Music News

03 Jul 2024

50 Cent Can’t Believe Today’s Ice Cream Truck Prices: ‘What Happened to $1.25?’

Inflation has left holes in everyone’s pockets, and even multimillionaires like 50 Cent are feeling the effects.

50 went to buy a treat from a local ice cream truck in his neighborhood and he couldn’t believe some of the dessert prices in today’s society.

“I jumped out and went to an ice cream truck today and saw this WTF ! what happened to $1.25 this can’t be right,” he wrote.

The G-Unit mogul posted a photo of the truck’s menu, featuring various character ice cream treats like Spider-Man and SpongeBob as well as strawberry shortcakes and flavorful ice pops ranging from $4 to $5.

“I remember when they was 50 Cent,” a fan quipped in his comments section, while another offered up a solution. “Might as well buy the whole box at the store.”

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Others chimed in blaming Rick Ross’ diet, while some pointed to the economy’s alleged decline under President Joe Biden’s administration.

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It’s unclear if 50 Cent ended up purchasing an ice cream, or perhaps the petty “Candy Shop” rapper bailed on the transaction altogether out of spite.

Back in 2022, 50 basked in the nostalgia of hearing the ice cream truck’s jingle in his Queens neighborhood but how horrible it felt when he had no money to buy anything.

“I will never forget the excitement of the ice cream truck is coming growing up, but when there was no money that was the worst s–t,” he wrote to X with a photo of a Mister Softee truck.

Find 50 Cent’s ice cream truck posts here and below.

03 Jul 2024

INI’s ‘LOUD’ Shoots to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100, Da-iCE’s ‘I wonder’ Makes It to Top 10

INI’s “LOUD” reaches the top of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on the chart released July 3.

“LOUD” is the lead track from the 11-member boyband’s sixth single, THE FRAME. Powered by sales and downloads, it becomes the group’s third single to reach the top of the Japan Hot 100. The group marked their highest first-week CD sales and downloads with 812,184 CDs and 28,867 downloads (up approximately 2,800% from last week), while coming in at No.2 for radio airplay, No.9 for streaming (up 200%), and No. 14 for video views.

Sakurazaka46‘s “Jigoujitoku” comes in at No. 2. Like INI, the group also recorded their highest weekly CD sales with 762,455 copies, hitting No. 2 for sales, while coming in at No. 3 for downloads, No. 5 for streaming, No. 57 for radio airplay, and No. 34 for video views.

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Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” slips to No. 3. Despite the drop in the rankings, the track’s total points have gone up, with streaming, radio airplay and video views all increasing slightly.The track is in the top 5 for all metrics of the chart this week, with the exception of radio airplay.

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Debuting at No. 4 is NCT WISH’s “Songbird”, the title track of their second single. 103,340 copies sold puts it at No. 3 for CD sales, surpassing the sales of their debut single “WISH.”  Meanwhile, the song peaks at No. 4 for radio airplay, starting with the same overall rank as their previous single.

Da-iCE’s “I wonder” climbs 11-8, marking the song’s first top 10 since debuting at No. 68 on the Japan Hot 100 dated May 1. Notably, the song not only increased its rankings, but also its points in all indicators except radio airplay, partly due to the buzz around their appearance on “THE FIRST TAKE.”

Additionally, songs by NewJeans, who held their first solo concert in Japan at the Tokyo Dome on June 26 and 27, are rising across the board. Mainly due to an increase in streaming, “Supernatural” rises 8-7 and “How Sweet” climbs 29-24, while “OMG” and “ETA”, both released last year, have returned to the chart again.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from June 24 to 30, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

03 Jul 2024

Gwen Stefani Celebrates Wedding Anniversary With Blake Shelton: ‘It Has Always Been You’

Gwen Stefani is celebrating three years as Blake Shelton’s wife.

The No Doubt singer took to Instagram on Wednesday (July 3) to share a series of photos from the couple’s gorgeous wedding ceremony, including a series of happy and scenic shots of the duo.

”July 3, 2021,” Stefani captioned the post along with a heart emoji. “It has always been you.”

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See the post here. Shelton also posted his own selfie of the couple, sharing in the caption, “I love you!!!!!!!!!!”

Shelton and Stefani met on the set of The Voice, when they were both coaches on the reality singing competition series. They tied the knot in 2021, and have been going strong ever since. Stefani shares sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. The former couple were married for 13 years — and dated for nearly six years before that — but parted ways in 2015.

Earlier this year, Stefani and Shelton teamed up for their new collaboration, “Purple Irises,” though it’s hardly the first time they worked together musically. In February, Shelton dropped his six-track Love Language EP, featuring the previous Stefani collabs “Nobody But You” and “Happy Anywhere,” as well as “God Gave Me You,” “Sangria,” “Honey Bee” and “A Guy With a Girl.” The duo also released their festive hit, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas,” in 2017.

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In 2023, Stefani gushed about her country singer husband in a cover story for People. “I didn’t see any of this coming with Blake. This was just a big old ‘What?’ It was an amazing gift to experience love like that for the first time,” Stefani recalled of falling in love with Shelton. “He’s changed my life … when I [started dating] Blake, that’s when I felt home, like, ‘Oh, this is where I’m supposed to be, with this guy.’”

03 Jul 2024

Uncle Luke Criticizes Drake for Liking a Post About Rick Ross Being Attacked in Canada

Uncle Luke has a message for Drake. Rick Ross was recently attacked after a show in Vancouver, B.C., as Kendrick’s Drake diss track “Not Like Us” played in the background. While Drizzy had nothing to do with the altercation, he liked a post from Keep6ixSolid on Instagram, and this apparently is a cause of concern for the former leader of the 2 Live Crew. He posted a 13-minute clip on social media, in which he called the violence “unacceptable” and called Drake liking the post “more unacceptable.”

“This whole fightin’… My boy Ross and his guys in Canada, that’s unacceptable,” he said. “That [isn’t] supposed to happen. And what’s more unacceptable is when Mr. Drake liked the post.

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“I expect more out of Mr. Drake,” added Uncle Luke. “When there is violence, you don’t condone it. Mr. Drake, you should be bigger than that. You don’t like no posts because here’s what happens: There’s always a backlash of it all.”

He added: “Now you inserted yourself … Even if you were not involved, half of the country thinks you set the man up. … When you, Mr. Drake, liked the post, you just inserted yourself into violence toward Mr. Ross and his crew.”

Luke then brings up how he tried to broker peace between 2Pac and Biggie Smalls, saying, “I seen how this s—t end, man.”

Billboard has reached out to Drake’s rep for comment.

The day after the incident in Vancouver, Drake wished his fans a Happy Canada Day on his Instagram Story and said “Cheers to the whole country” as he enjoyed a summer cocktail outside.

In a separate post on his IG feed, the Toronto emcee posted a video of him and his friends rapping along to “Northern Touch” by Vancouver rappers the Rascalz. “Why you people wanna bang wit’ us, ain’t nobody can hang wit’ us,” Drake can be heard saying.

After the attack — which was captured on video — Rick Ross posted a photo to Instagram Story showing him in front of a private jet, saying, “Vancouver it was fun, till next time.” He also commented on an Instagram post by The Shade Room about Drake liking a video of the fight, writing, “I thought they were bottle service boys ha!”

In a statement after the altercation, the Miami rapper told TMZ, “Vancouver is a beautiful city and he can’t wait to go back.” He also said that no one on his team was seriously injured.

03 Jul 2024

Waka Flocka Flame Tells Joe Biden Supporters to Leave His Concert: Watch

Waka Flocka Flame is riding with Donald Trump this presidential election. While performing in Utah earlier this week, the “No Hands” rapper instructed supporters of President Joe Biden to leave his concert.

“All Joe Biden voters, get out of my concert,” he said while on stage. “We going to see y’all at the bingo game. We’re gonna party right now for motherf–king president T24!”

The declaration drew a mixed reaction from the crowd before Waka cut through the awkwardness and moved into performing his “Grove St. Party” anthem.

Footage of Waka Flocka Flame went viral and he faced backlash from some fans on X. “We need a study done on why older rappers start using their platform to be loud and wrong,” one person wrote.

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Another quipped: “Can waka name one thing from the trump administration?”

With 2024 being an election year, politics have been part of the pop-culture conversation, with Biden and Trump facing off in a debate last week.

Waka Flocka Flame pledged allegiance to Donald Trump in October 2023 when he changed his profile picture on X to him posing alongside 45.

The Bricksquad boss responded to critics blasting his support of Trump in a since deleted tweet shortly after posting the photo with DT. “I’m an not a politician and i don’t wanna talk politics… i only answer to the people that made me and that’s my FANS aka THE PEOPLE… i love y’all with every bone in my body man Squaddd,” he wrote at the time.

The Trump administration is in Waka’s good graces after gifting him a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the non-profit Daughter of Destiny.

“Lifetime Achievement Award. I gotta thank my pastor/big sister Apostle Dr. Bridget C. Outlaw for teaching and guiding me on this journey God got us on I’m just honored,” he captioned an Instagram post in April 2021. “S/O to my president!!!”

Earlier this year, Waka Flocka flame called for Trump to abolish Columbus Day if he returns to the Oval Office. “Dear Trump abolish Christopher Columbus Day,” the Atlanta resident tweeted in January. “As a what’s called Blackman in United States this holiday is a spit in our faces… Thanks from Waka Flocka Flame and the People!!!”

Another rapper who has pulled away from Biden is previous supporter Cardi B. However, she promised fans she would never join the Republican party. “I will never turn republican lol,” she assured on X earlier this week.

President Biden’s lackluster performance in the debate against Trump on June 27 drew criticism from the Democratic party, and some politicians are even calling for him to step aside in the presidential race.

Watch the footage of Waka Flocka Flame dissing Joe Biden supporters below.

03 Jul 2024

Bunnie XO Says She & Jelly Roll Are ‘So Excited’ About IVF Journey: ‘I’m in My Baby Mama Gardening Era’

Bunnie XO is excited about the possibility of becoming a mom!

“I’m in my baby mama gardening era,” she joked in a new episode of her popular Dumb Blonde podcast, before sharing the process of bringing up IVF with her husband, Jelly Roll.

When Bunnie asked the “Need a Favor” singer about his thoughts, he said that he would “love” to have a baby with her. “That was not the response that I thought he would say,” she admitted, nothing that he’s “so excited” about the possibility of having children together.

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“We were going to keep it from the Internet, because how the Internet is, they love to ruin beautiful things,” she recalled, before finding out that Jelly broke the news during an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast last month.

“I thought about it and I was like, ‘My husband is f—-ing excited to have a kid with me. How cool is that? If he wants to f—ing scream it from the mountain tops, f—ing let him. It doesn’t matter how I feel about what other people think,” she said, adding that the majority of the public response to the news was “overwhelming love.”

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“Anyone who has struggled with infertility, all you really want is people rooting you on,” she said.

After the Bussin’ With the Boys episode dropped, Bunnie XO also shared a snippet from the podcast on her social media, adding in the caption, “God willing–Baby DeFord 2026,” and revealing that the couple is undergoing their own IVF journey.

She added, “Papa Bear dropped a surprise on this pod today. We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard and we have only just begun. We have been meeting with IVF doctors & exploring all our options to add to our family.”

Listen to the full Dumb Blonde podcast episode below.

03 Jul 2024

Eminem and Dua Lipa’s ‘Houdini’ Singles Mashed Up By Foster the People In ‘Battle of the Houdinis’

For Mark Foster’s next trick the Foster the People frontman has cooked up a triple-headed remix of songs titled “Houdini.” In an Instagram video posted on Tuesday (July 2), Foster explained, “alright, so there’s like two ‘Houdini’s on the radio right now, one from Eminem, one from Dua Lipa,” while sitting at a keyboard in a recording studio.

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“Thought it’d be fun to bring in our OG ‘Houdini’ from our first record and, you know, mash the three of them up together,” he said of the beat-heavy track that was the fifth single from Foster’s 2011 debut album, Torches. Dua Lipa released her “Houdini” in November as the lead single from her Radical Optimism album, while Eminem dropped his song of the same name in May as a preview of his upcoming album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), which is due out on July 12.

Foster’s remix video then pivots to the band leader at a computer cueing up Dua’s song while playing keyboards and triggering the beat from his group’s track as he mixes in some Slim Shady. “Kinda cool, right?” he said of the resulting mash-up he dubbed: “Houdini x Houdini x Houdini” aka “Battle of the Houdinis.” He then presented the final mix, with Dua singing over the booming Foster beat and Eminem rapping as Foster danced around the studio to the result.

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Eminem’s “Houdini” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 100 singles chart, while Dua’s topped out at No. 11; Foster’s OG take reached No. 37 on the Billboard U.S. alternative airplay chart.

Watch Foster create his mega-“Houdini” mix below.

03 Jul 2024

City in Germany Temporarily Renames Itself ‘Swiftkirchen’ Ahead of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Stops

One city in Germany is getting ready to say “Guten tag!” to Taylor Swift, with officials moving to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen “Swiftkirchen” in honor of the pop star’s upcoming trio of Eras Tour shows in the locale.

According to an announcement on the city’s website Tuesday (July 2), Gelsenkirchen is already transforming a full two weeks ahead of Swift’s performances at Veltins-Arena July 17-19. The name change was first suggested by a young local fan named Aleshanee Westhoff — who started a petition and wrote directly to Mayor Karin Welge — so she got to do the honors of erecting the first “Swiftkirchen” sign on Ebertstraße, a street in town.

The city will continue installing similar signs in highly frequented parts of Gelsenkirchen. Plus, a so-called “Taylor Swift tram” is already up and running through the area, and the “Anti-Hero” singer will receive a colorful stone on Gelsenkirchen’s official Walk of Fame.

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“It’s a great idea to temporarily rename Gelsenkirchen to ‘Swiftkirchen,’ which is why I’m particularly pleased that you can experience the short-term ‘renaming’ of Gelsenkirchen live and up close in Gelsenkirchen today,” said Mayor Welge in a thank-you letter to Westhoff.

Swiftkirchen will also be complete with a series of “Taylor Town” festivities on the days of the pop star’s shows, featuring karaoke, a DJ set, a tattoo stand, marketplace and food and drink vendors. “As mayor, I am of course very happy that Taylor Swift, currently the most successful singer in the world, will be performing three times in Gelsenkirchen,” added Welge in a statement.

Gelsenkirchen isn’t the only city that’s gone all out for Swift’s Eras Tour visits in the past year-plus, nor is it the first to temporarily rename itself in her honor. Ahead of the 14-time Grammy winner’s kickoff performances in 2023, Glendale, Ariz., went by “Swift City,” while Minneapolis transformed into “Swiftie-apolis” and Santa Clara, Calif., was decreed “Swiftie Clara” that summer.

Swift still has a few more stops to make before she reaches Gelsenkirchen, starting with three nights in Amsterdam July 4-6. She’ll then perform two nights in Zürick followed by another duo of shows in Milan.

“I knew as soon as I saw the first Dublin crowd on Friday night that we were in for a wild weekend,” the superstar wrote on Instagram earlier this week following her most recent shows, which were in Ireland. “The spirit of those 3 glorious crowds embodied fun and joy and exuberance, and we just felt so lucky to be there. The Irish fans made us feel so at home, so welcome in every way. Still smiling thinking about it now.”

03 Jul 2024

Watch Lana Del Rey & Quavo Get Cozy in the Countryside for Intimate ‘Tough’ Video

Lana Del Rey and Quavo’s intoxicating country-trap collab “Tough” is here. The anticipated single hit streaming services at noon ET on Wednesday (June 3), just in time to provide the soundtrack for Independence Day barbecues.

“Tough like the scarf on a pair of old leather boots/ Like the blue-collar, red-dirt attitude/ Like a .38 made out of brass,” Lana sings on the ethereal chorus.

A picturesque visual also accompanied the release, which finds Huncho and LDR getting intimate in the countryside with no signs of civilization nearby. The duo cuddles in the grass fields, and Lana pulls out here guitar before leaning in for a kiss, but pulling back. Quavo gets more comfortable with the singer as they ride across the bumpy terrain in his Chevy, and he pulls out his shotgun and teaches her some proper aim.

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“I’ll show you around … Come take a ride with me. Whenever. Whenever you ready, call on me,” Quavo suggests as the euphoric collaboration comes to a close.

Back in May, Quavo and Lana were spotted hanging out in Atlanta at his V12 sports bar, which sparked rumors of a possible team-up on the horizon.

They made “Tough” official last month when previewing the track and delivering its live debut as Huncho popped out as a surprise guest at Lana Del Rey’s Fenway Park concert in Boston.

Lana has teased delving into a country album titled Lasso, while Quavo has peppered fans with a few singles this year, such as “Mink.”

Watch the Wyatt Spain Winfrey-directed “Tough” video below.



03 Jul 2024

Ryan Reynolds Fuels Taylor Swift Cameo Rumors by Recreating Her ‘Evermore’ Cover as Deadpool

Rumors that Taylor Swift will make a cameo in the third Deadpool film have been swirling for years, and they definitely aren’t dying down any time soon. That’s because the franchise’s star, Ryan Reynolds — who also happens to be a close friend of the pop star’s — recreated her Evermore album cover in a post on Instagram Stories Tuesday (July 2), dressed as the project’s titular character.  

On Swift’s 2021 Evermore artwork, the 14-time Grammy winner is photographed from behind in an autumnal forest, her braided hair falling down the back of a plaid jacket. In Reynolds’ post, he stands in the exact same position in a similar wooded area, wearing Deadpool’s red-and-black suit and showing off two blades strapped to his back.  

Amid contrasting reports about Swift’s possible involvement over the years, fans have long believed that the musician would be featured in Deadpool‘s next installment. Now that the July 26-slated Deadpool & Wolverine — which also features Hugh Jackman reprising his Marvel role — is less than a month away, those rumors have once again reached a fever pitch, with respect to the fact that the “Anti-Hero” singer is a self-professed fan of the franchise.  

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In 2016, for instance, Swift borrowed the Free Guy star’s actual costume to dress up as Deadpool for Halloween. Two years later, Reynolds’ character sported a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of the Eras Tour headliner’s cats Meredith and Olivia in Deadpool 2, after which Swift recorded her pets’ “reactions” to the tribute in a video on Instagram Stories. 

Plus, Reynolds himself has said that he isn’t opposed to having his friend join the Deadpool cast. “Are you kidding me?” he told Entertainment Tonight when asked about the subject in 2022. “I would do anything for that woman. She’s a genius.” 

See the actor’s Evermore tribute — as Deadpool — below.