Music News

20 Sep 2023

Jason Kelce Jokes He Believes Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Dating Rumors Are ‘One Hundred Percent True’

Is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s “Love Story” real after all? It seemed like it momentarily in a new interview when Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce shared his thoughts on the dating rumors with DeCamara & Richie on Audacy’s SportsRadio 94 WIP on Wednesday (Sept. 20).

“It’s hard to answer because I don’t really know a lot about Travis’ love life,” he told the hosts after they joked about the Kansas City Chiefs player being better looking than Brad Pitt and asking how the rumored couple are doing.

“I try to keep his business kind of his business, stay out of that world,” the Eagles player said. “But having said that, I think he’s doing great and I think it’s all one hundred percent true. I hope this thing goes the mile …”

Immediately following that, in a difficult-to-hear follow-up, he says, “Nah, I’m joking” as the hosts respond in surprise and a “good for them!”

Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.

Just last week (Sept. 14), Jason was asked about the potential romance. “I’ve seen these rumors … I cannot comment,” he said during a post-game interview. “I don’t really know what’s going on there. I know Trav is having fun, we’ll see what happens with whoever he ends up with.”

Travis scored his first regular season touchdown — a hyperextended knee sidelined him the week prior — on Sept. 17, and NFL announcer Ian Eagle used the moment to slip in a few references to Taylor Swift lyrics. “Kelce finds a blank space for the score!” he quipped, a nod to her 2014 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Blank Space.”

Then on Rich Eisen’s eponymous sports talk show, the commentator joked, “You saw it on Thursday night, when Travis Kelce wasn’t in there, it left a ‘blank space,’ but I think he returns today and proves to be the ‘anti-hero.’ Never goes ‘out of style,’” doubling down on the “Blank Space” reference and looping in 1989’s “Style” and Midnights‘ Hot 100 chart-topper “Anti-Hero.”

Travis and Taylor have been linked since July when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end attended her Eras Tour stop at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. On his New Heights podcast — which he hosts alongside his brother — Travis explained how he attempted to slip Swift his number through the tour’s now-trademark friendship bracelets.

Listen to a clip of Jason Kelce’s interview with DaCamara & Richie below:

20 Sep 2023

Sufjan Stevens Thanks Doctors After ‘Very Scary’ Guillian-Barré Syndrome Diagnosis: ‘I Owe Them My Life’

Sufjan Stevens was gearing up to promote his upcoming Javelin album (Oct. 6) when he woke up one day recently and couldn’t feel his hands of feet. The singer revealed in a length Instagram post on Wednesday (Sept. 20) that he has been missing from the press rounds in advance of his first solo collection of new tunes in three years because he’s been in the hospital battling a scary autoimmune disease.

“I’m very excited about having new music to share, but I just wanted to let you know that one of the reasons why I haven’t been able to participate in the press and promotion leading up to the release of Javelin is bc I am in the hospital,” the singer wrote along with a selfie of him in a hospital room with a walker at his side.

“Last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk. My hands, arms and legs were numb and tingling and I had no strength, no feeling, no mobility,” he explained. “My brother drove me to the ER and after a series of tests—MRIs, EMGs, cat scans, X-rays, spinal taps (!), echo-cardiograms, etc.—the neurologists diagnosed me with an auto immune disorder called Guillian-Barré Syndrome.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, the syndrome is a “rare disorder in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your hands and feet are usually the first symptoms.” The numb sensation can spread quickly and can eventually paralyze a patient’s entire body, requiring immediate hospitalization to begin treatment.

The cause of the Syndrome is unknown, but most patients report symptoms of some kind of infection (COVID-19, Zika virus, a respiratory or gastrointestinal infection) in the weeks proceeding a diagnosis. There is currently no known cure, but there are several effective treatments that can ease symptoms and reduce the illness’ duration, with recovery sometimes taking several years, though most patients can walk again within six months of the first symptoms. In rare instances, the Syndrome can be fatal.

Stevens said he was lucky that he’s received treatment via immuno-hemoglobin infusions for five days, though he had to have faith that “the disease doesn’t spread to the lungs, heart and brain. Very scary, but it worked. I spent about two weeks in Med/Surg, stuck in a bed, while my doctors did all the things to keep me alive and stabilize my condition. I owe them my life,” he wrote.

Stevens said he was transferred to an acute rehab facility on Sept. 8, where he is currently “undergoing intensive physical therapy/occupational therapy, strength building etc. to get my body back in shape and to learn to walk again. It’s a slow process, but they say I will ‘recover,’ it just takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work.”

He noted that most people with GBS learn to walk again on their own within a year, so he’s hopeful that he’ll be back on his feet at some point. “I’m only in my second week of rehab but it is going really well and I am working really hard to get back on my feet,” he said. “I’m committed to getting better, I’m in good spirits, and I’m surrounded by a really great team. I want to be well!”

The singer/songwriter promised to keep fans updated on his progress and thanked them for their thoughts and prayers. “Be well, be joyful, stay sane, stay safe. I love you,” he said. Javelin is the proper solo follow-up to Stevens’ eighth studio album, 2020’s The Ascension.

See Stevens’ post below.

 

20 Sep 2023

Wyclef Jean Delivers a Fun Musical Lesson in ‘Interrupting Chicken’

Who better to teach kids about hip-hop than Wyclef Jean?

The Haitian musician will be joining the popular Apple TV+ animated preschool series, Interrupting Chicken, with a guest star role. Jean will be playing JD, a friend to the main character Piper’s father. In an exclusive clip shared with Billboard, Jean’s character teaches the kids about his passion for music.

“Making beats put me in a happy place / Bass and the treble put a smile on my face / You want to participate? / Follow the motion wave / Like you’re part of the ocean,” he raps in the clip, with the whole family soon breaking down into some impressive dance moves.

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Interrupting Chicken is based on the 2011 book series written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein. The story features a young little chicken named Piper who has a habit of interrupting storytime with her wild imagination. Every time Piper hears a story, she can’t help but jump in, ask questions, fill in details, guess what happens next or even imagine herself in the plotline. The series stars Juliet Donenfeld as Piper and Sterling K. Brown as Papa.

The second season of the beloved series returns to Apple TV+ on Friday (Sept. 29), with Jean appearing in the second episode. Check out his adorable lesson in hip-hop below.

20 Sep 2023

Liam Payne Is ‘Out of the Hospital’ After ‘Serious Kidney Infection,’ Girlfriend Kate Cassidy Says

Liam Payne is out of the hospital and on the mend, his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy shared on Tuesday (Sept. 19).

“So I’ve gotten a lot of questions about Liam, asking about how he’s doing,” the influencer — with whom Payne made their red-carpet debut in December — said in a TikTok video in which she’s prepping to head out for London Fashion Week. “I just want to let everybody know that he’s doing so much better. He’s out of the hospital and he’s in good hands.”

Billboard has reached out to Payne’s rep for comment.

The former One Direction singer revealed in an Aug. 25 message posted to his social media accounts that he had been hospitalized with a “serious kidney infection” and was postponing his South African tour dates. “Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover,” he noted in the caption accompanying his video.

The 30-year-old also shared in the video message that he had started feeling unwell before being hospitalized. “I’ve just been advised that now is really not the right time to be out on the road trying to recover from this,” he said. “I have the best people around me trying to help me to recover as I speak.”

Payne has been open about his journey to better health in recent months. In May, he revealed that he had reached an important milestone: 100 days of sobriety. “Things are really, really good. I’m sober now over 100 days. I feel amazing,” the musician shared on IFL TV at the time. “I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I’m super happy.”

Watch Cassidy’s update about the singer below:

20 Sep 2023

Taylor Swift Reveals Four Bonus ‘Vault’ Tracks for ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’

After Swifties solved 33 million puzzles in a mad dash to reveal the “Vault” tracks slated for Taylor Swift’s upcoming 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album, the singer finally revealed which extra songs will appear on her latest re-record project.

The announced tracks that will accompany the album’s Oct. 27th release are: “Is It Over Now?,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Say Don’t Go” and “Suburban Legends.” That, of course, was not enough, as fans immediately demanded to know the name of a fifth bonus song that Swift has promised would be on the collection, as well as a Target-exclusive tune that has not yet been announced.

As with all things Swift, Google was overwhelmed by a a mad crush of activity on Tuesday (Sept. 19) when it launched a new pop-up animation to honor the anticipated 1989 release. The 89 puzzles fans were encouraged to solve to unlock the “Taylor’s Vault” tracks resulted in so much Googling that the search engine admitted it was more than the world’s leading search destination could even handle. “Swifties, the vault is jammed! But don’t worry, there are not blank spaces inside,” it tweeted Tuesday evening. “We’re in our fix-it era and will be out of the woods soon.”

It didn’t last long, though, with Google updating the status of the search on Wednesday with another barrage of Swift-related puns, “Swifties, we made it out of the woods! Bridges, built. Codes, cracked. Vault, opened.”

Swift announced the 1989 version in August, making it the fourth “Version” she’s released, since announcing her re-recording project in 2019. The previous three all spent time at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2021, Red (Taylor’s Version) with one week in 2021, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2023.

Watch the unveiling below.

20 Sep 2023

Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley Gives Health Update After Scary Pneumonia Hospitalization: ‘Not Out of the Woods Yet’

Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley is happy to be home and resting after being hospitalized last week for pneumonia. But in a post to fans on Tuesday (Sept. 19) the 43-year-old pop-punk frontman said he’s not quite “out of the woods” yet.

“I wanted to take a min to say thank you to everyone for so much love and support,” wrote Whibley. “Although I’m not out of the woods yet and have been told to be prepared for a bit of roller coaster sickness over the next couple of weeks, I’m staying positive and doing my best to get through all of this.”

Whibley’s wife, Ariana Cooper Whibley, shared on Friday that her husband was hospitalized with pneumonia that could have resulted in heart failure without intervention. The couple were supposed to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary in Chicago, but instead Deryck was rushed to the ER.

“I’m still bed ridden, having a hard time breathing, tight chest pains and some pretty wild fever dreams, that I guess are keeping this whole thing somewhat entertaining. I’m in the best hands and am on the right medicine,” Whibley wrote.

Whibley’s wife updated his condition on Sunday, saying he was home and was “responding well to his treatments.”

While he’s happy to be on the mend, Whibley said his goal is to get better in time to be his “absolute best” at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas next month, where his band is slated to perform alongside a lineup that also includes Green Day, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Rise Against, the Offspring and many more.

Whibley was hospitalized in 2014 after years of alcohol abuse caused his liver and kidneys to collapse; he was placed in a medically induced coma for a week to ward off withdrawal symptoms. Sum 41 announced in May that they were splitting after 27 years together following the release of their upcoming double-album final studio effort, Heaven :x: Hell.”

Check out Whibley’s post below.

20 Sep 2023

Snoop Dogg Shows Off His Insane Daily Blunt Tally in Rotterdam, Takes Pride In His ‘Good Work’

If you’ve seen, read or heard anything about Snoop Dogg in the past 20 years, it won’t surprise you that the man can handle his smoke. But in a road video from Rotterdam on Tuesday (Sept. 19), Snoop showed off a truly impressive weed tally during just one day in the Netherlands.

Naturally, the Doggfather was watching his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers battle their division rivals the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. But he was also putting in serious cannabis cardio work by burning down no less than 11 blunts. “Let me show y’all what I been doing today,” Snoop said as he swung the camera over to the windowsill.

“All in a day’s work,” he said as he focused on the nearly dozen thumb-sized roaches neatly lined up near the curtains. “Oh wow, that’s some good work, dog. What kinda pack was it? Death Row. Let a brother know,” he added about the smoke that came from his line of Death Row Cannabis, which launched in December.

Snoop had more than one reason to watch MNF. In addition to watching his favorite team beat the banged-up Browns, he also likely tuned in to catch his refreshed take on the Phil Collins classic “In the Air Tonight,” which he and Chris Stapleton recorded together as the lead-in to the night’s two games; the video for the song debuted on ESPN’s broadcast of the New Orleans Saints playing the Carolina Panthers and then repeated during ABC’s airing of the Browns-Steelers game.

Watch Snoop daily haul below.

20 Sep 2023

Selena Gomez Was Initially Against ‘My Mind and Me’ Doc, Then Relieved and Now Vows to ‘Never Watch It Again’

Selena Gomez provided a rare, raw glimpse into her personal life in the 2022 Apple TV+ documentary series My Mind & Me, an inside look at six years in the singer/actress’ life, chronicling the highs and lows of fame, her struggles with mental health and body image and life after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, in a chat with Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and Thrive Global CEO Arianna Huffington at Tuesday’s (Sept. 19) Thrive Global Music & Health Conference, the Only Murders in the Building star said if she had to do it over again she might have passed on sitting for director Alek Keshishian to spill her guts.

“I was very against it. There was a very long period of time where I just didn’t know if it was a good idea,” Gomez said of her first thoughts on the doc. “I knew, eventually, one day I wanted to maybe just be an actress for a while, and I didn’t know if it would jeopardize things in my life. I don’t know what I’m doing, letting people into my life. And then the moment it was released…I had no choice at that point. And I was relieved. I felt like a huge weight was lifted.”

The good part was that she got to say some things that had been on her mind for years, but Gomez said now it’s “very hard” for her to watch the series. That said, “I will never watch it again, but I’m very proud of it. I couldn’t have been luckier to have the people that worked on it with me,” she added.

With best-selling albums, a hit show in Murders and a successful Rare Beauty cosmetics line, the hosts wondered if Gomez might further expand her brand some day by writing a memoir. “Oh no, I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not wise enough. I don’t think I can do that. But does it mean that one day I wouldn’t be interested? I have fun things I would like to say but not right now.”

Gomez was also asked about how she thinks artificial intelligence might impact the music industry in the midst of the historic dual Hollywood strike by actors and writers, which is predicated in part on the striking artist’s desire to get assurances about how studios plan to employ AI creatively.

“I don’t think anybody in my field wants to feel like they need to lean on a computer in order to translate their story or what they’re trying to say,” she said. “It terrifies me, to be honest, the whole AI thing, but I don’t think you could ever replace what a human being can write… Lil Wayne said it really well, and he was basically saying that there’s no other human like who you are. And that’s all it should be.”

Gomez recently released the bouncy song “Single Soon,” which is expected to appear on her upcoming third studio album, whose release date has not yet been announced.

20 Sep 2023

Ed Sheeran Recorded a Live Version of ‘Autumn Variations’ Album in Sheerios’ Living Rooms

Ed Sheeran is about to release his second album of the year when his Aaron-dessner produced Autumn Variations collection drops on Sept. 29. Actually, we found out on Tuesday (Sept. 19) that he’s also preparing to release his third album of 2023. In an Instagram post, Sheeran revealed that he’s recorded a surprise secret live version of Variations that he tracked in fans’ living rooms across the country.

“So I did some surprise pop up gigs in fans houses, secretly recording a live album of Autumn Variations where each song is recorded in a different fans living room, but all of it was a total surprise,” he wrote alongside a video in which he performs “Wake Me Up” on a superfans’ keyboard as she freaks out and sings along silently with him.

“We got to @kariconaway ‘s house at the end of the day, and I instantly knew it was gonna be a fun one. They had cats, friendship bracelets and some fruit drinks to start, but once I’d played the Autumn song I said take me on a tour, and when I went into her room I saw a piano,” he added. “She asked if I could play and I said ‘not really but I kinda play on wake me up’, so here I am playing ‘Wake Me Up,’ for all the Plus fans out there.”

Sheeran said the live Autumn Variations album — the follow-up to his sixth studio album, – (Subtract), which was released in May — will be “coming soon.”

Back in May, Conway chronicled meeting Sheeran at the outset of the Mathematics tour and earlier this month she posted video of Sheeran showing up with his guitar, pouring some drinks, playing with her cat and playing an acoustic set in her bedroom. “This is what happens when you don’t shut up about your favorite artist ? The secret is out and I can say that ED SHEERAN came to my house to visit ME… #screamingcryingthrowingup#WHAT#edsheeran#sheerio#girldad#whatthefanfiction,” she wrote.

Sheeran posted a TikTok earlier this month hinting at the surprise (it’s the same one Conway re-posted on her Insta feed), in which he promised “surprise pop ups in fans houses to record something special, coming soon. PS your cats were cool.” Sheeran will perform Variations in full at a pair of gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 18-19; the North American leg of the Mathematics tour will wrap on Saturday )Sept. 23) at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Check out Sheeran’s announcement and Conway’s videos below.

20 Sep 2023

Angélique Kidjo, JP Saxe Lead Intimate Concert For United Nations Human Rights

Angélique Kidjo and JP Saxe have thrown their talents behind a special invite-only concert in New York, part of an expanding United Nations initiative to highlight climate justice and rights-based climate action.

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Kidjo, the five-time Grammy Award-winning Beninese-French singer-songwriter, and Saxe, the Grammy nominated Canadian singer and musician, both performed at a private industry event, hosted at the Recording Academy’s office with reps from UN Human Rights watching on.

The Recording Academy is the official music partner of Right Here, Right Now Music, supported by United Nations Human Rights, with both organizations coming together to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, created in the wake of WWII to outline universal human rights.

Guests at the intimate show also learned “alarming new facts” about the escalating human rights crisis caused by climate change, according to a joint statement.

The music-led project is just getting started. Some of the “most popular arena acts” will be encouraged to use their considerable voice to elevate climate issue for the Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concert series. As-yet unannounced major artists will be tapped to perform in “small iconic concert venues” around the world, a statement explains, while shining a light on climate issues such as floods, droughts, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, clean water, ocean acidity, deforestation, as well as food insecurity, mental health, and more.

The first international activation is set for Dec. 9 with a show at the Atlantis in Dubai during COP28, the UN’s annual global climate change conference.

Grammy-nominated Lumineers’ frontman Wesley Schultz and British singer-songwriter YOLA performed at the first U.S. event, held April 13 in Boulder, Colorado, at which the performers delivered speeches “addressing the importance of utilizing music as a tool to combat climate change,” read a joint statement issued at the time.

Berlin, London, Kigali, Seoul, and Rio de Janeiro are among the cities being considered for Right Here, Right Now Mini Global Climate Concerts next year.

Through the climate concerts, says David Clark, founder and CEO of Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, parent organization of Right Here, Right Now Music, “we seek to reframe the climate crisis as the fundamental human rights crisis that it is and thank the Recording Academy and UN Human Rights for being such dedicated partners in this worldwide effort.”

Adds Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, “I look forward to working alongside UN Human Rights to showcase how the power of music can raise awareness and help promote change surrounding human rights issues around the world.”

Proceeds from the concert series will go to United Nations Human Rights climate justice initiatives and music industry charity MusiCares.

The Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance was presented at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland and has earned support from a growing list of artists, including Jack Black, Camila Cabello, Cher, Dead & Company, Celine Dion, Michael Franti, Quincy Jones, Kesha, Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, LL Cool J, Pitbull, Joss Stone, Bob Weir, and more.