Kayne West once called himself “Young Putin,” and now he reportedly plans to travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

Yeezy also wants to hold his Sunday Service in Moscow, according to Billboard. West’s strategic advisor, Ameer Sudan, is planning the trip, and says, “Russia is going to be ‘a second home’ for Ye. He will be spending a lot of time out there.” Kanye will apparently explore business and musical opportunities in the country.

The Sunday Service shows will be Ye’s first performances in Russia, and he plans to invite Putin to attend as a special guest.

The 22-time Grammy winner also debuted the black-and-white video for “Heaven and Hell” from his Donda album Monday night during the broadcast of the College Football Playoff national championship game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama. Georgia won, 33-15.

The clip shows a dark, impoverished society filled with people wearing black hoodies and the face-obscuring masks Kanye wore during his Donda listening events. On the broadcast, the video segued into a promo for Ye’s Yeezy Gap fashion line and the hoodies worn in the video.

As previously reported, Netflix released a teaser on Monday for a three-part Kanye West documentary titled jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy that will debut February 16 on the streaming platform. The doc’s first act, Vision, will be shown in theaters nationwide on February 10 for a one-day engagement.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Charlie Puth consoled a fellow TikToker who was rejected from The Juilliard School and shared some inspiring life advice about rejection.

TikTok user Axel Webber, who amassed over 58 million likes on the video sharing platform, revealed on Monday he had been rejected from the prestigious performing arts institution and has “to find a different way to be an actor.”

Axel’s determination inspired Charlie to reach out with his own experience being rejected from Juilliard through a series of comments and explained, “Things ended up being just fine for me. I cried too. But you don’t necessarily need a prestigious school to be considered prestigious at what you do.”

“Some of the best music has been made by people who don’t even play an instrument. And some of the best actors also never went to Julliard [sic]. Also FYI I didn’t get into 3 of the major music schools I wanted to go to and I also got rejected from America’s Got Talent,” the Grammy nominee continued. “You are going to be ok I promise. Please don’t be too hard on yourself. These moments define us.”

Charlie then took to his personal TikTok with a message for “anyone that has experienced rejection,” saying that he failed to get into “five of these prestigious schools that I wanted to get into and thought would better my career.” 

The “One Call Away” singer noted that there is a certain benefit of going to school and said it’s “not going to be the thing that defines your career.”  Instead, he argued rejection is “the thing that pushes you further, creatively” and said that is what fueled him to make better music.

“There’s many ways to be successful in your own right,” he later commented.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sound the alarm: Paramore is officially in the studio.

After various hints and teases over the last year, Hayley Williams and company have confirmed to Rolling Stone that they’re currently working on their sixth album, the long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s After Laughter.

As if that news wasn’t exciting enough, Williams has also shared some inside info on how the upcoming record is shaping up.

“Our output has always been all over the place and with this project, it’s not that different,” Williams tells Rolling Stone. “We’re still in the thick of it but some things have remained consistent from the start.”

Those things include “more emphasis back on the guitar,” and drummer Zac Farro going “as Animal as he wants,” presumably referring to the beloved Muppet.

Williams adds that she, Farro and guitarist Taylor York have been revisiting their earliest influences during the recording process, but cautions that they aren’t planning a “comeback ’emo’ record.”

“The music we were first excited by wasn’t exactly the kind of music we went on to make,” she says.

Most importantly, Williams was focused on “the moment for us to know we’re onto something new and we’re not just rehashing the same s***.”

“It was ‘Ain’t It Fun’ for our self-titled record, and ‘Hard Times’ or ‘Told You So’ for After Laughter,” she says. “It’s not about it feeling like a hit so much as it’s a scary, exciting feeling that you’re treading uncharted waters. It keeps you curious. We got to feel that feeling early on this time.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Volbeat and Ghost will be offering an exclusive vinyl single on their co-headlining tour.

The disc includes Volbeat’s cover of “Don’t Tread on Me” and Ghost’s version of “Enter Sandman,” both of which were originally recorded for last year’s The Metallica Blacklist tribute album.

Only 115 copies of the limited-edition single will be available at each show on the tour, which launches January 25 in Reno, Nevada. As with The Blacklist, proceeds will be donated to the charities of each band’s choosing, as well as Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.

In addition to covering Metallica, both Volbeat and Ghost released new, original music in 2021. Volbeat dropped a new album called Servant of the Mind, featuring the singles “Wait a Minute My Girl” and “Shotgun Blues,” while Ghost premiered a new tune called “Hunter’s Moon.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you’ve been following The Chainsmokers on TikTok in hopes their dormant account would one day spring to life, just know that day has finally come.

On Monday, the “Closer” hitmakers shared three videos teasing their return to music after a nearly-three year hiatus.  The first clip uses that same purple hue that’s been permeating their socials — such as their new icons and headers — before switching to a fully-colored look at two guys mixing a song in the studio.  The video ends with the word “TCS4,” the code name of their upcoming fourth studio album, against a lavender backdrop.

The short is captioned, “It’s almost time #TCS4.”

Things then start to get a little weird because it’s not actually Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall appearing in the videos — but a pair of lookalikes.

In the second video where the supposed Chainsmokers explain why they’ve “been gone for a few years” — the answer being that they want to get into boxing or martial arts — fans flooded the comment section.  One wrote, “This is literally not the chainsmokers????” while another remarked, “When you order the chainsmokers from Wish.”  

A third video features the duo singing along to their Coldplay collab “Something Just Like This,” but the Drew lookalike fudges the lyrics and sings somewhat poorly. 

It is unknown why the Chainsmokers are using stand ins on their verified TikTok account.  But, an answer is sure to come when the Grammy winners are ready to talk more about their upcoming album or when they release their all-new single, “High,” which they teased last week.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

House of Gucci will be available to own next month and will include extra goodies sure to delight fans.  Universal Pictures Home Entertainment teased in a press release that all digital, DVD and Blu-Ray copies of the film will come with exclusive bonus features.

Those enchanted by Lady Gaga‘s chilling performance of Patrizia Reggiani, the woman who was famously convicted of arranging the murder of her ex-husband, Italian fashion heir Maurizio Gucci, will not want to miss this opportunity.  An added chapter called “The Lady of the House” will break down Gaga’s interpretation of Patrizia, as well as “her powerhouse charisma and unwavering dedication breathe life into this complex character.”

The feature comes as the “Rain on Me” singer is generating serious Oscar buzz over her House of Gucci performance. Should she score a nomination for Best Actress, it will become Gaga’s second nod, following her A Star Is Born performance in 2018.

Other House of Gucci bonus features will explore director Ridley Scott‘s vision of the events leading up to and after Maurizio Gucci’s murder, as well as take a “deep dive into the visual delights of the film, from aesthetics to attitude.”

House of Gucci can be yours to own on digital come February 1 and will be released on DVD, on demand and Blu-ray on February 22.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.