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As wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles, the Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund is stepping in to help. On Sunday (Jan. 12), the organization announced a pledge of $1 million to support fire relief and rebuilding efforts in the region. The funds will be directed to organizations assisting the Los Angeles community, […]
Congratulations are in order for Jesy Nelson, who is expecting her first child.
The former Little Mix member, 33, shared the exciting news on social media on Sunday (Jan. 12). In the post, Nelson and her partner, musician Zion Foster, hinted that they’re expecting twins.
“She’s eating for 3 now,” the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post, accompanied by a pair of baby emojis and a photo of Nelson proudly showing off her baby bump.
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Fans quickly took to the comments, speculating that the announcement was a subtle hint about the twins. “JESY IS A FULL MOTHER OF 2 YOU GUYS,” one fan wrote, while another added, “I knew it, I saw it a long time ago… Congrats to the 4? Of yous!!!”
The sweet photo shows a beaming Nelson wearing a white tank top, revealing her growing belly, while a smiling Foster stands behind her with his hand on her stomach.
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Nelson and Foster, who have been romantically linked since January 2022, have had an on-again, off-again relationship, according to Daily Mail. This pregnancy announcement marks their first joint Instagram post since November 2024, when Nelson shared pictures of herself standing next to a car with the caption, “Where we going then?”
The couple also released a song together, titled “Mine,” in August 2024, and danced to the track in a TikTok video. They’ve teased additional unreleased material on social media as well.
Since leaving Little Mix in late 2020 after the release of their sixth studio album, Confetti, Nelson has pursued a solo career, which has been marked by some controversy. Her debut single “Boyz,” released in 2021 and featuring Nicki Minaj, drew criticism for accusations of “Blackfishing” in the music video.
See Nelson and Foster’s pregnancy announcement on Instagram here.
Teddy Swims and Giveon’s soulful collaboration “Are You Even Real” has emerged as the winner of this week’s new music poll, which features artists spanning various genres. The track was voted the top new release by music fans in a poll published Friday (Jan. 10) on Billboard. “Are You Even Real” garnered nearly 34% of […]
The wildfires that have been devouring multiple neighborhoods in the greater Los Angeles area for the last five days have caused so much misery and heartbreak for so many that it may seem trifling to point out the impact they have had on awards season. But it’s not. Awards shows aren’t just about privileged celebrities, but also about the thousands of everyday people who make their livings in support roles — caterers, bartenders, limo drivers, hairstylists, make-up artists and many more.
The latest show to be affected by the fires is the Producers Guild of America Awards. The nominations were set to be announced on Sunday (Jan. 12) at noon PT, but have been pushed to next week. “Out of care and concern for those being affected by the fires, we will be holding the announcement of the PGA award nominees until next week,” the guild said in a statement on Sunday.
The big question is whether the Grammys will go forward on Feb. 2, which is just three weeks away. Billboard has reached out to the Recording Academy; an answer is expected this week.
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If the show is postponed, this will be the third time in the past five years that Music’s Biggest Night has been pushed back due to outside events. The 2021 and 2022 shows were both postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 show was bumped from Jan. 31 to March 14. The 2022 ceremony was pushed all the way from Jan. 31 to April 3.
The Oscars are set for March 2, which gives the Motion Picture Academy and the show’s producers more breathing room. The fires have already impacted the Oscars voting schedule. Academy CEO Bill Kramer wrote a letter to all Academy members on Wednesday (Jan. 8), one day after the first fires exploded.
“Given the fire situation, we want to share some updates regarding an extension to the Oscars nominations voting window… Nominations voting for the 97th Oscars opened this morning at 9 a.m. PT. We will be extending the voting window by two days to give members more time to cast their ballots. Voting will now close on Tuesday, January 14 at 5 p.m. PT. As such, our Oscars Nominations Announcement will move from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19.”
Other shows have also been impacted. The Critics Choice Awards, which were set to air live on E! tonight, were postponed to Jan. 26. (It is unknown if they will be able to proceed on that date.) The show was to be held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., which is located just a few miles from Pacific Palisades, where the fires originated.
In retrospect, the Golden Globes, held one week ago at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, were extremely lucky. The show concluded just 38 hours before L.A.’s wind and fire nightmare began.
Lil Baby collects his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, all tallied consecutively, as WHAM opens atop the chart dated Jan. 18. The set earned 140,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 9, according to Luminate. The rapper previously topped the list with his last three releases: It’s Only Me (2022), The Voice of the Heroes (with Lil Durk, 2021) and My Turn (2020).
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In total, WHAM marks Lil Baby’s seventh top 10 on the Billboard 200, stretching back to 2019’s Harder Than Ever (No. 3 peak).
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WHAM’s Friday (Jan. 3) release was announced by Lil Baby in late December.
Also in the top 10: Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS debuts at No. 2, securing the superstar his seventh top 10-charting set. Bunny’s album was released on an off-cycle Sunday (Jan. 5) and, thus, it arrives on the chart with only five days of activity (as the chart’s tracking week runs Friday through Thursday). The album’s release date was announced on Dec. 25.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Jan. 18, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Jan. 14). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.
Of WHAM’s 140,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 90,000 (equaling 119.77 million on-demand official streams of the streaming version of the album’s songs; the set debuts at No. 3 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 50,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
WHAM was available to purchase as a 15-song standard digital download album and a standard CD (the latter exclusively sold via the artist’s official webstore). On Jan. 7, an extended edition of WHAM — with four additional songs — was released exclusively via Lil Baby’s label webstore for purchase. The extended edition was later issued widely through streaming services and digital retailers on Friday (Jan. 10). Both digital versions of the album were discounted to $4.99 in the webstores of the artist and his label (Motown), along with in the iTunes Store.
The standard version of WHAM features guest turns from 21 Savage, Future, GloRilla, Rylo Rodriguez, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Rod Wave.
Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 122,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 113,500 (equaling 152.16 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 17 songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 8,000 and TEA units comprise 500. The album was only available as a standard 17-song set via streaming services and to purchase as a digital download (also discounted to $4.99 in Bad Bunny’s official webstore and the iTunes Store).
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS was preceded by a pair of entries from the album on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart: “EL CLúB” and “PIToRRO DE COCO.”
Three former No. 1s follow on the Billboard 200: SZA’s SOS falls 1-3 on the (113,000 equivalent album units earned; down 13%), Kendrick Lamar’s GNX moves 2-4 (67,000; down 4%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 3-5 (51,000; down 9%).
The Wicked film soundtrack dips 4-6 (45,000 equivalent album units; down 7%); Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft falls 5-7 (43,000; down 5%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 8 (40,000; down 1%); Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us is steady at No. 9 (38,000; down 5%); and Tyler, The Creator’s former leader CHROMAKOPIA is stationary at No. 10 (37,000; down 3%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Miley Cyrus is sharing her reaction to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
On Saturday (Jan. 11), the 32-year-old superstar singer took to social media to express her support for those affected by the wildfires ravaging Southern California. In her Instagram Story, Cyrus also reflected on the fire that destroyed her Malibu, Calif., home in 2018.
“This image hits me hard today,” the “Flowers” singer captioned the post, which featured a photo of her destroyed house. “This is a photo taken of my front porch in 2018 after losing our house in the Woolsey fires. It’s a feeling you don’t ever forget.”
She continued, “Walking up to the door you would pass through daily, looking forward to being greeted by the ones you love like you always do but instead being met by a pile of ash and rubble.”
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The Hannah Montana alum expressed that her “soul aches” for the victims of the L.A. wildfires. “It’s beyond heartbreaking. Los Angeles represents ‘living the dream’ but the reality today is wreckage and destruction.”
Cyrus also shared links to organizations supporting wildfire relief, including the Malibu Foundation, which she co-founded.
“Time, resources and dedication from inside and outside of our community will heal us, but it hurts deeply for now,” the singer wrote, signing off with “Love always.”
For health alerts, evacuation updates and additional shelter information as the wildfire battle continues, go to L.A. County’s emergency website here.
A number of organizations, listed here, are also offering help to those impacted by the California wildfires, which have been blazing through the L.A. area and causing extensive damage since Tuesday. Musicians and music industry professionals who are affected can get details about assistance here.
In November 2018, the Woolsey Fire in Malibu destroyed the home of Cyrus and her then-husband, actor Liam Hemsworth, leaving her devastated, as she shared on social media at the time.
“My house no longer stands but the memories shared with family & friends stand strong,” Cyrus tweeted after her evacuation, expressing that she was “completely devastated” by the loss. “I am one of the lucky ones. My animals and LOVE OF MY LIFE made it out safely & that’s all that matters right now.”
Ariana Grande is opening up about a new song from the upcoming Wicked sequel.
In a recent interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, published Saturday (Jan. 11), the 31-year-old pop star and actress opened up about what fans can expect from her character Glinda’s new song, penned by composer Stephen Schwartz, in the live-action adaptation of the Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, set for release on Nov. 21.
“It’s a pivotal moment in Glinda’s journey,” Grande said. “It shows a side of her we’ve never seen before. In the stage show, this transformation happens offstage. But in the movie, we get to see her make the decision that defines who she is. It’s a privilege to sing this song and be the first Glinda to bring it to life.”
The “We Can’t Be Friends” singer also dished on her dream role as Glinda and the preparation that went into bringing the beloved character to life.
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“I started acting lessons a year before I even knew when the auditions were happening,” she told the podcast. “I wanted to make sure I was ready. Transforming my voice to sing Glinda’s soprano parts took months. Pop singing and musical theater are so different. I had to retrain my muscles and reframe how I approached every note.”
Grande acknowledged that taking on the role of Glinda came with a significant sense of responsibility.
“From the moment it was announced, I realized this role would live with me forever. It’s an honor, but it also comes with so much weight,” she said. “I wanted to do it justice. Glinda isn’t just a character to me — she’s a symbol of growth and love, and I wanted to give her everything I had.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Grande further teased the already-confirmed deluxe version of Eternal Sunshine, revealing that the project is “in the can” and will include several new tracks.
“It’s a very special project,” Grande said. “I’m out there so much right now. I want to let my children miss me for two seconds. I’m excited to surprise them with it at some point, but I’m still mulling over the timing in my head. It’s not the end of ‘Peaches’ just yet, but she’s going in the closet for a minute.”
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Source: John Anderson / Getty
Kid Cudi is one of the many individuals impacted by Los Angeles wildfires. He has revealed he has evacuated his home and urges anyone in peril to do the same.
As spotted on Rap-Up Magazine Kid Cudi has spoken up amidst the natural disaster that is ravaging Southern California. On Thursday, Jan, 9 he took to Instagram and shared some updates and recommendations. “Hey, guys, [I] had to evacuate my crib. I’m safe [with] my loved ones,” he wrote. “For all the folks who lost their homes [and] people that are dealing with this, my heart hurts for you, and I am praying for us all.” He went to send his regards to any one who lives in the surrounding area. “Hey, guys, [I] had to evacuate my crib. I’m safe [with] my loved ones,” Cudi explained. “For all the folks who lost their homes [and] people that are dealing with this, my heart hurts for you, and I am praying for us all.”
Ok yall. I think my time is done on twitter. If u wanna stay connected to me Ill have my ig, Ill keep yall updated thru my stories but I wont be posting much on there either. Just projects and things I got goin on will be posted by my team. Ive been thinkin, I see too much…
— The Chosen One (@KiDCuDi) December 20, 2024
This is the first time the world has heard from Kid Cudi since late 2024. On Dec. 19 he shared list last post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Ok yall. I think my time is done on twitter. If u wanna stay connected to me I’ll have my ig, I’ll keep yall updated thru my stories but I wont be posting much on there either. Just projects and things I got goin on will be posted by my team. Ive been thinkin, I see too much bullshit on here and life is much cooler being disconnected” the caption read.
According to CNN the Los Angeles wildfires have taken the lives of 11 individuals and have displaced over 100,000 people.
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Source: Earl Gibson III / Getty / DJ Akademiks
Drake’s loudest cheerleader, DJ Akademiks, made bold claims about LeBron James from his gaming chair.
The podcaster and internet personality now alleges that LeBron James stepped out on his long-time wife, Savannah James, and he claims Drake helped him do it.
In a bizarre rant from his streaming room, Akademiks lobbed many unconfirmed allegations against the 4-time NBA champion, accusing him of engaging in “two-man” experiences where the two would engage in sex with the same woman whenever he was in Toronto.
Through his unconfirmed sources in Toronto, Akademiks claims that Drizzy supplied the Los Angeles Laker superstar with so many white women that Dr. Umar would be upset.
Per Complex:
Yo LeBron, I talked to enough whores in Canada. I’ve talked to enough people maybe Drake will keep teasing it let me just tell you what I’ve heard,” said Ak. “Yo LeBron, you and Drake used to go on two-mans ok? You’ve been cheating on your God damned wife. Drake used to facilitate the hoes and basically, essentially you can’t dance to a song about him being a pedophile.He used to supply you with the bitches, I’m sorry my n***a.”
He continued, “If I’m Drake I’ll snitch on you too. Sorry buddy you can’t do that. No. You’ve been living a lie, and everybody been thinking you’re this perfect guy. But when you come to Canada, I know some of the whores. When you come to Canada you come to certain places. ‘I’m supplying you with the white women you love. You don’t even like Black chicks, white women. I’m the guy.’”
Akademiks, who was accused of rape and defamation by an ex-girlfriend, added that Drake and James “all like the same smuts.” He continued that his favorite rapper is taking subliminal shots at Bron because he should have stayed out of Drizzy’s beef with Kendrick Lamar and never attended the Pop Out concern,t knowing Drake knew all of his alleged extramarital affairs.
Dj Akademiks goes off on LeBron James for cheating in his wife with the white girls from Toronto . You should be trying to win a chip with lakers instead of singing the Kendrick Lamar song calling Drake a pedo . He’s stopping yes Julz from exposing you pic.twitter.com/pcAAlKp5aU
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@Chatnigga101) January 11, 2025
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Influencer and media entrepreneur YesJulz, who has been accused of being James’ “sidechick” for years, clapped back at a user on X, formerly Twitter, who accused her of not reading the room. She referenced lines from the “Fighting Irish Freestyle,” where Drake allegedly took shots at the pro-hooper.
“You really think I give af about ya’lls baseless rumors? Bron is my fav player, and I will always celebrate his wins!” she responded.
Social media has also been chiming in, calling Akademiks a snitch and the ultimate Drake glazer.
Akademiks right now pic.twitter.com/PBM4nxEyRX
— Comment King👑 (@RicanBoiKev) January 11, 2025
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You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Kendrick Lamar foresaw it.
2. They damn sure do
5. Hate to see it
6. Jump on a grenade for him too.
12. Hmmmmm
The home seen in “Scissors,” a new song and music video from Julia Michaels and Maren Morris, burned down in the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles.
The pair made the video in Altadena, Michaels mentioned in an Instagram post on Friday (Jan. 10), the release day for her latest single with Morris. On YouTube, she shared a message that they’d learned the home’s owners, a couple with two young children, had since lost their house. (One of the L.A. region’s wildfires, the Eaton Fire, started in Altadena on Jan. 7; high winds turned it into a firestorm that destroyed “as many as 5,000 structures” in this area of L.A. County, the New York Times reported.)
“The house we shot the Scissors video in has been wiped out due to the wildfires in LA,” Michaels wrote in a comment on YouTube, pinned for viewers to see. “I feel so deeply sad for the family that lent their home to us to create this video. I just have no words for the devastation that has transpired in such a short span of time. If you are able to give anything to help this family rebuild donate here.”
She shared the link to a GoFundMe started by a friend of the family facing the loss of their home. As of Saturday (Jan. 11), the fund’s donation goal is close to being met.
In an Instagram Story, Morris wrote, “the house we just shot Scissors in sadly was lost in the fires. it was a cute family’s home… I got ready in their kid’s bathroom. now it’s this. between floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, ugh. my heart breaks for every child who doesn’t get to go home, the animals displaced. my heart breaks for mother earth.”
For health alerts, evacuation updates and shelter information amid the ongoing wildfires in California, go to L.A. County’s emergency website here. A list of organizations helping those impacted by the wildfires is here.
In her Instagram post about “Scissors” on Friday, Michaels had said, “I hope you like this video as much as we enjoyed making it and that it captures a little of the magic and beauty that is Altadena foothills,” after praising Morris and the team behind the shoot: “So proud of this video and getting to create this song with some truly incredible people. @marenmorris, I am so in awe of you, your voice, your talent, the woman you are. What an honor it is that I get to sing with you AGAIN.”
The music video for “Scissors” is a cheeky one that matches the lighthearted tone of the pop tune, with the ladies singing about cutting a lover off, and out, of their life. Michaels and Morris coyly play on the lyrics with visual references of actual scissors (and scissorhands) coming for a man in bed … and end the clip with the sound of a quick snip.
“Scissors” is the first single of 2025 from both artists, and it follows their 2024 collab, “Cut!” Morris teased their new song ahead of its release in a red carpet interview with Billboard at the Golden Globes last weekend, saying, “Y’all are not ready. It’s so, so good. The video is so funny.”
See the “Scissors” video below.