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As wildfires continue to threaten Los Angeles and surrounding areas, organizers behind awards shows and related events are figuring out how to pivot to best support the community. Should they move forward and become fundraisers for relief efforts? Or is it best to cancel or postpone to a later date? Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
After fleeing the raging wildfire that has decimated their Altadena neighborhood in Los Angeles, Mandy Moore and her family are sheltering with the singer/actress’ friend Hilary Duff. Moore’s brother-in-law, Dawes drummer Griffin Goldsmith — brother of her husband, Dawes singer Taylor Goldsmith — revealed the kind gesture in an emotional Instagram post detailing the toll the deadly fires have had on his family.
“All of this so overwhelming. But what is as equally overwhelming is the amount of love and generosity we are on the receiving end of. Our dear friends @matthewkoma and @hilaryduff thought it wise to set up a gofundme for us to help with everything moving forward. Not to mention they are currently housing my brother’s family,” Goldsmith wrote of the How I Met Your Father star and her musician husband, Matthew Koma.
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“They’ve taken care of my entire family from the moment this began,” he added. “I will never be able to thank them adequately. This is the kindest act any human could do for another. They are the most beautiful, selfless people we’ve ever known.”
Griffin Goldsmith’s post also noted that he convinced his whole family and closest friends to move to the Altadena neighborhood years ago — including the siblings’ parents, who lived around the corner from him — only to have their homes leveled in the conflagrations that have taken 16 lives in that area as the massive Eaton Fire continues to burn after scorching more than 14,000 acres so far.
“It’s Impossible to express how much we’re feeling right now. We’ve lost everything. 8 years of memories made in our house. 20 years of gear. My wife @quintessentiallykit was applying the finishing touches to the nursery for our baby boy who’s due in a few weeks,” Griffin wrote. “She had, throughout the years, poured her heart and soul into making the property a literal piece of paradise. Anyone who had the chance the visit can attest. We often would say to each other ‘I want to live together in this house for the rest of our lives.’”
He said the brothers’ parents lost their home, while Taylor and Mandy were forced to flee from their house just down the street. In addition, he said his wife’s childhood best friend, Chelsey, and her family, former Dawes bassist Wylie Gelber and his wife and their first crew member and old friend, Jake, all lost their homes as well. “The thing we mourn the most is the loss of the community,” he said.
See Goldsmith’s post here.
Goldsmith noted that they are, of course, not the only people who are dealing with these kinds of unimaginable losses. In addition to at least two dozen deaths reported so far, more than 12,000 homes and structures destroyed or damaged and nearly 100,000 Angelenos under evacuation orders, officials warned on Tuesday (Jan. 14) that the powerful Santa Ana winds that are driving the spread of the fires are expected to pick up again, with critical red flag warnings in place across much of southwestern California.
Dawes played an emotional version of their 2011 tribute to their city, “Time Spent in Los Angeles,” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night (Jan. 13), with images of the devastation playing on screens behind them.
Luckily for Moore and Goldsmith, their home was not a complete loss, but the This Is Us star hit back at haters who tried to shame her last week for posting a GoFundMe for her in-laws, who, as Griffin mentioned, are expecting their first child in a few weeks.
“People questioning whether we’re helping out our own family or attributing some arbitrary amount of money Google says someone has is NOT helpful or empathetic,” Moore wrote. “Of course we are. Our buddy Matt started this GoFundMe and I’m sharing because people have asked how they can help them. We just lost most of our life in a fire too. Kindly F OFF. No one is forcing you to do anything.”
The fires, which are the most destructive blazes in the city’s history, continue to burn, with the Palisades Fires just 17% contained to date, while the Eaton Fire is 35% contained and the Hurst Fire is 97% contained; three other smaller fires are reportedly now 100% contained. Click here for resources from organizations providing assistance to music industry workers.
Cardi B might just be in her Reputation era. The rapper posted on X Tuesday (Jan. 14) that she’s had it with “acting nice,” using a hilarious Taylor Swift meme to get her point across.
Cardi told followers, “I was acting nice and nonchalant but today I’m going to violate and show the real me 🙂”
The “WAP” musician didn’t specify what grievance inspired her post, but to illustrate her point, she did attach a video of the Eras Tour headliner performing at the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in 2019. Instead of the original audio, however, the clip of Swift is paired with what sounds like a snippet of Beyoncé absolutely going off while riffing during a live performance of “Crazy in Love.”
Cardi’s post comes less than a week after an update to her long-running legal battle with gossip blogger Tasha K, who claimed in a new response motion that the Grammy winner is trying to “sabotage” her career. Weeks prior, Cardi’s legal team had submitted a claim to a federal bankruptcy judge accusing Tasha of hiding money to avoid paying the rapper nearly $4 million in damages, which a federal jury awarded Cardi in 2022 after finding the blogger’s past claims about the star defamatory. In the new filing, Tasha’s attorneys countered by saying Cardi had failed to “identify a cent of undisclosed value.”
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The “Up” musician is also still at odds with Offset, from whom she split in July after seven years of marriage. The two stars — who share three children — were still very publicly hammering out their divorce as of mid-December, with Cardi at one point posting on X at her ex, “F–k off and sign the papers TODAY.”
“When u split the custody I will [sign the papers],” the Migos rapper countered at the time.
As for her thoughts on the subject of her meme of choice Tuesday, Cardi has only had positive things to say about Swift. In 2021, the hip-hop star praised the “Karma” singer’s “All Too Well” short film, and last year, Cardi gushed about the singer-songwriter’s relationship with Travis Kelce.
“I think it’s cute,” Cardi said of the couple last February. “She looks so happy. I feel like she’s really private with her relationships, so I really feel like she likes him a lot because she’s like, ‘I don’t give a f—. I’m going to kiss him. I’m going to touch him. I’m going to kiss him! Yeah, I’m here. Yeah, I’m taking a jet to see my man.’”
See Cardi’s tweet below.
Coldplay are gearing up to release a short film they’ve been low-key teasing for almost five years. The band announced the new project, A Film For the Future, on Tuesday morning (Jan. 14), calling the 44-minute movie a visual companion to their recent album Moon Music, which became their first Billboard 200 No. 1 album in 10 years last year.
The film will premiere worldwide on YouTube on Jan. 22 via 360-degree screenings at the Lightroom in London, the Lightroom at Factory International at Aviva Studios in Manchester and Lightroom Seoul in Seoul, South Korea; that same day a fan-led remix of the movie powered by Microsoft AI will launch here.
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A minute-long trailer describes the creative process for compiling the footage for the film, which began in the summer of 2024, when more than 150 visual artists from 45 countries were given a handful of short Moon Music audio snippets and asked to create some accompanying visuals. According to a release announcing, “there were no rules or guidelines, and no knowledge of other artists’ creations,” as well as no direction other than to follow their inspiration.
“We’re very grateful to all the amazing artists who lent their genius to this film,” the band said in a statement. “They’ve created something very beautiful and we’re extremely proud of it.”
The ensuing preview features a wild mash-up of visual styles, from trippy digital collage to dancing AI bubble people, photo montage, found footage, nature visuals and animation. Executive producer Ben Mor — who directed the 2016 video for the Coldplay/Beyoncé collab “Hymn For the Weekend” — called the resulting Koyaanisqatsi-like visual mindtrip a “kaleidoscopic patchwork quilt — a 44-minute multimedia tapestry.”
He added, “It was a huge privilege to have the bird’s eye view of such an ambitious project, working with so many incredible animators and filmmakers all working independently of each other. The final film is simply jaw-dropping and I can’t wait for Coldplay’s fans to see it.”
Tickets for the three immersive screenings — where the film will be projected on a 36-foot screen across four walls and the floor — can be purchased here, while other fans can tune in worldwide on the band’s YouTube page on Jan. 22.
The release noted that Coldplay have been working a long con on fans since 2019, when they first teased the movie on a license plate in the artwork for their Everyday Life album that read “FFTF2024.” In addition, a segment of the project appeared in the July 2024 multi-media lyric video for their Moon Music single “feelslikeimfallinginlove.”
The AI-powered remix project will use Microsoft Copilot and Azure AI to create a unique, immersive experience for each user, with no two results the same. Coldplay’s record-breaking Music of the Spheres world tour was back on the road last week for a four-show run of stadium shows in Abu Dhabi; they will move on to Mumbai, India on January 18 for three gigs at DY Patil Stadium.
Watch the A Film For the Future trailer below.
Janet Jackson: Las Vegas will be extending its stay at Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas, Billboard can exclusive report. The announcement of the residency’s six-show extension comes after the five-time Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s sold-out debut at the theatre during New Year’s week. Explore Explore […]
Jessica Simpson and her husband of 10 years, former NFL tight end Eric Johnson are splitting up. According to People, Simpson, 44, told the magazine that the pair have separated and are living apart.
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“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement. “Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
After dating for four years, the couple got married on July 5, 2014 and have three children together: daughters Maxwell Drew, 12, and Birdie Mae, 5 and son Ace Knute, 11. At press time a spokesperson for Simpson had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment and it did not appear that the singer had made any further statement on the pair’s break-up.
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Last week, she posted a sunny selfie with the message, “Life is short. SMILE while you still have teeth.” People also reported that Johnson was spotted without his wedding ring in November, which was around the time that Simpson teased a musical comeback in a chat with Footwear News.
“It’s like a retreat for me,” she said about temporarily moving her family from Los Angeles to Nashville last summer to work on her first new album in more than 13 years. “I get to just crawl up inside my head and embrace my heart. I feel so enlightened there. Writing music has become a beautiful therapeutic thing for me that I didn’t know was so natural, but it’s because I haven’t done it in so long. It’s just nice to know that I’m meeting myself back in this place, as a woman, and after going through everything that I’ve been through in my life. There’s a sense of freedom and empowerment.”
Around that time Simpson also posted a series of glam shots on Instagram from what she said were interviews in her “Nashville music room where I unearthed my singular magic.” She described her musical comeback back then as being “personal, it’s an apology to myself for putting up with everything I did not deserve.”
Though the singer has not discussed specific plans to divorce, if the couple do unwind their marriage it would be the second divorce for Simpson, who was married to 98 Degrees singer and Perfect Match host Nick Lachey from 2002-2005; the couple famously starred in MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Johnson was previously married to stylist Keri Johnson, whom he divorced in 2010.
At press time no addition information was available on Simpson’s new album, which would be her first since 2010’s Happy Christmas; her last non-holiday release was 2008’s Do You Know, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. She also released “Particles” as a one-off single in 2021. Simpson’s debut album, Sweet Kisses, came out on Columbia Records in 1999 and included her highest-charting single to date, “I Wanna Love You Forever,” which topped out at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Bad Bunny came to play on Monday night (Jan. 13). The singer celebrated the release of his Debí Tirar Más Fotos album by doing it all on The Tonight Show. In addition a typically unique performance of his new single, “Voy a Llevarte Pa Pr” — in which he sang the track while doing his laundry and having a mug of coffee — Benito kicked off the takeover by, literally, crashing the stage.
As Fallon worked through his monologue jokes at the top of the show, Bad Bunny burst from behind the curtain with a rollicking, joyous parranda featuring two dozen drummers and dancers from Los Sobrinos and Los Pleneros de la Cresta, who worked their way through the audience singing the joyous new track “Café con ron.”
The singer went all out to promote his new album — whose title translates into “I should have taken more photos” — which became his ninth straight to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart dated Jan. 18. He kicked things off by watching a replay of the time last week when he did all the jobs on a popular Puerto Rican morning news show and talking about his role in Adam Sandler’s upcoming Happy Gilmore 2.
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“Now he’s my friend,” Benito said of co-starring with the Sandman in his first attempt at comedy. “Now he’s my uncle, Tio Sandler. It’s been so crazy. It was one of the best experiences ever.”
Saying the album title is about taking time to appreciate the moment he’s in, Bad Bunny expressed his gratitude for the love he’s gotten for his latest project, which NPR dubbed “his most Puerto Rican and most political album yet,” one that puts a bright spotlight on the island’s distinctive musical rhythms and styles. Bunny explained that the LP is focused on the “plena” rhythm, one of the island’s oldest and most beloved percussion sounds.
Bunny also joined Fallon for one of his recurring gags: a trip down to the subway in disguise for some impromptu busking. They opened with a cover of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” followed by a run through Bunny’s new track “Nuevayol.” With Bunny kitted out in a bushy beard and a curly red wig and Fallon rocking long hair and an equally impressive beard, they crooned the BSB tune to a group of excited commuters with some help from members of Tonight Show house band the Roots, before taking off their disguises and heating things up with the high-energy track from Benito’s new album.
The two also reminisced about Bunny’s many appearances on the Tonight Show, with Fallon busting out a photo of the singer from this very first appearance, where he sat alongside a Madame Tussauds wax figure of the host. Over the years, they have recreated that image several more times, including in 2018 and 2020, and then again on Monday night. But since he was co-hosting, Bunny suggested he switch places with Fallon and remake the pic again, but this time he pretended to be a waxy Fallon.
The pair also did some shots of Puerto Rican rum, pitorro, which Bunny brought along to share with his pal before they co-interviewed Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón.
Watch Bad Bunny on The Tonight Show below.
Travis Kelce may have accidentally dropped a Taylor Swift Easter egg. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday (Jan. 13), where he was asked about being around his Grammy-winning girlfriend while she’s finding musical inspiration. “Let’s just say you’re hanging and out and having a little dinner and […]
The Weeknd has delayed the release of his highly anticipated album Hurry Up Tomorrow in light of the ongoing wildfire crisis in Los Angeles. His album release show at the Rose Bowl, which had been slated for Jan. 25, has also been canceled.
The hitmaker broke the news to fans Monday (Jan. 13) with a post on Instagram. “Out of respect and concern for the people of Los Angeles County, the Rose Bowl Show has been cancelled and the album date has been postponed to 01.31.25,” reads the message, which he signed, “With love, Abel.”
“The city has always been a profound source of inspiration for me, and my thoughts are with everyone impacted during this difficult time,” it continues. “My focus remains on supporting the recovery of these communities and aiding its incredible people as they rebuild.”
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Hurry Up Tomorrow, the highly anticipated third act of The Weeknd’s album trilogy — which began with 2020’s Billboard 200-topper After Hours and continued with 2022’s Dawn FM — had originally been slated to arrive Jan. 24. He had planned to celebrate the release the next day with a “One Night Only” performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena; the arena is currently being used as a donation collection site for L.A. residents affected by the fires, according to NBC4 Los Angeles.
Fans who purchased tickets for the showcase through Ticketmaster will receive refunds automatically. Those who bought seats from a third-party reseller should reach out to their points of purchase.
The Weeknd’s announcement comes about six days after wind-fueled fires first broke out in Pacific Palisades, rapidly traveling across the Los Angeles area faster than first responders could put them out. More blazes have since broken out in areas affecting the Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, Altadena, Sylmar and Calabasas, displacing tens of thousands of residents and burning down countless structures across a combined 38,549 acres, according to CNN. The news site also reports that at least 24 people have died in the destruction.
The Weeknd’s concert is just the latest L.A. event to be canceled due to the fires. Multiple other shows in the area have also been removed from the calendar, as have a number of pre-Grammys parties. The Grammys are still expected to go live Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena, while the Critics Choice Awards have been postponed from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26.
See The Weeknd’s announcement below.
On her fan-favorite Ctrl song “Drew Barrymore,” SZA sings about feeling insecure and lonely — but the track’s real-life namesake makes her feel the exact opposite.
While serving as a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show on Monday (Jan. 13), the R&B hitmaker got the chance to tell her muse face to face exactly why she used the actress’ famous name as the title for her song. “It was inspired by you, it wasn’t just the title,” SZA begins in a clip from the interview as the talk show host listens intently. “The energy you carry.”
“The carefree, the understanding,” continues the “Kill Bill” singer, joining hands with Barrymore. “I wrote you this letter that I never sent you, but it talked about how, when you’re younger, and you’re a black woman, there’s not a lot of examples all the time. One of the few lovely white women that I looked up to so much on television was you, because you were so yourself.”
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“You were quirky,” SZA adds. “Your smile wasn’t perfect. I had a slight speech impediment … I love the way you talk and the you-ness of you. It just reminds me of all the things about myself that make me nervous, but on you, shine so brightly. It gave me permission to be myself.”
The four-time Grammy winner dropped debut album Ctrl in 2017, bowing at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. That June, she shared a music video for “Drew Barrymore” in which the Charlie’s Angels actress made a brief cameo, walking past SZA during a quiet moment of introspection and smiling at her reassuringly.
“We did the music video and I was just so excited to show up for you,” Barrymore recalled Monday, to which SZA remarked, “I couldn’t believe you did that.”
Eight years later, SZA is now fresh off of extending her reign at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with SOS, the deluxe version of which she dropped in December. The album has now spent a collective 12 weeks in the top spot, with the project first debuting at the chart’s summit upon its initial release in December 2022.
But the One of Them Days star has long been open about her love for Barrymore. In a 2017 interview with Billboard leading up to the release of Ctrl, SZA gushed, “She’s so casual. There’s nothing more beautiful than people who are comfortable and casual in their selves but also filled with energy and good vibes and bubbliness, and that’s her vibe. She’s chill, but she’s confident, but she’s shy. So when I wrote this song, I imagined different moments of seeing her.”
Watch SZA talk about “Drew Barrymore” on The Drew Barrymore Show above.