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Mariska Hargitay recently introduced her new cat Karma to the world, and no one is more thrilled than Taylor Swift.
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star shared a photo of her sweet pet on Instagram earlier this week. “Karma is a Cat @taylorswift Meet Karma. My Cat. #MeAndKarmaVibeLikeThat #AndIKeepMySideOfMyPawClean #KarmaIsACat,” Hargitay wrote, revealing the inspiration behind her cat’s name is, of course, a lyric from a song by Swift.
On the chorus of the Midnights track “Karma,” Swift sings, “Sweet like honey, karma is a cat purring in my lap ’cause it loves me.”
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On Saturday (Dec. 2), two days after Karma the cat made their debut on social media, Swift publicly shared her reaction to the kitty’s arrival.
“Are you serious?!!!! Nothing has ever come more full circle,” Swift wrote in the comments section of Hargitay’s post. “LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!”
Hargitay and Swift — who in 2014 named one of her own cats Olivia Benson after the actress’ starring role on SVU — have been connected for years.
After becoming friendly, Swift invited Hargitay to appear in 2015’s “Bad Blood” music video alongside Ellen Pompeo, whose Grey’s Anatomy character Meredith Grey inspired the name of Swift’s first cat in 2011. In June 2015, Hargitay walked the catwalk as one of Swift’s celebrity guests on the 1989 World Tour. More recently, Hargitay’s taken in more than one Eras Tour show and showed her support for the singer at the premiere of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film.
“She’s pure magic,” Hargitay told Entertainment Tonight in October. “There’s nothing she can’t do. It’s been so beautiful to reconnect to that innocence, you know? I think Taylor gives such a beautiful message to kids and unlocks these girls’ emotions.”
“I see how it affects my daughter, and she cries and just opens up like a flower,” Hargitay said of Swift’s impact. “And [I see] how meaningful it is, and I’m grateful to be part of it and watch that journey.”
“It’s been so beautiful [to see] how she gracefully walked through her journey and allowed herself to evolve and truly step into her power pose, her talent and all of her glory. And she’s got quite a bit of it … I think she is a magicmaker,” she added.
Swift released a remixed version of “Karma” featuring Ice Spice in May, giving the track a boost to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Billie Eilish wasn’t aware that a recent interview would be perceived as a coming out story, but she’s cool with it.
“I didn’t, but I kinda thought, wasn’t it obvious?” the pop star said to Variety on the red carpet for the Variety Hitmakers Brunch, where she and brother Finneas were being honored with the film song of the year award for their Barbie soundtrack tune “What Was I Made For?” on Saturday (Dec. 2). “I didn’t realize people didn’t know.”
In the publication’s Nov. 13 cover story, Eilish had mentioned that she’s attracted to women: “I love them so much,” she said. “I love them as people. I’m attracted to them as people. I’m attracted to them for real … I’m physically attracted to them. But I’m also so intimidated by them and their beauty and their presence.”
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Eilish has only ever been in public relationships with men, most recently The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford before their breakup in May.
Speaking on the red carpet Saturday about the Variety cover story and the concept of coming out, she casually said, “I just don’t really believe in it. I’m just like, why can’t we just exist? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just didn’t talk about it. Whoops.”
“But … I saw the article and I was like, ‘Oh! I guess I came out today!’” Eilish said with a laugh.
“It’s exciting to me because I guess people didn’t know, so it’s cool that they know,” the singer added. “But ooh, I’m nervous talking about it.”
“I am for the girls,” confirmed Eilish, who will soon be seen as the musical guest on the Kate McKinnon-hosted Dec. 16 episode of SNL.
“I’m still scared of ’em,” she added in the red carpet interview, “but I think they’re pretty.”
Watch the interview clip via Variety below.
Olivia Rodrigo brought “Can’t Catch Me Now” to the stage for the first time at iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball in Inglewood, California, Friday night (Dec. 1). “So, has anybody watched The Hunger Games?” Rodrigo teased the crowd at Kia Forum before launching into the ballad. She added, “I was super lucky because this year I got […]
Taylor Swift was bejeweled at the Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé London premiere on Thursday night (Nov. 30), and the pop superstar took to Instagram to shower the “Alien Superstar” singer with love. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Got invited to London by The Queen…✨👑✨ Renaissance: A Film by […]
Doja Cat isn’t too happy with her performance at her Thursday night (Nov. 30) concert. After leaving the stage in Newark, N.J., the 28-year-old rapper posted an apology to fans on her Instagram Story. “I’m so f–kin sorry New Jersey,” Doja wrote, placing text over a seemingly random photo of a crushed-up chip. “I don’t […]
Like always, Selena Gomez is cheering on her best friend. A few days after Taylor Swift earned this year’s Apple Music Artist of the Year title, the Only Murders in the Building star joined in with a handful of Swift’s other famous friends to praise the “Anti-Hero” singer in a celebratory video. “I think it’s […]
Lana Del Rey is once again paying tribute to John Denver, this time surprise-dropping a cover of the late folk singer’s classic 1971 hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Released without notice on Friday (Dec. 1), the cover finds the singer-songwriter fully embracing her Americana musical influences. She and producer Zachary Dawes keep the instrumentation […]
We already knew that BTS held Usher in high regard thanks to their famous shout-out to the R&B legend (“Don’t need no Usher to remind me you got it bad”) on their 2021 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Butter.” But on BTS member Jung Kook‘s new remix of his solo track “Standing Next to […]
In a rare public rebuke aimed at what she deemed an “insane” rumor, Taylor Swift‘s longtime publicist Tree Paine slammed the anonymous gossip account DeuxMoi on Thursday night (Nov. 30) for what she said was a hurtful, false allegation about the singer.
“Enough is enough with these fabricated lies about Taylor from DeuxMoi,” Paine posted on X in response an Instagram Story shared Thursday from the blind account claiming that Swift had a non-legal ceremony described as a marriage to then-romantic partner actor Joe Alwyn “in either 2020 or 2021 in the UK” that the anonymous writer swore was a fact. “I will die on this hill!” DeuxMoi added. “Put it on my tombstone!”
“There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind,” Paine responded in a tweet verified by Billboard as coming from the publicist. “This is an insane thing to post. It’s time for you to be held accountable for the pain and trauma you cause with posts like these.”
Billboard reached out to DeuxMoi for a response, but had not received one at press time.
The post about the alleged wedding was accompanied by a since-deleted message from DeuxMoi seemingly hitting back at Paine, writing, “Well I make zero dollars from lying… can publicists say the same.” The unidentified person behind DeuxMoi released a novel, Anon Pls., last year — which is slated to become a TV series on Max — and hosts the Deux U podcast. “Also, to relate something that is in reference to something that happened years ago to ‘pain & trauma’ after what just happened seems like a poor choice of words,” the gossip blogger added.
“Either way, I apologize to Taylor,” DeuxMoi wrote in the response to Paine in the since-deleted post confirmed by Billboard.
The anonymous Instagram account posts unverified celebrity gossip it says are sourced from users. “This account does not claim information published is based in fact,” reads a disclaimer on the DeuxMoi feed.
Swift and Alwyn’s breakup made headlines in April; they were together for six years, during which they were frequently the subject of what the singer referred to as “weird rumors.” The singer-songwriter appeared to take on those whispers on “Lavender Haze,” the opening track of her Midnights album, singing, “I’m d–ned if I do give a d–n what people say/ the 1950s s— they want from me/ I just wanna stay in that lavender haze.”
“All they keep asking me is if I’m gonna be your bride/ the only kinda girl they see is a one night or a wife,” she continues on the track. Swift — who is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — also dove into the whispers in an Instagram post before the album’s release, writing that “Haze” was inspired by her relationship with Alwyn, saying, “We’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.” She later deleted the video following the couple’s split.
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, Beyoncé welcomes us into her “House,” Tyla continues her rise and Jung Kook taps a superstar for a new remix. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Beyoncé, “My House”
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“Ooooh, who they came to see?” a swath of voices demands, as Beyoncé new surprise single “My House” begins. The answer, of course, is Queen Bey: to cap off a year marked by a mega-selling world tour, and on the occasion of her concert documentary Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé hitting theaters, the superstar has gifted fans with a propulsive thank-you that’s both assertive and inviting. “My House” bottles the boisterous energy of last year’s Renaissance album, but Bey’s delivery comes closer to the roof-rattling rap-sing sneer of a song like “7/11,” allowing the song’s structure shape-shift around her but never letting the listener forget whose house it is.
Tyla, “Truth or Dare”
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In the same week that Tyla’s invigorating single “Water” hit the top 10 of the Hot 100 and the South African star announced the upcoming release of a self-titled debut album, she also tided fans over for the 2024 full-length with three new songs, highlighted by the effervescent anthem “Truth or Dare.” As “Water” demonstrated, Tyla knows precisely how to deploy a clipped, arresting hook — and when the refrain of “Truth or Dare” kicks in around the 1 minute 15 second mark, the song levitates, and begs to be placed in several of your playlists.
Jung Kook feat. Usher, “Standing Next to You” remix
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“Standing Next to You” sounds like a smash, from an artist who knows about such things: a centerpiece of Jung Kook’s recent album Golden, the stylish dance-pop track synthesizes the sleek hooks of his BTS work and pairs them with Jung Kook’s engrossing persona and vocal power. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 upon its release, but this new remix with Usher, which introduces a legendary hit-maker to its disco-bounce ecosystem, could sustain an extended chart run; there’s probably not enough time for Ursh to bust this one out during his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance, but you never know, right?
Dove Cameron, Alchemical: Volume 1
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Dove Cameron has said that Alchemical: Volume 1, the first half of her debut album, represents “a report from the void of my own personal experience with love, sex, loss, trauma, darkness and eventually transformation and healing,” a declaration that reaffirms the “Boyfriend” singer’s commitment to approaching pop beyond radio fodder. While Alchemical: Volume 1 includes Cameron’s previously released singles, but new tracks like the haunting “God’s Game” and the head-nodding “White Glove” suggest that the rising star’s self-exploration will contain unexpected sonic multitudes when fully realized.
ATEEZ, THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL
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As ATEEZ closes the book on a year of sprawling shows and kinetic performances, THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL captures the K-pop group’s ability to never let its audience’s attention flag for even a few seconds: every inch of the album is filled with percussive breakdowns, rap verses springing into melodic hooks and cleanly delivered interplay between the various group members. After THE WORLD EP.2 : OUTLAW reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year, ATEEZ is hoping to close out 2023 on a high note, and artistically, they get there.
Editor’s Pick: Lana Del Rey, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
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Lana Del Rey will enter 2024 with five Grammy nominations — including an album of the year nod for her sprawling studio set Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — and is also featured on a pair of other album of the year nominees, Taylor Swift’s Midnights and Jon Batiste’s World Music Radio. Her past has been rightly lauded, but before she closes the books on 2023, Del Rey has unveiled a smoky, heartfelt take on a John Denver classic: her rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” exists as the best type of cover song, underlining the beauty of the original composition while adding her own steely dynamism into the mix.