Sum 41 are calling it a day. The long-running Canadian punk rockers fronted by singer Deryck Whibley revealed to fans on Monday morning (May 8) that their 27-year run is coming to an end. “Being in Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best moments of our lives,” wrote the band that still includes original guitarist Dave Baksh and longtime bassist Jason McCaslin.
“We are forever grateful to our fans both old and new, who have supported us in every way,” they continued. “It is hard to articulate the love and respect we have for all of you and we wanted you to hear this from us first. Sum 41 will be disbanding. We will still be finishing all of our current upcoming tour dates this year and we’re looking forward to releasing our final album, Heaven :x: Hell,” along with a final worldwide headlining tour to celebrate.” The group promised that details on the latter will be announced soon.
“For now, we look forward to seeing all of you skumfuks on the road and are excited for what the future will bring for each of us,” the wrote. “Thank you for the last 27 years of Sum 41.”
After forming in 1996, Sum 41 released their debut full length, All Killer No Filler, in 2001, which featured their signature pop punk breakthrough hit, “Fat Lip,” which topped the Billboard modern rock tally at the time, as well as fan favorites “In Too Deep” and “Motivation.” They followed with 2002’s Does This Look Infected? as well as Chuck (2004), Underclass Hero (2007), Screaming Bloody Murder (2011), 13 Voices (2016) and Order in Decline (2019).
Shortly after announcing last year’s Blame Canada spring/summer U.S. tour with Simple Plan, Sum announced what will be their double-album swan song, with one side (Heaven) focused on their staple pop punk sound and the other (Hell) a nod to their more recent Sabbath/metal-inspired direction.
This week’s column features a shot of Latin flavor with two bilingual tracks, including Scotty McCreery‘s collab with Gusi, as well as Honey County’s pairing with Chiquis. Plus, Kimberly Perry makes her first post-The Band Perry solo outing, revisiting and revamping one of the group’s biggest hits.
Kimberly Perry, “If I Die Young Pt. 2”
Kimberly Perry officially emerges from her time as one-third of the sibling trio The Band Perry, to launch her solo career by reprising one of her own biggest hits, the Grammy-nominated “If I Die Young.” On her new release, “If I Die Young Pt. 2,” she keeps the chorus, but revamps the verses to offer an alternative ending to the somber track, with the protagonist now looking back, grateful and whole, and happy at having overcome the emotional darkness of her youth.
“Lord, I’m glad you didn’t pay me no attention/ When I sent up a prayer of a child’s premonition,” she sings, later detailing that she’s grown up now with a daughter of her own. The song marks a coming home of sorts for Perry, after the trio made a foray into more pop and alternative sounds, but also makes one thing certain — Perry’s songwriting and affecting vocal talents have never sounded better.
Scotty McCreery with Gusi, “Why She Gotta Be Like That”
Scotty McCreery pays homage to his Puerto Rican heritage on this bilingual track, teaming with Colombian singer-songwriter GUSI for a reimagined version of this song from McCreery’s Same Truck album (though the song was titled “Why You Gotta Be Like That” on the project). This polished track gets infused with Latin guitar flourishes, while McCreery sings the first verse in English and GUSI takes the second verse in Spanish, before the pair eventually mingle the two languages on the bridge and chorus. A worth addition to a canon of country-Latin collaborations that includes Midland offering a Spanish version of “Drinkin’ Problem” with Jay De Al Cueva, the Carrie Underwood/David Bisbal collab “Tears of Gold,” Kane Brown teaming with Becky G for a remix of “Lost in the Middle of Nowhere,” and Willie Nelson teaming with Julio Iglesias on songs including the classic “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.”
Honey County feat. Chiquis, “Got It From My Mama (Lo Tengo De Mi Mama)”
Continuing with the country-Latin collaborations is this pairing from duo Honey County and two-time Latin Grammy winner Chiquis for a bilingual version of “Got It From My Mama” (Lo Tengo De Mi Mama).” This light-hearted swirl of pop-country tenderness give high praise to their mothers, and to the various qualities they inherited — from eye colors, ambitions, freckles and “how I have to have the last word.”
MacKenzie Porter “Chasing Tornadoes”
“I must have a thing for twisters,” Porter sings in this track, bringing plenty of attitude and panache to this gale-force pop-country track. Porter is known for her multi-week No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit with Dustin Lynch, “Thinking ‘Bout You,” but on this solo track, her focus is on the yin-and-yang of running down a hot-and-cold relationship. Her warm, agile vocal brings a note of grace to the song’s devil-may-care atmosphere. “Chasing Tornadoes” was written by Emily Landis, Lainey Wilson and Jamie Moore.
Larry Fleet, “Young Buck”
Hard-won wisdom rules the day on this grungy country track, as father-son time spent in the deer stand transforms into lessons passed down from one generation to the other. As the son nabs his first young buck, he’s eager to add to his count, but his father attempts to temper his son’s ambitions with the notion that he’s still a “young buck” himself, with plenty of time — and that time is of more value than a buck on the wall. Writing from Andy Albert, John Byron, Devin Dawson and Jacob Durrett, paired with Fleet’s flinty vocal, makes a fine outing.
Turnpike Troubadours, “Mean Old Sun”
Red Dirt rockers Turnpike Troubadours return with much-anticipated new music, with Shooter Jennings producing this fleet-fingered foot-stomper that again conveys the group’s superior, tightly-knit musicianship and ever maturing, evocative lyricism. The group debuted the song during a recent set at Stagecoach Festival in California, as a glimpse into their new album, Cat in the Rain, out Aug. 25. They’ve also revealed a strong slate of tour dates for this year, welcoming openers that include Kaitlin Butts and Muscadine Bloodline.
Karley Scott Collins, “Brain on Love”
Collins depicts the emotional nuances — or as the lyrics put it, the “psychedelic fever dream” — of someone in the depths of infatuation on this darkly-folky, foot-stomping track. The song pulses with urgency and reveals Collins as a soulful vocalist. “Brain on Love” is featured on Collins’ new project, Hands on the Wheel, out today. Collins is a co-writer on all five tracks including this sleekly produced, brooding track, which she co-wrote with Summer Overstreet, Cameron Bartolini and LIam Kevany, with production from Dann Huff.
Trey Lewis, “Up Yours”
Lewis first broke through with the crude single “Dicked Down in Dallas” in 2020, but he returns with this clever kiss-off to a ex-lover, written by Lee Thomas Miller, Ben Stennis and John Pierce. The title suggests a track in a similar vein as his previous offering, but quickly transitions to a more subtle dig, as he attempts to drown his sorrows in a bar, only to hear his ex’s favorite song and run into someone who brings up her name. In the end, his resolve to get over her is barely hanging on, as he sings, “I’m just trying to keep my phone/ From calling up yours.” Lewis signed with River House Artists late last year.
Half a dozen animals have died at a sale barn in Bolivar from the intense heat over the weekend.
Staff at the Robert Brothers Livestock Auction say they were not prepared for the high heat.
Rabits and chickens were among the animals who died. A spokeswoman for the auction company says there was not a thought given to pausing the sale because they wanted to get the animals back home with the original buyer or the new buyer.
She says it was unavoidable, not knowing how quickly the temperature was going to rise.
Abel Tesfaye launched his career more than a decade ago by releasing music under the mysterious stage moniker The Weeknd. But after scooping more than a dozen Billboard Music Awards, four Grammy Awards and billions of streams in the years since, it sounds like he might be ready to say goodbye to the bad guy.
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“I’m going through a cathartic path right now. It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter,” the singer told W Magazine in a new cover story alongside his The Idol co-star Lily-Rose Depp. “I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
If you followed the story line of the singer’s 2020 After Hours album, you might have gotten the sense that Abel was already setting out on the path of The Weeknd’s demise given the amount of bloody damage his alter ego suffered in the videos for the LP’s singles. “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he added of his untitled next collection. ” This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
Though it sounds like inhabiting The Weeknd has taken its toll on Abel, he said slipping into the guise of cult leader Tedros on the upcoming HBO musical drama The Idol also had an emotional and physical impact on him. “I had to take off the Weeknd outfit, put on Tedros’s wig, shoot with [Rose’s character] Jocelyn, then go back to being The Weeknd,” he said of the mind-messing back-and-forth between his two personas.
“Then, after the concert, I lost my voice. No voice came out at all. That’s never happened before. My theory is that I forgot how to sing because I was playing Tedros, a character who doesn’t know how to sing,” he said of the devious character at the center of the series slated to premiere on Max on June 4. “I may be looking too deeply into this, but it was terrifying. As The Weeknd, I’ve never skipped a concert. I’ve performed with the flu. I’ll die on that stage. But there was something very complicated going on with my mind at that moment.”
See some pics from the W shoot below.
The Weeknd for W MagazineThe Weeknd for W Magazine
The Billboard Latin Women in Music 2023 is a wrap. Shakira, Thalia, Ana Gabriel, Evaluna Montaner, Goyo, Emilia and Maria Becerra were honored as the first class of the Billboard Latin Women in Music at a gala in on Saturday (May 6) in Miami, which aired Sunday (May 7) exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock.
A first of its kind for Latin music, Mujeres Latinas en la Música — hosted by Ivy Queen and Jacqueline Bracamontes — celebrates Latin female artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry.
Shakira received the first-ever Woman of the Year award. Other honorees included Ana Gabriel (Living Legend Award), Emilia (Rising Star Award), Maria Becerra (Visionary Award), Evaluna (Tradition and Future Award), Goyo (Agent of Change Award) and Thalia (Global Powerhouse Award).
The inaugural Latin Women in Music event was announced earlier this year as an expansion of Billboard’s Women in Music franchise. Billboard and Telemundo aim to further elevate Latin music globally and celebrate the women who have made a concrete impact on Latin music through their artistic achievements, or through tangible, noteworthy actions that have brought measurable recognition and opportunity to women, affecting positive change to the industry as a whole.
The two-hour event featured epic moments, including show-stopping performances by the honorees and powerful, poignant speeches. But there was a lot happening behind the scenes and off camera.
Here are six moments from the inaugural Latin Women in Music that you didn’t see on television.
Sorry, Swiftgron shippers. After remaining tight-lipped for years about her rumored romance with Taylor Swift, Dianna Agron has pretty much denied there was anything more than a friendship between the two women.
The topic of the “Anti-Hero” singer came up whenRolling Stone asked Agron about Swift’s “22.” The pop star included the Glee alum’s first name as a secret message in the liner notes for the song in her Red album booklet, along with those of three other friends: Ashley, Claire and Selena, likely her confirmed besties Ashley Avignone, Claire Kislinger and Selena Gomez.
But does Agron take credit for inspiring the track? “Me? Oh, if only!” answered the actress. “That’s more because of a friendship than being the inspiration for the song.”
“I would not be the person to ask about that,” she added. “I cannot claim that!”
Long before the “Swift squad” was born, Agron and the 12-time Grammy winner were close pals circa 2012. Their friendship was immortalized in paparazzi photos and Instagram posts, and they were known to enjoy dress-up parties from time to time.
There were some fans, however, who speculated that there was a little more going on than just a platonic relationship. Theories based on song lyrics, a seemingly pointed tattoo removal and old tweets emerged to take hold for years.
That is, until now. Though Agron didn’t explicitly deny the rumors when asked about being shipped with the “Bejeweled” singer-songwriter, she did say this: “That is so interesting. I … I mean, there have been many stories about my dating life that are so wildly untrue. That’s funny.”
So, there you have it. In other news, Agron also commented on a rumor about her Glee days, regarding speculation that either Ryan Murphy or Lea Michele purposefully blocked her from appearing in Cory Monteith’s tribute episode after the actor passed away in 2013. “Not true,” the Clock star said.
“I think there are so many false pieces of information out there,” she continued. “That’s the weirdest thing that you have to learn in this industry — you don’t comment on things that are untrue, because that gives them more space. Maybe at the end of my career I’ll write a book and go into detail on everything that was very true and very untrue.”
After non-severe thunderstorms moved through parts of central Missouri and the eastern Ozarks Monday morning, we’ll be keeping our eyes to the sky for additional thunderstorm development late in the afternoon and evening.
The National Weather Service says the strongest of the storms will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts and hail up to two inches in diameter.
Locally heavy rainfall will also be possible.
Much of southwest Missouri is now under a Level 2 “slight risk” for severe storms.
We’ll have severe weather updates for any watches or warnings issued by the National Weather Service on 93-3 AM 560 KWTO.
The Lottery Winners roll to their first U.K. No. 1 with Anxiety Replacement Therapy (Modern Sky), their fifth studio album.
After leading at the halfway mark, the British four-piece (Thom Rylance, Robert Lally, Katie Lloyd and Joe Singleton) completes a tight finish ahead of new albums by Nines, Jessie Ware and the National, the Official Charts Company reports.
Prior to Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the Lottery Winners had never entered the top 10, and impacted the top 40 just twice — with 2020’s The Lottery Winners (No. 23 peak) and 2021’s Something To Leave The House For (No. 11).
Anxiety Replacement Therapy is the best-selling title on physical formats and digital downloads, the Official Charts Company reports.
Coming in at No. 2 is Londoner Nines with Crop Circle 2 (Warner Records). It’s his fourth top 5 album, following 2017’s One Foot Out (No. 4), 2018’s Crop Circle (No. 5) and 2020 leader Crabs in a Bucket.
Completing the podium is Jessie Ware’sThat Feels Good (EMI). It’s new at No. 3, for the British singer and songwriter’s third top 5 album.
The latest albums survey, published May 5, is stacked with new releases. Among them, U.S. alternative rock outfit the National’sFirst Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD). Thanks in part to assists from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, the set opens at No. 4, and leads the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.
Meanwhile, Reverend & the Makers’ Heatwave in the Cold North (Distiller) bows at No. 6, for the Sheffield-formed rock act’s first top 10 appearance in 16 years. That’s just one spot adrift of the band’s 2007 album The State of Things, which peaked at No. 5.
Also enjoying top 10 debuts this week are English artist Freya Ridings’ Blood Orange (Good Soldier), new at No. 7 for her second top tier effort; and punk veterans the Damned’s Darkadelic (Ear Music), new at No. 9, also for the English punk veterans’ second stint in the top frame.
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