Month: July 2022

When the dust — and bodies — settle on season four of Stranger Things, fans can argue about the killer moments. There’s the evil Vecna and his bone-snapping ways. Kate Bush coming to the rescue. And, of course, Eddie Munson wielding the axe for an end-of the-world Metallica shred.

That moment has powered Metallica’s ‘80s song into charts around the globe, and turned actor Joseph Quinn in the next hot thing.

On Monday night (July 25), the British actor stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for what was his talk-show debut. He played it like a pro, just like he did in his special “metal” moment on Stranger Things, though as he tells Fallon, the scene everyone’s talking about was mildly terrifying to shoot.

“It was kinda nerve-wracking,” he explains. “But it was at a weird point in the pandemic where no one had seen any live music for ages. And it was me and Gaten (Matarazzo)…and it was so fun. I was nervous, but it was kind of like a rock concert. And I got to feel like a rock star for one night. And that was pretty great.”

Quinn has been a fully-fledged member of the jet-set since season four aired on Netflix. He’s had a shout-out from Jack Black, appeared at Comic-Con, and, thanks to the power of his all-metal Munson character, managed to dodge an awkward situation at immigration.

“Master of Puppets” this month cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Official U.K. Singles Chart for the first time, due in no small part to Munson and Stranger Things.

Watch the interview below.

Willie Nelson’s annual Farm Aid festival, taking place Sept. 24 in Raleigh, N.C. and focusing on climate resilient agriculture, will feature Chris Stapleton and Sheryl Crow, along with Farm Aid board members Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price. Additional acts at the Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek will include Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid.

Absent from the festival stage for the second consecutive year will be Farm Aid board member Neil Young, who recently responded to a fan’s letter on his website, stating: “I will not be at Farmaid this year. I am not ready for that yet. I don’t think it is safe in the pandemic. I miss it very much.” Young cited COVID-19 concerns in sitting out the 2021 festival in Hartford, Conn.. In 2020, Farm Aid was presented online.

Although Farm Aid had no further comment on Young’s decision, he was not included in the lineup revealed today (July 26). The organization notes it is “staying up to date on the latest CDC guidance and industry best practices to limit the transmission of COVID-19. Farm Aid is taking various precautions, including enhanced sanitation protocols and streamlined operations to prevent unnecessary crowding. Farm Aid will monitor the situation closely and will update protocols as warranted leading up to the festival.”

Farm Aid tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 30, at 10 a.m. ET, at LiveNation.com. A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 27, at www.farmaid.org/tickets.

Event updates will be posted on Twitter (@FarmAid), Facebook (facebook.com/farmaid) and Instagram (instagram.com/farmaid), and at farmaid.org/festival. The organization is promoting use of the hashtags #FarmAid2022 and #Road2FarmAid on social media.

The festival’s return to the Raleigh amphitheater, where it previously was staged in 2014, “will showcase how farmers are leading the way to mitigate climate change by sharing their stories on the Farm Aid stage and throughout the event,” the organization announced.

“I’ve always said that family farmers strengthen us all,” said Nelson in a statement. “Farmers in North Carolina, across the Southeast, and all over the country are growing solutions to our toughest challenges, including climate change. We’re bringing Farm Aid here to highlight their hard work and celebrate the ways we can all join farmers to help.”

In a singular example of a musician’s commitment to a cause, Nelson has maintained his focus on supporting America’s family farmers across four decades, since launching Farm Aid in 1985.  

Since 1985, with the support of artists who contribute their performances, the organization has raised more than $64 million to support programs that help family farmers thrive. Farm Aid year-round takes action to shift the nation away from industrial agriculture and to expand the markets for food from family farms.

Aside from its hours of great music, Farm Aid is an annual gathering place for activists involved in the Good Food Movement and related concerns with social justice and the environment. Attendees will have access to Homegrown Concessions, Farm Aid’s trademarked menu of food produced by family farmers, using ecological practices, with a fair price paid to the farmers. A portion of the Walnut Creek amphitheater site will be set aside for Homegrown Village, featuring activities to highlight issues around soil, water, energy, food and farming. 

Farm Aid is well positioned to highlight the importance of farming to its host state of North Carolina. The organization notes that agriculture generates $92.7 billion annually and employs 17.5% of the state’s workforce (more than 700,000 jobs). It is home to 41,500 farms and farmland makes up more than 8.3 million acres of the state, with direct to consumer sales “creating the foundation for a vibrant local food system,” according to Farm Aid’s festival announcement.

And yet, the announcement continues, “across the state, climate change has a considerable impact — especially on communities of color, rural communities and those working in agriculture. North Carolina farmers are implementing techniques to mitigate climate change, including planting crops to cover soil between growing seasons, rotating crops, reducing soil tillage, integrating livestock and crop production, raising pastured livestock, and improving soil and water management.”

For the second consecutive year, the country lifestyle network Circle — a partnership of Gray Television and the Opry Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. — will be the exclusive broadcast partner of Farm Aid, and will also carry coverage on its Facebook, Twitter and TikTok pages. The festival also will air live on FarmAid.org and the organization’s YouTube channel. Farm Aid’s sponsors this year include Patagonia Workwear and DISH Network.

“Everywhere we go, we hear from festival-goers that there’s nothing quite like the Farm Aid experience,” Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar says in a statement. “Farmers and eaters are inspired and empowered at the intersection of music and family farm food to support the source of our food — family famers — and to join farmers in fighting for our soil and water. We will celebrate the family farmers of the Southeast and amplify their voices on the Farm Aid stage in September.”

Fifteen years after he burst onto the scene, Jamie T is set for his first U.K. No. 1.

The Wimbledon-born singer and songwriter blasts to the summit of the midweek U.K. chart with The Theory of Whatever (via Polydor), his fifth studio LP.

The Theory of Whatever should continue Jamie T’s streak of Top 5 appearances, which started with 2007’s debut Panic Prevention (No. 4), and continued with 2009’s Kings & Queens (No. 2), 2014’s Carry on the Grudge (No. 4) and 2016’s Trick (No. 3).

Jamie T (real name Jamie Alexander Treays) leads an Official Chart Update that’s top-heavy with new releases.

One of those is Jack White’s Entering Heaven Alive (Third Man), which is set for a No. 2 bow. The Detroit rocker’s fifth studio album, and second full-length of the year, could become his fifth solo Top 5 title. The former White Stripes frontman led the national survey on three occasions, with 2012’s Blunderbuss, 2014’s Lazaretto and 2018’s Boarding House Reach, while his earlier album, Fear of the Dawn, reached No. 4 following its release in April 2022.

Meanwhile, ‘80s pop favorites Bananarama is set for a new career best with Masquerade (In Synk), their 12th studio album. 

To date, the British act’s loftiest chart position was No. 8 for Deep Sky Diving, their 1983 debut which yielded the hits “Shy Boy” and “Really Saying Something.” The current lineup features founding members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward.

Further down the list is Brighton alternative rock outfit The Kooks, with 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark (Lonely Cat), their sixth studio effort. It’s new at No. 8 on the midweek chart and is set to give the band their highest-charting record in 14 years.

Finally, Gilbert O’Sullivan is heading for a Top 10 finish with his latest album Driven (Union Square Music), the Irish singer-songwriter 20th studio album. It’s motoring to a No. 10 debut. If it keeps its momentum, the set will drive O’Sullivan to his first top tier appearance since A Stranger in the Back of My Yard peaked at No. 9 back in 1974.

The Official U.K. Albums Chart is presented late Friday.

Selena Gomez‘s birthday may have been last week, but she’s still celebrating.

On Monday (July 25), the pop star/actress took to Instagram to share photos from her glamorous 30th birthday party and a message about what the milestone birthday means to her.

“Have had a moment to catch up,” she wrote in the caption alongside two black-and-white portraits in her Versace ball gown. “Though there are so many words to say I’ll simply leave it at this. My twenties were a journey through good, hard and beautiful moments that I will never forget. Each of them has shaped me into the person that I am today. I am someone who is still learning, but is more certain about what matters and what she wants. Someone who is grateful for every single gift and every single lesson along the way. I am walking forward encouraged by so many strong, empowering people around me.. I want to try my best to take the beautiful and the painful one day at a time and let it all make me into the very best me that I can be for myself/others/you. After a few days of celebrating, my heart feels full, grateful and I can say that I’m starting to really like 30. Thank you SO much for being a part of my life, here’s to another decade! Love you all inside and out so much it hurts!”

In a second series of photos, Gomez is seen descending a flight of stairs in the blush tulle gown — trailed by her sister Gracie — sharing three full-length shots of the Versace dress for her fashion-loving followers to enjoy.

A few famous friends took to the comments section with birthday messages, including Gwyneth Paltrow, who wrote, “Happy birthday SweetPea,” and Emily Ratajkowski, who commented “Hbd!” and “Amen” to Gomez’s self-reflective caption.

Gomez had a quieter celebration with Taylor Swift earlier in the weekend, sharing two photos of the longtime besties on Saturday with the caption: “30, nerdy and worthy.”

See Gomez’s red-carpet-worthy 30th birthday pics below:

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A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez)

Megan Thee Stallion called on Future for her latest single, “Pressurelicious,” the newest offering fans have received from her forthcoming album, which she recently revealed is “probably like 95 percent done.”

Meg opened up about collaborating with Future on the track in her recent interview with Rolling Stone, saying that she loves his approach to music and general attitude towards life.

“He just so f—ing ratchet!” Megan said. “He is unapologetically himself. I appreciate that about anybody who gets up and has to do anything in the public eye. Anybody who has to read about their life online every day and deal with so many energies and can put it out into their music and do it gracefully, I feel like you deserve your flowers.”

If you need a guide to follow along with Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Pressurelicious,” featuring Future, find the lyrics below:

OneRepublic brought the energy to the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack with their breezy track, “I Ain’t Worried.”

The song marks the Ryan Tedder-led band’s first song on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart since 2014, as “I Ain’t Worried” debuted at No. 43 on the survey dated July 9.

If you need a guide to follow along with OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried,” find the lyrics below:

Burna Boy achieved his first No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart as “Last Last” advanced from No. 3 to lead the list dated July 16.

The single is only the fifth leader on the new genre chart, which launched in April. “Last Last” samples elements of Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000.

If you need a guide to follow along with Burna Boy’s “Last Last,” find the lyrics below:

Brent Faiyaz has the summer heating up, as his second studio album Wasteland debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, behind Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti in its fifth week at No. 1.

He also landed nine of its tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “All Mine” at No. 42.

If you need a guide to follow along with Brent Faiyaz’s “All Mine,” find the lyrics below:

Yung Gravy achieved his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 23), as “Betty (Get Money),” which samples and interpolates Rick Astley’s 1988 No. 1 classic “Never Gonna Give You Up,” debuted at No. 68.

“Betty” is slated to appear on Yung Gravy’s upcoming fourth LP.

If you need a guide to follow along with Yung Gravy’s “Betty (Get Money),” find the lyrics below:

In 2004, RBD released their single “Sálvame,” which instantly became a heartbreak anthem due to its weeping melody and emotional lyrics backed by Anahi’s dulcet vocals. Eighteen years after its release, the timeless hit continues to transcend generations, now having a strong presence on social media thanks to Bad Bunny and Karol G.

Recently, Bad Bunny posted a 19-second video on his TikTok account, where he’s seen singing part of the song in a cappella. In the comments, excited fans said things such as “We love an RBD stan” and “the best video to exist,” while others requested a “Sálvame” remix.

Anahí, on the other hand, took to her official TikTok account to react to Bad Bunny’s video with her piercing blue eyes and smile from ear-to-ear as she nodded to the Puerto Rican artist’s vocals.

But this isn’t the first time Bad Bunny has referenced RBD. On his Chencho Corleone-assisted “Me Porto Bonito,” he sings a part of the lyric that says: “In the 2000s she listened to RBD and now she wants perreo every night against the wall.” Additionally, a fan-made mash-up of both “Me Porte Bonito” and “Sálvame” is going viral on TikTok.

Last month, Karol G also injected new life into the 2004 banger, part of RBD’s debut album Rebelde, inviting Anahí as her special guest during her Mexico City concert on June 11.

The two powerhouses joined forces for an emotional performance of “Salvame,” marking the first time Anahi performed live in 11 years. Onstage, the two artists even rocked pink cowboy hats resembling the one Anahi wore in the song’s official music video.

 

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“Seeing you again before the world, in the midst of tears and so many emotions, only confirmed that although for years they have been beautiful memories, the feelings of an entire generation are still alive, intact,” the Colombian singer, who’s a devoted RBD fan, expressed on Instagram. “Having you there not only made me happy but it made millions of us happy. You and I forever.”

In December 2020, Anahi and her former bandmates Maite Perroni, Christian Chávez and Christopher Von Uckermann came together for a virtual reunion event called “Ser o Parecer.” However, her last time in concert was in 2011 with her Go Any Go tour.

On the Billboard charts, “Sálveme” peaked at No. 27 on the Latin Pop Airplay chart dated April 8, 2006.