Pop
Page: 70
Britney Spears can’t stop gushing over her younger son, Jayden James Federline, following their emotional Christmas reunion. On Tuesday (Dec. 31), the 43-year-old pop icon took to Instagram to share a series of photos of her 18-year-old son, reflecting on their similar appearances and appearing to praise his musical talents. “Mine forever !!! It’s weird […]
The end is nigh. At least according to a series of ominous billboards that have popped up across the globe featuring the message “The End Is Near” that fans are speculating are part of the elaborate roll-out of The Weeknd‘s next permutation.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
According to fans sightings, the messages — which are written out in six different fonts representing Abel Tesfaye’s various eras — have gone up in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Paris, London and Melbourne, according to fan snaps.
In two posts on Monday (Dec. 30) teasing the tease, Tesfaye wrote “8 beautiful chapters in this story,” accompanied by a composite image featuring iconic looks from those eras — with the same TheEndIsNear branding — followed by a list of his albums. It begins with 2012’s compilation/major label debut Trilogy (which scooped up his three previous mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence), followed by 2013’s Kiss Land, 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, 2016’s Starboy, the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, 2020’s smash After Hours, 2022’s Dawn FM and his upcoming sixth studio album.
Trending on Billboard
In a second post, he shared a 24-second video of “The End Is Near” billboards compiled on a digital display atop a building on a busy street. At press time a spokesperson for the singer had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional information on the billboards.
Tesfaye has been teasing his next LP for months, with Hurry Up Tomorrow slated for release on Jan. 24. The set will be the third and final installment of the latest trilogy in the Weeknd’s career, following on the heels of 2020’s After Hours and 2022’s Dawn FM. To date he has released three singles from the collection, including “Dancing in the Flames,” “Timeless” with Playboi Carti and “São Paulo” featuring Anitta.
He debuted those songs and other tracks from Hurry Up Tomorrow during his one-night-only show at the Estádio MorumBIS in São Paulo, Brazil. Weeknd has planned a one-night-only gig at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles on January 25. Earlier this month he again hinted at the major reboot, posting “New Album, New Tour, New Movie, New Everything.”
In addition to the album, Weeknd is slated to make his feature film debut in the parallel Hurry Up Tomorrow big screen psychological thriller, directed by Trey Edward Shults (It Comes At Night) and co-starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan; the film is due out on May 16.
Back in May 2023, in a W Magazine interview, Tesfaye intimated that his next studio release would be his final one as the Weeknd. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn,” he said at the time. “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
Check out Weeknd’s teases below.
It’s an understatement to say that Chappell Roan had a huge 2024. But as the hours ticked down to 2025, the singer was in a reflective mood on Monday (Dec. 30) in an Instagram post in which she ran down her top 10 personal ranking of her most “Iconic” looks of the year. The singer […]
Shortly after Ashley Avignone helped celebrate Taylor Swift‘s birthday, the pop star returned the favor. In photos shared by the stylist on Instagram Sunday (Dec. 30), she and her longtime bestie celebrated another trip around the sun at what appears to be a cozy restaurant gathering, sharing drinks and a colorful cake.
One photo finds Swift — sporting a sleek black top, cherry red lipstick and sharp white-and-black eyeliner — wrapping Avignone in a big hug while seated at their table. Another snap shows off the sprinkle-covered cake the pair shared, featuring pink and purple frosting reading, “Ash is 25 (again).”
“Happy birthday to me, emphasis on the *happy,*” Avignone captioned the post.
Trending on Billboard
The post comes exactly 10 days after the interior designer shared pictures from Swift’s own birthday bash, which Travis Kelce, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, the HAIM sisters and more friends also attended earlier this month. The party appeared to be themed around the 14-time Grammy winner’s global Eras Tour, which closed Dec. 8 in Vancouver.
“When she thought she was going to a small, quiet dinner but it was actually a giant surprise party with her friends and family, props included,” Avignone wrote at the time.
Avignone and Swift have been besties for well over a decade, with the latter including the former’s first name in the secret liner-note message for Red single “22” back in 2012. The influencer has also attended a few Kansas City Chiefs games with the “Karma” artist, including the 2024 Super Bowl in February.
Swift seems to be closing out her 2024 by enjoying quality time with family and friends following a blockbuster 2024, which, for her, included spending 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with The Tortured Poets Department, winning two new Grammys — including album of the year for Midnights — at the February ceremony and setting a new record for most Billboard Music Awards wins in December, in addition to raking in more than $2 billion at the close of her Eras trek. Over the weekend, she and Kelce stepped out in New York City with Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley, one day after Swift and the tight end went out again on a date night at the private supper club Chez Margaux, per reports.
What’s that on Dunkin’ Donuts’ new menu? That’s that Sabrina Carpenter espresso.
As unveiled Monday morning (Dec. 30), the 25-year-old pop star is the face of a new drink called Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso, which will become available in stores nationwide starting on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31). The sweet, hand-crafted drink will feature rich espresso, oat milk and ice freshly shaken together — or, moved up, down, left, right, oh, switched up like Nintendo, you could say — with each order.
In photos showing off the product, Carpenter wears a sparkly pink vest while posing with her new favorite beverage, still in its clear shaker. The musician also stars in a hilarious new commercial for the partnership in which she mixes up her own espresso drink, cheekily telling the camera, “I just love shaking that ess’.”
“Been shaking that ess’ for hours,” Carpenter adds as other people join in on the fun, including her grandmother, who declares while shimmying: “No one shakes that ‘ess like Gam Gam!”
Trending on Billboard
Then for the punchline: “Oh! ‘Shake that ess” kind of sounds like, ‘Shake that a–!’” the Grammy nominee chirps.
Carpenter is just the latest star to partner with the coffee chain, with Ice Spice joining forces with Dunkin’ for a custom Munchkins drink in 2023. In June, Jelly Roll celebrated National Donut Day with the company and shared that his own stage name was inspired by jelly donuts.
The Girl Meets World alum has also previously leveraged her highly caffeinated smash 2024 hit into a partnership with Van Leeuwen, unveiling a chocolate-swirled espresso-flavored ice cream with the company in June. Her new business move with Dunkin’ caps off an explosive year for Carpenter, who scored her first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with August’s Short n’ Sweet.
Carpenter also earned her first-ever top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024, with “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste” reaching Nos. 3, 1 and 2, respectively. Plus, the former closed out the year as the most-steamed song on both Apple Music and Spotify.
See Carpenter shake that ess’ in her new Dunkin’ commercial below.
Post Malone expressed his gratitude to Beyoncé after joining her stunning NFL Halftime Show performance during the Texans-Ravens game at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Christmas Day. On Saturday (Dec. 28), the 29-year-old singer shared a heartfelt message to Queen Bey, 43, on X (formerly Twitter). “thank you @Beyonce so much for havin me out in […]
Engaged couple Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco shared a loved-up photo over the holiday weekend that shows the two of them kissing on a cozy armchair. The soon-to-be-married pair look very comfortable in the snapshot — especially Gomez, whose face is hovering above Blanco’s and whose hand is pointing his chin upwards as she comes […]
Mark Ronson is remembering legendary producer Quincy Jones.
In an emotional piece shared with The Guardian on Thursday (Dec. 26), Ronson reflected on his personal experiences working with Jones — who passed away in November at the age of 91 — and the profound impact the music icon had on his life and career.
“Losing Quincy is like a black hole swallowing part of the musical universe,” Ronson wrote. “But his work will live forever, as will his lessons. Keep striving for that deeper knowledge. Always leave space for something bigger than yourself. Because sometimes, magic happens when we get out of the way.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Ronson opened the tribute by recalling a passage from Jones’ 2001 autobiography, Q, in which the legendary musician describes walking away from a successful career in order to study music theory and composition in Paris.
Trending on Billboard
“Imagine reaching the pinnacle of success, especially as a young Black musician in segregated 1950s America, and saying thanks, but I’m starting over for the sake of chords and harmony,” Ronson wrote. “I fantasize about having that kind of courage.”
“But that’s the peril of holding Quincy as a yardstick,” he continued. “He’s an impossible standard. For producers and arrangers like me, he didn’t just raise the bar; he hid it where no one could reach.”
Ronson also reflected on the years he spent with Jones, particularly when he was engaged to the legendary producer’s daughter, Rashida Jones, in the early 2000s. The two producers also collaborated on the song “Keep Reachin’,” featuring Chaka Khan, for the 2018 Netflix documentary Quincy, directed by Rashida Jones.
“Over the years, he would send me kind notes — he had a particular fondness for Amy [Winehouse] — and we’d often hang out whenever I played the Montreux jazz festival, his beloved stomping ground,” Ronson wrote. “Seeing him there, stage right, seated in his director’s chair — looking every bit the debonair godfather of music, smiling back at you — elicited a wild mix of emotions.”
He added, “The greatest producer and arranger of all time, watching your every move, was utterly terrifying. And yet he only radiated generosity. All he wanted was for you to win, to shine. He had already achieved the unimaginable. Now he existed as something rare and beautiful — a benevolent cheerleader for the wonder of music itself.”
Jones passed away on Nov. 3 at his home in Los Angeles. A 28-time Grammy Award winner, Jones was revered for his groundbreaking work as a producer and arranger on iconic albums, including Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987).
Jones was also the guiding force behind the recording of the all-star charity single “We Are the World” in 1985, which rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured a star-studded lineup of artists, including Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Kenny Rogers.
Hayley Williams may be gearing up for her first solo tour in 2025.
On Friday (Dec. 27), the Paramore frontwoman hinted at the possibility of solo dates in an Instagram Story celebrating her 36th birthday. In her note, Williams reflected on the tour she had to cancel in 2020 in support of her debut solo album, Petals for Armor, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m going to try and finally play some shows next year that would’ve happened nearly 5 years ago now,” she wrote. “That is, if the world doesn’t f—ing stop before then. Here’s hoping.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Petals for Armor was released in March 2020, and Williams had planned a European and North American tour to support the album. However, the pandemic forced her to cancel those shows as venues around the world shut down.
Trending on Billboard
“Wow. I am going on tour. Myself. It’s not Paramore and truthfully, it’s just a little terrifying,” she wrote at the time. “But if I know anything, it’s that there’s no safer place (besides at home with my dog) than to be in a room, in front of the people who’ve grown up singing my lungs out for. There was a time I thought I wouldn’t tour Petals for Armor. What a joke. I must.”
During the pandemic, Williams shifted to virtual performances, including an NPR Tiny Desk concert filmed in Nashville, and released her surprise sophomore album, Flowers for Vases/Descansos, in 2021.
In 2023, after the lockdowns lifted, Paramore returned with their sixth studio album, This Is Why. The pop-punk band supported the release with a tour that included dates opening for Taylor Swift on her record-breaking Eras Tour.
In her celebratory post on Instagram, Williams also thanked fans for their well-wishes and shared a personal reflection.
“35 felt like tilling soil and throwing little seeds down. Waiting, waiting, waiting to see,” she wrote. “36 is exciting and a little scary, already. So much to hope for. I’m still in the dirt, ready for whatever might grow. Fruit?”
Tina Knowles is fiercely defending her daughter Beyoncé after the pop superstar’s NFL Halftime Show performance on Christmas Day.
On Friday (Dec. 27), the proud mother took to social media to respond to the criticism surrounding Queen Bey’s stunning performance at the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game at NRG Stadium. The 12-minute set, now available for streaming on Netflix, had generated some backlash, prompting Knowles to speak out in her daughter’s defense.
Knowles began by reposting a fan’s message on Instagram that called out those who had negative things to say about the performance.“Irrespective of whether you like Beyoncé’s music or not, it is PROOF and motivation that no matter how undeniably talented you are, people will always, ALWAYS, always have some negative ish to say,” the fan’s comment read.
In her caption, Knowles agreed with the fan, writing, “My sentiments exactly! It is mind-boggling to me that you would take your precious Christmas day and watch a performance of someone you hate and you don’t think has talent so that you can go talk ish about it later.”
Trending on Billboard
She continued, “Obviously you are so obsessed with them , addicted to them , and secretly admire them , wish you could be them, that you cannot help but to watch and critique and comment and say dumb ridiculous stuff that makes you look like a joke !! So go to another channel when it’s halftime watch goofy cartoons or Bozo the clown or something you can relate to and see yourself in. Said with love.”
Knowles also reflected on her daughter’s strength, adding, “I have learned so much from her warrior spirit, of when they go low I work harder ‘No weapon formed against me shall prosper’ one ,two , three waiting for the fake bots to come’.”
She followed up with several posts celebrating the positive reactions to Bey’s performance, including a comment from Bun B, who praised the superstar’s career: “I think quietly, this entire time we’ve watched her rise. She’s probably the single most intentional performer, musician and entertainer in our culture. Beyoncé knows exactly who she is, and she understands that when she does something, things change,” the rapper said.
The Houston-born superstar’s halftime show featured songs from her latest album Cowboy Carter, a country-infused project that topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks. The performance included collaborations with Shaboozey, Post Malone, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer and others, showcasing tracks like “16 Carriages” to “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “Levii’s Jeans” and “Jolene.” Beyoncé’s 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter also joined her on stage as a dancer, just as she did on the Renaissance World Tour.
Following the performance, Beyoncé teased a new project set for release in 2025. In a cryptic post on social media, she shared a video of herself riding a majestic white horse while waving an American flag. The clip ended with a black screen featuring the message: “1.14.25.” She simply captioned the post with, “Look at that horse.”