Pop
Brandy & Monica Will Face Off in a Sure-to-Be Iconic ‘Verzuz’ Showdown
Queue up “The Boy Is Mine”: It’s Brandy vs. Monica in the next Verzuz battle. “Get ready for the queens!” the official Verzuz Instagram teased Saturday night (Aug. 22), with a sleek split image of the singers’ faces. Brandy and Monica will go head-to-head on Monday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. ET on Instagram and Apple Music. “#History,” Brandy wrote on her account. “Thank you @monicadenise and @verzuztv for making this happen. Let’s celebrate!!!!” “This will be historical,” Monica agreed with her own post about the upcoming event. “It’s an honor @brandy.” Monica then encouraged fans to start chiming in with their requests: “What songs would you all like to see us bring to @verzuztv !! Celebratin...
Miley Cyrus Shares Touching Tribute to Her Late Grandma: ‘You Will Forever Be My Inspiration’
Miley Cyrus is mourning the death of her beloved grandmother Loretta Finley. On Saturday (Aug. 22), the 27-year-old pop star shared an emotional tribute to her maternal grandma, whom she lovingly referred to as “Mammie,” on Instagram. Her post included a gallery of past photos and videos, including a clip of Finley on the red carpet and a snapshot of her cuddling with baby Miley. “Even though you are gone…. NOTHING has or ever will change. You will FOREVER be my inspiration and fashion icon,” Cyrus captioned the post. “Even more than that the ultimate model of being a true LIGHT in a dark world. You are sunshine. Everyday I wake and see that fiery ball in the sky I will see your face. Then say a prayer thanking heaven above for giving me the best grandmo...
LA Judge Extends Britney Spears Conservatorship Until 2021
POP 8/21/2020 by Claudia Rosenbaum Los Angeles Judge Brenda Penny ruled after a sealed hearing on Thursday (Aug. 19) to extend Britney Spears conservatorship till Feb. 1, 2021. The virtual hearing was attended by Spears’ court appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham, her father James Spears, Lynn Spears, and their respective attorneys. In addition, Spears current temporary conservator Jodi Montgomery. Penny also made some findings and orders under seal. In the interim she set a time table for Britney’s attorney to file a petition by Sept. 18 and to have it set for a hearing in her court on Oct. 14th. Any objections in the case are to be filed by Oct. 2, according to Penny. The hearing came two days after Ingham filed a court paper on the singer’s behalf declaring that she does not want her fathe...
TWICE Drop First English Single ‘More & More’
TWICE have officially dropped the English version of their latest mini-album’s title track “More & More.” The new rendition keeps the fun, dance-y elements of the original. “Don’t look away, look in my eyes / Show me your heart do not disguise / You can run but you cannot hide,” the girl group sings in the pre-chorus, before chanting the infectious hook. “We prepared the English version of “MORE & MORE” as a gift to our ONCE around the world,” said TWICE in a group statement. “We wish them happiness, and hope that they enjoy the song.” The song’s release marks the first time the group has recorded a full track in English. TWICE is currently recording material for a new album, with more details to be revealed in the comi...
Conan Gray Transforms Into the Girl His Crush Loves in Thought-Provoking ‘Heather’ Video
On the topic of love, it really, really sucks when your crush doesn’t love you back. Even worse, it sucks more when they love someone else. Conan Gray explores those feelings of envy and yearning in his wistful new “Heather” video. “Why would you ever kiss me? I’m not even half, as pretty / You gave her your sweater / It’s just polyester, but you like her better / I wish I were Heather,” he sings in the chorus, as the clip shows the 21-year-old singer-songwriter at home, slowly dressing himself and styling his hair to how Heather might. “When I was in high school, I had a crush on the same one person all four years. But that one person did not love me back, instead my crush liked a girl named heather,” Gray said in a press statemen...
Glass Animals Score First Top Rock Albums No. 1 With ‘Dreamland’
The set is also their first Billboard 200 top 10. Glass Animals nab their first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart, as Dreamland bows atop the list dated Aug. 22. Dreamland debuts with 60,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of that sum, 43,000 units were via album sales. The England-based band previously reached a No. 2 high on the chart with Dreamland‘s predecessor, How to Be a Human Being, in September 2016. The new LP’s count of 17,000 streaming equivalent units is the best for a rock album since the chart dated Feb. 29, when Tame Impala‘s The Slow Rush opened with 30,000 of its overall 110,000 units from streaming. Dreamland also starts at No. 2 on Alternative Albums, equaling How to...
Taylor Swift Supports Indie Record Stores with Free Signed Copies of folklore
Taylor Swift has surprised independent record stores around the country with signed copies of her new album folklore. Many shops reported unexpectedly receiving a package of 30 autographed CDs, and have been posting pictures with the hashtag #recordstorefolklore. folklore is a self-consciously “indie” effort, created with The National’s Aaron Dessner and featuring Bon Iver. It’s also the top-selling record of the year, released by one of the most famous people on the planet. With this gesture — hand-signing hundreds of CDs and shipping them all around the states — Swift may have given herself arthritis, but she’s also given these record stores her time and the power of her colossal celebrity. It worked — several stores reported selling out the whole stock of CDs in less than an h...
Mariah Carey Announces Rarities Album, Shares Lauryn Hill Collaboration “Save the Day”: Stream
Ms. Lauryn Hill (photo by David Brendan Hall) and Mariah Carey In celebration of the 30th anniversary of her self-titled debut, Mariah Carey has announced a new collection called The Rarities. Included in the 32-track compilation are a number of unreleased songs, including the newly revealed collaboration with Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Save the Day”. Due out October 2nd, The Rarities will include fan-favorite songs like “Always Be My Baby” and “Hero” alongside rare tracks (natch) and never-before-released recordings. The second half of the two-disc collection will feature a live album capturing Carey’s first-ever Japanese concert. The performance took place on March 7th at the Tokyo Dome during her “Daydream World Tour”, the first of three sold-out nights that were the fastest selling shows in the...
Mariah Carey’s Ms. Lauryn Hill Collab ‘Save the Day’ Is Here: Stream It Now
Saving any given day in 2020 is a tall order, but if you combine the powers of Mariah Carey and Ms. Lauryn Hill, you’re off to a strong start. This New Music Friday (Aug. 21) sees the release of “Save the Day,” a new track from Mariah Carey featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill. “Save the Day” is the first release from Mimi’s double-disc archival deep dive The Rarities (Oct. 2), which comes hot on the heels of her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey (out Sept. 29). With heartfelt, affecting vocals delivering a timely message (“We’re in this together”; “it’s curious, the fear still holding us down”), a few classic Mariah high notes and a sick beat drop courtesy Jermaine Dupri that accompanies the entrance of Ms. Lauryn Hill’s ...
What’s Your Favorite Demi Lovato Hit? Vote!
Demi Lovato was “Made in the USA” 28 years ago today, Aug. 20, and to ring in her birthday, Billboard wants to know which of her Hot 100 hits is your favorite! She’s spent over a decade on the chart, with her career-first entry being the Camp Rock highlight “This is Me” with Joe Jonas, who played Shane Gray in the 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie while Lovato portrayed the main character Mitchie Torres. The song went all the way to No. 9. But apart from her Disney Friends for Change anthems, Lovato continued churning out more hits with her Disney friends, from her Jonas Brothers collaboration “On the Line” from her 2008 debut studio album Don’t Forget to her joint bop with Selena Gomez “One and the Same&#...
Taylor Swift Donates $30,000 to 18-Year-Old Student to Help Pay Her Tuition
Vitoria Mario is a self-described “young Black 18 year old with a dream” on her GoFundMe page, in which she sought help to pay her university tuition. Luckily, Taylor Swift was there to help out her fan in need. “I have received a conditional offer to study Mathematics (MMath) at the prestigious University of Warwick,” Mario wrote, before noting that she is “in a position of uncertainty as I may not be able to attend university due to my circumstances.” “I have lived in the U.K. for 4 years now, after migrating from Portugal to live with family in Tottenham,” she continued. “The socio-economic barriers of not being eligible for maintenance loans/grants is due not only to not having ‘Home’ status, but also because my family are low incom...
Who Wore It Best: Miley Cyrus or Miss Piggy?
You decide. Not for nothing, but Miss Piggy is a fashion icon. And the O.G. Muppet proved it on Wednesday (Aug. 19) when she reminded Miley Cyrus who the true diva is, in case Hannah Montana forgot. “Moi is always in tune to the demands of modern fashion. As soon as I saw @MileyCyrus rocking this look, I thought, ‘When did she get that out of my closet?!’,” Miss P wrote alongside a picture of her rocking blonde braids, a giant foam finger and an outfit alarmingly similar to the skimpy one Miley wore during her iconic 2013 MTV VMA performance with Robin Thicke. “History will decide who was more iconic wearing it: Miley at the VMAs or moi on The Muppets series from 2015,” Piggy wrote. Cyrus, who recently released the single “Midnight Sky,”...
