Louder: Chappell Roan on the road, Billy Joel’s last MSG show

July 27, 2024

	By Caryn Ganz

We had a few examples of how performing live can reshape an artist’s career this week. Tricia Romano looked at a unique situation for the suddenly-everywhere pop star Chappell Roan, who set up her tour before her music found a bigger audience. Now, with five songs on the Hot 100, the venues she booked out — and the festival stages she was slotted onto — are struggling to keep up with the demand. Billy Joel ended his 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, and at 75 is poised to enter a fruitful new chapter in his touring career. I talked to him about it, and Thea Traff captured wonderful photos from the scene of his final show. And Larry Fitzmaurice profiled the rap duo Suicideboys, who have found success largely by connecting with audiences directly: Their semiannual Grey Day Tour has made them one of rap’s highest-grossing touring acts.

Of course, studio work can make a career too — Ben Sisario wrote about Steve Porcaro of Toto, who wrote Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” This week he signed a deal, estimated in the low eight figures, to sell the rights to his music, including two additional unreleased tracks he did with Jackson. (Their fate is unclear.)

Plus: Celine Dion made her grand return to public performance on Friday at the Olympics opening ceremony. Kelly Clarkson, who was commentating, got weepy, and called her “a vocal athlete.”

Chona Kasinger for The New York Times

Chappell Roan Booked a Tour. Then She Blew Up.

The rising pop star now has five songs on the Hot 100. The venues her team picked out months ago are struggling to fit her ballooning audience.

By Tricia Romano and Chona Kasinger

A man with white hair in a checkered shirt looks at the camera as he slowly lowers his sunglasses with both hands.

Clara Mokri for The New York Times

He Wrote Michael Jackson’s ‘Human Nature’ and Has 2 More in the Vault

Steve Porcaro of Toto, who played on some of the biggest hits of the ’80s, has sold the rights to his music, including a pair of unreleased tracks with the superstar.

By Ben Sisario

Two men rapping into microphones onstage in front of a screen that says “Suicideboys.” One is crouching in a striped shirt and green shorts, and the other is standing, wearing all-black, with face tattoos.

Suicideboys Don’t Care for the Music Biz. They Got Its Attention Anyway.

The rap duo’s raw songs and festival-like touring strategy has paid off: Its latest album opened at No. 5 without traditional industry strategies or support.

By Larry Fitzmaurice

A black-and-white photo of Alanis Morissette against a pink and blue background.

My Ten

Alanis Morissette Is Not Aloof

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of her second album, the singer and songwriter spoke about being destabilized by sudden fame — and how she got her center back.

By Reggie Ugwu

A man in a red sweatshirt and baggy tan pants reclines on the floor and looks at the camera. He has one arm around a brown Chihuahua.

Alex Izenberg Was Almost a Teen Rock Star. His Second Chance Is Here.

He was discovered by a star songwriter and hit the road before schizophrenia turned his world upside down. Two decades later, he’s releasing an LP he’d longed to make.

By Grayson Haver Currin

Billy Joel at a piano singing into a microphone, with purple light in the foreground.

Thea Traff for The New York Times

104 Shows. $260 Million. After 10 Years, Billy Joel Closes a Chapter.

The singer and songwriter, 75, wrapped his decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Up next? A new era in his live career.

By Caryn Ganz

Thea Traff for The New York Times

Billy Joel at the Garden: Scenes From a Celebration

At the close of his 10-year Madison Square Garden residency, the singer took a victory lap with some of his most ardent fans.

By Thea Traff

Four different pieces of Billy Joel memorabilia: a leather jacket, a boxing gloves key chain, a beer jacket and a blue baseball cap.

Koozies, Key Chains and T-Shirts: Who’s Buying All That Billy Joel Merch

The singer-songwriter performed his 150th show at Madison Square Garden. It was a gold mine for collectors.

By Rachel Sherman

FEATURES

In a restaurant kitchen, a man wearing a silver top talks to a woman wearing a silver top.

A Rarely Seen David Bowie Rom-Com Gets a New Life

“The Linguini Incident,” a low-budget ’90s film directed by Richard Shepard and featuring Bowie and Rosanna Arquette, makes its way to Blu-ray in a director’s cut.

By Jason Bailey

A woman in a white shirt and a black skirt reclines on the gun of a cannon.

Molly Nilsson’s Synth-Pop Puts Politics Front and Center

She is her own manager, books her own tours and has never had a publicist. And her latest album features a song about communism in the style of Madonna’s “Vogue.”

By Shaad D’Souza

Snoop Dogg, in a white track suit with stars and stripes on the chest, poses in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Snoop Dogg, NBC’s New Voice of the People

The network hired the rapper for an expanded role on its broadcasts of the Summer Games in Paris after posting record-low viewership of the Tokyo competition.

By Emmanuel Morgan

THE AMPLIFIER NEWSLETTER

A dark-haired woman wearing tortoiseshell sunglasses and a yellow sweater vest strums a guitar.

Steve Jennings/Getty Images

8 New Songs You Should Hear Now

Listen to songs by Clairo, Dawn Richard and Sturgill Simpson plus more.

By Lindsay Zoladz

NEWS

A rapper in a gray jacket with the hood up over a gray cap gestures with one hand while his other holds a microphone.

The Charts

Eminem Ends Taylor Swift’s Chart Run With His 11th No. 1 Album

The rapper’s “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)” replaced the pop superstar’s “The Tortured Poets Department” after 12 weeks of dominance at the top.

By Ben Sisario

Kamala Harris, wearing a beige jacket and dark sunglasses, stands on an elevated platform against a blue sky. She is smiling and waving.

Kamala Harris’s Presidential Bid Is Getting a Pop Music Rollout Online

Charli XCX, John Legend and other musicians posted messages supporting the vice president’s nomination, while fans remixed an old speech into pop hits on TikTok.

By Maya Salam

You Can’t Escape This Color

“This is not millennial pink. The energy behind it is alive.”

By Callie Holtermann

The singer Sean Kingston in a black jacket with tiger-pattern shoulders and sleeves. He is looking at the camera and pointing.

Sean Kingston and His Mother Are Indicted in $1 Million Fraud Scheme

Mr. Kingston, who is best known for his 2007 hit single “Beautiful Girls,” and his mother were charged with defrauding sellers of high-end vehicles, jewelry and other goods, prosecutors said.

By Johnny Diaz

OBITUARIES

John Mayall, a man with long white hair and a beard, singing into a microphone and playing a keyboard onstage.

POLITICS

A close-up of a tattooed hand and a oversize ring reading “MAGA.”

Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Inside the ‘Gangster’ Image of Donald Trump

Former President Donald J. Trump has an aggressive — and some argue offensive — campaign using hip-hop and rap to reach young Black and Latino voters.

By Jennifer Medina

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