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Everything has changed for fans at night 1 of Taylor Swift‘s latest run of Wembley Eras Tour shows: The pop star just treated the crowd to a surprise duet with longtime friend and collaborator Ed Sheeran. As captured by fan video in London, the “Anti-Hero” singer brought out her fellow pop superstar during the surprise […]
With the Summer Olympics wrapping Snoop Dogg’s epic run in Paris and the arrival of Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea album, hip-hop continued to make waves.
Billboard Unfiltered returns with another brand-new episode on Thursday (Aug. 15), with co-hosts Carl Lamarre, Damien Scott and Trevor Anderson breaking down Snoop stealing the Olympic show, Latto’s new album and a possible feud brewing between Travis Scott and Killer Mike.
Sugar Honey Iced Tea arrived last Friday, packed with 17 tracks and a myriad of features from Megan Thee Stallion, Young Nudy, Mariah The Scientist and more. Billboard‘s deputy director, editorial Damien Scott believes this is the strongest album from a female rapper released in 2024, dethroning Megan Thee Stallion’s Megan project.
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“I think it’s great,” he said. “Kyle [Denis] in a previous episode said that he thought when he went to go listen to it that it was the strongest female rap album of the year so far. After listening to it, I tend to agree. I think it’s strong. It’s so cohesive. Everything sounds like it all fits together.
“It’s amazing she was able to work with Grizz and land on this sound that sounds like Atlanta but also sounds very modern. These songs could ring off anywhere in the country.”
Being the resident OVO owl on set, deputy director R&B/hip-hop Carl Lamarre felt that Drake’s imprint could be heard throughout Sugar Honey Iced Tea.
“The reason I like it a lot it’s very Drake-coded,” he stated. “You listen to ‘Georgia Peach,’ it gave me ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later’ vibes. You listen to ‘Big Mama,’ there’s a beat switch in the middle and she does the singing first. A little Drake-esque. Then the outro, ‘S/O to Me’ where she threw some darts at Ice Spice, it gave me more the introspective lyrical Drake vibe that we’re used to getting like ‘Middle of the Ocean,’ ’30 for 30′ type vibes. She annihilated the intro and the outro tracks.”
There was no better hire for NBC than Snoop Dogg, who was completing side missions left and right as a correspondent at the 2024 Olympics. From swimming with Michael Phelps to watching equestrian events with his buddy Martha Stewart, Snoop did it all in Paris.
“We thought he was going to jail for murder and now he’s walking with the Olympic torch. [He’s] definitely the most beloved living rapper,” Scott declared.
Senior charts & data analyst Trevor Anderson mentioned LL Cool J as a possible pushback against Snoop as the most beloved rapper, but saluted the Doggfather for what he’s been able to accomplish in so many different industries.
“The thing about Snoop is I think they’re all genuine. None ever feel like this crazy play,” he added. “To think that Snoop Dogg goes from one of the quintessential faces of Death Row and labeled by mainstream media as the face of gangsta rap and everything you don’t want to be. And now your grandma would have him over for dinner. They would kick it and have a good time and she would teach him how to Crip walk.”
Killer Mike seemingly dissed Travis Scott on his Michael & the Midnight Revival album on the heels of winning the best rap album trophy at the Grammy Awards earlier this year. While Scott didn’t respond, there’s been a simmering feud and back-and-forth on social media from both the rappers’ managers.
“Travis Scott is a young popping rapper in the prime of his career,” Scott chimed in about the unlikely foes. “Killer Mike is like 50-plus and has been rapping since I was maybe in high school and made an album that very few people would do what it did. And this is a nice to have for him, so it’s weird that they’re comparing this with Travis’ big comeback album.”
Watch the full episode below.
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Christina Aguilera is celebrating 25 years of her 1999 self-titled debut album, and its enduring hit “Genie in a Bottle.” While she revealed in her newest Glamour cover story that she’s “grateful” for everything that the album provided for her, it was the start of navigating her journey as an artist that wouldn’t be defined […]
How deep is your K-pop fandom? Are you a fan of BTS, BLACKPINK, Stray Kids, aespa or any other K-pop groups or artists? Billboard wants to know all about it. Whether you’re a mild fan, a hardcore fan or anything in between, your input matters. We know that K-pop fans are a different breed. You’re […]
Greg Kihn, the beloved pop and rock musician known for his hit “Jeopardy,” died on Tuesday (Aug. 13) after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 75 years old.
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The star, born on July 10, 1949, in Baltimore, Md., moved to San Francisco in the mid 1970s, where he became one of the first artists signed to Matthew King Kaufman’s Beserkley Records. He formed the Greg Kihn Band, featuring guitarist Robbie Dunbar, bassist Steve Wright, and drummer Larry Lynch, and the group released a self-titled album in 1976. Through the 1970s, Kihn released an album each year.
However, it wasn’t until 1981 when Kihn got his first major Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em),” from the Rockihnroll album. The track hit No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
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Just two years later, he unveiled the dance-ready hit, “Jeopardy,” which climbed to No. 2 on the Hot 100. In 1984, Kihn gave “Weird Al” Yankovic permission to parody his song into “I Lost on Jeopardy,” and even made a cameo at the end of the music video as the driver of a convertible. In 1985, Kihn signed with EMI.
Beyond his success as a musician, Kihn was also an accomplished author. He wrote four horror fiction novels, including 1996’s Horror Show and 1998’s Shade of Pale. 1998’s Big Rock Beat and 1999’s Mojo Hand were written as sequels to Horror Show. He also wrote Carved in Rock: Short Stories by Musicians, which compiled stories from him and other rock musicians including Pete Townshend, Joan Jett and more. His 2013 novel, Rubber Soul, was a Beatles-themed murder mystery story.
Kihn is survived by Jay Arafiles-Kihn, his wife; his son, Ryan Kihn, and daughter, Alexis Harrington-Kihn; as well as his grandchildren.
Meek Mill wants to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris and ask her three questions. The Philly rapper took to X on Wednesday (Aug. 14) and had questions about the Democratic presidential nominee’s past as San Francisco’s district attorney. “I wanna ask Kamala Harris questions about her past as a da, even if she […]
Halsey has made a habit of deftly bouncing between genres lately and their latest song is no exception. The singer dropped the roiling, rocking single “Lonely Is the Muse” on Thursday (Aug. 15), a pointed, lacerating broadside against those who’ve tried to put them in a box and profit from exploiting her body and soul. […]
After teasing that one was in the works, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have confirmed that they have a collaboration on the way — and it’s coming way sooner than you think. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Both singers (and Super Bowl halftime stars) announced the duet […]
Order up! Chappell Roan is serving fans a behind-the-scenes look at her “Hot to Go!” music video in honor of the track’s one-year anniversary, posting footage from the shoot in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri on YouTube Wednesday (Aug. 14).
The clip opens with Roan fielding questions from an over-curious stranger passing by the video shoot, who doesn’t recognize her and repeatedly asks her if she’s in a rock band. “I’m just a singer, nothing crazy,” she tells him, not knowing then just how astronomically her star would rise in the year ahead of her.
The video then shows various footage of Roan traversing past landmarks of her hometown, including a large horse mural, a fork-shaped sculpture and a theater. While at a mini-golf course, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer says, “Wait, there’s so many people … I’m so embarrassed,” before hardening her resolve: “You know what? It doesn’t matter.”
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“In my hometown, I feel so much less stressed,” she adds later on.
The 26-year-old musician also took a moment to thank a few of her costars in the project — drag performers Tina HC, Ether and Preston Schaeffer — for their participation. The “Hot to Go!” video finds Roan teaching them her song’s corresponding dance moves before they all perform the “YMCA”-esque choreography as a group. “I’m very lucky to have queens and trans people a part of this,” says the star, who’s long been open about how drag has inspired her as a performer. “It’s such a big honor.”
Produced by Dan Nigro, “Hot to Go!” was released almost exactly one year ago on Aug. 11, 2023, and its music video dropped that same day. The Jackie! Zhou-directed visual also shows Roan teaching the song’s dance to her grandparents and a group of fans in Springfield, as well as singing and dancing using bleachers, a gas station and monster trucks as backdrops.
Since the release of the song, which preceded Roan’s Billboard 200 top 10 hit album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, it has steadily climbed the Billboard Hot 100 and recently reached a new peak of No. 17. Five other songs from the LP — “Pink Pony Club,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Casual,” “Femininomenon” and new entry “My Kink Is Karma” — are also on the chart dated Aug. 17, 2024.
Roan honored the song’s one-year anniversary during her Aug. 11 set at Outside Lands by wearing the blue leotard she wears in the music video onstage. She also laid down the law when a group of fans in the festival’s VIP section refused to do the “Hot to Go!” dance with her, scolding: “It’s so weird that VIP thinks they’re so way too cool to do this! You’re not fun! Be fun and try!”
Watch Roan’s new behind-the-scenes footage of “Hot to Go!” above.
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The tenth edition of Art of the Wild is happening this fall at the Wynn Las Vegas. The lineup for the biannual event, which focuses largely on house and techno and this year expands from three to four days, features a team of genre stars including Swedish pioneer Eric Prydz, English legend Fatboy Slim, house […]
