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Bebe Rexha Shares 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Her Music | Billboard Women In Music 2024

Bebe Rexha shares five things you didn’t know about her music backstage at Billboard Women In Music 2024.

Bebe Rexha:
Hi, I’m Bebe Rexha, and this is five things you don’t know about my music.

My favorite music video I’ve ever shot was “Sacrifice,” and it was inspired by the movie Blade. And it’s me and my vampire girlfriends and we seek revenge on a very bad guy.

Every time I record a song, it’s always different. Sometimes I’ll start with chords, sometimes I’ll start with a concept, or title. Sometimes something happens to me that day, and I want to write about it. But the recording process for me changes every time. But a lot of my a lot of the songs that have been the most successful, you know, on the charts have been stuff that have started just with me on the piano.

I love performing an Amsterdam but also I loved when, I loved it when I was in Japan as well. That was really fun. I don’t love just one place. I personally just love meeting fans from everywhere around the world. I always want to see what the city looks like. And not just go to the touristy parts. I like finding like the grungy places. That’s fun for me.

We have my first album ever, it was called Expectations, and it was based off of a quote that an old manager told me, because I was at the point I was very … I was going through the music industry as a songwriter kept getting, you know, in really not great situations. And he told me he’s like, “Honestly, the best thing in life is having no expectations.” So whether you’re going on a date, or walking into … I said walking — I’m from New York — walking into a studio session or meeting somebody. Don’t think, “Oh, I hope this date goes well” or build a fantasy in your head — just walk in very neutral. And I feel like that’s the reason why I call my album Expectations. That was my first album.

My favorite accomplishment ever is I was studying to be an act classically — a classically trained opera singer. And I got into … I got into this program. It was like a New York City program in New York State program. It is very hard to get into it. That was a really exciting moment for me. But the crazy thing is, what happened is when you get picked, you will [go to] upstate New York, and you sing with a whole choir, it’s like a choir situation. And I end up getting the flu that day. But you know, that’s life, but here I am at the Billboard Women In Music.

Charli XCX Shares 3 Things You Didn’t Know About Her | Billboard Women In Music 2024

Charli XCX shares three things you didn’t know about her backstage at Billboard Women In Music 2024.

Charli XCX:
Hey, I’m Charlie XCX, and three things that my fans don’t know about me are:

My favorite city to perform in is New York.

My new video for my son “Von Dutch” was shot at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and that’s the first music video that I’ve been shot there.

And third, my new album’s called Brat, but they already knew that.

Chief Keef Talks Working With Sexyy Red & Mike Will Made-It, ‘Almighty So 2’ & More | Billboard News

Chief Keef opens up about working with Sexyy Red and Mike Will Made-It, his upcoming album Almighty So 2 and more backstage at Rolling Loud 2024.

Chief Keef:
Saying she wants to come through and I said, “hell f–king yeah.”

Oh s–t. I’ve been working on that s–t man. It’s actually dope, man.

Man, you know, but when I do go on tour, I mean, I’d be ready to go home.

Tetris Kelly:
Chief Keef is the epitome of a mood, and from following him to his juiced set at Rolling Loud and heading backstage with him and Mike Will Made-It. It was down with the man Sosa and Billboard News. Arriving just before his set, everybody — and I mean everybody — was excited for Chief Keef at Rolling Loud, and he ran to the stage to give the people what they want.

And right afterwards, he was in high demand, as he doesn’t do press often, but Billboard was able to hop in the van with the legend for some hilarious shenanigans.

Unknown Speaker:
He hit that bih like Tom Cruise.

Tetris Kelly:
To cruise backstage and chat all about the show and his new project. Hanging out backstage with Chief Keef at Rolling Loud. Man, the festival has been such a vibe. The fans was loving your set. How was it up there, man?

Chief Keef:
Always dope. It’s always loud. Rolling Loud.

Tetris Kelly:
I mean, you had Sexyy Red up there, man. How did you guys start working together? It was so good.

Chief Keef:
S–t.I just know she f–k with me real heavy. I f–k with her too. Saying she wants to come through and I said “hell f–king yeah.”

Tetris Kelly:
And I mean what do you think it is about her that has like made people go so crazy for Sexyy Red?

Chief Keef:
She just … you could tell she really just come from where we come from.

Tetris Kelly:
I feel you on that, man. Then also you know you just dropped “Dirty Nachos” with Mike Will Made-It, so what made y’all decide to collaborate on a project together?

Chief Keef:
That’s my dog. He right up there. Where he at? That’s my boy.

Tetris Kelly:
And the fan reaction has been great. How’s it feel to finally have the project out there?

Chief Keef:
Man, it ain’t even just … that ain’t even what we suppose to been drop. That just what he decided, you know what I’m saying? Let’s just drop something before we do what we suppose to drop. Yeah, man, like I said, that my mans and we always got together and we always working too.

Tetris Kelly:
And then you got Almighty So like the sequel, to part two coming out, man. So tell me what the fans gonna expect from that.

Chief Keef:
Oh s–t. I’ve been working on that s–t, man. It’s actually dope, man. Got some different stuff on it.

Tetris Kelly:
Got some features you can tease us with a little bit?

Chief Keef:
Yeah, I got some features on there, but I just want to, you know, keep it a surprise if they don’t know already.

Watch the full interview above!

NewJeans on Learning About the Industry, Importance of Friendship, Trusting Your Gut & More | Billboard Women In Music 2024 

Group of the Year NewJeans opens up about being new to the industry, the importance of friendship, trusting your gut and more backstage at Billboard Women In Music 2024.

NewJeans:
Some advice that I would give to women in the industry, well, actually, we’re, like, very new to the industry too, so we’re still learning. And I would just like to say that believe in yourself. Trust your gut feeling and don’t get hurt because that would be very sad. Yes.

And also, I think it’s a very, very important thing to have friends like my members around you. I think without them, it wouldn’t be this much fun and you know, exciting. So having good friends around you, I think would be a really important factor.

Watch the full video above!

Tems Advises Women ‘Don’t Be Shy … You Can’t Lose’ | Billboard Women In Music 2024

Tems opens up about the importance of overcoming shyness, connecting with others and more backstage at Billboard Women In Music 2024.

Tems:
The advice I would give to my younger self or for any woman: Don’t be shy. Don’t be shy because most people aren’t thinking about anything you’re thinking they’re thinking about, you know. And honestly, there’s so much connection in the world you can’t lose. Everything is working out for you forever.

Watch the full video above!

Behind the Scenes of Raf Saperra’s ‘Hood Harvest’ Featuring Dave East & Big Body Bes: Exclusive

Billboard, Raf Saperra, Dave East and Big Body Bes take you the behind the scenes of “Hood Harvest.”

Raf Saperra”
All right, this is Billboard. Snip it, take one. Hey, what’s going on, everyone? This is Raf Saperra. Welcome, Billboard, to the exclusive BTS on my track “Hood Harvest.”

So this is basically a passion project. OK, let’s go. With all my projects, I’ve directed, edited and performed in all of them, so I’m very hands on with the work that I do. It all tied in well with my love for cinema as well as music and hip-hop, and just to tie it all like that was just well fit.

Dave East:
You already know it’s your boy Dave East reporting live from the deli in Harlem, New York City. Shout-out to Billboard. For me, personally, it was proud to be a part of this with the whole British Punjabi scene. Big shout-out to the whole movement to meet Raf and making do with the homies, and we really caught a vibe catching that energy with Raf right there on the spot. I think that that definitely set that record off.

Raf Saperra:
The video concept for this, they’re like, “Yo, this is 4 a.m. music, 4 a.m. fashion, 4 a.m. revenge, but we come in peace. Look at me I’m out here looking gorgeous.” Shouts-out to Kid Super, blessed us with all wardrobe for the shoot.

Watch the full video above!

*NSYNC Reunion Is ‘Paradise’ for Hopeful Fans — But Will It Lead to Anything Else?

*NSYNC fans got what they’d been begging for last week, when the blockbuster boy band reunited at Justin Timberlake‘s one-night-only show at The Wiltern in Los Angeles to play snippets of four of their hits and perform their new song “Paradise” for the very first time. So now that we’ve seen the quintet back together — following their 2002 hiatus and their last performance at the 2013 MTV VMAs — what’s next?

On the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking all about the pleasant surprise of the reunion and what it could possibly lead to, from the band getting back together on Timberlake’s upcoming tour, to more new music, to their own stadium trek. (We can dream!) Plus, Katie was inside The Wiltern when it all went down, and she takes you inside the intimate venue for the history-making concert.

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Listen below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Ariana Grande debuts at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 albums chart with Eternal Sunshine and on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).” Plus, a dozen songs from the album are on the Hot 100, including the set’s lone track to feature another performer — who just so happens to be Grande’s 98-year-old grandmother, Marjorie “Nonna” Grande.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Dua Lipa On New Album ‘Radical Optimism,’ Nicki Nicole Healing From Split & More | Billboard News

Billboard News exclusively sat down with Dua Lipa. The pop star opened up about her upcoming album ‘Radical Optimism.’ Nicki Nicole is on the cover of Billboard Español and we sat down with Jessica Roiz to get the inside scoop on her conversation with Argentina’s pioneering urban artist. K-pop boy band THE BOYZ members Kevin, Jacob, Hyunjae Lee, Juyeon Lee and Eric stopped by Billboard News to talk about their latest album ‘PHANTASY Pt. 3,’ how fans inspired them to write their song “Love Letter,” and more!

Tetris Kelly
International icon Dua Lipa invited us to chat her new album, and I got to hang with my new besties The Boyz, Nicki Nicole is on the cover of Billboard. And we go backstage with Bebe Rexha and Maren Morris. This is Billboard News for March 19th. And this may be the best episode ever, and I promise I don’t say that every day. First off yesterday, Ariana Grande topped the Billboard Hot 100 And did the sweetest posts, thanking her fans saying, “Let’s promise to keep going.” Congrats Ari and we are all about the pop queens today. Yes, I sat with Dua Lipa, how is this new era of Dua Lipa feeling?

Dua Lipa
It feels good I mean it feels for lack of a better word radically optimistic

Tetris Kelly
The date is May 3rd and the project is Dua Lipa’s ‘Radical Optimism’ and we had the sweetest chat with the pop star about the brand new album, bad dates and oh, and the Spice Girls. The cover is kind of a juxtaposition, right you’re in this calm water, the shark so tell me the inspiration behind the cover art?

Dua Lipa
Throughout the whole record there is this idea of chaos happening around and me trying to push through it in a way that feels authentic and honest. To me this is obviously an overly dramatic way to to explain that but I feel like it says radical optimism to me in the in the clearest sense of being in deep waters.

Watch the full video above!

PARTYNEXTDOOR Announces New Album, Christian Nodal’s On Stage Fiesta & More at Billboard’s The Stage at SXSW | Billboard News

PARTYNEXTDOOR announces his new album, Christian Nodal has an on stage fiesta, ILLENIUM brings the hype at Billboard’s The Stage at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Tetris Kelly
The Stage at South by Southwest presented by Billboard was the place to be in Austin last weekend.

Tetris Kelly
PARTYNEXTDOOR kicked off the three day concert series with an epic performance and a surprise album announcement. While, Friday was a fiesta at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park thanks to Christian Nodal.

Tetris Kelly
Billboard closed out the bash with an incredible DJ set from ILLENIUM, proving everything in Texas is bigger including the fun.

Dua Lipa On the Inspiration Behind ‘Radical Optimism,’ Favorite Spice Girl & More | Billboard News

Dua Lipa talks about the inspiration behind the interesting cover photo for her upcoming third album ‘Radical Optimism,’ how she wrote her latest single “Training Season,” how the album is so influenced by English bands and artists like Oasis, Portishead and Massive Attack, who her favorite Spice Girl is and more!

Tetris Kelly
‘Radical Optimism’ your third album, how is this new era of Dua Lipa feeling.

Dua Lipa
It feels good I mean it feels for lack of a better word radically optimistic

Tetris Kelly
The date is May 3rd and the project is Dua Lipa’s ‘Radical Optimism’ and we had the sweetest chat with the pop star about the brand new album, bad dates and oh, and the Spice Girls. The cover is kind of a juxtaposition, right you’re in this calm water, the shark so tell me the inspiration behind the cover art?

Dua Lipa
Throughout the whole record there is this idea of chaos happening around and me trying to push through it in a way that feels authentic and honest. To me this is obviously an overly dramatic way to to explain that but I feel like it says radical optimism to me in the in the clearest sense of being in deep waters

Tetris Kelly
And authentic she’s being, she says “Training Season” is over.

Dua Lipa
In a way I been on a couple of dates, like a string of string of bad dates.

Tetris Kelly
Oh, no.

Dua Lipa
I went into the studio and I was like, right I’m done. You know, like, I don’t want to like be anyone like “Training Season” is over, I’m done training up these boys. And what started off as a joke in the studio ended up being like “Training Season” became like the term that we stuck with.

Watch the full video above!