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Dolly has spoken! Last week, Dolly Parton posted a message to social media congratulating Beyoncé for her first Hot Country Songs chart-topper with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” writing, “I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album. So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Can’t wait to […]
Will Ariana Grande go on tour in support of her fast-approaching new album Eternal Sunshine? Even she doesn’t know for sure.
When asked during a Monday episode of The Zach Sang Show whether she plans to hit the road in support of her March 8-slated record, the 30-year-old pop star said her decision was “TBD.” “I would love to do shows, I miss being onstage,” she continued. “I miss my fans so much, that’s the honest-to-god truth.”
Grande hasn’t released an LP since 2020’s Positions, and her last trek was even longer ago: In 2019, she launched the Sweetener World Tour, which supported 2018’s Sweetener and 2019’s Thank U, Next albums. The four-month international run was documented in the “POV” singer’s Netflix film Excuse Me, I Love You.
This time around, Grande said her schedule is tied up with press commitments for the Wicked live-action films, in which she stars as Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. The Jon M. Chu-directed pair of films wrapped shooting earlier this year, and the first installment will arrive in theaters this Thanksgiving. (Check out the project’s first trailer, which aired during the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast, here.)
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“I had a really hard time emotionally on my last tour, but I think that’s because of where I was at,” Grande told Sang. “I’m excited to redefine my relationship to shows, when I’m ready. I do have a very busy year with this and with Wicked.
“[The tour] would obviously be shorter,” she added. “If anything, it would be a littler something. But I definitely do have the itch. I’m not ready to announce any sort of thing or get people too excited because I don’t want to disappoint.”
The Victorious alum covered a lot of ground during her 40-minute interview with Sang, which will soon be followed by a part 2. Not only did Grande call out the “thieves” who leaked her unreleased music on TikTok last year — “I’ll see you in jail, literally” she said at one point — but the vocalist also touched on her “frustration” with last year’s persistent tabloid rumors regarding her relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.
“We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based upon if we like the person,” she said. “We don’t need to go into any specifics, but of course there’s an insatiable frustration, an inexplicable hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you.”
Watch Grande on The Zach Sang Show above.
Jennifer Lopez’s action-packed This Is Me … Now: A Love Story features a star-studded cast that includes Fat Joe, Post Malone, Keke Palmer, Trevor Noah, Kim Petras, Jane Fonda, Post Malone, Sofia Vergara, Jenifer Lewis, Jay Shetty, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Derek Hough, Paul Raci, Trevor Jackson, Ben Affleck and more. However, there were a few stars that didn’t join the team.
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In The Greatest Love Story Never Told, a behind-the-scenes documentary of the film streaming on Prime Video, fans get a look at some of the other names that were considered, according to Entertainment Weekly. Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge and Snoop Dogg were all among the celebrities that either declined to take part or were unavailable. Vanessa Hudgens was also pitched to play one of Lopez’s friends in the movie, though she was not cast, and Khloe Kardashian was also set to make a cameo.
“The casting director and the other producers came in and they were like, ‘How about this person? This person’s not available.’ And they started saying all these people,” Lopez explained to EW. “If you see me sitting there, that’s not what I want. What I want is people who represent a certain thing, who could understand what I’m trying to do here. And that’s what it took, because they needed to trust me, and at the end of the day. I think it was a big leap of faith for some of them.”
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Lopez teamed with director Dave Myers for the film, which arrived alongside the release her ninth studio album, This Is Me … Now. The movie is described by Amazon as a “narrative-driven cinematic odyssey, steeped in mythological storytelling and personal healing.”
This Is Me … Now: A Love Story dropped on Prime Video earlier this month, and Prime Members can stream it for free.
Miley Cyrus is gearing up to release yet another banger — this time with Pharrell. The pop star took to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 27) to share the cover art for the duo’s upcoming collaboration, “Doctor (Work It Out).” The photo features the 31-year-old star looking into the camera, with big hair and a fluffy […]
David Spade was characteristically off the cuff during his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night (Feb. 26), and one of the subjects he broached is something that’s on many people’s minds — Taylor Swift‘s romance with Travis Kelce.
More specifically, the comedian pointed out how much pressure the “Anti-Hero” singer was under every time she attended one of the Kansas City Chiefs’ games to cheer on her pro athlete boyfriend. “Poor Taylor Swift, you know, those cameras are like snipers on her,” joked Spade.
“She gets up to get a chalupa and they’re like, ‘Where’s Taylor? Why isn’t she watching?’” he continued. “She’s like, ‘I’m just having one bite!’ They’re like, ‘Oh no, they’re breaking up, she wasn’t watching!’”
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In the months Swift and Kelce went public with their relationship in September, fans and critics alike scrutinized the amount of screen time the pop star gets every time she shows up to an NFL game. In October, however, the league issued a statement defending its coverage of the couple, and Swift herself spoke out about the complaints in her December Person of the Year Time cover story.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” she said at the time. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
On Kimmel, Spade added, “She really has to be there the whole time, ’cause everyone’s watching her watch the game … That’s stressful.”
Noting that he met the 14-time Grammy winner back in 2015 at the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special, Spade continued, “I like her, I think she’s a great performer — she does a great job.”
“It’s just tough,” added the Joe Dirt actor before diving into an improvised skit about Kelce’s recent visit to Sydney, where the athlete attended his third Eras Tour show. “[Swift is] here, then she goes to Australia, then he’s like, ‘Do you want me to come down there, babe?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, “You doing some new stuff? Same five-hour show?’”
Watch David Spade on Jimmy Kimmel Live above.
Ariana Grande has a lot she could say about the public scrutiny she faced in 2023 regarding rumors about her relationship with Wicked costar Ethan Slater — but for now, she’s letting the songs she wrote about the situation on Eternal Sunshine speak for themselves. For the most part.
During her Monday (Feb. 26) interview on The Zach Sang Show, the 30-year-old pop star touched a bit on her experiences with the press after gossip about her personal life reached a fever pitch last year. In short, just days after Grande’s split from estranged husband Dalton Gomez went public in July, reports that the “Positions” musician was dating Slater emerged.
Soon afterward, the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway star’s estranged wife, Lilly Jay — with whom he shares a young son — told Page Six that Grande was “the story” behind her breakup from Slater, adding that the pop star is “not a girl’s girl.” And even though both TMZ and People reported from the jump that Slater and Grande’s romance began after both of their previous relationships were over, a narrative that the Grammy winner had acted as a so-called home-wrecker took on a life of its own.
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But Grande has a different take. “We know this about the tabloids, and about the media — am I crazy? Don’t we know this?” questioned the star in the new interview. “We selectively remember that this is what the tabloids do to people, especially women, based upon if we like the person. We selectively leave space for humanness, for nuance.”
When asked whether there was anything she wishes people knew about her after the events of last year, she replied, “Plenty.”
“We don’t have enough time,” Grande continued. “We don’t need to go into any specifics, but of course there’s an insatiable frustration, an inexplicable hellish feeling with watching people misunderstand the people you love, and you.”
The Victorious alum also shared that her new album Eternal Sunshine, which arrives March 8, “says everything and nothing at the same time” about the situation. “It’s very vague and very specific, all at once,” she continued. “It was definitely the most emotional writing process, for sure.”
“When I was writing, it was with no intention for the world to hear it,” the singer added. “When I was done, I remembered that people will hear it, and how people can sometimes sensationalize things and assign meaning to certain things. I combed through just to make sure that it was what I intended. I had some sessions where I was definitely writing more emotionally and more reactively.”
Watch Ariana Grande on The Zach Sang Show below.
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The Kid Laroi gets vulnerable in his upcoming Prime Video documentary Kids Are Growing Up: A Story About A Kid Named Laroi, and in a new clip shared exclusively with Billboard, the 20-year-old Australian star opens up about his current mental health state as he navigates the beginning of adulthood. “Maybe I’m just feeling lost. Maybe […]
Madonna has removed an image of R&B legend Luther Vandross from a memorial segment of her Celebration tour at the request of the late singer’s estate. A spokesperson for Madonna confirmed to Billboard on Tuesday morning (Feb. 27) that the picture was removed from a bit in the show in which the singer pays tribute […]
Ariana Grande isn’t switching positions on how she feels about music leaks. During the first episode of her multi-part interview on The Zach Sang Show Monday (Feb. 26), the 30-year-old pop star addressed the matter of her unreleased songs finding their way to social media without her permission last year — one of which, she hinted, found a much more kosher home on her upcoming Eternal Sunshine album.
“The few studio sessions I did, which are all over TikTok, thank you so much,” she began, sporting a head-to-toe red outfit — save for her black stilettos — and matching lipstick. “I’ll see you in jail, literally,” the singer added.
“Thieves! Pirates! Crooks!” she said, laughing but still serious. “Illegal. I’ll pay you more to put it away, like, to get it back.”
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Grande went on to give context for her catchy ’90s-inspired track “Fantasize,” which was never supposed to see the light of day, but still found its way to TikTok virality last year. “That wasn’t my song, it wasn’t for me,” she explained, noting that she’d written it for an unnamed TV show. “It was like a parody of this girl group vibe.”
Even so, the “POV” singer took note of her fans’ love for “Fantasize” and decided to incorporate it into her new record, which arrives March 8. “I kind of gave them Ariana’s version of that on the album,” she said. “They’re completely different now. So although you’ve heard them — because you stole them — they’re very different now.”
The second part of Grande’s interview with Sang arrives the day of Eternal Sunshine‘s release, and will find the pair talking about each individual song on the 13-track album. So far, the only single she’s dropped ahead of the LP’s release is the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Yes, And?”
While opening up about having her music stolen, the Victorious alum also shared her thoughts on the similarly viral artificial intelligence recreations of her voice — and let’s just say, she might hate that even more than the leaks. “What are we doing? Why?” she said, seemingly at a loss for words.
“I hate it,” she added. “It’s terrifying.”
Watch Grande on The Zach Sang Show above.
Kevin Bacon and wife actress Kyra Sedgwick got their boots dirty this week for a barnyard cover of Beyoncé‘s smash country hit “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The couple took to the pen to mingle with their pigs and ponies for one of their beloved cover song videos, in which Bacon — rocking a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, […]