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Louis Tomlinson had some choice words for Logan Paul in a recent interview, with the former One Direction star saying he’ll “forever despise” the YouTuber for the way he handled an interview with late bandmate Liam Payne in 2022.
In a profile for The Independent published over the weekend, Tomlinson didn’t hold back when asked about the controversial episode of Paul’s Impaulsive podcast that featured Payne — who appeared to be drinking whiskey throughout the conversation — speaking negatively of his boy-band days and shading his former bandmates. “I f—ing forever despise [Logan Paul]. Horrible, horrible little f—er,” he said of the social media star.
“I think that’s also the problem with some of this new ‘media,’” he continued. “I would like to think most journalists — some journalists have a duty of care.”
Though Tomlinson didn’t go into specifics about his issues with Paul’s interview, the singer did say that he was bothered by fan backlash to Payne saying on Impaulsive that he had been the designated leader of 1D. “It was definitely a role that was assigned to him,” he told the publication. “That is the truth.”
The interview comes just over a year after Payne — who was open about his struggles with substance abuse — died in a fall from the balcony of his fourth-floor hotel room in Argentina. Toxicology reports later found that he’d had dangerous amounts of alcohol in his system at the time of the accident.
Two years prior, Payne set the 1D fandom ablaze with his appearance on Impaulsive, during which he also said that he and Tomlinson had “hated” one another during their time in the band. “Louis was wild, and he wanted to be wild, and that’s his spirit,” Payne told Paul at the time. “Also he’s my best mate now, but in the band, we hated each other.”
But while speaking to The Independent, Tomlinson had nothing but kind words for his late friend, whose death he says has “definitely” brought the surviving members of 1D closer together. “Yeah, and the best kind of friends are the ones where, when you eventually do meet up, it’s like no time has passed,” he told the publication. “It’s also just amazing to see everyone doing so well in their own right.”
Brat Summer lived on at Wembley Stadium, where Dua Lipa welcomed Charli XCX to the stage for “360” Saturday night (June 21) at her second Wembley Stadium gig on the Radical Optimism Tour. The “Houdini” singer had the London stage lights set to neon green with Charli taking center beside her, fan-captured video from the […]
06/21/2025
The 90,000-capacity venue hosted the capital’s biggest party as the pop star upgraded to a stadium-sized performance with ease.
06/21/2025
LAS VEGAS — While New Kids on the Block might seem like a perfect fit for Las Vegas, the veteran boy band had somehow never found themselves with a Sin City residency — until Friday night (June 20).
The Right Stuff residency kicked off night 1 at Dolby Live at Park MGM, with NKOTB gracing a stage previously headlined by Usher, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and more superstars. But when the Boston boys were getting started 40 years ago, they had a different perception of Vegas than the entertainment destination it’s become.
“When you’re young, you think you’re really cool,” Jordan Knight told Billboard on Friday ahead of the residency kick-off. “And if somebody said, ‘You guys are going to be doing Vegas in your 50s,’ my thought probably back then would be like, ‘Oh no, no. That’s so corny. … That’s where acts just retire.’ But us doing this right now, I feel like we’re being true to ourselves, really. I don’t think we’re selling out to commercialism or Vegas or whatever it may be. I think we’re just being really true to ourselves. Yes, we have some bells and whistles, but I think we’re just using it really tastefully.”
There were definitely bells and whistles — like the high-flying moment that saw all five members hoisted up among the rafters in individual telephone booths to get as close as possible to every fan in the 5,000-capacity venue — but at its core, this was the New Kids show that their Blockhead superfans have come to expect. That is, the once-teenybopper pop stars (now ranging in age from 52 to 56) left every drop of energy, enthusiasm and love they had on the stage to put on a fun, escapist show in their new home of Vegas, with dates through February. That included the megahits, of course — “Step by Step,” “Hangin’ Tough” and the residency’s namesake “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” — but it also included gems from every one of the band’s seven non-Christmas studio albums, all the way back to their 1986 self-titled debut.
For his part, Jonathan Knight is finding that he’s able to enjoy things at this stage of the band’s career more than those chaotic early days. “When we started, we were just kids,” Jonathan told Billboard just before the show. “I think when we look back at that, nobody prepares you for this. I mean, I would never think at 56 years old, I would be in Vegas, when I was 20. Just being able to, for me personally, just being here, being in the moment, I mean back then, it was just such a blur.”
To keep Friday night’s show from becoming a blur, Billboard has rounded up the five best moments from New Kids’ nonstop fun opening night.
Using Every Inch of the Stage — And Beyond
LAS VEGAS — For New Kids on the Block‘s first-ever Las Vegas residency — which kicked off Friday night (June 20) at Dolby Live at Park MGM — the veteran boy band had a lot of ground to cover in their night 1 setlist. As they explained onstage, Joey McIntyre officially joined the group in […]
Lola Plaku, founder of Girl Connected, sits down with Courtney Stewart, CEO of Right Hand Co. (Khalid’s management team), to talk about what it really takes to build and sustain a global superstar. From the early vision to building Khalid’s career with purpose and impact, this conversation offers rare insight into the behind-the-scenes strategy and […]
Join Billboard Canada Woman of the Year (2024) and Billboard Canada’s Global Woman of the Year (2025) Charlotte Cardin in an intimate conversation with Tara Slone about breaking barriers in the music industry. From her early days on La Voix, to representing Canada as a bilingual artist on the global stage, Charlotte opens up about […]
Tyla talks about hosting the Kid’s Choice Awards, loving KATSEYE’s “Gnarly” and her excitement to watch their performance at the show, performing at Coachella, what fans can expect from her new music, why she wanted to be a part of The Smurfs soundtrack and more!
Tetris Kelly: Tyla is hosting the Kids Choice Awards, and before the big show, we got her to talk about new music and so much more.
Tyla: This is my first time not trying to think about it too much. Like, I’m literally just gonna be my vibe. You know, Tyla vibe. Fun, I love partying, so this is a warehouse party, so it’s my lane, so I’m just gonna have fun with the kids.
I’ve actually met [KATYSEYE]. Like, a while ago, I was shooting for Vogue, and they came to me, and they’re like, “Hi, we are new group, KATSEYE,” and they wanted to sing “Water” for me. And, like, they literally the cutest group … So, yeah, they’re cute. I’m excited to see their performance.
Coachella was insane. It was my first time performing there, so that was really fun. Like, especially the second week, I was vibing, yeah, and now I have some more in Europe and everything.
I literally love The Smurfs and Rihanna being Smurfette. So I’m happy that I’m a part of that one.
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Since blasting onto the scene with his breakthrough hit “Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone has become the internet’s favorite punching bag. But instead of trying to prove them wrong, the singer decided to lean in with his latest music video.
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On Friday (June 20), Boone dropped the tongue-in-cheek music video for his new song “Mr. Electric Blue,” off his just-released LP American Heart. From the start of the clip, Boone goes out of his way to play with all the worst things the internet has to say about him when he walks into “Industry Plant Records” wearing a t-shirt that simply says “one hit wonder” for a frank conversation with his sleazy agent (played by his frequent songwriting collaborator Jack LaFrantz).
“Have you not been on the internet? Everything is terrible, Benson! We put all of our money into ‘moonbeam ice cream’ and the backflip, and it’s done absolutely horrible,” LaFrantz’s character tells an exasperated Boone. He informs the singer that he owes his faux label $10 million, and suggests that he find “a new gimmick” like “good songwriting.” At the suggestion, Boone deflates: “You know I can’t do that.”
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What ensues is a madcap montage, where Boone takes as many odd jobs as he can to raise the money. He walks dogs (while wearing another T-shirt that says “”), mows lawns (for a company called “Auto-Tune Trimmers”), washes cars (with bumper stickers declaring “mustaches are lame”) sells his sparkly jumpsuits and even opens a moonbeam ice cream truck. Of course, that still doesn’t stop the criticism from coming — when he’s recognized by a little girl as “the guy who sings ‘Beautiful Things,’” she quickly humbles him: “Your music is terrible.”
For his hustling and hard work, Boone makes a grand total of $168, but begs LaFrantz’s agent to give him another chance. But his agent assures him that he found a better solution, saying he “sold your entire catalog to retail chains, fast food chains and movie theaters,” promising that “you’ll be the most overplayed artist in the world, and I’ll be rich.” A dejected Boone sighs and smiles, saying “that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” before celebrating his ubiquity.
It’s far from the first time Boone has commented on the way people perceive him. The singer posted a TikTok back in April, explaining that he could understand people not liking him or his music if there were more people offering concrete reasons for their distaste. “I just read a comment that said ‘idek why I hate Benson Boone but it feels right,’” he wrote on the video. “Like WHAT!!? how am I supposed to improve after reading that? At least say something valid like ‘he low key just flips everywhere can he [do] anything else?’”
Watch the full video for Boone’s “Mr. Electric Blue” above.
There’s no question that Broadway‘s Hamilton was (and still is) one of the most engrossing musicals on the Great White Way, but according to an original cast member, Madonna herself had other things to focus on. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news During his Thursday (June 19) appearance […]
