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Paul Rudd Stars in Claud’s ‘A Good Thing’ Music Video After Meeting on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Claud is such a big fan of Paul Rudd that they actually have a song titled “Paul Rudd” on their album Supermodels. According to the singer-songwriter, the two had a serendipitous encounter on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour that resulted in Rudd being cast in their new music video — for another track, “A Good Thing.”

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Following the release of “A Good Thing,” Claud explained how the unexpected yet delightful collaboration came to be.

“I randomly met him in passing at The Eras Tour, like at the Taylor Swift concert,” they said in a TikTok clip uploaded on Saturday (July 15). “I walked past the VIP tent, and I was like, ‘Paul Rudd, this sounds kinda weird, but there’s a song on my album. The song’s called ‘Paul Rudd.’ I hope this isn’t weird.’”

They continued, “And he was like, so nice about it, and he gave me his email. He was like, ‘Send it to me. I’d love to hear your album.’ So I sent him my album.”

“Can’t believe you trusted me with your email,” Claud added as a side note to Rudd.

“I explained I called this song ‘Paul Rudd’ because it’s me trying to envision myself as this cool and confident and charismatic, lovable character that you play, and that you just are in real life, that I’m often not. And he responded he loved the album.”

Claud took a chance and invited Rudd to the set for an upcoming music video.

“I was like, ‘We’re filming a music video for the song ‘A Good Thing.’ If you happen to be free on this day, would you ever consider stopping by?’ And he came for the whole entire day. He stayed for like five hours,” they said.

“It was the best day of my life,” added Claud.

Claud also shared a selfie with Rudd on Sunday, captioning the snapshot: “Me and Paul meeting at eras tour. Photo creds @phoebebridgers … no sorry you are not going to hear the end of this.”

Watch Claud’s “A Good Thing” music video, starring Rudd as a quirky mailman who’s not very good at delivering mail, below.



Zayn Malik Previews ‘Love Like This’ in New Video Teaser: Watch

Zayn Malik is giving fans another glimpse at “Love Like This,” his first release on Mercury Records, due out on July 21.

The pop star gives viewers a very intense stare in the new sneak peek of the song posted on Instagram Sunday evening (July 16).

He also teased “Love Like This” last week, when he announced the single with a clip of him shirtless and spray-painting the song’s title and release date onto a wall. Prior to that he’d dropped other short videos featuring snippets of the track.

The new single is the former One Direction singer’s first solo release since his 2021 album Nobody Is Listening, which preceded an Ingrid Michaelson collaboration, “To Begin Again,” and a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel.” It’s also the first music he’s sharing since departing from RCA Records.

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Sources have told Billboard that Zayn’s music will sound quite different than previous hits like “Pillowtalk” and his Taylor Swift duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

Watch Zayn’s latest “Love Like This” preview below, and listen to the full song on July 21.

Marcus Mumford Sings Taylor Swift’s ‘Cowboy Like Me’ With Maggie Rogers

Taylor Swift‘s “Cowboy Like Me” found a new partner in crime at the inaugural Sommo Festival this weekend.

Marcus Mumford brought Maggie Rogers to the stage to join him on the Evermore song at the Canada music festival held in Cavendish, on Prince Edward Island, where Rogers headlined Friday night (July 14) and Mumford & Sons headlined Saturday night (July 15).

As part of the encore Mumford joked that there comes a time when “all there is left to do, the only choice we have, is to play a Taylor Swift song.”

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He took the first verse of “Cowboy Like Me.” Rogers came in to harmonize with his vocals and then took over on the second verse: “Never wanted love, just a fancy car/ Now I’m waiting by the phone like I’m sitting in an airport bar,” she sang.

The Mumford & Sons frontman is featured on background vocals on the studio version of “Cowboy Like Me,” which was recorded at Mumford’s Scarlet Pimpernel Studios.

Swift welcomed him to the stage when she debuted the song live during the Las Vegas stop of the The Eras Tour in March. Mumford had previously performed the song solo on his own tour.

Watch Mumford and Rogers’ duet of “Cowboy Like Me” below.

Jason Aldean Suffers From ‘Heat Exhaustion,’ Ends Concert Early in Hartford

Jason Aldean‘s summer tour didn’t start off the way he’d planned. The country star, who kicked off his Highway Desperado Tour this weekend, swiftly exited the stage and ended his show early Saturday night (July 15) in Hartford, Connecticut, due to dehydration and heat exhaustion.

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Aldean said on Sunday that he’s doing well now, and his upcoming tour dates will go on as scheduled.

“Yesterday’s Jason Aldean show will be rescheduled for a future date,” read a statement posted by Hartford’s Xfinity Theatre Sunday morning. “We appreciate your patience as we work on rescheduling a new date, as well as the outpouring of well wishes for Jason. A rep has confirmed he is now doing well after experiencing heat stroke during last night’s performance.”

Aldean chimed in himself with a video message to fans on social media later in the day. The clip was uploaded to his Twitter account and on Instagram Stories.

“I’ve had a lot of people checking on me today after hearing about what happened last night at the show in Connecticut,” Aldean said to the camera.

He assured fans that he is “doing fine. Just one of those things. It was hot, I was playing golf all day yesterday and then got to the show. There was a combination of dehydration and just heat exhaustion. I’m hearing a lot of stuff going around, ‘heat stroke,’ all this stuff. I don’t think it was quite that serious, but it was pretty intense last night at the show. Anybody that was at the show knows how hot it was.”

Aldean described the moment he left the stage: “I knew it was coming. I was trying to get through as much of the show as I could, and eventually I knew it wasn’t going to happen and I was trying to just get off stage and figure out what was going on.”

“Not what I was hoping for on our first weekend of the tour by any means,” noted Aldean, who said he was given IV fluids to treat his symptoms.

The singer confirmed that he will perform in Saratoga Springs, New York, Sunday night, and that he will make up the Hartford show.

Fans Choose Jung Kook & Latto’s ‘Seven’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Jung Kook‘s “Seven,” featuring Latto, has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 14) on Billboard, choosing the collaboration between the beloved BTS member and rap star as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Seven” brought in nearly 96% of the vote, beating out new music by Billie Eilish (“What Was I Made For?”), Troye Sivan (“Rush”), Post Malone (“Overdrive”), Lil Tjay (222), and others.

The music video for the track finds BTS singer-songwriter engulfed in a heated exchange with Han So-hee, who stars in the clip as his on-screen girlfriend, while the two are out at a high-end dinner. A chandelier then falls from the ceiling, disrupting the other patrons while Jung Kook and Han So-hee remained in their argument. “Weight of the world on your shoulders/ I catch your waist and ease your mind,” Jung Kook croons over sultry guitar licks.

When the news of the team-up first broke, Latto tweeted “S/O to the Army,” alongside three “7” emojis, a reference to both the song’s title and her own jackpot imagery. The announcement adds to the “Big Energy” superstar’s big year, as she’s fresh off the release of her Cardi B-assisted “Put It On Da Floor Again,” which hit No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Jung Kook’s last solo release was “Dreamers,” a song for the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack that peaked at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales.

The breezy pop tune marks the first collaboration between Jung Kook and Latto.

Trailing behind “Seven” on the poll is Eilish’s emotional Barbie soundtrack song “What Was I Made For?” In the track, which brought in nearly 3% of the vote, the 23-year-old ponders her identity and reason for existence.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

Taylor Swift Has Four of the Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200 Chart

As Taylor Swift achieves her 12th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated July 22) with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), she also populates the top 10 with three of her former No. 1s, marking the first time in nearly 60 years that a living artist has at least four albums at the same time in the top 10.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by her former chart-toppers Midnights (falling 4-5), Lover (8-7) and Folklore (13-10). She is the first living act to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the April 2, 1966-dated chart, when Herb Alpert also had four albums in the top 10 (Going Places at No. 2, Whipped Cream & Other Delights at No. 3, South of the Border at No. 9 and The Lonely Bull at No. 10).

Between Alpert and Swift, only one other act has placed at least four titles in the top 10 concurrently, and that was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he had five albums in the top 10 dated May 14, 2016. That week, the Purple One reigned in the top 10 with The Very Best of Prince (falling 1-2), the Purple Rain soundtrack (with The Revolution, 2-3), The Hits/The B-Sides (6-4), Ultimate (61-6) and 1999 (31-7). (Swift is also the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Speak Now’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With 2023’s Biggest Week

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 22), launching with the year’s biggest week for any album, and gives Swift her 12th No. 1, surpassing Barbra Streisand for the most No. 1 albums among women.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) bows with 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 13, according to Luminate, of which 507,000 are in traditional album sales. Both figures represent the largest week for any album in 2023 and the best since Swift’s last studio album, Midnights, debuted with 1.58 million units, of which 1.14 million were in album sales, last year (week ending Oct. 27, 2022; as reflected on the Nov. 5-dated Billboard 200).

2023’s previous largest week, by equivalent album units earned, was tallied by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which launched with 501,000 units in the week ending March 9, as reflected on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18. The year’s largest sales week was held by the debut frame of Stray Kids5-STAR with 235,000 copies sold in the week ending June 8, as reflected on the June 17-dated charts.

Further, Swift has a total of four albums in the top 10 at the same time on the new Billboard 200, as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by her former chart-toppers Midnights (falling 4-5), Lover (8-7) and Folklore (13-10). She is the first living act to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the April 2, 1966-dated chart, when Herb Alpert also had four albums in the top 10 (Going Places at No. 2, Whipped Cream & Other Delights at No. 3, South of the Border at No. 9, and The Lonely Bull at No. 10).

Between Alpert and Swift, only one other act has placed at least four titles in the top 10 concurrently, and that was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he had five albums in the top 10 dated May 14, 2016. (Swift is the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 No. 1 Billboard 200 studio album Speak Now. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021. Both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on May 5, the same day she began taking pre-orders for the album via her official webstore. The set sold as a digital download album, double-CD, double-cassette and in three color vinyl LP variants (orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color). It was also available to stream in its standard 22-track edition.  On the final day (July 13) of the album’s debut tracking week, Swift released a deluxe digital album download of the set exclusively sold through her official webstore, which added two bonus live tracks recorded during her ongoing The Eras Tour (“Dear John” and “Last Kiss,” both of which were originally released in their studio form on the Speak Now album in 2010).

Swift celebrated the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) during her Kansas City stop of The Eras Tour on July 7, where she premiered the music video for the album’s “From the Vault” track “I Can See You.” On stage, Swift was joined by the clip’s three co-stars, actors Taylor Lautner, Joey King and Presley Cash.

12 No. 1s: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks Swift’s 12th No. 1 on the Billboard 200, pushing her past Streisand (with 11 No. 1s) for the most chart-toppers among women since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. Swift ties Drake for the third-most No. 1s among all acts, with only The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (14) ahead of them.

Five Years in a Row of New No. 1 Albums: Swift is the only act to have achieved a new No. 1 album in each of the last five calendar years — 2019-23. She topped the list in 2019 with Lover; in 2020 she led with Folklore and Evermore; in 2021 she ruled with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version); in 2020 Midnights arrived; and in 2023 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has now debuted. Swift is the only woman with five consecutive years of new No. 1 albums. Previously, she was tied with Miley Cyrus for the most consecutive years of new No. 1s (Cyrus did it four years in a row, from 2006-09, including titles billed to her former Disney Channel alter ego Hannah Montana). The only other acts with at least five years in a row of new No. 1s are The Beatles (seven years, 1964-70), Drake (five years, 2015-19), Jay-Z (five years, 2000-04) and Paul McCartney (five years, 1973-77).

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 716,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 13, album sales comprise 507,000, SEA units comprise 206,000 (equaling 269.33 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 22 songs – the third-largest streaming week of 2023 and the second-largest streaming debut frame of the year) and TEA units comprise 3,000.

Country Time: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) scores the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a country album since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014. It surpasses the previous best week in that span of time, notched by the opening week of Swift’s own Red (Taylor’s Version), with 605,000 units in 2021. Plus, with 507,000 copies sold in its first week, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) garners the largest sales week for a country album in nearly 10 years, since the debut frame of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (528,000 on the chart dated Aug. 31, 2013). (Country albums are those that have charted on, or are eligible for, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

Version Vs. Version: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) logs the biggest week of the three re-recorded Swift albums, surpassing the opening frames of Red (Taylor’s Version) (605,000 in 2021) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (291,000; 2021). First-week sales of Red (Taylor’s Version) were enhanced by the availability of CDs signed by Swift sold in her webstore and via independent retailers. Fearless (Taylor Version)’s first-week did not include any signed copies or vinyl LP sales — which are traditionally quite large for Swift — as its vinyl did not arrive until months after the set’s initial release.

Swift Has Four of the Top Five Biggest Weeks Since 2019: Since January 2019, four of the top-five biggest weeks, by units earned, have been tallied by the debut frame of a Swift release: Midnights (1.578 million; 2022), Lover (867,000; 2019), Folklore (846,000; 2020) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (716,000; 2023). The only non-Swift week among the top five largest frames since January 2019 is the opening week of Adele’s 30, with 839,000 units in 2021.

Second-Largest Vinyl Sales Week in Modern Era: Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 507,000 first-week copies sold, vinyl sales comprise 268,500 — the second-largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. It is second only to the first week of Midnights’ vinyl LP, with 575,000 sold in its opening frame.

2023’s Second-Biggest Selling Album After One Week on Sale: After only one week on sale, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is 2023’s second-largest selling album. The year’s top-seller remains Swift’s own Midnights, with 636,000 sold in 2023. Midnights was the top-selling album of 2022, with 1.818 million sold that year.

Nine Albums With Half-Million-Plus Sales in a Single Week: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks the ninth Swift album to have sold at least 500,000 copies in a single week in the U.S. Since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991, Swift is the only act with nine different albums to sell at least a half-million copies in a single week.

As for the rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200… Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 2 with 104,000 equivalent album units (down 6%). One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 19 of its chart weeks. It extends its own record as the album with the most weeks of 100,000-plus units since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014.

Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape falls 1-3 on the Billboard 200 in its second week (61,000 equivalent album units earned; down 64%), Peso Pluma’s Génesis dips 3-4 (59,000; down 14%) and Swift’s Midnights is pushed down 4-5 (55,000; though up 2%).

Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album falls 5-6 (46,000 equivalent album units; down 4%); Swift’s Lover climbs 8-7 (45,000; up 3%); SZA’s former No. 1 SOS descends 6-8 (44,000; down 1%); and Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse falls 7-9 (42,000; down 3%). Swift’s Folklore returns to the top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, as the set rises 13-10 (33,000; up 5%). Folklore was last in the top 10 on the chart dated Aug. 7, 2021, when it ranked at No. 9.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Britney Spears Sings ‘Jesus Loves Me’ & ‘Amazing Grace’ While Horseback Riding on the Beach

Britney Spears was in a singing mood during a recent visit to the coast.

On Saturday (July 15), the 41-year-old pop superstar shared a video on Instagram of herself singing a pair of Christian hymns while horseback riding along the beach.

“Southern girl singing on my horse!!!” Spears captioned the clip.

In the self-recorded video, the “…Baby One More Time” songstress is seen wearing a yellow and white bikini top while relaxing atop a horse and showing off beautiful waves crashing onto the shore. She opens by singing the hymn “Jesus Loves Me” before transitioning to “Amazing Grace.”

Spears hasn’t released a new album since 2016’s Glory, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Last year, she teamed up with Elton John on “Hold Me Closer,” a fresh take on his 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer.” The collab bowed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The pop princess’ beach video arrives days after she revealed that her long-awaited memoir, The Woman in Me, will be released on Oct. 24. The book’s cover features a picture of a topless Spears wearing silver pants, with her arms covering her breasts.

Watch Spears sing “Jesus Loves Me” and “Amazing Grace” while horseback riding on Instagram here.

Carlee Russell, Black Alabama Woman Reported Missing, Found Alive #CarleeRussell

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Carlee Russell

Carlee Russell, a 25-year-old Black woman from Alabama who was reported missing late last week, has been found alive and currently receiving treatment at a local hospital for evaluation. Carlee Russell was first reported missing last Thursday (July 13) but was found and returned home Saturday evening (July 15).

As reported by local news outlet WVTM, Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell reportedly made a 911 call saying that she saw a toddler wandering near a local interstate exit on her way home from her job at a nearby day spa. Russell was said to have stopped to speak to the child after speaking with her family who then lost contact with her. Russell’s car later was found intact at the site of the reported missing child but neither she nor the child was located.

Alarms were raised because many online noted that a common tactic used by human traffickers is to have a child or person looking lost in a remote or unoccupied area as bait. A trucker also told authorities they saw Russell’s car and that a grey vehicle pulled up in front of it.

A report from AL.com adds that Russell returned home Saturday to her family’s home in Hoover, Ala., and she was then taken to a hospital for treatment. It isn’t known where Russell was or what occurred in the time two days that she was reported missing. Russell was apparently on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she reportedly spotted the toddler near I-459.

On Twitter, speculation over the case of Carlee Russell prompted a number of responses ranging from concern and then skepticism. There were even some believing the incident was a hoax.

If further details are revealed to the public, we will update this post. For now, please see some of the reactions from Twitter.

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Steph Curry Hits Hole-In-One During Celebrity Golf Tourney

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2023 American Century Championship - Day Two

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Steph Curry makes shots, no matter the sports. The NBA superstar made a hole-in-one during a celebrity golf tournament, adding another clip to his already impressive highlight reel.

On Saturday (July 15), Chef Curry made a hole-in-one at the American Century Championship celebrity tournament in Stateline, Nevada. Of course, a clip of the shot made it online and Curry can be seen hitting the golf ball, watching the drive and then excitedly sprinting down the fairway at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course to the green while celebrating like he just hit one of his NBA game-winners. He also slapped the flagstick for good measure.

“That was wild,” Curry told ESPN about the shot. “It was good contact, right at the stick, but even if you’re painting the flag and it looks good, you never really expect it to go in. I just saw a bunch of hands go up, and then you just kind of black out.”

When golf and Black people are involved, we thoroughly approve.

“Shooters Shoot!!! Hole In One vibes out here in Lake Tahoe,” wrote Curry on Twitter along with a photo of his scorecard after his feat.

Other celebrities participating in the golf tournament include Charles Barkley, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo.

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