Category: Pop Daypop

Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish will be the final musical guests in 2023 for the 49th season of NBC’s iconic comedy series Saturday Night Live.  

Rodrigo will perform on Saturday, December 9th, with host Adam Driver; while Eilish will perform on the finale episode of 2023, with host and SNL alum Kate McKinnon on Saturday, December 16th.

Both Rodrigo and Eilish are returning musical guests; Rodrigo made her SNL debut in May 2021, when she performed “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U” from her debut album, Sour. Eilish’s appearance on Dec. 16th will mark her third time on SNL; back in 2019, she performed “Bad Guy” and “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” from her debut LP, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?  And in 2021, Eilish pulled double duty as host and musical guest, performing the title track to her LP Happier Than Ever, as well as “Male Fantasy”.

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Epic Games and The Weeknd have shared a trailer of their upcoming Fortnite Festival collaboration, posting on X: “Get ready to take your stage #FortniteFestival launches in Fortnite on December 9, 2023.”

The Weeknd will perform an in-game concert that will celebrate the launch of the new Fortnite music game, and the trailer shows the artist take the stage in front of a crowd of fans, as well as features footage of the new game.

According to an Epic Games press release, Fortnite Festival is “a new music game where players can play in a band with friends or perform solo on stage with hit music by their favorite artists.”  The game is built by Harmonix, the studio behind the game ‘Rock Band.’ The Weeknd’s concert will take place Saturday, December 9th – the same day as Fortnite Festival’s launch.

Take a look at the The Weeknd x Fortnite Festival trailer – here.

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Machine Gun Kelly has released a new compilation, titled ‘lofi chill vibes with Machine Gun Kelly,’ recorded in collaboration with producer lonelyboy.

lofi chill vibes with Machine Gun Kelly includes new versions of songs from MGK’s last three albums — Hotel Diablo (2019), Tickets to My Downfall (2020) and mainstream sellout (2022), and takes them in a quieter, more ‘chill’ direction.

Check out a teaser for ‘lofi chill vibes with Machine Gun Kelly’ – here.  To stream, head here.

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TIME Magazine announced that they have named Taylor Swift their ‘2023 Person of the Year,’ beating out a host of finalists (including Barbie and King Charles III) who over the last 12 months dominated in politics and entertainment

TIME called Swit a person with “singular influence” who has found a way to “transcend borders” and be “a source of light” in the world. TIME said in its profile on Swift: “While her popularity has grown across the decades, this is the year that Swift, 33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force.”  The publication added that Swift was selected because she found a way to give people around the world hope in such dark times:  “No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well. Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power.”

Swift revealed to TIME: “This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been. Ultimately, we can convolute it all we want, or try to overcomplicate it, but there’s only one question … Are you not entertained?”

Part of Swift’s incredible achievements across 2023 was her “Eras Tour,” which grossed about $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone. She has dominated not only arenas, but local movie theaters as well with her concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which raked in about $96 million in the box office in the United States and Canada, making it the highest-grossing concert film domestically for an opening weekend. The singer/songwriter also has more No. 1 albums than any other woman in history, including three this year; and she broke her own Spotify record by becoming the most-streamed artist in a single day in the streamer’s history, with “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” becoming Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year.

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K-pop stars BLACKPINK will be hosting their first-ever virtual concert in partnership with Meta and production company T he Diamond Bros. BLACKPINK: A VR Encore will be a recreation of the group’s special finale show for their ‘Born Pink’ world tour in Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. Check out the trailer for the virtual concert event: here.

The group posted on their official YouTube page: “BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA! Join us for a JAM-PACKED, VR concert experience in @MetaHorizon’s exclusive NEW venue – MUSIC VALLEY! We’re bringing you front row as we perform some of our biggest hits, like you’ve never seen before! HOW YOU LIKE THAT?! We’ll see you 12/26 only in Meta Horizon Worlds! “

The 70-minute concert for VR will be made available exclusively in VR inside the Meta Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley, with Meta Quest VR headset owners in select regions are privy to front-row tickets to the experience.

To RSVP for the BLACKPINK: A VR Encore, head to the link here: Oculus.

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Jennifer Lopez shared the release date for her new album, This Is Me… Now, along with its lead single and a companion film co-written with her husband, Ben Affleck. The 54-year-old’s new single, “Can’t Get Enough,” the first single from the album will be released on Jan. 10, 2024; to pre-save, head here.

This Is Me… Now (the album and the film) will be released on Feb. 16, 2024. Lopez also shared the trailer for the short film, directed by Dave Meyers and co-written by Lopez, Matt Walton, and Affleck, which will stream on Prime Video. The trailer shows JLO tossing a letter into the fire as she says, “When I was a little girl, when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always… in love.” The handwritten letter is dated Dec. 24, 2002, seemingly from Affleck back in the early days of their relationship.

According to a press release, This Is Me… Now: The Film offers “the truth behind the headlines surrounding Lopez’s personal life as told through the star’s personal creative vision … Unlike anything you’ve ever seen from Jennifer Lopez, This Is Me…Now: The Film is a narrative-driven, intimate, reflective, sexy, funny, fantastical and highly visual musical reimagining of her publicly scrutinized love life.”

The album This Is Me… Now celebrates the anniversary of its 2002 sister album, This Is Me…Then, completing a 20-year journey. The new LP, Lopez’s ninth studio album and her first in nearly a decade, was written and executive produced by Lopez and Rogét Chayed, along with Angel Lopez, Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, HitBoy, Tay Keith and INK among others.

Take a look at the teaser trailers for ‘This Is Me… Now’: Teaser 1 and Teaser 2.

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Us Weekly confirmed that singer Ashanti, 43, is pregnant with her first child after rekindling her romance with boyfriend Nelly, 49, earlier this year.

Ashanti and Nelly dated on and off from 2003-2013; this past April, the duo went public and were seen holding hands at a boxing match in Las Vegas, later in October they went Instagram official with Nelly wishing his longtime love a happy birthday with a slideshow of photos and the caption: “One time for the birthday girl. Such a beautiful, an incredible person inside and out and one of the hardest working women. I know.. @ashanti Enjoy your day Ma you look awesome!!!! Happy Birthday Love ya!!!!”

Ashanti sparked pregnancy speculation over the weekend when she attended Nelly’s Black and White Ball in St. Louis. According to a fan video shared by TMZ, Ashanti put her hand on her stomach while on stage with Nelly and he did the same, and the couple broke into laughter after hinting they were expecting.

The baby will be Ashanti’s first child; Nelly, 49, shares daughter Chanelle, 29, and son Cornell Haynes III, 24, with his ex, Channetta Valentine.

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Beyoncé has released her first new solo music since the release of her 2022 album Renaissance with the surprise new track titled “My House.” Produced by The-Dream and Beyoncé herself, ‘My House’ dropped as part of the debut of her new documentary film ‘Renaissance’, appearing during the credits of the film.

Beyoncé’s Rennaisance film follows the superstar entertainer for a year of live shows in support of the 2022 album of the same name. The Rennaisance tour began back in May, making its way across Europe and North America. The Rennaisance film took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with $21M in earnings.

Take a listen to ‘My House’ – here.

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The official soundtrack to the upcoming musical film The Color Purple will be release Dec. 15th, prior to the movie’s debut in theaters on Dec. 25.  The Color Purple is a musical adaptation of Alice Walker‘s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and the 2005 stage production by Marsha Norman. The upcoming film stars Fantasia, Taraji P Henson, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Ciara and H.E.R.

The star-studded The Color Purple (Music From and Inspire By) soundtrack is executive produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, Scott Sanders and gamma. founder/CEO Larry Jackson.  The soundtrack features Alicia Keys, Usher, H.E.R., Mary J. Blige, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Missy Elliott, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Halle Bailey, Coco Jones, Megan Thee Stallion, Taraji P. Henson, Jorja Smith, Mary Mary and more.  It will include songs performed in the film, as well as original material inspired by the movie.

According to a press release, “fans can expect a ‘breathtaking duet’ by Usher and H.E.R., and ‘a special remix’ by Missy Elliott.” The film’s end credit song is performed by Fantasia, who also stars in the film as Celie.

The soundtrack’s lead single “Lifeline,” written and co-produced by Alicia Keys, is out now. Listen to “Lifeline” by Alicia Keys – here.

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The Roku Channel is sharing the trailer for Demi Lovato’s holiday special, A Very Demi Holiday Special, premiering Dec. 8.

The streaming event is described as “a heartwarming, captivating special featuring music and plenty of out-of-this-world surprises” that “will fill your home and heart with a very Demi twist on the festive spirit,” and will feature Lovato performing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and other holiday songs, as well as some of her hits.

The trailer for A Very Demi Holiday Special features Lovato singing holiday songs, while guest star Paris Hilton joins Lovato in the kitchen to bake holiday treats, Trixie Mattel helps Lovato with some dance choreography, and Tiffany Haddish helps Lovato decorate holiday costumes. JoJo, Rich Eisen and Hailey Bieber are also set to appear

The Roku Channel is available on Roku devices, internet, Android and iOS devices.  See the trailer for A Very Demi Holiday Special – here.

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