Music News

25 Sep 2023

Fans Are Obsessed With Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce’s Rumored Romance: ‘This Is the Moment’

Fans all over the world are watching as Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce completes one of the biggest plays of his life, hoping with bated breath that he doesn’t fumble the catch — and no, we’re not talking about football here. We’re talking about his apparent new romance with Taylor Swift, of course.

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The rumored new couple left NFL disciples and Swifties alike reeling after the “Anti-Hero” singer made a surprise appearance at the Sunday night (Sept. 24) Chiefs-Bears game at Arrowhead Stadium, where she was captured cheering Kelce on from a suite box alongside his mother, Donna Kelce. Fans have spent the hours since poring over footage of the pop star banging ecstatically on the glass and cheering after Kelce scored a touchdown in the third quarter, as well as photos and video of Swift leaving the stadium with Kelce at her side.

The fated gameday came months after Kelce first confessed to having a crush on Swift in July, admitting that he tried unsuccessfully to give her a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it at an Eras Tour concert that summer. From the jump, some Swifties were rooting for the American athlete to become the Grammy winner’s new love interest, especially as rumors broke out that the two had started seeing each other.

And after Sunday, it looks like most of the country is rooting for him as well. “Taylor Swift, dating an American footballer is literally like the declaration of independence,” joked one fan, touching on Swift’s breakups this year from Brits Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. “free from the shackles of British colonialism! This is the moment.”

One fan tweeted, “if this sticks they will literally be the closest thing america has to a royal couple.”

“The chokehold that Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift has on me is INSANE,” wrote another.

Even NFL pros have been weighing in on the matter. After the game, Bill Belichick joked: “Travis Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career — this would be the biggest.”

Patrick Mahomes too reflected on his touchdown pass to Kelce, saying he knew he “had to get [the ball]” to his teammate to help impress Swift. “I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to,” added the quarterback.

Keep reading to see some of the best fan reactions to Taylor Swift’s appearance at Arrowhead Stadium — and her likelier-than-ever romance with Travis Kelce — below.

25 Sep 2023

Bad Bunny Teases New Song on His WhatsApp Channel: Here’s What We Know

Bad Bunny has been spotted a lot with his rumored girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, as of late. But while he’s dating and attending concerts and events, he’s also making music — and a new single is dropping tonight (Sept. 25).

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The Puerto Rican star shared the news on his WhatsApp channel, where he boasts more than 12 million followers. “I don’t know if this will make you happy, but I’m going to release one more song this year, and it’ll be out before September ends,” he previously shared on Sept. 20.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 24), the artist born Benito Martínez Ocasio posted a 17-second snippet on the channel, and wrote in Spanish, “In case you like it and are interested to know, [the song] comes out tomorrow Monday at 8 p.m. Puerto Rico time.”

The clip shows a blurred photo of the artist wearing a white tee and blue baseball cap and part of the audio. The untitled song kicks off with a dramatic organ synth melody and Bunny’s distinct vocals singing, “Baby yo se que cuando te atrevas yo me voy a enamorar…” (“Baby, I know that when you dare, I’m going to fall in love…”).

The forthcoming track comes on the heels of Bunny’s “Where She Goes,” which he released in May. The Jersey Club-inspired beat (a hybrid of house and hip-hop) reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and Latin Airplay.

Earlier this year, Bunny also teamed up with Grupo Frontera on “un x100to,” which marked his first time dipping his toes in the norteño-cumbia realm. The song earned Frontera its highest debut on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, entering at No. 3 on the April 29-dated ranking, and later hitting No. 1 on both the Latin Airplay chart and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.

25 Sep 2023

Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner Agree to Temporarily Keep Daughters in New York

Joe Jonas and Sophie turner have come to a temporary truce. The former couple has agreed to keep their two young daughters in New York City for the time being, according to an interim consent order filed Monday (Sept. 25) and obtained by Billboard. The agreement comes amid a custody dispute.

The filing notes that neither party is allowed to remove their daughters from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, which includes New York City and Long Island.

The Game of Thrones actress had filed a lawsuit on Sept. 21 in New York against the Jonas Brothers singer, alleging that he had “wrongfully retained” their two young daughters — Willa, 3, and a 14-month-old who has only been identified by her first initial, D — and also accusing him of not giving her the children’s passports and refusing to return the kids to her so that they could return with her to England. Turner also claimed in her filing that prior to their split, the couple had agreed to make England their “forever home.”

Billboard has reached out to Jonas and Turner’s reps for comment.

In a statement shared with Billboard later that day of the custody filing, a rep for Jonas denied all of Turner’s allegations. “Joe is seeking shared parenting with the kids so that they are raised by both their mother and father, and is of course also OK with the kids being raised both in the U.S. and the U.K.,” the rep said at the time, noting that two had met before her filing and that they had agreed to work on an “amicable” plan for co-parenting their children. “This is an unfortunate legal disagreement about a marriage that is sadly ending.”

Jonas filed for divorce on Sept. 5, with his petition stating that “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.” In her custody filing, Turner alleged that she was blindsided by him, and that she had learned of his filing via media reports. Jonas’ rep denied this claim to Billboard.

Turner and Jonas married in May 2019.

25 Sep 2023

Patrick Mahomes Jokes He Felt ‘Pressure’ to Help Travis Kelce Impress Taylor Swift With a Touchdown

Patrick Mahomes is officially this week’s “MVW” — Most Valuable Wingman. After learning that Taylor Swift was in attendance at Sunday night’s (Sept. 24) Chiefs vs. Bears game to watch her rumored love interest Travis Kelce in action, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback joked that he felt extra pressure to throw the Chief’s tight end a touchdown-scoring catch so that Kelce could properly impress the pop star.

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“I heard she was in the house,” Mahomes said in a post-game interview, moments after his team secured a 41-10 victory over the Bears. “I felt a little bit of pressure. I knew I had to get [the ball] to Trav.”

Indeed, he did. About halfway through the game’s third quarter, Kelce caught a sparkling pass from Mahomes in the end zone. After the play, Swift was seen next to Kelce’s mom, Donna, banging on the glass of their private box suite and cheering.

“I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to,” added Mahomes, when asked whether he felt extra heat from Swift’s fans to make Kelce look good.

The musician’s surprise appearance at Arrowhead Stadium adds fuel to rumors that she may be dating Kelce, who confessed in July to having a crush on her after his unsuccessful attempt to slip her his phone number at an Eras Tour concert. Last week, he told press that he had invited the “Anti-Hero” singer to attend one of his games, an offer she clearly took him up on. After the game, Swift was seen leaving the stadium with Kelce.

Later, in a press conference, Mahomes recalled the way he found out from Kelce that Swift would be making an appearance at the Chiefs-Bears game. “He told me at the last minute,” he told reporters, according to Fox Sports. “There’s some things with Trav where he kind of just says it and you don’t know if it’s true or not … He was like, ‘Yeah, I think she’s coming to the game this weekend,’ and then moved about his business.”

“Yeah, I mean she’s a pop star, she’s a tremendous singer, tremendous at everything she does,” added the quarterback. “I haven’t got to meet her but I guess if she ends up being with Travis then I will probably get to meet her at some point. She seems like a good person. Hopefully I get to meet her one day.”

Watch Patrick Mahomes weigh in on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s rumored romance below:

25 Sep 2023

Watch Jordan Rainer Strike ‘Voice’ Coaches’ ‘Fancy’ With Bold Reba McEntire Cover

Just call her The Woman in Black.

In this blind audition from Monday’s night’s (Sept. 25) season 24 premiere of The Voice, debuting exclusively on Billboard, aspiring country singer Jordan Rainer makes the bold choice to cover the signature song of brand-new coach Reba McEntire to make her first impression.

Rainer is a woman of mystery in the shadowy audition video, shrouded in darkness and wearing a black fedora, black sunglasses and all-black clothes topped with a black leather jacket. The other coaches look to McEntire for a cue on what to do as Rainer nails her vocals, and when the country superstar presses her button, Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani quickly follow suit. John Legend isn’t too far behind when he hears a vocal run he likes.

After the audition, we learn that the 33-year-old singer is from Atoka, Oklahoma, and lives in Nashville. When Legend asks why she chose to perform “Fancy,” Rainer says of the Bobbie Gentry-written song famously covered by McEntire in 1991, “It was written by a strong woman, it was made famous by a strong woman, and it represents lyrically what women do to survive. And I’m a woman who has done what I’ve had to do to survive, so I feel that song in every bone in my body.”

“I heard an exceptional vocalist on this stage,” Legend says, kicking off a string of praise from all four coaches. “Any of us would be lucky to work with you.”

Gentry took “Fancy” to to the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, and McEntire made it a top 10 Hot Country Songs hit two decades later.

Watch Rainer’s full performance below and see who she picks as her coach when season 24 of The Voice premieres Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=yIJ2yMywPt4&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

25 Sep 2023

Drake Fires Insults at Charlamagne Tha God After Release of ‘Slime You Out’: ‘Ya F–king Goof’

The ongoing feud between Drake and Charlamagne Tha God got a new chapter Monday morning (Sept. 25) when the 6 God fired several shots at the Power 105.1 radio host on Instagram. 

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Drake’s verbal jabs emanated from a clip circulated over the weekend regarding Charlamagne’s thoughts on Drizzy’s newly released single “Slime You Out” featuring SZA. Charlamagne held no punches during his episode of Brilliant Idiots, as he claimed that “nobody cared” about the collab between Drake and SZA.

“What scares me — and it’s not a scare because Drake’s gonna be fine — Drake put out a song last Friday and … nobody cared. The Drake and SZA record,” he said. He further doubled down his perspective when speaking on the song’s controversial lyrics, saying, “It came out last Friday, and people just started talking about the lyrics yesterday. ‘Cause I saw people posting about how he said something about, ‘Whipped and chained you like [American] slave.’

A vexed Drake issued a volley of shots in Charlamagne’s direction via his Instagram Stories. “Are you ok Lenard?? You kinda weirding me out g. Like you really obsessed with me or something for years like you look in the mirror and wish you saw my reflection type s–t.” Drake continued his onslaught by calling him on “off-brand Morris Chestnut” and a “f—ing goof.” He added: “Whatever you gotta do to let it out I’m sure your 435 loyal fans will stand by you ya f—ing goof.”

Charlamagne sarcastically responded to Drake’s Instagram Stories on The Breakfast Club Monday morning and quipped about the rapper’s attacks, noting that this is a strategic move devised by both parties and that he’s part of the album rollout. “Back in the day, I can say I was hating on Drake for fun,” Charlagmagne said. “It was hilarious, at least to me.”

The contentious feud between Drake and Charlamagne is a decade strong, including lyrical barbs sent by the OVO commander on 2018’s “Sandra’s Rose” in response to various comments made by the Black Effect Podcast creator, including last year’s haymaker when Charlamagne dubbed Honestly, Nevermind “elevator music.” 

Check out Charlamagne’s disses and Drake’s posts below.

 

25 Sep 2023

Bill Belichick Calls Taylor Swift the ‘Biggest Catch’ of Travis Kelce’s Career

From Swifties to NFL fans — and even coaches Bill Belichick and Andy Reid — everyone is buzzing about Taylor Swift‘s appearance at the Sunday night (Sept. 24) Chiefs-Bears game, where she was spotted passionately cheering on Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

Although the Chiefs secured a sweeping 41-10 victory over the Bears, commenters generally agreed that Kelce’s apparent success with Swift, whom he’s previously admitted to having a crush on, was the athlete’s biggest win of the night. Even New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick thinks so. When he was asked on The Greg Hill Show about the new “power couple in the NFL,” Belichick joked, “Travis Kelce has had a lot of big catches in his career — this would be the biggest.”

To recap: Shortly after the game began Sunday, the pop star was seen sitting in a private box suite next to Kelce’s mother, Donna, dressed in full Chiefs gear and matching red lipstick. When Kelce caught an epic touchdown thrown by Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter, cameras showed Swift jumping up and down excitedly and seemingly screaming “Let’s f–king go!” Afterward, video and photos showed that Swift left Arrowhead Stadium with Kelce, driving off in the star’s convertible.

Swift’s attendance was such a major gameday talking point that even Kelce’s own coach was asked about their rumored relationship. At a post-game press conference, Andy Reid revealed that he had previously met Swift and even quipped that he was the one who had “set them up.”

In reality, Kelce revealed in July that he had attended Swift’s Eras Tour and tried unsuccessfully at the time to slip her a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. Soon afterward, rumors emerged that the two were seeing each other, with Kelce’s brother — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — jokingly telling interviewers last week that the dating rumors were “one hundred percent true.”

Shortly after that, Travis revealed he had invited Swift to one of his games, adding that he “threw the ball in her court.” Clearly, she took him up on the offer.

Watch Bill Belichick and Andy Reid’s comments on #Travlor below:

25 Sep 2023

Taylor Swift Leaves With Travis Kelce After Kansas City Chiefs Game: Watch

Was Sunday a fairy tale and Travis Kelce the prince? Taylor Swift didn’t just spend Sept. 24 cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end from his suite alongside his mom, Donna, as the team played the Chicago Bears. According to Jarrett Payton, sports reporter for WGN and co-host of GN Sports, the pop superstar and NFL player left Arrowhead Stadium together after the match, which the Chiefs won 10-41.

In a video clip Payton shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Kelce and the 12-time Grammy winner are walking by him shoulder to shoulder. The NFL star nods in greeting to the anchor and asks, “How you doin’” as Tay flashes Payton a smile and says, “Heeeeey!”

“Talk about being at the right place at the right time!” Payton captioned the quick clip of the two stars together post game. “Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after the game. #Bears #ChiefsKingdom #NFL.”

In the short video, Swift is wearing a red-and-white Chiefs jacket tied around her waist. But she wasn’t the only one wearing the swag of a rumored love interest. Kelce wore what looked like the “1989 Bedroom Painting Set” by Kid Super. The two-piece set includes a cream and light blue denim jacket ($295) and matching pants ($285); both items are currently marked “low in stock.”

After walking out of the stadium, the twosome were spotted riding off together in his convertible, according to photos acquired by TMZ.

Neither the singer-songwriter nor pro football player have confirmed whether they’re dating — though his brother Jason Kelce, a fellow NFL player, has certainly been having fun teasing the rumored romance in various interviews. Travis himself has previously shared his interest in the star. In July, after attending The Eras Tour — also at Arrowhead Stadium — Travis revealed during an appearance on the New Heights podcast that he had tried to slip her his phone number via a friendship bracelet, but failed. “I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” he admitted at the time.

Then on Thursday (Sept. 21), the tight end revealed that he had invited Swift to one of his games. “I threw the ball in her court,” he said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”

Watch Payton’s clip of Swift and Kelce leaving Arrowhead together after his game Sunday:

25 Sep 2023

Terry Kirkman, Frontman and Co-Founder of the Association, Dies at 83

Terry Kirkman, the singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the Association, a band that, during its heyday in the 1960s, landed major hits with “Windy,” “Cherish” and more, died Saturday (Sept. 23) at his home in Montclair, CA. He was 83.

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“We’re saddened to report that Terry Kirkman passed away last night, RIP Terry,” reads a post on the Association’s official social channels. “He will live on in our hearts and in the music he so brilliantly wrote. Sending hugs and lots of love to Heidi and Sasha!”

Born in Salina, Kansas, Kirkman and his friend Jules Alexander relocated to Los Angles in the early ’60s, where the seeds for the Association were planted.

Early in his California journey, Kirkman played with Frank Zappa, before the late bandleader went on to form the Mothers of Invention.

Kirkman and Alexander were founders in the Men, which would disband, and from it the Association was formed in 1964. The folk-rock group peaked two years later with a string of recordings that also included “Along Comes Mary,” “Never My Love” and “Everything That Touches You.”

Known for their sharp sense of style and smooth harmonies, the Association opened the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, recognized as the first commercial American rock festival, with a bill including Jimi Hendrix and the Who, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Canned Heat, and many more. They held their own among the legends of rock, onlookers noted at the time.

Kirkman wrote several hits for the Association, including “Cherish”, “Everything That Touches You”, and “Six Man Band,” and played a variety of wind, brass and percussion instruments on their recordings.

Kirkman left the Association at the end of 1972, following the release of seven albums, led by their 1966 debut And Then… Along Comes the Association. He returned to the fold in 1979, splitting once more in 1984 – having had enough of relentless touring.

That earlier ‘80s reunion included recording sessions which followed an appearance on the HBO special Then and Now. The Association did release a couple of singles for Elektra around that time — including “Dreamer,” which hit No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981.

Over the years, the Association was nominated for six Grammy Awards, and earned a Golden Globe nomination in 1970 for best original song, with “Goodbye Columbus.”

Various incarnations of the band continue to perform, and their albums have achieved three platinum and six gold RIAA certifications, according to the Association’s official site, with its Greatest Hits (via Warner Brothers) now double platinum.

Kirkman dies 20 years following the Association’s induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, in 2003. Bandmate Russ Giguere told his side of the band’s story in 2020’s Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits.

The artist died of congestive heart failure following a long illness, his wife Heidi Berinstein Kirkman confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.

24 Sep 2023

Fans Choose Doja Cat’s ‘Scarlet’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Doja Cat‘s Scarlet tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 22) on Billboard, choosing Doja’s new album as their favorite music release of the past week.

Scarlet brought in more than 40% of the vote, beating out new music from Shakira and Fuerza Regida, Kylie Minogue, Zach Bryan and more.

Doja Cat’s Scarlet, her fourth studio album, marks her highly anticipated return following 2021’s Planet Her, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and delivered plenty of Hot 100 hits.

She’ll be heading out on a 24-date trek in support of the album with The Scarlet Tour, which kicks off on Halloween in San Francisco and wraps Dec. 13 in Chicago. Ice Spice and Doechii have been announced as opening acts.

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Trailing behind Scarlet on the poll is Shakira and Fuerza Regida’s “El Jefe,” with 24% of the vote, and Minogue’s Tension, with 16% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.