Music – Page 842 – 105.7 WDNY

BET indefinitely suspends BET Hip-Hop and Soul Train awards shows

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

The BET Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards have been put on pause, as the awards shows have been suspended indefinitely. Speaking to Billboard, BET President Scott Mills explained the decision was made as part of the change in leadership and the media landscape.

“I would say that it’s less about them being no longer and more about our team having to reimagine them for this changing media landscape that we find ourselves in,” Mills says. “I think what we’re going to see are more people taking franchises and saying, ‘This might have started on linear television, but now I’m going to move it to another space. Do I move it to streaming? Or do I move it to another platform?'”

He adds that the shows “aren’t gone” and notes the team is “actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve.”

The NAACP Image Awards and the Stellar Awards, Mills continued, currently remain active.

The Soul Train Awards launched in 1987 while the BET Hip-Hop Awards debuted in 2006. The shows were respectively known for their celebration of R&B and soul artists, and the cyphers.

Nine Inch Nails join rare ‘Billboard’ club with ‘As Alive as You Need Me to Be’ single

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

We can’t speak for God, but Nine Inch Nails are getting “Closer” to Billboard history.

The Trent Reznor-led outfit has become just the fourth act in history to chart on the Billboard Alternative Airplay tally in five distinct decades: the ’80s, the ’90s, the 2000s, the 2010s and the 2020s. They land on the ranking for the first time in the 2020s with their new single, “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” recorded for the Tron: Ares movie soundtrack.

NIN joins Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Depeche Mode as the only other artists to achieve that feat. Notably, Alternative Airplay started in 1988, so there wasn’t much time to make the chart in the ’80s.

There are two other acts that have charted on Alternative Airplay in ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and 2010s that could join the five-decade club should they score an entry before the calendar flips to 2030: Beastie Boys and Jane’s Addiction. However, it seems like it might stay a four-member club, since the Beasties haven’t been active since member Adam Yauch‘s 2012 death, and Jane’s disbanded in 2024 following an onstage altercation.

NIN’s Tron: Ares soundtrack will be released on Sept. 19. While Reznor has frequently scored films alongside his bandmate Atticus Ross, the Tron: Ares soundtrack is specifically being billed as a Nine Inch Nails project.

Disney’s Tron: Ares hits theaters Oct. 10.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Music notes: Lady Gaga, Charli XCX and more

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

If you’re planning on bingeing the first four episodes of Wednesday season 2 just so you can see Lady Gaga make her appearance, we’ve got some bad news for you: She’s not in those episodes. Four more episodes will arrive on Sept. 3, so that’s presumably when we’ll see Gaga in her role as Nevermore teacher Rosaline Rotwood.

Erupcja, one of the many upcoming movies Charli XCX appears in, will have its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this fall. According to the festival, the movie is about “the combustible chemistry between a Polish florist and a British tourist” — Charli plays the tourist. It’s Charli’s second movie to premiere this year at Toronto — the other is called Sacrifice.

Having released two singles with country star Kane Brown, Marshmello is now teaming up with another country star with pop crossover appeal: Jelly Roll. You can hear a snippet of the Jelly-Mello collab, called “Holy Water,” on Instagram now; the song will be out Friday. “We knew this one was special from the jump,” wrote Marshmello. “Absolute [sic] honored brother,” Jelly wrote in the comments.

Ed Sheeran is releasing a new video called “A Little More” Thursday, but one of his older videos just hit 4 billion views on YouTube. “Perfect,” which co-stars actress Zoey Deutch, is Ed’s second clip to reach that milestone, following “Shape of You.”

Mickey Hart says Dead & Company shows felt like ‘3 days of coming home’

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Mickey Hart has shared his thoughts about Dead & Company’s recent three-night stand at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, writing on Instagram that it felt like “3 days of coming home.”

The three shows took place Aug. 1, 2 and 3 and celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Grateful Dead.

“In those final moments of the weekend, it was truly profound. I saw 60,000 people sparking light, in love, entrained big time and coming our way,” Hart writes. “Different than applause after a song, it sounded more like an ahhhhhh. All the peace and love in proximity generated a collective energy that was shared by all. Very rare stuff indeed.”

Mentioning the band’s late members Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Ron “Pig Pen” McKernan, Hart writes that during the shows he saw them “hovering over the crowd smiling like Cheshire Cats.”

“In the final moments of the weekend standing right next to Bob [Weir] and feeling the raw emotion coming our way from our fans, I felt Bob’s heartbeat, along with mine, and the deep connection we have with all of you,” he shared, concluding the post with, “All the years combine. They melt into a dream.”

Grateful Dead was founded in the City By the Bay in 1965 by Garcia, Weir, Lesh, McKernan and Bill Kreutzmann, with Hart and lyricist Robert Hunter joining the group in 1967.

Nashville notes: Kip Moore’s Darlington show + Tyler Rich asks ‘When?’

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Kip Moore will headline the Busch Light Summer Music Series concert Aug. 31 before the 2025 Cook Out Southern 500 at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway.

Jordan Davis celebrated the chart-topping success of “I Ain’t Sayin'” Tuesday with a party at One Garage in Nashville, ahead of the release of his album Learn the Hard Way on Aug. 15.

The new radio single from Tyler Rich is “When?” You can check out the song’s music video on YouTube now.

Britney Spears’ first husband releasing memoir in October

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Two years after Britney Spears told her story in her memoir The Woman in Me, her ex-husband is going to spill the tea.

Kevin Federline will release You Thought You Knew on Oct. 21. In it, the former dancer tells his story — from sharing stages with Pink, Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah to meeting and marrying Britney, with whom he shares two sons, Sean Federline and Jayden Federline. The subsequent “relentless media storm” reduced him “to a caricature in a world that barely knew him,” reads a press release.

“Behind the tabloid headlines was a devoted father fighting for his children and his sanity, navigating the fallout of fame and a fractured family, as everything around him spun out of control,” the press release continues.

Unlike Britney, Kevin will narrate his own audiobook. It’s the debut release from Listenin, a new imprint from Barracuda Baby Productions. The founder of the company tells People, “[Kevin] spent two years in every tabloid and two decades navigating a volatile, ever-changing reality — choosing silence to protect his kids. That silence left scars. … I am excited for the world to get to meet the real Kevin Federline.”

Kevin and Britney were married from 2004 to 2007. He’s been married to Victoria Prince since 2008, with whom he shares two daughters. He also has two children with his ex Shar Jackson.

Mark Knopfler looks back on the success of Dire Straits’ ‘Brothers in Arms’

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Dire Straits‘ blockbuster album Brothers in Arms, and frontman Mark Knopfler is reflecting on the album’s success in a new interview with Guitar World.

“Well, it’s tempting just to say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing’ and downplay it, but thinking about Brothers in Arms now, it seems like that record meant so much to so many people,” he tells the magazine, adding that the album’s success was “a combination of luck and events crashing into each other.”

Knopfler suggests timing had a lot to do with the album’s success, noting it helped that when it was released, they’d already had some hits in America. Plus, it was released just as the CD had been invented and got played in stores that sold audio systems to show off the equipment.

“That’s where a lot of people first heard it,” he says. “Then the singles made it in different countries and it became a worldwide thing. Next thing you know, you’re in the eye of the storm.”

Released May 17, 1985, Brothers in Arms was Dire Straits’ most successful album; it has been certified nine-times Platinum in the U.S. It was also the first album in history to sell over 1 million CDs.

How the LA Metro is honoring Nipsey Hussle for what would have been his 40th birthday

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

The Los Angeles Metro is celebrating what would have been Nipsey Hussle‘s 40th birthday with the release of two limited-edition TAP cards.

One features Jonathan Mannion‘s photograph “Crenshaw & Slauson,” in which Nip stands in the middle of the street with his neighborhood as the background. The second, a photo taken by Anthony Pham, captures Nipsey as he sits in the back of a bus.

Only 12,000 of the Nipsey Hussle TAP cards are available starting Aug. 15; fans can get theirs at ticket vending machines at select stations or by signing up for the LIFE program.

The tribute is part of the Metro x Culture series, which celebrates the leaders, artists and visionaries who have helped build the city, especially those like Nipsey, who got their start commuting on Metro buses and trains.

The goal is to “amplify LA culture by showcasing stories of real influence and legacy, boost engagement with TAP by inspiring riders to collect cards that hold personal meaning, and reinforce Metro’s role as a catalyst for everyday life and opportunity in Los Angeles,” according to the Metro’s website.

The LA Metro will also honor Nipsey by renaming Hyde Park Station the Nipsey Hussle Station. This location — the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard — was specifically chosen because it’s often associated with the late rapper, his impact and his legacy.

Nipsey was shot on March 31, 2019, outside his Marathon Clothing Store in South Central LA.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise announces new album, ‘bones’

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Rainbow Kitten Surprise has announced a new album called bones.

The fifth studio effort from Ela Melo and company drops Sept. 26. It’s the follow-up to 2024’s Love Hate Music Box, which spawned the single “Superstar.”

Bones includes the previously released single “Dang.”

Ahead of bones‘ arrival, you can catch RKS on their ongoing North American tour, which continues into mid-October.

Here’s the bones track list:
“Friendly Fire”
“Hell Nah”
“bones”
“100 Summers”
“Murder”
“Dang”
“King”
“Stars”
“Texas Hold’em”
“Tropics”

Ed Sheeran taps ‘Game of Thrones’ actress for ‘A Little More’ video A

August 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Ed Sheeran is really going in a cinematic direction for his new video. He’s even dropped a trailer for it, with a voice-over and everything.

As previously reported, the video for the song “A Little More” is a sequel to the video for Ed’s 2011 song “Lego House,” which starred Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint as a crazed Ed Sheeran stalker. In the new trailer, we see Rupert’s character get out of prison and attempt to start a new life. According to the trailer, that seems to involve falling in love with and marrying a woman played by Game of Thrones actress Nathalie Emmanuel.

Ed, of course, has his own Game of Thrones history: His cameo in the seventh season of the HBO series was extremely polarizing, to say the least.

“Fourteen years later, he walks free, ready to start over with hopes of a normal life,” says the voice-over in the trailer, as we see Rupert’s character exiting prison. “For a moment, it even feels possible. But the past has a long memory and it won’t let him forget one person” — meaning Ed. “Their story isn’t over.”

We also hear a clip of the song, in which Ed sings, “I used to love you/ but every day I hate you just a little more.”

The video premieres Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.

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