Category Archives: Adult Contemporary

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MTV Video Music Awards to be held in Brooklyn August 30

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe MTV Video Music Awards is officially coming to Brooklyn, New York this summer.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed the news during a press briefly on Monday.

"The Video Music Awards are going to be held Sunday, August 30, at Barclays Center," he said, with a graphic noting that "the event will follow all safety guidance, including limited or no audience."

Back in May, MTV told Billboard they were exploring options on how to safely hold the event amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We're exploring with government officials, the medical community, and key stakeholders on how to safely hold the 2020 VMAs at Barclays Center," an MTV spokesperson said at the time. "The health of everyone involved remains our No. 1 priority. Additionally, we are working on several contingency plans to bring music's biggest night to audiences everywhere."

Cuomo also announced Monday that New York City would be entering Phase III of reopening on July 6.

By Andrea Tuccillo
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Coachella 2020 officially canceled by California’s Riverside County

Rich Fury/Getty Images for CoachellaCalifornia's Riverside County has officially canceled Coachella 2020. 

The annual Indio, California festival had originally been scheduled for this past April before being postponed to this coming October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Headliners included the reunited Rage Against the MachineFrank Ocean and Travis Scott.

In a press release, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser says, "I am concerned as indications grow that COVID-19 could worsen in the fall."

"Events like Coachella...would fall under [California] Governor [GavinNewsom's Stage 4, which he has previously stated would require treatments or a vaccine to enter," Dr. Kaiser says. "Given the projected circumstances and potential, I would not be comfortable moving forward."

Earlier this week, Billboard reported that Coachella and its producer Goldenvoice were contemplating whether to plan for a "limited-capacity return" next April, or a "larger, higher capacity" festival in October 2021.

As of Thursday morning, neither Coachella nor Goldenvoice has made a public statement about the cancellation. 

By Josh Johnson
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Report: Coachella 2020 canceled

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CoachellaCoachella won't be happening in 2020, Billboard reports.

The Indio, California festival was originally set for two weekends in April. On March 10, a day before the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, producer Goldenvoice announced that Coachella would be moved to October.

Now, the rescheduled October dates have been canceled, according to a Billboard. In an article detailing promoter AEG's financial troubles amid the pandemic, the publication reports that festival organizers are weighing whether to plan for a "limited-capacity return" next April, or a "larger, higher capacity" event in October 2021.

Coachella's 2020 headliners included the reunited Rage Against the MachineFrank Ocean and Travis Scott.

By Josh Johnson
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Report: Little Richard, founding father of rock ‘n roll, dead at 87

J. Shearer/WireImage(NEW YORK) -- Little Richard, the flamboyant, envelope-pushing musician whose wild performance style and appearance helped set the blueprint for rock and roll, has died, Rolling Stone reports.  He was 87.  His son, Danny Penniman, confirmed his death to the publication.  No cause of death was given.

His string of hits, starting with 1956's "Tutti Frutti," included "Long Tall Sally," "Rip It Up, "Slippin' and Slidin'," "Lucille," and "Good Golly Miss Molly." Featuring pumping piano and lyrics often filled with sexual innuendo, Little Richard's songs were a massive influence on future legends like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and The Beatles, and have been covered by countless artists through the years.

Little Richard's gender-bending onstage appearance -- including makeup, huge pompadours and showy outfits -- earned him screaming fans, and roles in early rock 'n roll movies like "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Don't Knock the Rock."  Prince is one artist who was taking notes -- in fact, Richard himself called Prince "the Little Richard of his generation."

While Richard once said his flamboyant appearance was designed to make him appear "less threatening" to white audiences, the sad truth is that white singer Pat Boone's much-criticized anodyne covers of "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" were more appealing to the mainstream, doing better or as well as Richard's did on the charts.

Born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932 in Macon, Georgia, Richard was one of 12 children and left home at age 13.  He borrowed much of his musical style and appearance from Esquerita, a pompadoured singer and pianist from South Carolina.  Little Richard got his first record deal in 1951, but didn't experience any success.

In 1956, while working as a dishwasher at a bus station, Richard sent a tape of the racy song "Tutti Frutti" to a record label in Chicago. As the legend goes, he came up with song's signature lines -- "a wop bop a lu bop a wop bam boom" -- while washing dishes.  He was signed to the label, and a tamer version of the song became his first hit.

In 1957, Little Richard gave up music and became ordained as a minister. When he returned to music, it was gospel. However, he switched back to rock 'n roll in 1964 and, as Rolling Stone notes, when he played Hamburg, Germany in 1964, The Beatles opened for him.

In the '70s, Little Richard worked the oldies circuit, but in the '80s, he became a pop culture fixture, appearing in movies and TV shows, including Miami Vice.  In 1986, he was one of the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Elton John, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish and others raise nearly $8 million on Fox’s ‘Living Room Concert for America’

FOX

Elton John, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish and other major music stars gathered together for the Fox Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America on Sunday, and raised nearly $8 million to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and salute the strength and resilience of the U.S. people during the health crisis.

Highlights included Demi Lovato performing her hit "Skyscaper"; Eilish and her brother Finneas teaming up for an acoustic rendition of "bad guy"; Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes joining forces for her song "My Oh My"; and Mariah belting out her hit, "Always Be My Baby.”

Elton, who hosted the event from his home, closed out the evening with a special performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

Other performers included Backstreet Boys, Dave Grohl, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Alicia Keys and Tim McGraw.

The hour-long special drew more than 8.7 million viewers across multiple networks, who were encouraged to donate to two of the many charitable organizations that are helping COVID-19 victims and front line workers, such as health care professionals: Feeding America and First Responders Children's Foundation.

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Elton John bands together with artists like Mariah Carey and Backstreet Boys for iHeart Living Room Concert For America

Ian Gavan/Getty Images for HarlequinsAs America grapples with the rising COVID-19 pandemic, Elton John teamed up with an array of artists on Sunday night to "lift your spirits" for the first ever iHeart Living Room Concert For America that aired on Fox.

The concert not only served as means to comfort those worried about the outbreak, but it also helped raise money for two critical charities: First Responders Children Foundation and Feeding America.  It was later revealed by comedian Ken Jeong that Fox was matching donations.

"We hope this bit of entertainment can feed and fuel your soul," said Sir Elton, who also comedically revealed that he was quarantined in his only house that doesn't have a piano.

Thankfully, no piano was required for his hosting duties: The performances fell to the artists who lent their vocal talents to entertain America from their homes.  However, at the end of the concert, he did manage to get his hands on a keyboard so he could close with a special performance of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

First up was Alicia Keys, who opened with an encouraging, "my hope is that we remember how resident we are and how we defy the odds" as she delicately played her piano.  She then dedicated her performance of "Underdog" to the "first responders and medical professionals that are risking their lives to keep us safe."

Following Alicia, the Backstreet Boys took the living room stage with Brian Littrell greeting fans from the comfort and safety of his house. He joked that he and his band was "bringing our living room to yours" before shouting out frontline responders who are "putting themselves in harm's way" to keep the globe safe. 

The gang sang "I Want It That Way" and even broke out some lighthearted dance moves to elicit some much-needed smiles.  Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter even got their kids involved, from playing instruments to dancing around the backyard.

Up next was Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters who dedicated his performance of "My Hero" to all those on the  front lines.

Billie Eilish and Finneas followed Grohl with an acoustic rendition of "bad guy" from their couch.  Billie revealed she wanted "to be some sort of comfort in this crazy time" before urging "Let's stay strong together."  

Up next was Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello who flirted a bit before introducing the song "My Oh My"  with Camila on vocals and Shawn on guitar.  More adorable than the lovebirds was their dog in the background who excitedly tried to steal the spotlight in the beginning.

Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, who took over for Cabello and Mendes, also showed off his canine companion as he sang "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."  

While Lady Gaga didn't perform, she reached out to fans with an empathetic, "I know what's going on in the world is terrifying" and that "my heart goes out to people who lost loved ones."  She used her time to touch upon mental health, encouraging those to communicate with friends and family to combat the feeling of isolation and anxiety.  She concluded, "Be kind to yourselves." 

Lizzo and Elton also discussed mental health and the negative emotions COVID-19 is stoking.  As the friends live chatted on Zoom, Lizzo brought up that "it's important to remember that music brings people together" and praised everyone involved for coming together during such an uncertain time.  "We cannot let this tear us apart," she said in closing. "We can't let the fear spread faster than the virus."  

Following such a serious discussion, Tim McGraw took the stage next to perform a lighthearted "Something like That" while sitting on his diving board as his band played live from their respective houses.  His spot ended with him thanking his daughter Maggie for holding the camera and sweetly blew her a kiss.

Demi Lovato took the majority of her slot to urge those viewing to donate and "do what you can to lift [people] up."  She closed with a brief piano rendition of "Skyscraper."

Last up was Mariah Carey who put her heart into "Always Be My Baby" and made sure to prove she is the queen of the whistle register by spending the last moments of the song hitting a series of high notes.  She concluded with an adorable anecdote that after she leaves the studio, she's going to put her gloves back on "even in my own home."

Other performers helping to spread positivity were H.E.R. and Sam Smith.

Thanking first responders was a unifying theme during Sunday night's concert.   The show offered numerous first-hand accounts from EMTs, doctors and nurses about how they're battling against the pandemic.  One nurse, named Melissa, who is working at a COVID-19 ICU at her hospital tearfully revealed that she feels like she's "working in a war zone."

Talk show host Ellen Degeneres also shouted out essential workers, namely those who work at grocery stores, making sure people are still able to eat by keeping the shelves stocked. 

As the concert wrapped up, Sir Elton urged the audience to continue giving to First Responders Children Foundation and Feeding America before thanking everyone for coming together to promote positivity.

Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Report: Concert promoter Live Nation to pause all concert tours worldwide through end of March

iStock/Cesare FerrariFor several weeks, artists have been announcing concert tour cancellations.  But now, all the tours are being canceled for all the artists.  Well -- almost all artists.

Live Nation, one of the world's biggest concert promoters, plans to press pause on all of the tours it's currently promoting, both foreign and domestic, through the end of March, Billboard has learned

According to Billboard, Live Nation told employees that while a few shows will continue on Thursday or Friday, any shows starting this weekend will be postponed.  Billboard reports company executives told employees that March is generally a slow month anyway. Live Nation plans to re-evaluate in April, with an eye towards getting artists back out on the road in May or June.

The tours affected span all musical genres: Just some of them, Billboard notes, include Billie Eilish, Jason Aldean, Zac Brown Band, Cher, Kiss, Post Malone, Tool, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shania Twain's Las Vegas residency, Chris Stapleton and more.

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It’s official, Coachella and Stagecoach postponed until October

2020 Coachella lineup; Goldenvoice COVID-19 coronavirus has taken down yet another set of festivals in its wake. 

On Tuesday, Goldenvoice, the company behind the fests, made the announcement that both Coachella and Stagecoach have been postponed until October due to the infectious disease. 

"At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns," the statement read. "While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously." 

Coachella was originally scheduled to take place on the weekends of April 10 and April 17, while Stagecoach was supposed to follow taking place from April 24 until April 26. Both festivals take place in Indio, California, located in Riverside County, where three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Monday. 

Now, according to Goldenvoice, Coachella will jam out on the weekends of October 9 and 16. With its sister festival following suit on the weekend of October 23.

Tickets already purchased by festival-goers need not fret as they will be honored for the new dates. For ticket holders looking for a refund, the company said it will issue instructions on how to do so on March 13.

Coachella, whose highly anticipated 2020 headliners are Rage Against the MachineTravis Scott, and Frank Ocean, brings fans to the desert for some good old fashioned and Instagram-worthy fun.

Stagecoach does the same but with a country twist. Its headliners are Carrie UnderwoodThomas Rhett and Eric Church.

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Report: Coachella organizers looking to move festival to October

2020 Coachella lineup; Goldenvoice Coachella organizers are looking to move the annual festival to October due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to multiple outlets.

Billboard and Variety report that promoter Goldenvoice is working to reschedule the 2020 event, scheduled for April 10-12 and April 17-19 in Indio, California, for the weekends of October 9 and October 16.

Coachella 2020 is set to be headlined by the reunited Rage Against the Machine, plus Frank Ocean and Travis Scott. According to Billboard, a move to October is possible if "enough of the big headline acts" are able to reschedule, even if a full lineup replication isn't likely.

The move is not yet a "done deal," Billboard reports, but organizers should know if it's possible within the next 48 hours. If a plan doesn't come together in that time frame, Coachella will "likely be canceled."

ABC Audio has reached out to Coachella's press contact for comment.

If Coachella is postponed or even canceled, it'll be the latest, if not the most, high-profile event to be affected by the coronavirus. Bands including Green Day, Pearl Jam and Madonna are among the many acts who've scrapped or pushed back tour dates due to the outbreak. The 2020 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas was also canceled.

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South by Southwest officially canceled

Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesAfter a number of high-profile drop-outs due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus, the annual South by Southwest music, film and culture festival in Austin, Texas, has been officially canceled.

"The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU," reads a statement from the festival. "SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions."

"We are devastated to share this news with you," the statement continues. "'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation."

Over the past week, a number of big-name companies pulled out of SXSW, including Apple, Netflix and WarnerMedia, resulting in the cancellation of talks by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, Ozzy Osbourne and Beastie Boys.

SXSW 2020 was set to take place March 13-22. Festival organizers say they are "exploring options" to reschedule, or provide a "virtual SXSW online experience."

"We will continue to work hard to bring you the unique events you love," the statement reads. "Though it's true that our March 2020 event will no longer take place in the way that we intended, we continue to strive toward our purpose -- helping creative people achieve their goals."

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