Music

Now that Rihanna no longer needs to hide her pregnancy, the “Umbrella” singer can step back into the public eye and continue doing what she loves — making people happy.  Over the weekend, she and boyfriend A$AP Rocky shocked fans when they decided to pay a surprise visit to one of her Savage X Fenty stores.

People reports that the couple, both 33, crashed the Savage X Fenty store at the Westfield Culver City mall in Los Angeles.  Rihanna wore a Valentine’s Day ensemble comprised of a striking crimson hooded robe and matching strappy heels that showed off her white pedicure.

As for her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky wore matching red and white trainers along with a blue-gray pinstripe tuxedo, white undershirt and black tie.

The two posed for photo ops around the store, including in front of mannequins that were modeling signature pieces from Rihanna’s new Valentine’s Day line. 

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty stores transitioned from an online-only platform to brick and mortar locations this year, with the first location opening in Las Vegas in January.  She plans to open more locations in Houston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. 

The “Diamonds” singer first announced she was opening physical Fenty stores via Twitter on January 7, and said in a subsequent tweet, “[I] can’t believe it’s actually that time, and I can’t wait for you to have this experience irl.”

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Could we possibly see The Jonas Brothers take over the Super Bowl Halftime show?  Nick Jonas certainly hopes so.

Speaking with People, the “Jealous” hitmaker says taking center stage during the Big Game is on his and his brothers’ “bucket list,” for sure.  “It’s been a dream for us,” he expressed. “I hope one day we get to do it!”

While the trio will have to wait to see if the NFL decides to grant their wish, Nick did make a small appearance during Sunday night’s Super Bowl.  He teamed with a different trio — the Jones trio comprised of Leslie Jones, Tommy Lee Jones and Rashida Jones — for Toyota’s Big Game commercial. 

The ad sees the three Joneses racing in their new Toyota Tundra trucks and pulling stunts definitely meant for the professionals before arriving at their destination.  When Jonas pulls up and tries worming his way into the Jones trio, noting the similarity of their last names, 75-year-old Tommy Lee Jones barks, “Try to keep up, whoever you are.”

Nick said the Men in Black actor created some of the “funniest moments” while filming because he would improvise his lines.  “I think the line he says ‘Whoever you are’ was an improv line, and it made me laugh hard every time he said it,” he said.

Nick, who recently welcomed his first child with wife Priyanka Chopra, said he has big plans for this year. “I also have a lot of creative ventures that I am working on now, both on the music side of things but also on the film, television, and development side,” he teased. “I am really looking forward to getting those things up and going, and I am excited for this next step in my career.”

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Jason Aldean declares himself a rock n’ roll cowboy with his new tour.

On Monday, the ACM Artist of the Decade announced that he’s launching the 34-date Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour, with Gabby Barrett, John Morgan and Dee Jay Silver set to open.

It begins on July 15 in Scranton, PA and continues through October 29, when it wraps in Wichita, KS. Along the way, Jason and crew will stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, and for a two-night stay at Bank of NH Pavilion. 

The Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour is named after a track off Jason’s upcoming album, Macon, Georgia, that he says is “all about knowing you belong on the road.” 

“I’m ready to get back out and feel the nights come alive,” he adds. 

Tickets go on sale February 18 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit the singer’s website for a full list of dates. 

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Maynard James Keenan helped give a proper sendoff to Tool‘s opening band with an onstage prank.

The group Blonde Redhead, who’d been supporting Tool for the band month on their U.S. tour, played their final show with Keenan and company last week in Miami. To mark the occasion, Keenan invaded Blonde Redhead’s set to dance around while wearing a blonde wig, surrounded by others wearing red wigs.

Blonde Redhead‘s vocalist Kazu Makino shared footage from the prank in an Instagram Story, which was later re-posted by Keenan. In the caption, Makino wrote, “[Tool] making a point of our last show…this is how I look when I’m stunned.”

Keenan himself is a big fan of Blonde Redhead — ahead of the tour, he shared a long Instagram post explaining why he picked the band specifically to be Tool’s opener.

Tool’s tour is set to continue February 19 in Boston with support from The Acid Helps.

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A fumble by NBC during Sunday night’s Super Bowl broadcast misidentified country singer Mickey Guyton as Jhene Aiko.

Social media was not having it after the network cut to country star Guyton, who was preparing to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and identified her as Aiko, who was singing “America the Beautiful.”

The reaction on Twitter was swift and brutal, with one person writing, “Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton don’t look alike. Tighten up NBC. All black folks don’t look alike.”

Another tweeted, “ummm… who confused Jhene Aiko and Mickey Guyton?  Its tone deaf…. (On your part).” Yet yet another wrote, “Mickey Guyton slays the anthem. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for whoever wound up confusing [her for] Jhene Aiko.”

Shortly after the incident, an NBC Sports spokesperson tweeted an apology: “Leading into Jhene Aiko singing ‘America the Beautiful,’ we incorrectly showed Mickey Guyton and misidentified her before showing Aiko’s performance. We apologize to both artists for the error.”

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Ben Affleck gave Jennifer Lopez the sweetest gift for Valentine’s Day — but it was really a surprise for their fans, too.

Via her new OnTheJLo newsletter, the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer, 52, shared a new music video for her song “On My Way” directed by the Oscar winner.  She called it “something very special and personal” that she wanted to share with her “inner circle.”

“It’s an early Valentine’s Day present from Ben. Watching it made me think about the journey of true love, it’s unexpected twists and turns, and that when it’s real, it actually can last forever,” she added. “This seriously melted my heart.”

This version features swoon-worthy footage from the lovebirds’ own lives together, from their past whirlwind relationship to their recently rekindled romance, alongside scenes from the official “On My Way” music video, which was released in December.

Lopez and Affleck dated from 2002 to 2004 and were previously engaged. The two reunited nearly two decades later and became an official couple again last year.

“On My Way” is from Lopez’s latest rom-com, Marry Me, in theaters and streaming on Peacock now.

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Following the successful opening weekend of his debut Las Vegas residency, Luke Bryan is adding several new dates to the calendar. 

Due to high demand, the country superstar will perform an additional nine shows at Resorts World this year on June 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25, August 31 and September 3 and 4. They join previously announced shows on February 16, 18, 19, 20, 23, 25 and 26.

The demand comes after a sold-out first night of the residency on Saturday. The innovative show features a stage that moves to the melody as Luke performs hits including “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and “One Margarita,” and a catwalk suspended 45 feet in the air that brings the singer up-close-and-personal with fans in balcony seating. 

“What an amazing night and start to our run of headlining shows at Resorts World Las Vegas. We’ve worked long and hard to put together an incredible, high-energy show for the fans,” Luke shares. “I am so proud of how it turned out and I hope everyone who comes leaves there having as much fun as me.”

Tickets for the new shows go on sale February 21 at 1 p.m. ET.

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Charlie Puth cannot wait for fans to hear his upcoming new album, Charlie, because it will mark an entirely new chapter in his songwriting and creation process.  The studio effort offers a more-vulnerable and honest glimpse at the singer — and Charlie says that’s because it was born out of anger.

Speaking to Insider, the “Light Switch” singer admitted, “The one word that comes to mind when I think about this album in the beginning when I was making it, was ‘revenge.’… I was mostly, I guess, angry.”  

Charlie explained that he was feeling stuck in life, and that frustration bubbled over into him questioning himself as well as his romantic and platonic relationships.  “Why is this song not resonating with people? Why did this relationship not work out?’ It was a lot of that,” the Grammy nominee asked. 

That soul-searching eventually gave way to a major epiphany. “I was coming to terms with who I was for the first time in five years. And that’s what I realized at the end of the album, and while I was making ‘Light Switch,'” Charlie said. “It felt special to me because it’s the most polarizing record I’ve ever made. It’s unusually fast. It sounds like nothing I’ve ever made before.”

Charlie also warned that “Light Switch” is “the most lighthearted song out of the whole bunch” on his new album.  He also revealed some of the other tracks’ titles, which include “Loser,” “That’s Hilarious” and “There’s a First Time for Everything.”

Charlie feels at peace with his upcoming body of work because of its authenticity. “The difference is I’m not trying to be so cool… I’m not pretending to be the cool kid,” he said.

A release date for Charlie has yet to be announced.

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The annual Eurovision Song Contest, aka Eurovision, is one of the biggest music-focused events in, well, Europe — and that craze is finally coming to America, thanks to Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg.

Deadline reports that the Grammy winners have teamed for NBC’s new series American Song Contest, a musical competition series that they will host.  The official commercial promoting the event aired during Sunday night’s Super Bowl.

Singers from all 50 states as well as the country’s five territories and the U.S. Capitol — 56 in all — will compete against each other to not only create the best hit song, but score America’s vote to advance to the top. This year’s list of competitors will be announced soon.   

This concept is similar to how Eurovision operates, where singers from each country on the European continent — now including former territories such as Australia — create a new song, and the winner is decided by popular vote.  

“I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I’m so excited to work with Snoop and can’t wait to see every state and territory represented by artists singing their own songs,” Kelly said in a statement.  

Added Snoop, “I am honored to host ‘American Song Contest’ alongside my lil sis Kelly Clarkson, aka Miss Texas.”

The series is set to premiere March 21 and will run for eight weeks before wrapping on May 9 — ahead of the Eurovision song contest. 

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