Month: January 2023

New York City’s biggest weekend summer music festival, Governors Ball, has revealed its star-studded lineup, with Lizzo, Odesza and Kendrick Lamar headlining this June on three stages set up at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York.

Lizzo will open the Governors Ball 2023 festival on Friday, June 9, with Odesza headlining Saturday, June 10th, and Kendrick Lamar on stage for the final day of the festival, June 11th.  The lineup also includes Lil Uzi Vert, Haim, Diplo, Lil Baby, Aespa, Rina Sawayama, Lil Nas X, Giveon, Sofi Tukker, Tai Verdes, Suki Waterhouse, Joey Badass and Pusha T, and more.

Governors Ball co-founder Tom Russell said: “Words can’t express how excited we are to bring Gov Ball to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, one of the most special and storied parks in all of New York City … Since moving to Queens in 2021 we’ve been overwhelmed by the welcome the community has shown us, and we look forward to continue being a part of and giving back to that community for years to come. We are honored to call such an iconic venue our new home, and we thank Mayor [Eric] Adams and his administration and Queensborough President Donovan Richards for their trust and support.”

General admission tickets are starting at $139 a day while Platinum tickets begin at $2,499 offering premium entrance, exclusive front-of-stage viewing and on-stage viewing, all-day dining, full-service bar access and more perks for the whole weekend.  For ticket and other information, head to www.governorsballmusicfestival.com.

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The Weeknd has released an accompanying music video for “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” the theme song for James Cameron‘s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ produced by Swedish House Mafia and Simon Franglen.

The video, directed by Quentin Deronzier, features clips of the The Weeknd and scenes from the ‘Avatar’ franchise, highlighting ‘The Way of Water’s’ story. Avatar: The Way of Water, set over a decade later the original film, is the sequel to the 2009 original ‘Avatar’ film. It sees the return of Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña as Jake Sully, the human who left his body to become a Na’vi, and Neytiri, the Na’vi princess. Jake and their family of five children explore Pandora as they face an ancient threat that has returned, leading Jake into a war with the humans.

Take a look at The Weeknd’s “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” music video – here.

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Harry Styles has announced he’s adding 2 additional shows to his ‘Love On Tour’, taking place on January 31 & February 1 in Palm Springs, California with special guest Madi Diaz.

In a social media Instagram post via HSHQ, the additional dates were announced: “Love On Tour. New Dates Added. Acrisure Arena in Greater Palm Springs. Verified Fan Registration is open now through Monday, January 16th at 12pm PT. General on sale begins Friday, January 20th at 10am PT.”

General on sale for tickets will begin Friday, January 20th at 10am PT at hstyles.co.uk/tour.

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SZA remains at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with her sophomore LP ‘SOS’ earning 125,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 12.

‘SOS’ is the first LP to spend its first five weeks at No. 1 since Adele’s 30, which ruled the chart for six weeks from Dec. 4, 2021 to Jan. 8, 2022. The last female R&B artist to spend five weeks at No. 1 was Mariah Carey’s 1995 LP, Daydream, which spent six nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200. The last R&B album by a female artist that spent its first five weeks at No. 1 was Janet Jackson’s Janet back in 1993.

Taylor Swift’s Midnights held at No. 2, with Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains at No. 3, Drake and 21 Savage’s joint effort Her Loss at No. 4, and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti at No. 5.

Billboard 200: SZA’s ‘S.O.S’ Spends Historic FIFTH Week at #1

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Madonna plans to celebrate her 40th anniversary with the announcement of the Celebration Tour, her first retrospective concert tour. Said Madonna: “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.” The Celebration Tour is Madonna’s first since her 2019-2020 run of shows in support of her album Madame X.  The tour was hampered by Madonna’s back injury that forced several cancellations, and their set lists were dominated by 11 or 12 songs nightly from the album and only a handful of tracks from her earlier classic releases.

The Celebration Tour announcement came via a nearly five-minute video shared to Madonna’s social accounts, where she is seen paying tribute to her 1991 ‘Blond Ambition’ World Tour documentary Truth or Dare. The announcement comes at the end of the video, which features Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Lil Wayne, Diplo, Kate Berlant, Eric Andre, Bob the Drag Queen, Larry Owens and Meg Stalter around a table playing the game ‘Truth or Dare.’

Tickets go on sale on Friday (Jan. 20) and Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. local time; click here for a complete list of dates and ticketing options.

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Rihanna is sharing in a behind-the-scenes video the making of her hit song “Lift Me Up” from the soundtrack to “Wakanda Forever.” Rihanna is seen in her recording studio listening to the finished song for the first time with filmmaker Ryan Coogler, composer Ludwig Göransson and Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown.

“Lift Me Up,” which plays over the end credits of “Wakanda Forever,” was co-written by Göransson, Tems, Rihanna and Coogler. The idea for the song stemmed from a trip Göransson and Coogler took when they went to Lagos; Göransson had a musical idea and asked Coogler to write some lyrics, and a few months later Rihanna and Tems added their vocals to the track. The song was recorded as a tribute to celebrate the legacy of actor Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa in the original “Black Panther.” Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.

The song also marked a return to music for Rihanna after a six-year hiatus, with her own Westbury Road label releasing the track in partnership with Roc Nation, Def Jam Recordings and Hollywood Records.

Watch the behind-the-scenes video – here.

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