Billboard

If you’re looking for some new tunes to bop to, we got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about Charli XCX’s Brat!

Tetris Kelly:

If you haven’t heard, we’re having a Brat summer. And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, we’ve got you covered. Billboard cover star Charli XCX dropped her sixth studio album, Brat, on June 7, and the green cover and her hard-hitting pop hits have changed the course of the season, from a viral TikTok dance, to political endorsements. Even CNN had to get in on the culture-shifting album, along with every brand and TV show. Charli’s seen support from her peers like SZA, Chappell Roan and Katy Perry.

And there’s no sign of brat summer slowing down. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, second on the U.K. Chart, and it’s been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. And while Pitchfork may claim brat summer is dead, Charli says otherwise, posting a pic of her in studio and hinting at more Brat next week.

Kenzie Ziegler shares how her new album, ‘biting my tongue,’ reflects on her emotions and personal growth, shares the vibe of the visualizers for the album and more! Kenzie’s ‘biting my tongue’ is out now.

Kenzie Ziegler:

It’s kind of a play on words where it’s like I’m not biting my tongue anymore. And I’m finally ready to share everything. Hi, I’m Kenzie, and you’re watching Billboard News. I have one song on the album called “biting my tongue.” But I feel like it kind of well rounded the whole album, because a lot of the songs are very personal to me. And I feel like I have been quiet for a very long time and biting my tongue on a lot of things. And like I said, the songs are very personal to me. So they really, I mean, it talks about a lot of things that have happened in my life. So it’s kind of a play on words where it’s like, I’m not biting my tongue anymore. And I’m finally ready to share everything. When I write music, I try to use it as my therapy, I don’t usually talk about my feelings. But writing this album, it’s actually helped me a lot, you know, speaking freely about how I feel. It is a scary thing, to kind of put these raw emotions out into the world. But I feel like in the long run, if someone else can relate to it, then it means more to me. And I feel like also, it helps me in a way where I feel less alone. There’s two songs on the album that I’m very excited for people to hear the first one being “casualty.” It’s actually the last song on the album. I love the song very much. It’s with a- I worked on it with a new producer that I’ve been working with his name is Joseph Tilly. And he’s so amazing. And it’s more of an acoustic feel to it. And I wrote it very recently, and it’s very personal to me.

Keep watching for more!

Linda Perry is an iconic singer- songwriter who has worked with some of the most iconic voices in music. She sits down and shares the raw making of her ‘Let It Die Here’ documentary, what it means to be queer in the music industry, some of the younger talent in music she looks forward to seeing grow and more!

Linda Perry:

I’m not a liar. I am as honest as you will find on this planet. I know that about myself. Hi, I’m Linda Perry. And this is Billboard News.

Tetris Kelly:

Now sitting across from an icon like yourself, I feel like this is a question you might not ever get asked. So I want to start with this. Who is Linda Perry? 

Linda Perry:

Linda Perry has been trying to figure it out. People think you know, just because someone is, you know, pretty tough. I’m aggressive. I’m a powerful person, I get that. And I see that about me. I’m very talented. I’m smart. I’m a great mom. I’m a great friend. I’m all these things. I’m a great songwriter. But sometimes, you lose your way. That’s what this film is about. And in real time, I kind of figured things out. I’m still putting the pieces together. I don’t think honestly, anybody truly knows who they are until they can be at one with everything. I guess I’m trying to get to that point where I don’t have a reaction. Because reactions are emotional.

Tetris Kelly:

You even have said, you know, kind of a female Bruce Springsteen. So where did that analogy come from?

Linda Perry:

I love Bruce Springsteen, I was making a joke about it. Because sometimes I like to think I’m Bruce Springsteen and sing like Bruce Springsteen, and then a song will come and you know, I should be collaborating with Bruce Springsteen. 

Keep watching for more!

Drake’s “Supersoak” with Lil Yachty got played on a Kai Cenat livestream, and after his feud with Kendrick Lamar, the rapper is happier than ever. Keep watching for more!

Tetris Kelly:

How is Drake doing? Well, Kai Cenat is teasing his new diss track as producer Gordo says he’s happy and chilling. We’re catching you up on the Certified Lover Boy. After his battle with Kendrick Lamar, Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ collaborator Gordo says he hasn’t seen the rapper happier. He tells People, “Ever since all this has happened…  I’ve seen him happier. It’s really weird. He’s pretty jolly. The guy’s been happy as sh–, to be honest. He’s chilling. He literally did a tour for like a year.” Drizzy’s next verse comes on Gordo’s upcoming ‘DIAMANTE’ album, but Kai Cenat is previewing even more new bops with lyrics like “Roll a backwood with my enemies inside.” Drake and Lil Yachty are prepping “Supersoak.” But apparently Drizzy has moved on from KDot and is targeting Soulja Boy, name-dropping the rapper’s label after a recent rant from Soulja. Are you ready for a Drake comeback or happy with him chillin’? Let us know in the comments!

Mustard sits down and tells us what it was like to create ‘Faith of a Mustard Seed,’ the creative direction of his album, how he chooses his collaborators and more. ‘Faith of a Mustard Seed’ is out July 26.

Mustard:

And he was just like, “Well, if you’re not gonna name this one that, you got to do an album called ‘Faith of a Mustard Seed.’”

Tetris Kelly:

You took a break from this for five years, so finally you came back. Why was now the time?

Mustard:

I think just working out the kinks of like what I wanted to… wanted people to hear from me. Life just lifeing, you know. 

Tetris Kelly:

Life will life. 

Mustard:

Just taking my time.

Tetris Kelly:

So you decided to name the album ‘Faith of a Mustard Seed.’ Now do you feel like the energy from Nipsey and what you’ve learned from those conversations that that kind of transferred into the music and how you created this project?

Mustard:

Yeah, it kinda is weird how it came about because I had a whole ‘nother title for this album. And I was — I started making music going towards that. And then I was talking to my mom one day on the phone saying, “When are you going to make me a song? … Something that I would like, something older, something for me.” And she’s a really big Luther Vandross fan, and I sampled a song of Luther Vandross, but I grew up hearing so much Luther Vandross in the house, I’m talking about die-hard, Luther Vandross. Once I made that song, Masego played on the song, Ty’s on the song, Charlie Wilson’s on the song.

Keep watching for more!

Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are reportedly teaming up this Friday to perform at the Paris Olympics, and we share how musicians get paid when their tunes air on the show. Keep watching to find out how!

Tetris Kelly:
The 2024 Summer Olympics are underway, and Taylor, Celine, Gaga and Gwen are all reportedly involved. But who gets paid when Simone Biles uses Taylor Swift’s song in her floor routine? Well NBC, who airs the global event, pays a blanket fee to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, who licenses music to cover any potential music that airs during their live broadcast.

A song we know we’ll hear during the broadcast is “Hello World” by Gwen Stefani and Anderson .Paak. They even worked with Ryan Tedder on the lyrics and it’s already getting us in the Olympic mood ahead of tomorrow’s Opening Ceremony.

Speaking of, according to French journalist Thierry Moreau, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga are teaming up to perform Édith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” at the Opening Ceremony. Billboard reached out to both when rumors first surfaced, but did not hear back from either party. It would be the first performance from Dion since revealing her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis.