Music

The Weeknd was nominated for six American Music Awards Thursday and is competing against his good friend Drake in two categories.

The two Toronto superstars are both up for Artist of the Year and Favorite Male Pop Artist. Drizzy received a total of five nominations. The Weeknd’s nominations also include Favorite Male R&B Artist.

Doja Cat and Giveon tied Drake with five nods. Artists with three nominations include Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Silk Sonic, H.E.R., SZA, and the late Pop Smoke.

The 2021 American Music Awards will take place Sunday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony will broadcast live on ABC.

Here’s a list of the nominees in some of the major categories:

Artist of the Year
Taylor Swift
Ariana Grande
The Weeknd
Olivia Rodrigo
BTS
Drake

Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist
Drake
Lil Baby
Moneybagg Yo
Polo G
Pop Smoke

Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist
Cardi B
Coi Leray
Erica Banks
Megan Thee Stallion
Saweetie

Favorite Hip-Hop Album
Drake, Certified Lover Boy
Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die
Megan Thee Stallion, Good News
Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon
Rod Wave, SoulFly

Favorite Hip-Hop Song
Cardi B, “Up”
Internet Money ft. Gunna, Don Toliver & NAV, “Lemonade”
Lil Tjay ft. 6LACK, “Calling My Phone”
Polo G, “RAPSTAR”
Pop Smoke, “What You Know Bout Love”

Favorite Male R&B Artist
Chris Brown
Giveon
Tank
The Weeknd
Usher

Favorite Female R&B Artist
Doja Cat
H.E.R.
Jazmine Sullivan
Jhené Aiko
SZA

Favorite R&B Album
Doja Cat, Planet Her
Giveon, When It’s All Said and Done… Take Time
H.E.R., Back of My Mind
Jazmine Sullivan, Heaux Tales
Queen Naija, missunderstood

Favorite R&B Song
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), “Leave the Door Open”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
Giveon, “Heartbreak Anniversary”
H.E.R., “Damage”
Jazmine Sullivan, “Pick Up Your Feelings”

Favorite Gospel Artist
Kanye West
Kirk Franklin
Koryn Hawthorne
Maverick City Music
Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Favorite Music Video
Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), “Leave the Door Open”
Cardi B, “Up”
Lil Nas X, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
The Weeknd, “Save Your Tears”

Collaboration of the Year
24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood”
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “DAKITI”
Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”
Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon “Peaches”

Favorite Male Pop Artist
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Justin Bieber
Lil Nas X
The Weeknd

Favorite Female Pop Artist
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

Favorite Pop Duo or Group
AJR
BTS
Glass Animals
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic

Favorite Pop Song
BTS, “Butter”
Doja Cat feat. SZA, “Kiss Me More”
Dua Lipa, “Levitating”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
The Weekend & Ariana Grande, “Save Your Tears (Remix)”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elton John made a virtual appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday night and shared a couple of stories about fellow musical icons.

In one of the stories, he talked about performing with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden in 1974, which turned out to be Lennon’s last live public performance before his death in 1980.

“It was one of the most magical moments of my life,” Elton said. “Probably for me, the memory of him coming onstage and getting so much applause. I think all the band, and myself, were moved to tears. And it was such a wonderful occasion.”

He also recalled the not-so-magical moment when he almost rejected a birthday surprise from Stevie Wonder. Elton was on board a private plane called the Starship and was bummed out about a performance he had.

“I went up front and sat on my own and they said, ‘Come up to the bow. We want to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you’ and I went, ‘I’m not interested in my birthday,’” he recalled. “And this happened about three or four times until my publicist burst into tears and said, ‘You have to come up there. Stevie Wonder is at the organ’ — of course the plane had an organ on it — ‘and he wants to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you.”

Elton finally got to collaborate with Stevie on the song “Finish Line” from his new album, The Lockdown Sessions.

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Volbeat has premiered a new song called “Becoming,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Servant of the Mind.

“Becoming” is the fourth cut to be released from Servant, following the singles “Wait a Minute My Girl” and “Shotgun Blues,” and the song “Dagen Før,” featuring Stine Bramsen. The whole album is set to arrive December 3.

Servant of the Mind is Volbeat’s eighth studio album, and their first since 2019’s Rewind, Replay, Rebound.

Volbeat will hit the road in support of their new record next year on a co-headlining U.S. tour with Ghost, which kicks off January 25 in Reno, Nevada.

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As teased earlier this week, Imagine Dragons has released a new song called “Enemy.”

The track, a collaboration with hip hop artist JID, was recorded for the upcoming animated Netflix series Arcane, which was inspired by the popular League of Legends video game.

You can download “Enemy” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video, which features animated versions of ID and JID spliced in with Arcane footage, is streaming now on YouTube.

By the way, Imagine Dragons previously entered the League of Legends world with their song “Warrior,” which was recorded for the game’s 2014 World Championship.

As for ID’s non-LoL music, the band just dropped a new album, Mercury — Act 1, in September. It includes the singles “Follow You” and “Wrecked.”

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Forget never never land, Metallica is off to the classroom.

The metal legends are launching their own Masterclass series, in which they will teach “being a band,” including everything from making an album to “navigating egos” and “giving criticism.”

“We have sustained our bond for more than 40 years because we’ve learned a lot about each other and ourselves over time,” says frontman James Hetfield. “In our class we not only teach MasterClass members how we write songs and find inspiration for our music, but how the experiences we’ve had together have contributed to successful creative collaboration.”

All four Metallica members will take part, and will be breaking down the making of classics including “Enter Sandman,” “One” and “Master of Puppets.”

For a preview of what you can expect, you can check out a trailer for the Masterclass streaming now on YouTube. Additional info can be found at MasterClass.com.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” shot up to the top of the Billboard charts, it was only a matter of time before Kidz Bop got its hands on the sexually-charged song.  However, Lil Nas X apparently wasn’t expecting just how far the music brand would go to make his X-rated anthem “child friendly.”

The Grammy winner took to Twitter and shared a peek at the super-sanitized lyrics, which read, “I wanna lie on the beach in Hawaii/ I want that jet lag from livin’ and flyin’/ Put a smile on your face whilst we’re dinin’.”

Of course, those who know the song by heart know the actual lyrics are way more explicit.

A further look at the clean edition shows that the brand also shifted the R-rated lyrics “Cocaine and drinking with your friends” to a watered down “Singin’ and dancin’ with your friends.”

Fans had a blast poking fun at the lyrical changes, especially over the inclusion of words like “whilst” and “dining.”

For those who prefer a squeaky-clean version of this year’s top songs, you can pre-order Kidz Bop 2022 for $12 on the brand’s official website.  The album also includes child-friendly versions of “Astronaut in the Ocean,” “Save Your Tears,” “Peaches,” “Mood” and more.

Understandably, Cardi B‘s “Up” and Ariana Grande‘s “34+35” did not make the cut.

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Foo Fighters and Machine Gun Kelly are among the nominees for the 2021 American Music Awards.

Dave Grohl and company will compete against the “Bloody Valentine” rocker in the Favorite Rock Artists category, along with All Time Low, Glass Animals and AJR.

Glass Animals and AJR are also up for the Favorite Pop Duo or Group award.

2021 breakout star and pop-punk disciple Olivia Rodrigo leads all nominees, with a total of seven nods.

The 2021 American Music Awards will take place Sunday, November 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony will broadcast live on ABC.

For the full list of nominees, visit TheAMAs.com.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Charlie Puth is giving fans a tease of an upcoming song, but not before providing some insight.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the singer explained, “I’m very bad at expressing my feelings, which is why I usually just hide them in music, but as I write this next part to this song, I feel like I should tell you why I’m singing it so it’s not random when you hear it.”

Puth, 29, explained, “I went through a very bad breakup one time, and I felt like I lost a year of my life.”

He then played a snippet of the track while he bobbed his head to the beat and lip-synced on camera.

In the teaser, Puth slings some pretty intense lyrics at his ex, singing, “You took away a year of my f****** life, and I can’t get it back no more/ So, when I see those tears coming out your eyes, I hope it’s me.”

After a beat drop, the song continues, “You didn’t love when you had me, but now you need me so badly/ You can’t be serious. That’s hilarious.”

The “We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer captioned the video, ” I was scared to post this,” but fans were happy that he did. 

“I need thissss,” one user commented, while another urged, “Release it already!”

 

 

 

 

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The nominations for the 2021 American Music Awards were announced Thursday morning and first-time nominee Olivia Rodrigo leads the pack with a total of seven nods.

Olivia scored a nomination in the coveted Artist of the Year category, where she’ll be up against Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, BTS, Drake and The Weeknd. Taylor currently holds the record for the most career AMA wins, at 32.

The Weeknd is the second-most nominated artist this year with with six nominations, followed close behind by Bad Bunny, Doja Cat and R&B singer Giveon, with five apiece.

The 2021 American Music Awards will take place Sunday, Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. ET. The ceremony will broadcast live on ABC.

Here’s a list of the nominees in some of the major categories:

Artist of the Year
Taylor Swift
Ariana Grande
The Weeknd
Olivia Rodrigo
BTS
Drake

Favorite Male Pop Artist
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Justin Bieber
Lil Nas X
The Weeknd

Favorite Female Pop Artist
Ariana Grande
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

Favorite Pop Duo or Group
AJR
BTS
Glass Animals
Maroon 5
Silk Sonic

Favorite Pop Album
Ariana Grande, positions
Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia
Olivia Rodrigo, SOUR
Taylor Swift, evermore
The Kid LAROI, F*CK LOVE

Favorite Pop Song
BTS, “Butter”
Doja Cat feat. SZA, “Kiss Me More”
Dua Lipa, “Levitating”
Olivia Rodrigo, “drivers license”
The Weekend & Ariana Grande, “Save Your Tears (Remix)”

Favorite Trending Song
Erica Banks, “Buss It”
Måneskin, “Beggin”
Megan Thee Stallion, “Body”
Olivia Rodrigo, “Drivers License”
Popp Hunna, “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)”

New Artist of the Year
24kGoldn
Giveon
Masked Wolf
Olivia Rodrigo
The Kid LAROI

Collaboration of the Year
24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood”
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “DAKITI”
Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”
Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon “Peaches”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.