Music

15 Apr 2023

Becky G Pays Tribute to Regional Mexican Music With Star-Studded Coachella Set

Becky G’s debut as a billed Coachella act was a long time coming, but good things come to those who wait. While the Mexican-American artist was at Coachella last year, when she joined Karol G to sing their hit song “MAMIII,” Becky G hadn’t had a solo performance at the festival.

“What’s up Coachella?” she asked a sea of festival-goers who had stationed themselves at the main stage for her 45-minute set after immediately being hooked with her reggaeton banger “Mayores.” “You’re looking mighty beautiful from up here,” she briefly said after performing her first song. “I’m so happy to be here with you guys today.”

Becky was a woman of a few words and let her music do the speaking instead. With a Luis Barragán-inspired set as her background, she stepped out in a dark blue denim three-piece and white sneakers to perform “Fulanito,” “Cuando Te Besé” and “Bailé Con Mi Ex” back-to-back before transitioning into a special segment that paid tribute to her Mexican roots.

“México en la casa! I’ve been working on my regional project and it’s been so beautiful,” she expressed. “I’m proud to be Mexican-American. And I couldn’t come to Coachella and not share the stage. Who else did we invite to the carne asada (cookout)?” she asked her DJ.

With a tuba in tow, Marca MP joined Becky — who wore a tejana for this part of her set — to sing “Ya Acabó.” But that was just the first artist of a parade of acts who joined the star. Following MP, Jesús Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida took her side to sing “Te Quiero Besar.” Paz stayed to sing Becky’s “favorite” song of his, the cumbia-powered “Bebe Dame.”

The third surprise guest was an artist who is relatively new to performing in front of crowd, let alone a festival of this magnitude, but fans went crazy when corridos up-and-comer Peso Pluma appeared on stage to sing his collab w Becky, “Chanel.” The surprise guests didn’t end there. Becky, who by this point had changed into a sparkly blue mini-dress, brought out bestie Natti Natasha to sing their girl-power track “Sin Pijama.” The two shared a friendly kiss with Becky after singing together.

To close her set with a bang, Becky sang her Karol G-assisted “MAMIII,” which she ended with the iconic wailing part of “Killing Me Softly.” And to end with a trip down memory lane, she performed her first hit single “Shower.” “Let me take this in for a second,” she said before leaving the stage. “It has truly been an honor.”

Get tickets to the first-ever #BBMujeresLatinas on May 6 in Miami: billboardmujeresenlamusica.com

15 Apr 2023

Blink-182 (Finally) Reunite Onstage to Deliver an Epic Hits-Filled Coachella Set

It had all the makings of a headlining set: the reunion of a beloved band, a hits-filled discography and thousands of fans all belting along. 

And yet, the highly anticipated set from Blink-182 filled the sundown slot at a much-too-small stage. It made it all the better.

On Thursday evening (April 13), when Coachella finally revealed on Instagram its weekend one set times, the caption read: “Take off your pants and jacket.” Fans of the band immediately knew it signaled the good news that Blink had been added to the lineup at the last minute. 

In October, the legendary pop-punk band announced it would reunite with its original lineup of Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom Delonge. On Friday (April 14), the band delivered its first show since. (Blink was originally scheduled to kick off a South American tour in March, but had to cancel due to Barker’s finger injury).

The band fittingly entered to the Star Wars theme song (with noted U.FO. researcher DeLonge wearing a shirt that read, “To the stars”) and selected “Family Reunion” as their celebratory opening song. As DeLonge basked in the roars for his return to the band, he couldn’t help but smirk as he held up a middle finger, later telling the crowd how much they’re loved.

After performing “Anthem, Part Two,” Hoppus said something so simple yet staggering: “Hi, we’re Blink-182 … Welcome to Coachella 2023.” The fact that the ’90s-formed act is just as much of a force today as in its heyday is a testament to its catalog and staying power — particularly at a time when pop-punk has returned to center stage. And in the case of Blink, the band brought its boyish sense of humor along for the ride, with Hoppus and DeLonge trading quips about everything from UTIs to testicles throughout the set.

As Barker’s wife, Kourtney Kardashian-Barker, and her sister Khloe watched from the stage, the band tore threw hits like “Rock Show,” “Feelin This” and “What’s My Age Again,” which welcomed a sing-along worthy of the Guinness World Records as a mosh pit formed. And before live debuting their newest single “Edging,” which arrived with the original lineup’s reunion announcement, DeLonge confessed with a laugh, “There’s a lot of testosterone in this s—.”

Minutes past the set’s scheduled end time, Hoppus noted that the band had blown right past it — and that they weren’t about to stop. He said there were three more songs to get through, and they were naturally some of the bands biggest hits to date, closing with an epic hat trick of “I Miss You” into “All the Small Things” into “Dammit,” for which Hoppus interpolated a bit of TLC’s “No Scrubs” for good measure.

But it was Hoppus’ Instagram post that summed up the experience better than any one song could. “Chemo to Coachella,” he captioned a photo of himself on stage with the soon-to-be-packed field behind him. “Very much in my feelings today.”

15 Apr 2023

Bad Bunny Brings Out Post Malone, Rides a Jet Ski & More During Historic Two-Hour Set at Coachella 2023

Bad Bunny first performed at Coachella in 2019, a then-emerging reggaeton and trap artist. On Friday (April 14), the Puerto Rican hitmaker returned to the desert as a global superstar to make history as the first Spanish-language artist to ever headline the festival.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“Latinos have been rompiéndola (killing it) for some time now,” he said with pride. “I just did a tour last year that I never imagined I’d be able to do. I’ve been out for some time but [I’m back] and it feels cabrón to be here tonight and that you’re all here with me.”

The past four years have been pivotal for the Grammy-winning artist, who has redefined what it means to be a Latin artist today with two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 (including his latest Un Verano Sin Ti) and a record-breaking tour.

So, when he took the stage at exactly 11:35 p.m., he was received as the icon that he is. A roaring crowd went crazy when Bad Bunny, who wore a colorful puffer jacket and chunky diamond necklaces, appeared on top of a rectangular box. His two-hour show — one of the longer Coachella headlining sets in recent memory — included special guests such as Jhayco, Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow, plus Post Malone (who’s appearance was overshadowed by mic issues). The set also, most notably, featured a passionate speech by Bunny who assured his zealous fans that, “People think they know the lives of famous people — but they don’t.”

Here’s what went down during Bad Bunny’s history-making performance.

He Expressed His Gratitude

Before Bad Bunny sang literally all the hits, those in attendance heard a pre-recorded video of the Grammy-winning artist expressing the significance of this moment. “The sun and the moon have witnessed epic moments, magical nights. Artists have found their purpose, their inspiration, the answer to all their questions, that perhaps weren’t questions in the first place. Here, history has been made thousands of times. My head is spinning. It’s incredible to see the list of all the other artists that have performed on this stage. So many of them, but no one like me,” he said entirely in Spanish. “It’s the first time a Benito closes the festival. It may be the first time, but perhaps not the last time.”

He Performed All The Hits

Guessing which song Bad Bunny would start with was no easy task. Surprisingly, he kicked off with “Me Porto Bonito” — a bold move to some as the banger could just have easily closed his set .”Coachella, quieres perreo? Before I keep going with my show, what do you prefer? Me talking in English or español? You decide.” The unanimous decision was, of course, español. And once he resumed, it was almost like he didn’t want to stop. The first half of the show featured a stacked setlist including hits from albums released since he was last at Coachella: “Moscow Mule,” “Neverita,” “Si Veo A Tu Mamá,” “La Difícil,” “La Santa,” “Estamos Bien” and “Te Boté,” among other anthems.

He Set the Record Straight

Mid-set, Bad Bunny took a moment to make one thing very clear: “Humbly speaking, people think they know the lives of famous people but they don’t,” he said categorically. “They don’t know what we feel, what we live through. They will never know what a heart can feel. Don’t believe everything you hear. You won’t get to know the real me through a video on Instagram, an interview or a TikTok. If you really want to get to know me, I invite you to my home. My name is Benito Martinez Ocasio,” he stated. “I’ve met good people, I’ve met bad people. You learn from both. I know who I am, what my purpose is and I promise you I will see it through. Don’t worry about me, I’m ok.”

He also addressed a quote of his from a recent interview he gave, in which he said he didn’t feel strongly about the lyrics to one of his songs. “I don’t regret anything. I don’t even regret my errors because you learn from your mistakes. The last thing I’d regret is writing this song,” referring to was “El Apagón,” which he performed right after this heartfelt speech.

He Welcomed Both Expected and Unexpected Guests

Bad Bunny would have had no problem filling 120 minutes on his own. But the more the merrier. The chart-topping artist brought out OG reggaetoneros Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow to perform the perreo anthem “Safaera” from Bunny’s 2020 set YHLQMDLG. It’s safe to say that his next guest was the least expected; as Bad Bunny made his way to another part of the stage out in the middle of the crowd, he was joined by Post Malone who played guitar renditions of “La Canción” and “Yonaguni.” But after a few tries, his mic never cooperated and Bad Bunny ended up singing the two songs a cappella (he even briefly tried holding a second microphone to the then unplugged guitar). “Something happened to el cabrón cable,” he said visibly upset.

But technical difficulties didn’t stop him from continuing his show. Instead, he jumped on a jet ski as frequent collaborator Jhayco rode one beside him to perform their euphoric duet “Dákiti.” And yet, there was still more. Bunny ended the set back on the main stage — and on his own, performing hits “Callaíta,” “Me Porto Bonito” and “Después de la Playa” as a final lengthy round of fireworks exploded behind him.

Get tickets to the first-ever #BBMujeresLatinas on May 6 in Miami: billboardmujeresenlamusica.com

15 Apr 2023

The Weeknd Live Debuts New Song During Metro Boomin’s Coachella 2023 Set

The Weeknd creeped in a performance of a brand new song toward the end of Metro Boomin’s Coachella set Friday night (April 14).

With Metro’s blessing and an assist from frequent collaborator Mike Dean, who whipped out the saxophone, The Weeknd treated fans to a new track he had previously teased on Instagram. In the 17-second clip, he and Dean were in the studio prepping an orchestral arrangement. “THE IDOL VOL. 1. coming soon (double fantasy & jealous guy just a taste),” read the caption, leading fans to believe the new song The Weeknd performed just two days later could be called “Double Fantasy.”

For the live debut, Dean’s saxophone rumbled through the Sahara Tent while the crowd was blinded by The Weeknd’s fluorescent, all-white ensemble, along with the lights he once sang about. “Temperature rising, bodies united, now that I tried you in my arms. No need to fight it, no need to hide it, now that I’ve seen what’s in your heart,” he sang before letting his vocal runs synch up with the electrifying synths.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The Weeknd also united with Future for “Low Life” from the latter’s 2016 album EVOL and later joined the rest of Metro’s all-star avengers — 21 Savage and Diddy — for the first live performance of “Creepin.” The song, from the producer’s Billboard 200-topping album Heroes & Villains, is currently No. 4 on Hot 100.

14 Apr 2023

Emilia, Big One & Callejero Fino’s ‘En La Intimidad’ Adds a Seventh Week Atop Billboard Argentina Hot 100

Emilia, Big One and Callejero Fino celebrate another week in command as “En La Intimidad” adds a seventh week at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated April 8). With seven weeks up top, the song continues its longest-leading run in 2023 thus far, moving away ahead of its closest competitor, Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” which ruled for four weeks.

Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” claims a sixth week at No. 2, encompassing its entire run on the chart. Luck Ra, La K’Onga and Ke Personajes’ “Ya No Vuelvas” rebounds 7-3, after the song topped the 100-deep tally for one week in February. 

Ke Personajes also places a second top 10 with “Pobre Corazón,” featuring Onda Sabanera, which rises 12-9, while Luck Ra and La K’Onga concurrently take home the Greatest Gainer trophy with a 33-rank surge as “Te Mentiría” rallies from No. 68 to No. 35.

Further, TINI’s “Cupido” falls 3-4, and BM’s “M. A. (Mejores Amigos)” holds at No. 5 for a sixth week. Meanwhile, Argentinian Milo J scores his first top 10 as “Rara Vez,” with Taiu, climbs 11-8. It’s a second top 10 for Taiu after he led for four weeks through his featured turn in Trueno and Nicki Nicole’s “Mamichula,” which also features Bizarrap and Tatool. 

Elsewhere, Duki and C.R.O earn the Hot Shot Debut of the week with “Harakiri” at No. 22. With 39 career entries, Duki breaks from a tie with Maria Becerra for the fourth-most among all acts, trailing Bad Bunny’s 57 entries, J Balvin’s 49 and Bizarrap’s 43 total entries. 

Emilia concurrently adds a new charting title as “Jagger.mp3” opens at No. 30.

Lastly, the week features five other debuts: Feid and Young Miko’s “Classy 101” at No. 53; Big One, FMK and Ke Personajes’ “Un Finde | CROSSOVER #2” at No. 70; Yami Safdie’s “De Nada” at No. 73; Tiago PZK’s “Que Se Parezca A Ti” at No. 79 and BM’s “Ven Mami” at No. 81. 

14 Apr 2023

Katy Perry, Lionel Richie & Andrea Bocelli Lead King Charles’ Coronation Lineup

King Charles’ coronation concert officially has its lineup, with Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Andrea Bocelli leading the pack, according to People.

The BBC Studios Productions-organized event will also feature pop group Take That, Sir Bryn Terfel, Freya Ridings and Alexis Ffrench, and is set to take place on the grounds of Windsor Castle on May 7, one day after King Charles and Queen Camilla are crowned at Westminster Abbey. The Coronation Choir, which brings together singers from the Portishead RNLI sea shanty choir, farmers, cab drivers and reggae groups, will also deliver a special performance.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“The concert will celebrate a new chapter in the nation’s history, with themes of love, respect and optimism, celebrating the four nations, their communities and the Commonwealth,” the BBC said in a statement to the publication.

It’s no surprise that American Idol judges Perry and Richie are performing at the coronation concert, as they’ve had ties to the royal family for years. The “Roar” superstar is an ambassador of The British Asian Trust, while Richie was appointed the First Global Ambassador and First Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group for The Prince’s Trust in 2019. 

The coronation concert will stream on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.

14 Apr 2023

BTS Sing as a Full Group on Soundtrack for Animated Film ‘Bastions’: Listen to a Preview

While the BTS members are focusing more time on their solo careers, the pop icons are keeping their promise to deliver special group projects in the meantime.

Korean animated film Bastions announced on Friday, April 14, that BTS sings the theme song to its upcoming 3D superhero movie. According to a Korean media report shared by BIGHIT MUSIC, the single features BTS as a full group. Other reports shared the track was recorded before Jin enlisted in his mandatory South Korean military service last December.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Bastions also shared a 30-second preview of the track alongside clips from the flick described as a “K-pop action hero 3D animation” to tell a story of superheroes fighting environmental-pollution villains. Jung Kook and Jimin‘s unmistakable vocals were featured prominently in the clip of the bouncy K-pop song that sounds like it should fit nicely alongside bright BTS hits like “Boys With Luv” or “Butter.”

The Bastions soundtrack will be a star-studded K-pop affair with songs also by BTS’ HYBE label mates LE SSERAFIM, chart-topping female troupe Brave Girls, American Song Contest winner AleXa, soul-pop songbird Heize, rising K-R&B star P.Cassady and more.

The official Bastions websites shares the song’s release is “coming soon,” pointing to a May 12 release date, with the movie premiering on the public Korean TV channel SBS on May 14 at 7:30 a.m. local time. Bastions has shared plans to broadcast the film worldwide as well.

The new Bastions single will be BTS’ first song credited to the full group after last year’s “Bad Decisions” from August with Benny Blanco and Snoop Dogg. The track peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100 and No. 26 on Pop Radio. Worldwide, the star-studded collab reached No. 6 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 7 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart.

14 Apr 2023

Suga Gives Stripped Back Performance of ‘People’ Ahead of ‘Road to D-DAY’: Watch

Just one more week until Suga’s album D-DAY arrives! To further drum up anticipation for its release, as well as its corresponding SUGA: Road to D-DAY Disney+ documentary, the BTS rapper shared a snippet from the film of him giving a stripped back performance of his 2020 track “People” on Friday (April 14).

The video sees Suga looking relaxed and laid back in double denim, backed by instrumentalists on the keyboard, guitar and drums. The BTS rapper passionately delivers the track’s pre-chorus “Why so serious?/ Why so serious?/ Why so serious?/ (Hmm-hmm-hmm) I’m so serious/ I’m so serious (I’m so serious), I’m so, I’m so,” in English before rapping the rest of his song, which appears on his D-2 mixtape, in his native Korean.

Seeing Suga performing — as well as working on music throughout the rest of the documentary — is likely a relief for BTS ARMY. The rapper previously expressed desire to quit music altogether in the film’s first official trailer.

“I believe that wounds and scars are the results of our actions. It takes a lot of guts to let go of something. The day I’m free from all the negative thoughts, I’ll set it as D-Day and start all over again,” he says. “I think of quitting music more than a hundred times a day, but when everyone comes together like this, I can do it because it make me feel like making music is fun.”

SUGA: Road to D-DAY will arrive on April 21, the same day that Suga’s debut solo album is set to arrive. Watch his stripped back performance of “People” in the video above.

14 Apr 2023

Suga’s Agust D Radio Is Coming to Apple Music for ‘D-DAY’

Apple Music announced on Thursday night (April 13) that Suga will be launching Agust D Radio in support of his debut solo album D-DAY.

“Set your alarms, #SUGA is coming to Apple Music Radio!” the streamer tweeted. “Get ready for the release of his debut solo album #D_DAY and tune in to #AgustDRadio weekly at 7PM PT Mondays / 11AM KST Tuesdays.”

The BTS member’s first radio show, titled “Ep. 1 Dream,” will premiere next Monday (April 17) just days ahead of D-DAY’s unveiling the following Friday (April 21) via BigHit Music. (For now, the themes of the five episodes to follow the full-length’s release remain a mystery to be revealed at a later date.)

ARMY from all across the world couldn’t hold back their excitement at the news, flooding the replies with tweets like “AgustD Radio and 5 eps ??? OH YESSS IM READY LETSGO” and “Yes! As an AM user for years and BTS fan and Yoongi biased, I appreciate it.” Others showed their dedication by vowing to listen to each episode even if they aired as early as 4 a.m. in their time zone, with one fan in particular declaring, “I WILL BE WAKING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR YOONGI ONLY.”

In other BTS news, Suga was recently named an official ambassador for the NBA, a role that will play into his upcoming world tour for D-DAY. Meanwhile, the boy band’s traveling exhibition Proof is headed to Los Angeles to commemorate the septet’s 10-year anniversary as a group.

Check out Apple Music’s announcement of Agust D Radio below.

14 Apr 2023

HARDY Reacts to Receiving 7 ACM Award Nominations: ‘I Couldn’t Believe It’

When the 58th ACM Award nominations were announced yesterday (April 13), HARDY led all artists with seven nods. While the tally may represent work released during the eligibility period, he says they are actually the culmination of years of effort. 

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“My first [publishing] deal was in ’14. [I went] four years without a cut. I probably wrote  seven or 800 songs that didn’t get touched until I started having success,” he says. “All that is chipping away at your craft and listening to songs you wrote and comparing them to songs that beat those songs out and then being like, ‘OK, back to the drawing board. Let’s do something different.’ I definitely put in the time and the grind and the hours and I guess it’s finally paying off.” 

Five of HARDY’s seven nods are for “Wait in the Truck,” his duet with Lainey Wilson: he receives two nods for both artist and producer in the music event of the year category, one for visual media of the year and two for song of the year as the tune’s artist and co-writer. His two other nominations come in the song of the year category as co-writer of Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” and in the artist-songwriter of the year field. 

He stresses he is thrilled for any nomination but adds the two song of the year nominations mean the most. “I’ve been nominated a few times [in that category], but I haven’t gotten one yet, so I’m honored to two in that category. That’s so cool.” Though HARDY may not have won in that category, he is reigning songwriter of the year winner. This year, the category was split into songwriter of the year and artist-songwriter of the year.

HARDY found out about his nominations yesterday morning (April 13) when he woke up in Minneapolis on his bus on tour with Wallen. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I don’t keep up with it, not because I don’t care. It’s just an out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. I was just in shock.”

His  “Wait in the Truck” collaborator, Wilson, is the second most nominated artist with six nominations. HARDY says he thinks he understands why the murder ballad about a stranger who kills the abuser of a woman he has just met has resonated with people. The song rises to No. 4 this week on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. 

“It is the first time in a long time that [the subject] was treated with I guess what you would call seriousness. I’m not knocking any of these songs because they were amazing, but [The Chicks’] ‘Goodbye Earl’ was funny. I guess [Carrie Underwood’s] ‘Two Black Cadillacs’ was the last one that was serious,” he says. 

“I don’t think there has really been one in a while in the format, so I think people were maybe pleasantly surprised that here’s something a little bit different and something they’re familiar with, but they hadn’t heard in a long time,” he continues. “It means the world to me to know that a song like that can still survive and exist in country music and can be an actual hit on the radio.”

He also woke up yesterday to a text from Wilson. “She said, ‘Congrats. Let’s take some sh-t home.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is awesome. We had a little chat about it. It was great,’” he says. 

Between HARDY and his tourmates, Wallen, ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman, they racked up 15 nominations and he expects some celebrating to go on tonight and tomorrow as they play a two-night stand in Milwaukee. “My booking agent and his whole crew are here and basically my entire record label is up here right now, so we’re probably definitely going to have a big cheer to [the nominations] tonight. We’re looking forward to all having a moment together to celebrate.”

HARDY hasn’t really thought about how he’ll celebrate any wins, though getting a new tattoo is always a possibility. Instead, he’s focused on thank you gifts for his “Wait in the Truck’ collaborators for the song’s success even if it doesn’t win. “Lainey is going to get a really nice gift and I think the [co-writers] are going to get something really cool as well,” says HARDY who wrote the song with Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt and Renee Blair. 

“I love giving people gifts,” he continues. “I always think about those days where I didn’t have any money or anything to offer other than just ‘thank yous,’ but it’s really special to know I’m now in a place in my career and, to be candid financially, that I can give gifts. It’s like the best thing in the world.”