Pop

14 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Adds Two More Summer 2024 London Eras Tour Dates With Paramore

Taylor Swift is giving her UK fans two more chances to get in on the Eras Tour action. The singer announced on Monday (Nov. 13) that she will be adding a pair of gigs in London to her stint at London’s Wembley Arena next summer.

The UK/European leg of the massive stadium outing is slated to kick off on May 9 at the LA Defense Arena in Paris before winding its way to the UK for a June 7 show at Edinburgh’s BT Murrayfield Stadium, followed by six shows at Wembley (June 21, 22, 23 and August 15, 16 and 17.)

The two additional Wembley gigs — also featuring support from Paramore — are slated for August 19 and 20. According to Ticketmaster, a limited number of Swifties who already registered for the London shows will be given access to the new on-sale dates and get email notifications on Tuesday (Nov. 14). The general on-sale will go life for the August 19 show this afternoon, with the August 20 show going on sale on Wednesday (Nov. 15).

It’s been a great week already for Swifties, who just got news about some festive merch in time for the holidays, as well as the launch of the South American leg of the Eras Tour, which also included a Buenos Aires show shout-out to purported boyfriend KC Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Swift is the leading finalist with nods in 20 categories at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. You can watch the BBMAs here, and via Billboard and the BBMA’s social media channels on Nov. 19.

13 Nov 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Unveils Pensive ‘Can’t Catch Me Now’ Music Video

Olivia Rodrigo is here, she’s there, she’s everywhere — and now has a music video to go along with her powerful The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes track, “Can’t Catch Me Now.”

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The clip, which was released on Monday (Nov. 13), finds the singer leaving a cottage and wandering through a field as she sings about her omnipresence in someone else’s life. “But I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze / My footsteps on the ground / You’ll see my face in every place / But you can’t catch me now,” she muses in the chorus.

“Can’t Catch Me Now,” which dropped earlier this month, serves as the opening track to the 17-song film soundtrack due out November 17 via Geffen Records, which is also the date the Hunger Games film hits theaters. The soundtrack includes songs performed in the film by The Hunger Games star Rachel Zegler, as well as tracks by young artists in the folk/Americana genre.

The upcoming movie stars Zegler alongside Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis, and follows the story of Coriolanus (Blyth), who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.

Watch Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” music video below.

13 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Is ‘Never Beating the Sorcery Allegations’ After Perfectly Timed Eras Tour Moment

Taylor Swift is proving time and time again that she’s the ultimate “Mastermind.”

The pop superstar took to Twitter to share a hilarious video from her Eras tour stop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this weekend, in which she’s seen singing “Labyrinth” off her 2022 album, Midnights. In an instance of serendipity, right when Swift sings, “I thought the plane was going down / How’d you turn it right around,” the camera pans to the sky and an airplane is seen flying right over the venue.

“Never beating the sorcery allegations,” Swift jokingly captioned the video, referring to some viral TikTok clips playfully alleging that her performances of “Willow” look like she’s performing a spell with her coven.

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Swift’s Latin American leg of her wildly popular Eras Tour kicked off back in August with four shows in Mexico City. She performed at Buenos Aires’ River Plate Stadium on November 10, 11 and 12 (featuring an appearance by rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce). Swift is next scheduled to head over to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 18 and 19 before wrapping up in São Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 24, 25 and 26. Sabrina Carpenter is the opener for the Latin American tour dates.

See her divinely timed “Labyrinth” moment below.

13 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Unveils Festive Merch Just in Time for Holiday Season

‘Tis the season to buy a gift for your favorite Swiftie, and Taylor Swift has you covered.

The superstar unveiled her new holiday merch via the official Taylor Nation account on X on Monday (Nov. 13). “We close our eyes and we’re somewhere else… at Christmas time, cozying up with our brand new Holiday merch,” the caption reads, in reference to “Everything Has Changed” lyrics.

The accompanying video features the beloved Lover house decorated for the holidays among a snowy landscape, before the new merch items are shown, including ornaments, pajamas, mugs, pillows, sweatshirts, scrapbooks and more.

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The merch is now available for purchase here.

While the holiday season is underway, Swift is still in a sunny mentality as “Cruel Summer” rebounded for a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart dated (dated Nov. 18, 2023). Three weeks earlier, it became her 10th career leader. It takes over for her 11th, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault],” which interrupted the reign of “Cruel Summer” with its No. 1 debut a week ago.

1989 (Taylor’s Version), meanwhile, notches a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

13 Nov 2023

Taylor Lautner Reacts to Getting Called Taylor Swift’s ‘Best Ex’

Swifties have no problem going “Back to December,” as Taylor Lautner has been deemed Taylor Swift’s “best ex” by the pop superstar’s fans.

“[That] sounds like a nice compliment to me,” the actor told People on Sunday (Nov. 12) at The Lemons Foundation 1st Charity Gala in response. “I will take it.”

Lautner added that his wife, Tay (yes, they’re both named Taylor Lautner), is a Swiftie herself. “She let me know that I’m the only ex without a diss track now,” he added. “So that sounds like a nice thing. I’ll take it and run. No complaints here.”

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Swift and Lautner dated back in 2009 after meeting on the set of Valentine’s Day, and it is rumored that her Speak Now hit, “Back to December,” is about their breakup.

Back in July, Swift debuted the first music video from her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album at the first Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, Missouri. The Twilight actor, Joey King and Presley Cash, who all starred in the video, also joined the singer onstage to celebrate the video’s premiere.

“She deserves everything that she is getting and going through right now because she’s the hardest-working person,” Lautner continued to People. “And just being at the pinnacle that she’s at right now, the way that she carries herself and is just so gracious and kind to absolutely everyone, no matter who you are, it speaks to her character. And that’s the greatest part about her in my opinion.”

13 Nov 2023

Hilarie Burton Predicts Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Will ‘Be Engaged by May’

Hilarie Burton is calling it: Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift will be “Mr. and Mrs.” by spring 2024.

Following Swift’s adorable lyric change at her Argentina Eras concert this weekend, in which she gave Kelce a special shoutout by altering the bridge of “Karma” — “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me” — Burton tweeted her prediction on Sunday (Nov. 12) that wedding bells will ring in the new couple’s near future.

“They are gonna have the most flannel lined, pie and red ribbon kinda Christmas….,” tweeted the One Tree Hill actress, re-sharing a video of Kelce smiling at the pop star’s gesture from his VIP tent in the audience. “And then these babies are gonna be engaged by May.”

Burton went on to theorize that Swift decided to change her lyrics just for Kelce because, unlike the Kansas City tight end, “every other guy made her feel like she had to downplay her own work.” “This big ol beefy tree of a man is holding up signs and singing along! Catching her as she runs offstage?!?!” she added. “Get a man who lights up when you win. ?”

The White Collar alum is far from the only fan placing bets on Swift and Kelce’s future nuptials, with one person commenting on her post, “I say February if he wins the superbowl! February 14th precisely.” Others speculated that a proposal will be in the books by summer of next year, while one Swiftie reckons it’ll happen within the next six months.

Why is the internet suddenly certain that Swift and Kelce are end game? It probably has something to do with the fact that shortly after her “Karma” lyric switch, Swift was captured in a now viral video running into the athlete’s arms and planting a big kiss on him backstage. Fans also loved how supportive Kelce looked while watching the pop star perform, with videos showing he danced along and held up a “We will stay” sign throughout the night.

In addition to recently being nominated for six Grammys, Swift is the top finalist at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards with 20 nods. The ceremony will stream on Sunday, Nov. 19, and will be available at BBMAs.watch, as well as Billboard and the BBMAs’ social channels.

See Hilarie Burton’s tweets predicting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement below:

13 Nov 2023

Billie Eilish Has No Problem With Her Pal Lil Yachty Rapping About Her Breasts: ‘I Think It’s Fun!’

Being a teenager is hard enough. But being a teenager and trying to figure out how you feel about your body while the whole world is watching (and commenting) sounds like a nightmare. That, though, is basically the gauntlet Billie Eilish said she had to run early in her career, when any rando with a keyboard felt emboldened to say the first thing that popped into their head about the singer’s figure.

“I have big boobs. I’ve had big boobs since I was nine years old, and that’s just the way I am. That’s how I look,” she told Variety magazine in an interview in which Eilish explained that she was never trying to “have people not sexualize me.” She did, however, until recently restrict access to her body by wearing her signature baggy outfits because on the rare occasions when she did show some skin — such as wearing a tank top in public when she was 16 — it set off a media frenzy and unwanted attention. “You wear something that’s at all revealing, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, but you didn’t want people to sexualize you?,’” she recalled thinking. “You can suck my a–! I’m literally a being that is sexual sometimes. F–k you!”

She did, however, admit that she had no problem when her pal Lil Yachty rapped “She had big t–s like Billie Eilish, but she couldn’t sing,” on Drake’s “Another Late Night.” Asked if she was offended by the line, Eilish said not at all. “I think it’s fun!” she said of the song from Drizzy’s new For All the Dogs album. “I’m flattered! Yachty is my friend. Drake is my friend. It’s a joke. I do have big t–s. I love it.”

Elsewhere in the chat, Eilish goes into what the writer describes as a “good old-fashioned rant” about the double-standard applied to women in music. “Nobody ever says a thing about men’s bodies. If you’re muscular, cool. If you’re not, cool. If you’re rail thin, cool. If you have a dad bod, cool. If you’re pudgy, love it!” she said. “Everybody’s happy with it. You know why? Because girls are nice. They don’t give a f–k because we see people for who they are!”

The Power of Women interview also touches on Eilish’s Oscar-buzz Barbie song, “What Was I Made For?,” her tenuous relationship with femininity/womanhood and her ardent support for a plant-based diet.

13 Nov 2023

10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through The Week: Cannons, Måneskin, King Mala & More

Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.

These 10 tracks from artists including Cannons, Måneskin, King Mala and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.

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Cannons, “Heartbeat Highway”

“Heartbeat Highway” — the title track of Cannon’s fourth album — sounds just as one would expect: like the steadying soundtrack to a windows-down highway cruise. Over its career, the dance-pop act has perfected the craft of mid-tempo, breezy songs that are irresistibly soothing — and sound equally at home blasting from a car or a festival stage. – Lyndsey Havens

Sheer Mag, “Playing Favorites”

Philly rockers Sheer Mag recently announced its first album in four years, Playing Favorites, coming out this March on Third Man Records. “We put everything we’ve got into these songs and can say with confidence that it’s our best work yet,” reads an Instagram caption announcing the project. The title track is proof enough, with frontwoman Christina Halladay confidently declaring: “God it’s been such a long time / Since we laughed so hard that we cried.” – L.H.

Flowerovlove, “A Girl Like Me”

South London teen Flowerovlove has cited Tame Impala, Frank Ocean and SZA has inspiration. And yet, her sound isn’t a copy paste of any one influence, as “A Girl Like Me” blends airy psych rock production with alt-pop melodies. But the song’s strength is in her writing, which not only asks a question every girl once has (“Would a boy like you like a girl like me?”) but happily carries on without any concern over what the answer may be. – L.H.

Måneskin, “Valentine”

Italian rockers Måneskin started the year with the release of its third album Rush! and now, the band is closing the year with the release of an expanded edition titled Rush! (Are U Coming), which adds five new songs to the tracklist. The creeping, slow burn “Valentine” stands out for the way in which the entire song — from the vocals to the riffs to the tempo — seems to ache, putting a darker spin on the notion of a valentine. Classic Måneskin. – L.H.

Will Linley, “Magic”

Will Linley is an emerging South African alt-pop artist who, at the age of 22, infuses his music with a contagious and youthful feel-good energy best heard on latest single “Magic.” On the song, he describes the magical chemistry felt with a love interest — singing of the “moonlight across your face” and how they “both missed the last train home” — painting a picture of young love that is both new and nostalgic all at once. – L.H.

Girli, “Nothing Hurts Like a Girl” 

In Rita Mae Brown’s trailblazing 1973 book Rubyfruit Jungle, her protagonist likens switching from straight sex to lesbian sex as “the difference between a pair of roller skates and a Ferrari” — and the out-and-proud music of girli is very much a synth-pop celebration of that feeling. On “Nothing Hurts Like a Girl,” however, the London-based artist bemoans the fact that higher highs are followed by harder falls, and the “heart breaks harder” on a queer breakup. But with a throbbing bass line, crisp guitar riffs and a sparkling assortment of synths, girli is dancing the pain away on this preview of upcoming album Matriarchy (May 17). – Joe Lynch 

Alan Walker feat. Daya, “Heart Over Mind”

Seven years ago, Daya scored the highest-charting hit of her career so far with “Don’t Let Me Down,” an EDM smash with The Chainsmokers; now, the pop star is back in the dance world playing muse to Norwegian producer Alan Walker on the sleek, glittery “Heart Over Mind.” While Walker brings some post-chorus fireworks with laser-beam synths, Daya controls the collaboration, her vulnerability in each verse blossoming into the siren cry of the chorus. – Jason Lipshutz

Rosie Darling, “The Longest Goodbye”

“The Longest Goodbye” treads a similar piano-ballad path as “Boxes” from Rosie Darling’s recently released debut album, Lanterns, but the singer-songwriter sounds comfortably affecting in that pocket, allowing her voice to linger on phrases that help process post-breakup pain. “If all these walls could talk, you wouldn’t hear a thing / ‘Cuz all I do is cry, and no one’s listening,” Darling begins, the meter rising and falling with each dejected syllable. – J. Lipshutz

King Mala, “I Only Smoke to Feel Bad”

While “I Only Smoke to Feel Bad” contains plenty of blurted-out confessions, jittery questions and defiant declarations that could power any number of TikTok trends, the standout track from King Mala’s new EP Spilt Milk also works as a snappy pop song, each hook all loose strums and handclaps. Don’t sleep on the production details, though — King Mala’s tucked-in ad-libs in particular help “I Only Smoke to Feel Bad” feel like a lived-in transmission. – J. Lipshutz

Alex Warren, “Yard Sale”

One scene from the music video to Alex Warren’s new single “Yard Sale” finds the social media star hoarsely belting out the chorus while driving at dusk — purging the physical remnants of a breakup by spilling his guts from behind the wheel. With its oversized chorus and “hey!” punctuations, “Yard Sale” includes a strain of the early-2010s folk boom that make Warren’s latest a natural fit for alternative radio; this song sounds like it could be huge, and deserves to be. – J. Lipshutz

13 Nov 2023

Billie Eilish Opens Up About Being ‘Physically Attracted’ to Girls & How She’s Never ‘Felt Like a Woman’

Billie Eilish‘s sexuality, self-expression and femininity have been scrutinized under a microscope since the pop star was a teenager. Now 21, she’s ready to talk about it.

In a new cover story for Variety published Monday (Nov. 13), the “Bad Guy” singer revealed that she’s both attracted to and intimidated by other women, with the publication writing that she’s struggled in the past to feel like a “girls girl.” “I’ve never really felt like I could relate to girls very well,” she told the outlet.

“I love them so much,” she continued. “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.”

Eilish has only ever been in public relationships with men, most recently The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford before their breakup in May. The musician has been the target of queerbaiting allegations in the past, something she addressed in a 2021 interview with Elle in which she said her sexuality was no one else’s business.

And although she penned the Grammy-nominated Barbie soundtrack hit “What Was I Made For?” — which inspired an empowering trend on social media celebrating individual experiences with womanhood — Eilish says she still struggles with her identity as a woman. “I’ve never felt like a woman, to be honest with you,” she said the Variety interview. “I’ve never felt desirable. I’ve never felt feminine.”

“I have to convince myself that I’m, like, a pretty girl,” she added. “I identify as ‘she/her’ and things like that, but I’ve never really felt like a girl.”

13 Nov 2023

Dua Lipa Reveals Her Favorite Olivia Rodrigo Songs: ‘Just Super, Super Talented and Sweet’

Dua Lipa is all about spreading the love around. During an interview with the UK’s Capital FM, the singer took some calls from young listeners (aka Big Questions From Little People) who wanted to get to know her better, including a delightful young girl who just had to know which Olivia Rodrigo song is Dua’s favorite.

“So cute! I love Olivia. I think she’s so cool and just super, super talented and sweet,” the singer said about the 20-year-old “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” singer who just scored six Grammy nominations for her sophomore album, Guts. For Dua, the click to pick has to be the new album’s slashing first single, “Vampire,” though she also can’t get enough of Rodrigo’s O.G. hit, “drivers license.”

“I think the O.G. is just such a good song,” Dua said.

The singer also talked about her brand new single, “Houdini,” which she said she decided to drop right now because it felt like a “fun, dancey, clubby track to get people dancing from the kickoff.” More importantly, the singer said the banger also felt like a “clear departure” from her smash 2020 Future Nostalgia album, showing off a more psychedelic side of her music that she’s exploring on her upcoming LP with a band that includes Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, longtime collaborator Caroline Allin and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr..

“We were just buzzing on this song, it’s one of our favorites,” she said of the single.

Dua also chatted about having her song in the Barbie film and making a cameo in the summer’s biggest blockbuster and why the film’s star, Margot Robbie, is her “ultimate girl crush.”

Rodrigo is nominated in the top female artist category at the upcoming 2023 Billboard Music Awards. You can watch the BBMAs here, and via Billboard and the BBMA’s social media channels on Nov. 19.

Watch the interview below.