NEWS
Sabrina Carpenter has announced a deluxe version of ‘Short N’ Sweet’, and it features Dolly Parton.
Announcing the news on social media, the ‘Espresso’ singer wrote: “as a thank you for giving this album 2 Grammy’s :’) short n’ sweet deluxe is now available for pre order.. and yes that does say featuring Miss Dolly Parton…. ???she wouldn’t want me to swear but holy shit!!!!!”
The deluxe version of Carpenter’s ‘Short N’ Sweet’ is set to come out on Valentine’s Day (February 14). Parton is set to join Carpenter on a remix of ‘Please Please Please’, and since the country star is known for not cussing it’s unclear if the word “motherfucker” will be included in the track.
NME gave ‘Short N’ Sweet’ four stars in a review, praising the album for Carpenter’s ability to musically find herself. “Musically, Carpenter mostly finds that niche she’s been searching for, getting comfortable in a country-pop groove on the likes of ‘Coincidence’ and ‘Please Please Please’, or nailing frothy pop bops like ‘Taste’ and ‘Juno’,” it reads.
“For the most part, though, who Sabrina Carpenter is has never been clearer – and her long-awaited, hard-earned climb to pop’s summit should continue with ease.”
Carpenter received 2025 Grammy nominations for Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, as well as Song Of The Year for ‘Please Please Please’ and Record Of The Year for ‘Espresso’, taking home awards for Best Pop Solo Performance with ‘Espresso’ and Best Pop Vocal Album for ‘Short ‘N Sweet‘.
At the Grammy Awards Show, which took place on Sunday (February 2), she performed a big band-inspired medley of ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’.
In other Dolly Parton-related news, in December 2024 she announced an open casting call for a new musical based on her life. Titled Dolly: An Original Musical, the show is set to follow the life and career of the singer, and will feature a combination of both her biggest hits and some new material written especially for the show.
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
