Kelly Clarkson Sounds Like an ‘Angel’ With This Monica Cover

Kelly Clarkson dipped into the R&B world on Friday’s (Oct. 21) “Kellyoke” installment, performing Monica‘s 1998 classic, “Angel of Mine.”

Dressed in a sleek, camel-colored maxi dress and gold accessories, the superstar belted the track effortlessly, perfectly capturing Monica’s tender track.

“Angel of Mine,” featured on Monica’s The Boy Is Mine album, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for four weeks, and spent an impressive 30 weeks total on the chart. Following the success of her previous singles, “The Boy Is Mine” and “The First Night,” the song was the album’s third consecutive release to reach the Hot 100 summit.

Last month, the OG American Idol winner kicked off season four of her Emmy-winning Kelly Clarkson Show. In the three seasons that the daytime talk show had been on the air before that, Clarkson has won five Daytime Emmys. Clarkson has won outstanding entertainment talk show host all three seasons her show has been on the air. 

Other recent Kellyoke picks by Clarkson for her daytime show have included Faith Hill’s “Breathe,” Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me,” Joni Mitchell’s Christmastime classic “River,” John Legend’s “In My Mind,” “Heartbreak Anthem” by David Guetta, Galantis and Little Mix and more.

Check out Kelly Clarkson’s cover of Monica’s “Angel of Mine” below.

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Taylor Swift Is Selling Over 20 Versions of ‘Midnights’ in Different Styles and Formats

For over a decade, Taylor Swift has been offering fans a multitude of options when it comes to purchasing her albums across physical formats with exclusive editions available through a longstanding partnership with Target. But with her new album, Midnights, out Friday (Oct. 20), she’s truly outdone herself.

There are over 20 different versions of the album available on CD, LP and cassette in various colors, with different cover artwork, censored and uncensored, with and without autographs. That plethora of options is great for fans who may want a different version than their friends, or who — as many seem to — feel driven to collect them all. It’s also great for Swift, who’s earning more money from increased sales that will impact her performance on the Billboard charts and likely add up to one of the year’s best album debut weeks.

Few artists, if any, attract as much attention as Swift does for her promotion and sales strategy, thanks largely to her close relationship with her fans. In turn, she is brilliant at developing physical goods they want to buy, in addition to just streaming her music. Last year, following the release of her re-recordings of Fearless and Red, she accounted for one out of every 50 albums sold in the U.S., according to Luminate. She knows Swifties are collectors, and is now providing not only the multiple Midnights versions but elaborate containers to put them in, like a $39 CD clock or vinyl clock for $49, which display the four albums in a timely format, or $79 faux-leather vinyl collector’s case.

In today’s streaming-centric music industry, physical albums have become collectible tokens of fandom, and artists have been responding to growing demand. BTS and other K-pop megastars regularly rack up huge numbers by selling CDs and LPs with different colors and exclusive postcards and photos sold as collectible items, with the music as a secondary benefit. When South Korean boy band Stray Kids’ MAXIDENT topped the most recent Billboard 200 chart for the week of Oct. 22, it did so with 10 CD versions, including autographed CDs and exclusive Barnes & Noble and Target releases. Increasingly, it’s becoming a mainstream strategy for acts in the U.S., too. Such disparate acts as Denzel Curry and Slipknot have recently released various physical versions of their new albums as well. It just so happens that these sales all count towards an album’s Billboard chart performances. So by offering four different versions of Midnights per format, Swift is at least quadrupling her revenue from some super fans, as well as their impact on the charts.

Based on Billboard‘s research, here is a full rundown of the different Midnights versions fans can buy:

CDs:
Moonstone Blue
Blood Moon
Mahogany
Jade Green

Signed CDs:
Moonstone Blue (Webstore Exclusive)
Blood Moon (Webstore Exclusive)
Mahogany (Webstore Exclusive)
Jade Green (Webstore Exclusive)

Clean-version CDs:
Moonstone Blue
Blood Moon
Mahogany
Jade Green

Vinyl LPs:
Moonstone Blue
Blood Moon
Mahogany
Jade Green

Signed Vinyl LPs:
Moonstone Blue (Webstore Exclusive)
Blood Moon (Webstore Exclusive)
Mahogany (Webstore Exclusive)
Jade Green (Webstore Exclusive)

Cassettes:
Moonstone Blue

Target Exclusives:
Lavender Deluxe CD (With Three Bonus Tracks)
Lavender Vinyl LP

Digital:
Moonstone Blue (Webstore Exclusive)
Moonstone Blue (Clean) (Webstore Exclusive)
Standard – 13 Tracks
Standard – 13 Tracks (Clean)
Standard – 14 Tracks
Standard – 14 Tracks (Clean)

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Taylor Swift Drops ‘Midnights’ Teaser During Thursday Night Football, And It Looks Like a Lot of Music Videos Are Coming

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Hours before Taylor Swift‘s Midnights hit stores and streaming services, the pop superstar teased her 10th studio album during the Thursday Night Football game on Oct. 20 between the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.

After an introduction from Swift herself, a visual spectacle was unleashed on fans, that appears to show a series of scenes from music videos — possibly for all 10 tracks on her new album.

Credits at the end of the teaser revealed a cast of featured characters, in alphabetical order: Jack Antonoff, Laith Ashley, Mike Birbiglia, Laura Dern, John Early, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Haim (Alana, Danielle & Este), Pat McGrath, Swift herself and Dita Von Teese.

In her intro, Swift called the first look a “teaser trailer of the secret projects i’ve been working on for a really long time. Those projects are the Midnights Music Movies, the music videos that I made for this album to sort of explore visually the world of this record. I love storytelling, I love songwriting, i love writing videos, I love directing them, and this was a really fun opportunity to work again with the cinematographer Rina Yang, who was my collaborator on the All Too Well 10-minute short film. So we really wanted to challenge ourselves to do different things this time around and stretch, and I’m really proud of what we made and I really hope you like them. We worked with some amazing actors that you’ll find out more about at the end of the teaser trailer,” she concluded, referencing the credits.

We’ll have to wait for the arrival of Midnights and the first music videos — for “Anti-Hero,” arriving at 3 a.m. ET — for more details.

Ahead of the Thursday Night Football game on Amazon Prime, Taylor announced the trailer by telling fans: “You would see it before the Midnights album came out, so meet me there?”

If you’re a Swiftie and don’t have a Prime account yet, you can join today and enjoy a free 30-day trial and watch the Midnights teaser in tonight’s game. After your first free month, Amazon Prime will cost $14.99/month, or $139 for the annual plan.

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The Rudeboyz, Maluma & Adam Levine Unleash Reggaeton Track ‘Ojala’: Stream It Here

Just days after announcing their collaboration, The Rudeboyz, Maluma and Adam Levine have released “Ojalá,” a sultry reggaeon track, on which the Maroon 5 frontman sings in Spanish for the first time.

The new song — produced by Maluma’s longtime collaborators The Rudeboyz — finds the Colombian star and Levine trading verses about losing a girl and getting over the heartbreak. They both declare: It won’t be easy getting over them. “Ojalá” is the debut single from The Rudeboyz’s upcoming debut album.

The track arrived alongside a music video directed by Diane Martel via NEON16 & Sony Music Latin. The three-minute clip stars off with Chan El Genio and Kevin ADG (The Rudeboyz) listening to an “incredible” beat they just produced and say, “What if we can get Maluma and Adam Levine on this song, we’d kill it. Can you imagine? That would be a dream.”

The artists first announced the collaboration Oct. 14 on social media. Levine teased a 20-second clip of the upbeat track on his TikTok page, captioning the post, “#Ojala @RUDEBOYZ @Juan Luis.” Maluma shared the snippet to his Instagram Stories and as a post, writing on one Story, “What do you think about this?” Meanwhile, The Rudeboyz wrote, “A very important release for us with people we admire a lot!!  Keep your eyes on this !! @maluma @adamlevine.”

Back in June, Levine had already hinted at a possible collaboration with Maluma. He posted a photo of them on Instagram of the two hanging out in a studio and wrote, “World ain’t ready.”

The Rudeboyz, who were recently signed by Tainy‘s NEON16, have produced hits for artists such as Shakira, Sech, Jennifer Lopez, Prince Royce and Sebastián Yatra, among others.

Check out “Ojalá’s” music video below:

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NCT DREAM Announce ‘In a DREAM’ Movie Coming to Theaters Worldwide

After NCT DREAM hit a career milestone with two nights in South Korea’s largest concert venue, the K-pop boy band is sharing the experience with fans worldwide through their first-ever movie.

NCT DREAM THE MOVIE : In a DREAM will be released worldwide this November. The feature film will spotlight the group on stage and backstage at their Olympic Stadium show in Seoul from September earlier this year. Fans will also get to see the preparations that went into the concert and interviews with all seven members of NCT DREAM. According to a press release, NCT DREAM members Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung will “share candid stories and their thoughts and feelings” and “a look at the future the members envision away from the stage.”

The new flick celebrates NCT DREAM’s THE DREAM SHOW2 : In a DREAM concert that played in Seoul, as well as multiple cities in Japan, after the release Glitch Mode album, which hit No. 50 on the Billboard 200 in April to become the group’s first entry on the chart.

In A DREAM will be released in CGV theater chains with ScreenX as well as 4DX and 4DX Screen formats, which offer multi-sensory effects for viewers. Distribution for the movie comes from Trafalgar Releasing (who have pushed fan-focused movie experiences for artists like BTS, Coldplay and Twenty One Pilots) and CJ 4DPLEX Inc. (the tech company behind 4DX, ScreenX and 4DX Screen theaters). ScreenX offers a 270-degree field of view perspective in movie theaters by expanding screens to the side walls, while 4DX provides moviegoers with special effects like vibrations, wind, scents and more to enhance on-screen visuals. Trafalgar reports over 344 ScreenX auditoriums including 4DX Screen around the world in 38 countries.

“We are pleased to continue our relationship with CJ 4DPLEX Inc. and to partner for the first time with SM Entertainment to bring NCT DREAM’s first movie to cinemas worldwide,” said Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing. “NCTzens all around the globe will be thrilled with the epic live concert performances and exciting behind-the-scenes footage that is meant to be experienced larger-than-life on the big screen.”

NCT DREAM’s debut on the silver screen makes them the latest K-pop act to deliver fans a concert-documentary hybrid film, last seen from the likes of SEVENTEEN, who brought their Power of Love : The Movie film to cinemas in April.

Forthcoming premiere dates and ticketing information for the November screenings will be available here.

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Swing Legend Louis Prima’s Catalog Acquired by Reservoir

Reservoir Media has acquired the catalog of Louis Prima from the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, the company announced Thursday (Oct. 20). The deal encompasses rights to both his publishing and recorded music.

One of the greatest artists, trumpetists and songwriters of the big band era, New Orleans-born Prima’s catalog includes decade-defining songs like “Sing, Sing, Sing,” which he both wrote and recorded. His catalog also includes famous renditions of standards like “I’m Just a Gigolo (I Ain’t Got Nobody),” “Pennies from Heaven,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and “Buona Sera (Good Night).” “Pennies from Heaven,” in particular, has had a recent renaissance thanks to TikTok users, with nearly 300,000 short videos having been created to the song to date, reestablishing it with a new generation of music fans.

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Prima’s prominence in popular culture was also immortalized through his voice role as King Louie, the orangutan from Disney’s 1967 animated film The Jungle Book, which features Prima’s classic track “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song).”

In the intervening years, Prima’s songs have been covered and re-recorded countless times, including by the Charlie Calello Orchestra (“Sing, Sing, Sing”), Reba McEntire (“Sunday Kind of Love”) and The Brian Setzer Orchestra (“Jump, Jive an’ Wail”). In 2018, Kids See Ghosts — the rap project comprised of Kanye West and Kid Cudi — sampled Prima’s “What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’)” on their song “4th Dimension.”

Rell Lafargue, Reservoir president and COO, commented of the acquisition, “Louis Prima composed and recorded some of the most iconic swing music of all time – his name and the genre are practically synonymous. We are honored to represent his catalog, working to drive deeper recognition of his legacy for generations to come.” He added, “Born and raised in Louisiana myself, I am proud to partner with Tony Sylvester from the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, particularly to further support their impactful work in the city of New Orleans.”

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