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Winnie Harlow has responded to criticism of her Whitney Houston Halloween costume, saying she never meant to insult the late singer.
Harlow recreated Houston’s appearance at the 2001 BET Awards, and posted a subsequent video of her reenacting the icon’s famous Lifetime Achievement Award speech. After some blowback, Harlow addressed the situation on her Instagram Story.
“My video wasn’t mocking Whitney. That clip has always been one of my favorite of hers,” Harlow wrote, via People. “She was radiant, funny, confident and captivating. She was being awarded. The way she moved across that stage with flair and swag? Iconic.”
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She continued, “People are more than headlines. A woman who could command a room, make you laugh & carry herself like royalty. If all you see when you see Whitney are her struggles, you’re missing her charisma, humor, talent, personality & wit. She was hilarious & magnetic. THAT is and what should always be highlighted. The light that made us all love her. Attention to positivity.”
Celebrities had mostly praised Harlow’s costume in her Instagram comments, with Naomi Campbell, Halle Berry, Ciara, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rita Ora and Law Roach showering Harlow in praise.
Houston struggled with drug addiction throughout most of her adult life. She died from an accidental drowning in 2012, with an investigation concluding that heart disease and cocaine were contributing factors. The report also found that the singer had marijuana, Xanax, Benadryl and other meds in her system.
Whitney Houston’s impact on the Billboard charts is both historic and unmatched. With 11 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, she stands among the top 10 most successful solo artists in U.S. chart history. From 1985 to 1988, she made history as the only artist ever to land seven consecutive No. 1 singles, a record that still stands in 2025.
Her signature ballad “I Will Always Love You” spent 14 weeks at No. 1, setting a then-record for the longest-running No. 1 by a solo female artist and topping multiple Billboard charts simultaneously. She earned 16 Billboard Music Awards, including a record-breaking 11 wins in a single year (1993), and remains the most awarded female artist in history.
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Usher took the stage at the 2025 Billboard Live Music Summit Monday afternoon (Nov. 3) to reflect on all of the stages he’s taken over during his 28-year touring career.
The R&B superstar and Gail Mitchell, Billboard executive director of R&B and hip-hop, walked out to his 2001 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “U Got It Bad” at the 1 Hotel in West Hollywood, Calif., which Mitchell reminded he previously said in his 2024 Billboard cover story that it was his favorite song to perform live. “I think because of the connection between me and the audience,” he said at the time. Today, he added: “I want to impress them. I would like to be as theatrical and use my imagination as much as I possibly can to lift the song higher than what it was when I delivered it as a piece of intellectual property.”
Following his two Las Vegas residencies from 2021 to 2023 and his Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance (also in Vegas) last year, Usher embarked on his most recent Past Present and Future Tour. The 83-date international jaunt became his highest-grossing and best-selling tour yet, according to Billboard Boxscore, by grossing $183.9 million and selling 1.1 million tickets over 80 shows. He has a reported career gross if $422.6 million from 3.3 million tickets over 334 shows.
But before becoming a marquee act, Usher served as an opener for Diddy‘s 1997 No Way Out Tour, Mary J. Blige‘s 1997-98 Share My World Tour and Janet Jackson‘s 1998-99 The Velvet Rope Tour. “I had another notch on my belt in terms of what I was capable of being able to handle, so that when I went to try to headline my own tours, we knew that we had the ability to hold a crowd,” he explained.
He told industry audience members a story about his time opening for Diddy: As his 1997 hit “You Make Me Wanna…” was steadily climbing the Hot 100 (where it eventually peaked at No. 2), the crowd coming to see Usher gradually grew from 10 people to a packed house. Diddy told Usher he wanted him to come out during his headlining set, but Usher recalled saying, “Nah, I’m cool. I’m gonna stay right where I’m at because I wanna earn my keep. I’m here for a reason. I want to someday be where you are.”
By the time Usher embarked on his debut headlining tour, the 8701 Evolution Tour in 2002, he remembered “the importance of paying tribute” during those shows. “I’m an artist who was inspired by the legends. If I study the legends, then hopefully one day, I will be one,” he said, adding that he performed covers of Bobby Brown, Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis because he didn’t have enough of his own hit records at the time and wanted to still captivate his audiences.
The Coming Home artist also teased “something coming. I’m in the midst of working on something that may shine a light on a very specific period of my life and around performance. Just stay tuned. There is true value in live,” he said. He later argued that there’s also true value in R&B. “I want people to continue to celebrate the music and legacy that is the foundation that I am. It comes from soul music, it comes from the South. It comes from a very wide collective of being exposed to many different artists from many different genres, but most importantly, R&B.
“In the same way that I think all other industries have managed to monetize what they are — whether it’s hip-hop, rock & roll, country — I want the same thing for R&B,” he continued. “That is the thing that I haven’t done yet. I want us to celebrate the legacy of what it is that we created, not just look at these nostalgic things that have come and gone, but be able to savor them and savor their legacy.”
Mitchell later presented Usher the Legend of Live Award following the panel. He isn’t the only superstar panelist during the Live Music Summit. Billboard cover star Rauw Alejandro and Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, will sit down with Billboard Español/Latin chief content officer Leila Cobo later this afternoon to discuss the reggaeton artist’s emergence as one of the live sector’s most sought-after stars.
Trending on Billboard We’re currently focused on next year’s Super Bowl halftime show headliner, but the 2024 master of ceremonies is still at the center of the culture. After the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2025 World Series on Saturday (Nov. 1), the City of Angeles reached for the only […]
Trending on Billboard Kehlani’s “Folded” makes its way into the top 10 of the Hot 100, while “Daisies” and Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need” continue to climb. Meanwhile, HUNTR/X’s “Golden” and Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” continue to battle for the No. 1 spot. Tetris Kelly: The battle between “Golden” and Taylor Swift stays […]
Trending on Billboard Our Billboard chart experts break down whether Joji’s “Pixelated Kisses,” Tame Impala’s “Dracula,” or Chris Brown and Usher’s recent remix collab on “It Depends (Remix)” can make big moves on the Billboard Hot 100 chart next week. Tetris Kelly Some new bombshells entered the top 10 last week. But who’s next? Can […]
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While many Billboard radio airplay stories focus, rightly enough, on which artists and songs are topping the charts, this week’s Adult R&B Airplay survey (dated Nov. 1) contains a potentially historic development at the anchor spot, No. 30, thanks to Xania Monet’s “How Was I Supposed to Know?”
What’s the difference between that song and the other 103 titles that have made the chart this year alone? Xania Monet (first name pronounced “zha-NI-ah,” rhyming with Shania, as in Shania Twain) is an AI-driven artist, the product of a poet named Telisha Jones, and her song’s chart arrival marks the first known instance of an AI-based act to earn a spot on a Billboard radio chart. The move also represents another step in the evolving relationship between AI tools and creators and the music industry.
“How Was I Supposed to Know?” begins on the Adult R&B Airplay chart through its plays at panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the United States. It improved 28% in plays for the tracking week of Oct. 17-23 compared to its Oct. 10-16 total, according to Luminate. In that window, 15 of the chart-contributing adult R&B radio stations played the song, according to Mediabase, among 57 total reporters.
The song first generated public attention as a viral track on TikTok and other social media platforms. Social growth extended to streaming services and digital retailers, prompting the song’s No. 1 debut on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart dated Sept. 20 and a No. 20 start on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart a week later. As awareness spread, the song and its creator ignited a discourse of both supportive and opposing perspectives, with SZA and Kehlani among the most prominent opponents.
Billboard reached out to several stations’ programming and music directors to seek comment on the song, artist and surrounding industry discussions, but none replied to our inquiries.
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For a creative situation only possible thanks to futuristic technology, a focus on radio promotion may seem an old-school approach. The team surrounding Monet, however, views it as a no-brainer. “We look at everything as a complete package,” says Romel Murphy, who manages Monet. “If you had a, let’s say, traditional, artist and were a label and marketing executive, radio would be a piece of the promotion strategy. We’re interested in bringing the music to as many people as possible.” To that end, Murphy says a full radio push is part of the equation. “Our goal is to continue to grow, continue to connect and hopefully get to No. 1.”
While Monet has generated the bulk of discussion, she isn’t the only AI-driven act making an impact on Billboard’s charts. The Emerging Artists chart has become a home for these budding acts, with several landing on various rankings the last few weeks.
Now, those concrete examples indicate the growing likelihood of AI-driven artists as a major industry transformation.
Still, Murphy asks observers to assess from a music-first perspective. “Be it a radio programming director, be it a music fan, be it our peers, colleagues, artists,” he says, “just listen to the songs. Listen to the lyrics. And then make your judgment.”
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After channelling Donna Summer and Princess Tiana in past years, Coco Jones is “Steppin to the Bad Side” with her 2025 Halloween costume.
The Grammy winner shared her glitzy get-up via her official social media pages on Thursday (Oct. 20) — and she didn’t just settle for one Dreamgirls character. Spoofing one of the posters for the 2006 film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, Coco Jones simultaneously posed as Effie White, Deena Jones and Lorell Robinson.
In addition to a picture-perfect recreation of the poster, the “Here We Go” singer also recorded her own cover of the musical’s titular track, complete with a video of her hitting all of the iconic moves from the movie scene where Deena sings lead for the first time. All dolled up in a baby blue, figure-hugging gown seemingly straight from the Dreamgirls set, Jones absolutely nailed her costume — down to the notorious Diana Ross-inspired neck-rolling choreography Beyoncé so memorably executed in the 2006 film.
The 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls featured a towering cast, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx, Loretta Devine, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover, with Hudson taking home the Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role. The film brought the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name — which starred Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday (who won the best actress Tony) — to the silver screen, adding several new songs and expanding select storylines. Earlier this year (Sept. 15), five-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown confirmed that she will direct and choreograph a Dreamgirls Broadway revival, with performances slated to begin in fall 2026.
Jones’ Halloween costume isn’t just a callback to a classic piece of Black cinema; it’s also a nod to her resemblance to Hudson. During a 2023 visit to the Jennifer Hudson Show, Jones and Hudson shared a hearty laugh about how often fans mistake them for one another. “Honestly, at this point, I just play into it,” Jones joked before launching into an impromptu cover of Hudson’s standout Dreamgirls number, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”
Halloween festivities are just the latest update in a busy year for Jones. This year alone, she shared her debut studio album (Why Not More?), launched a headlining tour in support of the record and got engaged to basketball star Donovan Mitchell. Most recently, the R&B star opened for select dates on Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine arena tour.
Check out Coco Jones’ glamorous Halloween costume here.
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The growing prominence of faith-based/Christian hip-hop and R&B, aka Rhythm + Praise, is resonating far beyond the traditional radio airwaves. It’s making notable shifts into film, TV, sports and even the gaming world. Rhythm + Praise (R+P) artists possess the ability to marry powerful messaging with innovative sounds and, in the process, are finding their music being featured in an ever-expanding range of media — often in ways directly impacting the cultural landscape.
Sitting between gospel and contemporary Christian music (CCM), Rhythm + Praise bridges gospel with contemporary styles, offering a more modern, relatable sound for younger audiences. R+P offers an alternative to mainstream secular messages: non-traditional in format, melody, lyrics and production. Not limited to religious beliefs, these artists foster themes of hope, redemption, mental health awareness and positive living.
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According to Luminate, in the first 30 weeks of 2025, on-demand audio streams of songs in the core Christian/gospel genre — which were also categorized in the sub-genre of R&B/hip-hop —totaled 1.37 billion, up from 878 million during the same 30-week period in 2024. These figures are inclusive of user-generated content (UGC) streams.
Four-time Grammy winner Lecrae and Dove Award-winning artist NF have been paving the way in faith-based hip-hop for years. Both artists have individually accumulated billions of streams and video content views. Lecrae has 2.03 billion and NF has 13.28 billion on-demand official audio and video streams for all of their songs, over the course of their careers, in the U.S. through Sept. 25, according to Luminate. (Note: These figures do not include UGC streams.) Given the powerful reach of their music, both NF and Lecrae have successfully secured licensing and sync opportunities in the sports gaming arena, marketing their music via the NBA, ESPN and Madden NFL video game series.
Another example is emerging independent hip-hop artist Miles Minnick. He recently released his first album, Via Dolorosa, through his GLO label joint venture with EMPIRE. Minnick is also reaching beyond the church-going audience via his first sports gaming sync placement, “Lowkey Wildin,” with NBA 2K25. His growing base of more than 500,000 fans — aka GLO Nation — prompted the launches of his GLO Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area and his own clothing line, Christlike. Minnick also made history in March when he became the first Christian hip-hop artist to headline a stage at Rolling Loud Los Angeles.
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Noting that Gen-Z and millennials are demanding more uplifting content, Minnick says a major cultural shift, which he tags the “New Mainstream,” is happening. “New Mainstream isn’t just a phrase — it’s my lifestyle,” he explains. “It means putting faith at the center of culture and proving you can be bold about your beliefs while making a real impact. Whether it’s getting the stamp [of approval] collaborating with rap icon E-40, launching a label, performing at Rolling Loud or selling out tours, I’m showing the world that you don’t have to change who you are to change the world.”
Mainstream artists are also magnifying messages of faith in their music. From Drake (“God’s Plan”) and DJ Khaled (“God Did”) to Mustard (“Pray for Me”) and GloRilla, who won her first BET Award for best gospel/inspirational song (“Rain Down on Me” featuring Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard and Chandler Moore), these artists are helping to broaden the crossover space for faith-based music.
The same thing is happening on the label front. Co-founded with Ben Washer in 2004, Lecrae’s Reach Records is now seeing other music companies join the movement, including EMPIRE and Universal Music Group. Earlier this year, the latter relaunched legacy label Tamla with a faith-based hip-hop/R+P artist roster that includes Childlike Cici and Dante Pride. One of Tamla’s artists, Dove Award nominee Lee Vasi, performed at this year’s BET X 106 & Park Experience in Los Angeles. And gamma., home to Mariah Carey and Usher, established a joint venture with Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins’ R+P imprint Alienz Alive with signees Alex Jean, Jon Keith, Aha Gazelle and nobigdyl.
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While streaming numbers are strong, streaming radio still remains an important promotional tool in expanding audience reach. And that’s thanks to shows like the Trendsetter Sense-hosted Chosen Journey on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation channel and Da Fixx on SiriusXM’s Christian hip-hop/R+P channel, Holy Culture Radio. Holy Culture owner James Rosseau Sr. partnered with SiriusXM in 2022 to cater to a burgeoning audience of more than 5 million listeners, per Nielsen Compass.
Film and TV are also homing in on the faith-based market. Producers Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin, heavy hitters in both of those arenas, joined forces with Netflix for Ruth + Boaz. The just-released film features the original song “Faithful,” penned specifically for the project by Grammy-winning artist/producer Babyface. It also appears on the film’s five-song companion EP.
As a music supervisor starting out in faith-based television programming, I produced season 2 of the award-winning soundtrack album for the hit series Greenleaf. I’ve seen firsthand how the power of positioning faith-based hip-hop/R+P artists on a major network show (scripted or unscripted) can help break their music and expand their brand.
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In response to that and other above-referenced factors, I established the traveling roundtable series Faith + Sync in L.A. this year. I wanted to provide a unique platform to discuss how faith is influencing culture, creative direction, content placement and the future of music in film, TV and digital media. And also to offer the opportunity to connect with influential voices in those mediums who are shaping the conversation about how faith-based/R+P artists are influencing music, sync licensing and culture.
Through changing demographics, streaming power and strong independent success stories, faith-based hip-hop/Rhythm + Praise is debunking assumptions by mainstream media about its audience size, relevance and impact. As this movement gains stronger momentum, I’m committed to joining all those building the bridge to keep pushing this music forward like EMPIRE president Tina Davis. “Inspirational hip-hop/R&B isn’t new,” says Davis. “But there’s a new wave of anointed young talent across the globe raising their hands in their God’s name. And it’s needed!”
Angela M. Jollivette, founder of Moonbaby Media Inc. and Faith + Sync, is an award-winning music supervisor/producer whose credits include the major network series Greenleaf, Sunday’s Best, Black Ink Crew: New York/Chicago/L.A. and Norman Lear’s final TV production, Clean Slate.
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Grammy-winning legend Patti LaBelle has brought her estimable music catalog to Primary Wave Music. The new partnership deal includes the singer-songwriter’s artist royalties across a catalog that encompasses 18 studio albums, three live albums, 14 compilation albums and 47 singles. To date, according to Primary Wave’s press announcement, LaBelle has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
“We are so honored to be in business with a legend such as Ms. Labelle,” said Primary Wave partner Steven Greener in a statement. “She’s a true icon and trailblazer. We are looking forward to doing great things together.”
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Among LaBelle’s memorable hits are “Lady Marmalade,” “If Only You Knew,” “New Attitude” and “On My Own.” Recorded in 1974 by the group LaBelle, “Lady Marmalade” topped the Billboard Hot 100. The song then reclaimed that peak in 2001 for five weeks when it was covered by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim — whose version appeared on the film soundtrack for Moulin Rouge. “Lady Marmalade” was later chosen for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021.
“On My Own,” another of LaBelle’s aforementioned career highlights, is the singer’s duet with Michael McDonald. Released in 1986, the song reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it reigned for three weeks. Written by Burt Bacharach, it also earned a Grammy nomination for best performance by a duo or group. In addition to her No. 1s on the Hot 100, LaBelle counts 42 singles that have appeared on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and she has charted 20 albums on the Billboard 200.
In addition to her two Grammys and 13 nominations, LaBelle has received several other music industry accolades. Those include an American Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also an Emmy nominee, LaBelle has appeared in several films and TV programs (A Soldier’s Story, A Different World, The Masked Singer), written six books (most recently, the 20th anniversary edition of her best-selling cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine) and helms the successful food and lifestyle brand Patti’s Good Life.
Publishing company Primary Wave is home to a diverse roster of iconic singer-songwriters. Among its roster: Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, The Doors, Whitney Houston and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
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Kem captures the No. 1 rank on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart for the first time since 2022 as “Rock With Me” leads the radio ranking dated Nov. 1. The single, released on the singer-songwriter’s own Kemistry label after a two-decade career with Motown, jumped 4-1 and was the most played song on panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Oct. 17-23, according to Luminate.
The new champ surged 27% in plays for the tracking period compared with the previous frame, securing it the Greatest Gainer honor, which is awarded to the song with the biggest weekly increase in play count. Four stations under Connoisseur Media’s umbrella contributed the most spins for the week, with WMJM-FM (Louisville, Ky.) in first place, followed by WMJM-FM (Columbia, S.C.); WROU-FM (Dayton, Ohio) and KDKS-FM (Shreveport, La.).
“Thank you all for rocking with me for all of these years,” Kem shared in part in an exclusive reaction with Billboard, acknowledging his team, “friends at radio fans.” “It feels really good. God bless you, have a great day and keep love on the one.”
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With “Rock With Me,” Kem improves to nine No. 1s on Adult R&B Airplay. He ties Maxwell for the fourth-most leaders among male artists; the pair trail Charlie Wilson (11), Tank and Usher (10 each) in that category. Alicia Keys leads all artists, with 14 champs, dating to the list’s launch in September 1993.
Here’s a review of Kem’s No. 1 collection on Adult R&B Airplay:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Kem), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“Love Calls,” two, Sept. 13, 2003
“I Can’t Stop Loving You,” seven, May 21, 2005
“Why Would You Stay?,” two, Sept. 25, 2010
“It’s You,” four, Sept. 6, 2014
“Nobody,” nine, Feb. 21, 2015
“Lie to Me,” seven, June 27, 2020
“Live Out Your Love,” feat. Toni Braxton; two, Jan. 2, 2021
“Stuck on You,” one, April 16, 2022
“Rock With Me,” one, Nov. 1, 2025
Elsewhere, “Rock With Me” advances 18-14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the track soars to 6.2 million in audience, up 26% from the prior week’s total of 4.9 million.
Radio gains spark the single’s No. 21 debut on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart, which combines radio airplay figures with streaming and sales data for its calculations. It becomes Kem’s sixth entry to reach the ranking, which began in October 2012.
