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19 Mar 2024

Loaded Lux Is Not Dead Despite Rumor Posted Online

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Loaded Lux, one of the top names in the sport Battle Rap, was reported to be dead by a YouTube streamer but it appears that wasn’t the case. It has been confirmed that Loaded Lux is very much alive, however, it’s been said that one of his family members was shot and killed recently.

By way of the Sub 0 BLACK URBAN NEWS YouTube channel, the host Sub 0 shared a Washington, D.C. outlet’s story of a shooting over the weekend that left two men dead. In his reporting, Sub 0 said that Lux was one of the victims of the deadly shooting.

As news began to spread online, colleagues and others close to Lux shot down the rumors and stated that one of his family members was killed on Sunday (March 17). It isn’t known if the victim in that shooting was indeed Lux’s relative.

On Tuesday (March 19), Lux’s name began trending with many of the replies shooting down Sub 0’s report and saying that this was a clout-chasing moment for the streamer. Further, outlets like Gully TV, who spoke with Un Kasa, uncovered that Sub 0’s report was false. Some online are also blasting Gully TV for using “R.I.P. Loaded Lux” in the thumbnail for their report.



As the news continued to spread on X, formerly Twitter, folks began taking personal shots at Sub 0 for spreading news of Loaded Lux’s death. Reactions are still pouring in and we’ve got some of them listed below.

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Photo: Getty

19 Mar 2024

Megan Thee Stallion Had Cheeky Reaction to Her Bikini Tour Announcement Being Flagged By Instagram

Megan Thee Stallion definitely made some waves with the poster announcing the dates for her upcoming 2024 Hot Girl Summer tour. The poster for the outing featured a magazine cover-like image of the rapper laying on her stomach in a shallow pool while wearing a silver thong bikini.

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According to HipHopDX, the provocative image got flagged by Instagram, which reportedly suggested the pic was a bit too sexy for public consumption. “HOTTIESSS GET READY TO COME HAVE SOME FUN WITH ME AT THEE HOT GIRL SUMMER TOUR,” read the caption on the original post, which urged hotties to get their “outfits ready nowww!”

In a subsequent Insta Story, Meg posted a screenshot of a warning she reportedly got from Instagram informing her that the cheeky shot may have run afoul of the social media company’s guidelines, which could lead to limits on her account.

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“Nooooo it’s just a lil cheek lol,” Megan reportedly commented. At press time a spokesperson for Instagram could not be reached for comment.

At the time, Meg only announced the cities on the tour, with the venues and final dates slated for reveal on Wednesday (March 20). What we do know for now is that the tour is slated to kick off in Minneapolis and hit Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Memphis, Atlanta, Raleigh, Hollywood and Tampa, FL, New Orleans, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas before hopping overseas for a run of European shows.

Meg’s tour will come on the heels of her scoring her first solo No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hiss” in February. “Hiss” is still hanging around the chart, where it sits at No. 94 this week. Though at press time there was no announcement, fans have been hoping that the MC could drop a new album before hitting the road, which would mark her first LP since 2022’s Traumazine.

Check out the tour announcement below.

19 Mar 2024

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Announce 2024 U.S. Tour

K-pop boy band TOMORROW X TOGETHER announced the dates for their upcoming 2024 U.S. tour, which will hit eight cities across 11 shows. The outing is slated to kick off in Tacoma, WA at the Tacoma Dome on May 15, followed by gigs in Oakland, two nights at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and shows in Atlanta, two gigs at Madison Square Garden in New York and a double-down at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL before a final gig at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. on June 8

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The tour will be in support of the band’s upcoming mini-album, minsode 3: TOMORROW, which is due out on April 1.

The band — Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Choi Soo-bin, Huening Kai and Taehyun — has been priming fans for their next era this week with a series of concept photos to tease the upcoming sixth mini album. The soft-lit series of “Light” photos feature each member in glowing orange light in a field of wheat, as well as a short video of Soo-bin sitting contemplatively in the field, lounging and staring longingly over a soothing bed of sound; the other members also get their own solo video teases featuring a series of random props. The photo carousel also features a fun behind-the-scenes clip in which the men pop up out of the wheat and wave to the camera.

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Tickets for the tour will go on sale to the general public beginning Thursday (March 21) via Ticketmaster.

Check out the full list of dates on the tour poster below.

19 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez Divorce Finalized

A year after their separation, Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez are officially divorced. According to the Associated Press, a Los Angeles Superior Court judgement dissolving their three-year marriage became official on Tuesday (March 19), six months after the 30-year-old “yes, and?” singer filed for divorce from 28-year-old real estate broker Gomez.

The couple, who had a pre-nuptial agreement, separated more than a year ago and have no children or significant legal issues. The terms of the divorce were agreed upon in October, but the couple had to wait six months before the judge’s order could take effect. According to the AP, Grande will make a onetime payment of $1.25 million to Gomez and no future alimony and give half of the proceeds from the sale of their Los Angeles home to Gomez and pay up to $25,000 of his attorneys’ fees; the divorce petition cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the break-up.

The couple reportedly started dating in early 2020, but didn’t make their romance public until May of that pandemic year, sharing the news of their engagement on Dec. 20 with a series of pictures, including one of her engagement ring; they got married five months later, in May 2021. Since the split, Grande has reportedly been dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.

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Grande’s new album, Eternal Sunshine, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, marking her sixth career chart leader, with all 12 chart-eligible songs from the album landing on the Hot 100, led by “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love), which debuted at No. 1.

19 Mar 2024

‘The Voice’: Dan + Shay Teammates Deliver ‘Steamy’ Battle

The Voice 2024 has entered the Battles phase. And, for two Team Dan + Shay hopefuls, a fight to the end with a twist.

Karen Waldrup, a Mandeville, Louisiana native, all turbo power, and Ryan Argast, a Plainfield, Illinois man with range and gravel in his voice, were sent into the ring with a cover of Dan + Shay‘s 2023 number “Save Me The Trouble”.

The contestants impressed the coaches with their obvious talent, and earned a few hollers with a smoking hot conclusion. “That was just steamy at the end,” Chance the Rapper remarked.

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“That’s better than the original version,” Dan Smyers insisted.

“That was so good. The energy, the passion, the power coming out of you two,” John Legend said. The rasp in Argast’s voice is his “superpower,” he enthused. Though he’s “mad he didn’t turn” for Waldrup, whose tone and vibrato worked magic. Legend would chose the latter, if he had the option.

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Reba McEntire did turn for Waldrup. “I think you’re fantastic,” she remarked. And there’s a lot of love for the “growl” in Argast’s voice.

That performance was “awesome,” Chance chimed, though the pair had mismatching “energy levels.” Karen, he continued, has a “true talent. It was like there was a storm around you and you were just shining through it.” The Chicago rapper was quietly kicking himself for not turning for her when he had the chance. The final moments of the Battle were “steamy,” he reiterated, and exactly what the cameras adore.

Dan + Shay had the last word. Argast’s “presence on stage is incredible,” claimed Smyers, while Waldrup “rose to the occasion,” belting out a “guy’s song.”

It’s a voice that reminds Mooney of old country, classic stuff he grew up listening to. “I love that sound, it’s very unique.” Argast’s voice, he continued, is “powerhouse.”

With the kind words out the way, a decision had to be made. They chose Waldrup.

Dan + Shay are the newbies on this 25th season of NBC’s The Voice, joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.

Watch the Battle below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=PBDxj3Dm8aQ&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

19 Mar 2024

Benson Boone Set to End Beyonce’s Reign On U.K. Chart

A beautiful week looms for Benson Boone, whose “Beautiful Things” (via Warner Records) leads the U.K. chart race.

“Beautiful Things” has topped the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. surveys but, in eight weeks on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, has never gone higher than No. 2.

That could be about to change. Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the OCC, the Washington-born singer-songwriter’s breakout hit takes pole position, lifting 2-1.

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Meanwhile, after four weeks at the summit – for her longest U.K. reign – Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” (Columbia/Parkwood Ent) finally loses its grip. It’s down 1-2 on the midweek tally.

Trending on Billboard

Closing out the top three on the chart blast is Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love),” up 6-3. The track is housed on Grande’s current U.K. No. 1 album, Eternal Sunshine (Republic Records), her fifth leader.

The top new release at the midway mark belongs to Mark Knopfler, whose charity fundraising single “Going Home” (BMG) is set for a top 10 start.

The former Dire Straits frontman assembled a starry cast of guitar heroes for the 9-minute recording, a remake of the theme from the 1983 feature film Local Hero. The likes of David Gilmour, Ronnie Wood, Slash, Eric Clapton, Sting, Joan Armatrading, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett, Pete Townshend and the late Jeff Beck are among the scores of performers on the recording, which raises funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

“Going Home” had briefly led the U.K. chart race, but slips to No. 6 midweek. The original cut, an instrumental, spent three weeks on the chart in 1983 with a peak of No. 56. The Northern Englishman recently sold 120 guitars and amplifiers, with charities the British Red Cross, Tusk, Brave Hearts of the North East and Teenage Cancer Trust among the beneficiaries.

Also eyeing a top 10 berth is BTS member V (real name: Kim Tae-hyung), whose “FRI(END)S” (BigHit Entertainment) is predicted to open at No. 7. That would mark V’s first solo U.K. top tier appearance. If “FRI(END)S” holds its course, V would join bandmates Jimin (“Like Crazy” at No. 8) and Jung Kook (“Too Much” with The Kid Laroi and Central Cee at No. 10, “3D” with Jack Harlow at No. 5, “Standing Next To You” at No. 5, and “Seven” with Latto at No.3) as the BTS members with U.K. solo top 10 notches on their belts.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday, March 22.

19 Mar 2024

Pink’s ‘Summer Carnival’ Tour of Australia Smashes Records

Pink’s Summer Carnival tour of Australia and New Zealand is yet to wrap, but it’s already logged in the history books.

With just three dates left on the itinerary, Live Nation, producer of her latest epic trek Down Under, reveals nearly one million tickets have changed hands – a volume that’s by far the biggest for any female headliner to have toured ANZ.

That’s “almost the highest ever tour sales in this market,” reads a statement from LN, issued Tuesday (Feb. 19) on the eve of her final date at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

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Only two other tours are in the same ballpark: Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms visit of 1986 and Ed Sheeran’s Divide jaunt in 2018.

When Pink finishes her last lap this Saturday (March 23) at Townsville’s Country Bank Stadium, her 20 stadium shows will represent the most ever performed by any artist in Australia and NZ on a single tour.

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And along the way, Pink has broken the attendance records at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium and at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.

“Pink is one of the most amazing live performers to ever walk onto the stage,” comments Michael Coppel, chairman of Live Nation Australasia and Pink’s long-standing promoter in Australia. “I’ve been very privileged to share in her epic 20-year journey in Australia and New Zealand, where she has played more than 200 shows.”

In Australia, Pink’s punches in the heavyweight class in every statistical category.

When Summer Carnival wraps, her total ticket sales in this territory will lift to more than 3.1 million across six tours, the largest career ticket sales ever accumulated by an international performer in ANZ, according to LN.

That career tally includes more than 658,000 tickets sold on her 2009 Funhouse tour, which spanned 58 arena shows; and her 2013 The Truth About Love trek, which played 46 arena shows and shifted more than 600,000 tickets.

According to Billboard Boxscore, Pink is the highest-grossing act of the 2010s in Oceania with about $135 million. She even has her own ladies’ toilet block at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where she has eliminated old attendance marks.

On the recording side, her ninth and most recent studio album, Trustfall, opened at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart in February 2023, for her seventh leader.

Earlier this week, Coppel, Pink’s manager Roger Davies and staff from Sony Music Australia and Live Nation presented the Philadelphia pop superstar with a special award, a memento of her latest recording-busting efforts.

“There is a palpable mutual love affair between the Australasian audience that love seeing her perform live,” adds Coppel, “and an artist who clearly loves being here. Congratulations, Alecia, on yet another stunning record-breaking tour and on an incredible career, with even greater success surely to come.”

18 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande Leads Kacey Musgraves In U.K. Albums Chart Race

Ariana Grande is on track for another week atop the U.K. chart with Eternal Sunshine (via Republic Records). Though she has competition.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, Eternal Sunshine has a slim edge and should clinch a second week at No. 1. Eternal Sunshine became Grande’s fifth U.K. leader when it debuted at the zenith of the national chart last Friday, March 15.

As it stands, less than 1,000 chart units separate Grande’s seventh studio album with U.S. country artist Kacey Musgraves’ sixth LP, Deeper Well (Interscope).

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Deeper Well is predicted to bow at No. 2, giving Musgraves a third U.K. top 10 after 2018’s Golden Hour (No. 6 peak) and 2021’s Star-Crossed (No. 10).

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There’s another challenger in this race: Caity Baser and her 13-track mixtape Still Learning (EMI). The collection is just 1,500 behind the leader in third place on the OCC‘s chart blast. Baser was shortlisted for the BRITs Rising Star 2024 award, won by The Last Dinner Party.

Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake’s solo comeback album Everything I Thought I Was (RCA) should yield the U.S. pop star a sixth U.K. top 10. It’s new at No. 4 on the Official Chart Update.

U.S. rock veterans the Black Crowes could nab a third U.K. top 10 album, and first in 30 years, with Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow), set to open at No. 7.

As AC/DC celebrates 50 years rocking, the legendary Australian band releases its full set of albums on vinyl. The first nine reissues in the “AC/DC 50” collection dropped March 15, powering several classics up the midweek chart. Among them, the rockers’ 1980 blockbuster Back in Black (Epic), their first U.K. No. 1, which rebounds to No. 10 on the midweek chart, while 1979’s Highway to Hell drives to No. 22, against an historic peak of No. 8.

Finally, new releases from electronic music producer Four Tet (Three at No. 25 via Text), teenage Manchester rapper Nemzzz (Do Not Disturb at No. 31 via Nemzzz), and Hastings, England punk outfit Kid Kapichi (There Goes The Neighbourhood at No. 36 via Spinefarm) are on track for top 40 debuts.

All will be revealed when the Official Albums Chart is published Friday, March 22.

18 Mar 2024

What You Missed at Rolling Loud California 2024: Nicki Minaj, Ye, Post Malone, Sexyy Red & More | Billboard News

Here’s all the show-stopping performers you missed this weekend at Rolling Loud California 2024, from Sexyy Red, Chief Keef, Nicki Minaj, Ye, Post Malone, Travis Scott, Future, Metro Boomin and more!

That Mexican OT
She was Nicki, she that bi—.

Tetris Kelly
From Nicki’s complete takeover to a weekend of Sexyy Red.

Sexyy Red.
I had fun doing the set.

Tetris Kelly
Ye, Ty Dolla $ign, Post Malone and so much more.

Chief Keef
It’s always loud, Rolling Loud.

Tetris Kelly
Hey, what’s up, it’s Tetris with Billboard News. We’re here at Rolling Loud taking you to all the biggest sets and showing you everything you missed this weekend. You had Sexyy Red up there. Man, how did you guys start working together? It was so good.

Chief Keef
I just know she f—ed with me real heavy. I f— with her too, saying she want to come thru, I said hell f—in’ yeah!

Tetris Kelly
Sexyy Red also had her own set, which landed on ‘Pink Friday,’ when Nicki Minaj brought her tour to the Barbz in Inglewood.

Tetris Kelly
The weekend was kicked off on Thursday, when Ye had the night to himself with Ty Dolla $ign and friends. Quavo was one of those friends, and he also joined Post Malone’s set, which was full of all his hits.

Watch the full video above!

18 Mar 2024

MGM Grand Says Bruno Mars Does Not Have $50 Million Gambling Debt

MGM Resorts International has denied reports that Bruno Mars is in debt with the entertainment company.

A previous report by NewsNation indicated that the “24K Magic” singer racked up a debt of more than $50 million at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas since signing a long-term residency contract with the company in 2016.

In a statement sent to Billboard, MGM said: “We’re proud of our relationship with Bruno Mars, one of the world’s most thrilling and dynamic performers. From his shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM to the new Pinky Ring lounge at Bellagio, Bruno’s brand of entertainment attracts visitors from around the globe. MGM and Bruno’s partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect.”

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The message continued, “Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he has no debt with MGM. Together, we are excited to continue creating unforgettable experiences for our guests.”

Mars’ last solo project was 2016’s 24K Magic, which included hits like the title track, “That’s What I Like” and “Versace on the Floor.” “That’s What I Like” topped the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, while the album as a whole peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in December 2016.

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Since them, Mars teamed up with Anderson .Paak for their successful group endeavor, Silk Sonic, and the duo released their album An Evening With Silk Sonic in 2021. The album’s standout track, “Leave the Door Open,” won four Grammy awards: song of the year, record of the year, best R&B song and best R&B performance.