Music News

21 Mar 2023

Naomi Osaka Shows Off Adorable Baby Bump on the Streets of Japan

Naomi Osaka took to social media on Tuesday (March 21) to show off the her baby bump, just months after it was revealed she’s expecting her first child with Cordae.

The tennis pro shared a series of snaps from a street in Japan, wearing a cropped green jersey with her last name and the number 97 emblazoned on the back, her baby bump adorably peeking out in front. She paired the top with a pair of voluminous oversized jeans, beige and gray sneakers, large gold hoops and a baseball cap by On.

Osaka’s more than 2.7 million Instagram followers couldn’t get enough of the sporty on-the-street shoot. “Mama in Japan…better not delete this!!!!!!!” fellow tennis champ Sloane Stephens commented using the Japanese flag and a heart eyes emoji, while a fan wrote, “it’s giving mommy.”

Others were quick to compare the four-time Grand Slam champ to the also-pregnant Rihanna, with one follower writing, “Cordae really saw Asap and said hold my racket” in reference to RiRi’s relationship with A$AP Rocky and another commenting, “okayyy!! it’s giving Rihanna.”

While her latest carousel is the first time she’s posted her pregnancy on her feed, Osaka first revealed she was expecting at the start of the year by sharing a snap of her ultrasound. At the time, she didn’t mention the identity of the baby’s father, but her spokesperson confirmed to Billboard that she was, indeed, welcoming the bundle of joy with Cordae.

Last month, the “Two Tens” rapper sat down with Billboard to discuss his new PUMA x HI-LEVEL collection as well as his friendship with regular collaborator Anderson .Paak.

Check out Osaka’s chic pregnant street style below.

21 Mar 2023

Watch Virginia Tech Students Sing Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ After NCAA Ban

Nothing can stop Virginia Tech students from supporting their team.

This year, the NCAA is hoping to keep on-campus host sites as neutral as possible by fining a host for playing traditional hype songs, such as Virginia Tech playing “Enter Sandman” as it usually does during women’s basketball games at Cassell Coliseum. Virginia Tech started playing the Metallica hit back in 2000 during the season opener for football at Lane Stadium.

While the NCAA is preventing actual venues from playing hype songs through their speakers, there’s nothing they can do about fans taking matters into their own hands. During VT’s Friday night (March 17) game against Chattanooga, Hokies supporters in the coliseum began belting the chorus to the heavy metal 1991 classic a capella, making for a special, uniting moment.

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It all paid off too, as Virginia Tech won 58-33 against Chattanooga.

Metallica shot to No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums tallies following the 2021 30th-anniversary reissue of its self-titled 1991 album, also known as “The Black Album.” The 30th anniversary reissue remasters the original 12 tracks and also includes a multi-disc box set including live versions, alternate takes and more.

Meanwhile, The Metallica Blacklist, the 53-song companion album featuring covers of Metallica’s tracklist from a variety of artists, also gained a No. 1 hit on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart thanks to Miley Cyrus’ cover of “Nothing Else Matters,” featuring WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo and Chad Smith.

21 Mar 2023

Se7en & Actress Lee Da-hae Announce They Are Getting Married

Congratulations are in order for Se7en and Lee Da-hae, who revealed on Monday (March 20) that they are getting married this spring.

The K-pop superstar revealed the “happy news” in an update to his more than 550,000 followers, writing, “I have vowed to marry my girlfriend Lee Da-hae, who always embraced me with love, and shared joy and sorrow together for the past eight years.” He added that the ceremony will take place on May 6, concluding, “From now on, I will live with more responsibility as a head of a family and a husband.”

Over on her Instagram account, the actress shared a series of wedding photos of the gorgeous couple. “We have vowed to become a husband and wife from a long-term couple this coming May. Although I’m still used to calling him a ‘boyfriend,’ I will become more considerate and a bigger supporter of ‘him,’ who gave me big happiness by staying by my side and now will be my forever companion,” she wrote in her caption. “It will be a huge happiness for us if we can get married in your love and blessings.”

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Se7en, who released his debut album Just Listen back in 2003, dropped his most recent EP, Ride, in November 2022. Lee, meanwhile, has been a regular on TV dramas throughout her career, and has had roles in Good Witch, IRIS 2 and more.

See their announcements below.

21 Mar 2023

Lotus Drummer Chuck Morris & His Son Feared Dead After Arkansas Kayaking Trip

A recovery effort for Lotus percussionist Chuck Morris and his son Charley is currently underway in Fayatteville, Ark.

As first reported by Arkansas’s local 4029 News, Morris — percussionist for longstanding live electronic band Lotus — and his 20-year-old son were reported missing last Thursday after embarking on a kayaking trip on Beaver Lake, a manmade reservoir in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas.

In an update posted Tuesday (March 21), the band announced that the search for the pair has now shifted to a recovery effort.

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“We were all hoping for a miracle, but at this point, the search for Chuck and Charley has moved to a recovery,” the post states. “With help from the K9 team, there is a probable location on the lake, but logistical challenges including temperature, weather, and depth have prevented a recovery thus far. It is unknown how long these efforts may take. While we are deeply grieving, we plan to celebrate Chuck and Charley’s lives, our memories with them, and what they meant to so many people.”

After forming in the late ’90s, Lotus became a favorite on the North American jam and electronic circuits, playing clubs shows and festivals including Camp Bisco, Gem & Jam and Okeechobee, along with major venues including Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Terminal 5 in New York City.

The band has already toured extensively in 2023, with additional club and festival dates on the calendar through September. It’s currently unclear whether Lotus will play these shows.

A GoFundMe set up to benefit Morris’ family has currently raised more than $86,000.

“Please know how grateful our family is for all the outpouring of support,” Morris’ wife, Jenny Thompson, wrote in an update posted Monday. “Chuck absolutely loves the Lotus family and fans and was so inspired after coming home from this last tour. You make his life so meaningful and we are thankful for that. Please continue to hold my lovely husband and son in your hearts and prayers.”

21 Mar 2023

BTS’ RM, Suga, V & Jung Kook Share a Moment With Harry Styles Backstage at Seoul Love on Tour Stop

The Love on Tour lovefest continues!

After Harry Styles performed a star-studded concert in Seoul, South Korea, BTS members RM, Suga, V and Jung Kook caught up with the pop star backstage and shared snaps from their meeting on Monday.

RM and V posted the crossover moment to their respective Instagram Stories. Both pictures sees the BTS idols with their arms around Styles or crouching down, holding up a peace sign and double K-pop finger hearts. RM shared the photo to his Story with a pink heart, while V opted for several disco emojis.

Styles’ Love on Tour stop in Seoul honored BTS by playing the group’s 2020 smash hit — which also served as the group’s first single to debut at No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 — in the concert’s pre-show playlist.

As for the actual concert, Taekook — Taehyung (V) and Jung Kook — began trending on Twitter shortly after appearing in the audience energetically dancing as Styles performed One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” (RM and Suga were also spotted in the audience, but sat in separate locations from V and Jung Kook.)

See RM and V’s photos here and here on Instagram before they disappear.

21 Mar 2023

Miley Cyrus Spreads the ‘Love’ After ‘Flowers’ Spends 7th Week at No. 1

Miley Cyrus took to social media on Tuesday (March 21) to celebrate “Flowers” returning to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh week.

“Flowers is #1 for a 7th week! I love all of you. Endless Summer Vacation out now!” the singer wrote on Twitter, also sharing a candid shot of herself wearing an asymmetrical dress of black sequins, a long green fur coat, and her must-have accessory of the album cycle: a pair of black sunglasses. She also shared this week’s Hot 100 top 10 (chart dated March 25) and Billboard‘s own story about her 10th career week at No. 1 on her Instagram Stories.

The hit single’s return to the pinnacle of the Hot 100 was helped by the release of Endless Summer Vacation, which posted Cyrus’ best opening week on the Billboard 200 in more than a decade with 103,000 equivalent album units. The studio set lands at No. 3 on the chart behind Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time — last week’s holdover at No. 1 — and TWICE’s READY TO BE.

In more global accomplishments, “Flowers” is also spending an eighth week at the top of both Billboard Global charts, and Cyrus also nabbed a rare chart double over in the U.K. with the smash single and its parent album simultaneously sitting at No. 1 on the Official Singles chart and Official Albums chart.

Check out Cyrus’ tweet about her song’s latest chart-topping accomplishment below.

21 Mar 2023

Anne Hathaway & Michaela Coel to Star in ‘Mother Mary’ Film, With Music by This Dynamic Pop Duo

Anne Hathaway is going to give the pop-star life a try. On Tuesday (March 21), The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Devil Wears Prada actress will appear in A24’s forthcoming film Mother Mary, alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Michaela Coel.

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The script is written by David Lowery, who will also direct for A24, the studio that produced Everything Everywhere All at Once, which took home seven Oscars earlier this month.

The studio describes Mother Mary as an “epic pop melodrama following a fictional musician (Hathaway) and her relationship with an iconic fashion designer (Coel).” 

A movie about a musician requires a soundtrack with heavy-hitter songwriters. Mother Mary will have no shortage, as frequent Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey collaborator Jack Antonoff — who produced a “melodrama” of his own with Lorde’s 2017 sophomore LP — will write and produce original songs for the film. Charli XCX will also have a songwriting and production role for Mother Mary, while the film’s score will be composed by Daniel Hart (Light of My Life, The Green Knight, Peter Pan & Wendy).

After the news came out, Charli shared a funny photo of her alongside Antonoff to Instagram with the caption, “jack bout to get mothered.” She later added in the comments section that she “hate[s] myself for this pic but it had to be done.”

Lowery is producing the film alongside Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston and Jeanie Igoe of Homebird Productions. Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo and Jonathan Saubach of Cologne-based augenschein Filmproduktion also have production credits.

21 Mar 2023

Is Selena Gomez Getting Married on ‘Only Murders’? See Her New Wedding Dress Photos

Looks like we’re going to be hearing wedding bells on the next season of Only Murders in the Building.

Steve Martin teased some on-set photos via Twitter on Tuesday (March 21), in which he’s seen in a tuxedo linking arms with his co-star Selena Gomez, who is wearing a lacy wedding gown and veil. “Guess what just happened!” he captioned the post, without revealing who Gomez will be walking down the aisle to.

The comedian followed up with another photo of the “Lose You to Love Me” singer smiling with co-star Martin Short, who is also dressed in black-tie attire. “Turns out this happened, too,” Martin wrote.

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Gomez also shared some snaps of her bridal moment to Instagram, in which she’s seen sitting on the floor with the tulle of her wedding dress surrounding her, smiling while holding a can of Coke. “I have no caption. Just a regular day at work,” she captioned the post, tagging the Only Murders official Instagram account.

Only Murders in the Building season two, starring the hilarious trio as true-crime loving neighbors who get wrapped up in a murder mystery, dropped on Hulu back in June. Since then, Gomez, Martin and Short have been teasing season three of the popular show throughout the past few weeks of filming — including much-anticipated cameos from Jesse Williams and Emily in Paris star Ashley Park.

Only Murders in the Building season three does not yet have a release date. In the meantime, watch the first two seasons on Hulu here. 

21 Mar 2023

The Weeknd Named the World’s ‘Most Popular Artist’ by Guinness World Records

It’s official: The Weeknd is statistically the most popular artist in the world according to Guinness World Records.

The organization proffered the title upon the pop star on Monday after analyzing the Spotify data of some of the biggest names in the music industry, including number of monthly listeners on the streaming platform.

Considering the artist otherwise known as Abel Tesfaye holds the record as the first, and so far only, artist in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly listeners as of the end of February, he’s far and away at the top of the class. And yet, even in the few weeks since he crossed the nine-figure threshold, the “Starboy” singer has gained even more streaming followers — up to 111.4 million, according to the Guinness report.

And there’s quite the wide berth between that mind-boggling number and the next artist on the list, Miley Cyrus, who currently tallies 82.4 million monthly listeners in the wake of releasing her hotly anticipated eighth studio album Endless Summer Vacation. Other artists who trail The Weeknd include Shakira (81.6 million), Ariana Grande (80.6 million), Taylor Swift (80. 2 million), Rihanna (78.5 million) and Ed Sheeran (77.5 million).

A little over a week ago, The Weeknd swept the 2023 Juno Awards in his native Canada, taking home four awards, including both artist of the year and songwriter of the year for a record fourth time; single of the year for a third time (for 2022’s “Sacrifice”)l and pop album of the year (for Dawn FM).

21 Mar 2023

TWICE’s Chaeyoung Apologizes for Wearing a T-Shirt With Swastika

TWICE‘s Chaeyoung apologized on Tuesday (March 21) after posting an Instagram photo in which the 23-year-old K-pop star is seen wearing a t-shirt featuring a swastika.

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The shirt in the since-deleted photo had a graphic of a 1970s picture of Sex Pistols‘ Sid Vicious wearing a T-shirt with a swastika on it. The symbol was used as an emblem of the German Nazi party, as Adolf Hitler made it the centerpiece of the Nazi flag.

“Hello, this is Chaeyoung from TWICE. I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post. I didn’t correctly recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore,” her statement, written in both English and Korean, read. “I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again. Sincerely apologize again.”

TWICE recently released their 12th mini-album, Ready to Be, and the set debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated March 25, 2023. The group’s English single “Moonlight Sunrise” is included in the seven-track album, in addition to songs like “Got the Thrills,” “Blame It on Me,” “Wallflower,” “Crazy Stupid Love” and “Set Me Free.”

The girl group was also honored with the Breakthrough Award at Billboard’s Women in Music event on March 1, where they chatted with Billboard on the red carpet about the album. “We are ready to show more of our beautiful inner side to the world and ready to show more of ourselves,” Tzuyu shared of Ready to Be.