Music

It appears Måneskin‘s “Beggin'” days may be over.

The Italian band’s viral Four Seasons cover has hit number-one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart, giving the group their first-ever leader on the chart.

Måneskin’s also been having success with their single “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” which currently sits in the top 25 on Alternative Airplay and the top 40 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay ranking. Back in August, they released a new version of the song featuring the one and only Iggy Pop.

The Måneskin train is set to keep rolling this week with the release of a new single called “MAMMAMIA.” That’ll arrive Friday, October 8.

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A few months ago, Walker Hayes was a country singer who’d had a couple of hits.  But his ode to date nights at Applebee’s, “Fancy Like,” turned him into a TikTok celebrity, and then a bonafide pop star. 

“The idea really spawned from a conversation when me and my co-writers about the misconception that all celebrities live a very lavish lifestyle,” Walker explains to ABC Audio.  “I think most people just think that if you’re an artist, if you’re a performer, if you’re a songwriter and you’re paying the bills, you live in a mansion and you always eat at Ruth’s Chris and you always wear expensive shoes. And that’s not necessarily true,” he points out.

“I just basically wrote the song to say, ‘Hey, I’m pretty simple guy, ’bout as fancy as it gets for me is Applebee’s on a date night,'” says Walker, a father of six. He adds. “You know, like, just me talking guy to guy, ‘How fancy do you get?’ ‘Well, hey, we fancy like Applebee’s!'”

After Walker and his teen daughter came up with a dance to go with “Fancy Like,” it went viral on TikTok and inevitably ended up in an Applebee’s commercial.  The restaurant chain even put its Oreo Shake back on the menu, after Walker shouted it out in the song’s lyrics.  The song hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and is now a pop radio hit; there’s even a remix with Kesha.

“We had no idea that we would do a dance to this, that it would just pop off, that it would go viral, that it would just transcend genres!” Walker laughs. “We had no idea. We were just telling the truth, man!”

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Kelly Clarkson has a unique way to open her daytime chat show, which tasks her to serenade the audience with a “Kellyoke” segment. She typically covers a pop song and one of her recent song choices included a subtle lyric change that some of her fans believe was aimed at her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

While covering the title track from Billie Eilish‘s second studio album, Happier than Ever, Clarkson changed the last line from, “I don’t relate to you/ I don’t relate to you, no/ ‘Cause I’d never treat me this sh****/ You made me hate this city,” to “I get it, you hate this city.”

The significance, fans believe, is that Kelly is in the midst of a contentious divorce with Blackstock, where she was recently awarded the couple’s Montana ranch.  Brandon, a talent manager, had claimed his future plans for the property had involved sponsoring rodeos and, therefore, allowing him to become a full-time rancher.

Clarkson did not alter the final lines of “Happier Than Ever” and belted out, “You ruined everything good/ Always said you were misunderstood/ Made all my moments your own/  Just f****** leave me alone.”

Notably, Kelly chose leave in most the expletives, opting instead to have them bleeped out.

Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage.

 

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This year’s BET Hip Hop Awards was a star-studded event that included appearances by some of this year’s most respected emcees.

The evening’s big winners included Tyler, the Creator, who was received the inaugural Cultural Influence Award, as well as Hip Hop Album of the Year for Call Me If You Get Lost. Lil Baby won four awards, including Artist of the Year, and Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion took home three trophies for “WAP.”

Additionally, Yung Bleu was named Best New Hip Hop Artist, while J. Cole took home Lyricist of the Year.

Young Thug & Gunna, Latto, Bia featuring Lil Jon, Baby Keem, Tobe Nwigwe, and Isaiah Rashad were just a few of the artists who took the stage to perform some of their hits. Meanwhile, hip-hop powerhouses Trina, Remy Ma and Rapsody presented some of the night’s top honors.

Hosted by DC Young Fly, Karlous Miller, and Chico Bean — also known as the comedy group 85 South — the show was fused with comedy skits and hip hop ciphers throughout the night.

Rapper-actor Nelly received the 2021 “I Am Hip Hop” Award from So So Def producer Jermaine Dupri before taking the stage to perform his own medley of songs, which included “E.I.”, “Country Grammar”, “Air Force Ones”, “Grillz”, “Ride With Me”, “Dilemma”, and “Hot in Herre”. Legendary rapper and 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee LL COOL J presented the first-ever “Rock the Bells Cultural Influence Award” to Grammy Award-winning rapper-producer Tyler, the Creator.

Before the night ended, Big Daddy Kane paid tribute to his fellow Juice Crew member, rapper Biz Markie, who passed away in July at the age of 57.

Here’s the list of 2021 BET Hip Hop Award winners:

Hip hop album of the year
Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler, the Creator

Song of the year
“WAP,” Produced by Ayo & Keyz (Cardi B Feat. Megan Thee Stallion)

Hip hop artist of the year
Lil Baby

Best hip hop video
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”

Best new hip hop artist
Yung Bleu

Best collaboration
Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”

Best duo or group
Lil Baby & Lil Durk

Best live performer
Tyler, the Creator

Lyricist of the year
J. Cole

Best international flow
Little Simz (U.K.)

Video director of the year
Missy Elliott

DJ of the year
DJ Scheme

Producer of the year
Hit-Boy

Hustler of the year
Saweetie

Best hip hop platform
Genius

Sweet 16: best featured verse
Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like” (Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z)

Impact track
Nipsey Hussle feat. Jay-Z, “What It Feels Like” 

 

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Summer Walker has announced her second album, Still Over It, with help from JT of City Girls.

The “Playing Games” singer is promoting the project, to be released November 5, with a humorous trailer inspired by the cover of her 2019 platinum debut album, Over It, which featured her talking on the phone. In the clip, Summer’s speaking with JT, who is incarcerated. The 28-year-old rapper was arrested in 2017 for identity theft on fraudulent credit card charges and sentenced to 24 months in federal prison.

Summer threatens women who have been dissing her, and JT responds, “Girl, you know you are crazy…You’re going to end up in here with me.” Walker ends the conversation saying, “I can’t wait ’til you get out. We’re going to have so much fun.”

The 2019 Soul Train Best New Artist award winner from A-T-L hyped the album by presenting the Atlanta Falcons with custom-made Still Over It jerseys Sunday before their home game against Washington.

Fans can pre-order Still Over It now, and purchase exclusive Still Over It merchandise, on Summer’s website.

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It’s all in the family for Gabby Barrett as she and husband Cade Foehner celebrate their second wedding anniversary. 

To honor the special occasion, Gabby shared a photo on Instagram of her and Cade posing in front of a sunset photo background, with Cade cradling their 10-month-old daughter, Baylah May, in his arms. 

“Happy 2nd Anniversary my love. You are my rock. You are my number 1 always,” Gabby writes alongside the photo of the happy family. 

The couple, who met as contestants on season 16 of American Idol, wed on October 5, 2019 in Cade’s home state of Texas. Cade served as inspiration for Gabby’s hit song, “The Good Ones,” which became her second consecutive #1 country single. 

They welcomed Baylah, their first child, in January. 

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What goes around comes around…but at a much higher price. Justin Timberlake is selling the LA mansion he bought in 2002 for just over $8 million for a whopping $35 million, reports The Wall Street Journal.

JT bought the 10-acre property before he married Jessica Biel; the couple now have two sons, Silas and Phineas.  He and Jessica renovated the house and added a 85-foot zero-edge swimming pool.

The 13,000-square-foot home also has seven bedrooms, a gym, a screening room, a tennis court, a guesthouse and an outdoor entertaining space that wraps around the entire house.

JT and Jessica also own homes in New York City, Montana and Justin’s home state of Tennessee. As for why they’re selling, the couple’s real estate agent told The Wall Street Journal that they’ve been spending less time in LA lately.

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Olivia Rodrigo has added artists including Taylor Swift and Paramore to the songwriting credits of a few of her SOUR tracks. In a new cover story with Teen Vogue, the 18-year-old addresses the criticism surrounding her music’s originality.

“I think it’s disappointing to see people take things out of context and discredit any young woman’s work,” Olivia says. “But at the end of the day I’m just really proud and happy to say that my job is being a songwriter.

“All music is inspired by each other,” she adds. “Obviously, I write all of my lyrics from my heart and my life first. I came up with the lyrics and the melody for ‘good 4 u’ one morning in the shower.”

In August, Olivia added Paramore’s Hayley Williams and ex-guitarist Joshua Farro as co-writers on the track for its similarities to “Misery Business.”

She previously added Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent as co-writers on her track “Deja Vu,” because the song apparently borrows its bridge from Taylor’s “Cruel Summer.” She also added Taylor and Jack to her song “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” because it interpolates Taylor’s song, “New Year’s Day.”

“Every single artist is inspired by artists who have come before them,” Olivia says. “It’s sort of a fun, beautiful sharing process. Nothing in music is ever new. There’s four chords in every song. That’s the fun part — trying to make that your own.”

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Paramount+ has released the first teaser to their upcoming The Game reboot.

As previously noted, the 10-episode series will now take place in Las Vegas and will star many of the original cast members in their original roles. This includes Wendy Raquel Robinson as sports agent Tasha Mack, Hosea Chanchez as former star quarterback Malik Wright, and Pooch Hall as former footballer Derwin Davis. The new series is said to center on a “modern-day examination of Black culture through the prism of pro football.” Executive produced by Mara Brock Akil, The Game launches on Paramount+ Thursday, November 11.

In other news, Jennifer Hudson, Halle Berry, Barry Jenkins and Anthony Anderson are among the honorees at this year’s Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. The annual event, which celebrates achievements in television and Black filmmaking, will take place on Monday, December 6 in Los Angeles. Berry will receive the Career Achievement Award; Hudson will be honored with the Actress Award for Film for her portrayal of Aretha Franklin in Respect; Jenkins will receive the Director Award for Television for his critically acclaimed Amazon series The Underground Railroad; and Anderson will take home the Producer Award for Television for his work on the ABC series black-ish, grown-ish and mixed-ish. Other honorees will be announced at a later date.

And finally, actors and real-life brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James are taking their talents behind the camera. According to Variety, the two have inked a first-look deal with Boat Rocker Studios. The deal comes ahead of Anderson and James starring in the company’s upcoming series Invasion and Beacon 23, respectively. The two will develop and produce original television projects via their Bay Mills Studios production banner. 

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