Lizzo

Lizzo

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

News

Lizzo Announces 'CUZ I LOVE YOU' Album & Tour

Facebook Twitter Email
The indie hip-hop star's major-label debut LP drops on April 19
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jan 28, 2019 - 5:10 pm

Minnesota-based rapper Lizzo announced today that she will be dropping her major-label full-length debut album, CUZ I LOVE YOU, on April 19 via Nice Life/Atlantic Records. She also shared details for a tour in its support, kicking off in San Francisco, Calif. on April 24.

The announcement follows the release of Lizzo's latest single, "Juice," dropped Jan. 4. The fun, bouncy track has Lizzo's signature positivity all over it and will be included on the album.

The CUZ I LOVE YOU Tour will begin shortly after the album drops, and after she performs at both weekends of Coachella 2019, on April 12 and 21. She will play shows in major cities across the U.S. in April and May, concluding at the House Of Blues in Boston on May 22.

In addition to her Coachella debut, Lizzo will also be making a few other festival appearances outside of her headline tour dates. She will be taking the stage at Primavera Sound in Barcelona on June 1 and at the new NOS Primavera festival the following weekend in Portugal.

Lizzo On Lolla, New Music & 'Drag Race'

Lizzo made her debut with Nice Life/Atlantic in 2016 when they released her EP Coconut Oil. Prior to getting signed, she released two albums independently, Lizzobangers in 2013 and Big GRRRL Small World in 2015.

Details on all Lizzo tour dates and her upcoming album are available on her website.

Primavera Sound 2019 Features A "New Normal" Equal-Gender Lineup

Green Day

Green Day

Photo: Pamela Littky

News

Green Day, Weezer & Fall Out Boy Unite For 2020 Hella Mega Tour

Facebook Twitter Email
The aptly named trek will have eight shows across Europe next June, followed by 20 open-air sports arenas across North America, from July 17 in Seattle to Aug. 29 in Philadelphia
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 10, 2019 - 3:58 pm

Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy have answered forgotten dreams from your teen self: the alt-rock stalwarts have revealed details for their joint Hella Mega Tour. The epic 28-date global stadium trek kicks off in Paris on June 13, 2020 and wraps up in Philadelphia on Aug. 29. The three bands have marked the occasion by each sharing new singles, all from their newly announced forthcoming 2020 albums.

The aptly named Hella Mega Tour will have eight shows across Europe next June, closing that first leg out on June 29 in Dublin. They'll start things back up in Seattle on July 17 at T-Mobile Park, at 20 open-air sports arenas across the continent. The concerts will happen at San Francisco's Oracle Park on July 21, Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium on July 25 and Chicago's Wrigley Field on Aug. 13, to name a few, with the final one taking place on Aug. 29 in Philadelphia.

Los Angeles ska band The Interrupters will open for all North American dates. Rolling Stone reveals that the order of each night will continue with GRAMMY winners Weezer, followed by GRAMMY nominees Fall Out Boy, ending with four-time golden gramophone winners—and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers—Green Day.

A much more intimate show with the three bands, at West Hollywood's historic 500-capacity Whiskey A Go Go, has been announced for tonight, Sept. 10, without any information on how to obtain tickets. You can go camp outside on Sunset Boulevard right now, or you can plan on tuning into "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for the next three nights. Weezer, Fall Out Boy and Green Day will each perform as the special musical guests on the L.A.-based late-night show tonight, tomorrow and Thursday, respectively.

More: Weezer Surprise Fans With New Album Covering Hits From Toto, TLC, a-ha & More

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong said the joint tour idea began with them and was inspired by classic '80s and '90s arena rock. As highlighted in the Rolling Stone article, he, along with Weezer's Rivers Cuomo and Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, spoke to Beats 1 host Zane Lowe this morning about the upcoming trek and new music.

"We talked about how we weren't really wanting to do stadiums and [instead] do something that was like throwback to the Monsters of Rock Tour," Armstrong said, citing the shows featuring Van Halen, Metallica, Aerosmith and others. "There was, of course, Fall Out Boy and Weezer and now we're stoked."

Wentz, who was born seven years after Armstrong, also wants to keep the big rock vibes alive. "I remember in the 1990s there was this one summer, and Guns N' Roses [and] Metallica went on the stadium tour and my parents didn't let me go to it… I feel trapped in that forever and we wanted to recreate that memory."

Doing their part to keep rock alive, the bands all released lead singles from their newly announced upcoming albums, which you can listen to below. Weezer's new track, "The End of the Game," is filled with '80s glam-rock guitar riffs and will be featured on Van Weezer, due out in May 2020. Green Day elicits the early So Cal garage-punk rock days on "Father of All…," from their upcoming February album of the same name.

Fall Out Boy gets an assist from sonic chameleon Wyclef Jean on the angsty, high-tempo "Dear Future Self (Hands Up)," from their upcoming album Greatest Hits: Believers Never Die – Volume Two. The album is due out next month, Nov. 15, and will serve as their second "greatest hits" compilation LP, with ​volume one dropping in  2009.

A variety of pre-sales begin on Sept. 16, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-ordering any of the band's new albums or signing up for their email lists will grant pre-sale ticket access. You can find all ticketing info and all tour dates at hellamegatour.com.

Avril Lavigne Has Always Known Exactly Who She Is

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

Photo: Johnny Louis/Getty Images

News

Vampire Weekend Announce 2020 Tour Dates

Facebook Twitter Email
As Ezra Koenig and company closed out a show at Madison Square Garden in NYC, they revealed new North American tour dates, beginning in spring 2020
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 9, 2019 - 1:33 pm

This year has been a big one for Vampire Weekend, who, after months of double-single releases, dropped their long-awaited follow up to 2013's GRAMMY-winning Modern Vampires Of The City. The GRAMMY winners shared the epic 18-track Father of the Bride on May 3 and began part one of the supporting tour in June.

Now, this past Friday, Sept. 6, as Ezra Koenig and company closed out a show at Madison Square Garden in New York, they revealed new North American tour dates, beginning spring 2020, with tickets going on sale this week.

The alt-rock group will wrap up the second leg of the FOTB Tour and second decade of the century in Australia for the four dates of the multi-city Falls Festival. The trek will pick back up in North America on May 29, 2020 in Westbrook, Maine, with 19 more shows slated across the U.S. and Canada. The 2020 dates include many cities they will miss on their current run, including Ashville, N.C. on June 12, Detroit on Sept. 24 and New Orleans on Oct. 6.

More VW: Ezra Koenig Elaborates On Vampire Weekend's "Emotional And Personal" 'FOTB'

In addition to giving their fans more chances to see them live, the three-hour Garden show in Vampire Weekend's birthplace of New York City marked the first live performance of "Sunflower" that included collaborator Steve Lacy. You can check out a fan video of the performance below. As the upload reveals, they also performed a version of "Dark Red," from Steve Lacy's Demo, Lacy's 2017 solo EP, his first release outside of his music with The Internet.

Presales for the new dates begin this Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. local time, with general sales starting Sept. 13. Tickets are also still available for select previously announced dates. All tour info can be found on VampireWeekend.com

Watch Cyndi Lauper Perform "Time After Time" At The 27th GRAMMY Awards | GRAMMY Rewind

Lizzo & Halsey

Lizzo & Halsey

Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Spotify

News

Lizzo, Halsey, Shawn Mendes & More To Talk Mental Health On Upcoming Radio Special

Facebook Twitter Email
Tegan and Sara, Blink-182, Judah & the Lion and Lauren Jauregui will also take part in "I'm Listening," a two-hour radio show focused on breaking stigmas around openly discussing mental health
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 3, 2019 - 1:47 pm

This Sunday, Sept. 8, Lizzo, Halsey, Shawn Mendes, Tegan and Sara and others will take part in "I'm Listening," a two-hour radio special focused on breaking stigmas around openly discussing mental health. Blink-182, Disturbed, Korn, Judah & the Lion and Lauren Jauregui are among the diverse group of musicians, athletes and medical professionals/mental health advocates joining the conversation hosted by Entercom/Radio.com. The annual broadcast will once again mark the start of National Suicide Prevention Week.

All the artists participating have been open about their own struggles with mental health. Earlier this summer, self-love advocate Lizzo posted on social media about the depression she was facing, following up the next day with a powerful message to her fans.

She wrote, "I learned in the last 24hrs that being emotionally honest can save your life. Reaching out may be hard but as soon as I did it, I was immediately covered in love. I used to think of sadness as a constant with fleeting moments of joy in between…but it's a wave… My sadness can be as temporary as my joy."

She added a personal note about her own triggers, prompting readers to question what brings up sadness for them. "I love that I can use my sadness constructively in real time for gratitude. What triggers your sadness? What do you do when those buttons are pushed? What do you love about yourself in those moments of darkness?"

Lalah Hathaway On Mental Health Awareness: "You Can Never Look At A Person And See What They're Going Through"

Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara spoke to mental health challenges of the LGBTQ+ community as they continue to fight for equality. "I think issues around identity and mental health are intrinsically linked," she said in a statement for "I'm Listening."

"It makes sense to me now, that if I don't talk about my feelings, I'm not going to feel well, I'm not going to be well," Quin added. "Through the work that we do with the Tegan and Sara Foundation, and some of the staggering statistics surrounding queer people and mental health, we hope that by talking about some of our experiences as young people, that it will encourage others to do the same."

Lauv On "F**k, I'm Lonely," Staying Independent, Mental Health & More

Entercom's Chief Programming Officer Pat Paxton echoed the importance of the conversation—and talking about mental health in general—in the statement. "We are doing our part to end the stigma by encouraging people to talk. Like millions of others, my family has been impacted by mental health issues and the effect it has on friends and families is devastating. 'I'm Listening' is when our vast network of radio stations and digital platforms unite on the same day, at the same time, to ultimately save lives. If we help just one person, our time will have been well spent."

In addition to being able to tune into the program, which will be aired on all Entercom radio stations at 7 a.m. local time this Sunday, everyone is encouraged to join the conversation by tweeting to @imlistening_org, using the hashtag #ImListening or submitting your story on their website. Radio.com writes, "Select stories will included in the show." Listeners can also call in live to participate or listen to the special episode online after it airs.

If you are or know of a musician in need of mental health support, please visit MusiCares to learn more about your options. If you or a loved one are in crisis, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Crisis Text Line (text TALK to 741741) are there to listen; you are not alone.

Judah & The Lion On Choosing Hope In Tough Times: "Just Talk About It, And You'll Feel Less Alone"

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X

Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for BuzzFeed

News

Lil Nas X's No. 1 Run Began With TikTok, Now The Music Industry Is Taking Notice

Facebook Twitter Email
"We get 10 to 15 inquiries a day from artists and labels wanting to pay us to use their song," Devain Doolaramani, who manages over 20 TikTok users, recently told Rolling Stone
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 26, 2019 - 2:22 pm

Whether or not you've ever downloaded the app, it's likely you've been hearing about TikTok more and more this year. Though it may be most popular among teens and pre-teens, the short-form video app is not one to brush off as a mindless youth trend. Its users upload 15-second videos set to music (denoted in text at the bottom of the clip) onto the platform, offering the chance for both the uploader and the artist of the song to gain viral fame. And while striving for your moment—however brief—in the spotlight is nothing new, teens' obsession with the year-old app is already making waves in the music industry.

Last month, 20-year-old Lil Nas X broke records as his viral Billy Ray Cyrus-assisted "Old Town Road" took the longest run ever at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, holding its reign on the all-genre chart for 17 weeks in a row. Back in February, the then-unknown rapper, two months after self-releasing the original version of the country-trap song, uploaded it to TikTok along with a "challenge": to change into Western garb before the drop. The song went viral on the app as users like Michael Pelchat, a.k.a. NiceMichael, added their own versions. A month later, Lil Nas X signed to Colombia Records and in April they released the record-breaking remix.

Lil Nas X is not the only notable artist to effectively harness the power of TikTok. Lizzo joined the platform in June and offered the #DNATest challenge, featuring her 2017 bop "Truth Hurts"—she opens the song with "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch." This month, the two-year-old song became her first top 10 track on the Hot 100, hitting No. 4 on Aug. 10. "Juice," from her latest LP Cuz I Love You, is her only other song to date to make the all-genre chart, reaching No. 9. The newfound viral moment of "Truth Hurts," similar to that of Lil Nas X, led Lizzo to release a new remix, featuring DaBaby.

A recent Rolling Stone feature examining the app's rapid growth and impact on the music industry highlights the move for labels and artists to push their music on the platform. "We get 10 to 15 inquiries a day from artists and labels wanting to pay us to use their song," Devain Doolaramani, who manages over 20 TikTok users, recently told the outlet. The article explains that the Chinese company Bytedance purchased the lip sync video app Musical.ly in late 2017, and, in August 2018, shut it down and migrated its user base to the new TikTok, giving it a starting point of 500 million monthly global users.

Speaking to both active uploaders and people who support its uploaders, like Doolaramani, Rolling Stone found that the algorithm better supports the chance for 15 seconds of fame, as it "is constantly searching for new clips, rather than just pushing out the latest videos from already popular users." The algorithm also seems to push videos and challenges—and their featured songs—that are already doing well to the next level. Doolaramani noticed that songs featured in around 3,000–5,000 videos seem to get more a bigger boost once they reach that point.

The platform even offers "creator partner managers" for popular users invited into their Creators Program. Pelchat, whose profile says he has over 922,400 fans, is part of the program. As he told Rolling Stone, his manager can help push his videos with lower views to the next level.

"Within the hour, [the video] had 80,000 more likes than what it had before. They have some magical button that they can press and just promote [a video] to the world," Pelchat said, when describing what happens after he reaches out about a video. He added that managers "have a very key part in pushing what [TikTok] wants to do."

Yet, while record labels are currently paying popular TikTok-ers to promote their songs, they could require the platform to pay for the rights to use their music in the future. The article points to a recent Bloomberg report that Universal, Sony and Warner are all renegotiating their existing deals, which expire soon, with the platform.

While it's not clear exactly what the future of TikTok will look like, it is clear that the way young people consume music is ever-changing, and the short-form video app is a major part of that.

Watch: Lizzo & Missy Elliott Turn Up The "Tempo" In Brand-New Video