Pop
Camila Cabello Performs “Don’t Go Yet” at 2021 MTV VMAs: Watch
Camila Cabello was able to take some time away from her LA traffic flash mobs to make an appearance at the 2021 MTV VMAs. The pop star took the stage to perform “Don’t Go Yet,” the Latin-influenced lead single from her forthcoming album, Familia. Cabello’s colorful stage design recalled classic architecture from her Cuban homeland, with her band and backup dancers creating their own block party. Those who watched the show from home got a bit more retro flair, as the first portion of the performance was shot in black-and-white, which Cabello whipped away to reveal the bright set design. While the singer isn’t up for any VMAs herself this year, it marks her return as a performer: Who could forget her steamy rendition of “Señorita” with her now-boyfriend Shawn Mendes in 2019? If you missed it...
Doja Cat Performs “Been Like This” and “You Right” at 2021 MTV VMAs: Watch
Doja Cat wasn’t only the host of the 2021 MTV VMAs, she was also a performer. The rapper/singer gave a spectacularly out-of-this-world performance that mashed up “Been Like This” and “You Right,” tracks from her recent album Planet Her. Gymnast Simone Biles might’ve introduced the performance, but for once, she wasn’t the one flipping through the air; Doja Cat descended from the Barclays Center ceiling, spinning above the crowd as a giant ring of light twisted around her. She sang “Been Like This” from the sky before touching down on the stage to do a contemporary dance routine to “You Right.” Check out footage from the performance below, and replay all of tonight’s performances here. Advertisement Related Video This isn’t Doja’s first awards show performance this year: Back in May, s...
Kim Petras Goes Bubblegum for “Future Starts Now” at the 2021 MTV VMAs Pre-Show: Watch
Kim Petras took to the stage at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show to perform her new single “Future Starts Now.” Watch it below. Flanked by a bevy of backup dancers wearing raspberry berets, opera gloves, and baby pink harnesses, the trans icon in the making lived out her full pop star fantasy belting out the house music-inspired bop in a dress and boots designed to look like sticky, melting bubblegum. “One day, everyone will notice/ The world is yours and you should know it/ So don’t let love get out of focus/ Don’t give up, the future starts now/ I know you can take the pressure/ Turn it into something better/ So take the pain and make it pleasure/ Don’t give up, the future starts now,” she sang while nailing her choreography, before revealing a second, skimpier bubblegum-inspired...
Backstreet Boys Cancel Las Vegas Holiday Residency, Postpone Christmas Album Over COVID-19 Restrictions
The pop quintet — comprising Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson — was scheduled for a residency in November and December at Las Vegas’ Zappos Theater inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The A Very Backstreet Christmas Party dates were to be the group’s “first-ever holiday shows, filled with classic holiday favorites, new originals and their biggest hits,” the act’s website states. Ticket refunds for the Las Vegas residency will be issued automatically at the point of purchase. Th 12-show run was set to arrive three years after the band’s record-shattering Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life residency at the Zappos Theater. The group’s residency grossed $34.4 million from the total 62 s...
LadyLand 2021 Welcomes NYC’s LGBTQ Nightlife Back With Christina Aguilera, Caroline Polachek & More
Knowing her audience, Aguilera had a series of surprises in store — early on in the performance, the “Ain’t No Other Man” singer brought out Drag Race stars Aquaria, Milk, Jaida Essence Hall and Dahlia Sin for a lip-sync medley to a string of singles. Aguilera then reappeared alongside the queens, dressed in a set of stunning rhinestoned denim chaps, for a campy, drag-inspired version of her Moulin Rouge hit “Lady Marmalade.” The highlight of Aguilera’s performance came right at the end, though, when the star brought the lights down and delivered a stirring performance of “Beautiful,” wherein she reminded the crowd of the important message of LadyLand. “If I could leave you with one note for the night, on this date ...
Lana Del Rey Deactivating All Social Media Accounts, Which is For the Best
Lana Del Rey says she is signing off social media. In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday night, Del Rey announced that all of her accounts will be deactivated effective Sunday. “That is simply because I have so many interests, and other jobs I’m doing that require privacy and transparency,” she explained of the decision. Del Rey assured fans she will continue to making music and poetry, adding, “I’m still very present and love what I do.” Advertisement Related Video The timing of Del Rey’s decision is certainly odd, considering she has a new album coming out next month. But it’s also probably for the best, as the singer has stirred up plenty of controversy with some of her past social media postings. Last year, she criticized female musicians of color, only to later say her comments c...
Metallica & Miley Cyrus Deliver Heavy-Hitting ‘Nothing Else Matters’ Performance on ‘Howard Stern Show’: Watch
She added, “I was so heartbroken and my purpose was coming from this performance. I got sober at that time. I really pulled my f—ing s— together. This song was what drove me to that place, because I knew nothing else mattered. My life in regards to love was falling apart, but I had my love for music.” For her recorded cover of “Nothing Else Matters,” Cyrus teamed up with Elton John, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, Yo-Yo Ma, WATT and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. The four-disc Metallica Blacklist project also features reimaginings by Weezer, Juanes, St. Vincent, Cage the Elephant, J Balvin, Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton and others. During the Stern interview, Elton John, who plays the piano intro on Cyrus’ version of “Nothing Else Matter...
Syd Drops New Single “Right Track” Featuring Smino: Stream
Back in February, Syd returned with her first solo music in nearly four years. The Internet member has been keeping herself busy since, leading up to today’s release of her new single “Right Track,” which features vocals from Smino. Stream it below. “Right Track” is a love song that stays true to Syd’s usual laidback R&B groove. Backed by a fluttering, Latin-influenced guitar riff, the track details the beginnings of a relationship that’s going well, and the excitement of taking things to the next step. “Everything feels so right, don’t you love it when things go right?” Syd coos in the bridge. “Now can somebody tell me why you would fight that?” Along with the new single, Syd has also announced her only show of 2021, where she’ll take the stage with the LA Philharmonic at The Ford on ...
Mariah Carey’s ‘Glitter’ at 20: How It Sparkled to Life After Nearly Two Decades
The reason for such a dramatic turnabout is well-documented. That ice cream cart ‘gate-crashing‘ of Total Request Live which saw host Carson Daly declare that his impromptu guest had “lost her mind.” A hospitalization, which Carey later explained resulted in her bipolar diagnosis. In a much less forgiving era, these mental health struggles were shamefully treated by the media with more derision than empathy. The singer would later argue that she was used as a punching bag to distract from the horrors of 9/11. By the time Glitter finally made it into stores (on the darkest day in modern American history), Carey’s stock was at an all-time low. First-week sales of 116,000 and a No. 7 Billboard 200 peak (compared to the 323,000 first-week numbers and No. 2 de...
Song of the Week: MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers Keep it Easy and Breezy with “Silk Chiffon”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, MUNA and Phoebe Bridgers paint a pop portrait of September bliss. After over a year, MUNA has returned with a bright, addictive pop anthem. “Silk Chiffon” employs the help of beloved and perpetually-in-her-feelings Phoebe Bridgers, for whom the band will opening on tour this fall. Bridgers, for her part, arrives with perhaps the most Phoebe Bridgers line imaginable: “I’m high and I’m feeling anxious inside of a CVS.” (It’s called having a brand — look it up!) The members of MUNA have always embraced their identity as a “quee...
Sleigh Bells Share New Album Texis: Stream
Sleigh Bells return today with their new album, Texis. The New York noise-pop duo’s sixth studio set, released via Mom+Pop, has technically been in the works since 2017, and was recorded between members Alexis Krauss and Derek E. Miller’s homes. Texis spans 11 tracks in total, and includes the previously-released singles “Locus Laced,” “Justine Go Genesis,” and “True Seekers.” Though it’s been over a full decade now since Sleigh Bells’ acclaimed debut, Treats, Texis still feels right in line with the band’s gritty, proto-hyperpop roots. In an interview with Consequence, Krauss said Texis is her favorite Sleigh Bells record yet: “If you strip away all of my bullshit fireworks and the crashes and banging, if you strip away all the noise and the high end and the drums, there’s ...
Ed Sheeran Is Bringing ‘Shivers’ to the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards
This Toyota Stage performance marks his first VMAs performance since 2017, when he sang his smash “Shape of You” in tandem with Lil Uzi Vert, who performed his hit “XO Tour Llif3.” Sheeran took home the inaugural artist of the year award that year. That was Sheeran’s second VMA win. He won his first, best male video, in 2014 for “Sing” (featuring Pharrell Williams). Sheeran’s fourth solo studio album, =, is due Oct. 29. Doja Cat is set to host and perform on the 2021 MTV Music Awards, which will air live from Barclays Center on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. Other artists set to perform on this year’s VMAs are Camila Cabello, Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, Machine Gun Kelly, Olivia Rodrigo, Foo Fighters, Shawn Mendes & Tainy, Twenty One Pilots, Kacey Musgra...
