Music News

08 May 2024

Travis Kelce Joins Cast of Ryan Murphy’s TV Series ‘Grotesquerie’

Travis Kelce is joining the Ryan Murphy cinematic universe. The Kansas City Chiefs star has been cast in the American Horror Story creator’s latest production, Grotesquerie, starring Niecy Nash-Betts — and he’s already spent his first day on set.

Very little is known about the upcoming FX series, much less about Kelce’s character, but, Murphy did post an audio teaser for Grotesquerie in February featuring Nash-Betts’ distressed voice on a phone speaker describing a disturbing crime scene. He also confirmed that the project is a “horror drama” that’s set to premiere this fall.

Plus, Nash-Betts shared a few behind-the-scenes clips from her time on set with Kelce via Instagram on Wednesday. In one video, she hangs out with the tight end in a dressing room and says excitedly, “Guys, guess who I’m working with on Grotesquerie?”

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Kelce then comes into frame and says, “Jumping into new territory with Niecy!” He also reposted the video onto his Story and wrote, “Steppin into a new world with one of the legends!”

In another clip posted to the Emmy winner’s Story, she and the New Heights podcaster appear to be filming a scene in a sleek red convertible. Laughing, Kelce holds a peace sign up to the camera and says, “Buckle up!”

A third video finds the football player hugging Murphy between takes. “I’m just glad I didn’t hurt nobody,” he tells Nash-Betts, smiling into the camera.

The news comes shortly after Prime Video confirmed that Kelce is slated to host its upcoming game show Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spin-off of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? “I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons,” he said in a statement about the series, which will feature contestants using celebrities to help with 11 elementary-school-level questions as they compete to win $100,000.

Kelce’s recent influx in entertainment gigs doesn’t mean he’s planning on slowing down his football career any time soon, though. The athlete also recently re-signed with the Chiefs, inking a two-year extension deal that will make him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL — meaning fans can all but count on two more seasons’ worth of Taylor Swift appearances at Arrowhead Stadium.

Watch Kelce and Nash-Betts bond behind the scenes of Grotesquerie below.

08 May 2024

Olivia Rodrigo Announces Asia & Australia Legs of Guts World Tour: See the Dates

Olivia Rodrigo is continuing to expand her Guts World Tour, announcing Wednesday (May 8) that she’s adding nine new dates in Asia and Australia to the trek for this fall.

The new dates will mark the pop star’s first time touring in either country, bringing her up to a total of 82 shows globally by the time the endeavor ends later this year. The Asian leg kicks off Sept. 16 in Bangkok, Thailand, and will find Rodrigo traveling through Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Unveiling the new dates on her Instagram Story, the half-Filipina singer also teased, “Stay tuned, Manila!”

Soon afterward, Rodrigo will play two shows in Melbourne followed by two in Sydney in October. She’ll be joined for all four Australian shows by rising alt-pop star Benee, who’s known for the mega-viral TikTok hit “Supalonely,” which peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020.

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The “Vampire” singer is currently in the midst of her trek’s European leg, which began April 30 in Dublin. It follows her initial run of shows in North America, which featured stops in Palm Springs, Calif., New York City, Toronto and more cities.

“europe leg of the GUTS world tour has been wonderful so far!!!!” she wrote on Instagram following the new announcement, sharing photos from her past performances. “so much luv for everyone who has been coming 2 jump and sing and scream!!! Asia and Australia dates just announced!!! hope to see ya there!!!”

The news comes just a few days after Rodrigo was forced to cancel her show in Manchester planned for Friday (May 3) due to technical difficulties at the Co-Op Live arena. “I’m sooooo disappointed that we’re unable to perform in Manchester due to on-going venue-related technical issues,” she wrote on her Story at the time. “I’m so bummed and I really hope to see you all soon.”

See all nine of Rodrigo’s newly added Guts World Tour dates in Asia and Australia below:

08 May 2024

Seth Rogen Sides with Kendrick Lamar, Says Drake Officially ‘Lost the Rap Battle’

Seth Rogen concedes that Drake has lost the battle to Kendrick Lamar, Canadian pride be damned.

During his Seth Smokes the Bowl charity show at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday (May 7), the comedian tried to explain the ongoing beef that has taken over the rap world over the past month or so. “There are two very famous rappers right now in Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and they are in a fight right now,” he said in a bit of fan-captured footage. He went on to describe the way the rappers fight by joking, “They write mean rhymes about each other, which is an objectively funny way to fight with another person.”

Rogen then started walking the crowd through how this back and forth “started slow” with Drake bragging “you’re not as successful as I am” on “Push Ups” and Kendrick responding, “I hate the way you dress, man” on “Euphoria.” He then arrived at the nitty gritty, warning the crowd that the infighting “did not stop there,” explaining the concept of “Meet the Grahams,” paraphrasing Lamar’s lyrics: “You’re a bad father and should be a registered sex offender.”

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The Pineapple Express star then went on to say Kendrick’s allegations caught Drake “off guard” and forced him to sound defensive while pointing out how “you don’t hear defensive rapping that often … as soon as you are asserting in a rap song that you should not be a registered sex offender, you’ve lost the rap battle.”

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Seth Rogen knowing the basic concept and rules of battle rap is pretty impressive. Check out the full clip below.

08 May 2024

Camila Cabello Announces New Lil Nas X Collaboration ‘He Knows’

Camila Cabello is continuing the rollout for her upcoming album, C,XOXO, and the superstar took to Instagram on Wednesday (May 8) to announce a new collaboration with Lil Nas X titled “He Knows.”

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“SHE’S A PROVOCATEUR, DANCEFLOOR CONNOISSEUR,” she captioned a close-up photo that was seemingly taken at the Met Gala earlier in the week, in which Lil Nas X is seen embracing Cabello with a perfectly manicured hand complete with acrylic nails and sparkling jewels. In the caption, Cabello noted that “He Knows” will be arriving on Friday (May 10).

See the announcement post here.

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On Monday (May 6), the pop star took to social media to announce her fourth solo album, C,XOXO, alongside the cover art which features a shot of the “Havana” singer with her recently dyed blonde hair, licking a blue lollipop and looking into the camera. In the caption, she reveals that the project arrives on June 28. See the post here.

The former Fifth Harmony member’s new project will be the follow-up to her April 2022 LP Familia, which reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 upon its release. The record featured singles “Don’t Go Yet” and “Bam Bam” with Ed Sheeran, which peaked at Nos. 42 and No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.

Earlier this year, Cabello introduced her new album era with the Playboi Carti-assisted “I Luv It,” which samples Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade” and finds her interpolating Rihanna.

08 May 2024

Here’s Why Lily Allen Apologized to Elton John for Years of ‘Resentment’

Everyone has to put their foot in their mouth sometimes, even notoriously outspoken artists like English singer-songwriter Lily Allen. On Monday (May 6), the “Smile” singer formally apologized to Elton John for her years-long resentment of him — and she also revealed how it all stemmed from a grave misunderstanding on her part.

The newly-minted EGOT winner and Allen have a storied history together, with John having been her manager years ago. “He would call me like once every couple of weeks to check in and say hi and make sure I was okay,” she reminisced on the “Miss Me?” BBC podcast that she co-hosts with Miquita Oliver. “And there was some times in that period where I wasn’t okay.”

Allen was signed to John’s Rocket Music Entertainment Group when she was recording and promoting 2009’s It’s Not Me, It’s You, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, marking her highest-charting LP in the U.S. The two officially parted ways some years later following the release of Sheezus, Allen’s third studio album, in 2014.

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“We parted ways, and I wrote this long letter to say how sad I was about the situation and that there was a big Elton-shaped hole in my life,” she said on the podcast. “Over the next few years as my life began to sort of spiral out of control, I held much resentment for the fact that I’d made myself very vulnerable in this letter and told him all about my sobriety, and I was quite cross with him for a few years.”

After Oliver probed for specifics regarding the source of Allen’s animosity toward John, she explained, “When I moved here to America, I was unpacking and I found the letter. I never sent it! Elton, if you’re listening — which you’re probably not — I love you and I no longer harbor that resentment towards you.”

While John has not publicly acknowledged Allen’s admission, the revelation does mark a relatively lighter news cycle for the controversial “5 O’Clock” singer. Earlier this year, Allen criticized the “quite calculated” campaign behind Beyoncé‘s critically lauded Cowboy Carter album, to which “212” rapper Azealia Banks replied, “You’re going to stop right there and sit this one out.”

Both Banks and Allen have been vocal critics of Queen Bey’s country pivot, which hasn’t deterred the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer from topping both the country and Americana/folk charts with her star-studded new album.

08 May 2024

Creepy Nuts’ ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ Returns to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100 as Mrs. GREEN APPLE Rises to No. 2

Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated May 8, extending its record to 14 weeks atop the tally.

The hip-hop hit dominated the chart for most of this year after it first hit No. 1 on the chart released Jan. 31 and stayed there for 13 straight weeks. The MASHLE Season 2 opener slipped to No. 2 last week (May 1) but returned to score its 14th week atop the list. The track has increased in all metrics of the chart’s methodology except streaming compared to the previous week. Downloads for the long-running hit are up by 117%, radio airplay and video views by 105%, and karaoke by 120%. And it’s far from doing poorly in streaming as well; weekly streams remain almost the same as the week before and the total has surpassed 300 million at the second fastest pace in Japan chart history.

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Moving 4-2 this week is Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac.” The song gained 130% in downloads, 127% in karaoke, and notably, 425% in radio from the week before, hitting its highest position yet.

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Debuting at No. 3 is SixTONES’ 12th single “Neiro.” The theme song for the drama series Omukae Shibuya-kun starring member Taiga Kyomoto launched with 540,564 CDs sold, outselling the group’s previous single “CREAK” (471,285 first-week sales). The track tops sales and comes in at No. 9 for radio and No. 18 for video.

In other chart moves, the theme song of a project by TOBE’s artists, called “Be on Your side,” re-enters the chart at No. 12 after selling 75,157 copies in its first week, and the first single “MORNING SUN” by EXILE B HAPPY — the new EXILE TRIBE music group led by EXILE TETSUYA — bows at No. 15.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Apr. 29 to May 5, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

08 May 2024

Maya Rudolph Reveal She’s Been Living in ‘SNL’ Closet Since 2007 in New Promo

Maya Rudolph loved her time on Saturday Night Live so much, she never left.

The comedian is set to host this weekend’s (May 11) episode of the iconic sketch comedy series, and she revealed to cast members Andrew Dismukes and Chloe Troast that she’s been living in a closet at the studio in a new promo clip.

In the video, she’s seen cozied up in a storage closet with porridge, a book, candlelight and a mop friend she named Kenny. She reveals she’s been in there since 2007. “Why would I leave?” she asks. When she realized she’s hosting, she immediately transformed into her camera ready self.

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Alongside Rudolph’s hosting gig — which will mark her third time hosting the show since leaving the program as a cast member 17 years ago — Vampire Weekend will be taking the stage as musical guest. The news comes just under a month after the “A-Punk” rock band dropped its latest album, Only God Was Above Us, which debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200. It will mark the Grammy-winning quartet’s fourth time on the program.

Watch the full promo below, and catch Maya Rudolph and Vampire Weekend on Saturday Night Live on Saturday (May 11) at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, before the episode begins streaming on Peacock.

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08 May 2024

Questlove Blasts Kendrick Lamar and Drake Feud While Declaring ‘Hip-Hop Truly Is Dead’

While Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s heavyweight battle has been a spectacle sweeping pop culture for the last few weeks, Questlove isn’t thrilled with the messy feud and its “mudslinging” antics.

The Roots drummer scoffed at Drake and K. Dot’s war in a fiery Instagram post on Tuesday night (May 8) where Quest put fans on blast for their visceral reactions to the haymakers exchanged on the scathing diss tracks.

“Nobody won the war. This wasn’t about skill. This was a wrestling match level mudslinging and takedown by any means necessary — women & children (& actual facts) be damned,” he wrote before declaring hip-hop to be dead. “Same audience wanting blood will soon put up ‘rip’ posts like they weren’t part of the problem. Hip Hop truly is dead.”

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Questlove’s post made references to both Drake and Kendrick bringing family and children into the beef in a very personal way to attack one another. K. Dot accused Drizzy of hiding an 11-year-old daughter on “Meet the Grahams,” while the 6 God alleged that Lamar’s manager Dave Free was the father of one of the Compton rapper’s children on “Family Matters.”

“Here We Are Now…Entertain us,” Questlove captioned the post, quoting Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Quest turned off his Instagram comments, but that didn’t stop his hot take from sparking reactions on X as one user reminded Quest that he played the drums for Jay-Z’s Unplugged live album in 2001 that included “Takeover,” Hov’s diss track against Nas. “Wasn’t Questlove the drummer on ‘Unplugged’ live where Hov performed ‘Takeover?’” the user wrote. “A battle where women and children were also mentioned? Shut up, man.”

Including Kendrick’s explosive assist on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” in March, Lamar and Drake exchanged 10 diss tracks in total with the latest installment coming on Sunday (May 5) with the defensive “The Heart Part 6,” where Drake shut down pedophilia allegations repeatedly made by K. Dot.

Read Questlove’s full post below:

08 May 2024

ENHYPEN Announce Documentary Focused on ENGENE Fan Community ‘FANMADE: ENHYPEN’

K-pop boy band ENHYPEN‘s dedicated ENGENE fan group will be the focus of an upcoming documentary film, FANMADE: ENHYPEN, from Hello Sunshine, the multimedia company founded by actress Reese Witherspoon.

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According to a press release announcing the project on Wednesday (May 8), the feature documentary collaboration between Hello Sunshine and Good-People (Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99), will focus on the relationship between the group and the fan community by flipping the script on traditional concert films by celebrating “ENHYPEN’s fans (ENGENEs) and putting them at the heart of the concert creation process.”

The documentary will specifically follow five female fans as they co-create new material alongside the seven-man band, sparking the ENGENEs to “collaborate and revel in the joy of putting their passion out into the world.” The film will toggle between the fans and the band, using unprecedented, intimate access to the group on the U.S. dates of their FATE PLUS world tour.

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The parallel band and fan paths of the new film will converge at the Galaxy Fanmade concert event, which took place on Tuesday night (May 7) at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas.

In a statement released with the news, Hello Sunshine’s head of unscripted Sara Rea said that the relationship between ENHYPEN and their fans makes for a particularly unique documentary creative experience. “The K-pop ecosphere embodies inclusivity in a way that is both inspiring and rich for storytelling. This heartfelt and joyful documentary showcases the beauty of coming together in a way that the world needs right now,” she said. “While we are accustomed to artists surprising audiences during their shows, watching these fans create unexpected and thoughtful experiences for the band is something we’ve never seen before.”

08 May 2024

Hot 100 First-Timers: Mark Ambor Breaks Through With Viral Hit ‘Belong Together’

Mark Ambor scores his first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to his breakthrough viral hit “Belong Together.”

The song, which he self-released Feb. 16 in partnership with Hundred Days Records and Virgin Music Group, debuts at No. 87 on the May 11-dated Hot 100 with 7 million official chart-eligible U.S. streams (up 15%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 14%) in the April 26-May 2 tracking week, according to Luminate.

“It’s so surreal to see a song I made alone in my basement resonate with the world in the way it has,” Ambor tells Billboard. “I’ve always seen the Billboard Hot 100 as this almost unreachable thing, and to see my song now in it is just so fulfilling and unbelievable. I’m truly grateful for everyone who’s here and supportive of the things I make. This is just the beginning.”

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Before releasing the song in full, Ambor had teased it for several weeks on TikTok, where two versions have gone viral. Its original audio has soundtracked over 80,000 clips, while a sped-up mix has been used in over 400,000 videos. Ambor himself boasts more than 1 million followers on the platform. He has already begun teasing a new song, “Our Way,” along with an album, but hasn’t yet announced release dates for either. (Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.)

“Belong Together” became Ambor’s first overall Billboard chart entry in April, when it debuted on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. It rises to a No. 24 high on the May 11-dated edition and jumps 55-37 for a new best on the Billboard Global 200.

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Ambor released his debut seven-track album, Hello World, in 2022 and three singles in 2023, including the viral hit, “Good to Be” (150,000 clips on TikTok). He wrapped a run of European tour stops in April.