music

DAKAR, Senegal — The twisting metallic skyscrapers planned for Akon City look like they could sprout on Mars in the distant future – blueprints that scream: Bring your hoverboard. But Akon, the R&B singer who split his youth between this West African country and New Jersey, said his $6 billion eponymous development project will transform …

Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of iconic reggae group Toots and the Maytals has been hospitalized in Jamaica and is currently awaiting the results of a coronavirus test. “While reports of Mr. Hibbert being in an intensive care unit at a private facility in the Corporate Area are true, the family would like to assure those concerned …

Although the Country Music Association Awards themed its 2019 telecast around women’s contributions to the genre, 2020 is turning out to be the year in which that’s actually born out in the nominations. In the slate of nominees announced Tuesday morning, female artists made up two or sometimes three of the five contenders in nearly …

LeToya Luckett said that she slept in a car and lived on microwave noodles after leaving hit girl group Destiny’s Child. Luckett was part of the world-famous group, which launched Beyoncé, through the release of its blockbuster second album, “The Writing’s on the Wall.” But she exited in 2000 amid a nasty battle with the …

Cardi B revealed that she really wanted Lizzo to appear in the infamous “WAP” video. “I’m cool with Lizzo and everything. Like, we’ve been sending DMs to each other and all that. But she was on vacation and she wasn’t in town. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because I had a whole vision about …

It wasn’t the way it used to be. Then again, nothing is in 2020. After the 2020 MTV VMAs were moved from Barclays Center to various outdoor locations in the city — as well as remotely from Los Angeles and, for K-pop sensation BTS, South Korea — it was clear that this wasn’t going to …

Call it the dead carpet. Sunday night, the 2020 VMAS offered a canned red carpet — interviews were mostly taped, resulting in staid photos of the stars on-screen.  There was no real showcase of what MTV’s Video Music Awards are known for: The most irreverent, ridiculous and revealing fashion on the planet. Think Lady Gaga’s …

The Weeknd made the most of the VMAs 2020. Not only did he open the show by performing “Blinding Lights” from Hudson Yards, but while accepting the award for Best R&B video, he somberly called for justice for Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake. The singer — whose real name is Abel Tesfaye — was still …

The “ARMY” got its BTS fill from afar Sunday at the 2020 VMAs on MTV. The K-pop band, whose obsessive fans are known as the ARMY (a k a Adorable Representative MC for Youth), made their first-ever MTV Video Music Awards performance after taking home the best group and best K-pop trophies. Their socially distanced spectacle, which was …

The show must go on — despite the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 VMAs will celebrate the year’s best music videos Sunday on MTV — just not in the manner they’re used to. Originally set for a return to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, the normally in-person celebration was derailed by COVID-19 concerns and instead revealed winners and …