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08 May 2023

Drag Isn’t Dangerous Telethon Raises More Than $500,000 for LGBTQ Causes

With anti-LGBTQ bills continuing to sweep across the U.S. at a high speed, some of the most prominent drag performers in the world got together on Sunday (May 7) to say that enough is enough.

The Drag Isn’t Dangerous livestream telethon, hosted by Justin Martindale, Alaska 5000, Peppermint and Adam Shankman and created by Producer Entertainment Group, raised more than $500,000 for LGBTQ charities. The event saw performers including RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 winner Jinkx Monsoon, Jake Wesley Rogers, Bob the Drag Queen and more take to the stage in both live and pre-taped performances to help raise money for organizations benefiting the queer community.

Along with performances, the event also featured a number of testimonials from LGBTQ entertainers and noted allies such as Margaret Cho, Adam Lambert, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman and Melissa McCarthy, who spoke out against the rampant discrimination being faced by LGBTQ people everywhere. In one of the most blistering statements of the evening, RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage blasted state legislatures aiming to restrict drag performances.

“I wish I could say that I am glad to be here, but I am appalled I have to be at something called Drag Isn’t Dangerous,” she said during the event. “Imagine a world where dancers are told they can’t dance; imagine a world where artists are told they cannot take paint to canvas … because it is ‘bad for children.’ That is what is happening to drag right now.”

All proceeds from the event are being split among a pool of charities, including GLAAD, GLSEN, Headcount, Black Queer Town Hall, The ACLU Drag Defense Fund, Trans Justice Funding Project and the Victory Fund to support and defend drag performers against anti-drag legislation in states such as Tennessee and Florida.

In addition, the telethon featured the debut of the new groove-fueled charity single “Drag Isn’t Dangerous,” performed by Jayelle and Ocean Kelly. Now available on all streaming services, the new single is similarly donating all proceeds to the charities mentioned above.

For those who missed the live telethon, fear not — you can purchase a ticket to watch the full stream here. Additional donations can be made on Drag Isn’t Dangerous’ official GoFundMe page, and more information surrounding the charities and performers involved can be found at the group’s official website.

08 May 2023

Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny’s ‘Un x100to’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” adds a second week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated May 13). A week earlier, it became the first leader on each list for Grupo Frontera and the second for Bad Bunny.

Meanwhile, Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” becomes the group’s first top five Global 200 hit, jumping 8-5.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘100’ No. 1 Again on Global 200

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” notches a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, with 99.5 million streams (down 10%) and 3,000 sold (down 28%) worldwide April 28-May 4.

Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” keeps at No. 2 on the Global 200, two weeks after it hit No. 1, and Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s “La Bebe” holds at its No. 3 best. Thanks to “Un x100to,” “Ella Baila Sola” and “La Bebe,” regional Mexican (and Spanish-language) songs place at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously for a second straight week, a triple that had not previously been achieved until a week ago.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is steady at No. 4 on the Global 200, after 12 weeks on top in January-April.

Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, South Korea’s Fifty Fifty reaches the region for the first time as its breakthrough hit “Cupid” soars 8-5, bounding by 38% to 77.7 million streams and 54% to 4,000 sold globally.

The quartet – Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio – becomes the third K-pop group to have hit the Global 200’s top five, joining BTS (eight top five hits) and BLACKPINK (three).

Meanwhile, “Cupid” sparks history on the Official U.K. Singles chart: It surges 18-9, making Fifty Fifty, formed last year by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT, the first all-female K-pop group to have hit the tally’s top 10.

Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny Hold Atop Global Excl. U.S.

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” concurrently crowns the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a second week, led by 75.4 million streams (down 8%) outside the U.S. April 28-May 4.

Peso Pluma ranks at Nos. 2 and 3 on Global Excl. U.S.: “La Bebe,” with Yng Lvcas, rebounds to its No. 2 high, from No. 3, and “Ella Baila Sola,” with Eslabon Armado, dips to No. 3, from its No. 2 best.

As on the Global 200, thanks to “Un x100to,” “La Bebe” and “Ella Baila Sola,” regional Mexican (and Spanish-language) songs rank at Nos. 1-3 on Global Excl. U.S. simultaneously for a second straight week, likewise the only two such frames in the chart’s history so far.

YOASOBI’s “Idol” climbs 5-4 for a new Global Excl. U.S. high and Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” falls 4-5, following a record-tying (with Harry Styles’ “As It Was”) 13 weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in January.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated May 13, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (May 9). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

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.

08 May 2023

Look Who Is Rapping Again: Machine Gun Kelly Throws Shots At Jack Harlow In New Freestyle

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Machine Gun Kelly Throws Shots At Jack Harlow In New Freestyle

Source: Kyle Rivas / Getty / Machine Gun Kelly

Last week Jack Harlow crowned himself the best white rapper ever next to Eminem after dropping his latest album, Jackman, but Machine Gun Kelly apparently doesn’t agree and let his feelings be known on a new scathing freestyle.

Taking to the front lawn of his crib and borrowing Jay-Z’s “Renegade” beat (which was produced and featured Eminem), Kelly clapped right at the Kentucky rapper and did what he could to deep fry his brown curls and serve him with a side of shade.

With chipped painted nails gripping the mic, MGK went straight for the jugular with lines like, “I see why they call you Jackman, you jacked man’s whole swag. Give Drake his flow back / Man. I eat rappers like Pac-Man. Must I regurgitate and show you who’s in my stomach from the last dance?”

Whoa! Was he referring to Eminem in that last line, as many felt he “ate” the iconic rapper in their battle from yesteryear? We don’t know, but truth be told, Machine Gun Kelly does have bars, and we don’t think Jack Harlow can go toe-to-toe with the rapper/pop artist who sometimes raps.

Twitter Reacts To The White Rapper Beef

While we await a response from the white rapper who hails from the home of the Colonel, the Twitterverse is already sharing their thoughts on this latest unforeseen white rap beef and are pretty much enjoying the festivities as we pretty much know it won’t lead to gun violence (just sayin’).

Check out Machine Gun Kelly’s two-minute freestyle below, and let us know your thoughts on the possible beef brewing out in the sticks.



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Photo: Kyle Rivas / Getty

08 May 2023

Nick Cannon Reveals His Huge Annual Salary to Shoot Down ‘Deadbeat Dad’ Allegations

Nick Cannon clapped back at the haters calling him a bad dad in a new interview published on Sunday (May 7) by sharing his yearly salary.

“I’ve been villianized,” he said in a sit-down with The Los Angeles Times regarding his decision to have 12 kids with six different women, including five new additions in the last year. “I hear all the time: ‘You can’t be present for all those children.’ So therefore I get this deadbeat dad title.”

The host of The Masked Singer used the interview to address a report from last fall that he pays $3 million in child support each year. “That’s not a lot of money. When you think about my lifestyle, I have to generate at least $100 million a year,” he countered, before confirming to the paper he brings in $100 million annually. “Everybody thinks Ryan Seacrest has tons of money. I do everything that he does times 10. Well, not times 10 — times three. Because he does a lot.”

Elsewhere during the chat, Cannon also maintained that part of the reason he fathered so many kids in the past year was due to his people-pleasing personality. He said of his partners, “A lot of them are in the same age group” and added, “I just wanted to give them what they desired. I kept saying, ‘I can handle it.’”

Though Cannon is currently juggling multiple projects including The Masked Singer, Wild ‘n Out and his new AMP radio show The Daily Cannon, he’s currently stepping in to guest host FOX’s Beat Shazam while his close pal Jamie Foxx recovers from his recent hospitalization.

08 May 2023

Nike Isn’t Planning On Dropping The Tom Sachs ‘Mars Yard 3.0’

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Tom Sachs 'Mars Yard 3.0' Is Not Happening According To Nike

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The Tom Sachs x Nike “General Purpose” sneakers were arguably some of last year’s most highly sought-after kicks. Still, after his erratic behavior at his offices was made public, Nike isn’t planning on continuing their collaboration with the controversial designer.

Complex is reporting that despite rumors that their next collaborative silhouette, the Mars Yard 3.0, was still slated to release sometime in the future, Nike has decided to pull the plug on the drop given the nature of the allegations made against Sachs.

From having swastikas taped onto first aid kits (Tom is Jewish) to have a space in the studio dubbed the “rape room,” Sachs seemed to take the whole “white privilege” thing to another level. The man is accused of attending virtual meetings with female employees in his underwear, for God’s sake.

Don’t Expect Those Nike Tom Sachs Mars Yard 3.0 Anytime Soon

Complex Reports:

“We’re deeply concerned by the very serious allegations,” a Nike spokesperson said that month. “We’re in contact with Tom and his studio seeking to better understand this situation and how these issues are being addressed.”

In the wake of the report from Curbed and others, the artist sent out a letter to his staff in March showing some contrition. Sachs described the “rape room” name as a regret, a “poor reference” that was done away with years ago. He said in the letter that he’d brought in outside help to formalize human resources policies at the studio.

“I have never tried to make anyone feel uncomfortable,” Sachs wrote. “I have never harassed anyone. I would never intentionally harm anyone. Safety is a top priority in the studio. Those are the facts.”

Tom Sach’s Employees Tell A Different Story

Apparently, employees disagree with Sachs’ version of the “facts” as the accusations paint a man who fears no repercussions for his actions, including his screaming and throwing objects at people in the workplace.

Though his relationship with Nike dates back to 2012 when the two collaborated on the hugely popular Mars Yard, the accusations are enough to put the highly-anticipated Mars Yard 3.0 on hold as Nike told Complex, “We are not working with Tom’s studio at this time and have no release dates planned.”

What do y’all think of Nike possibly scrapping its relationship with Tom Sachs? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Photo: WWD / Getty

08 May 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Rules Billboard 200 for Ninth Week

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time continues to lead the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 13) for a ninth consecutive, and total, week on top. The set earned 138,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending May 4 (down 8%), according to Luminate. The album bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated March 18 and has yet to depart the top slot.

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The last album to spend nine weeks in a row at No. 1 was Wallen’s last release, Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent its first 10 weeks at No. 1 (its total run atop the list), from the Jan. 23-March 27, 2021-dated charts.

Meanwhile, thanks to extended runs at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in recent months by both One Thing at a Time and SZA’s SOS, there have only been four No. 1 albums in the 21 weeks since the Dec. 24, 2022-dated list.

For the seven weeks from the Dec. 24, 2022, through Feb. 4 charts, SOS was No. 1. Then, on the Feb. 11, 2023 chart, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation debuted at No. 1 and spent one week on top. SOS returned to No. 1 for three weeks (Feb. 18-March 3) and then Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito debuted at No. 1 and spent one week in the lead (March 11). From March 18 onwards, One Thing at a Time has been No. 1.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, SEVENTEEN, Eslabon Armado and Jack Harlow all see their latest releases debut.

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 May 13, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 9. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 138,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 13, SEA units comprise 130,000 (down 8%, equaling 174.18 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 5,500 (down 7%) and TEA units comprise 2,500 (down 10%).

SEVENTEEN notches its highest charting album yet on the Billboard 200, as 10th Mini Album FML debuts at No. 2. It’s the third top 10, all earned consecutively, for the 13-member Korean pop ensemble. The set bows with 135,000 equivalent album units earned, of which album sales comprise 132,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, with the fourth-largest sales week of 2023), SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 4.36 million on-demand official streams of the set’s six tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FML was issued in collectible CD packages (14 total, including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers). It was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as via 17 digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the act’s official webstore, each with alternate cover art. Four of them have two bonus tracks — one instrumental track and a voice memo from certain group members — that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternate digital albums all have the album’s standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members). Of FML’s first-week album sales, 98% were CDs, while the remaining 2% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights rises 4-3 on the Billboard 200 with 57,000 equivalent album units (though down 7%), while SOS climbs 6-4 (56,000; down 5%) and Dangerous skips 7-5 (47,000; down 2%).

Eslabon Armado’s Desvelado debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting regional Mexican album ever on the list. It’s only the second regional Mexican set to reach the top 10, following the act’s No. 9 debut and peak of Nostalgia on the May 21, 2022-dated list. (Regional Mexican albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart.)

Desvelado bows with 44,000 equivalent album units earned, with 43,500 of that sum in SEA units (equaling 63.51 million on-demand streams of the set’s 16 tracks) and album sales and TEA units comprise the remaining 500 units.

The album contains the hit single “Ella Baila Sola,” a co-billed collaboration with Peso Pluma, which ranked at No. 4 on the most recently published all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (dated May 6). The track — which initially garnered notoriety because of its popularity on TikTok — marks the first regional Mexican song to reach the top 10 on the Hot 100.

Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bumps 8-7 on the Billboard 200 with 37,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).

Jack Harlow achieves his third top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 albums chart as Jackman. enters at No. 8. The set starts with 35,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 33,500 (equaling 43.37 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 10 tracks), album sales comprise 1,500 and TEA units comprise 500.

Jackman. was released with little warning, as it was announced on April 25, just before its April 28 release.

Two former No. 1s round out the top 10 on the new Billboard 200, as Metro Boomin’ Heroes & Villains is a non-mover at No. 9 (34,500 units; down 6%) and Swift’s Lover is stationary at No. 10 (just over 34,000; down 5%).

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.

08 May 2023

Watch Iam Tongi Stun With Emotional Performance of Alanis Morissette’s ‘Guardian’ on ‘American Idol’

American Idol contestant Iam Tongi gave a major performance of Alanis Morissette‘s song “Guardians” on the Sunday (May 7) episode, and it propelled him into the competition’s top five.

Tongi’s performance of the 2012 track was kept rather stripped, and featured him playing the guitar with the help of background instrumentalists to further flesh out his intimate and emotional rendition of the song.

“So why, why would you talk to me at all/ Such words were dishonorable and in vain/ Their promise as solid as a fog/ And where was your watchman then/ I’ll be your keeper for life as your guardian/ I’ll be your warrior of care your first warden/ I’ll be your angel on call, I’ll be on demand/The greatest honor of all, as your guardian,” Tongi sang. He concluded his performance with a sweet “Love you, Mom.”

“Guardian” was originally released by Morissette in 2012 as the first single from her eighth studio album, Havoc and Bright Lights. The track peaked at No. 27 on Billboard‘s Adult Pop Airplay chart, while the album spent peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spent a total of five weeks on the tally.

Tongi also delivered a stunning duet of Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” with Oliver Steele, who was later eliminated. Both tracks served as a subtle tribute to Sheeran and Morissette, who served as guest judges on the show while regular panel members Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were performing at King Charles III’s coronation concert.

Watch Tongi perform “Guardian” and “Photograph” in the videos below.

08 May 2023

Aaron Dessner & Matty Healy Gave Surprise Performances at Taylor Swift’s Nashville Eras Tour Shows

Even though Nashville Swifties faced a downpour of literal midnight rain over the weekend, they still got to enjoy some of the best surprises to come out of Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour yet. In addition to witnessing the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) announcement in person — and not to mention the first ever live performance of the pop star’s “Nothing New” duet with Phoebe Bridgers — fans at the trio of Nissan Stadium shows also got to see a pair of very special guests, Aaron Dessner and The 1975’s Matty Healy.

Healy made his appearance during Saturday night’s (May 6) concert, joining Bridgers on stage during her opening set. He was spotted wearing the “Motion Sickness” singer’s signature band gear — a full-body skeleton suit — and played guitar alongside the rest of Bridgers’ backup musicians. The two stars have performed together in the past, and Bridgers made a cameo in The 1975’s “I’m In Love With You” music video in September.

This came one day after the “Somebody Else” singer was seen watching the first Nashville show from a VIP tent on Friday (May 5), something that some fans took as confirmation of recent rumors that Healy and Swift are dating. The speculation started shortly after multiple publications reported in April that the “Anti-Hero” singer split from Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend of six years

But that’s not all. Following delays caused by massive storms in the area, Swifties were treated late Sunday night (May 7) to one of the most coveted surprise songs — “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” during which Swift brought out co-writer Aaron Dessner to help perform. “It’s one of our favorite songs we’ve done together,” she said as she introduced the track, the National musician standing at her side. “We hear you guys request to play this song all the time, so we figured we’d wait for a really special moment to play it. And you guys have earned it.”

See clips of Swift’s Nashville Eras Tour surprises below:

08 May 2023

SoundCloud Is Now Giving Artists One-On-One Access to Their Biggest Fans

SoundCloud is bringing music creators even closer to their biggest fans with a new product that gives artists access to granular user data and facilitates direct, one-on-one interaction with their most loyal listeners.

Dubbed simply “Fans” and now available on SoundCloud for Artists, the tool allows artists to tap into the platform’s proprietary data and sort their most engaged listeners based on factors like comments, listening behavior, sharing habits and location — and even identify who among their listeners are fellow artists. Using SoundCloud’s pre-existing messaging feature, they can also directly message individual fans to share previews of upcoming releases via private links; sell tickets and merch; and/or just say thanks. (SoundCloud notes there’s an opt-out option for users who don’t wish to be contacted by artists.)

Tracy Chan, svp of creator at SoundCloud, says there’s a special power in fans receiving direct acknowledgment from their favorite artists that can unlock “real revenue opportunities” for creators.

“[It’s] one thing to blast out, ‘Hey, come attend my concert or my show,’ but actually asking specific people, like, ‘Hey, I know you’re a super fan, will you come to my show?’ is a very kind of different way to ask,” Chan says. “You can imagine the possibilities of commerce that open up between artists and fans once the communication lines are open.”

Prior to Monday’s announcement, SoundCloud had been running a six-week test of the tool, which is currently in beta, with roughly 10,000 artists. Starting now, the platform is opening up the product to an additional 50,000 artists who are part of its premium Next Pro tier.

Chan describes the tool as “the next step” in SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties payment system first unveiled in March 2021, which has since been opted into by both Warner Music Group and Merlin. Unlike the traditional pro-rata model, under which streaming services collect all subscriber revenue and then pay out earnings based on each rightsholder’s share of total streams, fan-powered royalties direct a portion of every listener’s subscription or advertising revenue to the rightsholders for the specific tracks they listen to. Some of the user data SoundCloud artists now have access to under the new tool derives from that fan-powered royalties system.

As part of the unveiling, SoundCloud noted several successful individual use cases among the 10,000 artists included in the previous phase of the tool’s beta period. These include Lil West, a hip-hop artist from Delaware who used the artist filtering tool on Fans to connect with fellow artists 100 gecs and nothing,nowhere., leading to collaborative track releases. After gaining access to the tool, Def Jam artist Armani White worked with SoundCloud and his label to set up a listening party/meet-and-greet with his top fans at SoundCloud’s Los Angeles office on Thursday.

Fans is the latest effort by SoundCloud to differentiate itself as a more artist-friendly alternative to rival streaming services. Chan frames the tool in opposition to the limited functionality offered by other major streamers along with ticketing and merch platforms, which don’t allow artists to identify their individual fans or connect with them one-on-one.

“When artists are like, ‘Cool, I want to go connect with my fans’ [on other streaming services] … they see lots of charts and graphs describing their audiences, but the platforms will not tell artists who their fans are…so that means you can’t market to them,” he says.

According to data provided by SoundCloud, the platform currently boasts more than 320 million tracks from over 40 million creators and operates in 193 countries.

08 May 2023

Alicia Keys Talks Bringing ‘Magic’ to ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ With All-Female Orchestral Cover: ‘This Is What Our Ancestors Never Experienced’

When Bridgerton first hit Netflix back in 2020, it captivated audiences not only with its stunning Regency-era visuals and romantic storylines, but also with its gorgeous orchestral covers of pop songs that seamlessly connected the characters to its modern viewers.

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Now, the show’s recently released prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is following in the same musical footsteps by transforming songs from Beyoncé, SZA, Whitney Houston and, most notably, Alicia Keys. The 15-time Grammy-winning superstar’s 2003 hit, “If I Ain’t Got You,” got an orchestral rearrangement from the Vitamin String Quartet for the series’ soundtrack, but Netflix teamed up with Keys for another incredibly special musical moment.

To celebrate Queen Charlotte and the power of women worldwide, Keys brought together more than 70 female musicians from all over the world — from South Africa, Barbados and Germany to Sweden and Egypt — to create a first-of-its-kind global orchestra made up entirely of women of color. Together, the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra delivered a captivating rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” to celebrate the song’s 20th anniversary.

Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra, Alicia Keys

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“The entire idea was quite ambitious,” Keys tells Billboard with a laugh, adding that Netflix was excited to take on the challenge and shift the perspective of what an orchestra looks like. “I feel like it’s going to open the minds of many people to realize that women of color belong everywhere and we’ve always been everywhere. It’s magical.”

The final result, shared exclusively with Billboard on Monday (May 8) is equally magical. The instrumentalists are donned in eloquent 1700s-inspired gowns as they deliver sweeping strings, ethereal percussion and grounding horns — all working together to uplift Keys’ honeyed vocals and piano melody. “I know they’re gonna be very emotional when they see it because the women we who were there were extremely emotional,” Keys recalled. “Our conductor [Ofentse Pitse] said, ‘It feels like when we have an orchestra of all women of color from all over the world, that we’re finally doing something right.’ This is what our ancestors never experienced.”

Pitse, a Tshwane, South Africa, native who is the youngest and first Black African woman to conduct and own an orchestra, shares with Billboard that the experience felt “historic” from the very first moment. “I think I knew the importance of it when I was on the airplane, but when I actually got there, it just really changed my perspective of the reason why we are all there. We should not just be the first and only ones to do something like this.”

Pulling together such an inspiring group of women is nothing out of the ordinary for Keys, who has always been a fierce advocate for gender equality, something that she says she learned from her mother. “My mother is definitely a feminist for sure. She raised me, and that desire for equanimity and fairness was really instilled in me, and then I would see how it will come out in my songs,” she says. “I would see it on ‘A Woman’s Worth,’ or ‘Superwoman’ or ‘Girl on Fire,’ and I know that the majority of those songs and feelings have come from needing a boost, needing that extra energy. Those songs, in a lot of ways, were what I wished and hoped to feel. Then, I was thinking of how beautiful this moment was with Queen Charlotte and how it really felt like what’s possible came to life, and it’s possible to create special moment when you pay attention to what’s needed.”

The “No One” singer is bringing that extra energy and even more special moments to her upcoming Keys to the Summer Tour, which is set to stretch across North America this summer. Keys is certainly no stranger to touring, but is entering this upcoming run with a sense of celebration, self-liberation and a whole lot of love. “We’re all after the ability to be liberated, to just feel comfortable in our skin, to be allowed to be who we are. To demand that from ourselves and to practice that is so important,” she says of the upcoming trek, during which she promises to revisit some deep cuts from her extensive discography and “tune back into them.”

Watch the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” exclusively via Billboard here, and catch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story over on Netflix.