Remember when Justin Bieber jumped on the remix of “Despacito,” and helped drive the Latin pop track to a record-setting run at number one? Well, he may be about to do something similar for the Afrobeats genre.
Justin has joined Nigerian singer Wizkid — whom you may remember from his appearance on Drake‘s number-one hit, “One Dance” — for a remix of his hit “Essence.”
“Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer,” Justin wrote on Instagram. “‘Essence’ remix out now.”
The new version of “Essence” will appear on the deluxe version of Wizkid’s album Made in Lagos, due out August 27. The original version has been a popular music clip on Instagram and TikTok.
Brothers Osborne’s current single, “I’m Not for Everyone,” is all about celebrating the quirks that make a person stand out from the crowd — even if some people might not accept them the way they are.
for the song’s music video, the sibling duo enlisted one of their quirkiest pals — actor-turned-social-media-star Leslie Jordan — to play the starring role of a happily off-beat guy strolling unscathed through a massive bar fight.
Dolled up in a Nudie-style suit and at least a foot shorter than everyone else in the room, Leslie ultimately becomes the star of the show. He even charms the bar’s patrons so thoroughly they quit brawling and throw their arms around each other, swaying and singing along to the last chorus of the song.
“We got our dear friend Leslie Jordan to be the protagonist and he is absolutely killing it,” says band mate John Osborne. “He doesn’t look like anyone here, and it doesn’t bother him. He sticks out like a sore thumb. The song is about not being for everyone, but the core of the song is about embracing that part of you, and Leslie does it perfectly.”
By now, the two acts are old friends. Last year, the Brothers’ T.J. Osborne had a guest spot on Leslie’s star-studded gospel project, Company’s Comin’, an album that also featured the legendary likes of Dolly Parton and Chris Stapleton.
Meanwhile, the Brothers Osborne are headed to Iowa this weekend for the next dates on their We’re Not for Everyone Tour.
Black Veil Brides has released a new song called “Torch,” a cut off the band’s upcoming album, The Phantom Tomorrow.
The track, which is available now for digital download, is accompanied by a video that concludes the narrative that began with the visual for lead single “Scarlet Cross,” and continued with the songs “Fields of Bone” and “Crimson Skies.” The story is related to the character Blackbird, an important figure in the Phantom Tomorrow concept.
“We wanted to create something that felt like a fitting ending to the four-video story arc that started with ‘Scarlet Cross,'” says frontman Andy Biersack. “While this is the end of the original ‘Blackbird’ video chronology, it certainly is not the end of The Phantom Tomorrow narrative that plays out on the record and in our upcoming comic book series.”
“It’s been one of the greatest joys of my professional life getting to dream up these concepts,” he adds. “For us as a band to work with such amazing individuals and to see this story realized on the screen is an absolute honor.”
The Phantom Tomorrow is due out October 29. It’s the follow-up to 2018’s Vale.
The Who‘s fifth studio album, Who’s Next, considered one of the group’s finest moments, was released 50 years ago this Saturday, August 14.
The follow-up to the legendary British band’s classic 1969 “rock opera” Tommy, Who’s Next was put together from songs that The Who’s main songwriter and songwriter Pete Townshend composed for a multimedia project called Lifehouse that was based around the concept of a future society where music was outlawed.
Townshend’s grand vision for Lifehouse proved impossible to pull off, and the project was abandoned, but some songs and sonic ideas, including the use of synthesizers, were salvaged for Who’s Next.
The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, and was the group’s only release to reach #1 on the U.K. albums chart. It features some of The Who’s most popular and enduring songs, including “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Bargain.”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Behind Blue Eyes” also were released as singles, and both made it into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #15 and #34, respectively.
“Baba O’Riley,” the album’s lead track, is often incorrectly referred to as “Teenage Wasteland.” Its title was inspired by the names of Townshend’s guru, Meher Baba, and one of Pete’s musical inspirations, minimalist composer Terry Riley.
The album’s iconic cover humorously appears to show the band members having just relieved themselves on a huge concrete monolith. However, only Townshend actually urinated on the structure; rainwater was used to mimic the effect for the group’s other members.
Who’s Next is The Who’s most successful U.S. album, selling over 3 million copies. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it at #77 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Here’s the Who’s Next track list:
“Baba O’Riley”
“Bargain”
“Love Ain’t for Keeping”
“My Wife”
“The Song Is Over”
“Getting in Tune”
“Going Mobile”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”
The metal legends have announced the premiere date for The Metallica Podcast: Volume 1 — The Black Album. The eight-episode series will make its debut next Friday, August 20.
As its title suggests, the podcast will chronicle the making of Metallica’s iconic 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album, in honor of its 30th anniversary. Members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett will all appear on the show to recall their experiences, as will former bassist Jason Newsted and producer Bob Rock.
Also contributing will be “studio and touring personnel, music critics, fellow musicians, friends, and many more,” a press release promises.
The 16-times RIAA-certified Platinum Black Album officially celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this week. The party will continue with a massive deluxe reissue, as well as the all-star The Metallica Blacklist tribute compilation, featuring 53 artists covering every song off The Black Album. Both releases arrive September 10.
The Killers have premiered the video for “Quiet Town,” a track off the band’s just-released new album, Pressure Machine.
The animated clip reflects the story of the song, in which frontman Brandon Flowers details the tragedies that have befallen his hometown, while also expressing love for where he came from. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.
Pressure Machine, which is out today, arrives less than a year after the last Killers record, Imploding the Mirage, dropped in August 2020. With their touring plans canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flowers and company decided to return to the studio to knock out another album.
“It was the first time in a long time for me that I was faced with silence,” Flowers explains. “And out of that silence [Pressure Machine] began to bloom, full of songs that would have otherwise been too quiet and drowned out by the noise of typical Killers records.”
Pressure Machine also includes a collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers titled “Runaway Horses.”
Earlier this week, Elton John and Dua Lipa teased their joint single, “Cold Heart,” and from a snippet, it sounded like a mashup of two Elton singles: 1990’s “Sacrifice” and the 1972 classic, “Rocket Man.” “Cold Heart” is now out and it turns out the track, created by Australian dance duo Pnau, is actually a mashup of four Elton songs.
In addition to “Sacrifice” and “Rocket Man,” the song also includes snippets of Elton’s 1983 single “Kiss the Bride” and a 1976 track called “Where’s the Shoorah?”
In the track, Elton sings the “Sacrifice” line, “Cold, cold heart/ hard done by you/ Some things look better baby/ Just passing through.” Then Dua follows by singing a line from “Rocket Man” — “And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time/ ’til touchdown brings me ’round again to find/ I’m not the man they think I am at home” — plus a line from “Kiss the Bride”: “And this is what I should have said/I thought it but I kept it hid.”
Elton and Dua have been friends since last year, when they performed at each other’s events. He reached out to her to work on “Cold Heart.”
“Having the opportunity to spend time with Dua, albeit remotely has been incredible,” Elton says in a statement. “She’s given me so much energy. She’s a truly wonderful artist, and person, absolutely bursting with creativity and ideas.”
Dua adds, “Ever since we first ‘met’ online, we totally clicked. Elton is such an inspirational artist and also has the naughtiest sense of humor — a perfect combination. It has been an absolute honor and privilege to collaborate on this track with him.”
A trippy animated video for “Cold Heart,” featuring cartoon versions of Elton and Duo, is streaming now.
Tony Bennett has canceled his fall and winter 2021 tour dates, according to Variety.
The legendary crooner — who marked his 95th birthday last week by performing with Lady Gaga at two-sold out shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall — has pulled out of concerts in New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Arizona, Oklahoma and Canada.
The tour — consisting of pre-pandemic show dates that had been rescheduled — was set to begin in September. Ticket holders should check with the local venues for information regarding refunds. The shows won’t be rescheduled, as Bennett is retiring from the road.
Bennett’s son and manager Danny Bennetttells Variety, “There won’t be any additional concerts. This was a hard decision for us to make, as he is a capable performer. This is, however, doctors’ orders. His continued health is the most important part of this, and when we heard the doctors — when Tony’s wife, Susan heard them — she said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
“He’ll be doing other things, but not those upcoming shows. It’s not the singing aspect but, rather, the traveling. Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him,” Danny adds, noting, “We’re not worried about him being able to sing. We are worried, from a physical standpoint… about human nature. Tony’s 95.”
Bennett’s two shows with Gaga — a prequel for the pair’s second duets album, Love for Sale, due out October 1 — had been billed One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga and announced as the singer’s last NYC public performance.
Bennett’s family revealed back in February that he’d been battling Alzheimer’s disease for the past four years.
Back in December, Jessie J revealed that she was treated for Ménière’s disease, a disorder affecting the inner ear that causes severe dizziness, ringing in the ear and hearing loss. Since then, she’s been dealing with a mystery throat ailment that makes it painful for her to sing. Thursday, she shared an update on her progress.
“Yesterday I tried to sing a song I can usually sing with ease, and I couldn’t. The issue I’m having isn’t my voice but is effecting [sic] my voice,” the 33-year-old British pop star wrote on Instagram, adding that she then “sobbed. For hours.”
“6 months in and I still cannot get through a full day without pain in my mid neck / throat,” she continued. “Some days are so much better than others.”
Jessie goes on to explain that “95% of the time I am good. Positive and strong. Which is what I portray on here mostly. But that 5% will grow if not acknowledged. So yes, sometimes like yesterday. I break. All hope disappears. I feel so lost and so alone in what’s going on.”
“I guess I’m sharing this because people are always saying to me ‘how do you stay so positive all the time’ and truth is I don’t,” she admits. “I definitely don’t unpack and live in how I felt yesterday. But I don’t take pride in always pretending I’m ok. It’s not healthy.”
Notes Jessie, “That old line ‘it’s ok not to be ok’…I wrote it because it’s true and I still believe this platform is to inspire through truth.”
“To anyone else going through a testing time. I feel you. I see you. We will get through this,” she concludes.
When Dan + Shay‘s 2018 album came out, Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney kept it simple: the cover’s nothing more than their name on a blank background.
Fast forward to Good Things, their new record out today. The pair’s gone all out, heading to California’s Joshua Tree for the photo shoot — even jumping in the water for what turned out to be the cover art.
“There was a swimming pool there,” Dan explains, “and it was 110 degrees out in the desert. We’re like, ‘Man, it would feel pretty good to go in that pool. Maybe we could get a picture while we’re in there. It might be the thing.'”
“You think about all these iconic album covers,” he reflects, “and they’re always just some random spur-of-the-moment, unplanned thing.”
“We dipped our toes in first,” he continues, “It was like, ‘What if we, like, put our jeans in?’ And then we just kept going in further. The photographer just jumped in, in his clothes… and he’s underwater shooting these photos.”
Sure enough, out of 11,000 shots, a pool photo turned out to be the one.
“It was just that magic moment,” Dan says. “We weren’t staged… we were just… laughing and having a good time.”
“We’re like, ‘How’s it look? Does it look sick? Is it anything?'” he recalls. “[The photographer] said ‘Honestly, man, I can’t see any of these photos. I’m underwater.'”
“It wasn’t until we got back to Nashville that we were able to see those,” Dan reveals. “And there was something magical about that unplanned moment… We were at peace… at ease. And I feel like there’s kinda that thread throughout the album.”
Good Things features the hits “10,000 Hours,” “I Should Probably Go to Bed,” and “Glad You Exist,” plus nine new tracks.
