Crosses, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno‘s side-project with guitarist Shaun Lopez has a new record deal.
According to an Instagram post from Lopez, the band recently signed a “worldwide deal” with Warner Records, the same label that reps Deftones.
“Looking forward to working with such an amazing crew,” Lopez writes. “Hi fives to the bro @chinowmoreno, we did it.”
Crosses released their 2014 self-titled debut with Sumerian Records. Whatever they release on Warner will mark the band’s major-label debut.
Deftones, meanwhile, released their latest album, Ohms, in 2020. The record’s title track is nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 2022 Grammys, while the song “Genesis” is up for Best Metal Performance.
It may not feel like it as country artists settle in for the holiday break this week, but a bustling new year is just around the corner, and many stars — like Maren Morris — have got big plans for 2022.
The singer teased…well, something to come on her social media, sharing a short video clip of herself walking alongside a tan, retro car with a California license plate that reads “Go.” A snippet of new music plays in the background, and the caption reads, “Pedal down, 2022.”
It comes as no surprise to fans that Maren’s working on her next album: She’s been teasing it all year. In November, the singer described her new project as a turn back in the direction of her country roots. That follows her 2018 studio album, Girl, which brought Maren crossover success — particularly with “The Bones,” a massive hit that found a home on pop radio along with country radio success.
First up in 2022, Maren’s nominated for a Grammy Award thanks to “Chasing After You,” her number-one duet with her singer-songwriter husband, Ryan Hurd.
5 Seconds of Summer is being sued for $2.5 million by their former management firm. YM&U Group, a global talent agency, alleges the Australian band has not paid them what they’re due and therefore are in breach of contract.
Billboardreports YM&U is claiming they were owed commission fees for the many profitable deals they brokered on the band’s behalf, and provided examples, one of which included a contract with BMG, where 5SOS was paid $10 million to record an album. YM&U claims the quartet had previously agreed to pay the full commission amount but refused to pay up after they received several invoices.
The talent agency has named 5SOS’ current manager, Benjamin Evans, as well as band members Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin and Michael Clifford in the suit, alongside their touring company, 5SOS Touring. They are seeking $2.5 million in damages, but are asking for additional punitive damages against Evans, claiming he “acted with fraud, malice, or oppression” by allegedly attempting to avoid paying what YM&U says they’re due.
The “Youngblood” singers signed with YM&U in February 2021 and ended their partnership that September. Evans had represented the group prior to their partnership with the talent agency and, after the band left that summer, he resumed his day-to-day duties as manager.
Rob Thomas is a big Christmas fan, as you might assume from his new holiday album Something About Christmas Time. But as a kid, he says he “hated” Christmas, not because of the holiday itself, but because of the weather, which wasn’t exactly “Christmassy.”
The Matchbox Twenty singer lived in South Carolina as a small child and then moved to Florida at age 10.
“I mean, I hated it, because I started off in South Carolina where it’s a little more wintery and…you get some snow,” he tells ABC Audio.
“So for years and years, when I was young, we would all go to South Carolina for Christmas, and it always kinda still felt a little Christmassy,” Thomas continues. “But then, when my grandparents passed away and we didn’t really have anybody to go see — just spending Christmas in Florida…people get excited because, you know, you needed a coat. Like, ‘Oh, I need to wear a coat. It feels like Christmas!'”
But since Rob has lived in the New York area for over 20 years, he now gets more snow that he can handle, and says “all my great [Christmas] memories are of New York.”
Thomas says he’d love to be able to celebrate in Manhattan again like he did in the before times: December of 2019.
“It was one of our favorite Christmases of all time,” he tells ABC Audio. “My wife and her mom and I did the full traditional [thing]. We went to the Rockettes and then we went to The Plaza and had a really nice dinner there…and it just felt very ‘New York Christmas,’ for lack of a better term.”
“I would love something like that,” Thomas admits. “I’m just not sure of my [comfort] factor right now, still, just being out and about.”
Jim Brickman‘s on tour in support of his latest holiday album, A Christmas Symphony, featuring Jim performing Christmas instrumentals backed by a symphony orchestra. However, a few songs feature vocals, like his current single “Carols of Christmas,” a medley of classic songs like “What Child Is This” recorded with his pal, Five for Fighting‘s John Ondrasik, singing lead.
“I’m a big fan of medleys at Christmas time, because a lot of the…carols, are really short,” Jim laughs. “So I thought if I put it together with his voice and then instrumental in between, we could do ‘What Child Is This?,’ ‘We Three Kings,’ ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,’ ‘Carol of the Bells,’ and weave them all together.”
Jim says he was eager to get John, known for hits like “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” and “100 Years,” to use his voice in a different way.
“People hear his voice in such a pop fashion — when you hear it, you know it’s him,” explains Jim. “And I was like, ‘Your falsetto would sound so beautiful.’ So he was all for it, for sure.”
Jim’s been doing Christmas tours for years, because he says his holiday music seems to be his most popular stuff.
“Christmas has always been my time of the year, for sure. Ever since The Gift album, I think people have associated my music with holidays,” he tells ABC Audio. “When I run into somebody who’s a casual fan, usually they’ll say, ‘I have your Christmas album! We listen every year!'”
“I think it’s because there’s not a lot of relaxing, calm piano versions of a lot of Christmas hits,” Jim adds. “Instrumentals give you the flavor and the soundtrack and the memory and the nostalgia, without feeling like you’re hearing, you know, [a] redux of everything.”
Eric Clapton‘s management said on Wednesday that he wouldn’t pursue the nearly $4,000 fine ordered against a German widow who attempted to sell a Clapton bootleg online.
Following a significant public backlash again the three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Clapton’s management attempted to clarify the guitarist’s role in the suit, as well as their reason for pursuing legal action, in a statement to his fan club.
Germany, the statement explains, “is one of several countries where sales of unauthorized and usually poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs are rife.” As a result, Clapton “and a significant number of other well-known artists and record companies” hired German lawyers in the region to restrict the sale of the bootlegs.
“It is not the intention to target individuals selling isolated CDs from their own collection, but rather the active bootleggers manufacturing unauthorized copies for sale,” the statement continues. Had the widow, Gabrielle P., complied with the cease-and-desist letter, they say, “any costs would be minimal, or might be waived.”
However, the woman — who claimed that she had inherited the disc from her late husband and didn’t realize it was bootlegged — told them through her lawyer to “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands.” Her attempt to have the case dismissed was rejected and the judge ruled in favor of Clapton’s camp, ordering her to pay $4,000 in legal fees for both parties.
“If the individual had complied” and “explained at the outset the full facts…any claim might have been waived, and costs avoided,” Clapton’s management said.
“When the full facts of this particular case came to light and it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton, or his record company, wish to target,” they say, Clapton decided not to take further action.
In a recent TikTok, the Jo-Bro shared a photo of himself in the audience at Coachella in 2016 and revealed that he was high during the event.
“Thinking no one can tell I’m high at Coachella,” he confessed in the text, superimposed on the photo. Joe posted to confession alongside himself mouthing along to a popular Tyra Banks line that originated from America’s Next Top Model.
“It is so bad, I want to give you a ‘zero,'” Joe mouths while looking embarrassed. “But that’s not possible so I give you a ‘one.'”
Britney Spears killed two birds with one Instagram post, calling out her family and teasing new music on Wednesday.
Sharing a video of herself singing while wearing black pants and a purple crop top, the 40-year-old pop star, who was recently released from her 13-year-long conservatorship, wrote, “I just realized this today guys… after what my family tried to do to me three years ago… I needed to be my own cheerleader !!!! God knows they weren’t,” according to People.
Britney also took a moment to pat herself on the back regarding her accomplishments over the years.
“So I just read up on my self [sic] and this is what I found: Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Britney Spears is one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history with nearly 100 million records sold worldwide. In the U.S. alone, she has sold more than 70 million albums, singles and songs, according to Nielsen Music,” she noted.
The “Toxic” singer continued, “Spears has sold 33.6 million albums in the U.S. and ranks as the 18th-best selling album artist in the Nielsen era. Her songs have drawn 25 billion in cumulative radio airplay audience and 2.6 billion on-demand U.S. audio and video streams combined and she’s sold 39.8 million singles (36.9 million via downloads).”
Explaining why she’ll be her own cheerleader, Britney added, “I’m here to remind my white “classy” family that I haven’t forgotten what they did to me nor will I ever forget !!!!,” before teasing she’s got a “new song in the works … I’m gonna let you know what I mean !!!!!”
Spears has since deleted the caption from her post.
Dionne Warwick will perform on the first-ever The Masked Singer float on New Year’s Day.
The legendary artist will be joined by her son, Damon Elliott, aka Nomad, on the float at the 133rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The parade will air January 1 at 11 a.m. ET on several networks. Check local listings.
The “That’s What Friends Are For” singer appeared on The Masked Singer as the Mouse in February.
The float will also feature several more of the show’s costumes, including T-Pain‘s Monster, Lil Wayne‘s Robot, Bow Wow‘s Frog, Patti LaBelle‘s Flower, and Chameleon, which was worn by Wiz Khalifa
Christmas is upon us, and a variety of music artists tell ABC Audio that, like so many people during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they’re planning a fairly low-key holiday celebration this year.
Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge explains that most years around this time he’d be on tour, “but not this year, so…I’m just gonna enjoy Christmas.”
Lodge notes that his wife is from Denmark, so his family usually observes the Danish tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
Nils Lofgren, a member of Neil Young‘s and Bruce Springsteen‘s respective backing groups Crazy Horse and the E Street Band, says his Christmas gathering likely will just feature him and his wife, Amy, their son Dylan, “his two dogs and our two dogs very quietly and safely having a very sedate Christmas, because it’s just not safe to do otherwise.”
Vanilla Fudge‘s Mark Stein says his family plans to “just have some stay-at-home dinners and opening presents, like most people in this country do.”
Stein also shares a holiday message for fans, wishing that people “stay safe and stay focused and appreciative of…what we do have this holiday season, because although there’s a lot of unrest going on in the nation and the world, anybody that’s got…a roof over your head and family that you can hug and love and share stories with and gifts…[that’s] more than enough payoff.”
Meanwhile, Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock won’t be home for the holidays. Schock, whose band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October, says her yuletide plans entail “rehearsing and doing shows” with the group.
