Pop
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Taylor Swift fans now have two versions of The Tortured Poets Department to choose from — and knowing Swifties, they’ll probably grab both. During the surprise song section of her Eras Tour show in Melbourne Friday (Feb. 16), the 34-year-old pop star announced a second version of her upcoming 11th album dubbed The Bolter. Complete […]
Billy Joel is fully back in his pop mode in the new video for comeback single “Turn the Lights Back On.” In fact, thanks to generative AI, Joel is back in all his pop modes in the time-tripping visual directed by Warren Fu (Daft Punk, Dua Lipa), which uses technology from Deep Voodoo to portray […]
Taylor Swift donated $100,000 to a GoFundMe set up for the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the Kansas City radio DJ who was killed in the mass shooting that broke out during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade on Wednesday. Swift, who has become an honorary member of the Chiefs nation thanks to her relationship with the team’s star tight end Travis Kelce, instantly met and then exceeded the original $75,000 goal of the page set up to care for the family of the beloved 44-year-old married mother of two.
A spokesperson for Swift — who made the donations just before kicking off the Australian leg of her Eras Tour in Melbourne with the first of three shows in that city — confirmed to Billboard that Swift made two $50,000 donations to the cause early Friday morning (Feb. 16); at press time the GoFundMe had raised more than $177,000 from 1,400 donations.
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“She was an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to so many. We ask that you continue to keep her family in your prayers as we grieve the loss of her life. This fund will help provide vital financial support to her family as they process this unthinkable tragedy,” read a statement on the donations page, where the average donation ranged from $5-$100.
“Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss. With love, Taylor Swift,” the singer wrote.
Lopez-Galvan was a private mobile DJ for more than 15 years and co-hosted “Taste of Tejano” for local station KKFI since March 2022. “It is with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart that we let our community know that KKFI DJ Lisa Lopez, host of Taste of Tejano lost her life today in the shooting at the KC Chiefs’ rally. Our hearts and prayers are with her family,” read a statement from the station.
The DJ was among nearly one million Chiefs fans two attended the downtown rally celebrating the team’s third Super Bowl win in five years when gunfire erupted near the end of the parade. The burst of gunfire killed Lopez-Galvan and injured 22 others, with half the victims under the age of 16. According to USA Today, a personal dispute between several people spurred the shooting, with police detaining three juveniles in the incident; one of the unnamed suspects was later released. One of the people questioned by police was tackled by bystanders before being detained at the event that a massive police presence of more than 800 officers.
Kelce tweeted, “I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today. My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me.”
KC Mayor Quinton Lucas said the mass shooting will not deter the city from hosting parades or mass celebrations in the future — including a St. Patrick’s Day parade next month — in a state that Democrat Sen. Steve Roberts said has “some of the loosest gun laws” in the country. “There is a gun violence challenge in this community and many others. And there certainly is a gun violence challenge as it relates to major events,” Lucas said on Thursday. “That, however, does not mean that Kansas City will stop having major events. We will do all we can to make sure people are safe.”
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Bill Eigel tweeted, “To the liberal gun grabbers already trying to use this KC tragedy to push your radical gun control agenda, hear me now: NOT IN MISSOURI. One good guy with a gun could have stopped the evil criminals who opened fire on the crowd immediately. Guns don’t kill people. Thugs and criminals kill people.”
With less than a month to go before Eternal Sunshine takes over the world (Mar. 8), Ariana Grande is keeping her attention on “Yes, And?” — and she’s tapped a certifiable legend to breathe new life into the song. Marking their second official collaboration, Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey have teamed up for a new “Yes, And?” remix.
Released to digital streaming platforms on Friday (Feb. 16), the new version of Grande’s latest Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper arrives after a few days of teasing via her official Instagram page, Carey’s official Instagram page, and the @sweetener account Grande has been relaying album-related news on since 2018.
After teasing a special announcement via her Instagram Story earlier this week (Feb. 13), Grande confirmed Carey’s appearance on the “Yes, And?” remix with a Feb. 14 post captioned, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this dream come true and for sprinkling your brilliance and magic on my little song @mariahcarey. [It] means more to me than [I] could ever possibly articulate and [I] cannot wait for everyone to hear this! [I] love you eternally!!!!!!!”
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Mariah returned the love in Grande’s comment section, writing, “Darling angel, I am so effing excited to be joining you on the yes, and? remix!! This is such a magical moment!! Love you ❤️ MC.”
The two vocal powerhouses first team up for a track back in 2020. Alongside EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, Carey and Grande updated “Oh Santa!” — a single from Carey’s Merry Christmas II You (2010). That track, which delighted fans in its union of two artists (Carey and Grande) than have been unfairly pit against each other in the past, came complete with a glitzy music video. The three divas delivered the first joint live performance at the song last month (Dec. 9) at Madison Square Garden during the New York stop on Carey’s Merry Christmas One & All! tour.
In January (chart dated Jan. 27), “Yes, And?” debuted atop the Hot 100, marking Grande’s eighth career No. 1 single. The house-indebted bop serves as the lead single from Eternal Sunshine, her forthcoming seventh solo studio album, which serves as her first LP since 2020’s Billboard 200-topping Positions.
Stream Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey’s “Yes, And?” remix now!
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Jennifer Lopez is reflecting on her growth. The multi-hyphenate superstar unveiled her ninth studio album, This Is Me… Now, on Friday (Feb. 16). This Is Me…Now is the sister album to 2002’s This Is Me…Then, which was dedicated to her partner at the time, Ben Affleck. Lopez and Affleck have since rekindled their romance, and the couple married in […]
Madonna has another collaboration up her sleeves, this time with The Weeknd and Playboi Carti. The Queen of Pop took to Instagram on Thursday (Feb. 15) to share a preview of the “Popular” music video, featuring the trio trading lines and singing the chorus in unison. “I did song with @theweeknd and @playboicarti -called – […]
Dua Lipa doesn’t have time for anything below her standards for a partner. The pop superstar unveiled her new single, “Training Season,” on Thursday (Feb. 15). Lipa announced the single last month in a clip posted to her TikTok, declaring that she’s very tired of mediocre men. “I need someone to hold me close, deeper than […]
Benson Boone reaches No. 1 for the first time on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, as “Beautiful Things” lifts 5-1 on the Feb. 17-dated ranking.
In the Feb. 2-8 tracking week, “Beautiful Things” earned 22.8 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. That’s up 23% from the previous frame (Jan. 26-Feb. 1), when the song accumulated 18.5 million streams.
The song premiered at No. 5 on the Feb. 3-dated survey via 15.7 million streams, meaning the song has gained by at least 18% in streams in every week since its release so far (it debuted on streaming platforms on Jan. 18 following a multi-week tease on TikTok).
Boone’s No. 1 on Streaming Songs makes him the first act to snag their first ruler on the chart as a lead artist since Doja Cat, whose “Paint the Town Red” reigned in October 2023.
As Doja Cat had a multi-song history on Streaming Songs prior to her first No. 1, unlike Boone, Boone becomes the first to top the list in their first appearance as a lead act since Oliver Anthony Music, with “Rich Men North of Richmond,” in September 2023.
The other claim to fame for Boone is that “Beautiful Things” is the first song of 2024 to rise to No. 1 for its first reign on Streaming Songs rather than debuting there. The last song to do that was Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me,” which reached the top in its second week (Dec. 2, 2023) after debuting at No. 2 the week before.
Concurrently, as previously reported, “Beautiful Things” jumps 8-3 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100. In addition to its streams, the song earned 3.4 million radio audience impressions, (up 321%) and 9,000 downloads (up 15%). Early airplay success has been courtesy of the Adult Pop Airplay (No. 28) and Pop Airplay (No. 32) charts.
The tune also tops the Global 200 for the first time.
“Beautiful Things” is currently a standalone single for Boone, who’s released two EPs, Walk Me Home… (2022) and Pulse (2023).
Taylor Swift has inspired Ivy League college courses, football game snack menus and, now, a comprehensive tour of one of her favorite locales: London. The Tours by Locals website is offering a guided journey through the city dubbed the “London Boy” tour, after Swift’s Lover track of the same name. Its description promises that tourists […]
The wait is over, Selenators. On Thursday (Feb. 15), Selena Gomez finally announced her first musical project of 2024: a new single titled “Love On,” boasting an apt title to share the day after Valentine’s Day. The 31-year-old pop star unveiled the news in an Instagram post, telling followers that the track will drop Thursday, […]