Pop
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BTS‘ J-Hope is keeping the ARMY well fed despite being in the midst of his mandatory military service. The physical version of the star’s solo debut, Jack in the Box, arrived on Friday (Aug. 18) via BIGHIT Music. Jack in the Box (HOPE Edition) features the original album tracks, along with three new live recordings from J-Hope’s history-making performance […]
A day after filing for divorce from Britney Spears, Sam Asghari took to his Instagram Stories on Thursday (Aug. 17) to release a statement. “After six years of love and commitment to each other, my wife and I have decided to end our journey together,” he wrote in white text against a black screen. “We […]
A&M co-founder Jerry Moss, who died Wednesday (Aug. 16) at 88, once said that if he could have just one album, it would be Sting’s solo debut, 1985’s Dream of the Blue Turtles. The legendary Police frontman and Moss met in March 1979, the day that The Police played their first Los Angeles show at the Whisky a Go Go. They formed a strong bond over the music, with The Police going on to international superstardom while on A&M. The band’s 1983 smash, “Every Breath You Take,” was A&M’s biggest hit, spending eight weeks at No. 1. But even stronger than Moss and Sting’s musical connection was their potent friendship.
From his house in Tuscany, Sting talked to Billboard about what Moss meant to him both professionally and personally.
I first met Jerry Moss in 1979. I just got to California with the band and I hugged a palm tree. I’d never seen a palm tree in my life. We booked into the Sunset Marquis and obviously sat at the swimming pool. And then in walked Jerry Moss and [A&M executive] Gil Friesen, two very tall, handsome, distinguished-looking Californian businessmen. Jerry really looked the part, I have to say: Such a striking, handsome guy. Jerry very quickly became a family friend rather than a record executive. But if I’m asked why I think they were so successful as a record company, I would say Jerry was, not to my knowledge, a cutthroat businessman, he was a gentleman first.
He was a friend. He was a mentor. He was a confidante. And I think his success was based on those very human qualities, rather than being some kind of shark.
Then I met Herb [Alpert, A&M co-founder with Moss], and, for me, it was fascinating that A&M were two people. It wasn’t like a faceless, corporate acrostic. Mr. A and Mr. M were people. You could sit on their desk and chat to them. They were the perfect company for us. They were artist [friendly], they would be patient, and they knew what they were talking about. They weren’t like just the set of accountants, who are guessing. These guys knew the business.
Jerry would have informed opinions about [the music] he was hearing and would say things like “I think it needs a bridge here.” He wasn’t necessarily right [laughs]. I’m joking. But I would always listen and take what he said seriously. He knew what he was [talking] about.
He became a very close friend. [Sting’s wife] Trudie and I would stay at his house in Malibu and in Hawaii. When he became a horse breeder, he named [a] horse after our album, Zenyatta [for Police’s 1980 album, Zenyatta Mondatta] and [another] after Giacomo, my third son. The horse won the Kentucky Derby. It was 80:1 odds when we put the bet on him. We’re still living off the winnings. It was amazing that he had just as much talent spotting musical talent as he did horseflesh that would win. But again, I think his success came from his generosity, his humanity.
Luckily, a month ago, he turned up at a gig I was giving in Halifax, Yorkshire, in the north of England. It’s so unlikely that Jerry would turn up there, but he wanted to see a gig. That was the last time I saw him. He was in a wheelchair. He wasn’t speaking, but he was really able to demonstrate how pleased he was to see me and how pleased I was to see him. We hugged and he watched the show, and that was maybe five weeks ago. It was the most unlikely setting for a final meeting, but I’m so grateful that I had that opportunity. We spent a lot of time with him. He’s irreplaceable. I love him and it’s been a devastating loss for Trudie and myself and the record industry.
As told to Melinda Newman
Taylor Swift is just months away from unveiling her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album, and the star is getting fans excited with a new vinyl release. A yellow “Sunrise Boulevard” vinyl is available to pre-order for just 48 hours on Swift’s website here. In addition to the vinyl, the purchase includes collectible album jacket and sleeves, […]
From Lorde’s Melodrama to Lana Del Rey’s Norman F—ing Rockwell, both of which earned album of the year Grammy nominations, Jack Antonoff’s impact as one of pop music’s most prolific and acclaimed producers in undeniable. On Thursday (Aug. 17), Antonoff discussed the arc of his career, and Taylor Swift’s impact on it, during a conversation on Time‘s Person of the Week podcast.
“She’s the first person who recognized me as a producer. A lot of people are afraid to sign off on something that isn’t done by a proven person. I had written lots of songs and produced them, but they would always sort of go somewhere else,” he said of Swift’s support of his work on 1989‘s “Out of the Woods.” “So the label or whoever could say, oh, we had this person produce it. And, you know, I put my heart and soul into that song and she said, ‘I love it.’”
Swift and Antonoff first collaborated in 2013 on the Golden Globe-nominated song “Sweeter Than Fiction” from the film One Chance. They have since evolved into one of pop music’s most powerful producer-artist duos, working together on the Billboard 200-topping records 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021), Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021), Midnights (2022) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023).
Antonoff’s work with Swift as well as St. Vincent, Fun., Lorde, Lana Del Rey, The Chicks, Diana Ross, Florence + the Machine and more has earned him eight Grammys, including two consecutive triumphs in the producer of the year, non-classical category. Last year, “Anti-Hero,” which he crafted alongside Swift, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I had played her that track, and I remember, we were at my apartment in New York. And sometimes she gets this look in her eye where she’s like, ‘Oh, I’m going in,’” he recounted. “You know, she goes in in many different ways and is just the greatest writer and vocalist ever. But on that one, I just remember watching her and being like, ‘Uh-oh. We’ve got a live one.’” Given that “Anti-Hero” eventually became Swift’s longest-running Hot 100 No. 1 (eight weeks), they certainly did have a “live one.”
With Bleachers, Jack Antonoff has earned three entries on the Billboard 200, reaching as high as No. 11 with 2014’s Strange Desire. On Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, he has charted seven entries, including his sole top 10 hit “I Wanna Get Better” (No. 10).
Sophie Turner is married to Mr. Perfectly Fine, and proud of it. Based on a recent Instagram post, the 27-year-old actress seems to have found a subtle way of trolling husband Joe Jonas about his superstar ex-girlfriend, Taylor Swift, while also supporting him on his big day. Sharing photos from the Jonas Brothers’ recent concert […]
From comparing his acting skills to that of Lady Gaga and Cher to trolling Kelly Clarkson, Troye Sivan got a lot of things off his chest during his lie detector test with Vanity Fair on Wednesday (Aug. 16).
At the start of his test, which only detected a small number of lies from the Australian pop star, Sivan revealed that a friend is currently dating his celebrity crush, chef and recipe developer Pierce Abernathy. “I think he knows, though,” he quipped.
In classic pop star fashion, Sivan had plenty to say about his fellow musical artists. In April, Sivan posted a TikTok video reacting to Kelly Clarkson’s “Mine,” asking his fans, “What did I do to upset Kelly Clarkson?” He cited lyrics which he misinterpreted as, “Troye Sivan / Who the hell do you think you are?” instead of “Sabotage, your choice of art.” The fictional feud resulted in the pair making nice on Clarkson’s Emmy-winning talk show, and Sivan confirmed that he “did know that” Clarkson was not singing his name, he “just thought it was funny.” When questioned if he enjoyed trolling, Sivan responded, “I do, yeah. That’s one place I really like to lie.”
In addition to conquering the pop music scene with “Rush” this year, Sivan also showed off his acting chops again on the Weeknd-led HBO drama The Idol. When asked if he considers himself a better actor than Lady Gaga, Sivan emphatically said, “No… I think she’s better than me for sure.” When asked the same question about Cher, Sivan confessed “I don’t think I have actually seen a movie with Cher in it,” but not before asking whether or not the Oscar-winning Moonstruck actress appeared in Mamma Mia. “I’ve seen, like, two movies, just in general,” he joked.
Elsewhere in the video, the singer, who has a love for interior design, also shared that “doesn’t like” Drake’s mansion, and that he is “sorry to [that] man,” a sly reference to Keke Palmer’s viral Vanity Fair lie detector test from 2019. He named Ariana Grande as “up there” in his personal ranking of his favorite female pop stars with whom he has collaborated.
Sivan also reflected on the time he appeared in one of the campaigns for Beyoncé’s Ivy Park x Adidas athleisure line. Memory lane soon brought him to a discussion surrounding Queen Bey’s record-breaking Renaissance World Tour. “I would love to go to her Renaissance tour, I’m trying. Her birthday show [Sept. 4] is in L.A., so I wanna go to that,” he said. One of the many viral moments from the Renaissance World Tour has been the “Everybody On Mute” challenge that spawned from the namesake lyric in Beyoncé’s BEAM-assisted “Energy.” Sivan expressed his frustration with those who can’t seem to grasp the “mute” part of the challenge, saying, “People go quiet, and then they clap that everyone went quiet, and I’m like ‘You ruined it.’”
Check out Sivan’s full lie detector test above.
Ed Sheeran is one of the biggest music stars in the world — but that doesn’t mean he wants to play one of America’s biggest stages. The crooner recently sat down with Andy Cohen, who asked him if he’d ever consider playing the Super Bowl. “There was a conversation a while ago — I think […]
Tom Brady is being drafted to a new team: the BLINKs. The 46-year-old former New England Patriot became the unofficial fifth member of BLACKPINK last week after attending the K-pop quartet’s New Jersey concert, where he and his daughter posed for a picture in an epic lineup with Rosé, Jisoo, Lisa and Jennie. The snap […]
The Jonas Brothers had a busy week in Boston during their two-night stand at the TD Garden on Tuesday and Wednesday. On their first night they celebrated Joe Jonas‘ 34th birthday and youngest bro Nick suffered an unforced error when he fell into a trap door on the stage and quickly popped back up. Joe […]