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Love and light! Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra both took to social media to celebrate the Indian holiday of Diwali with their daughter Malti.
“Such a beautiful Diwali celebration with my ♥️. Happy Diwali everyone. Sending joy and light to you all. #diwali,” the Jonas Brothers singer captioned his slideshow on Tuesday (Oct. 25) while placing a heart over Malti’s face to protect the baby’s privacy.
The actress added well wishes with a post of her own a day later, writing, “Love, peace and prosperity to all. From a heart truly laden with gratitude, I wish you all a Happy Diwali. Sorry I’m a little late but decided to stay in the moment just a little bit longer..ॐ नमः शिवाय. From ours to yours. Love and light.”
In both carousels, the couple are wearing traditional Indian clothing in rich shades of cream, white and gold while performing a ceremony to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity, wealth and good fortune.
Though they have yet to share baby Malti’s face with the world, both parents regularly post photos with their only child on social media, including sweet posts for Father’s Day and a summertime trip to the pool.
Next, Jonas and his brothers are slated to perform at the Salvation Army’s “Red Kettle Kickoff” halftime show during the Dallas Cowboys game on Nov. 24, just two weeks after they return to Las Vegas for three more dates of their residency at the Dolby Live at Park MGM.
Get a look at Jonas and Chopra’s heartwarming Diwali celebration below.
Christina Aguilera is giving fans some Halloween costume inspiration by throwing it back to her famous Stripped days.
The star took to TikTok this week to recreate a scene from her tour in support of her 2002 album, in which she’s telling a dancer onstage, “Just because my album’s name is Stripped, doesn’t mean that you can take my clothes off.”
2022 Xtina then shows off a Stripped-inspired look, complete with thick lashes and black and blonde streaked hair, as she struts around her house to a remix of her single, “Dirrty.”
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Last week, Aguilera took to social media to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her sophomore album. “My favorite memory was just, I mean, the freedom to finally do what I wanted to do,” the pop star reminisced over a montage of moments from the Stripped era on Twitter. “As an artist, telling my stories, my personal messages for the first time. It was so important to me on my sophomore album that I truly made music that represented who I was.”
She added, “Stripped gave me the strength and freedom as an artist to tell my story the way I wanted. Thank you to all of my fighters around the world for amplifying that strength and giving me the space to continue to share myself in my truest forms, #20YearsOfStripped more to come.”
Stripped — which included songs like “Beautiful,” “Fighter,” “Dirrty” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” — peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, and it spent an impressive 79 total weeks on the chart.
Welcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming chart dated Nov. 5: Taylor Swift’s Midnights laps the rest of 2022’s full-length releases in its first couple of days, while the Arctic Monkeys aim for their first top five entry on the chart and YoungBoy Never Broke Again plans his sixth (!!) top 20 album of 2022.
Taylor Swift, Midnights (Republic)
Soon after its Oct. 21 release, Taylor Swift’s Midnights was no longer competing with the rest of the albums released in the past week, or even in the past year — Billboard reported it as the first album of the 2020s to cruise past the 1 million-equivalent album units mark after just three full days. At this point, Swift’s main rival is her own history: The 1.3 million units it had moved as of Monday (Oct. 24) just passed her reputation and its 1.238 million first-week units moved back in Dec. 2017 for the biggest debut of the past half-decade. (After that, she’s getting into Adele territory.)
Swift pulled off this blockbuster bow by finding a happy medium in between the surprise-release strategy of her 2020 Folklore and Evermore sets and her more traditional rollouts of the 2010s. Though the album was announced months in advance (at August’s MTV Video Music Awards), no singles came out before Midnights did; instead, Swift gradually unveiled song titles and themes of the set, building up anticipation for the set while still keeping its actual sound under wraps. Then, when the 13 tracks finally debuted at once at (of course) midnight on Oct. 21, Swift also teased an additional surprise for the true insomniacs among the Swifties — which ended up being the album’s 3am Edition, a deluxe version with seven bonus cuts.
Swift also boosted her first-week numbers the old-fashioned way: by releasing tons of physical products. Midnights has already set the single-week record for vinyl copies sold in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991) with over 500,000 records — more than most artists can now manufacture, let alone sell. Her sales are also boosted by a standard digital album, an iTunes-exclusive version with a bonus track, four standard CD and vinyl editions (each with a different cover, and different-colored records; the CDs are available in explicit and censored versions), a cassette tape, and even a Target-exclusive “Lavender” edition of the album on CD and colored-vinyl LP, with three bonus tracks on the CD. For good measure, she sold autographed versions of the four explicit CDs and the four vinyl LPs on her web store.
Arctic Monkeys, The Car (Domino)
In a universe without Swift, this week’s Billboard 200 talk might be about whether or not the Arctic Monkeys would finally score their first No. 1. The U.K. indie quartet, superstars in their home country for the better part of two decades, have claimed six straight No. 1s on the U.K. Official Charts without getting higher than No. 6 on the Billboard 200, with 2013’s A.M.. But the group has only grown in stateside popularity since that album’s release, with several tracks from both that set and their older catalog becoming streaming perennials after finding popularity on TikTok.
This week, the band releases its seventh album, The Car, preceded by the dreamy singles “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” and “Body Paint.” Neither song has found the same streaming success as lusty old hits — “505,” from 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, remains their lone entry on this week’s Rock Streaming Songs chart. But the album has received rave reviews, and the band is preparing for its biggest tour so far, including arena headlining dates in Chicago and Boston, and two nights at New York’s Forest Hills stadium.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Ma’ I Got a Family (Atlantic): Another week, another Billboard 200 contender from New Orleans rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. After hitting the chart’s top 20 with each of his first five full-length releases this year (including a collaborative set with DaBaby) – most recently with mixtape 3800 Degrees, which debuted at No. 12 just earlier this month – he’s now looking to go six for six with Ma’ I Got a Family. (Given the rapper’s recent decamping from Atlantic to Motown, some insiders have speculated that his particularly prolific release schedule of late has been at least partly motivated by contract fulfillment.)
If the market isn’t too crowded for another YoungBoy album, this one might get a warmer reception on streaming than his previous one. While 3800 Degrees ran just 13 tracks and featured no big-name guest stars, Family boasts 19 tracks and includes marquee features from Nicki Minaj and Yeat. It’s also hosted by DJ Drama in the style of his classic Gangsta Grillz mixtapes – a throwback framework for the 23-year-old MC that also helped propel Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost set to No. 1 in 2021.
IN THE MIX
Jeezy & DJ Drama, SNOFALL (YJ/Def Jam): Speaking of DJ Drama – he’s had a busy week, also co-headlining the Snofall set with southern rap great and frequent collaborator Jeezy. The 17-track set features appearances by next-generation streaming stars Lil Durk, 42 Dugg and EST Gee.
Carly Rae Jepsen, The Loneliest Time (School Boy/Interscope): It was 10 years ago that Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” first swept the U.S., topping the Billboard Hot 100 and introducing a new karaoke standard to the masses. The Canadian singer-songwriter has found more modest crossover success in the years since, but remains a cult favorite among pop fans – a status re-confirmed with her well-received sixth album, The Loneliest Time, and advance singles “Western Wind” and “Beach House.”
Le Sserafim, Antifragile (Source) After making their EP debut in May with Fearless, Korean quintet Le Sserafim returns this October with sophomore EP Antifragile, which arrives with eight different varieties of CD packages box set (including randomized paper-good inserts like photocards and posters). The set’s title track has already made an international impact, debuting at No. 79 on Billlboard’s Global 200 listing this week.
Ariana Grande is becoming even more “Popular” thanks to her wicked new look. In a Wednesday (Oct. 26) Instagram post, the 29-year-old musician unveiled her newly blonde hair — dyed to match the golden tresses of Wicked character Glinda, whom Grande is set to play in an upcoming film adaptation of the musical — and her friends and fans alike are freaking out about it.
In her latest IG photo, Grande poses with her eyes closed, head turned to the side to show off her brand new, soft yellow ponytail. Her eyebrows appear to be dyed to match the shade of her hair, mimicking the Good Witch of the North’s naturally blonde look.
In spite of her gravity-defyingly big reveal, however, the “Positions” singer played coy in her caption. “New earrings,” she simply wrote.
Nevertheless, people in the comments knew exactly what she was doing. “GLINDA ERA,” replied one fan.
“Good news, She’s HERE,” commented Jordan Barrow, who plays Boq in the Broadway cast of Wicked, referencing lyrics to the musical’s opening number.
Cynthia Erivo, on the other hand, played along with the pop star’s slyness. “Earrings are AMAZING!! 💚😏,” commented the actress, who will star opposite Grande in Wicked as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba. So did Jon M. Chu, the director of the musical’s film adaptation — “Earrings look great!” he quipped.
Based on the Broadway musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz, Wicked follows two magical enemies-turned-best friends played by Grande and Erivo. The project will be split into two separate films, the first of which is slated to hit theaters in December 2024.
Check out Ariana Grande’s thrillifying new look below.
It’s time to bust out the Whispering Angel, because Adele unveiled the music video for her latest single “I Drink Wine” on Wednesday (Oct. 26).
In the amusing clip, directed by Joe Talbot, the songstress wears a sparkling gold gown as she floats along a river on an inner tube with a glass of wine in hand.
“Why am I obsessing/ About the things I can’t control?/ Why am I seeking approval/ From people I don’t even know/ In these crazy times I hope to find/ Something I can cling on to/ ‘Cause I need some substance in my life/ Something real, something that feels true,” she sings as she encounters a team of synchronized swimmers, a handsome fisherman and a shadowy troupe of chic back-up singers along her journey down the river.
The merlot-soaked ballad peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in December following the release of 30, but is just now being given the promotional push as the third single off the body of work following No. 1 smash “Easy On Me” and its top 5 follow-up “Oh My God.”
Since the release of her 30 singles, Adele has earned her first Primetime Emmy for her 2022 CBS concert special Adele One Night Only, leaving just a Tony Award short of reaching EGOT status. She also canceled and later rescheduled her still upcoming Las Vegas residency and hand-selected an all-female lineup that included Kacey Musgraves, Gabrielle and more to support her two-date headlining run at the U.K.’s BST Hyde Park Festival.
Watch Adele float down the river in “I Drink Wine” below.
Turns out Adele is a bonafide Swiftie! The superstar offered up her take on Taylor Swift on Tuesday (Oct. 25,) and had nothing but nice things to say.
“I haven’t,” she said when asked if she’d listened to Midnights yet during Happy Hour With Adele, a fan event celebrating the release of her new music video for “I Drink Wine.” “But the only reason is, is ’cause I’ve been in rehearsals for, like, 12 hours a f—in’ day … But I think Taylor’s one of the greatest songwriters of our generation, so I will definitely give it a listen.
“I loved the two in COVID very, very much,” the singer continued, referring to 2020 sister albums Folklore and Evermore. “And I think she’s fun as well, she makes a release fun!”
Thanks to the thoughtful strategy behind the Midnights rollout, Swift’s 10th album has already become the first album to sell more than one million copies in the U.S. in its first week since her 2017 studio set Reputation. Midnights has already posted the largest overall week, by equivalent album units, for any album since Adele’s own 25 back in 2015.
Meanwhile, Adele may very well be headed for a rematch against Beyoncé for album of the year at the upcoming 2023 Grammys after last going head to head back in 2017 with 25 and Lemonade. (At the time, Adele took home the big prize over Queen Bey’s soul-baring visual album, though she gave the fellow music icon a shoutout during her tearful acceptance speech, calling Queen Bey “the artist of [her] life.”)
Watch Adele lavish compliments on Swift below.
📹 | Adele on Taylor Swift in a recent interview — “I think Taylor’s one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. I will definitely give it [#TSmidnighTS] a listen. She’s fun, she makes a release fun.” pic.twitter.com/KTotvFKLYE— Taylor Swift News 🕰️ (@TSwiftNZ) October 26, 2022
Rihanna is officially back. Well, almost. The singer is slated to get back in our ears on Friday (Oct. 28) with the new single “Lift Me Up” from the upcoming Marvel sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The song, written by Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and Panther director Ryan Coogler was recorded in five countries and produced by Göransson according to a release announcing the star’s first solo single since 2016.
Ri’s anticipated return to music was written as a tribute to late Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who died in August 2020 at age 43. The song will be released on the singer’s Westbury Road label in partnership with Roc Nation/Def Jam Recordings/Hollywood Records. A brief preview of the song appeared on RiRi’s Instagram on Wednesday (Oct. 26), with her wordless humming floating above a string section.
“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them,” said Tems in a statement. “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”
The rumored slot on the Wakanda soundtrack has been buzzing for weeks, with billboards hinting at RiRi’s involvement in the project via cryptic promotions on electronic billboards in New York, and, this week, a teaser post for the film in which the title resets to spotlight the “R” in “Forever” above Friday’s date.
The “Umbrella” singer hasn’t released an album since Anti dropped six years ago, and logged two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. She most recently hit the Billboard Hot 100‘s top 10 on her own with “Love on the Brain,” which reached No. 5 in March 2017. She added her most recent Hot 100 top 10 – her 31st – as featured, with Bryson Tiller, on DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts,” which hit No. 2 in July 2017. In her most recent appearance on the chart, she reached No. 23 in April 2020 with “Believe It,” with PARTYNEXTDOOR.
Though she’s teased her next album several times since, no new solo music has emerged since the Anti era, as new mom RiRi has mostly focused on her Fenty Beauty brand. Her long break from live performance is slated to end on Feb. 12, 2023, when she takes the stage for the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The sequel to 2018 global smash Black Panther stars Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku and Dania Gurija as Okoye, fighting to protect their nation from interloping powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s [Boseman] death. The film, also starring Martin Freeman, Lupita Nyong’o and Tenoch Huerta Mejia, is due in theaters on Nov. 11.
The Wakanda Forever soundtrack — produced by Coogler, Göransson, Archie Davis and Dave Jordan — will be out on Nov. 4, with Göransson’s score album due out also on Nov. 11.
Check out the “Life Me Up” tease below.
Harry Styles set his Adidas shoes aside Monday (Oct. 24), and many of his fans think he was taking a subtle stand against the footwear brand’s connection to the artist formerly known as Kanye West.
Taking the stage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles for his Monday night concert, Styles showed up dressed in his normal full body Gucci attire — but with one exception. Rather than sporting his usual Adidas x Gucci Gazelles — which he’s worn for every show of his Love on Tour since June, according to People — the 28-year-old pop star instead rocked a pair of red Vans.
Styles’ fans were quick to notice the change, which came amidst a surge of public demand that Adidas drop its longtime partnership with West, who now goes by Ye, following the rapper’s recent antisemitic comments. At the time of the concert, Adidas had not yet confirmed its decision to do so; however, one day later, the company announced it would be officially parting ways with Ye after years of working together on the “Donda” artist’s blockbuster Yeezy shoe line.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the Tuesday (Oct. 25) statement read. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Billboard has reached out to Styles’ team for comment.
The “As It Was” singer’s next concert will take place Wednesday night (Oct. 26), also at the Kia Forum, where he’s set up shop for a 15-night residency — meaning fans don’t have long to wait to see if Styles will continue wearing Vans in light of Adidas’ statement. Regardless, many have already taken his subtle Monday night fashion statement as an act of good will.
“Harry is wearing vans. good for him,” tweeted one fan the day after the concert. “I believe it’s because he’s boycotting adidas for continuing to be in partnership with kanye.”
“Thank you @harry_styles and @harry__lambert for going with Vans last night instead of @adidas,” wrote another, tagging both Styles and his stylist, Harry Lambert. “We see your decision, and it means so much to me and all your other Jewish fans, and those who stand with us against antisemitism in all its forms.”
See what fans are saying about Harry Styles’ decision to wear Vans instead of Adidas at his recent concert below:
harry is wearing vans. good for him. i believe it’s because he’s boycotting adidas for continuing to be in partnership with kanye. pic.twitter.com/zM01QcJmgS— percy is going to harryween (@goldenisbrave) October 25, 2022
Thank you @harry_styles and @harry__lambert for going with Vans last night instead of @adidas. We see your decision, and it means so much to me and all your other Jewish fans, and those who stand with us against antisemitism in all its forms 💚— Out of Ilena’s System (@ilenafromeroda) October 25, 2022
Avril Lavigne is out, Death Cab is in. Organizers of Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival announced on Tuesday (Oct. 25) that the third day of the all-star event on Saturday (Oct. 29) has lost the “Sk8er Boi” singer due to “unforeseen circumstances” and gained Death Cab For Cutie in her stead.
“We are excited to share that Death Cab for Cutie and Underoath have been added to Sat’s lineup,” organizers tweeted. “We had the best time on Sun with @AvrilLavigne. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she is unable to join us on Oct. 29th at WWWY. We will miss you Avril!”
Saturday’s show is technically the second day of WWWY, since organizers were forced to cancel last weekend’s opening day (Oct. 22) due to concerns over high winds. The nostalgic pop-punk fest at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds was scheduled to feature a massive lineup that included Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Lavigne, AFI and Jimmy Eat World.
Following strong ticket sales for the Oct. 22 edition, promoter Live Nation added dates with the same lineup on Sunday (Oct. 23) and this Saturday. Lavigne’s Sunday set was one of the highlights of WWWY, with the singer joined by All Time Low singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth and lead guitarist Jack Barakat on a cover of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things.”
Green Day and Blink have already been announced as headliners for the Oct. 21, 2023 edition of WWWY, alongside 30 Seconds to Mars, Good Charlotte, The Offspring, All Time Low, Something Corporate, Yellowcard, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Pierce the Veil, Thrice, Plain White Tees, The Veronicas, The Ataris and more.
See the revamped lineup for Saturday’s show below.
Set Times for this Saturday!We are excited to share that Death Cab For Cutie and Underoath have been added to Sat’s lineup.LFGWe had the best time on Sun with @AvrilLavigne. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she is unable to join us on Oct 29th of WWWY. We will miss you Avril! pic.twitter.com/UR6q9pfQEb— When We Were Young (@WWWYFest) October 25, 2022
You may know her for Tik Tok videos, which have accumulated over 148 million followers and over 11 billion likes. Still, Charlie D’Amelio is heading into uncharted territory: The 18-year-old social media maven released her first single and music video, “If You Ask Me To,” on Tuesday (Oct. 25); after the song premiered on the season 2 finale of The D’Amelio Show, a Hulu docu-series following D’Amelio and her family.
The pop song was produced by Greg Keller, who also co-wrote the track with D’Amelio, Austin Saxton, Emi Seacrest and Michael Schiavo. Andrew Sandler, who has visuals for Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, and Machine Gun Kelly, helmed “If You Ask Me To,” which depicts teenage heartbreak and the ups and downs of being in love with someone.
D’Amelio says that the song tells a story with characters rather than a true story about herself. “I wanted to use this as a time in my life where I don’t have to talk about true experiences — so much of my life is so out there,” D’Amelio tells Billboard.
As someone who rose to stardom through her dancing, D’Amelio has always been heavily involved with music. Still, she never really got a chance to experiment with making a song or creating a video from scratch, which led the superstar down this new path. “I fell in love with the process throughout,” D’Amelio says, “Which is why putting this song out is so important to me.”
Just below, the social media star chats with Billboard about her new single, what it was like working with a team to create music, some of her favorite artists and more.
I see you worked with Greg Keller and Austin Saxton. What was that like for you?
For me, it was awesome working with them. They let me kind of put what I wanted into the song, and I got a lot of freedom from this, making it fun for me to experiment with what I liked and what I get to put out with my first song. And I think that that was something that was super fun, that they let me take the front seat. But obviously, they’re the professionals, and they know what they’re talking about. So they were there to guide me the entire time. And you know, we all pitched in to writing the song and figuring out what would be best for the music video and everything. And I was just very thankful that they gave me that freedom within the creative.
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I think for me, I would like for this journey to be ever-changing and grow with me. You know, I wanna be able to try and experiment within styles and everything, and I feel like that’s the best part — working with the people that I work with. They’re able to give me that freedom to create whatever comes naturally to me and go from there and never have to feel like I’m stuck in a box where I have to make one type of music. And I think that’s something that really means a lot to me.
Who are some of the people you listen to growing up and even now that motivate you in music?
Sam Smith, Adele, my sister (Dixie) obviously, Billie Eilish. Growing up doing a lot of contemporary dance, a lot of those artists were artists that I danced to — that’s the type of music that drew me in, which led me to create “If You Ask Me To,” and kind of tie it all together..I wanna give it to other people, so they’re able to enjoy it as well.
You’re a famous Tik-Toker. What do you want people to know about you outside of TikTok?
I think I want people to see me for me as a person and what my character is, and what I’m made up of rather than my TikTok videos — which aren’t always spot on for who I am all the time. I think with this song and the show that my family and I have, you see a little bit more of kind of the process. I feel like people’s perceptions of me are going to change as I change and grow up, and I’m here to live my life. And however people take that, I just let them because that’s not fully up to me how other people perceive me.
You’ve accomplished a lot for someone very young. What’s next for you?
I think for me, I’m planning on figuring it out as I go. You know, that’s the most amazing part. I wanna see what I’m able to make next and where the vibe goes. And if it comes together to be an album. And if it’s a little venue that I sing at once to see how it is — I mean, I’m ready to kind of try it all, and I’d love to be able to do bigger things within music. But I wanna see what’s next for me, creation-wise.
What is the reaction you’re hoping people get after listening to the song and watching the music video?
I want people to be able to relate their own experiences into music. I think when you listen to it, I hope that you feel something and if it relates to a point in time in your life where, “oh, this is kind of similar,” use it. I love music that makes you feel, music that makes you think.
I think it’s such a powerful thing that you can use in so many ways, and I hope people enjoy it. Whatever it is to them, my connection with the song is going to be different from everyone else’s, and everyone else is just going to differ from each other. So I hope that people take from it what they need and what helps them connect with it.
