Music News

Travis Scott Is Looking for HBCU Marching Band to Join Him at Coachella for ‘4×4’: ‘Show Me Something’

Travis Scott is looking to bring a unique live performance to his Coachella set in April. With “4×4” debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week, Scott wants to have a marching band from a historically Black university join him in Indio, California.

La Flame took to X in search of the best HBCU band, and he’s even down to pay off a semester’s tuition tab for the lucky college students that join him.

“Any hbcu or really any college with a band,” he wrote. “Big or small. That stand to take on that horn arrangement from 4×4. I’m down to bring u with me to Coachella to do it with me. And posssibly figuring out a way to take care a semester cause college is hard. But music is fun. :)). Show me something.”

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There was an overwhelmingly positive reaction to Trav’s latest proposition in his replies. It remains to be seen who will ultimately perform with him at Coachella.

La Flame experimented with a live marching band when he performed “4×4” as part of the College Football Playoff National Championship Halftime Show in January atop Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

“4×4” debuted atop this week’s Billboard Hot 100 to give him a fifth chart leader and first since 2020. “Franchise,” “Highest in the Room,” “The Scotts” and “Sicko Mode” are among Scott’s previous No. 1 hits.

The Tay Keith-produced song compiled 16.2 million streams along with 167,000 digital and physical copies sold during its first tracking week. Merch proceeds and CD sales all went toward benefitting Los Angeles fire relief.

Scott is set to take over Coachella for his first performance since 2017 in what’s being teased as the start of a “new chapter” as La Flame heads into his post-UTOPIA era.

Beyoncé famously paid tribute to HBCUs during her 2018 Coachella headlining set, performing with an all-Black marching band that included musicians from HBCUs.

Pop Smoke Murder Suspect Reaches Plea Deal, Will Serve 29 Years in Prison: Report

It’s been nearly five years since Pop Smoke (Bashar Jackson) was killed in California’s Hidden Hills — and now, the only adult defendant in the murder trial has reached a plea deal.

According to Rolling Stone, Corey Walker, 24, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery charges in Los Angeles court on Wednesday (Feb. 5).

Walker will serve 29 years behind bars in prison on the charges of home invasion robbery with gun and gang enhancements. The voluntary manslaughter count was added this week, while the murder charge was dropped as part of the deal offered by prosecutors.

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A jury was gearing up to be seated in Los Angeles if the trial proceeded into next week. Walker will ultimately be sentenced by a judge at a Feb. 21 hearing.

Per Rolling Stone‘s Nancy Dillon, Walker told the judge he armed a juvenile with a 9mm pistol before executing the armed robbery, which resulted in Pop Smoke being shot at a California Airbnb he had rented. Walker also admitted to selling the Rolex watch stolen from Pop for $2,000. Walker’s grandmother and four-year-old daughter were present in court.

Along with three juveniles, Walker invaded Pop Smoke’s Airbnb during the wee hours of Feb. 19, 2020. Smoke was fatally shot multiple times following a tense exchange while he was with a woman in one of the mansion’s bedrooms.

Walker also pleaded guilty to the robbery of the unidentified woman with Smoke. The manslaughter and robbery charges carry a two-year sentence that will reportedly run concurrently with the 29-year sentencing.

Walker and the juvenile defendants found Pop Smoke’s Airbnb address after the rapper posted a gift that had been sent to him on his Instagram Story that featured the address.

Feb. 19 will mark five years since Pop Smoke was tragically murdered at 20 years old. The burgeoning rap star was one of the pioneers of the Brooklyn drill movement that began sweeping the music industry at the turn of the decade.

Orville Peck Might Be Dropping the Mask in New Photos From ‘Cabaret’ Rehearsals

For years now, fans of queer country crooner Orville Peck have waited for the day when they might sneak a peek at him without his iconic mask covering his face. On Tuesday (Feb. 4), they got just a little bit closer.

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In a carousel post to his Instagram on Tuesday, Peck shared a series of photos from his day-to-day life, including a few from rehearsals for his forthcoming role in the Broadway production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. While the first photo in the post showed the “Midnight Ride” singer with his mask on, one photo shows him seated in a makeup chair, wearing some smeared red lipstick with the upper half of his face cropped out of the photo. “Lots happening,” he wrote in his post.

Peck was announced as the next actor to take on the role of the Emcee in the ongoing revival of the Kander and Ebb classic after Adam Lambert’s run ends in March. In a statement released with the news at the time, Peck said that he was thrilled to make his Broadway debut in “one of my favorite shows and in probably my favorite role in all of musical theater,” explaining why he loved the character.

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“The nature of [the Emcee] allows for complete freedom of individual expression. It can be portrayed through such a vast range of emotions, perspectives, and performance styles,” he wrote. “That kind of freedom is every actor’s dream.”

Fans began speculating whether or not the actor would keep his mask on for the performance. Billboard reached out to representatives for the show after Peck’s casting for comment.

Check out Peck’s Instagram post below:

Karol G Sets a New Record on Tropical Airplay Chart With ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’

It’s been only two weeks since Karol G entered the record books with an unmatched 26 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” Now, the Colombian superstar is setting yet another new record over on the Tropical Airplay chart (dated Feb. 8).

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“Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” adds a 30th week at No. 1 on the tropical radio ranking, marking the most weeks atop 30-year-old chart for any song.

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“Si Antes,” released June 21, 2024 via Bichota/Interscope/ICLG, reaches the record despite a 7% decline in audience impressions; that’s 8.8 million earned in the U.S. during the tracking week of Jan. 24-30, according to Luminate.

With 30 weeks at No. 1, Karol ends a historic run for Prince Royce, who previously commanded the chart for 29 weeks when “Carita De Inocente” capped its reign on the October 17, 2020-dated ranking.

As “Si Antes” resets the longest-leading run on Tropical Airplay, here’s a review of the songs with the most weeks atop, since the chart launched in October 1994.

Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Peak Date
30, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” Karol G, July 20, 2024
29, “Carita de Inocente,” Prince Royce, March 28, 2020
22, “De Vuelta Pa’ La Vuelta,” Daddy Yankee & Marc Anthony, Jan. 2, 2021
18, “Inmortal,” Aventura, April 20, 2019
18, “Danza Kuduro,” Don Omar & Lucenzo, Nov. 13, 2010
15, “Bailando Bachata,” Chayanne, August 5, 2023
15, “La Mejor Versión de Mi,” Natti Natasha & Romeo Santos, Oct. 26, 2019
15, “Centavito,” Romeo Santos, Oct. 13, 2018
15, “Dile Al Amor,” Aventura, Jan. 2, 2010
15, “Perdidos,” Monchy & Alexandra, Nov. 6, 2004

Elsewhere, “Si Antes” cedes the throne to Bad Bunny’s “El Clúb” on the overall Latin Airplay chart, after a record-extending 27 weeks at No. 1.

Rihanna Is in Her ‘Blue Era’ While Teasing ‘Smurfs’ Movie Trailer

Rihanna is entering the Smurfs universe.

The “Love on the Brain” singer is set to voice Smurfette in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming film based on the beloved animated blue characters, and she took to social media on Wednesday (Feb. 5) to share a teaser ahead of the official trailer release.

In the 17-second clip, a small blue TV is seen among the mushroom-filled Smurf Village. As the scene zooms in closer to the television set, the screen turns on and and RiRi’s Smurfette character blows a kiss to the viewer. “Trailer tomorrow,” the text on top of the screen reads.

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“In my blue era,” Rihanna captioned the post, along with a blue heart and eyes emojis.

In addition to Rihanna, the Smurfs cast also includes Hannah Waddingham, Natasha Lyonne, Dan Levy, Kurt Russell, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, Sandra Oh, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, Octavia Spencer, Billie Lourd, James Corden and more, per IMDb. In addition to starring in the film, Rihanna will also be producing the animated feature alongside Jay Brown, Ty Ty Smith and Ryan Harris.

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Based on the popular characters of Belgian comics writer and artist Peyo, Smurfs hits theaters on July 18, 2025. The new movie follows a series of Smurfs films over the years, including 2011’s The Smurfs, 2013’s The Smurfs 2 and 2017’s Smurfs: The Lost Village.

Bruno Mars & ROSÉ’s ‘APT.’ Music Video Joins YouTube’s Billion Views Club

Time to head over to Bruno Mars and ROSÉ’s “APT.” for a celebration. The high-energy track has officially reached the one billion views mark on YouTube, the video platform announced this week.

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Just 105 days after its release in October 2024, the song is the fifth fastest music video to reach the milestone.

“APT.,” which served as the lead single off of ROSÉ’s debut solo album, Rosie, has been making its way up the Billboard charts since its release in October. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, becoming the first song by a Western act to rule the Japan song chart in more than 11 years. The song also spends a 12th week atop both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. “APT.” is also currently sitting at its peak of No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

“I have poured my blood and tears into this album,” ROSÉ wrote on Instagram when she first announced Rosie, her first full-length project outside of BLACKPINK, back in October. “I cannot wait for you to listen to this little journal of mine. Rosie – is the name I allow my friends and family to call me. With this album, I hope you all feel that much closer to me.”

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Mars is also fresh off his 16th Grammy win. His other major 2024 collaboration, “Die With a Smile” with Lady Gaga, won best pop duo/group performance at the ceremony on Sunday night (Feb. 2).

To celebrate the song’s newest accomplishment, re-watch Bruno Mars and ROSÉ’s “APT.” music video below.

Too $hort Compares Kendrick Lamar & Drake Feud to Bill Gates & Elon Musk Fighting: Watch

The fallout from the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud has been picked apart, and it will be further delved into as part of IMPACT x Nightline: Kendrick v. Drake: The Feud episode coming to Hulu on Thursday (Feb. 6).

Ahead of its streaming premiere, Billboard exclusively shares a clip from the ABC News Studios program featuring Too $hort, who speaks candidly on the Drizzy-K. Dot battle and compares them to Bill Gates and Elon Musk as two billionaires fighting, but still being fine when the dust settles.

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“Was it Drake, Kendrick, J. Cole, a couple names up there — who’s the new top five? Amongst them, each one of their egos had to think ‘I’m the best writer, I do the best videos, I rock the crowd the best,’” Too $hort tells ABC News correspondent Megan Ryte in the clip.

$hort agrees they’re at the top of the rap food chain, as the Oakland native went on to crown Drake and Kendrick as “the best rappers of their time.”

He continued to say: “It’s still the equivalent of Bill Gates and Elon Musk fistfighting. Two billionaires, who cares who gets knocked the f–k out? They going home to billionaire lifestyles. It’s still the same thing.”

The Hulu special touches on Drake and Kendrick’s relationship, the diss tracks fired back and forth, the fallout since and even Drake’s defamation lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group.

Currently, Drake is on tour in Australia, while Lamar picked up five Grammys for “Not Like Us” and will be bringing his show to the Super Bowl Halftime stage in New Orleans on Sunday (Feb. 9).

Watch Billboard’s exclusive clip of the IMPACT x Nightline episode above.

Phish, Noah Kahan, Jack White & More to Headline Bourbon & Beyond 2025

American jam band Phish will headline Bourbon & Beyond this year, promising fans that their appearance at the Sept. 11-14 festival held annually in Louisville, Ky., and organized by award-winning festival producers Danny Wimmer Presents will be the band’s only festival stop for 2025.

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Joining Phish at the four-day festival held annually at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center are the Alabama Shakes, who are reuniting in 2025 for a Thursday performance at the festival that will also include Thursday headliners The Lumineers and Benson Boone. Friday night headliners include Phish, Khruangbin and Joe Bonamassa, while Sturgill Simpson, performing as Johnny Blue Skies, takes the stage with Jack White and Vance Joy on Saturday. Noah Kahan, Goo Goo Dolls and Megan Moroney close out the festival on Sunday.

Now in its seventh year, Bourbon & Beyond will feature more than 120 artists total performing on five stages, including Cage the Elephant, TV On the Radio, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lake Street Dive, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, Foreigner, Third Eye Blind, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, and many more.

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In addition, Bourbon & Beyond includes daily workshops and demonstrations showcasing America’s best chefs and Louisville’s vibrant bourbon and culinary culture on the festival’s workshop stage for The Bourbon Experience and The Culinary Atelier. Hosted by bourbon expert Chris Blandford, chef Amanda Freitag, chef Ed Lee and chef Chris Santos, the festival’s bourbon tastings and culinary workshops pair world-renowned master distillers and some of the country’s top chefs, with some workshops featuring celebrity guest appearances.

“Bourbon & Beyond is the best lineup of the year — bringing together the biggest names in rock, Americana and alt, alongside country icons and breakout artists,” said Wimmer in a statement. “It’s a festival that doesn’t just celebrate one sound, but the best of all of them, paired with world-class bourbon, incredible food and that unmistakable Kentucky vibe. The crowds are huge, the energy is unmatched and every year, we take it up a notch.”

For information on festival passes, visit the Bourbon & Beyond website. All passes include a charity fee for the DWP Foundation, which gives back to local and national charities throughout the year.

See the full lineup below:

Travis Kelce Says It’ll Be a ‘Great Honor’ to Have President Donald Trump at the Super Bowl

In a few days, Donald Trump will become the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl — something Travis Kelce thinks is a “great honor,” despite the politician’s history with Taylor Swift.

During a press conference Wednesday (Feb. 5), the Kansas City Chiefs tight end — who will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome with his teammates this weekend — was asked for his thoughts on the White House’s recent announcement that the POTUS will be in attendance. “That’s awesome,” Kelce said. “It’s a great honor.”

“No matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life,” he continued. “Having the president there — it’s the best country in the world — and that’s pretty cool.”

Someone who will also be present at the Feb. 9 game will be the New Heights podcaster’s superstar girlfriend, who has famously opposed Trump’s administration for years. A couple months prior to the 2024 presidential election, for example, the “Fortnight” singer endorsed the twice-impeached billionaire’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, and slammed the Trump campaign’s use of artificially generated images that falsely painted Swift as a MAGA supporter.

In response, Trump said the following in a Sept. 11 post on Truth Social: “I was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was just a question of time … She’s a very liberal person, she seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”

Four days later, he wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Months before that, Trump brought up both the 14-time Grammy winner and Kelce in a Truth Social blast. “There’s no way [Swift] could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money,” he wrote in February last year.

“Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis,” he added at the time. “Even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me!”

Watch Travis Kelce share his thoughts on Donald Trump’s Super Bowl attendance below.

Howie Mandel Apologizes For Blindsiding Billy Corgan and Bill Burr With ‘Family Reunion’ Bit on Podcast: ‘I Feel Horrible’

What started out as something Howie Mandel thought would be a funny bit for his Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast last month quickly devolved into a super-tense, awkward moment the America’s Got Talent host is now expressing regret for. “I want to apologize,” Mandel said on this week’s episode of the pod he hosts with his daughter, Jackelyn Schultz.

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“I feel horrible and I’m sorry, Bill. I’m sorry, Billy. I only tried to do something good,” Mandel added. Mandel noted that he has not heard a “peep” from his longtime friend and fellow comedian Bill Burr since the Jan. 21 episode in which he blindsided him by bringing on Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan for an episode he called “Family Reunion with Bill Burr & Billy Corgan.”

Back in November, Corgan said he told Mandel that his step mom informed him years ago that Burr “might be” one of the children that Corgan’s late father “sired in his days being a traveling musician.” Corgan also recalled that his dad once mentioned that he had a half-brother who was close to his age named Bill; Corgan is 57, Burr is 56.

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As soon as Corgan came out to join the pod, Burr was immediately on edge, which the rocker sensed, saying, “he didn’t tell you? He told me you were totally cool with me coming.” Clearly peeved at Mandel, Burr hissed, “that’s what he does.” Sensing the awkwardness, Corgan offered to leave, but Burr said it was fine, going on to refer to his dad as a “piece of s–t with two kids this close together [and] he named them the same f–king name.”

Burr then said he appreciated Corgan’s music, but that he would “prefer if you just kind of… not [tell] these f–king stories.” The tension continued to mount as Corgan explained that Mandel made it seem as if Burr would be okay with repeating the story he’d originally told Howie in private and then having the men meet on-air.

“He always does that. Because that’s the thing,” Burr said angrily of the comedian he’d earlier praised as one of his inspirations and a longtime friend. “He’s bringing it here, not because he’s trying to heal the bulls–t that we went through growing up. He’s getting here just for the f–king ratings.”

Mandel eventually left the room and the Bills traded stories about the man they both described as their dad as Burr continued to mock Mandel’s IMDb credits mercilessly. “At least we’re not on some f–king awful network show judging plate spinners or whatever the f–k Howie’s career has become,” Burr said of Mandel’s gig co-hosting AGT.

Burr — whose beloved stand-up act is often filled with his irate annoyance, and rage, about what he thinks is the idiotic, inexplicable behavior of others — eventually told Mandel that he still loved him, “even though you did this,” wondering what his friend expected to happen. “Are we going to play catch? We’re both in our 50s,” Burr seethed, with both bald performers agreeing on one thing: that Mandel (also famously bald) is “a d–k.”

Once Corgan had assured him that it was all Mandel’s idea, Burr admitted he was not upset with the Pumpkins singer/guitarist and that he just didn’t like that their first meeting was the result of subterfuge. The two then had a funny exchange about possibly hanging out after the taping, with Burr immediately taking a dig at Corgan’s vegan diet after Corgan said he assumed Burr was a meat-eater. “I can have a cup of coffee while you eat your f–king Brussels sprouts,” Burr spat.

On this week’s pod, Mandel said he texted Burr to congratulate him on a good episode, but has not heard back from his friend since. “The next thing I see is… headlines,” Mandel said while posting a series of news reports about Burr’s anger over the incident. Burr went on the Rich Eisen pod shortly after and referred to Mandel as a “Hollywood whore” for the stunt. “I legitimately thought I was doing something nice, I swear to you,” Mandel said this week. “I thought it was funny.”

Watch Mandel’s mea culpa and a snippet of the original podcast below.