Silk Sonic, Em Beihold, Post Malone, Ava Max, Pitbull and more honored by RIAA

Silk Sonic, Em Beihold, Post Malone, Ava Max, Pitbull and more honored by RIAA
Silk Sonic, Em Beihold, Post Malone, Ava Max, Pitbull and more honored by RIAA
John Esparza via Getty Images

Silk SonicEm BeiholdPost MaloneAva Max and Pitbull were honored by the Recording Industry Association as part of a new class of Gold and Platinum honorees for the month.

Silk Sonic’s debut album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, has been minted Platinum by the RIAA. The duo released the effort last November; it swept the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

Ava Max also earned Platinum status with “The Motto,” as has Em Beihold with her viral debut single, “Numb Little Bug,” which officially sold over 1 million copies.

Posty’s Hollywood’s Bleeding album earned a new tier after selling 4 million copies and is now certified four-times Platinum. In addition, his “I Did It” collab with DJ KhaledMegan Thee StallionLil Baby and DaBaby is now certified Gold.

Pitbull’s album Libertad 548 is officially twice Platinum, while his “Te Quiero (I Love You Baby)” collab with Frankie Valli and Chesca is Platinum.

Also earning newly minted Platinum status is Demi Lovato, as their song “Heart Attack” officially sold over 4 million copies.

Usher also received some love from the RIAA, which minted his album My Way seven-times Platinum. In addition, his songs “You Make Me Wanna…” and “Nice & Slow” both went three-times Platinum.

Lauv and Lany was also saluted by the RIAA, as their song “Mean It” is now certified Gold.

Dove Cameron also earned some RIAA credit thanks to her work on Disney’s The Descendants, with the songs “Rotten to the Core,” “Night Falls,” “It’s Goin’ Down” and “Ways to be Wicked” all earning Platinum status. The song “Good to Be Bad” is also now certified Gold.

Speaking of Disney, Ariana Grande and John Legend‘s “Beauty and the Beast” duet from the 2017 live action film also went Platinum.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Saweetie thought she would be with Quavo for ‘the rest of our lives’

Saweetie thought she would be with Quavo for ‘the rest of our lives’
Saweetie thought she would be with Quavo for ‘the rest of our lives’
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Saweetie has opened up about her past relationship with Quavo, saying, “I thought we was gonna spend the rest of our lives together.”

The “Best Friend” rapper made the comment on Yung Miami‘s YouTube series, Caresha Please.

“With him, I just knew it was the one. It was different … I was just hella enthralled with who he was as a human. Even if he wasn’t a rapper I would have still been in love with him. It was one of those things,” Saweetie added.

The two-time Grammy nominee says the emotional wounds are now starting to heal after their breakup.

“I’m much better than last year. I feel like I had to overcome a lot last year and I’m finally getting back to my centered self,” said the California MC continued.

“I lost someone who I loved. You know, when you think someone is your soul mate, and you don’t end up with them, it’s hard,” she told the City Girls member.

“A lot of people thought that I was just having fun and the single life, but I was hurt. Like, I really loved him, and I was just doing a lot of soul searching,” Saweetie said on the show. “My problem is, I be thinking about like 10 years from now we gon’ have this, this and that. So like when they don’t happen, I be like … my dreams be, like, shattered.”

Despite the painful ending, Saweetie shared that she felt she “learned how to be a woman.”

“I [was] raised in a really tough environment, both of my parents were tough. But since I was in love, I was like, it’s time to step it up as a woman,” she explained.

The couple started dating in 2018, and Saweetie announced their split in March 2021.

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Shania Twain closes out her Las Vegas residency with a $150,000 donation to Shania Kids Can

Shania Twain closes out her Las Vegas residency with a 0,000 donation to Shania Kids Can
Shania Twain closes out her Las Vegas residency with a 0,000 donation to Shania Kids Can
Erika Goldring/Getty Images

Ever since Shania Twain’s “Let’s Go!” Las Vegas residency opened in 2019, $1 of every ticket purchased has been directed to her nonprofit organization, Shania Kids Can, which supports children living in poverty and facing other crises.

As the residency winds down, Shania — along with Live Nation Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment — presented Shania Kids Can with a final $150,000 check to support the cause.

Shania Kids Can helps children throughout North America, but in light of Shania’s run of shows in Vegas, the organization has put a spotlight on kids local to Shania’s residency: The charity partnered with Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada to help support underserved students at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School for the 2022-23 school year.

In music news, Shania recently joined the panel of judges for the new season United Kingdom reality singing competition show Starstruck. She was also a special honoree at the ACM Honors ceremony last month.

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Sam Fender cancels US tour dates: “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now”

Sam Fender cancels US tour dates: “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now”
Sam Fender cancels US tour dates: “I’ve neglected myself for over a year now”

Sam Fender has canceled his upcoming run of U.S. tour dates for mental health reasons.

In a statement posted to his Twitter, the “Seventeen Going Under” artist writes, “It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health.”

“I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me,” Fender continues. “It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business. My friends and colleagues have been worried about me for a while and it’s not going to get better unless I take the time to do so.”

The affected dates include several headlining shows, as well as gigs opening for Florence + the Machine and a set at the Life Is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas.

“I can’t express how grateful we are to have such an awesome fan base,” Fender writes. “Me and the boys are burnt out and we need this time. Thank you for always sticking by us.”

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Simon Cowell blames Barry Manilow for Jennifer Hudson’s ‘American Idol’ loss

Simon Cowell blames Barry Manilow for Jennifer Hudson’s ‘American Idol’ loss
Simon Cowell blames Barry Manilow for Jennifer Hudson’s ‘American Idol’ loss
Warner Bros./Chris Millard

It’s arguably hard to remember now, seeing as she’s got EGOT status to her name, but Jennifer Hudson only placed sixth on American Idol.

On the debut of The Jennifer Hudson Show Monday, in their first sit down since her less-than-stellar performance, JHud chatted with Simon Cowell about that fateful elimination.

“That night, I will never forget,” said the tough-talking former Idol judge. “I was thinking, ‘Who chose stupid Barry Manilow Week?” Cowell said, rolling his eyes. “Wasn’t me!”

“It wasn’t my idea,” he insisted.

Hudson recalled the song she performed was “Weekend in New England,” about which Cowell recalled thinking, “Not a great song.”

“Not your fault,” he said.

Hudson then said Cowell “flipped the script” on her by asking her a deep question: “If you were going to go back in time, would you have changed the song, or kept things the way they were?”

Hudson said no: “Because that song led me to get Dreamgirls, hon.” Hudson won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the 2006 film.

Hudson explained, “By the time I was eliminated, I felt like I got an opportunity to display who I was as an artist, so I was OK with being eliminated.”

“And then once I was, I was like, ‘You know what? You’re walking away with your talent. You’re walking away with your gift.’ This competition may be over, but … your love and your drive isn’t.”

JHud added, “Too often people give up and think that’s the end of the road and I said, ‘No, I’ll be back. And I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I will sing my way to it.'”

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Is Ashley McBryde teasing a new album?

Is Ashley McBryde teasing a new album?
Is Ashley McBryde teasing a new album?
Erika Goldring/WireImage

Ashley McBryde may have a new album on the way. 

The New York Times reports that the singer’s new album is titled Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, centered around a fictional town filled with a cast of characters, including a woman who drives a red Corvette and a strip club that also plays gospel music. 

Ashley is giving fans a teaser of what’s to come by creating an Instagram post with a fake new story from the “Lindeville Gazette” newspaper about a man who accidentally burned down a Krystal restaurant after finding an ant on his table. The character was allegedly high at the time of the incident and had marijuana in his backpack.  

“This sounds like something that would happen where I grew up,” Ashley says in reference to her hometown of Saddle, Arkansas.

The album is said to feature collaborations with Brothers Osborne, newcomer Pillbox Patti and singer-songwriter Aaron Raitiere

Ashley’s last album, Never Will, was released in 2020 and featured the singles “Martha Divine” and “One Night Standards.” Earlier this year, she topped the charts with her duet with Carly Pearce, “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” 

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Yungblud announces 2023 US tour with The Regrettes

Yungblud announces 2023 US tour with The Regrettes
Yungblud announces 2023 US tour with The Regrettes
Dave Simpson/WireImage

Yungblud has announced a U.S. headlining tour for 2023.

The outing launches April 28 in Seattle, Washington and will wrap up July 25 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Regrettes will also be on the bill.

“Our biggest ever shows,” Yungblud declares. “I can’t wait to see you all.”

Tickets go on sale this Friday, September 16 at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit YungbludOfficial.com.

Yungblud will be touring in support of his new, self-titled album, which just debuted at the top of the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, giving him his second #1 record in his home country.

The Regrettes, meanwhile, released their latest effort, Further Joy, in April.

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Slipknot’s Corey Taylor & Jim Root “talking about doing some stuff on the side” following Stone Sour split

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor & Jim Root “talking about doing some stuff on the side” following Stone Sour split
Slipknot’s Corey Taylor & Jim Root “talking about doing some stuff on the side” following Stone Sour split
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Corey Taylor and Jim Root may once again unite outside of Slipknot.

The vocalist and the guitarist previously played together in Stone Sour. However, Root was fired from Stone Sour in 2014, though he and Taylor continued to be bandmates in Slipknot.

Speaking with Metal Hammer, Taylor shares that he and Root have recently “reconnected” and are “actually talking about doing some stuff on the side, outside of Slipknot and Stone Sour.”

“It’s cool to find your friend again and realize that you can find your way back to people that you care about,” Taylor says.

Reflecting on the Stone Sour split, Taylor muses that he and Root are “very different people” and that they were “both going through our own s*** in life” at the time.

“Honestly, I can’t sit here and say that I wasn’t responsible for some of the bad feelings,” Taylor says. “That can only come with self-reflection, and the fact that the things that were going on in my life rippled and affected other people. Once you own up to that, you can start to mend bridges by showing people that you are truly sorry.”

Stone Sour has released one album since Root’s departure, 2017’s Hydrograd, but has been on hiatus for the last couple years. Slipknot, meanwhile, will drop a new record, The End, So Far, on September 30.

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Aretha Franklin was tracked by the FBI due to her civil rights activism

Aretha Franklin was tracked by the FBI due to her civil rights activism
Aretha Franklin was tracked by the FBI due to her civil rights activism
Ross Marino/Getty Images

Newly unsealed documents reveal that the FBI tracked Aretha Franklin because she was involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

A 270-page document shows the FBI paid special attention to the Queen of Soul’s many performances for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference civil rights organization.

The shows for the SCLC took place in Atlanta and Memphis between 1967 and 1968 and were labeled as “communist infiltration” events.

The FBI also tracked a scheduled performance at a Black Panther Party event that Aretha eventually canceled.

Bobby Seale, Chairman of the Black Panther Party, has directed the Los Angeles Black Panther Party to initiate plans for a major rally culminating in free food distribution to the poor black people in Los Angeles,” the document reads. “Source also advised that Gwen Goodloe wanted to contact Negro singing stars Aretha Franklin and Roberta Flack to possibly assist in the event.”

The FBI also linked the 18-time Grammy winner to the Black Liberation Army after reportedly finding Franklin’s address in BLA’s organization documents.

The bureau called the BLA a “quasi-military group composed of small guerrilla units employing the tactics of urban guerrilla warfare against the established order with a view toward achieving revolutionary change in America.” Due to insufficient evidence, the FBI concluded that Franklin’s association with the BLA could not be determined.

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Vanilla Fudge’s remastered Led Zeppelin covers album due out later this month

Vanilla Fudge’s remastered Led Zeppelin covers album due out later this month
Vanilla Fudge’s remastered Led Zeppelin covers album due out later this month
Golden Robot Records

Vanilla Fudge has announced official details about the release of Vanilla Zeppelin, a newly remastered version of the group’s 2007 Led Zeppelin covers album, Out Through the In Door.

Vanilla Zeppelin will be released September 30 as a digital download and via streaming services and is available for preorder now.

The 12-track collection features renditions of various classic Led Zeppelin songs done in the style of Vanilla Fudge, with soaring keyboards and added soul and funk influences. The Vanilla Zeppelin album also boasts a brand-new cover design.

Three of the remastered songs from the album have already been released as advance digital tracks — “Rock and Roll,” “Ramble On” and “The Immigrant Song.” You can now watch the music video for “The Immigrant Song” on Golden Robot Records’ official YouTube channel.

In other news, Vanilla Fudge has confirmed a series of eight fall U.S. shows in the Northeast, which will run from a September 30 concert in Millville, New Jersey through a November 5 performance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Among the shows is a previously announced October 1 appearance at the prog rock-themed Sea of Tranquility Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York.

More shows will be added to band’s schedule soon. Visit VanillaFudge.com to check out the full itinerary.

Here’s the full Vanilla Zeppelin track list:

“Rock and Roll”
“Immigrant Song”
“Ramble On”
“Dancing Days”
“Black Mountain Side”
“Your Time Is Gonna Come”
“Dazed and Confused”
“Trampled Under Foot”
“Moby Dick”
“All of My Love ”
“Babe I’m Gonna Leave You ”
“Fool in the Rain ”

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