Music

Britney Spears is again sharing what she says she experienced during her conservatorship — this time, about how her father, Jamie Spears, would allegedly insult her body.

“I’ve never been more humiliated and embarrassed in my life during the years in my conservatorship,” Britney explained on Instagram. “[Y]es I do care and anyone would if you saw yourself the way I have … my dad always told me I was fat and being the heavy girl on stage wasn’t fun … It was humiliating !!!”

“When my family sent me to that place the main thing that hurt me was the medicine they put me on,” she continued. “It made me stupid and sad and I gained so much weight … I felt ugly, angry and mean therefore I was just that !!! The manipulation behind my family’s scheme in subjecting me as if I had done something wrong… is cruel !!!” 

Britney says she’s now teaching herself to no longer worry about her physical appearance, adding, “I am absolutely a victim to all of the societal objectifications and exploitations that women are subjected to.” 

Britney said she’s also speaking out about current beauty standards –“It’s crazy living in Los Angeles … I was thinking about getting a boob job” — and about seeing “the biggest stars getting facials” and noting how they feel pressure to say their photos are filter-free.

“I know she’s beautiful !!! I’ve seen her in person so it was weird seeing someone like her trying to convince people she’s natural,” Britney said, which opened her eyes that she also feels pressure to do the same thing.

Britney also showed how a glamour shot of her was photoshopped to make her look thinner and younger, as if to tell fans not to believe everything they see.

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Say it ain’t so!  Doja Cat told fans she is quitting music after a particularly nasty Twitter row with her South American fans.

Fans from Paraguay claim the “Kiss Me More” singer ignored them while she was in the nation’s capital to perform at a music festival, which was later canceled due to inclement weather.  According to a Twitter thread by a Paraguayan fan, Doja’s followers spent hours waiting for her outside the airport and her hotel, but she never came out to say hello during her stay.

The thread makes it seem as if Doja was the only artist who didn’t acknowledge her fans and pointed to other festival performers, such as Machine Gun Kelly, who left their hotels to shake hands and pose for pictures.

Paraguayan fans also took issue that Doja didn’t tweet about the festival being canceled due to inclement weather, again comparing her to MGK and festival headliner Miley Cyrus, who apologized for the unfortunate turn of events.   The Twitter thread claims Doja only spoke about the festival to complain fans weren’t waiting for her outside her hotel when she left to go to Brazil. 

Doja became embroiled in a nasty exchange with numerous Paraguayan fans demanding an apology, which ultimately ended with the “Woman” rapper declaring, “It’s gone and i don’t give a f*** anymore i f***in quit,” adding music “is dead to me.”

She followed up with, “This s*** ain’t for me so I’m out.  Y’all take care.”  Doja has since changed her Twitter handle to “i quit” and put “lol” in her bio.

It’s unknown if Doja is serious about leaving music, but several artists have reacted to the news — most notably rapper Kodak Black, who remarked, “Doja Cat Bet Not Quit Musik B4 We Do A Song Together.”   

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Dan + Shay are breaking their silence after a social media hiatus. 

The hit duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney posted a letter to fans on Twitter sharing that since they concluded The (Arena) Tour in December, they’ve used that time to spend time with family and friends, in addition to “reflect and appreciate” all that they’ve accomplished. During this down time, they’ve also been thinking about new music. 

“Hi friend, it’s been a minute! We wrapped up THE (ARENA) TOUR at the end of December and it was one of the most incredible experiences of our career (so far). We’re infinitely grateful for everyone who came out to the shows and celebrated live music with us,” the duo begin, calling themselves “the luckiest guys in the entire world.” 

“We’re rested, refreshed, and more excited about music than ever before. Legit, even more excited than we were when we made our first album,” they add, teasing “more news and updates to come soon.” 

Dan + Shay’s latest album, Good Things, was released in 2021. It features the three consecutive chart-topping singles: “10,000 Hours,” with Justin Bieber, plus “I Should Probably Go to Bed” and “Glad You Exist.” Their current single, “Steal My Love,” is climbing through the top 30 on radio.

Dan + Shay are set to open for Kenny Chensey on his Here and Now Tour this summer.

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Shinedown has released another new song off the band’s upcoming album, Planet Zero.

The track is called “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo,” and finds frontman Brent Smith singing about a “world where empathy goes to die.” You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

“The Saints of Violence and Innuendo” is the second cut to be released from Planet Zero, following the title track. The song “Planet Zero” has been the number-one single on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for the last four weeks.

Planet Zero the album drops April 22. Shinedown will launch a U.S. tour ahead of the record’s arrival April 1 in Spokane, Washington, with support from The Pretty Reckless and Diamante. That run will be followed by a summer Canadian outing with Pop Evil and Ayron Jones, and then a return to the U.S. in September with “Dead Man Walking” artist Jelly Roll.

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Maren Morris’ Humble Quest album arrives today, and now there’s a big item on the singer’s to-do list: Go out and find a physical copy to buy from a store.

“Yes, I will be [buying my own CD]!” Maren said during a Twitter Q&A about the project this week, after a fan asked whether she would be grabbing a copy of the record herself.

In fact, that’s something Maren does with every project, she went on to say. “It’s tradition. 3 for 3,” she said, nodding to the fact that Humble Quest is her third project, and the third that she’ll be picking up in-store.

During the fan Q&A, Maren also fielded lots of different questions from fans about her new music. She said that the most personal song on the project is “Hummingbird,” a song she wrote about her son, Hayes.

Maren also named Hayes as a guest vocalist on Humble Quest, said that Sheryl Crow and Carole King were some of the artists she was listening to while making the record and warned fans that they might need a tissue for “one or two” tracks on the album.

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The 94th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday night, and one of the nominees for Best Original Song is Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s “Dos Oruguitas (Two Little Caterpillars)” from the Disney hit Encanto. If he wins, Miranda will achieve an EGOT: He’ll have an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Latin superstar Sebastián Yatra, who sings the song in the movie, and will perform it at the Oscars, tells ABC Audio that he’s rooting for Lin-Manuel to win.

In the Best Original Song category, it’s only the songwriter who wins the Oscar, not the performer, but Yatra says, “For me, I feel like I’m nominated as well and being a part of this song is just something that I couldn’t be more thankful for.”

As for Lin-Manuel, Yatra says, “I really hope that he takes it because he deserves it. And it’s a song that’s going to be part of Disney’s history, and it’s touched so many souls. There’s really no bigger award than that.”

While the Oscars have announced that Sunday night’s telecast on ABC will include the first-ever live performance of that other Encanto song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” it’s not clear if Yatra will perform “Dos Oruguitas” as part of that segment, or another one. But either way, Yatra says he’s stoked.

“We’re definitely excited, super-excited to go there, and I’m excited to represent my country [of Colombia] at, like, the most prestigious gathering that there is,” he says.

As for the “Bruno” performance, it’ll include not only cast members Adassa, Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Carolina Gaitan and Diane Guerrero, but also Latin stars Becky G and Mr. “Despacito” himself, Luis Fonsi.

The Academy Awards start at 8 p.m EDT/5 p.m. PDT on ABC Sunday night.

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Dave Grohl has finally unleashed his metal EP as Dream Widow.

The self-titled eight-track collection, which is available now via digital outlets, finds the Foo Fighters frontman channeling his inner ’80s thrasher while performing every instrument and handling lead vocals.

Dream Widow, which takes its name from the fictional band that haunts the Foos in their new Studio 666 horror movie, begins with the lyrics “Take the f***in’ dagger/Draw the pentagram” off the 90-second opening track, “Encino.”

However, Grohl is certainly taking Dream Widow seriously — the collection ends with two songs, “Becoming” and “Lacrimus dei Ebrius,” that push over seven and 10 minutes, respectively.

In between head-banging to Dream Widow, you can watch Studio 666 now on-demand. The film stars the six Foo members as fictional versions of themselves as they try to record an album in a spooky mansion haunted by supernatural forces.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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The Rocket Man turns 75 today, and Elton John is marking his milestone birthday by issuing a statement summing up his feelings about where he is now in his life and career.

“I’m not usually one to look back or get nostalgic, but 75 is such a milestone birthday. I’ll definitely find time today to take stock and thank my lucky stars for my wonderful family, friends and career,” Elton says in a statement.

“I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what I do so much — I’m still so energized about music and excited I get to play, listen and talk about this every single day,” he adds. “Being back on the road is a blast and the thrill of playing live is as amazing as it was 50 years ago.”

He concludes, “I have so much to pass on to the new generation of fans and artists alike, and I’m determined to keep giving back to the industry that has given me so much.”

In celebration of Elton’s birthday, his greatest hits album, Diamonds, has been released to streaming platforms in Dolby Atmos, a technology that makes music more immersive and detailed.  In addition, he’s Dua Lipa‘s guest on the new episode of her podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service.

Elton performs in Des Moines, IA on Saturday, and on Sunday, his 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party will take place, hosted by Elton’s husband, David Furnish, along with Lady Gaga, who’s the godmother to Elton’s sons, and Emmy-winning actors Billy Porter and Eric McCormack.

As for Elton himself, the Oscar-winning singer will be performing his Farewell Yellow Brick Show concert in Lincoln, NE, on Oscar Sunday — a date he refused to change, as his fans had waited so long to see him.

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Cardi B is showing off a different side of herself on the remix to Summer Walker and SZA‘s track, “No Love.”

The new version of the R&B track, official titled “No Love (Extended Version),” dropped Friday and features an assist from the rapper — but she’s not just rapping on the track: she’s singing, too. 

Cardi hops on at the beginning and sings, “Here I am there you are / Falling out of love again / I don’t know just how to feel it’s hard to meet you where you are / I needed some time apart,” before returning to her usual rap flow. 

The “Up” rapper switches it up one more time and sings again, before Summer and SZA’s “No Love” continues as normal. 

In addition to the remix, the trio also released a sultry and seductive music video for the track. 

Taking to Twitter shortly after the release, Summer wrote, “I hope y’all love the “no love” Extended video as much as I do.”

“Thank you @itsSeanBankhead for getting me out my comfort zone and @iamcardib & @sza for making this song so special,” she added. “And shout out to all the signs…we love y’all.”

“No Love (Extended Version)” is available to stream now. 

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