Olivia Rodrigo's 'GUTS' tops UK chart, scores biggest streaming week of the year
We won't find out until this weekend how Olivia Rodrigo's new album, GUTS, did on the U.S. charts. But over in the U.K., she's already celebrating her second #1 album following her debut, SOUR.
According to MusicWeek, Olivia's new album debuted on top of the Official U.K. Album Chart, and in doing so, outsold the rest of the top 10 albums combined. It also launched with higher sales than SOUR did when it debuted back in May 2021.
In addition, GUTS scored the biggest streams for any album in a week so far this year in the U.K., beating the previous record holder: Travis Scott's Utopia.
This year in the U.K., the only albums that have sold more units in a week than GUTS have been Taylor Swift's Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Lewis Capaldi's Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent and Ed Sheeran's Subtract.
On the U.K.'s Official Singles Chart, Olivia has three songs in the top 10: "vampire," "bad idea right?" and "get him back."
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Ashton Kutcher steps down from anti-child sex abuse nonprofit he co-founded
Ashton Kutcher is stepping down as chairman of the board of Thorn, a nonprofit organization aimed at fighting child sex abuse and human trafficking, ABC News has confirmed.
The decision comes after the actor and his wife, Mila Kunis, faced backlash for writing letters of support for their former That ‘70s Show co-star Danny Masterson, a convicted rapist.
"Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences," Kutcher wrote in a letter sent to Thorn’s board this week and obtained by ABC News.
"After my wife and I spent several days of listening, personal reflection, learning, and conversations with survivors and the employees and leadership at Thorn, I have determined the responsible thing for me to do is resign as Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately," he continued. "I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve."
Kutcher co-founded Thorn in 2009 with his now-ex-wife, Demi Moore.
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Justin Bieber reflects on his "wild full circle moment" of being featured on Diddy's new album
Justin Bieber is featured on Sean "Diddy" Combs' new album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, on a song called "Moments." He took to his Instagram Story Friday to reminisce about his first encounter with the hip-hop mogul.
"I remember going to my brother Diddy's office to pitch him a song I wrote for him when I was like 14," Justin writes. "Sadly the song was trash haha and it would be a hard no from him."
"Fast forward to a few years ago Puff asked if I would freestyle something for his upcoming love album," Justin continued. "Wild full circle moment, love you @diddy."
"Moments" is one of two new songs featuring Justin that fans can enjoy. The other is an acoustic duet with SZA on her song "Snooze." Justin's wife, Hailey, posted a screenshot of the song on her Instagram Story and praised her hubby, writing, "one thing Justin's always gonna do ... is give vocals."
The songs are the first Justin has put out since February.
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Drew Barrymore on why her talk show is returning amid strikes
After receiving backlash for her decision to resume her daytime talk show amid the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, Drew Barrymore posted an emotional video to social media Friday.
She took responsibility for the decision and said her intent was not to upset or hurt anymore. “I deeply apologize to writers, I deeply apologize to unions,” she said.
“My decision to go back to the show — I didn’t want to hide behind people,” she continued. “I won’t polish this with bells and whistles and publicists and corporate rhetoric. I’ll just stand out there and accept and be responsible.”
Barrymore also explained why she made the decision for The Drew Barrymore Show to resume production.
“I certainly couldn’t have expected this kind of attention,” she said. “We aren’t gonna break rules, and we will be in compliance. I wanted to do this because, as I said, this is bigger than me, and there are other people’s jobs on the line.”
The Drew Barrymore Show's fourth season is set to premiere September 18.
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New Music Friday: Justin Bieber & SZA, Noah Kahan & Lizzy McAlpine and more
Today's New Music Friday features some cool new collaborations.
After making a cameo in SZA's cinematic video for "Snooze," Justin Bieber has now teamed up with the singer for an acoustic duet version of the track.
"Dial Drunk" singer Noah Kahan has released a new version of his song "Call Your Mom," recorded with "Ceilings" artist Lizzy McAlpine. The two recently sang it together at Noah's LA show. Noah says, "Her addition brings a hopefulness to this song that gave it a whole new meaning to me. This song has been such an important part of our live show and has seemed to resonate with many, and I believe Lizzy brings it to a whole new level.”
Zara Larsson, who joined forces with David Guetta in 2016 for "This One's for You," the Official UEFA EURO anthem, has reunited with the DJ for "On My Love." The video features footage of Zara and her lookalike sister Hanna both as children and now. Zara says the song is about "the relationships you have in your life that mean so much to you," including platonic and family relationships.
Andy Grammer recently spoke at a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony for Pentatonix, and now, the two acts have joined forces for the song "Expensive." Andy's latest tour kicks off on October 10, Global Mental Health Day.
Neon Trees have released "Losing My Head," the second single from their upcoming album, which is due out in 2024. Frontman Tyler Glenn says of the song's inspiration, "I came to discover getting lost and being lost for a while helped me find a new direction to take ... I found freedom in not knowing exactly what’s going to happen next."
Finally, charlieonnafriday, who's currently on tour with Tate McRae, has released a new anthem called "Undefeated."
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Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-lee are separating after 27 years
Hugh Jackman and his wife of 27 years, Deborra-lee Furness, are separating, ABC News has confirmed.
The two issued a joint statement saying they have agreed to part ways amicably.
"We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” the statement reads. “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."
"Our family has been and always will be our highest priority,” they continue. “We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives."
They conclude by saying this will be the only statement they’ll be making on the matter.
Hugh, 54, and Deborra-lee, 67, share two children together, 23-year-old Oscar and 18-year-old Ava.
The two met on the set of the Australian TV series Corelli in 1995 and married the next year. Jackman posted a tribute to their marriage on Instagram last April for their 27th wedding anniversary.
"Together we have created a beautiful family. And life," he wrote. "Your laughter, your spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me. I love you with all my heart."
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Halsey teases new music, buys second multimillion-dollar property in three months
Halsey is busy working on a new album, but they're also wheeling and dealing in the LA real estate market.
On Instagram Thursday, Haley posted a photo of themselves along with a collection of other images and videos, some of which featured activities with their son, Ender.
Halsey captioned it, "Not pictured: me splitting myself in two everyday so that I can give you my deepest wounds (and a handful of perfect joys) for the 5th time in 10 years."
When Halsey does put out their new album, it will indeed be their fifth release in 10 years — less than that, actually. Their debut, Badlands, came out in 2015.
Meanwhile, according to The Robb Report, Halsey just paid $5 million for a Spanish colonial revival home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. This comes just three months after they bought a bungalow in Laurel Canyon for $2.5 million: $700,000 over the asking price.
Before those purchases, Halsey had unloaded their 5-acre estate near Calabasas for nearly $12 million.
Halsey's new 6,000-square-foot mansion has four bedrooms, a swimming pool, a sun deck and bath house, a "dining pavilion," a three-car garage and a home theater with a "starry-night-sky" ceiling.
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Listen to the new 10th anniversary version of OneRepublic's "Counting Stars"
OneRepublic's "Counting Stars," one of the band's signature songs, was released in June of 2023. Now, the band is celebrating the track's 10th anniversary by releasing a completely reimagined version of it.
You can hear the song now, wherever you get your music. It's somewhat slower than the original and features a very different-sounding backing track.
OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder created the track in partnership with Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro. In a statement, he says, "When I’m in the studio listening to songs like ‘Counting Stars,’ I’m hearing them on professional speakers. As soon as I began to reimagine this one, it was essential for me to get out of the studio and have the listener experience.”
Thanks to the Buds, Ryan says, "I was able to review every version of the song exactly as our fans would hear it." He adds, "I’m confident that listeners will love this reimagined version as much as I do.”
Ryan can also be heard on the newly released deluxe version of Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) album, a rerecorded edition of the band's breakout 2003 album. He recorded his version of the band's hit "Dare You to Move," which originally hit the Top 20 back in 2004.
On his Instagram story, Ryan notes that the song changed his life. He writes, "Still can't believe i got to sing on this song. this song was transformative to me in my early 20's..and was actually part of what got me to MOVE to LA and chase music."
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Comedian Hasan Minhaj admits some of his stand-up stories are fiction
Comedian Hasan Minhaj has admitted to making up some of the stories told in his past stand-up specials.
In a New Yorker profile, the former Daily Show contributor says, “Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth. My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”
One such fabrication was a story he told in 2022’s The King’s Jester special, where he said his daughter had been exposed to a white powder thought to be anthrax and was hospitalized. In another fictionalized anecdote, he talked about an FBI informant that was undercover at his family’s mosque.
Minhaj tells the New Yorker those stories were rooted in “emotional truth” and that “the punch line is worth the fictionalized premise.”
“No, I don’t think I’m manipulating [the audience],” he adds. “I think they are coming for the emotional roller-coaster ride…To the people that are, like, ‘Yo, that is way too crazy to happen,’ I don’t care because yes, f*** yes — that’s the point.”
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'Monster High 2' gets a trailer and release date
Just in time for the start of spooky season, Nickelodeon and Paramount+ have released the new trailer and premiere date for Monster High 2.
The sequel to the live-action movie musical based on the Monster High doll franchise will begin streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday, October 5, and will premiere on Nickelodeon the same day at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Nickelodeon will also show encores every weekend in October.
The story follows the children of famous monsters and creatures as they enter their sophomore year at Monster High. It stars Miia Harris, Nayah Damasen and Ceci Balagot.
The first Monster High movie came out in 2022 and became the #1 kids and family movie on Paramount+ during its debut week.
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