Music News

15 May 2024

Saweetie Preparing to Own the Summer, Announces ‘NANi’ Single Release Date

Saweetie is getting ready to own the hot weather season. The “Best Friend” rapper put fans on notice on Tuesday (May 14) that she is “gon’ fkkk up the Summer [three kiss emoji],” encouraging her fans to make sure they pre-save her new single, “NANi,” which is due out on Friday (May 17).

The announcement came with a provocative image from the single’s cover, in which the MC poses with her right leg extended behind her — and a green hair dryer blowing her knee-length blonde-pink locks into the air — as she models a barely-there beaded bikini paired with matching high heels.

Last month, Saweetie posted a preview of the song on Insta, rapping a bit of the sing-songy chorus while strutting near a swimming pool and toting a tiny purse. “Ooh, got that nani, nani, nani/ How she walk through, swingin’ that body/ Yellin’, ’Who gon’ stop me?’/ You ain’t got the time to clock me,” she sings on the refrain that sounds like both provocative and taunting at the same time. “Ooh, got that nani, nani, nani/ Big, bag, I’ma fill it up with money/ Yellin’, ‘Who gon’ stop me?’/ You ain’t got the time to clock me.”

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When Billboard caught up with Saweetie on the red carpet at the 2024 Gold Gala celebrating todays’ most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers earlier this week, she promised, “NANi is that girl. NANi is main character energy.” The new single is the follow-up to her recent song with P-Lo, “Do It For the Bay” and February’s “Richtivities.”

Check out the “NANi” single cover below.

15 May 2024

Listen to Ariana Grande Sing ‘Popular’ & ‘Defying Gravity’ With Cynthia Erivo in New ‘Wicked’ Trailer

The full-length trailer for the upcoming Wicked films is finally here, featuring the first-ever look at Ariana Grande singing Glinda’s signature song, “Popular.”

The three-and-a-half-minute preview, which was released Wednesday (May 15), opens with the pop star’s voice asking, “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

Grande’s bubbly rendition of “Popular” then plays over scenes of the “Yes, And?” singer — dressed in several different pink costumes — meeting Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba for the first time and swinging from a chandelier in their shared dormitory at Shiz University. The two characters then hold hands as they travel to the Emerald City together and meet Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard of Oz, during which the music in the trailer gradually shifts into Grande and the Harriet star’s voices harmonizing on “Defying Gravity.”

And yes, there’s also a shot of Glinda in her pink floating bubble, fully immersed as the Good Witch of the North as she greets the citizens of Oz.

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The trailer comes about six months ahead of the first Wicked film’s Thanksgiving premiere, and follows a shorter teaser that aired for the first time during the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast in February. The second part of the Jon M. Chu-directed duology — which was based on Stephen Schwartz’s Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel — arrives in 2025.

Leading up to the trailer’s arrival, Universal Pictures released behind-the-scenes footage from the films’ 2023 shoot in the U.K., plus clips of Erivo and Grande reacting to the news that they had been cast as the project’s stars. “Oh my God, thank you!” the “We Can’t Be Friends” musician says through tears in the video. “I love [Glinda] so much, I’m gonna take such good care of her!”

Earlier this month, Erivo joined Grande for a surprise duet of “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston at the 2024 Met Gala. The Victorious alum also performed some of her older hits, as well as tracks from her Billboard 200-topping new album Eternal Sunshine.

Watch the new Wicked trailer featuring Grande singing “Popular” above.

15 May 2024

Travis Kelce’s Teammate Harrison Butker Criticizes Working Women While Quoting Taylor Swift Song

In the same 20-minute commencement speech at Benedictine College in Kansas Saturday (May 11), Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker both discouraged female graduates from pursuing careers outside of homemaking while quoting objectively one of the world’s hardest-working career women: Taylor Swift, whom he referred to as “my teammate’s girlfriend.”

The 28-year-old athlete, who shares two children with wife Isabelle, also condemned President Joe Biden, abortion, birth control, Pride Month and “the cultural emasculation of men” during his controversial address at the Catholic liberal arts school, who shared the speech on its YouTube page. But it was while he was admonishing bishops who he says gain too much satisfaction “from the adulation they receive from their parishioners” and “become overly familiar” that he dropped in a line from the pop star’s Midnights single “Bejeweled.”

“This undue familiarity will prove to be problematic every time,” Butker said with a smile. “Because as my teammate’s girlfriend says, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt.’”

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The teammate in question, of course, is tight end Travis Kelce, who has been dating Swift since last summer. In addition to championing the LGBTQ community, the 14-time Grammy winner has been open about her feminist beliefs — which probably don’t align with what Butker said next in the speech.

“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment,” he continued. “I want to speak directly to you briefly, because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.”

“How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all of the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career?” Butker went on. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he added, noting that homemaker is “one of the most important titles of all.” “Isabelle’s dream of having a career might not have come true, but if you ask her today if she has any regrets on her decision, she would laugh out loud without hesitation, and say, ‘Heck no.’”

Billboard has reached out to the Chiefs and NFL for comment.

The Chiefs have gained an army of new fans in the past year, thanks to Swift’s association with the team and her attendance at several games at Arrowhead Stadium over the course of the 2023-24 season. And while some people online have praised Butker for expressing his values during then commencement speech, many of those same Swifties/football fans are taking to social media to slam the team’s kicker.

“Harrison Butker gave a misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic commencement speech and then quoted Taylor Swift?” one person tweeted. “Dude. That’s so messed up.”

“I dare Harrison Butker to tell Taylor Swift she has no value unless she is a wife, mother, and homemaker,” wrote another fan.

See more reactions below.

15 May 2024

Diddy Posts Cryptic Message Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Sean Diddy Combs has maintained his innocence in the lawsuits and sexual assault allegations made against him. Now, he’s appeared to double down with a cryptic message posted to his Instagram account on Tuesday (May 14).

“Time tells truth,” the message reads, which he captioned simply with, “Love.”

Diddy didn’t turn off his comments section, resulting in Instagram users leaving both supportive and critical comments. (The post has compiled more than 91,000 likes as of press time.)

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“Tell the truth then n—a ‼️ u da one doin da bendin,” one person wrote while another chimed in with support and pushed back against the allegations, saying, “Diddy I know they trying to ruin your name! Keep going.”

One user even responded with the opening quote from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the long-running NBC police procedural about an NYPD squad that investigates sex crimes: “In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are known as the Special Victims Unit.”

But it wasn’t all negatives comments. The Grammy winner also received messages of support. Busta Rhymes commented with six crown emojis, while one fan wrote, “We still riding with you [prayer hands emoji].”

Diddy denied all of the allegations against him in a statement posted to social media in December. “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said at the time. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

The Bad Boy mogul has been under fire in recent months with the litany of legal issues and having both of his Miami and Los Angeles homes raided by federal agents in March. In April, Sean Combs filed a motion to have some of the claims thrown out in a sexual assault lawsuit made against him that was filed in November.

See Diddy’s cryptic post below.

15 May 2024

Selena Gomez Talks to Hoda Kotb About Embracing Her Mental Health Journey: ‘I Told My Story, And I Felt Freedom From It’

TODAY Show co-host Hoda Kotb sits down with Selena Gomez — and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy — for this week’s episode of her podcast “Making Space” to discuss their mission to change the way we talk about mental health.

Gomez, 31, who has spoken in the past about her battles with bipolar disorder, told Kotb that she defines herself as a, “loving, caring… and a person who just genuinely wants to do anything to just help out someone,” Gomez said. “I think life can get distracting, and there’s so much noise, and titles don’t scare me anymore because I claimed my own story. I told my story, and I felt freedom from it.”

The singer said that advocating for mental health is something she’s always been passionate about. But before launching her Rare Beauty makeup line she wanted it to be “more than a brand,” and so insisted that before selling any product she wanted 1% of sales to go to Rare Impact Fund, which focuses on providing kids and teens with wellness resources, including information about suicide prevention efforts.

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“Ultimately we are able to help over 700,000 schools, we’ve raised $13 million… my goal has always been, ‘How can I make a positive change in this world?,’” she told Kotb. “Doing it through makeup sounds a little interesting but it is a part of your mental health. It’s mind, body and soul, people think they should feel a certain way and I wanted Rare to be a place where everyone felt like they belong.”

Gomez also recalled a conversation with an older women going through a divorce around the time the singer released her empowering 2019 single, “Lose You To Love Me,” and said that their five-minute chat was way more gratifying that taking a selfie with a fan. “I just noticed that those are the things that keep me going,” Gomez said of meaningful interactions and the importance of making connections. “She made my day and I hopefully was able to make hers.”

Kotb described worrying that Gomez pours so much of herself into her work and into other people that she wondered how the singer has enough energy for herself. “It starts with the fact that I did take the step to get help,” Gomez said. “There was a lot happening and I wasn’t understanding my mind, I wasn’t understanding my reactions and my emotions. And that was probably the most painful time in my life.”

But once Gomez was able to talk to people and work out some of those issues, “it became so clear and so important to me that I now make it a part of my life. I have boundaries. I learned to say no when I need to. I have great relationships and friends and wonderful relationships with people that I learn from.” At the end of the day, she said, it’s about owning her power and knowing, “I am who I surround myself with.”

In March, Gomez spoke on a panel at SXSW about her vulnerable 2022 doc My Mind & Me, confessing that she was on the fence about releasing the move to the public. “The moment I did that, I felt this insane amount of release,” she explained at the time about a feeling that she had to hit “rock bottom” before being able to overcome some of her challenges. “There wasn’t any hiding anymore. It was probably one of the hardest moments of my life.”

The doc was filmed over six years and it delved into the singer’s battles with depressive episodes and anxiety; Gomez revealed in 2020 that she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. At the third annual Rare Beauty Mental Health Summit in New York in May Gomez — the most-followed woman on Instagram with 428 million followers — told Kotb that she disabled the comments on her Insta except for her friends. “So I think I’ve created boundaries to help me,” she said. “I felt empowered by doing that,” she added, “by saying, ‘This is just for me.’” 

“I will always be working on my mental health, and I will always evolve,” Gomez said at the event which also featured Surgeon General Murthy, who has worked with Gomez for years to address mental health-related challenges facing young people in the U.S. “I’m not better or worse than anyone. I’m simply just a person living and surviving every day.” 

And she still is. Speaking on Kotb’s podcast, Gomez said now when she looks in the mirror in the morning she sees someone who is “waking up every day and trying her best. And that’s all I could ask for at the end of the day.”

Listen to the full episode of “Making Space” with Gomez here.

15 May 2024

Travis Kelce Praises Taylor Swift’s ‘Absolutely Unbelievable’ New ‘Tortured Poets’ Eras Tour Setlist

Travis Kelce is one of few lucky Swifties who got to see Taylor Swift premiere her brand new Eras Tour set — which is now complete with select numbers from her Billboard 200-topping new album, The Tortured Poets Department — across four shows in Paris over the weekend. And on the latest episode of his podcast New Heights Wednesday (May 15), the Kansas City Chiefs tight end couldn’t help but gush about the “absolutely unbelievable” experience.  

“I had a blast at Tay’s show,” the athlete told his brother and co-host, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. “Her new rendition of The Eras Tour, I suggest everybody go see it. It has her new Tortured Poets Department, a handful of those songs in the new show, which means there’s a new segment and new lights and new dancing. New everything to the f–king show.” 

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“It is absolutely unbelievable,” he continued. “I enjoyed every bit of it … I don’t know if they’re just getting better or if I just keep forgetting how they are. It was electric in there. Paris was on a whole other level.” 

The episode comes about three days after Travis attended Swift’s final Paris concert at La Defense Arena Sunday (May 12), where fan cameras captured him dancing along to the show with suitemates Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper. The “Anti-Hero” singer’s tenure in the City of Love marked the first few times she’d ever performed tracks such as “Fortnight,” “Down Bad” and “So High School,” a love song thought by many fans to have been inspired by the athlete.  

“I got to see a few familiar faces,” Travis added on the show. “I got to see Gigi and Bradley. Bradley Cooper, man, BC, Big Coop. We were all in the suite having a blast.” 

At the show, Swift also debuted a new outfit made with Chiefs colors: red and gold. Later on, she performed “The Alchemy” — another TTPD track believed to be about Travis — as part of the surprise song section, during which the Ohio native held up a hand heart in the stands.  

The 14-time Grammy winner will next perform in Stockholm for three nights at Friends Arena starting Friday (May 17), after which she’ll spend the summer traveling through Spain, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Europe before returning to the U.S. in October. And if you’re wondering whether Travis will continue to tag along on the tour, it certainly sounds like he’s game. 

“I’m gonna be dancing around,” he hinted on New Heights. “I’m all over the world this offseason.” 

Watch Travis gush about Swift’s revamped Eras Tour below. 

15 May 2024

Billy Porter, Orville Peck & More Will Bring the Party to Your Home With 2024’s Can’t Cancel Pride

With Pride season nearly upon us, music fans are busy buying tickets to their local Pride festivals. But if you can’t make it to an in-person celebration this year, don’t worry — Billy Porter, Orville Peck and plenty of others are here to help.

On Wednesday (May 15), iHeartMedia and P&G announced the lineup for their fifth annual Can’t Cancel Pride event. Taking place on June 12, the livestreamed event will feature a series of appearances and performances from stars including Porter, Peck, Allison Russell, Ben Platt, David Archuletta, Meghan Trainor, Melissa Etheridge, Raye and Victoria Monét.

Along with performing at the event, Porter is set to host and receive the Elton John Impact Award for his LGBTQ+ advocacy throughout his career. The award was first given to John during the event’s 2022 broadcast, and was later presented to Americana star Brandi Carlile in 2023.

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In a statement released with the news, iHeartMedia’ spokesperson ‘s chief marketing officer Gayle Troberman teased a can’t-miss event. “We are proud to celebrate Can’t Cancel Pride’s fifth birthday with another fantastic show that celebrates the intersection and unconditional power of music, message and inclusivity,” she wrote. “It’s incredible to see and hear the positive impact this franchise has on the community each year.”

Peck’s performance at the event will come on the heels of his recent win at the 2024 GLAAD Media Awards, where the country star took home the organization’s Vito Russo Award. During his acceptance speech on Saturday (May 11), Peck pointed to the importance of having more out queer artists in the genre, in order “to allow some kid in a small town who loves country music to see themselves in me or Mickey Guyton or T.J. Osborne.”

Can’t Cancel Pride will take place live at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles on June 12 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, with a livestream of the event that will take place on iHeartRadio’s YouTube and Facebook pages, Hulu, Revry, and The Advocate Channel. Check out the full lineup for the event below:

15 May 2024

Stray Kids Confirm 2024 Tour Dates, Perform ‘Lose My Breath’ on ‘Good Morning America’

Stray Kids staged a takeover of Good Morning America on Wednesday morning (May 15), dropping into the show’s New York studios to take a few questions from fans before busting out a performance of their new single.

The first order of business for the eight-member K-pop band was confirming that they are headed out on a world tour this year. Rapper Felix verified the tease that designer Tommy Hilfiger dropped on the red carpet at the Met Gala, telling Lara Spencer, “We do have some good news. We are preparing a tour. Big news because it’s been so long since we prepared for something so big. And so, yeah, we took this chance to prepare something for our fans. So exciting.”

Dancer Bang Chan also took an audience question from a fan who wanted to know what the creative process was for making the band’s latest single, “Lose My Breath.” He said, “We got the chance to work with Charlie [Puth], it was a very good experience. Because he’s very musically talented. There’s a lot of things to learn. Overall, the project came out very, very well. So, hope you guys like it. Do you like it?”

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The group them performed the song in studio, singing and dancing along to the song in front of a wall of flashing neon lights as the studio full of fans sang along and held up their armloads of tributes.

At press time the only announced dates for the group’s tour were a July 12 gig at the Ippodromo SNAI La Maura in Milano, Italy, followed by a July 14 show in Hyde Park in London, and an August date at Lollapalooza in Chicago, which runs from the Aug. 1-4.

Watch the “Lose My Breath” performance here.

15 May 2024

TLC Postpone Four Canadian Tour Dates After T-Boz Hit With Flu Bug

The TLC tour has been bitten by the flu bug. The duo informed fans on Monday (May 14) that they’ve been forced to cancel that night’s planned show and postpone three other tour dates in Canada this week after member T-Boz (as well as several other tour members) have fallen ill.

“We deeply regret to inform you that we must cancel the upcoming date,” they said of the Monday night gig slated to take place in the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick. “Unfortunately, a few members of our tour, including T-boz, have fallen ill with the flu. As a result, she has lost her voice. Doctors have advised her not to perform this week,” read the statement from the group that also features singer Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” they added. “Your support means the world to us, and we look forward to the opportunity to perform for you in the near future. We love you and will see you soon.”

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The affected dates included a Thursday (May 16) show at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, a gig on Friday (May 17) at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario (which has been rescheduled for Oct. 3) and a May 18 concert at the Memorial Centre in Peterborough, Ontario.

At press time the group had not announced when, or if the other three shows will be rescheduled.

TLC are the subject of a new Netflix documentary, TLC Forever, and earlier this year they celebrated the 25th anniversary of their landmark Fanmail album, which features extended remixes of Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “No Scrubs” and “U in Me.”

See TLC’s statement about the show postponements below.

15 May 2024

Cher Turns Back Time on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Slam, Warns She’ll ‘Have Some Words to Say’ At Induction

Never say never. Back in December, before she was announced as one of this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees, Cher had some choice words for the Cleveland-based museum that, at that point, had not deigned her worthy of inclusion despite her record of scoring No. 1 hits over seven decades.

To put it mildly the 77-year-old pop wonder told Kelly Clarkson that she was not interested, not even if the RRHOF “gave me a million dollars… I’m never going to change my mind. They can just you-know-what themselves.”

Well, now that she is preparing to enter the HOF alongside Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & the Gang, the Dave Matthews Band and Peter Frampton on Oct. 19 in Cleveland, you better believe she’s had a change of heart.

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According to ET, while walking the red carpet at the Paley Center in L.A. for the premiere of the documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion — about the fashion designer who has made so many of the singer’s glitter-dripping costumes over the years — Cher said she was grateful for her pending induction.

She thanked longtime friend and one-time paramour former music executive David Geffen and RRHOF Foundation chairman John Sykes for the honor and, in her inimitable way, warned that she will not go quietly into that very good night.

“I’m going to have some words to say,” Cher promised. “I’m going to accept it as me.”

Cher’s first No. 1 hit was 1965’s “I Got You Babe” with late partner Sonny Bono and she had been eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame since 1991.