Music

25 Feb 2024

21 Savage Performs ‘American Dream’ Songs With Summer Walker & Brent Faiyaz on ‘SNL’: Watch

21 Savage made his musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live, performing tracks from his latest album.

The U.K.-born, Atlanta-raised rapper delivered three songs — “Redrum” and a mashup of “Should’ve Worn a Bonnet” and “Prove It” — from his 2024 album, American Dream, during the Feb. 24 episode of the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.

With an introduction from host Shane Gillis, Savage opened with “Redrum,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. It’s also his highest-peaking unaccompanied hit on the chart. Dressed in a light blue jacket, white shirt and ripped jeans, the rapper delivered the song alongside a violinist and a slew of black-clad ballerinas.

Later in the episode, 21 Savage returned with a mashup of “Should’ve Wore a Bonnet” and “Prove It,” with guest appearances by singers Brent Faiyaz and Summer Walker.

In January, Savage clinched his fourth Billboard 200 No. 1 album with the release of his third solo LP, American Dream. The long-awaited blockbuster arrived over a half-decade after his sophomore effort, 2018’s i am > i was.

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Next week’s SNL will feature host Sydney Sweeney and musical guest Kacey Musgraves on March 2. The following week, Ariana Grande will join host Josh Brolin on March 9.

Watch 21 Savage’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=NtOhMc1y-10&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent


https://youtube.com/watch?v=4AtNbHK0gc0&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

25 Feb 2024

Barbra Streisand Receives SAG Life Achievement Award: ‘It’s Really a Privilege to Be Part of This Profession’ 

Barbra Streisand accepted the Life Achievement Award at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday (Feb. 24) with a warm and personal speech in which she talked about her 70-year love affair with movies – a passion which began as a way to escape a drab upbringing in Brooklyn.

The award was a highlight of the 30th annual SAG Awards, which were presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles – where, presenter Jennifer Aniston told us, Streisand performed her first major concert in 1963. Unmentioned was the fact that Streisand won three Grammy Awards at the Shrine in the 1970s and 1980s. Bradley Cooper also helped present the award.

“I remember dreaming of being an actress as a teenager sitting in my bed in Brooklyn with a pint of coffee ice cream and a movie magazine,” Streisand said. “Sometimes after school, I’d go to the Astor Theater next door to Erasmus High School where they showed foreign films in black-and-white.

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“And then one Saturday, I vividly remember going to the Loew’s theater and buying a 25-cent ticket and walking into the middle of Guys and Dolls and oh my God – everything was so beautiful up on that screen – the colors, the sets, unlike our apartment where my mother covered everything with plastic. And then I saw the most beautiful actor, Marlon Brando. It was my first  crush. He was so real, so believable and I wanted to be the one he fell in love with, not Jean Simmons. That make-believe world was much more pleasant than anything I was experiencing.”

Streisand was 13 when Guys and Dolls premiered in November 1955 and had such a powerful effect on her dreams and imagination. There was just one problem, as Streisand explained in her speech.

“I wanted to be in the movies even though I knew I didn’t look like the other women on screen. My mother said you better learn to type, but I didn’t listen, and somehow, some way – thank God, it all came true.”

Indeed, many have credited Streisand with expanding the idea of what a movie star could look like.

Streisand gave much credit to William Wyler, who directed her first film, Funny Girl, and Harry Stradling, who was Wyler’s cinematographer. Wyler was 65 when Funny Girl was filmed in 1967. Stradling was 66. They were at an age, and in an era, where many men in their positions would have resented a 25-year-old newcomer to film who was brimming with ideas. But, according to Streisand, they were open to her input in a way that she appreciates now more than ever.

“These two men were extraordinary,” she said. “They had no problem with a young woman who had opinions. I could suggest ideas for a scene to Willi and try various lighting effects with Harry and they never ever put me down. Looking back, they were really ahead of their time and that was fantastic and it set the tone for my whole career.”

Streisand also spoke about how acting, and researching roles and preparing for films, has been her education.

“I never went to college,” she said. “I always thought acting was my education. In trying to understand the character, to have to do research, immerse yourself in the period. The whole process was fascinating to me. How do you tell the story? How does the camera serve the actors in telling that story?”

Streisand understands the appeal of movies: “For a couple of hours, people can sit in a theater and escape their own troubles.”

She also is a student of film history. “I can’t help but think back to the people who built this industry. Ironically, they were also escaping their own troubles.”

She mentioned Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer and the Warner Brothers, all of whom had changed their names to be less ethnic-sounding. “They were all fleeing the prejudice they faced in Eastern Europe simply because of their religion. And they were dreamers too, like all of us here tonight. And now I dream of a world where such prejudice is thing of the past.” The last line, amid a troubling rise in antisemitic rhetoric, drew sustained applause.

Near the end of her speech, Streisand spoke of a 2022 French film she had recently seen, Une Belle Course (Driving Madeleine), which moved her deeply. The film stars an actress in her 90s, Line Renaud (“so there’s still hope for us girls,” she said). “It was so moving and insightful,” she said. “…It reminded me over again of how much I love film.”

Streisand has said that she became a singer because she couldn’t get a job as an actress. For all the success she has had as a singer, acting seems to be her first love. “It’s really a privilege to be part of this profession,” she said at one point.

She concluded her remarks by noting: “I’d like to thank SAG-AFTRA for this fabulous honor and say to my fellow actors and directors, I’ve loved working with you and inhabiting that magical world of the movies with you. And most of all, I want to thank you for giving me so much joy – just watching all of you on the screen. Thank you for that.”

 A film package preceded Streisand’s arrival on stage that showed many of her top film moments – as well as a memorable surprise cameo in a “Coffee Talk” sketch on Saturday Night Live in 1992. The highlight reel included many great musical moments, such as “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl, “The Way We Were” from that film and “Evergreen” from the 1976 version of A Star Is Born.

Cooper, who directed the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born, was generous to help introduce Streisand. In 2021, Streisand threw some shade at his remake, saying it was too close to the rock’n’roll update in which she starred to be considered a fresh and original take on the perennial property.

 A fair number of Streisand’s co-stars and colleagues had previously received the SAG Life Achievement Award, which underscores how far and wide her reach extends. Walter Pidgeon, who played Flo Ziegfeld in Funny Girl, was honored in 1975. Gene Kelly, the legendary song-and-dance man who directed her second film, Hello, Dolly!, was feted in 1989. Robert Redford, her co-star in the classic romantic drama The Way We Were, was honored in 1996. Robert DeNiro, her co-star in the best-forgotten Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers, received the salute in 2020.

This year’s SAG Awards streamed live on Netflix starting at 8 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. Here’s a complete list of winners.

24 Feb 2024

2024 SAG Awards Winners: Updating Live

Oppenheimer and Barbie are duking it out once more at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where both megahits have four nominations, more than any other film. The 30th annual SAG Awards is streaming live on Netflix on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

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Idris Elba is set to open the show. Jennifer Aniston is set to present the Life Achievement Award to Barbra Streisand.

Billie Eilish, a cast member of Swarm, is set to present, as are such notables as America Ferrera (Barbie) and Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple). Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt will reunite to present an award 18 years after the release of their comedy classic, The Devil Wears Prada.

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Succession is this year’s top TV nominee. The HBO series is nominated for five awards – best drama ensemble plus individual acting nods to its stars Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook. 

The nominees for best film ensemble – the closest thing at the SAG Awards to the Oscar for best picture – are American Fiction, Barbie, The Color Purple, Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer.

The awards are voted on by SAG-AFTRA’s membership of 119,515 eligible voters, the largest voting body on the awards circuit. Final voting opened on Wednesday, Jan. 17, and closed at noon PT on Friday, Feb. 23. So, votes were still coming in less than 30 hours before the first awards were presented. There is a much longer lag time between the close of voting and the announcement of the winners at other award shows.

The 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards is executive produced by Jon Brockett and Silent House Productions. This marks the show’s live debut on Netflix. Last year’s ceremony was broadcast on Netflix’s YouTube page.

Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards, with winners marked as they are announced.

Motion Pictures

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Colman Domingo – Rustin

Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role

Annette Bening – Nyad

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

Margot Robbie – Barbie

Emma Stone – Poor Things

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role

Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction

Willem Dafoe – Poor Things

Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

Penélope Cruz – Ferrari

Jodie Foster – Nyad

Da’vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture

American Fiction — Erika Alexander, Adam Brody, Sterling K. Brown, Keith David, John Ortiz, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, Leslie Uggams, Jeffrey Wright

Barbie — Michael Cera, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Ryan Gosling, Ariana Greenblatt, Kate Mckinnon, Helen Mirren, Rhea Perlman, Issa Rae, Margot Robbie

The Color Purple — Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Jon Batiste, Danielle Brooks, Ciara, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Louis Gossett, Jr., Corey Hawkins, Taraji P. Henson, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, H.E.R.

Killers of the Flower Moon — Tantoo Cardinal, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Fraser, Lily Gladstone, John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons

Oppenheimer — Casey Affleck, Emily Blunt, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Josh Hartnett, Rami Malek, Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh

Television

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or limited series

Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers

Jon Hamm – Fargo

David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves

Tony Shalhoub – Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie

Steven Yeun – Beef

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or limited series

Uzo Aduba – Painkiller

Kathryn Hahn – Tiny Beautiful Things

Brie Larson – Lessons in Chemistry

Bel Powley – A Small Light

Ali Wong – Beef

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series

Brian Cox – Succession

Billy Crudup – The Morning Show

Kieran Culkin – Succession

Matthew Macfadyen – Succession

Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series

Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show

Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown

Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us

Keri Russell – The Diplomat

Sarah Snook – Succession

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series

Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso

Bill Hader – Barry

Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear

Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso

Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series

Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary

Ayo Edebiri – The Bear

Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series

The Crown — Khalid Abdalla, Sebastian Blunt, Bertie Carvel, Salim Daw, Elizabeth Debicki, Luther Ford, Claudia Harrison, Lesley Manville, Ed McVey, James Murray, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton, Marcia Warren, Dominic West, Olivia Williams

The Gilded Age — Ben Ahlers, Ashlie Atkinson, Christine Baranski, Denée Benton, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Michael Cerveris, Carrie Coon, Kelley Curran, Taissa Farmiga, David Furr, Jack Gilpin, Ward Horton, Louisa Jacobson, Simon Jones, Sullivan Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Nathan Lane, Matilda Lawler, Robert Sean Leonard, Audra McDonald, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Cynthia Nixon, Kelli O’Hara, Patrick Page, Harry Richardson, Taylor Richardson, Blake Ritson, Jeremy Shamos, Douglas Sills, Morgan Spector, John Douglas Thompson, Erin Wilhelmi

The Last of Us — Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey

The Morning Show — Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Beharie, Shari Belafonte, Nestor Carbonell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Jon Hamm, Theo Iyer, Hannah Leder, Greta Lee, Julianna Margulies, Tig Notaro, Karen Pittman, Reese Witherspoon

Succession — Nicholas Braun, Juliana Canfield, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Dagmara Dominczyk, Peter Friedman, Justine Lupe, Matthew MacFadyen, Arian Moayed, Scott Nicholson, David Rasche, Alan Ruck, Alexander Skarsgård, J. Smith-Cameron, Sarah Snook, Fisher Stevens, Jeremy Strong, Zoë Winters

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series

Abbott Elementary — Quinta Brunson, William Stanford Davis, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lisa Ann Walter, Tyler James Williams

Barry — Anthony Carrigan, Sarah Goldberg, Zachary Golinger, Bill Hader, Andre Hyland, Fred Melamed, Charles Parnell, Stephen Root, Tobie Windham, Henry Winkler, Robert Wisdom

The Bear — Lionel Boyce, Jose Cervantes Jr., Liza Colón-Zayas, Ayo Edebiri , Abby Elliott, Richard Esteras, Edwin Lee Gibson, Molly Gordon, Corey Hendrix, Matty Matheson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Oliver Platt, Jeremy Allen White

Only Murders in the Building — Gerald Caesar, Michael Cyril Creighton, Linda Emond, Selena Gomez, Allison Guinn, Steve Martin, Ashley Park, Don Darryl Rivera, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Shamos, Martin Short, Meryl Streep, Wesley Taylor, Jason Veasey, Jesse Williams

Ted Lasso — Annette Badland, Kola Bokinni, Edyta Budnik, Adam Colborne, Phil Dunster, Cristo Fernández, Kevin “Kg” Garry, Brett Goldstein, Billy Harris, Anthony Head, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, James Lance, Nick Mohammed, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Bronson Webb, Katy Wix

Stunt Ensembles

Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture

Barbie

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

John Wick: Chapter 4

WINNER: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a television series

Ahsoka

Barry

Beef

WINNER: The Last of Us

The Mandalorian

24 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Performs More Surprise Songs Mashups at Second Eras Tour Concert in Sydney

Taylor Swift was full of new surprises in Sydney, Australia.

On Saturday (Feb. 23), the second night of her Eras Tour stint at Accor Stadium, the pop superstar — who at each tour date performs two tracks that are not often heard during the show — delivered another pair of mashups during the acoustic section of her set.

For her first surprise track of the evening, Swift performed a mashup of “Should’ve Said No,” from her 2006 self-titled debut, and “You’re Not Sorry,” from 2008’s Fearless. The second mashup featured the singer sitting down at the piano for a medley of Reputation‘s “New Year’s Day” and “Peace” off Folklore.

Friday’s show also found Swift announcing a third edition of her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, titled “The Albatross,” which features a limited bonus song of the same name. She dropped the news during her nightly surprise song section before bringing out opener Sabrina Carpenter to assist in singing a mashup of “White Horse” and “Coney Island.”

These aren’t the first mashups Swift has performed during the surprise songs portion of her Eras Tour concerts. The first unexpected medley arrived during her Feb. 17 show at Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground, where she gave a three-song mashup of “Getaway Car,” “August” and “The Other Side of the Door.”

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“I just really want you to be happy because you’re making me happy,” the pop star told Swifties before the medley. “So I figured you might want to hear this one, let me know though.”

The following evening, Swift combined “Come Back… Be Here” from her Red era with Lover closing track “Daylight” at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

During the Feb. 18 show, Swift also issued a PSA about getting “creative” with the surprise songs. The singer previously told fans she’s given herself permission to repeat songs she’s already played this tour for the trek’s international leg, which she’s currently on. But she’s still set on bringing some element of chaos to her nightly song choices.

“That was to challenge me to really get to all the ones that I just don’t naturally gravitate towards, and I feel really proud about having done that,” Swift said at the Melbourne show, referring to her original plan to avoid surprise song repeats throughout the tour.

“But this is sort of a public service announcement to everyone who might be anywhere else on the tour, or whatever, or watching this — we have a lot of people, we’re very lucky to have a lot of people watch this on the internet and care about these shows if they’re not here,” she continued. “I’ve just been kind of rethinking, and I’ve been thinking I want to be as creative as possible with the acoustic set moving forward.”

24 Feb 2024

Juana Bacallao, Famed Cuban Diva Who Ruled Island’s Cabaret Scene, Dies at 98

Juana Bacallao, a renowned Cuban singer and cabaret diva who still performed until recently, has died. She was 98.

Bacallao died Saturday (Feb. 24) after spending several days at a hospital in Havana, according to a statement from Cuba’s Ministry of Culture. Officials didn’t say why she was hospitalized.

Bacallao was known for her husky voice, risque personality and being unpredictable, clad in wigs and extravagant costumes. She performed at the famed Tropicana club in the 1940s and ’50s and sang alongside artists like Nat King Cole.

“I will never retire. I will only stop once death has come for me,” she said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press.

Born Neri Amelia Martínez Salazar, she was sent to a Catholic boarding school after becoming orphaned at 6 years old.

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She was discovered as a teenager while singing as she cleaned homes and was given the moniker “Juana Bacallao,” becoming a sensation in Cuba’s cabaret scene.

Bacallao performed with stars, including singer and pianist Bola de Nieve, percussionist Chano Pozo and singer Benny Moré.

“I know what life is — both poverty and wealth,” Bacallao told the AP more than a decade ago. “This is my land. It is where I was born, and it is where I will die.”

24 Feb 2024

Normani Gets Support From Fifth Harmony Members After Solo Album Announcement

Fifth Harmony is showing some love to Normani.

The former pop group’s members expressed their support in the comments section of the singer’s recent social media announcement that she will finally be releasing her long-awaited solo album, Dopamine, in the coming year.

“cryingg typing this rn. DOPAMINE THE ALBUM,” Normani captioned her Instagram post on Wednesday (Feb. 21).

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In addition to her elated fanbase, the announcement also drew positive comments from the artist’s former Fifth Harmony members Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane.

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“Let’s gooooo?,” Jauregui wrote, while Cabello added a series of rocket emojis. “there she is ???,” Jane added. And Brooke shared several sparkling heart emojis and clapping hand.

Normani’s post also featured a photo of the artwork, which features the black-leather bikini-clad singer riding on top of a black rocket. She also reposted a June 30, 2018-dated message from X, in which she wrote, “I have my album title y’all,” and shared the album’s pre-save link wheresthedamnalbum.com.

Normani has yet to reveal Dopamine‘s release date, but according to the rapidly changing date counter on the aforementioned website, it will be released in 2024.

Since embarking on her solo career in 2018, Normani has released only seven singles as a lead artist, with 2019’s “Motivation” and 2022’s “Fair” being the only songs she’s released without another artist on it. She’s had two Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits with the Sam Smith-assisted “Dancing With a Stranger” (No. 7) and the Khalid-assisted “Love Lies” (No. 9). “Motivation” and “Wild Side,” featuring Cardi B, have also charted on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 33 and No. 14, respectively.

Her Dopamine album announcement also arrives six months after signed a new management deal with Brandon Creed and Lydia Asrat through Creed’s Good World Management and Asrat’s Q10. Normani and her former management company, Brandon Silverstein‘s S10 Entertainment, parted ways last May.

24 Feb 2024

Carin León Earns a Superstar’s Welcome During His Grand Ole Opry Debut: ‘This Place Is Magical’

The 4,300-capacity Grand Ole Opry crowd gave Mexican singer-songwriter Carin León a superstar’s welcome as he made his debut at the Nashville venue on Friday night (Feb. 23).

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León had one of Billboard’s top 10 Highest-Grossing Latin Tours of 2023 with his Colmillo de Leche Tour, which played Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and Houston’s Toyota Center, among other venues. He was one Billboard’s Top Latin Artists on the 2023 year-end chart (based on song and album performance, as well as touring). Last year, Leon notched some of his biggest Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart hits, including “Primera Cita,” and the Grupo Frontera collaboration “Que Vuelvas.” León and Maluma joined forces for “Según Quien,” which topped both Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart and Regional Mexican Airplay chart in December. This past year, he won a Latin Grammy for best Norteño album (Colmillo de Leche)

Screams of adulation and a sea of cell phone lights greeted the León as he took the stage before a crowd that was on their feet and singing along with every (primarily Spanish) lyric he sang. Leon played his 2022 hit “No Es Por Aca,” followed with a solo version of “The One (Pero No Como Yo),” his duet with Kane Brown, which the pair debuted earlier in the week at the 2024 Premio Lo Nuestro. He closed with “Primera Cita,” a song which marked a milestone moment of experimentation for León, who blended Mexican and the soulful sounds of Memphis and New Orleans.

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At one point, as León stood on the Opry’s famed circle of wood, part of the Opry stage that had originally been in the floor of the Opry’s previous location at the Ryman Auditorium, he knelt down and placed a kiss on the floor.

“This moment is a dream come true,” he said later from the stage. “This moment is important for my music, for my country. Having all the family here and having country music accepting us, for us to be here, this place is magical. I hope to come back here a thousand times more. Thank you so much for this moment.”

He exited the stage, but only momentarily — as the screams and chants of the crowd quickly demanded that he return to the stage for another song. León obliged with an encore, and in the process, became one of the rare artists making their debut Opry performance to make an encore performance — joining a lineage of artists whose debut Opry performances included encores, including Josh Turner’s 2001 Opry debut, the 2016 Opry debut of rock legend John Fogerty (who had joined Brad Paisley on the Opry stage), and of course, Hank Williams, Sr.’s 1949 debut, when he was brought back onstage for six encores.

Just offstage, his “The One” collaborator Brown and singer-songwriter Leon Bridges stood among a throng of other supporters witnessing León’s Opry debut.

Earlier in the evening, seated backstage in the Little Jimmy Dickens-themed dressing room 3 at the Grand Ole Opry, León was filled with gratitude — and maybe a slight bit of nervousness — as he spoke of achieving his dream of playing on the Grand Ole Opry.

“Being here at the Grand Ole Opry, for every artist, it’s more than realizing a dream,” he told Billboard. “For me as a Mexican, for me coming from another genre, they are living the dream. We never realized that we would be here, even as an audience member, but now being here playing, it makes me so proud.

“I was walking around earlier, looking at the photos and the [artist] quotes that are on the walls. I cried four times reading what they said, because they felt like I do. It made me feel so humble and reminded me why I started doing music. This place is magical for every musician. The history, it’s a love letter to music and you feel like you’ve entered a sacred place.”

Since releasing a slate of live albums in 2018, followed by his full-length debut, El Malo, in 2019, León’s music has increasingly enveloped an array of sounds, among them folk, flamenco and country. He previously covered songs by Johnny Cash and Chris Stapleton and teamed with Walker Hayes for an Amazon Music collaboration.

Of his new collaboration with Brown, León says, “One of the first names in country music to collaborate with that somebody put on the table was Kane Brown. It was 2018 or so when I started hearing his music. He’s like the link for our genre and country music to happen. I met him and his team, and he’s such a humble person and good guy and one of my friends in this game that is music. I’m very happy that he believed in our music and it is the perfect time for this to happen.”

On April 26, León will make his debut performance at country music festival Stagecoach, performing on a bill that also includes Eric Church and Jelly Roll. He will be the first Spanish-language act to perform at both Stagecoach and Coachella.

“It’s unbelievable for me,” he says of those upcoming performances. “I’m kind of nervous about that show because it’s a different audience, but we’re going to enjoy it so much and I’ll get to see some of my idols, too. It’s a place where I’m going to celebrate what’s happening with our music and this musical revival. You can see less limits on every music. People are hungry for good music and artists don’t want to fit in a box. If you have a great song, you can upload it with just a guitar and video and you cannot deny what’s good.”

León, as well as his fellow artists including Bad Bunny, Maluma, Karol G and Grupo Frontera, are leading Latin music’s current global success. Latin and country were two of the genres with the most percentage gains in 2023, according to Luminate’s 2023 Year-End report, with Latin up 21.9% to 75.26 million units in 2023 and country rising 21.8% to 92.19 million units in 2023.

The crux of León’s country music-focused moments — the Opry debut, Stagecoach, the collaboration with Brown — is León’s in-the-works, full-fledged country album.

“This is one of my wishes of my life, to do this project,” he says. “I think this is the correct time to do it, and we are working on it. We are on the song selection process, but there are a lot of names we’re looking at.”

Similar themes are woven through the lyrics of both Regional Mexican and country — tales of love, family, and cowboy/vaquero culture. Leon’s upcoming country project could prove a key moment in further uniting the two genres. Historically, country has seen occasional moments of Latin artists finding successes on the country charts, with Johnny Rodriguez and Freddy Fender both earning No. 1 country hits in the 1970s, while in the 1990s, Tejano music star Emilio Navaira, band The Mavericks and Rick Trevino saw country radio successes.

More recently, artists including Frank Ray, Leah Turner, Valerie Ponzio and Veronique Medrano are making their own fusions of Latin and country sounds. Additionally, León’s collaboration with Brown extends a lineage of Latin artists collaborating with country artists, from Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson earning a Country Music Association Award for collaborating and earning a country hit with “To All the Girls I Loved Before” (they would later also record “Spanish Eyes” in 1989). David Bisbal, Enrique Iglesias and Becky G are among other Latin artists who have collaborated with country artists in recent years.

“Everybody wants to be a cowboy right now, everybody wants to do country right now,” León says. “People are doing rap they are getting rap touched by Mexican music or touched by country music. They are wearing the hats, the boots. Louis Vuitton’s last collection, it’s all cowboy stuff. We as Americans, as Mexicans, we want to feel proud of what we are for. We don’t want to emulate what everybody’s doing — these are our roots. Our hat is what we are, our boots are what we are. I’m very happy that people are looking to our culture in such a big way that is happening right now.”

24 Feb 2024

Travis Kelce Returns to U.S. After Attending Taylor Swift’s First Eras Tour Show in Sydney

Travis Kelce has left the building. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is returning to the U.S. after supporting his girlfriend Taylor Swift on the first night of her Eras Tour stint in Sydney, Australia.

On Saturday (Feb. 24), Kelce flew on a private jet to Las Vegas to meet up with his Chiefs teammates — including quarterback Patrick Mahomes — to party in celebration of their Super Bowl win against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11, according to TMZ.

Kelce was one of more than 80,000 people Friday (Feb. 23) at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, where he watched from a VIP tent as his superstar girlfriend commanded the stage. Fan videos captured him exchanging friendship bracelets, passing out guitar picks, interacting with the crowd and dancing along to Swift’s three-hour show alongside Katy Perry, Rita Ora and Baz Luhrmann, who were also guests of honor that night.

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Toward the end of her concert, Kelce got a special shout-out from the 14-time Grammy winner. While singing “Karma,” Swift once again changed a lyric to say, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs,” something she first did when the athlete attended her Buenos Aires show in November.

After the concert wrapped, Kelce waited in the wings for Swift to emerge from backstage, after which she wrapped him in a hug and the couple kissed as lingering fans cheered.

The New Heights podcaster has been with the “Cruel Summer” singer in Australia since Wednesday, when his plane touched down in the land down under. On Thursday, the couple visited the Sydney Zoo, where they were spotted holding hands and taking selfies.

Cameras spotted Kelce getting off a private jet the day before, marking the second time the three-time he has hopped on a plane to go see Swift on her globe-hopping Eras Tour. Swift is playing four dates at Sydney’s Accor Stadium through Monday (Feb. 26), with Sabrina Carpenter as the opener.

24 Feb 2024

From Crowd Screams to Moments of Gratitude, Here Are 5 Best Moments From Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour Kickoff

The ultimate all-American b—- kicked off the North American tour of her long-awaited Guts world tour on Friday (Feb. 23), as Olivia Rodrigo took the stage at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.

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Following the release of her 2023 Billboard 200 chart-topping sophomore album, Guts, the newly 21-year-old superstar is now a veteran to the touring scene, and she proved it as early as the set’s opening track, “Bad Idea Right?,” during which Rodrigo strutted around the U-shaped stage with the confidence of a pop pro, complete with her standout vocals that didn’t waver throughout the full hour-and-a-half performance.

With two albums out, Rodrigo had the 11,000 fans in the crowd belting out the lyrics to every song in the career-spanning set, which included her Billboard Hot 100-chart topping lead single ballads like Sour’s breakout hit, “Drivers License” and her blood-sucking Guts opera-tinged track, “Vampire.” She also amped up the energy with her high voltage, head bang-ready songs like “Get Him Back!,” “All-American B—-,” “Bad Idea Right?” as well as “Brutal,” “Deja Vu” and more.

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Rodrigo will continue to perform in North America through April, where she’s scheduled a pair of dates for April 5 and 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, then heads overseas, beginning her international dates on April 30 in Dublin, Ireland. The pop star returns to the United States with a July 19 show in Philadelphia, and wraps her world tour with two concerts at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 and 14.

See below for the best moments from Rodrigo’s Guts tour kickoff in Palm Springs, Calif., from tender moments of gratitude to the introduction of pop’s brightest rockstar.

“Drivers License”

There is nothing more special than a star singing their breakthrough hit to an arena full of fans. The Rodrigo who released “Drivers License” in 2021 was heartbroken and unaware of the whirlwind three years ahead of her. The Rodrigo who performed “Drivers License” in 2024, however, was visibly self-assured and proud of how far she’s come. With just a piano and her characteristically heartfelt vocals, the full circle moment of performing her first mega-hit during her second sold-out tour felt particularly special.

“Teenage Dream”

During the performance of her Guts closing track, “Teenage Dream,” the screen behind Rodrigo played a montage of videos of the star when she was a child — dancing ballet and smiling with friends, or singing into a microphone. “They all say that it gets better, it gets better the more you grow / Yeah, they all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don’t?” she repeated to wrap up the track, before she looked out to the crowd, teary-eyed.

Rodrigo then stepped offstage, as a voiceover played throughout the arena of a five-year-old Rodrigo stating that she’s excited for her first show. “I dedicate this song to my friends and family,” the tiny tot is heard saying, marking another moment of gratitude and physical representation of growth during the show.

The Moon

Coincidentally, it was a full moon outside Acrisure Arena, but inside the venue, Rodrigo sat on a crescent moon and floated above the crowd for dreamy renditions of “Logical” and “Enough for You.”

“Obsessed”

Rodrigo’s Guts deluxe track quickly became viral on TikTok, and the second Rodrigo sang the opening line of “Obsessed,” the crowd ruptured into venue-shaking screams from the surprise setlist addition. At the end of the track, Rodrigo grabbed a guitar and delivered an impressive guitar solo, amplifying the rock-leaning sound of her sophomore album.

“All-American B—-”

“For this next part, I want you think of someone or something that really pisses you off and I want you to scream your heart out,” Rodrigo told the crowd after the song’s bridge. All 11,000 people in the crowd then joined the singer in soul-wrenching screams to let out the anger, marking a hilarious and healing moment of emotion during the set.

24 Feb 2024

Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour Setlist: All the Songs She Performed Opening Night

Olivia Rodrigo spilled her guts onstage at the long awaited opening night of her Guts world tour on Friday (Feb. 23) at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.

With two albums now under her belt, the freshly 21-year-old pop superstar had no shortage of hits to get the crowd belting their hearts — or guts, rather — out, including her Billboard Hot 100-chart topping lead single ballads like Sour’s breakout hit, “Drivers License” and her blood-sucking Guts opera-tinged track, “Vampire.”

She also brought the energy with guitar-driven rock tracks like “Get Him Back!,” “All-American B—-,” “Bad Idea Right?” as well as “Brutal,” “Deja Vu” and more.

Rodrigo will continue to perform in North America through April, where she’s scheduled a pair of dates for April 5 and 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, then heads overseas, beginning her international dates on April 30 in Dublin, Ireland. The pop star returns to the United States with a July 19 show in Philadelphia, and wraps her world tour with two concerts at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Aug. 13 and 14.

Check out the setlist below for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts tour, based on the opening night at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif.