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07 May 2024

Charli XCX Confirms She Did Write Music for Britney Spears (But It Was Never Recorded)

Charli XCX confirmed longtime rumors that she worked on new music for Britney Spears.

During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the “Von Dutch” singer clarified that she did write music for the pop princess, but Spears never recorded the tracks. “It leaked to the press. Britney then did this post where she was like, ‘I don’t have random people write for me.’ And I was like, ‘Oh. OK. Go off.’ So I don’t know that she was a part of the process,” Charli explained. “The team were present… But she didn’t record it. She obviously didn’t.”

However, Charli called the idea of Spears recording any of her songs “a dream come true.”

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Back in January, Spears slammed the rumors circulating about collaborating with Charli and Julia Michaels in an Instagram post. “Just so we’re clear most of the news is trash,” she wrote in a lengthy caption. “They keep saying I’m turning to random people to do a new album … I will never return to the music industry !!!”

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She continued, “When I write, I write for fun or I write for other people !!! For those of you who have read my book, there’s loads that you don’t know about me … I’ve written over 20 songs for other people the past two years !!! I’m a ghostwriter and I honestly enjoy it that way !!! People are also saying MY BOOK WAS RELEASED WITHOUT MY APPROVAL ILLEGALLY and that’s far from the truth … have you read the news these days ??? I’m so LOVED and blessed !!!”

Watch Charli’s full Watch What Happens Live interview below.

07 May 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Kicks Off #MeganMondays With ‘I Think I Love Her’ Freestyle, The Hotties Love The Bars

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Source: KENA BETANCUR / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion

The girls are rapping, specifically Megan Thee Stallion. While the Hip-Hop community is still in an uproar because of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s back and forth, the Houston rapper is getting us ready for the real HOT GIRL SUMMER.

Megan Thee Stallion is in her bag and shows no signs of letting up. On Monday, she started her #MeganMondays freestyle series by dropping a new freestyle to remind us what the Hotties always know: She’s got bars.

Thee Stallion flexed her lyrical muscle, flipping Gucci Mane’s “I Think I Love Her Freestyle” and incorporating her unique rapping flavor throughout the beat.

On the track, Thee Stallion touches on the thirsties living in her DMs, the men acting really feminine at the moment, and the rap girlies using her blueprint to get on.

“Show a new bitch that ain’t Megan coded/ Show a beat I was on and ain’t rode it/ If she think she the shit, I’m the colon/ My pen gets gutter, I’m bowling,” she rapped.

It’s Megan May

Megan Thee Stallion is not just taking over Mondays; she is gunning for the entire month, labeling it Megan May.

On Tuesday, she announced her next single, “Boa,” continuing the snake narrative from her previous singles, “Hiss” and “Cobra.”

Later this month, Megan Thee Stallion will kick off her nationwide Hot Girl Summer tour featuring GloRilla in Minneapolis on May 14 and eventually head overseas in July.

It’s Thee Stallion’s world, and we are just living in it. She has gained her freedom from 1501 Certified Entertainment, dropped collaborations with Nike and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, as well as other philanthropic endeavors like “Hotties Helping” and a mental health website Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too. 

You can see reactions to the “I Think I Love Her Freestyle” in the gallery below.

4. This actually slaps

07 May 2024

Giddyap! Musicians on Horseback

With many people opting to enjoy a Western aesthetic in 2024, from fringed jackets to cowboy hats to shimmering boots — and a plethora of artists offering up country-influenced music — it’s no surprise that all things equestrian have re-entered the spotlight as of late. Plus, there is the longtail, massive influence of the hit television series Yellowstone over the past half-decade in inspiring many to kick up their boots and trade the city for the country for a while.

Horses have long represented grace and strength, and have featured prominently in artists’ creative scopes, including on the covers of Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, as well as Missy Elliott’s Respect M.E., Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s Against the Wind, and Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars. Of course, numerous country albums have featured horses, such as Shania Twain’s Queen of Me and Willie Nelson’s A Horse Called Music.

Given artists’ hectic and on-the-go touring schedules, often spending hours upon hours in buses, aboard planes and inside music venues, it’s no surprise that horses and the open spaces of the outdoors would be a timeless draw for musicians. Their four-legged equine friends make no demands for new music, endless social media content or various event appearances, representing a slower-paced companionship.

Beyond the expected cascade of country artists who have long professed their love for horses, we rounded up photos of several artists — including purveyors of pop, country, rap and more — to highlight stars’ passion for horses.

This collection features artists including Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Andrea Bocelli and more.

07 May 2024

See Exclusive Images From the New Chemical Brothers Book ‘Paused in Cosmic Reflection’

35 years ago, the trajectory of electronic music history shifted when Ed Simons met Tom Rowlands at the University of Manchester. Then students, the pair would go on to comprise one of the most celebrated electronic acts in the history of the then-nascent genre, after they united as The Chemical Brothers.

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The three and a half decades of shows, albums and block-rockin’ beats that have ensued since are under the microscope in the latest Chemical Brothers offering, Paused in Cosmic Reflection. Out today (May 7) via Mobius publishing, the retrospective book unpacks, in often granular detail, the Brothers’ mythology from the earliest days as students to rising U.K. stars to genre trendsetters and worldwide heroes.

Along with extensive interviews with the duo themselves, the book feature new interviews with friends and collaborators, including Noel Gallagher, Wayne Coyne, Beth Orton, Michel Gondry and Beck. The 300-plus-page Paused In Cosmic Reflection also includes many rare and and never-before-seen photographs. Assembled by Robin Turner, the book is dedicated to Stuart “Jammer” James, the group’s longtime tour manager, who died in 2015.

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Speaking to Billboard about the book last September, Simons offered, “I guess there’s no end date, but we are nearer to the end of The Chemical Brothers than we are the beginning… It has been good to reflect and remember some history. I guess you’ve got to do it before you start forgetting everything, and I’ve got a really good memory.”

“He remembers, like, every small gig above a barber shop we ever did,” added Rowlands. “Then someone would produce a photograph of it and I’d be like, ‘Oh, gotcha. Maybe we did do that…’ But one of the things about our band is, we don’t like stopping and reflecting. I always want to move on to the next thing. This book really felt like stopping and reflecting.”

See exclusive images from the book below.

Paused Cosmic

Paused in Cosmic Reflection

live show visual Show directors Adam Smith & Marcus Lyall

“Early on, Oasis was accepted as part of that culture,” Noel Gallagher says in the book. “Mixmag gave Definitely Maybe full marks and an incredible review when it came out. When I picked up the guitar and started to write again, the inclusiveness of the lyrics in house music showed up in my songs and became a big part of it. A song like ‘Live Forever’ would never have existed and wouldn’t have been called that before acid house. It would have been melancholy. The euphoria of acid house was so engrained in me, I was so into it and what I loved about it was the inclusivity. Songs were about us, they weren’t personal, they were about the collective. I adopted that and put it into my music.”

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Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Jake Chessum

Paused Cosmic

Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Adam Smith

“There were a few electronic bands playing live in the early nineties,” Simons says of the group’s early days. “We’d gone to see Kraftwerk when we were at university in 1991 and Tom had been in [prior dance act] Ariel, so we knew it was something that could happen, but initially we just DJed. We got offered to do [the club night] Sabresonic very early on; we’d only done a handful of remixes and [Chemical Brothers EP] Fourteenth Century Sky was just out. From the very start, we knew we didn’t want to be in the spotlight on stage. We decided that we wanted to have visuals projected right on top of us. And lots of strobes. That ethos has been the same for every gig we’ve played in the 30-odd years since.”

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Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Peter J. Walsh

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Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Mark Benney

“Ultimately, I think The Chemical Brothers have a great predilection for exploration,” says Beck, who worked with the duo on 2015’s “Wide Open” and 2023’s “Skipping Like a Stone.” “Their records always seem to take you to different places. They kind of sit in an unusual place between different eras of electronic music and DJ culture. It’s like they have one foot in multiple decades at the same time in a way that is utterly unique among their peers.”

Paused Cosmic

Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Mark Benney

“[1997 sophomore album] Dig Your Own Hole was us giving free rein to all of the different influences that were feeding into us from all around the world,” says Simons. “It was the most extreme expression of that, one where you could have a track like ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ sitting alongside ‘The Private Psychedelic Reel’. They’re completely different forms of music but they each evolved from everything that was channelled in, that fed into the making of Dig Your Own Hole. For us, our sound was entirely natural. It wasn’t something we sat down and pondered, tried to perfect. We had no intention of making a pure electronic dance record; we always wanted all of those external forces to be reflected.”

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Paused in Cosmic Reflection

Mark Benney

07 May 2024

Met Gala 2024: Photos From the Star-Studded Afterparties

The annual Met Gala took over New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night (May 6), with some of today’s biggest stars ascending the iconic white staircase in creative and jaw-dropping looks to capture the “Garden in Time” dress code.

While the Met Gala looked like a blast itself, the real fun happens after hours, when celebrities hit the town to party the night away in celebration. Among the hottest afterparties was the Après Met 2 Met Gala Afterparty hosted by Carlos Nazario, Emily Ratajkowski, Francesco Risso, Paloma Elsesser, Raul Lopez and Renell Medra — which was notably attended by reported exes Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, who looked cozy as they smiled and chatted on one of the couches together. 

Richie Akiva hosted his 10th Annual “The After” Met Gala Afterparty held at Casa Cipriani, which was attended by another pair of reported exes, Cardi B and Offset, who have been spotted together often recently despite the “Bodak Yellow” rapper declaring that she’s single back in December.

Usher also held his own Secret Garden Met Gala Afterparty at The Times Square Edition, while The Boom Boom Room also hosted an event celebrating the Met Gala.

We’ve compiled some of the best photos from all the Met Gala afterparties for you to check out below.

07 May 2024

Macklemore Releases “Hind’s Hall,” Profits Going To Palestinian Relief Efforts

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Macklemore Performs At Climate Pledge Arena

Source: Mat Hayward / Getty

Macklemore released a song supporting the collegiate protests decrying the war in Gaza, with proceeds going to relief efforts.

On Monday night (May 6), Macklemore surprised the public with the release of “Hind’s Hall”, a new single inspired by the protests taking place on college campuses nationwide in solidarity with the Palestinian people and decrying the raging war in Gaza. The name of the song comes from the  Hamilton Hall building at Columbia University in New York City which was occupied by student protesters and renamed “Hind’s Hall” in tribute to Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed during an attack by Israeli Defense Forces earlier this year.

The artist shared it on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “Once it’s up on streaming, all proceeds going to UNRWA.” UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. In the video, Macklemore calls out those aiding the ongoing attacks by the IDF as footage of law enforcement officers clearing out campus encampments plays: “Block the barricade until Palestine is free/ When I was seven, I learnt a lesson from [Ice Cube and Eazy-E/ What was it again? Oh yeah, f—- the police.” He even chimed in on the current Kendrick Lamar/Drake battle in chiding other artists for their silence on the matter: The music industry’s quiet, complicit in their platform of silence/What happened to the artist, what do you got to say?/ If I was on a label you could drop me today/ And be fine with it ’cause the heart fed my page/ I want a ceasefire, fuck a response from Drake.”

The 40-year-old has been active in the protests denouncing the actions of the Israeli government and military since the conflict with Hamas began on October 7, 2023. Macklemore took part in a pro-Palestine rally last December, and explained his position on social media: When I say ‘Free Palestine,’ it’s not against anyone,” he began. “It actually means we should protect everyone. It means equality for all. Respect, peace, and love. It means the right to exist, regardless of what sector you’re from.

07 May 2024

Man Shot Outside Of Drake’s Home In Toronto

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Shooting outside Drake's mansion in Toronto

Source: Anadolu / Getty

A shooting took place near Drake’s home in Toronto yesterday (May 6), but luckily the rapper himself wasn’t hurt in the crazy incident as he hasn’t been in Toronto for quite some time.

According to TMZ, an unknown man was shot outside of Drake’s mansion near the intersection of Bayview Ave and Lawrence Ave around 2:09 a.m. local time Tuesday (May 7). While authorities have yet to release any information as to who the person is or whether it had anything to do with the Canadian superstar himself, the person injured is said to be in very serious condition as he was taken to a hospital following the shooting.

Per TMZ:

Cops say the suspect in question fled in a vehicle … although, there’s no official description available at this point. Police have taped off the area, and there are boots on the ground.

The shooting appears to be tied to Drake explicitly, as there’s video of officers on his actual property that are starting to float around via local media outlets. Many are already jumping to the conclusion that it may all be related to the very public beef that he’s in. Remember … Drake’s been ensnared in an ugly feud with Kendrick Lamar these past few weeks.

While most of the bad blood had stayed in music, there have been nasty allegations hurled on both sides — Drake has claimed Kendrick is a woman beater, and that one of his kids isn’t actually his. As for Kendrick … he’s made salacious accusations against Drake too.

Could it have been a crazy conspiracy theorist believing that Drake is involved in some wild pedophile ring and wanted to take matters into his own hands a la “Pizzagate”? Kendrick using Drake’s mansion dotted with sexual offender pins could’ve moved someone to take some boneheaded actions. But we’ll have to wait for authorities to explain the situation before actually knowing any motives behind the shooting.

What do y’all think of this situation? Random incident, or is it somehow related to the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef? Let us known the comments section below.

07 May 2024

Here’s What Jelly Roll Thinks of Katy Perry Wanting Him to Be a Judge on ‘American Idol’

If given the chance, singer-songwriter Jelly Roll says he would be all in on becoming an American Idol judge.

Speaking with Audacy following his first set as part of the country music festival Stagecoach in Indio, Calif., Jelly Roll reacted to American Idol judge Katy Perry’s earlier comment recommending him as her replacement after she leaves her role as judge on the ABC music competition series after seven seasons.

“I gotta say, Jelly Roll was crazy when he came on the show,” the pop star had told E! News of the country artist, who served as an Idol mentor in April. “I was convinced at anything he said. He could run for president, he could be my pastor, I might go back to church for him. He could sell me anything.”

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While interviewing Jelly Roll backstage at Stagecoach, Audacy station KFRG’s Kelli & Guy asked about Perry’s comments and whether Jelly Roll would consider becoming an American Idol judge. “Of course!” he said. “Consider? I’ve accepted the job and they haven’t offered it.”

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“How cool is Katy, though,” he added. “When we were talking backstage the other day, she tells me this, just me and her, and my wife of course, everybody’s watching. She says, ‘I’m telling you, you need to replace me.’ I always love people that are the same way publicly as they are privately, ’cause some people will tell you how great you are privately, but then won’t post your album. But for her then immediately, first interview she gets asked, brings me up, I’m like, ‘I love you, Katy!’”

Jelly Roll recently appeared as a guest mentor on the April 8 episode of American Idol and performed his song “Halfway to Hell” from his 2023 album Whitsitt Chapel.

Jelly Roll, who is married to Bunnie XO, also spoke of the possibility of doing a reality television show together. “What my dream is, is to get into scripted television. I think that’d be cool, if we told our story in like, a 10-part series,” he said, also noting that a duet with Bunnie XO would also be realistic.

The country star is vying for numerous trophies at the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, including the coveted entertainer of the year honor.

Watch Jelly Roll’s interview below:

07 May 2024

25 Latin Songs to Celebrate Mother’s Day

As Mother’s Day approaches on your calendars this Sunday, May 12 (celebrated on May 10 in Mexico), we’ve curated the perfect Día de las Madres playlist to enhance your celebration. This carefully selected 25-track list features an eclectic mix of Spanish-language songs that pay heartfelt tributes to mothers everywhere.

From the emotional depths of Juan Gabriel‘s “Amor Eterno,” a poignant piece written in memory of his mother, to the contemporary vibes of Eladio Carrión‘s “Mama’s Boy,” our playlist spans generations and musical styles. Laura Pausini‘s tender “A Ella Le Debo Mi Amor” is an ode to her daughter, expressing the boundless love of a mother through soul-stirring lyrics and melodious tunes.

Andrea Echeverri of Aterciopelados contributes the uplifting “A Eme O,” a creative expression of love for her daughter, showcasing deep, meaningful lyrics that resonate with any listener. Additionally, we’ve included a track from Xavi‘s My Mom’s Playlist EP, which features his renditions of his mother’s favorite songs, released on Mexican Mother’s Day last year. His cover of Selena’s “No Me Queda Más” stands out.

Also, no Mother’s Day serenata is complete without the ranchera offerings of Vicente Fernández. Not your conventional ode about thanking mom, “Perdón Madrecita” sees its protagonist returning to their mom, seeking comfort and healing from emotional wounds inflicted by their unfaithful partner, while acknowledging the unconditional love and understanding only a mother can provide.

Explore the full breadth of our Mother’s Dayplaylist below to discover additional treasures, such as Los Tigres del Norte’s “Madrecita Querida,” Ricardo Arjona’s “Mi Novia Se Me Está Poniendo Vieja” and more from artists like Eslabon Armado, Natalia Lafourcade, and Victor Manuelle. The 25 tracks, dedicated to the incredible woman who enriches our lives, are listed in alphabetical order by artist name.

07 May 2024

Drake & Kendrick Diss Tracks, TikTok Lawsuit, Britney Divorce & More Top Music Law News

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.

This week: A deep-dive into whether rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Drake can sue each other for defamation over wild allegations in diss tracks; a lawsuit from TikTok over an “unprecedented” law banning the app from the U.S.; Britney Spears settles her divorce case; and much more.

THE BIG STORY: Defamatory Dissing?

Over the weekend, as Kendrick Lamar and Drake exchanged diss tracks filled with wild accusations, spectators on social media began to wonder if either rapper could be setting themselves up for legal trouble: “Has anyone ever filed a defamation lawsuit over a diss track before?” joked Matt Ford, a legal reporter at the New Republic, on Saturday night.

An actual lawsuit seems unlikely, for the simple reason that any rapper responding to a diss track with a team of lawyers would be committing reputational suicide. But the discussion got us thinking: Could a rapper like Drake or Kendrick sue over the kind of scathing insults we saw this weekend?

While diss tracks filled with extremely specific invective (and we mean extremely) could certainly lead to a libel lawsuit in theory, legal experts tell Billboard that such a case would face not just legal challenges but also practical problems. Go read our full story here.

Other top stories this week…

TIKTOK SUES US OVER BAN – TikTok and parent company ByteDance filed a federal lawsuit aimed at overturning recently-passed legislation in the U.S. requiring the Chinese company to sell the popular app or face a national ban. The companies called the legislation an “unprecedented” and unconstitutional action aimed at “singling out” one company and “silencing” more than 170 million Americans who use TikTok.

BRITNEY DIVORCE FINALIZED – Britney Spears reached a settlement to finalize her divorce from husband Sam Asghari, resolving their 14-month marriage according to the terms of “a written agreement” – likely a reference to a reported “ironclad prenup” that Asghari signed before their 2022 wedding.

ASTROWORLD TRIAL DELAYED – The first civil trial for Travis Scott, Live Nation and others over their alleged roles in the 2021 disaster at the Astroworld music festival had been set to kick off this week, but the proceedings were postponed due to a tricky dispute over whether Apple – which aired an exclusive livestream of the fateful concert – can potentially be held liable.

TOMMY LEE ABUSE CASE TOSSED – A Los Angeles judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee of sexually assaulting a woman in a helicopter in 2003, ruling that she had failed to allege any kind of “cover-up” – a key requirement under the California statute she cited to file the lawsuit. It ain’t over yet, though: The judge gave her a chance to refile an amended complaint within 20 days.

MORGAN WALLEN UPDATE – The criminal case against Morgan Wallen for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a six-story Nashville bar is moving forward after an initial court hearing. The star, who did not appear in person and has not yet entered a plea, is facing three felony counts of reckless endangerment over the incident, in which the chair landed just feet from several police officers standing on the street below.  

AI SENATE HEARING – Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl and other industry bigwigs were on Capitol Hill last week for a Senate hearing on the  NO FAKES Act, a proposed federal law that would allow individuals to sue over the use of their name, likeness or voice without permission in “digital replicas” like AI-powered deepfakes. Go read Kristin Robinson’s entire breakdown of the hearing here.

NICK PRODUCER LIBEL SUIT – Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider filed a defamation lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery and others behind an explosive documentary called Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, alleging that the series wrongly implied that he had sexually abused the child actors he worked with.

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