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Lady Gaga has responded to a fan campaign that pushed her 2013 album ‘Artpop’ up iTunes charts around the world, revealing that she “always believed it was ahead of its time”.

Subsequently, the album rose up iTunes charts globally, hitting Number Three in the US just after Taylor Swift ‘s re-release of ‘Fearless’.

Responding to the campaign, Lady Gaga took to social media to say that it “has inspired such a tremendous warmth in (her) heart”.

“I fell apart after I released this album. Thank you for celebrating something that once felt like destruction.”

“We always believed it was ahead of its time,” she continued. “Years later turns out, sometimes, artists know. And so do little monsters. Paws up.”

‘Artpop Act II’ was set to contain unheard songs that were intended to follow 2013’s ‘Artpop’ but the project was never released publicly.

“The song is called ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’ and I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time.”

From Publisher: NME

Lady Gaga Stuns in a Wedding Dress on the Set of ‘House of Gucci’

Few movies, let alone production stills, have been able to capture the zeitgeist the way House of Gucci has. For weeks now, the upcoming film from Ridley Scott —starring Oscar-winning pop sensation Lady Gaga and Oscar-nominated perennial internet boyfriend Adam Driver, with Oscar winners Al Pacino, Jared Leto, and Jeremy Irons in supporting roles—has driven the internet to distraction based solely on the strength of its set photos. Look! There’s Adam Driver and Lady Gaga decked out in impeccable ’80s ski attire, posing together on the deck of some fabulous ski chalet. Gasp! A brunette Lady Gaga forcefully shoves a calzone down Adam Driver’s throat. The photos are gaudy, bawdy, aggressively Italian, and most importantly, seem to have all the ingredients necessary to make an incredible motion picture.

Unfortunately for humankind, there’s no House of Gucci footage available for public consumption just yet. So in the meantime, we will be paying way too much attention to the best production stills, losing ourselves in the Italian decadence of House of Gucci —and speculating as to what this film, which has already given us so much, has in store.

The picture that launched a thousand tweets. Backed by a stunning snowy landscape, Gaga and Driver are serving après-ski eleganza, cozied up together on the deck of the ski chalet in their black and white snow gear. Gaga’s white Cossack hat and jewelry combined look like they’re worth approximately six months’ rent (plus utilities), and Chris Evans ’s Knives Out cable-knit sweater wants what Adam Driver’s House of Gucci sweater has. At first glance, they look like the picture-perfect couple, but if you look into Gaga’s eyes, you can see she’s plotting something…

Gaga stands next to a pool, in a shoulder-less white minidress, matching shawl, and black belt, dutifully listening to a member of production. It’s a simple photo, but at least suggests that we may be getting some stunning scenic shots from the Scott film, which was shot on location in Italy. Molto bello !

Sporting the same white ensemble, Gaga is photographed wearing a fur coat that can only be described as “ J.Lo ’s Hustlers coat, but make it fashion.” Is this coat featured in the film? Or was the star merely cold in between takes? From the looks of it, Gaga wears a lot of stunning outerwear in the film, so it’s probably the former. In either case, she looks warm and happy.

Puma teamed up with two of its top female brand ambassadors —Grammy-winning singer Dua Lipa and past America’s Next Top Model contestant Winnie Harlow—for a pair of drops last week. The German sportswear company tapped Lipa to wear its new Mayze sneaker for the brand’s first solo campaign with the “Don’t Start Now” singer.

Dua Lipa Stars in YSL Libre Fragrance Ad

Dua Lipa arrives at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021.

Dua Lipa is fittingly free in the new campaign advertisement on Monday (April 12) for YSL Beauty’s Libre Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette.

“Don’t be afraid of your freedom,” she says in the clip as she climbs up a set of stairs to the top of a building, where she removes her top and bares all to the city below.

“‘Cause I’m free to do what I want any old time,” she sings in the background, covering the Rolling Stones’ 1965 track, “I’m Free.”

“Spring is hereeee and so is my new campaign for @yslbeauty #LIBRE shot by my buddyyy Nabil,” she captioned the 20-second ad on Twitter.

From Publisher: Billboard

Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo lead UK’s biggest album and tracks of 2021 so far

Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo have led the way with the UK’s biggest album and song of 2021 so far.

Dua’s acclaimed second record ‘ Future Nostalgia ‘ has remained in the Official Albums Chart since its release a year ago, securing an impressive 33 weeks in the top 10, four of which were at Number 1.

The record’s total UK chart sales currently stand at 334,000, including 69,000 from this year, which is thought to have been boosted by the release of its Moonlight Edition in February.

Close behind in second place, and the UK’s biggest new release of the year, is Foo Fighters’ tenth album ‘Medicine At Midnight’.

The tenth studio album from Dave Grohl and co debuted at Number 1 back in February, becoming their fifth to reach the summit.

As for songs, Olivia is currently leading the pack with debut single ‘Drivers License’ – which proved to be a massive hit upon release in January. It went straight in at Number One and remained at the top spot for a staggering nine weeks – making it the longest-running Number 1 debut single since Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ in 2006.

Second place was secured by ‘Wellerman’, the debut single by Scottish singer-songwriter Nathan Evans.

After becoming a viral sensation on TikTok with the sea shanty last year, Nathan signed a record deal with Polydor to secure the track’s official release – including a remix with producers 220 Kid and Billen Ted. It has since notched up 396,000 UK chart sales, including 41.2m streams.

Nessa Barrett performs her hit “la di die,” featuring jxdn and Travis Barker on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 12th.

With help from Travis Barker , Nessa Barrett and jxdn performed their single “la di die” Monday (April 12) on Ellen .

Barrett first released “la di die” back in February. The rising artist is nominated — alongside jxdn (real name Jaden Hossler) — for the Social Star Award at the 2021 iHeart Radio Music Awards on May 27.

From Publisher: Billboard

Indeed, the artists join forces to perform the song on Monday’s edition of the popular daytime talk show. The performance airs as “la di die,” a Top 25 hit at alternative radio, begins its run at the pop format.

The recorded version of “la di die” credits Barrett as lead artist and jxdn as the featured performer. Barker has writing and production credit on the track.

Monday’s “Ellen,” which also features interviews with Mark Wahlberg and Brandi Carlile, airs later this afternoon. A video of the “la di die” performance, however, is already available below:

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002.

Brian’s reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader — and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj.

From Publisher: Headline Planet

Josh Richards and Nessa Barrett Officially Break Up Amid Drama with Mads Lewis and Jaden Hossler

“Yes, me and Nessa are broken up,” he said. “We are not together.” Josh did clarify, though, that there’s a “zero percent” chance Nessa hooked up with Josh’s best friend, Jaden, despite Mads’ claims otherwise.

As a reminder, last week, Mads went on TikTok and seemingly made the claim that Nessa stole Mads’ then-boyfriend, Jaden. “For me the weirdest part of it was one, not really knowing the whole situation and then two, it was that I had like 15 to 20 million other people that were in my business,” Josh said on the podcast.

Now, he has talked to both Nessa and Jaden and all three of them are on good terms, but unfortunately, Josh doesn’t think there’s a future for him and Nessa.

“I think me and Ness are pretty much 100% for sure never going to be together again, but we’re definitely friends,” he said.

“I haven’t really been on my phone in six days,” he said, admitting that he’s been blasting “All Girls Are The Same” by Juice Wrld.

LOS ANGELES — The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch are among the top nominees for next month’s iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The Weeknd’s eight nominations include male artist of the year, competing with Ricch, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Post Malone, and song of the year for “Blinding Lights.”

Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion earned seven nods each, including hip-hop artist of the year. Also competing in the category are DaBaby, Lil Baby and Pop Smoke.

Megan Thee Stallion is a contender for female artist of the year, alongside Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, according to Wednesday’s announcement for the May 27 awards airing on Fox.

Other song of the year nominees are Malone’s “Circles”; Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now”; “Rockstar” from DaBaby and featuring Ricch, and Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”

Dr. Luke, who’s enjoyed a creative renewal with hits including Doja Cat’s “Say So” and earned his first Grammy nod this year in seven years, was nominated as producer of the year. Competing with Dr. Luke, who remains embroiled in a lawsuit with Kesha, are Andrew Watt, Frank Dukes, Louis Bell and Max Martin.

Nominees for Latin pop or reggaeton artist of the year are Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma and Ozuna.

Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett are country artist of the year contenders.

BTS, Dan + Shay, Jonas Brothers, Maroon 5 and twenty one pilots are the nominees for best duo or group.

From Publisher: ABC News

This week, Taylor Swift dives into her version of Fearless , Doja Cat and SZA combine for a summer jam, and J Balvin and Khalid yearn in different languages. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:

As the weather heats up, vaccines roll out and public gatherings gradually become more commonplace, so will public displays of affection — and Doja Cat and SZA have teamed up to provide the soundtrack for such occasions. “Kiss Me More” revisits the disco-pop thump of Doja’s breakthrough smash “Say So” with a romantic, slightly subtle touch: the pair keep their rhymes tight and chorus vocals breathy, but don’t mince words while declaring, “All on my tongue, I want it!”

Taylor Swift’s journey to re-record her first six studio albums has kicked off with 2008’s Fearless , a project that earned the album of the year Grammy, sold millions of copies, scored multiple top 10 hits on the Hot 100 chart, and still holds up as a heartfelt snapshot of a brilliant songwriter coming of age. Diehard fans will love exploring how Swift reworked the songs they know and love, while casual Swifties should embrace the six “From The Vault” tracks that provide a new blast from Swift’s country-pop past.

A slew of bilingual tracks have impacted the charts over the past half-decade, with Spanish-language and English-language stars teaming up to collapse borders and target different demographics; J Balvin and Khalid follow this formula on “Otra Noche Sin Ti,” yet the pairing sounds especially dynamic. Balvin and Khalid both understand the power of a lovelorn croon, and as they sing about ruing “another night without you” in separate languages, their loneliness effectively transcends dialects.

Although “Shy Away” sounds like it was created by a completely different band than the duo who made hits like “Stressed Out” and “Heathens,” those who have been paying attention to Twenty One Pilots over the past few years, particularly their happy-go-lucky quarantine jam “Level Of Concern,” shouldn’t be shocked by the sunny bounce of their latest single. “Shy Away” rips into its hook with one eye fixed on alternative radio, and another on the arena shows that will no doubt be awaiting the group when the touring world opens back up.

“Every day a battle, I’m exhausted and I’m weary,” Chicago great Polo G admits on “Rapstar,” and he sounds like he means it, plowing through his similes and experiences with a head that hangs heavy thanks to newfound fame. Polo G remains one of the strongest storytellers in modern hip-hop, and even when his money-counting can’t provide a sense of peace, the results are often captivating for his listeners.

With “Set Him Up,” Queen Naija and Ari Lennox have combined and unleashed a gender-flipped “Same Girl” for a new generation. As they slowly realize that their boasts about their romantic exploits boil down to a shared man, Naija and Lennox gleefully allow the R&B song to morph around them, joining forces to get back at their guy and displaying their singular personas in the process.

From Publisher: Billboard

Billie Eilish is known for her striking music videos — and she wouldn’t be an artist if she didn’t see a striking music video when she was a child. After all, she revealed one music video inspired her to pursue a career in music. Here’s what the singer who inspired Eilish had to say about her.

This raises an interesting question: What does Aurora think of Eilish? “I think the world needs more artists who just do what they want,” Aurora told NME . “She uses her voice is such a cool way…. I will be listening to her more because she must be doing something right. The world seems to adore her right now because she’s really cool.”

Elsewhere in her interview with NME, Aurora discussed writing “Runaway.” “I wrote ‘Runaway’ when I was 11-years-old,” she revealed “It’s quite funny because the older I got, the more it made sense to me. It touched my heart, and now it reminds me of things that happened after I wrote it. It was kind of like a gift to myself.”

Aurora wrote the song in an hour on her piano during a quiet day where the weather was grey. Aurora recalls that day was neither hot nor cold. Because of that, she felt as if time was standing still.

The music video for “Runaway” had a major impact on Eilish — and Aurora discussed what it was like to make the video. “It was extremely cold,” she said. “I didn’t have a lot of clothes.” She had to wear lipstick for the shoot, which made her angry because wearing lipstick felt strange to her.

“Runaway” clearly meant a lot to Eilish. However, it didn’t seem to resonate with the American public. In fact, Aurora’s only song to chart is “Into the Unknown,” a song from Frozen II which reached No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 . However, “Runaway”’s parent album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend fared somewhat better than “Runaway” itself, reaching No. 150 on the Billboard 200 for a week. “Runaway” didn’t become a chart success, however, it inspired Eilish to become a musician.

From Publisher: Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Justin Bieber  performed at a downtown LA elementary school on Thursday during Baby2Baby and Amazon’s welcome-back event, which Kelly Rowland  also attended.

Bieber performed “Intentions,” “Holy” and more singles from his Billboard 200 No. 1 albums  Changes and  Justice  in front of the young students of MacArthur Park Visual and Performing Arts Elementary.

“I was so proud to join @Baby2Baby and @Amazon to welcome students back to school after a year of learning remotely,” the “Motivation” singer wrote on her Instagram , garnering praise from Tina Lawson, Kerry Washington and more. “Thank you Amazon for helping us provide backpacks filled with hygiene items, face masks, hand sanitizer and school supplies as well as food, diapers, clothing and more to ensure that children and their families have the essentials they need to stay safe while at school and at home. Follow @Baby2Baby to keep up with their amazing COVID-19 relief work!”

California Governor Gavin Newsom said during a Tuesday press conference that he expects all K-12 California schools to open in the fall and resume in-person instruction Monday-Friday after a year of remote virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baby2Baby and Amazon’s star-studded welcome-back event comes three weeks after a survey showed parents of fewer than 1 in 3 students said they are ready to send their children back to Los Angeles school district campuses.

From Publisher: Billboard

Justin Bieber Bags Chart Double In Australia With ‘Peaches’ and ‘Justice’

Justin Bieber does the double in the Land Down Under for the very first time, as “Peaches” (Def Jam/Universal) climbs on the ARIA Singles Chart its parent Justice  starts a second non-consecutive week atop the national albums chart.

“Peaches” makes it to the top in its third week, and gives Bieber his fourth best-seller as a lead artist after “What Do You Mean?” (No. 1 September 2015), “Love Yourself” (No. 1, December 2015) and “I Don’t Care” with Ed Sheeran (No. 1 in May 2019).

With the ascent of “Peaches,” the unbroken reign of Glass Animals ’ “Heat Waves” (Polydor/Universal) ends at six weeks as it dips 1-2.

Before superstar sisters Beyoncé and Solange  embarked on their own successful careers, the younger Knowles tested the waters for herself while staying in the family business.

Billboard  is sharing an exclusive clip focusing on Beyoncé and Solange and how the latter was often overshadowed by the success of her big sister. While Beyoncé took flight with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams in  Destiny’s Child , one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, she took Solange under her wing to become one of DC’s backup dancers.

“I remember meeting a young girl and I remember asking someone, ‘How is she here? She’s really young, she’s a kid.’ And one of the other dancers said, ‘That’s Beyoncé’s sister Solange,'” recalls choreographer Brian Friedman, who worked on Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” performance at the 2001 Soul Train Awards, where they won the Sammy Davis Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year – Female. (Coincidentally, Jay-Z  won the same award in the male category that night.)

“It was like, ‘Oh, OK, let’s see what she’s got.’ But Solange could dance. That was the thing. She was a talented girl who just so happened to be the little sister of a massive star.”

At age 14, Solange ended up replacing an injured Rowland when DC opened up for Christina Aguilera during her 2000 tour and began working on her debut album  Solo Star  after being signed to their father Mathew Knowles’ Music World Entertainment label with Columbia Records. The lead single “Feelin’ You (Part II),” featuring N.O.R.E. , ended up becoming her first hit on  Billboard ‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart, reaching No. 3 in 2003.

Watch an exclusive clip of the “Star Sisters” episode before it airs Saturday at 11:00 p.m. ET on E! below.

From Publisher: Billboard

Teen-built robot Beyonce puts a ring on virtual robotics competition

While many spent the long weekend soaking up the sun, a team of high school students were hard at work at Vancouver Island Tech Park taking part in a virtual robotics competition against other teams from B.C. and Washington with their robot, Beyonce.

On April 3 the FIX IT Robotics team – a team of students from across Greater Victoria – began running matches with the robot they’ve been working on since September.

Together with their alliance partners who conferenced in virtually, the teens strategized, executed and uploaded their completed matches.

Ines Khouider, a Grade 12 student at St. Margaret’s school, has been a programmer on the FIX IT team for four years. She became interested in robots and engineering in middle school and “looked up to the older robotics kids” on the FIX IT team who ran workshops for younger students like herself. After learning that her high school didn’t have a robotics team, she joined the community team which, before the pandemic, met in the evenings at the Victoria Makerspace at the tech park.

The Saturday competition, the local FIRST Tech Challenge, was one in a series the team will take part in before the season champions are announced on May 15.

It’s not uncommon for shoppers at Round Top’s spring and fall antiques shows to see a celebrity or two. This year’s sightings included singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani.

She was spotted shopping at Marburger Farm Antique Show on Saturday and later that night she and fiance/country singer Blake Shelton, were at an Italian eatery owned by Houston restaurateur Armando Palacios and his wife, Cinda.

Stefani and Shelton announced their engagement last October and reportedly will marry this summer. The couple met when they both were coaches on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2015.

Instagram posts capture Stefani at various dealers’ booths as well as a photo shopping with her interior designer, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, who in the past has visited Round Top antiques shows both as a panel speaker and with clients. Bullard’s celebrity clientele includes Tommy Hilfiger, Ellen Pompeo and several in the Jenner-Kardashian family.

TV personality Carson Kressley, of Bravo’s long-running hit show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” also posted his own Instagram photo — in jeans and a big ol’ turquoise belt buckle — from his recent visit to Round Top.

From Publisher: Houston Chronicle

Gwen Stefani recruits Saweetie for ‘Slow Clap’

The 51-year-old singer released a video Friday for a new version of her song “Slow Clap” featuring Saweetie. Advertisement

The video shows Stefani and Saweetie singing and dancing in a high school gym and locker room. The pair are joined by several backup dancers.

Stefani released the original version of “Slow Clap” in March. The song will appear on her forthcoming fifth studio album, Let Me Reintroduce Myself .

“Generally, I just wanted to make an album that was full of joy and hope. I think the one line in [‘Slow Clap’] is, ‘Are you rooting for me like I’m rooting for you?’ I feel like that was just kind of where I was at in that moment when I wrote the song,” she said.

“I’m still writing,” she added. “I think that’s what’s been really fun about this project, is to be able to drop singles and actually still be working on new music as I’m doing it.”

Jimin is outgoing and affectionate, while V is known for his creativity. Together, they make up the “95s” subunit of BTS , the group that created “Friends” off of Map of the Soul: 7.

Here’s what we know about these award-winning vocalists , and their compatibility for friendship.

These performers are award-winning artists and the only BTS members that are the same age. Born on Oct. 13, 1995, Jimin  is known for being social, while still being fair and diplomatic in relationships.

Born on Dec. 30, 1995, V is pretty grounded, but that doesn’t make him any less goal-oriented. It helps to explain more of the relationship between Jimin and V.

Although they work well together as performers, a relationship between these two aren’t without problems. When the BTS members had their Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden, Suga revealed that Jimin and V are the two members most likely to argue.

From Publisher: Showbiz Cheat Sheet

K-pop Sensation BTS’s Newest Collab Is for Campers

Korean boy band sensation BTS is bringing their flair to the great outdoors, partnering with camping brand Helinox to release a new line of outdoor gear. Although the K-pop stars are no strangers to the world of collaboration, with past partnerships ranging from Hyundai to Coca-Cola, this is their very first one of this sort, marking their first foray into the world of furniture design.

The collaboration features an array of camping products, including a chair, convertible cot, foldable table, sacoche bag, gymsack, and name patch (prices range from $10 to $575). Crafted in Helinox’s signature lightweight fabric and presented in a vibrant purple, each item is subtly embossed in BTS-designed geometric patterns and logos.

While most of the pieces are camping-specific, the sacoche and gymsack are more versatile, just as useful on the street as in the mountains. Similarly, the printed fabric makes the collection ideal for both eccentric naturegoers and in-the-know fans. “With the BTS x Helinox collaboration, our goal was to create a unique design and collection that reflects how music and the outdoors bring people together, integrating a pattern of both outdoor and musical icons on a signature color,” says Azul Couzens, the VP of marketing at Helinox USA.

On April 7, the two Korean powerhouse brands released their collaboration at the Helinox Creative Center and flagship store in Seoul, South Korea . With the pop stars’ wide-reaching fan base of 39 million followers on Instagram, it’s no surprise that the limited stock is already selling out fast.

From Publisher: Architectural Digest