Music News

16 Oct 2023

ITZY Talk ‘Kill My Doubt’ Mini Album & ‘Squid Game’ Inspiration Behind ‘Cake’ Video: Watch

ITZY‘s latest mini album, Kill My Doubt, arrived in July and marked the K-pop stars’ fifth entry on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking on the all-genre tally at No. 23. After promoting the album in the United States in recent months, the quintet sat down with Billboard News to discuss what separates their most recent release from their other previous mini albums throughout the years.

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“We talk about the confidence a lot, but this time, we talked about the darkness inside so we could love ourself because we defeated the darkness inside. I think it’s a big difference from [our] previous albums,” Ryujin told host Tetris Kelly.”

“Cake” was released as the lead single from the project and features each of the group members — Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna — enacting various larger-than-life scenarios like those featured in Netflix’s Squid Game and other shows with main character energy. (The track later peaked on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 194.)

“I love the story of the music video because it’s a little bit cute and it’s talking about the main character who never dies,” Ryujin explained.

Lia chimed in, adding, “the costumes made it very fun, it really went with our songs. And not only Squid Game … Korean dramas and Korean movies also appear, but I think for our global fans, Squid Game would be the most [recognizable].”

Elsewhere in the interview, the girls talk about attending KCON in Los Angeles, their current favorite television shows and what fun activities they got up to during their recent trip to the States.

Watch ITZY’s full Billboard News interview in the video above.

16 Oct 2023

P!nk Postpones Two Dates of Trustfall Tour Due to ‘Family Medical Issues’

P!nk has postponed two shows on her just-launched Trustfall Tour due to “family medical issues,” the singer announced Monday (Oct. 16).

The two shows affected are Tuesday and Wednesday’s concerts in Tacoma, Washington.

“I am so sorry to inform the Tacoma ticket holders that the two shows October 17 and October 18 (tomorrow and Wednesday) will be postponed,” P!nk wrote in a message shared to Instagram. “Live Nation are working on future dates to reschedule. Family medical issues require our immediate attention. I send everyone my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this has caused. I am sending nothing but love and health to all.”

P!nk is three dates into her Trustfall Tour, which launched in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday and had two dates in San Francisco over the weekend. The pop singer had just wrapped the North American leg of her Summer Carnival stadium tour, which has one rescheduled date remaining on Nov. 26 in Arlington, Texas — after she canceled a September show due to a sinus infection — and will pick back up in Australia and New Zealand in February.

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Summer Carnival has so far grossed $257.6 million and sold 1.8 million tickets across 41 shows. Summer Carnival began with 19 shows in Europe, bringing in $106.8 million from 871,000 tickets, then arrived Stateside for a $150.7 million run in the U.S. and Canada, selling 914,000 tickets.

Her current tour is in support of her ninth studio album, Trustfall, which arrived Feb. 17 via RCA.

See P!nk’s Instagram message below:

16 Oct 2023

Gloria Gaynor Reacts to Madonna Covering ‘I Will Survive’ at First Celebration Tour Concert

At opening night of her Celebration Tour on Saturday night in London, Madonna proved that she still has all her life to live and all her love to give by covering Gloria Gaynor‘s disco classic “I Will Survive.”

Madonna took a moment during her first show to talk about the serious health scare that postponed the tour from its original planned start over the summer. She credited her children — Lourdes, 27; Rocco, 23; David, 18; Mercy, 17; and twins Stella and Estere, 11 — with pulling her through after her hospitalization for a bacterial infection in June.

“I forgot five years of my life, or my death — I don’t really know where I was,” she said onstage at The O2 arena. “But the angels were protecting me, and my children were there. And my children always save me every time. If you want to know my secret and you want to know how I pulled through and survived, I thought, ‘I have to be there for my children. I have to survive for them.’”

Gaynor approved of Madonna performing her signature hit, which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979.

“@Madonna congratulations on the launch of #TheCelebrationTour at @TheO2,” Gaynor shared via X on Sunday, alongside a video of Madonna’s cover. “So happy that you are in good health and ready to have a holiday with fans around the world! By the way, you have excellent taste in music!”

Madonna has two more dates (Oct. 17 and 18) remaining of her four-night stint in London before heading across Europe and returning to The O2 for two more shows on Dec. 5 and 6.

See Gaynor’s Madonna appreciation below:

16 Oct 2023

Taylor Swift’s Tour Security Guard Returns Home to Israel to Rejoin the Israel Defense Forces

Taylor Swift‘s security guard who protected her during The Eras Tour has gone back to his home in Israel to fight against Hamas, according to Israel Today. He is joining the Israel Defense Forces, the national military of the State of Israel.

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“I got a pretty great life back in the U.S.,” the guard, who wishes to keep his name anonymous, told Israeli journalist Eran Swisa, who broke the news. “I got an amazing dream job that I love, great friends that I call family and a very comfortable home. I didn’t HAVE to come here… But I could not stand on the sidelines while families are being slaughtered and burned alive in their homes!!! Just for being Jewish or for being Israelis.

“I’m not only standing here with Israel and actually standing here. I’m standing here with humanity,” the statement continued, according to Swisa — who posted about the news on his TikTok and Instagram. “Don’t be on the wrong side of history!! Don’t stand on the sidelines and say nothing… Stand with Israel, stand with HUMANITY!!!!!”

So far, the Israel-Hamas war has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 Israelis as of a week ago (260 of whom were killed at a music festival in the area earlier this month) and has led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a “complete siege” of Gaza in retaliation, cutting off water, electricity and food to the territory from which the invasion was launched.

16 Oct 2023

Millie Bobby Brown Reveals How Jake Bongiovi Changed Her Thoughts on Becoming a Wife

Millie Bobby Brown is gearing up to step into her latest role: as (future) wife to Jon Bon Jovi’s son Jake Bongiovi. The Stranger Things actress, who is Glamour‘s latest cover star, revealed in her interview with the magazine that becoming a wife initially did not appeal to her, but after meeting Bongiovi, she changed her mind.

“He’s so kind. And his heart is just loving and wonderful and smart,” she gushed of her 21-year-old fiancé, noting that getting married “wasn’t my dream … my dream was to have a baby.”

Brown’s original plan was to emulate the way her mother and grandmother raised her, but she didn’t factor getting married into her own life plans. “I wanted to be the woman that my mom is to me and I wanted to be the woman that my grandmother was to me,” she said. “So that was never my, like, intention, to be a wife. But after meeting Jake and seeing, ‘Oh, I don’t have to be this stereotypical wife for him. He doesn’t want me to be that either. He wants me to go and do my thing and live my life, and he will hold my hand in the process of that.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I do want this.’”

While fans of the couple will have to wait and see when Brown and Bongiovi will tie the knot, in the meantime, the 19-year-old explained that seeing her parents’ marriage, as well as the bond her future in-laws have with each other, has been great inspiration.

“We were modeled wonderful, loving relationships, so it’s something that we both had that mutual drive for,” she added. “His family were so wonderfully accepting of me and embraced me, and it’s so nice to find a second family in that.”

Read Millie Bobby Brown’s full interview here.

16 Oct 2023

Taylor Swift Pairs Date Night Look With a Chic Shoulder Bag: Shop Similar Styles

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were spotted together yet again, and this time it wasn’t at a Kansas City Chiefs football game.

While some might suggest you could see the “Sparks Fly” as the singer and NFL athlete were spotted holding hands in New York City on Saturday (Oct. 14), we were too focused on the outfit she debuted — including an elegant Aupen shoulder bag.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift arrive at SNL Afterparty on Oct. 15, 2023 in New York City.

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As summer slips “away into a moment in time,” the Midnights singer has been stepping out in arguably some of her best Swift outfits for fall. Her date night ‘fit included a houndstooth patterned coat and a Nirvana mini purse she was also spotted wearing to Jack Antonoff’s wedding rehearsal, according to a Taylor Swift style blog. The exact style is still in stock — and it’s under $500.

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black shoulder purse with braided strap

Aupen

The mini purse comes with a braided strap and asymmetrical body patterned with a gold charm for added style. You can grab it in black for a more versatile look or choose from the other eight shades, including bold looks like orange, red and pink.

If you’re not in the market to splurge on the Nirvana style, then we rounded up a few similar styles that follow the trend without burning a hole in your wallet.

For less than $50, Amazon has a mini shoulder bag that has gained the label of a No. 1 bestseller for women’s top handle purses. The design comes with a ruched handle and faux leather material that you can style with everything from day-to-night outfits.

black hobo bag with gold key charm

Fossil

At 70% off, Fossil has this stylish hobo bag featuring a versatile strap that can transition from shoulder to crossbody depending on your needs. And did we mention it’s less than $100?

black hobo bag with crystal and gold handle

Target

Add some flair to your purse rotation with this bejeweled take on a shoulder purse. The strap is patterned with crystal and gold accents that’ll help make your cocktail dress or trouser and blazer set pop.

black shoulder bag

Urban Outfitters

Prefer something simple? Urban Outfitters has a basic version of the shoulder purse that’s under $40 and has subtle contrasting stitching along the edges that pull together most outfits — without taking away from your statement top.

black hobo bah with knotted handle

Madewell

Madewell offers a luxe style that’s splurge-worthy and will have your other purses giving you the side-eye as you’ll most likely be grabbing this hobo bag constantly. The strap features a knots on each side and a spacious interior you can store our phone, keys, wallet and more.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best unique-shaped bags, tote bags and venue-approved bags.

16 Oct 2023

Travis Barker Sustains Bloody Hand Injury in Manchester

Travis Barker is healing up following a gruesome hand injury after playing drums with his band Blink-182 in Manchester, England, this week.

The rocker took to his Instagram Stories to share a photo of the bloody injury that featured scabs and cuts across his fingers and knuckles. He also added a photo of his blood-stained pants from the incident.

Last month, Barker took time off of Blink’s tour after the band announced Sept. 1 that it was postponing shows in Ireland and Scotland due to an “urgent family matter” that required the drummer to return to the United States immediately. Less than a week later, Kardashian shared further details about the situation via Instagram on Sept. 6, revealing that she needed an emergency surgery to save her and Barker’s unborn child.

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“I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock,” she wrote. “As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn’t prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.”

16 Oct 2023

Taylor Swift Fans’ ‘Hot Ones’ Hopes Go Down in Flames

While a social media post convinced Taylor Swift fans that she might be the next celebrity to appear on Hot Ones, it now looks like it was all a misunderstanding.

Complex Media’s First We Feast took to Instagram on Monday (Oct. 16) to share a cryptic teaser that a new Hot Ones challenge had been accepted. The caption reads, “Are you ready for it?” — which Swifties were quick to point out could be a reference to the superstar’s Reputation single “…Ready for It?”

The pop star’s fans flooded the comments section about how excited they were, with some even joking they would unfollow the First We Feast account if it wasn’t teasing a Swift appearance. By late Monday afternoon, the account had hidden the comments and turned off commenting, and also shared a new post with the message “we are fellow swifties too, we come in peace.” The video shared in the post includes the message “me to the hot ones talent booker after accidentally teasing that taylor swift was going to be on hot ones” with the Kris Jenner audio: “What would happen if you just called Taylor up?”

In another post, First We Feast shares a new hint for the next guest — “The fourth match of my career was against a bear” — making it clear that Swift is not the one. “Oh so it’s not Taylor,” one fan commented on the post, while another shared the Tyra Banks meme where she shouts “I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!”

Billboard has reached out to both First We Feast and Swift’s teams for comment.

The pop superstar has yet to appear on the popular web series, though her new love interest Travis Kelce tested his spice tolerance in a 2016 episode.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Hot Ones series, in each episode, host Sean Evans and a celebrity guest eat 10 chicken wings or vegan substitutes, with each wing prepared with a progressively spicier hot sauce. Meanwhile, the celebrity answers thoughtful and well-researched questions from Evans while trying to keep it cool amid the heat.

The newest season of the series has had some of the show’s biggest stars yet, including *NSYNC, Cardi B and Doja Cat. During the “Attention” singer’s episode, she talked about her recent album and her newly shaved head. “What I like most about it, I can focus on what I’m wearing and less about my hair,” the Grammy winner said. “Hair, it’s a whole other world. It’s like, f— that. I can just wear a cute outfit and be bald. There’s hella bad b—hes that are bald in this world.”

Billboard previously ranked the “show with hot questions and even hotter wings,” and you can see our list here.

16 Oct 2023

The Police’s Andy Summers on Combining His Photography & Music for Solo Tour: Behind the Setlist Podcast

Andy Summers’ love for photography started in New York in 1979. He was three years into his career as the guitarist for The Police, the British trio that quickly became a sensation with its 1978 debut album, Outlandos d’Amour (“Roxanne,” “Can’t Stand Losing You”) and 1979’s Regatta de Blanc (“Message in a Bottle,” “Walking on the Moon”). The band was constantly surrounded by photographers, and Summers began to get interested in their equipment.

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“Suddenly it occurred to me: I should get a really good camera,” he tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “I’m on the road. I’ve got all this time. I mean, the only real commitment I have is getting to the gig and playing a couple of hours however many nights a week. Then there’s all this downtime, particularly in the U.S.” Summers bought a Nikon camera at a B&H Photo Video store in New York City and quickly began studying photography books and talking to people about the craft. “Immediately it became a complete obsession,” he says.

It turned out that playing the guitar wasn’t the only thing Summers was good at. “I seemed to have a natural aptitude [for photography],” he says, ”a knack for it.” Summers released his first book of photography, Throb, in 1983 and documented his time in The Police with 2007’s I’ll Be Watching You: Inside the Police. 1980-83. His latest book of photography, A Series of Glances, was released in May by German publisher teNeues Verlag. 

Now Summers is combining his two passions on his North American tour, A Cracked Lens + A Missing String, that runs through the East Coast, West Coast and Canada before culminating in four dates in Florida in December. The show — Summers performing solo while his photography is displayed behind him — spans The Police (“Roxanne,” “Tea in the Sahara” and “Spirits in the Material World” are regularly played), original solo works (such as “Triboluminescence” and  “The Bones of Twang Zu”), covers of Brazilian influences (“A Felicidade” by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, and “Manhã de carnaval” by Luis Bonfá) and a jazz classic (Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight”). 

The mixed-media shows are an outgrowth of his photography exhibitions and performances at museums. “I think we’ve actually developed it into quite a sophisticated place from that early start,” says Summers. “And the way you learn you, the way you do it is by actually doing it in front of an audience. Of course, I practice in my studio, and we project onto a big white wall and I play and then you know, so that’s your normal practice —  sequencing playing, getting used to it  —  then you do it once in front of your audience and realize you’ve got everything wrong. And so you revise it. It’s always a work in progress.”

Listen to the entire interview with Andy Summers at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music or Audible. 

16 Oct 2023

Britney Spears Teases Excerpts From Upcoming Memoir: ‘I Felt Like I Was Living on the Edge of a Cliff’

Britney Spears is gearing up to release her highly anticipated memoir The Woman in Me on Oct. 24, and the star took to X on Sunday (Oct. 15) to share some excerpts from the upcoming book.

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“I actually envy the people who know how to make fame work for them,” is seen opening the 26-second clip, before it transitions into, “My demeanor was innocent – and it wasn’t an act. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

The video continues with the passage, “I felt like I was living on the edge of a cliff,” before ultimately concluding with, “If you stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself: from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

The debut memoir is a “brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope,” according to a press release from publisher Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

The book comes amid a new chapter in Spears’ life, ollowing her split from husband Sam Asghari after one year of marriage and six years together. Asghari filed for divorce in August citing “irreconcilable differences.”

The Woman in Me will be available as a hardcover, e-book and audio book. You can pre-order the memoir at various retailers including Amazon (also available on Kindle), Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and Bookshop.