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DJ Peggy Gou is putting her own spin on Don Julio’s 1942 tequila bottle. The limited-edition artwork is emblazoned with a unique “194구” (구 is pronounced “Gou”) motif, which is inspired by her Korean heritage and love of fashion and art.
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The unique bottle itself features a light blue-meets-mint-green hue that feels like chrome, as well as a glistening chrome cap that replaces the traditional wooden style. It also comes in a stunning iridescent purple keepsake box that features an illustration of Gou’s tattoo-clad hand holding a cowboy hat. Inside, the box features a brightly colored drawing of Gou and a message from the artist. “The design captures the essence of my artistic spirit, alongside the iconic legacy of Don Julio Gonzalez,” it says.
Don Julio
We caught up with Gou during the launch party celebrating the brand’s first-ever global collaboration — and a line formed around the block of the Tribeca location with fans who were excited about the potential of seeing Gou up close. At the party, VIP guests were treated to a “Gouvenier Shop” that had cowboy hat-shaped incense-holders, tote bags, T-shirts, baseball caps and other fun, whimsical goodies that were somehow perfectly on brand for the artist. Gou opened up about designing the one-of-a-kind bottle, and even shared her favorite clubs to party at on a night off.
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Looking at the bottle, its design feels very much like you. Can you explain its look?That’s exactly how I wanted people to feel. I mean, it’s iconic, but I wanted people to feel like there’s a little Peggy in there.
I wanted this to be a bottle that you want to keep even when you finish it. I wanted this bottle to be a kind of souvenir that you keep in your house, you know? And I tried to put my identity to it, as well as respecting Don Julio’s Mexican culture as well.
What musical elements and genres would you say go along with the bottle?I would say — just because I was talking about my identity — it would be dance and electronic music. [Pointing at the lid] And this was supposed to be like a little disco ball!
You know, when I first saw it from a distance, I thought it was because a disco ball just makes so much sense!Really?! That’s nice. It is like a mini disco ball.
Do you have a favorite tequila-based cocktail?I just discovered it yesterday! It was something … I don’t think there’s a name. Maybe we need to give it a name. It was 1942 — well, 194Gou — butterfly pea and yuzu.
What’s one experience you wish everyone could have when drinking this bottle?I’m always thinking to myself, “I want to worry about today tomorrow.” I want everybody to feel that way because as soon as you start drinking it, it’s a kind of a sign of [saying] let’s have fun. You know? Let’s not worry about what’s happening today.
What shows are you performing this summer that you’re most excited about?I’m pretty excited about every show that I do, but I’m very excited to come back to New York in May. I’m coming to the Brooklyn Mirage on May 18. They renovated the whole thing and it’s just opening new and I believe I’m doing the opening. But the new space looks insane.
What’s your favorite club in NYC, and then around the world?I personally haven’t been there when I wasn’t working, so I can’t say, but I really love Knockdown Center [in Queens]. I loved it — it was a kind of club that made me feel like I would love to come here on my day off.
And then around the world, there’s a club called OHM in Berlin. It’s a very tiny club and only has a capacity of 150 people, but that’s a very sick club.
The limited-edition 194구 bottle is available worldwide for $225, and is being released in limited quantities. It will be a true collector’s item for tequila enthusiasts and Peggy Gou stans alike. You can also find the regular edition of Don Julio 1942 on sites such as ReserveBar.com.
Don Julio 1942 añejo tequila
Three months after dropping his prideful and tropical-leaning set DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, Bad Bunny visited the NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., for his Tiny Desk debut.
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Surrounded by seven musicians — cuatros and congas in the mix — the Puerto Rican artist kicked off the nearly 35-minute set with his holiday-themed “Pitorro de Coco.” “I swear I didn’t know there were going to be so many people here … and even a few Puerto Ricans. The next song is so that — I don’t know how many people travel to Puerto Rico – I can take you there,” the artist said before performing a saucy plena version of his hard-hitting perreo “Voy A Llevarte Pa PR.”
Sipping coffee, vibing with the musicians and connecting with the intimate crowd, the artist born Benito Martínez Ocasio performed a bolero-version of “Kloufrens” before joking about the school desk he was sitting on. “I don’t know whose idea it was to give me this desk. It was mine, and I’m starting to regret it,” he laughed.
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He then performed the somber “Lo Que Le Paso A Hawaii,” telling the audience that he wrote this song after dreaming about it. “The song didn’t let me go back to sleep, so I wrote it completely and that’s when I fell asleep,” he shared. After the tune, he admitted to having rehearsed the song outside of the White House before the Tiny Desk concert.
“The next song is not a song, it’s not a movie, it’s true … I think my story comes from the same place that many of ours come from. We’re proud to bring our music and culture to the whole world,” he said before delivering the salsa-heavy “La Mudanza,” during which each of his musicians flaunted their vibrant solos.
After telling heartfelt and witty anecdotes, Bunny and his colleagues proudly chanted the song’s popular line “yo soy de P f–king R!” before an impromptu and quick grand finale of the album’s title track, “DTMF.”
The 17-track set, released on Día de Reyes (Three Kings Day) on Jan. 5, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Currently, the album is in its 12th week at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. Meanwhile, the title track, “DTMF,” is No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs and Latin Streaming Songs; and “Baile Inolvidable” tops the Tropical Airplay chart.
Watch his full Tiny Desk concert below:
Benny Blanco is just as confused as others are about having been mixed up with Bad Bunny at the 2025 Oscars.
About a month after a photo of himself and his superstar fiancée walking the red carpet at this year’s awards was mistakenly captioned “Selena Gomez and Bad Bunny” on The Academy’s official X account, the producer swung by The Jennifer Hudson Show Monday (April 7) and revealed that he had no idea the snafu occurred — but he isn’t complaining.
“They did?” he replied incredulously when Jennifer Hudson informed him that he’d been confused for the Puerto Rican superstar. (The post was quickly edited to correctly state Blanco’s name, though screenshots and replies immortalize the hilarious oopsie.)
“I like that,” the “Eastside” musician continued, laughing. “What do you mean? He’s so hot! I’ll take it, I’ll take it. What do you mean?”
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“Look at how pretty he is — are you kidding?” Blanco added, looking at a photo of the “Titi Me Pregunto” displayed behind him. “Yeah, I’m Bad Bunny now.”
The producer’s visit to the talk show comes just a couple weeks after the March 21 release of his and Gomez’s joint album, I Said I Love You First, which recently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The couple attended the 2025 Oscars together earlier that month in honor of Emilia Pérez, in which the Only Murders in the Building actress starred. The film had received 13 nominations, including best picture, which ultimately went to Anora.
Of attending the ceremony, Blanco told Hudson, “Every woman deserves a Purple Heart for going — you guys gotta get ready, it’s so much, it’s so long.”
“That dress weighed 35 pounds!” the hitmaker added, pointing to a phot of himself and Gomez on the red carpet. “And when we were traveling there, she couldn’t sit down — she had to stand up in the car, and a man is sewing her in!”
Speaking of fancy occasions, Blanco also shared the special celebration he planned for his 37th birthday last month. “Selena had never been to a prom before, so I thought I’d throw us a prom for my birthday,” he said, smiling. “She didn’t even know. She was like, ‘What am I supposed to wear? What am I supposed to do?’ It was like she was really going to prom. I got her a little corsage.”
Watch a clip of Blanco’s Jennifer Hudson Show interview above.
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Source: Getty Images / Donald Trump / Barack Obama
Barack Obama didn’t bite his tongue when speaking about the blatant double standards when it comes to the lack of outrage towards Donald Trump’s reckless policies and behavior.
Our forever President, Barack Obama, stated the very obvious during an on-stage interview at Hamilton College while speaking on what Trump is currently doing in their first 100 days as President.
“Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama said Thursday during the interview, where attendees were not allowed to record, according to CNN. “It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or a whole bunch of my predecessors.”
The gloves were off when Obama spoke explicitly about Trump using the presidency to bully private institutions to bend to his ridiculous will.
“Imagine if I had said to law firms that were representing parties that were upset with policies my administration had initiated that you will not be allowed into government buildings,” Obama continued. “We will punish you economically for dissenting from the [Obamacare] or the Iran Deal.”
He continued, “The idea that a White House can say to law firms, if you represent parties that we don’t like, we’re going to pull all our business or bar you from representing people effectively…that kind of behavior is contrary to the basic compact we have as Americans.”
Obama also revealed that he is more deeply concerned” about the Trump administration’s threats to American universities “if they don’t give up students who are exercising their right to free speech.
Obama Touched On The Stupid Tariffs
He also touched on Trump’s stupid implementation of sweeping tariffs on countries, mainly our trading partners, adding he doesn’t believe it “is going to be good for America.”
Well, he couldn’t be more correct.
Since Trump rolled his orange behind out into the Rose Garden with that board with all of the “reciprocal tariffs” in response to “trade barriers,” most economists couldn’t figure out what his administration came up with, the global stock market has been in free fall, the US economy is tanking, and talks of a worldwide recession have reached an all-time high.
But what seems to be keeping Obama up at night is the Trump administration’s continued attack on Americans’ rights.
We hope Obama continues to speak about what’s going on; his voice is always needed.
You can see more reactions to his comments in the gallery below.
Sony Music announced on Monday (April 7) that David Massey, president of Arista Records since its relaunch in 2018, will retire at the end of June. The company has yet to announce new leadership.
“It has been a privilege to work with David on the rebirth of Arista,” Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer said in making the announcement. “In two different eras at Sony Music, David has been a hugely respected key senior executive for the company worldwide and as a friend and colleague in both those eras I wish him all the happiness in his retirement.”
Founded by Clive Davis in 1974, Arista was the longtime home of Whitney Houston, Patti Smith, Carlos Santana and Barry Manilow, among other legends, before it was retired in 2011 by RCA executives. Sony Music Nashville continued to operate Arista Nashville, which featured Brad Paisley on its roster, until its closure in March 2023.
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Massey and Stringer’s decision to resurrect the Arista Records brand received the Davis seal of approval in 2018. “Clive was amazing about it,” Massey told Billboard at the time, “and I think we all just felt like it was a very natural, great opportunity to bring back a label that so many people respect and love seeing it.”
Under Massey’s leadership, Arista’s roster has included Grammy-nominated singer JP Saxe, Italian rock band Måneskin, and rappers Lola Brooke and Paul Russell, among others.
Prior to joining Arista, the British-born executive led Universal Music Group’s Mercury Records from 2007 until he became president of Island Records in 2013. During his tenure, Island was part of the Island Def Jam Music Group until it became a standalone entity in April 2014. At Island, Massey guided the careers of artists such as Shawn Mendes, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Tove Lo, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, Bon Jovi and Mike Posner.
Earlier in his career, Massey spent a decade at Sony’s Epic Records, advancing through the A&R department to become head of the division, and later executive vice president of A&R for Sony Music Label Group U.S. He also founded Daylight Records, in 2000, where he signed and developed Good Charlotte, Jonas Brothers, Anastacia and Phantom Planet.
Before his tenure at Epic, Massey built a successful career in London as an artist manager, working with acts like Wang Chung. He also ran his own independent record company, Big World Records.
Massey served as a governor and trustee at the RIAA from 2010 to 2015.
“It has been a great honour to spend this chapter of my career back at Sony Music, working with Rob Stringer, a visionary executive for whom I have the utmost admiration, and with the extraordinary Sony family worldwide,” Massey said. “Having started the label from scratch nearly seven years ago, I am so proud of the achievements of the team at Arista and our great young artists. I know that Arista will go from strength to strength in the future.”
Drake made Justin Bieber’s hotline bling, but there was no reply. The 6 God is claiming that Biebs didn’t respond to his message regarding a potential collaboration on Instagram over the weekend. Drizzy dropped a comment in Bieber’s Instagram post on Sunday (April 6), which saw the “Baby” singer asking his peers to shoot him […]
SXSW London announced the initial batch of showcasing performers for the first-ever U.K. edition of the iconic music festival on Monday morning (April 7). Taking place from June 2-7 in Shoredictch, U.K., the event will feature sets from Mabel, Alice Glass, Sasha Keable, Miraa May and NAO, who will take the stage at more than a dozen venues, including Shoreditch Town Hall, Notion, Soul Surge, The Blues Project, Village Underground, Strongroom Bar, 93 Feet East, XOYO, Brick Lane Tap House, Colours, Juju’s and Jaguar Shoes, among others.
Among the other 100 Afrobeats, dancehall, blues, drill, drum & bass, dub, electronic, folk, funk, grime, hip-hip, jazz, metal, rock and soul acts from around the world slated to perform are: Aja Ireland, Ace Clvrk, Anthonia, Balter, Bemz, Benefits, Bison Rogue, Caleb Kunle, Cheb Mimo, Clara Serra Lopez, Coco & Breezy, Demae, Emmeline, Freddie Lewis, Gender Crisis, Gia Ford, Heartworms, Hiba, Hot Face, Hunnid22, Joejas, Kanis, Last Nubian, Lostchild, Mace the Great, Myylo, Nicole Blakk Sola Akingbola, The Deep, TwstXav and Zems, among many others.
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In addition to the traditional mix of music from all over the world offered at the annual fest in Austin, TX, the first-ever U.K. edition will feature conference programming covering the intersection of AI technology and human creativity and the crafting of branded product experiences, as well as the SXSW London Screen Festival, with appearances from actress Gillian Anderson and screenings of upcoming films and TV series.
Among the other musical acts slated to perform at the event that will feature such themes as “Diasporic Electronica,” “Independent Spirit” and “Future Sounds” are: Blasé, Cooper T, Deca Ota, El Combo De London, Gbrl Prkfv Ensemble, Ivy Lab, Jaz Elise, Korda Korder, Lewis G Burton, Majur, Mayelli, Micromoon, Montanera, Polldarier, Ras-I, Sarah Angel, Sean Focus, Tatyana, SophieGrey and Werkha, among others.
“One of the things I love most about London is that you can step out of any tube station and find yourself in a distinct community,” said SXSW London head of music Adem Holness in a statement. “That’s exactly how I want our festival to feel — each of our music venues will be a gateway into a different international new music scene. We’re collaborating with the most exciting pioneers in underground music movements to present the future of music from their unique perspectives, and I’m beyond excited by the artists they’ve chosen to platform.”
Three-day passes are available now here, with music wristbands slated to go on sale on April 14.
Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
Even at the young age of 26 years old, Clairo has done a lot of reflecting on her own life. And now, she’s revealing why she’s kept a “huge” part of it largely undefined. In a new cover story for Seventeen, the “Sexy to Someone” singer explained why she prefers not to put a label […]
“I’m working late, ’cause I’m a singer,” Sabrina Carpenter croons on “Espresso.” And with an avatar of the pop star coming to Fortnite Festival, fans can now experience what that’s like, too. As announced Monday (April 7), Carpenter is the game’s icon for season eight — which starts April 8 — meaning players can virtually […]
Jennifer Lopez is hitting the road this year, making her first official stop in Spain. Jenny from the Block announced dates to her Up All Night Live in 2025 stint on Monday (April 7), teasing an electrifying show during which she’ll be performing some of the biggest hits of her career. “To all my international […]