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Beyoncé Is Pregnant With Twins

How do you upstage a pregnancy announcement at the VMAs? With a floral maternity shoot curated just for Instagram, that's how. Beyoncé has announced she's pregnant with her second child. Sorry, children. She's having twins! "We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes," Beyoncé wrote on behalf of the Carters. All five of them. Blue's going to be a big sister. We're all going to be a big sister. Consider this the greatest kickoff to Black History Month of all time.

Looks Like Nicki Minaj and Drake Are Friends Again, Phew

In what may be the year's only sign that peace can prevail, it appears that Drake and Nicki Minaj are friends again. Making their reunion Instagram official, Nicki and Drake both posted photos of themselves hanging out together like a pair of old pals who would never let an ex temporarily wreck their friendship. It's the first time Drake and Nicki have publicly acknowledged each other since the two had an apparent falling out over the never-ending feud that was Drake versus her ex-boyfriend Meek Mill. (Except that one time Nicki said they're "grown-ass men" who need to get over it.) Now that Nicki and Meek are kaput, unity has been restored in the Young Money empire. Drake and Nicki's truce was reportedly orchestrated by label head and mediator Mack Maine, who brought the family back together last month (Lil Wayne included) for a "peace summit" in Miami. This is all an obvious cover for the real story here, which is that Drake re-listened to one of his old songs, got down on his knees, and groveled, quoting himself: "I'll compromise if I have to, I gotta stay with the family / Not even talkin' to Nicki, communication is breakin' / I dropped the ball on some personal shit, I need to embrace it." Amen.

8 Best New Songs of the Week

Every week, Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year's best music.

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  • Posted 2/1/17 at 12:16 AM

Chainsmokers Embrace the Nickelback Comparison Thrown at Them With a Mash-up

Certified chart-toppers, if not certifiably universally adored, EDM duo the Chainsmokers read Esquire's recent article comparing them to music's long-time punching bag Nickelback, and their response was to create a new mash-up. The aforementioned article argued that the Chainsmokers are "doing for EDM what Nickelback did to post-grunge arena rock: becoming immensely popular by using the worst clichés the genre has to offer, and then taking it down to the river and putting it out of its misery." The pair replied on Twitter to the article, writing, "It's not like you to say sorry so ..." followed by a video of a song that combined their new release "Paris" with the Canadian power rock band's most famous hit, "How You Remind Me."

Bandcamp Will Donate All Proceeds From Sales Made This Friday to ACLU

The founder and CEO of Bandcamp today joined many American business leaders — including ones from Coca-Cola, Chobani, and Starbucks — in speaking up against President Trump's immigration and travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim nations. Ethan Diamond promised in a newsletter that his company, a digital streaming and sales platform for music, would donate "100 percent of our share of the proceeds" made off of sales this Friday, February 3, to the American Civil Liberties Union. In his letter, Diamond highlighted several music acts featured on Bandcamp that hail from areas affected by both the ban and President Trump's proposed southern border wall. "We believe that knowledge and empathy are crucial weapons against fear and intolerance," Diamond wrote, encouraging readers to support musicians from Mexico and the seven banned nations: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia.

Rachel Bloom Wrote a Song for the Upcoming Supergirl-Flash Musical Crossover Episode

Not only will Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom write songs that are ultimately deemed too dirty to air on her own show, but she'll also chip in to help write (presumably not too dirty) songs for fellow CW friends. BuzzFeed reports that Bloom has penned an original song for the upcoming musical crossover episode of The Flash and Supergirl. Bloom was so besotted by the two superhero series doing a musical outing that she immediately reached out to the CW's president to write a song, and was soon pitching ideas to the series' executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg. The tune, which Bloom wrote with the help of her old Robot Chicken boss Tom Root, is dubbed "Superfriends" and will be performed by Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist. "I am so excited to contribute more to the upward trend that is musicals in television and film. Music can be one of the most amazing and efficient forms of storytelling and character development," Bloom said in a statement. "Also, it was really fun to write a comedy song for two superheroes." Bloom's song will appear in the second of two crossover episodes the shows will be doing — it's a Flash episode — and it will air on March 21.

  • Posted 1/31/17 at 12:03 PM
  • Tours

Phish Will Take Over New York City With a 13-Show MSG Residency

Die-hard Phans woke up this morning to see the Phish signal shining bright in the morning sky (it looks like Trey Anastasio giving you a super-relaxed smile) and now they finally know why. The Baker's Dozen tour will bring America's favorite jam band to Madison Square Garden this summer for 13 shows stretching from Friday, July 21 to Sunday, August 6. Phish also announced they will not be touring this fall. Fans can submit ticket requests to Phish Tickets between now and February 12, with tickets becoming available to the general public on February 17. In addition to passes to individual shows, true believers can pony up for all 13 nights for the price of 12. How much chill can the average person take? How many grooves can the human skeleton absorb and still keep rocking? Thirteen days worth? Maybe it's finally time for you to find out.

Dr. Luke Wants to Sue Kesha Over Text to Lady Gaga Allegedly Accusing Him of Raping Another Artist

After a period of extended standstill, the two-year-long legal battle between Kesha and Dr. Luke has received some ugly new updates. On Monday, lawyers for both artists asked a New York judge to amend their ongoing separate lawsuits against each other. Dr. Luke would now like to sue Kesha for defamation over an alleged text that Kesha sent to Lady Gaga that accused Dr. Luke of raping both Kesha and another unnamed female artist. "Specifically, Kesha told Lady Gaga that 'she [the other recording artist] was raped by the same man' as Kesha," the new filing says, arguing that the "same man" refers to Dr. Luke because the text was sent a week after Kesha lost her preliminary injunction to be released from Luke's label last February. Luke maintains that he did not rape Kesha or another artist. In previous partially sealed court documents, Katy Perry was implicated in a text message between Kesha and Gaga from April 2016, though her involvement is still unclear. Luke is now claiming that since Kesha's court loss, she and her reps have spread false stories to the media and supported "bogus internet petitions" in order to get Luke blacklisted from the music industry.

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Daft Punk, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Grohl, and More to Perform at Grammys

As they do every year, the 2017 Grammys will use the same logic to book performers as kids do when filling up their soda at the fountain: If one flavor is good, then mixing in every single flavor imaginable must be even better. According to Pitchfork, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Grohl and Best New Artist nominee Anderson .Paak are the latest collaboration scheduled to take the Grammys stage Sunday, February 12. Daft Punk and the Weeknd, as well as Alicia Keys and Maren Morris, have also been announced to perform, alongside Adele, Metallica, Keith Urban, John Legend, Bruno Mars, and Carrie Underwood. While the night will feature plenty of music's biggest stars, not all of them will be in attendance: Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Drake, and Justin Bieber have all either said or are rumored to be skipping the show for various reasons. Which is too bad, because you could really go for a mashup of Drake and Keith Urban right about now.

Father John Misty Is Coming for Your Gun Culture in New ‘Two Wildly Different Perspectives’ Music Video

If the video for the song "Pure Comedy " didn’t tip you off last week, Father John Misty’s new stuff seems like it will be the perfect soundtrack to your existential crisis. FJM released his latest song "Two Wildly Different Perspectives" Monday, writing in the YouTube video's caption, "More kids are going to die now thanks to the unbelievably selfish immigration policy of places like Saudi Arabia and the USA." The "Wildly Different" video, created by Matthew Daniel Siskin, is largely a montage of children playing with an arsenal of toy guns, delivering terrible news, and holding board meetings. Or, as Father John Misty puts it, "the hell that we create/on both sides." The Pure Comedy album is scheduled to be released on April 7.

Justin Bieber, Drake, and Kanye West Reportedly Skipping Out on Grammys

The Grammys might be losing more high-profile attendees. Frank Ocean became the most clear-cut dissenting voice against the awards ceremony when he failed to even submit his album Blonde for voting eligibility last fall. Ocean described the decision as his “Colin Kaepernick moment,” and said, “I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated.” Before that even happened, though, Kanye West said he would not attend the Grammys if Ocean wasn’t nominated. Now TMZ is reporting that in addition to West and Ocean, Justin Bieber and Drake will be skipping out on the Grammys, too. Drake and Bieber’s motivations are not clear — there has not been a statement of protest issued from either performer — but if it ends up they just decided to be elsewhere on Grammy night, that’s an indication in and of itself of where the broadcast lands on their priority list. If Taylor Swift is in attendance, expect a constant, picture-in-picture dance cam to make up for the waning star power.

Prince’s Music Is Finally Coming to Apple Music and Likely Spotify Soon

Ever since Prince embraced streaming in 2015 after years of shunning the internet, Tidal has been the sole hub for the majority of his catalogue. But there's a significant shake-up in that exclusivity underway: Sources with knowledge of the deal have confirmed to Vulture that Apple Music will be bringing Prince's catalogue to its streaming service shortly. They've partnered with Warner Music Group — home to Prince's discography — to widen the accessibility of Prince's music. Following Prince's death, fans had to scramble all across the internet to legally stream his music; months later, Tidal added 15 more Prince albums to its already stacked collection (though whether or not they had the rights to stream any of these albums has been contested by Prince's estate). Apple Music may not be alone in landing the Purple One: Spotify is also said to be nearing a similar deal, as evidenced by new purple ads that have popped up in New York's Union Square this morning. Billboard reports that Prince's music could arrive on both Spotify and Apple Music surrounding the Grammys. Spotify has declined to comment to Vulture.

  • Posted 1/30/17 at 12:22 PM
  • Canon

The Mountain Goats Wrote a Star Wars Song, and There’s a Lot More Cannibalism Than You'd Expect

You've always said the Star Wars series was missing just two things: meta references to the fact it's actually a film franchise, and human cannibalism. You thought no one was listening to your suggestions, as they are both insane, but, as revealed in a new story-song written by the Mountain Goat's John Darnielle, Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi is so named because the last Jedi ate all the other Jedi, specifically just their bones. Okay, so, maybe the song has nothing to do with the actual plot, but, born of Darnielle's insistence that director Rian Johnson name the upcoming franchise installment "The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All the Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones," the Episode VIII director gave his highest blessing to the song, dubbing it "canon." Sounds like Luke's been alone on that island way, way, waaaaay too long. Got that bone madness.

Bruce Springsteen Speaks Out Against ‘Anti-Democratic and Fundamentally Un-American’ Muslim Ban

Though Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band may be on the other side of the world — they're currently performing in Australia —they haven't distanced themselves from the chaos that's unfolded back home during Donald Trump's first week in office. Springsteen recently used these concerts as a platform to publicly support the Women's March and back the "new American resistance" to Trump's presidency. Tonight in Adelaide, he joined the throngs of celebrities and protesters across the country in denouncing Trump's Muslim and refugee ban, calling the executive order "anti-democratic and fundamentally un-American." "America is a nation of immigrants," Bruce added. In 2010, Springsteen accepted his Ellis Island Family Heritage Award on behalf of his family of immigrants, which included his grandparents, and offered "God's grace, safe passage, and good fortune to those who are crossing our borders today." Springsteen closed his remarks in Adelaide by dedicating a performance of "American Land" to all immigrants.

  • Posted 1/30/17 at 10:16 AM
  • Covers

Ryan Adams Covers Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’ As a Warning to Trump

Ryan Adams is a man who doesn't lack for songs stocked away in his memory to cover on a whim — he's been a human karaoke machine long before he ever re-created an entire Taylor Swift album front to back. Which is why when Adams showed up to BBC Radio 2 over the weekend to sing a couple songs other than his own, it didn't take him long to decide to cover Radiohead's comical anti-establishment hit "Karma Police" acoustically as a bit of wishful thinking to send out into the world as it crumbles. "I don’t know if I’ve learned [the song] in a great new and interesting way, but I also thought it’s fitting, because there’s a pretty awful person who just got elected in the United States. So I don’t know why, but that song popped into my head this morning," he explained of his song choice on air. A song that describes a man who "talks in maths," "buzzes like a fridge," and sounds like a "detuned radio" who should be arrested — nope, we can't see why that would come to mind either.

  • Posted 1/30/17 at 12:10 AM
  • R.i.p.

Black Sabbath Keyboardist Geoff Nicholls Dead at 68

Geoff Nicholls, who played keyboard for Black Sabbath for over two decades, died on Saturday. He was 68. As Rolling Stone reported, his friend and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi confirmed the news with a Facebook post. "I'm so saddened to hear the loss of one of my dearest and closest friends Geoff Nicholls," Iommi wrote. "Geoff and I have always been very close and he has been a real true friend to me and supported me all the way for nearly 40 years."

Nicholls started playing with the legendary heavy-metal band in 1979, after singer Ozzy Osbourne was fired for his hard-partying ways. However, despite appearing on 1980's Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules (1981), and Born Again (1983), Nicholls did not become an official member until 1985. He would remain with the band, performing on world tours and nine studio albums through 1996, when Osbourne returned. He completely left the band in 2004. Before joining Sabbath, Nicholls spent five years with British metal band Quartz, whose self-titled debut was produced by Iommi. Nicholls, along with three of the original Quartz members, reformed the band in 2011. 

Nicholls reportedly died after a battle with lung cancer.

Here’s a Video of Justin Bieber Getting Smashed Into a Glass Wall by a Professional Hockey Player

Justin Bieber participated in this year's hockey fundraising extravaganza known as the NHL All-Star Celebrity Shootout, putting his Canadian sporting skills on full display to give a group of hockey pros a run for their money (er, CAD?) on the ice. Bieber performed pretty well under the circumstances again, he was tasked with keeping up with the pros — but was still subjected to a not-very-fun body smashing from NHL veteran Chris Pronger in the midst of the rink action. Behold the face-in-glass-wall moment below, and take solace in the fact that Bieber was a good sport and had a laugh about it afterwards. (He also later scored a goal.) Way to go, Biebs!

Anti-Abortion Activists Said a Prayer for Madonna at the March for Life

While President Donald Trump chose to slam Madonna as “disgusting” for her recent Women’s March speech, others on the right took a different approach. On Friday, anti-abortion activists gathered on the National Mall for the annual “March for Life” event. One order of business: saving Madge’s soul. Speaking to the crowd, author and radio host Eric Metaxas implored the marchers to pray for the singer’s salvation. Calling himself “outraged” by remarks Madonna had made about how she had considered “blowing up the White House” after Trump’s election, he decided to channel his anger into a shared moment of prayer:

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Migos Finds Its Purpose on Culture

You’re gonna read a lot this month about the ascent of Atlanta rap sensations the Migos’ first Hot 100 chart-topping single “Bad and Boujee” and how it’s this very of-the-moment confluence of social-media savvy and celebrity cosigns from Drake, who remixed their 2013 single “Versace,” and Donald Glover, who shouted the song out from the stage of the Golden Globes after a win for Atlanta. And, okay, all of that stuff happened, but zeroing in on the peaks and valleys of marketing and triangulating the selling power of tweets is a stuffy, sorta inside-baseball method of parsing what has at heart been a long campaign of good music. It awards too much credit for the Migos’ methodical growth to memes and outside influences when the forces powering this machine have always been hard work, good punch lines, and brotherhood.

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Hmmm, Maybe Migos Should Replace Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Next weekend, Lady Gaga will play the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time. But if it were up to one passionate petitioner, there'd be someone else entirely in her slot. A very dedicated Atlanta Falcons fan has started a Change.org petition with close to its goal of 15,000 signatures urging the NFL to replace Lady Gaga with the show's rightful halftime performer: Migos. Deserving as Gaga alter ego Joanne is of the honor, the dude has a convincing argument; hear him out, Monsters. Firstly, Migos hail from Georgia so they'd represent at least one of the teams on the field. Secondly, this year's Super Bowl is being held in the rap powerhouse of Houston. All valid points so far. This petitioner has even mapped out the entire night, which would involve Young Thug singing "Guwop Home" ("the official anthem of Atlanta") and a preshow with Rae Sremmurd, Gucci Mane, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Jeezy. But it's his pitch for the main event that wins the Lombardi:

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