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☆ Will Country Welcome Beyoncé? That’s the Wrong Question.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With the release of “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé’s eighth solo album and the one that finds her exploring — and testing — the boundaries of country music, much of the early conversation has centered on whether the country music industry would rally around her. Rather than being feted with a welcome party, Beyoncé has been met largely with shrugs. Beyoncé is Black, and a woman, two groups that contemporary Nashville has consistently marginalized and shortchanged. Contemporary mainstream country music often feels like a closed loop of white male storytelling. Which is why whether or not Beyoncé and Nashville can find common cause is, in every way, a red herring.

Persons: Cowboy Carter, ”, hurrahs, Beyoncé Locations: Texas, Nashville

☆ Girls to the Front: Olivia Rodrigo’s Fans Show Up in Force
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Ok Mccausland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Olivia Rodrigo shot to pop stardom pretty much overnight: Her first single, “Drivers License,” rocketed to No. 1 in January 2021 while most of the world was still in coronavirus lockdown, making her the youngest artist to debut atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. In April of the following year, she finally brought her songs to life onstage with her punky Sour Tour, which played theaters, though she could have easily sold out arenas. Now she has done just that: Her tour supporting her second album, the cathartic, rock-oriented LP “Guts,” kicked off last Friday night at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., with a performance “advertising the power of girlhood,” The Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica wrote in his review. The venue, and its parking lot, was filled with young women ready to receive the message.

Persons: Olivia Rodrigo, rocketed, ”, Jon Caramanica Organizations: Acrisure Locations: Palm Desert, Calif

☆ Onstage, a Feisty Olivia Rodrigo Tests Out Life After Girlhood
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a pop star, Olivia Rodrigo wields a rather unusual arsenal of weapons. In just three years, she has achieved something approaching stratospheric fame — a four-times platinum debut album and a Grammy for best new artist — while somehow remaining an underdog. It’s in plenty of other places, too, giving her anguished entreaties an extra splash of zest. On Friday night at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., during the opening performance of the Guts World Tour, Rodrigo couldn’t get enough of that word. But mostly she used it casually, in between-song banter, not because she needed to, but because using it felt like getting away with something.

Persons: Olivia Rodrigo, —, ”, Rodrigo couldn’t, connote Organizations: Acrisure Locations: Palm Desert, Calif

☆ Usher Brings Precise Details to Pop’s Biggest Stage: The Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A few minutes into Usher’s dynamic and sly Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas came a moment of uncommon, almost startling calm. Alicia Keys had just appeared, in a sequined red jumpsuit and matching encrusted gown, and rather gratuitously flubbed the opening note of her hit piano ballad “If I Ain’t Got You.”She recovered, and as she approached the end of the chorus, you could hear Usher singing in quiet harmony as the camera panned back, settling on the two of them at opposite ends of Keys’s piano. Usher picked up the final line of the chorus — alone, smooth and confident, almost whispered — before Keys returned to share the last note.

Persons: Alicia Keys, Usher, Keys Locations: Las Vegas

☆ 7 Grammy Winners Worth Another Spin
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Lindsay Zoladz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dear listeners,I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but this year’s Grammys were … really good? Tracy Chapman, radiating joy and in fine voice, sang “Fast Car” publicly for the first time in ages, alongside a visibly reverent Luke Combs. For today’s playlist, we’re going to hear from some more of those slightly-less-than-household-name artists who took home Grammys this year. I chose two selections of my own, and I also asked my fellow Times pop critics Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica to send me a few of their picks — a mix of jazz, folk, pop, gospel and more. Listen below to tracks from Laufey, Peso Pluma and Samara Joy, and check out the Bonus Tracks for more of our Grammy coverage.

Persons: Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs, Joni Mitchell, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Taylor Swift, she’s, Phoebe Bridgers, Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Victoria Monét, Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Samara Joy Organizations: SZA Locations: Laufey, Samara

☆ The Grammys Aim for a Big Tent, but Not Everyone Feels at Home
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sunday night at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, Jay-Z accepted the Dr. Dre global impact award, a sort of éminence grise prize. He’s previously won 24 Grammys, but he did not treat the moment like a homecoming. At least get it close to right.” He mentioned his wife, Beyoncé, winner of the most Grammys ever, yet never a winner for album of the year. By this point, the room seemed to understand what was happening — Jay-Z was rinsing the Grammys on its own stage. Over the past few years, several Black artists have effectively been boycotting the Grammys by declining to submit their music for consideration, frustrated with how hip-hop and R&B are treated, particularly in the biggest all-genre categories.

Persons: Jay, Z, He’s, Beyoncé, ”, — Jay, ” Jay, “, Blue Ivy Organizations: Recording Academy

☆ Guide to the Grammys
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( The Staff Of The Morning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Two beloved songwriters, almost half a century apart in age, are set to be stars of tonight’s Grammy Awards. Joni Mitchell, who nearly died from an aneurysm several years ago, will give her first Grammys performance at the age of 80. And Taylor Swift has a shot to win her fourth album of the year award, something no other artist has done. But Swift, who has six nominations, faces tough competition. We asked three Times music critics — Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Lindsay Zoladz — to share their thoughts on who might win tonight’s awards.

Persons: Joni Mitchell, Taylor Swift, Swift, SZA, ”, Victoria Monét, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Jon Batiste, — Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica, Lindsay Zoladz —

☆ Pitchfork, the Early Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last week, Condé Nast announced that Pitchfork, the taste-making music news and criticism website it had acquired in 2015 — which had entranced and sometimes infuriated fans for more than two decades — would be brought under the editorial umbrella of GQ. The announcement felt like a death knell for a certain kind of critical posture — progressive but not inaccessible, knowledgeable but also curious — that feels increasingly remote in the current media landscape. Some version of the site will continue, but online, the news was received with dismay and frustration. Guests:Ryan Schreiber, the founder of Pitchfork and its editor in chief for approximately two decadesChris Kaskie, Pitchfork’s first employee and first CEOConnect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel.

Persons: Condé Nast, Ryan Schreiber, Chris Kaskie, Pitchfork’s, Jon Caramanica Organizations: Pitchfork, GQ, Facebook, Twitter Locations: —

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande and 21 Savage Kick Off 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande and 21 Savage Kick Off 2024 Pop’s premier troll returns while one of its biggest voices turns her attention to gossip, and the first blockbuster rap album of the year arrives. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Pat Gunther. Editing by Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Nas X, Ariana Grande, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Pat Gunther, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

Her voice sounds utterly guileless as she sings about lust, betrayal, revenge and healing. 3. boygenius, ‘The Record’Synergy reigns in boygenius, the alliance of the singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Paul Simon, ‘Seven Psalms’“Seven Psalms” comes across as a farewell album from Paul Simon, 82. Simon sings about mortality as a “great migration” and extols the presence and purpose of “The Lord,” as the biblical psalms do. The songs on her second album, “Guts,” combine pop’s concision and melody with rock’s potential to erupt.

Persons: Karol G, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, mentorships, Paul Simon, ‘, It’s, Simon, ”, Olivia Rodrigo, Oliva Rodrigo, Feist, ’ Feist Locations: Colombian, Dominican, Afrobeats, boygenius

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Can Rap Bridge Its Generation Gap?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Can Rap Bridge Its Generation Gap? Is it possible for rappers to age gracefully? A discussion on the state of the genre and where it may be heading. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Mailbag! The Beatles, Taylor Swift and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Mailbag! The Beatles, Taylor Swift and More Taking viewer and listener questions on hot topics in pop music. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): What Is Going on With the Grammy Nominations?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): What Is Going on With the Grammy Nominations? Dissecting the contenders for the 2024 Grammy Awards, including top nods for SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Jon Batiste. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Olivia Rodrigo, boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Jon Batiste, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

“Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice will compete for best rap song. Tracks from the soundtrack also hog up four of the five available slots in best song written for visual media. Peso Pluma’s 2023 album, “Génesis,” is just tucked among the nominees for música mexicana. But música urbana — encompassing reggaeton, Latin hip-hop, dembow, Latin trap and more — is a crowded, competitive, hugely popular format. His 2023 album, “Seven Psalms,” plays as a thoughtful, complex, tuneful farewell, anticipating his death.

Persons: Greta Gerwig, ”, Billie Eilish’s, “, Nicki Minaj, Edgar Barrera, Eslabon, Natanael Cano —, Tainy, Rauw Alejandro, Karol G, JON PARELES Olivia Rodrigo, Olivia Rodrigo’s “, Rodrigo, Daniel Nigro, Mick Jagger, CARYN GANZ, Paul Simon, it’s Paul Simon, It’s, Simon, Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, PARELES Organizations: Spice, Pluma, música, Grupo Frontera, Grupo Firme, Foo Fighters, Queens Locations: Mexican American, Americas, Mexican, música mexicana, urbana, Colombian, Será, Spanish, Newport

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): ‘Priscilla’ and ‘The Golden Bachelor’ Plumb Heartbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): ‘Priscilla’ and ‘The Golden Bachelor’ Plumb Heartbreak A conversation about Sofia Coppola’s impressionistic take on Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s relationship, plus: the surprising depth of a reality TV spinoff. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Priscilla ’, Plumb, Sofia, Priscilla Presley’s, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Noah Kahan’s Rootsy Rock Revival
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Noah Kahan’s song “Stick Season” currently sits at No. But it’s more remarkable because “Stick Season” is the title track of an album released just over a year ago. That success arrives a few years into Kahan’s career, which began with more straight-ahead pop and shifted into rootsier territory during the pandemic. He inflects his songs with bits of Vermont attitude and lore, and has collaborated with Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves. On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about how Kahan’s niche stardom has given way to pop acclaim, how Vermont figures into his songwriting and sound, and how he revisits the rustic mainstream rock of the early 2010s.

Persons: Noah Kahan’s, Kahan, Zach Bryan, Kacey, Rebecca Jennings, Vox Jason Lipshutz, Jon Caramanica Organizations: Billboard, Facebook, Twitter Locations: rootsier, Vermont

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Is the Pop Music Machine Stuck in Place?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Is the Pop Music Machine Stuck in Place? With certain headliners hogging up space, where are the new stars? We checked in on recent hits from the radio, streaming services and TikTok. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Britney Spears Tells … Some?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Britney Spears Tells … Some? A conversation about the week in popular culture, including “The Woman in Me,” the new book by Spears, and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Martin Scorsese’s latest film. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Britney Spears, Spears, ” Martin Scorsese’s, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Sawyer Roque, Jamie Hefetz, Pedro Rosado

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Movie + Bad Bunny Returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica.

Persons: Jon Caramanica Organizations: Facebook, Twitter

☆ Getting Dressed with Beenslackin
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Jon Caramanica | Kadar R. Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A fit pic provocateur, full-time flaneur and occasional stylist, Beenslackin, 24, was born Menelik Demissie in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and moved to Brookline, Mass. Over the last three years, he’s made a name as a street-level avant-gardist, dressing in chaotically ecstatic single-designer outfits (Rick Owens, Margiela, Louis Vuitton and, most recently, Balenciaga and Vetements) with ease, confidence and, crucially, a lack of preciousness. His natural gift with unnatural silhouettes has earned the admiration of Lil Uzi Vert among others, and lately he’s been extending his experimentation to the body itself. You can find him stomping around downtown, pant hems dragging and decaying behind him, sometimes cradling his tiny dog, Keiko. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Persons: Beenslackin, Menelik Demissie, he’s, Rick Owens, Margiela, Louis Vuitton, Lil Uzi, pant, Keiko Locations: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Brookline , Mass

☆ Doja Cat Looks to the Past to Make Her Own Moment on ‘Scarlet’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

She does so not in an especially nostalgic or imitative fashion, but more as a decoration. Doja Cat also varies her rapping technique in ways that recall these bygone eras. “Love Life” nods to the mid-90s proto neo-soul of Groove Theory, and Doja Cat matches it with a percussive flow that recalls Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets. Lyrically, “Scarlet” has two primary topics: Doja Cat’s dominance and her lust. And her songs about sex, like “Agora Hills” and “Often,” are bawdy and lighthearted.

Persons: ”, Diamond, Doja, Ladybug Mecca, She’s, “, Versace Organizations: York, Theory

☆ Olivia Rodrigo Has Seen the World Now, and She’s Livid
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That’s the novel approach of Olivia Rodrigo, a modern and somewhat signature pop star. Her jolting debut album, “Sour,” released a few months later, showed her to be a spiky, vivid writer and singer, but one who hadn’t quite seen the world. Two years later, on her poignantly fraught, spiritually and sonically agitated follow-up album “Guts,” Rodrigo has seen too much. As on “Sour,” Rodrigo, who is 20 now, toggles between bratty rock gestures and piano-driven melancholy. Or as she puts it on “Making the Bed,” “I got the things I wanted/It’s just not what I imagined.”

Persons: Taylor, Olivia Rodrigo, ”, ” Rodrigo, “

☆ Country Singer Morgan Wade Was Looking for the Spotlight. It Found Her.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The power of the video, far beyond the tabloid tease, is the conventional frankness with which it depicts same-sex attraction. Coming from an artist signed to a Nashville major label, it is deeply striking. And having been on the receiving end of scrutiny for the last several weeks, Wade has finally emerged on the other side, emboldened. “I don’t know why we’re in this day and time where we have to speculate about people’s sexuality,” she said, emphatically. “Taking elements of who I used to be and those core fundamental things and finding out like, Hmm.

Persons: ” Sparr, Wade, “, ” Locations: Nashville

☆ Popcast (Deluxe): Lizzo, Travis Scott and the Limits of Persona
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Popcast (Deluxe): Lizzo, Travis Scott and the Limits of Persona What can pop stars get away with? Plus: the deaths of Sinead O’Connor and Angus Cloud. Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Leslye Davis. Audio editing by Pedro Rosado.

Persons: Travis Scott, Sinead O’Connor, Angus Cloud, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Leslye Davis, Pedro Rosado

☆ As Objects Fly Onstage, Stars Become Part of the Audience’s Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Is the star of the concert onstage, or in the crowd? In part, that’s because the barrier between the stage and the crowd is more porous than ever, going both ways. Recent weeks have seen a spate of objects flying toward artists, a sign that fans are seeking out ways to insert themselves into the performances they’re attending. But pop stars are wise to this, too, understanding that in an era of social media-inspired invasiveness, allowing themselves to be touched by the crowd is a powerful marketing and publicity tool. The barrier between stage and audience is philosophical, a shared understanding of social practice but not anything more than that.

Persons: they’re

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