Music News

24 Feb 2025

Fyre Fest 2 Lurches Towards Reality: Dates, Location, Ticketing Partner Announced

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.

Trending on Billboard

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.

24 Feb 2025

Drake Shares Behind-the-Scenes Video of Elkan Creating ‘Nokia’ Beat in Sierra Leone

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, Jan. 8, 2025.

On the day the collab album from the two Toronto stars dropped, the U.K.-based producer shared on IG that he was going through a tough time when he made the beat. “I don’t even know where to start,” he shared in an Instagram caption. “This record means a lot to me. In the mist of a mental breakdown I channeled all the pain, trauma and joy into music not letting a f—ed up mental state stop me from expressing myself.”

Adding, “Nokia came from people I love ringing my line asking if I was okay inviting me out to karaoke, clubbing, going to crazy food spots and just enjoying the finer things in life! When Drake puts pen to pad onna elkan ting you know it’s a speeeecial one!”

Trending on Billboard

$ome $exy $ongs 4 U debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, earning PARTYNEXTDOOR his first No. 1, and giving Drake his 14th, which ties him with Taylor Swift and Jay-Z among soloists. The OVO duo also have a couple songs debuting in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, with “Gimme a Hug” at No. 6 and the aforementioned “Nokia” at No. 10, making that 80 Hot 100 top 10s for Drake — the most in history.

24 Feb 2025

Halsey Shares Leather-Clad Teaser for New Single ‘Safeword’

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).

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

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.”

Trending on Billboard

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.

24 Feb 2025

Lizzo Searches for ‘Love in Real Life’ in New Music Teaser: Here’s When It Arrives

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 car, unnoticed by random passersby who mill about around her. A sustained violin and synth chord eventually give way to sunny electric guitar strums, as rapid-fire shots of the star parading through cobblestone streets with a group of dancers — some of whose faces start to take on a trippy melted appearance — flash by in between.

“Everything was so much simpler, and that’s exactly what I need,” Lizzo narrates. “No views, no likes. Real love. In real life.”

Trending on Billboard

The clip then cuts to a date: Feb. 28, a.k.a. the day the musician’s “Love in Real Life” arrives.

Lizzo first officially announced that she had new music coming about 10 days prior, sharing a similar teaser video heralding the Feb. 28 arrival of a release. The close-up clip showed the Houston-raised artist staring straight into the camera as she cried heavy sobs that slowly turned into manic laughs, meanwhile someone played flute warmups off camera.

“Everything was so much simpler,” she captioned the Feb. 14 clip.

Before that, the “Truth Hurts” rapper signified the end of her previous era by sharing a video of herself spray-painting the phrase, “Bye, bi—!” in red over a poster print of her Special album cover. She also made the gratified artwork her profile picture on Instagram for a period, though her photo is now a faded, watermarked print of her face to match her new era.

“Love in Real Life” will mark Lizzo’s first proper release since 2022’s Special — which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 — not counting “Pink,” a single recorded for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie soundtrack. The LP featured two-week Billboard Hot 100-topper “About Damn Time,” which took home record of the year at the 2023 Grammys.

See Lizzo’s new teaser below.

24 Feb 2025

Tina Knowles Says She Was ‘Really Shocked’ When Beyoncé Won Album of the Year at the Grammys: ‘I Couldn’t Believe It’

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 exciting moment.

The superstar’s mom dropped by The Jennifer Hudson Show this week, where she explained that she was at Bey’s house throughout Grammy day. “I just was not expecting it. I was really shocked,” she recalled. “In fact, I sat there for a second and didn’t even believe it was true. I was sitting there with my granddaughter Rumi and my grandson Sir, and for a second there, we were just sitting there and when she did this [looks around shocked], I said, ‘It’s real!’ I couldn’t believe it. It’s been so many times where I thought that would happen and it didn’t.”

Knowles also gushed over her granddaughter, Blue Ivy, who has shown off her musical talent by appearing in her mother’s onstage dance routines and beyond. “She’s a bossy little Capricorn like her grandma,” Knowles affectionately said of Blue.

Trending on Billboard

When asked if she’ll be following in her mother’s footsteps, Knowles replied, “I don’t know, because Blue is a jack of all trades. She can do so many things. We don’t know because she’s only 13. Her mother gives her advice. Her and her mother are really tight. They don’t need me to give advice. They tell me to mind my business.”

Watch the full interview below.

24 Feb 2025

Morgan Wallen Gets Personal in Snippet of New Song ‘Superman’ Written for His Son: Listen

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.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

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.’”

Trending on Billboard

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:

24 Feb 2025

African Artists Who’ve Had Songs Hit 1 Billion Spotify Streams

While Spotify’s Billions Club contains an exclusive group of artists who’ve had songs reach one billion streams, there’s an even more elite crop of African artists who are members.

“Essence” collaborators Wizkid and Tems have both reached this milestone, but not for their Billboard Hot 100 top 10 smash, and they both did it alongside the same superstar: Drake. His 2016 summer anthem “One Dance,” featuring Wizkid and funky U.K. singer Kyla, became the very first song to hit one billion streams on the platform at the end of that year. And Future‘s “WAIT FOR U,” featuring Drake and Tems, just achieved the feat last week, making Tems the first African female artist to have a song surpass one billion Spotify streams.

A few days after Tems made Spotify history, Tyla followed suit and became the first African solo artist to hit one billion Spotify streams with her 2023 breakout hit “Water.” “We are incredibly proud of Tyla’s historic achievement,” said Phiona Okumu, head of music at Spotify in Africa, in a statement. “This milestone is a testament to her talent, hard work, and the power of music to transcend borders. Tyla’s success is an inspiration to aspiring artists across Africa and the world, and we are honored to have played a part in her journey.”

While Tyla’s “Water” made history for winning the inaugural best African music performance award at the 2024 Grammys, Rema‘s “Calm Down,” featuring Selena Gomez — which became the first African artist-led track to enter Spotify’s Billions Club in 2023 — won the inaugural best Afrobeats award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

Billboard rounded up all the African artists who have songs that have hit one billion Spotify streams, in order from oldest to newest.

24 Feb 2025

NBA Star Jaylen Brown Struggles to Identify Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan & Missy Elliott in Pop Music Game: Watch

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” felt inescapable in 2024, but none of Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet domination made it onto NBA star Jaylen Brown’s latest playlist.

The Boston Celtics wing participated in a pop culture quiz game during a timeout in the team’s face-off against the New York Knicks on Sunday (Feb. 23), and Brown struggled to identify several superstars throughout the recorded clip.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“No clue,” Brown said when a photo of Sabrina Carpenter was shown. The NBA finals MVP doubted the photo of Missy Elliott was actually her when she popped up with her sunglasses on. “That’s Missy? That’s not Missy,” he questioned.

Trending on Billboard

JB hilariously mixed up Luke Combs for Action Bronson and didn’t even give a second thought about identifying Chappell Roan. He recognized, Prince but struggled when faced with a photo of Sir Paul McCartney.

Brown had a laugh when they showed a photo of himself on the jumbotron to follow the Beatles icon. “Y’all are funny. I’m in the midst of a bunch of legends,” he said.

The All-Star forward has dabbled in the music industry himself — back in August, Brown teamed up with A$AP Ferg for “Just Do It” following the Celtics championship run. “We were just vibing after the parade, freestyling, and decided to hit the studio,” Brown later shared with Billboard. “It was celebration mode, and the song came naturally.”

While the 28-year-old’s playlist might not stretch as far as some might think, there’s one track we know won’t be on it. Brown previously dubbed Ice Spice’s “Think U the S–t (Fart)” as the worst song of all-time in an interview with Complex last summer.

Lately, Brown’s been laser-focused when it comes to his play on the court as the Celtics look to repeat as NBA champions. JB poured in 24 points on Sunday to help the C’s defeat the New York Knicks once again in a 118-105 victory.

Watch the full clip of Brown’s pop star pop quiz below.

24 Feb 2025

Coachella 2025 Offerings Expand With More Than 50 Artists Announced for Do Lab Stage

The Do Lab has announced the lineups for its stage at Coachella 2025.

The electronic heavy bills, which are different for each weekend of the festival, feature artists including Tokimonsta, Anderson .Paak performing as DJ Pee .Wee, a DJ set from Confidence Man, a DJ set by Tycho, Nimino, Kaleena Zanders, Villager, Ladies of Leisure, Rudimental b2b Skepsis, Snakehips b2b What So Not, J. Phlip, Aqutie and many more.

The Do Lab has been hosting a stage at Coachella since 2005, with the area having been home to performances by big name artists including Billie Eilish, DJ Snake, Rüfüs Du Sol and many others. The Do Lab also produces its flagship festival Lightning In a Bottle, which is happing again this May near Bakersfield, Calif., with a lineup that includes John Summit, Jamie xx, Khruangbin, Four Tet, Subtronics and many more.

The Do Lab’s Coachella 2005 lineups increase the dance/electronic factor on the already dance/electronic heavy bill. Announced in November, the main lineup includes Above & Beyond, The Prodigy, Sara Landry, Keinemusic, Alok, Darkside, Zedd, Kraftwerk and many others.

Coachella has three stages dedicated exclusively to dance music: the massive Sahara Tent, the club-space Yuma and Quasar, a stage that debuted in 2024 and is dedicated to extended sets. Dance music also happens across nearly all of the festivals other stages.

Trending on Billboard

Coachella returns to Indio, Calif., over two weekends, on April 13-15 and 20-22; 2025 headliners are Green Day, Lady Gaga and Post Malone, with a special set from Travis Scott.

Do LaB Coachella

24 Feb 2025

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Holds at No. 1 on Billboard Global 200 Chart

Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” repeats at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. A week earlier, the song rebounded to the top, from No. 15, fueled by his performance of it during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9.

Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” adds a 10th week atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.

Trending on Billboard

The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

“Not Like Us” drew 111.7 million streams (down 1%) and sold 21,000 (down 46%) worldwide Feb. 14-20. The Drake diss track — which on Feb. 2 won the Grammy Awards for record and song of the year, among its five victories – logs a fourth week atop the Global 200.

Lamar also ranks in the Global 200’s top 10 with “Luther,” with SZA (up 4-3 for a new high); 2018’s “All the Stars,” also with SZA (10-6 for a new best); and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay (8-7, after hitting No. 5). All four songs were part of his Super Bowl halftime performance.

“Die With a Smile” holds at No. 2 after nine weeks at No. 1 on the Global 200 starting last September; ROSÉ and Mars’ “APT.” slips 3-4 following 12 weeks on top beginning in October; and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” lifts 6-5 after three weeks at No. 1 last August.

“Die With a Smile” claims a 10th week atop Global Excl. U.S., with 103.3 million streams (down 4%) and 4,000 sold (down 17%) outside the U.S. Feb. 14-20. The song is the fifth to run up double-digit weeks at No. 1 since the chart began.

“APT.” holds at No. 2 after a record 15 weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S. beginning in November.

Lamar charts three songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10: “Not Like Us” is steady at its No. 3 best; “Luther” bounds 7-4, surpassing its prior No. 6 peak; and “All the Stars” shoots 17-8, becoming Lamar’s fifth top 10 and SZA’s fourth.

Plus, “Birds of a Feather” remains at No. 5, after three weeks on top last August.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 1, 2025) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Feb. 25. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.