music

Gregg Foreman, the founder of the influential blues-punk band the Delta 72 and a longtime collaborator with Cat Power and other acts, has died. He was 53.

News of Foreman’s death on Tuesday was confirmed by Cat Power’s label, Matador Records. No cause of death was given.

Foreman, born in Philadelphia, formed the Delta 72 in Washington, D.C., in the mid-’90s, putting a soulfully-scuzzy blues twist on the city’s post-hardcore sound of the era. Foreman was a distinctly charismatic frontman, pairing the flamboyant stage presence of his beloved ‘60s and ‘70s R&B acts with the live-wire tension of punk. The band released three albums before dissolving in 2001.

For two decades, he played in Cat Power’s backing ensemble, the Dirty Delta Blues band, and became the project’s musical director. He also collaborated with Pink Mountaintops, Suicide’s Alan Vega and Martin Rev, the Gossip, Lydia Lunch and Death Valley Girls, along with singer-songwriters Lucinda Williams and Linda Perry.

Outside of his live-band career, Foreman was a prolific DJ and a deeply knowledgeable music journalist. He most recently played on Cat Power’s “Redux,” January’s three-song EP celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s beloved LP “The Greatest.”

Music and cultural figures like director Jim Jarmusch, Kid Congo Powers, and Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold mourned Foreman’s death on social media. Eisold wrote on Instagram that “Like others, he bounced in and out of our lives and changed each one he visited. For better or for worse, he lived a life that others only claim to have lived and he was one of one. His love for music was as genuine as the pain he harbored.”

US band The Strokes used their Coachella set to showcase the US-Israeli destruction of universities in Gaza and Iran, including Gaza’s al-Israa University.

PETER Andre has revealed that he plans to release music with his son Junior in the future.

The Mysterious Girl singer, 53, returned to the spotlight this year after not releasing any new music in 11 years.

Junior has also been working on his own tracks, following in Peter’s footsteps.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about all things music, Peter began by sharing how it’s his mission to achieve another number one hit.

He said: “I won’t stop, whether it’s this album, the next album or the one after that.

“I won’t stop until I get a number one now because that’s my goal.”

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But then the father revealed that he’s more than open to collaborating with his son on songs in the future.

In response to whether any collabs with Junior could be on the cards, Peter simply mused: “When he’s ready. He’s brilliant.”

Junior released his debut single, Slide, back in 2022.

It hit the number one spot on the UK’s iTunes pop chart, while his follow-up track Only One went on to bag the same top spot a year later.

Meanwhile Peter has launched himself back into the charts as well, with his new songs Rock You Right and All About Us 2.0 climbing their way up the ranks.

It’s quite the feat after Peter’s latest album, Legacy, has come out three entire decade after his debut hit Mysterious Girl.

Peter gave Junior one major piece of advice when he began taking an interest in entering the music industry.

The wise musician shared: “When he [Junior] first got into recording at around 15, he wanted to start recording and I said to him, “you have to be a songwriter.”

“It’s like learning a trade. You can always write for other people, even if it doesn’t work out for yourself or if you don’t want to sing anymore.

“And now he’s written well over 200 songs. He’s such an incredible talent, both singing and rapping.”

He rounded off his thoughts by gushing about his children and their talents.

Peter concluded: “My daughter Princess has got an incredible voice, but I’m not really sure what she wants to do on that side of things.

“But Junior definitely, I think watch this space. What he’s got when it comes to music… They are both very talented.”

Peter’s new album Legacy features thirteen tracks, including ten re-imagined versions of ten of his iconi songs.

There are also collaborations on the record with artists including Montell Jordan, Brian McKnight, Kenny Thomas, Lady Leshurr, Bubbla Ranx, and Oritsé Williams.


AMANDA Bynes was spotted dashing around the streets of Los Angeles on Friday, looking in incredible shape while debuting a new hair colour.

The appearance comes just five days after the singer, 40, surprised her fans by spontaneously dropping a new single called Girlfriend.

Sporting a casual outfit, Amanda opted for a grey zip up hoodie and navy shorts to complete her errands in the city.

To keep her energised and hydrated, Amanda had an iced coffee in her hand as well as an unopened straw.

She finished the outfit off with a pair of comfortable Uggs, a black designer bag and jet black hair.

It’s a major change from the star’s signature platinum blonde tresses, giving her an edgier look.

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In December Amanda revealed that she had lost over 28lbs with the assistance of Ozympic.

Posting on social media to celebrate the achievement, Amanda penned to her followers that she was “down 152lbs” to date.

Amanda first announced that she was going to begin her Ozympic journey last June when the craze of weight loss injections swept the entertainment industry by storm.

At the time she described feeling “so excited” to shed some pounds and that she’ll “look better in paparazzi pictures”.

Amanda had previously opened up about battling depression and cited it as one of the reasons behind her weight gain.

It led to her becoming increasingly insecure, hoping to someday return to her teenage weight of 110lbs.

As she grew up, Amanda underwent some different procedures to alter her appearance.

Last August Amanda confirmed that she had gotten excess skin surgically removed from her eyelids.

She described the procedure, known as a blepharoplasty as “one of the best things [she] could have ever done for [her] self-confidence.”

Amanda has also had various tattoos done over the years, including a Roman numeral on her finger and a heart on her face.

Amanda is a former child actress who was known for playing various roles on Nickelodeon.

Some of the popular TV shows that she featured in include All That and The Amanda Show.

She won several Kids’ Choice Awards for both programmes, and later went on to star in sit coms and teen comedy films including What I Like About You, Hairspray, and Living Proof.

After the end of her conservatorship, Amanda pivoted to try out other creative pursuits including releasing music.

She released her first singles, Diamonds and Fairfax, back in 2022.

On the first Sunday night of Coachella, headliner Karol G told her American fans, and her global audience, to keep fighting.

“This is for my Latinos that have been struggling in this country lately,” the Colombian superstar told the tens of thousands watching her in person, and many more on the fest’s livestream. She’d recently criticized ICE in a Playboy interview, but this set was about her fans’ resolve. “We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, so I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Don’t feel fear — feel pride!” she said.

Any artist would be proud to play that caliber of headline slot. But right now, many foreign acts also feel fear — or at least wariness — about booking substantial tours in the United States. A year of brutal ICE raids, tensions at border crossings and policed political speech, coupled with sky-high prices for expedited visas, fuel and other touring logistics, could push international acts away from the U.S.

“The fears that ICE would raid shows didn’t really materialize, but there is a chilling effect,” said Andy Gensler, editor of the touring-biz trade bible Pollstar. “Trump’s only been back in office a year, so we haven’t fully seen the effects, but it does send a message that if you’re a political artist you won’t get a visa. With the economic shock of gas prices and tourism way down, the signifiers are out there.”

The music economy is still thriving in SoCal. Coachella sold out with record spending from fans, and fears that ICE might show up for a prominent Latin headliner proved unfounded. (The agency did not respond to a request for comment on Coachella, and Lt. Deirdre Vickers of the Riverside County Sheriff’s office said that their office “does not participate in immigration enforcement operations.”)

But in smaller venues featuring emerging and mid-tier global acts, some see trouble ahead.

Pollstar’s Gensler estimates that the total number of concerts in the U.S. they tracked for the first quarter of 2026 was down about 17% from last year. That could be due to many economic factors — but slower international touring could be contributing.

“The U.S. is still incredibly lucrative market, the arena and stadium level buildings are vast and you can make more money here than any market in the world,” Gensler said. “But I’ve heard anecdotally that fewer people are going to South by Southwest, and tourism from Canada is way down, and that includes music tourism to California. As barriers go up, and the economic shock of gas prices impacts touring, it’s hard to know how that will all shake out.”

Talent firms who specialize in bringing young acts to the U.S. began noticing pullback before this year’s festival season. Adam Lewis is the head of Planetary Group, a marketing agency that produces and promoting musician showcases in the U.S., with a significant roster of artists from abroad. He said that performers who ordinarily would leap at the chance to play U.S. festivals are taking hard looks at the payoffs and risks.

“Artists are thinking twice, based on what the government is doing right now,” Lewis said. “You can look at the economics — the fees are cost prohibitive to get a visa. People are scared, at the bottom line. Artists and industry people are afraid to come to the U.S. for any music event. The money is going elsewhere.”

South by Southwest, the March Texas confab for music, film and tech, was among the first festivals to feel a pinch this year. Several sources said they saw fewer foreign showcases and acts amid a broader culling of music. In 2025, Canada canceled its popular annual showcase, after deciding that hostile policies made the risks not worth the rewards. Many still pulled off successful events, but acknowledged the mood has shifted.

“The perception of how hard it’s gotten has taken root, and that has meant that not as many acts will take the chance on the threat of being turned away or risking future entry,” said Angela Dorgan, the director of Music From Ireland, the Irish Music Export office (which is funded by Culture Ireland). That organization has helped break acts like CMAT (a hit at Coachella this year) and Fontaines DC in the U.S.

“Artists want to continue to come here in spite of the trouble and not stay away because of it. There’s a unique pull to America for all Irish people, so we don’t want to see you hurting,” Dorgan said. ”Irish artists feel that their U.S. fans need music more than ever now and want to continue to connect with and support their fans.”

Takafumi Sugahara, the organizer of “Tokyo Calling X Inspired By Tokyo,” a Japanese showcase at South by Southwest, agreed: “Bringing artists to the United States has always been challenging when it comes to obtaining visas, but it feels like the process has become even more difficult than before — perhaps due to the current political climate under the current administration.”

Fans watch Karol G perform at the Coachella stage last weekend. “We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, so I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from. Don’t feel fear — feel pride!” the Colombian superstar said.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

After high-profile incidents of tourist detainments and fear of reprisals for political speech, those worries and long-dreaded expenses may shift their priorities. “From my point of view, the impact of global conflicts or wars does not seem to be affecting artists’ decisions very strongly for now,” they said. “However, if the current situation were to worsen, it’s possible that we could begin to see that change.”

Coachella usually hits a few visa snafus every year (this year, the English electronic artist Tourist had to cancel. Last year, it was FKA Twigs). Yet the Grammy-winning Malian Algerian group Tinariwen had to cancel a major tour this year, after the Trump administration placed severe new travel restrictions on 19 countries, including Mali. Folk legend Cat Stevens scotched a book tour after visa problems. Outspoken acts like the U.K.’s Bob Vylan have been denied U.S. visas for criticizing Israel, and the Irish rap group Kneecap faced hurdles after their visa sponsor, Independent Artist Group, dropped them for similar reasons last year.

The Times spoke to one European band (who asked not to be named, for fear of reprisals from the U.S. government) who had a substantial tour of U.S. theaters booked last year, before their visas were denied just days before the tour was due to begin. They were forced to cancel those dates and reschedule for spring 2026, losing tens of thousands of dollars in up-front costs and non-refundable fees. (A performance visa routinely costs $6,000 with now-necessary expedited processing.)

“Our manager said, ‘This has never happened before, but even though you paid lot of money and the check cleared, you won’t have visas,’” the band said. They wondered if their pro-Palestinian advocacy might have played a role, but now believe it was due to changes in their application forms.

That small discrepancy “meant we lost tens of thousands of [dollars], which for a mid-tier band with a loyal cult following, was quite ruinous,” they said. “We had to put on fundraising shows to get to zero, then re-apply for visas, and paid four grand extra to expedite them. We took out a loan to pay it. We felt relentlessly fleeced,” they said. “We love the U.S., but now there is a reality in which we have to cut our losses and stop coming. A lot of bands are giving up on the U.S., for sure.”

“It’s a different feeling now where the U.S. government can do anything to us, and we just have to take it,” they added. “They’re moving the goalposts the whole time. It’s scary.”

That fate can befall even major acts, particularly those from Latin America.

Last year, superstar Mexican singer Julión Álvarez canceled his concert for a planned 50,000 fans in Arlington, Texas, when his touring visa was revoked. Grupo Firme faced a similar fate at the La Onda festival in Napa Valley. Los Alegres del Barranco saw their visas canceled after they projected an image of drug kingpin “El Mencho” during a concert.

“That was a moment where people realize how serious or scary it can get for promoters with this administration when comes to the visa situation, how quickly things can change and you can lose millions,” said Oscar Aréliz, a Latin music expert at Pollstar.

An act the caliber of Karol G might not face quite the same risks, though she told Playboy that “If you say the thing, maybe the next day you’ll get a call: ‘Hey, we are taking your visa away.’ You become bait, because some people want to show their power.”

If it can happen to a stadium-filler like Álvarez, it can happen to anyone. That might make some Latin acts prioritize other regions.

Bad Bunny demurred on touring the continental U.S. for fear of ICE raids at his shows, opting for a lengthy residence in his home territory of Puerto Rico instead.

Local Latin music hubs like Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera have suffered greatly under recent ICE raids and have seen fans retreat in fear. Las Vegas is a major touring destination for acts during Mexican independence celebrations in September, but now “it feels different,” Aréliz said. He expects the city — typically boisterous with Latin acts then — to lose a big chunk of music tourism from the north and south.

“Vegas’ top tourist countries are Canada and Mexico, so we’re going to see other countries benefit from this. If acts struggle to tour here because of the visa situation, they’re going to tour Mexico and Latin America instead,” he added.

Tours typically book a year in advance, so the full effects of the visa issues and ICE fears may not be felt until later in 2026 or 2027. The results of the midterm elections may change global perception of America’s safety. The country is still an incredibly valuable touring market for acts that can make it work.

But the world’s music community now looks at the U.S. like an old friend going through a rough patch: They’ll be happy to see us once we pull it together.

“Certainly over the last number of years in the U.S., we have been thinking of where we could find these new audiences for Irish music,” Dorgan said. “The unofficial theme of our at home showcase Ireland Music Week was, ‘America. We are not breaking up with you, but we are seeing other people.’”

Arrest comes after police found the body of Celeste Rivas in a car registered to the musician last year.

American rapper David Anthony Burke, known by his stage name d4vd, has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found in a car registered to him.

Los Angeles police took the 21-year-old singer into custody on Thursday “for the murder of Celeste Rivas”, the city’s police department said in a statement. He is being held without bail.

Burke’s arrest comes seven months after police uncovered Rivas’s badly decomposed body in the trunk of an impounded Tesla registered in his name.

Investigators found two black bags in the vehicle – one holding a decomposed head and torso and the other containing other body parts, according to a court filing. An autopsy revealed that Rivas “appeared to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found”. The discovery occurred one day before Rivas would have turned 15.

The LA County District Attorney’s office will review the case against Burke on Monday for formal charges, according to police.

Burke’s lawyers issued a statement saying they would “vigorously defend” his “innocence”.

“Let us be clear – the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” lawyers Blair Berk, Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter said in a statement quoted by NBC News.

Burke, from Queens, New York, shot to internet fame in 2022 when his Romantic Homicide became a breakout hit on TikTok.

Last year, the musician cancelled the last part of his US and European tours amid growing fallout from the investigation into Rivas’s death.

Spotify wants to give historic venues such as the Troubadour and the Paramount — and the independent musicians who play there — a boost.

The steaming giant on Wednesday said it is partnering with the National Independent Venue Assn. (NIVA) to promote local music nationwide, including at dozens of clubs in L.A.

In the yearlong partnership, the company said it aims to boost visibility for independent music venues through its live events feed that will feature links to music from local artists and their performances at clubs in the Los Angeles area.

As part of the initiative, NIVA will choose someone who books the acts for these indie venues to work with Spotify’s editorial team and create a playlist featuring artists.

Spotify is launching the playlist this summer to celebrate and highlight the people shaping independent live music from behind the scenes.

The Regent Theater, Gold Diggers, the Teragram Ballroom and the United Theater on Broadway will be included in the program, Spotify said in its statement.

“Independent venues are the heartbeat of live music,” said Rene Volker, Spotify’s senior director of live music. “They’re where artists take risks, build devoted communities, and where fans discover what they’ll love for the rest of their lives.”

Spotify’s history in the music industry is complex, and it has previously faced some criticism over how it compensates artists whose songs stream on its platform.

Bill Werde, the director of Syracuse’s recording and entertainment industries program, said Spotify’s support for indie musicians could help them during a difficult time.

“It costs money to market, to collect good data and to do most of the things required to break through in today’s attention economy,” Werde said in a statement. “This creates a disadvantage for smaller music companies and smaller artists, who may not have the resources of larger acts and larger venues.”

THE wait is finally over for Madonna fans – as she returns with new music on Friday.

And I am told that she will finally unveil details of her upcoming 15th studio album.

A source revealed: “Madonna is ready to enter her new era and, on Friday, fans will finally get a taste of what she has been working on with Stuart Price.

“This album has been such a passion project for Madonna.

“It’s taken her to a different level in her artistry and she is excited for her fans to hear what she has been working on.

“Madonna has been through so much in the past few years. She almost died in 2023 after contracting sepsis and she lost her brother Christopher the following year.

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“The album will be steeped in reflections of what she has endured and how she has overcome everything thrown in her path.

“Working with Stuart has been brilliant for Madonna, too.

“Confessions On A Dance Floor back in 2005 was one of her best records and he has injected some of that magic into their new sessions.”

The Queen of Pop last released an album in 2019, with Madame X.

It has been the longest-ever gap between records since her career started.

I told you last month that Madonna had filmed a huge new video to celebrate her return to music.

Celebs including Kate Moss, Gwendoline Christie and Benedict Cumberbatch filmed top-secret scenes at Black Island Studios in West London, alongside a number of other famous faces I can’t reveal as I have been sworn to secrecy.

The video, I am told, pushed boundaries like never before, with Madonna’s stunt double filming an epic car crash scene then legging it into a rave.

Madonna has remained tight-lipped about her return, but yesterday she deleted all the photographs from her Instagram account and updated her profile shot with a blurry new picture of herself.

Last night, Madge also updated her website with a picture of a woman in fishnets and boots and her legs splayed open with a huge speaker covering her modesty.

We can’t wait to hear what you’ve been working on, Madge.

Selena & Demi share the Lov

SELENA GOMEZ and Demi Lovato can’t hide their delight as they are pictured together for the first time in a decade.

The former child Disney stars posed on the opening night of Demi’s It’s Not That Deep Tour in Florida.

It was a joyous moment for their fans, who had long thought the pair had fallen out.

Selena shared the snap online with the caption: “I am in tears.

“This was hands down one of the best shows. Oh and the vocals?”

Since they met backstage, Selena and Demi have started following each other again on Instagram – which is basically millennial code for “everything is fine”.

Given the smiles, I am actually convinced it is.

KANYE WEST might not be able to play festivals these days, but eldest daughter North is having no problems.

She has been signed to make her festival debut at Chicago’s Summer Smash, despite being only 12.

North, who was in the crowd at Coachella at the weekend, has only released a handful of songs but is already high on the line-up for the event, also featuring rappers Lil Uzi Vert and Sexyy Red.

It comes a week after Ye was refused entry to the UK.

It caused Wireless Festival, which he was due to headline for all three nights in July, to be axed.

Here’s hoping North has more luck for this event in June.

Frilled to see you, Anne

ONE WORD springs to mind when I look at this glam snap of Anne Hathaway. Itchy.

The US actress swapped comfort for couture as she promoted new film Mother Mary, alongside her equally elegant British co-star Michaela Coel, in a custom-made designer gown made from swathes of rough-looking fabric.

The psychological thriller, which is out in cinemas on April 24, is a far cry from Anne’s other new film, The Devil Wears Prada sequel which comes out the following week.

She reprises her role as Andy Sachs, alongside Meryl Streep who plays her formidable magazine editor boss Miranda Priestly.

I’m expecting some incredible fashion choices from Anne and co when they start promoting the film, with the UK premiere in London’s Leicester Square on 22 April.

And hopefully her stylist will choose something a little less scratchy.

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FOOTBALLER JORGINHO admitted he got it wrong when he accused Chappel Roan of making his stepdaughter cry by ordering her security guard to tell the girl off.

He made the claim last month when his wife Catherine Harding and her daughter Ada were at a hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Chappell received a massive backlash.

But the singer insisted she wasn’t aware of the incident, and the security guard came out to say he was working for someone else.

Addressing the situation on Instagram, the Brazilian midfielder didn’t apologise but said: “I made my initial statement in the heat of the moment.”

Jorginho, who insisted he did not support “hate speech or online attacks” as a result of the saga, said Chappell “reached out privately to Catherine”.

PADDINGTON is digging out his raincoat as he returns to cinemas in a fourth movie.

Film company Studiocanal has confirmed another instalment is in the works following the 2024 release of Paddington In Peru.

Since the first movie in 2014, the series has made more than $700million at the box office worldwide.

WETS TOUR FOR DEBUT’S 40TH YEAR

WET WET WET will play 40 dates around the UK next year to mark four decades since their debut album, Popped In Souled Out.

The band will kick off their tour at Watford Colosseum on February 7, with more shows through the month.

A second leg of the tour starts at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall on October 4.

The band now includes founding member, bassist Graeme Clark, long-time touring guitarist Graeme Duffin, who has been with the band since 1983, and lead vocalist Kevin Simm, formerly of Liberty X, who has toured with the band since 2018.

Graeme Clark said: “Forty years later, those songs have taken on a life of their own, and this tour is about celebrating where it all began without forgetting what followed.”

OLIVIA’S STRICTLY TOURING

OLIVIA DEAN has won four Brits, three Mobo awards and a Grammy so far this year.

But she’s got her eye on something else for her display cabinet – the Strictly Glitterball trophy.

The singer has been having dance tuition and is seriously tempted by the possibility of appearing on the BBC One show.

She said: “I’ve been doing salsa lessons recently.

“Just learning a new skill that’s completely separate from my music and still in music.”

During an appearance on Hits Radio, Marvin Humes asked Olivia whether she would take part in Strictly and she replied: “I actually would.”

Sadly for us, a stint in the ballroom this year is off the cards as Olivia will be on tour across Australia and New Zealand in October, which will be right in the middle of the series.

There could be more music on the way from Olivia as she teased she has several songs we haven’t heard. She said: “Man I Need wasn’t supposed to be a single.

“But I’m glad I followed through with that one.

“There were loads of songs that didn’t make the album, but I might still do something with them.”

Ladies on the lash

LADIES Of London: The New Reign is on course to get a second series, so it’s little wonder the cast hit the town to celebrate.

The Bravo TV series, which stars Mark-Francis Vandelli, Emma Thynn, Myka Meier, Martha Sitwell, Lottie Kane and Misse Beqiri, started again last month and has proved to be a success.

An onlooker who saw the group celebrating at private members’ club 5 Hertford Street, in London, told me: “The Ladies Of London cast went from drinking tea to doing shots of tequila, they were loving life.

“They’d just done a photoshoot and were in really high spirits, talking about the future and what they had coming up.

“The show is all about bitching and backstabbing, but in reality, now especially, they all seem to get on like a house on fire.

“When they left around 6.30pm on Monday, they were definitely a bit squiffy.”

I’ve no doubt they’ll be cracking open more bottles of champers when they get another series.

A US musician has revealed he’s been scammed out of his entire £300,000 retirement fund in a shocking blow.

Singer G Love revealed that he had accidentally installed some malicious software onto his computer which resulted in scammers taking all of his cash.

The performer took to X – formerly Twitter – to speak out on the incident that saw his entire retirement fund stolen.

He wrote: “I had a really tough day today I lost my retirement fund in a hack/Scam when I switched my @Ledger over to my new computer and by accident downloaded a malicious ledger app from the @Apple store.

“All my BTC gone in an instant.”

The singer appeared to be referring to his bitcoin investments in the tweet.

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One of his fans replied to confirm they had reported his issue to the Ledger app.

Ledger is an app known to be used for storing cryptocurrency.

He further went on to add: “I lost 5.9 BTC all I had for ten years I worked on this f*** be careful out there.”

5.9 BTC can be converted to work out at approximately £300,000.

G Love is best known for being the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce.

The 53-year-old has been in the music industry since the early 90s.

He has released various albums as part of the band as well as being a soloist.

He continues to regularly perform gigs and appear at festivals and events across America.

The most common scams

Source: Citizens Advice

Online shopping scams 26%
Investment scams 18%
Other financial scams 18%
A friend or family member needs help scams 16%
Mobile network scams 14%

HE IS known to not mince his words – and it seems Simon Cowell could get a taste of his own medicine.

I can reveal that his ex, Baywatch model Carmen Electra, and his fellow American Idol judge Paula Abdul are both working on memoirs — which are set to feature their relationships with the music mogul.

A Los Angeles literary agent said: “Paula and Carmen are strong women and they won’t hold back when it comes to their memoirs.

“Carmen dated Simon, so knows what he is like when the cameras stop rolling.

“Rumours have swirled for years about Paula and Simon.

“They had undeniable chemistry on American Idol and now Paula has the chance to put the record straight.”

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Carmen and Simon were first linked in 2012 when she briefly starred as a guest judge on ITV show Britain’s Got Talent.

The pair were spotted on a series of dinner dates.

Speaking about Carmen in December 2012, Simon said: “She’s not my girlfriend. We’re people who date. She’s adorable, isn’t she?”

Paula had starred on American Idol with Simon for eight seasons between 2002 and 2009.

The pair, who also appear­ed together on The X Factor USA, were known for their chemistry on the shows.

Speaking of their relationship in 2011, he said: “On the first two seasons, we couldn’t travel on the same plane together.

“We really disliked each other that much. I think it was sexual tension — on her part.”

When later asked if the pair had ever dated, Paula replied: “Oh no! No! Ew, no!”.

Simon has proved himself as a family man — after getting engaged to American socialite Lauren Silverman in December 2021.

The couple, who have a 12-year-old son Eric, opened up their home to the cameras for Netflix’s show Simon Cowell: The Next Act.

On the six-part docu- series — which charts how the entertainment boss put together boyband December 10 — Simon praised his ­fiancee.

He said: “Lauren, she’s very strong, very emotional, but I love that.

“The reason we have such a great relationship is she always tells me the truth.”

Let’s hope Simon appreciates the same in these upcoming books.

SIMON likes snacking on oranges while filming the auditions for ITV show Britain’s Got Talent.

A source said: “He loves ­oranges – specifically easy peelers. Runners were tasked with keeping the oranges flowing during filming in Blackpool and Birmingham.

“At one point he was giving them out to the crowd, who were ­asking him to sign them.”

Sabrina’s Carchella

SABRINA CARPENTER revved up the crowd with her headline set at Coachella on Friday night.

In a lace leotard, the starlett danced on top of a convertible car amid a sultry performance at the music festival in Palm Springs, America.

She was supported by Irish singer CMAT, Brit rapper ­Centra Cee and US stars Teddy Swims and Lizzo – who showed off her flute-playing skills.

Sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner, and Kourtney Kardashian watched on.

It sure looks less muddy than Glasto . . . 

Paul on a Roll with the Stones

HAVING made music history by appearing on a Rolling Stones’ album three years ago, Paul McCartney is repeating the feat.

The Beatles legend will feature on a track on their upcoming 25th album, which is due for release in July.

Believed to be titled Foreign Tongues, the collection of songs is largely being touted as the ­Stones’ final record.

It comes after Macca played bass on Bite My Head Off, a track on the Stones’ 2023 record Hackney Diamonds.

An insider said: “Details surrounding the Stones’ new album have been kept secret, but it’s true that Paul features on a new track on it. It’s a real treat for fans.”

Marty Supreme actress Odessa A’Zion is reported to have filmed their new video in a hushed-up two-day shoot at Battersea Arts Centre in South London last week.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood dropped a new single yesterday under pseudonym The Cockroaches.

Macca and Jagger have previously ­competed over who was in the best band.

Caught Live: Craig David

By Olivia Monk

HE is marking 25 years in the game, but Craig David proved he has still got it – and revealed there’s plenty more to come.

The 7 Days singer told fans at the venue in Hammersmith, West London that he is working on new music.

At his Born To Do It: 25th Anniversary gig on Thursday he had the crowd hooked from the off, admitting with hand on heart: “Oh man, we’re getting emotional here.”

But the biggest moment came when he brought out Grammy award-winning producer, songwriter and musician Fraser T Smith – who has worked with Craig as well as Adele and Rita Ora among others – and confirmed they are collaborating again.

Craig said: “He’s my brother, and also someone I’m back in the studio making new music with.”

The pair shared a stripped-back set, with Fraser cheekily flipping Craig’s famous ad lib to: “Fraser T all over your . . . ”

Still, fans were there for the classics – and Craig delivered.

Introducing 7 Days – his second consecutive UK No1 in 2000 – he said: “This song changed everything for me.” Delighted fans sang every word back.

Hit song Rewind sparked more chaos, with one over-excited fan even throwing a red bra on stage as the Apollo turned into one big party.

With energy like that, Craig won’t be Walking Away from the music industry any time soon.

SERIES two of Disney+ hit Rivals is set to feature shocking sex scenes between Danny Dyer and his on-screen partner Katherine Parkinson.

The actress, who plays novelist Lizzie Vereker in the show, back next month, teases: “You’ll see a lot of me and Danny, possibly more than you’ll want to see.”

An insider added: “It’s raunchier than the first series and will raise a lot of eyebrows.” I can’t wait.

LOUIS PARTRIDGE is the latest actor tipped to play the next James Bond – and aged 22, he could be the youngest to take the iconic role.

The Brit, whose two-year romance with Olivia Rodrigo ended last year – starred in House of Guinness, which dropped on Netflix last September.

The historical drama series was created by Steven Knight, who is writing the script for the next Bond film.

Of impressing Steven, Louis said: “Maybe I could just be at the bar swilling a martini, saying nothing.”

Glam dash for Doc in frock

SURANNE JONES does a runner as she films for the third and final series of BBC One drama Doctor Foster.

The actress was spotted running in a black satin dress and heels has returned as the titular character.

She was also seen behind the wheel of a burgundy Porsche, and springing from the motor during filming in Hertfordshire this week.

Of her third season in the thriller, Suranne said: “When I got the call to ask if I wanted to return as Gemma Foster, I knew the time was right.”

The first series premiered in September 2015 and followed Dr Foster as she uncovers her husband Simon – Bertie Carvel – having an affair.
Series two aired in 2017.

Swiss musician To Athena has performed inside a cave in a melting glacier to highlight accelerating ice loss in the Alps. Scientists say the Morteratsch glacier is shrinking by around 50 metres a year, with the cave itself unlikely to survive another summer as temperatures rise.

Music. Art. Fashion. Fun. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returns to the Empire Polo Club in Indio for its 25th anniversary, with a sold-out crowd for its twin weekends and millions of people watching the livestream from home.

Our team is in the field to capture what it’s really like to be at Coachella, from the biggest stars on stage to the only-at-the-festival vibes of the field.

Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G headline, but there are more than 100 acts on the bill, including the Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize collaboration Nine Inch Noize, girl groups including Katseye and Bini, rock royalty like Iggy Pop and David Byrne and more.

We’ll be updating our gallery all weekend long with images of the performances, iconic art installations, the people, the fashion and more.

If you want to see what Coachella used to look like, take a trip down memory lane with our gallery of photos going back to 1999.

Sabrina Carpenter performs at the Coachella Stage.

Sabrina Carpenter performs at the Coachella Stage.

Fans watch Katseye perform at the Sahara stage.

Turnstile performs at the Outdoor Theatre.

Fans scream as BINI performs at the Mojave stage.

Brendan Yates, lead vocalist of Turnstile, performs during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Festival goers walk past tents blown down by the wind.

Ava Acuesta dances as DJ Fifi plays at the DoLab.

Dijon performs on the Outdoor Theatre.

Natalie Villegas, 27, from the District of Columbia, poses for a photos inside the SPECTRA.

Festival goers walk near the SPECTRA and Ferris Wheel.

Bob Baker Marionette performs at the Gobi Stage.

Festival goers react to Bob Baker Marionette’s performance.

Victoria Aular, 29, from Miami takes photographs inside an art installation.

Katseye performs at the Sahara stage.

Katseye performs at the Sahara stage.

The gates are open at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Teddy Swims performs at the Coachella stage.

Festival goers climb up the SPECTRA.

THE ROLLING STONES continue to champion new talent, this time signing up Marty Supreme actress Odessa A’Zion for their next video.

The wise old rockers previously cast Sydney Sweeney in the vid to accompany 2023 comeback single Angry.

Now they are hoping to repeat that success, as I can reveal they have got one of Gen Z’s buzziest names on board.

Odessa filmed the visuals during a hushed-up two-day shoot at Battersea Arts Centre in South London last week.

I’m told loads of extras of all ages and styles were brought in to reflect the Stones over the years.

A music industry insider said: “The video represents the Stones through the ages. There’s a lot going on. They brought in lots of extras to represent subcultures and sonic histories.

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“The idea is it blends everything from blues souls and punk kids with old school rockers and Northern Soul dancers.

“Then there’s a load of glam rock attitude and DIY chaos to echo the legacy of the Stones.

“Odessa is at the centre of it all.

“The video should look really impressive when it’s all tied together.”

The return of the Stones has been talked about for a while, but there isn’t long left to wait at all.

The band is expected to drop a new song today, as I revealed on Wednesday.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have been teasing their return under the pseudonym The Cockroaches.

They are coming back with their 25th album, believed to be titled Foreign Tongues, which is largely being touted as their final record together.

It is a follow-up to their 2023 album Hackney Diamonds, with the tracks mainly being written and recorded during the same sessions.

Unfortunately for their fans, I’ve been told there are no immediate plans for the band to hit the road again just yet.

But I live in hope the band will rethink that — when they see just how many people snap up this new album when it drops later in the year.

Zara up to finny business

ZARA LARSSON is por-poised for action as she lifts a dummy dolphin over her head.

She dazzled in a sequined skirt split to the waist and a tiny bikini top while fronting Spanish label Desigual’s Life’s A Beach campaign.

Zara has signed a major deal with the clothing brand for a new range inspired by her Y2K look.

Meanwhile, her US tour ends tomorrow in Houston, Texas – then she’ll focus on a deluxe version of her 2025 album Midnight Sun, due out next month.

Zara has remixed tracks with female collaborators. Tyga, Madison Beer and Jade are among stars expected to be involved.

The record originally peaked at No36, but with Zara enjoying a popularity surge, I predict a massive leap up the charts.

Derm’s so Keane on his main man

DERMOT KENNEDY has a surprising role model in his music career – football great Roy Keane.

His inspiration during gigs is the memory of Man United hero Keane playing against Juventus in 1999.

Despite being yellow-carded, the captain put in a blistering performance that took them to the Champions League final.

Dermot whose album The Weight Of The Woods became his third No1 last night, said of Roy: “If you ask about the way I sing, it’s purely him.

“He has a thing in his book where, when he was younger trying to get spotted, he would play a match to 100 or 200 people, and he developed the skill of creating the atmosphere in his head.

“I think I have that in music. If I play to ten people, I will rip it because I don’t care how many people are there.”

Dermot also shares a love of football with Roy once playing for Dublin’s Crumlin United.

He said: “I’m a far better person when I’m playing football regularly. Whatever feeling everyone thinks I get from music, I get it from football. It’s the one time my mind is clear.”

But Dermot has another reason to be inspired after his wife Aisling Finnegan gave birth to their daughter.

Asked how long they have been together, he told the And The Writer Is . . .  podcast: “I would have been eight years old.

“We went to school together. What age did I know? Early twenties, probably.”

Michaela in a flap

MICHAELA COEL looks amazing despite her suit falling apart at the seams as she steps out in New York.

The actress, whose outfit had several flappy features, recently admitted she didn’t love appearing in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which she played warrior Aneka.

She said: “I really don’t think I was ready for that world of green screen acting. I don’t know how to do that.”

Maybe she’s struggling with new styles.

Nineties exhibition shines the spotlight on Scary’s catsuit

THE famous leopard-print catsuit Mel B wore when the Spice Girls performed at the Brit Awards in 1997 is going on display.

Former Bizarre editor Dominic MOhan has curated the exhibition, 1996: 30 Years On, and managed to get hold of the catsuit which was worn to perform their debut hit Wannabe.

Mel said: “It was all a crazy Nineties whirlwind but, in my leopard print, I knew I could take on anything. This outfit is sexy, naughty and bold, which pretty much sums me and the Nineties up.”

Also on display will be Emma Bunton’s dress from the same performance, Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack boots and a signed Liam Gallagher‘s tambourine.

It opens on Thursday at the Barbican Music Library in London and runs until September 19.

Dom will be launching his four-part show Cool Britannia on Virgin Radio tomorrow from 6pm.

OLIVIA DEAN is obsessed with Love Island.

She said: “I just watched Love Island All Stars and, oh my god, what amazing television that was.

“Thank you everybody involved for that. It really got me through the last couple of months and I loved it. No notes. Can’t wait for the next season.”

She also had a message for its host: “Maya Jama, I love you.”

Even pop’s busiest acts can’t resist a bit of villa drama.

Masterclass by B-Side Boys as jangling Mars Attacks

THERE aren’t many acts that can pull off five sell- out shows by promising only B sides, album tracks and no hits.

But the Pet Shop Boys did, without breaking a sweat.

I’d happily listen to Neil Tennant sing the back of a crisp packet, but he and Chris Lowe had something more special in store here in Camden, North London.

They whipped out guest Johnny Marr early on, who added some excellent guitar jangling on Up Against it from 1996 and 2003’s I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today.

They might be synthpop’s finest duo, but they can rock out too. With a back catalogue spanning more than 40 years, you can forgive Neil for needing lyrics printed out for the more obscure numbers, and being overjoyed at a stool, joking: “Ooh, I can sit down now, like Westlife.”

They finished by teasing the launch of their upcoming musical, Naked, performing a song from it called I Dream Of A Better Tomorrow.

Right now, that’s a mantra we can all get behind.

Afrika Bambaataa, the influential rapper and DJ who helped shape the culture of hip-hop via his legendary Zulu Nation block parties in the South Bronx, has died.

Also known for his electro-funk records including “Planet Rock” and “Looking for the Perfect Beat,” the musician — born Lance Taylor — died Thursday “from complications of cancer,” according to TMZ. He was 68.

A Bronx native and former member of the Black Spades gang, Bambaataa was most known for establishing his activist organization Universal Zulu Nation and hosting its block parties through the late ‘70s, gatherings that helped elevate rap from a genre of music to a cultural movement. The first Zulu Nation block party was held in 1977, set against a turbulent time for New York City — one marked by a historic blackout and a series of blazes across the South Bronx. The celebrations welcomed graffiti artists, DJs, emcees and other street performers, offering former gang members a positive outlet and laying the groundwork for what would become the four elements of hip-hop: deejaying, B-boy/girl dancing, emceeing and graffiti painting.

“Rap is about the gangs and the killings that went on until rap music and break-dancing helped end the violence. It brought people together,” Bambaataa told The Times in 1985.

Bambaataa, often named alongside DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash as a founder of hip-hop, concerned himself with community-building after a prize trip to Africa for an essay competition in 1974 shifted his worldview. He told the Red Bull Music Academy in 2017 that he was greatly inspired by “seeing Black people controlling their own destiny, seeing them get up and go to their own work.” He returned home, his new name a nod to a Zulu chief, with a new rhythm to his work.

The sounds of Bambaataa’s South Bronx block parties soon reached mainstream avenues, spreading beyond the community and eventually beyond New York. In 1982, Bambaataa launched into further fame with the release of “Planet Rock,” a Kraftwerk-inspired creation from him and Soulsonic Force, a group he co-founded. By 2006, he had released more than 20 albums, including compilations, and counted James Brown, Yellowman, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols, Boy George and Bootsy Collins among his collaborators.

Bambaataa’s recording career tapered off in the aughts, but he continued working as a DJ until his death. Bambaataa, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee, was appointed as a three-year visiting scholar at Cornell University in 2012. Years later, he faced controversy when multiple men in 2016 accused the musician of sexual assault. He denied the allegations at the time. Zulu Nation distanced itself from its founder as the allegations went public but has since remained committed to its mission of hip-hop unity.

Among the accusers who went public with their claims was Democratic Party community advocate Ronald Savage, who alleged Bambaataa assaulted him when he was 14. Savage walked back his claims in 2024, saying he met the musician at a club he had entered using a fake ID.

An anonymous accuser raised additional allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking against Bambaataa in 2021. That case ended last year in favor of the musician’s accuser after Bambaataa failed to appear for a court hearing in New York.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has proposed a takeover of Universal Music Group in a $64bn deal, the latest twist in his nearly five-year quest for the music label giant.

Pershing Square proposed a cash-and-shares offer on Tuesday through its acquisition vehicle that values Universal Music at about 30.40 euros ($35) per share, a 78 percent premium to the last closing price of 17.10 euros ($20), making the deal worth 55.75 billion euros ($64.31bn).

Universal Music Group (UMG) – the company behind international superstars, including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar – is expected to move its listing to New York from Amsterdam, paving the way for more investors, including index funds, to own the company and ultimately lead to more robust earnings and a higher valuation.

Universal Music declined a Reuters news agency request for comment.

For Ackman, one of the world’s most voluble investors, who cemented his fame and fortune as an activist investor, forcefully pushing corporate America to adopt changes, this is a far friendlier approach, investors and industry analysts said.

Even as the music industry is flourishing, UMG’s share price has lagged, something Ackman is pledging to fix with this proposed deal.

Ackman’s letter to Universal Music Group’s board carried a mixed tone, at times complimentary of current management, led by chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge, and critical of the company’s “underutilized balance sheet” and handling of its 2.7 billion euro ($3.1bn) investment in Spotify Technology.

Fears of AI disrupting the music industry have played a role in UMG’s lacklustre performance. Its share of the music market has been sliding, and streaming growth is decelerating, Wells Fargo analysts noted. In March, UMG delayed its plans for a US listing.

Nonetheless, Ackman will need the support of UMG’s top shareholders – Bollore Group, which holds an 18.5 percent stake, and Vivendi, which owns 13.4 percent – to push through any transaction. China’s Tencent is a significant shareholder. French billionaire Vincent Bollore’s family controls 80 percent of UMG’s voting rights.

Old target

Ackman first flirted with Universal Music Group in 2021, when his Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, a shell corporation created to take a private company public, zeroed in on its target. But Ackman shelved the complex deal in the wake of heavy US regulatory scrutiny. Instead, Pershing Square became one of UMG’s biggest investors in 2021, and Ackman sat on its board until last year.

Post transaction, Ackman said Grainge should remain Universal Music’s chief executive.

Ackman said he and former Hollywood super-agent Michael Ovitz met with Grainge over dinner “a couple of weeks ago” to discuss the potential merger.

“Lucian encouraged us to send it in,” Ackman said.

Ackman proposed adding new directors, including Ovitz – who shepherded the careers of Madonna and Michael Jackson – who would become the board chair. Additionally, two representatives from Pershing Square would get seats, he said, not saying yet whether he would be one of the directors.

Shares of UMG, which is listed in Amsterdam, were up 13 percent on Tuesday, while Bollore Group climbed 5 percent. Shares in Vivendi were up more than 10 percent.

Pershing bought a 10 percent stake in UMG from Vivendi ahead of its 2021 Amsterdam IPO and has since repeatedly pressed for a New York listing, arguing it would boost UMG’s share price and liquidity.

Pershing currently has a 4.7 percent stake, making it UMG’s fourth-biggest shareholder.

UMG’s shares have lost almost a third of their value since its IPO.

Even as global music revenues grow year after year, UMG and other major labels, like Sony and Warner Music, are scrambling to stay competitive as streaming services from Spotify, Amazon, Apple and Deezer take an ever greater share.

They are now also contending with disruptions brought on by the expansion of AI – from copyright disputes to the advent of song-generating AI tools – that threaten to upend how music is created, consumed and monetised.

One survey last year found that a staggering 97 percent of listeners could distinguish between AI-generated and human-composed songs.

Under Tuesday’s proposal, Pershing’s SPARC Holdings would merge with UMG, and the new entity would become a Nevada corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has launched a $65 billion bid to purchase Universal Music, the label representing some of music’s biggest names like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.

As part of the proposed deal, UMG would merge with Ackman’s investment firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, and the company’s stock listing would be relocated from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.

Pershing Square already holds more than 4.5% of the music giant’s shares. Ackman said the move to a U.S.-based stock exchange would increase the value of UMG .

“UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business and importantly, all of them can be addressed with this transaction,” said Ackman in a statement.

The proposed deal includes Universal Music merging with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, an acquisition company approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023. If agreed upon, the proposed transaction could close at the end of the year, according to the company.

Universal Music Group currently has its corporate headquarters in the Netherlands and a local L.A. office in Santa Monica. The label was founded in 1996. Over the years, it’s cemented its reputation as one of the music industry’s “Big Three,” alongside Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Universal also controls smaller labels like Republic Records, Interscope Geffen A&M, Capitol Music Group, and Def Jam Recordings.

The news has drawn a level of skepticism, as Ackman will need two-thirds of UMG’s investors to approve the proposed deal, including French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who is UMG’s largest shareholder with a morethan 18% stake, according to Bloomberg.

If finalized, UMG shareholders would receive €9.4 billion in cash, around €5.05 per share, or roughly $10.9 billion and $5.84 per share.

Investors would receive 0.77 shares in the new merged company. This would value the total consideration package of cash and stock estimated to be worth €30.40 per share, a 78% premium to UMG’s stock price. The transaction will also include the cancellation of 17% of UMG outstanding shares. The new UMG will have 1.541 billion shares outstanding.

UMG’s stock price has jumped over 11% to €19.05 Tuesday morning, due to this potential acquisition.

With Gustavo Dudamel’s final season as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic reaching its homestretch, the orchestra has announced the appointment of its latest not music director. Anna Handler, a former Dudamel fellow and rapidly rising young conductor, will be given the new title of conductor-in-residence for the next three seasons.

She will spend three weeks each season conducting the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as working with students at the Beckmen YOLA Center in Inglewood. In a phone call from Boston, where she serves as assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony, she says she is also strongly driven by technology and wants to explore all kinds of projects with the latest devises.

“The sky is the limit,” Handler exclaims with the boundless enthusiasm that is said to have won over the orchestra and the administration.

That might include, she further fantasizes, a technology tool you don’t even notice but that focuses your attention to sound vibrations the way glasses give clarity to blurry vision. “Why not glasses for the ears?” she excitedly asks.

Kim Noltemy, the L.A. Phil president and chief executive, says Handler’s appointment does not necessarily imply the orchestra won’t ultimately find a music director who can oversee the bigger picture of the world’s most artistically diverse, expansive and wealthy orchestra. But the L.A. Phil has so many fingers in so many pies that no one person can do it all.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Phil now adds what it has been missing in what the institution calls its team of creative collaborators. As creative director, former music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will spend six weeks a season helping envision what a 21st century symphony orchestra might look like. John Adams continues his role as creative chair as do early music specialist Emmanuelle Haïm (artist collaborator), Herbie Hancock (creative chair for jazz) and Zubin Mehta (conductor emeritus). None, however, is younger than 60. Handler turns 30 this month.

Born in France, she grew up in Germany and is Colombian German. Both her parents are electrical engineers, whom she says her love for technology come from. And she notes that her roots also make her feel at home with the L.A. Phil. She connects with Salonen’s pioneering fascination with technology and the orchestra. With a Colombian mom, she is readily attuned to Dudamel’s Venezuelan heritage. Like her, Salonen, Dudamel and Mehta first began working with the L.A. Phil in their 20s.

Handler’s appointment came, she says, as a surprise. It was after her conducting the L.A. Phil at Disney last month that the orchestra suddenly sprang the idea of a residency beginning almost immediately with the 2026-27 season, even though the Bowl and fall seasons are already planned. Noltemy puts it to the fact that Handler and the orchestra simply got caught up in her energy.

Handler says she jumped at the chance to return to L.A. even though she would be beginning her first season of her first music director job at the Ulster Orchestra in Ireland. A pianist who loves chamber music (which she says will make part of her L.A. residencies), she also becomes artist in residence of the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany. But, she excitedly exclaims, “At the L.A. Phil you can dream big. And if you have any big ideas, please tell me about them.”

He excitement over music education and community outreach also proved a draw. At 17, she formed her own student orchestra, which performed in schools, old age homes, prisons, all over. And she points out that she is young enough to feel relatively close in age to the students at YOLA, or Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. She describes one of her missions in life as getting young people involved with classical music.

“My long-term dream,” she proclaims, “is to build a Disney World for classical music.” There could be a Beethoven’s Fifth ride. She imagines melody, rhythm, harmony and form as little creatures whom we follow on their journey through the piece. “I’m all about decoding the rhythms of the music,” she adds.

Tellingly, Handler had already been scheduled to be the first conductor to follow Dudamel’s final Hollywood Bowl concert as L.A. Phil music director this summer at the iconic L.A. venue. It features Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Her two programs at Disney next season include West Coast premieres of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 15 (“Lincoln”), which the composer recently withdrew from the Kennedy Center, and John Williams’ recent Piano Concerto.

The Luxembourg entry for the Eurovision Song Contest is under investigation after their song held similarities to the singer Birdy’s song Keeping Your Head Up

Luxembourg has been thrown into chaos regarding its participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after its entry’s song is facing a copyright investigation.

Mother Nature by Eva Marija has been accused of being almost identical to the 2016 hit song “Keeping Your Head Up” by singer Birdy. It emerged that the chorus of the song is similar to Birdy’s, prompting her team to launch an investigation.

Now, a spokesperson for the singer has said that they are aware of the situation. In a statement, they said: “The Birdy camp is now aware, and they are reviewing. And the Luxembourg broadcaster RTL confirmed that it was exploring the suggestion of copyright infringement.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Luxembourg broadcaster RTL told The Sun: “We, the Eurovision team, take the discussions about possible copyright infringements seriously and want to deal with them transparently.”

But this is not the first time the legendary song contest has had its fair share of disruption. Back in 2024, the final aired from Malmö in Sweden. However, the run-up to the show was blighted by boycotts and even arrests.’

The Dutch actor Joost Klein was told that were not allowed to perform after an alleged heated argument, which reportedly turned physical.

But it wasn’t just that; the contest was thrown into further chaos as people gathered to protest against Israel’s inclusion despite the country’s war with Palestine. Activist Greta Thunberg was also seen supporting the pro-Palestine protesters. The protests occurred outside the Swedish arena.

In the wave of Joost Klein’s disqualification, the Dutch radio Avrotos found the punishment “disproportionate” and “very heavy.” A petition was even generated in support of the act to perform in the final.

And this year is now facing its own drama after would-be UK host Scott Mills was sacked by the BBC over issues with his personal conduct. The Mirror also understands that the allegation concerns a relationship from three decades ago. The BBC’s decision to axe Scott relates to a 2016 police investigation into “serious sexual offences” against a boy in his teenage years.

At the time, Scott was questioned by police under caution, but the case was not pursued due to insufficient evidence. But the Mirror believes that the sacking relates to the individual.

At the time, Director General Tony Hall was not aware of the “full picture”, including the accuser’s age, although it’s unclear if other managers did. However, after learning about the age in the last week, the newer management took swift action.

The TV and radio presenter had been a regular face when it came to the international competition, but now speculation over who is to replace him has hit fever pitch.

This year, the event is set to be hosted in Austria with LookMumNoComputer representing the United Kingdom. According to The Sun, Sara Cox and Rylan Clark, who have been regulars at the broadcaster for many years, are likely candidates to replace Scott Mills.

Last year, the sacked presenter was open about his eagerness to return to hosting the contest. He said at the time: “Eurovision is like a melting pot and we’re all there for the same reason and everyone can chat and talk about what songs they like and what they don’t like.”

He added: “We absolutely adore it, it’s our World Cup. I look forward to it so much, and that’s what’s magical about it. Everyone’s there for the same reason.”

The Mirror has contacted a rep for the Luxembourg Eurovision entry.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Early in “The Drama,” things are still good between Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson). The young happy couple, about a week away from getting married, have enjoyed a whirlwind romance. As this dark comedy’s opening credits roll, they’re blissfully practicing their first dance, laughing and stumbling as they try to get their twirls and steps right.

But the scene’s highlight is the song that plays in the background, airy, gentle and simple. Spare guitar chords give way to a female voice that sounds unpolished but beautiful: “I want to lay with you/ In an open field/ Where yellow flowers are suns of Earth.”

For many viewers, this will be the first time they’ve ever heard “I Want to Lay With You,” one of the most gorgeous love songs of the 1970s. It’s also likely they’ll have no idea who the singer is. Her name is Shira Small, and in 1974, she recorded an incredible album, “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now,” when she was 17. She never recorded another — at least, not yet. Now nearly 70, Small may finally be getting her moment in the spotlight.

“I’m cracking up,” says Small over Zoom from her Cooperstown, N.Y., home, “because I had no idea whatsoever that that movie was coming out until my dear sister informed me via you.” Flashing a relaxed smile and sporting long gray hair, Small knows little about the controversial “The Drama,” an A24 film with a heavily guarded twist.

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in the movie “The Drama.”

(A24)

But it’s becoming a delightfully frequent occurrence that Small learns after the fact that her music is featured prominently in a movie or television show. “The record company does what they do and then they send me royalties and I get it in a statement,” she explains. “I had a song that HBO bought for ‘Pause With Sam Jay.’ They sent me an email that was not even to me — it was this interdepartmental thing. At the bottom, it said, ‘Oh, by the way, it airs tonight.’”

Jemma Burns, music supervisor for “The Drama,” had been a fan of Small’s album, thinking “I Want to Lay With You” would be perfect for this idyllic scene, right before Emma and Charlie’s relationship implodes over a disturbing revelation that turns their dream wedding into a nightmare.

“He was trying to set up the rom-com tone,” says Burns of the movie’s writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, “one that would contrast with the modernity of the setting and where the film goes. He wanted something that was from a bygone era, but also something that felt disarmingly charming. The two lead characters are very switched-on, fashionable, arty. So it felt like something they would’ve had in their record collection.”

The youngest of five siblings, Small always loved singing. But even as an adolescent growing up in Harlem, she felt like an old soul, her thoughts running deeper than the average kid’s.

“My focus was on not understanding war and hatred and bigotry,” she says. “I was seriously into trying to make love happen everywhere.”

Against the backdrop of the war in Vietnam and the Black Power movement, Small was well on her way to becoming a hippie, a transformation amplified by her enrollment in a private Quaker boarding academy, George School, in Newtown, Penn., on a full scholarship. When she arrived at George School, Small recalls, laughing, it was “very rich and very white. But I’ve always been a flotation device. I can walk around like I don’t have a clue about things.”

Shira Small, photographed in 1971 at George School in Newtown, Penn.

(Courtesy of Shira Small)

At George School, Small sported an Afro and smoked weed. She was drawn to theater and music, impressing music teacher and classical pianist Lars Clutterham, who saw she had talent. They worked on songs together, with Small coming up with the lyrics and vocal melodies. Every student had to complete a senior project, so Small proposed that hers be an album. Not long after, she and Clutterham drove to a Philadelphia studio for a one-day session.

The 10 songs on “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” — each recorded in only one take — mix folk, soul and jazz, radiating innocence. The arrangements, awash in old-school analog warmth, are straightforward: guitar or piano supplemented with drums, leaving plenty of space for Small’s lilting voice, which contains both idealism and, even as a teen, traces of real-life sorrow.

Her mother died while she was at George School, inspiring “My Life’s All Right,” a ballad about surviving tough times, which later appeared on the Sam Jay show. “Eternal Life” sprang out of her in one burst, celebrating the power of love to transcend life’s harsh realities. As for the movie’s “I Want to Lay With You,” it was about a boy Small liked. She just can’t remember who anymore.

“It was somebody who was just as much a friend as a person that I had a crush on,” she recalls. “I honestly felt that we could have a life together.”

Small laughs at her adolescent self. “Like I knew what it would be like to have a freaking life together! To be able to wake up with somebody and have a beautiful day and always make them smile.”

According to Small, George School’s parents and students raised money to pay for the album and 300 copies were produced. “It was a joyous time,” she recalls. “I was on my way — to somewhere!” After graduation, though, she struggled to find her footing, eventually graduating summa cum laude from the City University of New York with a theater degree. But then she chose pre-med, becoming a physician assistant.

“When I became pre-med, it was so hard for me that I was just tunnel-visioned,” explains Small about why she said goodbye to music. “I had to devote my whole self to it. It was so all-encompassing that I could think of nothing else.”

But there was another reason she walked away from music. From an early age, Small suffered debilitating stage fright. “It was so bad that it would twist my stomach into a knot,” she recalls. She gutted it out to do plays at George School and, later, record her album. After a while, though, “It just got to be too much.”

Still, didn’t she miss singing? “Constantly,” replies Small, who retired about five years ago from the medical profession. “I sang unconsciously a lot. My patients always picked up on it — they’d be like, ‘Every time you come in, you’re singing.’”

But although Small abandoned music, “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” never went away. In 2006, the Numero Group, an archival record label, put together a compilation, “Wayfaring Strangers: Ladies From the Canyon,” devoted to under-the-radar female singers from the 1970s. Numero Group co-founder Ken Shipley made sure “Eternal Life” was included.

“I was the first person to ever reach out to Shira,” he says proudly in a separate phone interview. Shipley heard “Eternal Life” on a burned CD of femme-folk artists that was making the industry rounds at the turn of the millennium while he was putting together his “Wayfaring Strangers” lineup. “Shira was a top want for me.”

The Numero Group put “Eternal Life” on Spotify in 2013. But when the label released the full album digitally in 2022, “I don’t know that anybody really cared,” Shipley says. Undeterred, he reissued it on vinyl the following year. Maybe listeners just needed time.

“Music finds a way,” Shipley says. “Music’s like water. It’s going to get down the creek into the river into the ocean. It’s going to find its audience.”

Sure enough, strange serendipitous moments started happening for Small. A future bandmate’s ex had one of her songs on a playlist, having no idea it was Small. She recently started working part-time at a local opera house and one of the opera singers adored “Eternal Life,” unaware that Small was an employee.

And now, royalty checks arrive for the usage of her songs in films like “The Drama.” It still feels unreal to Small that her album generates revenue. “It was never for commercial purposes,” she says. “I can’t believe that I am collecting any royalties on that music and that it just keeps going and going.”

Small’s husband died in 2019 after 34 years of marriage. It sent her spiraling, but then something remarkable happened. “The day I came out of it, the music was gushing out of me so fast that I couldn’t keep up with it,” she says. “I had to walk around with a voice memo. I hadn’t spoken to Lars in more than a decade. I sent him all of these voice memos and he sent me a note: ‘Shira, you still got it.’”

In 2024, she released her first song in 50 years, “Why,” which lays out her fears for the world. Her voice is different, deeper, possessing a lifetime of experience that her teenage self couldn’t have possibly imagined. Small is now plotting out an album and has some shows lined up. Even better, she’s worked through her stage fright.

Eventually, she’ll perform her old songs, but she’s figuring out how to hit that higher register from her youth. “I’ve gone through decades of hormones and cigarettes and all the other things that I did that I’m happy I lived through,” she says, wryly.

“I still have a thing about yellow flowers in open fields,” she admits. “We have these huge sunflower fields here. The whole idea of being in such a beautiful place with yellow flowers that light up a great day is what popped into my head when I wrote that lyric.”

I ask her what she makes of that young woman she hears on “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” today.

“I know her so well,” replies Small. “You know why? Because she’s still here. I am, at this point, everybody I’ve ever been ever, leading up to this moment.

“I still feel the same way about many things,” she continues. “I’m probably angrier now than I was when I was a child, but I still have this underlying thing about looking at a bigger picture to help me keep my lid on. When I think back on ‘Eternal Life’ and ‘My Life’s All Right,’ that music was born from my core. And my core does not have an age.”

The “Cultural Re-existence” column will provide insights into how our ancestral practices, habits, customs, and traditions remain alive today because Venezuelans preserve them through the human spirit they embody and amplify. These are expressions of women and men grounded in reality, history, and a consciousness of their subjective revolutionary role, as well as their responsibility and commitment to defending life.

March, in addition to being the month honoring women, is a month of celebration centered on Venezuela’s most widespread traditional rhythm: joropo. (1) And although this is a community tradition with unique variations throughout Venezuela, on March 19 the town of Elorza in Apure state hosts a ten-day festival that draws thousands of people from all over Venezuela and other countries, to participate and enjoy concerts until dawn, joropo llanero singing and dancing contests, sports and recreational activities linked to the Llano culture, as well as culinary and artisan fairs. Another iconic date this month is March 15, since in 2014 the Bolivarian government declared “Traditional Venezuelan Joropo in All its Diversity” to be part of the nation’s cultural heritage. From that moment, this date has been commemorated as National Joropo Day.

As a community-based festival, the Venezuelan joropo in its various forms—in the eastern, north-central coastal, llanos, western, and Andean regions—has seen Venezuelan women become committed cultural creators who are conscious of their community’s identity, the very identity that has allowed them to endure since colonial times, keeping alive the feelings, thoughts, and actions that extend beyond their own lives, into the lives of their children and grandchildren. 

Venezuelan women, as practitioners of the various joropos, have had to fight—as women and as joropo creators—against the Inquisition, the nation-state, and the cultural industry for their right to exist. It is well known that these institutions demonized them for “disturbing devotion,” and even today they compel them to adopt a masculinized representation of their own identity or impose the sexualization of their aesthetic expression. There is a historical debt to acknowledge the heroic insurgency that the practice, creation, and celebration of the various Venezuelan joropos have meant for the Venezuelan people, and this debt is owed primarily to the joroperas [female joropo practitioners] for their unrelenting commitment to our identities, even during the most complex moments of our history as an insurgent people.

For these reasons, we wanted to inaugurate our column with the perspective that Venezuelan women have on this popular community festival. Through Fabiola José, we were invited to the 3rd “Mujer Joropo” (Joropo Women) Gathering, held in honor of singer Cecilia Todd and dancer María Ruíz. This was our cue to attend the “Joropazo” organized at the San Carlos Barracks in Caracas on March 15, and to participate as singers and spectators in this gathering of women, an artistic-cultural initiative that brought together singers, dancers, and musicians of all ages, with repertoires integrating both the traditional music and dances of our communities and more contemporary musical and choreographic expressions that speak to multigenerational dialogue and the enduring relevance of this popular art form.

Honoring women’s role in joropo

Carolina Veracierta is the organizer of Mujer Joropo. A dancer, writer, designer, and singer, she explained to us that the project “focuses on women not just in a supporting role but as a protagonist, a creator, and carrier of ancestral knowledge.”

“For me, the joropo isn’t just a musical genre or a dance; it’s the language through which my body and my voice express my very essence. It’s the echo of my childhood in Monagas state and the strength that has sustained me on stages far away,” she explained. “When I dance the joropo, I don’t just move my feet; I shake off my sorrows, celebrate my victories, and honor the women who, before me, kept the rhythm in their skirts and in their songs to accompany the milking of cows.”

Asked about the importance of an event featuring women exclusively, Veracierta argued that joropo has historically had “a very masculine narrative” but that women have always been present, “sustaining the rhythm and in tandem with the man’s foot-stomping.”

“Celebrating it among women is an act of sorority and empowerment,” she concluded. “Joropo has the soul of a woman.”

Amaranta Pérez, another artist featured in the event, told us that joropo brings her an immediate jolt of happiness. “It takes me back to my family’s roots between Parmana and Valle de la Pascua [Guárico state], it is a sort of therapy,” she said. “I especially cherish the lyrics that express the love for our people, landscapes, history, and the folk tales from our wonderful authors that are turned into songs.”

Amaranta defended the importance of events like Mujer Joropo to help correct women’s “unequal” participation in the artistic sphere.

For her part, singer, professor, and bassoonist Luisana Pérez affirmed that “joropo for me is synonymous with Venezuela, from its history to the yellow, blue, red and eight stars that make up the national flag.”

Concerning Mujer Joropo, Luisana explained that “it was unusual to see women playing the mandolin, the harp, or the cuatro” and that these kinds of events “are a beautiful way to reclaim the role played by women in joropo.”

More than 20 artists participated in this third edition of Mujer Joropo, demonstrating the commitment of contemporary Venezuelan women to their own history, to the artistic legacy of their ancestors, and to the responsibility of preserving and promoting the heritage they now hold.

From underground communal festivity to national identity manufactured by the music industry

On April 10, 1749, the governor and captain general of Venezuela, Don Luis Francisco de Castellanos, published what may be the first documented reference to the joropo. He did so in the form of a decree banning the Xoropo Escobillado, “…due to its extreme movements, insolence, heel-stomping, and other indecencies, it has been frowned upon by some people of sound mind…”. The official decided to consult the Royal Audience on this matter, likely due to widespread controversy, and in the meantime, warned that those who violated the ban would face public scrutiny plus two years of imprisonment, and women would be “…confined to hospitals for an equal period…”.

Although this is the first formal ban to explicitly name joropo, we cannot overlook the fact that, as early as 1532, the Catholic Church’s published constitutions regulated and prohibited popular festivals in general, especially those where the music and dances of Mulatto, Black, and Indigenous women “…disturb devotion…,” or where both sexes mingle in dance, or those where the veneration of saints was a pretext for throwing a party. 

If we consider that there is evidence that the first vihuelas [medieval Spanish string instrument] arrived in 1529 in the territory we now call Venezuela, and if we acknowledge the express order of the Catholic Monarchs to ship instruments and musicians starting with Columbus’s second voyage (1493), we could infer that between these dates and Governor Castellanos’s ban, there were some 220–250 years of incubation for what would eventually become an irreversible trend in popular culture, which the colonial order had no choice but to accept.

Although the term xoropo has been interpreted as coming from Arabic as jarabe ( شراب , sharab), for the Andalusian researcher, poet, and musician Antonio Manuel Rodríguez Ramos, the root is undoubtedly that of drinking ( شرب , shurib), and he explains that initially, this is how the festival of drinking, singing, dancing, and eating might have been called. And the fact is that drinking –alcohol– was the best way for converts to avoid suspicion from the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which was formally operational in our country between 1610 and 1821.

Related to other rhythms including fandangos, jácaras, folías, jarabes, and sones, Venezuelan joropos were documented in the independence struggle that led Bolívar’s armies as far as Peru during the nineteenth century. In the mid-twentieth century, one of these joropos, the llanero, was established as the national music style and dance, though it was a version that had certainly lost its communal and rustic character. By then, the music industry, aware of the deep roots these sounds had in Venezuelans, marketed a series of commercial products featuring music, lyrics, and singers stylized to fit institutional, urban, and bourgeois tastes.

As we noted above, on March 15, 2014, the Venezuelan government declared “Traditional Venezuelan Joropo in All its Diversity” as part of the nation’s cultural heritage, recognizing it as an element of identity and unity –not only in many of our festivities and collective expressions throughout the country, but also as a collective process of community organization. The declaration of the diversity of joropos as cultural heritage was the result of a series of debates that took place both within the community of cultural workers and among research specialists.

With the same strategy of asserting the joropo not only as a dance but as a complex cultural system that integrates music, song, dance, poetry, and oral traditions passed down through generations, Venezuela proposed to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that the Venezuelan joropo be included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The committee approved the proposal on December 9, 2025.

Venezuelan joropos thus allow people to come together and reclaim their humanity through the recognition of their own dignity. Through parrandas, festivals for singing, dancing, eating, and drinking, joropo expresses a communal setting where agriculture, cattle rearing, and fishing were the means of sustaining life. Persecuted by the colonial order, homogenized by the nation-state, and commercialized by the music industry through jingle-franchise schemes, Venezuelan joropos also survived the journey from the rural countryside to the oil-driven urban environments.

This continuous history of persecution, denial, whitewashing, and normalization has actually pushed joropo women and men to sneak away, resonate, hold firm, reinvent themselves, and stand out in a permanent process of self-consciousness, recognition, and realization. It is not merely a connection to the land, to love, to our mothers, but to the dream of living in a free land, and the will to produce a cultural liberation project.

Note

(1) With a myriad of local expressions, joropo is the most widespread traditional rhythm in Venezuela. Its execution typically features at least one singer, maracas as percussion, the Venezuelan cuatro [four-stringed instrument], and other string instruments such as the harp or the mandolin. The most well-known variations are the joropo llanero, from the plains region, joropo oriental from the eastern coastal areas and Margarita island, and joropo central from Miranda and Aragua states in the center of the country. Listen to the songs above for examples.

Fabiola José is a Venezuelan singer. She has performed in countries across South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Her singles and albums are available on all digital platforms. She hosted and produced “Cantante y Sonante” for Radio Nacional de Venezuela. In 2018–2019, she created a series of videos for social media, published on her YouTube channel #HechoEnCasa. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music from IUDEM, Caracas (2005); specialized under Maestro Tom Krause in Spain (2007); and an M.A. in Arts and Cultures of the South from UNEARTE, Venezuela (2020).

Fidel Barbarito is a Venezuelan musician and researcher, with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and history, respectively. He teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs at the National Experimental University of the Arts (UNEARTE). Together with Fabiola José, he promotes several musical projects aimed at disseminating traditional folk repertoires, integrating them with contemporary compositions inspired by these sounds. Joropo llanero. Parranda de reexistencia is one of his published essays.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.

Bo Lueders, guitarist and co-founder of the Chicago-based hardcore metal band Harm’s Way, has died, his bandmates announced “with heavy, broken hearts” Thursday on social media. He was 38.

Lueders “will be remembered for his unwavering empathy and compassion for his friends & family and his magnetic, inimitable presence on & off the stage,” Harm’s Way wrote on Instagram, asking for “grace and privacy” during a difficult time.

No cause of death was provided, but the band offered up the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to anyone “struggling with depression or urges to self-harm.”

Born Bohan Daniel Lueders in November 1987, the musician co-founded Harm’s Way in 2006 as a side project of the punk band Few and the Proud. It turned into a full-time band that has released five studio albums and five EPs in the years since, with songs including “Human Carrying Capacity,” “Become a Machine” and “Call My Name.”

In a bio posted by the band on Spotify, Lueders took a shot at describing the music on Harm’s Way’s 2018 album, “Posthuman,” which was followed by its fifth album, “Common Suffering,” in 2023.

“To a Harm’s Way fan, I would describe ‘Posthuman’ as a blend of ‘Isolation’ (2011) and ‘Rust’ (2015), but it’s sonically way more insane,” he said. “To anyone else, I would simply say it’s like full on aggression.”

Lueders began the “HardLore” podcast in 2022 with Twitching Tongues frontman Colin Young to chronicle life on the road in the hardcore/punk/metal scene. A new episode — the second part of a two-part interview with Madball singer Freddie Crician — was posted Wednesday.

But on March 19, before that two-parter was done, Young and Lueders posted a “HardLore” episode that broke from format, instead answering listener questions for an hour and a half. One listener asked the hosts what piece of music they wanted to hear last before they died. Young picked “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. His buddy chose another track that was distinctly non-metal and non-punk.

“Mine would be some Björk song, probably. Either ‘Unravel’ or ‘Aurora.’ I just wanna drift and go peacefully,” Lueders said, rubbing both eyes before making a drifting gesture with both hands.

“I think ‘Unravel’ is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.”

A GoFundMe campaign was launched Friday by Young on behalf of Lueders’ “mother Wendy and girlfriend Taylor to help cover the costs of both afterlife & memorial services in Chicago.” The campaign had reached nearly $140,000 by midday.