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Ava Max is leaning into the art of reverse psychology ahead of the release of her new music, which the singer cleverly teased via a fake petition posted online Wednesday (April 9).
The premise was simple: On her social media accounts, Max shared a photo of herself with her face half-painted in theatrical makeup along with a link to a website called “DontClickPlayOnAvaMax.com.” She also posted a picture of a roadside “Don’t Click Play on Ava Max” billboard.
Once on the site, visitors were shown a “Sign the Petition” button, which, upon being clicked, rather than taking people to an actual online petition, gave the option of listening to a snippet of Max’s new song via Apple Music, Spotify or email. On the unreleased track, the vocalist sings over an angelic swell of synths, “I don’t need nobody, I’m loving myself/ Tonight, it’s all about me, it’s good for my health/ I know how to please me, I don’t need no help/ Nobody can love me like I’m loving myself.”
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The unorthodox promotional tactic comes about two months after the dance-pop star dropped her latest single, “Lost Your Faith,” which followed October’s “1 Wish.” Max last dropped an album in 2023, with sophomore effort Diamonds & Dancefloors debuting at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 — only after its release was delayed due to the musician struggling with people leaking her music, a problem she recently said she’s facing again.
“ok yes I have a lot of demos I’ve written that are not finalized records, and I’d appreciate it if you stop leaking these records,” she wrote on her Instagram Story in January. “A lot of records I write do not ever see the light of day and I understand your frustration, but this is not right. I write a lot of records I wish I could put out … I will find out who did this. Like I usually do. So plz Stop.” A
She added at the time, “I’ve never posted about this since the leak of my second album prematurely. Plz respect my art so I can keep working on making the songs I wanna put out that make sense for my project, and who I am perfect for you.”
See Max’s “Don’t Click Play” campaign below.
These two titans of music have come a long way.
Lorde seems to finally be answering her fans’ prayers for new music, with the pop star randomly dropping a snippet of an unreleased song on TikTok Wednesday (April 9) ahead of her highly anticipated fourth studio album. In the seconds-long clip, Lorde — wearing a white button-down and jeans — films herself walking through Washington […]
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.
What is the scent profile of Duran Duran? It’s an intriguing question that, until now, didn’t have a definitive answer. It feels safe to assume that the members of the always well-appointed new wave group would never leave the house with an unbecoming scent (or their hair just so).
But now you can get the actual eau du Duran thanks to the band’s collaboration with Italian luxury perfume house Xerjoff on two unisex perfumes created with Singer Simon Le Bon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes, along with bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor. Rhodes tells Billboard that the two scents, NeoRio and Black Moonlight, are the perfect parfum essences to encapsulate the long-running group’s dueling musical personas.
“We’ve spent our entire careers dealing with two senses: sounds and vision, which we’ve primarily used to communicate and try to excite other people’s sense,” says Rhodes, 62. “And the thought of adding a third, sense of smell in this case, was enormously appealing.” Rhodes says his band was inspired to work with Xerjoff after the company’s 2021 collaboration with Black Sabbath guitarist, and fellow Birmingham, U.K. native, Tony Iommi on his Monkey Special scent.
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Rhodes says the band approached the idea of a scent just as they would songwriting, with a “blank sheet,” providing the Xerjoff team with a list of smells they liked. “Some people like the smell of freshly cut grass, nobody doesn’t like that,” Rhodes says. “But it doesn’t mean you want to smell like that all day.”
Working with brand founder Sergio Momo, Rhodes says he and Le Bon were counseled to not just think of flowery scents like roses or gardenias, but to instead open their noses to anything from the smell of paint drying on the wall or that unmistakable whiff of a new book when you first crack it open to aromas you might not associate with a fragrance such as petrol or leather.
“It was more abstract, like if you’re in a room at a museum and staring at your favorite painting and getting the essence of that,” he says, with the discussion then moving on to imagery Momo gleaned from the feelings and moods Rhodes and Le Bon described, such as the funk of a nightclub or a field of flowers.
They narrowed their scent preferences down to five or six, three of them dark and mysterious and the other three sparkly, bright and full of energy, which resulted in two “radically different” fragrances, NeoRio and Black Moonlight. Rhodes says the latter — described as “an homage to the eerie and mysterious world that they so often explore through their music and videos, with a scent that oozes intrigue and sensuality” — was closer to his personality, while Le Bon was more tugged toward the sunshine.
That explains why the profile of Black Moonlight promises to wrap you in a “veil of sophistication” thanks to a mix that includes: “Bergamot and mandarin awaken the senses, whilst saffron, lavender, Sambac jasmine and hazelnut envelop you in an intimate embrace.” The scent is also grounded by base notes of patchouli, vetiver, Tonka bean, and benzoin “to create a rich, timeless scent that mirrors Duran Duran’s ability to blend art, innovation, and emotion.”
In an effort to mirror DD’s career-long musical balance of hopeful optimism with a darker, slinky feeling, the exhilarating NeoRio is described as being as “magnetic and unpredictable as the band itself,” [combining] an “irresistible burst of candied fig and rum with the sparkling freshness of elemi absolute, before unfolding with the fiery warmth of saffron and the elegance of soft rose oil, all anchored by the creamy richness of Tonka bean and the timeless depth of balsam from Peru.”
Rhodes says working with chemist Momo was a revelation, as the “Willy Wonka of perfume” brand boss “seems to have this lexicon of every single scent in the world at his fingertips.” In the end, he says the pair followed their instincts like they do when recording an album, with the resulting fragrances so perfectly representing the identity of the band that Rhodes thinks they could be two songs in DD’s catalog.
“Duran Duran have shaped music and style for over four decades, making them the perfectpartners for not just one, but two Xerjoff Blends creations. Their innovative spirit helped inspire every element of this project, from the scent to the packaging,” said Momo in a statement announcing the two fragrances, which are available to buy here now. “Both scents embody the essence of Xerjoff Blends – where artistic visions unite to create a truly unique, multisensory experience. Collaborating with the band members on every detail of this project has been a very special experience.”
As for the most important real-world test, Rhodes confirms that he’s worn his preferred scent out in the world and that at present he and his partner have been at odds over who gets to wear which one. “We have a battle at home because I’ve usually got the one on and my partner’s got the other one on and when we pass in the corridor they intermingle and some days we both end up with the the same one,” he says.
Duran Duran are gearing up for a run of European arena and festival shows this summer beginning on June 3 with the kick-off gig at the Nokia Arena in Tamepere, Finland.
Check out the promo videos for the fragrances below.
Ed Sheeran joined Jimmy Fallon for the latest “Subway Busking” bit on Tuesday night’s (April 8) Tonight Show. As usual, there were costumes involved in a vain attempt to throw commuters off the scent. In this case, the pair went with an emo theme, with both men wearing all-black outfits and slouchy grey beanies accented […]
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.”
Geri Halliwell-Horner is ready to spice your bookshelf: On Tuesday (April 8), the Spice Girls member and bestselling author celebrated the release of her new book, Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire, and stopped by Billboard to discuss her creative process (and what’s to come) in the debut episode of Billboard Book Club Powered by TalkShopLive.
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Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire is the second entry in a planned young adult trilogy from Halliwell-Horner, following her 2023 book Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen. After empowering millions of listeners as a global music superstar with the Spice Girls, the artist forever known as Ginger Spice is now reaching a new generation as an author.
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“I love books. I just love them. They’ve been my best friends, my companions,” she told Billboard’s executive director of music, Jason Lipshutz, during the Billboard Book Club conversation. “I always love to find myself in a story and process something. And I just thought, ‘You know what? I really want to see a new female character that really connects with us, with who we are now, and someone that is not perfect, and finding the courage you never knew you had.’”
The Rosie Frost series follows a teenage heroine as she navigates through a fantastical world and searches for resolution following the loss of her mother. As she did with the first Rosie Frost entry, Halliwell-Horner recorded a new solo song as a tie-in with the book: “Older Now,” which is available with a book purchase via QR code, is a moving ballad that exists in conversation with the Ice on Fire story, but will also delight longtime fans of the pop star.
“To have the space to be able to play and do this, I’m incredibly grateful,” said Halliwell-Horner of her expanding creativity. In addition to discussing her writing process, reading an excerpt of the new book and discussing future plans for the franchise, Halliwell-Horner also answered fan questions coming in during the livestream — one of which touched upon the possibility of a Rosie Frost film or TV adaptation.
“As I write, I always think in pictures — I can’t help it,” she said. “There are some exciting developments, and I really look forward to sharing them.”
Halliwell-Horner also signed copies of Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire, which fans can purchase live or via replays of the livestream.
Billboard Book Club interviews will be featured on Billboard.com, on Billboard’s TalkShopLive channel and be simulcast to Billboard’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Viewers watching on Facebook and Instagram can comment the word “shop” to receive a link in their direct messages to purchase.
All sales from Billboard and TalkShopLive via TalkShopLive’s book distribution partner, ReaderLink, count toward The New York Times‘ Best Sellers list.
Watch Halliwell-Horner’s interview with Billboard above.
For the first time in 11 years, Australian Little Monsters will get to see pop icon Lady Gaga perform live Down Under. On Tuesday (April 8), Gaga announced three new dates for her 2025 Mayhem Ball tour, each taking place in stadiums across Australia — her first stadium shows in the country. Kicking off Dec. […]
In just over one year, Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine on March 8, 2024, then starred in the Oscar-winning movie musical Wicked that hit theaters in November, and has now returned with the Brighter Days Ahead deluxe reissue of that album on March 28. On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, […]