Kelsea Ballerini praises Lizzo for her vulnerability after online hate: “It helps every person that’s at home crying”

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From her intimate single, “homecoming queen?,” to her forthcoming book of poetry, Kelsea Ballerini has been making it a point recently to be vulnerable and authentic in her art. But that hasn’t always come easily to her.

The singer admits to People, “I think it’s a journey. I think it’s always evolving. I have days where I feel insecure and days where it’s hard. I’m human.”

Kelsea also knows how important it can be for those in the public eye to be transparent about their insecurities and vulnerabilities with fans. As an example, Kelsea says she’s proud of pop superstar Lizzo, who has recently faced an onslaught of racist and sexist comments on social media, and opened up to her fans about how hurt she was by the messages. 

“When someone, especially with Lizzo’s platform, is able to say, ‘I’m human and even though I try to put my most confident self forward..As a public figure, this hurts my feelings.’…I think when someone at that level is able to do that, it normalizes it,” Kelsea explains.

“It helps every person that’s at home crying because some troll on the Internet told them they looked bad in whatever form or fashion. It makes them go, ‘It’s not just me. I’m not alone,’” the singer continues. 

Most recently, Kelsea celebrated her journey to self-love in partnership with clothing brand Aerie as part of their #AerieReal campaign, which seeks to empower people to celebrate what they love about themselves. 

 

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The Weeknd debuts his 2011 ‘Thursday’ mixtape on streaming platforms to celebrate its 10th anniversary

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After making history Monday as “Blinding Lights” set the all-time record for most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100, a total of 88, The Weeknd celebrated Wednesday by debuting one of his early music projects on streaming services.

The three-time Grammy winner released his second mixtape, 2011’s Thursday, in honor of its 10th anniversary. The nine-song project features his longtime friend Drake on the only single, “The Zone.” That same year, they also collaborated on five tracks on Drake’s RIAA-certified six-times Platinum 2011 Take Care album, including the single “Crew Love,” co-written by The Weeknd.

As previously reported, the 31-year-old singer is featured on Kanye West’s upcoming DONDA album, and “Save Your Tears” is up for Video of the Year at the MTV VMAs, happening September 12 in New York City.

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‘Yellowstone’ prequel ‘1883,’ starring Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, gets a premiere date

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Fans can now officially start counting down the days until they can see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill together on the small screen.

The pair are co-starring in 1883, the prequel to the Yellowstone TV series, which will premiere on December 19 on Paramount+. In addition to Tim and Faith, the cast features Sam Elliott and a number of other yet-to-be-announced actors. 

Yellowstone returns November 7 on the Paramount Network, and another series that takes place in the same universe, Mayor of Kingstown, launches November 14 on Paramount+. 

Tim and Faith’s involvement in 1883 was first announced early this month. At the time, it was revealed that the country star couple will play James and Margaret Dutton, the “patriarch and matriarch” of the family. 

“This is truly a dream job,” Tim said. “[Show creator] Taylor [Sheridan] has found a way of storytelling that brilliantly creates these epic dramas and family sagas with so much depth and creativity.  The Duttons are tremendous characters and it’s so thrilling to be able to bring them to life.”

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Daryl Hall & John Oates: On tour, but not on record…for now, at least

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After being sidelined by the pandemic, Daryl Hall and John Oates are back on tour, but don’t expect any new music from the legendary duo anytime soon.  Oates says that after so many years of the two doing their own projects, it’s hard for him to imagine what kind of material they’d come up with if they did decide to work on something new together.

Oates recently told Billboard that before COVID, he and Hall were discussing a new project, but, as he puts it, “It never really got past first base.”  And even if it had, Oates says, “I don’t know what Daryl and I will do [musically], because we wouldn’t know until we did it.”

He explains, “We’ve been working independently for so many years now that I don’t know even how we would write together, to be honest with you. I think it might be more of a collaboration with maybe other people or something. I’m not sure.”

Meanwhile, John is interested in figuring out how he can continue working with Daryl live while still having time left for some of the things he was able to do during lockdown, like writing music for movies, working on solo material, doing charity projects and collaborating with other musicians. For him, that was the silver lining of lockdown.

“It was a revelation in terms of what my life could be like in a parallel universe,” Oates says of his forced time off the road. “Now the question is, how do I make that parallel universe this universe? That’s a goal of mine for the future.  Because, you know, in a really bad situation, I think I tried to…embrace the fact that there was an opportunity to do something different.”

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Stevie Nicks details overcoming her past drug addiction: “I survived my cocaine”

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Stevie Nicks has opened up in a new interview about her past struggle with drug addiction and how she was able to “save” herself.

Speaking with country star Tim McGraw on Apple Music’s Beyond the Influence Radio show Wednesday, as reported by People, the 73-year-old  Fleetwood Mac frontwoman admitted that she experimented with drugs when discussing what topics she’d avoid if given the opportunity to write her memoir.  She also made it clear that drugs are no longer part of her life.

“I managed to save myself. I got through some pretty scary moments, but I saved me,” she declared, noting how she relied on herself and “nobody else” to get herself through her darkest moments. “I survived me. I survived my cocaine. I survived by myself.”

Nicks continued, “I checked myself into rehab. Nobody did that for me. I did it and that’s like with my whole life.”

As for why she’d rather not go into full detail about that part of her life should it ever be put on paper, the “Dreams” singer said, “I would dance over those parts just to give the wisdom out to people.”

Nicks is considering writing her own memoir, but told McGraw that she doesn’t think one book would be enough to hold everything that’s happened to her. Instead, she may tell her life story across four installments.

“I think that what I would do first, and only lately have I thought this, I might sit down at some point across the kitchen table with some of my girlfriends who have been there for a lot of it and put on a tape recorder and just start talking from the very beginning,” she said.

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MTV VMAs honoring Foo Fighters with inaugural US Global Icon Award

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Foo Fighters are set to receive the inaugural U.S. Global Icon Award at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.

The prize will recognize Dave Grohl and company for their “unparalleled career and continued impact and influence [that] has maintained a unique level of global success in music and beyond.”

The Global Icon Award has previously been given out by the MTV Europe Music Awards. Past winners include Green Day, Ozzy Osbourne, U2, Queen, Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston.

Along with the honor, the Foos will perform at this year’s VMAs, marking their first set at the ceremony since 2007. They’re also nominated in three categories: Best Rock, Best Choreography and Best Cinematography, all for the “Shame Shame” video.

The 2021 MTV VMAs will air September 12. Other performers include Machine Gun Kelly and Lorde.

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Selena Gomez on why she attaches a “charity aspect” to everything she does

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Selena Gomez is the cover star for the first ever Latinx issue of ELLE magazine.

In the interview, she opens up about how making it her purpose to help others helped get her through some tough times.

“My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks— these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,” she says.

But Selena says she survived by telling herself, “You’re going to help people.”

“That’s really what kept me going,” she says. “There could have been a time when I wasn’t strong enough, and would have done something to hurt myself.”

Now, the 29-year-old says everything she’s attached to — including her HBO Max show Selena + Chef and her cosmetics line Rare Beauty — has “a charity aspect. …If something good isn’t coming out of it, I’m not going to do it,” she says.

Elsewhere in the interview, Selena clarifies a previous comment she made about retiring from music soon. She says that while she does feel like she has a lot of prove sometimes, she doesn’t think she’ll ever quit making music.

Her new Hulu show, Only Murders in the Building, debuts out August 31.

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Nine Inch Nails cancels 2021 touring plans

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Nine Inch Nails won’t be touring this year.

Trent Reznor and company have announced that they’re cancelling all of their 2021 live shows due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

“When originally planned, these shows were intended to be a cathartic and celebratory return to live music,” NIN writes in a statement. “However, with each passing day it’s becoming more apparent we’re not at that place yet.”

The band adds, “We are sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment and look forward to seeing you again when the time is right.”

Nine Inch Nails’ calendar included two headlining shows in Cleveland scheduled for September, as well as sets at festivals including Riot Fest, Louder than Life and Welcome to Rockville. Slipknot and Morrissey have joined the Riot Fest lineup in NIN’s place; replacements for Louder than Life and Welcome to Rockville have yet to be announced.

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Iron Maiden drops new ‘Senjutsu’ song, “Stratego”

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If your board game time needs a heavier soundtrack, then Iron Maiden is here for you.

The metal legends have dropped a new song called “Stratego,” a track off their upcoming album Senjutsu. While there aren’t specific mentions of flags, bombs or spies, the tune does include lyrics such as “Teach me the art of war” and “Spills of a crying nation upon my soul.”

You can listen to “Stratego” now via digital outlets.

Senjutsu, Iron Maiden’s 17th studio album and its first since 2015’s The Book of Souls, is due out September 3, and can be pre-ordered now. It also includes the previously released single “The Writing on the Wall.”

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Nas hits number one on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts for the tenth time with ‘King’s Disease II’

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Nas is once again the ruler of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as his latest release, King’s Disease II, debuts at number one. This is his tenth album to top the chart, and his first in nine years to hit number one.

King’s Disease II, featuring Eminem, YG, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Charlie Wilson and Ms. Lauryn Hill, sold 56,000 units in its first week.

The Illmatic rapper hit the streets this week promoting his new music, and posted an Instagram video showing him randomly giving out free CDs and sharing fist bumps with his fans.

“This new album got me out here acting like a bootlegger in 2004,” Nas commented.

Nas is the 12th artist to have at least ten number-one albums on the chart. The Temptations lead with 17, followed by Jay-Z with 14, Future and R. Kelly with 12, and Drake has 11. Nas is tied with Aretha Franklin, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers, all of whom claim 10 chart-topping albums.

Nas’ new music is the follow-up to King’s Disease, which won a Grammy for Best Rap Album earlier this year, his first win after 13 nominations.

 

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