Author: Jackson Langford

Adele, BTS and Taylor Swift help increase CD sales in the US for first time in 17 years

Adele’s ’30’ accounted for over 2 per cent of all CD sales in the US last year

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NME

CD sales have increased in the US for the first time in almost two decades, in part due to albums by Adele, BTS and Taylor Swift.

In MRC Data’s 2021 US Year-End Report, shared by Billboard, CD album sales saw a growth of 1.1 per cent from 2020, with 40.59million albums sold in 2021 compared to 40.16million the year prior.

Adele had the biggest impact on driving last year’s growth, with her latest album ’30’ selling almost 900,000 copies in CD format alone in the US. The album’s sales accounted for 2.15 per cent of all CD sales throughout 2021.

The second highest-selling CD album in the US was Taylor Swift’s re-release of ‘Fearless’, followed closely by her re-release of ‘Red’. Included elsewhere in the top 10 best-selling CD albums of 2021 are BTS’ two 2020 albums, ‘Map Of The Soul: 7’ and ‘Be’.

Despite the increase, vinyl outsold CDs in the US for the first time since MRC Data started reporting yearly sales in 1991. Vinyl sales experienced a huge increase, with a 51.4 per cent growth to 41.72million albums, up from 27.55million in 2020.

These increases reflect sales in the UK throughout the past year, with vinyl sales being the highest they’ve been in 30 years. More than five million vinyl records were sold in 2021, an eight per cent increase from 2020.

In addition, CD sales also increased in the UK in 2021, with Q4 sales seeing year-on-year increase in the UK of almost 15 per cent, largely thanks to ’30’, as well as Ed Sheeran‘s ‘=’ and ABBA‘s ‘Voyage’.

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Chris Noth to be removed from the finale of ‘And Just Like That…’

The finale episode is set to air on February 3

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NME

Chris Noth has reportedly been removed from the upcoming finale of the first season of And Just Like That…, the sequel series to Sex And The City.

Noth initially appeared in the show’s first episode, in which his character ‘Mr. Big’ died of a heart attack while riding a Peloton. According to TV Line, Big was reportedly set to return for the finale, airing on February 3, in a fantasy sequence with Sarah Jessica Parker’s ‘Carrie’.

Per Variety, Noth’s finale scenes have been removed from the episode as they were not “narratively significant enough to justify saving it from the cutting room floor”. HBO Max gave no comment.

Noth has denied the first two allegations that were made against him, saying they are “categorically false”.

“These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.

“The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”

The decision comes shortly after several allegations of sexual assault have been levelled against Noth. Two women spoke out with allegations on December 16, with two more women accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct over the following weeks.

Parker, along with And Just Like That… co-stars Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, have all spoken out in support of Noth’s accusers, saying in a joint statement, “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences.

“We know it must be a very difficult thing to do and we commend them for it.”

In the wake of the accusations, Noth has been dropped from his agency and his lead role in CBS’ The Equalizer. Noth has denied the first two allegations that were made against him, saying they are “categorically false”.

“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false,” he said in a statement.

“These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.

“The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.”

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Denzel Curry announces new album ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’

With contributions from T-Pain, Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats, Slowthai and more

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NME

Denzel Curry has announced details around his forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Melt My Eyes See Your Future’.

A new Western-style teaser, showing Curry walking through a barren desert, offers some insight into who features on the album. Fans can expect contributions from T-Pain, Slowthai, Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats, JPEGMAFIA, Thundercat, Robert Glasper and more.

A release date for ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ has yet to be shared. Watch the album’s trailer below.

‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ will be Curry’s first solo album since 2019’s ‘Zuu’. In a review of the album, NME‘s Kyann-Sian Williams wrote that Curry had “created a musical representation of his upbringing in the Sunshine state, evoking its intricate culture.

“His mixture of smoother, dreamier beats in opposition with harder-hitting and chest-bouncing ones create an aural journey and explanation as to why he is ‘real-ass n***a from the 305′.”

In 2020, Curry and Kenny Beats linked up to release joint album ‘Unlocked’, following it up with a remix album ‘Unlocked 1.5’ last year. Curry kept up a steady release of standalone singles throughout 2021, including ‘Bad Luck’ for DC Comics’ ‘Dark Knights: Death Metal soundtrack and ‘The Game’ for the Madden NFL 22 soundtrack.

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Denzel Curry announces new album ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’

With contributions from T-Pain, Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats, Slowthai and more

The post Denzel Curry announces new album ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ appeared first on NME.

NME

Denzel Curry has announced details around his forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Melt My Eyes See Your Future’.

A new Western-style teaser, showing Curry walking through a barren desert, offers some insight into who features on the album. Fans can expect contributions from T-Pain, Slowthai, Rico Nasty, Kenny Beats, JPEGMAFIA, Thundercat, Robert Glasper and more.

A release date for ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ has yet to be shared. Watch the album’s trailer below.

‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ will be Curry’s first solo album since 2019’s ‘Zuu’. In a review of the album, NME‘s Kyann-Sian Williams wrote that Curry had “created a musical representation of his upbringing in the Sunshine state, evoking its intricate culture.

“His mixture of smoother, dreamier beats in opposition with harder-hitting and chest-bouncing ones create an aural journey and explanation as to why he is ‘real-ass n***a from the 305′.”

In 2020, Curry and Kenny Beats linked up to release joint album ‘Unlocked’, following it up with a remix album ‘Unlocked 1.5’ last year. Curry kept up a steady release of standalone singles throughout 2021, including ‘Bad Luck’ for DC Comics’ ‘Dark Knights: Death Metal soundtrack and ‘The Game’ for the Madden NFL 22 soundtrack.

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Gang Of Youths release new single ‘In The Wake Of Your Leave’

Taken from their forthcoming album ‘Angel In Realtime’, out next month

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NME

Gang Of Youths continue to build hype for their next album, with the release of new single ‘In The Wake Of Your Leave’.

‘In The Wake Of Your Leave’ marks the fifth song to be released from their forthcoming third album ‘Angel In Realtime’, following ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’, ‘Unison’, ‘The Man Himself’ and ‘Tend The Garden’.

The song includes a slew of contributions made from people outside the band, including backing harmonies courtesy of the Auckland Gospel Choir, and percussion provided by a number of drummers from the Cook Islands.

Listen to ‘In The Wake Of Your Leave’ below.

“I wanted to reflect on how I became dependent on grief for solace and inspiration,” frontman Dave Le’aupepe said of the song in a press statement.

“The cycle from numbness to acceptance to yearning plays a role in my approach to grieving my dad’s death. As a result, most of the time, I feel a bit futile as a person.”

When they teased the song earlier this week, the band posted a video of themselves singing and dancing to the track accompanied by Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo.

“It came easy compared to much of the record,” the band wrote on Instagram of the new song.

“Dave wrote the chorus walking around Copenhagen one night and everything kinda fell into place with it.”

In late 2020, Ricciardo revealed he had lent both vocals and drums to the band’s new album when he joined them in their London studio.

‘Angel In Realtime’ is due out on February 25, marking the band’s first album since 2017’s ‘Go Farther In Lightness’. The album is inspired by frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s late father, whose face adorns the album’s artwork.

“My dad was a gifted and passionate gardener. It’s where he funnelled a lot of his energy and sensitivity, and despite our humble economic status, we were always surrounded by beauty,” Le’aupepe said in a press release.

“The journey he made from Samoa to NZ to Australia was a difficult and inspiring one, but also fraught with mistakes, regret and terrible choices. I like to think he was building something beautiful, and pondering what life had given him in spite of his mistakes and concealment. We never knew his story until after he died, so this is the most poetic interpretation of his affinity for gardening that I could think of.”

They’ll be taking the album on an extensive world tour throughout this year, playing shows across Europe, North America and Australia.

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Future becomes first artist with over 10million SoundCloud followers

The next most-followed artist on the platform, Big Sean, has 9.5million followers

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NME

Future has hit a huge milestone, becoming the first artist in history to amass over 10million followers on SoundCloud.

It appears that the rapper hit the milestone this week, though according to RouteNote, he’s been the most followed artist on the platform since at least June of this year; at the time, it was reported he held 9.92million followers.

Future acknowledged his achievement on his Instagram Story, simply writing “thank u” with a heart emoji.

RouteNote also noted other artists that have huge followings on the platform. Big Sean is hot on Future’s tail with 9.5million followers at the time of writing, while Pusha T, Lana Del Rey and Big K.R.I.T. are just a few of the artists that have earned over 8million followers.

2021 marked Future’s return to festival stages across the world, and he’s consistently brought in the big guns in way of surprise guests. His headlining set at London’s Wireless Festival featured a special appearance from longtime collaborator Drake, and more recently, Kanye West appeared on stage with him during his set at Rolling Loud California.

Future’s last solo full-length effort, ‘High Off Life’, arrived in May of last year. Of the album, NME‘s Luke Morgan Britton wrote, “Despite its glimpses of greatness, though, this album revisits too many of the rapper’s trademark themes to truly make good on his jubilant pre-release promises.”

However, Future did link up with pioneering Soundcloud rapper Lil Uzi Vert for collaborative album ‘Pluto x Baby Pluto’ towards the end of 2020.

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Netflix announces premiere date for second season of ‘Cheer’

The season will notably discuss the arrest of breakout star Jerry Harris, who last year was charged with several counts of sexual misconduct

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NME

Netflix has revealed the premiere date for the second season of Cheer, some two years after the docuseries first arrived on the platform.

Filmed in secret throughout the past two years, the second season – premiering on January 12, 2022 – notably promises to discuss the arrest of, and multiple sexual misconduct charges, including allegedly soliciting child pornography, laid against breakout star Jerry Harris.

In a press statement provided to Variety, director Greg Whiteley said the allegations made against Harris would “be impossible to ignore”.

“I was floored and heartbroken. I tried to unpack what it was that I was feeling. Here was a person that I felt like I knew very, very well,” Whiteley said of when he first heard the news around Harris.

“But then there was news that led me to believe I didn’t know everything about this person and that led to, in a weird way, me mourning the passing of the person that I thought I knew. Jerry would’ve been impossible to ignore because it impacted the team so severely.”

Whiteley says that Harris is discussed in-depth in episode five of the new season, and will include interviews with the brothers that alleged they were 13 years old when Harris first communicated with them sexually.

“[The brothers] have an important story to tell,” Whiteley said, “my job is to allow them to tell it.”

In addition to Harris, the second season of Cheer is set to cover the impact of COVID-19 on Navarro College’s cheerleading team, as well as the newfound fame the show itself brought them.

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Dior postpones collaboration with Travis Scott following Astroworld tragedy

This follows similar moves by other brands Scott has partnered with, including Nike and Fortnite

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NME

The backlash against Travis Scott following the Astroworld tragedy continues, as Dior have indefinitely postponed their collaboration with the rapper out of respect for the victims.

Early last month, a crowd surge occurred at the rapper’s Houston festival that left 10 people dead and hundreds more injured.

Now, People report that Dior and Scott have mutually agreed to postpone their forthcoming collaboration in light of the tragedy, after it was set to arrive next month.

In a statement to Women’s Wear Daily, representatives for the fashion brand wrote: “Out of respect for everyone affected by the tragic events at Astroworld, Dior has decided to postpone indefinitely the launch of products from the Cactus Jack collaboration originally intended to be included in its summer 2022 collection.”

In a separate statement to People, a source reportedly close to Scott said the decision to postpone the collaboration was mutual.

Dior is just the latest brand to axe or postpone their collaboration with Scott following Astroworld, with Nike pulling a similar move for their Air Max 1 collaboration last month. In addition, his hard seltzer line Cacti, brewed by Anheuser-Busch, was discontinued after just nine months on the market.

Speaking out on the tragedy earlier this month, in his first public interview since it happened, Scott said: “Fans come to the show to have a good experience and I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out a solution.”

The families of several victims have since spoken out against Scott for his statements, arguing that he was merely punting the blame elsewhere. Half of the victims’ families have rejected Scott’s offer to cover funeral expenses. It was recently concluded by a medical examiner that the victims died from accidental compression asphyxia.

Thus far, nearly 2,800 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against parties including Scott, Live Nation, Drake, NRG Energy, the Harris County Sports Authority and Scott’s two companies, Jack Enterprises and Cactus Jack.

Earlier this month, Scott filed requests to be dismissed from multiple lawsuits levelled against him, with a representative for the rapper arguing he is “not legally liable” for the incident. Live Nation and its subsidiary ScoreMore, Astroworld’s promoters, also denied all allegations made against them.

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Watch Lizzo give a karaoke performance of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’

She also performed Nat King Cole’s holiday classic ‘The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)’

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NME

Lizzo has shared how she celebrated this Christmas, which apparently included hosting a karaoke night for her loved ones where she performed Eminem‘s hit ‘Lose Yourself’.

Sharing a carousel of images and videos from her holiday celebrations yesterday (December 26), the singer appeared to host a karaoke night with a giant screen, where she delivered her rendition of Eminem’s 2002 Oscar-winning classic.

In addition, she also shared a snippet of herself performing Nat King Cole’s holiday staple ‘The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)’. Watch both clips below.

Outside of karaoke, Lizzo has been delivering a slew of covers throughout recent months. Earlier this year, she put a twist on BTS‘ mega-hit ‘Butter’, whom she later called her “besties” after they all attended Harry Styles‘ Los Angeles concert.

Earlier this month, she covered Erykah Badu‘s ‘Tyrone’ with lyric changes to reference Chris Evans and Drake, the latter being a reference to a lyric in her only single of 2021, ‘Rumors’, alongside Cardi B.

Other songs that Lizzo has covered this year include Chaka Khan‘s ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘Respect’, as made famous by the late Aretha Franklin.

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Doja Cat says she wants to make a double-album with one side strictly hip-hop

She said she’d want the hip-hop side to be produced by Jay Versace and 9th Wonder

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NME

Doja Cat has revealed that she wants to make a double album, with one side being focused strictly on hip-hop.

Taking to Instagram Live on Christmas Eve, the singer and rapper said that she’d want each side of the project to focus on a different sound.

The first side of the album would be seven songs consisting of her typical ‘pop-rap’ sound, while the other side would consist of 12 hip-hop songs. She also said the hip-hop side of the album would have all songs produced by Jay Versace and 9th Wonder.

Both Jay Versace and 9th Wonder both reacted to Doja’s wishes, with the former simply tweeting “brah” and the latter tweeting “say what now”.

Doja Cat’s third album, ‘Planet Her’, dropped earlier this year. She recently addressed her collaborative relationship with controversial producer Dr. Luke, who worked on a number of ‘Planet Her’ tracks as well as her two previous albums, 2018’s ‘Amala’ and 2019’s ‘Hot Pink’.

“I haven’t worked with him in a very long time,” she said. “There’s shit that he’s credited for, where I’m like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t know if you did anything on that.’

“The point is he’s gotten some credit for shit. And, you know, it’s whatever. I don’t think I need to work with him again. I don’t think I need to work with him in the future.”

Doja Cat also recently revealed that she was approached by Billie Eilish to feature on what would become one of her formative hits, ‘Bellyache’.

“I remember thinking it was so cute. I loved it. I just couldn’t think of anything to write,” Doja said. “It was one of my writer’s-block moments…I don’t think the song was for me, though. It was quite hard to write to.”

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