New Music Friday: This week’s essential new albums

Nicki Minaj‘s eagerly awaited new album ‘Pink Friday 2’ has been delayed for a second time.Earlier this week (October 25), the rapper took to Instagram to announce to her fans that the album is being pushed back by a couple of weeks, from its intended launch date of November 17 until December 8, to coincide with her 41st birthday.However, the album’s slight delay isn’t just to fit into her birthday window, as the rapper explained on Instagram that Lil Wayne – her friend and a mentor figure in her career – and 2 Chainz will be releasing their joint album on November 17, and that she wanted to avoid a clash as “Weezy (Lil Wayne) would never do that if it was my album date”.See her post below.A post shared by Barbie (@nickiminaj)Elsewhere in the video, Nicki Minaj said that ‘Pink Friday 2’ is shaping up to be her “greatest gift to humanity” so far, and that it’s her most favourite project she’s ever worked on.‘Pink Friday 2’ was originally set for release on October 20, but was later delayed to November 17. No reason was shared for the initial postponement.

G-Dragon, a member of the K-pop boyband Big Bang, has reportedly been booked by police for suspected drug use.G-Dragon – real name Kwon Ji-yong – was booked by the Incheon Metropolitan Police yesterday (October 25) and is currently under investigation for allegedly breaching South Korea’s Narcotics Control Act, per The Korea Herald.The police have also stated that the investigation is unrelated to an ongoing high-profile case involving South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, per Yonhap News Agency. The Incheon Metropolitan Police had launched an investigation into eight people, including Lee, last week over suspected drug use.When the investigation was first launched, the Parasite actor had been linked to the case but was not named a suspect.

Taylor Swift during games.While on FanDuel TV’s Up & Adams morning show on Wednesday (October 25), Gronkowski was asked by host Kay Adams asked the former New England Patriots tight end what he thought of the matter.Adams made the argument that the game of football hasn’t changed since Swift began attending more games recently, and that her attendance will in turn bring in more viewership to the sport.“Bye bye bye, it’s just a little bit too much. Yes, you can show her, maybe have her perform a song now since they’re hyping her up every single week but we want more football.

The Glory actress Lim Ji-yeon has revealed how she wasn’t recognised while shopping in public recently.Lim Ji-yeon recently skyrocketed to international fame thanks to her breakout role as Park Yeon-jin, the main antagonist in the popular Netflix K-drama series, The Glory. She has also since starred in two other shows this year: Lies Hidden in My Garden and The Killing Vote.Despite her newfound success, the actress’ popularity seems to have not affected her daily life, as she revealed in a new video interview with Vogue Korea.During the clip, where the actress talked through the items in her bag, Lim Ji-yeon recalled the story of her new Airpods case, and how she found it after recently losing her previous pair on a plane not too long ago.“Sometimes, I take the subway, and when I went to the underground shopping area of Gangnam Station, I saw this really nice case! So I really bought it,” she said, as translated by Koreaboo.“Maybe because I cover myself up when I’m out and about, but they didn’t recognise me,” Lim Ji-yeon added.

Meghan Trainor has opened up about her new obsession with K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE.On a new episode of the podcast Workin’ On It, which is hosted by Meghan Trainor and her brother Ryan, the pop star spoke about how she’s starting to get into K-pop after working with girl group (G)I-DLE.(G)I-DLE recently released their first English-language EP, titled ‘Heat’, which features the song ‘Eyes Roll’, written by both Meghan Trainor and her brother Ryan.During the podcast, Meghan revealed that she and Ryan had written that song “years ago”. She said: “And they added like two amazing verses to it, and that was the coolest things ever.”“K-pop is sick,” Ryan added.

Dolly Parton is set to premiere new tracks from her upcoming album ‘Rockstar’ in cinemas worldwide next month.Yesterday (October 25), Parton took to social media to announce that she will be screening a “first-listen fan event” in cinemas across the globe on November 15, with select encore screenings the follow day.“You will hear full songs from the new album for the first time ever and see footage you’ve never seen before,” Dolly Parton revealed.A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)The screening will also include an exclusive interview with the icon, behind-the-scenes footage, special performances recorded for the screenings and more. According to Rolling Stone, the screening will include a previously unseen performance of ‘Circle of Love’ and a rare performance of Parton’s ‘9 to 5’.Tickets to special screenings of Dolly Parton’s ‘Rockstar’ first-listen event can be purchased here.

Jenelle Evans had her day in court with her mom, Barbara Evans, on Wednesday, October 25. Once again, things did not go well for the former “Teen Mom” star in court.

Sam Esmail’s years-in-the making adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis became one of the first major casualties of the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Seven weeks into the WGA work stoppage, the UCP studio, where Esmail has been under an overall deal, pulled the plug on the big-budget series, which had been prepping in Australia with a partial cast set, including Briana Middleton and Lindy Booth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A TIFFCOM seminar on Thursday demonstrated both a sense of incredulity that Japanese animation “Suzume” could have enjoyed such wide international success and conveyed the depth of passionate behind-the-scenes strategizing that made it happen. Since its release in Japan at the end of 2022 and international expansion in spring of 2023, following a Berlin festival competition slot, “Suzume,” a fantasy drama about a girl who helps avert natural disasters, sold more than 47 million tickets worldwide. “And most of those people don’t even speak Japanese,” said the session’s moderator Sudo Tadashi, journalist and professor at the Japan University of Economics. Sunami Kazuki, MD of producer CoMix Wave Films and the Takeda Akihiro, an executive attached to the president’s office at the film’s worldwide distributor Toho, said that “Suzumi’s” success was not a foregone conclusion. Its success was years in the making and based on the growing performance of director Makoto Shinkai’s previous movies as well as growing international understanding of the Japanese anime genre. At the beginning of their collaboration, Shinkai and CoMix had little expectation that Shinkai’s works could appeal to non-Japanese distributors and audiences. But, within Asia at least, fans are tuned in to certain kinds of content from other countries. “We also owe this success to the cumulative impact of Studio Ghibli and ‘Demon Slayer 2’,” said Sunami. Shinkai’s 2013 film “The Garden of Words” was initially a Japan-only theatrical release, but it registered in China after Japanese box office success.

Dorit Kemsley and husband Paul “PK” Kemsley are addressing the recent reports about their marriage.

Tara Reid is aware of rumors that she’s suffering from an eating disorder, and she does not appreciate them.

Kim Kardashian is honorary member of the Spice Girls!

Grace Jabbari, who accused Jonathan Majors of assault in March, has also been arrested following rumors that she would be prosecuted.

Kendall Jenner is always ready to hit the runway!

Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice was reportedly taken by surprise when Amanda Abbington decided to leave the show. Rumours of a disagreement between the two have been swirling, but neither has directly addressed these claims. On Monday, it was announced Amanda had chosen to step down from the competition due to personal reasons following a 'medical issue'.The Mr Selfridge actress also missed the live Saturday show due to ill health but was expected to return.

Sam Esmail, the director of the Netflix post-apocalyptic film Leave the World Behind, spoke to Deadline Wednesday night on the red carpet at the film’s AFI premiere.

discussing the “challenges” of being a single parent on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast. “I think I’m still learning how to be a single parent,” Kardashian, 43, who co-parents her kids North, 10, Saint, 7, Chicago, 5, and Psalm, 4, with her ex-husband Kanye West, 46, said in the episode. “And I just did the Jay Shetty podcast where I spoke about parenting, and I mean, I should be used to it now, but everyone had a lot to say.”Back in May, Kardashian told Shetty that parenting is “really f—king hard” and that there are nights where she cries herself to sleep.

Michaela Zee Cable news went into marathon-coverage mode Wednesday night as the nation was shocked by reports of mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine. The shootings occurred at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, the Lewiston Police Department shared on Facebook.

Jaden Thompson Slamdance has announced the winners of its annual screenplay competition, with Mike Ackerman’s feature-length script “This End Up” winning the grand prize. Slamdance announced the awards — recognizing writers across the categories of feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot, short film and a special mentorship award — during a ceremony held at Los Angeles’s Westwood Landmark Theater on Wednesday night.

sixth and final season of “The Crown” will include a portrayal of Princess Diana’s historic landmine walk in Africa.Netflix released images Wednesday of actress Elizabeth Debicki as the Princess of Wales, embarking on the famous moment when Diana walked across a minefield in Huambo, central Angola.Diana made the trip — just months before her death — to meet with landmine survivors to raise awareness of the work being done to clear landmines worldwide.It was one of her last and most notable acts of service in her lifetime. The Princess died tragically on August 31, 1997.In the new photos, Debicki wears a nearly-exact replica of Diana’s gold earrings, swept blonde hair, protective face mask, and a white collared shirt.

Every Friday, The FADER's writers dive into the most exciting new projects released that week.