Music

From Raves to Roots: Saudi Arabia Spotlights its Heritage

First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's turning to long-neglected Saudi traditions as it seeks to draw tourists and reshape its national identity. In Terhal, a lavish stage show in Riyadh, an actor in a red-and-white headdress gallops on a white horse, exploring the kingdom's heritage ...

Shakira’s Tour Is a Celebration of Power, Memory, and Style

When Shakira steps on stage, she curates an experience. Her wardrobe shifts from tribal-inspired jumpsuits to Versace’s gleaming couture, from Balenciaga’s street-savvy tees to Etro’s earthy textures. Each change is a chapter, each fabric a new expression of power. The stadium becomes a runway, but one charged with rhythm, sweat, and a ...

Taylor Swift Announces 12th Album for 'pre pre-order'

US popstar Taylor Swift announced her 12th album, titled The Life of a Showgirl, for "pre pre-order" just after midnight Tuesday in posts on her website. Her online shop displayed blurred images of a record, CD and cassette tape overlaid with a glittery orange lock, explaining the album artwork would be "revealed at a later date." A disclaimer ...

Farewell to a Giant: Latin Music Legend Eddie Palmieri Dies at 88

Eddie Palmieri, who revolutionized Latin music and played a major role in the salsa explosion in New York City, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88, according to the artist's official social media account. The "legendary pianist, composer, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in Latin music history, passed away in his New Jersey ...

Gen Z and Inflation Shake Up the Uk’s Once-Thriving Club Scene

Is the party over? UK nightclubs are famed around the world, but Covid and inflation have hit the sector hard, forcing businesses to reinvent themselves to attract new generations to the dance floor. Pryzm Kingston is a well-known club in southwest London popular with students, where artists like Billie Eilish, Rod Stewart, and Stormzy ...

Chopin’s Spirit Fills Polish Mountain Town at Festival

A few hundred people gather in front of a large white tent in the peaceful spa town of Duszniki-Zdroj, nestled on the Polish-Czech border. Inside, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra is preparing to open the 80th edition of the International Chopin Piano Festival. "I've loved Chopin for so many years!" said Erin Gao, a 33-year-old from ...

Taylor Swift’s Madame Tussauds Wax Glamour Dazzles in Zuhair Murad

Madame Tussauds celebrates Taylor Swift’s iconic career with its most ambitious project to date: a historic simultaneous launch of 13 wax figures, across four continents, each capturing a unique era. In New York, the Midnights era figure takes center stage, all dressed up in a custom Zuhair Murad design recreated with couture precision. The wax ...

Honkytonk Kenya: Country Music’s Unlikely African Capital

The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: a sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good ol' boys. Kenya has become the unlikely home of a growing country music scene, possibly the biggest in Africa, as testified by the thousands line-dancing in a field in the capital Nairobi at ...

Underwater Serenade: The Surprising Songs of Leopard Seals

When male leopard seals dive down into icy Antarctic waters, they sing songs structured like nursery rhymes in performances that can last up to 13 hours, scientists said Thursday. The Australian-led team of researchers compared the complexity of the songs composed by the big blubbery mammals to those of other animals, as well as human musicians ...

Thousands Honor Ozzy Osbourne at UK Hometown Funeral Procession

Thousands lined the streets of the UK city Birmingham on Wednesday to pay an emotional farewell to hometown hero Ozzy Osbourne as the heavy metal hellraiser was laid to rest. Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne, who earned the nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and once bit a bat while on stage, died on July 22 at the age of 76. He had been ...

Ziad Is Gone, the Drama Isn’t

Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s most brilliant satirist and musical artist, was finally laid to rest. But instead of a dignified farewell fitting of the man who gave voice to a nation’s contradictions, his funeral devolved into a spectacle, an unintentional parody of the plays he once wrote. Some mocked Dima’s presence, others sneered at Majida’s ...