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Kelly Clarkson dipped into the R&B world on Friday’s (Oct. 21) “Kellyoke” installment, performing Monica‘s 1998 classic, “Angel of Mine.”
Dressed in a sleek, camel-colored maxi dress and gold accessories, the superstar belted the track effortlessly, perfectly capturing Monica’s tender track.
“Angel of Mine,” featured on Monica’s The Boy Is Mine album, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for four weeks, and spent an impressive 30 weeks total on the chart. Following the success of her previous singles, “The Boy Is Mine” and “The First Night,” the song was the album’s third consecutive release to reach the Hot 100 summit.
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Last month, the OG American Idol winner kicked off season four of her Emmy-winning Kelly Clarkson Show. In the three seasons that the daytime talk show had been on the air before that, Clarkson has won five Daytime Emmys. Clarkson has won outstanding entertainment talk show host all three seasons her show has been on the air.
Other recent Kellyoke picks by Clarkson for her daytime show have included Faith Hill’s “Breathe,” Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me,” Joni Mitchell’s Christmastime classic “River,” John Legend’s “In My Mind,” “Heartbreak Anthem” by David Guetta, Galantis and Little Mix and more.
Check out Kelly Clarkson’s cover of Monica’s “Angel of Mine” below.
After a year of global growth that included their first top 10 album on the Billboard 200, ITZY take their next step to larger pop prominence with the release of their first original English single “Boys Like You.”
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Like many of ITZY’s K-pop singles, the new pop track is an empowerment anthem. This time, the girls realize their worth and refuse to take back a two-timing boyfriend with a mix of sassy, catchy rap rhymes (“Boy, gonna diss me? Boy, I’m so pissed/ Boy, gonna miss me/ Boy, you are dismissed”) and a smooth, kiss-off hook sung by Chaeryeong (who croons, “I don’t fall for boys like you” in the most addictive part of the track). True to ITZY’s sound in singles like “Sneakers” or “Wannabe,” the new track boasts an overall playful listening experience while still packing a punch with the group’s spunky personality and clever ad-libs.
Released right in time for the upcoming Halloween holiday, the accompanying music video sees Chaeryeong, Yeji, Lia, Ryujin and Yuna together at a costume party and soon learning the same guy has scammed all five members. After cartoonish attempts to take one another down in the name of love, ITZY realize they’re better together and throw their own party without their cheating ex.
While not explicitly stated by the artist or label, “Boys Like You” seems to mark the latest release by a K-pop act directly targeting the U.S. market with an original English single. ITZY’s latest move feels similar to TWICE (label mates with ITZY on both the Korean side at JYP Entertainment and U.S. side with Republic Records), who released their crossover track “The Feels” and scored their first entry on the Hot 100 and performed across American morning and late-night talk shows. Even with the language switch-up, “The Feels” stood out for how closely it connected to TWICE’s K-pop singles, with “Boys Like You” mostly in line with ITZY’s past collection of punchy, pop anthems that appeal to both young audiences and more mature listeners.
“Boys Like You” is the pre-release single ahead of a new project slated for later this year. But the new music will come after the U.S. leg of ITZY’s ‘Checkmate 1st World Tour’ which kicks off in Los Angeles on Oct. 26.
Until then, watch the new “Boys Like You” music video:
Janet Jackson gave her stamp of approval to Taylor Swift name-dropping her 2001 single “All for You” on the Midnights album cut “Snow on the Beach.”
In a video posted to Jackson’s socials on Friday afternoon (Oct. 21), the pop legend is seen listening to the Lana Del Rey-assisted track, on which Swift and her collaborator can be heard singing, “Your eyes are flying saucers from another planet/ Now I’m all for you like Janet.”
Ms. Jackson (if you’re nasty!) nods her head along to the music and lets out an appreciative grin when she hears her name among Swift’s clever wordplay, and even hums along to the melody of the chorus before serenely declaring, “It’s nice…it’s nice” with another smile. “I LUV it @taylorswift,” she added in the caption, punctuating the thought with a trio of kissy-face emojis.
Swift responded to Jackson on Twitter, writing, “I feel like I’m dreaming. I have so much love and gratitude for you and all you’ve done to inspire female artists everywhere.”
I feel like I’m dreaming. I have so much love and gratitude for you and all you’ve done to inspire female artists everywhere 🥹🙏💗— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 21, 2022
Released as the lead single from her 2001 album of the same name, “All for You” earned Jackson her 10th career No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it eventually spent seven consecutive weeks at the top of the chart.
Earlier this month, Jackson shocked friends and fans by making a surprise appearance at the 25th-anniversary reissue party in London for her 1997 album The Velvet Rope.
Watch Jackson react to her shout-out in “Snow on the Beach” below.
Taylor Swift‘s Midnights has been out for less than 24 hours, and it has already broken a major record.
Spotify announced on Friday (Oct. 21) that Swift’s 10th studio LP is officially the most-streamed album in a single day in Spotify history. The “Lavender Haze” singer re-shared the news, writing, “How did I get this lucky, having you guys out here doing something this mind blowing?! Like what even just happened??!?!”
Swift’s 13-track album was accompanied by a 3am Edition that was released just a few hours later, making a total of 20 songs.
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“We lie awake in love and fear, in turmoil and in tears,” she wrote about the record in two paragraphs displayed across a promotional photo posted to social media. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t – right this minute – about to make some fateful life-altering mistake.”
“This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” she continued. “The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve… we’ll meet ourselves.”
Swifties can tune into NBC on Monday for Swift’s previously confirmed appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Then on Tuesday, Oct. 25, a second, unnamed Midnights music video will drop. And next Friday, Oct. 28, Swift will stop by the BBC for The Graham Norton Show in the U.K.
Whether or not you’re a fan, it’s impossible to deny Taylor Swift’s impact on music. With hundreds of songs and dozens of hits in her career, she is a master singer-songwriter (and officially, Billboard’s Woman of the Decade in 2019).
These days, however, music isn’t just about music — it’s about the visual execution, too. And though the age-old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is generally true, an album’s cover can play a big role in making a great album. For Swift, a handful of her biggest albums feature some of the most memorable art. When 1989 was released in 2014, for example, everyone from Swifties to casual listeners attempted their recreations of the iconic half-faceless Polaroid cover. And that album went on to win album of the year at the Grammys.
At the same time, not all hit covers are hit albums, and vice versa. So, Billboard decided to rank each of the pop star’s covers since her debut in 2006.
Now, let us be clear: this list is only taking album artwork into account. If you’re looking for how the albums stand against each other musically and lyrically, you’ve come to the wrong place. We’re simply looking at covers: filters, styling, framing and how the creative represents the album as a whole. And, yes, this list is completely subjective, so it’s ok to disagree. No hard feelings.
Including both her re-recorded Taylor’s Versions and original master recordings, as well as that oft-forgotten 2007 Christmas record, see how we rank each of the Swift’s album covers, from worst to best, below.
Elton John and Britney Spears unveiled a new remix of their single “Hold Me Closer” by Purple Disco Machine on Friday (Oct. 21).
The remix comes complete with an animated visualizer that depicts a couple dancing and embracing against an appropriately purple background as the two superstars croon, “I saw you dancin’ out the ocean/ Runnin’ fast along the sand/ A spirit born of earth and water/ Fire flyin’ from your hands/ Hold me closer, tiny dancer/ Count the headlights on the highway/ Lay me down in sheets of linen/ You had a busy day today.”
Interestingly, Spears’ vocals, in particular, take a much more prominent role in Purple Disco Machine’s version of the song than in the original mix, with the pop princess even treating fans to new ad libs throughout the bouncing track.
Purple Disco Machine’s reimagining of “Hold Me Closer” is actually the second remix treatment the song has received following English DJ and producer Joel Corry putting his own spin on the hit earlier this month.
Upon its August release, “Hold Me Closer” bowed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Spears her highest entry on the chart since “Scream and Shout,” her 2012 collaboration with will.i.am, a full decade ago. Since then, the pop star has openly reveled in the song’s success, publicly thanking Sir Elton for giving her the confidence to get back in the studio for the first time in years.
Meanwhile, John’s ongoing farewell tour has officially become the third-biggest in history, grossing $661 million and counting.
Watch the music video for “Hold Me Closer (Purple Disco Machine Remix)” below.
Taylor Swift‘s Midnights arrived at last on Friday (Oct. 21), and fans know that the pop superstar is not afraid of some subtle, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shade in her music.
The 13 tracks of the singer’s 10th studio album tell “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life,” according to Swift, which immediately had fans analyzing the lyrics to figure out what (and who) keeps Taylor up at night.
And while some of the swoon-worthy love songs like “Lavender Haze” and “Sweet Nothing” are clearly about her boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who wrote the latter with her, many of the songs are less obvious. As a result, Swifties flooded Twitter with their thoughts.
See below for some of the most popular unconfirmed fan theories about which celebrities Swift is calling out on Midnights, from John Mayer to Kanye West.
Hold me closer, Tommy Deepfake. In a bizarre video posted by Paris Hilton to TikTok Thursday (Oct. 20), the DJ tells a viral Tom Cruise impersonator, who uses deepfake technology to cosplay the actor, to serenade her with one of her favorite songs: “Hold Me Closer,” Elton John‘s 2022 duet with Britney Spears, which is an update of his 1971 classic hit “Tiny Dancer.”
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In the video, Paris and the faux Tom Cruise lean against a kitchen counter, the former in a bubblegum pink tracksuit and the latter in a checkered bathrobe. “Tom, can you sing me that song again?” Hilton asks, sipping from a bedazzled cup. “You know which one.”
“Hold me closer, tiny dancer/ Count the headlights on the highway,” sings the fake Cruise. “Lay me down in sheets of linen/ You had a busy day today.”
But while the impromptu kitchen concert was Paris’ idea, she wasn’t impressed by the results. “It’s good but not great. You should stick to acting,” she tells fake Tom.
“Yeah … I probably should,” he replies, slightly embarrassed.
“Nothing like being serenaded with my favorite @Britney Spears and @Elton John song,” the former Simple Life star captioned the TikTok, writing one of her signature catchphrases in the hashtags: “#ThatsHot #ButCouldBeHotter.”
Hilton also tagged her serenader’s TikTok page, confirming him to be @deeptomcruise, an account with nearly 4 million followers that went viral for posting absurd videos starring a very convincing Tom Cruise lookalike. It turned out to be the deepfake editing work of AI artist Chris Umé, who manipulates the face of stand-in Miles Fisher — the real-life man standing next to Paris in her TikTok — to look identical to the Top Gun star.
Watch Paris Hilton get serenaded by a Tom Cruise deepfake below:
Taylor Swift has been telling stories through her song lyrics for nearly two decades, but it’s only been the second half of her career that she’s been trying her hand at illustrating them visually. Ever since she first took the plunge of overseeing the visual for her Lover single “The Man” in 2019, though, more of her music videos than not have been directed entirely by the country-turned-pop star herself.
Her directorial journey started years before that, however. In 2010, she tried sitting in the director’s chair when she teamed up with Roman White — who’d previously directed Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and “Fifteen” videos — in supervising her Speak Now lead single’s mini-motion picture, “Mine.” It would take around nine years after that for the Grammy winner to step back onto the other side of the clapperboard, eventually taking on the role of co-director again with “Me!”
Several self-directed projects later, Swift’s video-making prowess culminated in the form of her very first short film All Too Well. The project doubled as a music video for the 10-minute “Taylor’s Version” re-release of a 10-year-old fan-favorite song of the same title, originally released on her 2012 record Red. After that would come a portfolio of music videos made by Swift for her 2022 10th studio record Midnights, the first taste of which came with the Oct. 21 premiere of “Anti-Hero.”
But what will come next for the full-time pop star, part-time filmmaker? “I’d like to keep taking baby steps forward and I’m at a place now where the next baby step is not a baby step,” she revealed at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022. “It would be committing to making a film and I feel like I would absolutely love for the right opportunity to arise, because I absolutely adore telling stories this way.”
“I think I will always want to tell human stories about human emotion,” she added. “I never say never, but I can’t imagine myself filming an action sequence. If it happens one day, that will be funny character growth. Could see it going in a more comedic, irreverent place. I don’t always see myself telling stories about extreme guttural heartbreak at your most formative age.”
Not counting music videos such s “The Best Day” and “Christmas Tree Farm,” which are comprised of childhood footage curated by Swift, keep reading to see all of Taylor Swift’s self-directed music videos.
Taylor Swift unveiled her 10th album Midnights at midnight ET on Friday (Oct. 21), and Swifties have spent every hour since devouring the LP’s 13 songs and seven bonus tracks.
Naturally, the ardent fandom took their opinions to social media, with one fan declaring on Twitter, “THERE ARE NO SKIPS IN THIS ALBUM.”
Several Swifties honed in particularly on highlight “Anti-Hero.” “When Taylor said, ‘IT’S ME, HI, I’M THE PROBLEM IT’S ME. AT TEA TIME, EVERYBODY AGREES. I’LL STARE DIRECTLY AT THE SUN BUT NEVER IN THE MIRROR. IT MUST BE EXHAUSTING ALWAYS ROOTING FOR THE ANTI HERO.’ my self-sabotaging a– felt that deeply,” one wrote. Another called the track “officially the anthem of my life.”
A separate Swiftie made a number of callbacks to past fan-favorite songs when dissecting Midnights, saying, “midnights is for the cruel summer, call it what you want, I know places, back to december, if this was a movie, the story of us, seven, don’t blame me, getaway car, I think he knows, message in a bottle, false god, and the very first night enjoyers.”
Three hours after dropping the standard version of Midnights, Swift followed it up at 3 a.m. ET with seven bonus tracks including “The Great War,” “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” “Glitch” and “High Infidelity.”
Friday morning, she also released the music video for “Anti-Hero,” featuring three different versions of herself as well as John Early, Mike Birbiglia and Mary Elizabeth Ellis as her fictional adult sons and daughter-in-law.
Check out some of the best fan reactions to Swift’s Midnights below.
When Taylor said, “IT’S ME, HI, I’M THE PROBLEM IT’S ME. AT TEA TIME, EVERYBODY AGREES. I’LL STARE DIRECTLY AT THE SUN BUT NEVER IN THE MIRROR. IT MUST BE EXHAUSTING ALWAYS ROOTING FOR THE ANTI HERO.” my self-sabotaging ass felt that deeply. 🥹 Stream #MidnightsTaylorSwift 🕛 pic.twitter.com/Khwuh3VXeE— Carl the Anti-Hero (@TheCarlNavarro) October 21, 2022
midnights is for the cruel summer, call it what you want, I know places, back to december, if this was a movie, the story of us, seven, don’t blame me, getaway car, I think he knows, message in a bottle, false god, and the very first night enjoyers— t (@swifterous) October 21, 2022
My favorite thing about Midnights is that Taylor Swift gives a bit of something for everyone. Do you hate yourself? Are you in love? Have you recently reported your enemy’s white collar crimes to the FBI?— Joey (Taylor’s Version) 🕰 (@LessGorgeousJoe) October 21, 2022
so midnights is her most lyrically diverse album all her cries and disaster are perfectly hidden under the glossy streamlined production, as if she’s reviewing her life years after and that pain has soothed and all that left is now learning experience and she wants to leave it— sensual bush 🕰 (@folklush29) October 21, 2022
“Hey, Taylor, what’s your target demo for this next album?”“How about moderately depressed gay men in their early to mid 30s?”— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) October 21, 2022
