Charlie Puth has seemingly responded to being name-checked on the title track of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department. In the song, Taylor sings that she and a former lover "declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist." On Sunday, Charlie reposted a photo that Taylor had posted in celebration of the album's success. In the picture, which is printed on a disc, Taylor sits inside a recording booth. "The Tortured Poets Department" is written atop the disc in black marker.
Speaking of Taylor, her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn is saying so long. Over a year after the couple broke up, Joe seems to have moved on. “He’s dating and happy,” a source told People. “He’s a great guy and not into drama in any way.” While he has moved on from his longtime relationship with Taylor, he doesn't seem to hold any ill will toward her. Joe “certainly doesn’t talk poorly about her. ... He was in love with her, and it just didn’t work out," the source said.
Lance Bass sang one of *NSYNC's biggest hits at a wedding held in Cairo, Egypt, Friday. At the wedding of Bilt Rewards CEO Ankara Jain and former WWE wrestler Erika Hammond, Lance took to the stage and gave an impromptu performance of "Bye, Bye, Bye." The marriage ceremony is considered to be the first wedding celebration held in modern times at the base of the Great Pyramids of Egypt in front of the Sphinx.
American Idol will honor the late Mandisa on the Monday episode with a special tribute featuring past contestants Colton Dixon, Danny Gokey and Melinda Doolittle, among others. They'll sing the Mary Mary hit "Shackles (Praise You)," which Mandisa sang while competing on the show's fifth season and later recorded for her debut album, True Beauty.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreMusic notes: Charlie Puth, Taylor Swift and more
The Chainsmokers have announced the release of their first EP since 2019.
No Hard Feelings, featuring six tracks, will arrive May 10. Included are the duo's two previously released 2024 singles, "Addicted" and "Friday," plus four brand new songs: "No Shade at Pitti," "Bad Advice," "Tennis Court" and "Green Lights."
The news of the EP comes following The Chainsmokers' appearance at the Stagecoach Festival on April 27. During their set at Diplo's Honky Tonk, they played remixes of country songs, like Taylor Swift's "Mean," as well as EDM tracks and their own hits, including "Closer" and "Something Just Like This." They were also surprised onstage by Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter collaborator Shaboozey, who sang along to his track "A Bar Song (Tipsy)."
The last EP from the duo was World War Joy back in 2019. Their most recent non-single release was the eight-track album Summertime Friends in October 2023.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreThe Chainsmokers releasing new EP on May 10
The Weeknd is once again pitching in with his XO Humanitarian Fund.
The artist, born Abel Tesfaye, is donating $2 million from the charitable fund to the United Nations World Food Programme's humanitarian response efforts in Gaza. That money will buy over 1,500 metric tons of wheat flour — enough for more than 18 million loaves of bread, which can feed 157,000 people for a month.
The Weeknd donated $2.5 million in December 2023 to purchase enough emergency meals to feed more than 173,000 people for two weeks.
“With famine looming in Gaza, Abel's generous support will provide vital relief for thousands of Palestinian families who battle the grip of hunger every day," said Corinne Fleischer, WFP’s director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe Region.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreThe Weeknd donates $2 million to UN famine relief efforts in Gaza
Fans who were concerned about photos of Justin Bieber crying shouldn't be too concerned — after all, his wife isn't.
Among a carousel of random photos that Justin posted on Instagram were two shots of him with tears in his eyes; in one, the tear is running down his face and he looks very sad. But Justin's wife, Hailey, wrote in the comments, "a pretty crier."
The post came around the same time he posted a carousel of photos of himself smiling while wearing a series of hats. In both sets of photos, he's sporting a bushy beard, leading one fan to ask, "Why does he look homeless?"
As for why Justin was crying, well, one of his friends, rapper Chris King, was shot and killed April 20 in Nashville. Maybe he just misses the guy.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreHailey Bieber, unbothered, responds to Justin Bieber's crying photos
It probably doesn't come as a surprise that Taylor Swift is dominating the Billboard Hot 100 with songs from her new album, The Tortured Poets Department — but what is surprising is how total her domination is.
Taylor's songs take up the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Fortnight," which is #1. Taylor was previously the only artist ever to dominate the entire top 10, with songs from her 2022 album Midnights. She's now surpassed that record.
"Down Bad" is #2, "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" is #3 and the title track is #4. "So Long London" is #5, followed by, in descending order: "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys," "But Daddy I Love Him," "Florida!!!," "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me," "Guilty as Sin?," "Fresh Out the Slammer," "loml," "The Alchemy" and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."
Overall, Taylor has placed 32 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 — all 31 songs from The Tortured Poets Department, plus holdover "Cruel Summer." That's the most in a single week by a female artist.
"Fortnight" is Taylor's 12th #1 hit — she now has the same amount as Madonna and The Supremes. Only Michael Jackson, Drake, Rihanna, Mariah Carey and The Beatles have had more.
Plus, Taylor is now the woman with the most top-10 hits in Billboard Hot 100 history: thanks to all these new debuts, her total is 59. Only Drake has had more, with 77. And Taylor now surpasses Rihanna for the record of most consecutive albums with one or more #1 hits. They were previously tied at seven; Taylor now has eight.
Of note, Florence + the Machine, featured on "Florida!!!," claims their first top-10 hit thanks to the song placing at #8.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreTaylor Swift takes the top 14 spots on the 'Billboard' Hot 100, sets new record
Post Malone has been slowly inching his way into country music as of late, and on April 27 at the Stagecoach Festival, he really leaned into it, welcoming a couple of famous country artists onstage and covering country classics. But now, he's officially released his first-ever country single.
The song is an Amazon Music Original, and it's a studio version of "I'm Gonna Miss Her" by country star Brad Paisley, who joined Posty onstage Saturday for a duet. The song, one of Paisley's best known hits, is about a guy who is told by his girl that he has to choose between her and fishing, and he chooses the latter. The lyrics go, "Yeah, I'm gonna miss her / Oh, look there, I've got a bite!"
“Brad Paisley is the coolest mother****** on the planet and an absolute legend," says Posty in a statement. "This song has meant so much to me for a long time and I’m honored to be able to cover it. I love you Brad.”
Posty also welcomed country stars Dwight Yoakam and Sara Evans onstage for duets and covered hits by country icons like George Strait, Tim McGraw, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson and Toby Keith.
Post also appears on Beyoncé's latest album, Cowboy Carter, and on former country star Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read morePost Malone releases first official country song via Amazon Music Originals
At some point, perhaps Rihanna will actually release some music, but for now, all we have is her talking about it. Speaking to Extra at the launch of her new Fenty foundation line, Rih says her new music is "gonna be amazing" and added, "It has to be — that is the only reason it's not out yet. If I'm not feeling it and I'm not feeling like it represents the evolution, the time I spent away. There should be a show of growth, right?" "I want to play, and I feel like music is a playground, and I want to have fun with it and show truly where I am at," she noted. As for whether she's working with other artists, she claimed she's "not a big collaborator" — despite doing many duets over the years. During the same interview, Rih also said she's keeping her Met Gala look "very simple" this year, adding, "I think it's gonna come to what my makeup and what my hair is going to do. We wanna play with that, but I have no idea what I'm gonna do with that." The busy mother of two also spoke about her older son, RZA, turning two in May. "It just hit me over the head the other day," she notes. "Two under 2 — that's a royal rumble right there." Also in May is, of course, Mother's Day, and Rihanna says she plans to "sleep, hopefully... and maybe I will get a bouquet of flowers or something."
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreRihanna says her new music is "gonna be amazing": "It has to be"
Billie Eilish's fans won't have to wait long for her to hit them with some live dates.
She's announced HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR, launching September 29 in Québec, Canada. The North American leg is scheduled to wrap up December 17 in Inglewood, California, and starting in February of 2025, she'll head to Australia, followed by Europe, the U.K. and Ireland. You can see the entire list of dates at BillieEilish.com.
An American Express® Presale starts April 30; tickets go on sale to the general public on May 3 via billieeilish.com.
Because this is Billie Eilish we're talking about, there are many different sustainability initiatives attached to the tour. She's teaming with REVERB to reduce single-use plastic waste, compost and recycle other waste and encourage plant-based food options. REVERB Eco-Villages at each show will allow fans to learn about and take part in the initiatives.
Fans are encouraged to take public transportation or carpool to and from the shows, and will receive emails about their options before each concert. Fans can bring empty reusable water bottles to the show and fill them up at free water refill stations. In addition, fans are encouraged to wear thrifted, upcycled or borrowed clothing to the shows, instead of buying new outfits.
Billie's new album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT arrives May 17.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreBillie Eilish announces HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR
Dua Lipa has made the list of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2024. She headlined the TIME 100 Gala on April 25 in New York City, which was recorded for an ABC TV special airing May 12. On the red carpet, she told TIME about her upcoming stint hosting and serving as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on May 4.
"I'm so excited. I'm really, really looking forward to it. I'm just going to throw myself into what could quite possibly be the maddest experience of my life and just have fun with it," she said of the appearance, which comes a day after she releases her new album, Radical Optimism.
Asked if she'd asked any comedians for tips ahead of the gig, Dua said, "I did. I hung out with Bowen Yang for a bit, so I was like, picking his brain a little before I get into, into all the madness."
The last time she appeared on Saturday Night Live was back in 2020. Since then, she's had some acting experience: a cameo in Barbie and a more substantial part in the comedy spy movie Argylle.
Dua wore a sheer Chanel gown to the TIME 100 Gala, which she attended with her reported boyfriend, British actor Callum Turner. She performed a handful of songs, including "Illusion" and "Training Season."
In other Dua news, she's offering a unique piece of merch to go with her new album: a replica of the notebook in which she wrote 97 songs for the project. The $30 keepsake includes scanned pages of handwritten lyrics from Dua's notebook, as well as photo collages and blank pages, the album itself and a hand-signed art card.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Read moreDua Lipa's "so excited" for 'SNL,' anticipating "the maddest experience of my life"