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Carly Rae Jepsen shared some happy news with fans on Monday morning (Sept. 23). The 38-year-old singer revealed that she and producer boyfriend Cole M.G.N. (Marsden Greif-Neill) are gonna tie the knot. “Very engaged over here,” the singer wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos from the big day as well as wedding ring and red heart emoji.
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In the first snap, Carly is holding her newly be-ringed hand up to her chest as she and M.G.N. stare into the camera smiling, following by a sun-dappled zoom-in on her new bling, a shot of her braided blonde hair from behind as she stands in a field of flowers, one of M.G.N. staring at horses in a pen, another of the couple petting a white horse and a final image of them kissing.
The couple met while Jepsen was working on the dreamy dance pop tune “So Right” from her 2023 The Loveliest Time album, a track was co-written and produced by M.G.N. According to People, it was Jepsen’s management team that paired her up with the former member of indie band Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, who has also won six Grammy Awards for his work with Beck; M.G.N. was previously married to Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez for 12 years.
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“I would’ve been too shy beforehand to be like, ‘Do you want to do a skit at the beginning?’ But now that we’re so close, it was just really fun and playful to be like, ‘Let’s have this very ’80s drama skit at the beginning where you ask me if I should come over and I say no, but then I come anyways,’” she said about the song’s intro, which features a short talk-up chat between the two about whether it would be a good idea for them to have a late-night hang. “You have to get to a certain level of comfort with somebody before you can get to those really playful, joyful, experimental places.”
At the time, “So Right” was the first track the couple collaborated on, but Jepsen told People that it was probably not going to be the last. “We’ll go traveling somewhere, and we’ll bring a little acoustic guitar,” she said. “I think you’ll see a lot more of our collaboration together for future projects, but this is our first little baby out in the world. We’re both so excited.”
At press time the couple had not announced a wedding date.
Check out Jepsen’s engagement pics below.
It’s officially been one year since Chappell Roan altered the course of her career with the release of debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and the 26-year-old musician didn’t let the anniversary pass without marking the occasion on Instagram Sunday (Sept. 22).
Sharing a photo of herself holding up a Midwest Princess vinyl in front of a wall of promotional posters for the project, Roan wrote that her life “has been changed forever” in the 12 months since she dropped the 14-track LP.
“this has been amazing and hard and beautiful and eye opening and empowering and transformative and every emotion ever,” she continued. “Thank you thank you thank you for everything. Thank you for showing up for this project and believing in me.”
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The Missouri native also noted that the success she’s experienced over the past year wouldn’t have been possible without the help of “a team of people working their a–es off day and night to keep this afloat.” “I am so lucky and feel so loved,” she added.
Produced by Dan Nigro, Midwest Princess didn’t fully take flight until several months after its September 2023 release. After gaining traction with her opening stint on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour this past spring, Roan debuted at No. 127 on the Billboard 200 in April. She’s steadily climbed the chart in the months since thanks in part to her headline-making performances at festivals over the summer, and in late August, Midwest Princess finally reached No. 2.
None of the album’s songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 until June, when “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot to Go!” finally entered the ranking. Since then, Roan’s also notched entries with “My Kink Is Karma,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual” and “Femininomenon,” though her biggest hit to date is still No. 6-peaking follow-up single “Good Luck, Babe!”
And though the rollercoaster ride has led to some major highs — a best new artist win at the 2024 VMAs, for instance — Roan has also been open about the lows of fame. “I went to a psychiatrist last week because I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’” she revealed in a recent interview with The Guardian.
“She diagnosed me with severe depression — which I didn’t think I had because I’m not actually sad,” Roan continued. “But I have every symptom of someone who’s severely depressed. I think it’s because my whole life has changed. Everything that I really love to do now comes with baggage.”
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” earns an 11th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, extending 2024’s longest command. The hit, which became the Virginia-born singer-songwriter’s first Hot 100 No. 1 in July, is one of just five songs to reign for 11 or more weeks this decade, and the first since another […]
Lady Gaga is continuing to send fans spiraling with cryptic messages on Instagram — and no, she doesn’t care to elaborate. The superstar has been posting one new message every day since she first piqued people’s interest on Sept. 20 by sharing a note reading “I’m ready for my interview,” meaning there’s two more to […]
If that guy on stage at Dino’s Lounge in Las Vegas singing karaoke sounded a bit better than the average drunk piker from Minnesota, it’s because he did. Coldplay singer Chris Martin took a break from his band’s Music of the Spheres global juggernaut tour to have some fun in Sin City this weekend when […]
Chappell Roan hasn’t endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for president, despite the pop star’s longtime advocacy for trans rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer-songwriter weighed in on the 2024 election in a profile published by The Guardian on Saturday (Sept. 21).
“I have so many issues with our government in every way. There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides,” Roan explained.
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She added, “I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote — vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”
She says she most wants to see a change in trans rights in the U.S. “They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period,” said Roan.
While Roan’s quote to The Guardian resulted in backlash on social media from fans who expect her to publicly endorse Harris over Donald Trump, given Harris’ pro-LGBTQ+ stance, the quote alone can easily be taken out of context. Roan has been clear about her values in words, performance and actions.
On tour, Roan invites local drag artists to be her supporting act, and as The Guardian reports, “For every U.K. tour ticket sold, £1 goes to the LGBTQ+ rights charity Kaleidoscope Trust, and at the merch stand in Manchester there are signed risograph prints selling for £100, with proceeds going towards aid for Palestine.”
Over the summer she declined an invitation from the White House to perform for a Pride event. She actually wanted to show up and protest the Biden administration’s involvement in Israel’s attacks on Gaza instead of being paraded as a performer, she told Rolling Stone. Her publicist, concerned for her client’s safety, talked her out of it: “You f— with the president and the government, your security is not the same, and neither is your family’s.”
At Gov Ball she dedicated her song “My Kink Is Karma” to the administration. “We want liberty, freedom and justice for all,” she said. “When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
In August Roan urged people to make their voices heard, telling Rolling Stone, “Right now, it’s more important than ever to use your vote, and I will do whatever it takes to protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community. My ethics and values will always align with that, and that hasn’t changed with a different nominee.”
“I feel lucky to be alive during an incredibly historic time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee,” she added. Harris, meanwhile, has featured the Roan’s music in her campaign, including the song “Femininomenon.”
Stars including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish,
Katy Perry‘s 143 has topped this week’s new music poll that features artists in various genres of music.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 20) on Billboard, choosing the pop superstar’s sixth album as their favorite new music release of the past week.
143 brought in nearly 59% of the vote on the poll, securing a notable edge ahead of new releases from Gwen Stefani (“Somebody Else’s”), Bad Bunny (“Una Velita”), Keith Urban (High), Bon Iver (“S P E Y S I D E”), Future (Mixtape Pluto), and others.
143, which is code for “I love you,” marks Perry’s first album since 2020’s Smile, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The project features previously released singles “Woman’s World” and “Lifetimes,” as well as Doechii and 21 Savage collaborations on “I’m His He’s Mine” and “Gimme Gimme,” respectively. Other song titles include “Crush,” “Nirvana,” “All the Love,” “Truth” and “Wonder,” among others.
“I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” Perry previously shared in a statement about the project. On TikTok, she added, “143 is honestly a dance party. All fandoms, invited. And it’s high energy, lots of love, mostly lots of love and BPM, summer, sexy. And it’s for y’all.”
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This is Perry’s second week in a row to top Billboard‘s new music poll. Last week, the star’s “I’m His, He’s Mine” collab with Doechii brought in 30% of the vote.
Trailing behind Perry on this week’s poll is Stefani’s “Somebody Else’s,” which brought in nearly 27% of the vote. The new single, which nods back to No Doubt’s brand of new wave and radio-ready pop, will be featured on the singer’s fifth album, Bouquet, set for release on Nov. 15.
See the final results of this week’s poll below. Check out Billboard‘s Friday Music Guide to catch up with more must-hear releases from this week.
Lizzo isn’t letting hurtful comments get in the way of her fitness journey.
On Friday (Sept. 20), the 36-year-old “Truth Hurts” singer respond to allegations on social media that she’s been using the popular weight loss drug ozempic after sharing videos of her weight loss transformation.
“When you finally get Ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit,” the pop-rap star captioned a video on Instagram of herself sighing into the camera.
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Lizzo’s carousel also included a screenshot of a rude follower commenting on one of her posts. “Did she use Ozempic or did she snort coke,” the person wrote, prompting the star to respond, “whyyyy do u follow me?”
Days earlier, the four-time Grammy winner shared clips on social media of herself hard at work in the gym. The videos feature the artist sharing before-and-after shots of her weight loss while donning her shapewear brand Yitty. One of the clips is soundtracked by Nicki Minaj saying, “The fact that you would even discuss my looks is insane. I’m a bad b—-, always been a bad b—-.”” Lizzo captioned the Sept. 19 post, “FINE BOTH WAYS,” alongside exhaling face emojis.
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Lizzo has also recently shared an update about new music. “JUST A LIL ALBUM UPDATE 4 MY REAL LIZZBIANS: I’m making the BEST music of my life— this album (like all my other albums) is a BODY OF TWERK,” she wrote on Instagram alongside photos of herself in the recording studio. “I want you to listen to the WHOLE THING/IN ORDER with a glass of ur favorite wet stuff and ur heart open. This is more than music to me… this is my soul poured out and bared to the world.”
The “About Damn Time” hitmaker has been giving fans a look into her fitness routine in recent weeks. In an Aug. 25 post revealing that she’s “taking a gap year,” the star shared fitness footage from Bali, where she’s seen jumping rope on a balcony.
Just before summertime, the star gave an update on her mental health, a topic she’s been candid about over the past year amid harassment allegations and public scrutiny. (In August 2023, three former tour dancers filed a lawsuit against her, alleging sexual misconduct and hostile work conditions. Lizzo claimed the accusations to be false and deemed them “sensationalized stories”; the lawsuit was put on hold in March pending appeals.)
“I’m the happiest I’ve been in 10 months,” she wrote on Instagram in May. “The strange thing about depression is you don’t know you’re in it until you’re out of it. I’m definitely not all the way as carefree as I used to be. But the dark cloud that followed me every day is finally clearing up. My smile reaches my eyes again and that’s a win.”
See Lizzo’s post about her weight loss on Instagram below.
Janet Jackson questioned Kamala Harris’ race in an interview published by The Guardian on Saturday (Sept. 21).
The interview touched upon the singer’s Together Again Tour, how she’s recorded “a lot of music that’s just sitting on the shelf,” and being a parent. It also shifted to the topic of the upcoming U.S. election, with the reporter noting Americans could elect their first Black, female president: democratic nominee Harris.
“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” Jackson chimed in. “She’s not Black — that’s what I heard, that she’s Indian.”
Added Jackson, “Her father’s white, that’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
She didn’t elaborate on where she’d heard this information, which is false.
Harris is both Black and Indian. Her father, Donald J. Harris, came to the U.S. from Jamaica. Her mother, the late Shyamala Gopalan, came to the U.S. from India. They both moved to the U.S. to study at the University of California, Berkeley, which is where they met in 1962.
The Guardian approached the topic again with Jackson, asking if she thinks America is ready for a president who is a woman of color.
“I don’t know,” Jackson said. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really truthfully don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”
The singer’s quotes about Harris trended on social media, where many fans expressed disappointment in one of their idols repeating misinformation.
“You had the chance to stand with a Black woman loud and proud and you didn’t. This is hard for a lifelong fan,” says a top comment on Jackson’s most recent Instagram post, which was taken over with reactions to what Jackson said about Harris.
On X, formerly Twitter, a post read, “Janet Jackson is one of the most influential people in music history. It was simply irresponsible of her to repeat something she ‘heard’ regarding the very thing that they use against Kamala! Her own race. We are less than 50 days away from the election. We gotta talk smarter!”
Over the summer, Donald Trump brought up Harris’ racial identity at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where he claimed, “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
At the Sept. 10 presidential debate, Trump said, “All I can say is I read where she was not Black … And then I read that she was Black, and that’s OK. Either one was OK with me. That’s up to her.”
Harris later responded, “Honestly, I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president, who has consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people.”
Jackson, according to the reporter behind the The Guardian article, was not feeling well on the day of the interview. She had a cold.
Chappell Roan says she’s been diagnosed with severe depression, but she hasn’t been feeling sad.
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer-songwriter, just named best new artist at the MTV VMAs, tells The Guardian she’s “in therapy twice a week” while on the road for her Midwest Princess Tour. The trek currently has her in London (Sept. 21), with a stop in Berlin next (Sept. 23) before she returns to the U.S. for a handful of concerts, beginning with the All Things Go Festival in New York City on Sept. 28.
“I went to a psychiatrist last week because I was like, I don’t know what’s going on,” Roan shared with the publication for a profile released on Saturday.
“She diagnosed me with severe depression — which I didn’t think I had because I’m not actually sad,” she said. “But I have every symptom of someone who’s severely depressed.”
Roan’s symptoms have included brain frog, forgetfulness, poor focus and “a very lackluster viewpoint.”
“I think it’s because my whole life has changed,” she said of her current symptoms. “Everything that I really love to do now comes with baggage. If I want to go thrifting, I have to book security and prepare myself that this is not going to be normal. Going to the park, pilates, yoga — how do I do this in a safe way where I’m not going to be stalked or harassed?”
Later in the article, she said that “every time I walk through my front door, it just comes out of me … I can’t even help it, I just start sobbing and either being so angry at myself for choosing this path, or grieving how the curiosity and pure wonder I had about the world is somewhat taken away from me.”
The upside of fame: the opportunity it brings. “I get to feel the energy of other people. It’s so cool to have shows so packed and have so much joy in the room,” she said.
Roan — whose debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and who has seen seven songs chart on the Hot 100 in just the past five months — isn’t alone in experiencing complex feelings about fame (“I was warned that it’s going to feel like going through puberty again,” she told The Guardian. “My body does feel different. It’s holding tension in a very different way: I have all these new emotions and I’m really confused”). She’s bonded with peers in the industry over the pressure that comes with such a sudden rise, meeting up with Sabrina Carpenter and texting Lorde for advice.
“We’re both going through something so f—ing hard,” said Roan of Carpenter in a recent Rolling Stone cover story, sharing that the “Espresso” hitmaker “feels like everything is flying, and she’s just barely hanging on.”
Roan has been open about how she’s feeling with fans, too. In August, she penned a statement on Instagram about setting boundaries with those engaging in “predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past.”
“I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed,” she wrote.
The singer-songwriter, now 26, has also been candid about pre-fame mental health struggles. Roan was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder at age 22.
She described her childhood experience in an interview last year with the University of Southern California’s Daily Trojan: “Being bipolar, I was so depressed as a little kid and so angry. You just think you’re such a bad person, and don’t realize that you’re really sick and need help, and our parents don’t know how to deal with it. I think it’s like rewiring my brain to be like, ‘Actually, you’re a good person, and you’re creating a safe space and music for people to dance to.’”
In 2022, she posted on Instagram about her bipolar II disorder, telling fans “it’s pretty hard to keep it together” and balance work and fan commitments with her therapy schedule. She noted, “I don’t really talk about it much, but it affects me daily and is a pretty big part of my music.” In 2023, she wrote about it again on Instagram: “i am very fortunate and grateful to have my dream job,” she said, but added, “This job is very difficult for me to process and maintain a healthy life & mindset. I already have difficulty regulating my emotions because I have bipolar 2 disorder.”
Read Roan’s latest conversation with The Guardian here. Roan’s upcoming tour dates can be found on her official website.
