Ariana Grande's planning something 'stage-related,' but confirms music will be 'in my life forever'

Ariana Grande has the Wicked sequel coming out in a few weeks, plus a 2026 tour, and roles in both the Meet the Parents sequel Focker In-Law and the new season of American Horror Story. But it turns out she's also plotting a project that's not a movie, TV show or concert.
Speaking to The New York Times, Ari said she's got something the Times describes as "stage-related" that's "coming up soon." As she puts it, "It’s not on Broadway, but it’s something that I’m very excited about and inspired by.”
Ariana appeared on Broadway as a teenager in 2008, when she starred in the musical 13.
However, Ari wants to assure her fans that her original day job — singing — isn't going away. "Of course, music will be in my life forever,” she said. “I have to say that for my fans who are reading this who are going to have a heart attack.”
Ariana also said that making the Wicked films is what reignited her interest in pop music.
"There was something broken about my relationship to [it] that was healed recently through the time away,” she said. "Nothing prepares you for what comes with [pop music stardom]. Until quite recently, it was really hard for me to navigate and I think it stripped a lot of joy out of this for me.”
Now, she said, “I’ve never felt this connected to my art or inspired, and that’s just been such a tremendous gift. It’s like, 'Oh, I don’t actually have to take on those things that were projected onto me. I can focus on my art and that can be a separate entity.'"
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Music notes: *NSYNC, Sabrina Carpenter and more

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Now it can be told: *NSYNC owes their entire career to Richard Marx -- sort of. JC Chasez and Lance Bass appear on the latest episode of Marx's podcast Stories to Tell, and in a clip posted on Instagram, JC reveals that the first song he ever sang in public was a Richard Marx song. He did it at a talent show -- and won. "That is so f****** awesome!" says Richard in the clip. By the way, Richard wrote and produced *NSYNC's hit "This I Promise You."
During Sabrina Carpenter's Tuesday night show in Nashville, the person she "arrested" for being too hot was Nicole Kidman. Offering Kidman her fuzzy pink handcuffs before her performance of the song "Juno," Sabrina said, "Will you be my one and only dream girl tonight?" Kidman is the second Oscar winner Sabrina has arrested during this leg of the Short n' Sweet tour, following Anne Hathaway.
Jessie J's video for her 2011 hit "Price Tag," featuring rapper B.o.B., has racked up a billion views on YouTube. It's her second visual to join the Billion Views Club, following her Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj collab "Bang Bang."
Speaking of Jessie J, did you know she co-wrote Miley Cyrus' 2009 hit "Party in the U.S.A."? That same year, Miley released "The Climb," and it's now been reworked for the Gap's new holiday campaign. In the ad, the song is sung by a 20-year-old British singer named Sienna Spiro, backed by a multigenerational choir aged 8 to 72.
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Watch Benson Boone do the 'What's Up'/'Beez in the Trap' trend with Queen's Brian May

Earlier this year, Benson Boone brought out Brian May, guitarist for British rock legends Queen, to join him during his Coachella set for "Beautiful Things" and a rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody." And now that Benson's touring in London, where May is based, he was able to collaborate with the guitarist on something else.
Benson posted an Instagram video on Wednesday showing him and May doing in the "What's Up"/"Beez in the Trap" trend. Benson started by lip-synching a verse of the '90s hit "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes. The camera then revolves to show May standing back-to-back with Benson, lip-synching to Nicki Minaj's 2012 hit "Beez in the Trap."
The mash-up of the two songs was created by a TikTok user known as DJ Auxlord last summer and has since gone viral.
Imagine a 78-year-old British guy with a huge head of frizzy gray hair lip-synching, "B***** ain't s*** and they ain't saying nothing/ a hundred motha******* can't tell me nothing/ I beez in the trap, be-beez in the trap" and you'll understand why this is pretty hilarious.
"My dear @brianmayforreal you are an icon," Benson captioned the video.
May once again joined Benson for "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Beautiful Things" during Benson's Tuesday concert in London.
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Katy Perry experiences disaster after disaster in 'Bandaids' video sneak peek

It looks like Katy Perry needed more than just a Band-Aid after she was done shooting her latest video.
In a preview of the clip for her new song, "Bandaids," Katy experiences disaster after disaster. She gets her hand caught in a garbage disposal. She sits on a tree branch and plunges to the ground after sawing off the wrong end of it. She face-plants at the top of an escalator and sits outside of a cafe as its windows explode, throwing glass everywhere.
She gets electrocuted while walking past some gas tanks, then gets hit by a log that falls off a truck in front of her car. Finally, she's seen lighting a cigarette, and half the block blows up in a fiery explosion.
Fans were complimentary about the sneak peek, comparing it to the Final Destination movies. The video debuts Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. It marks Katy's first new music since the release of her album 143. The song itself also comes out Thursday.
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Watch Gwen Stefani 'Shake the Snow Globe' in new holiday video

Gwen Stefani is releasing an updated Amazon Exclusive deluxe edition of her holiday album You Make It Feel Like Christmas. Two new songs will be included, one of which is featured in a new Prime Video holiday movie that debuts on Dec. 3.
"Shake the Snow Globe" is an upbeat original song that's part of the soundtrack to Oh. What. Fun., a movie that's an updated take on Home Alone. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire Clauster, a woman who's famous for prepping and planning the perfect holiday for her family every year. But when she's left behind during a family outing, she gets to experience "the unexpected magic of a Christmas gone off-script," according to the official description.
Gwen says in a statement, “This is the first time I’ve ever been asked to write a song for a specific moment in a film. It made me nervous, excited, and inspired to take on the challenge of creating a Christmas song that feels up tempo, nostalgic and reflects the sentiment of the movie."
The video for the song can now be seen on Amazon Music, but Gwen's posted a decent chunk of the candy-colored clip on Instagram, as well. "the Holidays are so magical and i wanted this video to capture the sparkle + joy of the szn," she writes. "my new song Shake the Snow Globe & music video is out now!! watch + listen on @amazonmusic."
The album, featuring another new song called "Hot Cocoa," is due out Nov. 14. You can also buy an actual snow globe with the deluxe-edition album art inside. It'll set you back $60.
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Jelly Roll's reminded of his past while shopping in Australia

Jelly Roll's in the home stretch of his first tour Down Under, and he seems to be having a blast, save for an incident at one store in Australia.
“Hey man, the Louis Vuitton in Sydney legitimately just treated us like we were finna come in and rob that place,” he said in an Instagram Story on Wednesday.
But he seemed to be taking it in stride, laughing as he walked away with the store visible in the background.
“I have never been looked at more like a crim— listen, the last time I was looked at like a criminal this bad, I was an actual criminal this bad," he continued.
Jelly Roll's only recently been able to tour internationally, thanks to a string of charges dating back to when he was 14.
On Thursday he plays his last Australian date at Country Bank Stadium in Townsville, before his Saturday stop in Auckland, New Zealand.
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Season 2 of 'Are You Sure?!' with BTS' Jimin and JungKook coming in December

Jimin and JungKook of BTS are coming back with more world travels.
Season 2 of the singers' reality series Are You Sure?! will premiere Dec. 3 on Disney+. It was filmed after Jimin and JungKook completed their military service and shows what happens when they embark on a 12-day journey from Switzerland to Vietnam.
Season 2's eight episodes will be released in pairs, with two episodes dropping every Wednesday from Dec. 3 to Dec. 24.
Season 1 showed the bandmates traveling from the USA to South Korea and Japan. According to a press release, season 2 will showcase "an even deeper look into the duo’s friendship," as they share "thrilling adventures, serene getaways, and spontaneous, fun-filled moments."
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Ed Sheeran celebrates streaming success with Spotify Billions Club Live performance

The Weeknd was the first artist ever to play a Spotify Billions Club Live performance, followed by Miley Cyrus. And on Monday night in Dublin, Ireland, Ed Sheeran became the third artist to do a special performance of his songs that have surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify.
The event, held at the Royal Dublin Society, was attended by 1,700 of Ed's top fans, who got to see Ed perform more than 15 tracks, including "Shape of You," "Perfect," "Bad Habits," "Thinking Out Loud" and "Photograph," as well as new songs from his album Play like "Azizam" and "Sapphire."
Ed also played to the local crowd by performing his Ireland-inspired songs "Galway Girl" and "Nancy Mulligan." You can see photos of the gig on Ed's Instagram.
Ed has 14 songs in the Billions Club.
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'Fifth Jonas Brother' Alex Warren joins Jonas Brothers onstage in Knoxville

Last year, Alex Warren teamed up with Joe Jonas for a new version of "Burning Down," his first song ever to crack the Billboard Hot 100. And on Tuesday night, he got to sing the song live with Joe — and Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas — as he joined the Jonas Brothers onstage at their show in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Of course, Alex also performed his #1 hit "Ordinary" — you can see footage of the performance, featuring Alex wearing an "I (Heart) Jonas" shirt — on Instagram. Alex and "Ordinary" are expected to be mentioned in the major categories when Grammy nominations are announced on Friday.
On his Instagram Story, Alex posted a photo of himself in a Santa Claus suit with Joe sitting on his lap, while Joe, Nick and Kevin play video games. He captioned it, "I've been lying to you ... my parents aren't dead I'm secretly the 5th Jonas Brother."
In case you're not aware, both of Alex's parents have, in fact, passed away, and many of his songs are inspired by that. However, he constantly jokes about it and named his 2026 European tour Little Orphan Alex Live.
Also at the JoBros show, they debuted their new song "Coming Home This Christmas," from their upcoming Disney+ and Hulu holiday film, A Very Jonas Christmas Movie.
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Role Model is 'People' magazine's first-ever centerfold — no, really

Sometimes the squeaky wheel does get the grease. Last year, Role Model campaigned hard to be chosen as Sexiest Musician in People magazine's Readers' Choice Poll, but lost to Harry Styles. But this year, he has the last laugh: He's been chosen to be the magazine's first-ever centerfold.
“I feel amazing,” Role Model, born Tucker Pillsbury, tells People. “I’m honored.”
In the centerfold, though, Tucker isn't showing off his Pillsbury. He's posing naked except for a pair of white socks, with a large newspaper covering his midsection. The headline reads, "Role Model Certified Sexy!"
When Role Model campaigned for the title last year, he went all in, even making merch and renting billboards. Explaining why he went to such lengths for a not-very-important title, he tells People, "My argument was always this. Obviously, Harry Styles is in the lead, just off the bat. ... How cool would it have been to let the underdog win, me?"
"Harry Styles has everything. He's got a brand. He's got to be almost touching a billion dollars at this point. Sold out shows, amazing career, beautiful looks. He doesn't need this. He didn't need it," the singer adds. "I needed it and it was taken from me and I think there was just a little bit of cheating that you guys could have done to put me in the lead.”
In other Role Model news, when he performed in London on Tuesday One Direction singer Niall Horan was the surprise Sally during "Sally When the Wine Runs Out." You can see footage of him joining Role Model onstage on Instagram.
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