Music

Taylor Swift continues to info drip on her new album Midnights, choosing her boyfriend Joe Alwyn‘s hometown as the location of her next lyric reveal.

At midnight, a billboard in London, England lit up with the lyric: “I polish up real nice.”  It follows her previous lyric reveal, “I should not be left to my own devices.”  It’s not clear which song or songs these lyrics are from, but they could be from the first single, “Anti-Hero,” given that Taylor has said it’s about her own insecurities.

The lyric reveal is part of Taylor’s partnership with Spotify; on the app’s mobile version, she’s also revealed the second thing that she says “kept her up at night” and helped inspire the album: “Fantasizing about revenge.” We can all probably think of a few folks she’d like to take revenge on. 

The first thing Taylor revealed kept her up at night was “self-loathing.”

Meanwhile, E! reports that Taylor’s official U.K. website revealed that anyone who pre-orders Midnights will receive a pre-sale access code “for forthcoming and yet to be announced Taylor Swift show dates.” 

It’s been a minute since Taylor’s headlined a show in the U.K. She was scheduled to headline the 2020 edition of the country’s most prestigious festival, Glastonbury, but it was, of course, canceled due to the pandemic. This past July, she made a one-off appearance at a London concert by her pals HAIM.

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Jimmie Allen is a bowling champion. 

The country singer teamed up with pro bowler Sean Rash at the Jimmie Allen PBA Challenge, and the two came out victorious. The tournament paired celebrities with professional bowlers, with Nelly and comedian Hannibal Buress also taking part.

Jimmie and Sean bested Hannibal and partner Ronnie Russell with a score of 195 before defeating Terrell Owens and AJ Johnson 177 to 173, giving them the win.

“CHAMPS!!! My guy @sean_rash had my back and was the reason we got the win!!!” Jimmie shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the two holding their trophies, which display a silver guitar and bowling ball. “Thanks so much to all the Celebs, @pbatour and the fans that came out!!”

Jimmie also performed his song “Be Alright,” the lead track on his new album, Tulip Drive, which he had inscribed on his jersey, at the inaugural event.

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R&B diva Ciara is broadening her musical horizons with a new country song.

She teamed up with singer Walker Hayes on “Y’all Life” and says a country record is something she’s long wanted to achieve. 

“I’ve always dreamt of doing something in country and working with a country artist, so it’s just surreal,” Ciara said during a recent appearance with Hayes on The Kelleigh Bannen Show on Apple Music Country. 

On whether the collaboration was unlikely, she said, “No, because, this is from my perspective, just my thoughts and my love for and my appreciation for the country community and culture. So this is like a dream come true.”

During a filming of Dick Clark’s Rocking Eve the duo noticed one another and realized a collaboration was possible. “So I texted her and was like, ‘Here’s “Y’all Life.” What do you think?’ And she sent me a voice text back and was like, ‘Y’all Life. Y’all Life.’ She was into it,” Hayes said.

After nearly two decades of producing award-winning music, Ciara said that the opportunity to break into the country genre is one she’s particularly proud of. 

“I said the other day, I was like, ‘This is one of the coolest things I feel I’ve ever done in my career.'” She added, “In all of my years, to be in this setting, and to have a collaboration like this, is pretty special for me. So it’s such a blessing to be having moments like this.”

Ciara and Hayes recently performed the song at the Country Music Television Artist of the Year 2022 event.

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Josh Groban is teaming up with Josh Cellars wine for “Joshgiving,” which encourages people named Josh — and everyone else — to give back to the people and communities that enrich their lives with meaningful acts of thanks. Josh is actually a longtime fan of Josh Cellars, and not just because they share a name.

“It started many, many years ago because somebody at a restaurant said, ‘Hey, that’s your name, we should order a bottle of that,'” Josh recalls. “And I was like, ‘Well, that is quite delicious.’ And I’ve been drinking it ever since.”

Josh’s act of thanks is supporting the arts charity Sing for Hope, to which Josh Cellars has donated $100,000.  Among its other programs, Sing for Hope refurbishes old pianos and places them in cities worldwide so people can play them.

“It’s a great opportunity to put an instrument in the hands of a lot of people who wouldn’t normally be able to have the exposure to that,” Josh explains. He notes that being introduced to the piano at age 13 — as well as having access to arts education — is the reason “why I’m here today.”

Starting now, you can post your own act of gratitude using #Joshgiving; three fan-submitted charities will receive a donation from the wine brand.

Teaming up with a wine brand is very on brand for Josh, a longtime wine drinker and connoisseur — although he waits until after a show to enjoy a glass while touring.

“I never drink before a show. I know some people that like to have a little glass of wine or two — or seven,” he laughs. “I save my glass for afterwards on the tour bus when we can all high five and watch a dumb comedy and just laugh about the show.” 

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Thomas Rhett and Riley Green have written many songs together, but their current hit, “Half of Me,” isn’t one of them. Still, Riley is grateful to be part of it. 

The two met years ago on a duck hunting trip and hit it off — so much so they pulled an all-nighter writing songs together. Although they didn’t write “Half of Me” together, Thomas turned it into a duet with his country music peer and friend.   

“I took him duck hunting one year and we stayed up all night writing songs and then [he] ended up cutting one that we didn’t write. But very nice of him to let me be a part of it,” Riley says. “It’s such a great song, hit song. It’s been really fun to see crowds really react to it week by week.” 

Despite performing it in front of their respective audiences on tour, the singers have only performed “Half of Me” together live one time — at the CMT Music Awards in April. Riley is hoping they’ll have another opportunity to perform it as it continues to climb up the charts.

“We need to get together and do it again now that it’s in the top 10. It’s becoming a hit and it’s just obvious that people are really liking it,” he says. “So we need to get together and recreate that.” 

“Half of Me” is featured on Thomas’ latest album, Where We Started. 

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Monday night in Denver, Colorado, Em Beihold kicked off her biggest tour yet, opening for singer/songwriter King Princess. When it comes to performing live, the “Numb Little Bug” singer has come quite a long way since being rejected by a major singing competition show because of her lack of stage presence.

“I feel like I just have more fun [onstage] because the more you do it, the less nervous you get, obviously,” Em told ABC Audio about doing concerts these days. 

She laughs, “I used to have extreme stage fright. I remember I got a callback from The Voice once, and the reason they didn’t take me, they said, was because I stood like a stick onstage the whole time.”

“I’d say there’s more going on now,” she adds of her performance abilities.

Em’s run with King Princess goes through November 5. If you can’t get tickets to see her this time around, or you want a preview of upcoming shows, you can watch one of her full concerts on the music website The Circle Sessions.

Meanwhile, Em recently celebrated “Numb Little Bug,” off new EP Egg in the Backseat, being RIAA-certified Platinum for sales of 1 million units. She wrote on Instagram, “i never would’ve imagined this in my wildest dreams” and thanked her fans for “streaming and creating a community around this song.”

She added, “You’ve changed my life and I love you all so much.”

Fellow breakout stars Lauren Spencer-Smith and GAYLE responded in the comments, writing, “PROUD OF U” and “YES BABE,” respectively.

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Judas Priest will be welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 5, and two of the band’s surviving former members — guitarist Ken “KK” Downing and drummer Les Binks — will be inducted alongside most of the group’s current lineup and late drummer Dave Holland.

While Downing has been at odds with his former bandmates since leaving Judas Priest in 2011, frontman Rob Halford confirms both KK and Binks will perform at the Rock Hall ceremony.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Halford tells ABC Audio about having Downing and Binks playing with the band. “And that was never a real issue. We felt that this is what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame represents in terms of showing the talent, showing these are the guys that are receiving this accolade and there they are playing, you know.”

Halford also shares some details about the band’s performance, noting with a chuckle, “We’ve got, like, 8 minutes and 32-and-a-half seconds … Everything’s on the clock, which is the way it is in these kinds of events. So, we’re gonna try and cram as much as we can in that space.”

He adds, “And we got a few other things that we’re gonna do, which we won’t let out until the actual night, because that’s part of the magic of Priest. We’ve always got a little something up the metal Houdini sleeve.”

Judas Priest will be inducted into the Rock Hall in conjunction with receiving the Musical Excellence Award. The ceremony will take place at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, and the event will air on HBO at a later date.

Meanwhile, Priest launched the fall 2023 U.S. leg of its 50 Heavy Metal Years tour last week. Check out all the upcoming dates at JudasPriest.com.

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Artists including Tom Morello and Billie Eilish have joined the lineup for the upcoming virtual #iVoted Festival.

The Rage Against the Machine guitarist will be taking part in a conversation with comedian W. Kamau Bell, while the “bad guy” artist will be making an appearance on the webcast alongside her brother and collaborator, FINNEAS.

As previously reported, the #iVoted Festival takes place on Election Day, November 8. You can RSVP to watch by sending in a selfie from outside your polling location or with a blank, mail-in ballot. People who aren’t yet of voting age can also take part in the #iVoted Festival by RSVPing with their first voting-eligible election year and sharing why they’re “excited to vote.”

The announced performers include Rise Against, Halestorm, The Revivalists, Black Stone Cherry and Run the Jewels. Bands including Filter, Dead Sara and Local H have also since joined the lineup.

For more info, visit iVotedFestival.org.

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