David Byrne is ready to help America ring in the new year. Rolling Stone reports the Talking Heads frontman has just been added to NBC’s Miley Cyrus-hosted New Year’s Eve special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party.
Byrne joins previously announced performers Latto, Sia, Rae Sremmurd, Liily and Fletcher.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which will be co-hosted by newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dolly Parton and air live from Miami,kicks off at 10:30 p.m. ET on December 31. The show will feature special appearances by Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman and comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy.
The middle of the Venn diagram between Kate Bush and Metallica fans probably wasn’t all that big at the beginning of 2022. By the end of the year, however, both the English art pop singer and the U.S. metal outfit shared one (stranger) thing in common.
The popular Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things’ fourth season made unexpected resurgent hits out of Bush’s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica’s 1986 thrasher “Master of Puppets.”
“Running Up That Hill” was featured in the first half of the season, which premiered in May. As the favorite song of the character Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, “Running Up That Hill” helps her — spoiler alert — escape the clutches of the evil Vecna.
Following its placement, “Running Up That Hill” began to run up the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at #3 on the all-genre chart — a career-high for Bush. In Bush’s home country, “Running Up That Hill” hit #1 on the United Kingdom’s Official Single Chart, breaking several records along the way; Bush became the oldest female artist to ever conquer the ranking.
The response to “Running Up That Hill” was so overwhelming that Bush issued several public statements, which was major news for an artist who’d developed a reclusive and press-shy reputation. It even got to a point where Bush gave an actual interview, her first in several years.
When the second half of Stranger Things season 4 premiered in July, it was Metallica’s time to shine. Like “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” was featured in a pivotal scene, this time featuring Joseph Quinn‘s beloved metalhead and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Eddie Munson, who — again, spoiler alert — shreds the metal classic in an effort to thwart Vecna.
While it didn’t quite match the enormous popularity of “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” debuted on the Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at #35 — not bad for a nearly nine-minute metal song in the year 2022.
As Stranger Things was bringing in new fans, the “Enter Sandman” rockers reminded longtime ‘Tallica fans that “everyone is welcome,” no matter how long you’ve been listening.
Stranger Things also sparked renewed interest in Dio thanks to the Eddie character, who wore a patch dedicated to the “Holy Diver” metallers on the back of his denim jacket.
Earlier this month U2 was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and fans will finally get to see the celebration Wednesday, when the ceremony airs on CBS at 8 p.m.
At the event, the band is saluted by actors Sean Penn and Sacha Baron Cohen, who stays in character as Kazakhstan journalist Borat. The night also features several performances, with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder performing two U2 tracks, “Elevation” and “One,” and Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and others performing “Walk On.”
And U2 isn’t the only act being honored. The special also features tributes to Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Amy Grant and conductor Tania León, with performances from The Highwoman, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Michael W Smith, Garth Brooks, Mickey Guyton and more.
In January 2022, Elton John resumed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour for the first time since the pandemic, and continued to add dates and special shows along the way. While he raked in the bucks on the road, he also gave fans a glimpse of what his post-touring career might look like by releasing yet another hit single and entering the metaverse. Here’s a look at his year:
–In January, Elton had to postpone two shows after testing positive for COVID-19. He made a full recovery.
–In March, Elton missed his annual Academy Awards Viewing Party charity benefit for the first time in 30 years because he had a show in Lincoln, Nebraska. A satellite hookup from the show to the party was provided.
–Also in March, Elton announced 11 new North American stadium shows, including his 2,000th U.S. concert: a November 20 show at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium, the site of his historic 1975 shows. That was soon expanded to three Dodger Stadium shows, with the November 20 one marking his final North American gig.
–In May, it was announced that the Dodger stadium shows would be recorded for a Disney+ documentary called Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend.
—In June, Elton helped celebrate Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee with a special performance of “Your Song,” which was projected onto the facade of Buckingham Palace. In September, he mourned her death, writing on Instagram, “I will miss her dearly.”
–In July and August, Elton’s latest musical, a stage version of The Devil Wears Prada, played a limited run in Chicago. In a rare misstep for Elton, it received poor reviews. Elton later said, “It’ll be ready in another year.”
–In July, word came of an Elton John/Britney Spears collaboration, marking her return to music following the end of her conservatorship. In August, it was made official: Elton and Britney were teaming up for a remix of his classic song “Tiny Dancer” called “Hold Me Closer.” When the song arrived on August 26, it was revealed to be a mashup of “Tiny Dancer,” plus Elton’s songs “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
–In September, “Hold Me Closer” debuted in the top 10, giving Britney her 14th top-10 hit, her first since 2012. It was Elton’s 35th U.S. top-10 hit. It also debuted on top of Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, only the third song ever to do so.
–On September 23, ahead of Elton’s show in Washington, D.C., he was invited to the White House by President Joe Biden and presented with the National Humanities Medal. Elton said he was “flabbergasted” by the honor.
–In October, Elton’s other new musical,Tammy Faye, debuted in London. This one got great reviews, and though it closed in December, it’s likely it will reappear at some point.
–Elton’s November 20 Dodger Stadium show was livestreamed by Disney+ and featured guest appearances by Kiki Dee, Dua Lipa and Brandi Carlile. Just a few days later, Elton traveled to New York City and performed “Your Song” in the middle of Fifth Avenue to help unveil Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday windows.
–By November, Elton’s tour had grossed just under $750 million, ranking it as the second-highest-grossing tour of all time, behind his pal Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour.
–Also in November, Elton entered the metaverse via a collaboration with the popular online game platform Roblox. Titled Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, the virtual experience let fans enjoy an interactive world inspired by Elton’s life and legacy.
–In December, Elton announced that his final United Kingdom show would be a headlining performance at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival.
Metallica has shared a live video of an acoustic cover of Thin Lizzy‘s “Borderline,” recorded during the band’s Helping Hands benefit concert earlier this month.
The heartfelt performance ended with James Hetfield thanking late Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott for “writing that song about my life.”
The Helping Hands show raised money for Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation. The metal legends’ performance began with a mini acoustic set, after which they plugged in for a full electric set featuring the live debut of their new single, “Lux Æterna,” and a rendition of “Nothing Else Matters” featuring St. Vincent.
Metallica is also releasing a live CD of the Helping Hands concert, with proceeds benefiting All Within My Hands. You can preorder yours now via Metallica.com.
If you’re looking for the Kurt Cobain of the 21st century, Courtney Love would refer you to one Lana Del Rey.
In an interview on Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, the Hole frontwoman and widow of the late Nirvana frontman declares, “Lana and Kurt are the only true musical geniuses I’ve ever known.”
As for what makes Cobain and Del Rey geniuses, Love explains that “they can Spielberg anything,” which she says is demonstrated by how Kurt interpreted Meat Puppets for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance and how Lana “feminizes” Allen Ginsberg‘s “Howl” with her spoken word rendition of the famed poem.
“She’s got the integrity that Kurt had,” Love adds of Del Rey.
“By the way, [R.E.M.‘s Micheal] Stipe, [U2‘s] Bono — yes, these are people that I know and love,” she continues. “[Green Day‘s] Billie Joe [Armstrong], sure. But Lana? She’s got a magic thing.”
Another set of musicians were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, but before it actually happened there was at least one unexpected issue.
After the initial list of nominees was announced, Dolly Parton, who was included on the list, threw things for a loop when in February she requested her name be removed from the ballot. But the Hall refused, noting her music “impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed.” She eventually agreed to stay on the ballot, and it’s a good thing she did.
When this year’s class was finally announced, not only did Dolly make it, but so did Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Judas Priest and Eminem. In addition, duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were chosen to receive the Musical Excellence Award, while Harry Belafonte receivedthe Early Influence Award. The late R&B singer Sylvia Robinson was chosen for the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The induction ceremony was held in November in Los Angeles. Here are some of the evening’s many highlights:
–Duran Duran performed “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Girls on Film” and “Ordinary World.” Fans were hoping to see the band reunite with original guitarist Andy Taylor, but instead singer Simon Le Bon read a letter Taylor wrote explaining he couldn’t be there because he’s been battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer.
—Sheryl Crow paid tribute to Benatar and Giraldo, who then treated the crowd to “All Fired Up,” “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Heartbreaker.”
–Eurythmics reunited at the ceremony for their first performance since 2019, performing “Would I Lie to You,” “Sweet Dreams” and “Missionary Man.”
—Carly Simon missed the ceremony, as she was grieving the loss of her two sisters. She was celebrated by Sara Bareilles, who performed “Nobody Does it Better,” and Olivia Rodrigo, who performed “You’re So Vain.” Alanis Morissette was supposed to take part in the Carly tribute but dropped out at the last minute, hinting it had to do with “anti-woman sentiment.”
—Judas Priest reunited with former bandmates K.K. Downing and Les Binks for a performance that included “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight.” During speeches they were joined by guitarist Glenn Tipton, who retired from touring full time in 2018 due to Parkinson’s disease.
—Eminem, who was inducted by Dr. Dre, performed a medley of hits, including “My Name Is,” “Sing for the Moment” with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and “Stan,” with Ed Sheeran singing the chorus and playing guitar.
–Richie treated the crowd to “Hello” and brought out a special guest, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl,for “Easy,” ending his set with his classic “All Night Long.”
—Pink helped induct Dolly, then joined Dolly and Crow for a performance of “Jolene,” which also included this year’s fellow inductees Benatar, Annie Lennox, Le Bon and Judas Priest’s Rob Halford.
–Finally, the night ended with a classic HOF jam, with Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp paying tribute to the late Jerry Lee Lewis with a medley of his hits.
Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ ViacomCBS
David Lee Roth is covering Van Halen again. The rocker just shared a new live version of the band’s hit “Everybody Wants Some,” taken from his 2022 Hollywood recording session with his solo band.
The session took place back in May, where Roth and his band recorded 14 songs. He’s already released several of them over the past year, including “You Really Got Me,” “Dance the Night Away,” Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love.”
“Everybody Wants Some” was the second single off Van Halen’s 1980 album Women and Children First. The new version features Al Estrada on guitar, Ryan Wheeler on bass and Francis Valentino on drums.
Back in April, Pink Floyd released the brand-new song “Hey Hey Rise Up” to help the people of Ukraine, and apparently it was a huge success.
The band just announced that their tune has now raised more than £450,000 that’s $540,000 U.S. — “to help alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people.” David Gilmour and Nick Mason added money to bring the amount to £500,000, or around $601,000 U.S.
“Hey Hey Rise Up” was recorded on March 30th, and featured Andriy Khlyvnyuk [AHN-dree KLIV-nik] of the Ukrainian band Boombox. The money raised will be split amongst five different charities: Hospitallers, The Kharkiv And Przemyśl Project, Vostok SOS, Kyiv Volunteer and Livyj Bereh.
In their announcement, Pink Floyd also encouraged their fans to do more, noting, “Let’s see what else we can do this winter… It would be great if you feel able to contribute to any of these charities directly.”
Geezer Butler has spent the holiday season battling a case of pneumonia.
The Black Sabbath bassist’s wife, Gloria, shared news of her husband’s condition in an Instagram post alongside photos of him sitting in a doctor’s office and an encouragingly lighthearted caption.
“After day 1 at Dr with my husband & was told he was negative for flu, Covid, strep & tonsillitis; I said…well, he’s positive for being a pain in my a***,” Gloria writes. “Day 2 at Dr, he was told he has pneumonia. Although, still positive for being a pain; I now feel guilty for thinking that.”
The post also includes the hashtags #MyPoorHusband and #FeelBetter, as wells as #MenMaketheWorstPatients.
Butler, 73, isn’t the only Sabbath member to have battle pneumonia in recent years. Ozzy Osbourne was previously hospitalized in 2019, which began a long series of health-related touring postponements that have continued to keep him off the road.
