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As Little Monsters everywhere gear up for the release of Lady Gaga’s hotly anticipated new album Mayhem, Mother Monster herself is giving them a glimpse of what they can expect from the new LP.
In a new interview for InStyle, Gaga spoke with Spotify’s head of global editorial Sulinna Ong ahead of her Little Monster Press Conference for the streamer. During their conversation, the “Abracadabra” singer shared a sneak preview of two songs — “The Beast” and “Perfect Celebrity,” respectively — that are featured on her new album.
Speaking about “The Beast,” Gaga revealed that the lyrics of the song see her “singing to a werewolf” that represents her. “The lyrics are: ‘You can’t hide who you are, 11:59, your heart’s racin’, you’re growling, and we both know why,’” Gaga revealed. “And somehow that gothic dream is not just about me in a relationship with this person that’s about to turn, but what if I was to just sing it to myself and the beast is Gaga?”
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When talking about “Perfect Celebrity,” Gaga mentioned that the concept of “duality” present in both her videos for “Disease” and “Abracadabra” continue in the new track’s lyrics. “The lyric is: ‘I’ve become a notorious being, find my clone, she’s asleep on the ceiling,” she said. “It’s this idea that we all, in a way, have our real selves and then our clone version that we project to the world. So there’s a lot in Mayhem about multiple yous or multiple mes and what it’s like to have those things be at odds with each other all the time.”
As for the inspiration behind her new project, the singer pointed directly to ballroom culture as a driving force that found its way into the album’s music and lyrics. “I grew up in New York City and I also was a student of Paris Is Burning when I was really, really young. And I was always inspired by the tremendous amount of grace, freedom, expression and joy of ballroom culture,” she said. I was lucky enough to be around some dancers that were a part of that life.”
Gaga continued, adding that she felt it is a “privilege” to be a member of the dance community, and to be embraced by those who have built such lasting institutions. “There are these spaces in the world where there’s an ability for the community to express and experience joy, even when life is not treating them that way,” she explained. “And I am still so inspired by it and to this day, it felt like a relevant thing to bring up in the [“Abracadabra”] video because it’s about resilience. I can’t think of a place where I’ve seen more resilience than in a ballroom.”
The news comes just one week after Gaga unveiled the tracklist for Mayhem (due out March 7 via Interscope), including singles “Disease,” “Abracadabra” and “Die With a Smile,” as well as the two new tracks she teased. Spotify’s Little Monster Press Conference — during which Gaga’s fans will have the opportunity to ask Mother Monster their own questions — is set to take place Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m. ET, simulcast across Spotify’s social media accounts.
The Backstreet Boys are extending their upcoming residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere. On Monday morning (Feb. 24) the boys-to-man band announced the addition of shows on August 15, 16 and 17, bringing the total amount of announced residency gigs so far to 18.
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The band — AJ McLean, Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough — are the first pop group booked to perform at the Sphere, with McLean telling Billboard last week that they are planning “one incredible experience” for the “Into The Millennium” run that Carter promised would giver fans “sensory overload.”
The Live Nation-produced run will find the group performing their entire career-peak 1999 Millennium album in full along with greatest hits and their new single, “Hey,” at the shows that will kick off on July 11. The gigs will continue throughout the rest of the month, with gigs on July 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 24, 26 and 27, followed by shows on August 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10.
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Tickets for the new dates will go on sale first through the BSB Fan Club pre-sale beginning Tuesday (Feb. 25) at 9 a.m. PT. Fans who previously signed up for the Artist Pre-Sale can access tickets for the three added dates beginning on Wednesday (Feb. 26) at 9 a.m. PT, followed by a general on-sale kicking off on Friday (Feb. 28) at 9 a.m. PT; click here for details.
BSB will make history as the first pop band to touch down in the futuristic arena that to date has hosted U2, Phish, Dead & Company, the Eagles, EDM act Anyma and, later this spring, Kenny Chesney. “Die hard fans are going to get a great experience, a great nostalgic moment,” McLean told Billboard. “Even just playing the whole Millennium album, there’s some deep cuts in there that we were just discussing the other day,” Dorough added. “[We were] reminiscing about some of the songs like ‘The Perfect Fan’ and ‘No One Else Comes Close to You’ [and ‘Spanish’] Eyes,’ which are songs that the fans probably haven’t heard since the Millennium tour.”
The 25th anniversary celebration of the album that topped the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks and has sold more than 24 million copies to date will coincide with the July 11 release of Millennium 2.0, a two-CD collection featuring a remastered version of the original, along with six demos from the sessions for the album, b-sides from international releases, six live tracks and the previously unheard track “Hey.”
Roberta Flack, the beloved, Grammy-winning 1970s R&B singer best known for such hits as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Killing Me Softly” died on Monday (Feb. 24) at 88. At press time a statement from Flack’s spokesperson revealed that she died peacefully, with no official cause of death available.
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“We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta Flack passed away this morning, February 24, 2025,” read the statement. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator.”
A classically trained pianist from an early age, Flack received a music scholarship at 15 to attend Howard University and was soon discovered singing at Washington, D.C. nightclub Mr. Henry’s by jazz great Les McCann, which led to her signing with Atlantic Records. She scored her first break in 1971 when Clint Eastwood used her version of the moon-y ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in his directorial debut, Play Misty For Me.
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A master of the “quiet storm” style, Flack’s effortless, soothing vocals soon became a staple of R&B and pop radio, leading to a two-decade run of chart hits.
Flack was born Roberta Cleopatra Flack in Black Mountain, N.C. on Feb. 10, 1937 and raised in Arlington, Va. where her mother, Irene, played organ at the Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Church. She learned to play piano on a funky junkyard instrument her father — a jazz pianist himself — found and restored for her, on which she practiced Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, as well as Mozart’s Requiem.
After getting her public debut playing piano as an adolescent in the Lomax church, Flack studied piano at Howard, then moved on to a music educator program after being told that the racial barriers at that time for a Black classical concert pianist were too high for her to achieve her dream. Following her father’s death in 1959, Flack returned to North Carolina and took a job teaching music at a public school, later moving back to D.C., where she taught at several middle and high schools for a decade.
Flack released her debut LP, First Take, in 1969 which included her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which also helped the album reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart; the song would win the Grammy for record of the year in 1972. She hit No. 1 again in 1973 with “Killing Me Softly,” from the album of the same name, with the song winning the 1974 Grammy for record of the year. It was later famously covered by the Fugees in 1996 on their second album, The Score.
Flack’s unprecedented back-to-back Grammy wins for record of the year feat wasn’t achieved again until U2 scored the same two-fer with “Beautiful Day” (2001) and “Walk On” (2002). Flack regularly recorded with fellow soul great Donny Hathaway, scoring duet hits on the Hot 100 with the singer on a covers of “You’ve Got a Friend” (1971, No. 29) and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1971, No. 71), as well as “Where Is the Love” (1972, No. 5), “The Closer I Get To You” (1978, No. 2) and “You Are My Heaven” (1980, No. 47), among others.
She scored a total of 18 Hot 100 hits, and landed four albums in the top three on the Billboard 200 album charts, as well as more than two dozen charting hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Flack’s chart prominence began to fade by the mid-1980s, but she kept recording, releasing her most recent album in 2012 with the Beatles cover album Let It Be Roberta. Over the course of her career, Flack was nominated for 14 Grammys and won three.
Check out some of Flack’s most beloved hits below.
Tate McRae gets why she keeps getting compared to Britney Spears. The 21-year-old Canadian pop star who first came into our lives as a tween finalist on the 2016 season of So You Think You Can Dance has mastered the art of dance pop temptation in videos like the one for her slinky new single, […]
Mariah Carey has booked a massive summer 2025 gig in the U.K. at Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on August 15. The show at the 20,000-capacity venue will feature support from Eternal and Nile Rodgers & Chic. The outdoor gig in Norfolk, England presented by Heritage Live Festivals is the third concert announced for the venue this summer, joining previously announced shows by the Stereophonics (Aug. 16) and Michael Bublé (Aug. 17).
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Tickets for the Carey concert will be available during a pre-sale on March 5 beginning at 9 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. ET). Fans can register for pre-sale access in advance here. A general on-sale will kick off on March 7 at 9 a.m., with information available here.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to bring one of the greatest pop artists of all time to the Royal Sandringham Estate for an exclusive UK headline show. Mariah Carey is an award-winner, a record-breaker, and an absolute global icon – this show will be historic,” Heritage Live Festivals’ Giles Cooper said in a statement. “Mariah’s live show is second to none and with such a catalogue of huge hit singles, it’s going to be an incredible occasion. It will most definitely be an ‘I was there’ event that will live in all of our memories forever.”
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Carey has also booked another U.K summer gig with a headlining slot at the Pride in the Park event at the Brighton Pride festival, which will take place on August 2-3; Carey was supposed to play the Pride fest in 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The singer recently celebrated her second nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writing on Instagram earlier this month that she was “so grateful” to get her second nod in a row after first becoming eligible in 2016. “It’s always an incredible honor to be recognized alongside so many legendary artists I admire. Thank you to the @rockhall and, of course, to my amazing fans— you are the heart of everything I do. This means so much! ❤️🎶,” Carey wrote in a post that also featured the full list of 2025’s nominees, which includes Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden and The White Stripes.
After close to four decades as Australia’s own Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue’s performing legacy has been commemorated with a star at the Melbourne Park sporting complex.
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Minogue – who launched her global Tension Tour in Perth on Feb. 15 – received the honor on Saturday (Feb. 22) ahead of a performance in her hometown of Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria.
Coinciding with the third of three consecutive performances at the city’s 14,820-capacity Rod Laver Arena, it also coincided with Minogue’s first performance at the venue back in Feb. 1990 when it was then known as the National Tennis Centre.
Since her debut at Rod Laver Arena 35 years ago, Minogue has gone on to play 30 shows at Melbourne Park, amassing sales of more than 350,000 tickets in the process. Her three recent dates brought that total to 33 performances with an additional 36,000 ticket sales, making her one of the most successful artists to ever perform at the Melbourne destination.
The star was unveiled to Minogue on the afternoon of Feb. 22 by Melbourne Park CEO John Harnden AM. Fittingly, it is located in the forecourt of Rod Laver Arena, adjacent to a statue of late promoter Michael Gudinski. Gudinski first signed Minogue to his Mushroom Records label in 1987, while his Frontier Touring company has promoted every one of her Australian concerts to date. In 2021, Minogue also performed at Gudinski’s state funeral at the same venue.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 35 years since I first stepped on stage at this venue, and I’m honoured to be acknowledged in this way in my hometown of Melbourne,” Minogue said of the honor. “It seems appropriate that MG will be watching over my star each day. I’m incredibly thankful to all the fans that have attended my shows over the years.”
“Kylie has a longstanding and record-breaking association with Melbourne Park and it’s only fitting we celebrate her amazing legacy with this star, cementing her name in the history of this great destination for live events,” added Harnden.
The installation of the star also coincides with a campaign to reinstate a statue of Minogue in Melbourne following its removal in 2016. At the time, a bronze likeness of Minogue – along with similar figures of Australian entertainers John Farnham, Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Edna Everage and Graham Kennedy – were removed to make way for a $140 million AUD apartment block.
Since its removal, the statue – which had been first sculpted by Peter Corlett in 2006 – has reportedly been in storage in an undisclosed location.
“I, for one, would love to see her statue reinstated in Melbourne,” Melbourne Mayor Nicholas Reece told The Age. “First, I think she’s a brilliant performer and entertainer who has brought so much joy to so many Melburnians, and secondly because we have a real deficit of statues of great women of Melbourne.
“If we could get a statue of Kylie back up again, it will remind all the boys and girls of Melbourne that great Melburnians come in all shapes, sizes and genders.”
Minogue’s most recent album, II, became her fourth consecutive record to top the Australian ARIA charts upon its October release, and her eighth overall to achieve the feat. It reached No. 98 on the Billboard 200, hit No. 2 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums, and followed on from 2023’s Tension which saw lead single “Padam Padam” win the Grammy for best pop dance recording.
Rolling over, sitting up … and then ice skating? Justin Bieber‘s son with wife Hailey, 6-month-old Jack Blues, could be at the rink before long if he takes after his hockey-loving, pop star dad.
Bieber was among the celebrities participating in Skate For LA Strong — a benefit hockey game held at Crypto.com Arena to raise funds for wildfire recovery efforts in Los Angeles, on Sunday (Feb. 23) — when an interviewer got in a few questions with him on camera.
First he was asked what it means to him to take part in the charity hockey game, a rare live appearance at a public event for the Canadian-born singer, who was last on tour in 2022. In the video clip Billboard captured below (also just uploaded on Billboard‘s TikTok account), Bieber can be seen answering: “It means everything.”
Bieber noted that the benefit’s participants, who were coming together to help those impacted by the widespread Los Angeles wildfires in January, were “looking to have a good time.”
“I know you’re a new dad. How soon are you looking to get your kid on skates?” Bieber, who was a member of Team Black on the ice on Sunday, was asked next. He and wife Hailey welcomed their firstborn only months ago, in August.
“As soon as possible,” Bieber said, without hesitation.
Although it’s unlikely Jack Blues is even ready to crawl yet at only six months old, and it should be some time — probably another six to nine months — before an infant of his age would reach the milestone of walking, Bieber insisted: “It’s never too early.”
Justin Bieber skates on the ice during the Skate for LA Strong event at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images
Actor Steve Carell and musician Ross Lynch also laced up for Sunday’s occasion, officially titled “Skate For LA Strong: A Celebration to Support the Fire Recovery Efforts in Los Angeles.”
Serving as coaches were Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Danny DeVito and Cobie Smulders, while Kaskade, Jordan Davis and Lauren Spencer-Smith were on the bill as musical guests.
The event had four teams competing in a single-elimination format, with celebs joined by hockey pros like Mark Messier, Jeremy Roenick, Rob Blake, Manon Rheaume and Dany Heatley, athletes from other sports, and first responders. The game was broadcast on ESPN2 and livestreamed on ESPN+.
Proceeds from Skate For LA Strong are set to benefit the Red Cross, the LA Fire Foundation, Cal Fire Foundation, and the Eaton Canyon Fire Relief and Recovery Fund.
Watch Bieber chatting about little Jack Blues below, or view it on Billboard‘s TikTok here.
The Bee-Hive reacts and share their thoughts on the expensive tickets to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour tickets and how Ticketmaster has impacted fans ability to buy tickets at affordable rates.
Bee-Hive Member: Ticketmaster is ruining the concert experience. I’ve never had a problem.It’s a monopoly.
Tetris Kelly: ‘Cowboy Carter’ herself, Beyoncé is saddling up for her highly anticipated newshow the ‘Cowboy Carter’ and the Rodeo Chitlin Circuit tour, and with the release of new tour dates come new prices, and the ‘Cowboy Carter’ ticket prices are sending fans into a frenzy as they try to cop tickets among soaring prices and Ticketmaster mishaps, with ticket prices reaching over $3,800 in some places, we took to the streets of Hollywood to hear what Beyoncé fans were feeling about these high ticket costs. Would you pay $1,800?
Bee Hive Member: I would not. Yeah, I would not. I mean, I love her, but I’m not, like, one of thosesuper fans, you know.
Bee Hive Member: That’s doing too much, that’s doing too much in this economy, but, you know,Beyoncé going, people gonna, it’s gonna sell out. Somebody got it.
Bee-Hive Member: Oh, my God, it’s a lot of money. I mean, I get it, though, I do get it. It’s a lot of money. I heard people be like, saving up, you know, and stuff like that. So it’s possible.
Bee-Hive Member: I paid $1,200 for Renaissance tickets, for floor seats here in LA, they were resale, so they were up, but it was still, you know, that’s a lot. That’s my rent.
Watch the full video above!
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are officially divorced and legally single.
As of Friday (Feb. 21), the Los Angeles County Superior Court finalized the dissolution of their marriage, confirming their legal single status, according to Associated Press. The couple reached a divorce settlement on Jan. 6.
Court documents revealed that Lopez, 55, and Affleck, 52, settled through mediation in September, successfully avoiding the lengthy court battles that have plagued other high-profile celebrity divorces.
Lopez and Affleck first began dating in 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli. They got engaged but called off their wedding in 2004. Nearly two decades later, they rekindled their romance in 2021 and tied the knot in a Georgia ceremony the following year.
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“I never thought that he and I would get back together,” Lopez told Billboard in February 2024, ahead of the release of her film This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, which chronicled their rekindled relationship. “I just couldn’t give up on the idea that there was something amazing out there for me, even when it got really bad — and it did at times. I always believed deep, deep down to not give up completely.”
The singer and actress filed for divorce from Affleck about two years after their Georgia wedding, listing their separation date as April 26, 2024. In her initial filing, she cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split.
According to settlement documents obtained by Billboard, the pair agreed on terms to divide their properties and assets. Both waived spousal support and agreed to equally split the legal fees of their negotiation, which was mediated by Laura Wasser. Lopez will also change her legal name back from Jennifer Affleck to Jennifer Lopez.
Lopez was previously married to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd, and Marc Anthony, with whom she shares two children. Affleck was previously married to Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children.
In October 2024, Lopez reflected on her feelings about being single again following her split from Affleck.
“I think to myself, ‘F—, that is exactly what I needed,’” she told Interview. “Thank you, God. I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m sorry that you had to do this to me so many times. I should have learned it two or three times ago. I get it … I’m not looking for anybody, because everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f—ing do when it’s just me flying on my own … What if I’m just free?”
Rihanna is opening up about her family life and the next chapter of her music career.
In the cover story for Harper’s BAZAAR‘s March 2025 issue, published on Saturday (Feb. 22), the 37-year-old singer and entrepreneur shared her thoughts on a variety of personal topics, including the highly anticipated R9 album, raising her children with partner A$AP Rocky, her growing business empire, and more.
During the in-depth conversation, the Fenty mogul discussed the creative direction of her long-awaited new music and debunked rumors that it would be a reggae album.
“Way off! There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited,” Rihanna explains. “Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.’ After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”
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She added, “When I’m in the studio, I know that my time away from my kids is to blossom something that hasn’t been watered in eight years. I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. ‘This kind of album, not that album.’ I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it’s not going to be commercial or radio, digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!’”
Rihanna has not released an album since 2016’s Anti, which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Since then, she’s released a handful of remixes and contributed to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack with “Born Again” and “Lift Me Up.” The latter earned her a Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media, as well as an Oscar nomination for best original song.
“I listen to Anti from top to bottom with no shame,” Rihanna told the publication. “I used to always have shame. I actually don’t like listening to my music, but Anti — I can listen to the album. It’s not me singing it, if I’m just listening to it. That’s the one album that I can have an out-of-body experience where it’s not like … You know when you hear your voice in a voicemail, and it’s like, ‘Ugh.’”
The “Work” hitmaker also reflected on her role as a mother, raising her two young sons — RZA and Riot — with A$AP Rocky. The Harlem rapper, 36, was recently found not guilty on two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in Los Angeles.
“Every decision I make revolves around them, but everything that I do that I love robs me from them,” Ri says. “So I have a weird resentment with the things that I love. You almost feel like something is always suffering for you to show up somewhere. And even when you show up there, it’s not 100% because there’s something else on the wheel. It’s actually given me a lot more self-guilt.”
She also spoke lovingly about A$AP’s role as a father. “His pureness. His charm. I’m annoyed because my sons sometimes just live for him more than they live for me,” RiRi said. “And I’m like, ‘Did you know who cooked you? Do you know who pushed you out?’ And they love him, but when I see it, oh, it’s the best.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Rihanna emphasized the significance of her business empire, which includes Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. “I care because my name is on it,” she said. “I don’t want my name to represent anything I don’t fully stand behind.”
