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      How Levi’s Turned a Beyoncé Song Into an Ad Campaign

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      The denim brand was looking for ways to sell more apparel to women, and the megastar gave them a natural spokeswoman thanks to a song on “Cowboy Carter.”Kenny Mitchell, the chief marketing officer at Levi Strauss & Co., knew his team needed to move fast after Beyoncé released the track list for her album “Cowboy Carter” in March. Out of the 27 songs listed, one provided the denim brand’s marketing department with a huge opportunity: “Levii’s Jeans.”While in Paris to celebrate his wife’s 50th birthday, Mr. Mitchell was communicating across time zones with his team back at the company’s San Francisco headquarters to figure out how they could capitalize on the moment. When the songs dropped that week, Levi’s had landed on adding an extra I to the brand’s Instagram name, as Beyoncé had with her song.Still, Mr. Mitchell thought the brand could go further.“Once that album came out, it was obviously a moment where we said, Hey, maybe we can start to have some conversations about whether a deeper partnership makes sense,” Mr. Mitchell said.Soon after, Levi’s reached out to Beyoncé and her team. The two camps had already worked together on various campaigns and creative projects over the years. She had worn their jeans when she was a member of Destiny’s Child in the early 2000s, making Levi’s one of the first brands to collaborate with the group, and she continued to incorporate the brand in her solo career..What soon became apparent for executives at Levi’s after the release of “Cowboy Carter” was that Beyoncé could be the key to achieving one of the company’s top strategies: convincing more women to shop the brand.A third of Levi’s shoppers are women. The plan, executives say, is to bump that to 50 percent.Levi’s has tried several strategies over the years to appeal to women, including a line called Lady Levi’s.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Orla Gartland Melds Honesty, Hooks and Noise

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      On her second album, the internet-native Irish songwriter makes a complicated relationship sound “squonky.”The Irish songwriter Orla Gartland refuses to oversimplify romance on her new album, “Everybody Needs a Hero.”“Pop music for me can be a little too black-and-white sometimes,” she said in a video interview from her home studio in London. “Lyrically, a love song or a breakup song can be really straightforward. But that’s not my experience. The line is never that straight. You know, it’s sticky and meandering. It’s a lot of, like, ‘I love you … but.’”Gartland, 29, has been her own pop cottage industry for most of her life. Raised in Dublin, she started playing Irish traditional music on fiddle when she was 5 and moved on to learn guitar, keyboard and drums. She has also mastered the crucial 21st-century skill of video self-branding, creating a constant stream of content.Gartland started posting songs to YouTube — covers and then originals — in 2009, and she released her first official single in 2012. “There’s something so naïve in my early videos,” she said. “I get very nostalgic about that era of the internet, because I do think that no one had really made a career on the internet yet.”She called that moment “really pure and good-natured, like people were putting up things because they were so alive to a community. I remember putting songs up and being absolutely fascinated by the fact that I could play a song and upload it from my bedroom in Dublin, and then someone from the Philippines could comment five minutes later.”With her debut album, “Woman on the Internet” in 2021, Gartland finally claimed credit as a producer or co-producer on her songs.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Betty Carter

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      Her intricate phrasing and live improvisational skills made her a cornerstone for artists of all sorts. Listen to songs chosen by 10 musicians and writers who consider her a north star.We’ve spent five minutes with the likes of Alice Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan and Wayne Shorter; now, we’re taking time to highlight Betty Carter, the transcendent vocalist whose intricate phrasing and live improvisational skills made her a prominent figure in jazz, and whose mentorship of younger musicians fostered a new generation of like-minded singers and instrumentalists to craft music in her image. An entrepreneur, she started her own label, Bet-Car Records, in 1969 because of frustrations with the music business amid diminished interest in jazz, and released some of her most revered work through the imprint. Case in point: Four contributors this month chose songs from “The Audience With Betty Carter,” her epic 1980 album that properly showcased her mastery of performance and is considered one of the best jazz LPs of all time.Almost four decades earlier, as a teenager, Carter cut her teeth as a member of Lionel Hampton’s band, a gig she held for three years. Even then, her power shone through: Carter had a singular tone that sounded like a trumpet or saxophone, which led to Hampton nicknaming her “Betty Bebop,” a nod to the subgenre of jazz being created in New York. She left the band in 1951 and re-emerged as a one-of-a-kind vocalist, working with Miles Davis and Ray Charles before releasing her debut album, “Out There,” in 1958.If you want to know how important Carter became to jazz before her death in 1998, at age 69, think of the people who played in her bands along the way: Billy Hart, Geri Allen, Jack DeJohnette, Cecil McBee, Mulgrew Miller and so many others. Now, as always, Carter is a cornerstone for artists of all sorts, an example of how staying true to nonconformity can lead to dynamic results.Below you’ll find a guide to Carter’s music, courtesy of 10 musicians and writers who consider her a north star. You can find a playlist at the bottom of the article, and be sure to leave your own favorites in the comments.◆ ◆ ◆Angélika Beener, writer, podcast host and D.J.“Most Gentlemen Don’t Like Love”When it comes to romance, no one renders a cautionary tale quite like Betty Carter. While her self-penned “Tight” is currently the most famous and widely covered words-to-the-wise composition in her repertoire, Carter made this rarer Cole Porter gem a classic with her singular treatment. During her 1992 performance from Jazz at Lincoln Center (first released in 2019), her fantastic trio swings behind her as she gives a comical preamble to the audience. “I didn’t have a thing to do with these lyrics,” she says, playfully absolving herself from the stinging words she’s about to deliver while simultaneously dedicating it “to the men.” “It’s just my concept,” she casually adds.Indeed, Carter is a conceptual genius and unparalleled storyteller, using her vocal gifts and astonishing melodic choices to lay bare the intentions of “most gentlemen.” Her description of what men really want has the audience (and her) audibly giggling throughout, as she wittily sings the racy, chromatically structured phrases. At 63, she’s heard at the height of her powers here, seasoned to perfection and finally getting her just praises. Her wholehearted joy oozes from her heart to yours, and you can’t help but smile — and, at times, clutch your pearls.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Pras Sues Lauryn Hill Over Canceled Fugees Tour, Alleging Fraud

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      Ms. Hill was accused of deceiving the other group members about tour finances. She called the lawsuit “baseless” and “full of false claims.”After three years of stops and starts, a troubled reunion tour by the hip-hop trio the Fugees — Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras — was finally canceled in August, leaving fans wondering what had happened behind the scenes. One version of that story emerged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Pras against Ms. Hill and her company, MLH Touring.In the lawsuit, Pras — whose real name is Prakazrel Michel — laid out a withering portrait of a group in private conflict. He accused Ms. Hill of deceiving the other Fugees about the tour’s finances, trying to “usurp control” by taking over the group’s business and trademark, and unilaterally rejecting a $5 million offer for the Fugees to perform at this year’s Coachella festival.The suit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, includes claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and refusing to permit an audit. It seeks unspecified damages.In a statement, Ms. Hill responded: “This baseless lawsuit by Pras is full of false claims and unwarranted attacks. It notably omits that he was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of good will.”The Fugees, from New Jersey, became progressive standard-bearers for hip-hop in the 1990s with reggae-tinged hits like “Fu-Gee-La” and “Killing Me Softly,” and Ms. Hill broke out with her 1998 solo album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which won the Grammy Award for album of the year.But the group’s history has long been tumultuous, and fans have been waiting decades for a proper tour. According to Mr. Michel’s suit, the latest troubles began as soon as their first batch of reunion dates was announced in 2021.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      6 of ‘The Greatest’ Songs

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      Hear superlative tracks from Billie Eilish, Kenny Rogers and Alabama Shakes.Billie Eilish opened her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour in Quebec this week.Julia Spicer for The New York TimesDear listeners,I’m going to keep things brief today, since I just got back from a whirlwind trip to lovely Quebec City, where I reported on the opening night of Billie Eilish’s world tour. I was curious to see how the 22-year-old Eilish would stage and perform the songs from her latest album, the sonically adventurous “Hit Me Hard and Soft” — especially those that require the oft-whispery-voiced singer to belt to the rafters. One of those songs has a lofty but familiar title: “The Greatest.”I have long dreamed of compiling an Amplifier playlist of different songs with the same name. Watching Eilish perform “The Greatest,” probably the emotional apex of the whole show, I realized she was offering me the perfect opportunity. I started to think of the many other artists who have bestowed that imposing moniker on one of their tunes — Cat Power, Lana Del Rey and Kenny Rogers among them.Perhaps I just have majesty on the mind because as I made my way home from the airport yesterday, I listened to (and eventually watched) one of the greatest baseball games I can remember, an operatic battle for a postseason berth between the Atlanta Braves and my New York Mets, who came back from the brink of elimination (twice!) to win the game, 8-7. In that spirit, I dedicate all six of these songs to Francisco Lindor and his two-run, ninth-inning home run: a moment of true greatness.If this is it, I’m signing off,LindsayListen along while you read.1. Billie Eilish: “The Greatest”In its muted opening sequence, Eilish coats that titular lyric in sarcasm: “Man, am I the greatest,” she sighs, reflecting on a doomed relationship that seems to have suffered from some lopsided affection. As the song builds to its cathartic conclusion, though, a soaring melody allows her defenses to drop away. “I loved you, and I still do,” she sings. “Just wanted passion from you, just wanted what I gave to you.”▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTubeWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      MacArthur Foundation Announces 2024 ‘Genius’ Grant Winners

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      On Tuesday, 22 anonymously nominated Americans were recognized with fellowships and an $800,000 stipend.While the groundbreaking Indigenous teen comedy-drama “Reservation Dogs” may not have taken home any Emmys this year, the show’s co-creator Sterlin Harjo has been awarded a different prestigious prize: a MacArthur Fellowship.“The dreams that I had when I was young about changing the world and about changing representation and about showing us as real human beings, all of that meant something, and it did change the world,” Harjo said in an interview. He also co-wrote the new Netflix film “Rez Ball,” and has directed films, including “Love and Fury” and “Mekko.”Harjo, 44, is part of a new class of 22 MacArthur Fellows that includes a children’s and young adult author, a former U.S. poet laureate, two evolutionary biologists, an astronomer who uplifts underrepresented students and a pioneering alternative cabaret star.The honor is given out each year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, recognizing individuals in a variety of fields. The fellowship comes with a no-strings-attached stipend of $800,000, disbursed over five years.The fellows, who were announced on Tuesday, were first submitted for consideration by a pool of anonymous nominators and then recommended to the foundation’s president and board by an independent selection committee. Since 1981, more than 1,100 people have been awarded the fellowship, which is commonly referred to as the “genius grant.”Recipients are not notified if they are being considered for the honor, so their selection comes as a surprise. This year, multiple fellows were told that the MacArthur Foundation wanted them to participate in a panel discussion, and would be calling them to organize the event. But when the call came, they were instead notified that they had been chosen as a fellow (and that the panel did not even exist).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The Metropolitan Opera’s Season Begins With a Boom

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      “Grounded,” the new work that opened the season, has been joined by revivals of three Puccini, Verdi and Offenbach classics.The Metropolitan Opera’s season began not with a bang or a whimper, but with a boom.In “Grounded,” Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s new work about a fighter pilot turned drone operator, which opened the season last week, a group of soldiers lets out a stentorian “boom” to depict an F-16 dropping a bomb. It’s a laughable moment; but the real sonic blast arrived during Puccini’s “Tosca,” a few days later.At the fever pitch of that opera’s second act, Mario Cavaradossi, an artist and revolutionary sympathizer, stumbles, bloodied and almost broken, out of a torture chamber and hears the news that Napoleon’s army has won a major battle. “Vittoria!” he cries, summoning his last vestiges of strength in a triumphant declaration of victory.It’s one of the most dramatic moments in a peerlessly dramatic opera. And on Saturday evening, the tenor SeokJong Baek held the two high B flats on the final syllables so long that the audience burst into a delighted ovation that covered the rest of his phrase. It was an unsubtle, unrestrained spectacle — and a deeply satisfying one, the kind of slightly guilty pleasure that’s a crucial part of why we go to the opera.Baek is one of several fine singers in the Met’s opening quartet of titles — “Grounded” and revivals of “Tosca,” Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” and Verdi’s “Rigoletto” — though not one of the four is a must-see. There was a sense over the week that the company was gradually gearing up rather than coming out full force.There are worthy performances scattered throughout, though. The score of “Grounded” is humdrum, but the show boasts a memorable protagonist in the mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, her dusky, penetrating tone the vocal embodiment of an anxiously furrowed brow.Poised and demure, the tenor Benjamin Bernheim is suavely melancholic in “Hoffmann.” The soprano Erin Morley, as the super-high-note-flinging robot he falls for, is an uncanny blend of human and unreal, and the mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, making her Met debut, is earthy yet eloquent in the dual role of Hoffmann’s friend and muse.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      An Oasis in England’s Troubled, Polarized Opera Landscape

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      The sun shone brightly over the downs of East Sussex on a summer afternoon while people trickled onto the grounds of Glyndebourne to hear an opera by Handel. Most of the men wore black tie, and many women were in floral gowns, as they picnicked among gardens and sculptures, and under the shadow of the property’s grand, Jacobethan manor house.As they made their way into Glyndebourne’s opera house, old Oxbridge friends recognized one another and swapped life updates; introductions were made, photos were taken, and, when the time came for the show to start, the party was put on a respectful pause for the opening act of “Giulio Cesare.”It all had the appearance of opera in paradise, which isn’t so much of an exaggeration. Glyndebourne, a country house festival that over 90 years has grown into an enormous, year-round operation, has a reputation for elitism in its unofficial dress code and high prices. But there is also elitism, the good kind, in its level of music making.The Conrad Shawcross sculpture garden on the Glyndebourne grounds.Alice Zoo for The New York TimesIn the organ room at Glyndebourne.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More