Music News

Billie Eilish Shares Snippet of Loved-Up Unreleased Song ‘Feather’ in New ‘Heartstopper’ Teaser: Listen

Billie Eilish is giving fans a sneak peek at her fast-approaching new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, by debuting a snippet of one of its lovey-dovey tracks, “Feather,” in a brand-new teaser for Netflix’s Heartstopper season three. 

In the clip posted Monday (May 13), Joe Locke’s Charlie practices telling Kit Connor’s Nick that he loves him, but struggles to find the words. As tension builds, the 22-year-old pop star’s track — which plays throughout the minute-long teaser — gets louder and louder, culminating in a vibrant, upbeat chorus that finds the nine-time Grammy winner belting with full force. 

“I love you ’til the day that I die, ’til the day that I die,” she sings. “‘Til the light leaves my eyes. Forever, it’s even better.” 

Trending on Billboard

The clip is one of the first tastes of Hit Me Hard and Soft fans have gotten ahead of the album’s arrival, which is slated for Friday (May 17). Eilish hasn’t released any singles in anticipation of her third studio LP, telling fans on social media when she first announced the project, “i wanna give it to you all at once.” 

She has, however, teased that the record is something of a return to the sound and style she cultivated on her 2019 debut. “I feel like this album is me,” she told Rolling Stone in April. “It’s not a character. It feels like the When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? version of me … This whole process has felt like I’m coming back to the girl that I was. I’ve been grieving her.” 

This season of Heartstopper, which is based off the book series of the same name by Alice Oseman, is set to premiere on Netflix in October. The eight-episode installment will pick up with Charlie and Nick getting ready to start the school year at the end of summer holidays.  

“As they learn more about each other and their relationships, plan social events and parties and start thinking about university choices,” reads the press release. “Everyone must learn to lean on those they love when life doesn’t go to plan.” 

Watch the new Heartstopper teaser featuring Eilish’s “Feather” below. 


https://youtube.com/watch?v=fi_SS34W4J8&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Obituary for Eminem’s Slim Shady Appears in Detroit Newspaper Ahead of Rapper’s Upcoming Album

It seems Eminem may be taking his upcoming album title The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) literally. A fake Slim Shady obituary recently ran in the Detroit Free Press, in which the piece bids farewell to the “controversial rapper.”

“Slim Shady Made Lasting Impressions” the headline in the DFP reads with the subhead, “Fans ‘Will Never Forget’ Controversial Rapper.’”

The ad/obituary appears to be in support of Em’s upcoming 12th studio LP — titled The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe De Grâce) — and features a photo of Eminem in a white Jason Voorhees hockey mask.

“Fans ‘will never forget’ controversial rapper,” the piece reads. “A product of Detroit who began his career there as a rogue splinter in the flourishing underground rap scene of the mid to late 1990s, Shady first became a household name in 1999 with the debut of his playfully deranged single ‘My Name Is,’ which — along with its uniquely eye catching video — exposed the young artist and his lyrics to a wider audience.”

Trending on Billboard

The obituary continues: “Ultimately, the very things that seemed to be the tools he used became calling cards that defined an existence that could only come to a sudden and horrific end. His complex and tortured existence has come to a close, and the legacy he leaves behind is no closer to resolution than the manner in which this character departed this world. May he truly find the peace in an afterlife that he could not find on Earth.”

Billboard has reached out to Eminem for comment.

In April, the rapper popped up at the 2024 NFL Draft, which was hosted by his hometown of Detroit. Shortly after his appearance in support of the Detroit Lions, the rapper announced plans for his The Death of Slim Shady (Coupe De Grâce) album, which is slated to arrive this summer.

The album announcement came in the form of an Unsolved Mysteries episode featuring Em meeting his demise in search of “who killed Slim Shady?” 50 Cent even makes a cameo in the crime show-styled bloody teaser.

The Death Of Slim Shady will serve as the followup to the rapper’s 11th studio album, Music to Be Murdered By, which was released in 2020. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 to give Em his historic 10th consecutive leader.

It was his frequent collaborator/mentor Dr. Dre who broke the news of an Eminem album on the horizon when he made his first late-night appearance in 30 years on Jimmy Kimmel Live in March.

“Let me tell you something, let me explain something to you right now: Eminem is working on his own album which is coming out this year,” Dre said. “And I actually talked to him and he said it was OK for me to make that announcement right here on this show. So he has an album coming out, I’ve got songs on it and it’s fire. I’m actually gonna hear the entire album for the first time for tomorrow.”

See Slim Shady’s obit in the Detroit Free Press below:

Chuck E. Cheese Pulling Plug on Animatronic Robot Band For Good

To the likely delight of parents everywhere — as well as some seriously freaked-out kids — the Munch’s Make Believe Band is headed to the scrap heap. The animatronic group that has been a staple at the Chuck E. Cheese pizza and arcade chain for four decades is going into a permanent deep freeze by the end of this year due to changing tastes among the ball pit set.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

According to The New York Times, the mechanical animal band fronted by singers Chuck E. Cheese and Helen Henny, with Jasper T. Jowls on guitar, Mr. Munch on keyboards and Pasqually on drums, will be removed from all but two locations (Los Angeles and Nanuet, N.Y.) of the chain’s more than 400 U.S. locations amidst what CEO David McKillips described as its “most aggressive transformation” to date.

The band known for its stilted movements and blinking, shifty eyes, will be replaced by giant TV screens, digital dance floors and trampoline gyms just a few years after the chain temporarily closed a number of locations during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the summer of 2020. “Kids are consuming entertainment differently than they were 10, 20 years ago,” McKillips told the paper. “Kids, really of all ages, are consuming their entertainment on a screen.”

Trending on Billboard

For now, the company is not saying what will happen to the hundreds of animatronic figures once they exit the stage more than four decades after Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell had the brainstorm to match a pizza restaurant with then-novel video games. In a 2017 interview, Bushnell said he was originally inspired by watching the animatronic animal show in the Tiki Room at Disneyland, tasking his engineers with coming up with a mascot for what was then called Coyote Pizza.

After mistakenly buying a rat costume — and briefly considering the name Rick’s Rat Pizza — Bushnell went with the friendlier name Chuck E. Cheese (Charles Entertainment Cheese) for the chain that opened its first outlet in May 1977 in San Jose, California. In the decades since, the restaurant became a staple of affordable children’s birthday parties, even as the band has spawned dozens of memes as well as inspiring the 2023 horror flick Five Nights at Freddy’s, in which a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza battled murderous animatronic characters.

Check out a message from the chain and some fond memories below.

Michelle Wie West Says Taylor Swift Wearing Her Custom ‘TNT’ Diamond Bracelet Was ‘The Craziest Thing’

Retired golf champ Michelle Wie West is still a bit shocked at the killer product placement she scored earlier this year when Taylor Swift modeled a piece from Wove’s Michelle Wie West collection during some celebratory PDA at the AFC championship game.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

While hugging boyfriend Travis Kelce, Swift was spotted wearing the diamond-encrusted “TNT” friendship bracelet. Fallon put up a pic of the now iconic squeeze Swift laid on Kelce on the field, with Wie West saying that the precious moment was all thanks to the Super Bowl champ star tight end.

“It’s like a really upscale friendship bracelet really inspired by Taylor,” Wie West said of the nearly $6,000 customizable piece that has diamonds and beads and is likely out of the range of most Swifties looking to spice up their outfits for the Eras Tour.

Trending on Billboard

“I messaged him [Kelce] and I was like, ‘hey, we made a bracelet inspired by Taylor, like, we would love to just give her one. I don’t care what she does with it,’” Wie West said of her message to the NFL player who she’d previously met at Justin Timberlake’s annual celebrity golf tournament. “‘I just want it to be given to her… in the proximity of her,’” Wie West added.

Noting that she doesn’t normally “really care about football” that much, Wie West said after the game she started screaming at her phone. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!’,” she recalled yelling, which alarmed her husband, who thought something bad had happened. “I was like, ‘Taylor Swift is wearing my bracelet!’” she told him. “It was just like the craziest thing.”

Playing dumb, Fallon asked if “TNT” was a reference to dynamite, with Wie West helpfully suggesting it might also refer to “Travis ‘n Taylor.”

“I was just… I can’t believe it,” Wie West said, still looking shocked.

Watch Wie West on The Tonight Show below.



Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom’s Daughter Daisy Dove Made Her First Public Appearance During ‘American Idol’

Like a lot of celebrity couples, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have made a point of keeping their family life private, which so far has meant that the world has not gotten many glimpses of their three-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom.

But on Sunday night (May 12), the adorable toddler made a brief appearance on camera during that night’s episode of American Idol. It helped that the ABC series’ theme for the night was Disney and mama Perry took a spin on Instagram to flip into something more Cinderella. Plus, it was Mother’s Day, so double bonus.

As evidenced by screenshots snapped by KatyCats, at one point during the show the camera swung over to Daisy sitting in her dad’s lap while wearing her own Cinderella dress. The glimpse of Daisy came as Perry was celebrating becoming a mother in another Instagram post featuring a pic of her positive pregnancy test, a snap of the moment she informed Bloom, as well as the backstage hugs she shared with Idol co-stars Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan when she informed them that she was “very pregnant.” The rest of the reel featured snaps from throughout the singer’s pregnancy as well as a sweet message of gratitude.

Trending on Billboard

“Today I told my mother that the day I realized how much she loved me is the day I had my own daughter, Daisy Dove… there is nothing like a Mother’s love… never take it for granted… Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and caretakers — any way you come,” Perry wrote.

Check out a fan snap of the precious moment and Perry’s post below.

Kelly Clarkson Talks Losing ‘A Lot’ of Weight on Prescription Medication: ‘Everybody Thinks It’s Ozempic, But It’s Not’

Kelly Clarkson and Whoopi Goldberg bonded on Monday (May 13) over their recent weight loss journeys. While appearing on Clarkson’s daytime talker, Kelly complimented The View co-host, telling her, “Every time I run into you, you look younger! You’re like Benjamin Button. It’s like crazy every time you walk in!”

Goldberg, 68, in turn, said that’s because of all the weight she’s lost, which she pegged as “almost two people,” with Clarkson noting “I’ve lost a lot as well,” which Whoopi said she’d noticed.

In a rare public comment from an A-lister about their use of the weight loss drugs that have come into vogue over the past few years, EGOT winner Goldberg said she’s been using “the wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help.”

Trending on Billboard

“Mine is a different one than people assume,” said Clarkson, 42. “I ended up having to do that too because my blood work got so bad.” While Clarkson did not specify which drug she was using, Goldberg noted that the decision to try medical weight loss intervention is good for people like them who have “issues.”

Clarkson said she wasn’t planning on discussing her weight loss with Goldberg, but once the subject came up the singer said, “I didn’t see it,” describing reviewing tape of a birthday show she did last April at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles that surprised her. “We were watching it back and I paid to have it taped and I was going to release it… and then my doctor chased me for like two years and I was like, ‘no, I’m afraid of it. I already have thyroid problems.’ I was afraid. Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic, it’s not, it’s something else.”

Ozempic is an FDA-approved injectable medication originally formulated to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar. But the drug, as well as others like it, have proven to have weight loss properties that have led to a surge in off-label prescribing due to its additional ability to trick the brain into thinking the patient is full. Clarkson said the unnamed drug she’s taking “aids in helping break down the sugar [because] obviously my body doesn’t do it right.”

Clarkson described screening the footage of the birthday show in her house in New York as she was preparing to release the performance, “and then all of a sudden I paused it and I was like, ‘who the f–k is that?!’ I swear to God! It sounds insane.” Goldberg said she had a similar experience while on the set of the historical drama Till, where she said a woman on the set thought the comedian/actress was wearing a “fat suit.” At her heaviest, Goldberg said she was around 300 pounds, with Clarkson, 5’3″, noting that at one point she weighed 203 pounds.

“I was indignant! I was like, ‘this is not a fat suit! This is me!’ And then I saw…” Goldberg said. “You see it and you’re like, ‘she’s about to die of a heart attack,’” Clarkson responded. The strangest part, Clarkson said, was that she never saw herself as being overweight, was never insecure about her body, and, despite what she said some people thought, she was happy.

Goldberg put it in relatable comedic terms, joking that Clarkson was just living her life, then adding, “If you’re not rolling over on somebody…” which led to Kelly getting real about how unconcerned she was. “I’m gonna be real with you, I was ridin’ high with someone and I did not know!… I watched that show and I was like, ‘she is… any second now gonna die.’”

In an interview in February on her show with Kevin James, Clarkson said she was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, which motivated her to lose weight. At the time she said, “I wasn’t shocked. I was a tiny bit overweight. So, yeah, I wasn’t shocked by it. But they did. They were like, ‘You’re prediabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’ And I was like, ‘But I’m not there yet.’ And then I waited two years and then did, however, move into the — I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do something about it.’”

Around the same time, Clarkson said after moving to New York with her two young children she began to lose some weight by walking around the city constantly, watching her diet and using an infrared sauna. “I eat a healthy mix. I dropped weight because I’ve been listening to my doctor — a couple years I didn’t,” she said at the time. “And 90 percent of the time I’m really good at it because a protein diet is good for me anyway. I’m a Texas girl, so I like meat — sorry, vegetarians in the world!”

Watch Goldberg on the Kelly Clarkson Show below.



Kelly Clarkson Brings Fans to a ‘Better Place’ With *NSYNC Cover

Back in September, *NSYNC made a long-awaited reunion for the Trolls Band Together song, “Better Place,” and Kelly Clarkson put her spin on the upbeat single for her talk show’s Kellyoke segment on Monday (May 13).

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Dressed in a sky blue maxi dress with her hair in a ponytail, Clarkson effortlessly belted the fun-loving hook: “Just let me take you to a better place/ I’m gonna make you kiss the sky tonight/ Yeah, if you let me show the way/ I’m so excited to see you excited.”

The song marked *NSYNC’s first musical release since 2002 (when the Neptunes remix of “Girlfriend,” featuring Nelly, arrived) and it arrived just days after the group stepped onstage together at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards to present the award for best pop to Taylor Swift for “Anti-Hero.” The group last took the VMAs stage in 2013, for Timberlake’s Video Vanguard Award medley performance.

Since then, *NSYNC teamed up again for Justin Timberlake’s album Everything I Thought It Was on the track “Paradise.” In celebration of the album’s release in March, Timberlake, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Lance Bass performed their smash ’90s hits “Bye Bye Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me” at The Wiltern in L.A. 

Trending on Billboard

Watch Kelly Clarkson cover *NSYNC’s “Better Place” below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q2PA1VmyX0I&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Lizzo Speaks Out in Support of Palestine, Sudan, DR Congo & College Protests: ‘We Ain’t Free ‘Til We All Free’

More and more celebrities are speaking up amid devastating violence, genocide and famine in Palestine, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lizzo took to Instagram on Monday (May 13) to join the conversation.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“I just want to take a second and give a personal thank you to all of the activists who have been working tirelessly to help the liberation and the freedom of the people who have been genocided all over the world, specifically Palestine, Sudan and the Congo,” she shared in an Instagram video, speaking directly to the camera. “As someone who has worked closely with activists, I know the toll it can take on your mental and your physical and it can feel thankless so if you have not heard it today, thank you. Your work is not in vain. You have helped so many people, you have saved literal lives and, on a personal note, you have activated me.”

The “Special” singer added that she was “in a deep, dark depression” and “had some mental health crises and episodes” over the last year, which left her in “an emotional state where I could not process or handle anything. It was very dark.”

Trending on Billboard

She continued, “I’m not saying this to make excuses, nor do I want sympathy. I just haven’t been able to be transparent with y’all in a long time. This has been weighing on my heart to share with y’all. The people in my life who love and care about me, they helped me get out of this dark space. I appreciate them, kind words from people on the internet, they really motivated me, but also the activism that I’ve been seeing has been extremely motivating. Y’all have really motivated me to get my a– up and get back to who I am.”

Lizzo concluded her message by shouting out the students who have been tirelessly protesting on college campuses, as well as organizations like Operation Olive Branch, which have been working to connect people directly with struggling Palestinian families. “I have been reaching out to activists seeing how I can help and stay tuned for more information on how you can help these ongoing genocides in the world because we ain’t free ’til we all free,” she shared.

Watch Lizzo’s full video below.

Chris Pratt Jokes Usher Is Wife Katherine Schwarzenegger’s ‘Hall Pass’: ‘I Can’t Blame Her’

Chris Pratt has a confession to make: He might have some competition when it comes to Usher.

The actor revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Monday (May 13) that his wife, writer Katherine Schwarzenegger, has a thing for the “Yeah!” singer, especially after his 2024 Super Bowl halftime show performance.

“She knows every word,” Pratt said of the Good Night, Sister author’s knowledge of Usher’s catalog. “I didn’t even know that until we were doing a little road trip and she started putting on Usher. And man, she knows every single word.”

The interview comes about two months after the Garfield voice actor posted a video of Schwarzenegger — who is the daughter of Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger — joyously rocking out to Usher’s career-spanning show midway through watching the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off in February. “When Usher sang ‘Don’t leave your girl around me’ was he talking to me?” he captioned the clip at the time.

Trending on Billboard

“So I guess Usher’s her hall pass,” Pratt added in the interview. “I can’t blame her.”

The eight-time Grammy winner’s epic Super Bowl showcase not only featured several of his many Billboard Hot 100 hits from over the years, but cameos from Ludacris, Lil Jon, will.i.am and Alicia Keys. Shortly afterward, four of Usher’s albums made a resurgence on the Billboard 200 chart in the same week that his new record Coming Home debuted at No. 2.

While talking to ET, Pratt also opened up about sharing the new Garfield movie, in which he voices the titular character, with his kids once it hits theaters May 24. The Parks and Rec alum shares son Jack with his ex-wife, actress Anna Faris, as well as daughters Lyla and Eloise with Schwarzenegger.

“They’re ready to see it,” he told the outlet. “This is the kind of movie that they can definitely watch. You know, some animated movies they get a little scary, it’s a little too much for the kids. This is something really fun for all ages.”

Saweetie, Lucy Liu & More Celebrate Asian Pacific & Multicultural Leaders at 2024 Gold Gala: See the Photos

The third annual Gold Gala event took over the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening (May 11), celebrating the 2024 A100 list, which counts down the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers in culture and society over the past year.

The night featured a performance from 2023 A100 honoree Saweetie, who received the first-ever Billboard Gold Music Honor recognizing her boundary-pushing musical accomplishments. “I be shouting out my mama in my songs, my Filipino queen, through my food vlogs, through sharing old pictures of my childhood, I feel like those are the way I connected with my fans and let them know where my roots come from,” the rapper told Billboard on the red carpet on how she incorporates her Filipino and Chinese heritage into her career.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo received Gold Ally Honor for her work to advance inclusive representation in front of and behind the camera. “This community has been very, very good to me. I hope to do more work with them and spend more time and hopefully connect more,” she told Billboard.

Other honorees included the cast and creators of Emmy-winning Beef, who receive the Gold Icon Honor and Lucy Liu, who earned the lifetime achievement Gold Legend Honor. Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary was also commemorated with the Gold Generation Award.

The Gold Gala was followed by the inaugural Billboard x Gold House Founders Party, which featured a headlining set from producer/DJ Steve Aoki, as well as a special performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 winner Nymphia Wind, a karaoke room presented by Rakuten Viki and an additional set from DJ Hu Dat.

In celebration of the Gold Gala, we compiled all the star-studded photos from the red carpet, featuring striking outfits and homages to the celebrities’ Asian heritage. See the photos in the gallery below.