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07 Mar 2025

Normani Goes Public With Her Relationship, Kai Cenat Debates LeBron vs. Jordan & More | Billboard News 

Normani went public with her relationship and credited Ciara and Russell Wilson for the setup, Kai Cenat debates who the GOAT is between MJ & LeBron, and GloRilla is ready to take the stage for various sports events.

What’s your favorite sports and music update from today? Let us know in the comments!

Kai Cenat:

You always got something to say about LBJ and I’m here to say it, bro: LeBron is better than Jordan, I said it.

Tetris Kelly:

Billboard cover star Kai Cenat was a guest on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ and he had a lot to say. Kai debated Stephen A. Smith on the MJ vs. LeBron GOAT debate and whether he was a better baller than Stephen A.

Kai Cenat:

Michael Jordan ain’t never had 50,000 points. Let’s talk about that, OK? 

Stephen A Smith:

He ain’t play 25 years.

Tetris Kelly:

Kai also shared his opinion on which team he’d like to see Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter get drafted to.

Kai Cenat:

He gotta come to the New York Giants. Come on, we need something. I feel like New York, yo we need something

Tetris Kelly:

We’ll just have to wait until the NFL draft in April to see if Kai’s wish comes true. But someone who can’t wait for the draft is GloRilla! March Madness is coming up & GloRilla was just announced as the headliner for AT&T’s Super Saturday concert at the Women’s NCAA Final Four on April 5 in Tampa. GloRilla told Billboard she “can’t wait to connect with her fans during one of the most exciting times for women’s sports.”

Keep watching for more!

07 Mar 2025

Tank and the Bangas Is Unique in a City With Big Culture: ‘I’m Not Typical New Orleans’

“I’m not typical New Orleans,” says Tarriona “Tank” Ball, singer for the group Tank and the Bangas, when chatting on Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast.

Just as New Orleans has a long history of absorbing aspects of different cultures, Tank and the Bangas is a music genre-blender. The group’s stunning mix of R&B, funk, jazz, rap and poetry helped Tank and the Bangas win NPR’s Tiny Desk Content in 2017 and most recently a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for their fourth studio album, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul (Verve Forecast). 

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“You need to know how to do something in this culture,” says Ball of her hometown. “This is a big culture.” But Ball isn’t always sure she fits in. She says she can’t cook traditional New Orleans dishes. She can’t “second line,” otherwise known as dancing in a New Orleans parade. Nor does she perform classic New Orleans songs like The Meters’ “Hey Pocky A-way” in her concerts. Her relationship with her hometown is captured in a stand out track from The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, “Am I Still New Orleans?”

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“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Man, am I still New Orleans if … the only thing I lost in the storm was my way?’ I really love that place,” says Ball. “And apparently, when I’m in the streets, a lot of other people love it too. They say, ‘Am I still New Orleans,’ which lets me know I’m not the only one that feels that way — especially in a city that is driven by its culture. If you are not a part of the bigness of that culture, then you could sometimes feel like an outsider.”

Tank and the Bangas have won over audiences around the world with their genre-blending style that reflects the diversity of her upbringing. “I think it’s the perfect combination of like listening to your parents old records from like Stevie Wonder and Peabo Bryson, and listening to 98.5 with Anita Baker [and] Luther Vandross, and then also meeting new friends around the corner from your new neighborhood and listening and watching Selena for the first time, and watching the Spice Girls, and then not wanting to go to church sometimes, and sitting at home watching the Disney Channel over and over, really close to the television,” she explains. “And then growing up in New Orleans, where you’re just hearing bounce music, and you learn to dance and pop very early on.”

Next month, Ball and her band gets to perform for her hometown crowd at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival — otherwise known as Jazz Fest — with such artists as Lil Wayne & The Roots, Dave Matthews Band, Burna Boy, Santana and Trombone Shorty, a New Orleans local who is taking Tank and the Bangas on tour this month. “I want to tear it up,” says Ball of the upcoming Jazz Fest performance. “I want to give them something to see. I want to have a good time, and I want to execute well. I think this is going to be one of our best performances.”

Don’t miss the entire interview with Ball — listen using the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Music, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand. 

07 Mar 2025

Mustard, Lucky Daye & More Share How They Unplug From Social Media

It’s almost Global Day of Unplugging, and in honor of it, Mustard, Lucky Daye, Lil Mosey and more shared how they take a break from their screens to reconnect. 

Starting at sundown and lasting for the next 24 hours, take a moment — whether it’s a minute, an hour, or the full day — to unplug and be present.

How do you unplug? Let us know in the comments!

Rania Aniftos:
You’re always plugged in, always locked in. What do you do to unplug?

Lucky Daye:
I’ll travel or it’s really tough for me to unplug first of all, but I’ll break something just to put it back together.

Julia Michaels:
Things I do to unplug? Oh, I love the sun. Love to be in the grass. I love a drive. 

Tetris Kelly:
There we go. 

Julia Michaels:
Love a long drive.

Lil Mosey:
It’s hard to unplug. I was just saying last night. Right when you see a video on any Instagram, TikTok, you’re stuck in there for a whole hour just going.

Rania Aniftos:
Going down the rabbit hole with the weirdest stuff, too. 

Lil Mosey:
You just gotta throw your phone out the window or something. Just call it a day. 

Tetris Kelly:
For the people that might be at home right now feeling like I don’t know what to do. I’m tired of scrolling through Twitter or X. What advice do you have to them? 

Green Day:
Take a break, stay off of social media for a while. I think one of the worst things in the world is the anxiety that we all feel collectively, and I think it has a lot to do with social media freaking us out even more, and then all of a sudden, you just realize you go and you hang out with a friend and you just make those connections that you’re supposed to make. 

07 Mar 2025

Lady Gaga Discusses Creation of ‘Mayhem’ | Music You Should Know | Billboard News

Lady Gaga’s Mayhem is out today, and the pop singer discusses how the chaos of her earlier work influenced this album, her relationship with the media, how she’s grown as an artist, her fan interactions and more!

What do you think of Mayhem? Let us know in the comments below!

Lady Gaga:
To me, if you can repeat your fingerprints, they’re your fingerprints. I don’t want to drive anyone insane, but also, thank you so much. So, like I tried to have a lot of fun making this record. I always embark on a very like organic musical process, and the album always begins with the music. There have been times in my career where I had, like, an idea in terms of, like, how to conceptually approach a record. I would say that this album from start to finish, it was like pieces coming together, and I did not want to turn it into anything artificial. I really wanted to allow myself to, like, just follow the music. It started to slowly remind me of, like, my earlier work, the mayhem of my approach to pop music, which is, like, something that, like, is mine, that I feel proud of. I did want the chaos to end, and that’s why the record is the way that it is. It’s sort of like there being an end of insight to the chaos — I think gives it some hope. 

Stephen Daw:
What was it that was kind of fearful for you about doing that?

I think I felt a lot of pressure. Yeah. Felt pressure to, yeah, like, ever since my first album. You know, I did listen to what people would say, “Will she outdo herself? Can she top herself? She live up to it? You know, she needs to evolve,” or she, you know, “she hasn’t changed enough.” There was a lot of noise. I was young, too, of course, you know. And I’m 38 now, I’m a lot more confident in myself, but I think I found my confidence in this record.

Keep watching for more!

07 Mar 2025

Eladio Carrión Previews What to Expect From His New Album & Tour | Billboard In Conversation

Eladio Carrión shares what he loves about his fans, what to expect from his new album, how he’s preparing for the tour, why he loves performing and more!

Ingrid Fajardo:
Hello, my friends at Billboard! Today from Viña del Mar we are with the great Eladio Carrión. 

Eladio Carrión:
Hello, hello, hello!

How are you? It’s a pleasure to have you here. We’re enjoying the view. I was telling you that we brought a bit of San Juan.

Clearly, I feel like I’m in San Juan here next to the hill. 

Exactly, next to the hill. How are you, Eladio? How do you feel? Nervous?

I’m really good, I never get nervous. I was an athlete for many years. Those are pure nerves when you’re going to compete against other people. Do you get me? This is moreso eagerness to get on the stage, to see how the experience is, to see how people enjoy the show. You get me? It’s more eagerness than nervousness.

What–

I’m doing good though, how are you?

I’m doing good, too. What have you listened to or what expectations do you have for the “monsters,” as fans call it here,

The “monsters?” They call themselves “monsters”?

The fans do because it’s not easy.

Oh no, what are they here? They’re the best, right? Here they’re part of the top five fandoms in the world. I love to come here for that reason. They live the music, the feelings at the shows. You get me? They enjoy it because there’s nothing more beautiful to be an artist, a singer and see the people enjoying the music. Do you really get me? There’s nothing more beautiful than that.

Keep watching for more!

06 Mar 2025

Celebrating Tate McRae, Celine Dion & More Taking No. 1 on Billboard 200 | Billboard News

Tate McRae’s ‘So Close To What’ leads at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, and we’re breaking down all of the Canadian women who have gotten to No. 1 with their albums.

Which album is your favorite from a Canadian woman? Let us know in the comments below!

Tate McRae:

This is my time.

Tetris Kelly:

Tate McRae just grabbed her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with ‘So Close To What,’ also becoming the first Canadian woman to lead the list during the 2020s. But what other Canadian women have led the list? We’re taking this Women’s History Month to break it down. ‘4+4’ — Tate McRae ate that, and she sat with us to chat all about her new No. 1 album.

Tate McRae:

Feeling like a woman for the first time, feeling sexualized for the first time, and feeling like people weren’t really receiving my work how I wanted it to be received.

Tetris Kelly:

But she follows in the footsteps of many other Canadian queens. Of the five other women from up north to sit at the summit, Celine Dion has the most No. 1s with five total. Alanis Morissette has three chart-toppers, including ‘Jagged Little Pill.’ Avril Lavigne from Belleville has two No. 1s from 2004 and 2007. Who could ever forget Shania Twain, who has gone up to the summit twice. And lastly, Nelly Furtado from Victoria topped the chart with ‘Loose’ in 2006. For more Billboard News, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

06 Mar 2025

Vybz Kartel Announces First Tour Stop in U.S. in More Than 20 Years, Adds Second Date | Billboard News

Vybz Kartel  announced his first U.S. performance in more than 20 years, and he added a second show due to popular demand. Keep watching for the full story!

Are you excited to see Vybz Kartel live? Let us know in the comments!

Tetris Kelly:
The U.S. is so ready for the return of Vybz Kartel that he’s adding a new show! 

Vybz Kartel:
Let’s ring it in in a star-studded way.

Tetris Kelly:
We have the story of our cover star’s return after 20 years. 

Vybz Kartel:
Back during Jamaican dancehall music in a more formative kind of way.

Tetris Kelly:
Back during our cover story, Vybz told Billboard: “New York, that’s Jamaica outside of Jamaica!” Well, he’s returning now that the dancehall legend walked out of prison a free man after serving 13 years of a now-overturned life sentence for murder. 

Vybz Kartel:
I was also talking to my lawyer on my cell in my cell.

Tetris Kelly:
He just announced his first U.S. live performance is set to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 11. Well, due to overwhelming demand, yesterday the Worl’ Boss announced a second Barclays show on April 12, with general sale tickets for both dates going on sale today (March 6). Vybz stated: “To be back on U.S. soil performing for my fans is a blessing that I don’t take lightly. The wait is finally over. New York, get ready!”

06 Mar 2025

Morat on Best Parts of Being in a Band, Debuting at Viña del Mar & More | Billboard In Conversation

Before Morat’s debut at Viña del Mar, the beloved Latin pop rock band shared how their dreams have evolved over time with their growth, what they love about being in a band together, how they get inspiration for their music, their personal style and more!

Ingrid Fajardo:
Hi, friends at Billboard. Today we’re in Chile at Viña del Mar. Morat, how are you?

Morat:
We’re happy to be here. 

It’s so nice to see you guys, obviously, at your debut at Viña del Mar. How are you feeling?

It’s a really profound emotion. I believe we’ve been preparing for this moment for many years. I believe its been seven … six … seven years looking at Chile. And Chile has helped us fulfill a lot of our dreams. In  fact, we found out that our fans here campaigned for us to be at the Festival de Viña, so that’s good. We feel a huge responsibility, but also emotions bigger than that. 

Yes, it’s been a minute, but in your conference you also talked about your dreams and how they’ve changed. But how do you live all of this? How far did you guys dream of going from the start when you guys first started the band?

Look, there’s one thing that we’ve ultimately talked about because I believe we came off of the stadium tours. It was not only a great dream that we were able to fulfill, but also, as if it automatically opened doors for what happens after, so we have to keep dreaming. We have been asked this several times and I believe that part of this, that I mentioned a while ago, is that I liked the way you said it. It’s like dreams fall apart and are reconfigured into different things.

Keep watching for more!

06 Mar 2025

John Summit Talks New Album, Shows You His Routine & More in a Day in His Life | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star John Summit takes you through a day in his life in Miami where he shares what he’s working on for his next album, who he would love to collaborate with, performing at the Sphere, how EDM music from the US has gone international and more!

John Summit:

I remember like I was just at first, just making music to impress my girlfriend at the time, because she liked all these DJs. I’m like, okay I do this. I feel I could lose my job any day. So the second I let off the gas, someone else is gonna steam right ahead.

Katie Bain:

Tell me what you were absorbing in terms of electronic music, pop music, movies, media that you know kind of fed into what you’re doing now, like what was particularly inspiring to you?

I mean, I think the other pop stars this year were really inspiring, like, I think the whole movement Charli XCX had with ‘BRAT’ was just incredible, because the music was amazing. It was very electronic focused, but then there’s a cultural movement as well, which I think is every kind of artist’s dream, right? And then from there, just watching like movies I needed to catch up on like, I just rewatched, like ‘La La Land,’ for example, the guy who scores those movies. He does it with Damien Chazelle, this guy named Justin Hurwitz, and he’s such an incredible, incredible score that super inspires me. And then I was looking into it, and like Ryan Gosling learned how to play the jazz piano within three months from nothing for that movie. And it just shows you that you don’t even need to be particularly knowledgeable or skilled at any instrument, and you can just learn it. I just rewatched ‘Whiplash,’ for example, I bought a drum kit the next day. 

Keep watching for more!

05 Mar 2025

J-Hope Teases New Track With Miguel, BTS Announces ‘BTS 7 Moments’ & More | Billboard News

J-Hope teases his new track with Miguel, his debut solo performance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ and more. Keep watching to see all the new updates on J-Hope and BTS.

Are you excited for the new music? Let us know in the comments!

Tetris Kelly:

J-Hope just further teased his new track with Miguel as we find out he’s heading to Jimmy Fallon and BTS announces so much. Let’s break it down. We’re having sweet dreams all right. Our Hope’s second teaser of his soulful team-up with Miguel has us in the feels. The full track is out Friday. Billboard can exclusively announce the BTS star is scheduled to take the stage at ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,’ on Monday, March 10, marking his solo debut on the program. We’re seated. The artist is in the midst of his 31-date ‘Hope on the Stage’ tour. And also his entire group just announced ‘BTS 7 Moments’ is available for pre-order on March 19th and we can’t wait to see all the things we get from the group as we await their return this year.