The best revenge is living well…
21.02.2023 - 18:49 / variety.com
Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Tim Rice will be the 2023 recipient of the esteemed Johnny Mercer Award at the 52nd Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Dinner slated for Thursday, June 15, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The Johnny Mercer Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted in a prior year and whose body of work is of such high quality and impact that it upholds the gold standard set by the legendary Johnny Mercer. Tim Rice was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1999.
SHOF Chairman Nile Rodgers said, “Tim Rice is an artisan. He has crafted some of the greatest lyrics and stories in musical history with “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and his incredible work with Andrew Lloyd Webber being amongst my favorites. In the ’70s, we used to say, ‘What’s The Buzz’ because of him. More than 50 years later, the buzz is still Tim Rice!”
Tim Rice said, “I am truly honored to be chosen to receive the Johnny Mercer Award. My induction into the SHOF was itself a highlight of my writing career and I never expected to receive any further recognition from the most distinguished gathering of songwriters in the world. So, I am bowled over (a cricketing metaphor) with gratitude. I have attended quite a few SHOF events in the past twenty-five years and they have always been among the most enjoyable of entertainment world extravaganzas – unpretentious, unpredictable, and spectacular. So, June 15, 2023, is a golden booking in my electronic diary.” A member of the exclusive group of 18 entertainers who have achieved EGOT status, Tim Rice has won an Emmy Award, five Grammy Awards, three
The best revenge is living well…
Ariana Madix isn’t going to let Tom Sandoval’s infidelity ruin her plans. The Vanderpump Rules star was photographed dancing and enjoying herself in Oaxaca, Mexico, over the weekend. Madix was attending a friend's wedding that was planned long before news broke earlier this month that her ex cheated on her with Raquel Leviss, ET has learned. The 37-year-old was spotted enjoying sunny Mexico while wearing a colorful dress and spending quality time with friends. On Saturday, Tom Schwartz broke his silence amid allegations of the months-long affair between his best friend and business partner, Sandoval, and his co-star, Leviss.In a video obtained by TMZ, Schwartz said Sandoval is doing «OK relatively speaking» and that he has a sense of profound sadness.
Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Spotify announced Wednesday that its all-time payouts to music-rights holders are approaching $40 billion. The company said it pays out nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music back to the industry, the announcement continues. It generates its music revenue from two sources: subscription fees from its Premium platform paying subscribers, and fees from advertisings on music on its Free tier. These rights holders include record labels, publishers, independent distributors, performance rights organizations and collecting societies, the announcement detailed. It is important to note that the payments go to rights holders first — which is rarely the artist or songwriter —which then take their fee or percentage and pay the creators their share.
Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor The demise of the iconic Tower Records retail chain in 2006 was in many ways the final nail in the coffin of the 20th century music business model, but as vinyl sales unexpectedly revived over the past decade, the company relaunched in 2020 as an online retailer. Since then, there have been many rumblings about of some kind of bricks-and-mortar Tower relaunch — there was a vaguely defined space on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and rumors, stickers and posters have been seen around New York for many months. On Wednesday, it made sense: The company has unveiled Tower Labs, a new creative space in Brooklyn, New York. Located on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Tower Labs “is designed to engage and stimulate music fans with a range of offerings including live music events, album listening parties, and a new speakeasy style ‘vinyl drop’ window for limited edition music and merchandise releases,” according to the announcement.
Thania Garcia Producer Metro Boomin has sold a portion of his publishing catalog to Shamrock Capital for close to $70 million, Variety can confirm. News of the hip-hop acquisition was first published by Billboard on Tuesday morning and arrives as Shamrock continues to forge major investments in catalog sales, expanding a portfolio that includes the master recordings for Taylor Swift’s first six albums, which it acquired in 2020 from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Metro Boomin is riding high on the streaming and sales success of his second full-length album, “Heroes & Villains.” The R&B and hip-hop set was released last December and was the St. Louis artist’s biggest album in terms of first-week sales. It was also his second record to debut at No. 1 on the all-genre inclusive albums chart.
Kardinal Offishall still remembers a time when nobody wanted to hire him. And he means nobody.
Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer After nearly two years of production, Amazon Prime Video has finally pulled back the curtain on “Citadel,” the wildly ambitious new spy series starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, with the first trailer released Monday. The show is meant to serve as the mothership for several planned spin-offs based in local countries and performed in local languages: “Citadel” series set in Italy and India are already underway, with another Mexico-based show also in the works. It’s a gigantic and expensive bet on an original concept that had remained, up until this month, shrouded in mystery. As Variety previously reported, “Citadel” boasts a $185 million budget.
Incredible entertainment is arriving at The Bridgewater Hall just in time for Spring. On Friday, March 24, music lovers can explore a world of cinematic soundtracks with their loved ones, all thanks to The Music of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Beyond.
Bebe Rexha has no interest in dating someone who works in the music industry, and explained why during a recent interview with ET Canada’s Keshia Chanté.
CAA has signed Grammy-winning Nigerian singer-songwriter Temilade Openiyi, known as Tems, in all areas worldwide. In recent years she has collaborated with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake, Future, Wizkid, Davido and Brent Faiyaz, among many others, and won her first Grammy for her feature on Future and Drake’s hit “Wait for U.” She is also the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for an Academy Award for her work on Rihanna’s song “Lift Me Up,” form Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack. She is set to release her debut album through Sony/RCA and will embark on her first worldwide headline tour later this year. She is managed by Wale Davies and Muyiwa Awoniyi at the Leading Vibe.
Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor If you’ve been to enough concerts, there’s a feeling you recognize when a new-ish artist’s career is about to blast off — when the audience isn’t just singing along with the hit but with nearly every song, half of them with hands over hearts, many dressed in the artist’s merch or artist-identifying outfits, and at least a few singing emphatically, with tears and/or mascara running. That feeling isn’t always accurate, but it was present at Billie Eilish concerts in 2019 and Lorde’s club shows in 2013 and even the Killers almost 20 years ago — and without setting the bar unfairly high, it was definitely in the air Chappell Roan’s packed concert at New York’s 1,500-capacity Webster Hall on Tuesday night.
was spotted on vacation with her friends looking completely unbothered by the “” that has dominated headlines recently. Bieber wore her hair down and accessorized with a pair of classic gold hoop earrings and a red baseball cap. (You can check out the photos over at .) In March 2022, Hailey wore a similar (but different) lime green bra and short workout set while out in Los Angeles:Hailey Bieber loves lime. For years, fans have speculated that there's a feud between Gomez and Bieber.
Diego Boneta will always be thankful for Tom Cruise. The Mexican actor recently stopped by the Jennifer Hudson Show, where he opened up about his time on set with Cruise for his breakout film Rock of Ages, calling him a mentor.Boneta plays the lead in Rock of Ages (2012) which stars a-listers Cruise, Mary J Blige, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin and Catherine Zeta-Jones. He told Hudson it was a learning experience, who quickly asked to see his impression of Cruise.
Steve Boom — who, as MusiCares chair, also played a huge role in the organization’s distribution of more than $25 million in pandemic relief to the music community — will be honored as the UJA’s Music Visionary of the Year with a luncheon on June 7 at New York’s Ziegfield Ballroom. He will be saluted for his professional and philanthropic leadership, and the UJA will amplify its substantial efforts in confronting antisemitism and helping those in need. Previous recipients have included SiriusXM’s Scott Greenstein, Sony Music Group CEO Rob Stringer, Republic Records co-founders Avery and Monte Lipman, iHeartMedia chief Bob Pittman, Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek, Warner Records co-chairman and COO Tom Corson and Atlantic Records co-chairman and COO Julie Greenwald.
Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague have been hailed the "Posh and Becks of the Instagram generation" as they seem set to make even more of a fortune in the US. It comes after Tommy, 23, took to the ring in Saudi Arabia to face YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul on Sunday night, going on to win the fight.The fight, which made millions for both boxers, has opened Tommy and Molly-Mae up to a wider global audience, and could make the the couple internationally famous.Tommy and Molly-Mae met while appearing on Love Island in 2019, where they finished in second place, and welcomed their first child, a daughter called Bambi, earlier this year. Since her stint in the villa, new mum Molly-Mae has become creative director of PrettyLittleThing, raking in millions through both this and her fake tan brand, Filter.
Fans were concerned for Aubrey Plaza when she didn’t look pleased on stage during The White Lotus‘ win at the 2023 SAG Awards over the weekend.
The end of an era? Drake hinted that he’s thinking about stepping back from the music industry — but he’s not quite ready to fully retire.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz will be this year’s recipient of the WGA West’s Paul Selvin Award in recognition of her adapted screenplay for She Said, the Universal film about the New York Times reporters who broke the story that exposed disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. The guild said Thursday that she will be honored at the WGA Awards’ Los Angeles ceremony March 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are giants of the country music scene, and the couple are just as successful in the relationship as they are with their music.After meeting through their shared love of performing, the country couple got engaged in a very fitting way. Learn all about their sudden engagement story in the video below.WATCH: Tim McGraw reveals the story of his engagement to Faith HillThe Nashville, Tennessee-based pair have been together for 27 years, and live together in an astonishing 22,460-square-foot mansion.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren refused to address the controversy around her casting as Israel’s iconic Prime Minister Golda Meir in Guy Nattiv’s biopic during the movie’s press conference at the Berlinale. When asked to comment on the backlash and the issue of authentic casting, Mirren left it to Nattiv and her co-star Lior Ashkenazi (“Footnote”) to stand up for her while she smiled shyly. Mirren is neither Israeli nor Jewish, and critics have argued that she shouldn’t have been cast as Israel’s most important female figure. Nattiv said that when he met Mirren, he instantly felt like he was in the presence of a “family member” — an “aunt” who had the “Jewish chops to portray Golda.”