Music

Congress has called upon Ticketmaster’s executives to explain what caused the Taylor Swift ticketing fiasco.

WLS reports U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who chairs the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is seeking answers into Ticketmaster’s sales process.

Schakowsky reached out to Ticketmaster after the presale left fans complaining of hourslong waits, site crashes and exorbitant prices to get tickets to Taylor’s Eras Tour. Those same fans are now raising alarm over the number of tickets being sold for ridiculous prices on third-party resellers.

“We want a complete explanation of the problems that we have had. So we are calling them in,” she said.  Schakowsky wants Ticketmaster to not only explain how it sells tickets, but to look into ways of improving how it operates.

In her letter to Ticketmaster, which was signed by members of the bipartisan committee, she signaled concern that “millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots.” She says the fiasco also exposed “potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.”

“I think in many ways consumers are really held hostage,” she said.

This is the latest development stemming from the disastrous rollout of Taylor’s ticket presale. Last month Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn called upon the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Ticketmaster violated the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which was designed to combat illegal bots that snatch up swaths of concert tickets before fans can get their hands on them.

In addition, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee announced a hearing to look into the alleged monopoly critics say Ticketmaster has on the ticketing industry.

In addition, the Justice Department’s antitrust division is investigating Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, for potential abuse of power.

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SZA‘s latest album, SOS, has earned enough streams to top the Billboard 200, an accomplishment that can be attributed to its many listeners, which apparently includes OVO’s own Drake.

Talking to gambling site Stake, the rapper revealed the album is in his rotation. “I know one of the questions was ‘what have I been listening to?’ … I’ve been listening to the new SZA, listening [to SOS],” Drake said. As for his thoughts on the project, he says that it’s “incredible.”

Drake and SZA have history with one another, as they dated over a decade ago. The rapper spilled the tea on 21 Savage’s 2020 single “Mr. Right Now,” and SZA confirmed it a few times.

While it’s common knowledge that Drake has mentioned SZA in his music, there’s been speculation about who or what relationships the “Shirt” singer is discussing in her songs. In an effort to address the inquiries, SZA took to Twitter to provide some clarification.

“Sos is me singing about relationships from 6 years ago,” she tweeted. “Ctrl was about relationships from high school n college.

“Reflection is a part of growth,” she continued. “Reflection is good.”

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The Black Keys will be boogieing on the ice to kick off the new year.

The “Lonely Boy” duo is set to perform during the NHL’s 2023 Winter Classic hockey game, which will feature the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins facing off on a frozen Fenway Park.

You can tune in to watch the Winter Classic airing January 2 at 2 p.m. on TNT. The telecast will feature The Black Keys’ performance, as well as a rendition of the national anthem by “Poison” group Bell Biv DeVoe.

The Black Keys spent much of 2022 on the road touring behind their new album, Dropout Boogie, which features the single “Wild Child.” The boogieing will continue in 2023 with a tour of Europe.

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In a special holiday episode of Alex Cooper‘s Call Her Daddy podcast, John Mayer opens up about relationships and reveals who really inspired his hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland.”

When Cooper refers to the rumor that the song’s about a certain actress, John insists, “No, that was about my first girlfriend! … I was 21 when I wrote that song, [and] I was nostalgic for being 16.”

And the story about the actress? John explains, “That’s one of those things where people just sort of form that idea, it gets reinforced over the years … no, I had never met a celebrity when I wrote that song!”

John, who says he has indeed been in love in the past, tells Cooper that contrary to his reputation as a womanizer, “Of course I wanna get married.” 

He jokes, “I can’t wait for someone to be mad at me because I said I would take the dry cleaning in, and they were going to until I said I would and then I didn’t … I would love that, because that would suggest that we’re into something deep, meaningful and secure.”

“Every relationship I’ve ever been in was devoted to the idea that this could go the distance,” he notes. “… If you told me that I could have a great two months with someone but it would end on the first day of the third month, I would not be interested. I’ve always sought potential for a long-term relationship.”

John also sings acoustic versions of “Daughters,” “Why Georgia” and more. When Cooper asks, “Do you do this before you have sex with someone?” he responds, “No. I do it after sometimes.”

He adds, “You should never play guitar to have sex with someone, but a little naked guitar playing after is very memorable.”

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For night three of Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin‘s 2022 The Hanukkah Sessions, the pair released a cover of the 10cc song “The Things We Do for Love.”

The performance features vocals by Inara George, who plays with Kurstin in the band The Bird and the Bee, as well as background singing by Tenacious D‘s Jack Black and Kyle Gass. You can watch it streaming now on YouTube.

For The Hanukkah Sessions, which is now in its third year, Grohl and Kurstin release a cover of a song by a Jewish artist for each of the holiday’s eight nights. This year’s edition was recorded live at the Los Angeles club Largo earlier this month, and so far has included versions of Blood, Sweat & Tears‘ “Spinning Wheel” featuring director Judd Apatow and Pink‘s “Get they Party Started” featuring the pop star herself.

The last two Hanukkah Sessions spawned covers of artists including KISS, Beastie Boys, Bob Dylan, Drake, Lisa Loeb, Ramones, Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel.

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With Christmas around the corner, many are breaking out their favorite holiday traditions. For Keri Hilson, her favorite holiday tradition is simple: her mother’s popcorn balls. 

“My mother’s very like the one to hold to just traditions down,” the singer and actress told ABC Audio while promoting her film, Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding. “But her popcorn balls… they mean the most to me… literally that’s what she has to do every year.”

Hilson added that while her mom also makes treats like caramel apples and apple crisp pie, it’s the popcorn balls that have her in a choke hold. 

“They’re so good and so special. And she’s, like, really perfected them,” Keri said, adding that they’re so good, Hilson eats them even though she could have an allergic reaction to them. 

“I’m allergic to corn, but I’ll pop a Claritin or Zyrtec and I will eat my popcorn ball. Yes, I will,” the “Pretty Girl Rock” singer added. 

Popcorn balls aside, Hilson is just happy to be able to spend the festive holiday at home, as it hasn’t always been possible in the past. 

“My mother’s birthday’s Christmas Eve, so I try to be home,” she said. “My occupational hazard would have me away from home for a whole lot of Christmases and other holidays, and that seems to be a busy time for performers.”

“But I’m going to be home this year and I need her popcorn balls,” Hilson continued. “That’s my favorite Christmas tradition.”

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Dolly Parton, who’s been married to husband Carl Dean for 56 years and counting, dropped some love advice during a recent sit-down with ET Canada, explaining what’s kept their relationship going strong through the decades.

“We love each other. We respect each other. We both have a warped sense of humor,” Dolly says. “I think humor, honestly, is one of the best things when you’re married like that.”

Carl famously avoids the spotlight, unlike his superstar wife, and Dolly says she thinks that space has helped their love stay strong over the course of their marriage. “I stay gone,” she jokes. “You know, there’s a lot to be said about that. So we’re not in each other’s face all the time.”

Even for couples who don’t have such a dramatically different relationship with fame, like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who have even toured together, alone time is key.

“We both have our daily routines and we have our own dressing rooms,” Faith told People in 2018. “We each have our own space to retreat [to] so we do get time to ourselves.”

Another country power couple, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, say their 17-year marriage gets a boost when they make sure to be each other’s champions.

“I think you gotta treat it like a duet,” Garth reflected during a 2021 episode of The Ellen Show, which he and Trisha were guest hosting. “You gotta harmonize. You gotta make your partner feel like they’re a star.”

He added, “And if not, you’re gonna turn into a solo act pretty damn quick, if you know what I mean.”

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It’s that time of year when Jason Aldean‘s officially slipping into full-time dad mode.

For him, the holiday season’s extra special because of his two youngest kids.

“Oh, it’s fun, you know?” he tells ABC Audio. “Memphis will be 5 and Navy‘s 3. She’s almost 4. So it’s like the perfect age for them, you know? And it’s really fun.”

“As a parent, you get excited about waking up, and watching them be excited and do all those things.”

When the Georgia native finally comes off the road for the year, he’s focused on making up for lost time.

“For us, it’s about just spending some family time,” Jason says. “We’re gone, I’m traveling a lot throughout the year. So holidays are a time where I try to be home and spend as much time with them as possible, and kind of soak in all those memories and things like that.”  

Jason doesn’t hit the road again until he heads to Scottsdale, Arizona, on February 9, but he is set to play New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on CBS on December 31.

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