Coldplay‘s new album Music of the Spheres has debuted in the top five on the Billboard 200.
The ninth studio effort from Chris Martin and company lands at number four on the chart with a total of 57,000 equivalent album units, 37,000 of which were traditional album sales.
Music of the Spheres is the seventh Coldplay album to hit the top five on the Billboard 200 — only their 2000 debut, Parachutes, and 2019’s Everyday Life didn’t make it that high. Of those seven, four debuted at number one: 2005’s X&Y, 2008’s Viva la Vida, 2001’s Mylo Xyloto and 2014’s Ghost Stories.
Meanwhile, in their home country, every one of Coldplay’s albums has topped the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, making them the only band with a perfect nine-for-nine number-one discography.
Music of the Spheres features the lead single “Higher Power” and the hit BTS collaboration “My Universe.” Coldplay will launch a world tour in support of the record in 2022.
Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets to his concerts at the Ryman Auditorium next month, Garth Brooks has added a show at the Grand Ole Opry.
Last week, Garth broke the internet when a whopping 22,000 people were waiting virtually to purchase tickets to his upcoming limited-capacity shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. In response, the superstar has added a show at the Grand Ole Opry on November 18.
“The Opry and the Ryman are a very close family, they helped us out by giving us a new opening night. I feel very lucky to play BOTH of these very iconic venues,” Garth shares in a statement.
The “Friends in Low Places” hitmaker will perform two intimate shows at the Ryman on November 19 and 20. Tickets are $250 each, all inclusive. Attendees will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event.
Billy Joel has announced a show at Las Vegas’ new Allegiant Stadium in February, as part of a doubleheader with heavy metal legends Metallica.
Billy will perform Saturday, February 26, 2022 at the event; tickets for both shows go on sale to the general public Friday, October 29 at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.com. Metallica will perform at the same venue on February 25.
Billy will resume his Madison Square Garden residency on November 5. In 2022, he has a bunch of other stadium shows scheduled in North Carolina, Indiana and Michigan.
Also on November 5, Billy releases the nine-LP vinyl set, Billy Joel – The Vinyl Collection, Vol.1, which includes all his albums from his debut, Cold Spring Harbor –– celebrating its 50th anniversary next week — through to 1981’s Songs in the Attic, plus a two-LP live show recorded in San Francisco in 1975.
Eric Clapton has premiered a new preview clip from his upcoming performance video The Lady in the Balcony: Lockdown Sessions that captures him playing an acoustic version of the 1968 Fleetwood Mac classic, “Black Magic Woman.”
As previously reported, The Lady in the Balcony, which will be released on November 12 on video and audio formats, features an intimate performance by Clapton and members of his touring band in February 2021 year at the Cowdray House country mansion in West Sussex, U.K.
The show was recorded without an audience, with exception of Eric’s wife, Melia, who watched the performance from a balcony — hence the release’s title.
For his version of “Black Magic Woman,” Clapton is featured on acoustic 12-string guitar, joined by Chris Stainton on keyboards, Nathan East on standup bass and Steve Gadd on drums.
As he begins the tune, Eric declares, “This one’s for Peter,” referring to founding Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Peter Green, who wrote the song and who passed away in July 2020 at age 73. Of course, Santana recorded the most famous version of “Black Magic Woman,” scoring a 1970 hit with the song.
The show also featured Eric performing some of his best-known original songs, several blues classics and another Green-penned Fleetwood Mac tune, “Man of the World.”
The Lady in the Balcony, which you can pre-order now, will be available as a DVD/CD or Blu-ray/CD set, a 4K UHD/Blu-ray package, a two-LP colored-vinyl set, as digital video and audio versions, and as a Deluxe Edition featuring the DVD, Blu-ray and CD housed in a 40-page hardback photo book. In addition, a standalone CD version will be sold exclusively at Target.
Here’s the full The Lady in the Balcony track list:
“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”
“Golden Ring”
“Black Magic Woman”
“Man of the World”
“Kerry”
“After Midnight”
“Bell Bottom Blues”
“Key to the Highway”
“River of Tears”
“Rock Me Baby”
“Believe in Life”
“Going Down Slow”
“Layla”
“Tears in Heaven”
“Long Distance Call”
“Bad Boy”
“Got My Mojo Working”
The metal legends have announced a show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — the home of the Las Vegas Raiders — taking place February 25, 2022. Greta Van Fleet will also be on the bill, along with another to-be-announced special guest.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public this Friday, October 29, at 10 a.m. PT. If you’re part of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club, you’ll have access to pre-sales earlier in the week.
Should your love for heavy metal only be matched by your desire to belt out about Davy, who’s still in the Navy, you’re in luck — Allegiant Stadium has also announced a separately ticketed Billy Joel concert taking place February 26, the very next day after the Metallica show.
Metallica returned to the live stage last month to play their first full, in-person concert in 738 days. Over the past few weeks, they’ve played surprise, intimate concerts in San Fransisco and Chicago, and headlined headlined the Louder than Life and Aftershock festivals.
This holiday, all you need is love, Katy Perry and some outfits from the Gap.
Katy stars in the clothing retailer’s new holiday campaign, singing the Beatles’ classic song “All You Need Is Love.” In the commercials, Katy gets up, gets dressed, gets in a car and is driven to a set of a Gap commercial, where she sings the Fab Four’s 1967 number-one hit while people and couples frolic around her, all sporting Gap winter wear as artificial snow falls.
Katy is releasing her full-length version of the song today. One dollar from every stream on Spotify, up to $100,000, will be donated to Baby2Baby, a charity that provides kids living in poverty with the basic necessities of life.
“I’m always excited to work with brands that are going the extra mile to make this world a better, happier place,” says Katy in a statement. “Reimagining one of the most recognizable and emotional songs of our time with an iconic brand like Gap, having such a special and important message, has been a dream.”
“And what better reason to partner than bringing people together to spread joy for the holidays and raise money for Baby2Baby, a charity that’s close to my heart?” says the mother of one-year-old Daisy Dove. “Children are our future. We need to lift kids and help them find their value, self-worth and self-respect.”
They say the show must go on, and that’s exactly what Kane Brown did, despite twisting his ankle on stage.
While performing in Tennessee on Friday night, the country singer appeared to badly injure his ankle, but instead of leaving fans hanging, he continued his set.
A video posted to Twitter, shows that Brown injured himself while jumping down from the main stage onto a lower level. During the landing his ankle twisted, prompting him to hop down to the floor level with the help of security, who then tended to him. Meanwhile, the band continued to play for almost a full minute before realizing the singer was going to need a moment.
Despite the misstep, according to TMZ, the “Be Like That” singer returned to the stage and finished out his set.
Brown later took to social media to show off his swollen ankle, which had ballooned, and joked, “Memphis it looks normal, it’s fine.”
Not only did Brown continue Friday night’s performance while hurt, he went full steam ahead on Saturday’s show as well.
When one fan questioned whether he would perform after hearing of the injury, Brown replied, “Of course it’s still on!”
Heading into Halloween weekend, it’s “Horror Night” this evening on Dancing with the Stars.
Jimmie Allen, however, is still laughing about being mistaken for an NFL player back when he had to wear a face shield to conceal his identity, prior to the cast reveal.
“Oh, yeah, it’s pretty funny. I loved it,” he tells ABC Audio. “They could not figure it out. First, they thought I was Matt James from The Bachelor. And I was like, ‘Matt James is six-five!'”
“And then they thought I was a football player for the longest, because I guess people weren’t thinking country music, you know what I mean? They see a black guy, looks like he got one or two muscles, they’re like ‘Oh he’s got to be a football player,'” he laughs.
Meanwhile, Jimmie remains a die-hard aficionado of all things Disney, so he’s thrilled to be part of the Disney family, since ABC’s owned by The Walt Disney Company. It’s something he shares with his seven-year-old son Aadyn.
“Listen, anything that gets him in Disney World,” Jimmie smiles, “and he loves JoJo Siwa, so I had to take a couple of selfies with her for him.”
Tonight, tune in at 8 p.m. ET to see Jimmie and his partner Emma Slater dancing Contemporary to “Say Something” by Daniel Jang, inspired by the movie, A Quiet Place.
John Fogerty will headline three special benefit concerts in Florida next month, that will raise money for The Charity Pro’s, a Fort Myers, Florida-based non-profit established to support and advocate for children’s social causes.
The shows, scheduled November 20 in Tampa, November 21 in Estero, and November 23 in Orlando, will raise funds for the organization’s “Charity Pro’s for Heroes” initiative, which will help provide educational scholarships to children of first responders and healthcare workers who died from complications of the COVID-19 virus.
Proceeds from the events also will go toward granting children of fallen heroes a “Megan’s Wish,” that is, a special experience that will enrich their lives with love, hope and strength.
Joining Fogerty at the concerts will be three special support acts — country star Lauren Alaina on November 20, Foreigner on the 21st and Cheap Trick on the 23rd. Recent American Idol finalist Casey Bishop, an Estero native, will perform at all three shows.
Immediate family members of first responders and healthcare workers who passed away from COVID-19 are invited to attend the concerts for free. Those interested in reserving seats can email meg@thecharitypros.org.
First responders and healthcare workers will be able to purchase discount tickets for the events through the end of the day today by using the promo code HERO. Visit TheCharityPros.org for more information.
“Every day, we learn of the incredible stories of the children and families of our Heroes nationwide who are dealing with the effects of losing a parent or loved one,” says The Charity Pro’s founder Megan Maloney. “Bringing these families together to honor their loved ones, their Heroes and ours, is the very least we can do.”
Jay Black in 1998; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Jay Black, former lead singer of the 1960s pop-rock group Jay and the Americans, died Friday at age 82, his family revealed to Rolling Stone.
According to the statement, Black passed away from complications from pneumonia, and he also battled dementia in recent years.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Black, whose given name was David Blatt, joined Jay and the Americans after original lead singer Jay Trainor left the group in 1962, not long after the band had scored a #5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “She Cried.”
Led by Black’s soaring voice, the band scored many more top-40 hits throughout the 1960s, its biggest coming in 1964 with “Come a Little Bit Closer,” which peaked at #3. Jay and the Americans also hit the top 10 in 1965 with “Cara Mia” and in 1969 with “This Magic Moment,” which reached #4 and #6, respectively.
Among the group’s other hits were “Let’s Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key),” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Sunday and Me” and “Walkin’ in the Rain,” which all cracked the top 20.
The band split up in 1973, and afterward, Black continued to tour as a solo artist, playing his final show in 2017.
Jay and the Americans reformed in 2006 with a new lead singer named “Jay.” The band paid homage to Black in a message posted on their Facebook page on Saturday.
“Today, we mourn the passing of David Blatt a/k/a Jay Black and we acknowledge the great successes we had with him both as a partner and as a lead singer,” the note reads. “We shared both wonderful and very contentious times, and much like an ex-wife, we are so proud of the beautiful children we created. We’ll always remember The Voice.”
