Music

So how does Kelly Clarkson feel about her divorce? According to a source, People reports, “Kelly is obviously happy to have the divorce finalized.” The source adds, “The kids have always been her main priority through everything. She truly is able to begin the next chapter of her life with her kids, and she’s also busier than ever with her career. She’s in a great place.” The Grammy winner and her ex, Brandon Blackstock, were married for seven years.

Kristin Chenoweth wept when she found out Ariana Grande would be playing Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie. “I love her so much; I’ve known her since she was 10,” Kristin, who originated the role on Broadway, told Today. “I think that crown and wand are going to the exact correct person. And I think she’s gonna nail it… I did cry when she got it.”

Kesha is celebrating her recent 35th birthday with brand-new merchandise. She launched the Kesha Birthday Collection online store, which features new clothes, hoodies, sweatpants and socks with new prints. “In honor of my birth and to all my Pisces season emotional open hearted ocean rainbow babies, happy birthday! To all of you with all the zodiac signs, this merch was designed by me to encourage opening that third eye,” Kesha said in a statement.

Doja Cat had an interesting way of promoting her new partnership with Taco Bell, for which she previously starred in a Super Bowl commercial. She shared a video on TikTok begging fans to forgive her for her upcoming Taco Bell “jingle” — a word she “banned” because she hates the word so much. “They want me to rap about Mexican pizza,” she explained. “Just know, it’s contractual. I know it’s bad.” Then, with fake enthusiasm, she dropped her jingle, in which she jokes the Mexican pizza “ain’t even Mexican food.”

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Sure, you can’t see Adele in Las Vegas yet, but you can see her perform on your TV later this month.

An Audience with Adele, a concert she taped last year at the London Palladium, will air March 20 on NBC at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  You can catch it streaming the next day on Peacock.

The show was Adele’s first in London since 2017, and the star-studded audience included Emma Thompson, Idris Elba, Emma Watson, Boy George, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Naomi Campbell, Graham Norton, Killing Eve star Jodie Comer, Doctor Who/Broadchurch star David Tennant and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In addition to performing songs from her latest album, 30, Adele also performed some of her past hits, answered questions posed by celebrities and, in a tearful moment, was reunited with her old English teacher.

This special follows Adele’s CBS concert special last year, which also featured a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.

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You’ve probably heard about “the metaverse” — a virtual reality online environment in which you can interact with things almost as if they were real.  And one of those things you can interact with is Harry Connick Jr., who will teach you how to play the piano.

The singer, songwriter and actor has launched a “socially-immersive experience” called The Neutral Ground, described as a metaverse “community” where people can “connect, engage and interact around some of [Harry’s] passions, including music, food, and family.”

The first experience in The Neutral Ground is called Piano Party, and it’s an online course designed for all ages and abilities.  Season one of Piano Party launches March 29, and features nine on-demand lessons, two live interactive sessions with Harry, and access to “an exclusive, private learning community.”  Those who sign up can get priority access to The Neutral Ground.  The experience costs $70, which is a lot cheaper than having a piano teacher come to your house every week.

You can sign up directly for Piano Party, and also for The Neutral Ground in general, via Harry’s website.

“The Neutral Ground is a place for all of us to hang out and have a good time. Music, food, shows, hangouts… it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Harry says in a statement. “I can’t wait to go on this adventure with everyone. There’s still a lot to figure out in this new world, and I’m excited about all of the possibilities.”

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Stevie Wonder and Elton John released a music video on Thursday for their 2021 collaboration, “Finish Line.”

Taken from Elton John’s album The Lockdown Sessions, the heartwarming visual features a montage of video footage and images through the decades depicting pivotal moments of life, including the pandemic. Images of the two musicians, both of the present and the past, are sprinkled throughout the video, showcasing the long-running friendship and companionship they share. 

The new video marks the latest for the legendary duo and arrives over 35 years since featured together on the hit charity song, “That’s What Friends Are For.”

Alicia Keys says she remembers the moment she realized her single, “Girl on Fire,” would be more than just a hit song.

“I called my husband (Swizz Beatz) and I said, ‘Babe, I think something special is happening right now,'” she said in an interview with USA Today.   

In honor of the track’s 10-year anniversary, the 15-time Grammy-winning musician released the Girl on Fire graphic novel. The book’s purpose is to continue the story first presented in the 2012 song. Keys said, “You definitely get to imagine who this girl on fire is.”

Congratulations are in order for grown-ish star Yara Shahidi, who took to her Instagram to post the exciting new that she recently submitted her undergraduate degree thesis.

The actress has been studying at Harvard University and after completing the 136 pages of writing, she commemorated the event by flexing her stats in the middle of a snowy street.

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After releasing a new remix of her 1998 hit “Frozen,” created with producer Sickick and Nigerian singer Fireboy DML, Madonna has now dropped a video for the track.

The clip incorporates elements of Madonna’s original video for “Frozen” — specifically, shots of a huge black dog and an effect that showed Madonna hitting the ground and turning into a flock of black birds.  The rest of the track has her performing in a black leather bustier, gloves and boots, plus fishnet stockings, against a flashing, multi-colored background.

Fireboy DML, with whom Ed Sheeran collaborates on the current single “Peru,” shows up and sings alone, and then to Madonna; they stand together and then appear to go their separate ways.

As previously reported, this version of “Frozen” was created by Sickick and blew up on TikTok in 2021, where it soundtracked more than 100,000 different videos. Fireboy jumped on the track and added his own verse.

2022 marks the 40th anniversary of Madonna’s recording debut: Her first single, “Everybody,” came out in October of 1982.  A partnership deal she signed last year with Warner Music Group will include a “career-spanning multi-year series of releases that will revisit her whole catalog.”

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Imagine Dragons will be performing at the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival, taking place April 1-3 in New Orleans alongside the Final Four of the men’s college basketball tournament.

Dan Reynolds and company will take the stage on April 3 as part of the event’s Capital One JamFest. The bill also includes Grouplove, rapper Macklemore, and New Orleans jazz outfit Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.

Admittance is free, though you do need to register for tickets ahead of time. Registration opens March 23 at 10 a.m. ET, though Capital One cardholders can sign up beginning March 21 at 10 a.m. ET.

For more info, visit NCAA.com.

Imagine Dragons is currently on tour in support of the band’s 2021 album Mercury — Act 1. The outing continues Saturday in Los Angeles.

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ACM New Male Artist of the Year Parker McCollum is getting married later this month, and he recently told People that he won’t be performing at his wedding — though if he could book his dream wedding singer, it’d be either George Strait or John Mayer.

It’s unknown whether George or John will be available for Parker’s nuptials, but there are plenty of country stars who do have a background in wedding gigs. For example, Brett Eldredge used to be a wedding DJ, and sometimes he’d sing, according to a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly. As one of country music’s most legendary crooners, Brett undoubtedly stole the show as a wedding emcee.

Jake Owen is a wedding singer of sorts, too: He sang his song, “Made for You,” at Carly Pearce’s wedding to fellow artist Michael Ray. That marriage didn’t last, but Jake’s love ballad is still a romantic choice for any couple’s first dance song — and if you can get the singer himself to boot, even better.

But perhaps the most romantic instance of a country star singing at a wedding was Blake Shelton’s performance of “We Can Reach the Stars,” which he sang as his wedding vows to Gwen Stefani. Held at Blake’s Oklahoma ranch at a chapel built just for the occasion, Blake and Gwen’s nuptials were romantic down to the last detail, and Blake’s sweet song for Gwen was the cherry on top.

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Kanye West has reportedly added a new member to his team by hiring Hollywood Unlocked host Jason Lee as his social media manager. 

According to the U.K. tabloid The Sun, the entertainment blogger “is working for him in the role of a media manager, helping broker deals and he is in charge with his public image.”

The news comes a little over a week after Facebook posted Kanye’s “Controlling Our Narrative: The Future Brunch” livestream event, which Lee hosted.

Ye’s decision to employ Lee may come as a surprise to some after Lee published false news back in February, reporting that Queen Elizabeth II had died. An updated version of the original story, now formatted as a listicle, was later published to the Hollywood Unlocked site. Lee also apologized. 

“From the outside it seems totally strange to take him on, especially after what happened with the Queen,” a source told The Sun about Kanye’s alleged decision. “But he wants to be surrounded by people who know how the media game works and reckons he shares a vision with Jason.”

The news also comes amidst the many recent social media posts Ye has shared regarding his very public divorce from Kim Kardashian.

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Just call him Cupid: Tim McGraw helped out a fan this week by providing her with tickets to his show so she could surprise her husband on their anniversary.

“I have done EVERYTHING I could to get tickets to your show this weekend,” the fan tweeted. “I wanted it to be a surprise for my hubby for our 20th wedding anniversary 2/22/22. But it’s sold out. I told him I had a surprise for him. The surprise now is no concert.”

So the country star came to the rescue: “Happy anniversary! Tickets are on me. Enjoy,” Tim replied.

If anyone knows about the importance of celebrating anniversaries, it’s Tim. He and his fellow superstar wife Faith Hill celebrated 25 years of marriage last fall.

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Kid Rock has announced the details of his next album, Bad Reputation.

The record is set to premiere digitally on March 21, followed by a physical release on April 6. Among the songs on the 18-track album are the “snowflake”- and “millennial”-bashing Monster Truck collaboration “Don’t Tell Me How to Live” and the “Let’s Go Brandon”-cheering “We the People,” both of which were previously released as digital singles.

Bad Reputation is the follow-up to 2017’s Sweet Southern Sugar.

Rock will be supporting the new record on his Bad Reputation tour, which kicks off in April and features openers Foreigner, Grand Funk Railroad and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening on select dates. The “Bawitdaba” singer has previously said that he’ll refuse to play any venue that requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend.

Here’s the Bad Reputation track list:

“Don’t Tell Me How to Live” — featuring Monster Truck
“We the People”
“My Kind of Country”
“Bad Reputation”
“Never Quit”
“Shakedown” — featuring Robert James
“Rockin'”
“The Last Dance”
“See You Again”
“Still Somethin'”
“She’s Your Baby (Now Rock Her)”
“Never Enough”
“Everything to Me”
“Cold Beer”
“Ala-F***in’-Bama”
“Am What I Am”
“The Nashville I Know”
“Fifty”

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