John Mellencamp — a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer responsible for ’80s smashes like “Jack & Diane,” “Pink Houses” and “Small Town” — is returning to Charlotte in 2026 for what stands to be his biggest concert here, in terms of audience size, in more than 20 years.
His “Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits” will stop at Truliant Amphitheater (formerly PNC Music Pavilion) on Thursday, July 30, the 74-year-old singer-songwriter announced on Wednesday morning.
The last three shows Mellencamp has played here, in 2015, 2019 and 2023, were all staged at 2,455-seat Ovens Auditorium.
The new concert, meanwhile, will be set at Truliant, which has a capacity of approximately 20,000. He hasn’t performed at the venue since it was named for Verizon Wireless (in 2005), having also headlined there when it was named for Blockbuster (in 1999).
Wednesday’s announcement noted that his 2026 tour “marks the first time Mellencamp will be performing all his most beloved songs in a single night, some of which haven’t been played live in many years” — including “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “I Need a Lover,” “Wild Nights” and “Ain’t Even Done With the Night.”
Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets from 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, until 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22; for details: www.citientertainment.com. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale kickoff, which is set for 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23; details: Mellencamp.com. VIP options can be perused at vipnation.com.
The first show of the tour will take place in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 10.
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
The federal government’s Boeing E-4B Nightwatch — a military aircraft known, somewhat alarmingly, as the “Doomsday Plane” — touched down at Los Angeles International Airport this week, in what may be the famed aircraft’s first-ever LAX landing.
The plane is equipped to serve as an airborne operations center for the president, the Defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the event of a disaster that wipes out command centers on land.
Its sudden appearance at a busy commercial airport sparked a flurry of online speculation.
“WAR IMMINENT?” one X user posted, in one of several anxious social media responses to the plane’s appearance.
In this case, the plane was ferrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Southern California as part of his monthlong “Arsenal of Freedom” tour.
Hegseth spoke Thursday at a Long Beach manufacturing plant, Rocket Lab, the second stop on what the Department of Defense described as a monthlong tour of U.S. industrial defense companies.
The Defense Department later posted images on social media of Hegseth working out with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at UCLA.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, Breitbart News reporter Olivia Rondeau and media figure L. Todd Wood accompanied Hegseth on the trip and shared photos of themselves with the plane online.
The E-4B is a militarized version of Boeing’s 747 aircraft, and is designed to withstand electromagnetic pulses and the heat of a nuclear attack. The Air Force keeps at least one at the ready at all times in case of an emergency.
A visit to the restored Brady Bunch house reveals how childhood magic can curdle behind velvet ropes
Like most Gen-Xers, I’ve long had a fairly obsessive relationship with The Brady Bunch.
The Bradys represented everything I wanted—a family where you were fully accepted for being who you were, where you had endless siblings to pick from to be friends with, where your house was so central to the action that Joe Namath tossed footballs in your backyard. You really liked your cousin when he came to visit. And you even tried to set world records that landed you in the newspaper.
All of which is to say that when I found out it was possible to tour the original Brady house—that is, the house that was used as the “outside” with the inside restored to look just like the TV show’s set—I jumped at the chance. Even when I heard the tickets were $275 apiece and that you could only be there for 90 minutes, my inner 10-year-old salivated. Happily, my friend Joe, a TV obsessive to the point that he writes about the entertainment industry for The Wall Street Journal, was also game.
But when we arrived at 11222 Dilling Street in Studio City at our appointed time on a Saturday in December, the vibe was most definitely not what I’d expected. It’s not that I thought there would be a food truck serving pork chops and apple sauce or the theme song being played by a live band, but I’d anticipated the tiniest bit of joy.
Instead, we stood outside with four extremely serious fellow visitors—what appeared to be a couple our age and their unexcited teenage son, as well as a man videotaping everything with a shell-shocked-to-actually-be-there look on his face that made it somehow obvious he hosted a Brady Bunch podcast.
After a few minutes of standing there, not speaking, we saw a scowling woman walk out from the backyard and announce that we should follow her. Once back there, I asked Joe to take my picture next to the teeter-totter—the set piece that had motivated me, at 10, to beg my friend Ramsay to join me in trying to set the world record for longest time on a swing set. (We lasted an hour and the local TV reporter we asked to document the event didn’t show up during that hour.)
Credit: Joe Flint
“Do NOT touch that!” Scowler exclaimed. I apologized as Joe and I walked over to the sliding glass door she was manning. She looked at a clipboard and allowed the couple, their child and the podcaster in.
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But when we stepped up, she shook her head before we even said our names. When we did, she announced, “You’re not on my list,” as if we were standing in a teeming crowd outside Studio 54 and not alone outside a sitcom set inhabited by four other people.
I pulled up the receipt on my phone and showed it to her. She gazed at the email, her expression grim. “It doesn’t say the time on here,” she announced.
I looked at the receipt; she was right. But I had emailed back and forth with a cheerful-seeming woman—definitely not the Scowler, I was guessing—who had assured me that our designated slot was definitely 2 pm. Wasn’t it more the organizer’s issue that their tickets didn’t have the time on them and not mine?
Thankfully, Scowler pulled the sliding glass door open. “Fine,” she said, as if she were allowing interlopers to encroach on a private residence and not welcome two people who were paying a combined $6.11 a minute to be there. “Shoes off.”
Giddy to be past the imaginary velvet rope, we wandered shoeless into the den, taking in the wood paneling, stone walls and walnut console stereo cabinet. Everywhere I looked, I saw décor more familiar to me than my family home—linoleum flooring, a phone nook with the infamous pay phone, orange Formica counters, even a stuffed Tiger!
Scowler followed a few feet behind, strongly suspicious, perhaps, that we were going to make off with the stuffed Tiger? That’s when I noticed a woman dressed in Alice’s maid uniform standing in another doorway, also scowling. She didn’t physically resemble Alice at all and had made no costume efforts beyond the dress. Was she part of the “set dressing”? She definitely gave off more “second guard” than “nostalgic presence meant to enhance our experience.” Perhaps, as Joe suggested, she was meant to be Kay, the mean maid who replaced Alice in the episode where Alice supposedly left because the kids iced her out for telling on them.
Credit: Anna David
Joe and I persevered in the face of the negativity, running up to the boys’ room, the bathroom and the adjoining girls’ room with its three single pink-quilted beds. We scampered down a hall into a room that was designed to look like the attic that became Greg’s room, where I ran my fingers through the beads Greg had strung there to express his individuality. We walked up and down the wood-carpeted staircase, explored Mike’s office which housed an “Architect of the Year” plaque and took photos at the front door where we could look out at the 1971 Plymouth station wagon parked in front.
Credit: Joe Flint
It wasn’t long into our self-guided stressful tour that I discovered I wasn’t nearly the Brady fanatic I’d fancied myself—or at least I had a much worse memory than I realized. Joe kept up a steady stream of episode references, easily recalling specific details about when Marcia got in trouble for sneaking out to send a letter nominating Mr. Brady for best dad, Greg bought a car that turned out to be a lemon and Jan had an imaginary friend. And he had nothing on our Brady Bunch podcaster, who I’d managed to wear down into talking to us. I had a feeling not unlike when I’d appear on Fox News to discuss politics and suddenly realize my cursory knowledge was no match for my fellow pundits. But my humility didn’t have much time to settle since Original Scowler and Scowler Alice/Kay were ever hovering. After about a half hour, I asked Joe if he felt like we’d done what we came to do. He nodded. Even though she was the main reason we were leaving, I felt like I had to explain our departure to Scowler. A perfect response popped into my head: Something suddenly came up. I turned to say it to her but she was scowling at her phone so we just snuck out, as surreptitious as Marcia mailing the letter about her dad.
Beyoncé has joined the ranks of billionaires, according to Forbes, becoming the fifth musician to be crowned the elite status.The Grammy Award-winning superstar now stands alongside Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna and her husband Jay-Z, according to a report published by the outlet Monday.The 44-year-old’s financial ascent follows a landmark year in her career. Beyoncé took home the industry’s top trophy, winning Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys for her country album “Cowboy Carter,” released the year prior. She also made history as the first Black woman to win the award for Best Country Album.With 35 Grammy wins and 99 nominations, she is the most-awarded artist in the history of the awards, including those she won with Destiny’s Child, a chart-topping girl group that helped launch her storied career.The “Cowboy Carter Tour” grossed more than $400 million, making it the highest-grossing country tour in history, Reuters reported, citing Live Nation.In 2024, music charting site Billboard named her the greatest pop star of the 21st century, highlighting “her full 25 years of influence, impact, evolution,” Billboard’s Andrew Unterberger wrote.Her 2023 “Renaissance World Tour” drew massive crowds, with fans – known collectively as the BeyHive – flocking to see her perform across Europe and North America.In Stockholm, where she kicked off the tour, fanfare drove up hotel and restaurant prices and even slowed down Sweden’s declining inflation, according to economists.In addition to her musical achievements, Beyoncé has built a diverse business empire. She has launched successful clothing and hair care lines, and expanded into the beverage industry with a whisky brand named after her great-grandfather, SirDavis. Her entrepreneurial ventures have contributed to her growing fortune.Beyoncé’s road to superstardom began in the early 1990s, when she appeared on “Star Search” as part of Girl’s Tyme, a six-member group. She later joined Destiny’s Child, which became one of the best-selling girl groups in the late 90s and early 2000s.The group’s other members, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, reunited with her on stage earlier this year during her “Cowboy Carter” tour in Las Vegas.Since Destiny’s Child announced its hiatus in 2001, Beyoncé has released a series of acclaimed solo albums, starting with “Dangerously in Love” in 2003, which won five Grammy Awards the following year.She has headlined major music festivals, including becoming the first woman of color to lead the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018.In 2023, she surpassed conductor Georg Solti to become the most awarded artist in Grammy history.
Beyoncé has joined the ranks of billionaires, according to Forbes, becoming the fifth musician to be crowned the elite status.
The Grammy Award-winning superstar now stands alongside Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna and her husband Jay-Z, according to a report published by the outlet Monday.
The 44-year-old’s financial ascent follows a landmark year in her career. Beyoncé took home the industry’s top trophy, winning Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammys for her country album “Cowboy Carter,” released the year prior. She also made history as the first Black woman to win the award for Best Country Album.
With 35 Grammy wins and 99 nominations, she is the most-awarded artist in the history of the awards, including those she won with Destiny’s Child, a chart-topping girl group that helped launch her storied career.
The “Cowboy Carter Tour” grossed more than $400 million, making it the highest-grossing country tour in history, Reuters reported, citing Live Nation.
In 2024, music charting site Billboard named her the greatest pop star of the 21st century, highlighting “her full 25 years of influence, impact, evolution,” Billboard’s Andrew Unterberger wrote.
Her 2023 “Renaissance World Tour” drew massive crowds, with fans – known collectively as the BeyHive – flocking to see her perform across Europe and North America.
In Stockholm, where she kicked off the tour, fanfare drove up hotel and restaurant prices and even slowed down Sweden’s declining inflation, according to economists.
In addition to her musical achievements, Beyoncé has built a diverse business empire. She has launched successful clothing and hair care lines, and expanded into the beverage industry with a whisky brand named after her great-grandfather, SirDavis. Her entrepreneurial ventures have contributed to her growing fortune.
Beyoncé’s road to superstardom began in the early 1990s, when she appeared on “Star Search” as part of Girl’s Tyme, a six-member group. She later joined Destiny’s Child, which became one of the best-selling girl groups in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The group’s other members, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, reunited with her on stage earlier this year during her “Cowboy Carter” tour in Las Vegas.
Since Destiny’s Child announced its hiatus in 2001, Beyoncé has released a series of acclaimed solo albums, starting with “Dangerously in Love” in 2003, which won five Grammy Awards the following year.
She has headlined major music festivals, including becoming the first woman of color to lead the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018.
In 2023, she surpassed conductor Georg Solti to become the most awarded artist in Grammy history.
If you’ve been living anywhere other than under a rock this year, there’s a one hundred percent chance that you’ve heard of Sabrina Carpenter! In just a few short years, we’ve gotten to watch an artist we’ve loved for years blossom into a full-blown pop star, and 2025 was the biggest year of them all! From being on SNL, to winning big at the Grammys (and being nominated again) to releasing Man’s Best Friend, there was no stopping Sabrina Carpenter this year! When looking back at Sabrina’s list of accomplishments this year, we knew we had to break down some of the biggest and best for you!
Let’s jump in!
Man’s Best Friend
We say this with complete confidence, Man’s Best Friend is one of the best pop albums of the last decade! And we don’t even think that’s a hot take because we’ve watched the general public fall as in love with this record as we, career-long fans, have. The witty songwriting, the visual storytelling, the vocals, and the elements Sabrina continuously excels at are heightened even further here on this record. From ‘Manchild,’ which has been inescapable, to some of our favorites, ‘Go Go Juice,’ and ‘House Tour,’ there is no doubt in our mind that Man’s Best Friend will have a long, ever-evolving life with fans.
Grammy Awards
The Grammys are one of those accomplishments that artists spend their whole careers chasing, that hold meaning for their nominees, and for fans alike. At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Sabrina Carpenter took home two (!!!!) awards, and has already scored six nominations for the 2026 ceremony! That is the direct result of over a decade of hard work and dedication to mastering her craft.
Variety Hitmaker Of The Year
Much like the Grammy Awards, being named Hitmaker of the Year comes on the heels of hard work. What sets this honor apart is that being a “Hitmaker” in such a pop-saturated market takes a deep understanding of what a “pop” song entails, and how to catch lightning in a bottle time after time. From ‘Espresso’ and ‘Manchild’ to ‘Nonsense,’ Sabrina’s deep understanding of this concept just keeps growing.
Saturday Night Live
SNLis a true rite of passage for creatives throughout the entertainment industry, and Sabrina pulled off three appearances this year alone! And even more impressively, one of these appearances included the double duty of hosting and performing! These appearances reminded so many people that Sabrina is an actress! Her comedic timing is impeccable, and she also happens to have an incredible voice and is a master storyteller.
Check out more of our year-end/holiday content here!
We would love to hear from you! What was your favorite Sabrina Carpenter moment from 2025? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
2025 was truly the best year in pop music we’ve had in a while! It seems like artists are simply locking back into what makes a true pop song and mastering that art. Narrowing this list down to simply 25 songs was quite the challenge, but we think this list is the best of the best throughout all facets of pop music! From Olivia Dean and Chappell Roan to Greyson Chance and so many more, let’s jump in!
Taylor Swift – ‘The Fate of Ophelia’
There is no way to talk about the great pop resurgence of 2025 without highlighting The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift. For us, the entire album is full of examples of a true-to-form pop song, but we had to choose to highlight ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ due to it being inescapable since its release. This song is pure ear candy, and will get stuck in your head for hours even after just hearing a few seconds.
Olivia Dean – ‘Man I Need’
Olivia Dean is taking the pop music world by storm with ‘Man I Need,’ and to us that makes perfect sense. In anyone else’s discography, ‘Man I Need’ would be an easy career highlight, and yet, it’s one of many songs on Olivia’s most recent album, The Art of Loving, that blew us away upon the first listen and could have easily taken this spot.
Sabrina Carpenter – ‘House Tour’
Man’s Best Friend is stacked top to bottom with pop gold, but after listening back through the album, ‘House Tour’ had to be our choice! Everything from that infectious chorus to the “my house is on pretty girl avenue” line made this one of those songs that will soundtrack nights out for us through the foreseeable future.
Jonas Brothers – ‘Love Me To Heaven’
The Jonas Brothers have been experts at the pop music game since Nick first uttered the words ‘red dress’ back in 2008, so it’s no surprise to us that they are only getting better and better 17 years later. Their newest record, Greetings From Your Hometown, had an obvious stand-out to us the first time we listened, and that was ‘Love Me To Heaven.’
Audrey Hobert – ‘Phoebe’
Who’s The Clown?by Audrey Hobert was truly on an endless loop here at THP! Upon first listen, it was automatically clear that we were witnessing the artistic birth of someone who had a crystal clear understanding of how to bring themselves through in the music, be specific while staying relatable, and develop a sound that was particularly hers. We could have easily put any song from the album here, but ‘Phoebe’ is a forever favorite of ours!
Greyson Chance – ‘Waiting Outside The Lines ‘25’
No, we are not trying to transport you back to 2011, but there is so much beauty in taking a certified nostalgia-packed hit and reimagining it with years of life lived and heightened vocal ability to back it up. We can’t help but have a permanent smile on our face listening to this track and diving into Greyson’s current catalog (which everyone should do themselves the favor of doing)!
Jensen McRae – ‘Novelty’
If you asked us what album impacted us the most this year, one of the easiest answers would be I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!Anyone who has dived into Jensen’s discography knows what a savant she is. Her relationship to her pen is one of one, and this album may be the best example of that in her discography so far. ‘Novelty’ is the song that immediately jumps out at us as a must-listen.
Lady Gaga – ‘How Bad Do U Want Me’
Lady Gaga is synonymous with pop music at this point. She has always had the skill on lock, and in many ways, has influenced so much of what the modern genre looks like. MAYHEM was a true return to form for Lady Gaga, and showed that her knowledge and talent with the pop music world has never faltered. ‘How Bad Do U Want Me’ is an instant smash and is still on repeat.
5 Seconds of Summer – ‘NOT OK’
We will forever preach our love for 5 Seconds of Summer and how they get better with every release! (If you didn’t know, this band is literally why THP exists!) EVERYONE’S A STARcame out just over a month ago and is the band’s most ambitious, larger-than-life project yet. But of course, every element was nailed perfectly. Each of the guys has so many standout moments, but there are even more moments when it is so clear why they continue to make music together: everything flows seamlessly.
Sadie Jean – ‘She’s Dating My Boyfriend’
Sadie Jean is the exact singer-songwriter your playlist is in need of, and we had to highlight a track off her debut album, Early Twenties Torture! Every song on this record feels like Sadie had a insider’s look at our deepest thoughts and struggles, was able to turn them poetic, and then put them to music. That skill of relatability is rare. ‘She’s Dating My Boyfriend’ is our favorite example of that peek inside our minds.
Laufey – ‘Lover Girl’
Laufey has seamlessly blended the worlds of pop and jazz music and made a fusion that leaves us regularly at a loss for words. A Matter of Time is Laufey’s most recent album. And upon our first listen, it was clear that this is a generational album, one of those records where anyone who gives it a chance will fall in love with it. ‘Lover Girl’ is our favorite song off the record, so we had to highlight it!
Amber Mark – ‘Let Me Love You’
Amber Mark is the pop star you’ve been looking to add to your playlists! If you’re a fan of artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Dean, Amber’s album, Pretty Idea, and specifically our favorite track, ‘Let Me Love You,’ is going to be right up your alley! We are predicting that 2026 is going to be a huge year for Amber! And with music of this quality, it makes complete sense!
Justin Bieber – ‘Yukon’
‘Yukon’ was one of our most-streamed songs of the year; it’s that serious to us! SWAG, for us, felt like Justin coming back into his own, making the music that feels true to form. With ‘Yukon,’ that infectious chorus we’ve come to know and love from Justin Bieber is the shining star, which definitely adds to why we are constantly playing this track on a loop.
Lydia Night – ‘The Bomb’
You may know Lydia Night from her time with the band The Regrettes, but trust us when we say she has turned into a full-blown solo pop star. Lydia released her debut album, Parody of Pleasure, back in August, and all thirteen songs are expertly crafted! ‘The Bomb’ has been a standout since we first dove into this album. The song is playful and reminiscent of early 2000s pop.
Role Model – ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’
Obviously, ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’ has taken the world by storm this year, so there was no way we weren’t going to give Role Model his flowers. We haven’t heard a chorus quite as infectious as ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’ in quite a long time. It’s impossible not be in an instant good mood when it hits.
Myles Smith – ‘Stay (If You Wanna Dance)’
If you were as obsessed with Myles Smith’s ‘Stargazing’ as we were, then ‘Stay (If You Wanna Dance)’ is the perfect addition to your playlists! Myles is someone who you continue to find new things about his artistry to dig into with each listen.
Zara Larsson is a pop star in the truest sense of the word. Her entire album, Midnight Sun, is a pop masterclass, in which she’s the only person equipped to teach. When we first heard the title track ‘Midnight Sun,’ we knew that this was a whole new ball game in terms of pop music, and that we would take every opportunity to praise what Zara is doing with her artistry.
HAIM – ‘Relationships’
This song is pure ear candy and truly a discography highlight from one of our favorite trios! The chorus has serotonin woven into every line and lyric. And it makes us want to be out at night in the city with friends, dancing to every word. Their most recent album, i quit, is chock-full of tracks where you will see these themes.
Conan Gray – ‘Vodka Cranberry’
Conan Gray was born to make the exact music he’s making right now. He releases such infectious pop tracks with lyrics that both feel true to self for Conan and still connect deeply with his audience. ‘Vodka Cranberry’ blew up this year, and to us, it only makes perfect sense. This is a solidified hit.
Tate McRae – ‘Sports Car’
If you didn’t know, Tate McRae is a name that we have been screaming from the rooftops since we got to interview her years ago (which you can read here!). Tate blends musicality with dance seamlessly to draw people into who she is as a musician. ‘Sports Car’ and its visual components showcase exactly why Tate has quickly become a household name.
Avery Cochrane – ‘Shapeshifting On A Saturday Night’
Hailing from Seattle, Avery Cohrane is bound to be the name you can’t escape this next year in pop music! This year, she released her track, ‘Shapeshifting on a Saturday Night,’ and blew us away with the established pop sound she was crafting. If you’re a fan of artists like Chappell Roan or Olivia Rodrigo, we think you will love Avery!
Addison Rae – ‘Headphones On’
It’s no secret that Addison Rae has had a massive year. From the success of ‘Diet Pepsi’ and her tour to her debut album, Addison, everything about her career so far has been the beginning of a pop star who will be talked about and celebrated for years to come. For Addison, pop is a true work of performance art, following in the footsteps of the likes of Britney Spears. ‘Headphones On’ off her debut album summarizes everything we love most about Addison as an artist.
Reneé Rapp – ‘I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone’
We yell the chorus to ‘I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone’ at truly astronomical levels. Everything about this track resonates with us. Something that Reneé Rapp never fails to do is draw the listener in and weave her story in a way that feels relatable to others. On top of the lyrical content of the song, Reneé’s vocals are otherworldly here.
Demi Lovato – ‘Joshua Tree’
The 2025 version of Demi Lovato is the only artist who could craft an album like It’s Not That Deep. This record is a amalgamation of someone who has gone through it all. Someone who has experienced hardships and heartache and is in the complete opposite space now. And a lot of it is backtracked with songs you want to be in the club dancing to. That’s the duality of pop and of Demi, and it’s beautiful. To us, ‘Joshua Tree’ best represents the album as a whole.
Chappell Roan – ‘The Subway’
Ending our best 2025 pop songs with one that is still inescapable like ‘The Subway’ only felt right. Chappell Roan is a once-in-a-lifetime artist. She creates with such intention and really takes her time with each project, which comes through in the music. ‘The Subway’ will be looked at years from now as one of the great songs of the decade.
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite pop song of 2025? Is it something off the new Taylor Swift album? Maybe a Conan Gray song? Or an Olivia Dean song? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
The Grammy award-winning pop star is hitting the road for their first tour since 2022’s Holy Fvck Tour, bringing the multi-city ‘It’s Not That Deep’ tour to Spectrum Center on April 8, 2026. Singer-songwriter Adéla will join Lovato on tour.
‘It’s Not That Deep’ is Lovato’s ninth studio album, which feature a dance-pop sound, unlike previous projects.
How to get tickets
Fans can grab presale tickets starting Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. local time, with general tickets available Friday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. via Live Nation.
This tour stop gives Charlotte fans a chance to hear Lovato’s newest hits like “Kiss” and “Here All Night,” alongside classics from like “Give Your Heart a Break” or “Sorry Not Sorry” — all live on stage.
The Charlotte performance is the only North Carolina stop on the tour.
WASHINGTON — Twenty-two days into the government shutdown, California Rep. Kevin Kiley spent an hour of his morning in Washington guiding a group of middle school students from Grass Valley through the empty corridors of the U.S. Capitol.
Normally, one of his staff members would have led the tour. But the Capitol is closed to all tours during the shutdown, unless the elected member is present. So the schoolchildren from Lyman Gilmore Middle School ended up with Kiley, a Republican from Rocklin, as their personal tour guide.
“I would have visited with these kids anyway,” Kiley said in his office after the event. “But I actually got to go on the whole tour of the Capitol with them as well.”
Kiley’s impromptu tour is an example of how members of California’s congressional delegation are improvising their routines as the shutdown drags on and most of Washington remains at a standstill.
Some are in Washington in case negotiations resume, others are back at home in their districts meeting with federal workers who are furloughed or working without pay, giving interviews or visiting community health centers that rely on tax credits central to the budget negotiations. One member attended the groundbreaking of a flood control project in their district. Others are traveling back and forth.
“I’ve had to fly back to Washington for caucus meetings, while the opposition, the Republicans, don’t even convene and meet,” Rep. Maxine Waters, a longtime Los Angeles Democrat, said in an interview. “We will meet anytime, anyplace, anywhere, with [House Speaker Mike] Johnson, with the president, with the Senate, to do everything that we can to open up the government. We are absolutely unified on that.”
The shutdown is being felt across California, which has the most federal workers outside the District of Columbia. Food assistance benefits for millions of low-income Californians could soon be delayed. And millions of Californians could see their healthcare premiums rise sharply if Affordable Care Act subsidies are allowed to expire.
For the California delegation, the fallout at home has become impossible to ignore. Yet the shutdown is in its fourth week with no end in sight.
In the House, Johnson has refused to call members back into session and prevented them from doing legislative work. Many California lawmakers — including Kiley, one of the few GOP lawmakers to openly criticize him — have been dismayed by the deadlock.
“I have certainly emphasized the point that the House needs to be in session, and that canceling a month’s worth of session is not a good thing for the House or the country,” Kiley said, noting that he had privately met with Johnson.
Kiley, who represented parts of the Sacramento suburbs and Lake Tahoe, is facing political uncertainty as California voters weigh whether to approve Proposition 50 on Nov. 4. The measure would redraw the state’s congressional districts to better favor Democrats, leaving Kiley at risk, even though the Republican says he believes he could still win if his right-leaning district is redrawn.
The Senate has been more active, holding a series of votes on the floor and congressional hearings with Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The chamber, however, has been unable to reach a deal to reopen the government. On Thursday, the 23rd day of the shutdown, the Senate failed to advance competing measures that would have paid federal employees who have been working without compensation.
The Republicans’ plan would have paid active-duty members of the military and some federal workers during the shutdown. Democrats backed a bill that would have paid all federal workers and barred the Trump administration from laying off any more federal employees.
“California has one of the largest federal workforces in the country, and no federal worker or service member should miss their paychecks because Donald Trump and Republicans refused to come to the table to protect Americans’ health care,” Sen. Alex Padilla said in a statement.
Working conditions get harder
The strain on federal employees — including those who work for California’s 54 delegation members — are starting to become more apparent.
Dozens of them have been working full time without pay. Their jobs include answering phone calls and requests from constituents, setting the schedules for elected officials, writing policy memos and handling messaging for their offices.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks about the shutdown at a news conference Thursday with other Republican House members.
(Eric Lee / Getty Images)
At the end of October, House staffers — who are paid on a monthly basis — are expected to miss their first paycheck.
Some have been quietly told to consider borrowing money from the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union, which is offering a “government shutdown relief loan program” that includes a no-interest loan of up to $5,000 to be repaid in full after 90 days.
The mundane has also been disrupted. Some of the cafeterias and coffee carts that are usually open to staffers are closed. The lines to enter office buildings are long because fewer entrances are open.
The hallways leading to the offices of California’s elected officials are quiet, except for the faint sound of occasional elevator dings. Many of their doors are adorned with signs that show who they blame for the government shutdown.
“Trump and Republicans shut down the government,” reads a sign posted on the door that leads into Rep. Norma Torres’ (D-Pomona) office. “Our office is OPEN — WORKING for the American people.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, posted a similar sign outside his office.
A sign is posted outside of the office of Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, in Washington on Wednesday.
(Ana Ceballos / Los Angeles Times)
Rep. Vince Fong, a Republican who represents the Central Valley, has been traveling between Washington and his district. Two weeks into the shutdown, he met with veterans from the Central Valley Honor Flight and Kern County Honor Flight to make sure that their planned tour of the Capitol was not disrupted by the shutdown. Like Kiley’s tour with the schoolchildren, an elected member needed to be present for the tour to go on.
“His presence ensured the tour could continue as planned,” Fong’s office said.
During the tour, veterans were able to see Johnson as well, his office said.
Shutdown highlights deep divisions
California’s congressional delegation mirrors the broader stalemate in Washington, where entrenched positions have kept both parties at a negotiation impasse.
Democrats are steadfast in their position that they will not agree to a deal unless Republicans extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits expiring at the end of the year, while Republicans are accusing Democrats of failing to reopen the government for political gain.
Kiley is one of the few Republicans who has called on Johnson to negotiate with Democrats on healthcare. Kiley said he thinks there is a “a lot of room to negotiate” because there is concern on both sides of the aisle if the tax credits expire.
“If people see a massive increase in their premiums … that’s not a good thing,” he said. “Especially in California, where the cost of living is already so high, and you’re suddenly having to pay a lot more for healthcare.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a press event Wednesday with five other California Democrats talked about the need to fight for the healthcare credits.
Garcia, of Long Beach, said he recently visited a healthcare center in San Bernardino County that serves seniors with disabilities. He said the cuts would be “devastating” and would prompt the center to close.
“That’s why we are doing everything in our power to negotiate a deal that reopens the federal government and saves healthcare,” he said.
As the shutdown continues, many Democrats are digging their heels on the issue.
At an Oct. 3 event outside of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, for instance, Rep. Laura Friedman held a news conference with nurses and hospital staff and said she would not vote for a bill to reopen the government unless there is a deal on healthcare.
Last week, the Glendale Democrat said her position hasn’t changed.
“I will not support a shutdown deal that strips healthcare from tens of thousands of my constituents,” she said.
If you’re looking for a new supergroup to dive into, look no further than one of our most recent musical obsessions, CVCHE! If you’re just now tuning in, you’ve done it at the perfect time! CVCHE’s debut album, Get Fluffy is due later this year, and we’ve just gotten their newest offering from the record, ‘The Star.’ We were lucky to chat with CVHCE about their upcoming record, ‘The Star,’ and so much more!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, if someone is tuning in for the first time, how would you describe the kind of music CVCHE makes? No, thank YOU! We’d definitely describe ourselves as the pioneers of Rural Canadian Techno, since that genre did not previously exist – nor may it EVER exist – unless people want it to. You could also say “organic electronic jams that make you want to dance in your socks on a hardwood floor.”
Get Fluffy is due later this year! What has the process of crafting your first album together as a group been like? We set up four or five synths at one station for each of us. I would make a beat, then we’d all start dialing in sounds on our stations. Once we all had a good palette of sounds, someone would come up with a bass line or tonal starting point. Then we’d hit record and start laying in parts simultaneously, like a live jam, for about 20 minutes. We then edited the best parts into the final track. Some ended up tracking the record rather quickly, and on others, we spent a bit more time on arrangements.
How far into the creative process of ‘Get Fluffy’ did ‘The Star’ come to be? Were you still actively crafting the album? It all happened very quickly from inception to completion because of the process I outlined above. It’s a great way to work, and we just know each other so well that there was very little mucking around and/or throwing things out. We actually have a bunch more tracks we really like that aren’t coming out on the record. The chord progressions are more vocal-friendly, so we saved them to experiment with that at some point. We basically got into a great flow state and just made a whole bunch of stuff with no ‘demographic’ or all the other things you’re supposed to think about – where it fits, who will like it, etc. We just made music, and all this stuff is what came out, with no fidgeting around with expectations. It was fun. And still is!
When you’re in the midst of a jam session, and a song like ‘The Star’ starts to form, do you guys automatically realize you have something you want to dig into further and possibly release? We actually aren’t jamming in the typical sense. It’s more about coming up with a beat we all like, then a bassline, or riff, or chord progression. If we like where the early stages are going, we start dialing in sounds we like on all of our respective synth stations and all sorts of approve of them or not as we’re working them up. Once we have a big palette of sounds and the framework of the track, THEN we “jam” in a structured way for 20 – 30 minutes as every synth patched into ProTools is in record. We then edit it down with the sections we feel are gelling the most.
With CVCHE, when did the idea first spark to form this group? Were you all approached at once? Liam and Jimmy started jamming a bit after tracking a Metric record, and then I came in. We drank wine, pulled out more synths, and then decided to make a record after we’d already finished making it.
Each of you comes from different groups that we are sure have their own creative processes. How do you bring each of those into this new group, and what works best for what you want to be creating? I think all of our experience combined really helps in making navigating the technological aspect of things secondary to creativity, which can be a challenge for everyone. We know how to dial sounds up quickly, and we know how to get around our synth collections, arranging, mixing, etc., so it’s more about us playing off of each other rather than getting caught up in midi troubleshooting (which we’ve collectively probably spent 8 million hours doing). We all use Pro Tools, and it helps that Liam is a legit Pro Tools wizard.
And speaking of what you want to be creating, it’s been said that you guys want to “make releasing music as fun as creating it.” What aspect of creating music do you think is lost in the stress of releasing said music? Oh, wow, I could talk shit about algorithms all day! Making records is fun, spiritual, bonding, magical, and all the other feels, and then comes… algorithms, metadata, streaming companies, troubleshooting passwords, traffic light captchas. So romantic, isn’t it? So, we just said “fuck all this.” Yes, it has to be done, but what else can we do to keep it fun? That’s when we brought Jon Morris in as a member of CVCHE. He did Nine Inch Nails’ stage design, as well as designed for Lady Gaga and Metric, and has done loads of huge installations at Burning Man. Jon is the official-unofficial king of fun. He helped make an infinite scroller video game (it’s fun… check out www.heycvche.com), and we’re building out a super fun merch store. We’re planning a crazy, awesome live show as well. We tell more jokes on calls than we talk about business. We have no strategy to ‘beat the algorithms.’ We just have fun and, in between, fill out endless forms and upload to streamers and publishing info. Gotta keep it fun.
You recently released your single ‘Thumper.’ What inspired that song, and how did it come together? A super weird thumping sound that randomly started coming out of the MS-20… a ghost in the machine, as Sting would say. We made a track around the sound and then ended up muting it in the end — the track, as you hear it, remained.
While crafting this upcoming album, Get Fluffy, was there a song that felt like lightning in a bottle? That once it started, you guys knew it was going to be one of the ones that made the record? No, because we like all of them. We have more that aren’t on the record – more so because the chord progressions lend themselves to vocals – so we’re sitting on those for the right time.
We have to talk about the video game! Where did the inspiration come from to include this in the process of putting out music? Jon Morris brought that to the table, and his friend/coder, Sonny, dialed it all up. At the time of creating the game, with a new song release per level of the game… We are as certain as we can be that we were the first to do this in this way.
Once again, thank you guys so much for your time! Before we let you go, what can fans look forward to as we close out 2025? More sock jams that make you wanna dance in your socks on a hardwood floor, live shows from us at some point, and hopefully vacations in the Caribbean when it starts to get cold — for both us and fans alike. Who wants to make a plan!? We’re SO IN. ⚡️
We would love to hear from you! What do you think of our interview with CVCHE? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
Em Beihold has been a mainstay on our playlists ever since her song ‘Numb Little Bug’ came out, so it is no surprise that her artistry is displayed in her newest song ‘Hot Goblin.’ We were lucky enough to chat with Em about ‘Hot Goblin,’ the thematic through lines of her recent music, ‘Numb Little Bug,’ and so much more!
Hi Em! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, how would you describe your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time? Hello hello! Thanks for having me! I like to describe my music as quirky piano pop that talks about difficult things with a certain degree of levity. I’ve also been described as a popified Regina Spektor, and I really like that description.
‘Hot Goblin’ is your latest track! The lyric video felt like stepping into a fairy tale book. When crafting this track, was the inspiration immediately tied to that aesthetic? Not really! When I was writing the song, I was initially thinking more along the lines of the experience of being a woman and how fickle our relationship with confidence can be. The fairytale stuff came after and felt obvious once the concept was solidified.
Something that immediately drew us to ‘Hot Goblin’ was the vulnerability hidden within this musically upbeat pop track, the understanding of insecurities, but the ability to still find confidence in that. What do writing sessions look like for a song that presents vulnerability in this way? I think my co-writers Nick Lopez, Jason Suwito, and I had a lot of fun figuring out what the term “hot goblin” means. As a girl who definitely feels the pressure to constantly present as put-together, fashionable, hot, etc. (especially from social media), it felt freeing to put a name to the feeling of embracing your insecurities and messy parts while still loving yourself completely and not feeling less than. I also wanted the song to be about that feeling on top of the world one day and at the bottom the next, so ‘Hot Goblin’ became a way to give language to that cycle. Nick has been a close friend since we wrote ‘Numb Little Bug’ together, and Jason came into my life during a rough patch in my career, so there was already a lot of trust in the room. After we laughed about the phrase “hot goblin,” which I brought into the session (kind of as a joke), they both got it and locked in immediately. That balance of humor and honesty made the writing process really special. I write my favorite songs when I’m laughing.
‘Brutus’ is another recent release of yours! This track features some of our favorite visuals from you yet! Where did the creative vision for this video come from? And what was that on-set experience like? I was really inspired by the movie Amadeus, which my mom showed me when I was going through an intense, unforgiving period of depression, where I couldn’t stop comparing myself to other female artists who were creatively unblocked and more successful than me. I related to the character of Salieri and thought it would be fun to bring that rivalry with Mozart as a vignette alongside a few others to tell the story of what I was feeling. The on-set experience is one I will never forget because it was a day full of fun and laughter with friends, which felt SO full circle after a year of essentially crying every day and hating being in my skin. I was so happy to be me and felt so proud of the art that came out of such a hard time. I also checked off two big goals of mine, which were: one, working with my co-director, Ethan Frank, whom I’ve been a huge fan of for years, and two, fencing in a music video since I was a competitive fencer for many years.
With both ‘Hot Goblin’ and ‘Brutus,’ the themes around the visuals are locked into days of old, with fairy tales and gladiator times. Is there an intentional through line there? You know what; accidentally yes. It wasn’t intentional, but I think the whole album has puzzle-pieced itself together more than I planned for. It’s whimsical, it has hints of classical music, and instruments like the harpsichord! There’s definitely some fun “historical” stuff in there.
Egg in the Backseat came out three years ago! Is there a song on that record that, for you, has just gotten better with time? I would say ‘Goo,’ because my fans have really taken to that one at my live shows. It’s kind of a sleeper, dare I say!
We, of course, have to briefly touch on ‘Numb Little Bug!’ Now that you are three years separated from the release of the track, how has your relationship to this song changed as time has gone on? Oh my gosh! I wrote that song about my unfortunate experience with antidepressants, and now (after lots of trial and error), I’ve found one that has absolutely changed my life. It’s a cool marker of where I was then, and how much I’ve grown. I will always appreciate the response to that song and how much it changed my life.
Once again, thank you so much for chatting with us! Before we let you go, what can fans look forward to as we close out 2025? My debut album is coming out very soon in 2026! It’s the proudest I’ve ever been of anything I’ve made. It’s about my journey through depression, experiencing complete loss of self, and how I have come out on the other side to be the happiest and most me I have ever been. It’s fun and pop and silly, and I’m ready for 2025 to be done so I can finally share this new music with my fans!
We would love to hear from you! What do you think of our interview with Em Beihold? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram!
If you’re looking for which artist is going to be the talk of the town before too long, look no further than Benjamin Steer! Benjamin Steer has just released his EP Figuring It Out, which showed us, clear as day, that we were looking at an artist who is going to have a long and prosperous career! We were lucky enough to chat with Benjamin all about the EP and so much more!
Hello Benjamin! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, how would you describe your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time? It’s a pleasure, thank you! I would say my music is sort of a soundtrack to confusion in your 20s, a soundtrack to love, to heartbreak, and to figuring things out. I’d like to think it’s pretty cinematic but has some energy in it too!
Figuring It Out is your debut EP! What feelings accumulate as you get ready to put your first collection of songs out? It is weird. I always feel a bit of anxiety before release days, but then as soon as the project is out, the anxiety disappears. I don’t hold emotional attachment to the songs once they are out. It then becomes a case of how many people can get their ears on it. But certainly, I am really proud of these songs. I feel like it sort of marks the end of my first chapter in the music world. I feel like each song serves a different purpose; the whole thing feels pretty dynamic.
You described this record as “a hopeless romantic’s dream and downfall.” What is one lyric throughout the project that best represents the dream aspect, and on the other hand, what lyric would you say best represents the downfall? I think the dreamer line is definitely the chorus of ‘No One Wants To Die Alone,’ “Live Big Love Fast and not Die Alone.” It is sort of the payoff line in a song that lyrically is frustrated in many senses, and encapsulates the sort of desire of the EP. There are many downfall lines in the EP, so I’ll give you three: ‘Oh Darling,’ “Many nights I try to find you in other eyes… Am I blind to all that makes you you?” ’5%,’ “It’s the 5% that is in the spotlight and the 95 that hides behind my eyes – So I’ll keep it out of mind and out of sight.” ‘Sweat Off Our History,’ “I’ll thread the needle between who I am and what you want from me.” I think all of these lines sort of summarize the pressure that you have to appear complete and confident and put together… But in reality, you are still figuring things out – trying to find a purpose. And you often hide these insecurities and fears in actions and facades that are not favorable to yourself – just to appease others or numb yourself to vulnerability.
As we are writing this, the EP is officially out! What has the reaction to the record been like over the last few days? How are you feeling post-release? Honestly, I think it went as well as I had hoped. I think these things take a journey themselves when they are out. I think hopefully it has legs to continue to connect with people and make an impact. People have been so supportive and kind, and I feel very unworthy. I always say this, and it is very cliche, but I am just a dude who writes about life and love in his bedroom, so it’s surreal that it is connecting so well!
When you released ‘No One Wants To Die Alone’ last year, did you already know this track was going to be everyone’s first taste of this EP? Or was it added in as the creation of the EP went forward? No Idea. ‘NOWTDA’ always felt special. It was the first song that I wrote, and I was like, if this doesn’t become the biggest song, then I am not sure what will. It felt so right and felt so me. The EP was certainly not a manufactured Idea. It was sort of the collection of the best things I had written in the last 8 months, and it all felt rather cohesive. I think if I were to sit down with the intention of writing an ep, and with a certain goal and message, it would have almost felt like I wasn’t being authentic. That being said, ‘No One Wants To Die Alone’ was probably the first song I wrote out of the ones that made it on to the EP, so maybe in some way it did guide the sonic and messaging of the rest!
Hailing six songs, half of the record was previously released, and half of the songs were saved for release day. How do you go about deciding which songs you want to hold onto and let fans discover all at once? I think there is a feeling that you get when you have a single, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the non-single tracks are missing something. I feel like putting out a bigger body of work allows you to release songs that may never come out as a single, but you still want people to hear them. I think ‘Sweat off our History’ is a good example; this would never be a single, but that does not mean that it isn’t good. So I am glad I had the opportunity to release it.
We want to go back a bit and talk about ‘Muted Colors,’ This track changed a lot for you! When you look back, what does your relationship with that song look like now vs two years ago when it was released? I think ‘Muted Colors’ was the unexpectedly perfect first song to put out. It served its purpose in the time that it was written for me personally, but also to show an audience the type of music and messaging I wanted to pursue. I look back positively on it now for sure. It was the first stepping stone in a long journey to cross the river, and I’m so grateful that I could have even had the chance to start or embark on that journey. I think it worked because I was just honest, it was one of the first songs I had ever written and I did not really have a reference point as to what was ok and what was not. I think I do naturally cringe a little bit looking back to it now because I think my style and tone have changed a bit, but it certainly was a fantastic first step!
Once again, thank you so much for chatting with us! Before we let you go, is there anything coming up that fans can look forward to? Any live shows? Hopefully got a lot of exciting stuff coming up! Going to hopefully do another London headline before the end of the year, and then a bit more of a fuller tour in early 2026! I’m also really excited to open for Arthur Hill on his UK tour in September!
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite song from Benjamin Steer’s EP, Figuring It Out? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
Drake is October’s very own, and to prove it he made his way to Germany’s annual Oktoberfest for some fun times with his woes.
The rapper posted a photo dump featuring himself and his homies holding big mugs of beer while partying with the locals all while The Boy himself sported a custom Chanel lederhosen for the festive occasion. It seems that Drake is really loving being anywhere other than stateside these days and is showing his European fans all of the love he can muster.
He’s been popping up in several countries making his appreciation for his international fans known, even going as far as crowing the UK with the crown for having the best rappers of any location. Though many called cap, the London OVO supporters ate it right up.
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With the release of his next album, The Iceman, looming, it remains to be seen if he’ll offer up something to his American fans, who it seems are still rocking with him and anticipating the music he’ll release after last year’s highly publicized rap battle. In the meantime, he’s living it up across the pond with Party Next Door.
His Euro tour stops are all but complete and he’s been leaving breadcrumbs for his adoring fans but what will the next era of Drake really be? Some say he’ll address all of his new enemies much like he did on the track “What Did I Miss?” while others believe he’ll put everything from last year behind him and get back to what made him a superstar. Either way, his fans will likely have a new album to listen to before the year’s end.
It’ll also be interesting to see how he chooses to roll out the new music, as many artists are abandoning the surprise release approach (made popular by Beyoncé in 2013). Many recently went back to traditional marketing while adding in new technological elements like drone drop-offs and social media challenges. Though his popularity may have waned slightly, we have no doubt that Drake will make a big splash back onto the Billboard charts.
Looking for your next favorite artist? Look no further than one of the artists we are sure is going to have a huge year as we round out 2025 and jump into 2026: Hunter Daily! Hunter is responsible for one of our favorite EPs of the year with Claw Marks, and we were lucky enough to get to pick her brain all about the project, as well as turn back the clock and take a look back at where it all began with ‘Die in LA.’ Let’s jump in!
Hi Hunter! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! To start us off, how would you describe your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time? If a diary entry and a pop song had a baby, that would be my music. It’s folkypoppy, and confessional—like little stories you can crash out or cry to.
‘Claw Marks’ is your latest release and your fourth release from your upcoming EP sharing the same name. Can you tell us what it was about this track that made you want to name the project around it? Or did the song come from the name of the EP? The lyric is: “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.” That pretty much sums me up as a person and as a songwriter. This EP is about gripping too tightly, even when you know better—and ‘Claw Marks’ felt like the perfect way to name the whole messy, complicated story.
After the release of ‘Claw Marks,’ you have left two tracks unreleased from the EP. What goes into deciding what to hold back? It’s kind of like dating—you don’t give everything away on the first night. I wanted to build suspense, to leave people wondering what else is coming. Save the best for last.
The video for ‘Claw Marks’ feels so intimate and jam-packed with emotion, and for us, really brought the song alive! Can you talk to us a bit about the vision for the visuals? That video is basically my breakup paranoia turned into art. You know when you break up with someone and your brain won’t stop imagining what they’re doing without you? Who are they with? What does their life look like now? We took those spirals and put them on screen. It’s unhinged, but so is heartbreak.
‘Die in LA’ was your first track, and next month marks three years since its release. When you look back on that track, is there a skill that you honed in crafting it that can still be found in your most recent work? Wow—that’s so crazy; I can’t believe it’s been three years already! That song gave me the confidence to step into being a solo artist. It was the first time I realized I had something unique to share, a perspective that only I could bring. That song taught me how important it is for me to tell my truth.
Songwriting is a huge part of who you are as an artist. When you look at this EP, is there a lyric that you are particularly proud of? There’s one line: “A spaceman’s gonna suit up, a cowboy’s gonna ride.” It sounds playful, but it’s really about inevitability—that people are gonna do what they’re gonna do, no matter how much you want them to stay. It’s my way of making peace with that.
On a similar note, we know that crafting any project can take a village, but it’s also important to give yourself a pat on the back. Is there something you can point to on this record—whether it’s the creative process, the rollout, or beyond—that you are proud of yourself for accomplishing? I’m proud that this project actually sounds like me. Not the version of me I thought I was supposed to be, but the messy, dramatic, loves-too-hard, refuses-to-let-go version. That’s growth to me.
Once again, thank you so much for chatting with us! Before we let you go, we have to ask: Will we have some chances to hear all of this new music live soon? Oh, definitely. These songs were written to scream in a room with people. Performing them live is the part I’m most excited for—it’s where the claws really come out. I haven’t officially announced, but I do have a tour in the works!!
We would love to hear from you! What do you think of Hunter Daily’s track ‘Claw Marks?’ Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B is bringing her Little Miss Drama Arena Tour to Dallas on March 7, 2026. The tour marks her first full headline arena run and the most extensive tour of her career to date…
Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B is bringing her Little Miss Drama Arena Tour to Phoenix on March 1, 2026. The tour marks her first full headline arena run and the most extensive tour of her career to date…
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a shocking act of political violence that brought widespread condemnation.
The gunman is believed to have killed Kirk from at least 200 feet away using some type of sniper rifle, law enforcement sources told The Times.
Police briefly detained two suspects, but both were determined to be unconnected to the attack and released. The manhunt for the shooter continued Wednesday night.
Videos shared on social media show Kirk sitting under a white canopy, speaking to hundreds of people through a microphone, when a loud pop is heard; he suddenly falls back, blood gushing from his neck.
Before he was shot, he was asked about mass shootings.
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“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” an audience member asks.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk responds.
Almost immediately, Kirk is shot in the neck. One video shows blood pouring from the wound. As the crowd realizes what has taken place, people are heard screaming and running away.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that a bullet struck Kirk’s carotid artery.
Charlie Kirk speaks before his fatal shooting Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
(Tess Crowley / Deseret News )
The killing was captured on videos in graphic detail from several angles. The videos were widely shared across the internet. Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said authorities were analyzing campus security video that showed a suspect in dark clothing who may have shot at Kirk from a roof.
The shooting comes a year after a would-be assassin wounded President Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and amid an era of increasing political divisions.
He said the rhetoric of the radical left is “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” He did not mention recent acts of political violence against Democratic lawmakers.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, called Wednesday’s attack a political assassination and warned that authorities would find the person responsible and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
“I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here,” Cox said at a news conference.
“We desperately need our country,” he said. “We desperately need leaders in our country, but more than the leaders, we just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and where we want to be and to ask ourselves — is this it?”
Kirk, a conservative political activist, was in Utah for his American Comeback Tour, which was holding its first stop at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Jeffrey Long, chief of the university’s Police Department, said that six of the force’s officers, including some plainclothes officers, were working with members of Kirk’s personal security team to manage safety at the public outdoor event, which drew a crowd of more than 3,000 people.
“You try to get your bases covered,” Long said at a news conference. “And unfortunately today we didn’t, and because of that we have this tragic incident.”
Shortly after the shooting, police took an initial suspect, George Zinn, into custody. However, Zinn did not match the identity of the shooting suspect, Mason said. Zinn was later released after being booked by Utah Valley University police on suspicion of obstruction of justice.
A few hours later, police took a second suspect, Zachariah Qureshi, into custody and released him after interrogation, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
At this time, authorities believe only one person was involved in the attack, Cox said.
Law enforcement was continuing to examine the crime scene at the university and the locations where Kirk traveled, according to the Public Safety Department. No further information on the current suspect was shared.
The tour, as with many of Kirk’s events, had drawn both supporters and protesters. Kirk’s wife and children were at the university when he was shot, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X.
Kirk, 31, was one of the Republican Party’s most influential power brokers.
The founder of the influential conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, Kirk had a vast online reach: 1.6 million followers on Rumble, 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube, 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on TikTok.
During the 2024 election, he rallied his online followers to support Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say: “It’s not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.”
Just after Trump was elected for a second time to the presidency in November, Kirk frequently posted to social media from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he had firsthand influence over which MAGA loyalists Trump named to his Cabinet.
Kirk was known for melding his conservative politics, nationalism and evangelical faith, casting the current political climate as a state of spiritual warfare between a righteous right wing and so-called godless liberals.
At a Turning Point event on the Salt Lake City campus of Awaken Church in 2023, he said that gun violence was worth the price of upholding the right to bear arms.
“I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the 2nd Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,” he said. “That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
He also previously declared that God was on the side of American conservatives and that there was “no separation of church and state.” In a speech to Trump supporters in Georgia last year, he said that “the Democrat Party supports everything that God hates” and that “there is a spiritual battle happening all around us.”
Kirk was also known for his memes and college campus speaking tours meant to “own the libs.” Videos of his debates with liberal college students have racked up tens of millions of views.
The shooting drew immediate words of support and calls for prayers for Kirk from America’s leading conservative politicians.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X.
Crowd members react after Charlie Kirk’s shooting at Utah Valley University.
(Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)
Leading Democrats also moved swiftly to condemn the attack.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X. “In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Gabrielle Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman who survived a political assassination attempt in 2011 and is a gun violence prevention advocate, said on X that she was horrified to hear that Kirk was shot.
“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she wrote.
Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, has written a forthcoming book about Christian nationalism that prominently features Kirk and his influence. The book, “The Seven Mountains Mandate,” comes out Sept. 30.
“Today is a tragedy,” Boedy said in an interview with The Times on Wednesday. “It is a red flag for our nation.”
Boedy said the shooting — following the two assassination attempts against Trump on the campaign trail last year — was a tragic reminder of “just how divisive we have become.”
In June, a man posing as a police officer fatally shot Minnesota state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in an incident that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called “a politically motivated assassination.”
Another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, were also injured at their residence less than 10 miles away.
In April, a shooter set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, forcing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
In July 2024, Trump survived a hail of bullets, one of which grazed his ear, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Two months later, a man with a rifle was arrested by Secret Service agents after he was spotted amid shrubs near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.
Kirk’s presence at the Utah campus was preceded by petitions and protests. But, Boedy noted, that was typical with his appearances.
“Charlie Kirk is, I would say, the most influential person who doesn’t work in the White House,” he said.
Kirk reached a vast array of demographics, Boedy said, through his radio show and social media accounts and was “in conversation with President Trump a lot.”
He had said his melding in recent years of faith and politics was influenced by Rob McCoy, the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park in Ventura County. Kirk called McCoy, who often spoke at his events, his personal pastor.
Boedy said McCoy turned Kirk toward Christian nationalism, specifically the Seven Mountains Mandate — the idea that Christians should try to hold sway over the seven pillars of cultural influence: arts and entertainment, business, education, family, government, media and religion.
Kirk “turned Turning Point USA into an arm of Christian nationalism,” Boedy said. “There’s a strategy called the Seven Mountains Mandate, and he has put his TPUSA money into each of those.”
Kirk was a vocal 2nd Amendment supporter, and Boedy said that the shooting probably would further the desire among his conservative followers who tout the idea of having good guys with guns “to have more guns everywhere, which is sad.”
Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
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Ruben Vives, Richard Winton, Hailey Branson-Potts, Jenny Jarvie, Clara Harter
If you somehow missed Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert in December 2024, it’s highly recommended that you make it a priority. She owned that diminutive spot…
As the Texas heat finally began to loosen its grip, the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving became the epicenter of nostalgia and emo-fueled joy on Saturday, Sept. 6. The sold-out crowd was treated to a spectacular finale of Simple Plan’s Bigger Than You Think!…
Kali Uchis The Sincerely, Tour Toyota Center September 2, 2025
Ten years ago, I was in the audience as Kali Uchis performed for the first time at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Back then, I wrote the following observation:
“[Uchis] is an odd yet satisfying mix of doo-wop, R&B and smooth/dreamy reggae with a hip-hop attitude.”
In the world of algorithms and trends, it is refreshing to see that Uchis has stayed her own course, still writing and singing lovely tracks with the same classical beauty aesthetic and mix of R&B and Latin inspired vibes.
The Toyota Center was packed on Tuesday evening with adoring fans who were also adhering to the aesthetic, many wearing cute, summer dresses adorned with hues of pinks, baby blue, and other pastel colors. Some attached flowers to their outfits as if they were extras strait out of Kali’s “I Wish You Roses” music video. All I know is that I was way underdressed and too old to be there as a 45 year old in cargo shorts and New Balance sneakers.
The night started strong with opening act for the tour, San Diego’s own Chicano Soul band named Thee Sacred Souls. Their sound is also classic, but in the backyard BBQ, driving slow in a lowrider type of way. The band consists of a horn section, drummer, a duo of funky guitar and bass, an electric organ, and the band’s secret weapon: vocalist Josh Lane.
Lane is tall and slender, and looks like a member of the Marley family. But his voice is the epitome of chill, endearing the listener with smooth vocals, a mile wide smile, and dance moves that would make Elvis nervous.
Normally, a band holds their biggest hit for the end of the set, but not this band. They came out of the gate with “Can I Call You Rose?”, which was on my personal Top Ten list of favorite tracks 2022. The track was met with a loud roar of appreciation from the audience, and indeed sounded magical in person as opposed to in my headphones.
Lane then ran into the crowd, dancing and singing across the arena floor and even up and down the aisles. He was definitely being extra and doing “the most”, but in doing so won over the crowd and provided a memory that will not fade away anytime soon. My niece Rose Marie literally jumped up and down with joy as Lane passed by our section, sliding and dancing and smiling the entire time.
After a quick intermission, the baby pink curtain was draped across the stage, and the words “Kali Uchis, The Sincerely” were projected against the backdrop. When the lights dimmed and the show was beginning, the curtains revealed Uchis sitting on a swing above center stage, with fog and spotlights allowing her to shine bright in dreamy setting.
She wore a baby blue gown, hair in an up-do, and carried a glittery gold microphone. Simply put, she is gorgeous, exuding that classic Hollywood glamour energy, with a mix of Latina sensuality and mystique. She is sexy but not overtly sexual, a combination of coquette and baby doll, secure and strong and downright beautiful. Her voice matches her look, a mezzo-soprano with a wide range, frequently hitting falsetto notes to accompany her smooth tonal vocals.
Her set list was divided into six sections and an encore, each section representing a different album from her career. She endeared herself even more to the crowd by praising Houston for being “the loudest audience in Texas by far!”
After the opening set from her “Sincerely” album, she shifted into her album “Orquídeas”, which includes some of my favorite Kali cuts, including “Muñekita” and “Igual Que Un Angel.” Her dancers surrounded around the stage wearing all white, and at one point began to carry Uchis as if she was Cleopatra, elevating her across the stage, all while Kali kept in tune and on beat.
During another section of the set, a large bed was introduced onto the stage. Uchis laid on the bed and the camera displayed her from above as she sang and shimmied center stage. Kali has a habit of dropping low to the floor, sometimes crawling, always cute and still modest. It isn’t quite twerking, but rather living on a different plane, shifting her angles and providing gracious looks.
Uchis took a small break to invite a special guest to the stage, her life partner Don Toliver. The crowd erupted in cheers, welcoming the Houston native to the scene. She then continued her set and finished with songs from “Isolation,” “Sin Miedo” and “Red Moon in Venus.” My favorite songs were performed during this section, including “After The Storm,” “Telepatia” and “See You Again”.
It definitely was marvelous to see Kali Uchis again, and we wish her continued success along her journey.
Have Mercy have returned with The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been, a record that digs deeper, hits harder, and shows the band at their sharpest yet. It’s a milestone moment for a group that’s been shaping the Baltimore alt-rock scene for over 15 years.
The release kicks off with a hometown show before the band heads out with Boys Night Out this fall. We caught up with Andrew, lead guitarist of Have Mercy, to talk about the making of the new album, the moments that still hit the hardest on stage, and why some traditions, like “Pizza Forever,” will never die.
Hello, and welcome to the Honey Pop! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Could you give our readers a quick introduction for someone who may not be familiar with Have Mercy? Sure! I’m Andrew, and I play lead guitar for Have Mercy. We’re an alternative rock band from Baltimore, MD, and we’ve been rocking and rolling together for just over 15 years.
Have Mercy’s music has clearly struck a chord with listeners over the years. Was there a particular moment when you thought, “Wow, this is really reaching people?” For me, it was on our first headliner tour with Head North, Somos, and You Me And Everyone We Know. We had just done a ton of support tours and saw more and more people singing along, but this was our first headlining tour, and we weren’t sure if anyone was gonna come, and the fans just packed every single venue.
From your breakout debut, The Earth Pushed Back, to now releasing The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been, that’s over a decade of Have Mercy! What does it feel like to look back and see how far the band has come? It’s a strange and cool feeling being able to look back at these little time capsules of where we were in our lives, and for me to see how far we have come as musicians and songwriters. Looking back at the earlier songs, they were cool and are still fun to play live. But the newer stuff is more technical and “harder,” and because of that challenge, it’s fun to play them live.
You guys are celebrating the release with a hometown show in Baltimore! How does playing back home in Baltimore compare to anywhere else on the map? We wouldn’t have it any other way. Baltimore has come a long way since we started out music-wise and has always been eclectic. You’d go to a show, and it would be like putting the promoter’s iPod on shuffle, cause you’d have some indie bands, emo bands, and then punk and hardcore. It was one big bowl of music stew that is still amazing and so cool. I’m glad we have bands and artists like Turnstile, Jivebomb, Dan Deacon, and Animal Collective repping our city!
You’ve noted that this release is “the album we’ve always wanted to create.” What made this the right time for that record to happen? We write songs together that evolve from either a jam or a voice memo. Now we’re finally musically and creatively capable of doing that. When we were younger, we barely knew what we were doing musically and couldn’t communicate what we wanted each other to do when we were jamming. Now it’s like “Hey, try something like this?” And we’ll do the take and make it happen, and even if we don’t use it, we have it, and we did it.
The album’s supporting single, ‘little pieces,’ is about putting yourself back together. Was there a specific turning point or moment that made its way directly into that song? That’s a Brian question. I know for me, it was getting sober. I stopped drinking on September 17th, 2021. And when I quit drinking, I literally didn’t have anything going on except a loving partner and the guys in the band. I really dove back into guitar to keep my mind off alcohol, and I really think that’s what helped put me back together—were the ‘little pieces’ in my life of my partner, my boys, and my guitar.
Your music has always walked the line between vulnerability and intensity. Is there one lyric on The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been that you think hits hardest, or an older line that still hits you the hardest when you sing it? “I had a life and I had friends.” from our song ‘Two Years.’ I scream it to the crowd every time we play it live since we wrote it. It’s such a powerful line. Off the new album, I felt a very heavy emotional weight when I first heard the chorus to ‘August 17th.’ My mom passed during COVID, and I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye in person; and when I first heard those lyrics, I just sat back in my chair and was like, “Holy sh!t” cause I’d never really processed it completely.
You’re heading out this October with Boys Night Out for their Trainwreck anniversary tour! What are you most looking forward to about being back on the road? Getting to hang out with all our fans and friends, seeing one of the greatest rock and roll bands, BNO, play my favorite album every night, and of course, the post-rock food. Seeing who can get the healthiest and least healthy truck stop food.
After six albums and more than a decade together, is there anything from the early days of Have Mercy that’s still part of your DNA as a band—whether it’s a pre-show ritual, a piece of advice, or even a “don’t do this on tour” lesson? Two things that have stayed with us forever are: we’re best friends first before anything. These are my ride-or-die guys. We are always there for each other. The second thing: “Pizza Forever.”
Courtesy of Big Picture Media
Lastly, if The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been were a place in the real world, where would it be, and why? When I first heard the title of the record, I thought of nature. Just being out in the middle of nature alone with nobody around, no cell service. It’s both a very scary and very freeing thing.
What do you think of The Loneliest Place I’ve Ever Been? Will you be catching Have Mercy when they hit the road with Boys Night Out this fall? Let us know your favorite tracks and tour plans in the comments below, or come talk all things Have Mercy with us over on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
