Music

Sombr was chosen by one of his celebrity fans — Taylor Swift — to perform her songs as she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at a June ceremony in New York City.  Now, he tells Variety that he spent the performance desperately trying to keep himself from looking at Taylor as he sang.

“If I looked at her for three seconds during the performance, my mind would have completely blanked because that’s Taylor Swift,” he says of his performance of her songs “Cardigan” and “Dear John.” “That’s a goddess. I remember looking at her for a split second while performing and almost losing it, but then I looked away.”

Taylor was pleased with the performance, declaring, “Sombr is the future.”

As for how Sombr got the gig, when he found out that Taylor had praised him in an interview, he sent a thank-you note; she sent him back a letter and a necklace, and now they’re pals. “I freaked out and fangirled. And somehow I haven’t f***** it up,” he says of their friendship. 

So what’s their relationship like now? “I don’t know if I want to get too into it. I don’t want to talk about her without her permission,” he tells Variety. But he definitely approves of Taylor’s husband.

“I f****** love Travis Kelce,” he says. “That guy is the nicest guy ever.”  

Sombr will start a run of European festival shows on Aug. 11, and then return to North America in September for more dates.

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As the world waits for a new Rihanna album, her partner, A$AP Rocky, admits that he’s partially to blame for keeping her away from music — but reveals that she is, in fact, working on something.

Appearing on BET’s The Jason Lee Show, Rocky acknowledged the fact that over the last few years, Rihanna has been too busy having children with him to make music. The couple have three kids: Sons RZA and Riot and daughter Rocki.

He also added, “And traveling. She’s traveling with me.”

“But yo, she in the studio right now,” he continued. “Yeah, I said it.” Then, addressing Rihanna, he said, “Sorry babe.” He added, to Lee, “She cooking, bro. No funny s***. Damn, I’mma get in trouble for this!”

But when Lee suggested that Rihanna team up with Rocky to make a double album “of you both together on every song,” Rocky shook his head.

“Nope. I would hate Rocky and Rihanna if they both did that. That’s trash!” he said, referring to himself and Rih in the third person. “Nobody want to hear us together, bro! I make subversive weird a** indie rap. Like, I got a cult following, bro.”

He went on to insist, “The music that I make is for a niche demographic of people who actually get this s*** … I make music for pretty boys. I make music for people that is misunderstood.”

“But your girl is a universal icon,” Lee argued. “She has songs with Paul McCartney and I mean, y’all can figure it out!” 

“Bro, no!” Rocky responded.

With or without Rocky, if Rihanna does ever release another album, it’ll be the follow up to Anti-, which came out in 2016.

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Before Ella Langley scored multiple hit duets with Riley Green and Morgan Wallen, she had another male counterpart, Koe Wetzel. But Koe’s not “Jaded” — he’s just back with another Ella collab that’s his new radio single. 

“Ella’s been one of my favorite people to write and sing with for a long time,” he says. “We recorded ‘That’s Why We Fight’ early on in both of our careers, and getting back in a room together was something we talked about every time we saw each other. When she sings, you believe it and I’m excited we could get this one out there to the fans.”

“Koe and I have known each other and been friends for a long time,” Ella adds. “He was one of the first artists I ever got to collaborate with and one of the first I went out on the road with back in 2022. Getting to write and record another song together is special.”

“Jaded” was co-written by Koe and Ella with ERNEST and Jordan Schmidt. It will make its debut on Friday.

It’s the follow-up to Koe’s The Night Champion album, which came out in June. 

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Queens of the Stone Age are open to suggestions.

The “No One Knows” rockers have launched a hotline that you can call to express all of your QotSA-related complaints.

“You know better, now’s your chance!” a video posted to the Queens Facebook declares. “No b******* too big no whiny too tiny. All complains are reviewed personally.”

You can call the Queens of the Stone Age complaint hotline now at 760-437-1966.

Queens of the Stone Age are currently on tour with Foo Fighters, and just released a new song called “Easy Street” in July.

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Martin Lawrence is back in the first look at a brand-new Martin spinoff.

Paramount+ has released the premiere date and first-look photos for The Varnell Hill Show, a half-hour workplace comedy spinoff of the classic sitcom Martin.

This new show stars Tommy Davidson back as his same character from Martin, Varnell Hill. Additionally, Lawrence is set to make guest appearances as his titular role from the hit ’90s sitcom. Lawrence and Bentley Kyle Evans executive produce the series.

“Nearly three decades after audiences first met him, Varnell Hill is stepping back into the spotlight — and he’s determined to prove he’s still the star of the show. Set behind the scenes of a long-running late-night talk show, The Varnell Hill Show follows Varnell (Davidson) as he fights to stay relevant in a rapidly changing entertainment landscape,” according to an official description. “Between network executives eager to modernize the show, a chaotic writers’ room, celebrity guests, family drama, and his own outsized ego, Varnell quickly discovers that keeping a television empire together may be harder than building one in the first place.”

Along with Davidson, the show’s ensemble cast includes Kym Whitley, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Nick Cafero, Emmanuel Hudson and Chris Williams. There will also be special guest stars including Ms. Pat, Deon Cole, Damon Wayans, Mike Epps and Omarion.

The Varnell Hill Show will premiere its first two episodes on Sept. 1. A new episode will release every following Tuesday through Oct. 13.

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Shawn Mendes has gone Instagram official with his girlfriend.

The singer celebrated his girlfriend Bruna Marquezine’s birthday with a loving post.

“Feliz aniversário my baby,” he wrote in a message to the Brazilian model/actress. “You are a light and a mãe in every room you walk into. Not to be tooooo sappy but you’ve truly changed my life, and I am so so grateful for you.”

The post featured video of the two visiting Rio de Janeiro’s Casa Amarela Providência, a cultural center for local children.

Shawn concluded the post by writing in Bruna’s native Portuguese, “Eu te amo muito muito muitoo,” which translates to “I love you so, so, so much.”

Shawn and Bruna reportedly began dating in December. Shawn previously dated Camila Cabello from 2019 to 2023.

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“Signs” point to a new Luke Bryan track dropping on Friday. 

“In honor of the #Signs title track releasing this week, I have some more signed CDs available for y’all for a limited time,” he wrote on his socials, along with photos of a massive number of compact disc booklets laid out as he autographs them.

“Get ready for September and pre-order your copy now,” he closed the post. 

“Signs” follows his #12 hit “Country and She Knows It,” which sits right beside his #11 duet with George Birge, “Ride, Ride, Ride,” on the country airplay chart. His tour namesake, “Word on the Street,” plus “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” and “Made it a Memory” have already come out as well. 

The full Signs will be posted Sept. 17.

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Carly Pearce is an Honest Woman when it comes to the latest preview of her upcoming fifth studio album. 

“To the person smiling through the baby shower,” she starts her post on Instagram. “To the bridesmaid wondering when she’ll get her turn. To the friend celebrating someone else’s dream while still waiting on their own. To anyone who’s ever celebrated a friend’s ‘win’…then cried on the drive home. I see you. This one’s for you. Out Friday.” 

She’s referring to “Happy for Myself,” the eighth track on the new record. 

“One of the hardest things in life, in my opinion, is comparing yourself to other people in your life who maybe are getting things before you or are on a different timeline than you,” she says in the video that’s part of the post. 

“It’s not that I’m not I’m happy for everyone else/ But when do I get to be happy for myself?” the clip continues, revealing a snippet of the song. 

“Happy for Myself” arrives Friday, ahead of the Aug. 28 release of Honest Woman.

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Riley Green hasn’t even made his fall debut on The Voice yet and he’s already booked another season — and this one’s a first. The show’s panel of coaches is star-studded, but now the contestant lineup will be as well.

NBC is launching The Voice: Celebrity, a new version of the show that will air in the spring of 2027. Joe Jonas will also join the panel as a coach, along with Queen Latifah and Riley. Meanwhile, Keke Palmer will host, in place of The Voice’s regular host, Carson Daly.

The twist is that all the contestants on the show will be actors, musicians, athletes, comedians and reality stars, as opposed to unknown musicians.

This is just the continuation of Riley’s TV takeover: He previously made his acting debut on Marshals on CBS and co-hosted ABC’s annual CMA Fest special earlier this summer.

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Beyoncé has released a “MORNING DEW (DONK)” remix pack.

The four-track collection features the original song and three new versions, two featuring her husband, Jay-Z.

Bey first released the song on July 4. She co-wrote the song — a revamped version of a demo track that had previously leaked online — with The-Dream, Darius Dixon and Pharrell, and co-produced it with Pharrell.

The release of “MORNING DEW (DONK)” kicked off the countdown to Beyoncé’s birthday on Sept. 4, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of her album B’Day. She is paying tribute to the album with the upcoming release of a 20th anniversary edition.

“MORNING DEW (DONK)” marked her first new release since 2024’s Cowboy Carter.

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