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In an age of elusive algorithms and viral fame, Rob49 has had an uncharacteristically steady rise for a young rapper. After an uneventful stint in the National Guard and two semesters at Southern University, Rob49 picked up the mic for fun during the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost immediately, he garnered co-signs from industry vets like French Montana, and inked a record deal before the year was out. From there, Rob’s uptick in popularity hasn’t ceased — much to the surprise of everyone, even him.
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“I ain’t never wanna be no rapper. I used to really be looking at rappers like they were lying,” Rob told Billboard of his early days. “Like, ‘Ain’t no way you doin’ what I’m doin and made it out this s—t.’ Now, I feel like all rappers gotta be doing what they’re talking about — because ain’t no way your hood let you [fake] that, let you say what you say and get away with it.”
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Rob49’s latest album, Let Me Fly, is a testament to that relentless hustle, and to the acceptance that clearly he was built to be a rap star. The lighthearted nature behind his inescapable hit “WTHelly” shows that making hit songs, even if the origin of it is rather silly, comes as easily to Rob as breathing.
“I don’t be looking for a catchy record,” Rob says. “I really just be doing what I want.”
Below, Billboard talks with Rob49 about “WTHelly,” linking with Justin Bieber, and the key to making good music.
Let’s set the record straight: Who was the first person to say “what the helly?”
I don’t know who the first person was, but a lot of people are trying to take credit for it in my city. It’s New Orleans slang right now.
How are you feeling about the reception to “WTHelly” so far? Were you expecting it to be a hit from the jump?
I knew it was gonna be good, but I was kinda scared. A lot of the other releases I had, I was kinda thinkin’, ‘Oh this is gonna be it!’ and it was not what it was supposed to be. I was scared [“WTHelly”] was gonna be one of them ones. I’m grateful for it [catching on].
It must be nice to see it starting to get the traction the song is getting.
Did you see it?
Did I see what?
Did you see “WTHelly” on your socials?
I had to search it, it didn’t just pop up for me.
Ah, see that’s why I asked you that. We ain’t go hard enough then.
What’s your favorite “WTHelly” flip?
What the helly-Bron James. I came up with that one, and my friends came up with the rest.
How are you feeling about the reception to the remix? Justin Bieber’s verse seemed to really divide people, and I can’t help but notice you haven’t dropped it.
I was gonna drop the [remix] with [G Herbo] first and add it to the album, but we wound up doing it too late. So it might come out the next day on the album, then we’re just gonna go from there with it.
Do you plan to drop the Justin Bieber remix as well?
I talked to Justin a couple of days ago and he was telling me he wanted to do some more songs. So I don’t know.
How is he feeling about the reception to his verse? It was pretty divisive when it dropped.
It’s funny — when he first did it, he was like, “What you think? You think I can go harder?” I told him like, “Man I love it, bro — if you feel comfortable about it, if you like it, then I love it.” You know?
Were you surprised by people’s negative reaction to Bieber’s verse?
No, not really. I knew it was a possibility, because — it was the same way when he asked me, “Do you think I can go harder?”
What do you think people misunderstood about it?
Probably the singing part. You just never know what it’s gonna be — and fans don’t understand that all the time, that you don’t know what a hit is. Like, it just kinda happens. Some people might’ve been, like, “Oh my god he sung!” and if it would have been a hit it would have been a crazy banger. That be the difference between songs.
Tell me about the work you did with Birdman on this album. What did you learn from working and talking with him?
Just go hard, cause you get a lot of motivation from him like that and I just be accepting it. We don’t really be talking about too much. Don’t let up, don’t take it for granted, stuff like that.
You mentioned New Orleans — what’s your relationship like with your hometown right now?
I love my city, but when I go back there now it just feels like dry energy. There’s nothing really there, in terms of anything. I saw so much stuff traveling the world, it just doesn’t feel like enough for me — and that’s scary. I ain’t never wanted it to be like that because I like going home.
I noticed Skilla Baby’s not on Let Me Fly — is that collab album still coming?
I’m gonna call him and talk to him about that. Right now, I’m working on a collab album with me and G Herbo. I don’t know what we’re gonna name it — one of my close friends be saying, “Ghetto Poet” or something like that. I think I wanna name it that. I was gonna ask [G Herbo] how he feel about that. “Ghetto Poet” sounds great for an album, right?
Absolutely. I’m curious about how you approach dropping music. For a lot of young guys the blueprint has been too flood the streets with as much music as possible, but you’ve been very intentional with the singles you’ve dropped since 4 God II.
I just didn’t wanna drop no bulls—t. But at this point in my life I don’t care. I know if it’s hard, it’s better than yours. They got a lot of people out here dropping stuff that’s not better than mine.
Do you ever worry about losing momentum?
I definitely feel nervous about it. I was nervous this time, but I wasn’t nervous for myself, I was nervous cause everyone around me was getting nervous. I keep tellin’ em we good, but then they keep getting nervous! But you gotta be a strong-minded person, and not let people around you dictate your movements.
How did you creatively approach Let Me Fly differently than 4 God II?
I just wanted to be myself for real. 4 God II, it did good, but I felt like I was listening to the people a lot about the songs I was picking and stuff. This time, no one has say so but me.
Do you feel pressure with this record to take it to the next level?
I don’t feel no pressure, I just feel like we gotta go hard. Right now, we don’t have to come out with a fake roll out. The songs are going up for real — it’s not a game. Right now, I feel like I gotta show you [who I am], because a lot of people hold they nuts. You not gonna be able to hold your nuts this year.
Life is loaded with contradictions, not the least of which is the “tough guy” veneer. Everyone has weaknesses in their personality, and showing strength is one way that people hide their insecurities.
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In reality, it takes an enormous amount of fortitude to admit a vulnerability, and the greatest artists are frequently those who are able to help listeners explore -— and even embrace — their own fragility.
New artist Preston Cooper does that right out of the gate with his debut single, “Weak,” which flips the switch on those soft spots, bringing them into the open with a fierceness that turns them into a source of power. Life experience has made him comfortable with that dichotomy; his girlfriend of six years, Liz, helped him weather a rocky stretch in the earliest parts of their relationship.
“I went through a hard time there a little bit after I met Liz and we started dating,” he remembers. “It was just a mental period where I was very lost, and she helped me through that. And Jesus obviously did, too.”
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Both Liz and Jesus show up in “Weak,” though neither was necessarily the inspiration. Instead, it came from a melody he concocted at work. Cooper delivered mail in rural Fredericktown, Ohio, and he used music so much on his route that he was known locally as “The Singing Mailman.” Near the end of 2022, he invented a musical passage built around a long note that would eventually trail off as he imagined bluesy chords underneath. He recorded that melodic idea on his smartphone with the drawn-out word “weak” and another line or two behind it.
“The music drives you to certain words, you know; the emotion of it, the musical part alone,” he says. “It feels like it’s ‘weak,’ [but] it’s this strong relationship. When the intro to that song comes in, I feel that already.”
As fate would have it, Skotynsky Financial Group hired Cooper as an opening act for a corporate event on April 21, 2023, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Perrysburg, Ohio. Mike Severson’s Songwriter City had booked Brett and Brad Warren (“Red Solo Cup,” “Highway Don’t Care”), plus JT Harding (“Sangria,” “Beers and Sunshine”) to headline that night, and when the Warrens heard Cooper, they invited him to visit Nashville and try his hand at writing.
A few weeks later, on May 8, Cooper and Liz drove six hours to Nashville and headed straight to the Orbison Building, where songwriter Lance Miller (“I Called Mama,” “Beer With Jesus”) kept an office. Liz busied herself in another room while Miller and the Warrens worked with Cooper. Asked if he had any ideas, Cooper launched into the unfinished half-chorus of “Weak.”
“When he started belting out that chorus, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is like driving a musical Maserati,’” Brad remembers.
They finished the chorus first, recognizing resilience, but crediting Liz and faith for the ability to overcome the hard times: “Just you and Jesus/Get me where I need to be.” The last line returned to that one word — “weak” —threaded through a conclusive run of descending melodic trills.
The opening verse was more conversational, exploring a handful of strong elements: an El Paso, Texas, wind; an oak tree; and bourbon. It set up the dramatic chorus, and as that stanza ended on the drawn-out, emotional “ee-e-e-e-ak,” Miller started verse two with a one-word line: “Strong.”
“Willie Nelson said simple is complex,” Miller reasons. “That song,” he adds, “came out fairly easily. I don’t remember this being a laboring process.”
Nelson and “Whiskey River” were counted among the verse-two strengths, and before it was all over, they came up with a bridge about tension and comfort — “Crazy like a train, amazing like grace” — that referenced Ozzy Osbourne and Jesus side by side. “We’re not comparing him to Jesus,” Brett notes.
Once they had finished a second song, the Warrens surprised Cooper with a same-day demo session four blocks away at Curb Studios. The A-list musicians were surprised to find they were playing a blues-inspired number and thoroughly impressed once Cooper locked in at the mic.
“The second he opened his mouth in the studio, all the session players stopped and turned around,” Brett recalls. “They were like, ‘Hey, we got a real singer in the room.’ ”
The band developed a slow, spacious groove, the sound thickened by Jeff Roach’s soulful Hammond B-3. Guitarist Justin Ostrander laid down a chill solo live on the first pass, and drummer Evan Hutchings added some shimmer with his cymbal work. “It must have been right,” Brad muses, “because Brett hates cymbals.”
Cooper continued working on his newfound career, his voice deepening and his confidence growing. After a year, Brett had him return to the studio to redo the vocals, and he nailed them on the first take. Outside of hiring Greg Barnhill to overdub background vocals, Brett didn’t change much about the production — the session that was supposed to be a demo became a master recording.
“Brett was smart enough not to put too much makeup on the mannequin,” Miller says. “Basically what we did at Curb that day was the foundation of that song.”
“Weak” recognizes that admitting emotional struggle provides an opportunity for strength to arise. While it’s written around a relationship, listeners can easily apply the concept to other life facets.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic,” Brett says. “I remember the first time I raised my hand in a meeting and said, ‘My name’s Brett and I’m an alcoholic.’ Oh, my Lord, I was so scared to say it, but the moment I admitted that I struggled with alcohol, in that weakest moment in my life — boom! — 60% of this weight just came off me. It’s really fascinating. So on the lyrical side of it, I think that that side of ‘Weak’ is really true.”
“Weak” was the first song Cooper performed in an audition for Big Machine Label Group; by the third tune, president/CEO Scott Borchetta was ready to sign him. “Weak” got a standing ovation at the label’s lunchtime showcase during Country Radio Seminar in February, and it cinched BMLG’s decision to make it his first single. Subsidiary Valory released it to country radio via PlayMPE on April 23 with a May 19 add date.
“Ever since we wrote the song — like the day of — we always thought this was going to be a first single,” Cooper says. “It was so much excitement in making the song and the vibe of it. It just felt right.”
As the original Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, Renée Elise Goldsberry got to embrace pop diva fierceness onstage eight times a week — and won a Tony Award in the process.
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The actress, who also won a Grammy when the Hamilton original Broadway cast recording took home best musical theater album, has kept busy since — notably as the hilariously over-the-top girl group alum Wickie on Peacock/Netflix musical comedy series Girls5Eva — but she’s now stepping into the spotlight in a new way: with her independently-released debut album, Who I Really Am, out June 6. It’s mostly written by Goldsberry herself, with the notable exception of “Satisfied,” her personal eleven-o-clock number from Hamilton. “I think the song becomes a lovely bridge from how you know me as a recording artist to the rest of my music as a recording artist,” Goldsberry tells Billboard. What always felt like a “deer in the headlights” moment during the show, she says, became less scary knowing the ensemble was still around her — and placed in the new context of the album, her backup vocalists and band have taken on that role.
Ahead of the reimagined “Satisfied” release today, Goldsberry spoke to Billboard about her evolving relationship to the number that required her to both belt and rap, and the surprising way that tapping into her Girls5Eva character helped her take on this new version.
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Renée Elise Goldsberry in Hamilton.
Courtesy of Hamilton On Broadway
How did learning and performing “Satisfied” as much as you have help you grow as a vocalist and performer overall?
What’s most virtuosic about it is the speed of the rap – but that was always very natural for me. It’s so well-constructed, it makes so much sense. I understood immediately the way [Angelica’s] brain works, how someone that smart and passionate can make a decision that’s that complex in an instant.
What was challenging for me was singing through the emotion that holds so much sacrifice at the end of the song. Signing that live was the thing that was so frightening – Will i be able to make sound at the end of this, when I have to act on the decision I just made? The album single version of this song continues to grow – it doesn’t drop back down into vulnerability, it just keeps driving, and that’s a lovely evolution for me in it.You did so much of the writing yourself on this album; I presume it took a lot of thought to decide what to include that wasn’t by you. Why did this feel important to have in the mix?
In 2020, we were promoting Hamilton on Disney+ — and at the exact same time I was writing this album, and the last thing on my mind would have been to include a song I didn’t write, even the song I’m most famous for singing. So it’s so funny to come full circle and be so proud of having this track on the album. What Hamilton has turned into is something that belongs to everyone, and everyone I think knows it better than me now. So it’s a wonderful thing to feel it separate from the show — and when I finally had the courage to share it with Lin and he also liked it, that was the sign-off I needed. Why was it scary to present it to him? I’m not a huge believer in remaking things that are perfect. Luther Vandross can remake anybody’s song, Whitney Houston did a really good job with “I Will Always Love You” — but unless you’re comin’ like that, I think you should leave well enough alone. [Laughs.] I didn’t do it to improve upon it; I just found a way for it to live outside of a perfect show.
Renée Elise Goldsberry, “Satisfied”
Courtesy Photo
How has your relationship to performing it changed over the years? At this point it must feel a little like the hit everyone wants a pop star to perform in concert, even if they occasionally need a break from it….
In the very beginning, I said: “If for the rest of my life when I walk out, somebody plays this song, I’ll be thrilled.” And then what you’re saying is also true; we have an interesting relationship with the things we owe the most to in terms of our career. At some point, we want to prove we can do something else — so there might be a stage where we’re trying to be defined as something different, and then we full circle land on gratitude.
It’s funny that it’s only been ten years — but I’m already full circle grateful. I don’t feel like it’s in any way diminishing, like, “This is your one thing.” It’s such a gift, and also there’s so much challenge in it, so much to discover, it will never feel too small for me. As a big Girls5Eva fan, I have to ask: Do you see any ways in which playing Wickie helped you on this album? Does tapping into her energy help you diva out?
At this very moment, something just became very clear for me: the alter ego of a Sasha Fierce…even in Girls5Eva, Dawn has this Fledge Mulholland alter ego so this mom and wife can feel as powerful as she did onstage. And I just realized Wickie is mine.
There are a lot of things about her I don’t take into my life — but the unapologetic ambition is critical, especially when you’re doing something that no one asked you to do. No one asked me, “Who are you really, Renée?” I just chose to answer it, and Wickie would do that — and she’d do it bravely and with a very unique sense of style! And she’s the Energizer Bunny — she never ever stops trying to move forward, and I need a little bit of that. I have so many more stories to tell.
On Friday (May 23), 13 artists were presented with iHeartRadio Titanium Awards for reaching 1 billion spins of their songs across iHeartRadio stations in 2025 — and Billboard can exclusively reveal the new honorees. Artists that reached the milestone include: Benson Boone with “Beautiful Things”; David Guetta and Bebe Rexha with “I’m Good (Blue)”; Doja […]
With 33 Country Airplay No. 1s to his name, Kenny Chesney could fill an entire concert—and then some—with only chart toppers. But Thursday night (May 22) at the opening night of his Sphere residency in Las Vegas, he dug deep into his nearly 30 year-catalog. Chesney’s reputation as a stellar live performer is well established: […]
Las Vegas may be landlocked, but Kenny Chesney took fans to the beach Thursday night (May 22) in the opening night of his 15-date Sphere run.
The four-time Country Music Association Awards entertainer of the year, the first country artist to play the immersive venue, is one of the most celebrated live performers in any genre and he showed once again why during the two-hour and 15-minute concert. During the fun and breezy 27-song set, many songs celebrated the island lifestyle that embodies the spirit of Chesney’s No Shoes Nation.
According to Billboard Boxscore, Chesney is the only country artist to reach $1 billion in concert grosses reported to Billboard. His passionate No Shoes Nation fanbase has followed him into stadiums, which he has filled for 20 years, so to see him in the 18,000-seat Sphere is a chance to view him relatively close up (despite the crazy steep pitch of the four levels).
Throughout the show, Chesney exhibited a welcome spirit of gratitude for his fans, excitement over his first Las Vegas residency (no starting small for him), and elation at being back on stage, noting this was his first show of 2025. As anyone who’s seen one of his stadium shows knows, Chesney thrives on contact with prosceniums that extend far out into audience. The Sphere doesn’t allow that, so he had to make do with occasionally palm slapping with fans standing in the front section, dubbed The Sandbar, but he still managed to fully connect with the crowd.
Chesney, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in March, has logged 33 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, which is more than any other artist since the chart launched in 1990. He landed his first No. 1 in 1997 with “She’s Got It All,” and most recently topped the chart last year with “Take Her Home.” In between have been such hits as “The Good Stuff,” “Living in Fast Forward,” “Don’t Blink,” “American Kids,” “Better as a Memory” and “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem.”
So, it’s no surprise that the show relied heavily on hits (heck, he could have played nothing but his No. 1s and still had the show go longer than two hours), but he also trotted out deeper cuts and lesser performed tunes to create a one-of-a-kind show.
Chesney’s residency lasts through June 21 and tallies 15 dates.
Billboard was at Sphere for opening night, and we’ve rounded up the best moments of the evening.
This Is Not a Dark Ride
Morgan Wallen returns to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart this week with his sprawling 37-track effort I’m the Problem, marking his second Australian chart-topper following One Thing at a Time, which spent two weeks at No. 1 in 2023. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
Miley Cyrus brought raw vulnerability to Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday (May 22), performing her latest single “More to Lose” in a striking, emotionally-charged moment on the late-night stage.
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Wearing a dark hooded coat and surrounded by a live band and string ensemble, the Grammy winner delivered a stirring rendition of the song beneath dramatic spotlights, echoing the somber, cinematic visuals from the track’s music video released earlier this month.
“On a song like ‘More to Lose,’ I try to keep it a singular take,” Cyrus previously explained in a video shared to Instagram. “I add my harmonies, ad-libs at the end, but it’s really a song that’s more of a story and I never want that to be interrupted or overthought or chasing perfection.”
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“I never wanted More to Lose to feel perfect, I wanted it to sound meaningful and emotional,” she added.
The performance arrives just one week before the release of Something Beautiful, Cyrus’ highly anticipated ninth studio album, due May 30. The record is led by “More to Lose,” April’s “End of the World,” and recent tracks “Prelude” and the album’s title track. It also features collaborations with Naomi Campbell and Brittany Howard.
The pop star is set to debut a visual album companion to Something Beautiful at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6. Described as “a one-of-a-kind pop opera,” the film is directed by Cyrus with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter.
In a recent interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Cyrus reflected on her journey to self-acceptance and sobriety — and how it shaped this new creative era. “The sobriety is like, that’s like my God. I need it, I live for it,” she said. “It’s changed my entire life.” Her 2023 smash “Flowers,” which earned her her first-ever Grammys, served as the breakthrough. “It was some sort of key right into the lock of all healing,” she added.
With Something Beautiful, Cyrus continues that journey — and if “More to Lose” is any indication, she’s not shying away from the parts that hurt.
Rob Thomas is making his return Down Under. The Matchbox Twenty frontman will head to Australia and New Zealand this October and November for a headline solo tour in celebration of his forthcoming album All Night Days and the 20th anniversary of his 2005 debut solo album …Something to Be. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
Joe Jonas released his long-awaited sophomore solo album, Music For People Who Believe in Love, on Friday (May 23) via Republic Records. Preceded by singles “Work It Out,” “What This Could Be” and “Heart By Heart,” the studio set arrives nearly a decade and a half after the Jonas Brothers heartthrob’s first solo offering with […]
