Luke Combs was one of the numerous artists who participated in Loretta Lynn’s Friends: Hometown Rising concert. The star-studded show was planned by Loretta Lynn to raise money for those affected by the devastating floods in Middle Tennessee last month.
Luke, who sang “Forever After All” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart” at the show reveals it was Loretta who called him personally to ask him to participate — a request he knew he could not deny.
“I live in midwestern Tennessee myself… and I started seeing all the devastation that happened out where I live,” Luke shared from stage. “When I got the call from Loretta, I said ‘Whatever I need to do, I’m there. I want to help.’”
Luke was joined by Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, BRELAND, Little Big Town, Chris Janson and Brittney Spencer for the show, which was held at the Grand Ole Opry.
A final tally of money raised has yet to be announced. Two autographed show posters netted $20,000, while a guitar strap signed by Keith and his wife, Nicole Kidman, raised $75,000. All proceeds go directly to the United Way of Humphreys County.
Lil Nas X is revealing which two pop stars are among his biggest inspirations.
In two exclusive clips of his interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, obtained by People, Lil Nas says he counts Miley Cyrus and Doja Cat as major influences.
“Miley is just the sweetest person ever and I feel like she’s one of those people that don’t even realize how impactful and how much of a legend they already are,” he says. “And what they have done and what they’re doing right now, even to this day. And I really admire her and her ability to constantly change herself.”
Lil Nas X, of course, worked with Miley’s dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, on the mega-successful remix of “Old Town Road.”
Of Doja Cat, Lil Nas says seeing her VMAs performance last year motivated him to up his game. “It literally made me start going to the gym,” he says. “Because I was like, ‘I want to get in shape because I want to start doing crazier, better performances.'”
“And just her music, she’s diverse, her videos, and her personality is really colorful and pop,” he adds. “She’s funny. She’s a fun person. She takes things seriously, but doesn’t take things seriously. You know what I mean? She takes what she does seriously.”
Lil Nas X is set to release his new album, Montero, Friday.
By the time the world knew that Carly Pearce and Michael Ray were divorcing, after less than a year of marriage, Carly had already been dealing privately with the heartbreak for months. Her wide range of emotions comes out in all of the songs on her upcoming album 29: Written in Stone, including “Diamondback,” the first track on the record.
“I think it was the last song I wrote for this project,” Carly tells People. “You try to do the right thing and you try to stay quiet, and I just stopped caring in that moment. I went, ‘Hmm … I gotta go there’ — and I did.”
Carly grew up listening to strong female artists telling their own truth, which is what gave her the courage to not sugarcoat her story, either.
“All of the great women that I love as writers and as singers and as performers — [like] Natalie Maines of The Chicks, had those go-off moments,” Carly says. “I grew up loving those. Miranda [Lambert] writes from such an unapologetic place. Loretta Lynn writes from such an unapologetic place.”
Following a New York Times report that Kelly Clarkson is prepping a Christmas album for release later this year, Kelly’s announced a brand-new holiday single — with an amazing title.
“Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)” will be released September 23. “You’re gonna love it!” Kelly promises in a new Instagram video.
The single is described as the first release from Kelly’s ninth studio album, which her label confirms will be her second holiday release since 2013’s Wrapped in Red. Overall, it’ll be her first album since 2017’s Meaning of Life.
This week, Kelly kicked off the third season of her Emmy-winning talk show and on Monday, she’ll return for the 21st season of The Voice.
It’s safe to say things got a bit heated Tuesday night during the Verzuz battle between New York rappers Fat Joe and Ja Rule.
During the livestreamed music event, held at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Joe and Ja brought out some of their famous friends and collaborators — including Nelly, Ashanti, Jadakiss, and Remy Ma — to assist them on some of their hit songs. While the music competition remained mostly friendly, things became a bit tense when Ja Rule asked his “Put It On Me” collaborators Lil Mo and Vita to come on stage and sing.
“Oh, them dusty b******,” said Fat Joe, referring to Lil Mo and Vita. “You had to go to the crack house to find them b******.”
Fans were quick to slam Joe’s comments, with Lil Mo responding in an online post that she was “disappointed” in him. Joe apparently received the message, apologizing on Twitter early Wednesday morning.
“Shout out to the ladies very sorry if i disrespected i love vida and lil Moe,” he tweeted. “I’m super sorry love my sisters.”
Neither Mo nor Vida have publicly responded to Joe’s apology as of late Wednesday morning.
The U.K.’s Download Festival is heading to Germany, and Metallica will be along for the ride.
The metal legends are headlining the inaugural Download Germany, set to take place June 24, 2022. The lineup will also include Five Finger Death Punch and Sabaton, with more artists being announced at a later date.
The U.K. version of Download was founded in 2003, and is held in England’s Donington Park. However, it hasn’t taken place since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though a smaller, downsized version, deemed Download Pilot, was held this past June.
Download is set to return in 2022 with headliners Iron Maiden, KISS and Biffy Clyro.
The rapper welcomed his third child with wife Tricia Davis six weeks ago. Davis announced the birth of their son on Instagram.
“Six weeks ago in the shadow of the Buck Moon this beautiful human came into our lives,” she wrote, alongside a selfie with the newborn. “He arrived rooted and calm, mostly just observing the two whirling dervishes around him.”
“Welcome home Hugo,” she continued. “May you crush the distorted masculine and awaken the divine.”
Macklemore and Davis, who married in 2015, are also parents to two daughters: six-year-old Sloane Ava Simone and three-year-old Colette Koala.
An early, pre-ParachutesColdplay performance is now streaming via Amazon Prime’s Coda Collection.
The set, titled Amsterdam Sessions, was recorded at a Netherlands studio in June 2000, just a month before the U.K. band’s debut album dropped. It marked one of Coldplay’s first performances outside of their home country and has never before been released outside of Holland.
You can watch a preview of Amsterdam Sessions, featuring a rendition of the future hit “Yellow,” now on YouTube.
Since that humble performance, Chris Martin and company have since become worldwide superstars. Their upcoming ninth album, Music of the Spheres, featuring the lead single “Higher Power” and the much-anticipated BTS collaboration “My Universe,” arrives October 15.
Rolling Stone has published a brand-new list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time — it’s first since 2004 — and among the top 100 tracks on the list are hits by Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Madonna and Whitney Houston.
Highest-ranked is Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” at number 55. Taylor’s “All Too Well,” a fan favorite from her album Red, is number 69 — in fact, it has a higher ranking than The Beatles‘ iconic song, “Yesterday.” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” is number 82, Kelly’s “Since U Been Gone” is number 93, and Whitney’s version of Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You” is 94.
The number-one song on the list is Aretha Franklin‘s 1967 classic version of Otis Redding‘s “Respect.”
The top 50 includes such crowd-pleasers as Elton John‘s “Tiny Dancer,” Fleetwood Mac‘s “Dreams,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Prince‘s “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain,” Lorde‘s “Royals,” Beyoncé‘s “Crazy In Love,” Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born to Run,” Queen‘s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Rolling Stone‘s ranking was determined by more than 250 artists, musicians, producers, music industry figures, critics and journalists, who all submitted in their top 50 choices, which Rolling Stone then tabulated. More than half of the songs on the new list weren’t present on the 2004 list.
In case you’re wondering, the song that’s ranked #500 is “Stronger,” by Kanye West.
Last year, Dion DiMucci released a collaborative album titled Blues with Friends that featured contributions from a jaw-dropping cast of music legends. Now the doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll great has announced plans for a similarly star-studded follow-up project.
The album, titled Stomping Ground, will be released November 5, and features Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, Boz Scaggs, Rickie Lee Jones and more. In addition, the record’s liner notes were penned by The Who‘s Pete Townshend.
In his own album notes, Dion writes, “To make music with friends, and to make friends through music: I can’t imagine a better life than this. I am grateful to my friends who made Stomping Ground with me — and my new friends who are listening.”
Stomping Ground features 14 tracks: 13 originals, plus a cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Red House” that Dion recorded with folk-blues artist Keb’ Mo’. You can pre-order the album now.
Last month, Dion released one of the new songs as an advance single — “I’ve Got to Get to You,” which features Scaggs and the father-son guitar duo Joe and Mike Menza.
The album’s lead track, “Take It Back,” which features blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa, has just debuted, along with a companion video. A third advance song, “Angel in the Alleyway,” featuring Springsteen on guitar and harmonica and Scialfa on vocals, is due out October 13.
Townshend writes about Stomping Ground, “This one will blow those little white things in our ears right into your brain.”
In other news, a stage musical based on Dion’s life and music, titled The Wanderer, will premiere next March at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey.
Here’s Stomping Ground‘s full track list:
“Take It Back” — with Joe Bonamassa
“Hey Diddle Diddle ” — with G.E. Smith
“Dancing Girl ” — with Mark Knopfler
“If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll ” — with Eric Clapton
“There Was a Time ” — with Peter Frampton
“Cryin’ Shame ” — with Sonny Landreth
“The Night Is Young ” — with Joe Menza and Wayne Hood
“That’s What The Doctor Said ” — with Steve Conn
“My Stomping Ground ” — with Billy F Gibbons
“Angel in the Alleyways ” — with Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen
“I’ve Got to Get to You ” — with Boz Scaggs, Joe Menza and Mike Menza
“Red House ” — with Keb’ Mo’
“I Got My Eyes on You Baby ” — with Marcia Ball and Jimmy Vivino
“I’ve Been Watching ” — with Rickie Lee Jones and Wayne Hood
