Music

Adele‘s partner, top sports agent Rich Paul, had a traumatic childhood, which is why he tells People it was hard for Adele to read his new memoir.

The book, Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds, is out October 10 and details Paul’s upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio, where his mother struggled with drug addiction and was often absent, and he was forced to duck gunfire and occasionally run for his life in the crime-ridden section of the city where he lived.

Since Adele also had a difficult childhood, including an absent father, Paul tells People her response to the book was “very emotional,” adding, “I think a lot of it probably hit home, so yeah, it was a difficult read [for her].”

“When you read the book, you get to dive into a lot of the things that I had to overcome,” Paul continues. “But … I was lucky enough to be able to continue down a path where there wasn’t a ton of light, but the door was cracked with a little light and I was smart enough not to invest in the pitfalls that were there for me every day in my environment.”

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Latto popped up at her high school over the weekend with lots of “Big Energy” as she donated $35,000 to her alma mater for homecoming. During the surprise appearance, Latto posed for pictures with the cheerleading team, brought Wingstop for the students and jumped in a TikTok with the homecoming queen. It’s not the first time Latto came through for her hometown: Back in 2022, the rapper and her Win Some Give Some Foundation donated $250,000 in Christmas gifts to residents of Clayton County, the area where she grew up. 

T.I. received the Fashion Icon Award at Atlanta’s Fashion Week for being “A true visionary of style, creativity and entrepreneurship.” ATLFW’s Angela Watts presented the rapper a trophy and thanked him for all the work he’s done in creative arts and for driving economy in Atlanta. “Everybody knows fashion is merely an extension of your personality. It’s really an extension of the energy,” T.I. said in his acceptance speech. 

21 Savage graced the stage in Canada for his first international show since obtaining his green card. First referred to by his government name, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, during the official announcement of his citizenship status, 21 joined Drake onstage during their It’s All a Blur Tour. “Performing for the first time outside of America in his life; Make some noise for the brother, 21!” Drake said to the crowd. 

Gunna shared news that his hit single “fukumean” hit RIAA-certified Platinum status. He took to his Instagram Story with a snapshot of the achievement, showing that the June release earned $1 million in sales this month. 

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Ariana Grande has successfully reached a divorce settlement with her now-ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, a mere two weeks after initiating the divorce proceedings.

The divorce proceedings appeared to transpire without much friction, largely thanks to a well-structured prenuptial agreement. According to reports from TMZ, the prenup stipulated a tax-free payment of $1,250,000 from Grande to Gomez. The divorce settlement did not include provisions for additional spousal support.

Additionally, Gomez is set to receive half of the proceeds from the sale of the couple’s shared Los Angeles residence, along with a financial cushion of up to $25,000 for his attorney’s fees, in accordance with the prenuptial agreement.

With the divorce now behind her, Grande can fully shift her focus towards her budding romance with actor Ethan Slater, who also made headlines when he filed for divorce from estranged wife Lilly Jay in July.

Reports suggest that Grande and Slater, who met while filming the forthcoming screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked, have taken their relationship to the next level by moving in together in New York City, a mere three months after their initial dating revelations.

An insider told Us Weekly, “Ethan informed his friends and soon-to-be ex-wife that he’s living with Ariana full-time in New York. They’re really happy and really good for each other. All of her friends love him.”

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Ed Sheeran didn’t release any singles or videos for his new album Autumn Variations, but he still promoted it with a surprise live album recorded in fans’ living rooms, a pub crawl, a pop-up shop and other fun activities.  The result? His second top five album of 2023.

Autumn Variations entered the Billboard Top 200 at #4 with first-week sales of just under 62,000. His previous album, – (Subtract), debuted at #2 back in May. Autumn Variations is Ed’s seventh U.S. top-10 album of his career. 

The album also debuted at #1 back home in the U.K.  Reacting to that on Instagram, Ed wrote, “It’s been so wonderful spending so much time with all you lot over the past month. See you next year when we press play on some big pop stuff finally.”

The next “big pop stuff” album Ed releases will presumably be the start of a brand-new series for him, since – (Subtract) was the final installment of his Mathematics albums, which included + (Plus), x (Multiply), ÷ (Divide) and = (Equals).

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Judas Priest has new music to share.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers revealed during their Saturday set at Power Trip in Indio, California, that they’ll be releasing a new album, Invincible Shield, on March 8. The first single, “Panic Attack,” drops Friday, October 13.

Invincible Shield is available for preorder now.

The album comes out just a few days ahead of Judas Priest’s planned U.K. and European tour. The tour kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland on March 11, wrapping April 8 in Paris, France. A complete list of dates can be found at judaspriest.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Nashville is coming to rock radio in a big way.

Following in the footsteps of big crossover hits from Jelly Roll and HARDY is “Devil You Know” by Tim Montana, which has been climbing up Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. After more than a decade of releasing country music, Montana harnessed a heavier rock sound with “Devil You Know” that’s long been a part of his musical DNA.

“I’ve been scaring country audiences across the country for many years now headbanging and playing with loud amplifiers,” Montana tells ABC Audio.

“I grew up in a single white trailer house in rural Montana without electricity, so acoustic instruments remind me of being very poor as a child,” he laughs. “The minute I had electricity and an amplifier, I’m plugging it in, and I’m playing loud.”

Montana grew up a state over from Seattle during the ’90s grunge explosion, which he counts as a driving influence for the sound and vibe of “Devil You Know” and future music to come.

“I wanted to capture those sounds that are just ingrained in me from my youth, from Seattle,” he says. “I feel like I really found a lane for myself that is so much more creatively comfortable for me to play in that space.”

Fitting for a song inspired by the sound of a city famous for its rain, “Devil You Know” was recorded amid some extreme weather.

“As we were recording it, a giant storm started coming in,” Montana recalls. “It was very weird, ’cause it was a beautiful day in Nashville, and we just see the sky turning black. The birds were still chirping, so I said, ‘Let’s mic the storm!'”

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Ask Darius Rucker to pick his most personal album, and he might just choose his latest effort.

Out now, Carolyn’s Boy was very much inspired by Darius’ real-life experiences from the past few years.

“Oh, it’s probably the most personal record I’ve ever written,” he notes. “So many things [have] been going on in the world and in my life in the last six years that I just kept writing songs about what was going on.”

“Once I decided to name it Carolyn’s Boy, the personal songs seemed to rise to the top of the heap,” shares Darius. “So it’s a pretty personal record. But, I love that. I love to tell the truth.”

The “Wagon Wheel” hitmaker also recounts the moment that serendipitously led him to title the album after his beloved mom.

“I was just having a bad day, a bad mental health day. And I sat down at one point I just said to myself that really, at the end of the day, I’m just my mama’s boy,” he recalls. “That was the day [and] that’s when I decided to name it Carolyn’s Boy. That was an epiphany for me and that helped a lot.”

Coming up, you can catch Darius perform “Have a Good Time” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday, October 12, at 11:35 p.m. ET.

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