Posts tagged with "TIME Magazine"

Kane Brown + JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!

TAKING OVER TWO NIGHTS ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! NEXT WEEK!

Multi-Platinum entertainer Kane Brown, releases his third studio album, Different Man, today (listen here). The 17-track album features previously released songs “Grand,” #1 song “Like I Love Country Music,” “Whiskey Sour,” #1 hit “One Mississippi,” “Leave You Alone” and features from Blake Shelton and his wife Katelyn Brown. The album showcases production work from Brown himself along with Dann Huff, Andrew Goldstein, Lindsay Rimes and Ilya Toshinskiy. In celebration of the release, Brown releases the music video for “Thank God,” a loving duet with his wife Katelyn Brown (watch here).

Brown has already been in full swing with promotion for the album. At the end of last month, he made history with his debut performance of his smash hit single “Grand” on the MTV VMA stage marking him as the first male country artist to hit the iconic stage (watch here). Brown will continue his release week with a two nights on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (9/13 & 9/14). Kane’s previously announced performance on Good Morning America will be rescheduled for a later date. Brown spoke with The New York Times for a profile and was featured in the Los Angeles Times Fall Music Preview.

Brown’s latest single, “Like I Love Country Music” reached #1 on the Country Radio charts last month. The accolade earned Brown his eighth chart-topping record on the Country Radio charts. Brown, who has garnered nearly 12 billion career streams to date, also earns his fastest rising single with “Like I Love Country Music.” Additionally, “Like I Love Country Music” topped the Australian and Canadian radio charts, marking Brown’s first 7-week run at the top of the Canadian charts.

Brown will be kicking off his global Drunk or Dreaming Tour on September 17, which will include his first touring dates to Australia and New Zealand as well as his long-awaited return to Canada, Europe and the US. Just announced earlier this week, the US leg of the tour will kick off in Grand Rapids, MI on March 16, 2023 and hit 23 US cities along the way before wrapping in Greenwood Village, CO at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 10. During the tour, Brown will perform his first solo headlining arena show at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 31. Tickets for Drunk or Dreaming are on sale now. Visit his official site for a full list of tour dates, additional pre-sale and ticket on-sale information. Special guests Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett and LOCASH will join on select dates.

About Kane Brown

Named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, Brown has ascended from social media notability to become one of country music’s most accomplished mainstays with eight chart-topping singles to his name. Noted as “the future of country music” (Billboard), Brown first broke onto the scene with the arrival of his self-titled, 2X Platinum debut album (2016), where he became the first artist ever to lead all five of Billboard ’s main country charts simultaneously. His debut effort, Kane Brown, topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for 13 weeks and garnered 7X Platinum-certified hits “Heaven” and “What Ifs”-the fourth and seventh most-streamed country songs of all time (U.S. Nielsen Country On-Demand Streams chart). With the release of his follow-up album Experiment (2018), Brown became the only male country artist in more than 24 years to have his sophomore album debut at the top of the Billboard 200.

Following Experiment, Brown released his multi-song project Mixtape Vol. 1 – which earned Brown an ACM Award nomination for Album of the Year (2021) and an ACM win for “Video of the Year.” A CMA, ACM, Billboard, AMA and People’s Choice Award nominee, Brown has collaborated with numerous artists including Grammy and Academy Award winning singer-songwriter H.E.R. (“Blessed & Free,”) DJ Marshmello (2X Platinum “One Thing Right”), Khalid and Swae Lee (3X Platinum “Be Like That”), “blackbear (Platinum “Memory”), John Legend (“Last Time I Say Sorry”), Camila Cabello (“Never Be The Same” remix), Brooks & Dunn (“Believe”) and Becky G. (“Lost In The Middle Of Nowhere” remix), Lauren Alaina (7X Platinum “What If’s” and Chris Young (2X Platinum “Famous Friends”), which became Billboard’s 2021 year-end No. 1 Country Airplay Song and earned a CMT Award for “Collaborative Video of the Year.”

ITZY – CHECKMATE

ITZY’S FIFTH EP, CHECKMATE, TAKES #8 SPOT ON BILLBOARD 200 CHART, MARKING THE GROUP’S FIRST TOP-10 EFFORT ON THE CHART

WATCH THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT’S “LATE SHOW ME MUSIC” PERFORMANCE OF “SNEAKERS” HERE

GROUP EARNS FIRST MTV VMA NOMINATION FOR “BEST K-POP” FOR “LOCO” MUSIC VIDEO

Critically acclaimed K-Pop superstars ITZY returned with their highly anticipated EP, CHECKMATE, which took the #8 spot on the Billboard 200 chart this week, marking the group’s first top-10 ranking on the chart. Further, the group has become the 4^th K-pop girl group to achieve a top 10 ranking on the Billboard 200.

ITZY recently performed the EP’s lead single, “SNEAKERS,” on both MTV’s Fresh Out Live and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show Me Music.” The track’s music video has already amassed over 78 million views since release and currently holds the #5 ranking on YouTube’s Top 100 Global Music Videos.

Quickly following this achievement, it was announced today that the group has been nominated for their first MTV VMA in the category of “Best K-Pop” for their “LOCO” music video. Next up, ITZY will be embarking on their first world tour, the CHECKMATE tour, beginning with back-to-back shows in Seoul in August before heading to the United States in October. The group will be visiting eight cities through November including Los Angeles’ YouTube Theater and New York’s Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

CHECKMATE follows a momentous 2021 for ITZY, as the group broke numerous personal records on both the charts and with streams and helped solidify ITZY as one of K-Pop’s dominating forces thus far. With the release of their first full-length studio album, CRAZY IN LOVE, in September, the group took the #1 spot across multiple Billboard charts upon debut, including Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, World Albums, Tastemaker Albums, and Independent Albums charts. The release also made a strong debut on Billboard’s Top 200-album chart where it reached #11, making ITZY only the third female K-pop group that scored within the chart’s top 15. This release followed their spring EP release of GUESS WHO, which marked the group’s debut on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart, peaking at #148.

ITZY continues to elevate their star power stateside making their first national US broadcast appearance with MTV’s Fresh Out Live in January 2021, racking in the largest performance views MTV had received for the platform. They followed that up with a performance of CRAZY IN LOVE’s lead track, “LOCO,” on The Kelly Clarkson Show in September. Some recent features for the group include Rolling Stone, who featured the group in their June 2021 “The Future of Music” Issue, TIME Magazine, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue, to name a few.

CHECKMATE is out now via all digital and streaming platforms. Get the full album HERE.

Wednesday, October 26^th – United States / Los Angeles / YouTube Theater
Saturday, October 29^th – United States / Phoenix / Arizona Federal Theatre
Tuesday, November 1^st – United States / Dallas / The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Thursday, November 3^rd – United States / Sugar Land / Smart Financial Centre
Saturday, November 5^th – United States / Atlanta / Fox Theatre
Monday, November 7^th – United States / Chicago / Rosemont Theatre
Thursday, November 10^th – United States / Boston / MGM Music Fall at Fenway
Sunday, November 13^th – United States / New York / Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden

About ITZY:
ITZY first rose to prominence in 2019 with their debut single “DALLA DALLA” that ranked #3 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. The song pulled in a registered 17.1 million “day-of” music video views on YouTube. At that time, the song both broke breaking the record for the most viewed K-pop debut music video in history and held the record for the fastest K-pop debut music video to reach 100 million views. Their follow up single “WANNABE” charted at #4 on the Song Sales chart and is one of the top 10 K-pop song to trend globally on Spotify, while also ranking on the Emerging Artists chart, where it hit #31 for their third week in a row. Billboard Magazine ranked “DALLA DALLA” at #20 on the “25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics’ Picks” and Dazed Magazine ranked the track at #8 for “50 Best K-pop Songs of 2019.” The group recently took home the Best New Artist Award at the 2020 Korean Music Awards; and has been included in the TIME, PAPER, Buzzfeed, Dazed, Teen Vogue and HypeBae 2020 roundups for best K-pop songs of 2020. ITZY’s third album, Not Shy, peaked on the Billboard Social 50 chart at #11 and World Album chart at #8; plus their past albums, IT’z ICY and IT’z ME have both entered the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. In May 2021, ITZY made their debut on the Billboard 200 album chart with their six-track EP GUESS WHO.

Exodus: Deluxe Edition

The Marley Family, Island Records, and UMe mark the 45th anniversary of Exodus – named the “Best Album of the 20th Century” by Time magazine in 1999 – with the digital premiere of three of the four nights from Bob Marley & the Wailers’ historic run at London’s Rainbow Theatre and a consolidated, revised digital Exodus: Deluxe Edition.

Following an assassination attempt in Kingston, Jamaica, in December 1976, Bob Marley and his band moved to London – in “exodus” from their home country – and recorded tracks for what became both the Exodus and Kaya albums. Marley’s Exodus, featuring the timeless tracks “Jamming,” “Three Little Birds,” “One Love/People Get Ready,” and the epic title song, came first, which led to early positive reviews, ten early dates around Western Europe and shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London’s Finsbury Park during release week. But an injury to Bob led to the abrupt cancellation of the rest of the Exodus tour, including expected U.S. breakthrough shows scheduled for late summer, leaving June 1-2-3-4 the final performances by the Wailers that year.

“London was one of Daddy’s favorite places to be; it’s the city where his songwriting and creativity thrived. The Exodus album and his shows at The Rainbow are incredible examples of that. I’m so excited that his fans will finally be able to hear all four shows, in their entirety, the way they were meant to be heard, for generations to come.” – Cedella Marley

A select number of tracks from each of the four nights of the Live at the Rainbow recordings have been included on previously released Deluxe Editions of Exodus, and audio and video of the full concert on June 4 was released during the year-long 75th Birthday Celebration, #Marley75, in 2020. Most of the legendary performances from the previous three nights, however, feature slightly different setlists – as well as alternate arrangements – that have never been heard until now. Bob Marley & The Wailers Live at the Rainbow: 1st June 1977 debuted June 3, the exact 45th anniversary of the original album’s release; Live at the Rainbow: 2nd June 1977 followed on June 10; and Live at the Rainbow: 3rd June 1977 concluded the series on June 17. Across the three dates are 29 previously unreleased performances combined – that’s more than ¾ of the shows.

Listen to Bob Marley & The Wailers Live at the Rainbow: 1st June 1977 now HERE.
Listen to Bob Marley & The Wailers Live at the Rainbow: 2nd June 1977 now HERE.
Listen to Bob Marley & The Wailers Live at the Rainbow: 3rd June 1977 now HERE.

To round out the 45th Anniversary celebration, a revised and newly remastered Exodus: Deluxe Edition was released on June 24. The Deluxe Edition features the ten original tracks from the album, plus 18 Singles & Sessions tracks; 13 of them are culled from two previous Deluxe Editions and adds previously unreleased tracks “Natural Mystic (Alternate Version),” and “The Heathen (Alternate Version),” and the rare 7-inch versions of “Exodus,” “Jamming” and “Punky Reggae Party,’ the original B-side to “Jamming.” In addition to the unreleased tracks, the last two cuts were previously unavailable at all streaming services. Closing the deluxe are two additional bonus tracks: the edited live versions of “So Much Things To Say” from the June 1st show, previously released on the Deluxe Edition of Exodus 40 – The Movement Continues in 2017, and “Exodus,” the finale from the Rainbow’s June 2nd set, previously featured on the album’s 2001 Deluxe Edition. Each performance is otherwise presented unedited within their respective live set. To listen to Bob Marley & the Wailers’ Exodus: Deluxe Edition, click HERE.

In other news, Bob Marley: Legacy Episode Eight – “Rebel Music” recently received the Webby Award for the outstanding Video in Music category. The Webby Awards recognize the year’s best of the internet, featuring websites, podcasts, apps, and other internet services, and the 26th Annual Webby Awards was the biggest in history, with more than 14,000 entries from over 70 countries and nearly 2 million votes cast by nearly 500,000 users. Bob Marley: Legacy, an ongoing mini-documentary series, features a collection of intimate conversations and interviews with his family, friends, and fans, woven together with his original music, remixes, and covers. Episode Eight – “Rebel Music” presents a global conversation about the importance of Bob Marley’s work as a political and social activist and explores what Bob Marley fought for, who he influenced and why. This unique YouTube series provides fans a refreshing and cinematic journey through the life, legacy, and relevance Bob Marley still holds in this present day. Bob Marley: Legacy Episodes 1-9 are available on Bob Marley’s official YouTube page. Watch Bob Marley: Legacy HERE

Monroe Alise

Listen to Monroe Alise’s full conversation with Vaughn Lowery on the 360 MAG Podcast HERE.

Monroe Alise is an actress, LGBTQIA+ advocate, model and comedienne. As a transgender woman, she has fulfilled her childhood dream of working in the entertainment industry. Her philosophy on life is described in her mantra, “If you can’t laugh at life, you will never find a reason to live it.”

Born and raised in Washington DC, Monroe grew up passionate and inspired by media and entertainment. Her admiration for her father’s successful career as a DJ ignited her insatiable desire to entertain. Thus, she began singing in church, propelling her into the world of artistic expression.

For Monroe, a great singer consists of emulating your favorite idols while taking advantage of the potential of one’s own voice. As a child, she recalls being compared to artists like John Legend and Luther Vandross because of her tonality and courage. Another favorite is Nina Simone, whom she references while belting evangelical hymns.

As a youth, Monroe was a very active and social child. She studied sports public relations but fancied theatre. These disciplines were conducive to her discovery of sexuality. Further, she began to notice a direct correlation with her mother’s maternal responsibilites, rather than her father and two brother’s machismo profile.

According to Monroe, “While they were playing games and sports, I was in the kitchen doing my mom’s hair.” In addition, her openly gay aunt was influential in her gender transformation due to her immense pride and confidence.

Monroe’s gender bender was painstakingly challenging but became easier over time. For instance, while preparing for an acting role as a Trans woman, she became comfortable in this new skin. After the audition, she gave herself permission to continue to live within this newfound reality.

A year later, Monroe made the decision to come out, “I was like, well this is who I am, so I socially reinvented myself and this is the girl you see.” Eventhough the transition embraced authenticity, it was extremely taxing on her family as well as father’s religious convictions.

Lacking legit representation and management, Monroe began to utilize social media to seek opportunities within the realms of fashion and Hollywood. As a thespian, Monroe became enthralled by the portrayal of becoming another homosepian while subsequently having an impact on the world. This year’s main objective is New York City’s Broadway. Her short-term is to star in a sci-fi like Star Trek or Star Wars as well as a fantasy film similar in type to Harry Potter and Twilight. Longterm, Monroe aspires to host a namesake talk show directed and produced by herself.

As an emerging Trans Community activist, Monroe is deeply concerned about the increasing rate of violence against her people. She hopes to alleviate the suffering of her collective, especially at the hands and ignorance of the narrow-minded.

Monroe’s Five Principles:

1.) Adequate preparation;

2.) prevention of underachievement;

3.) working while you wait without worry;

4.) preparing for your mission;

5.) and continuing to work because you know you’ve been doing the best you could.

Credits:

Article: Andrea Esteban, McKinley Franklin, Armon Hayes, Vaughn Lowery

Photo: Corey Fletcher

Resources:

Trans Lifeline

Human Rights Campaign

Follow Monroe Alise:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter YouTube | Spotify

Check out Monroe on the latest season of P-Valley on Starz.

MARY J. BLIGE TOUR

One of Time Magazine’s icons listed in “The 100 Most Influential People of 2022” and the recipient of the 2022 “Billboard ICON Award,” the undisputed Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, announces her Good Morning Gorgeous tour presented by Hologic in partnership with The Black Promoters Collective (BPC). GRAMMY Award-winning and Oscar-nominated Blige will perform in 23 cities with special guests, platinum-selling, GRAMMY Award-winning artist Ella Mai and platinum-selling rising star Queen Naija beginning on Saturday, September 17, in Greensboro, NC, and ending on Saturday, October 29 in Atlantic City, NJ. The tour also stops in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta.

Before offering to the general public, the Good Morning Gorgeous tour tickets go on presale today with The American Express Card Members beginning June 15 at 10 am local time through June 16 at 10 pm local time. Tickets will be available to the general public on June 17 at 10 am local and range from $69.50 to $189.50. Tickets can be purchased here.

“Mary J. Blige has been one of a select handful of artists at the top of our desired list to partner with since the initial construction of The BPC. Having her support in our mission so early in the process is a testament to the hard work we have put in to bring superior cultural experiences powered by black business to the masses. We firmly believe this is a match made in heaven and are honored to partner with the Queen,” states The BPC Co-Founder and President Shelby Joyner.

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Mary J. Blige as the presenting sponsor for her Good Morning Gorgeous tour,” said Steve MacMillan, Hologic’s Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “As a global leader in women’s health, we’re committed to emphasizing the lifesaving importance of preventive screenings and the annual Well Woman exam, and Mary’s voice is a powerful way to reach millions of women.”

In addition to the previously stated accolades, the tour follows Blige’s early 2022 album release of Good Morning Gorgeous. The album was released leading into her energetic Super Bowl Halftime performance. The title track rose to #1 at R&B radio for 9 weeks and the song became a viral backdrop for many expressing self-love, with over 40,000 users creating videos using the song on TikTok. A deluxe version was dropped just ahead of her wildly successful Strength of a Woman Woman festival that took place last month in Atlanta.

For more information, go HERE.

Jazmine Sullivan – TIME100

TIME has named Jazmine Sullivan to the 2022 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes will appear in the June 6 / June 13 double issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, May 27, and now at time.com/time100.

The list, now in its nineteenth year, recognizes the impact, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals, and there’s no denying that Jazmine took the world by storm with her lauded Heaux Tales project. With vulnerable lyrics and candid spoken word tales, the project won a GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Album and the RIAA-certified Platinum single, “Pick Up Your Feelings,” won a GRAMMY for Best R&B Song. Earlier this year, Jazmine won three 2022 NAACP Image Awards – Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Album and Soul/R&B Song (“Pick Up Your Feelings”). Last year, Sullivan collected a BET Award for Album of the Year, plus two Soul Train Music Awards for Best Album/Mixtape and Best R&B/Soul Female Artist.

Heaux Tales landed at #1 on several best of the year lists, including NPR, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, Vulture; and within the top 10 on The New York Times (#4), FADER (#5), Complex (#5), Rolling Stone (#7), Billboard (#9), Time (#10), and more. After the year-long impact of Heaux Tales, Sullivan released Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe on February 11, 2022, which contained four new tracks and five new tales, including one from “Insecure” actress, writer, producer Issa Rae.

In the coming months, fans can see Jazmine at the following summer festivals:

Orlando Funk Fest (6/3), The Roots Picnic (6/4-6/5), Governors Ball (6/10), Essence Fest (7/2), Lollapalooza (7/28), and Austin City Limits Music Festival (10/7-9 & 14-16).

From her first single “Need U Bad,” Jazmine Sullivan demonstrated an innate ability to write songs that perfectly capture the stories of so many Black women. Sullivan has a lyrical vulnerability that makes you think she has been reading your journal. She is so deserving of her most recent Grammy win, along with acclaim and other accolades that have been an honor to witness. But the most exciting part of her recent career journey has been that Sullivan has allowed us to share in her journey to self-love, removing herself from the shadows of fear as we can clearly see in her 2021 album Heaux Tales. In her speech during last year’s 2021 Soul Train Music Awards, she shared that she had made a vow to be present and not to hide away. It is this type of candor that makes Sullivan such an inspiration and icon to so many Black women including myself. It has truly been my pleasure to call her a friend over the years and I want to thank her for being an example of what happens when you believe in your gift and trust God’s calling for your life.

Listen to Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe:

Stay connected:

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Hot Girl Enterprise

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Grammy Award-winning musician, philanthropist and entrepreneur Megan Thee Stallion and Cash App announced the launch of a limited-edition “Hot Girl Enterprise” Cash by Cash App apparel collection, which is currently available for purchase HERE.

Both Megan and Cash App partnered to co-design the collection, which includes a reversible bucket hat, a T-shirt and 1 bike short. All proceeds from Megan and Cash App’s collaboration on the clothing collection will go toward supporting charitable projects focused on education, housing and health and wellness in Megan’s hometown of Houston as well as across the globe.

“I’m really proud of this apparel collection with Cash App,” Megan said. “Not only did we create a fierce and stylish look for my Hotties, but we’re also giving back to communities in need in a meaningful way.”

The limited-edition collection comes after Megan and Cash App previously partnered to give away $1 million in stock to advocate the importance of financial literacy. As part of the announcement, she also released an investing tutorial on YouTube with Cash App called “Investing for Hotties,” where she educated viewers on various financial concepts, such as dollar-cost averaging and diversification.

About Megan Thee Stallion

Hailing from Houston, Megan Thee Stallion is a three-time, Grammy-winning recording artist, philanthropist, songwriter and ever-evolving cultural icon. From the release of her critically acclaimed and Gold-certified debut album, Good News, to earning two global record-breaking Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits with the “Savage (Remix)” featuring Beyoncé, and “WAP” with Cardi B, Megan has proven unstoppable. Megan has been recognized for her musical achievements with three GRAMMY wins, including Best New Artist and nine BET Awards.

Megan was also honored as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020. In October 2020, following a powerful and politically charged performance on Saturday Night Live that demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, Megan published her monumental “Why I Speak Up For Black Women” op-ed and accompanying visual with The New York Times.

About Cash App

Cash App is the money app. It’s the easiest way to spend, send, store, and invest money. Sending and receiving money is free and fast, and most payments can be deposited directly to a bank account in just a few seconds. With Cash App, customers can also invest in their favorite companies with as little as $1, buy and sell Bitcoin instantly, get a paycheck deposited right to the app, create a unique $cashtag to share with anyone to get paid fast, and use the Cash Card to spend the money anywhere they’d like. Download Cash App for free HERE.

Billy Porter – Children

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Wistful beginnings, a beat drop follows kicking into a propulsive disco groove as Billy Porter triumphantly promises: A change starts today, better wipe those tears away. The GRAMMY®, EMMY®, & Tony® Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, playwright, & author unveils a brand new single entitled “Children” out now.“It’s a song that is inspired by my life reflecting everything I’ve gone through to get here.” he says, with Porter empathizing:

“See I know times are hard, Yeah I mean it from the heart

You’re not losing the fight, love will make it alright

Cos i’ve been there, done that, worn that dress,

so you know mama knows it best”

The single marks Billy’s debut under his newly minted joint partnership with Island UK and Republic Records. “Children” is a high-energy dance floor anthem co-written with GRAMMY ®Award-nominated songwriter MNEK [H.E.R.,Dua Lipa] and Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall. Speaking about the inspiration behind the track Billy says, “Music is my first love,” “I grew up singing in the church.” Delivering the song’s show-stopping hook, “Gotta let these children know what time it is,” punctuated with his jaw-dropping range.

“For the first time, my music is what I want it to be, what I want it to say, which is hope and love,” “We have to choose it every day so we can fight the evil. We can only fight it with love and I am so excited for my music for that.” The G.E.T awarded performer recalls his commercial music debut in 1997 as a time for the world to catch up. With the release of his self-titled (aka Untitled) debut album which spawned the Top 10 “Bubbling Under” single, “Show Me,” and the monster ballad, “Love Is On The Way,” which also appeared at the pivotal moment in the film, “First Wives Club.” The industry was not ready for all this Black Boy Joy! He went on to release “At the Corner of Broadway + Soul” (2005), “Billy’s Back on Broadway” (2014), and “The Soul of Richard Rodgers” (2017) featuring Pentatonix, India.Arie, Leslie Odom Jr. and Cynthia Erivo, among others. Porter scored his first #1 with “Love Yourself” in 2019 on the US Dance Club Songs Chart. He followed that up with his 2020 reimagining of the legendary Buffalo Springfield anthem, “For What It’s Worth,” and a fierce collab with The Shapeshifters on “Finally Ready.”

Make way children! Daddy’s back. Hopeful yet thrilled to entrust this next chapter of his music career to the Island/Republic team. 2021 saw Porter covering Juliet Roberts club classic “Caught in The Middle” for Red Hot + Free, which supports underserved communities afflicted with HIV/AIDS. He was also enlisted by multiplatinum international superstar Jessie J for “I Want Love.” Also delivering a fierce turn on Earth, Wind, and Fire’s iconic “Shining Star” as Fab G, the Fairy Godmuva, in the new remake of “Cinderella.” Porter is a veteran of the theater (Miss Saigon, Angels in America, Grease). He won a Tony® in the category of “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” for Kinky Boots in 2013, and a Grammy® for the latter’s Official Soundtrack in the category of “Best Musical Theater Album” in 2014. Porter took home the Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” in 2019 for his work as Pray Tell on Pose, making history in being the first openly gay man to do so. Time Magazine named him one of the “100 Most Influential People” of 2020. This October, Billy will release his highly anticipated memoir, “Unprotected.” His directorial film debut, “What If,” is set to drop in 2022. Billy kicks off his next chapter in music, his first love, with a new album coming soon.

DELTA VARIANT PUTS NORMAL BACK-TO-SCHOOL SEASON AT RISK

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By: Clara Guthrie

There was a period in the late spring and early summer of this past year in which it seemed America’s COVID-19 struggles were nearing some long-awaited conclusion: the last few moments of breathlessness before a collective sigh of relief. At that time, students and their parents looked forward to a seemingly normal back-to-school season. Yet, the recent rise in the Delta variant has introduced a new wave of doubt.

On August 8 alone, The New York Times reported 36,068 new Covid-19 cases and a seven-day average of 110,360 total cases in the United States. Covid-related deaths are also on the rise, with a seven-day average of 516 deaths. This figure has risen from a weekly average of 188 deaths only one month prior, on July 6. Experts attribute these rising numbers to the highly contagious Delta variant overlaid with low vaccination rates in certain areas across the country. When asked about these trends in mid-July, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said, “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated. We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk.”

Unfortunately, as the Delta variant continues to run rampant throughout unvaccinated communities, people who are fully vaccinated are also being infected. Although, it is far rarer. These “break-through” cases speak mainly to the wild infectiousness of the Delta variant, coupled with the facts that no vaccine is 100% effective and that our knowledge of how long immunity lasts after vaccination is still quite murky. According to CNBC, however, “break-through” cases still represent fewer than 0.08% of those who have been fully vaccinated in the United States since the start of the year.

With that being said, the Delta variant is impacting the hopes of a normal back-to-school season in two distinct ways. The first, perhaps more obvious way, is that parents and teachers are fearing for students’ health. This fear suggests a potential return to online learning and more strict social distancing and mask mandates enforced within schools.

It is important to note that COVID-19 poses a far lesser threat to young children than to adults; the risk of becoming severely ill from the virus increases for those over the age of 50 and only grows with age. According to the CDC, the risk of serious illness or complications from COVID-19 for children is actually lower than that from the flu. However, children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible for any form of vaccination. This restriction is raising concerns about how susceptible younger age groups are to becoming sick, even if that sickness does not lead to any serious complications.

Thus, many parents and school districts are pursuing a range COVID-19 precautions to ensure the safety of students. Time Magazine shared a story last week of a school board in Des Moines, Iowa that has already decided to offer a virtual learning option for elementary school students. The ability to transition to in-person learning is available whenever the family feels comfortable enough to do so. This move was, in part, forced by the recent ruling of eight states, including Iowa, to ban schools from being able to require masks – despite the CDC’s recommendation that all students should wear masks inside schools, regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated. “Had we been able to follow the CDC recommendations that everyone in school is masked, regardless of their vaccine status—if we were able to mandate that, then I think we’d be having a different conversation here,” Phil Roeder, a spokesperson for Des Moines’ Polk County public schools, said.

Other counties are having similar struggles, even without the imposition from state governments to ban mask mandates within schools. For example, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in May that all online learning would be eliminated come fall, a decision that he has not yet reversed. But many parents are now petitioning for online options for their children as safety concerns continue to rise. One parent, Farah Despeignes, who is the president of the Bronx Parent Leaders Advocacy Group and has two middle-school-aged sons, said, “When you think about the conditions of the schools with old buildings, with not enough ventilation, that are co-located, that are overcrowded—for us, in the Bronx, in underserved communities, it’s not as simple as, ‘Well, let’s just get back to school.’”

In California, options for students are equally limited. According to The Los Angeles Times, the state has done away with “hybrid learning, ”a combination of in-person and online learning. As a result of such, Los Angeles County parents had until August 6 to choose between either solely in-person or online learning for their children. The latter option is expected to take the form of an independent study, rather than the supportive online learning of last school year. On August 6th, L.A. Unified School District reported that only 10,280 of their almost 665,000 students opted for the online option.

The second prominent way in which the Delta variant is affecting back-to-school season is through the shopping behavior of students and their families. Back when the hopes of a normal school year were still high, The National Retail Federation predicted that consumers with children K-12 would spend a record-breaking 37.1 billion dollars this year. Furthermore, it was predicted that back-to-college spending would reach 71 billion dollars. These predictions were due to the excitement associated with a long-awaited return to the classroom after over a year away, when items like lunchboxes and backpacks seemed superfluous.

However, according to a recent poll by First Insight, many consumers are feeling anxious about returning to stores, trying on clothing in dressing rooms and making big purchases due to the risk of the Delta variant. In fact, 56% of respondents said they are actively cutting back their spending at retailers. The CEO of Bath Bed & Beyond, Mark Tritton, told CNBC that their stores have observed people delaying their back-to-school investments, and that peak spending may extend further into September than usual.

As many students return to their classrooms and the Food and Drug Administration continues to work on improving vaccines for individuals under the age of 12, it will become more and more clear how great of a mark Covid-19 has left on the American schooling system and the children within it.

JAMES BLAKE NEW ALBUM – FRIENDS THAT BREAK YOUR HEART

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GRAMMY® Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer James Blake has announced his new album, Friends That Break Your Heart, due out September 10, 2021 – Available for pre-order here, via Republic Records. Blake joined Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 for “Hottest Record in the World” to premiere the album’s first single, “Say What You Will”. The single was accompanied by the release of the official music video starring Finneas alongside James Blake – Watch here. Today, the artist additionally announced his 2021 Fall tour dates. Produced by Live Nation, the 15-show tour will kick off on September 16th in San Diego at The Observatory North Park, making stops at The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, and more before wrapping up in Atlanta’s Tabernacle on October 15th. Tickets go on-sale to the general public starting Friday, July 30th at 10am local time on James Blake Music.

Of the single, James says, “The song is about finding peace with who you are and where you’re at regardless of how well other people seem to be doing. Comparison really is the thief of joy.”

Friends That Break Your Heart, follows the recently released Covers EP. A collection of Blake’s favorite covers, including his critically acclaimed cover of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” which generated over 5 million views on TikTok.

This is James Blakes’ first new full-length album in three years. With Blake calling Friends That Break Your Heart a “concept album.”

James worked closely with artist Miles Johnston to design a cover reflective of the album. The result is a visual encapsulation of the emotions brought forth throughout the body of work.

FRIENDS THAT BREAK YOUR HEART Track List
1. Famous Last Words
2. Life Is Not The Same
3. Coming Back (feat. SZA)
4. Funeral
5. Frozen (feat. JID & SwaVay)
6. I’m So Blessed You’re Mine
7. Foot Forward
8. Show Me (feat. Monica Martin)
9. Say What You Will
10. Lost Angel Nights
11. Friends That Break Your Heart
12. If I’m Insecure

On Sale: Friday, July 30th at 10am local on time James Blake Music.

Tour Dates:

Thursday, September 16, 2021 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
Sunday, September 19, 2021 – San Francisco, CA – Greek Theatre*
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
Saturday, September 25, 2021 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl*
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 – Denver, CO – The Fillmore
Thursday, September 30, 2021 – Minneapolis, MN – The State Theatre
Saturday, October 2, 2021 – Detroit, MI – Fillmore Auditorium
Sunday, October 3, 2021 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theatre
Friday, October 8, 2021 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
Saturday, October 9, 2021 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
Tuesday, October 12, 2021 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Wednesday, October 13, 2021 – Charlotte, NC – Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Friday, October 15, 2021 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
*Not a Live Nation Date

About James Blake
The GRAMMY® Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer unassumingly operates as the enigmatic engine behind some of the most influential albums of the 21st century. He produced choice cuts on Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. as well as JAY-Z’s 4:44 and Beyoncé’s Lemonade—to which he also lent his voice in both cases. Feature appearances span “Stop Trying to Be God” with Stevie Wonder and Kid Cudi on Travis Scott’s epic ASTROWORLD and “King’s Dead” with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Future from the chart-dominating Black Panther: The Album. The latter not only went triple-platinum, but it also earned Blake his first GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Rap Performance.” Simultaneously, he emerged as pop’s most celebrated outlier with his dynamic solo output. He introduced a singular sound on 2011’s James Blake. Awarding the record a rare 9.0-out-of-10 score, Pitchfork crowned it one of “Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014).” On its heels, the 2013 Overgrown illustrated his rare magnetic ability to align the likes of Brian Eno and RZA on the same project. It notably received the 2013 Mercury Prize and secured Blake’s “Best New Artist” nomination at the GRAMMY® Awards. After 2016’s The Colour In Anything, he reached new critical and commercial peaks with Assume Form during 2019. It bowed at #21 on the Billboard Top 200, marking his highest entry to date. Beyond clocking 300 million cumulative streams in under a year, it garnered the GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Alternative Album” and graced “Best of 2019” lists for outlets including Time Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Billboard, DJ Booth, and Esquire. Additionally, he oversees 1-800 Dinosaur, which spans a club night, record label, and radio show. As he prepares his fifth album, James Blake’s shadow over popular music only continues to grow.

About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship. For additional information, visit Live Nation Entertainment.

About Republic Records
A division of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, Republic Records is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists such as Ariana Grande, Black Thought, Drake, Florence + the Machine, Greta Van Fleet, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack Johnson, James Blake, James Bay, Jessie J, John Mellencamp, Jonas Brothers, Julia Michaels, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Lorde, Metro Boomin, NAV, Nicki Minaj, Of Monsters and Men, Pearl Jam, Post Malone, Seth MacFarlane, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and more. Founded by brothers and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman, it is also comprised of innovative business ventures, including American Recordings, Boominati Worldwide, Brushfire, Casablanca Records, Cash Money, Lava Records, XO, Young Money, among others. Republic also maintains a long-standing strategic alliance with Universal Music Latin Entertainment (J Balvin and Karol G). In addition, Republic has expanded to release high-profile soundtracks for Universal Pictures (Fifty Shades of Grey), Sony Pictures (Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse) and NBC TV (The Voice), as well as other notable film and television franchises. Extending further into the worlds of film, television, and content, Republic launched Federal Films in order to produce movies and series powered by the label’s catalog and artists. Its first production was the Jonas Brothers documentary Chasing Happiness for Amazon Prime Video.