Music News

14 Dec 2022

Justin Timberlake Shares ‘Heartbreaking’ Tribute to Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss: ‘He Always Lit Everything Up’

Justin Timberlake is the latest to share condolences following the tragic death of Stephen “tWitch” Boss, former DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, who died by suicide at age 40 on Wednesday (Dec. 14). 

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“It’s heartbreaking to hear that someone who brought so much joy to a room, was hurting so much behind closed doors,” the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” singer wrote in a series of tweets. “I’ve known Twitch for over 20 years through the dance community – he always lit everything up. You just never know what someone is really going through.”

He also shared a sweet photo of tWitch holding up Timberlake’s wife, Jessica Biel, Dirty Dancing-style during an Ellen appearance. “Take care of yourselves. LOVE that human in the mirror. Check on your people. Sending light to his beautiful family in this dark, confusing time.  You will be missed, Sir. Rest Easy,” Timberlake concluded.

Boss’ wife, dancer Allison Holker Boss, was the first to share the news of her husband’s death through a statement to People. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us,” she wrote. “Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.

DeGeneres also mourned her friend and coworker via Twitter on Wednesday. “I’m heartbroken,” she tweeted alongside a photo of her hugging the dancer and DJ. “tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children – Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia.”

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 1-800-273-8255.

14 Dec 2022

Monique Coleman Says Disney ‘Broke My Heart’ By Not Including Her in ‘High School Musical 3’ Press Tour

While the Wildcats often seemed like they were “all in this together,” Monique Coleman didn’t always agree.

The star, who played the smart president of East High’s science club Taylor McKessie in the Disney Channel franchise, recently joined fellow Disney album Christy Carlson Romano on the latter’s most recent episode of her Vulnerable podcast. “Disney really broke my heart because when I got to the third movie, in so many ways, I really championed the film,” she explained. “I really always spoke so positively, and I was a black girl playing the smartest girl in school which was a very big deal at that time. And when it came to promoting the third movie, I wasn’t invited on the tour.”

She added that “they said something about there not being enough room on the plane,” and ended up only bringing along her costars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu. Lucas Grabeel, who plays Ryan Evans in the trilogy, was also not invited.

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“That heartbreak really hit me very deeply and did cause a bit of a depression because it helped me to recognize that I was overly identifying with what I was doing and not who I was,” she added. “And that was what led me to take that step and say, ‘Maybe this is my five minutes of fame. Maybe this is it in some way. And if that is the case, then what am I going to do with it.’”

Watch the full episode below.

14 Dec 2022

Nick Cannon Recalls the ‘Shock’ of Late Son Zen’s Brain Cancer Diagnosis

Nick Cannon sat down for a new interview Wednesday (Dec. 14) to discuss his late son Zen’s battle with a rare form of brain cancer.

Speaking to Dr. David Agus, the Masked Singer host shared that, initially, he brought Zen for a checkup when the baby started breathing abnormally. “But when we took him to the doctor, they noticed that his head was larger than it should’ve been at 2 months. And then that was the first sign that there was something occurring,” he explained in the new episode of The Checkup With Dr. Agus.

“They did a lot of tests; they didn’t let him leave the hospital,” Cannon continued. “And so you can imagine, you think you’re taking your son in to get a checkup for, at the worst I was thinking asthma, you know? And to know that he gets diagnosed with brain cancer, that was a shock.”

Cannon further explained that his and mom Alyssa Scott’s primary focus from then on was the 2-month-old’s quality of life, from letting the doctors put a shunt in to drain the fluid from his brain to deciding to forgo further, more aggressive treatment like chemotherapy.

“They pretty much told me that, ‘Best-case scenario, your son could live to 3 or 4 years old,’” he said. “And so instantly when I heard that, I was like, ‘OK, quality of life. I want him to have the best existence that he could possibly have.’”

Sadly, Zen died in December 2021 at just 5 months old. Since then, Cannon has welcomed four more children with four other women, and Scott announced last month that her second baby with the star is on the way — bringing his ever-growing brood to a full dozen.

Cannon’s episode of The Checkup is now streaming on Paramount+. Additional episodes feature interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver, Amy Schumer, Ashton Kutcher and his twin brother Michael and more.

Watch a preview of Cannon’s discussion with Dr. Agus below.

14 Dec 2022

Austin Butler Goes Green Goblin for ‘Saturday Night Live’ Promo

Austin Butler is ready to make his big debut. Not as Elvis (he did that already, starring in a biopic about the rock ‘n’ roll icon this past summer), but as a first-time Saturday Night Live host.

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On Wednesday (Dec. 14), the long-running comedy show shared the first teaser for Butler’s episode, which held a small hint of what fans can expect.

The 35-second clip kicked off with Butler heading toward the show’s famous stage, breathing an excited sigh and saying “Here we go” before surveying the space. As he walks up to the stage, a soft breeze blows through his golden blond hair and a twinkle hits his eye — but the illusion is broken when a stage hand interrupts his fantasy.

“In this sketch you’ll be the Christmas goblin,” the stage hand informs the actor. A hideous mask with a big red Santa hat on top is placed on his face by a separate stage hand, but Butler remains cool and collected. “Let’s do this,” he says, mask on his face and hands on his hips.

Butler’s hosting gig marks his first time on the show, but Saturday’s musical guest Lizzo is a veteran at this point after two previous SNL performances. Lizzo made her debut in December 2019, when she performed a holiday-themed version of “Good as Hell,” and she returned last season in April, when she both hosted and performed “About Damn Time” and “Special.”

Butler and Lizzo’s SNL episode airs Saturday, Dec. 1, on NBC. Watch Butler’s SNL teaser in the video above.

14 Dec 2022

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss Cause of Death Revealed

Editor’s note: This story contains details of a suicide.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss, former DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, died at age 40 on Wednesday (Dec. 14). Following the news, authorities have now revealed the details of Boss’ autopsy and have concluded his death was a suicide via gunshot wound to the head.

The medical examination, shared publicly by the Los Angeles Country Medical Examiner’s office, revealed that Boss was found in a hotel room when authorities arrived on the scene. No other details were revealed in the report.

Boss’ wife, dancer Allison Holker Boss, was the first to share the news of her husband’s death through a statement to People. “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us,” she wrote. “Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him. He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans.

“To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt,” continued Boss, 34. “I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory. We ask for privacy during this difficult time for myself and especially for our three children. Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you.”

The DJ first rose to prominence on MTV’s The Wade Robson Project in 2003 before earning the runner-up spot on So You Think You Can Dance in 2008. He joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a guest DJ in 2014 and later ascended the ranks to become a co-executive producer in 2020 and remained with the show until it wrapped in 2022.

DeGeneres shared her condolences via Twitter on Wednesday. “I’m heartbroken,” she tweeted alongside a photo of her hugging the dancer and DJ. “tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children – Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia.”

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 1-800-273-8255.

14 Dec 2022

Little Mix Just Had a Sweet Reunion for Christmas and ‘It Feels So Good’

Talk about a merry Little (Mix) Christmas! On Tuesday (Dec. 13), the three members of Little Mix got together to celebrate the holidays and showed their fans the reunion on social media.

“Reunited for a Christmas catch up and it feels so good,” the trio captioned the snap of themselves smiling and sandwiched together with their arms around one another. In the photo, Leigh-Anne Pinnock wears a cozy all-brown ensemble while Perrie Edwards opts for an oversized blazer in army green. Jade Thirlwall, meanwhile, gives a peek at the Egyptian tattoo on her ribcage in a crocheted white crop top and camo pants.

After announcing they’d be going on a hiatus last December, the British girl group spent the first part of 2022 on The Confetti Tour across the U.K. and Ireland in support of their sixth album of the same name. Since then, Thirlwall has inked a deal with RCA Records to launch her solo career and hopped into the studio with TWICE’s Nayeon to write album cut “Candyfloss” off the K-pop idol’s debut solo mini-album IM NAYEON.

Edwards got engaged to fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in June, just months before the pair’s Cheshire County home was burglarized while they were home with their 1-year-old son Axel. (The intruders reportedly made off with designer bags and jewelry while the family was downstairs.)

Meanwhile, former member Jesy Nelson has yet to release a follow-up to her 2021 solo single “Boyz” featuring Nicki Minaj after exiting the girl group back in December 2020.

Get a look at Little Mix’s cozy Christmas catch-up below.

14 Dec 2022

Here Are Sadie Sink’s Top Tracks From Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’

Sadie Sink is a Swiftie through and through — and not just because she starred in Taylor Swift‘s All Too Well: The Short Film.

In a new interview with Elle, the Stranger Things actress revealed that she listened to Swift’s 10th studio album, Midnights, and her top tracks are “Labyrinth,” “Sweet Nothing,” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid.” The third one on the list, she explained, is “track five – it’s always the best one.”

Sink was hand-picked by Swift to star in the epic “All Too Well” short film alongside Dylan O’Brien, chronicling seven chapters of a couple’s relationship. The 10-minute, expanded version of the fan-favorite track was featured on Red (Taylor’s Version), released in November 2021. “Of course it’s such an iconic song and the way she brought that to life on screen was really special so it was an honor to be a part of it,” Sink previously told Glamour.

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Swift’s recent album, Midnights, spent five nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, and was recently dethroned by Metro Boomin’s superstar-filled album Heroes & Villains on the Dec. 17-dated chart.

The last Swift album with more weeks at No. 1 is Folklore, which notched eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the list in 2020. Since then, she’s claimed four more chart-topping albums: Evermore (four weeks at No. 1 in 2020-21), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (two weeks, 2021), Red (Taylor’s Version) (one week in 2021) and Midnights (five weeks so far).

14 Dec 2022

Here Are the Lyrics to Argentina’s National Team Song in the 2022 World Cup

One of the most memorable moments in Latin music during the 2022 World Cup was undoubtedly “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar,” a cover of an old La Mosca song that was given new lyrics by a fan. The song has become the ultimate anthem to celebrate the achievements of the Argentine National Team in Qatar and beyond, and now it takes on special relevance with the Albiceleste’s advancement to the final of the event held this Sunday (Dec. 18).  

“Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar, quiero ganar la tercera, quiero ser campeón mundial,” or “Boys, we have our hopes up again, I want to win the third, I want to be world champion,” goes the song, which was chanted by thousands of fans on Tuesday (Dec. 13) when Argentina beat Croatia 3-0.

The song itself is a poetic ode to Argentina’s profound respect for soccer and its solidarity and empathy as a nation. It mentions the late sports legend Diego Armando Maradona cheering on Lionel Messi from heaven with his mother, Dalma Salvadora Franco, aka La Tota. She is said to have become the most influential figure for the mythical Maradona, which is why fans christened her “the Mother of Soccer.” 

“It has to do with our frustrations, our successes, our hopes, Malvinas, finals lost and finals won. And of course to have the illusion of being champions again,” Guillermo Novellis previously told Billboard.

“Muchachos” came into the public consciousness when the world’s most popular Argentine soccer player, Lionel Messi, was asked what his favorite song was during a television interview just before the World Cup kickoff. He mentioned the endearing song by La Mosca, and even sang it on screen.

“It’s like arriving in Rome and being introduced by the Pope,” Novellis told Billboard about that moment.

In November, the entire Argentina national team was caught on camera singing it at the top of their lungs as they celebrated their victory over Mexico.

“Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” is a version of “Muchachos, Esta Noche me Emborracho,” also by La Mosca, released in 2003. But the most recent version — written by soccer fan Fernando Romero in July 2021 to celebrate Argentina’s run to the Copa América final — is the one that has captured hearts.

“It’s a song that has a lot of tango in its lyrics and melody,” said Novellis. “This [newer] version started with Copa América, and the new lyrics are really good. They have to do with our frustrations, our success, our hopes, the Falklands, finals lost and finals won. And of course, the hope of being champions again. Maybe that’s why it resonated so much with fans and players.”

Here are the translated lyrics of the anthem that has gone viral during the 2022 World Cup: 

In Argentina I was born
Land of Diego and Lionel
Of the children of Malvinas
That I will never forget
I can’t explain it to you
Because you won’t understand
The finals we lost
How many years I cried
But that’s over
Because at the Maracaná
The final with the brazucas
Dad won it again
Boys
Now we’ve got our hopes up again
I want to win the third
I want to be world champion
And Diego
From the sky we can see him
With Don Diego and La Tota
Cheering Lionel on
Boys
Now we’ve got our hopes up again
I want to win the third
I want to be world champion
And Diego
From the sky we can see him
With Don Diego and La Tota
Cheering Lionel on, and to be champions again, and to be champions again

For the original Spanish lyrics, click here.

14 Dec 2022

Cher Says Mother Georgia Holt Was in ‘So Much Pain’ Before She Died

Just a few days after Georgia Holt died at 96 on Dec. 10, Cher is giving more information on her mother’s death.

After noting that she “can’t sleep very well,” on Twitter on Tuesday (Dec. 13), the “Believe” singer explained that Holt has “been Sick & rallying, she then got bad, She was in so much pain.”

Cher continued, “Finally she coded on way to [the hospital]. By time we Got to Hosp….The Woman who Who Was MY KICK A– MOM was No [longer] Here.” The 76-year-old singer did not reveal any additional details surrounding Holt’s illness.

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Cher also encouraged fans to listen to Holt’s song, “I’m Just Your Yesterday,” which features the late star’s iconic daughter. “You’ll see where I stole my voice,” Cher wrote.

Throughout her life, appeared in such films as A Life of Her Own (1950), Grounds for Marriage (1951), Father’s Little Dividend (1951) and Artists and Models (1955) and on TV shows like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and, as a “Jacques Marcel” model, on I Love Lucy (in the hilarious 1956 episode “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown”).

In the music world, she was offered a contract by Columbia Records, and in 1980 recorded an album, Honky Tonk Woman, which features “I’m Just Your Yesterday.” The album wasn’t officially released until 2013, after the master tapes were rediscovered in Holt’s garage.

“I know that a record company might want to sign me just because I’m Cher’s mother,” she told People magazine in 1978. “I’d like to have a career, but I’m not going to be a novelty or a flash in the pan. A lot of people say I can do it.”

14 Dec 2022

Metallica’s ‘Lux Æterna’ Is Already No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart

After only two weeks on the chart, Metallica’s “Lux Æterna” is No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay list dated Dec. 17.

The song climbs to the top after debuting at No. 2 on the Dec. 10 survey, the best start for any song in 16 years.

With its two-week trip to No. 1, “Lux” completes the quickest coronation in eight years. Foo Fighters’ “Something From Nothing” also took two frames in November 2014.

“Lux” and “Something” are the only two songs to need two or fewer weeks to reign in the entirety of the 2000s. Prior to “Something,” the last act to pull off the feat was Metallica with its cover of Bob Seger‘s “Turn the Page,” which hit No. 1 in its second week in November 1998.

Metallica snags its 11th Mainstream Rock Airplay leader and first since “All Within My Hands,” which crowned the ranking for four weeks in September 2020. In between “Hands” and “Lux,” the band reached No. 18 this August with the reserviced 1986 track “Master of Puppets,” following its synch in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Metallica’s 11 No. 1s, which kicked off with “Until It Sleeps” in 1996, place the band in a three-way tie for sixth all time on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981, alongside Disturbed and Foo Fighters. Shinedown leads all acts with 18 rulers.

Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay

  • 18, Shinedown
  • 17, Three Days Grace
  • 13, Five Finger Death Punch
  • 13, Van Halen
  • 12, Godsmack
  • 11, Disturbed
  • 11, Foo Fighters
  • 11, Metallica
  • 10, Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
  • 10, Volbeat

Concurrently, “Lux” ranks at No. 2 for a second week on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 4.5 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. It also lifts 35-34 on Alternative Airplay.

“Lux” leads the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs list for a second week. In addition to its radio airplay, the song scored 2.5 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads in the Dec. 2-8 tracking week.

Metallica’s 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, is due April 14, 2023.