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Lorde was on the air with BBC Radio 1 recently — and unbeknownst at first to Gracie Abrams, Charli xcx and Chappell Roan, they were, too.
In a TikTok clip posted Wednesday (June 11), the New Zealand native played a hilarious game of “Sitting or Standing” on the English radio station, during which she was tasked with guessing whether a few of the famous friends in her contact list were on their feet or seated at that very moment before calling to check. Starting with the “That’s So True” singer, Lorde incorrectly bet that she would be sitting.
“I’m standing, should I sit?” a confused-sounding Abrams answered after picking up the phone, sweetly adding, “I love you.”
The Auckland native was 0 for 2 when she also guessed that the “Pink Pony Club” artist would be sitting down. “I’m so sorry, I’m on Radio 1, I’m doing this horrible show where they make me ask this ridiculous question,” a playfully frustrated Lorde explained to Roan after hearing her answer, to which the perplexed latter asked, “Wait, so is this on the radio?”
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When it came time to call Charli, the “Von Dutch” singer was immediately suspicious as Lorde asked whether she was sitting or standing. “What is happening?” she said warily. “I’m lying down.”
“I’m so hungover,” Charli drawled as the “Royals” singer laughed. “Oh, hi everyone. I can’t believe I’m on the radio like this.”
“You’re perfect,” Lorde responded. “Keep lying down, I love you. I owe you.”
The two-time Grammy winner has strong friendships with all three of the artists she called. In her April Billboard cover story, Abrams gushed that her pal is “like 800 years old inside … whenever we’re together, I feel my nervous system regulate differently,” while Roan said last year that Lorde reached out and gave her a list of advice for handling the “abusive” elements of fame.
Lorde’s relationship with Charli has been a little bumpier, with the two women going through a rough patch before publicly resolving their issues on the “Girl, So Confusing” remix supporting Charli’s Brat album. They would later team up to perform the track during Charli’s Coachella set earlier this year.
The “Green Light” artist is now gearing up to drop an LP titled Virgin on June 27, marking her first full-length in four years. So far, she’s shared two singles from the project: “What Was That” and “Man of the Year,” which has recently been taking flight on TikTok thanks to a trend that finds users posting screenshots of toxic messages sent by ex-boyfriends.
Also on Monday, Lorde hilariously reacted to the trend by posting a video of herself widening her eyes and shaking her head in disappointment. “These messages…….,” she wrote in her caption.
Watch Lorde call up Abrams, Roan and Charli on BBC Radio 1 and check out her “Man of the Year” TikTok below.
After almost two decades away, Yellowcard is back on a Billboard airplay chart. “Better Days,” the lead single from Yellowcard’s upcoming album of the same name, bows at No. 33 on the Alternative Airplay tally dated June 14. The song marks the Ryan Key-fronted band’s first appearance on any airplay ranking since 2007, when “Light […]
Latin music executive Horacio Rodriguez has launched Fundamentals, a new artist and label services company headquartered in Miami. “Launching Fundamentals marks a new chapter in my journey to support and elevate Latin artists by reimagining their path to success — rooted in innovation, cultural impact, creative freedom, and the long-term sustainability of their businesses in […]
Scooter Braun has been subpoenaed in Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit over the movie It End With Us, with the actress seeking to find out what the music mogul knows about co-star Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against her.
Deadline first reported that Braun’s company, HYBE America, was notified of subpoenas on Tuesday (June 10), and that Lively plans to serve the document requests on Thursday (June 12). Billboard learned via a source familiar with the matter that the Lively camp subpoenaed both HYBE America and its CEO, Braun, personally.
Lively claims in her lawsuit that Baldoni enlisted crisis PR maven Melissa Nathan to seed negative press coverage of the actress in retaliation for her reporting sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. Lively is now seeking any materials about this alleged smear campaign that are in the possession of Braun and HYBE America, which reportedly owns a controlling stake in Nathan’s company, The Agency Group PR.
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Billboard reached out to reps for Lively, HYBE America, Braun and Baldoni for comment. Billboard also reached out to Nathan for comment.
Lively’s subpoena on Braun follows Baldoni’s attempt to serve his own document subpoena on Taylor Swift, a close friend of Lively and public opponent of Braun. Swift and Braun’s feud stems from Braun’s 2019 purchase of the pop superstar’s Big Machine masters, which she bought back last month.
Swift’s reps fiercely criticized her subpoena, saying she was not involved in It Ends With Us and that Baldoni was merely trying to “use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” Baldoni ultimately dropped the Swift subpoena.
The messy It Ends With Us litigation began in December, when Lively sued Baldoni, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni quickly countersued, claiming the actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane had fabricated the claims and that Lively unfairly seized control over the movie he directed.
A federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit as legally deficient on Monday (June 9), allowing him to amend breach of contract claims but permanently tossing out his defamation allegations. The dispute is on track to go to trial in 2026.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. After years as one of the music industry’s most respected singers and songwriters, Victoria Monét has now added another title to […]
SEVENTEEN slink into a gloomy, post-apocalyptic world filled with old school technology in the video for their Pharrell Williams-produced single “Bad Influence.” The 13-member K-pop boy band dropped the visual from their new HAPPY BURSTDAY album on Wednesday (June 11) and fans will surely be picking through the arresting clip directed by Beomjin for days […]
As a lifelong Oasis fan, Orlando Bloom knew exactly who he wanted to emulate in his new movie, Deep Cover: Liam Gallagher.
While guesting on The Tonight Show Tuesday (June 10), the Pirates of the Caribbean star opened up about channeling the “Wonderwall” singer in his role as an extremely dedicated method actor, who in Deep Cover goes too far after he’s recruited by the police to help with a sting operation. “Seeing any actor take themselves too seriously — something I’ve never been guilty of, by the way — it’s just low-hanging fruit, but it’s fantastic,” Bloom began, laughing.
“The premise is my guy is an out-of-work actor, and he’s so desperate for his moment,” he continued. “He goes deep method … cuts his hair, then turns into, basically, Liam Gallagher. I grew up with Oasis, and I went to Knebworth, [which] was one of my favorite concerts.”
“Basically Liam is the swag bag of the band, you know, so the physicality was there for me, the accent was there for me,” Bloom added of the famously brash singer of the Manchester rock band.
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The interview comes just two days ahead of Deep Cover‘s June 12 premiere on Prime Video. The flick also stars Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed as fellow improv enthusiasts tapped for the mission Bloom’s character gets involved in.
And while the Lord of the Rings star has been gearing up for the film’s release, his famous fiancée — Katy Perry — has been traveling the globe on her Lifetimes Tour, kicking off its Australian leg on June 4. Bloom did show off who’s been keeping him company while the pop star is on the trek on The Tonight Show, bringing his impossibly tiny dog, Biggie Smalls, with him to the interview with Fallon.
Also hitting the road soon is Oasis, with Liam and Noel Gallagher reuniting this summer for their first tour in more than 16 years following the end of the two brothers’ bitter feud. The Oasis Live ’25 Tour will kick off July 4 with a show at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, followed by performances across Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and Latin America.
Watch Bloom’s Tonight Show interview above.
Brian Wilson, leader of The Beach Boys, widely acknowledged as one of America’s all-time greatest composers, a pioneer of advanced studio techniques, and one of the most sensitive chroniclers of the Californian experience, has died at age 82.
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His death was confirmed Wednesday (June 11) by a post shared across his social media accounts. “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” the post read. “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”
Wilson is survived by his daughters Carnie and Wendy from his 1964 marriage to Marilyn Rovell, as well as his five adopted children with his wife Melinda Ledbetter. (Ledbetter herself passed in early 2024.)
Wilson was born in Inglewood, California on June 20, 1942 to Audree Neva and Murry Wilson, a factory worker who became a songwriter and The Beach Boys’ early manager. At Hawthorne High School, Wilson was an athlete, but demonstrated an ear for harmony. In Summer 1961, he formed the Pendletones with younger brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Released on the local Calpix label, their rudimentary “Surfin’” became a regional hit under their new name, The Beach Boys, and their next recordings landed them a contract with Capitol Records.
The following year’s Surfin’ U.S.A. reached No. 2, and The Beach Boys became superstars. From ’63 to ‘65, the band released three studio albums each year while touring nearly nonstop. Earning full producer credit by September 1963’s Surfer Girl, Wilson made speedy progress as an arranger and sonic sculptor: Harmonies were overdubbed and perfected, and he often sang falsetto lead, particularly on ballads like “In My Room.” Although their instrumental chops also strengthened, Wilson soon augmented the Boys with session musicians. Even the British Invasion couldn’t squash their popularity: The Beach Boys were America’s biggest band.
Yet conflicts with Murry Wilson – who’d long bullied his sons – as well as pressure to maintain their constant schedule magnified Wilson’s anxieties. Following an inflight panic attack in late 1964, the songwriter stopped performing. During his first LSD trip, he composed July 1965’s “California Girls,” which marked the studio debut of his touring replacement, Bruce Johnston.
For May 1966’s expansive Pet Sounds, Wilson and lyricist Tony Asher created a song cycle documenting a passage from youthful innocence to mournful adulthood that the composer contrasted with delicately sophisticated yet openhearted orchestrations. Wilson recorded the band’s next single in several studios using even more unconventional instrumentation, but October 1966’s “Good Vibrations” became a worldwide smash.
Meanwhile, he and fellow experimentalist Van Dyke Parks toiled for many months on the even more ambitious Smile, but the project’s complexity overwhelmed its producer, who ultimately abandoned it in favor of September 1967’s simplified Smiley Smile, the first of several creative but commercially far less successful albums of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s in which Wilson typically diminished his input. After 1974’s Endless Summer – the first of three consecutive compilations – unexpectedly reached No. 1, the band suddenly became the era’s top touring draw.
Marilyn Wilson hired celebrity shrink Eugene Landy to cure her husband’s mounting instability and addictions during 1976’s 15 Big Ones and ‘77’s Love You, which he both produced. After Landy’s dismissal, his condition worsened again; an overdose brought Landy back in 1983. The therapist’s control over Wilson’s life extended even to 1988’s debut solo album Brian Wilson and 1991’s autobiography, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, until a 1992 restraining order.
Wilson’s condition gradually improved; he married Ledbetter in 1995, when his output resumed, sometimes with stellar results: 2004’s Brian Wilson Presents Smile, a re-recording of the abandoned album, justly earned universal accolades. He returned to touring solo and, in 2012, with The Beach Boys. That year, the band released the Wilson-helmed That’s Why God Made the Radio, which brought back early guitarist David Marks and celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary.
In December of 2021, Wilson sold his publishing rights to Universal for more than $50 million, according to documents filed in a lawsuit by his ex-wife Mary Wilson-Rutherford. In recent years, Wilson suffered a marked decline in mental and physical health, leading to him being placed under a conservatorship in late 2024.
Although an acclaimed 2014 biopic, Love & Mercy, chronicled the musician’s rise, fall and return to relative stability, the magnitude of Wilson’s work towers above his legend as a troubled genius. Equally adept at celebrating sun, surf, cars, and girls as well as his own vulnerability, Wilson broadened rock’s scope while deepening its spiritual impact. God only knows what we’ll do without him.
Sabrina Carpenter‘s break between her last album and next LP was short and sweet, with the pop star announcing Wednesday (June 11) that she has another full-length titled Man’s Best Friend coming out this summer. Sharing the news on Instagram, Carpenter unveiled the project’s sensual cover art — a photo of the Grammy winner down […]
Miley Cyrus appears to be headed to Paris for a very special concert celebrating some of her biggest hits, with the pop star teasing Wednesday (June 11) that she’ll be performing at Spotify‘s next Billions Club Live concert later this month.
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The news comes via X, on which the streaming giant first posted a lyric to Cyrus’ “End of the World” — “Let’s go to Paris, I don’t care if we get lost in the scene” — and added, “@MileyCyrus, you coming?”
The singer then reposted the message and wrote: “I’ll meet you there. Next week. #BillionsClubLive.”
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Billions Club Live was introduced last December, with The Weeknd playing the first show in the series for about 2,000 people in Los Angeles to celebrate his long roster of songs that have surpassed a billion Spotify streams. The crowd was made up of fans selected for being in the “Blinding Lights” artist’s top percentage of listeners on the music service.
Cyrus has several songs that have reached the ten-digit milestone, including “Wrecking Ball,” “We Can’t Stop,” “Angels Like You” and “Party in the U.S.A.”
The Spotify concert comes on the heels of her new album Something Beautiful, which dropped May 30 and debuted this week at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The LP marks her first full-length since 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, which spawned eight-week Billboard Hot 100-topper “Flowers” — a song that has garnered more than 2 billion streams on the platform, meaning fans in Paris can almost definitely expect that she’ll perform it during her Billions Club Live show.
The upcoming show will be especially meaningful as Cyrus’ live performances are few and far between these days. When she does perform, it’s usually in an intimate setting — such as the Chateau Marmont, where she recently hosted a Something Beautiful listening party. In 2023, the Hannah Montana alum announced that she had no intention of touring for the foreseeable future.
While promoting Something Beautiful on Apple Music 1 in May, Cyrus elaborated on her decision to skip touring, noting that staying off the road is best for her sobriety and protecting her vocal cords.
See Cyrus’ post below.
