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When Chris Young returned to the road a few weeks ago after pausing 16 months for the pandemic, he experienced something he’d never witnessed before in his 15-year career: fans singing along in concert for the first time to a song that was already a hit.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, “Famous Friends,” a duet with Kane Brown and the title track to Young’s eighth RCA Nashville studio album, steadily climbed the charts, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart this summer.
“It’s so weird because that’s not how it works in country. You don’t go from nothing to everything. It’s not like it’s a hit and then you’re touring it and you see crowds hearing it for the first time,” says Young, calling from the tour bus as he headed to a gig in Wisconsin. “So, to be able to go from zero to 100 with ‘Famous Friends’ was just wild, but I will say I don’t want that to ever happen again,” he adds with a laugh.
Though it’s been almost four years since Young’s last album release — 2017’s Losing Sleep — fans have heard a steady stream of new material from Famous Friends since its first single, party anthem “Raised on Country,” came out in 2019. That was followed by the emotional gut punch of “Drowning,” co-written by Young as his response to a friend’s sudden death, and then the title track.
The three songs highlight the musical and lyrical breadth of Famous Friends, which Young attributes to his broader experiences as he gets older and “being open and letting the music be what it needs to be without worrying about where it comes from and how it gets started.”
Time was also on his side as the pandemic gave him unlimited time to craft the album. Young never had a release date before the pandemic for the set, but adds,“I kind of look at it as the one blessing in disguise from 2020 — being able to take the time and write more songs and continue to curate the record that it came out this way. With the amount of time I had to do this album, everything has its own lane.”
True to the title, Young had some well-known pals join him. In addition to Brown, the album features collaborations with Mitchell Tenpenny and Lauren Alaina, as well as background vocals from Sarah Buxton and Hillary Lindsey.
Upon its release on Aug. 6, the album, which Young produced solo and with Corey Crowder and Chris DeStefano, hit No. 1 on the iTunes all-genre albums chart.
Young’s been a remarkably consistent performer over the last 15 years, when 16 of his last 18 singles have gone top five or higher in his slow, steady build to superstardom. All of his albums from his 2006 self-titled bow on have debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, with 2015’s I’m Comin’ Over and Losing Sleep starting at No. 1.
Like many artists during the pandemic, Young turned to Zoom writing sessions but found them lacking. “Most of the stuff that I wrote over Zoom, even the stuff that was the best of that, I do feel like there was something missing, at least for me as a songwriter,” he says. “So I don’t think there’s anything that ended up on this record that was a Zoom write, but I’ve had some stuff that was a Zoom write that was on hold for other artists.”
Young, who co-wrote 13 of the 14 songs on the album, estimates he wrote 80 to 90 songs during the shutdown. He found comfort in the process — to a point. “It’s weird because I’m one of those strange personalities where I’m an introverted extrovert and I didn’t necessarily mind being in the studio for a year, but when someone tells you you can’t leave the studio for a year, you can’t go outside, I did not take to that very well,” he says. “But I’m glad I at least had that outlet artistically.”
He and Tenpenny did manage to write his new single, the driving “At the End of the Bar,” in person — just barely. It was day three of an ice storm in Nashville and the pair decided there was just enough of a thaw to safely go write with DeStefano, in part prompted by Young’s fear of missing out if they delayed the writing session. “There’s no guarantee that what you would get one day is what you would get the next day,” he says. “I’m really, really glad we got together that day.”
The album also highlights some of Young’s most romantically vulnerable songs, including “When You’re Drinking,” “Rescue Me” and “Break Like You Do.” Unlike many of his fellow country stars who are open books about their love lives, Young shares very little of his personal life in interviews or on social media — other than adorable photos of his German shepherd Porter on Instagram — and he cautions against trying to read too much into his lyrics.
“I don’t feel like I need to necessarily go ‘This was written about this girl in particular’ when it comes to falling in love, falling out of it, breaking up, getting back together, but I’m not afraid to dig into that,” he says. “That’s a form of honesty, which is important as an artist and important as a writer.”
And many of his songs do draw upon his life, just not in a way that reveal specifics. “I had a moment before where a girl’s at the house, there’s a song on and we’re dancing while no one’s watching, and that’s kind of where the very last song on this record, ‘Tonight We’re Dancing,’ came from,” he says. “So I feel like I put that part of that out there and that’s so personal. I really hadn’t described who it was or the timing of that happening, [but] I’m sharing that part of myself in a song and other people are going to relate to it because I know they’ve done the same thing.”
But fans looking for him to spill details have long learned that’s not his style. “I have dated people and, no, I don’t feel like it’s part of my artistry for me to tell you who it was or when it was or what her name is. It’s just something that stays private with me,” he says. “That’s not for everybody, but for me, that’s what works best.”
Young, who reached arena headliner status for the first time with 2018’s Losing Sleep Tour, will kick off an arena/amphitheater headlining outing starting Oct. 21 at Little Rock, Arkansas’ First Security Amphitheater. Tenpenny and Callista Clark will provide support.
He is confident he can continue the momentum the last tour started and, as he plays festival and fair gigs this summer, Young takes to the stage with a new appreciation after the shutdown. “It’s something that no one ever took for granted — being out there playing for thousands of people very night — but if there is even a tiny part of us that didn’t understand how precious that is, how special that is, we’re making up for lost time with being back on the road,” he says.
Young — who has expanded into podcasting with his The Quad With Chris Young podcast and moved into video directing — says at some point he will likely take on producing other artists. But for right now, it’s all about moving forward, in whatever way that occurs. “If I had to put it in one word, it’s growth…just continuing to grow what I’ve built,” he says. “There’s a fantastic foundation there whether it’s the live touring part of it, having bigger hits and continuing to grow everything that I’ve already put in place. That’s the most important part for me.”
A permanent outdoor venue has been a long-time dream for the San Diego Symphony. In summers past, it would take several weeks to build a temporary stage at the top of the season and another two weeks to take it down. But this weekend, the symphony christened its new year-round structure, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, with three performances, concluding on Sunday with a show by Gladys Knight.
“About 15 years ago, the Orchestra settled here at Embarcadero Marina Park South and it was a temporary venue with no sides, just kind of blowing in the breeze,” says San Diego Symphony CEO Martha A. Gilmer from a venue table overlooking the water. “We wanted it to be a beautiful place for the orchestra to hear themselves and be able to achieve really high-level performances that then can be brought to the audience. Our primary concern was sound.”
The Rady Shell is the centerpiece of the 3.7-acre Jacobs Park, a public space that overlooks the marina and provides a 360-degree view of downtown San Diego. The performance shell features concentric, widening, oval rings as its canopy — a structure that reaches a height of 57 feet and a width of 92 feet at the front of the stage. For opening weekend, the shell hung over the first few rows of patrons who showed up for concerts from Rafael Payare conducting the San Diego Symphony on Aug. 6, the Symphony’s “The Best of Broadway” showcase on Aug. 7 and seven-time Grammy winner Knight, who closed out the series on Aug. 8.
The symphony will work with the Port of San Diego to program 110 days throughout the year. The remainder of the time, the space will continue to function as a public park with revamped basketball courts and exercise areas.
“This is a very unique partnership with the Port. Eighty-five percent of the time this is a public park. People can come and walk around. They can sit and listen to rehearsals. They can watch art being made,” says Gilmer. “Then 15% of the time, we occupy it. Keeping that balance was critical. I think the Port saw this as a real opportunity for activating our coastline and bringing people to the bay that haven’t been down here before.”
For Knight’s performance, the venue was outfitted to welcome 3,500 guests – both seated and spread out on the lawn. The audience, however, extended to passersby who pulled up outside the park gates with blankets and lawn chairs and even the occasional pet. On the water, boats anchored themselves around the shell to take in the show.
The Rady Shell can be configured for up to 10,000 guests and features a nearly 13,000-square-foot open-air dining plaza that can also be utilized for pre-event functions. Gilmer says the Symphony hopes to use the park’s various spaces for free entertainment for locals, multi-stage festivals and more.
“We just want to make sure that art is accessible,” says Gilmer. “As I say, the creative is not exclusive. It is inclusive. That’s really a very important part of the mission.”
The Rady Shell’s upcoming schedule includes Nas with The San Diego Symphony, comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, Smokey Robinson, Brian Wilson, Gary Clark Jr. and plenty of performances from the Orchestra. The Orchestra will also perform alongside popular films like The Goonies and Rocketman.
“I think artists are going to absolutely want to make sure this is part of their tours going forward, because it is a brand-new, state-of-the-art venue,” says Gilmer. “When you’re standing on that stage and you’re looking at this view it is an inspiring place to be.”
Nick Cannon has DaBaby’s back following the homophobic and misinformed remarks he made about HIV/AIDS.
During Cannon’s visit to The Breakfast Club on Monday (Aug. 9), host Charlamagne Tha God asked him what advice he had for DaBaby.
“First of all, I think not only in the Black community — and I’ve experienced it — but definitely just men a lot of times, we have that ego. We believe apologizing is weakness when it actually takes great strength to step up to anyone and say, ‘I was wrong,’” the 40-year-old actor/rapper started. “I know Baby. And that’s a strong brother…. That man just lost his pops, his brother, all the things that he… and still to have that big smile that he has every day, knowing everything….”
During DaBaby’s July 25 set at Rolling Loud in Miami, he told the crowd, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up. Ladies, if your p—y smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking di– in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.” The 25-year-old rapper later issued a formal apology last Monday — which has since been removed from his Instagram account — “to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made” while emphasizing his need for education.
Cannon was in DaBaby’s shoes last summer after his anti-Semitic remarks during his Cannon’s Class podcast, which caused ViacomCBS to terminate its relationship with the Wild ‘n Out host. He later apologized to the Jewish community for his comments and announced he was taking a break from his radio show to allow for more “reflection and education,” and spoke with Rabbi Noam Marans of the American Jewish Committee for an hourlong educational Zoom conference, which was held a year ago on Aug. 10, 2020. In February of this year, ViacomCBS resumed its working relationship with Cannon following his apology and subsequent work educating himself and working with Jewish groups.
“He a fighter. We’ve seen his back against the wall. He’s swinging, he’s swinging just so he could get out of…. We all have to accept emotion,” Cannon continued. “To say ‘I’m sorry,’ that’s a self-proclamation. To apologize is an action. And to actually repent or atone is actually the next level because now you’re trying to understand, there’s education involved with that, there’s actually community involved with that. And that’s the other thing too, where I challenge all these people who actually want to cancel somebody, and even specifically in DaBaby’s situation, let’s use this as an opportunity for education. Because that’s what happened in my scenario.”
DaBaby has since been removed from seven music festivals and live performances following his homophobic tirade two weeks ago: Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Day N Vegas, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Music Midtown Festival and a concert organized by Working Families Party. Fashion brand boohooMAN announced it was ending its 100-piece summer collaboration with the rapper, which launched in June. But Cannon doesn’t believe that was the best decision on the festivals’ part.
“I don’t agree with it. Just because it’s like, ‘What statement is that making other than you’re just following?’ It’s group think. It’s a mentality, it’s mob rule. Mob rule has never worked in any society, to where it’s like, ‘Oh well they did it! So we gotta do it,’” he explained. “Even when I watched my process, where people I rocked with was like, ‘Man, well, they did, so we gotta follow suit.’ … This is a moment where we should all gather around DaBaby and embrace him because if we can do that, watch how many mentalities will change in the hip-hop community.”
In the days following his controversial Rolling Loud Miami set, fellow artists T.I. and Boosie Badazz also came to DaBaby’s defense, while his “Levitating” collaborator Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Elton John and Questlove clapped back at his misinformed comments by hitting him with the facts. About a dozen leading organizations in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment penned an open letter to DaBaby requesting a private meeting to educate him.
“I’d guarantee you he’d sit down and talk with Madonna. I’d guarantee you he’d sit down and talk with Elton John. And it wouldn’t be for the bag. He good!” Cannon said in the new interview. “Was he wrong, though? Yeah, he was. But there are certain things about it that we’ve been trained to think that. Let’s unpack that. Let’s figure this out.”
Like Cannon, Miley Cyrus shared an educate-don’t-cancel message on her Instagram earlier this month. “It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds,” she wrote, also tagging the rapper and inviting him to talk to her. “There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress! Knowledge is power!”
See Cannon speak on DaBaby around the 53-minute mark below.
The Hollywood Park complex in Inglewood, California, has a brand-new asset to lure artists the short drive south from Los Angeles. On Monday (Aug. 9), the owners of So-Fi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams, unveiled their 6,000-capacity venue — YouTube Theater.
The state-of-the-art theater is part of the 300-acre Hollywood Park being built by Rams owner and chairman E. Stanley Kroenke. It falls under the same signature ETFE roof as So-Fi Stadium and American Airlines Plaza. The three-story venue can be curtained off to offer reduced capacities for more intimate performances and size-wise rivals the AEG-owned Microsoft Theater next to the Staples Center at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Hollywood Park and So-Fi Stadium managing director Jason Gannon says YouTube Theater is complimentary to the stadium, which can hold 45,000 to 100,000 guests. “From a flexibility standpoint, it was really important for us to do something like this in a conditioned space,” he says.
“We’re very excited to open it up in a couple of weeks from a technology standpoint,” Gannon continues. “There’s a lot of screens and a lot of interactive things around here. That was important in putting this together and also in the partnership with YouTube.”
YouTube Theater features a 13 feet by 10 feet digital signage display of the YouTube icon, which can be transformed into an immersive video screen for guests to interact with. The theater also includes an interactive digital wall on the interior that can be used to celebrate YouTube creators and artists by showcasing them in a gallery-like setting.
The theater was partially constructed during the pandemic, but YouTube’s vp brand marketing Angela Courtin says many of its digital components like streaming capabilities were envisioned even before 2020.
“YouTube Theater offers a unique business opportunity for us to combine the digital world with the physical one,” says Courtin. “We imagine that whatever is happening here, we could put directly onto YouTube through livestream. The technology is state-of-the-art: the cameras, the sound, everything. That way when we work with artists, creators, gamers and the like, we can partner with them and say, ‘How do we take this experience and put it out to our 2 billion users worldwide?’”
The theater is slated to host its first performance on Sept. 3 with the Hollywood Black Comedy Festival Presents Deon Cole and Friends. On Sept. 4 the venue will welcome Caifanes, followed by Los Angeles Azules, Pitbull and Black Pumas throughout the month. The current roster of shows includes comedy, R&B, Latin music, classic rock, and pop. With Live Nation as venue’s the exclusive promoter, Gannon says they intend to have an eclectic lineup of shows going forward.
Inglewood mayor James T. Butts Jr. says it’s surreal to see the theater finally opened.
“The reality far exceeds the dream,” says Butts, who adds that the venue was recently opened up to host three local high school graduations. “It had an impact on the children and their parents. It was a manifestation of the dreams that we had when we first started bringing back the city of champions. We went from being the city of champions to the home of the Sizzler and the big donut and an $18 million structural deficit. Now we have the opportunity not just to grow the city, but to provide an environment of growth and success for our children.”
Britney Spears shared an update about her social media activity during her ongoing conservatorship battle on Monday (Aug. 9).
The 39-year-old pop superstar has been posting more freely on Instagram following her two breakthrough court hearings this summer, when she gave a harrowing account on June 23 during the first one and when she was granted permission by the judge to hire her own lawyer during a second hearing on July 14. Between her first time publicly addressing the #FreeBritney movement to topless photos, Spears is not holding back. And according to her, the public doesn’t know the full story.
She posted a Boomerang of a fan named Chris proudly waving his pink “#Free Britney” flag outside his home.
“Geez look at that flag !!!! I was like ‘My flag up over the American Flag !?!?’ … Yes … I’m tooting my own horn .. is that bad ?????” she said. “I know in my previous post I said you guys know my situation but LET ME CLARIFY … you only know half of it !!!! And for a lot of you who say I should be cautious with what I post … I mean if you REALLY THINK ABOUT IT … with what I’ve been through I believe I been WAAAY TOO CAUTIOUS !!!! One day I will live on the edge !!!! One day.”
However, she shared a seemingly contradictory message in her follow-up Instagram post, where the “Gimme More” artist vowed to “post a little less from now on” underneath a soothing how-to video of avocado toast, supplemented by some wise words from fellow artist Selena Gomez and her 2015 hit “Kill Em With Kindness.”
“In a system where I’ve felt completely hopeless for so long, at least I do have a platform to share !!!! As Selena Gomez says it best – The world can be a nasty place … I know it … you know it … kill them with kindness !!!” she captioned her second post. “Unfortunately the news has been pretty nasty saying horrible and mean lies about me so I’m gonna post a little less from now on !!!! Pssss this was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life and it’s inspired me to take on a new passion in the cooking field !!!! God bless you beautiful people … TA TA !!!!”
Gomez, who has her own HBO Max cooking series Selena + Chef, commented underneath the expert culinary clip, “Love you @britneyspears! You’re welcome to come cook with me any time!”
On July 23, Spears’ new attorney Matthew Rosengart filed a petition to officially request the replacement of Jamie Spears as conservator. The petition seeks to appoint CPA Jason Rubin as the next conservator of the pop star’s estate, and notes that the singer selected him herself. In an Aug. 6-dated court filing, her father Jamie Spears claimed that there are “no grounds whatsoever” for removing him from the conservatorship that has controlled her personal and financial affairs for the last 13 years.
See Spears’ latest Instagram posts below.
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