Music

Country trio the Pistol Annies are continuing to deck the halls with holiday magic with the release of their new music video for “Snow Globe.”

Available only on Facebook, the clip finds the Annies in the midst of a festive performance of their original holiday tune, delivering glittery throwback vibes as they stand onstage and sing into retro microphones.

It’s one of several performances of “Snow Globe” fans have gotten the chance to catch in recent days: The group offered a performance of their holiday song as part of the CMA Country Christmas special earlier this week, and they recently performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, too.

The trio — which consists of Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe — put out their first Christmas album, Hell of a Holiday, this year. They’ll double down on festive fun later this month, delivering their Pistol Annies Hell of a Holiday Special on December 15. The event will stream on the Annies’ Facebook page at 8 p.m. ET, and benefits the Music Health Alliance.

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Each year, Bloomberg Businessweek issues its list of the 50 people who made the biggest impact on the global business landscape. This year, Britney Spears and Olivia Rodrigo both made the prestigious list.

Bloomberg said Britney deserves a spot on their roundup not only for the role she played in terminating her own 13-year conservatorship, but because she changed the public’s opinion of conservatorships as a whole. The outlet focused on the Grammy-winner’s bombshell court statements in June, and said the weight of her words carried beyond the music industry. Political leaders, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, were disturbed by Britney’s allegations and are now pushing to change conservatorship laws. Five months after Britney’s statements, a judge terminated her conservatorship.

Olivia Rodrigo is among the youngest people to make the Bloomberg 50. The outlet honored the unmistakable impact the 18-year-old had on music industry and lauded the multiple streaming records set by her debut single, “drivers license” — including the fastest song to hit over 100 million streams. Bloomberg also said her debut album, SOUR, is among the most successful releases of 2021.

Taylor Swift didn’t make the list this year, but that’s because people can only make the Bloomberg 50 once. She was previously honored in 2018, but the outlet wanted to recognize how she shook up the music industry this year and sparked debate on artists’ rights. After nemesis Scooter Braun sold her master recordings to a private equity firm for $300 million, Taylor re-recorded her music as “Taylor’s Version” albums. With the old catalogue directly competing against her new versions on the radio, streaming services and at retailers, Taylor is directly cutting into the profit those master recordings could have made had she not pulled such an unconventional move.

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Kanye West was among the stars that attended the first-ever Louis Vuitton United States fashion show Tuesday night in Miami, which became a somber tribute to he late LV artistic director Virgil Abloh, who passed away Sunday.

Kanye was there with his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and their daughter, North. The celebrity list also included Pharrell Williams, as well as Kid Cudi and Erykah Badu, who performed at the after-party, according to Billboard.

During the show, a giant, red LV monogrammed hot air balloon puffed flames as Abloh’s voice was heard in the background. The event ended as his voice was heard again, saying, “Life is short. You can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.”

As previously reported, Abloh passed away Sunday after a private two-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare, aggressive form of cancer. He was 41. Virgil was the founder of fashion brand Off-White and the first African American to serve as artistic director for Louis Vuitton.

On Tuesday, Vic Mensa — who, like Abloh, grew up in Chicago — released the tribute song, “What You Taught Us.“

“Virgil Abloh is synonymous with visionary. To see him go from DJing Superfun parties in Chicago that Hollywood Holt would sneak me in when I was 16 to revolutionizing the way we think about design and its applications is a true inspiration to a generation that was blessed to be raised under his tutelage,” Mensa says in a statement, adding, “Legends never die.”

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Jeris Johnson is losing his sight, losing his mind over his collaboration with Papa Roach getting snubbed by the Grammys.

The TikTok musician, who teamed up with Jacoby Shaddix and company earlier this year for a new version of their signature single “Last Resort,” has released a video asking why the track wasn’t nominated in the Best Rock Performance category for the 2022 ceremony.

“It was literally one of the biggest rock songs of the entire year, coming from a brand new artist and a legacy band,” Johnson says in the clip. “It got way more streams and attention than any of the other songs on that list did besides…AC/DC.”

That AC/DC song would be “Shot in the Dark,” the lead single off the “Back in Black” legends’ 2020 comeback album, Power Up. The other Best Rock Performance nominees are “Making a Fire” by Foo Fighters, “Ohms” by Deftones, the late Chris Cornell‘s cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and Black Pumas‘ “Know You Better (Live from Capitol Studio A).”

“Instead of highlighting something that’s actually bringing rock into the future and pushing things forward, you just keep nominating the same irrelevant corpses from, like, 80 f***ing years ago,” Johnson says. “Make it make sense.”

Given Cornell’s posthumous nod, Johnson may come to regret using the word “corpses.” And while the Foos and Deftones are certainly veteran artists, Black Pumas just released their debut album in 2019.

Johnson, by the way, isn’t the only musician unhappy with the Grammy rock nominations — Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, “wtf is wrong with the grammys” after his album, Tickets to My Downfall, got shut out.

Whether you’re happy with the nominations or not, the 2022 Grammys take place January 31.

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With one month left before we ring in the new year, it’s time to look at who ruled the music streaming charts in 2021.  Spotify is out with its annual year-end “Wrapped” lists and says its users couldn’t get enough of Taylor Swift, BTS and Olivia Rodrigo.

When it came to the most popular songs in the U.S., Olivia claims first and second place with her respective hits “drivers license” and “good 4 u.”  Doja Cat‘s “Kiss Me More” collab with SZA is the third most-popular song of 2021, while Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” and Dua Lipa‘s “Levitating,” with DaBaby, round out the top five.

Spotify crowned Olivia’s “drivers license” the most-streamed song in the world, with more than 1.1 billion global streams. Parking right behind her on the global streams chart is Lil Nas X‘s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” while The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “STAY” takes third.  Olivia also snags the fourth most-streamed song of 2021 with “good 4 u,” while Dua’s “Levitating” ranks fifth.

Olivia also claims a first-place finish on another Spotify chart, with her debut SOUR topping the most-streamed albums list.  Dua is in second with Future Nostalgia, while Justin is third with Justice. Closing the top five is Ed Sheeran‘s = (Equals) and Doja’s Planet Her.

Of all the artists previously mentioned, only Justin ranks among the world’s top-five most-streamed artists.  The “Peaches” singer placed fifth on this year’s roundup — right after fellow Canadian Drake, who’s fourth. BTS has “Permission to Dance” after finishing 2021 in third place, while Taylor will ring in the new year knowing she’s the second most-streamed artist on the planet.

So, who’s Spotify’s top artist of 2021? Boasting over 9.1 billion streams, it’s Latin superstar Bad Bunny.

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Garth Brooks is continuing to pile up 2022 Stadium Tour dates. The singer just announced a stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for Saturday, April 30.

The show will mark Garth’s first Louisiana date in nearly five years, and it’ll also be the first time he’s ever played this particular venue, Tiger Stadium. You should act fast to grab your seat: It’s the only time Garth is planning to play Louisiana or Mississippi in 2022.

Garth resumed booking dates on his Stadium Tour last month. He’d hit the brakes on booking new shows earlier in the year amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, he continued his Dive Bar Tour of smaller shows, and also performed a handful of intimate shows at legendary Nashville venues the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry.

As ever, Garth’s newest Stadium Tour date will feature in-the-round style seating, and tickets sell for $94.95, all-inclusive. You can snag your spot at the show beginning Friday, December 10 at 10 a.m. CT.

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Jacqueline Avant, the wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant, was fatally shot during a home invasion early Wednesday morning, a source close to the family confirms to ABC News. She was 81 years old.

The Beverly Hills Police Department issued a statement Wednesday, declaring that they received a phone call at 2:23 a.m. “regarding a shooting that had just occurred on the 1100 block of Maytor Place. Police units arrived and discovered a victim with a gunshot wound. The suspect(s) were no longer on the scene.”

The statement continues: “Beverly Hills Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital. Unfortunately, the victim did did not survive. Beverly Hills Police Detectives are conducting an investigation.”

“The City of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Police Department extends our deepest sympathies to the victim’s families,” the statement concludes.

Clarence, 90, and Jacqueline were married for 54 years and have two children. 

Clarence Avant received the Ahmet Ertegun Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October. He was the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary The Black Godfather. Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface and Diddy, as well as former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, were among the many celebrities who paid tribute to him in the film.

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The Lumineers have premiered the video for “A.M. Radio,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, Brightside.

The clip, streaming now on YouTube, was filmed at the same high school frontman Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites attended when they were growing up in Ramsey, New Jersey.

“I spent a lot of time daydreaming there about making music one day, but had no idea about a decade later it’d actually come into fruition,” Fraites says.

Brightside, the fourth Lumineers album, will arrive January 14.

In other Lumineers news, the “Ho Hey” duo has released a new holiday single called “This Is Life (Merry Christmas)” in collaboration with singer-songwriter Daniel Rodriguez. The track is a reworked version of Rodriguez’s song “This Is Life,” with some extra seasonal cheer added in.

You can download “This Is Life (Merry Christmas)” now via digital outlets. Proceeds benefit MusiCares.

(“A.M. Radio” video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Keith Urban is gearing up for a big return to the stage in 2022, starting with three new dates in Las Vegas.

Next Memorial Day weekend, Keith will return to the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace to continue his Keith Urban Live – Las Vegas residency. The three shows are booked for May 27-29, and tickets go on sale next Friday, December 10 at 10 a.m. PST.

But that’s just the beginning for fans hoping to see Keith live in concert next year: In June, he’s launching his The Speed of Now World Tour. He’ll kick off the North American leg of the run June 17 in Tampa, with an extensive list of dates on the books between then and when the tour wraps in November 2022. Ingrid Andress will join Keith for the North American leg of The Speed of Now World Tour.

In a video announcement, Keith addressed his fans from his backyard, where he was busily prepping for the live show. In a series of comedic maneuvers, Keith tries his best to capture the energy of a sold-out show, but the grassy lawn is now match for a packed arena, and his unimpressed gardeners are a far cry from screaming fans.

“I’ve always considered myself a live performer first,” explains Keith, on a more serious note. “It’s what I’ve always done and it’s what my music needs to live and breathe. Our shows are all about living in the moment. They’re a totally interactive and immersive experience where everyone can participate in whatever way they want — sing, dance, do whatever.”

For dates and details on how to snag your tickets to Keith’s upcoming tour, visit his website.

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