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Pop

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In 2014, alternative-pop singer Banks made her debut with the emotive and experimental Goddess. The album scored the artist her highest charting entry on the Billboard 200 at No. 12. 

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Follow-ups The Altar (2016) and III (2019) entered at Nos. 17 and 21, respectively. And while her fourth album, 2022’s Serpentina, leaned heavier into experimental R&B production, Banks promises her forthcoming album is a return to form.

“In many ways, this album serves as a big sister to Goddess,” Banks shared in a statement of Off With Her Head, out Feb. 28. “After a decade apart, I’ve reunited with the core musicians and producers who shaped my debut. Yet, it also represents something entirely new, reflecting my growth as both an artist and a person.”

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“[The album is] about shedding past identities that no longer resonate,” she tells Billboard. “The title symbolizes the various ways we construct, perform, express, and sometimes hide our thoughts. There’s a tension between how we see ourselves and the roles that society imposes. Breaking free from that has been incredibly liberating, and this journey is captured throughout the album.”

To coincide with the album announcement, Banks announced her next single “Best Friends,” will arrive on Friday (Nov. 22). The song fittingly touches on the growing pains that often accompany growing apart, with Banks sharing in a statement that the song “is about someone who was my sister for many years, someone I still dream about and wake up missing … I think we broke each other’s hearts.” 

In October, Banks returned with the sinewy “I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend” featuring Doechii. It will also be included on Off With Her Head. But before that album arrives, Banks has a special treat for fans. On Dec. 13, she will release Goddess Unplugged, an acoustic version of her debut album as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Lady Gaga is continuing to spread her new single “Disease,” with the 38-year-old pop superstar dropping a live performance video that showcases the song in a whole new light Wednesday (Nov. 20). In a five-minute clip titled “Disease (The Poison Live),” Gaga wails over a reverberating electric guitar. Without the dark dance-pop production featured on […]

Former Bee Gees drummer Dennis Bryon has died at 76, just four days after the passing of Colin “Smiley” Petersen, another time keeper from one of the sibling trio’s classic eras. Bryon’s death was confirmed by Blue Weaver, the keyboardist in their 1960s Welsh rock band, Amen Corner.
“I am lost for words at the moment… Dennis has passed away,” Weaver wrote on Facebook last Thursday. “Kayte, Denni’s wife has just called me and asked if I would let all friends and fans know. This was such a shock. Dennis has been my friend, since we were in our first band together at age 15. His great drumming will always Stay Alive…” Weaver did not provide a cause of death or any additional details on when Bryon passed.

Bryon took over the drum seat from Petersen, who died on Nov. 18 at the age of 78; Petersen joined the English-Australian band formed by brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in 1966, playing on a string of early hits that cemented the trio’s vocal prowess, including “To Love Somebody” and “I Started a Joke.”

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Following Petersen’s departure, Cardiff, Wales-bred Bryon teamed up with the Gibbs in 1973, just as their star was set to shoot to supernova in the midst of the disco revolution. His first recorded appearance was on the band’s 12th studio album, 1974’s Mr. Natural, which presaged their pivot to a more R&B/soul-influenced sound. That direction was further cemented on the following year’s Main Course, which featured the funky singles “Night on Broadway” and “Jive Talkin’.”

Their winning streak continued on 1976’s Children of the World, on which their full pivot to dancefloor dons produced the Billboard Hot 100 smash “You Should Be Dancing,” a prelude to the album that would make them the undisputed kings of the disco era: their Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

That 1977 companion to the hit John Travolta movie of the same name was for a time the best-selling album ever — and still ranks in the top 10 on that list — thanks to such indelible jams as “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “More Than a Woman,” “If I Can’t Have You” and others.

He continued performing and recording with the band through the rest of the decade, with his final recorded efforts with the Gibbs appearing on 1979’s Spirits Have Flown, which spawned yet more No. 1 hits in “Love You Inside Out,” “Tragedy” and “Too Much Heaven.”

According to a bio, Dennis Ronald Bryon was born in Cardiff on April 14, 1949 and began playing the drums at 14 before forming Amen corner with beloved British guitarist Andy Fairweather Low (Roger Waters, Eric Clapton). The group scored a number of European hits with songs including “Gin House Blues,” “Bend Me Shape Me,” “Hello Susie” and “Living in a World of Broken Hearts.”

After Amen Corner broke up, Bryon auditioned for the Bee Gees in 1973 and later became the only drummer in pop history — besides the Beatles’ Ringo Starr — to having five songs in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. After leaving the Bee Gees, Bryon moved to Nashville and began a long career as a session musician, preforming and recording with Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Edmunds and, more recently, The Italian Bee Gees. He released a memoir, You Should Be Dancing, in 2015.

Following the deaths of Maurice Gibb in 2003 at 53 and twin Robin in 2012 at age 62, eldest sibling Barry, 78, is the last surviving member of the Bee Gees.

Jelly Roll had a special connection to Taylor Swift long before their paths ever crossed — and at the 2024 Grammys, he finally got to tell her about it.
In his People cover story published Wednesday (Nov. 20), the 39-year-old country star opened up about feeling flustered when the “Anti-Hero” singer made her way over to meet him at the February ceremony. “My wife [podcaster Bunnie XO] said, ‘I think Taylor’s coming over to holler at you,’” he recalled. “It was like the Red Sea parted for her.”

Jelly went on to explain his personal attachment to Swift, which involves his now 16-year-old daughter, Bailee. “I take a ridiculous, probably abnormal, amount of pride in being from Nashville, so anytime I can link a Tennessee connect, it tickles me,” he told the publication. “Taylor lived in Hendersonville for a while, and she had bought a playground. I used to push Bailee on that swing set that Taylor donated to Hendersonville.”

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However, the “Son of a Sinner” singer says he was “so nervous” when he was actually face-to-face with the pop star, he “couldn’t even remember what swing set it was.” “I’m looking at Taylor Swift, and I have a reason to explain to her why I like her so much, and I’m going, ‘You built the swing set somewhere, my daughter, I pushed her on it,’” Jelly said. “I did so bad! Definitely was at a loss for words in that moment.”

Even so, Swift looked thrilled to meet her fellow Tennesseean in a video Bunnie posted at the time. After snapping a picture with Jelly, the “Karma” artist wrapped him in a big hug.

“When your hubby gets to meet his crush finally,” the Dumb Blonde host captioned her clip.

That night, Swift won album of the year for her Billboard 200-topping album Midnights, while Jelly was nominated for best new artist (but ultimately lost to Victoria Monét). Both artists are nominated for more awards in 2025, with the Eras Tour headliner up for song, record and album of the year thanks to “Fortnight” and The Tortured Poets Department, while Jelly is in the running for best country song and best country solo performance for “I Am Not Okay.”

Since this year’s Grammy night, Jelly has nabbed his first-ever No. 1 album with October’s Beautifully Broken. He’s currently touring in support of the record and, as announced Tuesday (Nov. 19), he’ll soon join Post Malone on the road for a North American stadium tour kicking off in April.

See Jelly’s People cover below.

When Chappell Roan shared the list of celebrities who’d reached out in support after she asked fans to respect her boundaries, Miley Cyrus‘ name appeared. Now, the “Flowers” singer is vocalizing her support for everyone else.
In a new cover story with Harper’s Bazaar, Cyrus spoke about Roan’s rise and the wave of online criticism that has come with it, saying that she sympathized with the “Good Luck, Babe” singer’s situation. “I wish people would not give her a hard time,” she said.

She explained that the star’s rise hasn’t been helped by social media, and explained her reticence toward being active online in 2024. “It’s probably really hard coming into this business with phones and Instagram. That wasn’t always a part of my life, and I’m not a part of it now,” she said. “I don’t even have my Instagram password.”

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Roan herself has personally pointed to Cyrus as an inspiration for her solo career. Back in August, when Cyrus was honored at the Disney Legends Ceremony, Roan shared a video for the award thanking Cyrus for the work she did paving the way for artists such as her. “She constantly reinvents herself and always works,” Roan said. “She could do whatever she wants, which is something I want to do. Miley does anything and it works. Miley feels like freedom to me.”

Elsewhere in her interview, Cyrus also chatted about her song “Used to Be Young,” saying that with the benefit of hindsight, both she and her godmother Dolly Parton don’t know if she needed to put it out. “It was one of those things that maybe now that I’m a bit more private, I would’ve kept private, but I’m happy to have shared it. It just feels like a song that’s so personal that it’s hard for people to relate,” she explained. “[Dolly] goes, ‘I don’t know if I like that new ‘Used to Be Young’ song because it’s not fair that you’re singing about not being young when you’re young and beautiful. And here I am — I’m like 80 — and I’m like, that should have been my song!’”

Cyrus added that she still looks to Parton for inspiration today, especially when it comes to separating the personal from the professional. “She lets everyone in and no one in at the same time,” she said. “Everyone feels like they know her, but they’re also OK with the fact that they don’t see her without makeup, without the full drag.”

As Miley Cyrus lays down the bricks on her next album, one iconic LP has stuck out to her as a source of inspiration: Pink Floyd‘s The Wall. In her Harper’s Bazaar cover story published Wednesday (Nov. 20), the 31-year-old pop star opened up about her forthcoming ninth studio album — tentatively titled Something Beautiful […]

Liam Payne’s funeral took place on Wednesday (Nov. 20) in south-east England, just over a month after his death (Oct. 16). The One Direction star died at age 31 following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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The private funeral for family and friends only took place in Amersham, Buckinghamshire with his 1D bandmates – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan – all in attendance. The X Factor‘s Simon Cowell, TV presenter James Corden and Kate Cassidy, Payne’s partner at the time of his attendance, were also part of the congregation.

An autopsy for Payne confirmed that he suffered internal and external bleeding and multiple traumatic injuries from his fall. His body was flown back to the U.K. earlier this month in preparation for the funeral. The singer’s body had previously been held by local authorities in order to complete toxicology and other lab tests to determine his cause of death.

Upon his passing, his family released a short statement, saying that “We are heartbroken. Liam will forever live in our hearts and we’ll remember him for his kind, funny and brave soul.” His One Direction bandmates shared a joint statement following Payne’s passing, saying that they were “completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing.”

“In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say,” their message continued. “But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.”

Earlier this month, three people were detained in connection to Payne’s fall, with Argentine police alleging that Payne was supplied drugs prior to his death. According to a translated copy of the toxicology report, in the days leading up to his death, Payne reportedly had “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his system. The investigation into his death is ongoing.

One Direction formed on TV show The X Factor in 2010, and released five studio albums before the band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 to pursue solo projects. Payne released one studio album before his passing, 2019’s LP1, and was said to be readying a second prior to his passing. 

Payne is survived by his parents, two sisters and his son with Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, Bear, who was born in 2017.

When Sabrina Carpenter set up shop in Los Angeles for three dates of her Short n’ Sweet Tour, she brought out the big guns. There was Christina Aguilera. There was Jack Antonoff. And then there was Domingo. On the new Pop Shop Podcast, we welcome Billboard deputy editor Lyndsey Havens so she and Katie can […]

These celebrities have the right to remain silent! Sabrina Carpenter wrapped up the U.S. leg of her popular Short n’ Sweet tour in support of her recent her Billboard 200-topping sixth studio album in Los Angeles on Monday night (Nov. 18), and amid the hilarious bits she sprinkles throughout the show is a viral one that […]

Before Hanumankind started making waves on the Billboard Hot 100 with his Kalmi-assisted “Big Dawgs” (No. 23), Jay Sean was making history for South Asian artists on Billboard’s marquee singles chart.
In 2009, Jay Sean (born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti) topped the Hot 100 with “Down,” his Lil Wayne-assisted debut single. The achievement helped Sean become the very first South Asian artist to top the Hot 100 and helped kick off a fruitful pop career that includes Hot 100 hits like “Do You Remember” (No. 10, with Sean Paul and Lil Jon), “2012” (No. 31, with Nicki Minaj) and “Hit the Lights” (No. 18, with Lil Wayne).

15 years later, Jay Sean is back with a new album and an exciting new venture that he detailed for Billboard staff writer Kyle Denis on the latest edition of Billboard News.

“First of all, I’m South Asian. A lot of people still don’t know that. When I came here from England, people were speaking to me in Spanish a lot because they thought I was Puerto Rican or Dominican — I had the shaved head then,” Sean quips. “[They didn’t realize I was] South Asian, and the first-ever South Asian in history to have had a No. 1 Billboard record.”

The genre-melding singer continues, “When I was coming up and telling people I wanted to do music, they were like ‘Are you stupid? Look around you bro, do you see anyone like you onstage with Justin Timberlake and Usher? There’s no brown dude.’ So, I took it upon myself to create a platform for brown people. We’re the largest demographic [on] planet Earth, why aren’t we taking the scene over? That’s why I set up 3AM, so I can provide that structure for us.”

Co-founded by Sean, The Heavy Group’s Jeremy Skaller and Range Media’s Jared Cotter, 3AM Entertainment aims to support artists from the South Asian diaspora as they work to break through global music markets. The record label will operate under Virginia Media, with big releases from both Sean and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan already available.

Over the summer (June 28), the actress dropped “Shoes… More Shoes,” a campy novelty track produced by New York DJ Ellis Miah. Proceeds for the song were donated to two LGBTQIA+ charities: Not A Phase and the Trevor Project.

Sean has already launched two singles under 3AM previewing his forthcoming new album. “Heartless,” which features Punjabi hitmaker Ikky, is a guitar-inflected trap&B banger, while the Jai Dhir-featuring “Piche Piche” effortlessly blends Punjabi, Hindi and English into a smoldering R&B groove. The latter track also features a team of A-listers behind the scenes; it was co-written by two-time Grammy-nominated R&B maestro Eric Bellinger and co-produced by Sean Cook, one of the minds behind Shaboozey‘s historic smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Both “Heartless” and “Piche Piche” will appear on Last Call, Sean’s forthcoming new album, which is due in 2025.

“When I did songs like ‘Piche Piche’ and ‘Heartless,’ it was very easy for me to do that because I live and breathe that,” he explains. “I speak Punjabi, I can sing in Punjabi, I can also rap and sing in English, it’s all very natural to me. To work with Eric TKTK — who’s obviously such an OG in the game — I’ve got so much respect and love for him. It was just great to work with an R&B legend like that. And Sean Cook is my boy. The whole album is basically me and Sean.”

Although he’s putting out a major project of his own next year, Sean remains focused on uplifting and highlighting rising South Asian artists and making sure that the door he cracked ajar with “Down” remains open.

“I hope that I can look back and say all the years that I dreamt of this happening have finally come true,” he muses.