Month: July 2022

Morgan Wallen‘s “Wasted on You” dominated Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a 10th week on the July 30-dated tally, more than a year after it blasted in atop the ranking in January 2021.

“Wasted on You” appears on Wallen’s album, Dangerous: The Double Album, which rules Top Country Albums for a record-extending 66th week.

If you need a guide to follow along with Morgan Wallen’s “Wasted on You,” find the lyrics below:

Doja Cat‘s Planet Her produced its fifth top five hit on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart, as “Get Into It (Yuh)” ascended from No. 7 to No. 5 on the list dated July 9, 2022.

The superstar’s third album debuted at its No. 2 high, her best career rank, on the Billboard 200 in July 2021 and has spent its first 53 weeks on the chart in the top 25.

If you need a guide to follow along with Doja Cat’s “Get Into It (Yuh),” find the lyrics below:

UB40 debuted a music video for their new song “Champion” on Tuesday (July 26) as the theme for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The clip features inspiring footage of Commonwealth Games past mashed up with modern athletes training for this summer’s international competition, all while vocalist Matt Doyle sings, “Whatever race, color or creed/ We all share the same dream to succeed/ If you have the power and the speed with the will to lead/ You could be the number one champion,” over a reggae-tinged groove.

“We are proud to be representing the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with the official anthem ‘Champion.’ Birmingham represents the best of global Britain and it’s our pleasure to showcase this to the world. Birmingham is a city of champions!” guitarist Robin Campbell said in a statement, while Doyle added, “‘Champion’ is all about positivity. It’s about being uplifted and putting that energy into whatever gets you up in the morning — whether it be music, art or sport or whatever it is. It’s about doing what you do best and excelling at that, celebrating being a champion.”

Not only is the song — which features a saxophone line by late UB40 bandmate Brian Travers — representing the Commonwealth Games, it’s also the lead single from the long-running band’s forthcoming studio effort UB45, set to be released sometime early next year.

Additionally, UB40 will embark on a U.S. tour starting Aug. 18 in Knoxville, Tenn. From there, the trek will run through Sept. 24, hitting Pittsburgh; Newark, N.J.; Boca Raton, Fla.; and Asheville, N.C. UB40 no longer includes former frontman Ali Campbell, who now tours and records under the name UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro.

The Commonwealth Games spotlights athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes Britain and many of its former territories across the world. The 2022 Commonwealth Games begin Thursday in Birmingham, England. Watch the music video for UB40’s “Champion” below.

During a concert at Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio, over the weekend, Luke Combs helped bring hope and joy to a young fan battling cancer.

Addi Conely was previously diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, but that hasn’t stopped her from living life to the fullest. And on Saturday, Coneley got the chance to see one of her favorite performers, reigning CMA entertainer of the year Combs, perform in concert.

When Combs heard the story of Conely’s cancer battle, he and his team set about making sure she had an unforgettable experience. They flew Conely and her family from their home in California to Ohio for the Buckeye Country Superfest at Ohio Stadium, and once they arrived, they provided a driver to transport them from the airport. Combs then surprised the teen by spending time with her backstage prior to the show.

Conely’s mother shared details of the evening via a Facebook post, saying, “He chatted with Addi and hung on her every word…He gave so much love as we listened and cried with their stories they were exchanging. This moment made time stand still. She was genuinely happy and so blown away by his kindness, honestly we all were.”

Combs and his team also arranged for Conely and her family to watch the show in a suite outfitted with plenty of food and drinks. When the teen was asked what her favorite Combs song is, she answered, “Better Together” — which just happened to be his encore song that evening. So Combs arranged to have Conely come onstage during that song, which he sang to her as the massive audience in the stadium cheered and sang along.

“He asked everyone to turn on their flashlights and to sing along to our girl and they did just that,” Conely’s mother said. “It was so beautiful, we all watched while the tears streamed down our cheeks…Her smile says it all! Tonight was perfect.”

Combs also shared a video of his onstage moment with the teen, with the caption, “I want to introduce y’all to my new friend Addi. She has Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I heard about her story and knew I had to get her out to a show. I was honored to have her join me on stage in Columbus, OH this past Saturday and let her see what it feels like to play in front of the best fans in the world. This is a moment and video I’ll always cherish. Thank you for being such an inspiration to us all, Addi.”

See below for the video Combs shared of his onstage moment with Conely:

Happy Birthday, Carin Leon! The Regional Mexican star turned 33 years old Tuesday (July 26) and feels “very happy” to be celebrating another year of life.

“I’m very grateful for all of the blessings that I have received in this past year,” he expressed on Instagram. “A year that if I would’ve told 20-year-old Carincito about, he wouldn’t have believed it.”

The artist, who’s currently making the rounds with his single “No Es Por Aca” and the Mike Bahia-assisted “La Falta,” then thanked his wife, family, friends, team and fans, for “supporting this crazy dreamer.” “Hope this year is just as blessed for me and my people,” he added.

Leon first gained success as the lead vocalist of Grupo Arranke, which he played in for four years. In 2018, he kicked off his solo career and ultimately signed to Tamarindo Rekords. Since, he’s been unstoppable on the Billboard charts with his heartfelt musica Mexicana and exciting collaborations.

In total, he has eight entries on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, seven of which hit the top 10 and two of which hit No. 1. Below, see the full list:

“Me La Avente” peaked at No. 6 on the chart dated Oct. 26, 2019

“Tu” peaked at No. 4 on the chart dated Sept. 26, 2020

“El Toxico” (with Grupo Firme) peaked at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 11, 2021

“Como Lo Hice Yo” (with Matisse) peaked at No. 9 on the chart dated Dec. 25, 2021

“Ojos Cerrados” (with Banda MS) peaked at No. 1 on the chart dated March 3, 2022

“Con Un Botecito a Pecho” (with Adriel Favela) peaked at No. 2 on the chart dated May 28, 2022

“La Boda del Huitlacoche” peaked at No. 9 on the chart dated July 16, 2022

The list of nominations for the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards arrived on Tuesday (July 26), and with it, the shortlist of musicians who are in the running for the awards show’s most coveted prize: video of the year.

There’s some stiff competition this year — especially since there are seven nominees in the category for the first time ever. Doja Cat (“Woman”), Drake featuring Future & Young Thug (“Way 2 Sexy”), Ed Sheeran (“Shivers”), Harry Styles (“As It Was”), Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow (“Industry Baby”), Olivia Rodrigo (“brutal”) and Taylor Swift (“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)”) all earned nods in the category.

Swift previously took home the prize for “Bad Blood” (in collaboration with Kendrick Lamar) and “You Need to Calm Down.” The pop star took to TikTok to celebrate her many nominations this year, captioning a video, “All is, yet again, all too unwell. Thanks to you!!! Voting is open NOW!”

Lil Nas X is the category’s defending champion, winning last year for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” while Young Thug was previously featured on 2018 video of the year winner “Havana” by Camila Cabello.

Fans who are looking to make sure their favorite artist wins video of the year — or any of the other 21 gender-neutral categories — can start casting their votes now by visiting vote.mtv.com. Voting for the ceremony closes Friday, Aug. 19, except for best new artist category.

The 2022 VMAs will be held Sunday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT live from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. For the third year in a row, the VMAs will simulcast on The CW Network, in addition to BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TVLand and VH1.

So who do you think should win the VMA for video of the year? Vote in our poll below!

Drake took some heat in recent days regarding his use of a private jet, but he cleared up the controversy via social media on Tuesday (July 26).

The drama all started last week when Twitter account @CelebJets reported that the Honestly, Nevermind rapper had flown a private jet for 14 minutes from Hamilton, Ontario, to Toronto. Then, a technology reporter for Canadian paper The Globe and Mail jumped on the stat, tweeting, “Canadians will complain about climate change then pay thousands to go to the next Drake concert, acting like he isn’t taking his private jet on flights from Hamilton to Toronto.”

However, Drizzy hit back at the scandal by commenting on the Instagram page of @RealTorontoNewz, which also picked up the story. “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics,” he wrote in the comments section, adding, “Nobody takes that flight.”

Drake is just the latest celebrity being called out for his private jet usage as of late; several days earlier, Kylie Jenner was dubbed a “climate criminal” for her own private flight from Camarillo, Calif., to Van Nuys.

In other news, the rapper revealed the performers for night one of his upcoming October World Weekend festival on Tuesday as well. Dubbed “All Canadian North Stars,” the roster includes Choclair, Keshia Chanté, Frank-N-Dank, k-os, Glenn Lewis, Maestro French Wes, In Essence, Rascalz, Jully Black, Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, Shawn Desman and some yet-unnamed special guests.

Check out the controversy over Drake’s private jet below.

Drake’s Jet Landed in Hamilton, Ontario, CA. Apx. flt. time 14 Mins. pic.twitter.com/DeN1Wxh2MD

— Celebrity Jets (@CelebJets) July 22, 2022

Canadians will complain about climate change then pay thousands to go to the next Drake concert, acting like he isn’t taking his private jet on flights from Hamilton to Toronto.https://t.co/jtISJI6kLB pic.twitter.com/n5lEdSDNNQ

— Temur Durrani (@temurdur) July 22, 2022

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“Quit lying to yourself.”

The set-up line to the hook in Kylie Morgan’s first radio single, “If He Wanted to He Would,” is a lesson in itself. It’s a colloquialism that hits at one of the keys to a successful emotional life – people who are the most objective in their self-evaluations are better equipped to deal with surprises, and generally easier to be around. They’re also the most likely to make real progress in therapy, which Morgan has discovered in counselors’ offices and in Music Row rooms.

“Songwriting has always been my therapy,” she says. “It’s also cheaper therapy. It definitely is one of those things that has gotten me through sorting my emotions in a way that has been really healthy.”

Emotions were difficult for many Americans when COVID-19 forced them to isolate in 2020, but one constructive way to address the time was to explore new hobbies and habits. Morgan did that by taking a chance on a platform that had previously made her skeptical: TikTok.

“What else were we doing?” she says. “I thought it was just a bunch of girls in bikinis – like, ‘I’m not going to be on this app’ – and then my manager was like, ‘Just trust me. Just post songs you want to post.’ And so I started posting the songs that I thought were kind of too personal for me.”

Morgan soon found that the most revealing material got the biggest response. She also began discovering other young artists and songwriters she found intriguing, including singer/songwriter Zandi Holup. Morgan sent a direct message, asking if Holup would be interested in co-writing, and they met up at Holup’s house around March 2021.

One of the ideas Holup brought to the appointment also had TikTok roots. Numerous women had posted short examples of guys letting them down with the simple phrase “If he wanted to he would.” It seemed like a strong song title with empowering possibilities, and Morgan agreed.

“I think people love to make excuses for why somebody is the way that they are,” Holup says. “They want to see the best in them, and sometimes it’s to a fault. I just kind of felt like this needed to be said, because there’s so many songs that are about the other side of heartbreaks. It’s super damsel-in-distress, and painful and miserable.”

Knowing the hook they were writing to, they started with the opening line, offering specific actions – Facebook likes and late-night phone calls, for example – that can be misread as romantic signals when they may simply be moves of convenience or loneliness.

“’If He Wanted to He Would’ was truly a very brutal, honest song,” Morgan notes. “I needed to hear this at 16, and I feel like a lot of girls and women do, but no one else knows how to say it to them. And so I’m like, ‘I just did all the work for you, and hopefully this will jog your brain.’”

The chorus continued the list, though it introduced a new sentence structure, beginning each of the first three lines with similar phrases – “If he loved you…,” “If he missed you…” and “If he wants you…” – on the way to the key “quit lying to yourself” advice.

“That’s a part of maturing,” Holup offers. “It’s growth, once you’ve really gotten to that point of self-worth, where you’re ready to just tell yourself the truth and not sugarcoat.”

Verse two became even more direct, warning listeners that they can’t change other people, even sliding in a therapy reference: “Don’t psychoanalyze him/Make it more than what it is.” An additional bridge put it in street terms: “He might have set the bar low/But keep your standards high.”

The whole exercise took about an hour, though they weren’t convinced it was done. It was darker musically than they intended, but too good to let go. When Morgan had breakfast at a later date with songwriter/producer Ben Johnson (“Give Heaven Some Hell,” “Best Thing Since Backroads”), she suggested he take a look at it.

So in August, they held a second writing session. To avoid influencing him, they showed him the lyrics without any music, and he found the key, linking the first and third lines of the chorus to a hill of a melody. It was fashioned in part on Weezer’s Grammy-nominated “All My Favorite Songs,” which Johnson co-wrote (“I was kind of stealing from another song of mine,” he says), with the sound approximating the circular nature of the words.

“The lyric is kind of like a girl who’s overthinking and spinning around in her head,” Johnson says. “You’re like, ‘Hey, stop going in circles. You’re overthinking this. Don’t try to make a guy better than he is or make a situation something that it’s not.’”

Paired with a pulsing, descending bass line – one that echoes the driving simplicity of Tom Petty and The Traveling Wilburys – the chorus transformed into a more anthemic refrain. The verses received conversational phrasing, and they tweaked a few lyrics, too, with one section of the chorus getting an inadvertent Eric Church reference.

“We were talking about being misunderstood,” Holup remembers. “I said something about, ‘Oh, yeah, he ain’t misunderstood.’ And I think we just started to say the word misunderstood and get twisted up. And then we’re like, ‘Oh, Mr. Misunderstood.’ We were like, yeah, ‘He ain’t Mr. Misunderstood.’”

Johnson’s demo emphasized that pulsing tone, with Morgan and compatibly-voiced Holup trading verses. Johnson also oversaw the master recording in tandem with co-producer Shane McAnally (Old Dominion, Carly Pearce), holding the tracking session at Sound Stage. They used the demo to set the tempo and the feel with real musicians playing on top of the programmed previous version, which was ultimately muted.

Drummer Evan Hutchings and bassist Tony Lucido handled the Petty-like foundation, with Danny Rader and Sol Philcox-Littlefield on guitars and David Dorn adding keyboards. Philcox-Littlefield rejiggered the opening riff, infusing a clean tone with little or no pedal effects. Johnson dropped steel guitar on it at a later date, handling the instrument on a recording for the first time, and he overdubbed background vocals along with his sister/Track45 bandmate, Jenna Johnson.

“I was very much all about grounding the lyric, making [the production] not seem too flashy,” he says. “I tried to be pretty intentional of not distracting from the story.”

EMI Nashville released “If He Wanted To He Would” to AM/FM radio on July 1, bringing an uplifting message to anyone who needs it, which is pretty much everyone.

“Music is a language that everyone speaks,” Morgan says. “It doesn’t matter what the language is physically, you can feel certain things musically. I want my music to relate to the three-year-old and the 93-year-old because I want them to feel something.”

No lie.

Stevie Nicks is a music icon, a witchy style muse and, now, a comic book star.

TidalWave Comics announced on Tuesday (July 26) that it is adding the Fleetwood Mac singer to its popular “Female Force” series, which focuses on impactful women around the world.

Female Force: Stevie Nicks is a 22-page comic book that details the animated life and career of Nicks, as told by author Michael Frizell and artist Ramon Salas. The book is available in print and digital formats. The hardcover design was created by famed comic book artist Yonami and the paperback cover was drawn by Salas.

See the cover via TidalWave’s Instagram page here.

“There’s a popular meme that talks about how Taylor Swift writes sad songs about her exes, but Stevie Nicks makes her exes sing songs she wrote about them explaining how horrible they are, and every time I see it, I laugh,” Frizell said in a press statement. “Stevie’s fearlessness makes her a rock legend and explains her staying power and popularity.”

Previous “Female Force” titles have profiled other megastars including Dolly Parton, Donna Summer, Tina Turner, Betty White, Michelle Obama, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Gloria Steinem.

Shop Female Force: Stevie Nicks on Amazon Prime here.

In 2019, Nicks became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. She was first inducted with Fleetwood Mac in 1998.