genre pop
Page: 6
Drew Afualo gives flowers to Laverne Cox who shares stories about when she was in middle school and more at Billboard Women in Music 2025. Drew Afualo: I’m here with the iconic, the legendary, the talented Laverne Cox. How do you feel to be here at the Billboard Women in Music Awards? Laverne Cox: Incredibly […]
Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” has earned an eighth consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.K. Singles Chart (May 9). The last single to earn this feat was Sabrina Carpenter’s “Taste,” which reigned at the top for nine consecutive weeks beginning in August 2024. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
Lola Young’s “Messy” moves up two spots to No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart (dated May 17). The song tops a second individual-format radio ranking, after it led Alternative Airplay for a week in April. “Messy,” on Day One/Island Records and promoted to radio by Republic, becomes just the sixth song by a solo […]
Jackson Wang shares what fans can expect with MAGIC MAN 2, the creative process behind “GBAD,” his collaboration with Ciara at Coachella, and working with Pharrell on Joopiter. He also hints at upcoming projects with Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club (BBC), teases a tour for MAGIC MAN 2, and more!
Are you excited for MAGIC MAN 2? Let us know in the comments!
Tetris Kelly:
Jackson, Tetris with Billboard News ready to get in conversation with Jackson Wang, what’s up man? Thanks for coming.
Jackson Wang:
Hey, thank you for having me.
Of course, you got a lot going on, my friend. So we’re gonna start with the music. Of course. MAGIC MAN 2 you’ve been teasing. You’ve been telling everybody about it, but MAGIC MAN, the first one, debuted at 15 on our Billboard 200 charts.
Thank you. Thank you. Please make me top five.
There you go. See he’s already said what he wants. What made you decide you want to follow up the 2022 project with a second version of MAGIC MAN?
I’ve been working on stop for over 11 years, and I was just like, hey, I need to recharge. I need to refresh and be inspired again. So I took a year off, and I was like, hey, you know what? I haven’t actually made a song for myself. You know, when I was in my youth, I’ve always, you know, wrote songs or produced songs, trying to show everyone, hey, I can do this, I can dance, I can sing, I can perform. But what about me? What do I want to say as a person? So I took that year off and I just started writing diaries and converted them into music.
What was something during that year that you felt like when you look back like you’re like, I’m so happy I took this year off because I had this moment.
Keep watching for more!
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
This week, Miley Cyrus returns with a ballad, Sleep Token unveil an opus and ROSÉ joins the F1 fun. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Miley Cyrus, “More to Lose”
As she collected pop smashes over the course of her career, Miley Cyrus has also demonstrated a richness as a balladeer — and with “More to Lose,” a stirring new sample from her upcoming album Something Beautiful, Cyrus drifts above a complex tangle of classic pop production and smashes home the emotion as the song ramps up, making for a song that’s going to sound spectacular whenever it’s performed live.
Trending on Billboard
Sleep Token, Even in Arcadia
Whether you’re steeped in the lore, headbanging through the breakdowns or both, the masked British alt-metal group Sleep Token has turned its singular combination of detailed backstory and rock ambition into arena-headliner status — and with Even in Arcadia, the group is not only poised to have its biggest commercial moment to date, but will do so with a sprawling, uncompromising collection of songs.
ROSÉ, “Messy”
One week after Don Toliver and Doja Cat dropped “Lose My Mind” to kick off the rollout of the F1 soundtrack, ROSÉ has gotten in on the racing-drama fun with “Messy,” a cinematic love ballad in which the BLACKPINK star declares “If it’s messy / Then you know it’s really love,” while learning to understand her partner’s flaws, on a song that sounds primed to play over a contemplative second-act montage.
Kali Uchis, Sincerely,
On her first full-length since becoming a mother last year, Kali Uchis slows down the tempo from 2024’s Orquídeas and offers the most intimate glimpse of her mental and emotional state yet: Sincerely, revels in its personal flourishes, a new stance from a genre-hopping singer-songwriter who has written anthems in English and Spanish but has never navigated her own feelings this deftly.
PinkPantheress, Fancy That
From the super-short pop tracks of To Hell With It to the commercial breakthrough of “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” to the sonic exploration of Heaven Knows, PinkPantheress has darted through different eras with lightning speed — and Fancy That, a bright, engrossing mixtape that riffs on ‘90s dance and garage, sounds like an artistic reset in the best way, taking the UK pop star back to the effervescent songwriting of her beginnings.
Kid Cudi, “Neverland”
Kid Cudi is a stylistic godfather in modern hip-hop, but that doesn’t mean the veteran is resting on his laurels: “Neverland,” a new single that precedes a short film of the same name, aims at summer-anthem territory, with Cudi gently crooning in the verses and then singing his lungs out on the chorus as trap drums sizzle beneath his full-throated cries.
Maren Morris, Dreamsicle
Maren Morris has described fourth album Dreamsicle as “a love letter to myself,” which explains the new set’s healing aura: Morris has changed up her style and spoken openly about her process of self-discovery over the past few years, and her latest full-length complements that journey with warmth and optimism, briskly moving forward as Morris does the same.
Editor’s Pick: Halsey & Amy Lee, “Hand That Feeds”
During the same week that Evanescence was back in the news — thanks, The Rehearsal! — band leader Amy Lee has released a harrowing new collaboration with Halsey that accentuates both artists’ respective talents: “Hand That Feeds,” from the upcoming Ballerina soundtrack, harkens back to Halsey’s alt-rock streak while giving Lee a much-deserved new platform to showcase her soaring delivery, resulting in what sounds like a no-brainer rock-radio staple.
Gracie Abrams reclaims the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart this week with The Secret of Us (via Interscope/Universal), marking its third non-consecutive week at the top, while Australian artist Dope Lemon earns another top 10 debut with his latest release Golden Wolf, which enters at No. 8.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Golden Wolf marks Angus Stone’s fifth album under the Dope Lemon moniker. The project continues a strong run on the ARIA Albums Chart, following previous entries Honey Bones (No. 11 in 2016), Smooth Big Cat (No. 2 in 2019), Rose Pink Cadillac (No. 2 in 2022), and Kimosabe (No. 9 in 2023). Stone also reached No. 2 with his 2012 solo release Broken Lights and has enjoyed chart success as one half of Angus & Julia Stone, including two No. 1 albums — Down the Way (2010) and Angus & Julia Stone (2014).
Trending on Billboard
On the ARIA Singles Chart, Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” remains at No. 1 for a seventh consecutive week. It now holds the title for the longest-running No. 1 by a solo male artist since Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” which spent eight weeks at the top in 2023.
Meanwhile, rising New York artist Sombr makes a major leap with “Undressed,” which jumps from No. 11 to No. 2, earning him his first top 10 hit in Australia. His second entry, “Back To Friends,” also climbs this week, moving from No. 19 to No. 12. Ravyn Lenae’s “Love Me Not” enters the top five, rising from No. 12 to No. 5 to become her first top 10 hit.
Legendary U.K. rock band Pink Floyd debuts at No. 27 with Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, which captures their historic 1971 concert and is now available on vinyl for the first time.
Aussie punk group Press Club also scores a chart entry this week, landing at No. 71 with To All The Ones That I Love, their fourth studio album and follow-up to 2022’s Endless Motion, which peaked at No. 62.
Other notable chart placements this week include Dope Lemon topping the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, and Vance Joy’s enduring “Riptide” holding steady at No. 1 on the Australian Artist Singles chart.
Miley Cyrus just unlocked a vulnerable new layer of her upcoming visual album Something Beautiful, dropping fourth single “More to Lose” Friday (May 9) just a few weeks ahead of the LP. Singing over cinematic piano, guitars and strings, the pop star steps fully into the power of her voice on the new track. “I […]
Ed Sheeran has long known that the line between pleasure and pain is a thin one, best traversed with care and a healthy regard for the surprises life throws at you. That sentiment is essentially the thesis for the singer’s new video for his nostalgic ballad “Old Phone.”
The Emil Nava-directed clip that dropped on Thursday morning (May 8) for the second single from Sheeran’s upcoming Play album (Sept. 12) opens with Sheeran in a wistful mood. Sitting on his hotel bed, Ed flips through old conversations on his dusty, recently recovered Blackberry, saying in voiceover, “I was finding text messages from people that aren’t even here anymore and reading conversations with people I wish I could have conversations with now.”
So, he explains, he did what anyone would do in that situation: he build a bespoke, pop-up pub in Ipswich, MA in March, which fans could gain entry into by sending a video or message from an old phone that had some meaning to them. “I found my old phone today/ In a box that I had hidden away/ Nostalgia trying to lead me astray/ Maybe I’ll unwrite some wrongs,” he sings over gentle acoustic guitar and footage of fans lining up for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to join Sheeran in the pub.
Trending on Billboard
We watch the construction of Old Phone Pub and the delighted look on the singer’s face as he sees it taking shape, as well as Sheeran reaching out to the many fans lined up outside and visiting some local neighborhood spots to spread the word. In addition to playing an impromptu Ipswich street jam, the video finds Sheeran sitting in solitude inside a bowling alley, as well as testimonials from those who submitted clips to be projected onto the walls of the bar.
One was from a mom who sent in a video of her two deceased daughters, 12 and 4 in the clip, saying, “they were just goofin’ off just being sisters,” over footage of the home movie being screened on the outside of the temporary venue. Other testimonials are from a woman who shared footage of her with her old boyfriend and a man who offered a movie of him dancing with his beloved late grandma at a wedding; at one point Sheeran can be seen chatting with the man outside the bar.
“It was really cool to watch that and to be able to share with him some of our stories. That was nice,” the mom says. The video winds down pivoting from Sheeran smiling at his old home movies, to fans sitting mesmerized as he performs the song in the pop-up with a back-up band of Irish musicians. “I wanted to make it feel like the song does… raw, stripped-back, emotional, nostalgic and special,” Sheeran says at the end.
Over the past month Sheeran has made headlines by playing surprise mini-concerts at other bars in Boston and Nashville, as well as hitting Nashville’s Santa’s Pub a few weeks ago with Noah Kahan for a short dual set and reconstructing the pop-up pub at Coachella.
Watch Sheeran’s “Old Phone” video below.
Lorde is gearing up to do a scan of arenas across North America and Europe this fall, with the pop star announcing her Ultrasound Tour in support of upcoming album Virgin Thursday (May 8).
Breaking the news on Instagram, Lorde shared a tour poster featuring a blue X-ray photo — similar to her June-slated fourth album’s cover art — and wrote, “I am going on tour in support of my new album, Virgin.”
“Very proud and excited to be bringing my most talented friends in support,” she added. “Come see what’s under the skin.”
Trending on Billboard
Per the tour poster, Virgin co-producers Jim-E Stack and Dev Hynes of Blood Orange will be joining the “Royals” singer on the road for select dates, as will The Japanese House, Nilüfer Yanya, Chanel Beads, Empress Of and Oklou. The trek will kick off Sept. 17 in Austin, Texas, followed by U.S. and Canada shows in Chicago, Nashville, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle and more cities through late October.
In November, Lorde will head overseas for the European leg, starting in Luxembourg and followed by Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin and more before wrapping Dec. 9 in Stockholm.
The Ultrasound Tour will mark Lorde’s first trek since 2021’s Solar Power Tour, which supported the Grammy winner’s album of the same name. It’s also her first arena tour since the 2017-2018 Melodrama World Tour, with Lorde favoring more intimate, theater-sized venues for the Solar Power run.
Fans can buy tickets as soon as May 14, with a pre-sale going live at 10 a.m. local time. Registration is already open on Lorde’s website.
After that, more tickets will become available in a general on sale on May 16.
The announcement comes shortly after Lorde dropped her comeback single, “What Was That,” in April, shortly before revealing that Virgin would be arriving June 27.
See Lorde’s Ultrasound World Tour announcement below.
The race to ROSÉ‘s new song is over, with the BLACKPINK star unveiling “Messy” for the F1 soundtrack, along with an accompanying music video, on Thursday (May 8).
In the sleek visual, the New Zealand-born performer walks through various nighttime cityscapes, strutting down a glistening street past a crowd of people and leaning over the terrace of a high-rise building in between shots of footage from the F1 movie. “Baby, let’s get messy, let’s get all the way undone/ Come over and chase me like I’ve never been touched,” she belts over piano and anthemic percussion, sitting on the floor of a blue-lit room as confetti rains down on her. “Baby, I’m obsessed with you, and there’s no replica/ If it’s messy, then you know it’s really love.”
“Messy” is just one of several songs that will appear on the F1 soundtrack, which Atlantic Records announced May 1. Similarly, ROSÉ is only one of many A-list stars who contributed to the project, with Ed Sheeran, Tate McRae, RAYE, Burna Boy, Roddy Rich, Dom Dolla, Chris Stapleton, Tiësto, Sexyy Red, Myke Towers, Madison Beer, Peggy Gou and more musicians also lending their talents to the album.
Trending on Billboard
Don Toliver and Doja Cat also released a single for F1, “Lose My Mind,” in late April.
Starring Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Damson Idris, the Joseph Kosinski-directed film will hit theaters June 27, the same day its full soundtrack drops.
For ROSÉ, “Messy” marks her first release since her debut solo album, Rosie, arrived in December and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The LP featured smash hit “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.
The K-pop star is now gearing up to reunite with her BLACKPINK bandmates for the first time since their Born Pink trek concluded in 2023, with ROSÉ teasing back in February that they had new music in the works around the same time the girl group announced that a world tour was slated for this summer. Three of the members — ROSÉ, JENNIE and LISA — were in attendance at the 2025 Met Gala in New York City Monday (May 5).
Watch ROSÉ’s “Messy” music video below.