Stevie Nicks Pens Tribute to Her Friend Taylor Hawkins: ‘When He Left the Room, Everyone Was Sad’

Mourning the shocking loss of friend and fellow musician Taylor Hawkins, Stevie Nicks shared an emotional note on social media upon his death this weekend.

The Foo Fighters drummer’s passing was announced via a social media statement from the band’s accounts Friday night (March 25). Hawkins was 50.

“I just have to say,” Nicks wrote on her own social media accounts on Saturday, “Thank goodness for the photo booth in the Foo Fighters studio. Because of these pictures my friendship with Taylor will always be at my fingertips.”

The Fleetwood Mac member and solo singer-songwriter uploaded a pair of black-and-white personal snapshots of a grinning Hawkins and herself.

“He always came to my shows,” she noted. “He and his best friend Dave even let me be a Foo Fighter for a little while. We recorded a kick ass version of Gold Dust Woman (live) and at the end of the song I yelled out ‘Best Gold Dust Woman ever~.’”

“And I meant it,” said Nicks, who went on to speak of her friend fondly.

“Taylor was very handsome and he was very cute. Sometimes that combination is way better than ‘beautiful.’ I think it’s everything. He had a huge heart and a glorious smile. When he walked into the room, everyone looked up. When he left the room, everyone was sad,” she wrote, and then shared how she’s feeling now, following his death.

See her words below, and see many more touching tributes to Hawkins here.

“I am sad now
I am really sad
It’s like rolling thunder
Yes, that’s what I said
It’s like a bad dream~
Comes like a wave~
Gives you a moment
And then drags you away.
Our hearts are broken,
We will never be the same.
As I write these words~
I feel the pain.
But I will always remember~
That the laughter and the fame
Brought us together
To play the game
And we played it, again and again and again
And it was extraordinary~
Don’t forget us, ‘T.’
We’ll be right here
Love you,
Stevie”

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Razzies: Filmed Version of ‘Diana’ Stage Musical Tops 2022 Winners

As awards season wraps up this weekend with the 2022 Oscars, the Razzie Awards is continuing with tradition and announcing, the day before the Academy Awards, its picks for the worst in film from 2021.

After scoring the most Razzie nominations, Netflix’s filmed version of the Princess Diana Broadway musical, Diana, won the most Razzie Awards, scooping up five trophies.

The project, the stage production of which closed on Dec. 19, won worst picture, actress, supporting actress, director and screenplay.

Warner Bros.’ Space Jam revival received the second highest number of Razzie trophies, three, with star LeBron James named worst actor. Space Jam: A New Legacy also won worst screen couple and remake, rip-off or sequel. Indeed, the only one of the four Razzie Awards it was nominated for but didn’t win is worst picture.

This year the Razzies also added an all-Bruce Willis category, with eight nominees, for worst performance by the actor in a 2021 movie. Willis’ performance in Cosmic Sin beat out the other contenders.

And the Razzies gave Oscar nominee Will Smith, who won four Razzies over the course of his career, its Redeeemer Award for his role in King Richard. In a video accompanying the Razzie winners announcement, the Razzies said other contenders for the Redeemer honor were Jamie Dornan (Belfast) and Nicolas Cage (Pig). Recent recipients of the Redeemer Award include Eddie Murphy in 2020 and Melissa McCarthy in 2019.

While Smith will have to wait until Sunday to see if he holds the dubious distinction of being both a Razzie and an Oscar winner, past Oscar winner Jared Leto won a Razzie Award this year for his work in House of Gucci.

A number of projects received multiple Razzie nominations but didn’t win any awards, including five-time nominees Netflix’s The Woman in the Window and Quiver Distribution’s Karen.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

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Foo Fighters’ Biggest Billboard Chart Hits: ‘Learn to Fly,’ ‘Best of You’ & More

As previously reported, Taylor Hawkins, drummer for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Foo Fighters, died, as announced on March 25. No cause of death was immediately given. Hawkins was 50.

“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” reads a statement on the band’s social accounts. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.”

Upon Hawkins’ passing, Billboard looks back at the band’s biggest chart achievements, including its honor as the No. 1 act on Billboard‘s Greatest of All Time Alternative Artists retrospective.

Albums: Wasting Light, Concrete and Gold

Hawkins made his first appearance on a Foo Fighters album via their third studio set, There’s Nothing Left to Lose, released in November 1999. The set debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, marking their second top 10. (The group’s self-titled debut LP hit No. 23 in 1995 and sophomore set, The Colour and the Shape, reached No. 10 in 1997.)

Twelve albums by Foo Fighters with Hawkins on drums have charted on the Billboard 200, through the band’s most recent entry, the Record Store Day release Hail Satin in 2021. Eight of the band’s nine top 10 albums feature Hawkins, including both of its No. 1s: Wasting Light, in 2011, and Concrete and Gold, in 2017.

Foo Fighters have sold 13.2 million albums in the United States (through March 17), according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data.

Outside Foo Fighters, a pair of releases from Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders have charted, on the Heatseekers Albums list: Red Light Fever (No. 40, 2010) and Get the Money (No. 18, 2019). Another Hawkins project, The Birds of Satan, sent its self-titled set to No. 14 on Heatseekers Albums in 2014.

Hawkins also played drums for Coheed and Cambria on the band’s second Billboard 200 top 10, No World for Tomorrow (No. 6, 2007).

Songs: ‘Learn to Fly,’ ‘Best of You’

Foo Fighters’ songs, meanwhile, have drawn 33.9 billion in cumulative U.S. radio audience (from 7.5 million plays) and 2.9 billion official on-demand U.S. streams.

The band has charted 10 titles on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, all after Hawkins joined its lineup. The group first appeared on the Hot 100 dated Oct. 16, 1999, with one of its signature anthems, “Learn to Fly.” The song reached No. 19 the following January.

Foo Fighters earned their highest-charting Hot 100 hit with fellow classic “Best of You,” which rose to No. 18 in July 2005. One other track of theirs has made the top 40: “The Pretender” (No. 37, October 2007).

Notably, Hawkins is seen in the official video for one of the most enduring hits from the ’90s: as the then-touring drummer for Alanis Morissette, he is in the clip for her breakthrough U.S. hit “You Oughta Know,” which crowned the Alternative Airplay chart for five weeks in 1995 and reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 (as the B-side to “You Learn,” in 1996; “Oughta” was included on the double-sided physical single via Morissette’s live recording from the Grammy Awards that year).

Foo Fighters’ songs have made their most historic impacts on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay and Alternative Airplay charts, with Foo Fighters claiming the top spot on the Greatest of All Time Alternative Artists recap, as revealed in 2018. Plus, “The Pretender” took the No. 5 placement on the Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs ranking, unveiled the same year.

Foo Fighters boast 11 No. 1s among a record 29 top 10s on Mainstream Rock Airplay and 10 leaders among also a record 28 top 10s on Alternative Airplay. The band first topped Alternative Airplay with “Learn to Fly” in 1999 and first ruled Mainstream Rock Airplay with “Best of You” in 2005.

Mused Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl to Billboard upon learning of the band’s achievement of topping the Greatest of All Time Alternative Artists chart, “We have this divining rod that we’ve followed, and it takes us where we think we should go.”

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Mariah Carey & DJ Khaled to Join Latto on ‘Big Energy’ Remix

Latto is adding that real “Big Energy” to her 2021 breakout hit with an upcoming remix featuring Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled.

The rapper revealed that the new take on “Big Energy” is set to drop on Monday (Mar. 28). The announcement comes following a not-so-subtle Twitter exchange between Latto and Carey, in which the duo hinted at a collaboration through clever emojis.

The collaboration between Latto and Mariah Carey makes sense, as “Big Energy” samples Tom Tom Club’s 1981 single, “Genius Of Love,” which most fans will recognize from Carey’s “Fantasy.”

The song, released via StreamCut/RCA Records in September, hit No. 14 on the latest Billboard Hot 100, marking the 23-year-old Atlanta native’s first top 40 hit. The “Big Energy” remix also comes following the release of her album 777 on Mar. 25, which features star-studded guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Childish Gambino, 21 Savage, Lil Durk, Nardo Wick, and Kodak Black.

“I basically took this masculine, trendy ‘big d–k energy’ quote from Twitter and made it a thing where all genders can have ‘big energy’ and take it deeper than just [something] sexual,” Latto previously told Billboard of her song. “I wanted it to be empowering. It’s an aura that you carry and a confidence. It’s just an overall vibe and when you walk in the room, you have ‘big energy’ and no one can tell you otherwise. It’s an uplifting thing and turning a funny quote into something positive.

“My main thing that I like to push on my fans — or even if you’re not a fan and just tuned into my career — you can like the music or not like the music, but I want you to appreciate my come up, my hustle, my grind, my dedication to what I do,” she continued. “The proof is in the pudding. If you put your mind and hard work and prayer into what you do, it will happen. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old, and I’m watching my dreams unfold. If eight-year-old Latto saw me being on Billboard — that’s huge to me. I would never take that for granted because these are things that I worked for to accomplish. The biggest thing I want them to take from me is if they stay down, the come up is near.”

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Red Velvet Explain the ‘Unique, Imaginative World’ That Inspired ‘Feel My Rhythm’ Album

With the release of The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm, Red Velvet once again reclaim their crowns as K-pop’s multifaceted, multi-genre-conquering queens.

While Feel My Rhythm‘s album artwork, and the Bach-sampling opening in the title track, all hint at a fantastical-pop approach, nothing is ever so simple for the quintet. Soon enough, clanging electronic production soon jumps into the mix, all making for a hit single equal parts experimental and elegant.

Feel My Rhythm continues to showcase Red Velvet’s range, with “Beg for Me” letting the group show how they’re “real nasty but still keeping it classy,” the sleek synths of “Rainbow Halo” letting them easily fit among some of RV’s best synth-pop gems, and the final half of the EP delivering different takes across R&B that Red Velvet tell Billboard are their favorite tracks.

While 2021’s Queendom EP was an enjoyable but somewhat safe return to K-pop after more than a year away from the scene, Feel My Rhythm sees Red Velvet at their shape-shifting best, yet still fully accessible thanks to the members’ sweet deliveries and loads of delicious hooks throughout this new collection.

Read on for reflections from Red Velvet members IRENE, SEULGI, WENDY, JOY and YERI on their Feel My Rhythm album, performing concerts again, and their growth as artists.

Starting with the title of the new album, The ReVe Festival 2022, is there any connection of this album to your three-part ReVe Festival series from 2019?

SEULGI: Through this album, we wanted to express Red Velvet’s unique “Imaginative World” worldview so we expanded and built on the themes that were showcased in our previous albums. You can see the connection to our previous works as well as a new side of Red Velvet that you haven’t seen before. Also, our “Feel My Rhythm” music video continues the dark fairytale concept for a new start.

Tell us about your new single “Feel My Rhythm.” What new sides of growth or evolution does this show of Red Velvet?

IRENE: Our new single starts with a sampling of Bach’s “Air on the G String” and has a very elegant and classic vibe. In the music video, you can also discover Red Velvet’s unique worldview: “Imaginative World.” We worked very hard to understand and make this track our own so you can look forward to hearing Red Velvet’s upgraded vocals. Please stay tuned for the performance as well!

The accompanying artwork and concept photos for “Feel My Rhythm” have been very whimsical, almost like a fairy tale with inspirations of what looks like princesses and ballerinas. Can you explain the visual inspirations?

YERI: While working on this album, we emphasized the “ReVe” concept that exists between imagination and reality. We hope everyone looks forward to Red Velvet’s stories in The ReVe Festival. Also, ballerinas and the garden in our “Imaginative World” served as the main visual inspirations for this EP. We took ballerina elements and emphasized the overall rounded silhouette to express a feminine mood. You can see we’re wearing a lot of corset designs with pearl pieces to give a classic look too. To capture the transition from winter to spring as well as the garden theme, we also wore elegant flower headpieces with white and pink pastel tones, which stand out visually.

Looking at all the tracks on the album, can each member share her favorite song from The ReVe Festival 2022?

IRENE: My personal favorite is “In My Dreams.” It’s a slow-tempo R&B ballad song, and I particularly love the signature orgel sound that reminds me of waking up after falling deep into a dream—and the chorus with the explosive energetic buildup.

SEULGI: I also like “In My Dreams” the most. I personally prefer delicate and fantasy-like music, so after hearing the demo, I immediately thought “This is my kind of music!” I had so much fun recording this as well and I hope ReVeluvs love it as much as I do.

WENDY: I can’t pick just one because I really like all the songs from this album. Hope you all enjoy listening to our new EP and let us know what your favorite song is!

JOY: My favorite track is “Bamboleo” because of the dream-like sound. “Bamboleo” means “to shake” or “sway” in Spanish, and the track captures the image of dancing freely throughout the night. I find the song to be charming.

YERI: My favorite track is “In My Dreams” as well because I like the lyrics the most. It’s a little melancholy and sad, but I can personally relate to the song very well so it was easy for me to bring out those emotions.

I’d like to get into the other album tracks too. “Rainbow Halo” has a really cool sound and title; I think it is going to be another beloved Red Velvet B-side. Can you explain the meaning?

WENDY: Thank you for liking “Rainbow Halo!” The signature sounds of this track are the restrained clap sound on top of a groovy bass along with the refreshing and subtly expanding bell sound. I think our vocals really stand out in this track! The lyrics metaphorically compare the person you love to a rainbow and describe the feeling of the moment when you are face-to-face with that person surrounded by the frame of the rainbow. The track beautifully expresses the feelings of love in the colors of the rainbow.

“Beg for Me” really stands out as a strong track, one of Red Velvet’s fiercest songs for sure. Can you talk about recording this song and embracing this strong side of yourselves?

JOY: As soon as I heard the demo, I was so excited that I literally cheered out loud! I love R&B music, so I’m happy that this album contains many R&B tracks! Beg for Me” has a playful but

also a sexy vibe, so it was especially fun to record this track. I did wonder if we should make it bolder and more expressive, but then I thought it would be better to refrain from the emotions a little and record in a nonchalant and chic manner and I am in love with how it turned out.

The second half of the album seems to be really loved by everyone: “Bamboleo,” “Good, Bad, Ugly” and “In My Dreams,” which are all a little slower and dreamier. WENDY has an amazing big note at the end of “In My Dreams.” Can you talk about these tracks and the second half of the album?

WENDY: “Bamboleo” is a different kind of retro, pop dance track with a dreamlike sound that is inspired by the image of dancing freely in front of the mirror throughout the night. “Good, Bad, Ugly” was fun to record because it sends a positive message to enjoy and look forward to the unpredictable moments in life. I like its jazzy sound as well. “In My Dreams’, which other members talked about the most, is a slow-tempo R&B ballad track based on a minimal trap rhythm and the lyrics express the desire to be together forever with the one you love even if it’s just in the dreams. Overall, with this album, you can listen to our upgraded, mature vocals. Throughout the entire process, we thought of our ReVeluvs who always believe in us.

Your live concert event “2022 The ReVe Festival : Prologue” needed to be postponed due to COVID-19. Can you share what to expect when it’s ready for the stage?

IRENE: We were all so excited and looking forward to the concert as well, so we were disappointed when it had to be postponed. However, everyone’s safety and health come first, and we know there will be another opportunity where we’ll meet again soon. Originally, we planned to perform our new single for the first time before the comeback but next time we meet, we’ll have amazing performances for our fans including songs from the new album so please look forward to it!

Is there any chance Red Velvet will bring their concerts to overseas fans? Any spoilers or hints you can share at this time?

YERI: From a while back, we’ve been planning our concert tour but it looks like we are going to have to wait a little longer for the situation to get better because the safety and the health of everyone including the members, fans, and the staff are our top priority! We really miss our fans from all over the world. We will share good news with you soon, so hold on a little longer!

Reflecting back to the 2019 ReVe Festival albums, Red Velvet has matured a lot and gone through a lot of changes! Can you share the ways you’ve felt you’ve changed and what you’ve learned since then?

IRENE: As we prepared for this EP, I definitely felt we’ve matured a lot. As we gain more years and experience in our careers, the work has become more natural and familiar compared to when we first debuted. We can grasp each process faster and our teamwork as a group has gotten so much stronger.

Is there anything else you’d like Billboard or your international fans to know at this time?

SEULGI: I didn’t know we wouldn’t see each other for this long. The circumstances are very unfortunate and we miss our fans so much. We have many exciting performances in store for you so we hope you enjoy listening to our album even though we are all far away from each other right now! Stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to meeting everyone soon!

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