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Stop trying to fight it. The next two weeks are going to be about the three teams playing in the Feb. 11 Super Bowl: the San Francisco 49ers, the Kansas City Chiefs and upstarts TNT (Travis N’ Taylor). Even typically unflappable KC coach Andy Reid couldn’t avoid getting roped into the romance that ate the NFL.
In fact, Reid popped into this week’s episode’s Let’s Go with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray podcast to discuss his team’s dominating victory in the AFC Championship game on Sunday, the endless pics of his signature horseshoe mustache freezing during the Miami game two weeks ago and the excellent play of QB Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce this weeked.
Oh, he also dropped the one Taylor Swift-related story no one has heard yet.
Asked what it’s like to be the “Beatles” — with so much attention on the team thanks to Swift’s romance with Kelce and the deluge of press scrambling to chronicle their every kiss and whispered sweet nothing — Reid said simply, “she’s been great.” In fact, in a story sure to result in some locker room ribbing for Kelce, Reid revealed that he actually knew the pop star before Travis did.
“I knew her before, from Philadelphia. Her dad [Scott Swift] played at [University of] Delaware and was a big fan and good guy,” Reid said. “So I had met him there and her. So that was the last thing Trav wanted to hear, that I knew her before him. She told him, ‘I know your coach,’” Reid recalled. And he went, ‘Oh, God, come on!’”
All jokes aside, Reid said Swift is a “good girl and I’m happy for Trav,” while assuring fans of the team headed to their fourth Super Bowl in five years, “there’s been no distraction at all. Travis handled it right, she’s handled it right and we just move forward.”
While the rest of the world is tying itself in knots trying to figure out how, or if, Swift will be able to jet from her show in at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on Feb. 10 to Las Vegas in time for the 6:30 p.m. ET kick-off of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium, three-time Super Bowl champ Reid, as usual, is firmly focused on the X’s and O’s.
“Maybe you’re not the most talented. Maybe you’re not the fastest or the quickest or whatever,” he said in a press conference on Monday. “But let’s go maximize what we are and let the chips fall where they may.”
Super Bowl LVII will air on CBS and Nickelodeon and stream on Paramount+, with Usher performing the halftime show.
Listen to the episode below — Taylor talk begins at 24:30 mark.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin will receive the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song on March 20 at Washington, D.C.’s Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall. The invitation-only, all-star concert will premiere on PBS stations April 8.
The renowned songwriting duo is only the third pair to receive the prestigious award, following Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 2012, and Gloria and Emilio Estefan in 2019. Established in 2007, the Gershwin Prize honors artists whose creative works are collected and made accessible by the Library and acknowledges popular song’s vital role in society. The prize is named for another legendary songwriting team, George and Ira Gershwin, whose papers are held by the Library. (Elton performed two of the Gershwins’ most prized songs, “Our Love Is Here to Stay” and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” on the all-star 1994 album The Glory of Gershwin.)
Other past recipients include Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Lionel Richie and Garth Brooks.
“Elton John and Bernie Taupin have written some of the most memorable songs of our lives. Their careers stand out for the quality and broad appeal of their music and their influence on their fellow artists,” said Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, in a statement. “More than 50 years ago, they came from across the pond to win over Americans and audiences worldwide with their beautiful songs and rock anthems. We’re proud to honor Elton and Bernie with the Gershwin Prize for their incredible impact on generations of music lovers.”
The pair have penned such pop and rock classics as “Your Song,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Bennie & the Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Crocodile Rock,” which became their first of eight No. 1s as a songwriting team on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years, and we never thought that that one day this might be bestowed upon us,” John said in a statement. “It’s an incredible honor for two British guys to be recognized like this. I’m so honored.”
Taupin added, “To be in a house along with the great American songwriters, to even be in the same avenue, is humbling, and I am absolutely thrilled to accept.”
In making the selection, the Librarian of Congress consulted leading members of the music and entertainment communities, as well as curators from the Library’s music division, American Folklife Center and National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.
John is Billboard’s top solo male artist of all time with 59 songs in the Hot 100’s top 40. When his duet with Dua Lipa of “Cold Heart” cracked the top 40 in 2021, it marked his first top 40 hit in 22 years. The song peaked at No. 7, only to be surpassed by “Hold Me Closer,” his collaboration with Britney Spears, which reached No. 6 in 2022. He also holds the record for the biggest selling physical single of all time with Taupin’s rewritten lyrics for “Candle in the Wind 1997,” which sold more than 33 million copies.
On Jan. 15, John won an Emmy for his Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium special, making him only the 19th performer to reach EGOT status for winning an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and Grammy.
Taupin and John were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. John entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, with Taupin following in 2023.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is a co-production of WETA Washington, D.C., Ken Ehrlich Productions and the Library of Congress. Performers will be announced closer to the event.
Benny Blanco only has eyes for Selena Gomez — heart eyes, that is. The Grammy-nominated producer set up shop in the comment section of his boo’s latest Instagram selfie, clearly too stunned for words. The “Single Soon” star shared a trio of fresh-faced selfies on her official Instagram page on Sunday (Jan. 28) with a […]
It’s not the fall that hurts, it’s when you hit the ground. That lesson is not lost on Ed Sheeran, who posted a video on Sunday (Jan. 28) of a close-call near-fall he had while making an entrance to the stage during a recent date on his Mathematics world tour. In the clip, Sheeran is […]
It’s been a few weeks since Lil Nas X made headlines for his controversial comeback single “J Christ,” and the singer is ready to talk frankly about the public’s reception of his latest track.
During his appearance on the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty, the rapper explained that he felt the messaging of his song was taken out of context. “[‘J Christ’] was this thing that artistically was just supposed to be like, I’m returning … I’m back like Him, you know what I mean?” he said. “It turned into this whole thing where it was me trying to dunk on Christians or something, and that was never what it was. Never.”
Lil Nas agreed with some of the backlash, saying that the anger over a video of him eating communion wafers “looks really bad on paper,” adding that he did properly apologize for releasing that video. “This [was a] thing that I thought was just like a little jokey fun video. I also had to think about how many of my family members are Christian, like my grandmothers and stuff, and like aunties and things like that,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Wow, do they see this as that too?’ If they do, you know, that’s really messed up. And it makes me sad.”
But the rapper said the he did not apologize for the song or the music video because he stood by his intended messaging. “That message turned around and I didn’t know how to do anything with it. It wasn’t my chaos anymore. It was the world’s and anything anybody said was true because that’s who I am as a person,” he said. “I’m this troll and I want to make these people mad. And so everybody can run with that. And there’s nothing I can do about that. I can say as many things as I want, but knowing my history, they look right, I look wrong.”
The interview comes after Lil Nas X spoke publicly about the release of “J Christ” in a video posted to his Instagram. In the original clip, the rapper explained that those online claiming that he was insulting Christianity with his song were mistaken. “I knew there would be some upset people simply because religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people,” he said. “But I also didn’t mean to mock — this wasn’t a f— you to the Christians. It was literally me saying I’m back like Jesus.”
Elsewhere in his interview on On Purpose, Lil Nas said that he’s now reflecting on what his future releases will look like, where his music will go in the future. “You’ve been so focused and zoned in on what you’re doing, and you push your art out into the world and it’s kind of received negatively by the majority … but then also understanding why, you know, and having to see it through,” he said. “So I guess that’s where I’m at right now and my next move, you know, the things that I’m planning on right now, I feel like somewhere in here that’s gonna be this magical moment that I can’t even take credit for.”
Check out the full episode of On Purpose featuring Lil Nas X below:
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Just days after her fan army attempted to block Justin Timberlake‘s new single, “Selfish,” from topping iTunes pop charts around the world by pushing Britney Spears‘ 2011 deep cut of the same name up the tallies, Spears extended an live branch to her long-ago ex.
“I am so in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish,’” Spears wrote on her Instagram feed — which is now set to private — about the first single from Timberlake’s upcoming sixth album, Everything I Thought It Was. Tacking on a heart emoji, Spears also wrote, “It is soo good and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy together I laugh so hard ???”
Timberlake appeared on The Tonight Show on Thursday to goof around with longtime friend and comedy foil host Jimmy Fallon, and then the two were reunited again for a run through their famous “Barry Gibb Talk Show” bit on Saturday Night Live this weekend. In addition to playing the mellow “Selfish,” Timberlake debuted the new gospel-tinged burner “Sanctified” alongside Houston rapper Tobe Nwigwe in his first SNL performance of the night.
Spears appeared to love that one as well.
“Ps ‘Sanctified’ is wow [star eyes emoji] too,” Britney added about the second song that’s been revealed so far from the JT album due out on March 15.
The “Selfish” upvote frenzy appeared to come strictly from Spears’ devoted fans and Spears has not publicly weighed in on the effort to resurface the deep cut Femme Fatale bonus track. Thanks to the fan attention, Britney’s “Selfish” hit the top of a number of iTunes pop charts across the world on Friday, either displacing or landing just beneath Timberlake’s single of the same name.
Britney’s Monday (Jan. 29) Instagram post featured another surprise: a blanket mea culpa for anyone whose feelings were hurt by things she revealed in her 2023 tell-all memoir. “I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book. If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about I am deeply sorry,” Spears wrote without naming names. While Spears did not elaborate on who she was apologizing to about the many headline-grabbing revelations in her best-selling memoir, The Woman In Me, one of the people who came in for particularly harsh criticism after the book’s release last year was Timberlake.
The couple dated from 1999 to 2002, and in the book Spears revealed that she got unexpectedly pregnant during that time and that she had an abortion because Timberlake “definitely wasn’t happy about pregnancy“; she also wrote that though she could never have imagined choosing an abortion, she agreed to not have the child. “Given the circumstances, that is what we did,” she said about the procedure they kept secret.
Timberlake didn’t respond to the allegations in the book about his alleged behavior during their relationship, but he did turn off comments on his Instagram after it was flooded with angry comments from Britney’s supporters at the time.
He did, however, appear to allude to the firestorm during a Las Vegas show in December, where he told a crowd he meant “no disrespect” before playing his 2002 solo hit “Cry Me a River,” widely seen as a commentary on the couple’s March 2002 split after three years together.
The couple’s brief teenage romance has spurred years of headlines, repeatedly stoking the fires of anger against JT from the Britney Army. In the book, however, Spears wrote that her love for her former boy band flame was eternal. “After that, I was messed up for a while, especially because I still love Justin so much,” she wrote. “It was insane how much I loved him, and for me, it was unfortunate.”
Gwen Stefani has been fronting No Doubt for nearly 40 years. But after going on what sounded like a permanent hiatus in 2013, last week’s announcement that the singer would be reuniting with longtime bandmates bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young for this year’s Coachella festival in April has her psyched to step back into group mode.
“It just happened so fast, and that’s my favorite kind of thing to happen. We haven’t really figured out the next steps of how we’re going to do this, but we’re just all so excited,” Stefani, 54, told People magazine. “And I think really just watching the internet blow up [with] how excited that the fans are? It’s inspiring us.”
The multi-platinum group last reunited in 2012 for the release of their sixth album, Push and Shove, and played some shows in 2015 before going their separate ways to focus on solo projects. “It’s just going to be cool. It’s just going to be: get up there and do what we always do, which is play our music and try to connect and be so grateful that we got this amazing career that we never expected to have,” the singer said of her excitement of revving the crowd up with such iconic hits as “Just a Girl,” “Spiderwebs,” “Don’t Speak,” “Ex-Girlfriend” and “Hey Baby.”
The Voice coach told the magazine that she’s “completely overwhelmed” by the excitement over the reunion announcement and the wave of love from fans. “I definitely have that little thing in your stomach where you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh! What?’” the three-time Grammy winner said of the good vibe nerves. “It’s going to be amazing.”
So far, No Doubt has not indicated whether the Coachella gig is a one-off or the kick-off to a wider reunion tour. For now, Stefani is booked for a solo gig at a pre-Super Bowl TikTok Tailgate show in Las Vegas before the big game on Feb. 11, with other No Doubt dates announced at press time. “We’ll see you in the desert this April!!!,” read a statement on the band’s social accounts last week announcing the Coachella gig alongside a stacked roster featuring Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat as headliners, along with Peso Pluma, Lil Uzi Vert, Blur, Ice Spice, J Balvin, Jhené Aiko and more.
Adele is just months away from completing her Weekends With Adele residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The run of shows that kicked off in Nov. 2022 and were extended through a June 15 gig this summer is about to end, though the singer gave hope over the weekend that they might not have to travel to see her the next time she releases an album.
According to video posted by fans, during Saturday night’s show Adele teased a return to the road after previously stating that her touring days might be over. “I just don’t think I’m gonna write an album for quite some time,” Adele said about beginning work on the follow-up to her 2021 30 album.
“But next time I do, I’ll come to wherever it is you live,” she added after saying that she “really, really, really” has enjoyed the residency run. It’s not surprising that she’s had fun during her three-year string of shows in Vegas, which the singer has extended several times. It’s been the sight of a number of unexpected surprises, including Adele running into her OB-GYN in the audience, paying tribute to late Friends star Matthew Perry, calling boyfriend Rich Paul her “husband” from the stage and stopping the show to help a couple with their baby gender reveal.
Rather than embark on another massive world tour to promote 30, Adele — who has been open about her struggles with stage fright in the past — opted to stay put in Las Vegas instead after wrapping up the outing for her 25 release in 2017. “Touring isn’t something I’m good at… Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable. I don’t know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I’ve toured is you. I’m not sure if touring is my bag,” Adele said at the end of the 25 tour at a New Zealand show.
But after postponing her anticipated residency unexpectedly in Jan. 2022 on the eve of opening because she feared there was “no soul” in the production at the time, in an October Instagram post the singer said the stay-put run has changed her life. “I desperately needed to fall back in love with performing live again, and I have. I needed to reconnect with my songs and remember what they mean to me, and I have!,” she wrote alongside a super-cut of video from the shows. “Being on stage over the last year so up close and personal with an audience again after all these years has been a truly extraordinary restorative experience that I’ll never forget. All the hilarious, soulful, wild and heartbreaking interactions we’ve had are banked in my mind for life. The looks on your faces, seeing you laugh and cry together singing your hearts out and hoarding bags of confetti. All the simi dolls, friendship bracelets, flowers, facetime calls and flags. It’s crazy how joyful a show full of sad songs can be!!”
She concluded by saying the twice-a-weekend performances have gotten her revved up again about live performance. “I’ve felt so much and learned so much about myself and you. It’s humanized everything I thought was scary,” she wrote. “Mostly though – it’s just made me realize how much I really enjoy being on stage, that I’m bloody good at it and that it is 100% where I belong!”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s celebratory PDA at Sunday night’s AFC Championship game got even sweeter when fans spotted the pop star’s stunning ‘TNT’ friendship bracelet.
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The singer wore a custom diamond friendship bracelet from Wove’s Michelle Wie West collection, with pricing starting at $5,680. The piece could be seen in photos of Swift hugging and kissing Kelce on the field of M&T Bank Stadium following the Kansas City Chiefs’ win against the Baltimore Ravens.
Swift’s yellow gold bracelet shimmered with the letters ‘TNT,’ which fans are guessing is a nickname for Travis and Taylor.
“An up close look at Taylor’s diamond friendship bracelet!” the jeweler posted on Instagram after the Jan. 28 game.
The ‘TNT’ friendship bracelet harkens back to how Travis met Taylor. In July, the Chiefs tight end attended Swift’s Eras Tour stop at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
As Travis recounted on his New Heights podcast, he planned to give Swift a friendship bracelet that had his phone number on it, but he didn’t get the chance to meet her at the show.
Inspired by the lyric “So make the friendship bracelets/ Take the moment and taste it” from Midnights album track “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” Swifties trade homemade jewelry with one another at each tour stop. Kelce was trying to get in on that trend.
“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce said on his show, “so I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her.”
“She doesn’t meet anybody, or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal,” he quipped to his co-host, his brother, Jason Kelce.
Yet in September, Swift was spotted at her first Chiefs game (with many more to come).
By October, photos of the pair holding hands and kissing on the cheek surfaced.
In November, Swift swapped the “Karma” lyric “Karma is the guy in the screen coming straight home to me” for “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me” live at a concert in Buenos Aires, and then ran into Kelce’s arms to kiss him once the show wrapped.
In December, Swift finally spoke about their romance and clarified the timeline of the relationship. “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell … We started hanging out right after that,” she shared for her TIME Person of the Year cover story. “By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
Swift resumes her Eras Tour in Tokyo on Feb. 7, while Kelce and the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.
Proud girlfriend Taylor Swift was all smiles while Travis Kelce gave a short and sweet victory speech after the Kansas City Chiefs secured a spot in the 2024 Super Bowl.
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“You gotta fight for your right to party!” Kelce shouted Sunday night (Jan. 28). The Chiefs had just defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10.
“Believe it, baby, we going to Las Vegas, Nevada!” Kelce announced. “Gonna get us another one!”
Swift looked on, laughing at Kelce’s Beastie Boys reference and grinning. She appeared emotional on the M&T Stadium field.
Swift and Kelce kissed on the field in celebration of the Chiefs’ triumph.
The singer stood by Travis’ side after the game, but stepped away to give him a moment alone with his brother, Jason.
“Goddamn, that was fun to watch,” Jason said as he hugged Travis, to which Travis jokingly replied, “You keep your shirt on this time, or what?” Last weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles center went viral for taking off his shirt, guzzling beer, passionately cheering on his brother and jumping out of a suite into the stands.
Travis Kelce asked Taylor Swift where Jason was. Then, he and Jason had an emotional reunion“Finish that motherf***er,” Jason told him as Taylor stepped aside to give them their moment. pic.twitter.com/NBk485uFaF— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 28, 2024
Swift had friends Cara Delevingne and Keleigh Teller nearby during the game Sunday night. She was shown on camera cheering when Kelce scored a touchdown.
The pop star kicks off an international leg of her Eras Tour on Feb. 7, beginning with four concerts in Japan. Will Swift attend the Super Bowl on Feb. 11?
Though she has a concert the night before in Tokyo, it’s possible, thanks to the difference in time zones — but her presence at the big game hasn’t been confirmed.
See Swift watching Kelce’s speech below.
