soundtracks: Last News

“Bye Bye Bye” to us as a recording act.But the wait for the boy band’s much-anticipated reunion is finally over with Friday’s release of “Better Place,” the group’s first single since 2002’s “Girlfriend.”And Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick sound just in sync as ever on this buoyant bop from the “Trolls Band Together” soundtrack, which indeed takes you to a “Better Place.”After a whistling intro — a hook that repeats throughout the song — it opens with what could be a statement about how they’re still better together after all these years: “It’s some kind of love, it’s some kind of fire/I’m already up, but you lift me higher.”While other members of the group sing lead in the verses, it’s Timberlake who owns the chorus with his familiar falsetto. And when he sings “I’m so excited to see you excited” over the bass-bumping disco groove, it’s as if he knows exactly how giddy this track is making *NSYNC fans all around the world.Timberlake, who also voices the character of Branch in “Trolls Band Together,” co-wrote and co-produced “Better Place” with Shellback, and the track is a satisfying sequel to their previous collaboration on the 2016 “Trolls” smash “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”Like it’s predecessor, it’s the perfect summer song — except it’s arriving at the beginning of fall.But there’s no denying the sunny pop sheen of “Better Place.” And though it feels more like a Timberlake song than an *NSYNC one, it’s not all about the “SexyBack” singer — as those creamy harmonies attest.The tune previews the “Trolls Band Together” soundtrack” — with Timberlake returning as executive music producer — which will be released on Oct.

prestigious Song of the Year prize at the Grammys last month.)But Ryan Gosling, 43, still won the night when he brought all of his Kenergy to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.It was a show-stopping number unlike any that the Academy Awards had seen before.Instantly, Gosling’s Kenfest joined the ranks of these wackiest Oscar musical performances ever.The sight of the orange-jumpsuited singer cavorting across the stage with a troupe of ghosts and other assorted ghouls was truly scary. As was the fact that Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” not only beat out the No.

“I’m Just Ken” might actually win Best Original Song over “What Was I Made For?” — Billie Eilish’s far superior “Barbie” tune.After all, another Oscar win would make Eilish, 22, and her producer brother, Finneas, 26, the youngest two-time Academy Award winners in history after their victory in 2022 for the Bond theme song “No Time To Die.”Perhaps with some voters thinking “too much, too soon,” an upset seemed to be brewing.But now the siblings are in the history books — as they should be.Sometimes it’s just as simple as real recognizing real — whether it’s at the Oscars or the Grammys.And when Eilish got a standing O from Hollywood’s finest after performing “What Was I Made For?” at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night, it was an acknowledgement of just how far ahead she was of the other Best Original Song nominees.To be honest, it wasn’t even as hauntingly heartbreaking as her performance of the tune just before it took Song of the Year at the Grammys last month.But it was still real artistry on raw display that was all the chills and feels.“What Was I Made For?” also became only the 10th song in history to win both the Grammy for Song of the Year and the Oscar for Best Original Song.That puts it in some pretty prestigious company, with the likes of “Moon River” (from 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) “The Way We Were” (from 1973’s “The Way We Were”), “Evergreen” (from 1976’s “A Star Is Born”), “You Light Up My Life” (from 1977’s “You Light Up My Life”), “A Whole New World” (from 1992’s “Aladdin”) and “My Heart Will Go On” (from 1997’s “Titanic”).Bravo, Billie and Finneas.

prestigious Song of the Year prize at the Grammys last month.And while our money is on the siblings to become the youngest two-time Oscar winners, they may still lose the night to Ryan Gosling when he brings all of his Kenergy to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.It’s sure to be a musical number unlike any that the Academy Awards have seen before.But before all that blonde fragility is unleashed on Sunday, we look back at the wackiest Oscar musical performances ever.The sight of the orange-jumpsuited singer cavorting across the stage with a troupe of ghosts and other assorted ghouls was truly scary. As was the fact that Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” not only beat out the No.

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” 1966’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s World,” 1970’s “Super Bad” and 1974’s “The Payback” — James Brown’s recording career was decimated by the disco explosion in the mid-’70s.“Such an interesting time, especially in New York, there’s everything happening,” says Mick Jagger in the new four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which the Rolling Stone legend executive-produced with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.“You’ve got punk happening, disco happening, all getting mixed up. A lot of other people were sort of left behind in this, ’cause this is a huge change, a sea change, in the musical scene.”And Part 3 of “Say It Loud” — which premieres tonight, along with Part 4 — reveals that Brown was “annoyed” about how much disco borrowed from his blueprint.“I’m the one who started disco,” says the Godfather of Soul in the doc.

Golden Globes.Having just turned 22 a few weeks ago, Billie Eilish won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song on Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles.After she and her brother, producer and co-writer Finneas triumphed for the Bond theme “No Time to Die” in 2022, the siblings came up golden again for the “Barbie” single, “What Was I Made For?”The moody meditation, which tapped into the existential crisis that the iconic Mattel doll faces in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster, beat out two other “Barbie” tunes: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” and Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken.”The track — which is also up for both Record and Song of the Year at the Feb. 4 Grammys — bested Bruce Springsteen’s “Addicted to Romance,” from “She Came to Me”: Jack Black’s “Peaches,” from “The Super Mario Bros.

Kenny Loggins is leaving the “Danger Zone” and heading toward the highway to retirement.The iconic rocker will play just 18 concerts on his upcoming ‘This Is It’ farewell tour and then that’s really it.“I just had my 75th birthday, and I feel like it’s time,” Loggins told the Herald-Tribune.From March 10 through Oct. 29, the “I’m Alright” singer will hit venues all over North America including stops in Jacksonville, FL on March 12, Williamsburg, VA on June 17 and his final gig ever (for now) in Highland, CA on Oct.

The daunting prospect of revamping the classic theme song of “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” — the beloved ’70s cartoon — is enough to make you let out a Shaggy-like “Yikes!”

You’ll soon be able to be serenaded by Luke Skywalker himself.