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ScHoolboy Q Ranks His Album Discography, Asks X To Share Their Ranking

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Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) throws its 10th annual toy drive and concert featuring SZA, Jay Rock, YG and other TDE artists performing followed by a gift giveaway to kids in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects

ScHoolboy Q is currently celebrating the release of his sixth studio album, Blue Lips, sharing both praise and criticism from fans and listeners via his X feed. The TDE rapper took to X to share his ranking of his album catalog, later asking fans to share their lists as well.

ScHoolboy Q has been active on X since releasing Blue Lips last Friday (March 1). For fans of Groovy Q, the wait between 2019’s CrasH Talk and Blue Lips felt way too long. While many are praising Q’s latest collection of records, some online have issues with the album’s many beat switches in songs. Others have said the artistic choices on the album were hard to grasp.

That said, Q believes his latest album is the best according to the X reply below.

Q then takes time to explain why has Blue Lips as his top album:

1. BLUE LIPS
it’s early but it’s How I feel today [shrug emjoi] could cHange.. I mean braH yall neva Heard me rap like tHis.. album been done for years to be real.. I just didn’t know wHere I would fit in tHis circus of just bullsHit & algoritHm so I made my bed and cHose art… I’m 2 good to let my talent go to waste over a viral moment.. I’m 37 and still Hungry I Honestly don’t tHink nobody can fuck wit me to be real.. I always find new pockets & i been nervous befo but neva scared… im 1 of tHem 1’s easy.. I made tHis album for artist tHinking ppl don’t want dope sHit nomo… I stayed away from interviews on purpose coming into tHis album and just kept it music… I got interviews lined up now to go more in deptH but yea ignore da circus cuHz it’s getting weird.. music needs music… music needs effort.. BLUELIPS

Check out the list ScHoolboy Q made regarding his discography. Keep scrolling to see the replies from X.

Photo: Getty

Morgan Wallen Releases ‘Abbey Road Sessions’ on One-Year Anniversary of ‘One Thing at a Time’

Morgan Wallen‘s Abbey Road Sessions project is here. On Sunday (March 3), the country singer surprised fans by releasing a digital collection of seven live song recordings from Studio Two at London’s Abbey Road Studios.

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The release marks the one-year anniversary of his hit album One Thing at a Time, which has spent 18 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, tying Garth Brooks’ Ropin’ the Wind for most weeks at No. 1 for a country album. The album is currently sitting at No. 2 for the week ending Feb. 29.

The tracklist includes performances of five songs from One Thing at a Time, as well as an unreleased song, “Lies Lies Lies,” and a cover of Nothing But Thieves’ “Graveyard Whistling.”

Trending on Billboard

Abbey Road Sessions‘ tracks — “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” “Lies Lies Lies,” “Sunrise,” “Everything I Love,” “I Wrote the Book,” “I Deserve a Drink” and “Graveyard Whistling” — were recorded on Dec. 5, 2023.

Matt Paskert

“Playing the O2 in London last fall and getting to record at Abbey Road, where so much iconic music has been made, was legendary for me and my band. We will never forget it,” states Wallen in a press release about Abbey Road Sessions. “I’m so excited to release these Abbey Road Sessions for my fans on the one-year anniversary of One Thing at a Time. They make all this possible.”

Wallen’s One Night at a Time World Tour resumes in the U.S. in April, with dates scheduled through August.

Watch his Abbey Road Sessions performances below. The full playlist is available on YouTube.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries&si=PgpUoRKZpziM5YBk&list=PLHP0tKi5klmy194p5dx_1UGGmUflJ5iBn&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

ESPN NFL Reporter Chris Mortensen Has Died

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Salt Lake Stallions v Birmingham Iron

Chris Mortensen, a decorated sports journalist who worked as the NFL reporter for ESPN for over 30 years, passed away on Sunday (March 3) in the morning hours. The news about Chris Mortensen has since gone viral, sparking many on X, formerly Twitter, to share their condolences and memories.

As reported by several outlets, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he worked as a sports reporter, and ESPN, Chris Mortensen worked for ESPN for over three decades, becoming a part of the network in 1991. As it related to NFL coverage, Mortensen became a trusted voice in sports journalism, and he appeared across ESPN in various shows.

Mortensen was known for having an inside ear to the typically insular happenings in NFL locker rooms and their management. He became known for delivering breaking news within the NFL.

Among Mortensen’s many honors, he was named the Dick McCann Award winner for the Pro Football Writers of America in 2016.

Some might remember Mortensen went public with his stage 4 throat cancer diagnosis and took leave from the network, also in 2016. He returned to reporting but not at the same pace as before. Mortensen’s last broadcast appearance was the 2023 NFL Draft.

The family of Mortensen shared details of the reporter’s passing. The cause of death was not readily known.

Chris Mortensen was 72.

Photo: Getty

Kristen Welker Slammed Online After Saying Trump Allegedly Tried To Overturn 2020 Election

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US-VOTE-DEBATE

Kristen Welker, now some months into her hosting duties for political talk show Meet The Press, sparked the wrath of X users after making a statement about Donald Trump. Welker stated during the broadcast that Trump allegedly tried to overturn the November 2020 elections, causing the reporter’s name to trend on X with loads of commentary.

Kristen Welker was on Meet The Press on Sunday (March 3), with Republican Party presidential hopeful Nikki Haley and Democratic Party congresswoman Rep. Debbie Dingell as guests. During one segment, Welker explained that Trump allegedly attempted to overthrow the November 2020 election results, which the business mogul lost to President Joe Biden.

Almost immediately, Kristen Welker saw her name trending with users highlighting instances in which Trump denied the results and essentially egged on his supporters to express the same sentiment via the so-called “Stop The Steal” movement, which helped spark the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, more than 170 people injured, and lead to several arrests.

Of course, Welker’s use of the phrase is proper in the legal context but the pushback largely stems from Trump’s history and his brash public stance about what took place on that fated day on Jan. 6, 2021. As one X user noted, Welker’s use of the word “allegedly” is properly used thus the outrage is somewhat misplaced.

Several of the replies on X, formerly Twitter, directly speak to the events around the insurrection as evidence that Donald Trump was attempting to switch the election results in his favor.

We’ve got all the reactions listed below.

Photo: Getty

Fans Choose Miley Cyrus & Pharrell’s ‘Doctor (Work It Out)’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams‘ “Doctor (Work It Out)” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 1) on Billboard, choosing the team-up between the pop star and producer as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Doctor (Work It Out)” brought in nearly 59% of the vote, beating out new music by Cardi B (“Like What (Freestyle)”); Charli XCX (“Von Dutch”); Galantis, David Guetta and 5 Seconds of Summer (“Lighter”); ScHoolboy Q (Blue Lips); and others.

Cyrus’ long-awaited collaboration with Pharrell marks the singer’s first release since her 2023 single “Used to Be Young.” The collaboration has been in the works for over a decade, with “Doctor (Work It Out)” originally intended to appear on but apparently scrapped from Cyrus’ 2013 album, Bangerz. In January, Pharrell teased the single at the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter 2024 Collection presentation in Paris.

Trending on Billboard

“We just believe so much in timing and in everything happening when it’s supposed to,” Cyrus said in a recent interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. “Around the Grammys, Pharrell and I were talking about putting the song out, and it just felt like it was so serendipitous, and there were so many alignments and so many moments that made me know that now was the perfect time.”

“And then sometimes things in our past make more sense in our present than they ever did then,” she continued. “And so this song, I think the nature, the celebration, the feeling, especially with the video, the joy, the dancing, the letting go, it’s what this song really always needed. I don’t think I could have delivered that at that time [in 2013] … It completely embodies my spirit and my essence at this exact moment.”

“Doctor (Work It Out)” follows the same thread of unrepentant desire as the duo’s past hit “Come Get It Bae,” with a little more disco swagger and medical double entendres in the mix; the song could evaporate tomorrow or become a durable hit, but either way, Cyrus sounds like she’s having a great time with it.

Trailing behind “Doctor (Work It Out)” on the poll is Cardi B’s “Like What (Freestyle),” which brought in 13% of the vote.

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

TWICE Achieves First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘With YOU-th’

TWICE achieves its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as With YOU-th debuts atop the tally (dated March 9) with 95,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 29, according to Luminate, largely from traditional album sales. It’s the fifth top 10 for the Korean pop ensemble in total, all earned consecutively.

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With YOU-th is the first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by an all-female group since BLACKPINK’s Born Pink opened at No. 1 in 2022, and only the third since 2008, when Danity Kane’s Welcome to the Dollhouse debuted atop the list.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, fellow all-female Korean pop group LE SSERAFIM debuts at No. 8 with Easy, marking the act’s second top 10-charting effort.

Trending on Billboard

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 March 9-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of With YOU-th’s 95,000 units earned in the tracking week ending Feb. 29, album sales comprise 90,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, as it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales; it’s also the largest sales week for an album in 2024), SEA units comprise 4,500 (equaling 6.33 million official on-demand streams of the set’s six songs) and TEA units comprise 500. Sales of With YOU-th were bolstered by its availability across 14 CD variants (including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and the act’s webstore, all with branded paper merchandise inside the packages as well as some randomized elements) and three vinyl variants (all picture discs, including one Target-exclusive version).

As With YOU-th is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 24th mostly non-English language album to hit No. 1, and the first of 2024.

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time climbs 3-2 with 67,000 equivalent album units earned (up 5%), while Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 falls 1-3 in its third week with 64,000 (down 14%). Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is a non-mover at No. 4 with 57,000 units (down 4%), SZA’s former leader SOS is also stationary, at No. 5, with 47,000 (up 1%), Drake’s chart-topping For All the Dogs rises 8-6 with 43,000 (up 1%), and Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 1989 (Taylor’s Version) dips 6-7 with 41,000 (down 7%).

LE SSERAFIM’s Easy starts at No. 8 with 41,000 equivalent album units earned, marking the second top 10-charting effort for the pop group. The act previously hit the top 10 with last year’s Unforgiven, debuting and peaking at No. 6. Of Easy’s 41,000 first-week units, album sales comprise 34,000, SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 9.86 million official on-demand streams of the set’s five songs) and TEA units equal a negligible sum. Sales of Easy were aided by its availability across 14 CD variants (including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart, all with branded paper merch inside their packages, including some randomized).

Rounding out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 are a pair of chart-topping sets: Taylor Swift’s Lover falls 7-9 with 40,000 equivalent album units (down 8%) and 21 Savage‘s American Dream is steady at No. 10 with 38,000 units (up 1%).

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.

BTS’ V Announces Release Date for New Single ‘FRI(END)S’

BTSV is returning with a new single.

The K-pop superstar officially announced through social media on Sunday (March 3) that his upcoming song, “FRI(END)S,” will be released on March 15 at 1 p.m. KST.

“The track, rooted in the pop soul R&B genre, delivers relatable and witty romance through lyrics written entirely in English,” reads a press statement from Big Hit Music. “The single artwork accompanying the announcement reveals the song title and release date against a vivid pink background that hints at the song’s sweet mood.”

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On Saturday, BTS’ official Instagram account teased “FRI(END)S” with a brief clip featuring the K-pop star. The forthcoming track follows V’s 2023 solo debut, Layover, which included songs like “Love Me Again,” “Rainy Days” and “Slow Dancing.”

Trending on Billboard

Shortly after the September 2023 release of his six-track Layover, V prepared for his mandatory military enlistment in South Korea, which is expected to keep the K-pop band on hiatus until 2025.

“I will miss you so much,” V wrote at the time, penned in Korean. “Actually, I’m really sad that I can’t make happy memories with my ARMY for the time being […] it’s the hardest not to see the ARMY. I’II be back after 18 months of being healthy, so take care of your ARMY and if you’re looking for something to be happy about every day, cheers! I’m here! I’ll be back!”

“Within 18 months, I’ve prepared a lot of things. Please look forward do it,” the 28-year-old singer added, before concluding, “I’ll really miss you. I love you so much.”

Last December, Big Hit shared that BTS’ final four band members — RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — are beginning their military enlistment process, following Jin, J-Hope and Suga, who are already enlisted.

Kacey Musgraves Performs ‘Deeper Well’ and ‘Too Good to Be True’ on ‘Saturday Night Live’: Watch

Kacey Musgraves returned to Studio 8H on March 2.

For her third time as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, the 35-year-old country music star performed two tracks from her upcoming album, Deeper Well.

Stepping out barefoot and donning a patchwork jacket dress, Musgraves received an introduction from host Sydney Sweeney before opening with the a stirring rendition of her new project’s title track. For her second song, the singer-songwriter wrote a beautiful blue dress during “Too Good to Be True,” with assistance from her backing band.

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“I just want someone to look at me the way Sydney Sweeney looks at Kacey Musgraves,” a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the show. Musgraves responded to the post, writing, “The clip. I forgot to remove the clip,” she wrote, referring to a hair clip she’s seen wearing at the end of the program.

Musgraves took the stage as musical guest on SNL for the third time, having previously done it in May 2018 and October 2021. On the heels of winning her seventh Grammy honor Feb. 4 (for best country duo/group performance with Zach Bryan for “I Remember Everything”),  the artist will release her fifth studio album, Deeper Well, on March 15, through Interscope/MCA Nashville. The project follows her previous project, Star-Crossed, which released in 2021. 

Trending on Billboard

In a statement, Musgraves explained that she took inspiration for the new album from the energy in New York City’s Greenwich Village and that she recorded the project at the iconic Electric Lady studios. The album will “serve as a lens focusing on moments of life that often go unnoticed, turning them into timeless songs that strike a chord deep within listeners. Saturn returns, cardinals embody a dead friend, love is given and taken, streets rush by, belongings are packed and old chapters deserted, new love blooms, jade bracelets serve as talismans, deep lessons emerge, small details define everything, the woods are a refuge and New York City serves as the same gleaming beacon as Oz.”

Watch Musgraves’ SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=WPTpZ6CEoJ8&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent


https://youtube.com/watch?v=XaDs3_4Nb-I&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Taylor Swift Announces Fourth and Final Variant of ‘Tortured Poets Department’ at Eras Tour Show in Singapore

Taylor Swift announced the fourth and final variant of her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her second Eras Tour concert in Singapore on Sunday (March 3).

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The reveal arrived during the surprise songs portion of the pop superstar’s set, where she performed a mashup of Evermore‘s “Long Story Short” and “The Story of Us” off Speak Now. It also marked the debut live performance of “Long Story Short.”

“I kind of wanted to show you something that nobody else has seen,” Swift told the audience before unveiling the fourth variant, titled “The Black Dog.”

Trending on Billboard

The black-and-white cover art featured a photo of Swift holding her head in an upward position, while the back includes another fierce snapshot along with the quote, “Old habits die screaming.” The fourth variant of The Tortured Poets Department is scheduled for release on April 19.

“‘Old habits die screaming…’ File Name: The Black Dog ? Pre-order the final new edition of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT with exclusive bonus track ‘The Black Dog’ on my website now,” Swift wrote on Instagram alongside photos of the cover art.

Fans will be able to order “The Black Dog” edition on the singer-songwriter’s webstore through March 6.

Swift has already announced three variants of the album, each featuring a different bonus track: “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter” and “The Albatross.” She revealed “The Bolter” and “The Albatross” editions at previous tour dates in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Fans guessed another announcement might have been made at the first Singapore concert of the tour.

The “Anti-Hero” singer first announced The Tortured Poets Department while accepting the best pop vocal award for Midnights at the 2024 Grammys on Feb. 4. Shortly afterward, she dropped the project’s tracklist, which features 16 core songs and collaborations from Florence + The Machine and Post Malone.

See Swift’s “The Black Dog” variant announcement on X and Instagram below.

Grupo Frontera Previews Shakira Collab at Bésame Mucho Fest

Just days after it was announced that Shakira is set to collaborate with Grupo Frontera on her upcoming album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, the Texas group shared a snippet of the track during its set at Bésame Mucho on Saturday (March 2).  

The special moment came with a special message from Shakira herself who appeared on a giant screen to present “(Entre Paréntesis),” her song with Grupo Frontera. “Hola mi gente de Bésame Mucho, I leave you with my friends from Grupo Frontera and a preview of our next song “(Entre Paréntesis),” Shakira said in Spanish.  

Frontera, one of the headliners of the festival taking place for the first time in Austin, went on to play around half a minute of the norteño track, which inspired festival-goers to take their phones out and capture the surprise.

Trending on Billboard

“The truth is that we are super excited,” Grupo Frontera tells Billboard. “We heard the song and got the opportunity to record with Shakira. We have been fans of hers since I can remember, she has always been the top and it has been an honor to have collaborated with her.”

Shakira’s collab with Grupo Frontera follows her team-up with Fuerza Regida (“El Jefe”), her first foray into regional Mexican music since her homage to música mexicana in “Ciega, Sordomuda.”  

The Colombian singer’s new album, her first in seven years, is set to drop on March 22. The 16-track set includes eight new tracks plus previously released singles such as “TQG” with Karol G, the Rauw Alejandro-assisted “Te Felicito” and “Copa Vacía” with Manuel Turizo. A remix to her Bizarrap-produced “Music Sessions Vol. 53” featuring Tiesto will also be included in the set. Shakira recruits Bizarrap and Alejandro again for new songs, while tapping new collaborators, including Cardi B and Grupo Frontera. 

“Making this body of work has been an alchemical process,” Shakira previously said in a statement. “While writing each song, I was rebuilding myself. While singing them, my tears transformed into diamonds, and my vulnerability into strength.”