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10 Jun 2024

16 Times Rap and R&B Stars Curated or Executive Produced 21st Century Movie Soundtracks

From paying homage to the African continent to packing a punch with boxing ring-ready jams, R&B and rap artists and producers have made memorable movie soundtracks that can fit any scene and that are filled with their own all-star casts.

Eminem not only had his first starring role in the 2002 semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile, but he also executive produced its soundtrack. Thirteen years later, Slim Shady helmed the official soundtrack for Southpaw. Eminem was originally supposed to play the lead role of Billy Hope, and Southpaw screenwriter Kurt Sutter told Deadline in 2010, “in a way, this is a continuation of the 8 Mile story, but rather than a literal biography, we are doing a metaphorical narrative of the second chapter of his life.” (Eminem eventually passed on the lead role, which went to Jake Gyllenhaal, to focus on music.)

Jay-Z executive produced The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film in 2013, with Jeymes Samuel (also known by his stage name The Bullitts) as executive music consultant. Almost a decade later, the two worked together again on The Harder They Fall in 2021, which Samuel directed, co-wrote and co-produced; Hov co-produced the film and executive produced the soundtrack.

Jay-Z, Future, Pharrell Williams and Shawn Stockman have all pulled double duty by producing the films they also helmed the soundtracks for, while Eminem and Metro Boomin are the only stars featured on this list who star in the films they also helped make the music for (since we’re counting Metro’s cameo as Metro Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse last year). Plenty of artists have made “cameos” on others’ soundtracks, from Future appearing on Metro’s Spider-Verse soundtrack and Kendrick Lamar‘s Black Panther: The Album to Lamar appearing on Beyoncé‘s The Lion King: The Gift to Hov appearing on Bey’s The Lion King: The Gift, Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album (which Hit-Boy co-executive produced) and Eminem’s 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture.

And with all this star power fueling these film soundtracks from the front and back ends, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that so many of them have been recognized at major award shows. Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift, which was nominated for best pop vocal album at the 2020 Grammy Awards, produced a Grammy-nominated hit and a Grammy-winning hit: “Brown Skin Girl” by Bey, Blue Ivy Carter, SAINt JHN and Wizkid won best music video at the 2021 Grammy Awards (making Blue Ivy the second-youngest Grammy winner in history at age 9), while “Spirit” was up for best pop solo performance and best song written for visual media at the 2020 Grammy Awards. “Fight For You” by H.E.R. from Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album won best traditional R&B performance at the 2022 Grammys.

“Spirit,” “Fight For You,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA‘s “All the Stars” and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” from 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture have also earned best original song nods at the Golden Globe Awards in various years, with “Fight For You” eventually taking home the trophy. H.E.R.’s hit also won best original song at the 2021 Academy Awards, which Slim Shady’s smash won 18 years prior and Dot and SZA’s monster collab was nominated for two years prior. “All the Stars” was nominated for song of the year, record of the year, best song written for visual media and best rap/sung performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards, while “King’s Dead” with Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake won best rap performance and was nominated for best rap song.

“Lose Yourself” also won best rap song and best male rap solo performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, when Kill Bill Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack — which RZA co-executive produced — was up for best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media. The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film was nominated for best compilation soundtrack for visual media at the 2014 Grammy Awards, while “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey was up for best song written for visual media.

Billboard rounded up 16 times rap and R&B artists and producers have curated or executive produced 2000s movie soundtracks, in order from newest to oldest.

10 Jun 2024

Eminem’s ‘Houdini’ Unlocks No. 1 Debut on Billboard Global Charts

Eminem’s “Houdini” magically appears at No. 1 in its first week on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. It becomes the rapper’s first leader on the lists, which began in September 2020.

“Houdini” is additionally the first song to debut atop Global Excl. U.S. and the U.S.-based Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. One other track has led the three rankings, although it didn’t enter at No. 1 on them: Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” last year.

The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

“Houdini” launches atop the Global 200 with 121.4 million streams and 72,000 sold worldwide May 31-June 6. The streaming sum marks the highest in a single week for a title that has also hit the Hot Rap Songs chart, besting the 118 million that Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” drew three weeks earlier.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” holds at its No. 2 Global 200 high; Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” drops to No. 3 after two weeks at the summit; Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, descends 3-4, three weeks after it debuted at No. 1; and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” returns to its No. 5 best from No. 6.

On Global Excl. U.S., “Houdini” debuts at No. 1 with 73.3 million streams and 23,000 sold outside the U.S. May 31-June 6. As on the Global 200, the song’s streaming total is the highest in a single week for a track that has also reached Hot Rap Songs; it passes the 64.9 million logged by Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” on the Oct. 7, 2023, chart.

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” slides to No. 2 following four weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.; FloyyMenor and Cris Mj’s “Gata Only” holds at its No. 3 high; and Billie Eilish rounds out the top five with two tracks: “Birds of a Feather” flies 11-4, surpassing its prior No. 9 peak reached two weeks earlier upon its debut, and “Lunch” falls to No. 5 after spending its first two weeks on the chart at No. 2.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated June 15, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, June 11. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

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.

10 Jun 2024

Fans Choose Feid’s ‘Sorry 4 That Much’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music Latin

Feid‘s latest single, “Sorry 4 That Much,” has topped this week’s new music Latin poll.

In a poll published on Friday (June 7) — in support of the weekly New Music Latin roundup and playlist, curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — music fans voted for the Colombian artist’s latest track as their favorite music release of the week.

“Sorry 4 That Much” generated more than 65% of the vote, beating out other new releases that dropped this week, including Natti Natasha’s “Quiéreme Menos,” Christian Nodal’s “Kbron y Medio,” Joaquina’s “Pesimista” and Fariana and Oro Solido’s “El Caballito,” plus a new joint EP by Maluma and Blessd, titled 1 of 1. Coming in second place on the poll was J Balvin and Chencho Corleone’s “Polvo de tu Vida” with 28% of the vote.

The reggaetón hitmaker dropped “Sorry 4 That Much” on Friday (June 7), which showcases a more melancholic side to Feid. In “Sorry,” he explores a romantic relationship that has changed over time, even after doing all he can to make that relationship work. The music video was filmed in the streets of Japan, where Feid launched his sold-out comic book The Green Man back in April.

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Currently on his FERXXOCALIPSIS World Tour, Feid will wrap up the U.S. leg of the trek on July 8 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Last week, music fans voted for Jhayco’s latest single “Torii” as their favorite music release. The song generated nearly 25% of the votes.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below:

10 Jun 2024

Asake Announces Lungu Boy World Tour: Here Are the Dates

Asake announced on Monday (June 10) that he’ll be embarking on the Lungu Boy World Tour across North America and Europe.

The 14-date trek begins on June 26 at Afro Nation Portugal and features more festival performances at Wireless Festival in London and Afro Nation Detroit, as well as major venue stops at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena and NYC’s Madison Square Garden before wrapping on Oct. 6 at Promiseland Festival in Gold Coast.

The Lungu Boy World Tour will support Asake’s upcoming third studio album, which is due later this summer. He was recently featured on “Goodbye (Warm Up)” from Ayra Starr‘s sophomore album, The Year I Turned 21, and “Get it Right” from Tems‘ debut album, Born in the Wild.

Tickets for the Grammy-nominated Nigerian artist’s North American dates will be available starting with an artist presale on Wednesday, June 12, at 10 a.m. local time. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale, which starts on Friday, June 14, at 10 a.m. local time at asaketour.com.

Tickets for his and U.K. and European dates will be available starting with a Mastercard presale in select markets (Mastercard cardholders will have special access to presale tickets in France and the Netherlands starting from Wednesday, June 12, at 10 a.m. local time until Friday, June 14, when preferred ticket access becomes available starting at 10 a.m. local time) and an artist presale on Wednesday, June 12, at 10 a.m. local time.

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Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale, which starts on Friday, June 14, at 10 a.m. local time.  

See the Lungu Boy World Tour dates below.

10 Jun 2024

Gamma CEO Larry Jackson Says Drake Is ‘Bigger’ Than All Artists of the ”70s, ’80s & ’90s Combined’

Gamma CEO and last year’s Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Executive of the Year Larry Jackson sat down with Joe Budden for a one-on-one interview that launched June 6. Jackson, who was once Apple Music’s global creative director, had an interesting thought to share about Drake’s streaming numbers. About an hour into the interview, Budden asks whether or not Drake’s business deals are “a point of contention with his peers.” Choosing not to go into detail, Jackson says, “I can’t answer that question, that’s not appropriate of my place, I have to definitely display good cultural etiquette.”

Budden then explains a theory he has about the Toronto rapper’s relationship with Jackson and his label, Gamma. “My wild theory was that Drake had to have some type of hand in Gamma, which is why he’s promoting [Rick] Ross albums and Sexyy Red, and he must have some type of deal that’s not even available to other people to whereas he gets to be the owner and player,” he shared. “Like he’s twofold right now and it seems to be causing a lot of trouble.”

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The executive then asked if Budden wants the truth and began talking about how he and his partner, Gamma president Ike Youssef, knocked on doors because they believed in their idea for their label. “Private equity was investing so much money into catalogues because capital was cheap in 2019, 2020,” he said. “Interest rates were very low so borrowing capital was easy.”

Jackson then said streaming has made it easier for investors to predict “insight into recurring revenue,” but still no one believed in their vision of “investing in the frontline business.”

He finally got to Drake and their relationship, and puts the artist’s streaming numbers into perspective. “The thing I will say to you about [Drake] you just mentioned, is that if you look at his music, he’s bigger than the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s combined,” he said. “I don’t mean like one artist from that era, I mean all of those eras combined.”

“All the things that we achieved when I was at Apple, with the individual that you’re noting [Drake], imbued me with the confidence and the courage of my conviction to go out and do what we’re doing right now,” Jackson continued. “Can you put a price tag on that? No, you can’t.”

Back when Jackson was Apple’s global creative director, he was instrumental in launching Drake’s OVO Sound Radio on Beats 1 in 2015. Also, Drake’s 2016 album Views was an Apple Music exclusive a week prior to the project being available on other streaming services such as Spotify and Tidal. At the time, Views set a streaming record with 1.04 million equivalent album units in its first week, and debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

You can watch the full interview below.

10 Jun 2024

Harvard Law Must Rethink Its Summer Contribution Policy, Which Negatively Impacts Need-Based Students — Particularly Those of Color (Guest Column)

As the founder of LaPolt Law, a Los Angeles-based entertainment firm, I actively seek out talented students from underrepresented backgrounds to promote diversity within my firm and provide these students with an opportunity that their privileged counterparts may take for granted. I have been working with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), co-founded by my esteemed colleague and co-writer of this piece, Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, since 2021, and I currently serve as their executive leadership council. Our collective aim remains steadfast: to champion diversity and promote developmental opportunities for minorities in the music industry.  

Recently, my firm was set to hire a Black woman from Harvard Law School for an internship position. However, the candidate encountered a significant obstacle due to Harvard’s Summer Contribution Policy. I was dismayed when I learned she couldn’t accept the offer because the school’s policy would require that she apply 90% of her summer internship earnings to her tuition bill, which would have made it impossible for her to afford to live in Los Angeles for the summer and pay her bills, while also helping to support her family. 

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Most aspiring law students seek admission to a top law school for the promise of excellent job prospects. This is particularly true for students from underserved communities and underrepresented students of color who face significant barriers at the outset of their careers. For these underrepresented students able to attend these high-ranked institutions and secure summer employment, it serves as an opportunity to not only change their own circumstances but those of their families.  However, at Harvard, the No. 5 law school in the nation, the financial support for need-based students becomes challenging as the institution deducts up to 90% of students’ summer employment income and applies it to the next year’s tuition bill. 

Pursuing a career in “Big Law” allows students to earn a salary upwards of $200,000 post-grad and a pro-rated version of this salary as a summer associate. For students from affluent backgrounds, this path often continues building generational wealth. For students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, it offers a chance to change the trajectory of their families’ lives by providing additional income to support household and medical bills.  

Harvard Law’s Summer Contribution Policy stretches beyond those students working in Big Law summer associateships by imposing this policy on any student earning over $9,500. Those accepted to Harvard Law are typically aware the school doesn’t offer merit scholarships, but many students only grasp the significant impact of the policy when they embark on their 1L summer job search, often realizing its implications too late. The policy disproportionately impacts those who receive need-based aid, the majority of whom are students of color. 

While some entertainment internships may escape the policy’s impact, others, such as at Disney and certain boutique/mid-sized firms, are impacted as their pay can place a student over the $9,500 threshold. Considering the difficulty of breaking into the entertainment industry, forgoing these summer opportunities can make a Harvard Law student’s dream of working in entertainment harder to realize. 

With its $9,500 allowance, the Summer Contribution Policy fails to adequately support students, especially those pursuing summer employment in major entertainment cities such as Los Angeles and New York, where the average monthly rent is over $2,000. This perpetuates a cycle for low-income students of color: they receive need-based financial aid, obtain high-earning summer employment opportunities and lose most of their earnings (which are absorbed by Harvard), leaving these students economically disadvantaged or reliant on additional loans. Rinse and repeat. This cycle persists throughout their time at Harvard and contrasts starkly with the experience of wealthier students who do not rely on need-based aid.  

Despite numerous attempts to eliminate or amend the policy through longstanding protests, the students’ informal movement has been unsuccessful. In a world where students of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds must work twice as hard to succeed and three times as hard to be heard, Harvard Law’s Summer Contribution Policy reflects the disadvantages these students face and thus, needs to be abolished or modified to accommodate these students instead of targeting them. My recent experience underscores the challenges faced by aspiring professionals from marginalized communities and emphasizes the importance of advocating for equitable policies within educational institutions to ensure equal access to opportunities for all students, regardless of their financial circumstances. 

Dina LaPolt, owner and founder of LaPolt Law, P.C., is an entertainment attorney and activist. LaPolt Law is the only firm of its stature owned and operated by a sole female attorney. As a result of her activism in the Black community, Dina was a recipient of the Black Music Action Coalition’s Change Agent Award, and she also serves on the organization’s Executive Leadership Council. 

Willie “Prophet” Stiggers is a lifelong activist, music executive and co-founder/CEO/president of the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC).  Prophet has built BMAC into a unified force of action for racial equity and justice within the music industry and a catalyst using the power of music to improve communities and drive systemic change. 

10 Jun 2024

Paris Thieves Crash Car Into Chanel Store For Smash And Grab Heist

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Luxury stores are still a big target for the criminal underworld. Thieves crashed a car into the Chanel store in Paris for a heist.

As reported by Raw Story one of the brand’s most popular brick and mortar locations got hit last week. In the early hours of Monday, June 10 a team ram-raided a truck into the doors of the Chanel store located at 52 Av. des Champs-Élysées. Once the automobile had caused the structure to weaken the thieves proceed to enter the establishment and helped themselves to the goods on the sales floor. Prior to leaving the scene they set the car on fire and escaped on motorbikes. 

Police and firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after and put out the blaze. “The individuals used a first vehicle to enter the establishment, smashing the window, before fleeing in a second vehicle, taking some of the shop’s merchandise with them” a police source said. Another source close the investigation says they believe the crew consisted of four individuals. Back in May a Harry Winston store suffered a similar robbery where a team of thieves stuck the place up with long weapons and left on motorbikes. Police estimate Harry Winston lost anywhere from $6.5 million and $10.8 million in jewelry. 

Chanel has yet to formally comment on the matter.

10 Jun 2024

Bad Bunny Celebrates Most Wanted Tour Finale With Three Sold-Out Puerto Rico Shows

Bad Bunny delivers a spectacular show on any stage, but there’s nothing like seeing the megastar at home in Puerto Rico, performing for his day-ones. After wrapping up his Most Wanted Tour in the U.S., Benito brought the show to el Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan. All three shows, including last Sunday’s (June 9) finale, sold out.

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Benito gifted locals an extra-special event, packed with guest appearances and hometown-specific elements not offered elsewhere.

Most tellingly, he opened with a video montage created specifically for this weekend’s shows. In it, he reflects on the excitement of the earlier tour dates, but makes clear that performing at home is like nothing else. Nobody will better appreciate his work than his fellow Puerto Ricans on the archipelago, he says in the clip, before concluding: If you’ve seen Bad Bunny perform, but you haven’t seen him in Puerto Rico, then you haven’t really seen him at all.

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On Friday’s, Saturday’s and last night’s shows, a youthful, classical orchestra directed by Colombian musician Carlitos López was both the opening act and a live band. The orchestra was also a major feature of the U.S. dates; this weekend, however, the first number was different. The orchestra opened with “La Borinqueña,” Puerto Rico’s official anthem. The crowd came to attention quickly, shifting from anticipatory pre-show bustle into a beautiful choir.

Centered around his latest release, 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana album, the U.S. dates featured two stages at opposite ends and a moving runway that descends from above. The Coliseo setup was the same — and considering the overwhelming number of cargo trailers outside the venue, it’s safe to assume Bad Bunny had the exact setup shipped in.

When the video went black, the orchestra began three Western-inspired overtures, setting a somber, solitary tone, before moving into “Nadie Sabe.” The orchestral opening and subsequent accompaniment was pretty ingenious in the satisfying cohesion it brought; the soundtrack of a companionless cowboy pairs well with the loneliness of fame, which Bad Bunny explores in the track’s lyrics.

When Bad Bunny rose, surrounded by fog, from a hidden opening in one of the stages, the crowd roared mightily. He maintained a stoic demeanor befitting the song, though — then hunched over his gleaming, silver mic at the end as fans chanted “Benito, Benito!”

The coliseum rattled as “Monaco” rolled in, then out — and Bad Bunny took a long moment to look around the giant space. He didn’t smile, yet he looked content. He nodded as if in acknowledgment of the love beaming at him from every direction.

Then came the guest appearances: Joining first for “Fina” was Young Miko, who bounced around the stage between dancers with a big black bow adorning her long blonde hair. Then came Mora for “Hibiki,” and later Yovngchimi for “Mercedes Carota” and Bryant Myers for “Seda.” Benito slowed the show there, stopping for a lights-off pep talk for fans, essentially about being yourself fully, regardless of the hate or admiration you receive.

Moving to the opposite stage, Luar La L hopped on for “Telefono Nuevo.” Shortly after, two lucha libre wrestlers appeared on the opposite stage. It was an awesomely bizarre method of distraction — meanwhile, Eladio Carrión was joining Bad Bunny on the runway to run through a slew of their collaborations.

Another stretch of Most Wanted feels like a piano bar, with only a pianist accompanying Benito as he runs through hits from his growing discography. He got extra playful with the element last night, though, playing a sort of guess-the-song game with fans. The pianist would play a few notes, he’d sing, then stop — did fans know the song? Of course, they always did. He apparently improvised plenty, as eventually the pianist stopped playing and it was only Bad Bunny singing a few bars — before, again, checking to see if fans knew the song. The game seemed to delight him. Here, he smiled plenty.

Again, special to these Puerto Rico dates, the mystery pianist’s identity was finally revealed. She’d been masked at every show since the start of Most Wanted, but removed the covering at the end of the set here, as Benito introduced her to the crowd as Tiffany Román.

Later, De La Ghetto rolled in for “Acho PR.” Then Arcángel hopped in for several cuts — the crowd went wild. Bomba players also joined onstage, with cabezudos wearing the mask also worn by Bad Bunny in the album visuals, as well as by the orchestra player and pianist.

There’s some practical rationale to the overabundance of guest stars in Puerto Rico, of course. It’s logistically easier for these artists to appear in concert alongside Bad Bunny when he’s playing where everyone’s based. Still, it’s a treat concertgoers simply can’t get anywhere but else but here.

In total, the Puerto Rico shows were each about an hour longer than the U.S. shows. Call it preferential treatment, and you’d be right — but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. His hometown fans are the reason Bad Bunny is who is today, and they’re forever his foundation. They deserve the best, and it’s beautiful that Bad Bunny never forgets it.

10 Jun 2024

X Celebrates ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Going #1, Bigs Up Will Smith

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Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Miami Premiere

Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the fourth film in the Bad Boys franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, proved that audiences are still locked in with the pair. As a result, fans are saluting Will Smith for bouncing back from the shocking Oscars slap incident with many saying they never intended to abandon him.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die opened to $56 million in box office sales in the United States and an additional $48.6 million globally, bringing the total haul to $104.6 million, according to a report from Variety.

There have been rumblings of the lack of huge hits at the theater. Yet, it appears that by most metrics, the buddy-cop action flick is a huge success and proved that audiences have stuck by Will Smith. While Hollywood seemed set on leaving him behind after he slapped Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the Oscars two years ago, fans are rallying around him like never before.

The film also highlights the comedic and acting talents of Martin Lawrence, who has to continually assure audiences that he’s in good health while proving he’s still got great onscreen chemistry with Smith. Some reports online suggest that Lawrence, playing the straight man, stole many of the scenes.

Smith also witnessed the warm embrace of his fans in person after secretly attending a premiere of Bad Boys: Ride or Die and revealing to attendees he was in the audience with them the entire time. If the early success of the film isn’t an indicator that fans are back on the side of Will Smith, the interactions with those excited fans certainly stand as confirmation.

On Twitter, fans are praising the success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Will Smith. Check out the reactions below.

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Photo: Manny Hernandez / Getty

10 Jun 2024

Ricky Martin, Kylie Minogue & More: Best Performance Photos From Pride 2024

While Pride Month was born out of a series of protests for equality for the LGBTQ+ community, the annual commemoration has since grown to become the largest celebration of the community in 2024. And part of that celebration includes a series of music festivals.

In 2024, artists have showed up to support and celebrate queer and trans people for Pride Month through a series of festivals and performances across the globe. For WeHo Pride’s kickoff concerts, artists including Kylie Minouge, Janelle Monáe, Diplo, Kesha, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Adam Lambert took to the stage at OUTLOUD Music Festival. Los Angeles’ pride festival, meanwhile, featured performances from Ricky Martin, MUNA, JoJo Siwa and Tokischa.

Speaking to Billboard about her Pride performances, Ellis-Bextor summed up why these shows were important to her, and to the community at large. “It’s a very inclusive, supportive, warm audience,” she said. “I know we talk a lot about being your authentic self to the point where we kind of don’t think about what that means. But actually, being able to feel comfortable in your own skin is one of the biggest things you can do for someone … I think the fact you get that in a very pure form at events like Pride is just a really joyous thing.”

Outside of California, cities such as Chicago, New York, London, São Paolo and New Orleans are set to ring in Pride Month with concerts of their own, featuring artists including Tinashe, Christine and the Queens, Slayyyter, Shea Couleé, Pattie Gonia and plenty of others.

Below, Billboard has compiled some of the best photos taken of artists during Pride Month 2024. Take a look: