EL VY on Colbert

EL VY were on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night where they performed their song, "Return to the Moon" as well as David Bowie's classic, "Let's Dance," with the house band Stay Human. Take a look!

Conan Remembers David Bowie

Conan O'Brien was close friends with David Bowie and over the years, the singer would appear on his shows. On last night's TBS late night show, the host remembered his friend and the musical icon.

Take a look at Bowie performing "Dead Man Walking" in 1997 and skits he did through the years.

Remembering David Bowie

 

It has taken us all day to write anything on David Bowie that wasn’t just a social media post.

The news of his death hit like a punch to both the gut and directly in the heart. While we are all mortal and all eventually will pass on, some people you think are larger than life and can cheat death – Bowie was one of them.

As everyone from Iggy Pop to U2 to Kendrick Lamar paid homage to The Thin White Duke, everyone was left speechless. From his most famous fans to his civilian ones, his death just days after turning 69 and releasing his latest album, Black Star, as his Swan Song became much more poignant.

MESSAGE FROM IGGY: "David’s friendship was the light of my life. I never met such a brilliant person. He was the best there is. - Iggy Pop"

— Iggy Pop (@IggyPop) January 11, 2016

What a honor, what a soul. David Bowie, Spirit of Gold. RIP.

— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) January 11, 2016

David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) January 11, 2016

Bowie existed so all of us misfits learned that an oddity was a precious thing. he changed the world forever.

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) January 11, 2016

As John & I had very few friends, we felt David was as close as family. Sweet memories will stay with us forever. pic.twitter.com/WoZsztnm4E

— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) January 11, 2016

Planet Earth is blue - Bono
Posted by U2 on Monday, January 11, 2016

After 18 months with cancer, Bowie, who proved that you could be anonymous and private in a day and age where we share nearly everything online, kept his illness quiet. The only people that needed to know did and for that, we now suffer with his void.

As fans lined up all around London, Berlin and New York, the cities that were his home over the years, they laid flowers, lit candles, wrote personal notes and shared memories. Fans came together to discuss his life and legacy. Some met the man, others did not, but the common factor was that he touched them all.

Throughout his illustrious career, he was the misfit and artist he wanted to be. Not the one the label wanted. Not the one the people wanted. He was the one he wanted.

His shape-shifting persona kept him going and kept fans wanting more over the years.  It is the music that will live on but it is her personas that go on in infamy. Every musician that has matter today owes a debt to him. Every artist and fashion designer owes a debt to him. Being David Robert Jones wasn’t enough for the man, being David Bowie was.

From his blue collar roots in England, he became an icon. He became an inventor, an innovator, a mad scientist looking for what was new and exciting. That is why his five-decade long career was so important even right to the very end.

Black Star, his new record, was his goodbye letter to all of us, according to his producer Tony Visconti. He knew his time was running out and knew that he had to create – even until the very end.

He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was...
Posted by Tony Visconti on Monday, January 11, 2016

His legacy will live on and he will be remembered in places you might not think. If you walk on the Highline in New York City, thank him. He curated the first (and only) High Line Festival in 2007 where proceeds went to help fundraiser the now popular park. If you go to Berlin, many thank him for bringing down the wall. The swinging 60s of London was a scene he was heavily involved in.

Good-bye, David Bowie. You are now among #Heroes. Thank you for helping to bring down the #wall. https://t.co/soaOUWiyVl #RIPDavidBowie

— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) January 11, 2016

A real Renaissance Man – musician, actor, activist, designer, creator. Thank you, David Bowie.

If you listen to important music today, thank him. If you see something left of center, thank him. Yet, if you happen to be yourself today, thank him. The space oddity that he was became a symbol for us all. 

"Just Like That Blue Bird, Now I'll Be Free." -- "Lazarus"

Explosions in the Sky Announce New Album

Explosions in the Sky will release their new album, The Wilderness in April.

Take a look at the cover, above, and the tracklisting, below:

1. Wilderness
2. The Ecstatics
3. Tangle Formations
4. Logic of a Dream
5. Disintegration Anxiety
6. Losing the Light
7. Infinite Orbit
8. Colors in Space
9. Landing Cliffs

Live Review: Tuelo @ Rockwood Music Hall

There are some artists you hear about and listen to and then there are some artists you just have to experience. New York via South Africa singer Tuelo is one of them. In September, we introduced you to the singer and her band, The Cousins, when we named them our Rising Artist. In their first show of 2016, they blew the roof off of Rockwood Music Hall and displayed a talent that left everyone dumbfounded.

Hear Our South African Mixtape

Coming on just after 10 p.m. on Saturday night, the band hit the stage and straight away had everyone's attention. Tuelo maybe a diminutive person in size but she has a voice as big as our galaxy. Think of every great singer you ever heard and I promise, she is better than all of them combined. Her voice has just as much power as an Atom Bomb. Bringing the crowd through a series of emotions that left many in tears and then having them smile from ear to ear, Tuelo is not just a talented singer she is the songwriter that many Grammy winners wish they were. In her voice there is despair, vulnerability, agony but there is also hope and joy. Singing in both English and her native South African tribal tongue of Setswana, she never loses her cultural identity. With enough soul power to start a religious experience, she and her band mixed African rhythms with jazz, funk, rock and R&B. It is cultural diffusion at its finest.

As they played songs from their upcoming EP, which is still untitled and awaiting a release date, they performed new songs like "St. Margaret" which is an ode to the singer's mother and even managed to throw in a cover of Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time," that had Tuelo chanting "Britney forever!" As the crowd laughed and joined along, it was that blend of her heritage and American pop where the balance lies.

Once their set ended, the crowd were left feeling speechless as to what they just saw and heard. There is not a single songwriter you will listen to this year that has the grace and talent of Tuelo. Adele can have all the success in album sales she wants, Beyonce can still rule the world, but even they would bow down to this African Queen.

Quick News

Is that Kendrick Lamar / J. Cole collab album arriving anytime soon? Top Dawg Entertainment president, Anthony Free told Billboard: “Anything’s a possibility. verything’s a possibility, but I’mma say this too: Kendrick and Cole are in a place in their careers and in their lives where they have to keep going. Of course they’re two of the biggest rappers out, but they still have to keep grinding. There’s so much work that they have to continue to do." He also added: "A joint album does sound great, but people need to understand, these are two geniuses. These are two creative guys. It takes a long time for one of them to get in a space to create a song, so to get two of them in a space to do that, it takes a lot of time and energy. It all has to be a singular project, but it just can’t happen overnight."

Free also gave an update if King Kendrick is working on the follow-up to last year's best album, To Pimp A Butterfly, he said: "Kendrick’s always working. He’s never not working. He’s always thinking of the next idea, writing down ideas or mumbling shit to himself…It’s too early to say right now, but just know that Kendrick is always working."

Kanye West took to Twitter to announce the release date of his new album, Swish. 

Swish February 11 16

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) January 9, 2016

Is Kanye's former protege, Lupe Fiasco calling it quits at the end of the year? On Christmas, he revealed that he is releasing three records this year DROGUS, SKULLS and ROY. On Thursday, he tweeted that ROY will be his final album.

"Roy" will be my last album. LUPend

— Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco) January 8, 2016

"Roy" is the final and last album. https://t.co/6YQQ404HGs

— Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco) January 9, 2016

Andre 3000 spoke to Billboard about a few things around his career but none caught more attention than the fact that he wants to make music again. He said: "I’ve been holding [back] for a long time, so now I’m really interested in figuring out some type of music to do. I’m always recording."

Kendrick Lamar Debuts New Song on Fallon

Kendrick Lamar dropped by The Tonight Show to debut a brand new song, "Untitled 2." Take a look!

Mavis Staples to Return with Star-Studded LP!

The resurgence of Mavis Staples shall continue as next month the music legend will release the star-studded Livin' On a High Note. 

Take a look at the cover, above, and the guest-filled tracklisting, below, plus hear the first single "High Note."

Take Us Back (Benjamin Booker)
Love And Trust (Ben Harper)
If It's A Light (The Head & The Heart)
Action (Tune-Yards)
High Note (Valerie June)
Don't Cry (M Ward)
Tomorrow (Aloe Blacc/John Batiste)
Dedicated (Justin Vernon/M Ward)
History Now (Neko Case)
One Love (Son Little)
Jesus Lay Down Beside Me (Nick Cave)
MLK Song (M Ward/ Martin Luther King)

Yeasayer Announce New Album

Yeasayer will return with their new album, Amen and Goodbye on April Fool's Day. 

Take a look at the awesome cover, above, and the tracklisting, below, as well as see the first video "I Am Chemistry."

Daughters Of Cain
  I Am Chemistry
  Silly Me
  Half Asleep
Dead Sea Scrolls
Prophecy Gun
Computer Canticle 1
 Divine Simulacrum
Child Prodigy
Gerson's Whistle

Uma
Cold Night
Amen & Goodbye

The Internet on Kimmel

Watch The Internet perform "Get Away" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!