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P!nk is celebrating the end of her epic Summer Carnival tour. The over-the-top global outing that kicked off in June 2023 in Bolton, England and wrapped up on Monday (Nov. 18) in Orlando played to more than 3.6 million people and grossed nearly $470 million.
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“And just like that… it’s over. 131 shows. 98 cities. 15 countries. 4 million people. A lifetime of memories,” the singer wrote on Instagram alongside a video compilation of special moments from the tour featuring footage from the concerts and behind-the-scenes bits with her kids, husband and crew.
“I may joke all of the time, but this s–t is no joke,” she says in voiceover in the compilation. “This has been the hardest, most physically, mentally and spiritually ambitious show I have ever put on. Two years of galloping at top speed around the globe and back again. This crew, all of these beautiful people that never sleep, work their butts off. They build this city, break it down, move it on, light it, make it sound good. They build me up as well. They really are my family.”
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The proof is in the footage, in which the many parts of the P!nk machine dress, prep and comfort her in the midst of the tour that saw the singer playing stadiums around the world and putting on a technicolor spectacular featuring her signature high-flying, acrobatic wire work, neon flamingo scooters, mega-trampolines and plenty of heartfelt moments.
“And it is the most magical, beautiful, impossible unbelievable thing to be a part of,” she continues in the voiceover. “I can’t believe what we’ve done.” The athletic endeavor wasn’t without its aches and pains, with P!nk lamenting at one point, “I hurt, I feel like s–t! I’m so tired of being inside… so many moving parts.”
In the end, she wrote on Instagram, it was all well worth it. “This show tested me in every way; my body, mind, and soul. It’s the most physically, mentally and spiritually ambitious show I’ve ever put on. It’s been really, really hard, but every moment has been worth it for the memories we’ve created together,” she said.
“I know I say thank you a lot, but thank you will never be enough. Your energy, love, commitment and passion are why we do this every night. Why I leave it all out there, every time. You have created a safe space with me where we can all belong. A world where we can put down our armor and our walls and just be. Breathe. Scream. Cry. Laugh. Feel. Celebrate. Mourn. Rage.”
She again thanked her crew and fans, those who made it out, and those who couldn’t this time. “Thank you for creating this incredible world with me,” she signed off. “I can’t believe what we’ve done. I can’t believe it’s over.”
Watch P!nk’s Summer Carnival recap video below.
Kesha is on the run from a gang of really bad seeds in the action-packed video for her single “Joyride.” In the visual that dropped on Wednesday (Nov. 20), the singer makes a seemingly cheeky reference to her split with former producer/label boss Dr. Luke, with a voiceover saying that she is “set to be released after nine years of wrongful imprisonment” thanks to new evidence overturning her conviction.
Forget all that, though, because the high-octane clip co-directed by the singer, Laura Gorun, Dimitri Basil and Cooper Roussel is a cheeky homage to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series, with Kesha playing the part of a red leather-clad hell-raiser on the run from a group of colorfully named hired assassins. From the fonts to the names of her tormentors, the clip has QT’s influence all over it.
After finding out — in Italian for no apparent reason — that her unnamed tormentor only has “60 miles of blacktop” to stop her from achieving her goal, Kesha slips into her driving leathers and hits the road as a helicopter fires rounds at her ride while she speeds down the desert highway in a vintage Jaguar convertible.
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“Are you a man?/ Cuz I’m a b–ch/ I’m already rich/ Just looking for that mmmmm/ This party sucks I’m ’bout to ditch,” she sings over the bouncing rhythm of the Zhone-produced song that dropped on July 4. The high-speed pursuit includes a procession of would-be sharpshooters taking potshots at her, including Yippie & the Kiyays, Sadie the Stabber & the Crazyboys, Rowdy Ricky & the Red Flags, and the mega-jacked Derk Delusional (the One to Outrun).
Try as they might, their bullets never hit their target and the video ends with Kesha striking a series of poses on her ride before she hits the gas, seemingly on a collision course with a sawed-off shotgun wielding, shirtless Derk. The action ends with a tease for her upcoming single, “Delusional,” which is out on Nov. 29.
“Joyride” is the first single Kesha has released on her own label, Kesha Records, following the settling of the defamation suit filed by Dr. Luke in 2023, which came years after the singer filed a suit against the producer in 2014 alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse; Dr. Luke has denied all the allegations.
Watch the “Joyride” video below.
Lady Gaga has conquered music, movies and Las Vegas. But there is one item on her bucket list that has been annoying elusive. Until now. After Mother Monster was announced as one of the headliners for next year’s Coachella Festival, the singer took to her socials to gush about how the booking is the realization of one of her rock and roll fantasies.
“I have long dreamed of throwing a massive night of chaos in the desert,” Gaga wrote on Wednesday (Nov. 20) after the lineup for next year’s event in Indio, CA was unveiled. “I’ve had a vision I’ve never been able to fully realize at Coachella for reasons beyond our control but I wanted to come through for music fans. I have been wanting to go back and to do it right, and I am.”
Gaga, who is preparing to release her as-yet-untitled seventh studio album in February, headlined Coachella at the last minute in 2017 when she replaced Beyoncé, who was pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir Carter, marking her only appearance to date at the event. “I’m headlining and starting the weekend off at Coachella. Can’t wait to hear you all singalong and dance dance DANCE till we drop,” she added.
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Gaga has plenty of other big news to celebrate at the moment, including a new guitar-heavy version of her current single, “Disease (The Poison Live),” and the news that her collab with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” just became the fastest song to reach 1 billion Spotify streams.
She will also have plenty of A-list company from fellow headliners Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott at the festival that will take place over two weekends — April 11-13 and 18-20 — which will also feature sets from Missy Elliott, Benson Boone, LISA, FKA Twigs, GloRilla, Tyla, Charli XCX, Anitta, Clairo, ENHYPEN, Jimmy Eat World, T-Pain, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, JENNIE of BLACKPINK, Beabadoobee, Ty Dolla $ign, Rema and Shaboozey, among many others.
A presale will kick off at 11 a.m. PT Friday (Nov. 22), with 2023 and 2025 attendees getting early access starting 11 a.m. PT the day before. You can also register for the presale now on Coachella’s website.
See Gaga’s post below.
SPOILER ALERT: This article features the name of the singer eliminated on Wednesday night’s (Nov. 20) episode of The Masked Singer.
So far, season 12 of The Masked Singer has already seen the usual mix of athletes, singers, actors and media personalities getting sent home, including John Elway (Leaf Sheep), Yvette Nicole Brown (Snowbird), Paula Cole (Ship), Marsai Martin (Woodpecker), Andy Richter (Dust Bunny), Laverne Cox (Chess Piece) and Natalie Imbruglia (Bluebell).
So the stakes were high Wednesday night when the Group C singers kicked things off with a collaboration on Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.,” with Ice King, Strawberry Shortcake, Royal Knight and Sherlock Hound taking the stage together following last week’s elimination of their groupmate Macaron (surfer Bethany Hamilton).
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Last week, previous Masked contestants Hanson revealed in a clue package that Ice King had topped charts around the world, sold out stadiums and was given the “royal treatment like he was one of The Beatles,” before retreating from the spotlight. That could have been anyone, so Wednesday night’s clue package kind of gave away the game, with the King noting that he can really relate to Miley, as they’ve both learned how the media can be “totally uncool” and that this year he’s been part of a “firestorm” of press.
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That revelation was a prelude to Ice King’s impassioned cover of Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts hit “Midnight Sky,” which he sang in the midst of a soundstage blizzard of fake snow. It followed last week’s rip through Hot Chelle Rae’s 2011 Billboard Hot 100 No. 7 hit “Tonight Tonight.”
The guesses from the judges were all over the place, with Robin Thicke praising the King’s “rock” energy, but not coming up with a Teen Choice Award winner who would fit the bill, even as always-wrong Ken Jeong doubled down on his guess from last week: Joe Jonas. Rita Ora keyed in on a possible former child star who has been through it, Shia LaBeouf, though Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg vacillated between James Franco and the actual man behind the mask: three-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner Drake Bell.
The child actor who began his career on the sitcom Home Improvement before becoming a Nickelodeon superstar on The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh and The Fairly OddParents also sang on the Drake & Josh soundtrack and released his debut album, Telegraph, in 2005. He followed up with his 2006 breakthrough It’s Only Time and 2014’s Ready Steady Go! and has since released two albums independently: 2020’s The Lost Album and this year’s Non-Stop Flight.
Earlier this year, Bell, 38, revealed in the Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV documentary that during his Nickelodeon years, his dialogue coach Brian Peck had repeatedly sexually assaulted him beginning when Bell was 15; Peck was arrested in 2003 and convicted of lewd conduct with a minor.
Billboard spoke to Bell before Wednesday night’s elimination episode and found out why he loved his costume, how TikTok sleuths blew his mind and what his next era might look like.
What made you want to do Masked Singer this season? Are you a fan of the show?
Totally. What’s interesting is that I had the opportunity to do Masked Singer in Mexico [last year], so I had experience coming in. I was Baby Alien [holds adorable stuffed Baby Alien doll up to the camera] and I’m on tour and doing meet-and-greets and a fan made me this stuffed animal.
You have a young son at home. Has he seen you on the show?
He’s a little too young. … I don’t think that he would tell any of his friends, but I had to keep it under wraps. I hope he’s able to watch it tonight and when I take my head off he’s like, “Wait, what? That was Dada?”
Every contestant complains about how hot and uncomfortable the costumes are. Tell me about the Ice King costume. Why did it speak to you?
The costume designers did me such a solid because my costume was so easy to move around in. Not the Mexico one, though; that was a really hot costume. Every 15 minutes I was asking for a fan or taking the head off. But this one was awesome and it was so light and easy to move around in. Right when I saw it, seeing this big character, the King and his big mustache and cape … [I thought] “There is going to be so much to play with.” I completely lost myself in the character.
You really seemed to go for it with the Hot Chelle Rae song. What inspired you to choose that one? It seems a bit outside of your usual vibe.
It’s totally out of my wheelhouse, but totally a guilty-pleasure song. It’s cool because when I’m in the costume, I’m not self-conscious about what people are going to think. It allows you to lose yourself and find the character and sing songs you wouldn’t normally sing.
The package alluded to you and Miley both understanding the difficulties of growing up in the Hollywood spotlight, so why “Midnight Sky”?
I think honestly just the vibe of the song. I love older music, from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, and it had a real vintage feel. The second I heard it, I thought, “This has got to be the one.” It was the closest thing to what I’m into.
You’ve done movies, TV, albums, video games, but this is your first competition show. What was your goal? Did you want to win?
First of all, it’s just fun. This was an opportunity to have fun and they really allow you to play the game. You always think it’s smoke and mirrors and it’s all Hollywood and the contestants know who the other contestants are. But it is secretive and we really have no idea who anyone else is. When you leave the hotel, you’re completely covered up, with gloves and everything. You’re looking at how tall they are and trying to listen to their performance, but you can only hear the singer right before you. You don’t eat lunch together or rehearse together… so you’re playing along with the game.
Did anyone in your life immediately realize it was you under that costume?
I didn’t think anyone would ever guess or recognize my voice, but I was looking at a clip on TikTok and in the comments section every comment was, “Oh, this is Drake Bell.” They were like, “This is Drake because when he’s singing onstage without a guitar, if you look at a picture, his hands are like this and look at Ice King and his hands are like this too.” On the first night they were guessing it’s me? I thought I’d be the furthest thing from anyone’s mind.
Was there something about being masked that appealed to you as someone who has spent so much time with their face in the spotlight? Was there a comfort in that?
There’s a total comfort, like when I’m doing voice-over work on the Ultimate Spider-Man. Like when you’re doing fight scenes, you move your face in a way to get the sounds out and if you were on camera you wouldn’t make those faces because you’d be worried about what you look like. But getting the right voice behind the mask you’re not worried about someone going, “Wow, Drake Bell can’t dance.” Or “Why is Drake Bell singing this song?”
Obviously it’s been a hectic, intense year for you as you’ve come back into the spotlight. Do you feel like Masked Singer is an opportunity to have a “second chance” in Hollywood?
I definitely feel that way. Being able to do something so fun and music-driven now that I just released a new album and am on tour now — life works in mysterious ways, but it all came together at the right time. As I’m launching the new record and reintroducing myself to the world, this is a really cool thing.
You mentioned that you dropped the Non-Stop Flight album earlier this year. Can we expect more music from you soon?
The album is big, 25 songs, and it’s a total concept album that sounds like you’re on an airplane flight with announcements from the flight attendants and captain. It’s a journey through my life and the most autobiographical, self-reflecting album I’ve put out. … Songs about the past, present, future, the good, the bad, ugly, ups and downs. It took four years to complete, and every time I thought I was done, I’d write another song and something would happen. I would also love to get back on screen and now I’m really focused with the work I’m doing with a production company and looking to get more into writing and directing and producing and hopefully getting on the other side [of the camera].
Only Kelly Clarkson could do a Celine Dion song justice, showing off her unmatched vocal ability for Kellyoke on her daytime talk show on Wednesday (Nov. 20) by taking on the her fellow superstar’s “All By Myself.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Accompanied by a piano and […]
Due to a twist of fate — or maybe just an agent of chaos managing Sabrina Carpenter‘s VIP seating chart — Katy Perry and John Mayer wear seated near each other at the 25-year-old pop star’s Short n’ Sweet Tour stop in Los Angeles on Sunday night. As captured in a clip circulating on social […]
Who says Selena Gomez is done with music?
In a career-spanning cover story for The Hollywood Reporter published Wednesday (Nov. 20), the 32-year-old multi-hyphenate clarified her future plans following a banner year in film and beauty — including acting and, yes, music. “I think I’ve done just as much as I wanted to do in music, but it’s exciting because I feel like I haven’t even started in film and TV,” she told the outlet.
“I know I’ve been a part of some great projects and I’m really proud of them,” she added. “I like that I have to earn my position, and I love storytelling. So, I’m excited to do more of that.”
Even so, the Rare Beauty founder promised she’s “almost done” with her pop star career. “Music isn’t going away,” she said. “I just set it down for a second.”
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Fans have been waiting for a new album from Gomez since her 2020 third studio effort Rare, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned her first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose You to Love Me.” Earlier this year, she dropped the single “Love On,” a followup to her 2023 single “Single Soon.”
The releases led some fans to think that an album was in the works, but in an interview with Billboard in March, Gomez clarified that the two songs might not make her next LP’s tracklist. “I think objectively, I would like to say that I am working towards an album, but I don’t know if those songs would be on that project,” she said in March. “I feel like I’m brewing, and I’m in the process of really creating some great songs, hopefully. I don’t know if they would fit with what I’m gonna go with.”
In lieu of a new album in 2024, Gomez has been overseeing her Rare empire and mental health company Wondermind as well as promoting Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, in which she stars opposite Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña. “I genuinely thought it was going to be a movie that, like, came out in France,” she told THR of the film’s surprising success. “I was very confused. I was like, ‘Guys, why are we doing so many things right now?’ And everyone’s just laughing because it’s doing well.”
One person that’s been key through it all is Benny Blanco. In addition to producing “Single Soon,” the hitmaker has served as Gomez’s partner and cheerleader since they started dating in summer 2023.
“This is the safest I’ve ever felt in [a relationship], and I see a future with this person,” Gomez told THR of sharing pieces of their relationship on social media. “And when you put a little bit out there, people are not as hungry to hunt you down. Like, if they hear something, they’re going to, but if you’re like, ‘I did it,’ they’re like, ‘Oh, well there’s you, just going to Sushi Park.’ But there’s so much of my relationship people don’t see, that’s just mine.”
See Selena Gomez on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter and photos from the shoot below.
Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga keep on winning with their hit collaboration, “Die With a Smile.” The song, which was released in August, became the fastest song to reach one billion streams in Spotify history. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We like to call that legendary behavior,” […]
On today’s (Nov. 20) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we reach No. 3 on our list with a pop super-duperstar who shined bright for 13 years of absolute pop world command, before ducking out to tend to her business and empire for most of the past decade. (Read our No. […]
Ooh, ooh, ooh, honey! Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies are closing out their A Week of Hollywood Legends: Property From the Estate of Olivia Newton-John with a celebration of the late actress and singer. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The event, which will take place […]