Hot Ones
Whether it’s her career or scorching hot sauce, Lady Gaga isn’t a quitter. And after conquering the Wings of Death on a new episode of Hot Ones posted Thursday (Feb. 13), the superstar got deep about the times she pushed through the urge to “walk away” from her career.
After conducting a life- and career-spanning interview with Gaga about her music, technique and rise from struggling New York City club performer to global icon — all the while the “Rain on Me” singer took bites of increasingly spicy chicken like a champ — host Sean Evans had just one more question for his latest guest to close out the interview. “What’s the closest you’ve ever come to walking away?” he asked.
“That is an incredibly deep question to ask me in this panic mode,” Gaga replied, blinking through the pain of the lingering, peppery heat.
Trending on Billboard
“I missed the community that I had in New York, and that was really hard,” she continued, reflecting on her days as a performer at Manhattan venues such as The Slipper Room. “There were definitely times where I felt like maybe I should walk away.”
“I know for sure that I never would,” the musician added. “I would definitely say that I was tested, and I always didn’t give up. And I’m still doing it, so it must mean I want to do it.”
Gaga’s stint on Hot Ones comes just a few weeks ahead of her highly anticipated seventh studio album, Mayhem, which arrives March 7. Following singles “Disease” and Bruno Mars duet “Die With a Smile” — which is currently on its fifth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the A Star Is Born actress shared a third single, “Abracadabra,” during the 2025 Grammys broadcast Feb. 2.
Speaking of the Grammys, Gaga and the Silk Sonic star also took home some new hardware at the ceremony, winning best pop duo/group performance for “Die With a Smile.” The win marked Gaga’s 14th total — meaning she’s come a long way since the early days of her career when she may have wanted to throw in the towel. Reflecting more on how she got her start, Gaga also confessed to Evans that she used to call booking reps for venues pretending to be her own manager. “I’d be like, ‘She is so hot right now,’” she recalled, laughing.
Watch Lady Gaga’s Hot Ones episode above.
Lady Gaga is the latest star to take on First We Feast’s Hot Ones challenge, and the superstar deals with an uncomfortable wardrobe choice in a teaser for the upcoming episode. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the one-minute clip, Gaga rocks a dress with a […]
Bad Bunny can do a lot of things — rap, act and wrestle, to name a few — but he couldn’t get through the spicy wings challenge on Sean Evans’ Hot Ones.
In the episode posted Thursday (Jan. 23), the Puerto Rican musician gave a valiant effort while taking on the wings of death — but the signs that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the end were present throughout. “I’m feeling it, and I don’t like it, because I’m worried about my colon,” Benito said after a few increasingly hot bites of chicken.
“I think I will be at the bathroom the whole trip from here to Puerto Rico,” he added.
Trending on Billboard
Despite lapping milk like a cat and icing his taste buds with ice cream, the “Titi Me Pregunto” rapper had to call it quits before he reached the end of the show’s hot sauce lineup. “There’s no way I’m going to eat all of those,” he said breathlessly, saying that his whole face felt hot. “There’s no way.”
Though Evans comforted Bunny in person, Hot Ones made sure to tease him a little bit in post-production. Editing a picture of the Grammy winner onto its “Wall-Most Made It,” the web series officially inducted him into its academy of past guests who didn’t reach the finish line — including Ice Spice, DJ Khaled and Ricky Gervais.
Bunny’s Hot Ones appearance comes a few weeks after the release of his new album, Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in its second week. Before he succumbed to spice overload, the musician talked about his signature sound with Evans, saying, “Especially on this album, there’s a lot of salsa, there’s all the rhythms that I’ve never done before.”
From appearing on The Tonight Show to staging a surprise performance in the New York subways, Benito has also been doing a lot of press in the United States for the LP — something he says he enjoys, though he’s “still struggling with the English.”
“I need to put a lot of attention to you to understand you,” he told Evans, before exclaiming with a numb tongue, “But now I’m struggling with the f–king spicy on my mouth.”
Watch Bad Bunny try — and fail — to conquer Hot Ones above.
BLACKPINK‘s ROSÉ was almost taken down by the spicy wings on Hot Ones, but not before she could deliver a final message to someone very important in her life — her dog Hank.
Appearing on an episode posted Thursday (Nov. 7), the singer found her body turning against her as the series’ famously intense hot sauces got increasingly spicy. Her nose started running, she couldn’t help but let out several screams of anguish and she furiously struggled to quell the pain with ice cream and ice cubes before joking that the wings were “going to kill me.”
After coming to that realization, ROSÉ looked into the camera and shared some heartfelt “last words” with her beloved canine, whom, she explained earlier in the video, was named after actor Tom Hanks. “Hank, I love you so much,” she said as off-camera violins swelled and a photo of the dog appeared onscreen. “I hope I survive this, but if I don’t ever see you again, I love you — just know that.”
Trending on Billboard
Of course, the New Zealand native did make it out of the Sean Evans-hosted series alive, but not before admitting: “This is hurting my ego … I thought I’d be better.” Elsewhere in the clip, ROSÉ spoke about her “raw and honest” upcoming debut solo album rosie and explained what unites her and BLACKPINK bandmates JENNIE, JISOO and LISA.
“The one thing that’s so strong about BLACKPINK is the fact that each one of us, we want such big things for ourselves and we work so hard everyday,” she said on the latter subject. “I’ve never seen someone that’s just like, ‘I just want to rest.’ Even if we’ve said that before, I don’t think anyone means that. BLACKPINK is really hardworking.”
Ahead of rosie‘s Dec. 6 release date, ROSÉ and Bruno Mars dropped a single titled “APT.” in October. The track has since spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As the star explained to Evans, “APT.” was inspired by a Korean drinking game of the same name. “It’s one of many drinking games, but that seemed to be the one that all my friends in the studio were like vibing to,” ROSÉ said on Hot Ones. “I was like, ‘Huh, this is interesting’ … I was really lucky enough to have Bruno jump on it. Craziest experience of my life.”
Watch ROSÉ on Hot Ones above.
BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ is set to take on the fiery challenge of Hot Ones.
First We Feast, the channel behind the show, announced her appearance on Nov. 5, teasing, “This week on Hot Ones, we got Rosé vs. The Wings of Death. 💀 Tune in Thursday @ 11AM ET.”
also announced the news over Instagram: “Hi everyone. This is Rosé. Uh I’ll be on Hot Ones this week. Please tune in to see me kill it. Or maybe not. We’ll see.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In her Hot Ones episode teaser clips that dropped Nov. 6, ROSÉ didn’t hold back on her love for spice — though she wondered just how far she could go with the “Wings of Death.” “I like spicy food,” she said, adding, “But I don’t know if I like spicy spicy.”
Trending on Billboard
As the heat began to kick in, she joked, “By the way, my tongue is built differently. It’s built different.” Built different.”
Asked about the inspiration behind her new single “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, ROSÉ explained it was rooted in a playful cultural moment. “APT” is a tribute to a traditional Korean drinking game called “aparteu” (or “apartment” in English), and it’s also the first single from her anticipated debut album, Rosie, set for release on Dec. 6.
“It’s a Korean drinking game APT, one, two, three, four, five, six,” she said. “Whoever gets the top takes the shot.”
Shifting to her craft, she also discussed her vocal technique, explaining the difference between chest and head voice. “I’ve set the key too high,” she laughed, adding, “That’s the difference, I guess, right?”
ROSÉ’s latest hit is taking the music world by storm, smashing records left and right. The catchy tune has been dominating charts globally. In a massive debut, “APT.” soared to the top spot on both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, and held its crown for two straight weeks.
Down Under, ROSÉ’s Aussie fans have shown their love in spades. “APT.” rocketed to No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, making her the first solo female K-pop artist to conquer the Aussie charts. Not only that, but she’s kept the top spot warm for multiple weeks – a feat not seen since PSY’s “Gangnam Style” back in 2012.
In a recent PAPER Magazine interview, she discussed how online criticism inspired one of the album’s most personal tracks, stating, “I realised how vulnerable and addicted I was to this [online] world and that craving for feeling like I wanted to be loved and understood.”
Born in Auckland and raised in Melbourne, ROSÉ moved to South Korea at 15 to pursue music, eventually joining BLACKPINK. The group’s debut studio album The Album skyrocketed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest ever for a K-pop girl group. Born Pink dropped and made history as the first album by a female Korean act to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
ROSÉ has also seen previous success as a solo artist. Her 2021 single “On the Ground” was the first song by a Korean solo artist to top both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. She has also ranked No. 79 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart.
Fans can watch ROSÉ’s Hot Ones episode on Thursday at 11 AM ET to see how she handles the heat.
Jimmy Fallon is the latest guest to take on the Hot Ones challenge, eating increasingly spicy wings as host Sean Evans asks questions. However, it’s hardly Fallon’s first rodeo. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news He often incorporates a Hot Ones segment with Evans on his Tonight Show, […]
Pharrell Williams is the latest guest to test his taste buds on Hot Ones, and while he was feeling the heat of the increasingly spicy chicken wings before him, the multi-hyphenate artist opened up about working with some of his long list of collaborators.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
When host Sean Evans asked him about his teenage years “jamming out” with soon-to-be fellow superstars like Timbaland, Missy Elliott, the Clipse and more, Williams that it felt like “kids having fun.”
He continued, “We didn’t know where it was going to end up. That’s the thing, falling in love with the process. It’s not necessarily the ‘there,’ it’s the ‘getting there,’ it’s the ‘going,’ it’s the process, it’s the journey.”
Later on in the interview, Evans listed off some of Williams collaborators, and challenged him to share his first thought about them in the studio. With Daft Punk, Williams noted that being in the studio with a “robot” is “euphoric, because you’re around two absolute masters.”
Trending on Billboard
Beck, Williams says, is “one of the most eclectic people with one of the deepest mental libraries of all kinds of records,” calling him a “walking almanac.” He wrapped up by calling N.O.R.E. “so funny, bombastic with the energy he wants to evoke when he’s making a song.”
Beyond releasing his biographical Lego film, Piece by Piece, on Oct. 11, it’s gearing up to be an exciting next few months for Williams. The star will serve as a co-chair for the 2025 Met Gala among a group of Black men including Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and honorary chair LeBron James.
This year’s theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which draws inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Williams’ Something in the Water festival will also return in April 2025 after being postponed last month. “Dearest Virginia, I love you with all my heart,” he wrote in a statement at the time. “Nobody loves you more than I do. Virginia doesn’t deserve better, Virginia deserves THE BEST. So SOMETHING IN THE WATER has to match that. It just isn’t ready yet.”
Watch Pharrell Williams on Hot Ones below.
Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor isn’t afraid of a heated disagreement with other rockers — but spicy hot wings are a different story.
On the latest episode of Hot Ones Versus posted Tuesday (Oct. 1), the frontman battled tastebud-burning chicken wings with bandmate Shawn Crahan, aka Clown — and yes, both musicians wore their signature spooky masks while chowing down. At one point, Taylor avoided having to take a spice-loaded bite by ranking three of his famous feuds with opponents Limp Bizkit, MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) and Nickelback.
“If I was going to say it with that ugly ego… at the top, I would put Limp Bizkit,” he began of the two bands’ name-calling spat in the 2000s. “My issues truly weren’t even with Limp Bizkit, they were with Fred [Durst]. It was just about what Fred represented at the time, the things that were being said and the people in the band that were actually saying stuff about us.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I would put MGK in the middle,” Taylor continued of the “My Ex’s Best Friend” musician, with whom he traded jabs throughout 2021. “Before the beef, I did have respect for him and I liked his music. We butted heads ego-wise and creatively because of a song he and Travis [Barker] invited me to be on. Him and I are very similar, and I hope he’s figuring s–t out.”
Trending on Billboard
Finally, the “Unsainted” singer ranked his mutual trash-talking with Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger in 2017 last. “Honestly, they’re just a musical echo,” he said. “It’s just the same thing.”
“There’s some stuff of theirs that I like,” Taylor added, making Crahan scoff.
Throughout the episode, Crahan also criticized the getups of other mask-wearing musicians — Daft Punk, Gwar and Marshmello — and revealed that his favorite “pop princess” is Britney Spears. “Real deal,” the percussionist said of the “Toxic” singer. “She’s a legend.”
Plus, the duo enjoyed a spontaneous 25th birthday party for their band’s debut album Slipknot — which reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200 in 2000 — complete with a piñata. The group recently wrapped up the North American leg of its anniversary tour in September, and they’re set to perform in Latin America and Europe later this year.
Watch Taylor and Crahan take on Hot Ones Versus above.
Whether it’s breakups or spicy wings, SZA isn’t letting anything bug her — for the most part.
On the latest episode of First We Feast’s Hot Ones posted Thursday (Sept. 26), the Grammy winner opened up about her music, career and relationships in between bites of spicy wings, all while wearing alien-like prosthetics and a pair of antennae. “I’m just tired of being not a bug,” she explained of her costume choice.
While talking to host Sean Evans about which songs make her the most emotional to perform, SZA replied, “‘Nobody Gets Me’ because my ex-fiancé hates me so much, and it’s so unfortunate.”
“Every time I sing it, it’s like, ‘Damn, what the f–k?’” she continued, adding that she also gets in her feels while singing Ctrl tracks “Normal Girl,” “20 Something” and “Drew Barrymore,” which she says reminds her of seeing “the boy you like … f–kin’ on some other girl” at a house party.
SZA has been open in the past about how her relationship with her ex has inspired her music, particularly “Nobody Gets Me.” “This particular song in entirety is a story about my ex-fiancé and how we went through all these arguments, and we broke up,” she told Hot 97 in December 2022. “I just felt like I was gonna be doomed to be in hell for the rest of my life because nobody understood me the way he did, and nobody motivated me the way he did.”
Trending on Billboard
While speaking to Evans, who brought up when SZA told Billboard in 2023 that the success of her hit “Kill Bill” “pissed [her] off” because it was “super easy” to write, the R&B star opened up about how she finds the music industry confusing because of how unpredictable it can be. “I never know what’s happening,” she said on Hot Ones. “I be like, ‘I thought you liked this.’ Then they’re like, ‘No, stupid, we hate this.’”
“It’s abusive, but it’s also very fulfilling and validating,” she added. “The toxic [relationships] are the most fun.”
The interview comes ahead of SZA’s highly anticipated third album Lana, which will follow her critically acclaimed sophomore record SOS. The 2022 LP ruled at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks, marking her first album to top the chart.
After sweating through increasingly spicy wings that led her to question Evans’ “sinister and insidious” intentions for the show, the “Snooze” singer gave a candid response when asked at the end of the episode to give fans a life update. “I’m going through a breakup, it’s hot as f–k,” she said.
Watch SZA on Hot Ones above.
Ariana Grande has complicated relationships with hot sauce and some of her old songs, but she powered through both on the latest episode of Hot Ones.
Appearing on the series’ season finale Thursday (Aug. 8), the pop star began by asking host Sean Evans for his expert opinion. “Where do you think I’ll sit on the scale from DJ Khaled to Lorde?” she asked. “I do my homework.”
Grande went on to barely break a sweat while eating the spicy vegan wings, save for an inaudible burp here and there. She kept her composure even as the Scoville levels increased, but at one point she admitted, “I think I’m learning that I don’t like hot sauce.”
The Grammy winner also answered questions about her Billboard 200-topping new album, Eternal Sunshine, working with Max Martin and doing stunts on the set of the Wicked films, the first of which arrives this November. “There was lots of bubble singing, which was very high up, and I wasn’t harnessed — I was just kind of there,” she revealed. “I had a lot of stunty singing, but nothing compares to Cynthia Erivo.”
Trending on Billboard
“Watching Cynthia in her harness with a broom, a hat, wig, corset, dress — the whole thing — flipping upside down, flying around the set, singing ‘Defying Gravity’ every take like it’s nothing … just the most phenomenal thing I’ve ever seen,” Grande, who plays Glinda opposite Erivo’s Elphaba, continued. “We had to do some really insane and beautiful things for this film.”
The “We Can’t Be Friends” vocalist went on to open up about the “disheartening and disappointing” experience of having her unreleased music leak online. “It sucks,” she put it plainly. “And I am constantly trying to get to the bottom of like how people get stuff … that is very frustrating and feels very dehumanizing, and then the other side is like but I’m so grateful to be an artist that people care about and my fans want more of me so they’re going to these extremes to steal and break in.”
Toward the end of the episode, Evans asked Grande whether she’s tired of performing any of her old songs. The Victorious alum has been releasing music for more than a decade at this point, with nine of her songs reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since her debut record, Yours Truly, dropped in 2013.
“That’s a natural thing that all artists can relate to,” she replied. “There was a time when it was hard for me to feel that same gratitude that I do now for certain songs and for the music … becoming a pop star is insane at 19 or 20, and I think that experience was sort of married to some of the songs a little bit. Or some of the songs that are more emotional, the experience that inspired them can be married to the music. But with time and therapy, we sort of are able to re-embrace, so I feel just really proud and grateful and happy when i hear them, where as I used to maybe hear it and cry.”
Watch Grande on Hot Ones above.