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Abba Demand Donald Trump To ‘Stop’ Using Their Songs in His Campaigns

Swedish pop icons Abba have expressed their dissatisfaction after learning that their chart-topping hits such as The Winner Takes It All were blasted at one of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign rallies. The group’s beloved songs and videos, including Money, Money, Money, and Dancing Queen, were reportedly played at the event in Minnesota in July, reports by Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet claim.

In response to this unauthorized use of their music, the band’s record label Universal Music issued a statement, saying, ‘Together with the members of Abba, we have confirmed that videos featuring Abba's music were utilized at Trump events, and we have therefore demanded the immediate removal and cessation of such use.’

The label went on to clarify that no permission or license had been granted to Trump’s campaign to use Abba’s music.

Abba joins the ranks of numerous artists and their estates who have raised objections to Trump's use of their music to bolster his presidential campaign.

Barry Keoghan Joins Cillian Murphy in ‘Peaky Blinders’ Netflix Movie

Barry Keoghan has been announced as the newest addition to the cast of the highly anticipated Peaky Blinders movie, which is set to debut on Netflix. He will be joining forces with the original Peaky Blinders cast members, including Cillian Murphy and Rebecca Ferguson.

Derived from the immensely popular series, featuring Murphy in the role of Thomas Shelby, a former war veteran who transitions into a prominent figure in the criminal underworld of 1900s Birmingham, England. Although the movie is being referred to as a ‘continuation’ of the well-loved series, specific plot details are currently being kept under wraps.

The script for the movie has been penned by none other than Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight. Tom Harper, who directed episodes in the initial season of the series, has been chosen to lead the film. Meanwhile, Knight will also be taking on the role of co-producer, alongside Caryn Mandabach, Murphy, and Guy Heeley.

Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Sphere’s World Tour Surpasses $1 Billion in Grosses

Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour has been making history by continually shattering records. The multi-continent world tour has surpassed Elton John’s record to become the highest-grossing rock tour in music history. Notably, it’s also the first rock tour ever, and the second tour overall (Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ being the first), to exceed the $1 billion mark in total gross earnings.

Billboard confirmed this remarkable achievement after analyzing the July ‘Boxscore’ data, which determines the highest-grossing tours each month. In July alone, Coldplay raked in an impressive $72.2 million in revenue and sold 575,000 tickets across 11 shows. This marks the fourth time that Coldplay have topped the Boxscore charts and enabled the band to surpass the $1 billion milestone.

Since its launch in 2022, Coldplay’s world tour has not only exceeded the $1 billion grossing threshold but has also sold nearly 9.3 million tickets as of August 25th 2024.

New Music Friday

LE SSERAFIM released their new 5 song EP CRAZY which is full of playful moments. The first track begins with a dog barking, and the lyric “I keep craving greek yogurt / I swear I could live off of it for the rest of my life” is continuously said throughout. The EP definitely succeeds in its name.

You might know her as “The Swamp Princess.” Doechii released her new album Alligator Bites Never Heal. This is a great project brimming with creativity. She has such a fresh energy on these songs that’s well maintained throughout. We’re loving it.

Big Sean’s new album Better Me Than You is good. The track-list is pretty spectacular in the features category, too. You can find Gunna, Kodak Black, Ellie Goulding, and even Dwayne Johnson’s voicemail on “Break The Cycle.”

A$AP Rocky’s new single is named “Tailor Swif” which — don’t worry — has nothing really to do with the notable songwriter Taylor Swift herself. He only goes to the extent of using her name in a quick-witted lyric (“I’m too swift, don’t tell Taylor ‘bout this sh**”).

Halle’s new song “Because I Love You” is brilliant, of course. The chorus at the end really advances the song. This might be her best single yet.

John Legend released a new, children’s album. My Favorite Dream is totally produced by Sufjan Stevens. This project is very heartwarming.

Zedd also released a new album. Telos features Bea Miller (on 2 separate occasions), Remi Wolf, John Mayer and Muse. Each song seems to fade just excellently into the next. You can feel the studio magic.

Noah Kahan put out a live album. Live from Fenway Park holds all the beauty of seeing him live. His voice is just so specially comforting. “Pain Is Cold Water” seems to be a new song, and we really hope to find the studio version on his next album.

Wasia Project, a sibling pop duo featuring William Gao of Netflix’s hit show Heartstopper, has released their new EP, Isotope. This is a beautifully put together project which features our favorite release this week. In “Somebody Come Through” Olivia Hardy sing about the worrisome feeling of nothing ever changing. We’ll have this one on heavy rotation this weekend.

—Dawson Therre

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ICYMI:

• Oasis have added more dates to their reunion tour, before tickets go on sale, due to unprecedented demand. Extra dates have been added at Wembley Stadium, London, Heaton Park, Manchester, and Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh.

• Raven-Symoné and Danielle Fishel will direct episodes in the first season of ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ - the series will premier on Disney Channel on October 29th and on Disney+ on the following day.

• H&M are teasing a collaboration with Charli xcx. A post has appeared on social media with the caption ‘H&M&Charli xcx 12092024’.

• Halsey has announced that her new single, ‘Ego’, will be released on September 6th.

• Megan Thee Stallion is teasing a new collaboration on social media, she posted on X ‘🐎X💜 👀’.

• The lineup for iHeart Radio Music Festival has been revealed with A$AP Rocky, Doja Cat, Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, and more performing.

• Chappell Roan’s manager has told MBW that the pop star is in the process of writing new music.