Concerts
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In their early days, LOCASH earned their stripes playing the bars on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, so it was a return to their past when they took the stage at the Tin Roof to get Saturday’s party started with a rowdy, infectious, non-stop set that had the packed venue hopping from their opening tune, the 2019 hit “One Big Country Song.”
“Let’s get this party rockin’,” exclaimed Chris Lucas, as the duo followed with “Buzzin’ in the Country,” a surefire crowd pleaser with its sing-along chorus, before segueing into their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, 2016’s easygoing “I Know Somebody.”
Like many acts playing the event, LOCASH had a cover song in their back pocket. In this case, it was a sultry, slow-jamming take on the Prince-penned “Waterfalls,” made famous by TLC 30 years ago. The duo quickly brought it back to the present with “Hometown Home,” their first song released through the new label they started, Galaxy Label Group. “We pushed all the chips in and bet on ourselves,” Preston Brust said. And it’s paying off. The gently swaying song, which features the duo’s layered harmonies, was the Hot Shot Debut on the Country Airplay chart, bowing at No. 56.
Of all the acts playing Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard, LOCASH got the award for traveling the most distance. Three hours before their set, the group arrived from Wisconsin, where they had played the night before, and immediately left for a show Saturday evening in Indiana.
LOCASH then called an audible and veered from the set list, diving into a breathless medley of classic rock songs, starting with The Outfield’s “Your Love,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” and Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom,” before launching into Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” and calling up the group’s lead singer, A. Jay Popoff, who lives in Nashville, to sing with them. For those several moments of pure unadulterated joy, there is no doubt that there was not a better time to be had on Lower Broadway. “Are we in trouble?” Lucas playfully asked after completing the rock segment. “I don’t know. I don’t care,” answered Brust.
After leading the audience in a chant of “Ain’t no party like a Billboard party because a Billboard party don’t stop,” complete with a spinning disco ball, LOCASH wound their segment down with their 2015 hit “I Love This Life,” which reached No. 2, before throwing signed drum sticks and guitar picks into the dancing crowd.
“What a charming Saturday” it was for Taylor Swift fans, just like the singer-songwriter narrates on “The Bolter,” one of the tracks she played live for the first time ever last night (June 8).
The Eras Tour sets Swift up to pull deep from her discography when she wants to, during her ever-changing acoustic section of the concert. Nearing her 100th show on the sprawling trek (Saturday night in Edinburgh, Scotland, was No. 98), the star got particularly unpredictable in her choice of surprise songs when she sat at the piano at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium.
First, on guitar, Swift debuted one of her newer songs live. She played “The Bolter,” one of the last tracks on the Anthology edition of 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, her new album that’s so far spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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A song in which she tells a story that comes to the realization “hearts are hers for the breakin’” and that there’s “escape in escaping,” “The Bolter” flawlessly pivoted to 2017’s “Getaway Car,” from Reputation.
Swift performing well thought-out mashups during the surprise song part of the Eras show has become customary on the international leg of The Eras Tour, ever since the singer announced her intention to “be as creative as possible with the acoustic set moving forward,” back in February.
Saturday night in Edinburgh, she followed the mashup of “The Bolter” and “Getaway Car” with another song combo, this one more surprising than the first. On piano, she paired “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” a one-off track she released from the vault of 2019’s Lover, with a song Swift wasn’t even sure her crowd would recognize: “Crazier,” found only on the soundtrack for the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie.
But the stadium had no problem recalling the swooping chorus of “Crazier,” and sang with her: “You lift my feet off the ground/ You spin me around/ You make me crazier, crazier/ Feels like I’m fallin’ and I am lost in your eyes/ You make me crazier, crazier, crazier.”
“Oh my god,” Swift said, laughing at how many people knew the words.
Watch both of Swift’s Saturday night Scotland surprises in the fan-captured clips below, and enjoy Billboard‘s complete list of all the songs we’ve heard in the Eras acoustic set (it gets updated with every tour date).
Wistful Folklore single “Cardigan” was the soundtrack to a couple’s engagement in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Friday (June 7), and Taylor Swift watched it happen. Apparently moved by the emotional moment, Swift commented on the marriage proposal she’d just seen from the stage, in front of a packed stadium.
“You put me on and said I was your favorite,” Swift sang with a smile. She looked out to the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium crowd as she finished the song performed atop the The Eras Tour’s Folklore cabin.
“I love performing this entire show in the sunlight ’cause I’m pretty sure I just saw somebody get engaged over here,” she said to cheers confirming she wasn’t imagining things. “Did it happen?” Swift eagerly asked, and then threw her arms up, giggled and yelled, “YES!”
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“You have no idea,” continued Swift. “I never get to see that, right? ‘Cause it’s dark, usually, at night. But it’s not right now, so congratulations! Wow.”
“I just saw that whole thing!” she marveled. “Man, that’s amazing.”
Picking up her guitar, she added to the couple, “Thanks for doing that at my concert. That’s a big moment. Huge!”
Later in the concert, the extra light in Edinburgh helped the singer make sure her fans stayed safe during her always-anticipated acoustic set, when she performs solo and enjoys some audience interaction at the endstage.
Mid-strum during “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” from the 3am edition of Midnights — which she combined with pieces of 1989‘s “I Know Places,” as one of her surprise performances at the show — the star stopped singing the bridge.
To the tune of the song, she said, “I need help right in front of me, please, right in front of me. Just gonna keep playing until we notice where it is.”
Pointing her guitar in the direction of a person in need of assistance in the general admission floor area of the venue, she said, “Right there,” and then, “I’m just gonna keep playing ’til somebody helps them … We’re not gonna keep singing. We’re just gonna keep talking about the people that we help in front of me … Just let me know when. I could do this all night,” eventually resuming her song when she was sure the person got the attention they needed.
Swift followed the guitar performance with a mashup of Evermore‘s “‘Tis the Damn Season” and Lover‘s “Daylight” on piano.
Below, watch the newly engaged couple’s romantic moment, seemingly documented by fellow Swifties with cell phones, and a closeup clip of Swift’s reaction from the stage.
Plus, see Swift’s interaction with the crowd during “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.”
📹 | FULL video of Taylor performing the most chaotic surprise songs ever 😅‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ x ‘I Know Places’ 💙🩵 pic.twitter.com/YLbi4um8d4— The Eras Tour Singapore (@TSTheErasTourSG) June 8, 2024
The beer and music were flowing at the first day of Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard at CMA Fest as fans took a break from the Nashville heat and took in some great performances by some of today’s hottest hitmakers at a jammed Tin Roof on Lower Broadway on Friday (June 7). Fans enjoyed line dancing lessons […]
It’s sort of a weird time to be Post Malone. On one hand, he’s coming off the two most-difficult, least-successful albums of his career — the last of which, 2023’s Austin, failed to even generate a single top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit, marking a clear commercial low point for the pop-rap gold-spinner who was surpassed only by Drake in terms of consistent chart success for the second half of the 2010s. On the other hand, he’s already had two No. 1 hits this year, albeit both with co-stars (Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen, respectively) whose radio and streaming clout currently easily eclipse his own. Further complicating things: The latter of those two No. 1s marks the beginning of his long-hyped full foray into country music, a genre he has some obvious spiritual kinship with, but only tangential musical relation.
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This was a lot to balance for Post Malone during his headlining set at day one of New York’s Governors Ball festival (now officially referred to as just “Gov Ball”) — or at least, it seems like it should have been. But instead of trying to thread the needle between his successful past, his muddier present and his uncertain future, Post decided to simplify things with Gov Ball setlist: He simply played the hits. And he’s got a lot of them: more than you may even remember, more than maybe seems possible for a guy who’s only been making ’em since 2015 and has been in a relatively fallow period for ’em since the decade turned. As far as streamlining strategies go, it was a pretty undeniable one.
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“My name is Austin Richard Post,” the singer-rapper introduced himself after his first two songs, “and I’m here to play some s–tty songs and get a little bit f–ked up while we do it.” Whether dismissing his signature hits as “s–tty” was a sign of residual bitterness over his heavier, more personal recent work not being received as warmly as his debauched early hits or just the artist not taking himself too seriously, it ended up not really mattering, since it became clear pretty quickly Post was not interested in relitigating anything about his career on the evening. Instead, he played one smash after another — from “Better Now” and “Wow” through “Circles” and “Congratulations” — while gleefully shimmying, screaming, two-stepping and stripping (his shirt, anyway) on stage, looking every bit the superstar he was at his commercial peak.
The question of a Post Malone gig has traditionally not been whether he’d seem like a star, but what kind of star would lead the way: rap star Post, rock star Post, pop star Post, or now even country star Post? In truth, he’s been all four for some time — well, the first three, anyway, with the fourth seemingly on its way. But if one was the most forward on Friday night, it was probably rock star Post, with the first two songs (and many subsequent cuts) both being introduced via the grungy riffs of guitarist Liv Slingerland, and more six-string-heavy (and just heavy period) borderline inclusions like Beerbongs and Bentleys‘ “Over Now” and Hollywood’s Bleeding’s “Take What You Want” making the cut. There was lots of growling and shredding; one time, Post threw up the devil horns while hunching his shoulders and he very briefly kinda even looked like Ronnie James Dio. At some point in the middle of the set, the mix of loud, chunking guitars with rapping — largely about being angry at girls — inspired me to write in my notes: Has Post Malone been nu-metal this whole time?
But if country star Post is indeed on the horizon, you would not have known it from his Gov Ball performance. Just a day after making a pair of surprise appearances at CMA Fest — including one alongside longtime Nashville fixture Blake Shelton, with the two even covering a George Jones song together — he did not bring out Shelton, or Wallen, or any guest to further shepherd his new country pivot. (Aside from a couple fans pulled out of the audience to assist on signature ballad “Stay,” there were no guests of any kind during Post’s performance, not even “Rockstar” buddy 21 Savage, who’ll perform at Gov Ball on Saturday.) No mention was made by Post of his recent sonic and geographical detour, nor did he try out any brand new or unreleased material from his rumored upcoming full length. If you didn’t know going into the set that Going Country was a thing Post was currently in the midst of doing, you probably didn’t come out of it knowing either.
There was still the one obvious clue, though you had to wait till the second song of the encore for it: “I Had Some Help,” the reigning No. 1 song in the country, did eventually make its appearance as the evening’s pentultimate track. (As for “Fortnight,” his other No. 1 of 2024, forget it — it’s one thing for Post to sing over a Morgan Wallen verse, but trying to approximate an entire Taylor Swift lead vocal on his own would’ve been potentially disastrous on multiple levels.) “Help” sounded fantastic, and the crowd went bananas for it, but aside from its placement in the setlist Post gave it no special treatment, no lead-in or extra emphasis or anything to make you think it was a particularly notable song than most in Friday’s setlist. The implication was clear: “Help” is a hit, but still just one of many for Posty, and no one player is bigger than the team in a Post Malone setlist.
More of a statement, however, was the choice of the encore’s final song: “Chemical,” the biggest song from Austin, whose No. 13 peak was still fairly underwhelming by his career standards. It was the only song performed from the 2023 album — he played four times as many from 2016 debut Stoney — but it landed just like any of his bigger, longer-established hits, sounding much fuller live than on record, and making for a perfectly resounding closing number for the evening. The suggestion seemed to be that Post had never really stopped making big singles in the first place — and that regardless of whether on a given day he might be presenting more as a pop star, rap star, rock star or country star, what he truly is and always will be first and foremost is a hitmaker.
SETLIST
Better NowWowZack and CodeinePsychoGoodbyesI Like You (A Happier Song)Jonestown (Interlude)Take What You WantOver NowRockstarStayI Fall ApartWrapped Around Your FingerCirclesToo YoungWhite IversonCongratulations
Encore:
SunflowerI Had Some HelpChemical
From Motown to mobility, the “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” show Thursday night (June 6) covered many bases of the Motor City’s fabled music heritage — as it re-opened a historic landmark making a comeback from desolation.
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The event brought out the hometown hero likes of Eminem (who co-executive produced the concert with his manager, Paul Rosenberg), and who made the crowd go nuts when he hopped on stage for a surprise four-song mini-set that included the live debut of his new single, “Houdini” and a collaboration with Jelly Roll.
Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean, Slum Village and gospel greats the Clark Sisters and Kierra Sheard were also on hand to celebrate the refurbished Michigan Central. The former railroad station in the city’s southwest side had been shuttered since 1988 and became what Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called “a symbol of our decline” as it fell into disrepair. The Ford Motor Co. purchased the building in 2018, spending a reported $940 million to turn it into a center for advanced technological development in transportation and other fields.
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That meant a lot to White, who grew up in the same neighborhood. Before the show, he told reporters he’d ride his bicycle over to the site during the 80s and watched it deteriorate as he began his music career. “If you’d have asked me then if this place was ever coming back… there’s no way. It’s just too massive a job,” White said, calling the renovation, “just incredible.”
It was also personal for Patti Smith, who attended to accept a special pre-show Michigan Central Honor — along with White, Slum Village and the late J Dilla — for contributions as global ambassadors for Detroit. Smith, who shared her honor with her late husband and MC5 veteran Fred “Sonic” Smith (daughter Jesse Paris accompanied her), told Billboard that, “Fred loved the train station, and he would fantasize about it being restored and opened to the people. He really talked about it quite a bit, so I know that this would have made him very happy. It means something to me that there honoring him, as he should be, and I’m happy to be included with him.”
During the Honors ceremony Smith also represented Eminem by reading a 2009 love letter he wrote to Detroit professing his love for the city.
The show itself — which was streamed on Peacock and will be edited into a one-hour NBC special at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday (June 9) — was a nearly two-hour party celebrating the city and its musical heritage, but with a global perspective. “We’ve been invested in trying to rebrand the image of the city and how people see it for a long time,” Rosenberg, who worked in conjunction with Jesse Collins Entertainment, explained to Billboard prior to the show. “The challenge was, ‘What kind of picture can we paint here that’s going to be interesting not just locally but nationally?’ We wanted to make a compelling program that’s going to interest people across the country, not just people who are familiar with Detroit.
Rosenberg added that he and Eminem used the adage “as goes Detroit, so goes the nation” — from a 1942 Arthur Pond essay in The Atlantic — “as a framework… all these ideas about how the city is viewed not just locally but nationally to help frame the program.”
Starting with a Motown legend didn’t hurt, of course. Ross, clad in a mass of tangerine tulle, began the night with singalong version of her solo hits “I’m Coming Up” and “Upside Down,” plus the title track from her 2021 album Thank You before finishing with a soaring take of the Supremes’ anthem “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” “It’s so good to be home,” Ross said before leaving the stage. “I love you so much.”
Big Sean shared the love as well, saluting Michigan Central as “a diamond that came out of the rough” while delivering a three-song set that included the new “On Up” — a new album is coming this summer, he told the crowd — as well as hits “Blessings” and “Bounce Back,” accompanied by Adam Blackstone & the BBE All Star Band. A Detroit legend who wasn’t there, Bob Seger, was nevertheless saluted by a trio of Melissa Etheridge (“Mainstreet”), Fantasia (“Shakedown”) and Jelly Roll (“Turn the Page,” sporting a Detroit Tigers baseball cap) before the three united to close the tribute with a truncated but exuberant take on “Old Time Rock and Roll.”
“I’ll be Forever Soul, but there’s a little rock in me,” Fantasia told Billboard, invoking the name of her new company. “I wanted that challenge.”
Common was an out-of-towner in the house — though, being from Chicago, he told the Detroit crowd “we’re cousins” — as he recited “Didn’t One Know,” his tone poem about J Dilla. Slum Village also gave props to the late Baatin and Amp Fiddler as the duo performed Fail in Love” and “Get Dis Money,” the latter with Dilla’s younger brother Illa J and both with the Blackstone band. “We’re always gonna represent the legacy,” the group’s T3 said before the concert. Common joined Slum Village to close the segment with a poignant rendition of “The Light.”
The Clark Sisters, in glittery gold dresses and joined by the Greater Emmanuel Choir, then took the estimated 20,000 fans to church with “Livin’” and “Blessed & Highly Favored” before backing Sheard — daughter of Karen Clark-Sheard — on a powerhouse version of her “Miracles.” Sheard stayed on stage for the Clarks’ signature hit “You Brought the Sunshine,” a stunner even if the sky was turning dark.
A pair of DJs, Theo Parrish and Sky Jetta, represented Detroit’s famed techno heritage, while White brought the rock and the White Stripes with “some songs that were written a couple blocks from here” — debuting a new two-keyboard band lineup on “Hotel Yorba” and a “Seven Nation Army” that was literally on fire as (planned) pyrotechnics and flames erupted to accent the anthem.
And while Eminem — who filmed parts of the video for his 2009 single “Beautiful” in the then-abandoned Michigan Central — was not billed as a performer when the show was announced, it surprised few that he closed the evening. Joined by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra the hoodied rapper presented the live debut of “Houdini,” the just-released first single from his upcoming The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) album (July 5), then “Sing For the Moment” with Jelly Roll, “Welcome 2 Detroit” with Trick Trick and a bombastic “Not Afraid,” which was followed by a short show-ending fireworks display.
“Timing worked out for us fortunately great because we just dropped a single — that wasn’t always the case when we agreed to jump on board,” Rosenberg noted. “We weren’t sure we were going to have new music out. It happened to work out great, and it became an opportunity to perform a new song.”
Dionne Harmon, president of Jesse Collins Entertainment — which also produces Super Bowl halftime shows and a variety of awards shows, among other events — told Billboard that the universal appeal of the artists ultimately opened the door for “Live From Detroit” to be a streaming and network special. “Everybody knew this wasn’t just a Detroit story or an American story, but a global story,” she said. “So we started looking for a partner who could help us tell this story. We’ve done a lot of work with NBC in the past; when we took this to them they fell in love with the story and the city, the same way we did.”
The performers, meanwhile, bought into the idea of telling that story together. “These things, you never know how they’re gonna turn out, who’s gonna show up and who’s gonna be invited,” said White, who attended the same high school as Ross and Big Sean. “When they were first talking about Eminem and Dian Ross and Slum Village I thought, ‘Wow, if that really happens..’”
“It’s one of the biggest events Detroit’s ever seen,” Slum Village’s T3 gushed. “Even the other artists I just met today, like Jelly Roll, which was super cool… We’re having a good time out here, and it’s just a beautiful event.”
Niall Horan‘s “This Town” walked so Noah Kahan‘s “Stick Season” could run. That fact was made even more evident when the two stars linked up Monday for a surprise duet in Nashville. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Fans couldn’t help but scream with excitement when the former […]
Despite spotty showers and an often unrelenting sun, Philly didn’t let anything kill its vibe at the 2024 Roots Picnic, which took place June 1-2.
Nas, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne — alongside The Roots, Trombone Shorty and PJ Morton — headlined this year’s festival, which took place at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pa. Other notable performers included Method Man and Redman with J. Period, Adam Blackstone with Fantasia and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Robert Glasper with Yebba, Sexyy Red, Babyface, October London, Smino, the Go-Go Backyard Band with Scarface and Amerie, Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Funk Flex, Leon Thomas, Kenya Vaun, Q, BLK Odyssy, Shaboozey, André 3000 and more.
Held across two separate stages — as well as the Centennial Stage, which hosted live podcasts, DJ sets and other curated experiential media activations — Roots Picnic celebrated countless facets of Black culture across music, food, liquor, art, double dutch and more. Among the most frequented brand activations was Grand Marnier — who hosted Billboard at the festival — which had a footprint where attendees and talent alike could find a beach-esque reprieve with various cocktails made with Grand Marnier cognac and Espolòn tequila.
Partnering with 2024 Roots Picnic is just the latest iteration of Grand Marnier’s relationship with hip-hop. On April 29, the cognac brand teamed up with Billboard 200 chart-topper 2 Chainz for The Rouge Room, a digital content series celebrating the power and utility of collaboration. And on Nov. 14, 2023, Grand Marnier joined forces with UNWRP for a unique holiday wrapping paper inspired by Billboard’s November 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month Teezo Touchdown.
2024 Roots Picnic largely went off without a hitch, save for Cam’Ron standing up attendees who came for his scheduled set, and notable delays on the main stage during the festival’s second day. From André 3000 enrapturing fans with selections from his ambient jazz album New Blue Sun to fans nearly tearing each other to shreds over Method Man’s sweaty T-shirt, there was rarely a dull moment at this year’s Roots Picnic. Even still, the presence of consummate contemporary performers such as Victoria Monét and Tyla — both of whom pulled out of performing due to health issues — was sorely missed.
The festival took big swings with its lineup — the transition from Babyface to Gunna was particularly disorienting for some attendees — but those risks resulted in one of the most heartfelt dedications to the breadth of Black music in 2024 so far. Nearly every sound of the diaspora was present in one way or another during the two-day festival, the perfect way to bring in Black Music Month.
Here are the nine best moments of this year’s Roots Picnic.
The-Dream Returns to the Solo Spotlight
When Sexyy Red was announced as a performer at 2024 Roots Picnic, a festival that largely caters to adult R&B lovers, the baby daddy-damning “Looking for the Hoes” rapper received a less than warm welcome — so much so that festival founder Questlove spoke up in her defense.
“There is always that one act on the show everyone hates because it serves as a reminder the hip hop THEY like is from 30 years ago,” the Roots drummer wrote in a reply to a flood of Instagram comments proclaiming that there was “nothing positive about [Sexyy’s] message.” “I mean I get it but look: we gotta round and balance the day out: there are other stages & podcasts and events to see… when have you seen a festival in which EVERY ACT is the act you love?”
And yet, when Sexyy took the Presser Stage at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, the venue was so packed that crowds formed on the walkways looming over the ridiculously packed amphitheater. From the moment she sauntered onstage flanked by four high-octane dancers and a mock Secrete Service agent, Sexyy Red was the president — and she didn’t even need the agent to drive the point home. Nonetheless, it was a nice touch to her patriotic staging, which also featured her sporting a red, white and blue two-piece.
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In addition to her dancers and Secret Service agent, Sexyy’s stage also featured a giant inflatable red cap with the phrase “Make America Sexyy Again” emblazoned across it in the standard MAGA font. Throughout her hit-laden set, Sexyy conjured up, if only for 30 minutes, an America that embraces and exalts the most ratchet edges of everyone’s personalities. Under her presidency, the crowd achieved a sense of escapism that may not have even been explicitly searching for, but clearly needed. That’s the magic of Sexyy Red, she grants her listeners “escapism” not by way of fantasy, but by allowing people to unconditionally spoil the parts of themselves they keep hidden out of allegiance to various social standards. Don’t be mistaken, Sexyy is no Iron Lady; her laid-back approach to onstage banter and choreography is half the reason her whole shtick works. Whether she’s doing the “Crank Dat” dance or giving us her best chickenhead, Sexyy’s just doing her, so that we can do us.
Kicking things off with “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad),” Sexyy somersaulted through her enviable collection of hits, each drawing louder and more intense fan reactions than the last. The spirit of Crime Mob‘s Diamond and Princess shined through her spirited renditions of Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Get It Sexyy” (No. 20), “SkeeYee” (No. 62) and “Pound Town” (No. 66, with Tay Keith), as well as street smashes such as “Hellcats SRTs,” “Shake Yo Dreads,” and “Hood Rats” (with Sukihana). Of course, Sexyy couldn’t exclude her similarly top-notch collaborations, including “Shake Sumn” (with DaBaby), “Peaches & Eggplants” (with Young Nudy), and, of course, “Rich Baby Daddy” (with Drake & SZA), which easily garnered the most passionate crowd response and some hilariously unserious vocals from Sexyy herself.
With tight formations, several counts worth of choreography at a time, and staging that continuously emphasized the political aesthetics of her new In Sexyy We Trust mixtape, Sexyy’s 2024 Roots Picnic set displayed notable growth from her earliest shows, while still capturing the essence of what makes her such an alluring performer. In fact, her rendition of the “BBL Drizzy”-sampling “U My Everything” — a Drake collaboration from her latest tape — is the best example of that shift. To bring the sing-songy track to life, Sexyy and her dancers — who she affectionately introduced as “The Sexettes” — executed waist-gyrating girl group-esque choreography that underscored the song’s puppy-eyed love. “Bae, I love you, you my everything/ I’m your main bitch, fuck a wedding ring/ We both in fast cars and we switchin’ lanes/ When I’m away from you, you always on my brain,” she crooned.
Sexyy Red may not be the hip-hop of 30 years ago, but the verve she brought to this year’s Roots Picnic — and the way she effortlessly captivated the largest and most youthful crowd of day one — is emblematic of hip-hop’s undying party energy. Next stop: main stage.
From journaling and meditating to watching Wes Anderson movies and taking vitamins, ITZY ensures they prioritize their personal well-being amid the K-pop girl group’s massive 2024 Born to Be World Tour, hitting the U.S. next month.
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Taking a moment to share their experiences on the road during a few (busy) non-tour days in Korea, the K-pop girl group famous for dynamic performances and self-love anthems pauses to reflect. While ITZY admits traveling across six continents so far requires vast amounts of physical and mental energy, it’s the audiences and the members themselves they can depend on to replenish them every night.
But for the times they aren’t connecting with their fans — affectionately known as MIDZY — or one another, the group finds ways to balance the demanding lifestyle with mental health as a priority for the members. As individuals, Yeji practices honesty, Ryujin enjoys her free time to the fullest, Chaeryeong journals to process her emotions, and Yuna meditates. The group’s strong bond is evident even in a makeup-free evening Zoom call from the JYP Entertainment offices in Seoul as the four members finish one another’s sentences, crack smiles over each other’s answers, and also share how they keep in touch with fellow member Lia, who has been focusing on her mental health after taking an extended hiatus from the group since last September regarding “tension and anxiety.”
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As ITZY gears up for 10 North American concerts, commencing on June 6 at Seattle’s WAMU Theater, the girls look forward to bringing their latest Billboard 200 album Born to Be album to life, showing off their live band for the first in the States, and communicating on a deeper level with local fans.
As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, who better than the honest barrier-breakers of ITZY to share how they’ve matured? While mental health still faces stigma and prejudice around the world — and is not as widely discussed in Korea compared to America —Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna speak candidly about the ways they have matured, aspects they are working on and, perhaps most importantly, the bond that keeps them going together.
“The biggest source of motivation for me is our members, ITZY,” Chaeryeong says. Read for more from the quartet about this vital topic and plans for their upcoming concerts.
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Billboard: Thanks for taking time in the middle of your world tour. You’re between dates before the Japan and U.S. concerts start, so how has the tour been so far?
Yuna: It was our first time in Europe and Latin America, so it was really, really like a new experience for us. There were some really beautiful cities and we really enjoyed that time. For me, I really liked Amsterdam. The weather and the people are really good — and the views were so good. Everyone should go.
You had 13 days off from your May 4th concert in Madrid to your May 17 concert in Toyko. What do you do during this time?
Yuna: We are super busy! [Laughs]
Ryujin: There are many things that we are working on, but also we’re preparing for these big shows and our Japanese comeback [with “Algorithm”]. We’re always practicing or doing something to help us achieve things, I think?
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I’ve heard artists share a range of different feelings about touring. From it being too exhausting to fans being their energy. What are your experiences?
Chaeryeong: To speak honestly, it’s definitely true that we’ll expend a lot of our physical and mental energy [on tour]. But once we go on stage, I think it gets all deleted — we get that much energy from our fans. So, it’s a wonderful experience for me.
Yuna: When I visit new cities to do concerts, I try to do my best on the stage for our fans. But I also spend as much time as I can with my members. That’s kind of the healing point for me, as well as the way I heal during touring. Just their existence really helps me. When I’m onstage and see our members’ faces, that’s all the support I need.
Are there specific ways you work to stay healthy on the road — physically, mentally, or emotionally?
Yeji: There is a physician who was with us on tour for every spot we go. The physician recommended I take a vitamin powder that’s supposed to help the body with energy. She said that it’s really helpful if we keep it in our throat and swallow it all at once, and I’ve found that’s been really helpful in keeping me healthy, so I keep following that advice.
Chaeryeong: To keep my vocals strong, I carry propolis with me — it’s a gel type of medicine that you put on your throat. It can be minty and soothing; I think it’s famous in New Zealand? That’s good for your throat.
Yeji: I also try to change my vocalizations and the way I make sounds on the stage. Lots of time, I have to try to do less to not strain my throat and [save my voice for the next concert date].
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I think it’s a great opportunity to share how you support your mental and emotional health. What are some things you do individually to take care of yourself?
Chaeryeong: For me, I write in my diary. I write things that I like or very detailed happy memories so I can memorize, like, every little detail for a long time. But there are also things I write when I’m having a hard time, the sad or negative memories, to drop those feelings off from my heart.
Yuna: I always try to make time for self-focusing time — writing and meditating. I really focus on myself and that’s how I stay centered. But it’s so hard. When I meditate, I tend to always fall asleep. [Laughs] It’s also a good way to fall asleep!
Ryujin: I don’t really do anything special for my mental health, but I give free time to myself. As you know, a tour and our performances require a lot of energy, and also we have a job that we have to meet many people. So, I think when I have free time, I use that time to regain my energy again and do the things that I like — watching a movie in a theater or rewatching a series or drama again. There are so many great movies and dramas, but if I had to recommend one, I would choose The French Dispatch. It’s a Wes Anderson movie. It’s really touching, but at the same time, there’s a lot of variety in it.
Yeji: These days, I’m trying to be honest about my own feelings and what I feel. If something sad happens, even just slightly, I feel that emotion enough and then can just “let it go.” I’m trying to react fully on my feelings and laugh at the small things, too.
Yeji, it’s interesting to hear that you’re being honest with your feelings now. As ITZY’s leader, did you sometimes dismiss your feelings when leading a team?
Yeji: Since our debut and our early stages, there were some times I did try to hide [my feelings] because the team is very important. But these days, even if I try to hide everything, the members know me so well — we’re family — that even if I try, they know first how I feel and think. So, I don’t have to actually hide — and that’s why I’m trying to get more honest with expressing my feelings.
Thank you for sharing those, ITZY. She’s not here with us right now because she’s also focusing on her mental health, but how are you keeping in touch with Lia?
Yeji: Just the other day, I watched a video from the past with all five of us and I texted it to Lia. So, we talked and chatted. We are all keeping in touch with her often.
Looking wider, being an artist—in K-pop especially, but anywhere in the world—requires a strong mentality. You were all teenagers when you debuted and now you’re adults. How have you seen yourselves maturing since then?
Ryujin: We were all teenagers and it was our first experience to have a team like this where we stuck with each other 24-7. At first, when we were all together, it was a little bit hard to be with and work with people different than me. ITZY was just five, but it was really hard to understand each other — despite that it was only five. Understanding one another took time. But I think after struggling with the members and talking a lot, the biggest difference from that time and now is my understanding of others. There has been a much wider range of people I feel like I can understand now.
Yuna, as the youngest member who debuted when you were 15, what have you learned?
Yuna: It’s been quite a while since we’ve debuted, so I think I learned to become more used to circumstances and people — what’s needed in the atmosphere of our lives [as K-pop stars]. So, I got to understand these realities much more deeply. But the biggest thing I try to maintain is my passion — the passion I got and the feelings I had at my first stage [performance]. My biggest thing is trying to keep that.
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Thank you for discussing an important topic. The U.S. leg of the Born to Be Tour begins in June. Have you prepared anything special or different for these shows?
Yuna: English! We are preparing 100 percent of our audience talking in English to communicate more.
Yeji: Not only are some of the venues bigger and the concerts feel bigger in scale, but we paid a lot of attention and poured a lot into the directing of the concert. So you can see a new direction in the stages as well as the VCR too. While we have taken many dancers who have been with us on past tours, I think the variety of performances has also been upgraded a little more than the last world tour, Checkmate.
Chaeryeong: We also have a live band which is a big point for the new tour.
This is the Born to Be World Tour centered around your album of the same name, including ITZY’s first-ever solo songs you all wrote, composed, and perform in concert. How was the experience, and will we see more songwriting?
Yeji: After working on my solo song [“Crown on My Head”], I came to know that it’s quite a very difficult process and not very simple. So, I got to thank the staff, composers, writers, and those people around me who always write and make songs for us. So, actually, this song became even more precious to me because I recognized how difficult this process is and that’s why I can perform on the stage with my whole passion. As for future songs, I’ll always try if I have a chance. Yeah, if I have a chance.
Anything else you want to share with fans before the U.S. tour dates?
Ryujin: First of all, we’re coming to you in June so please come to our concert. We’re always thankful for you supporting us despite the hundreds of miles of distance. We will try our best to see you guys much more often. Thank you.
Yuna: Also, it’s our second world so it will be more…more…there will be much more things to see so please come to our concert!