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Chappell Roan is making no apologies. While serving as a guest alongside Sasha Colby on an episode of TS Madison’s Outlaws posted Monday (May 19), the pop star opened up about embracing her “villain” era after speaking out about toxic fan behavior last year. And while she was feeling candid, Roan also slammed a particular pop-culture update account.
On the topic of her public image, the Missouri native first quipped that she’s “had like three” villain eras since skyrocketing to fame in 2024 following the success of Billboard Hot 100 hit “Good Luck, Babe!” “I was the new girl in the pop game, where I was like, ‘I don’t give a f–k what you say to these girls who have been doing this since they were 10,” she began on the podcast. “I did not get famous until I was 26, so I had a lot of time to realize, ‘Oh, this is what it’s like to be an adult and how to be respected in a job.’”
“I’ve been treated better at my doughnut shop job than I have on a f–king [red] carpet,” she continued. “People on the news treat me worse than how customers did. And I think when I started to say, ‘Don’t talk to me like that’ … That doesn’t mean that I’m a villain or ungrateful for what I have. It’s like, ‘Why is this customary?’”
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Roan went on to compare how certain fans have treated her to the way “people were so evil” to stars such as Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton in the past. “That behavior is still, they’re still doing it. … Do you want me to just get to the point where I become agoraphobic? Or so stressed out or so anxious to perform?” she said. “You want me to get to that point? Because if I don’t say anything, I will. If I do not stand up for myself, I will quit because I cannot bear this. I cannot bear people touching me who I don’t know. I cannot bear people following me.”
“I cannot bear people saying I’m something I’m not,” she added. “That’s what’s really hard online. People just assume you’re the villain.”
The interview comes about nine months after Roan first made headlines for addressing what she saw as “predatory” fan behavior, calling out obsessive listeners who would touch her without permission or stalk her whereabouts. Her posts on the subject sparked a wider discussion on stan culture and the sacrifices celebrities must make to be in the public eye. Though many sympathized with Roan, others were quick to deem her ungrateful.
Regardless, the “Pink Pony Club” musician has previously said that her experiences in public have improved drastically since she said her piece. “I think people are scared of me,” Roan said on Call Her Daddy in March. “I think I made a big enough deal about not talking to me that people do not talk to me. I’ve been with people, like, friends who are artists, and when they’re with me, they’re like, ‘It’s a force field around us. People don’t come up to me if I’m with you.’”
But now that she’s washed her hands of toxic fan treatment, Roan has a few other things she’d like to see “banned.” While playing a game of “Ban It, B—h!” on Outlaws, the Grammy winner said she’s had enough of people’s hot takes — “I don’t care. … You don’t know what you’re talking about” — as well as cork shoes and a widely followed pop culture account on X. “Pop Crave,” she said on the show. “Ban it!”
Listen to Roan on Outlaws below.
Joey Bada$$’s war of the words with the West Coast is heating up. The Brooklyn rapper returned fire on what was a busy Monday night (May 19) in hip-hop as Joey directed his attention at Ray Vaughn, Kendrick Lamar and more on his scintillating “My Town” diss track.
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“I’m the real boogeyman, y’all n—-s should be afraid/ Get the general, I’m killing his troops,” he raps while teasing Lamar. “Don’t make me Pulitzer, better be wise because/ I’m dottin T’s and cross your eyes like Whitaker.”
Joey had plenty of smoke for TDE’s Ray Vaughn and sniped at AzChike, who threw his hat into the ring on Monday with his “What Would You Do” diss track.
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“Look, Ray Vaughn was so last week/ Now, I’m hearing s–t about some nigga named ‘Ass Cheek’/ Who wanna be the next victim/ How many Top Dawgs will it take to sick ’em,” Joey spews.
The 30-year-old pays homage to Cam’ron’s “Welcome to New York City” with his own spin on the Big Apple staple to close out the outro.
Kendrick has yet to address Joey’s shots, as the Brooklyn native previously taunted the Compton legend on “The Finals” earlier in May.
Ray Vaughn didn’t waste any time in returning fire on Monday with “Golden Eye,” which finds him rapping over 50 Cent’s classic “Back Down” instrumental.
“Vaughn Wick” jabbed at Joey Bada$$’s relationship with Diddy and claims that there’s a video implicating Joey in crimes with the disgraced Bad Boy mogul. “If you’re standin’ next to Diddy, then you shouldn’t mention dick/ ‘Cause if they ever show that footage, you gon’ have to plead the fifth,” he raps.
The explosives are still seemingly dropping out of the sky every hour as Daylyt returned on Tuesday (May 20), going after Joey on “Ayo.”
The Joey Bada$$ versus the West Coast battle began on New Year’s Day when Joey gritted his teeth on “The Ruler’s Back.” He appeared to reignite the flame last week during the “Red Bull Spiral Freestyle” alongside Ab-Soul and Big Sean.
Monday brought about a barrage of lyrical missiles fired as AzChike, Daylyt, CJ Fly, Kai Ca$h, JaeWon, Joey Bada$$ and Ray Vaughn all exchanged diss tracks.
Find a timeline to keep up with the entire battle below.
Great day in hip hop 🏆 5.19.25 Joey vs. West (21) https://t.co/pptn4lxeYEJoey Bada$$ “The Ruler’s Back” 1.1.25DAYLYT “HIYU” 1.7.25Ray Vaughn “Crashout Heritage” 1.8.25Joey Bada$$ “Sorry Not Sorry” 1.20.25CJ Fly “HIYU Freestyle” 1.27.25DAYLYT “YHRR” 2.3.25Ray Vaughn…— Elliott Wilson (@ElliottWilson) May 20, 2025
After speaking out for the first time about her newfound gender identity leading up to new album Virgin, Lorde has announced that the project’s next single will be “Man of the Year,” a track about embracing her own masculinity.
On Monday (May 19), the pop star shared the track’s cover art — a close-up photo of her chest covered by a strip of duct tape, the waistline of her jeans poking out from the bottom of the frame — and wrote on Instagram, “Man Of The Year. An offering from really deep inside me.”
“The song I’m proudest of on Virgin,” Lorde added. “Out next week.”
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“Man of the Year” will mark the second track fans are getting from Virgin, which arrives June 27. The New Zealand native previously released “What Was That” in April, debuting at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In her Rolling Stone cover story from earlier in May, Lorde opened up about writing “Man of the Year” after stopping her birth control and realizing that her gender felt more fluid than she previously realized. Just before penning the track, she taped her own chest with duct tape — just as it appears on the artwork — in an effort to realize a vision of herself “that was fully representative of how [her] gender felt in that moment,” she told the publication.
“I felt like stopping taking my birth control, I had cut some sort of cord between myself and this regulated femininity,” she continued. “It sounds crazy, but I felt that all of a sudden, I was off the map of femininity. And I totally believed that that allowed things to open up.”
Lorde would later tease “Man of the Year” through her 2025 Met Gala look, wearing a strapless, slate strip of fabric adhered to her chest that mirrored what the song’s cover art would look like. “This is my creation,” she told Vogue‘s Emma Chamberlain on the red carpet at the time. “It’s something of an Easter egg … To me it really represents where I’m at gender-wise. I feel like a man and a woman, kind of vibe.”
The rollout cycle for Virgin — which will follow 2021’s Solar Power — has marked the “Royals” singer’s first time opening up about her broadening gender identity. Though she still prefers “she” and “her” pronouns, she explained to Rolling Stone, “[Chappell Roan] was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’ … I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’”
Lorde has also shared that overcoming her struggles with an eating disorder — another experience that informed Virgin — allowed her to embrace her true identity. “I had made my body very small, because I thought that that was what you did as a woman and a woman on display,” she recently told Document Journal. “It had the effect of making me [feel] totally ungrounded. I was very weak. I look back now, and I don’t have that same feeling of floating away.”
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For global girl group KATSEYE, being Gen Z isn’t just a generational label — it’s a movement. With members hailing from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States, the six-piece collective represents a bold, boundary-pushing vision of pop that’s deeply rooted in authenticity, individuality, and global unity.
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“We’re very opinionated — and very free,” the group says when asked to describe Gen Z’s energy. “We’ve been conditioned to know who we are from a young age, and that reflects in how we act, how we dress, and what we want to do with our lives.” That confidence, combined with a spirit of openness, makes this generation especially loud — in the best way. “We love that we can express our values and our style. Most of us are super accepting, which is really nice.”
KATSEYE’s latest partnership with Urban Outfitters taps into that same spirit of creative freedom. As the faces of UO’s new “UO Haul” campaign — a back-to-school-inspired activation that includes pop-up experiences, lifestyle “haul” trucks, and a high-energy live performance — they’re spotlighting what it means to be young, expressive, and unapologetically yourself.
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“A big thing about KATSEYE is we love to embrace who we are uniquely — where we come from, the world that we’re in,” the group says. “So partnering with Urban Outfitters for this campaign just made sense for us. One thing we always say is that we’re really connected to our fans.”
“We honestly feel like a lot of our fans are like our best friends,” they continue. “That’s a common thing, especially since we’re all Gen Z. Everyone’s on TikTok, everyone’s on social media — it’s like we don’t even have original experiences anymore because we’re all sharing everything and so connected. So that’s why this collab just felt right for us.”
With three lifestyle-inspired trucks on site — The Pretty Haul, The Pregame Haul, and The Plush Haul —each member gravitated to the one that fit their vibe best. Megan picked a hybrid between Pregame and Plush, saying, “One side for relaxing and one side for turning up.” Lara, Manon, and Daniela aligned with the Pregame Truck’s pre-party energy, while Sophia and Yoonchae chose the cozy comforts of the Plush Haul. “I’m definitely a homebody, and I’m always in bed whenever I can be,” Sophia adds. “I love to relax, snuggle up, watch movies, all of that. So, it really feels like me.”
Urban Outfitters Unveils “UO Haul”: The Back-to-Campus Campaign Built for Gen Z’s Biggest Moves.
Urban Outfitters
When it comes to defining Gen Z style, the group agrees: statement pieces are key. “Gen Z has a lot of flashiness,” they note. “A lot of statement pieces on top of basics.”
The collab also comes at a pivotal time for KATSEYE. The sextet’s debut single “Gnarly” just made its first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, and its upcoming EP, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, marks a bold evolution from their debut SIS (Soft Is Strong). “It’s definitely very surreal,” the group shares. “We’ve been working insanely hard for almost two years now, and seeing our hard work pay off really motivates us to go harder and do more. We’re just so obsessed with our fans for making that happen for us — we’ve been smiling from ear to ear since we found out.”
The group expressed a newfound maturity as it gears up to release its second EP. “Every song has its own vibe and sounds really different from the others — it’s something we haven’t shown yet.” The members describe the project as “a whole different side of KATSEYE,” reflecting both sonic and personal growth. “We’re maturing a lot, we’re being a little more daring. Literally everything is different — the hair, the styling, the makeup, the music videos,” they explain. “It all feels super authentic to who KATSEYE is right now. We honestly can’t wait to drop it because we just want everyone to hear it.”
As a multicultural group, the six members of KATSEYE’s are redefining what it means to be a global girl group. “Representation has always been one of our biggest missions,” they explain. “We’re representing a lot of underrepresented groups, especially in music and media in general. But specifically in pop music, there aren’t a lot of girls or artists who really look like us.” By blending K-pop and Western pop through their sound and choreography, the group is carving out a unique identity: “There isn’t really a blueprint for KATSEYE—for how we sound, how we look, how we perform — so it’s something we’re building as we go. It’s a very new experience, and we’re kind of painting it alongside our icons.”
Their cultural backgrounds also shape their music and bond. “We’re all able to share this experience of truly representing where we come from — and being proud of that,” they say. Being away from home often, they find comfort and connection in each other, which strengthens their group dynamic. “We get to have moments where a little girl comes up to us and says, ‘Oh my goodness, you look like me,’ and that’s such an emotional experience for all of us. It really brings us together and ties us to the shared goal of KATSEYE and what we wanna do.” The group also plans to continue weaving its multi-cultural sounds into its music, promising that this influence will be even more present in future releases.
At the core of the UO Haul campaign is a connection to the fans, their icons, “Especially because a lot of them are around our age, Gen Z,” the group explains. “The whole thing about going back to school? We relate. It’s something that we understand. We fit the vibe.”
They emphasize that much of what they do is made for people like themselves — because they are the target market: “That’s why we feel like it’s really gonna amplify. It’s reaching the right people, and we’re showing them, ‘Hey, we’re right here with you. We’re doing this for you.’” Fans have told them that they can see themselves in at least one member of KATSEYE, and Urban Outfitters’ versatility makes the partnership a natural fit: “Our visions really, really, really are similar and they reach the same audience and same goal. We’re also big fans.”
When asked if they feel like they’re challenging traditional ideas of what a girl group looks and sounds like, the girls in KATSEYE don’t hesitate. “For sure. We’re always trying to break boundaries and reinvent ourselves,” they say. “There aren’t a lot of groups out there that are KATSEYE-coded — if any. So, that’s definitely intentional for sure.”
As KATSEYE gears up to perform live in New York City on May 20, fans can expect the same signature energy that has defined every one of its performances so far: “We’re performing outdoors in New York, which we’ve never done before. It’s not only going to be a treat for you guys, but also a new experience for us — and those moments are always so exciting.”
“Hopefully it’s not too hot,” I added. But the heat they’re bringing? That’s going to be “Gnarly.”
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Elegance. Showmanship. Unmatched flair. Rauw Alejandro made his triumphant return to New York City on Monday night (May 19), kicking off a three-night takeover at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as part of his Cosa Nuestra tour.
For the Puerto Rican singer, these performances carry deep significance, blending his personal story with the cultural legacy of the city’s Nuyorican community.
“Rauw Alejandro performing Cosa Nuestra live, where it all began, here in the city of New York,” said the man of the night while commanding the stage with superstar swagger. “New York is very special to me, it’s my second home. It’s where my father was born. My grandfather — they came here to work hard, to earn money for their family. Cosa Nuestra was created right here in New York. Tonight is special. This concert is a little bit different from the others.” And he was absolutely right about that.
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The energy in the arena was electric, with fans dressed to the nines per Rauw’s “dress code” for the night — a glam celebration that felt more Broadway than your typical Latin music show. And Rauw’s performance delivered high-octane drama in four acts, crafted like a theatrical masterpiece, at times invoking West Side Story, in others Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” video, to his own arsenal of hits from his new album — “Revolú,” “Déjame Entrar,” “Mil Mujeres” — and even some Rauw classics such as “Tattoo,” “Todo De Ti,” “Desesperados” and more.
The show was filled with imagery that depicted New York’s iconic landmarks and its Latin roots, with the Brooklyn Bridge and the city skyline as a backdrop. With his impeccably tight choreography, tailored and glitzy wardrobe and the vintage muscle car in one notable scene, his homage to the Boricua diaspora was heartfelt and unapologetically vivid — a tribute to resilience, culture and identity.
“New York is a special place, especially for this show, for Puerto Rican culture — for me being Puerto Rican from New York,” said an attendee who looked dapper in vintage-looking slacks and a flat cap. “There’s a lot of history here, a lot of culture, and it’s good to see all the people come together for a special event like this that celebrates us.”
The city is also the cradle of Puerto Rican salsa, the birthplace of the late ‘60s and ‘70s Latin music revolution defined by legends such as the Fania All Stars. That golden era of big-band artistry sparked the vision for Rauw’s Cosa Nuestra album and the theatrical brilliance of the night’s performance — a seamless fusion of tradition and modernity that felt like a love letter to New York’s Puerto Rican roots.
Rauw’s Cosa Nuestra topped Billboard‘s Best Latin Albums of 2024 (Staff Picks), and reached No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart, where it remained at the top for six weeks.
His next stops include Atlanta, Orlando and several dates in Miami before wrapping up his U.S. tour with a four-night series of shows at the iconic Coliseo de Puerto Rico. This summer, he’ll take his Cosa Nuestra tour to Europe.
Megan Thee Stallion is slamming Tory Lanez and his legal team after they claimed that there is allegedly new evidence to prove that the Canadian rapper didn’t shoot the “Savage” artist, but that someone else did. “At what point are yall gonna stop making me have to re live being shot BY TORY !? At […]
Best known as a dancer, rapper and singer-songwriter in BTS, j-hope has long stood out, with a magnetic stage presence and captivating dance moves that helped propel the group to global stardom. Now — as ARMY around the world anticipate the group’s remaining members completing South Korea’s mandatory military service and BTS reuniting in June, […]
Ahead of their reunion tour slated for this fall, Minus The Bear will reissue their sophomore album, 2005’s Menos el Oso, to commemorate the album’s 20th anniversary. The beloved Seattle indie band unveiled the deluxe vinyl release, as well as the demo version of the track “Hooray,” on Tuesday (May 20), with the reissue scheduled […]
Guns N’ Roses are having a laugh at their own expense. On Monday (May 19), the band shared a tongue-in-cheek video compilation on Instagram titled “Guns N’ Roses Greatest Hits!”
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Instead of featuring career-spanning songs, the clip highlights 14 onstage wipeouts from frontman Axl Rose. Set to their 1987 classic “Welcome to the Jungle,” the video includes archival footage of Rose slipping, tripping and toppling over onstage across the decades, concluding with a clip from Saturday’s (May 17) show in Mumbai, India, where the rocker stumbled on the stairs while performing “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”
The post arrives as Guns N’ Roses hit the road on their Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things world tour, which kicked off May 1 in Incheon, South Korea. The stadium run will continue across Asia, the Middle East and Europe through the end of July, with support from Public Enemy, Rival Sons and Sex Pistols members on select dates.
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The band’s current lineup includes Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus and Melissa Reese. This marks the first tour since longtime drummer Frank Ferrer announced his departure from the group in March. His final show was Nov. 5, 2023, in Mexico.
The group has since welcomed Isaac Carpenter as their new drummer for the 2025 tour.
Guns N’ Roses continue to be one of the most enduring acts in rock. Their 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, remains one of the best-selling rock albums of all time. The band’s iconic single “Sweet Child O’ Mine” became their first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 when it topped the chart dated Sept. 10, 1988.
Their Not in This Lifetime… reunion tour in 2019 grossed over $584 million, making it the third-highest-grossing tour of all time. The shows reunited Guns N’ Roses members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, who, before reconvening in 2016, hadn’t played a show together since 1993.
Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus opened up about the simmering tension between his band and Green Day during the iconic 2002 Pop Disaster Tour, describing it as a “musical battle” that helped sharpen Blink’s edge at a pivotal time in their rise.
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The tour, which paired pop-punk’s elder statesmen with its ascendant newcomers, saw Blink-182 closing each night, despite Green Day being the band Hoppus idolized growing up.
“I literally waited for the day that Dookie came out,” he recalled in a recent interview with NME. “I was in line waiting to buy it.”
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By 2002, Blink-182 were riding high off the back of their No. 1 album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, while Green Day were in a quieter commercial moment between 2000’s Warning and their eventual resurgence with 2004’s American Idiot. That dynamic sparked what Hoppus described as an unspoken competition onstage.
“We walked in thinking we were hot sh–,” Hoppus said. “And Green Day walked in ready to fight — musically of course. They blew us off the stage the first few nights and we were like, ‘Oh s–t, we have to up our game.’ It definitely made us a better band.”
Though he emphasized there was no personal beef — “Billie was super nice to us” — the nightly battle for crowd dominance created a performance arms race.
“It was this back-and-forth about who could put on the better show and who could win people over,” Hoppus explained. “I think I inspired them so much they were like, ‘We have to kill Blink-182 with an awesome album called American Idiot.’”
The story is one of many anecdotes included in Hoppus’ newly released memoir Fahrenheit-182, in which the bassist and vocalist reflects on his cancer diagnosis, pop culture moments, and his decades-long music career.
Blink-182 are currently preparing to hit the road again with Alkaline Trio this fall, with their U.S. tour kicking off Aug. 28 in Hollywood, Fla.
