Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera & More Artists Share the Love on Valentine’s Day 2021

Love is in the air! Though Valentine’s Day in 2021 means no romantic dinners at packed restaurants, musicians are celebrating their love by sharing sweet messages on social media.

Among them is Dua Lipa, who posted a sweet message for boyfriend Anwar Hadid on Instagram. “THE ONE 4 MY [heart emoji],” she captioned photos of the couple kissing and embracing. “Happy V-Day Lovers xx”

Christina Aguilera had a note for two very special someones. “Happy Valentine’s Day my love…here’s to all the adventures we’ve shared and many more to come,” she captioned a photo of herself on Twitter snuggling with fiance Matthew Rutler. An hour later, the singer shared a photo of herself and wrote, “And Happy Valentine’s Day to me because self love is important too!”

See how other artists are celebrating Valentine’s Day with their loved ones:

Joe Jonas

The Jonas brother shared a sweet throwback pic of wife Sophie Turner from when she was pregnant with their daughter. In the snap, the Game of Thrones star is sprawled on the couch, her pregnant belly on display. “Happy Valentine’s Day to my 2 Valentines [heart emoji] throwback,” he captioned the image.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

The “Wonder” singer showed off the sweetness in his life on Valentine’s Day. In his Instagram Stories, the crooner shared a photo of Cabello with a plate featuring what appears to be a heart-shaped pancake surrounded by blueberries and strawberries. The photo was accompanied by three heart emojis.

Later on, Cabello posted a picture of the pair kissing. “my Valentine’s got a ponytail! happy love and friendship day @shawnmendes,” she wrote.

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

The country superstars sent loving messages to each other, with McGraw writing, “The best girl for me ever/ The best mom/ The best wife/ The best lover/ My best friend,” tagging his wife and sharing a video with images of the two and their happy life as his song “My Best Friend” plays.

Hill, meanwhile, shared a photo of the couple sharing a kiss, writing, “To my Valentine, A kiss is not just a kiss when you are kissing your true one and only……Valentine.”

Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas shared his love for wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas with a photo of the two horseback riding on a beach. “Where ever you go, I’ll go, cause we’re in it together. For better or worse, hold on, cause it only gets better,” he captioned the image. “Thank you for filling every day with happiness and peace. I love you to the moon and back.”

Mandy Moore

The This Is Us star shared a mini gallery of herself with husband Taylor Goldsmith, with whom she’s expecting her first child. “We’re both not big on Valentine’s Day but I sure am the luckiest to have landed you,” she captioned the photos. “Love you the most, T.”

Swizz Beatz

The musician had three special ladies he wanted to shout out. “Happy Valentine’s Day to my two Queens My grandmother and my Mom,” he captioned a video of himself dancing with his grandma. In his second post, he shared a video of wife Alicia Keys and wrote, “Everyday is Love day [rose emoji] Keys to my heart Love you.”

Warren G

The rapper shared a sweet Instagram snap with wife Tennile, writing, “Happy Valentine’s Day Baby! My best friend My love My beautiful wife. Not Bonny & Clyde Warren & Tennile [heart emoji]”

Tom DeLonge

The former Blink-182 frontman shared a photo of himself with girlfriend Marie, both holding up the same Valentine’s Day card. “When you both buy each other the same Bigfoot Valentine’s Day card,” he captioned the photo on Instagram. “Love you, Marie! You are my light.”

/by

Parkland activists see new opportunities for political action three years after shooting

Early last year, Manuel and Patricia Oliver were planning how to unveil their latest campaign to shame lawmakers over inaction to battle gun violence, one of their many actions inspired … Click to Continue »
/by

Someone shot at two separate silver Toyota Camrys on I-95 in Broward, FHP says

Drivers called for help after they saw a crash between two vehicles in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 just south of I-595 in Broward County. But this wasn’t an … Click to Continue »
/by

Florida COVID update for Saturday: 7,515 new cases, 118 deaths, positivity rate rises

Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 7,515 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,821,937. Also, 118 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll … Click to Continue »
/by

Bebe Rexha Sets the Galentine’s Day Mood With Britney Spears & Heart-Shaped Sugar Cookies

Bebe Rexha took over Billboard’s Instagram Stories to give a peek at her Galentine’s Day festivities, soundtracked by a Britney Spears record.

After showing off one of her giant candles on Saturday (Feb. 13), Rexha, rocking a fresh new haircut, explained that “the second step to Galentine’s Day for me is setting the mood with music. And because it’s Galentine’s Day, we’re doing Britney, OK?”

She went on to play one of the pop star’s classics, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” off of Spears’ 2001 album, Britney, on the unofficial holiday where women celebrate the other women in their lives.

To wrap up her short and sweet Instagram takeover, Rexha walked viewers through baking and “doing my best job” decorating cute sugar cookies. She also showed off a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries.

“Look out for new music soon,” she teased in the caption of her last video clip.

Watch her full takeover on @Billboard’s Instagram Stories.

/by

Taylor Swift’s Re-Recorded ‘Love Story’ Sells 10,000 in U.S. on First Day

Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is off to, well, a swift sales start. Meanwhile, the track — which is not being actively promoted to radio stations — drew a smattering of airplay on its first day of release.

The Sales ‘Story’ … The new re-recording, which was released on Feb. 12, sold 10,000 downloads in the U.S. that day, according to initial reports to MRC Data.

To compare, in the week ending Feb. 4, just three songs sold more than 10,000 in the entire week in the U.S. — Tom MacDonald’s Fake Woke (14,000), BTS’ “Dynamite” (13,000) and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” (13,000). (Sales in the week ending Feb. 4 are reflected on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart dated Feb. 13.)

On Feb. 11, Swift announced that she has re-recorded her 2008 album Fearless, as Fearless (Taylor’s Version), and that the updated lead single, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” would be unveiled that night. Fearless became Swift’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, while “Love Story” was her second Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit. Since then, Swift has tallied seven more No. 1 albums, and 27 more top 10 Hot 100 hits.

As for the original version of “Love Story,” it sold about 200 downloads in the U.S. on Feb. 12. In the week leading up to the release of the re-recording’s release, the original version had been selling a negligible amount on a daily basis. Through Feb. 4, the original “Love Story” had sold 6.13 million downloads in the U.S.

Re-recordings of older songs or albums are treated separately from their originals, with independent chart histories for each version. Thus, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” will chart separately from Swift’s original 2008 recordings of the album and song, respectively.

News on the Feb. 12 streaming activity of “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” will be reported in the coming days.

And Now, The Radio ‘Story’ … As for radio airplay in its first day, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” — which is not being actively promoted to radio stations — drew 144 plays on Feb. 12 on 89 stations that report to Billboard’s all-genre, audience-based Radio Songs chart, a sum that translates to 777,000 audience impressions. Leading the way among those 144 plays, 83 were on reporters to the Pop Airplay chart, 34 were on Adult Pop Airplay reporters and 12 were on Country Airplay panelists.

How does that play compare to the 2008 version?

The new take drew more than twice as many plays as the original on Feb. 12, which logged 67 plays yesterday on Radio Songs reporters. Adult Contemporary chart reporters accounted for 25 of those spins, followed by Country Airplay panelists contributing 12.

While the new version attracted 777,000 in audience impressions on Feb. 12, the original drew 227,000.

Though “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is not being actively promoted to radio, instead, three tracks continue to be promoted to various formats from Swift’s latest LP, Evermore. “Willow” rose 11-9 on the most recently published Adult Pop Airplay chart (dated Feb. 13), becoming Swift’s 24th top 10 on the tally, extending her record for the most among women. It also held at its No. 9 high on Adult Contemporary and climbed 23-20 on Pop Airplay. Meanwhile, the set’s “Coney Island,” featuring The National, repeated at its No. 26 best on Adult Alternative Airplay, and “No Body, No Crime,” featuring Haim, kept at No. 60 on Country Airplay.

The original “Love Story” hit No. 2 on Radio Songs (and No. 4 on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100). It topped Country Airplay and Pop Airplay and remains the only song to have led both lists. It also crowned Adult Contemporary and rose to No. 3 on Adult Pop Airplay.

/by

Kerry Washington Wants to Get In on a ‘Remix to the Remix’ of ’34+35′

Ariana Grande and Megan Thee Stallion were touched by a tweet from Kerry Washington on Saturday (Feb. 13).

The Scandal star gave a shout-out to Grande and her co-stars, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion, after their release of the “34+35″ remix music video. The three have something of an ideal girls’ day together in the clip, which debuted on Friday — and next time, Washington wants an invite.

“Hey @ArianaGrande @theestallion @DojaCat if there is a 34+35 remix to the remix…I am available! Just wanted to throw that out there,” Washington wrote on Twitter, throwing in some fire emojis.

Grande reacted to the tweet on Saturday with an “omg,” accompanied by a heart and a tearful emoji, echoing Meg’s “omgggg” tweet earlier.

See their sweet tweets below, and watch the trifecta’s video for the “34+35″ remix. “34+35″ is off of Grande’s Positions album; in January, the remix marked the highest-charting Hot 100 hit by a trio of women soloists in nearly 20 years.

/by

Janet Jackson Addresses Fans in Emotional Video: ‘I Was Crying Because … I Am So Thankful for All of You’

While Janet Jackson has not responded to Justin Timberlake’s recent public apology to her, she did take the time this weekend to connect with her fans via a new video posted on social media.

Jackson tweeted a 45-second clip on Saturday (Feb. 13) in which she thanked her longtime supporters for being a part of her life. Speaking directly to the camera, she wore a mask — but she seemed to have a smile on her face.

“I was at home just the other day by myself and I began to cry,” said Jackson. “I was crying because I was so thankful for all that God has blessed me with, all that he has given me. I’m so thankful for Him being in my life. And I am so thankful for all of you being in my life.”

“You’re so special to me,” she said.

She added, “And I want to thank all of you for making ‘Control’ number one once again after 35 years. I never, never in a million years, I would never think that this would happen. I really appreciate you and I love you so, so much. Thank you.”

Jackson’s influential Control album, released on Feb. 4, 1986, just celebrated its 35th anniversary.

Her latest message to fans comes a day after Timberlake — her former co-star at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, where her breast was exposed by Timberlake on live television in what was deemed a wardrobe malfunction, one for which Jackson faced the fallout — issued an apology to her (as well as to Britney Spears), years later. He expressed regret over his past “ignorance” and for benefiting “from a system that condones misogyny and racism.”

Watch Jackson speak to her fans in the video below.

/by

Kelly Clarkson Opens Up About the Perfect Date With Herself Ahead of Valentine’s Day: Watch

Kelly Clarkson is opening up about how she enjoys spends her alone time while being single.

During Friday’s (Feb. 12) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the 38-year-old pop star described her perfect solo date, which typically involves relaxing by her fireplace a glass of wine while reading a book or watching Netflix.

“We all know that we don’t need someone by our sides to live our best lives,” Clarkson said before opening the discussion to her virtual audience. A female fan then asked the talk show host and singer, “What do you do to date yourself?”

“This is going to be real boring,” the mother of two prefaced her response. “I love literally having a glass of wine. I put the fireplace on in my bedroom … and read a book or I watch some Netflix.”

She added, “Or I literally just hang out with my girls. I love that.”

Clarkson’s comments arrived ahead of her first Valentine’s Day since splitting with husband Brandon Blackstock. In early June, she filed to end her seven-year marriage with Blackstock.

Elsewhere during the segment — which included interviews with actress Sarah Chalke and comedian Kym Whitley — another audience member asked Clarkson, “What’s something that you pretended to be cool with that you weren’t cool with while in a relationship?”

The host replied with a laugh, “I dated this guy, and I think because I’m a singer-songwriter … if you date (people who are music artists), they feel like, ‘I’m gonna write her a song’ — don’t.”

Watch the full Kelly Clarkson Show clip below.

/by

‘It doesn’t smell right’: Sudden attorney switch in North Miami Beach raises questions

The mayor of North Miami Beach is calling for a criminal investigation of his colleagues after they voted to abruptly fire the city’s contract legal team and bring in a … Click to Continue »
/by