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Jennifer Lopez is a romantic, sure, but she’s not hopeless with it. And definitely not a sex addict. A love addict? Now we’re talking.
That’s the word according to Lopez. The pop veteran stopped by Carrie & Tommy’s drive-time Australian radio station drive show on the Hit Network, for an exploration of her two-part This Is Me…Now project — an album and an Amazon original film, This Is Me…Now: A Love Story, both set for release this Friday, Feb. 16.
Directed by Dave Meyers (Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift), This Is Me…Now: A Love Story is said to showcase “her journey to love through her own eyes.” For her Australian radio spot, Lopez was asked about the moment in the official trailer, when her pals stage an intervention, telling the “If You Had My Love” singer that she just might be a sex addict.
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“No, no,” she says with a laugh. “People can think all kinds of things when they’re seeing you from the outside, thinking they know what your life is, and you’re like ‘well that’s actually the opposite of the truth’, but it was nice to toy around with all of those ideas.”
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If anything, she would characterize herself “more of a love addict or a workaholic than everything else.”
Lopez co-wrote the film, described in a statement as a “narrative-driven cinematic odyssey, steeped in mythological storytelling and personal healing.”
A decade has passed since Lopez’s last studio album, 2014’s A.K.A., which peaked at No. 8, one of her eight top 10s on the Billboard 200 chart.
Time away from creating music has been restorative. “I feel like this is the best album that I’ve ever made,” she tells Carrie & Tommy. “The most honest and true – it took a long time for me as a musical artist to get there. I’m really happy and proud of this in a way that I don’t think I ever have been before.”
Her ninth studio album, This Is Me…Now completes a concept, an “examination of that journey” from the release of This Is Me.. Then back in 2002 when she was dating Ben Affleck, to her subsequent marriage to the Batman star, and “wanting to share it with the world” through the lens of the project, she continues. “They’ve followed me on that journey and watched me make mistakes and go in and out of relationships and wondered what was going on.”
Lopez and Affleck split in 2004, reunited in 2021 and finally tied the knot in a surprise Las Vegas wedding in July 2022 – 20 years after that album release. The rest has been like, well, a romantic film.
“I got to the point in my life where I felt like I have some answers about this, and actually, true love does exist, and some things are forever,” she enthuses. “Don’t give up hope.”
The new album features a sequel to a track from the first This Is Me album, “Dear Ben Pt. II,” plus the previously released, dance-y single “Can’t Get Enough.”
Stream the interview here.
When Usher was announced as the headliner back in September, we all knew the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show was going to be epic. What we couldn’t have possibly predicted is all the other epic music moments to go down on Sunday. From Beyoncé starring in a Verizon Super Bowl commercial and then surprise-dropping two […]
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s already iconic post-Super Bowl kiss has been analyzed from all angles — but now, thanks to the NFL, fans are getting to hear exactly what the couple said to each other minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed over the San Francsico 49ers Sunday (Feb. 11). In an emotional TikTok […]
Are Beyoncé and Lady Gaga reuniting? Fans seem to think so. During the Super Bowl festivities on Sunday (Feb. 11), Beyoncé formally ended long-rumored speculation about the second act of her Renaissance trilogy by posting a teaser labeled “act ii” on Instagram, adding the project’s release date: March 29. She also released two songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” In the […]
Justin Bieber sent a heartfelt congrats to his longtime pal and early supporter Usher after the singer brought down the house during his electrifying Super Bowl LVIII halftime show on Sunday. The all-caps Instagram post featured an iconic image of Usher in his blue and black glittery stage attire at the end of the performance […]
Forget all the pre-game fretting about whether Taylor Swift would be able to jet across the ocean from her Eras Tour shows in Japan to make it to Las Vegas in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII. The real headline from the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers was that Taylor and […]
The all-star cast of season 3 of The White Lotus has added some musical heft in the form of BLACKPINK‘s Lisa. According to Variety, the K-pop star will be credited on the show under her real name, Lalisa Manobal, when production is slated to begin this month in and around Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand.
At press time a spokesperson for BLACKPINK did not return Billboard‘s request for confirmation on the casting and HBO has not officially confirmed the addition to the show’s ensemble or any production details; a spokesperson for HBO had also not returned a request for comment at press time.
As with the previous two seasons, the upcoming White Lotus series is expected to follow a new group of guests staying at a resort property, with another wide-ranging cast that will include: Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Christian Friedel, Julian Kostov, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Natasha Rothwell, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
The White Lotus booking represents Lisa’s first official acting gig, following on the heels of bandmate Jennie — credited as Jennie Ruby Jane — stealing scenes in her acting debut on the critically panned HBO music drama from The Weeknd, The Idol, last summer.
Back in December, the members of BLACKPINK, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé, split with YG Entertainment for all solo endeavors, while signing an extension of their contract with the management group for their group activities. In September, Lisa’s solo single “Money” broke a Guinness World Record after it hit 1 billion Spotify streams, making it the first K-pop solo track to hit that peak.
Katy Perry is ready to close the door on American Idol, and open another chapter in her music career.
Idol will premiere on ABC this Sunday (Feb. 18), marking the TV talent show’s 22nd overall season. It’ll be Perry’s seventh and final season as a judge.
Perry broke the news when she stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night (Feb. 12). “I love the show so much,” she tells the host, “but I want to go see the world and maybe bring new music.”
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The “Firework” singer has been a judge on alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan since it was revived by ABC in 2018.
“I think this will probably be my last show, my last season for Idol,” she continues. “I love Idol so much. It’s connected me with the heart of America, but I feel like I need to go out and feel that pulse to my own beat.”
Perry is buzzed about visiting Brazil this September to perform at the Rock In Rio festival. “It’s really exciting. It’s a big deal,” she says of her spot on the bill.
By leaving her regular gig on Idol, “let’s just say I’m creating space for my new wingspan.”
Perry can spread those wings far and wide. Last year, Litmus Music, a catalog rights company backed by private-equity giant Carlyle Group LP, said it acquired the rights in five studio albums released for Capitol Records, including her Grammy-nominated Teenage Dream.
Sources told Billboard that Litmus paid $225 million for Perry’s stake in the master recording royalties and music publishing rights to her five albums released between 2008 and 2020 — One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, PRISM, Witness and Smile.
Perry remains the first woman and only second artist ever (after Michael Jackson) to send five songs from the same album to the summit of the Hot 100, which she did with 2010’s Teenage Dream (“California Gurls,” “Firework,” “E.T.,” “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and “Teenage Dream”).
2020’s Smile peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, and is Perry’s last full-length studio album.
During her late-night TV stint, Perry also discusses Usher’s Super Bowl performance (“he was awesome”), singing at King Charles’ Coronation, and lodging at Windsor Castle (her mother tagged along. “That’s like the best gift you could ever give your mom”).
Watch the full interview below.
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Turns out, Rod Stewart is not an Ed Sheeran fan. In a new interview with The Times, the 79-year-old star revealed which young artists he believed would stand the test of time. “You mean like ‘Maggie May’? Songs that will be played in 50 years?” Stewart asked, before continuing, “I like whatshisname. Oh f—ing great, Rod. Well done. […]
Taylor Swift is the soundtrack to her own love story. Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ hard-earned Super Bowl victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (Feb. 11), she and Travis Kelce attended an afterparty together and danced along to two of the pop star’s hits: “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.” In a […]