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Tate McRae has ticked a lot of career dreams off her vision board over the past few years. But that doesn’t mean the “Sports Car” singer is done searching for new challenges. In an interview with Pride about her deep connection to her LGBTQ+ day one fans and the star’s upcoming Miss Possessive tour in support of her So Close to What album, McRae didn’t hesitate when asked which one of her idols she’d like to hit the studio with.
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“My dream is to write with SZA. She’s one of the coolest and best writers ever,” McRae said of the “Luther” star who is gearing to to hit the road with her Super Bowl LIX halftime show compatriot Kendrick Lamar in April. “I love her. I think it’d be a mix of pop and R&B. I’d let her take the charge! I just want to always keep pushing my comfort zone. I never want to recycle and do the same things. As an artist, I want to be uncomfortable and shock myself sometimes.”
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While she’s manifesting things, the goal-driven McRae also said she “would die” to perform at the MTV VMAs. “That’s something I’ve watched all my idols do for so many years,” she said of the show that has been a launching pad and showcase for some of her obvious influences in the past, from Madonna to Britney Spears. “From some reason, that specific performances is something I’ve always wanted.”
She also had to give it up for her day-one queer fans, saying that they are her absolute “favorite. No one beats them. Nobody is better than them. My whole team is gay! That’s the only opinion I really want when I’m releasing music. I feel lucky that I have their opinion. We want to do the most and push the boundaries, but it’s also the most brutally honest advice.”
As an example, the 21-year-old noted her 2023 performance at the G-A-Y & Heaven Nightclub in London, which she called one of her all-time high points. “I ditched the mic and just started dancing,” she said. “There was only like 150 people in the room and it was some of the craziest, loudest energy I’ve ever felt. I just wanted to whip my hair, do a kick, and leave! That’s all I wanted to do.”
In a final shout-out to the audience that has always had her back, McRae added, “I love you guys so much. Y’all are my number ones. You know that as much as you guys ride for me, I ride for you. I feel very grateful to have you guys in my life and surrounding me.”
As she awaits the March 18 kick-off of her tour in Mexico City’s Pepsi Center WTC, McRae will appear as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend alongside host comedian Shane Gillis.
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Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash has seen its fair share of memorable moments, from surprise guests to on-stage shenanigans. We have pretty much seen it all over the past 29 shows, and yet, each year becomes hotter than the last!
We take a look back at 20 of the biggest moments in Birthday Bash history! Consider it a warm-up for this year’s Birthday Bash!
Scroll Down and Tune In FRIDAY @ 5 pm For A MAJOR BIRTHDAY BASH ANNOUNCEMENT!
20 Memorable “Birthday Bash” Moments
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1. Latto Brings Out Usher For Birthday Bash
2. NLE Choppa & Sexyy Red Get Frisky On Stage
3. Megan Thee Stallion Performs “Realer”
4. Lil Baby Brings Out Lil Durk
5. 21 Savage Brings Out Latto & Cardi B
6. Lil Baby & His Son Having a Ball
7. Migos Hits The Birthday Bash Stage For The Last Time
8. Gucci Mane Brings Out Rick Ross
9. Fabo From D4L Performs “Laffy Taffy”
10. BeatKing’s Final Birthday Bash Performance
11. Gloss Up Shares The Stage With Her Son
12. DaBaby Hops In The Crowd & Turns Up
13. 21 Savage & J Cole Light Up The Stage
14. Ludacris & Mystikal On Stage
15. Killer Mike Awarded The Inaugural Rico Wade Game Changer Award
16. T.I. Shouts Out Young Thug
17. Pastor Troy Performs “No Mo Play in GA”
18. Latto Gets Freaky On The Mic
19. Yung Miami Twerks On Stage
20. Gucci Mane Brings Out Lil Wayne
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The Marathon never ends. Nipsey Hussle’s brother Blacc Sam teased in a recent interview on his late brother’s first posthumous album is expected to drop this summer. Due to the untimely passing of Neighborhood Nip, we have not gotten a new project in about six years.
Blacc Sam also spoke to Power 106 on a collab project that was pretty much 80% complete before Nip passed with West Coast artist, Bino Rideaux, “The team kind of came in and got some unreleased verses in music that he had done with Bino, and just kind of tightened it up,” he explained. “It sounds amazing, and it should be dropping this summer.”
The album will include work from some of the same producers who helped shape his critically acclaimed 2018 album Victory Lap. Mike & Keys, Axl Folie, and My Guy Mars, who worked on tracks like “Double Up,” “Dedication,” and “Hustle & Motivate,” are confirmed to return for the project. These producers are known for their signature West Coast sound, blending soulful melodies with Nipsey’s raw and honest storytelling.
Fans have eagerly awaited new material since Nipsey’s tragic death, and this album promises to honor his legacy while giving listeners a glimpse into the artist’s evolving journey. Blacc Sam has been vocal about ensuring the album stays true to Nipsey’s vision, creating something authentic that reflects his impact The announcement has sparked excitement, as the Crenshaw rapper’s fans are ready to hear the final chapter of the rapper’s musical story—one that was tragically cut short but will live on through his work.
Check out the full conversation with Blacc Sam and Power 106 below:
All that glitters is gold when it comes to Dreamworks’ new film announcement, with the animation studio revealing Thursday (Feb. 27) that a fifth Shrek movie is in the works featuring Zendaya as the beloved ogre’s daughter. In a teaser clip shared on YouTube, the Spiderman star (who has landed six songs on the Billboard […]
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor the late Robert John with a look at his lone No. 1: The sweetly insensitive 1979 throwback smash “Sad Eyes.”
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Perhaps it made counterintuitive sense that Robert John would finally score his career-making solo ballad at one of the most inhospitable times for downtempo pop music in the history of top 40. The year 1979 was defined first and foremost by disco: the thumping dance music that not only made stars out of the Bee Gees, Chic and Donna Summer but also convinced artists as far-flung as Herb Alpert, Rod Stewart and Blondie to get on the floor. All six of those artists topped the Hot 100 with disco (or at least disco-influenced) songs in 1979, and the charts’ biggest exception to disco’s dominance — power-poppers The Knack, who ended up with the chart’s year-end No. 1 with the irresistible “My Sharona” — was still just as propulsive and beat-driven. The Hot 100 certainly should not have had room at its apex in 1979 for a song as slow-paced, winsome and unapologetically retro as “Sad Eyes.”
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But Robert John’s path on the charts had never exactly been a logical one. His career arc was atypically jagged and erratic for a pop singer, starting at an unnaturally young age and continuing for decades, but rarely for more than a hit song at a time, and often with many fallow years coming in between them. By 1979, John had technically been a hitmaker for over 20 years, but he also hadn’t reached the Hot 100 since 1972, and he had even given up on making music altogether for a stretch in the mid-decade. For him to return to recording and immediately top the Hot 100 for the first and only time in his career, with a song at about half the BPM of most of the hits surrounding it on top 40 at the time? Sure, why not.
In truth, it wasn’t like “Sad Eyes” was the only slow song making it on the radio in the late ’70s. There were still plenty of nuggets of AM gold to be found among the silver disco balls littering that era’s charts, sweetly harmonized gems like Walter Egan’s “Magnet and Steel,” Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and Barry Manilow’s “Can’t Smile Without You.” Even disco stalwarts the Bee Gees kicked the year off with “Too Much Heaven,” one of the group’s most sentimental ballads, topping the Hot 100. Another such hit from the time that had just missed the top 10 in 1978, Toby Beau’s “My Angel Baby,” caught the ear of producer George Tobin, who felt a song like that would be a good fit for Robert John.
John would take some convincing. He was essentially retired from music at the time, and was working construction in New Jersey. John had become frustrated with the industry after 15 years of recording — dating back to the minor 1958 hit “White Bucks and Saddle Shoes,” which he recorded as Bobby Pedrick, Jr. when he was just 12 years old — which had failed to result in a consistently sustainable career for him. The final straw came following the success of his 1971 version of The Tokens’ Hot 100-topping 1961 smash “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which went to No. 3 on the chart and sold over a million copies — but still didn’t inspire much belief in him from his then-label, Atlantic Records. “The company didn’t have enough faith to let me do an album,” he told Rolling Stone. “I decided that if that’s what happens after [such a big hit] then I just wasn’t going to sing anymore.”
Tobin invited John to live with him as they worked on the song that would become his comeback single. They eventually came up with “Sad Eyes,” a breakup ballad built on a plush water bed of aqueous electric piano, twinkling glockenspiel, loping bass, buoyant guitar and a crisp drum shuffle. The production was lovely without being overwhelmingly lush, and John’s mostly falsetto vocal was its perfect match — particularly towards the song’s end, when the song modulates up and John uses his doo-wop background to hit some unreal upper-register ad libs as the chorus repeats to fade.
In fact, the song was so sweet that it was easy to miss just what a cad John was playing in its lyrics. The “Sad Eyes” in question belong to a lover who John is breaking it off with, presumably because his main squeeze is returning from afar: “Looks like it’s over, you knew I couldn’t stay/ She’s comin’ home today,” he explains in the opening lines. The song’s patronizing attempts to comfort the soon-to-be-ex on the verses (“Try to remember the magic that we shared/ In time your broken heart will mend”) turn to outright selfishness on the chorus (“Turn the other way… I don’t want to see you cry”) — but they never quite feel mean-spirited enough to the point of distracting from the song’s intoxicating sway.
After a false start with Arista, Tobin and John eventually caught the interest of EMI America, launched just the year before, which released the record in April 1979. The song debuted at No. 85 on the Hot 100 dated May 19, though it didn’t top the chart until 20 weeks later — tying a Hot 100 record to that point, set the year before by Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child in the City” for longest trek to No. 1 — when it finally knocked The Knack out of the top spot after its six-week reign with “My Sharona.” (John also set a record with the longest time in between his first Hot 100 entry and his first No. 1, dating back 21 years to his “White Bucks and Saddle Shoes” debut in 1958, though Tina Turner would take that mark over a half-decade later with her “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”) “Sad Eyes” lasted just one week atop the listing, before the disco order was once again restored — as the song was unseated by Michael Jackson’s all-timer Off the Wall lead single, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”
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This time, Robert John at least would get to make a full album: a self-titled LP, also released on EMI in 1979, which peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard 200 that October. But the album failed to spawn another top 40 hit — the groovier “Lonely Eyes” peaked just outside the region in early 1980 — and John would only make the chart subsequently with a trio of covers, faring the best with his No. 31-peaking take on Eddie Holman’s “Hey There Lonely Girl,” from 1980’s Back on the Street. That album would prove to be his last, and John mostly retired from recording and performing again after that.
Robert John might never have gotten the sustained success or career stability he hoped for as a singer, but he did have hits in four separate decades, he did get his name multiple times in the Billboard record books, and he can claim to be one of just a few artists in the world to rule the age of disco with a not-even-remotely-disco record. Even he eventually turned the other way, that’s nothing to be sad about.
This analysis is part of Billboard’s music technology newsletter Machine Learnings. Sign up for Machine Learnings, and other Billboard newsletters for free here.
In an interview in 2023, Techstars managing director Bob Moczydlowsky told Billboard, “If Streaming 1.0 was about making all the music play, Streaming 2.0 should be about being able to play with all the music.”
In 2025, that statement feels prescient. Bloomberg reported on Feb. 14 that Spotify’s long anticipated superfan tier will likely roll out later this year and include extra features like high-fidelity audio, access to concert tickets and song remixing tools for an additional fee on top of Spotify premium.
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Also this month, the AI remixing app MashApp launched on the Apple App Store, offering users the ability to quickly and easily mash up selected songs from the Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music and Kobalt catalogs. Similarly, Hook, a competitor, just announced a new partnership with indie distributor Too Lost to license its works for Hook’s library of mashable, customizable songs. (Hook also previously struck a deal with Downtown for its library of music.)
Even though remixes of songs have dominated TikTok and other short-form video apps for years — and were all over SoundCloud and YouTube before that — participating in the fun of creating them has had barriers to entry. A user would need to learn how to use a digital audio workstation (DAW), like Garageband or ProTools, to create a good-sounding rework of a song, and they’d likely need the stems (the individual instrument tracks that make up a song), too. Now, with AI-powered stem separation and remix apps, there’s almost nothing left standing between a music fan and getting creative with their own derivative mashups.
But copyright law, the longtime nemesis of remixing, remains a major obstacle. For years, record labels and publishers have been playing an ever-expanding game of whack-a-mole with unauthorized remixes online, trying to retain control over their sound recordings. In the TikTok age, unauthorized remixes have gotten even further out of control as sped-up, slowed-down and other types of reworkings gained prominence. But it seems some companies are now taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy by uploading officially sanctioned sped-up, slowed-down, a cappella and other alternate renditions of their work to streaming services.
Music companies, sensing the business opportunity, are also licensing to Hook and MashApp. While both have properly licensed libraries of songs to work with, these apps still leave a lot to be desired for users today. MashApp only has selected songs licensed from the three majors and Kobalt — among the recommended tracks are “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Tequila” by Dan + Shay. Hook has a similar problem — its top songs include “Buy The World” by Kendrick Lamar, Mike WiLL Made-It and Future, “Fall Back” by Lithe, “fisherrr” by Cash Cobain and Bay Swag, and more. If you look up a major artist on either of these apps, odds are they either have only a few of their tracks licensed, or don’t have their catalog at all.
For these apps to succeed, they must get deals done with, essentially, every rights holder on the recorded music and publishing sides to offer a comprehensive catalog — and if you look at the songwriter credits of any major pop or rap song, you’ll realize how challenging getting all of these parties to agree could be. Just one songwriter or company could hold up the licensing of a top song.
Spotify has already done the hard part by getting all the music on the service during what Moczydlowsky calls the “Streaming 1.0” period, but significant challenges still remain ahead if it wants to integrate these much more playful 2.0 remix features. The top streaming service made an enemy of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the trade organization representing the vast majority of publishers in the U.S., in March 2024 by decreasing the royalties paid to publishers and songwriters in the U.S. on premium-tier streams by about 40%. Known colloquially as the “bundling” issue, Spotify argued that adding audiobooks into its premium subscriptions meant it could divide the royalty pool between music and book publishers.
The NMPA’s president and CEO, David Israelite, said Spotify “declared war on songwriters,” and to fight back, the NMPA launched a series of attacks, including sending Spotify a cease and desist letter warning that if it launched tools to “speed up, mash up and otherwise edit songs from their favorite artists… without the proper licenses in place from our members,” it “may constitute additional direct infringement.”
In January, Spotify’s standing with publishers seemed to be getting better. The streamer forged direct deals with Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, which included improved remuneration on the publishing side. At the time, I noted in my analysis of these deals that Spotify likely came back to the negotiating table with publishers because the streamer knows it needs the publishers to voluntarily license their catalogs to support these upcoming features, including remixing. Still, that doesn’t mean all publishers, or the NMPA, have buried the hatchet.
On Feb. 4, the NMPA issued 2,500 podcast takedowns against Spotify, in a move that signaled that the NMPA will continue to hold a grudge. (Spotify called this move “a press stunt.”) Press stunt or not, Spotify needs the rest of the NMPA members on its side to make a remix tool with a full working library. Otherwise, they’ll be forced to launch with a piecemeal catalog like their start-up competitors.
But if anyone is poised to take over this budding remix market, it’s likely Spotify, given its pre-existing relationships and significant resources. Still, it remains to be seen how much users will even take to this type of feature. Is remixing the next big thing, or just another fad?
Netón Vega seems to be suddenly everywhere nowadays, but he’s hardly an overnight success. Born in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico, the 22-year-old artist is best known for co-writing countless hits, including Peso Pluma’s “Rubicon” and “La People.” After cementing himself as a go-to songwriter, Vega’s journey as a singer is just taking off — most recently, his reggaetón anthem “Loco” earned him his fourth top 10 entry on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart — and that’s exactly how he planned for it to be.
“Writing songs was the best first step because you start making points, and when you get hits from those songs you’re writing — well, that really gets your name out there,” Vega, this month’s Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise, explains. “Other artists start to know that you can write well and then eventually find out you can also sing. That opens doors for you. It’s what happened to me. The songs I wrote really took off. It was hit after hit, and everything after that just happened so fast.”
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Vega fell in love with music at a young age. By age 9, he was singing at school concerts and, five years later, he created his own band in Culiacán — where he grew up — with him as lead singer. What started off as a hobby quickly turned into a money-making business. The band was composed by fellow classmates and a neighbor who they recruited while eating burgers. “We were so busy playing at parties, it was crazy,” Vega remembers. “At the beginning, we actually didn’t know much to charge. We were getting like 500 to 1000 pesos per event, but we worked long hours and like five days a week. I would go to school defeated, but with money in my pocket.”
Like many kids who grow up in the state of Sinaloa, Vega listened to regional Mexican music, especially corridos, and then started writing his own. His parents — who encouraged Vega’s love for music — also consumed música Mexicana, but also the more traditional stuff, including norteña. “My parents were never opposed to me playing at events — sometimes they would go with me,” he says.
Two years ago, Vega met Jesús Josafat Chávez Angulo, who was part of the local music scene in Culiacán, and was the unofficial manager of a few groups in town. “It’s a small community and everyone knows everyone,” says Vega. “I was invited to his house and that’s where I met him. We got along really well and I started working with him.” Today, Chávez Angulo is Vega’s manager, and founder of Josa Records, the indie label home to Vega. “The support I needed then was being able to go record in a studio and be able to make music videos. It’s really what I needed to get my name out there.”
The opportunities started coming quickly through social media. People in Culiacán started discovering him, and one day, a friend and fellow musician told him that Peso Pluma wanted to record one of his songs. “I wrote ‘Rubicon’ and that was a before and after in my career,” he recalls. “I remember that person came up to me and told me that Hassan (Peso’s real name) liked the song, and wanted to record it. I was like, ‘Great, he can record it.’” The track peaked at No. 12 on Hot Latin Songs.
Vega’s big break as a singer came last year through a collaboration with Luis R Conriquez. The corridos bélicos pioneer reached out to Vega via Instagram. “He sent me a video saying he had a corrido, and he wanted to sing it with me. He came to Guadalajara and we recorded the song and video here.” The collaborative effort peaked at No. 2 on Hot Latin Songs in June, followed by “La Patrulla” with Peso, which also peaked at No. 2 on the tally in September.
Vega, who now spends most of his time in Guadalajara wrapped 2024 with the success of “Loco,” a reggaetón smash hit that showcased his versatility, and the rise of Mexican reggaetón. “I’m more comfortable maybe in Mexican music but I feel good in both genres. I don’t ever want to regret not doing a style. Having a song like ‘Loco,’ and for it to explode, it means a lot. People are discovering my music with this song. That’s always a good thing and I want to continue to do that with my music, without ever losing my essence, of course.”
Most recently, Vega released Mi Vida Mi Muerte, his debut album, which has further fueled his momentum. The set is stacked with heavy-hitters in the genre, including Óscar Maydon, Tito Double P and Gabito Ballesteros. In a nod to his growing popularity, Vega will headline the inaugural Michelada Fest in El Paso, Texas on May 3, along with Chino Pacas, marking his first U.S. performance.
Read more about our February Latin Artist on the Rise below.
Name: Luis Ernesto Vega Carvajal
Age: 22
Recommended Song: “I would actually want them to listen to my new album, from beginning to end. You can really get an idea of what type of artist I am and how much I enjoy making all kinds of music.”
Major Accomplishment: “Being nominated for Mexican music new artist and Mexican music collaboration of the year at Premio Lo Nuestro.”
What’s Next? “I really want to start performing in the U.S. I want to see how people will react to my songs.”
Cardi B and Ozuna teamed up for “La Modelo” in 2017, and the pair have reconnected in the studio, which sparked collaboration rumors. Cardi took to her Instagram Story early Thursday (Feb. 27) in the studio with the Puerto Rican artist, and the turn-up may have seen them join forces on a new track. “A […]
Halsey dropped the definitely NSFW video for their new single, “safeword,” on Thursday (Feb. 27) after teasing a 13-second preview of the track earlier this week. As promised in the sneak peek, the S&M-themed video directed by provocative stylist and Sedition Magazine editor-in-chief Lana Jay Lackey opens with a close-up of the singer rocking black-and-silver studded thong underwear, a leather jacket, leather cap and knee-high, studded, stiletto boots.
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As the song’s distorted guitar and manic, galloping rhythm kicks in, Halsey dives into dominatrix mode, kicking a leather-masked man laying on the floor in his head as they sing in a riot grrrl-inflected yelp, “Pin me to the floor, swing me by the neck/ Locked behind a door, it is time yet, time yet?/ Don’t be such a bore, gimme respect/ Are you feeling sore? Are you wet yet, wet yet?”
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Soon enough, it’s Halsey who is on the other end, as someone ties a rope around their body, pinning it to a chair as she engages in puppy play and lays prone on a table while a leather-masked dom in a suit spanks their lingerie-clad bottom before menacingly chomping on an apple. The urgent, digital hardcore-edged song hurtles to the howled chorus, “Oh, can you take it, baby?/ Oh can you handle it?/ Don’t tell me what to do, I’m gonna stand it,” with Halsey making it clear “you’re not the boss of me.”
The singer strikes a series of provocative poses throughout the rest of the clip, hanging upside down by her ankles in a mesh bra top and matching leggings — her private parts covered by black stars and a merkin — and sipping from a shake perched on a tray held up by a latex-encased living coffee table. Little is left to the imagination in the video, which also includes scenes of simulated masturbation, light pony play as Halsey rides a ball-gagged human horse and a scene of the singer trussed up and wearing a lamp shade, as well as other envelope-pushing images that bring to mind Madonna’s 1992 Sex book.
The high-energy single comes just a few months after Halsey dropped her fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator, yet another artistic pivot from the singer in which she took on a variety of musical personas on the confessional, eclectic concept album that spotlighted a mix of pop, folk and rock. It was set up by a teaser campaign in which she paid homage to a number of the LP’s inspirations, including Dolly Parton, PJ Harvey, David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, Kate Bush, Cher and Britney Spears, among others.
Halsey also recently announced the dates for their upcoming spring/summer 2025 Halsey: For My Last Trick tour. The 32-city Live Nation-promoted trek in support of the singer’s Columbia Records debut is slated to kick off on May 10 at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord in Concord, CA, keeping them on the road through a July 6 show at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, CA.
Joining Halsey on their first headlining tour in three years will be: Del Water Gap, The Warning, Evanescence, Alvvays, Hope Tala, Royel Otis, Sir Chloe, flowerlove, Magdalena Bay and Alemeda joining on select dates.
Watch the “safeword” video below.
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Countdown to the 2025 Oscars begins! The 97th Academy Awards is the biggest night in movies, but with performances from Wicked co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, LISA of BLACKPINK, Doja Cat and others, this will be a must-see event for music fans as well. It will also be a big night for musicals, as Wicked and Emilia Pérez are both nominated for best picture. It marks the first time two musicals have been up for the coveted award in the same year since 1968 with Oliver! and Funny Girl.
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The show airs on ABC and is streaming live for the first time on Fubo TV and Hulu this Sunday, March 2. Here’s our guide to watching the 2025 Oscars online.
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When Are the 2025 Oscars?
The 97th annual Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 2 starting at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on ABC. The ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
Who’s Performing at the 2025 Oscars?
In a break from tradition, the ceremony will not include live performances of the best original song nominees, and instead, will spotlight songwriters through personal reflections. However, there will still be many must-see musical performances throughout Oscar night, starting with Wicked co-darlings Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande gracing the stage to open up the award show. The two are both 2025 Oscar nominees, with Erivo up for best actress and Grande for best supporting actress.
LISA of BLACKPINK, who just had her acting debut in the recent season of White Lotus, is expecting to perform alongside Oscar nominated Queen Latifah, Doja Cat and Raye for a “performance celebrating the filmmaking community and some of its legends.”
Who’s Hosting the 2025 Oscars?
Conan O’Brien is set to host the 97th Academy Awards for the first time. The Emmy-winning comedian known for Late Night With Conan O’Brien and Conan O’Brien Must Go is no stranger to hosting big awards shows, having done so for the Primetime Emmys in 2002 and 2006, as well as the MTV Movie Awards in 2014.
How Can You Watch and Stream the 2025 Oscars Online?
The Oscars will air live on ABC, and for the first time ever, the award ceremony will be available to watch live on select streaming services, including Fubo TV and Hulu.
With Fubo, subscribers can stream hundreds of cable, network and sports channels with Fubo’s Pro package which is $84.99 a month for 145 channels such as CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, FX, TLC, AMC, MSNBC, ESPN, FS1 and Nickelodeon. Try it out with a week-long free trial with no commitment.
For the first time, fans can stream the 2025 Oscars live on Hulu without the addition of the live service bundle. For new subscribers, try out the 30-day free trial to browse hit series and movies including the Oscar nominated A Real Pain, alongside binge-worthy TV shows such as Shogun and Paradise for free.
If you have Hulu + Live TV, you’ll also have access to stream the 97th Academy Awards live in addition to more than 90 live channels, including ABC, Max and loads of on-demand content that you can stream at home or on the go for $82 a month. With the subscription, you’ll also gain access to Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.
DirectTV Stream is a great option to stream the Oscars this Sunday. It’s not very expensive and you can enjoy perks such as free Max, Starz and other premium channels with select plans and a free trial for five days. Streaming plans start at $86.99/month after your free trial is up.
Who’s Presenting at the 2025 Oscars?
The Academy has announced that Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey, Ben Stiller, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Ana de Armas, Lily-Rose Depp, Goldie Hawn, Connie Nielsen, Joe Alwyn, Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow, Amy Poehler, June Squibb, Bowen Yang, Dave Bautista, Harrison Ford, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Margaret Qualley, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldaña, Rachel Zegler and last year’s winners Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Emma Stone will take part in presenting this year.
Who’s Nominated for Oscars This Year?
Films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar include Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, Sean Baker’s Anora, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, Edward Berger’s Conclave, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here and RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys.
Emilia Pérez leads the pack with the most nominations of the night with 13, setting a record for a non-English movie. Tied for second, is A24’s The Brutalist and Wicked with 11 nods; A Complete Unknown and Conclave came in third with eight mentions each.
How to Watch Every 2025 Oscar Best Picture Nominated Film
If you’re looking to beef up your Letterboxd reviews, check out our guide on how you can watch and stream every best picture nominated film online right now, including A Complete Unknown, Wicked, The Brutalist, Anora and others.