Music

Talk about a full-circle moment: Ariana Grande just headlined the first of three sold-out shows at the same venue where she first sang publicly as a little girl.

The venue is Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. As the Miami Herald reports, in 2002 it was known as the Office Depot Center when an 8-year-old Ariana sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of a Florida Panthers game. Ariana brought her Eternal Sunshine tour there on Tuesday night.

The Panthers and the venue teamed up on Instagram to share photos and video of that original performance. Despite her youth, little Ariana Grande-Butera, as she was known then, shows off some impressive pipes during the anthem. “Back where it all began,” they captioned the post.

For her part, Ariana wrote on her Instagram Story, “florida, i love you with all my heart forever. thank you for a most beautiful night one.” Ari was born in Boca Raton, Florida, which is about 25 miles away from Sunrise.

She’s also scheduled to play Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday and Friday.

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Brad Paisley, Mary J. Blige and NE-YO will headline a celebration in Times Square on Friday to count down to the Fourth of July and America’s 250th anniversary.

The superstars will perform at the Giving 4th Broadcast Benefit Show hosted by Jim Gaffigan on July 3, according to America250, the nonpartisan organization charged by Congress to lead the celebration of America’s 250th year.

The show is scheduled to take place at One Times Square in New York City and will stream live at America250.org starting at 9 p.m. ET on July 3, according to the organization.

The celebration in Times Square will also include a ball drop at 12 a.m. ET to ring in July Fourth.

For the first time, the ball will drop in Times Square eight times to mark midnight in every American time zone, according to America250.org.

The ball used for the ball drop will be a new “Constellation Ball” that is 12 1/2 feet in diameter, features handcrafted Waterford crystals and LED lights, and weighs 12,350 pounds, according to One Times Square, which designed the new ball.

The Times Square celebration is one of several celebrations happening across the country this weekend as the United States marks its 250th anniversary.

On the night of July Fourth, ABC will host the “Star-Spangled Bash” in Nashville, featuring performances from artists including Reba McEntire, Nick Jonas, Boyz II Men, Tim McGraw, Brothers Osborne and Lauren Daigle.

The special, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, will air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, Disney+, the ESPN App, Freeform, FX, Hulu and NatGeo.

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Young M.A. made her return to music when she released Kween at the end of May. After a nearly five-year hiatus, she said she came back because the timing felt right.

“It was just time for me to speak out. A lot of stuff [was] just floating around, and nobody really understood my POV, and one thing about me, I’m going to put [it] in the music,” she told People. 

She also credited the release to those who had been asking for new music.

“To be honest, with my supporters, they was looking forward to me [releasing a new project]. They was wondering what was going on, and it was silent for a minute,” she said. “A lot of things was out there that I just had to clarify and bring it into the music, so I explained it to them.”

Among the topics discussed on the project are the trials, tribulations and growth Young M.A. experienced during her time out of the spotlight.

“I had to make sure I was able to say everything that needed to be said,” she told People. “And not overdo it neither, at the same time, [and] still try to keep a balance with music that felt good still, but also being vulnerable to what happened … and then let you know I’m good, though.”

She added that she’s grateful to be in a place where she feels comfortable opening up about her past “because a lot of people don’t get out of that dark hole.”

Now that Kween is out, Young M.A.’s focus is on giving it the attention it deserves.

“This album needs a little more attention, recognition,” she says. “It needs to be heard more.”

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Despite her four top-10 hits and five entries in the Spotify Billions club, these days Bebe Rexha seems to be synonymous with the concept of the Khia Asylum. It’s a term used to describe a female pop star who seems to be underperforming. But thanks to the success of her album Dirty Blonde and its singles “New Religion” and “Sad Girl,” she seems to have escaped — though she’s hesitant to confirm that.

Asked by Paper magazine if she feels as though she’s “broken out” of the metaphorical asylum, Bebe says, “I’m the type of person who just likes to create music. I’m such a Virgo – I’m trying to celebrate that the album went number one on the dance chart, but I’m the type of person who is like, ‘Oh my god, I could still write better songs. I could do more.’ More, more, more.”

She continues, “Every day, I don’t wake up being like, ‘Did I break out of The Khia Asylum?’ I’m doing my thing. Once I hit a stride, I’ll know and it will feel good, but I still feel like I’m in the building stages of what I’m trying to build.”

That being said, she posted her Paper cover image on Instagram and captioned it, “I never wanna hear the words Khia Asylum again.”

Bebe is far from alone in the Asylum, though: Until recently, Charli XCX and Zara Larsson were right there with her. 

“It’s extremely inspiring,” Bebe says of their success. She notes, “People always want to count women out, say ‘They’ve already had their chance.’ … What I’ve seen with Charli and Zara is they’re work horses. They never stopped. To see them do what they’re doing is f****** awesome.”

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The Mars Volta has announced a new live album called Lucro Sucio; Unfinished Business.

The set is due out Sept. 4 on digital outlets and Oct. 16 on physical formats. It includes live renditions of songs off The Mars Volta’s latest studio effort, 2025’s Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacio.

“We’ve taken an experimental approach with this record, combining live performances from our recent tour into a high-fidelity, multi-layered reimagining of Lucro Sucio,” The Mars Volta says.

Specific recordings included on Unfinished Business were chosen by fans who voted on The Mars Volta’s website ahead of the album announcement.

You can listen to the Unfinished Business recording of the song “Cue the Sun / Alba Del Orate” out now.

The Mars Volta will launch a U.S. tour in Sepetember. The trek includes a date opening for My Chemical Romance in San Antonio.

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Apple Music’s cueing up a second volume of Nashville Sessions: Toby Keith Covered, this time with live performances by Tyler Hubbard, Jackson Dean, Kameron Marlowe and Emily Ann Roberts. 

“I love that he not only was an incredible songwriter himself,” Tyler says, “but poured into the Nashville songwriting community and the writers around him and the people. I think he understood the value of a song and the value of the songwriter. So, really a lot of respect and love for him for that for sure.”

The Florida Georgia Line hitmaker picked one of Toby’s hits from 2003.

“’I Love This Bar’ had not been done. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how has this song not been done yet?’ So, yeah, pretty quickly I was like, ‘Yep, I want that song. That’ll be a blast,'” Tyler explains. “I’ve sung it for years anyways.”

Jackson tackles “I Wanna Talk About Me,” Kameron does “How Do You Like Me Now” and Emily adds “Red Solo Cup” to the collection.

The previous volume featured Ashley McBryde, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Parker McCollum, Riley Green and Tucker Wetmore.

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From music to swimwear to Popeyes to Broadway and now the fragrance industry. Megan Thee Stallion has expanded her Hot Girl Summer brand to include a new perfume. The floral scent, called Hot Girl Summer Eau de Parfum, is a limited-edition product and has key notes of coconut milk, orchid and vetiver, according to Ulta.

“Hot Girl Summer Eau de Parfum invites all the hotties and fragrance lovers to step into the season with confidence—and leave a lasting impression wherever they go,” reads the advertisement on Ulta.com. It will be available online on July 5 and in stores beginning July 11.

The fragrance release will come just days after Meg’s return to Love Island season 8, where she met this year’s contestants and hosted a few boys versus girls challenges. She also gave them a few pieces from her latest swim line.

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Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are known for singing about the “1st of tha Month,” but now they have another date to celebrate: July 8.

That’s the day the group will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Recording category. The ceremony will feature radio personality Big Boy as emcee, with rapper Xzibit joining as a guest speaker.

“Receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a blessing beyond words. Coming from Cleveland, we never imagined that the music we created would touch so many lives around the world. This honor belongs not only to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, but to our families, our city, our fans, and everyone who believed in us from the beginning,” the group said in a statement. “More than three decades later, we’re still here, still creating, and still carrying the legacy forward

Originally performing as Bone Enterpri$e, the group was discovered by Eazy-E and signed to Ruthless Records in 1993. They released their breakthrough EP, Creepin on ah Come Up, in 1994.

Over the course of their career, Bone Thugs have released multiple studio albums, including the chart-topping E. 1999 Eternal and The Art of War. They also earned a #1 hit with “Tha Crossroads,” a tribute to Eazy-E, and won the Grammy Award for best rap performance by a duo or group for “Tha Crossroads” in 1997.

The group is also preparing to hit the road, with a new tour set to begin on July 10.

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