Music News

19 Jul 2023

Beyoncé Announces First New Perfume In Almost 10 Years

On the heels of the launch of the North American leg of her blockbuster Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé has announced yet another new venture. This time, the “Heated” singer is returning to the fragrance world.

On Wednesday (July 19), Beyoncé announced the imminent release of her first new perfume since 2014’s Rise. As with most news from Queen Bey, details surrounding the new scent are scarce. According to her website, the untitled “eau de parfum” will cost $160 and only be available in the U.S. and Canada as a Beyonce.com exclusive. The fragrance’s description also reveals that bottles will begin shipping in November, and a “special gift” is included with each purchase. The perfume’s top notes include clementine and golden honey, with base notes of Namibian myrrh and golden amber, and heart notes of rose absolute and jasmine sambac.

Beyoncé has released a plethora of perfume lines, including Heat (2010), Pulse (2011), and Rise (2014). Heat is by far the “America Has a Problem” singer’s most successful fragrance, spawning seven different spin-off scents. Heat is one of the best-selling celebrity-endorsed perfumes of all time. While a new perfume isn’t exactly what fans meant in their demands for the Renaissance visuals, Queen Bey’s latest scent is sure to be a success, if her prior perfumes are anything to go by.

According to Beyoncé’s website, the new perfume was created in France and will be “encased in art” — two potential clues that may point towards a link between the fragrance and her Renaissance album. The “Plastic Off the Sofa” singer is currently traveling across the United States on her Renaissance World Tour. The stadium tour grossed $154 million and sold one million tickets in Europe alone.

Click here to find out more about Beyoncé’s mysterious new perfume.

19 Jul 2023

Ryan Gosling Offers BTS’ Jimin a Special Gift for Wearing ‘Permission to Dance’ Outfit in ‘Barbie’

According to Ryan Gosling, who stars as Ken in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, there is one cardinal rule that Kens are not allowed to break.

The actor appealed to BTS‘ Jimin ahead of the movie’s release on Wednesday (July 19) to confess that he accidentally copied one of the K-pop star’s iconic outfits and offered a special gift in exchange for the fashion faux pas.

“Hi Jimin, it’s Ryan Gosling here. I notice that your “Permission to Dance” outfit is the same as my Ken outfit in the upcoming movie Barbie. I have to give it to you — you wore it first. You definitely wore it best and there’s an unspoken Ken code that if you bite another Ken’s style, you have to give them your most prized possession,” he said in a video posted to Barbie‘s official Twitter page. “I hope you’ll accept Ken’s guitar as my humble offering. Besides, Ken doesn’t really play anyway, so…it’ll be much better in your hands.”

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The outfit in question was Jimin’s black Western inspired shirt with intricate embroidery and white tassels worn in the “Permission to Dance” video. Jimin paired the top with black denim, while Gosling as Ken wore the look with a pink bandana around his neck and a white cowboy hat. “Had to give Jimin this [guitar emoji] for his KEN-RGY!” the account captioned the video.

ARMY members could help but interact underneath the post, with one user writing, “I need to see Jimin with the guitar immediately”Omg can’t wait to see Jimin plays his song “Like Crazy” with Ken’s guitar ” and another remarking, “Oh Ryan if you only knew how much Jimin watched The Notebook.” (Jimin has stated that The Notebook is one of his favorite movies and revealed he watched it at least seven times.)

See Gosling’s offering to Jimin in the video below.

19 Jul 2023

Margo Price Calls Out Jason Aldean for 2015 Blackface Photo

Margo Price has joined the conversation surrounding Jason Aldean’s controversial “Try That in a Small Town” video.

The “Hands of Time” singer took to Twitter on Wednesday (July 19) to share a photo and a corresponding The Guardian story from 2015, in which Aldean is seen posing among a group of friends at a costume party dressed as Lil Wayne (confirmed by the publication), wearing blackface and dreadlocks. “Just popping on here to say Jason Aldean is a clown,” she wrote of the culturally offensive act. “What else do y’all expect from a man who wore black face in 2015?”

See Price’s post here.

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Billboard spoke to Aldean of the blackface photo at the time. “In this day and age people are so sensitive that no matter what you do, somebody is going to make a big deal out of it,” he responded. “Me doing that had zero malicious intent … I get that race is a touchy subject, but not everybody is that way. Media tends to make a big deal out of things. If that was disrespectful to anyone, I by all means apologize. That was never my intention. It never crossed my mind.”

On Tuesday (July 18), the country singer responded to recent claims that “Try That in a Small Town” is pro-gun, pro-violence and a “modern lynching song.” The song challenges those who “pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store” or “cuss out a cop” to, as the title suggests, try those actions in a small town and “see how far ya make it down the road.” The song’s video features footage of American flag burning, protesters having confrontations with police, looters breaking a display case and thieves robbing a convenience store.

“In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to a comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests,” Jason wrote in his statement. “These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage- and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far.” 

CMT has since pulled the video from its rotation after running it for three days, Billboard confirmed, and Aldean’s wife Brittany came to his defense. On the other hand, stars like Sheryl Crow have joined Price in speaking out against Jason Aldean’s choice to perform and release a song like “Try That in a Small Town.”

19 Jul 2023

Cardi B Spent $20,000 on Her Kids’ Playground Set

Cardi B is sharing her wealth with her loved ones.

The Grammy-winning rapper chatted with The New York Times in celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, where she opened up about the “perks of fame” and how she’s been able to spoil her family. “When I bought my mom a house, that meant a lot to me. When I bought my house with my husband, that meant a lot to me. When I bought another house … damn, I bought a lot of houses,” she said.

She also shared the whopping price tag for an elaborate playground set she bought for her two children whom she shares with Offset — five-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari and nearly two-year-old Wave Set. “But it also do be the little things, right? I just bought this playground set for my kids and it’s huge. It looks insane. And I spent in the 20 thousands for it,” she admitted.

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While Cardi revealed that she’s bought more expensive things over her career, it’s important for her to buy nice things for her children because “this is what I work hard for, for my kids.”

She continued, “Overly spending on your kids doesn’t mean that you’re a great parent, but it makes you feel good. It makes you feel like that you’re living your childhood dream.”

The playground set is hardly the first lavish gift Cardi and Offset have given their children, as they’ve showered their babies with designer clothes, bags and extravagant birthday parties among other luxuries.

Last year, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Offset explained why he and Cardi find it so important to go all out for their son and daughter. “We do it big for our kids,” he said. “We love our kids.”

He added, “At the end of the day, we went through life and we didn’t have the opportunities. I bet if my mama had the chance, she would have went all out and did what she wanted to do for me. “So I’m just lending it to my kids. Just letting them see they can have another life too, you know? We work hard to do that.”

19 Jul 2023

Logic & Wife Brittney Noell Welcome Second Child: ‘We Couldn’t Be Happier’

Logic is a father of two! On Wednesday (July 19), the rapper’s wife Brittney Noell revealed that she recently gave birth to their second child together, a son named Leo.

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“Our beautiful Leo was born and we couldn’t be happier,” she wrote on Instagram, along with a white heart emoji. “We are all (especially Bobby) so in love.”

The images featured newborn Leo resting while swaddled in a blanket, a pink and blue striped hospital beanie covering his head. One photo showed Noell and Logic’s eldest son, Bobby, looking beside himself with excitement while holding the newborn, who wore a mustard yellow onesie and gray beanie.

The “1-800-273-8255” rapper first announced that he and Noell were expecting their second child in a New Year’s Day Instagram post to kick off 2023. “Happy New Baby!” Logic captioned a video on his feed, which shows Noell in a doctor’s appointment for an ultrasound viewing

Noell also shared the baby news with the world at the start of 2023 by posting an announcement of her own to Instagram. “Baby Hall #2 coming 2023,” she wrote, along with a video from her ultrasound appointment.

Logic — whose real name is Sir Robert Bryson Hall II — and Noell welcomed Bobby in 2020. The pair tied the knot a year prior in 2019.

See Noell’s Instagram post announcing the arrival of baby Leo below.

19 Jul 2023

Jamie Lynn Spears Says She Almost Auditioned for ‘Twilight’

In a different universe timeline, the iconic “Bella, where have you been, loca?” line could have been said to Jamie Lynn Spears.

The 32-year-old actress and singer sat down with Variety recently for a wide-ranging interview pegged to the upcoming release of the Zoey 101 sequel film, aptly titled Zoey 102. The ending of the beloved Nickelodeon show in 2008 came amid news that a then-16-year-old Spears was pregnant. “I think when I wrapped Zoey there were all these plans of things like, ‘Let’s go do movies.’ I was reading scripts for things I was excited about,” she recalled. “But like a lot of young girls, I thought I was in love. And there I am, pregnant at 16. I was so concerned about bringing another human being into this world, but I needed to figure out who I was.”

Among those scripts she was reading was Twilight, which came out in November 2008 starring Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan. “I did read for Twilight,” Spears admitted. “This was before vampires had really made their mark. Now we all love to watch stories about vampires, but I literally was like, ‘Vampires? Are you kidding me?’ I remember reading it and going, ‘Who is going to watch these vampires?’ Boy, was I wrong.”

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Elsewhere in the interview, Jamie Lynn talked about the current state of her relationship with her sister Britney Spears, who revealed in June that she visited her estranged younger sibling on set of Zoey 102. “I have nothing but absolute love for every single one of my family members,” Jamie Lynn said. “If I learned anything from last year, being so open and feeling like I had to defend myself at times, I don’t feel like there’s anything else that I need to say. I just have to leave it where it is because those conversations are meant to be personal. All I can focus on now is my girls, my husband and the work that I’m doing.”

19 Jul 2023

Ice Spice Reveals Deluxe Edition of ‘Like..?’ EP Is Dropping Soon

Ice Spice announced on Wednesday (July 19) that she’ll be releasing the deluxe version of her debut EP Like..? on Friday, July 21, via 10K Projects/Capitol Records.

According to Apple Music, which just announced Ice as its new Up Next artist, the expanded edition contains four more tracks. Like..? was originally released on Jan. 20, 2023, and included singles “Munch (Feelin’ U),” “Bikini Bottom,” “In Ha Mood” and “Princess Diana,” which later got a remix with Nicki Minaj that debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Lil Tjay-assisted “Gangsta Boo” cut, which samples Diddy‘s “I Need a Girl (Part Two)” featuring Ginuwine, Loon and Mario Winans became Ice’s career-first Hot 100 entry.

She teased a new single, which she confirmed was titled “Deli” on Capital XTRA Breakfast With Robert & Shayna Marie, on her TikTok earlier this month. “She a baddie, she showin’ her panty/ She shake it like jelly/ Hundred bands in Chanel-y/ But I’m still shakin’ ass in a deli,” she raps in the new snippet.

Outside of Like..?, Ice’s major hits include “Boys a liar Pt. 2” with PinkPantheress, the “Karma” remix with Taylor Swift and the Aqua-sampling “Barbie World” with Minaj from the Barbie movie soundtrack — all of which have landed in the top 10 of the Hot 100.

In her recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Ice marveled at her idol-turned-collaborator-turned-mentor Minaj. “I feel like I am absorbing advice from [Minaj] and learning from her and stuff,” she said. “And she’ll tell me, ‘Learn from my mistake, do this or don’t do that,’ or whatever. And I just really pay attention to what she’s saying. Because if there’s anyone I’m going to listen to, it’s the queen.”

See Ice Spice’s Like..? announcement below:

19 Jul 2023

BTS’ J-Hope to Release ‘Hope on the Street’ Documentary & OST Album in 2024

BTS‘ J-Hope might still be completing his military service requirement, but the rapper has big plans for the months following his release. Hope appeared on the Wednesday (July 18) episode of fellow BTS member Suga‘s SUCHWITA drinking show, during which he revealed details regarding a brand new documentary and accompanying OST album, as well as the motivations behind releasing a one year anniversary version of his debut solo album, Jack in the Box.

J-Hope’s March single “On the Street” with J. Cole served as a preview of what’s to come, he told Suga.

“There’ll be new content about my life called Hope on the Street. It’ll be about my dancing and my story,” he explained in between bites of food and drink. “The dancing scene is actually much bigger than you think. It just hasn’t risen up to the surface. But if you really dig into it, there are so many talented people and it’s a huge market. So, as I experienced that personally, although I didn’t go to a lot of cities, I traveled around the world and filmed with a lot of amazing dancers. That documentary will be out in 2024. It’s literally like it’s name, Hope on the Street. It’s just J-Hope dancing on the street.”

But that’s not all. J-Hope added, “There’s even gonna be an OST album for Hope on the Street. It’s just a special album consisting of six songs.”

While ARMY will have to wait for J-Hope’s new material, they have the one year anniversary re-release of his album Jack in the Box to look forward to. Arriving in August, the newly expanded HOPE Edition of the album includes “Lollapalooza Versions” of his songs “Equal Sign,” “Stop” and “Future,” as well as the instrumentals for “Arson” and “More.” On the new SUCHWITA episode, however, Hope revealed the album was originally supposed to be a mixtape.

“In the beginning, I started out with a mixtape concept. I thought I’d release a Weverse album or an LP just to commemorate the occasion,” he explained. “There was a bigger need for a physical album, a full album than I expected. The fans wanted it so much, and you and Jimin would also be releasing solo albums, so the fact that I didn’t have a physical album [for Jack in the Box] did bother me a little and I also felt really sorry about that to the fans, so I thought I should make one [for ARMY and the album’s first anniversary].”

Jack in the Box (HOPE Edition) will be released on Aug. 18. Watch J-Hope’s SUCHWITA episode in full in the video above.

19 Jul 2023

Jelly Roll & Bunnie XO Fulfill Cancer Patient’s Dying Wish With Special Meeting in Nashville

“Need a Favor” hitmaker Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie, who hosts the popular podcast Dumb Blonde, recently made a wish come true for a woman battling stage four cancer.

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The James Bess Foundation, a nonprofit that grants a last wish to adults battling terminal illnesses, shared a video of Nashville resident Suzanne Durham, in which Durham explains that she is battling cancer and her dying wish would be to meet Jelly Roll. Durham is a former Nashville house manager for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie are known for their devotion to fans, and this was no exception. On Wednesday (July 19), The James Bess Foundation posted another video, this time of Jelly Roll and Bunnie visiting with Durham.

The video later shows Jelly Roll leading Durham and a crowd of her friends in a singalong of songs including The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” and Alan Jackson’s classic “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.” Other videos from the event show Jelly Roll leading the audience in some of his own songs including “Creature.”

Bunnie later posted a video talking about how the meeting with Durham impacted her.

“As soon as we saw her video that was the first thing we wanted to do, was definitely make this lady’s wish come true. When I tell you it was chicken soup for the soul and everything I needed at that moment, God really works in mysterious ways, because just seeing this woman that has been given, I believe, five months to live, who has spent her entire life trying to help other people…that’s what life is all about.”

She continued, “We never know when our last breath on earth is here. If you want to waste your time spreading toxicity and dwelling on things that don’t f–king matter and don’t inspire people, I would much rather inspire people than impress people. I want to leave here with people being like, ‘Dude. She touched my life. She helped me out of a dark spot.’ That’s what I want to do. And that’s what I live for. I don’t care what anybody has to say about me. If they like me, if they don’t like me, cool. Don’t care. Cause you know what? If Suzanne was given five months to live and she chose to live her last five months inspiring people, that alone is enough motivation for me to want to do the same.”

19 Jul 2023

The Chemical Brothers’ 10th Studio Album Is Coming This Fall

The Chemical Brothers will release their 10th studio album, For That Beautiful Feeling, on Sept. 8.

The LP is the Brothers’ first since 2019’s No Geography, which won the 2020 Grammy for best dance/electronic album, with its lead single “Eve Of Destruction” winning for best dance/electronic recording.

The forthcoming 11-track collection includes the already released single “No Reason,” “The Darkness That You Fear” and “Live Again.” A video for this latter single was released on Wednesday (July 19). Dom & Nic directed the video, who with it deliver their tenth collaboration with the Brothers.

For That Beautiful Feeling was recorded at the Chemical Brothers’ studio on the south coast of England. In a press release, the album is described as “a record that hunts for and captures that wild moment when sound overwhelms you and almost pulls you under yet ultimately lets you ride its wave, to destinations unknown. It’s a record that pinpoints the exact moment you lose all control, where you surrender and let the music move you as if pulled by an invisible thread.”

The album’s release will be followed by Paused in Cosmic Reflection, a book coming October 26 that will span the Chemical Brothers’ nearly 30 year career. The book will feature new interviews with the band along with friends and collaborators including Noel Gallagher, Aurora, Wayne Coyne, Beth Orton, Beck, Michel Gondry and more.

The Chemical Brothers are touring the European festival circuit this summer, with upcoming sets at Electric Castle, Wilderness Festival, Fest Festival and more. The pair — Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons — will play a handful of standalone arena shows in the U.K. this fall.

The music video for “Live Again” above.