Since her divorce from fellow country music artist Michael Ray in 2020, Carly Pearce has been outspoken about the split and the fallout from it — most prominently on her 2021 EP 29 and its follow-up album 29: Written in Stone.

Songs like “What He Didn’t Do” and “Diamondback” delved into the emotional tatters of the split. In a new interview on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Pearce notes that the things she wrote about on the 29 projects were pulled from real life.

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The former couple initially met in 2018 and married in 2019, which Pearce described as all happening too fast. “I thought he was so cute. I’d heard he’s the nicest guy in the world,” Pearce recalls. “I invited him to my [Billboard Country Airplay] No. 1 party for ‘Every Little Thing.’ Looking back on it, it was a hot and heavy lust. It wasn’t love. It was just passionate.”

She added, “I got married to go the distance. When I married him it was for the right reasons. I think when you travel like this, I thought I was doing the right thing to get married till I was 29. But we didn’t have real conversations and we didn’t really know about each other. We were kind of living this life that wasn’t really reality. I think we didn’t really know each other. I knew the night I got married that I shouldn’t have. I think the best thing that ever happened to me was COVID, because it allowed me to deal with that in private. I think that I probably would have stayed in it longer if I could have avoided it, and not had to… I was embarrassed when it happened…and was heartbroken.”

Pearce filed for divorce less than a year after their wedding. “It wasn’t what I signed up for,” she said, reflecting on the brief marriage. “It just wasn’t the marriage that I know I deserved. I knew that very quickly. We were only married for eight months. Plenty happened to where it was very clear to me this was not, this just wasn’t a marriage.”

Asked if there was infidelity within the marriage, Pearce responded that her 2022 Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit “What He Didn’t Do” “wasn’t just written out of thin air. … It wasn’t good.”

But Pearce also stressed that she’s ultimately thankful for the lessons learned from the marriage. “Thank you, because you taught me how strong I am. You put me through things that have made me better now. And I don’t wish him evil. I don’t wish anything on him. I’m so glad that I’m not in that anymore,” she said.

When Bunnie Xo asked about a possible “Jolene” in the situation — referencing the title mistress from Dolly Parton’s 1973 country classic — without naming any names, Pearce simply said, “Let’s just say I’m not a fan of her. I’m not a fan of him. I could’ve done so much more than I did.”

Pearce also noted how she had hoped for direct answers in the marriage.

“It’s tough to think that… just leave me instead. I shut my mouth for so long, because I felt like I had to. And I’m not here to blow anybody up. I don’t care anymore. When you are faced with somebody that was a really dark season for you, and then they go and blow it up on the Internet, like…also, you go, ‘I don’t know if he told her we were divorced.’ I don’t know. All I know is … that was not a fun situation for me. i think what’s harder is at the end of it, you want somebody … who is gonna look you in the eye and say, ‘Yeah, I did this.’ … But I never got any of that. I had to piece together a lot of things after the fact. But they were facts.”

A few months after the news of the divorce was made public, fans began speculating that Ray was dating Tyler Reese Tritt (daughter of country singer Travis Tritt), after photos surfaced of the two together.

During the Opry 100 celebration earlier this year, which was televised from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Pearce and Tritt made headlines when Pearce performed “Jolene” during the television special. When some online commenters noticed that the cameras didn’t pan to show Tyler Reese Tritt until after Pearce’s performance, Pearce herself commented, saying, “Aw don’t you worry, I looked right at her.”

Last year, Pearce followed up her 29 projects with Hummingbird, featuring the Chris Stapleton collaboration “We Don’t Fight Anymore” and “Truck on Fire.” “We Don’t Fight Anymore” was nominated for a Grammy Award (Pearce, along with Ashley McBryde, previously won a Grammy for best country duo/group performance for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl”). “We Don’t Fight Anymore” was also nominated for musical event of the year at the CMA Awards.

In 2023, Ray released the single “Spirits and Demons,” featuring Meghan Patrick, and released the EP Dive Bars & Broken Hearts.

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If you’re looking for stylish sunglasses to complete your outfit, Shenseea has plenty of great options for you. Teaming up with Glasses USA, the Jamaican pop star has curated a selection of sunglasses and optical frames that fit her trendsetting personal style. From vibrant picks like the Muse Link shades to a more classic design in the Amelia E. Waverley frame, there are a variety of designs and styles to shop that’ll help level up your summer aesthetic.

Blending personal style with star power, this collaboration brings Shenseea’s sparkle to life through each frame. “For me, style is all about having fun and keeping it real,” says Shenseea in a statement. “This collection with GlassesUSA.com is about wearing what makes you feel good and confident – just being yourself.”

The collection includes oversized silhouettes, sleek cat-eyes, tinted lenses, and glossy finishes designed to move seamlessly from day to night. Whether you’re heading to a rooftop party, a festival, or simply grabbing coffee with friends, these frames are made to add a burst of personality to any look.

“Shenseea’s style is about confidence and energy,” said Arie Tom, CMO of GlassesUSA.com in the press release. “We wanted this collection to feel like her music- fresh, vibrant, and impossible to ignore. These frames are a reflection of who you are. Like Shenseea says, we took it to the max- bold designs, interesting details, and held nothing back.”

The Shenseea x GlassesUSA.com collection is now available exclusively at GlassesUSA.com, and feature many sunglasses on sale up to 60% off right now. Shop Shenseea’s picks below.

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Drake’s music cracks pockets of society he probably didn’t think were possible. Indiana math teacher Natalie Kaczmarski, or Miss Kacz, went viral on TikTok for her academic-themed cover of Drake’s “Nokia.”

“Who’s ready for class?” she raps in Drake’s cadence, ad libs included. “Is it geometry, is it honors, is it algebra, is it math lab, is it SRT. Who’s awake to function?”

She then goes into how good she is at teaching math and her ban on ChatGPT and using cell phones in class. “You want some good grades, then lock in some,” she concludes in her cover.

The video has more than 135,000 likes on TikTok and mixed reviews in the comments. “No but fr deep down we know even tho it’s a bit cringe it takes a teacher that cares enough to try and relate to our interests no im not a teacher in disguise this is coming from,” one person wrote.

Another chimed in coming to her defense: “Nah she’s cooking why y’all hating?”

“Nokia” landed on Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U project in February, and went on to reach No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to Complex, Miss Kacz has been covering Drake songs since 2019, while performing tracks like “Rich Baby Daddy.”

@nataliekacz4

Drake+Math, not too shabby🎶📚 My version of Rich Baby Daddy 🤑👶🏼🦉 @drakerelated_ @Sexyy Red #teachertok #teachersoftiktok #firstdayofschool #FYP #mathteacher #teacherrap #richbabydaddy

♬ original sound – natkacz

After one of her videos went viral, she joined Good Morning America in 2024, where she explained the inspiration behind her covers.

“I just kind of wanted them to think, like OK, she’s this cool quirky lady,” she said. “I absolutely love my job and I think the best way to have an impact on students is to show them that you care, they feel comfortable in your room, and they can relate to you. So if I want to be an effective math teacher, I want them to at first feel comfortable in my room and think that they can relate to me.”

Watch the clip of Miss Kacz performing her version of “Nokia” below.

@nataliekacz4

I could teach you to math so easily👩‍🏫📚Drake’s Nokia sounding differently📲🦉@drakerelated_ #teachersoftiktok #firstdayofschool #FYP #mathteacher #nokia

♬ original sound – natkacz

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Megan Thee Stallion is and has always been an anime fan.

From whipping up creative cosplays of characters such as Satoru Gojo and Bruno Bucciarati, to bingeing the best of the best series out right now, Megan has been very vocal about her love of the Japanese animated genre over the years. The musician has even referenced some of her favorite anime series in some of her music videos and songs in tracks such as “Hiss” or “Otaku Hot Girl.”

As if all that wasn’t enough, in a 2020 interview with GQ, the rapper spoke on her love of anime in a video titled 10 Things Megan Thee Stallion Can’t Live Without. “I literally begin my day watching anime and I end my day watching anime,” the rapper began. “When I’m doing my makeup, I’ll have it playing in the background, and then before I go to sleep at night, it’s what I fall asleep to.”

To further prove her devotion to the genre during her GQ interview, Megan divulged some of her recent watches while showing off a manicure inspired by the anime Blue Exorcist.

If you’re interested in anime but don’t know where to start, why not take your cues from Megan? In honor of the “otaku hottie” herself, we’ve rounded up some of the rapper’s favorite anime series that you can stream right now on Hulu, Apple TV, Crunchyroll and Amazon’s Prime Video. We’re talking big names such as Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia, along with throwbacks including Hunter x Hunter and Inuyasha.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

SHONEN/ACTION/ADVENTURE

‘My Hero Academia’

An anime adapted from a manga of the same name by Kōhei Horikoshi.


You know it, you love it, it’s My Hero Academia. If you don’t know about this anime, it was released in the U.S. back in 2018 and became a hit from the jump. The animated series is set in a world where everyone is given “quirks” when they’re born. Some of these people will use said quirks to become superheroes.

The story’s protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, aspires to be a hero too, but here’s the catch: He doesn’t have a quirk. You can stream this anime on Hulu, Apple TV, and Prime Video, all with a subscription. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads. The show currently has seven seasons and is ongoing. The last season, season eight, is set to release in October. The anime can be streamed English-dubbed or with English subtitles.

Megan has shared her love for the series a number of times. Back in 2019, the musician graced the cover of Paper Magazine cosplaying Todoroki, a character with a fire and ice quirk, from the series. Then in 2022, Megan shared another cosplay on her Instagram, this time of Mirko, whose quirk grants her the physical attributes and abilities of a rabbit.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

SHONEN/DARK FANTASY

‘Attack on Titan’

An anime based on a manga of the same name by Hajime Isayama.


Attack on Titan is another widely beloved anime that took the U.S. by storm with its launch in 2014. The series has four seasons that can be streamed on Hulu, Prime Video and Apple TV with a subscription. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads. Lucky for late adopters, the show ended back in 2023, so you can stream the show in its entirety right now. The anime can be streamed with English subtitles and an English dub.

The show is set in an apocalyptic world where humans are forced to live in walled-off cities to protect them from human-eating Titans. The anime centers around Eren Yeager, who vows to take down the Titans after one destroys his home and kills his mother. Megan showed her love for the series in her 2024 track “Wanna Be” with GloRilla by referencing the show’s Female Titan.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

BATTLE SHONEN

‘Hunter × Hunter’

An anime based off of a manga of the same name by Yoshihiro Togashi.


Hunter x Hunter is a classic anime. The series was released in 2011 and features six seasons. The series aired until 2014. The 1998 manga that the anime was based on is still ongoing as of 2024. You can stream the 2011 anime adaptation on Apple TV and Hulu with a subscription. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads.

Quickly summarizing the story is borderline impossible. However, to put it simply, the anime is all about Hunters. These Hunters are licensed members of society who get licensed by passing the rigorous Hunter’s Examination. The anime’s protagonist Gon Freecss dreams of becoming a Hunter like his estranged father. The “Mamushi” rapper has openly spoken about her polarizing love of villain Hisoka, a character that is widely disliked in the fandom. Despite this, Megan rides for him.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

SHONEN/ACTION/DARK FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL

‘Jujutsu Kaisen’

An anime based on a manga of the same name by Gege Akutami.


Jujutsu Kaisen exploded onto the anime scene back in 2020, garnering widespread love for its unique animation style and striking cast of characters. The show is based on a manga of the same name by Gege Akutami that began serialization in 2018. As of now, there are two available seasons that you can stream on Prime Video, Apple TV and Hulu in English dubbed or with English subtitles. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads.

The third season is set to release in 2026. The show centers around Yuji Itadori, a high schooler who swallows a cursed object, a finger from the dangerous sorcerer Ryomen Sukuna, giving him access to powers. Yuji has to find a way to control Sukuna and free himself from the curse he’s under through an excoriation while training to become a Jujutsu sorcerer.

Megan’s track “Otaku Hot Girl” on her 2024 album MEGAN features a sample from the Jujutsu Kaisen soundtrack along with a voice line from voice actor Adam McAurthur, who plays Yuji in the anime’s English dub. Also in 2024, Megan posted a cosplay of one of the anime’s main characters, Satoru Gojo, to her Instagram.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

SHONEN/SEINEN

‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’

An anime based on a manga of the same name by Hirohiko Araki.


JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is extremely popular, and it’s easy to see why. The story is beyond wacky and engaging, while the art and animation styles are unlike anything the anime world has seen before. The anime is still ongoing and was released back in 2012 and is based on a manga of the same name by Hirohiko Araki.

You can stream JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure right now in English dubbed or with English subtitles via Apple TV, Prime Video and Hulu with a subscription. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads. As of 2025, there are six seasons of the anime available. The seventh season, titled “Steel Ball Run,” is currently in production. Both the anime and manga are situated into parts, like an anthology, with different characters and plots that all interlock in one way or another.

The key unifier in every story is the Joestar bloodline stemming from the series’ first-ever protagonist, Jonathan Joestar. Every main character is a part of the Joestar lineage, signified by a star-shaped birthmark. Although the plot is much too complicated to explain properly, all you need to know is that all the characters in the series have powers of some kind, whether that be with fighting ghosts called Stands, featured in the later seasons, or through a fighting technique called Hamon in the first two seasons.

As for Megan’s love of the anime, well, it goes pretty deep. While in attendance at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2024, the rapper paid homage to one of the series’ main characters, Bruno Bucciarati, by cosplaying as the character on the red carpet. Megan has also cosplayed Jolyne Cujoh and Trish Una from the series.

Megan Thee Stallion's Favorite Animes: How to Stream Them

SHONEN/FANTASY

‘Inuyasha’

An anime based on a manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi.


Inuyasha might be one of the oldest entries on this list, but it’s still just as popular as the rest. The anime first aired back in the 2000s and ran until 2004. The series is comprised of seven seasons that can be streamed in English dubbed or with English subtitles on Hulu and Prime Video with a subscription. You can stream on Crunchyroll without a subscription, but you’ll have to watch ads.

The anime centers around Kagome Higurashi, a modern-day schoolgirl who is transported back in time to feudal Japan. Kagome discovers that she is the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo and accidentally summons a half-demon named Inuyasha. The pair then embarks on a journey to find the scattered fragments of the Shikon Jewel, which is a powerful jewel that can grant immense power.

In an interview with Polygon back in 2024, Megan spoke about the definitive “hot girl” in anime. Her answer? Inuyasha’s main protagonist Kagome. “She got all the boys fighting over her; she’s running around with her jewelry around her neck trying to put it all back together, and she just always comes out on top,” Megan told Polygon. “Also, she has good hair. That’s important.”

Freddie Gibbs made an appearance on The Butcher Block Podcast and talked about his experience working on the first installment of Vultures alongside Ye (formerly Kanye West). And while he’s said he was grateful for the opportunity and had a great time working with Ye, things didn’t quite pan out like he hoped they would.

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The Gary, Indiana, rapper told a story about the time he sent Ye a Complex list highlighting the best verses of 2024 where the outlet ranked Freddie’s “Back to Me” at No. 12, expecting a positive reaction; but instead he claims the Chicago rapper was jealous that none of his verses made the cut.

“This n—a Kanye was mad about that sh–,” Gibbs said. “That n—a was telling n—as like, ‘Man, how the f— this n—a think his verse is the best on my album?’”

He added, “When I sent it to him, I sent it to him thinking that, with the premise, he’d be proud of me. ‘Cause I look up to you. So I would think that, I rapped on your album, and people talking about it like this, you would think that a n—a like you would be proud of me. I was expecting, ‘Man, you did good on that sh–. Let’s keep going.’”

Gibbs continued by saying his verse was better because he was helping Ye by ghostwriting his verses. “That pissed him off,” he said. “Like, ‘How the f— this n—a think he got better verses than me?’ Like, n—a, I’m writing your verses, of course I got better verses than you.”

Billboard has reached out to Ye’s team for comment.

Welcome to the Music Industry (Taylor’s Version). On Monday (Aug. 25), Rachel Platten announced that she’s taking a page out of Taylor Swift‘s book by re-recording some of her biggest hits — including 2015’s Billboard Hot 100 smash “Fight Song” — in an effort to reclaim her voice, just like the pop superstar did.

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Sharing her new project’s black-and-white cover art with the title Fight Song (Rachel’s Version), the New York native revealed in her caption that she will release a collection of new takes on a handful of her older songs on Sept. 26. The LP will also feature some live recordings, plus a “surprise from the vault” — much like Swift’s Taylor’s Version releases, each of which included previously unreleased “Vault” songs that had been scrapped from their respective albums’ original tracklists.

“As we celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Fight Song, I had no idea when I wrote these songs in moments of vulnerability that they would go on to change my life,” Platten wrote in her caption. “For a decade, they’ve lived out in the world, carrying their own weight. They’ve been parts of your moments of strength, doubt, and connection.”

“I’ve gone back to some of my originals, not to change them, but to reclaim them,” she continued. “This is about more than just new versions of old songs; the new Rachel’s Versions are infused with the voice I have now, the wisdom I’ve gained, and the undeniable pride of owning my own masters. I’m grateful to @TaylorSwift for bringing this conversation to light and empowering artists to take back control over their work, their stories, and their futures.”

Released in 2015 via Columbia Records, “Fight Song” spent months climbing the charts before peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100 that August. One person who was definitely a fan of the track just so happened to be Swift, who brought Platten out onstage with her to sing it for thousands of fans at a 1989 World Tour show in Philadelphia more than a decade ago.

“Fight Song” has since become one of the world’s best-known anthems for perseverance in the face of hardship, serving as Hillary Clinton’s campaign song the year after it was released. It would find a home in 2016 on Platten’s album Wildfire, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

And while Platten is just starting out on her journey to take back ownership of her life’s work, Swift recently reached the culmination of hers. In a move that wrapped up six-plus years of oftentimes tense negotiations between the 14-time Grammy winner, Scooter Braun and Shamrock Capital — during which time she re-recorded four of her first six albums, bringing discussions about artist rights and fair recording contracts into the general public’s consciousness — Swift was finally able to purchase the rights to her back catalog earlier this year.

“To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,” Swift wrote in a letter on her website announcing the deal in May. “I’m extremely heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry among artists and fans. Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen.”

See Platten’s post below.

In honor of the life and enduring legacy of the late Connie Francis, Republic/UMe is making much of her music available in a variety of formats. Francis, the top female artist of the late 1950s and early 1960s, died on July 16 at age 87.

Francis’ rediscovered gem “Pretty Little Baby” — which became a viral sensation on social media this spring — will be released on Aug. 29 as a limited-edition baby-pink 7-inch vinyl single. Her 1958 breakthrough hit “Who’s Sorry Now” will be on the flipside; the song reached No. 4 on a pre-Hot 100 pop chart in Billboard.

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Christmas in My Heart, Francis’ 1959 holiday album, will be released on Oct. 17 as an expanded edition on CD with two bonus tracks, “Blue Winter” and “Happy New Year Baby,” along with two vinyl offerings: standard black vinyl or limited-edition “lipstick-red” color vinyl.

More than 100 songs, spanning singles and rarities released between 1955-60, are now available to stream for the first time ever on the compilations The Singles 1955-1957, The Singles 1958-1959, The Singles 1960-1961, Rarities 1957-1959 and Rarities 1960.

Additionally, both volumes of Francis’ The Italian Collection (Italian Favorites and More Italian Favorites, both of which made the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in 1960-61) will return to streaming soon after many years as one compilation.

Over the next few months, more of Francis’ albums will find their way to streaming for the first time, starting Sept. 12 with A New Kind of Connie (which made the Billboard 200 in 1964), along with newly expanded editions of Jealous Heart (1966), My Heart Cries for You (1967), and The Wedding Cake (1969).

Francis made a great deal of history on the Billboard Hot 100. In June 1960, she became the first female solo artist to land a No. 1 hit with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.” Three months later, when “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” reached the top spot, she became the first female solo artist to land two No. 1 hits. In March 1962, when “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You” went all the way, she became the first female solo artist to land three No. 1 hits. She held that record all by herself until March 1974, when Cher tied the record by hitting No. 1 for the third time as a solo artist with “Dark Lady.”

“Pretty Little Baby,” which was never a hit for Francis or even released as a single, introduced millions of young listeners around the globe to Francis’ joyful artistry this spring when the song went viral thanks to its use on TikTok. At its peak, “Pretty Little Baby” averaged 600K+ daily creates on TikTok alone, including posts from celebs and influencers alike, including Kim Kardashian & North West, Kylie Jenner and others.

The song broke into Spotify’s Global and U.S. charts for the first time the week of May 10. It peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart that same month.

Originally released in 1959, Christmas in My Heart found Francis teaming with Geoff Love’s orchestra to capture two distinct sides of the holidays. Side A features secular favorites while Side B focuses on reverent material. The album charted on Billboard’s Top Christmas/Holiday Albums chart in both 1963 and 1964. The album was reissued in 1966 as Connie’s Christmas.

The new expanded edition includes four songs that weren’t on the original 1959 release: “Baby’s First Christmas,” “I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter,” “Blue Winter” and “Happy New Year Baby.” Francis’ recordings of the first three of these songs made the top 30 on the Hot 100. “I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter” was revived in 2015 when Kylie Minogue covered it on her album, Kylie Christmas, which charted on the Billboard 200.

Here’s the complete track listing for the expanded edition of Christmas in My Heart.

Christmas in My Heart – Expanded Edition CD

“White Christmas”
“Winter Wonderland”
“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
“The Twelve Days of Christmas”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“Adeste Fidelis”
“The Lord’s Prayer”
“Silent Night”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
“The First Noel”
“Ave Maria”
“Baby’s First Christmas”
“I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter”
“Blue Winter”
“Happy New Year Baby”

It’s impossible to properly document the Kansas City Chiefs’ past two NFL seasons without mentioning Taylor Swift, whose presence at games amid her romance with tight end Travis Kelce has propelled the team to new levels of fame since 2023.

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Luckily, ESPN’s new docuseries The Kingdom — which chronicles the Chiefs’ unsuccessful quest to win a third consecutive Super Bowl in 2024 — does just that. In an interview with People at the Sunday (Aug. 24) premiere of the six-part project, the team’s owner, Clark Hunt, confirmed that it definitely gives a “fun … little peek into Travis’ relationship with Taylor.”

“There were definitely some elements of that where there were some new things that we learned,” he continued on the red carpet. “We all lived the experience of having her join the Chief’s Kingdom a couple of years ago, and hearing the recounting of her coming to that first game, really from her perspective, I thought was really unique.”

The first game Swift ever attended was the Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears match-up in September 2023, an event that set the still-ongoing “Tayvis” mania into motion. The singer is now a fixture at Kansas City home games, often cheering on her boyfriend from a box suite at Arrowhead Stadium.

And while Swift was not present at the premiere of The Kingdom, Kelce and his parents, Donna and Ed, were. Also on the red carpet, the athlete’s father gushed that his son’s contagiously cheerful demeanor can be attributed to one person: “Taylor.”

“There’s no question about it,” Ed added at the event in Kansas City, noting that he thought Swift’s recent cameo on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast was “awesome.” “They’re two people obviously very much in love.”

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The annual Austin City Limits Music Festival features the best in pop, rock, country, hip-hop and more all coming together at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas for two consecutive weekends of music and art starting on Friday, Oct. 3 and ending on Sunday, Oct. 12.

For 2025, massive recording artists like Sabrina Carpenter, The Strokes, Doechii, Hozier, Luke Combs and Doja Cat are set to perform. Check out a complete list of recording artists performing at Austin City Limits here.

Want to attend Austin City Limits in person? Tickets to the music festival first went on sale through Live Nation and Ticketmaster, while the retailer’s Face Value Exchange program is an option for fans to resell tickets.

However, dates are quickly, or are very close to, selling out, so one of the best ways to find Austin City Limits festival tickets online is through third-party sites, including StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and others — all of which guarantee authentic tickets in time for the event.

In addition, we like that tickets are all delivered digitally, so you can get them sent instantly to your smartphone or email. Prices may also be above or below face value at times.

Where to Find Austin City Limits Music Festival Tickets Online

Looking for cheap seats to attended Austin City Limits? Here’s where to find tickets still available and on sale online.

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Find Austin City Limits Tickets at Stubhub


Stubhub has Austin City Limits tickets available. Stubhub’s Fan Protect Guarantee ensures valid tickets or your money back. And if your event is canceled and not rescheduled, you’ll receive 120% in credit or be given the option of a full refund.

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Find Austin City Limits Tickets at Vivid Seats


You can find Austin City Limits tickets online at Vivid Seats, which lets you search by price, location and “Super Sellers,” which denotes reputable sellers with the best deals on tickets.

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Ookami Mio, a hololive VTuber, has released her second solo album, My Sparkle. It’s been roughly a year and a half since her first solo album, Night walk, whose theme was “night.” Now, on her new album, whose theme is “voyage,” she creates a soundscape that vividly embodies the worldview of her unique songs, like taking journeys to far-flung lands.

Ookami made her debut as a VTuber in December 2018. In August 2021, she released her first original songs, “Howling” and “Bowwow Ahwoooooo,” and then in December 2023 she came out with her first album, Night walk. Since then, she has been engaged in a wide range of musical activities, including being a member of units such as hololive GAMERS and AyaFubuMi. Billboard JAPAN recently had the opportunity to interview her, and she talked about topics like her approach to music over the past four years and how her motivations have changed.

“When I made my first album, my focus was on making the kinds of songs I like and writing songs that would be fun to sing. Of course, I still love singing, but looking at the fans’ reactions, I realized that really it all began with singing because I want people to hear me. Ever since then, when I write music, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the music will reach listeners and how they’ll react. I’ll google what people are saying about my music, and I’ve seen that there’s a lot of variety in people’s favorite songs. Some people interpret my music in the way that I intended, while others take it in totally different ways. I think that has kind of changed the direction I take when making music.”

Ookami also checks fan reactions on social media. She says she has seen some fresh, novel reactions there. “When I was working on my first album, I thought that people were looking for stylish songs like ‘Howling,” but there were a lot of people saying that they liked the ballads like ‘Camellia’ and ‘Insoluble Crystal.’ I cover a lot of Nana Mizuki songs when I stream, and I thought of myself as being good at singing that kind of stylish song, but the reality is that my fans also really like ballads.”

Her new album is stylistically more wide-ranging than her previous album, with many softer songs like “Dandelion” and “Shoushin Ryokou.” “When I was working on the second album, I thought about what listeners wanted from Ookami Mio. I decided I should try making more laid-back music that would be soothing to listen to. Also, personally, I love travelling, and I go on lots of trips with other hololive members. When on the Shinkansen or traveling by plane, I usually listen to beautiful, relaxing music. I wanted to make the kind of music people want to listen to when they’re traveling, or when they’re feeling anxious.”

“Dotta Batta Chindochu!” (meaning “crazy, slapstick journey”) includes memories from her own private travels. Last year, while visiting Las Vegas with fellow hololive artists Oozora Subaru and Sakura Miko, she encountered a spot of trouble. “It was my first time getting a passport on my own and traveling overseas. Sakura Miko and I don’t speak any English, and Oozora Subaru can communicate just a little, mainly through enthusiasm and vibes, so the three of us going on our own to America was just begging for trouble (laughs). Oozora Subaru’s energy is something to see, so even when the language barrier was in the way, she was great at looking people in the eye and expressing herself, driven by this powerful desire to communicate. The song “Dotta Batta Chindochu!” from the new album was inspired by that trip. I talked to BOTCHI BOROMARU about our experiences in Las Vegas, and that led to the creation of the song. The lyrics include the line ‘Don’t forget your wallet and your passport!’ That’s because I actually lost my passport in Las Vegas (laughs). Someone delivered it to the Lost and Found, and they were like ‘You girls have been blessed by a miracle.’”

“Whenever I travel with someone else, it tends to turn into a ‘dotta batta chindochu’-like trip, but I also travel by myself. Those trips tend to be more soothing, peaceful journeys, like my song ‘Shoushin Ryokou.’ There’s a lot to say about that song. After my first album came out, my manager and my music producer, who had helped me out so much, left my team. They had worked so hard with me on the first album, I’d just assumed we’d make the second album together, too. So their departure came as a shock. Of course, I took a really positive approach in working with the new team on the new album, but there were times when I missed the old team, and it was a little hard-going. That’s when I wrote ‘Shoushin Ryokou.’ I changed the kanji for writing ‘shoushin’ from kanji that mean ‘heartbreak’ to kanji that mean ‘timid.’ (Translator’s note: Normally, ‘shoushin ryokou’ means ‘a trip you take to relieve heartbreak,’ but this song’s name is written using different kanji.) It’s not like I dislike my new team, and now, having finished the album, I’m glad that I worked on it with them. I truly feel like I’ve been blessed by being able to work with wonderful people.”

When asked about what was behind the title of the album, My Sparkle. “The first song I ever posted was a vocal cover of was RADWIMPS’ ‘Sparkle.’ The song had a lot of personal significance to me, and my fans listened to it a lot, so I wanted to use the word ‘sparkle’ somewhere in the story of Ookami Mio. That’s why I named the album My Sparkle. When I released the album, I already had my first solo live show lined up, so I linked the album and the live show by titling the show [Our Sparkle]. Partly, this was inspired by the sparkle of the penlights people hold up at the show, and partly it represented the sparkling emotions of the audience,” she replied.

“I feel like my skills are improving with every song I write,” said Ookami. There are more soaring vocal songs on this album than the last, and you can get a real sense of how her vocal abilities and expressivity are evolving. “On the new album, ‘Lady of KEMONOHEN’ was particularly hard. Also, the album includes ‘Howling (Rearrange ver.).’ On both the last album and this album, ‘Howling’ has been the hardest song, and I’m still exploring ways of performing it. My vocal coach told me that when I perform ‘Howling,’ I get this deep furrow in my brow, so I need to try singing it with an expressionless face. I tried that out, and I really did get better at singing it. Until now, I found even singing the chorus difficult, but thanks to that advice, I can now sing it much more smoothly, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot.”

“On ‘Until spring comes,’ I wanted to give a bit of a feeling of the spring school graduation season, like saying your goodbyes to some and also meeting new people. With ‘Natsuyadori,’ I like this feeling of going back into your memories of the summers of long ago, and time just stopping. I included it on the album because it’s like taking a journey through your memories. I wanted it to conjure up the image of a bright, starry sky, so I didn’t put too much passion into my singing but instead tried to keep it feeling light. I think I managed to create a summery vibe. With Night walk, I used a lot of power to drive the album, but this time I worked on highlighting the different aspects of my voice. I hope that comes across to listeners.”

Her first solo live show, which will be in September, has been long awaited by both Ookami and her fans. “I’ve really been looking forward to this solo show, and I think the listeners who support me have been, too. I’m getting ready, making sure the show lives up to everyone’s expectations. I hope to put on a performance that will leave a sparkle in everyone’s hearts.”

This interview by Takuto Ueda first appeared on Billboard Japan