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The Cure singer Robert Smith has shared that he recently spent time recording with Olivia Rodrigo and also spoke highly about her as an artist.
Smith joined Rodrigo onstage as a surprise guest during her headline performance at Glastonbury 2025, where they performed The Cure favourites ‘Friday I’m In Love’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’ together.
During the show, Rodrigo introduced Smith as “perhaps the greatest songwriter to come out of England” and described him as “a personal hero of mine”. Since then, she has also mentioned that she has been exploring more of The Cure’s back catalogue.
As excitement continues to build around Rodrigo’s next era, she has appeared as the cover star of the newest issue of British Vogue. Within the feature, Smith explained how he first became interested in her music after hearing her breakout single ‘Drivers License’.
He told the magazine that he later “bought ‘Sour’, and then ‘Guts’ (both on CD!)”.
“Although most of the songs on those two albums are not really ‘aimed at my demographic’, they are all so good that it is hard not to fall in love with them,” Smith wrote in the feature.
He also explained that the pair have stayed in touch since sharing the Glastonbury stage and suggested that they may work together again in the future.“She calls me up quite a bit to talk about clothes and fashion and we have enjoyed a couple of memorable nights in the studio together,” Smith added. “I can’t wait to hear what she does next!”
Rodrigo has recently been hinting at her third album through pink themed promotional campaigns in both Los Angeles and London, suggesting that new music could arrive as soon as next month. British Vogue described the forthcoming project as her “most experimental” release so far.
Speaking with the magazine, she explained that the follow up to ‘Guts’ includes a number of emotional love songs. “I realised all my favourite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them,” she said.
Rodrigo said: “I’ve found a lot of inspiration from being in London. I’ve spent so much time here over the course of making this album. It has a lot of songs that are London vibes, about experiences that I’ve had here.
“It was a creative challenge to write from a joyful place. When you’re experiencing that you’re connected to someone, or feeling really good, you’re not in your head thinking about bittersweet poems!”
Last year, Rodrigo also released recordings of her live performances with Smith as part of the album ‘Live From Glastonbury 2025’.
Not long after Glastonbury 2025, she posted photos from Worthy Farm, including one showing her spending time backstage with Smith and another where she was seen heading to sleep wearing a Cure shirt. She was also filmed sitting on someone’s shoulders during Pulp’s surprise performance.
Back in 2023, Rodrigo spoke about attending concerts by The Cure and Depeche Mode with her father. The Vogue profile also mentioned that her parents introduced her to music rooted in grunge, rock and alternative styles, highlighting artists such as No Doubt, The White Stripes, Eighties metal and Riot Grrrl.
She has also cited “some of [The Cure’s] contemporaries like New Order and Joy Division” as influences on her sound.
In an earlier interview with NME in 2021, Rodrigo said both of her parents were passionate about music and had supported her creativity from a young age.
“I love pop punk music I love grunge music I love country music and folk music,” she said at the time. “I think honestly you can see little influences of all of those genres in my [debut] album [‘Sour’].”
During last summer, Rodrigo surprised fans by bringing Weezer onstage during her Lollapalooza performance in Chicago. She also welcomed David Byrne to perform with her at Governors Ball in New York City.
Following that appearance, Byrne praised the connection she has with her fanbase. “Not only do they know the songs,” he said, “they mean something to them.”
Meanwhile, Rodrigo has also contributed a track to the upcoming charity compilation ‘Help(2)’ in support of War Child.
The Cure picked up their first Grammy Award last month for their 2024 album ‘Songs Of A Lost World’. Next week will also see the Robert Smith curated Teenage Cancer Trust concert series take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall, featuring artists including Garbage, Wolf Alice, Manic Street Preachers, Chvrches and My Bloody Valentine.
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Police video recorded during Justin Timberlake’s 2024 DWI arrest in Sag Harbor, New York, has now been made public.
On Friday March 20, authorities in Sag Harbor released an edited version of the footage to media organizations that had filed public information requests. The 45 year old artist had previously taken legal action in an attempt to prevent the video from being shared, but eventually accepted the edited version being released as part of a legal agreement.
Timberlake was taken into custody in June 2024 after being suspected of driving under the influence. He later admitted guilt to a reduced charge related to impaired driving and received a sentence that included 25 hours of community service. He also participated in a public safety message warning about the risks of drinking and driving, saying, “Even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.”
TMZ was one of the first publications to share the footage, which shows the pop star having difficulty completing several sobriety checks after police stopped his BMW SUV along the roadside.
“Guys, I’m just following my friends back to my house,” he’s heard saying in slowed down speech. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just following my friends back to my house.”
At one point officers ask him to walk in a straight line using nine heel to toe steps. “Sorry, I’m a little nervous,” the singer says as he takes more steps than instructed. In another test, where he is told to raise one foot about six inches and count out loud, Timberlake responds, “Sorry, my heart is racing,” before adding, “These are, like, really hard tests.” Officers later place him in handcuffs before taking him into custody.
Court documents submitted on March 2 show Timberlake’s legal team argued that the footage showed him in what they described as an “acutely vulnerable state” and claimed releasing it would “serve no legitimate public interest.” A judge on Long Island temporarily instructed police to hold off on releasing the recordings while the court reviewed the matter.
In comments provided to Billboard on March 20, the Village of Sag Harbor said, “We are pleased that this matter has now been resolved and the village will be able to comply with its statutory obligation to release the material that is subject to disclosure.”
“From the beginning of this matter, after Mr. Timberlake’s arrest, the village has attempted to comply with the mandates of the Freedom of Information Law,” the statement reads. “As would be true in any case involving records or video footage from our police department, such material is reviewed and redacted to address public and officer safety concerns as well as personal privacy considerations.”
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