Music

Ace Frehley, the founding guitarist for the rock band KISS, has died at age 74.

His death was confirmed in a statement from his family.

“We are completely devastated and heartbroken,” the statement read. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others.”

The statement went on to say, “The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”

Frehley, whose costumed stage persona with the band was The Spaceman, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with KISS in 2014.

The news comes just weeks after Frehley canceled the remainder of his 2025 tour dates “due to some ongoing medical issues.”

Frehley, born Paul Daniel Frehley, co-founded KISS with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss in New York City in 1973. They released their self-titled debut in 1974 and began to gain a following thanks to their live shows, which included face paint, wild stage outfits and plenty of pyrotechnics.

Their breakthrough came after the release of 1975’s Alive!, a double live album that featured live recordings from their first three records. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard chart and sold over 9 million copies worldwide.

KISS went on to become one of the bestselling bands of all time.

Frehley left the group in 1982 but rejoined them in 1996. He then left again in 2002, after KISS’ first farewell tour.

Over the years he had a contentious relationship with his former bandmates. He did not participate in KISS’ final End of the Road world tour, which wrapped in New York in 2023, and claimed that he had not been invited to take part. Simmons contended Frehley was always welcome to join them.

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“Soulaan” refers to “the distinct culture, history, and knowledge of Black Americans before and after colonization in America,” as reported by soulaan.com. It’s a term Monaleo connected with, so much so she made it part of her latest song.

“That spoke to me, because my ancestors were slaves. It felt like a really beautiful way to display Black American pride and continue honoring the people [who] came before me,” she says in an interview with Billboard, adding she knew shortly after learning the term that she “wanted to find a way to incorporate that message into my music.”

“I grew up with my grandmother and my mother, Southern Black American women, so the culture and the roots run really deep,” she explains. “It doesn’t sound like I’m preaching, but I’m just getting my generation to understand the importance of knowing your history.”

Monaleo’s message continues in the “Sexy Soulaan” video, which features the Black American Heritage Flag, alongside flags from Haiti, Angola and Congo.

“We’re all Black,” she says of her decision to include the flags. “When cops pull us over, they’re not trying to figure out if you’re from Haiti or Jamaica. … They just see you as a Black person here in America. I wanted to show some solidarity across the diaspora, and that’s why you see the flags stitched behind me.”

As for why she chose a Black American Heritage Flag instead of the American flag, she explains, “A lot of Black Americans don’t really resonate with the American flag, because we know how much blood has been shed over it. And we know that we’re not really included.”

She adds the flag was created to recognize Black Americans and give them something to “be proud of.”

“Sexy Soulaan” appears on Monaleo’s Who Did the Body project, which is set to arrive on Friday. 

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Kim Kardashian has few regrets, but one of them is doing a photoshoot for ELLE magazine featuring a 16-year-old Justin Bieber — when she was 29.

On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Kim was asked by host Alex Cooper, “What is something you probably should have gotten canceled for, but didn’t?” Kim replied, “I don’t know who approved this and I don’t know who thought that this was normal, this narrative, but I did a photo shoot with Justin Bieber, and he was 16 years old and I don’t know how old I was.”

“His girlfriend was there, his parents were there, I mean it was like nothing creepy at all, but I look back and I’m like, ‘Who thought that was a good idea,’ you know? You know, I must have been 30 years old?” Kim continued. 

She explained that the concept was based on the movie The Graduate, in which a recent college graduate, played by Dustin Hoffman, is seduced by a much-older married woman, played by Anne Bancroft.

“I just think that was like an odd concept and why none of us thought that that was odd at the time,” Kim concluded. “But now we look back and I’m like, ‘That would have not been the most appropriate thing.'”

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At each stop of her Radical Optimism tour, Dua Lipa has performed a cover of a song by an artist associated with the city or country where she’s performing, sometimes joined by a local artist. According to Variety, she’s done 56 such covers so far. Will they ever be officially released? Well, maybe.

In a chat with Variety, Dua says she got the idea to do the covers after she performed with country superstar Chris Stapleton at the ACM Awards in May 2024.

“It was so much fun that I proposed it to the band and to the team: ‘How fun would it be if every night we do a different song?'” she recalls. “And everyone was like, ‘Well that’s quite ambitious.'”

Dua says choosing the song is a “team effort” and learning all those songs is “nerve-wracking,” especially when she was touring in Europe and performed songs in French, German, Czech and other languages. She plans to do Spanish and Portuguese songs for the upcoming Latin American tour leg, as well.

Among the special guests who’ve joined her for some of those covers — a list that includes Green Day, Chaka Khan, Lionel Richie and Gwen Stefani — Dua says singing with Lenny Kravitz, who joined her in New York City for a rendition of his hit “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over,” was the most fun.

But when asked point-blank if she plans to release an album of the covers, Dua replies, “Um,” and then adds, in a fake foreign accent, “I cannot reveal the answer!”  

She thinks she’s started a trend, though.

“I’m sure other people are going to be doing it after this,” she predicts. “It is really fun and really rewarding but it is a lot of f****** hard work, so good luck!”

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A man accused of breaking into a car and stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music was indicted by a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, this week.

Kelvin Evans faces charges of criminal trespass and entering a vehicle with intent to commit theft, according to the Oct. 13 indictment.

A hearing planned for Thursday was canceled following the indictment.

The indictment states that Evans allegedly entered a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer, the rental property of Christopher Grant, a choreographer for Beyoncé, on July 8 “with the intent to commit theft.”

Evans allegedly broke one of the vehicle’s windows in the process, according to the indictment.

A report filed July 8 by the Atlanta Police Department states that Grant returned to his vehicle following the alleged incident and noticed the damaged window, as well as several missing items, including two suitcases and hard drives for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter Tour show in Atlanta.

“The hard drives contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list,” the incident report states.

Police said they were able to track a laptop and AirPods Max allegedly stolen from the vehicle in the alleged incident by tracing the items’ “pinging” and eventually located them.

The report states that units were sent to canvas the area and a “suspicious person stop” was conducted. Police said they later dusted the items and found “two very light” fingerprints, as well as camera footage from the area where the alleged incident took place.

Police arrested Evans on Aug. 26. He was taken into custody by Hapeville Police Department and booked into the Fulton County Jail, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

Police said the stolen items had not been recovered at that time.

ABC News has reached out to Beyoncé for comment.

No information is available regarding Evans’ legal representation at this time.

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First “Jolene” was Dolly Parton‘s romantic rival. Now Joleans is the name of her denim-centric collection with Kim Kardashian‘s company Good American.  

The first collab dropped in April, and now the second iteration is here, just in time for fall.

“Clothes can tell a story, and Dolly’s Joleans is another chapter in mine,” Dolly says. “Good American helped me take the rhinestones, denim, and flair I’ve loved for years and give them a fresh twist. Together, we wanted to capture the spirit of dressing up, having fun, and feeling fabulous.”

The new update adds 24 pieces that showcase crystal studs, belt accessories and some of the previous bestsellers in a new wash. Prices ranges from about $80 for a T-shirt to a couple hundred for jeans, a jacket or a dress.

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Rancid has released a cover of the Motörhead song “Sex & Death.”

The track is part of an upcoming compilation album called Killed By Deaf, described as a punk tribute to the “Ace of Spades” rockers.

Killed By Deaf is due out Oct. 31. It also features contributions from bands including Pennywise, Lagwagon, GBH and The Bronx.

Rancid’s most recent album is 2023’s Tomorrow Never Comes. They’ve also inspired a new movie called And Out Comes the Wolf.

Motörhead, meanwhile, has remained inactive since the 2015 death of frontman Lemmy Kilmister, though various archival pieces continue to be released.

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While some people aspire to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, it’s not one of Nas‘ goals. 

Asked when he will be hitting the Super Bowl stage, Nas tells Complex, “That’s that some super rockstar s***. Nah, I don’t want to do … I can’t say I don’t want to do the Super Bowl, but I don’t.”

“Why would I do that? Leave it to the professionals. Leave it to the pros. I’m a pro at what I do,” he continues. “It’s the biggest stage. I want to watch it. I want to watch dope halftime shows and that’s what has been happening lately so salute to all of them.”

Nas’ chat with Complex arrives amid his promo run for Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It series, which features a comic book and new album releases from some of New York’s hip-hop icons, including Slick Rick, Mobb Deep and Ghostface Killah. 

Big L is next up on the list, with a posthumous project, Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King, set to arrive on Oct. 31. The first single of the album, “u aint gotta chance,” is now available on streaming services, and it features a few bars from Nas.

“Even though Big L’s not here with us now, to get on the song with him is still pressure,” Nas shares with Rolling Stone. “He left an outstanding amount of serious rhymes. So just approaching it is like, ‘Damn, I wish we were doing this together, but it’s still an honor to do it.’”

Harlem’s Finest: Return Of The King is co-executive produced by Big L’s estate and Royce Da 5’9. It features a few freestyles and updated versions of tracks off his Return of The Devil’s Son album, which was previously taken off DSPs because of licensing issues.

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