Music

08 Feb 2023

Patti LaBelle Puts Diana Ross Feud Rumors to Rest: ‘That’s My Doll, OK?’

Patti LaBelle joined Jennifer Hudson on the latter’s daytime talk show on Wednesday (Feb. 8) for a wide-ranging discussion, and most notably, the LaBelle icon opened up about her former feud with another legend, Diana Ross.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

During a game of “LaBelle and Tell,” in which the star reacted to photos that appeared on screen, the 78-year-old discussed a photo embracing Ross, with the Supremes singer kissing her on the cheek. “People think that we had something against each other, but we really never did,” she revealed. “It was just the way people perceived certain things. That’s my doll, OK?”

During an August 2022 appearance on Drink Champs, the “If Only You Knew” singer recalled frustration towards Ross and the Supremes for copying her looks. “They were biting my style,” she shared at the time.

LaBelle also recalled an incident in which Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles member Cindy Birdsong left the group to join the Supremes. “That’s why we had issues,” she explained. However, she said the duo thankfully made up at an event thrown by Oprah Winfrey.

Later on in the game, LaBelle reacted to a photo of herself smiling alongside Prince. “We had a lot of history,” she said. “Prince had me at his studio and he had clothes made for me because he had that beautiful tailor in the basement of his recording studio, so they made me four outfits. He had me come to his house and cook a 12-course meal. He ate a biscuit and then after that, he took me to the club and we threw down. We had fun. He was so mysterious and awesome. Nobody knew what he was thinking.”

Hudson also thanked LaBelle for helping her take on the role of Aretha Franklin in Respect, and asked the icon who she’d like to play her in a biopic. “You already did Aretha, so you can’t do me,” LaBelle joked before naming Fantasia and Ledisi. “They can sing. They’re awesome. […] I love those ladies. You guys are the ones who call me because I’m honest and I’m blessed to know you, so I don’t want you to make any mistakes that I might have made. So you’re gonna get the truth from Ms. Patti Patti.”

“That’s why we call her Mama Patti,” Hudson replied.

Watch the interview below.

08 Feb 2023

After 25 Years, Kenny Lattimore Gets Second No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

It took more than 25 years, but Kenny Lattimore returns to the peak of Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart and earns his second No. 1 with “Take a Dose.” The single, released on SoNo, advances from No. 2 to lead the list dated Feb. 11 after a 12% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending Feb. 2, according to Luminate.

“Dose” gives the R&B singer his second champ on Adult R&B Airplay, following “For You” in 1997. The prior champ reigned for 17 weeks that year, and at the time, was the song with the most weeks at No. 1 in the chart’s history, from its 1993 launch. Now, it still ranks in the top-five longest runs at the summit:

Weeks at No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
18, “Fortunate,” Maxwell, May 22, 1999
18, “So in Love,” Jill Scott featuring Anthony Hamilton, July 2, 2011
17, “For You,” Kenny Lattimore, April 19, 1997
17, “Adorn,” Miguel, Nov. 17, 2012
17, “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke featuring T.I. + Pharrell, Aug. 17, 2013

Between his two chart-topping singles, Lattimore landed four top 10s: “Days Like This” (No. 4, 1998); “If I Lose My Woman” (No. 10, 1999); “Love Me Back” (No. 8, 2015) and “Stay on Your Mind” (No. 7, 2018). In addition, he scored an additional top 10 with his debut entry on the list, “Never Too Busy,” which peaked at No. 2 in 1996.

“We did it!,” Lattimore wrote in a Twitter post. “Thanks to UAC [urban AC] radio, streaming media and fans who have supported my new album #HereToStay and this journey to “Take A Dose” reaching #1. I’m grateful for all the love and support!”

Elsewhere, “Dose” jumps 23-19 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs based on combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. There, the four-spot rise comes through a 14% weekly increase to 6.1 million in audience in the week ending Feb. 2. As “Dose” cracks the top 20, it becomes Lattimore’s second song among 15 entries to reach the mark. No surprise – “For You” is the other, as it reached a No. 10 best in May 1997.

08 Feb 2023

Tom Morello Jokes Rage Against the Machine Is ‘Always the Bridesmaid’ With 5th Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nod

Rage Against the Machine received its latest nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this month, and Tom Morello finally reacted to the news in a new interview on Wednesday (Feb. 8).

“This is Rage Against the Machine’s fifth nomination. So always the bridesmaid, never the bride in a way,” he said in a joint sit-down with Måneskin for Audacy Check In. “It’s an honor, and it’s great for the fans, and it’s something my mom would be very happy (about).”

Other acts up for induction as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 include Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden, The Spinners, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.

During the chat, the rock guitarist also offered up his assessment of the Italian newcomers, whom he joined on the band’s hard-charging new single “Gossip” from their recently released third studio album RUSH!, saying, “It’s an unusual thing in 2023 to have a rock and roll band that has songs on the radio. Then to have a song on the radio that has not one, but two guitar solos in it. It really is an anomaly in this day and age.”

The members of Måneskin only had great things to say about working with Morello in the studio, telling host Nicole Alvarez they learned from his “passion and not really giving a f–k about all these limits or anything. And that really inspired us and made us [think], like, ‘If a legend does it this way, then for me it’s right.’”

Watch the full interview with Morello and Måneskin below.

08 Feb 2023

Sumire Uesaka Talks New Single ‘LOVE CRAZY,’ Voicing Lead Character in ‘Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack’: Interview

Popular Japanese voice actor and singer Sumire Uesaka is set to drop a new CD single called “LOVE CRAZY” on Feb. 8, which can be heard here. The title track is the opener for the TV anime series Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack, in which she voices the heroine, Hayase Nagatoro.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The single also includes “REBELLION,” a song depicting themes of combat, and “Michi ga Wakaranai no Uta” (“The can’t-find-my-way song”) that comically depicts the singer’s mentality as she finds herself in a certain situation that many will find familiar.

The new single is a collection of solid numbers that kick off the 31-year-old multi-hyphenate’s 10th anniversary celebrations this year as she continues to make further strides in various fields. Uesaka chatted with Billboard Japan about the satisfaction she feels after completing this exciting project and shared details about each track on the set.

February 2023 marks ten years in music for you. Could you share what’s important to you as an artist?

My motto is to never hold back from the things I love, and I encourage my fans to do that as well. In terms of music, I do as I like and try my hand at a wide range of genres, from anime songs that I loved growing up to rock and city pop. Being able to try such a wide variety of music is something I can do because I’m an artist with roots in voice acting. I want to unleash my love for the things I enjoy together with my fans and live a happy life. In my own way, that’s the concept of my musical activities.

In the anime series Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack, you play the heroine, Hayase Nagatoro. Did you notice any changes in your performance compared to when you were voicing the first season?

As we worked through the Season 2, I could feel that Senpai (voiced by Daiki Yamashita) and Nagatoro were getting to know each other better than before. Since the new show starts off where Season 1 ended, there’s already a kind of bond between the two characters. This makes Nagatoro’s usual teasing of Senpai and their efforts to get to know each other seem even more loving than before, and above all, the rom-com element is stronger. You’ll definitely want to root for them!

Your new song “LOVE CRAZY” is also a continuation of “EASY LOVE,” the opener you recorded for Season 1.

Right. The love being depicted in the new single is much more passionate than the previous one. “EASY LOVE” had equal amounts of aloof and affectionate (“tsundere” in Japanese), but the protagonist of “LOVE CRAZY” is head-over-heels and can’t help but approach her crush in a straightforward way. It’s really adorable and also very vibrant.

When you listen to it with Nagatoro’s character in mind, you can see that it’s a clear depiction of how a girl’s mind works. The message of the lyrics is really straightforward, and it’s kind of like a romantic “user’s manual.”

Yes, exactly. It’s like the song is depicting the process of writing and erasing the “user’s manual” related to Nagatoro to gradually bring it to completion. It’s very cute in that way too.

This cuteness was especially evident in the part where the mostly fast-paced number slows down briefly mid-song. I interpreted that part as an expression of Nagatoro’s affectionate side.

You got it right. Nagatoro usually appears to be tough, but she’s really an innocent girl at heart. I interpreted that part as a cute soliloquy, so I sang it with a whispery voice to give a calmer impression than the other parts.

How did the recording go?

It didn’t take that long. We finished recording in about two hours.

In just two hours!

I’m the type who usually records intensively without taking much time. And “LOVE CRAZY” is a song with brilliantly straightforward lyrics, so even if I were to sing it in a tired state, I wouldn’t be able to draw out the momentum and bounce that characterizes the song. So I was able to express myself in a way that matched the track by not taking long with the recording and enjoying the process.

So your concise recording style worked well with the momentum of the number.

My first impression of the song was that the fast pace would be hard to sing. But the rhymes in the lyrics felt really pleasing, probably because the songwriter who wrote them, Takumi Yoshida, also performs in his own band called saji. For example, the ends of some of the words are unified, like “Nigenaide, Yuuki dashite” (“Don’t run away, Have confidence”) in the chorus, so I didn’t have to think too hard about the execution.

The setting depicted in the quirky music video for “LOVE CRAZY” appears to be connected to the one presented in the video accompanying “EASY LOVE.”

I wore a summer-style school uniform in “EASY LOVE,” but this time I went with a winter version to match the clothes of the characters in 2nd Attack. I also appear in a date-friendly white outfit in the new video, so while it’s not exactly the same as in “EASY LOVE,” I’m sure people can get a sense of the similarities between both worlds.

The second song on the CD, “REBELLION,” is the theme for MAGICAL DESTROYERS KAI, the smartphone game project linked to the original anime series Magical Destroyers set to air from April in Japan. What’s this song like? 

Magical Destroyers is a story about characters living in a dystopia who defy fate to reform the world. I already have several songs in my catalog that can be described as being about “revolution,” and I can really relate to “REBELLION” because protecting the things I love is something I want to cherish throughout my music career. I was surprised by how close the song was to the anime and to me personally.

Moving on to the next track, “Michi ga Wakaranai no Uta” (“The can’t-find-my-way song”)… Is it all right to assume this one’s something of a comic relief?

[Laughs] I’m not the type to make singles that are tightly structured from the first track the last, and always want some wiggle room. “Michi ga Wakaranai no Uta” depicts a situation where I’m late for an appointment, but feel relieved because that person assures me that it’s no big deal. I’m feeling disappointed in myself while heading to the meeting place, but the other person’s generosity saves my day. So it’s a comical, self-deprecatory number about that sort of thing, but comes with a really cool track for some reason.

I see, so you got off the hook for being late. It’s fascinating though, in that there’s a significant leap in the language being used, from the depiction of specific situations in the first two verses — “15 minutes looking for the owl (statue) in Ikebukuro” for example — to the chorus that’s made up of abstract phrases like “lying angels” and such.

I wanted to make a song like those typical anime songs from a generation ago, the kind that focuses on sounding cool even if you can’t really understand what it’s trying to say. So for the chorus part, I attempted to collect a lot of words being used in cool anime songs while being careful not to retread any familiar numbers. I know I shouldn’t say such things but I figured if the words match the music, it would work. [Laughs] I whipped up the lyrics in a day, then spent about a week adjusting the details.

While each track is extremely distinctive, there’s definitely a sense of unity to the single as a whole. Could you sum up the new single for us?

All the songs have a strong flavor, but they don’t taste bad together. We were able to produce a single with intriguing charm. All the songs have positive energy, so I hope you’ll listen to them daily to get yourself in the mood for my upcoming concerts in March.

—This interview by Kota Ichijo first appeared on Billboard Japan

08 Feb 2023

MercyMe Extends No. 1 Record on Christian Airplay Chart With ‘Then Christ Came’

MercyMe banks its record-extending 18th No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart as “Then Christ Came” tops the Feb. 11-dated list.

In the week ending Feb. 2, the song gained by 8% to 8 million airplay audience impressions, according to Luminate.

MercyMe frontman Bart Millard co-penned “Then” with Jason Ingram, David Leonard and Phil Wickham, while Tedd T produced it.

MercyMe bolsters its lead for the most No. 1s since the survey launched in June 2003 over runners-up Jeremy Camp, for King & Country and Matthew West (12 each). Next up are Casting Crowns and tobyMac (11 each) and Chris Tomlin (10).

MercyMe, which formed in 1994, earned its first Christian Airplay No. 1 when “Word of God Speak” began a record 23-week reign in August 2003. “Then” is the act’s first leader since “Almost Home” dominated for three weeks beginning in February 2020. “Say I Won’t” followed, reaching No. 4 in April 2021, and “On Our Way,” featuring Sam Wesley, hit No. 8 last February.

Sparks Flies, for King & Country Too

On Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay list, for King & Country’s “Love Me Like I Am,” with Jordin Sparks, hits the summit (up 8% in plays).

for King & Country, the sibling duo of Joel and Luke Smallbone (who co-authored the song), bank their 11th Christian AC Airplay leader.

Sparks scores her first Christian AC No. 1 in her initial visit to the chart. It’s the second entry on Billboard’s faith-based surveys for Sparks, who won the 2007 edition of American Idol. Social Club Misfits’ “Tuyo,” on which she and Danny Gokey are featured, reached No. 40 on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs list in August 2018. (She tallied four top 10s on the Pop Airplay chart in 2008-09.)

for King & Country notches its first Christian AC Airplay No. 1 since “For God Is With Us” started a four-week rule last June. The act’s version of holiday standard “Joy to the World” climbed to No. 4 in December.

On Christian Airplay, “Love” pushes 5-3 (7.3 million impressions, up 10%).

Gospel Takes Jordan’s ‘Call’

Marcus Jordan achieves his first Gospel Airplay No. 1 with “Call on the Name” (up 11% in plays).

The Houston-based Jordan, who solely authored and self-released “Name,” is pastor of the city’s St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.

Jordan’s Gospel Airplay coronation marks the latest for a rookie entry and first since Lamont Sanders’ “He Kept Me” last September.

08 Feb 2023

Will Rihanna Seize the Perfect Oscar Timing & Perform ‘Lift Me Up’ at Super Bowl?

Talk about good timing! Rihanna’s performance at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday (Feb. 12) comes just 18 days before final-round voting begins for the 2023 Oscars. Rihanna, of course, is nominated for best original song for co-writing “Lift Me Up,” her soulful ballad from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

While it’s not yet known if “Lift Me Up” will be in Rihanna’s setlist during her halftime show, it’s very likely that it will be. You don’t get to be one of the biggest music stars on the planet without seizing golden opportunities. If Rihanna does perform the song during her set, this will amount to the most-viewed “For Your Consideration” ad of all time.

The annual Oscar nominees luncheon is set for Monday, Feb. 13, the day after the Super Bowl. Final-round voting extends from March 2 at 9 a.m. PT to March 7 at 5 p.m. PT.

This exquisite timing makes up for a rare bit of bad timing in Rihanna’s gilded career last fall when “Lift Me Up” was released. The song debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Nov. 12, 2022, kept out of the top spot by Taylor Swift’s megahit “Anti-Hero,” then in its second week on top. “Lift Me Up” just missed becoming Rihanna’s 15th No. 1 on Billboard’s flagship songs chart.

Rihanna co-wrote “Lift Me Up” with Tems, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson. This year’s other nominees for best original song are “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman (Diane Warren), “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick (Lady Gaga and BloodPop), “Naatu Naatu” from RRR (M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose) and “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once (Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski).

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12.

08 Feb 2023

Why Rema Didn’t Aim For Perfection With ‘Calm Down’

When Rema is in the studio, he pursues sounds and sensations that he says touch his soul. Ignoring this instinctive creative process could’ve yielded a different rendition of a “Calm Down” remix — possibly one without Selena Gomez.

The original version of the Nigerian musician’s midtempo hit “Calm Down” arrived a year ago as the second single from his March 2022 debut studio album, Rave & Roses. The enticing, ambient song finds Rema pleading with a young woman at a local club to trust that his intentions are pure. The track, produced by fellow Nigerian native Andre Vibez, oozes with his signature style of Afrobeats, which he calls Afro-rave — a subgenre influenced by his love for hip-hop, African music, lo-fi and alternative. 

After Rema, 22, noticed the single beginning to take off (debuting on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart two months after its release), he knew he had to capitalize on the momentum, so he trusted his gut and recruited a woman “take it up to the next level” — and immediately knew that Gomez was the right fit. The “Calm Down” remix reaches a new No. 26 high on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 and holds its top position on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart for a 23rd week. Billboard spoke with the rising artist about the making of his biggest hit to date, his plans to give back to Nigeria and pushing Afrobeats forward.

How did you link with Selena Gomez for the “Calm Down” remix? 

It started with being a fan [and] supporting her music. She actually came across my music too, and she also wrote to me. Our teams got familiar and we started working towards this good music that came out. It started that from friendship, to colliding our teams together, and everyone is like a big family right now. It was very much organic, and we made it happen, and it’s just so huge. I’m amazed.

When after the original “Calm Down” did you think you needed a remix, and why was Selena the right person to match the vibe?

[Around] June, I started seeing the impact. I hit my team [like], “I think this might be a song I would like to do a remix to.” I don’t really do remixes — most of my songs are solo or features. I wanted a female voice on the song. The song was already blowing up, so I felt like we needed someone that could take it up to the next level. From our discussions, planning, and available contacts and friendship, Selena was the best bet. I had my fingers crossed she would agree. Luckily for us, she did and we felt no need to reach out to anybody else.

What has it been like watching the song transform into a global hit?

Every day I wake up to good news. Not just good news about how well my career is going; it’s about how well my culture is flying. Afrobeats is going to the next level. This song is opening doors and bridges. Listeners want to know what more is coming from Nigeria, what more is coming from Africa. I’m so happy. I’m happy for me, my team, the culture and for Selena. She embraced the sound, and she did her own thing. It was the right timing [with] the right person, and the impact has been so huge. Seeing people who don’t speak my language sing my song word-for-word really shows that people are impacted by the sound, and I’m grateful for it.

Why do you think “Calm Down” has been such a long-lasting hit?

It’s not just about the song — it’s also about me and the gift that God has blessed me with. I work in the studio with no plans. I just create. However any of my songs go, I love them the same way. I push them the same way. I feel like people just pick whatever resonates with them. There’s no single element I could really pick out. If I focus on that, that would just box me in somehow. I don’t know what it is, it’s just good music.

Tell me about the song’s creative process. Did you assist Selena with her verse? 

That was all Selena and her team. I don’t really know what her creative process is like, but we did it remotely and she was very concerned about how the record was supposed to turn out. Every move she made on the song, she always wanted to know if I was good with it. Some artists just be like, “Whatever I did is dope. Have it,” but she wanted to know if I resonated with whatever she did on it — and I did. I loved it. The only part I switched was with my producers: we touched more parts of the beat and let her verse breathe, but nothing else.

What have you learned from working with her? 

When working with other artists, you should care every step of the way. She cared. I learned caring. When she started working on it, she called me on FaceTime, and we talked a little about it. The mixing, the music video, making sure that she didn’t take from it. It wasn’t like, “Oh, [it’s] Selena Gomez, so we have to switch the whole idea to something else,” she just embraced it. She’s such a hard worker, knowing how much she does. She acts, she has a makeup line, she does music. She has busy s–t to do, but she’s been promoting [to] her fanbase and has been very genuine, loving, kind and supportive of me. Even aside from “Calm Down,” [her fanbase] also supports my other music, just because I did a collaboration with Selena. That’s amazing.

What was the song’s initial inspiration? 

I was at a party, and a couple of girls walked in, and I saw a girl in yellow. I wanted to talk to her and her friends were being really stuck up. They didn’t really want to chat. And I was like, “Yo, just calm down. Let’s have a chat.” And then she actually calmed down, and we started talking and dancing. When she left the party, she was on my mind, and I wanted to see her again. That was it. I walked in the studio fresh out of that emotion.

Who is your dream collaboration?

Bad Bunny. That’s my dream collab right now.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, you called your sound Afro-rave. Would “Calm Down” be a part of that movement or is this something entirely different?

Any music that comes from my mouth is Afro. You can tell that my sound is very distinctive out of every other Afrobeat artist, but it doesn’t take away the fact that Afro-rave was birthed through Afrobeats. [Afro-rave] is a subgenre. Burna [Boy] has his subgenre because he’s the only one doing him, you feel me? CKay, Fireboy DML, etc., they all got what they do, and some people just keep it straight with the old genres. I didn’t take it away from Afrobeat being my inspiration, but it’s just me posing to evolve the sound to something else. I worked hard for the sound, [and] I got criticized a lot until it started making its own wave. So I feel like it needs to be labeled. It’s knowing something is special and you trademark it. It’s me vouching for my art, my creation.

What’s next for you? 

I really want to keep focusing on impacting the African youth. I feel like before I started getting global [recognition], my fellow Africans have been my huge propeller. They’re the ones who took me to the world.

I want to focus on building up our trust between artists and fanbases. We’re doing so much [in] other parts of the world [that] are developed and have better infrastructure. Whatever is coming into the culture, I would like to reinvest in it. We have to start putting up good shows. We have to start making people come to us. It’s good to do world tours, but we all need to come together to build Africa. As much as we are traveling, making the news, blah blah blah, I just really want to focus on home.

What do you want to do specifically to focus on the African youth and give back to your community? 

I wouldn’t say it’s on some charity level type s–t. It’s based on the infrastructure that creators need. There are a lot of complaints coming from directors, painters, even musicians — fans don’t trust artists anymore because the shows are not being put up nicely. We need infrastructure. It’s important. The rest of the world is giving us that, but I think it’s very important that we actually invest in ourselves, because we really want the world to come to us.

They’re going to Ghana, they’re going to Tanzania, they’re going to a lot of places to watch Afrobeats artists, but we really need to focus on Nigeria here right now. The lineups in different African countries are a lot of Nigerian artists, but our infrastructure is very necessary.

A version of this story originally appeared in the Feb. 4, 2023, issue of Billboard.

08 Feb 2023

Adam Devine Reveals Why He Had to Speak Out Amid Adam Levine Cheating Scandal

It’s been nearly six months since actor Adam Devine got accidentally pulled into Adam Levine‘s cheating scandal due to their similar names, and now the Pitch Perfect star is reflecting on the situation.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“I would never—I’m not big in inserting myself into someone else’s drama,” Devine told Alex Cooper in the newest episode of Call Her Daddy. “I’m like, ‘This guy is already going through it.’ And so, I was steering clear.”

However, his attitude changed when he started getting nasty DMs when fans confused him with the Maroon 5 singer. “I was getting so many people that were just DM’ing me being like, ‘How f—ing dare you?’” he continued. “And then then you look at their page and I’m like, ‘This person does not follow me. They have no idea. They are not Workaholics fans. They have not seen my movies, they truly were a Maroon 5 fan and now hate me on accident…’ I was getting legitimately hundreds of DMs.”

The Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates comedian took to Instagram amid the scandal back in September to assure fans that he did not cheat on his wife, actress Chloe Bridges. “Just want to post this and say that my wife @chloebridges and I are doing great and going strong. I am not Adam Levine. He’s a different guy and a worse singer,” he joked alongside a seaside selfie with his wife, before adding the jab, “We are however naming our future baby Sumner.”

The last sentence was a reference to one of the alleged DMs the Maroon 5 singer sent 23-year-old Instagram model Sumner Stroh, asking if it would be OK to name his third child with wife Behati Prinsloo “Sumner” if it’s a boy.

Stroh claimed that she had an affair with Levine via a now-viral TikTok video. “At the time, I was young, I was naïve and quite frankly I feel exploited. I wasn’t in the scene like I am now, so I was definitely easily manipulated,” she said. She claimed their fling lasted for a year, adding that Levine gave her the impression that his marriage to Prinsloo “was over.”

“A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air,” Levine wrote in an Instagram Story in which he dismissed claims he stepped out on his marriage. “I used poor judgement in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner.”

“I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family,” he added.

08 Feb 2023

Jesse Collins Says Rihanna’s Super Bowl Performance Will Be ‘Like None Other’

After months of anticipation, we’re just days away from Rihanna taking the stage for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Ahead of the big event, Billboard chatted with the show’s executive producer Jesse Collins and President of Jesse Collins Entertainment, Dionne Harmon.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“She’s working hard […] It’s going to be a halftime show like none other,” Collins told Billboard at the Golden Globes afterparty on Jan. 10, adding that he hopes the superstar performs “all” her major hits.

Harmon, who says she’s excited for the “music, fashion, glamour” of RiRi’s performance, later joked, “Maybe she can just take over the whole game.”

Watch the full interview above.

The newly rebranded Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, which is being produced by DPS with Roc Nation, will take place on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. The performance marks Rihanna’s first in five years.

The 34-year-old pop star, who welcomed her first child with A$AP Rocky in May 2022, is still fresh off releasing her first pieces of new music in six years with “Lift Me Up,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 last November, and “Born Again” as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.

“Rihanna is a generational talent, a woman of humble beginnings who has surpassed expectations at every turn,” Jay-Z, former collaboration and founder of Roc Nation, previously said in a statement. “A person born on the small island of Barbados who became one of the most prominent artists ever. Self-made in business and entertainment.”

08 Feb 2023

Chrissy Teigen’s Explicit Trump Diss Gets Read Aloud During Congressional Twitter Hearing

Twitter executives testified in front of Congress on Wednesday (Feb. 8) during a hearing on the social media platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, where Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and others inquired about requests from the government and the Joe Biden campaign about taking down particular tweets.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

At one point during the hearing, Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia brought up a 2019 situation to Anika Collier Navaroli, a former policy official at Twitter, in which the Trump administration had sent the company a request to remove a tweet from none other than Chrissy Teigen.

It all started on Sept. 8, 2019, when Donald Trump attacked John Legend and Teigen, referring to them as “musician @johnlegend, and his filthy mouthed wife,” after an online spat between the former president and the couple about a criminal justice reform law.

In response, Teigen called Trump a “p—- a– b—-.”

Flash forward to 2023, and Navaroli confirmed that the White House did indeed ask Twitter to remove the Tweet, as it was a “derogatory statement directed towards the president.”

No one was more excited to hear the explicit tweet said aloud during the hearing than Teigen herself, who took to Instagram to share a clip of the moment with the caption, “I don’t know how to go on after this.”

See the model and author’s post here.