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Eric Charbonneau / Invision for Warner Bros. / ... What the Casting Couch Looks Like in the Digital Age
One of Hollywood’s most pernicious tropes hasn’t died. It has merely expanded.
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Michael Putland / Getty Images Curtis Mayfield’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The two singles from the legendary musician’s first solo album were mirror images of each other: one reflecting empowerment, and the other total despair.
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CBS News The Surreal Testimony of R. Kelly’s ‘Girlfriends’
The young women, living with the 52-year-old star and cut off from their families, say they love him. It’s the same story told by other women who now say Kelly abused them.
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Jamie McCarthy / Getty What Solange’s When I Get Home Shares With Stevie Wonder’s Most Esoteric Album
The musician’s first studio project since A Seat at the Table emphasizes the revelatory power of repetition.
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CBS / Lazarus Baptiste The Message in R. Kelly’s Meltdown
Explosive rage, statements of persecution, and an appeal to male viewers: The singer’s CBS interview about sexual-abuse allegations seemed familiar.
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Reuters / Handout Why That Oscars Performance of ‘Shallow’ Was So Stunning
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s live rendition of the duet from A Star Is Born was filmed like a movie—and made viewers feel like voyeurs.
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Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP The Accusations Against Ryan Adams Are All Too Familiar
How far are the harassment and career-derailment allegations against the rocker from, say, the A Star Is Born story?
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Matt Sayles / AP Finally Scrutinizing the Men Behind the Grammys’ Curtain
General criticism of the show has turned into specific controversy involving the Recording Academy president, Neil Portnow, and the producer Ken Ehrlich, who has been in his position since 1980.
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Mike Blake / Reuters Lady Gaga Went Off the Deep End at the Grammys
Her divisive, twitching performance of “Shallow” continued to tie her early antics to her recent respectability.
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What It Takes for Black Artists to Win Big at the Grammys
There’s a long history of these musicians losing out in the award show’s major categories. Winning, it seems, requires fitting into a specific mold.
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Jason Redman / Reuters Why Rap and R&B Still Might Not Triumph at the Grammys
Kacey Musgraves and Brandi Carlile will compete for Album of the Year against the award show’s most snubbed genres.
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Kevin Winter / FOX / ImageDirect How Aerosmith and Run-DMC Begrudgingly Made a Masterpiece
Initially, neither group was excited about collaborating for “Walk This Way.” The rest is history.
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Paras Griffin / Getty 21 Savage and the False Promise of Black Citizenship
The callous response to the rapper’s detainment by ICE shows how easily the rhetoric of law-enforcement agencies can influence public opinion.
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John Rogers What Jazz in 2019 Will Sound Like
In its 15th go-around, the New York City Winter Jazzfest featured newly mature musical hybrids and a refreshing number of women artists getting their due.
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Amanda Charchian James Blake’s Ether Becomes Mush
The influential electronic musician’s fourth album, Assume Form, embraces pop sentimentality with mixed results.
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Ryan Pfluger Sharon Van Etten’s Synth-Pop Celebration of Vulnerability
Remind Me Tomorrow, the Brooklyn singer’s fifth album, bustles with the feeling of disconnection conquered.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Lady Gaga’s R. Kelly Apology Is a Reminder That Abuse Isn’t Provocative
The artists’ 2013 duet, “Do What U Want,” was made because of, not in spite of, its creepy subtext—as are more and more works in the wake of #MeToo.
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M. Spencer Green / AP / Katie Martin ... R. Kelly and the Cost of Black Protectionism
A Lifetime series that examines long-standing abuse allegations against the singer—and the continued support he has received despite them—contains an uncomfortable truth.
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Fox / Warner Bros. Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star Is Born, and the Myth of Authenticity
The upset Golden Globes victory of one music drama over another hints at which is the more comforting retelling of the same rock-and-roll narrative.
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Marc J. Terrill / AP Surviving R. Kelly Is an Uncomfortable, Visual Testimony
A new Lifetime docuseries about the artist’s alleged abuses pointedly homes in on a network of enablers in his immediate circles and his fan base.
