Pop
Alec Benjamin on the Influence of Leonard Cohen
Kyle Meredith With… Alec Benjamin Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | Radio Public Alec Benjamin speaks with Kyle Meredith about his first full-length album, These Two Windows. The Phoenix singer-songwriter discusses how there’s enough leftover songs to make a second album and how being bilingual may lead to writing in Mandarin in the future. He also shares his appreciation for Leonard Cohen and explains how he’s been co-writing and collaborating on songs amidst quarantine. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Meredith digs deep into the artist’s work to find out how the music is made and whe...
Pharrell, Fantasia, Lionel Richie & More Celebrate Juneteenth
NEWS 6/19/2020 by Gil Kaufman In the midst of a national reckoning about systemic racism and the continued killing of Black and brown men and women at the hands of police, the country paused to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday (June 19). The holiday recalls the end of slavery in the U.S., marking the day (June 19, 1865) when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved people were free; the news came two-and-a-half years after Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. Though the holiday is 155-years-old and has been celebrated for more than a century by African-Americans, the focus on racial injustice spurred by the protests in every state over the killing of George Floyd has put a spotlight on the celebra...
Adele Is Binge-Watching This New British TV Series
Adele has found a new obsession. She’s stanning I May Destroy You. Like the rest of us, the “Hello” singer has been killing time in lockdown by binge-watching TV. With HBO’s new series, she’s discovered a total gem. It’s “the best thing I’ve seen on British TV for yeaaaarssss!!,” the superstar singer enthuses about I May Destroy You. “Go watch it on iplayer right now. It’s wholesome, uncomfortable, hilarious but terribly sad and then awkward…and then it makes you cough a bit for no reason and also makes you go put the kettle on, for no reason.” Directed by and starring Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You spans 12 half-hour episodes. According to its blurb on the IMDB, the series explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, “in the new landsc...
Liam Payne Celebrates His Decade-Long Career With Shaggy-Haired Throwback Pic: See the Sweet Post
Liam Payne remembered the first time he hit the X Factor stage and started his pop star journey 10 years ago for a tribute post he shared on social media yesterday (June 14). “It’s been 10 years today since my X factor audition and I just read that my first album just hit over 2 billion streams… that scared young man didn’t think that was gunna happen,” Payne wrote on Instagram. “Seriously thank you everyone who’s made this decade of my life possible and to everyone who’s listening thank you for enjoying my music and my bands too p.s. thanks also, for putting up with some awful haircuts like the one above.” Payne debuted as part of the British boy band One Direction in 2010 alongside Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik ...
Billie Eilish Urges Everyone to Speak Out on Rayshard Brooks’ Death
Billie Eilish is enraged over the death of Rayshard Brooks, the 27-year-old black man who was shot in the back and killed by white police at a Wendy’s drive-through in Atlanta. “man F—. watching this video made me so f—ing angry. F— THIS SHIT. JUSTICE FOR RAYSHARD BROOKS. F— THIS SHIIIIIIIIT. #justiceforrayshard !!!! WHY ISNT EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS??” Eilish wrote Sunday (June 14) on Instagram, where she posted footage of Brooks. Minutes later, her brother Finneas also posted on social media: “Justice for Rayshard. This is so f—ed up man. And such a good example of EXACTLY what’s so f—ed up about the police in America. Asleep in his car in a parking lot. Shot to death. Don’t let yourself be numb to this. Don’t let t...
Camila Cabello Celebrates Pride Month, Urges Fans to Fight for Transgender Rights
Camila Cabello is using her platform on social media to show her support for the LGBTQ+ community. On Sunday (June 14), the singer posted a “Happy Pride Month” message on Instagram. “This month is pride month !!!!!!! i have so much admiration and respect for the LGBTQ+ community, this community includes some of the bravest, kindest, strongest people I know- you teach me by example what it means to be true to yourself and your heart, what it means to be brave, what it means to be fierce and kind every step of the way and living YOUR truth no matter how hard and scary that may be, loving whoever you want to love. happy pride month,” Cabello wrote. She then added: “In the middle of one of the worst epidemics of violence against Black transgender people, Trump dec...
Beyoncé Demands Justice for Breonna Taylor in Open Letter to Kentucky’s Attorney General
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has joined a growing chorus of outraged citizens calling for justice for Breonna Taylor. In an open letter to Kentucky’s Attorney General, the pop icon demanded that the police officers responsible “be held accountable for their actions.” In the early hours of March 13th, sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison used a battering ram to force their way into Breonna Taylor’s Louisville home. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was asleep with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker. After the police broke down the door, Walker grabbed his gun and attempted to defend himself from the intruders. In the ensuing gunfire, the trio of Mattingly, Cosgrove, and Hankison shot Taylor at least eight times, killing her. The Louisville Metro Poli...
Lauren Jauregui Closes Out Billboard’s Pride Prom With ‘50ft.’ Performance
Every prom has to come to an end, and Lauren Jauregui has just the song to tie things up. On Saturday (June 13), the former Fifth Harmony star closed out Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter’s first-ever Pride Prom with a stunning performance to her R&B slow-jam “50ft.” Performing in her home and dressed in a glittering mesh top, the singer let her voice shine through on the smooth breakup song as she casually flipped back and forth between English and Spanish. “Naturally inclined to love/ But when the love ain’t flowing back/ I pull away and reassess/ Gotta protect me,” she sings. Jauregui released “50ft.” back in April, and explained in a statement that she wanted to capture the actual feeling of distance. ̶...
Alicia Keys & John Legend to Face Off in Juneteenth ‘Verzuz’ Battle
R&B superstars Alicia Keys and John Legend will face off in a Verzuz battle on June 19. “Let’s celebrate Juneteenth with a special edition #Verzuz! @AliciaKeys vs @JohnLegend,” the popular online battle series announced Saturday (June 13) on Instagram. The Verzuz Instagram battle series — co-helmed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic by legendary hip-hop producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland — has seen showdowns between such all-stars as Nelly and Ludacris, Lil Jon and T-Pain, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu and many more. Starting as a 20-song showdown between evenly matched producers, the series has also come to encompass writers and now performers, as hip-hop and R&B fans have been glued to their IG feeds on countless weekend nights to watch the d...
Taylor Swift Can’t Stand ‘Racist Historical’ Monuments in Tennessee: ‘Villains Don’t Deserve Statues’
Taylor Swift sounded off in a Twitter thread today (June 12) about the state of two specific Confederate monuments in her home state of Tennessee. She said the statues of Edward Carmack and Nathan Bedford Forrest, which have been torn down and attempted to be removed, respectively, “celebrate racist historical figures who did evil things.” Swift called on Capitol Commission and the Tennessee Historical Commission to permanently remove these monuments as the first small step to redefining the state’s history, one she believes would welcome and support all kinds of visitors as well as Black Tennesseans. “Taking down statues isn’t going to fix centuries of systemic oppression, violence and hatred that black people have had to endure but it might bring us one ...
Mariah Carey Postpones 30th Anniversary Celebration of Debut Album to Focus on Black Lives Matter Movement
Mariah Carey‘s self-titled debut album turned 30 on Friday (June 12). And while every Lamb knows their queen loves a festive moment, the singer announced that she’s putting off the celebration in light of the nationwide fight for racial justice. “Thank you lambily, for all the celebratory messages for today’s #MC30 anniversary!” Mimi wrote on Instagram over top of the 1990 album’s classic cover art. “I had planned to share some surprises and rarities with you, but prefer to postpone them to a later date.” The superstar then turned her attention to the more serious social issues at hand, writing, “As we continue to fight for equality and justice within our broken systems, I thank you for using your platforms to educate, inform and invoke...
Halsey Launches Fund to Amplify Black Creators’ ‘Art, Voice and Perspective’
Halsey is stepping up her support for the Black Lives Matter movement by launching a special fund to help black creators. The Black Creators Fund will provide financial support, resources and a platform to black creators, the singer explains in a statement posted to Instagram. “Looking for black creators who want to enrich the world with their work,” she writes, “use #BLACKCREATORSFUND & tag your favorite black creators in the comments.” Launching Thursday (June 11), the fund will help amplify black artists’ voice and perspective, read a statement. The initiative is an ongoing one, and it’ll be entirely funded by the Halsey team. “If you’re an artist, poet, graphic designer, writer, film maker, music producer, journalist, make up artist, or creator of any kind,” reads the launch statem...
