Music News

15 May 2023

Riley Keough Pays Tribute to Late Mother Lisa Marie Presley on First Mother’s Day Since Her Death

Riley Keough was definitely missing her mom on the first Mother’s Day since Lisa Marie Presley‘s shocking death on January 12 at age 54. “Lucky to have had the best and most deeply loving mama I could have asked for,” wrote the Daisy Jones & the Six star in an Instagram post that also included a vintage pic of Lisa Marie cradling her as a baby alongside Keough’s dad, musician Danny Keough.

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Keough’s Daisy Jones co-star, Sam Clafin was among a number of fellow stars offering Riley some love (via heart emoji) on Sunday, along with Lindsay Lohan, Rosanna Arquette and others.

Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child, died unexpectedly in January from cardiac arrest just days after she appeared at the Golden Globes with mother Priscilla Presley to celebrate director Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-nominated biopic, Elvis.

Keough has grieved in private since her mother’s passing, but just after Lisa Marie’s death the actress shared the last photo of the two together. “I feel blessed to have a photo of the last time I saw my beautiful mama. Grateful @georgieflores took this,” she captioned the pic of herself and her mother cozied up while out to dinner together.

A public memorial was held at Elvis’ iconic home in Memphis, TN on Jan. 22 with performances by Axl Rose, Billy Corgan and Alanis Morissette, with pal Rose making a rare public speaking appearance as he shared some heartfelt words about his friend before performing a solo version of GNR’s “November Rain.”

Check out Keough’s Mother’s Day tribute below.

15 May 2023

Halsey Makes Surprise Appearance at Suga’s L.A. Show For Live Debut of ‘Suga’s Interlude’

Halsey helped Suga close out his three-night stand at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on Sunday night (May 14) by joining the BTS member for the live debut of their 2020 joint track “Suga’s Interlude” from Halsey’s Manic album.

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In a video of the special moment posted by the Forum, Suga smiled broadly as Halsey sang “I’ve been trying all my life/ To separate the time/ In between having it all and giving it up,” while the packed house held up their flashlights to illuminate the arena. “Shout out to Halsey!” Suga enthused as the song wound down and the crowd screamed in delight.

The old friends then talked about how long it had been since they shared a stage, with Halsey noting that the last time Suga was in L.A. he came to her house, “and now I feel like I’m in your house,” she added with a laugh. Suga’s North American tour kicked off on April 26 and is slated to wind down with a two night stand at Oakland Arena on Tuesday (May 16) and Wednesday (May 17).

The singer — in the midst of a global tour in support of his debut solo album under his Agust D alter ego, D-Day — is slated to head to Asia after the American swing, kicking off with a three-show stand at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition Center in Tangerang Regency, Indonesia on May 26-28.

Suga set a new high for a BTS member on the Global Charts when he scored four debuts on the Global Excl. U.S., including the May 6-dated chart’s highest new entry, with “Haegeum” kicking off at No. 12. In addition, “Amygdala,” “Huh?!” with fellow BTS member J-Hope, and “D-Day” followed at Nos. 127, 182 and 200, respectively. Once you add in “People Pt. 2,” Agust D’s duet with Iu, jumping up from No. 108 to No. 64, Agust racked up five songs on last week’s Global Excl. U.S. ranking. That’s more songs in one week than any BTS member has simultaneously charted as a soloist, surpassing Jimin’s recent four song swing on the April 8 chart.

Check out footage of the performance below.

15 May 2023

‘American Idol’ Season 21 Finale to Feature Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Pitbull, Kylie Minogue & More

After Sunday night’s (May 14) semi-final that cut the roster of American Idol hopefuls to just three — Colin Stough, Megan Danielle and Iam Tongi — season 21 of the series is gearing up for a major finale. Next Sunday’s (May 21) three-hour finale will air live coast-to-coast on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET and feature the return of former panelist Keith Urban, who will be back on Idol to mentor the top three (and perform), as well as performances from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

In addition to this year’s top 12 returning to the stage one last time, producers announced the typical cornucopia of guest performers on tap for the finale, including season two winner/runner-up Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, as well as Ellie Goulding, Jelly Roll, Pitbull, TLC, James Blunt, Jazmine Sullivan, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, Kylie Minogue, Lainey Wilson and Lauren Daigle.

Sunday’s “Disney Night” presented the end of the dream for eliminated contestants We Ani and Zachariah Smith on a night when Hawaiian high-schooler and season-long top contender Tongi did it again with a flawless performance of “Lava” from the Pixar short, as well as a touching run through Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam’s “Father and Son.”

Danielle also impressed with her take on the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil track “You Can’t Stop the Girl” and “Carried Me With You” from Onward, while country singer Stough rocked “Real Gone” from Cars and “Nobody Knows” from Pete’s Dragon. Sara Bareilles also dropped by to sing “When You Wish Upon a Star” with the top five and The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey performed the movie’s “Part of Your World.”

14 May 2023

Fans Choose BTS’ ‘The Planet’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

BTS‘ “The Planet” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 12) on Billboard, choosing the group’s latest as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“The Planet” brought in more than 45% of the vote, beating out new music from the Jonas Brothers, Lil Durk and J. Cole, Shakira and more.

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The song, BTS’ first new music release to feature all seven members since they’ve been focused on solo projects and military service, is featured as the theme song for the new South Korean animated series Bastions.

BTS’ “The Planet” is an uptempo track with a sunny chorus about letting your colors shine. An animated music video accompanied the release.

Trailing behind “The Planet” on the poll is the Jonas Brothers’ The Album, with 18% of the vote, Lil Durk feauturing J. Cole’s “All My Life,” with 15% of the vote, and Shakira’s “Acróstico,” with 9% of the vote.

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

14 May 2023

Beyoncé Shares Sweet Mother’s Day Tribute at Renaissance Tour Stop in Brussels

Beyoncé is showing appreciation to her mom on Mother’s Day.

Queen Bey took to Instagram on Sunday (May 14) share a loving post featuring a large photo of Tina Knowles-Lawson displayed onstage at the superstar singer’s Renaissance tour stop at Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium. The post also included a short video of Knowles-Lawson excitedly cheering on her daughter from the side of the concert stage.

“Happy Muva’s Day,” Beyoncé captioned the gallery. “I love you so much Mama and I’m so grateful for all you do for me.”

The same sweet message also appeared on the homepage of Beyoncé website on Mother’s Day.

Beyoncé’s long-awaited Renaissance World Tour launched on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, with a jaw-dropping, three-hour showcase featuring dozens of career-spanning hits. The trek will continue throughout Europe until July 9, with stops in London, Barcelona, Brussels and Amsterdam before heading to Toronto for two dates at Rogers Centre.

The Renaissance tour then heads to the United States, starting with Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and making stops in Chicago, East Rutherford, N.J., Atlanta, Houston and more before concluding Sept. 27 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The stint is in support of her 2022 album, Renaissance, which topped the Billboard 200 albums chart upon its release and won the Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album. Three of the project’s songs also won individual awards, with “Break My Soul” winning best dance/electronic recording, “Plastic Off the Sofa” taking home best traditional R&B performance and “Cuff It” winning best R&B song.

See Beyoncé’s Mother’s Day tribute on Instagram below.

14 May 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Spends 10th Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time logs a 10th consecutive, and total, week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 20). The album bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated March 18 and has yet to depart the top slot. It equals the No. 1 run of Wallen’s last release, Dangerous: The Double Album, which also spent its first 10 weeks at No. 1 (Jan. 23-March 27, 2021-dated charts).

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One Thing at a Time earned 141,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending May 11 (up 2%), according to Luminate.

As One Thing at a Time holds at No. 1, Wallen becomes the first male soloist to spend 10 weeks at No. 1 with back-to-back full-length albums, since the Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. Only five acts — including Wallen — have notched consecutive No. 1s that ruled for at least 10 weeks. Wallen joins Adele (25, 10 weeks, 2015-16 and 21, 24 weeks, 2011-12), Whitney Houston (Whitney, 11 weeks, 1987 and her self-titled album, 14 weeks, 1986), The Monkees (More of the Monkees, 18 weeks, 1967 and its self-titled album, 13 weeks 1966-67) and The Kingston Trio (String Along, 10 weeks, 1960 and Sold Out, 12 weeks, 1960).

Wallen is now the third solo male artist overall to have at least two albums spend 10 or more weeks at No. 1 each. He joins Elvis Presley and Henry Mancini. The former did it four times with his self-titled album (10 weeks in 1956) and the soundtracks for Loving You (10, 1957), G.I. Blues (10, 1960-61) and Blue Hawaii (20, 1961-62) and the latter did so twice, with the soundtracks The Music From Peter Gunn (10, 1959) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (12, 1962).

Further, Wallen becomes the only act with at least two country albums to have spent 10 or more weeks at No. 1. (Country albums are those that have charted on, or are eligible for, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

In total, nine acts — including Wallen — have at least two albums that have spent at least 10 weeks at No. 1. Wallen is now among elite company, standing alongside only The Beatles, Presley (four such albums each); Houston, The Kingston Trio (three each); Adele, Mancini, The Monkees and Taylor Swift (two each).

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Ed Sheeran achieves his sixth top 10-charting effort as his new studio set, pronounced Subtract, starts at No. 2, while Korean girl group LE SSERAFIM notches its first top 10 (and second chart entry) with the No. 6 bow of Unforgiven.

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 May 20, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 16. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 141,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 11, SEA units comprise 134,000 (up 3%, equaling 179.33 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 5,000 (down 6%) and TEA units comprise 2,000 (down 5%).

Sheeran collects his sixth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as his latest studio album, – (Subtract), debuts at No. 2. The set starts with 112,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 81,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 29,000 (equaling 38.43 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 2,000.

The album was preceded by its lead single “Eyes Closed,” which debuted and has so far peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 8. Sheeran’s last three albums (Equals, No. 6 Collaborations Project and Multiply) were each led by top 10-charting singles before the sets dropped: “Bad Habits” (No. 2), “I Don’t Care,” with Justin Bieber (No. 2) and the dual lead singles off Multiply, “Shape of You” (No. 1) and “Castle on the Hill” (No. 6).

Subtract marks Sheeran’s biggest sales week since 2017, thus larger than any week posted by Sheeran’s last two albums (Equals and No. 6 Collaborations Project). Subtract also nets 10th-largest sales week of 2023 for any album, and the fifth-largest for a non-K-pop title.

Subtract’s sales were aided by its availability in both a standard 14-track and 18-track edition (digital download, CD and vinyl). The set was also available in nine vinyl variants (including exclusives for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores, Target, Urban Outfitters and Walmart) and multiple CD iterations in collectible packages (including a signed CD, a version with a lenticular cover, a “textured sand” cover and a “Zine” CD package).

A trio of former No. 1s is next on the Billboard 200, as Taylor Swift’s Midnights is a non-mover at No. 3 (60,000 equivalent album units; up 4%), SZA’s SOS is stationary at No. 4 (54,000; down 4%) and Wallen’s Dangerous is steady at No. 5 (49,000; up 4%).

LE SSERAFIM debuts at No. 6 with Unforgiven, marking its first top 10 and second charting effort on the Billboard 200. The Korean pop girl group’s album enters the chart with 45,000 equivalent album units earned (up 691%). Of that sum, 38,500 comprise album sales, 6,500 comprise SEA units (equaling 9.04 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 13 tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

The album was released to digital retailers and streaming services on May 1, and earned 6,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 4 (not enough to debut on the Billboard 200). The set debuts on the chart following the release of its CD edition on May 5.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of Unforgiven was issued in collectible CD packages (11 total, including exclusives for Target, Walmart and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of bonus items and randomized photocards. Effectively all of Unforgiven’s first-week album sales were CDs, with a negligible sum generated by digital download album sales. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).

While LE SSERAFIM has yet to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the album’s title track — with Nile Rodgers — debuted at No. 61 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 39 on the Global 200 Excluding U.S. chart (both dated May 13).

Swift’s chart-topping Lover rises 10-7 on the Billboard 200 (37,000 equivalent album units earned; up 8%), Bad Bunny’s former leader Un Verano Sin Ti jumps back to the top 10, climbing 11-8 (36,000; up 8%), Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old falls 7-9 (nearly 36,000; down 3%) and Metro Boomin’s former No. 1 Heroes & Villains dips 9-10 (34,000; down 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.

14 May 2023

Nicki Minaj Goes Back to Trinidad in Island-Themed ‘Red Ruby Da Sleeze’ Video: Watch

Nicki Minaj has shared the music video for latest single “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.”

The Queen of Rap took to social media on Mother’s Day (May 14) to officially unveil the island-themed clip, which was filmed in the superstar rapper’s home island of Trinidad and Tobago.

“There’s now a full #RedRubyDaSleeze video on YOUTUBE!!!! It’ll be everywhere else next week. Happy early MOTHER’S DAY,” Minaj wrote on Instagram.

In the video, Minaj dons a strappy black swimsuit while ferociously rapping the track’s lyrics atop a deck that overlooks the ocean. Elsewhere, she lounges oceanside and struts city streets with Basketball Wives star Brooke Bailey. Other footage shows Minaj looking stunning in a “red ruby”-colored silk robe, which she later takes off to provide a better look at her bathing suit.

Minaj previously revealed that she filmed the “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” video while spending time in spending in her native Trinidad for the island’s 2023 Carnival festivities.

“Red Ruby da Sleeze,” which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-March, saw the the rapper interpolating Lumidee’s “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh),” which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2003. The track follows a similar formula to her 2022 Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Super Freaky Girl,” which sampled Rick James’ 1981 song “Super Freak.”

Watch Minaj’s “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” video below.

14 May 2023

Taylor Swift Appears to Defend Fan from Security Guard at Eras Concert in Philadelphia

Taylor Swift was looking out for her fans on Saturday (May 13) during night two of her Eras Tour stop at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

The 33-year-old pop superstar stopped mid-performance during a shortened version of “Bad Blood” to seemingly call out a security guard. As seen in a fan-captured video, Swift noticeably lingered near the side of the stage and shouted, “She’s fine!” and “She wasn’t doing anything!” between song lyrics. She then shouted, “Hey! Stop!” before continuing on with the performance.

Although it was unclear what specifically happened during the incident, social media users who said they attended the concert agreed that Swift was defending a fan from an overly aggressive security guard, who were strict and plentiful near the stage.

“taylor was yelling at a security guard because they fully kept putting their hands on us to physically push us off of the barricade instead of just telling us to move,” @jackandtaylor wrote on Twitter. “we weren’t throwing anything, we weren’t screaming anything insane, she was fully coming over to dance and sing with us and it resulted in security being extremely aggressive for no reason.”

Other standout moments during the Philly show included the surprise song portion of her set, which included Fearless deep cut “Forever & Always” (requested by her friend Lena Dunham) and 1989 standout “This Love.”

Swift’s three-date Philadelphia weekend at Lincoln Financial Field comes to a close on Sunday night.

Watch Swift defending a fan during “Bad Blood” in the clip below.

13 May 2023

A$AP Rocky & Rihanna Celebrate Son’s First Birthday With Adorable Photos, Video

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky‘s firstborn, seemingly named RZA, turned one on May 13.

On Saturday night, A$AP posted a sweet series of photos and a video of the couple’s son on Instagram.

His caption included the name RZA and a shout-out to Wu-Tang: “‘WU TANG IZ 4 DA CHUREN’ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MY 1st BORN . RZA,” he wrote.

The snaps include several precious family shots, plus a cute video of the little one looking at himself on a screen. “Big head man,” A$AP lovingly says before kissing his son.

Two days ago, the Daily Mail claimed that it had obtained the baby boy’s birth certificate, which reportedly notes that his full name is RZA Athelston Mayers. Billboard reached out to Rihanna and A$AP’s rep for comment at the time.

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The original RZA’s name isn’t actually RZA, but Robert Fitzgerald Diggs. The Wu-Tang frontman adopted RZA as a stage name.

See Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s new photos on Instagram. The couple are expecting their second child, and Rihanna’s said her second pregnancy is “so different from the first one … No cravings. Tons of nausea. Everything’s different, but I’m enjoying it.”

13 May 2023

Eurovision 2023: Sweden’s Loreen Becomes First Female to Win Competition Twice

Sweden’s Loreen overcame strong competition from Finland and Israel to win 2023’s Eurovision Song Contest in a closely fought final that featured guest appearances from Queen drummer Roger Taylor and, in a pre-recorded video, the Princess of Wales.   

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39-year-old Loreen, whose real name is Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, was the fans and bookmakers’ frontrunner going into Saturday’s Grand Final, held in Liverpool, England, on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.   

Having previously triumphed in the annual competition in 2012, Loreen is the first woman to win the contest twice. Her song “Tattoo,” a bombastic electro-pop ballad, placed first with 583 points.  

“The only thing I feel right now is so much love. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen,” said the singer in a press conference that took place immediately after the show wrapped. 

Finnish rapper Käärijä, one of the breakout stars of this year’s Eurovision thanks to his song “Cha Cha Cha” and eye-catching costume of spikey black trousers paired with green bolero sleeves, came second with 526 points.  

It is the seventh victory for Sweden in the contest’s 67-year history, equalling Ireland as the country with the most Eurovision wins. The first Swedish act to take home the crown was ABBA in 1974 with “Waterloo.” Prior to Loreen, Sweden’s most recent win came in 2015 with Måns Zelmerlöw’s “Heroes.” The only other artist to win Eurovision twice is Ireland’s Johnny Logan, who finished top in 1980 and 1987.  

The rest of the top five was made up of Israel (362 points), Italy (350 points) and Norway (268 points).  

The United Kingdom is hosting this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, which won 2022’s competition with “Stefania” by Ukrainian rap-folk band Kalush Orchestra (the U.K. finished second through Sam Ryder’s “Space Man”). The tag-line for this year’s event is “United By Music,” referencing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. 

The home city of Ukraine’s Eurovision act, Tvorchi, was hit by Russian missiles moments before the act took to the stage in Liverpool, according to reports. Two people were injured in the attack in Ternopil, Western Ukraine, the chief of the regional state administration, Volodymyr Trush, said. 

Writing on Instagram after their performance, Tvorchi said: “Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia while we sang on the Eurovision stage about our steel hearts, indomitability and will.” 

“Europe, unite against evil for the sake of peace,” said the Ukrainian duo. 

It is the first time that the U.K. has held the contest in 25 years, although being the host country was no advantage to the country’s entry, Mae Muller. She finished second to last with her track “I Wrote a Song” picking up just 24 points.    

26 acts competed in Saturday’s final, held at Liverpool’s 11,000-capacity M&S Bank Arena, including artists from the so-called “big five” countries: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, who automatically qualify for the main show because of their broadcaster’s financial contributions to the event. (The other 20 finalists qualified via two semi-finals, held earlier in the week. Ukraine also got a free pass to the final as reigning winners).  

Kalush Orchestra opened the show with a spirited run through their 2022 winning song “Stefania” and new single “Changes,” joined by a procession of drummers wearing pink bucket hats in homage to the band’s frontman Oleh Psiuk.  

Prior to arriving onstage, Kalush Orchestra featured in a pre-recorded opening film, part filmed in a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine, that also contained guest appearances from British stars Joss Stone, Sam Ryder, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and, in a surprise 10-second cameo, a piano playing Princess of Wales.   

The princess, who learned to play the instrument as a child, recorded her contribution at Windsor Castle earlier this month, said organizers after the segment aired.   

Following the opening performance, the Eurovision Grand Final was a characteristically flamboyant mix of kitsch Euro pop, overwrought ballads, elaborate PVC costumes, and soaring rock ballads, interspersed with a jolt of head-banging glam metal courtesy of Germany’s Lord of the Lost.  

Among the highlights were Austria’s Teya & Salena, performing dance track “Who the Hell Is Edgar?,” named after American poet Edgar Allen Poe, and Poland’s Blanka, singing her breezy reggae-tinged song “Solo” backed by a troupe of colorfully dressed dancers.    

France’s La Zarra was another crowd pleaser with her disco-flavored torch song “Évidemment,” passionately sung in French.  

Blanca Paloma, representing Spain, energetically fused flamenco rhythms with pulsing synths and a sinuous melody, while Norway’s entry — a bodice-wearing Alessandra, singing “Queen of Kings” — drew a rapturous reception from fans inside the sold-out arena.  

Israel’s Noa Kirel, one of the country’s biggest pop stars, was one of the strongest female solo acts with her bombastic track “Unicorn,” complete with an energetic 30-second dance breakdown.  

The night’s biggest cheers, however, went to Finland’s Käärijä and the contest’s eventual winner, Loreen.  

A standout moment from the four-hour-long final was a mid-show interval that saw a number of former Eurovision contestants deliver a medley of songs representing Liverpool’s illustrious musical heritage, beginning with Italy’s 2019 entry, Mahmood, singing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”  

Also performing in the mid-show segment were Israel’s Netta, singing Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record),” Liverpool-born Sonia, who came second in Eurovision in 1993, and the Netherlands’ Duncan Lawrence, leading the crowd through a rousing cover of Gerry and the Pacemakers‘ “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” 

Other non-competition performers included 2022 Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder singing his single “Mountain” backed by Queen’s Roger Taylor on drums.  

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was the first in the event’s long history where viewers from countries not taking part could vote, including the United States where Saturday’s final — and the two preceding semi-finals — was streamed on Peacock. Viewer votes make up 50% of the final result, with the remainder determined by a professional jury from each participating country. 

As per the two semi-finals, the show’s hosts were British TV personality and singer Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina. Joining them for the final was another U.K. TV star, Irish comedian Graham Norton. 

Last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, held in Turin, Italy, was watched by 161 million people across 34 countries, according to organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), making it the world’s biggest music competition.