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Lorde has given fans in New York City a preview of her new single after plans for an in-person event fell by the wayside thanks to local law enforcement.
The New Zealand singer is currently preparing to launch new single “What Was That” on Friday (April 25), with the track serving as her first piece of solo music since 2021. The first taste of her upcoming fourth album, Lorde initially teased the single with her first-ever post on TikTok, sharing a video of herself walking through Washington Square Park in New York City while listening to the dreamy synth-pop track.
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In lieu of traditional social media updates, Lorde has since taken to connecting with fans by way of text messages and voice notes, with her legions of supporters receiving a message on Tuesday (April 22) which told fans to “meet me in the park” at 7pm.
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As a result, fans flooded to Washington Square Park to hopefully catch a glimpse of the musician, though the gathered masses were soon urged to leave by local law enforcement.
Lorde took to her Instagram Stories soon after to address those who had turned out for the last-minute affair. “Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down I am truly Amazed by how many of you showed up !!!” she wrote. “But they’re telling me you gotta disperse … I’m so sorry.”
According to Rolling Stone, a spokesperson for New York City’s DCPI stated that officers had been alerted to an “unscheduled event” within the park, adding that a “sound and parks permit” is required to hold a concert event in a NYC park. “This individual did not possess either,” the statement added. “Organizers of the event were informed they could not perform and they left the location.”
Fans who remained within Washington Square Park were rewarded for their patience, however, with the singer later showing up to play her new single. Though Lorde didn’t perform the track live, she danced along to “What Was That” while it was being played by producer Dev Hynes of Blood Orange fame.
Lorde’s appearance in New York City comes just over a week after she made a surprise appearance during Charli XCX’s Coachella set to guest on a performance of “Girl, So Confusing.”
With her new single set to arrive in a matter of days, Lorde’s new era is fast-approaching, telling fans in her recent voice note that “everything is about to change.” She added, “These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is crazy. But so right. I’m so ready.”
It all started last week when Drake collaborator Gordo tweeted out that Mustard unfollowed him on Instagram. “Oh, my God. Just noticed Mustard unfollowed me on IG,” he wrote on X. “Sad day…headlining [Coachella] must of got to his head.” Mustard caught wind of the post and responded in kind, saying, “Ain’t going back and […]
Roy Thomas Baker — the producer behind some of rock’s biggest hits, including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” — has died at age 78, his family announced Tuesday (April 22).
Baker died at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on April 12. No cause of death has been revealed.
The producer’s credits feature a who’s who of rock stars over the past half-century, including Journey, Yes, Foreigner, The Cars, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Devo, Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses and Smashing Pumpkins. Baker worked with Queen on five of the band’s 1970s albums, including on their bombastic A Night at the Opera lead single “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is reportedly the most-streamed song recorded in the 20th century. The 1975 single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1976 but didn’t hit its No. 2 peak on the chart until its inclusion in the film Wayne’s World in 1992.
Born in Hampstead, London, in 1946, Baker’s career began as second engineer to Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti at London’s Decca Records. He graduated to chief engineer in the ’70s and moved to Trident Studios to begin working with the then-unknown Queen. Columbia Records later asked him to relocate to the U.S. to work with Journey and others.
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“We did [1978 album] Infinity with the infamous Roy Thomas Baker,” recalled Journey’s Neal Schon, “and we did so many different things on that record that I’d never tried, or even thought about doing. I learned a lot from Roy.”
Elektra Records, Queen’s U.S. label, connected Baker with Lindsey Buckingham, Dokken and The Cars — for whom he produced their first four albums, from 1978 to 1981.
Baker is survived by his wife, Tere Livrano Baker, and his brother, Alan Baker.
Taylor Swift claimed the title for youngest self-made woman billionaire in the world in 2023 when Forbes first reported the pop superstar’s billionaire status. Two years later, she’s been dethroned by Lucy Guo, the 30-year-old co-founder of Scale AI, Forbes recently reported. Guo co-founded the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company Scale AI in 2016 when she […]
Lil Uzi Vert was reportedly hospitalized in New York City on Monday (April 21) after falling ill at a Manhattan hotel. Billboard has reached out to the rapper’s reps for confirmation. According to TMZ, paramedics responded to a call for Uzi — who identifies as nonbinary — during the afternoon and transported them to a […]
Wiz Khalifa seems to believe that the Earth is flat. The Pittsburgh rapper is rolling out his latest album Kush + Orange Juice 2 and stopped by The Joe Budden Podcast to discuss a variety of topics — one of which is the age-old (and centuries-ago-answered) question: Is the Earth flat or round? There’s clip […]
Jonathan Davis is doing more than just throwing a dog a bone — he’s launching a new capsule collection for his Freak on a Leash pet line to help pooches everywhere be a little more rock n’ roll. The Korn frontman announced on Tuesday (April 22) that he has teamed up with designer Ashton Michael […]
Tayme Thapthimthong and LISA are close both on and offscreen — but before the pair met for the first time to shoot White Lotus, the actor says he was “so nervous” to meet the BLACKPINK star.
While guesting on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Tuesday (April 22), Thapthimthong opened up about the first time he interacted with LISA, who played his love interest on season 3 of Mike White’s hit HBO/Max series. “It was amazing,” he began. “She was so nice, friendly, kind.”
“The first time I met her, I was so nervous,” Thapthimthong continued. “Before actually getting to know her, I knew her from my daughter. She was 4 at the time, I went to see her at her mom’s house, and she had BLACKPINK on YouTube … I really enjoyed it. I was like, ‘Oh damn, this is good. LISA, her rap — it was like, good flow.’”
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The Skin Trade star went on to say how the Thai rapper’s casting as Mook was one of the last to be revealed to the rest of the season’s actors, noting he only learned who would be playing his primary scene partner with just a month left to go before filming started — and only after he signed NDAs. After getting to know LISA, he says the “Rockstar” artist invited him and his daughter out to lunch.
“She’s got so much going on at the same time,” Thapthimthong told Hudson. “I never wanted to impose, but she was so kind. She even bought [my daughter] a little Labubu doll for her birthday. She still talks about it — but now she calls me Gaitok all the time. She doesn’t call me dad anymore.”
As for whether or not he would ever get in the studio with LISA, Thapthimthong — who also sings and showed off his chops for Hudson on the talk show — said he would “absolutely love” to work with the K-pop idol. “That would be really cool to do,” he added, doubling down on what he previously said about teaming up with his costar on music. (For a taste of what their potential future collab might sound like, check out the pair’s impromptu “No Diggity” duet.)
Watch Thamthimthong gush about LISA on The Jennifer Hudson Show above.
ROSÉ is meeting Coldplay at the “APT.” At the rock band’s concert in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday night (April 22), the BLACKPINK star made a surprise guest appearance to perform her smash hit single for thousands of fans at Goyang Stadium. In a clip posted by both ROSÉ and the “Fix You” band, the […]
Teddy Swims and GIVĒON take over the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart with their collaboration “Are You Even Real” leading the list dated April 26. The single ascends from No. 3 after a 17% jump in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of April 11 – 17, according to Luminate. Thanks to its gain, “Are You Even Real” wins the weekly Greatest Gainer prize, awarded to the song with the largest increase in plays.
“Are You Even Real,” released and promoted through Swims INT/Warner, trades places with last week’s champ, Muni Long’s “Superpowers,” which drops 1-3 after backtracking 23% in plays for the week.
With the new leader, Teddy Swims nabs his second No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay. His breakthrough hit, “Lose Control,” ruled the chart for three weeks in June 2024. Radio triumphs have been instrumental to its ongoing, historic success: beyond Adult R&B Airplay, other “Lose Control” No. 1 ranks included Pop Airplay and the overall Radio Songs chart, helping it clinch the year-end Hot 100 No. 1 title for 2024 and a record-breaking 58 weeks in the Hot 100’s top 10.
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Plus, with “Lose Control” and “Are You Even Real,” Teddy Swims becomes the fourth artist thus far in the 2020s decade to top Adult R&B Airplay with each of his first two appearances. He joins:
The Bonfyre (“Automatic” in March 2019 and “U Say,” feat. 6lack, in February 2020)Tems (a featured role on Wizkid’s “Essence” in October 2021- January 2022 and her own “Free Mind” in February – April 2023)October London (“Back to Your Place” in August – October 2023 and “Mulholland Drive,” feat. Snoop Dogg and Latoiya Williams, in August 2024)
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For GIVĒON, “Are You Even Real” awards him a first No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay with his fifth charting title. His prior best was a No. 7 result for “Like I Want You” in February 2021. The incumbent champ, however, isn’t his only current hit. The singer’s “Twenties” repeats at its No. 9 high on this week’s chart with a 4% jump in plays in the latest tracking week.
Elsewhere, “Are You Even Real” climbs 10-9 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart through a 7% increase in plays at the format and rises 18-16 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 8%). Gains at the two formats, as well as adult R&B, power the song’s 44-41 improvement on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. There, “Are You Even Real” ascends to 16.7 million audience impressions across all formats, a 4% boost from the prior week.