The Weeknd Hits the Dancefloor With ‘Take My Breath,’ New Song and Video

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.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAn attorney for R. Kelly attempted to discredit one of the accusers leveling allegations of sexual abuse against the singer on Thursday, after she’d claimed he had slapped and choked her during what she described as their final sexual encounter more than 10 years ago.Jerhonda Johnson Pace, the first witness testifying for prosecutors in Kelly’s long-delayed racketeering trial in New York, is among multiple women leveling claims of sexual abuse against Kelly.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMore than four years after the release of his blockbuster album “-,” Ed Sheeran has announced that his long-awaited fourth full-length album, called “=,” naturally enough, will be out on October 29.“‘=’ (Equals) is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me,” he said in the announcement. “My life changed greatly over the past few years – I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJerhonda Johnson Pace told a federal jury that she began having sex with R. Kelly shortly after she turned 16, as the singer’s racketeering trial got under way in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFinding talent early is a key component of being a good agent and being a good A&R person, so it’s surprising that more people don’t do both. Matt Galle is one of the few who does.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust days after Jay-Z and Roc Nation took part in a $325 million investment in the Fanatics sports e-commerce platform, the rapper, along with Fanatics onwer and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin have applied for a New York gaming license to form Fanatics Sportsbook. The news was first reported by TMZ and ESPN and confirmed by Variety.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMadonna, the top-selling female artist of all time, will bring her entire catalog of recorded music under the Warner Music umbrella as part of a career-spanning global partnership announced Monday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYoung veterans are nothing new in the music biz, but it still feels odd that Jade Bird is just 23: Her label, Glassnote, began showcasing her five years ago and she soon followed with an EP and, in 2019, a solid debut album.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary singer Tony Bennett — who celebrated his 95th birthday just last week, performing with Lady Gaga at two-sold out shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall — has canceled his Fall 2021 tour dates.The tour — consisting of pre-pandemic shows dates had been rescheduled — was slated to begin in September. The affected dates include New York, Maryland and Connecticut as well as Oklahoma and Canada.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSometimes, when an artist makes a featured appearance on another artist’s song, you can tell that it’s just a payday — the featured artist got a nice check to add credibility to another artist that they don’t really know or maybe even respect.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJustin Bieber and Megan Thee Stallion led the nominations for MTV’s 2021 VMAs, which were unveiled by the network Wednesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTwo years after R. Kelly was jailed on multiple sexual assault and misconduct charges, his trial in New York begins with jury selection after months of Covid-related delays.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie has sold her 115-title song catalog to Hipgnosis, the fast-growing music company that has spent more than $2 billion in three years acquiring rights to a vast number of popular songs.McVie, who first joined Fleetwood Mac in 1970, is the writer of many of the long-running group’s biggest hits, including “Don’t Stop,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Over My Head,” “Songbird,” “Say You Love Me” and others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter unveiling it during a performance at Boston’s Fenway Park on Tuesday, Guns N’ Roses have released “Absurd,” their first official new song since their 2008 album “Chinese Democracy.”However, to call the song “new” is a relative term: The song, formerly called “Silkworms,” has been knocking around for two decades and was reportedly written during the years of sessions for “Chinese Democracy.”The fast-paced track features Axl Rose singing with an almost comical

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd’s video for his new song “Take My Breath” — which has been previewed in an Olympics ad and on social media this week — was scheduled to air in Imax theaters before “Suicide Squad” this week, but has been pulled due to epilepsy warnings regarding to the “intense strobe lighting” in the clip, a source close to the situation tells Variety.The song, the first leading up to the Weeknd’s follow-up to his blockbuster “After Hours” album, will be released on

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter a long break, Grammy-winning singer Lizzo is returning with a new single called “Rumors” on August 13, with an album presumably on the way,  although reps did not immediately respond to requests for further information.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA day after DaBaby was dropped from the Lollapalooza lineup for his homophobic comments last week, New York’s Governors Ball canceled his performance at the festival, which takes place in September.In a tweet labeled “Stay tuned for a lineup addition,” the festival’s promoter wrote in a social media message: “Founders Entertainment does not and will not tolerate hate or discrimination of any kind.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd teased new music early Monday morning in a snippet posted on social media called “The Dawn Is Coming” and talked generally about it in a new GQ article, calling it “the album I’ve always wanted to make.”The song has a heavy electronic dance groove reminiscent of “Alive 2007”-era Daft Punk, but with the Weeknd’s haunting, echo-laden melody soaring over it.The Weeknd teased the song with three days of hints (a wiped Instagram account followed by a new post

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSummer vacation season may have started in the U.K., but the fallout from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s Parliamentary Committee report into the economics of music streaming continues to keep much of the British industry hard at work.The report calls for a “complete reset” of the streaming economy and recommends measures, including introducing the right for performers to receive equitable digital music remuneration, and refers the major music

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSilk Sonic, the lusciously retro duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak that debuted back in March with the smash throwback single “Leave the Door Open,” continue their loving tribute to the mid-1970s with the smooth R&B of “Skate.”Where the first single was based around 1974-era groups like the Commodores and the Chi-Lights, “Skate” pivots forward a couple of years with a sound more reminiscent of disco-era acts like Tavares and mid-tempo tracks from the “Saturday