up you billionaire.”
Noel did not respond to Liam’s jab, though it appears Liam will have the opportunity to review a few more songs this year. Along with the new recording, Noel shared that he’d “just finished writing/demoing” for the next album with his High Flying Birds solo project.
Liam, meanwhile, is set to release his third solo effort, titled C’mon You Know, on May 27.
Lil Nas X is looking back on his decision to publicly come out, saying that his intent and timing were “authentic.”
Speaking toCBS Sunday Morning recently, the Grammy winner explained why he chose to come out at the height of his “Old Town Road” fame.
“That would’ve been the most authentic time,” said Lil Nas X. “It’s like, I’m not doing it for attention. I’m already like the number-one artist in the world right now.”
The rapper said “there was definitely some fear” before making his announcement in 2019, adding, “There’s always gonna be fear when you’re doing something that’s literally life-changing. But you just have to do it, you know.”
He also acknowledged that, while he’s not the first gay rapper in the game, he is among the first to openly embrace his sexuality.
“I feel like I’m definitely much more ‘out there’ with it,” said Lil Nas X. “It’s always been, ‘Okay, if you’re gay, this needs to be sanitized. Let’s not include anything sexual.’ It’s like, ‘Be gay without being gay. We don’t wanna know what happens behind closed doors, or we don’t want you to express that.”
Lil Nas X is glad to have ignored that pressure and now hopes to be an example for other performers, saying, “I want every other artist to feel” they can freely express who they are.
When asked to summarize his 2021 in just one word, Lil Nas X chose “transformation,” because “I feel like I’ve bloomed into an entirely new version of myself.”
He added his five-time Grammy nominated debut album, Montero, allowed him to “reinvent myself” by giving him an outlet to “express myself more” through his music.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer rang in the New Year with a cover of The Golden Girls theme song, “Thank You for Being a Friend.”
“There has been a lot of loss lately, a lot of endings,” Klinghoffer wrote in an Instagram post alongside a video of the cover. “It’s happening all the time everywhere, but these past few weeks have seen the loss of a few important people in my life.”
While Klinghoffer’s post doesn’t specifically mention her by name, the cover is also undoubtedly a tribute to late Golden Girls star and TV icon Betty White, who passed away New Year’s Eve at 99 years old.
Klinghoffer’s 2022 plans include hitting the road with Eddie Vedder as part of the Pearl Jam frontman’s solo band, The Earthlings. He’s also a member of Pearl Jam’s touring lineup.
Ellie Goulding is opening up about her battle with anxiety.
Over the weekend, the singer detailed her struggles in an emotional Instagram post.
“This past year has been the very best of my life,” she wrote. “But this year has also been the hardest of my life.”
The “Still Falling for You” singer, who performed for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in December and gave birth to her son, Arthur, last year, said she’s had many unforgettable moments in 2021, but anxiety has also played a big role in her life.
“I’ve struggled daily, nightly, hourly, with a kind of panic I didn’t even know existed,” Ellie wrote. “While the moments of being on stage in front of all of you have been some of the most exhilarating and calming, this year I have been struggling.”
As 2021 came to a close, Goulding said she wanted to share her experience with her followers and explain why she didn’t respond to many of them when they asked her via social media how she was doing. Ellie went on to say that she’s been “scared to admit” that she hasn’t been feeling well.
“I feel like something is broken inside — something that has been echoed deeply by the few I have opened up to,” she said. “This is something so so many people have gone through, you may be going through right now, or might go through in the future — and I just wanted to say, and I have to remind myself all the time, that it’s not just you, it’s not just me. Crippled by anxiety.”
The singer hopes that by sharing her story, others going through the same thing might also find the courage to talk through those feelings.
In case you missed it, Journey has shared a video of their two-song performance on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest special on its socialmedia pages.
The veteran rockers performed their classic hits “Any Way You Want It” and “Don’t Stop Believin'” live in New York City’s Times Square on Friday night at about 11:30 p.m. ET shortly before the ball dropped to ring in 2022.
Fans may have noticed that Journey drummer Deen Castronovo wasn’t performing with the band that night, and Castronovo revealed that was because he’d tested positive for COVID-19 before the event.
“Well yes it’s true! Tested positive for ‘The thing,'” Deen wrote on his Twitter feed. “I feel fine. Asymptomatic but the show must go on.” Castronovo also noted that Journey drum tech Steve Toomey was filling in for him at the Times Square gig.
Deen, whose substance-abuse issues were a factor in him being fired from Journey in 2015, subsequently worked on his sobriety and rejoined the band’s lineup in July of 2021.
He added in his message, “Hey at least I feel great and it wasn’t cuz I was high on drugs and alcohol right!! Love you all and stay safe out there!!”
Castrovono also posted a follow-up message on Twitter over the weekend that reads, “HAPPY NEW YEARS!! Sending you all peace, health & happiness! Thank you for all the well wishes and support! God bless you all! CYA out on the road with [Journey] in 2022!”
Journey’s Freedom Tour 2022, with opening act Billy Idol, kicks off on February 22 in Pittsburgh.
Olivia Rodrigo knows a thing or two about the ugly side of breakups, because she wrote a whole album about it. Now, in a new interview, she’s offering advice on how to move on from someone she once loved, and heal the emotional scars.
“Besides cutting off all contact, I think it’s important to not only forgive them, but forgive yourself for letting everything happen,” Olivia tells Vogue, referring to a past relationship. “That’s what I’ve learned.”
She referenced that relationship when revealing the one thing she’d tell her then-16-year-old self, which is, “You’re more than enough, and to trust your gut.”
Plenty of songs on Olivia’s SOUR album, such as the hit single “traitor,” contain lyrics about her suspecting something was up with her boyfriend but how she didn’t want to believe it.
Olivia has since found new love in rumored boyfriend Adam Daze. Olivia admits she knows when she has it bad when “I want my partner to be happy, even if that means that they’re not with me.”
But just because she’s not on someone’s radar doesn’t mean she waits around for them to notice her, saying she will “Write a song for them” to get her feelings across — admittedly something that she “definitely” did for a crush back in the day. She declined to reveal who that was.
That said, to write a song “from your heart and write as much as you possibly can” is something Olivia says is a recipe for making a hit track.
After everything the 18-year-old has learned about love, she revealed what she is now looking for in a future partner, saying “consistency, kindness, and respect” are the most important traits she wants her significant other to have.
With 2021 now in the rear-view mirror, let’s look ahead to some new rock albums that will be released in 2022.
The new year will kick off with the arrival of The Lumineers‘ Brightside on January 14, along with Underoath‘s Voyeurist and The Wombats‘ Fix Yourself, Not the World.
Releases scheduled for February include Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators‘ 4;Bastille‘s Give Me the Future and Korn‘s Requiem on February 4; Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder‘s solo record Earthling on February 11; and Guns N’ Roses‘ Hard Skool EP on February 25.
Later in 2022, we’ll be getting not one, but two new Jack White solo albums: Fear of the Dawn on April 8, and Entering Heaven Alive on July 22.
Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly is set to release Born with Horns, his follow-up to 2020’s Travis Barker-produced Tickets to My Downfall, sometime this year.
Other artists who are expected to release albums this year include Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Shinedown, Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold and Papa Roach.
Osbourne’s as-yet-untitled album, which is expected out around springtime, will include contributions from his Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi, plus Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and other guest stars.
Here’s a list of notable confirmed and expected releases for 2022:
1/14:
The Lumineers, Brightside
Underoath, Voyeurist
The Wombats, Fix Yourself, Not the World
2/4:
Bastille, Give Me the Future
Korn, Requiem
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, 4
2/11:
Alt-J, The Dream
Eddie Vedder, Earthling
Spoon, Lucifer of the Sofa
2/25:
Guns N’ Roses, Hard Skool EP
3/25:
Various Artists, Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West (featuring Slash, Zakk Wylde, Dee Snider, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Elliot Easton, Robby Krieger & others)
4/8:
Jack White, Fear of the Dawn
Wet Leg, Wet Leg
4/15:
Fozzy, Boombox
5/27:
Liam Gallagher, C’mon You Know
7/22:
Jack White, Entering Heaven Alive
Unconfirmed or details not yet announced:
Brandon Boyd, Echoes and Cocoons
Machine Gun Kelly, Born with Horns
Megadeth, The Sick, the Dying and the Dead
Arctic Monkeys — TBA
Avenged Sevenfold — TBA
Ozzy Osbourne — TBA
Papa Roach — TBA
Shinedown — TBA
