Music

Intocable Makes History With Six RIAA Latin Diamond Awards

• Intocable earns record six RIAA Latin Diamond certifications for a band
• Comes days after the group received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star
• Band continues its 24-city Cultura Tour 2026 across North America

Tejano and Música Mexicana group Intocable has received six RIAA Latin Diamond certifications, more than any other band in the programme's history, days after being honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The recognition underscores the Texas-based act's enduring popularity and commercial success across decades,…

The 2007 role that almost doomed Tom Hiddleston: “I’ve always tried to resist it”

• Director Joanna Hogg warned Hiddleston after 2007's Unrelated that his appearance, education, and accent would tempt casting directors to typecast him in period roles
• Hiddleston deliberately pursued diverse roles across genres to resist becoming pigeonholed as a classical costume-drama actor
• His success as Loki and subsequent varied work—from country music to spy thrillers—demonstrated he successfully avoided the typecast trap

‘Woods’: The 2009 song that started Bon Iver’s obsession with autotune

• "Woods" (2009) introduced Auto-Tune into Bon Iver's sound.
• The track features layered, processed vocal harmonies with no instruments.
• Kanye West's sample of it on "Lost in the World" boosted its profile.

In 2009, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon released "Woods," a stark, largely a cappella track built almost entirely from layered, heavily Auto-Tuned vocal harmonies, on the Blood Bank EP. The song marked a significant departure from the raw, unprocessed folk sound that had defined Bon Iver's breakthrough debut album,…

Sarah Hardwig Showcases Her ‘Natural Gift’ With Inspiring Audition on ‘AGT’: Watch

• Blind singer Sarah Hardwig wowed judges on America's Got Talent.
• She earned four "yeses" and a standing ovation.
• Hardwig has prior accolades, including a Grand Ole Opry debut.

Sarah Hardwig, a blind singer-songwriter from Nashville, delivered an emotional audition on "America's Got Talent" that earned praise from all four judges and a standing ovation from the studio audience. Hardwig, who was born with the genetic eye condition Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, told the judges she wanted to…

The 2017 role that gave Ewan McGregor an existential crisis: “Fuck! What if I can’t do it?”

• McGregor feared he was no longer Scottish enough for Renton.
• T2 Trainspotting reunited him with Danny Boyle.
• Renton’s return reflected McGregor’s own experience.

Ewan McGregor said reprising Mark Renton in 2017’s T2 Trainspotting gave him an existential crisis because he feared he was no longer sufficiently Scottish to portray the character convincingly. The concern mattered because Renton is one of McGregor’s best-known roles, and the sequel reunited him with the world…

Jeff Buckley on the singer who far outstripped the influence of his father: “The first voice I really fell in love with”

• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was Jeff Buckley’s first great vocal love.
• Buckley saw Khan as a major influence beyond his father’s legacy.
• Khan’s qawwali singing shaped Buckley’s emotional vocal approach.

Jeff Buckley described the Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as “the first voice I really fell in love with”, highlighting the profound influence Khan had on his own musical development. The comparison matters because Buckley was already associated with the legacy of his father, folk singer Tim…

Maluma’s ‘Loco X Volver’ Spins Off a Second Tropical Airplay No. 1

• Maluma's 'Tu Recuerdo' reaches No. 1 on Billboard's Tropical Airplay chart, marking his fifth career leader and second from the album 'Loco X Volver'
• The single accumulated 5.4 million audience impressions and also charted across multiple Latin music rankings

“Tu Recuerdo” gives the singer a fifth champ on the tropical radio ranking.

Sony Music Files Another Lawsuit Against Udio, Alleges AI Music Generator Copied 30,000 Songs to Train Models

• Sony sues Udio again, alleging 30,000+ songs used without permission
• Follows judge's rejection of adding tracks to original 2024 lawsuit
• Sony seeks $150,000 per song and a training injunction

Sony Music Entertainment has filed a fresh lawsuit against AI music generator Udio, accusing it of unlawfully copying more than 30,000 songs by artists including Beyoncé, Harry Styles and Elvis Presley to train its models. The new complaint, lodged on 20 July 2026 in New York, follows a…

‘Hellboy’ Actor Ron Perlman Signs With Independent Artist Group (Exclusive)

• Ron Perlman signs with Independent Artist Group agency
• IAG will also represent his Asylm Studios production company
• He remains managed separately by Link Entertainment

Ron Perlman, the actor best known for playing Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy's Clay Morrow, has signed with talent agency Independent Artist Group, which will also represent his production company Asylm Studios. The move brings one of Hollywood's most recognisable character actors into the IAG fold as the…

The only artist Billy Joel has ever attempted to emulate: “I am inspired”

• Billy Joel says Ray Charles is his sole conscious musical model.
• Joel admires Charles’s emotion, versatility and piano playing.
• Charles influenced Joel’s approach to performance and songwriting.

Billy Joel has said that Ray Charles is the only artist he has consciously tried to emulate. He described Charles as a major inspiration because of his ability to combine technical musical skill with emotional directness, suggesting that Joel sees him as a model for communicating feeling through…