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Nelly Furtado just teased that she has an idea for a Taylor Swift collaboration that’ll undoubtedly have a lot of fans begging “Give It to Me.”
But before anyone gets too excited, the 45-year-old singer-songwriter did clarify that the “Anti-Hero” musician hasn’t even heard the pitch yet, although she has an idea on how she can make it happen. “I have a song for Taylor,” Furtado said in an interview with Extra Thursday (July 11) before noting her connection to Swift’s boyfriend. “Dom Dolla produced it … I think Dom’s friends with Travis [Kelce], so let’s get it popping. We want Taylor on it!”
The topic of Swift first came up when Furtado was asked about a viral moment from the VMAs last year. In a clip from the awards show posted on the latter’s TikTok, the former raves that she had just been “screaming” Furtado’s 2001 hit “I’m Like a Bird.”
“Versatility, dude, you can do anything!” the 34-year-old pop star added at the time, to which Furtado replied, “Every time you write another amazing song, I’m like, ‘She did it again!’”
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Reflecting on the moment, the “Promiscuous Girl” musician told the outlet, “It’s kind of surreal for me.”
“I take these long breaks away from music, and sometimes I feel like a music librarian trapped in a pop star body,” she added. “And I meet other artists and they like my music, like Taylor Swift. It’s kind of like, ‘Oh, f–k, that’s cool. Oh really? You were singing my song at a party? That’s amazing.’”
The interview arrived one day ahead of Furtado’s new single “Corazón,” which features Bomba Estéreo. The track followed March’s “Gala y Dalí” with Juanes and May’s “Love Bites” with Tove Lo and SG Lewis.
Meanwhile, Swift has been sitting at the top of the Billboard 200 for nearly three months since dropping The Tortured Poets Department in April.
Watch Furtado open up about her desire to collaborate with Swift below.
However big a Swiftie you think you are, you have nothing on comedian Nikki Glaser. The stand-up and roast dais veteran revealed to fill-in Jimmy Kimmel Live! host and fellow joke slinger Kumail Nanjiani on Thursday night (July 11) that not only has she seen Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show 17 times over the past 15 months, but she has also never once taken a bathroom break during all that time.
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In fact, Glaser said she had just returned from her latest hop over to Europe the day before after attending her latest Eras show. “I was on break from tour and I was seeing Taylor Swift. That’s what I do with my free time,” Glaser told Nanjiani about her latest jaunt in which she five shows in 10 days. “Europe just happened to be there while she was there,” Glaser joked.
The self-proclaimed Swiftie explained that when she has weekends off from her own Alive and Unwell tour she flies wherever she needs to for a “Florida!!!” fix. “I’m like a divorced dad doing his best to see daughter… she has no idea who I am but I’m just the biggest fan.” Glaser has no idea if Swift even knows who she is, though she suspects Taylor might since the Roast of Tom Brady star talks about her favorite singer all the time.
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Trying to keep up, Nanjiani noted that he’s also a Swiftie, though he’s only seen the tour once, “like a normal person,” holding up a pic of himself at a show in which he rocks several friendship bracelets. Nanjiani said he gets why Glaser is obsessed by the positive vibe at the shows, but looked shocked at the 17-gig figure as the audience let out a gasp at the gaudy figure.
“I know, I know! I’m addicted,” Glaser, 40, said, unapologetically describing the “surge of dopamine” she gets from the concerts. “For me it’s either that or cocaine and luckily I can afford both,” she quipped. Glaser said she realizes her show count is “excessive” and can’t explain her fascination, other than to note that when the tour was first announced she was determined to go to every show.
Realizing that might be weird, she decided to go to just two or three until her boyfriend reminded her that she works so hard and loves Taylor so much that he encouraged Glaser to go to as many shows as possible.
If you’ve gotten this far and none of this blows your mind, peep this: Glaser said despite the sometimes nearly four-hour show length, she prides herself on “never once” going to the bathroom during the more than 60 hours she’s logged at the concerts. “For whatever reason my body is just like, ‘you’re not gonna do that like right now… it’s probably what her body does during it,” Glaser speculated. “I don’t think she has time to go so I kind of like set my rhythms to hers.”
When Nanjiani asked if at some point Glaser might tap the breaks, the comedian said she, in fact, plans to see more Eras Tour shows. “I thought it might happen but it hasn’t yet at 17,” she said of tapping out. “I just feel like this is a time where I just have to see someone who is one of the best performers who’s ever lived,” she explained, comparing seeing Swift to the modern-day equivalent of having attended a Beatles show.
“I want to just see it as much as possible, it’s the thing that makes me happiest in the world,” she said. Glaser also mentioned that her dad does not like the Beatles comparison, then cued up a clip of her pops “crying like a baby” at an Eras show she took him to in Europe. Nanjiani then lightly roasted Glaser for her obsession, busting out some research on the other things she could have done with those 60+ hours, including: getting a helicopter pilot’s license, watched all five seasons of Breaking Bad and get CPR certification 30 times.
Watch Glaser talk Eras Tour on Kimmel below.
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There are things we know, such as the fact that Lorde is working on her fourth album. The New Zealand singer has been very slowly teasing the follow-up to 2021’s Solar Power for almost a year now, but until Thursday night (July 11) fans had not officially heard even a single snippet of music.
That changed in a major way when the 27-year-old singer hopped on her Instagram Story to share some pics of herself in the studio and bop along to a brief clip of a new song. And when we say brief we mean *VERY* brief, as in, less than two seconds.
It wasn’t much, but it was something. In clips shared by fans, Lorde — wearing a plaid shirt with her hair in pigtails — smiles and rocks her head side-to-side as she grooves to a lyric-less beat that appears to have a techno-y, dance vibe. The caption to the tease gave hope: “Will be back in touch.”
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Her fans were, not surprisingly, freaking out at even just the hint of fresh tracks. Among the comments on re-posts of the snippet were: “2025 will be THE year,” “LITERALLY WILL CHANGE MY LIFE,” “I’M IN LOVE,” “IM NOT OKAY” and the super chill “omgmgmgmgdejmonkfKNHJABFJHKABFDKHLASBFIHASBFKHLABFHKLABFLKIHAFBAJKHLsfDSLJFK ASKJGRFVASDEYHILJFBQAWIDL.”
Last month, Lorde posted a series of cryptic pictures and wrote “use the existing tools wherever possible” alongside a string of images including a copyright symbol, three variations of the letter L, the number four in parentheses and a recycling logo. “If the tools do not exist you are spiritually obligated to create them,” she added along a longer string of confusing images, with more Ls, another 4, a bunch of stars, the number 27, what looked like a Tarot card, the infinity symbol, a shark, a rabbit and an Egyptian figure.
At the time she didn’t offer any further explanation and the accompanying images didn’t shine any light on what they meant, consisting of a snap of her in an all-black outfit staring over a balcony, then spitting off that balcony, holding a pill in her hand with the word “spit” printed on it, along with a shot of a nightstand with a pile of books and an ashtray filled with gold jewelry and a close-up of her at a swimming pool.
In December, she posted another confusing snap — since deleted — in which she sat in striped pajamas listening to something, clarifying, “listening to myself.” She also teased what appeared to be a few new songs during a headlining gig at the Boardmasters Festival in the U.K. in 2023, with enterprising fans guessing that the tracks were titled “Silver Moon” and “Invisible Ink.”
Check out a fan post of the Lorde tease below.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Eminem puts a nail in Slim Shady’s coffin, Katy Perry flexes her pop know-how and Ice Spice makes a connection from across the pond. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Eminem, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)
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The chart success of pop-leaning lead single “Houdini,” plus the technical rap wizardry of follow-up “Tobey,” have heightened expectations for The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), Eminem’s 12th studio album that has been billed as the finale of his raging id character, Slim Shady. Indeed, the full-length is Em’s most complete project in years by showcasing the full scope of his talent — his button-pushing devilishness and bar-bursting theatrics, as demonstrated on the singles, but also his unexpected grace (“Temporary,” with Skylar Grey, is a heartfelt message to his daughter for when he’s gone) and ability to cross into other genres (“Somebody Save Me,” with Jelly Roll, might end up garnering some country-pop airplay for Marshall Mathers).
Katy Perry, “Woman’s World”
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Pop fans who fondly remember the bright, oversized hooks and candy-colored visual fantasias of Katy Perry’s record-breaking Teenage Dream era will wrap their arms around “Woman’s World,” the introduction of a mainstream-ready new era that has been given a music video with plenty of eye-popping, cleverly conceived feminist iconography. Perry has evolved since her blockbuster 2010 album, with her lyrics turning more personal and her stardom extending into projects like American Idol — but she’s always sounded most at home on big, neon-colored pop anthems, and “Woman’s World” marks a return to a winning mode.
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Ice Spice & Central Cee, “Did It First”
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Ice Spice always sounds most effective while rapping downhill: her flow spins and tumbles, picks up speed, and remains too cool to ever get tripped up. After a few experiments with her formula on the songs preceding upcoming album Y2K!, she finds her footing on “Did It First,” a team-up with London rapper Central Cee in which she immediately begins pummeling a beat co-produced by RIOTUSA, with boasts about proudly cheating, spending money, dismissing any disinterest and committing to “party ’til the party ends.”
Clairo, Charm
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Whereas Clairo’s previous album, 2021’s Sling, lacked a sense of warmth by design — singer-songwriter Claire Cottrill moved to upstate New York and teamed up with Jack Antonoff on a muted, woodsy project — Charm radiates with the same glow that made her 2019 debut Immunity so captivating. The soft-rock arrangements feel naturally designed, as if the interplay between piano, guitar, bass and drums has always existed and Claire has simply strolled in to provide her hushed tone and sensual lyricism; the pace changes, and the details rearrange (“Echo,” for instance, sounds more synth-ified and spaced-out than anything Clairo has done before), but the formula makes for an excellent front-to-back listen.
ENHYPEN, Romance: Untold
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“XO (If You Only Say Yes),” the lead single from ENHYPEN’s new album Romance: Untold, illustrates why the K-pop seven-piece has broken through in a crowded field: full of stuttering hooks, engaging vocals and well-crafted rhythmic pop production (courtesy of JVKE, who appears on the English version of the track), “XO” works well as a crossover bid and showcase for the collective’s skill set. The rest of Romance: Untold builds upon 2021’s Dimension: Dilemma and the projects released in between, thanks largely to the strengthened chemistry between the members, who harmonize, belt, dip into falsetto and softly intone with impressive dexterity.
Editor’s Pick: Remi Wolf, Big Ideas
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Remi Wolf’s early singles may have earned millions of streams and suggested plenty of artistic promise, but it wasn’t until the singles preceding sophomore album Big Ideas, including “Cinderella” and “Toro,” that it sounded like the Palo Alto singer-songwriter had locked her funk-laden synth-pop aesthetic into place. The rest of the album plays out like a full realization of her talents: Remi Wolf is a detailed writer, knows when to throttle a melody, can harness a groove like a pro and now has the songs (especially album highlight “Soup,” and the dynamic bonus track “Slay Bitch”) to tie the presentation together.
Taylor Swift has nothing to worry about when it comes to crooning competition from boyfriend Travis Kelce. While Swift is gearing up for a weekend of Eras Tour shows in Milan, Italy, Super Bowl champ Kelce was taking the stage at the American Century Championship charity golf tournament on Thursday (July 11), skipping the ESPY […]
ENGENEs, it’s finally here. ENHYPEN unveiled their long-awaited sophomore album, ROMANCE : UNTOLD, on Friday (July 12). The album is a follow-up to the seven-member boy band’s 2021 debut, DIMENSION : DILEMMA, which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart. “Since our debut, we have been expressing our experiences as artists and honest emotions through our music. ENHYPEN’s authentic […]
If you were looking for more “gay pop” songs, then JoJo Siwa has you covered. On Friday (July 12), the former Dance Moms star dropped her debut EP, Guilty Pleasure. Out via Columbia Records, the new project features five tracks including the previously released viral single “Karma,” and the EP’s new title track and focus […]
Glen Ballard became the 2,374th recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today (July 11) with a little help from the members of Wilson Phillips, whose self-titled 1990 debut album—produced by and co-written with Ballard—went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide and cemented the friendship between the producer and the trio.
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The love the “Hold On” performers still shared with Ballard, also well known for his work with acts like Alanis Morissette and Michael Jackson, was evident and the emotional high point of Ballard’s ceremony.
Carnie Wilson who called Ballard “the most humble human being I’ve ever met” and the “fourth member” of Wilson Phillips, gave a little history lesson, taking the audience back to the trio and Ballard sitting in a his studio in Encino, Calif., “eating our chopped salads and pasta from Emilio’s five days a week for two years,” while they crafted the album. “You understood our need to sing harmony, our blend. We heard and spoke the same language.”
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Her younger sister Wendy, who was only 16 when they entered the studio in 1987, called their years together “a blissful time we will always cherish,” as she talked about feeling safe under Ballard’s wing as he helped them develop their sound.
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But it was Chynna Phillips, who made the attendees understand just how vital a role Ballard played in their lives that stretched far beyond his musical tutelage and brought herself, Ballard and many in the audience to tears.
“We were three girls who really needed a father figure,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. Carnie and Wendy are, of course, the daughters of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, while Phillips’ father was The Mamas and the Papas’ John Phillips. All three have had, at times, complicated and fractured relationships with their fathers. “The three of us were desperate for a man in our lives who would speak into us, and who would nurture us and love us and show us that we mattered and had something to say and we had it in us… You reflected that in us and you really showed us that we could do what we wanted to do with our lives… It was a very personal, very influential, very moving time in our lives, transformative. And if it weren’t for you Glen, I don’t know where I would be today. I just love you with all my heart.”
Phillips then shared one of her most personal memories of Ballard, reflecting his own father-daughter connection with his child Bannon, who died as an infant many years ago. “When I went to your house that you had built in the ocean Malibu area, the very top of your house, you had a wind directional. You told me you had put it there for Bannon and that you just wanted her always to be able to find you. I just want you to know her spirit is here today and always with you, and I love her and know that she is so proud of you too.”
Ballard, whose two adult sons and many members of his extended family were in attendance, graciously gave credit to his many collaborators, which also include Annie Lennox, Barbra Streisand, Aerosmith and Dave Matthews Band, for his success, but shared a valuable lesson he learned from working with Wilson Phillips.
“One of my greatest joys is being involved in artists from the beginning, from the downbeat as they say in music. When I met Wilson Phillips, they hadn’t made a record, and it was up to us to create the initial sound. Luminous, three-part harmony in an era of grunge music was a bold and unusual choice,” he said, which received a laugh from the audience. “Creatively courageous. But when we won the Tokyo Music Festival in 1990 and that week our record [“Hold On”] went No. 1 across the world. We realized that the counter program worked. And it’s a lesson that I’ve taken with me from that moment. Five years later, I met a young singer-songwriter, and we wrote 20 songs and they became Jagged Little Pill that was Alanis Morissette. We weren’t chasing the marketplace, we were chasing her muse. And it turned out well. And then five years after that, Katy Perry was knocking on my studio door and after we spent a year in Paris, well, you know the rest, it worked out very well.”
Ballard has also had a number of theatrical successes, including Back to the Future, which is running on Broadway and London’s West End. Tony winner Roger Bart, who plays Doc Brown in the Broadway version, also feted Ballard, praising his collaborative spirit.
Katy Perry is back! The pop superstar made her comeback to the music scene on Thursday (July 11) with the premiere of her music video for her new single, “Woman’s World.” In the clip, Perry is the ultimate pin-up girl, taking on a construction site before she’s hit by an anvil. She then appears in […]
Simple Plan‘s pop punk take on Sir Elton John‘s The Lion King classic “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is the first single from the upcoming Disney album A Whole New Sound. The group’s take on the soaring ballad — which drops at midnight Friday (July 12) — is the first taste of the Mouse House’s 30th anniversary celebration of the iconic animated classic.
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“When Disney reached out to us to be a part of this project, it was a bit overwhelming because there are so many amazing Disney songs. But it became obvious pretty quickly that The Lion King song book, and especially ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight,’ stood out from the rest,” Simple Plan tells Billboard. “The song just has such a classic feel, and the melodies are so memorable and timeless. We also felt like it would lend itself really well to our style and would sound awesome as a pop-punk version.
“It’s also one of those songs and movies that has been such an important part of people’s lives. Lots of our fans grew up watching it and listening to the soundtrack and we also played them for our own kids,” the band continues. “So, it holds a special place in our hearts and felt like the rare song that could connect to a very wide range of listeners across many generations. Finally, the fact that the movie celebrates its 30th anniversary this year was just the icing on the cake! It’s such an honor to offer our own version of this song and to cover such an iconic artist like Sir Elton John. We’re not sure if he heard the song or not, but we hope he will enjoy this new version and feel like we did it justice.”
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The band is set to perform the song on Aug. 9 at the D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
According to a release, the collection will feature a number of alternative, rock and pop punk bands reworking popular Disney songs, as well as a fresh streetwise look for Mickey and his friends, with Goofy and Donald Duck slipping into sneakers, skinny jeans and backwards baseball caps for the celebration.
Guitarist Jeff Stinco teased out the collaboration earlier this week when the band posted a video of him taking a Disney-centric quiz in which someone asked him to choose his favorite Mouse House animated film, with the shredder repeatedly choosing The Lion King over such classics as Toy Story, Ratatouille, Lilo & Stitch and Tarzan.
“Why are you always choosing Lion King?” an off-camera voice asked Stinco as he stood in the shadow of Cinderella’s castle. Stinco silently shrugged and smiled, though the caption on the post made sense once the news was unveiled. “Jeff’s really been feeling the love for The Lion King lately,” it read. “There must be a reason [chin stroke and shifty eyes emoji].”
Then, on Wednesday (July 10), Disney Music unveiled a brief preview of the Simple Plan song, with Goofy and Donald rocking out to it along with Mickey under a banner that read “A Whole New Sound.”