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Because they knew each other, Kristin Chenoweth and Ariana Grande have been changed for good — and now, they have matching jackets to prove it.
On Monday (Dec. 2) — just over a week after Jon M. Chu’s Wicked premiered in theaters Nov. 22 — the 56-year-old singer-actress revealed on Instagram that she’d surprised the 31-year-old pop star with coordinating pink denim coats while on set together. In the film, Grande plays Glinda — a role Chenoweth originated on Broadway — while the Our Little Secret star makes a cameo alongside Idina Menzel, who first played Cynthia Erivo’s role of Elphaba.
“Leading my babygirl down the yellow brick road,” Chenoweth captioned her post, sharing multiple photos of herself and the “Yes, And?” singer posing in their new apparel. “I surprised @arianagrande with these jackets on set at @wickedmovie… a little physical memento of our ‘passing of the wand.’”
The backs of the jackets feature custom illustrations of Grande and the Broadway legend holding hands while walking down Oz’s famous Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City, both of them dressed in Glinda gowns. The two women have been in each other’s lives for about two decades now, first meeting when the Victorious alum saw the original Broadway cast of Wicked when she was a child. When Grande was cast to play Chenoweth’s iconic role in the two-part film adaptations, the latter was on hand to give the former advice and support throughout the two-year production process.
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“[Ariana] was really nervous,” Chenoweth recalled on The Kelly Clarkson Show last year. “She said, ‘I want to pay homage to you but I’m scared. I want to make you proud.’ I go, ‘Well you’ve already made me proud, so it doesn’t matter … What I want to encourage you to do, Ariana, is make Glinda your Glinda. Sure, you can tip your hat at me if you want, but really I just want you to do you.”
In her Monday post, Chenoweth added, “I’ll lead you down any road you let me, Ari. I’m so so proud of you baby. 🫧”
The “We Can’t Be Friends” artist wrote in the comments, “my entire heart 🫧 thank you for your thoughtfulness, generosity and support ♡ my Glinda.”
In the 10 days since its release worldwide, Wicked has seen massive success. Its soundtrack album recently opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 — the highest ever debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical on the chart — and the film has so far brought in over $260 million in North America, becoming the highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office based on a Broadway musical.
The project has also generated newfound interest in the original Broadway soundtrack led by Chenoweth and Menzel. A quarter-century after it was first released, the musical’s album reached the top 40 of the Billboard 200 for the first time ever, jumping to No. 33 on the chart dated Dec. 7.
Sixteen-year-old New York native Sydney Sterlace made a strong case for a slot in the upcoming finals when the Team Gwen singer wowed the studio audience and viewers on Monday night (Dec. 2) during the launch of the live rounds on The Voice. Dramatically backlit, Sterlace stood alone center stage in a black and tan […]
Taylor Swift has a new plaque to hang up behind her desk at the Tortured Poets Department, as the Recording Industry Association of America has announced that her blockbuster 11th studio album went 6x Platinum Nov. 30. In an Instagram post delivering the news Monday (Dec. 2), the RIAA revealed that the pop star’s The […]
Fresh off teaming up for a pair of tracks on Kendrick Lamar’s GNX album, K. Dot and SZA are joining forces for the co-headlining 2025 Grand National Tour. Presented by Live Nation, pgLang and Top Dawg Entertainment, the North American trek featuring the former TDE running mates is set to invade 19 stadiums across the […]
Will Smith appears to be ramping up his return to music with the announcement of a summer 2025 set at France’s Positiv Festival next summer. The Bad Boys actor will mark his first-ever concert in France on July 31 when he takes the stage at the Roman Theatre of Orange.
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According to an announcement from the festival, the Oscar and Grammy-winning star will play a set of hits, including “Men in Black,” “Miami” and “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” among others. “A unique performance that will bring together more generations of fans of Will Smith’s inimitable energy!,” read the post.
Smith has not released a studio album since 2005, when he dropped his fourth full-length solo LP, Lost and Found, which topped out at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart. After launching his movie career in the early 1990s, Smith has mostly focused on acting, most recently appearing in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. He won an Oscar for his work in the biographical tennis drama King Richard in 2022, collecting the hardware after he stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke referencing Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
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The actor eventually apologized for the incident and resigned from the Motional Picture Academy — which meant he can no longer vote for the Oscars, but can sill be nominated — followed by the organization announcing that he will be banned from the Oscars for the next decade.
Smith has been teasing a return to music, including recently dropping a new single, “Work of Art,” which features his son, Jaden Smith, as well as rapper Russ. In April, Smith made a surprise cameo during J. Balvin’s Coachella set, followed by the live debut of his gospel-tinged song “You Can Make It” at June’s BET Awards.
Earlier this year, Smith first discussed his upcoming album — tentatively titled Dance in Your Darkest Moments — saying, “Over the past year and a half, I’ve been in the studio. I have a project that is the most personal and powerful music project I’ve ever done. The idea of the music is, ‘Dance in your darkest moments.’” In July, Smith, who released his first three albums on Columbia Records and Lost and Found on Interscope, signed to Slang Music Group, home to Big Sean, Mira Black, Niki Lynette, Savvy & Mandy and Syleena Johnson.
Check out Positiv’s Smith announcement below.
With 2024 coming to an end, Apple Music and Shazam are looking back on a great year in music. Apple Music released its year-end charts on Tuesday (Dec. 3), with Kendrick Lamar coming in at No. 1 on the Top Songs of 2024: Global list with “Not Like Us.” Coming in at second place is […]
Britney Spears celebrated her 43rd birthday on Monday (Dec. 2), the same day a California court declared her officially single. According to People, the declaration came seven months after her divorce from ex-husband Sam Asghari was finalized in Los Angeles.
Spears and actor/model Asghari, 30, separated in July 2023, 13 months after their wedding and six years after they first began dating; Asghari filed for divorce in August 2023 citing irreconcilable differences.
Back in October, thrice-wed Spears celebrated that time she “married” herself in a throwback video that appeared to be similar to one from 2022, in which she wrote, “The day I married myself … Bringing it back because it might seem embarrassing or stupid, but I think it’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever done !!!”
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Spears was also briefly married to childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004 before tying the knot with dancer Kevin Federline that same year; she and Federline had two sons, Sean Preston, 19 and Jayden James, 18 before breaking up in 2007. In 2022, the singer married actor/personal trainer Asghari, with whom she split less than two years later.
While Spears did not address her new state-sanctioned singledom on her socials, she did post a video on Instagram in which she lashed out at one of her persistent tormentors: the paparazzi. “It really hurts my feelings that the paparazzi make my face look like I’m wearing a white Jason mask,” Spears said in the birthday selfie video post in which she referred to the iconic white hockey mask worn by teen terrorizer Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th horror movie series.
“It doesn’t even look like me. They’ve always been incredibly cruel to me,” she added. “The way they’ve illustrated me to be. Some of it I know I’m not perfect at all by any means, but some of it is extremely mean and cruel and that’s why I’ve moved to Mexico.” While Spears has often vacationed in Mexico, the clip appeared to be the first time she mentioned moving to the country.
In an earlier video, Spears again lashed the paps for how they make her look and noted that she is not, in fact turning 42 (as noted above, she turned 43 on Monday), but instead said “I’m turning five… I’m turning five-years-old. I have to go to kindergarten tomorrow.” It was unclear at press time what the latter comment was referring to.
Watch Spears’ videos below.
Days before Super Bowl LIX, which will take over New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Sunday, Feb. 9, Bud Light will start the weekend right with an intimate show from a massive star. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Friday, Feb. 7, Post Malone will perform at […]
Jonathan Groff has endeared himself to huge audiences playing some of the most beloved (and different) roles in modern musical theater: breaking hearts as the original Melchior in Spring Awakening; cracking up as King George in Hamilton; and most recently turning in his most complex performance yet as Franklin Shepard in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, for which he won his first Tony award.
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Now, Groff is adding to that diverse resume of roles with perhaps the most unexpected of all. In the new musical Just in Time, he’ll play Bobby Darin, the iconic crooner known for his renditions of songs like “Beyond the Sea,” “Dream Lover” and “Mack the Knife.” Developed and directed by Alex Timbers, the show features Groff anchoring a cast of 16 in one of Broadway‘s most unique and intimate theaters, the Circle in the Square. Previews begin March 28, 2025 in advance of an April 23 opening — but you can hear Groff singing as Darin for the first time here, as Billboard premieres his recordings of “Beyond the Sea,” “Dream Lover” and “Just in Time.”
As Groff tells Billboard, his preparation process for the role began seven years ago, when he was researching the singer while putting together a concert of his music for the 92nd St. Y in New York. “We’ve been developing this musical about his life ever since then,” Groff says. “Bobby Darin was the consummate performer. And he was way ahead of his time. He had this chameleon ability to jump styles and genres way before it became popular for pop artists to do that. Having this opportunity to play him, I get to push myself to places I’ve never gone before as a singer or performer. My heart races just thinking about it.”
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Timbers — who won a Tony for his direction of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and has brought his vision to shows ranging from Here Lies Love to The Pee-wee Herman Show — calls Darin “a singular talent whose music lives on today,” but notes that “what was so memorable to the people who knew him was his connection with an audience.” With Just in Time, “We’re doing everything we can to try to transform our Broadway theater to evoke a 1960s club,” he tells Billboard, “and allow our audience to experience what it was like to be in a room, up close, with one of that generation’s most electric performers.”
Just in Time features a book by Tony-winner Warren Leight (Side Man) and Isaac Oliver (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel); music supervision and arrangements by Andrew Resnick (Parade); choreography by Shannon Lewis; and is based on an original concept by Ted Chapin. Along with Groff, the cast includes Joe Barbara (A Bronx Tale The Musical), Tony-winner Michele Pawk (Wicked), Lance Roberts (The Music Man), Caesar Samayoa (Come From Away), Christine Cornish (Kiss Me, Kate), Julia Grondin (Funny Girl), Valeria Yamin (Moulin Rouge!), John Treacy Egan (My Fair Lady), Tari Kelly (Mr. Saturday Night), Matthew Guy Magnusson, Khori Michelle Petinaud (Lempicka), and Larkin Reilly (Bad Cinderella).
The Goo Goo Dolls apologized to fans on Tuesday (Dec. 3) after announcing that they’ve been forced to cancel a planned run of headlining shows in South Africa after singer John Rzeznik was hospitalized with pneumonia. “We’re heartbroken to postpone our South Africa shows. This country means so much to us, and we were so […]
