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Luke Hemmings talks about his new solo song “Shakes,” stepping out on his own as an artist, finding his own sound, feeling nervous about performing on his own for the first time, what he wants fans to learn about him from this new solo project, whether the 5SOS guys have heard his new solo songs and more!

Luke Hemmings:All these emotions I have inside of me … get get them out. And I think I’ve learned that I’m a very emotional person. And I think I have something to say, as an artist of my own. Hey, it’s Luke Hemmings, and this is Billboard News.

Rania Aniftos:Everybody, it’s Rania Aniftos, and welcome back to Billboard News. We have such an exciting guest in studio today: We have the one and only Luke Hemmings! Welcome.

Luke Hemmings:Hell yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Rania Aniftos:So the new single — “Shakes” — it sounds so great. I love this next era for you. Tell me a bit about the inspiration behind it, the songwriting process.

Luke Hemmings:“Shakes” was written, like, maybe a year ago, at this point, and started in New York. I already had, like, a few ideas for the album from, like, writing on the road. And, like, a lot of it was written in hotels and, like, planes and all the sadm boring places. That’s where a lot of it came from.

Rania Aniftos:Introspective places.

Luke Hemmings:Very introspective. And this was written, the chorus was written in New York, and it was like experimenting with pitching my voice. That’s why the chorus kind of sounds like me, but it also has like other layers of like pitch vocals. Anyway, very boring nerdy stuff. But I was getting, like, more, I don’t know, just trying out stuff. So experimenting with different perspectives.

The first album was very, like, coming from what I … my experiences, and like, how I see things. So I was like, let’s try something else, not thinking that it would turn out to be the first single. And then, like, nine months later, wrote the verses for it. And yeah, I was trying to just listen to a lot of like, The Verve, and Blur and M83 and Beachouse and stuff. So that’s kind of where the inspiration came from.

But the way I write things for this project is very chaotic. So it will be like, I’ll write a piece here. And then, like, won’t write anything, the rest of it for, like, nine months. So it’ll, like, turn out to be this mishmash of, I don’t know, a story, but it still has that same emotion and feeling.

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Matisyahu opens up about his new EP ‘Hold The Fire,’ what inspired him to write his upcoming song “Ascent” that speaks out against rising antisemitism, becoming an independent artist, why his trip to Israel following the October 7th attacks made him hopeful for the future, his two concerts that were canceled in Arizona and more.

MatisyahuI was feeling really hopeless about what the future is going to look like for all of us and went to Israel and it renewed my faith in humanity.

MatisyahuWhat’s up, this is Matisyahu and you’re watching Billboard News.

Rania AniftosHey, everybody, it’s Rania Aniftos with Billboard News and we’re sitting here today with Matisyahu. You have a new EP out, ‘Hold the Fire.’ There’s something I’ve always liked about your music, is it’s always music with a message. So tell me a bit about the theme surrounding this EP and the inspiration when writing it.

Matisyahu Sure, the theme comes from, the basis is a dream that I had maybe about 10 years ago in my early 30s, as I was playing lots of shows and started out, you know, with my career and then had a family and lived in New York and moved to LA, but playing, really grinding and playing lots of shows a year, like maybe 200 shows a year in order to survive, you know, up until COVID. One of the themes that became relevant to me is: How do you still stay in love with music after you’ve beenplaying so many shows and playing those songs over and over again? And I went through a complicated relationship with the music because it’s like your dream when you’re a teenager, and then it becomes reality. And then it’s like your dream come true. And then you’re making music and there’s the art and there’s the business, then there’s like, it’s like a relationship, you know. This EP is called ‘Hold The Fire’ and it’s about stamina, as an artist, and it’s about how to not let … your fire go out. But at the same time, you know, if you still stoke your fire too much, you could burn everything up and you could burn up in your own fire. And I guess the idea in the opening track is called “Fireproof.”

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A week after scoring a splashy debut at No. 11 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, Djo’s “End of Beginning” vaults to No. 1, while Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” land in the top 10. Tetris Kelly:A new leader and a bunch of fresh new faces — […]

A federal jury in Brooklyn on Tuesday (Feb. 27) found two New York City men guilty in the 2002 murder of Run-DMC‘s Jam Master Jay, setting the stage for potential decades-long prison sentences. Tetris KellyA jury has found two men guilty of murdering Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay more than 20 years after his death. […]

Rising Afrobeats star Fireboy DML talks about how he got interested in making music, his many notable collaborations with the likes of Blaqbonez, Jon Bellion, Jon Batiste, Jax Jones, Madonna and his most well know collaboration Ed Sheeran on his most famous song “Peru,” how he feels about the Grammys finally recognizing Afrobeats, how much he loves football, mixing Afrobeats and country music, his love of Noah Kahan and more.

Fireboy DMLShe took me out on a date.

Tetris KellyOh, I love that.

Fireboy DMLAnd she just made me feel, let’s let’s move on. What up people? My name is Fireboy DML and you’re watching Billboard News.

Tetris KellyHey, what’s up? It’s Tetris with Billboard News and I’m excited today because I’m hanging out with Fireboy. How’s it going, man?

Fireboy DMLI’m good, I’m blessed, how you doing man?

Tetris KellyLast time I saw you, you were kicking it at the Grammys, man, living your best life. How’s the whole experience for you?

Fireboy DMLIt was amazing. It was a brand new experience for me. It was glamorous seeing all those people or those talents, you know, people that look up to. I saw Lenny Kravitz, I saw Jay-Z. Yeah, it was an amazing experience for me.

Tetris KellyThat’s super cool. And how was it to see Afrobeats being celebrated, because obviously, there was the Best African Music Performance category that was a new category. So to see that happening to see Burna Boy on stage, how was that was that?

Fireboy DMLAh that was everything. It was like a manifestation of everything that we’ve been working for over the years. And I was just really honored to witness it. It was like, “Oh, this is this is where this is like, this is it.” You know, I’m just I’m just really happy for Afrobeats in general and African music in general, because I mean, it’s bigger than Afrobeats.

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For Black History Month, Billboard is celebrating by highlighting some of the greatest Black executives in music. And today we’re celebrating Phylicia Fant. Phylicia FantFiguring out how can I be authentic, be myself and still achieve my dreams. Tetris KellyFor Black History Month, Billboard is celebrating by highlighting some of the greatest Black executives in […]

Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold’Em” rises to a new high, while Teddy Swims and SZA keep a steady presence in the top 10. Watch the video to find out which track reaches the No. 1 spot. Tetris Kelly:This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated March 2. Climbing back into the top 10 […]

Venezuelan brothers Mau y Ricky talk about their new album ‘Hotel Caracas,’ working with a non-Latin producer like Malay and how that was different from making their previous records, how their Venezuelan heritage inspired their new project, their experience going back to Venezuela after many years, tease what fans can expect from the second season […]

Bobby Caldwell’s classic “What You Won’t Do for Love” zooms in at No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart dated Feb. 24 following a new, largely food-based trend on the platform. Tetris KellyA new leader and two fresh new faces — we’ve got a batch of new bops in the top 10. Tetris […]

Ayra Starr talks about the international success of her song “Rush,” becoming the youngest African female artist to surpass 100 million views on YouTube, getting her first Grammy nomination, her aspiration to be a teenage pop star, the growth of popularity of the Afrobeats genre and where she sees the future of the genre going and more!

Ayra StarrI wasn’t here two years ago, now I’m doing an interview with Billboard.

Rania AniftosFresh off the Grammys, girl.

Ayra StarrHello, I’m Ayra Starr and you’re watching Billboard News.

Rania AniftosHey everybody, its Rania Aniftos with Billboard News and I am so excited. We have the Afrobeats queen herself in the studio today, Ayra Starr.

Ayra StarrHello!

Rania AniftosWelcome to the studio.

Ayra StarrThank you for having me. I’m excited.

Rania AniftosYou were just nominated for your first-ever Grammy nomination. How did that feel?

Ayra StarrAmazing. I had a great time at the Grammys. All the parties even before the Grammys, I was just like, oh, like, I’m at the Grammys. You can see me at the red carpets. I was having a good time. Let me tell you.

Rania AniftosWas there something that surprised you over the course of the week that you were like, I was expecting this, but this happened instead.

Ayra StarrTo be honest like anytime I come to LA, I’m always like indoors and never do anything and people like people know me, but people don’t really know me. They know my music, but they don’t know me. This time, every room I walked into: Ayra Starr! I was fangirling over the people who are fangirling over me, like, “You know me!” And it was the best thing.

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