album

SAM Fender has won the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album People Watching.

The singer-songwriter nabbed the prestigious award at the ceremony in his native Newcastle – the first time it has been held outside London.

He won with his third album ahead of a star-studded pack of 12 nominees, including Pulp, Wolf Alice, FKA Twigs, PinkPantheress and Pa Salieu.

Sam was not fancied by the bookies, so his victory is something of a shock.

The Geordie name checked fellow nominees during his acceptance speech to an ecstatic crowd.

He said: “I just I really didn’t – we did not expect this at all. I want to say thank you – I cannot think.”

Sam then grabbed his guitar and launched into a rendition of his album’s titular track, People Watching.

Sam also thanked Annie Orwin, the inspiration behind the song, for being like a “surrogate mother”.

Judges said they loved People Watching’s “character and ambition”, adding: “It felt like a classic.”

Wolf Alice and Pulp have both won the award in the past.

If either of them had taken it home, they have become just the second act to win it twice, joining PJ Harvey.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…

Rapper Cardi B is willing to get “nasty” when it comes to defending her kids.

Following the release of her second full-length album “Am I the Drama?” in September, the “I Like It” singer publicly feuded with Nicki Minaj. Both rappers’ children were also pulled into the fracas.

In a recent interview with Paper magazine, Cardi B opened up about the combative exchange.

“This week I showed the world that I will get the most nasty about mine. I never had to get that nasty for my kids. But I did, and I really feel like a lioness,” she said. “This has been one of the moments I got tested the most about being a parent.”

The beef between music’s biggest female rappers has been an ongoing saga dating back to 2017. The most recent spat took place on X in late September, when Minaj belittled Cardi B’s record sales. The two proceeded to tear apart each other’s personal and professional lives.

Cardi B called out Minaj for feuding with her on X instead of celebrating her son’s birthday. Minaj called Cardi B’s 7-year-old daughter “ugly,” among other mean-spirited names, and started to question her son’s brain development. The spat ended with Cardi B asking to meet up with Minaj — they have not posted about each other since.

Cardi described her behavior as that of a “mother warrior” and explained the lengths she would go to protect her kin. The 33-year-old performer is currently pregnant with her fourth child, her first with New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The “WAP” performer shares three children — Kulture, Wave and Blossom — with rapper Offset.

“Am I the Drama?” is Cardi B’s first full-length project in seven years. The 23-track album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 and hit platinum 10 days after its initial release. Her debut, “Invasion of Privacy,” earned her a Grammy for rap album in 2019 and made her the first solo female artist to win in that category.

While doing press for her newest LP, Cardi B hasn’t strayed away from talking about parenthood. She told Paper that she aims to instill a hardworking mentality in her children.

“You have to hope that your kids have that work ethic in them, and I just pray that they do,” she said. “I don’t want one of them to feel they’re behind their siblings. You just got to work and not think too much. … Procrastination is what kills you. It’s what slows you. Don’t ask too much questions. Just go and f— do it.”

Madonna’s “MDNA.” Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising.” Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.”

According to the Recording Industry Assn. of America, none of these albums — each the 12th studio LP by its respective maker — has sold 4 million copies in the United States in the decade or more since it was released.

Yet that’s what Taylor Swift just did in a single week with her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which Billboard reported Monday had moved 4.002 million copies in the seven days between Oct. 3 and 9.

That figure, which combines sales and streaming numbers, represents the biggest opening week for an album in modern history, breaking the record set by Adele 10 years ago when her “25” moved 3.482 million units in its first week.

Swift marked the achievement on Instagram on Monday with a note to her 281 million followers.

“I’ll never forget how excited I was in 2006 when my first album sold 40,000 copies in its first week,” she wrote. “I was 16 and couldn’t even fathom that that many people would care enough about my music to invest their time and energy into it. Since then I’ve tried to meet and thank as many people as I could who have given me the chance to chase this insane dream. Here we are all these years later and a hundred times that many people showed up for me this week.

“I have 4 million thank you’s I want to send to the fans,” she added, “and 4 million reasons to feel even more proud of this album than I already was.”

The speed with which Swift hit the 4-million mark is undeniably impressive. Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem,” the biggest album of 2025 so far, has sold and streamed the equivalent of 4.2 million copies, according to the trade journal Hits. But “I’m the Problem” has been out since mid-May; “Showgirl” will almost certainly have surpassed Wallen’s LP by the end of this week (if it hasn’t already).

What’s more remarkable is where “Showgirl’s” blockbuster success comes in the arc of Swift’s career.

Madonna and Springsteen were both in their early 50s when they released their 12th LPs; Carey was 40 when “Imperfect Angel” came out. Swift, in contrast, is only 35 — one advantage of starting out professionally as a teenager.

Still, Swift has been a star for nearly two decades, a point at which many pop musicians have shifted the focus of their work to touring even as they continue to make new records generally ignored by all but their most devoted fans. In 2024, according to Pollstar, Madonna’s and Springsteen’s latest road shows — each drawn from a catalog packed with hit songs — were among the year’s 10 highest-grossing tours.

And indeed Swift has been amply rewarded on the road: At No. 1 on Pollstar’s list was her Eras tour, which sold more than $2 billion in tickets across 149 dates on five continents.

Yet unlike virtually every other veteran act in music, Swift’s recording business is growing along with her live business.

“Everything that’s happening here is historic and unprecedented,” said Hits’ editor in chief, Lenny Beer. “Maybe if the Beatles had stayed together, we’d have seen something like it.”

Also worth considering: Nobody seems to think “The Life of a Showgirl” is Swift’s best album. Reviews have been mixed, and even some fans have expressed disappointment with the record on social media — a once-unthinkable development among the fiercely loyal Swifties.

So how did the singer pull off such a feat?

First, a little math: Of “Showgirl’s” 4 million units, approximately 3.5 million were sales of either digital or physical versions of the album (including CDs, cassettes and vinyl LPs); the remaining half-million came from streams of the album’s songs on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, which the data firm Luminate counts toward what it calls streaming equivalent albums.

“Showgirl’s” 12 songs racked up 681 million streams in all, Billboard said — the fourth-biggest streaming week of all time, behind Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” and Drake’s “Scorpion” and “Certified Lover Boy.” But the album’s sales number is the largest ever recorded since Luminate started tracking sales electronically in 1991.

Among Swift’s strategies to get to that number was selling more than three dozen editions of the album, each with its own artwork and bonus material designed to lure collectors. On vinyl alone, “Showgirl” came out in eight so-called variants, which helped drive the album’s first-week vinyl sales to a modern record of 1.3 million copies.

Offering something for sale doesn’t necessarily mean anyone will buy it, of course. Yet Swift was positioning “The Life of a Showgirl” as a juggernaut from the moment she announced it. Appearing with her fiancé, the NFL player Travis Kelce, on his “New Heights” podcast in August, the singer described the album as a return to the hit-making ways of albums like “Red” and “1989” after the relatively experimental “Folklore” and “Tortured Poets Department.”

To make “Showgirl,” she reteamed with the Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she’d collaborated on some of her biggest singles, including “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” On “New Heights” she and Kelce talked about the new album as a “180” from the moody confessions of “Tortured Poets,” whetting appetites for the kind of crisply hooky Taylor Swift songs that blanketed Top 40 radio in the mid-2010s.

Promised the football star: “12 bangers.”

Fans visit an activation for Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” at the Westfield Century City mall on Oct. 4.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Once “Showgirl” was out, Swift jumped into the promotional fray with more gusto than she’d summoned in years, sitting for numerous radio interviews and putting in appearances on Graham Norton’s, Jimmy Fallon’s and Seth Meyers’ late-night shows; the weekend after the album’s release, a glorified sizzle reel called “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” played in AMC movie theaters across the country.

On Monday, Swift kept the conversation going with the announcement that two Eras-related projects are headed to Disney+ in December: a six-part behind-the-scenes docuseries and a concert film of the tour’s finale in Vancouver.

“One of the hardest parts of ensuring you have a record-setting first week is making sure that everyone who could possibly be interested in your album knows about it,” said Bill Werde, director of the Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries at Syracuse University. “I’m not sure anyone has ever covered that need the way Taylor did with this album cycle.”

Yet “The Life of a Showgirl” has not been greeted as enthusiastically as some of Swift’s earlier work.

Pitchfork said “her music’s never been less compelling,” while The Guardian called the album “dull razzle-dazzle from a star who seems frazzled.” Fans on TikTok have complained that Swift’s lyrics — which take up her romance with Kelce, the burdens of fame and an apparent beef with Charli XCX — are unusually shallow; some have even formulated a kind of tradwife critique of “Showgirl” in which Swift is seen as upholding regressive ideas about marriage and domesticity.

The album has also attracted criticism from people who say Swift’s songs recycle familiar elements from other pop tunes without giving credit: the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” in “Wood,” for instance, and the Jonas Brothers’ “Cool” in the LP’s closing title track.

“When every song is a derivative of another song, that’s an issue,” said one hit songwriter who asked not to be named in order to speak freely. “That one song is the Jonas Brothers song — the exact same melody. And here’s how lazy that is: It’s the same key and the same tempo.”

In Werde’s view, Swift’s place atop the pop hierarchy makes such carping inevitable. “Anytime an artist gets this big, there’s going to be backlash,” he said — a take with which Swift would likely agree.

“I welcome the chaos,” she said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “The rule of show business is: If it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.”

Even so, the polarized reaction to “Showgirl” — Swift’s 15th album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — raises questions about the breadth of Swift’s popularity as compared to its depth. Should the album’s gargantuan numbers be taken as a sign that she appeals to a wide spectrum of pop music lovers or to a committed group of hardcore Swifties willing to spend untold amounts of money to demonstrate their loyalty?

“Showgirl’s” second-week stats should provide the beginnings of an answer, given that they won’t be shaped by one-time sales of all those limited-edition variants.

Then again, another unprecedented chart achievement from the album’s first week is already shedding some light on the matter: “The Fate of Ophelia,” the album’s lead single, is the first song ever to debut inside the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart — an indication of the heavy Top 40 radio play it’s getting along with the millions of daily streams that have kept it atop Spotify’s U.S. Top 50 tally since the song came out.

That’s one banger certified, with more perhaps to come.

More than two decades after their peak, the music of Yellowcard is a pop punk message in a bottle. The note that washed ashore from a simpler time describes the image of a young, sharply-dressed band full of aspirations, thrashing on their instruments — violin included — in the echoey tomb of an underground parking garage in the music video for “Ocean Avenue” as the chorus kicks into overdrive.

“If I could find you now, things would get better, we could leave this town and run forever, let your waves crash down on me and take me away,” frontman Ryan Key sang ecstatically at the top of his lungs.

That hit song, the title track of 2003’s “Ocean Avenue,” created a tidal wave of success that changed the course of their career from struggling artists to a world-touring headliner and darlings of MTV’s Total Request Live.

“The first time it happened, we were really young,” Key said, gingerly grasping a spoon with his heavily tattooed hand while stirring a cup of hot tea. “We were quite literally a garage band one minute, and then we were playing on the MTV Video Music Awards and David Letterman and whatever else the next minute.”

It’s a moment that hasn’t escaped his memory 22 years later. Now, he and his bandmates — violinist Sean Mackin, bassist Josh Portman and guitarist Ryan Mendez — are far from the ocean but not too far from water as they look out at a sparkling pool from the window from a suite at the Yaamava’ Resort and Casino in Highland. A couple hours from now, the band will play a splashy pool party gig for 98.7 ALT FM. The set will include a raft of all the old hits, including “Ocean Avenue” of course, as well as their first new songs in almost a decade.

Before the release of the first singles for the new album, “Better Days,” it might’ve been easy to write off their 11th album as another release destined to be overshadowed by their early catalog. However, with the right amount of internal inspiration and outside help from Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, who produced and played all the drums on the album, the result was a batch of new songs that haven’t simply been washed out to sea. Quite the opposite, actually.

Prior to the album’s release, the title track “Better Days” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. This achievement came after a 22-year wait since their first appearance on the chart with the “Ocean Avenue” single “Way Away.” Key also notes that it’s the first time fans are using the band’s new music for their TikTok videos instead of “Ocean Avenue.”

“That’s crazy,” Key said. “Everyone is using ‘Better Days.’ I don’t think we’re alone in that. I think for bands in our scene, new music is getting a lot of love and a lot of attention again, and it’s amazing to see.”

It’s been about three years since the band reemerged to play a reunion set at RiotFest in Chicago, following their 2017 farewell show at the House of Blues in Anaheim. At the point they were ready to call it quits, the band was struggling to sell enough tickets to their shows to keep the dream alive. For Mackin, fatherhood forced him to also consider his family’s financial stability, prompting him to enter the corporate workforce as a sales rep and eventually becoming a service director for Toyota. At one point, he was responsible for managing 120 employees. “I just thought that was going to be what I was going to do to take care of my family for the next 20 years,” Mackin said.

After Yellowcard’s hiatus, Key continued playing music in several projects that distanced themselves from the pop punk sound — including recording solo work under his full name William Ryan Key, touring with bassist Portman at his side. Key also produced a post-rock electronic-heavy project called Jedha with Mendez, and the pair also does a lot of TV and film scoring work. For a long time, Key and his bandmates mourned the loss of what they had with Yellowcard. It was the most important thing in Key’s life, though he said he didn’t realize how much the band truly shaped him until it was over.

During their hiatus, band members took day jobs. One member managed 120 Toyota employees before the 2022 Riot Fest reunion reignited their passion.

(Joe Brady)

“Ungrateful is not the word to use about how I felt back then. It’s more like I didn’t have the tools to appreciate it, to feel gratitude and really let things happen and and stay in the moment and stay focused. Because I was so young, I was so insecure about my place, my role in all of it,” Key said.

But after some time away, the raucous 2022 Riot Fest reunion show relit the band’s fire in a way they hadn’t expected. They followed up with a 2023 EP “Childhood Eyes” that pushed the band to take things further with a new full album. Along with these plans came the stunning news that Barker would sign on to produce and play drums for them on the project. For a band that grew up idolizing Blink 182 and Barker specifically as the band’s red-hot engine behind the kit who spent the last 20 years evolving into a music mogul, it was a surreal experience.

“We look at him like a general. It was never lost that the best drummer of our generation is playing drums with us,” Mackin said. “We know him as Travis now, but man, this guy is just oozing talent — he’s doing all these amazing things and he doesn’t seem overrun by it, not distracted one bit. While we were recording, he was right there with us.”

Key says he was initially intimidated singing in front of Barker in the studio and had a few moments where negative, self-conscious thoughts were getting the better of him in the vocal booth during recording. Instead of getting annoyed, he says Barker helped ease his anxiety with a few simple words.

“Travis came into the booth, closed the door, put his hand on my shoulder, and he said, ‘You’re gonna do this as many times as you need to do it. I’m gonna be here the whole time.’” Barker was truly speaking from experience. He told Key at the time that he’d just recorded 87 rough takes of his parts on “Lonely Road,” his hit song with Jelly Roll and MGK. “That was a real crossroads for me,” Key said.

The aspect of the album that feels most akin to “Ocean Avenue” was that Barker never really allowed them to overthink anything when it came to songwriting, a skill the band had unwittingly mastered as kids back in the “Ocean Avenue” days by writing songs on the fly in the studio with little time to care about how a song might end up before they recorded it.

“There’s something about the way we did this record with Travis, where we would walk in and did it in a way we haven’t done in 20 plus years with him saying ‘We’re gonna write and record a song today,’” Key said. “ It was a return to that style of songwriting where you have to kind of get out of your comfort zone and just throw and go.”

The final product moves swiftly over 10 songs, the track list starts with a flurry of energy from the bombastic opening drums of “Better Days” that propel a song on inner reflection on the past. It moves on to the high-energy heartbreak of “Love Letters,” featuring Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. Avril Lavigne lends her soaring vocals to the unrequited love song “You Broke Me Too.” Songs like “City of Angels” and “Bedroom Posters” track episodes in Key’s life where his band’s hiatus took a negative toll on his outlook on life but also about looking for a way back to rediscovering himself. The album wraps with the acoustic lullaby “Big Blue Eyes,” which Keys wrote as a tribute to his son.

Though the songs on “Better Days” frequently wrestle with self-doubt and uncertainty, the response from fans has been surprisingly supportive, Key said.

“I cannot recall seeing this level of overwhelming positive feedback. People are just flipping out over these songs,” the frontman said. “The recording was such a whirlwind. When I listen to it, it’s still kind of like ‘When did I write that song?’ It happened so fast, and we made the record so fast, but I’m glad we just did it.” Despite the success, Key is hesitant to label the band comeback kids, “probably because we are officially passed kids label,” he said.

“Maybe it’s the return of the gentlemen?” Mackin joked.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker produced the album, helping the band recapture the spontaneous energy that defined their 2003 breakthrough “Ocean Avenue.”

(Joe Brady)

Whatever they call themselves, coming back to the band after so many years of different experiences has made Yellowcard’s second shot at a career feel all the more rewarding.

“Because you feel like you know you’re capable of something other than being in this band, capable of connecting with your family in a way that you couldn’t when you were on the road all the time,” Mackin said. “There’s things that happened in that break that set us up for success as human beings, not just as creative people.”

For Key, it’s about taking all the lessons they’ve learned as a band and applying them to their future, realizing that the album’s title refers not just to the past behind them, but what lies ahead.

“This record needed to be the ultimate revival, the ultimate redemption song for our band,” Key said. “And so far it’s, it’s proven to be that.”

After 15 years, four records and a buzz-making barrage of shows, tours and festivals, the moody, multifaceted music of north London’s Wolf Alice is huge in the U.K., thanks to uniquely seductive soundscapes, visceral live shows and a relentless hunger for experimentation that melds rock, shoegaze and alternative pop.

With their latest studio album, “The Clearing,” the members are primed for the next level of success in the U.S., and it comes via songs that reflect their growth as individuals and as a collective.

Consisting of lead singer Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey, Wolf Alice provides both feminine and masculine perspectives on life that feel resonant and real, with sonic approaches that can go from raging one moment to restrained the next. They’ve honed their sound even as they’ve continued to experiment with it. The result is exciting for them and for fans, now more than ever.

“This tour has been incredible. It’s definitely been the busiest and had the biggest shows we’ve ever played in America,” Ellis tells The Times via Zoom, noting that the band’s upcoming Wiltern date in Los Angeles on Oct. 13 is almost sold out.

Wolf Alice’s connection to Los Angeles is especially significant at this phase of its career. “The Clearing” was recorded here with famed producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Miley Cyrus), who brought his pop sensibilities to the project, even as he encouraged the band to follow its own eclectic instincts, dipping into synthy, dancy elements and balladry with bite.

“We’ve had a different producer every album, so every experience has been quite different,” says drummer Amey, who joins our Zoom later. “He was just a very calm and positive force in the studio that made all of us feel very comfortable, to be able to be the best versions of ourselves … And it did come at a time where maybe even the four of us were second-guessing ourselves. We’d been in this headspace for a while about how we wanted to treat the sonics of the record. You can get stuck in that cycle … But he was so positive that he could help us get there, and he did.”

As Taylor Swift’s latest record brings scrutiny to the construction and thematics of pop music and its presentation, Wolf Alice’s seductive sway and wistful grit feels comparatively effortless, even if it’s just as accessible.

Buzz in the U.S. started after a killer set at Coachella 2016, but we caught Wolf Alice the following year at Dave Grohl’s Cal Jam in 2017. Its emotive alt-rock melodies and charisma more than held its own next to headliners including fellow-Brit Liam Gallagher and the Foo Fighters themselves (who the band has also toured with). The material, largely off its first and second albums, “My Love Is Cool” and “Visions of a Life,” respectively, offered a compelling blend of sharp riffage and dreamy textures, which reminded us of everyone from Smashing Pumpkins to Cocteau Twins at the time. Standout tracks we noted included the dissonant “Yuk Foo” and the sassy hit “Don’t Delete the Kisses.”

After another shimmering genre-blending release, 2021’s “Blue Weekend,” and now “The Clearing,” it’s almost a decade later, and the band is even harder to codify. The members are also bonafide touring and festival vets.

“In the U.K., festival culture is, like, a whole thing. The U.S. is kind of getting more like that too,” Amey says. “But European and U.K. festival culture is a rite of passage for a teenager … it’s ingrained. If you’re starting a band, you’re thinking about festivals at some point. So we love playing them. We played Glastonbury this year, and it just felt like a really wonderful way to say, ‘We’re back, here’s some new stuff,’ and also a celebration of the old stuff.”

Old or new, creative imagery has been a consistent component of Wolf Alice’s expression. Building upon the cinematic qualities of its music, its videos elevate not only its narratives but also its rock-star personas as well.

“This album explores themes of performance which I think is prevalent in the music videos and musically, in rock ’n’ roll which we also explore,” frontwoman Rowsell shares by email. “In the past Wolf Alice have shied away from performance videos so this marks a new vibe for us.”

“Bloom Baby Bloom,” which features an “All That Jazz”-style dance sequence (with choreography by L.A.’s Ryan Heffington, known for his magical movements on the Netflix cult fave “The OA” and in Sia’s “Chandelier”) brings out the drama and audacious expression of the song, especially Rowsell’s soaring vocals. It also highlights the band’s maturation and liberation as established artists at the height of their performing powers.

Similarly, “Just Two Girls,” a sweet ode to female friendship that’s a cool, ’70s soft-rock filler track on record, becomes more of a defiant anthem for feminine freedom on video.

“It’s a wonderful license of expression in which you can kind of do whatever you want,” reflects Ellis on the videos. “It’s absurdist in its nature and there are really interesting formats to explore. We’ve had some great experiences in America making them.”

The band has also had memorable moments on Amercian late-night TV, including “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” turning in wild appearances that reflect its name (inspired by a book about feral children raised by wolves).

And while good old-fashioned live performance has helped its popularity grow, the band acknowledges that the music industry is different — even from when it started 15 years ago, with streaming’s domination and platforms like TikTok exposing music to new audiences. For a band driven by its own interpersonal chemistry, interactions and influences, it’s not top of mind.

“We’re not concerned with how it’s going to be distributed to people fundamentally, as we’re creatively trying to satisfy ourselves,” Ellis says. “I don’t think the mechanics of [music discovery] are affecting what we’re making in the studio or the creative process. There’s so much for a band to create nowadays, and to worry about … from our perspective, the music is what comes first and then everything else is hopefully just kind of a fun way of presenting it to the world.”

Only Taylor Swift could compel hundreds of Angelenos to spend their Saturday morning at a listening party film screening for an album they’ve already heard.

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which hit theaters this weekend for a limited three-day run, features the debut of the Swift-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, behind-the-scenes footage and notes from Swift about the inspiration for each of the songs on her new record, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The 89-minute companion film opened to an estimated $15.8 million on Friday and is projected to gross more than $30 million over the weekend.

The box office success comes as no surprise, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” brought in $96 million in 2023 in its first four days in theaters and became the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Hitting 21 countries in 21 months, the Eras Tour itself earned more than $2 billion in revenue, the first music tour to ever hit that milestone.

Even as “Showgirl” seems destined to become Swift’s most divisive album yet — with critics and fans alike split in their reactions — the Taylormania was palpable Saturday morning at AMC Century City, which that day screened “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” 21 times across three screens.

Madison Story, 34, made sure to catch the film at the luxury Dolby Cinema, calling “Showgirl” Swift’s “most cinematic album yet.”

“When I was listening to it, I just pictured Nora Ephron movies,” Story said. In true rom-com fashion, the longtime Swiftie wore a Lover cardigan. Others sported various Swift tour merch, sequined scarves and showgirl-inspired attire.

Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is advertised outside of AMC Century City 15, which is screening “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

As theatergoers took their seats during the prelude to the show, Swift’s “Reputation” opener “Ready for It?” played over a slideshow of “Showgirl” promo photos. At 10 a.m. on the dot, the screen went dark, then switched to an Eras Tour-style countdown clock — set to 12 seconds, for Swift’s 12th studio album (which, naturally, also features 12 songs).

When Swift finally graced the screen to introduce the program, audience members were mesmerized. Hardly anyone made a peep.

“I’m Taylor, the official hypothetical showgirl in question,” Swift said, telling the crowd that in making the movie that’s not quite a movie, she was, as always, “trying to surprise you guys.”

“I hope you guys have a blast. I hope you sing along,” she said.

Despite Swift’s invitation, and the help of lyric displays for each “Showgirl” track, the crowd was surprisingly quiet throughout the screening aside from a few rounds of applause and occasional laughter at Swift’s trademark awkward-girl charisma. (“My bread is actually a music video star!” was a crowd-pleaser.)

“I feel like her quirkiness has been the same since she did [her] debut [album], and it’s neat to see that that has lasted through all the different iterations and eras,” said moviegoer Kelley Sheets, 30.

Sheets and her friends Sarah Borland, 29, and Ariana Diaz, 30, were taken aback by the quiet atmosphere in the auditorium, especially compared to “The Eras Tour” movie.” They suspected the album might be too fresh for people to feel comfortable singing and dancing along.

Attendees’ low energy may have also been a symptom of the morning showtime. Still, their delight was clear from their wide smiles and intermittent head bobbing, most pronounced during the ear-catching “Opalite” chorus.

As expected, some of Swift’s more questionable lyrics — many of which were exponentially funnier as clean versions — garnered some chuckles, and “Actually Romantic,” an alleged Charli XCX diss track, notably concluded without applause. But claps were generous for Swift’s closer, which saw the artist sincerely thanking her fans for being her muse.

“This album was completely inspired by the most incredible time of my life that was so exciting, because you made the Eras Tour what it was,” Swift said.

“The way that that tour felt, the way that it just kind of lit up my whole life, was such a through line of making this music,” she said. “So thank you for being that unknowing inspiration behind the scenes. I was internalizing all of that love and putting it into that record.”

During Swift’s album rollouts more than a decade ago, she hosted listening parties she dubbed “secret sessions.” At these intimate gatherings, the singer gave select fans a sneak peek at her new music, explaining the inspiration for each track and even playing some songs live.

Nick Eittreim, 28, was always jealous of the fans who got to attend those parties. With “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” he said, “It’s like I’m finally invited to that ‘secret session.’”

Rachel Birnam, 30, said while the “secret sessions” were “such a special thing, it’s nice that this is accessible to everybody.”

Taylor Swift fans Nick Eittreim and Melissa Roberts, both 28, arrive for “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” at AMC Century City 15 on Saturday.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Anthony Cendejas, a manager at AMC Century City, said the theater has been noticeably busier with the release of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

“More people than usual are dressing up,” Cendejas said, adding that many theatergoers have followed up their AMC visits with a stop at “The Life of a Showgirl” TikTok fan activation, running until Oct. 9 in the Westfield Century City Atrium. The immersive experience allows visitors to take photos and videos on a series of sets replicating those in “The Fate of Ophelia” music video.

Jamie Phillips and her daughters Rowan, 11, and Finley, 12, visited the TikTok activation Saturday afternoon. The trio also brought the biggest Swiftie in their family, their Saint Bernard named Lincoln, along with them. In their family photos, Lincoln wore a feather boa to match Rowan and Finley’s.

Jamie Phillips, left, takes a photo of her daughters Finley, 12, center, and Rowan, 11, with their dog Lincoln at a TikTok fan activation for Taylor Swift’s new album.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

When the Phillips family heard “The Life of a Showgirl” for the first time, Jamie Phillips said, “All of us were pleasantly surprised.”

“Usually it takes me, particularly with her albums, a lot of listens to be like, ‘OK, it’s OK,’” she said. But this one they loved on the first go-around.

The trio hadn’t yet made it to “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” but they hoped to squeeze it in Sunday along with a “Gilmore Girls” anniversary event at the Grove.

In the meantime, they couldn’t wait to get back home, where their “Showgirl” merch was waiting for them.

For better or worse, “The Life of a Showgirl,” Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, is unlike anything the megastar has done before.

On the 12-track album, which dropped Friday to mixed critical reception, Swift is uncharacteristically risqué and, for possibly the first time, indulges her inner theater kid without reservation. In that sense, much of the pop record is daringly new.

Still, on each track are sonic echoes from the 14-time Grammy winner’s decades-spanning discography — from the verve of “Reputation” to the romantic whimsy of “Lover.”

Swifties are sure to be playing “The Life of a Showgirl” on repeat today. But if that gets a bit tiresome after the 13th time, here is a list of Swift sister songs to try instead, based on your favorite track from the new album.

(Some song pairings are based on sound, while others are based on shared themes.)

“The Fate of Ophelia”

“Showgirl’s” opening track has a sultry groove and low pulse that could easily be the soundtrack to a flirty nightcap or the series finale of a dark comedy.

Find the same alluring melody with an extra dash of spice in “I Can See You,” a vault track from 2023’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” And for bonus points, head to the music video for a dose of the Swift-signature theatricality dripping from “The Life of a Showgirl.”

“Elizabeth Taylor”

This allusive track boasts the album’s most sweeping chorus, anchored by Swift’s mesmeric alto and a masterfully orchestrated rhythm that uses moments of quiet to its advantage.

“Reputation‘s” slow-burn hit “Don’t Blame Me” follows a similar playbook, using a killer choral backing to achieve the same hymnal quality that complex vocal layering creates on “Elizabeth Taylor.”

Plus, both songs share a secret weapon: Swift’s irresistible enunciation of the word “baby.”

“Opalite”

An immediate inductee into Swift’s “Glitter Gel Pen” song Hall of Fame, “Opalite” is for dancing around your kitchen with a glass of orange wine in hand.

Fuel that infectious joy with the most twirl-worthy — and arguably most underrated — track of Swift’s career, “Sweeter Than Fiction.” Swift released this shimmering tune in 2013 for the “One Chance” film soundtrack, and true to its title, it is sweet as a peach.

Honorary mention: If you prefer a tambourine to a synth, try “Lover” B-side “Paper Rings,” perhaps more suitable for kick-stepping than spinning but nonetheless another “Opalite” lookalike.

“Father Figure”

The natural choice here would be “The Man,” another song wherein Swift adopts a masculine persona to prove just what a boss she is.

But I have no more sage advice than to head to George Michael’s original “Father Figure” (1987), which recently got a streaming boost after being featured in the 2024 erotic thriller “Babygirl.” Swift used an interpolation of Michael’s song in her track of the same name — with a gleeful sign-off from the late singer’s estate.

“When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same,” George Michael’s estate wrote Thursday on his official Instagram.

“Eldest Daughter”

It doesn’t feel entirely fair to compare these two — especially given one of them has Phoebe Bridgers and the other one has the line “I’m not a bad b—, and this isn’t savage” — but “Eldest Daughter” and “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)” share the same grief for a younger self that a woman in her 20s knows best.

If you need a good cry, these two are here for you.

“Ruin the Friendship”

Speaking of debilitating nostalgia, this one might feel a bit out of place in this album’s universe, but it’s a heartrending gem nonetheless.

For a similar remorseful trip into the past, minus the boppy bass line, try “We Were Happy,” a vault track from “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” about young love lost.

“Actually Romantic”

While this alleged Charli XCX diss track may be more scathing than usual for Swift, the singer is no stranger to shade, as evidenced in “Reputation” B-side “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” — a perfect pairing for “Actually Romantic.”

In both songs, Swift is unapologetically petty, offering her foes a metaphorical bouquet of flowers thick with thorns.

These tracks aren’t everyone’s speed, but every misfit has its fans. And in the case of “Actually Romantic,” Nicki Minaj seems to be one of them.

“Wi$h Li$t”

Showcasing this album’s gentler side, “Wi$h Li$t,” which Swift said may be her personal favorite, is a tender tribute to her fiancé Travis Kelce, backed with ethereal synth sounds and soft vocalization from a clearly smitten showgirl.

“I just want you” is also the mission statement of “Glitch,” a short and sweet pop number from 2022’s “Midnights.” Turn this one on, and in no time you’ll find yourself swaying side to side, daydreaming about the love you never expected but can’t imagine letting go.

Honorary mention: For a more upbeat option, go for “Gorgeous,” a bubblegum–pop anthem just as swoonworthy as the aforementioned tracks.

“Wood”

This raunchy disco track had jaws dropping across the globe upon its release, and for good reason.

While not as high on shock factor, Swift’s “I Think He Knows,” a lesser-known track from “Lover,” is equally dancy and down bad. On top of that, it’s famously set at a perfect strutting pace. What more could you ask for?

“CANCELLED!”

This is the second song in Swift’s oeuvre featuring a title with an exclamation point (we’ll get to that later), and it’s not the best one.

But if you like the dark energy Swift has going on here, you can get plenty more of it in her live rock ’n’ roll version of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” which she pulled out for the 1989 World Tour and hasn’t played since.

Here’s hoping the country crossover artist has another genre hop in her.

“Honey”

True to its title, “Honey” is a welcome salve for some of this album’s more sour numbers and shares striking sonic similarities with Swift’s best song adorned with an exclamation point, “‘Slut!’”

The “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” vault track, like “Honey,” uses a name-calling motif to paint a rosy portrait of her romantic partner. Neither is lyrically complex, but if “‘Slut!’” is any indication, “Honey” is sure to wind up a true fan favorite.

“The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)”

Finding a song that sounds like “The Life of a Showgirl” is a tall order, if not an impossible one.

So for a theme-based pairing, try fellow album closer “Clara Bow,” which caps off the original edition of “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024) with a mournful commentary on the constant churn of young female stars.

As Swift and Carpenter say, “You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe, and you’re never gonna wanna.”

Honorary mention: For another Swift track about the pitfalls of fame, try “The Lucky One,” off 2012’s “Red.”

Showgirl breaks Spotify records as Taylor Swift’s most pre-saved album, highlighting her enduring popularity.

Taylor Swift has dropped her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and already, it is the most pre-saved album ever on the Spotify streaming platform.

Showgirl even broke the record set last year by none other than Swift’s last album, The Tortured Poets Department.

The 35-year-old artist reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback for her hotly anticipated collection of bouncy pop songs.

“Tonight all these lives converge here, the mosaics of laughter and cocktails of tears … I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right,” Swift posted on Instagram after the album’s release, along with photos of her in showgirl outfits.

The megastar described the album as a “self-portrait” and thanked Martin and Shellback, adding: “If you thought the big show was wild, perhaps you should come and take a look behind the curtain,” referring to her record-shattering Eras Tour.

The 12 tracks reveal a lighter, happier Swift – in love with her NFL Super Bowl champion fiance, Travis Kelce, and happy to have bought back her music catalogue.

Ahead of release, Swift said the new album “comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life”.

Fans will be combing through the lyrics and liner notes for “Easter eggs” – coded words and phrases that could reveal things about Swift’s life or future projects.

TAYLOR SWIFT has admitted she no longer believed in ­marriage and had given up on love after splitting from long-term boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

The superstar has used her new album The Life Of A Showgirl — out today — to document going from depression to being wooed back to life by her fiancé, Travis Kelce.

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Though in a move that is sure to get the world talking, Taylor savages a ­mystery person, believed to be singer Charli XCX, for mocking her.

Taylor and Travis started dating in the summer of 2023 before he popped the question in August this year.

On lead single The Fate Of Ophelia, Taylor sings: “And if you’d never called for me. I might have drowned in the melancholy.

Rediscovered love of life

“I swore my loyalty to me, myself and I, right before you lit my sky up.”

She adds: “You dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.

“And if you’d not come for me, I might have lingered in purgatory.

“No longer drowning and deceived, all because you came for me.”

The song is based on Shakespeare’s character Ophelia in Hamlet.

After being toyed with by rich and powerful men, Ophelia goes insane and kills herself by drowning.

The track acts as a bridge between the doom of Taylor’s 11th album The Tortured Poets Department and her new, rediscovered love of life, all thanks to her Kansas City Chiefs man.

On Eldest Daughter, Taylor pines for true love, admitting she feels played and betrayed by men her whole life.

She says: “I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool. But I’m not a bad bitch.

“The last time I laughed this hard was on the trampoline in somebody’s backyard. I must have been eight or nine.

“The night I fell off and broke my arm. Pretty soon I learned cautious discretion. When your first crush crushes something kind. When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie.”

Vowing she still secretly pines for true love despite being hardened to disappointment, Taylor sings: “And I’m never gonna let you down. I’m never gonna leave you out. So many traitors. Smooth operators.

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“But I’m never gonna break that vow. I’m never gonna leave you now.”

Despite only being out today, thanks to pre-orders The Life Of A Showgirl is already the fastest selling album of the year.

Written during Taylor’s record-breaking Eras Tour last summer, the record peels back what life was like for the star away from the stage.

On song Elizabeth Taylor, she sings about dating Travis: “Sometimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me.

“All the right guys promised they’d stay, under bright lights they withered away. But you bloom. Tell me for real. Do you think it’s forever?”

Despite the glitz and glamour, Taylor says she had “everything and nothing all at once” — pining for true love over material goods.

She sings: “Hey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once?

“Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust.”

On Opalite, Taylor sings about “dancing through the lightning strikes”, a reference to her splitting with British actor Joe just weeks before embarking on the biggest tour of her career.

Storytelling best

Continuing with the theme of yearning for the simple things in life, Taylor uses Wi$h Li$t to double down on wanting love over material goods.

She pines: “I made wishes on all of the stars. Please, God bring me a best friend who I think is hot, I thought I had it right once, twice but I did not.”

She adds: “I just want you. Have a ­couple kids.”

For the title track, Taylor reverts to her storytelling best alongside fellow superstar Sabrina Carpenter.

The Life Of A Showgirl tells the brutal reality of life on the road chasing fame and fortune.

Taylor sings: “The more you play the more that you pay. You’re softer than a kitten so. You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe

She continues: “I’m married to the hustle. And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe. And I’ll never know another. Pain hidden by the lipstick and lace.”

As a final nod to her record-breaking 24 months, the song —  and album —  fades out with live audio thanking fans as she takes her final bow on her Eras Tour.

CHARLI XCX

‘It’s sweet all the time you’ve spent on me‘

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THE most brutal track on the album is called Actually Romantic.

It appears to be a full take-down of Brit singer Charli XCX, who is friends with Taylor’s love rat ex Matty Healy.

Charli’s husband George Daniel is part of Matty’s band The 1975.

Taylor sings: “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave.

“High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.

“Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face. Some ­people might be offended. But it’s actually sweet, all the time you’ve spent on me.”

Charli has long been accused of glamorising drug use – even ­releasing a vinyl of her latest record Brat filled with white powder. Rather than being a flash-in-the-pan spat, the duo have a long ­history.

Charli supported Taylor on her 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour. But the Brit hated the experience.

She told Pitchfork mag in 2019: “I’m really grateful that Taylor asked me on that tour. But, as an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up on stage and waving to five-year-olds.”

From then on things seemed to sour further – and Charli’s Brat album track Sympathy Is A Knife is believed to be about Taylor.

Charli sings: “This one girl taps my insecurities. Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling. Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried.

“I’m opposite, I’m on the other side. I feel all these ­feelings I can’t control.”

SCOTT BORCHETTA

‘They don’t make loyalty like they used to’

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DESPITE plenty of floor fillers, Taylor’s new album is not all sweetness and light. As well as having a dig at Charli XCX, on Father Figure Taylor appears to round on Scott Borchetta.

He is the CEO of her first label Big Machine Records, who sold the rights to her first six albums in 2019.

The track features lines of George Michael’s 1987 single of the same name, as she seemingly talks about how Borchetta, right, boasted about being able to make her a star before stabbing her in the back.

“I’ll be your father figure, I drink that brown liquor. I can make a deal with the devil because my d’s bigger. This love is pure profit, just step into my office.”

She later adds: “They don’t make loyalty like they used to.”

Her reference to brown liquor is thought to be a nod to how Borchetta celebrated selling her masters to Scooter Braun over a glass of whisky.

In an open letter to fans about the sale, Taylor wrote: “These are two very rich, very powerful men.

“Then they’re standing in a wood-panel bar doing a tacky photoshoot, raising a glass of scotch to themselves.

“Because they pulled one over on me and got this done so sneakily that I didn’t even see it coming.”

Earlier this year, Taylor finally bought back her masters.

Hinting at her victory, she ends the track singing: “We drank that brown liquor. You made a deal with this devil. Turns out my d’s bigger. You want a fight, you found it.”

BIZARRE VERDICT

★★★★☆

THE Tortured Poets Department – for me the best Taylor album until now – was always going to be a hard act to follow.

But a drastic change of direction here has served the star well.

Lyrically, she continues at her best – with enough metaphors and coded literary references to keep fans speculating for ages.

Pop records are the hardest to perfect when it comes to both lyrics and melodies, but with producers Max Martin and Shellback by her side, Taylor has once again made magic.

With The Life Of A Showgirl, she proves yet again she’s the best in the business. Are there a couple of skips? Yes. But there’s also some of her best ever work.

Lead single The Fate Of Ophelia is an earworm of a track that’s perfect for both radio and dancefloors. It’s also possibly the most infectious Taylor lead single of all time.

Elizabeth Taylor, Ophalite and Cancelled! are also standouts.

Taylor’s reign atop the music industry is far from over.

I KNEW The Life Of A Showgirl was going to be a massive album.

But Taylor Swift has exceeded all expectations by scoring the fastest-selling album of the year — before it’s even been released.

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Music insiders tell me she has so many pre-orders for physical copies of her 12th album, which will finally come out tomorrow, that it is a dead cert for No1 next Friday.

And along with pre-save data from streaming services Spotify and Apple Music, it will instantly surpass Sam Fender’s record of the biggest single-week sales in 2025, which he set with 107,000 copies for February’s People Watching.

An industry source told me: “The reception from fans has been very impressive because the pre-orders for this album have been absolutely massive. She hasn’t even released a song from the album yet so it’s remarkable.

“No one can compete with her in terms of sales.”

Spotify has said The Life Of A Showgirl is the most pre-saved album in the streaming service’s history, with more than 5.5million saving it to instantly appear on their accounts tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, Apple Music has said it is her most pre-added album ever, and she is the most “favourited” artist on the service.

In 2022, Taylor shifted 204,500 UK copies of her album Midnights in its first week.

But last year, she blew those sales out of the water when The Tortured Poets Department achieved 270,000 chart units in its first week.

That made it the biggest seven days of sales for an album in the UK for seven years, since her pal Ed Sheeran sold an eye-watering 670,000 copies of Divide in 2017.

There are other records she is breaking, too.

She has become the first solo female artist in American history to have certified album sales in the US of more than 100million, as determined by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Their figures also show her album 1989 is now her biggest-selling album, as it has gone 14-times platinum.

I don’t envy the other artists who have albums out tomorrow. I doubt they’ll get a look in.

Hailey marks another rear

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HAILEY BIEBER put on a flirty display in this yellow negligee – as she missed her wedding anniversary for Paris Fashion Week.

The model posted a string of snaps on Instagram, alongside the caption “bisou”, which means “kiss” in French.

While her husband Justin remained at home in the US, she stayed in Paris on Tuesday, six years since their South Carolina wedding.

The event on in 2019 was attended by friends and family, but they had secretly tied the knot , on September 13 2018.

Perhaps they had already celebrated this year, or maybe the pics were his anniversary gift.

Zara’s stripped off for the main pose

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ZARA LARSSON is on track to score her fourth Top 20 album tomorrow with the release of brilliant new record Midnight Sun.

But the Swedish singer has also been hard at work on clothing and lifestyle brand Main Rose, which she unveiled with this revealing snap of her in a long-sleeved pink leotard.

The Swedish singer, who started the project a year ago, wrote on Instagram: “Building Main Rose is genuinely a lust for me to creatively expand myself.

“To elevate one’s first layer, literally and figuratively, feels like a fun and natural first chapter for me to explore. Afterall, my dream outfit is really just a pair of panties.”

Amal’s looking lawsome

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AMAL CLOONEY stole her husband George’s thunder at his latest movie premiere.

She looked sensational in this designer minidress at the New York launch of comedy drama Jay Kelly.

It remains to be seen whether their twins Alexander and Ella will follow his career path, become a human rights lawyer like Amal, or do something else.

Asked if they had inherited the acting bug, he told E! News: “I don’t know, it’s so hard to tell at eight.

“They’re very funny kids, and they love to get up and sing. But you know, I hope they do exactly what they want to do in life, and that’s all you can hope for.”

On whether they know he’s a big star, George added: “They have some idea. My kid came up to me the other day and said, ‘Papa what’s “famous?” Somebody in my class said you’re famous’. I said, ‘Tell that kid I’m very famous’.”

“They saw Fantastic Mr. Fox. I won’t let them see Batman & Robin, I want them to have respect for me.”

The Becks Factor reaches £73m

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GOLDENBALLS has done it again – enjoying another year of record-breaking profits.

David Beckham’s company racked up revenue of £73.4million, as he goes from “face to founder” with more behind-the-scenes deals than ever.

The latest figures for DRJB Holdings, the umbrella company for his business ventures, show consolidated profits up 24 per cent to £35.1million.

A source said: “David is still an incredibly sought-after face for campaigns, but he has matured into an incredibly impressive and canny businessman, too.

“He really enjoys the boardroom machinations and while he looks as incredible as ever, probably won’t want to be on billboards in his pants for ever.

“Six years after setting up his own brand management operation, he is more hands-on than ever. Right now he’s at a really exciting next stage of evolution, and loves getting involved with new projects.”

This is partly thanks to successful deals with Boss menswear, and a license agreement with Safilo eyewear.

David also branched out into the wellness industry for the first time, with his IM8 supplements.

Other strategic partnerships include deals with speaker makers Bowers & Wilkins, Stella Artois beer and tech firm Shark Ninja.

Meanwhile, the former England captain’s profile has never been higher internationally following his four-part documentary from 2023.

News of his latest commercial success comes ahead of wife Victoria’s own Netflix docu-series, which comes out next week.

I can’t wait to see plenty more Becks on my box.

Stel-Hel Fashion week secret

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STELLA McCARTNEY went to extreme lengths to keep Helen Mirren’s role at Paris Fashion Week show a secret.

The designer secretly enlisted the actress to open her show with a recital of The Beatles classic Come Together.

Helen was driven around the block to give the illusion she had simply arrived to watch the event.

A source said: “It was a full-on military operation. No one knew Helen was taking part.”

Robbie reveals ‘I have Tourette’s’

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ROBBIE WILLIAMS says he has Tourette’s syndrome, but claims his tics are “intrusive” and not verbal.

The neurological condition causes sudden, repetitive and involuntary sounds or movements.

But Robbie, who was previously diagnosed with ADHD, suggested his is different.

He told the I’m ADHD! No You’re Not podcast: “I’ve just realised I have Tourette’s, but they don’t come out. They are intrusive thoughts. I was just walking down the road the other day, and I realised these intrusive thoughts are inside Tourette’s. It just doesn’t come out.

“Not only that, you would think that a stadium full of people professing their love to you would work as (a distraction), but whatever it is, inside me cannot hear it. I cannot take it in.”

Robbie also said he recently took a test to see if he is autistic.

He added: “It turns out I’m not, but I’ve got autistic traits. And it’s around social stuff, it’s about interaction.”

Dua’s in Bruise control

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DUA LIPA has had a lucky escape after accidentally injuring her shoulder while on tour in America.

The New Rules singer was spotted with a deep bruise, leading fans to fear she could have seriously hurt herself.

But I’m told while the mark does look bad, Dua hasn’t been hugely harmed.

More importantly, while she is due to undergo physio to make sure of a full recovery, it also means her US tour can carry on without a hitch.

A source said: “The injury happened while Dua was enjoying some down time from her show.

“It’s been painful but after being checked over by a radiologist, she’s been given the all clear.

“The tour will still be going ahead as planned. It’s just one of those things.”

While it’s no secret Dua loves a holiday and has previously joked about her life being one big vacation, she is also one of the hardest working women in music.

I just hope she is looking after herself too.

It’s a Slim volume

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FATBOY SLIM is releasing his first book, with the brilliant title It Ain’t Over . . .  ’Til the Fatboy Sings.

It documents his 40 years in showbiz through photos, flyers and stories and is out on October 16.

But fans can also see him at the Theatre Royal in Brighton on October 14 for a Q&A about it.

The DJ, whose real name is Norman Cook, said: “This year I’ll have been in showbiz for 40 years, and to celebrate that we thought we’d create a big book full of stuff which I’ve kept over the years. I’m really excited to appear in one of my favourite venues for something a little different this time.

“It’ll be nice to get up close and personal with the audience in a beautiful setting and to share some of my stories.”

It was a particularly busy Thursday morning for the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach.

The area, which is home to an array of independently owned businesses and small restaurants, both of which boast unique facades from storefront to storefront, saw hundreds of eager fans start lining up outside its doors as early as 8 a.m.

Many crowded around one store in particular: Fingerprints Music, which only recently began to call Bixby Knolls its home — in April — after a roughly 15-year residency in downtown Long Beach. As crowd control barricades began springing up and artist security personnel lingered outside the famed vinyl record shop, passersby and neighbors alike began to ponder what could be going on.

It was simple: Cardi B.

The “Bodak Yellow” singer managed to squeeze in a meet-and-greet event at the store to commemorate last week’s release of her sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?” A link to tickets dropped on Fingerprints Music’s website on Sept. 9, which fans barely gave a chance to breathe.

“I follow her on Instagram — I have hard notifications on every platform — so, as soon as the video went up, I rushed to the website and bought it,” said Gerardo Torres of Gardena. “I was probably one of the first few [to buy tickets], less than five minutes after she announced it I already had mine.”

Arlene Heaton, left, of Kern County and Gerardo Torres of Gardena hold a Cardi B flag.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Torres stood near the front of the line, which he joined around 10:30 a.m. Next to him was Arlene Heaton of Rosamond, who had just driven three hours from the Kern County community to arrive at the same time. The two met in line and quickly became friends — she donning a rhinestone-studded ensemble and he draping a flag depicting Cardi B around his shoulders.

“If she would’ve been three hours away, I would have been there as well!” Torres added.

“It took about 10 minutes [to sell out],” Heaton said. “I love the album and I just had to get the CD… I wanted to support her and I came all the way from Rosamond to see this happen — history, this is history.”

Though the event was scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, it wasn’t until 2:30 that Cardi arrived on the scene. A few fans trickled out from behind the store, rejoicing that they’d seen her arrive.

Moments later, security formed a human barrier around the entrance, and Cardi stepped out of the store with a megaphone. Whatever she said was rendered unintelligible among the thunderous cheers of fans who surged forward, putting her entourage to the test.

“I do music myself, I’m not a fan of many, but her? Oh, my God, there was no way. I got up at like 8 in the morning; I set my alarm for 6:30,” said Curshawn Watts, who called herself the “Queen of Compton.” “I was out here! I didn’t care how early I had to be here — I had to be here!” Watts said.

Curshawn Watts, a rapper who calls herself the “Queen of Compton,” holds a CD of Cardi B’s “Am I the Drama?” at Thursday’s meet-and-greet in Long Beach.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

She’d been waiting since 10 a.m. and said the heat didn’t bother her: “It’s worth it all, baby!” she declared.

As fans made their way into the store, they were greeted by the sound of tracks from Cardi’s new album playing on the store speakers. “Am I the Drama?” vinyl records and CDs filled out the shelves, and portraits of Cardi stood above them.

Nestled in the back corner behind a black curtain sat the woman herself, visibly pregnant, in brown snakeskin heels, denim shorts, and adorning various gold statement pieces. She had confirmed in a CBS interview last week that she and NFL star Stefon Diggs were expecting a child.

An estimated 1,200 fans arrived on the blistering day in Long Beach, though only 800 were able to secure a guest list spot to see the 32-year-old hip-hop artist. Others assembled nearby, hoping for a chance to merely lay eyes on her or, perhaps, to get lucky enough to join the meet-and-greet.

Indeed, Fingerprints Music and Cardi B accommodated around 200 to 300 more people toward the tail end of the event from among those who didn’t make the list. The event lasted until well after 5 p.m.

By that time, the somewhat chaotic nature of the meet-and-greet’s afternoon heights had settled down. Street vendors no longer camped outside, artists wrapped up their pieces for sale, and the weather began to cool.

Cardi B prepares to take a photo with a fan at the meet-and-greet.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

“We don’t usually do that, but everyone seemed pretty chill,” said Rand Foster, owner of Fingerprints Music. “For somebody at that caliber to be that open was really refreshing.”

Cardi B even stayed overtime to do a surprise signing of an exclusive alternate cover of her album. Four photos from a courtroom appearance she made in August embellish that variant.

Foster said he considered Thursday’s event, the largest the store has held since moving to its new location, to be a resounding success. He noted that when the store was downtown, the store once hosted an Ozzy Osbourne meet-and-greet that had a roughly 2,300-person turnout.

At its location in Bixby Knolls, the store is still feeling out its neighborhood. Foster said not only did the event bring extra traffic to other businesses, but he “didn’t hear any neighbors put out by it.”

Cardi B could have easily opted for a location more central to Los Angeles, such as Amoeba Music, so many fans were surprised and happy to see Long Beach get some love.

One man, who called himself Mr. Boug’e and sported a uniquely curled beard, said it came down to Long Beach being “dope.”

Mr. Boug’e holds up two vinyl record variants of Cardi B’s latest album, “Am I the Drama?”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“I call it Strong Beach,” he joked. “She got love everywhere — it don’t matter. It can be in an alley… or Alaska; they gon’ love her.”

Foster, whose shop has a long-standing relationship with its Hollywood peers at Amoeba, said the decision by Cardi B’s team to hold her meet-and-greet in Long Beach probably also came down to logistics.

“Anybody who is doing this kind of event and doing it with an eye towards longevity has to be respectful to the neighbors,” he explained. “Our line got about six blocks long; I think that would be tough on Hollywood Boulevard.”

There’s a particular niche of sophisticated, loungy music that thrived from the late ’90s into the mid-2000s. It grew out of ELO’s regal rock and Serge Gainsbourg’s loucheness, taking on bits of U.K. trip-hop, midcentury exotica, the Largo scene’s orchestral flourishes and Daft Punk’s talkboxes. I don’t quite have a word for it — conversation-pit-core? — but a primary text of it is Air’s “Moon Safari.”

The French duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel released “Moon Safari,” Air’s debut LP, to wide acclaim in 1998. The band’s meticulously hazy synth pads paired beautifully with ultra-minimal funk bass and loping tempos. “Moon Safari” set a new benchmark for upmarket French pop, with singles like “Sexy Boy” and “Kelly Watch the Stars” proving they had chops for hooks as well. The band immediately followed it with the score for Sofia Coppola’s debut feature, “The Virgin Suicides,” and those two albums locked in Air as the ultimate turn-of-the-century band for tasteful European melancholy.

At the Bowl on Sunday, the band revisited the whole of “Moon Safari” with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, capping off KCRW’s festival season there. Since that album’s release, Coppola’s daughter Romy grew old enough to become an influencer herself, yet “The Virgin Suicides” remains a mood-board favorite for Gen Z. Fellow travelers like Bonobo, who opened the night with a DJ set, have become arena stars in their own right.

“Moon Safari” has held up wonderfully on its own merits. But as algorithms funnel audiences deeper into formless background listening, Sunday’s show was a reminder that chill can be compelling. Air’s intense focus gave these wispy songs a strong backbone too.

From the opener of “La Femme d’Argent,” lifted by Godin’s nimble basslines, the vibes were, as they say, immaculate. Dressed in all-white formalwear, the band took care to show how much compositional rigor went into this album’s laid-back feeling. The arrangements highlighted the nuanced tones of each of Dunckel’s many synths, and how the band’s Beatles-y chord changes could keep your ears locked into the most stark passages.

Extra credit goes to Air’s creative direction and lighting designer, who locked the band inside a rectangular elevated platform that gave the look of performing inside a James Turrell sculpture. It’s a neat conceptual challenge to visually enliven a famously blissed-out album like this onstage, and Air did it with exquisite panache on Sunday.

The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra usually kicks back on shows like this, adding some sizzle and arrangement richness but functioning more as another band member. The orchestra’s horns perked up during “Ce Matin-là” and raised the dramatic temperature on closer “Le Voyage de Pénélope,” but the whole set was an exercise in restraint as a means of making sure every good idea gets its shine. “Moon Safari” didn’t need much else, but what it got was illuminating.

The back half of the set went into the band’s score work for Coppola — “Highschool Lover” and “Alone in Kyoto,” from “The Virgin Suicides” and “Lost In Translation” respectively, stirred the wistful elder millennials among the crowd, this writer included. They adopted a Daft Punk-ish distance on “Electronic Performers,” touting how “MIDI clocks ring in my mind … We need envelope filters to say how we feel,” but they didn’t really need that wink and nudge. When they broke the spell of ethereal cuts like “Cherry Blossom Girl” for heavier, krautrock-driven numbers like “Don’t Be Light,” they proved that being roused from tasteful stoned pondering is as fun as falling into it.

Don’t expect country music stars Zach Bryan and Gavin Adcock to share a bill anytime soon. The two, who have been sparring verbally for weeks, got into a face-to-face altercation at a music festival in Oklahoma on Saturday.

The confrontation happened at the Born & Raised Festival in Pryor, Okla., just before Adcock stepped on stage to perform.

A video, shared by Adcock on Instagram, shows Adcock and Bryan staring each other down and yelling through a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.

“Hey, you want to fight like a man?” Bryan says in the video clip, calling for someone to open the gate separating the two men. Other clips show Bryan climbing over the barbed-wire top of the fence and Adcock standing back as security personnel come between them.

Text superimposed on Adcock’s Instagram video alleged that Bryan made “death threats” during the spat, along with the comment: “Eat a snickers bro.” He added another insult while signing someone’s cowboy hat later that day.

Adcock, who has 725,000 Instagram followers, released an album called “Own Worst Enemy” in August. He sparked controversy in June when he criticized Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album on stage, brandishing a bottle while saying “that s— ain’t country music, and it ain’t never been country music and it ain’t never gonna be country music.” (Earlier this year, Beyoncé won Grammys for album of the year and country album for “Cowboy Carter.”)

Bryan, 29, who was in the Navy before reaching fame as country/American singer and songwriter, has 4.9 million Instagram followers. Bryan released his last album, “Zach Bryan,” in 2023. A New York Times profile labeled him “music’s most reluctant new star.”

Adcock and Bryan’s beef dates to July, when Adcock slammed Bryan for being thin-skinned and not doing a meet-and-greet appearance with fans after a show. Later, Adcock added more harsh words in an interview on Rolling Stone’s “Nashville Now.”

“I think Zach Bryan puts on a big mask in his day-to-day life and sometimes he can’t help but rip it off and show his true colors,” Adcock said. “I don’t know if Zach Bryan’s really that great of a person.”

Representatives for Adcock and Bryan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Maruja’s music isn’t merely following the times; it’s a reflection of them.

The rock band, whose debut album “Pain to Power” was released Friday, has carved out a niche in today’s music scene, garnering praise and raising eyebrows for their innovative instrumentation and song composition.

But the Manchester-born quartet — Harry Wilkinson, Matt Buonaccorsi, Joe Carroll and Jacob Hayes — has already done the forming, recording, and touring trifecta.

This can largely be credited to their three EPs, “Knocknarea,” “Connla’s Well” and Tir na nÓg,” released in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Each project draws on elements of post-punk, jazz rock and art rock that blend in an enthusiastic musical cocktail.

“We began touring, and then it kind of hasn’t stopped since,” Carroll says with a laugh, via a Zoom call. “That was about two and a half years ago… towards the end of last year, we did about four months, 47 shows all around Europe.”

And they haven’t let up. As soon as they got home from touring, they were right back to it. Altogether, the “best ideas” of “Pain to Power” were written and recorded over the span of two months: January and February of this year, when the band made the studio its second home.

“We had to just go ‘ham’ in the studio for six days a week. It’s pretty hardcore,” he says.

Some tracks had “spawned from jams” before being shelved for a while: “Some of them took two hours, some of them took two years,” he puts it plainly.

But this wasn’t an issue for the band, as they picked up those “jams” like they’d never put them down.

“All the songs we’ve written, they feel like they’re still within the same world, but just through different filters sometimes,” Buonaccorsi says.

“Born to Die,” which existed for the better part of the last couple of years, represents the halfway point in the album and features one of its most impressive sonic shifts. It also takes on the herculean task of merging many of the ongoing tones and deepest themes of the project.

“I know what this life is worth / We are universal spirits / And our kingdom is this Earth,” Wilkinson opens, as if a light has shone down on him.

The song is soft, with a distant, wailing sax peeking in for a brief moment among drum lines. It’s almost symphonic, carrying on for almost seven minutes before descending into a lulling silence.

“Our feelings are just visitors / Competing for attention / Avoiding every trigger / While still reaching for ascension,” he continues, in a quasi-monologue.

Hayes breaks in, thrashing his drums alongside Wilkinson’s guitar and an enthralling bass line from Buanoccorsi. Naturally, Carroll’s sax follows suit. The song then recedes into serenity once again, before picking up on “Break The Tension.”

It’s an exhilarating ride that carries on over the rest of the album, ebbing and flowing between chaos and calm. A lot of “Pain to Power’s” strength is in its latter half, and particularly across the three track run that is “Trenches,” “Zaytoun” and “Reconcile,” the album’s nearly 10-minute closer.

“What you’re seeing is these notions of pain that we are getting out of us in these songs,” Wilkinson explains. “These aggressive songs like ‘Bloodsport,’ ‘Look Down On Us’… we’re turning all of that aggression and that pain and anger into something beautiful, and that’s reflected in a track like ‘Saoirse.’”

“It’s quite a dynamic album,” Buonaccorsi adds. “You’ve got quieter songs, more intimate songs, and you’ve got loud, bombastic, crazy, aggressive songs, but they all still feel like they’re part of the same sonic universe.”

“Saoirse,” the third track on the album, reflects the somber first half of “Born to Die.”

“It’s our differences that make us beautiful,” Wilkinson sings repeatedly, like he’s muttering out a mantra. Sure, it’s a bit on-the-nose, but it embodies what Maruja is all about.

“Saoirse,” which translates to “freedom” or “liberty” in Irish, has historically morphed into a term representing the country’s desire for independence from British rule and cultural autonomy. These allusions to Ireland are ever-present in the band’s creations, with titles such as “Tir na nÓg” and “Connla’s Well” specked across their discography.

But how did a British outfit become synonymous with Irish activism?

“When we were recording ‘Knockarea,’ my dad started getting really ill and that led to me connecting with his parents a lot more, and they told me about my great-granddad, who was a photographer,” Carroll remembers.

“We ended up using all of his photos for the early stages of the music… all the black and white stuff is my great granddad’s photos in Ireland… I got really into my Irish heritage, and I’m really proud of it… and feel very connected to the culture and the land,” he continues.

The group says it has a strong correlation with their avid support for Palestinian rights, which the Irish have shown for decades: “They were the first Western government to speak up in public support for the Palestinian people,” Hayes says.

In that, they’re also speaking out against their home, Britain, which they say is “entirely complicit” in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“The colonization of Ireland from the British Empire, and then the… secret police of the Black and Tans [in Palestine] is a direct relation to the colonialist and imperialist ways of the British government today,” Hayes says.

According to the Irish Times, Winston Churchill demanded a “picked force of white gendarmerie” be deployed in Palestine after facing unrest in 1921. The force was composed of “members of both” his Auxiliaries and Black and Tans, who were “assigned to Palestine once their presence in Ireland was no longer deemed necessary.”

“In England, we just see this deranged hypocrisy continue to lord over our political landscape,” he adds. “We want to give voice to those who are voiceless… If we can help raise awareness, raise a message, and… highlight the complicity of our government, we’ve got to do it.”

On “Bloodsport,” this is clear, with Wilkinson crying out pleas to the world.

“Complicit in the narrative of pacified killings it’s a / Sore sight when you gotta choose / The lesser of two evils either one will prove / That we’re socially in apathy what’s left to lose?”

Their activism is heavily tied to their music and has undoubtedly contributed to some of the band’s recognition on a global scale. But, to them, it’s just part of their responsibility, and their music is an indication of that.

“We’re just reflecting our environment,” he explains. “Our lives are downtrodden with politics and with war and with the world suffering.”

Buonaccorsi chimes in, referencing a quote from “the great” Nina Simone: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”

“It’s our job… to speak about things that really matter to us, things that we feel like should not be happening in this world,” he says. “The barbarity and horror that we’ve never been able to see in our lifetimes… now, we see it before our eyes on phone screens.”

A BRITISH rock band has split with a long-serving member just days before kicking off a UK tour.

Crawlers have ‘decided to part ways’ with their drummer Harry Breen a year after their debut album, The Mess We Seem to Make, reached number seven in the UK charts.

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A statement on Instagram reads: “After a period of reflection, and discussion with our drummer Harry Breen, we’ve each decided to go our separate ways.

“CRAWLERS continues, louder and more alive than ever before. we can’t wait to continue to tell our story, and to forge that beside you on our upcoming headline shows and when we join Pierce the Veil in arenas across Europe this autumn.

“Evolution is in motion, the future is big, there’s a new world building around us and it’s ours to share. all we have is us. yours always, holly, liv & amy.” 

Harry had been due to head out on the band’s new UK tour which kicks off in Portsmouth next week.

It’s thought that the band will have a session drummer to fill in for the tour dates.

The band are also due to head out on tour in Europe with US rock giants Pierce the Veil later in the year. 

The band first formed in 2018 after band members Holly, Liv and Amy met while studying at performing arts college.

Harry joined soon after. The band went on to gain a huge internet following after their song went viral on TikTok.

Following their success, the band gained support from BBC Radio 1 and MTV.

They have also performed multiple sold-out headline tours across the UK.

In 2023, their song So Tired was used in DC universe series Doom Patrol.

Their debut album The Mess We Seem to Make was released in late 2024 and entered the official charts at number seven. 

Last year they had been set to support alt legend Jane’s Addiction on their reunion tour but after frontman Perry Farrell fought with guitarist Dave Navarro on-stage, the band split and run was pulled.

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In the beginning, it was 1981 and bassist Nikki Sixx left London, the glam metal band he’d formed in Hollywood three years earlier, to start a new project with drummer Tommy Lee. Then, they pulled in guitarist Mick Mars, who responded to the duo’s classified ad for a “loud, rude, and aggressive guitar player,” and eventually persuaded singer Vince Neil, a former classmate of Lee’s, to leave his band Rock Candy for Mötley Crüe.

From its start with 1981 debut “Too Fast for Love,” Mötley Crüe lived up to its mismatched epithet, from its diabolical breakout “Shout at the Devil” in 1983 to the late ‘80s with its most commercially successful release, “Dr. Feelgood.”

Addictions, near-death experiences, hiatuses, departures and reunions — Mötley Crüe survived them all. Each step on its musical journey is commemorated on “From the Beginning,” an album that includes the band’s first single “Live Wire” through its most recent track, “Dogs of War,” released 43 years later. The band also revived a Mötley Crüe classic with a newly recorded version of its “Theatre of Pain” ballad “Home Sweet Home,” featuring Dolly Parton, which reentered the charts in 2025 at No. 1, 40 years after the original recording’s release.

“Mötley Crüe and Dolly Parton together is the ultimate clickbait,” says Sixx, with a laugh. He previously played bass on the country legend’s 2023 “Rockstar” album. “I guess it’s part of that wow factor that has been part of the Mötley Crüe fabric for a long time.”

Proceeds from the new recording of “Home Sweet Home” benefit Covenant House, the nonprofit with which the band has partnered for nearly 20 years through its Mötley Crüe Giveback Initiative. Sixx first worked with Covenant House around the publication of his 2007 memoir, “The Heroin Diaries,” and helped develop a music program at the Hollywood center. In October 2024, the band also played a series of intimate club shows, dubbed Höllywood Takeöver, at the Troubadour, the Roxy and Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, which helped raise $350,000 for the organization.

“These kids are everything,” says Sixx. “These kids are the future. They might end up changing the world. What if one of these kids can cure cancer and they just didn’t have a shot?”

Playing those smaller shows in 2024, which also included the Underworld in Camden, London, and the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, is the bare-bones sound, much like rehearsals, that Sixx has always loved.

“One of my favorite parts about being in a band is rehearsal,” he says. “There’s nothing like it. It’s raw, just bass, drums, guitar, and vocals off the floor. Then, you add all the bells and whistles as you go along. When we can do things like that, it just reminds me who we are.”

It’s also part of what keeps Lee excited at this stage of the band’s career, which includes its third residency in Las Vegas in 13 years, which kicked off last week and runs through Oct. 3 at the Dolby Live at Park MGM. (A portion of the ticket proceeds from the 10-show residency will benefit the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.)

“I’ve been married to Nikki and Vince for over 44 years,” says Lee. “Like with any marriage, you gotta create ways to make it exciting, to keep it fun, or else you find yourselves at the breakfast table, with your face in the paper saying ‘Pass the butter.’ So Vegas in Dolby Atmos, new music, club shows, crazy videos, Dolly — we’ve always been trying different stuff to make the audience and us go ‘Oh, f— yeah.”

For Mötley Crüe, Las Vegas has nearly become a second home since the band’s first residency at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in 2012 and its “An Intimate Evening in Hell” a year later.

“We’ve got this great body of work that you don’t really realize until you get this far,” says Sixx. “But now, we’re in one of those interesting places where, if we don’t play the hits, we get
s—, and if we do play the hits, we get s—.”

“From the Beginning” is Mötley Crüe’s new compilation album.

(Chris Walter)

Some deeper Crüe cuts worth inclusion in the set include “Stick to Your Guns,” a non-single on “Too Fast for Love,” and a song that the Runaways’ ex-manager, producer Kim Fowley, asked a then-teenaged Sixx to write for Blondie in 1979.

“I was 17 years old, and we recorded that song, and because no record company would sign us, we started our own label and got a distribution deal,” Sixx recalls. “When we finally joint-ventured up with Elektra Records in ’82, they said we needed to take a song off since it made the vinyl sound thinner, so ‘Stick to Your Guns’ got cut, but I’ve always loved that song.”

Sixx recently revealed that Guns N’ Roses once considered covering the early Crüe track.

”Now I get people saying, ‘We want to hear, “Stick to Your Guns,” ’ “ says Sixx, laughing. “There’s like eight people that know that song. That’s a good way to shut down an arena.”

For Lee, there’s something more paternal around the band’s lengthy catalog.

“I know every artist says it, but our songs are like our kids,” he says. “And over the years, they grow up and they develop [their] own personalities and character. Some stay pretty close to home, settle down, and start their own family. Others go out on a Thursday night and come home on Sunday with no shoes and a shaved head, but we love them all the same.”

With every song, Lee says, the band members understand each other more. “We know how to push each other a little further, and hopefully get the greatest out of each other.”

While there’s always room to make new music, Sixx, who has been the band’s chief songwriter since its inception, prefers the pace of releasing singles.

“It’s just a different landscape now,” he says, “so to create one or two ideas, or co-write three is manageable, and it’s also digestible for the fans.”

So many things have changed, and he is also aware of some misconceptions about the band. “The music is Mötley Crüe — Mötley Crüe is not ‘The Dirt,’ ” says Sixx, citing the 2019 film based on the band’s 2001 tell-all memoir. “People have it confused because we were so honest and it became such a part of the fabric of us that they forget about the riff on ‘Kick Start My Heart’ and just remember the hotel that we tried to burn down in Ontario.”

Another misconception, Sixx says, is the band’s split with Mars in 2022. After issuing a statement that Mars had retired from touring due to his ongoing battle with ankylosing spondylitis, the guitarist sued Mötley Crüe in April 2023, alleging that he was forced out of the band and that his bandmates attempted to cut his 25% ownership stake. Guitarist John 5 — who has filled in on lead guitar duties since October 2022, prior to the lawsuit — continues to tour with the band.

“[Mick] came to us and said, health-wise, he couldn’t fulfill his contract, and we let him out of the deal,” recalls Sixx. “Then he sued us because he just said that he can’t tour. We were like, ‘Well, if you can’t tour, you can’t tour.’ I will probably come to that too someday.”

Although there was no final settlement in court between Mars and the band, a Los Angeles judge ruled in 2024 that the band failed to provide documents to Mars in a timely manner and was ordered to pay his legal fees, Loudwire reported. The underlying dispute regarding the band’s business and Mars’ potential ousting went into private arbitration.
The arbitration is still ongoing but in the first phase the arbitrator ruled in favor of the band and against Mars. The arbitration is still ongoing but in the first phase the arbitrator ruled in favor of the band and against Mick.

Mars’ claims around the band’s use of backing tracks were another point of contention and something Sixx has continued defending. He says the band started playing around with audio enhancements in 1985 and cites the “Girls Girls Girls” track “Wild Side” as a “perfect example” with its sequenced guitar parts. “Anything we enhance the shows with, we actually played,” he says. “If there are background vocals with my background vocals, and we have background singers to make it sound more like the record. That does not mean we’re not singing.”

Mars, who is currently working on his second solo album, was contacted by The Times but declined to comment for the story.

Sixx calls Mars’ accusations a “crazy betrayal” to his legacy and to the fans. “Saying he played in a band that didn’t play, it’s a betrayal to the band who saved his life,” adds Sixx. “People say things like, ‘Well, if you guys are really playing, then I need isolated tracks from band rehearsal.’ … It’s ludicrous.”

Another battle the band has found itself in involves Neil’s health problems and the criticism he’s faced following recent performances. Originally scheduled to perform in March and April, Mötley Crüe postponed its Las Vegas shows so the lead singer could undergo an undisclosed medical procedure. “He needed time to heal, and he’s been working really hard,” Sixx says.

“You can tell he’s working up the stamina, and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, man, he’s not kicking ass like he used to,’ but it takes a lot of courage to have a doctor tell you you will probably never go onstage again and to fight through that. If he’s got some imperfect moments here and there. They’re getting erased as the days go with rehearsal.”

Back in Las Vegas, Lee has looked forward to connecting with fans again, even if those in their teens and 20s were turned on to the band via “The Dirt.”

“Our goal is the same for all: to give them an incredible show,” he says, “to leave it all on the stage.”

Now, more than 40 years into Mötley Crüe, it may have been a patchwork journey of emotions for Sixx, but he wouldn’t change the experience for anything.

“We believe in this band,” he says. “It’s been 44 years. We’ve been in the band longer than we weren’t in the band. We’ve seen everything — everything. I guess that’s why it was a movie.”

Terry Reid, the bombastic British singer who famously passed on fronting both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, has died. He was 75.

Reid’s representatives confirmed his death in a statement to the Guardian. He had been treated for cancer just before his death, and a GoFundMe had been set up for donations.

Reid, born in Cambridgeshire, England, had a uniquely resonant and soulful voice with an enormous range that earned him the nickname “Superlungs.” He was a coveted figure among the arena-rock titans of the era — even vocal powerhouse Aretha Franklin once claimed in 1968 that “There are only three things happening in England: the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and Terry Reid.”

Reid first found local success in the teen rock group the Redbeats, and soon joined the band Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers. After a performance at London’s Marquee club, where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards caught Reid’s set with the Jaywalkers, the Rolling Stones brought the group on a support tour. Also on that package — Ike & Tina Turner and the Yardbirds, then the main project of guitarist Jimmy Page.

Reid, who had also become close friends with Jimi Hendrix then, left the Jaywalkers to become a solo act. The Stones asked him to support them on a U.S. tour. Citing those tour obligations, he declined Page’s offer to front a new group he was forming. Reid instead recommended vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham of Band of Joy, and that group soon debuted as Led Zeppelin.

“Lots of people asked me to join their bands,” Reid told the Guardian. “I was intent on doing my own thing. I contributed half the band — that’s enough on my part!”

Led Zeppelin wasn’t only the massive act Reid nearly fronted. He also turned down Ritchie Blackmore’s pitch to front Deep Purple, after Rod Evans left the band in 1969. Ian Gillan took the job instead.

As a solo artist, Reid signed a deal with the influential talent manager Mickie Most, and his debut 1968 LP, “Bang Bang, You’re Terry Reid,” included a song, “Without Expression,” he wrote at 14. That song would become a popular cover of the era — John Mellencamp, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and REO Speedwagon all took a crack at it.

He supported Cream, Fleetwood Mac and Jethro Tull on tour (and nearly opened for the Stones at the infamous Altamont festival, but skipped that date), but he never achieved chart success commensurate with his proximity to fame. Yet exquisitely performed albums like 1973’s ‘River” remain cult classics in the ’70s rock canon, and in the ’80s he turned to session work with Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley and Jackson Browne. Reid befriended Brazilian musicians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso after they moved to the U.K. during Brazil’s military coup, and he played both the first Isle of Wight festival and opened the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury’s 1971 festival, with David Bowie side stage.

Reid later moved to California and lived outside Palm Springs in his later years. His musical reputation was revived by both the crate-digger era of DJs (the virtuoso turntablist DJ Shadow collaborated with him) and the ’90s and 2000s rockers enamored with his vocal prowess. Chris Cornell, Marianne Faithfull and Jack White’s band the Raconteurs covered his songs. He reportedly recorded a number of unreleased tracks with Dr Dre. Reid told the Guardian the rap mogul “became fascinated with [Reid’s album] ‘Seed of Memory’ and invited me into his studio where we reworked it alongside his rappers, a fascinating experience.”

Reid is survived by his wife, Annette, and daughters Kelly and Holly.

WASHINGTON — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released on Monday a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Trump, which he has denied.

Trump has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter. He filed a $10-billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for a report on the alleged letter.

The letter was included as part of a 2003 album compiled for alleged sex trafficker Epstein’s birthday. The president has denied having anything to do with it. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee received a copy of the birthday album on Monday as part of a batch of documents from Epstein’s estate.

The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing, calling a report on it “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” Trump said.

The letter released by the committee looks exactly as described by the the Wall Street Journal in its report.

The letter bearing Trump’s name and signature includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of what appears to be a curvaceous woman.

“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter says.

Price writes for the Associated Press.

TELLURIDE, Colo.  — Jeremy Allen White asked all the questions any normal human being would ask when offered the chance to play Bruce Springsteen in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” In theaters Oct. 24, it’s a movie that examines a slice of the rock legend’s career when he was battling depression and creating 1982’s incomparable exploration of alienation “Nebraska,” a record he didn’t know he was making when he recorded the songs on a primitive four-track tape machine in a rented New Jersey home. It turned out to be his favorite of all his albums.

Most of those questions could be boiled down to: Why me? White didn’t know how to play the guitar. He loves to sing but would never call himself a singer. And while he has a relationship with an audience, particularly those who have white-knuckled their way through his Emmy-winning work as Carmy, the talented and troubled chef on “The Bear,” he says it’s a far cry from the bond Springsteen has forged with his fan base for the past 50-plus years.

“The relationship a musician has with fans is so intimate,” White, 34, tells me the morning after the movie had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. “You listen to him in the car, you go to see him live. He’s there in your ear and it’s just the two of you. You feel like you’re being spoken to. Bruce is so important to so many people. It was daunting. I didn’t want to disappoint.”

By the time we talked, though, White was well past any anxiety about disappointing, if only because he had the approval of the person who mattered the most: Springsteen himself.

“Jeremy tolerated me and I appreciated that,” Springsteen said at a festival Q&A, suggesting that his input on the movie was ongoing and significant — and also welcome. He noted that it was easy to sign off on director Scott Cooper’s vision for the movie, which, with its narrow focus on the deep dive of “Nebraska,” he called an “antibiopic.”

“And I’m old and I don’t give a f— what I do,” Springsteen added, laughing.

White and I are sitting in the sun outside his hotel, basking in the warmth the day after a steady rain. Wearing a battered Yankees cap, jeans, boots and a blue pullover, he’s sporting the casual uniform of the festival, if not the Boss himself. White asks if I mind if he lights an American Spirit. He reaches for his lighter. The premiere is over and his mood is light. We dive right in.

Jeremy Allen White in the movie “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.”

(Macall Polay / 20th Century Studios)

Was there an immediate point of connection with Springsteen?
The more I talked with him, the more I learned. And at the point in his life we show in the movie, he was feeling so fraudulent. Not in his work, but as a human. He felt like he was being caught in a lie all the time. And I don’t want to speak for all actors, but I’ve certainly dealt with that kind of feeling.

It feels like there’s a line between your Springsteen and Carmy on “The Bear,” two men carrying generational trauma and emotional baggage they have no idea how to deal with. Do you see that?
For sure, you can draw that line. They’re cousins. And they’ve both got their art, something they feel confident about. What Bruce was feeling in his relationship with his father and the environment he grew up in, is he felt incredibly unsafe. And that made it difficult for him to trust people and form real connections. For a long time, the only connection he felt was in that three hours he spent on stage.

But then what do you do the rest of the time?
Absolutely. And I’m familiar with those feelings. But my home life as a child was more loving and supportive, so I had to do some creative work to find that tether to Bruce.

You mentioning Springsteen’s dad just popped a thought into my head. Is Carmy’s dad alive?
[Long exhale] We don’t know. That’s a decision that’s up to [showrunner] Chris [Storer].

It’s above your pay grade.
Well above.

You’re really good at playing men who have trouble articulating their feelings, which puts a lot of weight on your shoulders to convey an interior life through close-ups. Do you like that kind of acting?
I do. You have to have an understanding. The camera knows. If you’re just staring at a wall and you don’t have anything going on, the camera will know. The audience will, too.

You do also get to rock out and sing “Born to Run” and “Born in the U.S.A.” How did your vocal chords feel afterward?
I spent an afternoon singing “Born in the U.S.A.” and I got a migraine and I lost my voice. I saw Bruce afterward and he asked, “What’d you do today.” And I said [affecting a hoarse voice], “Uh, I recorded ‘Born in the U.S.A.’” And he smiles and says, “Sounds about right.”

Most of your singing is the “Nebraska” songs, these delicate acoustic songs about despairing characters who have lost hope. Putting across their stories in these songs feels like its own imposing challenge.
I was so focused on just sounding like Bruce and my coach, Eric [Vetro], asks, “What are you singing about? What’s the story? Where’s Bruce coming from? Is he singing from his perspective? Is about his childhood? Is he playing a character?” All these questions that, for an actor, should be right at the front of mind. Because I was so anxious about sounding like him, I found myself blocked by the real thing, which was: How can I just sing the song as honestly as possible?

What song was the breakthrough?
“Mansion on the Hill.” Bruce listened to it and said, “You do sound like me. But it’s you singing the song.” And that gave me permission, not just in recording the music, but making a film where I could tell his story but not be afraid to bring myself to it.

Did you have a favorite song?
Probably “My Father’s House.” It seemed like a warning for me. There’s regret in it. What I heard is a song about a young man not wanting to regret that he didn’t reach out for his father, who he had a love and connection with earlier. There was an immediacy to it, which you then see with Bruce and his father in the film.

Did it make you want to call your dad?
I called him right after recording that song in Nashville. Like many fathers and sons, we have a loving relationship, but we’ve also gone through periods where things have been difficult and it was hard to communicate. Making this film and singing this song has given me another perspective. It also coincides with getting older and having children of my own.

I’m glad you made the call. You can’t have those conversations after a certain point.
That’s what I mean about the warning of that song.

You told me yesterday that you and Springsteen had a debate about “Reason to Believe.” What was the source of the disagreement?
It’s the last song on the album and Bruce says people confuse it as being hopeful. He says that’s not correct. The song is about a woman whose husband has left her and she stands at the end of the driveway every day, waiting for him to come home. And I hear that, and I think, “Oh, that’s real love. That’s romance. Someone’s gonna drive down that road at some point.”

Either that or this poor woman is just going to be walking up and down her driveway the rest of her life.
And no one’s gonna be there. It depends how your ear is on a song.

But you choose to believe.
I choose to walk to the end of the driveway. Absolutely.

Would you call yourself an optimist?
No. [Laughs] Not really.

“Nebraska” came out in 1982 and was informed by the idea that there was a growing divide between the wealthy and the poor and that what we think of as the American Dream was becoming more elusive. Where do you think the album sits more than four decades later?
People are angry. That’s what seems to define our country right now. Anger. And it doesn’t seem to be going away. The songs on “Nebraska” are still going to be speaking to us four decades from now. They’re timeless.

Jeremy Allen White in the movie “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.”

(Macall Polay / 20th Century Studios)

Did your early dance background help you with the physicality of the role, the way he carries himself on stage or even just walking around?
For sure. Finding the way he holds his gravity was important. I put little lifts in the boots and that made my posture change, my legs a little longer. Wearing the pants up to here [he points to a spot above his hips], that gets your gravity in your belly button, where I’m crouched over all the time.

There’s a lot of scenes in diners where he’s sitting with one arm over the back of the booth …
… like he’s on his way out almost all the time. One foot in, one foot out.

Musician friends turned you on to “Nebraska” in your early 20s. What music were you listening to then?
My folks are a little older so I grew up listening to a lot of music that Bruce listened to — Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, the Beatles, the Stones, Aretha Franklin.

Your parents had a strong record collection.
Still do. And I grew up in in Brooklyn in the ’90s, so I got really heavy into hip-hop in my teenage years. I discovered Nas and Jay-Z and Big L and Wu-Tang. Tribe. De La Soul. And then I was around for an exciting time in the New York scene. I was young so I couldn’t really experience it, but the Strokes were coming out and LCD Soundsystem. I felt lucky to be close that stuff as it was happening.

The way you’re talking about all this, it feels like music is a fundamental part of your life.
Absolutely. I love that it’s always with you. I’ve taken a couple of cross-country trips, and I love putting on Motown. I go through periods where I listen to the same 20 songs for a couple of weeks. But then I’ve got thousands of “liked” songs. And the nice part about a long drive is you can shuffle that and it’s like you’re traveling in time. I love getting to visit past versions of myself through music.

Springsteen takes an eventful cross-country trip in the film. What’s your most memorable one?
I did one by myself when I was about 24. I thought I was going to give myself about two weeks to go from New York to L.A. The first week was great. I was enjoying my solitude, listening to a lot of music. Then when I hit Utah, I got incredibly lonely.

Did the landscapes get to you?
Maybe. I had a certain amount of anonymity, which I enjoy on a road trip. You don’t know anybody in these towns and that allows you to be whoever you want to be, passing through. I remember getting to Utah and just being desperate to see somebody who knew who I was. And I got a flat in St. George, Utah. It was a disaster. My phone had died. I didn’t have a spare. I was out on the side of the road trying to borrow somebody’s phone. I took that as a sign. After I got it repaired, I raced to have dinner with a friend, because I felt this this crazy loneliness.

Springsteen says everyone has their “genesis moment,” an experience that charts your path. His was watching Elvis Presley perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1956. What’s your genesis moment?
I had been dancing on stage but I didn’t act until I was 14 when I got up in front of a group in middle school. I had this great teacher, John McEneny, and he was having us do this improvisational exercise — two characters, one speaking, one quiet. And my friend, Yael, was playing a mother and I was playing her child who didn’t know how to speak yet. So I wasn’t speaking, like so much of my work [Laughs].

It’s Carmy’s genesis moment too.
Yes. And I remember feeling a presence. I had a hard time focusing as a child, a hard time being present. Still do. But I remember even in silence feeling so at ease and present. And of course I remember the eyes. And even without me doing anything or speaking, I felt attention, people waiting to see what I would do next. And I went, “Whoa.” I felt at peace. I felt present and people were interested. And I thought, “Let me follow this a little bit and see where we can go.”

There’s a scene in the movie, taken from real life, where Springsteen is flipping through the channels one night and stumbles upon Terrence Malick’s “Badlands,” a movie that ultimately influences “Nebraska.” With streaming, we don’t really have those serendipitous discoveries any more. Have you ever had a moment like that?
I can’t think of one. But “Badlands” was a favorite of my parents and they showed it to me when I was 13 or 14. Martin Sheen was cool as hell in that role, and I was so impressed with his commitment to that character. And Sissy Spacek conveys so much with so few words.

And like “Nebraska,” “Badlands” was difficult to make. There was a lot of pushback against Malick and what he was trying to do.
There was a lot of confusion going on. They weren’t on the same page. Like with Bruce, it took a lot of diligence on Terrence Malick’s part to realize his vision. It’s so beautiful when you hear about the process of making a film is so difficult, and then something so beautiful and perfect comes out.

Where do you like to see movies in L.A.?
I love the New Beverly. I saw “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Egyptian not long ago. The Aero, if I’m on the Westside. I miss the Cinerama Dome and the Arclight. New movies, probably the Sunset 5. My favorite thing is go to a movie on a Tuesday at like one in the afternoon. You’re there by yourself. I like seeing movies by myself. Some people get out of a movie and like to start talking about it. I like getting out of a movie and being quiet for awhile.

Did you see “Weapons”? That was my favorite movie theater experience this summer.
I loved “Weapons.” And obviously, it’s a great horror film and funny at times and that ending is just crazy. But also I found myself very emotionally affected. To me the horror of the movie was about, from the child’s perspective, looking at all these adults who were totally incapable, whether it was due to addiction or narcissism.

Bringing this full circle, I’m watching this movie about kids feeling unsafe and I thought of the times in Bruce’s upbringing where he felt a similar way and how that made it so difficult to grow up and be trusting. That he ultimately got to that place is so beautiful. I hope people come away from watching this movie feeling that and, if they’re in a place that’s not so good, maybe thinking that connection can still be possible.

The picturesque village is home to miles of sandy beaches and stunning coastal walks, as well as a number of historical sites that have been featured in artwork

This quaint seaside village is located less than two hours from a major city – and you might recognise it from this very famous album cover.

Heysham, a seaside village less than two hours’ drive from Liverpool, is a hidden gem that music fans will find familiar. Nestled just a stone’s throw away from Lancaster, this small but mighty village boasts stunning sandy beaches and a rich history.

Despite its size, Heysham offers sprawling grasslands, lush woodlands, and dramatic coastlines that have graced artwork and even a famous album cover. One of the most visited spots in Heysham is St Peter’s Church, a historical marvel dating back to the Saxon period. Believed to be one of Lancashire’s oldest churches, it’s a must-see for history buffs.

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Open throughout the week, the church provides free guided tours from Monday to Thursday between 11am and 3pm. It also houses significant artefacts, including the Viking gravestone known as the ‘Heysham Hogback’.

Just a short stroll from St Peter’s Church, you’ll find Heysham’s rock-cut tombs. These water-filled stone-hewn graves were famously featured on the artwork of Black Sabbath’s Best of Black Sabbath album in 2000, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Thought to have been created around the eleventh century, these graves served as the final resting place for high-status individuals.

These graves are located adjacent to the ruins of St. Patrick’s Chapel, which overlooks the breathtaking coastline of Morecambe Bay.

The chapel holds a Grade I listing in the National Heritage List for England, signifying its importance and the extra protection it receives due to its age and condition. Despite this, the site, managed by the National Trust, welcomes visitors.

According to local folklore, Ireland’s patron saint, St Patrick, was shipwrecked and established a chapel here in the fifth century. The striking sandstone building is believed to have been constructed at least two centuries after the original.

Apart from its captivating history, the village boasts stunning coastal views that are ideal for a seaside stroll.

The National Trust suggests visiting its coastline to witness the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets as the sky transitions from blue to vibrant oranges and pinks.

British landscape artist JMW Turner was reportedly inspired by the village’s remarkable scenery when he painted ‘Heysham and Cumberland Mountains’ in 1818.

The coastal village provides all the expected amenities, including independent cafes and restaurants.

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