Music

Billie Eilish has snagged a huge honor: She’ll be headlining the U.K.’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival in 2022.

Not only that, but as the announcement notes, this will be Billie’s first U.K. festival headlining performance, and she’ll also be the “youngest ever solo headliner” at the long-running event, as well as the first female headliner since Adele in 2016.  Billie, who turns 20 in December, will take the stage June 24, 2022 to close the festival.

In other Billie Eilish festival news, she appeared at the Austin City Limits festival in Texas over the weekend, where she told fans that she almost canceled her performance due to Texas’ restrictive abortion laws.

In fan-shot video at her Saturday performance, Billie can be heard saying, “When they made that s**t a law, I almost didn’t want to do this show because I wanted to punish this f***ing place for allowing that to happen here.”

“But then I remembered that it’s you guys that are the f***ing victims, and you deserve everything in the world. And we need to tell them to shut the f*** up,” she continued. She then raised her middle finger and invited the crowd to do the same and join her in shouting, “My body, my f***ing choice!”

 

 

 

 

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Apparently, those rumors about Harry Styles‘ number-one hit “Watermelon Sugar” having an explicit meaning were true all along.

Harry, who’s currently on the U.S. leg of his Love on Tour trek, introduced his 2020 hit at his Saturday night show at Nashville, TN’s Bridgestone Arena by telling the audience what “this song is about.”

“It doesn’t really matter what it’s about,” Harry told the screaming crowd, according to a video taken by YouTuber Real_Vlogging_Mama, “It’s about… the sweetness of life.”

However, after leading the crowd into a brief singalong of the first verse, Harry did an about-face and confessed, “It’s also about the female orgasm, but that’s totally different, it’s not really relevant.”

The crowd erupted in cheers and laughter following the admission, which resulted in the thousands of fans loudly singing along with Harry when he resumed performing.

Prior to his Saturday night show, the former One Direction member had remained coy about the true meaning behind his hit. In fact, he previously said the title was inspired by a 1968 novel called In Watermelon Sugar, which has also been referenced in a number of other books and songs.

Also, when speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in March 2020, where he was confronted directly about the song’s NSFW meaning, Styles innocently retorted, “Is that what it’s about?” before agreeing it was best to leave it open to interpretation.

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A special guest moved into “Paradise City” for a Guns N’ Roses concert in Hollywood, Florida, Saturday night.

Wolfgang Van Halen joined Axl Rose and company on stage for a joint performance of the Appetite for Destruction classic, playing guitar and singing background vocals alongside Slash and Duff McKagan. The son of the late Eddie Van Halen has been on the road opening for GN’R with his own solo band, Mammoth WVH.

“Wolfgang Van Halen — you know how cool that is to say that?” Rose said in introducing Wolf to the stage. “We’re talking legacy.”

You can watch fan-shot footage of the collaboration streaming now on YouTube.

Guns N’ Roses’ U.S. tour concluded Sunday with a second show in Hollywood, Florida. They head down to Mexico for a trio of shows later this week.

Wolf, meanwhile, is set to launch his own Mammoth headlining tour next week.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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Things are about to get “Outrageous” for Jimmie Allen tonight on Dancing with the Stars. 

That’s the song he and partner Emma Slater will be doing the Salsa to during the show’s Britney Night, in a tip of the hat to pop star Britney Spears.

And if the typically jacked Jimmie is looking a little thinner to you — well, he admits that’s because he’s working so hard.

“My partner Emma’s been kicking my butt, bro!” he tells ABC Audio. “I’ve trimmed down, I went from 221 to 214.”

“I’m trying to get back, I’m trying to get back to like 250!” he jokes.

Meanwhile, the “Freedom Was a Highway” hitmaker’s still balancing family life and touring with Brad Paisley.

“It’s tough! I tell you, that man,” he admits. “You know, trying to do this show while touring, you know, and trying to be a husband and a father at the same time. It’s pretty intense, but I love it.”

Jimmie survived the first elimination, while improving on his standing from the previous week. So if he can just hold on, he promises there’s plenty ahead worth watching.

“If I don’t get voted off the show, which I hope not, so I need country music to hold me down!” he proclaims. “I think we got, you know, Disney week, you know, one week, of course, they always do that, and they have some sort of celebrity week.”

“So I’m looking forward just, you know, every week getting better and, you know, learning new stuff, trying new stuff,” he says.

Tune in to see how Jimmie fares tonight, as the new episode of Dancing with the Stars starts at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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David Lee Roth is retiring.

The Van Halen frontman dropped the bombshell news during a phone interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal published Friday.

“I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth said. “This is the first, and only, official announcement.”

Roth said his recently announced five-show solo Las Vegas residency at the House of Blues — taking place on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and January 5, 7 and 8 — will be his final concerts.

“I’m not going to explain the statement,” Diamond Dave declared. “The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.”

During the conversation, Roth also revealed that he talks frequently with Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, and that his longtime band mate was aware of his plans to retire.

“Al and I have been talking, and I can’t speak for him just yet, but he knows what I am about to say,” Roth said, adding, “We speak to each other constantly, two or three times a day. We laugh like pirates.”

He also suggested that the 2020 death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen was a factor in his decision.

“[I’ve been thinking about] the departure of my beloved classmate recently,” said Dave, noting, “I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter.”

The 66-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also admitted that he thought he might have been the first Van Halen member to pass away.

Roth finished the interview by saying, “I’ve given you all I’ve got to give. It’s been an amazing, great run, no regrets, nothing to say about anybody. I’ll miss you all. Stay frosty.”

Tickets for the Vegas concerts are on sale now at HouseofBlues.com and Ticketmaster.com.

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The White Stripes‘ 2001 performance at the Detroit Institute of Arts museum is being released as a live album and concert film.

Live at the Detroit Institute of Arts will be available as a two-LP and DVD set as part of the latest installment in the Third Man Records Vault subscription service. The package also includes previously unseen photos from the performance, as well as a a custom gatefold jacket.

For a band known for playing unique venues, this particular White Stripes performance may have taken the cake. The show smashed the museum’s single-day attendance record, and found the overflowing crowd getting up close and personal with the artwork in a way for which the staff was not prepared. As one museum executive said of the show, “That was the best thing we’ve ever done. It was also the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

Luckily, as a press release says, “The only noticeable damage done on that evening was the ringing of eardrums.”

To obtain Live at the Detroit Institute of Arts for yourself, you need to sign up for the Third Man Vault before October 31. You can subscribe now via ThirdManStore.com.

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ABC is giving viewers at taste of 90s hip-hop with the official music video for “Nasty Girl,” an original song from the upcoming drama series, Queens.

Directed by Queens executive producer Tim Story, the new video features series stars Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez performing the catchy tune in signature 90s hip-hop style, while looking glamorous on a yacht as they dance around their hunky back-up dancers.

“As artists who came up in the ’90s, “Nasty Girl” is our love letter to the groundbreaking music and hip-hop culture of the era,” said the four women in joint statement. “To still be in the game today and supporting each other along the way is what our show Queens is all about.”

As previously reported, Brandy, Eve, Naturi Naughton, and Nadine Velazquez star in Queens as the original members of a popular 90s rap group who reunite in hopes of recapturing their hip-hop crowns. New music from the series will be released every episode by Def Jam Recordings. Meanwhile, Swizz Beatz will serve as the executive music producer for all of the original music in the series. 

Queens premieres October 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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