Music
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The Paris 2024 Olympics will reportedly conclude with a musical celebration featuring some of Los Angeles’ most prominent artists.
According to an exclusive report from Variety, the Aug. 11 closing ceremony will feature performances by three of L.A.’s most influential acts: Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, each representing different facets of the city’s rich cultural heritage.
According to the publication, the artists will be seen from Los Angeles in a mix of pre-taped and live performances, a musical handover for the 2028 L.A. Olympic Games.
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A native of Highland Park, Billie Eilish has become one of the defining musical voices of her generation. Her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, not only topped the Billboard 200 but also made her the youngest artist to sweep all four major Grammy categories in a single year.
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Eilish, whose hits like “Bad Guy” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, famously paid homage to her city’s iconic landmarks and culture in her 2021 concert film, Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles.
Snoop Dogg, a cornerstone of West Coast rap, has already been a standout figure throughout the Paris Games. From his viral commentary for NBC to his role as the U.S. Olympic torchbearer, Snoop has brought his charisma to the global stage and solidified himself and somewhat of an unofficial ambassador for the country.
Snoop, whose career spans three decades, has consistently charted on the Billboard Hot 100, including his debut single “Who Am I (What’s My Name?)” and collaborations like “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. Beyond his music career, Snoop has ventured into acting, launched a successful line of cannabis products, and even hosted a cooking show with Martha Stewart.
Rounding out the musical trifecta are hometown heroes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Formed in Los Angeles in 1983, the band has been a driving force in the city’s music scene for decades.
The band has a long history of success on the Billboard charts, with albums like Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication dominating the Billboard 200. Their hit singles “Under the Bridge” and “Scar Tissue” are also staples on the Billboard Hot 100.
But the music isn’t the only draw. Hollywood’s Tom Cruise is reportedly set to perform a stunt that rivals his most famous movie scenes, according to TMZ.
Cruise will reportedly rappel from the top of Stade de France clutching the Olympic flag, followed by a pre-recorded segment showing him skydiving onto the iconic Hollywood sign.
Take a load off, pull up a chair and pour yourself a glass of some Sugar Honey Iced Tea because Latto’s third studio album is finally here! Featuring contributions from Ciara, Coco Jones, Hunxho, Young Nudy, Teezo Touchdown, Megan Thee Stallion and Mariah the Scientist, Sugar Honey Iced Tea stands as Latto’s ultimate ode to […]
Chlöe dropped her sophomore album Trouble in Paradise on Friday (Aug. 9) via Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. “Songs from my diary, inspired by my favorite island,” she wrote on Instagram Thursday. According to her recent HelloBeautiful cover story, Trouble in Paradise was recorded and mastered in St. Lucia. “I can walk around with no makeup, […]
Shawn Mendes is giving fans their first taste of his upcoming album. The star unveiled two tracks, “Why Why Why” and “Isn’t That Enough,” on Friday (Aug. 9). “I stepped off the stage with nothing left/ All the lights were fucking with my head/ But here I am singing songs again/ Why, oh, why/ Ease […]
“Life has shown me that pauses are necessary for human growth,” J Balvin wrote last month on social media, which almost served as a prelude to what seems like a momentous event in his career: releasing his first album in three years. “I’m here again, recharged with energy, grateful and enjoying music like I did […]
Who’s ready to enter Big Mama’s house? After scoring a pair of Grammy nominations off the strength of her monster hit “Big Energy” and topping the Billboard Hot 100 with her Jung Kook collab “Seven,” Latto has finally dropped off her third studio album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea. A lush, 17-track ode to her hometown […]
Yung Miami is breaking her silence on allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse against ex-boyfriend Diddy, reviving her REVOLT series Caresha Please on Thursday night (Aug. 8) for a sit-down interview with friend and fellow rapper Saucy Santana. Santana directly asked the City Girls rapper (born Caresha Brownlee) whether Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) had […]
If you follow both pop music and politics, you may have to choose which you’re going to watch live on Tuesday, Sept. 10 – the first presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and VP Kamala Harris or the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
Trump agreed to the debate on Thursday (Aug. 8), after initially saying he wouldn’t appear. In response, Harris said on X, formerly Twitter: “I hear that Donald Trump has finally committed to debating me on September 10. I look forward to it.”
The Sept. 10 debate will air on ABC. David Muir, anchor of World News Tonight, and Linsey Davis, anchor of the Sunday edition of that broadcast, will moderate the session. That’s the same date that Trump and President Joe Biden had agreed to their second and final debate, before Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
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The first debate of the 2024 general election between Trump and Biden was held on June 27. Biden’s performance was so shaky that even friends and allies urged him to bow out of the race. Less than one month later, on July 21, he announced that he wouldn’t run again and endorsed Harris for the nomination.
There may or may not be additional debates between Trump and Harris. Fox News has proposed a debate on Sept. 4, and NBC News is hoping to host one on Sept. 25. During an appearance in Michigan, Harris said she was “happy to have that conversation” about additional debate(s).
MTV announced Sept. 10 as the date of the 2024 VMAs way back on April 24 – but apparently “dibs” don’t count for much in the high-stakes world of presidential politics.
The VMAs will air from UBS Arena in New York at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (So, depending on what time zone you live in, you may be able to watch both live.) The VMAs will be held just four days shy of the 40th anniversary of the inaugural VMAs at Radio City Music Hall. (That show aired three full weeks before the first debate between President Reagan and former vp Walter Mondale, so there was no conflict.)
This is the second time this summer that a newsworthy event in presidential politics has collided with an awards show. An attempt on Trump’s life occurred on July 13, less than two hours before the Kids’ Choice Awards was scheduled to get underway in Santa Monica, Calif. The awards went on as scheduled, with no mention of the stunning event.
It was a busy week in the worlds of hip-hop and R&B. Billboard Unfiltered returns on Thursday (Aug. 8) with an episode attacking Drake’s 100 Gigs dump, Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 2 and Latto’s place in the pantheon of female rap.
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Drake’s every chess move has been dissected by fans since the fallout from the Kendrick Lamar feud. Deputy Director, Editorial Damien Scott was complimentary of Drake’s shrewd decision making in leaking the three songs and archival footage, which he compared to something Ye would’ve done in the mold of G.O.O.D. Fridays.
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“We know he’s a person who thinks about the totality of not only his career, but the whole market and the people he’s playing against,” Scott said. “I think this is extremely novel. It’s really creative. The highest compliment I can pay it is this feels like something Ye would’ve done when he was still killing it. Back when he was doing the G.O.O.D. Friday releases.”
But he still thinks the Lamar feud was weighing on his mind with this move. “I think it’s not crazy to believe, ‘Alright, let me reset for a second.’”
However, Staff Writer Kyle Denis thinks Drake is nervous about the reception of his next single and found a loophole to test the waters. “I do think it’s p—y,” he stated. “Because I would think these three songs are all you dropped versus three songs plus 10 hours of archival footage. If you believed in this new stuff, why are we walking up memory lane at the same time?”
Onto Vultures 2, the panel agrees that the project’s original version didn’t feel completed with fans rightly wanting more from Ye and Ty. “It feels like Ye doesn’t care. If Ye doesn’t care, why should we care?” Scott asked.
Senior Charts & Data Analyst Trevor Anderson is surprised none of the tracks have caught on a path to disrupt the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
“Wherever you want to start post 2015, Vultures 1 ‘Carnival’ are the outliers… I think that was more of a surprise to people,” he said. “This feels a little below — I’m surprised there’s no song jumping…Everything has gone No. 1 going back to College Dropout, you don’t want to make too much of it, but when you look in the record books it’s, ‘Oh, this is where the drop-off really happened.”
With Kanye’s decorated discography, Deputy Director of Hip-Hop/R&B Carl Lamarre is frustrated knowing what Ye’s capable when it comes to V2‘s final product.
“This is somebody I still believe to this day — maybe you could put Kendrick in the same conversation of releasing five consecutive classic albums. To know creatively what he’s been able to do and have such a drop-off and not give a f–k? One of my favorite songs if ‘530’ and I saw flashes, but that last part it went downhill from there,” Lamar said. “That’s why it’s tough for me to dismiss him and say, ‘It’s fully over.’”
After getting an early listen, Denis has high hopes for Latto’s Sugar Honey Iced Tea album and thinks it could vault her into the big three conversation with Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj in female rap.
“One of those [big three] spots is kinda shaky right now, for obvious reasons. This album — I think it’s better than every other female rap album we’ve got this year. I’ll stand on it. I’m very happy with this album.”
Watch the full episode below.
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Katy Perry enjoyed the vacation of a lifetime in the video for her new single, “Lifetimes.”
The Stillz-directed clip for the Dr. Luke-produced track, released on Thursday (Aug. 8) finds the superstar making memories in Ibiza, Spain, as she spends the day on the beach before partying all night at the club. “I know you feel it/ Can you believe it?/ I’m gonna love you ’til the end and then repeat it/ For life/ For life,” Perry sings in the high-energy, dance floor-ready chorus.
“‘Lifetimes’ is a song about eternal love,” Perry said in a press statement. “It’s about finding that one deep and satisfying love of your life. A soulmate doesn’t always have to come in the form of a partner – it can come in all different ways, a child, a best friend, a pet. For me it is my daughter – I ask her every night, ‘Will you find me in every lifetime?’ She says yes, and I feel found. You’ll find each other, over and over again, for lifetimes.”
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Perry welcomed her daughter, Daisy Dove, with fiancé Orlando Bloom in August 2020.
Elsewhere in the music video, Perry reveals the 11-song track list for her upcoming album, 143, which features “Lifetimes” as well as the project’s lead single, “Woman’s World.” Other song titles include “I’m His He’s Mine,” “Crush,” “Nirvana,” “All the Love,” “Truth” and “Wonder.” There also appears to be some undisclosed collaborations on the album on songs including “Gorgeous,” “Gimme Gimme” and “Artificial.”
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143, which is code for “I love you,” is scheduled for release on Sept. 20 through Capitol Records. The forthcoming set marks Perry’s first album since 2020’s Smile, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Watch the “Lifetimes” music video below.
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