Olivia Rodrigo is about to head out on her first headline tour to support her record-breaking debut album, SOUR, but she’s already started work on its follow up.
Speaking to Billboard, Olivia reveals, “I have a title for my next album and a few songs. It’s really exciting to think about the next world that’s coming up for me. I just love writing songs. I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. [I want to] just sort of explore and have fun right now.”
Once again, Olivia’s working with Dan Nigro, with whom she co-wrote most of SOUR. Olivia notes, “The craziness of SOUR being out in the world was something that really only Dan and I could relate to, and I think that has brought us closer together. I trust him so much and really enjoy the music we’ve been making.”
As for pressure to follow up such a successful album, Olivia — whom Billboard has named its Woman of the Year — says, “It’s definitely a different experience writing a second album after having a debut that was so well received. I still write so much of my music in my bedroom though, and I don’t think that experience will ever change.
Olivia also shares what she feels was her most “pinch me” moment: going to the White House to meet President Biden and help promote the COVID-19 vaccine.
She says, “The whole time I was in the White House having this incredible experience, I was just thinking about how I got to do it because I wrote a bunch of songs in my bedroom!”
Foo Fighters are headed back to Austin City Limits.
The long-running PBS music performance series has booked Dave Grohl and company for a taping to air during its upcoming 48th season. The show will take place on April 27.
The Foos previously rocked the ACL stage twice before. Highlights from those shows were compiled into an hour-long ACL special, which premiered in 2021.
“I’m sure I can speak for every musician when I say that being asked to come play Austin City Limits is practically like getting a medal,” Grohl said at the time. “As a musician it’s something to aspire to and if you actually achieve that then you wear it like a badge.”
Other artists set to tape episodes for ACL‘s next season include Arlo Parks, Japanese Breakfast and Cimafunk.
In addition to their trip to ACL, Foo Fighters will be headed to the silver screen with their movie Studio 666, which premieres in theaters this Friday, February 25.
Coldplay has released a cover of the Kid Cudi song “Day ‘n’ Nite.”
Chris Martin and company recorded their spin on the tune for the Spotify Singles series.
“I loved when it came out, and I still love love love it,” Martin says of “Day ‘n’ Nite,” which was Cudi’s debut single.
“This is the first time I think that we’ve really taken proper time to record a cover, because in my head I could hear a version of it quite different from the original, that hopefully just reinforces what a brilliant song it is,” the “Fix You” singer continues. “One way or another I hope that anyone listening will just think, ‘Wow, Kid Cudi is amazing.'”
Coldplay’s Spotify Singles release also includes an acoustic version of the band’s song “Let Somebody Go” alongside Selena Gomez. The original track appears on Coldplay’s new album Music of the Spheres, and also features vocals from Gomez.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) While there were plenty of explosions in George Miller‘s Oscar-winning action epic Mad Max: Fury Road, a new book details some of the major fireworks were between stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.
The pair played, respectively, Max and Furiosa, who came to blows onscreen before ultimately teaming up to escape across the wasteland. However, their real-life relationship was no less volatile, according to New York Times columnist Kyle Buchanan‘s new bookBlood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.
According to excerpts from the U.K.’s Mirror, the pair clashed even before a frame was shot, and got into arguments so heated that a “threatened” Oscar winner Theron needed to be escorted at all times by a female producer on the project.
“It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand…I didn’t feel safe,” Theron says in the book.
One exchange saw Theron, now 46, exploding about her 44-year-old co-star’s reported tardiness on set. “She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, ‘Fine the f***ing c*** a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,'” recalls cinematographer Mark Goellnicht.
“…[H]e charged up to her up and went, ‘What did you say to me?’ Goellnicht added.
Hardy seems to take the blame: “In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways,” he admitted.
“The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me.”
The Venom series star added, “I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”
Florida Georgia Line may be taking a break as a duo while Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley pursue solo endeavors, but their Nashville honky tonk is still going strong.
And should you find yourself bellying up to the bar at FGL House, you might want to make it a point to order Sandi’s Queso. You see, the recipe that combines “queso blanco, New Mexico green chiles, and ancho peppers,” served alongside yellow corn tortillas, comes from Sandi Spika Borchetta herself.
Ms. Spika first came to fame in the ’90s as Reba McEntire‘s stylist, known for crafting some of the country icon’s biggest hairdos and most famous looks, including Reba’s notorious figure-baring CMA Awards red dress. Now that she’s Mrs. Scott Borchetta, Sandi helps lead the creative vision at Big Machine, the label her husband founded.
By all accounts, Sandi’s Queso is pretty tasty, too.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of Arbery’s death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding his death.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, announced that the non-profit will offer six $3,000 scholarships for higher education opportunities to seniors from Arbery’s former high school.
“Nothing will bring my son back, but I know that God wants us to repurpose the pain, my pain into service to make life better for other young men,” Cooper-Jones said at an event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
She added, “It is my honor to serve others in this way in recognition of my son’s life.”
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 to be Ahmaud Arbery Day.
“The state of Georgia honors one of the most distinguished citizens,” said state representative Sandra G. Scott at the Wednesday event as she read the resolution. “Mr. Arbery was a loving son, brother of Jasmine Arbery, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend who left an impact on countless Georgians and Americans.”
She continued, “A compassionate and generous man, Mr. Arbery will long be remembered for his love of family and community.”
They encouraged communities to “run with ‘Maud,” by running 2.23 miles annually on this day, as a call for racial justice and equity in honor of Ahmaud who was killed while jogging.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers on Tuesday.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of his death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding Arbery’s death.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day. Several events have been planned throughout the city by friends, family and local leaders to honor his memory.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will hold a private event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, at 10:30 a.m. where the organization will announce plans to foster “positivity” in light of the tragic killing.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations of justice outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick.. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
Fans lucky enough to get up-close-and-personal with Keith Urban and Dolly Parton often attest that both smell positively otherworldly.
While the Aussie heartthrob has politely declined to share his aromatic secrets, we know considerably more about the origins of Dolly’s “smell-good,” as they say in the South — especially these days.
Fans have long speculated that the superstar from East Tennessee wears a combination of the luxury fragrance brand Tova Beverly Hills, mixed with a discontinued scent by Mary Kay — one she was rumored to have bought copious amounts of, upon its demise.
These days, it’s much more likely Dolly’s sporting her own Scent from Above, which combines fruits and florals with notes of fir and musk.
You can order Scent from Above online, or find it in some Walmart stores, where it’ll run you about 40 dollars for a couple ounces. Alternately, you can check out the theme song Dolly wrote for her fragrance, for free.
Members of the rock community have been sharing their tributes to Mark Lanegan following the news Tuesday that the Screaming Trees frontman and Queens of the Stone Age collaborator had passed away at age 57.
The Screaming Trees Facebook shared a post mourning Lanegan as “our true brother.”
“We all truly loved him,” the post reads. “As we say goodbye to Mark, a member of our family, remember he still lives with us all in his music.”
The Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli, who frequently worked with Lanegan and released an album with him as The Gutter Twins, simply posted a photo of the two of them together.
Here are some of the other reactions:
Iggy Pop: “Mark Lanegan, RIP, deepest respect for you. Your fan, Iggy Pop.”
Lamb of God‘s Mark Morton: “I am so profoundly grateful to have had the chance to make music & become friends with Mark Lanegan. Few artists ever achieve the level of honesty & authenticity that he did. He was absolutely brilliant. Godspeed my friend.”
Ex-New Order and Joy Division bassist Peter Hook: “Mark Lanegan was a lovely man. He led a wild life that some of us could only dream of. He leaves us with fantastic words and music! Thank god that through all of that he will live forever. RIP Mark. Sleep well. Love Hooky.”
Garbage: “Terribly saddened to hear the news of the passing of Mark Lanegan. A very gifted artist blessed with honey dipped tones, gone far too soon.”
Shinedown‘s Brent Smith: “My heart truly aches today, as we have lost an incredible artist…An undeniable pioneer in the late 1980s and early 1990s grunge era, and beyond. A poet, singer, songwriter, author, and creative genius, with a voice like no other. Bless you Sir, and thank you.”
Interested in imitating the swagger of Brett Young? It may be easier than you think.
The West Coast native calls his signature style Caliville, a mix of his West Coast roots and his life in Nashville today. It’s also the name of clothing line at Kohl’s, which you can find both online and in stores.
The latest collection features about twenty items, mainly t-shirts, hoodies, and jogging pants, often with music or ocean-themed embellishments. They won’t break the bank, either: Suggested retail ranges from 25 to 60 dollars — and much less when they’re on sale.
If you’re more interested in the musical side of the “Mercy” hitmaker, you can check out his new video for “You Didn’t” now.
