A man charged in the killing of Pop Smoke pleaded guilty Thursday, the LA Times reports. 

The 20-year-old defendant, who was 17 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty in juvenile court in Inglewood, California to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery, admitting that in February 2020 he entered a Hollywood Hills mansion with the intention to rob the “Dior” rapper.

Judge J. Christopher Smith sentenced the man to four years and two months in a juvenile facility. The judge declined to apply the two years and eight months he already spent in jail towards the sentence. 

The defendant is the first to be sentenced for Pop Smoke’s death. Three others are charged — Corey Walker, who was 19 at the time of the homicide, as well as two juvenile defendants who were 15 and 17 at the time. A court order was issued preventing the media from identifying the juveniles. 

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The Jonas Brothers new single “Waffle House” has arrived!

After weeks of teasing, the trio released the new song, which is named after the popular food chain of the same name, on Friday. It boasts a groovy, upbeat vibe as the Bros harmonize about getting through tough times together. 

“No, don’t get stressed, it’s gon’ get figured out / Oh, deep conversations at thе Waffle House,” they sing in the chorus with a sound reminiscent of a gospel choir. 

Over on Twitter, the JoBros shared what appeared to be a snippet of the music video and wrote, “Waffle House is finally yours… There are few things more fulfilling as artists than seeing your fans live with your music and our hope is that this song not only helps get you through challenging times, but also brings you together with the ones you love most.”

“Waffle House” comes two weeks after the Jo Bros announced the new single on social media and shared the inspiration behind the song. 

“Growing up, we would go to Waffle House after shows, and it became our sanctuary,” they began. “It was the place we dreamt up ideas, the place where we worked through our problems together, and the place where we finally realized we could find our way through anything as long as we came together.”

“‘Waffle House’ was born from a simple but powerful idea: When you sit down with the people that matter most, anything is possible,” the post continued. “This song isn’t about a restaurant, it’s about coming together with the people you love and making your dreams come true.”

The record is the second single from the Jonas Brothers’ upcoming sixth studio effort, The Album, due out May 12. 

“Waffle House” is available to stream now.

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Linkin Park‘s Meteora becomes ever more meteoric with its 20th anniversary reissue.

The newly released package, out now, includes a whole host of bonus material from the era of the original 2003 album, such as demos, B-sides and live tracks, some of which have never before been released.

“This whole thing has been … almost like watching an old slideshow,” LP’s Mike Shinoda tells ABC Audio.

Among the unearthed material is the song “Lost,” featuring lead vocals by the late Chester Bennington, which is the #1 single on both Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay and Alternative Airplay charts. While “Lost” was essentially already fully formed when LP dug it out for the Meteora reissue, other such unreleased songs, like “Fighting Myself,” required some extra effort.

“‘Lost,’ for example, I remember it being the way it is,” Shinoda explains. “When I thought of it, it was everything I remembered.”

“‘Fighting Myself,’ I remembered that being completely half-baked,” he continues. “I remembered the track being awesome, the verses, maybe they were there, but there was nothing else on the song.”

That was until management uncovered a version of the song that also included a chorus.

“I was, like, ‘What is this? That I do not remember,'” Shinoda shares. “So we dug in and got the stems to that one, and sure enough, it was complete.”

Linkin Park will be holding an online Q&A session about the Meteora reissue Monday, April 10, at 11 a.m. PT.

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Sam Smith is still looking for a partner, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have love in their life. In fact, Sam is very much in love…with his dog, Velma.

“She taught me how to love,” Smith tells ET Canada. “I really feel like I don’t think I loved anyone before Velma.”

When it comes to their actual love life, Sam has had some trouble going on dating apps, noting, that they’ve been “chucked off” both Tinder and Hinge. Sam explained that because they didn’t verify their profile, Hinge “thought I wasn’t me.”

If Sam ever does go back on, though, they say, “I’d just be silly,” explaining that their profile would include things like “Loves Velma. Loves McDonald’s.” 

In the meantime, Sam’s Gloria The Tour kicks off April 12 in Sheffield, England, and they’ve been in the gym getting ready for it. Apparently, however, they’re not working out too hard. When asked what they’ve been doing in the gym, Sam jokingly replied, “Moaning, hating every second, doing the bare minimum, looking in the mirror, dancing.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sam Smith is still looking for a partner, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have love in their life. In fact, Sam is very much in love…with his dog, Velma.

“She taught me how to love,” Smith tells ET Canada. “I really feel like I don’t think I loved anyone before Velma.”

When it comes to their actual love life, Sam has had some trouble going on dating apps, noting, that they’ve been “chucked off” both Tinder and Hinge. Sam explained that because they didn’t verify their profile, Hinge “thought I wasn’t me.” But if Sam ever does go back on, they say, “I’d just be silly,” explaining that their profile would include things like “Loves Velma. Loves McDonald’s.” 

In the meantime, Sam’s Gloria The Tour kicks off April 12 in Sheffield, England, and they’ve been in the gym getting ready for it. Apparently, however, they’re not working out too hard. When asked what they’ve been doing in the gym, Sam jokingly replied, “moaning, hating every second, doing the bare minimum, looking in the mirror, dancing.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ellie Goulding‘s new album Higher Than Heaven is out today and it’s nothing but dance tunes. That’s because when Ellie and her collaborators made it, they sick of the U.K.’s COVID lockdown and only wanted music about escapism and joy.

“It felt like a collective decision,” Ellie tells ABC Audio. “Usually I’ll come in and say, ‘Oh, I want to write something uptempo. I want to write something slow. I’m a feeling a bit weird today, I want to write this.’ But it was just like unanimous…we just wanted to make music to to make people happy.”

Not only that, but all those dance tunes are about being passionately in love. Ellie says in order to get inside those songs, she had to adopt a different persona, like playing a character in a movie.

“I’m playing someone that believes that love for somebody else can save you and you’ll find happiness in someone else,” she explains. “Now, I’m at a certain point in my life where I’m realizing that it was in me all along, and I was constantly searching for it in someone else.”

While Higher than Heaven is designed to make you hit the club, Ellie says during lockdown, she was forced to have a dance party at home.

“I put a couple of songs in my headphones and just danced by myself in the kitchen,” she recalls. “And it’s really empowering. Like, I know dancing is supposed to be with other people, but to dance by yourself like that, it does feel weirdly powerful.”

“I think I really took it for granted, you know, moving and dancing…I think all that stuff, I really missed in lockdown,” she says. “And so I feel like this really is an album to just, like, lose yourself in.”

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Future‘s FreeWishes Foundation will be celebrating Easter with members of the Atlanta community. On Saturday, April 8, they’ll host their annual Easter festival and egg hunt complete with games, food, face painting and a special appearance from the Easter Bunny, among other things.

“Our goal with our annual community-wide event is to bring people from all walks of life together,” Future said in a statement, per The Source. “It’s a great way for everyone to have fun, celebrate and strengthen bonds within the community.”

FreeWishes Community Engagement Director Tia Wilburn adds, “The impact that COVID had on many communities is still felt today. Many communities drifted apart and are still trying to return to normalcy. FreeWishes will continue to create experiences that allow the community to connect and build healthy relationships with each other.”

She continues, “After a very successful event last year, our foundation wanted to continue serving the community for Easter. This event is another way to tackle the health and wellness disparities plaguing our community. So much can be resolved by us coming together and doing activities. Kids need activities; as a community, we must step up. We service the community all year round with our various initiatives, but holidays have always been special for us.”

FreeWishes Foundation’s Easter event, held in partnership with Restaurateur, The B.A.N.K Foundation (Blessings All Neighborhood Kids) and Pawkids, will take place at Butler Park starting at 1 p.m. Children are instructed to bring their own basket.

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