Dixie D'Amelio says her new music is "all over the place," hopes to release an EP "soon"

Courtesy Hulu 2023

The third season of The D'Amelio Show just debuted on Hulu. But outside of starring in that show, Dixie D'Amelio's been working on her music career. She released her debut album, a letter to mein 2022, and recently gave ABC Audio an update on when she might release new music — and what it'll sound like.

"Hopefully [I'll release] an EP soon," she says. "I keep saying 'this year,' but I keep writing and liking things more and more, so I don't know exactly when. But I just want to get things out in a little bit [of a] timely manner, 'cause I would love to be able to tour again."

Dixie opened for Big Time Rush on their Forever Tour in 2022.

As for what we can expect from the songs she's writing, Dixie says, "It's kind of all over the place. I am writing a lot of fun songs that aren't, like, straight-down-the-middle pop, but also [are] just something that I would want to listen to. And then kind of deeper emotional things."

"I've been going to Nashville to write ... so many talented writers and producers [are] there, so being able to be in a room with them, and share a lot of these personal things that have gone in my life in the past year and put them into a song has been cool," she says.

But that doesn't mean you'll be able to tell who inspired these "personal" songs.

"Honestly, every song is like a mix," she says. "I'm like, 'This could be about, like, 30 different people' — which makes it even more fun, 'cause it's like a guessing game."  

Meanwhile, Dixie is starring in the video for "Strings," the latest hit by MAX featuring JVKE and Bazzi.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


'American Horror Story's' Angelica Ross says Emma Roberts apologized for alleged transphobic comment

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Angelica Ross has revealed that her former American Horror Story co-star, Emma Roberts, has reached out to apologize after Ross publicly accused Roberts of making a transphobic remark on set.

Taking to social media on Wednesday, September 20, Ross expressed her gratitude for Roberts' apology, writing, "Thank you @RobertsEmma for calling and apologizing, recognizing your behavior was not that of an ally. I will leave the line open to follow up on your desire to do better and support social justice causes with your platform."

Ross initially detailed her experiences with Roberts in an Instagram Live video, alleging disruptive behavior and transphobic actions by the 32-year-old actress, according to Entertainment Tonight. One incident involved Roberts questioning Ross's gender during a conversation with the director, John J. Gray. Ross says she hesitated to address the comment at the time, fearing repercussions. She also mentioned another incident where Roberts allegedly mocked her voice.

Despite her grievances, Ross emphasized that she didn't condone violence towards Roberts but sought accountability for her actions.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Does Halsey have a new boyfriend?

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Halsey seems to have officially moved on after breaking up with Alev Aydin, the father of their son.

The New York Post has photos of Avan Jogia, an actor perhaps best known for playing Beck Oliver in Nickelodeon's Victorious, and Halsey holding hands, kissing and hugging while watching a performance at the Cara Hotel in Los Feliz, California.

The two have been linked for several months and were seen together on a beach in Barcelona in June.

Halsey and Aydin split up about five months ago; in April, the singer filed for primary physical custody of their son, Ender, but said the two planned to co-parent.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Music notes: Liam Payne, Demi Lovato and more

Liam Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, gave an update on his health Tuesday after the singer was hospitalized for a kidney infection late last month. “So I’ve gotten a lot of comments about Liam, asking how he’s doing, and I just want to let everybody know that he’s doing so much better,” Cassidy said in a TikTok video. “He is out of the hospital and he is in good hands." Liam was forced to cancel his South American tour due to the illness.

Pink, a Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native, is showing love to her Philly fans after playing two hometown shows this week. “Thank you Philly for riding with me til the wheels come off,” she posted on Instagram, alongside photos from backstage. “These last two nights were pure magic. I’ve never felt more alchemy in my life…Thank you for taking me in, protecting me and giving me what I needed to survive- anywhere in the world.”

Demi Lovato has been announced as one of the headliners for The Global Exchange Conference, a four-day event on addiction, mental health and wellness. She’ll join conference founder Jerry Schwab for an intimate chat on November 14. The event takes place November 12-15 at Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort.

While fans went crazy for *NSYNC’s reunion at the MTV VMAs earlier this month, Joey Fatone says his kids were less than impressed. “The funny part is, my kids are so chill and I guess, maybe jaded? I don’t know if jaded is the correct word but they’re more like, ‘[shrugs] Oh, that’s cool,'” he tells Access Hollywood. “It’s dad’s job.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Could the next Bond theme singer be Styles ... Harry Styles?

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There's an ongoing debate over who should take over the role of James Bond in the next movie about the British superspy. But no matter who stars in the movie, it's going to have a theme tune, and U.K. bookies are offering the best odds on a guy who'll leave fans shaken — not stirred — if he's selected.

According to The Daily Mail, the British online betting site Star Sports is offering the best odds on Harry Styles singing the next Bond theme: 7/1. The site's political analyst tells the paper the next-best odds are for Ed Sheeran, who's said many times that he badly wants the job. His odds are 8/1.

After that, Lewis Capaldi is at 10/1 odds, followed by Elton John at 12/1.

Bond theme singers have alternated between British and non-British artists over the years: Most recently, Billie Eilish did it with "No Time To Die," but before that, Sam Smith and Adele did the honors.

Prior to that, Jack White and Alicia Keys teamed up for "Another Way to Die," the theme for Quantum of Solace. The two themes for the two films before that were done by, respectively, Chris Cornell and Madonna.

Other artists who've recorded Bond theme songs over the years include Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Gladys Knight, Carly Simon, Sheena Easton and the band Garbage.

As for who'll play Bond, another betting site, Coral, has Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson at 3/1 odds to land the role. Others in the running, according to Coral, are James Norton and Henry Cavill.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Star Wars tops Fandom list of fan favorite franchises for 2023, but One Piece is a force, too

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Once again, GameSpot's parent company Fandom has released its rankings of the hottest pop culture franchises, and Star Wars topped the list for 2023.

An annual poll quizzes the Fandom's 350 million monthly users as to what gets them going, using what it calls a Franchise Factor Score, as well as data culled from a global study called Inside Fandom. 

The survey ranks each franchise based on scores for characteristics like "worldbuilding," ratings for its releases, how fierce each IP's fanbases are and cultural relevance. With that in mind, Star Wars came out on top. 

In second place was another Disney-owned property, Marvel, despite recent slips at the box office and with a lukewarm reception to its small-screen properties like Secret Invasion

A surprising third place went to One Piece, the beloved manga that recently became a Netflix phenomenon. 

The Elder Scrolls video game series landed in fourth place, and Harry Potter rounded out the top five. 

Barbie ranked in sixth place — a showing no doubt goosed by the brand having the biggest movie of the year — while seventh place belonged to a show with a very different demographic: the neo-Western Yellowstone.

In fact, Kevin Costner's Paramount Network series beat out HBO's hit video game adaptation The Last of Us, which placed eighth; the video game franchise Fallout, which landed at #9; and Disney as a whole in 10th. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


Olivia Rodrigo's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ... kind of

Amber Patrick for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Olivia Rodrigo's now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Well, at least her onstage outfits are.

Some of Olivia's items have been added to the Hall of Fame's “Right Here, Right Now” exhibit. One is the black dress she wore to pay tribute to inductee Carly Simon at the 2022 Induction Ceremony: She sang Carly's signature hit, "You're So Vain." 

The other item in the exhibit is the silver minidress with matching detached silver sleeves that she wore onstage during her SOUR tour.

Olivia's dresses were added to the exhibit along with several items from Brandi Carlile and inductee Annie Lennox of Eurythmics. Other artists who have items on display in the "Right Here, Right Now" exhibit include Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish.

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Miley, Taylor, Olivia and Beyoncé among 'The Hollywood Reporter''s Platinum Players

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Just what we need: another subjective list of musicians for fans to argue about.

The Hollywood Reporter has launched its inaugural Platinum Players power list: 25 musicians that it says "have defined the year in music." The musicians chosen have topped the charts, set records, performed for millions and as the publication says, "create[d] songs and albums that define a generation and connect with listeners all over the world."

Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift is on the list, as are Beyoncé and SZAMiley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish also make the cut as well as a woman who both Olivia and Billie cite as an inspiration: Lana Del Rey.  Lana, of course, also collaborated with Taylor, as did two others on the list: Ice Spice and Phoebe Bridgers, who's on the list as a member of her group boygenius.

Country's recent domination of the charts is represented on the list by "Fast Car" singer Luke Combs, rock crossover Jelly Roll, chart-topping, country adjacent singer Zach Bryan and award-winning singer/songwriter Lainey Wilson

In addition to Ice Spice, rap is represented with DrakeNicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert. The Latin boom is represented by the inclusion of Karol G and Peso Pluma, while Burna Boy and Tems are repping for Afrobeats.

Others who made the list include Metro BoominKim PetrasNoah KahanCoco Jones and Jungkook of BTS.

Morgan Wallen, the artist who's spent the most time on top of the Billboard album and singles charts this year, is not included on the list.

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You won't believe the title of Taylor Swift's fifth "From the Vault" track

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Ever since Taylor Swift fans solved the puzzle that revealed the names of four of the "From the Vault" tracks from 1989 (Taylor's Version), they've been pondering what the fifth track would be. Well, it's now been revealed and probably isn't what you'd expect.

Taylor unveiled the tracks by posting the back cover of the album and writing, "It’s a new soundtrack" — a lyric from "Welcome to New York." She continued, "Here are the back covers and vault track titles for 1989 (my version) I can’t wait for this one to be out, seriously. Thank you for playing along, sleuthing, puzzling and making these reveals so much chaotic fun (which is the best kind of fun, after all)."

The missing song is "SLUT!" When the scrambled letters of the title were first revealed as part of the puzzle, fans debated whether or not the song would be called "LUST" or "SLUT," with many doubting that Taylor would ever use the latter word as a song title. But, here we are.

In 2019, Taylor told Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 that at age 23 — in 2012, in other words — she'd felt "slut-shamed" by the amount of attention paid to her relationships, rather than her songwriting ability.

“In a way, it’s figuring out how to completely minimize that skill by taking something that everyone in their darkest, darkest moments loves to do, which is just to slut-shame, you know?" she said. "That happened to me at a very young age, so that was a bit hard. That was one of the first times I was like, ‘Wow, this is not fair.'”

1989 (Taylor's Version) is out October 27.

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Demi Lovato's spicy answer to the question "When do you feel most confident?"

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Demi Lovato finds nothing wrong with being confident -- after all she wrote a song about it in 2015.  But what makes the pop-rock star feel that way these days?

"I feel the most confident when I'm having sex," Demi said on The LadyGang podcast's September 19 episode.

"Cause you're so present that you're not thinking about what is actually like … what clouds your judgement throughout the rest of the day, or at least that's how it is for me. It's not that way for everybody," the singer, who is currently dating musician Jutes, elaborated.

The reveal came during a game called "Revamped," based on Demi's new album of the same name, featuring rock versions of her hits. During the game the hosts asked questions based on the names of some of her tracks. For example, for her song "Heart Attack" they asked "What gives you a heart attack?" For those wondering, it's her alarm clock. 

"I sleep so hard that my alarm clock scares the s*** out of me," Demi shared. 

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