Music

'Devastated' "Felt it go and my heart dropped," Abel Tesfaye says after abruptly ending show after a few songs The Weeknd was forced to abruptly cancel his concert Saturday at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium after the singer’s voice gave out just a few songs into the performance. Midway through “Can’t Feel My Face,” the Weeknd stopped singing and exited the stage. He then returned to inform the sold-out audience that he could not continue with the concert. “I wanted to personally come out and apologize to you guys. I don’t...

Forty years ago today, on Sept. 4, 1981, George Strait released his debut album, Strait Country. The record was released on MCA Records.Three singles were released from Strait Country: "Unwound," "Down and Out" and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home);" both "Unwound" and "If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger" landed in the Top 10, with the latter peaking at No. 3. When Strait recorded "Unwound," MCA Records, still unsure of his star potential, agreed to only release that one song before investing in a full album; the...

Taylor Hawkins Tribute Chrissie Hynde and Foo Fighters back Beatles legend on debut performance of Abbey Road classic Paul McCartney, with help from Chrissie Hynde and Foo Fighters, performed the Beatles classic “Oh! Darling” live for the first time Saturday at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London. McCartney was a surprise guest at the benefit concert — he was not listed among the participating artists prior to the show — but what he did on the Wembley Stadium stage was perhaps an even bigger shock to the audience, as...

Maren Morris is putting her money where her mouth is when it comes to supporting transgender youth. The country singer has raised $100,000 in just one day, after announcing a new line of T-shirts on Friday (Sept. 2) to support the Trans Lifeline and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program.Morris turned to Twitter late Friday to announce the release of a shirt that humorously reads, "Maren Morris: Lunatic Country Music Person." Each T-shirt also includes the phone number for the Peer Support & Crisis Hotline for trans youth at 877-565-8860.Two hours...

Foo Fighters will stage the first of their two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts today, Sept. 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium. The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert, presented by Foo Fighters and the late drummer’s family, will begin 11:30 a.m. EST and be streamed live on Paramount+ and MTV’s YouTube channel; the livestream can also be viewed in the video above.  Additionally, a one-hour primetime special featuring highlights from the show will air on CBS later today at 10 p.m. EST, while the full show will be available to stream on-demand starting the...

There's no one in country music quite like Loretta Lynn. The genre-defining legend made a name for herself, starting in the 1960s, with songs that tackle topics women simply weren't expected -- or allowed -- to sing about: abortion, divorce, the genuine difficulties of motherhood and more.Lynn's career has spanned decades and has never really waned: She was scoring No. 1 albums in the '60s, while 2016's Full Circle earned a Grammy Awards nod. Of Lynn's dozens of studio albums, 11 have gone to No. 1 on the charts.All of this,...

Drawn to Atlanta as one of the world’s Black music and entertainment capitals, executive producer Ayo Animashaun’s Headies Awards will take place at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre this Sunday, September 4, in front of an anticipated full house of 2,750. Since 2006, the Headies have taken place in Nigeria, honoring excellence in music from the West African nation and the continent more widely.  The Headies got their start as the Hip Hop World Awards, named for the magazine Animashaun founded as rap gained ground in Nigeria, and before...

The saga continues between Maren Morris and Jason Aldean's wife, Brittany: In fact, they've now each launched a T-shirt that nods to their feud, and both will benefit charities of their choosing.Morris debuted her tee on her social channels on Friday (Sept. 2): A black shirt that reads "Maren Morris: Lunatic Country Music Person," along with the phone number for the Peer Support & Crisis Hotline for trans youth, which is 877-565-8860.If you haven't been following the events that transpired between Morris and Aldean over the past week, the shirt's...

TIFF (Taylor's Version) Singer to introduce the short film, which will screen in 35mm for the first time Taylor Swift will return to the film festival circuit next week when she appears at the Toronto International Film Festival to introduce a screening of her All Too Well: A Short Film. Like her screening earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, Swift will also take part in a conversation about her 10-minute short film on Sept. 8 at Bell Lightbox, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Swift’s appearance will also mark...

Kelsea Ballerini has dropped a powerful and ruminative new song, “What I Have.” The emotional track, which Ballerini co-wrote with Cary Barlowe and Alysa Vanderhym, arrives on the heels of her recent announcement of her divorce from Morgan Evans.Opting for a stripped-back production, “What I Have” boasts diary-entry lyrics that vulnerably and beautifully chronicle Ballerini's thoughts on comparison and contentment. Country music is often described as a genre that’s “three chords and the truth,” and this song encapsulates that to a T.“My neighbor’s grass is the hit of the street / But...

'Powerful And Beautiful' 21-year-old musician hopes his honest discussion of anxiety will relate to fans Alex Warren has unveiled his debut single, “Headlights.” The vulnerable ballad, which he has been teasing for the past month, documents the singer’s ongoing battle with anxiety and depression. “‘Headlights’ is about anxiety, feeling like an audience member watching your own life, and all the things you can’t control,” 21-year-old TikTok star explained to Rolling Stone. “This song means a lot to me because it perfectly describes how I’m currently feeling, as opposed to my...

Jason Aldean's longtime publicity team has split from the superstar after his wife, influencer Brittany Aldean, made comments that have been labeled by many as transphobic.The controversial Instagram messages were not cited as the reason for the GreenRoom's separation from Aldean. Instead, co-owner Tyne Parrish explains that music has always been the publicity company's focus, and that a GreenRoom/Aldean pairing is no longer a good fit.Billboard broke the news of GreenRoom's split from Aldean, quoting a statement from Parrish."We aren't the best people for the gig anymore, but will always be big fans of his music," Parrish says. "He...

Months after the Fugees canceled their much-anticipated reunion tour, a new report suggests it was Pras Michel’s legal issues — and not Covid-related difficulties — that grounded the trek. In 2019, Michel pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and falsifying records stemming from the rapper’s alleged role in a Malaysian wealth fund’s campaign finance violations. Michel was among the people that Justice Department said was tied to Jho Low and 1MDB, a wealth fund tasked with promoting economic development in Malaysia; Low is accused of stealing from the...

Country music's history is full of iconic duos -- Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Brooks & Dunn, and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, to name just a few -- but we'd be hard-pressed to think of a pair more iconic than Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.Between 1971 and 1988, Lynn and Twitty released 11 studio albums together and charted 12 singles, five of which shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Known for their onstage banter and near-theatrical interpretations of their songs, Lynn and Twitty had...