Rock & Pop
Rita Wilson Enlists Sebastian Yatra for ‘A Man Called Otto’ Song ‘Til You’re Home’: Listen
Actress and singer/songwriter Rita Wilson and Grammy-nominated Latin pop star Sebastián Yatra have teamed up to record the new track “Til You’re Home” for the upcoming film A Man Called Otto starring Wilson’s husband Tom Hanks. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I am extremely honored by Rita Wilson’s invitation to join her on ‘Til You’re Home’ for the A Man Called Otto soundtrack,” Yatra said in a statement. “The story behind the film is heartwarming and moving and I was inspired to convey that emotion in this song. Overall, this project has been very inspiring and I’m proud to be a part of it.” “Til You’re Home” was co-written by Wilson and Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer David Hodges. Its co-producers include Wilson and Grammy winner Matt...
Duran Duran Teases 2023 Tour at ‘A Hollywood High’ Concert Film Premiere in L.A.
Members of Duran Duran teased a 2023 tour, saying they would return to the U.S. and Europe, and lead singer Simon Le Bon revealed his favorite U.S. venue of all time. In an onstage chat at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Thursday (Oct. 27), before premiering their docu-concert film, A Hollywood High, the British new wave legends — Le Bon, keyboard player Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor — confirmed they will be back on the road next year. “We are going to be touring again next year,” John Taylor said. “Nothing is confirmed yet, but we will be coming back to the Los Angeles area. We are going to be in Europe, we are going to be in the U.K.” Roger Taylor added that the band will hit “all the cities that we didn’t do in the U.S.” Duran Duran has kept up a busy touri...
‘I Still Find It Hard to Surrender’: 6 Takeaways From Bono’s New Yorker Festival Interview About His New Book
You may know Bono as the lead of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, U2, but the rock star is so much more than that. The 62-year-old Irishman is activist in the fight against AIDS and campaigns for Africa while being a 22-time Grammy Award-winning artist. A man known for his social justice philanthropy and unique voice, Bono kick-started the night at the New Yorker Festival on Friday (Sept. 7) with a performance of “With or Without You,” “City of Blinding Lights,” and “Vertigo.” Then ahead of the release of his debut book, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, in November, Bono chatted with renowned New Yorker journalist David Remnick to discuss the upcoming memoir about his life. He spoke of the loss of his mother, how he came up with the name of the book, his bandmates reading the boo...
Kirk Hammett Explains Why New Solo EP ‘Portals’ Shows a Musical Side of Him ‘Much Bigger Than What People See in Metallica’
As a member of Metallica for nearly 40 years, Kirk Hammett is one of the most accomplished and influential lead guitarists in hard rock. Even so, he’s about to venture into uncharted territory: On April 23, he’ll release Portals (via Blackened Recordings), his debut solo EP. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Part of the reason for Portals is, there’s always been a musical side to me that was much bigger than what people see in Metallica,” Hammett tells Billboard during a phone chat from his Hawaii home. “I’m way into all sorts of music: jazz, blues, country, classical, reggae. I’ve been a music fan for so long, and I’ve learned to play all different sorts of styles. So this is a way for me to show that.” Still, Hammett admits, releasing thi...
How Do You Tell the Story of Live Music? ‘Rock Concert’ Author on Tackling the Superstar Subject
In the live music business, it doesn’t get any bigger than stadium concerts. Thanks to the large seating capacity of most stadiums, artists playing at the top echelon of touring can earn $4 million to $5 million per show — double and triple what they can earn at arenas. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news But the model for stadium touring business wasn’t drafted by a major concert promotion company or a professional sports executive, but by a 16-year-old girl named Kay Wheeler who found herself swept off her feet by a Mississippi singer named Elvis Presley. According to the new book Rock Concert by Wall Street Journal music and arts contributor Marc Meyers, Wheeler convinced the Cotton Bowl to host a concert headlined by the “B...
Fred Armisen, Mark Hamill, Ringo Starr, Jon Hamm & More Cameo in First-Ever Video For George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’
As part of the ongoing 50th anniversary celebration of late Beatle George Harrison‘s landmark triple-disc 1970 solo album All Things Must Pass, director Lance Bangs gathered a group of more than 40 actors, musicians and comedians to film the first-ever video for one of the collection’s most beloved songs, “My Sweet Lord.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The cameo-stuffed seven-minute clip — executive produced by Harrison’s son, musician Dhani Harrison — finds metaphysical special agents Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer searching high and low for… something. Tasked by Star Wars icon Mark Hamill with finding “something out there,” the pair of psychic detectives set off on a search across Los Angeles that has them bumping into dozens of familiar fac...
Jerry Cantrell Talks Lightening the Load & Covering Elton John on ‘Brighten’: ‘It’s Not Just All F–king Monochrome’
After Degradation Trip — which was dedicated to Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley, who died of an overdose at age 34 two months before its release — Cantrell refocused on his main band. Alice in Chains delivered its fourth album, Black Gives Way to Blue, in 2009, followed by 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here and 2018’s Rainier Fog. Post-Rainier Fog, Cantrell began assembling the nine tracks on Brighten by revisiting his backlog of songs previously demoed and shelved, fragments of melodies and riffs held over the years, a mix of new songs — and a cover of an Elton John deep cut — and started recording in 2020. “Every record I’ve been in involved in has a couple of ideas that either weren’t in their best form or just didn’t fit with that body of work, and t...
Mika Shares Letter to the Lebanese People ‘Devastated by the Apocalypse’
A massive warehouse explosion in Beirut last Tuesday (Aug. 4) killed at least 157 people and injured thousands more, devastating the city’s port area. As investigators continue to comb through the rubble, protesters have vented their anger against the Lebanese government, accusing leaders of years of negligence in the storing of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate linked to the blast. British glam-pop star Mika (real name Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr.), who was born in Beirut and whose mother was of Lebanese descent, wrote a letter to the Lebanese people to share in their grief and anger over the incident. Billboard was sent an English-language transcript: My dear Lebanon, My dear Beirut, It’s still early in the morning on the other side of the Mediterranean and I feel so close and yet so far a...
