Music

Ticketmaster announced Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour has broken several records “and parts of our website.”

Ticketmaster issued a statement Thursday regarding Taylor’s historic Verified Fan pre-sale, which sent fans into meltdown mode.

“We knew this would be big. Over 3.5 million people pre-registered for Taylor’s Verified Fan, which is the largest registration in history,” the statement explained.

Of that number, Ticketmaster invited 1.5 million fans to take part in the Verified Fans pre-sale, but a “staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have invite codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak.”

“Never before has a Verified Fan on sale sparked so much attention,” Ticketmaster continued. The company then revealed, “Over 2 million tickets were sold for Taylor’s shows on Nov. 15 – the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day.” The company maintained “every ticket was sold to a buyer with a Verified Fan code.”

Ticketmaster vowed to use this as a learning lesson to “improve the experience.” It concluded, “The biggest venues and artists turn to us because we have the leading ticketing technology in the world – that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and clearly for Taylor’s on sale it wasn’t.”

As for those upset fans who were left empty handed, Ticketmaster says the math isn’t on their side. “Based on the volume of traffic to our site, Taylor would need to perform over 900 stadium shows (almost 20x the number of shows she is doing)… that’s a stadium show every single night for the next 2.5 years,” they remarked.

Fans have one last chance at tickets. While presale tickets for the Eras Tour are sold out, general ticket sales go live Friday at 10 a.m. local venue time.

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Maren Morris is lending her voice to not one but two upcoming Disney holiday specials.

In this year’s installment of The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, fans can catch Maren’s performance of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

The annual celebration, hosted by siblings Julianne and Derek Hough, returns on Sunday, November 27 and features performances filmed at California’s Disneyland and Florida’s Disney World. The fun begins at 8 p.m. ET and will feature a few sneak peeks at what’s new and exciting at Disney, including a glimpse at the newest Disney Cruise Line ship.

On Christmas Day — December 25 — Maren will return for Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade with a performance of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

For both specials, Maren’s repping the country genre on an all-genre bill. Black Eyed Peas, Meghan Trainor, Ne-Yo and Chloe Flower are just a few of the acts who will perform during both seasonal presentations.

The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. ET. The Houghs will return as co-hosts, along with Good Trouble’s Sherry Cola and grown-ish’s Marcus Scribner.

Both specials will air live on ABC. The Magical Holiday Celebration will be available to stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+, while the parade will stream live on Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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For those who missed the Duran Duran docu-concert A Hollywood High when it aired in theaters, there’s now another chance to check it out. The film is set to air on the streaming platform Veeps from December 18 to January 2.

A Hollywood High features footage from the band’s historic rooftop concert in Los Angeles earlier this year, along with interviews from the band members and never-before-seen archival footage. The stream, which costs $17.99, will mark the first time Veeps has aired a show enabled with 4K / UHD, Dolby Digital & Atmos, making them the first platform to offer such high-quality sound and audio.

Duran Duran is also sharing a new version of their latest album. They’ll release Future Past (Complete Edition) on November 25, a two-LP set that includes the record’s 15 original tracks along with a cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years.” 

Earlier this month, Duran Duran was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; fans can check out their induction when HBO airs the celebration on Saturday, November 19.

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You can now experience the American Reality Television Awards in virtual reality.

This year’s ninthannual American Reality Television Awards will be available to experience inside the Metaverse, where you can sip drinks at the virtual cocktail bar and enter a VIP screening room. Those who prefer a more traditional viewing method can watch the show on OutTV and MonstersAndCritics.com.

Vivica A. Fox, who has been featured on reality programs such as Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer, will be emceeing the event, with nominees ranging from American Ninja Warrior to The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Despite the award show’s mission to bring serious recognition to the most talented minds both in front of and behind the camera of reality programs, she wants the audience to know there will still be a lot of fun during the broadcast.

“I’m also going to do some skits, so you’ll get to see your girl, Vivica,” she says. “I did a skit for The Deadliest Catch that is absolutely hilarious. Also with Dr. Pimple Popper, I did a skit with her as well, too. We did some dancing. I mean, it was just really, really fun.”

Kristen Moss and Andrew Ward founded the awards in 2012 after feeling there was a lack of recognition for those who worked on unscripted programming. Moss tells ABC Audio reality television leads to understanding and togetherness: “We’re getting a glimpse into lives we’ve never seen. We’re hoping that it’s bringing the world closer together.”

To see who takes home the award for Best Feel Good Show or Reality Royalty, tune into the the ARTAs on Thursday, November 17, at 8 p.m. ET on OutTV, MonstersAndCritics.com and the Metaverse by going to ReelMood.com/theartas.

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Rock artists, including Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell and Bush‘s Gavin Rossdale, are mourning the death of longtime tour tech and photographer Scott Dachroeden.

In an Instagram post accompanied by a photo of Dachroeden, Cantrell writes, “You captured so many great moments over the years my friend.”

“This was the last one I snapped of you,” the “Man in the Box” rocker adds of the picture. “Having a beer and a laugh, playing a game of 4 ball with me and the fellas. Rest easy my brother.”

Rossdale has also shared a photo of Dachroeden alongside his dog Chewy.

“I learnt a lot from Scott’s energy and warmth,” Rossdale writes. “I’ve known him since we began, but what a treat to tour with him recently…I was so glad to spend time with him.”

Commenting on Rossdale’s post, Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale, who also worked with Dachroeden, writes, “I’ve been in tears since I heard.”

Dachroeden had been in the hospital with stage 4 cancer. A GoFundMe was launched earlier this month to help him pay his medical bills.

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Mariah Carey might not have won her trademark battle to become the de-facto “Queen of Christmas,” but she is aiming to be the best smelling one.

Mariah teamed with Find Your Happy Place for her very own bath and body collection that’s all about the holidays. Fans can get their hands on holiday scented candles, body lotions, bath gels, bath bombs and more that have the singer’s stamp of approval.

The new launch includes three lines: Winter Wonderland, Home for the Holidays and Cozy in Cashmere. Each features a mashup of festive scents, such as nutmeg, candy canes and sugared snow.

Winter Wonderland delights with scents of fresh pine, crushed candy cane, sugared snow, mistletoe and balsam, while Home for the Holidays smells of aromatic nutmeg, pumpkin puree, spiced chai and sweet cream.

The line is available exclusively at Walmart.

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Phoebe Bridgers‘ holiday song tradition continues this year with “So Much Wine.”

The track is a cover of a song by the band The Handsome Family, whose song “Far from Any Road” was the theme for the first season of True Detective.

You can listen to Bridgers’ version of “So Much Wine” now via digital outlets. Proceeds will be donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Bridgers’ previous holiday singles include covers of Tom Waits “Day After Tomorrow” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Meanwhile, Bridgers is gearing up to open for dates on Taylor Swift‘s 2023 stadium tour.

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