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The Weezer movie has added more star power into the mix, with actor and musician Jack Black reportedly joining the cast. News of Black’s involvement in the forthcoming film was confirmed by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo himself, who took to the band’s Discord server to share an AI-generated image of a film poster featuring Black. […]
Just a day after surprising fans with an in-person preview of her new single, Lorde has officially dropped her latest track, “What Was That.” Announced by the New Zealand singer just 12 hours before its arrival, “What Was That” serves as Lorde’s first piece of new music since her 2021 album Solar Power. Co-produced by […]
After an unexpected comeback with new music in 2023, The Swell Season have announced a full-scale return with their first new album in 16 years.
The duo – comprising Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová – announced that new album Forward would arrive on June 13, with latest single “Stuck in Reverse” accompanying the news.
“It felt right to title the record Forward because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards,” Irglová said in a statement. “Both of us have grown and changed; we’re in different places and getting to know each other again as the new people we’ve become.”
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First formed in 2005, the pair released a self-titled album the following year and received widespread attention after they featured in the lead roles for John Carney’s 2007 film Once. In 2008, their track “Falling Slowly” took home the Academy Award for best original song, with second album Strict Joy following the next year, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard 200.
Though a number of sporadic performances have taken place since, the pair would release “The Answer is Yes” in 2023, their first new piece of music in well over a decade. It was this recording session that inspired an eventual return. “After our whirlwind that led up to the Oscars and after, we were so busy and with that came a pressure that neither of us particularly wanted, and ultimately we kind of drifted in the middle of all of that hard work and celebration,” Hansard explained.
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“We remained good friends, helping on each other’s records, keeping up with each other’s families. While touring my last record, I realised I just missed her. I remember calling Marketa and saying, ‘Do you feel like doing some gigs?’ She said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great,’ and the shows went really well. Once we were hanging out again, new songs started coming through, and we started trying new ideas and playing the songs onstage.
“From there the idea was to do a little recording and not put any pressure on it, just see what happens, and suddenly we found ourselves making a record,” he added. “And we were both totally into it, and so here we are, a new chapter of our lives.”
Having recently performed a trio of dates across New York City and Boston in March, the pair will embark on a run of shows throughout Europe and the U.K. in May, before another North American return over the summer.
Despite her success at celebrity roasts and comedy specials, comedian Nikki Glaser revealed at the TIME100 Summit on Wednesday (April 23) that there was one joke she told during the 2025 Golden Globes on Jan. 5 that she worried went too far.
“I didn’t say anything that was like, calling anyone ugly or fat,” she told TIME deputy editor Kelly Conniff in New York City. “I think I get a reputation of being mean because of the roasts. I’m hired to be mean for those. [At] the Golden Globes, it’s not my job to ruin their night.”
However, she conceded she was initially concerned enough about a quip aimed at Selena Gomez’s fiancé, producer Benny Blanco, that she ended up texting Blanco to get his permission to go ahead with the line.
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“I said that ‘Selena Gomez is here because of Emilia Pérez and Benny Blanco is here because of the genie who granted him that wish.’ And looking back, I’m like, that could [seem] mean, because everyone’s like, ‘He’s not attractive enough for her,’” she said. “For me, I’ve never looked at them and actually thought that. I feel like she won too. I think he’s really cool. So, because that joke didn’t actually come from a mean place, I felt like it was OK for me to say.”
Still, she was concerned enough about it that she texted him. “I got his number. I said ‘You don’t know me, but I’m hosting this thing, and I hear you’re going to be there. Can I say that you’re there because a genie granted you a wish?’ He was like, ‘That’s hilarious; let me run it by Selena.’ We were all just waiting in the writers’ room. He said ‘Selena thinks it’s great.’ So they gave me permission. It was actually Jimmy Kimmel who told me if you’re worried about a joke and how it’s going to go over, just ask them.”
The fact that Glaser reached out to Blanco to get his permission to tell a borderline-mean joke shows her character. And the fact that Blanco gave her the go-ahead to tell a joke at his expense shows his.
Gomez was nominated for three awards at this year’s Golden Globes: best supporting actress, motion picture for Emilia Pérez as well as two awards (acting and executive producing) for Only Murders in the Building. She didn’t go home with a Globe, but she went home with something better – a partner who is secure in himself and has a good sense of humor.
Glaser was the first woman to host the Globes solo and has already been hired to lead the awards show again in 2026.
At the TIME event, she said that she sensed that the audience this year was unsure of how hard she was going to go in her humor. “When I first walked out, I knew the energy was like ‘We don’t know what she’s going to do. We’ve seen her do the Tom Brady roast most recently’ – that’s kind of where I popped for most people. In retrospect, I looked back at how terrified they all looked because they were like, ‘She’s going to roast us! She’s going to be just as mean as she was to Tom Brady.’ So, I heard from a lot of them that they were really, really scared. I wish I would have known that. I would have done something to defuse that a little bit.
“Next time is going to be a lot more fun because I think they know the tone that I have now. I go [for jokes], but I’m not going to embarrass you. And if you laugh, I’m only going to make you look good because you’re going to look so relatable laughing. It’s one of the best ways for an untouchable kind of celebrity on a pedestal to look normal.”
Here’s a link to Glaser’s 17-minute conversation at the TIME100 Summit.
A rare, celebratory moment of LGBTQ+ representation in the K-pop scene took place in Los Angeles on Tuesday night during the final stop of JUST B’s JUST ODD World Tour, when member Bain took a moment to speak to the crowd while performing a section of the concert solo.
“Before I start the next song, tonight I want to share something with you guys,” he told the audience at the Vermont Hollywood, pausing for a moment before declaring, “I’m f—ing proud to be part of the LGBT community,” with the announcement drawing massive cheers from concertgoers, according to on-the-ground footage.
“Shout-out to my queen Lady Gaga for showing me that being yourself is beautiful,” Bain continued through the supportive shouting. “To everyone out there who’s part of the LGBTQ+ or still figuring it out, this is for you guys. And also, this is for everyone. You’re seen, you’re loved, and you are born this way.” The 24-year-old then broke out into a remixed performance of Gaga’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit and LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way.” The star later posted those words on his personal Instagram account with footage from the night.
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Bain and his bandmates Geonu, Lim Jimin, Siwoo, DY and Sangwoo launched the U.S. leg of JUST B’s world tour earlier this month after kicking off in Tokyo in March. Over 10 American dates, the group performed singles like “Medusa,” “TICK TOCK” and “Damage,” with each member also performing solo stages in different cities. Bain’s sets paid homage to 2000s pop divas with covers of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor,” the Pussycat Dolls’ “Buttons” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and “Judas.”
In a final address to the crowd, Bain swam in even more supporting cheers from the audience and his group members.
“L.A., thank you so much,” he shared, per fan footage. “Today, it means a lot to me — I’m so happy that I can be myself,” before one of his bandmates followed up, saying, “We are happy too,” with another confirming with a supportive “Yeah!” Bain closed out by saying, “Until next time: stay bold, stay fierce, and lastly, always, always be your true self,” as his bandmates pushed him to take in the center-stage spotlight.
JUST B debuted on June 30, 2021, under the agency BLUEDOT Entertainment with their first EP, Just Burn, featuring Bang Yongguk of pioneering K-pop boy band B.A.P producing the lead single “Damage.” The sextet has released five EPs and multiple singles to date, including last year’s English pop-punk crossover cut “Daddy’s Girl,” with 2024 proving to be a major year of opportunities for JUST B.
In January 2024, Bain competed in the Korean singing competition Build Up : Vocal Boy Group Survivor, which saw top male vocalists battling for a spot in a new quartet. In September, JUST B formed a supergroup with fellow rising boy band ATBO called The CrewOne to compete on the popular boy-group series Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace alongside other next-gen K-pop acts like CRAVITY, ONEUS and 8TURN. The CrewOne placed fifth in the finale, but not before Bain got to show off his vocal chops once again in a special performance of the “Vocal Aces,” where he sang alongside fellow powerhouses.
But while K-pop acts are increasingly courting global audiences, with JUST B earning 6 million on-demand official streams for their songs in the U.S. and 22.6 million for their songs globally to date, according to Luminate, Bain’s announcement has the chance to accelerate conversations about representation and acceptance in the industry — particularly given South Korean society’s traditionally conservative stance on LGBTQ issues.
The moment marks one of the very few times an active artist in the Korean pop scene has come out, with it being all the more rare to come from a boy band arguably at the peak of its career. While individual Korean artists like Holland and Mrshll have been open about their LGBTQ identities from the start of their careers — with former idols like Magolpy and Jiae of girl group WA$$UP opening up soon after their careers began — Bain’s disclosure on a major world-tour stage marks a new moment for queer visibility in K-pop.
Holland, Jiae and K-pop’s first LGBTQ boy band LIONESSES have spoken about facing discrimination and homophobia working in Korean entertainment due to their sexual identities, with the scene boasting a history of celebrities’ careers derailed for publicly coming out. One of the most notable examples came via actor Hong Seokcheon, who came out in an interview in 2000, just six years into his award-winning career, leading him to be fired from his television gigs and forced out of the entertainment business. Despite Korea’s still-conservative culture and society, Hong managed to return to entertainment in TV, hosting, and, eventually, acting with significant support from the younger generation. Today, Hong regularly appears on top Korean programming and features top artists on his own programs — most recently having Tomorrow X Together’s Yeonjun on his Treasure Box series.
While BLUEDOT Entertainment did not reply to Billboard‘s request for comment after Tuesday night’s show, the group’s official Instagram did share Bain’s post with a hashtag #ProudOfBain, proving how these few moments in East Hollywood have the potential to resonate and make change far further than the concert hall.
Brian Littrell‘s love for his son Baylee is clearly larger than life. The Backstreet Boys singer’s 22-year-old son Baylee Littrell auditioned for season 23 of American Idol, debuting on the show last month and surviving all the way to this week, before he was eliminated just shy of the top 14 contestants on Monday night. […]
Vinyl releases from Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams and more were among the top-sellers from Record Store Day (RSD) 2025 in the United States, according to Luminate.
The yearly independent record store celebration was held on April 12 this year and offered an array of unique and limited-edition albums and singles (mostly vinyl pressings) issued for RSD. More than 300 titles were released for RSD 2025 at independent record stores across the U.S.
Post Malone had both the top-selling RSD 2025 album and single. His Post Malone Tribute to Nirvana, pressed on yellow-colored vinyl, was the top-seller among albums. The album was recorded in 2020 during a livestream that raised funds for The World Health Organization in support of COVID-19 relief efforts. Joining Malone for the livestream were Travis Barker (drums), Nick Mack (guitar) and Brian Lee (bass). The RSD 2025 vinyl release is also a charitable affair, as, according to the RSD organization, 100% of net proceeds from the sale of the vinyl will be donated to MusiCares’ Addiction Recovery/Mental Health division.
Tribute to Nirvana also bows at No. 2 on the April 26-dated Top Album Sales chart, where half of the top 10 are RSD 2025 titles. (Bon Iver‘s new studio album SABLE, fABLE — not an RSD 2025 release — debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, scoring the artist his second leader.)
The Nos. 2-5 biggest selling RSD 2025-exclusive albums were: Gracie Abrams’ Live From Radio City Music Hall (double-vinyl set), Rage Against the Machine’s Live On Tour 1993 (double-vinyl set), Laufey’s A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl (double-vinyl set) and Charli xcx’s 2017 mixtape Number 1 Angel (on apple-colored vinyl).
Meanwhile, in terms of the top-selling RSD 2025 singles, Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight,” featuring Malone (on 7-inch vinyl) was the biggest seller. The Nos. 2-5 selling RSD 2025 singles were Charli xcx’s “Guess,” featuring Billie Eilish (on 7-inch vinyl); The Killers and Bruce Springsteen’s three-song “Encore at the Garden” (on 12-inch vinyl); The Cure’s “Alone” (Four Tet Remix) (on 12-inch vinyl) and Eddie Vedder’s “Save It for Later” / “Room at the Top” (on ocean floor-colored 12-inch vinyl).
Malone also served as the RSD 2025 Ambassador, and earlier said in a statement upon his selection: “What an honor, I can’t believe I was chosen to be Record Store Day’s Ambassador for 2025. Record Store Day is so important and I really hope to do my part to keep it alive.” Malone follows such recent RSD Ambassadors as Paramore (2024), Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires (2023), Swift (2022), Fred Armisen (2021), Brandi Carlile (2020) and Pearl Jam (2019).
Top-Selling Record Store Day 2024 Exclusive Albums at Independent Record Stores in the U.S.Rank, Artist, Title1. Post Malone, Post Malone Tribute to Nirvana (yellow-colored vinyl)2. Gracie Abrams, Live From Radio City Music Hall (double vinyl)3. Rage Against the Machine, Live On Tour 1993 (double vinyl)4. Laufey, A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl (double vinyl)5. Charli xcx, Number 1 Angel (apple-colored vinyl)6. Wallows, More (evergreen and white-colored vinyl)7. Talking Heads, Live On Tour (double vinyl)8. Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac (picture disc vinyl)9. Gorillaz, Demon Days Live From the Apollo Theater (red-colored double vinyl)10. The Doors, Strange Days 1967: A Work In Progress (translucent blue-colored vinyl)11. The Replacements, Tim (transparent purple-colored double vinyl)12. Grateful Dead, Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/14/76 (180-gram five vinyl set)13. The Cure, The Head On the Door (picture-disc vinyl)14. The Ramones, Loco Live (blue and red-colored double vinyl)15. Soundtrack, The Virgin Suicides (25th Anniversary Edition) (blue-colored vinyl)16. Queen, De Lane Lea Demos (vinyl)17. Wu-Tang and Mathematics, Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman: Wu-Tang, The Saga Continues Collection (180-gram double vinyl)18. The Rolling Stones, Out of Our Heads (U.S.) (180-gram clear-colored vinyl)19. Elton John, Live at the Rainbow Theatre With Ray Cooper (180-gram vinyl)20. David Bowie, Ready, Set, Go! (Live, Riverside Studios ’03) (180-gram double vinyl)21. Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak (Alternate Version) (vinyl)22. Judas Priest, Live in Atlanta ‘82 (red-colored double vinyl)23. Young Thug, Barter 6 (silver-colored double vinyl)24. Vince Guaraldi, Selections From ‘It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown’ (10-inch easter egg-shaped, colored vinyl)25. Beabadoobee, Live and Acoustic In London (red slushie-colored vinyl)Source: Luminate, for the week ending April 17, 2025
Top-Selling Record Store Day 2025 Exclusive Singles at Independent Record Stores in U.S.Rank, Artist, Title1. Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone, Fortnight (7-inch vinyl)2. Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish, Guess (7-inch vinyl)3. The Killers & Bruce Springsteen, Encore at the Garden (Badlands / Dustland / Born to Run) (12-inch vinyl)4. The Cure, Alone (Four Tet Remix) (12-inch vinyl)5. Eddie Vedder, Save It for Later / Room at the Top (ocean floor-colored 12-inch vinyl)6. David Gilmour With Romany Gilmour, Between Two Points (Vita Brevis/Between Two Points [Live From the Royal Albert Hall] / Between Two Points [GENTRY Remix] / Between Two Points [GENTRY Remix Edit] / Between Two Points [Album Version]) (clear-colored 12-inch vinyl)7. Waxahatchee, Much Ado About Nothing / Mud / Next to Me (7-inch vinyl)8. Tom Waits, Get Behind the Mule (Spiritual) / Get Behind the Mule (7-inch vinyl)9. Geddy Lee, The Lost Demos (Gone / I Am… You Are) (12-inch vinyl)10. George Harrison, Be Here Now / Beck, Be Here Now (12-inch vinyl)Source: Luminate, for the week ending April 17, 2025
Radio broadcaster Cumulus Media was notified by the Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday (April 23) that its shares will be de-listed from the exchange on May 2, according to a Cumulus regulatory filing. The stock will transition the same day to trading on the over-the-counter (OTC) market and will retain the CMLS ticker. Shares of Cumulus […]
Jimmy Kimmel is now the biggest, the largest. Texas’ very own BigXthaPlug made his late-night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform his hit songs “The Largest” and “Mmhmm.” But before he hit the stage, the Dallas native gave Jimmy his official “Chaining Day” by gifting the late-night host a custom chain made by […]
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens aren’t exactly the first things one would associate with the creepy and kooky Wednesday Addams, but the trailer for season 2 of Netflix’s Wednesday still features a cover of a famous, happy-go-lucky classic from The Sound of Music.
Fittingly posted on a Wednesday (April 23), the two-minute preview opens with Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday making her way back to Nevermore Academy, a journey that involves the teenager reluctantly relinquishing her many weapons to TSA agents at an airport. Meanwhile, a haunting rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” plays, the tune made slightly creepier than Julie Andrews’ original Broadway and film versions through slowed, eerie vocals and horror movie-esque bells.
The trailer goes on to show Wednesday reuniting with her fellow student and dormmate Enid (Emma Myers) and squaring up with season 1 love interest-turned-villain Tyler (Hunter Doohan). Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán and Fred Armisen also return as their respective members of the Addams Family clan: Morticia, Gomez and Uncle Fester.
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“Nothing is what it seems in season 2,” creator Miles Millar told Netflix’s Tudum of the show’s second chapter. “Wednesday goes into this season thinking she knows Nevermore. It’s the first time she’s returned to a school willingly. But as soon as she gets back, nothing happens that she’s expecting. She thinks she’s going to be in control, that she knows where all the bodies are buried, and she doesn’t.”
One highly anticipated cast member who wasn’t featured in the trailer, however, is Lady Gaga. Though she is set to make her debut on the show this season, the 14-time Grammy winner was nowhere to be found in the sneak peek, meaning Little Monsters will have to wait a little longer to get a look at her top-secret character.
“She’s great in the show, and I don’t think she’s what people expect her to be,” Ortega teased of Gaga’s role in March, later adding on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, “She is so sweet, so humble, just a normal person, and it’s beautiful and amazing … It’s intimidating when someone is so talented but cool at the same time.”
The first batch of Wednesday season 2 episodes arrives Aug. 6, followed by Part 2 Sept. 3. Watch the trailer above.