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13 May 2024

Saweetie, Lucy Liu & More Celebrate Asian Pacific & Multicultural Leaders at 2024 Gold Gala: See the Photos

The third annual Gold Gala event took over the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening (May 11), celebrating the 2024 A100 list, which counts down the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers in culture and society over the past year.

The night featured a performance from 2023 A100 honoree Saweetie, who received the first-ever Billboard Gold Music Honor recognizing her boundary-pushing musical accomplishments. “I be shouting out my mama in my songs, my Filipino queen, through my food vlogs, through sharing old pictures of my childhood, I feel like those are the way I connected with my fans and let them know where my roots come from,” the rapper told Billboard on the red carpet on how she incorporates her Filipino and Chinese heritage into her career.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo received Gold Ally Honor for her work to advance inclusive representation in front of and behind the camera. “This community has been very, very good to me. I hope to do more work with them and spend more time and hopefully connect more,” she told Billboard.

Other honorees included the cast and creators of Emmy-winning Beef, who receive the Gold Icon Honor and Lucy Liu, who earned the lifetime achievement Gold Legend Honor. Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary was also commemorated with the Gold Generation Award.

The Gold Gala was followed by the inaugural Billboard x Gold House Founders Party, which featured a headlining set from producer/DJ Steve Aoki, as well as a special performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 winner Nymphia Wind, a karaoke room presented by Rakuten Viki and an additional set from DJ Hu Dat.

In celebration of the Gold Gala, we compiled all the star-studded photos from the red carpet, featuring striking outfits and homages to the celebrities’ Asian heritage. See the photos in the gallery below.

13 May 2024

Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Countdown for May 18, 2024 | Billboard News

Tetris Kelly:
Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been battling with diss tracks, but how will this shake up on the charts? This is the Billboard Hot 100 for the week dated May 18.

Slipping to No. 10 is Teddy Swims, as Benson falls to No. 9.

“Espresso” drops from No. 4 to No. 8.

Drake’s “Family Matters” debuts at No. 7.

“Like That” is up two spots to No. 6.

Shaboozey is at No. 5.

Taylor falls from the top spot as Kendrick’s “Euphoria” is up to No. 3.

“Million Dollar Baby” has a second week at No. 2, and debuting in the No. 1 spot is Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”

Watch the full video above!

10 May 2024

Megan Thee Stallion, Ice Spice & BTS’ RM Release New Music, ENHYPEN’s Fate World Tour Preview & More | Billboard News

It’s Friday, May 10, and the rap girlies are back in the game. Megan Thee Stallion & Ice Spice released new singles and BTS’ RM dropped his new song, “Come Back to Me.” Dhruv shares about what he’s looking forward to when performing at Head In The Clouds. We give you all access to ENHYPEN’s Fate Plus World Tour, and we even got to sit down with them to chat about how they feel about performing in the states. We take a look at how Stray Kids dominated U.S. & Global Billboard Charts just in time for the release of their new song with Charlie Puth, “Lose My Breath.” Camila Cabello & Lil Nas X teamed up to release their new single, “He Knows.” We had Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, JaQUEL Knight and Amber Ruffin stop by the studio to talk about how they’re reviving and updating ‘The Wiz.’ Ryan Castro released his new album, ‘El Cantante del Ghetto,’ and he shares his journey to stardom, what to expect from his new music and more!

Tetris Kelly
New Music from Meg, Ice and RM we run down Stray Kids history making music take you to see ENHYPEN in LA, Head In The Clouds heads to New York and catch up with the cast of ‘The Wiz.’ Happy Friday, we’ve gotten tons to get into and today’s Billboard News starting with our Friday music guide.

Tetris Kelly
Megan Thee Stallion levels up on boa and is that a Gwen sample I hear? Ice Spice takes things higher with “Gimme me a Light.” I love festival season and this weekend is a good one in the clouds is going down in New York City and they’ve enlisted some epic acts from (G)I-DLE to Joji, Head In The Clouds is bringing the party back to New York City with a stacked lineup of Asian talent. Atarashii Gakko will take the stage again this weekend when Head In The Clouds returns to Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. In addition to them BIBI is set to make her NYC debut also making their NYC debut is Dhruv.

10 May 2024

Stray Kids’ Chart Success on U.S. & Global Billboard Charts | Billboard Explains

Stray Kids are back and better than ever with new single “Lose My Breath,” a collaboration with Charlie Puth. The boy band has had several hits, so let’s take a look back at the K-pop group’s chart success on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and Global chart with songs such as “LALALALA” and “Hellevator.”

Stray Kids:
Hello, everyone, we are Stray Kids!

Narrator:
They’re back with a new collaboration with Charlie Puth called “Lose My Breath.” To celebrate, we’re looking at their chart accomplishments. This is Billboard Explains: Stray Kids Chart Success.

Stray Kids made their U.S. Billboard chart debut with “Hellevator.” The song debuted on the World Digital Song Sales Chart back in November 2017. “Hellevator” was the first of their 27 top 10s on the chart, with four No. 1s: “Mixtape: OH” in 2021, and “MANIAC,” “CASE 143” and “LALALALA” all in 2023.

“LALALALA” was also the group’s first Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 90.

Stray Kids have had big success on the Billboard 200. All four of their charting projects have debuted at No. 1. 2022’s Oddinary: EP and Maxident, and 2023’s 5-Star and ROCK-STAR. The group was the first act to have their first four charting albums all reach No. 1 since Alicia Keys achieved that feat in 2007.

Over on the Billboard Global 200, Stray Kids have had seven songs make that chart, with “LALALALA” reaching the highest peak — No. 10 in 2023.

We can’t wait to see where Stray Kids goes next on the Billboard charts.

10 May 2024

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Kicks Off Its European Leg in Paris: Photos From the Opening Show

All eyes were on Taylor Swift on May 9 as she kicked off the European leg of her Eras Tour with the first of four concerts in Paris, marking her first show back after the release of the Billboard 200-topping, record-breaking The Tortured Poets Department.

Not only did the pop star debut seven fresh numbers from the new album (see a full setlist), but she also made multiple changes to her original Eras set. A few fan-favorite songs were cut (sorry, “The Archer,” “Long Live” and “Tolerate It”), while parts of the show were restructured in order to make room for the new material. The sacrifices proved to be worth it, however, when Swift stunned the audience at La Defense Arena with brand new costumes, choreography, visuals and special effects, including an alien abduction and a clever trick that made the star appear to levitate across the stage.

The trek’s nightly high points, however, remained in place. Fans still got to scream along to the full 10-minute version of “All Too Well” during the Red era, hold their phone flashlights up for “Marjorie” in the Evermore set and scream the traditional “1, 2, 3, let’s go b—h” chant during Reputation’s “Delicate.” The surprise song section also remained fully intact as Swift gave Midnights’ “Paris” and TTPD’s “LOML” their live debuts. 

“This has been an unforgettable night in Paris!” Swift gushed to the crowd before closing out as usual with “Karma.” “Thank you so much!”

Check out photos from Swift’s Eras Tour European kickoff show in Paris below.

10 May 2024

Wayne Brady & Deborah Cox on How They’re Reviving & Updating ‘The Wiz,’ Nichelle Lewis’ Talent & More | Billboard News

Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, JaQUEL Knight and Amber Ruffin talk about how they’re reviving and updating ‘The Wiz’ for today, why it is important to the culture, the talent of lead Nichelle Lewis, being able to break barriers on Broadway with the show and more!

Wayne Brady
I’m Wayne Brady.

JaQuel Knight
I’m JaQuel Knight.

Amber Ruffin
I’m Amber Ruffin.

Deborah Cox
I’m Deborah Cox.

The ‘Wiz’ Cast & Creative
And this is Billboard News.

Rebecca Milzoff
This is really the first major revival that’s happened of the show since the original production in the ’70s. I think of ‘The Wiz’ as a show that is so important to so many people coming up in musical theater. A lot of people get to do it in high school and college. And yet, this is really the first major remounting we’re seeing. What did it mean to all of you growing up as people in entertainment and the arts loving the movie?

Wayne Brady
Loving the movies, having the movie being this inspirational and aspirational thing. We’re like, oh, people that look like me can do that thing. And I want to do that thing. And the songs are so amazing and you can get lost in it. And so I know for me, it was definitely one of the drivers that made me go, Oh, I think I can do this.

Deborah Cox
It means everything to me to be in the show, really. And truly, I have never had the opportunity to play a real whimsical, fun, out-of-this-world type of character. And I love that I get to display that every night onstage.

Watch the full video above!

09 May 2024

Cardi B Apologizes After Met Gala Backlash, Megan Thee Stallion & Ice Spice Tease New Singles, Shaboozey in TikTok Chart Top 3 & More | Billboard News

It’s Thursday, May 9, and Cardi B issued an apology after receiving backlash from her Met Gala interview where she forgot her designer’s name and just stated he was Asian. Meanwhile,  Kendrick Lamar’s back catalog is up 49% following a weekend full of beef, while Drake’s is down by 5%. Ice Spice teases her new single “Gimme A Light,” Megan Thee Stallion announced her new song “BOA” and Jermaine Dupri posted a sneak peek at a possible remix with one of Mariah Carey’s songs. Ryan Castro talks new music with us and what to expect from his new album, ‘El Cantante del Ghetto’  Cover star Lainey Wilson teases new music and some of the challenges she’s had with stardom. Will Lay Bankz be able to hold on to her top spot on the TikTok Chart? SEVENTEEN takes us behind the scenes of their music video for “Maestro” and more! 

Tetris Kelly
Kendrick’s music is up with Drake’s down, three big teases in new female Hip-Hop tracks, and Cardi B is clearing the air. We go behind the video with SEVENTEEN, chat new music with Ryan Castro find out who’s on top on TikTok and Lainey Wilson is on Billboard’s Country Power Players issue. You’ve got another very exciting episode of Billboard News, let’s jump in. Here’s three things you need to know any apart. With all the distracts between Drake and Kendrick Lamar fans are wondering if Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” is going to top the charts. But when it comes to both rappers catalogs a winner in the battle is clear. Kendrick Lamar’s back catalogue is up 49% following the weekend of beep, while Drake is down 5%. Dang Drake’s Hotline ain’t blinging no more, we’ll have to see if we’re getting a new king of the charts and new music is coming. Ice Spice has teased “Gimmie A Light” out Friday.

09 May 2024

Ryan Castro Talks New Album ‘El Cantante del Ghetto’ & His Journey to Stardom | Billboard News

Ahead of the release of his album, ‘El Cantante del Ghetto,’ Ryan Castro shares his struggles to get to where he is today and more!

Ryan Castro:

I never thought one day as I was waiting to sing on the bus, all sweaty with my mic, that in a few years I was going to be at the same bus stop, but in an interview with Billboard.

Tetris Kelly:

Colombian superstar, Ryan Castro, sat down with Billboard for an interview ahead of the release of his new album to talk about how far he’s come. 

Ryan Castro:

I had more needs. I believe that that need also made me do crazier things to get what I wanted. And nowadays I am more mature, I think about the actions I take so I can stay out of trouble or to avoid making bad moves.

Tetris Kelly:

His latest dream is this album featuring some big collaborations including Arcángel on the focus track. 

Ryan Castro:

To be able to say that I have a song like that is a triumph, like being able to say that I have a song with Arcángel and for it to be the focus of my album, for me it is a real triumph and it says that my career and my music is getting the respect I dreamed of. 

Tetris Kelly:

The album fittingly called, ‘El Cantante del Ghetto,’ or ‘The Ghetto Singer,’ is inspired by his humble upbringing in Medellín as he reflects on what the streets taught him. 

Ryan Castro: 

I learned to control my time and emotions. I learned not to skip the process. I learned that singing on a bus.

Keep watching to learn more!

09 May 2024

Justin Bieber & Hailey Bieber Expecting Their First Baby | Billboard News

The Biebers posted a joint announcement of photos and videos featuring Hailey Bieber cradling her growing baby bump as Justin takes photos of her on Instagram on Thursday, May 9th. In one of the clips, it also appears that the couple renewed their wedding vows recently. The couple officially tied the knit in an NYC courthouse in 2018, then headed to South Carolina a year later for a ‘Notebook’-inspired ceremony.

Tetris Kelly
It’s official: The Biebers are having a baby and we have the breaking news. Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together after almost six years of marriage. They shared a beautiful video on their IGs of them renewing their vows and Hailey showing off her baby bump. Congrats to the happy couple. For more, check out Billboard.com.

09 May 2024

SEVENTEEN Takes Billboard Behind the Scenes of Their ‘MAESTRO’ Music Video | Behind the Video

Billboard and the members of SEVENTEEN — S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, The8, Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino — take fans the behind the scenes of their latest music video for new song “MAESTRO.”

SEVENTEEN:
We are SEVENTEEN!

Vernon:
We are here on the set of our brand new music video for “MAESTRO.”

Joshua:
Are you ready to set off for this exclusive behind-the-scenes look?

SEVENTEEN:
Let’s go!

Dongyeon Kang:
Hi, Billboard, we are the music video director of SEVENTEEN’s “MAESTRO” music video.

Mingyu:
When you think of the word “maestro,” it sounds classic with elements associated with conducting, but SEVENTEEN’s “MAESTRO” is a bit more futuristic.

Vernon:
This video is set in a world where everything can be created with A.I., including music, and this technology threatens SEVENTEEN, but in the end, we embrace the technology and become one.

Jihoon Jeon:
I feel like we’re living in an era where creation is becoming easier and easier due to the advancement of technology. We wondered what the role of an artist would be in this era, and wanted to portray SEVENTEEN as artists who are conducting the art of creation in this music video.

Kim Hyodahm:
What I like most is the dystopian look in the first verse, which involved items like black hoodies and balaclavas, because this is a new style that SEVENTEEN hasn’t tried often before.

Joshua:
I was actually conducting the skateboarders that were riding on a halfpipe, and what was really funny was that the halfpipes, they’re colored as pianos, so I felt like I was really conducting.

Watch the full video above!