Following his breakthrough hit “Astronaut in the Ocean,” Australian rapper Masked Wolf is back with a new track called “Say So.” No, it’s not a cover of that Doja Cat hit — this song is about denying that you might need help.
“Everybody gotta say they ball/Even when their castle’s about to fall,” raps Wolf, born Harry Michael. “You been tryna act like it’s okay/But I can see you trapped in the hallway….problems don’t go away.”
“It’s always important for me to say something with my music, even if the deeper message is hidden inside of what sounds like a fun, upbeat song,” explains Wolf. “In ’Say So,’ I was writing about how, in times of trouble, we often try to act like we’re still okay, even when we really aren’t.”
“No matter how bad the situation is or how close we are to self-destructing, we think that, if we keep telling ourselves we’re O.K., then maybe we will be,” he adds. “We think, ‘If we say so, then we say so,’ but really, we need help.”
Meanwhile, “Astronaut in the Ocean,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, has racked up over a billion streams and 180 million video views. In recent months, Wolf has appeared on The Voice, The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Visionary artist IDK has dropped his new album, USEE4YOURSELF, laced with verses from Slick Rick, Rico Nasty, and the late DMX, and production from Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. The star-studded project also features Westside Gunn, Jay Electronica, SiR, T-Pain, Swae Lee, and R&B vocalists SevynStreeter and Lucky Daye.
IDK also shared a 43-minute visual of USEE4YOURSELF, in which he sits in the middle of a field while putting together a Nintendo Game Boy console.
J. Cole joins his Dreamville artist Bas on the new track “The Jackie,” which also features New York rapper Lil Tjay. The track includes a catchy chorus where Cole raps, “You see the drop-top [chick] stop playing with me / She say she wanna let the waves splash down on me.”
“The Jackie” visual features Cole, Bas, and a young lady riding around with the top down before meeting up with Lil Tjay in his Bronx hometown.
Meanwhile, rapper and singer Yung Bleu shared his latest single, “Way More Close (Stuck in a Box),” from his upcoming album, Moon Boy. Bleu reflects on his past relationships on the track, which features a stellar verse from Big Sean.
“But you know I was all for ya, you never needed me to go buy out / the Grove for ya / And snatchin’ my soul ’cause you got enough of your own for ya / Did everything, except grow with ya,” Big Sean raps.
Fans on social media are buzzing about Dave and the video for his new banger, “Clash,” featuring Stormzy. Both UK rappers flex about their expensive wrist game, luxury whips, and How to Get Away with Murder star Viola Davis.
Dave says “Clash” will be featured on his upcoming album, We’re All Alone in This Together, dropping July 23.
If you follow Madonna on social media, you know that she’s been working hard for months on a concert film documenting her Madame X tour, which ran from September of 2019 to March of 2020. But now, we finally know when we’ll be able to see it.
Madonna announced on Instagram that the movie will debut in October on the new Paramount+ streaming platform. The announcement features a video of Madonna lip-syncing to the song “Killers Who Are Partying,” which appears on her 2019 Madame X album.
Madonna’s Madame X trek was unlike any of her previous tours: Instead of her usual stadium show, she created a much more intimate performance for theaters, and played multiple nights in major cities in the United States, England, France and Portugal.
The show was praised by critics, though fans were upset by the fact that Madonna often took the stage up to two hours after the announced showtime, and also asked fans not to record or photograph the performance.
Several shows on the Madame X tour were canceled due to a recurring knee injury, and the entire trek was subsequently cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since his new song is called “Motley Crew,” it makes sense that Post Malone would ask a member of legendary hair-metal band Mötley Crüe to join him in the video.
Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee stars in the video for the song, which premiered Friday. The clip, shot at California’s Auto Club Speedway, finds Posty hitting the racetrack with Lee, French Montana, Big Sean, SAINt JHN, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyga, Tyla Yaweh and NASCAR stars Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.
Prior to “Motley Crew,” Post actually released a song called “Tommy Lee,” with Tyla Yaweh. He also collaborated with Lee on a remix of the track.
“Motley Crew” is Posty’s first new original release of 2021, and the lead track from what’s described as a “companion project” to an upcoming documentary.
Earlier this year, Parmalee returned to the top of the country chart with “Just the Way,” their collaboration with Blanco Brown. Now, with that momentum behind them, the country group has announced a new album called For You.
The thirteen-song collection includes “Just the Way.” Leaning into the success they’ve had with collaborations thus far, the band also put two more duets on the album: “Greatest Hits,” with Fitz, and “Forget You” with Avery Anna. “Greatest Hits” is out today in celebration of the album announcement, as is another song, the romantic “Take My Name.”
The bulk of the For You track list was co-written by Parmalee frontman Matt Thomas, who says having a hand in so many of the songs made the album-making process more intimate.
“We feel most authentic and our best as a band when we feel like we’re having a conversation with the audience,” says Matt. “That’s what we really narrowed in on for this album and leaned into what makes Parmalee sound like Parmalee — it’s all based on our connection to the fans.”
He adds, “For You is an album for the fans — the ones who’ve supported us for years, and the new ones we’re getting to know every day.”
For You will be out July 30. It’s available to pre-add and pre-save now.
A new documentary focusing on the poetry, prose and artistry of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison is being developed as part of a partnership between JAM Inc. — the managers of Morrison’s estate — and the Gunpowder & Sky production company.
The film will incorporate the singer’s recently unearthed personal diaries, as well as rare home-movie footage. News of the documentary comes on the heels of the recent publication of The Collected Works of Jim Morrison: Poetry, Journals, Transcripts and Lyrics. The book that features most of Morrison’s previously published work, as well as a bounty of unpublished writing, including the aforementioned diaries.
“Jim was a poet and a writer and a filmmaker long before he ever thought about music,” JAM Inc. CEO Jeff Jampol tells Billboard. “All these decades everybody talked about Jim Morrison the rock star, which he certainly was. But we really felt it was time to even the playing field and talk about these other aspects of Jim, which were either not as known or celebrated or discussed.”
Jampol also notes that the producers are searching for a director “who understands the import and the depth and the gravity” of Morrison.
“You need a director who is empathetic to the human and the artist and the art, [who] understands the history and context,” Jampol maintains. He adds that he’s hoping the as-yet-untitled film will be ready for release by late 2022 or early 2023.
July 3 marked the 50th anniversary of Morrison’s death at age 27 in Paris.
What do you get when Ed Sheeran teams up with BTS? An insanely catchy song and memorable video.
BTS is out with their new single, “Permission to Dance,” co-written by Ed, his frequent collaborators Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid, and Jenna Andrews, who co-wrote “Butter.” It celebrates the joys of dancing your troubles away, with the group singing, “We don’t need to worry/’Cause when we fall, we know how to land
Don’t need to talk the talk, just walk the walk tonight/’Cause we don’t need permission to dance.”
In the first verse, the group sings, “When it all seems like it’s wrong/Just sing along to Elton John.” It’s not clear who wrote that line, but it’s worth noting that Ed is friendly with Elton John, was once managed by Elton’s company, and mentioned Elton’s song “Tiny Dancer” in his own hit, “Castle on the Hill.”
As for the video, it features BTS performing in several different buildings in the middle of a desert, intercut with people dancing in different situations — in an office, a school, a diner. They’re all wearing masks, but at the end of the video they all pull their masks off with a flourish and continue to dance.
The clip ends with a huge choreographed number as the guys, joined by dozens of dancers wearing white, all dance as the sky fills with balloons. There are also some outtakes at the end worth watching.
“Permission to Dance” is on BTS’ new Butter CD single. It was released today, July 9, to mark the eight-year anniversary of the naming of their fan group, ARMY. BTS has also put together a special playlist for the occasion, featuring a solo track by each member.
A demo of a previously unreleased George Harrison song called “Cosmic Empire,” from the sessions for his landmark 1970 solo effort All Things Must Pass, has just been made available in advance of the upcoming deluxe reissue of the late Beatles legend’s classic album.
“Cosmic Empire” has been released digitally and via streaming services, and an animated lyric video for the track has premiered on Harrison’s YouTube channel. The clip features a kaleidoscopic montage of collages celebrating the natural and cosmic worlds, and including photos of Harrison and depictions of animals, plants, planets and much more.
The track was recorded on the second day of a prolific two-day session for All Things Must Pass, during which Harrison recorded demos of 30 songs. “Cosmic Empire” features George accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
As previously reported, an expanded 50th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass will be released August 6, and can be pre-ordered now. It’s available in multiple formats and configurations, including a Super Deluxe eight-LP or five-CD/Blu-ray-audio set. The Super Deluxe reissue features a new mix of the original 23-track album, the 30 aforementioned demos, and various outtakes and studio jams. Forty-two of the tracks are previously unreleased. The Blu-ray disc features three high-res versions of the album.
The collection comes with a 60-page scrapbook curated by Harrison’s widow, Olivia, that features rare images and memorabilia, handwritten lyrics, diary entries, studio notes and more. A replica of the original album poster also is included.
Released in November 1970, All Things Must Pass spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. It features George’s chart-topping spiritual anthem “My Sweet Lord,” plus “Isn’t It a Pity,” “What Is Life,” “Wah-Wah” and many other memorable songs.
Beck has collaborated with Natalie Bergman of the band Wild Belle on a new cover and remix.
The cover is a joint version on the 1975 track “You’ve Got a Woman,” originally recorded by the duo Lion, while the remix is a new spin on Bergman’s solo track “Paint the Rain.”
“It is slightly touching on almost grunge,” Bergman tells Billboard of the remix. “It’s very unusual because I don’t really have that much of a repertoire with that music, but that’s kind of where he came out of in some ways.”
You can download both tracks now via digital outlets.
Beck, meanwhile, just released a video for the Chloé Caillet remix of his song “Chemical,” in honor of his birthday Thursday.
