Kanye West Beats Olivia Rodrigo for 2021’s Most-Streamed Album and Artist in 24 Hours on Spotify

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhile he’s still best known for his pastoral cover of the Knife’s “Heartbeats” popularized by a 2005 Sony Bravia ad (you know, the one with the balls bouncing through San Francisco), Swedish-Argentinian singer Jose Gonzales’ interpretation of that song includes all of the hallmarks of his stellar solo work.

Todd Rundgren gives NO f**ks!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRecorded music revenues in the U.S. grew 27% in the first half of 2021 over 2020, according to the RIAA’s mid-year report.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYebba — a.k.a. Abbey Smith — is a prodigiously talented 26-year-old singer who’s been buzzing for so long it’s hard to believe “Dawn” is her debut album.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEd Sheeran will perform at the 2021 MTV VMAs on Sunday night, where he will take over the Toyota Stage for performance of his brand-new single “Shivers,” which dropped Thursday night and is featured on his forthcoming new album “=,” due on Oct.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBMI has grown its revenue and distributions to record-setting levels in a fiscal year filled with unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLana Del Rey has announced a new release date for “Blue Bannisters,” her second album of 2021, which was originally scheduled for July 4 but abruptly bumped days before its release.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRadiohead has announced the forthcoming release of “Kid A Mnesia,” a multiple format triple-album release marking the 21st anniversary of the group’s influential “Kid A” and “Amnesiac” albums, due November 5 via XL Recordings.Those two albums, the group’s fourth and fifth, found the band moving away from the rock sound that had vaulted them to stardom and exploring more experimental and electronic sounds — their influence on the “alternative” music of the past 20

Drake finally released his highly-anticipated sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy. While fans couldn’t wait to hear the music for pure enjoyment, one major reason listeners were anticipating this release was to hear what the Toronto native had to say about his on-again, off-again frenemy and collaborator, Kanye West.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorABBA, one of the most successful music groups of all time, has announced its return nearly 40 years with a new studio album — hear two songs from it here — and a new concert that will see singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and instrumentalists/songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus performing digitally via avatars with a live 10-piece band in a purpose-built arena in London, beginning on May 27, 2022.The “Voyage” album will be released worldwide

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKanye West dropped a video for the song “Come to Life” on Thursday morning, a key track from his long-awaited and controversial tenth album “Donda,” which was finally released on Sunday after four public listening events.The video, lifted directly from the livestream of the fourth and most recent such event, held in Chicago, includes two of the more remarkable scenes from the highly theatrical broadcast: The part where West was set on fire (he was wearing a

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorElton John has announced the forthcoming release of “The Lockdown Sessions,” an album of collaborations recorded remotely over the last 18 months, out October 22, featuring more than 20 collaborators, including Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile, Charlie Puth, Eddie Vedder, Gorillaz, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rina Sawayama, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Years & Years, Young Thug, and others — including an apparently posthumous duet with country legend Glen

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUPDATE: Spotify has corrected a statement it sent to Variety earlier on Monday that inaccurately stated that West also topped Rodrigo’s record as 2021’s most-streamed artist in 24 hours; West’s record is only for 2021’s most-streamed album in 24 hours.After several weeks of one of the most highly publicized and confusing album rollouts in history, Kanye West’s “Donda” finally was officially released to streaming services at the unusual, if not completely

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust hours after Drake finally, officially announced the release date for his long-awaited forthcoming “Certified Lover Boy” album — which apparently has a cover featuring several emoji-type images of pregnant women — Lil Nas X jumped in by posting a similar one for his long-awaited forthcoming “Montero” album… except with pregnant men.“MONTERO” THE ALBUM OUT SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 pic.twitter.com/M7qVwV1uOu— MONTERO

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter months of rumors and delays, one official false alarm, a strange ESPN teaser, and release-date battle with Kanye West’s “Donda” that never happened, Drake has confirmed in unambiguous terms that his long-awaited sixth full-length album “Certified Lover Boy” will finally be out on Friday.The post includes what may be the album’s cover: little cartoons of pregnant women (take it away, Internet!)…A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)“Certified Lover Boy

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter four official listening sessions and millions of words of speculation from the media, Kanye West finally released his ‘Donda’ album to streaming services on Sunday morning. It is unclear when the album was actually posted, but a press release from West’s label, Def Jam, arrived at 8:17 a.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOlivia Rodrigo has retroactively added two members of Paramore to the writing credits of her hit single “Good 4 U” — the third time she’s made such a revision for songs from her blockbuster debut album, “Sour.” She had previously added Taylor Swift and cowriters to the credits of her songs “Déjà vu” and “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back.”Paramore singer Hayley Williams, who is often cited as an influence and reference for Rodrigo, and ex-guitarist Josh Farro are now

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKanye West’s first “Donda” listening party in Atlanta last month was a simple event — as much as an album-listening party in a football stadium can be simple — featuring the rapper, clad in a mask, stomping around the stadium floor as his album played.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust a few weeks ago, industry sources were buzzing that the real reason Kanye West’s long-delayed “Donda” album has missed two scheduled drop dates this summer is because he’s looking for a release-date battle with Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy,” similar to his 2007 duel with 50 Cent.“Donda” was scheduled to be released after listening sessions at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium — first on July 23, then on August 6, and there’s another one at the massive,

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA new lead singer is just about the most dramatic change a band can make — even if a main songwriter or instrumentalist leaves, the voice is usually the clearest link to what came before. Although George Clarke, cofounder and lead vocalist of long-running San Francisco avant-metal act Deafheaven, hasn’t gone anywhere, he’s changed up his style so dramatically for the band’s fifth studio album that it actually sounds like they have a different singer.