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Adele is sticking up for Taylor Swift. The British songstress, 35, told her Weekends With Adele audience in Las Vegas on Saturday (Feb. 10) that the pop superstar, 34, has made the NFL “more enjoyable to watch” and defended the singer against those criticizing her attendance at Kansas City Chiefs games in support of boyfriend […]
Drake‘s on Taylor Swift‘s team for the 2024 Super Bowl. He appears to have bet more than a million in cryptocurrency that the Kansas City Chiefs will defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 11).
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“I can’t bet against the swifties,” Drake wrote Saturday on Instagram, where he posted a screenshot of a $1,150,000 bet on Stake. Should the Chiefs win, his estimated payout is $2,346,000.
Drake has an endorsement deal with Stake, an online crypto casino where users bet on sports games and play traditional casino games.
Swift (and many of her fans) will be cheering on the singer’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, at the big game on Sunday. She’s wrapped her fourth Eras show in Tokyo and is expected to make it to Las Vegas to support Kelce while she’s on break from her tour until Friday, when she plays Melbourne, Australia.
The Embassy of Japan assured Swifties that the pop icon will have time to attend the Super Bowl after her Eras Tour concerts in Tokyo.
“Despite the 12-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, the Embassy can confidently Speak Now to say that if she departs Tokyo in the evening after her concert, she should comfortably arrive in Las Vegas before the Super Bowl begins,” read a statement released last week. “We know that many people in Japan are excited to experience Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, so we wanted to confirm that anyone concerned can be Fearless in knowing that this talented performer can wow Japanese audiences and still make it to Las Vegas to support the Chiefs when they take the field for the Super Bowl wearing Red.”
Swift rushed from the Tokyo Dome to a private jet at Haneda Airport right after her Feb. 10 show, the Associated Press reports, likely embarking on the long journey to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. At her Tokyo concerts, Travis Kelce jerseys and hats were spotted among the crowd’s Swift-inspired looks.
During a press conference on Monday, Kelce gushed over his girlfriend’s exciting night at the Grammys, where she announced her next album, The Tortured Poets Department, and became the first artist to win album of the year four times.
“She’s unbelievable,” said the NFL player. “She’s re-writing the history books herself, and I told her I’d have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware too.”
Will she make it in time?
Taylor Swift’s last song was still ringing in the ears of thousands of fans at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night (Feb. 10) when the singer rushed to a private jet at Haneda airport, presumably embarking on an intensely scrutinized journey to see her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, play in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
“We’re all gonna go on a great adventure,” Swift earlier told the crowd. She was speaking of the music, but it might also describe her prospective race against time, which was to cross nine time zones and the international date line.
With a final bow at the end of her sold-out show, clad in a blue sequined outfit, the crowd screaming, strobe lights pulsing, confetti falling, Swift disappeared beneath the stage — and her journey to the other side of the world began.
Her expected trip to see Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Sunday, U.S. time, has fired imaginations, and speculation, for weeks.
“I hope she can return in time. It’s so romantic,” said office worker Hitomi Takahashi, 29, who bought matching Taylor Swift sweatshirts with her friend and was taking photos just outside of the Tokyo Dome.
It wasn’t immediately clear late Saturday if Swift’s plane had left. About an hour after the end of the concert, Associated Press journalists were near Haneda’s private jet area when minivans drove up and someone went inside the gate area as four to five people carrying large black umbrellas obstructed the view of the person.
At Saturday night’s concert, there was plenty of evidence of the unique cultural phenomenon that is the Swift-Kelce relationship, a nexus of professional football and the huge star power of Swift. In addition to people wearing sequined dresses celebrating Swift in the packed Tokyo Dome, there were Travis Kelce jerseys and hats and other gear celebrating the Chiefs. Some in Tokyo spent thousands of dollars to attend the pop superstar’s concerts this week.
“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone,” Swift sang Saturday.
She won’t find that Sunday in Las Vegas when a sold-out crowd, not to mention millions around the world, will be watching her.
If she makes it, that is.
Meghan Trainor serves both glowy skin and her civic duty in e.l.f Cosmetics’ 2024 Super Bowl ad. The beauty brand shared their game day ad this week on YouTube, featuring the “All About That Bass” singer sitting on the juror’s bench as a court correspondent while Judge Judy — who in this universe goes by […]
Justin Timberlake is in high demand. Following the positive response to his Forget Tomorrow World tour, the 43-year-old superstar has announced an additional 15 dates to the fall leg of his North American trek.
Timberlake first unveiled the upcoming leg of new tour running April-July in January, hours after dropping his new single “Selfish.” He later announced a second leg of performances slated for October, November and December, to which he’s now added an additional 15 performances.
The newly added stops include showings in Montreal, Detroit, Orlando, Charlotte, Louisville, Dallas, Nashville, Pittsburgh and a hometown appearance in Memphis. Tickets will go on presale for eligible buyers Feb. 12 before becoming available to the general public Feb. 15 on Timberlake’s website.
Fans have been waiting for the “SexyBack” singer to unleash a new solo era for quite some time. Timberlake hasn’t released an album since 2018’s Man of the Woods, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 . His sixth LP Everything I Thought It Was is officially due out March 15.
See the dates for Justin Timberlake’s 2024 Forget Tomorrow World Tour, including the 15 newly added shows, below.
Mon Apr 29 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Thu May 02 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena — SOLD OUT
Fri May 03 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Mon May 06 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose — SOLD OUT
Tue May 07 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
Fri May 10 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena — SOLD OUT
Sat May 11 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
Tue May 14 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego — SOLD OUT
Fri May 17 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum — SOLD OUT
Sat May 18 – Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum — SOLD OUT
Tue May 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center — SOLD OUT
Wed May 29 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
Fri May 31 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Sat Jun 01 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Tue Jun 04 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena — SOLD OUT
Thu Jun 06 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center — SOLD OUT
Mon Jun 10 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena — SOLD OUT
Wed Jun 12 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena — SOLD OUT
Fri Jun 14 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena — SOLD OUT
Sat Jun 15 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
Fri Jun 21 – Chicago, IL – United Center — SOLD OUT
Sat Jun 22 – Chicago, IL – United Center — SOLD OUT
Tue Jun 25 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden — SOLD OUT
Wed Jun 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden — SOLD OUT
Sat Jun 29 – Boston, MA – TD Garden — SOLD OUT
Sun Jun 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden — SOLD OUT
Wed Jul 03 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena — SOLD OUT
Thu Jul 04 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Sun Jul 07 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — SOLD OUT
Tue Jul 09 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena — SOLD OUT
Tue Oct 04 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre – JUST ADDED
Mon Oct 07 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Tue Oct 08 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Sun Oct 13 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Thu Oct 17 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena — SOLD OUT
Fri Oct 18 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Mon Oct 21 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
Wed Oct 23 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Fri Oct 25 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena – JUST ADDED
Sun Oct 27 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sat Nov 02 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena – JUST ADDED
Fri Nov 08 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena* – JUST ADDED
Sat Nov 09 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center – JUST ADDED
Thu Nov 14 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center – JUST ADDED
Sat Nov 16 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Tue Nov 19 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena – JUST ADDED
Wed Nov 20 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum Center – JUST ADDED
Sat Nov 23 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum – JUST ADDED
Wed Dec 04 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center* – JUST ADDED
Thu Dec 06 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center – JUST ADDED
Tue Dec 10 – Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena – JUST ADDED
Thu Dec 12 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena – JUST ADDED
Sat Dec 14 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena – JUST ADDED
Mon Dec 16 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse – JUST ADDED
This is her trying … not to wipe out in front of tens of thousands of people in Tokyo. At the Friday (Feb. 9) Eras Tours top in Japan, Taylor Swift tripped and nearly fell while performing “The 1” during her Folklore set before skillfully catching herself.
In a video captured by one Swiftie in attendance, the 34-year-old pop star closes out the song while sitting on the roof of a cabin structure. During the track’s final instrumental bars, she stands up and starts to make her way down to the main stage, but trips and lurches forward.
Swift quickly regained her footing. Before starting the next song, she breathes a sigh of relief as the audience chuckles.
“I almost fell off the Folklore cabin, but I didn’t,” she says into her microphone before joking, “And that’s the lesson. My life flashed before my eyes.”
“I’m good, it’s all good,” she adds. “I’m just so happy that I didn’t fall of the Folklore cabin, you know what I mean? What a great night in Tokyo.”
Friday’s show marked the third of four planned Eras dates at the Tokyo Dome, with Swift’s final night at the venue slated for Saturday (Feb. 10). Immediately afterward, fans expect she’ll fly back to the states in order to make it to Las Vegas in time for the Super Bowl, where her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the San Francisco 49ers.
At Wednesday’s (Feb. 7) show in Japan, the “Karma” singer opened up about her historic album of the year win at the 2024 Grammys days earlier, and revealed how long she’s been working on her newly announced album, The Tortured Poets Department. “I’ve been working on it for about two years,” she told the crowd. “I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour, and when it was perfect — in my opinion when it’s good enough for you — I finished it, and I am so, so excited that soon you’ll get to hear it.”
Watch Swift joke about her near fall in Tokyo below.
From Taylor Swift‘s surprise album announcement to the three golden gramophones Boygenius took home Sunday (Feb. 4), Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus had a lot to debrief about after the 2024 Grammys.
In a post-awards interview with Vanity Fair, the bandmates — who confirmed plans to go on hiatus during a Feb. 1 show — revealed they were just as surprised as everyone else at Crypto.com Arena to hear Swift announce her new LP, The Tortured Poets Department, while accepting best pop vocal during the ceremony. “I was like, ‘No way. Is this happening?’” Dacus recalled.
“She keeps that s–t Fort Knox,” added Baker.
The “Anti-Hero” singer also won album of the year for Midnights, while Boygenius took home best rock performance and best rock song for “Not Strong Enough,” and best alternative music album for The Record. Individually, Bridgers was the night’s most awarded artist, having also snagged best pop duo/group for her “Ghost in the Machine” duet with SZA.
In a sweet clip from right after the show wrapped, Swift burst into the press room to excitedly congratulate Baker, Bridgers and Dacus before snapping photos with the group.
In the new interview, the trio also addressed its recent hiatus announcement, confirming all is well between the members, even after fans noticed that Bridgers and Dacus both wiped their Instagram accounts. “We are meeting up for dinner after this call,” said the “Night Shift” singer. “Everyone can be rest assured that we still love each other.”
“I think we all want a little break,” added the “Motion Sickness” musician. “I can’t function if I do anything in 2024 that is public.”
Bridgers had also touched on the hiatus while doing press backstage at the Grammys, saying, “This is funny because I guess we just didn’t tell anybody, but we told each other at the beginning of this project that it would have a finite date, like a finite amount of time devoted to it.”
“We completed that time, and now we walk into the sunset,” she added.
During that same backstage interview, the “Kyoto” singer also blasted former Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, telling him to “rot in piss” for his past comments about female musicians. To Vanity Fair, Bridgers elaborated on her decision to call out the executive.
“Lana [Del Rey] should have won a long time ago,” she said. “Mitski should be acknowledged in any f–king way. There’s countless people. For [Portnow] to say that women aren’t working hard enough to get these awards is the stupidest s–t ever. I was like, ‘Why not say it here where everybody knows who this guy is?’”
It’s been nearly a decade since Jennifer Lopez‘s last studio album, 2014’s A.K.A., and 22 years since 2002’s This Is Me… Then. The latter was partly inspired by her first love affair with actor Ben Affleck, and after breaking up in 2004 and reuniting in 2021, the pair are now married and Lopez is preparing to release her ninth album, This Is Me… Now.
So, go figure, JLo tells ET that Now was also fueled by her relationship with the actor. “When Ben and I got back together, it was just like, ‘I want to make music again, I want to get back in the studio,’” Lopez said. “I was very, very inspired.”
The album and an accompanying narrative-driven short film directed by Dave Meyers (Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift) titled This Is Me… Now: A Love Story — which will air on Amazon Prime — will both drop on Feb. 16. “Half the time, I was thinking, like, ‘This is amazing! I am so excited that I’m doing this!’ And then half time time I was like, ‘Why are you doing this? You are so crazy,” Lopez said of her trepidation about stepping back into music after focusing on acting for the past decade. “But I think that’s what being an artist is about, you know, you have to. That’s the difference between being an artist and not being an artist, how vulnerable you can get.”
Then she and Affleck reunited and their rekindled love inspired the romance-drenched LP. “Once the music was done, it felt so special to me,” she said. “It felt like something very different than I had ever done, even though I’ve written about love my whole career.” The goal, she added was to capture the joy of their love in music on a collection she described as “a little bit more evolved and healed… [and] kind of magical.”
So far, Lopez has dropped the dance-y single “Can’t Get Enough” from the album that also features a sequel to a track from the first This Is Me album, “Dear Ben Pt. II.”
Watch the “Can’t Get Enough” remix video with Latto below.
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Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Usher heads home before heading to the stadium, Kacey Musgraves digs deeper and Noah Kahan puts a bow on stick season. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Usher, Coming Home
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All eyes will be on Usher on Sunday night, when the veteran hitmaker takes the stage at the Super Bowl halftime show in Las Vegas, and undoubtedly he’ll be unfurling several of the smashes from across his discography. Yet if you’re pre-gaming with “Yeah!,” “U Remind Me” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” be sure to make some time for his excellent new studio set Coming Home, which crystallizes his popular R&B approach and adds new layers — from the sumptuous hit “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage to the booming braggadocio of “Cold Blooded” to the Afrobeats-adjacent warmth of “Ruin” — making for Usher’s best album since 2012’s Looking 4 Myself.
Kacey Musgraves, “Deeper Well”
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“Deeper Well,” the first taste of Kacey Musgraves’ highly anticipated fifth studio album of the same name, may be lyrically preoccupied with dark energy, changes inspired by a return of Saturn and misconceptions of the world, yet Musgraves operates with calm, pillowy purpose, the finger-picked guitar guiding the country star towards the answers she craves. At the heart of a song about experiencing maturation and accepting transition is an artist worth evolving with, and on Deeper Well, it’ll be fascinating to hear where she grows next.
Noah Kahan, “Forever”
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Stick Season was a breakthrough period for Noah Kahan, who most recent studio album was buoyed by deluxe editions and new songs that helped the singer-songwriter score a best new artist Grammy and book arena dates. Stick Season (Forever) will be the final iteration of the project, and in addition to new collaborations with Brandi Carlile and Gregory Alan Isakov, the expanded set features “Forever,” a tender new folk anthem that marries Bon Iver-esque falsetto yearning with the declarative songwriting that highlighted Kahan’s hit “Stick Season” and “Dial Drunk.”
Maggie Rogers, “Don’t Forget Me”
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“I wanted to make an album that sounded like a Sunday afternoon,” Maggie Rogers explains in a new letter to fans previewing her third album, Don’t Forget Me. While the rest of the full-length arrives in April, its lovely title track does indeed possess a coziness that still provokes a mid-day sing-along: Rogers’ storytelling winds through the song’s mix of guitar and piano before her voice doubles and soars on the hook, resulting in a track that sounds both fresh and like the return of an old friend.
Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton, “Purple Irises”
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Before Gwen Stefani reunites with No Doubt at Coachella this spring, she’ll trot out “Purple Irises,” a new country-pop duet with her beau Blake Shelton at a Super Bowl tailgate performance this weekend; such is the duality of the pop star, who can return to her earliest hits while also sounding far removed from them on this swaying love song. “It’s not 1999, but this face is still mine / The way you look at me, I swear my heart hits rewind,” she sings, before Shelton’s burly delivery arrives and forms an equilibrium on the track.
Editor’s Pick: Madi Diaz, Weird Faith
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Madi Diaz is barreling toward stardom after a long build-up — the Nashville singer-songwriter got tapped to open for Harry Styles’ tour, then join his live band, following the release of her fifth album — but Weird Faith, her first album since gaining a slew of new fans, exceeds any new hype she’s gathered, as a collection of complex love songs that’s often breathtaking in its artistic clarity. Diaz knows exactly how to approach stunners like “Same Risk” and the Kacey Musgraves duet “Don’t Do Me Good,” allowing her emotions to patiently expand until they knock the listener over.
Saddle up, BeyHive. Those rumors about a Beyoncé cameo in Verizon’s 2024 Super Bowl commercial just got a lot more serious. Two days after first sending fans into a frenzy with a teaser seemingly hinting at the superstar’s involvement, the company has now dropped a second clip ahead of its highly anticipated Super Bowl ad […]