After launching her The Life of a Showgirl promo run with a bunch of English interview appearances, Taylor Swift was back on U.S. late night TV on Monday night (Oct. 6) for an extended sit-down with The Tonight Show‘s Jimmy Fallon that included the singer weighing in on whether she was approached to play next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, the real meaning behind one of the lustiest songs on her new album and the reason bestie Ed Sheeran found out about her engagement on the internet like the rest of us.

After Fallon came out to do his traditional monologue, the Roots interrupted him and said, “Just stop wasting time and bring her out already.” So, after what he called the loudest ovation he’s ever heard from the studio audience, Fallon greeted the singer — who came out sparkling in a shimmery silver mini dress and matching heels — saying he needed to get a look at that gigantic “blinding” engagement ring on her finger.

After they rehashed the by-now-canon details of her elaborate engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (“he’s just my favorite person I’ve ever met”), Swift and Fallon played a modified version of two truths and a lie that opened with the rumor that she turned down a chance to play the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show because the NFL wouldn’t allow her to own the performance footage.

“Here’s the thing: Jay-Z has always been very good to me,” Swift said of the rap mogul who’s Roc Nation produces the halftime show after smiling and holding her tongue until the rest of the rumors were read. “Our teams are really close. They sometimes will call and say, ‘How does she feel about [the Super Bowl]?’ And that’s not like an official offer or like a conference room conversation. Just ‘Our teams are really close, how does she feel about it in general?’”

Swift explained that her team has always been very frank with Roc Nation about her ties to the NFL via Kelce. “And we’re always able to tell him the truth. Which is that I am in love with a guy who does that sport on that actual field,” she said. “That is violent chess. That is gladiators without swords. That is dangerous. The whole season I am locked in on what that man is doing on the field. Can you imagine that he’s out there every single week, like putting his life on the line, doing this very dangerous, very high pressure, high intensity sport, and I’m like, ‘I wonder what my choreo should be?’”

As for allegedly turning down the most-viewed performance slot of the year, Swift said that her decision to pass “is nothing to do with Travis. He would love for me to do it. I’m just too locked in.” It’s not like the NFL wasn’t interested. In September, commissioner Roger Goodell told the Today Show, “we would always love to have Taylor play... she would be welcome at any time.” The slot ended up going to Bad Bunny, who will take the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Feb. 8.

Here’s the thing about her bestie Sheeran.

He famously doesn’t have a cell phone, so Swift, 35, confirmed that he found out about her engagement by reading about it online. “That’s so true,” she confirmed as Fallon fell on the floor in shock.” He doesn’t have a phone!,” Swift jumped in to clarify that it was nothing against Sheeran, who she emphasized is an important person in her life. “It’s very eccentric, love it,” she said, pantomiming going through her contacts to alert people to the good news.

“I’m going through my texts and being like, ‘who have I texted within the last month of my life?’ And he just wasn’t there,” Swift explained. “You have to email him and then set up a FaceTime and he has to find an iPad and they have to give it to him like he’s like a child… this is one of my absolute favorite people on the planet and the news came out and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we forgot to call Ed!’ He’s like family, I love him, but he doesn’t have a phone!”

With Showgirl easily on track to be the best-selling album of the year with three million copies sold in the first four days, Swift described the album as a “surprise and a secret” she’s been carrying around with her for a year, comparing it to a really great Christmas present you got for your brother that you need to sit on for 12 months. “It’s really exciting that they have opened the present and they are playing with the toy,” she said, calling the album the “most well-matched” era in terms of where she’s at personally and the vibe of the album synching up.

Though The Diplomat star Keri Russell was also on the show Monday night — and was welcomed by Fallon with a reading of a vintage 2008 MySpace bio from Swift in which she called Russell the “coolest celebrity ever” —  the night truly belonged to Taylor. From the cold open in which Fallon dressed up in a sparkly marching band costume and danced to “The Fate of Ophelia” with a group of glittery showgirls, to house band the Roots changing up their typical shout-out of the episode number to proclaim “She’s here!” the show made Swift feel right at home.

Later in the episode, Swift and Fallon sat down to dissect a few of the songs on the album, including, of course, the randy homage to her fiancé Travis Kelce’s “Wood,” with both Swift and the studio audience enthusiastically singing along. “You know the words already?” both Fallon and Swift marveled at the studio audience chanting along to “Opalite,” another homage to Kelce.

In extended versions of the interview posted on YouTube, Swift also addressed being “the most annoying” person when it comes to talking about her obsession with baking bread, as well as the joy of getting her masters back after years of getting sad watching her old music videos at a time when she didn’t own her music. She also swatted down Fallon’s false rumor that she joked that good pal Selena Gomez “beat me to the altar” when she attended the singer’s wedding to Benny Blanco on Sept. 27.

“I got to see her be the most elegant gorgeous, not only bride, but vision that I’ve ever seen in my life,” Swift said. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful than her on her wedding day… I did make a speech but I actually made a point not to mention anything about my engagement.” She then impersonated that woman who makes it all about her and shows off her ring during her speech. “I was like ‘don’t mention it,’ maybe turn it around.”

Check out clips of Swift on The Tonight Show below, including her playing a game of “lasts” and breaking down her self-directed video for first single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” including explaining the very personal story behind the “Kitty Finlay” shout-out in the clip.

French music company Believe has launched a new music publishing arm, the company announced Tuesday (Oct. 6).

Believe Music Publishing launches more than two years after Believe acquired U.K.-based publisher Sentric Music Group, which represented more than four million songs and over 400,000 songwriters in more than 200 territories at the time of the deal. Believe bought Sentric from Utopia Music in a transaction that valued it at €47 million ($51 million). When the transaction was announced, Believe founder/CEO Denis Ladegaillerie billed it as a “first step” in the company’s expansion into publishing.

Chris Meehan, who joined Believe following its acquisition of Sentric, which he founded in 2006, will serve as CEO of Believe Music Publishing, overseeing a staff that includes 160 publishing experts and dedicated teams across creative, synch and revenue optimization. Sentric will continue offering admin solutions for self-published songwriters, while its TuneCore subsidiary, which was included in the 2023 acquisition of Sentric, will continue providing its clients with a publishing admin service.

In a press release, Believe says it grew digital revenue 13 points above the market last year for songwriters represented by the company.

In addition to Meehan, several other executives have been appointed as leaders of Believe Music Publishing in various territories, including:

Ismaël Kané, who previously oversaw BlueSky’s publishing activities in France and elsewhere, who will serve as head of publishing in France.

Alexandra Ziem, previously director of creative at Sony/ATV, as head of publishing for Believe in Germany.

Sunil Gursahani, previously with Tips Music, as head of Believe Music Publishing in India and South Asia.

Chris Dampier — previously director of film, TV and visual media at BMI and vp at TuneCore Publishing — as head of publishing in North America.

Monthira Tunthagadh, a Thailand-based executive who previously oversaw international publishing management at GMM Grammy, as A&R manager for Southeast Asia.

Believe Music Publishing’s roster includes songwriters such as Djo, Eli & Fur, Don Broco, Enter Shikari, Monobloc, The Lottery Winners, Ms Banks, Sammy Virji and La Fleur.

“The launch of Believe Music Publishing consolidates Believe’s position as an integrated global music company,” said Ladegaillerie in a statement. “With digital now being the biggest driver of collections for creators, and the publishing market exceeding €4 billion after a decade of double-digit growth, we are uniquely positioned to lead the evolving publishing market, where growth continues to be increasingly driven by digital, with a publishing arm that now matches and complements our leadership in recording. I am confident that Chris and the outstanding team he is building will successfully drive our innovative digital-first offering, putting our global and comprehensive approach at the service of artists, labels and publishers at each stage of their careers.”

Meehan added, “It has been an incredible journey and honor to build the foundations and see the first exceptional results of Believe’s publishing business, since its acquisition of Sentric. I am convinced that our unique model, expert teams, innovative approach with our CMO and DSP partners, as well as our industry leading technology will lead Believe to consolidate its position as a key global publishing player in the years to come.”

As Stone Temple Pilots once said, so much depends on the weather.

On Friday in the Mojave Desert, roughly 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas, Rise festival learned this the hard way, which is to say the weather did not cooperate. High winds and attendant dust forced Rise organizers to open the gates almost three hours late, with the night’s set times subsequently shuffled and the evening’s centerpiece event — the release of thousands of paper lanterns into the sky — canceled entirely.

Meanwhile, reports of hourslong wait times for attendees arriving from the Vegas Strip by shuttle, plus sparse food options, were posted on social media by many incensed pass holders in the time during and after night 1.

The internet pile-on was swift and harsh, and the vibe on the grounds Friday night was, in many moments, challenging. The wind and dust got in eyes and nostrils, for many necessitating face masks, with chilly winds adding a bite to the air. Some waited in long lines for drinks and food while others (like us) sailed right up with no problem. As many in the crowd stood protecting their eyes while standing amid hundreds of unlit torches, reminding us that the night’s core activity wasn’t happening, in moments the experience felt more like one to endure rather than enjoy.

Still, the show went on, with the thousands of attendees on site doing their best to make the best of it. A member of the crowd handed ski goggles to singer Emitt Fenn during his evening performance so he could continue playing without hazard. (“Getting sick, having all my gear broken, and destroying my voice was definitely not in my bingo card but I still had the time of my life,” the artist later wrote in a post about his set. “Thank you everyone who still came out to Rise festival and howled at the moon with me through a sandstorm.”)

Fenn was followed by LP Giobbi, who heroically just danced in the wind during her characteristically spirited set on the Compass Stage, with Ben Böhmer and Rüfüs du Sol both putting on memorable (for them probably as well, given the conditions) performances Friday night on the Horizon Stage. Though the night ultimately wrapped with the most-anticipated acts successfully performing their sets in full, online chatter was ablaze with refund requests, complaints on the festival’s social media pages, and even nicknaming Rise as “Dustpocalypse 2025.”

Taking place on the Jean Roach Dry Lake Beds, an expanse of flat desert tucked between the I-15 and rolling hills of the Mojave, Rise bills itself as the world’s largest paper lantern festival. It was heavily advertised on social media, with ads also flashing on digital billboards along the Strip, with the vibey time on offer being a stark contrast to the mega-clubs and magic shows. This year, the selling point was also an eye-popping lineup featuring big-font names Ben Bohmer, Rüfüs Du Sol, Disclosure, Calvin Harris, Goose and John Mayer.

Given its desert location, Rise altogether gave a feeling of a smaller and more metropolitan-adjacent Burning Man, complete with various art installations, desert fashion and an intentionality-focused mindset, albeit one that divided attendees into silver, gold, platinum and diamond tier hangout areas depending on the investment they made in tickets.

All of the aforementioned elements worked significantly better on Saturday, when the winds died down to a pleasant flutter and the night sky was clear of dust. These improvements by Mother Nature were accompanied by much smoother ingress and egress experiences, thanks to the work that staff put in between days one and two. (And a big shout-out to the entire festival staff at large, who were perpetually friendly and helpful, even when the winds were rough.)

By the time thousands of lanterns were glittering in the sky on Saturday, it was easy to forget about how tough Friday was, or, better yet, it was easy to remember that sometimes life isn’t entirely pleasant, but that challenges make the special moments shine brighter. (Although this sentiment is perhaps less easy to accept for attendees who’d only gotten a single-day ticket for Friday.)

Adding to the collective-experience approach, Rise only put on one musical performance at any given time, with shows happening across two stages. The Compass area was located at the center of the site, and the Rise stage, the size of which rivaled that of any major festival and which appeared like a sort of surreal apparition in the distance when arriving to the site, was situated at the fest’s further point.

While there were long lag times between sets, the sound was pristine and the infrastructure at large — safari-style tents, linen couches, art installations, multiple bars, a kitchen slinging sliders, mac and cheese with ribeye and other included snacks for platinum and diamond pass attendees — altogether created a luxe aesthetic that was particularly impressive considering that the festival site is typically just a flat swath of empty land outside of Las Vegas.

Or “Las Vegas-ish” as John Mayer called it on Sunday night, when he greeted the crowd gathered before him. The stage had been warmed up by the always-excellent jam band Goose; their pairing with Mayer creating a Sunday demographic shift that saw the dance fans of Friday and Saturday transition to a generally older crowd. Mayer opened with “Last Train Home,” before acknowledging that the audience had been on the site for awhile, “So I’m going to give you my absolute best.” He then traversed his catalog while playing songs like 2009’s “Who Says” and 2012’s “Queen of California” while delivering guitar solos that reminded us that he’s simply one of the best guitarists of a generation.

The shows on Saturday were more party-focused, with the main stage first welcoming Disclosure, who opened with 2013’s “When a Fire Starts to Burn” (a song included on Billboard‘s recent list of the 50 best house songs of all time), before tearing through an ever-widening arsenal of hits that included “White Noise,” this year’s Anderson .Paak collab “No Cap” and, of course, their all-time banger “Latch.” The show felt like less a warm-up for Harris, but a double billing for the show by the Scottish dance architect, who ripped though his own expansive catalog until a climax moment that saw a genuinely wild amount of fireworks light up the sky.

But by Saturday and Sunday there were light sources vying for top billing. The first was a bright and nearly full super moon, which rose gorgeously over the hills each day of the fest, helping remind one that while the festival site (which was accessible by just one road) wasn’t the easiest to get in and out of, there were rewards for making the effort. The second, of course, was the marquee experience: the lanterns.

On paper, the experience sounds quite straightforward: write some personal sentiments on a paper lantern and release it into the sky alongside thousands of others. In practice, it’s hard to put into words how awe-inspiring it was — and not just the dazzling image of the thousands of twinkling lanterns seeming to move in slow motion as they lifted into the sky and classical music played through the speakers, but glimpsing some of the messages written on them: “Let’s go on more adventures together,” one implored. “Peace on earth,” requested another. “I will see you in heaven Roger,” read one, while another asked for “clean oceans.”

The lantern components each lasted for 90 minutes or so on Saturday and Sunday, creating a real emotional center to each night, particularly as one considered the idea that every single lantern represented not just a person, but their greatest prayers and dreams. Children were seen playing amidst the torches, several engagements happened, people cried, friends embraced, couples kissed, and for at least a few moments in this perpetually distressing world, there was awe and a mood that felt peaceful.

It’s a delicate premise when a festival’s focal point depends on the wind. When it didn’t pan out, the effects were distinctly deflating, but when it worked, it was elevating on every level.

BLACKPINK’s JISOO has hinted at the release of a surprise duet this month.

On Monday (Oct. 6), she unveiled a mysterious teaser image on social media, featuring a shadowed male silhouette standing behind her, with the word “EYESCLOSED” written across the frame — suggesting an upcoming collaboration. “A duet is near,” the caption reads. A second post brought the shadowed male closer to the forefront, with the caption: “two voices, one orbit. coming soon.”

The mysterious collaborator has been revealed to be Zayn Malik, a former member of One Direction.

In the teaser, JISOO stands in the foreground while the male figure looms behind her — his back turned, adding intrigue to the release.

Zayn was previously seen attending BLACKPINK’s New York concert on July 27, accompanied by his daughter, Khai. After the show, he shared a photo from the audience with the caption:
“@BLACKPINKOFFICIAL THANK YOU 🙂 ME & KHAI LOVED IT,” sparking curiosity about the connection between the two artists.

The upcoming duet will mark JISOO’s first new music release since her solo EP Amortage in February, which featured tracks like “Earthquake,” “Your Love” and “Hugs & Kisses.”

JISOO is currently on BLACKPINK’s Deadline world tour, which began in Seoul in July and will resume in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Oct. 18 following a brief break after the group’s London shows in August.