Music

Chris Janson had exciting new details to share this week about his next album, All In.

Before making the full announcement, the singer dropped a couple of songs off the project, including the title track, “Cold Beer Truth” and the lead single, “Bye Mom.”

With the latest batch of details, though, Chris sets an April 29 release date for All In, and also clues fans into some special collaborators. Eric Church is a duet partner for one track, “You, Me & The River,” which is a song that Eric wrote solo. The track list also contains “Flag on the Wall,” a song that Chris and Eric co-wrote together.

But the Chief isn’t the only country legend that Chris tapped as a collaborator. The 16-song track list also includes “Things You Can’t Live Without,” a duet with ‘90s hitmaker Travis Tritt.

“There are all kinds of songs on this project, but they all flow together because they are genuine to me,” Chris reflects. “I went all in on every part of this process, from writing to singing to playing to producing. I feel like it’s my best, most true-to-myself album to date.”

Meanwhile, the singer is on the road for his Halfway to Crazy Tour, which runs through April 9.

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New York’s 110-year-old Cort Theatre will undergo a name change in honor of actor James Earl Jones and his lifelong contributions to Broadway and the artistic community.

In the announcement on Wednesday, the Shubert Organization, which owns and operates 17 Broadway and six off-Broadway theaters, said the decision to change the theater’s name to the James Earl Jones Theatre “is without question.”

“The Shubert Organization is so incredibly honored to put James — an icon in the theatre community, the Black community, and the American community — forever in Broadway’s lights” said Robert E. Wankel, Shubert CEO and board chair.

The famous theater is home to many notable productions, including the 1958 play Sunrise at Campobello, in which Jones made his Broadway debut.

“For me, standing in this very building sixty-four years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today,” Jones said in response to the honor.  “Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors.

The 91-year-old began his career in 1957 and over the ensuing decades went on to star in over 21 Broadway shows, winning three Tony awards in the process.  He’s one of the small group of people to have reached EGOT status, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award.

The Shubert Organization plans to hold a formal dedication ceremony this summer, after the completion of current building renovations.

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Michael Bublé is adding another trophy to his collection tonight — the prestigious Order of British Columbia

The Vancouver Sun reports that the “I’ll Never Not Love You” singer has been waiting for two years to receive the honor.  It was announced in 2020 that he’d be awarded British Columbia’s top honor, but the ceremony had to be postponed because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Michael’s patience has paid off and, on Thursday night, the B.C. native will finally collect his long overdue award.  The Order of B.C. is awarded to a civilian for their contributions to their respective field and is regarded as the region’s highest form of recognition. 

The virtual ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube, starting at 9 p.m. ET.

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Kacey Musgraves has been named a 2022 TIME Woman of the Year, along with an inaugural class featuring CEOs, civil rights activists, athletes, artists and leaders in other fields.

All 12 honorees will be celebrated at a gala on International Women’s Day, which is March 8. Kacey will give a musical performance at the event, which is set to take place in Los Angeles.

Kacey’s inclusion in the program comes on the heels of the 2021 release of her Star-Crossed album, as she continues to challenge genre boundaries and make strides towards new possibilities within the format.

Though Star-Crossed was deemed ineligible for consideration in country-specific categories at the upcoming Grammy Awards — due to the Recording Academy’s decision that the project lacked sufficient stylistic elements of the genre — Kacey’s nominated in two genre categories. Those are Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance, both for her new song, “Camera Roll.”

Though 2022 marks the first of what will be annual Women of the Year lists, the recognition builds on TIME’s 2020 Women of the Year Project, which recognized female leaders throughout history.

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Shinedown has premiered the video for “Planet Zero,” the lead single and title track off the band’s upcoming new album.

The clip brings the titular Planet Zero to life, where the Shinedown members are trapped in a futuristic, sci-fi facility. There, Brent Smith and company come into contact with a “menacing A.I.” called Cyren, who’s a recurring character throughout the album.

“We wanted the first visual of ‘Planet Zero’ to be unlike anything we have done previously,” Smith says. “We chose to work with visionary director Charles De Meyer. We did not want a traditional music video feel — we wanted avant-garde, thought-provoking and surreal.”

He adds, “Make no mistake, there is a message in the visual, a warning of what is to come, if society does not wake up, and demand the truth be told.”

You can watch the “Planet Zero” video streaming now on YouTube.

“Planet Zero” is currently number one on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, once again giving Shinedown the record for most leaders in the ranking’s 40-year history.

Planet Zero the album drops April 22.

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Stephen Colbert‘s Americone Dream, his exclusive flavor from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, just turned 15, and who better to celebrate the major milestone than Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban?

The duo launched into a hilarious and over-the-top tribute of Colbert’s concoction by highlighting the major moments in history that’ve taken place since the world was first introduced to the beloved ice cream flavor.

The four-minute song, which Josh sang as he played on a white grand piano dusted with rose petals, features notable lyrics such as “Scoops of smiles, and scoops of tears/ Your sweet and chunky mixture made my heart explode/ A dream I’ve had for 15 years/ From when Dubya was in office, to Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s b***s/ From the moment you were churned/ You’ve been there through it alls.”

Sara assisted, singing, “From the first black president to his best friend Joe/ From Brett Farve’s [junk] to Aaron Rodgers’ COVID toe.”

The two also saluted the arrival of 3-D printing, meatless burgers, fidget spinners, selfie sticks and more. They also serenaded a giant pint of Americone Dream that was dancing around the stage.

Colbert reminded the audience that all proceeds from sales of his ice cream flavor benefit numerous charities. In the 15 years since Americone Dream first hit the shelves, $4,258,500 has been donated to various organizations from its sales.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Summer Walker posted a picture of her and Ciara at the 2022 Billboard Women in Music Awards Wednesday night and thanked her for acting as a mentor.

“Thanks @ciara for being so humble & sweet to me cause these b****** really be rude as hell lol, you’ve slick been a mentor & you looked so beautiful tonight,” Summer’s caption read.

Ciara responded in a comment, “Haha. Love you mama. Fun times.”

The R&B singers posed for photos together at the annual Billboard event, which streamed live on Wednesday from the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA.

Ciara hosted the show, where Summer was presented with the Chartbreaker Award. Her 2021 hit “No Love” landed at #13 on the Hot 100 chart and her sophomore album, Still Over It, sat at #1 for a week on the Billboard 200 Album chart.

Walker is known for openly speaking her mind and letting fans in on her personal life. Her debut album, Over It, features 18 tracks that Rolling Stone referred to as “sultry and cathartic, processing bad relationships and new beginnings.”

Summer’s also opened up about her struggle with depression and the “happy place” she’s found recently. “If you struggle with depression, don’t give up it gets better, baby,” the singer said on Instagram.

In response to what she’s most proud of accomplishing in the past year, Walker told Billboard, “Just meeting people that I really f*** with.”

H.E.R and Saweetie were also among the honorees at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. Doja Cat was presented with the Powerhouse Award and gave the final performance of the night, singing “Alone” from her 2021 album, Planet Her. The coveted Woman of the Year Award went to 19-year-old Olivia Rodrigo.

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Jack White has premiered two new songs: “Hi-De-Ho” and “Queen of the Bees.”

“Hi-De-Ho,” which features A Tribe Called Quest rapper Q-Tip, will appear on the upcoming album Fear of the Dawn, one of two solo albums White is dropping this year. The other, Entering Heaven Alive, includes “Queen of the Bees.”

Both “Hi-De-Ho” and “Queen of the Bees” are available now via digital outlets.

Fear of the Dawn, which features the lead single “Taking Me Back,” will be released April 8. The more acoustic-driven Entering Heaven Live arrives July 22.

White will launch his Supply Issues tour in support of both records April 8 in Detroit.

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It was all about Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat at Billboard‘s 2022 Women in Music Awards.

Olivia received the Woman of the Year award from Sheryl Crow. “When I came up, women were struggling to be the architects of their own careers,” Sheryl said. “So when I see someone like our Woman of the Year, Olivia Rodrigo, having such incredible success at such an early age, I am blown away.”

Olivia, who told Sheryl she’s a “massive fan,” said during her speech, “It’s not always easy being a young woman in the music industry, but I’ve found so much strength from the female songwriters who have come before me and paved the way and opened doors for so many young women like me.”

Olivia shared a message to “all the young girls out there who are writing songs every day,” telling them “I promise everyone here today is working to make this world and this industry a better place for you.”  She also performed a searing rendition of “Deja Vu.”

Doja Cat, who received the Powerhouse Award, closed the ceremony by performing the “Alone” deep cut from her new album, Planet Her. She received her honor from Normani, who called Doja a “bona fide superhero super star.”

“There’s nothing she can’t do,” Normani continued through shouts and applause. “The attention to detail, the energy, the passion is exactly why she is where she is today.  This wasn’t handed to her on a plate!  She has earned every ounce of her success.”

Doja thanked her mom, fans and her management before humorously ending her acceptance speech with, “Can’t wait to break this s*** open and put the necklace on — You know, that’s what girls do! Amen, women. Let’s go.”

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