Billboard_Magazine_September_2_2017

Tony- and Oscar-
winning composers
Benj Pasek and Justin
Paul (Dear Evan
Hansen, La La Land)
take the big screen
with the Hugh Jackman,
Zac Efron and Zendaya
musical The Greatest
Showman (Dec. 25).

After a 15-year

break, Shania Twain

restakes her claim to

country-pop’s throne

with Now (Sept. 29);

Shania acolyte

Kelsea Ballerini’s

sophomore album,

Unapologetically,

comes Nov. 3.

Rock fans, rejoice:

Indie heroes LCD

Soundsystem release

American Dream on

Sept. 1, The Killers

return with Wonderful

Wonderful on Sept. 22,

and Fall Out Boy hits

the road on Sept. 16

before January’s Mania.

Christmas album-

o-rama! Holiday

records for every

kind of fan are

expected: epic pop

(Sia), a cappella

(Pentatonix),

country (Reba

McEntire) and rock

(Cheap Trick).

Taylor Swift

just released the

first single from

her sixth album,

Reputation, out

Nov. 10. Plus:

There are rumors of

imminent new music

from Eminem, Björk,

Nas and Pusha T.

The fast-rising

country star knows

hard work pays

off: On the heels

of her acclaimed,

just-released EP,

Weakness, she’ll

release more new

music and tour this

fall. “You’re in control

of your own destiny,”

says Price. Here,

a few of her “life

mantras” to adopt.

38.

MARGO PRICE

ON HOW TO

THIS FALL

“There’s a lot to be said

for putting your nose to

the grindstone, working

on your craft,” says Price.

“Focus on your one

true passion.”

“I can’t go out and party

like I used to,” admits

Price. Self-care is her

priority: healthy eating,

exercise “and, honestly,

smoking a lot of weed.”

—R.M.

Building a support

system is key, especially

now, for women. “We

have to stick together

and bring each other up,”

she says.

37. INDIE BOYS WILL ROCK ON
    Forget all the “rock is dead” chatter: These indie
    heroes, from a Vampire Weekend co-founder to a DIY-punk
    veteran, will represent for rock’n’roll this season

39 40 41 42 43

Former Walkmen

frontman with

six solid LPs,

as well as one

with Rostam:

2016’s I Had a

Dream That You

Were Mine.

Rhode Island

rockers beloved

for over a

decade, led by

charismatic

singer-

songwriter John

McCauley.

Brooding,

Brooklyn-

by-way-of-

Cincinnati

quartet-turned-

festival

main-stage

mainstays.

Hyper-literate,

high-energy

punk since the

’90s; friend of

Aimee Mann,

with whom

he has recorded

as The Both.

Vampire

Weekend

keyboardist-

guitarist-

turned-cool-kid

producer (Frank

Ocean, Haim,

Solange).

The singer

hits the road

for a North

American solo

tour, which will

be bundled with

a new live LP for

ticket buyers.

On Sept. 15,

two self-titled

albums drop:

an acoustic nod

to the band’s

origins and a

garage-rock

romp.

After six

studio albums

(including stone-

cold classics

Alligator and The

Boxer), the new

Sleep Well Beast

arrives Sept. 8.

Solo LP The

Hanged Man

comes Sept. 8,

seven years after

the troubadour’s

last Ted Leo &

The Pharmacists

album.

Having

amicably split

from Vampire

Weekend in

January 2016,

he’ll release solo

debut Half-Light

on Sept. 15.

ROSTAM DEER TICK TED LEO

HAMILTON

LEITHAUSER

THE

NATIONAL

WHO

WHAT’S ON DECK

Gritty and glam,

Leithauser’s

high tenor has

only improved

with age — he’s

one of indie

rock’s most

sublime voices.

Deer Tick’s first

new music since

2013 showcases

generation-

bridging guitar

heroics tailor-

made for big

festival stages.

Beast lead single

“The System

Only Dreams in

Total Darkness”

recently became

the band’s first

commercial

radio No. 1.

After splitting

with Matador

Records, Leo

Kickstarted The

Hanged Man;

it’s his most

experimental

work yet.

Early Half-Light

tunes sound like

left-field art-pop

wizardry. Also:

Rostam looked

super cute in

Charli XCX’s

“Boys” video.

“I’ve got to get

a couple girls

in the band,”

Leithauser told

Billboard.

“I’ve been so

dude-y for so

many years.”

Recording

in Memphis,

McCauley has

said, “We were

a little proud of

ourselves, like,

‘Man, I think we

still got it.’ ”

Frontman Matt

Berninger gets

the band’s “dad

rock” rep: “We

all have kids and

stuff. Rock songs?

No one’s going to

get hurt.”

Expect a personal

record. “I’ve lived

more in the last

seven years than

in the previous

20,” said Leo

recently.

—CHRIS PAYNE

An unexpected

influence? “I’ve

been digging

back into

Shania [Twain],”

he recently

confessed to

Billboard.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

35.

WHO WILL BREAK OUT?

“Bad Bunny, one of the

hottest Latin independent

artists, has attracted strong

interest from mainstream artists

and producers. His sound doesn’t

conform to what’s on the market.”

—Alexandra Lioutikoff,

executive vp Latin

music, Universal Music

Publishing Group

GROOMING BY BETHANY JOHNSON USING NARS. LOUTIKOFF: COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC. ROSTAM: JOSH GOLEMAN. LEITHAUSER: SARA KAUSS. D

EER TICK: LAURA PARTAIN. THE NATIONAL:

GRAHAM MACINDOE. LEO: MINDY TUCKER. PRICE: MICHAEL LOCCISANO/GETTY IMAGES. TWAIN: BROADIMAGE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK. SWIFT: JOHN SHEA

RER/GETTY IMAGES.
TAKING FLIGHT Months after Scott
released his Billboard 200 No. 1
Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
last year, the Houston rapper’s
fans clamored for a follow-up.
Scott released psychedelic single
“Butterfly Effect” in May. DOUBLE
OR NOTHING This past March, Scott
teased his new album, AstroWorld,
saying it “might be the best music
that I made.” Frequent collaborator
Murda Beatz told Billboard the
project was “going to be fire” and
revealed he had produced “Lo-Fi,”
a snippet Scott dropped on Twitter
from another rumored upcoming
release with Migos’ Quavo. CRUNCH
TIME Could fans see both albums
before 2018? After finishing his leg
on Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN Tour, Scott
tweeted, “ALBUM MODE”; at an August
club appearance, he said he was about
“to go away in hiding” to complete
both “real soon.” —CARL LAMARRE

36. WHAT WE KNOW
    ABOUT TRAVIS SCOTT