Pop

Ed Sheeran Reacts to First Emmy Win: ‘It Was a Real, Real Surprise’

Ed Sheeran wasn’t expecting to win an Emmy at the 2023 Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards.

Along with Max Martin and Foy Vance, Sheeran took home the award for outstanding original music and lyrics for “A Beautiful Game,” which they wrote for an episode of Ted Lasso. Night one of the 2023 Primetime Emmys took place Saturday night (Jan. 6).

“We won an Emmy last night. I was not expecting to win at all,” Sheeran, a first-time Emmy winner, wrote Sunday. “It was a real real surprise waking up to the news, I wish I had been there but I’m just about to kick off the Asia tour so had to be elsewhere sadly.”

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Sheeran then described how the Emmy-winning song came to be: “I wrote a song for Ted Lasso with Max Martin and @foyvance called ‘A Beautiful Game’. We were all fans of the show and got asked to do a song for the finale, so 2 years ago this month we got in together and wrote a song about love and football, and how it is always about the journey rather than the destination. I recorded a crowd at one of my stadium shows for it singing the final chant to keep it in the footie wibes.”

“It was up against some fantastic artists and songs in its Emmy category for Best Original Music and Lyrics, hence not thinking we had a chance in hell of winning, but thank you so much for whoever voted for it, and to Max, Foy and all the Lasso crew. I really am honoured. The song is out everywhere on all platforms if you haven’t heard it yet. Love you all ! And happy new year, see ya on the road,” said Sheeran.

Winners in five of seven music categories were announced on night one of the awards, which took place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Winners in the other two music categories are to be announced on night two on Sunday (Jan. 7). The main Primetime Emmy telecast will air on Monday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on FOX.

See Sheeran’s reaction post below.

Shawn Mendes Dives Straight Into Snow Wearing Only Shorts: ‘You Can Take the Boy Outta Canada’

Baby, there’s nothing holdin’ him back! Shawn Mendes was like a little kid as he gleefully dashed outside to feel the snow in a video shared on Sunday (Jan. 7).

But the 25-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter was seemingly not under parental supervision when he went outside in only shorts — no shirt, no shoes and nothing to cover the bottom half of his legs, never mind a coat, hat, scarf or mittens.

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Mendes put on a brave face as he ran out to the snow-covered yard, carefree and barefoot, and laid right down on the ground, as seen in footage he posted on X and Instagram. While baring his abs in likely freezing temperatures, he admitted, “This is cold, bro.” In another video, he sledded down a small slope toward a wooded area, still barely clothed.

“you can take the boy outta Canada,” Mendes quipped in a caption for the clips. Fortunately, it looks like he warmed up by the fire (with a guitar) after his snowy plunge.

On Jan. 2, the pop star took to Instagram to reflect on the past year. “The biggest lesson for me this year has been to accept and welcome the lows of life… not to constantly need to change or fix something in order to feel high again, because i know if i really slow down and listen when i’m low there’s always something to hear,” Mendes noted.

See Mendes’ adventures in the snow in the videos below.

Fans Choose Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Strangers’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Lewis Capaldi‘s “Strangers” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Jan. 5) on Billboard, choosing the Scottish musician’s new single as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Strangers” brought in 65% of the vote, beating out new music by The Last Dinner Party (“Caesar on a TV Screen”), Green Day (“One Eyed Bastard”), Gabby Barrett (“You’re My Texas”), The Game and Big Hit (Paisley Dreams), and others.

Capaldi is in balladry mode on “Strangers,” which sees him stepping back into the familiar territory of his breakthrough hit single “Someone You Loved,” which spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2019.

The crooner’s signature tone, tinged with heartache, shines on the new track as he sings of his departed lover. It also pulls double-duty and reignites his ongoing feud with Liam and Noel Gallagher, as it mentions him and the object of his affection once bonding over a mutual dislike of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” (“You say you hate this song… my dear, you’re not the only one”).

Capaldi announced in a New Year’s Eve message that he would be releasing an extended version of his second album, Broken By the Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, on Jan. 1. The expanded set features five additional songs.

“Prior to my decision to f— off for a bit, I’d always hoped to release an extended version at some point!” the singer wrote on Instagram. “After some back-and-forth about whether or not it was the right thing to do, I’ve decided it would be a shame for these five extra songs, which are so incredibly special to me, to sit on my hard drive, never to see the light of day.”

Trailing behind “Strangers” on the poll is The Last Dinner Party’s stirring “Caesar on a TV Screen,” which brought in nearly 12% of the vote. The song will be featured on the alt-rock British quintet’s full-length debut, Prelude to Ecstasy, which is scheduled for release in February.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Leads Billboard 200 for Sixth Week

Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) nabs a sixth nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Jan. 13, 2024), as the set earned nearly 64,000 equivalent album units (down 35%), according to Luminate. Swift has four albums in the top 10 on the new chart, as her chart-topping Midnights, Lover and Folklore are found at Nos. 5, 6 and 10, respectively.

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With the new chart’s data reflecting the tracking week of Dec. 29, 2023-Jan. 4, 2024 — the first week after the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday — seasonal albums vacate the top 10 (and entire 200-position chart). A week ago, five holiday efforts populated the top 10.

Meanwhile, Republic Records claims the Billboard 200’s top six and a modern-era single-week record eight of the top 10.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 13, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Jan. 9). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

The top seven titles on the new Billboard 200 are all former chart-toppers, as, following 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 1 are Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time (rising 5-2 with nearly 64,000; up 6%); Drake’s For All the Dogs (6-3; 58,000, up 1%); Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 (3-4; 57,000, down 13%); Swift’s Midnights (9-5; 46,000, down 13%); Swift’s Lover (11-6; 45,000, down 10%); and SZA’s SOS (13-7; 44,000, down 5%).

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season surges 18-8 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (up 5%), Zach Bryan’s self-titled former No. 1 vaults 20-9 with 41,000 (up 9%), and Swift’s chart-topping Folklore flies 21-10 with 36,000 (down 3%).

Republic Records has a banner week in Billboard 200’s top 10, as the label is home to eight of the top 10 titles. Since Luminate’s electronically monitored music data began powering the chart on May 25, 1991, no label had previously held eight of the top 10 on the Billboard 200 simultaneously. Republic previously boasted seven of the top 10 on six different occasions — all in 2023. The company first claimed seven of the top 10 on the Feb. 18, 2023-dated chart.

Republic also stands tall on the new chart with the Nos. 1-6 titles, marking the second time that the label has achieved the feat. Republic, which formed in 1995, is the only label to have held the entire top six (since August 1963, when the chart combined its previously separate mono and stereo rankings into one overall chart) and last did so on the Dec. 9, 2023-dated list.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Here’s When Ariana Grande’s New Song ‘Yes, And?’ Is Arriving

Ariana Grande has officially announced the title and release date of her new song.

The 30-year-old pop superstar and actress revealed through social media on Sunday (Jan. 7) that her new single “Yes, And?” will be available on Friday (Jan. 12).

“yes, and? ♡ 1.12,” Grande wrote on Instagram alongside the song’s cover art, a blurry close-up of her face.

Late last year, the Wicked star confirmed that her seventh album will arrive in 2024. She took to Instagram on Dec. 27 to share a carousel of photos and videos giving Arianators a peek at her recent time in the studio with producer Ilya Salmanzadeh.

“see you next year,” she captioned the post.

The Grammy winner hasn’t had a proper release since 2020’s Positions, which debuted at No . 1 the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned a Billboard Hot 100 chart No. 1 single with its title track. 

Grande’s return to music comes after a lengthy break during which she openly chose to focus on her R.E.M. Beauty makeup business and her role in the upcoming live action adaptations of the Broadway musical Wicked, in which she’ll play Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba.

See Grande’s “Yes, And?” announcement below on Instagram.

Cher Snuggles Up With Boyfriend Alexander Edwards in Sweet New Photo: ‘Love Is Love’

“Love is Love,” Cher says in the caption of a cozy new photo with her boyfriend, producer Alexander Edwards.

Cher shared the cuddly picture of herself with her beau on Saturday (Jan. 6) on X, formerly Twitter. In the photo, she sits on Edwards’ lap and embraces him, with one hand on his back and the other affectionately touching his chin.

The singer, 77, first met Edwards, 37, at Paris Fashion Week in September 2022.

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She opened up about their romance and its 40-year age gap on The Kelly Clarkson Show in December 2022, noting, “On paper, it’s kind of ridiculous. But in real life, we get along great. He’s fabulous. And I don’t give men qualities that they don’t deserve.” She added that Edwards is “very kind, very smart, he’s very talented, and he’s really funny,” before adding, “And I think he’s quite handsome.”

In October 2023, she told People of their relationship, “I hate when people say people are special, but lots of people say I’m special, so I can say that he’s special. No matter what happens, I love being with him. He makes me laugh, and we have fun. What I learned is that it’s never too late. If you wrote out all the statistics, you would go, ‘Well, this is doomed.’ But we’ve been together a year, and if it was just a year, it would’ve been worth it. I’ve had the best time.”

Cher’s latest hit — “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” off of her holiday album, Christmas — topped Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart, Adult Contemporary chart and Dance/Electronic Song Sales chart last month.

She’s had at least one new No. 1 on a Billboard songs chart in each of the seven decades from the 1960s through the 2020s, including her run as half of Sonny & Cher.

See her sweet snaphsot with Edwards below.

John Mayer Reveals Whether He’s Open to Getting Married Someday

John Mayer is opening up about the possibility of marriage.

During a recent episode of Kelly Rizzo’s Comfort Food podcast, the 46-year-old musician — who’s former girlfriends include Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz — revealed whether he’s interested in settling down someday and what he’s looking for in a long-term partner.

“People don’t think I want to be married. I absolutely want to be married,” Mayer told Rizzo on Sunday’s episode, according to People.

“You know the secret, which is that I’m actually fairly well-adjusted. And I so badly want to get married if only for my wife to just know in her heart, like, ‘John will know what to do.’ I just think that level of being relied on is the hottest thing in the world to me. ‘If my husband was here, he would know what to do. Call John. Call my husband.’ You’re a full grown-up when this is your romantic fantasy. You’re a fully fledged grown-up.”

Rizzo joked back, “Your kink is that you want someone to be like, ‘John’s got a guy.’”

“Reliance kink? Oh my God,” the “Daughters” singer replied. “Reliability kink? Yes!”

This isn’t the first time Mayer has spoken out about his relationship goals. He previously Andy Cohen that having a wife and kids would complete his bucket list.

“That would be — that would complete all of it,” Mayer said on Andy Cohen Live in 2021. “And I thought about this as recently as last night. ‘Cause my brothers are both married and have children… My dad was 50 when he had me. I think if I work backwards, it’s 50. 48, 50.”

Michael Bolton Recovering From Surgery to Remove Brain Tumor

Michael Bolton is recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor. 

On Friday afternoon (Jan. 5), the legendary crooner posted on his Instagram account, “Just before the holidays, it was discovered that I had a brain tumor, which required immediate surgery. Thanks to my incredible medical team, the surgery was a success. I am now recuperating at home and surrounded by the tremendous love and support of my family.”

Bolton has a number of 2024 tour dates on his website, starting Feb. 1 in Florida and running through Dec. 22. Many of those dates will be rescheduled as he recuperates.

“For the next couple of months, I will be devoting my time and energy to my recovery which means I’ll have to take a temporary break from touring,” he continued. “It is always the hardest thing for me to ever disappoint my fans or postpone a show, but have no doubt I am working hard to accelerate my recovery and get back to performing soon.”

Bolton, who scored eight No. 1s on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart in the ’90s, experienced a career resurgence a decade ago, when he joined forces with comedy trio The Lonely Island for a Saturday Night Live digital short on 2011’s “Jack Sparrow.” It showed Bolton in a different, humorous light. “I think I shocked a bunch of people who thought I would never do something like that. It’s too irreverent,” he told Billboard in a 2023 interview. “I love the Lonely Island guys and what they were doing with Saturday Night Live. They worked with me: They were patient to create something that has their brand all over it but wouldn’t be insulting to my audience.”

Celebrating his 50th year of making music last year, Bolton, 70, released Spark of Light in July, his first album of original material in 14 years. 

Bolton, who appeared on The Masked Singer last year, concluded his post with an upbeat message: “I am beyond grateful for all the love and support you have so generously shown me through the years. Know that I’m keeping your positive messages in my heart, and I’ll give you more updates as soon as I can. Much love always, MB.”

Here’s Why Fans Think Ariana Grande’s New Song or Album Is Titled ‘Yes, And?’

Ariana Grande‘s new music is officially coming any day now, and fans think they may have even figured out the title.

Although they aren’t sure whether it’s the name of her recently confirmed seventh album, a song from the album, or both, Arianators are certain that “Yes, And?” is going to be a very important phrase in the 30-year-old pop star’s discography very soon. The theory starts with a custom sweatshirt Grande wore this week with the two-word question printed on the front, which she paired with jeans, black loafers, a brown tote purse and red nails.

After photos of the outfit hit social media, someone very close to Grande seemed to subtly confirm that the sweatshirt was exactly what fans thought it was. The R.E.M. Beauty founder’s mother Joan liked a picture of her daughter wearing the sweatshirt that a fan on Twitter had captioned, “ariana grande teasing her comeback single ‘yes, and?’”

But there’s more. Last week, Ari posted a muted clip of Joan jamming out to one of the album’s unreleased songs on Instagram. And although you can’t hear the music, lip-reading fans say that Mama Grande was definitely singing along to the words “yes and.”

“I KNOW SHE WAS DANCING TO YES, AND?” one fan tweeted, sharing the clip of Joan.

Just days before the new year, the “Thank U, Next” singer confirmed that her new album will drop at some point in 2024 — and it definitely seems to be coming sooner rather than later. The star has also been sharing a number of pictures and mostly muted videos from her recent time in the studio, as well as a blurry image of her own red lips that fans think may be the project’s cover.

Grande’s expected return to music comes after a years long break during which she openly chose to focus on her makeup business and her role in the upcoming live action adaptations of the Broadway musical Wicked, in which she’ll play Glinda opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. She hasn’t had a proper release since 2020’s Positions, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with its title track. 

See how Arianators are reacting to the “Yes, And?” theory below.

Megan Thee Stallion & Reneé Rapp Express Female Rage in ‘Not My Fault’ Music Video


It’s not Megan Thee Stallion and Renée Rapp’s fault that the buzz around their collaboration is heating up.

The duo teamed up for a raging new music video for “Not My Fault” on Friday (Jan. 5), just a few weeks after the song was released. In the clip, the duo is dressed in all pink as they smash a bunch of plastic mannequins — which is so fetch given that the song is set to be included in the upcoming Mean Girls reboot.

“Not My Fault” was first announced by Megan via a post on Rapp’s Instagram account. In a teaser clip, the “Cobra” rapper announced that she and the “Snow Angel” singer had “a new song coming out for Mean Girls.” Rapp then subsequently posted the cover art for the new single, showing the pair baring it all in a room filled with plastic mannequins. “meg told me to put my a– out so I put my a– out,” Rapp wrote about the art on X.

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Rapp stars in the Mean Girls reboot as the queen bee of North Shore High School, Regina George, reprising her role from the Broadway musical adaptation of the classic 2004 high school comedy. The new film arrives in theaters on Jan. 12.

Watch the “Not My Fault” music video below.