Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Launches New R&B Label, Love Records, With Motown

On Thursday there were reports that Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta died in his sleep at 67. The actor was in the Dominican Republic at the time of his passing where he had been shooting the film Dangerous Waters. His rep confirmed the actor’s death to the Hollywood Reporter.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor everything that music and entertainment do to better people’s lives, it’s all put into a sobering context when you hear someone speak about their work at a cancer treatment center. And the music industry’s work with City of Hope cancer treatment and research center in Los Angeles is one of its greatest charitable efforts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment has announced the full slate of programming for the fifth annual New York Music Month, to run throughout the month of June 2022 in New York City.This year’s NYMM will feature a combination of in-person and virtual programming, with more than 20 events, including an all-day industry conference on the future of NYC’s music industry, skill-building workshops, free rehearsal space, songwriting camp, and showcases of emerging NYC artists. This month-long series aims to support songwriters, established musicians, emerging artists, and NYC’s entire musical community, many of whom were severely impacted by the pandemic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“This is a very special evening for me, for us,” Harry Styles said to a crowd of nearly 20,000 at the UBS Arena on Friday, and to millions over an Apple Music livestream. “We’re in New York City for one night only, and we’ll be playing this new album for you the way it was intended to be heard: From start to finish.”And with a giant neon outline of a house behind in, that’s what Styles and his tightly drilled band did: Premiere his just-released third solo album, “Harry’s House,” at a “One Night Only” concert, an arena-sized album release party offered for Styles’ most devoted fans (even if the title was a little bit of a misnomer: There’s a similar concert taking place in London next week).

Jennifer Lopez bursts into tears after being snubbed by the Academy and denied an Oscar nomination, in the new trailer of her upcoming Netflix documentary Halftime.The 52 year old is shown breaking down in tears as she finds out she hasn't made the shortlist for her star turn in Hustlers.The doc follows the star as she is preparing for the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime show. Upon Hustlers' release, Jennifer was widely praised for her portrayal of New York City stripper Ramona. The Oscar wasn't meant to be though, as the multi-talented star was rejected by the Academy in early 2020, leaving he visibly upset in bed after hearing the news.

Sharing her story. Jennifer Lopez is ready to open up about the more challenging side of fame in the first look at her Halftime documentary.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMy Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Future, and Jack White will headline the 2022 edition of Music Midtown, which will also feature performances from Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Phoenix, Turnstile, Louis The Child, A Day To Remember, 2 Chainz, Quinn XCII, Conan Gray, Denzel Curry and many more. The full lineup appears below.Over 30 artists, four stages and two full days of music will take place September 17-18 at Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta. Two-day tickets go on sale Friday, May 20 at 10am ET via www.musicmidtown.com, with Layaway Plans starting at $19 down.“Over twenty-five years strong, Music Midtown remains a monumental music festival that brings a diverse lineup of the biggest names in music year-after-year, while giving back to the city that I proudly call home.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHarry Styles’ “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena at Belmont Park this Friday — May 20 — will be available to stream exclusively to Apple Music subscribers in 167 countries around the world, the company has announced.The concert will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever,” according to the announcement. All tickets for the show were $25 all-in, including taxes and fees, although they are currently going for thousands of dollars on the secondary ticket market.The concert will be available to stream live on Apple Music at 9:00p EST / 6p PST on Friday, May 20th HERE and will encore on May 22nd at 12:00p EST / 9:00a PT / 6:00p CET and on May 26th at 4pm BST / 5pm SGT / 7pm AEST.

The 2022 Billboard Music Awards kick off Sunday at 8 p.m.The Weeknd leads the pack of nominees with 17 nods. His “Save Your Tears (Remix)” with Ariana Grande is up for 6 nominations.His future “After Hours Til Dawn” touring partner Doja Cat trails right behind him with 14 nominations.Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and Olivia Rodrigo are all up for 13 nominations each.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBMG is ramping up its development of new stage musicals in both the U.S., with its first production “Punk Rock Girl!,” and in Germany, following the successful run of its first musical, “Ku’damm 56.”“Punk Rock Girl!” is the debut developmental theatrical production from BMG in the U.S., in partnership with New York-based theatrical company Lively McCabe Entertainment. It features a score of songs written and made famous by female artists and female-fronted bands from the BMG catalog, including Blondie, P!nk, Avril Lavigne, Pat Benatar and Sleater-Kinney, along with the title song, the Dead Milkmen’s 1988’s “Punk Rock Girl”; the full tracklist appears below.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two weeks before the release of his “Harry’s House” third solo album, Harry Styles has announced the dates for “Love on Tour 2022.”Coming off of a sold out 42-date arena tour in 2021 and two special “One Night Only” shows in New York and London, the 2022 tour works the “Harry’s House” theme by turning arenas in New York, Los Angeles (10 nights each), Chicago, Austin (5 nights each) and Toronto (2 nights) into Harry’s de facto house.Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Styles will continue his residencies in New York City for ten nights at Madison Square Garden, Austin for five nights at Moody Center, and Chicago for five nights at United Center, before wrapping up at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for 10 night run concluding on Tuesday, November 15th.

Dua Lipa is setting the tone for the summer! The GRAMMY-winning singer is set to kick off the second leg of her Future Nostalgia tour in the upcoming months — and she’s ready to dance.“It's evolved drastically,” the 26-year-old artist told ET’s Denny Directo about the dancing fans will see onstage during a visit to the Truly taproom in Los Angeles. “I really have a full choreography routine that happens through the Future Nostalgia tour that I didn't have before. So, in that sense, it's full on. I like to just describe it as the traveling circus. You just go and put on the show every night after night and it's just a lot of fun and the part that makes it really exciting is the reaction from the fans.” Not only are the fans getting a new set of moves, but Dua treats the crowd to more than a few wardrobe changes during the show.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA$AP Rocky has dropped his new single, “D.M.B.” via A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records — but the headlines will no doubt go to Rihanna, who stars in the video and is making her first appearance in a music-related video in years.The video is described as “an ode to the classic love story,” with Rocky and Rihanna depicting true ride-or-die characters in a devoted relationship despite their circumstances.The video was shot in New York last summer and was written, directed & executive produced by A$AP Rocky for AWGE.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMadonna recently became the first artist to top Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart for the 50th time, making her the first and only recording artist to have 50 No. 1 hits on any single Billboard chart.She is commemorating the event in characteristically outsized fashion with two new compilations: “Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones,” a new 50-track collection that includes her favorite remixes of her dance hits, and an abridged 16-track version, simply titled “Finally Enough Love.” The full tracklists appear below.The collections mark the first album releases to be part of the newly announced partnership between Madonna and Warner Music Group, which will feature an extensive series of catalog releases across her career.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated rapper and Variety Hitmakers cover star Jack Harlow unveiled the tracklist for his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” on Tuesday — and it includes features from Drake, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell and even a song called “Dua Lipa.”Pharrell guests on a song called “Movie Star,” Drake on “Churchill Downs” (presumably about the horse-racing track in Harlow’s home state of Kentucky), Lil Wayne on “Poison” and Timberlake on one called “Parent Trap” (in which he apparently plays the parent).The album drops Friday (May 6) via Generation Now/Atlantic Records and includes the singles “Nail Tech” and “First Class,” the latter of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month and boosted streams for Fergie’s 2007 pop hit “Glamorous,” which it samples.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorChris Thile, singer-songwriter and virtuoso mandolinist and member of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, will perform a concert to benefit pediatric cancer research at New York’s City Winery on June 1. Billed “Uncorked & Unplugged,” proceeds from the event will support Mount Sinai.Head here for tickets and more information.According to the announcement, “Uncorked & Unplugged continues the tradition of a grand New York bacchanal while raising money for and bringing awareness to cancer research.

Khalid has shared a new single titled ‘Skyline’, released alongside a music video directed by Levi Turner and Cody LaPlant.The video puts Khalid – as well as a full cast of backup dancers – in a series of summery settings around a grassy mountainside landscape. It marks the second time Khalid has worked with Turner and LaPlant on a clip, following on from March’s ‘Last Call’.Have a look at the video for ‘Skyline’ below:In a statement shared with the song’s release last week, Khalid described ‘Skyline’ as “a recharge” that is “full of summer vibes”.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing his recent headlining stint at Coachella and his long North American tour last fall, Harry Styles has announced a special “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena on Long Island on May 20. All tickets will be available for $25 all-in, including taxes and fees.According to the announcement, the show will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever.”American Express® Card Members have the power to unlock access to Harry Styles tickets for his UBS Arena show by registering for American Express® Early Access powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan*.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly 21 st century New York rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — singer Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Jay Chase — have announced new music and tour dates in the summer and fall. The group, which recently signed with indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian, say they will have new music in the fall.The group will play a brace of dates in Europe and Australia in the summer before hitting North America, with dates at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in October, where they will be joined by high school punk rockers the Linda Lindas on both dates and (in Los Angeles) by Japanese Breakfast.