Month: January 2022

The Weeknd has released the official video for “Gasoline,” the second track off his most recent album, Dawn FM.  Directed by Matilda Finn, the eccentric “Gasoline” video features The Weeknd portraying his character off the cover of Dawn FM—an old version of himself.

The Weeknd just dropped Dawn FM on January 7, and is his first album since After Hours was released in March 2020.  The Weeknd’s video for “Sacrifice”– the fifth song on the record — premiered the day of Dawn FM’s release, and he hinted on Twitter that Dawn FM may be part of a new trilogy of albums, tweeting: “i wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy?” 

Dawn FM is also the musician’s fifth studio album, and it features collaborators including Oneohtrix Point Never, Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, and Jim Carrey. The Weeknd is set to embark this summer on a stadium tour, supporting both After Hours and Dawn FM.

Take a look at the video for “Gasoline” – here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Actress Megan Fox and musician Machine Gun Kelly are engaged.

On Wednesday, Fox wrote in the caption of an Instagram post announcing the engagement:  “In July of 2020 we sat under this banyan tree. We asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love. And the karma.  Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him.  And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes … and then we drank each other’s blood.”

Kelly wrote on his Instagram along with a picture of the couple’s ring: “Beneath the same branches we fell in love under, I brought her back to ask her to marry me. I know tradition is one ring, but I designed it with Stephen Webster to be two: the emerald (her birth stone) and the diamond (my birth stone) set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love. 1-11-2022.”

The pair met in March of 2020 while filming “Midnight in the Switchgrass,” and the couple confirmed their relationship in June 2020. This will be MGK’s first marriage, and Fox’s second.  Fox was married to ‘90210’ actor Brian Austin Green for 10 years, with whom she shares three sons.

Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com

The soundtrack to the Walt Disney animated musical film ‘Encanto’ has hit No.1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.  The soundtrack jumped from 7-1 in its sixth week on the list, and is the first soundtrack to hit No.1 in more than two years, since Disney’s Frozen II sat atop the list for one week in Dec. 14, 2019.  Encanto earned 72,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 6. Streaming activity of the set’s songs drove the majority of that unit sum.

The Encanto soundtrack, with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was released on November 19, before the film arrived in U.S. theaters on November 24. The movie was released via the Disney+ streaming service a month later. Additionally, Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” becomes the first Disney Animation song to hit the top five on the Hot 100 since Frozen’s “Let It Go.”   You can take a listen to “We Dont Talk About Bruno” – here.

Editorial credit: Sarunyu L / Shutterstock.com

The BottleRock Napa Valley music festival is scheduled to take place May 27-29 at the Napa Valley Expo, with Pink, Twenty-One Pilots and Metallica among the headliners of the three-day event.  Pitbull, Mount Westmore, and Luke Combs are also among the featured acts.

Along with the musical actds scheduled to perform on five stages, BottleRock Napa Valley features a culinary stage with celebrity chefs as well as food and drinks from the finest area restaurants, wineries and craft breweries.  BottleRock will follow all local and state health and safety guidelines in place at the time of the festival and will communicate such requirements to ticket holders before the festival.

You can check out the full lineup on the event’s official website.

For ticket information, head here.

Editorial credit: Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

SZA has dropped the video for her hit song “I Hate U.” The single had been released on Soundcloud via an anonymous account in August 2021, and then made its official debut on streaming services last month. “I Hate U” went on to become the most-streamed R&B track by a female artist on Apple Music after only a week on the platform.

LaKeith Stanfield stars in the video clip, which features a picturesque coastal landscape and has Stanfield arguing on the phone, then shown solemnly walking across the beach while he contemplates his relationship.

Check out the video for “I Hate U” – here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

The cancellation of Pussycat Dolls’ upcoming tour came as quite a surprise to fellow group members Carmit Bachar and Jessica Sutta, who say they first learned of the cancellation via Nicole Scherzinger’s Instagram post.

On Friday, Scherzinger shared the news via a statement on her personal account: “Thank you to everyone who had tickets to see PCD — we are so appreciative of your support and loyalty!  With the ever evolving circumstances surrounding the pandemic, I understand the decision that the tour dates had to be cancelled. I have invested a huge amount of time, creative energy and my own finances into bringing this project back to life, and while I’m naturally incredibly saddened by this decision, I am also very proud of what we were able to achieve in the short amount of time we had together before COVID.  I can’t put into words the amount of love, admiration and gratitude I have for the other girls in the group, and the fans that have supported us. Stay safe and healthy – Love and blessings.”

However group members Bachar, Sutta, Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt, say they were shocked to hear the news. Sutta and Bachar claimed that Scherzinger did not share with them the decision to end the tour prior to her public statement, saying: “We want to say how incredibly disappointed we are to learn of an announcement made on Instagram that the Pussycat Dolls reunion tour is canceled. As of now, there has been no official notification of that. Either way, it seems as though it’s the end of a chapter to an incredible, life altering experience filled with some awesome memories that we will forever be grateful for. To the fans, we love you. Trust us, this is not the outcome we had hoped for. We wanted it as much as you because we appreciate you all so much and it hurts our hearts you had to wait so long for an answer, but unfortunately it’s out of our control.”  They concluded:  “Thank you to all the fans that supported us unconditionally and love us to no end. We will always honor the essence of what the true definition of being a Pussycat Doll is. This tour may have come to an end but it is not the end of the Dolls story. We created a sisterhood that will live on…”

The Pussycat Dolls reunited in 2019; however due to the coronavirus pandemic, both the tour and new music were sidelined. In 2021, Scherzinger was also sued by the group’s founder, Robin Antin, for alleged breach of contract.

Editorial credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com