Today is Beck‘s 51st birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, the “Loser” artist has premiered a new video.
The clip accompanies Beck’s song “Chemical,” specifically the remix by DJ and producer Chloé Caillet. It stars model Stella Maxwell as we’re led through a hazy, neon-lit nighttime journey.
The Go-Go’s released their classic debut album, Beauty and the Beat, 40 years ago today, and in conjunction with that milestone anniversary, the famed all-female band has announced plans to issue a special limited-edition pink-vinyl version of the record on September 10.
The reissue features new cover art: a previously unseen image from the same photo shoot that produced Beauty and the Beat‘s original cover, showing the group wearing bath towels and face cream.
Each copy of the Beauty and the Beat vinyl reissue will be numbered, and the LP is available exclusively at the group’s official store, at uDiscoverMusic.com and at The SoundofVinyl.com. You can pre-order the album now.
Released on July 8, 1981, Beauty and the Beat spent six consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 in March and April of the following year. To date, it’s the only Billboard 200 number-one album by an all-female band who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments.
Beauty and the Beat featured two of the group’s biggest hits: “Our Lips Are Sealed,” which peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “We Got the Beat,” which reached #2.
Earlier this year, The Go-Go’s were chosen for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the band will be welcomed into the hallowed institution at an October 30 ceremony in Cleveland.
The group also recently lined up a five-date series of late-2021 and early-2022 concerts, running from a December 28 show in San Francisco through January 3 in San Diego. Those dates also include a December 31-January 1 stand in Las Vegas.
Alicia Keys has teamed with American Greetings for a series of music video greetings that feature the Grammy-winning star singing a personalized message just for you — as long as your name isn’t something really, really weird.
Part of American Greetings’ “Smashups Music Video Series,” the Alicia Keys “Your Day” ecard shows Alicia performing a version of her song “New Day,” from her 2012 album Girl on Fire. The video can be personalized so Alicia literally dedicates the song to you — that is, if your name is one of 1,000 names on the drop-down list, which starts with “Aalam” and ends with “Zooey.”
The card can also be personalized so that Alicia dedicates the song to an endearment, such as “Babe,” “Sweetie” or “Honey,” or to a loved one’s title, like Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Buddy, Coach, Nana and more. Sadly, those celebs who named their kids “Bear” or “Apple” or “Lyra” are out of luck.
“I always wished I could celebrate birthdays and other special moments with each and every one of the people that love and support me and my music and I’m so excited that now I’m able to do just that with these incredibly special SmashUps,” Alicia says in a statement. “You are going to feel it and LOVE it!”
Fender has announced the signature Kurt Cobain Jag-Stang guitar to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nirvana‘s iconic 1991 album, Nevermind.
As its name suggests, the Jag-Stang is a combination of two popular Fender models: the Mustang and the Jaguar. Cobain used both guitars throughout his career before coming to Fender in 1993 to create the first Jag-Stang, featuring his favorite elements of both instruments.
The 2021 Jag-Stang replicates the specs of Cobain’s original model and comes in two colors: Fiesta Red and Sonic Blue. It’ll be available this October for $1,249.99.
Hootie & the Blowfish are here to help you stoke your ’90s nostalgia and get a tan at the same time.
Darius Rucker‘s iconic rock group is hosting HootieFest: The Big Splash, a “destination concert vacation event” that will take place at Moon Palace in Cancún, Mexico, from January 26 to January 29. The four-day event will include three headlining performances from Hootie on the beach, as well as daytime entertainment and nightly concerts by Barenaked Ladies, Toad the West Sprocket, Spin Doctors, Better than Ezra, Sister Hazel, Blues Traveler and Toadies.
After their 2019 Group Therapy tour with the Barenaked Ladies, Hootie & the Blowfish’s members just can’t help but keep the party going.
“We were blown away by the response from fans during our last tour,” Darius says. “It was so special to be back on stage together and to know that people still love the music as much as we do. What better way to keep that celebration going than in Mexico!?”
Packages including accommodations, concert access, transportation and more go on sale Thursday, July 15, at 1 p.m. ET A 24-hour pre-sale starts Wednesday a 1 p.m. ET. For more information, visitHootiefest.com.
In his solo country career, meanwhile, Darius scored his ninth number-one hit this year with “Beers & Sunshine.” His current single, “My Masterpiece,” is climbing the charts.
Jason Derulo and his girlfriend, Jena Frumes, welcomed their first child, Jason King, on May 8. Jason says he always knew that they’d have a boy, because he literally willed it to happen.
“My brother has girls, and my sister has a girl, so I knew we needed a boy to carry on the name, literally. We needed to have a boy because the Derulo name was out,” Jason tells People magazine. “I spoke him into existence.”
But then Jason went the extra step of naming the baby after himself, explaining, “I wanted my name to continue to thrive, and I also thought that it would bring me closer to him.”
As for whether little Jason will follow in his dad’s footsteps, the “Savage Love” singer tells People, “He seems to really adore music already…it’s the only thing that keeps him calm. He’ll be going crazy one minute and then you start playing some music and he’s okay.”
In fact, Jason says the baby has inspired him to start courting a new audience. “I was actually thinking of making some kiddie music for him…He’ll be the first critic,” says Jason of the baby. “If he likes it, then I guess the other kids will like it.”
But Jason’s dreams for his son’s future have more to do with the gym than the recording studio.
“I want him to have a foundation in health and fitness,” he explains. “I want to see what he gravitates towards, but I want to expose him to a lot so that he can choose his own way. But for me, it is a must that he does sports, for health reasons.”
Marilyn Manson posted bail after turning himself in on an arrest warrant over two counts of Class A misdemeanor Simple Assault, TMZ and Billboard report.
The warrant, which was reported in May, was issued by the Gilford Police Department in New Hampshire. In stems from an incident that took place during Manson’s show at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in 2019, during which the musician, born Brian Warner, allegedly spit on a videographer in the pit area.
At the time the news broke, Warner’s lawyer told Pitchfork that the claims were “ludicrous,” but assured that the rocker would “remain committed to cooperating with authorities.”
In June, Gilford PD announced that Warner had agreed to address the warrant by turning himself over to the Los Angeles Police Department. According to TMZ and Billboard, he did just that last Friday, and was released on personal-recognizance bail, the conditions of which included not committing any crimes, appearing at all necessary court proceedings, and refraining from contacting the alleged victim.
Warner, meanwhile, has been embroiled in personal and legal issues over the past few months after several women came forward accusing him of abuse and sexual assault, including ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, who alleged that he had “horrifically abused [her] for years.”
Four different women — including actor Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline and Warner’s former assistant Ashley Walters — have filed lawsuits against him.
Warner has denied allegations as “horrible distortions of reality.”
Can Ed Sheeran take the heat? The singer appears on the latest episode of First We Feast’s popular web series, Hot Ones, where he chows down on progressively spicier wings as he answers questions from host Sean Evans.
During the interview, Ed recounts his unique path to fame. He says at 17, he was playing acoustic shows around London without much success, but things changed when he played a poetry show in Los Angeles.
“I was British, the only white guy in the room, with a guitar, with like crazy hair and I was like, ‘F***, I don’t think today’s gonna go well,'” he recalls. “I stood up on stage and I played the songs and it was the best reaction I got from any show.”
He continues, “So from there, when I got back to England I was like, I’m not gonna do any more acoustic nights. I’m gonna do comedy nights, I’m gonna do rap nights, I’m gonna do jazz nights…And within a year, it like kicked off.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Ed answers some questions from frequent collaborator Benny Blanco, discusses working with Eminem and 50 Cent and talks about the time he brought his pal Courteney Cox to his local Tesco supermarket.
In the end, he makes it through the hot wings lineup — but not without the help of some water and almond milk.
It’s been 25 years since LeAnn Rimes released her career-making debut album, Blue, when she was just 13 years old. Now, in a new conversation with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music Hits, LeAnn says she stands behind who she was as an artist back then.
“When I was younger, people would say, ‘Oh, you’re really going to be able to sing amazing when you get older, because you’ll have this life experience to connect with it,’” she remembers, adding that the sentiment offended her at the time.
Now, she says, she can understand what they meant, but she’s still proud of the way she tapped into adult emotions as a young performer.
“I was able to really dig into emotion I didn’t know where to place as a kid, and act in a lot of ways,” LeAnn explains. “Then, as I grew, there was real truth to the power behind what I was singing.”
LeAnn goes on to say that only recently has she been able to fully appreciate who she was as a young artist.
“I really respect myself as a kid…I don’t think I’ve had the respect I have for her now until recently,” the singer reveals. “Because I was just in survival mode for 25 years and now being out of survival mode and being able to reflect…I’m kind of always looking to reconnect with what it was about her that was so clear and so powerful.”
Blue won LeAnn two Grammy Awards, including Best Female Country Performance for the title track, her version of the 1958 Bill Mack song “Blue.”
Many are concerned about Wale after he shared that he was “extremely sick” on his Instagram Story Wednesday.
According to HotNewHipHop, the “Angles” rapper told his four million followers that he will be taking a social media hiatus to focus on his health and well being.
“I am out of commission. I been extremely sick since Saturday. I’ve missed many calls and texts,” Wale wrote. “Thank you to everybody who called wit[h] genuine concern. I ain’t sure how long I’ll be down but this…aint slight. Soon as I can come back strong, I’ll be back strong. As for now management will run my socials. Much love, see yall soon – Wale.”
Wale didn’t provide any details on his illness, but we wish him a speedy recovery so he can get back to sharing new music from his upcoming album, Folarin 2.
