The Summer Olympics take place in Paris this year, and nearly 2 million visitors are expected to descend on the French capital for the event — but another invasion is taking place due to Taylor Swift.
Bloomberg reports Taylor's four Eras Tour concerts outside Paris May 9 through May 12 are drawing five times as many Americans to France as the Summer Games. That's according to Embark Beyond, a New York luxury travel company. Jack Ezon, Embark co-founder, tells Bloomberg, "I never would have anticipated it ... she’s even overshadowing the Olympics.”
Ezon says his company has put together more than 200 trips to Paris for those attending the concerts; a third of them are mother-daughter duos who are also scheduling shopping sprees. Clients are staying in luxury hotels, says Ezon, and 20% of them are booking longer European visits following the concerts, with some traveling to London or the south of France.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that there's a lower-than-expected demand for the Olympic Games, with some vacation rentals cutting prices and hotel prices falling 30%.
As for why so many Americans are traveling to Europe to see Taylor, blame the laws in Europe that limit how much you can resell concert tickets for. Because the tickets aren't as outrageously expensive as they are in the U.S., it can sometimes to be cheaper to travel overseas to see certain concerts.
Bloomberg estimated that Taylor's concerts contributed $4.3 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product last year.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreLuxury travel agency says Taylor Swift is drawing more Americans to France than Summer Olympics
yla's Met Gala dress was a custom Balmain number made out of sand, crystal studs and a plaster body mold, but it was so unwieldy that she literally had to be carried up the steps and onto the red carpet. Then the entire bottom half had to be cut off so she could move when she got into the event. She looks a lot more comfortable starring in the current campaign for Gap linen.
"I didn't even need to second guess it," Tyla told ABC Audio about the offer to star in the campaign, which shows her dancing in linen to the song "Back on '74" by Jungle.
"Gap, the advertisements have always been iconic," she continued. "Just the way they involve dance; they involve a lot of things that I enjoy. So I like that they thought of me when thinking of the idea. And also, that it wasn't like I'm advertising just the brand. I really felt like I was a part of something, which I feel like shows in the video and also in the response."
Tyla said she also appreciated that she got to style the company's clothing to make it her own for the campaign.
"They were very collaborative," she said. "Y'know, I added my little waist belt, my boots, my braids ... I really enjoyed that one."
Of course, that's not to say that Tyla didn't enjoy suffering for fashion at the Met Gala — she did end up on numerous "best dressed" lists, after all. "The idea was crazy, and I loved it," she told Vogue.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreShe dressed in sand for the Met Gala, but Tyla's staying comfy in Gap linen
The 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards will feature several pop artists as performers. At the May 16 awards show, Post Malone, Noah Kahan, Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani will all take the stage. Noah will perform alongside Kelsea Ballerini, while Gwen will sing "Purple Irises" with her husband, Blake Shelton.
Selena Gomez is taking out some anger in the kitchen. In a new clip shared with People from the upcoming May 9 episode of her Food Network series Selena + Restaurant, Selena appears in the LA restaurant Lemon Grove, where chef Marcel Vigneron gives her a meat pounder to smash blueberries. "This is for sure getting out some anger,” Selena says in the clip.
Believe it or not, Ed Sheeran just attended his first Met Gala. The Monday, May 6, event marked his first time at fashion's biggest night, where he wore a light blue tux. Many fans noticed the outfit resembled Troy Bolton's "A Night to Remember" costume from High School Musical 3. "Ed Sheeran is giving Troy Bolton when his tux [is] too tight," one X user wrote.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreMusic notes: Post Malone, Gwen Stefani and more
Taylor Swift's feud with Scooter Braun, which inspired her to rerecord all her albums, has inspired a new docuseries which will air on Discovery+ in the U.K. and Ireland in June, and on Max in the rest of the world.
The series, tentatively titled Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood, will be a two-parter, focusing on what happened after Braun bought the rights to Taylor's first six albums in 2019. One episode will tell Taylor's side of the story — that the sale went through without her being consulted and she wasn't allowed to buy her masters herself. Another will focus on Braun's side — that Taylor wouldn't negotiate with him and instead purposely turned her fans against him.
The docuseries will also give viewers a full explanation of how music rights work and examine gender dynamics in the music industry. Legal experts and "insiders" from both sides will weigh in as well.
After the 2019 sale, Taylor confirmed on ABC's Good Morning America that she'd start rerecording those first six albums. So far, she's redone Red, Fearless, Speak Now and 1989, adding "(Taylor's Version)" to each album's title and including "From the Vault" tracks that didn't make the original album.
All of Taylor's rerecordings have topped the Billboard album chart and have collectively sold millions. She just has two left to do: her self-titled debut and 2017's Reputation.
(This story updates a previous version originally published earlier on May 7, 2024)
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreTaylor Swift/Scooter Braun feud inspires new docuseries
Meghan Trainor's new video is a family affair.
The clip, for her song "To the Moon," co-stars her husband, Daryl Sabara, and their 3-year-old son, Riley, making his acting debut. Also appearing are Emmy winner Niecy Nash, TikTok stars Brookie and Jessie and Meghan's bestie Chris Olsen.
The video features Meghan and a team of women being trained by Nash to go on a mission to the moon, where Meghan needs to track down a spy. Of course, the spy is played by her husband, who's best known for his role in Spy Kids — but there's a twist.
"To the Moon" is from Meghan's new album, Timeless, due out June 7.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreMeghan Trainor's new video co-stars her husband, son ... and Niecy Nash
Dua Lipa has yet to announce a tour in support of her new album, Radical Optimism, but she'll be headlining the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which takes place over two weekends in October: October 4-6 and 13-15.
The stacked lineup for the festival includes Reneé Rapp, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Chappelle Roan, Dominic Fike, Tyla, Stephen Sanchez, blink-182, The Beaches and Dasha. Tickets for both weekends are on sale now at aclfestival.com.
Dua's only other tour dates so far are a run of headlining shows in Europe in June, an appearance at Glastonbury Festival in England on June 28 and several additional European festivals in July. She'll do a hometown show at London's Royal Albert Hall on October 17.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreDua Lipa to headline Austin City Limits Music Festival 2024
Here's the good news: Taylor Swift's feud with Scooter Braun, which inspired her to rerecord all her albums, has inspired a new Discovery+ docuseries. Now the bad news: So far, it's only scheduled to run in the U.K. and Ireland in June.
Variety reports that the series, tentatively titled Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood, will be a two-parter, focusing on what happened after Braun bought the rights to Taylor's first six albums in 2019. One episode will tell Taylor's side of the story — that the sale went through without her being consulted and she wasn't allowed to buy her masters herself. Another will focus on Braun's side — that Taylor wouldn't negotiate with him and instead purposely turned her fans against him.
The docuseries will also give viewers a full explanation of how music rights work and examine gender dynamics in the music industry. Legal experts and "insiders" from both sides will weigh in on each side as well.
After the 2019 sale, Taylor confirmed on ABC's Good Morning America that she'd start rerecording those first six albums. So far, she's redone Red, Fearless, Speak Now and 1989, adding "(Taylor's Version)" to each album's title and including "From the Vault" tracks that didn't make the original album.
All of Taylor's rerecordings have topped the Billboard album chart and have collectively sold millions. She just has two left to do: her self-titled debut and 2017's Reputation.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreTaylor Swift/Scooter Braun feud inspires new docuseries
If you can't make the LA or New York in-person listening sessions for Billie Eilish's new album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, she's got another option for you.
In addition to listening events at LA's Kia Forum and New York's Barclays Center on May 15 and 16, there will now be events in AMC movie theaters across the country on May 16 and May 17. Fans can hear the album "with a visual accompaniment" at each theater.
Tickets cost $5 each and are on sale now. A portion of the proceeds is going to the AMC Cares Charitable Fund, which provides grants and financial assistance to qualified nonprofit organizations.
You can find a list of theaters participating in each state by visiting AMCtheatres.com.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT arrives May 17. Billie's world tour kicks off September 29 in Québec, Canada.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreBillie Eilish sets nationwide theater listening events for 'HIT ME HARD AND SOFT'
Despite Britney Spears' denials, Charli XCX has confirmed that she did, indeed, write some songs for the Princess of Pop — though she admits Britney may not have been aware of it at the time.
Appearing on the Watch What Happens Live! After Show, Charlie was asked if there was any truth to the rumor that she was working on songs for a new Britney album. "Umm, so...yes, but it leaked to the press," Charli explained. "Britney then did this post where she was like, 'I don't have random people write for me!'"
"And I was like, 'O.K.! Go off!'" she continued. "So I don't know if she was a part of the process ... [maybe] her team were running before she could walk, Britney probably has a load of other projects that she's focusing on, so I did get asked, but I don't know if it's, like, real."
Charli further explained that she went to Malibu to start writing songs. "The team were present but ... she didn't record it, so. She obviously didn't!" She added that she hopes Britney records her songs one day.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreCharli XCX confirms she wrote music for Britney Spears, but "she didn't record it"