What Was Your Favorite Performance at the 2021 Brit Awards? Vote!

The 2021 Brit Awards delivered live music in the “first major indoor music event to welcome back a live audience” on Tuesday (May 11) — but which performance was your favorite?

Dua Lipa performed a medley of hits from Future Nostalgia underground, but the album won top honors by taking home the top album award. This year’s Rising Star recipient Griff performed within the “Black Hole” of a heart display, while Arlo Parks brought “Hope” along with a beautiful arrangement of flowers to London’s O2 arena.

Plus, Years & Years’ Olly Alexander and Sir Elton John stole the show with their cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ classic “It’s a Sin” that paid tribute to the LGBTQ community’s perseverance through the AIDS epidemic.

So which 2021 Brit Awards performance is a winner in your opinion? Vote below!

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Rape case arrest report contradicts Miami-Dade police union official’s ‘consensual’ claim

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Clues to 1-year-old’s death — and whether DCF failed him — remain hidden in Florida files

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A 70-year-old man arrested after groping teen boy headed to school in Doral, cops say

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Surfside commissioner gives mayor middle finger. Again. It involved another Zoom muting

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Miami’s mayor leaving Greenspoon Marder to join another firm. It’s new to Miami

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Dan + Shay Reschedule Arena Headlining Tour, Add New Dates

Dan + Shay will resume their headlining arena tour Sept. 9 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

The pair, who have won the Grammy Award for best country duo/group performance three years running, have rescheduled dates that were postponed due to COVID-19, as well as added in some new stops, including Oct. 15 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center and Oct. 16 at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena. The 33-city outing concludes Dec. 7 at Boston’s TD Garden.

Openers are three-time Grammy nominee Ingrid Andress and The Band Camino. All previously purchased tickets for the AEG Presents outing will be honored for the rescheduled dates.

When it originally kicked off in 2020, the tour marked Dan + Shay’s first headlining arena tour, and included two sold-out shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena before shutting down because of the pandemic.

Dan + Shay are up for top duo/group and top country duo/group at the May 23 Billboard Music Awards.

Dan + Shay The (Arena) Tour 2021
*newly announced date
Sept. 9 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Sept. 10 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena
Sept. 11 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Sept. 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sept. 16 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Sept. 17 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Sept. 18, 2021 Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
Sept. 23 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Sept. 24 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Sept. 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Oct. 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Oct. 2 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct. 3 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
Oct. 15* – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
Oct. 16* – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena
Oct. 17 – Glendale, AZ – Gila River Arena
Oct. 20 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Oct. 21 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Oct. 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena
Oct. 24 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Oct. 28 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Oct. 29 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
Nov. 4 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
Nov. 5 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Nov. 12 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
Nov. 13 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
Nov. 14 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
Nov. 20 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Dec. 3 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Dec. 4 – Hershey, PA – Giant Center
Dec. 5 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Dec. 7 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

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Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Payments Will Start Arriving Next Week

Two weeks after the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) portal successfully reopened, officials at the Small Business Administration say that the first round of awards will be distributed next week.

There are three distinct 14-day periods during which SVOG funds will be awarded. Priority One applicants that lost 90% or more of their revenue from April to December of 2020 are scheduled to receive funds of up to $10 million in the first 14 days of disbursement. Following that, Priority Two establishments that lost 70% or more of their revenue in the same time period will receive funds over the next 14 days. And last in line are businesses that lost 25% or more of their revenue in 2020, which will receive funds in the 14 days after the second round of funding closes.

The amount of funding for the second and third tiers, along with any supplemental funding, will be based on what remains after the SBA awards grants to the first priority group.  

“This emergency relief can’t come soon enough for those on the precipice of going under. We’ll be very grateful when the money is distributed as Congress intended,” says National Independent Venue Association board member Audrey Fix Schaefer. “It’s been very hard to hold on, but even tougher to plan for reopening without the money to hire back staff, rent venues and secure acts with deposits. It will be incredible when the $16 billion Congress earmarked to save our stages becomes a reality.”

As of today, 11,500 SVOG applications have been submitted to the SBA. Of the 11,500 applications, nearly 4,750 of those are from independent live venue operators or promoters. Another 2,678 applications are from performing arts organizations, while 1,308 are from talent representatives.  

The fund disbursement will be welcome news for venue owners who have been desperately awaiting relief since the SVOG was passed in December. The grant provides a total of more than $16 billion in federal relief to independent music venues, promoters, talent agencies, museums and movie theaters that were forced to shutter during the global pandemic.  

According to federal grant award policies, the SBA will reach out to award recipients as soon as the final decisions are made. The SBA will then send a notice of award, which serves as a legally binding issuance of the grant. Once venues sign the agreement and accept the funds, they are obligated to carry out the full terms and conditions of the agreement. Venues will need to keep documentation regarding how they used the funds, retain employment records for four years following their receipt of a grant and retain all other records for three years. 

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What’s Your Favorite J. Cole Album? Vote!

With J. Cole’s sixth studio album The Off-Season on the way this Friday, Billboard wants to know: What’s your favorite Cole album yet?

The highly anticipated album comes three years after Cole’s last album, KOD – an acronym for Kids on Drugs, King Overdosed and Kill Our Demons. KOD debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it the artist’s fifth album to debut atop the chart.

He also supplemented his Grammy-nominated album 2014 Forest Hills Drive with his first-ever live album, Forest Hills Drive: Live From Fayetteville, NC, which he performed in his hometown that the title also pays homage to.

But which J. Cole album tops the list? Vote for your favorite below!

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Halsey Is Songwriter of the Year at 2021 BMI Pop Awards

Halsey was named songwriter of the year at the 2021 BMI Pop Awards. The singer/songwriter wrote four of the year’s most performed songs: “Nightmare,” “Graveyard,” “Be Kind” and “You Should Be Sad.” “Be Kind” is a collaboration with fellow BMI songwriter and hitmaker Marshmello. Halsey took song of the year at the 2020 BMI Pop Awards for “Without Me.”

Song of the Year was awarded to “The Bones,” co-written by BMI songwriters Maren Morris and Laura Veltz. This is the first BMI Pop Award for the pair, who have a combined total of 14 BMI Country Awards between them.

Sony Music Publishing took publisher of the year for the ninth time. Sony represented 24 of the top 50 award-winning BMI Pop songs including “3 Nights,” “Boyfriend,” “My Oh My,” “Roses” and “The Man.”

BMI also honored the songwriters, publishers and administrators of the 50 most-performed pop songs of the previous year. This year’s class of recipients included a record 59 first-time Pop Award winners such as BENEE, Edgar Barrera, Doja Cat, Trevor Daniel, Metro Boomin, Noah Cyrus, Roddy Ricch, SAINt JHN, JP Saxe and more.

“It is an honor and a privilege to represent some of the best pop music creators in the world,” said Barbara Cane, vice president, worldwide creative. “Their songs are groundbreaking, dynamic and inspiring, and we celebrate their dedication to craft, discipline and success.”

The winners of the 69th annual BMI Pop Awards were announced Monday (May 10) in an online celebration and on BMI’s social channels.

Fans can view the complete list of winners, listen to their music, and watch exclusive content including first-hand accounts of the songwriting process behind some of the award-winning songs by visiting BMI.com/pop2021.

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