Latest news with #popMusic
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Carly Simon Defends Sabrina Carpenter Against Album Cover Backlash: 'She's Not Doing Anything Outrageous'
Carly Simon is defending Sabrina Carpenter amid the backlash against her album artwork for Man's Best Friend In an interview with Rolling Stone, the "You're So Vain" hitmaker said the LP cover seemed "tame" Man's Best Friend is due Aug. 29Carly Simon is standing by Sabrina Carpenter. In an interview with Rolling Stone published on Wednesday, June 18, the "You're So Vain" hitmaker came to the pop star's defense amid the backlash surrounding the cover for her forthcoming album Man's Best Friend. The album artwork features a photo of Carpenter, 26, on her hands and knees as someone who appears to be a man grabs her by the hair. In the image, she's donning a short, black dress and black heels. Simon herself released a similarly controversial cover with her 1975 album Playing Possum, which featured the "You Belong to Me" artist on her knees wearing black lingerie and black leather boots. "Everybody looked at it, and people definitely had a reaction to it,' Simon, 81, told the publication of the controversial album cover. 'But they wouldn't have told me what they really thought.' When the album was shipped to stores, she was met with bolder reactions. 'Suddenly, I'm getting calls from Time and Newsweek, saying, 'This is one of the sexiest covers that has ever known,'' Norman Seeff, the photographer who shot the cover for Playing Possum, told Rolling Stone. He continued: 'There's this whole controversy around what did it represent? It felt very much like that energy in a woman, but I just thought of it as a beautiful shot. None of that stuff they were talking about was the intention." Simon also addressed the criticism Carpenter has faced for her Man's Best Friend album artwork, which she didn't understand. "She's not doing anything outrageous,' she told the outlet. 'It seems tame." Added Simon: "There have been far flashier covers than hers. One of the most startling covers I've ever seen was [The Rolling Stones'] Sticky Fingers. That was out there in terms of sexual attitude. So I don't know why she's getting such flak." Carpenter announced the release of her seventh studio album and its cover art on Wednesday, June 11. The news came after she shared the album's lead single "Manchild" earlier this month. In the days after she shared the album cover, Carpenter responded to an X user who reshared the singer's Man's Best Friend album cover, saying, 'Does she have a personality outside of sex?' The 'Espresso" hitmaker then reshared the post and said: 'girl yes and it is goooooood.' Man's Best Friend follows Carpenter's chart-topping LP Short n' Sweet, which was released last August. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift Files Restraining Order Against a Man After Fearing For Safety
Taylor Swift took legal action against an alleged stalker, getting a restraining order after living in 'fear' of possible danger. On June 6, the pop singer filed for a temporary restraining order against a man who repeatedly visited her home over the year and insisted they share a personal connection. The Los Angeles Superior Court granted Swift the protective order on Monday. USA Today reviewed the court documents, which revealed the individual to be Brian Jason Wagner from Colorado. In the filings, she also raised concerns about her safety. USA Today shared key details from Taylor Swift's restraining order filing against her alleged stalker. Reportedly, the individual in question, Brian Jason Wagner, visited her house several times over a year, with the first instance dating back to July 9, 2024. He then returned twice that same month. More recently, Wagner made two consecutive appearances on May 21 and May 22, and asked to see Swift 'personally' after 'stating that he was there checking on a friend (again, this is entirely untrue).' In her petition to the court, the Grammy winner revealed that she had been living in 'a fear of imminent harm.' She alleged that Wagner repeatedly visited her house and engaged in 'concerning and threatening' conversations with her staff, prompting her to file for the protective order. Swift further mentioned that she has never 'publicly' revealed the location of her Los Angeles home or address. Therefore, Wagner's repeated visits, refusal to leave, and claims of needing access make her 'fear for my safety and the safety of my family.' Taylor Swift's alleged stalker also made false claims about sharing a personal relationship and a son with her. Moreover, the restraining order filings stated that Wagner made disturbing statements during his visits. These falsified comments included claims about 'living' at her LA property, sharing a 'relationship' with her, and 'believing' she was his son's mother. Swift called these 'untrue and disconnected from reality.' Her claims also mentioned the staff receiving hundreds of emails from him. Swift's restraining order ensures her safety and prohibits Wagner from 'harassing, stalking, assaulting, or disturbing' her. Additionally, it prevents him from communicating or coming within 100 yards of the pop star, her home, her vehicle, and her workplace. The order will remain effective through the court hearing on June 30. Originally reported by Nikita Mahato on Reality Tea. The post Taylor Swift Files Restraining Order Against a Man After Fearing For Safety appeared first on Mandatory.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Remembering Sly Stone and Brian Wilson
It happened this past week ... we learned of the passing of two giants of popular music: Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys; and Sly Stone, frontman of Sly and the Family Stone. Musician Sly Stone, of Sly and the Family Stone, performs at the Woodstock Festival on August 17, 1969 in Bethel, New York. MichaelSly Stone Born Sylvester Stewart in 1943, he became "Sly" when a classmate misspelled his first name on the chalkboard. A gifted musician, by four he was singing on stage. He made his first recording at 9, and was working as a DJ when he formed a band in 1966. Just a year later, "Dance to the Music" launched Sly and the Family Stone – the first major group to include Black and White men and women – into super-stardom. Sly and the Family Stone perform "Dance to the Music": A string of hits followed in quick succession, including "Everyday People," "Family Affair," and "Hot Fun in the Summertime." But by the end of the 1970s, drug addiction and mental health issues had taken their toll. The band broke up, and Stone faded from the spotlight. The band reunited in 2006 when they were honored at the Grammy Awards. It would be the last major performance by a man whose style, social conscience, and revolutionary sound forever changed the course of pop music. Sly Stone died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 82. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone: The Beach Boys (from left, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, and David Marks) pose for a portrait with a surfboard in August 1962 in Los Angeles. MichaelBrian Wilson Then, on Wednesday, we learned of the passing of another musical genius, with an altogether different sound. Brian Wilson was born in California in 1942. In his teens, he (along with brothers Dennis and Carl, cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine) started a band. Around that time Dennis started surfing, and as Brian told "Sunday Morning's" Anthony Mason in 2015, the rest, is history. "Mike and I started writing surf songs," he said. "But I never surfed, and he never surfed, either." "Did you feel the need to surf for any reason?" Mason asked. "No. I never tried it." "Surfin' USA," by the Beach Boys: But the Beach Boys' sonic palette of surf, sun, cars, and endless summers made them an indelible part of America's pop culture. Widely considered one of rock's greatest songwriters, Brian Wilson was 82. Brian Wilson/Tony Asher's "God Only Knows," from the Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds": Story produced by Liza Monasebian. Editor: Chad Cardin.
Fast Company
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover divides the internet: ‘Man's Best Friend' discourse explained
Less than a year after she came out with her Grammy-winning album 'Short n' Sweet,' pop singer Sabrina Carpenter announced the release date of her next project, titled 'Man's Best Friend,' with a new album cover on Wednesday, and it has ignited a headline-grabbing debate. While some fans of the singer are salivating over the mere mention of another ' Sabrina Summer,' others are none too happy with the album cover's messaging. The cover depicts Carpenter in heels and a black minidress, crouching on the floor. An anonymous man holds a handful of her iconic blonde hair. Fans and critics immediately took to social media to voice their support or concerns with the image's messaging, and though many fans staunchly defend Carpenter and the album cover as 'satirical,' 'exaggerated,' and 'ironic,' others, including the domestic violence advocacy group Glasgow Women's Aid, say that the image of a Carpenter kneeling on the ground being dragged by her hair is triggering, regressive, and frankly, distasteful. Pushing boundaries or tired tropes? Discourse about the album's imagery calls to mind a long history of public criticism directed toward women artists. Many women who have challenged boundaries around what was acceptable in music and other artistic disciplines have found themselves on the receiving end of cultural blowback, but this conversation reads differently. The prevalence of social media means that the album cover went viral overnight, as people saw and posted about the new cover, and some critics worry about the impact of the message on young fans. (Carpenter is a former Disney Channel star.) Fans also have the ability insult each other's intelligence overtly via Instagram and TikTok, calling those who don't get it 'dumb' and 'dense.' Comments on the original Instagram post lean both directions, with some expressing their excitement and others telling Carpenter that the cover 'is not the slay you think it is.' One user explained that even if the cover is an ironic joke, it's not an effective one. 'If the fans who know all of her lore are the only ones who can interpret her attempt, that isn't satire,' the user wrote. '[It's] an inside joke that reads misogynistic to everyone else which makes it really harmful.' Still, Carpenter is known for the wry messaging in her music, prompting some TikTok users to call out others whom they claimed just didn't get it. 'The people criticizing Sabrina Carpenter's new album cover for 'Man's Best Friend' are so obtuse,' said one TikToker in a video. 'None of you have ever used context clues in your life and it shows.' However, others accuse Carpenter of not paying attention to context. A common refrain is that Carpenter is acting oblivious to America's current political climate and the deep misogyny that runs through it.
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Primavera Sound, Barcelona review: Charli XCX lets fans down, but Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan soar
Who runs the world? If the music industry is anything to go by, it's the girls. Pop is now dominated by solo female superstars, and so it made perfect sense for Primavera Sound – one of Europe's largest festivals – to turn to the holy trinity of Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan to headline this year. A huge Powerpuff Girls statue designed to look like the three singers welcomed festival goers to the sprawling site in Barcelona, and from there began three days of agenda-setting pop, rock and electronica. The first evening featured the weakest of the three sets: an oddly flat, disjointed affair courtesy of XCX and her frequent collaborator Troye Sivan, reunited to bring their much-hyped 'Sweat' tour to Europe. XCX has had an incredible 12 months, riding high off the success of last year's viral album Brat. But her set let the thousands of fans who had turned up in Brat-themed lime green merchandise (and paid €350 for tickets) down: it began not with her own anthems, such as 360 or Club Classics, but a staid three-song run from Sivan. To sum up how much of a vibe killer this was, I caught a girl next to me Googling, 'Who is Troye Sivan?' midway through his rendition of Got Me Started. Once XCX finally arrived on stage, her stripped-back production – a green curtain, some flashing lights – and propensity for miming did little to help. Those who criticised Glastonbury for not choosing her as a headliner this year would have been wise to watch this set. It just wasn't good enough. Thank heavens, then, for the subsequent pair: Carpenter and Roan, both newer artists whose ascent to pop's big leagues has been a mere two years in the making, were exceptional. Carpenter has put sexy, old-school glamour back at the heart of pop, her songs flitting between Britney-esque ditties and scathing takedowns of ex-boyfriends. Themed around a 1950s variety show, the set opened with the US singer shimmying along to Busy Woman, before she treated the audience to chart-topping hits like Please Please Please, Taste and Espresso; country-influenced new track Man Child also got its first live outing. Roan rounded off the weekend, and proved, once again, that she is exactly the sort of boundary-pushing artist the industry has been crying out for. Not since Lady Gaga has a pop artist's debut album – in Roan's case, the superb The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023) – become such an overnight classic. Its most popular singles (Pink Pony Club, Hot to Go!) were electric live. Dressed in an array of medieval princess-inspired costumes, Roan's soaring vocals never suffered for a second as a result of all the bells and whistles. There was also plenty on offer for those not into bubblegum pop, from indie bands at the absolute peak of their powers – Wolf Alice, Fontaines D.C., LCD Soundsystem – to gorgeous Americana (Waxahatchee) and ferocious hardcore (Turnstile). Excellent weather, an expertly curated lineup and €5 beer – what more could you want from a festival?
