Jon Batiste: Last News

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Lana Del Rey had a couple of heavily favored cameos during her Coachella performance, welcoming recent collaborators Jack Antonoff and Jon Batiste, both of whom will be fronting their own sets later in the weekend — but also one far less easily guessed guest, in the form of Billie Eilish, who turned up for a surprise pair of duets. Taking to a terrace overlooking the massive stage, the duo first joined forces on Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” then turned their voices to “Video Games.” Both songs represent the first real breakout hits in these artists’ respective careers.

Beyoncé is making history, landing at the top of the music charts after launching Cowboy Carter, her first country music album.

The 2024 Coachella Music Festival will take place across the next two weekends and the set times for the music lineup has officially been revealed.

Starting next Friday, livestreams of six Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival stages will be made available as the festival kicks off. The event runs Friday-Sunday on two consecutive weekends, April 12-14 & April 19-21.

Billie Eilish, Robert Smith, Stevie Wonder and Nicki Minaj are just a handful of artists who have signed an open letter warning against the “predatory” use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music.Yesterday (April 2), non-profit organization Artist Rights Alliance issued an open letter titled ‘Stop devaluing music’ about the rise of AI in music, signed by over 200 prominent names in the music industry. Read the full letter here.Through the letter, the artist-run nonprofit organization asks that developers, technology companies, and platforms and digital music services “pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”The letter states: “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”“Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders.

Jon Batiste has praised Beyonce for “dismantling genres” with her new album ‘Cowboy Carter’.‘Cowboy Carter’ was released on Friday (March 29), her eighth studio album and the second in an expected trilogy that began with 2022’s ‘Renaissance’. Batiste wrote and produced the track ‘Ameriican Requiem’ on the album, which also features guest appearances from country veteran Willie Nelson, as well as Willie Jones, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Shaboozey and Tanner Adele.In a new post on X/Twitter, Batiste lauded Beyoncé’s talents and thanked her for allowing him to be a part of the album, as well as pointing to the way he hopes her music will pave for a more genre-fluid future.“This is the moment yall, where we dismantle the genre machine,” he said.

Beyoncé‘s entry album into the country music genre, Cowboy Carter, was released on March 29, and it’s already shattering records on streaming platforms.

Jon Batiste performed his Oscar-nominated song ‘It Never Went Away’at the 2024 Oscars last night (March 10) – check out footage below.The song features in his 2023 Netflix documentary American Symphony, in which Batiste attempts to compose a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment.The track was up for Best Original Song against Barbie songs ‘I’m Just Ken’ by Ryan Gosling and ‘What Was I Made For?’ by Billie Eilish and Finneas, ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ by Osage Tribal Singers from Killers of the Flower Moon and Becky G’s ‘The Fire Inside’ from Flamin’ Hot.Eilish and brother Finneas’ ultimately won for ‘What Was I Made For?’, which they also performed at the ceremony.Check out Batiste’s moving performance of ‘It Never Went Away’ below.Jon Batiste performs "It Never Went Away" | #Oscars pic.twitter.com/zgMBnzJSwM— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 11, 2024The Oscar nomination marked the artist’s second nod, after being recognised for 2021 for the Pixar movie Soul, going on to win Best Original Score alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.Upon releasing the song last year, Batiste described ‘It Never Went Away’ in a press statement as “a love that outlasts any condition of the physical world”, adding: “It probes the question of our mortality, while at the same time speaking to the enduring quality of our deepest callings and desires.

Ryan Gosling’s rendition of Matchbox Twenty’s “Push” was, well, no match for his live rendition of “I’m Just Ken” at the 2024 Oscars. Gosling, 43, joined Mark Ronson, 48, (who also produced Dua Lipa’s “Barbie” hit “Dance the Night”) onstage at the Dolby Theatre in LA on Sunday — with an epic surprise appearance by guitar legend Slash. Dressed in a bedazzled Barbie pink suit, Gosling started his performance from the audience, behind Margot Robbie, who chuckled at his dramatics.

Jon Batiste, Becky G, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Scott George and the Osage Singers and Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson are performing the trophy hopefuls during the 96th Oscars tonight.

The 2024 Academy Awards are kicking off in just a few hours and a lot of A-list stars and celebrities are expected to take the stage throughout the evening.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Film’s biggest night is (almost) here. The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10 at a new time, 7 p.m.

The final wave of 2024 Academy Awards presenters has been released!

The 2024 Academy Awards performers have been revealed…and yes, Ryan Gosling is performing “I’m Just Ken” from the hit film Barbie!

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor All five of this year’s Academy Award-nominated original songs will be performed on the Dolby Theatre stage at the 96th Oscars. Jon Batiste, Becky G, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Scott George and the Osage Singers, and as Variety previously reported, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson will perform the memorable numbers.

It’s a pretty stacked field for the Best Song Academy Award this year, and the Oscarcast producers today set the performers who’ll be bringing the nominated tunes to the stage.

The stars of The Color Purple were at the SAG Awards!

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The Oscar-nominated song “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” by Scott George has a deep meaning. The lyrics, sung in Osage, invite listeners to stand up, be tall and be proud. “We’re still here after all of that,” George says.

Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ and Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ are among the tracks nominated for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars.The two compositions for the film Barbie are among the five nominees in the category, which were announced earlier today (January 23).The other songs to get a nod were ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ from Killers of the Flower Moon, with music and lyrics by Scott George, ‘It Never Went Away’ by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, from American Symphony, and ‘The Fire Inside’ by Diane Warren, from Flamin’ Hot.It is the second Oscar nomination for Eilish, who previously won in this category in 2022 for writing and performing the title track of the James Bond film No Time to Die. She wrote ‘What Was I Made For?’ with her brother Finneas O’Connell, and it has also been nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys.Were she to win, Eilish would join an elite group of composers to have won multiple Academy Awards for Best Original Song, a list that includes Elton John, Randy Newman, Burt Bacharach, Tim Rice and Giorgio Moroder.‘I’m Just Ken’ was written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, the latter of whom is the frontman of Swedish electro-pop band Miike Snow.

In an Oscar stunner, two films considered a lock for nominations failed to be recognized Tuesday morning in the Best Documentary Feature category: American Symphony and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.

UPDATE: The Grammys have announced new artists set to hit the stage at the Crypto.com Arena. During the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, it was confirmed Burna Boy, Luke Combs, and Travis Scott would join the list of performers that include Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Olivia Rodrigo.