music

Yahoo Celebrity
Linda Ronstadt speaks out on fighting to be seen as a Mexican-American star, and why she calls President Trump 'the new Hitler'
The singer says record executives were "horrified" when she wanted to release an album of traditional Mexican songs.
Yahoo Music
The Outfield lead singer Tony Lewis dies at 62
Lewis is the second founding member of the "Your Love" powerpop band to pass away, following John Spinks’s death from liver cancer in 2014.
Entertainment Weekly
Shawn Mendes strips his soul bare in first In Wonder documentary trailer
New Netflix movie chronicles the pop heartthrob's life.
Variety
Spencer Davis, Veteran British Rocker Known for ‘Gimme Some Lovin’,’ Dead at 81
Spencer Davis, the veteran British rock musician renowned for hits that bore his name but he did not sing, died in a hospital Monday while being treated for pneumonia, his agent told the BBC. While the Spencer Davis Group performed for decades, its biggest hits — including such frequently covered mid-1960s classics as "Gimme Some […]
Yahoo Music
Coaches in shock over 'Voice' premiere performance: 'Did you see my face? That will be a GIF'
Many things have changed in Season 19 due to COVID-19, but this was a classic 'Voice' moment.
Yahoo Music
Peter Frampton opens up about cinematic highs and lows: "I feel like 'Almost Famous' kind of canceled out 'Sgt. Pepper'"
The former rock star is happy to have received some cinematic redemption: "I know what it's like to be in the worst rock movie ever made, and I know what it's like to experience being a very small part of one of rock’s greatest movies."
Yahoo Entertainment
The It List: New TLC series 'I Love a Mama's Boy' debuts, Sacha Baron Cohen drops politically-charged 'Borat' sequel, Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola reunite for 'On the Rocks' and the best in pop culture the week of Oct. 19, 2020
During the coronavirus pandemic, when most of us are staying at home, we’re going to spotlight products that you can enjoy from your couch, whether solo or in small groups, and leave out the rest. With that in mind, here are our picks for Oct. 19-25, including the best deals we could find for each.
The Wrap
Harvey Weinstein Accuser Writes #MeToo Stage Musical With Diane Warren (Exclusive)
In a cramped rehearsal studio in Hollywood last February, a group of Harvey Weinstein accusers gathered for the first live run-through of a remarkable by-product of the MeToo movement: a musical about their experiences that is aiming for Broadway.The story of a powerful Hollywood mogul brought down by the women he trampled, “The Right Girl” was co-written by Louisette Geiss, one of Weinstein’s accusers, and producer Howard Kagan, with music by Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren, and direction and choreography by Tony-winning director Susan Stroman (“The Producers”).But just days after this first rehearsal with Broadway performers, the coronavirus struck, ending in-person work on the project. Broadway went dark indefinitely and since then the producers have been struggling to find a path forward. The first baby step is finally here, with a Zoom-like filmed performance of the script at a theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on November 1.“Were it not for the pandemic, we planned for this show to premiere at an off-Broadway or regional theater right about now,” Kagan said. “So, when the world changed in March, we changed course to rehearse and film this live theater performance in a way that kept everyone involved safe and socially distanced, while providing all of us a chance to work in the theater industry we love.”Also Read: Harvey Weinstein Scandal: A Timeline of a Hollywood Mogul's Downfall (Photos)Howard Kagan, Diane Warren, Louisette Geiss, Susan Stroman at 2020 rehearsal (Photo courtesy of Louisete Geiss)“The Right Girl,” whose live-read in February WaxWord attended, tells the story of fast-rising producer Eleanor Stark, who goes to work as the second-in-command to Paul Schulz, a brilliant studio chief with a remarkable resemblance to Weinstein. She comes to realize his predatory behavior toward other women and has to decide if she will go public with what she knows. The show stars Alysha Umphress (“On the Town”) as Eleanor, Tony Yazbeck (“On the Town”) as Paul and Robyn Hurder (“Moulin Rouge!”) as the accuser.In an odd twist of fate, the first-ever run-through of the play came together just one day after the former mogul’s rape conviction in New York City. In another odd twist, Stroman directed the 2001 musical hit “The Producers” that Weinstein himself produced and for which he won one of his nine Tony Awards. The rehearsal took place at Warren’s music studio in Hollywood, where she saw her songs set to the story for the first time. The audience included Geiss and a tight-knit group of friends, fellow survivors and investors.“I burst into tears as they read the first part of the verdict, and then I came here to work on this,” said Sarah Ann Masse, one of about 20 “silence breakers” who contributed their stories to the musical. Masse was also one of the performers at the March run-through, singing soulfully about “predation.”Those who have followed the Harvey Weinstein case will recognize in the play details tied to Weinstein in particular and the MeToo movement in general. Eleanor is taught on her first day of work to knock six times on the mogul’s door so as not to interrupt activities behind it. After a traumatic experience with Schulz, one character leaves entertainment to become a real estate agent — which is pretty much what happened to Geiss herself.“The impetus for me was on a daily basis listening to the other women on our email thread,” Geiss said. “So many of the stories are so challenging and horrific. I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I need to change the way we look at this experience.’… I could see the spiraling down of so many of us. And I woke up one morning and I thought, ‘How can I change it?’ These are all artists, all creatives. We need to create a show about it that would uplift these women and allow them to focus on something that’s positive.”Also Read: Harvey Weinstein: Here's What's Next for His Los Angeles Sexual Assault CaseScreenshot from a performance of “The Right Girl”When one survivor describes her attack by the mogul in the play, she says she found herself unable to move. “I was frozen. I felt like my limbs were bricks, like every movement was like moving through thick mud,” she says, describing getting to the hotel room door, and Paul blocking her exit.And another survivor says: “It all seems perfectly normal — thrilling even, I mean he’s a really big deal in this town — until he’s on top of you.”Geiss met Kagan, a veteran Broadway producer and former Wall Street investor, when he bid on the bankrupt Weinstein Company but lost out to Lantern, a private equity firm. In the course of the bidding, Kagan stood out because he wanted to create a fund for the women who had claimed sexual abuse by Weinstein. “We lost the auction,” Kagan said. “A couple months later, Louisette called with this idea — do something like ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ letting women speak their truth.” Kagan said he thought it would be better as a musical (he was thinking of “A Chorus Line.”)Geiss decided to pitch Warren when she met the celebrated songwriter at TheWrap’s first annual Power Women Summit for women in 2018. Warren performed at the event and Geiss was honored along with other survivors of sexual abuse in the media and entertainment industries.Warren, who has written songs for Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Chrissy Metz and many others, said she found the project “interesting.” “I write songs for an artist,” she said. “I’ve never been in a room and seen something like this. I’ve never sat there and watched people act out the songs before. I’ve never done a show on Broadway.”Also Read: Watch Chrissy Metz and Diane Warren Perform 'Breakthrough' Song 'I'm Standing With You' | VideoLouisette Geiss, Diane Warren, Sharon Waxman, Sarah Ann Masse at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit in 2018 (Photo courtesy of Louisette Geiss)Warren has written a dozen songs for the show, one appropriately titled “You F—ed With the Wrong Girl.” (Most of the songs are drawn from Warren’s catalog, such as “Till It Happens to You,” the Oscar-nominated anthem performed by Lady Gaga for a documentary about rape on college campuses, “The Hunting Ground.”)The story is based on the true stories of about two dozen Hollywood sexual assault survivors — accusers of Weinstein as well as James Toback, R Kelly, Russell Simmons Louis CK and others — who gave the rights to the producers and will receive 2% each of the musical’s take.“We’re the Tom’s Shoes of musical-making,” Geiss said. “These women are desperate for work. Anabella Sciorra needs work. So I hope we’re creating something other companies will look at, and say — ‘Do it this way.'”The idea that a tragic story about serial rape and the struggle of women to be heard — the heart of the MeToo revolution — could end in a play co-written by a woman, scored by a woman and directed by a woman was a karmic arc that no one could have predicted.“It’s a miracle to tell this story,” Kagan said.Read original story Harvey Weinstein Accuser Writes MeToo Stage Musical With Diane Warren (Exclusive) At TheWrap
People
Jamie Lynn Spears Teases Zoey 101 Cast Reunion: 'Are You Ready?'
The last time the Zoey 101 cast reunited was for an All That sketch this summer
Yahoo Celebrity
Christopher Cross says he walks with a cane and is neurologically 'foggy' after battling COVID-19 and Guillain-Barré syndrome
The Grammy and Oscar winner opened up to "CBS Sunday Morning" about his near-fatal battle with COVID-19, which left him paralyzed and suffering from memory loss.
Variety
Brian Wilson Disavows Trump’s Beach Boys Benefit in California (EXCLUSIVE)
It will be fun, fun, fun under the California sun for many well-heeled attendees at today's Donald Trump fundraiser in Newport Beach — but not for Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, who are chagrined that the touring version of the group currently headed up by Mike Love will be headlining the campaign benefit. […]
Variety
Beastie Boys License a Song for an Ad for First Time Ever, for Joe Biden Spot Focused on Live Music Shutdown
The Beastie Boys had never before licensed any of their songs for an advertisement, but that commercial blackout came to an end during Sunday's Steelers/Browns game, when the sounds of "Sabotage" accompanied a spot for the Joe Biden presidential campaign. It wasn't just any campaign spot, but one that focuses on how the COVID-19 shutdowns […]
Entertainment Weekly
Adele admits she’s ‘terrified’ following SNL hosting gig announcement
Adele is set to make her debut as host of 'Saturday Night Live' next week, with H.E.R. stepping in as musical guest.
People
Adele to Make Her SNL Hosting Debut: 'I'm So Excited About This!'
Adele will be joined by musical guest H.E.R.
Entertainment Weekly
The Flaming Lips rock out safely in 'space bubbles' during hometown show
The Flaming Lips rocked out safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic in space bubbles during a hometown performance.
HuffPost
Angry 'Fortunate Son' Rocker John Fogerty Hitting Trump With Cease-And-Desist Order
Fogerty can't figure out why Trump is using his song at his rallies without permission, especially when it's attacking spoiled draft dodgers just like him.
Yahoo Music
Stevie Nicks on how she wrote 'Dreams,' her signature style, book plans and not being able to tour: 'This virus has stolen time from me'
"As a 72-year-old woman, I feel like this is the last six or seven of what I call the useful years of my life, and I think this virus has stolen time from me. And that makes me angry."
Yahoo Music
How British rockers the Struts made an ‘Exile on Main Street’ for the COVID age
When the pandemic began, the Struts did what any self-respecting rock band would do: They moved into a house and wrote and recorded an entire album in a week.
Rolling Stone
Johnny Bush, ‘Whiskey River’ Songwriter and Texas Country Singer, Dead at 85
A Lone Star State staple, Bush was a lifelong friend of Willie Nelson and gave him one of his signature songs
People
Former AC/DC Bass Guitarist Paul Matters Dies: 'He Will Be Missed by All Who Knew Him'
The rocker never recorded any tracks with AC/DC but did perform live with the band on tour
Rolling Stone
John Fogerty Sends Cease and Desist to Trump Campaign Over Use of ‘Fortunate Son’ at Rallies
"The fact that Mr. Trump fans the flames of hatred, racism and fear while rewriting recent history, is even more reason to be troubled by his use of my song," the singer wrote in a Tweet
Yahoo Music
Billie Eilish's brother Finneas defends Demi Lovato after she's slammed for anti-Trump song
The musician commended Lovato for speaking so candidly about her political beliefs when she has so many fans.
Yahoo Music
Patty Smyth talks hiatus, McEnroe marriage and how she almost became Van Halen's singer: 'I went the route I was supposed to go'
When the Scandal star took a break to focus on family, she never expected that her recording hiatus would last almost three decades.
Variety
Christopher Cross Calls the COVID-19 Battle That Left Him Paralyzed ‘The Darkest of Times’
Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, best know for his late–‘70s hits “Ride Like the Wind” and “Sailing,” opened up about his recent battle with COVID-19, calling the experience “the darkest days of my life.” He was paralyzed and in intensive care for 10 days, he tells Serena Altschul for this weekend’s installment of “CBS Sunday Morning.” “There […]
Entertainment Weekly
Amazing Grace: Jennifer Hudson becomes Aretha Franklin in at-long-last biopic Respect
Hudson takes on the role of a lifetime in the upcoming film. Good thing she was anointed by the Queen of Soul herself.

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