Anthem Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Dannii Minogue has announced that We Could Be The One, the theme song from her BBC Three dating show I Kissed A Boy, will be released this Friday (June 2).

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Singer-actor Janelle Monáe will be bringing her “Age of Pleasure” principle to North American theaters and amphitheaters this late summer and fall, with a nearly two-month tour that begins Aug. 30 in Seattle and wraps Oct. 18 at the L.A. area’s YouTube Theater. The Live Nation-backed 26-city tour will follow a couple of months on the heels of Monáe’s first album in five years, “The Age of Pleasure,” which comes out June 9. It’s been preceded by a new single and music video, “Lipstick Lover.” A Verizon presale begins Thursday at 10 a.m. local time, with other targeted presales happening throughout the next week before a general ticket sale one week from today, June 7, also at 10 a.m. local time.

Madonna has confirmed that new music from her and Sam Smith is on the way.

By most standards, the national anthem is not an easy song to sing. And some singers seem to struggle with it more than others. When it comes to "The Star-Spangled Banner," the moving song written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 that became America's official anthem in 1931, most people want to hear a traditional performance.

Exciting news for Kesha fans – she’s going on tour!

McKinley Franklin editor Musician Wrabel remembers being in Nashville at a queer event not long after Tennesse Gov. Bill Lee introduced anti-LGBTQ legislation, including unprecedented bans on drag performances. “There [were] 15-20 drag queens singing ‘I’m Every Woman,’ just full sobbing,” Wrabel told Variety. “It struck me there…that even in the midst of this legislation being passed, [the] event was filled with joy, smiling, laughing, crying, dancing and singing.” For Wrabel, seeing that the community could “still dance, fight, sing and feel that connection” in the midst of such dark times stood as a reminder of the strength encompassed by LGBTQ people.

CNN reported, with Universal Music Group likely to snatch up anthems like “We Are the Champions,” “We Will Rock You” and “Another One Bites the Dust” from Disney Music Group in a deal that “could surpass $1 billion.”A spokesperson for the Disney Music Group told CNN the company has no plans to sell the catalog. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.Disney reportedly paid $10 million for the distribution rights to the band’s catalog in 1991.Should “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and the rest of the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame band’s songs pull in the reported $1 billion, it would be the largest sale of a music catalog so far, knocking Bruce Springsteen from the top of the heap.

Jewel honored America over Memorial Day weekend at the Indy 500. The 49-year-old country singer, whose full name is Jewel Kilcher, put her own twist on the "Star Spangled Banner" at the race car event, playing an acoustic guitar during the performance.Wearing an all-white jumpsuit, a white cowboy hat, and a black-and-white checkered scarf around her head, Jewel gave a slowed-down, passionate performance.But the cover of the historic song left fans divided online.«I’m sorry, but the National Anthem should NEVER, be changed up like this.

Singing the American national anthem is no easy feat.

Thania Garcia New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia has announced a new album — her first full-length effort since 2014’s “Just Be Free” — “Central City” will arrive on June 23. The set includes features from Lil Wayne, Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Sonyae and more. Previously released singles “Central City Freestyle” and “$100 Bill,” featuring Ciara, appear as part of the 16-song tracklist while the album’s third single, a booming club track titled “Bigfoot,” was released today. “Call me Bigfoot stepping on these bitches necks,” Freedia’s inimitable vocals proclaim as the jolting basslines of “Bigfoot” guide her delivery. “I got a big foot but I’m getting bigger checks/They don’t see what’s coming next.”

Reservoir Media has announced a new deal to acquire the full songwriting catalogue of Miami Sound Machine’s Enrique ‘Kiki’ Garcia.Garcia wrote hits for the band, including ‘Conga’ and ‘Dr Beat’, as well as co-writing several more hits with vocalist Gloria Estefan, such as ‘1-2-3’, ‘Give It Up’ and ‘Rhythm Is Gonna Get You’.“You never write a song thinking you’re creating an anthem that will be loved around the world”, says Garcia. “‘Conga’ is just that.

It's safe to say Steve Aoki knows his way around a banger. With a stellar catalogue of collaborations under his belt - from Louis Tomlinson to BTS - this week the Miami-born, 2-x-GRAMMY-nominated producer teams up with JJ Lin once again on brand-new track The Show.

Thania Garcia Lex Borrero and Tommy Mottola’s Ntertain Studios have entered a new multi-year partnership with Audio Up Media to develop and acquire original content. Under the new deal, Ntertain will offer a diverse lineup of original Latin podcast programming, with extensions into music, TV and film development. “Our goal is to be the one-stop destination for any Latin talent wanting to develop a podcast and use their IP for additional transmedia opportunities. This venture allows us to continue to reshape the face of Latin content while continuing to impact with our creativity,” said Borrero in a statement. Today the company simultaneously announces its first few projects, including a kid-friendly series featuring original music from reggaeton artists, and another titled “Anthem,” which pairs professional athletes with their favorite artists to help create their on-field walk-out music.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi admits he could lose a number of key players this summer, with Manchester United said to be interested in two stars.

Manchester City enjoyed a celebratory afternoon at the Etihad this weekend as they beat Chelsea 1-0 on a sunny Sunday.

Top tennis player Daniil Medvedev on Sunday claimed his first clay-court title by winning the Italian Open. As the Russian hoisted the trophy at the award presentation, the speakers at the stadium blasted Pet Shop Boys’ 1992 dance hit Go West, a rendition of Village People’s song of the same name.

WNBA star Brittney Griner stood for the national anthem Friday before her team’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Sex Pistols are set to release a new 7″ replica single of their legendary debut track ‘Anarchy In The UK’.The band emerged with their anthemic and iconic debut single in 1976, going on to launch an unforgettable career.On June 9, the track will be released on coloured vinyl for the first time ever, with the red vinyl single limited to 4576 copies.The vinyl, released via the UMR label, comes along with the B-side track ‘I Wanna Be Me’.Copies are able to pre-order now here.Pre-order your copy now at https://t.co/IrnzdPFAa8 * Only available in the UK store. pic.twitter.com/cO4DWPLWgE— Sex Pistols Official (@sexpistols) May 18, 2023Earlier this month, Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock played an updated version of ‘God Save The Queen’ to coincide with King Charles III’s coronation.The show took place at London’s 100 Club to support the release of his new album ‘Consequences Coming‘.

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company, has picked up North American rights to the post-apocalyptic thriller Stronghold, directed by Julia Camara. In addition to US & Canada; Gravitas wants to add Latin American territories in addition to Mexico including the Caribbean and sub territories.”

Her mother would be so proud - Mae Muller rises like a phoenix from the ashes to claim her first-ever UK Top 10 single with I Wrote A Song.

Jimmy Buffett is focusing on his health. The 76-year-old musician shared on Thursday that he has been forced to reschedule his concert in Charleston, South Carolina, which was originally set to take place on Saturday, May 20 at the Credit One Stadium.

McKinley Franklin editor Choreographer Jamal Sims is no stranger when it comes to creating top-of-the-line dance numbers for television and film projects, and his work on “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’” “New Cool” sequence just extends his repertoire. “Because I grew up on this film, I felt like [the choreography] was in me,” Sims tells Variety.  The scene set for “New Cool” resembles that of another favored number from the original “Grease” film — defined by boilersuits, beat-up cars and a whole lot of grease.  “[‘New Cool’ is set] in a mechanic’s classroom,” said Sims. “I [knew], going in, that this was going to be compared to ‘Greased Lightning.’” Indeed, the number pays great homage to John Travolta’s covertly sexual anthem. Sims says that the key difference between the two lies in the “storytelling.”

McKinley Franklin editor Snoop Dogg’s Doggyland has teamed up with the popular animated sing-along series Gracie’s Corner to release a collection of empowering children’s videos, Variety can exclusively reveal. Led by Graceyn “Gracie” Hollingsworth and the Bow Wizzle character, voiced by rap icon Snoop Dogg, the series of educational videos will provide knowledge to children through song, rap and dance.  Together, Gracie and Bow Wizzle will spread joy through the medium of music to instill confidence, self-worth and critical thinking skills into children through an installment of two animated videos for the title track “Girl Power,” a youthful girl power anthem. The 2D version will be accessible on the Gracie’s Corner YouTubechannel with the second 3D reiteration going live on Doggyland’s channel.

Following his show-stopping performance at last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Liverpool, it's safe to say the UK's fallen a little bit in love with Finland's Käärijä.

Eurovision 2023 tracks continue to transcend the contest and impact the Official Singles Chart midweek; with winner Loreen, Mae Muller, Käärijä and Alessandra all set to make their mark this week.

The Pussycat Dolls are one of the defining girl groups of the ’00s.

As Liverpool sweeps the last of the stray sequins from its streets, the Eurovision effect continues to impact the Official Chart.

Those dating rumors linking The Chainsmokers‘ Drew Taggart and model Marianne Fonseca are about to heat up!

Peter Nicks’ Anthem and Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough’s The Body Politic are among the non-fiction highlights in this year’s DC/DOX documentary film festival in Washington, D.C. next month.

Following last weekend's big Eurovision Song Contest grand final at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, a host of entries are set to make their mark on the Official Singles Chart.