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‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Makes Top 5 Debut on Billboard’s Cast Albums Chart

The original Broadway cast recording of Maybe Happy Ending – led by Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winner Darren Criss and Helen J Shen – scores the year’s highest debut on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart, as the set enters at No. 5 on the list dated March 29.

Maybe Happy Ending was released on March 14 via streaming services and to purchase as a digital download album, while its CD release is slated for May 16 and a vinyl release is due on June 13. Will Aronson and Hue Park wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics, while the album was produced by Deborah Abramson, Ian Kagey and Aronson.

Maybe Happy Ending began its life on stage in Seoul, South Korea in 2016 and was later produced in Japan and China as well. It opened on Broadway at New York’s Belasco Theatre on Nov. 12, 2024, starring Criss and Shen as obsolete Helperbot robots who meet cute and fall in love. The show has drawn rave reviews, with The New York Times calling it “supersmart” and “astonishing,” Entertainment Weekly said the musical “dazzles with its love story and astounds with its visual accomplishments,” and USA Today said it was “wildly inventive and profoundly moving.”

Shen makes their Broadway debut in Maybe Happy Ending, while this is the fourth Broadway show for Criss – but his first originating a role in a musical production. He previously appeared on Broadway in the revival of the play American Buffalo (in 2022) and as a replacement in the revivals of the musicals Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015) and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (2012).

Billboard’s Cast Albums chart ranks the most popular cast recordings of the week in the United States, based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. The March 29 chart reflects the tracking week ending March 20. 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.

Maybe Happy Ending Album Cover

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Gorillaz Confirm New Album to Arrive This Year

Just over two years since the arrival of their last record, English virtual band Gorillaz have confirmed that a new album will be arriving in 2025.

Word of the forthcoming LP was shared by frontman Damon Albarn in a nascent interview with French publication Les Inrockuptibles, where the prolific artist also touched on the premiere of his new opera, The Magic Flute II: La Malédiction, alongside his plans for the rest of the year.

“I’m finishing a new Gorillaz album,” Albarn explained. “One opera and one new Gorillaz album seems like enough for 2025! Unless someone accuses me of taking my foot off the gas!”

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Albarn’s Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett reportedly confirmed the news, with an Instagram account focused on the band sharing a DM from the musician in which he stated, “Yes, the new album is coming out this year.” That same post also noted that Albarn confirmed to a French podcast the record would be completed in “6 more weeks.”

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The current influx of French press from Albarn shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially given that his new opera premiered at Paris’ Théâtre du Lido on Thursday (March 27), and will run until Sunday (March 30). The production is a rather ambitious one, with The Magic Flute II: La Malédiction serving as the sequel to Mozart’s 1791 opera, The Magic Flute.

“The idea of me writing an opera and for it to be a continuation of The Magic Flute sounds ridiculous, it was and is, not only was I grappling with the genius of Mozart but I had Goethe to contend with too!!” Albarn said in a statement. “I suppose I took a relatively reductionist approach to the question, how the fuck do I do this? The answer came from a surprising source but one no less brilliant, Kraftwerk.”

Gorillaz last released a new album in 2023, with Cracker Island serving as their eighth record. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for best alternative music album at the 2024 Grammys.

Albarn has remained busy since the release of the latest Gorillaz record, with Blur releasing The Ballad of Darren – their first album in eight years – in July 2023. It peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard 200 (their lowest-charting release since 1995) and hit No. 5 on the Top Alternative Albums chart, and would become their seventh consecutive release to top the U.K. charts.

Meanwhile, neither Gorillaz nor Blur have not made their return to the stage for some time, with the former not appearing live since the 2023 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, and the latter not performing since the 2024 edition of the same event.

Miley Cyrus Notches Two More Platinum Hits With ‘Flowers’ & ‘Used to Be Young’

Miley Cyrus has upped her platinum records to 23. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), her two hits, “Flowers” and “Used to Be Young,” have been certified 7x platinum and platinum, respectively.

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A platinum certification recognizes one million equivalent song units earned. One equivalent song unit, as recognized by the RIAA, is equal to: one digital song sale, or 150 on-demand audio and/or video streams. The RIAA revamped its Gold & Platinum Awards Program on Feb. 1, 2016, growing from a pure sales certification process to one that includes tracks and streams.

In addition to her 23 platinum records, Cyrus also has a diamond song, with her 2010 hit “Party in the U.S.A.” selling or streaming a total of 10 million units in the United States.

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Widely believed to have been written about her ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth, “Flowers” appeared on Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, which dropped in March 2023. The track spent a total of eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, while the album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

At the 2024 Grammys, “Flowers” also won Cyrus her first two Grammys: best pop solo performance and record of the year. She performed the hit at her ceremony, celebrating her win.

Meanwhile, the introspective “Used to Be Young,” looks back on her growth over the course of her career. Watch the music videos for both tracks below.

Morgan Wallen Is Torn on Chloe Fineman’s ‘Sexy Dance’ in New ‘SNL’ Promo

Morgan Wallen is taking the Saturday Night Live stage once again as musical performer, alongside best actress Oscar winner Mikey Madison as host. The duo appear in a hilarious new promo on Thursday (March 27) alongside cast member Chloe Fineman.

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“Mikey, I was so inspired by your dancing in Anora, it actually made me take an exotic dance class,” Fineman tells Madison of he Anora character, a stripper from New York who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.

Fineman then asks Madison if she wants to see her “sexy dance,” to which the actress agrees. The comedian then begins to contort her body awkwardly, before Madison uncomfortably notes, “That’s an interesting take.”

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“I think I like it,” Wallen says, before Madison ultimately joins in on the dance party.

Wallen previously appeared as a musical guest on the iconic sketch comedy program in December 2020. The country superstar is gearing up to release his new album, I’m the Problem, on May 16. Earlier this month, he released two single from the project: the post heartbreak anthem “Just in Case” and the reflective “I’m a Little Crazy.”

Watch the promo below, and catch the full Saturday Night Live episode on March 29 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC, before it begins streaming on Peacock.

NFL Bans ‘Nose Wipe’ Celebration Popularized by Young Thug

The No Fun League is back at it again.

On Monday night (Mar. 26), ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak posted a screenshot from the league’s rules report that was sent out to teams recently highlighting that the “nose wipe” celebration is now deemed unsportsmanlike and will cost teams a 15-yard penalty.

The “nose wipe” will fall under the “violent gesture” category next to celebrations like the throat slash, invisible guns, and sexually suggestive or offensive acts.

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Players like Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb use the celebration often after first downs and touchdowns. And as you can guess, is not a big fan of the rule change, tweeting that he has plenty of celebrations in mind.

Young Thug fan account, ThuggerDaily, which became the go-to source during the Atlanta’s rapper’s lengthy RICO trial, saw the news and proclaimed that Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis finally won.

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“Oh my God Fani Willis won,” he tweeted. “‘Wiping your nose’ as a celebration is now banned from the NFL and will result in a 15 yard penalty for being a ‘violent gesture’ WTF.”

The “nose wipe” has been popularized by rappers like Young Thug and Future who have referenced the gesture in songs and in pictures often used with the words “slime” and “slatt.”

They both can be heard rapping the phrase on “Sup Mate” from Thugger’s 2019 debut album So Much Fun and it essentially means to confront an enemy to maybe rob them or humiliate them in some way, among other things.

We have to get to the bottom of who sent the NFL the Urban Dictionary link.

Larkin Poe Announce 2025 Bloom Tour

Fresh off their appearance on Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea X cruise, Grammy winning sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe have announced their 2025 Bloom tour in support of their new record of the same name.

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Born in Georgia and currently residing Nashville, the pair begin their trek on April 8 in St. Louis, Mo., and run coast to coast with stops across the country. On March 31, days before the tour opens, Larkin Poe and Emmylou Harris are set to perform at Woofstock at City Winery in Nashville.

Bloom follows last year’s Grammy winning album Blood Harmony from 2022. Bloom debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Blues album charts.

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“History isn’t quick to point it out, but Rock ‘n’ Roll has been underpinned by a strong, matrilineal root that has been growing deep for generations, abiding. And now, more than ever, that root is coming to bloom,” a statement attributed to the band reads. “As female songwriters, producers, instrumentalists, and record label owners — we are proud to be standing on the shoulders of the strong women who have come before, and to be a part of the empowered chorus that is climbing to sing from the rooftops. When we won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2024, for the first time ever, that category was represented by a female majority of talent. This is just a taste of what’s coming. In the prophetic words of Shania Twain, ‘let’s go girls.’”

Dates for Larkin Poe’s Bloom Tour 2025 can be found below:

3/31 – Nashville, TN – Woofstock at City Winery with Emmylou Harris
4/8 – St. Louis, MO – The Hawthorn *
4/10 – Kansas City, MO – The Truman *
4/11 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre *
4/12 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot *
4/15 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall *
4/17 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox *
4/18 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom *
4/19 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom *
4/22 – Grass Valley, CA – The Center for the Arts *
4/23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre *
4/25 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore *
4/26 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues *
4/27 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre *
5/8 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer ^
5/9 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club ^
5/10 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza ^
5/12 – Boston, MA – The Wilbur ^
5/14 – Toronto, ONT – The Concert Hall ^
5/16 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue ^
5/17 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre ^
5/22-26 – Cumberland, MD – DelFest †
5/29 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
5/30 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
5/31-June 1 – Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festiva
6/1 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
6/22 – Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes
7/23-27 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest †
9/4-7 – Las Vegas, NV – Big Blues Bender †
10/3 – Miramar Beach, FL – Moon Crush Avett Moon
10/9-12 – Nashville, TN – Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camp
10/17 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
10/18 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
10/19 – Bristol, UK – Bristol Beacon
10/21 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
10/22 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute
10/24 – Paris, France – Salle Pleyel
10/25 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 Poppodium
10/26 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk
10/28 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
10/29 – Stockholm, Sweden – Circus
10/30 – Frederiksberg, Denmark – Falkoner Center
11/1 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
11/2 – Warsaw, Poland – Klub Stodola
11/4 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
11/5 – Munich, Germany – Tonhalle
11/8 – Geneva, Switzerland – Salle De L’Alhambra
11/9 – Nimes, France – La Paloma
11/12 – Lisbon, Portugal – Coliseu Dos Recreios
11/14 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Riviera
11/15 – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 1
11/16 – Bordeaux, France – Le Rocher de Palmer
11/18 – Clermont-Ferrand, France – Le Cooperative de Mai
11/19 – La Rochelle, France – La Sirene
11/21 – Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma

w/ Special Guest Parker Millsap
^ w/ Special Guest Amythyst Kiah
† Festival Appearance

Larkin Poe's Bloom tour

Larkin Poe’s Bloom tour

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J-Pop Singer-Songwriter Hitomitoi Releases ‘Telepa Telepa,’ First Original Album in 8 Years

Hitomitoi dropped her new album Telepa Telepa via Billboard Japan Records on Mar. 26.

The latest release by the Japanese singer-songwriter is her first album of original works since July 2017. The project’s theme is her connection to people and places overseas, which were some of the most memorable things that happened to her over the last eight years. The lead single, “Like A First Kiss,” is a collaboration with Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum from Virginia, and is accompanied by a music video shot in Hong Kong.

The album also includes “Anata to Contigo,” a song written by the Mexican pop band Juanpalitoschinos that expresses their adoration for Japanese pop music, and “Before You Go” featuring by Los Retros from the U.S. West Coast indie label Stones Throw.

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Hitomitoi invited Japanese artists to work on the set as well, including close collaborator Dorian, Yogee New Waves’ Kengo Kakudate, cero’s Shohei Takagi, and track maker Chocoholic.

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The singer-songwriter will celebrate the release of the new album with shows at Billboard Live Osaka and Tokyo, on June 30 and July 3, respectively.

Sauce Walka Mourns Sayso P’s Murder in Lengthy Instagram Post

Sauce Walka mourned the death of his friend and artist Sayso P in a lengthy Instagram post after both rappers were shot in Memphis last week.

“Words or tears can’t explain the loss I feel!” he began. “Splatt, I wish your fat ahh listened to me and stayed in the room. I told you we could smoke that blunt after security and the rest of our familia pull up.. Sosaman told you, ‘F dat weed, wait til we leave an hit Superior first.’ You always so hardheaded blood, but you know I’ma ride wit you regardless. We come together, we leave together. Wish you just went [to] DR with Shimmy and shot off, and skipped this trip to Memphis, but you was to excited I finally agreed to come to da ‘M.’”

He continued, “It’s been 4 years since @tsf1punch_10100 brought you to the familia. Did everything I could to help you change your lifestyle. From Miami to all 50 states, we been mashing and splashing together. I learned a lot from you, young spilla and [I’m] thankful for all the loyalty and support city to city, hood to hood with them sticks rap hustling! You left earth as a rich young boss, you left this earth happy and successful. I’ma make sure the world knows who you really are.”

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He added, “But unfortunately, most our kings and bosses are at war with each other. I hope one day we all stop taking lives from our communities and actually start to enjoy and build better futures for our cultures. But the streets are the streets, so I accept what came with being your big brother. I love you, Splatt.”

Rumors swirled that Sayso P was targeted because he allegedly ran off with $200K; however, his mother tried to clear things up on Facebook. “This is the type of lies and sh– that keep mothers losing our sons,” she wrote. “My son never stole anything. Never ran off with anything. Didn’t have to. Haters set him up but not because he stole a dime. He would give you his last before he stole anything. Please stop spreading rumors.”

Adding, “Let me repeat that, he did not have to take sh– from anyone. Money wasn’t a factor. He was too loyal. Too loyal to the wrong people was his biggest downfall. Haters who were envious killed my baby but I won’t let y’all steal his legacy. People see him with a stack and say anything. That was his norm.”

Sayso P, born Latorian Hunt, was 27 years old.

MGK & Megan Fox Welcome Baby Girl After Split: ‘Our Little Celestial Seed’

Congrats are in order for MGK and Megan Fox, who welcomed their first child together on Thursday (March 27). Kelly revealed the birth of their daughter in a heartfelt post to Instagram with a glimpse of their baby girl.

“She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed,” MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) captioned the post with a photo of his daughter gripping his fingers. “3/27/25.” Congratulatory messages poured into the comment section from fans and some of his music peers.

He added on his IG Story: “We composed the score of the birth. Born into 432 HZ what an epic journey praise God.”

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The baby girl makes MGK a girl dad for the second time, while she is Megan Fox‘s fourth child. Fox has three previous children with her ex-husband, actor Brian Austin Green.

MGK and Fox began dating in 2020 and continued to be on-and-off before parting ways in November 2024, which wasn’t long after she revealed her pregnancy earlier in the month with a post showcasing her baby bump to IG. “Nothing is ever really lost. welcome back,” she wrote.

The former couple attempted to start a family years earlier, but Fox unfortunately suffered a miscarriage in 2022. MGK dedicated his “Twin Flame” performance at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards to his “wife” and “unborn child.”

Brian Austin Green put MGK on blast earlier Thursday when reportedly sharing a DM from the Cleveland native regarding the imminent birth of Kelly and Fox’s daughter.

“Stop asking when our child is gonna be born. you the FEDS,” Kelly wrote to Green, per People. “Quit calling TMZ and focus on that apology you owe me for speaking my name in public. You chose the wrong one to f— with mr child actor. go back to cereal commercials.”

MGK expressed his excitement for becoming a father for the second time in February. “Church was right on time today,” he wrote alongside emojis of a baby bottle and someone holding a baby. “Can’t wait.”

On the music side, MGK paid tribute to his late friend and extreme sports legend Luke “Dingo” Trembath with “Your Name Forever” earlier this month.

Find MGK’s post revealing the birth of his daughter below.

Will Smith Reveals the Advice Jay-Z & Kendrick Lamar Gave Him Before Reviving Rap Career

Will Smith is gearing up to release his first album in 20 years with Based on a True Story, which arrives Friday (March 28). Before digging into the recording process for the project, Smith made two phone calls to a pair of rap titans, soliciting advice from Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar.

Smith sat down with Sway in the Morning for a live SiriusXM interview on Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he revealed the guidance he received from Jay and K. Dot prior to starting his album.

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“Before I started, I made two phone calls. I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick. I was like, ‘Hey, I want to get back in music,” Smith said. “What’s the advice?’ Jay said, ‘Don’t fake your story.’ He was like, ‘You gotta say what’s true for you.”

The multi-hyphenate continued: “He’s like, ‘You’ll be looking at the younger rappers and you want that to be true for you, but you don’t live like that. He was like, ‘Be true to your story. Tell you story.’ That’s where I got the Based On a True Story from Jay.”

When Smith got a hold of Kendrick, he implored him to be brutally honest when it came to his music and “say that s–t you’ve always been f—ing scared to say” on records. “Basically the same thing, be honest. It was scary,” Smith added. “Make the record you want to make. Don’t try to make the record that you think people will like you for. Make the one that’s authentic.”

Based on a True Story boasts 14 tracks and features previously released singles “First Love,” “Beautiful Scars,” “TANTRUM,” “Work of Art,” and “You Can Make It,” as well as collaborations with DJ Jazzy Jeff, Teyana Taylor, his son Jaden Smith and Jac Ross.

Smith will also hit the road for a headlining European tour this summer in support of his first album since 2005’s Lost and Found.

Listen to the clip of Will Smith talking about the advice he got from Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar below.