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09 Jan 2025

JENNIE: An Exclusive Look Into Her World | Billboard Cover

Billboard cover star and global sensation, JENNIE, takes us behind the scenes of her shoot and into her world. The star shares her favorite place to be in Seoul, when she decided that she wanted to release a solo album and more!

JENNIE:

Hi, I’m JENNIE. I’m here in Seoul shooting for the cover for Billboard. We’re here in Seoul. It feels super nice to be back home. I’ve been traveling a lot, so I appreciate being back in my city, and also the weather. It is really perfect right now, it’s nice to be walking around outside anywhere. This is top secret, I would recommend people to walk along the Hangang. It’s one of my favorite places, and with this weather, it would be perfect. I feel very powerful right now, I think I look like a football player with how my shoulder looks right now, I’m loving this energy. Yeah, I think it’s a fun look with my sleek hair, my makeup, my nails. We wanted to portray elegance and beauty. What better color to convey that than black? I feel like a strong, independent woman right now. My whole life, I think ever since the day I started in this music industry, which was 15, releasing a full solo album, has been on my list. I do have a song that makes me feel like a boss, and it’s in my album, so make sure to check what song that is. I try to get as much as sleep. I love taking a bath. I love eating Korean food. 

Keep watching for more!

08 Jan 2025

K-Pop Updates: ROSÉ’s ‘Rosie’ Confessions & SEVENTEEN’s BSS ‘Teleparty’ Comeback | Billboard News

ROSÉ went on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ and shared some secrets about her latest album ’Rosie,’ while SEVENTEEN’s BSS make a return with ‘Teleparty.’ Keep watching for all the K-pop updates!

Tetris Kelly:

From ROSÉ’s talk show confessions to a new SEVENTEEN subunit EP, we’re breaking down what’s poppin’ in K-pop. ROSÉ sat down with Kelly Clarkson to discuss her new album ‘Rosie’ and just how honest it is. And you know we’re big fans of SEVENTEEN, and their subunit BSS has returned close to two years after their debut EP, sharing their new three-track ‘Teleparty.’ In addition to the new music, Seungkwan, DK and Hoshi act as apparent “ambassadors of youth” in a trailer for the EP.

08 Jan 2025

Did Lil Baby Shade Gunna on ‘Running This S–t’? | Billboard News

Lil Baby just released the deluxe version of WHAM, and his new track “Running This Shit” has fans speculating that he’s shading Gunna. Keep watching to see where the song may be addressing Gunna.

Tetris Kelly:
Did Lil Baby just call out Gunna on a new track? Lil Baby recently released the deluxe version of his album Wham, which features a new track “Running This Shit.” The song has fans speculating about whether Lil Baby is referring to his former collaborator Gunna as a “rat.”

On the track’s second verse, Lil Baby raps: “I don’t care what he did, he a rat still/ And I said what I said, don’t at me.”

Lil Baby hasn’t hidden his feelings towards Gunna as of late. While speaking on Charlamagne Tha God’s Out of Context interview series, the rapper had this to say:

Charlamagne Tha God:
What’s the relationship with you and Gunna right now?

Lil Baby:
We don’t got no relationship.

Tetris Kelly:
We’ll continue to follow this story as it evolves. We reached out to Gunna and Lil Baby for comment. You can take a listen for yourself on the WHAM deluxe.

For more hip-hop news, keep it locked here at Billboard.

08 Jan 2025

Billboard Ranks Top 100 Artists of the 21st Century | Billboard News

Billboard is ranking the Top 100 Artists of the 21st Century, and we’re giving you a look into the top three, and how many No. 1s they’ve claimed on both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100. 

Who’s your No. 1 artist? Let us know in the comments!

Tetris Kelly:

Billboard has ranked the Top 100 Artists of the 21st century. And while the list is full of your favs who have been killing it since the year 2000, right now we’re giving you a taste with the top three. At No. 3 is Rihanna. During the period, the Barbados queen grabbed 2 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 14 No. 1 singles on the Hot 100. At No. 2 is Drake. The “6 God” grabbed 13 No. 1s  on the Billboard 200 and 13 No. 1 singles on the Hot 100! And making the 21st century her own era at No. 1 is Taylor Swift. Even with the country-turned-pop superstar not making her Billboard chart debut until July 1, 2006 — Swift has rung up 14 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, the most among women of all time, and 12 chart-topping songs on the Hot 100. Billboard’s top artists of the 21st century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. Stay tuned for the Top Albums and Top Songs coming soon.

08 Jan 2025

Tears for Fears Is on a Creative High: ‘We Still Have a Desire to Get Better’

Many bands that rose to prominence in the ‘80s have turned into oldies bands, tied to a moment in history and profiting from fans’ love for nostalgia. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears haven’t fallen into the stagnant rut that has captured so many of their contemporaries. More than four decades after forming in Bath, England, in 1981, Tears for Fears is producing some of its best material.

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Orzabal and Smith began their creative resurgence in 2022 with their first studio album in nearly 18 years, The Tipping Point, which reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales and Top Alternative Albums charts. In October, the band continued its hot streak by releasing four new songs as part of a live album, Songs for a Nervous Planet.

“It’s because we care,” Smith tells Billboard‘s Behind the Setlist podcast when explaining the caliber of the band’s recent songwriting and recordings. “We don’t want to do bad work. We still have a desire to get better. I don’t think that’s ever going to leave us. We look at other artists and still wish we were that good. That will never leave us, because we’re never going to become that good, I don’t think. There’s always going to be someone that’s better than us, without question. So when you still have that desire, you’re going to continue to do good work because you are continuing to try and achieve something better than you’ve done before. And that’s what keeps us going.”

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Songs for a Nervous Planet is the audio complement to a live concert film, Tears for Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film), that was given a brief release in theaters in October before being made available online. Recorded at the FirstBank Amphitheater — a former quarry that provides a spectacular backdrop — in Franklin, Tenn., the film captures the band performing at the top of its game. “Everyone that had come to see the show said it was amazing,” says Smith. “We get a limited view of it because we’re looking the other way. So we agreed to record it. And the reason being that we felt the band was the strongest they’d ever been — or we had ever been, should I say. And we were playing great. We sounded great. We were singing better than we ever had, playing better than we ever had. So it seemed like a good time to do it.”

The four new songs make Songs From a Nervous Planet, as Smith puts it, more like an EP with 18 live bonus tracks rather than a live album with a few new songs. “The record company wanted us to do a couple new tracks,” says Smith. “We felt that was kind of a way of saying, ‘Add some throwaway tracks.’”

Instead, they went into the studio and emerged with “four tracks that we felt really strongly about,” says Smith. The Songs for a Nervous Planet opener, “Say Goodbye to Mum and Dad,” perfectly captures the political and environmental tension of the day (“It’s no life, this island of fear/ When tomorrow comes, we’ll brave the wild frontier”). “The Girl That I Call Home” is a love song for Orzabal’s wife with a catchy melody (“Princes adore you/ They cower before you/ You’re the girl that I call home”). The stirring “Emily Said” is classic Tears for Fears: a complex song structure that doesn’t distract or become superfluous.

To Orzabal, the new songs “hold up brilliantly” to the band’s deep catalog of beloved songs that includes “Mad World” from the 1983 debut The Hurting and “Shout” from the U.S. chart-topping 1985 album Songs From the Big Chair. He’s particularly proud of “Astronaut,” a song that mixes disillusionment with a space travel theme (“I don’t belong here/ I got one eye on a different world”), which didn’t make the cut for The Tipping Point. “It didn’t quite fit, for whatever reason just didn’t feel right,” says Smith. “A lot of these things are not easy to articulate, because it’s just a feeling you have of what works, what doesn’t work.”

But “Astronaut” was “perfect” for Songs for a Nervous Planet, says Orzabal. “The whole imagery of the astronaut and the field of sunflowers [seen on the album cover], the continuity in the videos with the astronaut and his girlfriend, always featuring them, is superb.” In a couple decades, he adds, “Astronaut” will be “a huge hit for someone — not us, but for someone.”

Listen to the interview with Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith in the embedded Spotify player below, or listen at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, PodBean or Everand.

08 Jan 2025

SEVENTEEN’s BSS Unit: Here Are Exclusive Photos From ‘CBZ (Prime Time)’ Music Video

SEVENTEEN’s special unit BSS — which is comprised of SEUNGKWAN, DK and HOSHI — is fresh off the release of their second single album, TELEPARTY, on Wednesday (Jan. 8).

According to the press release about the project, the snappy title combines the words “telepathy” and “party,” and that the trio wants the album to remind their fans to “pause and savor the ordinary yet precious moments of everyday life.”

To celebrate the release of TELEPARTY, the group unveiled a fun, sporty new music video for “CBZ (Prime Time),” which features fellow Korean stars Uhm Jung-hwa, Jung Young-ju, Kal Sowon, and Moon Sang-hoon as celebrity guests.

The group shared behind-the-scenes photos from the video shoot exclusively with Billboard, along with some quotes recalling the fun everyone had throughout the day of filming. “We tried to capture the energy of the song, and there are key parts in the choreography that showcase the meaning of ‘CheongBaZi (CBZ)’ in an intuitive way. Please look forward to it!” BSS’ HOSHI said, for example.

As a 13-person group, SEVENTEEN dropped their EP Spill the Feels in October, which featured the DJ-Khaled assisted lead single “Love, Money, Fame.”

See below for some behind-the-scenes photos and quotes from BSS’ “CBZ (Prime Time” music video, exclusively via Billboard.

07 Jan 2025

Jelly Roll Believes He Can End the Eminem Vs. MGK Feud | Billboard News

Jelly Roll shares his thoughts on the Eminem vs MGK feud, and why he believes he can bring the two artists together. Keep watching to learn more!

Jelly Roll:

My heart is always to bring them together one day because I see so much more of them in each other than they know, you know what I mean?

Tetris Kelly:

Could the Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly feud come to an end? Jelly Roll thinks he can do it. We have the story.

Jelly Roll:

I hadn’t really brought it up to Marshall yet because I’m still just kind of glad that I’m still in that circumstance to be able to have those conversations. But I do see so much more in them than not.

Tetris Kelly:

Em and MGK have exchanged bars and jabs against each other for some time. Jelly has collaborated with both rappers on his project and he told the Flagrant Podcast he’s up for bringing the peace.

Jelly Roll:

Like I also gave Kel some perspective, too. And it’s like we all grew up watching Eminem take over the game early. If you were mentioned in an Eminem song, it was like getting mentioned in a comedy special. You were on fire. You couldn’t be hotter.

Tetris Kelly:

Em and MGK first started butting heads in 2012, when the latter — who was 22 at the time — referred to the former’s then-16-year-old daughter Hailie as “hot as f–k” on Twitter.

Look man, they’re going to get together one day, eventually. It’s inevitable, the world’s a circle, you know what I mean? And I think they’re going to find each other’s heart more than they don’t. And if they never do connect that way I think that it did more for both of them than it did to hurt them.

07 Jan 2025

Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck Settle Their Divorce | Billboard News

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have settled their divorce five months after they filed. Keep watching to see what the terms of their divorce papers say.

Tetris Kelly:

Five months after filing for the dissolution of their marriage, Bennifer are settling their divorce. Who is keeping what? We’re letting you know. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have settled their divorce. The singer/actress filed court papers Jan. 6, asking a judge to officially approve an agreement. In her initial documents, the singer/actress cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. According to the settlement documents obtained by Billboard, the two stars agreed on terms to divide up their properties and assets. Both waived spousal support and agreed to equally split the legal fees of their negotiation, with J.Lo changing her legal name back from Jennifer Affleck to Jennifer Lopez. In October, Lopez opened up about her feelings toward being single again saying: “I think to myself, ‘F—, that is exactly what I needed. Thank you, God. I’m sorry it took me so long.’”

07 Jan 2025

Kai Cenat Says Beef With Ye Is Over | Billboard News

Kai Cenat says that his beef with Ye is over after the rapper messaged him during one of his livestreams. Keep watching for the full story on how it went down.

Tetris Kelly:
Did Ye and Kai finally squash their long-standing beef? It looks like streamer Kai Canet and the “Follow God” rapper are starting 2025 off on the good foot. Their beef is seemingly over. Over the weekend, Ye posted a picture on his Instagram story of a horse wearing a Bully Stable blanket standing in the middle of the room Cenat uses to stream his popular Twitch show. Unsure of what to make of the post, a confused Kai responded on his stream. 

Kai Cenat:
I don’t even know what this s–t means. Now, listen, I know he’s got an album coming out. And I’m not gon’ lie, I think I’m officially a part of the rollout. I don’t know, though. Brilliant move by him. I think I’m a part of the rollout. He made me a part of the f–king rollout, dude.” 

Tetris Kelly:
While streaming, Kai received a DM from Ye himself wishing Canet a happy new year. Leading the streamer to announce live that the beef is over.

Kai Cenat:
The beef is over. The beef is over.

Tetris Kelly:
It’s nice to see everybody getting along. Hopefully, we’ll see Ye appear on Canet’s stream sometime soon. Until then, keep it locked here at Billboard for more hip hop and R&B news.

07 Jan 2025

As Beyoncé Bowl Kicks Off ‘Cowboy Carter’ Live Era, Is a Tour Announcement Next?

At her Christmas Day halftime performance, Beyoncé officially kicked off Cowboy Carter‘s live era by performing nine songs from the 2024 country album for the first time. Could a tour announcement be next?

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are discussing what Bey might reveal on Jan. 14, a date she teased on social media after her “Beyoncé Bowl” performance at the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game last month. The leading theory is that she could reveal dates for a Cowboy Carter Tour to follow 2023’s megawatt Renaissance Tour, but what if a new album is on the way instead?

Listen to our discussion below:

Trending on Billboard

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time as the tally shakes off the holiday season and how SZA’s SOS cruises to a 12th nonconsecutive week on the Billboard 200 thanks to its recent Lana deluxe expansion with 15 additional songs. Might SZA step aside next week to make way for the latest releases from Lil Baby or Bad Bunny?

Plus, at Sunday’s Golden Globes, the pop girls — Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus — went home empty-handed, but Katie & Keith wonder: Might Wicked be more awarded for its second installment coming later this year? And speaking of Gaga and Mars climbing to No. 1 on the Hot 100, we’re breaking down what has made this duet such an enduring hit.

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.)