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Doechii is set to receive the 2025 Woman of the Year award at the annual Billboard Women in Music event. The star-studded event is taking place Saturday, March 29, at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California.
Doechii won the Rising Star award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music event. She is just the third woman to progress from the Rising Star award to Woman of the Year, following Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande.
“After receiving the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award in 2023, Doechii has quickly gained recognition in the music industry for her bold creativity and impressive talent,” Hannah Karp, editorial director of Billboard, said in a statement. “With her genre-blending sound, Doechii is redefining what it means to be a trailblazer in the music industry. We are honored to celebrate Doechii and cheer on her continued success!”
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Billboard’s Woman of the Year award has become one of the music industry’s highest honors. Past recipients include Karol G, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
Doechii is the second rap artist to win the award, following Cardi B in 2020. Doechii, who was born in Tampa, Florida, is the second artist from the Sunshine State to be named Woman of the Year. Grande, the 2018 recipient, was born in Boca Raton.
On Feb. 2, Doechii became the second solo woman to win the Grammy for best rap album, again following the lead of Cardi B. Doechii won for her acclaimed mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal. Her performance of “Denial Is a River” and “Catfish” on the Grammy telecast was rated as the night’s best by Billboard‘s Jason Lipshutz.
Less than three weeks later, Doechii was named outstanding new artist at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards.
Alligator Bites Never Heal has climbed as high as No. 14 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Two of Doechii’s songs have made the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100: “What It Is (Block Boy)” and “Denial Is a River.”
Hosted by Laverne Cox, who received four Primetime Emmy nods for Orange Is the New Black, the event will air live on VIZIO WatchFree+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
The 2025 event will also honor aespa (Group of the Year), Ángela Aguilar (Breakthrough Award), Erykah Badu (Icon Award), GloRilla (Powerhouse Award), Gracie Abrams (Songwriter of the Year), JENNIE (Global Force Award), Megan Moroney (Rulebreaker Award presented by Crown Royal Whisky), Meghan Trainor (Hitmaker Award), Muni Long (Rising Star Award Presented by Honda Stage) and Tyla (Impact Award presented by Bose).
As previously announced, honorees aespa, Aguilar, GloRilla, Abrams, Moroney, Long and Tyla will also perform at the event. Becky G, Julia Michaels, Kali Uchis, Madison Beer, Mickey Guyton, Suki Waterhouse, Summer Walker, Tanner Adell and Zara Larsson are set as presenters. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.
Billboard’s global partners have expanded Women in Music with new events launched around the world. ANNA, named Woman of the Year by Billboard Italy at its inaugural ceremony, and Charlotte Cardin, honored as the latest Woman of the Year by Billboard Canada, will also be celebrated as Global Women of the Year.
VIZIO WatchFree+ will be the exclusive home to the Billboard Women in Music 2025 live channel and on-demand collection from March 17 through April 5, with the live show airing free on March 29 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on VIZIO TVs and in the VIZIO mobile app. The channel and on-demand collection will give viewers an inside look at the inspiring women artists shaping the music industry, featuring interviews, in-studio sessions with artists, episodic series and more.
VIZIO TV owners can watch Billboard Women in Music 2025 and the live event by opening the WatchFree+ app on their TV. For those who do not have a VIZIO TV, anyone can download the free VIZIO mobile app to their mobile device, click on the WatchFree+ button in the bottom row menu, and tune into the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel.
Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster here. Prices start at $89. (Tables are also available to purchase; contact joe.maimone@billboard.com for additional information.)
Sponsors for the 2025 Billboard Women in Music event include Official Whisky Partner Crown Royal, HarbourView Equity Partners, Bose (presenter of the Impact Award), Sol De Janeiro and Honda Stage (presenter of the Rising Star Award).
This event is not affiliated with Women in Music, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing equality, visibility and opportunities for women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment and recognition. To support the work of Women in Music, visit WomenInMusic.org.
Lil Nas X‘s “Dreamboy” will be with you in your dreams tonight. The new track is a surprise drop for Sunday evening (March 9), the rapper/singer, aka Montero, announced on the day of its release.
“NEW SONG DREAMBOY OUT TONIGHT!” he said in a social media reveal on Sunday.
When a fan posted “WHAAAAAAAAAATTT, AM I DREAMING??” as a reaction, Lil Nas X quoted their message and responded, “ur in dreamworld baby!”
The homepage on Montero’s official website directs visitors to pre-add or pre-save the artist’s new music on Apple Music and Spotify.
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“IT’S HOTBOX SEASON,” reads the page, which also hints there’s more to look forward to this week: “PRE-SAVE FOR SURPRISES.”
So far Lil Nas X has confirmed new single “Hotbox” is also arriving shortly, on Friday. He’d previously dropped a teaser for the track. Billboard reached out to a rep on Sunday to ask for further details, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
Both “Dreamboy” and “Hotbox” are leading up to the release of his forthcoming sophomore album, also titled Dreamboy. The new studio project follows Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s “Industry Baby” featuring Jack Harlow and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” from his 2021 debut full-length, and breakthrough hit “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, which spent 19 weeks at the top of the chart in 2019.
“Good evening, everybody. I would like for you to grab a glass of wine. Let me talk to you for a minute,” he says in an introductory clip of “Dreamboy” (the song) shared on Sunday. The visual shows Lil Nas X framed in a hot pink Dreamboy doll box.
“I was scared then/ I ain’t scared now/ I wasn’t ready then/ But I’m ready now/ I’m on the way/ I’m on the rise/ On the way, yeah I’m on the rise/ Mind your own business/ I’m minding mine,” he raps before naming some of his favorite things, including “long black dick,” “long conversations” and “cuddling with my cat,” then calling out the “stinky booty bitches” at church turning his fun into misery. “Bitch, I’m still making history,” he says.
Listen to the snippet of “Dreamboy” in the preview below.
Ye has announced the return of Sunday Service.
On Saturday (March 8), the 47-year-old rapper — formerly known as Kanye West — took to social media to reveal that his Sunday Service choir events would be making a comeback. The sessions began in early 2019 and ran sporadically through 2021.
“Sunday Service Returns March 16 2025,” Ye wrote in an Instagram Stories post, accompanied by a screenshot of a text message exchange with Sunday Service choir director Jason White.
Further details had not been revealed as of publication.
Just hours after the Sunday Service announcement, the Chicago native, who recently made controversial remarks online regarding antisemitism and admiration for Hitler, posted a photo of white robes resembling those worn by the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group.
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“Outfit of the day,” Ye captioned the photo on Instagram Sunday (March 9).
Ye’s Sunday Service, which began in early 2019, continued through 2021. The sessions — often livestreamed — featured his gospel group performing at large gatherings in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C. Ye’s spiritually-based project Jesus Is Born, credited to the Sunday Service Choir, was released in December 2019 and reached No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Gospel Albums chart.
Ye has continued making offensive remarks on social media, including a post on March 6 to X, where he wrote, “This next album got that antisemitic sound. My new sound called antisemitic.”
It is unclear if this is related to the release of his Bully album, which he teased at the beginning of 2025. The rapper appeared to have plans to release Bully sometime this year, but it remains uncertain if the project will ever be released.
In February, Ye made several antisemitic comments and expressed admiration for Hitler, though he later walked back his statements, insisting that he wasn’t a Nazi. During an interview with Justin LaBoy in February, he revealed that he was diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
Machine Gun Kelly is remembering his late friend Luke “The Dingo” Trembath.
On Friday (March 7), the 34-year-old musician shared a heartfelt tribute on social media to the professional snowboarder, who passed away on Feb. 28 at the age of 38. The cause of Trembath’s death has not been disclosed.
“Crazy…I didn’t even cry this hard when my dad died,” MGK wrote on Instagram alongside a photo gallery with snapshots of his late pal. “I’ve lost a lot of friends, but I’ve never lost a brother. We’ll never get another Dingo on this planet.”
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The rapper-turned-rocker continued, “A true rockstar without ever needing to make a song, the most loyal, loud, charismatic, funny, and annoying human I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.”
Kelly also reflected on the painful moment of telling his 15-year-old daughter, Cassie, about Trembath’s passing. “Telling my daughter you’re gone was one of my hardest phone calls, because she loved you so much,” he wrote. “And I’ll never forget when she was too young to understand your name was Dingo so she called you Ping Pong.”
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MGK added that he feels Trembath is “up there” with his baby with Megan Fox, who is expecting later this year. “Dressed up in a hilarious costume making them laugh, getting ready to send them down,” the pop-punk star wrote. “I couldn’t ask for a more bittersweet birth blessing.”
He concluded his emotional tribute with, “Life will always be less without you, but legends never die. we’ll all miss you brother.”
Kelly also shared several throwback videos of Trembath on his Instagram Stories.
Trembath’s death was announced last month on social media by Monster Energy, which produced his UNLEASHED podcast.
Trembath began competing in snowboarding at the age of 9, and by 13, he had joined Team Australia, traveling to events around the world, according to Authority Magazine.
See Machine Gun Kelly’s tribute to Trembath on Instagram here.
Doechii is openly bisexual, as the Swamp Princess came out in a 2022 interview with GQ. The rapper faced off with her DJ Miss Milan on Friday (March 7) for an episode of Hot Ones Versus, where the duo revealed their red flags when it comes to the dating scene. “Is it being on the […]
While the music world mourns Roy Ayers, the Godfather of Neo-Soul and a jazz-funk pioneer who died at age 84 on March 4, the hip-hop community will always remember him as one of its brightest inspirations.
“Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” the enduring hit from Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s 1976 album of the same name, became the highlight of his legacy — and everybody loved it so much they couldn’t help but borrow a bit of its brilliance. The New York Times‘ obituary for Ayers reported that “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times.
“Well, I have more sampled hits than anybody,” he said in a 2004 interview with Wax Poetics. “I might not have more samples than James Brown, but I’ve had more sampled hits. Oh, man, and there’s a few I don’t know about.”
Mary J. Blige — who sampled “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” for “My Life” from her 1994 album of the same name, which was later interpolated on “MJB Da MVP” featuring 50 Cent, on her 2005 LP The Breakthrough — opened up about the song’s indelible impact on her in her 2021 documentary My Life. “I don’t know what’s in that record, but it was something in it that just cracked open everything in me. That was the first music as a child that stuck with me because it made me forget that we lived where we lived,” Blige said in the film. “‘My life in the sunshine’ was something I wanted.” The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul also heavily sampled Ayers’ 1976 track “Searching” on her 1997 album Share My World.
Like Blige, Dr. Dre, TLC, Juvenile and Joe Budden also have songs titled “My Life,” while Scarface and Naughty by Nature have songs called “Sunshine.” Thirty years after he sampled “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” on “Book of Life” from his 1994 album Resurrection, Common dug back in the crates and dusted off the sample for the Grammy-nominated song “When the Sun Shines,” featuring Posdnuos, from his and Pete Rock‘s 2024 Grammy-nominated joint LP The Auditorium Vol. 1.
Outside of being sampled and interpolated by hip-hop heavyweights, Ayers also collaborated with Tyler, the Creator on “Find Your Wings,” also featuring Syd and Kali Uchis, from Tyler’s 2015 album Cherry Bomb; Erykah Badu on “Cleva” from her 2000 LP Mama’s Gun; The Roots on “Proceed II” from the deluxe version of the band’s 2005 album Do You Want More?!!!??!; and Talib Kweli on “In the Mood,” also featuring Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), from his 2007 album Eardrum as well as on “Something Special” from Kweli and Madlib‘s 2024 joint LP Liberation 2.
“Roy Ayers called me like ‘tyler, hey man, those changes are amazing, your chord selection is just beautiful my man’ OMG MY HEART MELTED,” Tyler tweeted in 2015. The Chromakopia rapper also sampled Ayers’ 1982 track “Ooh” on “Pothole,” featuring Jaden Smith, from his 2017 album Flower Boy. Later that same year, Ayers performed at his Camp Flog Gnaw festival. Questlove hailed him as “the cat who birthed us all in the ‘vibes only’ movement. The Soundtrack that ALL the incense you ever burned was truly made for. Thank You Roy Edward Ayers Jr for EVERYTHING you gave us. taught us. showed us. soothed us.”
Billboard rounded up 21 hip-hop and R&B songs that have sampled and interpolated Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” in order from newest to oldest.
Common & Pete Rock feat. Posdnuos, “When the Sun Shines Again”
50 Cent is up to his trolling ways again, and he’s still relishing being somewhat responsible for the recent spat between Cam’ron and Jim Jones. The Queens rapper and filmmaker posted and deleted an AI-created video on Instagram of Jim Jones, Cam’ron, and Floyd Mayweather playing characters in a scene from Rocky III. Jones, as […]
Billy McFarland’s Fyre Fest 2 is slated to take place on Isla Mujeres in Mexico from May 30 to June 2, and one artist has announced his appearance on the bill.
Former NFL star Antonio “AB” Brown claimed in an interview with TMZ Sports on Thursday (March 6) that he’s been booked for a performance on May 30.
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“Ayo, this is AB and I’ll be performing at Fyre Fest part 2 in Mexico on May 30. Be there or be square,” AB said while rocking an army helmet. “Make sure you put that sh– on.”
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Isla Mujeres is located in the state of Quintana Roo and is about a half-hour ferry ride from Cancun. Various ticket packages are available, ranging from $1,400 to $25,000, and there’s even a $1 million package for eight people that has access to luxury villas, a private marina and a private jet.
AB is the first confirmed artist for Fyre Fest 2. The festival has yet to release a lineup of talent. Festival organizers reportedly told TMZ that they have booked several artists.
Billboard reached out to two of the biggest booking agencies for music festivals in February, and neither heard from reps for Fyre Fest 2.
Antonio Brown played his last game in the NFL on Jan. 2, 2022, when he famously left the field with no shirt on mid-game and never took another snap on the gridiron.
AB turned to rapping and a friendship with Ye (formerly Kanye West), who executive-produced his Paradigm project, which arrived in 2022 with standouts like “Put That Sh– On” and features from DaBaby, Young Thug, French Montana, Fivio Foreign and Keyshia Cole. He performed at Rolling Loud California in 2023.
The original Fyre Fest took place in April 2017 and is remembered as one of the most disastrous festivals in music history.
Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland is getting a second chance and he’s promising this edition won’t be a repeat of the first. McFarland was sentenced to six years in 2018 after admitting to defrauding investors of millions of dollars. He was released to a halfway house in 2022.
Comedian Hannah Berner is apologizing to Megan Thee Stallion after her interview with the Grammy-winning rapper on the Vanity Fair Oscar party red carpet over the weekend drew backlash from fans. The part of Berner’s interview drawing ire is when she said she listens to Meg’s music “when I want to fight someone.” Megan immediately […]
Normani went public with her relationship and credited Ciara and Russell Wilson for the setup, Kai Cenat debates who the GOAT is between MJ & LeBron, and GloRilla is ready to take the stage for various sports events. What’s your favorite sports and music update from today? Let us know in the comments! Kai Cenat: […]