Music

Sara Bareilles says her return to Broadway has been an emotional journey. 

Sara made her grand return to the stage this week, reprising the lead role of Jenna Hunterson in her hit Waitress for a limited-time engagement.  And in a preview clip of a new NBC News Now special called Return to Broadway, which you can  watch on E!, she discusses her feelings about the Great White Way reopening.

“It’s been so intense, deeply emotional, very surreal, completely exciting and joyful,” Sara says in the preview clip, describing being back on stage after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Broadway for 16 months. “I cannot get over how quickly it starts to feel just like ‘we’re back.'”

One of the new aspects of the pandemic theater experience is that guests are required to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask — requirements that the singer is in full support of. 

“A thousand percent,” Sara affirms about whether the mandate makes her feel more comfortable performing for a live audience, calling it a “no-brainer.” “We’re a progressive industry and we have to hold these high standards.”

Sara stars in Waitress until October 17. The NBC News Now special Return to Broadway premiering on September 6 at 7 p.m. ET. NBC News Now is available on Peacock, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, Tubi, NBCNews.com and other streaming outlets.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

“Astronaut in the Ocean” rapper Masked Wolf has announced the release of his debut mixtape, Astronomical.

The 17-track project, arriving September 10, will include “Astronaut in the Ocean” as well as the previously released tracks “Bop,” “Say So” and “Gravity Glidin.”

Ahead of the album’s release, the Australian rapper has dropped a new track, “Razors Edge,” featuring X Ambassadors, along with a cinematic video.  X Ambassadors frontman Sam Harris says, “Masked and I were on a Zoom call, working on a completely different song. We finished that one up, and he said ‘What else you got?’”

“We’d had the original beat/hook for ‘Razors Edge’ for a couple months, and I was dying to get someone really dope on it,” Harris adds. “So I played that one for him. He wrote verses literally in front of me right then and there.”

Masked Wolf says, “’Razors Edge’ has such a unique sound..as soon as I heard it, I told Sam that it was mine and nobody else could have it. From there, the magic happened.”

Masked Wolf, born Harry Michael, recently received a special Australian award celebrating one billion streams of “Astronaut in the Ocean,” according to Billboard.  Other recipients of the award include Lorde, Five Seconds of Summer, Goyte, Sia, Dean Lewis and Tones & I.

Here’s the track listing for Astronomical:

“Astronomical”
“Just Names”
“Gravity Glidin”
“Razors Edge” (Feat. X Ambassadors)
“Say So”
“Bop”
“Where’s Wally”
“Ain’t Gonna Change”
“Pandemonium”
“Paper Planes”
“Interstellar”
“Tightrope” (Feat. NICOLOSI)
“Work”
“Galaxy Garden”
“Reflections”
“Thief In The Night” (Feat. Kevin Gates)
“Astronaut in the Ocean”

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As Drake takes over the music world with Friday’s release of his long awaited Certified Lover Boy album, Kanye West has taken another jab in their feud right in Drizzy’s hometown.

After the Champagne Papi erected billboards in Toronto with lyrics from CLB, West countered with billboards with the name of his new album, Donda, right next to them, as captured on Twitter by DJ Akademiks.

Kanye dropped Donda on Sunday, and now the superstars will battle for supremacy of the charts.

Certified Lover Boy features an all-star cast including Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, Future, Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi and 21 Savage. Seven of those artists are also on Donda: Jay-Z, Scott, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Young Thug, Cudi and Ty Dolla $ign.

The beef was reignited two weeks ago when Drake dissed Kanye on Trippie Redd‘s “Betrayal.” On the track, Drake raps, “All these fools I’m beefin’ that I barely know / Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go / Ye ain’t changin’ s*** for me, it’s set in stone.”

Forty-four-year-old Kanye responded by sharing Drake’s address in Toronto in a posted-and-deleted Instagram obtained by TMZ.

Kanye West bought out hella billboards for DONDA right next to CLB billboards in Toronto… pic.twitter.com/99xlgNzoH7

— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) September 2, 2021

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Carrie Underwood and Dan + Shay just dropped their stunning collaboration, “Over Us.” The song, which was produced by Dan Smyers, is from the upcoming Dear Evan Hansen movie.

Dan + Shay spoke out about their duet on social media, saying they are “super fans” of Carrie.

“It’s always been a dream to collaborate with her,” they wrote, adding that the duet is “quite possibly the coolest thing that’s ever happened to us.”

Other artists appearing on the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack include Sam Smith with Summer Walker, SZA,  FINNEAS, Tori Kelly and more. The Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack will be released on September 24, which is the same day the film will be released nationwide.

“Only Us” is available to download or stream now.

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Mod Sun has released a new song called “Down,” featuring Travis Barker.

The Blink-182 drummer lends his signature skills to the pop-punk track, and also appears on the single cover, which features Mod sitting down next to a wall covered in photos of Barker.

“Down” follows Mod’s 2021 album, Internet Killed the Rockstar, which includes his Avril Lavigne collaboration, “Flames.”

Mod and Barker previously worked together on Machine Gun Kelly‘s Downfalls High, a musical film based on the “Bloody Valentine” rocker’s 2020 album, Tickets to My Downfall. They also collaborated on Mod’s 2014 song, “Never Quit.”

Last week, it was announced that Mod and MGK would be reuniting to write and direct a new film together titled Good Mourning with a U. The pair also co-directed and co-wrote Downfalls High.

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The video for Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oli Sykes‘ collaborative song “Salt” with buzzy Filipino-Australian musician daine is out now.

The clip begins with some Lord of the Rings-esque cosplay, with daine playing a Galadriel-type royal elf. Sykes, meanwhile, shows up as a sort of ghostly specter that appears in daine’s mind’s eye.

You can watch the “Salt” video streaming now on YouTube.

The song “Salt” premiered last week. When it dropped, Sykes called “Salt” his “fave collab so far.”

You’ll also get to hear Sykes on the upcoming new Bring Me the Horizon song “Die4U,” set to premiere September 16.

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Apparently, Chieftain Mews isn’t cutting it on Radiohead‘s TikTok.

Earlier this year — on April Fools’ Day, in fact — the “Creep” outfit launched their own TikTok starring Mews, the strange character Radiohead previously used for their old web broadcasts. In keeping with the band’s ever-enigmatic vibe, each TikTok would feature Mews sitting at a desk repeating random phrases with unsettling vocal effects. That is, until now.

In Radiohead’s latest TikTok, which went up Friday, frontman Thom Yorke makes his debut appearance, alongside frequent artistic collaborator Stanley Donwood. The clip begins with the pair going over the low, “embarrassing” amount of views and follows Chieftain has brought with the broadcasts.

“You’ve promised us you that could give us a strong identity on TikTok, promote the music, get us back into the marketplace,” Yorke says to Mews, who can be heard from offscreen. “But instead, you’ve just become a source of acute embarrassment.”

“It’s not the ’90s anymore, is it?” he adds.

One can only hope that Radiohead’s TikTok use means new music is on the way — the band’s most recent album is 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool.

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Ten years ago, Michael Bolton changed up his image by collaborating with the comedy team The Lonely Island for hilarious Saturday Night Live digital short Jack Sparrow.  And he says he still feels the project is “the gift that keeps on giving.”

Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment, Michael says that Jack Sparrow — which features him singing about about the Pirates of the Caribbean character while Andy Samberg and the rest of the Lonely Island crew are trying to make a hip-hop track — was “one of the “most enjoyable, greatest experiences” of his entire career.

Initially, Michael was reluctant to get involved because he thought “some of the lyrics were a little bit raunchy,” which he felt might turn off his fans. But The Lonely Island guys wanted him on the song so badly that they agreed to change the lyrics.  According to Michael, the SNL producers “went crazy for” the song, so they made the music video, which Michael says was so much fun, he didn’t want it to end.

The morning after it aired, Michael was shocked when his daughter told him that the video had totally gone viral, and even Justin Bieber was praising it on social media.  Jack Sparrow has since racked up 220 million views, and Michael says its the reason younger people recognize him in airports.

“It’s been incredible, and it has opened this much bigger, universal door into projects,” Michael says — including his current stint on ABC’s Celebrity Dating Game. “Basically, it was one of the best things I ever did. I call it the gift that keeps on giving.”

Michael says he’d love to do an entire album with The Lonely Island in the future.

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It’s kinda random, but BTS and Coldplay’s Chris Martin are teaming up on a project.

On Thursday, September 9 at 11:45pm, BTS will appear on YouTube Originals’ weekly series RELEASED, along with Chris. They’ll discuss the #PermissiontoDance challenge on YouTube Shorts, among other topics. They’ll also screen a selection of videos created by BTS fans from around the world.  You can watch a teaser of the episode on YouTube now.

Then at midnight, September 9, the “Shorts Challenge version” of the “Permission to Dance” music video will have its premiere.

The #PermissiontoDance challenge started on July 23.  Fans were asked to make 15 second YouTube Shorts that included the “International Sign” gestures for “joy,” “dance” and “peace,” which were featured in the song’s original music video.

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Soon we will have all of the details of the upcoming 2021 CMA Awards, including the nominees. The Country Music Association announced today that the nominees for the 55th Annual CMA Awards would be announced on Thursday, September 9, at 8:00 a.m. ET.

Last year, Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker co-hosted the event, which was held at Music City Center in downtown Nashville, without an audience due to the pandemic.

Maren Morris was the night’s biggest winner, taking home Single of the Year and Song of the Year, both for “The Bones.” Luke Combs won Male Vocalist of the Year, and Eric Church won the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.

“It’s going to be music that brings us out of this,” Eric said during his acceptance speech. “That is the one thing that is going to save the entire world.”

The 2021 CMA Awards will air in November on ABC.

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