Culture
Page: 458
Ten queens stood before RuPaul on the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, all told that this was their last chance to impress him and save themselves from elimination … again, and again, and again.
On last week’s episode (aired Friday, February 10), the remaining contestants were all put to the ultimate test in the season 15 Lalaparuza; a lip-sync tournament, for the uninitiated. Performing in a sickening series of high-octane lip syncs over the course of the evening, seven queens managed to secure their spots in the competition, while three — Anetra, Jax and Spice — were left with one final Lip Sync For Your Life.
Given the opportunity to save one of the other two queens, Anetra chose to spare Spice (in one of the funniest confessionals of the season), leaving her and Jax to duke it out to CeCe Peniston’s “Finally.” Finding every last drop of energy they had left after a grueling set of performances, both queens put on a show. Ultimately, Anetra earned the judges’ approval, sending Jax packing.
Billboard caught up with Jax following her elimination to talk about her strategy in the Lalaparuza, how she’s evolved since the show, and her reaction to Anetra’s surprising choice at the episode’s end.
How are you feeling after your time on the show, Jax?
Girl, it has been a journey — I’m simply a very different person than I was when we filmed. My Drag Race journey was critiques on how to heighten myself; the judges told me that I was already a superstar performer, and that I just needed a certain polish in certain areas, and to learn more about my proportions. The second I got home from the show, the first thing I did was I went into my closet, and threw everything out. Every single wig, all of my makeup, we just had to start from scratch here. That Jax is dead, this is the new one.
I appreciated at the outset of this episode that you straight up said “I’m pissed that I was in the bottom.” Tea time — do you feel you deserved to be in the bottom both weeks prior to this?
I mean … it maybe shouldn’t have been me. That seems to be the consensus online, so who am I to disagree? We’ve been talking about “drag delusion” a lot on this season, and I like to think that’s not the case here. People are saying I didn’t deserve to be in the bottom based on the challenges — I will say, if I was in the bottom for my runways, I was like, “No, I didn’t like my outfit either.” But also, I made all of my outfits myself for the show. Would I wear them now? Depends.
It’s worth pointing out that this is one of the most competitive seasons of the show I’ve seen in a minute. Like, there aren’t very many “obvious early-outs” this season.
Completely! That’s the thing, going through this, we all kept saying, “There are no flops.” The judges have to nitpick and hone in on things because everyone was really doing well this season.
We should take a second and talk about the “Sweetest Pie” lip sync before getting into this week, because you basically broke Drag Race Twitter with this performance. What has it been like to see that response from fans?
I just had to do what I know how to do, which is turn the party! It’s been great, it really helps solidify things for me. Like, you can not like me for whatever reason, but at the end of the day, you’re not gonna deny that I turned that out. Sorry ’bout it!
Let’s walk through this episode. What was your immediate thought when Ru walked in the work room and said you would be doing the Lalaparuza this week?
I was like, “Yay! Sickening! Finally something I’m good at!” But with Drag Race, there’s always gotta be a twist — it was The Hunger Games, girl. It was Effie picking the names out of a bowl to see who’s gonna fight to the death.
That brings up the tactical aspect of the Lalaparuza here — when Mistress picked you as her opponent, you chose Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart” as the song. What was your strategy there?
Based off of what was still available in the list of songs we got to choose from, that was the one that I had performed before. I knew I could turn it out, I always have a good time doing this song, so I said, “Let’s just have some fun.” I knew Mistress and I would perform it very different ways, too, so it seemed like a good opportunity to show off our different styles. Obviously when you’re lip syncing, you can’t really see what’s happening with the other girl, but it was definitely one of those where as we were waiting for the announcement, we were both like, “How is this going to go?”
If you had been the one who got to choose the first queen to lip sync against of this group, who do you think you would have picked?
Ooh … that’s a good one. Strategically, you want to pick the weaker performer, but I would also want to give myself a little bit of a challenge, to be real. If it came down to it — and I’m not calling her a weak performer, I just think we would have a fun time performing together — I think me and Marcia would have given a great lip sync. I know that we both really wanted to do “Boys Don’t Cry” by Anitta; that was the song I know we were both thinking would be the most fun to perform.
We get to the final twist of the episode when it’s down to you, Anetra and Spice, where Anetra decides to spare Spice and lip sync against you. On a scale of one to Alyssa Edwards, how gagged were you when she said Spice’s name?
In the moment, on first reaction, I was fully like, “God damn it, I thought we were friends.” I really thought she was going to save me because we had done all of these challenges together. But then I realized that she just wanted to battle — like, if you’re gonna be doing a lip sync smackdown, you want to prove that you’re good at what you do. I took it as a compliment at the end of the day. We had both done two lip syncs prior to that, so we were tired, we didn’t know how it was going to go.
You did great — and I do hope you’re walking away from this season knowing that, despite the loss here, you’re still maybe one of the fiercest lip sync artists to appear on Drag Race.
Thank you! There’s no secret that the fan base can be a little bit crazy. They love to say lots of things about us girls, but the one thing they can never take away from me is, if you come to see me at my show, you’re going to be entertained. No one ever walks away disappointed from my shows. So yeah, being able to solidify that within the Drag Race realm is such a feat that I am so thankful for.
JoJo Siwa is headed to the big screen. The 19-year-old Dance Moms veteran, singer and YouTube favorite is slated to co-star in the horror movie All My Friends Are Dead opposite Jade Pettyjohn (Little Fires Everywhere) according to Deadline.
Casting for the movie from Saw 3D co-writer Marcus Dunstan is reportedly still going on and filming is slated to begin in Canada in the spring, with Dunstan directing from a script by Josh Sims and Jessica Sarah Flaum. According to a description, the movie follows a group of close college friends who get a great deal on an awesome Airbnb for the biggest music festival of the year.
“A weekend of partying quickly takes a turn for the worst as members of the group are murdered one by one,” it continues. “They soon discover that each one of their deaths directly corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins.”
In a statement, Siwa said she was grateful for the chance to be in the film, adding, “This is a project that is so different from anything I’ve done previously; however, I absolutely love horror movies and I can’t wait to start production! I’m also excited to work with Jade again. We worked together when we were younger and can’t wait to create this movie together.”
Siwa made news in December when she opened up about her break up with Avery Cyrus, posting a lip-sync video in which she speculated on the reasons for the split. “But I love you Why are you breaking up with me??!!!” she wrote before offering up two different options in the clip using viral sound from “My Brother My Brother and Me” on her YouTube channel. “There’s someone else” and, uh, “You told one of my best friends that you were excited to be dating me bc you’re ‘growing your career and wanna get to the top’…”
At the end of the clip she made it clear that there was not a third party involved. “And when I said I just wanted to be friends so I didn’t lead you on after an unplanned hookup you wanted nothing to do with me because there was nothing to gain anymore,” she wrote.
Kya Monée’s 2023 American Idol audition, a heartfelt tribute to late contestant Willie Spence, made everyone in the room emotional on the show’s premiere Sunday night (Feb. 19).
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Spence, the Georgia singer who placed second on the 2021 season of American Idol, died in October 2022. He was only 23 years old.
“We grew a very, very close friendship … Losing Willie was just very, very hard for me,” Monée, a singer from Texas who performed a duet of Rihanna and Mikky Ekko’s “Stay” with Spence during Hollywood Week in 2021, said on Sunday’s Idol episode. “He passed in a tragic car accident and I’m still trying to cope with that.”
Through tears, she said, “Willie, he always told me, ‘No matter what, you’ll always be a singer.’ Three days before he passed, Willie was telling me, ‘You have to go back. You have to chase your dream. I’m gonna go with you to American Idol.’ He made me want to do it and I’d really love to make it further. But most of all, I wanna make Willie proud.”
“He was actually supposed to be here with me today for my audition,” Monée told judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. “It’s just very hard to not have that support anymore. But I know he would want me to be here … The song that I’m singing today is a song that we picked together. I’m singing ‘I’m Here’ from The Color Purple.”
Perry, Richie and Bryan were visibly moved by Monée’s performance of “I’m Here,” and agreed that the singer would be advancing on to the next round in the competition.
“That’s how you sing through crying,” Perry commented, leading the trio of judges in a standing ovation for Monée.
Richie wiped away his own tears, handed Monée a handkerchief and embraced her in a hug. “What you’ve given us was everything we’ve been trying to tell all of these kids,” he said. “That performance was so emotional, so heartfelt, so divinely guided in the glorious name of our dear brother Willie.”
“I’ve lost some people in my life. When you go to sing, you just sing like Willie’s still here,” Bryan noted.
“It was on another level. It was so connected to the pain, and everybody’s feeling this loss but we also feel connected together because you are authentic, just like he was,” Perry added.
Watch the moving performance from Monée below.
Gerald Fried, the Oscar-nominated, oboe-playing composer who created iconic gladiatorial fight music for the original Star Trek series and collaborated with Quincy Jones to win an Emmy for their theme to the landmark miniseries Roots, has died. He was 95.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Fried died Friday (Feb. 17) of pneumonia at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, his wife, Anita Hall, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After meeting Stanley Kubrick on a baseball field in the Bronx in the early 1950s, Fried wound up scoring the filmmaker’s first four features: Fear and Desire (1953), Killer’s Kiss (1955), The Killing (1956) and Paths of Glory (1957).
Fried also supplied the music for such cult Roger Corman classics as Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), The Cry Baby Killer (1958) and I Mobster (1959). He also worked with directors Larry Peerce on One Potato Two Potato (1964) and The Bell Jar (1979), as well as with Robert Aldrich on The Killing of Sister George (1968), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), Too Late the Hero (1970) and The Grissom Gang (1971).
And chances are if you are a fan of Gilligan’s Island, Lost in Space, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Emergency!, Flamingo Road or Dynasty, you have heard his music.
Fried first worked on NBC’s Star Trek midway through the first season on the December 1966 episode “Shore Leave,” but he really made his mark on the second-season opener, “Amok Time.” His relentless “The Ritual/Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah” score dramatizes a memorable “fight to the death” on the planet Vulcan between Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
In the 1999 book The Music of Star Trek, author Jeff Bond describes the music as “a model of action-scene bombast, wildly percussive and bursting with exclamatory trumpet, flute and woodwind trills to accentuate the hammering of the brass-performed fanfare.”
Passages were reused for 18 other Star Trek episodes and popped up in The Cable Guy (1996) and installments of Futurama and another animated series.
“I started to get royalty checks from The Simpsons,” Fried noted in a 2003 conversation with Karen Herman for the TV Academy Foundation website The Interviews. “I didn’t write any music for The Simpsons. What they did was when Bart Simpson would get angry and cross the living room or something like that, they quoted the music for ‘Amok Time.’”
A year after Fried received an Oscar nomination for Birds Do It, Bees Do It (1976), a documentary about the mating rituals of animals and insects, he won his Emmy for his work on the first episode of ABC’s Roots.
Jones had been hired to write the music for the miniseries, but as the January 1977 premiere date loomed, he was missing deadlines. So producer Stan Margulies called Fried.
“Quincy, for whatever reason, went into some kind of writer’s block and did not come up with a main theme,” Fried said. “And they needed a main theme for advertising. It was three weeks before airtime. So they called me in. I wrote the main theme. I finished episode number one. The first show, Quincy did 56 percent of that, and I had to finish that. And I’m very happy I was on Roots. It was quite an honor.”
Fried also was nominated on his own for his underscore on the eighth and final episode.
“There were two shows that I did in television that had reverberations far beyond what you’d expect from the venue and the possibilities,” Fried said during a 2013 Q&A with StarTrek.com. “One was Star Trek, and the other was Roots. There was an atmosphere, doing both shows, that these were a little special and certainly more important than most shows. So I’m not totally surprised, but the enormity of Star Trek is a little bit startling and wonderful.”
Born in Manhattan on Feb. 13, 1928, Fried was raised in the Bronx by his father, Samuel, a dentist, and his mother, Selma. He credited his mom’s side of the family for his musical talents. Her father, a trombonist, earned passage for the family to America as a traveling musician in Eastern Europe. And Fried’s aunt was a pianist who provided live music for silent movies.
“She was one of these perfect-pitch types of people who could hear and reproduce anything,” he said. “I studied with her, and because they forced me to take piano lessons, I got my revenge by being the world’s worst pianist.”
His love of music grew after Fried entered New York’s High School of Music & Art and was assigned the oboe. He took to that instrument and the tenor sax, then enrolled at Juilliard as an oboe major.
In 1948, Fried began a three-year stint as the English hornist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Following gigs with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a return to Dallas, he returned to New York to perform with The Little Orchestra Society.
Fried was playing baseball in the Bronx for a club team called The Barracudas when he met a kid who “wasn’t a very good athlete” but still wanted to play. Fried encouraged his teammates to let the guy join in, and they became friends.
“This turned out to be Stanley Kubrick,” Fried said. “He found out that I was a musician. He saved his pennies. He made a short [film] that was actually quite good. And I think I was the only musician he knew. He said, ‘Hey, Gerry, you know how to write and conduct movie music?’ ‘Sure,’ I said, ‘I do it all the time.’ I spent the next three or four months going to about 20 movies a day to learn what to do.”
Fried’s crash course resulted in the music for Day of the Fight (1951), about middleweight Walter Cartier preparing for a bout. Bought by RKO-Pathe, the 16-minute film would help launch their show business careers.
Fried came to Los Angeles and worked on Terror in a Texas Town (1958), starring Sterling Hayden of The Killing and written under a pseudonym by Dalton Trumbo; filled out the scores for episodes of such shows as M Squad, Wagon Train and Riverboat; and often collaborated with Corman.
Fried went on to work on other series like Gunsmoke, Ben Casey, My Three Sons, Mannix, The Flying Nun, It’s About Time and Police Woman and other films like Dino (1957), I Bury the Living (1958), Cast a Long Shadow (1959) and Soylent Green (1973).
He received three more Emmy noms, for his compositions for the telefilms The Silent Lovers in 1980 and The Mystic Warrior in 1984 and for the miniseries Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story in 1987.
More recently, Fried taught at UCLA and played the oboe with the Santa Fe Great Big Jazz Band and Santa Fe Community Orchestra. The oboe is “the instrument of passion. It somehow gets into people’s guts,” he said.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his children, Daniel, Debbie, Jonathan and Josh; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His son Zach died from AIDS in 1987 at age 5 as the result of a blood transfusion.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
The cornerstone upon which RuPaul’s Drag Race is built has always been the Lip Sync For Your Life — fans look forward to seeing the queens duke it out in a high-stakes battle-to-the-end in nearly every single episode.
So, what could be more fun than getting to see eight of those lip syncs in a single episode?
On Friday’s episode of Drag Race (aired Feb. 17), the 10 remaining queens entered the proverbial Thunderdome for the series’ third-ever “Lalaparuza” — for the uninitiated, a tournament-style lip-sync battle royale that forces every queen to show off their performance skills.
While All Stars 4’s Lalaparuza offered eliminated queens a chance to return, and season 14’s gave the girls a chance at redemption for one of the worst Snatch Games in the show’s history, season 15’s challenge merely aimed to see which of the girls could take a song and make it completely their own.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Drag Race if there weren’t a few twists and turns involved. From giving one queen the power to pick their opponent and the other the power to choose their song, to the final two being decided in one of the funniest (and shadiest) confessionals of the season, the Lalaparuza managed to entertain and shock viewers — especially after prove lip sync superstar Jax ended up going home.
But of the eight lip syncs fans were treated to on Friday night, which ones stood out as the best of the best? Below, Billboard takes a critical look at all eight performances from season 15 episode 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and ranks them from worst to best.
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.
Season 21 of American Idol premieres this Sunday (Feb. 19). Judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan and host Ryan Seacrest are returning for the new season along with a fresh group of contestants hoping for a shot at music stardom.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Want to watch the season premiere, or binge some of the older episode? Keep reading for a breakdown of ways to watch and stream American Idol from anywhere.
American Idol Season 21 Schedule: When & How to Watch
What time does the new season of American Idol come on? The show will air Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Because American Idol is on network television, you can potentially watch with an HD antenna, but also through cable, satellite or a streaming subscription that has ABC.
Like other ABC shows, the new season of American Idol will stream live on ABC.com and the ABC app. If you have internet access, you can stream the show from just about anywhere (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).
How to Watch American Idol on Hulu
Those who miss Sunday’s premiere can stream the episode on Hulu the next day. Not subscribed? Hulu’s most popular plan is $7.99/month after a free 30-day trial (the ad-free plan is $14.99/month).
Hulu $7.99/month after 30-day free trial
Stream network TV shows a day after they premiere on television, in addition to tons of movies and Hulu exclusives such as Only Murders in the Building, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Still Morgan, How I Met Your Father, The Handmaid’s Tale, Welcome to Chippendales and The Kardashians.
Subscribers can add Starz, HBO Max and other channels to Hulu, create up to six profiles under one account and stream from up to two different screens at the same time.
Looking for live television? Hulu + Live TV gets you 85+ channels, Disney+ and ESPN+ for less than $75 a month. Hulu also offers student discounts, annual plans and bundle deals with Disney+ and ESPN.
Other Ways to Watch American Idol
Want more ways to watch American Idol? If you’ve been itching to getting rid of cable but don’t want to end up spending hundreds of dollars a month, Fubo, DirectTV Stream, YouTube TV, Verizon Fios and Vidgo are some of the affordable streaming options for cord cutters.
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.
Looking to save money this Presidents’ Day? The holiday weekend gives you plenty of time to score discounts on items that you may have been eyeing for months. To make things easier, we collected a list of over a dozen of the best deals that you can shop online — or pick-up in store, in some cases. Find markdowns on clothing, shoes, accessories, beauty items and much more. And if you’re more of a techie than a fashionista, our list includes sales on headphones and earbuds, laptops, TVs, furniture and more from Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon and other retailers.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Keep reading for a roundup of sales to shop over Presidents’ Day weekend and click here to shop deals on cookware and other home goods.
Adidas – Save up to 30% off full-priced Adidas gear and up to 65% off sale styles with promo code: SCORE.
Ashley Furniture — Up to 50% off select deals.
Amazon – The mega-retailer is rolling back prices for Presidents’ Day. Shoppers will score deals of up to 80% off select items. Find discounts on apparel, books, beauty and personal care items, clothing, mattresses, electronics, jewelry, furniture, household supplies, musical instruments, toys and more.
Best Buy – If you need to stock up on electronics and appliances, Best Buy is serving up loads of discounts. Find deals on refrigerators, washer and dryer sets, microwaves, tablets, sound bars and other speakers, cameras, streaming players, and more. Some of the can’t miss deals include these $79 Samsung Galaxy Buds, this Lenovo laptop on sale for $299.99 (regular $499.99) and smart TVs starting at $79.
Coach Outlet — Save up to 70% off until Feb. 21; Save 30-50% off plush free shipping at Coach with code: FREESHIP (offer ends Feb. 28).
Cozy Earth — Save 20-20% off sitewide (sale ends 2/24).
Dyson — The bestselling Dyson Airwrap isn’t on sale but shoppers can save $100 on the Dyson V12 Defect Absolute cordless vacuum. Offer ends Feb. 26.
Free People – While there’s no official President’s Day sales extravaganza at Free People the fashion brand has a lot of great sales right now. For example, this denim skirt, long sleeve shirt and other items on sale for $19.95 and up.
Forever 21 — Up to 70% on select styles during the President’s Day Sale.
G-Shock — Save up to 50% off sale items at G-Shock. Click here to shop watches starting at $69.99.
GameStop – Save on Anime collectibles including GameStop exclusives and take an extra 30% off clearance items. The holiday weekend coincides with this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend and GameStop shoppers cop NBA 2K23 on sale.
J Crew — Extra 60% off select styles + 40% off almost everything (use code: WEEKEND).
Macy’s — Save 20-60% off and free shipping on purchases of $25. Shop the Macy’s lingerie sale and save 50% off bras, pajamas, underwear and more (ends 2/20).
Net-a-Porter – You won’t find a designated sale for President’s Day, but Net-A-Porter has amazing markdowns of up to 80% off clothing, shoes, accessories and beauty products. Some of the deals include this Christopher Esber Cutout Halterneck Swimsuit marked down 60%, these distressed jeans by Nili Lotan are 70% off and these Sablyn stretch jersey shorts are 60% off.
New Balance — Take 20% off select styles. Sale ends 2/24.
Nike — Whether you’re updating your sneaker collection or shopping for activewear, there’s a good chance that you can find what you need on sale at Nike. Nike app members save 25% off select styles (use code: MEMBERS25). If you’re not a member use code: JOIN20 for an extra 20% off and clearance deals up to 40% off .
Nordstrom – Save up to 50% off select items during the Nordstrom winter sale. Some of the hot deals include these UGG Maxi Curly Slippers which are on sale for $71.50. Shoppers can also save up to 60% off Zella High Waist Studio Lite Pocket 7/8 Leggings and Mac Lip Primer and up to 80% off men’s jackets. Visit the Nordstrom website for more deals on apparel, beauty products and jewelry and other best-sellers.
Purple Mattress — Save up to $900 on mattress sets and up to 25% off sleep accessories.
Reebok — Get 40% off sitewide with code: OHYEAH.
Saatva — Get up to $500 off during Saavta’s biggest Presidents Day discount ever. Sale ends 2/20.
Sephora — Save up to 50% off select beauty at Sephora during the Long Weekend Sale. Offer ends 2/20.
ShopDisney — 30% off toys, clothing and more with code: SAVE30. Free shipping on order $75+ with code: SHIPMAGIC.
Target – Shop four days of deals at Target. Bargain hunters will save up to 50% off headphones and earbuds, up to to 30% off gaming accessories, up to 20% off clothing, mattresses and bedding, floor care items (such as vacuum cleaners) and up to 30% off furniture, rugs and other home décor items.
Timberland — Save 40% off these Tree Vault Boots (on sale for $159.99) and more during Timberland’s end-of-season sale.
The North Face — Up to 30% off select styles during The North Face’s end-of-season sale.
Tory Burch — Up to 50% off hundreds of sale items.
Tuft & Needle — Save up to $625 on mattresses, plus up to 30% off bedding, furniture and more.
Ulta Beauty – Get a free 10-piece makeup bag when you spend $19.50+ on select items; plus free shipping on purchases of $35+.
Urban Outfitters — Save an extra 40% off sale styles.
Quay Australia — 30% off sitewide (offer valid from 2/17-2/20).
Walmart– When it comes to Walmart, you don’t necessarily have to wait for a holiday weekend to find great deals. Nonetheless, the retailer is offering sales on all kinds of items — laptops, TVs, car seats, earbuds, clothing, makeup, movies and more.
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur premiered this week, and Diamond White gave Billboard News all the tea on the musical series in a new interview.
“Raphael Saadiq is executive producing all the music,” The X Factor alum and voice of Lunella Lafayette told Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly. “And if he’s in control of it, you know all the songs are gonna be good. You know how back in the day when The Proud Family had Beyoncé and her doing the theme song? It gives me that vibes. It’s that caliber of good.” (Technically, The Proud Family theme was performed by Queen Bey’s younger sister Solange with backup from Destiny’s Child during the show’s original run on Disney Channel from 2001 to 2005.)
Meanwhile, Alfre Woodard, who co-stars in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as the titular superhero’s grandmother Mimi, promised that the series will feature a diverse soundtrack of “reggae, reggaeton, rap, classical, old-school funk, everything.”
Later, White also shared the message that she wants fans to take away from the latest addition to the Marvel world: “That one girl can make a difference. ‘You can’t be what you can’t see,’ as Laurence Fishburne said, so it’s nice that there’s a character showing a Black girl with a big brain.”
Also starring the voice talents of Fishburne, Fred Tatasciore, Sasheer Zamata, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Michael Cimino, Indya Moore, Craig Robinson and more, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is currently airing weekly episodes on Disney Channel and Disney+.
Watch Billboard‘s interview with Diamond White above.
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.
J-Hope in the Box is now streaming on Disney+. The documentary, featuring around “200 days” of the BTS rapper’s journey as a solo artist, droppedon the streaming platform on Friday (Feb. 17).
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From the recording studio to the stage, J-Hope in the Box showcases private listening sessions a nd footage from Hobi’s headlining set at Lollapalooza last year.
Produced by HYBE, the documentary takes fans inside the “creative process” of J-Hope’s solo album, Jack in the Box.
The BTS ARMY will also see cameos from the K-pop group — comprised of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook.
J-Hope’s documentary is the latest BTS film to drop on Disney+ as part of the “long-term collaboration” between Disney and HYBE. The collab will “present worldwide audiences a wide range of HYBE content for fans who love our music and artists,” HYBE CEO Park Ji-won said in a previous statement, per The Hollywood Reporter.
J-Hope’s Documentary: How to Stream on Disney+
J-Hope in the Box is streaming on Disney+ at no additional cost to subscribers, but you may have to adjust your content rating to stream the film. You can adjust the rating by editing your profile in the Disney+ app or at Disneyplus.com.
Not subscribed to Disney+? Join today and pay just $6.99/month for three months (or $9.99/month for Disney+ and Hulu). Monthly plans typically start at $7.99 but the streamer is currently offering a discount on the ad-supported, Basic package.
Disney+
$7.99/month $6.99/month -14% off% OFF
Although Disney+ no longer offers free trials, you might be able to score one through Verizon. You can also save by subscribing to the Disney+ annual plan or the Disney+ bundle.
Disney+ is the main streamer for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Once you’re officially subscribed, you can access Disney+ on your computer, smart TV, phone and other streaming devices. Disney+ allows up to seven user profiles under once account.
Stream Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Turning Red, Disenchanted and other movies along with entertaining Disney+ Original series such as The Prouder Family: Louder & Prouder, Dancing with the Stars, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Willow: Behind the Magic, National Treasure: Edge of History, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Andor, Hawkeye, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, Loki and The Book of Boba Fett.
Music lovers will enjoy the variety of documentaries and concert special on Disney+ including The Beatles Get Back, Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u, Elton John: Live from Dodger Stadium and BTS Permission to Dance on Stage: Los Angeles.
Watch the trailer for J-Hope in the Box below.
Need some new tunes to jam out to for your long weekend? Look no further — Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
From Janelle Monáe’s return to music to Omar Apollo’s TK new single, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Janelle Monáe feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, “Float”
“No I’m not the same/ I think I done changed.” It’s quite the statement coming from Janelle Monáe, a pop cultural chameleon who has spent the last decade of their career effortlessly switching between sounds, professions and styles, but always remaining uniquely herself. “Float,” then, feels like an anthem to Monáe’s status of consistent fluctuation. The beat and melody ease into your eardrums offering near-instant serotonin boosts, as Monáe celebrates herself for a moment.
Omar Apollo, “3 Boys”
Omar Apollo just can’t let go, despite his best efforts. On his latest single “3 Boys,” the rising R&B superstar attempts to move on from a relationship, but realizes that there will always be more than one in the relationship. His silky vocals arc perfectly over an aching melody, arriving at a falsetto zenith with the song’s blissful chorus.
Beabadoobee, “Glue Song”
Being “stuck to someone like glue” may not be groundbreaking territory for song lyrics, but when Beabadoobee sings them on “Glue Song,” they can’t help but feel fresh. This soft, sweet love song sees the indie singer-songwriter falling head over heels, accompanied by an unchallenging, gorgeous melody. If you’re feeling that post-Valentine’s Day dip, don’t hesitate to let Beabadoobee boost you back up.
Cavetown, “Del Mar County Fair 2008” (Underscores cover)
Sometimes, a song is so good that you don’t need to change much for a cover. That’s certainly the case for Cavetown’s rendition of Underscores’ “Del Mar County Fair 2008,” wherein the indie sensation puts their own spin without needlessly altering this tender track. Playing with pitch switches and a sweet guitar melody, Cavetown simply nails his version with all of the emotive expression fans have come to expect.
Deb Never, “Momentary Sweetheart”
“Momentary Sweetheart” is designed to fool you. What starts out as a quiet, simple song about trying to hold yourself together quickly devolves into a Deb Never banger about finding comfort in someone else’s arms. The slow-build of the song perfectly suits Never’s angsty-yet-sincere performance here, as she confidently asks, “Don’t you hate when I go?”
Shea Couleé, “Material”
Ever since her first appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9, drag superstar Shea Couleé stood out with her musical chops. Now, she’s back and asking you to just look at the “Material.” This pounding club track sees Couleé once again asserting herself as The One™, effortlessly switching between ethereal vocals and rapid-fire raps. Placing it all over an excellently-crafted dance track, “Material” is sure to wind up in a club near you ASAP.
The Aces, “Always Get This Way”
Alt-pop purveyors The Aces are ready to give you the goods this weekend. “Always Get This Way,” the band’s new single off their forthcoming album, is a glittering ode to anxious insomnia, as lead singer Cristal Ramirez recounts the many sleepless nights she’s spent confronting her own insecurities. Don’t worry, though — while the subject matter may be dour, “Always Get This Way” is nothing but alternative bliss, and one of The Aces’ best yet.
Serpentwithfeet, “Gonna Go”
There is a difference between being in a relationship that’s “comfortable” and one that’s actually good. That’s a realization baroque pop singer Serpentwithfeet comes to in the middle of “Gonna Go,” his latest near-perfect queer love song. While the production and musical energy of the track deserve plenty of praise, it’s the star’s songwriting that shines bright here; lines like “all those crumbs don’t make it pie” and “I’ve been crunching numbers and it says you’re not the one” perfectly evoke the matter-of-fact point of this lush new track.
Check out all of our picks on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist below: