Music News

What Could Taylor Swift Surprise-Announce at the MTV VMAs This Year?

Now that we know Taylor Swift is the leading nominee at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, the next question is: What might she surprise-announce at the Sept. 10 ceremony?

It was two years ago when Swift surprised the 2022 VMAs audience by announcing that a brand-new studio album called Midnights would arrive in October. Then earlier this year, she used the 2024 Grammys stage to announce that The Tortured Poets Department was on the way.

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are dropping our best theories for what news she might drop on the crowd this time around. Listen to the full podcast below:

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Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how The Tortured Poets Department is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a lucky 13th week. With Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s long-gestating Vultures 2 arriving over the weekend, could there be a Tay vs. Ye battle next week for No. 1? Plus, Chappell Roan hits new peaks on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart as her breakthrough summer continues to sizzle.

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.)

Kehlani Opens Up About Embracing Their Non-Binary Identity: ‘I’m Going to Exist Loudly’

Kehlani is embracing herself wholeheartedly.

The superstar — who uses she/they pronouns — appears on the latest Stylecaster digital cover rocking a tailored, pinstripe suit and full glam makeup, complete with a mustache. The “Honey” singer has been a longtime open book about their sexuality, but in the publication’s interview, she says she would have been open sooner.

“It’s dope to see people now who are in that fluidity and people of that expression be able to exist and make music and everything be celebrated. …Younger me would probably have come to terms more quickly with my non-binary identity and how I present,” they shared.

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As a result, Kehlani will continue to be living authentically. “I’m going to exist loudly,” she said. “And if it rocks, it rocks.”

Back in 2018, Kehlani clarified their sexuality to fans. “cuz i keep geddin asked.. i’m queer,” she said at the time. “not bi, not straight. i’m attracted to women, men, REALLY attracted to queer men, non binary people, intersex people, trans people. lil poly pansexual papi hello good morning. does that answer your questions?”

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When asked why she chooses to use the word “queer” rather than “gay,” Kehlani explained, “i felt gay always insisted there was still a line drawn as to which ‘label’ of human i was attracted when i really jus be walking around thinking ERRYBODY FINE.”

Here’s When LISA & Rosalía’s ‘New Woman’ Collab Arrives

It’s official! LISA and Rosalía’s collaboration, “New Woman,” is arriving this month.

The superstar duo took to Instagram to share the fun cover art for the track, featuring the two singers sitting in lawn chairs with racetrack-inspired outfits. The caption indicates that the song will be arriving on August 15 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

See the post here.

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Earlier this week, LISA began teasing the collaboration. In a video posted to TikTok, a pink-haired LISA — whose face isn’t visible — shows off a star-shaped pendant around her neck. “Bangin’ it, bangin’ it, wanna crack these walls/ Bangin’ it, bangin’ it, wanna echo through the halls,” she sings over a mid-tempo, Y2K-inspired beat. “Pullin’ up, fresh face, brand new día.”

The teasers come a little over a month after the K-pop icon stepped into a new phase of her solo career outside of BLACKPINK with “Rockstar,” which debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200, as well as became LISA’s first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S.

“Rockstar” also marked LISA’s first release since signing with RCA Records to support her solo endeavors, inking a deal in partnership with her own LLOUD company that will allow her to retain ownership of her master recordings. “I’m super excited to be joining the RCA family, and I am confident they are the best team to create a bigger movement in my solo career,” she said in a statement in April. “Looking forward to showing the world everything we have been preparing.”

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Drake Shares 100GB of Unreleased Content Including Collaborations With Young Thug, Latto & 21 Savage

Drake headed to the vault and unleashed 100GB of unreleased content for fans on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 6).

The rap world awaited the 6 God’s next move and he returned with a sneak attack surprising fans with a plethora of behind-the-scenes content, unused album covers, clips from studio sessions and three new songs featuring Young Thug, 21 Savage and Latto.

Eagle-eyed fans peeped that Drake was following a random IG account titled Plottttwistttttt, which had some speculating on what the OVO boss had up his sleeve. The account was taken off of private and Drizzy posted the link and the subsequent leaked songs to his Instagram Story.

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100GIGSFORYOURHEADTOP is the title for the site which includes folders on top of folders of content. The top dossier features the three new songs titled “It’s Up” alongside frequent collaborators 21 Savage and Young Thug, the island-tinged “Blue Green Red” and the Latto-assisted “Housekeeping Knows.”

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Drake came out in defense of Thugger on their “It’s Up” collaboration as the YSL trial continues with no end in sight. “I can’t sleep at night with Thug at Cobb County Corrections/ I think he did enough reflectin’, I think my brother learned his lesson,” he raps.

For those expecting another response to Kendrick Lamar, these records don’t appear to be arrows sent in K. Dot’s direction. However, a photo with boxes inscribed with “No One Like Us – Euro 2024” is on the Plottttwistttttt IG.

There are plenty of hidden gems in the pile of photos and unreleased clips. One that’s picked up steam on social media finds Drake coming up with the hook to what eventually became Ye’s “Yikes” from his 2018 Ye album.

At the time, Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg reported that Drake flew to Wyoming to work with West and was initially left off as a co-writer on “Yikes.”

There appeared to be a fracturing of the relationship between Ye and Drake’s camps following that early 2018 Wyoming link-up, which led to the Pusha T and Drizzy feud taking place a couple of months later in May.

Other clips include unreleased music, Drake possibly listening to “March 14” for the first time and tidbits such as his definition of “Hotline Bling,” which he debated having Future on.

Drake has made cameos on songs with Sexyy Red, Camila Cabello and Gordo in the months since the Kendrick Lamar feud, but hasn’t released any songs in an official capacity, and now has employed a purposeful leak strategy.

Listen to the three Drake songs below.

Offset Shares Photo of Son Wave Holding a Stack of Cash to His Ear

Offset’s two-year-old son has money on his mind.

The Migos rapper took to his Instagram Stories on Monday (Aug. 6) to share a photo of his son, whom he shares with Cardi B, kneeling on the ground while holding up a stack of cash to his ear. He followed it up with sweet photos with his baby boy, hanging out together and driving in a car.

See the Stories here.

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The photo series comes just days after Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset for the second time since they tied the knot in 2017. According to Cardi’s rep, the divorce filing “is not based on any one particular incident, it has been a long time coming and is amicable.”

Cardi previously filed to legally end their marriage in September 2020. Within a month, however, Cardi revealed that the couple had sorted things out, and the case was dismissed in the early days of November 2020. 

Additionally, Cardi revealed that she’s pregnant with the estranged couple’s third child, following Wave and six-year-old Kulture. The rapper posted a pair of photos on Instagram revealing her baby bump while wearing a silky red gown and matching fur coat.“With every ending comes a new beginning! I am so grateful to have shared this season with you, you have brought me more love, more life and most of all renewed my power! Reminded me that I can have it all!” she wrote in the caption to her unborn child. “You’ve reminded me that I never have to choose between life, love, and my passion! I love you so much and can not wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do! It’s so much easier taking life’s twists, turns and test laying down, but you, your brother and your sister have shown me why it’s worth it to push through!”

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Elle King Reflects on Drunken Opry Set, Says She Was Experiencing a ‘High Level of Pain’

Elle King is opening up about her controversial performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage in January.

The star sat down with Kaitlyn Bristowe for her Off the Vine podcast, where she opened up about the difficulties that she was going through, and noted that she “went to a different type of therapeutic program” after the incident.

“I was very sad, and nobody really knows what I was what I was going through behind closed doors,” King explained. “And I just took that as, if it wasn’t this, it’s gonna be something else.”

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During the Grand Ole Opry’s tribute concert for Dolly Parton’s 78th earlier this year, King appeared on stage, where she declared that she was “f–king hammered” while trying to cover Parton’s song “Marry Me.” When she struggled to remember the lyrics, King sang, “I don’t give a s–t” and “I don’t know they lyrics to these things in this f–king town… Don’t tell Dolly ’cause it’s her birthday.”

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She continued that she’s a “different person” now. “I’ve had to heal and deal and go through things and, someone said to me, I think you might find a silver lining or something good that comes out of your experience with that,” she shared. “Ultimately, I couldn’t go on living my life or even staying in the situation that I had been going through. I couldn’t continue to be existing in that high level of pain that I was going through at the time.”

Following King’s performance, the Grand Ole Opry issued an apology via X, responding to one disgruntled attendee’s comment, and saying, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”

Parton quickly forgave King and offered empathy. In an interview with Extra, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee shared. “Elle is a really great artist. She’s a great girl. She’s been going through a lot of hard things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink.”

Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson & More Tapped for Ryan Murphy’s Hulu Legal Drama ‘All’s Fair’

Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash and Naomi Watts have joined Kim Kardashian and Glenn Close in the cast of Ryan Murphy’s Hulu legal drama All’s Fair.

Kardashian, who recently starred in Murphy’s American Horror Story: Delicate, will play a Los Angeles divorce lawyer in an all-female law firm, which is headed by Close’s character. One week after Halle Berry was announced to join the cast, news of her exit broke. Variety reported that she left the show due to a scheduling conflict.

“All’S FAIR… GET IN,” Taylor wrote on Instagram with a rose emoji while sharing the news on Tuesday (Aug. 6).

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Taylor is also gearing up with her directorial debut, Get Lite (starring Storm Reid), but she’s had quite the successful run in front of the camera: Her starring role in A Thousand And One earned her the best breakthrough performance award from the National Board of Review. Taylor also starred in the Jack Harlow-fronted White Men Can’t Jump remake and The Book of Clarence, which was co-produced by Jay-Z, last year. The 33-year-old multihyphenate is also slated to star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming untitled feature, also featuring Alana Haim, and Tyler Perry’s Netflix film Straw.

Murphy serves as writer, director and executive producer on All’s Fair. Watts, Nash, Paulson, Close and Kardashian will not only star in the show but will also be credited as its executive producers. Jon Robin Baitz, Joe Baken, Jamie Pachino, Lyn Greene and Richard Levine are also writers and executive producers. Other executive producers include Kris Jenner, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson and Holly Jeter. 20th Television, in association with Ryan Murphy Television, is producing All’s Fair.

Taylor is repped by WME and Taylormade Management Group.

Ice Spice Breaks Down Six Essential Tracks From Her ‘Y2K!’ Debut Album

Ice Spice’s Y2K! arrived on July 26 as one of the most anticipated rap debut albums in recent memory. The 24-year-old — born on Jan. 1, 2000 — has packed a career’s worth of accolades for most artists into the last two years since becoming the face of New York’s drill scene.

While she could’ve attacked the project in myriad different ways, Ice made the conscious decision of getting back to the essence of what made her a star. She crafted a drill-heavy project alongside right-hand producer RIOTUSA, who sharply laid the sonic foundation, then had Mike Dean come in from the bullpen to lend his mixing/mastering expertise.

The Bronx princess continued to sneer at her opps and radiate unbridled charisma along with delivering some toilet-themed lyrics at the Spice Cabinet’s amusement throughout Y2K!. “We wanted to make what we like,” Ice told Billboard. “I just love drill beats, and his specifically. We just locked in for a whole year and really got to it when we could. We have the busiest schedules, but I think that’s why it’s important to have a close bond with whoever you’re collaborating with.”

At times, she experimented with her voice and flows, but never steered off the highway to crash before her destination. With 10 tracks and 23 minutes of run time featuring cameos from Travis Scott, Gunna and Central Cee, Ice Spice kept her debut concise instead of opting to overstuff a burdensome project like some of her peers.

Y2K! began to take form at the top of the year when Ice Spice had her toes in the sand while enjoying the beaches and serenity of Turks and Caicos where she recorded a few records during the trip. She would set up shop wherever her career took her while spending time in Miami, Los Angeles and back home in New York City.

Ice also revealed she was bumping a lot of Chief Keef and riding around Miami to the Chicago drill pioneer’s music, which influenced her creativity heading into the album. The Grammy-nominated MC also admits there was some turbulence and unexpected hurdles before the finish line: “For both projects that I’ve made, there’s been sample issues and feature clearances that we run into — but that’s part of the process,” she says, shrugging.

Y2K! debuted at No. 18 on this week’s Billboard 200 — and despite the outside noise, the rap star is proud of her growth while she treks across the U.S. on her Y2K! World Tour.

“Like..? did 15k so thank u to everyone who supported me then & thank u to all the new supporters,” she wrote to X. “Y2K! WORLD TOUR been so fun that these numbers are cool and all but bitch u should of seen that Boston CROWD last night NYC TOMORROW.”

Ice Spice detailed to Billboard how a handful of the album’s tracks came to fruition. Check out the converesation below.

21 Savage’s 8th Annual Issa Back to School Drive Offers Lessons in Financial Literacy

21 Savage has been giving back to his community for nearly a decade through his Leading By Example Foundation.

During the 8th Annual Issa Back to School Drive over the weekend, the Atlanta rapper partnered with nonprofit Wealthy Habits to introduce a digital financial literacy workbook entitled Master Your Money: Financial Success 101 Guide with 21 Savage. About 3,000 people kids and parents were in attendance to receive essential back-to-school supplies and physical copies of the workbook. Some of the tips include short-term goals such as saving up for emergencies and vacations, as well as ways to pay off small debt. Long-term goals include tips on planning for retirement, home buying and education.

Master Your Money also features “SMART” goals, which should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. The workbook gives tips on spending wisely, investing early, managing risk, budgeting and helping kids understand how credit works.

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This isn’t the first time 21 has tried to help with financial literacy. Back in 2018, he established the 21 Savage Bank Account program with Get Schooled. The program helped with job placements at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and featured an online education program.

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For his efforts in DeKalb County over the years, Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson and DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson honored the rapper by declaring Aug. 4 as 21 Savage Day.

21 was honored by the state of Georgia with Dec. 21 being proclaimed 21 Savage Day in 2022 during his Grant-a-Wish holiday giveback, and Fulton County declared Dec. 10 as 21 Savage Appreciation Day in 2023.

Chlöe Taps Sister Halle, Ty Dolla $ign, YG Marley & More for ‘Trouble in Paradise’: See the Tracklist

Chlöe shared the tracklist for her upcoming sophomore album Trouble in Paradise on Tuesday (Aug. 6).

The 16-track project includes features with Ty Dolla $ign (“Might As Well”), Anderson .Paak (“Favorite”), YG Marley (“Never Let You Go”), her sister Halle (“Want Me”) and Jeremih (“Shake”). She had previously revealed in her June Nylon cover story that she would have collaborations with Halle, Anderson and Jeremih on her new LP.

While sharing the tracklist, Chlöe also shared a saucy snippet of the fourth track “Redemption.” “I’m not really big on redemption, mm, no no/ Thinking I might make an exception for you, you/ Body from another dimension, so, oh-oh/ So give me everything and then some,” she sings in the chorus.

Trouble in Paradise will be released on Friday, Aug. 9, via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.

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“It’s what a summer fling feels and tastes like,” she told Billboard of the album on the red carpet at the 2024 BET Awards. She also revealed the inspiration behind the LP’s production: “I have been obsessed with the Caribbean, so definitely Afrobeats-inspired, island vibes. That’s what I’ve been inspired by, so you’ll definitely hear some little nuances of that in there.”

Trouble in Paradise arrives more than a year after her solo debut album, In Pieces. The 14-track LP included collaborations with Chris Brown (“How Does It Feel”), Missy Elliott (“Told Ya”) and Future (“Cheatback”). The set reached No. 119 on the Billboard 200 and No. 17 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

See the Trouble in Paradise tracklist in the third image of her Instagram carousel post.