Bruce Springsteen’s birthday, Sept. 23, will be formally recognized as Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey. Phil Murphy, governor of the Garden State, made the announcement on April 15 at the inaugural American Music Honors, which were held at the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J. The event was hosted by another favorite son of New Jersey, comedian Jon Stewart.

“Bruce Springsteen is one of the most recognizable, iconic and influential musicians – and New Jerseyans – of all time,” said Governor Murphy. “It is important that we recognize Bruce for all he has done and will continue to do, from giving us the gift of his music to lending his time to the causes close to his heart, including making the Archives and Center for American Music a repository that will inspire tomorrow’s songwriters and singers. We thank him for showing the world what it means to live our New Jersey values. I am both honored and proud to declare his birthday Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey.”

The official proclamation was studded with Bruce Springsteen lore and a fair number of Springsteen puns. A long litany of whereases concluded:

“WHEREAS, Bruce Springsteen will forever be remembered as the voice of the Garden State, signaling to the world that New Jerseyans were born to run;

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, Philip D. Murphy, Governor of the State of New Jersey, do hereby proclaim: SEPTEMBER 23 AS BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN DAY for creating the soundtrack to our glory days.”

In his remarks at the event, Murphy had more to say about Springsteen.

“Truth be told, I know my place in the hierarchy of New Jersey. After all, I may be the 56th individual to be called ‘governor,’ but there will ever only be just one ‘Boss.’”

“…So, to you, Bruce, thank you for all you have done, and will continue to do – from giving us the gift of your music to lending your time to the causes close to your heard, including making the Archives and Center for American Music a repository that will inspire tomorrow’s songwriters and singers.”

“Thank you for showing the world what it makes to live our New Jersey values.”

Many artists are called “national treasures,” but Springsteen has the facts to back it up. In 2009, he performed at Barack Obama’s historic presidential inauguration. That same year, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, along with co-honorees Mel Brooks, Robert DeNiro, jazz great Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry. 

In 2016, Springsteen received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Obama. In 2023, President Biden presented him the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and art patrons by the U.S. government.

Springsteen and Obama have had a long-lived friendship and partnership. In 2021, they collaborated on an eight-episode podcast series for Spotify, Renegades: Born in the USA, which was turned into a book.

Springsteen’s countless awards and honors include 20 Grammys, an Oscar for “Streets of Philadelphia,” a special, non-competitive Tony for Springsteen on Broadway and three Emmy nominations. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Stevie Van Zandt, Sam Moore, Darlene Love and Steve Earle were the inaugural recipients of the American Music Honors.

Located within Monmouth University, the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music preserves Springsteen’s legacy and celebrates the history of American music and its diversity of artists and genres.

To see a copy of the proclamation, click here.

Demolition will soon begin on a resort once favored by Elvis Presley and other Hollywood royalty before it was heavily damaged by a hurricane three decades ago.

The Coco Palms Resort on the island of Kauai will be torn down for a new 350-room hotel, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

The resort is best known in movie lore as the location where Presley and Joan Blackman’s characters married in the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii.

It’s also the site of other key scenes in the movie, including the last where Presley sings the “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and holds Blackman’s hand while they board a raft to cross a lagoon.

In its heyday, it was famed for being frequented by other Hollywood stars like Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Bing Crosby.

The 46-acre grounds were also once home to Kauai’s last queen, Deborah Kapule, who died in 1853.

The resort opened in 1953 next to a historic coconut grove and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. The property fell into disrepair after being damaged when the powerful Hurricane Iniki hit the island in 1992.

Several attempts to restore the property have failed over the years.

The $250 million project will take three years to complete, said Patrick Manning, a managing partner of Reef Capital Partners from Utah.

Reef Capital served as the lender to a previous developer and took over the property in 2018 when they defaulted on a loan. Manning said the plan was to sell the property, but that changed after he investigated its history.

“I called my partners, and I said, ‘This property is too important to sell,’” Manning said.

The new hotel and a cultural center to honor the property’s history will be built on about 10 acres of the property.

At one time, the community wanted the resort rebuilt, but those sentiments have changed, said Kauai Council Chairman Mel Rapozo. “They don’t want to see a resort built,” he added.

At a state Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting Friday, some spoke in opposition to the development, citing a number of ancestral bones buried on the property.

Cultural practitioner Joseph Kekaulike Kamai said his great-grandmother is buried there, and others are buried under the hotel, driveway and tennis courts.

“I really don’t want them to be digging anymore. I don’t want them grubbing our land,” Kamai said.

Manning said something needs to be done or the site will be an eyesore for another 30 years.

“Even though we know there are many that don’t want it rebuilt, we intend to be viewed and earn a reputation for doing everything we can to honor its past and respect the people of Kauai and guests of Kauai and how we manage its future,” Manning said.

Halsey and Capitol Records have parted ways, a representative for the singer confirmed to Billboard.

“After eight great years the decision to leave Capitol is bittersweet, but we are excited about exploring a new partnership and sharing new music with fans,” Halsey’s managers, Anti-Pop’s Jason Aron and Anthony Li, said in a statement provided on Saturday (April 15).

A spokesperson for Capitol Records also wrote to Billboard: “Everyone at Capitol poured their hearts and souls into helping Halsey achieve their dreams and present their music to the world. We are incredibly proud of all we accomplished together, and wish Halsey the very best in all their future endeavors.”

Halsey publicly spoke out against Capitol in May 2022, alleging that the label refused to release their next single, “So Good,” without a viral TikTok campaign attached to it. When her TikTok explaining the situation actually went viral, the artist grew more frustrated that the song wasn’t immediately given a firm release date.

The pop star had said, “My record company is saying that I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok … Everything is marketing and they are doing this to basically every artist these days. I just wanna release music, man. And I deserve better tbh.”

A Capitol Music Group spokesperson responded to Halsey’s posts at the time in a statement sent to Billboard: “Our belief in Halsey as a singular and important artist is total and unwavering. We can’t wait for the world to hear their brilliant new music.”

After the rocky road to release, “So Good” officially debuted in June 2022.

Most recently, in February, Halsey released a solo version of the Post Malone collab “Die 4 Me.”

Halsey’s latest full-length studio album, 2021’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Her previous efforts all reached No. 1 or 2 on the chart: 2015’s Badlands (No. 2), 2017’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (No. 1) and 2020’s Manic (No. 2)