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Day in Pop Report for 04/21/2016


Today's Top Stories


Beyonce's Lemonade Part of Free HBO Weekend

Beyonce's mysterious "Lemonade" broadcast event for HBO is set to premiere during the cable network's free preview weekend that will run from this Friday until next Monday (April 25th).

HBO and their sister network Cinemax will be available for free to non-subscribers during the promotion, with what is billed an "Beyonce's HBO event Lemonade" airing at 9:00PM/ET on Saturday night. No details have been revealed about the nature of the hour-long show.

The free weekend will also include the season premieres for Game of Thrones, Veep and Silicon Valley, the premiere of "Jurassic World", as well as the World Championship Boxing matches Golovkin Vs. Wade and Gonzalez Vs. Arroyo.

HBO released a promo video for the free weekend that can be seen here as also revealed some of the programming highlights from the weekend. See those here.

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Jake Owen Vs. Fake Facebook Jake Owen

(Radio.com) Country music star Jake Owen took to his own Facebook page to call out a person that has allegedly been using a fake "Jake Owen" account to send messages to woman.

The real Owen writes, "So� Excuse my language.. I've been fired up about this all morning," he begins. "There is a low life POS that has been sending messages from a fake 'Jake Owen' account to females out there. I was forwarded these messages this person is sending and his phone number was attached� So.. I figured I'd call him and give him a piece of my mind."

"As you can see, he's a coward and would not pick up�," he continued. "Although, he did text back after and continue to say he was me. He also asked that I not share his number� Haha� Well friends, his number is� I'm not finished with these creeps. I will do everything in my power to make sure you all, my fans, are protected from these low life people. I love you guys." See Jake's full post and video here.

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Microsoft Pulls The Plug On Xbox 360

(Radio.com) Microsoft has stopped manufacturing their XBox 360 game console after over a decade on the market, but reassured users that they will continue to offer support for the Xbox 360 community.

The announcement was made Wednesday (April 20th) by the head of Xbox Phil Spencer in a blog post. He said in part "while we've had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us.

"Which is why we have made the decision to stop manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles. We will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox 360 consoles, with availability varying by country."

He also revealed that users will still be able to purchase Xbox 360 games and accessories from their online store and via retailers while supplies last and the Xbox Live services will remain active. Read more details here.

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Meghan Trainor Announces Untouchable Summer Tour

Meghan Trainor revealed big news for fans when she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday. The pop star announced her North American summer trek, the Untouchable Tour.

Trainor appeared on the talk show to perform her new song "No", which is the lead single from her forthcoming sophomore album "Thank You". The new effort is scheduled to hit stores on May 13th.

The tour will be kicking off on July 14th in Vancouver, British Columbia at the PNE Amphitheater and wrapping up on September 24th in Boston, MA at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion.

Trainor has recruited singer and actress Hailee Steinfeld as the support act for the trek, and Common Kings will be playing select dates on the tour. Tickets go sale to the general public on April 29th via Live Nation. See the tour dates here.

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Gwen Stefani And Gavin Rossdale Divorce Finalized

(Radio.com) A Los Angeles judged finalized Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale divorce earlier this month, ending the former music star couple's 13 years of marriage.

According to CBS News, their divorce was finalized on April 8. The terms of the agreement state that Stefani will retain her interest in her band, No Doubt, while Rossdale will keep his interests in his group, Bush.

The former couple will share joint custody of their three sons, who range in ages from 2 to 9. Stefani filed for divorce back in August, citing irreconcilable differences. Read more here.

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Rihanna Next Album Already Done?

(Radio.com) Even though Rihanna just released her eighth studio album ANTI in late January, she may have a follow-up already completed according to producer Cardo.

Cardo, who has worked with Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole, among others, let it slip in an interview with Complex that he has a completed record with Rihanna.

Cardo discussed how busy he's been, and when pressed for details admitted, "I can't say anything beyond that, but we got a record with Rihanna. That's all I can say. I can't say anything more, but there's a Rihanna and Cardo record."

When asked if it was something that appeared on ANTI, Cardo clarified that it was meant for that, but was now part of another project. "It was for ANTI, but there's another ANTI," he said. Read more here.

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Dan + Shay Announce New Album 'Obsessed'

Country music duo Dan + Shay announced that they will be releasing their new studio album, entitled Obsessed, on June 3rd via Warner Bros. / Warner Music Nashville.

Dan Smyers, one half of the duo along with Shay Mooney, had the following to say about the title, "The idea for the album title, Obsessed, came directly from our fans."

Mooney adds, "Our fans know we live on social media both when we're in and out of the studio, and we started noticing that hashtag '#obsessed' being tagged in all our fans' posts when we first revealed our single, 'From The Ground Up.'

"So when it came time to pick a title for this album, it seemed pretty appropriate that we're even more obsessed with making music for our fans than they are to hear it."

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Paul Mccartney Classic Used In Mr. Robot Trailer

(Radio.com) Paul McCartney's "Let 'Em In," a no. 3 hit for the former Beatle in 1976, is the unlikely song used in a brand new trailer for the USA Network series Mr. Robot.

In the trailer, anxiety and depression riddled genius Elliot Alderson (played by Rami Malek) is sitting at his computer in his apartment. And we hear well� a lot of knocking at his door (we'll presume he doesn't have a doorbell, so no one can ring it).

We don't, however, know if he'll let 'em in. But the poppy McCartney song offers a borderline-funny counterpoint to the very dark tone of the series. The show, which also stars Christian Slater in the title role announced, via this teaser, that season 2 starts on July 13. Watch the trailer here.

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Bonnie Raitt Adds Fall Leg To North American Tour

Bonnie Raitt has once again expanded her Dig In Deep Tour of North America. She has now added a new fall leg to trek that will include 14 additional shows.

The new tour leg will feature support from The California Honeydrops and is scheduled to get underway on October 14th in Phoenix, AZ at the Celebrity Theatre and will conclude on November 8th in Austin, TX at the Moody Theatre at ACL Live.

Raitt is currently on the spring leg of the tour which will be wrapping up with a two night stand in Nashville at the iconic Ryman Auditorium on May 3rd and 4th.

She will take a brief rest before embarking on a European tour on May 26th in Manchester, UK at the Bridgewater Hall. The Euro tour will finish with a show in Copenhagen, Denmark at the Amager Bio on June 11th.

Bonnie will launch the summer leg of her North American tour on August 12th in Wallingford, CT, which will run until September 24th when she performs in Berkeley, CA. See the dates for the new leg here.

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Little Mix Releases Sleepover-Themed 'Hair' Video

(Radio.com) British girl group Little Mix clearly get by with a little help from their friends aka each other. In their new music video for "Hair," they turn up to help one of their own get over a bad relationship with a pizza-stacked sleepover.

When Leigh-Anne Pinnock has had enough of her boyfriend, she calls the other three girls, asking them to help "get him out my hair." Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson show up at her doorstep in their pajamas. The four mix drinks, demolish five pizzas and use their hair straighteners as pretend microphones. They even take a page straight out of Cocktail, sliding across a wooden-floored foyer in their socks and undies to sing their parts.

The song features Sean Paul, who Skypes Leigh-Anne on her phone and only reenforces why she needs to move past their toxic relationship. When it comes to what's important in life, Little Mix knows what's up. Boyfriends come and go, but friends are forever. Watch the video here.

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Bruno Mars And Missy Elliot In The Studio Together

(Radio.com) Missy Elliott and Bruno Mars appear to be working on a track together. On April 19th, Missy posted a photo on Instagram showing the two hanging out in the studio.

She wrote a lengthy caption singing Bruno's praises, and revealing that he had played her four new tracks. "Big up to@brunomars I had a blast with him in the studio vibing!#magic," she wrote. "He such a rare gem & such a humble spirit! I am so humbled & grateful Bruno.

"We laughed & laughed the whole night then he played me some (fire emoji) ass songs 4 his album Whewwww #INCREDIBLE! It's so inspiring to vibe with ppl who can create real music & have a creative mind! Big up to lisenny from Brooklyn ayyyye see y'all soon!"

It's been 11 years since Missy released her last studio album, 2005's The Cookbook. The delay had much to do with health reasons, but after she surprised the world by appearing in Katy Perry's Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2015, she felt inspired to get back out there. Read more here.

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Fetty Wap Streaming New Track 'My Environment'

(Radio.com) Fetty Wap returned to his roots with a new track called "My Environment," which he released earlier this week. The original Soundcloud post included two additional (but since removed) songs: "Queen of the Zoo" and "Westside" featuring Snoop Dogg, reported Billboard.

On "My Environment," Fetty pays tribute to the neighborhood he grew up in, Paterson, New Jersey. "And this is for my young n--s/ 'Cause of where we from all we know is our environment," he raps. "And you can't change what's understood/ And if it's all good then it's all good, I'ma rep my hood."

Fetty's lyrics also touch on providing for his family; at the end of March, Masika Kalysha gave birth to his daughter: "A couple million for my children, gotta get the cream," he raps. "I turned a thousand to a million, started with a dream."

It's unclear when the rest of his new tracks will re-emerge, but "My Environment" suggests that Fetty's back. Check it out here.

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Gwen Stefani Reveals Blake Shelton Duet Title

(Radio.com) Country star Blake Shelton's next album 'If I'm Honest 'will feature a track called "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," which will feature his girlfriend Gwen Stefani.

The pop songstress revealed the cheeky title when she tweeted an image of the album's back cover, which reveals a full track list: "look what I found lying around the house! #ispymyname," she wrote.

This duet takes place on Blake's turf, so it'll be interesting to see whether Stefani can court the country star to record something poppy in the future. See the tweet here.

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Oprah Reacts to 'Kelly and Michael' News And More

(Extra) How do you celebrate losing 30 lbs. on Weight Watchers? If you're Oprah Winfrey, and you own a stake in the company, you make a surprise appearance at a group meeting!

The 62-year-old did just that on Tuesday, before debuting her new OWN series, "Greenleaf" at the Tribeca Film festival on Wednesday. "Extra's" AJ Calloway caught up with Oprah to talk about everything from Michael Strahan leaving "Live with Kelly and Michael," to weight loss, to "Greenleaf."

The media mogul said she just heard the news about Michael. "I just heard that he was going to be on 'Good Morning America' and I was really excited about that. I think he's a great talent as we all do, I'm sure you do too." When asked about reports Kelly was blindsided by the announcement, Oprah said, "And 'blindsided?' Not good."

What is good? Her weight loss journey, "It's slowly working, but it's a lifestyle change forever, so that's good. I just have made the shift that this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. I'm going to count the points."

Oprah isn't the only one in her house counting points, her boyfriend Stedman is also following Weight Watchers, "I even got Stedman counting the points." Winfrey is helping him along, "He asks me, because every time he's walking around like, how much is a Starbucks Frappuccino? And I go, 'Nobody who is actually counting points is having a Starbucks Frappuccino, caramel with whipped cream.'" Read more here.

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Justin Bieber Jokes About His Hair Controversy

(Radio.com) Justin Bieber has taken to social media to address an important topic of conversation. His hair. Bieber recently began sporting bleach blond dreadlocks, which of course resulted in internet commotion.

Reviews were divided into several camps: there were diehard Beliebers who'd be cool if Justin got a Marcia Clark perm; then, there were casual critics who weren't impressed with the new look. Finally, there were people of color who deemed his dreadlocks cultural appropriation.

Via a post on Instagram the singer has finally weighed in. "Duuuude," Bieber begins, doing his best stoner impression, "are you going to do anything with your hair?" Read more here.

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Singled Out: Van Damsel's Domino

Indie electro-pop band Van Damsel will be releasing their self-titled debut album tomorrow (April 22nd) and to celebrate we asked lead singer Sebastian Ste Marie to tell us about the single "Domino." Here is the story:

Domino: chaos and love, sex and drugs�and eventually me. A reference to the influence my 21 year old seed giver had on my 17 year old birth mother. Older guy and impressionable young girl-it's always how it goes, no? Often enough at least.

I guess she went tumblin'. She fell for him: a wild, emotional, struggling musician-much like me, though I think I exhibit more stoic qualities. She told me he would often choose the bottle over her. She was only 17. Perhaps she shouldn't have even been a choice. But then again, if she wasn't, there wouldn't have been me, and likely not this song.

Sounds heavy eh, but the song has an upbeat, pop feel, right? Don't worry, everything turns out fine (for me and birth mama at least).

From the moment the initial arrangement and melodies of this song were brought forward by our guitar player, Rich, I wanted to tell this story in this song. The story of a father I have never met and have only had a few brief interactions with on social media-generally unpleasant, but not always. The last time he contacted me he bookended a brief paragraph with insults," you self absorbed fraud�I am dying�you arrogant a**hole." He doesn't even know me. I feel for the guy. I will likely never meet him. But I have met my birth mother. She's pleasant and relaxed-much like me. She may have stumbled, but she didn't end up tumblin'. It's all good. I'm glad to be here.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

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