Music News

Jonas Brothers Announce Release Date for New Album Happiness Begins. Mark your calendars! Following the success of their hit songs "Sucker" and Cool," the Jonas Brothers are set to release their fifth studio album, Happiness Begins, on June 7. Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas took to social media on Monday morning to reveal the title and release date for their new album. "#HappinessBegins June 7th. After 7 years of not working together & finding ourselves we're back to give you our journey in album form," Kevin wrote on Twitter. "Out of all the albums we've done I'm most proud of this one. Wish you could have it now, but you'll just have to wait a little bit longer." Joe also wrote to his Twitter followers, "Can't wait for you guys to hear this album!" In addition to gearing up for the release of their highly-anticipated new album, the Jonas Brothers are also preparing for major musical performances. On May 1, the trio will perform at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. The following week, the Jonas Brothers will appear as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on May 11. It was also just announced that the Jonas Brothers will perform at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango on June 1 along with Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer, Zedd, Ally Brooke with special guest Tyga, Ava Max, Fletcher and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Freeform is set to Broadcast a 90-Minute Televised Special on June 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and LiveXLive To Livestream the Summer Concert at livexlive.com. (Eonline)

Justin Bieber Joins Ariana Grande Onstage at Coachella for Surprise Performance. He's back! Justin Bieber made his return to the stage on Sunday night, performing alongside Ariana Grande at Coachella. The 25-year-old singer, who has been taking a break from the spotlight in recent years, surprised the crowd at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival by joining his pal during her headlining performance. "Coachella, I wasn't gonna bring any guests out tonight, but my friend Justin Bieber came all the way out to spend some time with y'all," Grande told a screaming crowd as Bieber appeared on the stage. "And we thought it might be fun to do something for you guys. This was not planned at all. Thank you for being here Justin, we love you so much." After performing "Sorry," Bieber thanked the audience, telling the crowd, "I haven't been on a stage in like two years." "I had no idea I was gonna be on a stage tonight, absolutely no idea," Bieber said as Grande confirmed "true story." The artist added that he "wore this fly outfit" not knowing he was going to be taking the Coachella stage. "So anyways, this is my first time onstage in like two years," Bieber said. "I had to get my groove back, I had to get my swag back, you know what I'm saying? Thank you so much, Coachella, thank you so much, Ariana Grande." Before leaving the stage, Bieber also teased that an album is "coming soon." "Thank you @ArianaGrande," he tweeted after the performance. "Thank you @coachella. That felt right. Love you." Bieber's wife, Hailey Bieber, took to Instagram Story to share a video of her husband's performance, writing, "sorrychella." It was just days ago that Bieber and Grande teamed up with Lil Dicky and Leonardo DiCaprio for the star-studded track, "Earth." (Eonline)

Ariana Grande performed at Coachella for "One Last Time" -- and she left it all on the stage. The pop superstar, 25, delivered a dazzling second headlining set Sunday night at the Indio, Calif., festival. Grande kicked off her performance with "raindrops (an angel cried)" off her sweetener album before transitioning into "God Is a Woman." Then, the Grammy nominee sang her hits off her latest album, thank u next, including singles "bad idea" and "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored." Other songs on her setlist included: "R.E.M. (Wake Up)," "Be Alright," "sweetener," "Side to Side," "7 Rings," "Love Me Harder," "breathin," "needy," "Right There," "Break Your Heart Right Back," "NASA," "In My Head," "The Light Is Coming," "Into You" and "Dangerous Woman." But near the end, she was joined by a special surprise guest: Justin Bieber! "We thought it might be fun to do something for you guys," Grande said before the pair, who are on Lil Dicky's new single "Earth," performed his 2015 hit, "Sorry." "I haven't been on stage in like two years. I came out here I had no idea I was going to be on stage tonight," Bieber told the crowd. "So anyways this is my first time on stage in two years. I had to get my groove back, my swag back. By the way, album coming soon." Lastly, Grande closed out her show with "no tears left to cry." For her encore, the singer performed her hit "thank u, next." Last week, the singer welcomed 'NSYNC stars Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick to her set to sing their 1997 hit "Tearin' Up My Heart." ('NSYNC alum Justin Timberlake was noticeably absent but sent his love the next day.) During the same set, Nicki Minaj came out for their 2016 hit "Side to Side," and Diddy also made a special appearance to sing "Mo Money Mo Problems," with Grande singing Faith Evans's verse. Grande, Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) and Tame Impala were announced as Coachella's 2019 headliners in January. "Humbled and excited as all hell @coachella thank u," Grande wrote on Instagram at the time. The singer is only the fourth woman to ever headline Coachella, after Bj�rk (twice, in 2002 and 2007), Lady Gaga (2017) and Beyonce (2018). This isn't the first time the Nickelodeon alum has appeared at the festival. Last year, Grande surprised fans when she joined Norwegian deejay Kygo's Coachella set to perform her hit "no tears left to cry" and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing." Grande's Coachella set comes amid her smash Sweetener World Tour, which kicked off March 18 in Albany, New York. The tour highlights tracks from her quirky 2018 LP sweetener, as well as her candid, acclaimed new album, thank u, next, which she released in February, just months after the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and her split from fiance Pete Davidson. (People)

Kate Smith Statue Removed by NHL's Philadelphia Flyers Amid Racism Allegations The Philadelphia Flyers removed a statue of late singer Kate Smith outside NHL team's arena Sunday, two days after covering it amid allegations of racism against the 1930s star with a popular recording of "God Bless America." "The NHL principle 'Hockey is for Everyone' is at the heart of everything the Flyers stand for," Flyers President Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "As a result, we cannot stand idle while material from another era gets in the way of who we are today." On Friday, the Flyers said Smith's "God Bless America" recording had been removed from their library, following baseball's New York Yankees. The Yankees suspended use of Smith's recording during the seventh-inning stretch amid conflicting claims about several of her songs, including a 1939 song "That's Why the Darkies Were Born." The tune originated in the 1931 Broadway revue "George White's Scandals," and was considered satire at the time. Smith's likeness also appears in a 1939 ad that heavily uses the mammy caricature, one of the most well-known racist depictions of black women. Smith's connection with the Flyers started in 1969 when a team executive ordered her version of "God Bless America" to be played instead of "The Star Spangled Banner." That led to her performing the song several times before games in the 1970s. A year after her 1986 death, the team erected the statue. (Billboard)

BTS Make Chart History as 'Map Of The Soul: Persona' Bows at No. 1 In Australia. BTS bag another piece of chart history, this time in Australia where the septet becomes the first K-pop act to hit No. 1 on the national albums chart. The Korean pop superstars bow at the penthouse of the ARIA Albums Chart with Map Of The Soul: Persona, which also rules the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The EP is the first chart leader for the genre Down Under, and it's the seven-member outfit's fourth top ten on the survey, after Love Yourself: Her (No. 8, September 2017); Love Yourself: Tear (No. 6, May 2018) and Love Yourself: Answer'(No. 9, September 2018). The boy band's impact can also be felt on Australia's singles chart this week where the Halsey-assisted "Boy With Luv," already a record-setter on YouTube, debuts at No. 10. The Map Of The Soul track is the fourth to appear in the ARIA Top 50 for BTS, and it's easily their best performance yet, outmuscling the No. 35 peak for "Idol" from September 2018. With BTS snatching top spot, Billie Eilish's chart reign with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? comes to an end after two weeks, as it slips one place, while Khalid's sophomore album Free Spirit dips 2-3 and ARIA Hall of Famers The Seekers start at No. 4 with Farewell, recorded live in Melbourne during the veteran folk-pop act's Golden Jubilee tour in 2013. It's the Seekers' first entry on the ARIA Albums Chart since their retrospective The Golden Jubilee Album hit No. 10 in December 2012. Rounding out the top 5 this week is Queen's Greatest Hits compilation juggernaut. This week sees a handful of top 20 debuts on the albums chart as Norah Jones' seventh studio set Begin Again starts at No. 14; The Chemical Brothers' ninth studio effort No Geography bows at No. 17 and Anderson .Paak's Ventura begins its journey at No. 19. There's a new leader on the ARIA Singles Chart this week as Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" climbs 2-1 in its fourth week. The track benefits from the viral "Yeehaw Challenge" meme and a recently�released remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. Finally, the late Swedish EDM star Avicii enters the singles survey at No. 11 with SOS, a posthumous recording featuring Aloe Blacc and the first release from a forthcoming album release, Tim. Avicii and Aloe Blacc previous collaborated on the single "Wake Me Up" which ruled the chart for six consecutive weeks back in 2013, drawing it level with Roxette's "The Look" as the longest No. 1 in ARIA Charts history for a Swedish artist. (Billboard)

Pink Won't Post About Her Kids on Social Media Anymore After 'Nasty' Attacks. Pink says she won't be posting photos of her kids on social media anymore after she received hateful comments over an image of her son not wearing diapers. The image of the singer's 2-year-old son, Jameson, with husband Carey Hart, received a slew of negative comments after the singer posted it on Instagram. "We live on a farm. My kids are naked. It's what happens. I'm naked sometimes," Pink explains on Monday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saying he evidently took off his wet swim diaper at some point before the photo was taken. In the image, Pink, Jameson and his 7-year-old sister, Willow, are seen looking at a pelican that flew "into our room and spent two hours with us." But the fact that Jameson was sans bottoms didn't sit well with some of Pink's followers. "People went as far as saying, 'Someone should call Child Services,' because he didn't have a diaper on, and 'How dare I?' -- just some of the nastiest things," she recalls. "I cried so hard after that because I like to share my family. ... I'm prouder of my kids than anything I've ever done and I just won't share them anymore. I won't do it." Still, Pink isn't closed off to advice and criticism as long as it is constructive and delivered in a polite manner. "I understand people saying, 'You need to be more careful, you are in the public eye, you should have thought of that,' and they're right, but there's a nice way to say that," she says. (Billboard)

Why Katy Perry Went 'Full Tilt' as Villain Ursula From 'The Little Mermaid' for Disney Night on 'American Idol.' No poor unfortunate souls here! Katy Perry channeled her inner villain and epically dressed up as Ursula from The Little Mermaid for American Idol's Disney-themed night on Sunday, April 21. And the judge went "full tilt" in her quest to pay homage to the underwater sea witch. Working with her go-to costume designer Johnny Wujek, the "Firework" singer explained that there was a bit of back and forth before deciding on the intricate, under-the-sea-inspired design. "He had a sketch of Piglet. He had a sketch of Sebastian [from The Little Mermaid]. He had a sketch of [Ariel from] Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell and Ursula," she shared. "And it was like Ursula on Keto. So I was like, 'I think I'm gonna do this.'" And once Perry made her decision, she fully leaned into the character. "It's hard to dress as Ursula because she's an octopus," she explained. "So I was just gonna go full tilt. A lot of people have been the Little Mermaid and you would think that would be the choice." Wujek enlisted Russell Barslou of Shokra to bring the voluptuous villain from the 1989 animated classic to life. A black sequined jumpsuit served as the base of the design and six octopus tentacles protruded from the waist. Perry was able to manipulate the extra limbs thanks to fishing wire, and she spent much of the night wrapping them around fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. But the costume didn't stop there. The songstress turned to her glam squad of makeup artist Michael Anthony and mane man Chris Appleton to complete her transformation. Anthony matched Perry's face and neck to the lavender bodysuit that covered her arms and decollete, while aquamarine eyeshadow, a bright red lip and strategically placed beauty mark finished off the look. After experimenting with many a wig this past week (a pic Perry posted rocking a long blonde hairpiece on Friday, April 19, managed to rack up more Instagram "likes" than the photo she posted of her engagement ring from Orlando Bloom in February), Appleton created a voluminous silver mohawk style that mimicked the sea creature's signature do. While this wasn't the first time Perry has dressed up as a Disney character, it might be the last time we see her as a villain. For last year's American Idol theme-night, the judge stunned as Snow White, and it sounds like she prefers playing the part of princess. "Actually, to be quite honest, [it] was a little hard playing the villain. I'm tired," Perry admitted after the show. "I'm not a good villain. I just wanna be ... joyful." (UsMagazine)

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