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Beyoncé’s Friends And Peers Share The Love On Her 40th Birthday

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Celebrities are singing their excitement for Beyoncé in honor of the Queen Bey’s milestone birthday.

Beyoncé, who turned 40 on Saturday, received a lot of love from fellow stars and fans on social media, with many referring to the big day as #BeyDay.

Jennifer Hudson, who starred alongside Beyoncé in the 2006 movie musical Dreamgirls, tweeted sweet birthday wishes to the chart-topping singer.

“Dreamgirls will never leave you!” she wrote. “Happy birthday to my forever Dreamgirl and Virgo sister @Beyonce! I love u!”

Missy Elliott also shared her pride in Beyoncé.

“Happy Birthday sis I am PROUD of your growth” she wrote, adding that her “success is DESERVING.”

Though it’s difficult to encapsulate Beyoncé’s overall achievements and contributions to music and entertainment succinctly, her official website shared an extensive collage with photos representing some of the singer’s most iconic moments over the last four decades.

During an interview with Harper’s Bazaar last month, Beyoncé shared that she hopes her 40s will be “fun and full of freedom.”

“I want to feel the same freedom I feel on stage every day of my life,” she said.

“I want to explore aspects of myself I haven’t had time to discover and to enjoy my husband and my children. I want to travel without working. I want this next decade to be about celebration, joy, and giving and receiving love. I want to give all the love I have to the people who love me back.”

Stars continued to honour Beyoncé with tributes and sweet notes on Twitter over the course of the day:

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Good 4 Paramore: Olivia Rodrigo Officially Gives Band Credit After Accusations Of Copying

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Whether she’s paying tribute to her pop predecessor Taylor Swift, doing her best Jennifer’s Body cosplay or pissing off Courtney Love, it’s clear that Olivia Rodrigo isn’t afraid of a good reference.

But the singer’s panache for making old things feel new again has irked some fans (did she ever send those flowers, by the way?) ― especially when it comes to the similarities between her smash single Good 4 U and Paramore’s triple-platinum track from 2007, Misery Business.

Upon the song’s debut in May, listeners almost immediately drew comparisons to Paramore’s pop punk-tinged sound. Creators flooded the internet with mashups uniting the two songs into one epic, cross-generational breakup anthem.

Now, months after the release of her debut album Sour, Olivia’s team has retroactively credited Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams and former guitarist Josh Farro as songwriters on Good 4 U, according to Variety.

Hayley and Josh are now listed alongside Rodrigo and producer-songwriter Daniel Nigro on the website of the American Society of Composers, Authours and Publishers for Good 4 U, Billboard noted.

A source told Billboard that Olivia’s and Paramore’s teams had communicated about the track before it was released.

The Paramore frontwoman appeared to react to the update via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, resharing a post from the band’s publisher that read: “A huge shoutout to our writers Hayley Williams & Joshua Farro.”

“Our publisher is wildin rn,” Hayley wrote on Instagram.

The songwriting credit could result in a major payday for the Paramore musicians, as Good 4 U has made itself comfortable on the US Billboard Hot 100 since topping the chart in May. The song is Olivia’s second No. 1 single, following her debut Driver’s License, which launched her career.

Olivia is making something of a habit out of crediting artists after the fact, as she gave Taylor Swift a non-collaborative credit on her song Deja Vu in July. The song features an arrangement similar to the pop superstar’s track Cruel Summer, most notably in how Rodrigo shouts at the tail end of the bridge.

Taylor, however, was credited from the jump on a separate Olivia track, 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back, which uses a melody from New Year’s Day, the closing track on Taylor’s album Reputation.

While Olivia has courted plenty of critics for her many inspirations, she has at least one music icon in her corner.

After fans attacked the former Disney Channel star for borrowing a guitar riff from Elvis Costello’s song Pump It Up, he came to her defence on social media with a compelling argument about the nature of making music. 

“It’s how rock and roll works,” Elvis wrote on Twitter in response to a fan who’d spotted the similarities. “You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.”

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Little Mix: 20 Incredible Old Photos That Show Just How Far They’ve Come

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Beretta/Sims/Shutterstock

Little Mix pictured in December 2011

In the 10 years they’ve been in the public eye, Little Mix have topped the charts, dominated the headlines and become style icons in their own right.

But it wasn’t always that way.

You see, they’ve come so far in the past decade it’s easy to forget that the hit girl group started life as four girls who auditioned for The X Factor as soloists, only to be put together as a four-piece group by the judges at the eleventh hour.

And as these old photos show, they were still a long way off establishing themselves as the group we know and love today in that first year.

On the 10th anniversary of Little Mix’s formation, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember the girls as they were – clashing prints, patterned braces, questionable dye jobs and all…

Like One Direction before them, Little Mix were formed at Bootcamp, after originally auditioning as solo artists. It was Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland who first saw the potential in the four-piece as a group.

ITV

A month later, the newly-formed Rhythmix (as they were then known) were off to Greece, where they performed for the first time in front of the very 2011 crowd of Tulisa and Jessie J.

ITV

Little Mix

In those days, X Factor was synonymous with its makeovers. After making it through to the live shows, here’s what X Factor’s team of stylists did to Jade, Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Perrie…

Ken McKay/Shutterstock

4 October

As live shows got underway, the newly-formed band became known for their wardrobe, which included lots of bright colours, bold prints and shiny materials.

Ken McKayKen McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

8 October

Seriously, they loved a print.

Ken McKayKen McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

16 October 2011

It was this eerie Halloween week performance that cemented the girls’ place as contenders in what became a stiff competition…

Ken McKayKen McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

We’re giving you fair warning, do not look directly at these skirts…

Ken McKayKen McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

Or, frankly, these skirts (though that has less to do with their luminous properties)…

Ken McKayKen McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

As the renamed Little Mix’s popularity grew, they began being papped on their way to X Factor rehearsals.

BerettaBeretta/Sims/Shutterstock

Is this photo making anyone else want to buy some Dove soap? Just us?

Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

Eventually, Little Mix made it all the way to the X Factor final where they went up against Marcus Collins.

Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

11 December

And we all know how that turned out by now…

Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock

The morning after their win, Little Mix made an appearance on Daybreak.

Ken McKay/Shutterstock

12 December

Here they are posing with the oft-forgotten fifth member of Little Mix: Kate Garraway…

Ken McKay/Shutterstock

Fresh from their X Factor victory, Little Mix opened the show at the NTAs in January 2012.

Mike Marsland via Getty Images

And, a month later, made their Brits debut. Later in their career, Little Mix would eventually go on to deliver a string of iconic Brits performances and – almost a decade after forming – became the first girl band in history to scoop Best British Group.

Dave Hogan via Getty Images

With superstardom within reach, the band made a string of public appearances in early 2012 in the lead-up to their debut album’s release.

Chris Lobina/Shutterstock

There is a lot going on here…

Alex Moss via Getty Images

On the band’s first birthday, they performed their debut single Wings at G-A-Y, and Jade was over the moon that the group got some balloons.

Jo Hale via Getty Images

And a year after that first performance in Greece, they topped the charts with their debut single Wings (like the band themselves, we’re just pretending that Cannonball doesn’t exist).

Officialcharts.Com/Shutterstock

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These 6 Certified Quarantunes Are Still The Mood Boost We Need

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It’s official: music helped us get through the pandemic. In a new survey of more than 2,000 people, almost a quarter (23%) said live streaming and music had been the biggest support to their mental health through lockdown.

The poll, conducted by global music discovery service DICE and Populous, asked people about their relationship to music during the pandemic.

Knowing thousands of other people were also tuning in to live streams made lockdown a less lonely experience, respondents said, though few of us were actually listening to new music to fill the long days. Almost three-quarters (73%) said their lockdown listening focused on artists in their prime decades ago.

Music has been scientifically proven to evoke feelings of comfort, relief, and enjoyment, particularly when a track harks back to happier times – though if you’re up for discovering newer tunes, here’s why that’s good for you, too .

For those in need of a wellbeing boost, HuffPost UK team members have shared the songs that got us through the past year-and-a-half. Add them to your playlists, or check out more HuffPost UK recommendations on Spotify.

My Shot, from Hamilton

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“I’m a huge musical theatre fan so it wasn’t a surprise that the songs that helped me get through lockdown were from musical show Hamilton. I was obsessed with the whole soundtrack but the one song I kept on repeat during lockdown was My Shot. It’s a song about triumph and strength, which motivated me, but musically it sounds amazing.

“It’s a great song to cook or clean to and the raps are my favourite part. The show (which is available on Disney Plus) is quite long, so listening to the soundtrack is a way for me to enjoy the story without needing to watch it again.” – Habiba Katsha, Life reporter

Rain On Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande

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“Rain On Me came out in the early stages of lockdown, and I’ve had it on rotation pretty much ever since. This song was released at a time when the news cycle was especially bleak, with a sombre cloud hanging over everything, and it provided some escapism at a time we all really needed it with its anthemic chorus and empowering lyrics about overcoming difficult times. Plus, who doesn’t love a bit of camp provided by not one but two pop divas?

“I’ve been looking forward to hearing Rain On Me in a club ever since it was released, and even though I’m not quite ready for that yet, I know for certain it’s going to go off when I finally get there.” – Daniel Welsh, Entertainment editor

Motion by Khalid

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“For me, my go to feel-good, feel sad, feel pensive song is Motion by Khalid. It’s one of his lesser known songs but I am just so in love with his vocals, the lyrics, the beat, everything. I can’t decide if it’s a happy song or sad song. I listen to it during all sorts of emotions.

“One of the top lines of the song is ‘I’m in love with this moment’. I remember playing it on my earphones on a solo trip to Machu Pichu in Peru – I was just stood on top of the mountains and listened to it on repeat, I really was in love with the moment! My Spotify wrapped showed I was in his 0.5% of top listeners last year, and you can guess which song was on repeat! The song got me through the pandemic because it reminded me of happier moments.” – Faima Bakar, Life reporter

Holiday by Little Mix

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“It’s so hard to pick one song that got me through 2020 when making playlist after playlist was the only way I found to mark the endless weeks of lockdown – and cope with not seeing my partner, who reciprocated with his own. As to my internal radio, Dua Lipa and TSwizz featured heavily, and like Habiba, the Hamilton soundtrack ear-wormed from the moment I watched it on Disney+.

“But my song of last summer was without doubt Little Mix’s Holiday – landing in August just when I needed one. Infectious and sexy, never taking itself too seriously, it lifted my spirits like a plane ticket for the soul. And that video, with Jesy, Leigh-Anne, Jade and Perrie as beautifully kitsch mermaids: ’We’re just dancing the night away / Boy, you feel like a holiday.′ In the staycation age, it’s a lesson in finding wanderlust closer to home.” – Nancy Groves, head of Life

Skankin’ Sweet by Chronixx

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“As a proud Jamaican who is overly obsessed with the culture, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t pay homage to the song that helped me get through my loneliest times: Skankin’ Sweet by Chronixx. There is something about a reggae beat that really brings joy and tranquillity into my life, so I often played it in the mornings to give me that extra motivation to conquer the day.

“The song represents love, unity and having a moment to put your worries aside and just focus on being one with the universe, all true values that really helped me overcome my struggles through the pandemic.” – Maya Franklyn, Intern

Together Again by Janet Jackson

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“I was six years old when Janet Jackson released Together Again and I have an almost visceral reaction to that dreamy opening harp; I feel warm, gooey, a little-more care-free, and like an excited kid again, waiting for the upbeat disco drop. My love affair with this tune has already spanned decades, so it’s perhaps no wonder I listened to it on repeat during the first lockdown, when we were all craving old comforts.

“Ignorantly, I’ve always belted out the lyrics without considering their meaning – I guess that’s what happens when you learn a tune as a kid. In a moment of pandemic boredom, I googled the backstory and learned that Janet wrote the song in memory of a friend who died from AIDS. At a time when death and sadness was dominating headlines, it only made it feel more pertinent.” – Rachel Moss, Life editor

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