Music News

08 Feb 2025

Grupo Frontera Breaks Silence After Backlash Over Alleged Donald Trump Support

Grupo Frontera is addressing the backlash following allegations of supporting Donald Trump.

On Friday (Feb. 7), the Mexican-American band shared a statement on their Instagram Story, clarifying that they do not align with any U.S. political party.

“We want to clarify that Grupo Frontera has NO affiliation not alliance with any political party that’s against immigrants and the Latino community,” Grupo Frontera wrote in Spanish. “Like many of you, our families and [group] members have fought and struggled for a better future, and we will always take our people’s side, defending our roots and values.”

The Texas-based Música Mexicana band added, “It’s important you know that the opinions of our friends and family don’t represent Grupo Frontera. We are immigrants, we are from the border, and Grupo Frontera will always be by and for the people.”

Grupo Frontera — which includes members Adelaido Solís III (“Payo”), Juan Javier Cantú, Julián Peña, Alberto Acosta, Carlos Guerrero and Brian Ortega — came under fire after a viral video showed the grandmother of a band member celebrating Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, according to The Latin Times.

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As fans began to react to the viral clip, Grupo Frontera remained largely silent on social media.

The controversy coincided with Trump’s promise to begin large-scale deportations when re-elected, a move that would heavily impact Latinos.

“i will no longer support grupo frontera because, how are you voting for Trump while being latino? mind you I live in their surrounding era and it’s heavily latino populated too like???” one fan wrote on X.

According to the LT, other various social media responses included: “Make music in English now,” “Never come back to Mexico,” “Latinos are the ones who listen to your music, and you’ve let us down,” “This kind of betrayal comes at a high price” and “We should cancel them all.”

Artists such as Residente, Selena Gomez, Lupillo Rivera, Becky G, Chiquis and Ángela Aguilar have spoken out against the deportations.

Grupo Frontera will be performing at Billboard THE STAGE during SXSW in Austin on March 14.

08 Feb 2025

Noah Cyrus Praises Dad Billy Ray’s New ‘Lost’ Song Amid Family Tensions

Noah Cyrus is showing support for her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, and his new music amid family drama.

On Friday (Feb. 7), the 25-year-old singer took to her Instagram Story to share a post about Billy Ray’s latest single, “Lost.”

“so proud of my Dads INCREDIBLE new single LOST with my good, old friend @samtinnesz and @tommeeprofitt,” she wrote, alongside a brief teaser of the track and a pair of red heart emojis.

Billy Ray’s “Lost,” featuring Tinnesz and Profitt, marks the 63-year-old country singer’s first new release since his rocky performance at the Liberty Ball during Donald Trump’s inauguration. His appearance on Jan. 20 was plagued by technical difficulties, leading him to perform “Achy Breaky Heart” a cappella for the crowd.

Following the controversial performance, Billy Ray’s son Trace Cyrus, older brother to Miley and Noah, shared an open letter on Instagram expressing concern for his father’s well-being.

“Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed us all away,” he wrote. “Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life and you haven’t even been there for her. That’s your baby girl. She deserves better. Somehow just like me she still idolizes you though.”

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On Jan. 25, Trace posted another Instagram letter, claiming Billy Ray had threatened him with legal action after the public plea for his father to “get help.”

Billy Ray, along with his ex-wife Tish, is the parent of Brandi, 37, and Trace, 35, both of whom Billy Ray adopted after marrying Tish. Together, they also share Miley, 32; Braison, 30; and Noah. He is also the father of 32-year-old Christopher, his son with ex-girlfriend Kristin Luckey.

In late January, Billy Ray announced an upcoming album, produced by Braison. The album is expected to be released sometime this summer.

“This is art imitating life, imitating art,” Billy Ray said of the album. “It starts and ends with art. Braison is very talented and ‘25 is his year. I’m glad to be a part of it. This record is gonna be special. I’m gearing up for what will be the journey of a lifetime.”

08 Feb 2025

Ashanti Reacts to Irv Gotti’s Death in Emotional Tribute: ‘We Made History’

Ashanti is opening up following the death of Irv Gotti.

On Friday (Feb. 7), the R&B star shared a heartfelt tribute on social media to honor the Murder Inc. Records founder after his passing.

“I can’t believe things ended like this….and it makes me so sad,” Ashanti wrote on her Instagram Story, according to TMZ. “We weren’t on the best terms the past few years but as I’ve always said, through our ups and downs I will forever be grateful for everything that you’ve done for me. We made history and that will remain infinite..”

The “Foolish” singer continued, “I’ve always respected your musical genius and ability to push me to be my best.. All the greatness and positive things that came, far outweigh the dark and negative times. I have always prayed for you to find peace. Sending love and prayers to the entire family. Rest well. Rest in Peace Irv.”

Along with the post, Ashanti also reportedly shared a series of throwback photos from her Murder Inc. days, including an image from the release of her 2002 self-titled debut album.

Gotti, who co-founded the iconic Murder Inc. Records and helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti in the early 2000s, passed away on Feb. 5 after suffering a stroke. He was 54 years old.

Alongside his brother Chris, Irv Gotti (born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) launched Murder Inc. in 1998 as an imprint of Def Jam, following his success in helping bring DMX to the vaunted hip-hop label. Ja Rule became the flagship artist for Murder Inc., and the label’s first release was his 1999 debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci.

In addition to Ja Rule, Gotti also discovered Ashanti when she was a teenager. She went on to achieve fame with memorable hooks on rap hits and her own solo R&B success. Ashanti’s three biggest hits all came in 2002: Ja Rule’s “Always on Time,” featuring Ashanti, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks; Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?,” featuring Ashanti, peaked at No. 2; and her own “Foolish” spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

Billboard recently named “Foolish” and “I’m Real” among the Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century.

Gotti won a Grammy in 2003 for co-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut album, which earned best contemporary R&B album. He was nominated again the following year for co-writing Ashanti’s “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby),” which was a finalist for best R&B song.

08 Feb 2025

Primus Reveals New Drummer After Tim Alexander’s Sudden Departure

Primus has found a new drummer.

About four months after the abrupt departure of longtime percussionist Tim “Herb” Alexander, the veteran band revealed their new timekeeper following a global open call for auditions.

“Hoffington!!! Welcome aboard! @johnhoffmandrums,” Primus singer and bassist Les Claypool wrote on Instagram Friday (Feb. 7), alongside a photo featuring Claypool with new drummer Hoffman and guitarist Larry LaLonde.

Primus announced on Oct. 29 that Alexander had resigned suddenly on Oct. 17 via email, citing a “loss of passion for playing” — a reason that Claypool and LaLonde admitted “came as a complete shock.”

Following Alexander’s departure, Primus announced they would be holding auditions for a new drummer. “Taking submissions from all points in the universe for the position of Primus drummer/percussionist,” the band wrote, adding, “Flashy chops are wonderful, but groove, pocket, and the ability to listen, react, and contribute to the musical conversation is a must.”

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Primus took to social media again in late December to warn applicants of scammers who had begun contacting hopefuls ahead of in-person auditions.

Hoffman, a drummer from Shreveport, La., documented his preparation for the audition on YouTube.

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity,” the drummer wrote on Instagram in late January. “I came and did my thing the way I do it. It went as well as I could have hoped. Maynard James Keenan was sitting directly in front of me and watched my entire audition. He gave me this towel. It’s been one of the most incredible days of my life. I love you all. We did this.”

Primus’ first show since Alexander’s final appearance in August took place as part of the band’s New Year’s Eve celebration at the Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif., on Dec. 30. The night began with sets from Claypool’s other projects, Holy Mackerel and Frog Brigade, and concluded with a six-song performance by Primus, featuring Bryan “Brain” Mantia on drums.

Check out Primus’ new drummer announcement on Instagram here.

07 Feb 2025

DJ Premier & Roc Marciano Drop ‘Armani Exchange,’ Announce New EP

2025 might not be so bad after all.

Roc Marciano and DJ Premier surprised rap fans with a new single in “Armani Exchange” and have announced that they’ll be releasing a collaborative EP later this year. Ironically enough, this all came together by a chance meeting at Macy’s flagship Herald Square store in New York City.

“True Story. Several years ago I was shopping at Macy’s in Herald Square and I was passing the ‘Armani Section,’” Preemo said in a press release. “When I see Roc Marci there and he asks me when are we gonna do a record together. I told him we would eventually get to it.

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Adding, “Fast-forward a few years later, right before Christmas 2024, I gave him a call and told him it was time to get to it. I reminded him of that day, and he said that should be the title of the record. The tone was officially set.”

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The track starts off with Preemo’s signature cuts as Roc gets right to his signature fly pimp rhetoric. “If it’s me and Preem, then it’s a smash hit like summer madness,” Marci raps. “Will Smith should do the ad libs/ While I mack bi—es in rich fabrics/ Mink draggin’ up in Saks Fifth/ Maybach G wagon, this ain’t even me braggin’/ Like Ali sneakin’ jabs in.”

If the rest of the EP sounds like this, then fans will be in for a treat. It’s not often that two legends link up like this. This rap thing isn’t just a young person’s sport anymore. Sometimes you gotta let the OGs show you how it’s done.

We’ll keep updated once the title and release date is announced.

But for now, you can listen to “Armani Exchange” below.

07 Feb 2025

Rick Ross Responds to 50 Cent, Wants to Make His Own BMF Film

Rick Ross and 50 Cent are at it again. This time the veteran rappers and businessmen have been going back and forth over a picture.

Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, who was recently released to a halfway house and has been visited by various celebrities including 50 Cent, linked up with Rick Ross — which has apparently created tension. 50 produces a series on Starz entitled BMF, which is loosely based on the exploits of Big Meech and his younger brother Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, and also stars Meech’s son Demetrius Flenory Jr. The Queens mogul obviously didn’t appreciate the elder Meech hanging out with an adversary and posted (and deleted) his feelings on Instagram. He did, however, post this rundown of the situation by user @sirlancwoods.

Ross has now fired back by saying that he’s going to produce a movie about Detroit’s notorious Black Mafia Family. “I wanna do a BMF film because you’ve been entertained by a lackluster, small-budget series,” Ross said about 50’s television show. “Now it’s time to do a big-budget film. Which director? Shout out to my homie F. Gary Gray. Antoine Fuqua, what’s up? Tarantino… there’s a lot of legends. This is gonna be big, I can feel it.”

Ross famously has a classic single named “B.M.F.” featuring Styles P that peaked at No. 60 on the Hot 100 and spent 16 weeks on the chart.

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Big Meech hasn’t commented yet on 50’s antics, but his son tried to fix things to no avail. 50 posted then deleted text messages between the two, in which Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. mentioned that 50 unfollowed him and said that the Miami rapper helped his father out so that he could stay afloat financially “until our next season starts,” referring to BMF‘s upcoming fourth season, to which 50 replied, “What next season.”

We’ll have to wait and see if 50 is really trolling or not regarding the show’s fate.

07 Feb 2025

Heidi Montag Is Happy to Finally Shed ‘The Hills’ ‘Stigma’ With Musical Renaissance After L.A. Wildfires

Things are only looking up for Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, who are taking the former’s music career to new heights following the heartbreaking loss of their home in the Los Angeles wildfires — and one unexpected benefit of the situation, they tell Billboard in a new video special with the couple, has been finally breaking the “stigma” they felt followed them after The Hills.

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While spending the day with Billboard, Montag and Pratt touched on their reality show beginnings, from which the former says they’ve “been trying to move forward” for “a long time.” “We’re thankful for where we started,” she said, standing next to her husband by the beach. “It definitely has been a bittersweet experience for us. Obviously we had a different experience than a lot of the cast from it.”

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“For us to be able to feel people really come together and support us and our family, and to kind of burn off, literally, that shell and that stigma that we had for so many years, it’s nice that people can finally see through that and see that there was always a love story,” Montag continued of the support they’ve been seeing from fans online since announcing in January that their house had completely burned down in the Pacific Palisades blazes.

The couple’s Billboard special comes just a couple weeks after Montag dropped Superficial 2, a followup to her 2010 album Superficial that featured 12 new songs. The original album has been receiving a surge in streams as fans have rallied around the singer and her family after the fires, with Superficial debuting on the Billboard 200 in January thanks to the extra love.

“It’s been really refreshing to have this new generation listen to the music for the music, and not with the stigmas attached, and the hate and the negativity,” Montag, who shares two sons with Pratt, told Billboard later in the day while at a restaurant. “Just to have it be purely listened to has been a blessing.”

One particularly famous person who’s also come to their aid has been Pitbull, who jumped on a remix of Montag’s “I’ll Do It” that was released Thursday (Feb. 6). “We were in touch with Pitbull, and he got on the phone with me,” Montag gushed.

“That was one of the most heartfelt, sincere, kind moments of my life,” she added. “A superstar taking time out of his day to be like, ‘Mamacita, I got you.’”

07 Feb 2025

Here’s Every Artist Performing at 2025 Super Bowl

Super Bowl LIX is just days away from taking over Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday (Feb. 9), and some of the biggest stars in music are coming along for the ride.

The most highly anticipated performance, naturally, will be Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Halftime Show performance, executive produced by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in combination with Jesse Collins, which is sure to feature a number of hits from the Compton rapper’s award-winning discography. But the day will also be full of additional musical numbers, from the pre-kick-off showcases of the national anthem, “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice,” which were performed last year by Reba McEntire, Post Malone and Andra Day, respectively, before Usher dominated the 2024 halftime extravaganza with guests Alicia Keys, Ludacris and H.E.R.

Oh, and there will also be some football. At 6:30 p.m. ET, the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the Jalen Hurts-piloted Philadelphia Eagles, a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl that will find the Chiefs attempting a record third win in a row. Plus, a number of big names are sure to be present off the field, with Taylor Swift expected to attend to support boyfriend Travis Kelce and Donald Trump planning to become the first-ever sitting president to watch a Super Bowl in person.

Tens of millions of people tune in to the Super Bowl each year, effectively making it one of the biggest — if not the biggest — musical stages artists ever get the chance to perform on. Get ready for all of the music you’ll see Super Bowl Sunday by checking out all the artists who will perform on game day below.

07 Feb 2025

Twenty One Pilots’ ‘The Line,’ From Netflix’s ‘Arcane,’ Tops Alternative Airplay Chart

Twenty One Pilots lead Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart for the first time in three years, reigning on the Feb. 15-dated list via the 2-1 rise of “The Line.”

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The song marks the duo’s 11th No. 1 and first since “The Outside” ruled for three weeks beginning in January 2022.

Since then, the band had notched three chart entries, including two No. 2-peaking tracks in “Overcompensate” and “The Craving” in 2024.

With 11 rulers, Twenty One Pilots, who first led with “Stressed Out” in 2015, rank as the act with the sixth-most No. 1s since Alternative Airplay began in 1988.

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Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:
15, Red Hot Chili Peppers
13, Green Day
13, Linkin Park
12, Cage the Elephant
12, Foo Fighters
11, Twenty One Pilots
8, U2
8, Weezer
7, The Black Keys
7, Imagine Dragons

Of the band’s 11 No. 1s, two have now come from soundtracks to TV or film. “The Line” is featured on the soundtrack to Netflix’s Arcane, which premiered its second and final season in November, while “Heathens” was heard in the 2016 movie Suicide Squad.

Concurrently, “The Line” ranks at No. 17 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 2.4 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 6, according to Luminate. It reached a No. 14 high in December.

The song appeared at No. 28 on the most recently published multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally (dated Feb . 8, reflecting data accumulated Jan. 24-30); it hit No. 13 in December. In addition to its radio airplay, “The Line” earned 2 million official U.S. streams in that span.

The soundtrack to Arcane’s second season peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 in December and has earned 220,000 equivalent album units to date.

All Billboard charts dated Feb. 15 will update Tuesday, Feb. 11, on Billboard.com.

07 Feb 2025

Kelsea Ballerini Halts Concert Due to Sickness, Reschedules Three Shows

Kelsea Ballerini had to cut short a concert in Buffalo, New York, on Thursday night after falling ill.

The Patterns hitmaker was five songs into a headlining show at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center as part of her Kelsea Ballerini Live On Tour 2025 trek, when she had to leave the stage due to sickness. A member of Ballerini’s team then came onstage to inform the audience that the show was being postponed.

“This was the conversation I did not want to have tonight,” the teammember said from the stage. Shaking his head, he said, “She just can’t finish. She’s too sick, and we’ve given everything and we tried to do it and unfortunately cannot finish the show tonight. I do not know much beyond that. We are going to be looking at options and you will be receiving emails. Beyond that, there is not much I can say right now.”

Ballerini soon shared her own video on social media, explaining the situation, and thanking her fans for their understanding and patience.

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“Buffalo, I am so so sorry that I could not finish the show tonight. I am sicker than I’m trying to be, and I did not want to let anyone down tonight and I just got through the first few songs and I couldn’t do it. And I am so sorry, but I never want to give you a half-a– show,” she said, noting that they have rescheduled shows in Buffalo as well as in Pittsburgh and in Toronto.

Ballerini said, “And I will make them the best shows I’ve ever played in my whole life, and I will put out every stop for you, and I will make it so worth it. I’m going to go rest now, and get better, so I can really show up for the rest of this tour, and I hope you understand, and thank you for the grace to be human.”

Ballerini has rescheduled three shows on her tour, with the Buffalo date now set for April 11, the Pittsburgh show now set for April 12, followed by the Toronto show on April 13.

The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer’s next scheduled tour stop comes Feb. 10 in Philadelphia.