Music News

Lady Gaga reflects on 38th birthday and teases new music

Jim Chapin/AFP via Getty Images

Lady Gaga is reflecting on a birthday well spent.

The singer turned 38 years old on Thursday and took to Instagram to post a new selfie and write about the milestone.

"Today has been so special—I can't remember a time I was so happy on my bday. I am in love with my best friend, my family and friends are loving and kind and healthy. I feel like my heart is bursting with gratitude for my own health and MUSIC," Lady Gaga wrote. "I am writing some of my best music in as long as I can remember our movie Joker 2: Folie à Deux is coming out soon."

She then went on to thank her supporters, saying she's grateful for the "real love" that she's felt while writing new music.

"AND seeing messages from all over the world from little monsters—artists—publications that love my work it means so much to me. Thank you thank you thank you for loving me the way you do and for having such a real love for my songs," Lady Gaga wrote.

The Mother Monster finished off the post by saying this next year will be important and meaningful.

"I've been writing ... pop songs since I was a little girl I can't believe I still get to do what I love," Lady Gaga wrote. "This year will be an important and meaningful year for us I know. Music changes people lives im so honored I get to be a part of that in this life."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' has left the stable

Blair Caldwell; Parkwood/Columbia

Beyoncé's eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, is available worldwide now. 

The superstar already had a smash on her hands with "Texas Hold 'Em," which made Beyoncé the first Black female artist to reach #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts with a country song.

The lead track, released along with "16 Carriages" on Sunday, February 11, also spent four weeks at the top of the U.K. music charts.

In a statement, Bey said of Cowboy Carter, "The joy of creating music is that there are no rules. The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones."

The release, which blends the genres of country, blues, zydeco, and Black folk among others, also drew inspiration from films like Quentin Tarantino's Hateful Eight, The Coen BrothersO Brother, Where Art Thou? and more. 

Queen Bey said, "I didn't want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk."

She continued, "All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature."

Beyoncé revealed the album was five years in the making, and follows Renaissance. "I was initially going to put Cowboy Carter out first," she explains, "but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God's timing." 

"I think people are going to be surprised because I don't think this music is what everyone expects," she says, "but it's the best music I've ever made."

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Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande in 2021; Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande were coaches on NBC's The Voice at the same time, so it's no wonder they're pals. Now, Kelly has encouraged her fans to check out Ariana's new album, eternal sunshine.

On March 28, Kelly posted on X, formerly Twitter, "Y'all don't sleep on this album. It's so good!" She added hashtags for three songs from the album: "#imperfectforyou," "#wecantbefriends" and "#yesand."

Fans immediately responded by begging Kelly to cover the new Ariana songs during the Kellyoke segment of her talk show and to get Ariana to come on her talk show to discuss the record.

Kelly and Ariana have previously duetted on The Voice and on record: Ari made a guest appearance on the song "Santa Can't You Hear Me" on Kelly's 2021 album, When Christmas Comes Around

The two also have another thing in common: they both seem to really like the Jim Carrey movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Ariana, of course, named her album after the movie, and it inspired the plot of the video for "we can't be friends." And on Kelly's latest album, chemistry, she mentions the movie in the lyrics of her song "mine."

Kelly sings, "Go ahead and break my hеart, that's fine/ eternal sunshine of thе spotless mind."

And finally, here's another thing Kelly and Ariana have in common: both of their albums, at least in part, document their respective divorces.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Music notes: Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga and more

Mariah Carey is continuing to celebrate her 55th birthday — or anniversary, as she says. She posted several more photos to her Instagram of her wearing sparkly dresses to mark the occasion. "327 vibes," she captioned photos of her lying on a sandy beach, while she also wrote "3.27 at dusk" to caption a photo of her lounging on a boat.

Speaking of birthdays, Lady Gaga celebrates another year around the sun on Thursday. She was photographed getting dinner with her boyfriend, Michael Polansky, on Wednesday night. The singer also dined with several friends and her manager, Bobby Campbell.

While promoting his new film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which releases the same day Taylor Swift's THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT drops on April 19, Henry Cavill talked to E! News about his appreciation for the pop star. "I was never not a Swiftie. She's magnificent," Cavill said.

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Maroon 5 approves of Mick Jagger's dance to their hit song

Christopher Polk/Getty Images for A&M/Octone

On March 27, Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger posted a video of himself at an outdoor bar where the local band was playing -- you guessed it -- "Moves Like Jagger." Maroon 5 has now reacted to the video.

In his post, Jagger, 80, busts some moves while laughing and smiling. He wrote in the caption, "Moves like who!" It appears the video was taken at one of the rock icon's favorite island destinations, Mustique.

Maroon 5 has reposted Jagger's video to their Instagram Story and captioned it with an animated "GOAT" -- "Greatest of All Time" -- graphic.

"Moves Like Jagger," featuring Christina Aguilera, came out in 2011 and became Maroon 5's second #1 hit, as well as one of the bestselling singles of all time. The video features footage of Mick as a young man, showing off his signature dance style.

Mick and the Rolling Stones will kick off their Hackney Diamonds tour April 28 in Houston, Texas. Maroon 5 resumes their Las Vegas residency at Park MGM on May 17.

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Irvin Rivera

David Archuleta, who came out as queer in 2021, announced in 2023 that he was leaving the Mormon church after being unable to reconcile his religion's view of homosexuality with his own journey. He's just released a song about it, but specifically, about how his family has supported him through his decision.

"It was a scary place to leave something that was all I knew and that gave me my purpose to live, but it was something I knew I needed to do," David says in a statement about the song, which is called "Hell Together." 

A few days after he announced he was leaving, David's mom told him she was leaving, too. She told him, "If you go to Hell, we're all going to Hell with you. We're a family and we'll always be there for each other, in good or in bad!"

"I was really moved by that," David notes.

In the song, David sings, "All I want is to make you proud/ If I would run, would I let you down?/ You said
'If I have to live without you/ I don't wanna live forever/ in someone else's heaven ... if they don't like the way you're made, then they're not any better/ If Paradise is pressurе, oh/ We'll go to hell togethеr.'"

David says the song's gospel vibe is "meant to show the joy and how by leaving my religion is how I found a greater light. And, more importantly, how much it meant to still have a support system of family still there for me."

"Most people within the church would think you feel dark and lost leaving your faith, but that was not the case for me. I felt like I found myself!"

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


John Medina/Getty Images

The North American leg of Noah Kahan's We'll All Be Here Forever Tour kicked off Tuesday, March 26, in Vancouver. In a Facebook post, the "Stick Season" artist reflects on what the show meant to him.

"It is something so surreal to open your eyes and see an arena filled with fans of your music in front of you," Kahan writes. "It takes your breath away, every single time."

"Vancouver thank you for stealing my breath and my heart as we opened the tour," he adds. "I wish I could perform for you every night."

The We'll All Be Here Forever Tour comes to the U.S. in May.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Parkwood/Columbia

Beyoncé's new album, Cowboy Carter, is already out in some parts of the world, so the featured artists on the album have now been revealed.  

Sorry, there are no Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga duets to be found, but Miley Cyrus sings on a song called "II Most Wanted." Meanwhile, Post Malone is on the track "Levii's Jeans." 

The album also includes several interludes, which see additional guest stars serving as DJs on a fictional radio station called KNTRY. Country music icon Dolly Parton is included on an interlude called "Dolly P," and she introduces Bey's version of her classic song "Jolene" -- for which Beyoncé has changed the lyrics. She also briefly appears in the intro of the song "Tyrant."

Fellow country music icon Willie Nelson is also featured on two interludes: "Smoke Hour Willie Nelson" and "Smoke Hour II."

Also of note: Beyoncé has recorded a version of The Beatles' 1968 classic "Blackbird," and in the song "Ya Ya," she interpolates The Beach Boys' classic song "Good Vibrations." That song is introduced by the voice of Linda Martell, a major Black female country star.

Cowboy Carter, which arrives Thursday at midnight, also includes Bey's #1 hit "Texas Hold 'Em."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Disney/Chris Willard

When Billie Eilish's most recent album, Happier Than Ever, came out, she offered it in eight different vinyl versions, but all the vinyl was recycled, and the shrink wrap was made from sugarcane. That's why Billie, who's all about sustainability, has a problem with artists who go crazy with vinyl variants without thinking about the environmental impact.

Speaking to Billboard, Billie says, "We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it's very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging... which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money ... I can't even express to you how wasteful it is."

"It is right in front of our faces and people are just getting away with it left and right, and I find it really frustrating as somebody who really goes out of my way to be sustainable and do the best that I can and try to involve everybody in my team in being sustainable," she continues. 

"And then it's some of the biggest artists in the world making f****** 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more," Billie adds. "It's so wasteful, and it's irritating to me that we're still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it's all your favorite artists doing that s***.

Billie's mom, Maggie Baird, even tells Billboard that she would like the publication to have "limits, like no more than four colors" of vinyl for each release.

Among the artists who most recently offered or are offering different vinyl versions of their albums: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Shakira, Olivia Rodrigo, Pearl Jam and Justin Timberlake.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


ABC/John Argueta

Tyla's goal is to become Africa's first pop star, and she's well on her way with a Grammy for Best African Music Performance, her global smash "Water" and her self-titled debut album. Though she had to postpone her planned tour due to an injury, she still has plans for world domination.

In addition to music, Tyla tells Billboard that she'd like to branch out into fashion, beauty and acting. "People are going to see me everywhere," she says. "So if you don't like me, I'm sorry."

Even her injury isn't going stop her from bringing her music to fans. "I'm really confident in what I've created. Now's a time where I can showcase a performance style where I'm not really dancing as much," she tells Billboard. "Maybe I strip back a little bit more and I'm just serving vocals."

"But there's no way to stop me," she continues. "I'm always going to find a way."

Right now, you can see Tyla showing off her dance moves in the spring campaign for GAP.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Beth Garrabrant

Not only was Taylor Swift the bestselling artist in the world in 2023, she also sold the most vinyl.

That's according to the IFPI, the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. In February, it declared Taylor the Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2023. Now, it's revealed three Global Album Charts, detailing top sales overall for 2023, top streaming albums of 2023 and top-selling vinyl of 2023.

Taylor holds the top three places on the vinyl chart, with 1989 (Taylor's Version) at #1, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) at #2 and Midnights at #3. Overall, she has seven albums in the top 20, the others being folklore, Lover, evermore and Red (Taylor's Version).

Taylor didn't top the Global Sales album chart, but she's the only non-K-pop artist to make the top 10. As for streaming, Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time was #1, followed by SZA's SOS and Taylor's Midnights.

Next year at this time, we may be talking about how Taylor's The Tortured Poets Department did globally in 2024. It's coming out April 19.

 

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


A24 Music

Lorde has premiered her take on "Take Me to the River" for the upcoming tribute to Talking Heads' classic 1984 concert film and live album, Stop Making Sense.

"Take Me to the River" was originally recorded by soul legend Al Green in 1974 and then covered by Talking Heads in 1978. The Talking Heads version became the band's highest charting single at the time, and a live recording is included on Stop Making Sense.

In a statement, Lorde shares that she wanted her "Take Me to the River" cover to reflect when her mom first showed her a Talking Heads video on YouTube when she was 12 years old.

"It's my interpretation of that pixelated spiritual experience," Lorde says. "We did it fast, I didn't let myself tidy it up too much, it had to feel young and imperfect, the peeling posters, the jaw of acne."

You can listen to Lorde's "Take Me to the River" now via digital outlets.

The Stop Making Sense tribute also includes Paramore's cover of "Burning Down the House" as well as contributions from The National, Miley Cyrus, girl in red and The Linda Lindas.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Dimitrious Giannoudis

Camila Cabello just dropped her new single, "I LUV IT," featuring Playboi Carti, but hasn't yet released any details about her upcoming album.  However, she tells Apple Music's Zane Lowe that it'll have one very important difference from all of her previous work.

"[There's] one thing I have done on this album that I don't feel like... I feel like I was getting to before, but for me, I've always been just like a song-based artist. I heard Charli [XCX] say the other day, it's like artistry is more important than songs. I was always the opposite mentality," she explains.

"I was always like, everything is about the song," she continues. "That was everything for me. It was just isolated from the name or who did it or whatever, it was just about how does this four-minute, whatever, three-minute piece of music sound."

But now, Camila says, she's thinking of her music as more of an entire artistic work. "I think it's because I started diving deeper into bodies of work and artists," she says. "I was like, 'I love the way Lana [Del Rey] or Carti ... they just, like, create a whole world, and it makes the music so much richer.'"

"So I think I'd attempted to do that before, but never got the full gist of it," says Camila. "And I learned so much from [my collaborators] and really studying this time around the character, the world, the motifs."

Echoing her previous statement to Paper magazine that she's playing a character on the album, Camila tells Zane that her new aesthetic -- blonde hair and what she calls "the baby pink color, the lip gloss" -- has helped her create the character.

"[It's] my villain arc," she says. "My hyper-femme villain arc, that was the beginning."

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Sami Drasin for 'Euphoria'

Though Nelly Furtado hasn't released an album in quite some time, her impact on other musicians is undeniable: Dua Lipa has said that discovering Nelly's music when she was 6 years old made her want to be a pop star, while Drake and Lorde have also cited her as an influence. As you can imagine, Nelly's pretty happy about that.

Asked about being an inspiration for younger acts, Nelly tells Euphoria magazine for a new cover story, "Oh my God, it's so cool. It makes me proud and happy." She adds, "I always remember going to my good friend's birthday and he had very intentionally invited me because he wanted me to meet his good friend Dua Lipa. We finally got to meet and it was something we had been meaning to do for years."

"I get proud when I see somebody who's told me, 'Oh, you've influenced me,'" the "Say It Right" singer notes. "I literally just saw Dua's Grammy performance and I was so proud. I was like, 'This is f***** awesome!' It's a great feeling. I'm just grateful to be even in the conversation, to be totally honest."

After returning to the music scene last year with "Keep Going Up," a collaboration with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Nelly is now planning to release a new album, which will be her first since 2017's The Ride. She tells Euphoria, "I can't reveal too much, but it's gonna be elevated."

"We have big plans and I'm so excited about it because I'm in a better head space than ever," she adds. "I've never loved being an entertainer more. I feel like I'm really owning it."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Music notes: Mariah Carey, Zayn Malik and more

Mariah Carey is celebrating her 55th birthday — or, anniversary, as she calls it — in a new photo posted to Instagram. "Anniversary adventures commence," Mariah captioned the photo of her smiling while relaxing on a boat. Friends Jennifer Hudson and Paris Hilton sent Mariah well wishes on her special day. "Happy anniversary, @mariahcarey! 'Anytime you need a friend, I will be here!!! Love u!!!" Jennifer wrote on her IG Story, while Paris wrote, "Happy Birthday to an absolute icon @MariahCarey." 

Shawn Mendes is teasing something new in the works. In an Instagram post shared Wednesday, Shawn posted a Polaroid picture of himself on top of a sound board in a recording studio. "nobody knows," he captioned the post. This comes after a post he made on March 7, where he confirmed he's "been working on a new album." 

Zayn Malik says his daughter, Khai, already shares his musical talent. "Khai has a lot of natural ability herself already," Zayn told L'Officiel magazine. "I know, it sounds ridiculous because she's three, but her retention for language, especially when it's formatted in a musical sense to her, has been amazing." He also says she remembers every lyric of every song she likes. "She remembers chord progressions and notes. She can do runs that have, like, three, four notes already. I look forward to seeing what she's going to be capable of doing as she gets older," Zayn said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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