Music News
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Kevin Durant wants rap fans to stop arguing and enjoy the music. Over the weekend, the Phoenix Suns star took to X to share his opinion on J. Cole‘s latest song “Clouds” in a since-deleted tweet. “I don’t care about none of that fake tough guy sh–,” he quote-tweeted over a post sharing the song. […]
Roberta Flack, the chart-topping, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose string of hits bridged sophisticated pop and vintage soul, died Monday (Feb. 24) at age 88. A product of piano-based classical training and the gospel stylings of the AME Church, Flack signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 after years as an educator and club performer around Washington, D.C.
In January 1970, Flack’s debut album, First Take, arrived on Billboard’s charts, including a No. 195 start on the Billboard 200. Among its eight tracks was a cover of a popular folk song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which emerged as a mainstream hit after Clint Eastwood borrowed it for his film directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, in late 1971. The track became Flack’s fourth career hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1972, and by mid-April, became the singer’s first No. 1. Six weeks at the summit fueled “Face” to the year-end No. 1 Hot 100 honor, and it won Grammy Awards for record and song of the year in 1973. First Take, too, enjoyed spoils, pushing to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a five-week reign.
The following year repeated many of the same triumphs, with another No. 1 Hot 100 single, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and the record of the year Grammy Award. Flack nearly landed both victories for a third consecutive year, as her third and final Hot 100 leader, 1974’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” was also nominated for record of the year.
In all, Flack achieved 18 Hot 100 hits in her career, including six duets with her most frequent collaborator, Donny Hathaway, with classics “The Closer I Get to You” (No. 2) and “Where Is The Love” (No. 5) finding the strongest success. Her last appearance came in 1991, with the Maxi Priest collaboration “Set the Night to Music,” which peaked at No. 6.
Her material touched a new generation, too, through the Fugees’ rendition of “Killing Me Softly” from their seminal album, The Score. The hip-hop trio’s version soared to No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart from chart-topping results across multiple formats, including Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and won a Grammy Award for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group.
To review the legend’s impact across popular music, here’s the official recap of Roberta Flack’s biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Roberta Flack’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, start through Feb. 22, 2025. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.
“If Ever I See You Again”
WNBA star Cameron Brink probably never thought an answer to a red-carpet question would eventually produce the “highlight of her life.” Brink, along with other WNBA future stars, was asked by Complex last April to choose between Kendrick Lamar and Drake at the WNBA draft, and the Stanford alum was the only one to stand […]
A certain Material Girl is still a Jimmy Kimmel Live! virgin, and the late-night host is holding out hope to have Madonna on his show for the very first time. In a new interview with People, the comedian revealed which A-list celebrity he most wants to have as a guest on his show, despite never […]
Billy McFarland‘s against-all-odds comeback festival has an official ticketing partner, location and new date, but skeptics still have plenty of reasons to doubt the convicted fraudster’s claims that Fyre Fest 2 won’t be a repeat of his 2017 disaster in the Bahamas.
On Monday (Feb. 24), Austin-based secondary ticketing site soldout.com announced an exclusive ticketing partnership with Fyre Festival 2, which the release announced was to be held on Isla Mujeres in Mexico from May 30 to June 2, 2025 (roughly a month later than the previously-announced dates of April 25-28). Isla Mujeres is a popular tourist destination in the Caribbean Sea about a 30-minute ferry ride from Cancun, located in the state of Quintana Roo.
Tickets for Fyre Fest 2 start at $1,400 a piece for a four-day pass (airfare and hotel not included) and go as high as $25,000 for artist passes that include backstage access and overnight stays at one of two high-end hotels on the island. There’s even a $1 million package for eight people that McFarland says includes access to luxury villas, a private marina with high-end yachts and a private jet to and from Cancun.
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Fyre is handling the primary sale of tickets through its own internal system and is utilizing soldout.com for secondary sales. On its website, soldout.com guarantees fans a 100% refund of their money if an event is canceled and not rescheduled. Notably, fans seeking a refund for the 2017 festival received pennies on the dollar due to the festival’s bankruptcy.
Andrew Hentrich, president of Soldout.com, affirms that his company does guarantee refunds if the fest is canceled, noting that “all proceeds from Fyre Festival ticket sales on SoldOut.com are held securely and will not be settled with Fyre until after the event has successfully taken place. Additionally, SoldOut.com is fully insured and financially equipped to issue refunds if necessary, ensuring buyers are protected in the event of cancellation or significant changes to the festival date. This policy applies to all events listed on SoldOut.com, not just Fyre Festival.”
McFarland has been teasing Fyre Festival 2 as a redemption project and personal rebrand since being released from prison and into a halfway house in May 2022. McFarland served four years of his six-year sentence after admitting to defrauding investors in the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival, which was promised as a luxury destination music event via extravagant promotion from A-list celebrity influencers. But when ticketholders showed up on Great Exuma island in The Bahamas, they found the event they were promised was totally unrealized. McFarland also pleaded guilty to charges in a later ticket-selling scam.
McFarland promises Fyre Festival 2 will be different, and nailing down a location and locking in a date for the festival are major milestones. A press release also announced that Mexican concert production company LostNights would handle festival logistics.
“FYRE Festival 2 is about the adventure into the unknown, curating elite, once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” McFarland said in a statement. “Soldout.com’s background in the music festival world will ensure that our guests have a seamless ticket-buying process from start to finish. Soldout.com is a great addition to the team which also includes Lostnights, our talented and accomplished festival producer and operator.”
The next step will be securing talent for the festival. Billboard reached out to two of the largest booking agencies for music festivals and both said no one has contacted them from Fyre Festival or LostNights to book musical talent.
Drake and producer Elkan are giving fans a glimpse of how one of the standout tracks on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U came together. Reposted from Elkan’s Instagram, Drake shared a video on his plottttwistttttt IG account of the producer crafting the beat to “Nokia” in a studio in Freetown, Sierra Leone, timestamped on Wednesday, […]
Halsey has yet another trick up their sleeves. The star revealed on Monday (Feb. 24) that she’s releasing a brand new single, titled “Safeword,” on Thursday (Feb. 27).
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To tease the single, Halsey dropped a 13-second preview into the upcoming music video, in which they’re seen rocking black-and-silver studded underwear, a leather jacket and knee-high, stiletto, studded boots. While a guitar-driven beat plays, a man is seen laying on the floor, wearing a leather submission mask. Halsey, the dominatrix, has her foot on his throat before the scene cuts to the singer’s face, exclaiming, “You’re not the boss of me!”
“Safeword” comes just a few months after Halsey dropped their highly anticipated fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator, back in October, featuring singles like “The End,” “Lucky,” “Lonely Is the Muse” and “Ego.”
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Additionally, the superstar is set to embark on her Halsey: For My Last Trick tour this spring. The 32-city Live Nation-promoted outing is slated to kick off on May 10 at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord in Concord, CA and criss-cross the country for shows in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, Charlotte, Toronto, Chicago and St. Louis, before winding down on July 6 at the Yaamava’ Theater in Highland, CA. Del Water Gap, The Warning, Evanescence, Alvvays, Hope Tala, Royel Otis, Sir Chloe, flowerlove, Magdalena Bay and Alemeda are all joining joining on select dates.
See the full list of tour dates here.
Lizzo is on the hunt for authenticity going into her next era, with the hitmaker dropping a new music teaser for a project titled “Love in Real Life” on Monday (Feb. 24). A cinematic clip on Lizzo’s Instagram opens with a bird’s-eye view of the Grammy winner lying on the hood of a vintage white […]
Beyoncé had yet another groundbreaking night at the 2025 Grammy Awards earlier this month, where the superstar was at last awarded her first win in the album of the year category, thanks to Cowboy Carter. Bey’s shocked reaction has since become a hilarious meme, and her mother Tina Knowles was just as surprised by the […]
Morgan Wallen opened up about hard times, and ponders the long-tail familial impact of his lower moments in a personal new song he wrote for his 4-year-old son, Indigo Wilder. On Monday (Feb. 24), the reigning CMA entertainer of the year and 19-time Billboard Music Awards winner shared a snippet of the track titled “Superman” to social media.
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In an accompanying caption, Wallen explained why it has taken a while for him to craft a song for his son.
“Been trying for a long time to write a song I loved to my son. None of them ever feel good enough because of how perfect I want something like this to be,” he shared. “And not saying this is perfect, but I am very proud of it. Here is a clip, It’s called ‘Superman.’”
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The song starts off with Wallen’s thoughts of how Indigo will grow to learn more about the life his father has led to this point — surely, the incredible career accomplishments, but the low points as well.
The song opens candidly, with lyrics that seemingly reference Wallen’s arrest last year, when the singer-songwriter was briefly taken into custody after allegedly throwing a chair from the roof of a Nashville bar. (He later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, and was sentenced to seven days in a DUI education center, as well as two years probation.)
“One day he’s gonna see my mugshot from a night when I got a little too drunk/ Hear a song about a girl that I lost/ From the times when I just wouldn’t grow up,” Wallen sings. He continues describing his fears as a father in the vulnerable lines, “And when you ain’t a kid no more/ I hope you don’t think less of me/ I try to hide my fallen soul/ But you’re gonna see.”
The self-aware lyrics continue: “Now and then, that bottle’s my kryptonite … brings a man of steel to his knees/ Don’t always know wrong from right/ Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy/ No I don’t always save the day, but you know for you I’ll always try/ I’ll do the best I can, a Superman is still just a man sometimes.”
Wallen has been steadily sharing new music over the past few months, including “Lies, Lies, Lies,” “Smile,” “Love Somebody” and the title track to his upcoming new album, I’m the Problem. He’s set to launch his 2025 I’m the Problem Tour in June.
Hear Wallen’s snippet of “Superman” below: