On Monday (March 19), Alice Cooper announced that he will release his third autobiography, Devil on My Shoulder: A Memoir, on October 6th via Hachette Book Group. The 78-year-old shock rock pioneer says this will be his “definitive autobiography,” following the publication of his previous books, Me, Alice (1976) and Golf Monster (2007). Cooper explains he wrote the book to track Alice’s “evilution” and separate “reality from myth” after decades of stories became “a tangle of embellishments, elaborations and outright fabrications.” The memoir explores the dichotomy between his stage persona as the “Godfather of Shock Rock” and his personal life as what publishers describe as a “deeply religious sober man behind the mask.” Cooper promises revealing stories about celebrities including Salvador Dalí, John Lennon, Vincent Price, and Tiger Woods, plus discussions of famous stage props like his guillotine and snake. Cooper has a UK book tour scheduled in October that will feature an audience Q&A and a special guest moderator each night. (Rolling Stone)
Universal Pictures is producing a new musical biopic about Bon Jovi with frontman Jon Bon Jovi‘s involvement. The film will have access to the New Jersey band’s complete music catalog, likely featuring hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” and “Bad Medicine.” Kevin J. Walsh and Gotham Chopra are producing the project. Chopra previously produced the four-part Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, in 2024, which featured Jon Bon Jovi discussing personal details including his recent voice issues and surgery. “I don’t have a messiah complex,” he said in one interview, choking back tears. “Anyway, that’s why the legacy matters.” Bon Jovi released Forever in 2024 to mark their 40th anniversary, and the band will return to touring this July with a month-long residency at Madison Square Garden followed by a series of shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in September. (Rolling Stone)
Dr. Dre has officially reached billionaire status according to Forbes‘ 2026 Billionaires list, nearly twelve years after declaring himself “hip-hop’s first billionaire.” The legendary producer ranks 3,332nd globally, tied with Jared Kushner, Rihanna, and others. Dre becomes just the sixth musician to join the billionaire club, alongside Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and Rihanna. Dre’s wealth stems largely from when he and Jimmy Iovine sold their headphones company, Beats by Dre, to Apple for $3 billion in 2014, causing the rapper to famously quip “They need to update the Forbes list, sh*t just changed.” Forbes identified 22 billionaire entertainers, with nearly half of them added in the past three years. “It’s the year of the billionaire,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Senior Editor, Wealth. “The planet added more than one billionaire per day over the past twelve months.” (Variety)
Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe collaborated with Josh Klinghoffer and Travis Barker on “I Played the Fool,” the theme song for HBO’s new series, Rooster, starring Steve Carell. Stipe co-wrote and produced the track with Andrew Watt, while Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers/Pearl Jam) contributed guitar and piano and Blink-182’s Barker played drums. “I’m thrilled to lend my voice to Rooster — as a giant fan of everyone involved, it’s a real honor to be included with ‘I Played the Fool,’” Stipe said. Series co-creator Matt Tarses always wanted Stipe for the theme but didn’t expect it to happen. “When I listened to it on my phone, I cried. I really did,” Tarses said about hearing the demo. The comedy premiered on March 8th and features Carell as college professor Greg Russo navigating complicated family relationships. (Consequence of Sound)
The 52nd American Music Awards will be broadcast live on Memorial Day, Monday May 25, at 8:00 p.m. ET from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. CBS will air the show with streaming available on Paramount+. This marks the second consecutive year the ceremony takes place on Memorial Day, but represents a venue change from last year’s Fontainebleau Las Vegas location. Nominations for the fan-voted awards show will be announced on Tuesday, April 14, with voting opening that day and closing on Friday, May 8. Last year’s show, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, attracted over 10 million unique viewers during its premiere on CBS and Paramount+, in addition to encores on MTV, CMT, and BET. The CBS broadcast marked the largest audience since 2019 with a 38% increase over the 2022 ABC airing. The AMAs will take place just eight days after the Academy of Country Music Awards are also held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with both events produced by Dick Clark Productions. (Billboard)
Jack White defended his recent interview remarks about Taylor Swift after media outlets framed his comments as criticism of the pop superstar. The recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee posted a since-deleted Instagram statement on Monday (March 9) clarifying that he never called Swift’s music “boring.” White previously told The Guardian he finds autobiographical songwriting uninteresting for himself, saying “Now it’s become very popular in the Taylor Swift way of pop singers writing about all of their publicly aired breakups, which I don’t find interesting at all. I think it’s a little bit boring for me to write about myself.” In his social media response, White acknowledged Swift’s “tremendous success” and said artists “should do what works for them.” He admitted that “imaginary characters are more attractive to me as a writer,” as opposed to repeatedly penning songs about himself. White went on to criticize clickbait journalism for discouraging honest conversations, stating the controversy makes him “less and less interested in doing interviews.” (Rolling Stone)