Music
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Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun are on opposite ends of one of the music industry’s biggest feuds — but when it comes to the 2024 presidential election, both of them are on the same side.
The SB Projects founder made that much clear when he responded to Donald Trump’s viral “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” post — which the politician declared on Truth Social Sunday (Sept. 15) — via Instagram Stories. Resharing Trump’s post about the pop star, Braun wrote, “Shake it off Donald,” referencing Swift’s Billboard Hot 100-topping 1989 lead single.
“Kamala 2024,” the music entrepreneur added.
Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.
Braun’s post comes five days after Swift shared her endorsement of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, which was the catalyst behind Trump touting his dislike for the 14-time Grammy winner over the weekend. In a lengthy message on Instagram Sept. 10 that was posted right as the presidential debate ended, Swift wrote that she believes Harris is a “steady-handed, gifted leader” and called out the twice-impeached ex-POTUS for sharing AI-generated images falsely portraying the “Karma” artist as a MAGA supporter.
Between then and now, Trump has said that he “was not a Taylor Swift fan” and suggested that she would “pay a price … in the marketplace” for endorsing Harris. He’s also started selling T-shirts directly imitating Swift’s Eras Tour merch on his campaign website.
Trump’s VP pick, JD Vance, has also weighed in. “I don’t think most Americans — whether they like her music, are fans of hers or not — are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity, who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and problems of most Americans,” he said of the pop star on Fox News’ The Story Sept. 11, after which Harris’ campaign pointed out the irony of Trump also being a billionaire celebrity before crossing over into politics in 2016.
Braun’s post also marks the third time in recent weeks that he’s spotlighted Swift on his Story, turning the heads of many fans who haven’t forgotten his bitter conflict with the superstar over the sale of her masters in 2019. In August, he not only reshared a TMZ article about the “Anti-Hero” singer’s beachside getaway with Travis Kelce and Blake Lively — “How was I not invited to this?!? #laughalittle,” he wrote at the time — but the mogul also told followers that he had “finally watched” Max’s Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun: Bad Blood.
“You’d think after his previous posts about her he’d learn by now,” an industry source told Billboard at the time. “It’s like he’s obsessed.”
Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, holds at No. 2 on the Hot 100, following six weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in May.
Sabrina Carpenter charts three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10, all from her new album, Short n’ Sweet, for a third consecutive week: “Espresso” keeps at its No. 3 high; “Taste” backtracks 5-6 after it debuted at No. 2 two weeks earlier; and “Please Please Please,” which led for a week in June, falls 4-8. Carpenter is the first artist this year to log three weeks with three simultaneous top 10s, surpassing Taylor Swift with two such frames.
“Taste” also tallies a third total and consecutive week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs (27 million, down 14%). (While the song’s sum of raw streams is the week’s second-highest, below that of “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” “Taste” tops Streaming Songs due to the application of weighting to all titles’ paid/subscription and ad-supported on-demand streams and programmed/radio streams.)
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” jumps 6-4 on the Hot 100, three weeks after it debuted at its No. 3 best.
Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” wings 7-5 on the Hot 100, returning to its highest perch. It leads the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a sixth week each.
Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” lifts 8-7 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 6, and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” which led the Hot 100 for a week in March, repeats at No. 9. The latter also now solely sports the eighth-most weeks spent in the top 10 over the chart’s history:
57 weeks, “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, 2020-21
44, “Stay,” The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, 2021-22
41, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023-24
41, “Levitating,” Dua Lipa, 2021
39, “Circles,” Post Malone, 2019-20
38, “As It Was,” Harry Styles, 2022-23
37, “Heat Waves,” Glass Animals, 2021-22
35, “Lose Control,” Teddy Swims, 2024
34, “Cruel Summer,” Taylor Swift, 2023-24
33, “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse),” Post Malone & Swae Lee, 2018-19
33, “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B, 2018-19
33, “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran, 2017
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is steady at No. 10, following two weeks at No. 1 in May and July, as it dominates the multimetric Hot Rap Songs chart for an 18th week and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a 16th week.
Much has been made about Kendrick Lamar’s selection as the headlining performer at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, but 50 Cent thinks it’s K. Dot’s time to shine. 50 stopped by The Talk on Friday (Sept. 13), where he defended K. Dot being the right pick to take the Super Bowl LIX stage in […]
Taylor Swift was feeling the sparks fly when Travis Kelce first came on the field at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals game Sunday (Sept. 15). Once again in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on her favorite NFL team, the 34-year-old pop star attracted lots of eyes as she viewed the match from […]
Cardi B is sharing her home movies. After announcing that she and estranged husband Offset welcomed their third baby together on Sept. 7, Cardi pulled the curtain back on her bundle of joy in a one-minute TikTok video on Sunday (Sept. 15). The clip from Cardi’s hospital room entitled “Babygirl” [followed by three pink flower […]
Thomas Rhett will be kicking up his boots in 2025, when his Better In Boots Tour launches in June.
The Live Nation-produced tour will bring Thomas Rhett’s energy-fueled show and cascade of nearly two dozen No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay chart hits to 30 cities across North America, in states including New York, Virginia, Florida and Georgia. “Wind Up Missin’ You” hitmaker Tucker Wetmore will offer direct support on the tour, while “Austin” singer Dasha and sibling trio The Castellows will perform on select shows.
The tour will follow Thomas Rhett’s seventh album About a Woman, which released in August. The album features “Don’t Wanna Dance,” which interpolates Whitney Houston’s smash hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” as well as songs such as “Fool,” “Can’t Love You Anymore” and “Overdrive,” which draw on inspirations from artists ranging from The Oak Ridge Boys, Alan Jackson and The Rolling Stones.
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Five-time Grammy nominee Rhett recently told Billboard about another song from the album, “Church,” which pays homage to both fellow country singer Eric Church’s music, as well as Rhett’s own love story with his wife, Lauren.
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“This is Lauren’s favorite on the album, because when we were in high school, I bought [Church’s] Carolina record, which was his second album,” he says. “I had to buy a new copy every three months because I just wore it out. It kept skipping — but he was like our Zach Bryan. He was that dude who kind of got played on the radio but could care less if he was or not, and he was kind of grungy and would say things in songs that most people weren’t saying. I learned the entire album on acoustic guitar, and any time we were at a party, that’s all I played — so this song means a lot to us, because he was the soundtrack to our teenage years.”
Tickets for most of the Better In Boots tour dates will go on sale Friday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. local time on Thomas Rhett‘s website, with the remaining shows going on sale in the coming weeks.
See the full list of the Better in Boots 2025 Tour dates below:
Chappell Roan has been open about the downfalls of fame amid her meteoric rise to household-name status this year — but luckily, she has people like Lorde in her corner.
In her The Face cover story published Monday (Sept. 16), the 26-year-old musician opened up about a time the 27-year-old “Green Light” singer came to her rescue during a recent situation that made Roan compare stardom to a toxic relationship. “I feel like fame is just abusive,” Roan told the publication. “The vibe of this – stalking, talking s–t online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public – is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband. That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”
While crying in an airport bathroom after a man berated her for refusing to sign posters — just one of several instances of toxic fan behavior Roan has endured over the past few months — the Missouri native says she texted Lorde for advice. “She sent me a list of things I should do [in that situation],” Roan continued. “Literally wrote down eight things she wished someone would have told her when she was going through it. And she went through f–king hell. She was a baby!”
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Lorde is one of many female musicians who’ve rallied around Roan this year, in addition to Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Lizzo, Katy Perry and Phoebe Bridgers, who’ve individually offered her their support since the “Good Luck, Babe!” vocalist’s star exploded this spring. In another recent interview with Rolling Stone, Roan also noted that she and fellow 2024 breakout Sabrina Carpenter have been commiserating over their recent career booms.
“No one understands that it truly falls all on you,” she told The Face of the “Espresso” singer. “No one understands except other artists … Sabrina [Carpenter] even texted me: ‘Hey, I feel crazy. I know you feel crazy.’ So it’s, like, girlies leaning on each other.”
Through it all, the public has watched as Roan has grown more confident speaking out about what makes her uncomfortable. In August, for instance, she called out the “predatory behavior” of certain boundary-crossing fans in a series of posts on social media, and on Sept. 11, she yelled “Shut the f–k up!” at a photographer on the VMAs red carpet before going on to win best new artist during the ceremony.
“They were immediately, immediately supportive,” Roan added of her fellow female pop stars. “It’s been so amazing, because I’m very scared and confused.”
See Roan’s The Face covers below.
It’s a new era for Nicki Minaj. The Barbz leader announced over the weekend that instead of releasing the Pink Friday 2 deluxe, she’s decided to turn those songs into a completely new project with the third installment of the Pink Friday series.
Minaj was supposed to drop her PF2: Gag City Reloaded deluxe last Friday (Sept. 13), but the release date came and went without the set. Nicki clarified the album’s situation on Sunday (Sept. 15), when she revealed that Pink Friday 3 is on the way, and fans can expect another announcement regarding the project’s arrival in the coming weeks.
“Instead of doing a DELUXE to Pink Friday 2, I’ve decided to do a brand new album. I’ll still incorporate new songs like #Mamita & [The ‘anxiety’ song] for the remainder of the tour tho…and I’ll announce the new date within the next couple weeks,” she tweeted. “The new music is just too good to be thrown away on a deluxe album. Last night, the songs I recorded were just way too iconic. I love you guys so much. You know that. I know you do. I’ll still give you something leading up to the announcement, so no worries.”
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Nicki continued: “PF3 is about to do PRECISELY wtf BEEN needed to be done. TRUST ME BARBZ. IM SO EXCITED. BLESSED. LOVED (by the Barbz) & fortunately (for the Barbz & me), I’ve learned A LOT since 12/08/23. PF2 means so much to me. As my 1st album as #PapaBear mama, it’s just very special to me for so many reasons you guys aren’t aware of. I put every song on there in a specific order, etc. So to honor that, I’m going to give it the respect & integrity it deserves as a beautiful body of work & not add anything else to it.”
The Queens rapper explained that “1 or 2 songs is no big deal but 5-7 songs feels a little sloppy right now (In my humble opinion).” She added: “This era has just been so successful, rewarding, satisfying, etc. after much thought, I want to be for CERTAIN that I am being intentional about every single decision being made around both PF2 AND PF3.”
Dear Barbz, IMPORTANT #GagCity ANNOUNCEMENT:Instead of doing a DELUXE to Pink Friday 2, I’ve decided to do a brand new album. I’ll still incorporate new songs like #Mamita & [The “anxiety” song] for the remainder of the tour tho…and I’ll announce the new date within the next…— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 16, 2024
Nicki Minaj is currently on the road for the second leg of her North American Pink Friday 2 World Tour. She’ll be in Dallas on Tuesday (Sept. 17), and then makes stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Miami and Raleigh, and wraps up in Queens on Oct. 11.
Pink Friday 2 arrived on Dec. 8, 2023, and debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 228,000 album-equivalent units, according to Luminate. That sum is the largest week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade, and the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.
There are so many reasons Cyndi Lauper loves Chappell Roan. But if you’re looking for a starting point, it’s “the hair alone.” That’s what Lauper told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Sunday (Sept. 15) when asked about the mutual admiration society the “She Bop” 1980s legend has with the rising “Good Luck, Babe!” singer.
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“And the fact that it’s performance art,” continued Lauper, who made a name in the early 1980s with her outrageous sartorial sense and quirky sensibility in videos from her 1983 She’s So Unusual album that helped push the boundaries of what artists could do in the then-new music video format. “And it’s visual, it’s so visual. You know I love those visual things, obviously,” added Lauper.
Asked to share some advice for Roan now that her profile has blown up and paparazzi are chasing her all over, fellow guest Paris Hilton said she doesn’t think the “Hot To Go” singer needs any advice from her, but she did say, “I think everyone should always be nice with everyone,” noting that she’s also a huge fan of Roan’s.
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Roan proved that she’s more than up to the task at last week’s VMAs, when she made her awards show performance debut with a Joan of Arc-like look for a run through “Good Luck, Babe!” that included swords, flaming arrows, knights and medieval mania that proved her best new artist win was well deserved.
In the midst of her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun farewell tour, Lauper was also asked by a call-in fan if she’d ever consider doing a Las Vegas residency. Without much dithering, the 71-year-old pop icon groaned, “I don’t know,” with host Andy Cohen saying, “kinda seems like a no from her response.”
“It’s just, you know what? The weather is really tough,” said native New Yorker Lauper, lamenting that the frequent triple-digit temperatures are too much for her. After playing Rock in Rio on Friday (Sept. 20), Lauper will kick off her final tour in earnest on Oct. 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Watch Lauper talk Roan on Watch What Happens Live below.
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Jane says … the tour is over. Jane’s Addiction has canceled its tour midway through the band’s trek after frontman Perry Farrell threw a punch at guitarist Dave Navarro during the band’s show on Friday (Sept. 13) in Boston at the Leader Bank Pavilion.
“The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour,” the band said in a brief statement Monday (Sept. 16). Refunds will be issued at the point of purchase.
In fan-captured videos that went viral after the Friday show, Farrell is seen on stage singing toward the audience before turning to Navarro and screaming the lyrics, seemingly angrily. The frontman then makes his way over to the guitarist, continuing his scream, before body-checking the guitarist, backing away, then getting back in Navarro’s face to continue yelling while the guitarist-actor — who appears confused — calmly holds Farrell at arm’s length while the frontman continues to yell. Farrell then throws a punch at his guitarist, and a crew member comes on stage, telling Farrell repeatedly to “Stop! Stop!” More crew members rush to the stage to restrain the rocker and take him off stage.
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The next day, Jane’s Addiction issued a statement via the band’s Instagram Stories. “We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the statement read. The band then noted that the following show on Sunday (Sept. 15) at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater was canceled.
Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, shared a statement on her own Instagram after the altercation. Reposting video of the altercation, she explained how she saw the situation. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic,” she wrote. ” Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body checked him.”
“Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band,” she continued, noting that her husband had been battling a sore throat and tinnitus. “But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”
She went on to praise Navarro for trying to de-escalate the situation, noting that the guitarist “still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight,” while her husband was “a crazed beast” for a little bit. Added Etty, “He finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried.”
Jane’s Addiction — who logged one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and three No. 1 hits on the Alternative Airplay chart since forming in the mid-’80s — was about halfway through its tour alongside Love and Rockets. The tour — produced by Live Nation — had been scheduled to conclude on Oct. 16 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
See Jane’s Addiction’s statement below.