Music News
The Weeknd Teases ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Project
The Weeknd has something in the works with Avatar: The Way of Water, the upcoming long-awaited sequel to 2009’s Avatar. “12.16.22,” The Weeknd wrote on Sunday (Dec. 4) on Twitter, along with a 12-second music clip featuring the blue Avatar logo. Dec. 16 is the day the James Cameron-directed film is set to be released by Disney. “#AvatarTheWayOfWater x @theweeknd,” the official Avatar account tweeted soon after. Film producer Jon Landau also shared a snapshot with The Weeknd and wrote, “As the Na’vi say, ‘Zola’u nìprrte’ soaiane Avatar’… Welcome to the Avatar family.” The original Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time ($2.92 billion worldwide) and received nine Oscar nominations, winning three of those awards: best art direction, best cinematography, and best visual...
Dolly Parton Joins TikTok: ‘I Have Arrived!’
Dolly Parton is officially on TikTok. Her first TikTok post, posted Sunday afternoon (Dec. 4), is a montage of clips of the country icon, ending with a “Hey, TikTok! It’s Dolly!” message. “I have arrived!” Parton captioned the video. Another new clip is a compilation of Parton greeting her fans. Others include a “Better late than never!” post, an “I’ve officially joined TikTok” video, a funny look at the many sides of Dolly across different social media platforms and a tribute to fans on TikTok who have featured the singer in their content, set to “9 to 5” — which Parton recently sang as a duet with Kelly Clarkson. Coming up for Parton is NBC’s annual New Year’s Eve special: She’s ringing in 2023 with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus on the program that’s set to air Dec. 31 live from Miami. See...
SZA Reveals ‘S.O.S’ Album Release Date, Performs ‘Shirt’ and ‘Blind’ on ‘SNL: Watch
SZA brought a couple surprises to her appearance Saturday Night Live on Dec. 3. In addition to revealing the release date of her sophomore album, S.O.S, the TDE singer-songwriter also debuted a new song from the upcoming set. For her first song during the Keke Palmer-hosted episode, SZA performed her recent single “Shirt,” which debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month. Toward the end of the moody song, where she performed against a starry background while flanked by two dancers, SZA cleverly snuck in some imagery announcing the Dec. 9 release date of her long-awaited second album, S.O.S. Days earlier, SZA unveiled the project’s surreal cover art, which features the artist donning a sports jersey while sitting on the edge of a diving board planted over a large body of ...
Keke Palmer Announces Pregnancy in ‘Saturday Night Live’ Opening Monologue: Watch
Keke Palmer hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time on Dec. 3, where she wasted no time in making her hosting gig one to remember. The actress addressed online rumors that she was pregnant and announced that she is, indeed, expecting. A rep for Palmer confirmed the pregnancy to The Hollywood Reporter. “People have been in my comments, saying, ‘Keke’s having a baby,’ ‘Keke’s pregnant,’ and I want to set the record straight,” Palmer said in her opening monologue. “I am!” She went on to joke that she hates when people spread rumors about anyone, but it’s even worse when they’re right. “I was trying so hard to keep it on the down-low ’cause I got a lot of stuff going on,” she said. “You know, people kept coming up to me, ‘Congratulations,’ and I’m like, ‘Shh, can y’all stop? I got a liqu...
YouTube Is Working to Remove Reposts of Kanye West’s Interview With Alex Jones: Report
YouTube is reportedly working to remove reuploaded video clips of Kanye “Ye” West‘s controversial interview on Alex Jones’ Infowars talk show. During his appearance Thursday (Dec. 1) on the alt-right conspiracy theorist’s program, Ye shocked viewers by praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” the rapper said. “How about that one?” Later in the day, Ye was also suspended once again from Twitter after posting an image of a swastika merged with a Star of David. NBC News reported on Saturday (Dec. 3) that YouTube parent company Google was “working to remove reuploads if the antisemitism in the interview isn’t denounced in the video via added commentary,” according to a statement from the tech gi...
Cameron Crowe Adores Recording ‘Almost Famous’ Cast Album
Cameron Crowe believes the spirit of a place lingers long after the moment has passed. That’s what makes recording the Broadway Almost Famous cast album at New York’s iconic Power Station studio so special for him. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “It’s like going back to the roots of why I love music and what I love about records,” Crowe told The Associated Press during a break in the recording session. Working in the control room alongside fellow producers Tom Kitt and Scott M. Riesett, Crowe called the process “utterly authentic” as they directed the cast, chorus and band in different studios across multiple levels. “I have this thing where I believe that the spirits of a place, the spirit of what’s happened in a room stay. The house ...
Argentina Fans Sing Fave Messi Song at World Cup
You could say it was the song of the Argentina-Australia match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar Dec. 3. As the two teams duked it out on the field (Argentina won, 2-1), excited Argentine fans -who seemed to number in the thousands– repeatedly chorused one particular song. The song is “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar” (which translates loosely to “Boys, We Have Our Hopes Up Again”) by La Mosca, the Argentine nine-piece band that plays a blend of ska, rock and pop, laced with tango pathos. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song had already been heard around the world following Argentina’s nail-biting 2-0 win over Mexico Nov. 26, after social media was flooded with clips of the team singing triumphantly in the locker room. “Muchacho...
Nick Cannon Hospitalized With Pneumonia
A day after bringing his Wild ‘N Out Live show to New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Nick Cannon found himself hospitalized with pneumonia. Cannon shared a health update with fans on Instagram, where he posted selfies from his hospital bed. “Okay, so I guess I’m not Superman… I promised myself I would never be back at this place again… But this is a great lesson to take care of YOU or YOU won’t be able to take care of everyone else,” Cannon wrote in an Instagram post Friday night (Dec. 2). “Don’t trip though, I don’t need any well wishes or prayers , just some solid rest and I will be back on the journey to becoming stronger than ever… it’s just pneumonia, nothing I can’t handle,” he added. “Crazy thing is, last night we was just rocking a sold out crowd at Madison square garden in fro...
Quentin Oliver Lee, Broadway Actor, Dies at 34
Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee has died following a battle with stage 4 colon cancer. He was 34. Lee’s wife, Angie Lee Graham, confirmed his death Thursday in an Instagram post, saying, “He had a smile on his face, and was surrounded by those he loves. It was peaceful, and perfect.” Lee’s Broadway credits included the 2017 production of Prince of Broadway and the 2021 revival of Caroline, or Change. He played the title role in a national tour of The Phantom of the Opera, and earlier this year was part of an Off-Broadway production of Oratorio for Living Things that had a two-month run after opening in March. The Phantom of the Opera posted a tribute to Lee on its Instagram account: “The Phantom family is saddened to...
Axl Rose Will Stop Throwing Mic Into Crowd ‘In the Interest of Public Safety’
Axl Rose has addressed recent reports that a woman was hurt at a Guns N’ Roses concert in Australia when she was hit by a microphone thrown by the singer. In a post on Twitter Friday night (Dec. 2), the Guns N’ Roses frontman announced that he would no longer toss his mic into the crowd, something he says he’s done to close the show “for over 30 years.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “It’s come to my attention that a fan may have been hurt at r show in Adelaide Australia possibly being hit by the microphone at the end of the show when I traditionally toss the mic to the fans,” Rose wrote. An article published by the Adelaide Advertiser earlier in the week reported a concertgoer named Rebecca Howe claims she was left with two black eyes and a b...
5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (Dec. 3)
From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The year in Latin charts While Bad Bunny may have owned 2022, Colombian star Karol G is No. 1 on Billboard’s year-end Top Latin Artists – Female chart for a fourth consecutive year. The success comes after her strong showing in 2022 with her fusion of Colombian rhythmic tunes with pop and Afrobeats (“Provenza”) and her collaboration with Becky G on “MAMIII.” At No. 1 on the year-end Top Latin Artists chart is Bad Bunny for a fourth straight year. Earning him the top spot was ...
Britney Spears Shares Emotional Tribute to Estranged Sons Jayden James & Sean Preston on Her 41st Birthday: ‘I Send My Love’
Britney Spears shared a sweet message with her estranged teenage sons on her 41st birthday. The pop superstar took to Instagram on Friday (Dec. 2) to post a loving shoutout to her boys Jayden James, 16, and Sean Preston, 17, whom she hasn’t seen in recent months following a public fallout. “To both of my boys … I love you … I would die for you !!! God speed my precious hearts !!! I would give anything just to touch your face !!! I send my love … Mamasita,” Spears wrote in separate posts dedicated to each son. The “Hold Me Closer” singer previously opened up about the painful, prolonged estrangement from Jayden James and Sean Preston, whom she shares with ex-husband Kevin Federline. “Since they’ve been gone, I’ve honestly felt like a huge part of me has died,” she said in an audio clip post...
