Music notes: Selena Gomez, Charlie Puth and more
Selena Gomez spoke about her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty while at the annual TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday, April 24. “I didn't want to really enter the cosmetics world without a mission. It was actually a dream that kind of happened within this brand, and on top of it we were able to make hopefully decent products.” Despite rumors she'll sell the company now that its worth $2 billion, Selena said she has no plans to do so. “I don't think I'm going anywhere. I am enjoying this a little too much,” Selena said.
According to Taylor Swift, Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist, but he's decided his house will have a smaller price tag. The singer's home has been on the market for almost $17 million for more than five months without any takers. It's now up for sale again, this time with different agents and a reduced ask of $14 million.
In celebration of the release of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville opened a new display honoring the 2023 run of Taylor's Eras Tour shows. Among the featured artwork are posters dedicated to specific concert dates and hundreds of friendship bracelets Taylor was gifted by concertgoers, People reports.
Speaking of Taylor, it seems her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, listened to her new album early. Multiple sources confirmed to People that Travis listened to songs from The Tortured Poets Department before it dropped on April 19. "He is always in awe of her," one of the sources said of Travis' reaction to the new music.
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Fans think Beyoncé may perform at Stagecoach Festival
Stagecoach Festival will be taking place April 26-28 in Indio, California, and fans seem to think Beyoncé may show up.
Billboard reports those in the Beyhive have noticed several clues that suggest Bey's possible appearance at the festival. For one, Cowboy Carter collaborators Brittney Spencer, Post Malone, Tanner Adell, Willie Jones and Willie Nelson have sets at the event.
Another potential clue: A name, Backwoods Barbie, is featured in the lineup and the website, where a link connects to an Instagram account with 15 pictures, and several mentions of Beyoncé and Cowboy Carter.
Posts include photos of Beyoncé in Western attire, and pictures of Dolly Parton and Grace Jones, who respectively appeared on Cowboy Carter and Renaissance. The most recent post displays a map of the Stagecoach Festival grounds. “Catch me on Saturday night at 7pm out in Diplo’s Honky Tonk!” the caption reads.
If that's not all, the account only follows Beyoncé, Parton, Wallen, Diplo, the Stagecoach Festival and restauranteur Guy Fieri. A banner and hauler promoting Cowboy Carter were also seen during Coachella weekend.
"Dj Backwoods Barbie on Ig is def giving very much Beyonce lol we see you gworl," one fan wrote on social media.
Another asked the question, "Hive we at Stagecoach this weekend or nah?!?"
In other Bey news, she sent out another set of flowers, this time to a young fan named Tyler who was captured on video asking his mother questions like, “Where’s Beyoncé?” and “Can I visit Beyoncé?” He also insisted, “Beyoncé is our friend!”
Tyler's mom shared the news, adding the flowers were sent with a stuffed animal and a note that read, "I see your halo, Tyler." In a DM exchange between the mom and Bey's publicist, Yvette Noel-schure, she was told Bey "loved the video."
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Lauv releases new song and video for "Potential," his first song "about a boy"
Lauv's first new song and video of 2024, "Potential," shows him coming to terms with his sexuality.
Ahead of the release of the song, Lauv wrote on Instagram, "it’s genuinely a big deal to me, i’ve been writing songs for so long and have always seen myself as someone who was only allowed to be into girls. and then i started opening that up and now i feel just so so so much. and this song is the first one im gonna put out about a boy. so yeah, hope u love."
In the video, Lauv is pulled this way and that by both male and female dancers, until finally he and a male dancer end up embracing.
Lauv says in an official statement, "'Potential’ is about realizing you have feelings for someone and dreaming about the potential of what it could be. It’s the beginning of my next, most authentic chapter, and I can’t wait to share this and everything that’s coming next.”
In March 2024, Lauv posted on Instagram, "i finally, around age 29 have reopened the door to the part of myself that feels…well…into men. and i don’t know where its gonna go but i think it’s important to talk about because i literally spent A LIFETIME blaming my anxiety & eventual really bad OCD for all my thoughts that had to do with being into men, always shoving it back down."
He added, "But here i am, a few kisses and some fun in, a lot of songs in, and confused as ever but at least so much happier and more comfortable and less anxious because i’ve started to embrace a part of myself that i ran away from for so long."
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"It hurt": Ben Stiller talks the negative and positive effects of 'Zoolander 2' tanking
In the forthcoming May 7 episode of David Duchovny’s Fail Better podcast, Ben Stiller unpacked what Zoolander 2 bombing did for him — for better or worse.
The 2016 movie tanked at the box office and was critically drubbed, which took a toll on him, Stiller says in the interview.
"It hurt," Stiller said, according to The Wrap.
“I thought everybody wanted this, and then it’s like, 'Wow, I must have really f***** this up. Everybody didn’t go to it. And it's gotten these horrible reviews."
Stiller adds, "It really freaked me out because I was like, 'I didn’t know [it] was that bad?'"
The director of the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder recalls, "What scared me the most on that one was l’m losing what I think what's funny, the questioning yourself,” he added. “It was definitely blindsiding to me. And it definitely affected me for a long time.”
That said, there was a silver lining. "The wonderful thing that came out of that for me was ... if that had been a hit, and they said 'Make Zoolander 3 right now' ... I would have just probably jumped in and done that."
Stiller added, "Even if somebody said, 'Well, why don’t you go do another comedy or do this?’ I probably could have figured out something to do. But I just didn’t want to."
What came from that break was developing some limited series, like 2018's Escape at Dannemora, for which he was nominated for an Emmy in the directing category, and the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series Severance.
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Tina Fey, Steve Carell to reunite for Netflix comedy series 'Four Seasons'
Date Night co-stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell will reunite for Fey's eight-episode Netflix comedy series called Four Seasons, ABC Audio has confirmed.
The series is based on actor/director Alan Alda's 1981 film of the same name, which also starred Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis and Len Cariou.
Fey co-created and will star in the show, which centers on three married couples who vacation together every season and how the collective relationship is strained when one of the partners strays with a younger woman.
The film was also adapted into a CBS TV show in 1984.
Fey co-created the show with Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, with whom she worked on her Emmy-winning NBC comedy 30 Rock. Fisher co-created Never Have I Ever, which ran for four seasons on Netflix, and Wigfield created Great News and Saved by the Bell for the streaming service.
Emmy and Oscar nominee Carell previously appeared in Netflix's comedy series Space Force.
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Nick Jonas' new movie, 'The Good Half,' to get nationwide sneak preview screenings this summer
In 2023, Nick Jonas' movie The Good Half premiered at the Tribeca Festival. Now it's finally hitting theaters.
The drama will have nationwide sneak preview screenings on July 23 and July 25 in over 900 theaters. Each screening will come with a virtual conversation between Nick and director Robert Schwartzman, moderated by Kiernan Shipka. You can sign up at FathomEvents.com to be notified when tickets become available.
The movie stars Nick as a struggling writer named Renn, who finally has to face his issues when he goes back home to Cleveland to attend the funeral of his mother, played in flashbacks by Elisabeth Shue.
On the plane trip home, he starts a new relationship with a fellow passenger, played by Alexandra Shipp. But once he arrives, he has to interact with the family he's been avoiding for years: his dad, played by Matt Walsh; his sister, played by Brittany Snow; and his stepdad, played by David Arquette.
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Taylor Swift's 'TTPD' is now first album to hit 1 billion Spotify streams in one week
It's hard to keep up with all the records that Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department album keeps breaking.
On April 22, the album became the most streamed in a single week in Spotify history; but as of April 24, it is the first album in Spotify history to hit 1 billion streams in a single week. It actually accomplished that in less than a week: the album's only been out for five days.
A few of the other records the album has broken include being the first in Spotify history to rack up 300 million streams in a single day and the most-streamed album in a single day. Meanwhile, Taylor is now the most-streamed artist in a single day.
Over on the Billboard side of things, The Tortured Poets Department now ranks #5 on the list of the biggest sales weeks for any album in the modern era, which Billboard dates back to 1991, the advent of electronic sales tracking.
Adele still holds the record, with 3.378 million copies in one week for 25, followed by *NSYNC's No Strings Attached with 2.416 million, *NSYNC's Celebrity with 1.878 million and Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP with 1.76 million. Taylor's album has now sold 1.6 million, but the week isn't over yet.
In addition, Billboard reports that the album's 31 tracks have racked up a combined 602.3 million streams, setting the record for highest single-week streams for an album by a female artist. The only other albums that have scored more streams in a week are both by Drake: 2018's Scorpion and 2021's Certified Lover Boy.
But Billboard notes that Taylor could still surpass Drake, who called her the "biggest gangster in the music game right now" on his new song “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
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Disney+ drops trailer to Ron Howard-directed documentary 'Jim Henson Idea Man'
On Wednesday, Disney+ released the official trailer for the upcoming Jim Henson Idea Man, the documentary from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard that looks into the life and legacy of the iconic Muppets creator.
Henson died May 16, 1990, at age 53 of bacterial pneumonia.
He created some of the world's most cherished characters, including classic Muppets like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy and all of Sesame Street’s iconic residents, including Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Bert and Ernie. Henson was also the creative force behind the fantasy films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, the latter starring David Bowie.
"He showed people the good in all of us," a voice-over states.
Another offers, "From a very early age, he had the feeling that he was here for a purpose."
The doc features archival photos, diary entries and interviews with Henson, including an interview in which he recalls the humble origins of Kermit: "My mother's coat and a ping pong ball. That's how it started."
Disney+ calls Jim Henson Idea Man "an unprecedented, intimate look at Henson's illustrious, revolutionary career and complex personal life."
The streaming service continues, "Using never-before-seen personal archival home movies, photographs, sketches, and Henson’s personal diaries, as well as interviews with those who knew him best, the film is the definitive portrait of one of the world’s most inspiring and iconoclastic creators."
One of those interviewed is former Muppeteer Frank Oz, who performed Yoda in the Star Wars films, among many other Henson characters. "If Jim was here, I'd just have to thank him," he said, his voice quavering.
The documentary will premiere May 31 on Disney+.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News.
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Nick & Aaron Carter's troubled lives inspire Investigation Discovery docuseries 'Fallen Idols'
Nick Carter's little brother Aaron died in November 22 at the age of 34, and in recent years, Nick has been dogged by accusations of sexual assault. Now, both brothers' troubles are being examined in a new four-part docuseries on Investigation Discovery called Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter.
The main focus of the docuseries concerns the accusations against Nick, Aaron's struggles with substance abuse and what happened between the brothers when Aaron decided to publicly support Nick's accusers. The series includes interviews with Melissa Schuman, Ashley Repp and Shay Ruth, the three women who've made accusations against Nick, which he has denied. Among other things, they discuss the backlash they've faced from Nick's fans since they decided to come forward.
Also interviewed is Nick's former girlfriend Kaya Jones, Aaron's former fiancée, Melanie Martin, and members of the Carter family.
Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter premieres Monday, May 27, and Tuesday, May 28, from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery; it'll also stream on Max.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
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Katy Perry teases "one of my biggest songs" is "coming out"
Katy Perry hasn't given a lot of detail about the new music she's been teasing, but at least we now know who one of her collaborators is.
Lu Kala, a Canadian-Congolese singer, posted to Instagram a video of herself hanging out with Katy. In the video, she embraces Lu and says, "She helped me write one of my biggest songs that has yet to come out but it's coming out! Don't say anything! Lu Kala, everyone, Lu Kala! I love you!"
In the caption, Lu wrote, "I was not expecting any of this, wow Thank you @katyperry for letting me be the tiniest part of what you have coming. I can’t wait for the world to hear it."
In another post featuring photos of her and Katy, Lu noted, "To know me is to know that I’ve been a Katy fan FOREVER!! You can’t spell Pop without @katyperry and as a Pop gurlll, this means the WORLD TO ME!!!! brb, still crying."
In the comments, Lu added, "I’m still in disbelief y’all, if we talking POP MOTHER, it’s HER!!!!?"
As previously reported, Katy recently told Access Hollywood that her upcoming album is "very bright and joyful, like pure joy and fun and playful and celebratory and a party.”
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