Pulse Music

Justin Bieber was "blown away" by Frank Ocean's Coachella set despite mixed reviews from fans.

The "Peaches" singer wrote on Instagram, "I was blown away by Frank Oceans Coachella performance. His artistry is simply unmatched, his style, his taste, his voice, his attention to detail.. I was deeply moved. It made me want to keep going and get better as an artist. He continues to set the bar high and gave me a night I will never forget! Thanks Frank."

Some concertgoers criticized the Sunday (April 16th) night performance on social media for starting nearly an hour late and ending abruptly when he was cut off for going past curfew.

It was the "Thinkin Bout You" singer's first live performance since 2017.

Actor Timothee Chalamet will star as Bob Dylan in the upcoming biopic, titled A Complete Unknown. The movie is based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric, which focused on Dylan's historic July 25th, 1965 electric set at the Newport Folk Festival. A Complete Unknown, which begins shooting in August, will feature Chalamet doing his own singing.

According to Culture Sonar, "James Mangold who will direct the movie revealed that key figures in Dylan's story such as Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger would be part of it. The Searchlight Pictures project was first announced three years ago. The script is to be written by Jay Cocks."

The late, great George Harrison -- a friend, collaborator, and devoted Dylan acolyte -- always believed that the primarily acoustic-based Dylan finally going electric was no more than a natural musical progression: "It was controversial. For me, it was just like, it just seemed interesting it was. . . Y'know, it seemed kinda natural, really, y'know, because there's a limit to, y'know, what you can do with acoustics. Or, y'know, I mean, there's. . . it didn't seem that Bob should particularly be limited to just doing that."

Stephen Stills has just released his vintage 1971 live team-up with David Crosby on the late-singer's "The Lee Shore." The tune serves as the latest teaser from Stephen Stills Live At Berkeley 1971, the new archival release, which drops on April 28th. Crosby was also on hand that night to join Stills in singing the Crosby, Stills, & Nash favorite "You Don't Have To Cry."

The archival release was taped over two nights -- August 20th and 21st, 1971 -- at Berkeley, California's Berkeley Community Theater, while supporting his second solo set, Stephen Stills 2.

Stephen Stills said of the new Live At Berkeley 1971 collection, "The intimacy of the Berkeley Community Theater seemed to serve as a focal point between the audience and the energy surrounding the social climate of the day. It was my first tour as a solo artist, and these shows were raucous and unrestrained, captured here in these recordings."

Not too long ago, Stephen Stills told us that looking back, he's simply amazed at some of his material which ended up on the cutting room floor: "There is a host of things that was recorded around the time of the second Stephen Stills record. My God, there's just a couple of things that just thrilled me. But there's outtakes and alternate takes, and songs that didn't make the cut that are still sittin' there in the vault. And except for one particular brand of tape -- everything just plays beautifully."

Stephen Stills and Neil Young will team up on April 22nd for the 2023 "Light Up The Night" benefit at L.A.'s Greek Theatre.

Timbaland has confirmed that Justin Timberlake recently "finished up" his next album.

The Grammy winner recently told Variety, "We just finished up and everything sounds great. Now it's really on him how and when he envisions it to come out, but it's done and it's coming."

The two artists have been frequent collaborators since Timberlake went solo in the late ‘90s.

Boy George & Culture Club are hitting the road this summer with special guests Howard Jones and Berlin for a 25-city tour, dubbed the "Letting It Go Show." The trek kicks off on July 13th at West Palm Beach, Florida's iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre and criss-crosses North America through August 20th when things wrap up at Concord, California's Concord Pavilion.

The general onsale for tickets begins this Friday, April 21st at 10 a.m. local time at livenation.com.

Culture Club guitarist and songwriter Roy Hay explained to us what keeps fans buying tickets for the group's shows year-after-year: "The attraction to Culture Club is that the music is so eclectic. I think that's what draws people towards us like a magnet. And then, the people have grown up with the music and the songs are timeless. So, every time we go out on the road, like now, it still feels good, it still feels fresh."

Howard Jones is no stranger to massive crowds -- having been among the performers at the historic 1985 Live Aid concerts. He told us today, he's far more comfortable playing club dates and theaters: "There is more contact because with the arenas they can't get to you unless you go out. And if you go out into the. . . Y'know, I did it a few times and it, sort of, caused a riot and that's not good for the other people that are playing. So in the club tours it's much easier to see people."

JUST ANNOUNCED: Culture Club / Howard Jones / Berlin tour dates (subject to change):

July 13 - West Palm Beach, FL - iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
July 15 - Tampa, FL - MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 16 - Jacksonville, FL - Daily's Place Amphitheatre
July 18 - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
July 19 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
July 20 - Nashville, TN - Ascend Amphitheater
July 22 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
July 23 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre
July 25 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
July 26 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
July 28 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
July 29 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
July 30 - Philadelphia, PA - TD Pavilion at the Mann
August 1 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
August 3 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 4 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
August 5 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
August 8 - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theatre
August 10 - Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion
August 11 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 12 - Austin, TX - Germania Insurance Amphitheater
August 14 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
August 18 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
August 19 - San Diego, CA - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 20 - Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion

Vicki Cornell, on behalf of the Estate of Chris Cornell and the Soundgarden have settled a legal battle that will allow release of new music the band had been working on up to the time of the singer's death from suicide in 2017.

A statement by relevant parties told Variety, "The reconciliation marks a new partnership between the two parties, which will allow Soundgarden fans around the world to hear the final songs that the band and Chris were working on. The two parties are united and coming together to propel, honor and build upon Soundgarden's incredible legacy as well as Chris's indelible mark on music history — as one of the greatest songwriters and vocalists of all time."

Vicki sued the bandmembers in 2019 over royalties and the rights to seven unreleased songs that were in varying states of completion.

Settlement terms were not disclosed.

Megan Thee Stallion is on the cover of ELLE and she is opening up about the Tory Lanez trial for the last time. According to Rolling Stone, Megan said, "I understand the public intrigue, but for the sake of my mental health, I don't plan to keep reliving the most traumatic experience of my life over and over again. I'm choosing to change the narrative because I'm more than just my trauma."

She continued, "Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see."

Megan added that the jokes, memes, conspiracy theories and attacks were hard to deal with, especially when some of her "peers in the music industry piled on." She added, "Instead of condemning any form of violence against a woman, these individuals tried to justify my attacker's actions."

Megan revealed that behind the scenes she "started falling into a depression," even as she continued to release music and tour. Working on new music was difficult as Megan struggled to figure out what to rap about, and she'd often catch herself crying moments before having to take the stage at some public event.

When Tory Lanez was found guilty at the end of the last year, Meghan said the verdict was "more than just vindication for me, it was a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them."

She added, "Time after time, women are bullied with backlash for speaking out against their attackers, especially when they're accusing someone who is famous and wealthy. They're often accused of lying or attempting to make money from their trauma. From firsthand experience, I know why a lot of women don't come forward. Any support and empathy that I received was drowned out by overwhelming doubt and criticism from so many others."

In the months since the verdict came in, Megan said she's been "healing." Acknowledging that the "physical and mental scars from this entire ordeal will always sting," she said getting off social media, taking time for herself, praying, and spending time with close friends and her dogs, has helped her feel more at peace and prepared to resume her life.

In a final note, the rapper said, "We can't control what others think, especially when the lies are juicier than the truth. But as a society, we must create safer environments for women to come forward about violent behavior without fear of retaliation. We must provide stronger resources for women to recover from these tragedies physically and emotionally, without fear of judgment. We must do more than say her name. We must protect all women who have survived the unimaginable."

Sammy Hagar revealed he got starstruck the first time he met Rod Stewart. The "Red Rocker" spilled the beans on his Storytime With Sammy video series, recalling, "Have I ever been a fanboy? Me? Absolutely! . . . I just remember I was always a Rod Stewart fan when I first started Montrose. I was playing in Europe, Montrose was on tour, and the Doobie Brothers were headlining Montrose's opening. My drummer, Denny Carmasi, and I were staring at the side of the stage, watching the Doobie Brothers. And in walks Rod Stewart in a yellow suit, shiny, hair all spiked up. (His girlfriend) Britt Eckland was with him, and she was, like, y'know, leopard skin. They were just superstars. They looked like the most charismatic superstars on the planet."

Hagar went on to say, "They walked up next to us, and it was like -- I couldn't even go up and introduce myself. I was a fan, but he was so charismatic that I was just dwarfed. Denny and I looked at each other like, ‘Let's get out of here, man! He might see us!' We were so intimidated. We didn't want to be around him. We thought he was going to ask us to go get him a coke or to take this coat and say, 'Go hang it up for me' or something.' Honestly, I've never been so starstruck in my life."

Hagar eventually got over his nerves and explained, "I have met Rod since then. He's always very charismatic. He's always dressed to the nines. He's got it, man. He's a superstar, and he blew my mind."

Sammy Hagar admitted to us that although he fell in love with singing at an early age -- he's pretty much the definition of a reluctant performer: "I just liked it. It felt good and it felt natural. It's still not comfortable to me -- I'm not a comfortable singer/entertainer; even though I'm more of an entertainer, y'know, when I get on stage, I turn into an entertainer. But it's very uncomfortable for me. And I'm always runnin' around backstage, a nervous wreck until I get out there. But, other than that -- I like it."

Foo Fighters have continued to tease new music. Their latest teaser expands on a cryptic video that the band posted last week.

While an instrumental plays, the clip teases the words "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Are you feeling what I'm feeling? This is happening now.

The band is set to hit the road this year. Check out the tour dates below:

05/24 Gilford, NH – Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion (feat. Taipei Houston)
05/26 Boston, MA – Boston Calling
05/28 Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
05/30 Washington, DC – The Atlantis
06/02 Nürburgring, GER – Rock am Ring
06/04 Nurnberg, GER – Rock im Park
06/14 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
06/16 Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
06/18 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
07/08 Quebec City, QC – Festival D'ete de Quebec
07/12 Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest
07/15 Milwaukee, WI – Harley-Davidson Homecoming
07/28-30 Naeba, JAP – Fuji Rock
08/03 Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena (feat. The Breeders)
08/08 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre (feat. The Breeders)
08/10 Lake Tahoe, NV – Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey's (feat. The Breeders)
08/11-13 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands Festival
09/03 Aspen, CO – Jazz Aspen Snowmass
09/09 Sao Paulo, BRA – The Town
09/17 Asbury Park, NJ – Sea.Hear.Now
09/19 Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater (feat. The Breeders)
09/21 Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life
10/01 Dana Point, CA – Ohana Festival
10/03 Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/05 El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center

Fans are already raving about Metallica's just-released new album, 72 Seasons. Guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke to Guitar World magazine and gave a track-by-track breakdown of the entire set for fans.

When discussing the tune "Chasing Light," Hammett revealed his love and deference to his early inspirations: "Players like Jimmy Page mean so much to me, so I was definitely tapping into that. It's gonna be a sad day for me when he's gone. I hate to bring up Jeff Beck's passing, but it hit me hard. I had a relationship with Jeff. He was one of my favorite players. I've realized that very soon what's gonna happen is what happened in the '60s with all the jazz giants who left us. I'm kinda preparing myself mentally for times like that. All I want to do is carry on their legacy through my playing, and you can hear it on this album."

Regarding the song, "You Must Burn," Hammett shed light on the power of James Hetfield's playing and writing: "There's a melodic riff in there with no singing over it that is so great and so f***in' beautiful. It's one that James came up with, and when we first played it I actually said to him, 'Bro, I think this is one of the greatest riffs you've ever written.' Honestly, it's the best riff I never wrote. I love it so much and I'm so happy that at least one of us came up with it."

When we last caught up with Kirk Hammett, he explained all the things he loved and admired about Jimmy Page: "Jimmy Page has been one of my heroes for years and years and years. He was the man, I mean he was all-encompassing. He was a brilliant songwriter, he was a brilliant musician, he was a brilliant producer, he was a brilliant showman. He had it all. He had a great tone -- a great attitude. I mean, what's not to like about Led Zeppelin?"

Eric Clapton has announced the seventh Crossroads Guitar Festival, which will play over two nights -- September 23rd and 24th -- at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena. Clapton will perform both nights with a different lineup and among the many notables set to play over the two shows are Santana, Stephen Stills, Robbie Robertson, ZZ Top, Jimmie Vaughan, Roger McGuinn, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer Trio, Jakob Dylan, Keb' Mo', Buddy Guy, H.E.R., Marcus King, and many more.

All proceeds will benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Eric Clapton founded in 1998. Tickets to the festival will go on sale this Friday, April 21st at 10:00 a.m. local via Ticketmaster. Each day will be sold as its own ticket and there will no two-day passes available.

Eric Clapton said that he'll always be happy to raise money for the Crossroads Centre, but he'd like to remove himself a bit from the operation, as least as far as its public face is concerned: "They still need money. I think that's something that I'll probably always be fairly happy to plug into, and it is intriguing to think of different ways to raise the capital. But where I really want to be detached is in terms of my identity, or the fact that the place belongs to me, or anything like (that). I want, for its own sake, for it to have its own whole identity, without my connection. And it's got there -- it actually has reached that."

Clapton told us he planned the festival so that a wide variety of musical styles would always be represented: "In very diverse ways, it started out with Pat Metheny, and B.B. King, and Dan Tyminski, and John McLaughlin, and people like that. But I think it needs to be incredibly eclectic, 'cause that's the way I, I look at music. The guitar has so many different faces, so it shouldn't just be a blues festival or anything -- I mean, it should, it needs to be every aspect of the guitar."

Eric Clapton performs tonight (April 18th) at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan.

Graham Nash has written a new song about Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Nash will release his latest solo set, titled Now, on May 19th, which marks his first new music since David Crosby's death this past January 18th.

Nash spoke about the new song "I Watched It All Come Down," telling Variety, "It was about my emotional feelings toward Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I reached incredible heights musically with them, and the opposite has been true with them, too -- saddened that we didn't make more music. We do, though, know that the music we did make is the most important part of our relationship. So this is about the thrill of having made music with David, Stephen (Stills) and Neil (Young). I wish it could have continued."

Graham Nash, whose been writing songs for over six decades now, still finds the process both familiar and mysterious: "The truth is I'll find out what I already know. Y'know, we don't know what it is. I have no idea how it happens. I'm glad that it does, and for songwriters it's quite simple -- you wake up in the morning, and you deal with your day, and the stuff that affects you, you write about it. I mean, I must've saved myself millions of dollars in psychiatry fees."

Graham Nash performs tonight and tomorrow (April 18th and 19th) in Alexandria, Virginia at The Birchmere.

J-Hope is ready to serve in the South Korean military.

The BTS member shared a photo of himself sporting a buzz cut to Instagram Monday (April 17th) along with the caption, "I'll have a good trip!!" written in his native Korean.

J-Hope will become the second member of the K-pop boy band to serve his mandatory military service. Jin began basic training in mid-December.

Bebe Rexha is not happy that TikTok is suggesting the search "bebe rexha weight" to its users.

The "Sacrifice" singer shared a screenshot of the search bar Sunday (April 16th) with the caption, "Seeing that search bar is so upsetting. I'm not mad cause it's true. I did gain weight. But it just sucks. Thank you to all the people who love me no matter what."

She added in a subsequent tweet, "I've always struggled with my weight. A b***h likes to eat."

The lead single from Ed Sheeran's forthcoming album, Subtract, will drop Friday (April 21st).

The singer shared a snippet of the music video for "Boat" to Instagram Monday (April 17th) along with the caption, "Boat is the first song I wrote and finished for Subtract, it's where it all began, and a good way to kick off the album. I'm gonna release the full song and video this friday, hope you love it as much as I do x."

Subtract will be released on May 5th.

Sting has expanded his upcoming "My Songs" fall tour by tagging on nine new stops on to the itinerary. The legendary singer/songwriter and Police leader has new dates on the books -- now hitting New York, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

The trek kicks off over two nights -- September 1st and 2nd -- at Vienna, Virginia's Wolf Trap and comes to a close on October 15th in The Woodlands, Texas at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

Sting told us that surprisingly, touring the world is in many ways far easier than being holed up in a recording studio for months on end: "Touring, I find, in some ways, relaxing because I don't have to think very much. All the decisions are already made, and I just get up there and do my thing. It's like being a tennis player or something. Whereas when I get into this period of trying to be creative, I have to reinvent the game from scratch. One of the, the attractions about touring is that it's all kind of done. You just go through the motions, y'know -- you just sing, you play the stroke, you move in a certain way -- and you don't use your brain very much."

UPDATED: Sting North American tour dates (subject to change):

September 1, 2 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
September 3 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
September 5 - Toronto, ON - Budweiser Stage
September 7 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
September 8 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
September 12 - Hollywood, FL - Hard Rock Live
September 15 - Atlanta, GA - Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
September 17 - Austin, TX - Moody Center
September 20 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 23 - West Valley City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
September 26 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
September 27 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
September 29 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
October 1 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
October 2 - Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion
October 4 - San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
October 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
October 9 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
October 12 - Rogers, AR - Walmart AMP
October 14 - Irving, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
October 15 - The Woodlands, TX- The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

A new dance mix of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's 1983 chart-topper "Say Say Say" is back on the charts. The officially-sanctioned and reimagined track by Kygo debuts at Number 16 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Billboard reported the track garnered "905,000 official streams and 400 downloads sold in the United States (between) March 31st and April 6th." Kygo's "Say Say Say" remix also sits at Number 12 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.

"Say Say Say" was the lead single from Paul McCartney's 1983 Pipes Of Peace album and began its six-week run at Number One on December 10th, 1983.

Back in 1983, Paul McCartney recalled his then-recent duets with Michael Jackson: "Michael originally fancied writing some stuff with me and I thought it was a good idea. So, he came over here to England and we just hung out a while and got to know each other a bit, and ended up writing two songs that are the songs that are the two on the album. And then he did his own album, Thriller, which he wrote '(The) Girl Is Mine,' and so I was on that. Those were the only three things we've done. So, these are the two we wrote together; 'Say, Say, Say' and 'The Man.'"

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine still has more than a few issues with his former bandmates in Metallica -- yet, despite that, he still wants the bands to play together. Dave Mustaine was an early member of Metallica in 1982 and early-'83 -- but did not play on any albums by the band before he was fired.

During a new chat with Guitar World, Dave Mustaine spoke about how Megadeth had to change with the turning tides of rock during the early-'90s -- and couldn't help taking a swipe at his former bandmates: "We made some minor changes at the behest of the record label, but that was as far as it went. . . . We didn't sell out like other bands. We didn't change who we were. . . So, as these metal stations went the way of the great white buffalo, we had to decide, 'Are we going to be alternative? Are we going to change like every other band?' Metallica cut their hair off, put makeup on and all that stuff, and I got little haircuts during that time, but I never chopped it off. We decided we wouldn't change to fit the trend and would tough it out."

Mustaine dredged up some of his old issues from his time in Metallica -- a period in which he feels his contributions have been completely overlooked, recalling, "In the early days, I was the only guitar player in the band and wrote some of the songs that ended up on their earlier records. So, for a guy who 'couldn't play guitar,' I sure did f***ing influence things. The only reason James (Hetfield) even played guitar early on was that we couldn't find anyone else. So who was it that couldn't play guitar?"

Mustaine went on to remember, "Early on, James was terrified to talk to the crowd, and I would look at him and say, 'Talk, man. Get up there and f***ing talk,' but James didn't do it; he stayed in the background, and he's the f***ing singer. So, I -- the guy who can't play guitar -- went up to the mic and started talking. That's how it was until I left; James only started talking to the audience after I left; he had no choice. You can hear it on the tapes from the shows we did in San Francisco at the Waldorf and the Stone; I did all the talking. And most of what I said on stage was things James would then copy after I left. So how do I view my influence on Metallica? It's pretty f***ing deep."

Mustaine didn't beat around the bush regarding the demand to see Metallica and Megadeth teaming up on tour: "The fact is simple: the world wants to see Megadeth and Metallica play together. And in case anyone is wondering: there's f***ing money in that. The fans want to see Metallica and Megadeth share the stage. Does Megadeth need Metallica? No. But Metallica talks about their fans, but they don't give them what they've been asking for. What are they afraid of? I don't know. It's not me; it's them."

The relationship between Metallica and Dave Mustaine, has often been portrayed as a testy one, although Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich told us that all the reports of animosity have been overblown: "I mean, so much has been made of these relationships, and certainly speaking for myself, Dave and I have two separate relationships -- one that exists between Dave and I, and one that exists in the press and with everybody else. And I always know that, y'know, my and Dave's private relationship is always fine, and it's always one that's rooted in love and respect."

Megadeth next performs on April 26th in Everett, Washington at Angel Of The Winds Arena.

Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes were spotted kissing at Coachella 2023.

According to E! News, the pair of exes were spotted locking lips at the Southern California music festival on April 14th, a year and a half after their breakup.

An insider told Us Weekly that the two were together all night and he "had his arm around her waist as they walked to the stage," for the Burna Boys set.

Def Leppard is trying to break new ground with their upcoming first foray into orchestral collaboration. On May 19th, the band will release Drastic Symphonies featuring, "tracks dramatically reimagined by London's iconic Royal Philharmonic Orchestra" -- along with new vocals and instrumentation from the band.

Frontman Joe Elliott spoke to Classic Rock and said the band is treating the project differently than others that have gone the orchestral route: "We're stepping into territory previously visited by other bands of our ilk. But we've never done anything like this before, and what's really interesting is how we've dug really deep."

Elliot went on to say, "It's all about expanding these songs. Most of it is stripping back our backing tracks to allow the orchestra to shine and be at the forefront, because that's the point of the record. But it's not just our greatest hits with orchestra on top -- like slapping butter on a piece of toast. What we wanted to do with this album is glorify what we've done in the past as rock songs, and make them epic."

Joe Elliott explained that coloring outside the box has always been Def Leppard's M.O.: "This has turned out to be another of the weird things that we've done -- like a show with Taylor Swift, or a duet with a country singer like Alison Krauss or Tim McGraw. It's another thing that's out of the norm for us."

Bassist Rick Savage revealed how the process for the album was one of trial and error: "When we mocked up orchestral versions of some of the big rock songs, like 'Photograph' and 'Rock Of
Ages,' it was hideous! If a song is written in a minor key, it's easier to fit string parts and be more melodic. But with 'Photograph' and 'Rock Of Ages,' which are very major key songs, an orchestral version just sounds a bit whimsical, even comical. . . That's why this album is so cool, because we didn't just pick the hits. We picked the ones that really lent themselves to strings and all that drama."

With Def Leppard surviving both musical and cultural shifts across the decades, Joe Elliott admitted to us that having a band last over 40 years is still a mind-boggling proposition: "We were in the front-end of a whole new way of doin' this -- and we're lucky that we've stayed together to be able to exploit that and enjoy it and all that kind of stuff. But even when we got together, we thought (we'd last) maybe five or ten years. Because that's all there was. There was an eight-year-old Led Zeppelin when we formed -- the Beatles had only been split for seven. The Rolling Stones and the Who were essentially, maybe 13, 14-years-old. So, there was no band that had been around for 40 years. So it's insane when you say it off the top of your head just like that."

Kelly Clarkson unveiled the double singles "mine" and "me" Friday (April 14th).

The Grammy winner said of the first tracks to be released from her tenth studio album, "We decided to release ‘mine' and ‘me' at the same time because I didn't want to release just one song to represent an entire album, or relationship. There are many stages of grief and loss on this album. Each song is a different stage and emotional state."

Chemistry drops June 23rd.

Taylor Swift is back on social media following the news of her split from Joe Alwyn.

The singer wrote on Instagram Saturday (April 15th), "Still buzzing from those 3 shows in Tampa!!! Thank you to the unforgettably epic crowds and to @aarondessner for coming out to play twice with me, we've been dreaming about that for so long!! So grateful for the memories we're making on this tour."

Prior to her three-night run at Raymond James Stadium, Swift donated enough meals to feed roughly $125,000 to Feeding Tampa Bay.

A Spanish university recently held an entire conference dedicated to the study of Shakira and Gerard Piques' tumultuous breakup.

According to HOLA!, the University of Castilla-La Mancha hosted "Legal Implications of the Shakira and Piqué case regarding session 53 BZRP," on April 13th. The event examined the repercussions of the break up from different areas of law, including the right to privacy, honor and the image itself to international law.