Taylor Swift is Spotify’s top artist of 2023, surpassing Bad Bunny
2023 really is Taylor Swift’s year. In news that should surprise no one, Swift — who this week hit $250 million at the global box office for the filmed version of her Eras concert tour — will close out the year as Spotify’s most-streamed artist worldwide, beating out three-timer Bad...
Mariah Carey, Travis Scott, Trans-Siberian Orchestra among December’s top concerts around Pittsburgh
With Christmas right around the corner, two big shows at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh will capture the spirit of the holiday. Here’s a look at the most notable shows coming to the area in December: Top shows Dec. 5: Mariah Carey at PPG Paints Arena Mariah Carey, the queen...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs temporarily steps down as Revolt chairman amid sexual abuse allegations
LOS ANGELES — Sean “Diddy” Combs has temporarily stepped down as chairman of his cable television network Revolt amid multiple sexual abuse allegations against the music mogul. Revolt announced Combs’ decision on social media Tuesday. It’s not clear when he will return to his media company — which said Combs...
Judge cites handwritten will and awards real estate to Aretha Franklin’s sons
DETROIT — A judge overseeing the estate of Aretha Franklin awarded real estate to the late star’s sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision Monday came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law,...
‘Spinal Tap’ sequel to include guest appearances by Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks
Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks are set to appear in the sequel to “This is Spinal Tap,” the 1984 cult film classic that was the first film directed by Rob Reiner. In a Monday interview on the podcast “RHLSTP with Richard Herring,” Reiner also disclosed that shooting for...
Avenged Sevenfold to make Pittsburgh stop on Life is But A Dream tour
Avenged Sevenfold’s third leg of the band’s Life is But A Dream… tour of North America will include a stop at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena in March. The metal band — which includes singer M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman —...
Pittsburgh pop radio fixture Clarke Ingram diesVideo
If you listened to Top 40 radio in the Pittsburgh area between the mid 1970s and the mid 2000s, chances are good that Clarke Ingram touched your life in some way. The Pittsburgh native, who died Saturday at 66, was not just a mover and shaker in the Top 40...
Jason Aldean’s Highway Desperado tour coming to PittsburghVideo
Country singer Jason Aldean is bringing his Highway Desperado tour to the Pittsburgh area next year. Aldean, whose new album “Highway Desperado” was released Nov. 3, will play the Pavilion at Star Lake on Aug. 10. He’ll be joined by Lauren Alaina, Chase Matthew, Austin Snell and Dee Jay Silver....
Puppet-inspired music video earns international acclaim for Greensburg’s Derek Woods BandVideo
Members of the Derek Woods Band have had to pull some strings over the years while building their reputation as a group, working to establish themselves and gain a fan base beyond western Pennsylvania. The band has performed nationally but embarked on its first coast-to-coast U.S. tour in 2023, a...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of sexual abuse by 2 more women
NEW YORK — Two more women have come forward to accuse Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse, one week after the music mogul settled a separate lawsuit with the singer Cassie that contained allegations of rape and physical abuse. Both of the new suits were filed Thursday on the eve...
Holiday songs you may not have heard a million times alreadyVideo
The stout-hearted among us can usually hold off until Thanksgiving, but once the turkey has been digested, there’s no keeping the Christmas music away. A new study used Google search results to determine the 100 most popular Christmas songs in the U.S. — and the top three in each state....
Daryl Hall is suing John Oates. Is the Philly-born pop and R&B duo ‘Out of Touch’?
PHILADELPHIA — Daryl Hall is suing John Oates. The pop and R&B duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970 has forged one of the most successful alliances in musical history. In their heyday — between 1974 and 1991 — the partners scored 29 Top 40 hits and six that reached number...
Bush’s Gavin Rossdale on greatest hits album, ‘Glycerine’ and new musicVideo
A career retrospective album didn’t sound that appealing to Gavin Rossdale, the singer and rhythm guitarist for venerable British rockers Bush. “I really didn’t want to have that, because the greatest hits can be seen — it used to be seen for me — as a ‘See you later, I’m...
Public Enemy, R.E.M., Blondie, Heart and Tracy Chapman get nods for Songwriters Hall of Fame
NEW YORK — Everything from rap to yacht rock, country and alt-rock are represented among the nominees for the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame, with nods for Public Enemy, Steely Dan, Bryan Adams, George Clinton, Tracy Chapman, R.E.M., Blondie, Heart and The Doobie Brothers. The ballot also includes “Footloose” singer-songwriter...
Taylor Swift’s Rio tour marred by deaths, muggings and a dangerous heat wave
RIO DE JANEIRO — The deaths of two people, muggings and a dangerous heat wave left legions of Taylor Swift’s Brazilian fans angry and disappointed in the three-day Rio de Janeiro leg of the pop superstar’s Eras Tour, which concludes Monday night. Gabriel Mongenot Santana Milhomem Santos, 25, a fan...
Review: Rock Orchestra pulls off marriage of rock, classical music in Pittsburgh showVideo
It’s been more than 40 years since the likes of AC/DC or Motörhead played the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh. But their songs — albeit in vastly reimagined versions — found new life Monday night at the Benedum Center (formerly known as the Stanley Theatre). In around 90 minutes, a show...
Fan at Taylor Swift concert dies amid Rio De Janeiro’s record heat wave
A fan died at Taylor Swift’s Rio de Janeiro concert Friday night, during a record-breaking heat wave. Ana Clara Benevides, a 23-year-old psychology student, fainted in the front row of the concert and was given 40 minutes of CPR on-site before being taken to the hospital, where she died, her...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and singer Cassie settle lawsuit alleging abuse 1 day after it was filed
NEW YORK — A lawsuit by singer Cassie containing allegations of beatings and abuse by music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs has been settled, the artists announced Friday, one day after the lawsuit was filed. The settlement was announced in a statement sent by attorney Douglas Wigdor, who represents Cassie, whose...
George Brown, drummer and co-founder of Kool & The Gang, dead at 74Video
NEW YORK — George “Funky” Brown, the co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang who helped write such hits as “Too Hot,” “Ladies Night,” “Joanna” and the party favorite “Celebration,” died Thursday in Los Angeles at age 74. Brown died after a battle with cancer, according to a...
Marijuana master Snoop Dogg announces he’s giving up smoking
Pot proponent Snoop Dogg is seemingly dropping his obsessive weed habit. The 16-time Grammy-nominated hip-hop star, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, announced on Thursday that he’s giving up smoking. “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this...
Billy Porter hits the dance floor on his 5th album with the goal of ‘trying to heal people’Video
NEW YORK — Billy Porter is strutting off in an entirely new sonic direction on his fifth album. The Broadway, runway and TV star has pivoted to dance music. “I’m a new artist. There’s a transformation that has happened,” the Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winner tells The Associated Press. “I’ve been...
John Dyer Baizley of Baroness on creating ‘Stone’ album, artwork and glockenspielVideo
For a band that’s been around for 20 years, Baroness is finally experiencing some lineup stability. Their latest release “Stone,” which came out in September, is the first time in the metal band’s history that the same four members created a second album together. That chemistry allowed the band to...
Conservative Muslims in Indonesia protest Coldplay concert over the band’s LGBTQ+ support
JAKARTA, Indonesia — More than 200 conservative Muslims marched in Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday, calling for the cancellation of a Coldplay concert that night over the British band’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. The protesters, marching about half a mile away from the concert venue in Jakarta where the band...
Pink will give 2,000 banned books to Florida fans, says she’s ‘unwilling to stand by’
Pink wants her fans to read banned books. The Grammy winner announced this week that she intended to give away 2,000 banned books during the Florida leg of her tour. “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am...
Book Review: Rock ‘n’ roller and Rush pioneer Geddy Lee goes deep in his memoir, ‘My Effin’ Life’
Geddy Lee is a rock star, that’s undeniable. But he’s also a polite Canadian to the core. So it’s fitting that the Rush icon picked a not-too-bawdy title for his memoir. “My Effin’ Life” is an engrossing tale of a “classic underachiever” who became a Rock & Roll Hall of...
