Music News

22 May 2023

Busta Rhymes & Jhene Aiko to Headline at The Show: Sunshine Vibes Sessions in Las Vegas

This Memorial Day Weekend, Busta Rhymes and Jhene Aiko look to light up Las Vegas with their performances at the Palms Casino Resort as part of the launch of The Show: Sunshine Vibes Sessions.

The two concerts will begin this Saturday (May 27) at the Soak Pool with special performances by Aiko, Swae Lee, Saint Jhn and DJ Boof. The following night will feature a second concert by Rhymes, Jeremih and DJ Boof on the 1’s and 2’s.

“We are thrilled to kick off the pool season this Memorial Day Weekend at SOAK,” Steve Sagan, executive director of nightlife and daylife at Palms, said exclusively to Billboard. “SOAK Pool promises to be an ultimate poolside party paradise, offering a vibrant lineup of high-energy entertainment, fantastic music, refreshing drinks, delectable food, and endless fun.”

Last month, Rhymes performed in Vegas for Lovers and Friends and, shortly after, alongside the venerable Janet Jackson during her tour at the New York show. He also has a new album slated to be executive produced by Pharrell, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland.

“First and foremost, thank you to everyone for the birthday well wishes. They always mean so much. I am truly blessed. We continue the celebration this weekend and all year long,” he told Billboard.

Busta continued to speak on his banner year, as he recently headlined the epic HipHop50 tribute at this year’s Grammy Awards and enjoyed a sold-out performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

“2023 has been another milestone year for me, from honoring our beloved hip-hop culture with fellow icons at The Grammys to performing with Queens Janet Jackson and Mary J Blige in the same week at their respective concerts, to my first headlining, sold out, engagement at Carnegie Hall. And of course, when I got the invitations from the Kings Pharrell and Usher, I had to go and destroy the festivals “Something In The Water” and “Lovers & Friends.” As always, my family Spliff Star and DJ Scratch, have been with me tearing down every stage.

He adds, “I assure you we are just getting started. My new album is on the way, and of course, me and my longtime brothers, 50 Cent and Jeremih, are going absolutely earthquake every city starting this summer on the Final Lap Tour 2023.

Tickets range from $65 – $150 and doors will open at 11 AM Saturday morning. Fans can buy here.

22 May 2023

Chloe Bailey Is Glowing in Gold Bikini While Enjoying a Beach Vacation

Chloe Bailey is enjoying a much-deserved tropical vacation.

The “Pray It Away” singer took to Instagram on Monday (May 22) to share a fun video montage of her recent trip, where she dances around in a gold fringe bikini, does cartwheels in the grass, swims in the ocean, eats delicious meals, goes on hikes, surfs, takes outdoor showers and generally enjoys herself. “baby finally went on vacation.. having my eat pray love moment,” she captioned the post.

Her sister, The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, supported her sibling in the comments section, writing, “So beautiful!!!”

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The vacation comes after a busy year for the 24-year-old singer, who is fresh off the release of her solo album, In Pieces, and went on tour in support of the project last month. “In Pieces is for the ones who behind closed doors are breaking and don’t know how much more they can take,” she previously wrote of the album. “In Pieces is for the ones who hold the people up around them while barely holding themselves. In Pieces is for the people who continue to get stabbed in the back, heart broken by the ones they thought they could trust, but STILL that doesn’t change their heart and how they love. In Pieces is for the ones like me, who wear their outer shell so well that you’d have no idea what they’re going through.”

See Chloe’s vacation post below.

22 May 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Dazzles in Chanel for Her Cannes Film Festival Debut

BLACKPINK‘s Jennie has officially made here Cannes film festival debut. On Monday (May 22), the K-pop star turned up on the red carpet at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival in France, much to the delight of Blinks across the globe.

The 27-year-old showed up to the event looking stunning in a Chanel SS20 tea-length couture gown consisting white lace and sheer black off-the-shoulder sleeves. Jennie went minimal with her accessories, adding only a black satin bow to her wavy hair and delicate diamond rings to her hands.

The BLACKPINK rapper, however, did not attend the event solo — she walked the carpet and posed for photos alongside her fellow co-stars from The Idol, including The Weeknd, Lily-Rose Depp, Hari Nef, Moses Sumney and the show’s co creator Sam Levinson. (The Idol premiered at the festival as one of four Out of Competition Selections.)

Shortly after photos and videos of Jennie at Cannes hit the Internet, Blinks fawned over the star and shared their opinions on how she looked for her Cannes debut. “She’s beyond pretty, she looks heavenly,” one Blink wrote on Twitter, while another called Jennie “THE MAIN EVENT THE IT GIRL THE MOST GORGEOUS PERSON TO EXIST.”

Jennie isn’t the only BLACKPINK member to attend Cannes this year: Rosé made her debut at the film festival last week for the premiere of Hirokazu Kore-eda directed Japanese drama, Monster.

Watch Jennie walk the red carpet for the premiere of The Idol in the video below.

22 May 2023

XG, Jackson Wang, Rina Sawayama & More Announced for Head in the Clouds LA  

The fifth annual Head in the Clouds Los Angeles Music & Arts Festival has announced the lineup for its Aug. 5-6 event. The 2023 LA headliners include DPR Live, DPR Ian, Jackson Wang, NIKI, Rich Brian, Rina Sawayama, XG, YOASOBI and special guest ZEDD.

Additional performers for the West Coast iteration include TOKiMONSTA, Keith Ape, Yerin Baek, ATARASHII GAKKO!, MILLI, Warren Hue and more for two days at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. More than 35 artists will grace the stage of the festival, produced by label 88rising and promoter Goldenvoice, who also puts on Coachella.

In addition to performances, Head in the Clouds will welcome back 626 Night Market for the fourth year as food curator for the festival. This year’s full list of offerings will be announced in the coming months.

The LA lineup follows Head in the Clouds’ first New York edition from May 20-21. 88rising in partnership with Goldenvoice and The Bowery Presents hosted the inaugural Head in the Clouds New York Music & Arts Festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens with sets from DUMBFOUNDEAD, MILLI, Beabadoobee, Rich Brian, ITZY, XG, NIKI and more. The music-filled weekend doubled as a celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and the 100th anniversary of Forest Hills Stadium.

This year marked the first time the Head in the Clouds festival expanded to a new market in North America following its run in Los Angeles (2018-19; 2021-22) and 2022 festivals in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Manila, Philippines.

Registration for presale passes starts today for the LA festival. The presale officially launches Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. Passes go on sale here May 30 at 10 a.m. PT. Check out the full lineup below.

22 May 2023

Nick Jonas Says His 2016 ACM Awards Performance Sent Him to Therapy: ‘It Was a Really Traumatic Moment’

Nick Jonas looked back on his off-key performance at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards on Monday’s episode (May 22) of Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard.

Appearing on the podcast with Kevin and Joe Jonas, the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers reflected on the viral moment his guitar solo went terribly awry during Kelsea Ballerini’s performance of her hit single “Peter Pan.”

“Then there was another time during a really tragic guitar solo debacle that happened on live TV,” he told host Dax Shepard. “In retrospect, I can kind of laugh about how big I thought it was. But it did travel more than I wish it would have, and it did cause me to go to therapy.

“I come out for my thing, I rehearsed it a million times, I’m feeling really confident about it, not even really thinking about it like it’s a thing that’s going to be problematic,” the singer continued. “I started off, it was fine and as I walked towards her, I just went completely blank and I hit a wrong note and blacked out basically and clocked that it was wrong and I couldn’t stop.”

The awards show moment took place right in the middle of the JoBros’ years-long break before they reunited in 2019 but Nick explained that it played into the expectations he’s had for performances ever since. “Til this day and hours after unpacking it, I can’t really figure out exactly what happened,” he said, “but I was rushed to a car and rushed to a plane right after it and I looked at my manager and said, ‘I think that was bad.’ I was, like, in shock kinda. Like it was a really traumatic moment that shaped the pressure I put on myself to be perfect and to always be on.”

Listen to the Jonas Brothers’ full chat with Shepard on Armchair Expert below.

22 May 2023

Katy Perry Wants Lizzo to Be an ‘American Idol’ Judge

Time for some more girl power on the American Idol judges panel.

Katy Perry took part in Buzzfeed Celeb‘s popular Puppy Interview segment, where she answered a bunch of questions all while playing with the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen.

In response to what the most challenging part of being an American Idol judge is, the “Roar” singer said, “Probably being a woman and having a strong opinion,” before winking at the camera.

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She continued, “I also think that what’s really challenging is only one person wins this contest. I would say that the top 20 are all superstars and I would never want to sing after them because they can sing better than all of us.”

However, Perry had a great idea to fix that “being a woman” challenge she mentioned earlier — having Lizzo join the judges panel. “I’d like Lizzo to come and join American Idol. This is an invitation from me, Katy Perry,” she said. “Lizzo, I’m asking you to join the panel. I’m feeling a little outnumbered on the testosterone. I could really use some bold, honest, hot takes.”

The “California Girls” singer has been a judge on American Idol alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie since season 16, which aired back in 2018.

Watch her full puppy interview below.

22 May 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Hailey Whitters Debuts With ‘Everything She Ain’t’

Hailey Whitters is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker, as her breakthrough single “Everything She Ain’t” debuts on the latest list (dated May 27) at No. 94.

The song, released in January 2022 via Songs & Daughters/Pigasus/Big Loud Records, tallied 9.3 million radio audience impressions (up 4%), 3.9 million official streams (up 14%), and 1,000 downloads sold (up 45%) in the U.S. in the May 12-18 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track also rises 28-25 on Hot Country Songs, in its 33rd week on the chart, and 24-22 on Country Airplay, in its 55th week. Notably, in the 33-year history of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, only three songs by female artists have had longer runs than “Everything She Ain’t”: Priscilla Block’s “Just About Over You” and Tenille Arts’ “Somebody Like That” (both 64 weeks in 2020-21), and Maddie & Tae’s “Die From a Broken Heart” (59 weeks, 2019-20).

Whitters, 33, from Shueyville, Iowa, is a newcomer to Billboard’s charts as a recording artist. “Everything She Ain’t” is her first solo song as a billed artist to chart. Her first entry on Billboard’s rankings was with her 2022 album Raised, which includes “Everything She Ain’t,” on Big Loud. The set reached No. 9 on Heatseekers Albums.

In a 2022 interview with Billboard, Whitters said that “Everything She Ain’t” was a late addition to Raised. “This song was one of the absolute last songs we cut,” she said. “To be completely honest, in my mind, my record was done.” As for its content, in which Whitters playfully spells out to a prospective beau why she’d make a better girlfriend than his current one, “The world is heavy, and it was heavy when we were writing this and it’s gonna continue to be heavy,” she mused. “I’m not trying to change anyone’s life. I’m just trying to make someone’s day. I feel like this song does that in two minutes and 30 seconds.”

Whitters performed the song at the 58th ACM Awards on May 11, where she also took home the trophy for new female artist of the year.

Outside of “Everything She Ain’t,” Whitters is an accomplished songwriter, having written tracks for Alan Jackson, Little Big Town and Martina McBride. Little Big Town’s “Happy People,” which she co-wrote with Lori McKenna, reached No. 40 on Hot Country Songs and No. 46 on Country Airplay in 2017. She received a Grammy nomination for song of the year in late 2021 as one of eight writers of Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile’s “A Beautiful Noise.”

Earlier this year, Whitters embarked on her first solo tour, the Raised Tour. She’s currently on the road as the supporting act on multiple treks: Shania Twain’s Queen of Me Tour, the Cody Johnson & Friends Tour, Eric Church’s The Outsiders Revival Tour and Luke Bryan’s Country On Tour.

22 May 2023

Tiwa Savage Announces 2023 North American Tour: See the Dates

Nigerian superstar Tiwa Savage will embark on a North American tour this summer, which was announced Monday (May 22).

Produced by Live Nation and Duke Concept, the nine-date jaunt will start Aug. 24 at Washington, D.C.’s The Theater at MGM National Harbor and go through other major U.S. cities like New York, Chicago, Atlanta and more, before ending at Los Angeles’ Belasco on Sept. 17.

Artist pre-sales begin Tuesday with additional pre-sales running throughout the week. General ticket sale begins Thursday at 10 a.m. local time on Ticketmaster.com.

The African Bad Gyal and Nao co-headlined Femme It Forward’s inaugural R&B and Afrobeats music festival, Across the Pond, earlier this month at Brooklyn’s Coney Island Amphitheater.

She’s also appeared on a slew of singles this year, including “Gbese” with Majeeed, the remix of “Who Is Your Guy?” by Spyro, “Fan” with Blaq Jerzee, “Stamina” with Ayra Starr and Young Jonn, “NSV” with Bella Shmurda and the reissue of “Waiting in Vain” by Bob Marley & The Wailers. Her last full-length album, 2020’s Celia, reached No. 15 on Billboard‘s World Albums chart.

See Tiwa Savage’s tour dates below.

Aug. 24 – Washington, DC @ The Theater at MGM National Harbor
Aug. 25 – New York, NY @ Apollo Theater
Aug. 29 – Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
Aug. 31 – Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
Sept. 2 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Chicago
Sept. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Sept. 7 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
Sept. 9 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
Sept. 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore 
Sept. 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco

22 May 2023

This Taylor Swift Song Can Literally Help You Save Someone’s Life

You’ll be “The Man” when you learn about this amazing life-saving hack.

The American Heart Association took to Instagram over the weekend to share the importance of the hands-only CPR technique when someone is in medical distress. “If you see a teen or adult collapse, call 911, then push hard and fast in the center of the chest,” the organization explained, adding that the right tempo for the technique can be remembered by pushing down to the rhythm of a song with 100-120 beats per minute.

The AHA’s example? Taylor Swift‘s “The Man,” off her 2019 album Lover, which has 110 beats per minute. So not only does the track reveal the toxicities of gender inequality, it also can help you save a life.

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During her cover story interview for Billboard’s 2019 Women In Music issue, Swift revealed that “The Man” was inspired by “a bit of a damned-if-we-do, damned-if-we-don’t thing happening in music, and that’s why when I can, like, sit and talk and be like ‘Yeah, this sucks for me too,’ that feels good. When I go online and hear the stories of my fans talking about their experience in the working world, or even at school — the more we talk about it, the better off we’ll be. And I wanted to make it catchy for a reason — so that it would get stuck in people’s heads, [so] they would end up with a song about gender inequality stuck in their heads. And for me, that’s a good day.”

In the accompanying music video, she is quite literally the man as she undergoes an intense makeover to become a bearded, belligerent corporate titan, voiced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

22 May 2023

Janelle Monáe Speaks Out About Queer Representation: ‘I’m Not Obligated to Share My Story’

Janelle Monáe spoke out about bucking expectations of being a queer icon in a new cover story on Monday (May 22).

“I’m not obligated to share my story,” the proudly non-binary artist told Rolling Stone for the magazine’s June 2023 issue. “Nobody’s obligated. But I do think it’s powerful for me to talk and give a name to some of these things.”

Elsewhere in the interview, though, she cautioned against putting any musician or public figure on a pedestal. “You cannot project onto artists. You have to understand that experiences will be had and people will change and evolve and not be the person you look up to,” she said. “As much as you love and care about me, I’m on my own journey that has nothing to do with music, has nothing to do with art.”

Monáe is on the precipice of releasing her fourth album, The Age of Pleasure, which is due out June 9 via Atlantic Records. Pivoting from the futuristic narrative of her early releases such as 2010’s The ArchAndroid and 2013’s The Electric Lady, the forthcoming studio set is rooted in the sounds of the Black diaspora in the here and now.

“It was inspired by all of my friends, my community of folks who are from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, the Caribbean, Atlanta, L.A., Chicago,” the singer said. “Seeing all of us together in our Blackness, in the love that we had in our eyes for each other. People from the continent f–k around with trap from Atlanta. You know what I’m saying? I love how the diaspora — we talk to each other.”

Check out Monáe’s Rolling Stone cover below.