Music News

04 Jan 2023

From Bad Bunny to Rihanna, Who Should Headline Coachella 2023? Vote!

We’re only three and a half months away from the 2023 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which means this year’s headliners should be announced any day now.

However, before that big reveal comes, we want to know who you think should take the main stage in Indio, Calif. this April.

Frank Ocean is, obviously, the best bet for this year’s festival in the desert, considering he was originally supposed to headline the 2020 iteration along with Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott before it was canceled by the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. He’s also previously been announced as one of the main acts this April, so if that holds true, two other headliners will be joining him on the lineup.

Both Bad Bunny and Rihanna are also strong contenders among Billboard‘s predictions. The former capped off 2022 as the top touring act of the year, with his combined El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo & World’s Hottest Tour grossing a total of $373.5 million and selling 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows while the latter will make her triumphant return to performing just two months ahead of Coachella by headlining the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Could Bad Bunny walk back his plan for a quiet 2023 to bring Un Verano Sin Ti to the desert? Will Rihanna double down on her hotly anticipated Super Bowl show by turning Coachella into RiRichella?

Other possibilities for headliners include Dua Lipa, SZA and Drake — the latter of whom last headlined back in 2015 before he ever had a single Hot 100 No. 1 under his belt. BLACKPINK could also make a victorious return to the Empire Polo Club in between the Asia dates of the Born Pink World Tour after making history at the festival four years ago. Even still, less likely candidates such as Olivia Rodrigo, Kate Bush or someone else entirely could serve as this year’s biggest surprise.

Vote for who you want to see headline Coachella 2023 in Billboard‘s poll below.

04 Jan 2023

Vic Mensa is Bringing Clean Water to Over 200,000 Ghanaians

Vic Mensa (and his dad) are bringing clear water to their homeland.

Born Victor Kwesi Mensah, the Chicago-made rapper and creative remembers his roots, capitalizing on his success and resources to bring a better quality of life for his fellow Ghanaians through access to clean water. Mensa visited his ancestral village alongside his father who was born in Ghana and heads a non-profit called Let Them Drink Water, and bore witness to the community’s severe water contamination issue. The pair decided to develop a solution, by building a new Borehole — a manual pump which provide clean water, but are unfortunately rare across Africa. After one successful borehole that brought access to water for hundreds of thousands, Mensa decided to build two more in nearby villages.

“We’re building 3 Boreholes in different communities in Ghana to provide clean drinking water; the first being the Asokore Zongo in Koforidua where my family lives, which is already built. The other locations are a nearby community called Efiduase and then our ancestral village in the Volta Region Amedzope,” Mensa said in a statement. “Most people in communities like this in Ghana experience constant water borne diseases.”

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To help fund the boreholes that can cost up to $15,000 each to build, Mensa partnered with the Black Star Line Festival taking place in Accra Ghana on Jan. 6. The festival will feature performances from Mensa, Chance the Rapper, Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie, Tobe Nwigwe, Asakaa Boys and M.anifest. “This festival is about connecting Black people of the globe,” he told TMZ in an interview. “Beyond all of those colonial boundaries. It’s something that has been on my mind for a long time.”

04 Jan 2023

At the 2023 Grammys, Viola Davis Could Become the 18th EGOT Winner

At the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, Viola Davis could become the 18th person to achieve the EGOT. The Oscar, Tony and Emmy winner is nominated for a Grammy for the first time for best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording.

The other four nominees in the category are all past Grammy winners. Questlove, nominated for Music Is History, is a six-time Grammy winner. Mel Brooks, nominated for All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks, is a three-time Grammy winner – as is Lin-Manuel Miranda, nominated for Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. Jamie Foxx, who rounds out the category with Act Like You Got Some Sense, has won one Grammy.

In 2001, Brooks became the eighth individual to become an EGOT winner.

Davis has won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a dramatic series for How to Get Away With Murder (2015), an Oscar for best supporting actress for Fences (2016) and two Tonys – featured actress in a play for King Hedley II (2001) and lead actress in a play for Fences (2010).

If Davis wins the Grammy – and it’s by no means certain, given that strong field – she would become the third Black woman to complete the EGOT, following Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Hudson.

At 57, Davis would be the seventh-youngest EGOT recipient. Robert Lopez was just 39 when he completed the awards sweep, followed by John Legend (also 39, but closer to 40), Hudson (40), Rita Moreno (45), Goldberg (46) and producer Scott Rudin (53).

04 Jan 2023

A Timeline of Abuse Allegations Against Marilyn Manson

In February 2021, Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood named Marilyn Manson as her alleged abuser.

“I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent,” she shared via Instagram on Feb 1. Wood and Manson had a relationship when the actress was 18 and Manson was 36, and the pair were briefly engaged in 2010.

Manson denied the allegations in his own Instagram statement. “Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misinterpret the past, that is the truth.”

Billboard made earlier attempts to reach Manson for comment through his now former management, but has not received any responses.

Following Wood’s statement, a number of other women went public with their own claims against Manson, but his history with abuse allegations stems back nearly 25 years. See below for a full timeline.

04 Jan 2023

YSL Rapper Lil Keed Cause of Death Revealed

Following his death in May at age 24, YSL rapper Lil Keed’s cause of death was revealed to have stemmed from eosinophilia, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner.

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Eosinophilia is a rare condition in which the number of eosinophils — a type of white blood cell — is greatly increased, according to cancer.gov. TMZ reported that Lil Keed complained to friends about stomach pains in the days preceding his death. He was eventually hospitalized one evening due to the severe pain, with reports that his liver and kidney began to fail, suffering a seizure on his way to the hospital. Hours later, the budding rapper died.

“He had been sick in bed for 4 days with complaints of stomach and back pains,” the coroner’s report reads, per People. “His brother noted that the decedent’s eyes were jaundiced and drove him to the hospital in a private vehicle.”

The Atlanta-born rapper was one of seven children and brother to fellow rapper LilGotit, who took to Instagram following Keed’s death in the spring. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy,” Gotit wrote in a post alongside a photo of the siblings.

Keed’s family has yet to comment publicly on the reported cause of death.

Keed signed to Young Thug’s YSL, an imprint of 300 Entertainment, in 2018. The rapper released two projects on the label, including his song “Nameless,” which peaked at No. 42 on Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Keed’s critically acclaimed 2019 debut album Long Live Mexico peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200. He was also featured on Young Thug’s Slime Language 2 album, which topped the Billboard 200 in 2021.

May 2022 was a tragic month for the YSL crew, with the arrests of Young Thug and rapper Gunna coming just days before Keed’s death. Keed himself was not among those named in the indictment.

04 Jan 2023

One Direction Fans Are Calling Out a Mistake in Netflix’s ‘Kaleidoscope’

Eagle-eyed One Direction fans noticed a boy band-related oversight in Netflix’s new heist series, Kaleidoscope.

In the show’s “Green” episode, criminal Judy (played by Rosaline Elbay) is attempting to smuggle SIM cards to her boyfriend Stan (Peter Mark Kendall), who is in prison. Judy is caught by a prison guard, and goes on to bribe her with One Direction concert tickets.

The tickets however, are for a show on March 6, 2016, months after the band had already gone on hiatus. “IT HURTS BEING A DIRECTIONER,” one Twitter user wrote in response.

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During their time as a group, the X Factor-born boy band had four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including “What Makes You Beautiful” (No. 4) and “Best Song Ever” (No. 2).

Zayn Malik left the group in March 2015, and remaining members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson went on to announce one final album as a foursome, Made in the A.M., before revealing that they will be going on a hiatus in August 2015.

In March 2021, Styles became the first One Direction member to win a Grammy Award. He took home best pop solo performance for “Watermelon Sugar,” the No. 1 single from his Fine Line album.

04 Jan 2023

Ellie Goulding Shoots Down Years-Old Rumor She Cheated on Ed Sheeran With Niall Horan

No love triangle here! Over the weekend, Ellie Goulding dismissed speculation that she once cheated on Ed Sheeran with Niall Horan.

Before heading out for her New Year’s Eve plans, the singer posted a casual TikTok video dancing to Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” captioning it, “Quick boob check then we’re birthday groovin.” (Goulding’s 36th birthday was actually one day prior, on Dec. 30.)

However, a follower tried to stir up trouble in the comments section of the breezy post by writing, “can’t believe u cheated on ed with niall but slay fr.” But Goulding was having none of it, and promptly responded, “False!!!! But also slay.”

The accusation dates back nearly a decade, when the Halcyon Days singer was spotted holding hands with Sheeran in the audience of the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards just one week after a U.K. tabloid claimed she was packing on the PDA with Horan during an outing to England’s V Festival.

At the time, Goulding insisted she and Sheeran were just friends by tweeting, “I love that holding hands with my friends means we’re an item. In that case I am in many relationships. Lover not a hater. #whatthef—.” But the “Shape of You” crooner said otherwise in a radio interview one month after the VMAs. “I mean, normal people don’t hold hands if they’re just friends,” he said. “It was going on. And now it’s not.”

The fire of gossip was further stoked the next year when Sheeran released “Don’t” as the second single from his 2014 album X. On the track, he details an on-and-off relationship with a fellow singer that ends in infidelity, and another British outlet printed that the song was about Goulding. (Sheeran later told Entertainment Weekly he “never actually confirmed” who “Don’t” was written about and forced the paper to take the story down.)

In a 2015 profile for Elle UK, Goulding maintained she and Sheeran were never an item, saying, “I did go on a few dates with Niall, but I was never in a relationship with Ed. I have absolutely no idea where that came from and why it was turned into such a big thing.”

Nowadays, Sheeran is raking in millions on his global Mathematics Tour while Goulding recently took the stage at the 2022 Earthshot Prize Ceremony during Prince William and Kate Middleton’s December trip to Boston. For his part, Horan is about to take his freshman spin in the giant red chairs of The Voice when the competition series’ 23rd season premieres in March.

See Goulding’s final word on the Sheeran/Horan rumors below.

04 Jan 2023

Kelly Clarkson Sounds Sweet as ‘Honey’ on Blake Shelton Cover

Kelly Clarkson wants to spread some sweetness in the new year.

To kick off the Wednesday (Jan. 4) episode of her namesake talk show, the singer serenaded the audience with a soulful rendition of Blake Shelton‘s 2011 hit “Honey Bee.”

Accompanied by her band Y’all, the “Since U Been Gone” singer was surrounded by honey-colored stage lights and injected the song by her fellow Voice coach with an appropriate country twang. “You’ll be my soft and sweet/ I’ll be your strong and steady/ You’ll be my glass of wine/ I’ll be your shot of whiskey/ You’ll be my sunny day/ I’ll be your shade tree/ You’ll be my honeysuckle/ I’ll be your honey bee,” she passionately sang.

“Honey Bee” was released as the lead single from Shelton’s sixth studio album, Red River Blue. The country track peaked at No. 13 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

Later on in the show, Clarkson invited fellow American Idol alum Justin Guarini to share special memories from his time on the show.

“It’s wild because we got shot out of the cannon, but I just loved being around and the fact that we were at the beginning of things, nobody knew what was up,” he reflected. “The stakes weren’t super high for us. We got to hang out so much.”

“If you ever have the chance to see Kelly and she says, ‘Hey, do you want to play a card game?’ Don’t,” he later advised actress Alexandra Daddario, also a guest on the show. “We would hang out and we would play speed because there were huge swaths of time, and I think I may have won twice in the hundreds of time that we played together.”

“I feel like I have natural caffeine in me, so it was really my game,” Clarkson added, to which Guarini said, “It was ridiculous! I just kept coming back for more.”

Watch Clarkson’s cover of “Honey Bee” in the video above.

04 Jan 2023

Lizzo Gushes Over SZA on Instagram: ‘My Actual Sister’

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Lizzo brought her Special tour to the comfort of her fans’ homes on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31), when Lizzo: Live in Concert hit HBO Max.

The Sam Wrench-directed show, which was filmed in November 2022 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., features special guests like Cardi B, Missy Elliot and SZA. To celebrate the moment when SZA appeared onstage to perform a remix of “Special,” Lizzo took to Instagram to honor their friendship.

“My actual sister. I could cry thinking about you right now. Nothing could make special more special than you @sza [red heart emoji],” Lizzo captioned a clip from the performance, in which the two are seen in a loving embrace. “A gift to the world,” SZA tells her Grammy winning bestie onstage. “Thanks so much for even being my friend. I love you. You’re special.”

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Watch the full performance, as well as the rest of the show, in Lizzo: Live in Concert on HBO Max, which you can sign up for here. HBO Max has expanded to two subscription tiers: ad-supported and commercial free. HBO Max’s paid subscriptions start at $9.99 ($99.99 a year) for ad-supported streaming, or $14.99 ($99.99 a year) to watch ad free.

04 Jan 2023

Every Regional Mexican Song to Enter Billboard’s All-Genre Hot 100 Chart

In May 2021, Gera MX and Christian Nodal made Billboard history with their collaboration “Botella Tras Botella,” becoming the first-ever regional Mexican title to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its 64-year history. The country-tinged hip-hop fusion debuted and peaked at No. 60.

“This song did not have a marketing strategy or a plan. It has soul,” Gera MX, a former Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise, previously told Billboard. “I wrote it thinking about someone very important to me and people can tell that it hurt me a lot. I can’t find any other explanation and it’s beautiful. You’re not only showing off your artistic side, but also your human side.”

That same year, two other Regional Mexican titles entered the Hot 100 chart, which blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay, and sales data: Ivan Cornejo’s “Esta Dañada” and Grupo Firme’s “Ya Superame.” 

But it was sibling trio Yahritza y Su Esencia, who as of now, has earned the highest ranking for a regional Mexican song on the chart with “Soy El Unico,” debuting at No. 20 in 2022. The then 15-year-old lead singer’s feat was historic, becoming the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.

“I know that the words are very strong, but honestly, when it comes down to me writing my songs, it’s more like a research process,” Yahritza, who penned the song at 13, explained to Billboard at the time. “I see other people’s stories on TikTok — that’s how I found ‘Soy El Unico,’ because I saw a clip that said, ‘It’s crazy how someone can leave you when you’re the only one who’s best for them.’ No one’s going to believe me when I say that I get my inspiration from TikTok.”

Like “Soy El Unico,” most of these tracks have been fueled by their massive success on TikTok and social media, such as Grupo Frontera’s “No Se Va” last year. The song, which the group released independently and is a Norteño cover of Colombian group Morat’s 2018 single, debuted at No. 99 with 4.8 million U.S. streams (up 43%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 278%) in the Sept. 23-29, 2022, tracking week, according to Luminate.

Their latest collaborations, “Que Vuelvas” and “Bebe Dame,” have earned Carin León and Fuerza Regida, each respectively, their first No. 1s on the Hot 100 dated Jan. 7, 2023.

As of now, only seven Regional Mexican tracks have entered the Hot 100. Prior, only three other regional Mexican acts have visited the chart since its inception in 1958, all through pop songs: Kumbia Kings and A.B. Quintanilla with their collaborative tune “U Don’t Love Me” (2000), and Marco Antonio Solis with his featured role on Enrique Iglesias’ “El Perdedor” (2014).

Check out every regional Mexican song to enter the Hot 100 below: