Music News

Megan Thee Stallion Rips ‘Like a G6 Freestyle’ For #MeganMonday: ‘I Got the Best Pen in the Game’

Megan Thee Stallion gets sky-high in the latest edition of her #MeganMonday series this week. The MC dropped the fiery “Like a G6 Freestyle,” a hard-hitting take on Far East Movement’s 2010 hit in which Meg once again serves notice that she’s has the hottest pen in the game.

Sporting a curly blonde wig held down by shiny red headphones , a pink baby T-shirt and red leather pants in the video, Meg heated things up on the Bankroll Got It-produced track, running out of the gate with a line paying tribute to Oscar-winning Memphis hip-hop legends Three 6 Mafia in a verse that ends with a shout out to the Hunger Games. “Know I gotta stay fly like Three 6/ Got the strap in my bag like a freak b–ch/ Conceited with a very good reason/ I’m feelin’ like a housewife holdin’ up my peaches,” she raps. “Add ’em up, b–ches ain’t even a fraction/ I’m hungry in this game like I’m fightin’ for my faction/ Thee stallion, say my name, tails start waggin’/ Call PETA ’cause I’m sendin’ shots like Katniss.”

She casually drops a few skin-scorching insults (“Megan this, Megan that, b–ch, boo-hoo/ You’re really mad Megan ain’t wanna f–k with you/ Dog-ass b–ch, long hair like a Shih Tzu/ Thumbin’ through this motherfu–kin’ dough like fufu”), ending the 85-second blitz with a final reminder that she is not to be messed with.

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“Makin’ random-ass moves, you’s a NPC/ No edit on these motherf–kin’ JPGs/ T—ies showin’ through this motherf–kin’ JPG/ Gaultier, b–ch, you know I been a G.O.A.T. to your fave/ On ballpoint, I got the best pen in the game,” she concludes.

Meg kicked off the series earlier this month by freestyling over a beat from Gucci Mane’s 2010 song “I Think I Love Her” before take a week off to promote her new single, “Boa.” Her latest era has also featured the release of the similarly snake-themed singles “Hiss” — which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100) — and “Cobra.”

She also just kicked off her Hot Girl Summer tour with GloRilla, which touches down at Madison Square Garden in New York tonight (May 21).

Check out Megan’s “Like a G6 Freestyle” below.

Steve Angello Launches New Show on SiriusXM

Steve Angello is bringing his selector skills to SiriusXM.

The producer and Swedish House Mafia member is launching a new program, “Size Sound System,” on the SiriusXM station Diplo’s Revolution starting Monday night (May 20) at 9 p.m. ET.

Hosted by Angello and the producer AN21 (who is also Angello’s younger brother, Antoine Josefsson), the weekly program will offer a mixture of classic dance tracks, fresh music from the global scene and new releases from Angello’s SIZE Records. The show is an extension of Angello and AN21’s ongoing podcast, also called Size Sound System.

“Super excited to announce our latest expansion! Can’t wait to get this summer running!” Angello wrote on an Instagram post announcing the show. With the show’s launch, Angello and AN21 join a roster of Diplo’s Revolution shows by DJ/producers including Illenium, Party Favor, Alison Wonderland, Mau P, LP Giobbi, Amelie Lens, Dombresky, Josh Wink, MK and Diplo himself.

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Outside of the program, Angello has been making moves with his solo shows and with Swedish House Mafia. During his Sahara Tent-closing sets at Coachella last month, the played a new, unreleased Swedish House Mafia track called “Lioness,” with the trio playing a show at the Brooklyn Mirage at the end of April.

After the show, the trio wrote on Instagram that “As many noticed ‘Lioness’ is not out yet. Thank you for your patience and it’s with you soon, but after playing it live we weren’t satisfied with the production and needed to do last minute changes.” These moves suggest SHM is in studio mode, with the trio also scheduled to play summer festivals including Ultra Korea, The Hamptons edition of Kygo’s Palm Tree Festival in June and a run of European and Canadian events.

Xavi’s ‘Corazón de Piedra’ Tops Regional Mexican Airplay Chart

Xavi earns his second No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart as “Corazón de Piedra” advances from No. 3 to lead the May 25-dated ranking.

“Corazón de Piedra” takes the top spot as the Greatest Gainer of the week, with 7.8 million audience impressions on U.S. reporting radio stations during the May 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate. That’s a 27% gain from the week prior. Last week’s leader, Shakira and Grupo Frontera’s “(Entre Paréntesis),” slips to No. 2 after falling 15% in audience, to 6.3 million.

All charts dated May 25 will post in full on Billboard‘s website on May 21.

To date, the biggest supporters for “Corazón de Piedra” among reporters to the Regional Mexican Airplay chart reporting panel are KOND Fresno, Calif., KISF Las Vegas and KLNO Dallas, all with over 400 plays for it since its release, followed closely by WOJO Chicago and KHOT Phoenix (with all five stations owned by Univision).

Thanks to “Corazón,” the Mexican singer-songwriter nabs his second No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay, just three months after “La Diabla” earned him his maiden champ on the Feb. 10-dated list (the latter dips 24-38 on the latest chart, with a 31% drop in audience, to 2 million). In between his two chart-toppers, the Phoenix-based 19-year-old reached No. 20 with “La Víctima” (chart dated March 2).

Beyond its Regional Mexican Airplay coronation, “Corazón,” released March 23 through Interscope/ICLG, reaches a new peak on the overall Latin Airplay tally, jumping 9-5 in its seventh week.

Chris Stapleton & Dua Lipa Release ‘Think I’m in Love With You’ Live Duet After ACM Awards

Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa made for one of the biggest surprises of the evening at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday night, when they paired up to perform a collaborative version of “Think I’m in Love With You,” a song from Stapleton’s 2023 album HIgher.

On Monday (May 20), they officially released the performance, titled “Think I’m In Love With You (with Dua Lipa) (Live From the 59th ACM Awards),” now available on all streaming platforms.

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Speaking to Billboard the night of the ACMs, Dua Lipa said that “just being a massive fan of his” led to her reaching out to Stapleton about collaborating. “He’s a master of his craft, and I’ve just been a fan of his for so long, and I’ve had the opportunity to just sit down and brainstorm ideas on how we can reimagine the song for tonight, and bring something really special and unique…it’s one of those moments in my life where I’m so happy to be a musician and be creating something and doing something that feels so exciting.”

To Entertainment Tonight, Stapleton added that conversations regarding a collaboration had been in the works for a while, but they got together to rehearse the performance only a few days before the awards show.

“I think she threw herself into the mix,” Stapleton told the outlet. “We got on the phone and talked about it and worked on it a little bit. We really only kind of put together what we did like two days ago… It was kind of a whirlwind of a thing to do — but it was awesome.”

Stapleton’s Higher project won album of the year during the ACM Awards, marking his fourth win in the category. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa just released her third album, Radical Optimism, earlier this month.



Kelly Price Clarifies Her ‘Prayer’ for Diddy After Backlash: ‘My Name Is Kelly, Not Jesus’

Kelly Price has clarified her stance after offering Diddy a “prayer” following his apology in response to a 2016 surveillance video of the Bad Boy CEO assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura posted by CNN last week.

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“For those who misconstrued, misinterpreted or just chose to put words in my mouth, this is for clarity. If you choose to believe otherwise that’s your choice, but I won’t let anyone call me out for something I didn’t do,” Price captioned the post to Instagram on Sunday.

She continued: “I can’t offer redemption, forgiveness or Grace because my name is Kelly, not Jesus.
Therapy+Jesus that’s doing the Soul work. What happens legally is up to the people who have that authority.”

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The singer expanded on her comments in a 12-minute Instagram Live video, in which she claimed it was “more of a warning” and a push for Diddy to look inward and “do the soul work.”

“I was basically telling him you gotta change your heart, you gotta change your mind, you gotta change your direction,” she added. “I simply was saying he had to do the work.”

Price made sure to clarify that she wasn’t trying to position herself as a “Diddy cheerleader” and she’s “not OK with someone else doing something so horrific,” while seemingly referencing the gruesome footage of the assault.

“I told him, do what you need to do to get your soul right, brother,” she stated. “It’s up to the courts to decide what they do with him legally. I have nothing to do with that.”

The “Friend of Mine” singer originally offered up the comment — which was met with vehement criticism — on Instagram following Diddy’s apology before eventually deleting the remark, per Vibe.

“It is my sincere prayer that the power of the Holy Ghost overtake you so that you not not only have a change of heart but a change of mind and a change of direction,” she wrote. “I have seen you at your best and at your worst. I know what you are capable of being when you were at your best despite the seductions of this industry. I want to see you and I want to see you soon too kreate8 this in this business but I need you to pray and I need you to receive from the most high. I need for those prayers to take place sincerely. You are a unique talent, and both sides that represent light and darkness receive you anxiously. Do you know who God is! Lean not unto your own understanding but all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. [red heart emoji] KP.”

While the myriad of sexual misconduct lawsuits against Sean “Diddy” Combs piled up, CNN posted jarring surveillance footage on Friday (May 17) of Diddy attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.

Forty-eight hours later, Combs issued an apology for his “inexcusable” actions in a video posted to social media on Sunday.

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said. “I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”

Adele Can’t Get Enough ‘Espresso’: See Sabrina Carpenter’s Saucy Response

Adele might be laid up with boyfriend Rich Paul, but she’s really thinking about Sabrina Carpenter in bed — at least according to the “Nonsense” singer.

On Sunday, Carpenter took to her official X page to respond to the “Hello” singer’s recent show of affection for her smash hit single “Espresso.”

After recounting a story about an uncharacteristically late-night performance during her Weekends with Adele Las Vegas residency, Adele joked, “As I got into bed last night, because [it] was a very late night for me, I found myself singing ‘I’m working late, ’cause I’m a singer’, that Sabrina Carpenter song — that song is my jam!”

Released on April 11, “Espresso” exploded into an instant smash for Carpenter, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest career peak, and spending three consecutive weeks atop the U.K. Official Singles Chart. The frothy Italo disco-tinged jam quickly went viral due to its cheeky “me espresso” lyric, with the aforementioned Adele-approved lyric also proving to be a fan favorite. Carpenter recently performed her new smash at last month’s Coachella and the season finale of Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

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“[‘Espresso’] came out when I couldn’t f—ing talk,” Adele exclaimed. “It came out when I couldn’t talk or sing, so… all last night and this morning, that’s what I’ve been singing. From tomorrow, it’ll be ‘I’m sleeping late, ’cause I’m a singer’ — because that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

In her typically saucy fashion, Carpenter quoted an X post about Adele’s love for “Espresso,” writing, “All [I] read was Adele thinks about me in bed <3>outros; on the SNL finale, she sang “He is 30 Rock hard ’cause I said ‘Hi’/ My sense of humor is, but I am not dry/ SNL, I just came for the first time.”

Adele isn’t the only celebrity to express their taste for “Espresso.” Last month, Katy Perry captioned an Instagram reel of her lip-syncing to Carpenter’s hit, “I’m a singerrrr (and a mother, and a judge, and a…).”

Check out Adele gushing over “Espresso” — and Sabrina’s hilarious response — below.

Taylor Swift Thanks ‘Magical’ Fans in Sweden for Breaking All-Time Stadium Attendance Record

Taylor Swift came to Stockholm, saw Friends Arena and conquered the stadium’s all-time attendance record, as shared by the pop star in a new post on social media.

Sharing a quartet of photos from her three Eras Tour performances at the venue on X, Swift thanked her Swedish Swifties for showing up and showing out over the weekend. “Stockholm!!!!” she wrote. “Thank you for being the most generous, excitable, magical crowds, and for breaking the all time attendance record for the stadium all 3 nights.”

“Can’t believe this was our first time playing in Sweden,” she added. “But it won’t be our last… ?? ?”

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In the photos, Swift sports a few of her newly added costumes to the Eras trek’s three-hour-plus runtime, which now features songs from the 14-time Grammy winner’s latest album The Tortured Poets Department. The singer first premiered her reimagined show at Paris’ La Defense Arena earlier this month, restructuring past eras to make room for TTPD songs like “Fortnight,” “Down Bad,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and more.

Swift didn’t specify how many fans were at each of her Stockholm shows, but she did address the attendance record while she was onstage May 17. “They gave me this crazy news earlier today,” she told the crowd in disbelief during her opening Lover set, as captured in a fan video. “Not only is this beautiful sold-out crowd here to dance with us and sing with us tonight, but you have made this the most highly attended show ever in this stadium.”

The “Anti-Hero” singer will spend the rest of the summer touring through Europe, with her next shows scheduled for May 24-25 in Portugal. In October, she’ll return to the U.S. and Canada for a second North American leg.

Watch Swift celebrate her attendance record with her crowd in Stockholm below.

Drake Loses Over Half a Million Dollars in Fury vs. Usyk Boxing Match Gamble

Drake probably won’t be cracking open any bottles of bubbly following his latest sports gamble. The Champagne Papi has lost a total of $565,000 after betting that Tyson Fury would win the Saturday (May 18) boxing match against Oleksandr Usyk, who ultimately proved victorious over his opponent to become the sport’s undisputed heavyweight champion.

Usyk’s victory comes shortly after Drake posted a screenshot of his gambling slip on Instagram Stories last week, proving that he’d put upwards of half a million dollars on Fury’s name via the online casino Stake, with which the rapper has had a long-running partnership. Had Fury won instead of Usyk, Drizzy’s payout would have been just over a million dollars.

To Drake’s credit, it was a close call. One judge at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, originally scored the match 114-113 in Fury’s favor, however, the ruling was overturned by two other judges who favored Usyk 114-113 and 115-112, respectively.

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The news comes amid the Canadian musician’s unresolved feud with Kendrick Lamar, who, ironically, called out his adversary’s gambling hobby on the diss track “Meet the Grahams.” Over the course of April and May, K. Dot has also dropped “Euphoria,” “6:16 in L.A.” and the Billboard Hot 100-topping “Not Like Us” to antagonize Drake, who, for his own part, has released “Push Ups,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” “Family Matters” and “The Heart Pt. 6” targeted at Lamar.

Fury vs. Usyk aside, Drake has had much better luck with previous gambles. In February, he bet $1,150,000 on a Kansas City Chiefs win in the 2024 Super Bowl, which turned out to be advantageous when the Patrick Mahomes-led team triumphed over the San Francisco 49ers.

“I can’t bet against the swifties,” Drake wrote on Instagram Stories at the time, poking fun at Taylor Swift’s relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Is Considering Revoking Diddy’s Key to the City

New York City Mayor Eric Adams bestowed Diddy with a key to the city last September, but is now looking into the possibility of rescinding the prestigious honor after surveillance footage was leaked by CNN of Sean Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in March of 2016.

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Adams sat down with PIX11 for an interview on Monday (May 20) where he was asked for his thoughts about Diddy receiving a Key to the City after watching the disturbing video clip last week.

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“I think all of us were deeply disturbed by watching that chilling video of the young lady being assaulted by him, and the committee and the team — we’ve never rescinded a key before, but we are now sitting down to see what the next steps forward are going to be,” he said.” “We are taking everything under analysis, and the team will come back to me with a final determination.”

The physical assault appears to mirror an abuse allegation made by Cassie Ventura in the sprawling lawsuit she made against Diddy last November before settling the matter less than 24 hours later.

In the suit, she alleged that Diddy became extremely intoxicated and punched her, leaving Ventura with a black eye during an altercation at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles around March 2016.

“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement to Billboard after the jarring footage was released. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Diddy then issued an apology for his actions, which he described as “inexcusable,” in a video posted to social media on Sunday (May 19).

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said. “I was f—ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, I’m disgusted now.”

Watch a clip of Adams’ interview with PIX11 below:



Myke Towers’ ‘La Capi’ Expands Radio Success & Crowns Latin Airplay Chart

A week after Myke Towers’ “La Capi” landed atop Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart, the song continues its radio success as it crowns the overall Latin Airplay chart (dated May 25).

“La Capi,” released via One World International/Warner/Warner Latina, advances from No. 3 to No. 1 boosted by a 12% gain in audience impressions, to 10.3 million, across U.S. Latin stations in the week ending May 10-16, according to Luminate.

All May 25-dated charts will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 21.

The merengue-flavored tune sends Shakira and Grupo Frontera’s “(Entre Paréntesis)” to No. 2 after one week in charge, with a 5% dip in audience, to 9.1 million.

With “La Capi,” Towers banks his 12th No. 1 on Latin Airplay, dating back to “Caramelo,” with Ozuna and Karol G, in 2020. Towers also enlarges his chart-topping rate to three champs this year, after “Borracho y Loco,” with Wisin, and “La Falda” hit No. 1, for one week in charge each in Feb. He ties Feid for the most No. 1s on Latin Airplay in 2024. 

Notably, out of the 18 No. 1s in 2024, Towers is the third male soloist to hit No. 1 unaccompanied by another artist. He previously led this year, on his own, with “La Falda” on the Feb. 24-dated list. Also in 2024, Xavi achieved the feat through “La Diabla” (two weeks at No. 1 in February and March), while Ozuna completed a one-week reign with “Baccarat” (March 30 chart).

Towers’ new leader joins “La Falda” and “Lala” as the third No. 1 from Towers’ album, LVEU: Vive La Tuya…No La Mía, his fourth top 10 on Top Latin Albums (No. 9 high, last December).

Elsewhere, “La Capi” holds strong at its No. 1 peak on Tropical Airplay for a second week.