Music

Artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters are taking part in this year’s Record Store Day on April 23, which offers limited edition vinyl exclusively in independent record stores.

RHCP will be releasing a special vinyl edition of their upcoming album Unlimited Love, their first record since guitarist John Frusciante rejoined the band in 2019. The RSD version will include two-LPs on silver vinyl, as well as an exclusive poster.

Pearl Jam is reissuing their 1998 live album Live on Two Legs, recorded during the Yield tour, on crystal clear vinyl.

Foo Fighters are contributing a seven-inch vinyl single featuring “re-versions” of two songs off their Medicine at Midnight album: “Making a Fire” and “Chasing Birds,” recorded by Mark Ronson and Preservation Hall Jazz Band, respectively. The single had been previously announced for last year’s RSD Black Friday event.

As previously reported, Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett is releasing his debut solo EP, Portals, on Record Store Day.

Other artists participating in RSD this year include Alice in Chains, Black Label Society, Black Pumas, Blur, Cold War Kids, Alice Cooper, The Cranberries, The Cure, Daughtry, Def Leppard, Dio, Glass Animals, Gojira, Judas Priest, The Lumineers, Motörhead, The Offspring, Pixies, Iggy Pop, Ramones, Slash, St. Vincent, U2 and My Chemical Romance‘s Gerard Way.

Record Store Day 2022 takes place April 23. Additionally, organizers are setting aside June 18 as a “safety net” drop date for any planned release that can’t make it to stores by April 23 due to issues including manufacturing or shipping delays, which have been prevalent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delays will be announced as they happen, while some releases, such as the Pearl Jam piece, have already been designated for June 18.

For the full list of releases and participating stores, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

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As rave reviews continue for the Super Bowl halftime show starring Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent, Dre has revealed that the NFL forced him to edit some of the lyrical content.

The former N.W.A. member Dre told TMZ that the spectacular performance, which was watched by 103 million on television, had to be revised because the NFL objected to gang references in a Lamar song, noting that editing it was “no big deal, we get it.”

Many people are talking about Eminem taking a knee following his rendition of his Academy Award-winning song, “Lose Yourself,” apparently in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. In 2016, Colin ignited a heated controversy when he took a knee during the playing of the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.

“Em taking a knee, that was him doing that on his own and there was no problem with that,” Dre commented.

Dre called the halftime experience “fantastic,” and praised all the performers, saying, “[E]everybody felt the magnitude of what this was.”

Blige performed her 2001 number-one hit “Family Affair,” produced by Dre, and the duo are planning to record together again. Mary attended an after party hosted by Dre at his mansion.

“She was playing me samples, and we were just vibing out, because we’re talking about working together on her next project,” Dre explained. 

As previously reported, all the halftime stars experienced big sales bumps after the game, according to Billboard.

Sales of the songs heard during the performance increased by 775% overall compared to the two days prior to the show. The top-selling song performed was Dr. Dre and Snoop’s “The Next Episode,” which opened the show. Sales of that song alone increased 994%.

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After dominating the streaming charts when it was released nearly a decade ago, PSY‘s “Gangnam Style” has been dethroned.  Taking its place is Post Malone and Swae Lee‘s 2018 smash, “Sunflower.”

The track, which featured in Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, broke the Billboard record for spending the most weeks on its Streaming Songs chart.  “Sunflower” just notched its 123rd week — first appearing on the chart in November 2018 — and after U.S. fans streamed it an additional 7.8 million times, it officially nudged PSY out of first place.

Previously, “Gangnam Style” held the record after spending 122 weeks on the chart.  It fell off in September 2015.

Whether Post Malone can maintain his record-breaking streak has yet to be seen.  Currently, Imagine Dragons‘ “Believer” holds third place, with 109 weeks spent on the chart, while The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights” has been pushed into fourth place, with 97 weeks.

Rounding out the top five is Luis Fonsi‘s “Despacito,” which features Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber.

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Kane Brown and Jimmie Allen will be showing off their athletic abilities this Friday as they compete in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

They’re on opposite teams: Kane’s competing for Team Nique, coached by former pro basketball player Dominique Wilkins, while Jimmie’s on Team Walton, coached by Bill Walton.

Also stepping onto the court for the event are a host of other celebrities, including rocker Machine Gun Kelly, The Bachelor contestant Matt James, comedian Tiffany Haddish, and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb.

Both Kane and Jimmie are talented amateur athletes. Kane’s said in interviews that he played basketball in high school and considered pursuing the sport on the college level, but the music business came calling instead.

Meanwhile, Jimmie recently proved his love of physical fitness during a stint on Dancing with the Stars, where he learned how to dance the tango, paso doble and more.

The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game will air Friday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The game will take place at Cleveland, Ohio’s Wolstein Center.

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Gavin DeGraw delighted fans Wednesday with a major announcement — he’s about to release new music for the first time in almost six years. The “Not Over You” singer revealed he is also heading back on tour this spring to support his forthcoming new album.

Gavin is heading out on the 20-date Full Circle Tour, which will take him to the nation’s biggest cities starting in Los Angeles, California, on April 19.  He will hit up cities like Austin, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts, before wrapping things up in New York City on May 21.

“I’m very excited to announce my Full Circle Tour,” he said in a statement obtained by ABC Audio. “Each night I’ll be performing my upcoming album Face the River in its entirety. These songs are very close to my heart. I look forward to sharing them with you.”

This is the first time Gavin announced the title of his upcoming album, and he promises more info on its upcoming release is on the horizon.  Face the River will be his first album in nearly six years, following 2016’s Something Worth Saving, which featured the hit “She Sets the City on Fire.”  

Tickets for the Full Circle Tour go on sale this Friday on Gavin’s official website.

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Artists including Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots and Death Cab for Cutie have joined the lineup for the 2022 Beale Street Music Festival, taking place April 29 to May 1 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Chevelle, Spoon, Grouplove, Rival Sons, Counting Crows, Grace Potter and Ayron Jones are also among the new additions to the bill.

Previously announced artists include headliners Foo Fighters, as well as The Smashing Pumpkins, Lindsey Buckingham, Modest Mouse, Dirty Honey and The Glorious Sons.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit MemphisinMay.org.

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Following three separate allegations of sexual assault in four months, Trey Songz is again being accused of the same crime.

The “Bottoms Up” singer is being accused of raping a woman at his home in a new $20 million sexual assault case. The woman claims that she had a consensual sexual relationship with the singer, but that changed on March 24, 2016 when he allegedly became a “savage rapist,” she said in the lawsuit, according to TMZ.

A representative for Songz denied the allegations.

“The attorney who drafted this suit was credibly accused of trying to pay a woman to falsely accuse Trey,” the rep said in a statement. “That same attorney has filed this suit on behalf of an anonymous client. It isn’t hard to see what’s happening here, and it is a shame for genuine victims of sexual assault.”

The woman involved in the new lawsuit claims that in 2016, Songz raped her after she told him she did not want to have anal sex. The woman also alleges that she went to the hospital and was too frightened to name the artist after she was examined. She said the examination found that there was “severe anal tearing that could require surgery.”

Ariel Mitchell, the lawyer for Jauhara Jeffries, the woman accusing the singer of assaulting her in 2017 in another case, denied she attempted to bribe witnesses.

“This is nothing more than bullying and an attempt to silence counsel and the many victims who have been assaulted by defendant Songz and will be vigorously defended in court,” Mitchell told TMZ. “I will further be exonerated as I was when this allegation was previously made by defendant Songz’s prior attorney.”​​​

In January, a third woman, Dylan Gonzalez, also accused Songz of rape.

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Evanescence has announced the rescheduled dates for the band’s long-delayed European tour, alongside Within Temptation.

The international outing is now set to kick off in November of this year, with dates stretching into December. Previously purchased tickets will be valid at the rescheduled dates.

Evanescence and Within Temptation first announced the tour in 2019 ahead of its scheduled launch in April 2020. Then, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the trek back first to the fall of 2020, and then to the fall of 2021, and then for a third time to March 2022. Things looked promising for the tour to finally launch in March when Evanescence announced a fourth delay just last week.

“We know you understand that many things are still outside of our control,” Amy Lee and company said in a statement. “But we are very optimistic that we WILL be performing these shows, and we kindly ask that you bear with us one more time while we arrange the tour so it can actually happen.”

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Evanescence.com.

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Thomas Rhett is expanding his tequila business.

The singer’s Dos Primos tequila line now features a Reposado variant, an easy-to-drink libation made from 100 percent blue agave sourced from Los Altos and Jalisco, Mexico. The Reposado joins the Dos Primos Tequila Blanco, which rolled out in 2021.

Dos Primos is Spanish for “two cousins,” and the name is fitting: Thomas started his tequila line with his cousin, Jeff Worn. Adding the Reposado to their repertoire is something the two men have been hoping to do for a long time.

“When Jeff and I started the Dos Primos Tequila company four years ago, we knew we wanted to continue to expand our tequila family,” Thomas says. “…Similar to our original goal, we’ve worked hard to make [the Reposado] as versatile as possible, and seamlessly fit into any activity, regardless of the time of year.”

The new tequila variety will be available starting March 2022. For more information, visit the company’s website.

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Machine Gun Kelly is preparing for the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game with some expert instruction.

The “Bloody Valentine” rocker has been working with famed basketball shooting coach Chris Matthews, aka “Lethal Shooter,” who’s helped players across the NBA and WNBA improve their jumpshot.

In an Instagram video, Matthews shared footage of a recent training session with Kelly, which shows him knocking down six straight three-pointers while rocking a vintage Shawn Kemp Cleveland Cavaliers jersey.

“See you at the All-Star game, baby!” Kelly declared at the end of the clip. “MVP!”

The 2022 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game takes place this Friday, February 18, in Kelly’s hometown of Cleveland. He’ll be playing for Team Walton against Team Nique, which will be coached by Basketball Hall of Famers Bill Walton and Dominique Wilkins, respectively. 

MGK will also be introducing the teams playing in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game this Sunday, February 20, alongside DJ D-Nice.

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