Music

Since Dan + Shay didn’t do a full tour in 2025, they had plenty of time to spend in the studio. That’s good news for fans, since it means the follow-up to 2023’s Bigger Houses could be coming any time. 

So, what should we expect? 

“More Dan + Shay than ever, back to our roots of just, I don’t know, staying in our lane, doing what we do at the highest level,” Dan Smyers tells ABC Audio. “I feel like through all of our explorations in our musical journey, I feel like that’s the thing we’ve learned and that’s what people have told us. But you gotta go out there and make your mistakes and figure it out, to figure out the people want us to do Dan + Shay at the highest level that we can. And that’s not easy to do.”

Sometimes that means dealing with some unrealistic expectations. 

“You build your thing and people are like, ‘Make another song like “Tequila,”‘” Dan adds, referencing their 2018 crossover hit. “Okay, dude, all right, yeah, sure. But you just gotta bust your butt, be in the studio, be writing as much as possible and be our most authentic selves. I feel that’s when we’re at our best.”

So far, Dan + Shay haven’t announced any tour dates for 2026 or given any hints as to when their new album could arrive. 

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Coco Jones has made it clear that Ciara did not introduce her to fiancé Donovan Mitchell, but the singer has had a positive impact on her life. While on the carpet for the Essence Black Women in Hollywood event in Los Angeles, Coco named Ciara as a woman who has contributed to who she is.

“Even though she did not introduce me and my fiancé, she has given me so many tips on how to balance being a boss, being a future mom one day and still pouring into yourself and your artistry, which I’ve never seen it before. I don’t know people personally who do the job that I do,” she told the Associated Press.

“I feel like she really allows me to ask her hard, tough questions,” Coco continued, noting Ciara even asks for examples. “[After she responds], I’ll be like brain unlocked. Like she really has helped me just in balancing all the worlds.”

Coco and Donovan announced their engagement in July 2025. In honor of International Women’s Day, he acknowledged Coco as one of the important women in his life.

“My fiancée… I mean, you guys have heard me rave about her, you know, nonstop,” Donovan said. “I’m such at peace in life with her around. I think that’s first and foremost. Basketball and everything else is secondary…That’s somebody that I’m forever grateful for. Hopefully, my goal is to be with her for the rest of my life.”

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Shinedown’s single “Searchlight” gives the band their 22nd #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, extending their record for the most leaders in the ranking’s 45-year history. Beyond that, the song has a very personal meaning to frontman Brent Smith.

“‘Searchlight’ came from a lot of conversations that I was having with my son about him becoming a man, turning 18 … and how this world is waiting for him, but that your direction can change at any given moment,” Smith tells ABC Audio. “Your purpose can change, your story can change.”

With its chart success, “Searchlight” has something in common with 21 other Shinedown songs, though sonically it sticks out in the band’s catalog as it leans into more country music sounds. As Smith explains, though, it didn’t really start out that way.

“The demo was a different thing,” Smith recalls. “I knew the song wanted to be something else. I went in with [bassist] Eric [Bass] and I said, ‘Hey, I wanna recut the vocal. … I just need an acoustic, let me just show you what I’m talking about.’ Went in, did that, Eric was, like, ‘That’s the way you wanna go with this?’ And I’m, like, ‘I think that’s what it wants to be.'”

“Searchlight” isn’t an indication that Shinedown is “going country” — they have no plans to record a country album, and Smith says there isn’t another song like it on their upcoming album, EI8HT. Instead, the track reflects the ethos of the band.

“It’s something we’ve worked really, really hard at to be able to say that we can actually achieve, and that is: Shinedown is for everyone,” Smith says. 

EI8HT is due out May 29. It also includes the singles “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Three Six Five” and “Killing Fields.”

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Unlike past years, when multiple nominees for best original song were performed during the Oscars ceremony, Sunday night’s Academy Awards only featured two nominees: “I Lied to You” from Sinners and “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, which took home the trophy. 

Dressed in coordinating white outfits, the voices of HUNTR/X — EJAE, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna — sang “Golden” as a troupe of dancers waved golden flags behind them. The Oscar audience got in on the fun by waving lightbulb-shaped glow sticks in time to the music.

Of note, the Oscar for best original song was presented by past winner Lionel Richie; “Golden” is the first K-pop song to be nominated for, and to win, an Oscar. An emotional EJAE, who co-wrote “Golden,” accepted the trophy and pronounced herself “so proud” that “everyone is singing our song,” which she said was about resilience. When one of the song’s other co-writers attempted to thank someone, the group was played off the stage.

The “I Lied to You” performance recreated a specific scene in the film, in which the character Sammie sings in Club Juke and the music is so powerful that the entire history of Black music unspools around him. In addition to those who appeared in the film — Miles Caton, Alice Smith and Buddy Guy — the number incorporated many guest musicians and artists, including Raphael Saadiq, who co-wrote the song, plus Shaboozey, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Bobby Rush and ballerina Misty Copeland.

One unexpected performance at the show was Josh Groban’s appearance during host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue. As O’Brien imagined winning an Oscar and being crowned king, Groban was on hand to sing a comically dramatic song celebrating O’Brien’s genius.

And a bonus performance came from Barbra Streisand, who sang a bit of “The Way We Were” after eulogizing her co-star Robert Redford, who died in September 2025.

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James Hetfield will soon be off to married married land.

The Metallica frontman has announced he and his girlfriend, Adriana Gillett, are now engaged.

The “Enter Sandman” metallers revealed the news in a photo posted to Instagram featuring Hetfield and Gillett underwater in scuba gear. Hetfield is holding a sign reading, “Adriana Gillett will you marry me?” while Gillett holds the ring in one hand and gives a thumbs-up with the other.

“She said yes!” the caption reads. We can only hope Gillett responded with a patented Hetfield “Yeah!”

Hetfield was previously married to Francesca Tomasi for 25 years before divorcing in 2022. They share three children.

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Doja Cat has revealed that she has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

In a TikTok video, Doja described how it has affected her this way: “I’ve learned from a very young age to pretend that I like stuff, to pretend that I’m happy, to pretend that I don’t like stuff that I do, to appear like everything is okay: ‘I’ll get it done!’ And it caught up with me, and I think it always does for people. I’m now struggling with BPD.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, BPD “affects how you see yourself” and “includes unstable and intense relationships, extreme emotions, and impulsiveness.”

Doja said she’s been living with BPD “probably forever,” adding, “It’s an agonizing condition, curable, thank God, and I’ve been in therapy for years now and I am so relieved and so proud of myself. I have made it so far and I still make mistakes but it is like an eight-year process of curing — of treatment and healing, in order to cure it.”

Doja then talked about how much she admired Chappell Roan’s ability to be “uncomfortable, comfortably in front of people, and protect herself and be honest,” which is something she aspires to do.

“I had to learn how to be honest. I had to learn how to be honest with myself. I lied to myself for years. For most of my life,” Doja said. “And to see her sit there — and I love it. I love that she can do that without hurting people. She hasn’t hurt one person by being herself, and that shows that I can do the same.”

She concluded, “Let her have an attitude. Because I’d love to have one as well and I f***** will, hopefully, in the future.”

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It’s been a weekend of highs and lows for Jack White.

To start with the positive, the “Seven Nation Army” rocker has been announced as the musical guest for the April 4 episode of Saturday Night Live. The set will mark his fifth SNL performance as a solo artist, following his appearances in 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2023. He also performed with The White Stripes in 2002.

The episode will be hosted by actor and Tenacious D frontman Jack Black, so we expect it will feature a sketch called “Jack Gray.”

As for the sadder news, White announced on Saturday that his mother, Teresa Gillis, has died.

“Teresa Gillis 1930-2026. Rest in peace with the Lord,” White wrote in an Instagram post.

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Did you know Harry Styles can do a pretty good Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation? Have you ever seen him kiss a six-foot-five redhead? If you watched Saturday Night Live, the answer is “yes.”

Harry was the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and in his monologue, he joked about being a “tremendously boring” person. He then added, “As a British man who spent a lot of his life in the public eye, I can assure you, there’s something nice about being boring. It’s better than the alternative.” Cut to the notorious picture of the former Prince Andrew in the back of a car after his arrest.

Harry also addressed a criticism he faced a few years ago. “Some people accused me of something called ‘queerbaiting,’” he said. “But did it ever occur to you that MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME, DAD?”

At the end of the monologue, Harry said he only “kissed all the time” with someone who had a “tight little bum.” When cast member Ben Marshall showed up and asked, “Where’s my kiss?” Harry replied, “Come on Ben, everyone knows there’s nothing little about that thang!” But then he planted one on Ben anyway, turned to the camera and said, “Now that’s queerbaiting!”

Harry also appeared in multiple sketches, mostly doing an American accent. In one, he successfully matched Marcello Hernandez’s Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation with his own impression of the comic; in another, he showed off a European accent. 

The sketch “Harry for Him” focused on a line of Target clothing that allows men to wear the same outrageous outfits Harry’s worn over the years. Of course, unlike Harry, they become the subject of ridicule.

And oh yeah: Harry also sang. Last week’s SNL host Ryan Gosling introduced his performance of “Dance No More,” and legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Paul Simon introduced his performance of “Coming Up Roses.” That was a full-circle moment, because a track on Harry’s new album, “Carla’s Song” is about his friend Carla discovering Paul’s music, and then her reaction when he played her one of Paul’s most famous songs, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

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Longtime Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell has died at age 64.

Campbell’s band the Bastard Sons, which includes his children, announced the news in an Instagram post Saturday reading, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Philip Anthony Campbell, who passed away peacefully last night following a long and courageous battle in intensive care after a complex major operation.”

“Phil was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, and a proud and loving grandfather, known affectionately as ‘Bampi,'” the post continues. “He was deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed immensely. His legacy, music and the memories he created with so many will live on forever. We kindly ask that our family’s privacy is respected during this incredibly difficult time.”

Campbell joined Motörhead in 1984 in place of Brian “Robbo” Robertson, who played in the band for a year following the departure of classic lineup guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke in 1982. The first iteration of the band with Campbell also included frontman Lemmy Kilmister, drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor and another guitarist, Michael “Würzel” Burston, turning the longtime trio into a quartet.

After several changes behind the kit, Motörhead brought in drummer Mikkey Dee in 1992. Following Burston’s departure in 1995, Motörhead returned to a trio with Kilmister, Campbell and Dee. That lineup remained intact until Lemmy’s death in 2015, upon which Motörhead disbanded.

Campbell played on 16 Motörhead’s studio albums. Outside of Motörhead, Campbell released three albums with the Bastard Sons, as well as a solo record in 2019.

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