Sam Smith has been on a roll lately with a string of exciting releases and an exhilarating tour that has captivated thousands of fans. And now, the wait for new music from this superstar is about to get even shorter. Smith has just announced their upcoming single, “Man I Am,” which will be featured on the highly anticipated Barbie soundtrack.
Taking to social media, Smith excitedly shared the news of their latest single. “Man I Am” is set to debut on Friday, July 21, coinciding with the album’s full release and the worldwide premiere of the Barbie film.
Smith’s inclusion on the Barbie soundtrack was initially shrouded in anticipation. The tracklisting for the album was revealed weeks ago, but two spots were deliberately left empty, generating excitement among fans as to who those artists might be. The final two spaces were reserved for two major musicians, and the recent announcement of Billie Eilish as one of the featured artists further heightened the anticipation. Eilish’s single, “What Was I Made For?,” is set to drop on Friday, July 13.
Joining an all-star lineup on the Barbie soundtrack, Smith will share the spotlight with esteemed artists such as Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, The Kid Laroi, and Ava Max, among others. Lipa and Minaj have already released their songs, while the majority of the rest of the tunes have yet to come out.
“Man I Am” marks Smith’s latest single release in 2023, following the highly anticipated arrival of their fourth album, Gloria, in January. The full-length was met with praise from fans and critics alike. Since the beginning of the year, Smith has been steadily releasing hit after hit, including a collaboration with Koffee and Jessie Reyez on “Gimme” and their own “I’m Not Here to Make Friends.” Last month, they surprised fans with “Vulgar,” a collaboration with pop icon Madonna.
Notably, “Man I Am” is not only set to be featured on the Barbie soundtrack, but it will also be included in the film itself. This dual exposure presents an exciting opportunity for Smith, as the song could potentially be eligible for consideration in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards. Smith is no stranger to this accolade, having won the prestigious award in 2015 for their track “Writing’s on the Wall” from the James Bond film Spectre.
In an already storied career on stage and screen, Claybourne Elder has earned Grammy, SAG, and Drama Desk Award nominations, sung with symphony orchestras and Broadway divas, and soloed at Carnegie Hall.
Yet, the performer, known for theater roles on and off Broadway, and as the ill-fated John Adams on HBO's The Gilded Age, had never released a solo album, until now, with his sparkling debut If the Stars Were Mine. The question for some might be, if not necessarily what took so long, why now?
"I think that there have been several times I'd thought about doing it," Elder tells me during a relaxed chat over Zoom. "And I was like, 'Oh, no. I mean, who wants to listen to it?' The kind of imposter syndrome gets to you, and you're like, 'Well, I don't want to.'" There's also the challenge, he acknowledges, of working out what you might want to say over an album's worth of songs.
Eureka, the drag queen best known for RuPaul's Drag Race and All Stars, says she was forcefully "kicked out" of a Madonna Confessions II album teaser event at the Abbey, a popular West Hollywood LGBTQ nightclub.
She shared videos and photos from inside the event on social media, including footage of an alleged altercation with a security guard. She also posted an Instagram video explaining how she was removed from the party, which was held to promote the sequel to Madonna's 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, set for release July 3.
Ladies might still love Cool James, but they've found a place in their hearts for their girl Cardi B. Single ladies, married ladies, ladies who love ladies, all kinds of grown-and-sexy ladies were at Capital One Arena for the D.C. date of the Grammy-winning rap diva's "Little Miss Drama Tour."
Yes, plenty of guys, and gays, pulled up, too, but it was "the ladies!" that Cardi addressed most often once she took the stage a Madonna-like ninety minutes past the advertised start time (said with love, no shade, from one who's seen Madonna on tour four times).
Pre-show, the Cap One crowd got a good warmup from the track-suited DJ spinning hip-hop and R&B. Although, based on my section -- and the lady in super-short schoolgirl attire twerking on her man while strangers shouted, "Work, bitch!" -- people came already warmed up by other means.
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