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2025 is already off to a wild start in the hip-hop world, and Billboard Unfiltered is back to break it all down with a new episode on Friday (Feb. 14), tackling all things Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance and Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) crashout.
Billboard‘s Damien Scott gave his stamp of approval to Lamar’s performance, as he loved to see Kendrick bring an “unadulterated rap show” to the biggest stage in America.
“We’ve had rappers before, but we’ve never had a rapper headline, and I’m glad it was Kendrick because what we got was a real rap show. He didn’t lean into his pop bag,” Scott said. “He kept his setlist outside of the SZA collabs it was super rap. You know how hard it is to rap ‘DNA’? I can’t imagine doing that in a leather jacket.”
Staff writer Kyle Denis enjoyed Kendrick remaining in his “imperial phase” and performing his new album rather than “mining for hits,” as we’ve seen plenty of other artists turn their Super Bowl sets into a greatest hits medley of sorts to appease the wide-ranging audience.
“You’re at the top of your game right now. As much as I wanted to hear the old stuff, I really respect what he did up there,” Denis said.
Unfiltered newcomer and hip-hop editor Angel Diaz admitted he was initially “underwhelmed” by the show, but after leaving the chaotic environment he was watching the game at and ran it back, he developed more of an appreciation for what Lamar delivered.
“It was impressive,” he said. “His wind, voice control — I kinda wanted some of the features to pop out like the mariachi singer, AzChike — I wanted to see him do ‘Peekaboo.’ When he announced SZA and people were trashing him, I thought she was gonna do more.”
Scott wonders how Kendrick’s set will translate to stadiums across the country on the Grand National Tour because of how “tightly wound” the songs are he performs. He even compared the tracks to “Swiss watches.”
Scott declared the Kendrick-Drake beef over and warned the 6 God to never say Kendrick’s name again going forward. “Don’t ever mention his name again. Just leave this alone, it’s over, bro,” he said.
Where does Ye go from here? West delivered a series of antisemitic, homophobic and hate-filled rants on X over the weekend ,which saw him praise Hitler and call for Diddy’s freedom.
“I don’t know how Ye gets back if you don’t have a built-in base to bolster you when you need it,” Scott adds. “Because we’re done. We should be the ones, ‘Get some help and we’re here for you.’ We’re like, ‘It’s over, peace.’”
Denis thinks we’ve hit a point where we have to ask ourselves if it’s worth covering Ye to this extent if he’s looking for attention.
Watch the full episode above.
The Avicii estate is again opening the vault Friday (Feb. 14), releasing of a new version of the late producer’s 2016 track “Forever Yours.” Titled “Forever Yours – Tim’s 2016 Ibiza Version,” the song comes on the heels of a pair of Avicii documentaries — I’m Tim and My Last Show — released on Netflix […]
JISOO had a lot to discuss with Billboard this Valentine’s Day, from the qualities she looks for in a partner to her love for Britney Spears.
In a video interview with Billboard News posted Friday (Feb. 14) — the same date the BLACKPINK star dropped her highly anticipated debut solo mini-album, AMORTAGE — JISOO spoke about some of the songs on her new record, including the very Valentines-appropriate “Your Love,” on which she sings about a perfect romance. When asked to describe what her “dream man” would be like in real life, the star had three qualities in mind.
“I love it when someone has similar taste in food,” she shares. “And if they treat me well, that makes me really happy. But I think having the same sense of humor is the most important. If that doesn’t click, things can feel a bit dull.”
Featuring three other tracks besides “Your Love,” AMORTAGE is just one of several solo projects the ladies of BLACKPINK have dropped during their band break this past year. ROSÉ released solo album rosie in December, LISA’s Alter Ego is coming later this month, and JENNIE has been sharing singles such as January’s “Love Hangover” with Dominic Fike as she puts the finishing touches on her own album.
While she was preparing her own solo music last year, JISOO says she had one legendary pop soloist in mind. “I love Britney Spears,” she tells Billboard. “I grew up listening to Britney Spears, and every time I prepare for a solo release, I always find myself going back to her ‘…Baby One More Time’ music video as a reference.”
“I love that pop vibe, and I always say, ‘I want to shoot something with that kind of energy,’” she gushes. “It’s a video I consistently use as inspiration when creating my own.”
But while working on AMORTAGE — in addition to filming her latest Korean screen project, Newtopia — has been fulfilling, JISOO says she’s excited to reunite with her bandmates in 2025. Earlier this month, BLACKPINK teased that a world tour is imminent this year, about which the “FLOWER” singer said she “can’t wait.”
“Last year, as each member focused on individual activities, we all grew a lot,” she tells Billboard. “Now, as we come together for this year, I feel like we’ll be able to return with an even bigger and more spectacular presence. Everyone’s excited about it, and we’ve been sharing ideas. We’ve already done a lot of preparations for this year.”
“Working solo has been an amazing experience,” JISOO adds. “But honestly, it can get a little lonely sometimes.”
For the record, Selena Gomez liked Benny Blanco first. The singer reveals that crucial piece of their relationship puzzle in the couple’s first joint interview in Interview magazine, in which they talk for the first time about Blanco’s elaborate proposal, their just-announced, upcoming joint album, I Said I Love You First (March 21), and how a chance meeting more than 15 years ago eventually resulted in true love.
“We got in the studio to work on a song and we just talked; that’s how easy it was for me. I liked him before he liked me,” Gomez, 32, said of working closely with the producer/songwriter she first met in 2013 when she was a teenager signed to Disney Records and her mom set up a songwriting meeting between them to see if they would click.
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“When she started putting out music, I was so into it. I feel like she was the original sad girl,” Blanco said of Gomez, noting that he had “no idea” she liked him when they re-connected to work on music years later. “I feel like you could be friends with someone forever but not know until you have that one night,” Gomez said. Blanco, admittedly oblivious at the time, said he told Gomez he could introduce her to some of his friends and maybe “hook you up with some dates,” not realizing Gomez liked-liked him.
“And then we were texting afterwards and we decided to get dinner the next day. I guess she thought it was a date and I had no idea it was a date,” said Blanco. “The second time we hung out, our second date, I was like, ‘Wait, does she like me?’ I was clueless. From then on, it was easy. You know when you think you met the right person, you’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ But it feels so different. The second we started hanging out, I was like, ‘This is my wife.’ I was telling my mom, ‘This is the girl I’m going to marry.’”
And indeed, they are now engaged and at one point Gomez showed off her pointy marquise-cut diamond ring, telling the writer that ever since the days of “Good For You” — the lead single from the singer’s 2015 sophomore album, Revival — “that’s the diamond I’ve always dreamed of.” Ever self-deprecating, Blanco breathed a sigh of relief and noted of his ring choice, “I just tried not to f–k up. That’s all I did.” It’s worth adding that Blanco co-produced two poignantly titled songs off Revival, “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” and “Same Old Love.”
And while Gomez suggested that she was not “anal” about the choice of ring, Blanco playfully added that his fiancé did show him some designs and would “always throw little hints” around. Blanco said he responded with, “‘Yeah, but if I ever made one, would you want it like this?’” to test her preferences. “And then she changed her mind halfway through,” he said, revealing that the original design had “huge baguettes on the side” before Gomez realized she wanted something a bit less ostentatious. (Not to worry, Benny assured the writer that they now have “extra baguettes” that are going to be turned into earrings.)
Blanco didn’t spill the beans about the details of his proposal either, but called his elaborate set-up “the sickest surprise,” though he said the necessary lying to keep his plans secret was beginning to cause problems. “At the end, she was starting to get upset because she was like, ‘Why aren’t you coming home tonight?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just at my friends.’ I almost did it early. But I nailed it, I think,” Blanco said.
For further proof of how smitten the two are with each other — as if any was needed after Thursday’s (Feb. 13) drop of their draped-all-over-each-other video for the upcoming album’s first single, “Scared of Loving You” — Blanco, 36, said his ebullient, extroverted nature is a balance to Selena’s serene, introverted vibe.
“It’s so good because I get her out, and she calms me down when I need it. She’s the first person that I’ve been with where I’m like, ‘I don’t even give a f–k what’s going on. I could sit in this bed with you for 72 hours and feel like I didn’t miss anything,’” he said of the singer he began dating in June 2023 before getting engaged last month. “She’s like my f–king heroin and Xanax combined. Whenever I’m feeling anything but perfect, she knows the exact thing to say. I’m so pissed that it took this long. It’s like, ‘How did we not figure this out sooner?’”
Blanco said he’s learned to “worship the ground she walks on,” a feeling that’s mutual, sharing that there is “no ego between us. She’s praying for me to win and I’m praying for her to win.”
Knowing that Hollywood and music history are littered with the burnt-out husks of projects born of love that ended in heartache, Blanco said that when they began working on the album in secret at home they agreed that if it ever got weird, “‘we can cancel it immediately.’” How chill were the sessions? Gomez revealed that at some points she was lying down in bed, or at least sitting on it, while recording vocals.
Gomez told the magazine that she’s not working on any new pop songs after hinting in December that she was “too old” to do the pop thing anymore, mostly because she’s still doing the rounds promoting her big screen role in the Oscar-nominated drug kingpin musical Emilia Peréz. “This is probably the most exciting time for me in my career and personal life, like genuinely,” she said of the buzz around the film nominated for 13 Oscars.
Gomez hasn’t released a full-length album since her third studio project, 2020’s Rare, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and spawned her first-ever No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lose You to Love Me.” In 2021, she dropped a Spanish-language EP, Revelación.
As for his next big project, after working with so many A-listers (Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Katy Perry), Blanco said he was feeling stuck until he began working on the couple’s album. “This was such a cathartic experience and a way to get back into it,” he said. “I never put stuff out just to put stuff out. I wait until the perfect thing happens and I’ve been blessed to work with so many f–king good artists, including you. I feel like all my dreams came true. I feel like this was one of the last dreams, finding the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. I know it sounds so corny and cheesy.”
This week in dance music: Blond:ish releases her debut album Never Walk Alone today, a week after being announced as Pacha Ibiza’s first female headline resident DJ. Charlotte de Witte, Sara Landry, Horsegiirl and many others were added to the Movement 2025 lineup; EDC Las Vegas announced the lineup for its May event; Winter Music Conference announced the first wave of speakers for its event next month in Miami; Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele signed a global deal with Warner Chappell Music; Seven Lions signed with management company MLennial and Justice hit the Hot 100 for the first time in the duo’s decades-long career with its appearance on The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow opener “Wake Me Up.”
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And on this day of love, we celebrate our enduring passion for the music with the best new dance tracks of the week.
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Haai, “Can’t Stand to Lose”
Australia-born, London-based producer Haai returns with her first new music since 2023 via “Can’t Stand to Lose.” A reflection on the fast-paced DJ life and the desire to sometimes slow down, the song takes its time unfurling, creating a nuanced depth and mood evoking both solitude and a crowded club. The artist born Teneil Throssell calls the song “a reflection on longing, loss, and the deeply human emotions that accompany them – the nostalgia, the yearning, and the vulnerability. It’s inspired by our rapidly changing world and how it reshapes our lives: opening possibilities that are initially exciting, but are soon met with the realization of what’s lost. It’s a meditation on what we gain and what we leave behind.” Her upcoming U.S. shows include the music cruise Friendship, which sets sail from Miami next week, and back to back weekends at Coachella in April.
Anyma, Argy & Son of Son, “Voices In My Head”
Having played a whole lot of unreleased music during his Sphere residency, Anyma is now in the process of releasing some of it. A standout moment of the show came during the segment when the venue’s screens were filled with thousands of blinking and seemingly sleep-deprived eyes, a segment soundtracked by a song we now know is called “Voices In My Head.” Out today on Interscope Records, the song is a collaboration with Greek artist Argy and Swedish producer Son of Son and further establishes the dark but still widely accessible melodic techno that is Anyma’s signature. Anyma will play his final four dates at Sphere in late February and early March.
Sammy Virji, “I Guess We’re Not the Same”
After blasting through our earholes with 2024’s totally undeniable Interplanetary Criminal collab “Damager,” white-hot U.K. producer Sammy Virji returns with the mellower but equally compelling “I Guess We’re Not the Same.” Out on Astralwerks, the song’s bouncy, singsong vibe juxtaposes with kind of bittersweet lyrics, with the theme also reflected in the track’s undertow of a bassline. Virji’s upcoming U.S. tour includes appearances at Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, Movement and Bonnaroo.
DJ Minx, “Blocked”
Let us not forget that Valentine’s Day is also about self-love and that self-love is a lot about boundaries, sentiments Detroit legend DJ Minx celebrates today with her latest release. “Delete,” she commands on the track, “unfollow, removed, blocked,” reminding us all that sometimes taking care of ourselves is as simple as pressing a button and eliminating anything and anyone, that is, as she puts it, “f–king with my flow.” The wind up house track gives the whole exercise a commanding and celebratory feel.
Alok & Kylie Minogue, “Last Night I Dreamt I Fell in Love”
Generational dance royalty Kylie Minogue makes another run for the booth with “Last Night I Dreamt I Fell In Love,” her first collab with Brazilian producer Alok. Much like the lovey dreamscape it references, the two-minute track has an ephemeral quality, but like a good dream, is also sweet while it lasts.
Michael Bublé pulls out all the Canadian stops to get 31-year-old Jessica Manalo on his The Voice team.
In an exclusive audition video premiering on Billboard below, the Las Vegas native tries out for season 27 of the reality competition show, putting her own spin on Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Unholy.” The reimagined version of the hit featured Manalo on acoustic guitar, without sacrificing the sultriness of the collab.
Bublé turned his chair first and Kelsea Ballerini followed shortly after, leaving Manalo with the difficult decision of choosing between the two coaches.
“I love that song, and it took me a minute to realize that you had reimagined it, then I turn around and you’re playing a guitar,” Ballerini told the contestant. “I play guitar. You’re a musician, you’re a creative, I love that you’re from Vegas — I’m feeling lucky. Women are killing it in music right now, specifically women who have these really identifiable voices and styles, and that’s what you have.”
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It was then Bublé’s turn to state his case, jokingly pleading, “Sure, you could go to Team Kelsea. You could go to this incredibly young, smart, talented, really fresh-brained woman, or you could be with a much older — what was I saying?”
“A Canadian gentleman,” fellow coach John Legend chimed in to help.
Bublé then turned the Canadian energy up a notch when Ballerini tried to offer Manalo a pair of cowboy boots to convince her to choose the country singer as her coach. Bublé whipped out a hockey jersey, and the floor turned into an ice hockey rink.
That’s not all. He completed the show by belting out the Canadian national anthem. “All of this was so expensive, and I did it because I really hope you choose me,” he told Manalo with a laugh.
Watch the full audition below, and find out who Manalo chooses on The Voice, which airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, before streaming the next day on Peacock.
It wasn’t all kisses and hugs on Drake and PartyNextDoor’s new collaborative album, $OME $EXY $ONGS 4 U, as on Friday (Feb. 14), the OVO captain had time to denounce not only his 2024 feud with Kendrick Lamar, but also his one-time friendship with Joe Budden.
The blockbuster album includes 21 songs — mostly R&B — with a few exceptions, most notably, “Gimme a Hug.” Here, Drake puts his rap muscles to work, first questioning Lamar’s lyricism and how it doesn’t spark any fanfare from the ladies at the club. “Cause if I die, it’s these n—as that become the sole beneficiary/ And what the f–k are they gon’ do with it?/ Have the girls up at 29 on stage twerking with a dictionary?” he says.
Not only does he claim to be over the smoldering beef with Lamar that included a whopping total of seven disses records last spring, but he’s shifting his energy toward making hits for the fans. “Damn, they be droppin’ s–t, but we be droppin’ harder s–t/ F–k a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit,” he spits.
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Drake also commended his Her Loss rap partner, 21 Savage, for his unwavering loyalty during the contentious feud before ultimately blitzing Budden. “Savage, you the only n—a checkin’ on me when we really in some s–t, brother/ Melyssa Ford, you a legend from the 6, hate to see you with a d–k-sucker.”
This isn’t the first time Drake has jabbed the famous podcaster this week. He posted an unflattering picture of Joe Budden on his Finsta account on Instagram, which irked the “Pump It Up” rapper.
“Drake, don’t shoot at me now that you’re ice cold,” he said on his eponymous podcast. “I’m not doing the back and forth with a corpse. Don’t go get shot all year and then pop up like Bernie in Weekend at Bernie’s wanting to shoot at me now. No n—a, go spin. Spin the f–king block.”
Listen to “Gimme a Hug” below.
The Backstreet Boys‘ 25th-anniversary celebrations for signature album Millennium are about to be larger than life, with the band announcing a revamped version of the LP along with three more Sphere residency dates Friday (Feb. 14). As revealed Valentine’s Day morning by bandmates Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough on […]
The Jonas Brothers are going back to their early mall-rocking days to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The sibling trio announced on Friday (Feb. 14) that they will be hosting a one-day blowout event dubbed JONASCON at the sprawling American Dream mall in their native New Jersey on March 23.
According to a statement announcing the gathering that is a tip of the hat to Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas’ mall barnstorming gigs from two decades ago, next month’s event will feature live performances, DJ sets, Q&A panels, fan activations, pop-up surprises, retail takeovers, a Jonas trading post, trivia, games, immersive experiences, an interactive art installation, keynote event, karaoke, a Camp Rock bar, special guests, mini golf and exclusive merch. “From their early beginnings to global pop icons, JONASCON will honor the band’s incredible journey while also showing their appreciation to the fans who have been with them from the beginning,” the statement promised.
Fans can register for free tickets to JONASCON now here. “A nod to their early days of mall performances, a first-of-its-kind music fan event, JONASCON promises to give fans the chance to engage in unique experiences, at one of the largest indoor retail and entertainment centers in the world,” the statement said of the American Dream complex, the three million square foot behemoth in East Rutherford, N.J. in the Meadowlands Sports Complex that is second only to Minnesota’s Mall of America in size and footprint.
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In addition to a massive tree sculpture, 450 shops and 100 places to eat, American Dream has an NHL-sized ice rink, a Nickelodeon-themed indoor theme park, as well as a water park, indoor ski slope, two mini golf courses, aquarium, mirror maze and a trampoline park, among other attractions.
Anyone who registers for JONASCON will also gain first access to additional Jonas Brothers-themed events happening throughout the weekend of March 22-23 in both New York city and at American Dream; additional details on these exclusive, ticketed events will be shared with registered attendees in the upcoming days.
At press time the group had not announced the capacity for the JONASCON event.
The JoBros sparked fear in Jonas Nation earlier this week when they shared a lengthy post on their socials that made some think they were looking back in order to announce a potential split; the siblings broke up in 2013 after eight years together before reuniting in 2019.
“To our incredible fans, as a family, we have been reflecting a lot lately,” the post began. “It’s been 20 years since we started this journey together. To us, it feels like just yesterday we were loading up our family mini-van with a couple of guitars and copies of It’s About Time CDs, en route to an afternoon performance at a local to play for anyone who would listen. We were chasing our dream to play music and connect with others in a deep way that only music can provide. We were teenagers then.. actually, Nick wasn’t even old enough to get into a PG-13 movie.”
Further reading, however, revealed that the brothers were simply feeling nostalgic about how much their fans have meant to them and what that fandom has allowed the trio to do over the past two decades. “We treasure our connection with you as much today as we did when we played our first show. We are celebrating this wild 20-year journey by doing what we love, and we can’t wait to share it with you,” they promised, teasing a “year of music,” which will include new tunes from the Brothers, as well as a live album, soundtrack and solo music.
Check out the JONASCON poster below.
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Drake and PND flip the script, Sabrina Carpenter makes Short a little longer, and JISOO arrives as a solo star. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U
Drake wants you to forget about the Kendrick Lamar chatter, and remember that it’s Valentine’s Day. With $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a new project with his pal PARTYNEXTDOOR that functions like the R&B version of Her Loss as a full-length collaboration, Drizzy focuses on personal opulence and romantic entanglements while occasionally nodding toward current events: “F–k a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit,” he sneers on “Gimme a Hug.”
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Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe)
Although Sabrina Carpenter’s commercial breakthrough Short n’ Sweet was released less than six months ago, the pop star has been on such a hot streak that she added five new tracks to the short, sweet full-length: this deluxe edition not only boasts a Dolly Parton-assisted version of the No. 1 hit “Please Please Please,” but a new synth-pop confection, “Busy Woman,” that sounds like it could be Carpenter’s next innuendo-heavy smash.
JISOO, Amortgage
As her BLACKPINK group mates ROSÉ, LISA and JENNIE have all made their solo bids in recent months, JISOO has dropped a head-turning project of her own: Amortgage is miles beyond her 2023 double-single ME as far as sonic identity and vocal confidence, as tracks like the kinetic single “Earthquake” and snappy dance track “Hugs & Kisses” recall delicious turn-of-the-century bubblegum, streamlined for a new generation.
Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco, “Scared of Loving You”
The newly engaged Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco have also teamed up for a collaborative album, I Said I Love You First, that arrives in March, and while “Scared of Loving You” launches that project with muted vulnerability, the track also represents the welcome return of Gomez as one of our most thoughtful pop stars, five years removed from her last solo album.
Addison Rae, “High Fashion”
Fans of Addison Rae’s smoky delivery and sensual lyricism on last year’s “Diet Pepsi” have received a worthy sequel with “High Fashion,” as the former social media star and rising pop siren sounds increasingly confident while delivering lines like “I don’t need your drugs / I’d rather get, rather get high fashion.”
The Lumineers, Automatic
Rustic folk-rock has certainly made its way back into the mainstream thanks in part to troubadours like Noah Kahan and Hozier, although the Lumineers, who planted their flag in that area over a decade ago, aren’t interested in trend-chasing on new album Automatic, which finds the veteran band tossing out racing anthems rather than getting lost in banjo side quests.
Sam Smith, “Love is a Stillness”
A press release describes Sam Smith’s latest single as “a Valentine’s gift to their fans,” and if you’re a longtime supporter of Smith’s honey-voiced piano balladry, “Love is a Stillness” harkens back to their career beginnings, swerving away from pop experimentation to remind listeners how sturdy that classic vocal power remains.
Editor’s Pick: Bon Iver, “Everything is Peaceful Love”
“Everything is Peaceful Love,” the latest taste of Bon Iver’s long-awaited fifth album, has softer features than classics like “Skinny Love” and even “Holocene,” but has the same sort of immediate accessibility: Justin Vernon weaves his falsetto into multi-part harmonies and vibes out to the soft-rock synthesizers, creating another blissful anthem for patio listening in the summertime.