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New Music Friday: Kehlani, Wale, Giveon, Pooh Shiesty and more

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

From music by newly-signed artists to long-awaited R&B collections and projects from hip hip vets, check out this week’s New Music Friday for the culture’s latest & greatest in music.

— Kehlani, Blue Water Road — The Oakland singer delivered what they call “a destination in my mind” with their third studio album. The fun, upbeat jams mixed with the calm R&B tracks contribute to singer’s emotionally vulnerable body of work.

— Wale, More About Nothing — Hip hop’s most poetic rapper announced the beloved 2010 mixtape is now available for streaming. With hits like “The Breakup Song” and “Ambitious Girl,” fans were excited for the DSP release.

— Casey Veggies, Since Y’all Forgot — It’s been a good minute since the Inglewood, CA rapper dropped off some music. The new five-track E.P. is a reminder of his catchy rap abilities and West Coast flow.

— Pooh Shiesty, Shiesty Season: Certified — Despite his recent prison sentence, the 1017 rapper released a second Shiesty Season deluxe album, with eight new tracks and features including Gucci Mane and Lil Uzi Vert.

—Giveon, “Lie Again“ — After announcing the new make-up-to-break-up single last week, the R&B sensation delivered his latest track, which is said to address the relationship issues with ex-girlfriend, singer Justine Skye.

Hits in Heavy Rotation

— Jack Harlow, First Class“

— Gunna, “Banking On Me“

— Latto ft. Lil Waye & Childish Gambino, “Sunshine”

— Kay Flock w/ Cardi B & Dougie B ft. Bory 300, “Shake It”

— Lizzo, “About Damn Time“

— J. Brown ft. Tank, “Don’t Rush“

Artist on the Rise

Lil Poppa is a 22-year-old rapper from Jacksonville, Florida who recently signed to Yo Gotti‘s CMG record label. He captured hip hop’s attention for his melodic, street-oriented sensibilities, today releasing his first album with CMG, called “Under Investigation 3.”

Scooter Braun calls out Taylor Swift for “weaponizing” her fan base

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Scooter Braun has offered his side of the story about his bad blood with Taylor Swift.

To recap, Scooter acquired Taylor’s former record company, Big Machine, in June of 2019 — and, by extension, ownership of her master recordings up until her album Reputation. The same day the deal was announced, Taylor lamented in an emotional Tumblr post that the buyout was her “worst case scenario” and accused Braun of being a manipulative bully.

Taylor has subsequently been famously re-recording her Big Machine album catalog in an attempt to reclaim ownership of her masters, while Braun has since sold the rights to Taylor’s first six albums for a reported $300 million+.

Now, Braun is sharing his perspective on what happened. He told MSNBC, “The person who owned Taylor’s masters throughout her career was not myself, and when I was buying a record label, I actually said to that group, ‘If at any point she wants to come back and be a part of this conversation, please let me know because I wouldn’t do this deal.”

“I was shown an email, which has now been made public now, where she stated that she wanted to move on that negotiation and wasn’t interested in doing that deal anymore,” he continued. Taylor claimed at the time that she was never offered the opportunity to purchase her masters outright, without additional contractual obligations.

Talking about Taylor’s attempt to regain ownership of her music, Braun said, “I think Taylor has every right to re-record. She has every right to pursue her masters, and I wish her nothing but well, and I have zero interest in saying anything bad about her.”

“I’ve never said anything bad about her in the past, and I won’t start to now,” he added. “The only thing I disagree with is weaponizing a fan base.” As previously reported, Braun said in a since-deleted Instagram post that Taylor’s fans were sending death threats to his family.

After declining her nomination, Dolly Parton now says she’ll “accept gracefully” if voted into the Rock Hall

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Dolly Parton is currently on the ballot for potential inclusion in this year’s class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, despite a statement she made last month requesting that her nomination be withdrawn. Now, she’s changed her mind.

In her bid to remove herself from the running, Dolly explained that she didn’t feel she’d earned the right to be considered, despite being “extremely flattered and grateful.” She did say that the nomination had inspired her to release a rock album one day, and she hoped the Hall would be open to considering her again in the future, after she’d created more of a body of work in the rock genre.

But the Hall soon countered to say that Dolly would stay on the ballot, despite her wishes.

“From its inception, Rock and Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture,” read a statement released by the institution.

In a new interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Dolly now says that she misunderstood the scope of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, underscoring that she didn’t want to take votes away from any other nominees who are more firmly rooted in the rock genre.

“I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there’s more to it than that,” she noted.

In the light of the Hall’s response, though, Dolly says she’ll “accept gracefully” if inducted. “I would just say thanks and I’ll accept it because the fans vote,” she went on to say.

Dolly is one of 17 nominees up for possible induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Nothing More premieres new song, “Tired of Winning”

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Nothing More has premiered a new song called “Tired of Winning.”

In a statement about the track’s inspiration, frontman Jonny Hawkins says, “We find ourselves in the same position humanity has found itself over and over again…at the end of a series of self made problems.”

“When we wake up to this, we realize that we are our own worst enemy, yet we focus so much of our energy on externalizing our problems,” Hawkins says. “This song is a bird’s eye view of human nature.”

You can listen to “Tired of Winning” now via digital outlets. Its accompanying video is streaming now on YouTube.

“Tired of Winning” is the first official single off of Nothing More’s next album, the follow-up to 2017’s Grammy-nominated The Stories We Tell Ourselves. It follows the previously released track “Turn It Up Like (Stand in the Fire).”

Nothing More will launch a U.S. tour alongside Asking Alexandria May 13 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Queen’s Brian May premieres new music video for title track of recently reissued 1998 solo album, ‘Another World’

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Following the recent release of the deluxe reissue of his second solo album, 1998’s Another World, Queen guitarist Brian May has debuted a new music video for the record’s title track at his official YouTube channel.

The clip was shot recently at various locations in the Canary Islands, where Brian says he feels “closest to Heaven.”

May originally wrote “Another World” for the Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors, but the song wasn’t used in the movie because of contractual issues. The tune was inspired by the film’s plot, which looks at how someone’s life might change if one small incident happens differently.

Brian explains that “Another World” “is all about how things might be in a parallel universe.” He admits that he “was kind of heartbroken” about the song not being used in the movie, but notes that “it became the pivot around which my album revolved.”

May says among the sites he visited for the “Another World” video were “the IAC observatories of Tenerife, and La Palma, where the biggest telescope in the world sits… [and] the beautiful small island of El Hierro, where lives the tree that adorns the front cover of this album.”

The Canary Islands hold great sentimental value to Brian, because, prior to joining Queen, he studied astronomy at the Observatorio El Teide in Tenerife. He later completed his PhD degree and was awarded a doctorate in astrophysics in 2007.

Reflecting on his Canary Islands visit, May says, “This beautiful place above the clouds is where I did the observing work for my PhD. And this is where I used to steal outside under the stars, with a small acoustic guitar, and strum away and sing, and, I guess, commune with the Cosmos!”

The Another World reissue is available now in multiple formats.

Stars of Hulu’s new teen rom-com ‘Crush’ hope the film gives you butterflies

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Remember that first-crush feeling? Hulu’s new teen rom-com Crush aims to capture it.

The movie stars Rowan Blanchard as Paige, an aspiring artist with an all-consuming crush on her popular classmate Gabriela, played by Love, Victor‘s Isabella Ferreira. But after a misunderstanding at school forces her to join the track team, Paige finds herself getting closer to Gabriella’s sporty twin sister, AJ.

Auli’i [owl-LEE-ee] Cravalho, who identifies as bisexual and plays the bisexual AJ, tells ABC Audio she was drawn to the story’s relatable take on queer love, thanks to a mostly queer-identifying cast and crew.

“It was a really safe space to play and also I think that’s why the voice that I heard when reading the script and what we put on screen is so vivid and genuine,” the Moana star says. “It’s because there was representation in front of the camera and behind it.”

That authenticity is something fans will surely appreciate as well, with reaction to the film’s core love triangle already buzzing on social media.

“We’ve already been getting tagged in edits, like video edits — Team Gabby, Team AJ, Team Whatever…” Ferreira says. “And I think it’s so sweet and it’s so cute, because that’s kind of the outcome that we wanted. We wanted people to really love the film.”

Blanchard has similar hopes for the film, telling ABC Audio, “I just really hope that it makes people feel that butterfly feeling of when you have a crush on somebody for the first time.”

Crush, also starring Megan Mullally, Michelle Buteau and Aasif Mandvi, debuts on Hulu this Friday, April 29.

Even more ‘Famous Friends’: Chris Young’s deluxe project has collabs with Old Dominion, Jimmie Allen

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Chris Young hit paydirt with his massively successful 2021 album, Famous Friends, and he’s not done with that musical chapter just yet. On Friday, the singer announced the deluxe version of the project, with six new songs.

Collaborations were a huge part of the original album: In particular, the title track — a duet with Kane Brown — soared to number-one on the country chart and became the most-played song on country radio that year.

So of course, Famous Friends (Deluxe Edition) will deliver even more team-ups. Chris’ new material includes duets with Old Dominion and Jimmie Allen, plus an acoustic version of “Think of You,” the singer’s hit duet with Cassadee Pope from 2016.

Another big hit from Chris’ past, “I’m Coming Over,” gets the acoustic treatment on the deluxe album, and he’ll round out the project with two new solo songs.

Chris’ Old Dominion collaboration, called “Everybody Needs a Song,” is out now. Famous Friends (Deluxe Edition) will come out in full on June 3.

New music Friday: MAX, Gavin DeGraw, Khalid and more

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

It’s Friday! Let’s see who’s out with new tunes.

MAX is out with “Gucci Bag,” a smooth track that is reminiscent of steamy 70s love songs. “I was writing with my friends… and we hit a wall creatively, so we decided to loop a beat we worked on while we played Catan for two hours,” MAX says of how the song came to be. “I had this title ‘Gucci Bag’ in mind as a metaphor for feeling really confident and, midway through the game, inspiration hit and I grabbed the mic and sang this chorus.”

Gavin DeGraw released “Summertime,” the latest track off his forthcoming album, Face the River. The nostalgic track is Gavin’s love letter to his childhood memories of growing up in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

Khalid wants you to get ready for summer with “Skyline.” He said of the hypnotic track, “‘Skyline,’ to me is a recharge and full of summer vibes. I hope it brings my fans joy and gets them through any dark times they may be going through.” He also released the feel-good music video that sees him and his friends enjoying life.

It’s been three years since we’ve heard from her, but American Idol winner Maddie Poppe just dropped a disco-inspired track called “One That Got Away.” Another Idol winner, David Cook, has a new song, “TABOS,” which stands for “This’ll All Be Over Soon.” Both will appear on The Great Idol Reunion May 2 on ABC.

“Ghost Town” singer Benson Boone returns with “In the Stars,” which is about reminiscing about those who’re gone. Boone wrote this song in the memory of his great grandmother, adding, “This song is about all the beautiful memories that we hope to keep from our passed loved ones.”

Luke Bryan sets his six-date Farm Tour 2022 for this September

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Luke Bryan’s annual Farm Tour will be back for its 13th year this fall. The country superstar just announced the dates and lineup for 2022.

Kicking off in Indiana on September 15, the Farm Tour will hit small towns in Ohio, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa before wrapping with a stop in Eyota, Minnesota. Riley Green will join the bill for four of the six dates, and Jameson Rodgers and the Peach Pickers make up the rest of the Farm Tour lineup.

“I look forward to these shows every year mainly because of the meaning behind them and why it was important to me to start the Farm Tour 13 years ago,” Luke reflects. “It has allowed communities who don’t normally get a concert in their areas to experience a fun night in their backyard all while lifting up the American farmer.”

Tickets for the 2022 Farm Tour go on sale May 5; Members of Luke’s Nut House fan club will have access to a special pre-sale starting May 2.

Bill Burr defends former ‘Mandalorian’ co-star Gina Carano

April 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NOTE LANGUAGE, CONTENT) To The Hollywood Reporter, stand-up comic Bill Burr talked about his career, his upcoming fifth Netflix stand-up special, Live at Red Rocks, cancel culture, and the firing of his former Mandalorian co-star, Gina Carano.

The outspoken comedian and actor won raves for playing jaded former Imperial sharpshooter Migs Mayfeld on The Mandalorian.

While speaking highly of the Disney+ show, he became “despondent,” the trade explains. “That makes me think of Gina. How cool she was as a person…”

Carano played Cara Dune on the show for two seasons. The former MMA fighter was set to star in her own spin-off series, but was fired by Lucasfilm in 2021 following controversial political posts, including supporting former President Donald Trump‘s false election fraud narrative, and comparing the online quashing of conservative political views to Nazism.

When asked if her firing was fair, Burr replied flatly, “No.”

He added, “The whole thing with Gina…That somebody’s opinion — or their political beliefs — makes people try to destroy their ability to make a living, it’s f**king bizarre to me.”

Burr adds, “…Meanwhile, there are people who get paroled from prison every day who have done so much worse and they’re allowed to put their lives back together.”

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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