Maddie then complimented the musician on his jacket before he gifted the ladies guitar picks and went on his way to prepare for Cheap Trick’s Friday night set. Snapping a selfie with the pair, Nielsen enthused, “Hell yes!” when we asked if he’s a fan of the sisters. “This is more important,” Nielsen replied. The two were discussing their new iHeartRadio podcast “Take 20 With Maddie and Kenzie,” when Nielsen asked for a photo, with Maddie politely responding, “Of course, but we’re just doing an interview really fast.” Singer, guitarist… and “Dance Moms” fan! Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen interrupted Variety’s interview with “Dance Moms” stars Maddie Ziegler, 18, and Mackenzie Ziegler, 17, to grab a selfie. … It’s truly something I feel is special and innovative and it’s giving back to the country world what they have given me since I my career and that’s a lot of love.” Cheap Trick Rocker Rick Nielsen Is a Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler Fanboy “I’ve done a good job of being able to set my career up for this moment and be musically-free,” said the 46-year-old Texas native, who was joined on-stage by Florida Georgia Line for their collabs “Lil Bit” and “Cruise.” My fans have allowed me to do different things with my music and have success with them, so is no different. While tight-lipped about who he might work with, he described his ongoing country ventures as an ode to fans in the genre who have supported him throughout his career. Having released his country-inspired album “Heartland” with songs featuring Kane Brown, Darius Rucker and Florida Georgia Line, Nelly confirmed he’s planning a follow-up featuring female country stars. I’m proud of her, always.” Nelly Has Another Country Album in the Works With All-Female Collaborators I’m more than happy to see the amount of success she’s achieved in such a small amount of time, but I know it took a lot of work. “Super nice, very endearing and always awesome. “Billie is incredible - and Finneas, too,” he said. Khalid, meanwhile, shared how proud he is of Eilish, with whom he collaborated on the 2018 track “lovely.” YouTube pop singer Conan Gray and actor Asher Angel were also hoping to catch Eilish’s performance, while Derek Hough was spotted rocking out side-stage to her set. It’s so fun to hear an artist early in their career and watch the trajectory – and hers has been a skyrocket.” “I stumbled across some songs on a playlist and was like, ‘Who’s this?’ so looked her up and listened and kept following her,” said Hunt, who performed his newest single “23” and told us he plans to release more songs by year’s end. Hunt recalled discovering the teen’s music years ago and being instantly wowed.
I love being a musician and being an artist, but sometimes things can get overwhelming, so the fact I had time off to refocus has me even more excited about it.” It’s All About BillieĮilish was a hot topic backstage, with everyone from country crooner Sam Hunt to Khalid and 24KGold eager to catch the 19-year-old star’s opening set on Saturday. Having time off for the first time in a long time was refreshing. Khalid dropped his single “New Normal” at the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 launch in July, but took to Twitter in August to let fans know that finishing his album had become overwhelming and he needed to “find that joy again.” Despite such challenges, he said the pandemic has otherwise fed his creativity. “It’s in the works and I can’t wait to get music out to the world.” But I do plan on releasing an EP soon,” he said. a part of me, so I want to make sure I’m happy with everything before it comes out.