Category: Music & Entertainment

Britney Spears rolls up her sleeve for the COVID-19 vaccine: “It was nothing!”

Posted on by ABC Audio

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicBritney Spears is the latest pop star to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the “Toxic” singer shared that she and boyfriend Sam Asghari went through their vaccination appointment without a hitch and celebrated the success with a high five. 

Spears, 39, also had a special message to fans who might still be on the fence about getting the COVID-19 shot.

When Asghari, 27, asked the Grammy winner what she thought about getting the jab, she took a moment to relay to her followers that it was painless.

“The people on the internet said it was really, really bad like it was a bullet through your arm,” said Spears, who then shrugged off the rumor.

“It was nothing. I felt nothing,” she refuted through a wide smile. “I’m fine and I hope I continue to stay fine.”

The two closed out the video by giving each other a triumphant high five, quoting the popular catchphrase made popular by Sacha Baron Cohen‘s Borat.

Spears followed up in the caption by continuing with the Borat references by calling her vaccination appointment a “Great success…. High-five!!!!!!”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Glass Animals: Pop success of “Heat Waves” is a “lovely surprise”

Posted on by ABC Audio

Pooneh GhanaBritish band Glass Animals has been releasing records since 2012, but their current single “Heat Waves” is their first-ever to make it onto Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, not to mention their first on Billboard‘s Pop Airplay chart.  And nobody is more surprised by the song’s success than, well…the members of Glass Animals themselves.

“This song being on these pop radio stations is just such a surprise,” says Glass Animals drummer Joe Seaward. “Everything’s such a lovely surprise. You just never feel jaded, I think, is the nice thing, ’cause everything’s always a bonus.”

The band’s frontman, Dave Bayley, tells ABC Audio why the success of “Heat Waves” — coming as it did in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic — means a “huge amount” to the band.

“We haven’t actually been able to go overseas, but this song has kind of traveled and sort of done that for us,” he notes. “We feel very lucky to have had that, it’s pretty amazing.”

As for why “Heat Waves” has become their breakthrough hit, Joe believes it’s because the song’s combination of “upbeat, exciting music” and “remorseful, mournful lyrics” reflects our present moment in time.

“It’s quite sad,” notes Joe. “I think that that resonates quite strongly with what’s been happening to people in the last year.”

“Heat Waves” appears on Glass Animals’ new album, Dreamland, a concept album about Dave Bayley’s childhood.  He’s hoping that new fans who’ve discovered the band through “Heat Waves” will now be inspired to give Dreamland a try.

“Maybe it’ll lead people to listen to the album, which was very much written and made as an entire entity, as an entire world,” says Dave, adding, “I think you can say a lot more when an actual album is greater than the sum of its parts.”

By Josh Johnson & Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ Is Here: Five Fascinating Facts

Posted on by ABC Audio

Beth GarrabrantTaylor Swift’s hotly anticipated re-recording of her 2008 album, Fearless (Taylor’s Version), arrives April 9.  Here are five fascinating facts about the project:

5. Taylor is re-recording her albums because she was famously unable to buy back the master recordings of her first six albums from her former record label.  The ownership of those masters then changed hands several times, but after failing to reach a deal, Taylor decided to simply re-record the albums. By offering fans new versions of those songs, she’s literally taking money out of the pockets of the executives who now have the rights to her work.

4. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) features 27 tracks: Re-recordings of the original album’s 13 songs, six songs from the Fearless Platinum Edition, the movie soundtrack-only song “Today Was a Fairy Tale,” six never-before-released “From the Vault” songs, and a remix of “Love Story (Taylor’s Version).”

3. Taylor had her original duet partner on the song “Breathe,” Colbie Caillat, return to re-record that song for the project.  She also invited her country superstar friends Maren Morris and Keith Urban to add vocals to a few of the “From the Vault” songs. She plans to add “From the Vault” extras to all of her re-recorded albums.

2. The original version of Fearless has sold more than 10 million copies since its release in 2008.  It features the hits “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Fifteen” and “White Horse.”

1. Fearless was named Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards, making Taylor, at age 20, the youngest artist ever to win that award. Her record stood until 2020, when 18-year-old Billie Eilish broke it with her album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?


By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Hear Ashe’s new Beach Boys-channeling song “I’m Fine”

Posted on by ABC Audio

Dana TrippeOne of Ashe‘s main influences is the legendary pop group The Beach Boys, and you can hear an echo of their style in the upbeat bop of a chorus on her new single, “I’m Fine,” the latest track from her upcoming debut album Ashlyn.

“’I’m Fine’ is about having that one person in your life that, when you’re trying to fake it and you’re trying to say, ‘Oh, no, I’m doing okay,’ it’s having that one person who says: ‘I know you’re not okay. You can’t pretend with me,’” Ashe explains of the song.

She adds, “I have a couple people in my life that can always call me out when I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m fine.’ And, yeah, those are the people we need in our lives.”

In addition to “I’m Fine,” Ashlyn also features Ashe’s hit “Moral of the Story” and her current duet with FINNEAS, “Till Forever Falls Apart.”  It’s out May 7.

Ashe was just nominated for Best New Rock/Alternative Rock Artist 2021 at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.


By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bebe Rexha to Belt “America the Beautiful” on WrestleMania this weekend

Posted on by ABC Audio

ABCBebe Rexha and professional wrestling wouldn’t seem like they go together, but we’ll find out this weekend how well they mesh.

The “Meant to Be” singer will belt out “America the Beautiful” during Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, which will stream live starting at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 10 exclusively on Peacock.

Bebe seems thrilled at the prospect of encountering two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion and three-time RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss at the event.  When a fan asked if we could get a “meet up,” Bebe replied, “Omg yes.”  To which Alexa replied, “Let’s make it happen.”

Fun fact: Alexa is engaged to early-2000’s hitmaker Ryan Cabrera.

Meanwhile, Bebe has released several remixes of her latest single, “Sacrifice,” but fans are still begging her to announce when her long-awaited second album will be released.  Stay tuned.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

See Lady Gaga in full bridal attire on set of ‘House of Gucci’

Posted on by ABC Audio

MEGA/GC ImagesLady Gaga has been engaged twice but has never made it to the altar. If you’ve ever wondered what she’d look like in a wedding dress, though, now we know.

The singer was snapped on the Rome, Italy set of her new movie House of Gucci in full bridal attire.

In character as Patrizia Reggiani, the eventual ex-wife of fashion mogul Maurizio Gucci, Gaga donned a beautiful lace wedding gown with a scalloped hem, a long flowing veil and white satin heels. She appeared to be on her way to film a scene depicting Reggiani and Gucci’s 1973 wedding.

Adam Driver stars opposite Gaga as Gucci in the Ridley Scott-directed film.

By Andrea Tuccillo
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Taylor Swift treats Tumblr fans to sneak preview of “Breathe (Taylor’s Version)”

Posted on by ABC Audio

Courtesy of TumblrA huge part of Taylor Swift’s fandom can be found on Tumblr, where Taylor herself is known to lurk and “like” random Swifties’ posts.  So for her big Fearless re-recording project, she wanted to give those fans something special.

Ahead of the midnight release of the album Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Taylor’s posted a snippet on Tumblr of the re-recorded version of “Breathe,” her duet with Colbie Caillat.  Now called “Breathe (Taylor’s Version),” the song features Colbie recreating her original parts on the song.

“Breathe” earned brought Colbie her first Grammy: When it was named Album of the Year in 2010, Colbie received a trophy too, as a featured artist on the project.

Taylor has also shared a never-before seen photo of herself from 2008 to go along with the snippet.

According to Tumblr, searches for Taylor Swift content have spiked 611% since the beginning of the year.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Watch Olivia Rodrigo in ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ season 2 trailer

Posted on by ABC Audio

Courtesy Disney+If you only know Olivia Rodrigo as the woman who sings “Drivers License,” you can get a look at her working hard in her other job — TV star — in the new trailer for the new season of her Disney+ show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

The new season features brand-new solo performances from both Olivia and her co-star, Joshua Bassett, each written by the two entertainers.

Plot-wise, the new season finds the East High Wildcats preparing to perform Beauty and the Beast as their spring musical, and facing off against their rivals, North High, to win a prestigious student theatre competition. Meanwhile, Olivia’s character, Nini, gets into the Youth Actors Conservatory, setting up the possibility of her having to carry on a long-distance relationship with Ricky, Bassett’s character.

Season two guest stars include Derek Hough and Asher Angel.

The second season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series premieres May 14. Season one is now streaming on Disney+. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

By Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Here’s who gave Jennifer Lopez the iconic nickname “J.Lo”

Posted on by ABC Audio

Carlos Alvarez/Getty ImagesBelieve it or not, Jennifer Lopez isn’t the one who came up with her now-iconic nickname “J.Lo.”

In an upcoming issue of InStyle the 51-year-old revealed that the moniker was given to her by late rapper and record executive Heavy D while she was working on her first studio album, On The 6, which was released in June of, 1999.

“The name J.Lo came from Heavy D,” she explained. “He used to come by the studio for my first album and would call me Jenny-Lo, Jennifer-Lo, or J.Lo.”

However, Jennifer believes that the nickname really caught on after she made it the name of her second album.

“When I was doing my second album, I decided to call it J.Lo and I believe that’s when it really stuck!” she said. 

In the same interview, Jennifer’s ex-husband Marc Anthony, the father of her twins Max and Emme, praises his former wife to the skies.

“The thing about Jennifer is her ability to see and understand things before they happen. Before she even brings an idea up, she has visualized it a thousand times. And if anyone says it might not be the greatest idea, she’ll say, ‘You just don’t see it yet,'” he says. “Nine times out of 10, she’ll nail it.”

Marc also describes Jen as “the first one in the room and the last to leave,” as well as “the hardest worker I’ve ever met.”

“When we were together, it was quite the opposite for me. That has changed since,” he adds. “I learned so much from her. She’s the original!”

By Megan Stone & Andrea Dresdale
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Exclusive vinyl titles from Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande on tap for Record Store Day 2021

Posted on by ABC Audio

Streamline/InterscopeReleases from “Rain on Me” duet partners Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga are among the more than 420 exclusive titles that’ll be available at independent record stores for Record Store Day 2021.

The annual event, typically held on a Saturday during the spring at various independent record stores, will instead feature two-day “drops,” on June 12 and July 17, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

RSD’s first releases will include Gaga’s Chromatica on exclusive translucent yellow vinyl on June 12. The RSD edition also comes with a 28-page book, collectible ‘zine and never-before-seen Gaga images and artwork.

Ariana’s k bye for now (swt live) will be made available as a double-CD set and as a triple-vinyl LP collection on June 12. It’ll mark the first time the live album documenting her 2019 Sweetener Tour is being released in physical form.  The “positions” singer released the album digitally on December 23, 2019.

Check out the whole list of releases and participating independent record stores — and which release is dropping when — at RecordStoreDay.com.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.