Camila Cabello Joins Hans Zimmer for ‘Frozen Planet II’ Song ‘Take Me Back Home’

Camila Cabello and Hans Zimmer have teamed up to write and record the new song “Take Me Back Home” for BBC One’s Frozen Planet II. The track will first premiere on BBC Radio 1 on Friday (Aug. 26) ahead of a first-look trailer for the Sir David Attenborough-narrated series.

The BBC announced the collaboration with a press release on Sunday (Aug. 21), noting that “Take Me Back Home” features Cabello’s vocals with the orchestration of Zimmer. Cabello and Zimmer worked with arranger Anže Rozman and producer Russell Emanuel for Bleeding Fingers Music.

“my life is a dream,” Cabello wrote on Twitter, where she shared the news with fans.

In a statement to the BBC, she added, “To be able to combine my passion for the planet we live on and my music is a dream come true – never mind also getting to work with the legend that is Hans Zimmer. Frozen Planet II is stunning and Sir David’s narration is deeply powerful as we try to protect these incredible ecosystems from global warming. I’m grateful to be able to lend my voice to such an inspiring series.”

“It was hugely exciting composing and recording ‘Take Me Back Home’ with Camila and discovering that her musical talents are as powerful as her voice,” said Zimmer. “The Bleeding Fingers team and I feel incredibly privileged to be given the opportunity to score such a pioneering and important natural history landmark as Frozen Planet II.”

Frozen Planet II, a sequel to 2011’s Frozen Planet, is a six-episode series about earth’s “wondrous wildlife overcoming the challenges of life in the extremes” in the Arctic and Antarctica, executive producer Mark Brownlow said. “Yet today it faces the even greater challenge of climate change. Hans and Camila’s profoundly moving original song captures the fragility of these magical realms at a time when their very future hangs in the balance.”

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Megan Thee Stallion Rocks Sailor Moon-Inspired Outfit at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival

Megan Thee Stallion is embracing her love of anime during her first visit to Japan.

The 27-year-old rap superstar joyously took the stage at Summer Sonic 2022 in Osaka on Saturday (Aug. 20) wearing a Sailor Moon-inspired outfit. During her hits-filled set, Megan donned a blue, red and white schoolgirl uniform, similar to the one worn by Usagi Tsukino in the iconic anime television series.

“No like you have no ideaaaa how happy I am in Japan,” the “Savage” rapper captioned a retweet featuring a snapshot of herself donning the costume. In another tweet, she wrote, “This whole stadium in JAPAN was going UP for me you can’t fake thee love im grateful.”

It’s no secret that Megan is a huge fan of anime, especially the series My Hero Academia. In 2019, the Houston artist recreated the look of MHA character Shoto Todoroki by wearing a red-and-white wig and blue jumpsuit for several of her photo shoots. Her self-described “Todoroki Tina” look was previously featured on the cover of Paper Magazine.

During her visit to Japan, Megan also stopped by a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure exhibit, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the anime series. “Y’all I went to a jojos exhibit in Japan yesterday living my bestttt lifeeee,” she wrote on Twitter alongside snapshots of herself enjoying the display in Tokyo.

Megan took to Instagram earlier in the week to share her excitement for the Japanese adventure. “I am screamingggggg im so excited to see thee JAPAN HOTTIES for thee first time if you know me you know I’m going crazy rn !!!! This is my first time in JAPAN,” she captioned images of Summer Sonic’s lineup poster.

The hip-hop star is also scheduled perform at Summer Sonic in Tokyo on Sunday.

Megan is currently promoting her new album, Traumazine, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The set was announced just one day before its release on Aug. 12. It was preceded by a trio of Billboard Hot 100-charting hits: “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, “Plan B,” and “Pressurelicious” featuring Future. Traumazine also boasts collaborations with Key Glock, Latto, Pooh Shiesty, Rico Nasty, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye, Sauce Walka, Big Pokey and Lil’ Keke.

See photos of Megan’s visit to Japan and her Sailor Moon-inspired outfit below.

 

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Fans Choose BLACKPINK’s ‘Pink Venom’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

BLACKPINK‘s new single “Pink Venom” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 19) on Billboard, choosing the group’s latest track as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Pink Venom” brought in more than 85% of the vote, beating out new music by Demi Lovato, Panic! At the Disco, Zedd, Maren Morris & BEAUZ and more.

The song — which dropped on Friday along with a music video — is the lead single from BLACKPINK’s upcoming sophomore album, Born Pink, due out Sept. 16. “Pink Venom” shows off the four-piece K-pop group’s genre-bending sound, and the fresh track interpolates a line from Rihanna’s debut hit, “Pon De Replay.”

Trailing behind the new release from BLACKPINK on the fan-voted poll is Demi Lovato’s new album Holy Fvck, with 7.5% of the vote, and Panic! At the Disco’s Viva Las Vengeance, with just over 3.5% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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Rod Wave’s ‘Beautiful Mind’ Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart

Rod Wave’s Beautiful Mind bows atop the Billboard 200 chart (dated Aug. 27), scoring the rapper his second No. 1 album. The set enters with 115,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 18, according to Luminate. He previously topped the list with his last release, SoulFly, which opened at No. 1 on the chart dated April 10, 2021.

Also in the new top 10 of the Billboard 200, Megan Thee Stallion scores her fifth top 10, all earned consecutively, as Traumazine starts at No. 4.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 27, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Aug. 23). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Beautiful Mind’s 115,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 113,000 (equaling 157.73 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 24 tracks), album sales comprise 2,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

All told, Beautiful Mind is Wave’s fourth straight top 10 effort on the Billboard 200 — the entirety of his charting releases. Aside from the chart-topping SoulFly, for a week in 2021, he also logged a top 10 each in 2020 (Pray 4 Love, No. 2) and 2019 (Ghetto Gospel, No. 10).

Beautiful Mind was led by the single “Cold December,” which premiered in January and marked the artist’s sixth top 40-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in February (peaking at No. 38). At the top of May, the album was announced for a June 3 release, but was eventually pushed back until Aug. 12.

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti falls 1-2 on the latest Billboard 200, after eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, with 108,000 equivalent album units earned (down less than 1%). Beyoncé’s chart-topping Renaissance is a non-mover at No. 3 with 64,000 units (down 29%).

Megan Thee Stallion notches her fifth top 10 album on the Billboard 200, all earned in a row, as Traumazine debuts at No. 4 with 63,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 54,000 (equaling 85.72 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 18 tracks), album sales comprise 8,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.

Traumazine is the rapper’s sixth charting effort on the Billboard 200. She first dented in the tally in 2019 with Tina Snow (peaking at No. 166) and has followed it with five straight top 10 efforts: Fever (No. 10, 2019), Sugar (No. 7, 2020), Good News (No. 2, 2020), Something for Thee Hotties: From Thee Archives (No. 5, 2021) and Traumazine (No. 4).

The Traumazine album was announced just one day before its release on Aug. 12. The set was preceded by a trio of Hot 100-charting hits: “Sweetest Pie,” with Dua Lipa (No. 15 peak), “Plan B” (No. 29) and “Pressurelicious,” featuring Future (No. 55). The set also boasts collaborations with Key Glock, Latto, Pooh Shiesty, Rico Nasty, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye, Sauce Walka, Big Pokey and Lil’ Keke.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s The Last Slimeto slips 2-5 in its second week with 50,000 equivalent album units earned (down 54%), Morgan Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album dips 4-6 with 48,000 (down less than 1%) and Harry Styles’ chart-topping Harry’s House falls 5-7 with 43,000 units (down 1%).

The Weeknd’s compilation album The Highlights returns to the top 10, rising 36-8 with just over 28,000 equivalent album units earned (up 76%). The set contains such hits as “Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears” (both from The Weeknd’s studio album After Hours). On the new chart, the TEA and SEA units for those songs contribute to The Highlights, as a song’s activity is assigned to the artist’s album with the most traditional album sales in a week. (The Highlights sold 1,000 copies in the latest tracking week, while After Hours sold under 1,000.) A week ago, the TEA and SEA for the songs were directed to After Hours, as it outsold The Highlights that week.

Closing out the new top 10 are two former No. 1s: Future’s I Never Liked You, falling 7-9 with nearly 28,000 equivalent album units earned (down 4%) and Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, which slides 9-10 with 25,000 units (down 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to the final calculation.

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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Celebrate Wedding Ceremony in Georgia

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck said “I do” again this weekend.

But instead of in a late night Las Vegas drive through chapel, this time it was in front of friends and family in Georgia, a person close to the couple who was not authorized to speak publicly said Sunday (Aug. 21).

The wedding was held at Affleck’s home outside of Savannah, Georgia, with all of their kids present for the proceedings on Saturday, according to People.

The celebrity couple were officially married last month in Las Vegas, which Lopez shared with fans in her “On the J Lo” newsletter.

“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” Lopez wrote last month, signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck.

Lopez, 53, and Affleck, 50, famously dated in the early 2000s. They starred together in 2003’s Gigli and 2004’s Jersey Girl and became engaged but didn’t wed at the time.

Paparazzi has feverishly trailed the couple since they rekindled their romance last year, from the earliest stages of the courtship, to their red carpet debut at last year’s Venice International Film Festival and their recent honeymoon in Paris.

Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to request for comment Sunday.

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Lawyers for OnlyFans model charged in Miami murder won’t try to dig up boyfriend’s body

Lawyers for the OnlyFans model accused of murdering her boyfriend in Miami won’t seek to exhume the slain man’s body. They made the announcement Friday after originally asking a judge … Click to Continue »
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‘Our brave hero,’ Decorated veteran law enforcement officer dies weeks after severe crash

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Selena Gomez & Little Sister Share Adorable Video From Olivia Rodrigo Concert: Watch

A sweet moment between Selena Gomez and her sister Gracie was captured on camera at one of Olivia Rodrigo‘s concerts.

The singer and Only Murders in the Building star posted the clip from the show on TikTok Friday night (Aug. 19).

“I just can’t imagine how you could be so OK now that I’m gone,” the sisters sang to each other before leaning in for a heartfelt hug at one of Rodrigo’s Sour Tour stops.

In the cute “Drivers License” sing-along video, Gomez even sported some official Olivia Rodrigo tour merch: a Sour Tour bucket hat.

Rodrigo’s tour wrapped in July, and she was recently seen back in the studio with producer Dan Nigro, whom she worked with on her breakthrough debut album. The pair posed for a selfie, with Nigro holding a guitar — hinting that perhaps there’s something new in the works.

Meanwhile, Gomez recently teased that a new collaboration with REMA is “coming soon.”

Watch her clip with her little sister on TikTok here, and in the post shared by fans on Twitter below.

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Britney Spears Says She’s ‘Just Playing Around in the Studio’ With ‘Feel It Still’ Dance Video

Another Britney Spears dance video arrived this weekend, straight from the studio to Instagram.

Spears rocked high heels and red lingerie for the clip while dancing to Portugal. The Man‘s 2017 hit “Feel It Still” — with plenty of attitude and hair flips.

“Just playing around in the studio!!!” she playfully captioned her dance video on Saturday (Aug. 20).

Many fans were simply delighted to see the clip, while others suggested in the comments that they’d already seen this dance video — or a similar one — in the past.

Either way, new music from Spears is on the horizon: Aug. 26 brings “Hold Me Closer,” the pop star and Elton John‘s revamp of the 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer.” “Hold Me Closer” will be Spears’ official return to music since her 13-year conservatorship ended.

Watch Spears’ “Feel It Still” dance routine below.

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10 Greatest Moments in KCON History So Far

With 10 years of perspective, one can confidentially say that the timing for launching America’s biggest K-pop festival couldn’t have been better.

In the summer of 2012, K-pop was breaking into the American vernacular thanks to the massively viral success of PSY‘s “Gangnam Style.” The inescapable horsey-dance hit entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in September. It would spend seven consecutive weeks at the No. 2 position, coinciding with performances at the MTV Video Music Awards, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards.

While “Gangnam Style” was rocketing up the charts, KCON was announced as a first-of-its-kind convention/festival hybrid that looked to honor all things Korean-pop culture. Taking place at the now-shuttered Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif., on Oct. 13, 2012, KCON brought six K-pop acts to U.S. audiences (boy bands NU’EST, B.A.P, EXO-M and VIXX, solo star G.NA and headlining girl group 4Minute).

Dubbed by Billboard as “the mecca of K-pop” in 2012, the first KCON brought a reported 10,000 fans and set off what became an annual, ever-growing and evolving tradition in the California area. As the festival moved to multiple days and bigger venues in Los Angeles, K-pop itself continued to grow and develop in significant ways in the States. Chart-topping artists like BTS, Girls’ Generation, Monsta X, TWICE, SEVENTEEN, LOONA, NCT 127, ITZY and dozens more have all performed at the festival at various points in their careers — making the KCON stage a near right of passage for K-pop promotions in the U.S.

This weekend will see more than 16 artists perform at the Crypto.com Arena, including Stray Kids, ATEEZ, ENHYPEN, NCT DREAM, Kep1er, STAYC, TO1 and more for KCON 2022 Los Angeles. Before another set of sure-to-be historical moments return to the KCON stage, take a moment to reflect on the first decade of the festival in California with the 10 greatest moments from its history so far.

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