Eminem said his new album is not intended for people who are "easily offended or unnerved", and that it was "not made for the squeamish", answering to criticism of his lyrics (in song 'Unaccommodating' he references the Manchester bomb attack that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert). Eminem said in a Twitter message that some lyrics on the album were "designed to shock the conscience, which may cause positive action".

The 2020 Grammy Awards take place on Sunday, January 26th, in Los Angeles (starting at 5 PM local time). The ceremony will be streamed live on Grammy.com. Alicia Keys returns for her second go-around as host of the Grammys, confirmed Grammys 2020 performers include Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Rosalía, Tyler the Creator, Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato. Aerosmith will team up with Run-DMC, and Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton will share the stage for the first time. There will also be a special tribute performance to Nipsey Hussle, featuring John Legend, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, and Roddy Richh. Plus, Lil Nas X will join forces with BTS, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, and Mason Ramsey for a performance as “Old Town Road All-Stars”. Camila Cabello will lead an all-star rendition of the Fame song 'I Sing the Body Electric' with Gary Clark Jr., John Legend, Common, Cyndi Lauper, Ben Platt, as “a tribute to longtime Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich to acknowledge the importance of music education in schools”.

Billboard revealed their annual Power List for the year 2020 with the top label executives, biggest managers concert promoters listed alphabetically, by sector. There are dozens of people there, a big majority of them most of the people haven't even heard of (a few exceptions like Jay-Z and Beyonce), but they make decisions about popular music. The top two, by Billboard's standards, are Universal Music Publishing Group chairman/CEO Jody Gerson, named Executive of the Year; Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, named Executive of the Decade.

'Canada Flow' by the critically acclaimed rapper Amillion The Poet, featuring Canadian singer Jnè, is a heartfelt Joey Breeze production, coupled with witty lyricism by the former professional basketballer - "instead of buying Amazon we should be saving em/ instead of pouring Bahamas mamas should be praying for them".

Halsey and Jimmy Fallon took turns on his late night show singing popular songs after running the lyrics through Google Translate. Madonna's 'Like a Virgin' became 'Unwed Woman', and Halsey's hit 'Without Me' became 'You Soft Head'.

Debut album 'Simulacrum' by the Paris-based avant-garde electronic artist Aho Ssan references French cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard’s 1981 text 'Simulacra and Simulacrum' - the album plays with notions of simulation and synthesis. Aho Ssan was unable to find a jazz musician to collaborate with, so he began building patches in Max/MSP to create simulations of a fictional jazz ensemble, called The Mensah Imaginary Band. The ensemble is named after his grandfather Mensah Anthony, who Aho Ssan never met, but who played trumpet in a Ghanaian band the 1950s.

London-based singer/songwriter Brooke Bentham shows an impressive versatility when it comes to evoking various strains of indie rock past and present on her debut album 'Everyday Nothing', out February 28. But, as her producer Bill Ryder-Jones said, there's something else special about her - "her lyric writing will be overlooked because of her voice but it is her words that will set her apart from others”. Her latest single is 'Control', but it's ‘Perform For You’ that's her favourite - "because it reminds me of lots of the music I love. Musically it was exactly where I wanted to be”. Her influences: Sylvia Plath, Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Mazzy Star, Carol Ann Duffy...

British soul singer Yola grew up in poverty in Bristol, England, was discouraged from making music over concerns for the field’s financial instability, and was indeed homeless for a short while, but she didn't give up. As an adult, she fronted the country-soul band Phantom Limb, toured with Massive Attack, worked behind the scenes as a session singer, and then in 2016 her big break came - she made her debut at Nashville’s AmericanaFest with a rapturously received set. Footage of her performance reached producer Dan Auerbach, who soon got in touch about collaborating and ultimately co-wrote almost every song on her debut album 'Walk Through Fire'. It got four Grammy nominations, including nods for best new artist and best Americana album, and it got her some new friends - “It’s really normal for me to get a text from Brandi Carlile or Sheryl Crow,” says Yola - “This was not normal eight months ago”.

The French fashion giant Chanel presented its Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 collection this week with a soundtrack of well known electronica. The show took place inside Paris’ nice Grand Palais, the models are gorgeous, of course, the collection pretty, and the music made it - cool. The show opened with Opus III’s 1992 cover of Edward Barton’s ‘It’s a Fine Day’, Blanck Mass’ ‘Creature / West Fuqua’ added a bit of rawness, and the biggest part was taken by The Orb’s 1990 hit ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’.

Radiohead have established a Public Library this week, with rarities, visuals, and other artifacts, and Pitchfork picked out the best bits from it. The Fork selected the 'Meeting People is Easy' documentary about the highpoint of their career ('OK Computer' era), and how much they struggled back then, the noisy-Beatles-esque song 'I'm a Wicked Child', the New Order cover 'Ceremony'...

American fantasy drama series 'The Witcher' was huge for Netflix debuting in December to 76 million viewers - it had high production values, massive action set pieces and one important element that held its mythos together: an inescapably catchy song! 'Toss a Coin to Your Witcher', composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli and sung by actor Joey Batey, became a viral hit almost immediately.

In the country music industry, there is a saying “You don't want to be 'Dixie Chicks-ed", meaning you don't want to say one thing that's going to blow up your whole career. Dixie Chicks went from global stars, to being "canceled" (no albums, sporadic concerts, low radio-airplay), to heroes. The crucial moment was their political comment, which they didn't apologize for, didn't regret it, and, in the end - "it paid off, for them, and for everyone else who refuses to shut up and sing".

A new sound in club music is coming from a small Irish coastal city of Cork, bringing the second wave of hard drum music. They're producers in their 20s - Numbertheory, Lighght, Ellll and Superfície, making syncopated mutations of percussion-driven electronic music, the common denominator being primal drum-laden sound where rhythms tumble at breakneck speed.

The creator of the now-famous Screwed and Chopped DJ technique, Dj Screw is the subject of a new biographical television series titled 'All Screwed Up'. Screw, real name Robert Earl Davis Jr. was a central and influential figure in the Houston hip hop community and was the leader of Houston's Screwed Up Click. The IYO Visuals writes, “After discovering his signature sound in the early ’90s, Robert’s popularity landed him in the middle of police harassment and a violent local beef. This dispute between two sides of America’s fourth-largest city would go on to cause one of the most infamous divides in the South’s urban culture.”

Pop soul singer A Girl Called Eddy released her first new solo album in 16 years, and "that soulful, chocolatey voice is still tinged with sadness, and those perfectly crafted choruses and clever middle eights still beguile", PopMatters argues. Her lyrics match her singing - "Moran's gift for storytelling is on full parade here, with devastatingly honest lyrics that paint scenes so vivid you can feel the heartache rise from the page".

Experimental art-pop artist Katie Gately has shared her stunning new single 'Waltz'; Chicago art-rock trio FACS have shared their eerie yet breathtaking lead single 'Teenage Hive'; Hillary Woods shared her dark folk song 'Tongues of Wild Boar'; Helen Honey has shared her dark and dramatic song 'Midnight'; Lala Lala has a new short song 'Legs, Run', a promising teaser produced by WHY?; Radical Face released their tender, lovely 'Reveries'; psychedelic rockers Dungen released their new instrumental song 'B1', an easy listening little prog thing; art pop duo CocoRosie is back with 'Aloha Friday', an orchestral song written on Hawaii; Nuxxe co-founder Sega Bodega sings for the first time on 'Salv Goes to Hollywood', an electro art-pop song from his debut album.

'Dark Waters' by the Hungarian band vvilderness is "sublime 'soft' black metal", that "thrives on atmosphere" and "also does well slowed down, ambient and obtuse during its moments of retreat. 'Dark Waters' turns out to be fairly dense despite the ease of digestion that the production, arrangement, and style provide; in short, a lovely balance indeed".

In a 2018 study, 50 percent of musicians reported battling symptoms of depression, compared with less than 25 percent of the general adult population. Nearly 12 percent reported having suicidal thoughts — nearly four times the general population. But with a new wave of initiatives and organizations seeking to help, the industry is taking action like never before.

Billie Eilish’s 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' was produced by her brother Finneas, and he also co-wrote 12 of its 14 tracks with Eilish, while penning the other two on his own. When asked about the songwriters that have inspired him he answered thusly - "I have always loved Ben Folds, he's like an idol of mine, a hero of mine. The last couple years I've been really obsessed with Sara Bareilles. I just think she is, bar for bar, unbelievable at her songwriting... I've always loved Bill Withers. I've always loved John Mayer. And then, you know, I grew up on a lot of bands. So, The Strokes, Julian Casablancas' lyrics have always inspired me. I've always been inspired by My Chemical Romance's lyrics and melodies". Next thing for him? - a solo album.

Recently hired then fired American Recording Academy chief Deborah Dugan had filed a complaint against the organization stating that the nominating processes are fixed and accuses Grammy bosses of insider dealing and corruption. She says the board frequently nominates artists who aren't on the 20-deep list the Academy's members and expert committees propose for nomination, to reward "artists with whom they have personal or business relationships". Also, she says the Board manipulates the nominations process to ensure that certain songs or albums are nominated.

"Keith Jarrett approaches the piano the way a star athlete courts the ball—it’s a full-body experience, marked by sweat, facial spasms, and an inability to remain still" - Pitchfork wrote in a very affirmative review (grade 7.9) of piano legend's new album, taped at the end of his European tour. Jarrett is "energetic, spontaneous, and inventive as ever... so exhilarated by the music that he cannot stop himself from stomping, shouting, and humming off-key throughout the 12-part improvisational suite". Three primary styles shape the album - lyricism, the blues, and dizzying avant-garde jazz, with three covers - songs by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland - wrapping it up.

First, there was a long-form Mercedes ad, then there was a visually memorable performance on Colbert, and now The Weeknd has released an official music video for his hit 'Blinding Lights'. Anton Tammi directed it as a continuation of storyline from the previous video 'Heartless', with The Weeknd in reflective shades and a red sport coat gallivanting across Las Vegas, Michael Jackson-meets-'Drive' style.

Canadian singer-songwriter's new album is actually a concept album, standing on the shoulders of one storyline - "Our nameless protagonist meets his buddy Charlie at their neighborhood bar the Skyline, where a bartender named Rose serves them their usual drinks. Upon learning that his ex-girlfriend Judy is back in town, he flashes back to key scenes from their relationship. Eventually, he bumps into her, runs the gamut of emotions, and comes to terms with the passage of years". Stereogum says Andy Shauf's "greatest talent is as an arranger, building out his guitar and piano foundations with an array of carefully placed sounds, seasoning his folksy soft-rock with touches of jazz, country, and chamber-pop".

Pearl Jam have released 'Dance Of The Clairvoyants', the first single from their new album 'Gigaton', out March 27, the Rolling Stone reports. Jeff Ament wrote on Twitter - “‘Dance’ was a perfect storm of experimentation and real collaboration… We’ve opened some new doors creatively and that’s exciting”. At the first listen it reminds of the change U2 have made in the 1990s with their album 'Pop'. Pearl Jam start a world tour in March.

Selena Gomez climbs for the third time to the top of Billboard 200 chart, with her third solo album 'Rare'. The album starts with 112,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. last week - 56,000 were in SEA units (equating to 79.3 million on-demand streams for album’s tracks), just under 53,000 in album sales, and a little over 3,000 in TEA units (track equivalent albums).

Consequence of Sound chose alter hip-hop artist 070 Shake as their Artist of the month for January, because - "her voice is stacked with layers of emotion, filled with grit and rawness and pain. It’s gripping, visceral, and inescapable. It captivates you entirely". 070 Shake says she wants people to understand her, and then to listen to her music. Music she listens to? Last year it was - Radiohead, Frank Ocean, Amy Whinehouse, and Pink Floyd.

She decided to become a singer after hearing a female Buddhist monk chanting at a temple), her songs pair Gregorian chants with gagaku, imperial court music from ancient Japan. Director David Lynch selected her to perform at his 2019 Manchester international festival showcase, and super-producer Rick Rubin invited her to his US Showtime documentary series Shangri-La. Unusual music, but pleasant enough.

Dubai has been announced as the seventh host city for the massive September 26 event Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream that will call on governments, philanthropists and the private sector to provide the $350 billion needed annually to achieve the goals to end extreme poverty, tackle climate change and reduce income equality by 2030. The 10-hour, six-continent telecast is being billed as one of the largest live broadcast cause events in history, and it will include performances by Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Cyndi Lauper, D'banj, Eddie Vedder, EXO, H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Metallica, Miley Cyrus, Muse, Ozuna, Ozzy Osbourne, Pharrell Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shawn Mendes, Tiwa Savage, Usher and more.

Bright Eyes have announced their first live shows in more than nine years, along with plans to release new music. Unlike their previous nine albums, this project won't be released through Saddle Creek Records - they have signed with the Indiana-based indie Dead Oceans. The label has just posted a minute-long teaser of the band in the studio; a warning - no guitars or voice, just plenty of strings, like at a symphony rehearsal.

Cardi B carried on for only 50 minutes last summer at Target Center. The over-the-top hip-hop hitmaker might have spent more time doing her hair and makeup. ZZ Top exited the Minnesota State Fair grandstand after just 63 minutes. Does their Rock Hall of Fame career still have legs after 50 years of touring? Minneapolis music hero Alexander O’Neal performed for a mere 45 minutes at the Dakota last month. How long should a concert headline set last?