‘Like a Virgin,’ ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ ‘Imagine,’ ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Theme Among 25 Additions to National Recording Registry

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “Thanks for coming to my dad’s birthday party,” said Micah Nelson, a few songs into an all-star tribute to Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl, attended by a sold-out house happy that Willie had found a way to schedule the 90th anniversary of his birth on a Saturday night. With roughly seven decades of songwriting and recording to commemorate, though, the party is stretching over two nights, bundled together and sold as a single ticket, where by the end of Sunday night everyone will have heard about 50 artists perform a total of about 75 songs. Ironically, one of the first numbers performed Saturday evening was young Texas country artist Charley Crockett doing a cut that Nelson had a hit with as a budding songwriter in the late ’50s: “The Party’s Over.” That title proved as un-prescient for Nelson’s career 65 years ago as it proved unprophetic for the scope of the Bowl celebration this weekend. But a little irony is always welcome in Willie’s world.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic In an ultimate show-must-go-on moment in country music history, Wynonna Judd was not about to let the legacy of the Judds slip quietly into the sunset, rather than go out as spectacularly as intended, after her mother, Naomi Judd, died by suicide in April 2022. And so the Judds farewell tour that had been scheduled for last fall did proceed, against all probabilities, with a bevy of top stars trading places as Naomi’s stand-in each night. The emotional end of that road was captured for not just one but two new specials premiering on different Paramount platforms — “Wynonna Judd: Between Hell and Hallelujah,” a feature-length documentary that debuted Wednesday on Paramount+, and “The Judds: Love Is Alive — The Final Concert,” a two-hour performance special bowing tonight on CMT.

Ant McPartlin is currently on location in South Africa for the first ever series of I’m a Celeb: All Stars! In case you missed it, the show is a spin off of the original format, and features campmates who have already roughed it in the jungle, including Shaun Ryder, Helen Flanagan, and Gillian McKeith, who fans have labelled as the "contraband queen." While over the years, we’ve seen plenty of famous faces live off rice and beans and complete the most bizarre trials, we’ve also witnessed Ant’s growing collection of tattoos. From his AA ink that represents his sobriety to his most recent John Lennon honouring, let’s take a look at all of the 47 year old’s body art… Arrow on his right forearm and rose on his left Two of the most visible inkings are the arrow on Ant’s right forearm and the rose on his left.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What’s 420 divided by 90? While you ponder that, take in the news that, on the eve of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday, he and Billy Strings have released their own birthday present to the world — a surprise collaboration called “California Sober,” which, as you might be able to guess from the title, celebrates weed as its own form of moderation. It’s the first song to come out under Strings’ new deal with Reprise Records, after a long run with Rounder. The music video portrays the two collaborators and band members recording their parts individually, although a framing device has Strings getting on a bus — presumably Nelson’s — that is emitting a prolific amount of smoke by the time he exits at the end. Strings, a young neo-bluegrass picker who now sells out shows across the country, is seen with a joint hanging out of his mouth as he pulls off one of the acoustic solos he’s famous for, while wearing a shirt that rhymes “doobie” with “Scooby.” Nelson is not so demonstrative in his choice of cannabis, having reportedly given up smoking for edibles and other lung-protecting variations some years back.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The guest list for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday all-star concerts at the Hollywood Bowl has been significantly expanded. Sixteen additional names were announced Wednesday for the already packed two-night lineup, representing a roughly 50% expansion of a bill that was advertised with 30 stars when it first went on sale — and immediately sold out — in January. Newly added stars from the worlds of rock, country and other genres include Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Jack Johnson and fellow Texans George Strait and Gary Clark Jr. Nelson’s sole surviving fellow Highwayman, Kris Kristofferson, has also been appointed to the lineup. The son of one of those Highwaymen, Shooter Jennings, is joining the bill as well. Others freshly named to appear this Saturday or Sunday include Dwight Yoakam, Stephen Stills, Rodney Crowell, Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Daniel Lanois, Jamey Johnson, Waylon Payne and Lily Meola.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Metallica came in strong on this week’s Billboard 200 with a No. 2 bow for the group’s latest album, “72 Seasons,” which came in almost within sight of the chart’s recently indomitable leader, Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time.” Wallen extended his run at No. 1 to seven weeks at a time, and counting, with 166,000 more album-equivalent units added to his tally, while Metallica debuted with 146,000 units. On the Billboard Hot 100, meanwhile, SZA finally landed in the No. 1 spot she’s been circling for many weeks with “Kill Bill.” The song had spent eight weeks at No. 2, then dipped to No. 4 last week, before getting the boost it needed to finally become a chart-topper in this latest frame.

No bad blood here! Abby De La Rosa said she’s not bothered when Nick Cannon spends time with the other mothers of his children — in fact, she likes seeing them together.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic U2 has announced the first dates this fall for a series of shows being billed as “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” — just five nights in late September and early October, for now, although the possibility of more shows being added seems more like a probability. The ambition and logistical planning of creating a unique show for Sphere, the world’s most technologically advanced space for music, certainly ultimately augurs for a longer run, even if U2 has studiously been avoiding sticking around Vegas quite long enough to merit the avoided word “residency.” U2’s guitarist, the Edge, got on a Zoom with Variety last week to discuss the enormously ambitious run of shows, following a demonstration of the design and technology for Sphere that was held for a handful of media representatives at a scale model of the building in Burbank. Although the concerts will be themed around the 1991 “Achtung Baby” album (with the “UV” in the show’s title referring to the album track “Ultraviolet”), the Edge said that Sphere itself was the reason for conceiving the new show. “When we found out about what this venue was really offering us creatively, we kind of saw it as a throwdown … as a challenge,” he says.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Comes a time when even Neil Young is going to set foot on a stage again after the pandemic, and the recently gig-shy legend turned in his first substantial live performance in almost four years Saturday night at a benefit concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Young shared much of his time on stage with Stephen Stills, in a show that relied so much on material from their first run as fellow band members in the 1960s, it almost amounted to a true “Buffalo Springfield revisited” show. The two longtime cohorts’ appearances apart and in tandem would have been draw enough to fill the Greek Saturday for the “Autism Speaks Light Up the Blues 6 Concert,” a sixth edition of the recurring autism benefits hosted by Stills and his wife Kristen, this one postponed by three years from its original spring 2020 date. But there was plenty of star power besides, including sets by Willie Nelson, making a brief but impactful appearance in advance of his 90th birthday celebration next weekend at the Hollywood Bowl, and Joe Walsh, who ensured that Stills and Young did not have the guitar heroism to themselves.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The checkout lines for Record Store Day might move more swiftly than usual this year, due to the likely numbers of customers who will be buying one exclusive album and one exclusive alone — Taylor Swift’s “Folklore: The Long Pond Sessions,” the most massively coveted item RSD has seen or ever might see. And listen, we’ll be picking it up, too… if supplies last. (The title has been pressed in quantities of 75,000 for the U.S. and 115,000 for the world — about four times as many as any previous RSD title. Will those be enough to last on shelves for even a day? We’ll find out.) But slow down, Swifties. There are 300 other new releases where that one came from, and this is a chance to indulge some other retail-therapy whims or make some new discoveries. Yes, there are hundreds of middle-aged guys outside in line behind you who weren’t motivated to get up quite so early, and why should they be the only ones who get to enjoy newly minted LPs from the Cure, Arooj Aftab, Nas, Orville Peck, Charlie Parker or the Pixies on a Saturday night? There’s more to life than hoarding Taylor Swift, and it is hoarding absolutely everything that has a “limited edition” sticker slapped on it, with no prejudice as to the genre, level of obscurity or how long the artist has been dead.

Green Day have celebrated the 33rd anniversary of their debut album ’39/Smooth’ with a never-before-seen video and photos.The pop-punk icons shared an Instagram post that featured old throwbacks of the line-up that consisted of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Durnt and original drummer John Kiffmeyer.They also unveiled a video of them performing the LP’s track ‘Paper Lantern’ in a backyard in their home city of Oakland, California, a couple of weeks before the album’s release.A post shared by Green Day (@greenday)’39/Smooth’ was released on April 13, 1990 via Lookout! Records. It was later reissued in 1991 under the title ‘1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour’s, which included their earlier EPs ‘1,000 Hours’ and ‘Slappy’.Fans took to the comments section to celebrate the anniversary of the “bloody great album”.

Mariah Carey has truly secured her place in history.

The Library of Congress has added 25 recordings added to the National Recording Registry. The new additions comprise songs and albums whose release dates range from 1907 to 2012.

Mariah Carey was just bestowed the honor of a lifetime, after her 1994 classic «All I Want For Christmas Is You» was among the 25 songs selected this year for preservation by the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.The 54-year-old singer reacted to the honor by taking to Twitter and subtweeting the 1-minute video of a Library of Congress official informing Carey of the honor. She tweeted, «I’m honored beyond belief! I definitely did not even imagine this would happen when writing and recording this song! Thank you so much Ms.

Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” is breaking yet another record. The iconic song is the first reggaeton hit to be included in the prestigious National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” breaks 8 billion views on YouTube; here are all its recordsDaddy Yankee is officially retired! Invites Marc Anthony as a surprise guest for his last concertA post shared by Daddy Yankee (@daddyyankee)“Gasolina” is among 25 new songs added to the registry, including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and Irene Cara’s “Flashdance.” It marks a significant moment for reggaeton, a genre that’s quickly become one of the most popular in the world.

Oops! Nick Cannon forgot to name daughter Onyx when listing all 12 of his children.

Led Zeppelin’s classic-rock standard “Stairway To Heaven,” John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine,” Madonna’s 1984 breakthrough album Like A Virgin and John Denver’s signature tune “Take Me Home, Country Roads” are among the works added today to the U.S. National Recording Registry.

Sylvester Stallone as a guy feeding his dog a bite of pasta off his own fork.Paramount+ shared the trailer for the upcoming docuseries on Tuesday, giving fans an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at Stallone's home life with wife Jennifer Flavin and their three daughters: Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet.«I know we're insane, I know we're crazy, but we love each other so much!» Flavin toasts in the trailer.The series will provide plenty of fun moments — from Stallone palling around with famous friends to his daughters' attempts to make their own way in the world with a recognizable last name — but will also track some of the family's real-life drama.Last August, Flavin filed for divorce from her husband of 25 years, only to reconcile a month later. ET spoke with Stallone at the premiere of his Paramount+ drama, , in November, where he opened up about reuniting with his wife and teased his family's foray into reality TV by simply saying, «Watch out.»The actor previously told that his marital issues will be part of the upcoming show. «Of course, it’s part of the show,» he said. «It’s the John Lennon thing: 'Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.' Hopefully, you’re involved with people who understand the foibles of life and the fragility of it and how rare a real good relationship is.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Eddie Vedder-founded Ohana Festival in southern California will again feature the Pearl Jam frontman as one of the top attractions in 2023, as is customary, along with a heavy-hitting selection of rock names in the top slots and an eclectic lineup for the undercard slots. The Killers and Foo Fighters join Vedder as the headliners for the three-day festival, taking place Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Doheny State Beach in Doheny Point. Haim, the Chicks and the Pretenders are the second-billed acts across the three days. Other marquee attractions in the idyllic beachside setting will include Father John Misty, the War on Drugs, Japanese Breakfast, Goose and Rainbow Kitten Surprise.

Looking for another mother. Nick Cannon is “happy” as a father of 12, but there’s one woman he’d be willing to have baby No. 13 with, given the chance: Taylor Swift.