Music
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Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” landed a sixth week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart April 25, and becomes the longest running chart-topper since Sabrina Carpenter’s nine-week run with “Taste” in 2024. Last week, Warren broke the tie he held with Lola Young’s “Messy” for 2025’s longest running No. 1 in the U.K. “Messy” had […]
Taylor Swift has returned to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart April 25 with The Tortured Poets Department following a recent physical reissue. A new signed CD variant, released to commemorate the album’s first anniversary on April 19, propelled the album 23 places to the top spot. Upon release in April 2024 2024, The […]
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After 10 years, Ari Lennox and J. Cole’s Dreamville Records are parting ways. TMZ is reporting that the 34-year-old singer is now signed exclusively to Interscope Records.
Ari’s new single, “Soft Girl Era,” an upbeat, bouncy track, doesn’t list Dreamville in the credits.
The split is reportedly amicable. Earlier this month at the Dreamville Festival, the singer shouted out J. Cole during her curtain call saying, “Thank you for making my dreams a reality,” according to HotNewHipHop.
Their relationship has been fraught with some clashes over marketing and other support. Last year, Ari wrote on Instagram, “I want out of my contract.”
The “Shea Butter Baby” singer aired numerous grievances, including the release of a video she hadn’t approved and a lack of advertising, according to Complex.
“I’m saying very clearly I’m not comfortable with it being out for multiple reasons,” she wrote, and tagged both Interscope and Dreamville in the post, adding: “I just wish I had a label that cared, that would want to protect me. I wish I had a label that wouldn’t have me out here trying to explain that I need advertisement.”
“I just wanna be released, it’s that simple.”
In March, Solange’s Saint Heron shared that the Web Design and Creative Direction of AriLennox.com was being managed by the company.
Fans on social media have strong opinions about the announcement. On X (formerly Twitter) one fan wrote, “#Dreamville tried to do with Ari Lennox what #TDE did with SZA…and it failed miserably.”
While another fan wrote, “Ari Lennox fans blame every else but her.”
Ari Lennox signed to Dreamville in 2015 and released her first major label debut EP, Pho, in 2016. Her first studio album, Shea Butter Baby was released in 2019. The album spawned the singles “Whipped Cream” and the title track. The Associated Press rated it the No. 1 album of 2019.
She also released another EP, Away Message, in August 2022 and her second album, Age/Sex/Location, the following month.
A release date for a new album has not been announced.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony famously could not re-assemble earlier this month to appear on comedian John Mulaney’s live Netflix late night talk show Everybody’s Live due to what the host said was a scammer posing at the Cleveland rap crew’s phony manager. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news But […]
Don’t try this at home. While exploring the great outdoors, HARDY decided to sneak up on a wild snake and grab it by the throat — after which the reptile reacted about exactly as you might expect: by biting down on the country star’s hand. In an Instagram clip posted Wednesday (April 23) set to […]
TWS has released their third mini-album, TRY WITH US. The members of TWS — Shinyu, Dohoon, Youngjae, Hanjin, Jihoon and Kyungmin — embody the brave and adventurous spirit of youth stepping boldly into their twenties. The album title, TRY WITH US, symbolizes courageously embracing new and unexplored experiences. It showcases lively and refreshing sounds blended […]
Dallas rapper BigXthaPlug is speaking out about his journey to understand autism in a new PSA for the Autism Society of America’s Autism Is campaign during Autism Acceptance Month. “To me, autism is a journey,” he says in a new video in which he talks about his 6-year-old autistic son.
“The reason I say that it is a journey is because I have a six-year-old son who has autism,” he continues about his son, Amar. “There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s a perfectly good child. My journey as far as me having to be gone, be able to make funds for my child and him having autism, so the journey is not an easy journey. You can’t make it a hard journey, because if you make the process hard, it’ll all be hard.”
April is Autism Acceptance Month and BigX’s advocacy for his son comes just a week after Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., drew widespread criticism for his latest comments about autism, in which he said it “destroys families,” as well as making broad, unscientific claims about autistic people.
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At an April 16 press conference, Kennedy said that many autistic children were “fully functional” and then “regressed… into autism when they were 2 years old. And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.”
According to a PBS report, medical experts and people on the autism spectrum told PolitiFact that Kennedy’s comments were off-base, citing a 2023 study written by CDC officials and university researchers that found that one-quarter of people on the autism spectrum have severe limitations, a figure that is at the high end of studies. It noted that the vast majority of people on the spectrum do not have the kinds of severe challenges Kennedy suggested, nor do many of the people in the one-quarter of the autism population cited in the studies.
A HHS spokesperson later clarified that Kennedy was referring to “those that are severely affected by this chronic condition” and that “this was in no way a general characterization.” Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who for many years has made false claims that vaccines cause autism, recently announced that his department is launching a “a massive testing and research” effort to determine the long-sought cause of autism by September of this year.
According to the BBC, experts called the effort “misguided and unrealistic,” given that autism spectrum disorder is a complex syndrome that has been studied for decades and that promising a definitive answer in six month is unlikely. At press time Kennedy had not revealed any details on the scope and range of the research project or how much funding will be devoted to it at a time when Pres. Trump’s administration is making drastic, wide-ranging cuts to research grants at HHS.
“As a dad to an autistic son, I’ve seen the importance of being understood for who you truly are,” the “Texas” rapper added in a statement. “This is personal for me — it’s about sharing our journey, showing up for my son, and breaking down the walls around autism. It’s about being real, spreading awareness, and making sure no one feels alone in this.”
The Autism Society — the largest and oldest grassroots autism organization in the U.S. — praised BigX (born Xavier Landum) for speaking out to “authentically” combat the “stigma and stereotypes by sharing his own family’s journey. Through his platform, BigXthaPlug is using his voice to reach fans and families who may be navigating similar paths — especially in communities where awareness and access to support can be limited. His participation in the Autism Is campaign encourages conversation, connection, and compassion.”
Speaking to People, BigX also offered some advice for other parents trying to navigate the sometimes confusing journey of helping their children. “You ain’t alone. I know in our communities, sometimes it feels like you gotta keep stuff to yourself, or like nobody’s gonna understand,” he said. “But there is support out there — you just gotta start askin’ questions, lean into the love you got around you, and don’t be afraid to speak up for your kid… Every kid on the spectrum is different, so take time to learn your child. Be patient, be open, and don’t wait for a ‘perfect’ answer — just show up, every day. That’s what matters most.”
BigX just scored his first top-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when his Bailey Zimmerman collab “All the Way” ran up to No. 4 on the chart dated April 19.
Watch BigXthaPlug’s video below.
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It’s extremely rare that fans get to hear Ariana Grande tap into her jazzier side when she isn’t singing pop music or Wicked show tunes, but thanks to Jeff Goldblum, the star’s latest performance is a rich cover of Dean Martin’s staple “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do).” The wonderful wizard indeed. For his […]
Justin Bieber is calling out the “darkness” in Los Angeles, particularly what he experiences from paparazzi.
On Instagram Friday (April 25), the pop star shared a video showing his point of view while stepping outside to blinding camera flashes, with several photographers following him every step of the way to his car and frequently blocking his path. “Look at these guys, man,” Bieber’s voice says disapprovingly from behind his camera, while his security guard repeatedly tells the paps to back up.
“This has to stop,” the musician captioned the clip.
In other posts, Bieber shared his thoughts on the culture as a whole in his home city. “Everyone telling me to move from La,” he wrote in a block of text on his feed. “U think I’m gonna get bullied to leave where my influence is most needed? How can we make a change if we run away from the darkness?”
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Admitting that he too has “been caught up in the transactional nature of Hollywood” in the past, Bieber went on to say that he now wants “nothing to do with that as a grown adult with a wife and son.” The “Peaches” artist, who married model Hailey Bieber in 2018, welcomed first child Jack Blues in August.
“I just want to be submerged in the culture learning from any and everyone,” he added. “And be a proponent and advocate for LOVE AND EQUALITY.”
Also sharing a photo of a stately lion, Bieber wrote, “IM CURRENTLY ASKING [GOD] TO HELP ME WITH PATIENCE BECAUSE It CAN BE REALLY HARD TO NOT RIP THESE F–KIN GUYS HEADS OFF.”
“Today I’m forgiving myself for my own selfishness, AND forgiving THOSE WHO SEEK TO USE AND ABUSE ME SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO CAPITaLIze off of me, Or Their jealousy makes them want to make me feel small like how they feel,” he continued. “People have had to die cuz of this s–t princess Diana is the first that comes to mind smh. We gotta do better please can we make a change?”
Bieber has long clashed with the paparazzi. Enduring consistent hounding since he first debuted in 2009 at just 15 years old, the “Baby” artist has spoken out against the invasive practice on multiple occasions, with Friday’s post echoing something he said after his Ferrari was rear-ended by a persistent photographer in 2014. “There should be laws against what I just experienced,” he posted on X at the time. “We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana…”
His latest posts follow a string of candid musings Bieber has been sharing on Instagram lately, with the star writing the day prior that he’s working to forgive people who “gossip and spread lies” on the internet. “Honestly if I was u it would be hard not to be jealous if I saw me and Hailey going so brazzzzyy,” he also added Thursday (April 24).
See Bieber’s new posts below.
Shaboozey is celebrating his success with Friday’s release of Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going: The Complete Edition, an expanded version of his breakthrough March 2024 third LP Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where Going. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Among the bonuses accompanying the revamped album […]