Music

Justin Bieber appears to be working on new music: paparazzi caught him hitting up the music studio, reports Daily Mail. It’s rumored he’s working on his seventh studio album, which is expected to drop next year.

Dua Lipa penned an emotional letter to fans following the end of her Future Nostalgia tour. “94 shows around the world in one year and ending it in Tirana, Albania to around 200k people ~ our biggest solo show EVER~ on independence day!!! ~ All I can say is the deepest of thank yous for a year that has pushed me to grow beyond anything I could’ve imagined with the greatest people to share it with,” she wrote. Sam Smith responded to the tribute by calling her a star.

Alessia Cara released the deliciously nostalgic music video for “Jingle Bell Rock,” which sees her throwing it back in time to pay tribute to those old holiday variety shows.

Dionne Warwick teamed up with Build-a-Bear for animated holiday feature Glisten and the Merry Mission. She plays Sage Evergreen in the flick, and stars alongside “Issues” singer Julia Michaels and actress Trinity Jo-Li Bliss. A release date was not announced.

Olivia Rodrigo has donated exclusive items to be auctioned off by the ASCAP Foundation. She isn’t the only celebrity who pitched in: Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Stephen Scwartz and more donated to the cause.  The auction, which runs through December 16, will benefit American music creators.

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Justin Bieber appears to be working on new music: paparazzi caught him hitting up the music studio, reports Daily Mail. It’s rumored he’s working on his seventh studio album, which is expected to drop next year.

Dua Lipa penned an emotional letter to fans following the end of her Future Nostalgia tour. “94 shows around the world in one year and ending it in Tirana, Albania to around 200k people ~ our biggest solo show EVER~ on independence day!!! ~ All I can say is the deepest of thank yous for a year that has pushed me to grow beyond anything I could’ve imagined with the greatest people to share it with,” she wrote.

Alessia Cara released the deliciously nostalgic music video for “Jingle Bell Rock,” which sees her throwing it back in time to pay tribute to those old holiday variety shows.

The Chainsmokers have been added to the RodeoHouston lineup for next year. The duo will perform March 10, and tickets for the event go live on December 8 at rodeohouston.com.

Speaking of the Chainsmokers, they, alongside Olivia Rodrigo and Selena Gomez, donated exclusive items to be auctioned off by the ASCAP Foundation. The auction, which runs through December 16, will benefit American music creators.

Charlie Puth is helping to launch the new subscription-based platform humy, which aims to connect artists with their fans. Charlie is the first artist to be on the site, which launches Friday.

Julia Michaels teamed up with Build-a-Bear for animated holiday feature Glisten and the Merry Mission. She plays the elfling Marzipan in the flick, and will star alongside Dionne Warwick and actress Trinity Jo-Li Bliss. A release date was not announced.

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SZA‘s taking it back a few years with her new Crocs collaboration.

The line, her second with the brand, pays homage to the early days of the millennium, bringing some Y2K flair to classic Crocs. The Classic Cozzzy Sandal and Crush Clog silhouettes have been given a denim makeover and can be further decorated with retro-inspired charms, including a flip phone and floppy disk, that SZA chose herself.  

“Crocs is super-versatile. I can be comfortable and be cute at the same time,” SZA tells People. She wears them “at all times and anywhere” and plans to “wear pajamas and Crocs” if she attends another Grammys ceremony.

SZA’s version of the Cozzzy Sandal is $80; the Crush Clog is $75. Between December 6 at 12 p.m. ET and December 8 at 12 p.m. ET, fans can enter a drawing on www.crocs.com for a chance to buy a pair. Those looking to score a free pair can text 812-SZA-CROC for a chance to win; winners will be informed by December 5.

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Taylor Swift‘s cat Olivia Benson is reportedly worth a lot of money. How much, you may ask? A new celebrity pet list estimates little Miss Olivia is worth $97 million.

All About Cats published its year-end Ultimate Pet Rich List that tells us which pets are the world’s wealthiest and most influential. Coming in third place was Taylor’s Scottish fold.

The website crunched data from Instagram, such as number of followers and likes, to determine how much money a famous pet could potentially earn. 

As for how this little kitty is worth nearly $100 million, All About Cats explains, “With a whopping $97 million net worth, Olivia has found success outside of the world of Instagram influencing. The Scottish Fold earned her fortune starring alongside her owner in several music videos, has crafted her own merchandise line, and has had cameos in many big-budget ads, including for the likes of Diet Coke and Ned Sneakers.”

It should be stressed Olivia is third on this list. As for the two acts who beat her, the honor goes to first-place finisher Gunther VI the German shepherd at $500 million and Nala Cat in second place with $100 million. 

Hopefully all that fame, money and fortune isn’t going to Olivia’s head.

Taylor got Olivia in 2014 and named her after Mariska Hargitay‘s character on Law & Order: SVU.

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Elton John recently announced he’s adding one more date to his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour — his final tour ever — and fans think it’s going to be a pretty huge festival gig. 

Elton kicked off the speculation when he shared a tease on his Instagram Story, “One final date to announce…,” followed by another post that read “Rocket Man is incoming.”

According to NME, fans on social media were quick to guess he was teasing an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. BBC’s Glastonbury Twitter feed seemed to support, if not outright confirm, the speculation. 

“We caught a stunning shot of @glastonbury on our webcam yesterday. Click the link below and hit ‘best shots’ to take a look…,” they tweeted. When fans click the link they are met with a webcam shot of the festival’s Pyramid Stage, with a rocket flying above it, an apparent reference to the Rocket Man.

The timing of the appearance certainly could work with Elton’s schedule. Glastonbury is set to take place the weekend of June 21 to 25 and right now there is a gap in his schedule during that time. He has a June 18 show set for Glasgow, Scotland, then a break until a show in Paris June 25.

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It sounds like we may be getting some new music from Blondie, if you believe Johnny Marr. During an appearance on The Lineup with Shaun Keaveny podcast, the former The Smiths guitarist revealed he’s written a new song for the band. 

Johnny previously wrote the song “My Monster” for Blondie and he now shares, “I’ve written another new one for the new, current record that they’re recording,” adding, “I don’t know whether it will end up on the album, you never know. But they seemed to really like it.”

Johnny says hearing Debbie Harry singing his lyrics is “a new level of wow for me because they are my lyrics, Debbie’s singing my lyrics.”

The new song is called “Spectral Eyes,” but Marr says “they took so long recording it” he recorded it himself as a B-side on a 7-inch. He adds, “I wasn’t about to put it on an album, just in case.”

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Chris Janson announced his upcoming Heavy & Western Tour this week, and fans will only have to wait days before the shows kick off. The trek launches December 17, with opening acts Tim Montana and Shane Profitt set to join in on the fun. Visit Chris’ website for a full list of dates and details.

LoCash are playing the halftime show for Thursday night’s New England Patriots versus Buffalo Bills game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The game, and a portion of the halftime show, will air on Amazon Prime video.

Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Old Dominion and Alan Jackson are all among the stars that have contributed items to the second annual ASCAP Foundation Silent Auction. Donations made at the auction will benefit music education and talent development programs across the U.S. Bidding is open through December 16; you can check out the items available on CharityBuzz.com.

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As we inch closer to 2023, more and more year-end lists are coming out of the pipeline. The latest roundup comes from PETA, who had a special award for Harry Styles.

The organization said the time when Harry was pelted by chicken nuggets onstage was this year’s “Best Viral Moment for Animals.”

PETA shared footage of the moment to their Instagram; the video shows the singer being hit by cold chicken nuggets during one of his August shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Harry seemed amused by what was thrown at him — until the crowd told him to eat the nuggets.  

“I don’t eat chicken, sorry,” he told the audience. “I don’t eat meat.” He also said he wouldn’t eat the nuggets because they were cold and old.

PETA said Harry “rejecting” the nugget and revealing he doesn’t eat meat is what made the moment worthy of a year-end accolade. “Each person inspired to go vegan by the superstar will save the lives of nearly 200 animals per year,” the organization claimed.

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Styles P and Jadakiss have rapped back to back on a number of songs throughout their careers, but now they’ll be displaying their collaborative skills during a special show in their hometown state.

The rappers, part of the rap group The Lox, will take the stage for an event titled Back to Back: Masters of the In & Out Flow.

Styles and Jada initially announced the show last month, noting they “wanted to do something special to close out the year.” That post promised updates about the lineup while calling for potential sponsors.

A new post, shared on both of their social media accounts Thursday, details the more than 40 organizations that have stepped up to help sponsor the event. 

Back to Back: Masters of the In & Out Flow is set for December 16 at New York City’s Irving Plaza. It will start at 8 p.m. ET; doors open an hour earlier.

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