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Throughout the storied history of RuPaul’s Drag Race, many mini and maxi challenges have come and gone. Between queens making puppets and variety/talent shows, there are few challenges that have remained essentially the same since their inception … except for the Snatch Game.
Since its debut back in season 2, Snatch Game — Drag Race‘s celebrity impersonation challenge lampooning the classic game show Match Game — has become one of the most beloved challenges on the show. Usually seen as a turning point in the competition, Snatch Game is one of the few challenges every queen can expect to see in their time on the show.
Now, only four episodes into its run, season 15 is launching its 14 remaining contestants into the iconic competition. On Friday’s new episode (Jan. 20), the queens will be split into two groups to face-off with their celebrity impressions, all aiming for the same goal — to make RuPaul laugh.
Along with being one of Drag Race’s most iconic challenges, Snatch Game is also one of the most difficult. Speaking to Billboard, two-time Snatch Game winner Jinkx Monsoon explained that the challenge is more than meets the eye. “Snatch Game is very hard,” she said. “It feels like it’s a test of your impersonation skills, but it’s simultaneously a test of your comedic skills and improv skills.”
With the challenge’s history of providing plenty of hilarious (and cringe-worthy) portrayals of iconic musical artists, Billboard decided to look back on every Snatch Game in the show’s herstory and rank each musical impersonation. From the Great Beyoncé Curse to spot-on performances as Adele, Cher and Britney Spears, check out all of our findings below.
Leslie Jordan, the actor whose wry Southern drawl and versatility made him a standout on TV series including Will & Grace and American Horror Story, died from natural causes and not from a car accident last year, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has concluded.
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The 67-year-old actor died of sudden cardiac dysfunction due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a report by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Arteriosclerosis is hardening of the arteries that can restrict blood flow. Jordan died at the scene after his car crashed in the Hollywood area Oct. 24. An autopsy didn’t find any signs of life-threatening trauma, according to the coroner’s report, which listed the cause of death as natural.
Jordan had been sober for more than two decades at the time of his death, and toxicology tests didn’t find any alcohol or drugs in his body. TMZ reported that the coroner found that Jordan — who was taking heart medication at the time of his death — had major cardiovascular issues, with one of his arteries 80% blocked and another 50% blocked.
The 4-foot-11 Tennessee native was known for both comic and dramatic roles. He won an outstanding guest actor Emmy in 2005 for his part as Beverly Leslie in Will & Grace, had a recurring role on the Mayim Bialik comedy Call Me Kat and starred on the sitcom The Cool Kids. Jordan’s other eclectic credits include Hearts Afire, Boston Legal, Fantasy Island and The United States vs. Billie Holiday. He played various roles on the American Horror Story series.
Golden Globe winner Jennifer Coolidge made her TikTok debut on Thursday (Jan. 19) with a little help from her Shotgun Wedding co-star. “Hi, this is my first TikTok and I was trying to think of something cool to do and I think I’m just going to do a poem that I like,” said Coolidge, decked out in a glittery black dress for the occasion.
The dramatic reading of the cultural touchstone began, “Don’t be fooled… by the rocks that I got,” White Lotus star Coolidge intoned with the gravitas of a Shakespearean actress. “I’m still Jenny… Jenny… Jenny from the block,” she added, before tilting the camera to her right to reveal JLo herself.
Yes, Shotgun star Jennifer Lopez was in the room, rocking a serious look and then offering a soft, “I like that” to her friend and co-star, who plays the singer/actresses’ future mother-in-law in the rom-com that also stars Josh Duhamel and Cheech Marin. “I really, really like that.”
On Wednesday night, Lopez appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to plug the movie — and talk about the PTSD she had before finally marrying longtime love Ben Affleck last summer — as well as how “on fire” veteran comedic actress Coolidge is right now. When Kimmel noted that Coolidge is always “odd,” “nutty” and funny in her own unique, often detached, way in everything she does, Lopez said the other Jen isn’t always what you’d think she’d be.
“You expect her, because she’s so hilarious and everything, that she’s gonna come over and she’s just gonna be funny away,” Lopez said. “But it’s kind of like how her characters are where she’s like there and you’re like, ‘Is she trying to be funny or is she not being funny?’ And you don’t know if to laugh or not to laugh and then when you see it later it’s hilarious! And you’re like, ‘I should have laughed!’”
In perhaps the greatest compliment she could give, JLo compared Coolidge to the late great boundary-blasting comedian Andy Kaufman, who lived to blend the barrier between life and comedy. “It’s brilliant, she’s brilliant,” Lopez said.
Watch Coolidge’s TikTok below.
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Apple promises to deliver a ground-breaking listening experience with its new HomePod. The second-generation HomePod, announced on Wednesday (Jan. 18), features “next level acoustics” with enhanced Siri capabilities packed in a slender, space-saving design.
The new HomePod ($299) offers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range and clear, detailed highs for streaming Apple Music and more. Room sensing technology allows it to recognize sound reflections from nearby surfaces and adapt to its environment by determining if it’s freestanding or positioned against a wall. HomePod 2.0 easily integrates into the Apple ecosystem, seamlessly pairing with iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4k and other Apple products.
“Leveraging our audio expertise and innovations, the new HomePod delivers rich, deep bass, natural mid-range, and clear, detailed highs,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With the popularity of HomePod mini, we’ve seen growing interest in even more powerful acoustics achievable in a larger HomePod. We’re thrilled to bring the next generation of HomePod to customers around the world.”
Other features include a custom-engineered, high-excursion woofer with a powerful motor driving a 20mm, a built-in bass-EQ mic, a beamforming array of five tweeters and a S7 chip combined with system-sending technology that offers upgraded computational audio.
Apple
HomePod can also listen for smoke and carbon dioxide alarms and will send a notification to your iPhone if it detects something. With the redesigned Home app, users can navigate, view and organize accessories, control your smart home and more with categories for climate, lights, security and includes a new multicamera view.
HomePod is available to pre-order online at Apple.com and in the Apple Store app and will begin shipping out on Feb. 3.
How to Pre-Order the New Mac Mini & MacBook Pro
Earlier in the week, Apple unveiled new Mac Mini and MacBook Pro laptops, all of which are available for pre-order now. The new Mac Mini is more powerful than ever with faster performance, enhanced unified memory and advanced connectivity and an M2 chip designed to deliver pro-level performance.
You can use Mac Mini for a myriad of tasks, including music production and other creative projects. Pre-order the Mac Mini and MacBook Pro below.
Amazon
Apple 2023 Mac Mini Desktop Computer M2 chip with 8‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage, Gigabit Ethernet. Works with iPhone/iPad
$799.00
Amazon
Apple 2023 MacBook Pro Laptop M2 Pro chip with 12‑core CPU and 19‑core GPU: 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display,
$2,499.00
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Korn is dipping into the makeup business to celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of the multiplatinum-selling album, Follow the Leader.
The Grammy-winning collective teamed up with HipDot to release an exclusive “Follow the Leader” CD-style makeup palette earlier in the week. The $22 palette features soft matte, shimmer and glittery eye shadows sprinkled among eight different shades named after a track from the album.
The shade collection includes “My Gift to You,” “Dead Bodies Everywhere,” “Pretty,” “Freak on a Leash,” “Got the Life,” “Children of the Korn,” “It’s On!” and “Seed.”
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Unfortunately, the HipDot x Korn color palette sold out but that doesn’t mean you can’t snag something from the collaboration. Korn also released Follow The Leader 3 Piece Enamel Pin Set, which includes a “Freak on a Leash” bullet pin and two album artwork characters.
HipDot
Korn Follow the Leader Pin Set $18
This isn’t Korn’s first collab celebrating Follow the Leader. Last year, Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis released a sold out “Freak on a Leash” pet product line that included dog leashes and more.
Follow the Leader, Korn’s third studio album, made its debut on August 18, 1998 and featured hit singles “Freak on a Leash” and “Got the Life. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 selling 268,000 units in its premiere week and has since sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.
Korn’s new album, Requiem Mass, arrives on Feb. 3. The project is a live version of 2022’s Requiem LP and will feature songs from the band’s concert at the Hollywood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles last year.
In June, Korn will head to Memphis to take the stage at Bonnaroo 2023. The four-day festival will be headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Zeds Dead, Liquid Stranger and Odesza.
Tickets to Bonnaroo, which went on sale Thursday (Jan. 19), are currently priced at $175 for one-day admission and around $350 and up for a multi-day pass. Click here to buy tickets.
The month of M3GAN — the camp-horror film starring a robot doll who’s more sinister than she first appears — marches on, with winning box office receipts and a newly announced sequel. Meanwhile, M3GAN is slicing her way into the music world as well, with a mini-revival of David Guetta and Sia’s 2011 hit “Titanium.”
Midway through the film (minor spoiler), M3GAN croons the pre-chorus and hook of “Titanium” to comfort Cady (played by Violet McGraw), her human companion, after a traumatic incident. The out-of-nowhere serenade makes for one of the more memorable moments in M3GAN, and theatergoers have sought out the original version of “Titanium” — as well as a new, stripped-down take on the song, cleverly dubbed “Megan’s V3rsion,” that Sia released days after the film’s Jan. 6 premiere.
During the film’s first full week of release, the original “Titanium” rose 4.6% in weekly U.S. on-demand streams, to 1.6 million, according to Luminate. “Titanium” originally peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a commercial breakthrough in the U.S. for Sia, as the acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter would go on to find solo success with hits like “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills.”
On Jan. 9, Sia, sensing a M3GAN-led revival of the song, unveiled “Titanium (Megan’s V3rsion),” a piano rework that recalls M3GAN’s demon-doll balladry (although, sadly, does not feature any of her vocals). “Megan’s V3rsion” has earned 226,000 U.S. on-demand streams to date, a figure that’s separate from the streams of the original “Titanium,” according to Luminate.
While M3GAN creeps toward a $100 million global box office gross, a sequel, titled M3GAN 2.0, was announced with a Jan. 17, 2025 release date. If the character of M3GAN is simply a Sia fan, which single does she belt out in the sequel? “Wild Ones”? “Elastic Heart”? We’ll find out in two years.
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Paramore are kicking off 2023 with a new album, tour and Billboard cover!
After a five-year break, the beloved trio will release This Is Why, its sixth and final album for longtime label Atlantic Records, due Feb. 10. To celebrate the group’s next chapter, Billboard is releasing a 44-page collector’s zine available for pre-order Thursday (Jan. 19) — the same day as the group’s Billboard digital cover story. This limited-edition collectible features 20 stunning group photos and solo shots of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York — 13 of which are only available in the collector’s zine.
And that’s not all! This limited issue includes a special exclusive cover, plus the only printed version of Paramore’s January 2023 Billboard digital cover story and bonus interview content that you won’t read anywhere else.
Inside the zine, fans will find exclusive details on why the band is getting more political than ever and what surprised them about Olivia Rodrigo’s smash single “good 4 u,” which interpolates Paramore’s 2007 track “Misery Business.”
Additionally, the zine will include exclusive details on how the band stays in shape in their 30s and what happens when Billie Eilish’s mom invites you over for Thanksgiving cinnamon rolls.
Ready to rock out with your favorite pop-punk band? Click the link below to pre-order Billboard’s collector’s zine featuring Paramore today. This premium offering is available only at the Billboard Shop.
Billboard
Paramore Limited Zine $35
The collectible zine will only be available for a limited time, so pre-order your copy now to make sure that you get this must-have collectible before its gone.
Paramore is gearing up for a busy year with new music and live performances. The group debuted “C’est Comme Ça” on Jan. 12, the third single behind “The News” and “This Is Why,” the title track from its forthcoming album.
Next up, Paramore will hit the road for a 26-city tour kicking off in May at the Spectrum Center in North Carolina. The tour is expected to make stops in New York City, Toronto, Los Angeles and over a dozen other cities before wrapping up in St. Paul, Minn., on Aug. 2.
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Following a successful launch overseas, the Samsonite RED BTS Butter Recipe Collection is now available in the U.S. and Canada. The 10-piece collection, which launched Stateside on Jan. 12, includes luggage, a backpack, a mini crossbody bag, a pouch bag, an expandable bag (available only in the U.S.) and a three-piece luggage tag set complete with images of melting butter.
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The hardshell luggage ranges from $220 to $315 for carry-on and trunk-style options available in buttery yellow and midnight black. The luggage features printed graphic motifs and wheel caps channeling the “Butter” vibe. There’s also a DIY customization kit, so that BTS Army members can personalize their new suitcase with interchanging luggage handles, wheel caps and more.
Samsonite/Bighit Music
The collection includes an expandable tote bag ($80) that transforms into a mini tote bag and features the “Butter” logo on the bottom, a pouch bag ($60), three-in-one luggage tags ($45) and a mini crossbody bag ($50).
Samsonite/Bighit
Samsonite/Bighit
BTS Butter & Samsonite RED Mini Crossbody Bag $50
Like other BTS merch, the Samsonite collection is nearly sold out, but there are a few pieces still available in limited quantiles like the mini crossbody and pouch bag.
In honor of the new campaign, Samsonite RED debuted a “Butter Recipe” campaign video inspired by the hit single. BTS’ “Butter” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks and broke YouTube’s record for the biggest premiere of all time with nearly 4 million viewers. The “Butter” music video has since surpassed 810 million views on YouTube.
Of course, Samsonite isn’t the only major brand to release a collection celebrating one of the Bangtan Boys’ biggest hits. Nordstrom and Casetify are just two of the brands that have released collections inspired by “Butter.” Click here for more BTS merch that fans won’t be able to resist.
The White Lotus star Theo James joined Watch What Happens Live last week, where he expressed interest in playing George Michael if a biopic were ever in the works.
“Oh yeah, I would love that, he’s an icon,” he said. “He’s a lot of Greek, and I’m a lot of Greek. Put that Greek together, and you get falafel.”
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However, when The Advocate shared the news to Instagram, Adam Lambert criticized the thought. “Yay another straight man playing a gay icon,” the singer commented, along with an eye roll emoji. The comment was seemingly in reference to other biopics about gay stars played by straight men, such as Rami Malek playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and Taron Egerton playing Elton John in Rocketman.
However, despite reports of a biopic surrounding the late Wham! frontman, the George Michael estate put to rumors to rest in a statement. “To all of George’s Lovelies, fans and lovers of his music, a story has been published stating that George Michael’s family has endorsed a so called ‘biopic’ about his life,” read the note from George Michael Entertainment. “On behalf of George’s family and GME we want to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in this story, we know nothing about this project and will not be endorsing it in any way.”
Michael Jackson is the subject of an upcoming biopic helmed by Lionsgate and director Antoine Fuqua.
The film, titled Michael, will take on the musician’s life and career and will be produced by Graham King (Bohemian Rhapsody) and John Branca and John McClain, who are the co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. There is no information yet surrounding casting and release date.
“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” Fuqua shared in a statement, per THR. “For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson. I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work – the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV. His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
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In a career that spanned throughout almost his entire life, the King of Pop had 13 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. He first saw success as part of the family band the Jackson 5, and four of their songs topped the Hot 100.
As a solo artist, Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller became one of the best-selling albums of all time and spent an impressive 37 weeks atop the Billboard 200. Additionally, its seven singles all reached the top 10 of the Hot 100.
Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at age 50.