Music News for Wednesday

TAYLOR SWIFT NAMED TICKETMASTER ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Fans have voted Taylor Swift Ticketmaster’s Artist of the Year, as part of the ticket company’s annual Ticket of the Year honors. Taylor won the award thanks to her Reputation stadium tour, which has become the biggest-selling North American trek by a female artist ever. She broke her own record set by her 1989 tour in 2015. Ticketmaster’s Event of the Year went to Springsteen on Broadway. Ariana Grande’s upcoming tour is Ticketmaster’s most-anticipated U.S. tour of 2019, while in the U.K., Pink’s Beautiful Trauma stadium tour is the year’s most-anticipated event.

ADAM LEVINE GIVES CRYPTIC RESPONSE TO SUPER BOWL QUESTION: Adam Levine and his band Maroon 5 are rumored to be the headliners for the 2019 Super Bowl Halftime Show and he was asked about the reports in a new interview. Levine has faced criticism for reportedly signing on to perform at the Super Bowl as many fans are asking him to show solidarity with football player Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial inequality.When asked by Variety about deciding to perform in the show, Adam said, “I’m still formulating a lot of things.” Thousands of people have signed a petition asking Maroon 5 to back out of the performance. Rihanna reportedly turned down the opportunity to headline the show out of solidarity for Kaepernick.

GLORIA ESTEFAN TO HOST THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS GALA: Gloria Estefan is set to host the 41st annual Kennedy Center Honors gala in Washington, D.C. “So excited to announce that I get the great privilege to host this year’s @kchonors after getting the incredible award last year!! Congratulations to the very deserving 5 artists receiving the award this year!! see you in DC!!” Estefan wrote on Instagram. This year’s honorees were announced in July. They are Cher, Reba McEntire, Philip Glass, Wayne Shorter and Hamilton collaborators Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire. The ceremony is scheduled to take place December 2nd. It will air on CBS on December 26th.

LADY GAGA WINS FIRST BIG AWARD FOR ‘A STAR IS BORN’: The National Board of Review has kicked off awards season by announcing its picks for best movies of the year, and Lady Gaga has been singled out for an honor. She was named Best Actress for her role in A Star Is Born, and her co-star, Bradley Cooper, was named Best Director. In addition, Sam Elliott was named Best Supporting Actor. The NBR named Green Book its Best Film. The honorees will receive their awards January 8th at a gala in New York City.