All posts tagged: Pop

Beloved 90s pop groups who completely vanished after facing crushing legal battles

Beloved 90s pop groups who completely vanished after facing crushing legal battles

Published by Daniella Wilson

Music is one of the most creative and emotional art forms available to us – but, unfortunately, once bands make it big there’s a whole lot of admin to get through. From bankruptcy to copyright claims and disputes over ownership, bands through the ’90s were hit with all kinds of legal battles. Read on to find out which artists behind your club night classics ended up in court. © WireImage via Getty Images David Byrne sued his former bandmates when they tried to tour as ‘Heads’ in 1995 Talking Heads Talking Heads might have defined the ’80s but their legal battles took the band straight back into the cultural zeitgeist in the ’90s. While the band didn’t officially break up until 1991, tensions had been brewing as David Byrne took control over the band. When the other three members attempted to tour as The Heads in 1996, with a more relaxed vocalist in tow, David took them to court. They’ve only performed live once since then, for their 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll …

80s pop star, 67, has barely aged a day in new photo

80s pop star, 67, has barely aged a day in new photo

Published by Daniella Wilson

Susanna Hoffs is still as naturally gorgeous as she was in heyday with The Bangles. The singer, 67, recently shared a fresh-faced selfie that showcased her make-up free, youthful complexion. “Just another nap time selfie,” she captioned the photo, which showed her reclining in a cozy white bed with her brunette waves framing her face. © InstagramSusanna looks ageless at 67 The snap quickly drew attention from followers, many of whom were amazed by how youthful the singer looked more than four decades after first finding fame. “Such an amazing and beautiful woman,” wrote one. “Seeing you takes me back to the days of High school,” added another. “Such natural beauty,” added a third. Susanna became a household name in the 1980s as a founding member of The Bangles, one of the most successful all-female bands of all time. Alongside sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson and bassist Annette Zilinskas, she helped create a string of chart-topping hits that defined a generation. © Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/Susanna looks incredible The group’s breakthrough came with …

‘People get confused, think it’s called Where Did You Go?’ How the Bluetones made Slight Return | Pop and rock

‘People get confused, think it’s called Where Did You Go?’ How the Bluetones made Slight Return | Pop and rock

Published by Sam Flores

Mark Morriss, vocals We were still a three-piece: Adam Devlin, my brother Scott and myself. We hadn’t met Eds Chesters yet, so we didn’t have a drummer. We were spending a lot of time writing songs, trying to hone this west coast, mid-60s, Crosby, Stills & Nash sound – even though it was the 90s and we were from Hounslow in London. Slight Return was the fourth or fifth song we wrote. Scott wrote the chord progressions and structure, but didn’t have any words or melody. He recorded guitar into a cassette player, then played that back on a second cassette player so he could record himself playing along to what he’d just recorded, in a very rudimentary way of four-tracking. We liked it, but we weren’t skipping around the room going: “My God, we’re going to be millionaires.” That came later. double quotation mark I’m bored of rehearsing it. If we do, we’ll play it at three times the speed or in a reggae or funk style It went down well at our early …

A Mormon father and his gay son, LDS pop culture icons, choose to ‘stay in the room’

A Mormon father and his gay son, LDS pop culture icons, choose to ‘stay in the room’

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — When Jeff McLean was a little baby in the early 1980s, silver-screen icon Jimmy Stewart held him in his arms. And on one of Jeff’s childhood birthdays, theater and movie legend Celeste Holm was there to help celebrate. Such was life in the McLean family, where music, celebrity and Mormon faith intersected. The stars were on hand because of Jeff’s father, Michael McLean, who made many of the movies and ads for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1980s and 1990s. Michael was a shining star who also wrote and recorded inspirational music — “Mormonism’s answer to Billy Joel.” He traveled the world performing for thousands and bearing testimony of his religious convictions. Jeff loved a lot of things about growing up in that orbit. The youngest of the three McLean kids, Jeff was a natural performer and talented singer. He enjoyed touring on the road with his dad and fulfilled many of the church’s expectations for young men: Eagle Scout, mission, BYU. Check, check, check. But always, Jeff …

Chili’s is bringing back its famous ‘Baby Back Ribs’ jingle with help from pop star

Chili’s is bringing back its famous ‘Baby Back Ribs’ jingle with help from pop star

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more “It’s about d**n time” the Baby Back Ribs jingle made its comeback. Pop superstar Lizzo is on board to help Chili’s revive its iconic “Baby Back Ribs” song, reimagining the decades-old tune in a new marketing campaign launched Wednesday. The original “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs” jingle debuted in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the most recognizable restaurant ads of its era, cementing itself in pop culture through movies, TV shows and countless parodies over the years. Lizzo recorded both an a cappella version of the jingle and what Chili’s calls a “Lizzo-fied” remix for the collaboration, blending the familiar chorus with new rap verses and her own spin on what “baby back, baby back” can …

Chili’s is bringing back its famous ‘Baby Back Ribs’ jingle with help from pop star

Chili’s lands hit-making pop star to bring back its popular ‘Baby Back Ribs’ jingle

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more “It’s about d**n time” the Baby Back Ribs jingle made its comeback. Pop superstar Lizzo is on board to help Chili’s revive its iconic “Baby Back Ribs” song, reimagining the decades-old tune in a new marketing campaign launched Wednesday. The original “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs” jingle debuted in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the most recognizable restaurant ads of its era, cementing itself in pop culture through movies, TV shows and countless parodies over the years. Lizzo recorded both an a cappella version of the jingle and what Chili’s calls a “Lizzo-fied” remix for the collaboration, blending the familiar chorus with new rap verses and her own spin on what “baby back, baby back” can …

Taiwanese Pop Star Is the Buyer of M. Matisse Painting at Sotheby’s

Taiwanese Pop Star Is the Buyer of $20 M. Matisse Painting at Sotheby’s

Published by Jenni Sidey

While we wait for the buyer of S. I. Newhouse’s $181.2 million Jackson Pollock painting to reveal him- or herself, at least one buyer at the May marquee evening sales has stepped forward: Jay Chou. The Taiwanese pop star posted on Instagram last week that he was winning bidder for the 1924 Henri Matisse painting, La Séance du Matin, offered at Sotheby’s modern art evening sale last Tuesday. The Matisse sold for exactly $20 million before fees, ultimately reaching $21.2 million with fees. It carried a $20 million to $30 million estimate. Related Articles That sale didn’t generate the biggest fireworks. In fact, it was another Matisse in that same auction—La Chaise lorraine (ca. 1919), buyer still unknown—that sold for $48.4 million on a $25 million estimate. The bidding battle for that work stretched to over ten minutes. Chou, however, won his Matisse by guaranteeing the work, according to the New York Times, which got him a $800,000 rebate on the purchase price. Chou often writes about art, or posts photos of art, on his …

Saint Levant: the pop star from Gaza caught between passionate fandom and bitter disapproval | Gaza

Saint Levant: the pop star from Gaza caught between passionate fandom and bitter disapproval | Gaza

Published by Sam Flores

The first time I heard a song by Saint Levant, only three years ago, was in a world that does not exist any more. Gaza’s buildings were intact, as were its schools and roads and markets and mosques. My home city of Khartoum in Sudan was standing, as it had for centuries. Back then, I could scroll for fun, not in dread. I could stumble, say, in late 2022, upon an arresting clip on TikTok of a song by an Arab artist with a pun for a name; Saint Levant, a play on Saint Laurent – the icon of western style had been Arabised in homage to the Middle East’s Levant region. I began to see the same song all over my social media. In the video, Saint Levant, then 22, is in a white vest and brown trousers. A gold pendant chain dangles on his chest, a tattoo encircles his left arm. He starts by rapping in English, telling the woman he is wooing that “he’s not toxic, he’s broken baby”. And then, the …

Trash hits! Why a wave of hedonistic, feral female pop stars are rejecting respectability | Pop and rock

Trash hits! Why a wave of hedonistic, feral female pop stars are rejecting respectability | Pop and rock

Published by Sam Flores

If any year demanded a soundtrack of self-aggrandising female mayhem, it’s 2026. Amid the terrors of war, AI and the climate crisis, women are expected to be symbolic vessels of order and stability: thin, beautiful and perpetually 25 – a state of perfection newly available for purchase thanks to weight-loss drugs and the deep plane facelift. Covered unironically in leopard print and rhinestones, a cohort of young female pop stars are defying this familiar con with brash electronic pop, shamelessly hedonistic lyrics, anarchic sexuality and an obsession with what was once dismissed as “white trash”. It’s an aesthetic embraced by performers such as Slayyyter, Kim Petras, Cobrah, Demi Lovato, Snow Strippers’ Tatiana Schwaninger, Tove Lo and returning scene godmother Kesha. On I’m Your Girl Right, the lead single from her new album Estrus, Lo sings “We fuck all night on Ritalin-lin-lin-lin”. Slayyyter, meanwhile, describes herself as a “too drunk, trashy St Louis girl … extensions showing … looking kinda crazy”. Thong, a recent single by rising London-based musician Amara ctk100, celebrates barely-there pants (the artwork …

The Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Celebrated Designer Riccardo Tisci May Involve a Pop Star

The Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Celebrated Designer Riccardo Tisci May Involve a Pop Star

Published by Sam Flores

Almost exactly a year ago, on April 30, 2025, The Independent first reported that famed fashion designer Riccardo Tisci, most known for his time spent helming Givenchy and Burberry and for designing Met Gala gowns for Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian, was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a man in New York in June 2024. Now, nearly two years after the alleged assault, the Italian singer Alessandro Mahmoud, known by his stage name Mahmood, has been requested to give testimony, per court filings obtained by reporter Louis Pisano and shared on X. The alleged victim, Patrick Cooper, claimed in the original suit last year that he believed he had been drugged by Tisci with a drink while at a restaurant in East Harlem, after which he awoke at the designer’s residence downtown, naked and disoriented, with no recollection of getting there. Cooper alleges that he met Tisci through a mutual friend, Michael Alexander, and that the designer, now 51, was accompanied by another friend, Mahmoud. Cooper told The Independent that when he woke up, Tisci …