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Ed Sheeran has hit back at a report that claimed he attended a New Year’s Eve party at J.K. Rowling’s Scottish residence. The “Shape Of You” singer took to his Instagram Stories last night (Jan. 21) to contest the original report by The Sun newspaper. The story claimed that Sheeran was rumoured to have attended […]
Jennie, a founding member of K-pop quartet BLACKPINK, has officially announced her debut solo album, Ruby.
Slated for release on March 7, the highly anticipated project boasts an impressive lineup of collaborators, including Childish Gambino, Dua Lipa, Doechii, Dominic Fike, FKJ, and Kali Uchis.
The album and its star-studded roster of guest artists were revealed on the singer’s social media on Jan. 21 via a teaser video and pre-order launch through her independent label, Odd Atelier.
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Ruby will feature 15 tracks, including her October 2024 single “Mantra,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Global 200.
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The single marked a turning point in her solo career, setting the stage for what Jennie previously described as her “album journey.”
In a recent interview with Billboard, Jennie reflected on the deeply personal process of creating Ruby. “It’s not nice to be someone who’s always like, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t say anything,’ ” she said of the project she began in early 2024. “I want to say I’m almost there.” Acknowledging the challenges she faced along the way, she added, “I’m just going to say, ‘I don’t do well with time.’”
Since debuting with BLACKPINK in 2016, Jennie has been part of their stratospheric rise to global fame. BLACKPINK’s groundbreaking achievements include becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella in 2019 and the first South Korean girl group to top the Billboard 200 with their second album, Born Pink, in 2022.
In late 2023, Jennie launched Odd Atelier and partnered with Columbia Records, giving her the creative freedom to pursue her solo aspirations.
“While I was on my last BLACKPINK tour, I couldn’t stop myself from starting to plan ahead,” Jennie said. “I listed out the things that I want in my life and started pinpointing, or prioritizing, what’s my very next step. And instantly, I was like, ‘I still haven’t accomplished the dream of releasing a solo album.’ I wanted to satisfy myself by achieving that goal.”
In addition to releasing long-awaited solo music, Jennie also made her acting debut back n 2023 in the HBO drama series The Idol and was named an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire. In March 2024, she also teamed up with Brockhampton’s Matt Champion to release a collaboration, titled “Slow Motion.”
Billy Corgan and Bill Burr found themselves at the center of an unexpected family mystery during their recent appearance on Howie Mandel Does Stuff.
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman and the comedian were sprung with a surprise meeting organised by Mandel, during which the pair discussed their uncanny resemblance, along with the suggestion they might share a father.
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The saga began back in November when Corgan appeared on the podcast and a mix-up by Mandel’s production team displayed a photo of Burr during his segment. This prompted Corgan to share a bizarre anecdote involving his stepmother, who had once suggested Burr might be one of his father’s illegitimate children.
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“About 10 years ago, one of my brothers was having a birthday party, and my stepmother was there, who was obviously married to my father. And my stepmother said to me, ‘Do you know who Bill Burr is?,’” Corgan recalled at the time. “Now at that point, I had never heard of Bill Burr; I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know he was a comedian or anything. He could have been the guy down the street.”
He continued, “She said, ‘Well, he’s this comedian.’ And I think I even somehow called up a picture on the phone, and I kind of noticed right away, ‘Gee, he kind of looks like my father.’ Bill Burr looks more like my father than Bill Burr looks like me or I look like Bill Burr. So I said to my mother, ‘Why are you asking me this?’”
“She goes, ‘I think it might be one of your father’s illegitimate children. Bill Burr might be one of the children that your father sired in his days being a traveling musician,’” he said.
Fast-forward to January, when Mandel orchestrated a surprise reunion between Corgan and Burr, bringing them together for the first time. Burr greeted the rocker with a casual “What’s up?” before turning to Mandel with mock irritation, quipping, “You’re an a——.” The conversation quickly turned into comedic gold as the two riffed on their supposed familial connection.
“Did you ever think the fact that I never told that story, that maybe you shouldn’t?” Burr joked to Corgan. “It’s not that I don’t like [Corgan], it reminds me of all of that s—.”
Corgan joined in, dismissing the idea that their resemblance could mean they’re related. “The fact that he said he can’t sing, I think, disproves that we’re related, ’cause I’m not funny,” he remarked. “So… it goes both ways.” At one point, Mandel even suggested that Burr should join the Smashing Pumpkins as a drummer.
Burr then asked Mandel, “What was supposed to happen? Are we gonna go play catch? We’re both in our fifties.”
While the attempted family reunion may not have been successful, Corgan’s career with the Smashing Pumpkins continues to thrive, with the band’s legacy cemented by hits like “1979,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” which reached No. 22. Their double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earning critical acclaim and commercial success as one of the defining records of the 1990s.The album has since achieved Diamond certification, selling over 10 million copies worldwide.
In 2024, The Smashing Pumpkins released their 13th studio album, Aghori Mhori Mei, which saw a return to their early 90s sound with original members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha.
Icelandic musician Björk has offered a rather fresh take on the global state of affairs, admitting she’s feeling surprisingly optimistic about the future of the planet.
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Björk made her comments in a new interview with Paper, where she spoke at length about her Cornucopia concert tour, which ran from 2019 – 2023. Not named for a specific album but thematically associated with 2017’s Utopia, the tour itself was a large-scale theatrical production which was described as her most ambitious to date.
Alongside elements of science fiction, the live show’s narrative was heavily focused around environmental concerns, with Björk ultimately asking the audience to think of contemporary issues affecting the world – such as the Paris Climate Accord (which newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump removed the U.S from once again).
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“If we think of whatever climate accord we’re trying to reach as completely unreachable, then we’ll never be able to meet these goals,” Björk explained. “The only way to do it is to imagine a future and then step into it. We have to write climate accords that we can reach. We have to keep tweaking it until we get it right. And I’m hoping the next generation, when they take over, they’ll think about it in a different way and come up with different solutions, green ways of living.”
As she continued, Björk discussed her own experiences with activism, noting how her 2007 track “Declare Independence” was her first foray into blending art and activism – a concept she previously found laughable but eventually grew to embrace. Despite the doom and gloom going on in the world, however, she explained that she’s feeling “very excited about 2025”.
“There have always been apocalypses. We had Noah and the flood, we’ve had plagues,” she explained. “There’s always been this narrative, and now I think it’s about being active and being part of the solution. And also to have the courage to imagine a future and be in it, to be it. To inspire your work locally in your community or however you think you can make a difference. It is important.
“I do find it hard to watch some of these post-apocalyptic shows or films,” she adds. “It’s like you’ve just given up — the nihilism, the self-pity, it’s like it’s cool to give up. [Laughs] I don’t think it’s cool to give up. So it’s about figuring out how we can keep humanity and soul in the future worlds we’re building, where nature and technology can collaborate. But I think it is possible. I think with imagination, biology can take it, biology will be fine. Biology always wins.”
In September 2024, Björk previewed her Cornucopia concert film as part of Climate Week, with the film – which showcases a live performance of her tour, filmed in Lisbon, Portugal – arriving on Apple TV on Friday (Jan. 24).
Post Malone is the latest artist to hold the title of Record Store Day Ambassador, the annual event has announced.
Set to take place on April 12, Record Store Day returns for its 18th year in 2025, celebrating close to two decades of supporting physical media, independent artists, and brick-and-mortar record stores. Now, Malone has been announced as the artist who is being honored with the title of 2025’s Record Store Day’s Ambassador.
“What an honor, I can’t believe I was chosen to be Record Store Day’s Ambassador for 2025,” Malone said in a statement. “Record Store Day is so important and I really hope to do my part to keep it alive. We love hitting local shops when we’re on the road, seeing all the crazy artwork, the whole energy in a record store is just super inspiring. I feel at home.
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“It’s really an unexplainable feeling to hit up a shop and dig through crates, just see what grabs your eye. You can be looking for something super specific and end up finding something totally different. It’s the best. Keep supporting y’all and let’s keep records and these local shops going strong. Happy Record Store Day everybody!”
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Malone joins a list of musical luminaries to hold the title, which has been bestowed annually since 2009. Previous years have seen the likes of Jack White, Run the Jewels, Ozzy Osbourne, Brandi Carlile, Metallica, and St. Vincent assume the role. In 2024, Paramore were the U.S. Ambassadors while Kate Bush took on duties for Record Store Day’s U.K. edition.
Traditionally, the Record Store Day Ambassador also partakes in the event by issuing a limited edition release on the day, though the list of exclusive releases for 2025 has not yet been announced. However, considering the success of his F-1 Trillion album in 2024 – which marked his transition to country music and topped the Billboard 200 – it could be speculated any prospective release will be related to his latest record.
“I’m very excited about Ambassador ‘Posty’”, added Record Store Day co-founder Carrie Colliton in a statement. “Musically, he’s all over the place — just like record stores and their customers, especially some of the newest, youngest people to embrace their local brick-and-mortar spaces.”
Since the fall of 2023, the Las Vegas Sphere has hosted U2, Phish, Dead & Company, Anyma and a current residency from the Eagles. And last week, Kenny Chesney was announced as the arena’s first country headliner. The announcement has the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast asking: When will we see a pop star at the […]
After reality TV stars Heidi Montag and husband Spencer Pratt lost their home in the Pacific Palisades wildfire in Los Angeles, an outpouring of support drives Montag’s 2010 album Superficial and its songs to debuts across a range of Billboard’s charts (all dated Jan. 25) – including the Billboard 200, Top Album Sales, Top Dance […]
As the world nears a decade since Faith No More‘s last large-scale live show, longtime keyboardist and guitarist Roddy Bottum has admitted that he’s as unclear about the band’s future as anyone.
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Bottum, who has performed with the band since they established themselves as Faith No More in 1983, made the admission during a recent interview with Chile’s Radio Futuro when he was asked about the current state of the band.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know,” Bottum admitted. “And you don’t have to believe me, but there’s nothing… Right now we’re in a really weird spot, a really strange spot, and I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people, and I’m in the band.”
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Bottum also asserted that he’s not the one calling the shots in the band, stating, “Not really. If I did, probably we’d be playing in Chile next week.”
Originally emerging out of the San Francisco group Sharp Young Men, Faith No More adopted their most famous moniker in 1983, and released a total of six albums prior to their dissolution in 1998. Their biggest successes came about following the inclusion of vocalist Mike Patton in 1988, with their following albums – 1989’s The Real Thing and 1992’s Angel Dust – peaking at No. 11 and No. 10 on the Billboard 200, respectively.
The group reunited in 2009, touring globally before releasing their Sol Invictus album in 2015. That same year resulted in the band’s final shows, though a pair of dates took place in 2016 with former vocalist Chuck Mosley to celebrate the reissue of their 1985 debut, We Care a Lot. Mosley would pass away one year later at the age of 57.
Faith No More had initially planned to make their live return in 2020, though shows across the U.S., Europe, and Australia were later postponed due to the COVID pandemic. In 2021, the dates were canceled entirely, with Patton announcing his activities with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle had been shelved due to “mental health reasons” which he later explained was a diagnosis of agoraphobia.
While Patton and Mr. Bungle would later return to the stage, Faith No More have remained quiet ever since, with Bottum describing the band’s current status as being on a “semi permanent hiatus” in October 2024.
Travis Barker is showing his respect for the firefighters who continue to risk their lives in order to contain and extinguish the catastrophic Los Angeles fires. The Blink-182 drummer was photographed at the Rose Bowl Complex in Pasadena, California, earlier this week, where he met with incarcerated firefighters on the front lines and members of […]
Kelly Clarkson has proven once again that she can sing any song in any genre, taking on Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” for the Tuesday (Jan. 21) installment of her talk show’s Kellyoke segment. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Dressed in a brown leather maxi […]
