Music

Chicago, IL — Charles Freeman claimed R. Kelly and his team made a verbal agreement to pay him $1 million to secure videos of the singer allegedly sexually assaulting a minor during his testimony on Tuesday and detailed a timeline and plan on how he claimed he did so during R. Kelly’s federal child pornography trial in Chicago at Dirksen U.S. courthouse. On Wednesday, the defense took Freeman to task on his claims for their cross-examination. On Day Eight, attorneys for Kelly and his co-defendants — former business associates Derrel McDavid...

Indigo Girls' Amy Ray is gearing up to release her tenth studio album next month. Set for release on Sept. 16, If It All Goes South features creative contributions from an all-star lineup of musical talent.Brandi Carlile, Allison Russell, the Highwomen's Natalie Hemby, Phil Cook and I'm With Her are just a few of the celebrated acts who make guest appearances on the project, which was recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios. Ray was also joined by her longtime bandmates Jeff Fielder (guitar), Daniel Walker (keyboards), Matt Smith (pedal steel),...

Friend Points! "I can’t believe you did this, H! It was the best part of my birthday," the Late Late Show host wrote on Instagram Harry Styles got all of Madison Square Garden to wish James Corden a happy birthday during his third of 15 shows in New York City.  Corden shared a video of the moment on Instagram yesterday, Aug. 23. In the clip, Styles stops the show and says, “There is a friend of mine, tonight, it’s his birthday, his name is James, and I was wondering if...

Lainey Wilson has been hard at work filming her upcoming role on Season 5 of Yellowstone, and at least one of her co-stars thinks she's a natural. In a new interview, the singer-turned-actor reveals the encouraging words Kelly Reilly offered after she shot her first scene with her.Reilly plays Beth Dutton on the smash hit Paramount series, and she was impressed after seeing Wilson's work.“On the first episode when we were filming, Kelly Reilly told me, ‘Had you not told me that this was your first time, I’d been thinking...

Eleven days ago, Capitol Records, the 80 year-old music institution, announced that it had broken into the metaverse by becoming the first major label to “sign” a virtual rapper named FN Meka. Today, it has ended its partnership with the A.I. emcee after major online backlash against him, who many felt was an insulting caricature of Black and hip-hop culture.  In a statement to Rolling Stone, a representative of Capitol Music Group wrote:  “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately. We offer our deepest apologies to the...

Sunny Sweeney and Vince Gill take a painfully honest look at a relationship on the rocks in their new duet, "Married Alone."The honky-tonk heartbreaker serves as the title track from Sweeney's extremely personal upcoming album, which is due out Sept. 23 via Thirty Tigers. Co-produced by Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen's Beau Bedford, "Married Alone" was written in the wake of Sweeney's own difficult breakup.“I was coming out of a sticky divorce, and all the feelings were still so raw,” she notes. “I felt the words, not just heard them.”"This...

The law would require judges to press prosecutors on the purpose behind including lyrics as evidence After unanimous approval in the Senate and Assembly, the California bill that aims to restrict the use of rap lyrics as evidence by prosecutors in criminal cases is reportedly heading to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk to be signed into law. The law would require judges to press prosecutors on the purpose behind including lyrics as evidence and interrogate whether doing so injects “racial bias into the proceedings.” The bill bears similarities to the New...

Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley may never have become the Pistol Annies if not for a late-night phone call. Lambert and Monroe were in the middle of a writing weekend-slash-campout in 2009 when Monroe asked Lambert if she knew Presley. Lambert didn't, so ...“The next thing you know, 2 o'clock in the morning, they're calling me, and Ashley's like, ‘Get up, get up, you have to send me and Miranda your record.' And I was like, ‘Miranda who, Ashley?'" Presley recalled to the Oklahoman in 2011.Lambert was impressed, and she, Monroe and...

Jerry “JI” Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets and co-writer on some of their biggest hits, has died. He was 82. The official Facebook page for Holly announced Allison’s death, though no cause or date of death was given. “JI was a musician ahead of his time, and undoubtedly his energy, ideas and exceptional skill contributed to both The Crickets, and rock n’ roll itself, becoming such a success. Buddy is often heralded as the original singer-songwriter, but JI, too, wrote and inspired so many of the songs...

Luke Bryan and Vince Gill took the stage together for an off-the-cuff classic country jam session during the Brett Boyer Foundation Invitational charity golf tournament last Monday (Aug. 15), delivering a raucous set list of covers and laughs to the crowd.Gill led a version of his own "Liza Jane," which originally came out in 1991 as the second single off his Pocket Full of Gold album. Other selections taken from the country legend's discography included "Whenever You Come Around," plus the Eagles' "Take It Easy" (Gill has been performing with the Eagles...

On a Friday night in New York, Harry Styles put on a show. It wasn’t just any show; it was the first time he performed his third and soon-to-be-biggest album, Harry’s House, in its entirety. The crowd that May night covered Long Island’s UBS Arena in feathers and glitter and tears — a ritualistic skin shedding of sorts whenever Styles comes to town.  Fans noticed something different about the encore: Styles didn’t end with his usual closer, “Kiwi”; instead, he opted to finish the night with a second performance of...

Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox has hit the ground running as a solo country artist with the release of his brand new song, “Get Down Like That.”The jaunty country shuffler is a vibrant anthem layered with chest-thumping drums, catchy ascending and descending guitar lines, and a spirited horn section. If the song sounds like a bonafide country hit, it probably is, just based on the songwriting talent behind it.“Get Down Like That” was written by fellow country superstar Thomas Rhett alongside fellow singer-songwriter Hardy and hit songsmiths Jesse Frasure and...

Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp will, apparently, do it all for the nookie. The pair covered the quintessential 1999 Limp Bizkit song “Nookie” for their popular YouTube cover series “Sunday Lunch.” In the video, the King Crimson guitarist, wearing a sequined baseball cap, takes on guitar duties while Willcox rocks out on the vocals. As usual, the pair filmed the clip in their kitchen, using a fan to create a dramatic wind machine effect on Willcox’s hair. “The Duo are back on form this week – we have literally no...

Scotty McCreery's wife Gabi is pregnant with the couple's first child, and for her baby shower theme, she drew inspiration from one of her favorite classic characters from children's literature: Winnie-The-Pooh.No detail went overlooked: From the iconic "Hundred Acre Wood" sign -- modified to read "The McCreerys" -- to an arch of brown, green and white balloons, a tree stump and Pooh-themed artwork, the party reflected the country star couple's hope that their unborn son will love reading Winnie-The-Pooh books as much as they do."The dreamiest baby shower for baby...