Category Archives: Urban AC

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

March 31, 2020 – 10:00 am

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

March 30, 2020 – 10:00 am

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.

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

March 12, 2020 – 7:13 pm

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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Report: Coachella organizers looking to move festival to October

March 10, 2020 – 2:45 pm

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

March 6, 2020 – 10:25 pm

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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Deborah Dugan hits back at Recording Academy with new allegations

March 4, 2020 – 11:00 am

Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesFollowing her ouster on Monday, former Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan filed a supplemental charge against the organization, claiming it provides "significant additional information and evidence" of alleged attempts to influence the nominations process by the Academy and longtime Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich.

The supplemental charge, filed by Dugan's lawyers on Tuesday, cites an email from Ehrlich that allegedly implies a superstar artist would be more likely to perform on the Grammy Awards telecast if that artist received a nomination.

The email, sent to Dugan and the Recording Academy's interim CEO and president Harvey Mason, reads in part, "looking at the [American Music Awards] nominations this morning, it’s more about who’s NOT there than who is…..and [superstar] is definitely not gonna be happy. minor representation at best."

"I think there’s a case to be made to [superstar] that a performance of [song] from [album] on our show, should it be nominated,’” the email continues, “‘and that a blowout performance of that song, which IS a Grammy song, might."

Erlich, in the email goes on to write there "should there be some discussion in a certain room at your meetings next week for Record, Album and Song, and if it involves making a choice between [one album] vs. [a second album], my thought from knowing [superstar] since [superstar] was a child, is that [superstar] might see the wisdom of a [sic] performance [of a song from the second album]...I’m jus [sic] sayin."

"Gotcha. Thanks Ken,” Mason replies.

Dugan also claims to have new evidence of the Academy’s efforts to retaliate against her, particularly after her legal complaint of January 21, in which she she "exposed alleged misogyny, sexual harassment, discrimination and corruption, including voting irregularities, at the Academy."

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Recording Academy fires suspended CEO Deborah Dugan

March 3, 2020 – 11:00 am

John Lamparski/WireImageDeborah Dugan, who was placed on administrative leave from her post as president/CEO of the Recording Academy in January following allegations of misconduct by a senior female Academy member, has been terminated, the organization announced in a letter to its members on Tuesday.

“After weighing all of the evidence from two independent investigations, the Board of Trustees of the Recording Academy voted to terminate Ms. Dugan from her role as President/CEO, wrote Harvey Mason Jr., Chair and Interim CEO of The Recording Academy. "We will initiate a search for a new leader who will leverage the Academy’s diverse membership and rich history and help us transform it to better serve our members today and into the future.

Mason further pledged to "realize a future in which our organization is known for its diversity, transparency, creativity, mutual respect, and overall excellence.”

“The investigation overwhelmingly confirmed the serious complaints that had been lodged against her by a multitude of Academy staff members," said Tammy Hurt, Vice Chair, National Board of Trustees at The Recording Academy in a separate statement. "The damage she has caused this organization is truly heartbreaking.”

Explaining that it was “not one thing that led to this action, but rather the large number of incidents that demonstrated poor judgment,” Christine Albert, Chair Emeritus, National Board of Trustees at The Recording Academy noted, “There was just no way she could continue to serve this organization.”

Dugan has claimed she was pushed out after exposing alleged sexual harassment, nomination rigging, and what she described as a toxic "boy's club" that sidelined women and minority groups.

In response, the Recording Academy alleged it was Dugan who created a "toxic and intolerable" work environment and is investigating both Ms. Dugan's alleged potential misconduct and her subsequent allegations.

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The Grammys: The Performances

January 27, 2020 – 7:08 am

Francis Specker/CBSAs usual, the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards crammed a whole lot of extravagant, emotional and occasionally mind-blowing performances -- and very few actual awards -- into a three-and-a-half hour telecast. There was a lot of profanity onstage -- both in the acceptance speeches and in the lyrics of the songs -- causing the telecast to be perhaps the most highly-bleeped Grammys ever. Here's a rundown of who performed what:

Lizzo kicked off the show with a medley of her song "Cuz I Love You" -- which she sang while wearing a huge, black sparkly gown while conducting an orchestral string section -- and "Truth Hurts," for which she stripped down to a futuristic bodysuit. The performance featured plenty of dancers as well as one of Lizzo's signature flute solos.

Following a brief a cappella performance of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" with Boyz II Men in honor of the late Kobe Bryant, host Alicia Keys sang a version of Lewis Capaldi's Grammy-nominated "Someone You Loved" with the lyrics changed to be about this year's nominees -- the chorus was, "I'mma get you kinda used to hearing music you love."

The Jonas Brothers were up next: First, they performed a stripped-down performance of an unreleased song that may have been called "Five Minutes," and they took the stage for a massive performance of their current hit "What a Man Gotta Do," complete with dancers, horns and fireworks. Nick Jonas appeared to have something stuck in his teeth throughout, which he later acknowledged by tweeting, "At least you all know I eat my greens."

Tyler, The Creator gave the most bonkers performance of the night. It started out somewhat chill, as he performed "Earfquake" with Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men. Then, he was joined onstage by dozens of Tyler lookalikes, all wearing the same blonde pageboy wig and white-and-red suit as he sang "New Magic Wand" on a set that looked like an empty suburban street. The song climaxed with Tyler jumping up and down and screaming and the entire street burning down; he then fell backwards off the part of the stage he was standing on and disappeared.

Usher performed a Prince tribute as a way of promoting the upcoming CBS-TV special Let's Go Crazy: A GRAMMY Salute to Prince. Singing and dancing his way through "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss," Usher was backed up by Prince's close friend Sheila E. Oddly, even though FKA Twigs was introduced as being part of the performance, all she did was dance on a stripper pole and then slink around, rubbing up against Usher and looking sexy.

Camila Cabello gave one of the most emotional performances of the night, singing "First Man," a tribute to her father Alejandro Cabello, while home movies of him with a baby Camila were shown. At the end of the song, she came off the stage and stood in front of her dad, singing directly to him, as he wept openly. They embraced at the end of the song.

Country icon Tanya Tucker, who won her very first Grammys on Sunday, performed a stripped-down version of her winning song "Bring My Flowers Now" with her co-writer and musical collaborator Brandi Carlile.

Ariana Grande gave an elaborate performance of three songs. She started out dressed in a ballgown, singing "My Favorite Things" with a string section. Then, she stripped off her gown, donned some sexy sleepwear, and moved onto a bedroom set to sing her nominated song "7 Rings," which interpolates "My Favorite Things." She finished off with part of her smash hit "thank u, next."

The night's big winner, Billie Eilish, performed a hushed version of her song "when the party's over" with her brother and musical collaborator Finneas on piano, plus a backing choir.

Lifetime Achievement honorees Aerosmith performed "Livin' on the Edge" -- during which lead singer Steven Tyler stopped in the audience in front of Lizzo and yelled, "I f***ing love you!" -- and then teamed up with Run-DMC for their smash hit "Walk This Way." There was no last-minute reprieve for drummer Joey Kramer, who the band had barred from performing with them because they claimed his playing wasn't up to par. He sued...and lost.

Lil Nas X performed his 19-week number-one hit "Old Town Road" on a stage set that revolved to show different rooms, and in each room, there was a different act who joined him to perform the song, including K-pop superstars BTS, Diplo, Mason Ramsey and, of course, Billy Ray Cyrus. At the very end, none other than Nas -- the rap legend who inspired Lil Nas X's stage name -- joined the younger artist onstage to sing "Rodeo."

Another emotional of a moment came from Demi Lovato, who performed a raw ballad called "Anyone," which she wrote just four days before she overdosed in 2018. She was so choked up that she had to stop the song and start it again, and then sang it with tears running down her face. She got a standing ovation at the end.

A tribute to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle featured Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, Roddy Ricch and YG, who was arrested on robbery charges two days before the Grammys. Meek kicked off the performance by performing a rap addressed to Hussle; Roddy Ricch then did "Letter to Nipsey." Khaled, Franklin, YG and Legend performed "Higher," which then went on to win the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung performance. Hussle's other song "Racks in the Middle" also won a Grammy during the pre-telecast awards.

Spanish star Rosalía and a troupe of dancers performed her flamenco-inspired songs "Malamente" and "Juro Qué."

At the podium to present Song of the Year, Little Big Town and Smokey Robinson harmonized on his composition "My Girl."

Alicia Keys and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard performed a stripped-down version of Alicia's current single "Underdog," co-written by Ed Sheeran. By the end of the song, Alicia, joined by a troupe of dancers, had moved to a satellite stage with a piano, which rose in the air for a dramatic finale.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist H.E.R. performed her song "Sometimes" at the piano, backed by a line of musicians in single file behind her, and then she stood up and ripped off a searing guitar solo.

Bonnie Raitt performed a brief rendition of John Prine's song "Angel from Montgomery" in tribute to Prine; that was followed by guitarist Gary Clark Jr. performing his Grammy-winning song "This Land," which is about racism and immigration.

The final performance of the evening was a version of "I Sing the Body Electric" from the 1980 movie Fame, featuring Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Ben Platt, pianist Lang Lang, violinist Joshua Bell, Gary Clark Jr., ballerina Misty Copeland and a chorus of student musicians. It was a tribute to music education, and to Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich, who after 40 years is stepping aside.

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Ousted Recording Academy CEO says she has “evidence” of Grammy nomination rigging

January 23, 2020 – 4:10 pm

ABC NewsTuesday on ABC's Good Morning America, ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan told her side of the story in a contentious debate that's roiled the music industry just days before the Grammy Awards.

Dugan claims she was pushed out after exposing alleged sexual harassment, nomination rigging, and what she described as a toxic "boy's club" that sidelined women and minority groups. In response, the Recording Academy alleges it was Dugan who created a "toxic and intolerable" work environment and is investigating both Ms. Dugan's alleged potential misconduct and her subsequent allegations.

Regarding the nomination rigging, Dugan told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America Thursday, "There are incidents of conflict of interest that taints the results."

Stephanopoulos then read out loud what's written in her complaint: "One artist who initially ranked 18 out of 20 in the 2019 Song of the Year category ended up with a nomination. This artist was actually permitted to sit on the Song of the Year nomination committee. Incredibly, this artist is also represented by a member of the Board."

"Who is this person?" Stephanopoulos then asked.

Dugan and her lawyer wouldn't reveal the artist's identity, but Dugan went on to say that that alleged incident wasn't an isolated one.

"It's not even just that one room. I have evidence that in another room....there were complaints made in the jazz category," she began, before Stephanopoulos interrupted her, saying, "That was gonna be my next question, so you do have evidence?

"I do," she responded.

As a reminder, last year's Song of the Year winner was Childish Gambino's "This Is America." The other nominees were Lady Gaga's "Shallow," "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, "Boo'd Up" by Ella Mai, "God's Plan" by Drake, "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes, "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey, and "The Joke," by Brandi Carlile.

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Former Recording Academy president files discrimination complaint

January 22, 2020 – 11:00 am

Bryan Bedder/Getty ImagesFormer Recording Academy CEO and President Deborah Dugan and her lawyers spent Tuesday trading accusations with the Academy in the wake of Dugan's complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) accusing the organization behind the Grammy Awards of gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Dugan's complaint alleges, among other things, that the Recording Academy engaged in "egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members, voting irregularities with respect to nominations for Grammy Awards and other misconduct."

The complaint further alleges that the Academy, "unlawfully retaliated against Ms. Dugan by placing her on administrative leave (only after she indicated her intent to commence legal action and refused to settle her claims on terms dictated by the Academy), threatening Ms. Dugan with termination and publishing false and defamatory statements about Ms. Dugan to the media."

Dugan's lawyers, one of whom is Douglas H. Wigdor, who represents 20 women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, compared the Recording Academy's response to the embattled film mogul by attempting to "impugn the character of Deborah Dugan [in] a transparent effort to shift the focus away from its own unlawful activity."

In response the the EEOC complaint, the Recording Academy hit back by claiming Dugan "never raised these grave allegations until a week after legal claims were made against her personally by a female employee who alleged Ms. Dugan had created a ‘toxic and intolerable’ work environment and engaged in ‘abusive and bullying conduct.’"

Dugan's attorneys responded with a followup statement calling the Academy's claim that she didn't raise concerns prior to the accusations against her "completely false."

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