Music

Charlie Puth is out with a new single, “Light Switch,” and the singer credits TikTok for inspiring his new music.

Charlie told E! News he first downloaded the popular video sharing app because he wanted to “educate people on how I make music… [and] inspire people musically.”  He added, “The whole point in my downloading TikTok originally wasn’t to make a career advancement.”

But that’s exactly what happened, Charlie admitted. TikTok inspired him to become more vulnerable and open with his thoughts and emotions, which bled into his songs.  “It’s scary for people to know more about me than I know about me,” he noted. “But that’s probably why the music is resonating more than ever before… I’m just oversharing life experiences and putting melody sprinkles on top of that.”

That also led him to work on his eponymous new album, the followup to 2018’s Voicenotes.  “I’m proud of myself that I opened up… I love oversharing and I’m going to continue to do it. I can’t really see putting out music a different way,” he said of his journey. “‘I’m calling [my new album] Charlie for that reason.”

It is unknown when Charlie will release his third studio album, but he told E! he’s intending for it to drop in the middle of the year.  He also joked that he might give acting a go following his debut on a Frito-Lay Super Bowl commercial as a beatboxing fox.

“Clearly I’m such a great actor now,” the 30-year-old quipped.  But, if given the option to dust off his acting chops, Charlie says he’d love to make a cameo in pal Jacob Elordi’s Euphoria.  “I love how dark it is,” he gushed. “It’s so twisted in the most grandiose kind of way. It takes pride in being twisted.”

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Watershed Festival has announced its 2022 lineup, and headliners Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert and Kane Brown are leading the pack.

Each will lead the bill on one of the event’s three days. Other acts scheduled to play include Jake Owen, Chase Rice, Jordan Davis, Runaway June, Lauren Alaina and many others. Tickets will go on sale on February 11.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Watershed. The festivities will once again be held in George, Washington.

It’s shaping up to be a big year for all three headliners. Miranda’s joining forces with Little Big Town to revive their co-headlining Bandwagon Tour, and Kane’s currently teasing the release of his next studio album.

Meanwhile, Morgan is mounting a return to the spotlight after being benched by many facets of the music industry last year when video footage emerged — exactly one year ago on Wednesday — of him yelling a racist slur.

In a mid-2021 interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, Morgan discussed the incident and pledged $500,000 in donations to Black organizations. Last week, he completed fulfilling that pledge, donating $100,000 to Nashville’s National Museum for African American Music, according to USA Today.

The singer has since announced his own headlining tour, and has also plotted appearances at multiple festivals and released new music.

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Empire of the Sun frontman Luke Steele is set to release his debut solo album.

In an Instagram post, Steele reveals, “My first solo record is done. It was a wild ride but I survived.” He adds that the first single from the album will premiere on February 10.

Empire of the Sun’s most recent album is 2016’s Two Vines, which spawned the single “High and Low.” In 2019, they released a 10th anniversary vinyl reissue of their 2008 debut album Walking on a Dream, as well as a new, one-off single called “Chrysalis.”

In between, Steele teamed up with Daniel Johns of Silverchair to form the new band DREAMS. The duo’s debut album, No One Defeats Us, dropped in 2018.

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Rihanna shocked fans this week by confirming she and boyfriend A$AP Rocky are expecting their first child — and according to an insider, the two will be welcoming their bundle of joy very soon.

The couple, both 33, have yet to make a formal announcement about the pregnancy, but US Weekly quotes a source who claims the baby is “due this spring.” The source adds, “They’re both very excited.” 

The insider claims that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky “shared the exciting news with trusted confidants about a month ago” because they “basically couldn’t” keep it a secret anymore.

As for how the “Umbrella” singer is preparing for motherhood, the insider says she “can’t wait to be a mom!”

“She’s embracing her pregnancy body and sees it as a beautiful thing. She’s been taking care of herself and her growing baby,” the spy noted, claiming says Rocky is “definitely treating her like a princess.” 

The source predicts that the beauty mogul will “be an amazing mother” because she has “had some practice already with her nieces and nephews.”

The insider also revealed that the pair will “continue working on music and continue other projects” until the big day arrives, at which point they’ll withdraw from the spotlight to put “all their energy into raising a healthy baby.”

The two artists have been romantically linked since January 2020.  Rihanna debuted her baby bump over the weekend while out in New York City with the rapper.

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Billie Eilish secretly headed to the salon again: On Tuesday, she debuted a new hair color that has fans predicting that the singer’s next era may be upon us.

In an Instagram photo, the “bad guy” singer revealed that she traded in her brunette locks for a jet-black dye job, which is reminiscent of her early 2019 style. The photo was seemingly taken inside of a plane and depicts Billie sitting in her seat while wearing an equally dark face mask. She captioned it with a simple black square.

This is only the latest transformation for the chameleon-like pop star, who seems to casually update her look every couple of months.  In December, Billie showed off a brand new caramel-colored shag cut, revealing that shade was the closest she’d been to her natural hair color for quite a while. 

Before that, she revealed she was secretly a redhead for a week after transitioning from the platinum blonde bob she rocked starting in March 2021.

While she’s best-known for her black and green ‘do, which she sported from July 2019 to March 2021, she’s also dabbled in various shades of blues, greens, grays, and even white hair.

So, what does it mean now that Billie is back to black?  Fans think it’s a clue that the “Happier Than Ever” singer is back in the studio preparing for her next era of music. Stay tuned.

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Four-time Grammy winner India.Arie is explaining why she’s pulling her music from Spotify in an interview on the Tamron Hall show, which airs Friday.

As previously reported, Arie is following legendary artists Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. They had their music removed from the streaming service because it hosts Joe Rogan‘s wildly popular podcast, which they feel is spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine.  But Arie’s decision isn’t based on that: She has other problems with Rogan, and with Spotify itself.

“One [reason] is the Joe Rogan conversation, and for me his language around race and some of the things I’ve seen and heard, but also coupled with that, there is the treatment of artists by Spotify,” Arie explains to Hall. “And so artists are underpaid and Joe Rogan gets paid all this money and it’s hard for me to, these days, just sit back and go, ‘Oh, well, that’s how it goes.’”

“I’m a little bit nervous about it because I know people are gonna conflate the conversations and some people are gonna judge me and they’re gonna say it’s not my business…because it is a little bit of a different reason than Joni [Mitchell] and Neil [Young] but also, it’s my truth.” she continued.

“And it’s not always my job to educate people about how I feel, although I try,” she adds. “I know that my truth is mine. And so I am working to have [my music and podcast] pulled down [from Spotify].”

Prior to her interview, Arie wrote on Instagram, “What I am talking about is respect — who gets it and who doesn’t. Paying musicians a fraction of a penny? And [Rogan]$100M?” she wrote. “This shows the type of company they are and the company that they keep. I’m tired.”

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Korn has premiered a new song called “Lost in the Grandeur,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Requiem.

“Lost in the Grandeur,” which you can download now via digital outlets, is the third Requiem cut to be released, following lead single “Start the Healing” and album opener “Forgotten.”

Requiem, the follow-up to 2019’s The Nothing, arrives in full this Friday, February 4.

Korn will celebrate Requiem‘s release with a special performance on Thursday, February 3, at Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. The show will stream live via Korn’s YouTube channel.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Durannies everywhere are celebrating the fact that Duran Duran have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the group themselves couldn’t be happier.

“Just to make it onto the nominations list is an honor that I never expected to experience… But for sure, this distinction is due in large part to the fact that we have an army of fans around the world who have unwaveringly supported us for the past four decades,” says singer Simon LeBon in a statement. “We are all extremely grateful to all of you for making this happen.”

Bass player John Taylor adds, “To be nominated by such a highly esteemed organization is truly special in this, our fortieth, year. For decades now Duran Duran have been inspired by the incredible support of our beautiful and diverse fanbase around the world. To be considered by the Hall of Famers is truly next level. Let’s hope we make the cut!”

And drummer Roger Taylor notes, “The feeling was pure gratitude when I heard this morning that we are nominees for the rock n roll hall of fame. A big thank you to not only the Rock Hall for making us part of the ballot, but also to all the DD fans that have made so much noise. The 12-year-old drummer in me just screamed very, very loudly!”

If chosen for induction, the original five members of Duran Duran — Simon, John and Roger, plus Nick Rhodes and Andy Taylor — will get into the Hall, but so will Warren Cuccurullo, who played guitar with them from 1986 to 2001 and co-wrote their hits “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone.”

Fans can vote for which artist they want to be inducted every day from now until April 29 at Vote.RockHall.com.

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Meghan Trainor candidly spoke about being a first-time mom and, despite enduring several unforeseen challenges, the singer says she’s already planning for baby number two, three and four!

Speaking to Parents magazine, the “Title” singer reflected on how scared she was when giving birth to Riley, her first child with husband Daryl Sabara.  “We had a lot of bumps,” said Meghan, noting she experienced gestational diabetes and, when Riley was born via cesarean, he spent his first five days in the NICU for breathing problems.

“When I saw Riley in the NICU, all hooked up to these wires, I just saw the most adorable baby redhead I’ve ever seen,” she recalled. 

Meghan also revealed she has PTSD stemming from that traumatic experience.  The Grammy winner wants to discuss “the hard parts” of motherhood because  “It feels like I’m telling my truth.” Another truth is she’s struggling to love her postpartum body.  “I love my baby, but I can’t look at my stretch marks and honestly say, ‘Wow, I love them,'” she confessed.

Meghan is expressing her journey through her music. “I heard that when you have a baby, you get more creative, and my lyrics are changing,” she said. “Instead of writing songs to make everyone feel better, I’m writing about how I feel in this moment. But it’s not like every day is sad. It’s more like: Yes, I am a bada**, but this ain’t easy, and I have to get up and keep going.”

Despite experiencing numerous “bumps,” Meghan says she will happily go through it all again.  The “Me Too” singer is committed to having a large family and stated, “I’m gonna try to get to four… We’ll see what happens after three. I’m not doing less than that. I need three.”

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