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23 Jun 2023

Sony Removes Bad Bunny’s Marvel Film ‘El Muerto’ From Release Schedule

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The Kardashian Kurse strikes again!

Well, kinda but not really. Months after Bad Bunny infuriated his Puerto Rican fanbase by allegedly dating Kendall Jenner, Sony Pictures is announcing that his Marvel feature film, El Muerto, is being removed from its release date, which was set for Sept. 22, 2023. According to Deadline, Bad Bunny’s big superhero movie will not be dropping as scheduled due to Bad Bunny’s current situation as he continues to tour along with the other factors that are currently engulfing Hollywood.

Deadline reports:

Sony and Marvel set Cuarón to direct El Muerto in October. At the time it was in early development, with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer writing the script about El Muerto, a character within Spider-Man’s universe. In Marvel lore, he is an antihero and the son of a luchador next in line to inherit the ancestral power of “El Muerto.”

We’re hearing that the film remains in development, but that between Bad Bunny’s tour schedule and the ongoing WGA strike it makes finalizing a date complicated.

The studio previously had set El Muerto to hit theaters on January 12, 2024. Today it said that slot will be filled with The Book of Clarence, the Jeymes Samuel-directed pic starring LaKeith Stanfield hailing from Legendary Pictures. It had been slated for release on September 22, 2023.

Could this be attributed to the Kardashian Kurse? Of course not, but that’s not going to keep angry Bad Bunny fans from blaming the notorious Kulture Vulture Klan of reality TV stars, that’s for sure.

Guess Bad Bunny and Marvel fans will have to wait a bit longer (depending on the strike getting resolved) before they get to see the “Diles” singer save the day in Sony’s Spider-Verse.

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22 Jun 2023

Young Thug Drops New Album ‘Business Is Business’: Stream It Now

Young Thug isn’t slowing things down despite being in jail as he returns with his first album in two years. Titled Business Is Business includes features from Drake, Future, and more.

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Business Is Business will be Thug’s first album since 2021’s Punk. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned 90,000 equivalent album units. The 20-track set included a star-studded guest list, including A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Doja Cat, Drake, Future, Gunna, Juice WRLD, Post Malone, Mac Miller, Nate Ruess, and Travis Scott. Business Is Business will also serve as Thug’s first body of work since being indicted in May as part of a sweeping gang case against dozens of members from his YSL crew.

After pleading guilty to a single racketeering conspiracy charge last December, Gunna was released from jail while Thug remains incarcerated over charges that include allegations of murder, carjacking, armed robbery, drug dealing and illegal firearm possession over the past decade. 

“While I have agreed to always be truthful, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have NOT made any statements, have NOT been interviewed, have NOT cooperated, have NOT agreed to testify or be a witness for or against any party in the case and have absolutely NO intention of being involved in the trial process in any way,” the rapper wrote in a statement after his release last December.

Last week, Gunna dropped his new album A Gift & A Curse, headlined by the project’s debut single “Bread & Butter.” 

Stream Business Is Business below. 

22 Jun 2023

Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Welcome Us To ‘Barbie World’: Stream It Now

It took a little over a decade, but Nicki Minaj, the Queen of the Barbz herself, is finally rapping over AQUA’s iconic “Barbie Girl.” At long last, “Barbie World,” the new collaboration between Minaj and Ice Spice, has arrived.

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The latest single from the Mark Ronson-produced Barbie soundtrack marks the reunion of Minaj, Ice Spice, and RiotUSA. The trio first linked up on the remix of Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana,” which debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Combining elements of drill and Jersey club, the new track is a sleek fusion of hip-hop’s most popular sounds and the individual styles of Minaj and Ice Spice. The track also features a prominent sample of AQUA’s “Barbie Girl,” a welcome treat for fans after initial reports seemed to indicate that the song would not appear in the Greta Gerwig-helmed film. “Barbie Girl” peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 back in 1997, AQUA’s sole top ten hit.

Minaj first announced the song on June 10 with a Tweet reading, “It’s Barbie, b—h, if you still in doubt.” The iconic doll has long been a part of Minaj’s artistry and image; she even posed as one on the cover for her 2010 Billboard 200-topping debut album Pink Friday. In a recent episode of her Queen Radio Amp show, Minaj opened up about why she decided to accept Ice Spice’s invitation and join her on “Barbie World.” “This is the first time that someone had put this sample in a way that didn’t make me uncomfortable or gimmicky,” the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper said. “I figured out that it needed to be a beat that would still give Barbie & Nicki.”

Barbie: The Album will be available on all streaming and digital download platforms on July 21. The soundtrack is set to feature contributions from Khalid, Gayle, Kali, Fifty Fifty, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, PinkPantheress, Lizzo, and more.

Stream “Barbie World” below:

22 Jun 2023

Kim Petras Indulges in Her Pop Vices on ‘Feed the Beast’: Stream It Now

Damsel in distress be damned — Kim Petras is ready to liberate herself with her brand new album.

On Friday (June 23), Petras unveiled her long-awaited new album Feed the Beast via Republic Records / Amigo Records. Spanning 15 tracks, the new album soundtracks the fast-rising trans pop star’s journey toward self-acceptance, styled around the Greek myth of Andromeda according to a press release.

Steeped in the sounds of early-2000s rave Eurodance music like Cascada and Basshunter, Petras’ lyrics flit eagerly between bemoaning a selfish ex (“King of Hearts”), becoming the life of her own party (“Uh Oh”) and examining her attraction to excess (“Castle in the Sky”). In between the new offerings for her fans, Petras dusts in previous hits like “Alone” with Nicki Minaj and “Unholy” with Sam Smith.

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In celebration of her new project, Petras announced her Feed the Beast World Tour earlier this week. With 34 dates announced, the tour will begin in Austin, Texas this September, before crossing over to Europe in early 2024 and closing out in Milan, Italy in March.

Feed the Beast comes on the heels of a busy few months for the pop singer. After becoming the first openly transgender woman to win a major-category Grammy earlier this year, Petras has collaborated with stars including Minaj, Meghan Trainor and Paris Hilton, as well as becoming the second trans woman to be featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (following model and actress Leyna Bloom in 2021).

Stream Kim Petras’ Feed the Beast below:

22 Jun 2023

Kelly Clarkson Breaks Down What Her Song ‘Rock Hudson’ Is About… And What It Isn’t

On Kelly Clarkson’s just-released 10th studio album Chemistry, the song “Rock Hudson” tells the tale of a silver-screen love story that turned out to be all Hollywood smoke and mirrors. The first line of the song: “You were my Rock Hudson/ It was real but it wasn’t.”

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“I thought I found my Rock Hudson,” Clarkson tells Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast about her eight-year marriage to Brandon Blackstock that ended in a 2021 divorce. (Clarkson’s full podcast interview will air on Tuesday’s Pop Shop episode next week.) “I never thought that even existed, if I’m being honest with you. I thought that was total bullsh–. So I didn’t even think that was real.”

Clarkson says Hudson — an Academy Award-nominated actor who was one of the most popular leading men of the late ’50s — became her “movie guy” after watching him opposite Doris Day in the 1959 romantic comedy Pillow Talk when she was a kid. “I fell in love with him.”

As she re-examined her ill-fated marriage for the new album, Clarkson realized that the early days “kind of played out like a movie. Like how we met, how we ended up together, things we had in common — like childhood things. We grew up in the same town and didn’t know each other … it just felt like a movie. And it felt too good to be true — which, OK, it was, but that was the reference.”

What she wasn’t expecting after co-writing “Rock Hudson” with producer Jesse Shatkin was that the song could be interpreted another way: While Hudson portrayed a dashing ladies’ man onscreen, the actor was privately a gay man who kept his sexuality under wraps to maintain his Hollywood career, even marrying his agent’s secretary in the ’50s to keep up the illusion. He died of AIDS in 1985 at age 59.

Clarkson says that piece of Hudson’s identity didn’t inspire the song.

“That can be misleading,” Clarkson tells Billboard. “It’s not referencing Rock’s life, like his personal life and what he was, unfortunately, having to hide from the public. … My producer [Shatkin] didn’t have a clue about [Hudson’s] story at all, and I wasn’t even thinking about that. And it was funny, because somebody at the label [Atlantic Records], I think, is the first person who was like, ‘So, Kelly…’ I was like, ‘Oh no!’ It’s just about having that movie life that people think that you have that’s so perfect, and it’s not [perfect] behind closed doors.”

Elsewhere on “Rock Hudson,” Clarkson references her 2016 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Piece by Piece,” an emotional song she wrote in tribute to her then-husband Blackstock. “By the way, piece by piece, I found out my hero’s me,” Clarkson confidently sings on the new song.

Listen to “Rock Hudson” below, and hear Clarkson’s full interview with Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast on Tuesday, June 27.

–Additional reporting by Keith Caulfield

22 Jun 2023

Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Chemistry’ Is Here: Stream It Now

Following her divorce from Brandon Blackstock in 2020 after seven years of marriage, Kelly Clarkson channeled her heartbreak into an emotional new album, Chemistry, which arrived on Friday (June 23).

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“I’ve been working on this project for close to three years now. I wasn’t sure I was going to release it, but I am. The album is called Chemistry,” Clarkson said in a video on Instagram back in March announcing her 10th studio effort. “I was trying to find a word, it might be one of the songs on the album, but I was trying to find a word that really described the whole thing. I didn’t want everybody to think I was just coming out with some ‘I’m angry,’ ‘I’m sad’ — just one or two emotions. This album is definitely the arc of an entire relationship.”

She continued, “That whole relationship shouldn’t be brought down to one thing. There’s the good, the bad and the ugly kind of thing going on. Chemistry can be a really amazing, sexy, cool, fun thing, but it can also be very bad for you. So that’s why I named it Chemistry, I thought it was the perfect title to describe the entire album.”

Chemistry features previously released track “Favorite Kind of High” as well as double singles “Mine” and “Me.”

The album also includes a track called “I Hate Love,” which features none other than Steve Martin on banjo thanks to the lyric: “I hate love, and The Notebook lied / It’s Complicated is more like what happens, so you can keep Gosling and I’ll take Steve Martin.”

Listen to Chemistry in full below.

22 Jun 2023

Furby Is Making a Comeback! Where to Buy the Nostalgic Toy Online

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Get ready for a Furby revival. The plushy toy that caused stampedes (and hundreds of fights) in the late ‘90s, will be reintroduced to a new generation for its 25th anniversary, Hasbro announced Thursday (June 22).

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“Following its craze-inducing launch in 1998, Furby has taken the world by storm, impacting every corner of the culture zeitgeist, from music to television and film,” said Kristin McKay, vp & general manager, Hasbro fashion & preschool. “For the brand’s 25th anniversary, we wanted to ignite the same excitement for this new generation by harnessing Furby’s power of nostalgia while giving Gen Alpha everything they crave.” 

Just how big was Furby mania? The robotic toy, introduced by Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics imprint, became an instant fan favorite selling over 40 million units in the first three years. The Furby franchise expanded to Furby Babies and Furby Friends including Gizmo Furby (stream Gremlins here). After sales stalled, Furby was revived in 2005 and again in 2012.

The new and improved Furby — available in purple and coral — retails for $69.99 at Amazon and will be released to other major retailers on July 15. Furby is designed for kids ages 6 and up, but ’90s babies will enjoy the nostalgia.

Despite new features such as five voice-activated modes and over 600 responses, including lights, sounds and 10 “unique songs,” the cuddly, interactive toy has the same bug-eyed design as its predecessor — but with a few, colorful updates.

Coral Furby features shades of pink fur, turquoise ears and big, black eyes with gold stars in them. Purple Furby has a similar look with turquoise fur highlights, turquoise ears and the signature big eyes, but with pink hearts in them.

Furby responds to hugs, pats, belly tickles, shaking, and you can feed it a toy pizza charm. The fuzzy creature can tell your fortune, host a mini dance party or light show and respond to other commands such as “Copy Cat” and “Let’s Chill.” Whatever it takes to match your mood, Furby will make it happen.

Purchase your furry bestie below.

Furby Coral, 15 Fashion Accessories, Interactive Plush Toys

$69.99

22 Jun 2023

Kevin Jonas’ Daughters Star in Adorable Back-to-School Campaign

Summer may have just started, but the Jonas Brothers are ready to welcome Kevin Jonas’ two daughters back to school with an adorable new The Children’s Place campaign.

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In the ad released on Thursday (June 22), Kevin Jonas is seen FaceTiming his wife Danielle and the couple’s two daughters, nine-year-old Alena and six-year-old Valentina. “I just want to wish you an amazing first day of school,” Kevin tells his girls before Joe Jonas steps into the shot.

“Hey, Alena, you’re going to have a great day,” Joe assures, before Nick Jonas adds, “Don’t forget to dream big.”

A fantasy sequence then starts to the tune of the Jonas Brothers’ The Album track, “Celebrate!” Alena and Valentina are seen decked out in their best The Children’s Place outfits, as the sisters go on to have the best first day of school, complete with winning a talent show, eating pizza and cupcakes for lunch, and Kevin Jonas appearing for Career Day before taking the students over to the gym for a Jonas Brothers concert.

In addition to the adorable advertisement, the JoBros and The Children’s Place are teaming up for a contest in which one school will be gifted a $100,000 grant and also have the opportunity to attend a private Jonas Brothers concert at a secret location in New Jersey. Parents with children in grades K-8 who are enrolled in a non-tuition-based school for the 2023-2024 school year can nominate their child’s school through The Children’s Place mobile app until the contest wraps on July 30.

Watch the new advertisement starring Alena and Valentina below.

22 Jun 2023

Peso Pluma’s ‘Génesis’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now

Peso Pluma‘s Génesis is here, just a week after he announced a new album was coming. The 14-track set features collaborations with música Mexicana stars such as Natanael Cano, Junior H and Luis R Conriquez. It also includes previously released songs such as “Rosa Pastel” with Jasiel Nuñez, the Eladio Carrión-assisted “77” and “Bye.”

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“I want to have my album be welcomed by the people, I want it to have the same streams as singles do,” the Mexican chart-topping artist — whose previously released albums include Ah Y Qué? and Efectos Secundarios — told Billboard. “I’m showing people another part of La Doble P.”

Génesis drops as Peso Pluma continues to make history on the charts. Most recently, the “Por Las Noches” singer became the first act to lead the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. simultaneously with different songs: Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 55,” his Bizarrap-produced hit song. “Ella Baila Sola” spent five weeks atop the Billboard Global 200, becoming the ranking’s first leader for the regional Mexican genre.

About his rapid seismic rise, Peso (born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) has said, “I knew this was gonna happen, but I didn’t know at what level and what speed. I knew I was gonna do good in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries, but this went worldwide [so fast]. I’m thankful for that.”

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter is currently on a U.S. tour, produced by Live Nation, that kicked off in April and will make stops in Nashville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Listen to Génesis in full below.

22 Jun 2023

Here’s Why Kelly Clarkson Thinks Taylor Swift Is ‘Brilliant’

Back during the 2019 battle over masters between Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun, Kelly Clarkson took to Twitter to suggest that the pop superstar re-record the albums she doesn’t own.

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“@taylorswift13 just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don’t own the masters on exactly how U did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions,” she wrote at the time, and in a new SiriusXM interview on Thursday (June 23), Clarkson reflected on her four-year-old tweet.

“I think Scooter took offense to it … we ran into each other, and he reached out at the time to my manager,” she told host Andy Cohen. “I was like, ‘It wasn’t anything against him.’ When she came out and said that and I heard about it, I was like, ‘Whatever. Re-record them. Your fans will support you.’ Uh, they did! She has like every top record right now in the charts!”

She added that at the time, she didn’t know much about the situation in which Braun acquired Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records Label Group and Swift’s catalog for $300 million. Braun later sold Swift’s masters in 2020, prompting Swift to begin the process of re-recording her first six Big Machine albums. “All I heard was, ‘Man, I really want to own.’ […] She writes everything! It’s so important to her. She’s a businesswoman,” Clarkson said. “It felt wrong that she didn’t have the opportunity, right? That’s the thing. If you have the opportunity and you choose to not pay that much money, that’s one thing, but to not have the opportunity to own something that is really important to you — I’m not that artist. I don’t care like what I own. I’m not a businesswoman at all.”

Clarkson concluded by noting that Swift is a “genius,” not only for re-recording her albums but also for setting out on her massive The Eras tour. When asked if she was “thanked” by Swift for her idea, Clarkson replied, “I think she is brilliant. She would’ve come up with that on her own and she maybe already had before I even tweeted it.”

Watch the clip below.