Author: Rap Hooks

“My fans have naturally kind of made me the guy that they go to to have fun,” says Luke Bryan. It was with that thought in mind that the country superstar picked the songs for Signs, his ninth full-length studio album that comes out Sept. 18.

But as the artist who brought the world such good-timing party anthems like “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and “All My Friends Say,” ponders further, he notes that his fans equally respond to beautifully reflective songs like “Drink a Beer.” “A big thing you always hear from fans, too, is they want to hear songs of mine that throwback to where I was right when I came out and I feel like there’s several songs on this album that could be considered throwbacks,” he says. “But there are also songs that reflect a more modern side, such as the title track, that gravitate towards pop-country.”

So maybe, the American Idol judge figures, with Signs, he’s made an album that ticks all the boxes. Bryan, who co-wrote two of the tracks on the set (“Fish Hunt Golf Drink” and “Crooked Rows of Corn”) says, he’s “really, really blessed. By the time I make an album, I’ve had a lot of songs land in my lap [from outside songwriters]… But you know, the main thing with me is to just truly enjoy the process and try to make a well-rounded album, and I certainly feel like this is [one].”

Bryan, who again played stadiums this summer with his buddy Jason Aldean (as well as arenas on his own Word on the Street Tour dates), talked to Billboard about making the album. He began rolling out the track listing on Aug. 18 via a dedicated album website, and Billboard is exclusively revealing two more song titles, “Killer” and “Woods.” First single, “Country and She Knows It,” stands at No. 15 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Aug. 29.

Billboard is announcing two more song titles on the new album, including “Killer.” That’s a song unlike any you’ve ever done before, from the perspective of a bullet in a gun.  

It’s really deep subject matter, a really dark song — and really one of more well-written songs I’ve ever been a part of. These boys [Davis Corley, Mark Addison Chandler and Nate Kenyon] that wrote this song really wrote something very unique and special, and they went out there on a limb. Obviously, anytime you bring up guns — certainly in music and movies and art — it’s a slippery slope, and [there are] so many different polarizing opinions. This is just a story told from the perspective of a gun.

I don’t think it’s my job to start some pro-gun or non-pro-gun awareness campaign, but when you hear a song like this, I just think the song is so great somebody needs to sing it, and I just said, “I’m gonna be the guy that does it.”

What did you think the first time you heard it?

It took my breath away. When I think about my reaction the first time I heard “Drink a Beer,” and how it just floored me, I think this song does the same thing. I think it’ll take the listener on a ginormous emotional ride. It just gets better and better with every listen. It’s just a tremendous thought process of a song.

The other one song name we’re revealing is “Woods,” which feels very much in your wheelhouse.

This is one of those songs that I feel like my fans, when they hear me perform this, they’ll be like, “Oh yeah, that sounds like the Luke Bryan that we know. It just describes how important the relationship [between] the woods and a kid from the country is. It just really marries that relationship. I didn’t write the song, but everything in that song spoke to me as if I wrote it, and I think it’ll speak to everybody out there that has grown out in the sticks, and the way we lived. This song really embodies that.

You turned 50 last month. Though the album was likely finished before your birthday, are you selecting any songs now that you wouldn’t have selected 10 or 20 years ago?

I don’t know if I think about it. Mentally, I think I’m 30 anyway. I don’t necessarily know if I think about stuff in that context. My biggest challenge as an artist that’s been doing this for close to 20 years now is to try not to be overly redundant with your material, but then try not to stray away from what butters your biscuit. At the end of the day, I want a song to really touch me and, therefore, I think the odds are that it will do that to my fans.

That’s kind of the way I’ve approached every album. The bottom line is, I don’t necessarily know if I approach it with a 50-year-old brain, I think I approach it with which songs are connecting with me the most, and which songs do I believe will connect with my fans the most.

You’ve worked with Jeff Stevens almost your whole career. Now, he and his son Jody produce your albums together, including this one. What do they bring to the process?

The beauty of the dynamic with me and Jody and Jeff is Jeff is just the old rock in the room that really digs in and sticks to the core of what me and him are. Jeff and I inadvertently struck gold together. Jody [co-wrote] “Signs,” and that production on “Signs” is really young and fresh. So, Jody coming in and having that production is very important. Jody could literally build all our tracks if we wanted him to. It’s kind of like you got the old and you got the young and then you got me, and we all get in there together for one common goal. Jeff and Jody really don’t get caught up in the politics of the town. They’re kind of quiet behind-the-scenes guys that want to make their work speak for them.

Speaking of “Signs,” what made you decide to make that the title track?

I just thought it was the right way to title the album. I don’t get in the weeds. People are like, “Did you go light a bunch of incense and spend eight hours talking about the title of your album?” No, I just kind of keep it pretty basic and simple. I’m like, “Hey, let’s use Signs and let’s go take some pictures [of signs] and let’s put this bad boy out there.” I’ve tried to be the king of not overthinking things.

Your music helps other people deal with their losses. How has music helped you deal with your losses, especially your brother and sister’s deaths? Is there one song that you always go to when you’re feeling sad?

I wouldn’t say there’s one.  I would rather listen to the artists that really remind me of the people that I lost. When I listen to Keith Whitley, I think about my brother. When I listen to George Strait, I think about my brother. When I listen to Lionel Richie, I think about my sister and old school Alabama, I think about my sister. When I think about a song like “Drink a Beer” and I look at all of the emotions that it’s delivered to people through the years as I’ve been on stage performing it, it’s just been an honor. When you see a 300-pound guy that looks like he’s probably been working in a factory all week on the front row, holding his wife and they’re crying together, I mean, that’s what country music is all about.

Signs track listing

“Country And She Knows It”
“Word On the Street”
“Signs”
“Fish Hunt Golf Drink”
“Made It a Memory”
“Woods”
“Down Goes the Whiskey”
“Crooked Rows of Corn”
“I Like Loving You” 
“Killer”
“Praying By the Rules”

There are so many ways people are paying tribute to country legend Dolly Parton following her death on Tuesday (Aug. 25) at age 80. From President Trump ordering the nation’s flags to fly at half-staff, to the Library of Congress honoring her good works and a drive to have the Nashville International Airport renamed in her honor, not to mention the raft of fellow artists honoring her and performing her songs in concert.

One of the weirdest, and, as it turns out, most unrelated tributes, however, spun up on Thursday (Aug. 27), just days after Parton’s passing, when a new tropical storm was forming in the Atlantic Ocean. That storm’s name? Dolly.

But, according to The Associated Press, the bizarre coincidence has nothing to do with Parton at all, but is merely an unexpected quirk of the naming convention used by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), by which a list of names is recycled every six years, with the ones in the Atlantic running in an alphabetical order and alternating male and female names.

So, while this season began with storms named Arthur in June, followed by Bertha in July and Cristobal, which flared up and then flamed out quickly earlier this month, the latest storm brewing was already fated to be called Dolly. For now, it’s not expected to turn into a major storm, but the National Hurricane Center issued a statement explaining the coincidence just in case.

“The timing of the use of the name Dolly for this storm is purely coincidental,” the organization said. “Tropical storm and hurricane names for the North Atlantic Basin originate from six predetermined rotating lists established by the World Meteorological Organization Region IV  Hurricane Committee. The name Dolly replaced Diana after the 1990 hurricane season and was first used in 1996.”

The name, which was chosen 30 years ago by the WMO as part of the naming protocol using the rotating group of storm names, will not be changed. After each storm season, a committee for the North Atlantic basin reviews the names and decides if any should be retired due to severity and major loss of life and property; around 100 names have been retired from the Atlantic list to date.

There were a number of named “Dolly” storms and hurricanes during Parton’s lifetime, including 2008’s Category 2 storm, which hit southeast Texas, again in 2020 and for the first time in 1996 to replace “Diana,” a Category 2 that hit Mexico in 1990, killing 139 people.

At press time, Tropical Storm Dolly continues to move quickly westward toward the Leeward Islands, with heavy rains forecast for late Saturday into Sunday for the series of islands in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, with possible further impacts on the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola on Sunday and Monday. It was unclear at press time if the storm will make landfall in the U.S.

The parade of tributes to late country icon Dolly Parton will march on this weekend into movie theaters when AMC Theaters revives two of the Queen of Country’s most beloved big-screen appearances. AMC CEO Adam Aron announced that the chain will be screening the raunchy 1982 musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as well as 1989 classic dramedy Steel Magnolias.

The nod to the life and legacy of Parton — who died on Tuesday (Aug. 25) at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer — will include showing the two classic films at discounted prices, with the movies slated to run from Friday through Wednesday (Sept. 2); click here to see where Whorehouse is screening near you and here for Steel Magnolias.

While Parton was a well-established, cross-genre music star by the 1980s, her appearance in Whorehouse — which was based on the 1978 stage musical — found her co-starring with then box office giant Burt Reynolds in a cast that also included The Andy Griffith Show star Jim Nabors, Golden Globe-winning Dog Day Afternoon actor Charles Durning and frequent Reynolds sidekick and comedy great Dom DeLuise.

The movie tells the story of Parton’s beloved Chicken Ranch madame Mona Stangely and the shake-up in her secret relationship with local sheriff Ed Earl Dodd (Reynolds) when TV reporter Melvin P. Thorpe (DeLuise) comes to town intending to do an exposé on the brothel. The film was a box office it and it was nominated for two Golden Globes, with Parton earning a nod for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy and Durning getting an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Texas governor.

While the film featured some of the songs from Broadway score, along with two originals from Parton, the Parton-Reynolds duet “Sneakin’ Around” and a revamped version of her most iconic song, “I Will Always Love You,” that was released as a single in 1982 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in October of that year, eight years after the original version had topped that same chart.

Steel Magnolias was also adapted from a play of the same name about the lives of a group of six women in a small Louisiana town, with Parton playing the role of a Truvy Jones, a hairdresser who works out of her home salon. The stacked cast included star Sally Field as Southern mother hen Mary Lynn “M’Lynn” Eatenton, as well as Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Tom Skerritt, Sam Shepard and Dylan McDermott.

The movie as another box office success for Parton and it garnered a number of awards and nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Roberts at the Golden Globes — she was nominated in the same category for that year’s Oscars — as well as a Best Supporting Actress Globe nomination for Field.

The pair were among the dozen films Parton appeared in over her career, a list that includes her 1980 break-out role in 9 to 5, as well as appearances in 1984’s Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone and the 1992 talk radio comedy Straight Talk.

BMG said on Friday (Aug. 28) that its revenue for the first six months of the year rose 5% to 444 million euros ($518.7 million) due to growth in recorded music streaming subscriptions.

The German-owned music company said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 4% to 127 million euros ($148.4 million), for a 29% EBITDA margin. Adjusted operating EBITDA also hit 127 million euros, having risen 42% since 2023, the company said.

BMG acquired some 14 publishing and recorded music assets in the first six months of the year, making this its biggest investment in music rights during the company’s history. BMG, which in April announced plans to acquire Concord in a deal that includes $1.16 billion in cash, said it has invested $1.8 billion in music rights catalogs since 2021 through parent company Bertelsmann’s Boost program.

“Our first-half results reflect the strength of the business we have built over the past several years,” BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld said in a statement. “We have become a more focused, more profitable, digital-first business — one that is better able to invest in artists, songwriters, and music rights for the long term. Sustained organic growth, record profitability, and our highest-ever first half investment in music rights give us a strong foundation for the opportunities ahead.”

Acquisitions this year included rights from Jelly Roll, Fuji Music Group (which includes works associated with John Lee Hooker, Hal David, and Chess Records), Snap! co-founder Luca Anzilotti and Jet. 

Coesfeld said BMG is using artificial intelligence “at scale across BMG to better serve our clients and rights-holders by connecting music with the right audiences, deepening fan engagement, driving revenue opportunities, and improving productivity.”

BMG uses AI and data to sharpen its marketing, fan-focused strategies and to better monetize its catalog by identifying the best audiences to target. AI is also used to create and deliver “Motion Art for Apple Music.”

Across its recorded music, publishing and catalog, BMG represents more than three million songs and recordings including Tina Turner, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll and Paul Simon. For the first six months of the year, catalog performance was led by “Blue” by young kai, “What Is Love” by Haddaway, and “Lost On You” by LP.

BMG reiterated that its acquisition of Concord is on track pending regulatory approval. The ultimate combined company would be 67% owned by Bertelsmann, BMG’s parent company, and 33% owned by affiliates of Great Mountain Partners, a private markets investment firm that has long invested in Concord through a fund that manages money from Michigan Retirement Systems and Great Mountain’s management team

“Together with Concord, we will have greater scale, broader capabilities, and increased capacity to invest in artists and songwriters, strengthen the support we provide creators and partners and create greater long-term value from music rights,” Coesfeld said.

Billboard used an average six-month U.S. dollar to Euro conversion rate of 1.1682224299.

Debut albums, they don’t just fall from trees. With tattoos used to come off in the pool, Jem Cassar-Daley took time to find her voice, and the confidence that comes with life lived, experience. Maturity.

Tattoos (via Sony Music Australia) is the proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung singer-songwriter’s long-awaited first full-length album. Cassar-Daley might be branded a newcomer, but that’s not the full picture. She’s already a multiple award-winner, with a growing, national fanbase, and several songs that are part of Australia’s rich cultural tapestry.  

Earlier this year, she won two categories at the 2026 Queensland Music Awards for “Kiss Me Like You’re Leaving,” including song of the year. With that honor, she secured a piece of real estate on Brisbane’s Brunswick Street Mall, with a plaque on the Valley’s Walk of Fame. She already has one, for having scooped song of the year in 2024 with “King of Disappointment.” Her treasure chest includes AIR and National Indigenous Music Awards.

Under its skin, tattoos is a tale of growth, the bumpy path into adulthood, and relationships that come and go.  A song, she explains, can be like a tattoo. “A few years ago I don’t think I had the confidence to tell a producer how I felt and what I wanted,” she tells Billboard. “But now I’m so invested in each of these songs and each story, and I had a say in every decision made. I feel totally connected to this album.”

The new effort arrived today (Aug. 28) and houses previous releases “Clichés,” “Speak Now,” “Cool Girl,” and her most recent single “All I’m Thinking About,” all of them wrapped in personal, relatable stories, and baked with indie-pop seasoning. Plus a dash of country.

The majority of tattoo’s nine songs were lifted from their original demos. Sometimes you can’t beat the originals. “Behind all the production, at the end of the day each song is just a story in different outfits,” she explains. “Whether there’s an 808 on the track or it’s totally stripped back, it all starts on either piano or guitar. The common thread through it all is stories I’ve connected and resonated with and then brought to life.”

Cassar-Daley is a chip off the old block. Like her dad, Troy Cassar-Daley, a national treasure, she writes from the heart, plays multiple instruments and comes alive on the stage.  

Next week, she will support the new record with appearances at BIGSOUND 2026, a warmup for her national headline tour this September, stopping in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Cassar-Daley has already sold-out headlining tours in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and performed to the music industry at the U.K.’s The Great Escape in 2023, and SXSW Sydney in the same year. She’s currently opening for Vera Blue on the fellow Aussie artist’s Modern Rituals National Tour.

“I feel totally connected to this album,” Cassar-Daley enthuses. “That was really important leading into a debut album, knowing that this is going to be a body of work that is me. If I reflect in 15, 20 years’ time, I’ll just know that that was from this time of my life. And I had total control over it.” 

Stream tattoos used to come off in the pool in full below.

Though he was a world-renowned heavy metal icon and rock god, Ozzy Osbourne was also a man of the people. Yes, he lived in a lavish mansion and reaped riches during his life, but Ozzy never forgot his hardscrabble, working-class roots and maintained a cheeky, self-deprecating sense of humor until his death at age 76 in July 2025.

So it makes sense that in a new interview with E! News, son Jack Osbourne promised that the in-the-works Ozzy biopic will preserve his dad’s straight-shooting demeanor. “I have this mantra, and I always say it, when in meetings with my mom or doing anything with the family business. It’s, ‘give the fans what they want,’” said Jack. “That’s our people, that’s who we’re catering for, that’s what my dad wrote music for, that’s what he toured for, it’s why we did the shows we did. It’s been a big theme.”

In an effort to provide that fan service, Jack said his feeling about the film is, “‘We gotta give the fans what they want’ … we can’t make this artsy, kind of esoteric biopic. No, we’re not doing that.”

Osbourne revealed that the script for the film being developed by Sony Pictures and Polygram Entertainment in conjunction with the family is already finished and that the call is out for directors now for the project that has not yet announced a shooting schedule or potential release date. The good news is that the family already has someone in mind for the title role, but it’s too early to reveal who that is. “I’m not allowed to say, but conversations have been had, and if it all works out, it’s gonna be awesome,” Jack said.

Back in 2021, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s widow and longtime manager, said that a movie chronicling her 45-year love affair was in the works with Sony Pictures and Polygram Entertainment, with Oscar-nominee Lee Hall (Rocketman) on board to write the script. “Our relationship at times was often wild, insane and dangerous but it was our undying love that kept us together,” Sharon Osbourne told the magazine at the time.