Music

Glass Animals, Machine Gun Kelly and Imagine Dragons were the top three rock artists of 2021, according to Billboard.

The publication has unveiled its annual year-end charts, which determine the biggest acts in a variety of different genres using combination of factors including airplay, sales and streaming data for songs and albums, as well as touring revenue and social media activity.

Glass Animals, who broke out in a big way this year thanks to the hit single “Heat Waves,” is number one on 2021’s Top Rock Artists chart. MGK, who continued to enjoy the success of his 2020 album Tickets to My Downfall, comes in at number two, followed by ID at number three.

Imagine Dragons’ “Follow You,” the lead single off their 2021 album Mercury — Act 1, was the number-one Rock Airplay Song of the year, followed by MGK and blackbear‘s “My Ex’s Best Friend,” All Time Low and blackbear’s “Monsters,” Weezer‘s “All My Favorite Songs,” and Rise Against‘s “Nowhere Generation.’

The rest of the top-10 Billboard Top Rock Artists of 2021 are Fleetwood Mac, AJR, The Beatles, Queen, Twenty One Pilots, Måneskin and AC/DC.

This year’s top 10 Rock Albums, based on sales data, were a mix of mostly classic rock records and best-of compilations, along with a couple more recent releases. The list, in order, is Queen’s Greatest Hits, Kelly’s Tickets, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Elton John‘s Diamonds, Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s Chronicle, Journey‘s Greatest Hits, AC/DC’s Back in Black, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers‘ Greatest Hits, Glass Animals’ Dreamland, and The Beatles’ 1.

No album released in 2021 made the top 10.

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Getting out of bed is something people do every day, but that task can sometimes feel impossible for those struggling with their mental health.  Selena Gomez understands that battle all too well and shared the steps she takes to get herself out from under the covers. 

“Sometimes I’m not good at it.  It just happens where I’ll wake up and… l struggle,” the Grammy nominee confessed in a new Instagram post. 

Selena, who has previously opened up about her depression and anxiety, continued, “What helps me, first and foremost, [is] just picking up the phone and calling someone.”

She also says understanding why this happens also helps, which is why she will “constantly try to fill myself with knowledge of what it is that I am feeling and the triggers that happen to me.” Selena says doing that allows her to “take a step back and think of all the tools I’ve learned and try to implement them in my everyday life.”

The “Lose You to Love Me” singer also encouraged her followers to exercise, even though she’s not a fan of it herself. “I hate working out!,” she quipped. “It is not fun.”

Despite how she feels about working up a sweat, Selena said taking “intense boxing classes” helps her mentally because she’s able to release her pent -p frustration and energy.  “It feels so good,” she added.

The video was a teaser for Selena’s upcoming mental health platform, Wondermind, which launches next year.

 

 

 

 

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Jason Aldean’s baby boy, Memphis, is growing up: He turned four years old on Wednesday. To celebrate the occasion, both Jason and his wife Brittany turned to social media to share some throwback photos.

“Happy bday to my little man today. Hard to believe he is already 4 years old,” Jason wrote, along with a series of snaps of Memphis and his family through the years. “This lil guy has been such a blessing to their family and we couldn’t love him more. Happy birthday Mems.”

For her part, Brittany put together a full-on photo and video montage of some of the highlights of Memphis’ life so far. Set to Lee Brice’s parent-and-child anthem, “Boy,” the montage includes of her pregnancy, Memphis’ birth and his journey from infant to toddler. Included in the family montage is the arrival of Memphis’ sister, the couple’s youngest child, Navy.

Jason recently reflected on life as a dad to young kids, and how different it is now that he’s in his 40s, as opposed to his experience of having two young daughters in his 20s during his first marriage.

“At this point in my career, I’ve been able to be home a lot more for the little ones and experience a lot more of those things,” he reflects, explaining that the balance between touring and staying home with family has changed quite a bit. “I’m not out there going after the unknown.”

 

 

 

 

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Long before Lady Gaga picked up an Academy Award or released her breakout single “Just Dance,” she was known as Stefani Germanotta, the girl who played “Girl at Swimming Pool #2” on HBO’s The Sopranos.

The singer reflected on her acting debut in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly and marveled over how far she’s come since playing a background character in 2001. 

“When I look back on that scene I can see exactly what I did wrong in that scene,” Gaga remarked. “I didn’t know how to listen in a scene! I was supposed to laugh, and it was sort of like, cue, laugh…. I see it and I go, ‘oh, that’s not a real laugh!'”

“I see a very non-specific actor [on The Sopranos],” Gaga said, before explaining how she’s “grown a lot” since playing that pizza-eating teenager.

“I see myself as someone who is at least really striving to be specific without thinking about it, and that requires a lot of work ahead of time,” Gaga expressed.  “The nuance and being specific as an actor is something that can grow over time if you’re willing to listen and really hear the other actor that you’re working with.”

Gaga used her starring House of Gucci role as Patrizia Reggiani as a prime example of that.  “I really thank my acting teacher, Susan Batson, she and I worked for months and months on this before we filmed,” said Gaga, who also praised the “incredible” director Ridley Scott for creating “a sanctuary for you on set to just fly.”

Gaga’s performance is already generating buzz that she could receive a second Best Actress Oscar nod.

House of Gucci is in theaters now. 

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Following the fatal shooting Wednesday morning of Jacqueline Avant, wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant, Tyler Perry is vowing to help find the killer.

Jacqueline was shot and killed during an invasion of the Avant home in Beverly Hills. She was 81.

“I have no idea what kind of sub-human could shoot an 81-year-old woman, and in her own home,” Perry tweeted. “You can rest assured that every available resource will be used to find whoever is responsible for this awful nightmare.”

During a press briefing, Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook read a statement from the Avant family, as reported by ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV.

“The entire Avant family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love, support and condolences for Jacqueline Avant,” the statement said. “Jacqueline was an amazing woman, wife, mother, philanthropist, and a 55-year resident of Beverly Hills, who has made an immeasurable positive contribution and impact on the arts community. She will be missed by her family, friends and all of the people she has held throughout her amazing life.”

In addition to Perry, many other celebrities expressed their grief, including NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, and former President Bill Clinton.

“Jackie was the sweetest person you could ever meet. She had a beautiful soul, kind heart, & always had a kind word for everybody,” Johnson wrote.

“Jackie Avant was a wonderful woman, a great partner to Clarence and mother to Alex and Nicole, an active citizen & a dear friend to Hillary and me for 30 years,” Clinton tweeted.

Clarence, 90, and Jacqueline were married for 54 years and have two children. Clarence Avant was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October.

But you can rest assured that every available resource will be used to find whoever is responsible for this awful nightmare. This is tremendously sad. (2/2)

— Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) December 1, 2021

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Adam Levine may be sporting what appears to be new ink on his face, but fans can rest assured knowing that tattoo on his temple is 100 percent fake.

ABC Audio reached out to the Maroon 5 singer’s rep to find out if that rose tattoo was legit, who responded, “Nope, not real!”

Adam later took to his Instagram story to personally quell the rumor, and said, “This message is for my mother. I do not have a tattoo on my face. Those that know me know, I am too vain, I’m too f****** vain to get a tattoo on my face.”

The singer then gestured to his body and quipped, “I’ll tattoo the rest of this, but no, the face has gotta stay the same.”

Adam was seen flaunting the face art at a Wednesday night red carpet event with wife Behati Prinsloo.  Fans pointed out the flower resembled the Calirosa Tequila brand the “Harder to Breathe” singer recently launched with Behati. 

Since Adam is known to get tattoos with special meanings, such as the word “California” across his abdomen to honor his home state, it was believed the new ink was in honor of his new business venture.

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Tom Morello has premiered a new solo song called “The Maze” featuring Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

With soaring vocals from the “Cecilia and the Satellite” singer, “The Maze” is among the poppiest songs in the Rage Against the Machine guitarist’s catalog, though it still boasts an epic guitar solo. You can download “The Maze” now via digital outlets.

“The Maze” will appear on Morello’s upcoming solo album The Atlas Underground Flood, his second release of 2021, following October’s The Atlas Underground Fire. Flood, which will arrive this Friday, December 3, also features guest spots from  Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett, Rush‘s Alex Lifeson, Nathaniel Rateliff, X Ambassadors, Barns Courtney, My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James, and Manchester Orchestra.

The equally feature-heavy Fire included collaborations with Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen, Bring Me the Horizon, Phantogram and grandson.

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ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons is a sharp-dressed Santa in a new animated video for his recently released holiday tune “Jingle Bell Blues,” which premiered today on his official YouTube channel.

The clip features a cartoon Gibbons donning a Santa Claus outfit as he embarks on a snowy adventure to deliver presents in a hot rod that’s been converted into a flying sleigh. Along the way he rocks out on his new Christmas tune with help from a harmonica-playing snowman.

“The animators put me in a hot rod that looks suspiciously like our very own ’34 Ford-based ‘Whiskey Runner’ though they’ve made some few seasonal adjustments,” Billy explains of the video. “There’s considerable snowfall so the wheels are replaced midway by a set of skis and now there’s a pickup bed in the back so gifts can rain down from it. They have me doing a header into a chimney but it’s not clear if I get to to enjoy any cookies and milk for my efforts.”

As previously reported, “Jingle Bell Blues” is 12-bar-blues-infused version of the Christmas classic “Jingle Bells” that’s available now as a digital download and via streaming services. A limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single pressed on red-translucent vinyl will be released on December 10.

The disc, which you can pre-order now at Gibbons’ official online store, comes with an old-school vinyl center hole adapter with “Billy F Gibbons” written on it. The single’s flip side features an etching of a whitewall tire.

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Machine Gun Kelly joined Jimmy Fallon for a round of “Auto-Tune Up” on Wednesday’s episode of NBC’s The Tonight Show.

For the game, the “Bloody Valentine” rocker and the show host took turns turning a “random, boring paragraph” into an “awesome song” by using the Auto-Tune vocal effect. Kelly’s prompts included a post on the Nextdoor app asking neighbors to stop feeding crows, and a Yelp review of an Idaho body piercing shop.

“I feel like that’s mine,” Kelly joked of the Yelp review. “I feel like I’ve for sure gotten by body pieced in Idaho.”

You can watch the segment streaming now on YouTube.

Kelly also stuck around for an interview with Fallon about his upcoming film The Last Son, and his relationship with Megan Fox. Notably, he wore a t-shirt with an image of Fox from her movie Jennifer’s Body.

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Carrie Underwood launched her Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency earlier this week with a sold-out show at the newly-opened Resorts World Theatre.

She’s the first artist to play the brand-new stage, and her show featured an array of dazzling stage decors and aesthetics, including aerialists, a virtual orchestra and an elaborate, show-closing wall feature. The set list spanned Carrie’s career to date, offering selections of some of the greatest hits from each era of her time as a performer.

Carrie also announced that she’s expanding her residency once again, adding six new dates in May 2022. The new show dates are May 11, 13, 14, 18, 20 and 21, and tickets for those shows go on sale Monday, December 6 at 10 a.m. PST.

“It’s such a special honor to be the first artist to perform on this incredible stage in a brand-new, beautiful, state-of-the-art theatre at such an exciting new destination as Resorts World Las Vegas,” the singer says. “I’m so proud of this show and so happy to finally get to share it with the amazing audiences here in Las Vegas.”

You can purchase tickets to Carrie’s residency now, including special VIP packages.

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