Recap of Entertainment News by Reuters

Taylor Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” has taken the music industry by storm, dominating US sales and Billboard charts. According to Billboard, the pop megastar sold a whopping 2.61 million album and streaming units during the first week of its release in the U.S., securing the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The album’s success was fueled by traditional album sales, which totaled 1.91 million in the week ending April 25. This figure includes digital download albums, CDs, cassettes, and an impressive 859,000 vinyl sales. Additionally, “The Tortured Poets Department” generated a staggering 891.34 million on-demand official streams, solidifying Taylor Swift’s status as a music industry powerhouse.

In other entertainment news, a new documentary titled “The Sharp Edge of Peace” sheds light on the courage of Afghan women during failed peace talks with the Taliban. The film follows the harrowing journey of Fawzia Koofi, a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament and women’s rights activist, who survived an assassination attempt in 2020. The documentary highlights the resilience and strength of Afghan women in the face of adversity.

Meanwhile, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has won a dismissal for good in a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him. A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that the lawsuit, which accused Tyler of assaulting a former teenage model in the 1970s, cannot proceed. This legal victory marks the end of a challenging chapter for the 76-year-old rock icon.

Private equity giant Blackstone is also making headlines with reports of an improved bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which owns the music rights of artists like Shakira and Blondie. Blackstone’s bid is set to surpass the offer from independent music company Concord, signaling a potential shake-up in the music industry landscape. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.