Dillon Francis also known by his alter ego as DJ Hanzel talks about his music, the current state of house and techno music, gives his thoughts on how deep other famous DJs are, and more!
Madison Beer shared the news on Wednesday (Feb. 15) that she’s coming out with her first-ever memoir, The Half of It.
“It feels truly surreal to be announcing this book and i am so excited to share my story with you in a way i never have before,” she posted on Instagram of the memoir, which hits bookshelves April 25 via HarperCollins. “From the reality of being signed at twelve, to everything that followed, where i am now, and my journey of reconciling with everything that came before. it has taken me a lot of extremely dark times to get here but i feel incredibly ready to tell you these chapters of my story. i hope you love it. i can’t wait to reintroduce myself to you.”
Showing a glimpse of The Half of It‘s title page, Beer shared the book’s dedications, which read: “For my mother, my brother, and my father—thank you. I know it hasn’t been easy. For the younger Madison I’m writing this about—thank you for getting me here. I hope I’ve made you proud.”
The pop singer’s mom, Tracie Beer, gave a sweetly emotional show of support for her daughter’s venture into autobiography in the comments section of the post, writing, “Me bawling like a baby… So incredibly proud of you & to be part of this journey alongside of you through it all!!!” and adding the hashtag, “#proudmom.”
Beer dropped her debut studio album, Life Support, back in Feb. 2021. When discussing the book reveal in an interview with People, she opened up about working on her soon-to-be-released sophomore follow-up.
“I am so excited for this next album which will be coming soon,” she teased. “Music has always been my first love; it’s what lead me to this memoir and what drives me daily. I am really excited for what is next with my music this year.”
Check out Beer’s memoir announcement — and get a first look at its vulnerable cover — below.
Utopia Music is facing a lawsuit that claims the Swiss company has bailed on a $26.5 million deal to buy a U.S. music technology company called SourceAudio — and now owes more than $37 million.
In a complaint filed Monday (Feb. 13) in Delaware court, lawyers for California-based SourceAudio — a tech platform for digital asset management and monetization — claimed that the company had struck a deal in March 2022 to sell itself to Utopia, a buzzy music fintech firm that has reached a number of such deals over the past two years.
But SourceAudio’s lawsuit says that since striking the deal on March 14 — which could have closed as soon as May 9 — the bigger company has continually balked at actually completing the deal, informing them it was “not prepared to close the transaction.”
“Despite repeated assurances that Utopia would be able to close…, Utopia engaged in a pattern of discontinuing discussions for an extended period of time, only to resurface immediately before the next intended closing date to indicate that it was unable to close by such date,” the complaint reads.
To account for the delays, SourceAudio claims that Utopia agreed to increase the sale price by $334,000 for every calendar week after Nov. 1 that the deal didn’t close. More than three months later, the lawsuit claims those escalators mean that Utopia now owes $37.265 million.
SourceAudio says it’s “ready, willing, and able” to finalize the deal, and that Utopia is legally bound to do so. “SourceAudio requests that Utopia be ordered to specifically perform its obligations,” the smaller company wrote. “In the alternative, SourceAudio has been damaged by Utopia’s breach in an amount to be determined at trial, but no less than $37.265 million.”
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for Utopia refuted the lawsuit’s allegations but provided little additional detail: “Utopia Music rejects the claims made by the plaintiff. As the legal proceedings are ongoing, we will not comment further.”
Utopia, a Swiss-based tech company that delivers financial services for labels, publishers and distributors, has been on a buying spree over the past two years. The company has acquired at least 15 companies, including music tech company Musimap, U.K. physical distributor Cinram Novum and Lyric Financial, a provider of royalty-backed cash advances.
But in November, news broke that Utopia would restructure operations and lay off 20% of its workforce. As first reported by Music Week, CEO Markku Mäkeläinen told staffers in an internal email that the company had “grown via acquisitions tremendously quickly” and would now need to “realise synergies” and “remove overlaps.”
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Get ready for another round of big reveals! A new season of The Masked Singer premieres Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
The singing competition series, hosted by Nick Cannon, will feature an all-new fleet of contestants cleverly disguised in extravagant costumes including a Polar Bear, Rock Lobster, Night Owl, Gnome, Mustang and Medusa.
Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy will be returning as judges for the new season, which audiences got a sneak peek of during the Super Bowl LVII last Sunday.
Read on for ways to watch and stream season 9 of The Masked Singer.
How to Watch The Masked Singer Online
No cable necessary! The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays on Fox, which means that you don’t need a cable (or satellite) subscription to watch — but if you already have one, check your local listings for channel information or stream the show on Fox.com.
Viewers who don’t have access to live television can stream The Masked Singer on Sling TV, DirectTV Stream, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and FuboTV (Vidgo carries Fox in some areas).
On a budget? Most streamers offer a free trial for up to a week, or a discounted rate when you join. And if you who want to stream The Masked Singer from outside of the U.S., use ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
Not interested in live television? The Masked Singer season premiere will be available on Hulu on Thursday (Feb. 16). New episodes drop on Hulu a day after they premiere on Fox. Previous seasons are available to stream as well.
Hulu starts at $7.99/month after a 30-day free trial and you’ll get access to tons of shows and movies including exclusive programs. Plus, Hulu has a bundle deal with Disney+ and ESPN+ and a student discount that drops the base price down to just $1.99 per month.
Watch a sneak peek for The Masked Singer season 9 below.
It looks like Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is getting a love story in Joker: Folie à Deux, the upcoming sequel to the 2019 DC film.
Late Tuesday (Feb. 14), Todd Phillips — who directs and writes the Joker films — shared a close-up photo on his Instagram of Phoenix face-to-face with Lady Gaga‘s character, widely believed (but not yet confirmed) to be Harley Quinn. Gaga holds Phoenix’s face in her hands, her eyes open wildly, with evidence on both of their red-paint-smeared faces that they’ve just kissed.
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“Happy Valentines Day.,” Phillips captioned the unorthodoxly romantic image.
The pop star/actress confirmed her starring role in the Joker sequel back in August by posting a teaser clip on her Instagram, featuring Phoenix and Gaga’s silhouettes dancing together to the song “Cheek to Cheek,” which Gaga famously covered alongside Tony Bennett.
Folie à Deux, which is currently in production, will also star Zazie Beetz, who returns as Sophie, as well as new castmembers Catherine Keener and Brendan Gleeson in yet-unknown roles.
Lady Gaga is nominated for her fourth Oscar at the upcoming ceremony on March 12, nabbing a best original song nod for co-writing the Top Gun: Maverick power ballad “Hold My Hand.” “Thank you so much to the Academy for nominating my song ‘Hold My Hand’ for an Oscar this year!” Gaga wrote on Instagram last month after nominations were revealed. “Writing this song for the film Top Gun: Maverick was a deep and powerful experience that I will never forget. So grateful for the magic of music and cinema. Love you my co-writer @bloodpop I’m on set filming now big love to little monsters!”
Joker: Folie à Deux is slated to open Oct. 4, 2024.
With the 2023 Oscars just weeks away, Son Lux is in rarified company. They are the first band to receive a scoring nomination, credited as a band, since The Beatles won best original song score in 1971 for Let It Be.
Son Lux, which consists of Ryan Lott, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang, is nominated for best original score for Everything Everywhere All at Once. This is their first film score as a band.
Son Lux originated as a solo project of Lott’s, but became a three-piece band with the addition of Bhatia and Chang. It was as a band that they released the studio albums Bones (2015) and Brighter Wounds (2018) and the Everything Everywhere All at Once soundtrack.
The Beatles, who had broken up a year earlier, weren’t present at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on April 15, 1971 when they won the Oscar. The award was accepted on their behalf by Quincy Jones, who was the music director for that year’s Oscar telecast.
In addition, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the two current members of Nine Inch Nails, have been nominated three times for best original score, but under their own names, not as NIN. They won in 2011 for The Social Network and again in 2021 for Soul (shared with Jon Batiste). They were also nominated for Mank in 2021.
Several other band members have been nominated for – and in some cases have won – scoring Oscars, but not in collaboration with other members of their bands. These include Pete Townshend of The Who (Tommy, 1976), Prince of Prince and the Revolution (Purple Rain, 1985), David Byrne of Talking Heads (The Last Emperor, 1988), Will Butler of Arcade Fire (Her, 2014) and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead (Phantom Thread, 2018 and The Power of the Dog, 2022).
Lott shares a second Oscar nomination for best original song with David Byrne and Mitski for “This Is a Life.” It is performed in the film by Son Lux, Byrne and Mitski.
