Music

04 Mar 2023

John Mellencamp Donates Archives to Indiana University

Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp is donating an archived collection of his life and work to Indiana University, IU President Pamela Whitten announced Friday (March 3).

The collection will include original creative works, photographs, instruments and other significant memorabilia related to his music, artwork, social activism and philanthropy, Whitten said.

“His collection will be an incredible resource for arts scholars and a clear source of inspiration to our students,” Whitten said.

A sculpture honoring Mellencamp’s artistic legacy will be commissioned for the Bloomington campus, Whitten said. The sculpture will sit near the Fine Arts Plaza on the campus and symbolize the strong connection Mellencamp has to his southern Indiana roots.

04 Mar 2023

David Lindley, Multi-Talented Guitarist & Notable Session Musician, Dies at 78

David Lindley, a notable Los Angeles session musician known for his work and collaborations with numerous stars during the 1970s and ’80s, died on Friday (March 3). He was 78.

The highly talented multi-instrumentalist — whose guitar and fiddle skills made him a go-to collaborator for icons like Jackson Browne, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and others — had been ill for a number of months, according to the Los Angeles Times. A cause of death was not provided.

“The loss of David Lindley is a huge one,” Jason Isbell wrote on Twitter. “Without his influence my music would sound completely different. I was genuinely obsessed with his playing from the first time I heard it. The man was a giant.”

Graham Nash also paid tribute on Instagram to Lindley, calling him “one of the most talented musicians there has ever been.” He added, “David could play pretty much any instrument you put in front of him with incredible versatility and expression.”

Lindley was born in San Marino, Calif., on March 21, 1944. He grew up surrounded by music and began playing banjo and fiddle as a child. By his early twenties, Lindley had developed an interest in electric music and formed the psychedelic folk-rock band Kaleidoscope. The group released its debut album, Side Trips, in 1967. That same year, he worked as a session musician on Leonard Cohen’s first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, according to the Times.

After splitting with Kaleidoscope in 1970 following the release of four albums, Lindley joined Jackson Browne’s band, establishing himself on albums like 1973’s For Everyman, 1974’s Late for the Sky and 1977’s Running on Empty. During his time with Browne, Lindley also joined studio sessions with other notable artists during the mid-’70s, including Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Crosby & Nash, Rod Stewart and Ry Cooder.

In the early 1980s, Lindley put his session work on hold and formed the group El Rayo-X, which went on to release two albums. Later that decade, he appeared on Bob Dylan’s Under the Red Sky, Iggy Pop’s Brick by Brick and John Prine’s The Missing Years. During the ’90s, Lindley collaborated on albums releases with avant-garde guitarist Henry Kaiser and Jordanian oud player Hani Naser. He reunited with Browne for a tour of Spain in 2006.

Lindley released his last solo album, Big Twang, in 2007. That same year, he and Kaiser scored Werner Herzog’s documentary Encounters at the End of the World.

See more tributes on social media to Lindley below.

04 Mar 2023

Morgan Wallen Celebrates New Album ‘One Thing at a Time’ For a Packed House in Nashville

On Friday evening (March 3), when Morgan Wallen ascended to center stage before a full house of rowdy, screaming fans at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for his free pop-up concert — with the aim of previewing his hyper-prolific 36-song album One Thing at a Time which had released earlier that day — it was a pinnacle moment in a week already filled with celebratory instances.

Earlier in the week, Wallen was one of 16 songwriters honored with the Country Music Association’s Triple Play Awards (alongside several contributors to One Thing at a Time, including HARDY, ERNEST, Ashley Gorley, Chase McGill, and more).

By Friday evening, not even 24 hours after One Thing at a Time released, the project had already broken a record, becoming Spotify’s most-streamed country album in a single day by a male artist. With the new project, Wallen seems poised to dethrone himself on the Billboard charts: his previous effort, the 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album, which still resides in the Billboard 200’s top five, and currently at No. 1 on the Billboard top country charts, two years after its release.

Wallen had announced the free pop-up concert on Thursday morning (March 2), along with the fact that the ticketing plan was decidedly old-school: fans had to line up outside of Bridgestone Arena to obtain tickets, and they did, forming huge lines that wrapped around the building. Within hours, all the tickets were gone. In March 2022, Bridgestone Arena previously served as home base for three sold-out shows on Wallen’s The Dangerous Tour.

“This is so badass and makes me so proud,” Wallen told the crowd Friday night, eliciting cheers. “You guys are truly remarkable. Thank you for making this happen on such short notice. We gonna sing some new ones, some old ones — and that’s about it, I guess.”

Beyond those within Bridgestone, thousands more watched the event via livestream from Wallen’s official social media channels.

The new album largely picks up where Dangerous left off, with three dozen songs forming an arc that predominantly focuses on alcohol, heartbreak, dejection, and declarations of remorse over bad decisions and bad habits, viewed through the hazy lens of more alcohol. Sonically, the project meshes elements of country, alternative and hip-hop.

But while the recorded album is filled with frothy, arena-aimed productions, Wallen and his band offered stripped-back versions of many of the album’s songs on Friday night, as well as selections from the catalog of hits he’s built since his debut, “The Way I Talk,” in 2016.

Proper for an evening delving into this new project, Wallen launched the show with the introductory song from the album, “Born With a Beer in My Hand.”

“Y’all make some noise if you can relate to that,” the singer said, stalking the perimeter of the compact stage, acknowledging the crowd as waves of cheers followed from the audience that packed out the arena floor and stands. Bolstered by thousands of fans fervent enough in their Wallen fandom to have stood in line for tickets, Wallen’s performance carried an air of relaxed, assured confidence.

Though Eric Church, HARDY and ERNEST are all featured on the album, there were no special guests at Bridgestone: this night was solely about Wallen and his fans. Also absent were any references to the other reason Wallen has been in the spotlight over the past two years, a video published by TMZ that depicted a drunken Wallen using a racial slur in reference to a friend.

“We’ve been working really hard on this record for the last three or four months,” he said of One Thing at a Time. “I ain’t been doing a lot of sleeping. I’ve been doing a lot of singing… probably won’t be doing a lot of sleeping tonight, either.”

From there, his two-hour set rolled on, with the album’s title track, as well as fellow album cuts “Me and All Your Reasons,” “I Wrote the Book” and “Keith Whitley,” the latter written by Wallen’s cousin Jared Mullins along with Thomas Archer and Brad Clawson.

“One of my favorite artists of all time is a man that died far too young, someone I think had a whole lot more magic left in him,” Wallen said, referring to the late Whitley, who died in 1989 and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year. “I listen to him at least every week. I wanted to have a song that talked about him.”

Before launching into “Whiskey Friends,” Wallen quipped, “When we put this together I looked at my discography and decided I didn’t have enough whiskey songs. Here’s another one.”

Wallen dedicated the album’s closing song “Dyin’ Man” to his son Indigo Wilder.

“I’m singing to a woman [in the song], but in real life, it’s dedicated to my son. He’s in here somewhere tonight,” Wallen told the crowd. “I went back to east Tennessee yesterday to play a show at my old high school for the album release, which was special in its own right. My son was there and I saw him and he was like, ‘Damn, these people think dad’s cool.’ He’s just getting to that age. If you understand me out there, Indie I love you. This one’s for you.”

The Sneedville, Tennessee, native also paid homage to another love he holds dear, for the Knoxville-based Tennessee Volunteers, by performing “Tennessee Fan.”

“I’m sure most of y’all know how much I love my Tennessee Volunteers,” Wallen said. “I got some really good buddies who went to Alabama and they always are giving me s—. There ain’t really much I can say, at least not for the past while. Before the Tennessee-Alabama game I wrote a song about us losing. Of course, the year I write about us losing, we win the damn game. But I’m okay with that,” he said, referring to the October 2022 matchup between the two teams, which found Tennessee winning 52-49.

After rolling through several album cuts, Wallen performed “Thought You Should Know,” a tender ode to his mother that is spending its third week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. Seated at a keyboard, highlighted by a lone spotlight, he followed with a tender rendering of the lost-love hit “Sand in My Boots,” then, accompanied by his acoustic guitar and bandmates, ran through additional Country Airplay chart-toppers: “More Than My Hometown,” “Chasing You,” “The Way I Talk,” “Whiskey Glasses,” and “Wasted on You,” and his latest release “Last Night.”

He concluded by introducing the crowd to his band members and closing with yet another chart-topper, “You Proof.”

“This is something way more than we thought we could grasp. We don’t take this for granted,” Wallen said. When the concert concluded, Wallen stepped down from the stage and slowly made his way to exit the room — along the way, shifting the spotlight to some of the thousands of attendees, joining them for selfies and signing autographs, one fan at a time.

04 Mar 2023

5 Uplifting Moments in Latin Music This Week (March 4)

From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

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Bad Bunny Makes WWE 2K23 Debut

This week, video game company 2K released a first look at Bad Bunny in WWE 2K23, the newest installment of the WWE video game franchise. From hitting the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania rings in 2021 to becoming a virtual playable character, the Puerto Rican artist is seen flaunting his wrestling skills in a new 40-second trailer. This is the first time the artist has appeared in the game. For more information, visit the official website here.

A New Lele Pons & Guaynaa Collab

Two years after their first collaborative effort in “Se Te Nota,” power couple Lele Pons and Guaynaa release a new track together called “Abajito.” The playful dembow finds the pair promising to always love and take care of each other, but also has witty lyrics about “down there.” The single forms part of the Pons and Guaynaa’s upcoming joint album, which they talked about in-depth in the February Billboard Español cover here. “Abajito” follows 2020’s “Se Te Nota,” which spent 18 weeks on the all-genre Billboard Global 200 (where it peaked at No. 44), 25 weeks on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart (No. 19 peak) and 11 weeks on Hot Latin Songs (No. 25).

Grupo Frontera Day

With a rather young career (a one-year trajectory to be exact), Grupo Frontera already counts with their own official day declared on Feb. 16 as “Grupo Frontera Day” in Edingburg, a city south of Texas. Group members Adelaido Solís, Julian Peña Jr., Alberto Acosta, Carlos Zamora, Carlos Guerrero, and Juan Javier Cantu were present at the event, where they also performed for their fans on site. “This momentous event commemorates the impact the group has had on the south Texas community and the world at large by way of their music,” expressed a press release. The norteño group recently became the only Regional Mexican act to have three titles in the coveted Billboard Hot 100 chart with “No Se Va,” “Que Vuelvas,” and “Bebe Dame.”

Grupo Frontera is honored with their own day in South Texas Town

Grupo Frontera is honored with their own day in South Texas Town

Serna

A Selena Quintanilla Anniversary

February 28 marked three decades since the late Selena Quintanilla made her debut at the Houston Astrodome in Texas. “Today 30 years ago, Selena y Los Dinos performed for the first time at the Houston Astrodome breaking attendance records. Selena Y Los Dinos would continue to consecutively break that record 3 years in a row!” said a post on the Queen of Tejano’s official Instagram account. A short celebratory video shows Quintanilla performing a bit of “Como La Flor” on that night in 1993.

Billboard Women in Music

The 2023 Billboard Women in Music awards took place this week, where three of the honorees were Spanish-singing acts: Becky G received the Impact Award, Rosalía received the inaugural Producer of the Year Award presented by Bose, and Ivy Queen received the Icon Award. One of the most notable moments of the night was when Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance onstage to give Queen her award. “I don’t have to say much because the career and legacy of Ivy talk for itself,” the Puerto Rican singer said in his Spanish speech. “When they ask me what artists have inspired me, I never know what to say because truthfully, I’ve been a fan of reggaetón since I was a kid, and a lot of artists have inspired me. I’ve always said that my musical DNA has a bit of all the artists, and without a doubt, the strength I’ve had to be myself and be successful, to work double, is part of Ivy that I have in my musical DNA.” WIM was held at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles and honored the most influential powerhouses – including artists, creators, producers and executives — in music today who are contributing to the industry and community.

Ivy Queen and Bad Bunny

Ivy Queen and Bad Bunny at Billboard Women In Music held at YouTube Theater on March 1, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Michael Buckner/PMC

03 Mar 2023

5 Best Displays at the New Shakira Exhibit at the Grammy Museum

Shakira, Shakira!

The Colombian superstar’s exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles — which opens to the public Saturday and runs through February 2024 — is a tribute to the singer-songwriter’s decades-spanning career. Featuring multiple displays that tell the story of Shakira’s humble beginnings to her global stardom, the exhibit came together in six months, according to co-curator Ernesto Lechner.

“It’s a tribute to [Shakira’s] geniality,” he tells Billboard. “I wanted to create an atlas, not a map, that represents Shakira as a citizen of the world, a globe-trotter.”

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The immersive exhibit puts you in Shakira’s world via her songs, music videos, stage outfits and lyrics that have defined pivotal moments in her career. Each display includes memorable clothing worn by Shakira, including her red and gold Super Bowl outfits, a gold-dipped guitar for her El Dorado World Tour, and a mixing table where fans can break down four of Shakira’s songs.

“From her team’s perspective, they were interested in doing a career retrospective, and from our perspective we wanted people to understand Shakira in a way that maybe they weren’t aware of and having it be multi-layered and multi-faceted,” adds Jasen Emmons, chief curator & vice president of curatorial affairs at the Grammy Museum.

Below, the five best displays at the Shakira, Shakira: The Grammy Museum Experience exhibit:

From Barranquilla to the world

Although Shakira needs no introduction, the exhibit starts off with a “how it all started” story. The chart-topping singer began to write her first songs as a little girl in her native Barranquilla, Colombia. Inspired by Arabic music, she also began belly dancing at age 4, a style that, to this day, she still incorporates into her performances. Additionally, she learned to play a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, drums, keyboard and percussion.

Shakira the lyricist

Placed in a clear, glass box is one of Shakira’s treasured songwriting notebooks where you can read handwritten notes, poems and even lyrics written by Shakira that inspired “Nada” from her 2017 album El Dorado. Shakira began writing poems at age 7 and original songs by age 10.

Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience

Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience

Rebecca Sapp

Mix it up!

Being able to break down four of Shakira’s songs, including “Chantaje” and “Empire,” is quite fun if you want to learn more about the mixing and producing process. Three small Korg Kontrol consoles are placed on a table, and once you put on headphones, you can choose which song you want to break down with the guidance of recording and mixing engineer Dave Clauss, who’s worked on four Shakira albums and her Rauw Alejandro-assisted “Te Felicito.”

All the outfits

Many of the iconic Shakira looks are on full display at the exhibit. It includes the red and gold outfits she wore for her Super Bowl performance in 2020 and the custom Gibson Firebird electric guitar, encrusted with 70,000 crystals, that she played during a medley that included her single “Empire.” The multiple outfit displays throughout the exhibit also feature outfits she’s worn for her world tours.

Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience

Shakira, Shakira: The GRAMMY Museum Experience

Rebecca Sapp

¡Muévete como Shakira! (Move like Shakira!)

If you want to prove that your hips don’t lie either, the museum invites you to record yourself doing the latest Shakira trend on TikTok. Following three simple prompts, you’re on your way to joining millions of fans who are dancing along to whichever Shakira song is the latest one going viral.

03 Mar 2023

Travis Barker Thanks Fans for Support After Finger Surgery: ‘See You Guys on Tour Soon’

Travis Barker gave fans an update via social media on Friday (March 3) as he recovered from an operation on his broken ring finger.

“Thank you for all the love and prayers and understanding this week as I went into surgery,” the drummer wrote on Instagram alongside a slideshow of pictures from the hospital. “It was a hard decision to make but ultimately I couldn’t continue to play the drums without it. It was inevitable that my finger would have dislocated again without fixing the torn ligament surgically.

“So grateful for Dr. Shin and that my surgery was a success so that I can keep doing what I love,” he continued before promising, “See you guys on tour soon. (trigger warning: last photo is hard to look at).”

Blink-182‘s wildly anticipated world tour — marking the first time Barker, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge have played live together since 2014 — was forced to be postponed due to the drummer’s injury, which happened during rehearsals early last month before he hurt it again two weeks later.

“This has been something we’ve been aiming to do for so long and we work so hard and we just kind of had one of those freak accidents that nobody saw coming,” DeLonge explained while making the announcement on Wednesday (March 1). “This is just so sad. These were the biggest shows we ever played. These are some of the most important places in the world for for a band this is like the pinnacle of our career was coming down and playing for you guys. So I really want you all to know, we are devastated and we plan to come back.”

The global trek was originally schedule to start in Latin America next week with shows booked in Tijuana, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogotà, Lima and elsewhere, but will now be pushed back until Barker has fully recuperated.

Check out Barker’s post-surgery message and photos here — and consider yourself warned before scrolling to the second pic.

03 Mar 2023

Eden Muñoz Reflects on Solo Career Ahead of ‘Consejos Gratis’ U.S. Tour


The moment Eden Muñoz has waited for his entire life has become a reality: The Sinaoloan singer-songwriter is hitting the road with his first U.S. tour.

Presented by Live Nation, Muñoz’s Consejos Gratis Tour (Free Advice) is set to kick off on Aug. 25 at Kings Theater in Brooklyn, NY, and will visit key cities such as San Antonio, San Diego, El Paso, and more before wrapping on Nov. 22 at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, TX.

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With the 14-day stint, the artist and producer—who hit No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay as a Soloist With “Chale!”—feels that with this tour he will give back to his fans and the Latin community in the U.S. “It’s a well-done tour, well structured, beautiful, where people enjoy themselves and in the end live an experience because that is what it is all about,” he tells Billboard.

On social media, concertgoers can already have a feel as to what to expect at a Muñoz concert.

“They [his fans] bring their posters and ask me to let them play the accordion, and if it’s their dream, I let them do it,” he explains. “I think that this is part of the interesting things about life. You don’t know how good I feel when people tell me, ‘I fulfilled my dream of going to see you’ or ‘I fulfilled my dream of playing a song with you.’ I was also someone who had those dreams.”

Muñoz launched his solo career in January 2022 after forming part of the Regional Mexican group Calibre 50. He was named songwriter of the year at the 2021 SESAC Latin Music Awards for penning hits such as Banda MS’ “La Casita” and La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho’ “Mi Primer Derrota.” But in addition to composing, he’s also a producer, which can be best seen in Yuridia’s first Regional Mexican album, Pa’ Luego Es Tarde, which debuted at No. 7 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart.

“I want to make an album, but visual,” he said of his own upcoming project. “Show how I work in the studio and how much fun it is for me to play with things. Part of the things I do is purely ignorant because I don’t know about acoustics. I know how to play the guitar very limited, but I like to see what sound it gives us. I listen to my intuition, so I feel that part of the success of my music is that.”

As for the best “consejo gratis” the “Te Invito a Ser Feliz” can share with fans? “To find themselves and be happy—especially to be happy with what they have.”

Tickets for the Consejos Gratis Tour can be purchased on LiveNation.com.

03 Mar 2023

Kelly Clarkson Gives Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘You Are a Tourist’ a Spin for Kellyoke: Watch

Ever felt “just like a tourist in the city you were born?” Kelly Clarkson can relate, as she covered Death Cab for Cutie‘s 2011 track “You Are a Tourist” for The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s opening Kellyoke segment on Friday (March 3).

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Accompanied by her band Y’all, the three-time Grammy winner put her own peaceful spin on the alternative track, using her signature belt to execute soaring high notes and stunning vibrato moments. “‘Cause when you find yourself a villain/ In the story you have written/ It’s plain to see/ That sometimes the best intentions/ Are in need of redemption/ Would you agree/ If so, please show me,” Clarkson passionately sang on her rendition of the track.

“You Are a Tourist” was released as the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s seventh studio album, Codes and Keys, in 2011. The track topped Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart, one of the band’s now eight No. 1s on the tally.

Clarkson’s cover of Death Cab‘s hit comes at an appropriate time, as the band just collected its eighth Adult Alternative Airplay chart-topper with “Pepper,” which crowns the chart dated March 11. The single marked the band’s second No. 1 in a row, following the eight-week ruler “Here to Forever,” which led in August-October 2022.

Listen to Clarkson cover Death Cab for Cutie’s “You Are a Tourist” for the latest Kellyoke in the video above.

03 Mar 2023

Omar Apollo Dazzles at Joyful Secret Show in New York: 5 Best Moments at Irving Plaza

Omar Apollo was supposed to be in Philadelphia on Thursday night. The R&B singer had been slated to open for SZA on her SOS Tour stop at the Wells Fargo Center, but that show was postponed at the last moment, leaving the best new artist Grammy nominee with an unexpectedly free evening.

Rather than waste it, he decided to give his loyal cadre of fans a special treat by announcing a secret show at New York City’s Irving Plaza.

With just a few hours’ notice, the concert was sold out, and Billboard was on the scene inside the packed ballroom for Apollo’s intimate, off-the-cuff set, which took place just two days before he’s slated to take the stage at Madison Square Garden to open for SZA. “You’re getting the real, unscripted vibes, you know what I’m saying?” the singer — clad in a black puffer jacket, sweats and backward baseball cap — told the electrified crowd after revealing he and his band hadn’t even had time to come up with a setlist or run through a full rehearsal for the spontaneous show.

Below, Billboard rounded up all the best moments from Apollo’s secret show in NYC.

‘Thoughts of a Third Make Me Weak‘

After a one-two punch of “Useless” and “Killing Me,” Apollo treated fans to a live performance of his newest single “3 Boys.” The heartsick ode to queer desire and casual non-monogamy translated perfectly from record to stage as he yearned, “Seems like everything I do take me further from you/ Three boys would work if I wasn’t so tethered to you/ What should I do? I can’t even choose/ I’m tethered to you, baby” while bathed in cool blue light. Apollo’s heart may not be ready to juggle multiple guys, but the crowd couldn’t get enough of the romantic ballad.

Playing with His ‘Tamagotchi‘

No song got the jam-packed room going throughout the night quite like Ivory single “Tamagotchi,” which was produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. The bouncy Latin trap jam had Apollo engaging in a teasing back-and-forth with the audience, flashing some skin as he motioned to the band of his underwear (“Feel on my waistline”) and miming a sexually charged hand gesture on the song’s steamy chorus.

On Such a Winter’s Day

It may have been a chilly 40 degrees outside, but Apollo decided to bring some sunshine indoors by injecting a number of tender, off-the-cuff covers into his set. “So, yo, I didn’t, like, have a full entire set, but I do have some covers if y’all want to hear some covers,” he said as the crowd erupted into enthusiastic screams, leading him to admit, “Thank god. Thank god, it relieves me.”

First up was “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas and The Papas. Leaning into his fluttering falsetto, the alt-R&B sensation transformed the 1965 classic into a slow-burning groove, singing, “Stopped into a church/ I passed along the way/ Well, I got down on my knees/ And I pretend to pray/ You know the preacher likes the cold/ He knows I’m gonna stay/ California dreamin’, dreamin’, dreamin’/ On such a winter’s day” before letting out an excited yelp.

Next, the singer offered up an impromptu take on “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King. The only problem? He wasn’t quite sure of the lyrics, leading him to borrow someone’s phone to read off the words — but only after stopping momentarily to make sure a distressed fan was all right in the audience. “I was kind of nervous, I’ve never sang that before,” he admitted to the crowd after finishing the song, later adding, after a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication album cut “Porcelain,” “We didn’t rehearse sh–! I’m letting y’all know right now, we didn’t rehearse nothin’! We had to put it together for New York!”

An ‘En El Olvido’ Sing-Along

Following the trio of covers, it was time to get back into Apollo’s own discography, which he did by jumping into the Spanish-language “En El Olvido.” The rising star’s Mexican-American roots have always been a central tenet of his musical brand, and from the first jaunty notes of the guitar, fans went wild with appreciation. So much so that partway through the song, Apollo decided to pass the mic around to a number of fans in the front row, giving them the chance to prove that they did, in fact, know every single word of the deep cut en Español.

‘Evergreen’ Is Evergreen

Naturally, there was no more obvious choice for closing out the secret set than “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All).” After all, the breakout hit was Apollo’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as an array of charts around the world, and has since been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

And for his big finale, Apollo demonstrated precisely why the midtempo jam made the leap from TikTok virality to a bona fide radio hit. “Evergreen/ She don’t know you like me/ She could never love you more, more than me/ But sometimes I pray that you fall in love/ I’ve cried, I’ve cried so much for you, baby,” he crooned as the house sang each word back to him in full force. Not even the thrilling encore of “Go Away” could match the energy of the rising star’s biggest hit.

03 Mar 2023

Lil Baby to Perform at 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

Lil Baby will perform his hit “California Breeze” on the 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. The show will air live on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

“California Breeze” debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October. It’s drawn from the rapper’s third studio album, It’s Only Me, which was his third album to top the Billboard 200.

Dove Cameron, Miranda Cosgrove, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Jenna Ortega, Olivia Rodrigo and Kelly Rowland will also appear on the show. Optimus Prime, Transformers’ heroic leader of the Autobots, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Previously announced participants on the show, which is being hosted by Nate Burleson and Charli D’Amelio, include Bebe Rexha, who will perform her top five Hot 100 hit “I’m Good (Blue)”; Adam Sander, who will receive the King of Comedy award; as well as Awkwafina, Halle Bailey, Pete Davidson, Peyton List, Melissa McCarthy, MrBeast, Chris Pine, Anthony Ramos, Michelle Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Michael Le, Bella Poarch and Lil Uzi Vert.

The show will simulcast across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick Jr., TV Land, CMT and MTV2, and livestream on Nick.com and the Nick App.

Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2023 is produced by Nickelodeon Productions and overseen by Ashley Kaplan, executive vice president, Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Unscripted & Digital Franchise Studio; Paul J Medford, vice president, Unscripted Current Series; Luke Wahl, vice president, Unscripted Creative; Jennifer Bryson, vice president, production, tentpoles, events & music & specials; and Ellen Rydzewski, senior vice president, celebrity, events & talent relations. Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager, and Barb Bialkowski serve as executive producers, with Harriet Cuddeford and Andria Parides serving as co-executive producers.