Music
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After a two-week break for the Paris Summer Olympics, America’s Got Talent returned on Aug. 13 with the first of four live quarterfinal rounds.
Eleven acts took the stage, but it was Peoria, IL, native Liv Warfield who stole the show with her powerful rendition of “The Unexpected,” a song written for her by Prince.
Warfield, who had already made waves with her Golden Buzzer-winning audition, brought an emotional intensity to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that left the judges in awe.
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Backed by her horn-laden band, she delivered a performance that Simon Cowell described as “unbelievable.” “If this was the Olympics for singing, you would have won the gold medal,” Cowell said. “It felt to me like all those years you’ve been climbing the ladder to where you want to be, it all came out in those three minutes.”
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Sofia Vergara was equally impressed, calling Warfield’s performance “Perfection,” and adding, “Your outfit, your voice, the song—it’s amazing to have an artist like you here with us.”
Howie Mandel, a self-proclaimed Prince fan, offered his own high praise. “I’m a huge Prince fan, and he knew what he was doing when he gave you this gem. That was a million-dollar performance. America is crazy if they don’t vote for you, that’s your drop-the-mic moment.”
Warfield’s connection to Prince is both deep and personal. As a former member of his New Power Generation, she was mentored by the legendary artist, who not only shaped her career but also wrote “The Unexpected” specifically for her.
In a heartfelt pre-performance interview, Warfield reflected on her journey: “I’ve been grinding for a long time. Backing up Prince was a dream. But I still haven’t reached the heights I know I can reach. The golden buzzer … when I got home I cried in the car … I cried hard. I didn’t think this would be happening. I’m just everyday people.”
The audience’s response was immediate, with fans taking to social media to voice their support. One commenter noted, “Liv is one of the most talented people that AGT introduced to me,” while another added, “The fact she shared a stage with Prince and sang a song he wrote for her—that alone is amazing. You got my vote.”
As the live rounds continue, Warfield stands out as a top contender, with many eagerly awaiting her next performance.
In addition to her success on AGT, Warfield has made notable achievements on the Billboard charts. Her album The Unexpected reached No. 3 on the Top R&B Albums chart in 2014, and her single “Stay – ‘Soul Lifted’” made an impact on Adult R&B Airplay.
Watch Liv Warfield’s America’s Got Talent performance below.
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Naming their son was not an easy feat for Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott.
The makeup mogul sat down with British Vogue recently, where she revealed that she and Travis Scott’s two-year-old son, Aire, originally had a series of different names. “It hit me differently both times,” she said of the postpartum hormonal changes she experienced with her two children. “Probably with my son it was major baby blues, so I was just so emotional over things that I probably wouldn’t be that emotional about [typically]. On the phone with my mom all day hysterically crying, saying, ‘I can’t figure out his name.’ Now my advice to all my friends having children is pick the name before, because when the hormones hit you can’t make decisions. You can’t,” she cries. “When I met him, he was just the most beautiful thing to me and I couldn’t believe just how perfect he was. I felt like such a failure that I couldn’t name him. He deserved so much more than that. It just really triggered me.”
She continued, “My son’s name was actually Knight for a long time and my daughter, still to this day, is like, ‘Do you remember when Aire’s name was Knight?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ And she’s like, ‘That was so funny, Mom. I like Knight better.’ And I’m like: ‘You know what, we are not doing this again.’”
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Scott and Jenner are also parents to Aire’s big sister, Stormi, who turns seven on Feb. 1.
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The former couple had first said Aire’s name was Wolf after Jenner gave birth in February 2022. But by March, Jenner clarified that her son’s name changed after realizing it didn’t fit his personality.
Jenner also opened up about co-parenting with the rapper. “If I’m away, for example, if I’m here, they’re with their father,” she said of the two children, who split their time between California and their father’s place in Texas.
Los Tigres del Norte are back in command on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart after two years as “Aquí Mando Yo” jumps 2-1 on the Aug. 17-dated list. The new win earns the group its 17th No. 1 and first since March 2022.
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“As always, we want to give sincere thanks to our fans, as well as supporters at radio and media,” Jorge Hernández, frontman for Los Tigres del Norte, tells Billboard. “We feel blessed and proud for the opportunity to be a voice for our community through such a long career and that our music is still so strongly embraced to reach the top of the charts. It drives us to keep creating and playing live.”
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“Aquí Mando Yo” was released May 31 as the title track of the five-song EP on RMS/Fonovisa/UMLE. The song, inspired by the Mexican American former professional wrestler Héctor Guerrero, and which translates to “I’m in command here,” takes the lead on Regional Mexican Airplay with a 23% increase in audience impressions, to 7.8 million, logged during the Aug.2-8 tracking week, according to Luminate.
That move makes Los Tigres del Norte the newest member of an elite club, among the five groups with at least 17 champs or more since Regional Mexican Airplay began in 1994. Plus, Los Tigres del Norte now tie with La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho for the fifth-most, both acts with 17 rulers. Here are those winning members and their No. 1s:
25, Calibre 5020, Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga19, Intocable18, Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga17, La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de Rene Camacho17, Los Tigres del Norte
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Prior to “Aquí Mando Yo,” the norteño group led the ranking through “En Dónde Estabas” for two weeks in March 2022. Its first No. 1, however, dates back almost three decades, the eight-week champ “Golpes En El Corazón” in 1995.
Diving further into the radio ranks, “Aquí Mando Yo” also moves to No. 2 on the overall Latin Airplay chart for Los Tigres Del Norte’s highest ranking since 1997, when “El Mojado Acaudalado” ruled for two weeks in July 1997.
The latest chart feats for Los Tigres del Norte follow their recent resumed tour Aquí Mando Yo, which began August 3rd in El Paso, Texas, and will take the corridos group across over 50 performances throughout the U.S., Mexico, Latin America and Spain, in addition to their first show at Madison Square Garden set for May 2025.
Nick Carter has officially filed a countersuit against his sexual assault accuser, Dream singer Melissa Schuman, asking for $2.5 million in damages. The complaint, filed in the Superior Court of California on July 26 and obtained by Billboard, denies her claims and alleges that Schuman “publicly acknowledges her dwindling career and thirst for internet relevance,” […]
Quincy Homere and Jamar Hill gunned Chinx down in May of 2015 as the rapper waited at a red light in Queens. On Monday (Aug. 12), Homere was sentenced to 23 years in prison in Queens courtroom. “I’d like to express my condolences to the family and anyone else that was affected with what happened […]
Skai Jackson was arrested on Friday (Aug. 9) on suspicion of domestic battery after an incident at Universal Studios in Hollywood. The Disney Channel actress was arrested after security personnel saw her and her boyfriend getting into a physical altercation at the popular theme park, according to the Los Angeles Times. The 22-year-old star was […]
Giulia Be and Conor Kennedy are engaged. The celebrity couple shared the exciting news on Monday (Aug. 12) in a joint Instagram post captioned, “easiest yes of all time,” alongside a blue heart and ring emoji. The post includes three photos of the lovebirds hugging and flaunting the ring, and a reaction video of Giulia […]
If you wanna be Blake Lively‘s lover, you gotta get with her friends — a group that now includes Posh Spice, whom the It Ends With Us star recently met and was totally starstruck by.
In a sweet clip posted by Emma Bunton’s Heart Radio show Sunday (Aug. 11), Lively is audibly a little breathless when the former Spice Girl walks in the room. “Oh my god! This is so crazy,” the actress says as Bunton laughs. “You have no idea. This is not a bit at all. This is how I genuinely how I feel about you, and my kids are so excited I’m here.”
Another video finds the Gossip Girl alum showing off a childhood photo of herself dressed up as Baby Spice. Present-day Lively still wears the “BABY” necklace she’s had since she was 10, and, in the clip, she asks Bunton to take a selfie wearing it. Posting the photo on Instagram, the singer wrote, “Loved spending time with you today. Have an amazing night tonight lovely lady @blakelively”
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Bunton also asks Lively if she knows Scary and Ginger Spice’s iconic “Wannabe” rap before the pair performs it together, to the Age of Adeline leading lady’s delight. “Do I know it? Of course I know it,” she said. “They’re gonna give me a restraining order when I live here.”
The interview came just a few days after the premiere of It Ends With Us in New York City, which Lively attended with husband Ryan Reynolds. The actor’s Deadpool & Wolverine costar Hugh Jackman also hit the red carpet with the couple.
For the event, Lively paid tribute to another Y2K pop star: Britney Spears, whose iconic pink, blue and green sparkly Versace gown the actress wore on the red carpet.
“Britney, us millennials all have a story of a moment, or of years, that you made us want to shine and inspire awe, with strength and joy and immensely hard work,” Lively wrote on her Instagram Story last week. “Thank you for your example and your contribution to women telling their stories.”
Watch clips of Lively meeting Bunton below.
Sheryl Crow is apologizing to her fans after not being at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium over the weekend for a previously announced opening slot on Zach Bryan’s The Quittin’ Time Tour. According to a social media post from Crow, it seems that fans who had anticipated seeing the singer/songwriter open those shows potentially were not properly […]
Navy Blue, born Sage Elsesser, released a surprise album earlier this month. Memoirs In Armour comes on the heels of the professional model and skateboarder-turned-rapper being unceremoniously dropped from Def Jam, where he had released the project Ways of Knowing in 2023. Fans were surprised to see that an underground darling such as himself would […]