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Katy Perry was on both the giving and receiving ends of surprise performances at this year’s Coachella.
Shortly after the pop star made a guest appearance onstage at best friend Mia Moretti’s festival set, she was approached by TikToker Harry Daniels for an impromptu performance of a Prism deep cut — which, a stunned Perry revealed, she just so happened to write about her DJ BFF more than a decade ago.
In a clip posted Monday (April 15), Daniels approaches Perry — who wears a T-shirt with husband Orlando Bloom’s Lord of the Rings character on it — and starts belting out a few lines from her 2013 song “International Smile.” As the American Idol judge’s eyes widen in shock, she looks frantically around and shouts, “Where’s Mia?”
She then explains excitedly: “My best friend that just played Coachella, that song’s about her!”
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“I got really nervous to sing for katy and i blanked,” Daniels captioned the video. “the only song i could remember was this one deep cut from 2013.”
The comedian — who’s known for singing in front of unwitting celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Ellie Goulding and, very recently, President Joe Biden — also crossed paths with Gwen Stefani, Paris Hilton, Tyga, Becky G, Reneé Rapp and Wallows’ Dylan Minnette during the first weekend of Coachella 2024, which kicked off Friday. The festival will pick up again April 19, with headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat returning for round two.
Perry was present at day 3 of this year’s event, joining her longtime pal behind the DJ booth on the DoLab stage Sunday (April 14). At one point, she shot fake dollar bills into the crowd with a money gun while modeling a bikini tee from Moretti’s merch line.
Other surprise guests at Coachella 2024 were Kesha, who showed up during Rapp’s set, Olivia Rodrigo, who appeared during Stefani and No Doubt’s performance, and Eilish, who joined Del Rey on the main stage.
Watch Perry get serenaded by Daniels below.
The Tortured Poets Department is under renovation, with Chairman Taylor Swift gearing up to cut the ribbon on a new library wing ahead of her 11th studio album’s highly anticipated release later this week. As announced Monday (April 15), the pop star is teaming up with Spotify to launch an open-air Tortured Poets Department library […]
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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 Perrie, Tinashe, Mimi Webb and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your […]
Taylor Swift is just days away from unveiling her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, and Instagram and Threads are celebrating the upcoming release with fun hidden features for Swifties. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Starting on Monday (April 15), fans can […]
Dua Lipa‘s Radical Optimism has been a long, long time coming. In the 28-year-old pop star’s TIME cover story published Monday (April 15), she revealed that she’s been planning out her new album for years — before she even made her musical debut, in fact.
“Since I was very little, I’ve jotted down things I dreamt for myself,” she told the publication. “I’ve always planned ahead. Although surprises arise that I evaluate in the moment, there’s always a long-term goal.”
One of those goals was Radical Optimism, which she’s been conceptualizing since before her self-titled debut record arrived in 2017. “I remember when I was working on my first album, I was making notes on what my third album was going to be,” she revealed. “It’s mad to think about, but I remember speaking to my close friend and A&R Joe [Kentish], ‘Maybe album three, I could work with [Tame Impala’s] Kevin Parker,’ and he was like, ‘Alright, hold your horses, let’s take baby steps.’”
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By the time she was three albums deep into her career, she’d hoped that “maybe I’d be deserving to be in a room with an artist I so deeply admire and look up to,” Lipa recalled thinking at the time.
Seven years later, Radical Optimism‘s collaborators include Parker as well as Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle and Tobias Jesso Jr. Led by singles “Houdini,” “Training Season” and “Illusion,” the 11-track set arrives May 3.
“The record as a whole is more mature,” the Grammy winner said of the new project. “I’m definitely not the same person I was when I wrote my first album. I’ve evolved and learned so much … taking it as it comes, not seeing anything as bad or something as a setback. That involves a lot of growing and understanding myself, knowing my worth, whether it be in business, love, or friendship.”
“I’m just a different person, so of course this record is going to be different,” she added. “I have different thoughts, wants, needs and perspectives. I’ve done a 180 on myself … I feel the most confident at this point in my life.”
The new interview comes one day after Saturday Night Live announced that the “Levitating” singer would be serving as both the host and musical guest for the show’s May 4 episode. Sharing the news on Instagram, Lipa wrote, “DOUBLE DUTY DUA!!!!!!!!”
The Argylle star also recently dropped the summery music video for her third Radical Optimism single “Illusion,” filmed at the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, with dancers, high divers and synchronized swimmers. “It’s about knowing what you’re getting yourself into, but staying for the hell of it,” she said of the track in a statement at the time.
“The joke’s on them,” she added. “It’s the fun of playing someone at their own game because ultimately you won’t fall for an illusion.”
See Dua Lipa’s TIME cover and photos below:
Kesha seriously turned heads when she made a surprise cameo during Reneé Rapp‘s set at Coachella, joining the Mean Girls star for a collaboration on her 2009 breakthrough hit, “Tik Tok.” The song that famously pays tribute to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger (and partying very hard) opens with the iconic line “wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ like P Diddy.”
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But in the wake of a raft of allegations of sexual assault and abuse aimed at the Bad Boy Records founder (born Sean Combs) — whose homes in Miami and L.A were raided last month by officers with the Homeland Security bureau in connection with an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation — Kesha subtly, but pointedly, tweaked the line from her Animals album.
“Wake up in the mornin’ like, ‘F— P. Diddy,’” Kesha sang alongside Rapp, with both pop stars tossing up a middle finger at the same time. Kesha doubled-down later in the night, tweeting out the line as well, just in case anyone missed the reference. In November, shortly after the first stories of Diddy’s alleged actions came to light, Kesha removed the rapper’s name from “Tik Tok” during a performance in Los Angeles.
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The lyrical lambasting was not lost on one of Diddy’s chief hip-hop mogul antagonists, 50 Cent, who has been relentlessly trolling the former Revolt boss over his legal issues in his signature snarky social posts. Above a video repost of the moment, 50 took yet another opportunity to poke at Diddy, writing, “LOL she said [middle finger emoji] Fvck P DIDDY, HAHAAHAHA [eyeball emoji] PUFFY LIKE 50 TOLD HER TO SAY THAT!”
Combs has kept a low profile since the mogul’s former girlfriend, singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit in November accusing the hip-hop entrepreneur of years of abuse and one accusation of rape. The lawsuit alleged that she had “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated beatings and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers”; the suit was settled a day later. Diddy has denied any wrongdoing and in a social post after the Cassie settlement he lashed out at the “sickening allegations,” which his lawyer dubbed a “witch hunt.”
Diddy has also been accused of a “gang rape” of a teen in 2003 in a separate lawsuit, as well as sexual assault and sex trafficking in another lawsuit from music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr.
In December, 50 said he was working on a documentary through his G-Unit Films division about the history of sexual misconduct allegations against Diddy, with 50 promising to donate proceeds to help victims of sexual assault. At press time there was no update on that project.
See 50’s post below.
Sunday night (April 14) was slated to be a triumphant first for Billy Joel. After half a century in the music business, the Piano Man was headed to prime time for his first-ever broadcast network concert special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time.
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Announced during this year’s Super Bowl and taped on March 28 during Joel’s 100th consecutive performance at the legendary New York city venue, the show was slated to run from 9-11 p.m. on CBS. Unfortunately, the network’s live coverage of the Masters golf tournament pushed back the start of the Joel concert’s airing, which meant that the climactic ending of the show was cut off for many viewers to throw to the local news.
To make matters worse, according to posts from livid viewers, the screen went black at the worst possible time, near the celebratory ending of Joel’s signature sing-along ballad, 1973’s “Piano Man.” “#BillyJoel #MSG #100 concert not only starts a half hour late, but then you cut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130?,” read one rage-filled tweet that opened with a not polite, four-letter salutation to the Tiffany network. “Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that’s been advertised for MONTHS, and you f–k it up.”
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At press time a spokesperson for CBS had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment about the abrupt cut-away from the broadcast, which some X users compared to the infamous moment in 1968 when NBC jumped from a nail-biter New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game to switch to children’s movie Heidi.
“CBS has been promoting the Billy Joel concert special every two minutes for WEEKS. So what better way to air it than to preempt it for a half hour and the cut him off MID-PIANO MAN? C’mon guys,” read another annoyed tweet. That same fan further explained that she’d spent “three wonderful years with CBS and I love the network dearly… but as a media professional, I am straight up confounded by this decision.”
In fan video of the moment, Joel is leaning into the denouement of the song, singing, “And the piano it sounds like a carnival/ And the microphone smells like a beer,” amid footage of fans at the MSG show singing along and cheering as the screen abruptly jumps to local news. To be fair, the cut-off came near the end of the final verse, with just a round of choruses, and around a minute, left to go. According to one report, the edit only affected viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones.
While CBS has not issued a statement so far, one of the affected stations offered an apology, with 10 Tampa Bay sport director Evan Closky writing, “As a man who grew up right next to Billy Joel’s hometown, who went to The Last Play at Shea, it was my duty to apologize to everyone about cutting off our telecast of Billy Joel tonight. Not to get into the weeds, but there was a special report after the Masters and it wasn’t accounted for by the powers that be beyond this building.”
Joel will be back at MSG on April 26 and May 9 for two more gigs at his home-away-from-home, before hitting the road this summer for a run of baseball stadium gigs that run through November.
Check out some of the angry tweets below.
Billy Joel fans might burn CBS and its affiliates to the ground after cutting Piano Man off during the last verse… to play the local news on time.— John Lund (@lundinbridge) April 15, 2024
Dear @CBS , Fuck off.#BillyJoel #MSG #100 concert not only starts a half hour late, but then you cut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130? Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that’s been advertised for MONTHS, and you fuck it up— Tom Lagacy (@Tommygunn1544) April 15, 2024
Disclaimer here that I spent three wonderful years with CBS and I love the network dearly… but as a media professional, I am straight up confounded by this decision.— Emily Gandolfo (@emilyrgandolfo) April 15, 2024
Also for the record, we have no idea why that happened that way. I’m sure it will be looked into.— Rex Smith (@Rex__Smith) April 15, 2024
Taylor Swift was watching when Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt performed her song “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live. And she’s all for it.
Gosling hosted Saturday’s episode of SNL, and was joined by his The Fall Guy co-star Emily Blunt for a cover of her Red-era release during the monologue.
At the top, Gosling assured viewers that he “would not make any jokes” about his character Ken from the Barbie movie,“because they’re not funny.” He’s kidding; they’re hilarious. And with that, Gosling set up the musical gag.
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“You know, when you play a character that hard, that long, just letting go feels like a breakup and for processing a breakup, there’s really only one thing that can help: the music of the great Taylor Swift,” Gosling remarked.
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Gosling then slotted in at a grand piano and channeled his loveable-but-dimwitted Ken with a parody of “All Too Well,” complete with dark shades and a white fur coat.
Swift’s lyrics were tweaked for the occasion. “I shredded Venice Beach is true / My clothes were tight / But something about that spandex felt so right / I left my rollerblades in that big pink house / But I still got that fur coat and I’ll wear that right now,” he sings. “If I said that I was doing fine, you know I’d be lying / ‘Cause I was just Ken and now I’m just Ryan.”
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Swift gave the moment her seal of approval with a post on Instagram. “All Too Well (Ryan and Emily’s Version)!!! Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour. This monologue is everything,” she writes.
Gosling, even when he’s out of character, has a special connection with the song. In an interview with Fandango posted last week on YouTube, Gosling and Blunt talked TayTay while discussing their new film alongside director David Leitch and stunt doubles Ben Jenkins and Logan Holladay.
The actors shared their personal favorite tracks in the 14-time Grammy winner’s catalogue, with Gosling revealing, “‘All Too Well’ right now has a real soft spot in my heart.”
Swift is currently enjoying some downtime during her extensive The Eras Tour. She restarts her schedule with concerts May 24 and 25 at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, followed by a run of eight mid-summer shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.
For one of the biggest performances of her career, Tems called on one of the biggest stars pop stars in the business — Justin Bieber.
The Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer delivered a set at Coachella 2024 on Sunday night (April 14), and brought out the big guns in Bieber and Wizkid, who both stepped onto the stage for a performance of their hit “Essence.”
Fans had been warned. “Coachella! I’m too exciteddd I have a surprise tonight,” she wrote earlier on X.
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Coachella! I’m too excitedddI have a surprise tonight 👀❤️🔥— TEMS (@temsbaby) April 14, 2024
Originally released in 2020 and recorded with Bieber and fellow Afrobeats star Wizkid, “Essence” was a true slow-burner, impacting Billboard’s charts nine months after its release. Tems would reign over Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in September 2021 with “Essence,” making history along the way. “Essence” also cracked the Billboard Hot 100, and would enter the top 10 (peaking at No. 9), becoming the first Afrobeats song to do so.
Bieber is no stranger to smashing chart records. At 27, the Canadian pop singer became the youngest solo artist in history to notch 100 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat he reached in 2021. The “Stay” singer has kept a relatively low profile since June 2022, when he revealed his diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, with one side of his face experiencing “full paralysis.” On Sunday night, he showed no ill effects as he glided around the Coachella stage. Watch below.
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Bieber’s performance will surely send Beliebers into a frenzy, and renew hope for more live dates in the wake of his health problems, which contributed to the cancelation of his 2022 Justice World Tour.
That excitement lifted a gear earlier in the year, when Bieber performed a surprise short set of classics and recent hits at Drake’s 2,500-capacity downtown club History and, earlier, hinted at new music to come.
Tems was Billboard’s 2024 Women in Music Breakthrough recipient, telling reporters ahead of the event: “I really want to use this opportunity to say to all the women in the room, in the world, that no matter what you’re going through, you should know you’re not alone. So even when you’re sad, even when you’re angry, there’s someone that’s angry, too. So uplift everybody around you because they need that like you and somebody’s there for you,” she concluded her speech. “It’s the women that got the women, trust me.”
She previously told Billboard, “everybody just called me Temi. Nobody really called me by my full name. It wasn’t something that was on my mind. It’s only now, as an adult, that I started realizing that it meant ‘the crown is mine.’ I think that’s really powerful. It feels manifested, based on how my life has gone.“
Tyler, the Creator, Doja Cat and Lana Del Rey are leading the pack as this year’s headliners for the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This weekend is the first of two weekends of Coachella 2024, held in the Southern California desert.