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Selena Gomez is back. The singer and Only Murders in the Building star who was the second-most-followed woman on Instagram when she quit the social network more than four years ago quietly returned on Wednesday (Jan. 11) with a low-key series of bathroom selfies and the message, “Wait can you tell I’m back on Instagram?”
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A year ago, Gomez opened up to InStyle about her troubled relationship with the app, on which she now has 369 million followers. “I became aware that my little world is complicated, but the picture is much bigger than the stuff I deal with. I have problems with depression and anxiety, and I found it difficult for me to be me,” she told the publication at the time. “I didn’t want to post anything on social media because I realized that I was in a situation where I was extremely blessed. What could I possibly post or say?”
So, Gomez, 30, deleted Insta from her phone and turned the keys over to a member of her team after realizing that she had an unhealthy relationship with the app and other forms of social media. “At one point Instagram became my whole world, and it was really dangerous. In my early 20s, I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough. There was a whole period in my life when I thought I needed makeup and never wanted to be seen without it,” said the singer who has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder and anxiety in the past.
“The older I got, the more I evolved and realized that I needed to take control of what I was feeling. I wanted to be able to look in the mirror and feel confident to be who I am,” she explained. “Taking a break from social media was the best decision that I’ve ever made for my mental health. I created a system where I still don’t have my passwords. And the unnecessary hate and comparisons went away once I put my phone down. I’ll have moments where that weird feeling will come back, but now I have a much better relationship with myself.”
Check out Gomez’s post below.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues, reach out to SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, confidential support and resources 24/7.
Gwen Stefani found an unexpected supporter in Kyle Richards on Wednesday (Jan. 11) in the wake of her controversial statements about being Japanese.
One day prior, Stefani made headlines by defending her long-documented love of Harajuku culture in a profile for Allure. “My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it,” she said in the piece. (For the record, the Anaheim, Calif., native is of Italian and Irish descent.)
The comments have attracted all kinds of reactions — from ire and confusion to accusations of appropriation — from fans on social media, but the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills OG didn’t seem to see what the big problem was. “Everyone can’t wait to be offended by something,” she commented an Instagram post by E! News about Stefani’s quote from the interview.
Thus far, Stefani herself has stayed mum amid the online backlash; the pop star’s most recent Instagram post, shared one day before the interview went live, featured her promoting her GXVE cosmetics line. (According to Allure, she turned down a request to clarify or add additional context to her statements prior to publication.)
Surely, Stefani’s controversial statement isn’t the only music-related story Richards has her mind on these days either. Just before New Year’s, her famous niece Paris Hilton dropped a new version of the socialite’s cult classic 2006 single “Stars Are Blind.” The DJ and heiress, whose mom Kathy Hilton has appeared on the last two seasons of RHOBH with Richards as a friend of the Housewives, also gave a surprise performance of the track alongside Miley Cyrus and Sia during NBC’s Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party on Dec. 31.
Rachel Zegler delivered an acoustic take on Taylor Swift‘s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” on social media on Monday (Jan. 9).
In the clip, the West Side Story actress strums her acoustic guitar as she runs through the Midnights bonus track’s devastating bridge and chorus, singing, “If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?/ Years of tearing down our banners, you and I/ Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts/ Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first/ And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil/ At 19/ And the God’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven.”
The heartrending ballad became an instant fan favorite when Swift released it as part of Midnights (3am Edition) just hours after dropping the standard version of the album back in October. The 20-track deluxe version also contained bonus tracks “The Great War,” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” “Paris,” “High Infidelity,” “Glitch” and “Dear Reader.”
Swift confirmed last week that she’s currently in the midst of rehearsals for her upcoming The Eras Tour, which is set to kick off March 17 and 18 in Glendale, Ariz.
Her announcement — tied to the 12-hour flash sale of exclusive digital copies of Midnights containing “behind the song” material on four different tracks — immediately had Swifties in their feelings. “Taylor saying the words tour rehearsal alone it’s all starting to feel real we literally see taylor in 2 and a half months,” one wrote, encapsulating the anticipation happening on Swiftie Twitter.
Watch Zegler’s acoustic cover of “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” below.
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter released an emotional tribute to his late brother Aaron Carter, “Hurts to Love You,” on Wednesday (Jan. 11). The ballad was accompanied by a video featuring footage of the siblings as children, and a message from Nick on Instagram.
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“We all have someone in our lives that no matter what they do and how bad it hurts you still love them,” he wrote. “So I worked it out the best way I know how.”
Aaron, who struggled with substance and mental health issues, died unexpectedly in November at age 34.
“Feel like we’ve been through some wars together/ Nobody else could understand/ Way too many nightmares to remember,” Carter sings over a spare, heartbeat-like beat. “Always hoped your tomorrows/ Would be better than the days before/ I hoped you’d find your road to follow/ To a place you were happy in this world,” he adds before the heartbreaking chorus, “Cuz it hurts to love you, but I love you still/ Miss you with all my heart you know I always will.”
Singer and TV personality Aaron Carter was found dead on Nov. 5. While no cause of death has yet been revealed, a spokesperson for the LAPD said at the time that a “suspicious death” had taken place at the address of Carter’s residence.
Following his younger brother’s death, Nick shared a number of photos featuring Aaron from their childhood. “My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” he wrote at the time. “I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here.”
Listen to “Hurts to Love You” and see Nick’s post below.
When it comes to getting what they want, Sam Smith isn’t relying on euphemisms anymore.
On Wednesday (Jan. 11), Smith unveiled their latest single “Gimme,” featuring Jamaican reggae-rap star Koffee, and Canadian R&B singer Jessie Reyez. Bouncing with a dancehall flair, the track lays the lusty vibes on thick before Smith can even deliver such saucy lines like “Your eyes on my dun, dun-dun-dun/ I need you to come … closer.”
Reyez shines on the already-addictive chorus, and Koffee’s rapid-fire reggae verse gives the song a jolt of extra life, allowing Smith to shoot their otherworldly voice into the stratosphere on the final chorus. “Voyeurs are watching us/ Giving me such a rush,” the star sings alongside Reyez. “When I’m crazy and drunk on love/ Gimme what I want.”
In a statement released alongside the new single, Smith called the new song “filth,” saying that they wanted to be able to represent their sexual perspective on a track. “I’m a sexual person, I like sex. It’s something I’m teaching myself to not be ashamed of,” Smith said. “Me and Jessie were basically drunk, drinking whisky in Jamaica, two in the morning, running around absolutely wasted, like two girlfriends having a laugh.”
“Gimme,” like its chart-topping predecesor “Unholy,” comes on the heels of a push for the song on TikTok, where Smith shared a few snippets of the track. Eventually, fans began to create their own dances to the track, specifically timed to Reyez’s hypnotic “gimme gimme gimme” refrain as they shook their booties on camera.
The new song is latest off of Smith’s forthcoming new album, Gloria. Due out Jan. 27 via Capitol Records, the new album promises to be a new take on Smith’s well-established sound. “It feels like emotional, sexual and spiritual liberation,” Smith said of Gloria in a statement. “It was beautiful, with this album, to sing freely again. Oddly, it feels like my first-ever record. And it feels like a coming of age.”
Check out Sam Smith’s “Gimme,” featuring Koffee & Jessie Reyez below:
Teen psychics, werewolves, vampires and gorgons make up the student body at Nevermore Academy in Netflix’s Wednesday — so who better to make a cameo than the queen of little monsters herself? While hitting the Golden Globes red carpet Tuesday night (Jan. 10), leading lady Jenna Ortega discussed what a character played by Lady Gaga on the mysterious and spooky hit series would entail.
“I’m sure Netflix would love that,” Ortega said at the awards show, where she was nominated for best actress – television series musical or comedy, which ultimately went to Abbott Elementary‘s Quinta Brunson. “If Lady Gaga were to be a part, [she and Wednesday] would have to be two monsters that understand each other,” she added.
Gaga has been linked to Wednesday ever since a mega-viral trend spontaneously emerged on TikTok following the show’s November release, wherein creators would recreate Ortega’s equally viral season one, episode four dance scene using the 13-time Grammy winner’s Bad Romance album deep cut “Bloody Mary.” Despite never actually being featured in the first season, the song became so synonymous with Wednesday that Netflix went on to use it in a recent teaser video for the show’s second season.
The “Bad Romance” singer herself has even commented on the Wednesday hype in the past, which just recently catapulted “Bloody Mary” into the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time ever (it’s currently No. 68 on the chart dated Jan. 14). In December, she tweeted, “Slay Wednesday! You’re welcome at Haus of Gaga anytime (and bring Thing with you, we love paws around here)” in response to the TikTok trend and later created her own Wednesday-inspired TikTok.
See Jenna Ortega brainstorm Wednesday character ideas for Lady Gaga below.
With 10 nominees apiece in each of the Big Four categories at the 2023 Grammy Awards, predicting the night’s winners is tougher than ever — but that won’t stop the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast from trying.
On the latest episode, Katie & Keith are breaking down Billboard awards editor Paul Grein’s Big Four predictions — in the record of the year, song of the year, best new artist and album of the year categories. Will Harry Styles and Lizzo snag their first Big Four wins, thanks to nods in three of the four categories each? And after years of being passed over for album of the year, could Renaissance be Beyoncé’s golden ticket — or will Bad Bunny continue on his unstoppable path toward global domination and take the top prize with Un Verano Sin Ti instead?
There’s a lot to discuss ahead of the Feb. 5 awards show, so let’s get to it in the brand-new episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast below.
Also on the show, it’s a rather exciting week on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, as both The Weekend and Beyoncé notch new top 10 hits, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “Blue (I’m Good)” hits a new peak, and Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” jumps back to No. 1 for a seventh week — tying for the most weeks any Swift song has spent atop the chart. Plus, on the Billboard 200, SZA’s SOS clocks a fourth straight week at No. 1 — becoming the first R&B album by a woman to spend its first four weeks atop the list in nearly 30 years.
Plus, we happened to get some breaking pop news while we were recording the podcast: The 2023 Coachella headliners have arrived! And Keith shares his experience attending ABBA’s Voyage concert in London — what it was like to see he virtual concert in person?
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 senior director of charts 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.)
Gwen Stefani raised eyebrows in a new interview while reflecting on her love for Harajuku culture. The topic came up when the pop star looked back on her original beauty brand Harajuku Lovers, which she unveiled four years after the release of her debut solo album Love.Angel.Music.Baby, in 2004.
Speaking to Allure, she explained that her genuine interest in all things Japanese came from her dad, who spent much of his professional career traveling between Anaheim, Calif., and Tokyo while working for Yamaha.
“That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me,” she told the magazine, adding that she then traveled to the country on her own as an adult. “I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it.’ … I am, you know.”
Whether that statement is hyperbolic, Stefani insisted there was nothing but “innocence” in her devotion to Harajuku culture and went on to describe herself as a “super fan.” Her Love.Angel.Music.Baby era was filled with Tokyo street fashion, and she even enlisted four Japanese backup dancers as Harajuku Girls that trailed her on red carpets, at photo shoots, in her music videos and on tour. The top five Billboard 200 album even contained a cut called “Harajuku Girls,” on which she sang, “Harajuku girls, you got the wicked style/ I like the way that you are/ I am your biggest fan.”
However, in the decades since, Stefani, who is Italian-American, has been blamed by some fans for appropriating the culture rather than innocently finding inspiration in it for her music and fashion.
“If [people are] going to criticize me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn’t feel right,” she added in the interview. “I think it was a beautiful time of creativity… a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture… [It] should be OK to be inspired by other cultures because if we’re not allowed then that’s dividing people, right?”
Allure reports that, prior to publication, Stefani turned down the opportunity to add any “on-the-record comment or clarification” to her interview. Read Stefani’s full sit-down with Allure here.
Ellie Goulding has hit a bump in the road regarding her album release plans. On Tuesday (Jan. 10), the English singer revealed that her album Higher Than Heaven — originally scheduled to be released next month on Feb. 3 — had been delayed to a later date.
“To my incredible fans- I’m sorry to announce that we’re delaying the release of ‘Higher Than Heaven’ to March 24,” Goulding shared on Twitter, along with a short video of her recording in the studio and clips of her filming music videos. “I know you’ve all been so patient with me but we’ve had some exciting opportunities appear behind the scenes which I cannot wait to share with you in due course.”
The “Lights” singer did predict that something like an album delay could happen. In an interview with Billboard News, published in October, Goulding provided an update regarding Higher Than Heaven‘s release but said she may hesitate closer to its release day.
“The album’s done, although I’m sure it will get to the release date of the beginning of next year and I’ll be like ‘No! There’s more songs to write!’” she explained at the time. “But I have a couple more songs coming out this year. The next one I’m really excited about. It’s one of those songs that isn’t a radio song, but something I think people will enjoy.”
In the meantime, fans of Goulding’s can listen to the three singles preceding Higher Than Heaven‘s March 24 release date — “Easy Lover” featuring Big Sean, “All By Myself” and “Let It Die.”
See Goulding’s new album update below.
To my incredible fans- I’m sorry to announce that we’re delaying the release of Higher Than Heaven to March 24. I know you’ve all been so patient with me but we’ve had some exciting opportunities appear behind the scenes which I cannot wait to share with you in due course. pic.twitter.com/XRbeDoggZn— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) January 9, 2023
Since debuting in 2016, BLACKPINK has been busy not only making music, but collecting accolades. Besides climbing up the charts with their well-received releases and catchy tunes, the quartet of Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo has been raking in numerous firsts as an all-female K-pop group.
Billboard charts records? Check! First K-pop girl group to not only perform at Coachella, but first Asian act to headline the festival? Done! New Guinness World Records? Yep! Surpassing Justin Bieber in YouTube subscribers? You know it! And that’s just several of the notable accomplishments the four ladies of BLACKPINK have notched on their belts in just a few short years. Even more impressive? Many of those achievements came about even before their debut studio album — titled The Album — arrived in October 2020.
“It’s very surprising to us. All the records are the results of our fans, BLINKs, and their unconditional support,” Jennie told Grammy.com of their success in September 2020. “Every day we try to acknowledge how grateful we are, but more than the pressure, we are ready to give them back as much as they gave us. It just gives us more motivation to go further than we ever dreamed of.”
With sophomore studio album Born Pink now out and a world tour to support the set, BLACKPINK is primed to knock down even more records. Read on to see what the global K-pop superstar group has managed to accomplish in North America thus far.
