Music

Rising folk singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun co-wrote her new song "Bigger Man" with Maren Morris -- and enlisted the country star to sing with her on it. The pair dropped the track on Friday morning (May 14).Joining Oladokun and Morris as co-writers on "Bigger Man" are Laura Veltz and Jimmy Robbins. Morris, Robbins and Veltz recently won Song of the Year honors at both the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards for Morris' single "The Bones.""I've paddled upstream where the river ran / I've turned sticks and stones to an olive branch...

Dutch DJ Martin Garrix has teamed up with U2’s Bono and the Edge to create the anthemic song “We Are the People,” which will be official song of the upcoming UEFA European Football Championship. “Creating the music for one of the biggest sports events in the world together with Bono and the Edge has been an incredible experience,” Garrix said in a statement. “I’m very proud of what we did together and excited to finally share it with the world!” Garrix began work on the song three years ago. Early...

Chris Stapleton's radio singles are never straight-ahead, mainstream, made-for-radio hits. He'll often blend an extra dose of soul or R&B into his country, and those stylistics are once again on full display in "You Should Probably Leave," his latest submission to country radio.Still, Stapleton wrote the song with two co-writers with serious mainstream radio cred: Chris DuBois and Ashley Gorley, the latter of whom set a record in August 2020 when he became the first songwriter ever to pen fifty No. 1 singles in the history of the Billboard Airplay and Mediabase charts (he's continued...

Trojan Records is set to reissue its legendary 1971 collection The Trojan Story — a three-LP set that helped introduce the world to artists like Jimmy Cliff, the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, and Lee “Scratch” Perry — for its 50th anniversary this June. Long out-of-print, the 50-song anthology — due out June 18th — will be reissued physically and digitally with its original tracklist intact, along with a 50-page illustrated booklet featuring liner notes for every song by Trojan’s label manager Rob Bell — who helped curate the original release —...

A video showing a pre-teen Caleb Kennedy sitting next to someone in a hood similar to those worn by Ku Klux Klan members has surfaced. As a result, the now-16-year-old American Idol contestant has exited the show.The country singer from South Carolina was a favorite heading into the Top 5 episode on Sunday (May 16). Now, only four contestants will compete, with three moving on to the finals.The Spartanburg Herald-Journal spoke with Kennedy's mother, who says the video in question was taken when Kennedy was 12 years old. She further explains that her son had just...

Dave Grohl has had a lot of memorable Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nights during the past decade. In 2013, he donned a kimono and blond wig to induct Rush and rock out with them on “2112.” The next year, Nirvana entered the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility and he played their music with Krist Novoselic for the first time since Kurt Cobain died in 1994. The year after that, he jammed with Joan Jett and got stoned out of his mind with her and...

Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini will co-host the 2021 CMT Music Awards, the network announced on Wednesday (May 12). The annual country music event is set for June 9.Brown also co-hosted the postponed 2020 CMT Music Awards ceremony in October, with Ashley McBryde and actor Sarah Hyland, but it will be Ballerini's first time helming the awards show. Producers say in a press release that the "dynamic duo reflects the show’s revitalized energy as live music returns to center stage in a night filled with incredible outdoor performances, cross-genre collaborations...

Liz Phair has released “In There,” the latest track from her upcoming seventh studio album, Soberish. The simmering track, released with an animated lyric video, sees Phair contemplating her own vulnerability in the shadow of a new relationship. “Like smoke under the door/Like cold comes through the floor/You got in there,” she sings. Along with the tracks on Soberish, “In There” was co-written and co-produced by Phair and Brad Wood, who previously worked with her on her critically-acclaimed Nineties albums Exile in Guyville, Whip-Smart, and whitechocolatespaceegg. Phair previously released three songs from the album: “Good...

Granger Smith and his wife, Amber, are expecting a baby boy in August, and the couple turned to YouTube on Tuesday (May 11) to share the name they have chosen. In a moving video, they reveal that their baby boy's name will honor his late brother, River.The couple laugh nervously and ask each other, "Are we really doing this?" at about the 14:50 mark in the video below before putting the name they've chosen for their baby boy on the screen. As they explain, the name Maverick Beckham Smith is a...

A woman who had been involved in a long-term romantic relationship with Soulja Boy has filed a lawsuit against the rapper, accusing him of sexual and physical abuse. The plaintiff filed the civil suit as “Jane Doe” in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday. The rapper, whose real name DeAndre Cortez Way, is accused of violently punching and hitting the plaintiff, including once so severely when she was pregnant that it caused a miscarriage, as well as coercing her into sex through threats of violence. “Our client is fortunate she...

Kip Moore plays the part of good-timing bus driver for a collection of happy-go-lucky eccentrics in the music video for his new single, "Good Life."The singer's return to the road for the first time in over a year — ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — is cause for celebration, and in the "Good Life" music video, he makes a point of highlighting the euphoric power of human connection. Whether that comes in the form of an in-person country concert or a crowded bus full of partying strangers, that togetherness...

Bob Dylan doesn’t turn 80 until May 24th, but several artists have already announced plans — from Patti Smith’s upcoming tribute concert to the Flaming Lips’ rendition of “Lay Lady Lay.” On Monday, Chrissie Hynde revealed that a Dylan covers album is on the way, containing classics like “You’re a Big Girl Now” and “Sweetheart like You.” Recorded with her Pretenders bandmate James Walbourne, the album stems from Hynde’s “Dylan Lockdown Series,” which began early on in the pandemic. Hynde has always excelled at covers, whether it’s the Ramones’ “Something...

During the first episode of live performances of The Voice's Season 20 on Monday night (May 10), contestant Rachel Mac impressed all four coaches with her rendition of Kacey Musgraves' ethereal "Rainbow."The singer, who is on Team Nick Jonas, has made a name for herself on the show thus far with her soul-baring covers of songs by Elton John, Patty Griffin and more beloved singer-songwriters. On Monday night, Mac proved once again that she deserves to be in the show's Top 17, infusing subtle emotion and maturity into her version of "Rainbow," a ballad...

Billie Eilish, the Killers, Lizzo, and Tame Impala are set to headline the 2021 Firefly Festival, which will take place September 23rd through the 26th at the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware. The lineup for the four-day festival also boasts Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Cage the Elephant, Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Diplo, Portugal. the Man, Nelly, Phoebe Bridgers, Blackbear, Sylvan Esso, Glass Animals, Khruangbin, Band of Horses, Taking Back Sunday, Girl in Red, Dominic Fike, Arlo Parks, Flo Milli, Denzel Curry, Duke Dumont, Big Wild, Iann Dior, and Kim...