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After Frontier Touring announced on Tuesday (Feb. 28) that Justin Bieber‘s planned six-date, five-city Australasian leg of his Justice World Tour was canceled, the rest of the singer’s scheduled 2023 dates appear to also been called off.
No reason was given for the cancellation of the stadium gigs in Australia and New Zealand, and at press time, spokespeople for Bieber and the tour had not returned Billboard‘s requests for comment.
The Ticketmaster site listed all the 2023 Justice dates as canceled on Wednesday (March 1); the tour was scheduled to pick up in Dublin at the 3Arena on Thursday (March 2), followed by a four-night stand in Paris and a gig in Poland.
Bieber’s official website has no tour dates listed and, according to the Ticketmaster site, his handful of 2024 U.S. arena shows have also been canceled. CNN reported that fans in London — where Bieber was originally slated to perform in February — got an email from event company AXS on Tuesday night that read, “We regret to inform you that the Justin Bieber shows planned to take place at The O2 arena have been cancelled.” A note on the site for the Utilita Arena in Sheffield also confirmed that the Feb. 25 gig there had been canceled.
In June, Bieber told fans that he would take a break from the road after one month of dates because of the effects of the neurological disorder Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, which left his face partially paralyzed. “As a result of this illness, I was not able to complete the North American leg of the Justice Tour,” he wrote in a message to fans at the time. Bieber went on to explain that after taking some time to rest and consult with his family and doctors, he went ahead with the European leg of his tour.
“After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me and I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now,” he explained about how he felt after completing his Rock in Rio set in September. “So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being. I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.”
He got back on the stage a month later, but after just six shows he said he need to take a break again. The AEG Presents-promoted Justice tour was Bieber’s first global outing since the 2016-2017 Purpose World Tour.
The outing was originally supposed to launch in 2020 as the Changes Tour, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and delayed until 2021, then to February 2022. But after playing gigs across North America through June 2022 as well as a series of overseas dates, he came off the road to heal from the effects of Ramsay-Hunt, pulling the plug on all remaining 2022 dates through December.
Joe Jonas just dropped a bombshell detail about the Jonas Brothers‘ next album: it’s an album. At least, it definitely feels like one. In a recent TikTok, the 33-year-old musician hilariously promoted his band’s upcoming project by referencing a viral clip of Harry Styles saying his favorite part of Olivia Wilde’s 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling was that it felt, yes, like a movie.
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In his TikTok, Jonas lip-syncs to Styles’ voice, poshly putting on a pair of sunglasses. “My favorite thing about the movie is, like, it feels like a movie,” he says.
In his caption, the DNCE frontman replaced the word “movie” with “album,” a play on how his May-slated record with brothers Nick and Kevin is simply titled The Album: “My favorite thing about THE ALBUM is it feels like an album.”
The “As It Was” singer’s slightly redundant but well intentioned quote — taken from a Venice International Film Festival press conference for Don’t Worry Darling, in which he starred opposite Florence Pugh — blew up online after an instantly meme-able clip started circulating on Twitter in September 2022. “It feels like a real, like, you know, ‘go to the theater’ film movie,” Styles had followed it up during the Q&A event, as costar Chris Pine stared blankly ahead.
The quote is a prime example of a point made by Pine in a recent interview, during which he said the Darling cast bonded over the experience of answering questions at press conferences while exhausted from jet lag. “Sometimes when you’re doing these press things, your brain gets befuddled and you start speaking gibberish,” the Star Trek actor explained, revealing the actors even had an inside joke about it.
“We had a joke: ‘It’s just words, man,’” Pine shared, noting that this is what Styles actually said to him in an entirely different viral clip from Darling‘s press run, in which the “Watermelon Sugar” artist appeared to spit in Pine’s lap.
Watch Joe Jonas put his spin on Harry Styles’ now iconic “feels like a movie” quote below.
Miley Cyrus is giving fans a special gift to celebrate the continued success of her smash hit single “Flowers.” On Wednesday (March 1), the singer revealed that with the track spending its sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, she will be releasing the song’s demo on Friday, March 3.
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“Flowers is #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the 6th week in a row,” the Disney Channel alum tweeted, captioning a picture of herself in a shimmering gold unitard. “To THANK YOU I’m dropping the Flowers Demo on Friday.”
Fans were more than excited for the demo of the hit song to arrive. “Can’t wait. I heard the snippet on your Discord server and it’s so good,” one fan replied, while another Smiler wrote, “This whole month about to be everything that we need.”
“Flowers” is the lead single from Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March 10. The song has proven to be one the biggest hits of the 30-year-old’s career thus far, surpassing her 2013 single “Wrecking Ball” as her longest running No. 1; “Wrecking Ball” spent a total of 32 weeks on the Hot 100.
“I love that this record is connecting in such a positive way & it’s a pleasure to continue creating music for you,” Cyrus shared while celebrating the song’s second week at No. 1 in January. “These milestones are only made possible by the listeners & my incredible fans. Endlessly thankful.”
See Cyrus’ “Flowers” demo announcement below.
Flowers is #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the 6th week in a row. To THANK YOU I’m dropping the Flowers Demo on Friday ❤️ pic.twitter.com/GSfznVmKNd— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) March 1, 2023
According to Ed Sheeran, his newly announced next album, Subtract, was written top to bottom in a little over a week. But considering the amount of life-changing events he experienced within a matter of months — one of which involved a major health scare in his family — it makes sense that inspiration flowed through him as quickly as it did.
While unveiling the title and May 5 release date for Subtract, which is stylized in standard Sheeran fashion as “-,” the 32-year-old pop star revealed that his wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant with the couple’s second daughter last year. “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth,” he shared in his album announcement, posted across his social media accounts.
Sheeran and Seaborn first met while growing up in Sheffield, eventually reconnecting in 2015, and getting married in 2018. After first becoming parents in 2020 with the arrival of their daughter Lyra, the couple welcomed their second baby in May last year.
“Want to let you all know we’ve had another beautiful baby girl,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram at the time. “We are both so in love with her, and over the moon to be a family of 4.”
Seaborn’s mid-pregnancy health complication was one of several inspirations for Subtract, on which the “Shape of You” singer says he spilled his “deepest darkest thoughts.”
“At the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art,” he wrote in his Wednesday (March 1) album announcement. “My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly, and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.”
Sheeran also revealed that he’d scrapped a decade’s worth of work on -, which follows 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷ and 2021’s =, and replaced it with a tracklist of songs written “in just over a week.” “Writing songs is my therapy,” he shared. “It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out.”
See Ed Sheeran’s vulnerable album announcement below:
Many months ago, the internet was in an uproar with questions regarding a convincing video taken at the Venice Film Festival that appeared to show Harry Styles spitting into the lap of his Don’t Worry Darling costar Chris Pine. And finally, we have some answers.
In a Wednesday (March 1) video interview with Esquire, Pine finally revealed what actually happened in that viral moment from Darling‘s world premiere. “Harry did not spit on me,” he began. “Harry’s a very, very kind guy.”
“I had no idea what happened,” he continued, recalling how his publicist woke him up in the middle of his flight home, insisting they needed to release a statement regarding the spit-cident. “She showed me the thing, and it does look, indeed, like Harry spitting on me. He didn’t spit on me.”
Pine had previously denied that the “As It Was” pop star spat on him, with his reps releasing a statement almost immediately after the video started going viral in September that it was simply an “odd online illusion.” This is the first time, however, that either costar has provided an explanation for what Styles really did in the clip, if not hocking a loogie on the Star Trek actor’s lap.
“He leaned down, and I think he said, ‘It’s just words, isn’t it?’” Pine revealed in the new interview. “‘Cause we had this little joke. We’re all jet-lagged, we’re all trying to answer these questions. Sometimes when you’re doing these press things, your brain gets befuddled and you start speaking gibberish. And we had a joke: ‘It’s just words, man.’”
The “Watermelon Sugar” singer has also previously addressed SpitGate, as it’s referred to by some corners of the Twitterverse, in his own way. At his first concert back from the film festival, Styles joked with his audience that he’d “just popped very quickly to Venice to spit on Chris Pine.”
Watch Pine explain what really went down with the Grammy-winning singer at the Venice Film Festival below:
Lizzo can’t get enough of Rammstein. A week after doing a playful a cappella run through the chorus of the German band’s 1997 single “Du Hast” at a show in Hamburg, Germany, the flute-loving rapper was at it again in Berlin at Mercedes-Benz Arena on Tuesday night (Feb. 28), where she did a beefed-up version of the industrial metal anthem.
Backed by her full band and dancers, Lizzo sang the song’s hypnotic refrain before warning the audience, “you better sing that s–t!” As she stalked the stage in a lime green unitard, she asked the crowd, “Y’all ready to go f–king crazy?”
Whether or not, here she came, jumping in time to the song’s aggro guitars, taking off her baseball hat for some hair-whip headbanging and throwing in a heavy metal twerk for good measure. She posted video of the moment, repeating the German phrase she uttered at the end of the cover: “Ich liebe dich Berlin,” which translates into “I love you Berlin.”
The second “Hast” came during a week in which Lizzo also re-created Ariana DeBose’s viral opening number from the 2023 BAFTA Awards, complete with the West Side Story breakout star’s shoulder shimmy and impassioned delivery of the infamous line “Angela Bassett did the thing!” The European leg of Lizzo’s The Special Tour will continue through the middle of March, with stops in Milan, Paris, Dublin and London before she heads back to the U.S. for a second North American leg beginning April 21 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Check out Lizzo’s cover of “Du Hast” below.
One Direction were famous for not dancing. Sure, loyal Directioners were welcome to tear it up at their shows, but the fellas were not going to do a number for your amusement. But Niall Horan was happy to toss that edict aside, for one night anyway, when he played a choreo-happy pirate on The Late Late Show on Tuesday night (Feb. 28).
The singer, who has a long and fruitful friendship with soon-to-depart host James Corden, was game to play along in a bit in which a gaggle of show tunes-loving high seas marauders tortured their captive with strangely elaborate dance numbers. Wearing a traditional tricorn hat, ruffled white shirt, purple vest and scraggly beard, Horan warned the captured British soldier that he was lucky to be alive.
“This ship, and it’s booty is all ours!” he informed the British naval officer, warning that the person he should really be afraid of is their leader, the dreaded Dreadbeard. We know his name because Horan and Corden sang a whole song about it. “I bet you’ve heard a million tales that tell you who I am,” Corden crooned as a fife and drum track bubbled up out of nowhere and their fellow pirates broke out into a jig as the ship inexplicably lit up in neon lights.
“His name has traveled everywhere from England to Japan,” Horan growled, while their prisoner said the tune did answer his question about who was in charge, but in turn elicited way more questions. “Like what the hell was that?” he asked. “That whole song and dance routine? What was that for?”
“What for?” Horan snarled, barely containing his laughter. “To strike fear into your heart and spread the terrifying tale of Captain Dreadbeard.” Suffice it to say it did not do that and the captive seriously asked if this happened every time they boarded a ship.
Yes, in fact, it seems it does. Which, of course, elicited yet another elaborate number featuring their fellow pirates doing a delicate ribbon dance as Horan slipped into a seaweed-covered veil to portray a delicate siren of the deep while he and Corden shared a tender duet.
“I’m so confused right now, a mermaid broke your heart?” their hostage asked. “And whose idea were the ribbons?… And also, I’ve never met pirates before but I feel like there should be slightly less musical theater involved.” Turns out that was all Niall: he thought the ribbons added a “pop of color.”
The incessant questions sparked a mutiny among the crew, who then grumbled about the amount of high seas rehearsal they have to endure every day, along with gripes about who gets the leads in their marauder musicals. The bit ended with Horan and Corden doing an “All That Jazz”-style routine, complete with a tap dance break and Niall’s quick change into a glittery purple waistcoat for a bit-ending Rockettes high kick routine.
Horan’s forthcoming third solo album, The Show, is due out on June 9.
Watch Horan on The Late Late Show below.
Ed Sheeran is completing the equation. The star took to social media on Wednesday (Mar. 1) to reveal that his upcoming album, –, will be arriving on May 5 via Atlantic Records.
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The album, pronounced Subtract, will be the last installment in Sheeran’s decade-long mathematical album era, following 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷ and 2021’s =.
“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art,” Sheeran shared about the upcoming album in his announcement.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings,” he continued. “I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts. Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiraling through fear, depression and anxiety.”
Sheeran concluded by writing, “I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air. As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
Ed Sheeran’s – (Subtract) album art
Atlantic Records
Sheeran teamed up with The National’s Aaron Dessner — whom he met through pal Taylor Swift — to write and produce the upcoming album. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint, the 14-track album is set to feature folk-leaning qualities as well as full-band and orchestral arrangements.
Subtract is available for pre-order here.
Justin Bieber won’t be spreading Bieber Fever with fans across Australia and New Zealand anytime soon.
The Canadian pop superstar has canceled his Australasian leg of his Justice World Tour, a six-date, five-city stadium jaunt which had already been postponed due to the pandemic and illness.
Frontier Touring, producers of Bieber’s ANZ leg with its partner, AEG Presents, confirmed the development with a social post.
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The concerts specialist “regret to advise that Justin Bieber’s Justice Tour of Australia and New Zealand has been cancelled,” reads a statement.
“All tickets purchased through the official ticketing outlets will receive a refund directly from the shows ticketing agency.”
The trek was originally meant to kick off in 2020 as the Changes Tour, but, like every other major live event that year, was shelved due to the pandemic.
Dates were delayed first to 2021, then, in February 2022, Bieber set off with shows in ten countries across three continents.
Illness struck in mid-2022, forcing the singer to press pause on the tour. He later explained that he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which can cause paralysis, hearing loss and a nasty rash.
Bieber’s ANZ visit was last booked for six open-air shows beginning Nov. 22, 2022 at Perth’s HBF Park and wrapping up Dec. 7 at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland — and included several sellouts. New dates were never locked in.
Justice debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, his fourth leader. In April 2021, he bagged his first chart double in Australia when Justice and “Peaches” (featuring Giveon and Daniel Caesar) simultaneously led the national albums and singles charts, respectively.
The Justice World Tour, promoted by AEG Presents, is Bieber’s first global outing since 2016-2017’s Purpose World Tour.
Halsey celebrated her first time walking as a model at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday (Feb. 28) with an ecstatic social media post.
“I walked PFW for the first time today with @pressiat_ and it was terrifying and amazing!!!!” the pop star wrote on Instagram. “Thank you Vincent for having me, and congratulations to you and team on such a stunning collection and iconic show! special thanks to @lynalyson_ and blonde slay by @themartyharper and pics by @samdameshek.”
In the glamorous snap, the If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power singer donned a glittering asymmetrical animal-print bodysuit by upstart Parisian label Pressiat with matching headwrap and dress, their tattooed arms on display and eyelids covered in heavy black shadow.
Last week, the budding About-Face Beauty mogul dropped a solo version of her Post Malone collab “Die 4 Me” as the latest follow-up to the aforementioned 2021 studio set. Since that album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the singer has also released the one-off “So Good” and joined forces with Calvin Harris, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams on Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 single “Stay With Me.”
At the start of the month, Halsey had another musical milestone to celebrate: “Without Me” being certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The 2018 No. 1 hit became the singer’s second single — and first solo effort — to reach the benchmark of going 10x platinum after 2016’s “Closer” with The Chainsmokers.
Get a look at Halsey’s sultry look from the Paris Fashion Week runway below.
