Last week, both Ed Sheeran and his pal Elton John told the media that Elton had criticized Ed’s utter lack of fashion sense, and helped hook him up with some decent threads. Well, Ed’s come up with an outfit that Elton can’t possibly criticize — because it’s one of his signature looks.
On Instagram, Ed posted a photo of himself dressed like mid-’70s Elton John, complete with huge pink crystal-studded glasses, sequined trousers, a fringed silver leather jacket, sparkly black-and-gold shoes, and a huge feathered collar.
“My brand new single Shivers is out friday,” Ed captioned the pic. “I glammed up for the occasion.”
In a second photo, Ed is wearing a suit and sitting on a colorful couch, looking utterly dejected. Behind him is a parrot sitting on a branch. The caption on that pic reads, “The moment you realize your last single has been number one for 10 weeks and there’s now a lot of pressure on the next one not to flop.”
The photo appears to be a still from the “Shivers” video, as Ed goes on to note, “Shivers out friday, presave it, I rented a parrot for the video, don’t let that be a waste.”
“Bad Habits,” the first single from Ed’s upcoming album, = (Equals), has topped the charts for 10 weeks in his native U.K.
Today would have been the 32nd birthday of Tim Bergling, the late superstar DJ and producer known to millions of fans as Avicii. The Swedish artist is celebrated in today’s Google Doodle — the image that you see on the Google home page with the search bar.
The Google Doodle features a 90-second animated video showing scenes of Avicii’s life, soundtracked to his worldwide hit with Aloe Blacc, “Wake Me Up.”
The Google Doodle, which can be seen in more than 46 countries, was created by artist Alyssa Winans and coincides with National Suicide Prevention Week. Avicii died by suicide in 2018 after struggling with mental health issues.
After his death, Avicii’s parents started the Tim Bergling Foundation, which works to remove the stigma attached to suicide and promote mental health awareness. In a statement, Avicii’s father Klas says, “The Doodle is fantastic, my family and I feel honored and Tim would have been very proud and love it.”
He adds, “It is a friendly and warm story of a young man fulfilling his dream to be a DJ and at the same time telling us that our journey in life is not always easy despite fame and fortune.”
Aloe Blacc re-posted the video and wrote on Instagram, “Wow! For @avicii birthday he is honored with a Google Doodle. That’s a pretty big deal. Head to Google.com and check it out. Congrats, Tim!“
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.
Drake has a brand-new seasonal gig with sports giant ESPN. Fresh off the success of his new album, Certified Lover Boy, the rapper will now work closely with the sports network throughout the NFL season.
Variety reports that Drizzy will help curate the playlist fans will hear during certain Monday Night Football games, selecting music that “encapsulates both the energy and mood” of the stadium. He will chose music from his catalogue as well as songs from artists he admires or that have influenced his craft.
Drake’s picks will play during promo spots, pre-game shows and live telecasts, with his first batch slated to fire this week.
ESPN’s vice president of sports marketing, Emeka Ofodile, said in a statement, “Now we are here…the kickoff of the football season. And who better to curate music for Monday Night Football than Drake, who sits firmly at the intersection of music and sports…The music curator role has been a big hit with our fans with Diplo and DJ Khaled in previous years….and this season, we will be living inside the moment with Drake as our NFL on ESPN soundtrack.”
Drake is a major sports fan and is the official ambassador of his hometown NBA team, the Toronto Raptors.
Selena Gomez hilariously reacted to her infamous Met Gala look from three years ago, when she was a little too enthusiastic with the self-tanner.
Speaking to Vogue, the “Lose You to Love Me” singer reflected on her 2018 look, calling it “a funny story.”
The actress, who was 26 at the time, was gearing up for the Met’s 2018 theme, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” so she wanted to embody a warm, glowing vibe.
“I was getting ready and we wanted to add some color, so I put on some of this tanning lotion, and it looked really beautiful and very even,” she dished. “As the evening kept going on, it was getting a little darker and darker and I didn’t notice it.”
Gomez admits she was blissfully unaware of her color-changing skin until she arrived at her seat — which meant she had already run the press gamut, rubbed elbows with fellow celebrities and walked the red carpet.
“I’m walking, trying to look all beautiful, and I look at a photo of myself when I sit down and I’m completely orange,” the Only Murders in the Building star lamented. “I was like, ‘This is gonna be terrible because I’m gonna get eaten alive about this.'”
To avoid becoming late night fodder, Gomez decided to get in on the joke and roped in her security detail to help turn her faux pas into a meme.
“So, I had my security take a video of me because my first reaction was just to get the hell out of there,” she laughed. “And so, I’m running to my car. I’m literally just hauling a** to get to my car and then I put it online. I was saying ‘This is my reaction after seeing my Met Gala photos.'”
Lauren Alaina may now be Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, as the title of her third album suggests — but that wasn’t always the case.
In fact, she candidly admits the title track was inspired by her struggles over the last few years.
“The chorus says ‘life of the party,'” she explains, “and I’ve always been the life of the party. And the last few years have had quite a few upsets. I lost two pretty significant relationships very publicly, and lost my step dad, and then this pandemic. And they were just a lot of things that had kind of happened in the whole time.”
“I was on Dancing with the Stars, I was on tour,” she continues. “I was the girl that makes everybody smile and laugh. And I was oftentimes kind of drowning in my emotions. Everybody saw me on stage, but behind the curtain, I was struggling.”
Eventually, “On Top of the World,” would come to mean even more to Lauren.
“I wrote that song about that, and it felt really representative of the rest of the songs,” she says. “And then the title now for me is just really empowering-sounding.”
“And I’ve found so much healing and I’ve gotten myself into such a great place emotionally that that title feels really representative of how I feel now,” she adds.
Sitting Pretty on Top of the World features Lauren’s latest hit with Jon Pardi, “Getting Over Him.” September 11, she stars in the new Hallmark Channel movie Roadhouse Romance, ahead of the arrival of her new book, Getting Good at Being You, in November.
After postponing a series of U.S. concerts because founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons both tested positive for COVID-19, KISS has confirmed that it will relaunch its End of the World farewell tour with a show this Thursday, September 9, in Irvine, California.
According to a statement from the band, doctors advised that the trek was safe to resume after Stanley and Simmons quarantined for 10 days.
Meanwhile, five of the postponed shows have been rescheduled for late October at the tail end of the 2021 U.S. leg of the outing.
An August 29 concert in Atlanta has been moved to October 10; an August 26 show in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, now will take place on October 13; a September 1 performance in Clarkston, Michigan, has been moved to October 15; a September 4 gig in Tinley Park, Illinois, has been rescheduled for October 16; and a September 2 concert in Dayton, Ohio, has been rescheduled for October 17.
Two other concerts delayed because the KISS members’ COVID diagnoses, originally scheduled for August 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and September 5 in Milwaukee, will be made up sometime in 2022, as will an August 22 concert in Hartford, Connecticut — a date that was postponed because of the effects of Hurricane Henri.
Tickets that were purchased for the postponed concerts will be honored for the rescheduled dates. Additional details will be emailed to ticketholders.
Visit KISSOnline.com to check out the band’s full schedule.
Meghan Trainor‘s son, Riley, isn’t even a year old yet, but the Grammy-winning singer is already planning on expanding her family…a lot.
Speaking to E! News’ Daily Pop on Tuesday, Meghan revealed, “I’m working on my health and my fitness. I just want to focus on my body again and then get super-pregnant.”
She added, “I’m hoping for twins next time. I just want to get, like, two in one done! I want a baby girl. I’d love a baby boy, but I want Riley to have a sister.”
That’s no surprise, given Meghan’s close relationship with her brother Ryan: As previously reported, the two are hosting a new podcast called Workin’ on It that premieres September 15. Meghan’s also gearing up for the debut of her two TV shows: Top Chef Family Style, which she’s hosting, arrives on Thursday on Peacock; while Clash of the Cover Bands, which she’s judging, premieres on E! on October 13.
With that kind of schedule, you might think Meghan has bitten off more than she can chew, but she says she’s constantly surrounded by family — including Riley — and her team, which helps her cope with the pressure.
“They literally get me through every day and they help me realize how fun and awesome my jobs are at time when I feel stressed out or overwhelmed,” she explains. “I love being a working mom and just being a boss queen.”
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has premiered a new song called “Long Way.”
The track was produced by Ozzy Osbourne‘s Ordinary Man collaborator Andrew Watt, who’s also worked with artists including Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Dua Lipa.
You can download “Long Way” now via digital outlets. It will also be available as seven-inch vinyl single including another new Vedder solo tune, “The Haves.”
Along with the new song, Vedder has also announced the title of his next solo record: Earthling. The album is Vedder’s first full-length solo effort since 2011’s UkuleleSongs.
More recently, Vedder contributed new music to the film Flag Day, which premiered in August. The soundtrack also includes the debut songs from Vedder’s daughter, Olivia.
The 1996 BMW 750iL carrying slain rapper Tupac Shakur the night he was shot to death in Las Vegas 25 years ago on Tuesday is up for sale for a cool $1.7 million, according to TMZ.
The bullet holes have since been repaired and the Bimmer has been restored to its original condition, according to the gossip website.
The car is currently on display at the Celebrity Cars Las Vegas showroom — not too far from where the fatal shooting took place.
Death Row Records co-founder and CEO Suge Knight was at the wheel on September 7, 1996, when another vehicle pulled alongside them and opened fire, hitting Shakur, seated on the passenger side, multiple times with .40 caliber rounds. Knight was grazed by the bullets.
The “Hit Em Up” rapper was rushed to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he was pronounced dead six days later on the 13th.
Britney Spears‘ father, Jamie Spears, has filed to end the conservatorship of the pop star’s estate that has been in place since 2008, according to multiple sources.
Jamie Spears filed paperwork in Los Angeles Superior Court to terminate the legal agreement, which gave him control over his daughter’s financial decisions. According to the documents, the elder Spears said his daughter will not need to undergo psychological evaluation in order to terminate the conservatorship — a request Britney made in June.
“The conservatorship has helped Ms. Spears get through a major life crisis, rehabilitate and advance her career, and put her finances and her affairs in order. But recently, things have changed,” the documents state. “Ms. Spears is now outspoken in her frustration with the level of control imposed by a conservatorship, and has pleaded with this Court to ‘let her have her life back.'”
Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny still has to approve Jamie Spears’ filing.
Britney’s lawyer, Matthew Rosengart, responded to last month’s filing by saying he was “pleased” by the turn of events, but noted that he will continue his “vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years,” and accused Jamie of “reaping millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate.”
Following news of the filing, Rosengart called it “a massive legal victory” and “vindication.”
“Having exposed his misconduct and plan to hold his daughter hostage by trying to extract a multi-million dollar settlement, Mr. Spears has now effectively surrendered,” he said in a statement. “There is no settlement.”
“To the extent Mr. Spears believes he can try to avoid accountability and justice, including sitting for a sworn deposition and answering other discovery under oath, he is incorrect and our investigation into financial mismanagement and other issues will continue,” Rosengart continued.
The move comes almost a month after Jamie Spears filed documents agreeing step down as the “Toxic” singer’s conservator.
In statements to an L.A. Superior Court judge earlier this year, Britney, 39, demanded that her father be removed from her conservatorship and accused him of being “abusive.” During her bombshell testimony, she also told JudgePenny that everyone involved in the conservatorship “should be in jail.”
Jamie Spears has denied any wrongdoing. He has not overseen his daughter’s personal affairs since 2019, when Jodi Montgomery was appointed to that role by the court. He has continued to oversee his daughter’s financial affairs.
Penny had been set to rule on a petition filed by Rosengart to remove Jamie Spears as conservator on September 29.
