Music News

19 Nov 2023

Nicki Minaj Thanks Barbz for Her First Top Female Rap Artist Win at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Nicki Minaj is thanking her Barbz after she took home the prize for top female rap artist at Sunday’s (Nov. 19) 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

“Thank you to the Billboard Music Awards for presenting me with the best female rap award of 2023,” Minaj said in her acceptance speech for Sunday’s show, which is announcing some early winners ahead of performances and more awards rolling out starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT via BBMAs.watch. “Barbz, you are amazing. I appreciate you so much.”

This is the first win for Minaj in the top female rap artist category, which was only introduced at the BBMAs back in 2018. We don’t know how many times Minaj might have been victorious if the category had been introduced earlier, but we do know she would have been a shoo-in for the prize in 2013, when she won the overall top rap artist award against Drake, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Psy. She was also named top streaming artist that year, and her Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded won top rap album.

With Sunday’s win, Minaj now has five Billboard Music Awards wins across her 27 times as a finalist.

In her acceptance video, Minaj looked ahead to her next big project. “I can’t wait to share Pink Friday 2 on my birthday, December 8th,” she said, signing off her message by blowing a kiss to the camera.

Minaj returns to the Pink Friday album series that launched her career with next month’s release, which she promised in a social media post in September would be “the best album that’s been released in years!!!”

Find out who else will win big at tonight’s 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy by tuning in to BBMAs.watch starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and staying tuned to BBMAs and Billboard social channels.

19 Nov 2023

Selena Gomez Credits Rema With 2023 Billboard Music Awards Win for ‘Calm Down’

A win that’s sweet like Fanta! Selena Gomez and Rema won best Afrobeats song for their collab “Calm Down” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19).

In her acceptance speech, the singer-actress gave props to the Nigerian rapper. “Thank you guys so, so much for this award,” Gomez began. “This is honestly Rema’s doing. He chose me to be a part of such an incredible song. So I want to thank him and thank all of you for streaming and listening and I wish we could be there. But thank you!”

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Rema also had a few words to share about winning the award, which was newly introduced category. “This honor for ‘Calm Down’ is a celebration of unity and the global domination of Afrobeats,” he said. “I want to say a big shoutout to Selena Gomez, Mavin Records, Josie Ward as well as the amazing fans who supported us all the way to this point. I want to say a big thank you to Billboard — I’m very grateful. All the way from Nigeria, Rema. One love.”

The hit is also competing for top radio song, top Billboard Global 200 song, top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) song and top collaboration.

The track reached a No. 3 high on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking in June 2023. The song spent a total of 57 weeks on the chart. It’s Rema’s first song to crack the Hot 100, and the Only Murders in the Building star’s ninth top 10 hit on the tally.

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards are Presented by Marriott Bonvoy.

19 Nov 2023

Stray Kids Score Fourth No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘ROCK-STAR’

Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 25), scoring the Korean pop ensemble its fourth chart-topper. The set launches with 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 16, according to Luminate, largely powered by traditional album sales.

The act — who is performing on the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Nov. 19, and is a finalist in two categories — previously opened at No. 1 with 5-STAR (earlier in 2023), MAXIDENT and ODDINARY (both in 2022).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, the latest releases from Chris Stapleton and Chris Brown debut.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Nov. 25, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Nov. 21. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of ROCK-STAR’s 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Nov. 16, album sales comprise 213,000 (with 98% of that sum driven by CD sales and 2% via digital downloads), SEA units comprise 11,000 (equaling 15.68 million on-demand official streams of the set’s eight tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

ROCK-STAR was issued in 11 collectible CD editions, all with the same tracklist but alternative packaging, with different merchandise (some randomized) contained inside. Among the variants were retail-exclusives sold through Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart. ROCK-STAR was also available to purchase across four different digital download editions: a standard version and three alternative cover versions (with the latter titles sold exclusively in the act’s webstore).

All four of Stray Kids’ chart entries have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making them the first act to see their first four chart entries debut at No. 1 since Alicia Keys in 2001-07. She bowed at No. 1 with Songs in A Minor (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), the live set Unplugged (2005) and As I Am (2007). Honorable mention (and looking at groups) goes to One Direction, who debuted at No. 1 with its first chart entry, the studio album Up All Night in 2012. Later that year, in October 2012, the iTunes Store-exclusive six-song live set iTunes Festival: London 2012 debuted and peaked at No. 140. And then the act logged three No. 1s in a row with Take Me Home in December 2012, Midnight Memories in December 2013 and Four in December 2014.)

Stray Kids logged its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on the April 2, 2022-dated chart, with ODDINARY debuting atop the list. They followed it with MAXIDENT (Oct. 22, 2022), 5-STAR (June 17, 2023) and now ROCK-STAR.

With nearly 20 months separating Stray Kids’ four No. 1 albums, the act has the fastest accumulation of four No. 1s since Taylor Swift notched four leaders in just under 16 months with Folklore, Evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) between August of 2020 and November of 2021.

As the ROCK-STAR album is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 22nd mostly non-English language album to hit No. 1, and the sixth of 2023. The other five are Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up,’ Stray Kids’ 5-STAR, Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation.

Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls to No. 2 with 159,000 equivalent album units earned (down 35%) after spending its first two weeks at No. 1.

Chris Stapleton notches his fifth consecutive top three-charting album – the entirety of his charting efforts – as Higher bows at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 90,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 57,000 (boosted by its availability across six vinyl variants), SEA units comprise 32,000 (equaling 41.54 million official on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,500.

Drake’s former No. 1 For All the Dogs falls 3-4 on the new Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (down 11%). The album should see a gain on next week’s chart, dated Dec. 2, following the release of a deluxe edition of the album on Nov. 17 which added six additional songs. The new iteration is dubbed For All the Dogs: Scary Hours Edition. (All versions of For All the Dogs are combined for tracking and charting purposes.)

Morgan Wallen’s chart-toping One Thing at a Time dips 4-5 on the Billboard 200 with 68,000 equivalent album units earned (up 4%). Jung Kook’s Golden falls 2-6 in its second week with 56,000 units (down 73%). Taylor Swift’s former leader Midnights rises 9-7 with nearly 52,000 (up 19%), while Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana falls 5-8 with 49,000 (down 19%).

Chris Brown earns his 12th top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as his latest studio effort 11:11 debuts at No. 9 with just over 45,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 38,000 (equaling 50.97 million official on-demand streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 6,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.

Rounding out the new top 10 is Zach Bryan’s self-titled chart-topper, which dips 8-10 with 45,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

19 Nov 2023

Billboard Music Awards 2023 Winners: Full List (Updating)

Miguel

The Weeknd

Top R&B Female Artist

Beyoncé

Rihanna

SZA

Top R&B Touring Artist

Beyoncé

Bruno Mars

The Weeknd

Top Rap Artist

21 Savage

Drake

Lil Baby

Metro Boomin

Travis Scott

Top Rap Male Artist

21 Savage

Drake

Travis Scott

Top Rap Female Artist

Doja Cat

Ice Spice

Nicki Minaj

Top Rap Touring Artist

50 Cent

Drake

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa

Top Country Artist

Bailey Zimmerman

Luke Combs

Zach Bryan

Top Rock Duo/Group (NEW)

Arctic Monkeys

Foo Fighters

Metallica

Top Rock Touring Artist

Coldplay

Depeche Mode

Elton John

Top Latin Artist

Bad Bunny

Eslabon Armado

TWICE

Top K-Pop Touring Artist (NEW)

BLACKPINK

SUGA

TWICE

Top Afrobeats Artist (NEW)

Burna Boy

Libianca

Rema

Tems

Wizkid

Top Dance/Electronic Artist

Beyoncé

Calvin Harris

David Guetta

Drake

Tiësto

Top Christian Artist

Brandon Lake

Elevation Worship

for KING & COUNTRY

Lauren Daigle

Phil Wickham

Top Gospel Artist

CeCe Winans

Elevation Worship

Kanye West

Kirk Franklin

Maverick City Music

Top Billboard 200 Album

Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss

Metro Boomin, HEROES & VILLAINS

Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time

SZA, SOS

Taylor Swift, Midnights

Top Soundtrack

Barbie: The Album

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By

ELVIS

Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack From and Inspired by the Motion Picture)

Top Gun: Maverick

Top R&B Album

Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE

Brent Faiyaz, WASTELAND

Drake, Honestly, Nevermind

Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights

SZA, SOS

Top Rap Album

Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss

Future, I Never Liked You

Lil Baby, It’s Only Me

Metro Boomin, HEROES & VILLAINS

Travis Scott, UTOPIA

Top Country Album

Luke Combs, Gettin’ Old

Luke Combs, Growin’ Up

Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time

Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak

Top Rock Album

HARDY, the mockingbird & THE CROW

Jelly Roll, Whitsitt Chapel

Noah Kahan, Stick Season

Steve Lacy, Gemini Rights

Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak

Top Latin Album

Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti

Eslabon Armado, DESVELADO

Ivan Cornejo, Dañado

Karol G, MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO

Peso Pluma, GÉNESIS

Top K-Pop Album (NEW)

Jimin, FACE

NewJeans, 2nd EP ‘Get Up’

Stray Kids, 5-STAR

TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION

TWICE, READY TO BE: 12th Mini Album

Top Dance/Electronic Album

Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE

Drake, Honestly, Nevermind

ILLENIUM, ILLENIUM

Kim Petras, Feed the Beast

Tiësto, DRIVE

Top Christian Album

Anne Wilson, My Jesus

Brandon Lake, House of Miracles

CAIN, Rise Up

Elevation Worship, LION

Lauren Daigle, Lauren Daigle

Top Gospel Album

Jonathan McReynolds, My Truth

Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin, Kingdom Book One

Tye Tribbett, All Things New

Whitney Houston, I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston

Zacardi Cortez, Imprint (Live in Memphis)

SONG AWARDS

Top Hot 100 Song

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’”

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”

SZA, “Kill Bill”

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

Top Streaming Song

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”

SZA, “Kill Bill”

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange”

Top Radio Song

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’”

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande “Die for You”

Top Selling Song

Jason Aldean, “Try That in a Small Town”

Jimin, ‘Like Crazy”

Miley Cyrus,“Flowers”

Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond”

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

Top Collaboration

David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)”

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’”

Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

Sam Smith & Kim Petras, “Unholy”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Die for You”

Top Billboard Global 200 Song

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

SZA, “Kill Bill”

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Die for You”

Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Song

David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)”

Harry Styles, “As It Was”

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Die for You”

Top R&B Song

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’”

Miguel, “Sure Thing”

The Weeknd & Ariana Grande, “Die for You”

SZA, “Kill Bill”

SZA, “Snooze”

Top Rap Song

Coi Leray, “Players”

Drake & 21 Savage, “Rich Flex”

Gunna, “fukumean”

Lil Durk ft. J. Cole, “All My Life”

Toosii, “Favorite Song”

Top Country Song

Bailey Zimmerman, “Rock and a Hard Place”

Luke Combs, “Fast Car”

Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”

Morgan Wallen, “You Proof”

Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange”

Top Rock Song

Jelly Roll, “Need A Favor”

Stephen Sanchez, “Until I Found You”

Steve Lacy, “Bad Habit”

Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”

Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange”

Top Latin Song

Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola”

Fuerza Regida x Grupo Frontera, “Bebe Dame”

Grupo Frontera x Bad Bunny, “un x100to”

Karol G & Shakira, “TQG”

Yng Lvcas x Peso Pluma, “La Bebe”

Top Global K-Pop Song (NEW)

Fifty Fifty, “Cupid”

Jimin, “Like Crazy”

Jungkook ft. Latto, “Seven”

NewJeans, “Ditto”

NewJeans, “OMG”

Top Afrobeats Song (NEW)

Ayra Starr, “Rush”

Libianca, “People”

Oxlade, “KU LO SA”

WINNER: Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

Victony, Rema, & Tempoe ft. Don Toliver, “Soweto”

Top Dance/Electronic Song

Bizarrap & Shakira, “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”

David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”

David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)”

Elton John & Britney Spears, “Hold Me Closer”

Tiësto ft. Tate McRae, “10:35”

Top Christian Song

Brandon Lake, “Gratitude”

Chris Tomlin, “Holy Forever”

for KING & COUNTRY with Jordin Sparks, “Love Me Like I Am”

Lauren Daigle, “Thank God I Do”

Phil Wickham, “This Is Our God”

Top Gospel Song

CeCe Winans, “Goodness of God”

Crowder & Dante Bowe ft. Maverick City Music, “God Really Loves Us”

Elevation Worship ft. Chandler Moore & Tiffany Hudson, “More Than Able”

Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin ft. Brandon Lake & Chandler Moore, “Fear is Not My Future”

Zacardi Cortez, “Lord Do It for Me (Live in Memphis)”

19 Nov 2023

Mariah Carey Shares Her Favorite Billboard Music Awards Memory & Recalls ‘Vision of Love’ Topping Hot 100

Mariah Carey will perform “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at an awards show for the very first time at tonight’s Billboard Music Awards, and in a pre-show interview, she reflected on some of her favorite memories with BiIlboard over the years.

“My favorite BBMAs memory is when I won artist of the decade,” she says of the honor she received in 1999. “I gave this kind of off-the-cuff speech. It was one of my favorite times at any awards show ever.”

As for her first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper, “Vision of Love,” Carey says the whole moment was a whirlwind. “I think I didn’t really understand the magnitude of that at that time,” she recalls. “I’m pretty sure I celebrated. It’s a little bit blurry.”

Overall on the Billboard charts, Carey has had 19 No. 1 Hot 100 hits — the most of any solo artist. She is the artist with the most weeks at No. 1 (91). She is the female songwriter with the most No. 1 hits (18). She is the only artist to reach No. 1 with her first five singles: “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “Emotions.”

At the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, Carey will be honored with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The holiday classic, which has climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 every year since 2019, has thus far spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s flagship chart, becoming one of three Carey hits to log 10 or more weeks in the top spot. It joins “One Sweet Day,” a collab with Boyz II Men that spent a then-record 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1995-96, and “We Belong Together,” which spent 14 weeks on top in 2005.

Performances and awards will roll out across BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch, tonight beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Going into tonight’s show, Taylor Swift is the top finalist at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy, with nods in 20 categories. Wallen and SZA are runners-up, with 17 entries each. They are followed by The Weeknd (16); Drake and Zach Bryan (14); Luke Combs (10); 21 Savage, Metro Boomin and Miley Cyrus (nine each); Beyoncé and Rema (seven each); Bad Bunny and Pluma (six each); and Ariana Grande, Guetta, Eslabon Armado, Karol G, NewJeans and Selena Gomez (five each).

19 Nov 2023

Fans Choose Tate McRae’s ‘Exes’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Tate McRae‘s “Exes” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Nov. 17) on Billboard, choosing the 20-year-old pop star’s splashy new single as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Exes” brought in nearly 39% of the vote, beating out new music by Drake (For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition), André 3000 (New Blue Sun), Sabrina Carpenter (Fruitcake EP), Ozuna (Cosmo), and others.

The Ryan Tedder-produced “Exes” is the second single from the Billboard cover star‘s sophomore album, Think Later, which is set for release on Dec. 8 through RCA Records.

“This song was kind of like the last Hail Mary of the album, and we wrote it in like, I kid you not, 30 minutes, and recorded and produced the whole thing within 90 minutes,” she told Rolling Stone. “It was basically just the last remaining thoughts in my head for the album.”

The Canadian singer’s upcoming album will feature her previously released hit song “Greedy,” which currently sits at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. She will also embark on a 53-date 2024 tour in support of the forthcoming release, beginning April 17 in Dublin, Ireland.

McRae, who made recently her Saturday Night Live debut, is a finalist at this year’s Billboard Music Awards for top dance/electronic song (“10:35”). She’ll also perform at the Sunday (Nov. 19) ceremony, which you can watch on BBMAs.watch or through the Billboard and BBMAs social media channels.

Trailing behind “Exes” on the poll is Drake’s For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition. The third installment of his Scary Hours extended play series brought in nearly 27% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

19 Nov 2023

BLACKPINK’s Rosé Joins First Lady Jill Biden for Mental Health Event at Apple HQ

K-pop superstar Rosé said Friday (Nov. 17) at a mental health awareness event hosted by first lady Jill Biden that it’s important for the world to understand that famous people grapple with emotional struggles, too.

“I think that would be very great, for everybody who works under the public eye,” she said, perched on a slate gray couch at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Calif., after hugging the first lady, who thanked her for coming.

Rosé, a part of the supergroup BLACKPINK, said having a large social media following makes her feel vulnerable, particularly when people are critical.

“I do feel like some of the things I do is just never enough, and no matter how hard I work on something, there’s always gonna be somebody who has their own opinion or who enjoy taking control of the narrative,” she said. “And so, that comes to me as a sense of loneliness.”

She said it was important to talk about such things, however difficult it may be.

“Just as we feed ourselves for better health and fitness, mental health can only be maintained equally — if not more intentionally — as our physical well being.”

The discussion was part of several events hosted by Jill Biden for the spouses of Asia-Pacific leaders in California this week for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

“People who are older — we never, ever spoke about mental health,” Biden said. “There was shame attached to it. But what I find as a teacher — and having my own younger grandchildren in their twenties — I think they’re much more open to talking to one another, I think there’s far less shame.”

The event was moderated by Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Apple CEO Tim Cook opened the event but blanked briefly when the teleprompter went out.

“Don’t you hate that. I hate that,” Biden said. Cook recovered, telling the crowd he’d “go ahead and ad lib,” then thanked everyone for coming and introduced the first lady.

Cook later defended his tech company’s privacy standards when Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail of Malaysia mentioned how artificial intelligence and manipulation can affect mental health, asking the CEO about protections on technology to protect people’s private information.

“If you’ve ever had an Apple watch, you are being watched all the time,” she said.

“Absolutely not actually,” Cook responded. “We believe that privacy is a fundamental human right.”

Kim Keon Hee, the first lady of South Korea, Rachael Marape, the spouse of the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, and Louise Araneta-Marcos, the first lady of the Philippines, also attended.

19 Nov 2023

Tate McRae Reflects on Viral Success of ‘Greedy,’ Her Debut Performances on 2023 Billboard Music Awards & ‘SNL’

Tate McRae‘s star is quickly on the rise. The musician — who is Billboard‘s latest cover star — is having a massive weekend, with her debut performances on both Saturday Night Live (Nov. 18) and at Sunday’s’s 2023 Billboard Music Awards (Nov. 19).

Ahead of her BBMAs debut, the 20-year-old caught up with Billboard to reflect on her current hit “Greedy” (which peaks at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week) and her breakthrough moment.

“I don’t think people really expected me to release a song like this. I didn’t expect me to release it. I was deciding for forever which song I wanted to come back from a 10-month break. I think also people weren’t expecting me to dance like I did in the music video, and I think it was just a little shocking,” she said of the track. “It also feels like a switch-up in my personality and I think my fans were ready to see a more confident bada– side of me. It feels very exciting starting the album with that kind of energy going into it.”

McRae, who is also fresh off the release of her new track “Exes,” hit up SNL on Saturday and then takes the stage of the Billboard Music Awards — something she admits has been “a bit of a whirlwind.”

“We just shot a music video a day ago. Billboard this weekend and Saturday Night Live, which has been like obviously on my bucket list for so long. Right now it feels like…stirred up in the moment,” she shared. “It’s very exciting because I really, really care about this project and I also feel like I’ve had such a hold on all the creative of everything and I just feel very proud of what I’m putting out so it feels very exciting to be able to share that on big shows like this.”

The Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy — where McRae has a nod in the top dance/electronic song category for her single “10:35” — can be viewed on BBMAs.watch or via the Billboard and BBMAs social media channels starting at 8 p.m. ET Sunday.

Watch McRae’s full interview in the video above.

19 Nov 2023

Karol G Teases That Fans Will Be ‘Part of My Performance’ at 2023 Billboard Music Awards

As the 2023 Billboard Music Awards approach, Colombian superstar Karol G gave fans a glimpse into her musical faves this year and the significance of her record-breaking Mañana Será Bonito album being recognized at the awards show, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET tonight.

“This year is kind of rare for me. I started looking backward to the music I used to listen to before a lot,” Karol G tells Billboard, citing Coldplay, U2 and Lana Del Rey as the artists she streamed the most this year. Delving into a deeper connection with music, she reveals, “I’m really spiritual this year … and have been listening to lyrics and music that connected more with my soul.”

She adds another streaming favorite: “Karol G! I love my music and some of my old songs, remembering my process when I started and where I am right now. It’s really beautiful.”

While discussing the significance of her music being recognized at the Billboard Music Awards, the “Qlona” hitmaker expressed, “This album is the most intimate and special in my career. I wrote these songs about really special and confident moments in my life,” she says. With her fourth studio album, Mañana Será Bonito, the Colombian superstar broke the record for the biggest debut for a Spanish-language album by a woman, landing at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.

Karol G also underscored her determination to create a transformative experience for her audience via her first international stadium tour. “I want people to see that Karol G can do a stadium tour,” she says with enthusiasm. “I’m ready, I’m prepared, and I can bring that experience instead of just a show or an entertainment moment. It’s an experience that you go to and you [will] share energy, love, tears and happiness.

“We took moments that we thought were going to be special,” she adds of tonight’s performance. “[My fans] are part of my performance today, like in the choreo.”

A finalist for five awards including Top Latin Artist, Top Latin Album and Top Latin Song, Karol G stands out as the only woman competing in multiple categories at the Billboard Music Awards 2023 presented by Marriott Bonvoy. La Bichota joins a star-studded lineup of BBMA performers that includes Mariah Carey, Bebe Rexha & David Guetta, Peso Pluma, NewJeans, Stray Kids and Morgan Wallen. It all starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT tonight.

Check back to Billboard.com throughout the night for the latest news on performances, special awards and more.

19 Nov 2023

Jason Momoa Transforms Into Rapping Gladiator While Spoofing Roman Empire TikTok Trend on ‘SNL’: Watch

Jason Momoa channeled his inner Roman on Saturday Night Live.

While returning to the iconic sketch comedy show for his second hosting gig, the Aquaman star appeared in a hilarious sketch spoofing a TikTok trend focused on how often men think about the Roman Empire.

The three-minute “Roman Song” skit opens with a man (Momoa) looking off in deep thought while his concerned partner (Ego Nwodim) sings about the dwindling status of their relationship.

“What’re thinking about, baby?” Nwodim’s character asks her man, who’s sitting in bed. “Me? I’m just thinking about… the Roman Empire, ancient Rome!” Momoa’s character replies as the clip shifts to him dressed as a fierce gladiator rapping about his love for the era.

“Five times a day it pops into my dome, which reminds me, they invented the dome/ It’s one of the reasons I think about Rome,” he continues as a group of soldiers dances behind him.

From there, Momoa’s sword-wielding gladiator drops bars about his admiration for Julius Caesar (“Straight didn’t give a f—/ Drank ice cold water from an aqueduct”) and Romulus (“Founded the Eternal City/ Here’s him and his twin sucking on a wolf’s t—y”).

Elsewhere in the sketch, SNL cast members Mikey Day and Kenan Thompson also fantasize about the City of Seven Hills while their significant others look on with disapproval.

Saturday’s episode also featured Billboard cover star Tate McRae making her SNL debut with performances of her hit song “Greedy” and new ballad “Grave.” The 20-year-old pop star will also make her Billboard Music Awards debut on Sunday (Nov. 19) with a performance of “Greedy,” which currently sits at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Watch the “Rome Song” SNL skit below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.

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