Category: Pop Daypop

Machine Gun Kelly has confirmed that he plans to release two albums in 2022. MGK announced the upcoming release of the Travis Barker-produced Born With Horns this past August, sharing the single “Papercuts.”  MGK also teased that he would be releasing new music in the early days of 2022.

On December 31, MGK tweeted: “I know the rumor was I was dropping New Year’s Eve but… see you in 2022″; and then on January 2, he confirmed the news by tweeting, “Two albums this year.”

The albums will serve as the follow-up to 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall, Kelly’s first collaboration with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, and spawned singles “Bloody Valentine,” “Concert for Aliens” and the Blackbear-assisted “My Ex’s Best Friend.”

MGK also recently announced the cast for his upcoming musical film Taurus, starring his girlfriend Megan Fox, along with Naomi Wild, Lil Tjay, and more.

Machine Gun Kelly plans to drop two new albums in 2022

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As expected, the Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for the second year in a row. No new date has been confirmed as of yet. The annual event will be pushed back as the Omicron variant of the virus continues spreading across America.

A joint statement from the Recording Academy and its television partner, CBS, issued on Wednesday reads: “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show. The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”

Last year’s Grammy Awards was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, 2021, but was pushed back to March 14. The event was stripped back and moved from Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena) to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center.  The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is set to host the 2022 Grammys, reprising his role from last year.

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BTS members RM, Jin and Suga have all recovered from COVID-19.  Their management company Big Hit Music said in statements posted to Weverse that all three have made it through their respective quarantines and have made a full recovery.

Big Hit Music revealed that Suga was the first member to complete his quarantine as of noon on Jan. 3, and he had “made a full recovery.” The statement noted that Suga “did not exhibit any particular symptoms” amid his COVID-19 battle, and is now cleared to return to his daily activities.  RM and Jin were cleared shortly thereafter.  Neither RM nor Jin exhibited any particular symptoms during their quarantine, though Jin did have “a slight fever when he first began treatment.” Jin has since made a full recovery.

Big Hit Music’s statement added: “We would like to thank all fans who have shown concerns for the artist’s health as well as those in the medical field who are doing their best to overcome COVID-19. We will continue to place the health of the artists as our top priority, and to vigilantly follow the healthcare guidelines.”

The positive COVID tests came just weeks after the group announced that they would be taking a break. All seven members of the group, RM, Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, Suga and V, have since launched individual Instagram accounts.

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For the second year in a row, it appears the Grammy Awards will be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

It appears the Grammy Awards will be postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for the second year in a row.  Citing unnamed sources “with direct knowledge” of the situation, Billboard reported that the annual event will be pushed back as the Omicron variant of the virus continues spreading across America.

As of press time, no official announcement regarding the postponement of the 2022 Grammy Awards had been made. The Twitter account of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences still lists the original date, Jan. 31, for this year’s event.

Last year’s Grammy Awards was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, 2021, but was pushed back to March 14. The event was stripped back and moved from Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena) to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center.  The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is set to host the 2022 Grammys, reprising his role from last year.

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Halsey is kicking off 2022 with an extended edition of her album “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power”. The extended edition features two new tracks – ‘Nightmare Reprise” and “People Disappear Here” in addition to the original 16-tracks.

Halsey shared on Twitter: “The extended version of IICHLIWP is out now featuring the new and moody ethereal goodness that is People Disappear Here plus a Nine Inch Nails reimagined version of Nightmare.” 

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power  was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and dropped in August. Halsey also released an IMAX film of the same name alongside the album. The film featured Halsey — who was pregnant at the time of filming — incorporating themes of motherhood and mysticism into its storyline.

Listen to the extended album in full – here.

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Singer Ellie Goulding shared a recap of her 2021 on Instagram, which began with her stating that this past year was “the very best [year] of [her] life.”  Said Goulding: “I became a mother, the greatest joy I’ve known. I’ve had time to sit down with great musicians and writers and made exciting new music that I hope will give people who hear it the same euphoric escape that I experienced when writing it. I have released my first book, performed to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the President and Joni Mitchell (and I can’t explain how grateful I am for that privilege).”

However, Goulding also shared how 2021 was also the “hardest of [her] life,” sharing, “I’ve struggled daily, nightly, hourly with a kind of panic I didn’t even know existed. If I was to really think about it, my anxiety has dictated quite a lot of my life and career, and I feel sad about that. But it has also made me who I am, and sometimes at my most terrified, when I feel there is no escape from the sheer panic and dread in my heart and brain, I remind myself that I can feel. I feel so much and that is how I have got to this place in my life. I want to tell you this on the last day of this year because so many of you have been asking how I’m doing and often do not get a reply. It’s because I’ve been too scared to admit that the answer is, not very good. I feel like something is broken inside—something that has been echoed deeply by the few I have opened up to.”

Goulding ended her post saying: “I have so much love and energy for anyone going through this. Let’s get through this together. 2022 is going to be a bright year. Positive energy. Together. Signing off (for a bit) and sending so much love, as ever, to you all xx.”

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The Weeknd has announced that his new album Dawn FM will drop this Friday, January 7. The artist – real name Abel Tesfaye – teased the news over the New Year weekend on his Instagram.  On Monday, The Weeknd confirmed that the album will be out this week, writing in a caption alongside a video teaser of new music: “new album : dawn FM // january 7th.”  

Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s 2020 release After Hours.  He has since released multiple songs, remixes, collaborations and videos, and also starred in and co-wrote the forthcoming HBO series The Idol.  Dawn FM will be The Weeknd’s fifth album, in addition to three mixtapes he released in 2011.

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A&E and Lifetime revealed that the first episode in their two-part documentary about Janet Jackson —titled “Janet” — will premiere on Jan. 28.   Made in cooperation with Jackson herself, Lifetime also shared a new three-minute trailer for Janet, which is being described as an “intimate, honest, and unfiltered look” at Jackson’s life and career.

The trailer also reveals many of the artists who were interviewed for the documentary: Missy Elliott, Janelle Monae (who also inducted Janet into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Mariah Carey, Teyana Taylor, Tyler Perry, and many more.  Janet also features exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage from throughout Jackson’s childhood and career, with the documentary taking her back to her hometown of Gary, Indiana to her independence with ‘Rhythm Nation’.  The documentary also touches on her infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction, as well as her close relationship with her late brother Michael, who she simply refers to as “Mike.”

The four-hour long Janet, which was “five years in the making,” was executive produced by both Janet and her brother Randy Jackson, and directed by Ben Hirsch. The documentary arrives on what marks the 40th anniversary of Jackson’s 1982 self-titled debut LP.

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Charli XCX has shared a new snippet of her long-promised Rina Sawayama collab. Charli shared another sneak peak earlier this month; included in it was a text exchange between herself and Sawayama, wherein the latter boasted that “our voices work so well together”. Charli echoed her excitement, telling Sawayama that she “seriously crushed it”.  Charli’s new preview of the as-yet-untitled track was shared in a TikTok video. “That’s that,” Charli said, gigging into the camera. “You don’t need anymore of that.”  You can take a look at the TikTok – here.

The collaborative track is set to appear on Charli’s forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Crash’, which will drop March 18.  Charli has already shared two singles from ‘Crash’ thus far: ‘Good Ones’ (which she later had remixed by Perfume Genius) and ‘New Shapes’ (which featured Christine And The Queens and Caroline Polachek).

Shortly after the album’s release, Charli will take ‘Crash’ on the road for a world tour through North America, the UK and Europe. Charli is also gearing up to release a documentary about the making of her last album, ‘How I’m Feeling Now’, titled Alone Together, coming to theaters in January.

Charli XCX Previews Rina Sawayama Collaboration [Listen]

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LL Cool J was forced to pull out of his appearance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 on ABC after testing positive for Covid-19.    LL Cool J said in a statement:  “I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.  We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The best is yet to come!”

LL was scheduled to perform in New York’s Times Square before midnight.  In addition, Chlöe, who was also set to appear on the broadcast, has pulled out of the show.  Despite the performance cancellations, the ABC special, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will still broadcast from New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Puerto Rico.

Billy Porter will host and perform in New Orleans; while Daddy Yankee host the Spanish-language countdown and perform in Puerto Rico. Ciara is set to host the Los Angeles segment, which includes performances by AJR and Daisy the Great, Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, Don Omar, French Montana, Macklemore with Ryan Lewis and Windset, Mae Muller, Maneskin, Masked Wolf, OneRepublic, Polo G and Walker Hayes.  And in Times Square, NYC, Journey and Karol G are set to take the stage.

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