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Warner Bros. and Legendary’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science-fiction epic Dune will get two scores from Hans Zimmer thanks to the film’s behind-the-scenes companion book.
The soundtrack marks the first time the celebrated composer — who has worked on more than a hundred film scores — has written original music for a book.
Zimmer’s second album for the Denis Villeneuve-directed film will accompany Insight Editions’ The Art and Soul of Dune, a making-of book written by the movie’s executive producer Tanya Lapointe. Zimmer produced the second album of exclusive music — available to stream and download for free on the same day as the film’s Oct. 22 release — after viewing the upcoming companion material, which will be released in both a trade and limited edition version.
The album pairs with the companion books’ extensive chapter-by-chapter look at the filmmaking process, including Dune’s environmental and creature designs, costume concepts and digital effects. The companion books will also feature exclusive interviews with cast and crew, including Denis Villeneuve, Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac, among others, offering readers an unparalleled and candid dive into the ambitious cinematic effort.
The special limited edition of The Art and Soul of Dune will include all of this in addition to a selection of other exclusive material. Beyond design upgrades like a cloth cover with ornate, foil-stamped House of Atreides and Harkonnen symbols, the companion book will be accompanied by a cloth-bound reproduction of the Fremkit instruction booklet prop created for the movie with 80 pages of exclusive, previously unseen art from the film as well as an exclusive companion volume titled Dune.
This additional volume of material, which is designed, custom-printed and hand-bound with a variety of fine Japanese papers, will feature candid on-set photographs from the film’s Oscar-nominated director of photography Greig Fraser alongside Josh Brolin’s personal perspective and recollections of the production.
Those who purchase one of the first 700 copies of the limited edition version will also get a signed and numbered signature card, individually inscribed by filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, author and executive producer Tanya Lapointe, stars Timothée Chalamet and Josh Brolin, and director of photography Greig Fraser.
The books that inspired the acclaimed composer to complete a whole new, separate Dune score are currently available for pre-order ahead of their Oct. 22 release date. The standard edition comes at the modest cost of $50 and is available for reserve at online retailers, with a more epic price tag of $600 for the limited edition, which can only be purchased from Insight Editions’ website.
With the addition of Zimmer’s The Art and Soul of Dune score, Dune’s soundtrack total jumps to three. On Sept. 3, WaterTower Music will also debut The Dune Sketchbook (Music from the Soundtrack), a digital album comprised of extended and immersive “explorations” of the film score.
The digital album release of Dune’s original motion picture soundtrack featuring Zimmer’s first score will drop on Sept. 17, followed by The Art and Soul of Dune in October. Speaking to the original score, Zimmer revealed in a statement that the sound is based primarily on female voices.
“Denis and I agreed that the female characters in the film drive the story,” he said. “So the score is based on mainly female voices. We developed our own language. The musicianship is extraordinary, and this is not your normal orchestral score.”
“We agreed that the music would need to have a spirituality to it… a sanctified quality. Something that would elevate the soul and have the effect that only sacred music can,” Villeneuve said. “Hans spent months and months creating new instruments, defining, creating, and seeking new sounds, pushing the envelope.”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
Korn called off a concert Saturday night just hours before show time after an undisclosed individual “within the Korn camp” tested positive for COVID-19.
“Unfortunately, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case within the Korn camp. The safety of our artists, crew, venue staff, and fans are our top priority, so we must postpone the show tonight,” the band said in a statement posted on social media.
Korn and Staind were both scheduled to perform Saturday (Aug. 14) at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“We’re deeply sorry for this unfortunate last minute news, but please hold on to your tickets while we work to get your rescheduled date sorted ASAP with Live Nation and the pavilion at Montage Mountain,” Korn’s note continued. “Thank you for your understanding, and stay safe out there. We’ll be back soon.”
How the positive COVID-19 case will affect the summer tour’s upcoming dates was unclear at press time. Billboard reached out to a representative for the band for further information.
The tour kicked off on Aug. 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
On Friday (Aug. 13), Lil Wayne and his lifestyle brand, GKUA, hosted a fun-filled Uproar Hip-Hop Festival at the Torch, located outdoors at the Los Angeles Coliseum in California.
Lil Wayne headlined the event, with surprise guest appearances from Big Sean, The Game and Wiz Khalifa. Big Latto was the first major act to hit the stage, followed by Polo G. During her performance, Latto delivered some of her fan-favorite tunes including “The Biggest,” “No Hook” and “He Say She Say.” Soon after, Polo G hit the stage and delivered his tracks including “Epidemic” and “Rapstar.”
Later in the evening, Lil Wayne performed a medley of his hit songs including “Rich as F—,” “Good Kush and Alcohol,” “Mrs. Officer” and “How to Love.”
Ahead of Big Latto’s performance, several dancers showed off their skills during the Uproar Dance Competition. Solo performers competed for a cash prize of $3,000 while dance duos competed for the $5,000 cash prize. Also before Latto hit the stage, a number of rising artists performed their own original music.
Additional performers included: Young Money Featuring Gudda Gudda, Cory Gunz, Lil Twist, Hoodie Baby, Euro, Jay Jones, Yaj Kader and Mellow Rackz.
R&B hitmaker Mario was among those to attend.
Lil Wayne’s Uproar Hip-Hop Festival comes one year after the release of his 13th studio album, Funeral. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 19 weeks.
“Are you all still with me … are you sure?”
There was no need to ask. H.E.R.’s query was met with a hail of shouts, screams and applause as she closed the first of a two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday evening (Aug. 13). From the first moment H.E.R. stepped out onstage for the sold-out gig with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she winningly showed just what a consummate performer she’s become at the tender age of 24.
Before H.E.R.’s concert, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil warmed up the audience with performances of two symphonic compositions, including Duke Ellington’s lush and moving “Three Black Kings.” Then from offstage, H.E.R. earned her first thunderous applause of the evening as she sang a verse a capella from Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On.” Walking onstage in a shimmering gold pantsuit and red platform shoes accenting the red lenses of her sunglasses, H.E.R. and the L.A. Phil segued smoothly into Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” — and it was full steam ahead.
Over the next 40 minutes, she and the Phil teamed up on eight more songs drawn from her prior compilation albums and this year’s debut full-length album, Back of My Mind. Crowd-pleasers included “Bloody Waters” (with the multi-ethnic and multi-generation audience screaming as she picked up her trusty guitar for the first time), the Academy Award-winning “Fight for You,” “Focus,” and Grammy-winning song of the year “I Can’t Breathe” (with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and names of other murdered African Americans emblazoned across the stage’s backing video screen). The performance of H.E.R.’s hit with Daniel Caesar, “Best Part,” featured a commanding performance of Caesar’s part by one of her four background singers — a 16-year-old named Miles.
“I need to take all of this in,” a smiling H.E.R. said at one point. “I feel so blessed to be here. “I had some anxiety because this is my first official show back outside, and I never thought I’d be playing with such musicians as the L.A. Phil. And it’s sold-out, which is crazy.”
After a 20-minute intermission, H.E.R. — alongside her talented band and backing vocalists — jumpstarted the proceedings with a rollicking version of DJ Khaled’s “We Going Crazy,” which features the singer and Migos. Over the next hour, H.E.R. showcased her skillset as a versatile singer (full-bodied vocals that can also soar at will), emotionally searing instrumentalist (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, upright piano, drums) and engaging performer (dancing and interacting with fans on walkway between the pit-seated audience and the Bowl’s main arena).
Reaching into her growing catalog, H.E.R. delivered a dozen more songs ranging from “Slide” featuring YG and her featured role on Jhené Aiko’s “BS” to “Damage,” “I’m Not OK,” a cover of Goapele’s “Closer” and “Cheat Codes.” After singing “Damage,” H.E.R. acknowledged, “You know what? I just love R&B music … just love it.”
All throughout this portion of the evening, the Bowl audience was singing along, dancing and cheering among several standing ovations. Before closing the evening with “We Made It,” H.E.R. reciprocated, thanking the audience for “being with me on this journey.”
H.E.R. and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor Gustavo Dudamel perform again Saturday (Aug. 14) at the Hollywood Bowl.
A video of Selena Gomez singing along to “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” with friends made its way onto the internet this weekend, and Ariana Grande couldn’t help but share the clip.
“CUTIES ARE YOU KIDDING @SelenaGomez LOVE YOU,” Grande wrote with excitement on Saturday (Aug. 14) in an Instagram Story, where she posted the video featuring her Thank U, Next track.
The Grande-inspired moment that had Gomez and pals grooving to the song at the dinner table was originally posted on the band Girlpool’s TikTok account on Friday night.
Gomez has been showing love to some fellow female pop stars lately. Last week, she left a kind comment on Britney Spears’ Instagram, when Spears quoted one of her songs in the caption of an avocado toast how-to video. “Love you @britneyspears!” Gomez wrote in response. “You’re welcome to come cook with me any time!”
See Gomez’ “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” sing-along below.
The Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, opens this weekend — following weeks of buildup. Much of Franklin’s life played out at awards shows, where she was a frequent nominee, winner and performer and even an occasional host.
Franklin died in 2018, but her presence has continued to be felt at awards shows. Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul, which aired in 2019, was nominated for two Emmys (winning one). Cynthia Erivo is a current Emmy nominee for playing Franklin in the limited series Genius: Aretha. Hudson, the star of Respect, has a good chance of becoming an Oscar nominee for best actress.
Here are 11 times the Queen of Soul made awards show history.
Feb. 29, 1968 – Won the first Grammy ever awarded for best rhythm & blues solo vocal performance, female for the immortal “Respect.” The classic hit brought Franklin a second award that year: best rhythm & blues recording.
March 16, 1971 – Performed her gospel-imbued cover version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on the first live Grammy telecast. Franklin’s single, newly released at the time, would go on to win best R&B vocal performance, female the following year. (The Temptations presented her with the award.)
March 1, 1975 – Won the Grammy for best R&B vocal performance, female for the eighth consecutive year for her cover version of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.” That eight-year streak is, to this day, the longest Grammy winning streak by any artist in any category. The award was presented by another icon, David Bowie, who Franklin excitedly kissed when she got to the stage. Franklin blurted out, “Wow, this is so good, I could kiss David Bowie.” Realizing some might interpret that as a dis at the gender-bending star, Franklin interrupted herself mid-sentence and said: “I mean that in a beautiful way, because we did.” The fact that she felt compelled to correct such a relatively minor gaffe says a lot about her.
Jan. 27, 1986 — Won favorite soul/R&B female vocalist at the American Music Awards for a record fourth time. She stood alone as the category leader until Mariah Carey tied her in 2005. (The current category champ is Rihanna, with seven wins.) Franklin also co-hosted the AMAs in 1976 and 1983. Franklin accepted the 1986 award, one of two she won that night, live via satellite from Detroit. The most striking thing about her 1986 acceptance speech is that she choked up when she accepted the award in memory of her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, who had died 18 months previously.
Jan. 21, 1987 – Became first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Keith Richards did the honors. Franklin was coming off a big hit with a cover version of The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” Richards had produced and played lead guitar on Franklin’s recording.
Feb. 22, 1989 – Became the first female artist to amass 15 Grammys in competition when she won best soul gospel performance, female for One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism. Franklin went on to win three more Grammys in competition. Her tally of 18 awards currently puts her in third place among female artists, behind Beyoncé (28) and Alison Krauss (27).
Dec. 3, 1994 – Received the Kennedy Center Honors at age 52, making her the youngest recipient to that point. Stevie Wonder, LL Cool J and violinist Midori currently share that distinction (as individual honorees); they were all honored at age 49. Franklin was also one of the first artists primarily known for R&B to receive the honor. (Ray Charles had received the award in 1986.)
Feb. 25, 1998 – Filled in for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti to sing “Nessun Dorma” from the Puccini opera Turandot at the 40th annual Grammy Awards. Franklin had sung the piece at the MusiCares person of the year gala two nights earlier, but until Pavarotti’s throat problems caused him to cancel, she had no idea she’d be performing it on TV. Her performance, on a night she also sang “Respect,” doubtless prompted millions of TV viewers to say, “That woman can sing anything.”
Feb. 8, 2008 – Honored as MusiCares’ person of the year, having already received a Grammy legend award and a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy. Franklin and Streisand are the only artists to have received all three of these honors. (Quincy Jones received a Grammy legend award, the person of the year honor and a trustees award, which is equivalent to a lifetime achievement award for people whose contributions are primarily behind-the-scenes.)
Feb. 14, 2008 – Six days later, while out in California, Franklin receives the rarely given vanguard award at the 39th annual NAACP Image Awards, which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Sounds of Blackness and reigning American Idol champ Jordin Sparks performed her songs in tribute. (Franklin had received their Hall of Fame award in 1997.)
Dec. 6, 2015 – Franklin, 73, made President Obama teary-eyed and honoree Carole King ecstatic when she performed her 1967 classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (which King co-wrote) at the Kennedy Center Honors.
