Music News

01 Sep 2023

Morgan Wallen Concert Porta-Potty Fight Goes Viral, No Arrests Made

A brawl broke out over the use of porta potties during a Morgan Wallen concert on Aug. 30 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Penn. But no arrests were made, the city’s department of public safety said.

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A now-viral clip shows two women arguing about one of them seemingly cutting in line outside of a row of red porta potties. The argument escalates quickly, as the women begin punching each other. Eventually, one of them pushes the other backward into one of the porta-potty stalls as a bystander who is exiting moves away from the melee.

A third woman joins the tussle inside the porta potty, with two women now holding down the other. Meanwhile, a fourth woman joins the fray, pulling one of the women out of the porta potty, and the two begin pulling hair and punching each other as a man also tries to break up the fight. Eventually, other concertgoers join in to help defuse the situation.

A representative from Pittsburgh’s department of public safety tells Billboard that though there were no arrests, there were “plenty of ejections for intoxication.” The rep also noted that “the parties involved in the incident dispersed” before police were made aware of the fight.

“If anyone wants to file a police report, they can do so at any time,” the rep added.

The video of the fight, shared by Barstool Sports, been viewed more than 10 million times on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The PNC Park concert was part of Wallen’s current One Night at a Time World Tour, which features openers including Ernest, Parker McCollum and Bailey Zimmerman. Wallen’s next tour stop is Sept. 2 at FedEX Field in Washington, D.C.

01 Sep 2023

Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO Renew Their Wedding Vows in Las Vegas on 7th Anniversary: ‘Tonite Was Such a Dream’

Jelly Roll and wife Bunnie XO revisited the scene of their Las Vegas wedding on Thursday (Aug. 31) to renew their vows at the same chapel where the “Son of a Sinner” and the Dumb Blonde podcast host got married in 2016. The couple both posted about the renewal in TikToks, with the country star cueing his clip to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You.”

“7 years ago we stumbled into this little chapel in Vegas black out drunk,” read the caption over footage of Bunny in a floor-length, off-the-shoulder white dress and a smiling Jelly rocking a crushed red velvet tuxedo. “My only regret was never seeing her in a dress,” he added as film of the happy couple kissing and holding hands rolled on. “7 years to the date — in the same chapel — we renewed our vows,” he added along with a single-tear emoji.

Bunny commented on the video, writing, “You hang my moon & stars punkin. Luckiest girl alive.” In her video, cued to Sunday Best’s 2013 song “Uneven Best,” the happy couple take a twirl under a Christmas-light arch in front of a small group of friends as flashbulbs capture the moment. “We can go down to the altar/ And I’ll give you my last name,” the lyrics accompanying the footage proclaim. “Lucky #7,” she captioned the video. “Luckiest girl alive. Tonite was such a dream.”

Speaking to the Superstar Power Hour last month, Jelly Roll explained why the couple decided to renew their vows. “Everybody says to do it in 10 years, but we’ve heard about the 7-year itch. So we’re like, let’s get ahead of this thing. Let’s double down on year seven,” he said.

“We never really had an anniversary because we can’t remember what date we got married,” the singer, 33, added. “Listen, it gets even wilder. Because of the time we got married, the court said that we got married on the 30th of August, but they didn’t file [our marriage certificate] until the 31st. And the marriage license people said that it was officially stamped on the 1st.”

01 Sep 2023

New Kids on the Block Team Up With SEVENTEEN’s Joshua, DK & Dino for ‘Dirty Dancing’ Remix: Listen

There are a couple more new kids on the block, and you just might recognize them from a certain mega-famous K-pop boy band. As part of the upcoming anniversary edition of 2008’s The Block, the New Kids on the Block have teamed up with SEVENTEEN‘s Joshua, DK and Dino for a rejuvenated remix of NKOTB’S 1994 single “Dirty Dancing.”

Released Friday (Sept. 1), the reimagining was remixed by Dem Jointz and features extra vocals from the three SEVENTEEN bandmates, giving the throwback track a modern polish. The song was originally released as a single from NKOTB’s 2008 comeback album The Block, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and, at the time, marked Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Woodfirst’s first record as a band in 14 years.

Fifteen years later, the group is celebrating that reunion with The Block Revisited, an upcoming anniversary edition announced alongside the “Dirty Dancing” remix release on Friday. The revisited LP will arrive Nov. 3 with bonus material packaged under its original star-studded tracklist that featured collaborations from Lady Gaga, Ne-Yo and The Pussycat Dolls.

“Coming Home” will be included in the anniversary set, making it the first time the song will be available to fans in any format.

“The Block album didn’t only mark the reunion of our band — it sparked the reunion of our band with our fans!” said Wahlberg in a statement. “I could never overestimate how much the songs and the spirit, of this album, mean to all of us.”

The “Dirty Dancing” remix comes on the heels of SEVENTEEN’s compilation album Always Yours, which dropped Aug. 23. A few months prior, Joshua, DK, Dino and bandmates S.Coups, Jeonghan, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan and Vernon released their tenth EP FML, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Listen to the “Dirty Dancing” remix, featuring SEVENTEEN’s Joshua, DK and Dino, and see NKOTB’s The Block Revisited announcement below:

01 Sep 2023

 K.Flay Opens Up About Her Mental Health Journey and Alcohol Abstinence

Kristine Flaherty, professionally known as K.Flay is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from the midwest. As a teenager, Flaherty moved across the country to enroll at Stanford University where she first picked up a mic and dubbed herself K.Flay. 

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After multiple studio albums, two GRAMMY nominations, and sold-out shows across the world, Flaherty was faced with one of her biggest roadblocks to date. 

During Summer 2022, Flaherty traveled to Tanzania for a week of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro – a bucket-list adventure she added to her journal seven years prior. Within a week of returning home, the two-time Grammy-nominated artist woke up one morning with complete hearing loss in her right ear. The freak occurrence was deemed permanent by doctors, ultimately causing K.Flay to question whether she’d ever make music again.

In her early touring career, K.Flay used alcohol as a way to escape reality but she always knew that lifestyle was not sustainable. The multifaceted artist saw value in viewing alcohol and mental health as an ever-changing relationship. From there K.Flay asked herself, “Is alcohol serving me?” and then she made the decision to quit drinking. 

In Sound Mind’s latest episode of Unmasked, K.Flay shares why she chose to stop drinking, how that and her sudden hearing loss affected her mental health, and how her song, “Perfectly Alone,” is a culmination of the journey.

K.Flay told Billboard, “In my experience, shame is almost always at the root of angst and misery. I think the goal for all of us is to dismantle shame through vulnerability and openness; once you’ve taken a shameful experience and brought it into the light, you defang it, you strip it of its harmful power.”

Instead of allowing this life-altering experience to defeat her, K.Flay created the forthcoming album, MONO. Her first release for Giant Music, MONO in many ways marks the start of a new era for K.Flay. 

The album’s closing track “Perfectly Alone” is a nod to her entire mental health journey and a message to the world that it is okay to embrace solitude. MONO is K.Flay’s most introspective album to date and she wants listeners to know that your entire experience of the world is within.  

Check out K.Flay’s episode of Unmasked and stream her new album, MONO, on September 15.

01 Sep 2023

Miley Cyrus Recalls How Beyoncé & Rihanna ‘Treated Me Like a Little Sister’ in 2008

Miley Cyrus has nothing but love for Beyoncé and Rihanna. In a recent installment of her “Used to Be Young” TikTok series, the “Flowers” singer recalled how kind the two pop icons were to her when she was just 15, working on their 2008 group performance for Stand Up to Cancer.

Looking at video footage of her younger self standing between Bey and Ri on stage — alongside Mariah Carey, Fergie, Carrie Underwood, Nicole Scherzinger, Mary J. Blige, Leona Lewis and more fellow female stars — Cyrus smiled proudly. “What I remember most from doing this performance is I was standing in between two of the big legends and icons that I was looking up to at the time, and they treated me like a little sister the entire time,” she gushed. “They were being really sweet.”

And even though it was half her lifetime ago, singing as a teenager next to two of the most famous musicians in the world still comes with bragging rights. “I got brackets on the back of my teeth, and I’m singing with Beyoncé,” Cyrus flexed.

The former Disney star also recalled how a certain “Umbrella” singer hooked her up with a dance move to use during the performance, which was hosted by Fashion Rocks on live TV to raise money for cancer research. The group of women sang a song titled “Just Stand Up,” with Cyrus and Ri in charge of singing each pre-chorus as a duet.

“Rihanna gave me this choreo,” Cyrus said, pointing out a moment where the two ladies mime brushing off their shoulders on cue to the lyric “If you fall, dust it off.”

Cyrus has been reflecting on her past in a confessional TikTok series she put together to celebrate her new single “Used to Be Young,” looking back at old videos and mementos from her near lifetime of stardom. In past installments, she’s opened up about her brutal Hannah Montana era work schedule, the surprise success of her first Meet Miley Cyrus single “See You Again,” the controversy over her topless Vanity Fair cover and that hilarious photo of her wearing sweats while standing next to Emily Osment, Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato, the three of whom are in full glam.

 “If you guys didn’t know I was bisexual from this damn picture, I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” she joked of the photograph.

01 Sep 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Timbaland and More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Nicki Minaj releases a contemplative banger, Doja Cat exorcises her “Demons,” and Timbaland gets the dream team back together. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

Nicki Minaj, “Last Time I Saw You” 

One of the reasons why Nicki Minaj has endured as one of the most successful rappers of the past decade following her 2010 arrival is her range — throughout her entire career, the superstar has refused to be pigeonholed into one sound or style. That skill set is on full display on “Last Time I Saw You,” a new single from the upcoming Pink Friday 2 that recalls the original Pink Friday’s “Moment 4 Life,” with a gentle pop production providing the foundation for an impassioned sing-rap performance in which Minaj reflects on drifting apart from someone special. “Last Time I Saw You” requires Minaj to sing gently, belt effectively, rap hurriedly and provoke an emotional response in three-and-a-half minutes, and she makes it all look easy.

Doja Cat, “Demons” 

“Living well is the best revenge” is sure to be a recurring theme on Doja Cat’s upcoming album Scarlett, based on the advanced singles that the superstar has unveiled: after “Paint the Town Red” said what it said and blasted into the top 10 of the Hot 100, “Demons” continues the clapback, as Doja dismisses her haters with some expert wordplay and a wall-rattling hook. “I’m a puppet, I’m a sheep, I’m a cash cow / I’m the fastest-growing bitch on all your apps now,” she declares, both quickly nodding to her viral beginnings with “Mooo!” and reminding the world that nobody’s trajectory to the top resembles her own.

Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake, “Keep Going Up” 

In the mid 2000s, no pop triumvirate was as mighty as Timbaland, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake: as Tim helmed Furtado’s enormous album Loose and Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds, the veteran producer helped both artists rack up hit after hit while scoring some of his own (including the 2007 Hot 100 chart-topper “Give it To Me,” featuring both artists). Sixteen years later, the trio have joined forces once again for “Keep Going Up,” a rhythmic vocal showcase from consummate professionals out to prove that they’re aging like fine wine; fortunately, the process of hearing these three voices reflect off one another again is both a nostalgia rush and an absorbing new pop experience.

Lil Wayne, “Kat Food” 

Lil Wayne remains a magician: who else is dropping singles that are nearly five minutes long, rife with not-so-subtle cat double entendres, rhyming “subpoena” with “Purina,” and having the whole thing actually work? “Kat Food” finds Weezy busting out the thesaurus and breaking down a sample of Missy Elliott’s “Work It” with his trademark giddy energy, continuing a whirlwind year in which the rap veteran sounds as vital as ever and offering one last floor-filler before summer’s end.

Speedy Ortiz, Rabbit Rabbit 

Speedy Ortiz’s past records have always compelled thanks to the blistering guitar work, intricate song structures and mastermind Sadie Dupuis’ searingly smart songwriting, but with the band’s most fully formed songs to date and new level of lyrical vulnerability, Rabbit Rabbit is the quartet’s strongest album to date. As Dupuis prods at a complex past and present sensitivities, tracks like “Cry Cry Cry,” “Ghostwriter” and “Ballad of Y & S” boast immediate hooks amidst the ornate arrangements — these are songs that you can hum while they hit you in the gut.

Editor’s Pick: Jhayco & Peso Pluma, “Ex-Special” 

Jhayco is no stranger to smash collaborations — a pair of them with Bad Bunny have earned over 1 billion Spotify streams — but “Ex-Special,” a team-up with quick-rising star Peso Pluma, stands out as a highly successful summit of respective styles that wouldn’t necessarily fit together seamlessly. Yet Jhayco’s reggaeton mastery crackles against Pluma’s prolonged crooning here, as the artists weave around each other’s voices while waxing poetic about an ex that’s still haunting their thoughts; hopefully, “Ex-Special” expands each artist’s fan base by reaching across the aisle to another.

01 Sep 2023

Britney Spears Ex Sam Asghari Says He Has ‘Same Amount of Jobs as Leonardo DiCaprio’ While Walking SAG-AFTRA Strike Picket Line

Britney Spears’ estranged husband, Sam Asghari, was spotted walking the picket line on Thursday (Aug. 31) in Los Angeles in the midst of the ongoing WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes. TMZ posted footage of the actor/fitness instructor, who is a SAG-AFTRA member, marching with a sign that read “SAG-AFTRA on STRIKE!” near the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank in solidarity with the other performers who’ve been on a walk-out since the strike by actors began on July 13.

And while Asghari, 29 — whose resumé includes episodic appearances on shows including NCIS, The Family Business, Hacks and Black Monday — was happy to talk about the historic strike that began on May 2 when Writers Guild of America members began the labor action, he reportedly declined to discuss his divorce from his wife of one year Spears, 41.

“We’re not here to talk about my personal life,” Asghari told TMZ. “We’re here to raise awareness on my brothers and sisters working hard and striking for my future. And I hope everything gets resolved very fast and we can all go back to what we love doing the most, which is making art and inspiring people.”

When the reporter asked about stories claiming that Asghari — dressed in a black tank top, black pants and white NY Yankees baseball hat — is jobless at the moment, he responded, “that’s the point of the strike… I have the same amount of jobs as Leonardo DiCaprio does. I hope everything gets resolved very fast so we can all go back to what we love doing the most, which is making art and inspiring people and writers are the heart and soul of project we do.”

Asghari, whose most recent on-screen credit was a two-episode arc on the Paramount+ series Special Ops: Lioness, filed for divorce from Spears in mid-August citing irreconcilable differences; the filing asked for spousal support and payment of legal fees from the pop star.

On Aug. 17, a day after the filing, Asghari released a statement in which he said, “After six years of love and commitment to each other, my wife and I have decided to end our journey together. We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always. S— happens. Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.”

01 Sep 2023

Blink-182 Postpone Three European Shows Due to Travis Barker’s ‘Urgent Family Matter’

Blink-182 informed fans on Friday morning (Sept. 1) that they’ve been forced to postpone three dates on their European tour due to what was described as “an urgent family matter” that required drummer Travis Barker’s attention.

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At press time no additional information was available on what caused the postponement of the gigs scheduled in Glasgow, Scotland tonight and Saturday night (Sept. 2) at the OVO Hydro, as well as a Sept. 4 show at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland and a Sept. 5 one at the 3Arena in Dublin; a spokesperson for the group had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional details on what matter required Barker to return to the U.S. unexpectedly.

“More information in regards to his return to Europe and rescheduled dates will be provided as soon as available,” the group said in a tweet.

The world tour by the beloved pop-punk trio — with also features bassist/singer Mark Hoppus and guitarist/singer Tom Delonge — is the first by the band in more than nine years to feature returning member DeLonge. So far, it has run up the best box office results in the group’s three-decade history, with Billboard Boxscore reporting in July that the North American leg of their 2023-2024 World Tour grossed $85.3 million and sold 564,000 tickets.

Barker and wife Kourtney Kardashian are expecting their first child together, news the couple revealed during a Blink show in Los Angeles in June where Kardashian held up a “Travis I’m Pregnant” poster in the crowd at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium.

See the band’s tweet below.

01 Sep 2023

Taylor Swift Eras Tour Movie Ticket Presales Crush AMC Record With $26 Million One-Day Haul

After smashing records from coast-to-coast with her Eras Tour this summer, Taylor Swift has done it again with her Eras Tour movie. According to a press release from AMC Theatres on Friday morning (Sept. 1), Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has broken all existing records for single-day advance ticket sales revenue at the chain with $26 million in the first 24 hours of on-sale.

The largest theatrical exhibitor in the U.S. and the world — which is also acting as the theatrical distributor of the 2 hour and 45 minute concert film due out on Oct. 13 — said the eye-popping figure is marks the highest advance sales revenue day in the 103-year-old chain’s history. The $26 million figure also crushes the previous record for one-day sales for a single title, blowing by 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which racked up $16.9 million in its first 24 hours; according to AMC, The Eras Tour movie bested the the Spider-Man numbers in its first three hours of on-sale on Thursday.

To accommodate the demand, every U.S. AMC Theatre will run the Eras movie at least four times per day on Thursdays, Friday, Saturdays and Sunday, with AMC already adding additional auditoriums to play the film at its theaters across the country. In a nod to Swift’s favorite numbers, tickets for the film are priced at $19.89 plus tax for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors plus tax (except for AMC’s branded premium large-format screens.) The film will be available in AMC theaters in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with tickets on sale now here and here.

The movie will also screen in IMAX and Dolby Cinema at AMC, as well as in other premium large formats for the standard up-charge fees, which varies by format and theatre. AMC anticipated the rush of interest in the film from Swifties, upgrading its website and ticketing engines to handle what was expected to be five times more than the largest volume they’d ever experienced before. Even so, the AMC app reportedly crashed on Thursday, with fans encouraged to visit their local AMC in person due to the high volume of traffic that made online reservations unavailable at points.

“AMC is also aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans when tickets are first placed on sale. Guests wanting to be the first to buy their tickets online may experience delays, longer-than-usual ticket- purchase waiting-room times and possible outages. AMC is committed to ensuring any delays or outages are addressed as quickly as possible,” the company told The Hollywood Reporter earlier in the day on Thursday. In addition to setting records, the spectre of Taylormania at theater was enough to scare Exorcist: Believer to move its release date up one week.

In addition to hosting and distributing the film, AMC has also teamed with several other movie operators in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for screenings, including with Cinemark (U.S.), Cineplex (Canada) and Cinepolis (Mexico).

Watch the trailer below.

01 Sep 2023

Playboi Carti Reschedules U.S. Leg of Antagonist Tour For Early 2024

Playboi Carti has rescheduled the U.S. dates for his previously announced Antagonist Tour. The run of dates was originally slated to kick off on Sept. 6 at the Ball Arena in Denver and criss-cross the nation through an Oct. 20 date at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The revamped routing will now see the tour launch on Jan. 14 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City and hit Dallas, Houston, Miami, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle before winding down at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR on Feb. 29.

At press time no explanation was given for the re-shuffle for the American dates that were originally announced on July 12, though tickets purchased for the original shows will be honored on the new ones. Carti will be joined by his Opium Records crew members on the dates, including Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang. The previously scheduled European leg of the tour will go on as planned, kicking off on Nov. 19 at the 3Arena in Dublin and winding down with a Dec. 4 show at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen.

The Antagonist Tour is Carti’s first headlining run since his 2021 Narcissist Tour in support of his Billboard 200-topping album Whole Lotta Red. Carti was most recently featured on “Popular” alongside The Weeknd and Madonna, released in support of the The Weeknd’s one-season-and-done HBO series The Idol. “Popular” peaked at No. 14 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Check out the U.S. dates for Carti’s Antagonist Tour below.

Jan. 14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center

Jan. 15 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena

Jan. 17 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

Jan. 18 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center

Jan. 19 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center

Jan. 23 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center

Jan. 24 – Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena

Jan. 25 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center

Jan. 27 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

Jan. 28 – Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center

Jan. 29 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena

Jan. 31 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

Feb. 1 – Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena

Feb. 2 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden

Feb. 4 – Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

Feb. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center

Feb. 7 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena

Feb. 8 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena

Feb. 12 – Chicago, IL @ United Center

Feb. 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center

Feb. 14 – Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center

Feb. 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena

Feb. 18 – Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena

Feb. 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena

Feb. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena

Feb. 24 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center

Feb. 25 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center

Feb. 28 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

Feb. 29 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum