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    Bernie Taupin Gets Candid About His Fear Over His Work in Elton John's 'Jewel Box'

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    When talking about the eight-disc set, the longtime collaborator of the ‘Rocket Man’ singer admits he felt fans would find their very early songs an embarrassment.

    Nov 5, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Bernie Taupin initially fought the release of Elton John’s “Jewel Box” collection because he feared their early songs would be an embarrassment.
    The eight-disc set features 60 previously unheard tracks, stretching all the way back to 1967, and the rocker’s longtime collaborator admits he felt fans would laugh at their first efforts.
    “To see the product of our initial attempts at songwriting 50 years after the fact… it’s a little alarming to reconvene with,” the lyricist tells Rolling Stone. “I wasn’t sure I wanted people to hear these things, to be honest. I thought I might be embarrassed by their naivete, especially the very, very early work.”

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    “After all, at that time I was really faking it. The whole idea of how to construct a song was foreign to me. The idea of verse/chorus/bridge was big-pants terminology to me. Back then, I was throwing it down on the page. It was brain-to-pencil sort of free-form. It was a gradual process to find my voice. There was a lot of mimicry involved, a lot of purloining from what was currently a hit.”
    “I was floundering and grasping at straws.”
    And Bernie admits the pair’s 1968 song “Regimental Sgt. Zippo”, which appears on the new box set was “an affectionate nod” to The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.
    “Can I honestly say that was a tip of the hat to Sgt. Pepper? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,” he explains. “But it certainly proved that we were hanging on the coattails of things that were currently popular.”

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    Darius Rucker Claims 2020 CMA Awards to Feature Country Music Family in One Room Since COVID-19

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    Set to co-host the big show with Reba McEntire from Nashville, Tennessee on November 11, the ‘Wagon Wheel’ hitmaker reacts to question if the stars would perform in front of real fans.

    Nov 5, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Singer Darius Rucker has confused fans by suggesting the 2020 Country Music Association Awards will feature a live audience.
    The “Wagon Wheel” hitmaker will co-host the big show with Reba McEntire from Nashville, Tennessee on November 11, when artists including Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Combs will all take the stage at the Music City Center.
    Reports in September indicated there would be no fans at the annual event, due to coronavirus concerns, but during a TV appearance on Wednesday, November 4, Rucker appeared to indicate otherwise.
    Asked if he and his fellow country stars would be performing in front of real devotees, he smiled on America’s “Live with Kelly and Ryan”, “Yeah, we’re really proud.”
    “I’m really excited, just blown away by how the social distancing (will work) and how careful everybody’s being, all the performers will be there, the nominees will be there,” he continued.

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    “Everyone will be social distanced and spread out and it will be the first time really the country music family has been (together) in one room all year.”
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    Rucker was announced as McEntire’s co-host last month, but the singer feared he was in trouble when he first got the call asking if he’d be interesting in fronting the prizegiving with the country legend, a four-time host.
    “My manager… said, ‘Are you sitting down?’,” he shared. “My first thought was, ‘Oh my goodness… what have I done?’ But it was to do this…, so it was awesome.”
    Rucker is working on delivering “something really special” with McEntire for the big night, a collaboration they are both “really excited about”, while he will be sharing the stage with Lady A (Lady Antebellum), too: “We’re going to do Beers and Sunshine.”
    The CMA Awards will air live at 8 pm ET next Wednesday.

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    Nas Thinks Social Media Blows Doja Cat Namedrop Out of Proportion

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    Earlier this year, Nas sparked buzz after he appeared to shade Doja on his song ‘Ultra Black, rapping, ‘We goin’ ultra Black, unapologetically black/ The opposite of Doja Cat, Michael Blackson black.’

    Nov 4, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Nas once again addressed his shade at Doja Cat on his song “Ultra Black” of his album “King’s Disease”. The rapper, who previously claimed to not have any hard feelings for the “Say So” hitmaker, said in a new interview that social media was to be blamed for the tension between him and the singer.
    “Well, I’ve been away, so, of course, I mention someone’s name that’s popular and people are gonna talk about it,” Nas told NME on Tuesday, November 3, referring to the song which he released in August. “I hear people do it all the time but no one makes a big deal of it. Maybe it’s because I don’t put out records a lot, so they’re like, ‘Whoa!’ ”
    He went on explaining, “I don’t really know the world that these stars live in anymore. I’m rapping the same way I did when I was on the block, but now there’s a new world and what I say can take off with social media and I can’t do anything about it.”

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    Nas sparked buzz after he rapped, “We goin’ ultra Black, unapologetically black/ The opposite of Doja Cat, Michael Blackson black,” on the said song. It prompted fans to think that he’s referencing to the “Moo!” rapper’s past controversy after a video surfaced showing her joining a group chat full of white supremacists.
    Doja, meanwhile, previously said that she couldn’t care less about the diss, alluding that she respects him as an artist she grew up on. “I don’t know, I’m just glad he’s still putting out music, ’cause I love him,” she explained to Fat Joe in a virtual interview when asked how she felt about being addressed by one of her favorite rappers. “I grew up on Nas, so to hear that, I’m like, ‘Damn,’ but also, ‘Damn!’ I f***ing love Nas, thank f***g God he noticed me.”
    “I made jokes about it, but other than that, you will never see me beef with Nas,” she continued. “He might want to beef with me, but you’re not gonna see me beef with Nas. You won’t see me respond.”
    Nas himself also had the same sentiment in his previous interview. “I just really was saying a rhyme that rhymed with ‘ultra black,’ ” Nas explained his lyrics during his appearance on “Power 106” in Los Angeles back in August. “I didn’t even think of it. It’s all love. It was just like, ‘Michael Blackson black’… It’s bars, it’s lines. We play with words.”

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    Mike Campbell Gets Candid About Why Tom Petty Passed on 'The Boys of Summer'

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    When speaking on Brian Koppleman’s The Moment podcast, the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist admits he has always felt terrible his bandmate didn’t record his 1984 hit song.

    Nov 3, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Tom Petty’s longtime sideman Mike Campbell will always regret not going back to the Free Fallin’ singer after completing his “The Boys of Summer” demo, because he wanted his bandmate to have the biggest hit of 1984.
    The guitarist created the tune and played a rough early demo to Petty and record label boss Jimmy Iovine, who passed on the track because it sounded too jazzy.
    Convinced he had something special, Campbell made some alterations and, at Iovine’s suggestion, offered the tune to Eagles star Don Henley, who was working on the music that would make up his hit solo album “Building the Perfect Beast”.
    Speaking on Brian Koppelman’s “The Moment” podcast, Campbell said he was crestfallen when Petty seemed underwhelmed by the track: “In Tom’s defence, when I got to the chorus, I went to a different chord…,” Campbell said. “He heard a slightly inferior version, and I remember when it went by, we were kind of grooving to it, and it got to that chord and Jimmy Iovine goes, ‘Eh, it sounds like jazz’… I was completely deflated.”

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    Campbell felt sure Petty was “probably fed up” with the song and was busy working on his own music, and so when the idea to offer the song to Henley came up, he didn’t hesitate and they set up a meeting.
    “It was just me and him,” Campbell added. “We sat at a big table. He sat at the other end like the judge, totally quiet and didn’t bat an eye – just listened with his eyes closed. And then he said, ‘OK, maybe I can do something with that.’ ”
    Weeks later, Campbell received a call from the Eagles star: “He’s like, ‘Oh, I just wrote the best song of my life to your music,’ ” Campbell recalls.
    Campbell and Henley then hit the studio together and recorded what was to become a monster hit around the world, but the guitarist has always felt terrible Petty didn’t record “The Boys of Summer”.
    He also recalled the song coming on the radio while he and Petty were working on new music for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers album “Southern Accents”, prompting his bandmate to note, “Boy, you know, you were really lucky with that. I wish I would have had the presence of mind to not let that get away.’ ”

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    Eminem Backs Joe Biden by Authorizing 'Lose Yourself' Use in New Campaign Ad

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    Inspired by the lyrics of the rapper’s classic ‘8 Mile’ track, the 45-second spot titled ‘One Opportunity’ features footage from the presidential hopeful’s rally in his native Michigan.

    Nov 3, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Rapper Eminem has given U.S. presidential hopeful Joe Biden permission to use his classic “8 Mile” track for a new campaign ad, which debuted on Monday (November 02), on the eve of the general election.
    The 45-second spot’s title, “One Opportunity”, is inspired by the lyrics of “Lose Yourself” and features images of people voting, as well as footage from Biden’s rally in Eminem’s native Michigan.
    Eminem has shared the new ad on Twitter, adding the caption, “One opportunity… #Vote.”

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    It’s a big step for the rap star, who successfully sued New Zealand’s National Party campaign managers for sampling the song for a political ad back in 2014.
    Eminem has always been vocal about his opposition to Biden’s opponent, current U.S. leader Donald Trump – he criticized the businessman-turned-politician in his song “Campaign Speech” and attacked Trump in a freestyle during his song “Framed” at the BET Awards.
    Eminem isn’t the only artist who has given his permission for his song to be used for political purpose. Taylor Swift recently let U.S. politician Eric Swalwell use her music in a new ad aimed at boosting voter turn-out ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
    The pop star’s track “Only the Young” features in the latest ad for the Democrat’s Remedy PAC organization, which also features a quote about voter suppression from vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The video includes a montage of powerful social and political scenes that took place within the past four years under current President Trump’s first term.

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    Rod Wave Ridiculed After Stage Collapses

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    Though the ‘Rags2Riches’ hitmaker seems to be okay despite the scary incident, fellow hip-hop star Sukihana and others blast Internet trolls who accuse the overweight rapper of causing the stage collapse.

    Nov 2, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Rod Wave survived a stage collapse over the weekend. The rapper and his entourage were walking down the stage during a concert in Atlanta on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, when the stage underneath them crashed down.
    The “Rags2Riches” hitmaker just came out after being introduced to perform at Morris Brown College. He barely sang his song when the stage collapsed while he and his crew had a big walkout to get to the front of the stage.
    Rod himself took to Instagram to share a video of the incident, showing several people falling into a hole created by the busted stage. The 21-year-old artist, meanwhile, did not end up in the vacated pit, but he did fall down nonetheless.
    He was pulled up with some assistance after the fall and seemed to be okay as he was able to joke about the incident afterward. “PIMP DOWN I REPEAT PIMP DOWN,” he wrote in the caption of the video he shared, before deleting the post.

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    As concertgoers were holding up their phones and filmed the incident, footage of the stage collapse from different angles has gone viral on social media. But instead of worrying about Rod, some made fun of the rapper and appeared to blame him for the stage crash.
    “BRO. Maneee HE JUST GOT HERE,” one person wrote along with a clip from the incident. “tryna fall like rod wave in somn rn,” another joked, while someone else quipped, “They should’ve ‘weighted’ until 2020 was over smh.”
    “If I was him , I wouldn’t even go on another stage that’s mad embarrassing,” a fourth user commented on a video of the incident. “this is the funniest thing i’ve ever seen in my life,” another wrote, while someone else exclaimed, “DAMN HE A BIG BOY.”
    Fellow hip-hop artist Sukihana clapped back at the trolls, writing on Twitter, “I seen bout 30 people fall and the only one y’all talking about is Rod wave.. y’all always tryna make fun of fat people.” Another agreed with her, “People just love to talk s**t. That’s not the first time a floor fell threw at a college.”
    “Exactly Rod Wave wasn’t the reason the stage collapsed at all,” another chimed in. “It was a whole rack of bodies that went on stage with him and the problem was whoever made that flimsy cardboard stage needs to be accounted for because when the surface came up we all saw how ironboard thin it was.”
    The concert was canceled after the stage collapsed.

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    Busta Rhymes Claims His 'Verzuz' Battle With T.I. Would Be 'Uncivil A**-Beating'

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    Prior to this, the Atlanta hip-hop star angered Busta after he turned down his rap battle invite, claiming that the Brooklyn-bred rapper was too old to go against him in a song battle.

    Nov 2, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Busta Rhymes believes that T.I. should be grateful for not going against him in a “Verzuz” battle. During his appearance on Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning”, Busta claimed that he would easily beat down Tip, who previously turned down his challenge for a song battle.
    “Let’s be clear. You said that you didn’t think me and T.I. would be a good ‘Verzuz’,” Busta told Ebro in the Friday, October 30 episode. “Direct response to that: Neither do I. It would be uncivil, that a**-beating.”
    Referring to Fat Joe, Busta went on to say, “But what I’m saying is, I never asked to do a ‘Verzuz’ with T.I. That’s my brother and I love him, but I never asked to do a ‘Verzuz’ with him. Joe Crack was telling me that I see what was going on between him and [50 Cent]. And when 50, you know, kind of brushed him off, did I also hear this thing that T.I. was expressing about his issues with New York MCs.”
    “[Joe] asked me if the opportunity to do a ‘Verzuz’ against T.I., would I do it? Motherf**king right,” Busta said on Hot 97. “And that don’t just go for T.I., that goes for any artist from any timeframe, any era of hip-hop.”

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    “T.I., it is intriguing to me that you have such a concern with New York MCs,” the Brooklyn-bred rapper said. “I wanna understand what that’s about. But, from one brother that loves you to my brother that knows I love him, I’m begging you to step in the ring with me. I’ma bust yo a** … Come on T.I., let’s have fun.”
    “I worked hard throughout these years, man, and I’ve been very consistent throughout these years. And I speak from a place of pride,” he continued. “I’m speaking from a place of being very clear of the fact that I’ve earned my right … to be very, very confident. I’m not speaking from a ‘stroking my own ego’ place, but I don’t think anybody can actually have a problem with me actually stroking my own ego if I chose to. Because I’ve earned it–justifiable so. Bust anybody’s ass on any stage, don’t matter who was the lineup … Bust anybody’s a** on whatever record that I had to be on….”
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    Prior to this, T.I. turned down Busta’s rap battle invite because the latter was too old. “Busta’s one of the most phenomenal talents of our time, man,” Tip responded to the challenge. “I salute and respect Busta a whole lot. I just think the generational gap might be a little too much.”
    Busta was quick to hit back at Tip. “It’s okay to let people know that you backed down from this ‘Verzuz’ offer. It’s okay, Tip. You’ve ‘respectfully declined.’ I guess that’s the fancy way to say that you turned down this ‘Verzuz’ battle,” the Brooklyn rapper said in his video. “You want to talk about generational gap? That’s a very respectful way of not saying that you don’t really want to sit in the smoking section with me and that you actually just turned down the opportunity to do this ‘Verzuz’ battle with me. It’s cool, Tip. You can say it, King of the South!”

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    Artist of the Week: Corey Taylor

    The Slipknot frontman rules various rock charts as he offers a glimpse into his life and shares his personal struggles with his solo debut album ‘CMFT’.

    Nov 2, 2020
    AceShowbiz – Corey Taylor launched his solo career this year and reintroduced himself with debut album “Corey Mother F**king Taylor” or better known as “CMFT”. It pushed the 46-year-old vocalist to step out of his comfort zone.
    “It’s basically me taking the p**s out of my public persona and making fun of people who think they know exactly who the f**k I am,” so the father of three explained to Metal Hammer.
    His experiment paid off. Released in October, the album debuted at the first place on Billboard’s Current Hard Rock Albums chart while climbing up to the second position on the Current Rock Albums, reaching No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and entering at No. 9 on the Top Albums charts.
    The compilation of 13 brand new tracks also propelled the rocker to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Songwriters chart following the release of his two singles “Black Eyes Blue” and “CMFT Must Be Stopped”. He additionally reigned the US Mainstream Rock chart with the lead single.

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    Offering a mixture of blues and country infused rock tracks, “CMFT” is unlike Corey’s past music with Slipknot and Stone Sour. It offered a personal look into his life as he shared his dream, inspirations as a kid, as well as struggle with addiction and depression.
    In “HWY 666”, he goes all the back to when he was just a young boy as he digs into his childhood journal. “This started as two verses written in a notebook when I was about 16 years old. There’s a little bit of Thin Lizzy, The Charlie Daniels Band and Pantera in there,” he explained.
    He also touched upon his love life. In “The Maria Fire”, he gave “a very heartfelt vaya con dios” to a former lover.
    As for his tribute to his wife in “Home”, he spent nearly three years to perfect it. “This the first song I wrote about Alicia. I wrote it on the guitar but it lacked that intimacy and personal feel. So I spent two and half years teaching myself how to play piano,” he revealed.

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