Lauren Alaina has canceled her scheduled appearance at a concert Saturday night (March 20) after testing positive for COVID-19.

Alaina had been on the bill for an acoustic show at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The event, with tickets offered for a max of 15 percent of the venue’s capacity, requires attendees to wear a face mask at all times, undergo temperature checks and adhere to social distancing throughout the venue, according to Rupp Arena’s website.

“I am so sad to say I will not be at the acoustic show in Lexington, Kentucky tonight. I tested positive for COVID yesterday. I am quarantining and trying to get better! Please know I can’t wait to be back – when it is safe for all of us,” the country singer posted on social media.

“I’m so disappointed I won’t be at the show, but it may help cheer me up a bit if you go and send me videos and pictures,” she wrote. “Please go to the show tonight and celebrate my friends Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning, and Priscilla Block. Thanks to WAMZ and WBUL for being so understanding.”

On her Instagram Stories on Saturday, Alaina checked in with fans to give an update about her symptoms.

“I am resting up and trying to feel a bit better,” said Alaina. “Some people have it way worse than me, so I just have a little bit of shortness of breath, a really bad headache, no taste or smell, pretty bad congestion and I feel pretty tired. But I overall feel like it’s going to be OK.”

Focus Features is set to release Edgar Wright’s documentary directorial debut The Sparks Brothers on June 18, 2021.

The dating follows Wright’s film about the cult pop duo Sparks debuting at Sundance and screening at SXSW in Austin on March 19.

The documentary chronicles the decades-long career and influence of the Sparks and features archival footage as well as interviews with fans that include Beck, Flea, Neil Gaiman and Mike Myers. MRC Non-Fiction is behind the documentary, which Wright produced with Nira Park under their company Complete Fiction Pictures, along with Laura Richardson and George Hencken.

Reads The Hollywood Reporter’s Sundance review: “While The Sparks Brothers may be a bit too exhaustive for those merely seeking an introduction to the band, longtime fans will be thrilled by the deluxe treatment. The film, receiving its world premiere at Sundance, will likely add many newcomers to those ranks.”

Focus will distribute the picture domestically, while Universal is handling the international release.

MRC Entertainment is a co-owner of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

A coalition of advocacy groups representing musicians and entertainers voiced their support on Friday (March 19) for a new California state bill that seeks to limit the length of contracts for recording artists.

Music Artists Coalition (MAC), the Black Music Action Coalition, Songwriters of North America (SONA) and SAG-AFTRA are calling on their members and allies to support the Free Artists from Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act, a new bill that would reform Section 2855 of the California Labor Code (a.k.a. the Seven Year Statue) by placing a seven-year cap on recording contracts for California-based artists and music companies. The FAIR Act was introduced to the California State Assembly on Feb. 19.

The legislation was introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), who is well-known as a workers’ rights advocate in the state.

If passed, the FAIR Act would correct for a 1987 amendment that excluded recording artists from the Seven Year Statute, a labor law designed to prevent employers in California from enforcing excessively long contracts. As a result of the 1987 amendment, which was pushed by the major record labels, recording artists who seek the protection of the statute are susceptible to legal action and severe monetary damages if they decide to part ways with the label they’re under contract to.

In a statement, Music Artists Coalition founder Irving Azoff says amending the current law has become even more urgent in light of the streaming boom.

“Streaming has been an unprecedented bonanza for the record labels, but not so for artists,” said Azoff. “It is unfair that the only Californians excluded from the protection of the Seven Year Statute are recording artists. We ask our record label partners and members of the California legislature to join us and support this important initiative. We must protect artists and modernize this archaic law.”

“The landscape of the entertainment industry has dramatically changed, yet companies still benefit from outdated laws that allow them to wield an overwhelming amount of control over artists,” added Gonzalez. “No worker should ever be bound to an unreasonable contract that holds them back from making decisions about their own livelihood. It’s time we changed the law to reflect a new reality for creators. I introduced the FAIR Act to simply ensure artists are empowered to freely practice their craft and pursue a career doing what they love.”

In 2001, there was a similar push to repeal the 1987 amendment that resulted in a California Senate bill introduced by Democratic State Sen. Kevin Murray, a former agent at William Morris. Though that effort resulted in major artists including Courtney Love and Don Henley testifying before the State Assembly, the bill was ultimately brought down by the major labels, who argued it was too difficult for artists to complete the terms of a standard seven-album recording contract in just seven years.

Azoff, who has long managed Henley’s band the Eagles, also backed the 2001 repeal via the Recording Artists Coalition, a now-defunct precursor to MAC that he co-founded alongside Henley and Sheryl Crow.

If Justice is indeed Justin Bieber’s strongest front-to-back listen to date, it’s for two main reasons: The 15 songs on its standard edition (not including the interlude) include no true missteps, and the project is varied enough to avoid any staleness.

On the quickly created follow-up to last year’s R&B-steeped Changes, the superstar is open to exploring different sonic approaches — primarily operating in ’80s-inspired synth-pop, but also trying out different types of balladry, African beats, elastic dance arrangements and emo-pop — and making sure those detours cannot be shrugged off.

Although Bieber’s latest features high-quality pop throughout, some of its 15 songs stand out immediately. Here is a humble, preliminary opinion on the best songs on Justice.

15. 2 Much

Beginning the album with audio from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech (and previewing the interlude midway through the album), Bieber quickly segues into a muted piano ballad designed to show off his impeccable vocals. “2 Much” is relatively short and has room to spare sonically, but effectively introduces the romantic core of the album that follows.

14. Lonely with Benny Blanco

Adding months-old singles to the end of a track list is standard practice in pop’s streaming era, a way to acknowledge recent-ish hits while not exactly turning them into the centerpieces of a new body of work. Yet ending Justice with “Lonely,” the somber piano ballad alongside Benny Blanco released last year, feels like a strange choice, considering how the rest of the album is relatively triumphant — perhaps suggesting more to come.

13. Holy feat. Chance the Rapper

Released last September, “Holy” has become one of the more enduring radio hits of Bieber’s long career, as well as the most successful mainstream gospel-pop hybrid in recent memory. While Bieber is “running to the altar like a track star,” Chance the Rapper’s wordplay stretches out the song, trading its sincerity for one-liners like “Life is short with a temper, like Joe Pesci.”

12. As I Am feat. Khalid

Somehow, Bieber and Khalid, two of the most dominant pop radio presences of the past five years, had not collaborated before “As I Am” — but the team-up plays out just as fans would have hoped, with each singer digging deep into their feelings on a rhythmic pop showcase. Bieber ultimately takes control of the track with some post-chorus theatrics, but “As I Am” should be the first of several team-ups between the two.

11. Anyone

Searching for an inflection point between the sound of Bieber’s 2020 output and his 2021 music? Look no further than “Anyone,” which kicked off his year (literally, on New Year’s Day) on a brighter, more anthemic note, with a melody that harkened back to bygone pop eras without sounding too derivative of those times.

10. Loved By You feat. Burna Boy

When you gather Justin Bieber, African pop giant Burna Boy and Skrillex onto the same track, good things are going to happen. “Loved By You” is a self-examination that lets you two-step, with Bieber figuring out ways to make up for his flaws before Burna Boy slides in and steals the show.

9. Ghost

Give “Ghost,” a heartfelt song about losing someone you love, credit for being the most sonically adventurous track on Justice: chattering beats give way to an unforeseen acoustic guitar strum, then the two sounds swirl into a dizzying hook. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, especially with a subject that could have turned saccharine, but Bieber drops one of the best vocal performances on the album here and carries the concept through.

8. Unstable feat. The Kid LAROI

Taking elements of the emo-rap sound that has pushed itself to the forefront of popular music in recent years, Bieber sings about healing from his lowest point and his early marital insecurities as disembodied voices echo around him. The Kid LAROI, one of the biggest new stars of the past year, fits snugly in the concept here, matching Bieber’s wounded intensity pound for pound.

7. Off My Face

Over a gentle guitar lick, Bieber sings about the fulfillment that love has given him, selling the stripped-down romance with an earnest vocal take that conveys how meaningful he finds the message. “Off My Face” is far from the flashiest cut on Justice, but there’s a reason Bieber placed it so high in the track list.

6. Love You Different feat. BEAM

“Love Different” recalls the trop-pop jams of Bieber’s Purpose, but with more wisdom behind his delivery now, as if he needed a few more years to figure out how to confidently declare, “I will/ Love you/ Different.” The beats percolate, particularly when BEAM, an underrated producer receiving an enviable guest spot here, shows up with a more playful tone.

5. Die for You feat. Dominic Fike

The ‘80s influence is turned way up, to sensational effect, on “Die for You,” which refashions the era’s finger-snapping synth-pop into something familiar but surprisingly fresh, the sonic equivalent of a kickass Cobra Kai battle. Dominic Fike proves a game co-pilot to Bieber’s somersaulting vocal take, as he lets the melodrama congeal and explode on the hook.

4. Hold On

Building off the momentum of “Die for You” on the track list, “Hold On” scoops up its synthetic formula but adds an even weightier chorus. Credit producers Watt and Louis Bell, who know exactly where to place the blasts of percussion under Bieber’s calls for answers.

3. Deserve You

If you fell in love with the lite-FM ‘80s vibe of “Hold On” a few weeks before Justice arrived, “Deserve You” — especially its fluttering, falsetto-driven chorus — will be right up your alley. Just a year removed from the R&B-steeped Changes, a song like “Deserve You” would seem like a hard left turn for those not paying attention to the advance singles.

2. Peaches feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Following a run of serious, synth-heavy ’80s pop showcases on Justice, “Peaches” flips the script with vivacious R&B energy, levitating off the ground with Giveon and Daniel Caesar along for the top-down ride. As he’s peered into himself on his past two albums, Bieber hasn’t left a ton of room for something as casual and uncomplicated as a song like “Peaches” — so when this piece of sunshine hits, the listener soaks in the warmth.

1. Somebody

Six years after Skrillex helped Bieber find a pathway forward for his sound with smashes like “Where Are U Now” and “Sorry,” the EDM king has co-produced the song on Justice most ripe for a festival shout-along. Until then, “Somebody” boasts a universal refrain for pandemic life (“Everybody needs somebody/ Somebody to remind you that you’re not alone”), with Bieber navigating the colorful synths, swatting away feelings of disconnection and generally tapping into his well of charisma.

Griff is the 2021 winner of the Brit Award for rising star. She beat out Pa Salieu and Rina Sawyama, who was named a finalist after a rule change made the Japan-born artist eligible for the award.

Griff, who was born Sarah Faith Griffiths, is just 20, making her one of the youngest winners in this category. Adele was 19 when she won in 2008. Jorja Smith was 20 when she won in 2018.

On learning that she had won, Griff exclaimed: “In my head I’m still screaming from the phone call when I found out. It’s honestly such a miracle: how on earth did we manage to win a Brit and break through during a pandemic?”

The winner was announced early on March 19 (London time) almost two months before this year’s Brit Awards on May 11. Current plans are for the awards to be presented at O2 arena on ITV and ITV Hub.

Griff is the fourth artist of color to win the rising star award, which originated in 2008 as the Brit critics’ choice award. Emeli Sandé was the first, in 2012, followed by Smith three years ago and Celeste  last year. (Celeste is a current Oscar nominee for co-writing “Hear My Voice” from the film The Trial of the Chicago 7.)

Griff is the British-born daughter of a Chinese mother and a Jamaican father. In 2019, she signed to Warner Records and released an EP, The Mirror Talk. Last summer, she was nominated for an Ivor Novello rising star award. She co-wrote Hailee Steinfeld’s 2020 single “I Love You’s.” She has also collaborated with Zedd and English electronic duo Honne. She had a moderate hit as an artist in the U.K. with “Love Is a Compass,” which reached No. 42 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.

Griff was “selected by an invited panel of music editors, critics from the national press, online music editors, heads of music at major radio and music TV stations and more,” according to a press statement.

Here’s a complete list of Brit critics’ choice/rising star winners:

2008: Adele
2009: Florence + The Machine
2010: Ellie Goulding
2011: Jessie J
2012: Emeli Sandé
2013: Tom Odell
2014: Sam Smith
2015: James Bay
2016: Jack Garratt
2017: Rag ’n’ Bone Man
2018: Jorja Smith
2019: Sam Fender
2020: Celeste
2021: Griff