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The music of Taylor Swift rules Billboard’s main classical chart, as Vitamin String Quartet’s VSQ Performs Taylor Swift opens atop the Classical Albums survey dated May 18. The 16-song set, originally released in February, enters atop the chart with 3,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. May 3-9, according to Luminate. Of that sum, […]

Billie Eilish is giving fans a sneak peek at her fast-approaching new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, by debuting a snippet of one of its lovey-dovey tracks, “Feather,” in a brand-new teaser for Netflix’s Heartstopper season three. 
In the clip posted Monday (May 13), Joe Locke’s Charlie practices telling Kit Connor’s Nick that he loves him, but struggles to find the words. As tension builds, the 22-year-old pop star’s track — which plays throughout the minute-long teaser — gets louder and louder, culminating in a vibrant, upbeat chorus that finds the nine-time Grammy winner belting with full force. 

“I love you ’til the day that I die, ’til the day that I die,” she sings. “‘Til the light leaves my eyes. Forever, it’s even better.” 

Trending on Billboard

The clip is one of the first tastes of Hit Me Hard and Soft fans have gotten ahead of the album’s arrival, which is slated for Friday (May 17). Eilish hasn’t released any singles in anticipation of her third studio LP, telling fans on social media when she first announced the project, “i wanna give it to you all at once.” 

She has, however, teased that the record is something of a return to the sound and style she cultivated on her 2019 debut. “I feel like this album is me,” she told Rolling Stone in April. “It’s not a character. It feels like the When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? version of me … This whole process has felt like I’m coming back to the girl that I was. I’ve been grieving her.” 

This season of Heartstopper, which is based off the book series of the same name by Alice Oseman, is set to premiere on Netflix in October. The eight-episode installment will pick up with Charlie and Nick getting ready to start the school year at the end of summer holidays.  

“As they learn more about each other and their relationships, plan social events and parties and start thinking about university choices,” reads the press release. “Everyone must learn to lean on those they love when life doesn’t go to plan.” 

Watch the new Heartstopper teaser featuring Eilish’s “Feather” below. 

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Retired golf champ Michelle Wie West is still a bit shocked at the killer product placement she scored earlier this year when Taylor Swift modeled a piece from Wove’s Michelle Wie West collection during some celebratory PDA at the AFC championship game.

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While hugging boyfriend Travis Kelce, Swift was spotted wearing the diamond-encrusted “TNT” friendship bracelet. Fallon put up a pic of the now iconic squeeze Swift laid on Kelce on the field, with Wie West saying that the precious moment was all thanks to the Super Bowl champ star tight end.

“It’s like a really upscale friendship bracelet really inspired by Taylor,” Wie West said of the nearly $6,000 customizable piece that has diamonds and beads and is likely out of the range of most Swifties looking to spice up their outfits for the Eras Tour.

Trending on Billboard

“I messaged him [Kelce] and I was like, ‘hey, we made a bracelet inspired by Taylor, like, we would love to just give her one. I don’t care what she does with it,’” Wie West said of her message to the NFL player who she’d previously met at Justin Timberlake’s annual celebrity golf tournament. “‘I just want it to be given to her… in the proximity of her,’” Wie West added.

Noting that she doesn’t normally “really care about football” that much, Wie West said after the game she started screaming at her phone. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!’,” she recalled yelling, which alarmed her husband, who thought something bad had happened. “I was like, ‘Taylor Swift is wearing my bracelet!’” she told him. “It was just like the craziest thing.”

Playing dumb, Fallon asked if “TNT” was a reference to dynamite, with Wie West helpfully suggesting it might also refer to “Travis ‘n Taylor.”

“I was just… I can’t believe it,” Wie West said, still looking shocked.

Watch Wie West on The Tonight Show below.

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Like a lot of celebrity couples, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have made a point of keeping their family life private, which so far has meant that the world has not gotten many glimpses of their three-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom. But on Sunday night (May 12), the adorable toddler made a brief appearance on […]

Kelly Clarkson and Whoopi Goldberg bonded on Monday (May 13) over their recent weight loss journeys. While appearing on Clarkson’s daytime talker, Kelly complimented The View co-host, telling her, “Every time I run into you, you look younger! You’re like Benjamin Button. It’s like crazy every time you walk in!”
Goldberg, 68, in turn, said that’s because of all the weight she’s lost, which she pegged as “almost two people,” with Clarkson noting “I’ve lost a lot as well,” which Whoopi said she’d noticed.

In a rare public comment from an A-lister about their use of the weight loss drugs that have come into vogue over the past few years, EGOT winner Goldberg said she’s been using “the wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help.”

Trending on Billboard

“Mine is a different one than people assume,” said Clarkson, 42. “I ended up having to do that too because my blood work got so bad.” While Clarkson did not specify which drug she was using, Goldberg noted that the decision to try medical weight loss intervention is good for people like them who have “issues.”

Clarkson said she wasn’t planning on discussing her weight loss with Goldberg, but once the subject came up the singer said, “I didn’t see it,” describing reviewing tape of a birthday show she did last April at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles that surprised her. “We were watching it back and I paid to have it taped and I was going to release it… and then my doctor chased me for like two years and I was like, ‘no, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems.’ I was afraid. Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, it’s not, it’s something else.”

Ozempic is an FDA-approved injectable medication originally formulated to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar. But the drug, as well as others like it, have proven to have weight loss properties that have led to a surge in off-label prescribing due to its additional ability to trick the brain into thinking the patient is full. Clarkson said the unnamed drug she’s taking “aids in helping break down the sugar [because] obviously my body doesn’t do it right.”

Clarkson described screening the footage of the birthday show in her house in New York as she was preparing to release the performance, “and then all of a sudden I paused it and I was like, ‘who the f–k is that?!’ I swear to God! It sounds insane.” Goldberg said she had a similar experience while on the set of the historical drama Till, where she said a woman on the set thought the comedian/actress was wearing a “fat suit.” At her heaviest, Goldberg said she was around 300 pounds, with Clarkson, 5’3″, noting that at one point she weighed 203 pounds.

“I was indignant! I was like, ‘this is not a fat suit! This is me!’ And then I saw…” Goldberg said. “You see it and you’re like, ‘she’s about to die of a heart attack,’” Clarkson responded. The strangest part, Clarkson said, was that she never saw herself as being overweight, was never insecure about her body, and, despite what she said some people thought, she was happy.

Goldberg put it in relatable comedic terms, joking that Clarkson was just living her life, then adding, “If you’re not rolling over on somebody…” which led to Kelly getting real about how unconcerned she was. “I’m gonna be real with you, I was ridin’ high with someone and I did not know!… I watched that show and I was like, ‘she is… any second now gonna die.’”

In an interview in February on her show with Kevin James, Clarkson said she was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, which motivated her to lose weight. At the time she said, “I wasn’t shocked. I was a tiny bit overweight. So, yeah, I wasn’t shocked by it. But they did. They were like, ‘You’re prediabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’ And I was like, ‘But I’m not there yet.’ And then I waited two years and then did, however, move into the — I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do something about it.’”

Around the same time, Clarkson said after moving to New York with her two young children she began to lose some weight by walking around the city constantly, watching her diet and using an infrared sauna. “I eat a healthy mix. I dropped weight because I’ve been listening to my doctor — a couple years I didn’t,” she said at the time. “And 90 percent of the time I’m really good at it because a protein diet is good for me anyway. I’m a Texas girl, so I like meat — sorry, vegetarians in the world!”

Watch Goldberg on the Kelly Clarkson Show below.

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Back in September, *NSYNC made a long-awaited reunion for the Trolls Band Together song, “Better Place,” and Kelly Clarkson put her spin on the upbeat single for her talk show’s Kellyoke segment on Monday (May 13). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Dressed in a sky blue […]

In the increasingly global K-pop industry, ZICO epitomizes the concept of a multi-hyphen musician after establishing himself as a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, boy-band leader, television host and label CEO. But the 31-year-old can now add Billboard chart-topper to his resume thanks to his latest single, “Spot!” featuring Jennie of BLACKPINK.

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Released on April 26 to mark the HYBE artist’s first time dropping a song among the globally focused New Music Friday releases, “Spot!” unleashes ZICO’s latest offering as a hook-heavy, feel-good pop/hip-hop hybrid. Similar to his singles such as viral smash “Any Song” or “Summer Hate” alongside K-pop legend Rain, the playfully buoyant “Spot!” lets the duo bounce through bars to shout out the many meanings that “hit the spot” can conjure.

Trending on Billboard

The collab caught on quickly Stateside, with “Spot!” debuting at No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart, marking ZICO’s first-ever No. 1 on a U.S. Billboard sales chart. It’s Jennie’s second time ruling the chart after her debut “Solo” single did so back in 2018.

“Spot!” sold 1,000 copies in U.S. in its initial April 26-May 2 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also registered 2.5 million official U.S. streams in the same period.

But the impact of “Spot!” was not confined to the U.S. The collab debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard Global 200 chart with 47 million streams and 5,000 downloads, and also earned a No. 8 debut on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. with 44.5 million official global streams (excluding U.S. activity) in the tracking week, and 4,000 downloads (excluding U.S. sales).

Sharing his reaction to the good chart news with Billboard, ZICO expressed his gratitude, saying, “I feel like a new chapter has opened up for me as a musician.” 

Read on for more from ZICO about working with Jennie, how he approaches collaborating for his new music variety show and what’s next.

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Congratulations on the success of “Spot!” It’s your first No. 1 on a U.S. Billboard sales chart. What was your reaction to the chart news?

I feel like a new chapter has opened up for me as a musician. The song’s reach to Billboard, beyond Korea, fills me with immense gratitude. I’m eager to share this joy with everyone who contributed to making this project a reality.

You’ve collaborated extensively in the K-pop world. Is there something particularly charming about Jennie that impresses you?

Everything about her is charming. From vocals and visuals to acting, as well as her sense of professionalism in bringing the song to fruition — it’s all these things combined. But personally, I think it was her professionalism.

How was it filming the music video? It looked like you two were having a blast.

It was our first time getting dressed up and seeing each other in front of a camera [like that]. At first, it felt a bit awkward and funny, so we had a hard time holding back our laughter, but it was these candid moments that were captured on camera for a natural result.

Do you have a favorite Jennie or BLACKPINK song?

I had the chance to peek at Jennie’s to-be-released solo track demos — there were so many good ones.

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I understand you have a lot of respect for the artistic process. You host a new music variety show, The Seasons: Artist With ZICO. How do you approach spotlighting other artists’ work?

I believe my role is to assist the larger audience in comprehending the unique charm of each artist with the most fun and fresh perspective, so I dedicate a lot of effort to this aspect. But most importantly, it’s not solely about music. Rather, it’s about the chemistry, like the candidness and wit, that can come from any moment — I want these moments to be enjoyable little experiences for many people so I really strive to focus on every small second.

It sounds like you’re an observer. Are you seeing or feeling a larger impact with your new song?

I’ve noticed a shift in which more covers, reactions, and challenges [for “Spot!”] are coming from overseas compared to Korea, which differs from my past songs.

Have any new ideas or plans emerged as a result of the achievements or chart success?

Today, after thinking about these questions, I’m starting a kick-off meeting for my next project!

Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered. These tracks from artists including RM, Charli XCX, Dora Jar and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into […]

You may have thought that Gracie Abrams achieved the ultimate Swiftie dream when she and Taylor Swift performed a duet together on The Eras Tour last year. But now, the rising star has undoubtedly trumped it by announcing that her sophomore album, The Secret of Us, features the “Anti-Hero” singer on a song, which Abrams revealed by sharing the LP’s tracklist on Instagram Monday (May 13).
In total, the June 21-slated record features 12 main tracks — including the previously released lead single “Risk” — plus a bonus song titled “Close to You,” a snippet of which went viral on TikTok this year. Track No. 5, however, undoubtedly holds the most intrigue, simply titled “Us” with “feat. Taylor Swift” in parentheses next to it.

“screaming so loud………….,” the “21” singer wrote in her caption.

Trending on Billboard

Abrams previously joined Swift as an opener on the Eras Tour last summer, a role she’ll reprise once the “Karma” singer returns to the States for a second North American leg this fall. In July, the former’s supporting set at a Cincinnati show was canceled due to weather delays, after which the pop superstar invited her to sing a duet of “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” during the main set’s nightly surprise song section — during which Abrams “blacked out,” she recently told Jimmy Fallon.

Swift was also one of the first people Abrams texted when she received her first-ever Grammy nomination last year for best new artist. “I talked to Taylor and we were just screaming at each other over text like, lots of all-caps: Holy f–king s–t,” she told Billboard in November. “And obviously she just deserves all of it, all of it, all of it. In moments of career celebration or any personal crisis, I text her, so to be able to celebrate this one mutually felt so wild.”

The “Fortnight” artist is the only collaborator listed on album, which was produced by Aaron Dessner, who also worked on Abrams’ debut record Good Riddance and Swift’s Folklore, Evermore and The Tortured Poets Department. Other titles on The Secret of Us include “Felt Good About You,” “Blowing Smoke,” “Let It Happen” and more.

Abrams first announced the new project on April 29, writing, “the album that I made with some of my favorite people (!!!!!!!!!!) is yours JUNE 21 and the first single 💛RISK💛 comes out on MAY 1! We had real, true fun writing this album. There were also the occasional tears.”

See the full track list below.

Ryan Reynolds knows when not to rock the boat. The IF co-star and Wrexham A.F.C. co-owner popped into The Today Show on Monday morning (May 13) to talk about his role in actor/director John Krasinski’s new animated movie about imaginary friends, as well as to spill some details on one of the most-burning questions in Hollywood: what did he and wife Blake Lively name their fourth child?

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The couple have made a habit of keeping their kids’ faces (and names) out of the public eye, but speaking to Today co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, Reynolds joked that the only person who might know the baby’s name is the world’s biggest pop star. Guthrie practically begged Reynolds to cough up the name, asking him, “Taylor Swift keeps dropping it into lyrics… is the fourth child’s name, the baby’s name, anywhere on the record?”

That record, of course, is Swift’s mega-selling The Tortured Poets Department, and Reynolds — legendary for his desert-dry wit and dead-pan jokes — quickly responded, “We always wait for Taylor to tell us what the child’s name will be. And we’ll say this: we’re still waiting.”

Trending on Billboard

Teasing that Swift is clearly a prolific writer, Reynolds channeled mock panic as he said, “what are we doing here?”

Jokes aside, Reynolds has good reason to await Swift’s blessing, as the singer previously unveiled her A-list pals’ other three children’s names in the song “Betty” from 2020’s Grammy-winning Folklore album. That song name-checks the couple’s third child in the title, daughter Betty, four-and-a-half, in addition to older sisters Inez, seven-and-a-half and James, nine.

Last year, at a May stop on her Eras Tour in Philadelphia, Swift shouted out the couple’s first-born trio while performing “All Too Well” at Philly’s Lincoln Financial Field. Lively and Reynolds welcomed their fourth in Feb. 2023, but have not discussed the baby’s name to date.

Check out the Today show clip below.

Ryan Reynolds jokes on TODAY about the name of his and Blake Lively’s fourth child: “We always wait for Taylor (Swift) to tell us what the child’s name will be. And, we’ll say this: we’re still waiting.” pic.twitter.com/CimgAjffOM— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 13, 2024