Music News

21 Mar 2025

PlaqueBoyMax’s Debut EP ‘5$tar Sessions: London’ Is Here: Stream It Now

PlaqueBoyMax continues to make a name for himself with his “In the Booth” series on YouTube. He’s had everyone from Cash Cobain to Will Smith pull up to his studio to lay down some tracks and today he dropped his debut EP centered around his trip to London.

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The 5$tar Sessions: London EP features British rappers Nemzzz, YT, Len, Lancey Foux, and Skepta. It’s only five tracks and 10 minutes long, so it’s not going to take much to give it a spin. While he was out there, YT went viral because he spit a line about an adult actress by the name of Bonnie Blue who once slept over 1,000 men. “I just blew through a thousand like I’m Bonnie Blue,” he rapped as he left the room in shock. However, he changed the line on the official track on the EP to “I just blew through a thousand like it’s nothing new.” Even fans in the comments were stunned with one commenting, “A bar, but at what cost?”

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PlaqueBoyMax has knack for going viral, most notably when he got into brief situation with Fivio Foreign and Lil Tjay over smoking in an Airbnb which resulted in Fivio recording a diss track. He most recently went viral for his session with Will Smith where the two-sport legend recorded a song in one take as he went Big Willie Style in the booth.

Check out the stream and the tracklist below.

  1. “3am” (feat. Nemzzz)
  2. “1000 (spin again)” (feat. YT)
  3. “maggy” (feat. Len)
  4. “bizarre” (feat. Lancey Foux)
  5. “less is more” (feat. Skepta)

21 Mar 2025

Agnez Mo Teams Up With FCTRY LAb for New Shoe Design

Agnez Mo has always been a style icon, and now she’s designing some new footwear.

The Indonesian superstar is teaming up with Omar Bailey’s FCTRY LAb, a footwear innovation studio, as their newest creator partner. For her first-ever shoe design, Agnez is creating a special edition FCTRY LAb KNIGHT RNR with the AM Knight RNR design, and then follow up with her own signature footwear model later this year. She’s currently in the early development process of that new model.

The AM Knight RNR will be available in yellow and matte black in April on FCTRYLab.com. FCTRY LAb has previously worked with stars like NLE Choppa.

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It’s been an exciting few months for Agnez, who teamed up with Philippine girl group BINI in the fall for a remix of “Cherry On Top.” “I’ve always loved the idea of collaborating with people that others least expected,” she told Billboard Philippines of the team-up. “This whole collaboration came out as a surprise to both of our fanbases. We’re very grateful for all the love and support we’ve been getting, from AGnation and also BLOOMs. Again, I do think that this further proves the fact that you get to collaborate and as long as you work with people you love and you like, you’ll make it work. You can definitely make it work.”

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21 Mar 2025

In Canada: Canadian Music Week Founder Sues Conference’s New Owners

The owners of Departure — the conference and festival formerly known as Canadian Music Week (CMW) — are being sued by its former founder/president for breach of contract and unpaid sale fees.

In a notice of action filed with the Ontario Court of Justice this week (March 17), Neill Dixon has commenced a legal proceeding against the owners of Departure, including Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) Canada.

Dixon accuses the companies of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and quantum meruit (a reasonable fee for work done) and seeks damages of $435,428 plus $50,000 in punitive and aggravated damages. The claim states that the new owners have not paid the full sale price of $2,000,000 agreed to in June 2024.

“After 42 years of building an internationally respected Canadian music business, I made the difficult decision to sell and retire, trusting the purchasers to honour their commitments under the Agreement we had between us,” Dixon tells Billboard Canada in a statement. “I have been forced to start a lawsuit to hold them to their end of the Agreement we had between us. It’s disheartening to have decades of dedication and hard work met with such an approach by them.”

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In a statement to Billboard Canada, Loft and OVG confirm they have received the statement of claim and write that they have been negotiating with Dixon over the terms.

“LOFT Entertainment and Oak View Group have received a formal statement of claim from Neill Dixon,” they write. “We have been negotiating with Neill and his counsel for an extended period to finalize our agreed upon terms. If we are unable to reach an agreement, we will explore alternative options.”

Dixon announced his retirement and sale of CMW to Loft and the U.S.-based OVG (which has opened an office in Canada) on the opening day of the conference last summer. In a surprise move before the end of 2024, the new owners announced they would be changing the event’s name to Departure. The festival had been known as Canadian Music Week since 1982, which included Dixon’s entire term as president. During that time, it became known as one of the most important music industry conferences in Canada.

The new owners announced the rebranding at a launch event in November at the conference’s new headquarters, Hotel X in Toronto. The new Departure team — including Loft co-founder Randy Lennox, CEO Jackie Dean and executive producer Kevin Barton as well as OVG Canada president Tom Pistore — outlined a new vision for the festival, expanding the music event to also include comedy, tech, food and more. Some of the confirmed speakers for this year include Matty Matheson, Bryan Adams and Dallas Green.

Dixon was at the launch event, where Lennox and Barton announced they would honour the former CMW co-founder with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s festival, which takes place from May 6-11, 2025.

Now, however, Dixon claims the new owners have not honoured their monetary commitments to him.

Full story here. – Richard Trapunski

IFPI Global Music Report 2025 Touts Canadian Revenue Growth, International Punjabi Music Push

Canada’s music market is staying strong, with revenues growing to $660.3 million USD in 2024.

That’s according to the IFPI, which represents the global recording industry. IFPI’s 2025 State of the Industry report again lists Canada as the 8th largest music market in the world.

Canada’s 2024 revenues saw relatively small growth of just 1.5%, but the report notes that the 2024 figures are in comparison to an unusually high 2023, which saw a large one-off performance rights revenue payment.

Meanwhile, Canada’s most popular musician, Drake, saw his global standing rise. During a tough year for the superstar’s reputation, his worldwide popularity increased, rising from No. 4 to No. 2 in the IFPI’s artist rankings, behind only Taylor Swift.

The report highlights Warner Canada and Warner India’s joint venture, 91 North, which has been successfully growing the profile of South Asian music in Canada and abroad. In the report, Warner India’s Jay Mehta and Warner Canada’s Kristen Burke discussed how the collaborative label came to be. Mehta says the idea came to him during lockdown when he noticed the explosion in Punjabi talent coming out of Canada.

“While it was already a big consumption market, Canada was newly becoming a big creator market, which was consistently making great Indian sounds,” Mehta said. He connected with Burke on the idea of a label that could support South Asian artists in Canada who have huge followings in India.

“Jay and I quickly got together and recognized that there was a real opportunity here to be the first label to come together to really support these artists,” Burke added.

Read more on the Canadian insights in the IFPI Global Music Report here. – Rosie Long Decter

Canadian Country Music Association Adds Francophone Artist of the Year Category for 2025

The Canadian Country Music Association is adding a new category for Francophone Artist of the Year.

The inaugural award will be presented during Country Music Week in Kelowna, B.C., this September. It marks a milestone addition for the CCMA Awards, recognizing both the increasing impact of Francophone artists in Canadian country and the popularity of country music in Quebec.

“The addition of the Francophone Artist of the Year category is a significant step forward in celebrating the diversity within Canadian country music,” said Amy Jeninga, CCMA President, in a statement. “We are thrilled to provide a dedicated platform that recognizes and supports Francophone country artists, ensuring their contributions receive the attention they deserve.”

The eligibility period runs from March 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025. Seventy percent of the act’s released repertoire during that period must be in French.

The new award, which joins the 15 established artist awards at the CCMAs, will shine a light on Francophone artists who might not be getting a national spotlight.

Quebec has a robust Francophone country scene. The province’s ADISQ Gala presents an annual award for Country Album, with recent winners and nominees including Acadian group Salebarbes, singer-songwriter Alex Burger and multi-instrumentalist duo Hauterive.

Francophone country artists are also spread across the country beyond Quebec. The Ontario equivalent of the CCMAs, the Country Music Association of Ontario, already features a similar award dedicated to Francophone artists. Reney Ray of Kapuskasing, Ontario, took home the 2024 CMA Ontario Award for Francophone artist of the year.

The new award at the CCMAs is the latest example of major Canadian music associations adapting to account for the country’s musical and cultural diversity.

Read more here. – RLD

21 Mar 2025

Drake on Playing Ping-Pong With Michael Jordan: ‘He’ll Gamble on Anything’

It’s no secret that Drake enjoys gambling, and his partnership with Australian online gambling company Stake is a testament to that.

The Toronto rapper posted of clip of him sitting down with the company for their online series House Money, where he answered questions about his biggest win and his gambling GOAT.

When asked about his biggest win, Drake revealed that he once won around $40 million playing roulette one night while in Dave & Buster’s. “I was getting this random girl to call roulette numbers for me,” he said. “I hit like eight out of 10 numbers and I think by the end of the night, we had won like $40 million. It was crazy. The craziest night ever gambling for sure. I remember getting back to my hotel, we were still winning.”

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Drake then talked about playing intense games of ping-pong with Michael Jordan during All-Star Weekend in Toronto one year. “Controversial take, but probably Michael Jordan,” he said with a laugh. “He’ll gamble on anything. I think I remember it was All-Star Weekend in Toronto and he had an event to be at. I beat him at ping-pong a couple times and he just wouldn’t leave the ping-pong table. He kept just betting me, like, bands. 10 bands, 20 bands. Just kept betting because he just couldn’t stomach the loss, you know? He’s definitely not a quitter. I respect him deeply for his gambling nature. So, yeah, I’d say Michael Jordan’s definitely one-of-one.”

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In other Drake news, his joint album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PartyNextDoor currently sits at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and his lawsuit against UMG is in full swing.

21 Mar 2025

Billboard Women in Music Playlist: 60 Songs That Define the Moment

Women in music don’t just take up space; they define it. They set the trends, move the culture and rewrite the rules in real time. As we gear up for Billboard Women in Music 2025, happening Saturday, March 29, at Inglewood, California’s YouTube Theater, we’re celebrating the artists and industry leaders who are shaping the sound of today and tomorrow.

Join us at Billboard Women in Music 2025 – get your tickets now! Get Tickets → HERE

This year’s honorees represent a powerful range of voices and genres. Doechii is our Woman of the Year, while Muni Long is our Rising Star presented by Honda; aespa is Group of the Year, Megan Moroney earns Rulebreaker, and Angela Aguilar is honored with Breakthrough. Tyla takes home Impact, GloRilla claims Powerhouse, and Meghan Trainor is recognized as Hitmaker. Erykah Badu receives the Icon award, Jennie is honored as a Global Force, and ANNA and Charlotte Cardin share Global Women of the Year – Billboard. Gracie Abrams is named Songwriter of the Yea

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Beyond the music, Tina Knowles will be honored as Mother of the Year, recognizing her influence not just as the woman behind some of music’s biggest stars — including her superstar daughter Beyoncé — but as a cultural architect in her own right. From shaping Destiny’s Child to her philanthropy and creative ventures, her legacy extends far beyond entertainment. She’s now sharing her journey in her upcoming book, Matriarch, reflecting on motherhood, leadership and the power of community.

The night will also feature a lineup of presenters including Julia Michaels, Mickey Guyton, Kali Uchis, Summer Walker, Madison Beer, Tanner Adell, Zara Larsson, Becky G, Suki Waterhouse and Victoria Monét, all coming together to celebrate the impact of women in music. Laverne Cox will take the stage as host, leading a night dedicated to honoring the talent, creativity and influence of women across the industry.

To mark the occasion, we’ve curated a 60-song Billboard Women in Music playlist featuring the artists shaping this moment. With songs from honorees and presenters alike, it’s a celebration of music in every form — whether it’s R&B, pop, country, rap, K-pop or reggaetón. No matter the genre, the energy is the same: fearless, forward-thinking, and impossible to ignore.

Listen to the playlist below, and don’t miss Billboard Women in Music 2025 on March 29. Get your tickets now at billboardwomeninmusic.com.

21 Mar 2025

Spotify’s New ‘Concerts Near You’ Playlists Show Users Which Artists Are Playing in Their Area

Spotify continued its push into the live music business this week with the launch of Concerts Near You, a personalized playlist designed to help artists market and build awareness for their upcoming shows.

Company officials say the playlist will update every Wednesday with 30 new tracks from artists performing near Spotify users based on the users’ addresses. The tracks are “inspired by user’s listening habits,” a press release announcing Concerts Near You explains, noting that each playlist includes event details and links to purchase tickets via “expandable track rows.”

“With this launch, Spotify is aiming to streamline concert discovery, reducing the need to jump between platforms to find shows, track ticket availability, and coordinate plans with friends,” reads a blog post announcing the new feature.

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Spotify has long sought a foothold in the live music ecosystem, often arguing that its listener data is a powerful indicator for ticket sales forecasts and locating new audiences. In 2022, company officials began experimenting with tools that would allow it to sell pre-sale tickets directly to users but saw limited penetration due, in large part, to Ticketmaster’s large market share of U.S. venue contracts. The two companies briefly competed, but Spotify now links to Ticketmaster for some of its current listings and collects an affiliate fee for each sale.

The playlists and show listings are shareable with other Spotify listeners, explained Charlie Hellman, vp/global head of music product at Spotify, who noted in a statement that “this new playlist not only makes it easier for fans to find shows nearby, it also gives artists a powerful new way of selling more tickets and filling venues with the audiences who love their music most.”

Personalized Concerts Near Me playlist can be found here or by searching “concerts” on the platform. The playlists are accessible to all of Spotify’s global users.

21 Mar 2025

*NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’ & Iconic Music Video Get a Deep Dive on Vevo’s ‘Footnotes’ Series

*NSYNC fans got a special treat on Friday (March 21), when Vevo chose “Bye Bye Bye” as the subject of their newest Footnotes episode, giving an inside look at the beloved track on its 25th anniversary.

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The song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release in 2000, and appeared on the Billboard 200 chart-topping album, No Strings Attached. The project stayed atop the tally for eight weeks. It won for best pop video at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards (where *NSYNC performed the song) and scored a record of the year Grammy nomination.

In the four-minute deep dive into the track and its corresponding music video, the Footnotes clip explains that the visual was inspired by the No Strings Attached cover art, leading to the puppet storyline.

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The four-minute inside look also shares a number of fun facts about the Darrin Henson-choreographed music video, including that the puppet strings holding the band members are bungee cords and the high-energy train scene is completely real, captured by a helicopter and steadicam, with Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone doing their own stunts.

Additionally, the car JC Chasez drives in the video is a red Dodge Viper RT/10. When the superstar told director Wayne Isham that his favorite car chase scene was Robert DeNiro’s moment in Ronin, the stuntdriver crew from the film had been hired to coordinate the scene.

“Bye Bye Bye” got a resurgence in 2024, due to its appearance in the Deadpool & Wolverine movie.

Watch the full Vevo Footnotes episode about *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” below.

21 Mar 2025

Lizzo & Lil Nas X Set to Headline 2025 Outloud Music Festival at WeHo Pride

Pride Month might still be a few months away, but the city of West Hollywood is ready to kick the celebrations off right with a little help from a pair of pop stars.

On Friday (March 21), Outloud Music Festival announced that Lizzo and Lil Nas X will serve as the weekend’s headliners. Taking place May 31 and June 1 at WeHo Pride, the annual festival will also feature performances from special musical guests Kim Petras, Honey Dijon, Paris Hilton, their return to WeHo Pride in 2025, Shygirl, Pabllo Vittar, Rebecca Black, Empress Of and more.

“At a time when our rights and visibility continue to be challenged, it’s more important than ever for the LGBTQ+ community, allies, organizations, and advocates to come together in solidarity,” Jeff Consoletti, OUTLOUD’s founder and executive producer, said in a statement. “This festival is a place where we celebrate and empower queer artists on a massive scale. As we continue to grow, so does our impact in bringing the LGBTQ+ community to the forefront of entertainment.”

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The news comes amid Lizzo’s big comeback — with the releases of her latest song “Still Bad” and the announcement of her forthcoming album Love in Real Life, Lizzo recently declared that she wants to “make real music with radical joy” in the coming months, while also claiming the allegations of sexual harassment leveled at her in 2023 were “supposed to destroy” her. “It has only set me free,” she wrote on X. “Now I know none of this is real. The only thing that’s real is the love that I share with my family, my friends, nature, my fans, in Real Life.”

Lil Nas X, meanwhile, has been hard at work releasing new music off his forthcoming album Dreamboy. After releasing five new songs in a row in mid-March, the rapper dropped his latest single “Lean On My Body” on Friday. The fan-favorite track was first teased by Lil Nas all the way back in 2022, a fact he reminded his fans of when he reposted the original clip on his X.

Check out the full 2025 Outloud lineup below:

21 Mar 2025

Megan Thee Stallion Says a Doechii Collaboration Is On Her ‘Album Wish List’ for ‘Act III’

Thee Houston Hottie is hoping to team up with the Swamp Princess. While hanging out with fans on a recent TikTok livestream, Megan Thee Stallion revealed that Doechii is on her list of dream collaborators, with the former currently working on the third act in her Megan album series.

The topic of a team-up with the “Denial Is a River” rapper first came up as Meg gave Hotties an update on her next LP. “Act III is being made,” she told fans on the live. “I’m really just trying to figure out who do I want to do features with at this point in life. I only want to do features with people that … one, I haven’t done a feature with yet, and two, that I listen to on my own time — people that I actually, you know, f— with.”

When viewers started suggesting a certain Florida-born star’s name in the chat, the “Hiss” spitfire said excitedly, “I see Doechii, bi—, I love Doechii.”

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“I do want to do a song with Doechii,” Ms. Stallion added. “That’s on my list. That’s on my album wish list.”

But while Meg did confirm she does have a new song and music video in the works, she also said that she has “no song right now” that would make sense for Doechii to guest on. “I feel like Doechii would be the type of person that you would have to be in the studio to make a song with,” Meg explained. “I would like to hear a beat that she would like to rap over, and also I’m like challenging myself to rap over beats that I wouldn’t normally rap over without losing myself.”

Doechii has certainly been in high demand in recent months, with the musician recently becoming the third woman to ever win best rap album at the Grammys. She is also Billboard‘s Woman of the Year for 2025 and will be honored at the March 29 Women in Music ceremony in Los Angeles.

Thee Stallion’s Megan: Act II dropped in October last year, about four months after the original Megan debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in July. The rapper is now gearing up to perform at April’s Coachella, an event she has personally dubbed “Megchella.”

The top billing of this year’s festival features Lady Gaga, Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott, and there’s one headliner Meg is particularly excited to see take the stage in the desert. “I definitely am going to see Lady Gaga,” she told fans on the live. “Lady Gaga is the motherf—ing girl.”

21 Mar 2025

Shawn Mendes Approves of Bad Bunny’s Steamy Calvin Klein Campaign

Bad Bunny recently turned up the heat for a new series of Calvin Klein campaign photos, and Shawn Mendes gave the snaps his stamp of approval.

In the photos posted earlier this week, the Puerto Rican superstar poses in the “Iconic from every angle” campaign, shirtless and stripped down to black and white briefs, giving fans a closer look at his tattoos and toned physique.

“guapo,” Mendes commented on the post, echoing fans’ sentiments about the steamy photos. “Guapo” is the Spanish word for “handsome” or “good-looking.” See the post, and Mendes’ comment, here.

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While the “In My Blood” singer’s comment is likely just a cheer of support for his friend and fellow superstar, Mendes has been open in recent months about exploring his sexuality as he gets older.

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“I was really young when I started. I was 15 years old… The truth is that I didn’t get to do a lot of 15-year-old things and discover parts of myself that you do at 15,” the 26-year-old star explained in October during his For Friends and Family tour at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. “Since I was really young there’s this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it so long. I think it’s kind of silly, because I think sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes.”

He continued, “The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don’t really know sometimes and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that. And I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things… And that’s all I really want to say about that for now.”