Music

Anne-Marie co-wrote her single “2002” with Ed Sheeran, and on her new album, Therapy, she’s teamed with him again on the song “Beautiful.” The British singer says not only did she get some great songs out of her friendship with Ed, but she also learned a valuable lesson.

Speaking to Music Week, Anne-Marie recalls the first time she and Ed got together to co-write.  She remembers thinking, “If we get in the session and he thinks I’m crap, is he not going to be my friend?” But, she says, “How he was in the session was amazing to me, because he’s very much open to being crap. And I think that’s what I really am bad at.”

“For example, I would probably go through about 10 sentences in my head before I feel confident to see if one is O.K. with everyone in the room,” explains the “FRIENDS” singer. “Whereas he was just like, ‘What about this? What about this?’ and saying the first thing that came into his head.”

“He wasn’t scared to look like something was not good enough,” she notes. “I learned not to be scared but to be seen.”

In addition to getting help from Ed on Therapy, Anne-Marie also got help from, well, actual therapy.

“It changed my life,” she admits. “I can’t tell you how different I am just even speaking to you now. I feel different. I would have been, like, full of anxiety before…I was scared and terrified about people staring at me.”

Anne-Marie, whose latest hit is “Our Song,” with Niall Horan, will promote her new album with a livestream called Therapy: The Live Experience, on August 7. Tickets for the stream are on sale now.

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Foo Fighters have premiered the video for their cover of the Andy Gibb hit “Shadow Dancing.”

Much like the previously released clip for their version of the Bee Gees tune “You Should Be Dancing,” the “Shadow Dancing” visual finds Dave Grohl and company — here referred to as the Dee Gees — delivering a suitably funky version of the tune while surrounded by disco-era neon lights, as drummer Taylor Hawkins handles lead vocals.

You can watch the “Shadow Dancing” video streaming now on YouTube.

Both “Shadow Dancing” and “You Should Be Dancing” appear on the Foos’ new Dee Gees compilation Hail Satin, which was released on vinyl for this month’s Record Store Day. It’s also available via digital outlets.

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Gabrielle Union is known to push the boundaries of fashion and beauty with her Flawless haircare brand and her jaw-dropping hairstyles on Instagram. And once again, the 48-year-old actress has proven she can rock any hairstyle — no matter how long or short.

Union debuted her latest hair transformation on Saturday, with a collage of photos revealing her empowering “Summer chop.”

“So, I did a thing. The movies always show women cutting their hair when all is lost, but I wanted to know the feeling of making a change when things are gravy,” Union wrote on Instagram. “It hits different, and it’s foreign to me, but I [love] this new new. #SummerChop #FlawlessChop #FlawlessCut.”

Union wore a bold red lipstick to model her new hairstyle and posed in a black and white polka dot dress, big hoop earrings, and a layer of two gold chains. Her hair was styled by her longtime stylist and friend, Larry Sims, who cut Union’s natural hair into a bob in 2018.

 

 

 

 

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After promising he’d act “aggressively and expeditiously” to remove Britney Spears‘ father, Jamie Spears, from her conservatorship, the singer’s new lawyer Matthew Rosengart has done so.

E! Online reports that Rosengart has filed a petition to replace Jamie Spears with a CPA and professional fiduciary named Jason Rubin. Currently, Mr. Spears is the conservator of his daughter’s estate, and controls all her financial decisions, as well as her $60 million fortune.

However, this doesn’t mean Mr. Spears will be officially out anytime soon: Rosengart also indicated in his filing that the appointment of the new conservator will be addressed in court on December 13.

In her comments to a judge earlier this month, Britney said she wants her conservatorship, which has been in place for 13 years, ended. But if that’s not possible, she said she wanted her father removed and charged with “conservatorship abuse.” In June, she told that same judge that the conservatorship was “abusive” and that everyone involved should be in jail.

On July 17, Britney wrote on Instagram, “I’m not gonna be performing on any stages anytime soon with my dad handling what I wear, say, do, or think.”

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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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