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Lizzie and Rachel! Hilary Duff spent a girls night out in New York City over the weekend supporting Lea Michele in Broadway’s Funny Girl.
“Lea, what a treat to see you in this role! You shine so bright … it was made for you!” the Lizzie McGuire star wrote on Saturday (Jan. 7) alongside a photo of herself and three pals — including Younger co-star Molly Bernard — posing with the Glee alum at the theater.
Within the slideshow, Duff also shared snaps smiling in front of the Funny Girl marquee outside the August Wilson Theatre, and showing off multiple copies of the musical’s playbill from her seat. For her part, Michele appreciated the social media shout-out, writing, “Love you hil” with a simple red heart emoji in the comments.
The Broadway star’s stint as Fanny Brice in the musical revival has been a resounding success since she stepped into the role in September, replacing original star Beanie Feldstein. In late December, her star power helped the show bring in more than $2 million across eight shows, setting a new record for the historic venue that’s also been home to Tony nominees such as Mean Girls, Jersey Boys, Slave Play and more over the years.
During the holiday season, Michele also dished on the heartwarming letter she received in her dressing room from original Funny Girl star Barbra Streisand in an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Duff, meanwhile, shared an adorably chaotic Christmas card with her rocker husband Matthew Koma and kids Luca, Banks and Mae.
See Duff and Michele celebrate Funny Girl below.
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
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These 10 tracks from artists including Monsta X, The New Pornographers, Leony and JW Francis and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Monsta X, “Beautiful Liar”
The members of Monsta X have always been adept at synthesizing different genres into a fun, immediate product, and on “Beautiful Liar,” the standout track from new mini-album Reason, the K-pop stars mash up funk, hair metal, dance-pop and hip-hop in a manner that doesn’t sound overstuffed or lose its foundation. Plenty of Monsta X singles possess interesting tidbits in their margins, but “Beautiful Liar” keeps its ambition front and center. – Jason Lipshutz
India Theiriot, “Montage”
Ever scroll New Music Friday and hear a pop song so self-assured and satisfying that it stops you in your tracks? That effect undoubtedly happened to anyone lucky enough to stumble upon singer-songwriter India Theiriot’s “Montage,” a heartfelt and ornately produced track that possessed the quality of a breakthrough. Theiriot’s vocal warmth wraps around the synths here, presenting observations and memories with a gravity that invites the listener closer. – J.L.
Leony, “Somewhere in Between”
Now this is how you do a pre-chorus: on “Somewhere in Between,” the new single from Leony, the German pop artist’s voice keeps creeping upward, inching toward higher octaves, before the hook kicks in and the listener feels a rush of speed and danger. Best of all, “Somewhere in Between” matches its construction with a tale of self-confidence (“Got clarity inside of me, I know who I am / No matter what you saw, I know my heart always stayed the same,” Leony sings), so that the payoff feels earned. – J.L.
Debby Friday, “So Hard To Tell”
Debby Friday’s backstory is fascinating enough to fill a novel — the Nigerian-born artist grew up hopscotching across Canada, attending all-night raves, quitting DJ’ing due to personal issues, then picking up the pieces as a singer-songwriter through YouTube tutorials. Even a context-free listen to new single “So Hard To Tell,” however, reveals one of the young year’s most audacious bangers, a daring and cacophonous piece of pop that wants to entrance (or maybe pummel) its listener with its percussion. – J.L.
The New Pornographers, “Really Really Light”
The New Pornographers have been slinging pristine indie-pop hooks for over two decades now, and new single “Really Really Light,” from just-announced album Continue as a Guest, reminds the world of the combined power of A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar and Neko Case as singers, songwriters and complementary pieces in a group setting. “Really Really Light” is at once big and driving, but also reserved and a little clouded, as if the New Pornos want to make their pop sheen slightly askew here. – J.L.
Violet Saturn, “Love U Madly”
Looking to re-create some Warped Tour memories… or at least the time you scream-shouted “good 4 u” with your friends? Siblings Lauren and Spencer Carr Reed have you covered with this enjoyable pop-punk offering from their group Violet Saturn — just don’t headbang too hard to miss the sly time-signature change on “Love U Madly,” where the phrase “My heart stops” literally causes the tempo to rearrange. – J.L.
Neriah, “Puppet on a String”
Los Angeles newcomer Neriah’s latest single successfully see-saws between her airy vocals and some punchier production as the song builds toward a sticky chorus. Though on the shorter side — the track clocks in at two minutes — “Puppet on a String” has just enough for fans to trust where Neriah is headed. – Lyndsey Havens
MyKey, “Bender”
Singer-songwriter MyKey (a moniker inspired by his real name, Mikey… get it?) blissfully blends acoustic riffs with folk-inspired pop melodies, creating contemplative, consuming songs like “Bender.” With its bare-bones production, the single’s power is in its subtlety, but MyKey pulls off a rare feat here. – L.H.
JW Francis, “Going Home to a Party”
With a style reminiscent of the 2000s indie-rock heyday, “Going Home to a Party” could help usher back in a renaissance of rollicking riffs and whimsical production. Courtesy of bedroom pop artist JW Francis, the single is a strong coming attraction of his upcoming album Dream House, out Jan. 27. – L.H.
Suriel Hess, “Wasted”
There’s a refreshing immediacy to “Wasted” that comes from Suriel Hess’ lyrics rather than any grabbing melody. Supported by an acoustic guitar, he sings, “It could be easier, to sit back and just observe, but my mind races.” It’s a perfect lay-up for what follows, as he chronicles what exactly is running sprints through his mind (spoiler alert: it’s a girl). – L.H.
Joey Fatone surprised patrons at a Miami drag brunch over the weekend by jumping on stage to perform *NSYNC‘s “Bye Bye Bye.”
“WHAT A WEEKEND ITS BEEN ALREADY!! We had the honor of being visited by @nsyncs own @realjoeyfatone who joined us and sang one of their biggest hits with our queens for our visitors…You never know who’s going to attend our shows!,” drag bar Palace shared via Instagram on Saturday (Jan. 8) alongside a video of the boy band veteran dancing to the 2000 pop classic with a pair of drag queens. He even busted out the iconic choreography from the track’s music video for the moment.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season 3 winner Spankie Jackzon couldn’t get enough of the post, writing, “Yassss I would be living” in the comments.
Released as the lead single off *NSYNC’s sophomore album No Strings Attached, the swaggering No. 1 kiss-off helped launch the album to a then-record-setting 2.4 million copies sold in its first week. “Bye Bye Bye” was later followed by fellow fan favorites “It’s Gonna Be Me,” “I’ll Never Stop” and “This I Promise You.”
Last fall, Fatone served as a guest judge on Season 8 of The Masked Singer and just so happened to be on set for bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick’s big unmasking as Hummingbird after he immediately guessed his identity.
One month earlier, the *NSYNC nostalgia was in full steam when Justin Timberlake wished JC Chasez a happy birthday after the latter turned 46.
Watch Fatone rock out to “Bye Bye Bye” with drag queens below.
For fans of Sam Smith anxiously awaiting the release of the singer’s hotly anticipated album, fear not: They’re here to give you what you want.
On Saturday (Jan. 7), Smith announced that their latest single “Gimme,” featuring Koffee and Jessie Reyez, would be dropping on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Teasing the new track on Instagram and TikTok, Smith also shared a snippet of the song’s infectious chorus, with them and Reyez singing the word “gimme what I want” over an undulating tropical beat.
Fans of Reyez will also be excited to know that this is not the only time the R&B star will be appearing on Smith’s new album Gloria — the singer is also credited as a featured artist on the song “Perfect.” Reyez was also announced as Smith’s special guest for their upcoming U.S. tour, which will see them hit arenas around the country this summer.
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Gloria, which drops on Friday, Jan. 27, is marked to be something of a breakthrough for Smith in terms of songwriting and production. Speaking to Billboard for our August cover story last year, the star said that fans can expect to hear Smith’s “first non-heartbreak album,” and that the project was centered around the concept of queer joy. “I think joy for me, and for a lot of queer people, is quite a dangerous place,” Smith said “We’re all masters of pain, and I think it’s actually a very courageous act to step into the queer joy of it all.”
“Gimme” is out everywhere on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Check out the announcement and song teaser below:
What’s Jessie J‘s go-to accessory these days? A barf bag. That’s because the 34-year-old pop star, who recently surprised fans by announcing that she’s pregnant, has been in the throes of her first trimester — a not-so-glamorous reality she opened up about in a revealing Instagram video Sunday (Jan. 8).
The video features a reel of clips filmed at different times during her first trimester, many of them showing the “Price Tag” singer doubling over in discomfort, her head occasionally planted in a trash can or airsickness bag. In one clip, she leans down into a sink and runs water over her flushed face, and in another, she breaks down into tears.
“I can’t even explain to you how sick I feel,” she says in the video. “Look at the state of me.”
“I was warned about that first trimester and it was WOOFY WOOF,” she captioned the post, adding a series of emojis to visually express the exhaustion and nausea she’s facing:🤰🏻🥱🫣🤤🤢🤮😵💫🙄😂😭😏🤮😳
But all is not bad. In a second video on Monday (Jan. 9), the singer shared with followers how delighted she is. “Happy Grateful Excited,” she captioned the visual, which shows clips of her with a big smile on her face, recording vocals, showing off her baby bump, and crunching into a giant cucumber as she rubs her belly.
The candid videos come just a couple days after the musician announced to the world that she’s expecting, a moment made bittersweet by the heartbreaking pregnancy loss she experienced a year prior. “I am so happy and terrified to finally share this… Please be gentle with me,” she wrote Friday (Jan. 6), sharing clips of her positive pregnancy test and ultrasound.
When she shared her pregnancy loss in 2021, the British star shared a raw, since-deleted post on Instagram that explained she’d decided to “have a baby on my own” because becoming a mom was “all I ever wanted.” “To get pregnant was a miracle in itself and an experience I will never forget and I know I will have again,” she wrote at the time.
See Jessie J’s videos about the realities of trimester pregnancy below:
BTS‘ Jin was the first member of the septet to begin their mandatory service in the South Korean army last month. But before he left for basic, the 30-year-old singer recorded a special message for the group’s ultra-dedicated non-military ARMY fan group.
“Hello everyone, this is Jin of BTS. I won’t be a civilian by the time the video is out. But I am here in front of the camera, because I wanted to leave you something, even if it is just leaving a message,” said Jin in the minute-long clip filmed in what looks like an alleyway that dropped on Monday (Jan. 9).
He noted that the video was shot during a break from appearing on an episode of the SBS-produced South Korean variety show Running Man, which he appeared on in November; Jin began his enlistment on Dec. 13. “Whenever I am available I wish to leave these videos and records once every few months to share with you as much as possible, even if it’s just checking in briefly,” he continued. “I may not be by your side at this very moment, but I’ll go looking for you soon, so if you just wait a little bit. I’ll be back soon. That’s all for today. Next time when I have the chance, I’ll be back with another video.”
Just before leaving for bootcamp last month, Jin uploaded a photo which showed off that his signature locks — most recently on display in his “Astronaut” music video — were shorn in favor of what’s known as the “induction cut.”
Per national law, all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the armed forces for at least 18 months with varying lengths of service time. While the draft begins once they turn 18, men may postpone it until age 28. In December 2020, the Korean National Assembly passed a motion (nicknamed the “BTS law”) to allow top K-pop stars to postpone service until age 30 with a recommendation from the culture minister.
Jin is the first of the seven BTS members to fulfill his mandatory obligations.
Watch Jin’s video below.
Olivia Rodrigo teased new music on the two-year anniversary of “Drivers License.”
“working on so many new songs I’m excited to show u! thank u for everything,” she wrote to her fans in an Instagram Story on Sunday night (Jan. 8), ending her message with a heart emoji. Her breakthrough single, “Drivers License,” was released on Jan. 8, 2021.
The temporary post featured a video clip of herself with Dan Nigro, who produced her debut album, Sour. The pair rocked out to a mystery piano track, giving fans a small taste of what’s to come.
In November, fans got an early hint that new Rodrigo music was on the horizon when the singer sent a special video message out via Spotify Wrapped. “Hey, it’s Olivia! I just wanted to say thank you so much for listening to my music this year,” she said. “I really, truly couldn’t be more grateful and I’m so excited for next year, and all of the new things and new music that 2023 will bring. So I’m sending so much love your way and thank you again! Bye!”
Rodrigo’s Sour album shot to No. 1 upon its release, spending five weeks total atop the chart in 2021, and featured Hot 100 No. 1s in “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U.”
See the new clip on Rodrigo’s Instagram Stories.
Lizzo took a moment on a Sunday morning to share her concerns about cancel culture.
“This may be a random time to say this but it’s on my heart.. cancel culture is appropriation,” Lizzo tweeted on Sunday (Jan. 8).
“There was real outrage from truly marginalized people and now it’s become trendy, misused and misdirected,” she wrote.
Lizzo continued: “I hope we can phase out of this & focus our outrage on the real problems.”
Just days before, the “About Damn Time” singer had taken to social media to shut down the “tired” “discourse around bodies.”
“I’ve seen comments go from, ‘Oh my gosh, I liked you when you were thick. Why did you lose weight?’ ‘Oh my gosh, why did you get a BBL? I liked your body before.’ ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so big. You need to lose weight but for your health’ to ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so little. You need to get a– or titties or something.’ ‘Oh my gosh, why did she get all that work done? It’s too much work,’” she said in a TikTok video on Friday.
She continued, “Are we OK? Do you see the delusion? Do you realize that artists are not here to fit into your beauty standards? Artists are here to make art. And this body is art. I’mma do whatever I want with this body. I wish that comments costed y’all money so we could see how much time we are f—ing wasting on the wrong thing. Can we leave that s— back there please?”
See Lizzo’s latest message to her fans below.
This may be a random time to say this but it’s on my heart.. cancel culture is appropriation. There was real outrage from truly marginalized people and now it’s become trendy, misused and misdirected. I hope we can phase out of this & focus our outrage on the real problems.— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) January 8, 2023
Some Britney Spears fans seem convinced that something is not quite right in a new picture featuring the singer on Paris Hilton‘s Instagram feed. Hilton shut down the “ridiculous” rumors herself in a comment on Saturday (Jan. 7).
In a post on Friday, Hilton shared several photos from friend Cade Hudson’s birthday party, most of which she says were taken on an iPhone. One picture had longtime friends Spears and Hilton posing with the guest of honor.
Comments included followers saying “That is not Britney” and leaving theories like “It’s really strange how half the necklace chains are missing in the photo with Britney. And what’s wrong with her fingers?” Another person wrote, “Is that an AI Britney?? Look at her fingers!!! WTF Paris? You’re becoming more and more shady to me and I used to love you dude. How dare you participate in whatever is going on with Brit?”
“To all of those asking. Some of these photos were taken on an iPhone so they ended up being blurry. So they used this app called Remini to make it look unblurry and sometimes the Ai distorts images,” Hilton wrote in the comments section of her own post.
“Didn’t want to even dignify this with a response,” she added. “But some of these conspiracy theories are absolutely ridiculous.”
See her snapshots below via Instagram. The photo with Spears is the third image on Hilton’s post.
The Weeknd‘s “Is There Someone Else?” video has arrived, on the one-year anniversary of his Dawn FM album.
The Cliqua-directed music video for “Is There Someone Else?” — the 10th track on Dawn FM — was released on Saturday (Jan. 7). The Weeknd had previously teased the visual, sharing a snippet on his social media accounts earlier in the week.
The singer’s latest video features him watching a woman’s seductive dance through a city apartment window — and with a somewhat creepy mask — as he wonders in the night, “Is there someone else or not?”
Dawn FM made its debut on Jan. 7, 2022 and launched at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Watch “Is There Someone Else?” below.
