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Jordin Sparks is the host of Roller Jam, a new reality competition series on Max that pits roller-skating crews from across the country against each other for a chance to win $150,000 and a $10,000 donation to their local rink. As an American Idol champ and former Dancing with the Stars contestant, Jordin tells ABC Audio it's great not be judged, for once.

"It is so much nicer to be on this side of the judging table," Jordin says. However, her experience helped her to support the contestants.

"I can be down there on the floor with them and be like, 'Look, I've been in your shoes ... I know what it feels like,'" she says.

In fact, Jordin says watching Ryan Seacrest on Idol inspired her to become a host. "I was watching how he was reading the teleprompter and interacting with everybody, from the contestants to the judges to the people at home," she says. "And I was like ... 'I'd love to do that one day.' So it's really crazy that now 17 years later, I'm finally getting the chance."

Jordin says the show has inspired her to take up roller skating again, and she plans to get her son DJ, 6, a pair of skates so they can do it together. She says one of the great things about skating is that it's "multigenerational" — and so is Roller Jam.

"Grandmas and grandkids can watch [it] together," she notes.

The crews skate to different eras of music in each episode, so which was Jordin's favorite?

"I prefer the 2000s, obviously, because it's songs that I know and love. But when I think of skating ... I think about the '70s," she says. But ultimately, "You know I'm going to turn on 'I Want to Dance With Somebody' by Whitney!" 

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Charli XCX is reflecting on Friday's release of her Brat remix album, Brat and it's completely different but also still brat. She took to Instagram to thank her fans for the love she's received for this new version. "i think songs are endless and have the possibility to be continuously broken down, reworked, changed, morphed, mutilated into something completely unrecognizable," Charli wrote. "I'm so happy that all the collaborators on this record were so open to exploring and reinterpreting the songs with me."

It's been one year since Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour premiered, and to celebrate, Taylor Nation released a video highlighting special moments from the world premiere of the concert film. "One year since the most extraordinary experience premiered in theaters!" the caption reads. "Share your favorite moments from each era in the film using #1YearOfTSTheErasTourFilm and let’s go on a little adventure together."

Speaking of concert films, Raye has teamed up with Abramorama to release her concert film Raye: My 21st Century Symphony Live at the Royal Albert Hall in theaters. The film, which had its U.S. premiere on Sept. 24, will have a global theatrical release.

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Charli XCX has finally dropped her remix album, Brat and it's completely different but also still brat. One of the many guest stars working it out on the remix is Ariana Grande. On the remix of "Sympathy is a knife," Ariana sings, "It's a knife when you know they're counting on your mistakes/ It's a knife when you're so pretty, they think it must be fake/ It's a knife when they dissect your body on the front page/ It's a knife when they won't believe you, why should you explain? ... It's a knife when somebody says, 'Ari, I think you've totally changed.'"

Jelly Roll has released his sophomore album, Beautifully Broken, as well as a deluxe edition with six extra tracks, called Beautifully Broken (Pickin’ Up The Pieces). Guests include Halsey, mgk, Wiz Khalifa and Keith Urban. The album features Jelly's latest hits, "I Am Not Okay" and "Lonely Road."

The Kid LAROI has dropped a new single called "Aperol Spritz," which, if you're not familiar, is a popular summer cocktail. There's also a music video to go with it. We hope that when he sings, "There's a whole lotta girls up in here but can't nobody f*** with my b****," he's thinking of his girlfriend, Tate McRae.

BLACKPINK's JENNIE has released a new solo single and music video, "Mantra." She says in a statement, "It’s the perfect song to begin my new era. I think ‘Mantra’ will make my fans happy but also show a new side of me as a solo artist ... it’s energetic and empowering with a message for all of my ladies, women, and pretty girls out there to love yourself for who you are. This is your anthem.”

Tyla has released the deluxe edition of her self-titled debut album. It includes three new songs.

(Videos contain uncensored profanity.)

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For the last few days, Halsey has been counting down to her new album, The Great Impersonator, by dressing up as various music icons, each of whom she credits with inspiring a different track on the album. After dressing like Dolly Parton, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush and Cher, Halsey donned drag for her Oct. 11 impersonation.

Halsey dressed like David Bowie, mimicking a photo shoot in which the late rock icon posed wearing a yellow suit, with red hair in a quasi-pompadour, a cigarette between his lips. Halsey copied every detail, right down to the fact that Bowie had two different colored eyes.

In her caption, Halsey noted that Bowie was one of the O.G. great impersonators of music, having created various personas throughout his storied career.

"Ziggy Stardust, The Starman, The Thin White Duke, The Picasso of Pop, Major Tom, The Master of Reinvention and The Chameleon of Rock… DAVID BOWIE," she wrote. She also said the song that Bowie inspired is called "Darwinism."

And for any fans who are wondering who's been in charge of creating the makeup that's been transforming Halsey into all these icons, she wrote on X, "It’s me."

Halsey teased in her Instagram Story that she's "thinking about doing some events during album release week," asking fans to sign up for her Text/What's App group to be notified of said events before anyone else. The Great Impersonator is out Oct. 25.

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Billie Eilish is only 22, but at this point she's a music industry veteran, even if she doesn't entirely feel like an adult.

"I'm finding I'm having kind of a hard, weird time being in my 20s," she tells the Los Angeles Times. "I just didn't ever think about how I wouldn't be the youngest person in the room forever. At the same time, fame really stunts you. So I find myself acting like a kid sometimes because I'm like, 'Yeah, I got frozen in time.'"

"I'm a different person - I just didn't really grow," she adds. "I didn't really become an adult."

That may be true, but Billie is certainly mature enough not to feel threatened by the other pop girls who've broken through this year: Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. Asked about that by the paper, she says, "Are you kidding me? I'm so happy for these b******."

"It's a crazy world when you get to the level they're experiencing right now, and they're doing great," she adds. "Fans are drawn to them because they're f****** awesome."

And they're all fans of each other, too. After all, Charli invited Billie to jump on the remix of "Guess." Speaking to the Times, Charli says, "Billie knows herself - that's rare. The music we make is very different, but I think we approach writing in a really similar way in that there's a level of honesty and directness."

"She's only doing something if she truly feels it," the "Apple" singer adds. "I respect that, and that's a hard quality to hold onto when you're being pulled in a million different directions."

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Coldplay keeps their streak of #1 albums across the pond going with Moon Music.

The latest effort from Chris Martin and company debuts at the top of the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart, giving them 10 straight number ones in their home country, dating back to their 2000 debut, Parachutes.

With a total of 237,000 chart units, Moon Music earns the biggest week for a British artist since Adele's 30, which was released in 2021. It also marks the second-biggest Official Albums Chart debut for any artist of 2024, behind only Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department.

Moon Music, Coldplay's 10th album, was released Oct. 4. It includes the lead single "feelslikeimfallinginlove."

Coldplay will launch a U.S. tour in support of Moon Music in May 2025.

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Sabrina Carpenter's got a real "Taste" for the #1 spot.

As her song "Taste" scored a seventh straight week on top of the U.K.'s Official Singles Chart, the Short n' Sweet star has made history: She's now the female artist with the most weeks ever at #1 in a single year. 

Sabrina has spent a total of 19 weeks on top of that chart in 2024: seven with "Taste," seven with "Espresso" and five with "Please Please Please."

Sabrina takes over the record from the late Olivia Newton-John, who spent 16 weeks on top in 1978. Among all artists, she's tied with Ed Sheeran, who in 2021 spent 19 weeks on top with four different songs.

"Taste" is also tied for the title of the U.K.'s longest-running #1 of the year with Noah Kahan's "Stick Season."

According to Page Six, when Sabrina sang "Espresso" at the Time100 Next Gala on Oct. 9, she told the crowd, “If you’re sick of it, I’m sorry. If not, sing along!"

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The Weeknd's new music has increased his record number of Spotify monthly listeners to never-before-seen heights.

The Canadian star became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on the platform in February 2023, and he's held the record ever since then, except for one month when Billie Eilish took over. But now he boasts more than 120.5 million monthly listeners.

That puts him way ahead of the next artist on the list: Bruno Mars, who has over 109 million. Billie is now third, with just under 108 million listeners, followed by Lady Gaga with 105 million and Taylor Swift with 93 million monthly listeners.

The Weeknd's latest single, "Timeless," produced by Pharrell Williams, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It and his other release, "Dancing in the Flames," are from his eagerly anticipated new album Hurry Up Tomorrow, which currently does not have a release date.

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You wouldn't think that Rihanna — a woman who's performed for an audience of billions at the Super Bowl and regularly poses in skimpy outfits — would lack the courage to do anything, but it turns out that celebrating Halloween is something she had to psych herself up for.

Speaking to E!, Rihanna says, "I built up the nerve to do trick or treating at strangers’ houses. I’m doing the whole thing. I’m actually going to learn to bake cookies, because I want to make ghost cookies. If I get through that, I’ll feel like I won for October.”

As for her costume, Rihanna says, "I want to be a cute little ghost. I really want to do something. I think that's the easiest thing. I could literally make that costume.” She didn't mention what her sons RZA and Riot would be for Halloween, though.

And after Halloween, Rihanna, her partner, A$AP Rocky, and the kids will visit family. She tells E!, "Next is Thanksgiving with my in-laws, because that's not a thing in Barbados. And then Christmas is a very, very big thing for us. So we're going to do it out — all the things.”

“Motherhood, wifehood-ish, just being a homebody — I love it,” she tells E! “I love to be a homemaker. I just like to be exciting and celebrate things. I'm trying to build new traditions for our little family that we built.”

Maybe one of those traditions could be releasing a new album more frequently than once a decade?

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Olivia Rodrigo is Down Under on her GUTS World Tour, but she took some time out to visit one of the main tourist attractions in Melbourne, Australia.

Liv posted a TikTok Friday of herself meeting Pesto, the massive king penguin chick at the Melbourne Aquarium. He's become a global sensation due to his large, fluffy body, which is expected to decrease after he gets his adult feathers in. 

She and Pesto duetted to the "Who are you? I'm Pam, who are you? I'm the owner of this house" sound. "This collab will go down in history," raved one fan.  There's even more Pesto content on her Instagram Story.

Katy Perry also visited Pesto during her recent trip to Australia.

During her second show in Melbourne Thursday, Olivia thrilled fans by singing a song she'd never performed on the GUTS tour before: "All I Want," the song Liv wrote and recorded for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. 

The success of the song, which has been RIAA-certified Platinum, led to Olivia getting her record deal, which led to "driver's license" and, well, here we are.

The GUTS World Tour wraps up in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 22.

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