From hot hip-hop collabs to albums by TV entertainers and gospel hits, check out this week’s New Music Friday for the culture’s latest & greatest in music.
—Dreezy & Hit-Boy, HitGirl— The Chicago MC joined forces with the Grammy-winning producer to deliver the highly anticipated 10-track project with features from Jeremih, Coi Leray, Ink & Future.
—Nick Cannon, The Explicit Tape: Raw&B — The TV host returns to music with his first full project since White People Party Music in 2014. As noted in the title, the explicit 14-track project boasts features from fellow R&B stars Brandy, K. Michelle and Jacquees.
—The Walls Group, “Crazy” — This rising gospel group of four siblings from Texas released their latest single, “crazy.” They recently performed the upbeat, energetic track at the 2022 Trumpet Awards.
—Quavo & Takeoff, “Hotel Lobby” — It’s Migos minus one-third of its members, Offset. The uncle-nephew duo released their first collaboration, produced by Murda Beatz, under the new moniker Unc and Phew.
—Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin ft. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore, “Kingdom” — It’s the first single off the upcoming Kingdom Book One album expected June 17, which will follow the Kingdom Tour set to kick off June 1 in Miami.
Ar’mon & Treyrose to social media fame due to their viral R&B covers and original music. While they’ve gained success as a pair, the brothers recently began marketing themselves as solo artists.
Lainey Wilson returns Friday, May 20, with “Heart Like a Truck,” her next single and the first new music since her breakout debut album, Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’, came out in early 2021.
Her new song is a road-weary but still hopeful anthem for anyone who’s gotten back up after heartbreak and disappointment. Lainey says the song also takes cues from her experience of climbing up the ladder to country music success.
“These past few months have been such a whirlwind, but man, it was quite the journey to get here,” Lainey says. Her last two singles have both topped the country charts, but she’s no overnight success: Early on, she worked as a Hannah Montana impersonator to pay the bills.
“Miley wasn’t playing when she said, ‘It’s about the climb,’ because it really is what builds character and teaches you the most about yourself,” Lainey says, nodding to her early days playing Miley Cyrus’ famous Disney Channel character.
“‘Heart Like a Truck’ is all about self-discovery, growth and embracing scars as badges of honor,” she adds. “After all, a truck that has hit a few bumps and earned some scratches has proved itself and its tenacity — the shiny one on the lot can’t say that.”
To go along with her new single, Lainey released a music video that showcases her horsemanship. While Lainey’s been riding horses since she was a kid, she says that playing a character in a music video was a new step for her and made her a little nervous.
“It ended up being such a creatively fulfilling and thrilling experience,” she adds.
Def Leppard has released a new advance single from their forthcoming studio album, Diamond Star Halos, a rocking, stadium-ready, riff-laden tune called “Fire It Up.”
The track is available now via digital platforms, and you also can check a visualizer video for the song at Def Leppard’s official YouTube channel.
Thursday, May 26, at 9 a.m. ET, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will premiere a music video for “Fire It Up” on YouTube. Following the clip’s debut, Def Leppard will take part in an exclusive afterparty, where the band members will discuss the new album.
For more information on how to join the afterparty, visit YouTube.
As previously reported, Diamond Star Halos will be released on Friday, May 27. The 15-track collection is the band’s first album of new, original tunes since 2015’s self-titled effort. It can be preordered now and will be available as a deluxe package, a two-LP set and digitally, among other configurations.
Diamond Star Halos includes two duets with acclaimed country/bluegrass artist and longtime Def Leppard fan Alison Krauss — “This Guitar” and “Lifeless.” In addition, famed David Bowie pianist Mike Garson plays on two songs — “Goodbye for Good This Time” and “Angels (Can’t Help You Now).”
Def Leppard debuted two other advance tracks from the album prior to “Fire It Up” — “Kick” and “Take What You Want” — and also released a music video for “Kick.”
Diamond Star Halos arrives a few weeks before Def Leppard’s expansive 36-city Stadium Tour of North America with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The trek gets underway June 16 in Atlanta and is mapped out through a September 9 concert in Las Vegas.
Dio‘s Holy Diver is being reissued in honor of what would’ve been the late Ronnie James Dio‘s 80th birthday.
The set will arrive on July 8, two days before Dio would’ve hit the big 8-0 on July 10. It will come in two editions: the first features a new mix of the original record by engineer and producer Joe Barresi, who’s previously worked with the bands Tool, Queens of the Stone Age and Slipknot; the second, dubbed the “Super Deluxe” edition, consists of the Barresi mix and a remastered version of the original Holy Diver mix, plus various bonus tracks, including live recordings, outtakes and rarities.
Holy Diver, Dio’s debut album with his namesake band, was released in 1983 after he left Black Sabbath a year earlier. In addition to spawning the classic title track, the double-Platinum Holy Diver features one of the most metal album covers of all time.
Dio passed away in May 2010 from stomach cancer. He was 67.
In Tate McRae‘s new video for her song “what would you do?” she commits a crime that puts her face on the TV news — but it’s all just a revenge fantasy.
In the clip, Tate is working as a valet at a fancy, star-studded night spot and is treated badly by the customers. So when a jerk pulls up in a classic muscle car and rudely tosses her the keys, she takes them — and then takes the car on a joyride through the city.
Stopping at a wig shop, Tate sees that she’s on TV with the headline “Valet steals car,” but the shop owner doesn’t care. In fact, she fixes Tate up with a new outfit and a purple wig. Tate returns to the nightspot, strides in on the red carpet, finds the car owner and drops his keys in his drink. She storms out, just as the wig shop owner pulls up in a convertible. Tate hops in and they drive away.
Then, Tate snaps back to reality: It was all in her imagination. As the credits roll, we hear a snippet of one of Tate’s other new songs, “don’t come back.”
Both “what would you do?” — co-written by Tate, Charlie Puth and Alexander 23 — and “don’t come back” appear on Tate’s debut album, i used to think i could fly, which arrives May 27.
After teasing a new solo chapter for several weeks, Tyler Hubbard finally introduced fans to his first single as a solo artist Friday. Called “5 Foot 9,” it’s a mid-tempo, earthy celebration of all of life’s simple joys.
In the first verse of the song, Tyler rattles off all the things he’s grateful for — good music, good whiskey and country roads to ride along — and all the people responsible for creating them.
But the very best part of life is having a partner to share it with, he continues, and the only one that could have made a love story so perfect is God himself.
“God makes 5 foot 9, brown eyes and a sundress / Loves Tim McGraw and a small town accent,” he sings in the chorus. “Ain’t no way that me and this truck made her fall in love / Jack makes good whiskey, but God makes the good stuff.”
In a statement, Tyler — who co-wrote the song with The Cadillac Three’s Jaren Johnston and Chase McGill — says that he wrote “5 Foot 9” as a reminder about the importance of perspective.
“As much as the song talks about real-life stuff like whiskey, country music, dirt roads and rain, I want listeners to be reminded that God really does make the good stuff,” he notes. “For me, over the last couple of years, I’ve really been reminded of that.”
“5 Foot 9” is the first new song off Tyler’s upcoming solo album.
(NEW YORK) — Following the nation’s latest COVID-19 resurgence, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday that it is “strengthening” its recommendation for Americans over the age of 12 who are immunocompromised, and those over the age of 50, to receive their second booster shot.
“Over the past month we have seen steady increases in cases, with a steep and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans. While older Americans have the highest coverage of any age group of first booster doses, most older Americans received their last dose (either their primary series or their first booster dose) many months ago, leaving many who are vulnerable without the protection they may need to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death,” the CDC wrote.
“Whether it is your first booster, or your second, if you haven’t had a vaccine dose since the beginning of December 2021 and you are eligible, now is the time to get one,” officials said.
During the meeting of the CDC’s independent advisory committee for immunization recommendations on Thursday, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also re-emphasized the importance of older Americans getting boosted, given concerns over waning immunity amid the nation’s latest COVID-19 surge.
“Only 38% of those 50 to 64 and 43% of those 65 and older have received a vaccine dose in the past six months. This leaves about 60% of older Americans without the protection they may need to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death,” Walensky said. “We know immunity wanes over time, and we need to do all we can now to protect those most vulnerable.”
According to CDC data, since second booster doses were authorized in mid-March, a total of 12.4 million Americans have received their second booster. Nearly 12 million — 11.8 million — of those who have received second boosters are people over the age of 50, and 8.4 million of them are over the age of 65.
Although more than 90% of seniors have been fully vaccinated, a third of them have yet to receive their first COVID booster, the CDC found.
A recent ABC News analysis of federal data found that a growing proportion of COVID-19 deaths are occurring among the vaccinated.
The increase in breakthrough deaths comes as a growing proportion of older Americans enter the hospital for COVID-19-related care.
Following the vaccination of high-risk, older populations, in the winter and spring of 2021, the share of Americans ages 65 years and older in the hospital had dipped to a pandemic low — with younger populations representing the largest shares of people requiring care.
However, in recent months, as the omicron surge became dominant, the average age of those in the hospital with COVID-19 has steadily become older, once again.
More than 55% of those currently hospitalized with COVID-19 are over the age of 65, CDC data shows, representing the highest percentage of seniors receiving care since the onset of the pandemic.
In addition, despite overall high initial vaccination rates reported among older populations, during the omicron surge, nearly three-quarters of confirmed COVID-19 deaths have been among those 65 and older.
During an interview with CBS News, earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that there has been an increase in the number of vaccinated people who are dying of COVID-19, many of whom are elderly, immunocompromised, or have underlying conditions.
“There are vaccinated people who get infected, some of whom go on to severe disease and death. Those are very heavily weighted towards the elderly and those with underlying conditions, those whose immune system is compromised for one reason or another, either through underlying disease or medications that they’re on,” Fauci said.
“As long as you have vulnerable people in the population, even though the unvaccinated are going to be much more at risk, even vaccinated with underlying conditions and a high degree of susceptibility to severe disease will account for those deaths,” Fauci added.
The push to get older Americans boosted comes despite a previously posted recommendation, published by the CDC last week, which states that people could consider waiting to get their second booster, if they have had COVID-19 in the last three months, or if getting the shot now would dissuade them from getting a shot in the fall or in the future.
“A second booster may be more important in fall of 2022, or if a new vaccine for a future COVID-19 variant becomes available,” the CDC says on its website.
During an interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America on Friday, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told George Stephanopoulos that older Americans should not wait to get the second booster or feel deterred about the possibility of having to get another shot in the fall.
“We have a lot of infection out there right now, and what I am recommending to basically everybody over 50 is given how much infection there is given that extra layer of protection that the second booster offers, that there’s no reason to wait,” Jha said. “People should go out and get that second shot and we’ll see where things are in the fall, and if people need additional, we’ll manage it at that point.”
(NEW YORK) — New York’s political scene — upended this week by a newly drawn congressional map — got even more interesting Friday with an announcement from former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Today I’m declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th Congressional District of New York,” de Blasio said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
The new district will span from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, including de Blasio’s neighborhood of Park Slope, if the map is approved as expected by a state judge on Friday.
“The poll shows people are hurting,” de Blasio told Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough. “They need help, they need help fast, and they need leaders who could actually get them help now and know how to do it.”
De Blasio’s run for a House seat comes after two terms as mayor and a failed presidential bid in 2020. He also considered a run for governor earlier this year but ultimately decided not to challenge sitting Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Instead, he said at the time would devote “every fiber” of himself to fight inequality in New York.
He tweeted Friday morning that “the way to save democracy is be part of it.”
At least one other Democrat will be competing against de Blasio for the nomination. State Sen. Brad Hoylman told THE CITY this week he’ll be campaigning in the new 10th District barring any more changes from the court.
But more are reportedly considering jumping into the race. Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou’s team said this week she’s been approached by community leaders to run in the new district, and that she’s “seriously considering” it.
New York’s current 10th Congressional District is represented by House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler. But thanks to the new map, Nadler is running in a new district against House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney.
The new map also pits Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, against first-term progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the situation “chaos” on Thursday, while Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said the map would “make Jim Crow blush” since it splintered several historically Black neighborhoods.
The new districts were unveiled earlier this week by a court-appointed expert after the New York Court of Appeals in April charged the legislature of improperly gerrymandering the map they originally proposed.
New Yorkers also now have to wait until August to vote in the primary elections for Congress, rather than picking their party’s nominees in June, because of the redistricting process.
Two stops on the One More HAIM tour will be happening at another HAIM — er, time.
According to the Cincinnati, Ohio, Andrew J Brady Music Center, where the sister trio was scheduled to play Thursday, the band’s touring party is going through a “COVID-19 outbreak.” The show has since been moved to May 29.
“Everyone is doing well, resting up, and they can’t wait to be in Cincinnati with you all later this month,” the venue says.
Additionally, HAIM’s concert at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, which was originally scheduled for Friday, May 20, has been postponed to September 21.
The One More HAIM tour, which is supporting HAIM’s 2020 album Women in Music Pt. III, launched in April. It’s currently set to continue Sunday, May 22, in Wilmington, North Carolina.
(NEW YORK) — Advocates on both sides of the political fight over reproductive rights have spoken out, either in protest or applause of a draft Supreme Court opinion leaked earlier this month that, if it stands, would overturn the court’s landmark decision on Roe v. Wade.
While much of corporate America has remained quiet about the potential legal bombshell, some companies have taken a public stance and adopted new policies that expand employees’ access to abortions.
Several corporations including Amazon and Starbucks have announced expanded health benefits to pay for travel fees incurred by workers seeking an abortion if the procedure is unavailable near where they live, as employees in states like Oklahoma and South Dakota face the prospect of stronger abortion restrictions.
“Like many of you, I’m deeply concerned by the draft Supreme Court opinion related to the constitutional right to abortion that was first established by Roe v. Wade,” Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ acting executive vice president for employee resources, said Monday in a memo to employees.
“When actions impact your access to health care, we will work on a way to make sure you feel supported,” she added.
Meanwhile, rideshare companies Lyft and Uber have vowed to provide legal support for drivers if they face lawsuits for driving passengers to get an abortion.
Experts on corporate responsibility told ABC News that companies are often reluctant to take a position on such a polarizing issue.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management at Yale University who convenes meetings with top CEOs on social issues, told ABC News many of the corporations that introduced policy changes are in the tech sector, where employees tend to be young and liberal.
“Companies that take a stand on a highly divisive political issue like this one can get in trouble with some stakeholders,” Sandra Waddock, a professor at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College who specializes in corporate responsibility, told ABC News. “But companies implementing these policies don’t want their employees to be harmed, and it probably makes sense to make sure their employees are happy.”
An analysis from the Guttmacher Institute in October found that 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe. On Thursday, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill that would ban abortion at conception, making it the most restrictive abortion ban in the country if it becomes law.
In addition to Starbucks and Amazon, Yelp, Tesla, Citigroup, Apple and Salesforce in recent weeks expanded abortion coverage for employees to include costs for travel when necessary.
Mastercard on Wednesday joined them as the latest major company to say it would cover the travel costs of employees leaving their home state to seek an abortion, which Bloomberg first reported and the company confirmed to ABC News.
In a message to employees shared with ABC News, Mastercard warned of the prospect that the court will overturn previous rulings on access to reproductive health care. The company added: “We will continue to offer employees access to the same health care, including family planning and reproductive benefits, that is available today wherever they live.”
The new company policies drew support from abortion rights advocates and criticism from those who are anti-abortion.
Nadia Khamis, director of corporate engagement at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told ABC News that the organization is “really encouraged to see a large influx of companies publicizing how they’re responding to the potential threat to Roe.”
The need to ensure access to reproductive services for employees is not only a human rights imperative but a business one, Khamis said.
“If you’re a company that cares about being competitive and wants to recruit diverse, smart, productive people,” Khamis said, “they need equal access to health care, and abortion is essential.”
But the new policies drew sharp rebuke from David O’Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee, an anti-abortion organization. O’Steen said the policies would help employees at the companies pursue abortions. Further, in contrast with Khamis, he said the moves would undermine the companies’ business objectives.
“These companies are formed to produce a product and make a profit for investors,” O’Steen told ABC News. “Not to fly people across the country to have abortions. It’s a terrible business decision.”
The corporate policy changes following the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion mark the latest effort by companies to respond when a major political development embroils the country.
Three years ago, more than 180 CEOs — including those at Twitter and Warby Parker — signed an open letter that opposed restrictive abortion laws at the state level.
In the days following the death of George Floyd, in May 2020, companies across corporate America put out statements in support of racial justice and made donations to advocacy organizations that fight racial inequality.
Last April, as state legislatures pursued restrictive voting laws, hundreds of companies and executives signed a letter opposing “any discriminatory legislation” that limits access to the ballot box.
Sonnenfeld, the professor of management at Yale University, told ABC News that a comparatively small number of companies have spoken out in response to the draft Supreme Court opinion on Roe because they’re assessing whether employees, investors and other stakeholders want such a move.
“There has been a bigger stampede on other issues,” Sonnenfeld said. “Quite a number of CEOs are waiting to make sure they’re not getting out in front of their constituencies.”
