Pop
Black-Metal Legend Ihsahn Calls Out Taylor Swift Over Album Artwork
Ihsahn (courtesy of Spinefarm Records), Taylor Swift (courtesy of Republic Records) The cover artwork of Taylor Swift’s surprise new album folklore immediately caused a stir on social media, thanks to the decidedly metal look of the gloomy black & white forest scene. Now, an actual black-metal legend, Ihsahn, is calling out the pop superstar for the folklore cover’s uncanny resemblance to the artwork for his “Stridig” single, released earlier this year. The woods and black metal have had a longstanding relationship over the decades. Many a time, our favorite corpse-painted musicians have found themselves stuck in the middle of a desolate forest, with their only way out a combination of shrieking vocals and heavily distorted guitars. Now, Taylor Swift has found herself in the same predi...
Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner Welcome Their First Child Together
Congratulations to Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, who have welcomed their first child together! “Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are delighted to announce the birth of their baby,” the couple said in a statement to Billboard. Acccording to TMZ, the baby girl arrived on July 22, and is named Willa. The couple kept things pretty quiet throughout the Game of Thrones actress’ pregnancy, never offering a statement to confirm they were expecting, though she was spotted out and about with a baby bump. On Friday, after Taylor Swift dropped her new album Folklore, fans speculated that she may have sent the couple a baby gift. On the song “Invisible String,” she sings, “Cold was the steel of my axe to grind/ For the boys who broke my heart/ Now I send the...
Jason Derulo Performs ‘Savage Love’ Poolside for ‘Good Morning America’ Live Music Video: Watch
Jason Derulo cooled off by the pool during his steamy “Savage Love” performance Saturday (July 25) as part of Good Morning America‘s Summer Concert Series. The song behind the dance that took TikTok by storm is a strong contender for a top summertime anthem by the way a half-shirtless Derulo dressed up the visual, with guys and girls in swimsuits dancing until the sun comes down. His “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” collaboration with New Zealand producer Jawsh 685 (real name Joshua Stylah) already topped the Official U.K. Singles chart (dated July 10). “Josh had this sound that was going crazy,” Derulo said about Jawsh 685 during a GMA interview. “It was on TikTok, right? But how do we take him and formulate him i...
John Legend & Andra Day Perform Whitney Houston’s ‘Greatest Love of All’ at Joe Biden Fundraiser
John Legend and Andra Day delivered a beautiful duet during Joe Biden’s ‘Celebration for Change’ live streaming fundraiser Sunday night (July 26). The pair traded vocals and harmonized on a cover of Whitney Houston‘s take of “Greatest Love of All.” Legend sat at his piano by a shelf full of awards, while Day sang from a studio setting for the virtual event in support of Democratic presidential candidate Biden. Jay Leno, hosting the fundraiser, said both singers would return for solo performances later in the program. Legend came back with an emotional at-home version of “All of Me,” while Day graced the virtual stage again with new ballad “Remember I Bleed.” Sara Bareilles, Barbra Streisand, Dave Matthews,...
Adam Lambert Inspires With ‘Ready to Run’ at Joe Biden’s ‘Celebration for Change’
Adam Lambert, wearing a tiger-print shirt and backed by a socially distanced band, rocked his way through “Ready to Run” in support of Joe Biden. Lambert took part in Biden’s ‘Celebration for Change,’ a live streaming fundraiser for the Democratic presidential candidate, on Sunday night (July 26). Even without an in-person audience, Lambert commanded the virtual stage with soaring vocals. He grooved to the beat and ended the performance with a satisfied laugh. John Legend, Andra Day, Sara Bareilles, Barbra Streisand and Dave Matthews were among the other performers on the bill for the virtual event. Watch a clip of “Ready to Run” below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined w...
One Direction’s Streams Leap 174 Percent Amid Boy Band’s 10th Anniversary
The band’s catalog drew 21 million U.S. on-demand streams on July 23, the day of the band’s formation 10 years prior. In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the formation of One Direction, the boy band’s catalog saw a 173.6 percent gain in U.S. on-demand streams the day of the anniversary (July 23), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. On July 23, One Direction’s catalog, which includes five full-length albums, drew 21 million U.S. streams. That’s up 173.6 percent from July 22, which saw the band garner 7.7 million. Assisting in the streaming boost: One Direction’s Twitter account, which had been dormant for nearly two years, posted multiple times about the anniversary, as did the most recent lineup of the group — Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. ...
Fans Pick Little Mix’s ‘Holiday’ As This Week’s Favorite New Music
Little Mix‘s new single “Holiday” has topped this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 24) on Billboard, choosing the U.K. quartet’s latest pop gem as their favorite new music release from the past week. “Holiday,” which will appear on the group’s upcoming sixth studio album, brought in 63 percent of the vote, beating out new music by Taylor Swift, Logic, Maroon 5, J. Cole and others. The song offer a delectable bass line, top-notch vocals and sensual lyrics (“Touch me like a summer night, you feel like a holiday,” goes the chorus). Coming in second place on this week’s poll with 23 percent of the vote was Swift’s surprise new album, Folklore. The 16-song set, her eighth studio release, takes Sw...
Juice WRLD’s ‘Legends Never Die’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
Plus: The Chicks’ ‘Gaslighter’ debuts at No. 3 and Jhené Aiko’s ‘Chilombo’ surges 43-6 after reissue. Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die holds atop the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second week, as the set earned 162,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending July 23 (down 67 percent), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The album blasted in at No. 1 a week ago with 497,000 units — 2020’s biggest week for any release. Meanwhile, The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) debut at No. 3 with their first studio album in 14 years, Gaslighter, and Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo roars back into the top 10, surging 43-6, after it was reissued with additional tracks. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on m...
Tove Lo Reveals She’s Married With a Hilarious Caption: ‘Oops!’
Tove Lo is a married woman! The Swedish singer-songwriter shared a photo on her Instagram Story of herself and love Charlie Twaddle showing off matching wedding bands on Saturday (July 25). “Oops! @seetwaddle,” the artist captioned the photo of herself with her new husband. In the picture, the bride is wearing what appears to be a beautiful vintage wedding gown with lace details, while the groom is in a powder blue tux with matching bow tie and a ruffled shirt. The two are also making adorable surprised expressions in the wedding photo. Fans may notice that the newlyweds are sporting their new jewelry on their right ring fingers instead of their left. According to The Knot, wedding bands are commonly worn on the right hands of those in Northern European countries such as Sweden...
Ben Folds Serenades a Sucky Year with “2020” Performance on Colbert: Watch
At this point in 2020, it’s hard to even glance at any information source without deepening this sustained sense of despair. Imagine what it’s like for someone like Stephen Colbert, who has to actually put a smile on and joke about this dumpster fire of a year every night. Yet power to him, the late-night host continues on cheerily, even when a musical guest like Ben Folds comes on to remind him of how crappy everything is with a performance of “2020”. Folds delivered a #PlayAtHome performance of his new single on Thursday night’s Late Show. Colbert introduced the waltz by saying it “really captures the spirit of the moment” before the piano pop master took over from his (shockingly white) office. Sitting behind his keyboard, Folds asked, “How many years will we cram into one?” while ...
Who Is William Bowery, Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Co-Writer? Even Aaron Dessner Doesn’t Know
Who is William Bowery? Unless you’re Taylor Swift, or Bowery themself, the answer to that question seems to be the equivalent of the shrug emoji. Thanks to the remote nature of pandemic-era collaboration, even the National‘s Aaron Dessner — who produced and co-wrote 11 tracks on Swift’s new Folklore album, and has been giving a satisfying amount of insight into the process of creating the project with her — has never met Bowery, who’s credited as a co-writer on two songs, “Exile” and “Betty.” When Swift dropped the surprise on Thursday (July 23) that Folklore was coming that night, Bowery was included in a list of “musical heroes” she name-dropped as collaborators: “@aarondessner (who has co-written or produ...
Justin Bieber Shares Scenic Photos From Road Trip With Wife Hailey
POP 7/25/2020 by Mitchell Peters The Biebers are taking some time to explore the U.S. countryside on a scenic road trip. The 26-year-old pop star took to Instagram on Friday (July 24) to share numerous snapshots from the outing, including pics of farm animals, city streets, truck stops, lakeside views and cuddly photos with his model wife. “A good way for me to find peace is to connect with nature,” Justin Bieber captioned a photo of horses grazing in a pasture. “Watching animals graze, clouds pass, or simply putting your feet in the grass can take you away from your anxious thoughts and get you in touch with gods beauty.” Some of Bieber’s posts drew the attention of his celebrity friends, including fellow singer Niall Horan, who commented, “It’s g...
