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Warring coaches, silly pranks, sass from Blake Shelton — it’s just another ordinary day on The Voice. On the Monday (March 20) episode of NBC’s singing competition, the country crooner’s fan-favorite friendship with new coach Niall Horan was put to the test after the former boyband star fumbled an attempted prank on Kelly Clarkson.
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The hilarious moment happened after both Horan and Clarkson turned around for 18-year-old Gina Miles, who performed a gorgeous rendition of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.” As the two coaches tried to convince the young singer to join their respective teams, Shelton wrote a helpful note on a piece of paper and slyly passed it to the “Slow Hands” singer — who proceeded to read the secret message out loud.
“Kelly can’t coach nerves, she admits it,” Horan read aloud to Shelton’s dismay.
“I am never helping you again … ever!” Shelton responded in a clip captured by viewers. “I write something down on the pad and hand it to you in privacy, and you’re like, ‘Oh, and it says …’ What is wrong with you?!”
“I don’t know if in Ireland it’s common practice to be passed a note about somebody and then read the note aloud to the person,” the “God’s Country” singer later told the cameras.
The senior Voice coach’s disownment of Horan puts a temporary pause on the two stars’ self-professed father-son relationship that’s developed over the course of this season, which marks Shelton’s final lap as a coach following nine wins and 23 total seasons. He’s the longest running coach on the four-person panel, while Horan and Chance the Rapper are both Voice newcomers.
Last week, pranking roles were reversed as Shelton was put on the spot by Clarkson, who facilitated a hilarious lie-detector test on the OG Voice coach.
Watch Blake Shelton and Niall Horan’s prank-gone-wrong on Kelly Clarkson below:
Everyone has their celebrity crushes, including celebrities themselves. And when Saweetie revealed who she was crushing, she certainly caught their attention.
In an interview with E! News posted on Monday (March 20), Saweetie revealed that her “celebrity guy crush” was none other than Lil Nas X. She shared that she thought “he is so fine,” and added that “he look better than me … I be like, ‘What is your skin regimen?’”
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It didn’t take long for Lil Nas to hear about Saweetie’s confession. Retweeting a fan account that posted a clip of Saweetie’s response, the “Industry Baby” singer joked that he was ready to switch teams for her. “goodbye lgbt community, we had a great run,” he wrote next to a heart emoji.
The adorable exchange came just a few hours after a dustup of online drama involving the pair, when fans noticed that Saweetie liked a tweet questioning Lil Nas X’s sexuality with a clip from his recent Lollapalooza Chile performance. The “My Type” rapper quickly dispelled rumors that she thought Lil Nas was secretly straight in a tweet of her own, saying, “he was lookin fine af that’s why I liked the video I didn’t see the shadiness …. *unlikes*.”
Lil Nas X also clapped back at the original tweet claiming that he was “not really gay or not really that feminine it’s so forced,” questioning the qualifications of the person making the accusation. “oh no guys it’s the estrogen expert,” he tweeted.
Check out the clip from Saweetie’s interview and Lil Nas X’s response below:
Country, pop and Americana artists congregated at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Monday (March 20) for the benefit concert Love Rising to support the LGBTQIA+ community and to oppose a slate of bills that negatively impact the LGBTQIA+ community and transgender teens.
The arena was packed, as the evening featured a bill featuring Maren Morris, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Jason Isbell, Sheryl Crow, Allison Russell, Yola, Amanda Shires, Yola, Joy Oladokun, Jake Wesley Rogers, Wrabel, Brittany Howard, Fancy Hagood, Autumn Nicholas, Mya Byrne, Julien Baker, Shea Diamond and more. Sibling duo Brothers Osborne, who had been slated to perform during the show, was forced to back out of the performance just prior to the show, as member John Osborne and his wife Lucie were welcoming twins.
The concert also raised awareness and funds to battle a slate of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation — particularly Senate Bill 1/House Bill 1 and House Bill 9/Senate Bill 3, which ban drag shows in the presence of minors, and transgender procedures for minors. On March 2, Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1/HB1 and SB3/HB9; SB3 takes effect April 1 and is already impacting live events and queer artists in the state.
Just days after these legislations were signed, four-time Grammy nominee Russell and radio personality Hunter Kelly (who hosts the LGBTQIA-themed country music show Proud Radio on Apple Music) began working to rally a stellar slate of artists from the Nashville music community and beyond to oppose the legislation.
The evening began with a video featuring cast members of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!, with drag performer Asia O’Hara emceeing the evening.
“Drag is not a crime,” O’Hara said. “We are here tonight to say one thing and one thing only: Enough is enough.”
In addition to the top-shelf lineup of performers on hand, drag artists were featured throughout the evening, including Nashville-based Veronika Electronika, who said, “I think it comes down to our LGBTQIA+ communities are not being afford the same protections as other groups. … If you think this stops with legislation against the trans community and the drag community, wake up!”
The evening featured repeated calls for donations (by texting “Love” to 99126) to the organizations aided by the concert, including Inclusion Tennessee, OUTMemphis, Tennessee Equality Project and the Tennessee Pride Chamber, as well as Brandi Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation. (The Looking Out Foundation doubled donations up to $100,000.) Donations can still be made at propeller.la.
Nashville mayor John Cooper surprised the crowd by taking the stage to proclaim March 20 Love Rising Day in Nashville.
“Every person, regardless of who they love, how they dress and how they identify, deserves to be treated with love and respect,” Cooper said. “We will always be a welcoming city. Let me say that again: We will always be a welcoming city. I speak for all of Nashville when I say to all of our LGBTQ+ neighbors, we are glad you are here … we must support one another by speaking up and speaking out against discrimination and hate when we see it, because we are better and stronger together.”
Here, we look at 10 top moments from the evening:
Adeem the Artist
Nonbinary singer-songwriter Adeem the Artist expressed gratitude for the organizers of Love Rising, including Russell (who backed Adeem on banjo), David Macias and Ali Harnell.
“It’s a weird juxtaposition of jubilation and fear … I live in Tennessee a state that wants to criminalize my very identity,” they said before performing “For Judas” from their latest album, White Trash Revelry.
Jake Wesley Rogers
Queer performer Jake Wesley Rogers, whose career launched in Nashville, started off by telling a story of a childhood school memory, prior to launching into the dramatic “Pluto,” including the key line “at the end of the day, you and me are both the same/ We just wanna be loved.”
“A few weeks after our test, our teacher informed us that Pluto was no longer invited. It’s one of my earliest traumas, because if you are an outsider you know how that feels … Tonight, Nashville, we realize that oftentimes our insecurity is our superpower. Take all your fears, worries and let it explode in this arena and let in all the love that you are.”
Sheryl Crow
“This is a statement about what kind of world we want to live in, living our free truth … and that we don’t let politicians inflict their fear story on any of us,” Crow said before launching into her 1996 hit “Everyday Is a Winding Road.”
She later shared how she has to explain to her sons how “some people don’t get to live like they want to because it doesn’t align to someone’s political agenda.” Crow went on to perform “Hard to Make a Stand,” and encouraged those in the audience to register to vote.
Maren Morris
After performing “Crowded Table” alongside Russell, Oladokun, Amanda Shires and more, Morris returned to the stage for a solo performance, recalling how earlier in the day, her young son visited several drag queens in their dressing rooms and delighted in watching as they perfected their hair and makeup for the show.
“Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today, so Tennessee, f–king arrest me,” Morris said. She went on to perform “Better Than We Found It” and then welcomed drag performer Alexia Noelle to perform “Meet Me in the Middle.”
Joy Oladokun
Brandishing a guitar emblazoned with “Keep Hope Alive” Joy Oladokun performed the hopeful “Somehow, Things Just Get Better.”
“I never thought there would be a world where I could be out loud about who I love … it’s f–king hard to live here and specifically a country that feels like it’s always attacking who you are. It’s hard not to just hide in the f–king house and I wrote this about the cyclical nature of life and how things turn around hopefully,” Oladokun told the crowd.
Cidny Bullens
While taking the stage to introduce transgender performer Mya Byrne, Bullens took a moment to share a powerful testimony of a life that includes time performing with Elton John and Rod Stewart, singing lead vocals on the Grease soundtrack, and working in Nashville with artists including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and more. Bullens also spoke of physically transitioning from Cindy Bullens to Cidny Bullens in 2011.
Speaking of the ream of Tennessee legislations, Bullens said, “The state of Tennessee does not support me, or any other LGBTQ, transgender, or non-binary person. They targeted us all, they targeted humanity, they targeted love. This can’t stand because we won’t let it.”
Jason Isbell
“I can’t tell y’all how happy I am to be in this room with so many good people,” he said before launching into his now decade-old song “Cover Me Up.”
“Everybody deserves to be free to love yourself for who you are. You can’t really love someone else until you love who you are, so that should be available to everyone,” he said before welcoming the Rainbow Coalition band, which had been backing the artists all night, back to the stage. He continued with a rendition of Wet Willie’s “Keep on Smilin’,” tweaking a key lyric to say, “The state of Tennessee’s playing games/ And they say that you’re to blame.”
Hozier and Allison Russell
“What an honor it is to be part of this event, and to be part of your beautiful city” the Irish-born Hozier told the crowd while taking the stage. “[Irish political leader] James Connolly once said that no revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. There are so many elements of queer culture that are no less than revolutionary. In a time of fear-mongering, just standing up for who you are is revolutionary.”
One of the most powerful moments — in an evening filled with powerful moments — came as Hozier was joined by Russell to perform “Nina Cried Power,” with Russell’s fiery belting a perfect match for Hozier’s grainy, fervent voice.
Hayley Williams and Becca Mancari
Williams, known both for her solo work and with Paramore, recounted her family’s move to Nashville when she was 13, and how the community — in particular, the creatives in the LGBTQIA+ community — influenced her music and artistry. She also brought a moment of levity to the show, telling the crowd, “If you’re a drag performer — skilled, talented — I’m sure some of them wake up thinking, ‘Why did I shave my legs for this?’” Williams said, before performing Deana Carter’s 1997 hit “Did I Shave My Legs for This?”
Williams teamed with Becca Mancari for an acoustic rendition of “Inordinary” from Williams’ second solo album, Flowers for Vases/Descansos.
Russell, Ruby Amanfu and Shea Diamond
“Never let them extinguish your fire — we were all born into the same world. Nobody has the right to take your rights,” said singer-songwriter Shea Diamond. “We are so much bigger than the hate they divide us with … Trans is beautiful, and drag queens are saving the world. So in this moment, we can’t allow them to stop everything we’ve built.”
Brandi Carlile and her family, who could not be in attendance, sent in a video tribute and introduced Russell, who welcomed to the stage Ruby Amanfu to join Russell and Diamond. Together, their three illustrious voices elevated “A Beautiful Noise.”
Russell then welcomed her daughter and several friends to join them for “You’re Not Alone,” which Russell originally recorded with Carlile.
“This is circle work that we are engaged in,” Russell said. “Circles are powerful — there is no one above, no one below … every single one of us equal worthy and beautiful. There is nothing we together can’t do when we work together in these magic circles.”
Talent trounces age, every single time. Mariah Kalia can vouch. The 17-year-old Florida native isn’t old enough to drink beer, but she can belt out a tune like few others.
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To be fair, Kalia doesn’t belt it. Her vocals have that coated-in-caramel texture, with muscle at top and down below.
When she performed Billie Eilish’s “idontwannabeyouanymore” during the Blind Auditions on Monday night’s episode (March 20) of The Voice, she had judges wanting more.
Chance The Rapper and Niall Horan turned in quick succession, and engaged in some friendly rivalry as country stars Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton stayed put.
Chance was “blown away” by her tone, her stage presence, her mature musical choices. And yes, he wants to know more; the best way to do that is for her to choose Team Chance.
Niall reckoned he was hearing a “young Amy Winehouse,” he was gobsmacked by her range. And yes, if she joined Team Niall, “we’re going to be talking about you in the final, for sure.”
The kid, however, digs R&B, hip-hop, rap, not exactly the One Direction singer’s wheelhouse.
“Sometimes the best things in life are from opposite sides,” he remarked, with an air of comedy desperation.
Clarkson popped up with some advice on how song selection can help her navigate this season, “because you have a rad voice and really killer tones.”
The hopeful coaches then presented their final pitches. Niall, yes, he too was a 17-year-old on the big stage, and he has his head around the song selection. “We’re going to have a good time if you come with me.”
Then, Chance rolled the dice. “I was never in your position. I started touring when I was 17 as an independent artist. “If you want somebody who’s going to take you to that next level,” he said, hands up.
In the end, she went with Chance.
Watch below.
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Back to The Wilderness. Season 2 of Yellowjackets, the Showtime original series about a high school girls’ soccer team that survives a plane crash in the remote wilderness, premieres on Friday (March 24).
The cast includes Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, Samantha Hanratty, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Sophie Thatcher, Sophie Nelisse, Steven Krueger, Warren Kole, Liv Hewson, Courtney Eaton, Kevin Alves, Simone Kessell and Lauren Ambrose.
Florence Welch Teases Cover of No Doubt’s ‘Just a Girl’ For ‘Yellowjackets…
03/20/2023
Read on for ways to watch and stream Yellowjackets.
How to Watch Yellowjackets Seasons 1 & 2
Yellowjackets Season 2 will be streaming on Showtime on Friday. Viewers can start streaming episode one of the new season as soon as it premieres. New episodes will arrive weekly.
Want to stream Yellowjackets for free? Subscribe to Showtime and enjoy a free trial for the first week. The streaming platform costs $10.99/month after the free trial ends but you can cancel anytime.
To get more bang for your buck, bundle Showtime with Paramount+ for $11.99/month.
Showtime
$10.99/month after 7-day free trial
Unfortunately, Showtime doesn’t offer student discounts but students can land free or discounted subscriptions through Spotify Premium Student and Prime Student.
What time does Yellowjackets air on Showtime? The season premiere airs on Sunday (March 26) at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Showtime, HBO Max, Starz, MGM+ and Cinemax are included with DirecTV Stream’s Premier Package. Watch over 150 channels, plus unlimited cloud DVR and stream from an unlimited number of devices for $154.99/month. DirecTV Stream offers cheaper TV packages starting at $74.99/month (add Showtime for an additional $5.50/month for three months).
Showtime is also available on Hulu, Prime Video, SlingTV and through ExpressVPN.
Paid and free episodes of Yellowjackets Season 1 are currently streaming on demand via Showtime and Prime Video. Although Season 2 isn’t available yet, now’s a great time to catch up on the first season and add the upcoming season to your Prime Video watchlist.
Yellowjackets Season 1 & 2
Besides Yellowjackets, Showtime features a selection of movies, documentaries, TV series and more including The Affair, Dexter: New Blood, Billions, I Love That for You, The L Word, Ziwe, Ray Donovan, boxing and other sporting events and Oscar-winning films like Everything, Everywhere All at Once and more.
Watch the trailer for Yellowjackets Season 2 below.
Billie Eilish made her acting debut over the weekend in Donald Glover’s new series Swarm, and apparently her character was based on a real-life cult leader.
Eilish’s character, Eva, crosses paths with Dre, played by Dominique Fishback, in episode 4, after helping the protagonist — who happens to be murderously obsessed with a Beyoncé-like pop star name Ni’Jah — out of a jam with a racist cop on her way to Bonnaroo 2018. From there, Eva invites Dre to her “female empowerment” group, which turns out to be more like a cult.
Janine Nabers, who co-created the series with the artist otherwise known as Childish Gambino, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday about why the “Happier Than Ever” singer’s pivot into acting feels eerily ripped from the headlines. “There is a cult that existed in the world that was very prominent during that time,” the co-executive producer said, speaking of NXIVM. “And that is the kind of true-crime element to that episode.”
Led by Keith Raniere, the NXIVM cult presented itself as a type of multilevel marketing company based on human development, but in reality, women were groomed by the likes of Smallville actress Allison Mack to be exploited by Raniere. In 2020, the disgraced guru was sentenced to 120 years in prison for sex trafficking, racketeering, wire fraud and more.
“I think that when people think of the idea of artists or celebrities, there is this idea of thinking about the cult of Taylor Swift, or the cult of The Beatles or whatever,” Nabers continued. “What we were really interested in was just seeing someone who worships at the altar of ‘something,’ and [exploring] this idea of what is the cult of the mind.”
Read Nabers’ complete chat with THR about all things Swarm here.
The Samsung Galaxy Creator Collective is set for Dallas this week, and Billboard will be on-site to unique panels, performances, and programming that’ll highlight how Samsung tools help content creators elevate their work to the next level.
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Taking place over the course of two days (March 21 to March 22), the Samsung Galaxy Creator Collective aims to elevate and aid creators who are especially passionate and career-minded when it comes to producing content and want to turn their passion into a career. The collective’s goal is to foster a learning environment where both newcomers and more established acts can further grow their followings across all platforms.
By using products like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy Book3 Ultra, and Galaxy Flip4, creators can heighten the quality of their content, potentially appealing to an even wider audience and working with their ideal brands.
Billboard will kick things off with an opening party featuring performances from the respective winners of Samsung and Billboard’s NXT 1.0 and 2.0 Bronze Avery and Nyla XO, and TikTok artist DJ Habi Beats.
Moderated by Tetris Kelly, Billboard will also host a panel on March 21 featuring a wide range of media and licensing experts including Billboard’s Chief Brand Officer Dana Droppo, Music Licensing Consultant Greg Cahn, VP of Creative Marketing at Sony Music Publishing James Armstrong, and Latin Creative Music & Commercial Licensing at TikTok Leslie Arredondo-Cordero. The segment — titled the Do’s and Dont’s of Music Licensing — will inform creators about the logistics behind music inclusion in their content and arm them with the knowledge to avoid challenges and pitfalls involved in licensing music across different social media platforms.
TikTok creator Tefi, who first went viral for her no-holds-barred advice and thoughtful takes on pop culture goings on is set to appear as a special Keynote Speaker. She will deliver a speech about her journey as a creator and the integral part Samsung can play in helping to achieve goals.
Additionally, Billboard will host a segment called Making the Hit, where Toronto-based YouTuber Andrew Huang will get at the heart of song construction. Aided by a Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra, the musician and video producer will effectively deconstruct a song live, offering viewers an in-depth look into his unique creation process.
Finally, Billboard asked several major player creators to collaborate on a playlist that will serve as the soundtrack during the final morning of the Samsung Galaxy Creative Collective. Creators from every industry were enlisted to contribute, ensuring an expansive and varied set of songs that’ll encompass the diversity of the attendees themselves. Fans can visit Billboard.com to check out the full playlist.
The Samsung Galaxy Creator Collective will be available via livestream beginning on March 21 at 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. EST on Samsung’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Welcome to Swift City! Taylor Knight kicked off her highly anticipated Eras Tour on Friday night (March 17) at the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Swift played to a sold-out crowd, pulling out all the stops while running through a whopping 44 songs with 16 costume changes, and she returned for night 2 with a fleet of new costumes.
03/20/2023
Representing different eras in her career, Swift’s wardrobe consisted of custom pieces from Roberto Cavalli, Oscar De La Renta, Christian Louboutin, Alberta Ferretti, Versace and Zuhair Murad.
For the fashionable Swifties who want to re-create Swift’s stage looks for less, we’ve got your covered.
Below, find a roundup of outfits inspired by The Eras Tour.
Mauve Maxi Dress
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
The tour is just getting started, and Swift has already worn a number of colorful maxi dresses onstage. The 33-year-old singer looked positively etherial in a mauve Alberta Ferretti dress during her Folklore set. The custom, chiffon, crystal-embellished gown features flutter sleeves with a plunging neckline and lace insert.
Shop the Look:
Channel Swift’s boho style in this textured tiered midi dress from ASOS. The dress has a plunging neckline with lace insert, a tiered skirt and an open back. The dress is available in sizes O-14.
ASOS
ASOS Textured Tiered Midi Dress
$85
In case the dress pictured above is out of stock, another option is this boho square neck long sleeve maxi ($44.99 at Amazon).
Free People has a selection of boho maxi dress as well like the Beach Bliss Maxi ($118) and Jewel Maxi ($128). And if you want to show a little more skin, try this purple floral wrap dress $78 from Lulu’s.
Oversized Sparkly Blazer
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Arizona).
Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
Swift performed “The Man” in an oversized sparkly Versace blazer and sequin body suit with custom Louboutin boots.
Donatella Versace posted photos of Swift’s “breathtaking” outfit on Instagram over the weekend. “You are breathtaking in Versace,” she wrote. “I’m so proud of you. Best of luck on The Eras Tour.”
Shop the Look:
Oversized blazers are trendy right now and therefore not very hard to find, however a silver, sequin or bedazzled blazer might be harder to get your hands on.
ASOS
4th & Reckless Silver Faux Leather Oversized Blazer
$58.50 $78 25% off% OFF
We found a couple of cool (and affordable) alternatives to Swift’s blazer, such as this oversized faux leather blazer from ASOS ($58). For more sparkle, check out this Extro & Vert oversized sequin blazer ($108).
Swift’s boots were also custom made, so while you won’t find them in stores, you can find a variety of similar styles such as the rhinestone boots pictured below.
Zappos
Blue by Betsey Johnson Rhinestone Boots
$171.81 $249 31% off% OFF
These Blue by Betsey Johnson boots feature a 3.5-inch heel and full zipper closure. If you prefer cowboy boots to pointed toe boots, try the Steve Madden Tyrus Boots ($81.57). Click here for more silver boot options.
Lavender Haze
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Arizona). The city of Glendale, Arizona was ceremonially renamed to Swift City for March 17-18 in honor of The Eras Tour.
John Shearer/G for TAS Rights Management
Speaking of coats, Swift also rocked a custom lavender number by Oscar De La Renta and purple Louboutin boots.
Shop the Look:
Shaggy coats are also trendy right now, which means they’re easy to find online, although lavender might be a little tricky. We found a few cool coats like the purple shaggy coat pictured below.
Amazon
Womens Fall Open Front Cardigan Faux Fur Coat Vintage Parka Shaggy Jacket Warm Coat Tops Purple
$45.99
This faux fur shaggy coat is available in sizes S-XXL and you can buy it in over a dozen different colors including purple, red, blue, khaki, black and wine. Another option is this oversized teddy fur from ASOS ($107). Find more purple coats here.
Pretty in Pink
Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Arizona).
John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Roberto Cavalli created a capsule collection for The Eras Tour, which includes a gold fringe dress and asymmetrical sequin bodysuit.
For her opening night performance of “1989,” Swift dazzled in a Cavalli two-piece “diamond-shaped skirt and a matching top drenched in Swarovski crystals in tones of fuchsia.”
“The design, the finishing, the hand application of each crystal and fringe has been hand crafted to match the extraordinary talent that is Taylor Swift,” the fashion brand shared on Instagram on Monday (March 20).
Shop the Look:
Take a page from Swift’s fashion book in this one shoulder sequin crop top and matching skirt from Nasty Gal.
Nasty Gal
One Shoulder Sequin Crop Top
$37.60 $94 60% off% OFF
The top and skirt are sold separately, so you can mix and match or swap out the wrap skirt for this pink sequin mini ($42) or the top for this tassel sequin crop top ($60). You can also mix and match with this fringe tassel skirt, which is on sale for $15.77 at Amazon and a metal mesh top ($24.99) or this Hurley sequined mini skirt ($90) with a satin top from Revolve ($96).
Swift wore a similar outfit in green for night 2 of the tour. Find alternatives to her custom look here.
What to Wear to a Taylor Swift Concert
Looking for something to wear to The Eras Tour? Any of the outfits on our list will work fine, but if you’re craving variety, outside of the merch available on Swift’s official website, we rounded up some must-haves that fans were spotted wearing during the first two nights of the tour.
Swift City T-Shirt — The city of Glendale temporarily changed its name for the tour, but “Swift City” is technically wherever The Eras Tour lands next! Swifties can find Swift City T-shirts on Etsy for around $20-$30.
Heart-Shaped Sunglasses — Don’t forget your shades! If you’re not sure which style to rock, heart-shaped shades are an easy choice. You can find a bunch of different styles and colors at Amazon.
Comfortable Shoes — Comfortable shoes are important for any concert, especially if you plan to see your favorite artists in a large venue like Swift’s stadium tour. The best shoe options largely depend on your style preferences, but a few shoes that tend to work well for concerts include platform boots and heels in addition to comfortable sneakers such as Converse, Vans, Adidas and cowboy boots. Fans have also been wearing knee-high boots and ankle boots to the tour.
Skirts, Skirts and More Skirts — If you search social media for what to wear to a Taylor Swift concert, you’ll find that Swifties love skirts! Short skirts, long skirts, flared skirts, mini skirts, maxi skirts, denim skirts, satin skirts, pleated skirts, bodycon skirts — you name it. And of course, shorts and jeans are safe choice.
Costumes — Dressing up for concerts can also mean wearing a costume. One devoted Swfitie wore a cape showcasing Swift’s Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements. If you’re thinking of wearing a costume, you should choose something clever but also comfortable.
Venue-Approved bags — Concert venues usually list the kinds of bags that are allowed inside. If you’re not sure what to bring, choose something safe like a clear purse, mini backpack or crossbody bags such as the Adidas Amplifier Crossbody Bag ($32), Lululemon’s Everywhere Belt Bag ($38), Athleta’s Excursion Waist Bag ($88) or the North Face Berkeley Field Bag ($45).
Drag queens and musical theater go together about as well as peanut butter and jelly, a fact that was proven yet again on the latest installment of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
On last week’s episode (aired Friday, March 17), the six remaining contestant got to perform in a fan-favorite challenge: the Rusical! Fighting for parts and learning their songs and choreo, the queens put on a show-stopping performance of Wigloose: The Rusical, telling the story of a small town trying to ban drag —which sounded pretty familiar to the audience at home.
With the judges struggling to find flaws in what was one of the best Rusical performances to date, they ultimately adored Anetra’s hilarious-yet-moving performance as the show’s supportive mother. Meanwhile, the panel split hairs and decided that Loosey LaDuca and Salina EsTitties didn’t wow them as much as the other girls on the runway, landing them both in the bottom.
Performing in a chilling lip-sync to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” both queens did their best to showcase the inherent drama of the song. Ultimately, Loosey’s eerie performance earned her another week in the competition, bringing Salina’s competitive run to a close.
Billboard caught up with Salina following her elimination to talk about surviving three lip-syncs on the show, how timely Wigloose feels today, and the backstage drama that came from RuPaul’s infamous question, “who should go home tonight and why?”
You made it to the top six! How are you feeling about your Drag Race journey?
I feel amazing about it. Being there, it didn’t feel like it was that big of a deal, because I was like, “Yeah, I wanted to get to the top!” But after the fact, looking back, I was like, “Wait … top six out of 16 bitches? That’s great.”
With being in the top six, you also join a handful of Drag Race queens who have survived three or more lip syncs, like Jujubee, Coco Montrese and others. Was that something that you were consciously thinking about in the moment?
I mean, no, because we all know that third Beyoncé lip sync was supposed to be Mistress — we all saw that interview! [laughs] No, no, it’s fine, I got to give an iconic Beyoncé moment, I was fully ready, bitch. The thing with our season is it felt like anyone could have been in the bottom at any point. We’re all so talented and good at this, that if you put any one of the girls there, it would have been a fight regardless. It did feel good winning, obviously. But at the same time, it really felt like anyone could have been in my situation, which made it such a weird experience to live through. To be able to keep going felt amazing.
A lot of the girls were like, “Oh, I’m just here to have fun!” But I think, deep down, we were all really there to try and win and do our best.
Yes, girl, people are trying to win this season.
Oh, we see that with Miss Loosey, don’t we, honey? [laughs]
I’ve also love that you shouting the phrase “Free Willy” when Anetra leapt over Marcia in the episode prior has become a full-blown meme on Twitter.
I was so happy they kept that in. When we were watching that lip-sync, when she leapt over her, it was the most iconic lip sync situation we had seen all season. So the fact that they made me a part of it was just sickening. And Marcia had no clue that happened in the moment! The way everyone was screaming in the room, it was just insane.
Let’s get into this week and the Rusical episode. For the one trillionth time on this show, we get this moment where Loosey and Luxx are fighting over who gets to play the lead. You backed out quickly from that fight — do you think it’s really worth it to fight for the lead role in these challenges?
In a situation like this where you’re really vying for wins and you want to get noticed by the judges, in the lead role, you’re going to get noticed the most. Usually, the conversation quickly steers towards, “Oh, you could really mess up! You could do really bad!” But I think with musicals, and the fact that a lot of us drag queens are theater queens, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to showcase everything we can do — dance, sing, act, lip-sync — all at once. As a theater major myself, I wanted that lead role, too! But, I wasn’t gonna fight over it.
I think everyone was very struck by how unbelievably timely this Rusical was. Having a show about a small town trying to ban drag while that actual real thing is actively happening in Tennessee and on the precipice of happening in other states felt really wild.
It’s literally so insane. It’s fully like that thing with how The Simpsons kept predicting the future — now it’s Drag Race. At the time of filming, which was almost a year or so ago, Ru had just done an interview with Jimmy Fallon, I think, talking about acceptance and drag queen story hour, which was sort of the main issue at the time. But it’s still happening today, and now it’s even crazier. It’s actually wild how relevant it is today, and I’m really grateful that this is all lining up the way that it is, because what a great way to combat this and show that it’s really about love at the end of the day.
How have you been dealing with all of the news coming out of places like Tennessee lately?
It’s crazy. Our good sister Aura lives in Tennessee, and she has been a very vocal advocate, and she’s been using her platform to fight against it. We’ve all kind of been asking her, “What can we do to help?”
It’s interesting, too, now that I’m traveling to these smaller, rural towns where I’m thinking, “Wait … y’all don’t like us.” It’s very scary out here today.
Getting back to the Rusical, the judges weren’t kidding when they said that all of you killed this performance. When you were preparing for Wigloose, could you tell that this one felt like such a strong Rusical challenge?
The music is so good. We could not stop singing “Everybody’s going Wigloose” ever since we left the show. Like, we’ve all been talking about how we genuinely can’t wait for it to go on iTunes so we can actually listen to it. Leland is a literal genius, and he’s fast making all of this stuff while we’re there. It’s insane.
So, yes, we knew we were crushing it. When the critiques happened and there were no bad critiques, it felt correct. Like, “the show was perfect, let’s just read you guys for your looks.” So it was like, “Okay, cool, we did something iconic that’s going to go down in history.”
Speaking of critiques, this week the dreaded question comes up; “Who should go home tonight, and why?” I appreciate that you let the girls who said your name know exactly how you felt about being picked. What’s that experience like, having to answer, and being told that these girls want you gone?
Well, in that moment, I was truly like, “Well, it’s only two people out of five.” I had a feeling in my heart that they didn’t even necessarily believe that was true. Up until this point, I had been in the bottom for two design challenges and the one interview challenge, which no one thought I should have been in the bottom for to begin with. So, Loosey straight up told me, every design challenge, “You shouldn’t have been in the bottom.” So, in the moment, I was like, “If that’s the case, Loosey, your math about why I should go home just doesn’t add up.”
So I thought, “Let’s go out with a bang. If this is my last episode, I’m gonna go down with a fight.” And I was so mad that they weren’t pushing back at me during Untucked! Like, “fight with me, dammit!” And then Anetra comes in with, “Well, RuPaul was asking about who deserved to go,” and I was like, “Shut up, Anetra, I’m not even talking to you, I’m talking to Loosey!” [laughs]
We get to this lip sync — I just want to know what your approach was, knowing you had this chilling, emotional song to perform while wearing giant hot dog fingers?
Girl, it was giving Everything Everywhere All At Once. The whole point of EsTitties is that she’s an actress, she takes these serious beats, but the reality of who she is really is just chaos, insanity and camp. I knew it would look ridiculous, but as long as I played it so serious and heartfelt, it would make it even more hilarious that I had these massive hands.
Mariah Faith comes from a small town, but she’s on her way to LaLa Land and it won’t be as a tourist.
The 21-year-old hairstylist stepped onto the American Idol stage on Sunday night (March 19), for an audition that couldn’t have gone any better.
Born in Baltimore, Faith relocated at a young age to Conway, South Carolina, a town so small, she claims you could traverse it on foot in ten minutes.The relocation was at the behest of her late step-dad, Faith’s inspiration, her “No. 1 supporter and best friend,” she explained in the intro. He died from a heart attack in 2019, leaving a hole in the family.
When Faith entered the lion’s den that is an Idol audition, she carried the spirit of her step-dad, to whom she dedicated a rendition of Vince Gill’s “Whenever You Come Around.”
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Wearing blonde dreads and a nose-ring, Faith looked and sounded at ease. Her performance, grounded, earthy and pretty special, the judges agreed.
“I had chills the whole time. You are on just the edge of greatness,” noted judge Luke Bryan. “You’ve just got it all. It doesn’t matter if you hit a wrong note, it’s still right.”
It was more of the same from Katy Perry. “World class,” she piped up. “There’s so many subtleties in your voice. I’m hanging onto every syllable.” Perry added, “You have this natural cry-slash-gospel vocal,” at which point the contestant remarked, I was “raised in the church.”
Perry spotted it. “Well, we can hear it. You are a star,” she enthused. “You’ve got it. One of the most interesting voices” of this 21st season.
Lionel Richie was singing from the same hymn sheet. “What we just heard is the tip of the iceberg, but your potential could take you seriously all the way,” he stated.
When the judges cast their votes, it was three yeses and a ticket to Hollywood. Faith also landed the opportunity to open a Nashville concert for last season’s respective Idol winner and runner-up, Noah Thompson and HunterGirl.
Watch below.