Similar to the L.A. Reid piece below, I had the honor to talk to Island Records CEO David Massey about my most recent Billboard cover subjects—in this case, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas. My favorite quote about the latter: “He was such a serious little boy.” Read the whole chat for more JoBro anecdotes, and some Demi love. Also peep Q&As with Joe Jonas and Brad Paisley.
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
It’s not what you think. Those two up there? They might be music’s greatest power couple that isn’t actually a couple. Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato have been best friends since they were tiny tots entering the Disneysphere together, through several tours with the Jonas Brothers, and up to this exact moment in time, which finds them not only slaying arenas, but running a business together. Plus sharing advice about relationships (her to him: “Go get laid,” essentially) and looking out for each other (him on her: “I’m never ever drunk around Demi”). Also, peep the related standalone interviews with Joe Jonas, Island CEO David Massey, and Brad Paisley.
That’s Dua Lipa up there, and she’s in good company. HÆLOS, Day Wave, Sunflower Bean, and MUNA round out this list of must-see lesser-knowns playing Lolla this year. Learn ’em!
Get to know Son Little (photo by Erik Voake), Transviolet, Louis the Child, Laura Stevenson and PVRIS ahead of Dover, Delaware’s Firefly Music Festival. This works for home listening, too.
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I went to Ariana Grande’s home in order to figure out exactly who the big voice with the small frame actually is. Turned out I was out of luck: She had zero decor in her Benedict Canyon digs, and was both perfectly pleasant and personally elusive. But that’s sort of the story. Herein we meet Chairwoman Grande, Ariana from Boca, and a latex-adorned heroine/villain named Super Bunny, all of which dwell behind the Chanel shades seen above. See you at Whole Foods…
(awesome photos by Joe Pugliese)
Your cheat sheet to George, Washington’s gorgeous Sasquatch! Festival, starring Tamaryn, SOAK, Kevin Garrett, La Luz, and Briana Marela. Not northwest bound? Tune in at home.
I won’t hold it against the man that he made a Coldplay joke (w/r/t Chris Martin) the minute I got on the phone with him. L.A. Reid is a legend after all. Too often I have great chats with industry folk, and all I have to show for it is a quote or two in a profile about an artist. Here he is speaking at length about Fifth Harmony, Simon Cowell, and how much he loves Justin Bieber’s sound.
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In which I make Fifth Harmony cry, and try to patch it up with a trip to the froyo shop (spoiler: birthday cake flavor heals all wounds). I had the chance to interview these five for a smaller introductory Billboard piece just 14 months before (among my first for the mag), and now they (we!) are on the cover. RIYL an honest-to-god window into all the weird anguish that comes with being thrust into an ultimately impossible situation—which is to say, a girl group in 2016.
This was my 14th consecutive Coachella, and 17th if you count the short-lived cruise and the two years I went both weekends, but first with Rolling Stone. I teamed up with shutterbug Andy Keilen (that’s his shot of Kamasi Washington above) and writer Steve Appleford to tackle the best fest in the west. Half of the entries on this list are mine. Can you guess which ones without looking at the tags below? Make sure to keep scrolling downward on the article itself.
READ IT AT BILLBOARD (in print too)
“Replace the robes and sandals with Jordans and jeans, and you have a visual people can relate to.” That’s Tyler Perry, summing up what’s one of many, many very odd elements of Fox’s The Passion, a live televised musical set in modern times, using modern pop songs, but depicting the last mortal days of Jesus Christ. I spoke to all those dudes above, plus Perry in an attempt to make sense of the spectacle. The jury’s out on that, but it’s a good, weird read.
Read my standalone Q&As (in order of fun-ness) with:
Chris Writes Things 