Music News
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The world of SZAâs SOS just keeps getting bigger, with the hitmaker adding four new tracks to her sophomore albumâs Lana deluxe edition Sunday (Feb. 9) â just before her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance with Kendrick Lamar. Tacked onto disc 1 of SOS Deluxe: Lana, the four new songs include âJoniâ â a collaboration […]
Taylor Swift showed up to the 2025 Super Bowl and seemingly faced a rude reaction from the crowd.
The pop star arrived at New Orleansâ Superdome on Sunday (Feb. 9) in a white blazer over a tank and denim shorts, and white over-the-knee boots. She held a small red handbag serving as a pop of âChiefsâ red, in support of the Kansas City team and Travis Kelce. By her side was her friend Ice Spice, making it the second year for the rapper to attend the big game with Swift.
While the two were seated at the game, which was broadcast on Fox, the Jumbotron camera panned toward Swift and other celebrities seen at the stadium. When the shot stopped on Swift, an apparent wave of âboosâ could be heard â perhaps from Eagles supporters.
Swiftâs reaction: a side eye, and a slight wince and laugh. In other words, she knew to shake it off. See it here.
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Plenty of fans had her back, including tennis pro Serena Williams, who wrote on X, âI love you @taylorswift13 dont listen to those booo!!â
Swiftâs attendance at the Super Bowl for the second year in a row was expected, as sheâs dating Kelce, tight end for the Chiefs. This yearâs game has the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Though Kelce is the NFL star, the football player says he looks up to Swiftâs athleticism. âHer work ethic, what I saw on that tour last year, was pretty remarkable,â he said at a pre-Super Bowl press conference. âIt was the dancers, the band, the singers, it was everybody involved, and it was an absolute machine. It was something I could admire watching and take a lot of notes from.â
The night before the Super Bowl, Swift was spotted in New Orleans rocking a Penny Lane-style coat while going out to dinner with Danielle and Alana Haim, as well as Kylie Kelce. Swiftâs parents were also seen at the restaurant. The Haim sisters were also seen at the game Sunday.
Swiftâs The Tortured Poets Department finished 2024 as the most popular album of the year in the U.S., according to music data tracking company Luminate. Her record-setting Eras Tour, which wrapped in December, grossed more than $2 billion and sold over 10 million tickets.
See Swiftâs arrival to the Chiefs-Eagles game with Ice Spice in a clip courtesy of the NFL below.
The Dunkinâ Super Bowl commercial starring Ben Affleck that aired during the game on Sunday (Feb. 9) is a 60-second cut, but thereâs much more to see: The hilarious 7-minute version titled DunKings 2: The Movie expands on the battle of the bands story. Joining Ben is his brother Casey, plus Jeremy Strong, Bill Belichick […]
R&B star Ledisi performed on one of the biggest stages in her Grammy-winning career with a compelling live rendition of âLift Every Voice and Singâ during the pre-game festivities for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. The occasion marked the fifth time that the song â also known as the Black national anthem â has been performed at the Super Bowl.
Dressed in a white pantsuit complemented by a floor-length long-sleeved coat, Ledisi was accompanied by a yellow-robed choir of 121 students from schools in the greater New Orleans area. Starting off slow and measured, the singer-songwriter-actress built up to a soaring crescendo that ended in her full-bodied voice sustaining the note on the last word in the songâs final verse: âLet us march on till victory is won.â
Earning hearty applause, her moving performance underscored the songâs message of hope, faith, resilience and unity amid the recent Los Angeles wildfires, last monthâs act of terrorism on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and current challenges to such initiatives as DEI.
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While not a household name for some, New Orleans native Ledisi is heralded among fans for her potent vocals and colorful riffs integrated within a spirited fusion of R&B, soul, gospel and jazz. She counts legendary artist and civil rights activist Nina Simone as one of her major influences. Ledisi Sings Nina, released in 2021, was nominated for a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album and an NAACP Image Award for outstanding jazz vocal album. Ledisi also portrayed another civil rights advocate, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, in two projects: the 2022 biopic Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story and in 2014âs Ava DuVernay-directed film Selma.
Ledisi recently released a new single âLove You Too.â A 2021 Grammy winner for best traditional R&B performance for âAnything for You,â Ledisi released 11th studio album, Good Life, last March.
In a statement prior to her pregame performance, Ledisi commented, âPerforming at the Super Bowl is one of the most significant moments of my career. Iâm honored to bring my voice and my story to such a monumental event, and I hope to inspire unity and pride with this performance.â
After partnering with Roc Nation in 2019, the NFL inaugurated its Super Bowl pre-game tradition of including âLift Every Voiceâ in the wake of George Floydâs murder. Alicia Keys first performed the song in a video that premiered for the NFL in September 2020 that was later re-aired ahead of Super Bowl LV in 2021. Since then, gospel duo Mary Mary, Sheryl Lee Ralph and, last year, Andra Day have delivered their own interpretations on the global sports stage.
The hymn originated as a poem written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900, with its verses paired with music composed by Johnsonâs brother, John Rosamond Johnson. The song was later adopted by the NAACP as a clarion call during the civil rights movement of the â50s and â60s.
Preceding Kendrick Lamarâs highly anticipated Super Bowl LIX halftime performance, the pregame lineup also included performances by Lady Gaga (âHold My Handâ), Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shortly (âAmerica the Beautifulâ) and Jon Batiste (âThe Star-Spangled Bannerâ). Â
Super Bowl LIX opened with a bang. Before the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles hit the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday (Feb. 9), Lady Gaga performed her Top Gun tune âHold My Handâ surrounded by rapt revelers on the cityâs infamous Bourbon Street. Her performance honored victims of the […]
Lady Gaga cast a spell at the 2025 Grammys with âAbracadabra,â and for the 2025 Super Bowl, she showed up to bring audiences together with another rousing performance.
In a special segment ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Gaga appeared alongside sports legends Tom Brady, Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw and others in a pre-filmed segment on New Orleansâ iconic Bourbon Street to pay tribute to the victims of multiple disasters over the last year, including the New Orleans terror attack, Hurricane Helene and the Los Angeles wildfires.
âHere on Bourbon Street, always the heart and soul of New Orleans, this year began with a terror attack that tried to shatter its spirit,â Strahan said while walking down the iconic thoroughfare sporting a âNOLA Strongâ shirt. Brady, wearing an L.A. Fire Department T-shirt, joined in, adding that New Orleansâ resilience is âmatched by the resolve of our country. When tragedy strikes, we donât break â we come together, we rise above and we never let evil win.â
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The camera then cut to Gaga â sporting a wide-brimmed white hat and long white lace dress â seated at a piano and surrounded by a crowd in the middle of Bourbon Street. The singer launched into a stripped down performance of her Top Gun: Maverick single âHold My Hand.â With various police officers and firefighters looking on, Gaga drove home the songâs inspirational message: âSo cry tonight/ But donât you let go of my hand,â she sang. âYou can cry every last tear/ I wonât leave âtil I understand/ Promise youâll just hold my hand.â
The segment aired just before the Philadelphia Eagles squared off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2025 Super Bowl. Music fans around the world will be tuning into the program to watch as Kendrick Lamar takes center stage at Caesars Superdome for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, featuring special guest SZA.
In the pre-show, meanwhile, in addition to Gaga, performers included Ledisi, Harry Connick Jr., Lauren Daigle and Jon Batiste to deliver annual renditions of the national anthem, âLift Every Voice and Singâ and âAmerica the Beautiful.â
Watch Gagaâs performance of âHold My Handâ above.
Lauren Daigle was joined by her fellow Louisiana native Trombone Shorty for a New Orleans-flavored take on âAmerica the Beautifulâ ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl. Trombone Shorty kicked things off with a wailing trombone line before Daigle began singing the patriotic standard. After the first verse, we got one more trombone solo before Daigle […]
LISAâs âBorn Again,â featuring Doja Cat and Raye, has claimed the top spot in this weekâs new music poll, showcasing a diverse mix of artists across various genres.
Music fans cast their votes in a poll published on Friday (Feb. 7) on Billboard, selecting the trioâs sultry new single as their favorite release of the past week.
âBorn Againâ earned a commanding 86% of the vote, securing a notable edge ahead of other major new releases, including Anittaâs âRomeo,â Pardison Fontaine and Cardi Bâs âToot It Up,â Remaâs âBaby (Is It a Crime),â Dom Dolla and Dayaâs âDreaminâ,â and more.
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The 27-year-old BLACKPINK member joined forces with Doja Cat and Raye for this disco-infused pop track, which previews her highly anticipated debut solo album, Alter Ego. The two guest artists bring their A-game â the âPaint the Town Redâ rapper and âEscapismâ singer complement LISAâs commanding lead vocals as she exudes luxurious confidence: âI wouldâve made you a believer/ Wouldâve showed you what itâs like,â she sings.
The glamorous music video features all three women performing the lyrics in a chic black-and-white mansion, lounging in a sleek living room. Throughout February, LISA has teased her collaboration, including the reveal of the Neo-Noir cover art earlier in the week. In the image, the trio are dressed in elegant black gowns, framed centrally in a striking composition.
Alter Ego will be released in full on Feb. 28. The album follows a series of singles in 2024, starting with âRockstar,â which reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and continuing with âNew Woman,â featuring RosalĂa and âMoonlit Floor (Kiss Me).â
In her Billboard cover story, LISA opened up about her perfectionist approach to the upcoming project. âIâm trying to figure it out, the tracklist and everything, what I can change in there,â she explained. âEverythingâs there. I think theyâre going to be shocked at how capable I am [at] doing so many things.â
Trailing behind âBorn Againâ in this weekâs poll is Anittaâs âRomeo,â which garnered nearly 5% of the vote.
Check out the full results of this weekâs poll below, and head over to Billboardâs Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases.
Cardi B was in full party mode ahead of Super Bowl LIX, twerking her way through a night of festivities.
In the hours leading up to the highly anticipated matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleansâ Caesars Superdome, the 32-year-old rapper celebrated at local clubs.
On Saturday (Feb. 8), Cardi shared a series of videos on her Instagram Story, showing off her moves in a form-fitting beige dress. In the clips, sheâs seen bent over, delivering an epic twerk at a mystery spot in the Big Easy.
In another video, Cardi is seen in what looks like a hotel room, preparing to head to her next club destination with a group of friends. âIâm so sleepy and here comes miss meanie P,â she captioned the clip, featuring a friend who impatiently urged, âOK, letâs go!â
The fun didnât stop there. The next video shows Cardi back at the club, grooving to the White Stripesâ âSeven Nation Armyâ with a mischievous look. âThe thoughts in my head be soo bad,â she wrote over the video.
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Switching up her look, Cardi dons a shiny dark gray dress as she gives fans a peek into her night at Beacherâs Madhouse at Republic NOLA. In the video, she showcases a Michael Jackson impersonator and sprays the crowd with a fog cannon. It looks like the rapper had a late night, with one video timestamped at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Her fun night comes after the release of her highly anticipated new track âToot It Up,â a collaboration with Pardison Fontaine that dropped on Friday.
The two last teamed up on 2018âs âBackinâ It Up,â which they performed together at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards. The song reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and cracked the top 20 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 18) and Rhythmic Airplay (No. 11).
Pardi has also co-written several of Cardiâs biggest hits, including âBodak Yellow,â âI Like Itâ with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, âWAPâ with Megan Thee Stallion, and âUp,â as well as much of her Grammy-winning debut album, Invasion of Privacy.
âToot It Upâ is just one of the new tracks Cardi has on the horizon. Earlier this week, a trailer for the upcoming Smurfs movie teased a new track âHigher Loveâ by Desi Trill, featuring DJ Khaled, Cardi B, Natania and Subhi.
The Weeknd lands his fifth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with the debut of Hurry Up Tomorrow atop the tally (dated Feb. 15). The set earned 490,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 6, according to Luminate. That marks the largest week for any album since Taylor Swiftâs The Tortured Poets Department debuted at No. 1 on the May 4, 2024-dated chart with 2.61 million. Hurry Up Tomorrow logs the biggest week for an R&B/hip-hop album since Travis Scottâs Utopia debuted at No. 1 on the Aug. 12, 2023, chart with 496,000.
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The Weeknd previously topped the chart with After Hours (2020), My Dear Melancholy (2018), Starboy (2016) and Beauty Behind the Madness (2015).
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Also in the latest top 10, Chappell Roanâs The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess surges 14-6 following her best new artist win at the Grammy Awards (Feb. 2), while Billie Eilishâs Hit Me Hard and Soft (10-5) also climbs in the wake of Grammy exposure.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Feb. 15, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboardâs website on Feb. 11. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of Hurry Up Tomorrowâs 490,500 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprise 359,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 130,500 (equaling 171.5 million on-demand official streams of the songs on the streaming edition of the album; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 1,000.
Hurry Up Tomorrowâs launch of 490,500 units marks The Weekndâs biggest week by units earned (since the chart began measuring in units in December 2014). The setâs sales of 359,000 claim The Weekndâs largest sales week ever.
The set was released as a nine-song standard album, widely available through digital download retailers. It was alternatively available as an 11-song edition across all of its physical formats (CD, vinyl and cassette) and a 22-track digital download and streaming edition. It was also available in two further digital download editions, both exclusively sold via The Weekndâs HurryUpTomorrow.Club site. Each sold for $4.99, boasted alternative cover art and had the 22 tracks available on the deluxe digital/streaming edition, but each had at least one additional track. One included âClosing Night,â with Swedish House Mafia. The other included âRunawayâ and âSociety,â which were also included on all of the physical formats, but not any of the other digital or streaming editions.
In total, the album generated 183,000 in digital album sales; 99,000 in CD sales; 77,000 in vinyl sales (The Weekndâs best week on vinyl) and 1,000 in cassette sales.
Hurry Up Tomorrowâs first-week sales were aided by its availability across eight vinyl variants (including a signed edition), eight CD variants (including multiple signed editions), a cassette tape, and nine deluxe boxed sets containing a branded piece of clothing and a CD.
The album was preceded by the Billboard Hot 100-charting songs âTimelessâ (with Playboi Carti, No. 3 peak last October) and âSao Pauloâ (with Anitta, No. 77 last November).
Bad Bunnyâs DebĂ Tirar MĂĄs Fotos falls 1-2 on the Billboard 200 with 94,000 equivalent album units earned (down 20%). SZAâs chart-topping SOS slips 2-3 with 82,000 (down 6%), Kendrick Lamarâs GNX dips 3-4 with 65,000 (though up 9%) and Billie Eilishâs Hit Me Hard and Soft jumps 10-5 with 53,000 (up 47%).
Eilish was the first performer on the Feb. 2 Grammy Awards broadcast (on CBS), singing the albumâs âBirds of a Feather.â Also on the show: The Weeknd performed (singing his new albumâs âCry for Meâ and âTimeless,â with Playboi Carti), while SZA presented the best pop duo/group performance, and Lamar won two on-air trophies (for record of the year, and song of the year, both for âNot Like Usâ).
Chappell Roanâs The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess surges 14-6 with a 56% gain â to 49,000 equivalent album units earned. The album vaults up the tally following Roanâs win for best new artist at the Grammys, along with her performance of the albumâs âPink Pony Clubâ on the show (and her buzzy acceptance speech which generated headlines).
Sabrina Carpenterâs former No. 1 Short nâ Sweet gaind 20% (up to 48,000 equivalent album units) but is pushed down a spot to No. 7. On the Grammy Awards, Carpenter won the best pop vocal album award, while also performing a medley of the albumâs âEspressoâ and âPlease Please Please.â (She also won best pop solo performance for âEspresso,â but that category was presented before the television broadcast began.)
Morgan Wallenâs chart-topping One Thing at a Time drops 5-8 on the Billboard 200, despite an 11% gain (to 45,000 equivalent album units). Taylor Swiftâs former No. 1 The Tortured Poets Department ascends 11-9 with 38,000 equivalent album units (up 8%) â also likely basking in some glow from the Grammy Awards, where the album and its âFortnightâ single were up for six awards (though did not win). Swift was a visible presence throughout the ceremony, cheering on winners and performers, and presented the best country album trophy to BeyoncĂ© (for Cowboy Carter).
Rounding out the latest top 10 on the Billboard 200 is Gracie Abramsâ The Secret of Us, falling 8-10 with 36,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.