Renee Hansen

Eɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ | Eᴅɪᴛᴏʀ | Fʀᴇᴇʟᴀɴᴄᴇʀ | Jᴏᴜʀɴᴀʟɪꜱᴛ | Sᴏᴄɪᴀʟ Mᴇᴅɪᴀ Mᴀɴᴀɢᴇʀ |

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What events made 1985 a banner year in music history?

The 1980s were a pivotal time in the music industry as the decade served as a transition period, saw the emergence of new genres, and the music video reigned supreme. However, many consider 1985 to be the high point of the decade due to significant events, music releases, and more. In January 1985, VH1(Video Hits One), the sister music video channel to MTV, began broadcasting. This channel was established to appeal to an older demographic of music listeners, which opened its broadcasting with Ma...
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Outstanding Indie covers of 80s hit singles you must listen to now!

For decades, bands have taken old favorites and transformed them into something new for the modern age. Cover songs are often enjoyed by listeners as they stir up feelings of nostalgia. It is always interesting when bands swap musical genres in their cover songs, and below, we have a list of indie bands who have covered popular songs from the 80s. In 2015, indie-rock band The Wind and the Wave released an album of covers simply titled Covers One, featuring excellent remakes of several familiar...
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Who is the youngest inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

During the virtual 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, 32-year-old Ilan Rubin, drummer of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails (NIИ), set a record as the youngest living inductee. Before Rubin was inducted, Stevie Wonder held the record at 38 when he was inducted in 1989. Rubin also set records as the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee born in the 1980s and born after the HOF was established. The San Diego native is well known for his work in (NIИ) and several other bands, includin...
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Netflix's new The Electric State soundtrack features songs from The Clash, Danzig and more

Netflix's latest adventure movie, The Electric State, stars Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things and Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy. The story is set in an alternate version of the 1990s, a world vastly different from the real version of that decade. The setting may differ, but the music is still the same, and this soundtrack features some great ones. The story is based on Simon Stålenhag's graphic novel and follows Michelle (Brown), an orphan searching for her brother Christopher (Wood...
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AMC features this 1978 cover song in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 opening scene

Walking Dead fans were recently treated to a two-minute look at the upcoming season of The Walking Dead: Dead City, which was aired exclusively by IGN at Fan Fest 2025. The short clip gave Kiss fans a treat as well. The clip features Kiss guitarist's cover of glam rockers Hello's single "New York Groove." This single was featured on Ace Frehley's self-titled solo album, released in 1978. The song was written by Russ Ballard, once the lead singer for the band Argent, known for "Hold Your Head Up"...
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On Feb. 21, 1981 Prince made his debut on SNL as a special musical guest

SNL is a hot ticket item in the current climate of pop culture. The late-night live sketch comedy celebrated 50 years in 2025 has seen many fans looking back at their favorite moments. Musical guests are always a highlight of the show, and in 1981, Prince would grace Rockefeller Center with his outrageous fashions and kick performance. His purplness made his SNL debut on Feb. 21, 1981, and this would be one of his first live TV performances. Prince wasn't the musical guest but instead a special...
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This brat pack movie turns 40 in Feb. 2025 and its soundtrack is worth another listen

"Saturday, March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois, 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon. We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong, but we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, the most convenient definitions. You see us as a Brain, an Athlete, a Basket Case, a Princess, and a Criminal. Correct...
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This one hit wonder, which tells a story with a surprising twist, opened the 80s at No. 1

The 80s opened with a one-hit wonder as its No. 1 single, which, if you pay attention to the lyrics, things end quite differently than the listener expects. The song was written and performed by a British American singer-songwriter, Rupert Holmes, who included it on his fifth studio album Partners in Crime. It tells the story of a man bored with his routine marriage, so he turns to the classifieds to find an escape with something/someone more exciting. If you haven't guessed already, the single...
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6 80s and 90s Soap Opera stars who tried their hand at pop music

I follow several of those amazing retro Instagram sites that feature posts about the 80s and how amazing the decade really was. One site, possibly Rerun the 80s, posted a music milestone of a popular soap star turned singer. This got me thinking of all the other soap stars who also became pop musicians in the 1980s. Let's take a look. Rick Springfield is by far the most famous performer to juggle soap acting and his music career. He learned to play the guitar at 13 (1962) and was a member of man...
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Fleetwood Mac's Rumours topped Billboard 200 in 1977and is making headlines in 2024

It's exciting to learn that according to Billboard Hot 200 year-end charts, the top rock album of 2024 is an old-school rock album from 1977.The British rock band Fleetwood Mac's second album, Rumours, is a critical and commercial success and one of four No. 1 albums in the band's discography. The band The album topped the chart in 1977 where it remained for 31 weeks. Known as the band's breakup song album, it is so much more. In 2024, the album again makes headlines as the top-selling rock alb...
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'Do They Know It's Christmas?' turns 40, watch the documentary about single that raised money and awareness

On Nov. 25, 1984, Bob Geldof of The Boom Town Rats and Midge Ure of Ultravox brought together a group of British and Irish musicians to comprise Band Aid. This supergroup came together to raise money and awareness of the famine in Ethiopia. The song "Do They Know It's Christmas" was released in December 1984 and became an anthem for the Christmas season in the 80s and beyond. The single shot to No. 1 in the UK but failed to reach the top in the US due to lack of radio airplay. But throughout th...
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Forgotten songs of the 1980s that deserve another listen

Fans of '80s music just can't get enough. Even decades later, many believe this was an all-time high in music history—but over time, numerous songs have been long forgotten. Below we have a great list of singles that made a great impact on the era at the time but have been overshadowed through the years, falling into the lost songs category. This list was compiled with the help of Ross on the Radio's extensive research of the "lost factor" of hits from the 1980s. You can read all about his proce...
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Netflix's latest animated short is sure to THRILL fans of Michael Jackson this Halloween

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video is a fantastic mini-horror movie directed by John Landis (American Werewolf in London) with numerous references to other horror favorites. Jackson performs along with a massive horde of the undead in the video which has been referenced in many other movies, shows, music videos, and more. The video achieved one billion views on YouTube in 2024, where it can be viewed in 4k. Now, the creators of the animated blockbusters Sing and Sing 2 have created another homag...
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ICYMI: Nöthin' But a Good Time hair metal documentary is a must-see for '80s music fans

People who grew up in the 1980s will tell you it was the most incredible time to be a kid, and they are correct. The 1980s brought about many cultural movements and encouraged people to celebrate their individuality. This era generously gave a generation of youth extravagant fashion sense, perms, mullets, blockbuster movies, MTV, and the almighty emergence of hair bands! Paramount+ has capitalized on the wave of '80s nostalgia in a new documentary, Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story o...
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Best songs of the decade: Ten 1980s No. 1 singles that spent the most weeks on Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100 is the United States' popular singles ranking first used in 1958, with Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" as the chart's first No. 1 hit. This chart is the measure of success within the music industry, ranking songs based on physical and digital sales as well as streaming and radio airplay. Each week, the chart is watched to see who will come out on top. Throughout the years, songs have achieved impressive milestones on the chart, including the Beatles, who hold the title for mo...
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Slash releases Halloween Horror Nights vinyl-only soundtrack (Here's what's on it)

GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist and songwriter SLASH, best known for playing guitar in Guns N' Roses, has released Slash Music of Universal Studios Hollywood - Halloween Horror Nights, just in time for the spooky season.The limited edition 11-song vinyl-only album via Snakepit Records features originals SLASH has created for the Halloween Horror Nights Universal Monsters haunted house over the past six years. It is being sold exclusively onsite at Universal Studios Hollywood starting on Sept. 5....
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X 80s songs you have to turn off before your mom enters the room!

Since the beginning of music, there have always been performers who pushed things to a point that was deemed inappropriate by society. This is how many have made a name for themselves, ensuring they are forever immortalized in music history. Today's list includes several songs that, if you were growing up in the 80s, you would hurriedly turn off before your mother entered the room. Several of these titles were included in the Parents Music Resource Center's (PMRC) Filthy Fifteen list. The PMRC,...
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The 1994 movie Airheads celebrates 30 years, check out the outstanding soundtrack

In August 1994, the Michael Lehmann (Heathers) directed comedy Airheads was released in theaters. The film may have failed critically and commercially but it has lived on to become a cult classic popular with metalheads worldwide.The movie introduces three struggling heavy metal musicians who decide to infiltrate a radio station in order to get their demo played on air. When the employees at the station resist, they hold the employees hostage with realistic-looking water guns. "The music made th...
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5 Catchy jingles from 80s commercials that will take you back to your childhood

This will make me sound old, but here goes: "Back in my day," TV watching was much different. Way before VHS, DVD, or streaming, we had to sit in front of the television and watch commercials between regularly scheduled programming. Yes, you read that correctly; we didn't have the option to select what we viewed. We had to check the TV Guide to find out what time our favorite shows would air and on what network. Don't feel sorry for us because despite how horrible that may sound to new generatio...
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Def Leppard's guitarist Phil Collen premieres Hysteria graphic novel, coming soon

Def Leppard is currently on the road during the 2024 stadium tour with Journey and a rotating lineup of special guests, including Cheap Trick and The Steve Miller Band. The band recently released a new stadium anthem, "Just Like 73," featuring Tom Morello. Next, guitarist Phill Collen will debut his graphic novel Hysteria.The Hollywood Reporter got the exclusive news and images for Collen's latest venture, a graphic novel from Vault Comics, which he co-wrote with Eliot Rahal, known for his grap...
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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrates 1984 with new exhibit, Pop Music's Best Year Ever

This summer, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrates 1984, a banner year that reshaped music history. The new exhibit features select artifacts that showcase the era's iconic moments and cultural highlights.Hall of Fame inductees Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Michael Jackson, and more will be featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's new exhibit, 1984, which opens on July 29. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the year that Alan Light, one of mus...
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5 iconic 80s songs that you didn't know were covers

The 80s was an iconic era in music that spawned many outstanding hits, several of which weren't written the performers who rose to fame because of their cover versions. Cover songs are a great way to beef up a music portfolio by reintroducing a song written by someone from another era, remixed for a fresh new sound. Throughout music history many songs have been covered, some over and over, and often times the success of the cover will outrank the original. There are many songs that reached the t...
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4 Amazing modern movie soundtracks with a 80s vibe

Movie soundtracks can make or break a film. Many modern films include music from the 1980s or music with a vibe that mimics the era. Children of the 1980s can easily relate to this, as it stirs up nostalgic feelings from their childhood and teen years. That means movies of this nature are often extremely popular with this age demographic. Below we highlight just a sampling of modern films that give serious 80s vibes with their soundtracks. Sing Street is a coming-of-age musical that hits you rig...
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