Music

In retrospect, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder‘s sideline as a successful Top 40 songwriter seems fated. His father was a gospel songwriter in the Seventies with an encyclopedic knowledge of the hits. “He could tell you the top records on the chart at any given point in time for basically all the Eighties and all the Nineties,” Tedder told Wonderland Magazine. Tedder started playing piano at age three, picked up the guitar as a teenager, and penned his first song when he was 15. “Melody is the single most important thing...

Tyler Hubbard couldn't help but be affected by the many heartbreaks of 2020. The worst of it inspired him to write "Undivided," a song that both he and collaborator Tim McGraw say is a mirror.The peppy, pop-friendly country bop simply asks us to treat our neighbors with decency and kindness. That's hardly a rare message, but it's personalized by two men who heard the words as an accountability check.Hubbard — who wrote the song in quarantine while battling COVID-19 in November — says it was definitely inspired a turbulent year in America....

Justin Bieber’s “Anyone” debuted at Number One on the first Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart of 2021. Bieber wrote the track with help from Andrew Watt and Jon Bellion, among others, before releasing it on New Year’s day. “Anyone” amassed more than 13 million streams in the first week of 2021.  SZA’s “Good Days,” which originally debuted at Number Eight on the previous week’s chart, jumped to Number Two with 14 million streams. CJ’s fast-moving “Whoopty” also leapt from Number 15 to Number Five (11.4 million streams) on the...

Many a country song has served up a much-needed reminder that a new and better day is coming. From Kacey Musgraves' “Rainbow” to Maren Morris' “Girl” to Thomas Rhett’s “Be a Light,” songs have a way of boosting their listeners emotionally, just when we need it the most. And now, country legend Johnny Lee has given fans another song to add to this worthy mix.“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” could easily be seen as 2021's first lullaby for a hurting nation. As the United States continues to deal with a time of...

Trent Reznor covered David Bowie’s “Fantastic Voyage” and “Fashion” as part of the “Just for One Day” tribute livestream, which — after a one-day delay due to technical difficulties and Covid-19 restrictions — aired Saturday night, one day after what would have been the late icon’s 74th birthday. The stripped-down rendition of Lodger’s “Fantastic Voyage” featured the Nine Inch Nails frontman alongside longtime collaborator Atticus Ross and Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson, who also hosted the event. On “Fashion,” the trio were joined by Reznor’s wife and How to Destroy Angels...

Jake Owen shows off his acting chops in a teaser for the upcoming film, Our Friend. Based on the real-life story of journalist Matthew Teague and his wife Nicole, the movie is centered around an essay Teague wrote for Esquire in 2015 about the experience of having his friend Dane Faucheux move in with him and his wife to help them as Nicole battled terminal cancer before she died in 2014.The film stars Academy Award winner Casey Affleck as Matthew, Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson as Nicole and How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel as Faucheux. Owen, meanwhile, portrays...

Michael Fonfara, the Canadian keyboardist who served in Lou Reed’s backing band throughout the Seventies, has died at the age of 74. Fonfara died Friday in a Toronto, Ontario hospital from complications stemming from a two-year battle with cancer, the keyboardist’s publicist told Rolling Stone. In addition to his tenure with Reed from 1974 to 1980, Fonfara was also a longtime member of the Canadian blues outfit Downchild. “He’s the best musician I’ve ever worked with,” Downchild co-founder Donnie Walsh said in a statement, with bassist Gary Kendall adding, “Yesterday...

Twenty-three years ago today (Jan. 10, 1998), Martina McBride soared to No. 1 with her single "A Broken Wing." The song comes from McBride's multi-platinum-selling album Evolution."A Broken Wing," which was McBride's second career No. 1 hit, is an honest look at an emotionally abusive relationship. McBride's powerful delivery of the thought-provoking tune earned her several awards nominations, including a CMA Awards nod for Single of the Year, and her flawless rendition of the soaring melody undoubtedly helped her win the 1999 CMA Awards trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year.RCA NashvilleBut "A...

Record label Mexican Summer has cut ties with Ariel Pink after the indie musician drew criticism for attending the pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C. earlier this week. “Due to recent events, Mexican Summer and its staff have decided to end our working relationship with Ariel Rosenberg AKA Ariel Pink moving forward,” Mexican Summer tweeted Friday. Due to recent events, Mexican Summer and its staff have decided to end our working relationship with Ariel Rosenberg AKA Ariel Pink moving forward. — Mexican Summer (@MexicanSummer) January 8, 2021 The label had released...

Barry Gibb and Keith Urban meet on a cinematic rendition of the Bee Gees' hit "I've Gotta Get a Message to You." The song is one of a dozen new collaborations between the sole living Gibb brother and country, Americana and bluegrass artists.Urban's voice is the first to greet listeners in this new version of the '60s hit, his tender vocals layered with a studio ensemble of piano and light strings. Together, the pair tell the story of a man awaiting execution who wants to send one more message to his...

Few artists of any stripe have ever exited this world with the panache of David Bowie, who left us with some of his most fascinating work just before his death on January 10th, 2016. The biggest surprise was his masterpiece of a final album, Blackstar, released just two days before his passing; but there was also Lazarus, the remarkable off-Broadway play that opened a month earlier. The show picks up the story of Thomas Newton, the alien Bowie played in The Man Who Fell to Earth, 30 years later, while...

Thirty-one years ago today, on Jan. 9, 1990, Willie Nelson's Stardust album was certified quadruple platinum, for sales in excess of 4 million units.Stardust, released in 1978, includes two No. 1 hits, "Georgia on My Mind" and "Blue Skies." The 10-track record features classics from all genres, including "Unchained Melody," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Someone to Watch Over Me."R&B star Booker T. Jones produced Stardust, which hit platinum status in December of 1978, eight months after it was released. The record proved that Nelson's instincts were right, even though...

After nearly three months of teasing and a chain-store “leak,” Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album — in all its 30-track glory — was released on Friday. One of the most anticipated tracks pairs Wallen with Chris Stapleton. “Only Thing That’s Gone,” written by Wallen with Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill, and Josh Thompson, delivers a heavy dose of country-soul. Wallen kicks off the mid-tempo slow-burner, relaying a breakup tale to a sympathetic bartender. “She told me where I could go/just stopped in here before I went,” he sings. Stapleton comes...

Singer-songwriter Ed Bruce, who wrote "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and more classic country hits, has died. According to a press release from his representative, Bruce died in Clarksville, Tenn., on Friday (Jan. 8) from natural causes at the age of 81.Born on Dec. 29, 1939, in Keiser, Ark., Bruce moved to Memphis with his family early in his life, and he considered Tennessee his home state, according to his official biography on his website. He began writing songs in his teens and, and he...