It looks like the U.K. preferred that me espresso over tea this week: Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" took the #1 spot on the Official Singles Chart. This marks Sabrina's first U.K. #1, where she beat Taylor Swift in a photo finish — less than 500 chart units separated "Espresso" from "Fortnight" feat. Post Malone.
Speaking of Sabrina, she's the musical guest on Saturday Night Live the same night Jake Gyllenhaal hosts, so naturally Swift fans have been all too unwell about the pairing. For the uninitiated, Sabrina and Taylor are friends, and Jake inspired the seminal Taylor breakup album Red and its standout track, "All Too Well." "Whoever chose Jake Gyllenhaal and Sabrina Carpenter to do Saturday Night Live together really chose violence in a hilarious way," one fan tweeted, while another wrote, "would actually pay millions to see the text chain between taylor swift and sabrina carpenter about this one."
Not even a roller coaster can stop Mariah Carey from looking glam. Midway through riding the Harry Potter-themed coaster Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida, Mariah was pictured having her hair brushed by a companion who rode next to her.
Ed Sheeran's album x is now 10 years old and the singer admits he didn't really like the record at first, specifically his song "Photograph." "That was the song that I didn’t really like at first because we spent so much time doing it and it ruined it. Now, I can look back and enjoy the process," Ed told Billboard.
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This week's New Music Friday features new singles from big names and notable album releases from up-and-coming pop stars.
Meghan Trainor is back with a new single, "To The Moon." It's the first single off her upcoming sixth album, Timeless, which arrives June 7. The 16-track album will be supported by a tour across the U.S. this fall. She'll be joined by Natasha Bedingfield and Paul Russell as tour openers.
Sia's first album since 2016 has arrived. Her new record, Reasonable Woman, is available now. Among the 15 tracks are songs like "Fame Won't Love You" feat. Paris Hilton, "Dance Alone" feat. Kylie Minogue and "Incredible" feat. Labrinth.
Lukas Graham, the Danish singer behind the hit track "7 Years," has dropped his first new release in a year, called "Cheat Code." The hitmaker said the song is about the struggles of keeping both love and life happy while in a romantic relationship. "The underlying message is for everyone to unlock each other’s undiscovered levels to explore new sides of shared love,” Graham said in a statement.
Marshmello and Kane Brown have reunited for a new collaboration, "Miles On It." The upbeat song arrives just in time for summer. The duo's previous collab, "One Right Thing," was a pop hit in 2019 and marked Brown's first top-10 single on the Top 40 format.
Jax is celebrating spooky season before summer even starts this year. Her new single "Zombieland," off of her upcoming debut full-length album, Dear Joe, is available now. HARDY is featured on the track, which finds the duo getting vengeance on the exes and enemies who have wronged them.
"Run" and "Lemon" singer SMITH has released her new track, "Lobby." SMITH says the song is "a vessel towards forgiving myself."
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Nicholas Galitzine plays Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of the fictional boy band August Moon, in the new movie The Idea of You. The actor says that while the singing required for the role came naturally to him, the dancing didn't.
In an interview with Variety, Galitzine says he looked to K-pop superstars BTS for inspiration when it came to the choreography. He says, “[W]atching how BTS commands a space as a group helped me in establishing a simpatico between myself and the four lads, how we interact with each other on stage.”
In particular, he tried to emulate their “nonchalance” when performing the dance moves. “But they’re incredible artists … to be fair, I had three weeks before starting, so there was no way I was going to get to BTS level,” he admits.
Galitzine says he “got such a high off of being on stage” and indicates the role has opened him up to more music possibilities.
“I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself a musician, but [working on this film] has made me hopeful for the future and makes the things that I have in the works now, so much more exciting,” he says.
The Idea of You, co-starring Anne Hathaway, is on Prime Video now.
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After rescheduling their whole European tour due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts,” the Jonas Brothers have now been forced to postpone four of their Mexico shows.
The reason for the cancellation? Nick Jonas has the flu. He revealed the news in an Instagram video Friday, May 3.
“Hi guys. I have come down with the nasty strain of influenza-A that’s been going around, and I’m not able to sing at the moment,” he captioned the video. “We always want to be able to give you guys the best show and I’m just not able to do that for these shows in Mexico at this time.”
He added that their two Mexico City shows have been rescheduled from May 3 and 4 to August 21 and 22, while the two Monterrey shows have been rescheduled from May 6 and 7 to August 24 and 25.
“We are incredibly sorry for the inconvenience this causes some of you,” he concluded the message. “Love you all. You’re the best fans in the world. Will bring 120% in August!”
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Britney Spears is responding to claims made by TMZ that police and paramedics were called to the Chateau Marmont because she got into a fight with her boyfriend.
The singer took to Instagram to insist “the news is fake!" She added, "I would like respect at this time for people to understand I’m getting stronger everyday.”
She said the real reason paramedics were at the hotel was because she twisted her ankle, noting they “showed up at my door illegally.” “They never came in my room but I feel completely harassed," she added.
In a second post, Britney showed off her swollen ankle. “I really twisted my ankle last night like an idiot — just to show proof," she explained, adding, “It’s so bad. F****** idiot here tries to do a leap in the living room of the Chateau, and I fell, embarrassed myself, and that’s it.”
In the caption, she blamed her mother, Lynne, for everything that went down.
“I know my mom was involved !!! I haven’t talked to her in 6 months and she called right after it happened before the news being out !!!” she writes. “I was set up just like she did way back when!!!”
She added, “I can’t stand her !!! I honestly don’t care I will say it.”
Britney also heaped praise on her lawyer Matthew Rosengart, who got her out of her conservatorship, posting a photo of him with a wolf and writing, “Psss this man is wonderful !!! He’s like a father to me and he got me through last night !!! I adore you and admire you mister Mathew !!!”
Amidst all this drama, it appears as though Britney is contemplating a move east. She signed off her initial post by writing, “I’m moving to Boston !!!”
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Ed Sheeran released two albums last year, – (Subtract) and Autumn Variations, which will have to be enough for fans for a while.
People asked Sheeran if there was anything he could share about possible new music, and all he said is “that I’m working on them and they’re new songs," before adding, "But nothing's coming out this year."
“I'm enjoying being on tour. I released two records on tour last year and it's quite a lot being on tour and releasing records," he explained. “So, I've made the new music and I'm just going to sit on it for a bit.”
It seems Ed's daughters, Lyra and Jupiter, have already heard those new tunes.
Asked if his daughters are fans of his music, Ed replied, "Yeah, of course, of course. Mostly my new songs because I don't really play my old songs in the house.”
He added, “I feel it'd be quite weird to just put on my discography, so they mostly know the new songs that I'm working on because I play them quite a lot.”
Sheeran has a handful of U.S. shows happening in May, including a concert in Hollywood, Florida, on Friday, May 3, and a special 10th anniversary celebration concert for his album X (Multiply) at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, May 22. A complete list of dates can be found at edsheeran.com.
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Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, isn't just a record breaker in her home country — it's a smash all over the world.
Billboard reports that Tay's surprise double album just broke the record for the biggest global streaming week since the publication introduced its global chart in 2020. It racked up 1.76 billion streams worldwide in its first week, breaking the previous record set by her album Midnights in 2022. That album accumulated 1.16 billion global streams in its first week, which means that Taylor has broken her own record by a hefty 52%.
You might think it was easy for Taylor to set this record, given that Tortured Poets has 31 songs on it. But as Billboard points out, even if the album was limited to the original 16 songs, it still would have broken the record because those songs alone got 1.27 billion global streams.
Also of note is the fact that around 870 million of those streams came from outside the U.S., setting the record for the most non-U.S. streams in a week for an album since the chart began.
Another indication of Taylor's global popularity: The album's first single, "Fortnight," hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it's also topped the chart in New Zealand, the Philippines, the U.K. and Hong Kong.
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The spring of the pop girlies continues. Dua Lipa has released her long-awaited third album, Radical Optimism, hot on the heels of blockbuster releases by Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift — with Billie Eilish waiting in the wings. But Dua loves the fact that so many women are crushing it simultaneously.
“We’re in a moment in time where there’s so much camaraderie and I think it’s working in our favor,” she tells the BBC. "It’s amazing to see so many women putting out albums at the same time. And everyone is so different, with such different stories to tell, so why isn’t there room for everyone?”
That extends to live performances, as well: Dua and SZA are both headlining this year's Glastonbury Festival in England, marking the first time there are two female headliners.
“I feel so lucky to be a part of that shift,” says Dua. “It’s important to have more female headliners. We’ve just got to keep applying the pressure and making that change happen.”
The BBC describes Dua's new album as "11 tight, summer holiday-ready pop bangers" — but notes that the lyrics have depth.
“As a pop artist, there's always the stigma of not being taken seriously,” she says. “Pop music makes you feel good, so it can't be deep, or honest, or real. But it's a challenge I'm willing to take on: Putting the meaning back into pop.”
As for the meaning of Radical Optimism, Dua told TIME on the red carpet at the Time100 gala in New York City in April, "To me it's about resilience, it's about rolling with the punches ... when you're outside of your comfort zone, that's where you do most of your emotional growing. And so you have to be uncomfortable a little bit before things get good."
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreDua Lipa releases 'Radical Optimism,' says she's working on "putting the meaning back into pop"
She's working late, 'cause she's a singer. Sabrina Carpenter will be the musical guest on the May 18 episode of Saturday Night Live. This marks Sabrina's first appearance on the long-running sketch comedy show, which will serve as the 49th season's finale. "SABRINA NIGHT LIVE," Sabrina wrote on her Instagram.
Nick Jonas will star alongside Paul Rudd in the new musical comedy Power Ballad, Deadline reports.
Once and Sing Street director John Carney will helm the film about a rock star, played by Nick, and a wedding singer, played by Paul, and a song that comes between them.
What if she told you she's a mastermind? Taylor Swift has seemingly confirmed a theory about how her albums Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department are connected. She liked a fan's video on Instagram about how the last song on Midnights, "Hits Different," and the first Tortured Poets track, "Fortnight," work in tandem. The final "Hits Different" lyric notably goes, “Is that your key in the door/ Is it OK?/ Is it you?/ Or have they come to take me away?” while Taylor sings on the opening line of "Fortnight," “I was supposed to be sent away/ But they forgot to come and get me.”
Speaking of Taylor, you can now use her music in as many TikToks as you please. Universal Music Group, which represents Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Adele, has come to a new licensing agreement with TikTok, which means the music from all of its artists will return to the social media platform.
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