Chris Stapleton and Carlos Santana are bringing the “Joy.”
The Grammy winners have teamed up on an uplifting new song where Carlos’ signature guitar playing takes center stage alongside Chris’ vocals. Written and produced by the country singer, the song was inspired by the fear stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Joy rolling like the thunder rumbles/Time to let the teardrops tumble/Listen to the hatred crumble,” Chris sings with a choir of voices in the background.
“I was very intrigued to work with Chris. We talked on the phone about the Covid situation and how there’s so much fear in the world,” Santana says of “Joy” in a statement. “I said, ‘We need to create music as a healing force. We must bring hope and courage and disinfect twisted minds infected with darkness. That gave him the ammunition to write such incredible words.”
“Joy” is featured on Carlos’ new album, Blessings and Miracles, out on Friday.
Band of Horses has announced a new album called Things Are Great.
The latest effort from the “Great Salt Lake” outfit is set to arrive January 21, 2022. You can listen to the lead single, “Crutch,” now via digital outlets.
Things Are Great is the sixth Band of Horses studio album. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s Why Are You OK, which includes the single “Casual Party.”
Band of Horses will play a three-show residency at New York City’s new Brooklyn Made venue next week. They’ll then launch a U.S. tour November 4 in Denver.
Here’s the Things Are Great track list:
“Warning Signs”
“Crutch”
“Tragedy of the Commons”
“In the Hard Times”
“In Need of Repair”
“Aftermath”
“Lights”
“Ice Night We’re Having”
“You Are Nice to Me”
“Coalinga”
U2‘s second album, October, was released 40 years ago today, October 12, 1981.
The album helped the young Irish rockers continue their ascendance as a popular new wave band following their memorable 1980 debut, Boy, and that record’s standout track “I Will Follow.”
Many fans in the U.S. got their introduction to U2 thanks to the music video for October‘s second single, “Gloria,” which was the first video by the group to be put in heavy rotation on MTV during the network’s early days. The clip famously features the band performing on a barge at the Canal Basin in their hometown of Dublin.
October was not a commercial success in the U.S., reaching only #104 on the Billboard 200. Things were different in the U.K., where the album reached #11.
The first single from October, “Fire,” was released in July of 1981, and it became U2’s first top-40 hit in the U.K., peaking at #35.
October was a challenging project for U2, largely because of an infamous incident that occurred while the band was on tour in the U.S. early in 1981 while promoting Boy. At a show in March of that year in Portland, Oregon, a briefcase with Bono’s lyrics and song ideas for the album went missing backstage. This led to the singer having to quickly pen new lyrics or improvise words when it came time for U2 to record the album.
In comparison with Boy, October‘s songs featured more religious and spiritual themes, exemplified by tunes such as “Gloria,” “With a Shout (Jerusalem),” “Rejoice” and “Tomorrow.”
The album also featured guitarist The Edge contributing his piano talents to a number of songs.
October has gone on to sell more than a million copies in the U.S.
Here’s the October track list:
“Gloria”
“I Fall Down”
“I Threw a Brick Through a Window”
“Rejoice”
“Fire”
“Tomorrow”
“October”
“With a Shout (Jerusalem)”
“Stranger in a Strange Land”
“Scarlet”
“Is That All?”
Organizers of the Austin City Limits festival have apologized to Phoebe Bridgers after her set at the Texas event this past weekend was cut short.
As seen in footage posted to social media, the audio cut out just as Bridgers and her band were about to reach the crescendo of her song “I Know the End” — the same tune during which she famously smashed her guitar on Saturday Night Live.
In a since-deleted tweet reacting to the audio snafu, Bridgers wrote, “lol f*** ACL.”
ACL has now issued a statement to the Austin-American Statesmen blaming the incident on a “miscommunication on stage.”
“We wish this had not happened and extend our apologies to Phoebe,” the statement reads. “After positive conversations between festival organizers and the artist about the situation, ACL Fest has made a donation to Texas Abortion Funds to show our support for Phoebe and an organization close to her heart.”
The “Kyoto” artist has since retweeted ACL’s statement, along with the caption, “Thank you.”
Bridgers is also supporting Texas Abortion Funds with her cover of the Bo Burnham song “That Funny Feeling,” which was released earlier this month. According to Billboard, the cover is one of the five best-selling songs of the past week.
AJ Mitchell‘s debut album, Skyview, was supposed to be released in 2019, and then in 2020. But after having been delayed again, it finally came out last Friday, along with a new single and video, “Hi-Lo.” AJ says he really appreciates that his fans have waited this long for his music — because he’s not sure if he could’ve done the same.
“They’ve been so patient, they have been like blessings,” AJ tells ABC Audio. “They are blessings. They’re the best fans ever! I don’t know how I would react if someone, like, took this long for an album!”
And while the pandemic contributed to the delay, AJ says it also helped him realize that Skyview wasn’t quite complete.
“It’s kind of crazy how I had the album finished, but just having that extra time, you know, you write music, and you’re like, ‘This actually fits perfectly with the album,'” he says, adding, “I’ve been creating this album for the past two years, trying to find out who I am…and now I’m at that point where I feel like it all just came together.”
While not all of the 20-plus singles that AJ’s released over the past few years are on Skyview, one that is is “Used to Be,” which he wrote when he was just 13. AJ is 20 now, so why put such an old track on the album?
“It kind of just made sense because, at the end of the day, Skyview is a drive-in movie theater in my hometown,” he explains. “It’s where I came from, and I think it just it made sense to have ‘Used to Be’ on it, because I wrote [it] in my hometown when I was 13, and I think it just kind of ties together the whole album.”
Marilyn Manson is trying to unload his Los Angeles home and has listed it for $1.75 million.
The New York Post reports that the 1926 Spanish-styled home boasts three bedrooms, three bathrooms and other amenities, such as an office and walk in closets.
Manson bought the 2,711 square foot home, which sits on a 0.15-acre plot, back in 2013.
The move comes as the musician grapples with allegations of abuse and sexual assault by numerous women. The fallout began last February after his ex-fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, alleged he had “horrifically abused [her] for years.” Manson, born Brian Warner, denied her claims as “horrible distortions of reality.”
In the months since, multiple women come forward with their own allegations, including Game of Thrones star Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline and Warner’s former assistant, Ashley Walters, all of whom filed lawsuits against him.
Just days after Britney Spears announced she’s writing a book, her little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, has beaten her to the punch.
Sharing a photo of her upcoming book cover on Instagram on Monday, the actress and singer announced, “I can’t believe I finally finished writing my book!!!”
Jamie goes on to explain that the idea for the memoir, titled Things I Should Have Said, came to her in 2017 after her daughter Maddie‘s near-fatal ATV incident.
“I felt a strong conviction to share my story, but there was a lot of personal work and healing that had to happen before I could share my truth the proper way,” the Zoey 101 alum wrote. “I’ve spent my whole life believing that I had to pretend to be perfect, even when I wasn’t, so for the first time I am opening up about my own mental health.”
She added, “I owe it to myself, my younger self, and to my daughters to be an example that you should never edit yourself or your truth to please anyone else.”
Jamie admitted that while she still has “ALOT of learning to do,” the book gave her “closure on this ’30 year long’ chapter of [her] life.”
Additionally, she announced that “a portion of my book proceeds will be going to @thisismybrave, because I know how scary it can be to share personal struggles, especially if you don’t feel you have the support or a safe space to do so, and they are doing amazing work to support and encourage people as they bravely share their experiences.”
Although Jamie didn’t specify any book details in her post, according to a description written by her publisher, Worthy Publishing, the memoir will also touch on her “role as Britney’s kid sister.”
L-R: Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, Brandon Blackstock; Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night
Reba McEntire isn’t taking sides when it comes to Kelly Clarkson‘s divorce from her stepson, Brandon Blackstock.
“Kelly and I do talk, we text and I love them both, and so I can’t play favorites because I’ve been a friend of Kelly for a long time,” the country music legend tells Entertainment Tonight.
Reba was married to Brandon’s father, Narvel Blackstock, from 1989 to 2015. Even though the two have gone their separate ways, she still considers Brandon to be her own flesh and blood.
“Brandon’s been my son forever it seems. Although he’s my stepson, I still love him like he’s…my blood, so I’m praying for ‘em both ’cause I love ‘em both,” Reba tells ET.
Kelly filed for divorce from Brandon in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage.
The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards/Getty Images for GLAAD
Demi Lovato wants people to consider the feelings of those from outer space — starting with retiring the term “alien.”
Speaking to Australia’s PEDESTRIAN.TV recently, the “Skyscraper” singer explained why they think the terminology is both derogatory and offensive, saying that the word enforces negative stereotypes “that they’re harmful or that they’ll come and take over the planet.”
“I really think that if there was anything out there that would want to do that to us, it would have happened by now. But I think that we have to stop calling them aliens because aliens is a derogatory term for anything,” Demi continued. “That’s why I like to call them ETs! So yeah, that’s a little tidbit. A little information that I learned.”
The singer also believes that if — or when — otherworldly beings visit the planet, it won’t be out of malice.
“I think that if there were beings that could harm us, we would have been gone a long time ago,” they said, adding that the extraterrestrials would mostly likely hail from an advanced civilization and may want to share their technology. “I think that they are looking for nothing but peaceful encounters and interactions because like I said, if they wanted us gone, we would have been gone a long time ago!” said Demi.
Lovato seeks out proof of other life in their new show, Unidentified with Demi Lovato, where they visit known UFO hot spots and confer with experts in the field. All four episodesare available to stream now on Peacock.
For the first time since it hit #1 in 1993, Reba McEntire‘s “Does He Love You” is back on the country chart. This time, Dolly Parton steps in for Linda Davis, on a new version recorded for Reba’s Revived Remixed Revisited set.
Reba’s had hits with Vince Gill, Brooks & Dunn, and even recorded an entire album of duets, but somehow has never managed to collaborate with Dolly.
“It’s amazing that we’ve never done a duet,” Reba muses. “We’ve never [sung] together. I’ve gone on programs to sing for her, and she’s done that for me. But to never sing a song together is kinda weird.”
“My favorite part… was getting to visit with her in between,” Reba reflects. “Second was singing with her. But to get to hang out and just visit like girlfriends was so much fun.”
“But I love the acting,” she adds. “We got to play act like we were women at odds and not liking each other. And by the end, we’re like, ‘Ah, you can have him! Thunder, I don’t want him!'”
While this may be the first time Reba and Dolly have recorded together, they’re hoping it won’t be the last.
“We did talk about doing more stuff together,” Reba reveals. “And I hope that happens because I’d love to work with her. She’s a professional, she’s fun, she’s funny, she’s witty. I can [sit] and listen to her talk all day long.”
For now, Reba “can’t wait” for the chance to stage the duet live with Dolly.
“I think that would be so much fun,” she says. “I think the fans would love it, eat it up.”
