NEW YORK — In the chorus of “Whatcha Doing,” the fifth track on Dua Lipa’s latest album, she sings: “But if control is my religion / And I’m headed for collision / Lost my 20/20 vision,” referencing the unexpected pull of a new partner. That sentiment proves true on “Radical Optimism,” a controlled collection of … Read more
NEW YORK — Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at age 86. Eddy died of cancer Tuesday at the Williamson Health … Read more
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift continues to dominate in the week following the release of her 11th album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The 31-track album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, tying Swift with Jay-Z for second-most No. 1 albums at 14. Only The Beatles, with 19 No. … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — Even amid war, Ukraine finds time for the glittery, pop-filled Eurovision Song Contest. Perhaps now even more than ever. Ukraine’s entrants in the pan-continental music competition — the female duo of rapper alyona alyona and singer Jerry Heil — set off from Kyiv for the competition on Thursday. In wartime, that means … Read more
NEW YORK — Asmik Grigorian laughs when she recalls that she had been singing professionally for more than a decade when the International Opera Awards proclaimed her the “best young female singer” of 2016. “So for 12 years I was nothing, and then I immediately became the best!” the Lithuanian soprano joked in an interview. … Read more
LONDON — It’s springtime in Europe — time for the annual blossoming of spectacle and sound known as the Eurovision Song Contest. Taking place in May in Malmö, Sweden, the 68th annual competition will see acts from 37 countries vie for the continent’s pop crown in a feelgood extravaganza that strives — not always successfully … Read more
NEW YORK — Jonathan Tetelman transformed from a nightclub DJ to an international opera star, a music detour that was quite, well, operatic. He stopped singing in 2011 and mixed music for New York’s clubbers at Webster Hall, Pacha, Greenhouse and W.i.P. These days, the 35-year-old’s gigs are at posher places such as London’s Royal … Read more
If you were to close Alicia Keys ’ big semi-autobiographical musical on Broadway with any of her hit songs, which would it be? Of course, it has to be “Empire State of Mind.” That’s the natural one, right? It’s also as predictable as the R train being delayed with signal problems. “Hell’s Kitchen,” the coming-of-age … Read more
Romeo Castellucci dropped out of his production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle at Belgium’s La Monnaie theater halfway through because of what the company said Saturday was a lack of money and time. The four-part “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)” is considered opera’s most ambitious work. Castellucci, a noted Italian director, began … Read more
PHOENIX — Special LP releases, live performances and at least one giant block party are scheduled around the U.S. Saturday as hundreds of shops celebrate Record Store Day during a surge of interest in vinyl and the day after the release of Taylor Swift’s latest album. There were no announced Record Store Day specials for … Read more
