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Now that the NFL season is finally over, three-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce finally had time in his schedule to attend another Eras Tour show to cheer on Taylor Swift. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was one of more than 80,000 people Friday (Feb. 23) at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia, where he […]
The surprises just kept coming at Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour show in Australia Friday (Feb. 23). During the pop star’s first night at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, she unveiled yet another version of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department titled “The Albatross” — complete with a limited bonus track of the same name — before […]
Take a look — it’s definitely mad love! Katy Perry attended Taylor Swift‘s first show of the Eras Tour in Sydney, Australia, on Friday (Feb. 23) and showed everyone that she’s a Swiftie. In fan-captured videos, the “Dark Horse” singer is spotted singing along and dancing at Accor Stadium to the pop superstar’s hit “Bad […]
Justin Timberlake was scheduled to play a one-off show in London at the Roundhouse in Camden on Friday night (Feb. 23), but had to cancel the gig announced last week at the last minute due to illness. The singer revealed the news to fans in a video in which he apologized for the late notice.
“Hi everybody,” he said with a hoarse voice in the Instagram Story post. “This is an unfortunate video to have to send out, but I’m sure you can tell from the sound of things that I am not going to be able to make it to the show on Friday, which I’m gutted about.” He noted that he’s been in London all week and was “so excited” to perform at the legendary theater.
“But as you may or may not know, I’ve been battling some kind of bug,” he added. “And I thought it was getting better but it just took a turn for the worse.” He promised his London fans he would make it up to them, after he was able to “power through” his visit to Graham Norton’s chat show, which also nearly got scotched. But on Friday morning, he said he woke up feeling “worse than ever,” pledging that the next time he comes through he can hopefully make it up to them and “rock the Roundhouse” with his fans.
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“But for now I feel terrible… I hope none of you get this flu,” he said.
Earlier this week, Timberlake posted a preview of his just-released new single, “Drown,” playing a bit of it solo on a piano while acknowledging his illness. “Made it out to London, still recovering from this flu. But trying to power through. So excited for new music and everything coming this week,” he wrote at the time.
The news came on the same day that JT released his introspective new single, “Drown,” the second song so far from his upcoming Everything I Thought It Was album (March 15); the first single, “Selfish,” debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Timberlake’s upcoming North American tour is slated to kick off on April 29 in Vancouver and keep him on the road through a July 9 gig in Lexington, KY before hopping over to Europe for his just-announced 13-gig run of overseas dates. The singer also recently expanded the North American run, adding 15 more shows that will keep him on the road through a Nov. 20 show at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, KY.
It was a rollercoaster of a night on Friday (Feb. 23) for Taylor Swift as the singer kicked off her four-show stand at Sydney, Australia’s Accor Stadium in front of 81,000 soggy, determined Swifties. Before the show could kick off, the stadium floor and lower bowl were evacuated due to storms — and a nearby lightning strike — which meant that opening act Sabrina Carpenter‘s set was cancelled in order to get Swift on stage in time.
“Please note, due to weather, show start time has been delayed. Stay undercover until further notice and follow venue screens and staff instructions. Stay safe and remember to be kind to those around you,” the venue announced on X in describing the delay.
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But, according to the Sydney Herald, the show did go on, with Swift taking the stage just before 8 p.m. local, and yes, boyfriend Travis Kelce was in the house, accompanied by Swift’s dad, Scott Swift. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end — wearing an electric blue, wildly patterned matching shorts and t-shirt combo –made his way to his seats accompanied by the rabid screams and shouts from Swifties on the stadium floor. Fans also got excited to see Rita Ora and Katy Perry (as well as Rita’s husband director Taika Waititi and beloved Australian director Baz Luhrmann) sharing a private box and exchanging friendship bracelets with admirers; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also in the house.
On to the show, though. According to the Herald, Swift immediately nodded to the resiliency of her audience, telling them, “We have a little bit of a weather situation, a little bit of rain but I have never known an Aussie crowd that let anything get in the way!” Later, in what has become a signature moment in the set, Swift picked a nine-year-old named Scarlett — who was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in October — as the recipient of her black hat during “22.”
The show progressed as usual after the storm delay, and the night’s first surprise song was “How You Get the Girl” from 2014’s smash 1989 album. “I kind of pick the song for each individual crowd and hope I get it right,” Swift told the audience of the song she first played during the stripped-down portion of the night in Atlanta last April.
Swift then brought out Carpenter to help her on a mash-up of Fearless‘ “White Horse” and Evermore‘s “Coney Island,” with Taylor telling the crowd that Carpenter “heroically sacrificed her show, which I think is a crime against Sydney.” The singer also took a moment during the surprise piano acoustic section to shout out her new favorite destination: the Sydney Zoo, which she visited the day before with Kelce. “We really love the Sydney Zoo – we’ve been 100 per cent of our days off here,” Swift said of her back-to-back visits. “I don’t think you guys don’t understand how cool kangaroos really are. They are so cool, so strong, so bouncy.”
Swift’s Accor stand will continue with shows on Saturday (June 24), Sunday (June 25) and Monday (June 26) before moving on to Singapore on March 2.
Justin Timberlake’s Forget Tomorrow World Tour will cruise through the U.K. and Europe this summer for a run of arena shows.
Just hours after dropping “Drown,” the second single from his forthcoming LP, Timberlake unveiled a 13-date pan-European itinerary kicking off July 26 at Tauron Arena Krakow, Poland, and wrapping Sept. 8 at LDLC Arena in Lyon, France.
“When I said WORLD tour, I meant it,” reads JT’s social post announcing the run, acknowledgment that the first waves of his “world tour” announcement covered only cities in the United States and Canada.
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Earlier this month, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” singer added 15 more concerts to his growing trek. The tour will launch April 29 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., and visit major cities such as Las Vegas (May 10-11), New York (Jun. 25-26) and Atlanta (Nov. 16), before concluding Nov. 20 at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Ky.
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With the announcement of his European jaunt, eight more countries are added to his plans.
“Selfish” and “Drown” are the first cuts from Everything I Thought It Was, JT’s first solo album release in more than six years.
Due out March 15, EITIW is Timberlake’s sixth studio LP, and the followup to Man of the Woods which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 following its release in February 2018, for his fourth consecutive solo leader.
“I worked for a long time on this album and I ended up with 100 songs,” he told Zane Lowe in a recent interview for Apple Music 1. “So narrowing them down to 18 was a thing, and then, yeah, I’m really excited about this album. I think every artist probably says this, but it is my best work.”
The 10-time Grammy Award winner warmed-up for his live return with a performance last month in New York at the 1,100-capacity Irving Plaza.
A month after launching the campaign for Everything I Thought It Was with lead single “Selfish,” Justin Timberlake has revealed a new taste of his forthcoming LP. Co-written and co-produced by Louis Bell, Cirkut, Kenyon Dixon, Amy Allen and Timberlake himself, “Drown” finds the *NSYNC alum squarely at home on an atmospheric electro-pop&B instrumental. “Got […]
For all you lovers out there, Selena Gomez‘s new single “Love On” has officially arrived. The track dropped at 6 p.m. ET Thursday (Feb. 22), getting a six-hour jump on the traditional Friday new music model. It marks Gomez’s first release of 2024 and follows “Single Soon,” a carefree ode to independence produced by the […]
It feels like Miley Cyrus has lived a thousand lives since she first found global fame as a pre-teen. Undoubtedly one of the Disney Channel machine’s most successful alums, she’s consistently written off the world’s expectations for her life and career, reinventing herself again and again while remaining the fierce, ever-hilarious star her fans have […]
For 50 years, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester has been making timeless music that has resonated with fans.
On her 25th album, RE:VIEW, out tomorrow (Feb. 23), Manchester celebrates the golden anniversary by reinterprets some of her biggest hits, with an assist from some special friends. Dolly Parton joins her on majestic ballad “Midnight Blue,” which Manchester took to No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1975. Kenny Loggins collaborates with her on “Whenever I Call You Friend,” which the two wrote in the mid-‘70s and Loggins and Stevie Nicks had an enduring hit with in 1978.
The album includes remakes of several of her hits, including “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” for which she won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance, female, in 1983, as well as “Through the Eyes of Love,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and “Come in From the Rain.”
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Manchester, who got her start as a member of the Harlettes, Bette Midler’s raucous back-up singers — and created the role of Maddy, Blossom’s mom on the hit ‘90s NBC sitcom, Blossom — is now playing Mrs. Brice in the North American touring company of Funny Girl.
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In an email interview with Billboard, she discussed what it was like to work with Parton, whom she calls “instantly charming and intimate,” why she re-recorded her part on “Midnight Blue” and how happy she was to finally record “Whenever I Call You Friend” with Loggins.
When “Midnight Blue” first came out in 1975, it was about a romantic relationship. You and Dolly reinterpret it as a song about a longtime platonic friendship. Why did you make the switch?
When Carole Bayer Sager and I wrote “Midnight Blue,” it was addressing our young marriages, our young husbands and our much younger selves, and how to navigate through some stormy waters. When Dolly asked me to find us something we could sing together, it occurred to me that re-framing the inner world of “Midnight Blue” as a song between two longtime friends might expand the heart of the song. I think it did.
How did Dolly get involved?
I had reached out to Dolly [and] told her that Kenny Loggins, Dave Koz and Gerald Albright would be on the album, so she’d be in very good company. She agreed.
What does she bring to the song?
Dolly brought an almost indescribable tenderness to the song. Her singing is haunting and beautiful. It touched me so much that when I first heard her performance, I was moved to go back into the studio to re-sing my part so as to match her intimate and tender quality.
You first met Dolly when she came to see you decades ago at Universal Amphitheater. What do you remember about that meeting?
Dolly came with Lily Tomlin to see a concert of mine. They came backstage — we exchanged some pleasantries, I’m sure — but truthfully, after a performance I’m a bit out of it for a while. I’m just happy someone took photos of that moment. I must say we were a fine-looking trio.
You’ve said that collaborating with Dolly “marks a special chapter in my musical journey, embodying decades of friendship, respect and artistic collaboration.” What does it mean to have her on this album as you commemorate your 50th year releasing music?
I think one of the last things one owns is the muscle of discernment, owning what you know, trusting your instincts, understanding that people will always have their opinions about what you do or what you should be doing — but, in this moment, I know what I know and I act when my spirit whispers to me. I know Dolly has that muscle times a million. She’s a professional, a creative and she trusts her instincts in a major way. That’s why it was thrilling when she said “Yes” to “Midnight Blue.
There’s a wonderful shot in the video when you pull up alongside a sightseeing bus in Nashville, and they realize it’s you two and go crazy. What was that like?
OMG! Trust me, it was all about Dolly! The busload of tourists saw her and basically drooped over the side of the bus screaming her name! Folks in cars pulled over and screamed her name! Dolly is a true and well-deserving queen.
There’s another shot where you two are drinking wine and eating. Dolly is a notoriously excellent cook. Is that her kitchen? Did she cook for you?
The studio kitchen served nicely as our kitchen. It was sweet how she so enjoyed the packaged pot roast. But she is so tiny, I thought maybe she hadn’t eaten in a while and was ravenous for anything.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the song’s release and reaching No. 6 on the Billboard chart? Why do you think it struck such a chord and has lost none of its resonance?
For me, what’s woven into “Midnight Blue,” between the words, is the subtle weariness of life. How we were able to capture that in our twenties still touches me. Often when I’d be in Nashville, invited to a songwriter’s night at the Bluebird Cafe, and invited into the circle to perform a song, and start singing “Midnight Blue,” the audience would roar in appreciation. It struck a chord in the country music world and for that I’m grateful. And I am very grateful for how many people have told me it’s helped them through their own stormy waters over the years.
How has your relationship with the song changed over the years?
“Midnight Blue” has grown with me. I hope that I infuse the lyrics with more worldly experience and knowledge. It’s become more of an offering than a song.
As you note, the album also includes you, Kenny Loggins and Dave Koz on “Whenever I Call You Friend,” which Kenny and an uncredited Stevie Nicks took to No. 5 on the Hot 100 in 1978. Have you been waiting all this time for you and Kenny to record it together? What did you think of Kenny’s original version with Stevie?
I thought the original version of “Whenever I Call You Friend” was fine. I waited for freaking ever to re-record it with Kenny.
This is a more elaborate, jazzy arrangement. How did it come about?
I wanted to put my own stamp on it. As much as I admired his vocalese at the top of the song, I needed to find my way into the song. Once I found that phrase ‘Whenever, whenever when oh when, whenever…” I knew how to build the arrangement, with the help of my co-arranger/producer Stephan Oberhoff and associate producer Johnny Schaeffer. When Kenny heard the track, loved it and agreed to sing on it, and I reached out to my darling friend Dave Koz. I knew something great was bound to happen … and it did!