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08 Dec 2023

Here’s What Nicki Minaj Had to Say About Billboard’s Top ‘Pink Friday 2’ Song

In celebration of Nicki Minaj’s long awaited Pink Friday 2 release, Billboard ranked our favorite songs from the album — and surprised the rapper in the process.

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When she saw that her Lil Uzi Vert collaboration, “Everybody,” topped the list, Minaj took to Twitter to respond and share the story behind the song. “This is mad funny b/c that was the song I wrote in 5 mins one day for ‘Call Of Duty,’” she recalled. “Once I kept it for my album, I still didn’t even rlly know if it made sense on PF2. I didn’t wanna send it to Uzi b/c I thought he’d be over it. Instead he was like this hard af!”

The 22-song Pink Friday 2 is the follow-up to Minaj’s 2018 album, Queen, which peaked at No. 2 on both the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart upon its release. The upcoming album’s predecessor, 2010’s Pink Friday, topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for six weeks and the Billboard 200 for one week.

PF2 was slated to land on November 17, but was delayed to Dec. 8 which also serves as Minaj’s 41st birthday. For her fifth studio album, Nicki made sure to reconnect with her roots. “When I look back at a lot of my music, I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, where was the me in it?’” she told Vogue last month. “So for this album, I went back to the old game plan … The idea that saying something like that could give hope to people — that optimistic outlook is something I think I got away from.”

08 Dec 2023

Ice Spice & Doja Cat Connect For Instagram’s ‘Close Friends Only’ Podcast Episode

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It was only a matter of time before Ice Spice and Doja Cat collaborated on something, but while fans await that coveted song that they could groove to, the two young ascending music stars got together to share their thoughts on various subjects in a new podcast, Close Friends Only.

Brought to you by the good people of Instagram and Unwell, Close Friends Only brought together your two favorite women in the music game today. Ice Spice and Doja Cat took the time to ask each other personal questions such as their fears, whether Ice Spice prefers “love or money” (Jordan Poole allegedly knows the answer to that), and even who was the “Deli” rapper’s first celebrity crush. Interestingly enough the “Munch” rapper revealed that her first ever celebrity crush was none other than Usher who she said was a “gorgeous man.”

Y’all already know Usher ’bout to slide in her DMs after hearing about this revelation. The man barely looks a day over 30.

Check out the interview below, and listen to the up-and-coming music stars talk about the trends of 2023 and what they expect in 2024. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.



08 Dec 2023

Queer Jams of the Week: New Music from Fletcher, Tokischa, Channel Tres & More

In need of some new songs from your favorite queer artists? Billboard Pride has got you covered with the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.

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From the introduction of Fletcher’s new era to Tokischa’s steamy new single, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:

Fletcher, “Eras of Us”



After sending TikTok into a frenzy with a series of teasers over the last few weeks, pop darling Fletcher finally unveiled “Eras of Us,” her latest heartbreak anthem. Oscillating between dreamy synth-pop and driving rock, Fletcher conjures up that uncomfortable moment of running into your ex for the first time in a while, offering polite small talk like “how are you doing?” and “where have you been?” from the song’s outset. As the beat ratchets up, so do the star’s lyrics, as she lives vicariously through the memories of a relationship long passed and wonders what the future could look like. It’s Fletcher doing what she does best, which makes “Eras of Us” an instant winner.

Tokischa feat. Sexyy Red, “Daddy”



Calling all sugar babies; Tokischa is here and ready to pamper you. On “Daddy,” the rising rapper gets fully into her paternal vibe as she declares that yes, she’s more than happy to be your daddy. With a delicious dembow and trap-pop melody underscoring her sensual lyrics, Tokischa lets featured guest Sexyy Red know exactly what she’s willing to provide (in both English and Spanish), while giving the audience a deliriously fun new dance track to boogie to all weekend long.

Channel Tres, “Walked in the Room”



If you’re in need of an immediate vibe adjustment, Channel Tres is once again ready to give you just that. With his sleek new single “Walked in the Room,” Tres oozes nothing confidence and sexuality over a grooving disco house track that will properly wipe all your troubles away. Between killer lyrics like “Don’t doubt me, baby/ I kill the chaos with a smirk,” and a bass line that never lets up for the song’s 3 minute runtime, “Walked in the Room” demands your attention ASAP.

Zora, “Fastlane”



Up-and-coming rapper Zora is ready to burn some rubber and talk some trash. On “Fastlane,” the 23-year-old artist gasses herself up and takes off into a kiss-off to any and all of her haters. Flexing bars about leaving her detrators in the dust while being boosted even further by a thundering hip-house beat, Zora blazes ahead on this uproariously fun new track.

Laura Jane Grace, “Cuffing Season”



Stripping back her innate rock sensibility, Laura Jane Grace spends the majority of “Cuffing Season” focusing her energy inward. The melancholy new song sees the Against Me! leader ruminating on relationships, age, and the places where the two meet. Positing questions like “If what goes around is what comes around is what goes around again/ How you gonna move it,” Grace opens herself to the power of vulnerability — even if it just means getting hurt all over again.

Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below:

08 Dec 2023

Ex-Bad Boy Producer Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie Claims Superiority Over J. Dilla’s Beats, X Reacts

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It seems that Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie is living up to his Madd Rapper alter ego with claims that his catalog is better than that of the late, great James “J. Dilla” Yancey.

“I love J Dilla to death, but he can’t see my catalog,” Angelettie said on Math Hoffa’s podcast. My Expert Opinion, as reported by HipHopDX. 

D-Dot was a member of The Hitmen—the in-house Bad Boy production team and he crafted hits like“Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G, along with  Diddy‘s “It’s All About the Benjamins” and JAY-Z‘s “Where I’m From.” 

The producer sounded like one of his old skits when he added, “Put their shit up against mine. My shit is all over the place. Shit I made 27 years ago.” 

Dilla fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to sound off about D-Dot’s claims to have a better catalog than the late Detroit legend who produced songs for A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, and his own group Slum Village. 

Another commenter pointed out a misconception that Dilla was only a “backpack” producer, adding, “The best gag I think is to call Dilla “conscious rap” or lofi because the nigga rapped solely about cars, cash, hoes, beats. Slum also. Nigga shit purely. Despite making soulful, soothing joints, the drums told U what time it was.” 

Another chimed in, “J Dilla has to be one of the most misunderstood artists ever. He’s constantly portrayed as this conscious backpacker with a rigid idea of what hip-hop is. In reality he was super experimental, loved bounce and funk and rapped about jewelry and Range Rovers.” 

Dilla died on February 10, 2006. The producer was also a prolific rapper who emerged from Detroit’s hip-hop underground and quickly became a favorite among the hip-hop elite with his unique drum style. 

His music has been celebrated by symphony orchestras, he has been honored with a street, Allée Jay Dee, named after him Montpellier, France and his MPC is in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

A book about his life and his musical stylings was recently published by hip-hop scholar and teacher, Dan Charnas called Dilla Time. 

Peep more of D Dot getting schooled, and Dilla praise, in the gallery.

08 Dec 2023

J Balvin, Diego Torres, Pesado & More: Which Is Your Favorite New Latin Music Release? Vote!

This week, Billboard‘s New Music Latin roundup and playlis — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — feature fresh new releases from artists like Peso Pluma & Anitta, Mike Bahía, Diego Torres, J Balvin and more.

Balvin delivers a sentimental reggaeton ballad on “Amigos,” his latest track about pain of dealing with a relationship that became cold. “I went out to look at the moon, but I ended up looking at your photos/ Flaca, to be honest, I think about you even though our relationship is broken,” the Colombian star sings over a slow, melodic beat.

With “Bellakao”, Peso Pluma continues to demonstrate his musical versatility by joining Brazilian star Anitta in an exciting reggaeton in which the pair sing about feeling intoxicated with each other’s irresistibility. “Everyone wants to get close to me, but I don’t want anyone,” Anitta croons on the song’s first verse.

Meanwhile, Mike Bahía brings us a powerful message about mental health in “La Depre,” which he called “an important reminder for listeners that it’s okay to not always feel okay and that they don’t have to fight their battles alone” in a statement. The song marks the Colombian artist’s first merengue-urban fusion single.

Diego Torres presents a new anthem of hope with his niece and nephew Angela and Benja Torres in “Las Leyes de la Vida,” an emotional reflection on the passage of time and the importance of family and friends. Grupo Pesado releases a new version of its 2004 spite song “Ojalá Te Mueras” with Alejandra Guzmán, uniting norteño music and rock in a painful but fun delight.

In the New Music Latin fan-voted poll of last week, Thalia’s “Choro” won with over 50 percent of the votes. Milo J’s 111 followed with 27 percent of the votes, and Feid’s “Alakran” got third place with 10 percent. What’s your favorite new Latin music release of the week? Vote below!

08 Dec 2023

ONE N’ ONLY on ‘You are / Hook Up’ EP, With Songs About Straightforward Love & Desire for Personal Connection

ONE N’ ONLY, a Japanese dance and vocal unit that celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, recently released a new EP, You are / Hook Up. The EP, which came out on Dec. 6, contains eight new songs. The title song, “You are,” is the group’s first ballad. “Hook Up” is also the name of their tour of all 47 of Japan‘s prefectures, which began Oct. 13. Another song on the EP, “EVOL,” is already a mainstay of their live shows. Billboard Japan talked to them about the highlights of You are / Hook Up, the making of the EP, their impressions of EBiDAN THE LIVE UNIVERSE 2023, and more.

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You’ve recently had a rush of new releases, including this new EP, You are / Hook Up. A month ago, you began streaming a new song, “Freaking Happy.” I’m sure your schedule lately has been really hard lately as you were recording this new material.

TETTA: It was a really intense period of recording, but somehow we made it through. It was a really fulfilling time. We even recorded a music video in the midst of our 47 prefecture tour.

HAYATO: We film a lot of our music videos on location, so we go to urban ruins or overseas sites. But, looking back, even after our five-month period of continuous releases, we’ve been able to release even more.

NAOYA: We’ve been in this cycle of performing at various summer events, and then as soon as they’re finished we go in to record a new song.

HAYATO: Yeah, there’s no need to downplay it, our schedule’s been really hard. (laughs)

And in the middle of all that, you also had EBiDAN THE LIVE UNIVERSE 2023.

HAYATO: That was so fun.

TETTA: Yeah. EBiDAN LIVE really brought EBiDAN together. Until EBiDAN LIVE, each group performed their own music at their own events, so it felt like we were colleagues but, at the same time, rivals. With this event, though, we all really bonded and worked together as one.

KENSHIN: The Soiya project, which everyone in EBiDAN took part in, was another huge accomplishment for us.

EIKU: Right.  I’m sure there are people out there who learned about ONE N’ through the project and became fans. In EBiDAN LIVE, we played with label-mates, with different sets and lineups. It was a ton of fun. Yuki from Bullet Train was involved in the production, so we really got to interact a lot more. I’m looking forward to performing with everyone again!

And then you released “You are” and “Hook Up.” These are two very different types of songs.

REI: The EP shows a different side of us, coming right after “Freaking Happy.”

KENSHIN: “You are” was sung by our three vocalists (TETTA, REI, and EIKU), and it’s a song about really straightforward love. The melody, the choreography, it all conveys a different emotional feel than our past songs. It expresses its own well fleshed-out worldview, so I hope people realize that it’s a love song to our SWAGs.

It’s bound to strike an emotional chord with the audience when you perform it live.

TETTA: Right. Plus, we’ve never sung any rock ballads before, so I was really happy to be able to sing a song like this. Personally, I like rock music, and this song opened my eyes to what a surprisingly good match ONE N’s JK-POP and rock are. I think this may have opened the door to more rock-like songs in the future. It’s an extremely freeing song, and it sounds great even with some vocal arrangement twists, so I’d love to perform it live.

“Hook Up” is almost its polar opposite.

HAYATO: It’s really different from “You are.” There’s a lot of rap in “Hook Up,” but I love how these two songs showcase our strengths. We’ve always had a lot of hip-hop based songs, but this is our first time doing this much sampling, so it was really exciting. When we were planning for our tour of all 47 prefectures, we all talked about what to call the tour. We wanted for everyone to feel connected, so we went with the slang “Hook Up!” This song really matched up with that theme. Due, in part, to that, we decided on “Hook Up” as the name of the song, too, and the lyrics became all about racing across Japan. What we ended up with was a more positive-feeling song.

KENSHIN: I sing the start of the second verse, and the lyrics in my part are perfect for this 47 prefecture tour theme. I feel it even more when performing it live, and the song has a lot of interplay with the SWAGs, so it gets everyone amped up. When we perform it live, we take time before the chorus to teach the audience (the call and response), which gets people even more excited, so you can really feel the live ONE N’ experience. A lot of the shows in our 47 prefecture tour are at clubs, so the song is even more special, creating a greater sense of unity with the crowd.

Years from now, when you hear this song, they’ll remember the 47 prefecture tour.

NAOYA: Definitely!

TETTA: Really vividly.

EIKU: It’s such an exciting song. However, the choreography is pretty exhausting, even compared to our other songs, so it’s also a hard song to perform.

HAYATO: It’s so hard!!

EIKU: When we were filming the music video, the dancing took so much stamina, it was a tough shoot. But the energy that goes into our moves looks great on-screen and made for a really cool music video.

HAYATO: We filmed the video in Chigasaki, which is a center for skateboarding, basketball, graphics, and other elements of hip-hop culture. The weather forecast said it would be cloudy all day, but it ended up being sunny.

That’s because you’re stars!

TETTA: Of course!

Haha! I’m sure the music video will also have a really open feel to it.

TETTA: Our performance in the video is really fun, too. KAITA did the choreography for it. KAITA always has really powerful vibes, but this time the dance was three times more energetic than usual. The dancing is really a blast.

REI: The song has a pretty strong hip-hop feel, and it really put our abilities to the test. I love the kind of atmosphere it creates, and I’m sure that aesthetic is going to shine even more when we perform it live. I like our performance in the song even more than the other things we’ve done, so I want to do right by it.

The EP has a lot of other wonderful songs, too.

TETTA: I love the melody to “I Don’t Know.” It’s fast and the singing requires some technical skills, but the chorus uses falsetto. It has a very sophisticated feel. It’s one of my favorites. I like it so much that during show rehearsals, even though we’re not planning on performing it in the show itself, we use it for the sound check.

“I Don’t Know” was JUNE’s first song in a while, right? How did it feel taking direction from him again after all this time?

HAYATO: He has a really strong aesthetic.

KENSHIN: JUNE does the vocals in the demos he sends us, and they’re so polished you could probably release the demos as-is.

TETTA: Yeah!  So it always feels to me like we’re doing a cover version. Also, each time I hear a new song from him, I can tell that he’s expecting even more out of us, so it’s really exciting (laughs). The switch-ups in the arrangement were complex, so I struggled with them a bit, but it was really fun.

“The Light” is another cool song.

TETTA: It’s wonderful. At the same time, I feel like it ratchets up expectations for our performance.

KENSHIN: The rap in the second verse was so hard that I really struggled during the recording. It took a long time to make it truly my own. But I recorded that part over and over again, and everyone stuck there with me to the end. I could really feel everyone’s love for the group.

REI: When I heard “Nice Guy,” I was like, “Perfect.” (laughs) In a certain sense, it’s an unusual song for us, so we had to think about the best way to make it shine. We still haven’t developed the choreography for it, but our own efforts have a big impact on the quality of a song, so I want us to really think hard about this one before we perform it.

NAOYA: I particularly like “Turn it up.” It’s a very Japanese-feeling take on hip-hop, and it’s addictive. That said, it’s also a really hard song, and we had to record the rap parts several times. It’s the kind of song I hope people listen to closely.

EIKU: This was the first song I performed a spoken part on. I gave it a bit of a bad-boy feel, so keep your ears open for it.

TETTA: When I first heard it, I didn’t even think it was you, EIKU!  I thought it was HAYATO. So I guess you really look up to HAYATO…

HAYATO: Haha!

TETTA: It feels totally natural, and the transition from your lines, EIKU, to your singing, HAYATO, was really smooth.

You mean because of EIKU’s respect for HAYATO?

EIKU: Huh?! Uh, yeah! (laughs)

HAYATO: You sound like that was dragged out of you. (laughs)

I’m looking forward to hearing these songs performed live.

HAYATO: As we’re celebrating our 5th anniversary and touring all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, with this EP we’ve also fully leveraged the rap and vocal strengths we’ve been refining through the years. For now, we want to make it through the tour without any accidents or injuries and top the tour off with a successful final performance at Pacifico Yokohama, so make sure to come see us!

—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan

08 Dec 2023

Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of 2023: Comeback Artist of the Year — Miley Cyrus

For this year’s update of our ongoing Greatest Pop Star by Year project, Billboard is counting down our staff picks for the top 10 pop stars of 2023 all next week. First, a salute to the artist who made the most impressive comeback this year: pop icon Miley Cyrus, who found herself back atop the top 40 world for the first time in a decade.

Ahead of her Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party to ring in 2023, Miley Cyrus said in an interview that her new year’s resolution was to “listen” more. Well, does it count if more people than ever listened to her this year? 

Cyrus hit the ground sprinting in 2023, using her second NBC NYE special – during which she co-hosted with godmother Dolly Parton and duetted on an inspired mash-up of “Wrecking Ball” and “I Will Always Love You” – to announce a brand-new song called “Flowers,” along with the tagline “New Year, New Miley, New Single.” She seized on the sleepy January news cycle and sent fans into overdrive, as the Smilers eagerly pieced together clues to decode the instantly buzzy song’s meaning. The lyric teasers pointed to a post-breakup epiphany (“I can love me better than you can”) and the release date was Jan. 13 – which just so happens to be the birthday of Cyrus’ ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. 

But this song was so much more than just an Easter egg hunt around Cyrus’ high-profile love life — and, in the end, the song ended up arriving a few hours early, so the much-ballyhooed release date wasn’t even her ex’s b-day after all. While Cyrus has consistently released music over the years, this felt like her first truly must-listen moment of the decade — and indeed, it was about to be the biggest hit of her already-impressive career. 

Greatest Pop Stars, Miley Cyrus

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Greatest Pop Stars, Miley Cyrus

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“Flowers” – which Cyrus co-wrote with Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack, and was produced by Harry Styles’ sunshiny secret weapons Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson – was immediately embraced by a cross-generational cast of characters when it arrived alongside a glossy music video (which boasts nearly 650 million views on YouTube). There was Gloria Gaynor — she of the ultimate life-after-heartbreak anthem “I Will Survive,” a frequent point of comparison for “Flowers” — who told Cyrus via social media: “Your new song carries the torch of empowerment and encourages everyone to find strength in themselves to persevere and thrive. Well done Miley!” Then there was Diane Keaton, who posted a video dancing with her dog through tall grass and wrote to Cyrus: “YOUR INCREDIBLE SONG GAVE ME A REASON TO DANCE IN MY OWN BACKYARD!” 

Once the full song was released, fans continued their full-time investigation into all its Liam lyrical clues, like when Cyrus sings in the first verse “built a home and watched it burn,” seemingly in reference to the 2018 Malibu fire that claimed the then-married couple’s home. But the analysis also shifted to a new focus: the song’s clear link to Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit “When I Was Your Man.” (Bruno: “I should have bought you flowers.” Miley: “I can buy myself flowers.” Bruno: “Take you to every party ’cause all you wanted to do was dance.” Miley: “I can take myself dancing.”) In fact, it appears that “Flowers” is an answer to all the overly sentimental heartbreak songs that came before it – as Gaynor noted, instead of carrying a torch for her ex, Cyrus is carrying “the torch of empowerment.” 

And boy, did that message resonate. On Jan. 24, “Flowers” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 – only Cyrus’ second No. 1 on the chart, following the three-week reign of “Wrecking Ball” 10 years earlier – and also launched as the biggest song in the world, reigning on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts too. On Jan. 19, it became the most-streamed song in a single week in Spotify history – only to rewrite the streamer’s record with an even bigger week 2. A sampling of other “Flowers” feats: It spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100; it has the longest No. 1 run for a female artist ever on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary (34 weeks) and Adult Pop Airplay (17 weeks) charts; it’s the quickest song to hit 1 billion streams in Spotify history; and it was named the fourth-best song of 2023 by the Billboard staff.  

The way “Flowers” loomed so large throughout the year threatened to overshadow the rest of Cyrus’ 2023, during which she released her eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation in March to a No. 3 debut (and her biggest sales week since the Billboard 200 switched from a purely album sales-based chart to one using equivalent album units in 2014). The album – which arrived with a music video for second single “River” (helping it reach the Hot 100’s top 40) followed the next month by “Jaded” (top 10 on Adult Pop Airplay) — landed in the top 20 on Billboard’s best albums of 2023 staff list, with awards editor Paul Grein calling it “one of the year’s finest pop comebacks.” 

And the Vacation wasn’t over yet: Cyrus had another top 10 debut on the Hot 100 (and a new Diane Keaton co-sign) with “Used to Be Young,” a wistful, raspy ballad that arrived as part of the deluxe digital edition of the album in August. In a nostalgic nod to Cyrus’ early days, “Young” just so happened to arrive the same week as Selena Gomez’s “Single Soon.” The Disney Channel alumnae played up the timing, as Wizards of Waverly Place star Gomez shared a clip of her own throwback Hannah Montana cameo with the caption: “@mileycyrus and I both have a SINGLE SOON and we are releasing on the same day. We have been friends since we USED TO BE YOUNG. Excited for August 25th!” More than three months later, “Used to Be Young” is still hanging around the Hot 100 top 40, and just topped the Adult Pop Airplay chart for the first time.  

But what truly stood out this year is the Recording Academy finally paying attention to Cyrus’ work. When the 2024 Grammy nominations were announced Nov. 10, Cyrus came away with six nods – triple the two she’d previously received over her more than 15-year career – including the Big Four categories of song and record of the year for “Flowers” and album of the year for Vacation. “It’s fun to be nominated & exciting to win but having my music be LOVED around the world is the real trophy,” Cyrus said in reaction to the nom news on social media. 

Despite starting the year with a television special, Cyrus was overall a little absent on the promotional front, and from the sounds of her May cover interview with British Vogue, she’s not sure she wants to tour again. “Like singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love,” she said. “There’s no connection. There’s no safety. It’s also not natural. It’s so isolating because if you’re in front of 100,000 people, then you are alone.” She waited until Nov. 21 to finally perform “Flowers” in front of an audience for the very first time, but the invite-only crowd at LA’s Chateau Marmont probably didn’t even approach 100, let alone 100,000. A week later, as a thank you to fans, she shared a black-and-white video of the jazzy performance, backed by just a piano and sprinkled with cheeky ad libs (“I didn’t want to leave you … but I had to!/ I didn’t want to fight … but we did!”). 

In that new year’s resolution video at the top of the year, Cyrus was also asked by Today show host Hoda Kotb how she’s different now as a 30-year-old (Cyrus just turned 31 on Nov. 23) versus her younger days. “It’s somehow that I’m completely different and somehow I’m exactly the same,” she answered. That can really be said about her comeback success with “Flowers” too: The song is both the most grown-up and fully realized song we’ve ever heard from the Hannah Montana child star-turned-adult pop powerhouse, while still embodying the carefree, no-effs-given attitude that has made her such a firebrand throughout her career. 

The last time she topped the Hot 100, she came in like a wrecking ball. This time, she comes bearing flowers. But she’s still just being Miley. 

08 Dec 2023

YouTuber & Rapper Crip Mac Arrested on Federal Gun Charges

Youtuber and rapper Trevor Hurd, who goes by the name Crip Mac, was arrested in LA County court Tuesday (Dec. 5) on federal gun charges and is currently being held on pretrial detention, according to an indictment and other court records obtained by Billboard.

The 30-year-old’s arrest came moments after an LA County judge agreed to drop gun charges against the South Los Angeles resident and expectant father for a Sept. 3 arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Seconds after learning the state charges were dropped, Hurd was arrested by waiting U.S. Marshals who informed him that his case had been transferred to the US Attorney’s office where he would face the gun charges in federal court.

Shortly before Tuesday’s arrest, a two-month-old indictment against Hurd was unsealed. It showed that he was charged with being a felon in possession of an unregistered weapon and ten rounds of ammo.

“Defendant HURD possessed such ammunition knowing that he had previously been convicted of at least one of the following felony crimes,” the indictment reads, laying out five arrests since 2014. Hurd was also arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm in LA County on July 27, 2022, and Oct. 12, 2021. On Nov. 8, 2017, Hurd was arrested for attempted second-degree armed robbery; on Aug. 12, 2015, he was arrested for grand theft; and on Oct. 20, 2014, he was arrested for transportation of a controlled substance.

California defense attorney Curtis Briggs, who is not involved with the Crip Mac case, tells Billboard it’s not uncommon for federal officials to take over state criminal cases in coordination with local authorities.

“Sometimes, local authorities become frustrated by lenient sentencing for people who are prolific [offenders] so they request the feds review for prosecution. This puts more prison time in the discussion,” Briggs explains.

The feds also could be working on a larger case, like a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case involving multiple defendants and a superseding indictment, Briggs explained.

“The worst case is he gets folded into a larger gang conspiracy and RICO case involving murders. In that case, it’s likely life in prison,” Briggs adds. If he’s just facing the gun charges, “it’s possible, depending on the specific facts of his case, he could do 10 years. It depends on various individual factors” and details of the case, Briggs says.

Hurd is currently being held in pretrial custody. His next hearing is scheduled for Monday (Dec. 11).

Crip Mac

Crip Mac

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08 Dec 2023

Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 Perfume Is Out Now: Get It Before It Sells Out

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Nicki Minaj is celebrating her birthday with a new album and a new perfume. The rapper’s latest scent, Pink Friday 2 Eau de Parfum, was released exclusively at JCPenny on Friday (Dec. 8).

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The fragrance retails for $42 for a 1.7-ounce bottle and $22 for the 0.33-ounce travel bottle. Pink Friday 2 perfume combines top notes of nectarine, pineapple and solar blooms with orange flower petals, pink mimosa and damask rose at the heart of the fragrance. Amber, tonka bean and sexy musk make up the base notes.

The fragrance drop coincides with the release of Minaj’s highly anticipated fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 on Friday. The perfume was initially released on Nov. 27, Minaj announced on Instagram. “It’s official. My brand new fragrance #PinkFriday2 is now @jcpenney,” she captioned photos of the fragrance which reportedly sold out within minutes. Minaj later explained to fans that she didn’t know the fragrance was being released. “I had no idea. Was informed of nothing. Didn’t get a link to post. Just woke up one day & boom! Saw y’all discussing it,” she shared on X.

Pink Friday 2, the sequel fragrance to her Pink Friday perfume, which debuted in 2012. Minaj has released other fragrances such as The Pinkprint, Minajesty and Onika.

This latest fragrance marks the “next chapter in Minaj’s beauty portfolio,” per the product description.

Shopping for Barbz this holiday season? Pink Friday 2 Eau de Parfum is a perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer for Barbz. If you’re looking for more gift ideas, Urban Outfitters dropped an exclusive, Pink Friday 2 T-shirt and  electric blue Pink Friday 2 vinyls.  

Shop Pink Friday 2 Eau de Parfum below.

08 Dec 2023

Donald Glover Stars In Amazon Prime’s ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Trailer

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Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Source: Amazon MGM Studios / Amazon Prime

Donald Glover’s Atlanta days might be over, but the man is ready to take on some new adventures in Amazon Prime’s upcoming Mr. & Mrs. Smith series.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Source: Amazon MGM Studios / Amazon Prime

Very similar to the 2005 film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, this new version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith centers around two spies (Donald Glover and Maya Erskine) who pose as a married couple while taking on assignments that lead to fights, shootouts and bodies being left on the living room floor. While we don’t exactly view Donald Glover as the James Bond type, the man has proven himself to be quite the talented actor over the past few years, so y’all can expect an impressive performance in this upcoming series.

According to Prime Video:

In this version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?

Don’t be surprised if these two end up falling in love at some point.

It’s a shame that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie basically hate each other these days as it would’ve been cool to see them make some kind of cameo at some point in the eight-episode series.

Check out the trailer for Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith below and let us know if you’ll be checking for on Amazon Prime when it debuts Feb. 2, 2024.