Call Her Daddy
From touring with Taylor Swift in 2013 to selling out stadiums on his own in the years since, Ed Sheeran has performed on some pretty big stages in his career — but the Super Bowl Halftime Show probably won’t ever be added to that list, he says.
On the latest episode of Call Her Daddy posted Tuesday (April 8), the “Bad Habits” singer opened up about his friendship with the Eras superstar as well as revealed whether he’d ever headline the biggest American sporting event of the year. When host Alex Cooper asked if he’d ever been asked to play the Super Bowl, he began, “There was a conversation about 10 years ago to go on with someone, and I think that’d be the only way that I would do it at the moment.”
“I don’t think English artists … I mean, there are some that have the pizazz of Super Bowl, fireworks, dancers, blah, blah, blah, but me going up there and being like, here’s ‘The A Team’ and here’s ‘Perfect,’ no one wants to see that,” Sheeran continued, laughing. “Whereas if there was a show with a lot of that, like if it was Beyoncé’s show, and she had all the bells and whistles, and then there was a moment where we sang ‘Perfect’ together, that makes sense to me.”
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The four-time Grammy winner did say that he thinks he could “nail one song” as a guest artist sharing the Super Bowl stage with someone else, but beyond that, he thinks his catalog “doesn’t really lend itself” to the high-energy gameday environment. “Have you seen me play as well? Because it’s with a loop pedal and you have to build the things,” he added. “Doesn’t really lend itself to the Super Bowl. ‘Hey, hang on guys. I’ve just gotta set this up for two minutes.’ You know?”
The interview comes about two months after the 2024 Super Bowl, which Kendrick Lamar headlined with assistance from SZA. In recent years, Usher, Rihanna and The Weeknd have also all added the coveted gig to their resumes.
One star who has generated much speculation over the past few years as to whether she might ever headline is Swift, whom Sheeran has known for more than a decade. Also on Call Her Daddy, the “Shape of You” musician opened up about his longtime friendship with the pop star, sharing that he recently went through their text conversations after being forced to dig out his old devices while preparing his defense for his ongoing legal battle over copyright issues.
“It was really nostalgic going through,” he told Cooper. “I lived in Nashville, and she lived in Nashville, and we used to fly to and from the gigs together and do all sorts of … I don’t know. I literally spent almost every single day with her for about six months, so I think that period of time [was my favorite].”
Sheeran opened for Swift on the North American leg of her global trek supporting 2012’s Red album, on which the pair had a duet titled “Everything Has Changed.” The two singers have since worked together on several more duets, including “End Game” on Swift’s Reputation (2017) and “The Joker and the Queen” on Sheeran’s = (2021).
Now, the British star says he probably sees the “Karma” artist “like, four times a year.” “I see her when I see her,” he said on Call Her Daddy. “Like, instead of catching up the whole time, we have a proper sit-down, six-hour catchups, and I think that’s like a really nice way to do it.”
Watch Sheeran’s full interview above.
As Ed Sheeran readies the release of his forthcoming eighth album, he’s revealed that fans won’t be left waiting too long between singles for fresh material given the record’s “broad” range of sounds.
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Sheeran’s comments were made during his appearance on the latest episode of Call Her Daddy, where he spoke with host Alex Cooper about his lyrics, his favorite memory of Taylor Swift, and the embarrassing story of being caught naked in a hotel lobby.
The conversation also switched to the discussion of Sheeran’s new music, which includes the recently-released single “Azizam,” which will feature on his forthcoming album Play. While a release date for the record is yet to arrive, Sheeran used his appearance on Call Her Daddy to talk about the music that is still to come in the near future.
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“My idea was because the album is so broad, I didn’t want to just be like, ‘Here’s the single. Here’s the album,’ so there’s music coming every sort of two, three weeks,” he explains. “So there’s ‘Azizam’ now, there’s a song called ‘Old Phone’ that comes out in a couple of weeks, and then after that there’s another song coming.
“We shot all these videos and I’m less about single moments and more about, I want people to sort of feel the breadth of the record and I’m very confident that one of the songs will work, but it’s more about just putting ’em out and letting people hear some of the record before it’s out rather than what I’ve done before, which is just like, ‘Here’s my first single. Here’s the album,’ and yeah.”
While Sheeran has already given fans a preview of “Old Phone” by playing it live on The Tonight Show, Cooper also queried the English musician as to how his new music differs compared to what he had released on previous albums.
“It’s definitely different. I think I’ve been more explorative with this album,” Sheeran explained. “I kind of had an attitude of ‘Why the f–k not?’ and not really felt like I have to be in a box of being a singer-songwriter, of like, ‘I have to do this or I have to do that,’ and I lived in India for a little bit and worked with a load of Indian musicians and producers and blah, blah, blah.
“I made a song like ‘Azizam’ with Ilya who’s Persian and that’s in that world and ‘Old Phone’ I think is more in a Nashville country world and there’s just lots of different moments on the record, and the record is called Play and therefore it has to be playful. It has to be celebratory.”
Sheeran’s forthcoming eighth LP follows on from the release of his two 2023 albums, − and Autumn Variations, which peaked at No. 2 and No. 4 on the Billboard 200, respectively. They were his first records not to peak atop the chart since the release of his 2011 debut, +, and were followed in November 2024 with the standalone single “Under the Tree,” as featured in the Netflix film That Christmas.
As Sheeran explained during his chat with Cooper, the general vibe of Play is set to be far different to what what had arrived on his most recent albums.
“I released two albums that kind of, well, one was the sort of main album and one sort of came off the back of it, but they were both very depressing about quite hard hitting subjects, very muted,” he added.
“I still think they’re beautiful records, but I feel like coming out of that, of you know, going through grief and all that sort of stuff coming out, I needed to have something that felt bright and colorful and playful and that’s where doing St. Patrick’s Day, playing at Tootsie’s in Nashville, doing the New Orleans thing, the whole record just has to feel like fun and exciting.”
Alex Cooper is expanding her broadcasting duties even further in 2025, with SiriusXM announcing new exclusive programming as part of a multi-year agreement with the world’s most-listened-to female podcaster.
Beginning on Feb. 11, Cooper – the host and executive producer of the Call Her Daddy podcast – will give SiriusXM subscribers the chance to get closer to her and the Unwell Network with two new channels and live shows.
The first of these, Unwell Music, is curated by Cooper and is presented as a mixtape featuring the songs that have scored her life. Broadcasting contemporary hits alongside nostalgic pop anthems, Unwell Music will feature names such as Miley Cyrus, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyoncé, Gracie Abrams and more. Alongside its eclectic playlist, the music will also be complemented by personal commentary from Cooper and behind-the-scenes stories.
The second of these channels, Unwell On Air, is designed to deliver a “live and curated pulse on what’s trending now”. In addition to highlights from the Unwell Network’s podcasts, it will also feature live daily programming that puts their Daddy Gang fanbase as the center of the conversation.
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This live programming includes Dialled In, which sees hosts Rachel Friedman and Montaine taking calls from listeners about relationship problems, friendship drama, and more. Dialled In airs from Monday to Friday at 7pm ET (4pm PT).
The programming also features The Daily Dirty, which sees hosts Sequoia Holmes, Fiona Shea and Hannah Kosh providing an hour-long catch-up focusing on pop culture-focused sharp takes, candid conversations, and playful segments. The Daily Dirty airs from Monday to Friday at 6pm ET (3pm PT).
“I’m constantly trying to find new ways to interact with my audience and with Unwell Music and Unwell On Air I’m able to deliver brand new daily live shows and playlists curated specifically by me,” said Cooper in a statement. “I can’t wait for everyone to experience a whole new world of Unwell.”
“Alex Cooper and her Unwell brand continue to be at the vanguard of pop culture with their authentic and unfiltered approach,” said Scott Greenstein, President, and Chief Content Officer at SiriusXM. “With the launch of Unwell Music and Unwell On Air, Alex is creating something that is only possible through the power of SiriusXM: a live 24/7 audio destination for her fans to immerse themselves further into her world. We can’t wait for you to hear what she has in store.”
Cooper first rose to fame with the Call Her Daddy in 2018, which was swiftly acquired by Barstool Sports shortly after its launch. In 2021, Spotify took ownership thanks to a $60M deal before it found a new home with SiriusXM in August 2024. The multi-year agreement provides SiriusXM with exclusive advertising and distribution rights, content, events, and more for both the Call Her Daddy podcast and the other titles on the Unwell Network – the production house Cooper founded in 2023.
SiriusXM signed a multi-year agreement with podcast star Alex Cooper that will give the company exclusive advertising and distribution rights to Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast as well as other titles under Unwell Audio Network, a production house she founded in 2023. Cooper became a leading Gen Z media figure when Call Her Daddy launched […]
Camila Cabello is headed to Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, and it’s already sure to be a juicy conversation. In a Monday (March 4) TikTok teaser posted two days ahead of the episode, Cooper gave fans a sneak peek at the topics she broached with the 27-year-old singer-songwriter during the interview, spanning everything from […]
Through the ups and downs, Offset’s marriage with Cardi B has persevered, and in a new Call Her Daddy episode, the Migos rapper opened up about re-establishing trust with his Grammy-winning wife after he was caught cheating.
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“First off by like respecting her position, right?” Offset told host Alex Cooper of his process of healing his relationship. “We’re both public figures, we’re both in the eyes of people. Stop being selfish. You’re married to this woman, be dedicated to this woman. And also, just like being more communicative about s—. Like, we just talk more and, because, you know, work was getting in the way, sometimes and it was like, [phew] and we would talk all the time but communication is key. If you don’t like some s—, tell me, and if I don’t like some s—, I’ll tell you. We talk and communication is key. Not communicating f—s s— up.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Offset sweetly shared the qualities that drew him to the Bronx rapper in the first place. “I had seen her online, and I just loved the way how raw she was and how confident she was,” he shared. “She didn’t give a f— what nobody thought, nobody think, nothin’. And it’s just like damn, that’s fire. Funny, great personality, from what I could see, you know I’m saying? Like that’s a funny girl, she’s a cool girl, and then I shot my shot and I swished it.”
Listen to the full Call Her Daddy episode here.
Back in 2017, just two months after Offset proposed to Cardi, a video surfaced of what appeared to be Offset with another naked woman in a hotel. The Migos rapper reportedly claimed that his iCloud was hacked. Days later, a model named Celine Powell claimed to be pregnant with Offset’s baby.
A few months later, in April 2018, Cardi opened up about her situation with Offset with Cosmopolitan. “It’s like everybody is coming down my neck like, ‘Why are you not leaving him? You have low self-esteem.’ I don’t have low self-esteem … I know I look good,” Cardi said in the interview. “I know I’m rich, I know I’m talented. I know I could get any man I want — any basketball player, football player. But I want to work out my s–t with my man, and I don’t got to explain why. I’m not your property. This is my life … I’m going to take my time, and I’m going to decide on my decision … it’s not right, what he f–king did — but people don’t know what I did, ’cause I ain’t no angel.” She wrapped up with a hilarious question for her haters: “Since when are all these women dating pastors and deacons?”
Before he was a chart-topping rapper-turned-rockstar, Post Malone was just a kid who got his alias from a rap name generator and was bullied throughout school for his “weirdo” personality.
On the latest episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the “Circles” singer opened up about his humble beginnings growing up in upstate New York, sharing he used to picked on quite a bit by his classmates. “I’ve always been kind of an introverted kid,” he explained. “I loved to express, I love making music forever, I love playing games. Weird, a little weirdo.”
“I moved when I was nine, and then I used to get bullied a whole bunch in school,” he continued. “I guess for dressing the way I did. We wore skinny jeans and all that stuff, and that was just kind of like a new deal. I don’t know. And people’d throw gum in my hair… Kids are mean.”
On another note, when asked which of his famous tattoos he’d remove, Post replied, “For my mommy, something on my face.”
The 28-year-old artist is fresh off the Friday (July 28) release of his new album Austin, named after his own real first name (Post is actually his legal last time, and as he shared with Cooper, “Malone” was suggested by an online generator). He’s currently in the middle of a global trek dubbed the If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying Tour. Just after recording his Call Her Daddy episode, he performed in Boston and brought out his “Dial Drunk” collaborator, Noah Kahan, for a surprise performance.
The “Sunflower” musician also touched on his relationship to alcohol and misconceptions that he’s on drugs, both of which he spoke about previously in a recent interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. “Everybody thinks I’m on drugs,” he told Cooper. “I am not on drugs. People can see me on stage and they might take my dance moves, people are like, this is what meth looks like… like I’m not on meth.”
Listen to Post Malone’s full Call Her Daddy interview here.
Since his exit from One Direction eight years ago, Zayn Malik has become notorious for his reclusive approach to press and traditional avenues of music promotion. But as the star preps the release of his new single “Love Like This,” he is officially re-entering the interview arena.
For his first interview in six years, Malik was announced as the latest guest on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast on Tuesday (July 11). In a preview clip posted to the podcast’s social media pages, Zayn reveals why he chose this moment to return to the limelight in a more open way. “I feel like we were so overexposed in the band that that’s why I took the time that I have to not even necessarily do interviews,” he said.
It’s easy to see why Malik feels that way — from 2011 to 2015, One Direction pumped out five studio albums, four world tours, two concert films and a documentary, as well as collecting four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Zayn ultimately decided to leave the group before the release of their fifth studio album, saying in a 2015 statement, “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
In the teaser clip for his upcoming interview, Zayn tells Cooper that he grew weary of the stereotypes being used within the boy band. “They just said, ‘Oh yeah, you can be the mysterious one.’ That wasn’t necessarily my personality, I’m just chill,” he said. “I know that a lot of people have high-energy personalities, and it’s just not the way I am.”
In 2020, Zayn welcomed his first child, a daughter, with model Gigi Hadid; in the episode preview, the singer credits his daughter for giving him the confidence to sit down for the interview. “Since I’ve had my daughter, the main thing in my mind is trying to be a good example for her,” he said. “That’s why I’m even doing this interview. I used to get a lot of anxiety around having a conversation like this, and I want her to look at me and be like, ‘Yo, my dad’s doing this!’”
The preview clip also featured Zayn embracing his newfound affinity for “dad jokes,” and gushing about how his daughter has brought “the color back” into his life. Zayn’s Call Her Daddy interview will be available on Wednesday, July 12. His new single, “Love Like This,” is slated for a July 21 release.
Check out the full preview here:
Christina Aguilera knows “What a Girl Wants,” so she launched her own sexual wellness brand Playground aimed at empowering women. And in a revealing Wednesday (April 5) appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the 42-year-old pop legend promoted her products while diving deep into her life and career, touching on everything from the surprising age she lost her virginity to battling double standards as a young artist.
Though she didn’t reveal the exact time in life she lost her V-card, Aguilera shared that “it was later than you would think, given the girl that was doing ‘Dirrty’ and all this stuff.” “It’s so funny that I gave this persona because I probably was the last person to lose my virginity,” the vocalist said, referencing the explicitness of her earlier songs and music videos.
“[Sex] was something that was for me,” she added. “I guess that’s why my messages went the way they did, too, because I owned it first, maybe.”
Speaking of her early days, the five-time Grammy winner opened up about feeling misunderstood by the public and villainized by the media when she was promoting her album Stripped in 2002, which she said is her favorite era in her decades-long career. “I was like, ‘I have to do songs that mean something to me and are valid to who I am and being fearless and talking about anything,’” Aguilera told Cooper. “And that includes sexuality! I felt that there was a lot of shame and fear around the subject … so I just wanted to be who I was and make a safe space for everyone to feel food — and make it a conversation.”
“Growing up in this business, they’re gonna see you as a teenager, kid, they’re gonna see you as a young woman coming into your body, expressing yourself,” added the star, who as a young performer was on The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the early ’90s. “They’re gonna see you pregnant. They’re gonna see you go through the gambit of different places and stages in your life where you’re different kinds of weights. It’s so hard to just be inundated with different opinions.”
In addition to reflecting on growing up in an abusive household and giving pointers on her favorite X-rated activities, Aguilera also spoke about why she’s such a fan of her own Playground products, sharing that she prioritizes “defending or celebrating or opening conversations and doors for women to feel safe enough to talk about their sexuality and what that means for them.” “Everybody is so different and there is no shame in the game,” she added.
Listen to Christina Aguilera’s episode of Call Her Daddy below:
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