albums: Last News

“This Is Me… Now.”But apparently, a better title for J.Lo’s first studio LP in 10 years — since 2014’s “A.K.A.” — might have been “This Is It.”“The truth is I don’t even know if I’ll ever make another album after this,” Lopez, 54, told “Entertainment Tonight” as she explained the different album covers that they did especially for the JLovers — as her faithful fans are known.“It’s such the kind of quintessential kind of Jennifer Lopez J.Lo project, and I really feel very fulfilled, so they really will be collector’s items at a certain point.”After hinting at her possible retirement from the recording studio, Lopez quipped, “Don’t tell Benny [Medina, her longtime manager] that that’s what I’m thinking — this might be my last album ever.”Lopez’s ninth studio album, “This Is Me… Now,” is a sequel to 2002’s “This Is Me… Then,” her third studio LP, which featured the hits “Jenny from the Block” and “All I Have.”Lopez’s now-husband, Ben Affleck, was infamously featured in the “Jenny from the Block” video, and the singer dedicated “Dear Ben” to him.Similarly, “This Is Me… Now,” led by the first single, “Can’t Get Enough,” will reflect their relationship today — two years after they finally got married after calling off their first engagement in 2004.“Our relationship crumbled under the weight of the pressure,” Lopez told Variety.“We lost a sense of ourselves, and we needed to separate because we didn’t know how to survive it.

So decreed Queen B in a rare lengthy Instagram post about “Cowboy Carter,” which is “Act II” in her “Renaissance” trilogy that began with the underground house beats of her 2022 album that had us buzzing and bopping to “Break My Soul,” “Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar.”And while it may seem like a hair-whipping flip to take it from the ballroom to the barnyard on her latest, it is not as radical of a departure as it may seem for Bey herself, who hails from Houston, Texas, and is as Southern as any hummingbird could be.“They used to say I spoke ‘too country’/And the rejection came, said I wasn’t ‘country ’nough’/Said I wouldn’t saddle up/But if that ain’t country, tell me, what is?” she sings with a snarl in her twang on “Ameriican Requiem,” the autobiographical manifesto that opens the album.This is Bey unplugged, raw and rootsy, two-stepping across the color lines that took “Texas Hold ’Em” — the banjo-picking bluegrass stomper that previewed “Cowboy Carter” last month — all the way to No.

“Cowboy Carter” — the Beyoncé country album that is dropping at midnight — you don’t have to hold up before she brings some more of that “Texas Hold ‘Em” twang.Here are six other black country artists who will get your yeehaw up before Mrs. Carter takes us all the way to country town on “Act II” of her “Renaissance” trilogy — which will include a tribute to Linda Martell, the first African-American woman to play the Grand Ole Opry — at midnight.Coincidentally, Brown will be playing the New York area — bringing his In the Air Tour to Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday — on the same weekend that “Cowboy Carter” drops.

“Act II: Cowboy Carter,” due March 29.Mrs. Carter’s news left the Beyhive buzzing, with many recalling the cold reception the artist appeared to have once received from the country-music community, which inspired her to make her new LP.“It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote in an unusually lengthy post.And fans are speculating that Beyoncé is referring to the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, when she performed “Daddy Lessons” — a distinctly country ditty off her much-lauded “Lemonade” album — with the Chicks.Country star Alan Jackson reportedly walked out on the performance in protest, later tweeting #KeepItCountry.But seven years after that controversial CMAs appearance, Beyoncé has become the first black woman to have a No.

Justin Timberlake’s last studio album, 2018’s “Man of the Woods,” on which the pop superstar got his Americana on.But many of the fans who had rocked their bodies to his previous hit LPs — from 2002’s “Justified” to 2006’s “FutureSex/LoveSounds” to 2013’s “The 20/20 Experience” — weren’t feeling the flannel on JT.And, by his lofty standards, “Man of the Woods” was the first (relative) flop of his career. It was the first real misstep from a man who had seemed to have all the right moves as he smoothly grooved from curly haired boy-bander to sexy-MFing solo sensation.But on “Everything I Thought It Was,” Timberlake, now 43, is back to being a Man of the Dance Floor, a Man of the Bedroom and even, once again, a Man of the Boy Band.(Yup, *NSYNC is back!)Suffice to say, Chris Stapleton is nowhere to be found on this joint.Clearly, Timberlake is trying — almost desperately — to make up for lost time on his sixth solo LP, which stretches out to 77 minutes.And no, it’s not a double album.

“This Is Me… Now: A Love Story” and another new Prime Video project, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” — Jennifer Lopez has been getting plenty of love from some famous friends.The star-studded short film “This Is Me… Now” featured everyone from previous co-stars Jane Fonda and Keke Palmer to Trevor Noah and Post Malone.Now comes “The Greatest Love Story Told” — a documentary about the making of Lopez’s new album “This Is Me… Now” — the recently released sequel to 2002’s “This Is Me… Then” — and its companion short film, which premieres at 7 p.m. on Prime Video Monday.

Texas Hold ’Em.”The achievement was announced Tuesday by Billboard, which has been charting country songs since 1958.Beyoncé’s tune also holds the No. 2 slot on the Hot 100 chart, behind Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me.”The 32-time Grammy Award winner shocked listeners earlier this month when she appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Verizon — and casually revealed she would be releasing a brand-new album.Simultaneously, she dropped two singles: “16 Carriages” and the aforementioned “Texas Hold ’Em.” According to the “Crazy in Love” singer, her upcoming album — out March 29 — is “Act II” of “Renaissance,” her album cycle that started with “Renaissance: Act I” in 2022.“Texas Hold ’Em” has received 19.2 million streams, while “16 Carriages” has garnered 10.3 million and is No.

“This Is Me… Now” — the sequel to 2002’s “This Is Me… Then,” which dropped on Friday — is her first LP as Mrs.

Sorry, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga cannot hear you.They’re kinda busy — hopefully. The former Destiny’s Child member, 42, and the “Poker Face” singer, 37, dropped their hit collab “Telephone” in 2009.And since Beyoncé announced her new album “Renaissance Act II” at the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday, the world has been chattering about her possibly doing a sequel to “Telephone.”The “Dreamgirls” star also dropped two country-inspired singles — “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.”Fans have taken to social media to note possible clues that Gaga and Beyoncé are seemingly working together to create a sequel to their colorful and catchy 2009 hit.In the teaser for “Renaissance Act II,” there was a subtle hint that “Telephone” might be on redial.

bad blood between West and Swift continues.Kanye West reportedly named-dropped Taylor Swift in his brand new track “Carnival,” which was released as part of his highly-anticipated album “Vultures 1.” “Why she say she sucked my d–k? / Then she say she ain’t sucked my d–k/ She gon’ take it up the a– / Like a ventriloquist / I made six Taylor Swift / Since I had the Rollie on the wrist,” West, 46, raps. West, who has a rocky past with Swift, also manages to drop several high-profile celebrity names including R.

Dolly Parton to give us gifts on her birthday?And if hearing the country queen rock out to “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Heart of Glass” and “Let It Be” — with help from Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Debbie Harry and freaking Paul McCartney, respectively — on her “Rockstar” album released last November wasn’t enough, well, here’s more Dolly for your headbanging pleasure.“It’s my Birthday so I’m going to give you a present!” Parton announced on Instagram.“I’m releasing four never released songs for my birthday, to go with the Rockstar album, and a few others that you may have heard before that were not on the album.“I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you all have a happy birthday for me! LOL”And of course, the ever-gracious goddess signed it off with, “Thanks for everything, Dolly,” along with a rhinestone heart.The four previously unreleased tracks include Parton’s covers of the 1983 Eurythmics hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” the 1974 Billy Joel gem “The Entertainer” and the 1970 Simon & Garfunkel classic “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”There’s also “Stay Out of My Bedroom,” a new version of the song that Parton previously released for the soundtrack of her 1984 film “Rhinestone” co-starring Sylvester Stallone.And in her ever-charitable spirit, Parton has also blessed us with five tracks that were only previously available on special (read: pricey) editions of “Rockstar,” which came on the heels of her 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.”Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the grunge rock group alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” as the band and others profited from the image of him underwater in a swimming pool, appearing to grab for a dollar bill on a fish hook.The suit says the image violated federal laws on child sexual abuse material, although no criminal charges were ever sought.A federal judge in California threw out the lawsuit last year but allowed Elden to file a revised version, which the judge later dismissed on grounds that it was outside the 10-year statute of limitations of one of the laws used as a cause of action.Thursday’s decision by a three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California reversed that ruling and sent the case back to the lower court.The appellate panel found that each republication of an image “may constitute a new personal injury” with a new deadline and cited the image’s appearance on a 30th-anniversary reissue of “Nevermind” in 2021.“The question whether the ‘Nevermind’ album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal,” the court wrote, according to the New York Times.In an email to The Associated Press, Nirvana attorney Bert Deixler called the ruling a “procedural setback.”“We will defend this meritless case with vigor and expect to prevail,” he wrote.The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Elden has.

Dolly Parton is not a rock singer.Nor — as her much-hyped head-banger makeover on “Rockstar” demonstrates — does she have any business making a “rock” album.But, at 77, the country legend has, as much as any living artist today, more than earned the right — at least three lifetimes over — to do whatever the hell she wants.And really, this whole vanity project was fueled by the humility with which Parton has become a goddess on earth. After she was nominated for the Rock & Roll of Fame last year, she gracefully and ever-so-graciously asked for her name to be withdrawn from the ballot.“I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” she said in a statement.

Drake announced the surprise release of his “Scary Hours 3” EP — in an elaborate, two-minute trailer posted on Instagram — mere hours before it dropped at midnight on Friday, I could barely muster up a shrug.Nor was I impressed that he apparently came up with all six of these new songs just five days right before the trailer dropped. (Although OK, OK, the fact that he could get his hometown Toronto Symphony Orchestra onboard for a quickie shoot is a baller flex.)This EP — the third in his “Scary Hours” series that started in 2018 — comes only six weeks after the release of the hip-hop superstar’s “For All the Dogs” album, and its six tracks are also featured on an expanded “Scary Hours” edition of Drake’s eighth solo LP.But in case you aren’t keeping track — and really, how could all but the most devoted Drizzy fans be at this point? — “For All the Dogs” was already 22(!) new Drake songs.

Taylor Swift had on “1989” — including “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Style,” “Bad Blood” and “Wildest Dreams” — it’s tough to see how she could have any good stuff left over from that era.But with Friday’s release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” — her re-recording of her fifth studio LP, which won the Album of the Year Grammy in 2016 — Swift is the gift that keeps on giving with bonus material from the “1989” sessions.Here, we rank the five previously unreleased vault tracks, from worst to best.With her eternally girlish persona, Swift has never really given us a grown-and-sexy vibe. And wholesomeness is her whole brand.

newest album, “1989 (Taylor’s Version).”The 33-year-old pop star dropped her fourth audio that she decided to re-record on Oct. 27.Aside from the 19 OG tracks from her 2014 “1989” album version, she also added five new songs that never made the original cut.Sharp-eared listeners have deduced that some of the new Easter eggs are about her split from Harry Styles.

hit Shea Stadium on Aug. 18, 1983.But it was a playful wrestling match with drummer Stewart Copeland that caused singer-bassist Sting a painful pre-show injury before the trio took the stage at the former Queens home of the New York Mets 40 years ago.

Jason Kelce is set to release a second holiday album — and he joked that Taylor Swift could make a cameo in the future.“Maybe. Not this one, not this time around,” Kelce, 35, said when asked by the Today show if Swift, 33, could be featured on a track.“Talk about raising money for charity.

not the way to take care of Rihanna.After Drake was long rumored to have an on-again, off-again relationship with Rihanna while the two superstars cozied on up the charts together for some iconic collabs — from 2010’s “What’s My Name?” and 2016’s “Work” to, most memorably (for this critic), 2011’s “Take Care” — Drizzy certain seems to be in his salty feelings on his new album “For All the Dogs.”Dropping at 6 a.m. Friday morning instead of the usual midnight (Note to Drake: Please don’t go all Kanye on us with this last-minute release shuffling), the 23-track, 85-minute epic — which would have been a damn triple LP back in the day — appears to address Ri-Ri on the already-viral cut “Fear of Heights.”And when we say “appears,” well, the trolling track packs all of the subtlety of his recent barretted-up hair-don’t that had him looking like Tempest Bleddsoe aka Vanessa Huxtable from “The Cosby Show.”Over a spooky groove to set it off, Drake — who was rumored to not be having it when Rihanna boo’d and then baby’d up with A$AP Rocky — sure sounds like a bitter ex when he opens with, “Why they make it sound like I’m still hung up on you?/That could never be/Gyal can’t be me/Better him than me/Better it’s not me.”The way that “gyal” appropriates Caribbean slang for “girl” leaves little doubt that he’s talking about the Barbadian beauty.

the Rolling Stones in the same year with Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’ “Whipped Cream & Other Delights,” the No. 1-selling album of 1966.And six decades later, he recently found himself in the same conversation with Taylor Swift when she tied his long-standing record for having four albums in the Billboard Top 10 at the same time.“I did a little video to congratulate her,” Alpert told The Post. “You know, I don’t listen to her records all the time.

“Take Me to Church” — released 10 years ago on Sept. 13, 2013 — it was more like “Take Me to College” for Hozier.“When I started working on the lyrics for a lot of that song, I was in college,” the suburban Dublin native — who was born Andrew John Hozier-Byrne — told The Post.