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John Legend is opening up the “descent” of his former friend Ye.
In a new interview with The Times, published on Saturday (May 10), the 46-year-old R&B singer expressed shock over the dramatic changes in Ye (formerly Kanye West) after their close personal and professional bond in the early 2000s.
“Back then Kanye was very passionate, very gifted, and he had big dreams not only for himself but also for all the people around him,” Legend said, reflecting on how West helped launch his career after collaborating on the rapper’s 2004 album, The College Dropout. “He had so much optimism, so much creativity. It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now.”
The EGOT winner signed with West’s G.O.O.D. Music after releasing a pair of self-produced albums early in his career. The two artists collaborated on numerous projects over the years, but their friendship began to fray after West, 47, voiced support for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Their relationship ultimately ended in the aftermath of West’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid.
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“I didn’t see a hint of what we’re seeing now, his obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness, and it is sad to see his devolution,” Legend told The Times.
Ye has faced backlash in recent months for his hate-filled, antisemitic rants on social media. The rapper has also expressed support for Diddy, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking charges.
Legend admits he’s not qualified to “psychoanalyze” West, but offers a guess as to why the embattled rapper has changed so much in recent years.
“After his mother passed in 2007 there was definitely a difference,” the singer said. “His descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently.”
West’s mother, Donda, died of a heart attack at age 58 in 2007 following complications from multiple cosmetic procedures. After her death, the rapper released two albums bearing her name: Donda (2021), which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and Donda 2 (2022), which was initially available exclusively on the Stem Player before being released on streaming services in late April.
Elsewhere in The Times interview, Legend reflected on West’s undeniable impact in launching his career.
“Kanye blew up after producing Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint in 2001,” he said. “Then he experienced a buzz as a solo artist and the whole time I was traveling with him, doing shows with him, getting exposure not only as his singer and keyboard player but also as an artist myself. I had been turned down by labels everywhere. Then The College Dropout sold 400,000 copies in its first week, everyone wanted to know what was happening in our camp.”
The singer added, “All those people who turned me down suddenly decided that my music sounded a lot better than it did the first time round.”
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Hip-Hop music has embraced and occasionally criticized artists who chase the familiar, as nostalgia is seen as a schtick among some purists. Fly Anakin gently leans into this concept on his latest album, (The) Forever Dream, with the Richmond, Va. native harkening back to the days before Hip-Hop notoriety and the joy of spotanenity.
Executive produced by rapper and producer Quelle Chris, an innovative artist in his own right, the Detroit mainstay’s inventive bent is felt throughout (The) Forever Dream. As the concept of the album seemingly unfolds, Fly Anakin’s usual sharp rapping ability doesn’t have that same whipcrack intensity as heard on his earlier releases on his own or alongside his Mutant Academy collective.
With this album, there’s fluidity in Anakin’s flow that he’s always possessed, but much slinkier as production from Shungu, Quelle Chris collaborator Chris Keys, The Alchemist, and Quelle himself all open varying runways for the artist born Frank Walton.
The widest of those runways is the spirit of the impromptu studio session, and that tone is set early with album opener “Good Clothes” featuring Demae. Anakin’s double-time flow pairs perfectly with Chris Keys’ dreamy backdrop, and as the track builds, so does Anakin’s comfort in the moment. As a warmup, Anakin allows himself a moment of braggadocio but never overdoes it.
Hopping ahead to “My N*gga,” Shungu’s hulking production allows Richmond’s $ilkMoney, and Anakin’s Mutant Academy colleague Big Kahuna OG to set the stage for a strong closing verse for Anakin. Quelle provides the bouncy hook for an early highlight. In the background of the track, you hear laughter, adding to the mystique of the album, and the conditions that inspired its direction.
Micall Parknsun provides the track for “Lil One,” one of (The) Forever Dream’s more inward-looking songs, and Quelle joins in on the mesmerizing hook and outro. August Fanon, a producer with several placements in the sprawling independent Hip-Hop scene, delivers the somber and soulful “Check On Me,” featuring a memorable verse from Philadelphia’s lojii.
The fun starts picking up on “NOTTOOSHABBY” with verses from Quelle Chris, $ilkMoney, and Richmond legend, Nickelus F. The beat from Child Actor sounds like something Quelle would produce himself, hence why he sounds so at home on the track. Anakin and Nickelus both take off on the track as well, even with Anakin missing a lyrical cue, but telling the engineer to keep the session going.
This is what makes (The) Forever Dream the most inviting of Anakin’s releases. There is a vision of relaxation, hazy clouds of good greenery, maybe some libations, and a bunch of friends, new and old, attempting to capture those sparkling moments on wax. Yes, this all existed before, but it is greatly expanded here.
“Lord Forgives, I Hold Grudges,” takes its title from a line from Anakin’s verse and just when it appears he’s going to let us in more into who he is, the lyrics trail off into sincere but largely general sh*t talk. This isn’t a critique, but it’s something that he routinely does across the album. Quelle’s Crown Nation partner, Denmark Vesey, who produced the track, delivers an amazing performance, and Anakin’s FlySiifu collaborator Pink Siifu lends his consistent free jazz-styled lyricism.
All through the album are moments of pure, unbridled joy. This shows up on songs like the summery “The Times” with a beat from frequent Homeboy Sandman collaborator Mono En Stereo, and “Corner Pocket” with The Alchemist on the production and a scene-stealing verse from bbymutha. Quelle’s hook is also another winner.
(The) Forever Dream isn’t a gigantic departure from Frank, Anakin’s 2022 studio album debut. However, it stands apart due to the freedom of taking chances outside the typical lanes Anakin is known for. As a complete listen, the album easily showcases Fly Anakin’s formidable ability, but highlights that he can veer off the typical paths and achieve his dreams in the process.
Check out the album below. Find the album at your preferred DSPs here.
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Kelly Clarkson is getting candid with fans about why she hasn’t been hitting the road lately.
During her concert in Atlantic City, N.J., on Friday (May 9), the 43-year-old pop star and TV personality told the crowd that touring isn’t realistic right now due to the demanding schedule of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“We haven’t done a show in a while, y’all, ’cause I have a talk show. It’s like a whole other job,” Clarkson said, referencing her band, according to Page Six. The Grammy winner also noted that being a single mother takes up much of her time.
Still, Clarkson expressed gratitude for the opportunity to perform two nights at Atlantic City’s Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena — her first live shows in nearly six months.
“We are bummed ’cause we love doing shows, and it’s hard to fit it in, so it’s cool when it does work out with the schedule,” the American Idol alum told the audience. “And it’s cool to get to see your faces and feed off y’all. Thank you so much for having so much energy.”
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Her 90-minute set included fan-favorite hits such as “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “Because of You,” “Breakaway,” “Miss Independent,” “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” and “Since U Been Gone.” It marked her first full-length concert since November 2024.
Clarkson hasn’t embarked on a full tour since 2019. In the years since, she has booked Las Vegas residencies — including shows at PH Live at Planet Hollywood in 2023 and 2024. Earlier this year, she announced a new Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson: Studio Sessions, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The show opens July 4 and runs through July and August, with additional dates scheduled for November.
In March, Clarkson celebrated the milestone 1,000th episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. The daytime program, which launched in 2019, was renewed by NBC Owned Television Stations for a seventh season in December 2024. Her contract is set to expire next year, Page Six reports.
The show has earned 22 Daytime Emmy Awards, including eight individual wins for Clarkson herself. Most recently, it won outstanding daytime talk series for the fourth consecutive year at the 2024 Daytime Emmys.
Now in its sixth season, The Kelly Clarkson Show averages 1.2 million viewers per day and remains one of the top syndicated talk shows in the country, airing on more than 200 stations nationwide.
Arcade Fire returned to Saturday Night Live on May 10 to perform new songs from their upcoming album. The Canadian quintet — led by frontman Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne — took the stage at Studio 8H ahead of their forthcoming seventh studio album, Pink Elephant. Arcade Fire opened their set with the […]
Miley Cyrus is putting family first. On the heels of dropping her new single, the ballad “More to Lose,” the singer released a statement on Saturday (May 10) in response to rumors of a rift with parents Tish and Billy Ray.
“I rarely comment on rumors,” Miley noted in an update shared via Instagram Story on her official account. “But my mama and I are too tight for anything to ever come between us. She’s my best friend.”
“Like a lot of moms, she doesn’t know how to work her phone and somehow unfollowed me–simple, coincidental, and uninteresting,” she said, in reference to murmurs that Tish had reportedly unfollowed her on the social media app earlier this week.
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Her statement continued: “My dad and I have had our challenges over the years. Now, in my thirties, family is my priority above all else. I’m at peace knowing bridges have been built and time has done a lot of healing.”
“Grateful for the good health and love that flows through my family,” Miley concluded her message.
Fans had expressed concern about the alleged unfollowing in various comments on Tish’s recent Instagram posts, to which she responded that she didn’t know she’d apparently unfollowed her daughter. “have no idea how that happened but it’s fixed now!” read Tish’s reply to one of those comments on Wednesday, May 7. (At press time on Saturday, she follows Miley on Instagram.)
On Wednesday, Billy Ray had posted a video clip with Miley performing at the piano, along with the caption, “Can’t wait to see this young lady. Crazy how time flies.”
On Friday, he uploaded a snapshot of himself with his son Braison, plus Miley and her boyfriend Maxx Morando, all together in celebration of Braison’s birthday.
Miley’s new song “More to Lose” is off of the imminent album Something Beautiful, a 13-track collection due out on May 30. It’ll be the follow-up to 2023’s Endless Summer Vacation, which was led by the Grammy-winning, Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Flowers”; Endless Summer Vacation reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
“I tried to keep it a singular take,” she shared with fans about recording the emotional track “More to Lose.” “It’s really a song that’s more of a story, and I never want that to be interrupted or overthought or chasing perfection. I never wanted ‘More to Lose’ to be perfect, I wanted it to sound beautiful and emotional.”
During a special evening with Spotify last week, Cyrus gave more insight into Something Beautiful, revealing the album’s overarching theme as “beauty, but not what beauty represents by a standard of someone else’s idea.” In another sound-bite from the event, she said — to cheers from the audience — “On a scale of, I think, one to gay, how gay is this album? It’s not only my best album, but also my gayest.”
A 100-degree day in the desert was the scene to kick off the After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Arizona on Friday night (May 9). The Weeknd and Playboi Carti matched the heat and brought the fire to the State Farm Stadium stage, setting the tone for the 43-date North American trek. 60,000 of the […]
It’s been more than a year since Kendrick Lamar upended the rap game and significantly altered the course of popular culture with “Not Like Us,” the five-time Grammy-winning, Billboard Hot 100-topping knockout punch in his monthslong battle against Drake. If the feverish crowd at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Friday night (May 10) was anything to go by, K.Dot’s ongoing domination isn’t likely to subside anytime soon.
Lamar and SZA, former TDE labelmates and both global superstars in their own rights, graced the NYC-area venue for their second of two shows in East Rutherford, N.J., on their blockbuster Grand National Tour. One of the most ambitious treks in hip-hop history, the Grand National Tour is a towering achievement.
From mainstream-conquering smashes (“Luther,” “Humble,” “DNA”) to headier deep cuts from his latest Billboard 200 chart-topper (“Man at the Garden,” “Reincarnated”), Lamar meticulously presented hip-hop as stadium-sized theater. He didn’t do so by relying on flashy production or set design; instead, he stripped hip-hop down to its five founding pillars, laying bare the incomparable art form that is emceeing on a hot mic.
Kicking things off with GNX opener “Wacced Out Murals,” Lamar launched the nearly three-hour extravaganza all on his lonesome. Lamar and SZA traded sets bridged by beloved duets like “Doves in the Wind,” “All the Stars” and the more recent “30 for 30 Freestyle.” Though both artists sourced the bulk of their sets from their most recent releases (GNX for Lamar and SOS Deluxe: LANA for SZA), they also held space for their respective catalogs. Lamar rapped the opening verse of “Swimming Pools” completely a cappella for his “day ones”; SZA frequently shouted out her “Ctrl babies” before performing cuts like “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” and “Broken Clocks,” and she pulled Zacari‘s weight for a sweet rendition of Lamar’s “Love.”
SZA performs on the opening night of the Grand National Tour with Kendrick Lamar on April 19, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Cassidy Meyers
Across a stage reminiscent of the video game controller setup of Lamar’s landmark Super Bowl LIX halftime show, the Grand National Tour’s set design is largely minimalistic, save for a stair platform placed at the center of the stage. Despite a few levitating mini-platforms and a flying fairy moment for SZA, the true centerpiece of the Grand National stage was the literal GNX that helped the set transition between each set. When Kendrick first hit the stage, the black GNX stood as it does on the album cover, but by the time SZA hit her set, the vehicle transformed into a grassy, fauna-laden ride that nodded to the insect aesthetic of the LANA era. At the show’s close (“Gloria”), Lamar opened the passenger door for SZA like a consummate gentleman and joined her in the car as they wished the packed stadium safe travels home.
Both a wildly impressive victory lap and the progeny of over a decade of grueling work from both Lamar and SZA, the Grand National Tour saw two of the most defining artists of the 2010s operating at the height of their powers while ensuring hip-hop always remains at the center.
Here are the 10 best moments from their Grand National Tour stop at MetLife Stadium.
Prince Easter Eggs
Harry Styles was among the thousands in attendance at the conclave election of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday (May 8).
The 31-year-old pop superstar was spotted in a now-viral photograph taken in Saint Peter’s Square, dressed in a blue jacket, sunglasses and a baseball cap that read “Techno is my boyfriend.”
The “Watermelon Sugar” hitmaker was also seen walking the streets of Rome ahead of the historic ceremony, according to ABC News.
Fans on social media quickly took note of the former One Direction member in the crowd.
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“Little did the pope know he was waving to harry styles,” one fan wrote on X. Another added, “One thing about harry styles, he’s always going to accidentally serve cinema somewhere in europe.”
Pope Leo XIV was elected following the death of Pope Francis in April at the age of 88. Chicago-born missionary Robert Prevost, 69, was chosen by Catholic cardinals to become the 267th pontiff and the first-ever U.S.-born pope.
Styles has kept a relatively low professional profile since wrapping up his global Love on Tour in 2023, which followed the release of his third studio album, Harry’s House, in 2022. During the lengthy trek, which launched in 2021, the singer fit in a few mini residencies, including a 15-show run at New York City’s Madison Square Garden and another 15 shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Harry’s House spawned the 15-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “As It Was,” spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200, and earned him album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Since then, Styles has been spotted traveling the world, recently participating in the Tokyo Marathon in March, where he finished 6,010th out of more than 37,000 runners. He also joined a running club in London in April.
A dump truck slammed into the iconic Whisky a Go Go music venue in West Hollywood, Calif., on Friday afternoon (May 9).
Los Angeles County fire officials said the crash occurred around 1:40 p.m. and involved five vehicles, according to ABC 7. The truck also struck a power pole, cutting electricity to a block surrounding the famed Sunset Strip landmark. No serious injuries were reported.
“Due to the traffic collision, some power has been affected and power is out to some parts of the area,” the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff Department stated in a Friday alert. “Crews are currently on scene and working to restore power.”
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The incident forced the cancellation of Friday night’s scheduled show, which was to feature bands including Boy Hits Car, Barefoot in the Bathroom, and Gearheart. The famed hoped it could reopen by Saturday.
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“Well… that was wild,” Boy Hits Car wrote on Instagram. “Yesterday, just hours before we were set to headline at the legendary Whisky A Go Go, a dump truck crashed into the venue. Our show was unfortunately canceled as a result, but the scene quickly turned surreal. ABC7 News and KCAL were there on the spot, and next thing you know, we’re doing interviews for TV instead of soundcheck.”
The band continued, “We’re grateful no one was hurt and we appreciate everyone who reached out in concern. It wasn’t the night we planned, but it sure was memorable.”
The Whisky a Go Go, which opened in 1964, helped foster Los Angeles’ burgeoning rock scene. The venue has hosted generations of legendary acts — from The Doors, the Byrds and Janis Joplin to Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe.
A federal judge granted an injunction on Friday (May 9) to musical group Los Alegres del Barranco, allowing them to sing narcocorridos in the Mexican state of Michoacán despite a state decree that prohibits the dissemination of music or expressions that promote the glorification of criminal activities in public spaces since last April.
The legal measure, identified as injunction case number 518/2025 and to which Billboard Español had access, was filed on April 28 by a representative of the Mexican band. With this ruling, Los Alegres del Barranco will be able to sing narcocorridos provisionally in the state without facing penalties, as the federal judge determined that the decree violates fundamental rights to freedom of speech and labor protected under the Mexican Constitution. The band’s next show in Michoacán is scheduled for May 30 in the municipality of Tziritzicuaro.
For now, the ruling only benefits Los Alegres del Barranco. The federal judge has scheduled a new hearing for May 15 to decide whether the temporary suspension granted to the group will be upheld or revoked.
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The government of Michoacán enacted a state decree on April 17 that prohibits the performance and/or reproduction of music that promotes the glorification of criminal activities at public events. The regulation includes musical genres derived from regional Mexican music, such as corridos tumbados, narcocorridos, progressive corridos, war-themed corridos, and altered corridos, as well as any other subgenre that promotes illicit acts or glorifies criminal activity.
The Michoacán government announced that it would file an appeal against the judge’s decision to overturn the prohibition for the musical group, according to the newspaper Reforma.
Billboard Español attempted to contact the Secretariat of Government of Michoacán for comment but has yet to receive a response. Billboard Español is also awaiting responses from the Federal Judiciary Council and representatives of the musical group.
Los Alegres del Barranco became the first act from the regional Mexican genre to be formally accused by the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office of alleged glorification of criminal activities. Authorities in that state, located in western Mexico, are investigating the group after images of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), were projected during their performance of the song “El del Palenque” on March 29 at an auditorium at the University of Guadalajara.
This incident even led the U.S. to revoke work and tourist visas for the band members, as announced on April 1 by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in a statement on X. A federal judge will now decide whether or not to initiate legal proceedings against the members of the band, their legal representative, and the promoter of their concerts in a hearing scheduled for Monday (May 12).
The band, its representative, and the promoter are facing investigation from the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office for four performances in different municipalities of that state in which they allegedly glorified criminal activities, according to information published on Friday (May 9) by the same office.
Ten out of Mexico’s 32 states have implemented various bans against narcocorridos or any expression that promotes or glorifies criminal activities, though such bans have not yet become federal law.