Music

AJ Mitchell has announced details of his long-awaited debut album.

Titled Skyview, the album will be released on September 10, with tour dates to follow shortly after. It will feature AJ’s previously released tracks, including the top-40 singles “Stop” and “Slow Dance,” featuring Ava Max, as well as “Growing Pains,” “Cameras On,” and his most recent track, “One More Fight.”

“Skyview is the summary of my artist journey up until now,” AJ says in a statement. “As a kid, the Skyview Drive-In theater was a place in my small town of Belleville, Illinois that had the power to transport me into a world of endless possibilities. Today, Skyview is proof that anything can happen if you are willing to take the risk and do the work necessary to make any dream come true.”

AJ’s 21-date Skyview 2021 U.S. tour will kick off September 13 in St. Louis, MO and wrap in Phoenix, AZ on October 17. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, July 30 at 10 a.m. local time on DriveInMakeout.com/tour.

 

 

 

 

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Lisa Loeb, the artist behind the hit ‘90s song “Stay (I Missed You),” has a new project in the works.

She’s put together a new show called Together Apart, a collection of 10 mini-musicals from Brown University alumni that will be available on Broadway on Demand starting August 6.

Lisa was inspired to create the production after a Brown Musical Theatre class reunion held via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The show will encourage donations to benefit The Actors Fund, which helps support performers and behind-the-scenes workers in the entertainment industry.

“As I sat in the Zoom reunion, listening to everyone talk about their current lives, connecting with friends, and reflecting on all of our vivid musical theatre memories from Brown, I realized that we shouldn’t just talk about what happened in the past, but we should write a Zoom musical about what’s going on, and it should happen all in the world of Zoom,” Lisa says in a statement.

She adds, “And by sharing our storytelling and our passion and love for theatre, we can work together to provide an outlet for our shared creativity while giving back to this incredible cause.” 

Together Apart features Modern Family actress Julie Bowen, 13 Reasons Why actor Josh Hamilton, Poltergeist actress JoBeth Williams and more.

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Watch out James Corden, The Offspring‘s “Coming for You.”

The punk rockers have announced the launch of Cockpit Karaoke, a parody of The Late Late Show‘s viral Carpool Karaoke segments. Instead of driving around with a British TV host, Cockpit Karaoke finds frontman — and licensed pilot — Dexter Holland singing along with guitarist Noodles while flying an airplane.

The first episode, featuring an airborne version of “Come Out and Play,” is streaming now via SPIN.com.

“We know everyone’s heard of Carpool Karaoke, but Cockpit Karaoke??? No one’s done that!!” Holland tells SPIN. “Since I’m a pilot, we thought it would be great if Noodles and I had some fun and got to sing along to some of our many hits.”

Meanwhile, The Offspring released their new album, Let the Bad Times Roll, this past April. It’s the band’s first record in nine years.

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Dolly Parton is “Sent from Above” in her pop-infused new song. 

Released in conjunction with her new fragrance, Dolly – Scent from Above, the song is just as bubbly as the singer herself and serves as a musical love letter to the person she professes has been sent to her from above. 

“I know you must/Be heaven sent/And I love you ever so much/Sent from above,” Dolly sings over an EDM-infused melody.  

The song is a companion piece to the icon’s new perfume, created in partnership with ScentBeauty, which boasts notes of jasmine, vanilla, peony blossoms and other scents.  

“Just like the fragrance that inspired it, #SentFromAbove transports you to a heavenly place!” Dolly writes on Twitter. 

Dolly — Scent from Above is available now.

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Top Boy breakout star Micheal Ward has been tapped to star in Sam Mendes‘ upcoming drama Empire of Light, Deadline has learned.

According to the report, Mendes and execs were “blown away” by the actor’s table read. While plot details have not been announced, the film is described as a “love story” set around an old cinema on the South Coast of England in the 1980s. Ward will star alongside Olivia Colman, who was previously announced. Empire of Light will be Mendes first film project since winning the Oscar for his World War I drama 1917. Production is expected to begin in fall of 2022.

In other news, a trailer for Tiffany Haddish‘s revenge thriller The Card Counter has been released. The film follows Oscar Isaac as William Tell, a military interrogator turned card player haunted by his past. To find “redemption,” William agrees to help a man “execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel,” played by Willem Dafoe. Haddish will play a “mysterious backer looking to add Tell to her stable of card sharks.”  The Card Counter hits theaters on September 10.

Finally, Yasiin Bey, formally known as Mos Def, has decided to remove himself from the Thelonious Monk biopic, Thelonious, following the jazz great’s family’s disapproval of the project. In an Instagrampost, Bey said in part, “If the Monk Estate is not happy with it, if Mr. Monk III is not happy with it, then neither am I. Bey added that he was “given every indication by the production company that the family was on board.”  As previously reported, the film, which was slated to begin production in 2022.

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Dua Lipa is speaking out after her “Levitating” remix collaborator, DaBaby, made homophobic comments at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami over the weekend.

“I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby‘s comments,” she wrote on her Instagram Story Tuesday. “I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with.”

She added, “I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100% with the LGBTQ community. We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.”

In DaBaby’s on-stage remarks, the rapper said, in part, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two or three weeks, put your cellphone light in the air.”

He also made another not-safe-for-broadcast comment regarding gay men. DaBaby later defended his comments in a series of Instagram videos, saying that there were gay fans present who enjoyed his show.

Dua fans have been calling for the singer to remove DaBaby from the “Levitating” remix. One fan suggested she replace him with Lil Nas X.

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The Kid LAROI surprised fans with an extended version of his latest album.

At midnight on Tuesday, he released F*ck Love 3+ , which features six bonus tracks: “I Don’t Know,” “About You,” “Lonely and F***** Up,” “Situation,” “Attention” and “Best for Me.”

Just last Friday, the Australian rapper dropped F*ck Love 3, the third installment in his F*ck Love series following his July 2020 debut mixtape F*ck Love and November 2020’s F*ck Love (Savage).

LAROI also announced a pop-up show in Los Angeles that’s set to take place Tuesday night at an undisclosed location. Fans can register for free tickets and if selected, they’ll receive a text with the venue and show details.

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Blake Shelton and his fellow The Voice coaches Ariana Grande, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson take to the wilderness in a humorous promo video for the show’s upcoming season. 

Though the promo is packed with tons of star power, the main focus is on new judge Ariana.

The clip begins with Blake, Kelly and John gathered around a makeshift campfire as they enjoy the view of the night sky.

“Whoa, look at that amazing star over there!” Blake exclaims, with a guitar in hand. “You mean Alpha Centauri?” John questions. “No, I mean Ariana Grande,” Blake retorts. 

Joining the crew at the camp site, Ariana honors the tradition of a new coach gracing the veteran coaches with a song, belting out a stellar rendition of Olivia Newton-John‘s “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” while Blake strums his acoustic guitar, and as woodland creatures — and host Carson Daly, dressed in park ranger attire — watch in awe.

“This is going to be an amazing season,” the country star remarks, adding in a voice-over, “The stars are out. Ariana Grande joins The Voice on NBC.” 

The Voice season 21 premieres on NBC on September 20.

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Young Thug performed four songs from his upcoming album, Punk, for his debut on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.

The YSL CEO showcased his love for punk rock and hip-hop music during an intimate garden performance at The Houdini Estate in Los Angeles. The Grammy-winner opens with a track where he reflects on his parents splitting up at a young age and missing his son’s birthday while on tour.

“I’m just seeking for God’s soul ’cause I know something’s missing,” Thugger admits on “Die Slow.” He followed that with “Droppin’ Jewels,” “Hate the Game,” “Tick Tock,” and a punk-rock version of the chart-topping single, “SKI,” with drummer Travis Barker, whom he called “G.O.A.T.”

Thugger’s other guitarists and drummers wore pink sweat short sets to match the rapper’s pink-hued dreadlocks. The 13-minute performance ends with the back of Young Thug’s shirt featuring the name and release date for his first solo album in two years.

Fans on Twitter were amazed by Thugger’s NPR debut, calling it one of the best Tiny Deskperformances by far. Others gave it a ranking of 12/10.

“Never knew we needed Young Thug on rock beats until now. #NPR,” one fan tweeted, while another asked, “Did @youngthug really give us one of the best NPR Tiny Desk episodes and have fire-new songs for an album we can’t get [until] later this year? Somebody give me the number to YSL. I just want to talk.”

Punk arrives October 15.

(Video contain uncensored profanity.)

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