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A$AP Rocky was full of emotions in the moment a jury ruled he was not guilty in his 2021 felony shooting case Tuesday (Feb. 18). So much so, he leapt straight over a courtroom barrier into the arms of the first person he wanted to celebrate with: Rihanna. In a news clip from a […]
“I’ve been bursting at the seams to be able to talk about this stuff,” Chloe Moriondo tells Billboard of her upcoming album, Oyster. The singer-songwriter shifted her aesthetic across her three previous albums, from the ukulele twee on 2018’s Rabbit Hearted. to heartfelt pop-punk on 2021’s Blood Bunny to fuzzed-out, radio-ready melodies on 2022’s SUCKERPUNCH.
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Oyster, due out Mar. 28 on Public Consumption/Atlantic Music Group, functions as an amalgamation of those sounds, while also featuring the 22-year-old’s most vulnerable lyrics by far. “This feels like a very special project,” says Moriondo. “I’m nervous, as I always am before releasing things, but especially because this one’s so personal.”
On Wednesday (Feb. 19), Moriondo released the second preview of the album with “Hate It,” a gleefully unhinged pop track with a creeping bass line and an obsessive protagonist (“Wanna wear your body and trade places / Everybody loves you, and I hate it,” Moriondo sings on the chorus). After showcasing a sardonic streak on SUCKERPUNCH, Moriondo lets the dark humor simmer on the track while the listener is urged to hum along.
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“It’s one of the only non-aquatic songs off the album,” Moriondo says of “Hate It,” which is surrounded by songs titled “7 Seas,” “Abyss” and “Shoreline” on Oyster. “I did stick very thematically with the ocean, water and all things aquatic in general. But ‘Hate It’ was an oddball, and it just proved to me that I’m going to continue writing murderous pop love songs till I die, I’m pretty sure. And we just couldn’t leave her off the album.”
Moriondo began working on the new album in early 2023, tinkering on songs for weeks at a time in London and Los Angeles, while also processing the worst breakup of her life. Heartbreak, and how to manage its aftereffects, serves as the undercurrent of Oyster, from the mournful piano ballad “Pond” to the reflective bedroom-pop track “Raw” to the breathtaking “Siren Calling,” which offers closure within the final track.
“It was very cathartic to be able to pour out everything that had been going on in my brain and in my life,” Moriondo notes. “It was nerve-wracking, in some ways. I kind of felt like a baby sea turtle — flopping around, confused — for the first couple sessions and the first couple songs. I felt a little bit nervous, but it also felt like an outpouring of pent-up energy and emotion that I was excited to finally be able to release.”
Not only does Oyster represent the cohesive front-to-back listen of Moriondo’s career, but the singer-songwriter says that she wants every aspect of this album campaign to feel part of a whole — and that she became more hands-on with the planning of execution of this rollout than she’s ever been.
“With this album, I’ve just learned how crucial it can be to be as involved as possible creatively, with every facet of the album,” she says. “With an album like Blood Bunny or Rabbit Hearted., I was so young, and I say this as a term of endearment, but I was still very ignorant to a lot of things. I don’t think I poured as much of myself as I could have into a lot of my previous stuff, in terms of the touring, the vinyl packaging, just the life and blood of it. So I think I’m much more connected creatively to this album than I have been.”
After releasing “Shoreline” as the first taste of Oyster last month, Moriondo also announced a spring headlining tour, which kicks off on Apr. 24 in Detroit. She says that ideas for performing these new songs live have dominated her thoughts for months, and she hopes that her shows are as freeing for her fans as making this album proved to be for her.
“The people who come to my shows, whether they’re longtime fans or new fans or boyfriends or parents of fans, can expect to experience a very immersive show,” Moriondo says with a laugh. “A lot of dancing, a lot of potential crying, and something reminiscent of the Jellyfish Jam from Spongebob.”
How you like that! BLACKPINK announced its highly anticipated 2025 world tour dates on Wednesday, Feb. 19, revealing that the global trek will kick off in July.
The K-pop supergroup consisting of JENNIE, ROSÉ, JISOO and LISA revealed that the limited run of shows will begin with a pair of shows July 5 and 6 at the Goyang Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, followed by stops in Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Barcelona and more. The tour ends Aug. 15 with a stop at London’s famed Wembley Stadium, which will also mark the first time that a K-pop girl group has ever headlined the venue.
Though not mentioned in the press release, the group’s Instagram post announcing the tour dates also revealed that 2026 shows are also coming to the Tokyo Dome in mid January.
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Tickets for the shows go on sale Feb. 27 via Live Nation. Onsale start times will vary by market.
The 2025 world tour will be the first time BLACKPINK has gone on the road as a group since the Born Pink World Tour, which ran from 2022 to 2023. That trek landed the K-pop group on the Billboard‘s 2023 Top Tours chart, having sold 703,000 tickets over 29 shows during the period of eligibility; the trek grossed $148.3 million.
The group first teased the upcoming tour on Feb. 5. At the time, little information was revealed, with BLACKPINK sharing just a quick teaser video of fans screaming in massive venues, the four women on stage and the clip ending with the message “2025 World Tour” in pink lettering over a black background.
Over the past year, JENNIE, ROSÉ, JISOO and LISA have taken a break from group duties to focus on their own solo projects. LISA’s solo effort, Alter Ego, arrives at the end of the month on Feb. 28, while JENNIE‘s Ruby arrives a week later on March 7. JENNIE is also dropping a collab track with Doechii titled “ExtraL” this Friday (Feb. 21). And just last week on Valentine’s Day, JISOO dropped her mini solo album, AMORTAGE. ROSÉ’s solo album rosie arrived in early December, and also features her Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit “APT.” alongside Bruno Mars.
LISA, who also confirmed that a BLACKPINK tour was coming this year in her November Billboard cover story, expressed excitement about the trek at the time. Said the pop star: “I can’t wait.”
See BLACKPINK’s 2025 World Tour dates below:
Justin Timberlake, BTS’ J-Hope, Gracie Abrams, Raye and Benson Boone are among the headliners for 2025’s Lollapalooza Berlin. Among the other acts slated to perform on July 12 and 13 at Olympic Park and the Olympic Stadium in Berlin are: Armin Van Burren, Brutalismus 3000, Ive, The Last Dinner Party, Dom Dolla, John Summit, Artemas, Shaboozey, Royel Otis, Ashnikko, Magdalena Bay, Sofi Tukker, Bigxthaplug and Mark Ambor, among many others.
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Tickets for the festival are on sale now.
Lollapalooza Berlin was the first European extension of the beloved Lolla brand, first touching down in 2015, shifting between a series of different venues before finding its permanent home in the Olympic Park in the heart of Berlin.
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Last year’s fest featured a similarly eclectic lineup topped by Sam Smith, Martin Garrix, Burna Boy, OneRepublic, Seventeen, The Chainsmokers and solo sets from former One Direction band mates Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
The 2025 Berlin edition will also host Mother Mother, Mahmut Orhan, Argy, Mark Ambor, Bunt., Nora En Pure, Miss Monique, Anna, Flo, Joey Valence & Brae, Neil Frances Present Club NF, Benjamin Ingrosso and Wasia Project, among others. The set from J-Hope will come following the conclusion of the K-pop superstar’s Hope on the Stage 2025 solo world tour, which will kick off on Feb. 28 with the first of two shows at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea before jumping to the Barclays Center in New York and winding down on June 1 with the second of two shows at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
Check out the poster for the 2025 Lollapalooza Berlin festival below.
Beyoncé has added a fourth and final date at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium as part of her anticipated 2025 Cowboy Carter & the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit tour. The singer announced on Wednesday (Feb. 19) that the addition of the July 14 show — which will now serve as the final stop on the outing slated to kick off in Los Angeles on April 28 — has set a record for the most performances at 75,000-plus capacity home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
There will be a series of pre-sales for the new date ahead of the general on-sale, which will kick off on Friday (Feb. 21) at 12 p.m. local time here. A Beyhive pre-sale for the new date will begin on Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET through Thursday (Feb. 20) at 11 a.m. ET.
The Live Nation-promoted tour in support of Bey’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album will play multiple dates across the U.S. and Europe this summer, kicking off with five dates at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, followed by a three-night stand at Chicago’s Soldier Field and five gigs at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
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The production will then jump to London for six shows at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium between June 5-June 16, a three-night stand at Stade de France in Paris and the back to the U.S. for a pair of hometown shows at NRG Stadium in Houston. The tour will wind-down with a pair of gigs at Northwest Stadium in Washington, D.C. and the four shows in Atlanta on July 10, 11, 13 and 14.
Check out the updated list of dates for the tour below (new show in bold):
April 28 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
May 1 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
May 4 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
May 7 – Inglewood, CA @ SoFi Stadium
May 9 – Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium
May 15 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
May 17 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
May 18 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
May 22 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
May 24 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
May 25 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
May 28 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium
May 29 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
June 5 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 7 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 10 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 12 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 14 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 16 – London, UK @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 19 – Paris, France @ Stade de France
June 21 – Paris, France @ Stade de France
June 22 – Paris, France @ Stade de France
June 28 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium
June 29 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium
July 4 – Washington, D.C. @ Northwest Stadium
July 7 – Washington, D.C. @ Northwest Stadium
July 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
July 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
July 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
July 14 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Before he began dating Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce was a typical bro, bro. At least according to former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who sat down with Trav’s big brother, fellow retired NFL great Jason Kelce, on this week’s Fitz & Whit podcast to talk beer pong and the tremendous growth they’ve seen in Travis since […]
Paquita la del Barrio will be honored at Premio Lo Nuestro 2025 with an emotional performance by Pepe Aguilar and his children Leonardo y Ángela Aguilar, Billboard can exclusively announce Wednesday (Feb. 19).
The iconic Mexican ranchera singer, known for denouncing macho culture and attitudes in songs like “Tres Veces Te Engañé,” “Rata de Dos Patas” and “Las Rodilleras,” died this week at her home in Veracruz, Mexico, at age 77.
“Honoring the legacy of Paquita la del Barrio for me is a great responsibility and a true privilege. Her voice was an echo in the soul of our people, and her courage in telling stories paved the way for many generations,” Pepe Aguilar said in a statement, adding that he hopes “that this tribute is as significant with the depth of her spirit.”
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“Paquita la del Barrio taught us that a woman’s voice should never be silenced — she always sang what she felt, without fear and without excuses,” added Ángela Aguilar. “I had the incredible honor of opening her concerts when I was younger, witnessing firsthand the magic she created on stage. Having her as part of [my family’s show] Jaripeo Sin Fronteras was just as special — a true testament to the impact she has had on generations of artists.”
Meanwhile, Leonardo Aguilar expressed: “All my life I have been surrounded by powerful women — whose strength, resilience and passion have shaped who I am. Paquita la del Barrio personified that strength, breaking barriers and giving a voice to those who needed it most.”
With a career spanning over five decades, Paquita la del Barrio was an idol in popular music. In 2011, she received the Billboard Regional Mexican Music Award “La Voz,” and 10 years later, in 2021, she was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards for her exceptional career.
Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Francisca Viveros Barradas (her real name) discovered her powerful voice as a child while singing at school festivals. In the 1970s, she formed the duo Las Golondrinas with her sister Viola, and in 1984, she released her debut album, El Barrio de los Faroles, as Paquita la del Barrio. Since then, she recorded over 30 albums, which sold more than 30 million copies, with hits that also include “Las Mujeres Mandan,” “La Última Parada,” “Me Saludas a la Tuya,” “Soltero Maduro, Chiquito” and “Hombres Malvados,” among others.
In its 37th edition, the Premio Lo Nuestro ceremony will be broadcast live on Thursday (Feb. 20) starting at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on Univision, UNIMÁS and ViX. Co-hosted by Laura Pausini, Thalia, and Alejandro Espinoza, it will feature performances by Becky G and Carín León, who lead this year’s list of nominees, as well as Shakira, Grupo Frontera, Marc Anthony, Will Smith and many more.
A$AP Rocky jumped into Rihanna‘s arms after a jury acquitted him on both counts in the shooting case involving his former friend A$AP Relli (Terrell Ephron). A short time later, it was RihRih who was jumping for joy while celebrating the verdict, writing in her Instagram Story, “THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD AND GOD ALONE! THANKFUL, HUMBLED BY HIS MERCY!”
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She ended the post with a prayer hands emoji.
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The singer, 36, was on hand for the final days of the four-week trial in which Rocky (born Rakim Mayers) was facing significant prison time tied to an incident that took place in November 2021 in which he was accused of firing a handgun twice at Relli near a Hollywood hotel. The 36-year-old rapper was arrested in Los Angeles in April 2022 and hit with two felony counts of assault with a firearm and was facing a maximum of 24 years in prison.
After deliberating for around three hours, the jury returned its not guilty verdict on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 18), prompting Rocky to jump over the railing into the arms of an ecstatic Rihanna, with whom he shares two young children, RZA, 2 and Riot, 1. Rocky also took to his socials to celebrate the end of the long-running case, writing on X “DON’T BE DUMB,” a seeming reference to his delayed fourth album of the same name that was slated to drop last August.
At the time, Rocky said posted on X that “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE BEST ALBUM EVER. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT,” explaining the delay in releasing his follow-up to 2018’s Testing album. In a Billboard cover story last summer, Rocky said the delayed album was slated to feature frequent collaborator and friend Tyler, The Creator and former Smiths singer Morrissey, as well as an A-list roster of producers, including Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Hitkidd, Madlib, Metro Boomin and The Alchemist. “I sat and I played the album for Tim Burton, and he was f—ing with it heavy,” he said, adding that the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice director was “rocking his head” while listening. “He’s like, ‘Wow! I didn’t know you made that kind of music!’”
Though the official track list has not been revealed yet, Don’t Be Dumb has been preceded by a number of singles, including “Highjack,” “Tailor Swif” and “Ruby Rosary.”
Blink-182 co-founder Mark Hoppus is setting his sights on the art world, with the musician set to auction off his rare Banksy artwork.
The artwork, titled Crude Oil (Vettriano), was hand-painted by the anonymous English street artist in 2005 and will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on March 4. The painting is valued rather highly, attracting a sales estimate of up to £5 million, or $6.3 million.
Originally created for Banksy’s 2005 exhibit Crude Oils, the painting is itself a recreation of the 1992 artwork The Singing Butler by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. Hoppus would later acquire the piece in 2011.
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As part of the exhibition (which was described as “A Gallery of Re-Mixed Master-Pieces, Vandalism, and Vermin” and featured works based off artists such as Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper), the original was altered to include a “sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheeling a barrel of toxic waste”.
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“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus in a statement. “Unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it. It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. It’s seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments.”
“This isn’t just an iconic Banksy, it is a Banksy that has been treasured by music legend, Mark Hoppus, who fell for this work for its rebellious spirit, raw edge and unfiltered expression—the fundamentals that also shaped Mark’s world: Punk culture,” Sotheby’s Europe chairman Oliver Barker said in a statement.
“Street art and Punk Rock share the same vocabulary—they speak to the outsider, the rebel and the overlooked. Both movements were born from the margins. They challenge authority and rewrite the rules, a fundamental trait shared by Mark and Banksy. Now, by sharing Crude Oil (Vettriano) with the world, Mark will open others’ eyes to the true power art can have; to spark conversation and challenge the way we see the world around us.”
Remaining anonymous over his three decades of activity, Banksy’s artwork has become as iconic as it is divisive, with his creations adorning the walls of art galleries and album covers in equal measure. In 2021, his Love is in the Bin artwork sold for a record £18,582,000 (valued at $23,442,885 today), with the work itself having gained notoriety for its self-destruction upon its initial sale in 2018.
Hoppus says a portion of the funds raised by the sale will go towards charities and funds aiding those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, including the California Fire Foundation, the Child Life Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research.
Crude Oil (Vettriano) is currently on display at Sotheby’s in New York until Thursday (Feb. 20), and will then be on display in London from Feb. 26 until March 4.
The journals of late Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley will be collected in an upcoming book, with This Angry Pen to be released in November.
The 176-page volume will be officially released on Nov. 11 via publisher Weldon Owen, with its full title reading This Angry Pen: The Lost Journals of Layne Staley. According to a description of the book on the website of distributors Simon & Schuster, the book collects “handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes” and more.
“For the first time, this stunning collection unveils the deeply personal and creative side of the legendary Alice in Chains frontman,” it continues. “Through never-before-seen poetry, raw handwritten lyrics, intimate scribblings, and heartfelt notes, Layne’s inner thoughts and emotions come to life, offering a glimpse into the mind of a musical genius who defined a generation.”
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Staley began his musical journey in the ‘80s, performing in glam bands in the Seattle area such as Sleze, which changed its name in 1986 to Alice N’ Chains.
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In 1987, Staley – along with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney – formed a new band and renamed it Alice in Chains. The group would soon become one of the most influential grunge rock outfits of the ‘90s, with their 1995 self-titled album peaking atop the Billboard 200.
In addition to performing and recording with supergroups Mad Season and Class of ‘99 through the decade, Staley became largely reclusive in the latter half of the ‘90s, battling depression and drug addiction during those years. In April 17, 2002, Staley’s body was found in his Seattle apartment, with an autopsy ruling his death as an accidental overdose of cocaine and heroin from two weeks prior.
Alice in Chains would later reform in 2005, with vocalist William DuVall joining the following year. The band have since released three studio albums, with 2018’s Rainier Fog serving as their last record to date.
“Through Layne’s scribblings and heartfelt musings are a window into the emotional depths of a man who gave so much of himself to his art and his fans, even as he struggled with his own battles,” the description for This Angry Pen continued. “For fans new and old, this is an opportunity to connect with Layne’s artistry and humanity in a way that’s never been possible before. His story, told through his own words, creations, and the lives he forever changed, is a testament to the enduring power of music, art, and the human spirit.”
The publication of This Angry Pen also draws some comparisons to the 2002 book Journals, which collected the drawings and writings of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Nirvana and Alice in Chains – along with fellow Seattle contemporaries Pearl Jam and Soundgarden – were often considered to make up the ‘Big Four’ of grunge music. Reaction to Cobain’s Journals was mixed upon its release, with Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean expressing her regret over its publication in 2018.