Music

 Lil Nas X is taking a victory lap after his debut album Montero bowed in second place on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

He took to Twitter on Monday to celebrate that three of his songs have taken up residency in the BillboardHot 100’s top 10: “Industry Baby,” “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “That’s What I Want” at numbers two, nine and 10, respectively.  But he also shared a special message to the people who helped him become the man he is today — and that includes his haters.

“Let’s f****** goooooooooo!,” he tweeted out in all caps. “Thank u to my fans ily!  And to my haters, s**k my f****** d***!”  He closed the tweet with a butterfly and two red heart emojis.

Overall, 11 tracks off the Montero album are charting on the Billboard Hot 100: “Scoop” featuring Doja Cat at 42, “Dolla Sign Slime” with Megan Thee Stallion at 47, “Dead Right Now” at 72, “Tales of Dominica” at 86, “One of Me” with Elton John at 88, “Lost in the Citadel” at 90, “Sun Goes Down” at 91 and “Am I Dreaming” featuring Miley Cyrus at 97.

He responded to that by tweeting, “wow i just became the first one hit wonder of all time to have 11 songs on billboard all at once.”

Lil Nas X is also shaking up two other charts: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs.  “Industry Baby” dominates both lists at number one.

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Don’t believe everything you see when it comes to the new New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears, because according to the pop star herself, it’s “not true.”

On Monday, Britney seemingly addressed that particular documentary in a lengthy Instagram post accompanied by a video of herself dressing in all white and posing for the camera. 

“It’s really crazy guys … I watched a little bit of the last documentary and I hate to inform you but a lot of what you heard is not true !!!,” the caption began, according to Page Six. 

However, later that evening it appears the “Toxic” singer edited the caption, removing the claim that it’s not true and replacing it with, “I must say I scratched my head a couple of times !!!”

In both versions, the 39-year-old went on to express her disapproval of the project and the images selected, sarcastically adding, “wow they used the most beautiful footage of me in the world.”

Britney’s post comes after her lawyer, Matthew Rosengart, filed a document asserting that information in a new documentary is further evidence that Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, be immediately removed as her conservator.

The new FX/Hulu/New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears discusses the claim that Mr. Spears and a security firm he hired secretly bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her conversations with her boyfriend, her kids and her former lawyer, and also monitored her phone, email and text conversations.

In a statement to ABC News, Rosengart says that the alleged monitoring is a “striking example of the deprivation of [Britney’s] civil liberties,” and adds that if her bedroom was indeed bugged, it “corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony.”

“Mr. Spears,” says Rosengart, “has crossed unfathomable lines.”

 

 

 

 

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Don’t believe everything you see when it comes to the new FX/Hulu/New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears, because according to the pop star herself, it’s “not true.”

On Monday, Britney seemingly addressed that particular documentary in a lengthy Instagram post accompanied by a video of herself dressing in all white and posing for the camera. 

“It’s really crazy guys … I watched a little bit of the last documentary and I hate to inform you but a lot of what you heard is not true !!!,” the caption began, according to Page Six. 

However, later that evening, Page Six reports that Britney seemingly edited the caption, removing the “not true” claim and replacing it with, “I must say I scratched my head a couple of times !!!”

Britney added, “I really try to disassociate myself from the drama…that’s the past !!!”  She also sarcastically criticized the way she was portrayed, writing, “can the dialogue get any classier?” and “wow they used the most beautiful footage of me in the world.”

Controlling Britney Spears presents the claim that Britney’s father Jamie Spears and a security firm he hired secretly bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her conversations with her boyfriend, her kids and her former lawyer, and also monitored her phone, email and text conversations.

In a statement to ABC News, Britney’s lawyer Matthew Rosengart said that the alleged monitoring is a “striking example of the deprivation of [Britney’s] civil liberties,” and added, “Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines.” 

Rosengart also filed a new legal document explaining that the documentary is further evidence that Mr. Spears should immediately be removed as Britney’s conservator.

 

 

 

 

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Best-selling author Trisha Yearwood releases her fourth cookbook today, complete with a foreword by her superstar husband, Garth Brooks.

The first time Trisha cooked for Garth, she confesses she made a Fettuccine Alfredo so heavy he needed a nap immediately afterwards. But the first time Garth cooked for her, it was pretty much love at first bite. 

“I went to visit him in Oklahoma, and he asked me if I wanted pizza. I don’t think I’ve ever told this story,” Trisha reveals. “And I said, ‘Yeah, that’d be great.”

“And so he goes into the kitchen and he comes back with — first of all, they were the two for five dollar pizzas, which is fine. He still likes those,” she laughs. “He does. He came back with a pizza for him and a pizza for me. And I’m like, ‘I’m probably just gonna marry him. This is probably gonna happen…'”

“I did not eat my whole pizza, but he did eat his whole pizza, and some of my pizza,” she adds. “It was just really sweet.”

Since then, Trisha’s nicknamed her husband Gartha Stewart, he’s so good in the kitchen.

“He makes a hot pasta salad that I love,” she tells ABC Audio. “He’s got kind of a famous breakfast bowl in the second book that he makes a lot. He just made that for my birthday a couple weeks ago.”

“You know, he’ll get in there and do whatever you need,” she says. “If you want him to cook and take it over, he’ll take it over.”  

Trisha’s Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends & Family is available now and includes 125 recipes from the host of Food Network’s Trisha’s Southern Kitchen and her sister, Beth Yearwood Bernard.

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The Pretty Reckless‘ new album Death by Rock and Roll features guest appearances by Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello. Aside from being a part of some of the biggest rock bands of the last 30 years, Taylor Momsen wanted to work with those artists specifically for an important reason: nobody else sounds like them.

“Part of the reason I love rock n’ roll so much is that you can really hear the person behind the note,” Momsen tells ABC Audio. “Especially in today’s modern age of music, there’s a lot of music that is not rooted in the human performance or the human element of music, I guess.”

Momsen adds that Thayil, Cameron and Morello are all artists who “really have an identity behind what they do.”

“Whether they’re playing drums or guitar or bass or whatever it is, they play it with such an intent that it sounds like a voice, it sounds like a human voice,” she says. “You can tell immediately who that person is because they’re singing with their instrument in a way that I feel like a lot of people don’t do nowadays.”

Thayil and Cameron are featured on the song “Only Love Can Save Me Now,” while Morello adds his guitar to the track “And So It Went.” Clearly, Momsen must be on to something with the whole “it matters who’s playing on the song” thing, since both singles hit number one on Billboard‘s Maintream Rock Airplay chart.

“Matt and Kim and Tom, obviously, are just three of the most iconic people who’ve done that throughout their career,” Momsen says. “I’m so fortunate to have worked with them on this.”

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Forty years ago today, Olivia Newton-John released the song that made her a pop superstar: “Physical.” Olivia was given “Physical” after Tina Turner rejected it, and it became her all-time biggest hit, no doubt in part due to the lyrics, which were considered super-provocative for the time. Just last year, songs by two pop superstars, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus, offered nods to “Physical” lyrically and melodically — something which amazed Olivia.

“Who would have thought that all these years later this song was still popular?” she told ABC Audio of the 10-week number-one hit. “I think it struck the chord of getting fit at that time.”

She laughed, “It was the perfect opportunity and combined a lot of messages, but that was one of them! And yeah, I can’t believe it. Forty years on. I mean, Grease and ‘Physical,’ [it’s] amazing that these things are still alive and popular.”

“Physical” was actually considered so racy that it was banned in Utah, which Olivia said she’s “very proud” of now.  “Even though at the time, I was horrified, now, it’s like a good thing!” she noted, laughing.

And boy, was she ever horrified: She told ABC Audio, “I knew it was a fun song, but I didn’t really focus in on how people were going to take it until I was banned. And then I called my manager and I said, ‘We got to pull it off the radio…I think I’ve gone too far!’ And he said, ‘It’s too late, love. It’s climbing up the charts!”

But now, Olivia noted, “‘Let’s get physical/ Let me hear your body talk’…compared to what’s on the radio now, it’s like a lullaby!”

A new deluxe edition of Olivia’s 1981 Physical album is now available for pre-order.

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Olivia Rodrigo is taking her sudden rise to fame “one step at a time.”

The “good 4 u” singer discusses her newfound celebrity in a new cover story with Vogue Singapore.

“It can be really tough on your mental health…” she says. “I’m grateful for the people who like me for me, and keep me separated from all the noise and tabloids or what people are saying about me on social media. That’s always been a top priority.”

“It’s funny how recognition changes everything and also changes nothing in your life,” the 18-year-old adds. “The problems I was having a year ago are still the problems I’m having now, and things that brought me joy a year ago are still the things that bring me joy now. It’s just another aspect of life that you need to learn how to deal with, but it doesn’t change who you are as a person.”

Olivia says one of the most surprising things about fame is finding out who was “genuinely supportive” of her career and who wasn’t, but she leans on her “amazing friends and family” to keep her grounded.  That includes her parents.

“They always say, ‘We are so proud of you and all these achievements are incredible, but we would be equally proud of you if you were in school in your hometown,'” she says. “They’re the best and that’s a really important attitude to have.”

 

 

 

 

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Founding Dire Straits member David Knopfler and former Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh are among the many respected musicians who are contributing to a new instrumental project called Held by Trees.

The collective, led by composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist David Joseph, will release a new single called “Mysterium” on November 12, and is planning to issue its self-titled debut album in the spring of 2022.

Joseph describes Held by Trees’ music as somewhere between David Gilmour-era Pink Floyd and the later, prog-rock-influenced work of British new wave band Talk Talk.

The latter is no surprise, considering the fact that several musicians who worked with Talk Talk — and on the solo recordings by that group’s late frontman Mark Hollis — are featured on “Mysterium.”  They include McIntosh, drummer/percussionist Martin Ditcham and keyboardist Laurence Pendrous.

The track also includes the talents of veteran blues singer/songwriter Eric Bibb.

You can pre-order “Mysterium” and the Held by Trees album now.

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Will Smith is going on an adventure of a lifetime in the new National Geographic series Welcome to Earth.

As seen in the first trailer for the upcoming six-part docuseries, Welcome to Earth follows Smith as he travels around the world and explores Earth’s greatest wonders. The actor shared the stunning visuals on Instagram on Monday with the caption, “When @natgeo calls you with a crazy idea, you JUST SAY YES!! Been working on this one for a few years.” Welcome to Earth hits Disney+ in December.

In other news, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey writer-director David E. Talbert been tapped to develop Madelyn Square Gardens, a musical series for Disney Branded Television. The series will follow Madelyn, a young woman named who moves from Mississippi to New York with hopes that her Broadway dreams will come true. However, she quickly learns that she will need more than “raw talent to beat out the competition at her elite performing arts school.” Madelyn Square Gardens marks the first development project announced since Ayo Davis was promoted to president of Disney Branded Television.

Finally, ICYMI, the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, the nonprofit group that brings together diverse artists to help dismantle systemic racism, was presented with a special Tony Award on Sunday night. Zhailon Levingston, who is BAC’s Director of Industry Initiatives and the director of the play Chicken & Biscuits, tells The Hollywood Reporter that being recognized helps to challenge Broadway to “be a community” for all people.

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