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Said The Sky Announces Sophomore Album “Sentiment” and 2022 Tour
Christmas came early for fans of Said The Sky. Earlier in the week, the future bass star delighted the masses by announcing the follow-up to his 2018 debut album, Wide-Eyed. Dubbed Sentiment, the upcoming record was revealed across his social media pages via an image depicting the definition of the title with some artwork behind it. This may reach tinfoil hat levels of speculation, but based on his previous teases, the background of the album announcement post is rather interesting. If you look closely at the books in the background, you can see what appears to be potential song titles, like “Holding My Own” and “Walk Me Home.” It could be a subtle hint, but we’re unable to confirm a tracklist at this time. Said The Sky has not yet announce...
North Coast Music Festival to Host Armin van Buuren, ILLENIUM, Porter Robinson, More In 2022
Playing on its core tenet of “Celebrate Our Differences,” Illinois’ North Coast Music Festival has announced a massive first wave lineup for its 2022 edition. It comes complete with representation of all the major EDM genres as well as a slew of local artists. Lineup highlights include a handful of stages curated by industry-leading labels, including FISHER‘s Catch & Release, Diplo‘s Higher Ground, and Seven Lions‘ Ophelia Records, as well as headlining performances by Armin van Buuren, ILLENIUM, Porter Robinson and Kaytranada. Alive Coverage The Midwest staple, now in its 12th edition, will return to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview after a successful debut last year. The 2021 event drew 78,000 attendees across three days and saw the implementat...
Can CANNIBAL CORPSE Keep Playing For Another 30 Years? PAUL MAZURKIEWICZ Weighs In
In a new interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, CANNIBAL CORPSE drummer and founding member Paul Mazurkiewicz was asked how long he thinks the band can keep going. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “As long as we’re all healthy, then who knows how long we can take it. I wouldn’t have ever thought when I started that I’d still be doing this still at 53 years old. So, how long can we take? You’ve just gotta look at it, at this point, day by day. You never know. If you stay healthy and you keep active and you keep doing it, it’s just gonna come down to that — it’s gonna come down to the health factor. Because everybody knows — the older you get, anything can go wrong at any given time, whether it’s a disease or an ...
IRON MAIDEN Doesn’t Think About Fans’ Expectations While Writing New Music
In a new interview with Consequence, IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain was asked now he and his bandmates balance MAIDEN‘s creative vision with the lofty expectations of fans. He responded: “Of course, we’ve got the best fans in the world. We got the best critics, and we got some of the most stupid critics in the world, as well. [But] I’ve gotta be honest, we’re a very selfish, motivated band. We love our fans. When we go out on tour, that’s when we think of you guys: What do you wanna see? But it’s not the main motivation. Because if you get lost in that world… ‘What do you think all these fans wanna see?’… You’re gonna have different fans and attitudes around different parts of the world. You’re all one big family, but say...
BILL KELLIHER: Why MASTODON Splits Songwriting Credits Equally
MASTODON guitarist Bill Kelliher spoke to the FM99 WNOR radio station about the fact that he and his bandmates decided from the beginning to split their songwriting credits equally between the four members of the group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “In our band, when we first started, I remember when signing [a record deal]… We got a lawyer, and he wanted [to know], ‘How do you wanna divvy all your publishing up?’ And, ‘Who writes what?’ — music and stuff like that. And I thought about it long and hard, and I said everybody in the band has a job and everybody does something. It might not always be this person that writes every song, and I just think it’d be silly if it’s, like, well, the guys that write the most get paid the most. ...
PETER TÄGTGREN Says TILL LINDEMANN Is ‘A Very Smart Guy When It Comes To The Business Stuff’
In a new interview with Pete Bailey of Primordial Radio, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren was asked if his former LINDEMANN collaborator, vocalist Till Lindemann of German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN, is as “larger than life” as appears to be. “Yeah, if you see it from the outside,” Peter responded. “If you know him, he’s not really any different than anybody else. He just has a vision of how he likes things to look like. And he’s a very smart guy when it comes to the business stuff and to the show. Other than that, he’s a normal guy.” Two months ago, Peter admitted to the “Scars And Guitars” podcast that he was “not really” friends with Till anymore. “But it doesn’t matter,” he s...
Warner Music Group Acquires 300 Entertainment in $400M Deal
300 Entertainment, the independent music company that is home to Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Gunna, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect and more, has been purchased by the Warner Music Group, the companies announced today (Dec. 16). News of the acquisition — which sources tell Billboard is for around $400 million — was first reported by Billboard earlier this month. As part of the deal, 300 co-founder and CEO Kevin Liles has been appointed chairman/CEO of both 300, which will remain a standalone entity, and Elektra Music Group, which encompasses Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner Records, DTA, Low Country Sound and Public Consumption. Elektra co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin will continue to run Elektra, but will now report to Liles moving forward. “At 300, we’re all about freedom — the fr...
Brandi Carlile, James Taylor & More Set for MusiCares Gala Honoring Joni Mitchell
The first batch of artists set to perform at the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Joni Mitchell range from longtime friends and colleagues, such as Graham Nash, James Taylor and Herbie Hancock, to younger singer/songwriters, including Brandi Carlile, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers and Mickey Guyton. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The initial roster of performers, announced Thursday (Dec. 16), also includes Jon Batiste, who is this year’s top Grammy nominee with 11 nods, triple Grammy winners Pentatonix and four-time nominees Black Pumas. Carlile and Batiste will serve as artistic directors, a first for the Person of the Year concert. Mike Elizondo, who won a Grammy for co-producing Switchfoot’s 2009 album Hello Hurricane, will serv...
Ed Sheeran & Elton John Highlight International Holiday Hits on Global Charts
SZA scores the week’s highest debut on the Dec. 18-dated Billboard Global 200 as “I Hate U” arrives at No. 11. But Ed Sheeran and Elton John take top honors among new entries on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey, dashing in at No. 10 with “Merry Christmas.” The team-up, released Dec. 3, drew 29 million streams and sold 42,300 downloads worldwide in its first week (ending Dec. 9), according to MRC Data. The song’s streams break down to 69% (20.1 million) from audio platforms and 31% (8.9 million) from video services, largely thanks to its festive official video that also premiered Dec. 3. A 31% share might seem small for a song’s video streams, but it’s a rare high mark among holiday titles that mostly live on audio services, many of which predate the ’80s-era breakout of videos. Next ...
How the Pandemic and TikTok Fueled the Success of Kali Uchis’ Bilingual Hit ‘Telepatia’
When Kali Uchis told her father she wanted to skip college to become a professional musician, his answer wasn’t quite what she had hoped for. “ ‘There are a lot of girls prettier than you and that have a better voice than you,’ ” Uchis recalls him telling her. “ ‘What would make you stand out from them?’ ” She wasn’t dissuaded. “ ‘Well, there can be a million girls more pretty than me and with a better voice than me,’ ” she answered. “ ‘But they’ll never be me.’ ” Today, it’s precisely that other-ness that has led 27-year-old Uchis — the bilingual, bicultural, genre-bending singer-songwriter whose vocals flow effortlessly between English and Spanish — to become an unlikely star with the song “Telepatía,” a trippy fantasy in which she sings of wa...
SZA’s “I Hate U” Breaks Apple Music’s All-Time R&B Streaming Record
SZA‘s “I Hate U” has become the most-streamed R&B track by a female artist on Apple Music in its first week, according to a new report from Billboard. “I Hate U” marked SZA’s fifth top 10 entry and her second debut in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, after the track debuted at No. 7 on the chart earlier this week. The single initially released on SoundCloud during the summer, but after gaining widespread popularity across TikTok, SZA and her team decided to officially drop “I Hate U” on streaming services. “Honestly this started out as an exercise. I just wanted somewhere to dump my thoughts w out pressure,” SZA wrote on Instagram prior to the track’s release. “Y’all made it a thing and I’m not mad lmao. Ask and u shall receive.” “I Hate U,” which was co-written by SZA, Robert Bise...
Here’s a Timeline of Tom Holland and Zendaya’s Relationship, Because We’re Chasing Joy Where We Can
Our 2021 Annual Report continues with a Tomdaya timeline, because why not? As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2021. You can find it all in one place here. Look, we all needed a win this year. Happy release week to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is allegedly exciting and fresh and an impressive moment for the MCU and all that. Anyway, let’s talk about two of its leads: Spider-Man and MJ. Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Tom and Z. Tom Holland (a golden retriever who was accidentally transformed into a lovable young man with the gifts of song, dance, and acrobatics) exploded to full-fledged stardom when he was just nineteen years old. The former Billy Elliot switched out the curtain call tutu for an iconic spidey suit in C...
