Max Martin: Celebs Rumors

While the concept of the TV talent show may be obsolescent, with the glory days of The X Factor but a distant memory, our appetite for new music has arguably never been stronger.

Simon Cowell is on the hunt for brand new musical talent as he launches a new show with a social media twist.

Naman Ramachandran Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Republic Records and Samsung have teamed on global music collaboration initiative StemDrop – A Song for the World. StemDrop aims to act as an incubator for new talent by providing an opportunity for artists from anywhere in the world to collaborate with iconic songwriting talents. The initiative sees Max Martin who has produced Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time,” Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” Céline Dion’s “That’s the Way It is,” Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”; and his hit-making team of Savan Kotecha and Ali Payami, who on Oct. 26 will release 60 seconds of a new single exclusively on TikTok. As soon as the song drops, the community will be able to access the ‘stems’ (the individual components of the song like drums, bass guitar and vocal parts) through the StemDrop page and can create, record and share their own versions.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Grammy and Oscar winning singer-songwriter Sam Smith has announced their fourth studio album, “Gloria,” will be released on January 27, 2023 via Capitol Records. Made with longtime collaborators Jimmy Napes, Stargate and Max Martin stablemate Ilya, the album is described in the announcement as “not only a creative revelation but something of a personal revolution for the celebrated artist. Lyrically, the subjects dive deep and wide, into contemporary narratives around sex, lies, passion, self-expression and imperfection.” Smith says, “It feels like emotional, sexual and spiritual liberation. It was beautiful, with this album, to sing freely again. Oddly, it feels like my first-ever record. And it feels like a coming of age.”

Sam Smith and Kim Petras have performed an Unholy miracle with the UK's Official Number 1 Trending Song. 

Sam Smith and Kim Petras have performed an Unholy miracle with the UK's Official Number 1 Trending Song. 

Sam Smith and Kim Petras have entered the race for this week’s UK Number 1 single. Their new team-up Unholy currently looks set to be this week’s highest new entry (2) but has launched a very real challenge for Number 1.

Sam Smith has announced a pair of shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall next month, marking their first headline gigs since 2019.Although the British pop star has appeared at numerous festivals and promotional events since 2019, their last tour concluded in Cape Town in April of that year.Smith will perform at the iconic London venue on October 21 and 22, with a setlist featuring some of their biggest hits and previewing material from their forthcoming new album. Fans can gain access to a special ticket pre-sale by pre-ordering the star’s new album directly from their online store before 4pm BST tomorrow (September 21).Those who gain access will receive codes at 6pm BST, with the pre-sale opening at 9am BST on Thursday (22).

Simon Cowell once unsuccessfully attempted to buy Britney Spears’ ‘‘…Baby One More Time’ off Max Martin with a Mercedes, a recent interview has revealed.Revealing the story on the podcast of his America’s Got Talent co-star Howie Mandel, Cowell details the story, beginning from how had received a phone call from a contact who had played him ‘… Baby One More Time’ through the wire.His contact had informed him that the song was written by the Swedish producer for TLC, who had passed on the future mega-hit. Upon hearing the track, Cowell – who had been working at the time with a boyband named 5ive “on the verge of breaking” stateside – turned desperate in trying to get the song from Martin.

“… Baby One More Time” being originally sung by anyone else. But if pop impresario Simon Cowell had gotten his way, those infamous lyrics would have been delivered by one of his former UK boy bands — and not One Direction, either.

Aitch and Ed Sheeran have debuted at Number 1 on the Official Trending Chart with their new collaboration, My G.

The latest trailer for The Idol - the new HBO show starring The Weeknd which he co-created with Euphoria showrunner Sam Levinson - has just been released, and it's promising to take us into the "gutters" of Hollywood. 

Coldplay have shared the new video for their track ‘Humankind’, which was filmed while on tour in Mexico – you can watch the clip below.The song features on the band’s most recent album ‘Music Of The Spheres’, which arrived back in October.The four-piece are currently on tour in support of the LP, and they have today (August 17) shared a new video for ‘Humankind’ which captures the band on stage.Directed by Stevie Rae Gibbs and James Marcus Haney, the ‘Humankind’ video was shot over the course of Coldplay’s four sold-out shows at Mexico City’s Foro Sol stadium back in April.You can watch Coldplay’s video for ‘Humankind’ below.Coldplay will play the fourth of six sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium tonight, before they head to Glasgow for a pair of dates at Hampden Park on August 23-24. You can find any remaining tickets for Coldplay’s UK tour here.So far during their Wembley run, Coldplay have invited Craig David, H.E.R., Max Martin and Natalie Imbruglia to join them on stage.

Coldplay have made it home.

their ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour, Coldplay have welcomed Craig David to join them in performing two of the Hampshire singer’s own songs.Coldplay’s first sold-out show at Wembley Stadium took place on Friday (August 12), while the second went down last night (August 13). David wasn’t scheduled to perform at either show – nor is he billed for any of the remaining four – but made surprise appearances at both during Coldplay’s set. Both shows saw the impromptu supergroup perform David’s ‘Live In The Moment’ (from 2018’s ‘The Time Is Now’). On Friday, they followed it up with ‘Fill Me In’ (from 2000’s ‘Born To Do It’) and last night, they rounded out the micro-set with ‘7 Days’ (also from ‘Born To Do It’). Have a look at fan-shot footage from the performances below, then see the full setlist from last night’s show:1. ‘Higher Power’ 2. ‘Adventure Of A Lifetime’ 3. ‘Paradise’ 4. ‘Charlie Brown’ 5. ‘The Scientists’ (included excerpts of ‘Oceans’) 6. ‘Viva La Vida’ 7. ‘Hymn For The Weekend’ 8. ‘Let Somebody Go’ (with H.E.R.) 9. ‘Politik’ 10. ‘In My Place’ 11. ‘Yellow’ 12. ‘Human Heart’ 13. ‘People Of The Pride’ 14. ‘Clocks’ 15. ‘Infinity Sign’ (included excerpts of ‘Music Of The Spheres II’ and ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’) 16. ‘Something Just Like This’ (pre-recorded vocals with Chris Martin performing in sign language) 17. ‘Midnight’ (remix, included excerpts of ‘Blue Moon Tree’ by Lone) 18. ‘My Universe’ (with Max Martin) 19. ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’ (with Max Martin) 20. ‘Sparks’ 21. ‘Live In The Moment’ (Craig David cover, with Craig David) 22. ‘7 Days’ (Craig David cover, with Craig David) 23. ‘Humankind’ 24. ‘Fix You’ (included excerpts of ‘Midnight’) 25. ‘Biutyful’As you’ll see above, Coldplay also welcomed H.E.R.

With Little Mix having set the precedent for powerful women in music before heading off on hiatus, we're ready to see a new generation of girl power dominate the charts. And we might've just found the lasses to do it.

“Ew, AJ!” That’s what Annie Murphy’s “Schitt’s Creek” alter-ego Alexis Rose would likely say if she could see how hard AJ McLean’s still fanboying over meeting her.

It's a happy birthday to Selena Gomez from Official Charts today, as the multi-hyphenate superstar turns 30 today!

Blanco released a medley of three fan favourite BTS songs in collaboration with the band.The medley featured remixed version of the singles ‘Fake Love’, ‘Life Goes On’ and ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’, all done by Blanco.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Tony nominee Stark Sands, currently starring in the Toronto production of the Broadway-bound musical & Juliet, has signed with Bill Butler & Michelle Kittrell at Industry Entertainment for management.

& Juliet, the Olivier Award-winning musical with a book by Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read, will make its Broadway debut this fall, with previews beginning October 28 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre ahead of a Nov. 17 opening.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaFollowing its acclaimed and award-winning run in London’s West End, “& Juliet” will make the trek to Broadway, where it is due to premiere this fall.The show, a revisionist take on Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” that looks at what might have happened had Juliet not opted to kill herself, is currently playing a pre-Broadway engagement in Toronto. It will transfer directly to Broadway, with previews beginning Oct.

Halsey has shared their new single, ‘So Good’ – the song they claim their label would not release until they could “fake a viral moment on TikTok”.Halsey’s first offering of 2022, the song is the track the artist claimed their label Capitol Records was withholding from release. In May, Halsey took to the app, telling followers that ‘So Good’ wouldn’t drop until they could “fake a viral moment on TikTok”.“Basically i have a song that i love that i wanna release ASAP but my record label won’t let me…ive been in this industry for 8 years and ive sold over 165 million records…i deserve better tbh,” they wrote.I’m tired ♬ original sound – Halsey Halsey later continued to update fans about the status of new music in the video’s comment section, writing that Capitol Records “just said I have to post tiktoks; they didn’t specifically say ‘about what’ so here I am.”The video, which Halsey later called a “TikTok tantrum”, garnered over a million likes, and in the aftermath, Capitol Records tweeted on May 31 that they “love” and “support” Halsey, saying it would commit to releasing ‘So Good’ on June 9.– @halsey, we love you and are here to support you.

Lizzo has returned with a new single from her forthcoming album – listen to the exuberant ‘Grrrls’ below.The singer is readying the release of her fourth album ‘Special‘, which arrives on July 15. It marks the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Cuz I Love You‘ and has been previewed by the single ‘About Damn Time’.Paying tribute to female friendship, the Max Martin-produced song sees Lizzo hailing the women in her life, as she sings: “We CEOs and dancing like a C-E-Hoe.”Listen to the new song below.Earlier this year, during an interview with Variety, Lizzo called the album “one of the most musically badass, daring and sophisticated bodies of work I’ve done to date” and said she was “shocked” that it’s a “love album”.The singer and rapper’s life will also be the subject of a new HBO documentary, set to focus on Lizzo’s life and rise to fame.The as-yet-untitled film, which is being directed by Doug Pray, executive producer of Dr.

Måneskin have released a brand new video for their latest single, ‘Supermodel’ – you can check it out below.Produced by Max Martin, the Italian band’s first new music of 2022 is loosely based on characters they met during their time in LA.“We wrote ‘Supermodel’ after spending the best few months in LA,” Måneskin said in a statement about their new single. “At times we were surprised yet intrigued to find how people cared so much about the idea of ‘celebrity’ and status, obsessing over their looks and connections.”Elaborating on the song some more during a chat with NME for the latest Big Read, frontman Damiano David said: “We always have this portrait of the US as ‘the coolest place in the world where dreams come true and everyone has opportunities!’ That’s true, but then on the other side there’s a lot of injustice, unfairness, homeless people and racist shit.“At these parties, everyone was a fucking fashion icon.

Halsey has accused her record label, Capitol Records, of refusing to release the first single from her new album. 

Sam Ryder's SPACE MAN becomes the Number 1 Trending Song in the country today, following its record-breaking success at Eurovision. 

K.J. Yossman Eurovision 2021 winners Maneskin are set to make an appearance on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s highly-anticipated Elvis biopic.The Italian band revealed the collaboration during their triumphant return to the Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Turin, Italy on Saturday night.

Måneskin have shared their latest single ‘Supermodel’ – you can listen to the new song below.The track is the Italian four-piece’s first new music release of 2022, following on from their October single ‘Mammamia’.Written in LA and produced by Max Martin, ‘Supermodel’ was inspired “by the many characters they met during their time in LA”.“We wrote ‘Supermodel’ after spending the best few months in LA,” Måneskin said in a statement about their new single. “At times we were surprised yet intrigued to find how people cared so much about the idea of ‘celebrity’ and status, obsessing over their looks and connections.“We started to imagine an enigmatic Supermodel character.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s safe to say that although Italian rock quartet Maneskin were pretty huge in their home country and parts of Europe when they took the Eurovision stage last year, their name recognition and popularity exploded when they won the coveted prize with their song “Zitti E Buoni.” Over the past year, the group has seen their streams, sales and tour itineraries soar, appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and at the Coachella festival — and perhaps most impressive of all, began working with Max Martin, the most successful songwriter-producer of the past 25 years (from Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys to Katy Perry to the Weeknd and Taylor Swift), on their next album.Although the group premiere a new, anti-Putin song called “Gasoline” at Coachella last month, the first fruit of the new partnership arrives tonight: the single “Supermodel,” which drops tonight. While Martin started off as a singer in a hard rock band, this is the first time in many years he’s worked with one — and it’s hard not to notice that the song’s riff owes more than a little to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “Yeeepppp,” bassist Victoria De Angelis acknowledges coyly.

With the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 final in Turin fast approaching, last year's winners Måneskin are set to return to the stage with their new single Supermodel.

Wilson Chapman editorLorna Courtney, Paulo Szot, Betsy Wolfe and Stark Sands will headline the North American premiere cast of the Max Martin jukebox musical “& Juliet,” the production announced on Friday.Currently running on the London’s West End, “& Juliet” is a retelling of the classic William Shakespeare tragedy “Romeo & Juliet.” Featuring a framing device where Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway comment on the original play, the musical explores a scenario in which Juliet doesn’t die at the end of the story, and instead takes a road trip to Paris in search of self-discovery. The musical features a book from David West Read, who is best known for his work writing on Canadian comedy series “Schitt’s Creek,” and music from Grammy-winning songwriter Max Martin, including hits like “I Want It That Way,” “Since U Been Gone” and “Teenage Dream.” An original song “One More Try,” co-written with Jessie J, is also featured.

Lizzo has dropped a new single, About Damn Time, and announced the release of her upcoming fourth album. 

Lizzo just returned to the music scene with her new single “About Damn Time” and she also has a new album on the way!

Grammy Award for Producer of the Year – classical music aside. It was his first win and third consecutive nomination in the category.

The biggest album of 2022 so far is Ed Sheeran’s = (Equals), the Official Charts Company can confirm today.