There’s no stopping Kylie Minogue, with her latest album, Tension II (via BMG), on track to become her landmark 10th U.K. No. 1 album on the Offical Albums Chart, according to their latest midweek blast.

After just 48 hours of sales, the album has moved over 28,800 chart units, placing it far ahead of its nearest competitor by more than 2:1. If she secures the top spot, this will mark yet another major milestone for the Australian pop star, whose previous album, Tension (also via BMG), also topped the U.K Chart in 2023.

It comes after the singing legend announced the North American leg of her tour in support of the new album, which is slated to kick off on March 29 with a gig at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and take the “Lights Camera Action” singer to Montreal, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Austin, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and Denver before winding down with a May 2 show at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The midweek blast also sees British singer-songwriter Rag’n’Bone Man’s soulful third album What Do You Believe In? (Columbia) aiming for a No. 2 debut, which would follow on from the success of Human and Life By Misadventure (Columbia).

Another exciting new entry comes from Australian dance group Confidence Man, whose third record 3AM (LA LA LA) (via HAOS/Polydor Records/I OH YOU Records) is eyeing a Top 5 debut. The band’s infectious sound is already a festival favorite, and their climb to No. 4 on the midweek charts suggests they could make their Official Albums Chart debut in a major way.

National Album Day has sparked a resurgence for some of Britain’s biggest musical legends. Oasis’s 1994 classic Definitely Maybe (via Creation Records) is making a triumphant return, set to break back into the Top 10. Suede’s Dog Man Star (Nude Records), The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (Parlophone), and Take That’s Everything Changes (RCA) are all experiencing a midweek surge in the wake of the celebration.

In a nostalgic twist, Bronski Beat’s groundbreaking album The Age of Consent (via London Records) could return to the Top 10 for the first time in nearly 40 years, following its 40th anniversary reissue. Originally peaking at No. 4 in 1984, this synth-pop classic is making waves once again.

Finally, Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us (via Interscope) has soared back into the Top 10 after the release of its deluxe edition, climbing an impressive 26 spots to land at No. 10 in the midweek update.

One Direction fans are also making their voices heard in the charts as they continue to mourn the passing of Liam Payne. All five of the band’s studio albums are set to re-enter the Top 40, a poignant tribute to their lasting impact on pop music.

Listen to Kylie Minogue’s Tension II below.

JoJo Siwa was successfully Punk’d.

Rebranded as Punk You, producer Sophie Watts and entrepreneur Joe White have brought back the beloved MTV prank show with the help of Punk’d co-creator Jason Goldberg, and the “Karma” singer is the latest celebrity victim.

In a 11-minute clip shared over the weekend, the 21-year-old entertainer is sitting in the back of an SUV before her driver gets pulled over by what appears to be the FBI. “Getting pulled over by the secret agents? This is a new one,” Siwa says, before things start to get serious.

While in conversation with an agent, who is actually an actor, Siwa gets told that someone named JoJo Siwa has been committing wire fraud, bank fraud and credit card fraud. The Dance Moms star calls her mother, Jessalynn Siwa, to fill her in but is unaware that she’s also in on the prank. “I got pulled over by the FBI. They brought us up to the rooftop of a parking structure, and apparently somebody is stealing my identity,” she tells her mom. “I’m shook, because like what the f— is happening right now?”

However, things get even worse when the tables get turned on JoJo, with the agents trying to figure out if she’s actually perpetrator committing the identity theft and subsequent crimes. Jessalynn tells JoJo that she’s on the way to help her, and reveals behind the scenes that JoJo is successfully falling for the prank.

“Her code word is ‘Beyoncé, and she texted me ‘Beyoncé,’” Jessalynn explains. 

So far, Punk You has done episodes pranking streamers Jynxzi and Stretch, as well as Sexyy Red and NLE Choppa. Watch the full episode featuring JoJo Siwa below.

The second round of 2024 MAMA Awards performers have been announced, including a major return from a powerhouse K-pop star.

Entertainment company CJ ENM announced on Monday (Oct. 21) that G-DRAGON is set to take the stage at the Japan ceremony on Nov. 23, marking nine years since his last performance in 2015 alongside his fellow BIGBANG members.

Additionally, BOYNEXTDOOR and PLAVE will perform on Nov. 22, while G)I-DLE and BIBI will hit the stage on Nov. 23.

The three-day event, which celebrates the brightest stars in K-pop, will kick off on Nov. 21 at the Hollywood Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the first time, where KATSEYE, ILLIT, RIIZE, J.Y. Park and TWS were previously announced to perform. The awards ceremony will then take place at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on November 22 and 23, with previously revealed performers ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, IVE, ME:I and TREASURE performing on the first day and Aespa, INI, ZEROBASEONE, LEE Young Ji and MEOVV taking the stage on the second day.

This year’s MAMA Awards, presented by Visa, will feature the concept of “Big Blur: What Is Real?,” reflecting the growing trend of blurred boundaries between industries, culture, music genres and technology. In correspondence with the theme, the ceremony will “present surreal but real experiences and showcase visually captivating performances through the convergence of art and technology,” per a press release.

See the full list of 2024 MAMA Awards nominees here. The eligibility period ranged from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, and the nominees were decided on based on an evaluation of global music data as well as a panel of specialists. 

The next ticket sales for the Japan event will be available from October 22 to October 26 via Qoo10.jp, while tickets for the U.S. event will also be available starting at 4 p.m. PST on October 22 via Ticketmaster.

“Scarface the movie did more than Scarface the rapper to me.”

That’s what Jay-Z rapped towards the end of “Ignorant S—” featuring Philly’s Beanie Sigel from his 2007 album American Gangster.

During an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast to plug his new memoir Sonny Boy, the legendary actor Al Pacino talked about how the audience helped turn the remake of the 1932 film of the same name into a cultural phenomenon after it was initially panned by critics and Hollywood insiders. Pacino’s co-star Steven Bauer, who played Manolo, once said director Martin Scorsese warned them about the possible response during the movie’s premiere. “At the premiere Martin Scorsese turned around in the middle of the film, and he said, ‘You guys are great — but be prepared, because they’re going to hate it in Hollywood.’ He said that to me and he didn’t know me from Adam. “And I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because it’s about them.’”

“I was surprised that it had that reaction,” Pacino said after admitting that he had lost interest in acting at the time. “The audiences liked it. Took a while.” Adding, “Hip-hop just got it. They understood it. They embraced it, the rappers. And then the next thing you know, VHS is going out and more people are seeing it. Plus, we’re on the records, these rappers. And then it just carried and it kept going and going.”

Directed by Brian De Palma, and starring Al Pacino in a role that revitalized his already storied career, Scarface has been one of the hip-hop community’s favorite films since its release in 1983. Those from the inner city and marginalized communities saw themselves in Tony Montana’s rise to power as a Cuban immigrant during Miami’s cocaine glory days in the early ’80s. This feeling was depicted in 2002’s Paid in Full, the movie loosely based on the lives of Harlem kingpins Rich Porter, AZ Faison, and Alpo Martinez as they too rose from nothing to becoming three of the most influential drug dealers in American pop culture.

The scene shows Ace (played by Wood Harris) narrating as he’s in a packed movie theater during a showing of Scarface. “Things really got hot in Harlem when Scarface came to town,” he says as the audience around him cheers on Montana’s antics. “It’s like n—s love seeing a poor ass Cuban just blow up to be “the man,” all by himself.

Along with Brooklyn’s Jay-Z, Queens group Mobb Deep, Staten Island’s Wu-Tang Clan, and Texas’ Scarface all have famously sampled or referenced the movie in some form or another over the course of their respective careers.

You can check out the full convo here.

Ariana Grande is explaining how she remembers an encounter with Elvira after the Mistress of the Dark called out the pop star for an unpleasant experience.

In a viral video circulating on YouTube and TikTok from a recent event, the actress, born Cassandra Peterson, said one of her worst celebrity encounters was with Grande after the singer and her family attended one of Elvira’s shows. “I’ll tell you briefly… she came and she brought 20 guests, so she wanted 20, 21 tickets,” she recalled. “We’re like, ‘Okay,’ and we give her the tickets. She comes backstage and she asks if I could take pictures with all of her friends and relatives she brought.”

She continued, “I take a picture with every single one of them. I sign autographs for every single one of them. Then I say to her, ‘Can we take a photo together?’ She goes, ‘Nah, I don’t really do that.’”

Elvira concluded but noting with a laugh that while her friends and family stayed through the show, Grande left beforehand.

However, when Elvira shared an article about the encounter to Instagram, Grande apologized and explained her side of the story in the comments section. “I’m so disheartened to see this,” she wrote. “I actually don’t even remember getting the chance to meet you because I had an anxiety attack and to my memory, left before the rest of my family (this was around 7 years ago and at the time I was really not great with being in public crowds or loud places)… but if I’m misremembering this moment, I sincerely apologize for offending you so.”

She added in her comment, “Thank you for being so nice to my mom, she told me how lovely you were (she might have different feelings about that now but I’ll talk to her… clearly, we all have our days!)
sending love always. You’ll always be our queen of halloween!”

See Grande’s comment under Elvira’s post here.