Pop
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Halsey’s so lucky, she’s a star! The singer dropped her latest single, “Lucky,” on Friday (July 26). The song interpolates Britney Spears’ 2000 hit, “Lucky,” an ode to the lonelier side of fame. “I’m so lucky, I’m a star/ But I cry, cry, cries in my lonely heart, thinking/ If there’s nothing missing in my […]
Ariana Grande has her fans on her mind! The pop superstar recently opened up about touring plans amid her busy schedule balancing music, filming Wicked and working on her makeup line, R.E.M. Beauty. “It’s something we are trying to figure out because I have to spread my focus quite thin these days but it’s something […]
07/25/2024
The Édith Piaf classic is one of the most famous songs ever to come out of France.
07/25/2024
Olivia Rodrigo had a surprise for fans during her Guts World Tour stop in Lexington, Ky., on Wednesday night (July 24), when she welcomed Tyler Childers to perform his Grammy-nominated single “All Your’n.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news During the show at Lexington’s Rupp Arena, the crowd […]
With her Hamburg fans, Taylor Swift would dance in a storm in her best dress, fearless. Following two nights at Volksparkstadion — one of which was complete with sheets of rain — the 34-year-old pop star is thanking her German crowds for showing up and showing out this week. Sharing a carousel of dynamic photos […]
Kacey Musgraves released her latest album, Deeper Well, in March, but she has more songs for fans. “We’re going deeper,” she said in announcing the expanded version, Deeper Into the Well, on Instagram Thursday (July 25). The expanded version includes seven new songs and will be released Aug. 2. Musgraves is previewing the expanded version […]
Karma takes all of Taylor Swift‘s friends to the summit — and one of the closest among them is Ice Spice, the rapper revealed.
In a new Rolling Stone cover story published Thursday (July 25), the 24-year-old hip-hop star gushed that the singer remains her “closest celebrity friend,” more than a year after their collaboration on “Karma” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Taylor f–ks with me,” Ice told the publication. “She’s so funny. I think our personalities mesh really well.”
The “Munch” musician — whose debut album Y2K! arrives Friday (July 26) — also dismissed speculation that Swift was simply looking for clout when she tapped her for the “Karma” remix. “[It’s] so rude to me, [because] why would she not want to be my friend?” she said.
To Ice’s point, Swift raved about her pal in a comment to the publication, saying she loves how her past duet partner takes “a keen interest in not just the music, but the music industry and how it works.”
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“Seeing Ice lean into the strategic, financial and business aspects of her career is really exciting for me,” the 14-time Grammy winner continued. “The more artists learn about the inner workings of the music industry, the more power they can have in their creative world. I knew based on the questions she asked and the observations she made that she didn’t just want to be a passenger in her own career. She wanted to be the driver of it.”
Swift has long been one of Ice’s most vocal supporters, with the “Anti-Hero” singer asserting on more than one occasion that the rapper is the “one to watch.” Ice has proven that she’s a fierce defender of the pop star as well, sassily blowing kisses to a group of male fans who started booing when the rapper performed “Karma” at Rolling Loud earlier this month.
The Bronx native has also said that Swift often acts as a guiding light for her when it comes to her career, telling Billboard in the March 2024 issue, “When I was in the studio with Taylor, like, I’ll never forget that.”
Ice added, “She told me, ‘No matter what, just keep making music and everything’s going to be fine.’”
Coca-Cola has worked with the International Olympic Committee for nearly a century, but for the first time in their 96-year relationship, the brand and the producers of the Olympic games have collaborated on a song that both organizations will use beyond the Paris 2024 Olympics, which start tomorrow (July 26).
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The upbeat, unifying “Hello World,” written by Ryan Tedder with additional lyrics by Anderson.Paak and performed by Gwen Stefani and .Paak, was released by digital service providers around the world on Thursday (July 25). The video, available on the International Olympic Committee’s YouTube channel, features the two artists dancing in front of the iconic five Olympic rings, interspersed with electrifying footage from past Summer Olympics.
The song and video will be featured throughout the Games as the International Olympic Committee and the Coca-Cola Company will leverage the song across their marketing and communications programming during the two-week Paris competition, with the intention to use it in future Olympics Games as well.
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Instead of picking a specific artist or licensing an existing song for the project, Josh Burke, global head of music and culture marketing at the Coca-Cola Company, and Brian Monaco, Sony Music Publishing’s president/global marketing officer, met over dinner to discuss broader concepts.
“We were brainstorming ways to work more closely together, and I pitched the idea of creating an original song for the Olympics,” says Monaco. “We chatted over the next few weeks and decided to test out some demos to share with the Coca-Cola team and the International Olympic Committee. I called Ryan Tedder because he is an amazing songwriter and he and I have a solid track record working with some of the world’s top brands. We immediately started hashing out concepts for the song.”
The creative brief for Tedder was simple. “We wanted a song with broad appeal that would resonate worldwide, an uplifting and bright song that would inspire everyday greatness among athletes and music fans,” Burke says. “It was also important to us that we wouldn’t try to create a ‘brand’ song or ‘jingle’, and we’d have to give up some control, which is very difficult to do! We trusted Ryan and the process and that’s how “Hello World” was born.” Tedder has worked with Coca-Cola previously, including on Sprite’s Limelight 2023 program.
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“It’s not every day that you’re given the opportunity to write an official song in celebration of the Olympic Games, and I am grateful to be part of such an incredible collaboration,” Tedder tells Billboard. “The Games are an important way for all of us to come together and celebrate each other globally, and we wrote this song with that in mind. I grew up watching every Olympics since childhood, so this is a lifelong dream. I hope this song inspires and uplifts. I’m excited to share ‘Hello World’ with all of you, and I want to thank Brian Monaco, and the teams at Coca-Cola and IOC, for their partnership and support.”
Once Tedder finished the song, the search for the right artists began, landing on Stefani and .Paak, both of whom are repped by Full Stop Management. “Gwen & Anderson’s energy together is undeniable, and both have these incredibly unique and iconic voices that were a perfect blend this global track,” Burke says. “ We also loved that this was the first time Ryan, Gwen and Anderson have collaborated, and the story of two very different artists coming together is a nice nod to Coke’s legacy in music and the spirit of the Olympic Games.”
Coca-Cola and IOC worked hand in hand on the project. “The IOC were our partners every step of the way, from concept to execution, and they were incredible collaborators in this process,” Burke says. “Beyond the Olympic rings, the footage is from their archives and also features several athletes that Coca-Cola is collaborating with for our broader Olympic brand activity for Paris 2024.”
Coca-Cola has an existing partnership with Universal Music Group and worked with UMG’s Interscope Records, Stefani’s label home, to release the song. “It was crucial that we treated this release in the most authentic way possible,” Burke says. “And with the same care as any major single.”
Going forward, Sony Music Publishing will administer the majority of the song globally (.Paak’s portion is handled by Warner Chappell) and work with Coca-Cola and the IOC on future projects.
For .Paak, blending their different genres to create something “was the real magic of creating with Gwen and Ryan on our new song,” he said in a statement. “While we hope the song becomes an instant hit and gives listeners worldwide a new sound to groove to, we also hope to inspire fans and athletes to embrace the differences that make them unique as we celebrate the excitement of the Olympic Games.”
SEVENTEEN are hitting the road for a global tour this year. On Wednesday (July 24) the 13-member K-pop group announced that they are planning to hit the road in the fall for their Right Here world tour, which will feature gigs in the U.S., South Korea, Asia and Japan. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts […]
While some people think pranks are the pinnacle of the comedic arts, Billie Eilish just hates them. They make her anxious and uncomfortable, so naturally she agreed to participate in Elle Magazine’s “Phoning It In” segment, where she called up her famous friends and label team just to totally mess with them.
“I am filled to the brim with anxiety right now,” she says at the beginning of the 10-minute segment. After passing on Zoe Kravitz for logistical reasons, first up was Barbie star Margot Robbie, whom Billie called with a pretend ask about using the actress’ home for a video shoot after a previous location fell through. “Please don’t pick up, please don’t pick up,” Eilish whispered to herself anxiously as the phone rang.
Using her pop juggernaut powers to bust through Robbie’s airplane mode while the star had her phone shut down on set and laughing as Margot praised Billie’s Hit Me Hard and Soft album (“dead, dead dying”), an embarrassed Eilish was even more rattled asking the for the fake favor. “I ordinarily would say f–k yeah, but we are packing up our house tomorrow,” Robbie said sweetly as Eilish squirmed in her chair.
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Doubling down while looking for a back-up, Eilish casually mentioned that there would be 200 extras coming along, requiring a lot of inside and outside space. Eilish could not keep up the facade, though, falling apart and admitting the joke as Robbie laughed and said she was seriously “racking my brain” to find a solution. “I hate pranks so much, I don’t even know Margot like that!” she told Robbie, who laughed off the bit with good humor.
Next up on Eilish’s “most embarrassing day” ever, was a call to her Darkroom label CEO Justin Lubliner to casually pretend she’s quitting music, a bit that made her want to “throw up right now” as she noted that “my body is a temperature it’s never been.” Trying her best to play it straight, Billie revealed, “I can’t do this anymore, like I am going to quit music and I’m not doing this anymore.” Lubliner was concerned about her first of all, asking if she was okay, while Eilish had to keep doubling-down on the fake news and saying there was nothing he could do to change her mind.
“Forget business for a second, can you tell me what’s going on?,” Lubliner said as Eilish could not hold it in anymore and revealed the joke. A shook Lubliner said, “that really hit me deep… you sounded really upset. I was about to pull up to wherever you are and give you a hug. That’s where my head went.”
Shaking, she called up pal Tyler, the Creator with a bit she came up with about messing her pants. “Okay Tyler, you’re not gonna believe what just happened to me and I need help so bad,” she told the rapper. “Dude, I’m on a date. I’m in the bathroom and I s–t my f–king pants.” Tyler’s response was, naturally, “Fire. Honestly? Fire. You deserve it!” Eilish said she was close to his house and wondered if she could swing by to change.
“I’m in Atlanta!” Tyler explained, as Eilish asked if she could still swing by his L.A. home for a shower and clothes. Tyler said no problem, but then had questions, like, how did it happen? “I thought it was a fart and then it just kept going,” Billie explained as she giggled at the phone and Tyler tried to figure out how she didn’t know she was passing more than gas.
Once she told him the truth, the singer said the silence from the MC who had his own prank-adjacent show called Loiter Squad was perfect. “That’s the content that they’re doing for journalism now?” he asked. “Nice, look, I sharted like two months ago,” he added.
Amazed at how nice everyone was being, Eilish pressed on, calling her friend Dakota Johnson to see if the Madame Web star had any advice on playing a baby in a movie. Wondering if it’s a good script and asking pertinent questions, Johnson sweetly tried to help when Eilish inquired about a good dialect coach for making baby sounds. “That’s the question?” Johnson wondered. “I was gonna ask you if it was a prank!” Johnson added shortly after of the ridiculous query, dispensing with what her actual question was going to be: “don’t you have enough money already?” The segment ended with Johnson threatening to get Eilish back twice as bad.
Eilish is slated to kick off the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour on Sept. 29 in Quebec at the Centre Videotron.
Watch Eilish prank her pals below.
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