Music

Mark Hoppus stressed the importance of paying attention to changes in one’s body and getting them checked out when offering his addition to the viral “How It Started vs. How It’s Going” challenge on social media.

Hoppus, who was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, is currently undergoing chemotherapy to treat the illness.

Taking to his Instagram story, the Blink-182 bassist shared how his cancer battle started by posting a screenshot of a text conversation he had with his doctor on April 20.

The text reads, “Hi Jill.  For the past couple of days I’ve had this dull sore lump in my shoulder kind of right where it connects to my neck that could either be fatal lymphoma or a sore muscle.”

Hoppus, 49, also asked, “At what point should I be concerned and have it looked at?”

His doctor encouraged him to set up an appointment for that afternoon.

In the next story, Hoppus showed “How it’s going” by flashing the peace sign while undergoing chemotherapy.

The subsequent story linked to a post from former band mate Tom DeLonge, who announced that Hoppus is “is almost done with his treatment” and in the “last stretch.”

Late July, Hoppus assured fans that his cancer treatment is working and proved it by hopping on the live-streaming site Twitch to play the bass, something he said he hadn’t been able to do since he was diagnosed.

“I still have months of treatment ahead, but it’s the best possible news,” he said at the time.

 

 

 

 

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Taylor Swift‘s TikTok takeover continues with a hilarious new confession that she is, indeed, a certified cat lady.

Taylor is the proud cat mom of three kitties — Meredith, Olivia and Benjamin Button — whom she frequently features across her socials, holiday cards, music videos and on her merchandise. However, she revealed in a comical new video that she never intended to become a “cat lady.”  In fact, she originally wasn’t a fan of the label and didn’t want that to become part of her identity.

The Grammy winner shared a throwback interview from 2014, which features a then 24-year-old Taylor opening up about the hesitation she had about getting a feline companion for her first cat, Meredith.

“[I talked with] friends about it… before I got the second cat — kinda canvassing everyone I knew, going, ‘Is cats… cat lady?’  Or, you know, two cats is cats and there’s more than one?,” she explained.  “And they’re like, ‘No, three cats is a cat lady.  Two cats is a party.”

The interview then abruptly cuts off and switches to present-day Taylor, who is sauntering across the room with Meredith bouncing on her hip.  The “willow” singer then walks off screen to grab Benjamin and Olivia before offering a knowing glance at the camera.

Taylor captioned the video, “little did she know” and included the telling hashtag #meow.

In addition, she updated her TikTok bio line that now reads, “This is pretty much just a cat account.”

Benjamin is Tay’s newest kitty, whom she met while filming her 2019 music video, “Lover.”  The singer even shared a sweet behind-the-scenes video of their fated first meeting, where he stole her heart — and turned her into a cat lady — by purring up a storm the moment she held him.

@taylorswift

*little did she know* #swifttok #catsoftiktok #meow

♬ original sound – Taylor Swift

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Britney Spears is feeling thankful for her boyfriend, Sam Asghari. So much so, that the pop star took to social media to lovingly shout him out. 

Sharing a snapshot of the two together on Instagram, Britney, 39, wrote, “Not only has this cute a****** been with me through the hardest years of my life but he happens to be an extremely good cook ! Fast & Furious franchise, don’t miss out on your next star.”

Sam, 27, cheekily responded, “Yes F that a–hole,” followed by the crying laughing emoji. 

Britney and Sam began dating in 2016 after meeting on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video. He’s remained by her side since then, which means he’s been there as the pop star deals with her ongoing conservatorship woes. 

Most recently, the “Toxic” singer has been under investigation for alleged battery stemming from an altercation with an employee August 16, according to Capt. Eric Buschow of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The employee alleges Britney struck them, though they weren’t injured. Britney’s attorney, Matthew Rosengart, called the allegation “overblown sensational tabloid fodder.”

 

 

 

 

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Lil Nas X finally let us know when we’ll be able to hold a physical copy of his long-awaited debut album — and that day is very, very soon.

The “Industry Baby” rapper dropped a feature-length trailer late Wednesday to officially reveal that Montero, the album, will drop September 17. 

In addition to the reveal, Lil Nas X also teased a snippet of an upcoming new single, but declined to reveal its name.

The video promo begins with a fake newscast, where the Grammy winner plays a homophobic newscaster who’s covering Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby” prison escape and uses the same disparaging language his online haters hurl at him. The blonde, bowl-cut newscaster persona then snatches a fly mid-air with his frog-like tongue.

The video then begins playing Lil Nas X’s untitled new single as it cuts to him speeding down the highway in a vintage Chevrolet Impala convertible, toward the town of Montero. 

The montage ends with the “Old Town Road” rapper stopping by an old phone booth and dialing a code, which triggers a rainbow to shoot from the ground — causing him to fall through the hole Alice in Wonderland-style.  As he tumbles, he’s eclipsed by an oversized message that reads, “Lil Nas X presents the debut album Montero coming September 17.”

“Creating this album has been therapy for me. i’ve learned to let go of trying to control people’s perception of who i am, what i can do, and where i will be,” the 22-year-old shared on his Twitter. “I’ve realized the only opinion of me that really matters is my own.”

Montero is available to pre-order and pre-save now on Lil Nas X’s official website.

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Wednesday night at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, Carly Pearce got to fulfill another lifelong dream: helming a major awards show.

“I am so excited,” the new Opry member commented before the ACM Honors. “Hosting is something that I really take seriously, and want to tap into as an artist.”

“It’s always been a goal of mine to take that as part of, just, my brand and who I am,” she confessed. “So I’m so thankful that the ACMs felt like I could handle it.”

Typically the home for the Academy of Country Music’s non-televised awards, it’ll air this year as a special on Circle TV.

Ashley McBryde got the chance to sing for Luke Combs, and honor him with the Gene Weed Milestone Award.

“I’m performing ‘She Got The Best of Me’… one of my favorite Luke Combs songs…” she revealed prior to the show. “I’ve been touring with Luke for… seems like two or three years now… So he’s a great guy.”

“He’s done a lot as far as teaching me how to treat people,” Ashley continued, “and helping us learn how to put on a bigger and bigger show.”

Chris Janson bemoaned missing the chance to connect with legendary writers like honoree Curly Putman, before the momentous task of performing what’s widely considered country’s greatest composition at the Mother Church.

“Full circle, here we are in 2021, and here I am with this awesome, blessed career,” Chris reflected. “And I’m getting to repay that hopefully in song, and I hope I do it justice tonight.”

“It’s a big step to sing ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today” in a honky tonk,” he added. “It’s also a big step to sing it in front of your country music…  family.”

Watch the complete ACM Honors November 23 on Circle. 

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Richard Marx‘s memoir Stories to Tell came out recently.  It features dozens of tales of him working with everyone from Lionel Richie, Barbra Streisand and Luther Vandross to *NSYNC, Josh Groban and Keith Urban — plus the scoop on how he wrote all his hits.  However, Richard says he’ll probably write a second volume, because he left so many things out of the first one.

“Yeah, I mean, I like the idea of maybe writing another book, or more multiple books that might be fiction, that might be different,” he tells ABC Audio. “I’ve got a couple of ideas for books now, just like I would have ideas for albums or songs.”

But mostly, Richard wants to do another chapter of his memoir because he now has what you might call “author regret.”

“There comes a point when…as an author, your publisher says, ‘That’s it. There’s no more time, there’s no more changes, this is it. You’ve approved this. There’s no going back now,'” he explains. “And from that point on, we’d be hiking, and I’d say to [my wife] Daisy, ‘Ohhhhh, I completely forgot this story…!!!!'”

“I left out so many stories that I just didn’t remember,” Richard adds. “So, yeah, there’s a whole ‘nother volume of stories. There are More Stories to Tell. That’s the gag-inducing title.”

It’s hard to imagine how Richard is going to top the story of that time he was held hostage by the Chinese mafia in Taiwan, but we’re sure he’ll come up with something.

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The Weeknd was the star of this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, however he regrets that he had to postpone his After Hours tour — named after double-platinum album — until next year due to the pandemic.

“Oh my God, I really miss performing in general, especially this album,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I really didn’t get to perform it for my fans. There’s just something about going on tour, and even going on festival runs, and just experiencing new music with the crowd. Hopefully we get to do that.”

The three-time Grammy winner was shut out at the Grammy nominations this year, but he received a surprise Emmy nomination for his Super Bowl performance: Outstanding Variety Special.

“It was definitely unexpected,” he says of the nod. “I had no idea that it was even possible to get nominated for an Emmy for the Super Bowl, so I was very grateful.”

In 2019, the 31-year-old entertainer made his acting debut in Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler. Now he’s on a team creating a new HBO TV series, while also recording his fifth studio album.

“It’s been really cool because I’m working on this album this summer simultaneously with the writer’s room for the new TV show,” he says. “So I’ve been kind of going back and forth finishing the album and pending up the show that we’re going to start shooting soon. It’s been quite a summer.”

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Slipknot‘s beloved sophomore album Iowa turns 20 this Saturday.

Originally released August 28, 2001, Iowa arrived two years after Slipknot’s self-titled debut. Drawing inspiration from their lives growing up in their home state, along with their struggles with issues including addiction and mental health, the masked metallers created what is now considered the Knot’s darkest, heaviest and most intense album of their career.

Iowa debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 — then a Slipknot career high — and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. It spawned future Knot staples “Disasterpiece,” “The Heretic Anthem” and “People=S***,” plus the Grammy-nominated singles “Left Behind” and “My Plague.”

Sadly, not every Slipknot member who recorded Iowa is still here to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Bassist Paul Gray died in 2010, while drummer Joey Jordison, whom Halestorm‘s Arejay Hale calls “one of the most influential drummers of his generation,” just passed away this past July.

“I always appreciated [Jordison’s] style because it was straight from the heart,” Hale tells ABC Audio. “I always appreciated that about him, and I was always really intrigued by his playing.”

Hale adds that he’s always been particularly inspired by Jordison’s “raw energy” and “aggression.”

“You could feel what he played,” Hale says. “You could definitely feel that he beat himself up. He put his entire body into his playing.”

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Anne-Marie and Niall Horan‘s hit duet “Our Song” is about two former lovers who think they’re doing OK — until their song comes on the radio. Anne-Marie says she got the idea for the song when she heard Jason Mraz‘s hit “I’m Yours” on the way to the songwriting session — but not for the reason you might think.

“On the way to the studio, I always try and see what inspires me on the way,” Anne-Marie tells ABC Audio. “I look out the window and I see someone talking to someone and I try and imagine their conversation…it’s always constantly, you know, trying to get inspired by something.”

She recalls that on that particular journey, on the way to her recording session, the song ‘I’m Yours’ came on the radio. “It’s weird, it never used to be mine and my ex’s song. It was my ex’s and his ex’s song together, Anne-Marie notes. “So every time it came on the radio, I would be like, ‘You’re thinking about her!!!’ And so it was that song that reminded me of that time.”

The “FRIENDS” singer marvels, “It was so long ago…it just surprised me how many memories it brought back whilst listening to it. So I went to the session, [and] I was like, ‘Imagine just how many people have that one song with someone?’ and it went from there, really.”

“Our Song” is on Anne-Marie’s new album Therapy, which also features collaborations with her friend Ed Sheeran and the British girl group Little Mix, among others.

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