Pop

22 Aug 2023

Selena Gomez’s ‘Single Soon’ Rules Hot Trending Songs Chart Before Release

Selena Gomez’s upcoming new song “Single Soon” debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by X, dated Aug. 26.

Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by X, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across X, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running Aug. 11-17.

“Single Soon” has a release date of Aug. 25 but was announced with an X post on Aug. 17. “Since I’m not quite done with SG3 [Gomez’s upcoming album], I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer,” she wrote.

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The song will be her first taste of new music since the Spanish-language EP Revelacion, which was released in March 2021.

Gomez reigns over Jon Batiste’s “Uneasy,” featuring Lil Wayne, which bows at No. 2. The song was released in full Aug. 18 as part of Batiste’s new album World Music Radio but was discussed alongside the rest of the tracklist in the Aug. 11-17 tracking period; more chart activity is possible on the Sept. 2-dated Billboard surveys.

Dolly Parton’s cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” which adds surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as featured acts (as well as Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton), ranks at No. 3 after being announced for a Aug. 18 release on Aug. 13. It’s her latest taste of Rockstar, her rock-based album, out Nov. 17.

Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.

22 Aug 2023

If Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran Won’t Play 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Who Will?

The 2024 Super Bowl isn’t until Feb. 11, and while we don’t know who will perform at the halftime show yet, we know at least one person who won’t: Ed Sheeran.

The singer/songwriter did an interview with Andy Cohen last week and when he was asked about headlining the Super Bowl, he suggested he’d be better as a halftime guest than the main attraction. “There was a conversation a while ago — I think it was when Coldplay did it — of me going up to play ‘Thinking Out Loud,’” he recalled of the 2016 halftime show. “I think that would be the only way I’d do it, is if I was joining someone else.”

Someone else he might join would include friend and frequent collaborator Taylor Swift — but reports last week said she’s turned down the 2024 halftime show. And anyway, it would be pretty challenging for Swift to pull off that date with her international Eras Tour dates taking her to Tokyo from Feb. 7-10 and then straight to Australia for a Feb. 16 concert.

So who will follow up Rihanna’s headlining set and play Super Bowl next year? On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are checking in to see who Billboard readers are picking in our Super Bowl fan poll and to make some suggestions of our own — including a possible Trolls-fueled *NSYNC reunion.

Listen to the full show below:

Also on the podcast, we’ve got chart news on how the viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony Music storms onto the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart at No. 1. The previously unknown artist — who had never been on any Billboard chart until this week — now has the most popular song in America, following wide media coverage and strong sales and streaming numbers. Plus, friend of the podcast Kylie Minogue returns to the Pop Airplay chart for the first time in nearly two decades, as “Padam Padam” debuts on the chart. What was her last single to chart on Pop Airplay, and when did it happen?

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

22 Aug 2023

Anitta, D-Nice, Sofia Carson Join Megan Thee Stallion, Conan Gray & More For 2023 Global Citizen Festival

Anitta, D-Nice and Sofia Carson have joined the star-studded lineup of the 2023 Global Citizen Festival slated to take place on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park on Sept. 23. The artists join a previously announced list of headliners that includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Megan Thee Stallion, Conan Gray and Stray Kids.

Other performers, activists and actors slated to appear at the event include Bill Nye, Bridget Moynahan, Busy Philipps, Carmelo Anthony, Common, Connie Britton, Danai Gurira, Gayle King, Jordan Fisher, Lewis Pugh, Padma Lakshmi, Phoebe Gates, Rachel Brosnahan and Sophia Bush.

This year’s Global Citizen Festival campaign is focused on urging governments to take immediate action to address systemic issues around extreme poverty. “We’re thrilled to join forces with these passionate artists and advocates to call for urgent action to address the climate crisis, demand equity for women and girls and disrupt the cycles holding people in extreme poverty,” said Katie Hill, SVP, Head of Music, Entertainment and Artist Relations, Global Citizen in a statement. “This year’s campaign is driving a record number of actions from global citizens around the world, and we’re grateful to this year’s performers and presenters for leveraging their voices and joining us on the Great Lawn on September 23.”

Tickets for the 2023 Global Citizen Festival are free and can be earned by taking action on the Global Citizen app or here. The festival be broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, Apple Music and the Apple TV app, Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, Facebook, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Instagram, Mediacorp, SABC, TikTok, TimesLIVE, Veeps, X, YouTube, the Global Citizen app and globalcitizen.org.  

22 Aug 2023

Ariana Grande Reveals She Got a ‘Wicked’ New Tattoo: It ‘Felt Very Right’

Ariana Grande is unable to talk about her role in Wicked amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. But she can talk about her new tattoo, which just so happens to be her character in the upcoming film adaptation of the musical: Glinda the Good Witch.

The star revealed in a new interview with Allure — which predominantly focused on the release of Grande’s new R.E.M. Beauty foundation line — that she’s gotten the original Glinda illustration in L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz books inked on the back of her right hand since being cast in the Jon M. Chu-directed project. “This one I knew I wanted to get for a very long time,” she told the publication, showing off her hand.

“This is my most recent one,” she continued. “I waited forever to fill up this hand. And I thought, ‘I’m gonna wait for the right thing to come along,’ and yeah, that felt very right.”

Grande has many other tattoos, including a moon and sun illustration, as well as the name of her dog, Toulouse, inked on the back of her left hand. Just about all of the fingers on both her hands are adorned with designs, too, with a cloud, a heart, olive leaves, dots, a reference to the first song on her debut album — “Honeymoon” — and a thick coverup blocking out the word “Pete,” the name of her ex-fiancé Pete Davidson, which used to preside on her ring finger.

Filming for Wicked came to a halt as a result of the writers’ strike, just a few days before the project was expected to wrap.  “We were only a few days away from being done, so we were SO close,” Chu told fans on Instagram. “It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back! And we will finish properly strong when the time is right.”

Shot just outside of London, Wicked will be take place over two films, the first of which is slated for a November 2024 theatrical release. As Glinda, Grande will star opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, with Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater and more fleshing out the rest of the cast.

The project certainly hasn’t gone without its share of headlines. In July, Grande and Slater were reported to be dating shortly after the “Positions” singer’s split from husband Dalton Gomez went public. Neither of the actors have confirmed their romance.

21 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, Gigi Hadid & More Stars Go Head-to-Head at Questlove’s UNO Game Night

It’s been a month since Questlove hosted his massive, star-studded game night, and the Grammy winning producer took to Instagram over the weekend to share his “final” photos from the event.

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“@UNO Wild Is Hard As HELL!!! Locks you in so long like jail!!” Questlove captioned a series of photos that included snaps of Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Jason Sudeikis, Trevor Noah, Common and more celebrities facing off in a huge UNO tournament, while they also enjoyed champagne, desserts and lots of delicious food. “Nerves Are frail!!! Everybody in this mug except for Mel!!!! (Sing to ‘Rock The Bells’) Once again, it’s not game night….unless I say it’s game night.”

See Questlove’s posts here, here, here and here. Sadly, he did not reveal the winner of the celebrity UNO tournament.

In other Swiftie news, the “Anti-Hero” singer revealed that limited edition, aquamarine green vinyl of her upcoming 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album is available to pre-order on her website here for just 48 hours. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is out on Oct. 27, which Swift announced during her last show at Los Angeles SoFi Stadium on August 9.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be Swift’s fourth release since announcing her re-recording project in 2019. The previous three all skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2021, Red (Taylor’s Version) with one week in 2021, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2023.

21 Aug 2023

Jennifer Lopez Celebrates One Year Wedding Anniversary by Teasing Ben Affleck Inspired Lyrics

It’s been one year since Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck tied the knot, and the “Waiting for Tonight” singer took to Instagram on Sunday (Aug. 20) to celebrate the couple’s enduring love.

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“One year ago today,” she wrote alongside a series of snaps from the couple’s Georgia wedding, before teasing lyrics to her new song “Dear Ben Part II” off her upcoming album This Is Me…Now. “Sitting here alone / Looking at my ring ring / Feeling overwhelmed / It makes me wanna sing sing / How did we end up here / Without a rewind / Oh my / This is my life,” she wrote.

See her post here.

Mr. and Mrs. Affleck first began dating back in 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli, the first of two movies they would star in together (the second being Jersey Girl in 2004), before getting engaged. The couple delayed their planned 2003 wedding before calling it quits in 2004. Just a month after the couple officially tied the knot in Las Vegas, Bennifer celebrated their marriage in August 2022 in front of family and friends at their home in Riceboro on the Hampton Island preserve outside of Savannah, Georgia.

Ralph Lauren custom designed Lopez’s three wedding looks — one of which is seen in the video above. Lopez shared photos of the dresses, which were also posted by Vogue, in a newsletter sent to fans, writing, “The dresses were dreamy… thank you Ralph Lauren.”

Now, the multihyphenate is gearing up to release her new album This Is Me… Now, which was inspired by her marriage and how much she has grown over the years. “I think what the message of the album is very much if you were wondering if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don’t. Because true love does exist and some things do last forever and that’s real,” she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe back in November.

21 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Unveils Limited Edition Aquamarine Green ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Vinyl

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the gift that keeps on giving.

Taylor Swift revealed another limited edition vinyl colorway via Instagram on Monday (Aug. 21), this time a soft aquamarine green color. Similar to the yellow “Sunrise Boulevard” vinyl she announced last week, Swift’s newest vinyl will be available to pre-order for just 48 hours on Swift’s website here. 

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is out on Oct. 27, which Swift announced during her last show at Los Angeles SoFi Stadium on August 9. The album was originally released in 2014 and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for 11 weeks.

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After the announcement earlier this month, Swift’s former seven-week No. 1 hit “Blank Space” from the original album re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Aug. 19), marking its first appearance on the survey since its initial 36-week chart run in 2014-15. “Blank Space” was a monumental hit for Swift, marking her third and longest-leading No. 1 at the time.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be Swift’s fourth “Version,” since announcing her re-recording project in 2019. The previous three all logged time at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2021, Red (Taylor’s Version) with one week in 2021, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2023.

21 Aug 2023

Demi Lovato Shares Birthday Cupcakes With Hilarious Reference to Viral ‘Poot’ Meme

Demi Lovato celebrated her 31st birthday on Sunday (Aug. 20), and the festivities included poking fun at a viral Internet meme of herself.

In a video posted to TikTok, the “Cool for the Summer” singer shared her array of birthday cakes for the celebration. “So I just want to show you guys my cakes,” Lovato said in the clip, showing off a “gorgeous” sparkly silver, heart-shaped cake with “31” written in frosting and a “cute” rainbow-colored cookie cake.

The last treat, however, took fans by surprise. “This one is so Poot,” Lovato exclaimed with a laugh before showing off a box of cupcakes with photos of her fictional, Tumblr-born, long lost twin sister, Poot. “FREE POOT,” she captioned the post, in reference to the character’s hilarious lore of Poot’s fate of spending her entire life locked away in a basement. The photo used to represent Poot is a washed out photo of Lovato from 2015.

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Lovato, who recently parted ways with her manager Scooter Braun, is in the process prepping a Revamped album featuring rocked-out versions of her biggest hits. The album is slated for a September 15 release and will feature the reimagined guitar-heavy versions of the previously released “Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version),” “Heart Attack (Rock Version)” and “Cool For the Summer (Rock Version).”

Watch her Poot birthday TikTok below.

21 Aug 2023

Miley Cyrus Reacts to ‘the Drama’ of Her Iconic ‘Hannah Montana’ Finale Scene

As she prepares to unleash her nostalgic new single, Miley Cyrus is taking a look back at the last time she played one of her most famous roles.

In a new clip posted across Cyrus’ social media on Monday (Aug. 21), the 30-year-old singer watches a fan-favorite scene from the series finale of her Disney Channel original series Hannah Montana. Watching her fictional self Miley Stewart say goodbye to her home in the emotional clip, Cyrus laughs at a few of her younger self’s acting decisions.

“The drama,” Cyrus said while imitating her character’s melodramatic blown kiss. As a younger Cyrus’ voice in the background performs a vocal riff, Cyrus immediately keeps the joke going. “This is how I say goodbye to everyone now,” she says before giving her own sardonic rendition of the run.

Just before the clip ends, Cyrus reflects on who she was back in the day and how much she has changed since being on the Disney Channel. “Hannah’s for kids,” she declares. “Miley’s for grown-a– men in heels.”

The clips are a part of Cyrus’ upcoming special on ABC, titled Endless Summer Vacation: Continued (Backyard Sessions). Set to air on Thursday (Aug. 24), the special will see the pop singer sharing a series of stories she’s never told from her life and career.

Then on Friday (Aug. 25), Cyrus is set to release her brand new single “Used to Be Young.” In a mysterious promotional campaign for the song, Cyrus shared a series of posters on her social media referencing past song lyrics, while appearing to give fans a tease of the new ones to come. “I know I used to be crazy. I know I used to be fun,” she wrote in her caption. “You say I used to be wild. I say I used to be young.”

Check out Cyrus’ hilarious reaction to the Hannah Montana finale below:

21 Aug 2023

Sabrina Carpenter Expands on Her Sweet Tooth With Luxurious New Fragrance: Here’s How to Shop Caramel Dream

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Sabrina Carpenter is welcoming fans back into her candy shop with the release of her decadent new fragrance Caramel Dream.

The new collaboration with Scent Beauty continues her fragrance journey following the success of the pop star’s debut perfume, Sweet Tooth. The scent, which was developed in partnership with the original Sweet Tooth formulators Firmenich and Perfumer Gil Clavien, “embraces the spirit of indulgent cravings with a luxurious caramel twist bursting with rich flavor,” per a press release.

The sophisticated, playful fragrance features notes of caramelized amber, patchouli, dark chocolate bean, sugared lemon, orange zest, freesia, vanilla and fluffy musk.

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“As an artist, I believe in the power of storytelling through music and various art forms. Perfume, to me, is an emotional extension of my music and personal world, and it allows me to create a stronger connection with my fans,” Carpenter said in a press release. “With this new campaign and Caramel Dream, I want to invite my fans into my world, where every fragrance will tell a unique story that resonates with their hearts.”

To celebrate the launch of Caramel Dream, Carpenter will be going live on Billboard, TalkShopLive, Walmart.com/Live and Facebook on Monday (Aug. 21) at 7 p.m. ET for a special live simulcast event where Caramel Dream will be exclusively available for purchase. In the stream, the “Feather” singer will dive into the making of Caramel Dream, supporting Taylor Swift on the upcoming Latin America leg of the Eras tour and more.

Be sure to tune into the livestream below.