Music News

10 Feb 2023

Chris Martin Praises Rihanna as the ‘Best Singer of All Time’

You can count Chris Martin among the millions of fans who can’t wait to watch Rihanna perform this weekend at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. In a new interview with Apple Music 1, the Coldplay frontman sang the pop star’s praises while reflecting on his own memories of performing on one of the world’s biggest stages with Beyoncé and Bruno Mars.

“I don’t know Rihanna very well,” Martin told host Zane Lowe on Friday (Feb. 10). “I’m mainly just a fan, and we have performed with her a few times, and you’re right, it is rarer and rarer for her to just sing, which is what makes it even more special, and in a strange way, it shows that she really, really wants to do it. No one can make Rihanna do anything at this point.”

“You have to be an idiot not to recognize that she’s the best singer of all time,” he continued. “I’m very biased because I’m such a big Rihanna fan. I mean, I think she could just walk out in sweatpants and sing, and that would be just great.”

The “Love on the Brain” singer has just two days left before she headlines the Apple Music-sponsored event between the game’s second and third quarters. This year, the Super Bowl will see the Kansas City Chiefs facing off with the Philadelphia Eagles at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 12) at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

In 2016, it was Coldplay who headlined. Wanting to do justice to the NFL’s 50th anniversary Super Bowl, the band brought out a pair of superstar guests — Bey and Bruno — to assist them.

“I felt really straight away, well, we have to ask Beyoncé because we had a song together at the time, but it hadn’t come out yet,” Martin recalled. “And then Beyoncé, we spoke on the phone and she said, ‘Should we do our song together?’ And I thought, ‘I don’t know. No one knows it yet, and maybe just do something that you want to do.’ And then she came up with ‘Formation,’ which was the best.”

Not everyone loved the final product of Coldplay’s efforts, however. The band was met with criticism from certain viewers, something Martin also opened up about with Lowe. “We got quite a hard time afterwards from some people who didn’t really like it, which was hard to take at the time,” he confessed. “But then at a certain point I realized, ‘Well, we did exactly what we wanted to do given all those limitations.’ We would do exactly the same way, I think. We would ask the same guests.”

“I don’t mind the fact that I’m going to be in a dance-off with Beyoncé and Bruno and lose, that’s the point,” he added. “Someone has to represent the non-dancing humans. So I think I sort of became really at peace with it a few weeks afterwards.”

10 Feb 2023

Mariah Carey Drops ‘It’s a Wrap’ EP After Song’s Viral Revival

Surprise, dahhlings! Mariah Carey revealed a special treat for her fans on Friday (Feb. 10) in the form of a new EP celebrating her 2009 deep cut “It’s a Wrap.”

“lIT’S A WRAP!!” the icon shared on Instagram announcing the release, “by popular lamb demand, EP out now!”

The four-track project contains the original album cut from 2009’s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and the Mary J. Blige-assisted remix originally included as a bonus track on 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, as well as a TikTok-friendly sped-up version and a new three-minute edit of the song.

The EP’s arrival comes on the heels of Mimi turning the fan favorite into a viral hit thanks to the “It’s a Wrap” TikTok challenge she launched after the start of the new year. In addition to giving Carey a dose of post-holiday glee as she watched thousands of Lambs lip-synch to the song, the challenge also gave “It’s a Wrap” a massive streaming bump, earning more than one million weekly streams as of the start of February.

Prior to the kiss-off’s unexpected revival, the singer-songwriter wrapped up her absolute domination of yet another holiday season with “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returning to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks from the middle of December through the beginning of January. The chart achievement marked the modern holiday classic’s fourth year topping the chart since it first became Carey’s nineteenth career No. 1 in 2019.

Check out Mariah’s announcement and stream the It’s a Wrap EP below.

10 Feb 2023

Here’s Why Penn Badgley Thinks This Taylor Swift Hit Is ‘Perfect’ for His ‘You’ Character

The lyrics in Taylor Swift‘s “Anti-Hero” hit home for a lot of people, but when you look at them through the perspective of a serial killer? They take on a whole different meaning. Just ask Penn Badgley, the actor behind frequent murderer Joe Goldberg on Netflix’s You, who recently caught the pop star’s attention for lip-syncing her Midnights lead single dressed as his character in a viral TikTok.

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The success of Badgley’s “Anti-Hero” TikTok (nine million views and counting) is made even more impressive when you consider that it was the very first video he ever posted on his account. But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Gossip Girl alum explained that it was actually Swift’s track that inspired him to start his TikTok career in the first place.

“I thought for years, ‘I’ll get a TikTok when the time is right,’” he told the magazine in an interview published Friday (Feb. 10). “And then when Taylor’s record came out, it just seemed the song wouldn’t have worked with anybody else. Me. Joe. Anti-Hero. Taylor Swift? It just was the perfect moment.”

Swift has described “Anti-Hero,” her longest-running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as being like a “guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself.” In his TikTok — on which the “All Too Well” singer herself commented “OMG!!!!” — Badgley dons Joe’s trademark baseball cap and hilariously sings the track’s self-deprecating main hook, “I’m the problem, it’s me.”

As You fans can attest, Joe (who goes by Jonathan Moore while hiding out in London in the Feb. 9-released fourth season) is definitely the problem in almost every scenario. And just like Swift, he often struggles internally with his insecurities and personal demons — his just happens to be a psychological inability to stop stalking, kidnapping and gruesomely murdering people in his life.

“I wasn’t sure I wanted to play Joe,” Badgley explained in the new interview. “And so I bring that to it in a way. Joe is always struggling with who he is, and what he’s doing,” he says. “There’s always like three levels of lies with Joe no matter what’s happening.” 

Watch Penn Badgley sing along to “Anti-Hero” below:

10 Feb 2023

Every Song Ranked on Paramore’s ‘This Is Why’

Perhaps no album from a band in recent months has been as anticipated as Paramore‘s sixth studio set, This Is Why. The group, which currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro, released their poppier, ’80s-tinged LP After Laughter in 2017 and later, took a break that resulted in the trio trading the sadness behind their rose-colored glasses for anger — and for what feels like the first time, political discontent.

“Everything is political, and it’s either politicized to a degree that maybe isn’t fair or it just inherently is political,” Williams said in the group’s recently Billboard cover story. “Even if I tried to not say one word about anything political [on the album], I think it was just in the DNA. It was in every conversation.”

And the group tackles the issues seamlessly, albeit with a new groove that sounds equal parts fresh and familiar to new and old fans alike. This Is Why‘s title track (also the first on the record) establishes the band’s mission statement, critiquing society’s lack of empathy and the human tendency to be unyielding with our beliefs. Follow up singles “The News” and “C’est Comme Ça” expands, with the former heaving an exasperated sigh at current events and the latter taking the aftermath with a resigned shrug of the shoulders. The preliminary songs the band offered — and the album as a whole — cut the weight of their themes with a danceable, punk leaning edge.

While there are no definite skips on the album, certain tracks of the group’s newest offering in years do stand out a bit more than others. Here is a preliminary opinion on every song that appears on Paramore’s This Is Why.

Want more on Paramore’s new album? Click here to read Billboard’s cover story with the band, in which they talk at length about This Is Why.

10 Feb 2023

Missy Elliott and Jack Harlow Beyond Hyped For Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show: ‘It Will Be Incredible’

Even stars get starstuck, especially when talking about Rihanna. Missy Elliott and Jack Harlow weighed in on what they hope to hear and see from RihRih on Sunday (Dec. 12) when she takes the stage for the halftime show at Super Bowl LVII. And, as you might expect, they’re anticipating nothing but the best.

“I expect nothing less than the best from Rihanna,” Elliott tells Billboard. “When Rihanna steps out she will most definitely give 200%. I know she’s working hard and I can’t wait to see it. I know it’s going to be incredible.”

Elliott and Harlow — who co-star in a Doritos commercial along with Elton John that will air during the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs — say they will be on the couch awaiting the big moment just like everyone else.

“Sheesh. I mean, what an icon,” says Harlow about Rihanna’s step into the halftime performer pantheon. “I can’t wait to see what she’s got planned. I know it’s going to be show-stopping. It’s amazing to have someone that’s such a legend still fully relevant and completely important to what’s going on at the moment. I think Rihanna’s incredible.”

As for what songs he wants to hear? Harlow isn’t picky. “The whole catalog,” he says. “Everything.”

Elliott — who performed with Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz during halftime at the 2015 Super Bowl — says game day is a huge event in her house, which is why she’s excited for Rihanna to join the exclusive halftime veterans club.

“My cousins are all Super Bowl fanatics,” Elliott ays of her family’s reaction when the rapper/songwriter/producer got the call for Perry to huddle up for that year’s extravaganza. “I knew it was big, but not to the magnitude that my cousins was like, ‘Oh my God, do you understand what is about to happen?’”

They were so hyped, in fact, that even industry veteran Elliott says she got a bit scared. That said, Elliott thinks it’s only fitting that a huge star like Rihanna is taking the biggest stage during the year’s most tuned-into event. “Doing the Super Bowl is amazing because I don’t think there’s a bigger platform of people that are watching you,” Elliott says. “I was on a high.”

Super Bowl LVII will air on Fox at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

10 Feb 2023

Elvis Costello Pays Tribute to Burt Bacharach During N.Y. Show: ‘It’s Been a Tough Day’

Elvis Costello kicked off his 10-night series at New York’s Gramercy Theatre on Thursday night (Feb 9) by paying paid tribute to his dear friend and collaborator Burt Bacharach a day after the beloved pop composer passed away at 94 due to natural causes.

“It’s been a tough day,” Costello told the sold-out crowd about the loss of his musical compatriot before covering three of Bacharach’s most beloved hits according to Variety. “You know, a really great man left us yesterday. And people say, when somebody reaches a great age, they say, ‘well, it was a good ending,’… it’s never time to say goodbye to somebody if you love ‘em. And I’m not ashamed to say I did love this man. And for everything he gave me, Mr. Burt Bacharach.”

Costello then went on to perform a gentle, acoustic cover “Baby It’s You” — which he said he learned after hearing the Beatles’ 1963 cover — as well as one of Bacharach and lyricist Hal David’s indelible collaborations with Dionne Warwick, “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and a tender, solo piano take on the 1961 Drifters song “Please Stay.”

And while the theme of night one of Costello’s Gramercy run was songs he wrote before the 1977 release of his debut album, My Aim Is True, he promised that when his longtime bandmate Steve Nieve joins him later in the run they would tackle some of the songs that Costello wrote with Bacharach for the film Grace of My Heart and their 1998 joint album, Painted From Memory.

A four-CD box set of Costello and Bacharach’s recorded works, The Songs of Bacharach and Costello, is due out on March 3.

Watch video of the performances below.

10 Feb 2023

Jennifer Lopez Pokes Fun at Ben Affleck’s ‘Happy Face’ After Viral Grammys Meme

Ben Affleck was there to support Jennifer Lopez at the Grammys Sunday (Feb. 5), and now, she’s returning the favor by promoting his new movie — but not without poking a little fun at his viral “happy face” in the process.

The actor has been the subject of good-natured jokes for years thanks to his seeming distaste for public events and his glum, “don’t wanna be here” default expression that’s been photographed and meme-ified time and time again. So when Affleck was spotted several times looking, well, miserable at the Grammys, he immediately started going viral all over again.

And while sharing the trailer for the Gone Girl star’s upcoming movie Air on social media, Lopez couldn’t resist making a joke of her own. “My husband’s happy face,” she captioned a homemade meme added to the beginning of the trailer, featuring a still image from the film of Affleck looking tense.

“AIR … cannot wait!” the “Let’s Get Loud” singer wrote Thursday (Feb. 9) of the film, which Affleck both directed and acted in.

J. Lo’s followers loved her gentle dig at the Good Will Hunting actor, with whom she said she had “the best time” at the Grammys in an Instagram post following the ceremony. “He was bored to death at the Grammys, but we all love him anyways….,” commented one fan, while another wrote, “God Bless Ben!!”

The internet’s fixation with “Sad Affleck” memes dates back to 2016, when shots of the Oscar-winning star looking downcast during an interview for Batman v Superman were picked up and passed around by folks on social media who felt both amused and endeared by his all too relatable expression. Every time he’s been photographed in a similar light — morosely fumbling with a large Dunkin Donuts order or taking a dispirited cigarette break, to name some examples — the meme-making continues.

The Grammys were no exception. “Sad Affleck” lovers had a ball cracking jokes about the frowning actor being a symbol for “every introvert everywhere.” One person tweeted, “however bad of a day you’re having, I promise you’re not as miserable as Ben Affleck at the Grammys right now.”

See Jennifer Lopez’s customized trailer of Ben Affleck’s new movie below:

10 Feb 2023

Britney Spears Says Latest Rumors About Her Health Make Her ‘Sick to My Stomach’

Britney Spears says she’s fed up with the rumors. In a pointed Instagram post on Thursday night (Feb. 9), the singer lashed out amid the latest spate of headlines about her private life, writing, “It makes me sick to my stomach that it’s even legal for people to make up stories that I almost died … I mean at some point enough is enough !!! I’m probably going to have to stop posting on Instagram because even though I enjoy doing it, there’s obviously a lot of people who don’t wish me well !!!”

Outlets including TMZ and People reported earlier this week that Spears’ inner circle was so concerned about her health that they planned an intervention for the singer that was canceled at the last minute. At press time, a spokesperson for Spears had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on the reports.

While Spears did not directly address those reports in her Thursday post — which included a slide that read “A state of gratitude will shift you to a higher frequency” — she did say that the stories did not surprise her “at all. Again doing the best I can !!! Again, the conservatorship has been over for almost a year … No folks, it’s not 2007 … it’s 2023 and I’m making my first homemade lasagna at home !!!”

“I finally got my fireplace to work in my living room !!! As my hubby says it best: don’t believe everything you read !!!” she concluded. “All that love right back at ya !!!”

Back on Jan. 28, Spears addressed a reported police wellness check, throwing water on the reports about her health. “Yep that’s me … I’m alive and well,” she tweeted alongside a video that appeared to be filmed at a fitness center and also addressed her most recent Instagram leave-taking. “But not really convinced on these health juices. I mean there are SO MANY !!!”

“I shut down my Instagram because there were too many people saying I looked like an idiot dancing and that I looked crazy. Honestly I was doing my best but it disturbed me to see people freely talk about it on TV … yep it hurt my feelings,” Spears said in a second tweet.

“I’m shocked as hell that when I took my Instagram down fans got worried and sent the cops to my house … it really was uncalled for … l adore my fans but for those who did that aren’t real fans and I honestly felt like it was a way to make me look bad !!!”

On Jan. 26, Spears responded to reports that police had been called to her home earlier in the week after she deleted her Instagram and, reportedly prompting fans to call the police out of concern for her well-being.

“As everyone knows the police were called to my home based on some prank phone calls. I love and adore my fans but this time things went a little too far and my privacy was invaded,” Spears wrote in a post. “The police never entered my home and when they came to my gate they quickly realized there was no issue and left immediately.”

TMZ was the first to report the news about the check, and stated that the Ventura Co. Sheriff’s Office started receiving calls about Spears, which prompted, “authorities [to visit her] home out of an abundance of caution”; the 41-year-old singer had deleted (and reinstated) her Instagram account multiple times prior to the new incident.

Spears continued in her note, “This felt like I was being gaslit and bullied once the incident made it to the news and being portrayed once again in a poor and unfair light by the media. During this time in my life, I truly hope the public and my fans who I care so much about can respect my privacy moving forward.”

See Spears’ post below.

10 Feb 2023

Rihanna Tells Patrick Mahomes ‘I Still Think You’re Great‘ After Super Bowl LVII QB Punk’d in Interview

Rihanna is down to joke, but the Super Bowl LVII halftime queen wasn’t laughing when league MVP and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was tricked into thinking she had called him the G.O.A.T. “That’s so mean. He is mean, O.K.,” Rihanna said when she was told about a bit where former NFL wideout Brandon Marshall punk’d Mahomes during a press event on Wednesday.

Marshall caught up with RihRih during her press day on Thursday (Feb. 9) and described how he told Mahomes that the singer had heaped praise on him before revealing that he was lying.

“I’m so sorry you went through that,” Rihanna said with a smile when Marshall asked her to actually say something nice about Mahomes. “I still think you’re great.”

“Rihanna came out and said that you are the greatest quarterback ever. Hearing that how does that make you feel?,” Marshall asked Mahomes during the QB’s Q&A session earlier this week. “It makes you feel great,” Mahomes responded. “Whatever Rihanna says is like the gospels. So I’m glad that she went with me for that honor.”

The two-time Super Bowl QB then turned KC red when Marshall added, “She didn’t. I was messing with you.”

Jokes aside, Rihanna is gearing up to blow minds on Sunday (Feb. 12) in Glendale, Arizona when Mahomes takes on the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game in her first live performance in seven years. “It feels like it could have only been now,” she said during a sit down with Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis to talk about her Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show set.

“When I first got the call to do it again this year, I was like, [hisses] ‘You sure?’ I’m three months postpartum. Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this,” she said. “But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all … It’s important for my son to see that.”

Check out Rihanna’s response and the original Mahomes video below.

10 Feb 2023

SZA Is Billboard’s 2023 Woman of the Year

After dominating 2022 with viral TikTok tracks, Grammy wins and, of course, her seven-week Billboard 200 chart-topping sophomore album S.O.S., SZA has officially been named Billboard‘s 2023 Woman of the Year.

The honor will be given at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, which will take place March 1 at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. 

“Since she burst onto the scene in 2017, SZA has defied genres and continually released raw, powerful songs which have landed her music on the Billboard charts,” said Hannah Karp, Billboard’s Editorial Director, in a press statement. “The release of her latest album, ‘SOS’ has solidified her as a distinct force in contemporary R&B, and catapulted her into superstardom. We can’t wait to honor her as Woman of the Year.”

In 2017, SZA unveiled her major-label debut album Ctrl, which was celebrated by fans for its raw and honest lyrics, paired with the singer’s honeyed vocals. The album landed No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums, No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and went on to be certified three times platinum by the RIAA. Ctrl has remained on the Billboard 200 chart since its release and holds the record for the longest run for any Black female artist’s debut album.

In the five years since, SZA won a Grammy for best pop duo/group performance for her Doja Cat collaboration “Kiss Me More” and received the Rulebreaker Award at the 2019 Billboard Women in Music Awards.

On Dec. 9, the 33-year-old dropped her long-awaited sophomore album, S.O.S., which immediately debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, her first chart-topper. With more than 400 million streams in the U.S. during release week, S.O.S. became the second-largest streaming week for a female artist and third-largest of 2022 among all albums.

SZA is gearing up to embark on her first arena tour this year, which is slated to kick off just before the WIM ceremony on Feb. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.

The star joins previous Women of the Year honorees including Olivia Rodrigo (2022), Cardi B (2020), Billie Eilish (2019), Ariana Grande (2018), Selena Gomez (2017), Madonna (2016), Lady Gaga (2015) and Taylor Swift (2014).

The event, hosted by Quinta Brunson, will recognize music’s top female artists, producers and executives for their contributions to the music industry, their communities and beyond. Becky G will be honored with the Impact Award presented by American Express, Doechii with the Rising Star Award presented by Honda, Ivy Queen with the Icon Award, Kim Petras with the Chartbreaker Award, Latto with the Powerhouse Award, Lainey Wilson with the Rulebreaker Award, Lana Del Rey with the Visionary Award, and TWICE with the Breakthrough Award.

Tickets are available to the public, and can be purchased via Ticketmaster here, with more information at billboardwomeninmusic.com. Prices range from $85 to $275. Sponsors for the 2023 Women in Music Awards include American Express, Honda, Mugler, Nationwide, Bose and Smirnoff ICE.