This Week In Music: There’s a Drake x SZA Collab Single Coming & Olivia Rodrigo Is Spilling Her GUTS On Tour

If you’re anything like us, we see an interesting headline during our daily scroll—pause to read it—but then keep scrolling without reading the actual story. So at the end of each week, we’re rounding up all the buzziest, news-worthy headlines you might have missed. Think of it like the “saved” feature on Instagram but for news instead of aesthetically pleasing photos. Ariana Grande reveals her beauty secrets, Olivia Rodrigo is spilling her guts on a world tour, and there are VMAs moments that must be recapped—this is what you missed.

#1

There’s a Drake x SZA Collaborative Single Coming
Drake announced his eighth studio album For All The Dogs is set to release on September 22, with a new single dropping tomorrow, September 15. In a tantalizing teaser, Drake shared an intriguing image on Instagram, featuring Halle Berry being doused in Nickelodeon slime at the 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards. Random? Not when there’s a Parental Advisory logo nestled in the right-hand corner, signaling that it’s artwork for a forthcoming single. While details remain shrouded in mystery, the mere act of tagging SZA in the post sent us buzzing with excitement. SZA posted the same image so it’s safe to assume their collaborative single is dropping ahead of the album.

#2

Olivia Rodrigo Announces GUTS World Tour
Following her latest album GUTS, featuring hits like “vampire” and “bad idea right?”, Olivia Rodrigo is hitting the road. Spilling her guts on a World Tour, in support of the album, she will be visiting stops across North America and Europe with 57 dates on the bill. The tour kicks off in Palm Springs on February 23 and wraps up in L.A., on August 14. Start warming up your voice now because belting out the lyrics with her is non-negotiable.

#3

VMAs Recap: Ice Spice Wins Best New Artist, Saweetie Tells Us To Stop Playing, & More
A night of star-studded performances and unforgettable moments that kept viewers on the edge of their Twitters—I mean X. I mean seats. The MTV Video Music Awards were hosted by none other than Ms. Minaj this year to round out the Year of the Barbie. Nicki Minaj hosted and closed out a nearly four-hour show, full of killer performances and reaction shots of Taylor Swift and Ice Spice in the audience. The night began with—our personal favorite—the pink carpet. Doja Cat showed out in a cobweb-esque look that had us absolutely gagged to kick off the carpet, while Offset solidified his spot as Cardi B’s biggest fan and made everyone’s heart sing with their cute presence. Doja Cat later delivered a standout performance of “Attention”, “Paint The Town Red”, and “Demons”. It was a spectacle, to say the least—almost scary but impossible to look away from. Olivia Rodrigo, following the release of GUTS last week, put on an equally captivating show, kicking off with “vampire” and dramatizing an award show performance gone wrong, before getting into a cheerleading routine for bouncy “get him back!” Shakira, the recipient of the Video Vanguard Award, treated the audience to a mega medley, including plenty of iconic choreography, hair flipping, and some knife-wielding. Known for their delectably provocative performance of “WAP” at the 2021 Grammy’s, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion took the stage to perform their latest collaboration “Bongos”—yes, Taylor Swift was dancing along. In the category of Best New Artist, Ice Spice emerged victorious, a testament to her rising talent that has the world in a chokehold in the last year. The night, however, belonged to T Swift, who went into the VMAs with the most nominations and left with nine wins. Adding to the excitement, she had a milestone moment that she was evidently geeking out over, as the reunited NSYNC band members handed her the Moon Man. Prior to that exchange, there was a clip backstage involving Justin Timberlake and Megan Thee Stallion and the speculations were buzzing. Many, wrongfully assumed there was an argument before their respective performances, but it was all a misunderstanding due to Megan’s body-ody-ody language. She was simply responding to his, “Nice to meet you,” with, “No, this don’t count! We gotta meet proper.” And even Saweetie had her moment! Earlier in the night, she ran into some issues with the teleprompter—understandable. However, she took it all in stride, later telling the audience, “Y’all better stop making my little stutter video go viral. I see what you’re doing. Anyways, let’s try it again!” As always, the VMAs delivered a night filled of entertainment, whether in the form of memorable performances or memorable mishaps.

#4

Ariana Grande Reveals Her Beauty Secrets
Ariana Grande recently revealed her beauty secrets in an exclusive session with Vogue. We use the term “secrets” loosely, as she was willing to dive deeper than most into her skincare and makeup routine, along with some heartfelt thoughts on beauty. Starting with her skincare regimen, Ariana uses the Sarah Ford Oxygen Serum, praising its transformative effects on her skin’s texture, incorporating La Mer moisturizer mixed with SPF to protect her skin, particularly important after growing up in the Florida sun. Ariana highlighted her love for R.E.M. Beauty Under-eye Cooling Balm, which she uses to create a smooth base for her makeup, and swears by Shiseido eye patches for de-puffing after early morning meditations. Sharing her eyebrow routine, using MAC Eyebrow Styler to achieve a straight, she shares how she goes for a lifted Audrey Hepburn-inspired look, and attributed her fascination with makeup, to her theater days and her admiration for icons like Audrey and Marilyn Monroe. In an unexpected heartfelt moment, Ariana revealed her evolving relationship with beauty. She shared her journey from using makeup as a disguise to viewing it as self-expression, openly discussing her past use of lip fillers and Botox, touching on her decision to stop in 2018 and embrace her natural smile lines—to which she invites more of because they are a reflection of the joy in her life.

The post This Week In Music: There’s a Drake x SZA Collab Single Coming & Olivia Rodrigo Is Spilling Her GUTS On Tour appeared first on BeatRoute.

Written by BeatRoute Magazine | Music