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50 Cent Says Kendrick Lamar ‘Deserves’ Super Bowl Halftime Show Slot: ‘Right Now, He’s the Guy’

Much has been made about Kendrick Lamar’s selection as the headlining performer at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, but 50 Cent thinks it’s K. Dot’s time to shine.

50 stopped by The Talk on Friday (Sept. 13), where he defended K. Dot being the right pick to take the Super Bowl LIX stage in New Orleans next year.

“I mean, it was a choice. I think Kendrick deserves [it]. As a solo artist right now, he’s the guy,” said 50 Cent, who made a cameo at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performance in Los Angeles alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. “Having the game be in New Orleans, I could see why they got the Wayne [idea].”

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The Queens rapper thinks Lamar should bring out the artists he has “featured on big records” in his decorated discography. (Billboard compiled a list of possible special guests filled with he likes of SZA, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Travis Scott and more.)

The Super Bowl discussion led into the Drake versus Kendrick feud, which 50 thought was “good for the culture” since it pushed two of the best to elevate their artistry and output.

“Both Drake and Kendrick produced quality music faster because they had to compete with each other,” he added. “That competitive nature made them go work and have responses. Hip-hop is still … it’s not just a genre where you can just make a song and sit back. You have to make a song and be ready to make a song again right away with other artists.”

Other artists have had plenty to say about Kendrick’s Halftime Show selection. Nicki Minaj, Master P, Cam’ron and more have spoken out about the NFL’s decision to overlook Lil Wayne as a headliner in his hometown.

Watch the interview with 50 Cent below.



Watch Taylor Swift Swoon During Travis Kelce’s Entrance at the Chiefs-Bengals Game

Taylor Swift was feeling the sparks fly when Travis Kelce first came on the field at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals game Sunday (Sept. 15).

Once again in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on her favorite NFL team, the 34-year-old pop star attracted lots of eyes as she viewed the match from her usual perch in a box suite alongside friends and family. And before the game started, fan cameras captured her sweet reaction to a certain tight end entering the field: As announcers called out Kelce’s name while the entire stadium exploded, Swift set down her drink and started fanning herself, rolling her eyes upward in a swooning expression.  

The 14-time Grammy winner then recovered her composure and joined the other thousands of fans in clapping for Kelce, who went on to assist his team in winning a close 26-25 against the Ohio players. In the lead-up to Harrison Butker’s game-ending kick, Swift conversed with her mom, Andrea, and brother, Austin, as well as Kelce’s mom, Donna. At one point, both the “Anti-Hero” singer and tight end’s mothers appeared to hug.

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The outing came 10 days after the Chiefs’ first game of the 2024-25 season at Arrowhead, which Swift attended wearing a chic denim crop top and red thigh-high boots. For Game 2, the musician sported a T-shirt dress blasted with Kansas City logos and a black pair of thigh-highs.

In between the two games — both of which occurred amid Swift’s ongoing break from the Eras Tour — the star attended the MTV Video Music Awards, where she won seven trophies including best collaboration and video of the year for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. While accepting the latter, Swift gave Kelce a special shout-out.

“I would always just hear someone cheering, like, ‘Whoo!’ from across the studio — that one person was my boyfriend, Travis,” she recalled of filming the visual with the tight end on set. “Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.”

See clips of Swift at the Chiefs-Bengals game below.

JD Vance Admits to Making Up Stories To Garner Media Attention

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Donald Trump Makes Campaign Stop In North Carolina

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During last week’s debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump put a target on the backs of legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio by baselessly claiming that they were kidnapping and eating people’s cats and dogs.

Since then not only has the town had to deal with bomb threats at schools and buildings, but the woman who started the rumor, Erika Lee publicly apologized saying she didn’t know just how hateful the public’s reaction would be to the Haitian community in Ohio.

Still, Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance continued to double down on the racist rhetoric and in a surprising admission, JD Vance said he has no problem peddling false stories as long as it brings attention to their cause. On Sunday (Sep.15), Vance was interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash and was pressed about the growing animosity that MAGA country has towards the Haitian community over the baseless cats and dogs rumors and not only justified their divisive rhetoric but also said he’d be willing to makeup stories on the campaign trail if he has to.

“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes… If I have to, if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m gonna do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast.”

For her part, Kamala Harris isn’t singling out any specific group of America’s population to get people to pay attention to her campaign. Just sayin.’

While this was definitely the kind of thing that should’ve been dominating the news cycle for the next few days, another “attempted assassination” of Donald Trump was foiled in Florida and now we have to deal with those conspiracy theories even though it was perpetrated by a former Trump supporter with a history of mental illness.

So yeah, far-right politics in 2024.

Check out JD Vance blow up his own spot below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Meet the Baby: Watch Cardi B’s Super Sweet Hospital Home Movie Welcoming Her Third Child With Offset

Cardi B is sharing her home movies. After announcing that she and estranged husband Offset welcomed their third baby together on Sept. 7, Cardi pulled the curtain back on her bundle of joy in a one-minute TikTok video on Sunday (Sept. 15).

The clip from Cardi’s hospital room entitled “Babygirl” [followed by three pink flower emoji] opens with soft piano and a peek at the monitor announcing that the baby — whose name has not yet been revealed — weighed in at 5 lbs. 9 oz. We then see a nurse telling Cardi “you did so amazing, I’m so proud of you. She’s so perfect,” as the newborn cries her first cry and is placed on mama’s chest.

Offset is next, getting his chance to bond with his daughter during bare chest snuggle time before Cardi introduces the newest member the family to her two other children with ‘Set in a sweet FaceTime chat. “Look at the baby sister!” Cardi says as big sis Kulture, 6, says hi to her mom and asks if the baby is sleeping while little brother Wave, 3, hangs in the background.

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“Yeah, she’s little,” Cardi responds. We then see a montage of images, including Cardi breastfeeding and having quiet time while nurses take the baby’s measurements and get her footprint for the birth certificate. Wave and Kulture show up toward the end of the clip, with Kulture doing a great job cradling her new sister in her lap while dad keeps Wave occupied.

The video ends with Cardi giving her daughter a sweet, loving kiss on the forehead and staring deeply into the newborn’s face.

Last week Cardi announced the birth of her third baby with Offset, sharing photos from the hospital and calling her “the prettiest lil thing.” Cardi announced she was pregnant with baby No. 3 in August on the same day Billboard confirmed she’d filed for divorce from the rapper for a second time. The birth makes Offset the father of six, adding to his older children from different relationships, Jordan, 14 and Kody and Kalea, both 9.

Thomas Rhett Is Hitting the Road for Better In Boots Tour Next Year

Thomas Rhett will be kicking up his boots in 2025, when his Better In Boots Tour launches in June.

The Live Nation-produced tour will bring Thomas Rhett’s energy-fueled show and cascade of nearly two dozen No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay chart hits to 30 cities across North America, in states including New York, Virginia, Florida and Georgia. “Wind Up Missin’ You” hitmaker Tucker Wetmore will offer direct support on the tour, while “Austin” singer Dasha and sibling trio The Castellows will perform on select shows.

The tour will follow Thomas Rhett’s seventh album About a Woman, which released in August. The album features “Don’t Wanna Dance,” which interpolates Whitney Houston’s smash hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” as well as songs such as “Fool,” “Can’t Love You Anymore” and “Overdrive,” which draw on inspirations from artists ranging from The Oak Ridge Boys, Alan Jackson and The Rolling Stones.

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Five-time Grammy nominee Rhett recently told Billboard about another song from the album, “Church,” which pays homage to both fellow country singer Eric Church’s music, as well as Rhett’s own love story with his wife, Lauren.

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“This is Lauren’s favorite on the album, because when we were in high school, I bought [Church’s] Carolina record, which was his second album,” he says. “I had to buy a new copy every three months because I just wore it out. It kept skipping — but he was like our Zach Bryan. He was that dude who kind of got played on the radio but could care less if he was or not, and he was kind of grungy and would say things in songs that most people weren’t saying. I learned the entire album on acoustic guitar, and any time we were at a party, that’s all I played — so this song means a lot to us, because he was the soundtrack to our teenage years.”

Tickets for most of the Better In Boots tour dates will go on sale Friday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. local time on Thomas Rhett‘s website, with the remaining shows going on sale in the coming weeks.

See the full list of the Better in Boots 2025 Tour dates below:

Chappell Roan Compares Fame to an ‘Abusive Ex-Husband,’ Reveals Lorde Gave Her a List of Advice

Chappell Roan has been open about the downfalls of fame amid her meteoric rise to household-name status this year — but luckily, she has people like Lorde in her corner. 

In her The Face cover story published Monday (Sept. 16), the 26-year-old musician opened up about a time the 27-year-old “Green Light” singer came to her rescue during a recent situation that made Roan compare stardom to a toxic relationship. “I feel like fame is just abusive,” Roan told the publication. “The vibe of this – stalking, talking s–t online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public – is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband. That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”  

While crying in an airport bathroom after a man berated her for refusing to sign posters — just one of several instances of toxic fan behavior Roan has endured over the past few months — the Missouri native says she texted Lorde for advice. “She sent me a list of things I should do [in that situation],” Roan continued. “Literally wrote down eight things she wished someone would have told her when she was going through it. And she went through f–king hell. She was a baby!” 

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Lorde is one of many female musicians who’ve rallied around Roan this year, in addition to Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Lizzo, Katy Perry and Phoebe Bridgers, who’ve individually offered her their support since the “Good Luck, Babe!” vocalist’s star exploded this spring. In another recent interview with Rolling Stone, Roan also noted that she and fellow 2024 breakout Sabrina Carpenter have been commiserating over their recent career booms. 

“No one understands that it truly falls all on you,” she told The Face of the “Espresso” singer. “No one understands except other artists … Sabrina [Carpenter] even texted me: ‘Hey, I feel crazy. I know you feel crazy.’ So it’s, like, girlies leaning on each other.”  

Through it all, the public has watched as Roan has grown more confident speaking out about what makes her uncomfortable. In August, for instance, she called out the “predatory behavior” of certain boundary-crossing fans in a series of posts on social media, and on Sept. 11, she yelled “Shut the f–k up!” at a photographer on the VMAs red carpet before going on to win best new artist during the ceremony. 

“They were immediately, immediately supportive,” Roan added of her fellow female pop stars. ​“It’s been so amazing, because I’m very scared and confused.”

See Roan’s The Face covers below.

Nicki Minaj Announces ‘Pink Friday 3’ Album to Replace ‘PF2: Gag City Reloaded’ Deluxe

It’s a new era for Nicki Minaj. The Barbz leader announced over the weekend that instead of releasing the Pink Friday 2 deluxe, she’s decided to turn those songs into a completely new project with the third installment of the Pink Friday series.

Minaj was supposed to drop her PF2: Gag City Reloaded deluxe last Friday (Sept. 13), but the release date came and went without the set. Nicki clarified the album’s situation on Sunday (Sept. 15), when she revealed that Pink Friday 3 is on the way, and fans can expect another announcement regarding the project’s arrival in the coming weeks.

“Instead of doing a DELUXE to Pink Friday 2, I’ve decided to do a brand new album. I’ll still incorporate new songs like #Mamita & [The ‘anxiety’ song] for the remainder of the tour tho…and I’ll announce the new date within the next couple weeks,” she tweeted. “The new music is just too good to be thrown away on a deluxe album. Last night, the songs I recorded were just way too iconic. I love you guys so much. You know that. I know you do. I’ll still give you something leading up to the announcement, so no worries.”

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Nicki continued: “PF3 is about to do PRECISELY wtf BEEN needed to be done. TRUST ME BARBZ. IM SO EXCITED. BLESSED. LOVED (by the Barbz) & fortunately (for the Barbz & me), I’ve learned A LOT since 12/08/23. PF2 means so much to me. As my 1st album as #PapaBear mama, it’s just very special to me for so many reasons you guys aren’t aware of. I put every song on there in a specific order, etc. So to honor that, I’m going to give it the respect & integrity it deserves as a beautiful body of work & not add anything else to it.”

The Queens rapper explained that “1 or 2 songs is no big deal but 5-7 songs feels a little sloppy right now (In my humble opinion).” She added: “This era has just been so successful, rewarding, satisfying, etc. after much thought, I want to be for CERTAIN that I am being intentional about every single decision being made around both PF2 AND PF3.”

Nicki Minaj is currently on the road for the second leg of her North American Pink Friday 2 World Tour. She’ll be in Dallas on Tuesday (Sept. 17), and then makes stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Miami and Raleigh, and wraps up in Queens on Oct. 11.

Pink Friday 2 arrived on Dec. 8, 2023, and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 228,000 album-equivalent units, according to Luminate. That sum is the largest week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade, and the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.

Cyndi Lauper Is All About Chappell Roan’s ‘Performance Art’ Style: ‘You Know I Love Those Visual Things’

There are so many reasons Cyndi Lauper loves Chappell Roan. But if you’re looking for a starting point, it’s “the hair alone.” That’s what Lauper told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Sunday (Sept. 15) when asked about the mutual admiration society the “She Bop” 1980s legend has with the rising “Good Luck, Babe!” singer.

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“And the fact that it’s performance art,” continued Lauper, who made a name in the early 1980s with her outrageous sartorial sense and quirky sensibility in videos from her 1983 She’s So Unusual album that helped push the boundaries of what artists could do in the then-new music video format. “And it’s visual, it’s so visual. You know I love those visual things, obviously,” added Lauper.

Asked to share some advice for Roan now that her profile has blown up and paparazzi are chasing her all over, fellow guest Paris Hilton said she doesn’t think the “Hot To Go” singer needs any advice from her, but she did say, “I think everyone should always be nice with everyone,” noting that she’s also a huge fan of Roan’s.

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Roan proved that she’s more than up to the task at last week’s VMAs, when she made her awards show performance debut with a Joan of Arc-like look for a run through “Good Luck, Babe!” that included swords, flaming arrows, knights and medieval mania that proved her best new artist win was well deserved.

In the midst of her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun farewell tour, Lauper was also asked by a call-in fan if she’d ever consider doing a Las Vegas residency. Without much dithering, the 71-year-old pop icon groaned, “I don’t know,” with host Andy Cohen saying, “kinda seems like a no from her response.”

“It’s just, you know what? The weather is really tough,” said native New Yorker Lauper, lamenting that the frequent triple-digit temperatures are too much for her. After playing Rock in Rio on Friday (Sept. 20), Lauper will kick off her final tour in earnest on Oct. 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Watch Lauper talk Roan on Watch What Happens Live below.



Jane’s Addiction Cancels Tour, Taking a Break After Perry Farrell Throws Punch at Dave Navarro During Concert

Jane says … the tour is over. Jane’s Addiction has canceled its tour midway through the band’s trek after frontman Perry Farrell threw a punch at guitarist Dave Navarro during the band’s show on Friday (Sept. 13) in Boston at the Leader Bank Pavilion.

“The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour,” the band said in a brief statement Monday (Sept. 16). Refunds will be issued at the point of purchase.

In fan-captured videos that went viral after the Friday show, Farrell is seen on stage singing toward the audience before turning to Navarro and screaming the lyrics, seemingly angrily. The frontman then makes his way over to the guitarist, continuing his scream, before body-checking the guitarist, backing away, then getting back in Navarro’s face to continue yelling while the guitarist-actor — who appears confused — calmly holds Farrell at arm’s length while the frontman continues to yell. Farrell then throws a punch at his guitarist, and a crew member comes on stage, telling Farrell repeatedly to “Stop! Stop!” More crew members rush to the stage to restrain the rocker and take him off stage.

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The next day, Jane’s Addiction issued a statement via the band’s Instagram Stories. “We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the statement read. The band then noted that the following show on Sunday (Sept. 15) at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater was canceled.

Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, shared a statement on her own Instagram after the altercation. Reposting video of the altercation, she explained how she saw the situation. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic,” she wrote. ” Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body checked him.”

“Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band,” she continued, noting that her husband had been battling a sore throat and tinnitus. “But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”

She went on to praise Navarro for trying to de-escalate the situation, noting that the guitarist “still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight,” while her husband was “a crazed beast” for a little bit. Added Etty, “He finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried.”

Jane’s Addiction — who logged one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and three No. 1 hits on the Alternative Airplay chart since forming in the mid-’80s — was about halfway through its tour alongside Love and Rockets. The tour — produced by Live Nation — had been scheduled to conclude on Oct. 16 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.

See Jane’s Addiction’s statement below.

6 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Billy Strings, Margo Price, Parker McCollum & More

This week, Billy Strings and Margo Price link up for a stoned-cold country sound, while Koe Wetzel offers a party-worthy romantic rebuff and Mae Estes sings a gut-punch of a song about the guys who give “good ‘ol boys” a bad name. This week’s crop of new tunes also features songs from Anne Wilson, Parker McCollum and more.

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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.

Billy Strings/Margo Price, “Too Stoned to Cry”



Americana mainstay Price welcomes prolific bluegrass artist Strings on guitar and vocals on this lilting heap of honky-tonk heartbreak, produced by Beau Bedford and written by Andrew Combs (and previously released on his 2014 album Worried Man). They sing of coping with touring life’s pressures and long hours through various vices — or as they put it, “Walking the line between hellbent and high.” The two singers’ world-weary voices bring a heft of believability to this sad country track.

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Anne Wilson, “Stand”



Earlier this year, Wilson made a genre-melding project with the country/contemporary Christian album Rebel, spearheaded by songs such as “Rain in the Rearview” and “Strong.” She continues in that vein with her latest, as she sings of summoning strength to “stand for love when all you see is hate.” Bright production and a balanced country-pop instinct are a shining foil for her powerful, twangy vocal and a message of holding fast to one’s convictions.

Mae Estes, “Good Ol’ Boys”



Estes lends her bluegrass-tinted lilt to this tale of small-town deception. She boldly sings of a “good ol’ boy” who seems unfailingly polite and picture perfect to the rest of the community. Thus, Estes sings, the members of that tight-knit town likely would never believe how his personality changes in private quarters. But to those his monstrous side has impacted, the concept of a “good ol’ boy” instills more wariness than trust. The writers here are Autumn McEntire, Marti Dodson and SJ McDonald.

Parker McCollum, “What Kinda Man”



Grungy guitar gives way to a ferocious mashup of harmonica, blazing rock and honky tonk twang on McCollum’s latest. “It’s harder than it looks to walk that line,” he sings, reminiscing about living life on the edge, until he meets the one who has him rethinking his ways. As always, McCollum offers up an exemplary, gritty and undoubtedly country vocal styling.

Angie K, “Stay”



El Salvador-born Angie K, known for songs including “Happily Ever After,” employs a grainy, soulful rasp that’s enticing on this romantic, bilingual track. Lush background vocals and velvety instrumentation, accented with flashes of Latin guitar, heighten the sultry flavor here. Angie K, David Borys, Tom Pino and Jason Haag are the writers behind the song. “Stay” is featured on Angie K’s self-titled EP, which will be released Oct. 25.

Koe Wetzel, “Casamigos”



Following the release of his ninth studio album 9 Lives in July, Wetzel finally releases this fan favorite. This laid-back rocker with an ample sing-along-chorus is an anthem of defiance. “Mary Jane took my license/ And Casamigos took my friend,” he sings, before making it clear that while a cascade of less-than-stellar decisions may have cost a few things dear to him, there is one romantic relationship in particular he’s just fine with losing. Wetzel brings a jam-band vibe and a display of bravura to this stinging romantic rebuff.