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Saturday Night Live will roar back in April with three back-to-back shows, including an April 8 episode with SNL three-timers the Jonas Brothers performing alongside former cast member Molly Shannon (A Good Person) in her second hosting gig.
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On April 15, Karol G will take the 8H stage for the first time with Oscar nominee Ana de Armas (Ghosted), who will also make her SNL debut that night. They join the previously announced April 1 episode topped by Emmy winner and Abbott Elementary star/writer Quinta Brunson in her SNL hosting debut alongside fellow first timer Lil Yachty.
It’s been a season 48 to remember so far this year for the long-running sketch show, which welcomed Aubrey Plaza and Sam Smith on Jan. 21 to kick off the year, followed by Michael B. Jordan (Creed III) and Lil Baby on Jan. 28 and a memorable turn by The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal with five-timers Coldplay on Feb. 4. The hot streak continued with Woody Harrelson (White House Plumbers) and Jack White on Feb. 25 and Super Bowl LVII winner Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Kelsea Ballerini on March 4, followed by the most recent episode, which paired Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega and The 1975 on March 11.
Saturday Night Live airs live on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET and streams live on Peacock at the same time.
Check out the Instagram promo for the April SNL episodes below.
Shawn Mendes got a little too much sun on his recent trip to Mexico. The 24-year-old pop star posted a series of photos from his time in the country Sunday (March 26), including a couple snapshots showing off his buff upper body glowing a painful-looking shade of red.
One of the captionless photos shows the “Señorita” singer from the front, laughing off the sting of his scorched skin. Another shows him in the same spot, facing away from the camera, the outline of a tank top temporarily stamped on his back.
Mendes also shared photos of the sights he explored in Mexico City, including the pyramids of Teotihuacan, a street musician and a cluttered bookstore. The sunburn photos definitely got the most attention from friends and followers though, with One Republic’s Ryan Tedder commenting, “Protek that skin bruhhhh.”
The Grammy nominee’s brush with strong UV waves isn’t the first time he’s faced the elements recently. Shortly after the winter holidays, he took an underwear-only dip into an ice cold river and posted a video of the adventure to Instagram.
The musician’s trip to Mexico comes just a few days after he denied rumors he’s dating Sabrina Carpenter, with whom he’s been photographed a couple times in the past month or so. “We are not dating but I think we should talk about Tommy Hilfiger probably more than Sabrina,” he reportedly told RTL Boulevard during an interview about his recent Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn collection with the designer.
Harry Styles is doing some late-night talking with someone new, apparently. The pop star was just spotted getting up close and personal with model, actress and author Emily Ratajkowski on a recent trip to Japan, and naturally, the internet is undergoing a volcanic eruption of emotions in response.
It’s not unlike the deluge of reactions that flooded Twitter more than two years ago, when Styles was first confirmed to be dating his Don’t Worry Darling director and costar, Olivia Wilde. The two were together up until just a few months ago, when it was revealed in November that the pair had gone their separate ways.
Now, it looks like the “As It Was” singer is moving on. He and Ratajkowski — who was linked to comedian Eric André as recently as last month — were filmed kissing against the side of a car during a rainy day in Tokyo, where Styles just closed out the Asian leg of his ongoing Love on Tour with two shows at Ariake Arena Friday (March 24) and Saturday (March 25).
By strange coincidence, the footage surfaced on the exact date — March 25 — that Zayn Malik broke hearts across the globe by announcing his departure from One Direction
Reactions to footage of the new romance ranged from happy for the potential new couple to heartbroken that Styles may once again be off the market. But overall, the unifying feeling was one of pure shock. “Just saw harry styles passionately making out with emily ratajkowski… i can’t breathe,” one fan tweeted.
“harry are you dating emily ratajkowski? it’s not really my business i’m only 14 and stuff but i have always thought that we were going to get married,” joked another.
Some were excited for the new pairing, with one fan tweeting, “emrata and harry styles honestly power couple.”
See some of the best fan reactions below:
if I was emily ratajkowski and I was the most beautiful woman perhaps ever invented, I too would make out with all of my celebrity crushes. she’s simply living the dream and I respect her— ellie schnitt (@holy_schnitt) March 26, 2023
harry styles and emrata kissing made me have a full blown mental breakdown at 3 am be very fucking careful how u speak to me from now on— tara (@teamedvvard) March 26, 2023
the fact that the video of harry styles making out with emrata leaked on the anniversary of Zayn leaving One Direction was a hard blow i won’t lie— lexi 🫶🏼 (@lexiicara) March 27, 2023
zayn malik and selena gomez??? HARRY STYLES AND EMRATA??? 2013 me would have k!lled themselves— frenkie ✰ (@tolovethedamned) March 26, 2023
emrata and harry styles honestly power couple— rachel (@rachnvm) March 26, 2023
harry are you dating emily ratajkowski? it’s not really my business i’m only 14 and stuff but i have always thought that we were going to get married— olivia 🛰️ (@ceilingsrry) March 26, 2023
WHAT DO YOU MEAN HARRY STYLES AND EMrata WERE MAKINGNOUT— na (@yamamalover) March 26, 2023
A language teacher at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wisconsin has called out her school’s administration after saying that they vetoed the inclusion of a pair of rainbow-themed songs in the spring concert. “My first graders were so excited to sing ‘Rainbowland’ for our spring concert but it has been vetoed by our administration. When will it end?,” she tweeted last week along with hashtags for the school system, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, GSafe (which create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin schools) and civil rights.
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Teacher Melissa Tempel also included the lyrics to “Rainbowland,” the Cyrus/Parton duet about acceptance that appeared on Miley’s 2017 album Younger Now. “Living in Rainbowland/ Where you and I go hand in hand/ Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine/ All the hurt and the hate going on here/ We are rainbows, me and you/ Every color, every hue,” they sing on the song. Why was that track about living in harmony together reportedly banned?
On March 24, Tempel wrote, “The latest I heard is that the song was banned bc @MileyCyrus is controversial. D’oh, I thought for sure it was @DollyPartonvand her beautiful drag queen followers! Oh well, I can’t stop my students if they still sing ‘Rainbowland.’ It’s a fun, catchy song!” First grade teacher Tempel later said her guess as to why the duet was pulled was because of its “beautiful LYRICS. Because saying an ARTIST is controversial would be a very slippery slope and they wouldn’t want to go there. Amirite?,” she wrote.
When a commenter asked why the song was pulled from the concert Tempel responded, “no reason given.” A day later, Tempel reported that the administration also banned the Muppet Movie classic “Rainbow Connection,” writing, “so it seems the reason is rainbows.” Tempel provided another update on March 23 when she reported that “Rainbow Connection” had been unbanned after “parents sent emails to admin,” though it seems “Rainbowland” is still off the menu.
At press time spokespeople for Heyer Elementary and the Waukesha Country board of Education had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the reported song bans. At press time it also did not appear as if Parton or Cyrus had responded to the reported “Rainbowland” ban on their socials.
In a statement to People, the Alliance for Education’s Becky Gilligan said that their organization, “continues to advocate for our community… This is the most recent decision by a school district administration intent on stifling the diversity and denying equality to the community it serves, further ostracizing Waukesha in the eyes of the nation.”
The mother of a first-grader at the school, Sarah Schindler, told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter came home last week with a list of songs she was going to perform at the spring concert. Among the tracks Schindler pulled up on YouTube were “Rainbowland,” Kermit the Frog’s “Rainbow Connection” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Schindler said both she and her daughter were very excited because they love Parton.
Then a few days later, her daughter came home and told Schindler, “we can’t sing it anymore. We can’t sing ‘Rainbow Connection’ and we can’t sing ‘Rainbowland.’” Schindler said she reached out to Tempel, her daughter’s teacher, and the school’s principal as well as the district superintendent for answers and was told that the administration had pulled the songs because they were too “controversial.”
Schindler told the Times that the school board had undergone a “conservative flip” recently in the wake of COVID-19 mitigation strategies during the global pandemic that has has killed more than 1.2 million Americans to date. “One of those is a controversial topics policy saying that teachers can’t have any kind of signage that could be deemed political. … Discussion of pronouns with students was another thing that came up. And teachers aren’t allowed to wear rainbows,” Schindler said.
Another parent with a student enrolled in the district told the paper that the Waukesha school district has “really cracked down on anything LGBTQ… so this song being an ‘issue’ has not in any way come as a surprise… My daughter is 17 and has been in the marching band community for four years. It’s a very welcoming community for kids that are LBGTQ. She has a lot of friends that identify as part of that community so it hurts her deeply. All that Miley and Dolly are saying is that they want to live in a world that is accepting, with no judgment and where people can be who they want to be.”
See Tempel’s tweets below.
Today they banned Rainbow Connection, so it seems the reason is rainbows.— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 23, 2023
The latest I heard is that the song was banned bc @MileyCyrus is controversial. D’oh, I thought for sure it was @DollyParton and her beautiful drag queen followers! Oh well, I can’t stop my students if they still sing Rainbowland. It’s a fun, catchy song!— Maestra Melissa (@melissatempel) March 25, 2023
Something Wicked this way comes. Fans are finally getting a sneak preview of the eagerly anticipated Wicked movie musical. On Sunday (March 26) the movie’s co-star, Ariana Grande, shared some behind-the-scenes pictures from the set in which she elegantly poses alongside co-star Cynthia Erivo with the caption “up to (no) good,” followed by bubbles and a broom emoji.
In the first snap, Grande’s Glinda — dressed in an elegant polka dot gown and long white gloves — holds hands with Erivo’s Elphaba, dressed in a plaid dress, tall black boots and big hoop earrings; Erivo posted the same pics on her feed. The pair star in the Jon M. Chu-directed movie filming in two parts and in the pics she and Erivo are seen chatting in the back set of a car, holding each other’s hands at the dinner table and standing toe-to-toe.
While Chu has kept things tightly under wraps during the shoot, an excited Jeff Goldblum spilled some secrets last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live! when he confirmed that he had joined the cast of the film. “I was just on the set of Wicked. I’m not supposed to talk about that. But it’s been out and about,” Goldblum said with a wicked grin.
It’s still not confirmed what role Goldblum will play, but he had nothing but praise for his co-stars, adding, “you should see our witches, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, very good.” The film based on Gregory Maguire’s novel and the hit Broadway musical adaptation, will also feature Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, as well as Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Bowen Yang, Adam James, Keala Settle and Bronwyn James.
The movie was initially meant to hit theaters on Christmas Day of next year (Dec. 25, 2024). But in the spirit of giving thanks, Wicked Part 1 is now set to be released next Thanksgiving (Nov. 27, 2024), according to Chu, who excitedly shared the news via Instagram recently. He wrote that he and his team were “deep into shooting WICKED here in London” before officially announcing the new release date. “Bring the family, bring your friends…it’s going to be a ride!!! appreciate all your support through this long production process. Shooting two movies at once is no small feat.”
Check out Grande’s pics from set below.
Just days after manifesting his grief via a blue meanie in the official video for “Eyes Closed,” Ed Sheeran switched things up and dropped a moving live video for the song on Monday (March 27). In the bare-bones clip, Sheeran strums his trusty acoustic guitar inside a drab warehouse space backed by producer The National’s Aaron Dessner on upright piano.
After the first run through the song’s crying chorus Sheeran is joined by a six-piece string section, giving the song a heightened sense of gravity as he sings, “Just dancin’ with my eyes closed/ ‘Cause everywhere I look, I still see you/ And time is movin’ so slow/ And I don’t know what else that I can do/ So I’ll keep dancin’ with my/ Eye-eye-eye-eyes/ Eye-eye-eye-eyes closed/ Eye-eye-eye-eyes So I’ll keep dancin’ with my.”
“Eyes Closed” is the first single from Sheeran’s forthcoming album – (Subtract), the final collection in his mathematics-themed series records. The singer explained that the song percolated for several years, initially imagined as a break-up song before it evolved when Ed suffered a “heartbreaking loss,” which led him to revisit the track, as described in a statement accompanying the official video.
“This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and everything just reminds you of them and the things you did together,” Sheeran explained. “You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it.”
Sheeran’s forthcoming album will drop May 5 via Asylum and Atlantic Records. It’s been described as a “soul-bearing” collection, written “against a backdrop of grief and hope,” during which time he processed his good friend late Australian Mushroom Group founder Michael Gudinski’s death, his wife Cherry Seaborn‘s tumor diagnosis and the loss of his close pal Jamal Edwards.
Watch the acoustic take on “Eyes Closed” below.
While the reveal of J-Hope‘s newest single “on the street” with J. Cole was coupled with the news that the BTS rapper-singer would begin the process for his South Korean military enlistment process, the song marked a full-circle moment for him both professionally and personally.
Before BTS even officially made their debut into the music industry, the members were showing their love and appreciation for J. Cole. One of the first musical moments with youngest member Jung Kook came via a J. Cole performance back in 2013, and the seven BTS members continued to share their admiration for the Dreamville Records founder. Whether it’s been covers, musical shoutouts, sharing lyrics or playlisting, BTS members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jin, V, Jimin and Jung Kook shared their affection on multiple platforms. Meanwhile, Cole and his team also showed and returned that mutual respect.
Upon release of J-Hope’s “on the street” with J. Cole at the top of March this year, the song debuted at No. 60 on the Hot 100 to become J-Hope’s highest entry on the chart to date and marked J. Cole’s best showing since 2021. The track also gave J-Hope first entires on several of Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap charts, including his first No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales and second No. 1 on Rap Digital Song Sales. The dynamic duo spend a second week atop both those charts as well. Plus, “on the street” earned J-Hope his first entries on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
Beyond chart accomplishments, “on the street” shows two socially conscious and message-driven MCs coming together to collaborate in a way that highlighted the best of their separate but similar worlds. Read on for how Cole World and Hope World came together.
2013: RM & Jung Kook Reinterpret ‘Like a Star’
Released before BTS made their official debut, RM and Jung Kook’s rendition of J. Cole’s “Like a Star” was an early indication of Cole’s undeniable influence on the band. Shared more than four months before BTS would release their first album, the Feb. 2, 2013 adaptation of “Like a Star” was the first time BTS introduced Jung Kook to fans with a message describing him as the “golden maknae,” a nickname that’s stuck with him to highlight his skills as the group’s endlessly talented youngest member.
RM and JK’s “Like a Star” remains a streaming-only track today via SoundCloud.
2013: BTS Reinterpret J. Cole’s ‘Born Sinner’ as ‘Born Singer’
Image Credit: Valerie Macon/Getty Images
Less than a month after BTS made their official debut on the music scene, the group revealed “Born Singer,” an unofficial release on their YouTube and Soundcloud accounts on July 11, 2013. The track is adapted from J. Cole’s song “Born Sinner,” the title track and final song on the rapper’s sophomore album released five days after BTS’ debut on June 13, 2013. The track keeps the same production and composition as the original, but BTS rappers RM, Suga and J-Hope rewrote the lyrics.
While Cole’s “Born Sinner” was a dedication to doing better, “Born Singer” was BTS’ reflection on the hardships they felt in their first month after debut. From the start, the Bangtan Boys stood out from other pop stars by showcasing hip-hop as an ingrained musical and lyrical inspiration — which didn’t fit the K-pop industry standards at the time — making “Born Singer” one of their earliest underdog anthems.
2014: J. Cole Gets a Shout-Out on ‘Hip Hop Phile’
More than a year after BTS’ official debut, the group released their first studio album, Dark & Wild. While the LP included singles “Danger” and “War of Hormone,” the guys shared their hip-hop inspirations on fan-favorite b-side “Hip Hop Phile.” From shouting out hip-hop forefathers like Gang Star and Nas to the new generation of rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller, “Hip Hop Phile” naturally included a mention of J. Cole during J-Hope’s verse. J-Hope dedicated two lines of his verse to Cole: “Hope hope world/ Before I built my own world, there was Cole World.”
Stream “Hip Hop Phile” here.
2014: RM Gains Inspiration From J. Cole’s ‘Love Yourz’
Image Credit: Big Hit Entertainment
During a 2014 episode of Honey FM 06.13, BTS’ ongoing “radio show” that the group used to hold frequently, RM spoke about the inspiration and appreciation he had for J. Cole and the song “Love Yourz,” which was the last single off Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive LP. Not only did RM praise J. Cole as “Jay-Z’s successor,” but he shared how he particularly resonated with the lyrics of self-love and gratitude.
Some ARMY fans even thought this 2014 song might have inspired BTS’ Love Yourself album series from 2017-2018.
2015: RM Includes Two J. Cole Samples in Mixtape
Image Credit: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage
For his first-ever mixtape, BTS leader RM (known back then by his Rap Monster stage name) utilized several samples from other artists’ songs like any classic mixtape. Ranging from J. Dilla and Drake to Major Lazer and Chase & Status, the RM mixtape samples mixed in a range of artists’ sounds as well as two J. Cole samples.
RM’s “Monster” contains the beat from Cole’s “Grown Simba” (a track J. Cole’s own 2009 mixtape that sampled “Overture: A Partial History of Black Music” by composer Mervyn Warren), while the track “God Rap” includes elements of “God’s Gift” (a Cole-produced cut off his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story).
“Monster” is available for streaming via BTS’ Soundcloud while “God Rap” is only available via downloading the tape via the BTS blog.
2016: J. Cole’s ‘Billboard’ Cover Featured in BTS’ Short Film
Image Credit: Big Hit Entertainment
Only the most eagle-eyed of the ARMY would have spotted this little homage to J. Cole. As part of the lead-up to BTS’ record-setting Wings album, the band revealed “short film” videos to tease upcoming new tracks. In the first short film revealed featuring Jung Kook solo song “Begin,” viewers watch the youngest BTS member grapples with a bad dream that includes a vision of a burning piano. You can spot J. Cole’s Billboard magazine cover from 2013 glowing behind the fire on a door.
That particular cover story dropped right before Cole would release his seminal Born Sinner album, one of the primary inspirations to BTS and solidified him as a breakthrough chart star.
2016: RM Shares Lyrical Inspiration From J. Cole’s ‘Change’
Image Credit: Peter Ash Lee
As the leader of BTS, RM is famous for having the perfect words to share with fans through the years. But he leans on his idols at times too, sharing a line from J. Cole’s “Change,” a b-side from Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only album released in December 2016, just before Christmas that year.
2017: Suga Adds J. Cole to His ‘Hip-Hop Replay’ Playlist
Image Credit: Big Hit Entertainment
Alongside classics like Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Notorious Thugs,” plus new-age hip-hop anthems like Drake and Lil Wayne’s “HYFR,” BTS’ Suga was sure to show love to J. Cole by including “Work Out” on the wide-ranging “SUGA’s Hip-Hop Replay” playlist that used to live under BTS’ official Spotify account.
2017: BTS Begin Imagining a J. Cole Collaboration
By 2018, anyone who knew anything about BTS knew of the group’s admiration for J. Cole. Still, five years into their career, the guys started manifesting about working with their dream collaborator. In a Forbes interview around Love Herself: Her, RM listed rappers he’d like to collaborate with for a question. While first listing Dr. Dre and J. Cole before deciding there were “too many,” RM was sure to include that J. Cole was “one of the greatest,” adding, “He’s so cool.”
2018: J-Hope’s First Mixtape Title References J. Cole’s First Album
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Taking inspiration from J. Cole’s first studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story, J-Hope’s first full solo project was named Hope World. The parallel between the two names would show up again years later.
2021-2022: J. Cole Approves Sample for Official ‘Born Singer’ Release
Image Credit: Erika Goldring/WireImage
While BTS prepared for the release of their Proof anthology, including “Born Singer” on the career-spanning project required the OK from J. Cole himself. In an interview with Weverse Magazine, Suga revealed that Cole himself approved.
“I didn’t even know if it could be included on the album,” Suga said. “I wasn’t even sure it would be possible, since the original song is so famous, but J. Cole gave us permission. I want to tell him how grateful I am.”
Suga added that the song was essential to the group and they were excited for newer fans to hear it for the first time potentially.
“We just put it in since it wouldn’t be possible to listen back on this period of ours unless it was in a concert,” he said. “And there might be some ARMY who don’t even know that the song exists. We felt like a lot of who we are went into the song, so we unanimously agreed that it should be included.”
2022: J-Hope & Jimin Meet J.Cole at Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza 2022 was already historic with J-Hope as the first-ever Korean headliner, but the weekend festival became even more special when he linked up with J. Cole. Accompanied by bandmate Jimin, who was there to support the headliner, J-Hope shared photos from backstage at the Chicago fest with a massive smile as he hung out with Cole. J-Hope, J. Cole and Jimin all posed for a photo together.
J-Hope captioned his post simply with “hope world meets cole world,” referencing albums by both artists.
2022: J. Cole’s Team Share Excitement for ‘Born Singer’ on ‘Proof’
Image Credit: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images for Hennessy V.S
Once J. Cole gave his blessing for BTS to clear the “Born Sinner” sample for “Born Singer,” everyone was excited. In particular, the song’s co-writer James Fauntleroy, who also features on the track, shared on Instagram that seeing his name on the Proof album tracklisting was “insaaaaaane” and thanked BTS.
With three songs co-produced on Born Sinner alongside Cole, including “Born Sinner” and the TLC-featuring single “Crooked Smile,” Elite wrote on Instagram that “this is fkin crazy.”
Meanwhile, J. Cole manager and Dreamville president Ibrahim “IB” Hamad showed appreciation via Instagram Story when the tracklist dropped. “They got my name in a BTS album credits,” he wrote. “Off a song we made almost 10 years ago. Crazy. Shout out to BTS for the cover of ‘Born Sinner.’”
2023: J.Cole Describes J-Hope Collab as ‘A Blessing’
Image Credit: Katja Ogrin/Redferns
Ahead of the release of “on the street,” J-Hope and J. Cole secretly met to film the music video in New York City. In a behind-the-scenes video that BTS shared from the shoot, viewers saw J-Hope fanboy excitedly over the filming and J. Cole delivered mutual respect back to the K-pop star. Cole said the collaboration “is a blessing” and listened as J-Hope shared how he’s been a fan since his teens. Adorably, J-Hope arrived early and stayed on set to monitor J. Cole’s filming the entire time before the two came together for their joint scene.
2023: J-Hope & J. Cole Release Hit Collaboration
Announced as a special, one-off single for J-Hope, “on the street” was revealed to feature the group’s idol J. Cole to mark a genuinely full-circle moment for the star. The song came just as J-Hope shared that he would soon begin enlisting in South Korea’s mandatory military service, making the collaboration all the more momentous.
A-ha’s “Take on Me” gives The Last of Us its first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, reigning on the February 2023 ranking.
Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind, and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of February 2023.
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“Take on Me” was heard in the seventh episode of the HBO series’ first season, which aired Feb. 26.
It follows a pair of bows for the freshman show on the January 2023 survey: Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time” at No. 5 and Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” (No. 7).
In February 2023, “Take on Me” earned 15.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
The song was a-ha’s top charter in the U.S., reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985.
It’s one of four songs from The Last of Us to reach the February 2023 tally. Agnes Obel’s “Fuel to Fire,” from episode five (Feb. 12), leads the group, hitting No. 5 (378,000 streams, 1,000 downloads).
The highest non-The Last of Us entry is TALK’s “Run Away to Mars,” which appears at No. 2. It was heard in the seventh episode of the 19th season of ABC’s long-running Grey’s Anatomy, which premiered Feb. 23.
In February 2023, “Mars” earned 5.3 million streams and 4,000 downloads. Concurrently, it could be heard on a variety of U.S. radio formats; it peaked at No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart for three weeks beginning Jan. 28 and also reached No. 6 on Alternative Airplay.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from YOU and Shrinking, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
“Take on Me,” a-ha, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Run Away To Mars,” TALK, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
“Heads Will Roll,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs, YOU (Netflix)
“I Would Die 4 U,” Holly Humberstone, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
“Fuel to Fire,” Agnes Obel, The Last of Us (HBO)
“True Faith,” Lotte Kestner, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Alone and Forsaken,” Hank Williams, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Killer,” Valerie Broussard, YOU (Netflix)
“I Know the End,” Phoebe Bridgers, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
“Dangerous,” Big Data feat. Joywave, YOU (Netflix)
It’s no secret that Taylor Swift is the queen of Easter eggs. Since the early days of her career, the superstar has regularly planted clues, hints and callbacks in her music videos, live appearances, interviews and even the liner notes in her albums.
“I love to communicate through Easter eggs,” Swift said in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly to help kick off her Lover era. “I think the best messages are cryptic ones. … You know, when you plan something that far in advance, you’re kind of just flexing on planning. That’s what an Easter egg really does.”
So it should come as no surprise to Swifties that The Eras Tour is no exception to their queen’s masterminded penchant for hyper-specific planning and eye for gorgeous, perfectly plotted detail — all the way down to the colors painted on her nails during tour rehearsals.
As the U.S. leg of the wildly anticipated tour kicked off, fans at the first two shows in Glendale, Ariz. — and later across the internet, thanks to #SwiftTok — paid keen attention to each of the singer’s choices on stage. From her costumes to her choreography, and even the songs she included (or didn’t) on the setlist, nearly every detail elicited wild analysis and speculation for what it all could mean.
Below, Billboard rounds up an ongoing list of Easter eggs spotted by fans as The Eras Tour makes its way across America. Read on to discover what hidden messages and surprises many a Swiftie surmises the star could be sending from the stage.
The ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ T-Shirt
During the part of setlist where Taylor revisits her Red era, she dons a T-shirt similar to the one she wears in the music video for 2012’s “22.” In the visual, the shirt spells out “Not a lot going on at the moment,” which would go on to become a famously surefire sign to Swifties around the world that their queen was, indeed, working on a major surprise. (See: the one-two punch of 2020’s Folklore and Evermore.)
However, on the opening night of the tour (March 17), Tay’s shirt rewrote the phrase to read “A lot going on at the moment” in bold block letters, with “A lot” sticking out in bright red. The next night, the shirt changed to a spoken lyric from “22”: “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Ew.” This time, “Ew.” was highlighted in red.
Only time will tell if Swift continues to change up the phrasing on her shirt from show to show, but one particular fan on TikTok thinks the red words will eventually lead to an anagram spelling out “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” Either way, though, the superstar is clearly sending some sort of message.
Breaking ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Out Of Its Box?
Footage of Swift performing Reputation lead single “Look What You Made Me Do” piqued fans’ curiosity as multiple backup singers seeming to represent her many album eras appeared on stage trapped in giant plastic boxes.
Given the rampant online fan speculation that Speak Now could be the next re-recording the star plans to drop, special attention was paid to the backup vocalist in the box wearing a purple halter dress remarkably similar to an outfit Swift wore on her Speak Now World Tour throughout 2011 and 2012. As Taylor approaches her box, the star pounds on the glass along to the beat as the singer inside tries to get out. At first glance, the moment looks innocuously like part of the choreography, but many Swifties surmised that it could represent the pending release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which had been entangled in legal red tape over trademark and copyright issues until earlier this week.
Interestingly, most of the other singers-as-album eras are eventually freed from their boxes, but by song’s end, the Speak Now avatar and one other singer representing a mystery era remain stuck inside theirs.
Check out fan-captured video of the moment on TikTok.
A Manicure for Her ‘Eras Era’
One day ahead of the tour, Tay shared a sneak peek at the rehearsal process on social media, coyly writing, “In my Eras era” alongside a carousel of photos from the stage. The last snap in the slideshow, though, showed off the star’s delicate manicure featuring a different shade on each finger representing a separate album era — sparkling gold for Fearless (Taylor’s Version), shiny teal for 1989, matte black for Reputation, and so on.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp3QUrJuA0w
‘Speak Now’ or Later?
Call this one a reverse Easter egg. So far, her setlist is one for the ages — 44 songs from 10 albums over the course of three hours and fifteen minutes. But out all the fan favorites she performed at Arizona’s State Farm Arena during the first two shows, she included only a single song from 2010’s Speak Now in the form of album cut and originally planned title track “Enchanted.”
The absence of hits such as “Mine,” “Back to December,” “Dear John,” “Mean” and “The Story of Us” felt like a glaring omission, but as with everything Taylor does, the choice may have been entirely intentional. Plenty of fans theorized that the singer was purposely minimizing the attention of her third album because she could be on the precipice of releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
It’s probably too soon for this, but Zelena might just be the next big celebrity couple. That’s because Selena Gomez and Zayn Malik were supposedly spotted getting cozy together on a restaurant date in New York City, and the internet is understandably freaking out.
The rumor that two of pop music’s biggest stars have sparked a romance started after one fan posted a TikTok claiming that a pal, who works as a hostess in NYC, served Gomez and Malik while they were eating together at the restaurant where she works. The friend had sent texts saying the pair walked in to the restaurant “hand in hand” and were “making out.”
The TikToker also pointed out that Gomez is one of just 18 people the former One Direction singer follows on Instagram. Other fans also say that the “Calm Down” singer followed Malik back as recently as a few weeks ago.
Billboard has reached out to Gomez and Malik’s reps for comment.
Now, this isn’t the first time in recent history that people have jumped to conclusions about Gomez’s relationship status. Earlier this year, many were convinced that she was dating The Chainsmokers’ Drew Taggart after the two were spotted hanging out at a bowling alley — but the Only Murders in the Building actress quickly confirmed that she was single at the time.
It’s also worth mentioning that, just nine days prior to the Zayn dating rumors beginning, Gomez posted a TikTok joking about how she doesn’t even have a crush on anyone at the moment. “Still out here lookin for him lol,” she’d captioned the video.
But still, making out? Holding hands? If it’s true, it certainly sounds like something is happening between the two stars, and folks on Twitter are divided on how to feel about it. Some are excited for the possible new couple — “IM HERE FOR THIS,” tweeted one fan — but others have doubts. Mainly, what will this mean for Gomez’s friendship with Gigi Hadid, who shares a daughter with the “Pillow Talk” singer?
“idk why y’all want selena and zayn to happen like selena and gigi aren’t friends of nearly a decade,” wrote one fan.
See what fans are saying about Selena Gomez and Zayn Malik’s rumored romance below:
why did this girl on tik tok say that her friend that works in a restaurant in new york said zayn and selena were there making out and holding hands?!— elizabethᶻ✨stuck in heaven ☁️ (@zaynsanity) March 24, 2023
Hailey and Selena are friends now, Zayn and Selena going out on dinner dates….ITS NOT EVEN NOON OVER HERE EVERYBODY JUST STAND STILL 😭— 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐁𝐑𝐈. (@HIGHOFFSELENUR) March 24, 2023
zayn and selena ooooh i love this song— a⁷ 🪞face 🐥🐰🐱 (@ymktsfaerie) March 24, 2023
selena telling people to stop sending death threats to hailey while also reports of her and zayn dating all in one day and it’s not even noon yet. pic.twitter.com/bW4iCZhfO0— kay (@softxlumax) March 24, 2023
SELENA AND ZAYN ALLEGEDLY ACTUALLY DATING???? IM HERE FOR THIS— FREE PALESTINE (@sgftlife) March 24, 2023
