Pop
What’s Your Favorite Katy Perry Album? Vote!
Last week, Katy Perry not only delivered her first daughter Daisy Dove, but also a whole album. After much anticipation, the star finally unveiled Smile, featuring hits like “Harleys in Hawaii,” “Never Really Over” and the sweetly-titled “Daisies.” But is it your go-to project? Perhaps as a KatyCat you’re more into 2017’s Witness, with the scrumptious Migos collab “Bon appetit,” or 2013’s PRISM, full of bangers like “Roar,” “Birthday” and “Dark Horse?” There’s also the classic Teenage Dream and One Of The Boys, the debut album featuring “I Kissed a Girl,” the song that started it all? Let us know your favorite KP albu...
Miley Cyrus Says Vocal Surgery Got Her Sober
Silence might be golden. For Miley Cyrus, silence was a gift. The “Wrecking Ball” singer underwent surgery on her throat late last year, and emerged from the experience clean, sober and emboldened with a fresh outlook. Those silent post-operative days created a window of self-reflection. “I kind of learned a lot about the voice and how our experiences affect our voice,” Miley told Seth Rogan during a candid chat for the Joe Rogan Experience, which clocked-in at two hours. Following a Reinke’s edema diagnosis — that is, swelling of the vocal cords due to the presence of fluid — Miley underwent surgery in November 2019. “Over the last year I noticed a really big change to my voice, kind of a heaviness to it,” she explains. “And I experienced some heavy things. I...
BTS on Gaining Respect in the U.S.: ‘We Definitely Feel That’
Loud and happy screams erupt in unison from the seven-member pop stars BTS when they hear they have notched their first No. 1 hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart. “DREAM,” yells band member RM. “It still doesn’t feel real,” adds SUGA, speaking in Korean through a translator. “We’re really happy.” “Dynamite,” the group’s first all-English song, debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. music charts this week, making BTS the first Korean pop act to top the chart. The upbeat song even supplanted “WAP,” the raunchy smash hit by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, to claim the No. 1 position. “Never expected it,” RM tells The Associated Press of beating “WAP” for the top spot. “Never! It’s like the song of the year.” But getting their first chart-topping track seemed inevitable for the K-pop boy band,...
Blackpink & Selena Gomez’s ‘Ice Cream’ vs. BTS’ ‘IONIQ: I’m On It’: Which Video Is Your Favorite? Vote!
The biggest K-pop stars rid this week’s hump day of its usual pressure when BTS and Blackpink dropped two brand new videos Wednesday (Sept. 2). BTS kicked things into high gear, thanks to the boy band’s partnership with South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, with their “IONIQ: I’m On It” music video. The boys head out in their own lanes and even defy gravity in the sleek scenic visual that feels like anything but a car commercial shoot, according to them. “We had a lot of fun filming this video,” BTS said in a statement. “It’s been a while since a music video style ad has come out like this. It didn’t feel like a commercial shoot. It felt like an actual music video shoot.” Likewise, Blackpink and Selena Gomez‘s latest vis...
FINNEAS Shares New Song “What They’ll Say About Us”: Stream
FINNEAS has returned with a new song and his first major solo release of the year, “What They”ll Say About Us”. Even after wining five Grammys, the 23-year-old ghostwriter is still best known as the brother of Billie Eilish. But although he continues to be a producer in demand, recently FINNEAS has put more work into his solo career. Just last month, his 2019 Blood Harmony EP got a second life with a digital reissue that included a new version of “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night (1964)”. “What They’ll Say About Us” is his first all-new single of 2020, as well as a heartfelt reaction to a world in chaos. The track is a searching piano ballad, written in reaction to Black Lives Matter protests and the saga of Broadway actor Nick Cordero, who died in July of complications caused by...
BLACKPINK & Selena Gomez Are ‘Ice Cream’ Chilling in a Waffle Cone for Animated Dance Performance Video
BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez served up another scoop of their sweet “Ice Cream” collaboration with an animated dance performance video out Wednesday (Sept. 2). But since the ladies couldn’t get together in person amid the coronavirus pandemic, they went virtual with Zepeto, an app from the South Korean online platform Naver that allows users to create 3-D avatars and interact with each other. The dance performance clip bears a lot of resemblance to the official music video, from the outfit changes down to the inflatable pink waffle cone. And since each member of Selpink had both hands full with their full choreography on display, the animated visual suspends ice cream cones around as delicious decor for a finale that’ll have viewers licking their lips for more. W...
24kGoldn’s ‘Mood’ Ascends to Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart Throne
The Iann Dior-featuring song jumps 3-1. 24kGoldn scores his first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts as “Mood,” featuring Iann Dior, jumps 3-1 on the lists dated Sept. 5. “Mood” rises as the greatest gainer in all three chart metrics: streaming, airplay and sales. In the streaming and sales tracking week ending Aug. 27, the song scored 20.8 million U.S. streams (up 37%) and sold 7,000 downloads (up 63%), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. In the radio tracking week ending Aug. 30, it earned 7.8 million all-format audience impressions (up 251%). 24kGoldn has charted one other entry so far on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs: “City of Angels” reached No. 7 on each list in...
Miley Cyrus Puts Stunning Spin on Billie Eilish’s ‘My Future’: Watch
One month ago, Billie Eilish unexpectedly released her latest single, “My Future” — a beautiful contemplation of what lies ahead. Now, today (Sept. 1), Miley Cyrus has covered the timely track for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge. Cyrus — wearing in a black sparking dress and dripping in diamonds — delivered her version with a bit of laid-back rock edge and soaring vocals, though the lyrics about being in love with one’s self and warmly welcoming what’s to come hit just as hard. In some ways, “My Future” is a companion to Cyrus’ own new hit “Midnight Sky” (which she included in her set), in which the pop star sings of being born to run and belonging to no one. While at the Live Lounge, which was adorned with candles and...
Miley Cyrus Covers Billie Eilish’s “my future” for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month: Watch
Miley Cyrus for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month (photo by Vijat Mohindra) and Billie Eilish (Amy Price) Days after taking the virtual stage for the 2020 MTV VMAs, Miley Cyrus is back with another pandemic performance. Today, she helped launch the latest edition of BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month with a four-song set that included covers of Billie Eilish and Eagles. Cyrus and Eilish really couldn’t be more different as pop stars, with one known for delivering literal Bangerz and the other for her hushed, alternative pop structures. Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that Cyrus’ rendition of “my future” is far more full-throated than the original. Yes, it’s still a delicate piano ballad with a grooving break, but Cyrus ups the defiance in the vocals considerably. Speaking to Live Lounge ...
BTS’ Jimin Admits ‘Tears Keep Forming’ While Thanking ARMY for Hot 100 No. 1
It’s a big day for BTS. Not only is it their youngest member Jungkook’s birthday on September 1, but the septet is also celebrating their first-ever Hot 100 chart topper, as “Dynamite” blasts into the No. 1 spot. Jimin took to Twitter to share his moment of overwhelming positivity, kicking his string of tweets off with a birthday message to Jungkook. “Happy birthday to our youngest, Older brother loves you a lot,” reads the sweet Korean message translated to English. “Congrats to my members for our No. 1. I’m happy because you guys are here with me. You know the ones I love and are most thankful for are ARMYs, right? ARMYs need to be congratulated!” He added that he’s “still crying,” before sharing another thought. “I ...
Jaden Smith Talks ‘Falling for You’ With Justin Bieber & Who Would Win in a Guitar Battle Against His Sister
Fresh off the release of his innovative new mixtape, CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, Jaden Smith dropped by Apple Music to chat with Ebro Darden on everything related to his creative project. “This album is a time piece in the sense that I am speaking from the perspective as an artist, as a rapper, as a singer, as a poet,” he explained. “I’m speaking from the perspective of being 16, 17ish. That’s when a lot of people get their first love, or heartbreak, around that time, and same for me. So I’m going back there.” On linking up again with Justin Bieber on “Falling for You,” Jaden shared that he wrote the song “last summer with my guitar teacher, in my room.” “I was thinking ‘Man, I want Justin on this song so bad,’” he continued. “And I di...
This Certainly Was a VMAs Fit For 2020
Was it really only last year where the VMAs were held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey — with Megan Thee Stallion relegated to the pre-show, Taylor Swift opening the ceremonies with two songs from her then-new album Lover, and host Sebastian Maniscalco cracking jokes about emotional support animals for “triggered” viewers in attendance? Hard to tell which part of that most makes the 2019 VMAs feel like a lifetime ago, but suffice to say, it was a very different MTV Video Music Awards that greeted fans on Sunday night (Aug. 30). With Brooklyn’s Barclays Center a late scratch as the 2020 event’s planned venue, the night’s performances, awards, and host segments (courtesy of engaging hyphenate Keke Palmer) all at least seemed pre-taped — ac...
