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Zara Larsson has been nominated for a Grammy in the best dance pop recording category for the title track of her album Midnight Sun, but it's another song from the album, "Crush," that is climbing the charts right now. Zara says "Crush" is an example of what happened when she decided to co-write every song on the album.

"I feel really confident as a writer and as a singer just going into the studio and feeling like, 'I want this to be my truth,'" she told ABC Audio. "And some of the songs on the album, they're a bit messy. And it's like, some of the songs aren't the nicest, but it's the truth. And I think it's just more fun that way."

And "Crush" is, in fact, messy: It's about being infatuated with someone else while you're already in a committed relationship. "A lot of people that I played it to, they're like, 'Ooh, that's relatable.' And I'm like, 'Oh, okay!'" Zara said.

"But it sounds like such a fun, big pop song. And I don't think you really clock what I'm singing about until the very end, perhaps, or if you listen twice," she continued. "But I thought, 'You know what? Let me just sing about this.'"

"Maybe [this is] something that I wouldn't have done a couple of years ago, because I would have been like, 'Oh no!! What are people gonna think about me?' and all that stuff," she noted. "And now, I just don't really care!" 

Zara is currently touring Europe, but she's coming back to the U.S. for some multi-artist shows in December. Her Midnight Sun tour starts Feb. 28 in Portland, Oregon.

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SZA's brief exchange with Nicki Minaj was just as confusing to her as it was to the world. In her cover story for GQ, SZA said "there's no backstory" to their back-and-forth.

“I don’t know her,” SZA says. “We have no connection to each other. There’s no backstory. Like, there was no through line narrative."

"It was just like, ‘Roc Nation’.... I don’t know where it came from," she continued. "It was a little strange. It was very like, ‘Why?’ But also, you know, ‘I guess.’"

SZA found herself the target of some of Nicki's social media posts in July, which some believe was a response to one of SZA's X posts: “Mercury retrograde .. don’t take the bait lol silly goose." Nicki poked fun at the singer's freckles, claimed no one listens to her music and alleged that she uses Auto-Tune, which was met with clap backs from SZA.

While she stood up for herself in a feud that directly involved her, SZA chose not to get involved in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud.

“It was something between two grown-a** men," SZA explained of her silence, "so why would I insert myself between something between two grown-a** men, you know?”

“I didn’t really have any stake, per se. Obviously, I love Kendrick. I’m signed to TDE. That’s my family," she continued. "Obviously, I’ve known Drake for so long and we have a beautiful rapport. And, obviously, it’s always unfortunate when the unfortunate occurs."

SZA's full cover story is on GQ.com.

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Madison Beer wants you to see what's in her locket in January.

That's the title of her new album, which will be out Jan. 16, 2026. Madison wrote and co-produced the album. It includes the songs she's released so far in 2025, "yes baby" and "bittersweet."

Explaining the album title, Madison says, "After writing [it], it feels like each song lives within this metaphorical locket for safe keeping. Each album feels like an era and once the albums are out in the world the chapter for me, usually with what I wrote about, is closed.”

Madison announced the album on Instagram by writing, "i really can’t believe i’m sayin this. this album means the world to me, i’ve never been so proud or excited about something n i am soooooo beyond excited for u to listen :’)) this project is my world and metaphorically / literally my heart."

As previously reported, Madison recently released the video for "bittersweet," which costars The Summer I Turned Pretty actor Sean Kaufman as her ex.

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Conan Gray will be taking his latest album, Wishbone, on the road in 2026.

The "Vodka Cranberry" singer will kick off his Wishbone World Tour Feb. 19 in Minneapolis and will travel across North America, wrapping up March 20 in LA. Conan will then head to the U.K. and Europe before traveling down under for shows in New Zealand and Australia. The tour is set to end Oct. 8 in Perth, Australia.

The Wishbone World Tour follows Conan's Wishbone Pajama Show Tour, which traveled across the U.S. and Mexico earlier this year. He wrote on Instagram, "bringing this album on tour to you has been the greatest joy of my life, and i can’t believe i get to keep Wishbone’s story continuing through next year!!" 

You can sign up for presale tickets now at conangray.lnk.to/tour. The general sale begins Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. local time. VIP packages will also be available. For more info, visit conangray.com.

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Billionaires supporting billionaires: We love to see it.

At Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Selena Gomez revealed some key advice that her BFF and fellow billionaire Taylor Swift shared with her. 

“She said, ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,'” the Rare Beauty founder said. As a result, she makes sure to surround herself with "really incredible people” and isn't afraid to ask questions.

But Selena also noted that when it came to Rare Beauty, she had to make sure she was working with people who understood what she wanted to do.

“I think a lot of people would have preconceived ideas of what I’m good at, and I should stay in my lane and I should do what I’m here to do,” the singer and actress said. "But what I’m here to do is make a difference.”

Rare Beauty is currently valued at an estimated at $2.7 billion, according to Fortune. But Selena said she's not resting on her laurels.

"[When] something great happens in my life, I expect something bad to happen,” she said. “Instead of being present and saying, ‘Okay, wow, we’ve done a great thing,’ which I do, but I’m always thinking, ‘Okay, but if this could go all go away tomorrow, so how can I make sure that doesn’t happen?'”

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Mgk has announced a world tour in support of his new album, lost americana.

The international outing includes two North American legs, the first of which runs from Nov. 18 in Glendale, Arizona, to Dec. 19 in Tampa, Florida. Mgk will then head to Europe, Australia and New Zealand in early 2026 before the second North American leg launches May 15 in Wheatland, California. The tour will then conclude July 1 in Ridgefield, Washington.

Wiz Khalifa will also be on the bill, and openers include Julia Wolf, Mod Sun, honestav, Beauty School Dropout, DE'WAYNE and Emo Night, depending on the date.

Presales begin Sept. 22 and tickets go on sale to the general public on Sept. 25 at noon local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Store.MachineGunKelly.com.

Lost americana, the follow-up to 2022's mainstream sellout, dropped in August. It includes the lead single "cliché."

Mgk announced lost americana with a trailer narrated by Bob Dylan.

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Mariah the Scientist will be going on tour in support of her new album, Hearts Sold Separately, home of her Hot 100 single "Burning Blue." She'll be kicking off the new year on the road with 36 dates scheduled from January to April. 

The trek starts with a European leg beginning in Paris on Jan. 12; its North American leg starts Feb. 13 in Miami Beach. Other cities on the schedule include New York, Toronto, LA, Houston, Boston and Las Vegas. The tour will come to an end on April 10 with a hometown show in Atlanta.

Fans can purchase their tickets via the Verizon presale in select cities on Tuesday. There will also be other presales going on throughout the week. Remaining tickets will be sold to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. local time at livenation.com. Hearts are sold separately.

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In 2024, "Symphony," Zara Larsson's 2017 collaboration with Clean Bandit, went viral on TikTok after people started using it to soundtrack videos that paired imagery of a happy dolphin in a rainbow-tinged sea with incongruous messages like "I have social anxiety," "I'm depressed" and "I'm scared of people." It became so popular that Zara started performing the song in concert with similar dolphin-themed visuals. 

When the dolphin image first went viral, people compared it to the artwork of Lisa Frank, who's known for her happy, rainbow-hued animals, including dolphins. Now Zara has teamed up with Frank for a special edition of her new album, Midnight Sun, due out Sept. 26.

The limited-edition CD package features an animated version of Zara frolicking in an underwater paradise of dolphins, plant life and musical notes. You can preorder it now.

Zara says the collab "feels like serendipity — a full-circle moment in the best way." She adds, "From the ‘Symphony’ dolphins that trended on TikTok with so many people noting the Lisa Frank vibes, to an actual collaboration with the icon herself. It’s a little surreal."

Frank adds, "What started as fans making the connection online has now had its defining moment. Her new album is like color in sound, and blending our universes feels like the perfect way to bring that cultural phenomenon to life.”

By the way, the original dolphin artwork in the meme was by Christian Riese Lassen.

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Mariah Carey has performed on stages all over the world, but on Sept. 17 she'll be singing a very unusual place: the Amazon rainforest.

Mariah is part of a concert called Amazônia Live – Today and Always, which is set to take place atop a floating stage on the Guamá River in Belém, Brazil, a city known as the "gateway to the Amazon."

The concert, produced by the team behind the Rock in Rio concerts, is designed to raise awareness about how important it is to preserve the rainforest. For one thing, according to the organizers, it's an important step in reducing carbon emissions. A documentary will capture the event, as well.

The event will take place a week before Mariah releases her new album, Here For It All.

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Having conquered the worlds of rock and occasionally pop, Shinedown is now setting its sights on country music.

The "Three, Six, Five" band will be making its debut at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct. 10. Starting in 1925, the Opry is one of the longest-running radio broadcasts in U.S. history. Also airing online and on TV, it features live performances from the Grand Ole Opry House east of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. While it usually includes established and rising country stars, artists outside the genre sometimes appear, as well.

"We're beyond excited to make our Opry debut,” says Shinedown guitarist Zach Myers. "Being a kid from Tennessee, most of my early memories were watching the Opry show every weekend with my grandmother and never considering standing on that legendary stage to even be an option. Now that it is, we couldn't be happier to be a part of such a historical year of Opry history."

The band's appearance is part of the Opry's 100th anniversary celebration, which is taking place throughout October. Get tickets at Opry.com.

Shinedown recently hit #1 on the rock chart with their latest single, "Killing Fields," following the #1 success of "Three, Six, Five" and "Dance, Kid, Dance."

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