Taylor Swift Set to Receive Global Icon Award at 2021 Brit Awards

Taylor Swift will receive the global icon award at the 2021 Brit Awards, which will be held on Tuesday, May 11. Swift will become the first female artist and the first non-English artist to receive the award, which the Brits characterize as their highest accolade. The only previous recipients are Elton John (2014), David Bowie (2016) and Robbie Williams (2017).

The award is given “in recognition of her immense impact on music across the world and incredible repertoire and achievements to date.”

Swift could leave the event with two awards. She is also nominated for international female solo artist, an award she won in 2015. She is competing in that category with four other American artists — Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Cardi B and Miley Cyrus.

That 2015 win for international female solo artist is Swift’s only Brit Award to date, from six nominations.

Swift has set many records on the U.K. charts, as she has in the U.S. and around the world. She is the only female artist in the 21st century to amass seven No. 1 studio albums on the Official U.K. Albums chart.

The Official Charts Company also reports that Swift is the U.K.’s top-selling artist of 2021 to date, which is remarkable for an artist 15 years into her career.

Swift has amassed 17 top 10 hits on the Official U.K. Singles chart, but, surprisingly, she has landed just one No. 1 single on that chart — “Look What You Made Me Do,” which spent two weeks on top in 2017.

Swift is not expected to perform on The Brit Awards with Mastercard 2021 — as the show is officially known. Coldplay is set to open the show for the fifth time in their career, performing their new single “Higher Power.” The show will also include performances by The Weeknd (performing remotely), Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Griff (this year’s Rising Star award winner), Headie One, and Rag’n’Bone Man & P!nk with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Choir.

Comedian and actor Jack Whitehall is set to host the Brits for the fourth consecutive year. The show will be held at The O2 arena, with a live audience of about 4,000 people, roughly one-fifth of the venue’s capacity.

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Travis Barker Gives Kourtney Kardashian a Lavish Gift on Mother’s Day

It’s a beautiful Mother’s Day for Kourtney Kardashian, thanks in part to a lovely gift from Travis Barker.

The couple both showed off the gift on their Instagram Stories on Sunday (May 9): a massive arrangement of flowers that rivals the other grand floral gesture the Blink-182 rocker made on Kardashian’s birthday.

Three very large floral installments can be seen in the new video clips, on which the mom of three tagged Barker’s name with a heart and a wide-eyed emoji.

The pair have been showing off their budding romance via social media throughout the last few months, after making their relationship Instagram official just after Valentine’s Day. Recently, their public displays of affection have included some cheeky snapshots and steamy photos.

See the romantic Mother’s Day gift on Instagram.

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Fans Choose Bebe Rexha’s ‘Better Mistakes’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Bebe Rexha’s Better Mistakes tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 7) on Billboard, choosing Rexha’s latest album as their favorite new music release of the past week.

Rexha’s Better Mistakes, which features Doja Cat, Travis Barker, Lil Uzi Vert, Lunay, Ty Dolla $ign, Rick Ross and more, brought in more than half of the vote this week, landing at 53%.

“During the process of this album, I’ve gotten to know myself really well, and the person that I am. And I’ve learned to accept that person, to accept her, flaws and all. I think that’s the number one thing in life — the acceptance within yourself, your failures, the good parts and the bad parts,” Rexha recently told Billboard about the making of her sophomore album.

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

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CNCO’s Joel Pimentel Is Leaving the Band: ‘We Are and Will Always Be Brothers’

Joel Pimentel is leaving CNCO to move on to a new chapter of his career, Billboard has learned.

The band announced Pimentel’s departure on Sunday (May 9) with a statement posted in Spanish and English. His last official appearance with CNCO will be at a livestreaming concert this Friday (May 14).

“We’re sad to tell you that after five and a half unforgettable and life changing years together, Friday, May 14th will be Joel’s last day as a member of CNCO,” the group, who just released the covers album Déjà Vu in February, wrote on Twitter. “We want you all to know that while Joel is leaving and will be pursuing new opportunities, we are and will always be brothers. We support him in his next chapter, and will always, most importantly, remain a family.”

“We know this news is saddening and is going to be as hard for all of you as it is for us,” they said, addressing the band’s future, “but we appreciate you sticking with us. While it will be different, we are so excited to continue into this new era of CNCO, and can’t wait for all of you to see what we have in store for you!”

CNCO wrote, “You guys are what keep us going and have us so excited to continue together stronger than ever. For that reason, we wanted to give you a final gift all together. On Friday, we will perform, the five of us, one last time for our global livestream concert event.”

Pimentel retweeted the note on his Twitter account and updated fans with some words of his own.

“It’s time for me to grow an explore new artistic avenues, it’s time to start building my own path and career. This is why I’ve decided to leave the band,” the Mexican-American artist explained.

“To Erick, Chris, Richard and Zabdiel, I truly wish you the best as you continue on with the CNCO legacy,” wrote Pimentel. “We’ve lived through so much together that we’re family now.”

He added, “I can’t wait to share my new project with y’all. This is just a new beginning.”

See their posts below.

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LaKeith Stanfield apologizes for moderating anti-Semitic Clubhouse chat

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Jennifer Lopez Brings Her Mom to the Stage at ‘Vax Live’ Concert

The opening number of Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World was especially sentimental. Jennifer Lopez treated the crowd to a live cover of “Sweet Caroline” — a touching performance not only dedicated to her mother, but also featuring her.

“When I was thinking about what song to sing tonight, I remembered the song she used to sing to me as a baby,” J. Lo told the crowd after explaining that she missed spending Christmas with her during the pandemic.

She then introduced her vaccinated mother to the stage to help her out with the Neil Diamond classic she would sing to her as a baby.

“When I used to rock you,” her mom sweetly said, “I would say, ‘Sweet Jennifer.’”

Vax Live was put on with the mission to seek wider, more equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, with the help of some big stars.

The Selena Gomez-hosted fundraising event aired on May 8 on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube (stream it here) and iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations.

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