CHR

It's a great day to be an *NSYNC fan. The group's long-awaited reunion single, "Better Place," has finally been released — and there's a new Justin Timberlake movie streaming on Netflix.

"Better Place" is from the soundtrack to the upcoming movie Trolls Band Together, which hits theaters November 17. In it, Timberlake's character, Branch, goes on a quest to reunite the boy band that he and his brothers used to be in. It's no wonder Justin decided to reunite his *NSYNC brothers for their first new recording in more than 20 years.

While each *NSYNC member gets a chance to shine, Timberlake carries the chorus of the upbeat pop track, singing, "Just let me take you to a better place / I'm gonna make you kiss the sky tonight / Yeah, if you let me show the way / I'm so excited to see you excited.”

As for the new JT movie that's now streaming, Reptile is a neo-noir crime thriller starring Benicio Del Toro and Alicia Silverstone. Justin plays Will, a real estate agent whose girlfriend/colleague is murdered. The two fought the previous night, giving Will a motive — but in this film, everyone seems to have one.

Reptile director Grant Singer, who's helmed music videos for The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, can't say enough about Justin's talents.

"He's very special in many ways, primarily because he's not just an actor. He's not just a musician, he's not just a singer. He's, like, one of the greatest living entertainers," Singer tells ABC Audio. "He's, like, the most phenomenal dancer and performer. He's like this very multifaceted ... multidimensional renaissance man."

"I've never seen Justin in this, in a role that's so vulnerable," Singer adds. "I thought he inhabited it so well. He brings such a nuance to it. It's such an incredible performance."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Fans on the internet were quick to speculate an issue between Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Timberlake at the MTV Video Music Awards Tuesday night, but Megan's setting the record straight.

No, there was no fight, and yes, they're all good. 

"I just talk with my hands @justintimberlake love ya," Megan wrote on a slo-mo TikTok video shared to Instagram. 

The new short follows a viral video circulating the internet that sees a very animated Megan looking like she's yelling at JT when they pass by one another backstage.

Fans immediately tried to make out what was said in the clip as it was posted with zero sound. Sources close to the situation told People it was simply a very exciting impromptu meeting.

"He said, 'It's so nice to meet you,' and she said, 'No, no, this don't count, this don't count. We gotta meet proper,'" the source said. 

After the run-in, Meg and JT officially met, shared laughs about the internet frenzy and shut down all negative rumors. 

The viral moment followed Meg's premiere performance of her new Cardi B collab, "Bongos" and a special *NYSNC reunion that saw all the band's members coming together on the VMAs stage to present Taylor Swift with the award for Best Pop Video. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bob Dylan once gave Post Malone some lyrics for a new song, but why the public has never actually heard that track is a mystery.

Rolling Stone reports the tune was supposed to be part of a project producer Michael Cash came up with, which would have featured Dylan lyrics recorded by a group of hip-hop artists. It was inspired by T Bone Burnett’s 2014 project, Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, a project in which artists like Elvis Costello recorded songs using old but newly uncovered handwritten Dylan lyrics.

Cash reached out to Dylan’s rep, Jeff Rosen, and eventually Dylan agreed to send some lyrics for Post. The song was called “Be Not Deceived,” which Cash said was “about loss of innocence,” calling it “poetry.”

So, where's the song? Cash says Malone came to the studio in March 2021 to record the tune, thinking Dylan was going to be there too, but he wasn’t. Malone recorded about 40%, but didn’t finish it. Cash noted, “It needed flair. It needed more layers. It wasn’t a complete piece of music, but it was definitely a song.” 

Cash said the track just “needed to be finished,” but Malone never returned to the project. After a while Dylan’s camp had enough, and Cash was told they were going to retract the lyrics.

There’s no definite answer as to why Post never completed the recording. Cash says, “It just seems like nobody really managed expectations, and it just seems like nobody communicated." He added, "A really cool piece of music got made, and then it just got weird. It got really weird.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Doechii, the genre-defying rising music artist from Florida known for the popular song "What It Is," landed the cover of Allure for the magazine's Melanin Edit series. 

In the interview aimed at answering the question, "What does a nerd look like?" the 25-year-old star opens up about her rise to fame as well as a few personal topics she says helped shaped her career journey.

Born Jaylah Hickmon, she created the Doechii persona in sixth grade as way to find courage to be her truest self. 

"I was just trying to be who everybody wanted me to be because I just wanted to be loved," she said. "But then ...  I told myself ... I can be gay, I can be weird, I can sing, I can listen to rock music, I can learn how to write rock music. I can do whatever. I can be myself."

Middle school was a troubling time for the star, who says she felt misunderstood. Doechii would get asked prying questions about her appearance and personal life that made her "really anxious all the time."

Now, after letting go of the unwarranted opinions by others, Doechii is living her best music and personal life. 

"I'm in a position where I want to win," she said. "I just needed to love myself as an artist and now that I do, I want to be the best."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jessie J is embracing self-body positivity. On her Instagram Story on Tuesday, August 1, the singer responded to comments made about her body after the birth of her son. "Couple of people have said to me 'I bet you can't wait to get your body back,'" Jessie wrote. "I don't want to go back. That body is gone. I want my body to go forward. That's the vibe ladies. Embrace that bowdddddy!"

Francia Raisa is clearing up rumors that she was "forced" to donate her kidney to Selena Gomez. On the Tuesday, August 1, episode of Josh Peck's Good Guys podcast, Raisa opened up about the organ donation process. "I just felt it in my heart, and I knew, I knew I was a match," Raisa said. "No one forced me to do anything. It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart."

Liam Payne is reminiscing about his One Direction days. As the band's smash hit song "What Makes You Beautiful" nears 1 billion streams, Payne posted a throwback One Direction photo on Wednesday, August 2, to celebrate. "Never in the making of this song so early in our career did I think I would be looking at those numbers what an achievement boys!" Payne wrote.

Dominic Fike is remembering his late Euphoria co-star, Angus Cloud. "I guess I lost a friend of mine recently," Fike said while onstage during a concert in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, August 1. "He died the other night, which is wild to say because I don't deal with grief often. I haven't had a lot of death happen around me, and this was the first time I feel like I knew the person well enough to cry over and feel something," Fike said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tai Verdes' new song "Sandman" has arrived!

At midnight Friday, Tai released the new song along with the equally as entrancing music video. ABC Audio caught up with him before the drop where he dished all about the new track. 

"Every single time that I make music it's always an experience, just like the shows, right? It's like, I want to get the best product out of myself and out of the people that I work with," he said while at the Governors Ball Music Festival 2023.

"I try to keep my crew tight knit and I go through endless versions, endless iterations of the music that I make," the singer-songwriter continued. "I want it to sound good. I want to give out a certain vibration."

That perfectionism could be what helped his previous single "Stuck in the Middle" go viral on TikTok, however Tai isn't chasing viral moments, he just wants the music to speak for itself and if it goes viral then so be it. 

"I don't really try to go viral. I don't really care about any numbers or anything like that," he said. "I just care about making things because at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter about how many people listen to your music because if you were to stop making it ever then it doesn't matter at the end of the day."

"Sandman" arrived just in time to kick off the summer, but for fans wondering when they can expect a new album -- his last was 2021's TV -- just know it's on the way.

"Listen, it's coming as soon as I feel like it's sending out the right vibration, that's it," he shares. "And then after that, it'll be for all the people. And I can't hide it anymore."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It sounds like Kelly Clarkson is thinking about taking her 2015 single “Piece by Piece” out of her set list. The emotional song has her singing about her absentee father and how her husband at the time, Brandon Blackstock, was there for their first child. But she now admits the song was more "hopeful" than total truth. She tells The Hollywood Reporter, “A lot of that song is about what I desired and what I hoped and what I saw in someone.” Now that her marriage to Blackstock is over, she notes, “I might not be singing that song again.”

Sounds like Charlie Puth likes to raid girlfriend Brooke Sansone’s wardrobe. The singer recently shared a series of photos and videos to Instagram, including one where he’s wearing a skirt, which apparently belongs to his gal. He captioned the post, “The great thing about having a girlfriend is that you can share clothes and it all fits! Also tour…,” the latter referring to the included videos of him onstage performing.

We’ve got our first taste of the new collaboration between Jonas Brothers and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. The K-pop stars dropped a snippet of the track, “Do It Like That,” on TikTok, with the group dancing along to the tune in the studio. “Do It Like That,” produced by Ryan Tedder, will drop July 7.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The family of Marvin Gaye's co-writer on "Let's Get it On" intends to appeal a verdict in Manhattan federal court for Ed Sheeran, according to a court filing Thursday.

The family of Ed Townsend filed a notice of appeal after it lost a copyright infringement case involving Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" last month.

The document did not say on what grounds the Townsend family would appeal, but it did signal the family would challenge the outcome and several rulings made by the judge.

A Manhattan jury decided in Sheeran's favor in May when they found that the singer did not engage in willful copyright infringement following a trial that saw Sheeran playing the guitar and singing in court.

"I'm obviously very happy with the outcome of the case. And it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all," Sheeran told reporters outside the courthouse at the time. "But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all."

Sheeran insisted he chord progression of his song was common and belonged to no particular artist.

Sheeran also testified that he wrote most of his songs in a day, suggesting under questioning by his attorney, Ilene Farkas, that he did not stop to think about copying elements from "Let's Get It On" when he composed "Thinking Out Loud," as alleged by Townsend's heirs.

Townsend's family said Sheeran copied the sheet music of "Let's Get it On" and positioned the case as justice for Townsend's legacy and Black musicians whose work has been misappropriated by white artists.

Ben Crump, who represented the plaintiffs, said during opening remarks that the suit was about "giving credit where credit is due."

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lizzo unleashed a fiery response on Twitter after becoming the target of yet another wave of fatphobic hate and body-shaming.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, May 31, she called out a viral post that triggered a barrage of negative comments.

Sharing a screenshot of a hateful tweet mocking her for her size, the "About Damn Time" singer expressed her frustration, stating, "I JUST logged on and the app and this is the type of s*** I see about me on a daily basis."

Lizzo went on to lament the toll it takes on her, confessing, "It's really starting to make me hate the world."

"I LITERALLY STOPPED EATING FAST FOOD YEARS AGO," she declared, in response to a user pondering "what she must be eating." "I'm tired of explaining myself all the time and I just wanna get on this app w/out seeing my name in some b*******."

In a subsequent tweet, the 35-year-old explained, "I'm not trying to BE fat I'm not trying to BE smaller I'm literally just trying to live and be healthy."

Lizzo went on to express her distaste for the internet and how it's made her contemplate leaving the music industry behind, stating, "Y'all don't know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting and enjoying my money and my man on a F****** FARM."

Over on Instagram, the self-love and body positivity advocate posted a snippet of herself on stage, alongside the caption, "I WILL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT YALL MAKE IT FOR FAT PEOPLE TO SIMPLY EXIST. MINDING YOUR BUSINESS IS *FREE*."

"IF THE INTERNET WAS LIMITED AND ONE COMMENT TOOK 24HRS TO POST I WONDER WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA WOULD BE LIKE," she wrote. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Like mother, like daughter.

Blue Ivy, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's daughter, performed onstage with her mother Friday night during the Paris performance of the Renaissance World Tour.

The 11-year-old was dressed in a metallic silver jumpsuit, matching with her mother, to bust out her dance moves while Beyoncé sang two songs, "My Power" and "Black Parade."

Beyoncé took to Instagram on Monday to share a photo and video of her daughter on stage.

"My beautiful first born I'm so proud and thankful to be your mama," the singer wrote. "You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel."

Tina Knowles, Ivy's grandmother, also shared a video of the moment on Instagram.

"Last night I saw my beautiful grandbaby (11) dance in the front of almost 70 thousand people! She killed it and was as cool as a cucumber!" Knowles said in part.

The crowd can be heard in the video chanting "Blue" at the end of the performance.

Beyoncé's 5-year-old daughter, Rumi, was reportedly spotted in the crowd cheering on her big sister and holding a sign that read, "We love you, Blue!"

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.