Interview
Page: 2
HipHopWired Featured Video
Yung Miami and Sean “Diddy” Combs were involved in a brief but intense romantic situation that observers openly coveted and applauded for the unattached way the pair carried their union and their openness about sex. After Yung Miami famously stated on her show that she was a fan of “golden showers,” the rapper and podcast host has since walked back that stance in a new interview.
Yung Miami was a guest on Stepping into the Shade Room with host Thembi Mawema, and the pair discussed a number of topics related to her career, her recent birthday celebration, and, of course, all things involving her former group, the City Girls.
Mawema, flipping the script, asked the “Rap Freaks” star some scandalous questions in a version of Miami’s Resha Roulette game and was questioned about the infamous moment in 2023 on Caresha Please with Trina where she expressed a love for “watersports.” However, it looks like Caresha was just poddin’ and talking mess.
‘I always go back to that interview and say, ‘Why the fuck did I say that?’” Miami says. She added, “I’m the type of person that’s like that. Like, I say some sh*t and then I’m just like, ‘What?’ I have a bubbly personality. I can tell y’all a thousand times, English, Spanish, and French [that] no man has ever peed on me.”
Last year, Miami clarified that she didn’t let Diddy perform a golden shower on her. However, the chatter persisted all the same.
Check out the full Yung Miami interview with Stepping into the Shade Room below. Hop to the 52-minute mark to see the comments mentioned above.
—
Photo: Getty
Billy Corgan has spent over three decades reshaping alternative rock, carving out a legacy as bold and uncompromising as his music.
From the dreamy haze of Siamese Dream to the sprawling ambition of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness—a No. 1 Billboard 200 smash—his work plays like a fever-dream diary, each album a restless search for meaning in a world that refuses to stay still.
With The Magnificent Others, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman’s latest foray into long-form storytelling, Corgan channels that same restless curiosity into candid, unfiltered conversations with some of music’s most fascinating figures. Featuring legends like Diane Warren, Gene Simmons, Sharon Osbourne, Tom Morello and Wolfgang Van Halen, the podcast isn’t just a name-drop fest—it’s a deep dive into music’s untold stories.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“It’s really not that different from how I am in my personal life,” Corgan tells Billboard. “I’ve been lucky enough through the years to talk to so many well-known and successful people, and so it’s not that different to what I would ask if I was just sitting around a dinner table.”
“Some people take umbrage with the fact that I insert myself or tell stories, but that’s just how I talk,” he continues. “I don’t do this professionally—I didn’t go to school for it. It’s not like I wrote for a fanzine for five years before jumping in. I went straight to the highest level, talking to some of the most famous people in the world.”
Fans have noticed the difference. “My favorite compliment was people writing me saying, ‘I haven’t heard an interview like that for Gene Simmons in 25 years.’”
His approach has led to moments that even surprise him. In a recent episode with Diane Warren, the legendary songwriter revealed that, after writing over 1,500 songs, her process is still entirely instinctual.
“I expected some kind of formula, but she just said, ‘I feel it. I’m looking for that song that makes the hair rise up on your arm,’” Corgan explains “It’s very similar to Rick Rubin—Rick will openly say, ‘I don’t know anything about recording. I only know what I’m attracted to and what makes me feel something.’
“So here are two people at the top of their field who don’t have an intellectual overlay to their work. They trust their instincts, and somehow that translates to the common public in a way that’s more universal than anything I’ve ever done. And that shocks me—like, how do you just roll out of bed and know what the right song is?”
For Corgan, these conversations aren’t just about craft—they’re about legacy. He’s spent his entire career pushing against the weight of his own past, sometimes at great personal cost.
“Celebrity culture basically influences the zeitgeist to the point where if you don’t play along, something’s wrong with you,” he reflects. What followed was a period of exile where he felt stripped of status and dismissed in ways that undermined his accomplishments.
“There was a period where I completely resisted nostalgia, and I was punished for it,” he admits. Punished in a way that was actually very cruel. Not only was I stripped of my celebrity or my status, I was sort of mocked. The best way I could explain it, if you and I were just sitting around a table, is they tried to take away from me the things that I actually did, right? It wasn’t enough that I wrote those songs and didn’t want to play them—it was like, ‘We’re not even sure he wrote those songs.’”
Eventually, he found peace with it. He realized that celebrating his past didn’t mean being trapped by it.
“I found some kind of balance in there, where I can play the songs that people want to hear—and by the way, I wrote them, so it doesn’t hurt me,” he says. “At the same time, I can balance it with new material. And once I found that balance in the last six, seven years, it’s been super positive energy around me, around the band, around the shows. So I feel very good that I made the right decision, because I do want people to have a good time.
“For every person that wants to talk about Siamese Dream, there’s just as many people that want to talk to me about the album that didn’t sell—because the album was good, it just didn’t sell,” he says. “But in the pop world, it’s sell or not sell. Sell or don’t exist. That’s a Faustian bargain.”
The fracturing of musical culture particularly fascinates him. Where The Smashing Pumpkins emerged in an era when alternative rock briefly became the mainstream – with Corgan appearing on magazine covers alongside other alternative figureheads – today’s landscape is infinitely more splintered.
“People use the term ‘digital ghetto,’ and I think what they mean is that things exist in a particular zip code digitally,” he explains. “You could drop a name that all your friends know as the hottest thing in the world, and your five neighbors would be like, ‘Who?’”
He contrasts this with his formative years, when cultural touchstones were truly universal. “I sat at tables in 1986 where grandma was debating Madonna. Because what Madonna did on MTV, everybody saw it. That’s not how it was in the ’80s or the ’90s. Everybody knew Madonna.”
“I don’t know if the pop stars of today, outside of maybe Taylor Swift,” he says, explaining, “Her future will probably look a lot like Madonna’s, in that it will have a very long tail, and they’ll follow her until the end. But for a lot of the rest of them? I don’t think we have any idea what’s going to happen.”
And, of course, there’s Britney. “I think it’s fair to call Britney the prototypical pop siren of the 21st century. Britney set the f—ing new template,” he declares.
For Corgan, his own legacy isn’t just a professional concern—it’s personal. He wants to make sure his children understand his place in the world.
“My son was surprised when I told him not everyone likes my music,” Corgan says, laughing. “I told him, ‘Look, it’s cool. Not everybody likes what Daddy does, but a lot of people do.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Well, I think you’re the best.’”
“I want my son to understand my perspective of my musical and artistic life, so that when he encounters other people’s opinions of me, he’ll have formed his own version of it,” he explains.
But beyond sentimentality, he’s thinking about the long-term future of his work. “I want to make sure that if anything happens to me, my affairs are put in order in a way that my children cannot only benefit from my hard work but also know what to do with it,” he says.
“There’s at least 100 unreleased songs. And I think I’ve released 350 or so at this point. So understanding that those are valuable things—they have to be protected like works of art.”
At this point in his career, Corgan isn’t chasing approval or trying to rewrite the past. He’s found his balance—honoring the legacy he’s built while continuing to explore what’s next. Shortly after the conversation, he announced A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, a reimagining of the landmark album as an opera, set to debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Nov. 21.
“People associate me so strongly with the Pumpkins,” he reflects. “It’s hard for them to imagine me apart from it.”
Jordan Firstman did not set out to turn videos of him reading inherently ridiculous sentences into a running, viral piece of internet lore — it just turns out he’s exactly the right person to spin twisted confessions into comedy gold.
“I think I just have the kind of personality where nothing really shocks me,” he tells Billboard over Zoom, before quietly chuckling to himself. “I think I have something wrong in my brain where I cannot understand that people would be shocked over something.”
Firstman has been posting his Instagram series Secrets — in which his followers submit anonymous sentences disclosing some of their wildest personal tidbits — since the pandemic. Taking simple messages ranging from the mundane (“I voted third party”) to the truly absurd (“I k-holed in a guys bathroom on the 1st date n robbed him”), the comedian started to slowly transform some of his favorite secrets into short songs. Next month, the singer will bring his long-running gag to a brand new format with his debut album.
Trending on Billboard
Secrets, due out Friday, April 4th via Capitol Records, takes those same direct messages from fans and transforms them into brand new songs — the first of which (“I Wanna See My Friends’ D–ks”) fans will get to hear on Thursday (March 14). Spanning genres and subject matters, the album plays back to front as a raunchy, raucous ride through Firstman’s unique comedy lens. Plus, he adds: “The songs sound f–king amazing.”
Below, Firstman chats with Billboard about the origins of his Instagram series, how he scored a major label record deal and why modern pop stardom requires singers to have comedy chops.
Take me back to how the Secrets Instagram series started: what made you want to take your followers’ deepest, dumbest secrets and turn them into content?
It was a very pandemic thing; I had the idea to use the questions box to ask [for secrets]. I actually was kind of making songs out of them pretty immediately, just by myself with no beats or anything. I think the character limit means you cannot get into full stories, so they just felt like these little soundbites that were great to make fun of. To this day, who knows what’s real and what’s not, but I try to just use the ones that feel real.
I know you’ve referred to this as your “indie” series behind something like your very successful Impressions series — at what point did you realize that Secrets was really hitting a nerve with your audience?
It’s such a social media answer, but this was a way to just have this immediate connection with your following. I’m far from the first person to do this — there was stuff like PostSecret back in the day. Kind of like comedy, you cannot own the style, but you can own how you do it. So, I think what’s made it stick with my followers is just, I guess, my own sensibility and my own take on things.
At what point did the idea occur to you that those songs you were making could become an album?
I guess about a year or two ago, I had just been compiling these free MIDI files of different genres, and I would just play them in my apartment when I was bored. I have this friend, Brad Oberhofer, who is a brilliant musician, and I asked him if he would want to do one live with me, and that was the beginning of the new era of Secrets. We just kind of became a great team, and the songs were really fun. It wasn’t until this summer that I was like, “Ok, so we should start recording a couple of these and see what we get.” It became clear within a week or two that there was something there. I asked a couple other friends to start helping out, and within that first month, I think I had 10 or 12 songs recorded, I had a record deal, and it all happened really fast.
How do you go about selecting which submissions make for the best songs, versus which ones are just good for normal Secrets submissions?
When I’m doing them with Brad, I probably get anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 secrets every time I do it. And so there is this kind of pressure every time we do it, so I do get drunk. [Laughs.] It’s kind of the only way I can move that fast, because we usually do these in about an hour, and we’ll do anywhere from 10 to 20 mini songs. The more we’ve done, the more we’ve wanted more production in there, so it’s not just us and a guitar, it’s us having this very fast live setup. We just scroll really fast, and whatever pops up, we just do it. It’s become a very instinctual thing. Like, yeah, “My Sister’s Tryna F–k & She Needs to Chill” is obviously a country song. Obviously! But we’re working so fast that we don’t have time to think about it.
But then on the album, luckily, all of the secrets are logged [on Instagram]. So I’ve gone through my archive and I found so many good ones. I’d say a little less than half of the album are secrets that I haven’t made songs out of yet, but that I was like, “Oh, this is a perfect premise for a song.”
In working with Brad, as you’ve been putting these together, have you started to kind of find the sound that you’re most comfortable with? Or is the eclectic genre approach very much the point?
There is a major level up that happened on the album. It’s truly every genre — there’s an amazing jazz song, there’s a Nirvana-style song, there’s a funk song, there’s a post-punk song, there’s a Central Cee-type song where I rap. We’re probably missing, like, classical? But on the deluxe, I do want to have an insane song title, and then just have it be classical music with no lyrics.
Was there any part of this process that proved to be a challenge for you?
The songs are kind of gendered, and the titles immediately tell me if it’s a boy or a girl singing it, and so there are some songs that are absolutely girl songs. I do, however, have a male voice, so it became a question of, “How do I sing this song from a woman’s POV?” On at least one of the songs, we do pitch me up a little bit, but it’s still my cadence. There’s one almost-Lilith Fair-style ’90s lesbian song that was really challenging to find the right vocal tone for.
Let’s talk a little about the record deal — how did that process start, and why did you go with Capitol?
So basically, I have four main producers now — Brad, Blake Slatkin, Zach Dawes and Sega Bodega. I have really good people, so now the songs sound f–king amazing. But Blake and I had a session, and within an hour, we had the single, done and ready to go. We knew it was a f–king smash. After that, we sent the record over to Capitol. I went in literally the next day to play them a couple of songs, and then they were just like, “Yeah, we would like to do this with you.” I didn’t even really meet with other people, because it was like, “They get this, and they’re going to do it in the right way.” They understood it so well immediately, so we just went for it.
I remember the next week, I went into a big boardroom with the chairman of Capitol and president and the vice president, and I played them “My Sister’s Tryna F–k & She Needs to Chill.” And they got it! It was very aligned, the whole experience just felt right. I don’t know, sometimes there’s this rhetoric [from artists] of “F–k the labels,” and I’m sitting here like “I don’t know, they’ve been great!” [Laughs].
Comedy music has been picking up some steam over the last couple years, with people like Bo Burnham and Tom Cardy earning big viral songs in the genre. Why do you think this genre is having that moment right now?
I think music is now bigger than it’s ever been, and then comedy is so inherent to music right now. Like, you can’t really be a musician right now if you don’t have a sense of humor. Look at Sabrina Carpenter — in a way, she is making comedy songs! And Lil Nas X! With social media, everyone has almost had to turn into a comedian to thrive.
It’s interesting — this is definitely a comedy album, for sure, but it’s almost some songs more than others [are comedy songs]. When I think about what I’m doing, to me, it’s not in line with most of the comedy albums that have been out lately. I would actually compare it more to something like Bloodhound Gang — they’re real songs that are also funny. The joke isn’t the main part of the song, but they are still funny.
This is a huge time for you with this album, the success of English Teacher, your upcoming role in Rachel Sennott’s comedy series — what are some things that you’re still hoping to accomplish in the months and years to come?
It’s a big year of firsts for me, and I kind of just have to do the work. I’m excited to see what sticks. You can’t be attached to any real outcome, but I don’t know. Everyone who hears this music just really likes it, and so I have a good feeling about this. It’s been a slow and steady build, and it’s starting to feel like the projects this year are the things that I’ve been really prepared for. So, I’m just excited to see the response.
While the K-pop scene is an ever-evolving landscape whose definition has expanded beyond a specific genre of music, Yves wants her career to change preconceived notions that tend to separate K-pop idols from being considered complete artists.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Back in November 2017 when Yves (born Ha Soo-young) was first introduced to the world as the ninth member of LOONA through the dark, atmospheric synth-pop throbber of single “New,” the star may have unknowingly set a standard of experimental excellence that would define her solo career years later. An exploration of newfound artistic expression and identity, a now-unshackled Yves released two EPs last year in Loop and I Did (both of which made Billboard‘s mid-year and year-end best K-pop albums lists) with singles like “Viola” and “Loop” featuring Lil Cherry embracing the club-ready sounds that defined some of 2024’s best records as different album cuts explore everything from racing and acoustic rock as well as airy R&B and soft electronica. To date, I Did has 6,000 equivalent album units of activity through Feb. 20, according to Luminate, with its songs collectively registering five million official on-demand U.S. streams. Furthermore, Yves’ most streamed song in the U.S. is “Viola,” which has 2.16 million official on-demand U.S. streams.
“I always had my own image,” Yves shares backstage at the Brooklyn Paramount ahead of the opening U.S. date of her Apple Cinnamon Crunch tour. “But as my solo career is developing, I think I was able to explore more and show more of myself. I feel like I can express a lot of things now that I couldn’t.”
Embracing the multifaceted flavors of the tour’s unique name, Yves begins the show in a punky, funky black mini-skirt and top for the first half of the show, which includes Madison Beer and Avril Lavigne covers before changing into an all-white ensemble reminiscent of any classic millennium pop star look.
While the 27-year-old connected with fans in person on tour across Europe and the States (and will hit Latin and South America in April), Yves wants all aspects of her career to speak to anyone who feels like an outsider. “What I’m trying to pursue is to become a person where I can freely express myself in the world where there is a lot that can cloud one’s perspective,” she adds. “I really don’t want to put myself in a box.”
As she takes center stage fully on her own as a soloist, Yves seems ready to shine brighter than ever. Read on for more insights from Yves’ concurrent journey of solo stardom and self-discovery.
You’ve performed in the States in the past, but it is your first time as a soloist. How has the tour been going and how are you feeling ahead of your first U.S. concert?
At first, I was very scared. Because on stage all of the members are gone, right? It’s just me. So, I’ve been very nervous, but now I think I can enjoy. I’m 70 percent ready out of 100.
From music to fashion to even social media presence, you’ve been sharing what feels like a totally refreshed person. What has been happening in these past months? Are we seeing the real you?
I always had my own image. Back when I was a part of LOONA, whenever I was wearing my own clothes — so, not the clothes that the company wanted me to wear — my members weren’t able to recognize me in public. But as my solo career is developing, I think I was able to explore more and show more of myself. I feel like I can express a lot of things now that I couldn’t before because I have opportunities, so as I develop more and more, you can see more and more of myself.
One of your biggest changes was signing with PAIX PER MIL. I’ve heard K-pop companies may kind of force an image on an idol or artist, but it seems like they give you a lot of creative freedom?
When I was first searching for agencies to join, most of them told me that I have to be either part of a girl group or they didn’t think I can make it as a solo in meetings. But when I went to PAIX PER MIL, the producer, millic, sent me a long message and told me that I have potential to become a solo artist. So, I was really touched by the message that he sent and also that he believed in my image. So, I trusted him and he trusted me.
I was with my first label for almost eight years and in an idol group so I was obligated to think, “Are these clothes right for me? Can I wear this? Can I pose this way? Can I take a picture like that?” I was unsure about what to do with myself. But the label [PAIX PER MIL] really pushed me to point where I could just express myself and just fully show my version of me. So, I think that’s how my label really supported me. It’s a lot easier to have fun now.
You came out so strong with “LOOP” featuring Little Cherry, “Viola” was one of the best songs of last year but there’s also rock, you’re recording in different languages you, is this the music you personally listen to?
When I was first making the LOOP EP, my musical spectrum wasn’t as big as of now. I used to listen to the same songs that I’ve always listened to, but my producers, millic and ioah, really helped me to expand my musical spectrum. It was kind of like homework, where they’d assigned me to listen to some music that they recommended or sometimes they’d share what kind of music they’re listening to. One thing that I remember is the day that they asked me to make a playlist of what I wanted to do in my solo career so I was able to collect the music that I wanted to perform as an artist and make my choices for my music. So, I think as of now, I can confidently say that I am doing what I want to do in terms of my music taste.
Do you remember what songs were included?
So many songs! When I was a part of LOONA, I felt that I was a member who is good at ballads rather than the kind of dance-pop that I’m doing right now. But when I was collecting the music from my playlist, I was able to collect some funky sounds, alternative sounds, rock sounds, all the different kind of experimental sounds that I’ve never dealt with [as a singer]. That’s when I discovered Caroline Polachek and other artists that I’m into right now.
You have great taste and it’s great you could develop your sound. But on the other side of things, why didn’t you want to go to a group or re-debut in another formation?
During my one year break [in 2023], I was able to interact with my other members of LOONA as well as keep communicating my fans. When I was talking to my fans, they were really the ones who convinced me to pursue a solo career. They really supported me for who I am, my choices, and what I wanted to do. So, I think that kind of really pushed me to become a solo artist. Also, when I was talking to other members of LOONA, we all wanted to reach a happy path for all of us and attempt challenges we hadn’t done before because we were going through a lot together. So, there are the solo artists like me and Chuu, but also other girl groups that were formed with LOONA members.
Despite the hard time, it seems like everyone from ARTMS and Loossemble to even Jade Jeong has loving memories of LOONA. Do you feel the same?
Of course. I’m not sure exactly how to put this in English, but it’s kind of like a sore finger. I feel like, you know, I have to have a finger, but also it kind of hurts and will always give me those memories of my past.
My, one of my favorite lyrics from you is on “Hashtag,” which is “Don’t care what’s fake and who you are/ Yeah, In my world, it is only you and me, babe.” What is your perspective these days on what you wanna personally share, whether it’s your social media, your lyrics, fan interactions?
What I’m trying to pursue is to become a person where I can freely express myself in the world where there is a lot that can cloud one’s perspective. I’m also trying to be a confident person who can make my opinions clear without losing my taste. There is a lot of social media and channels to communicate these days which means there’s a lot of information and opinions. It’s gotten to the point where if you’re a little bit different, people criticize or blame them for being different rather than being accepting for who they are. I think that’s the most important part to consider in this world of social media. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like that.
What kind of message would you give to someone who maybe is being criticized or not accepted and needs the kind of confidence you always show?
It’s a huge world. To the people who feel that something is different, even if you feel like you’re alone or you’ve isolated and locked yourselves in, I should share that when you look around, in fact, there are so many people who think like you, share the same beliefs and don’t deny their existence because of people who criticize them. And just like you or I would say, I always want to support you for who you are and don’t feel discouraged or insecure for being different. Don’t stop.
I love that message. Is there anything else you want to share right now?
I don’t know about the mindset abroad, but in Korea there’s a certain boundary of what is an idol and what is an artist. But I’ve honestly always been an artist and an idol equally since I was in LOONA. I want to be in both. It’s an ongoing process and I really don’t want to put myself in a box when I want to be part of both. I think that’s the message that I really wanted to share here.
It’s obviously been a major year for Cynthia Erivo. The star, who portrayed the iconic Elphaba in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, is in the running for best actress in a leading role at this year’s Oscars ceremony and her inimitable vocal ability has been the inspiration behind many social media users attempting to recreate her otherworldly vocal run at the end of the film’s “Defying Gravity” number.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
But she’s not done just yet. Erivo chatted exclusively with Billboard about her brand new single, “Replay,” which arrived on Friday (Feb. 28) and marks her first solo release since 2021. “I’m sort of leaning into vulnerability these days,” she says with a laugh, and that sentiment is clear on the Justin Tranter co-written track, which delves into the emotional rollercoaster of being human. “I’m a constant work in progress, and I can’t keep fears at bay,” she opens the pop-leaning track with, before proclaiming in the chorus: “My mind is like a record, setup on auto-replay.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a music artist outside of being an actress, and my journey to it has just been different,” Erivo explains. “Some people come to it pretty early and some people come to it when the time is right, and this is the time for me.”
Trending on Billboard
With that in mind, the 38-year-old artist wants to introduce herself musically on her own terms, as the upbeat pop production of “Replay” leads listeners away from the ballads that they might be used to her belting for films in the past — to hopefully see Erivo as Cynthia, not as some of her famous onscreen roles. “I think people are really used to me singing a particular kind of way and particular kind of songs, but those songs are other people’s songs. Working on this music has been sort of a stream of consciousness that ended up being the page,” she says. “I think sometimes we’ll apply genre to a person, when the person hasn’t actually given you the genre that they are. I just happen to love to sing, but sometimes you don’t want to make big sounds, and you actually just want to tell a story, and that was what ‘Replay’ was about.”
She continues, “The song gives people the opportunity to get to know me a lot better, to get to know what goes on in my head from time to time, to get to know what I’ve thought in the past and sometimes even now, and the things that I have experienced. It’s almost like a personal lullaby that tells people who I am and that I’m human too, just like everybody else.”
Beyond its relatable and clever lyrical content, the production of “Replay” was just as personal to Erivo, inspired by the 90s Brit-pop she grew up with. “As a Brit, I wanted to bring something that felt particularly English, from my time, because I felt like we haven’t heard anything that feels like that in a while,” the London native explains.
“Everything that you hear in there — all the backing vocals, all of the pads, all of the whistling, even some of the percussion — that’s all me,” she adds enthusiastically. “I’m using my nails for what would sound like a clap. The whistle in the background is actually me whistling. The vocal padding and that vocal arrangement, that’s all me. If you listen carefully, you’ll feel the tempos speed up and then slow down again. It’s on purpose. It starts at 89 beats per minute, goes to 94 beats per minute and goes right back to 89 beats per minute, because it feels like what the heart rate does. It speeds up when things are getting a little bit strange, and then it comes back down.”
With her passion about “Replay” so evident, it’s no surprise Erivo is gearing up to release a full-length album, which she began working on in August 2023 and throughout her time filming Wicked. “I have to say that this is probably one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had in my life. I’ve written albums before, and it didn’t feel like this,” she says. “I knew the things I wanted to talk about and I knew the stories I wanted to tell. I knew the colors that I wanted in it — literally and figuratively, because some of the songs literally are based on a color. Like, what color do I want to write? Green! Then, one day I want to write about sex and, one day, I want to write about love or, today, I want to write about heartbreak, or maybe something in the color of blue.”
Overall, Erivo is ready for this next chapter in her career, keeping her heart on her sleeve as she always does and has become beloved for. “I want people to see that I’m a musician, like a person who understands the language of music implicitly and is willing to use it in loads of different ways,” she says. “It would be easy for me to sing a big ballad. Trust me, there’s a ballad on this album. But, more than anything, I love the making of music, the creating of music. I love using the music to tell the story. My story.”
Listen to Erivo’s “Replay” here.
At Taemin‘s concert at Kings Theatre in New York, the opening show for the K-pop star’s first U.S. tour as a soloist, the 31-year-old thrusts, lunges, and splays his body in an assortment of impromptu, interpretive positions that captivate the sold-out venue. A less experienced performer could have easily fumbled committing to such dauntless dancing. However, with more than half his life in the K-pop spotlight, Taemin appears as if he’s in complete control of every aspect of the theater stage and his body – seemingly aware of how each strand of his dirty blonde, slightly off-center middle part will land on his head after every move.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Throughout his 17 years in the game, Taemin has long voiced his adoration of Michael Jackson with hit singles like “MOVE” and “Press Your Number” boasting clear MJ inspiration. But Michael didn’t become the King of Pop simply as a member of the Jackson 5, but years later when he broke out into a solo artist, eventually rising to universal acknowledgment and acclaim with Thriller, his fifth solo record, and solidifying his legacy in music history. Similarly, Taemin’s first U.S. live trek sees the star in a breakout moment of sorts.
Trending on Billboard
After 16 years signed as a soloist and member of boy band SHINee under SM Entertainment, Taemin opted not to renew his solo contract with the legacy label in March 2024 and signed with the relative newcomer BPM Entertainment. In under a year since his management change, Taemin released his most creatively involved work yet via his Eternal EP, launched his first-ever global trek in the Ephemeral Gaze world tour, and took on his first hosting job for the boy band competition series Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace. Yet it’s not just the work that defines this past year as Taemin’s breakout moment but a shift in how he approaches work.
“Before, I felt like I was just executing tasks,” a cheery Taemin shares during a morning Zoom call from Seoul during his few days off from touring. “But now, I’m leading it and taking care of the different details…I feel now I’m becoming more independent.”
While feeling more powerful than ever as an artist, Taemin knows loads of eyes are on him, which inspired the concept of the Ephemeral Gaze tour but also serves as a reminder for viewers to see that his attitude has never shifted.
“I’m still doing the same performance, I’m trying to give it my all and I don’t like the attitude of just because you’re popular, you want to take some things easier,” he says. “No, even my body breaks, if I dislocate the shoulder; I want to give it my 100 percent and more as long as people come to cheer and see me.”
With packed houses at the tour’s multiple theaters, as well as one night at the Kia Forum arena in Los Angeles, for Taemin’s first U.S. tour, fans could see his empowered nature, his creative commitment, but also his humbleness to deliver the same amiable aura that resonates through this webcam chat.
After performing the sultry album cut “Not Over You” from 2023’s Guilty EP, Taemin took a breather to speak with the NYC crowd. The artwork for Taemin’s Ephemeral Gaze world tour plastered across the LED screens behind him catches his eyes, and he looks back at the audience and smiles, saying, “I’m Taemin.”
Of course, everyone knew who he was — the screams and cheers confirmed as much — but this new chapter of Taemin’s artist journey could indeed be a new person greeting us. Get to know Taemin today in the interview below.
Billboard: You performed concerts in South America at the top of February, and on Feb. 13, you’ll have five concerts across the U.S., but you’re back in Korea right now. What are you doing between legs?
Taemin: There are many tasks and work that I need to do in Korea that have been piling up, so I’m working on that, having different meetings and going through different schedules during my short time here. This might sound funny, but during my time off, I’m actually adjusting to New York’s time. I had just gotten used to Latin American time, and now I’m in Korea, but I’m about to go to the U.S. soon, so I’m adjusting my body for the New York time zone. But especially for this tour, where there are not many days in between, I had a lot of business I needed to take care of
How has your solo world tour experience been so far?
This is actually really my first time doing this kind of tour as a solo act, so I did have my doubts and concerns, like, “Can I successfully pull this off?” In a way, it is uncharted territory and, as you know, I did tour with groups including SuperM, but it has truly been a while, so I also had concerns about that. However, when I started performing, wow, did the fans embrace me. I felt like I could really feel their love and longing so wholly — like I felt their emotions so directly. So, with this warmth, I’ve been able to really actively interact with fans.
Do you have different versions of the show depending on the continent or country?
There is a certain format, but let’s say depending on the vibe of the place, and especially the attitude of the fans, things change, I guess. I would say my expression or attitude towards the performance can change when I’m singing a ballad or just dancing…maybe today, I feel like taking advantage of the entire stage and walking around and exploring it. Ninety percent of the performance might be set, but it’s the 10 percent that widely differs according to my mood.
You mentioned you toured the U.S. with SuperM, I remember SHINee had some U.S. concerts and appearances, but now it’s a full U.S. tour for Taemin. So, what took so long?
I think my previous company had different market-based investments and made certain decisions. There could have been many different reasons, and that I don’t know clearly, but for some reason, we didn’t go to the States much. You mentioned the SHINee concerts from long ago and when we went there, I was pretty surprised. There were a lot of people waiting for and warmly embracing us. I felt not only touched, but how I really wanted to continue this and it felt like a shame that we didn’t. I was thinking a lot about the foreign fans waiting, which makes me feel thankful. I also don’t want this [experience] to be just forgotten as it would be a shame if it ends like this. So, I want to come back, but not just to have a single event; I’m talking about a series of long-lasting memories with all these people.
In under a year, you’ve performed across new countries, joined a new agency company, participated in new TV shows, and have new collaborators. Is there any big lesson that you’re thinking about throughout the tour?
Yeah, so many things learned. I mean, we can just even talk about what I’ve learned in promoting and the industry’s deeper inner workings. Before, I felt like, let’s say, I was executing tasks and just knowing that task. But now, in a way, I’m leading it and taking care of the different details. Not a whole concert, but I’m really learning the system, even when it comes to just the performance direction. I feel now I’m becoming more independent. Previously, I was a kid and now I’m learning what to do and how to care and think for myself.
Also not to mention, fans were waiting for a global tour and now I believe that it can work. To use a Korean expression, I’m no longer “a frog in a well.” I’m out in the real world. Internally, I feel even stronger and life is all about maturing as you gain experience. I feel like this is true for artists too because this idea of expression or creativity, it stems from experiences and I’ve been having numerous experiences.
We know you shine on stage, but seeing you as a composer on every Eternal song where you wrote more than ever was new. Can you relate anything from the recording process to these touring experiences?
Firstly, if I’m going to use this title as an “artist,” I really need to input the message into my music and express my emotions through this art. Although, of course, I had a great writers and producers helping me to prepare this album. We were tight on time so there are a lot of things I wish we could have maybe spent more time on and such, but one thing I do want to say that I’m very looking at it quite positively is that it is truly an album that I really put my thoughts, my emotions and my experiences onto. And this is how I want to proceed from now on. You could say, I’m not doing albums that I am told to do. I’m not like a student at a school, but I’m really talking about my experiences and thoughts through my art. The tour is the same way, this “Ephemeral Gaze” has a message how people have a lot of different views of me and I’ve done nothing but try to do the best performances, art and make great music. But people can always view me in a skewed way, so, I guess that’s just the life of an artist — you’re receiving infinite love and attention, but along with that you can be seen in a distorted view.
For example, during the concert you’ll see there are many eyes and I am under these in a way; the view and scrutiny of these eyes. But on the stage, you will see me performing and trying to do my best. I haven’t changed. I’m still doing the same performance, I’m trying to give it my all and I don’t like the attitude of just because you’re popular you want to take some things easier. No, even my body breaks, if I dislocate the shoulder, I want to give it my 100 percent and more as long as people come to cheer and see me. I’ll add that age does play a factor on you, but this is how I feel. This is my attitude.
I think it’s a good attitude to have. I remember an interview where you said you want to make classic songs, songs that can be nostalgic for years to come. What makes a song a classic?
So, music for just casual consumption are all great and they exist for a reason. The way I define something that’s, like, classic or everlasting is that it’s music I really feel and really sympathize with; something that gives me strength or comfort, it makes me relive memories. With that, I hope that my music can be a memory someone who can just take it and relive the memories by listening. Every musician has their own color and how you define and work on your color is a journey in itself. Everyone takes this approach differently — there are some people who can change directions, there are some who can explore and experiment, there’s some who keep going deeper into their specific color one piece at a time. I would say I’m more in the latter, going deeper and deeper, carving out a little bit deeper each time. I want to pioneer this as a gen-two [2nd generation K-pop] artist.
I also just want to add that the career of idols can be short and, often, there are a lot of idols that take a different path after. But I want to show that as a musician, you can really have this long run with this distinguished identity and I hope that this music eventually can give someone strength, comfort or hope, and help them relive memories. There are musicians like that for me like Michael Jackson. I mentioned earlier in this interview that I like doing things impromptu on stage and I also really see that in Michael Jackson. He had a song — what was it again? Oh, yeah — “Man in the Mirror,” where he was doing the performances in an impromptu [style] too. In a way, you can say the music wasn’t perfect. But the energy and passion? That was perfect. You don’t need to always be on pitch or on beat to have “perfection.” During those days, when they were lacking [sound] systems, he was just perfect. I would say he’s my role model. I still listen to his work.
Speaking of great performances, and in celebrating your kickoff U.S. date in New York, your first time performing in NYC was SMTOWN 2011 in Madison Square Garden. I was actually there covering for Billboard. Do you have fun memories from then?
I don’t remember the exact details like the press conference, it was over 13 years ago, but I remember Madison Square Garden. Doesn’t New York have those double-decker tourist buses? We rode that. And we went to the Times Square which was fun because we did it with all the artists in SM together. During that time, I was so jet lagged but I was like “No, I must do tourist activities.” My eyes could barely open but I was like “I need to be there. I need to look at Times Square with my eyes.”
Fast forward more than a decade later, it was cool to see you host the boy band survival show, Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace — perfect name for Taemin. What was your experience as an established senior to these newer generations of artists?
It was interesting to see them because I could see really the determination they had and the pursuit for their dreams. I feel such empathy, sympathy and warmth for them, and also at the same time, I understand the pain and anxiety they live with at the same time; it’s quite a mix. But I admire and respect them doing their best to show the best performance to their fans.
Actually speaking of that, I don’t know maybe it’s the K-pop industry these days or just the whole pop system but, wow, it’s really great how it developed but their skills are. When these guys become older, their skills will be even more extraordinary.
And they can be sensitive; they’re at an age when you’re young and can be sensitive, but I just hope they don’t get hurt because the entertainment business, like any other business, are also in the business to make profit. While artists are in a job where they have to expend their emotions, I just hope they don’t get hurt and I hope they can make connections with their fans or giving positive image to world. That’s the process that I see them going through.
You have wisdom from being in the industry for so long but have made many changes lately. How do you know how to trust people or find those genuinely supporting you in the entertainment business?
So, I used to trust people a lot. I used to believe and rely on people a lot and I think I’ve also been hurt because of that. I’m just trying to believe in myself more. I’m so grateful for the people that are there as the people who support me, and I’ll always be grateful for them, however instead of just simply relying on people and dependent on them, I’m trying to become stronger on my own and stand up with on my two feet.
Looking ahead, what does this year look like for you? Are you preparing things now so that when the tour finishes, you can get back to work?
[Laughs] Um, I have a lot planned. After the tour, I want to finish with the Korean encore concert, which we will have, then the SHINee album will come out and we will have a SHINee show. I will also have my own album coming out…it’ll be quite exciting…it’s not confirmed if it’s a full album yet, but my solo album will come out.
I’m excited for all of it. Your last U.S. stop is in Honolulu. If possible, I hope you get to relax a little in Hawaii.
I would like that too!
While many musicians acknowledge separating their on and offstage persona, KINO breaks his life into three parts and tries to live their truths through his own honest expression.
There’s Kang Hyung-gu, his birth name that represents his most authentic self that friends know. Under his stage name KINO, he’s a member of chart-topping K-pop boy band PENTAGON with Cube Entertainment, and also a soloist under his independently launched NAKED label. Despite the 27-year-old saying he has difficulty sharing himself at all times, the person who asked strangers to rate his single at Coachella last year is the same friendly, determined face walking into a New York City studio before the kickoff of his first U.S. solo tour. KINO quickly shares which photos he likes best, sets up his phone to record b-roll and behind-the-scenes content, and has his outfit and an assembly of accessories selected to reflect the colors and mood of his current musical era.
Released at the top of 2025, KINO’s latest single “Skyfall” is a stirring, string and piano-led ballad with a soaring chorus reminiscent of the stand-still moment of JVKE’s breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Golden Hour.” Accompanied by a black-and-white shot of him singing in concert as the cover art, “Skyfall,” and November’s gritty guitar cut “Everglow,” show a noticeably less produced version of the star compared to the electro-pop, viral-ready bop “Broke My Heart” featuring TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart-topper Lay Bankz. But it’s all part of showcasing the person he is right now and the styles and sounds accompanying it. KINO says it’s all leading to a project that “will be the most honest album in my life.”
Trending on Billboard
KINO’s I Think I Think Too Much Tour is an insight into his mind, naming the trek — which hit eight cities in 12 days for its U.S. leg — off what literally keeps him up at night. Alongside the personalized name, KINO says he was confident that audiences needed to experience his new music live. “The theme of this concert is emotion,” he tells Billboard. “When I want to express my emotions to the audience, I have to be in front of them, so it’s very important to meet them in person.”
KINO’s choice to close the concert with the unreleased, racing rock-pop anthem “Back in Time,” complete with a call-and-response bridge perfect to singalong to on the radio or at music festivals, feels like his intuition at work. This final impression KINO makes during this intimate concert feels like the first steps in sending him down a path to procure a global pop hit of his very own — one he’ll be able to say was a true expression of himself.
You named this tour I Think I Think Too Much and your album If This Is Love, I Want a Refund. These aren’t typical titles. Are these all things you’ve personally thought about?
That’s right; that’s the biggest direction of this company, too. Because as a solo artist, I could not help but not to share my story. It’s very important to me that I’m showing myself and showing my mind within. So, I was looking for the thoughts I’m thinking about the most recently and found that “I think I think too much” is the one. After I launched this company and debuted as a solo artist, I’m always thinking things over and over till the night, so I Think I Think Too Much is connected from a conversation I had.
The reason why I wanted to bring this concert to another country and more cities was because I think my music is very good to listen to, but I believe my music is not complete with only listening. My music is complete when people listen and watch the performance together. The theme of this concert is emotion and when I want to express my emotions to the audience, I have to be in front of them, so it’s very important to meet them in person.
You released “Everglow” and “Skyfall” with softer and more emotional tones than If This Is Love, I Want a Refund. What are you sharing now?
“Skyfall” is a breakup song that captures the regret of love taken for granted. And it’s perfect for this season, so, if listeners can relate to this story, that would be amazing. And “Skyfall” was also inspired by the 007 [James Bond] film. “Skyfall” was a place where loving memories and regrets linger, so when the idea came up, I thought it would be the perfect word to describe the sound. So, Billboard, I hope you like it. Please invite me to another interview when I’m on the Billboard charts.
But I don’t want to show KINO the celebrity. I want to show the human Kang Hyung-gu. I think that I cannot be defined by one person: I have a lot of emotions and personality in my mind. But I’m just like a human like everyone: I fail, I regret, I fear, I cry, I smile. All those emotions and all those personality aspects make me and completes me, right? That’s why I don’t want to define myself as a one-genre artist. I have many music genres and emotions for the different music in me. I’m changing every moment, every single day! And I’m going to change in the future too.
Are these singles leading to a new album?
We’re planning a lot of things for this year, but the most important thing is, of course, the album. I’m writing the songs, and as I told you, I am still figuring out who I am. I think this will be the most honest album in my life. It’s very hard to be brave, but I’m challenging myself to be an artist who can explore and reach the next future. It will be totally different [in terms of] the genres and styles of music. I have some tracks I want to spoil, but nothing is set at this moment. I’m working with a lot of different artists at this moment — maybe some who fans might know, some from totally different scenes — but one spoiler is “electronic sound.”
KINO
Lauren Nakao Winn
Why was it important for you to launch NAKED? You could have easily stayed where you were for longer.
One of them is to differentiate from my work in the band and as a solo artist. And then I have another reason, which is to challenge myself. I love to challenge myself and I believe that will bring me to another kind of better future. If I don’t challenge myself or stay in a comfortable job, I feel like I’m dead. It’s hard to explain, but if I stay in my comfort zone, I feel like I won’t be able to change or grow. But I also didn’t start this just to take the risk itself, right? I feel like by taking these risks, something will come out of it in return. I don’t know what it might be, but that’s also the reason why I’m doing it.
I went through your music before the tour and found “POSE” from 2022. That was the first time I remember seeing you solo. I’m curious what you think of that song today?
I have two different purposes as a member of PENTAGON and as a solo artist. At that time, I was only a member of PENTAGON, so I wanted to be successful because that’s your goal as a member of a team. But after I launched this company and debuted officially as a solo, I want to talk about personal and individual things through my solo music. So, it’s totally different. At that time, I was making “POSE” just for the success.
What are your goals or successes today? What do you want to manifest to happen in 2025?
Honestly, um, I want to be on the Billboard charts. For real, it’s not like I’m not joking. While trying to be myself, that’s also my biggest goal because I’m making music with my 100 percent honest feelings. I feel like I lost myself for a long time, so I’m looking for the real me and figuring out who I am. So, after I’ve found that and made some music with the honest KINO, I want to be on the Billboard charts with that music. That’s my goal.
When had you felt like you had lost yourself?
It was after the I Think I Think Too Much show in Seoul in September. Around that moment, I was wondering, “What do I have to show for myself to the world?” And then I realized that I’ve never shown myself 100 percent. Of course, I’ve shared some stories, but I don’t think I talked about myself fully. After I realized that, I wanted to be honest. It’s very hard to be brave to show myself, including the parts I didn’t want to show.
KINO
Lauren Nakao Winn
You said it’s also important to keep your purpose with the group intact. Can you share more about including PENTAGON in your mind?
I think I exist because of them. Because I have a team and members of a team behind me, I can still exist for 20, 25 [years] as KINO. Of course, it’s very important to me to be my own artist, but as I mentioned, I have a lot of purposes. PENTAGON is very important in my life. They kept me alive and that’s how I keep going mindfully. It’s about loyalty and friendship, but actually, for me, it’s more like a “family-ship.” They’re always next to me, the biggest supporters, and I can lean on them. We always meet up, talk on the phone, and, of course, have a group chat, even if we’re just sending a meme or GIFs.
Beyond your band mates, I really like your How I Met KINO series on YouTube and seeing new sides and these unexpected friendships. Where did the idea come from?
Before we launched the show, I wondered, “What KINO have I not shown to my fans yet?” All the people around me tell me, “You’re very Kang Hyung-gu when you’re with your friends, the real you.” So, I’ve never noticed that, but after, I realized, “Oh, it’s perfect to show my moments of friendship to the audience.” And I feel like all my fans really love the moments when I’m with my friends. I’m so sick of the camera turning on and needing to sit up and be perfect. I became more comfortable in front of the camera and that was an amazing change.
Photography and Creative Direction by Lauren Nakao Winn
Assisted by Jovita Tedja
KINO
Lauren Nakao Winn
Chino Moreno is ready to embark on a new arenas tour with his alternative metal band Deftones, starting Tuesday (Feb. 25) at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. It’s the California band’s first tour since 2022, and it will share the stage with The Mars Volta and Fleshwater during some spring dates in the U.S.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
At the same time, the Sacramento-based band plans to release new music this year, Moreno tells Billboard Español in Mexico City. “So the plan is, obviously, to have a record sometime around that time [during the tour.] It’s getting very close to being ready, so yeah, we’re excited,” he says of what would be the successor to Ohms (2020).
Almost eight years have passed since Deftones last visited Mexico, where — as in the rest of Latin America — it has a solid fan base. But with his other project, Crosses, Moreno was in Mexico City last December. Here, he and his bandmate, guitarist and producer Shaun Lopez, closed the tour of their album Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete (2023) at the Pabellón Oeste of the Palacio de los Deportes, after being on the road between 2023 and 2024.
Trending on Billboard
“We made it happen! We were gonna do a full Latin America tour, but it was just gonna be too much time and it was close to the holidays, so we decided we at least have to go to Mexico City,” Moreno says.
It was Crosses’ first show in the capital and it was an incredible experience for him and Lopez, who had never been here before. Lopez, a former member of the now-defunct group Far, created an unexpected close bond with Mexico when he served as a producer of Mexican trio The Warning‘s album Keep Me Fed (2024) — it was thanks to the Villarreal Vélez sisters that the musician obtained his first Latin Grammy nomination last year, for best rock song, as co-author of their song “Qué Más Quieres.”
“When we wrote it, it wasn’t in Spanish,” Lopez tells Billboard Español. “Sometimes when you do songwriting sessions like that, you don’t hear anything for like a year. And usually when you don’t hear anything, you think ‘Oh, they didn’t like it, they didn’t like me’ or whatever, you know? And then the manager hit me up a year later and he said: ‘Can you send me a session for that song?’ He’s like, ‘The good news is the girls are going to convert it to Spanish, which is going to be actually really cool because it’ll be the only song on the album that’s Spanish.’”
In 2025, Moreno will spend much of the year touring with Deftones, so Crosses will have to take a break before returning to the recording studio. “I don’t know how soon it’ll be, but we definitely want to work on more music,” Lopez says. “We enjoy making it and yeah, I just would like to thank everybody for showing interest in our project.”
As Deftones is soon expected to announce tour dates in Mexico, Moreno confirms that the band is considering the possibility of bringing the festival they have been organizing annually since 2020 in San Diego, California — Día de los Deftones, whose name is a clear reference to the popular Mexican tradition Día de Muertos celebrated on Nov. 1-2 — to Mexico.
“We talked about it a lot recently, so it’s definitely in discussions to do so. We would love to do!” Moreno says. “I mean, I can’t promise, but, you know, it’s been growing really great.”
Depending on when you were first introduced to DPR IAN throughout his decade-plus career in entertainment so far, it may be smart to check on how exactly to address the Australian multi-hyphenate.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Born Christian Yu in Sydney, Australia, in 1990, and known by his Korean name Barom, the future star introduced his first moniker by uploading dance videos to YouTube as B Boy B.yu — a nickname thought up by his mother to remind him to always “be you” or, in young Barom’s case, “B yu”). After high school, he embraced an unexpected swerve to debut in the K-pop industry as Rome, the leader of the boy band C-Clown. When the group split, he reclaimed Christian and used +IAN after directing music videos for the likes of BIGBANG’s Taeyang and iKON’s Bobby, before ultimately landing on his DPR IAN stage name as part of he and his Dream Perfect Regime’s independent, creative musical movement.
But for a friendly conversation like the first episode of Billboard’s The Crossover Convo, he says Ian is “perfect.”
“There are so many eras that I’ve been through and pertaining to those eras is where a lot of those names came out,” DPR IAN explains to Billboard. “Having it all laid out like that really puts a lot of things into perspective. I’ve really just been on the run and on the fly, and I haven’t been able to process a lot of these things; it’s been quite the journey.”
With a musical journey that began with a childhood obsession with progressive-music icons like Daft Punk and Moby, embracing British-pop icons like The Beatles and Spice Girls, to diving into new genres on multifaceted projects like vocalizing over icy EDM on “Do or Die” with DPR ARCTIC, while delivering a psychedelic rock experience for “Diamonds + and Pearls” on the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings soundtrack, that features a diverse roster of superstars like Simu Lu, Anderson .Paak, DJ Snake, Saweetie, Swae Lee, BIBI, 21 Savage, Mark Tuan of GOT7 and many more.
The Shang-Chi soundtrack peaked at No. 160 on the Billboard 200 in 2021, but IAN built upon the chart momentum with his 2022 full-length Moodswings in to Order (peaking at No. 146 on the chart), which was soon surpassed by Dear Insanity EP from 2023 (No. 138).
But IAN says the music’s personal impact on listeners is more important than how much they buy or consume it.
“I’ve never really expected any of that as I was starting this,” he says in reaction to his organic chart rise. “Even if it affects one person and if it’s enough to change one person’s world for the better, that was enough for me.”
For the premiere episode of The Crossover Convo, take a journey through DPR IAN’s music history and look out for the next star to go through their global-pop music journey next month.
Music festivals are more than just concerts — they’re entire worlds where fans lose themselves in the sound, the energy, and the moment. But what happens when an artist doesn’t just play festivals, but makes music that feels like one? With his latest album Festival Season, SAINt JHN delivers an electrifying experience that blurs the line between live spectacle and studio magic.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Led by high-energy singles like “Glitching” and the genre-bending “Poppin,” Festival Season arrived on Friday (Feb. 21) as JHN’s most ambitious project yet. The album fuses elements of house, hip-hop, punk and electronic music, capturing the thrill of a headlining set and the intimacy of a late-night afterparty. Inspired by the euphoric highs and unpredictable chaos of real-life festivals, SAINt set out to craft a project that feels just as immersive as the events that shaped it.
“Festivals are like a different universe,” he tells Billboard just a day before the album’s release. “I wanted to make something that sounds like you’re in the middle of one – something that makes you want to move, scream, and lose yourself in the moment.”
Trending on Billboard
After making waves with While The World Was Burning, SAINt JHN has spent the last few years pushing his sound to new heights. Whether performing on massive stages or collaborating with some of the most forward-thinking artists in music, he’s built a reputation for tearing down genre boundaries and delivering electrifying music. Now, with Festival Season, he’s bringing that same energy straight to the speakers.
Billboard caught up with SAINt JHN to discuss Festival Season, his genre-blurring sound, the electrifying energy of live performances, and how he’s elevating the festival experience on his own terms.Festival Season is your first full project in four years. What inspired the album’s title, and what’s the overarching theme you want listeners to take away?The reason why it’s called Festival Season is because it sounds like you’re at a live SAINt JHN concert.
And if you’ve ever heard any of my music – and even if you haven’t – I’m genre divergent. I’m a bit disrespectful when it comes to genres. I don’t really play to any one particular sport. I just like what I like. I like the sounds of music. So when you hear this collection from top to bottom, from tip to toe, it sounds like you’re in the middle of a festival, and you’re running from stage to stage to hear your favorite artist.
It’s all just me. But the songs change, and the theme changes, and the mood changes. But if you’ve never been to a performance, this sounds like a pocket performance. You can hear crowd interaction, chants. You’re hearing yelling. You’re hearing fans screaming my name.
Because that’s what it’s like to be at a SAINt JHN show. It’s an enormous concert. The mood changes, the theme changes, the sound changes, but the energy never dies. So Festival Season was born from that. I wanted the people who might have been on the other side of the planet, in a place that I’d never been and never visited, to be able to take home a pocket performance from me.
It’s a world where I perform on a stage in front of you. But you get to see some of the things I go through—the emotions, pains, the curiosities, the uncertainties, the doubts—but everything is at a maximum level. Nothing is low. The decibel is on 10-plus the entire time.
With so many different sounds on this project — Afro-fusion, alternative pop, introspective moments — what song do you think will be the breakout hit, and why?I feel like it’d be a stupid response of mine to tell you what I think would be the breakout hit. I don’t know. I’ve never known what people want. I don’t know what people want from me. I don’t know what people want for themselves. I know the way art works in the best format and the best possible thing is you make the thing that you love, and then people decide from that what they love.
It’s like – I was going to say something stupid, like the guy who probably invented the cheeseburger was probably just trying to make a milkshake, and the cheeseburger came out of it, and they were like, “We like that.” So I think maybe some of that will happen. I do have a creeping suspicion. I got a song I think is gonna go crazy.
I think a bunch of them are gonna go crazy. Well, I think for “The Gangsters,” it’s gonna be sort of undeniable, especially when you hear it live—like, when you really see it presented, I think it’d be hard to deny that. But I don’t got no predictions. I don’t want to be the guy at the Super Bowl going, “Yo, this is the team.”
When fans press play on this album, how do you want them to feel? What emotions or experiences do you hope to evoke?I hope when people listen to this collection, I hope they feel bolder than they’ve ever felt. There’s a feeling that you get when you leave a concert, when you leave a festival.
There’s a certain type of energy that you get to take home with you that doesn’t last a long time. For some people, it lasts a couple of days, for some people maybe a couple of weeks, and for some people, it just lasts moments after it. There’s a heightened endorphin, a certain surge of energy, and I want people to get that.
But I want you to be able to press play again and do it again. Usually, you have to venture back to the performance, into a field where you wore an outfit, where you brought a date, where you spent the money on the tickets. Usually, you have to go hunt the thing that you’re looking for. I wanted you to be able to take it home with you so you could restart it every time you felt something that you needed.
Every album has an ideal setting for full immersion. Where do you think Festival Season is best experienced? Is it a car ride, a morning commute, a late-night listen?I think the best place for you to immerse yourself, to hear this, to experience this, is at a tiny rave. That tiny rave could happen in so many different places, right? But your mindset needs to be a “tiny rave.”
It could happen in your bedroom, but you gotta be ready to ruffle up the bedsheets. It could happen in your living room, but you’re gonna have to be ready to spill some coffee, spill some champagne. It could happen in a car ride, but maybe it’d be hard to focus on driving.
It’s an immersive experience, and in order for you to take it in, you gotta be willing to submit to it. This isn’t like a vending machine where you say, “I want Coca-Cola and Sprite.” This isn’t that.This is — show up. I’m gonna make you something really special. This is omakase. This is when you show up, and the chef says, “I’m going to make you something. It’s going to be exceptional. Don’t make any requests. Just be hungry when you get here and be appreciative when you leave here.”
This album also marks a big moment for you—your signing with Roc Nation Distribution. How does this partnership elevate your vision for the next phase of your career?
I think it’s just more freedom. My entire career, my entire purpose in life — the only things I’m looking forward to and the things that I’m hunting, the thing that drives me in the morning and keeps me up at night – is this type of unbridled freedom that only creatives who reach their maximum peak get to feel.
That’s what I look to feel every day. So to be in partnership with people who share a similar vision, who’ve been disruptive from the beginning of their historic run, it just means I’m in league with the right people. I’m just on the right team.
You’ve always pushed boundaries sonically, but Festival Season feels like an expansion of your artistry. How do you think this album reflects your growth since While the World Was Burning?
I always tell a tale from where I’m at at the time. While the World Was Burning, the world was on fire.Collection one was my first collection. So you get to hear the presentation. You get to see exactly where I’m at. I’m centered in the middle of my universe, but I’m telling a story from the seat of the couch, wherever the couch is positioned. Festival Season – you can tell I’m going back on the road. I’m living in my purpose.I’m in my path. My garden has become the stage, and I just want to introduce you to what I’ve been harvesting.
You can hear the maturation in my language. You can hear the maturation in my tone. You can tell I’m not in the same place you left me at, and I think that’s the purpose. That’s an artist’s purpose—to continue growing and evolving.To find new paths. To find new places to venture. To find scarier formats. To find things that are unexplored. It doesn’t seem like I’m tracing myself.
What tends to happen is, when an artist becomes successful, people want them to run the same route—like, “Keep this. Do it again. Do that same lap again. Do it again so I can see it. I didn’t get to see it the way you started the race. Alright, run it again. Alright, cool, cool. We saw it twice. Now do it three times.” But that’s not what artistry is. That’s not what creativity is. Creativity is complex. Creativity wants to continue creating. Creativity designs itself to continue finding new places.
So to be an ultimate, consummate creative, you have to be willing to break through your own glass box that you’ve built. You have to be willing to run the lap backwards, sideways, on your hands. That’s what I’m doing. It might look like the same race, but I’m definitely not sprinting at the same pace.
You chose “Glitching” and “Circles” as your recent singles. Why did you choose those two?
“Circles” is from [my upcoming album] Fake Tears From a Pop Star, and as I was about to roll out Collection Two entirely, I was starting there because Fake Tears From a Pop Star was going to lead.
But I made a pivot. And I think that’s really incredible – when an artist can actually change paths, change course mid-move. I feel like Michael Jordan in the air, about to go for a dunk and turning it into a layup because I saw the block coming. I saw the contender coming, and I was like, “Nope, watch this.”
And the point – the reason why I did that – was because I thought people weren’t ready for it. That’s the truth. “Circles,” for me, is an incredible song. It’s almost like indie rock meets whatever I am naturally. And without me intending to make indie rock music – I’m just doing whatever I feel. I’m just letting my freedom find its own path. But as I was doing that, I was like, “Ah, this isn’t the right timing.”
And I felt this way before. Because I remember how I felt on Collection One, and I trust my own instincts. If you get there before the audience gets there – if you get there long before they get there – your wait to build a foundation is going to be really aggressive. I’d rather build right as they’re showing up.
So I pushed Fake Tears From a Pop Star back a couple months so that I could get the full expression of what needs to happen. As I’m coming back out, running out the gate four years later, I want it to be disruptive. I don’t want it to be harmonious. I don’t want it to be pretty pastels. I want aggressive colors. I want rage. I want dysfunction.
Because I think we need that. I think in the time that we’re in, simple harmony gets overlooked and misunderstood. So we need to fight before we kiss. So that’s why “Circles” led, and that’s why “Glitching” followed “Circles.” Because when I pivoted from Fake Tears, moving on to Festival Season, there was an energy I was looking for. A certain, unfamiliar, progressive energy.
And the strange thing is, my core audience – the people who have been following and loving SAINt JHN since 2018, 2016, 2017 – they want to hear super melodic music. They don’t actually want to hear things that make them dance. The tempo is strange to them. “Glitching” is strange to them. It’s progress that they don’t want. But I know I have to get there before they arrive — because that’s my job.
You’re heading on your Festival Season North American tour next month, and you’re also hitting Coachella. What’s your vision for the live show experience this time around?
Tough question, because I don’t know what my Coachella set is going to be. I don’t know what the stage design is yet. I’m having a thousand conversations. This is my first time really, really collaborating with any degree of people – just considering how else I can see myself.
It almost feels like Alexander McQueen, shifting from creative direction by him – it’s his brand – and someone else stepping in to execute his vision, but with their taste. So I’m considering that. I’m looking at my world in a completely new way. I want to see what somebody else’s perspective on me is.
So I’m entertaining new conversations. I don’t have a complete vision for what that’s going to look like. Because I’ve always satisfied myself on the road by telling my truth. It’s always been loud. But the way I want to present my story now – I’d like it to be theatrical. That’s the truth. I want you to feel a sense of theater with the same sense of journey, passion, commitment, and pride.
Beyond music, you’ve been making moves in fashion with your new clothing line Christian Sex Club and appearing at major fashion weeks. How does your personal style influence your artistry, and vice versa?
I think it’s just another language for me. Style is just language. Sound is just language. Like when you hear a Trinidadian accent, it’s just the melody of the accent that separates it from a Guyanese accent. So style, for me, is just another type of melody.
It’s a visual melody. When the denim hits the leather, and the leather hits the silk, or the fur hits the canvas, and the canvas hits the viscose. By the way, I hate viscose. They inform each other because I get to live in the world that I create.
Like when you see a movie, and you’re listening to the audio from it, you can see the theatrics of it, and you hear the script and the character development. But what really tells you and informs you how to feel is what they look like and what the wardrobe is. So it gives you a different color and dimension.
It’s just another part of it – another part of storytelling for me, another part of the language. Another way to be more dialed in.
You also made your acting debut in The Book of Clarence last year. What was that experience like, and do you see yourself exploring more roles in the future?
Yeah, I’m gonna be doing a lot more acting. I always thought I would. You know what’s funny? I thought I preferred to be behind the camera – and I probably do. But the people who care enough about me are like, “Yo, shut up. Don’t be stupid. Stand in front of the camera. Do the thing that you do incredibly well.”
James Samuels – he is my brother – he directed The Book of Clarence, wrote it, scored it. He did everything you possibly could do. And I’m like, “Yo, I think I want to direct.” He’s like, “Bro, your magic don’t hide.”
So I won’t hide. I intend on doing a lot less hiding. So you’ll see me in more cinematic presentations, even though I just prefer to be the guy that coordinates. Because I think the people who don’t want to be seen, who aren’t looking for attention, can really do their art and execute it at a maximum level. And I think the people who want to dance in front of the lights end up being just performative. And I never wanted to be performative. I really wanted to do the thing I cared about because I really cared about it.
But with all that bulls—t being said – yeah, you are gonna see a lot more acting from me, because it seems to be something that comes naturally to me.
With Festival Season setting the tone for this next chapter, where do you see yourself creatively and personally in the next few years?
Oh, I can see the next 18 months really, really clearly – without giving away anything, My life works best, and my art works best, when I can see 24 months, 36 months – when I can clearly see my vision for the future. And over the course of the last four years, I’ve been building. The next iteration of it is this year.
I really want to put out three collections. That’s the truth. So I’ve been working on the third collection, because Fake Tears from a Pop Star is done. I won’t give away the name of the third collection, but I’m really excited about it – just as excited as I am for Festival Season. And if I can see the third collection this year, that means I can see the first quarter of next year and what touring next summer looks like.
And that gives me an immense amount of clarity. That means I know where I need to be. I feel overconfident that I’m where I need to be. I’m in lockstep.