John Mellencamp takes on plight of the homeless in new song “The Eyes of Portland”

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

John Mellencamp is giving fans another taste of his upcoming album, Orpheus Descending. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just shared the second single from the record, “The Eyes of Portland.”

The tune has Mellencamp singing about the problem of homelessness in America. He also highlights the crisis in the lyric video for the tune, with images of folks sleeping outside, asking for money, encampments on the street and more.

“All of thesе homeless, where do they come from? In this land of plenty where nothing gets done,” Mellencamp sings. “To help those who are empty and unable to run/ Your tears and prayers won’t help the homeless.”

This is the second single Mellencamp has released from Orpheus Descending, following “Hey God.” The album drops June 2.

Mellencamp is currently on his Live and In Person tour. The trek hits Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Tuesday, May 16. A complete list of dates can be found at mellencamp.com.

Sylvester Stallone reveals Adele insisted on keeping this item when she bought his mansion

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

In 2022, Adele bought Sylvester Stallone‘s mansion for $58 million. And while she’s probably done some redecorating, there’s one particular piece of décor that she didn’t want to let go of.

Stallone tells E! Online that Adele insisted on keeping a large statue of him as Rocky, which he had by his pool.

“That was part of the deal. She wanted the statue. That’s the only thing she wanted,” he revealed while doing an interview with his wife and kids to promote his new reality show, The Family Stallone.

“I said, ‘How can I live without my statue?'” Sly continued.

“Oh, please,” wife Jennifer chided him. “We’ve got lots of photos.”

When Adele bought the house, she announced it with a photo that showed her and her boyfriend, Rich Paul, standing outside it, with him holding up the keys. Many fans assumed that he moved in with her, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

R.E.M. reissuing ‘Around The Sun’ and ‘Collapse Into Now’ on vinyl

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Two long out of print R.E.M. albums are about to hit stores once more. The band just announced that Around The Sun and Collapse Into Now, both originally released late in the band’s career, will be reissued on vinyl July 14.

Both releases are coming on 180-gram vinyl, with the double album Around the Sun being released in opaque white and Collapse Into Now coming out in milky clear vinyl.

Released in 2004, Around The Sun was R.E.M.’s 13th studio album, and featured such songs as “Leaving New York” and “Aftermath.” Collapse Into Now, released in 2011, was the band’s 15th and final record. It featured singles like “It Happened Today,” “Mine Smell Like Honey” and “Oh My Heart.” R.E.M. broke up six months after the album’s release.

Both albums are available for preorder now.

Watch Miley Cyrus frolic in revealing bathing suits in new video for “Jaded”

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Miley Cyrus has dropped the video for “Jaded,” a track from her latest album, Endless Summer Vacation.

In the clip, Miley rolls around topless on a bed, then frolics by the swimming pool — occasionally going in the water — in a series of revealing bathing suits, including a gold one-piece that is so high cut, it looks painful to wear.

“Jaded” is the third single from Endless Summer Vacation, following the mega-hit “Flowers” and “River.” In it, she sings about a failed relationship: “Oh, isn’t it a shame that it ended like that?/ Said goodbye forever, but you never unpacked/ We went to Hell, but we never came back/ I’m sorry that you’re jaded/ I could’ve taken you places.”

She also sings about how tough it is to see someone you loved move on: “I won’t lie, it won’t be easy/ When somebody new is on your body.”

There’s been speculation that this song — as well as “Flowers” and other songs on the album — is about Miley’s ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth, but the singer has never confirmed that.

Usher reveals there will be no ‘Confessions 2’: ”That’s just a rumor”

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

With the 20th anniversary of Usher‘s highly praised Confessions album approaching next year, the singer has denied any hope that there’ll be a sequel.

“That’s just a rumor, at this point,” he told The Shade Room of a second part to Confessions. “But, who knows? When we get there, we’ll see.”

“We got time. There’s space and opportunity to think of new ideas,” Usher continued, before praising the original album and all those involved in making it a classic. “But the one that is 20 years old was a brilliant one. For every producer, writer and creative that had anything to do with it, we celebrate 20 years of an album,” he said. “I mean, most people don’t even have careers that last that long. So, to have an actual album that has stood the test of time? I appreciate my fans for continuing to love the music.”

Usher’s Confessions dropped in March 2004, featuring the title tracks “Yeah,” “Burn” and “Caught Up.” He performs songs from the album and his entire discography during his ongoing residency in Las Vegas.

Rare copy of The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ raises close to $3,000 for UK heart charity

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

A British heart charity is almost $3,000 richer thanks to a rare copy of The Beatles self-titled 1968 album, better known as The White Album.

Natalie Langsford, shop manager of the British Heart Foundation’s Sutton Coldfield branch, tells BBC News a “generous donor” gifted the album to the organization, along with other items. After listing it on eBay, the album brought in over $2,900 for the charity.

So, what made this copy of The White Album worth all that money? Well, it was one of only 10,000 copies of the first version of the record that included a misprint. It was also in good condition and came with all the original inserts, as well as a foldout poster.

The charity’s area manager, Marcie Somel, said they were delighted by the “amazing amount” of money raised by the record, adding, “We were thrilled to have such a rare donation come into our shop.”

Michael Ray’s “Workin’ On It” is him to a T

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Michael Ray‘s new song, “Workin’ On It,” is out now.

The feel-good track was written by a superstar team of artists and songwriters: Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Jesse Frasure and Josh Osborne. Despite not writing it, Michael says “Workin’ On It'” still chronicles his life story.

“If there’s a song on this EP that’s me, it’s probably ‘Workin’ On It,'” Michael says. “It’s the idea that old cars need pieces, there’s always a project to do, but maybe the biggest project of all is … me. And that’s great. Knowing you’re always gonna try to be better, but, you know, also finding the fun in that. Isn’t that what life is all about?”

Michael paired the release of “Workin’ On It” with a relatable, slice-of-life music video.

Of the clip’s storyline, he shares, “Life isn’t hard or some big mystery. Even though hard things happen, you can choose to sink into those times or lift yourself up, find the good and make some happy for other people. That’s how I was raised, and that was something I wanted to throw out there. We get to pick how we act and what we do. That’s what ‘Workin’ On It’ and this video are all about.”

“Workin On It” is the latest preview of Michael’s forthcoming Dive Bars & Broken Hearts EP. Arriving on June 23, the project will include the previously released “Get Her Back.”

Corey Taylor details ’CMF2’ solo album; listen to single “Beyond” now

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Corey Taylor has officially announced his next solo album, CMF2.

The sophomore follow-up to the Slipknot frontman’s 2020 solo debut, CMFT, arrives September 15. Lead single “Beyond” is out now via digital outlets. You can also watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

“I originally wrote it as an aggressive romantic song, but I’m also looking at it now as a kind of ‘come together’ song,” Taylor says. “Bringing the masses together, and letting them know that I want my music to take them beyond what they may think about me. Maybe they’ve had a misconception about me.”

“It’s not exactly a calling card, more like throwing the bat signal up and being ‘alright, let’s turn everything on its head,'” he continues. “It’s almost a dual threat, because now I look at it from two standpoints.”

Along with the album news, Taylor has announced a fall headlining tour running from August 25 in Denver to October 5 in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 19, at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit CoreyTaylor.com.

Here’s the CMF2 track list:

“The Box”
“Post Traumatic Blues”
“Talk Sick”
“Breath of Fresh Smoke”
“Beyond”
“We Are the Rest”
“Midnight”
“Starmate”
“Sorry Me”
“Punchline”
“Someday I’ll Change Your Mind”
“All I Want Is Hate”
“Dead Flies”

Watch Luke Combs teach pop star Ed Sheeran how to shotgun a beer

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Luke Combs doesn’t just sing with his pal Ed Sheeran — he drinks with him, too.

On Instagram, Ed posted video of the country superstar teaching him how to shotgun a beer. In case you’re not familiar, this requires holding the can horizontally, punching a hole in it, putting your mouth over the hole and opening the tab on top so the pressure forces the beer into your mouth.

In the clip, Luke instructs Ed on how to hold the can, then Ed counts them down and they drink together. Luke drinks and drops his can on the ground in about two seconds, while Ed follows soon after.

“That’s really impressive,” Ed laughs, wiping off his mouth.

In the comments, Luke wrote, “Cheers, mate! (Did I do that right? Haha.)” Fellow country star Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay wrote, “Not bad, Ted!”

One fan wrote, “The collab we didn’t know we needed,” but numerous others complained that Luke and Ed dropped their cans before they were empty — apparently that’s a no-no while shotgunning.

Ed and Luke teamed up last week to perform Ed’s song “Life Goes On” at the Academy of Country Music Awards, then Ed released a studio version of their collaboration. The two have been friends since 2018.

The Weeknd derides ‘Rolling Stone’ slam of ‘The Idol’ as “ridiculous”

May 16, 2023 by WDNY Radio

As the debut of his HBO series The Idol approaches, The Weeknd is opening up about the notorious article Rolling Stone ran about the show, calling it “twisted torture porn” that has gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails.”

When the article first ran, he responded to it by posting a clip from The Idol in which his character, Tedros, dismisses the magazine as irrelevant. Now, he tells Vanity Fair, “I thought the article was ridiculous. I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”

He adds that he disagrees with everything in the article, while acknowledging that Hollywood, which the show is about, is “a dark place” that “makes for great art.” However, he thought the article was, as the magazine notes, “an indictment of his character.” He tells Vanity Fair that he’s nothing like the guy he plays in the show: Tedros, a cult leader who uses sex to control people.

“I don’t do anything,” Weeknd points out. “I’m at home with my dog and my close friends and my family. I get myself out of trouble as much as I can. I try not to stay at the party too long, I’m not that guy.”

In the Vanity Fair interview, the singer also added fuel to the fire regarding his recent comment that he wants to “kill” his alter ego. Discussing his future ambitions, he says, “If I direct, that’s all I’m gonna do. I’m not going to be The Weeknd.”

When asked to comment on his pal’s statement, Weeknd’s childhood friend and creative director, La Mar Taylor, tells Vanity Fair, “Abel says a lot of things. But at the same time, I’m like, Dude, shut the f*** up.”

The Idol debuts June 4 on HBO.

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