Pop
The Weeknd to Write, Produce, and Star In New HBO Series From Euphoria’s Sam Levinson
Soon, The Weeknd’s acting resume will consist of more than his perfect cameo in Uncut Gems: the singer born Abel Tesfaye is set to star in, co-write, and executive produce a new show coming to HBO Max. Titled The Idol, the upcoming drama comes from co-creator Sam Levinson, known for his work on Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie. Deadline reports that The Idol will center around a female pop singer who begins romantically seeing a mysterious LA club owner, the latter of the two just so happening to lead a secret cult on the side. Tesfaye and Levinson created the series together alongside “nightlife entrepreneur-turned-writer” Reza Fahim. We don’t know much else about the series yet, but we’re excited. Stay tuned here for more info as we hear about it. Though it’s been over a year since the W...
Cardi B, Beyonce & The Evolution of Pop-Music Pregnancy Reveals
When Cardi B revealed that she’s pregnant with baby No. 2, she did it in perfectly over-the-top fashion onstage at Sunday’s BET Awards, where she performed with husband Offset and his Migos bandmates wearing a bedazzled black catsuit with a strategic mesh cutout around her belly. While pop music fans are used to this sort of very public pregnancy reveal now, thanks to Beyoncé announcing that she was pregnant with Blue Ivy almost a decade ago at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, it hasn’t always been this way. In fact, after Bey performed while five months pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir at the 2017 Grammys, Vanessa Williams tweeted about her own, very different experience performing at the 1993 Grammys while pregnant. “They never showed my pregnant belly ...
Ed Sheeran Encourages Sheerios to Show Their Fangs With Vampiric ‘Bad Habits’ Snapchat Filter
In the visual for the first single from his as-yet-untitled fifth studio album, Sheeran swans around in the night in a pink suit, glittery eye makeup and his sharpened fangs, chronicling regrets about poor choices made in the dark. “My bad habits lead to late nights, endin’ alone/ Conversations with a stranger I barely know/ Swearin’ this will be the last but it probably won’t,” sings the new dad. “I got nothin’ left to lose, or use, or do/ My bad habits lead to wide eyes starin’ at space/ And I know I’ll lose control of the things that I say/ I was lookin’ for a way out, now I can’t escape/ Nothin’ happens after two, it’s true, it’s true, my bad habits lead to you.” Well, fans were happy to shar...
Jamie Lynn Spears Voices Support for Britney Spears in Conservatorship Battle
Jamie Lynn Spears is speaking out in support of her sister Britney Spears days after the pop star went public with her desire to end the restrictive conservatorship that has controlled her life for the last 13 years. In a video uploaded to Instagram on Monday, the 30-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears explained that she did not want to publicly comment on her sister’s ordeal “until my sister could speak for herself and say what she felt she needed to say publicly.” “Now that she’s very clearly spoken and said what she needed to say, I feel like I can follow her lead and say what I feel I need to say,” Jamie Lynn continued. Related Video “I don’t care if she wants to run away to the rainforest and have a zillion babies in the middle of nowhere, or if she wants to come back and dominate the wor...
Christina Aguilera Throws Support Behind Britney Spears
“It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish,” writes Aguilera, in a thread accompanied with a throwback photo of the pair as kids. “To be silenced, ignored, bullied or denied support by those ‘close’ to you is the most depleting, devastating and demeaning thing imaginable. The harmful mental and emotional damage this can take on a human spirit is nothing to be taken lightly.” Every woman must have “the right to her own body,” Aguilera continues, “her own reproductive system, her own privacy, her own space, her own healing and her own happiness.” Aguilera’s comments come after Spears spoke openly about her conservatorship, primarily overseen by her father,...
Christina Aguilera Calls Britney Spears’ Conservatorship “Unacceptable”
Christina Aguilera has voiced her support for Britney Spears in light of the pop star’s latest conservatorship hearing. In a lengthy statement posted to social media, Aguilera said she has been thinking about Spears nonstop, writing, “It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish.” Last week, Britney appeared virtually in a California court and asked that her father, Jamie Spears, be removed as her conservator. Britney spoke about being barred from marriage, put on Lithium against her will, and forced to continue using an IUD despite her desire to have more children. “I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive,” said Spears, who has been trying to end the conservatorship for ever since 2014. Si...
Lil Nas X Claps Back at Trolls Complaining About His Kiss at the BET Awards
Talking shit to Lil Nas X on the internet is like scuba diving to kill the shark in Jaws. The man memed his way to superstardom, promoting the hell out of “Old Town Road” until it blew up on TikTok, and so when trolls took issue with his same-sex kiss at the BET Awards, Lil Nas X was more than ready. The steamy moment came during a performance of “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”, a song about the joys of gay sex that peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The set was inspired by African royalty, and climaxed with the singer locking lips with one of his male dancers. This led some viewers to complain on Twitter, and if you’ve been following Lil Nas X for any length of time, you could almost hear the Jaws theme starting up. One user criticized his clothes, writing, “Th...
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to Produce Halsey’s New Album
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are taking a pause from film scoring in order to produce Halsey’s new album. The Nine Inch Nails members are at the helm of Halsey’s upcoming fourth album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, due for release later this year. The pop singer revealed the news in a Tweet on Monday that also included a brief snippet of music. Without making too much of a conclusion based on 10 seconds of music, it certainly seems like Reznor and Ross will be pairing Halsey’s powerhouse vocals with their trademark grimy industrial soundscapes. Take a listen to the preview below. Related Video While the prospect of Nine Inch Nails producing a pop record may seem shocking, this is not the first time Reznor and Ross have veered into the world of commercial pop music. They allowed Lil ...
Shaggy Launching ‘Yaad’ Show For SiriusXM’s Fly Channel: Exclusive
Get ready to celebrate the 4th of July in style next week with “Mr. Boombastic” himself. SiriusXM announced on Monday (June 28) that Grammy-winning reggae singer Shaggy will launch a new weekly music show called “Shaggy’s Yaad” on the Fly channel on Independence Day. According to a statement, the show will “feature a wide range of contemporary, rare and classic tracks spanning the hip-hop, dancehall and reggae genres, with insights from Shaggy about the musical history of his Jamaican homeland and its global impact.” In an exclusive quote to Billboard about the venture, Shaggy says, “I am so excited to have the opportunity to host my own radio show on SiriusXM FLY. Shaggy’s Yaad gives me the opportunity to take listeners on a cultural journey ...
Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’ Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
Sour is the second album in 2021 to earn in excess of 100,000 units in each of its first five weeks, following Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which also collected 100,000-plus weeks in its first five frames (charts dated Jan. 23 – Feb. 20). (It’s worth noting that Dangerous had 30 tracks aiding its SEA and TEA units, while Sour only has 11.) Polo G’s Hall of Fame falls 1-2 in its second week on the Billboard 200 with 65,000 equivalent album units (down 54%). Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s former leader The Voice of the Heroes former rises 4-3 with 57,000 (down 21%). Migos’ Culture III dips 2-4 with 54,000 units (down 58%). Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album is a non-mover at No. 5 with 49,000 units (down 2%). Singer-songwriter H.E.R. collects her first top 10 album on the Billboar...
Ed Sheeran Teases Taylor Swift Surprise, Confirms Re-Recorded ‘Everything Has Changed’
“I’ve already recorded it,” Sheeran revealed on the U.K. radio chart show, in reply to the inquiry about “Everything Has Changed.” And then Sheeran added, “Taylor’s got a few surprises in store for you, I’ll say that.” Before Red was originally released in 2012, the pair both implied there was at least one more as-yet-unheard song from their Red-era session. That summer, Sheeran told Rolling Stone that the pair “wrote two tunes, actually, one on the record [Red] and another that’s still out in the ether somewhere.” Billboard recently predicted that Red (Taylor’s Version), slated to include 30 tracks, might feature that Swift/Sheeran collaboration from the vault. Watch Sheeran share the Swift news in the interview clip ...
Ariana Grande Shares Throwback Photo for Her Birthday — And Beyonce Has One, Too
Beyoncé updated the homepage of her official website in dedication of “POV” singer, with big birthday wishes — “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIANA GRANDE” — and what appears to be an old headshot of a younger Grande, who was already rocking the signature ponytail. (Beyoncé has been using her website to pay tribute to a number of artists, as well as her own family members, on their birthdays.) Birthday messages came pouring in for the pop star on social media throughout the day on Saturday — including a heartfelt post from her brother, Frankie Grande. “Ariana you are always there for me, you lift me up when I am down, you make me smile and laugh until my cheeks hurt, and you bring me and everyone you meet such joy… so today I celebrate you and the rem...
