Taylor Swift swiftly set several streaming records on Friday with the release of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl.
The record delivers bouncy pop songs exploring themes of love, success, and score-settling, leading fans to immediately analyze every lyric.
Despite a mixed critical reception, the album broke single-day streaming records for 2025 on Spotify and Apple Music, and it became an all-time record-breaker on Amazon Music, surpassing Swift’s previous release, The Tortured Poets Department.
The lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” also broke a first-day streaming record for 2025 on Apple Music, in addition to an all-time record on Spotify.
The 35-year-old artist expressed her pride, posting on Instagram: “I can’t tell you how proud I am to share this with you, an album that just feels so right.” For her 12th studio album, Swift reunited with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, whose influence is evident in the driving beats and catchy hooks.
Swift described the new project as coming “from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in my life.” The music reveals a lighter, joyful Swift, celebrating her relationship with fiancé Travis Kelce, the return of her music catalog rights, and the success of her record-shattering Eras Tour.
Afrobeats star Rema has made history as he becomes the only African artist featured on the prestigious 2025 TIME100 Next list, which celebrates the world’s most influential rising stars.
Rema’s profile for the list was authored by Grammy-winning legend Angélique Kidjo, who hailed his remarkable achievements.
She highlighted how his success continues the legacy of African icons like Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, and Youssou N’Dour, who brought the continent’s sound to the global stage.
Kidjo wrote: “With the recent global explosion of African music, I needed to include some contemporary sounds. I fell in love with Rema’s “Calm Down.” It has a unique flow and feel, not mimicking Western pop; it is rooted in Africa but also catchy and virtuosic. I love to sing it.
“The young Nigerian superstar has accomplished so much: “Calm Down” has joined the billion-stream club twice over. Rema has performed in stadiums. His latest album earned a Grammy nomination.
“Rema is the embodiment of the international success of Afrobeats. Thanks to artists like him, African music is at the forefront of global culture”.
This achievement cements Rema's status as a leading figure in global music.
"Offset and I will have a pr0blem if he Chickens Out and doesn't get his Spousal support from Cardi B." Tyrese Gibson
"Dîvorce is a very lucrative business for women so I don't see anything wrong with a man doing it. My ex-wîfe took more than half of my węalth after our dîvorce and I still pay her $10k every month for child support. She filed for the dîvorce saying I was too good and she was bored in the marriage.
Black men also cry when a dîvorce happens. Just like women always say they need spousal support to grief, we men also need spousal support to grief. Offset getting his Spousal Support from Cardi B is a win for every man. It's not just about Offset but about men standing up for themselves. We men have been used and manîpulated for long and it's time we stop trying to be the bigger man or ”Real Men” as they call it. We're all equal and have emotions too." ~ Tyrese Gibson
Any man who thinks Offset is a B!tch for asking for half of Cardi B's $100-million fortune in Spousal Support is just happy being a SÎMP and should be Cast out of the Brotherhood 🙌
Cardi B reached out to Offset asking him to withdraw his demands in the divorce case so they could have a peaceful separation for the sake of their kids, but Offset said — NO.💔
Offset has made it clear that Cardi B must compensate him for all the years they spent together because she was e@rning more money.
He wants spousal support from Cardi B to maintain his lifestyle.
He wants one house from Cardi B.
He also wants to get half of Cardi B’s net worth, which is approximately $80 million.
Offset wants gender equality in his div0rce case.
Cardi B has come out to say Offset is behaving like a “baby mama”😂😂.
WOW!
American singer, Ray J has made the shocking claim that he's actively working with federal authorities to build a RICO case against his ex-girlfriend Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner.
The singer made the allegation during a recent livestream circulating on X, telling Chrisean Rock: "The federal RICO I'm about to drop on Kris and Kim is about to be crazy."
Ray J, 44, warned that the alleged investigation is imminent. "Anybody that is cool with Kim, they need to tell her now, the feds is coming. There’s nothing I can do about it."
He added a dramatic comparison, stating the alleged investigation was "worse than Diddy."
The musician provided no further details or explanation in the clip, and no other information substantiates the claim.
RICO, which stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, is a federal law typically used to prosecute organized crime, including drug cartels and mob activities.
The comparison to Diddy refers to rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, 55, who was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in July, though he was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
This is not the first time Ray J, who infamously appeared in a 2007 sex tape with Kardashian, has hinted at such accusations against the mother-daughter duo.
In May, amid discussions about Combs' federal trial, Ray J suggested in the documentary “TMZ Presents: United States V. Sean Combs: Inside the Diddy Trial” that he would believe racketeering charges against the matriarch, 69, and the Skims founder, 44.
In September 2022, Ray J publicly attacked the pair after Jenner claimed during a televised polygraph test on The Late Late Show with James Corden that she had not released the sex tape. The test administrator determined Jenner was telling the truth.
In a now-deleted Instagram video at the time, Ray J slammed the duo, writing, "YOU f–ked with THE WRONG BLACK MAN krisjenner @kimkardashian... WHAT YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME IS ALMOST INHUMANE AND FOUL AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL."
Ray J later reflected on the sex tape incident as a major regret, telling Cam Newton in July that it was "probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to me."
Rapper Cardi B has revealed she is expecting a baby with NFL star Stefon Diggs, even though she’s still legally tied to Offset.
According to TMZ, Cardi explained that Offset has refused to sign divorce papers unless she hands over one of her properties and agrees to pay his tax bills. She made it clear that she won’t give in to those conditions.
According to her, she gave seven years of her life to the marriage, it didn’t work out, and she has simply moved on.
Offset, on the other hand, has been vocal about advising men against marriage while still holding back from finalising their split.
Music star 2Baba and his newly wedded wife, Natasha, have shared a sweet video of themselves together, giving fans a glimpse of their new life as a couple.
Nigerian singer and songwriter Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, popularly known as Seyi Shay, has opened up about the impact the death of Sound Sultan had on her music career.
Speaking in a recent interview on TVC, Seyi Shay admitted that the death of the legendary Afrobeats singer put her in a place where she didn’t want to continue music.
The 39-year-old singer, who described Sound Sultan as her mentor, best friend, and father figure, added that the birth of her daughter also led her to decide to take a break from the toxic environment of the music industry.
She explained that she became pregnant with her daughter around the same time Sound Sultan passed, saying both developments culminated in her hiatus from the music scene.
Explaining in detail why she took a break from music, Seyi Shay recounted, “During the filming of Nigerian Idol, my mentor, also my best friend, who is like a father figure to me, and also the person who brought me to the Nigerian music industry, died. He passed away, Sound Sultan.
“When I first came to Nigeria, I was living with him and his wife in FESTAC for a year. He was the one who co-signed me and introduced me to everybody in the industry to make sure that those who were his people looked out for me.
“So, when he passed away, it was really hard for me to complete the filming, but I made it to the end. What hurt the most was that I didn’t get to see him before he passed away. I was supposed to fly to see him in New York that weekend when we had a break.
"He asked me to bring him something specifically. It just tore me apart. I felt like I didn’t have the will to continue to do music without Sound Sultan, my peace of mind, and my mental health. So, I decided to go on a little break.
“Also, during that period, I got pregnant and I told myself there’s no way I’m going to have my child in the toxic music industry that I’m in and under the scrutiny that I was constantly under. So, I just thought I should take a break.”
Seyi Shay announced herself on the Nigerian music scene in 2011 after returning to Nigeria from the UK with the release of her debut single Irawo which quickly became a hit.
