Music News

13 Sep 2023

Here’s How Megan Thee Stallion Responded to Rumors of a Justin Timberlake Beef at the VMAs

Megan Thee Stallion wants to make it very clear that she has no beef with Justin Timberlake. On Wednesday morning (Sept. 13), the Grammy-winning “Savage” rapper took to TikTok clear up any confusion stemming from a widely misinterpreted video from backstage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday night (Sept. 12).

In a hilarious move, Megan’s TikTok finds her conversing with Timberlake while using her hands to accent her phrases — but viewers can’t hear anything that the two are saying. Instead, Megan posted the video to the soundtrack of Do As Infinity’s “Fukai Mori,” a 2001 J-pop ballad that served as the second ending theme for a popular anime series titled Inuyasha — a nod to her well-documented love for anime.

In the clip, the rapper appears to say something along the lines of, “I’m not beefing with Justin Timberlake, chill!” before the pop star jumps in and recites her signature “Real hot girl s–t!” ad-lib. On Instagram, where she reposted the TikTok, Megan captioned the post, “I just talk with my hands??‍♀️ lol @justintimberlake love ya ?.”

Fans were quick to rise to Megan’s defense after a backstage clip from Tuesday night’s VMAs ceremony appeared to show her and Timberlake in some kind of verbal altercation. However, a source told Billboard that Megan was simply excited to meet Timberlake, insisting on a proper introduction in a less chaotic environment.

Both artists had memorable VMAs nights outside of this viral moment. Megan, alongside Cardi B, debuted the first live performance of their funky new “Bongos” collaboration, while Timberlake reunited with his *NSYNC bandmates for the first time in 10 years.

Check out Megan’s response video below:

13 Sep 2023

When Taylor Met Justin: Check Out Footage of Taylor Swift Freaking Out During 2023 VMAs *NSYNC ‘Pop Personified’ Moment

Taylor Swift had a record-setting night on Tuesday (Sept. 12) at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won nine moonpeople, just one short of the all-time single-night record of 10 held by Peter Gabriel from 1987.

The hardware was great, but judging by the videos and photos from the night, the real highlight for Taylor was when *NSYNC surprised the crowd inside the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (as well as viewers at home) by reuniting on stage to present her with with the best pop video award for “Anti-Hero.”

Swift — whose awards show surprised face reactions are legend, truly could not calm down when her childhood icons called her up to accept the night’s first award. As the quintet walked out on stage, Swift was immediately on her feet, screaming and covering her face with her hands as Justin Timberlake did a “we’re not worthy” bow to the audience.

JT did the honors, announcing “the unstoppable Taylor Swift” as the winner, prompting the singer to take a deep breath and hug seatmate Ice Spice and the rest of her team before slapping fan hands on the way to stage. Once there, she hugged the men of *NSYNC — JT, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, JC Chasez and Lance Bass (who gave her a friendship bracelet) — and admitted, “I’m not doing well pivoting from this to this.”

“Like, I had your dolls… are you doing something? What’s going to happen now?” she wondered, saying she needed to know what was next for the idols, who she dubbed “pop personified.” The moment was so sweet, even Timberlake posted a clip of Taylor’s reaction.

Watch the full video, and some Twitter clips of the special moment, below.

13 Sep 2023

MercyMe Extends No. 1 Records on Christian Radio Charts

MercyMe extends its records for the most No. 1s on Billboard’s Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay charts, as “To Not Worship You” ascends to the top of both tallies dated Sept. 16.

The group adds its 19th No. 1 on Christian Airplay and its 20th on Christian AC Airplay.

The song gained by 8% to 6.6 million audience impressions on Christian Airplay reporters in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Luminate. On Christian AC Airplay panelists, it advanced by 5% in plays.

All five MercyMe members co-wrote the song – Nathan Cochran, Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Mike Scheuchzer and Robby Shaffer – with Brown Bannister, Jordan Mohilowski and Tedd Tjornhom.

“To Not Worship You” is from the group’s album Always Only Jesus, which arrived as its 12th No. 1 on Top Christian Albums last November.

The song follows MercyMe’s “Then Christ Came,” which in February also led both lists. The act, which formed in 1994, earned its first Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay No. 1 in 2003 when “Word of God Speak” dominated for 23 and 21 weeks, respectively.

MercyMe has the most No. 1s on both charts dating to their June 2003 inceptions, with for King & Country’s 13 Christian Airplay leaders ranking second, followed by Jeremy Camp, tobyMac and Matthew West with 12 apiece. On Christian AC Airplay, Camp and Casting Crowns are tied for second with 13 No. 1s each, with for King & Country next with 11.

Wilson Finds ‘Peace’ at No. 1

Meanwhile, Brian Courtney Wilson nets his fourth Gospel Airplay No. 1 with “Always Peace” (up 10% in plays).

Wilson, a Chicago native now based in Missouri City, Texas, co-wrote the song with Dana Sorey.

The 51-year-old Wilson earns his third straight chart-topper, following “Sure As,” which led for a week in September 2022, and “Still,” which reigned for one frame in June 2021.

Wilson made his first trip to the Gospel Airplay penthouse when “A Great Work” began a three-week rule in October 2018. He boasts seven top 10s, starting with his initial entry, “All I Need,” which hit No. 6 in February 2010.

13 Sep 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Is Taking Her ‘Guts’ on a World Tour: Here Are the Dates

Definitely not a bad idea, right? Olivia Rodrigo announced the Guts World Tour on Wednesday (Sept. 13) in support of her sophomore album — and she’s hitting arenas for the first time.

“Soooo excited to announce the GUTS world tour!!!!” the pop star captioned an Instagram post with the tour dates, which are set for 2024.

The 57-date trek — which is produced by Live Nation — kicks off Feb. 23 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif. She’ll perform in North America through April, where she’s scheduled a pair of dates for April 5 and 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, then heads overseas, beginning her international dates on April 30 in Dublin, Ireland. The pop star returns to the United States with a July 19 show in Philadelphia, and wraps her world tour with two concerts at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 and 14.

The Breeders, PinkPantheress, Chappell Roan and Remi Wolf are scheduled to open on select dates.

If you don’t see your city on the list of tour dates yet, don’t despair. “Stay tuned for more dates coming soon!!!” Rodrigo teased in the caption of her announcement.

Fans are encouraged to register for tickets now through Sept. 17, 10 p.m. ET, on Ticketmaster.com in order to help ensure that tickets aren’t going to scalpers. After registration closes, fans will be randomly selected to receive codes that will give them access to tickets, which will allow them to purchase tickets Sept. 20-21. American Express card holders can also register for early access on Ticketmaster’s website. Amex’s early access begins Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. local time.

The 20-year-old singer-songwriter first teased the Guts World Tour in the lyric video for “Making the Bed,” which dropped Sept. 8, the same day as second album Guts. In the visual, next to the lyrics written on a sheet of notebook paper was what appeared to be a general admission concert ticket with the label “Guts World Tour.” The tour tease even noted the kickoff city — “Palm Springs, CA, USA.”

See the tour dates below.

Olivia Rodrigo

Courtesy Photo

13 Sep 2023

Madonna Thanks Pepsi For Realizing the ‘Genius of Our Collaboration’ After Canned 1989 Ad Airs During 2023 MTV VMAs

It took more than three decades, but on Tuesday night (Sept. 12), Madonna’s once-controversial Pepsi ad finally ran during the 2023 MTV VMAs. It’s hard to believe now, but the anodyne 30-second spot in which Madonna teases, “go ahead, make a wish,” and then proceeds to dance on a city street to her then-new single, “Like a Prayer,” with a large group of back-up dancers as she watches herself from a screening room caused a major upset back in 1989.

“34 years ago I made a commercial with Pepsi to celebrate the release of my song ‘Like a Prayer,’” Madonna wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “The commercial was immediately canceled when I refused to change any scenes in the video where I was kissing a black saint or burning crosses. So began my illustrious career as an artist refusing to compromise my artistic integrity.”

Along with a link to the refreshed ad celebrating the cola brand’s 125th anniversary — which ends with the message “celebrating 40 years of disrupting the status quo” — Madonna added, “artists are here to disturb the peace.”

The heavily hyped 1989 ad was part of a $5 million deal Pepsi signed with Madonna, whose “Like a Prayer” was slated to soundtrack an ad promoting the singer’s fourth studio album of the same name. The day after the Pepsi ad was released, though, a number of religious organizations, including the Vatican, protested when the song’s official video was released.

In the clip, Madonna sees a white woman being assaulted by a group of white men, later cutting to a Black man getting arrested for the crime after he tries to help the victim. Madonna flees to a church in an attempt to shore up her strength to come forward and tell the truth in the clip rife with religious imagery from the pop icon whose envelope-pushing mash-up of Catholic iconography and provocative images have been a hallmark of her career.

In the clip, Madonna once again fueled outrage with images including her spontaneous stigmata, a scene of the crucifix-wearing singer dances in front of a field of burning crosses and a dream in which she kisses the Black saint/wrongfully arrested man (actor Leon Robinson), who was portraying Saint Martin de Porres, the patron saint of justice and racial harmony.

Though the ad footage was uncharacteristically tame, the spot was promptly shelved due to its association with the hot-button video, with Madonna keeping her huge payday anyway.

Watch the Pepsi ad and the “Like a Prayer” video below.

13 Sep 2023

‘Rogers: The Musical’ Cast Album Out Friday: Exclusive

Rogers: The Musical will see its cast recording album hit digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, Sept. 15 from Walt Disney Records, Billboard can exclusively reveal.

The 12-track set is the companion album to the stage show of the same name, which played for two months this past summer at Disney California Adventure Park’s Hyperion Theater in Anaheim, Calif. (See below for the tracklist to the album as well as a preview of the set’s “What You Missed.”)

The mini-musical – from the creative teams at Disney and Marvel – brings to life an abridged version of the life of the first Avenger, Captain America (aka Steve Rogers), alongside singing-and-dancing Avengers (including Nick Fury!). The one-act show – which boasts a range of musical styles – premiered June 30 for a limited run at the nearly 2,000-seat theme park venue, and closed on Aug. 31. No further presentations of the stage show have been announced.

The musical grew out of a sequence in an episode of the Disney+ series Hawkeye in 2021. In the episode, the title character (an Avenger himself) attends a showing of Rogers: The Musical, and the song “Save the City” is performed by characters playing Avengers. Both the musical and “Save the City” became fan favorites, with the latter generating over 1 million on-demand official streams in the U.S., according to Luminate.

Presently, the Rogers: The Musical cast album will only be commercially available as a digital download album and via streaming services. There’s no word on if it will be released in any physical formats, such as CD, vinyl or cassette.

Following the premiere of Rogers: The Musical at the Hyperion, the show’s composer, conductor and arranger Christopher Lennertz said, “[It] was really important to all of us … to give everyone — both musical theater fans and superhero fans — something they would love about the music. And the fact that we get to span 70 years and do everything from ‘40s-style big band jazz to a singer/songwriter style pop tune and obviously the Nick Fury patter song meets ‘Uptown Funk’ — it’s the idea of giving everyone something that they can grab onto and really feel like it’s part of their story too.”

Rogers: The Musical Tracklist:
Title, Artist
“U.S. Opening Night,” Bella Hicks, Krystle Rose’ Simmons, Alex Karukas, Matthew P. Selby, Rogers: The Musical – Cast
“I Want You,” Josey Montana McCoy
“Star-Spangled Man,” Bella Hicks, Krystle Rose’ Simmons, Rogers: The Musical – Cast
“Just One Dance (Preprise 1),” Luke Monday, Rachel Wirtz
“Star-Spangled Man (Reprise)/Just One Dance (Preprise 2),” Luke Monday, Rachel Wirtz
“What You Missed,” Jay Donnell, Bella Hicks, Krystle Rose’ Simmons, Luke Monday
“Save the City,” Bella Hicks, Andrew Hubert, Luke Monday, Alex Karukas, Rogers: The Musical – Cast
“Save the City (Playoff),” Luke Monday, Rogers: The Musical – Cast
“End of the Line,” Luke Monday, Josey Montana McCoy
“Just One Dance,” Rachel Wirtz, Luke Monday
“Rogers: The Musical Finale/Save the City (Reprise),” Luke Monday, Rachel Wirtz, Josey Montana McCoy, Jay Donnell, Andrew Huber, Bella Hicks, Krystle Rose’ Simmons, Alex Karukas
“Rogers: The Musical (Playoff),” Christopher Lennertz, Alex Karukas

13 Sep 2023

Nope, Megan Thee Stallion Didn’t Beef With Justin Timberlake at 2023 MTV VMAs, She Was Just Excited to Meet Him

A lot of things happened during MTV’s mini-series-length 2023 Video Music Awards on Tuesday night (Sept. 12). But one of the the buzziest moments from the show at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ didn’t even take place on camera during the official feed, it was a blink-and-you-missed-it event backstage when Megan met Justin.

As seen in a widely circulated viral clip, Justin Timberlake and the reunited members of *NSYNC were walking behind the scenes as they strolled by Megan Thee Stallion getting a hair and makeup touch-up. On the surface, it looks like a heated Meg is wagging her finger in an agitated manner as JT smiles and greets her and bandmate Joey Fatone laughs in what some commenters said appeared to be an argument, but according to a source who was there, the interaction was all love.

A source close to the situation who witnessed the old school-new school superstar summit tells Billboard that Megan was actually so excited to meet JT and company that she was actually asking for a proper introduction and re-do in a less chaotic situation. “Meg loves Justin. She was saying, ‘No, no, no, we’ve never met before. It was their first time meeting, and she was excited,” the source says.

ET reported that a source said Timberlake told the “Sweetest Pie” rapper, “‘It’s so nice to meet you,’” with Megan replying, “No, no, this don’t count, this don’t count, we gotta meet proper.’”

At press time spokespeople for Megan and Timberlake could not be reached for comment on the incident. Both artists had a big night on Tuesday, with Timberlake reuniting with his fellow boy banders for a surprise best pop prize presentation to an equally gobsmacked Taylor Swift and Megan taking the stage later in the night with Cardi B for the live debut of their salacious new single, “Bongos.”

Check out the viral video of the interaction below.

12 Sep 2023

6 Moments You Didn’t See on TV at the 2023 MTV VMAs

From Olivia Rodrigo taking the stage with her latest GUTS singles to *NSYNC reuniting and Shakira performing a rollicking medley of tracks in honor of her receiving the Video Vanguard Award, the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards — which aired live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Tuesday (Sept. 12) — contained a multitude of water-cooler moments ripe for social media discussion and beyond.

This ceremony marked the VMAs most global year to date, with debut performances from K-pop behemoths TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Stray Kids; Latin stars Anitta (who graced the stage at the 2022 ceremony), Karol G and Peso Pluma; and rockers Måneskin representing for their native Italy.

Stateside pop stars like Doja Cat, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion additionally rounded out the event, and the 50th anniversary of hip-hop was celebrated with an all-star team-up between Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, LL Cool J, Lil Wayne and the night’s emcee, Nicki Minaj.

While the most-talked-about moments from the show exploded on social media, Billboard saw all the best moments of the ceremony that didn’t happen onscreen, live and in person. Here are a few things at the 2023 VMAs you didn’t see on TV.

12 Sep 2023

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Debut ‘Back for More’ Alongside Anitta at 2023 MTV VMAs

When it came time to make their MTV Video Music Awards debut on Tuesday night (Sept. 12), TOMORROW X TOGETHER made sure to deliver the goods.

Taking to the stage late in the program, the K-pop superstars debuted their brand new single “Back for More” with a splash. Appearing onstage, all five members — Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai — appeared in a bejeweled and fringed jackets, belting out the lyrics to their groovy, disco-tinged song while executing suave dance moves to accentuate their on stage swagger. “All I know is, if you walk away/ Tell me something,” Yeonjun and Soobin sang. “Tell me things you can’t replace.”

As they hit their second verse, the boys were joined onstage by Latin superstar Anitta, following her own performance earlier in the evening and a win for best Latin. Dressed in a fringed black bra and panty combo, she joined the group in the staccato choreography and lent her sultry vocal to the energetic track. With a few blasts of pyrotechnics and an army of backup dancers joining them onstage, TXT brought their excellent VMAs debut to a bombastic close.

The performance comes after the band teased their new track with a series of videos posted across their social media on Sept. 5, showing the group and Anitta dancing along to the groovy new single.

The K-pop quintet weren’t just at the VMAs for their performance, though; TXT was up for four nominations at Tuesday’s ceremony. Before the show even started, the group won its very first Moon Person trophy for push performance of the year for its song “Sugar Rush Ride.”

12 Sep 2023

Taylor Swift Calls Nicki Minaj Her ‘Favorite Sagittarius’ During 2023 MTV VMAs Acceptance Speech

Astrology fans, get your star charts out, because Taylor Swift just read the cosmos and realized that Nicki Minaj is the perfect distillation of her sign at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday (Sept. 12).

Joining Minaj on stage after winning her third Moon Person for best direction, Swift immediately hugged Minaj and mouthed “I love you” to her. As she stepped to the microphone, the pop star gestured back to the rapper and told the crowd, “That’s my favorite Sagittarius over there,” much to the Minaj’s delight.

Swift then went on to accept her award for self-directing her “Anti-Hero” music video, by first acknowledging her team of fellow directors on the project; editor Chancler Haynes and her director of photography Rina Yang. “If there is one thing I’ve learned about direction, it’s that it is absolutely a team sport,” she said. “We’ve worked together so many times, and every time it is so much fun.”

The “Cruel Summer” singer also made sure to give a special thank you to Mike Birbiglia, John Early and Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who portrayed “my nightmare, horrendous future children” in the song’s iconic funeral scene. “You absolutely played the parts perfectly,” she said.

Swift — who is also a Sagittarius — was nominated for a whopping 11 awards at Tuesday evening’s ceremony, leading all other artists in nominations. Those nods included video, artist and song of the year, the latter of which she won early in the ceremony for “Anti-Hero.” Minaj, meanwhile, served as the evening’s host, while also earning six nominations of her own.