Music

Thursday night, Debbie Gibson and Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block start their joint limited engagement at the Sands Showroom in the The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, performing eight shows between now and September 19.  Debbie gave ABC Audio a hint of what fans can expect from the former teen idols.

“We’re probably going to do like a couple of songs to open, a couple of sets of our own, a couple of songs in the middle and at the end,” Debbie explained. “So we’ll duet in between our own sets….it’ll be a mixture, but we’ll vary..our own sets will very much be our own.”

“I mean, we have a lot of respect for each other and both of us have a great combo of being open-minded, but also we know who we are and we know our audience,” noted Debbie.

In addition to her classic hits like “Foolish Beat” and “Only In My Dreams,” Debbie has a new album of songs to perform. But that album, The Body Remembers, also includes a new duet version of “Lost In Your Eyes,” featuring Joey, so you can be sure you’ll hear that song in the show.

“Y’know, when it’s Joey’s time, it’s Joey’s time, he can, y’know, bring out a trapeze artist if he wants,” Debbie jokes. “I doubt he is, but you know what I’m saying. He’s going to do this thing. I’m going to do my thing. And we’re having a lot of fun putting together the duet portion.”

Debbie Gibson & Joey McIntyre Live from Las Vegas runs August 26, 27, 28 and 29, and September 16, 17, 18 and 19.

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Metallica has announced a $50,000 donation toward Haitian earthquake relief through the band’s All Within My Hands charity foundation.

The funds will be used by to help those impacted by the 7.2 magnitude quake, which hit Haiti on August 14. More than 2,200 people have died and over 12,200 have been injured, according to Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency. Additionally, over 50,000 homes have been destroyed.

All Within My Hands has previously donated money to causes including COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts for disasters including the West Coast wildfires, and this year’s Texas winter storm.

Meanwhile, Metallica has released two more previews of the upcoming Metallica Blacklist compilation, a 53-artist tribute to the group’s iconic 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album. The newly released covers include Japanese-British musician Rina Sawayama‘s version of “Enter Sandman,” and British rock band IDLES‘ rendition of “The God that Failed.”

The Metallica Blacklist will be released September 10. Proceeds will benefit a charity of each contributing artist’s choosing, as well as All Within My Hands.

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Anthrax is celebrating 40 years of thrashing with a stiff drink.

The New York City metallers have announced Anthrax XL, a signature whiskey marking the band’s 40th anniversary. Created in collaboration with Hillrock Estate Distillery, Anthrax XL boasts a 115 proof cask strength, and is limited to 400 hand-numbered, limited edition bottles costing $155, each of which is signed by every band member.

“On the nose, there is an explosion of caramel, toffee, and butterscotch with hints of dried cherries and fresh herbs,” guitarist Scott Ian says of Anthrax XL. “The palette has a rich texture of bright red fruits, baking spices, and toasted almonds. I’m drooling just reading that back. Get yourself a bottle, you deserve it!”

Also available are special “Golden Ticket” bottles, which comes with two tickets and a meet-and-greet during Anthrax’s upcoming 2022 headlining U.S. tour, the exact details of which have yet to be announced. Only 40 of those will be sold, and are priced at $350.

Anthrax was founded July 18, 1981 — 40 years ago last month. The band marked the milestone with a streaming concert, as well as a video series going through each of their albums.

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Drake has a long history of recording with Future and Young Thug, and reportedly the trio is dropping a new collabo on Friday.

The three rappers are releasing the single “Too Sexy,” according to DJ Akademiks, who posted an Instagram clip that appears to show them in a studio shooting a video, while decked out in all white.

Last year, they dropped the “D4L” from Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape. Young Thug also joined Drake and Gunna on “Solid” in 2021.

Future has recorded numerous songs with the Champagne Papi, including their RIAA nine-times Platinum “Life Is Good,” from his 2020 High Off Life album. In 2015, they united for the 11-track What a Time to Be Alive mixtape, featuring the quadruple-Platinum single, “Jumpman.”

It’s rumored that Kanye West will drop his long-delayed DONDA album Friday, so a Drake release on the same day would be his latest salvo in their ongoing feud.

As previously reported, fans believe that the beef was reignited Friday, after Trippie Redd dropped his song “Betrayal,” which features the Toronto native. On the track, Drake sings, “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.”

Kanye responded with a posted-and-deleted Instagram captured by TMZ, in which he shared the supposed location of Drake’s Toronto, Ontario property.

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St. Vincent has announced COVID-19 guidelines for her upcoming fall tour.

All attendees must show proof of being fully vaccinated, or obtain a negative test within 48 hours of entering the venue. Local mandates may also require you to wear a mask during the show, depending on the city.

Additionally, the September 8 stop in Pittsburgh has moved to an outdoor venue.

St. Vincent’s tour kicks off September 3 in Portland, Maine. She’ll be supporting her new album, Daddy’s Home, featuring the lead single “Pay Your Way in Pain.”

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Olivia Rodrigo is V Magazine’s newest cover star.

In an interview with SNL’s Bowen Yang for the mag, the 18-year-old talks about everything form fangirling over Taylor Swift and Dr. Anthony Fauci to being a role model for young Filipino-Americans.

“I sometimes get DMs from little girls being like, ‘I’ve never seen someone who looked like me in your position,’” Olivia says. “And I’m literally going to cry. Like just thinking about it. I feel like I grew up never seeing that. Also it was always like, ‘Pop star,’ that’s a white girl.”

Olivia also discussed the pressures young women in pop music face.

“[It’s] like this thing where you’re only successful if you’re under 30,” she says. “I’ve always resented that because I think I’m just going to get better with age.”

But at the moment, the “good 4 u” singer says she’s enjoying where she is in life.

“Honestly, I literally just turned 18, so there are so many normal teenage things that I’m really excited to do,” she says. “There’s so much in life that I have to learn and so many experiences to be had. So I’m honestly most excited for that. I love growing up. I feel like I get happier with age, so hopefully that’s a trend that continues.”

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Shawn Mendes was clearly a fan of Niall Horan’s guest-hosting gig on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this week.

“I need @NiallOfficial to have his own talk show one day !!!” Shawn tweeted Thursday. “Born to host and make people laugh and smile !!”

Niall responded and said he might be open to the idea — if the whole pop star thing doesn’t go as planned.

“Hahahah. Maybe one day,” he tweeted. “If I’m doing a talk show full time, you know the music career hasn’t worked out and that’s not a good thing.”

Hey, if Kelly Clarkson can do both, maybe Niall can too!

The former One Direction member filled in for Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night, where he played a hilarious game of golf with the Jonas Brothers and engaged in some heavy flirtation with Lizzo in a now-viral interview.

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Luke Combs officially released “South on Ya,” his love song to life in the rural Southeast, this week. It’s more than just an ode to the North Carolina native’s home turf: The song will also be this year’s brand anthem for the SEC Network.

That means that fans can hear Luke’s song throughout live college football events and on-air programming this fall.

“Man, this is pretty special,” the singer notes. “In the beginning of my career, I spent a lot of my time playing my music all over towns within the SEC. The fact that one of my songs is now such a big part of the Network is really cool to me. It feels like a full-circle moment, for sure. I am a huge fan of the SEC and am honored my song was chosen to be a part of it.”

In the lyrics of “South on Ya,” Luke shouts out every included state, from “muddy Mississippi” and “swampy Louisiana” to “the grass in Kentucky” and “the blue skies in Carolina.”

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Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the passing of Aaliyah in 2001, and her mother is accusing a writer of visiting the gravesite to promote an unauthorized biography.

“First and foremost I want to thank my dear ‘Special Ones’ (The Fans) that have been with us for years and supported every endeavor that came our way without hesitation,” Diana Haughton wrote on Aaliyah’s Instagram page. “However, due to the behavior of an individual that has been to Aaliyah’s resting place in order to promote a book, I have been forced to make a drastic change at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum.”

It is unclear what the change is at the cemetery, which is located in Hartsdale, New York.

“This person interrupted all my thoughts and ideas to make August 25th, 2021 a day of Remembrance and Love for my daughter,” Haughton continued, referring to the date of Aaliyah’s death. “Please accept my sincere apologies for this and know I love you and always will. Aaliyah’s life will shine no matter what.”

Kathy Iandoli, who last week published the book, Baby Girl: Better Known As Aaliyah, denies the accusation.

“I did not promote my book outside of Aaliyah’s gravesite. That is offensive to even suggest,” she responded on Instagram. “I have been told that fans have had my book there with them. Please no longer bring my book to Ferncliff. Apologies that fans can not visit Aaliyah’s resting place.”

As previously reported, on August 20, Aaliyah’s second album, 1996’s One in a Million, became available for the first time on all streaming platforms. Spotify will release her entire catalog, with the Romeo Must Die soundtrack following on September 3, her self-titled album on September 10, and the I Care 4 U compilation project, which was released in 2002, on October 8, according to Essence.

 

 

 

 

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