Music News

12 Feb 2024

AC/DC Announce Dates For 2024 U.K./European Stadium Tour

AC/DC are gearing up for their first European tour in eight years. The veteran hard rockers announced on Monday morning (Feb. 12) that they are gearing up for the European Power Up tour with a line-up featuring singer Brian Johnson, guitarist Angus Young, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams. Williams retired from the band after the conclusion of the 2016 Rock or Bust tour, returning to the fold briefly for the 2020 Power Up album.

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The 21-show swing in 10 countries is slated to kick off with the first of two dates at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 17, followed by shows in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before hitting London’s Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows (July 3, 7), Germany, Slovakia and Paris and then winding down with a gig at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland on August 17.

Tickets for tour will go on sale to the general public on Friday (Feb. 16) between 9-10 a.m. local time; click here for more ticketing information.

The European swing follows AC/DC’s long-awaited return to the stage last year at the all-star hard rock Power Trip festival in Indio, California. The band began teasing their 2024 return on socials last week, posting images of a lightning bolt and a countdown cued to a snippet of “Are You Ready” from 1990’s The Razors Edge.

Power Up marked the return of singer Johnson, who had stepped aside while touring in 2016 due to hearing-loss issues, with Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses filling in for 22 shows; the tour also saw the band reunited with drummer Phil Rudd after a stint in rehab. The band did not tour in support of Power Up after the seven-leg, 17-month-long stadium outing in support of Rock or Bust.

See the band’s announcement and the tour dates below.

AC/DC 2024 European summer tour dates:

May 17 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena

May 21 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena

May 25 – Reggio Emilia, Italy @ RCF Arena

May 29 – Seville, Spain @ La Cartuja Stadium

June 5 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Johan Cruyff Arena

June 9 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium

June 12 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium

June 16 – Dresden, Germany @ Messe

June 23 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium

June 26 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium

June 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund Stadium

July 3 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium

July 7 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium

July 13 – Hockenheim, Germany @ Ring

July 17 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Wasen

July 21 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Old Airport

July 27 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Zeppelinfeld

July 31 – Hannover, Germany @ Messe

August 9 – Dessel, Belgium @ Festivalpark Stenehei 

August 13 – Paris, France @ Hippodrome ParisLongchamp

August 17 – Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park

11 Feb 2024

Watch Taylor Swift Kiss an Emotional Travis Kelce After Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl 2024 Victory

Travis Kelce is officially a Super Bowl champion two years in a row. And after a tense game complete with many long minutes of overtime, Taylor Swift was on hand at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to help the tight end celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Shortly after the Chiefs proved victorious, Kelce gave a passionate post-game speech where he yelled, “Viva Las Vegas” and his borrowed catchphrase, “You gotta fight for your right to party” as Swift, seemingly fighting back happy tears, looked on. She then found the athlete in the crowd and kissed him several times, hugging him close and telling him he’s “unbelievable.”

Moments before, cameras had caught the “Karma” musician jumping up and down as her friends collapsed on her in a group hug after quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw the game-winning touchdown.

Wearing a red Chiefs bomber jacket, bejeweled black pants and a gold “87” necklace, Swift attended the game with Blake Lively, Ice Spice, Lana Del Rey, Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry. The “Anti-Hero” singer’s parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, were also in the building, as were Kelce’s parents and brother Jason Kelce.

The 14-time Grammy winner has been supporting the Chiefs through much of this season, attending her first game at Arrowhead Stadium in September. She and her friends have become mainstays at Kelce’s matches ever since, and she also joined the Ohio native on the field after the AFC Championship to plant a celebratory smooch on him after Kansas City’s triumph over the Baltimore Ravens.

Watch Taylor Swift celebrate the victory with her friends, and kiss two-times-in-a-row Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce below.

11 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Reunites With Sir Paul McCartney at 2024 Super Bowl

With Las Vegas known as the entertainment capital of the world, it was expected that some of the biggest stars would be in attendance at Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday (Feb. 11).

In a new photo (above) from the game, in which the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the San Francisco 49ers, Taylor Swift spent some time with Sir Paul McCartney.

The Beatles member and the “All Too Well” singer previously teamed up for a wide-ranging conversation for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series. Before that, McCartney has said that “Who Cares,” a track from his 2018 solo album Egypt Station, was actually inspired by Swift and the fan connection she has.

“I was actually thinking about Taylor Swift and her relationship to her young fans and how it’s sort of a sisterly thing,” McCartney told the BBC. “And I was imagining talking to one of these young fans and saying, ‘Have you ever been bullied? Do you get bullied?’” he continued. “Then I say, ‘Who cares about the idiots? Who cares about all this? Who cares about you? Well … I do.’”

Swift, of course, was at the Super Bowl supporting her boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She was joined at the event by her famous pals Blake Lively and Ice Spice, and spent time with her “Snow on the Beach” collaborator Lana Del Rey.

The Kansas City Chiefs eventually won 25-22 in overtime.

11 Feb 2024

What Was Your Favorite Moment From Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Performance? Vote!

Fans got it bad for Usher, who took the stage for the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show presented by Apple Music on Sunday (Feb. 11).

The superstar performed a medley of hits, including “Caught Up,” “Burn,” “U Got It Bad,” “Confessions Part II,” “Love In This Club” and more, all while delivering his characteristically sultry dance moves for the roaring crowd at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

Usher also had a few surprises up his sleeves, as he was joined by a few of his celebrity friends on stage, including Alicia Keys for a mashup of “If I Ain’t Got You” and “My Boo,” before H.E.R. delivered a jaw-dropping guitar solo, and Ludacris and Lil Jon teamed up to hype up the crowd with a medley of “Turn Down for What” and “Yeah!”

In his Billboard cover story, Usher said shared that his Las Vegas residencies had helped him prepare for the halftime show, as has studying past Super Bowl acts. “I’ve watched every performer, analyzing how they maximized those 12 minutes,” he shared. “But you know, your moment is your moment. And this is a moment I’ve prepared for during the last 30 years.”

Usher’s fiery halftime show comes just a few months after closing one of the most successful and buzzed-about Las Vegas residencies in history, as his My Way show grossed $95.9 million.

Which moment from Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance was your favorite? Let us know by voting in our poll below.

11 Feb 2024

Beyoncé Drops 2 New Songs, Unveils ‘Act II’ Release Date: Here’s When It Arrives

Mere seconds after starring alongside Emmy-winning actor Tony Hale in a hilarious Verizon commercial during Super Bowl 2024, Beyoncé has finally revealed the second act of the three-act project she announced back in 2022.

On Sunday (Feb. 11), the “Cuff It” singer posted a mysterious teaser to her official Instagram page. In the video, an unidentified woman — presumably Beyoncé herself — starts up a car with a license plate that reads “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The woman drives the car down an empty road before the clip then cuts to a group of men staring incredulously at the sky. The focus of their stares? A billboard cutout of a red lingerie-clad Beyoncé lounging in a seductive pose.

“This ain’t Texas,” she croons over finger-picked guitars in the background. “Ain’t no hold ’em/ So lay our cards down, down, down, down.” The clip then cuts to a black screen that reads “Act II, 3.29.”

Queen Bey’s official website sports the same teaser, as well as the same date of March 29. Under the site’s music tab, a section for Act II includes empty credits section, clean and explicit tabs, and two track titles — “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” which are listed as the record’s opening two tracks, respectively. Both tracks are now available to stream on TIDAL and YouTube.

Between the references to her home state of Texas and the country sound of the new music snippet, it looks like fans were onto something with their theory that Beyoncé’s next LP will find her delving into country music. The still-untitled Act II is the follow-up to Renaissance. That album, Beyoncé’s seventh solo studio effort, debut atop the Billboard 200, spawned a pair of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits — “Break My Soul” (No. 1) and “Cuff It” (No. 6) — and soundtracked the historic Renaissance World Tour, which grossed over $579 million.

Check out Beyoncé’s new Act II teaser and songs below:

11 Feb 2024

Fans Choose Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton’s ‘Purple Irises’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton‘s “Purple Irises” tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Feb. 9) on Billboard, choosing the couple’s duet as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Purple Irises” brought in more than 64% of the vote, and beat out new music from 2024 Super Bowl halftime show star Usher, Kacey Musgraves and more.

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Stefani and Shelton performed the song ahead of the big game on Sunday (Feb. 11) for the Super Bowl TikTok Tailgate. Their latest husband-and-wife duet follows their previous collaborations: 2019’s “Nobody But You,” 2021’s “Happy Anywhere,” 2023’s “Love Is Alive” and more.

“Purple Irises” has them singing about their love.

“But if someone comes along and tries to love you like I love you/ Don’t know what I’d do, don’t wanna lose you/ If someone comes along and tries to take you, tries to make you/ Don’t let ’em change your mind,” they sing.

“I didn’t see any of this coming with Blake. This was just a big old ‘What?’ It was an amazing gift to experience love like that for the first time,” Stefani recalled of falling in love with Shelton, in an interview with People in fall 2023. “He’s changed my life … when I [started dating] Blake, that’s when I felt home, like, ‘Oh, this is where I’m supposed to be, with this guy.’”

Trailing behind “Purple Irises” on this week’s poll is Usher’s album Coming Home, with 17% of the vote, and Musgraves’ self-reflective single “Deeper Well,” with 7% of the vote.

See the final results of the poll below.

11 Feb 2024

Beyoncé Confirms New Music in Verizon Super Bowl 2024 Commercial: Watch

Verizon is just like Beyoncé‘s soul: You can’t break it. After days of rumors that the 42-year-old superstar would be leading the company’s Super Bowl 2024 commercial Sunday (Feb. 11), she finally hit TV screens during the game’s third quarter on a mission to disrupt the world’s cell service — and even hinted at new music, which she confirmed quickly after the ad aired.

The minute-long ad finds comedian Tony Hale challenging Bey to do something so big, it “breaks” Verizon’s 5G internet service. To do so, she holds a lemonade stand pop-up for fans, plays the saxophone, introduces her own “Beyonc-AI” technology, parodies Barbie as “Bar-Bey” and even announces her candidacy for “Beyoncé of the United States” — but still, the company’s ability to power customers’ phones can’t be beat.

Beyoncé being Beyoncé, though, she had to see her mission through. At the very end of the commercial, the “Halo” singer teases that her next strategy will be to simply release a new song or album.

“OK, they ready,” she says from a rocket ship in outer space. “Drop the new music.”

Within minutes of the commercial airing, Bey posted a teaser labeled “act ii” on Instagram, adding the project’s release date: March 29.

Fans had already suspected that the 32-time Grammy winner would star in Verizon’s Big Game placement, thanks to a pair of teasers the brand posted in the week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. In the first sneak peek, Hale had stood at the same lemonade stand used in the full commercial and joked, “She wants me to squeeze all these lemons by myself? This better work.”

Then, Verizon shared a second trailer featuring Bey’s silver Renaissance album cover horse, which fans have dubbed “Reneigh.” “So should we be in a Super Bowl commercial? Yay or nay?” Hale asked a life-size model of the stallion.

Watch Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Verizon commercial below.

11 Feb 2024

Cardi B Is Rooting for Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce’s Relationship: ‘I Think It’s Cute’

Cardi B is all for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s happiness.

Ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl, where the Kansas City Chiefs would play the San Francisco 49ers, the rapper talked to The Hollywood Reporter on the set of her NYX Professional Makeup commercial scheduled to air during the big game. The spot marks her third Super Bowl commercial, following a Pepsi ad in 2019 and a McDonald’s ad in 2023.

While chatting about the Super Bowl, the topic turned to Swift — who made headlines for her journey from her Tokyo Eras Tour shows to Las Vegas for the game. The pop star arrived to Allegiant Stadium in time to cheer on Kelce and the Chiefs, with her mother and friends including Ice Spice and Blake Lively by her side.

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“I think it’s cute,” Cardi said of Swift dating tight end Kelce, and the public support she gives him. “She looks so happy.”

She added, “I feel like she’s really private with her relationships, so I really feel like she likes him a lot because she’s like, ‘I don’t give a f—. I’m going to kiss him. I’m going to touch him. I’m going to kiss him! Yeah, I’m here. Yeah, I’m taking a jet to see my man.’”

Cardi stars in NYX’s new ad, which has the rapper advertising the brand’s “Duck Face” lip product, which she says will deliver “bigger” and “plumper” results. The spot airing during the Super Bowl is shortened and shows a QR code directing viewers to watch an extended, 60-second version.

Although the “Bongos” star admitted she’s not a huge football fan herself, she said she loved that the idea behind the Super Bowl commercial poked fun at men.

Plus, she was looking forward to Usher‘s halftime show performance.

“I’m not going to say [it’s way overdue] because everything is always on great timing. He came right on time and I’m so excited. He has come back stronger than ever and boom,” she said. “My choreographer has worked with Usher before and he said that he is very strict [and] takes his routine seriously, and that’s why I feel like his shows are so amazing.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Cardi B said: “In the future, I would like to do a Super Bowl.”

11 Feb 2024

Ice Spice Cuts Off Her Ex in ‘Deli’-Soundtracked Starry Super Bowl 2024 Ad: Watch

Breakups are hard — just ask Ice Spice. Teaming up with PepsiCo’s burgeoning lemon-lime soda brand Starry for a new Super Bowl commercial that aired Sunday (Feb. 11), the “Munch” rapper gave a masterclass to moving on.

Sipping on a glass of Starry as an animated lemon and lime shower her cheeks with sweet smooches, Ice Spice exclaims, “This Starry is mad good!” in her trademark Bronx accent. Soon after, her ex, simply named Lemon-Lime Soda, confronts her about her flirting with other lemon-lime-flavored soft drinks. “I just need something refreshing, more crisp! I’m with Starry now,” she explains to him.

Despite her attempts at solace, Lemon-Lime soda exploded into a geyser of fizzy tears as the screen cut to the tagline “It’s time to see other sodas” with the raucous instrumental of Ice Spice’s “Deli” — which peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 — blasting in the background.

PepsiCo debuted Starry in January 2023 as a replacement of the now-discontinued Sierra Mist, a competitor to other fizzy lemon-lime beverages such as Sprite and 7 Up.

Far from her first major advertising campaign — remember her and Ben Affleck’s hilarious Dunkin’ commercials? — a Super Bowl ad is yet another career-shifting achievement for Ice Spice. On Feb. 4, she attended the 66th Grammy Awards, where she competed in four categories: best new artist, best song written for visual media (“Barbie World”), best rap song (“Barbie World”) and best pop/duo group performance (“Karma”). And on March 6, the “Fart” rapper will be honored with the Hitmaker Award at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards.

Watch Ice Spice’s new Starry Super Bowl ad below:


https://youtube.com/watch?v=1xA7ENrLtUw&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&start=17&wmode=transparent

11 Feb 2024

Watch Ryan Gosling Cry to Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ in ‘The Fall Guy’ Trailer

Ryan Gosling is a certified Swiftie — or at least his character in The Fall Guy is.

The trailer for the upcoming action film inspired by the hit 1980s TV series dropped during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday (Feb. 11). The one-minute clip promises that the stunt-filled movie will deliver “romance, drama, butt slaps, ice crimes, Ryan Mother F—ing Gosling, burritos, boats and Emily Mother F—ing Blunt,” before adding “lots of feelings” to the list. The scene then cuts to Gosling crying to Taylor Swift‘s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” in his car. Blunt disrupts the emotional moment to ask what he’s doing, to which an embarrassed Gosling says he’s “chilling down.”

“You were crying to Taylor Swift?” Blunt asks, before Gosling hilariously replies, “Doesn’t everyone?”

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In the film, Gosling “stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie — being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno,” played by Blunt, according to the film’s description.

The trailer’s use of Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) hit is fitting, as the pop superstar was spotted in the stands at Allegiant Stadium alongside Ice Spice and Blake Lively; the pop superstar was supporting her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who is the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, who took on the San Fransisco 49ers for the championship.

The Fall Guy hits theaters on May 3. Watch the full trailer below.