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17 Jan 2023

Kelsea Ballerini Addresses Rumors She’s Dating ‘Outer Banks’ Star Chase Stokes … Sort Of

Are Kelsea Ballerini and Outer Banks‘ Chase Stokes dating? Wouldn’t you like to know. The 29-year-old country pop star has addressed the romance rumors for the very first time in a recent TikTok, but don’t get too excited. Instead of confirming or denying, she simply expressed her dismay over her love life being the subject of attention on popular gossip page DeuxMoi.

In the Monday (Jan. 16) video, Ballerini speaks to her followers while showing them a screenshot of a discussion that took place on DeuxMoi’s Instagram account that same day. The person who anonymously runs DeuxMoi had posted on Instagram Stories a screenshot of a direct message they received from a follower, who mentioned both Ballerini and Stokes by name, and speculated on the likelihood of their relationship.

The sender of the message alleged that Ballerini is “too busy” repeatedly asking out a Soho House Nashville employee to actually be in a relationship with Stokes, calling their recent appearance at the college football national championship game in Inglewood, Calif., a few days prior a “PR play.”

“I know, I know. Stop reading, stop looking,” Ballerini says in her TikTok, gesturing to the screenshotted conversation. “But what is happening, guys? What?”

“Let’s not do this, you know?” she added, before blowing a defeated raspberry.

The “Peter Pan” singer then captioned the video, “i’m about to break up with the internet 5 sure.”

Fans have been curious about Ballerini and Stokes’ possible romantic link since the two were included in a group photo from the championship that Raising Canes founder Todd Graves shared on social media. Later, Stokes shared a carousel of photos that included a snap of him getting cozy with a blonde woman, whom he tagged as Ballerini, sitting next to him at the game.

See Kelsea Ballerini sort of address the Chase Stokes dating rumors in her new TikTok below:

17 Jan 2023

Bad Bunny’s History-Making Accomplishments: A Timeline

After releasing his first-album X 100Pre in 2018, Bad Bunny quickly went from emerging artist to superstar status. The set scored him his first entry on the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it peaked at No. 11 in January 2019.

Since he’s released Oasis, his 2019 joint album with J Balvin, as well as further solo sets YHLQMDLG, Las Que No Iban a Salir, El Último Tour del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti. The latter two of those debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the only artist to top the tally with a Spanish-language album — not once, but twice.

Accomplishing that was just the beginning for Bunny. His Un Verano Sin Ti is vying to become the first Spanish-language album ever to win album of the year at the Grammys this February. In 2022, Bad Bunny also became the first Latin act (and the first act who doesn’t perform primarily in English) to finish atop Billboard’s Year-End Top Tours chart thanks to his top-grossing El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo and World’s Hottest Tour.

“I feel in control. I’ve been doing this five, six years, and I’ve been acquiring experience,” Bad Bunny told Billboard in December. “We’re living in a digital era, where everybody can upload their music and if you explode, you explode, and suddenly, you’re huge with a single hit and you have no experience. You haven’t crashed against anything. I’d say I’ve acquired that experience little by little. I’ve been able to overcome and heal many things in my life, and now I feel that security. I’ve never felt as centered in both my life and my career. I’m clear on what I am and who I am in terms of the music industry.”

With a history-making Coachella headlining set on the horizon, in 2023, Bad Bunny continues to set a precedent for Latin and Spanish-language music. Read on to see what the superstar has managed to accomplish so far.

17 Jan 2023

Watch Madonna Play a Star-Studded, NSFW Round of Truth or Dare to Tease Her Upcoming Tour

Your move, Your Madgesty. Madonna played a star-studded game of truth or dare on Tuesday (Jan. 17) to tease her upcoming Celebration Tour.

In the video, the superstar faces off against Amy Schumer at a table surrounded by the likes of Lil Wayne, Jack Black, Meg Statler, Kate Berlant, Diplo and Eric André. “I just want to make sure you all know why you’re here. Amy Schumer, truth or dare?” Madonna asks to kick off the festivities, to which the comedian gamely responds, “Dare, b—h.”

Let’s just say the dare the pop star cooks up for Schumer is rather, ahem, not safe for work. But when it’s the Inside Amy Schumer star’s turn to come up with a dare, she speaks for generations of Madonna fans by saying, “Madonna. I dare you to do a world tour and play your greatest mothaf—in’ hits.”

“Four decades? As in 40 years? We’re talking ‘Like a Virgin’?” the icon clarifies before breaking into “La Isla Bonita” with a giddy Schumer as the rest of the table sings along.

“Wait, hold up. That’s a lot of songs. You think people would come to that show?” Madonna asks. And when the assembled stars all agree, she concludes, “OK, so the answer is … f–k yeah.”

Once “Vogue” starts playing on top of the celebratory scene, Her Madgesty talks directly to the camera, promising, “’80s. ’90s. 2000s. Four decades of music, avec moi. MLVC. Welcome to the party, b—-es.”

According to a release, the tour will begin July 15 at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena and play 35 cities across North America before moving to Europe in October.

Watch Madonna and Schumer’s game of truth or dare above.

17 Jan 2023

Why Are We So Obsessed With Shakira’s ‘Bzrp Session’?

“Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” by Colombian star Shakira with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, was released Jan. 11 with little notice, save for two collaborative social media posts:  One announcing the track was coming out, and the other saying “Available now.”

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Within 24 hours, the session had accumulated over 15 million streams on Spotify –topping the service’s Top 50 global playlist– and the video got over 55 million views on YouTube, a record for a Spanish-language song. That single day count also allowed it to debut at No.12 on the Billboard Global 200 and at No. 8 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. this week.

The knee-jerk explanation for the success could be: This is Shakira, global superstar, doing a post break-up diss track based on very public events.

 But that alone doesn’t begin to account for the extraordinary numbers “Vol. 53” pulled.

Salty post-break up tracks, after all, are the stuff big hits are made of, and historically, there’s been plenty. Witness last year’s “Mamii” by Karol G and Becky G, where Karol G  ostensibly talks about ex Anuel AA (“I see you on social media, can’t believe it, feel so sorry for you; I was such a good girl, and you piece of gonorrhea, this is how you pay me back”), but never names him.

Shakira, on the other hand, is anything but ambiguous in “Vol. 53,”, taking no prisoners and naming names.

While this may be par for the course in the rap world, in pop it’s practically unheard of, and in Spanish pop, it had never happened before. With her session, Shakira took the notion of the pop diss track into a whole new territory, where kiss and tell comes with names, details and punishment all bundled into one delicious package that can be –and has been—dissected, reproduced and parodied in thousands of ways on social media.

If you had never heard of Shakira’s very public break-up with longtime partner and soccer star Gerard Piqué, who left the 45-year-old star for a 22-year-old, you can hear all about it in “Vol. 53,” which not only drops Piqué’s name, but also that of his paramour, Clara Chía, and on top of that, goes into minute details.

“I’m worth two 22-year olds,” sings the 45-year-old Shakira, alluding to her age and that of 22-year-old Chía’s.  She also bluntly acknowledges her problems today –”You left me your mother as my neighbor, Media outlets at my door and in debt with the government” –effectively owning the personal drama that’s played out to endless speculation in the press and social media.

The salaciousness has literally and figuratively drawn gasps from fans, artists and media pundits worldwide, who are used to Shakira’s songs being extremely personal (after all, her 2017 “Me Enamoré” is all about falling in love with Piqué), but also polite and more reliant on figures of speech than actual narrative.

“Vol. 53” turns the notion of “above it all” on its head, and that alone has fueled endless debate on airing dirty laundry and on whether women in general, and Latin women in particular, are held to a double standard in terms of taking a public stance against those who’ve done them wrong.

They’re not, by the way; let’s stop feeling like victims. Women, and men, have long used their songs as cathartic vehicles to expunge their feelings following public breakups.

“You’re so vain; you probably think this song is about you,” sang Carly Simon back in 1972, and although the song was ostensibly about ex Warren Beatty, Simon didn’t admit as much until 40 years later.

Then there’s Paquita La Del Barrio with her legendary, “Two-footed rat” and her rallying cry: “Are you listening useless one?”  And what about Ivy Queen’s epic “La Vida Es Así,” where she not only confronts the woman her man is cheating on her with, but also lets her know he’s not a good lay.

But nothing matches Shakira’s very direct finger, which, tied to her very famous name and and her very famous soccer star ex, has proven combustible.

 Ironically, the last time a song in Spanish got this explicit in terms of naming names was last year, in another Bizarrap session.  “Vol. 49,” featuring Puerto Rican rapper Residente, is a diss track against the current state of Latin urban music, with pointed and personal references to Colombian star J Balvin that also caused a social media uproar.

For 24-year-old Bizarrap, whose sessions have now racked up billions of views in less than three years, the whole point is granting musical and lyrical liberty for what he initially conceived as freestyle sessions.

“Music is a space of liberty, and my sessions are no exception,” Bizarrap told Billboard during a Q&A at Latin Music Week in September. “Artists can say what they really feel and take charge of their feelings. They can express themselves in the way they need in the moment they need. I will never tell an artist he or she can’t say something.”

That, ultimately, may be the key to Shakira’s biggest single in over a decade: She is finally free.

17 Jan 2023

Band v. Brand: How Did Indie Rockers OK Go End Up in a Legal Battle Over a New Line of Cereal?

If you saw a portable snack package of Fruity Pebbles or Honey Bunches of Oats under the brand name “OK Go!” on a supermarket shelf, would you think that the rock band OK Go was somehow involved?

That bizarre question is at the center of a new lawsuit filed by cereal giant Post Foods against the power pop band, which is best known for its viral music videos, including a Grammy-winning video for the song “Here It Goes Again.”

In a complaint filed Friday (Jan. 13) in Minnesota federal court, Post said OK Go had been quietly threatening to sue for months, claiming that the company had infringed the trademark rights to the band’s name by launching the new on-the-go packages earlier this month.

“Without resolution by this court, Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of unfounded future litigation by defendants,” the cereal company wrote in its lawsuit.

Post is seeking what’s known as a “declaratory judgment,” meaning a ruling by a judge that says the company did nothing wrong. Post says the trademark rights of a rock band like OK Go don’t extend to an unrelated product like cereal, and that the new cups of Fruity Pebbles and other cereals are clearly marked with Post’s own branding to avoid any confusion.

In a statement to Billboard, the members of OK Go said they’d been surprised to learn of Post’s lawsuit.

“A big corporation chose to steal the name of our band to market disposable plastic cups of sugar to children. That was an unwelcome surprise, to say the least,” the band wrote. “But then they sue US about it? Presumably, the idea is that they can just bully us out of our own name, since they have so much more money to spend on lawyers? I guess that’s often how it works, but hopefully, we’ll be the exception.”

According to Post’s lawsuit, the dispute with OK Go goes back many months — and court records reveal the kind of legal back-and-forth that often precedes such litigation.

Back in September, an attorney for the band sent a cease-and-desist letter to Post, saying that OK Go had been “surprised and alarmed” to see Post’s use of its name on the new products. He claimed the new brand name would “suggest to consumers that OK Go is endorsing Post’s products,” or falsely imply that the cereal company had received permission to use the band’s name on its products.

Citing advertising collaborations with brands like Sony, Mercedes Benz, Google and Chevrolet, the band’s attorney argued that consumers had come to associate the “OK Go” name with consumer products across an array of industries. And he made particular mention that the band had even previously worked with Post itself, releasing a series of promotional videos for Honey Bunches of Oats back in 2011.

“Our client regards this matter with the utmost seriousness and has authorized us to take all steps necessary in any venue to protect its rights,” OK Go’s attorney wrote in the September letter. “If we do not hear from you within 10 days of the date of this letter, we will assume that Post does not wish to resolve this matter amicably.”

A week later, an attorney representing Post responded, saying that the company must “respectfully disagree” with the band’s accusations. The attorney argued that rock music and breakfast cereal were “clearly unrelated” products and that the phrase “OK Go” was merely a common term that had previously been used by many other companies on their products. He also flatly rejected the band’s arguments about its previous work promoting Honey Bunches of Oats.

“Given the length of time that has passed since that limited collaboration over a decade ago, the very small number of views indicated on the YouTube videos you referenced, and the general consuming public’s rather short attention span, it will also have absolutely no bearing on consumer perception of Post’s mark OK GO! used with cereal or cereal-based snacks, and will not lead to any mistaken association with OK Go,” Post’s attorney wrote in the response.

According to Post’s complaint on Friday, the company offered to pay the band as part of a “good faith effort” to resolve the dispute without resorting to litigation, despite its belief that the accusations lacked legal merit. The total figure that Post offered for such a “branding collaboration/co-marketing arrangement” was not disclosed in court documents.

But the food company says OK Go rejected that offer last week and made no counter-proposal, leaving Post with no choice but to file a lawsuit. Citing a “clear threat of potential litigation,” Post wrote that the judge must rule that the company is “free to use the OK GO! Mark.”

The case was filed in federal court in Minnesota, where Post is headquartered. An attorney for Post did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Read the entire lawsuit here:

17 Jan 2023

Cris Lacy & Ben Kline Add Co-Chair Titles at Warner Music Nashville

Warner Music Nashville (WMN) leaders Cris Lacy and Ben Kline have been elevated to co-chair/co-president titles, following their promotion to co-presidents of the label in June 2022. Kline and Lacy launched the new year with a company-wide, off-site day of culture building and programming last week.

“I’m honored to lead WMN with Cris in what is an exciting time of change and opportunity for this business,” Kline said in a statement. “We are committed to continuing our leadership position within that change by being laser focused on our incredible artists, their powerful music and their creative visions.”

Lacy added, “Let’s be honest, this is a time of great change in the world at large too. When culture shifts, music ignites, it bridges, it covers, it uncovers. We are here for all of that, and proud to be the Nashville contingent that amplifies those stories to all parts of the globe.”

Lacy and Kline were promoted following the announcement of John Esposito‘s transition to chairman emeritus at the beginning of the year. Billboard broke the news of the pending leadership transition in April 2022. Lacy has been with WMN since 2005, while Kline joined in 2014.

During an interview with Billboard back in 2019, Esposito noted that Kline and Lacy were already being prepped to take over greater leadership roles: “I’m putting all sorts of weight on their shoulders. And the great news is since we did that promotion, they both have risen to an even higher level,” he said. “I’m happy knowing I can give them so much to do so they can become as much the face of the label as me. And that has taken a weight off of me. If I walk in the room, [people] assume I can make the final decision. Now they know that either of them can make a decision [too].”

17 Jan 2023

227: Westside Gunn Celebrates Recovery Of Boldy James After Accident

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Action Bronson And Earl Sweatshirt Perform At The Warfield

Boldy James, a talented and prolific rapper out of Detroit, was involved in a car accident last week according to a statement posted over the weekend by his record label. The latest development is that Boldy Bricks is on the road to recovery, which is good news for his legion of fans and peers, most especially Westside Gunn.

According to a post from Griselda Records, Boldy James was involved in a serious two-car wreck in the greater Detroit metropolitan region on Jan. 9.  In an official statement dated Jan. 14, the news James is making great progress.

From the statement:

“On Monday, January 9th, Boldy James was involved in a serious two-car accident in the Detroit metropolitan area. I can confirm that Boldy arrived at the hospital in critical condition, suffering from broken vertebrae in his neck and orthopedic injuries. After undergoing extensive surgery on his neck, Boldy has been removed from the intensive care unit and is now in stable condition.

Boldy and his family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses that are taking care of him, and also to the communities’ emergency medical personnel and first responders.”

Griselda honcho Westside Gunn added to the statement with a tweet, writing, “I was waiting until the official statement to be released please keep my brother in y’all prayers he’s a strong soul and fighter he’s still talking bout GXFR x 227 forever!!! Just hearing them words broke me down but GOD IS THE GREATEST and BO gonna be better than ever.”

Frequent collaborator and good friend Alchemist also shared his excitement about the recovery of James via an Instagram post vowing that his audio partner will be back better than ever.

The Hip-Hop Wired team shares in Gunn’s joy that Boldy James is on the way to getting back to that top-level audio grind. Last year alone, James dropped four very strong full-length projects and we had to pick one for our best of 2022 list in his collaboration with Nicholas Craven, Fair Exchange No Robbery.

Where we at? Let’s get it.

—

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty

17 Jan 2023

Kanye West’s Ex-Lawyers Want To Print Newspaper Ads Announcing They’ve Dropped Him

Kanye West’s lawyers are asking a federal judge to let them print newspaper ads announcing they’ve dropped the embattled rapper, claiming he has thus far evaded all their efforts to formally notify him that he’s been fired as a client.

Greenberg Traurig, one of the many law firms that have cut ties with West in the wake of his antisemitic statements last year, told a California federal judge on Friday (Jan. 13) that the firm had “exhausted all methods” of contacting the rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye. The cell phone he listed is deactivated, they said, and his reps no longer work for him.

“GT has been unable to locate Ye for personal service despite its best efforts,” attorneys from the prestigious firm wrote. “GT has tried to arrange for personal service by dispatching process servers to his last known location and using all available means to contact Ye and his representatives since November but has not been successful.”

Claiming that Kanye appears to be engaged in “deliberate avoidance and obstruction,” the firm asked the judge to permit an extraordinary alternative: printing a formal public notice in Los Angeles newspapers.

“Publication of the Withdrawal Order’s contents in two Los Angeles-area newspapers, where Ye appears to reside, will also apprise him of the Withdrawal Order,” his former lawyers wrote. “Given Ye’s public status, publication of the Withdrawal Order will likely garner significant media attention, resulting in broader publication and provide an even greater likelihood of apprising Ye of the Order.”

The filing came in a copyright lawsuit that alleged West had failed to pay for a sample he used in the track “Flowers” from his album Donda 2. Greenberg had represented him from the beginning of the case, but following West’s ugly statements, the firm announced publicly in October that it would withdraw: “This firm was founded by individuals who faced discrimination and many of us lost ancestors because of that kind of hate and prejudice.”

The firm got formal approval from the judge to withdraw from the case a short time later. But federal litigation rules and legal ethics require lawyers to serve clients with formal notice that they’ve been dropped; it’s this step that Greenberg says Kanye has evaded.

The request will require approval from the judge overseeing the case. West could not immediately be located for comment on Friday’s letter from his former lawyers.

In the wake of his public self-destruction last year, West has lost nearly every aspect of his once-formidable business empire. His representatives at CAA have dropped him, and his signature fashion partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga have all been terminated.

His lawyers have done the same. In addition to Greenberg, West has also been dropped by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, the prestigious Wall Street firm that repped him in his dealings with The Gap; Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich, who repped him in his divorce from Kim Kardashian; and Brown Rudnick partner Camille Vasquez, who rose to prominence representing Johnny Depp in his defamation case against Amber Heard and briefly repped West last fall. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Alex Spiro, who reps Jay-Z and Elon Musk, publicly clarified that West sought to hire him but never did so.

Read Greenberg Traurig’s full letter here:

17 Jan 2023

Jennifer Lopez Confirms She Was Supposed to Be Part of Madonna & Britney Spears’ Iconic VMAs Kiss

Remember when the Queen of Pop kissed the Princess of Pop at the VMAs? Turns out, Madonna and Britney Spears‘ iconic awards show performance moment was actually supposed to include someone else who’s pop music royalty: Jennifer Lopez.

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In a new interview with E! News ahead of the Jan. 27 streaming release of Shotgun Wedding, her upcoming Prime Video film with Josh Duhamel, J Lo confirmed rumors that she’d originally been tapped for Madonna’s headline-making musical performance at the 2003 Video Music Awards. She also explained why she ended up not doing the show, which resulted in Christina Aguilera stepping in to fill her shoes.

“Yes, that is actually true,” Lopez said. “I was filming a movie in Canada. We had met — me, her and Britney — to do it, at [Madonna’s] home. I just couldn’t get off the film, so we couldn’t do it. Then they got Christina Aguilera, I think, to do it.”

The revelation came after E! asked Lopez what her favorite karaoke song is, at which point she started singing Madge’s 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.” What’s Duhamel’s go-to, you ask? “Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn.

“I didn’t wind up doing it, but yeah, we had talked about it,” she added. “I love Madonna, I’m a huge fan, I always have been.”

Billboard has reached out to the VMAs for comment.

For those in need of a refresher, The Kiss went down during a group performance of Madonna’s “Hollywood” at the VMAs. Right before the song transitioned into a guest appearance from Missy Elliott, Madonna exchanged a sultry kiss with Brit, then turned to her other side and did the same with Christina. Had Lopez been able to do the show, it would’ve been her getting smooched by the Material Girl instead.

Though Madonna kissed both ladies onstage with her, it was her moment with Spears that solidified itself as pop culture history — likely due in part to the exceptionally-timed camera cut to a stony-looking Justin Timberlake, who’d broken up with Spears the year prior. Flash forward to 2022, and the “Toxic” singer and Madonna recreated the lip-lock at Brit’s wedding to Sam Asghari.

See Jennifer Lopez talk about the VMAs performance that didn’t come to be below: