Billboard Cover

16 Jun 2023

Sasha Colby Talks About How She Got Into Drag, Misconceptions About Drag & More | Billboard Cover

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 winner Sasha Colby talks about her start in drag, defies drag misconceptions and more for our Billboard Pride cover with Maren Morris.

Sasha Colby
Oh my gosh, when I was asked … Billboard, the cover of Billboard? Cover girl, oh my goodness. I needed to pinch. I fainted and then I was resurrected.

Sasha Colby on how she got into drag:
I think I came out of the womb with, like, a pair of high heels and a little smoky eye, but I mean. There’s pictures of me as a kid literally jumping into my sister’s high heels or playing in makeup. So I think I was just always jumping into drag before I even knew what drag was.

Sasha Colby on the first song she performed in drag:
I was a child — I was playing in my sheets, and my parents told me to come out and dance for everyone. How they didn’t know, it’s beyond me. But it was, every time, Whitney Houston “I Want to Dance With Somebody.”

Sasha Colby on her signature drag number:
Would have to be honestly, “Don’t Walk Away.” It’s the perfect brunch number. It’s the perfect, like, everyone sings along — any age, any … like … any ethnicity, they love it.

Sasha Colby on the biggest misconception about drag:
That we queer people, or drag queens, or performers in general are trying to groom children. And that’s not our, you know, our way of going about things. But I think that’s the biggest misconception. It’s not something that we encourage people to do — it’s a safe haven that people come to because they’re excluded from everywhere else.

Watch the full video above to find out how Sasha Colby responded when she was told she’d be on the Billboard cover with Maren Morris, what she wants people to learn about drag and more!

07 Jun 2023

Maren Morris Discusses Drag Bans & Transphobia With Drag Stars

Country star Maren Morris moderates a drag roundtable with queens Symone, Sasha Colby and Eureka O’Hara and drag king Landon Cider to discuss the recent wave of bills targeting drag performers and trans people.

Maren Morris:
Hi Billboard I’m Maren Morris. What better way to celebrate Pride month than to talk to the most incredible artists in drag. I am on hallowed ground right now being here with you guys. It’s incredible.

Symone:
Thank you for being here.

Maren Morris:
We just finished our cover shoot for Billboard’s Pride issue. I want to ask each of you to introduce yourself with your name, your pronouns and how you would describe your drag? Symone, do you want to kick it off?

Symone:
I would. Hello there. My name is Symone. She, hers, hers is in the drag. And I would describe my drag as authentic, unapologetic, and everything.

Landon Cider:
My name is Landon Cider and I am the winner of season three of ‘The Boulet Brothers Dragula,’ my pronouns in drag are he, him, his. Outsider of drag she, her, hers and I would describe my drag as glamdrogynous.

Maren Morris:
Newly crowned queen.

Sasha Colby:
I’m Sasha Colby, winner of season 15 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and my pronouns are she, her, goddess, I would call my type of drag and NC-17.

Maren Morris:
Eureka.

Eureka O’Hara:
Okay, so my name is Eureka O’Hara. My pronouns are she/her, they/them and my type of drag is big and loud ever-growing.

Watch the full video above.

06 Jun 2023

Jelly Roll Reveals 5 Things You Don’t Know About Him | Billboard Cover

Jelly Roll reveals five things you didn’t know about him.

Jelly Roll
What’s up, y’all? This is Jelly Roll. Here are five things you don’t know about me.

No. 1: I used to work at a radio station as an intern when I got out of jail across the street of 106.7, The Blaze. Taz Daddy was the afternoon MC. I was the worst intern in the history of the company and he tells that story every time we’re around each other.

No. 2: Y’all are gonna make fun of me — I can see in the comments. I played football, basketball and soccer. When I was in middle school, I was absolutely mediocre at all three of them.

No. 3: When I was in elementary school, I would walk to school and my dog would walk me to school without a leash and walk itself back. That’s a true fact.

No. 4: I went to community college when I first got out of jail in the state of Tennessee — you have options when you’re on probation or parole. You can either get a job or be a student. I knew I wasn’t going to work a job, so I went and enrolled at Ball State Community College and I’m like, a couple hours away from having one of them, like, associate degrees.

No. 5: My guilty pleasure is golf. I love golf because people drink early in the morning. I, too, like things that involve drinking early in the morning when that’s possible. It’s like a little sanctuary, man. It’s awesome.

Those are five things you probably didn’t know about me.

01 Jun 2023

Jelly Roll Opens Up About His Journey From Prison to Top of Billboard’s Country Chart | Billboard Cover

Country star Jelly Roll opens up about his journey from his life in prison to becoming one of the most exciting and interesting rising stars in country music.

“I want to make people feel the way this makes me feel because this is like it go back my childhood really, like this is the same way that music made my mother feel, you know. And I’ve just always been hyper focused on the feeling,” he says.

“I had got released from jail, and it would it would end up being the last time I was ever in jail, which I’m super proud of. And I came here because Craig Morgan had this song called ‘Almost Home,’ and I would listen to it in my jail cell. And the song was about a homeless man that was sleeping in the snow. And they were going to wake him up. And they thought that the old man was dead and they shook him and he said, ‘Dude, I was I was, you know, I was coming around the barn, I was smelling mama’s [cobbler], I was having the best day ever before you woke me up.’ And me and my cell mates used to compare that to jail. You know, like in this horrible circumstance, but kind of mentally you know, you can always almost home. So I came home and here I am with an ankle bracelet. And here I am looking googling on the computer back then Craig Morgan concert, Grand Ole Opry. I get tickets, spend my last little bit of money or whatever I had. I go sit down, and I’m watching Craig Morgan. And he’s like, I didn’t realize I’d forgotten the structure that he would only sing three or four songs, you know? And he sang two songs, and I realized, oh, no, he’s not gonna sing it. And then he sang it and I just cried.”

Watch the full video above.

01 Jun 2023

Jelly Roll: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

Jelly Roll will perform at Billboard‘s inaugural Billboard Country Live in Concert event in Nashville on June 6.

In January 1999, one month after he turned 14, Jason DeFord was baptized by full immersion at Whitsitt Chapel Baptist Church in Antioch, Tenn. By the end of that year, he was incarcerated for the first, but not the last, time. For the next decade, DeFord cycled in and out of juvenile and then adult correctional facilities for crimes ranging from aggravated robbery to drug dealing.

“I got baptized in here some 20 years ago and have since done nothing but go to prison, treat a bunch of people wrong, make a lot of mistakes in life, turn it around, [then] go on to be a f–king multimillionaire and help as many people as I possibly can,” says DeFord today, a hint of awe in his voice as he sits in a red upholstered pew at Whitsitt Chapel. The 38-year-old — now better known as the inspirational, tattoo-covered artist Jelly Roll — recently returned to the church for the first time in decades. “It’s the f–king wildest story ever to me — maybe because I’m the one f–king in the middle of it — but that sh-t’s crazy.”

Jelly (whose mother christened him with the nickname when he was little) has risen from the streets of Antioch to the upper reaches of Billboard’s rap, rock and now country charts, and even played the revered Grand Ole Opry. But he still struggles to reconcile that hopeless past with his prosperous present and seemingly limitless future. On the gut-wrenchingly raw Whitsitt Chapel, out June 2 on Bailee & Buddy/Stoney Creek Records/BMG, Jelly relives his search for refuge and redemption in a world where sinners outnumber saints and hell often feels closer than heaven. As he sings on “Save Me”: “I’m a lost cause/Baby don’t waste your time on me/I’m so damaged beyond repair/Life has shattered my hopes and dreams.”

“That’s what country is, anyway, right? Three chords and the solid truth,” says Jelly, paraphrasing legendary songwriter Howard Harlan’s oft-quoted description of a good country song.

Read the full Jelly Roll Billboard cover story here.

11 May 2023

What to Expect From ACM Awards, Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, Ice Spice Cover & More | Billboard News

TETRIS KELLY: Ice Spice is Billboard’s newest cover star! The ‘Princess of Rap’ opened up about some of the biggest collaborations in her career so far, making TikToks with Kim Kardashian’s daughter North West and more! Ed Sheeran discusses the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copyright trial and reveals that it caused him to miss his grandmother’s funeral. We are breaking down what fans should expect from the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight. And more!

I’m Tetris and let’s get into today’s top story. Beyoncé kicked off her Renaissance World Tour in Sweden last night and we’ve got to talk about it. Beyonce performed a three-hour set and her first show in Stockholm comprised of 40 songs. Noticeably missing from the setlist: ‘Single Ladies’, ‘If I Were a Boy’, and ‘Halo,’ but she did sample my girl Britney with a little ‘Toxic’. I won’t spoil too much of the show. You can see all the videos online for that but Bey did post the highlight reel showing the high tech extravaganza. I mean, she brought out a giant mirrorball covered horse. Oh yeah, and she flew across the crowd on a horse a la Donna Summer. See you in September, Bey!

From a Queen to a Princess. Let’s check out our new cover star, Ice Spice. “I did manifest being successful. I would always be on Google as a kid and looking up how to be rich. And like careers that pay the most. So like growing up, I was like, okay, should I be a doctor? Or should I be a lawyer? You know what I’m saying? I just wanted to make a lot of money, but I just love music. So I guess that’s how it just fell into place.

ICE SPICE: “I love the Princess label. I feel like I let the fans pick that one. Because I didn’t like claim her until I saw like all my supporters being like ‘she’s the People’s Princess. She’s Princess Diana.’ At first I was confused. I was like, Oh, Princess Diana, like out everybody? But I was like she’s iconic. So yeah, Princess Diana it is.

“I’ve been a fan of Nicki my whole life. I feel like I was always manifesting like working with her and meeting her one day and stuff like that. So, I mean, I guess it’s just perfect timing.”

TETRIS: I feel like I need to meet Ice Spice. But I also need to hang out with Ed Sheeran, because he can teach me some things about music.

ED SHEERAN: “This is my, like, livelihood. And this is a thing that I’ve worked my entire life to do, and to have someone like disbelieve it and diminish it and just say that you’ve stolen it. I really felt like I had to take a stand and go to it.”

TETRIS: Ed Sheeran spoke out, saying he felt he had to take the stand during his copyright trial when he stopped by the ‘Howard Stern Show’ on Wednesday. The singer songwriter showed the radio host the mix of songs he played for the jury all using similar chord progressions.

Ed said there was 101 songs they found with similar chord sequences going back as far as the 1700s. He ultimately won his case and doubled down saying if he lost, he would have quit music

Now let’s talk to one of Billboard’s best about what’s going down in country. Country stars descend on Dallas tonight for the Academy of Country Music Awards. Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton take the stage together to host one of country music’s biggest nights, and Billboard’s Executive Editor for Nashville, Melinda Newman, fills us in on what to expect.

MELINDA NEWMAN: One of the biggest things people are looking forward to for tonight at the Academy of Country Music Awards is Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are co-hosting. Dolly has hosted before but Garth has never hosted an awards show. So, you have arguably two of the biggest stars in the world hosting this event together and they’re longtime friends so it should be very fun to see how they interact with each other.

TETRIS: Morgan Wallen had to pull out of performing due to vocal issues. But who are some of the big performers we’re expecting to see tonight?

MELINDA: The good news is the show was so packed full with performances that they’re not even scrambling to replace him. Earlier, today they announced that Ed Sheeran will be performing so it will be Ed’s first performance since he won his landmark court case. And then there are also a number of performances that people are looking forward to including some collaborations like Carly Pearce and Trisha Yearwood. Ashley McBryde has got a whole bunch of people performing with her. Luke Combs is performing. You have artists who aren’t nominated showing up and performing just because it’s going to be a great evening.

TETRIS: Entertainer of the Year is ACM biggest award. Is there a clear front runner in that category?

MELINDA: This year, the ACM has expanded it from five nominees to seven but it’s a really tough slate. Even with the expansion, it’s hard to figure out who’s going to go home. But Jessica Nicholson, my colleague at Billboard, predicted Luke Combs will win.

TETRIS: Thanks, Melinda and good luck to all the nominees.

Now. I’m always down to learn some new slang and today I’m getting it from Evaluna.

EVALUNA: Hi, my name is Evaluna. And my favorite Venezuelan slang is ‘Cayendo y corriendo como la iguana.’ I don’t know why I love it. It means like, ‘we’re doing this fast.’ Like we got to, you know, to get there and we do our thing. When we leave. I just I love it. My mom always says like, “Okay, let’s go. Cayendo y corriendo.” Another word that I love is cónchale, which in Argentina might be a little weird, but I just say for everything. It’s like, “cónchale, man!” Like, “dang it!” And that was my favorite Venezuelan slang.

TETRIS: That’s the show. Come back tomorrow for our Tour Stop with ENHYPEN. plus all your new music. This is Billboard News.

11 May 2023

Ice Spice Talks ‘Princess Diana’ Collab With Nicki Minaj, Success of ‘Boy’s a Liar’, TikToks With North West & More | Billboard Cover

Ice Spice talks about some of the biggest collaborations in her career so far, working on ‘Princess Diana’ with her idol Nicki Minaj, how she teamed up with PinkPantheress for ‘Boy’s a Liar’ and the success of the song, making TikToks with Kim Kardashian’s daughter North West and more!

31 Mar 2023

Luke Combs: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

As Luke Combs’ booking agent, WME partner Aaron Tannenbaum, began plotting the European leg of the country star’s massive 2023 world tour, he encountered some promoters, in places like Hamburg, Germany, and Zurich, who were skeptical that a country act would sell tickets in Europe. So he repeated a kind of mantra to them: “You can always count on Luke Combs.”

He was right: Combs sold out all nine European dates he booked (and in substantially larger venues than initially planned). But the mantra — a testament not only to Combs’ dependability as a global touring act but to his rock-solid character — has plenty of less glamorous applications, too. Today, Combs, 33, is sitting in his manager’s Nashville office (a memento-filled monument to, well, him) at the beginning of our interview when a staffer pops her head in. “Nicole [Combs’ wife] needs your keys,” she says. The base of his 9-month-old son Tex’s car seat is in Combs’ truck, and Nicole needs to take the little guy to daycare.

“Do you know how to get it out?” Combs asks hesitantly. He starts to explain, then jumps up. “I’ll just do it, it takes literally one second.” He turns to me. “Baby stuff!”

You can always count on Luke Combs, and that is basically his brand. Without a shtick beyond “everyman,” Combs now fills stadiums nationwide as the Country Music Association’s reigning entertainer of the year, hot off his 15th No. 1 single on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Just your neighborhood consistent, reliable global sensation, on the cusp of bringing country to one of the widest non-pop crossover audiences it has ever had, signature red Solo cups in hand and fishing shirt on as he constructs a kind of fame that’s built to last.

Read Luke Combs’ full Billboard cover story here.