Music

To commemorate this month’s 10th anniversary of his breakthrough album, Chief, Eric Church is reflecting on the personal meaning behind the title.  

Eric reveals that he earned the nickname “chief” while on tour. After frequently losing his contact lenses on stage, the singer started wearing sunglasses instead, accompanied by a hat to stop the sweat from pouring onto his face. Thus, the look on the album’s cover was born. 

“We got in bigger venues, I tried to adjust that, but people in the crowds would have on hats and sunglasses and wouldn’t let me adjust that, so it just became this thing naturally. So show time, it was my uniform,” he explains. “The band starting joking with me, when I put the hat and sunglasses on, they go ‘all right, it’s Chief time, Chief’s here.’ But I laughed about it, it was a joke.” 

But the nickname that started as a joke has sentimental value. Eric shares the nickname with his grandfather, who was the chief of police in his hometown of Granite Falls, North Carolina.

“My dad called him ‘Chief’ as his son-in-law, so it was very neat to me, that across generations, it became my nickname naturally and nobody knew about it being my grandpa’s nickname,” Eric continues. “So when it came time to title the record, because it felt live and because it was something I wanted to show this part of our live show, Chief was the right title from my point of view, but also because of my grandfather and what he meant to me.”

Released in July 2011, Chief features the #1 hits “Springsteen” and “Drink in My Hand.” It also was named Album of the Year at the CMA Awards and ACM Awards. 

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Ex-Bad Wolves frontman Tommy Vext is suing Allen Kovac, the CEO of his former band’s record label, Better Noise Music.

According to TMZ, Vext alleges that Kovac forced him out of Bad Wolves due to his political beliefs, including his support for former President Donald Trump and his criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement. He also accuses Kovac of using racial slurs in conversations with him.

Vext claims Kovac demanded radio stations and streaming services pull Bad Wolves music in an effort to get him to quit music altogether, all while attempting to stop him from posting more of his political opinions. Eventually, Vext says, Kovac set his sights on kicking him out of Bad Wolves.

“For several years I’ve poured all of my energy and passion into building Bad Wolves,” Vext tells TMZ. “We’ve toured the world several times and charted 6 Billboard number 1 singles. All the while I’ve had to endure disparaging, manipulative and at times racially charged misconduct from my former manager Allen Kova[c] and his record company Better Noise Music.”

“Allen has forced me out of my own band and is now attempting to slander and cancel me,” Vext adds. “After several failed attempts to settle amicably, I’m now forced to place this in the hands of the courts.”

In a statement, Kovac calls Vext’s claims “categorically false,” and alleges that he’s trying to “extort” Better Noise Music.

“In 40 years in the music business, I have never made any derogatory racist comments, been accused of doing so, or been sued by an artist,” Kovac says. “Tommy Vext, a self-proclaimed QAnon supporter, has dragged us into a ridiculous, unfounded narrative that falsely paints him as a victim.”

Bad Wolves members John Boecklin and Doc Coyle add, “In all our dealings with Allen Kovac, he has never used any derogatory racial slurs. Tommy is making all of this up. Period.”

Bad Wolves announced in January that they’d parted ways with Vext. He’s since been replaced by Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz.

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Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry welcomed their first child, daughter Lyra, in September of last year, and he says becoming a dad nearly made him quit music altogether — until he thought better of it.

Ed recently told Sirius XM Hits 1 that after he completed his record-breaking Divide tour, he felt like he’s already accomplished everything he possibly could in music and wasn’t sure what he could do next, so he stopped making music for a while.  Then, after Lyra arrived, he figured, “Right, that’s it, I’m just gonna be a dad. I’m not gonna play music any more.”

But then, Ed says, “I found myself getting really sad and having zero purpose…and then I suddenly was like, ‘I think it’s more important for my daughter to grow up knowing that her parents have a work ethic and her parents love working hard and and love creating and enjoy their jobs…rather than, like, looking at your dad as technically unemployed.”

“So I slowly got back into music that way, and then the creative process started flowing again,” he explains. “But there was a long period of time where everything was directionless.”

Ed also says he realized that it’s not about chasing the next sales record. 

“I have people in my family that are like, ‘The next album has to be even bigger!'” he reveals. “And I know they’re saying to be supportive, but I’m like, ‘Maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe it should just be an album, and maybe a career can kinda go [up and down] rather than always up.'”

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Another day, another chart record for BTS.

Last week, the K-pop superstars’ new single, “Permission to Dance,” replaced their hit “Butter” at number one after seven weeks. Well, “Butter” is now back at number one for an eighth week.  That means it’s now tied the record for the longest-running number-one of 2021 so far: Olivia Rodrigo‘s “Drivers License” also spent eight weeks on top earlier this year.

As Billboard notes, BTS has now become the first act to replace itself at number one with a new song, and then have the first song return to number one — without any other songs holding the top spot between the two events.

In other BTS news, “MIC Drop,” the video of a remix they did with superstar deejay Steve Aoki, has hit the billion-view mark on YouTube.  Steve celebrated the news on Twitter, writing in part, “my first music video to ever do that & i’m so amazed by u.”

“MIC Drop” is BTS’ fourth video to hit a billion views, following “DNA,” “Boy with Luv,” and “Dynamite.”

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At the end of the week, rapper Isaiah Rashad will bless fans with his highly-anticipated album, The House Is Burning. 

On Monday, the Chattanooga, Tennessee native shared the track list for his first album in five years, which features Lil Uzi Vert, Duke Duece, Smino, Jay Rock, and fellow Tennessee rapper Duke Duece.

The 16-track album also features vocal performances from R&B singer SZA and hip-hop crooner 6LACK on Rashad’s track, “Score.” On the production tip, there are sounds from Jay Worthy, Kenny Beats and Devin Malik, among others, including Hollywood Cole, who produced Rashad’s May single, “Lay Wit Ya,” among others. 

The House Is Burning track list follows the video for Rashad’s single, “Wat U Sed,” a track that features Doechii and Kal Banx. To hype his first album since 2016’s The Sun’s Tirade, the rapper has announced his U.S. tour, dubbed Lil Sunny’s Awesome Vacation, beginning in September. Presale tickets will be available as early as Tuesday, July 27 at 10 a.m. ET.

The House Is Burning drops Friday. 

 

 

 

 

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Chris Lane is expanding his Fill Them Boots Tour. 

The “Fix” hitmaker has added four new dates to the six-month trek, with stops in Grand Rapids, Michigan on December 2, the Rosemont Theatre in Illinois on December 3, The Fillmore in Detroit on December 4, and a show in Madison, Wisconsin on January 21. 

Named after his latest single, the tour keeps Chris and opening acts Tyler Rich, Ernest and Lily Rose on the road through March. Tickets for all shows are on sale now. 

The singer became a dad earlier this summer when he and wife Lauren Bushnell Lane welcomed son Dutton on June 8.

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You weren’t the only one who picked up a weird hobby during lockdown — Joe Jonas and wife Sophie Turner did too.

In a new interview with WSJ Magazine, Joe talks about the unexpected activity they became obsessed with while staying at home, and how it even led to arguments between the two.

“I got very into LEGO building,” he says. “My wife and I probably built 10 monstrous LEGOs.”

Joe adds, “It was also quite funny, because I was super focused on helping her but then I was getting easily distracted and playing Fortnite. At first we argued about it and then it was like, she loves her organization and it’s completely different from the way I would build it: ‘You do you; I’ll be here for support.’”

He says he began helping from more of a distance, making cocktails for the two of them as Sophie continued to build. Their biggest LEGO accomplishments included building the Batmobile and the Harry Potter Wizarding World.

Nowadays, Joe tells WSJ he starts his morning by meditating, learning Italian on the DuoLingo app, writing a gratitude list, listening to a news podcast and scrolling social media, all before starting his daily exercise routine.

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Red Bull BC One brought back their annual break-dancing competition to the birthplace of hip hop with a star-studded event over the weekend in New York City.

The competition, which included top breakers from New York and around the globe, featured b-boys and b-girls who competed for a chance to battle at the National Finals in Orlando, Florida. New York winners included b-boy Frankie and b-girl Marta, who will later go toe to toe with other semifinal winners from Los Angeles, Boston and Houston. The Orlando winners will then compete for the opportunity to be crowned world champion at the Red Bull BC One World Finals taking place in Gdansk, Poland, on November 5 and 6. For more information on how to get tickets, go to Redbull.com.

In other news, Vivica A. Fox has set another The Wrong series franchise film. Lifetime Movie Network has announced a date for The Wrong Cheer Captain, which will star 227 alum Jackée Harry. Executive-produced and starring Fox, the new thriller will premiere on August 29 at 8 p.m. ET on LMN. The film, also starring Claire Tablizo, Alexis Samone and Sofia Masson, follows a cheer captain who is suspected of killing two cheerleaders.

Finally, FOX has set the release date for Lee Daniels‘ upcoming drama series Our Kind of People. The show, which stars Morris Chestnut and Yaya DaCosta, will premiere on Tuesday, September 21, at 9 p.m. ET. As previously reported, the series follows Angela Vaughn, a single mother who “risks it all” by moving her family to Martha’s Vineyard with the hopes of taking her natural hair-care line to the next level.

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Cole Swindell is back at the top of the charts with “Single Saturday Night.”

This gives the country star his 10th #1 single, the latest in a long line of hits including “Let Me See Ya Girl,” “Chillin’ It,” “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight,” “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey,” “Middle of a Memory,” “Flatliner” featuring Dierks Bentley, “You Should Be Here,” “Love You Too Late,” and the Grammy-nominated “Break Up in the End.”

“I can’t thank country radio, the fans, and my team enough for making this my 10th #1 song. Still hard to believe! I can’t wait to see everyone out on the road,” Cole says in a statement, adding on Twitter, “Damn. Unreal. I’ll find the words at some point.”  

Among his famous friends congratulating him on the impressive feat is Chris Young, who celebrated with a photo of the two, alongside the caption, “I told ya @coleswindell !!! Congrats on the number one buddy! Always celebrate a friend’s successes #cheers.” 

Cole is heading out on the road on Thomas Rhett‘s Center Point Road Tour beginning in August.

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