Billboard Cover

20 May 2025

j-hope Teases What’s Next for Solo Career: A ‘Mature, Sexier’ Vibe | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star j-hope sits down to share his experience with ‘HOPE ON THE STAGE,’ the kind of music he hopes to create after completing his military service, his collaborations with J. Cole and Miguel, the artists he hopes to work with in the future, and more!

j-hope:

‘HOPE ON THE STAGE’ is exactly what it sounds like. It’s about showing the artist ‘j-hope’ exactly as he is, fully, on stage. When I start the encore performance, there’s always a moment of connection with the audience. It’s something that I experience at every show. It felt like the stage brought everyone together and created a moment where we became one. I think those are the moments that mean something. My goal is to be an artist that’s consistent. My honest goal is to keep making music that I want to make and is true to who I am. And also become an artist who can express that through a wide variety of performances. I’ve given a lot of thought to many things. “What kind of music should I make after I complete my military service?” That question kept playing on a loop. The main reason I came to L.A. was to explore the kind of music I could make with the local producers. And I feel that the music turned out exactly as I envisioned. I think I’ve made a song that really captures that sweet longing of wanting to love and be loved. And it’s also very easy on the ears. When it comes to collabs, I’m all about vibing with the artists that I genuinely love. Working with J. Cole was just that. He’s been my idol, and he understood that I came from an honest place. Same with Miguel, I’m grateful to him for everything.

Keep watching for more!

14 May 2025

Tems Looks Back at History-Making Career & Teases New Music | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Tems is diving into the trajectory of her career, balancing her personal life and breaking records. Plus, she teases new music, lists her favorite songs she’s put out, talks her involvement with San Diego FC, how representation has evolved in the music industry, the challenges of fame, her future goals and more.

What’s your favorite Tems song? Let us know in the comments!

Heran Mamo:

Well, I’m so excited to be here with you.

Tems:

Me too. 

I mean, this is the fourth time we chatted. But you know, much bigger occasion. Super happy. In person, in London, where you live.

In London, yeah. 

So how long have you lived in London?

I’ve lived in London for about three years now.

And your family moved here when you were a baby, correct? 

Yes. My dad still lives here. Actually, I was raised in Lagos. Still. I didn’t stay here too long when I was a baby.

Obviously Lagos is still considered home. 

Oh yeah, for sure. 

I remember, I think I was watching your Vogue France video when you’re getting ready for the Jacquemus show, and you’re talking about, like, your Pilates class and how, like, you have to keep changing them, because of people recognizing you and you’re like, not even booking under your real name. How do you maintain a sort of normal-ish routine?

The way I am naturally is, I wouldn’t say it’s routine-based, but I find joy in, you know, quiet and having my own time, and I just keep my life private, like my private life private and my public life public.

How has your relationship with your fame evolved over the years and making sure you’re still maintaining that peace?

At least when I first started, there’s a lot of things I wasn’t comfortable with. I’m hypersensitive to a lot of things, so everything was uncomfortable. I just love music. You know, I was always focused on my art and just putting on music.

Keep watching for more! 

22 Apr 2025

5 Junction Records: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

Anjula Acharia remembers when the one person who had set her up for success told her she was going to fail. And Jay-Z was there, too.

In 2008, Acharia and Interscope Geffen A&M’s then chairman, Jimmy Iovine, were sharing breakfast at a New York hotel. Iovine — who had partnered with Acharia’s South Asian music/news hub, Desi Hits, to develop a Universal Music Group-backed imprint — remembered her previously telling him how much “Beware of the Boys,” Jay-Z’s 2003 remix of Panjabi MC’s bhangra single, had meant to her as the kind of cross-continental exchange that she hoped Desi Hits would foster. So when Acharia stood up to leave the breakfast, Iovine asked her to stick around for a few more minutes… at which point Jay made his surprise entrance.

Acharia, who was in her 30s at the time, geeked out, gushing about her love of “Beware of the Boys” and asking the rap superstar about how the remix had come together. Then Iovine pulled the rug out from under her. “While I was sitting with him and Jay-Z, Jimmy told me that Desi Hits was going to fail,” she recalls. “His words were, ‘I know pop culture, I know a visionary, and this is just way too early. This would be right in 10 to 15 years.’ ”

A Punjabi kid and die-hard music fan born to South Asian immigrants, Acharia grew up in Buckinghamshire, England, devouring music that fused styles from around the world and dreaming of creating a platform that spoke to both Eastern and Western demographics. She was a senior partner at a London-based executive search firm who co-founded Desi Hits Radio as a popular early podcast in the mid-2000s; then Iovine backed Desi Hits in 2007 as a stateside label for South Asian artists after she moved to New York. The pair helped engineer a crossover hit in 2009 with “Jai Ho,” A.R. Rahman’s Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire theme that was remade for U.S. listeners with The Pussycat Dolls added to it.

Read the full Billboard cover story here.

17 Apr 2025

Gracie Abrams Talks Returning to the Studio After ‘That’s So True’ Success, ‘Exposure Therapy’ of Eras Tour & More | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Gracie Abrams is heading back to the studio and has revealed that she’s working on new music following the success of “That’s So True.” She opens up about her friendships with Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, her experience opening their tours, the future of pop with Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, her signing to Interscope, and more!

Gracie Abrams:

“That So True,” like, that was the first song I’ve had that did what it did. Every time I sat down to try to write something, I felt like a little sick kind of … how do I make something that makes me feel passionate, I suppose. Having been in Taylor’s orbit and she is, like, the most well-known artist there is. It really helps put everything into perspective where it’s like, I don’t really have it that bad in terms of the invasion of privacy and like, I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her, obviously, but one of the things that I’ve felt lucky to observe is like how extreme it can be, because I think it helps right-size my own sh–. I think having done The Eras Tour and seeing the largest crowds in the world, it’s kind of like this lovely exposure therapy, or anything smaller than that actually does feel kind of comforting, despite the fact that, of course, playing my own arena tour felt like a different planet to me entirely. I do think there felt like some kind of closeness even between me and the person in the last row. It was just the best time.

Keep watching for more!

06 Mar 2025

John Summit Talks New Album, Shows You His Routine & More in a Day in His Life | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star John Summit takes you through a day in his life in Miami where he shares what he’s working on for his next album, who he would love to collaborate with, performing at the Sphere, how EDM music from the US has gone international and more!

John Summit:

I remember like I was just at first, just making music to impress my girlfriend at the time, because she liked all these DJs. I’m like, okay I do this. I feel I could lose my job any day. So the second I let off the gas, someone else is gonna steam right ahead.

Katie Bain:

Tell me what you were absorbing in terms of electronic music, pop music, movies, media that you know kind of fed into what you’re doing now, like what was particularly inspiring to you?

I mean, I think the other pop stars this year were really inspiring, like, I think the whole movement Charli XCX had with ‘BRAT’ was just incredible, because the music was amazing. It was very electronic focused, but then there’s a cultural movement as well, which I think is every kind of artist’s dream, right? And then from there, just watching like movies I needed to catch up on like, I just rewatched, like ‘La La Land,’ for example, the guy who scores those movies. He does it with Damien Chazelle, this guy named Justin Hurwitz, and he’s such an incredible, incredible score that super inspires me. And then I was looking into it, and like Ryan Gosling learned how to play the jazz piano within three months from nothing for that movie. And it just shows you that you don’t even need to be particularly knowledgeable or skilled at any instrument, and you can just learn it. I just rewatched ‘Whiplash,’ for example, I bought a drum kit the next day. 

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05 Mar 2025

Grupo Frontera: Spend a Day in the Life at Their Headquarters | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover stars Grupo Frontera take us through a day in their lives, showcasing their favorite hobby, describing what their studio time involves, and explaining what an “asada” entails. They discuss how they initially managed with a limited budget and how they did not expect to suddenly gain rapid traction with “NO SE VA,” a song that changed their lives. They also share details about their collaborations with Bad Bunny and Grupo Firme, how their EP with Fuerza Regida came about, and more!

Grupo Frontera:

What’s up, folks? We are Grupo Frontera. Come with us on our day off to play paddle with our friends from Billboard. Last year’s concerts, I wouldn’t move. Like, I would just stay in place. I would just stay there, and I would do this, and then this year, I would run around and jump across the stages and stuff. So I feel like it did help with the… How do you say it? Endurance. So what’s gonna happen next year with your body? Back flips, back flips. We’re gonna do shirtless concerts. What’s it called when you do this? Splits. Because we would spend a lot of time here. So me and Meto would come here and play. And they’re like, where are you guys? Paddlling. What the hell is paddling? But it was, oh, I remember now we invited Morat for no, they invited us for a concert and they play paddle. Julian and Beto were like, oh, let’s go with them. And I was like, I’m not gonna play el Chile. I don’t like sports. I don’t like sweating more than I already do. I sweat so easily. So I got here and I was in pants, and I was wearing like, this sweater. And when I got here, they were like, playing. I was like aight, so I was playing in pants and everything. And I got into it and sh–. I got into paddling. The reason why we do this is because this place opened up about a year ago, and it’s coming straight to you, buddy. This is the only thing we do for fun, only because we found a love for it.

Keep watching for more!

04 Mar 2025

Koe Wetzel: From a Small Texas Town to Changing Lives Through Music | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Koe Wetzel is ready to headline Billboard’s THE STAGE at SXSW. The country singer shares his journey from a small Texas town to hitting the stage in countless cities where he’s able to connect with fans and change their lives. He opens up about how ‘Noise Complaint’ was the turning point in his career, creating “High Road,” what his big plans are and more!

Koe Wetzel:

I came from a small town, East Texas. I didn’t cover them a whole lot. For me, it’s just kind of telling my story, speaking to people that need that at that time, they’re going through the same stuff that I am. I feel like, for me, it’s getting kind of that message out to them, to let them know that they’re not alone. I still don’t believe that any of this sh– is true. To be honest with you, kind of wild to me. I’m very blessed. I’m very grateful for everything that’s going on. Like, oh, hey, you’re gonna be doing an interview with Billboard today. Wow, shut the f— up. Like that. No way that’s real. Used to be about playing these bars, having a good time, you know, making rent, making gas money to the next show. And now it’s completely different. It came really fast, so it’s wild to see where it’s came and where we’re at. With “High Road” it was one of those songs that’s going back on a past relationship, and I remember very specific parts of that relationship that stuck out to me, and that was what we kind of related to the song with. It came pretty damn easy, and now it’s done what it’s did, and kind of beyond me. It’s wild. I don’t think I really sat back and kind of looked at it all the way that everything’s going, like I said before we started. You know, I could be pouring concrete. 

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11 Feb 2025

EMPIRE: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

It’s an early evening in late September, and San Francisco is gleaming. The back patio at EMPIRE’s recording studios near the city’s Mission District is all white marble, reflecting the last rays of the setting sun as dozens of YouTube executives mill about, holding mixed drinks and picking at passed trays of beef skewers, falafel, lamb dumplings, and ham and chicken croquettes. At the moment, the companies’ top executives — EMPIRE founder and CEO Ghazi, COO Nima Etminan and president Tina Davis, as well as YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen, among others — are sequestered in the studio’s live room for a quarterly business review, discussing the platform’s new tools, the label’s upcoming projects and how the two can best work together. A cake is adorned with YouTube’s latest milestone: 100 million members of its music subscription service.

Inside, the aesthetic is flipped: Black walls, dark wood floors and a black marble bar set the tone, while a projection screen in the main lounge area shows photos of Nigerian superstar and recent EMPIRE signee Tiwa Savage, who is in town finishing her new album. As Ghazi, Cohen and the others wrap their meeting and begin to filter into the party, everyone is ushered inside to hear her play some of her new music.

“This is my first project at EMPIRE, and it’s really emotional for me because I’ve never had a label be this invested; most labels are not in the studio with you from morning until night,” Savage says before introducing her first single from the album, “Forgiveness,” which she will release a couple of weeks later. “They made me feel so welcome. I’ve been signed several times, but I’ve never been in a situation where it felt like home.”

Read the full Billboard cover story here.

27 Jan 2025

Kai Cenat: From Twitch Streamer to One of Music’s Biggest Influences | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star Kai Cenat has gone from being a Twitch streamer to one of the most influential figures in the music industry. The influencer shares his journey from learning the ropes of hip-hop music to becoming a music industry commentator. He discusses his thoughts on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, how he manages his relationships with artists, the process of inviting artists over, and his advice for those wanting to start streaming, and more!

Kai Cenat:

I want to go to space, like, I want to be the first streamer in space. I feel like that’d be crazy, like going to the rocket, going up to space, saying, “Yo, chat,” come back down. I feel like that’ll be crazy. When I started streaming, the majority of my content was, like, blowing up based off of me just reacting to different songs and like we had to do different music when they dropped and albums when they dropped, and just enjoyed it for what it was. And then certain clips and certain videos from that stream would go crazy, and then everybody just loved it.

Damien Scott: 

You’ve done very well for yourself. Forbes has you as the highest-earning Twitch streamer. You had a hell of a 2024. Became most subscribed streamer on Twitch, Mafiathon 2. 

Yep.

Which was incredible to watch a feat of social engineering and just content overall. That, plus a number of other things, has you covering Billboard’s annual Power 100 issue. 

That’s crazy. 

Did you ever think you would be- 

Heck, no. Billboard is insane. I grew up looking at things that like Billboard had posted in the past, and different people that’s been on Billboard already, and it’s definitely insane. 

You remember any of the songs back when you were still making skits, you were still in the Bronx? What music were you gravitated to and were you listening to? 

No, I was listening to… I did straight Michael Jackson up until high school. 

What do you mean straight Michael Jackson? 

Keep watching for more!

27 Jan 2025

Kai Cenat: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

Kai Cenat — the eternally upbeat streamer whose profile has exploded in recent years to make him the most popular personality on the Amazon-owned Twitch platform — is taking a moment to think.

In the five years or so since he’s become a full-time content creator, Cenat has had some of the most famous hip-hop artists, athletes and actors come to his house to drop in and join the “chat,” the affectionate word he uses for any of the 700,000-plus people who subscribe to his channel. He’s thinking over whether he can recall a favorite moment among so many, but it’s tough. It wasn’t when SZA and Lizzo stopped by together in the fall, nor when NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving taught Cenat’s friends and family how to play basketball. It would be reasonable to think it might be one of the many times Kevin Hart, one of his idols, swung by to kick it during the holidays.

Sitting in the basement room of his mountainside Georgia mansion, the 23-year-old needs a beat or two to consider the options. The room is a temple of adolescence, with pictures of his favorite basketball players, vintage arcade machines like Pac-Man and a gaming racing wheel. He has a huge walk-in closet and a king-size bed, both of which are being used by his three-person styling team. The only part of the room that hints at some sort of professional living there is the desk at one end that contains the computer and camera setup that power his streaming empire. Dressed in a BAPE hoodie and stonewashed denim that make him look like he’s straddling sartorial eras, Cenat finally settles on an answer: The May weekend last year when Drake and Kendrick Lamar dropped a total of four songs, three of them back to back.

“That was the most fun experience I’ve had,” he says with a smile bright enough to power a Tesla. “I’m not going to lie.” It’s tough to tell if he’s actually super excited or just trying to manage his constant and unbridled childlike energy.

Check out Kai Cenat’s Billboard cover story here.