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02 Jun 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Announces ‘Megan’ Album & Reveals Release Date at Atlanta Show

It’s about to be a Hot Girl Summer. Megan Thee Stallion announced at her Atlanta tour stop on Sunday night (June 2) that her upcoming album will be titled Megan and it’s slated to arrive next month.

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After Friday (May 31) and Saturday night’s (June 1) ATL shows were canceled due to a water main break in the city, Meg delivered a special surprise for the patient fans filling State Farm Arena when she revealed that Megan will be released on June 28.

After the sold-out crowd was sent into a frenzy following the announcement, a QR code was shown alongside a special image on the jumbotron screens allowing attendees to pre-save the Hot Girl Productions album.

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Meg has previously explained that she looks at the project as a “rebirth” of Megan Thee Stallion with her first LP since the traumatic Tory Lanez shooting trial came to a close when the singer was sentenced to 10 years behind bars last August.

“This is music I would like if I wasn’t Megan Thee Stallion. I don’t want to say I’m tapping into other genres. I’m just tapping into other sounds. But it’s still very much Megan Thee Stallion. It won’t feel like I went so left. It’ll feel true to me,” she told L’OFFICIEL of the project earlier this week. “You’ll almost be like, ‘I wouldn’t have thought she would’ve rapped over that, but this sounds great.’”

The 29-year-old unleashed three serpentine-themed singles heading into her Traumazine follow-up with “HISS,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100, “COBRA” and the Gwen Stefani-sampling “BOA.”

Megan has a pair of Hot 100 entries on this week’s chart with “Wanna Be” featuring her tourmate GloRilla at No. 50, which should receive a boost courtesy of a new remix from Cardi B, along with “BOA” at No. 91.

The Houston Hottie will look to secure her first No. 1 album atop the Billboard 200 as previous releases Good News (No. 2) and 2022’s Traumazine (No. 4) failed to reach the apex.

The Hot Girl Summer Tour continues with stops next week in Raleigh, N.C., Hollywood, Fla., and Tampa Bay.

02 Jun 2024

Katy Perry Edits Harrison Butker’s Commencement Speech ‘For My Girls, My Graduates and My Gays’

Happy Pride from Katy Perry! As Pride Month begins, the pop star marked the occasion with a message of encouragement in the form of a heavily reworked take on the controversial — to say it lightly — grad speech given by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Harrison Butker at Benedictine College.

In a 20-minute speech on May 11, the football player condemned LGBTQ rights and attacked what he called “dangerous gender ideologies.” He spoke against abortion, birth control, IVF and surrogacy. He told female college graduates, whom he claims have been told “diabolical lies,” to embrace being a “homemaker.” 

“I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said, directing his words to the women who were there for their college graduation.

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“fixed this for my girls, my graduates, and my gays — you can do anything, congratulations and happy pride,” Perry captioned a post on Instagram on Saturday (June 1). She shared a Perry-approved version of Butker’s speech.

Here is a transcript of the edit of Butker’s commencement speech posted by Perry:

“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you’re going to get in your career? I would venture to guess the women here today are going to lead successful careers in the world. I say all of this to you because I have seen it firsthand: how much happier someone can be supporting women, and not saying that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. The road ahead is bright. Things are changing. Society is shifting and people young and old are embracing diversity, equity and inclusion. With that said, I want to say Happy Pride to all of you, and congratulations class of 2024.”

In a puzzling move, Butker’s speech had also quoted a lyric from Taylor Swift (“my teammate’s girlfriend,” he said, instead of naming names), apparently forgetting Swift’s decades-long dedication to her career; this week Swift, still on her historic international Eras Tour, holds onto No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the sixth week in a row with her latest studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the “teammate” in reference, weighed in on the speech on his New Heights podcast after his teammate’s words went viral. Kelce said in the seven years he’s known Butker, he’s viewed him as a “great person and great teammate.” “When it comes down to his views and what he said … those are his,” said Kelce. “I can’t say I agree with the majority of it, or just about any of it outside of him loving his family and his kids. I don’t think I should judge him by his views, especially his religious views, of how to go about life. That’s just not who I am.”

Watch Perry’s version of the much-talked-about commencement speech below. The star just finished her run on American Idol and has been teasing that new music is on the horizon.

02 Jun 2024

Chiquis Reveals She Had a Miscarriage Before Postponing Concert in New Mexico

Chiquis, who is on the road in support of her new album, suffered a miscarriage while getting ready for her concert Saturday (June 1).

Although she’d not yet shared the news of her pregnancy, the Mexican singer told fans in an Instagram update on Sunday that the miscarriage was the reason she had to postpone her concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Revel Entertainment Center Saturday night.

It would have been just the second date of her Diamantes Tour, following opening night in El Cajon, California, on May 30.

“To my fans in Albuquerque,” she wrote in an emotional note posted in both English and Spanish, “With a heavy heart, I wanted to let you know that my concert postponement last night happened because of a medical emergency that made it impossible for me to take the stage, physically as well as emotionally.”

“While I was at the venue getting ready for the show I suffered a miscarriage. I had not announced my pregnancy as it was in an early stage,” Chiquis said.

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With her fans in mind, she added, “I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. I promise to make the date up to you as soon as possible and your tickets will be honored. Your understanding means the world to me. My doctor has said I will be able to continue with the tour for my next dates in Texas, June 7th, 8th and 9th.”

The Latin-Grammy winning artist, who won best banda album for both Playlist (2020) and Abeja Reina (2022), has described her tour  as “a celebration of empowerment, self-expression and unity” and said she’ll create an “inclusive and uplifting atmosphere where fans can come together, connect and bask in the joy of live music.” Her return to the stage will be in Texas, with concerts in Hidalgo, Houston and Irving. After a summer run and a fall break, Chiquis is set to wrap the Diamantes Tour in early December. See her full list of tour dates on her official website.

The singer speaks about her miscarriage in the Instagram post below.

02 Jun 2024

Taylor Swift Spends Sixth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department spends a sixth straight and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 8), as the title earned 175,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending May 30 (down 54%), according to Luminate.

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Tortured Poets is the first album to spend its first six weeks at No. 1 since Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time led for its first 12 weeks a year ago (March 18-June 3, 2023-dated charts). Among Swift’s collection of No. 1s, Tortured Poets ties Folklore for the most weeks at No. 1 from its debut with six weeks each.

With 175,000 units earned in Tortured Poets’ sixth week, the set scores the largest sixth-week for any album since Adele’s 25 earned 363,000 units in its sixth frame (chart dated Jan. 16, 2016).

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Swift adds her 75th career week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, extending her record among soloists. (Elvis Presley has the second-most among soloists, with 67.) The total encompasses her 14 leaders. (She’s tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s among soloists.)

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Twenty One Pilots’ Clancy debuts at No. 3 with the biggest week for any rock album in 2024 (in either equivalent album units or traditional album sales), while RM’s Right Place, Wrong Person launches at No. 5 with his biggest debut week (in both units and sales).

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 June 8, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 4. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of The Tortured Poets Department’s sixth-week unit sum of 175,000, SEA units comprise 133,000 (down 20% — it’s No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums; its SEA units equal 173.65 million on-demand official streams of the deluxe edition’s 31 songs), album sales comprise 41,000 (down 81%) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 30%).

Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft is a non-mover at No. 2 in its second week on the list, earning 145,000 equivalent album units (down 57%). It’s the largest second week for any Eilish album, a week after she scored her top weekly career total with the set (339,000).

Twenty One Pilots’ new studio album, Clancy, bows at No. 3 with 143,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, albums sales comprise 113,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week and No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 29,000 (equaling 38.64 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Clancy scores the biggest week, by both units and album sales, for any rock album in 2024. (Rock albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart.)

Clancy marks the fourth top 10-charting set for Twenty One Pilots. The band previously visited the region with Scaled and Icy (No. 3 in 2021), Trench (No. 2, 2018) and Blurryface (No. 1, 2016).

The new album was led by the single “Overcompensate,” which reached No. 2 on the Alternative Airplay chart in May, marking the 16th top 10-charting song for the act. The track also hit No. 64 on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 in March. The new album was announced on Feb. 29 as the final chapter of the band’s conceptual series which began with Blurryface.

Clancy’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across 11 vinyl variants, signed and unsigned zine/CD journal editions and digipak CDs, deluxe CD boxed sets containing branded merch, and a deluxe digital album with four bonus live tracks.

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time falls 3-4 on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).

RM collects his second solo top 10-charting album as Right Place, Wrong Person debuts at No. 5 with 54,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 43,000, SEA units comprise 7,500 (equaling 10.16 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 3,500. The album yields the BTS member his best debut position on the Billboard 200, as well as his largest opening week by both units and traditional album sales.

Right Place, Wrong Person was preceded by the single “Come Back to Me,” which reached the top 30 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excluding U.S. charts. The album’s first-week sales were supported by its availability across 13 different CD variants, all containing branded paper merch and other collectibles.

RM previously hit the top 10 with Indigo (No. 3, December 2022).

Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album is stationary at No. 6 with 45,000 equivalent album units earned (down less than 1%); Future and Metro Boomin’s chart-topping We Don’t Trust You dips 5-7 (43,000; down 11%); Gunna’s One of Wun falls 4-8 (42,000; down 25%); Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is pushed down 7-9 despite a gain of 4% (to 40,000); and Zach Bryan’s self-titled former No. 1 falls 8-10 (37,000; down 2%).

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.

02 Jun 2024

Fans Choose Eminem’s ‘Houdini’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music in All-Genre Poll

Eminem‘s “Houdini” has topped this week’s new music poll that features artists in various genres of music.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 31) on Billboard, choosing the superstar rapper’s latest single as their favorite new music release of the past week.

Slim Shady’s new song brought in 46% of the vote on the poll, securing an edge ahead of new releases from Foster the People (“Lost in Space”), Ayra Starr (The Year I Turned 21), Normani (“Candy Paint”), Shaboozey (Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going), and others.

“Houdini” is the lead single off of Eminem’s 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), which is expected to arrive this summer. The upcoming set follows 2020’s Music to Be Murdered By, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Houdini” hit streaming services on Friday (May 31). The campy superhero-themed music video for the track features cameos from Pete Davidson, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and more.

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Em announced plans for the new album shortly after his appearance at the 2024 NFL Draft, which happened to be in his hometown of Detroit. He used a clip in the mold of an Unsolved Mysteries episode featuring a cameo from 50 Cent. However, it was actually Dr. Dre who spilled the beans on Em’s next album during a late-night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March.

Trailing behind “Houdini” on this week’s poll is Foster the People’s new song “Lost in Space,” with 24% of the vote. The single is the alt-pop hitmakers’ first taste of their just-announced upcoming album, Paradise State of Mind.

See the final results of this week’s poll below. Check out Billboard‘s Friday Music Guide to catch up with more must-hear releases from this week.

02 Jun 2024

‘Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up’: How to Watch the Lifetime Docuseries Without Cable

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Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up, a new docuseries chronicling Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s post-prison life, premieres Monday (June 3) on Lifetime.

Blanchard, 32, served seven years in prison for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Lifetime’s eight-episode series picks up directly after Blanchard’s prison release last December and follows her journey as a free woman, including reconnecting with family and adjusting to life as a newlywed with husband, Ryan Anderson (the couple has since divorced).

Described as a “raw and revealing look” at her life on the outside, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up details the highs and lows of Blanchard’s freedom and newfound fame. Per Lifetime, “From the joyful moments as she is free to make her own decisions for the first time, to the challenges of navigating life and relationships while facing her past, including the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, and Gypsy’s own notoriety and fame. In this delayed-coming-of-age story, Gypsy must reconcile the pop-culture, celebrity version of herself while trying to forge her brand-new identity in a ‘normal’ world as wife, sister, daughter and most of all – a free woman.”

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The docuseries is a follow-up to Lifetime’s The Prison Confession of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. The six-episode documentary premiered in January and garnered over 9.8 million views, according to Deadline.

Read on for ways to watch stream Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Life After Lock Up.

How to Watch Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Life After Lock Up for Free

Where can you stream Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Life After Lock Up? The first episode premieres on Lifetime on Monday (June 3) at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  

If you don’t have cable, you can watch the docuseries on DirecTV, Philo, Sling TV, Fubo or Hulu + Live TV either through a free trial or a discount when you sign up.

Join DirecTV Stream to score a free trail for five days and access to over 90 channels — Lifetime, Bravo, AMC, A&E, TLC, BET, HGTV, E!, ID, IFC, Foot Network, OWN, TBS, TruTV, TNT, ESPN, WEtv and more. Streaming plans include unlimited DVR storage and unlimited streaming on multiple devices.

On a tighter budget? Subscribe to Philo and enjoy a free trial for a week. Plans start at $25/month to access 70+ channels: Lifetime, Paramount Network, WETV, OWN, ID, TLC, etc. The subscription includes unlimited DVR recording that you can store for up to a year.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard: Life After Lock Up will also be available on MyLifetime.com and the Lifetime App as well as Prime Video and Apple iTunes.

Watch the trailer below.

02 Jun 2024

Adele Slams Fan Who Yelled ‘Pride Sucks’ at Las Vegas Residency Show

Adele blasted a homophobic fans during her Las Vegas residency show over the weekend.

During her Weekends With Adele concert on Saturday (June 1), which marked the beginning of Pride Month, an audience member shouted “Pride sucks” between songs.

As seen in a fan-captured video, the “Someone Like You” singer briefly paused her performance at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum to clap back at the rude concert-goer with some harsh words of her own.

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“Did you come to my f—in’ show to say ‘Pride sucks?’” Adele responded while seated at the piano. “Are you f—ing stupid? Don’t be so f—ing ridiculous.”

The 16-time Grammy winner continued, “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, shut up, alright?” Her quick rebuke drew applause from the crowd.

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Adele has been a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, she celebrated Pride Month by wearing a rainbow flag dress during a Las Vegas performance. “I’ll be celebrating it all month long,” she said to fans. “Happy Pride!” The singer also waved a Pride flag during her concert at London’s Hyde Park in 2022.

In June 2016, Adele also dedicated her concert at Belgium’s Sportpaleis to victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. The massacre at the LGBTQ+ club left 49 people dead and 53 injured.

“The LGBTQA community, they’re like my soulmates since I was really young, so I’m really moved by it,” she told fans at the show.

Adele’s Las Vegas residency continues through June 15. After a stint of concerts in Munich this summer, she’ll return to Sin City in late October for five additional weekends.

02 Jun 2024

Grupo Firme’s Thrilling Mexican Party in Miami: 5 Best Moments

It’s not every day that you see a bonafide Mexican party on an arena stage in Miami. But fans got that in spades during Grupo Firme’s stop of their La Ultima Peda (The Last Drunk) tour at the Kaseya Center on Saturday (June 1).

The three-plus hour show felt like a gigantic carne asada party for 10,000 of the group’s closest friends, punctuated by a norteño band, a full horn section, non-stop drinking onstage and lead singer Eduin Caz’s undisputed star power. Few, if any Mexican music stars exude such rock ‘n’ roll attitude onstage. The man can sing, dance and party hard, without missing a beat.

 It was Firme’s second time in Miami and the performance highlighted not just this particular group’s popularity but the growing popularity overall of regional Mexican music in cities that have not traditionally been hotbeds for the movement. Grupo Firme will also take their 30-plus date U.S. tour to Tampa, New York and Charlotte, for example.

But the Miami stop was special. The city holds a special place for the group, who spent several days in Miami, hosted a get-together for fans and press and even found time to film two music videos.

Onstage at the Kaseya, Firme brought out not only musicians, but also dancers with tons of attitude, and Caz took the opportunity to showcase his ballad/bolero vocals chops with an emotional performance of the group’s new single, “El beneficio de la duda.” It was another breakthrough moment for the group that’s helped pave the way for the new wave of regional Mexican music.

Here are five memorable moments from Grupo Firme’s show at Miami’s Kaseya’s Center on June 1.

02 Jun 2024

ABBA Receives Prestigious Swedish Knighthood Career That Started at Eurovision

The four members of the Swedish pop quartet ABBA, who triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song “Waterloo,” on Friday (May 31) got one of the most prestigious knighthoods in Sweden from the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The Order of the Vasa was handed out for the first time in almost 50 years. Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad became “Commander of the First Class” of the order for “very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

Sweden has several orders, including the Royal Order of Seraphim, which is awarded to heads of state and foreign royals, and the Royal Order of the Polar Star that is given to foreign citizens and stateless persons.

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The Royal Order of Vasa, which is given in recognition of personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests as well as the successful performance of public duties and assignments, was dormant until late 2022, when it was reactivated after regulations opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again.

Earlier this year, candidates were nominated by the public and the Swedish government and the king approved the nominees that included the four ABBA members.

The orders were awarded during a solemn ceremony at the Royal Palace in the gilded Vita Havet Assembly Rooms. The monarch handed them the order in a red box while a diploma was given to them by Queen Silvia.

”The order you get today today is Sweden’s thanks for your exceptional efforts,” the monarch said before handing out orders to “13 exceptional Swedes.”

Andersson, Faltskog, Lyngstad, who now uses the last name Reuss walked up using a cane, and Ulvaeus received the order in an event that was aired live on Swedish media.

The Eurovision victory turned ABBA into a pop juggernaut, by far the most successful band to win the pan-continental music contest. ABBA’s melodic disco pop sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The stage musical Mamma Mia! based on its songs is 25 years old and spawned two movies.

Coincidentally, the 2024 Eurovision was held in southern Sweden. Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th contest with “The Code,” an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing a nongender identity.

The Swedish band members have not performed together live for four decades, but released a comeback album, Voyage, in 2021. The digital “ABBA-tars” opened in London in 2022.

Two other receipients were two 2023 Nobel Prize winners: French-Swedish physicist Anne L’Huillier, and Svante Pääbo, who won the coveted award in physics and medicine. They were both made Commander Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star for “outstanding research efforts.”

02 Jun 2024

Fans Choose Jhayco’s ‘Torii’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music Latin

Jhayco‘s latest single “Torii” has topped this week’s new music Latin poll.

In a poll published on Friday (May 31) — in support of the weekly New Music Latin roundup and playlist, curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — music fans voted for the Puerto Rican artist’s latest track as their favorite music release of the week.

“Torii” generated nearly 25% of the vote beating out new releases that dropped this week, including Grupo Firme’s “El Beneficio de la Duda,” Manu Chao’s “Viva Tu” and Junior H and Oscar Maydon’s “Volver al Futuro.” Plus, new albums by Carín León (Boca Chueca, Vol. 1), Manuel Medrano (Perfecto) and Olga Tañón (Así Soy Yo).

Coming in second place on the poll was Marca Registrada’s “Torai,” with 19% of the vote and in third, Mau y Ricky’s album Hotel Caracas with almost 15% of the vote. ​​

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Formerly known as Jhay Cortez, the hitmaker delivers a euphoric club-ready banger that thrives on pulsating reggaetón drum beats. It follows previously-released collaborations, such as KTM with Bryant Myers and Luar La L and “BBY BOO (Remix)” with iZaak and Anuel AA. “Torii” — co-produced by Smash David, Bayden and Argel — serves as a preview of what’s to come for Jhayco, who is set to release a new album, which will follow his 2021 Timelezz.



Last week, music fans voted for Cris MJ’s latest single “Si No Es Contigo” as their favorite music release. The song generated almost all votes leading with 95%.

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