Pop
Ariana Grande’s Congratulates Brother Frankie on His Engagement
Frankie, 38, is a dancer, actor, singer and activist who has enjoyed stints on Broadway with Rock of Ages and in Mamma Mia! Leon, 28, is a model and social media influencer. According to People, Frankie dropped the big question Tuesday night with a wild VR presentation at the site of one of their first dates, the Dreamscape venue in Los Angeles. “It was such a perfect, beautiful moment,” Grande he told the title. “Hale was completely surprised and we both started crying tears of joy. I have been working on proposing to him in virtual reality for over a year and it was absolutely breathtaking for us both.” Just last month, Ariana married Dalton Gomez in an intimate ceremony. The pair had started dating in early 2020 and shared their engagement news in December with a...
Sinéad O’Connor Retracts Retirement, Criticizes BBC for “Hurtful” Interview
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-09T01:06:33+00:00“>June 8, 2021 | 9:06pm ET Sinéad O’Connor is not retiring from music after all. In a three-page note shared on Twitter, the Irish singer explained that last week’s announcement was prompted by the fallout to insensitive questions asked by media in the UK and Canada during the press tour promoting her memoir, Rememberings. O’Connor specifically cited a particularly triggering experience on BBC’s Woman’s Hour. During the interview, host Emma Barnett asked about O’Connor having four children with four different men and brought up a piece in The Telegraph referring to the singer’s reputation “as the crazy woman in pop’s attic.” “It was unnecessary and hurt...
After Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way,’ What Recent Classic Should Get Its Own Covers Album?
Only 10 years after its release, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way is getting a special anniversary re-release, which will include six covers of the album’s songs by other artists. So far, Big Freedia released her bouncy take on “Judas” and Orville Peck gave us his retro-country twang on the title track from the June 18 project. On the latest episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen below), we talk about the 10th-anniversary reissue and what other modern albums — from the last 10 to 20 years — could warrant a similar tribute. We’ve seen Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and Carole King go a similar route before with their legendary albums, but what modern-day classics deserve the same? You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking f...
Lorde Teases New Music with Solar Power Artwork
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-07T22:04:24+00:00“>June 7, 2021 | 6:04pm ET It looks like it’s gonna be a hot Lorde summer. Four years after releasing Melodrama, Lorde has teased her return by updating her website with artwork for something called Solar Power. It’s unclear if it’s an album (Solar Power) or a song (“Solar Power”), but it’s definitely coming this year. “Arriving in 2021,” reads the caption. “Patience is a virtue.” Check out the artwork below. So many questions come from this one little image. When in 2021? We have to assume summer based on the beach imagery. But is it a song, an EP, or an LP? And also, where the heck is Lorde’s ring finger in this picture? Or her pants, for that ma...
Sinéad O’Connor Announces Retirement from Music
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-07T18:51:41+00:00“>June 7, 2021 | 2:51pm ET Sinead O’Connor is done with the music industry. In a series of tweets this past Friday, the Irish singer revealed that she will be retiring “from touring and from working in the record business” starting immediately. Her upcoming album No Veteran Dies Alone, which she implied is already recorded, is due out next year and will serve as her final LP. “I’ve gotten older and I’m tired. So it’s time for me to hang up my nipple tassels, having truly given my all. NVDA in 2022 will be my last release. And there’ll be no more touring or promo,” she tweeted. “It’s not sad news. It’s staggeringly beautiful news. A wise warrior knows when he or s...
Ed Sheeran, Elton John & Brandi Carlile Join Courtney Cox in ‘Tiny Dancer’ Lisa Kudrow Tribute
The video got plenty of love from the likes of British chef Jamie Oliver (“Haha amazing go Courtney no pressure brilliant”), as well as David Beckham (“Oh wow now that’s a line up”), Snow Patrol bassist Paul Wilson, actress Kathy Najimy, comedian Kevin Nealon and, of course, Kudrow, who commented, “Whaaaaaat??? That’s the most exciting thing ever!!!!” Kudrow also posted a video response, saying, “OK, Ed Sheeran, Courteney Cox, Brandi Carlile and Elton John, that was the most thrilling thing ever. It was so good. Technically it’s ‘Hold me close, Young Tony Danza,’ but what you did was great too. And, including the original song that you wrote, Sir Elton, that was really good too.” Danza loved it, too, writing, R...
Ludacris, Usher & Snoop Dogg Hop on Mellow Remix of Justin Bieber’s ‘Peaches’
Justin Bieber dropped an all-star remix of his hit single “Peaches” early Monday morning (June 7) featuring Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and Usher and the singer definitely lets the MCs hop into the driver’s seat on the remake of the new summer classic. “I get my peaches out in Georgia Apple Bottom from New York, orange in Florida/ Vitamin C mixed with this vitamin D, now you got vitamin me/ And your prescriptions fill more than them trees in California/ I’m always gon’ adore ya’, kiss you and caress you/ Anything just to spoil ya, gift ya’, protect ya,” Luda raps over the song’s honey-smooth track as Bieber slips in to croon the second verse and the chorus. Longtime Atlanta resident Usher slides in for the new third verse, adding a bit m...
Miley Cyrus Would ‘Love’ to Work With Billie Eilish: ‘I Think She’s Just the Coolest’
Miley Cyrus has kept very busy during the global pandemic and in a new interview with British Vogue the singer runs down what she’s learned from the alone time and where it might take her music next. While Cyrus continues to tease a turn toward her rock side, she told the magazine that here’s one fellow pop star she’s dying to collaborate with. “There are always new emerging artists that are super interesting,” said Cyrus, who has collaborated with everyone from punk godmother Joan Jett to her actual godmother Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks, Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande over the years. “I love Billie Eilish. I think she’s just the coolest. I love her, her messaging. I’d love to work with her.” In the wide-ranging chat, Eilish talked about how she hoped that he...
Justin Bieber Kicks Off 2021 Juno Awards With ‘Somebody’
Justin Bieber returned to the Junos stage for the first time in 11 years with a live performance of “Somebody.” Bieber opened the festivities with the upbeat Justice track, backed by a band, with lights and song lyrics streaming across his set Sunday night (June 6). Bieber was nominated for five awards, including album and single of the year, at the 2021 Juno Awards, where the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences commemorated 50 years of Canadian music. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of I...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’ Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
Evermore was last No. 1 five months ago, on the Jan. 16-dated chart. It’s the first album to wait that long between weeks at No. 1 since last November, when Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get returned to No. 1 after nearly a year. Evermore was released in December 2020 and spent its first two weeks at No. 1, on the charts dated Dec. 26, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021. Evermore’s 74-1 move is the biggest positional jump to No. 1 since the Jan. 19, 2008, chart, when Radiohead’s In Rainbows flew 156-1 after street date violation sales pushed it onto the chart a week early. It’s worth noting that since In Rainbows hit No. 1, three albums have re-entered the chart at No. 1: Chris Stapleton’s Traveller (Nov. 21, 2015), Prince’s The Very Best of Prince (May 7, 2016) and Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not ...
Taylor Swift Is ‘In My Feelings’ Over ‘Evermore’ Returning to No. 1 on Billboard 200
“This one hit me hard,” she wrote. “I’m so in my feelings (more so than usual!) over what you all did here for evermore. Blown away by how much you care, and how long we’ve been caring about each other. Love you, so very much.” Swift included four red heart emojis in her tweet — which, naturally, had fans putting on their detective hats in the comments. (Is it just a random way to show her love for Swifties, or could it be a hint that the re-recording of Red, her fourth studio album, is near?) Billboard reported earlier that Evermore’s sales surge was fueled by the set’s modern-era record-breaking vinyl LP sales, autographed CDs and discounting on the digital version of the album. Evermore last held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 on the Jan. 16-date...
Sinead O’Connor Says She Is Retiring From Touring and Recording
Replying to a fan who inquired about her upcoming concert dates, O’Connor clarified: “Yes, all shows which were originally set for 2020, rescheduled to 2021 and then to 2022 are going to be pulled. Because this soldier woman has grown old quicker than covid.” In a follow-up tweet, she added, “It’s not sad news. It’s staggeringly beautiful news. A wise warrior knows when he or she should retreat: #MeTime.” “It’s been a forty year journey,” said O’Connor, who’s released 10 full-length studio albums over the years. “Time to put the feet up and make other dreams come true.” On Saturday, O’Connor returned to Twitter to say she was sorry to anyone on her team who might have been taken aback by her sudden an...
