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Ye (formerly Kanye West) stormed off the set of a contentious interview with Piers Morgan on Tuesday (May 6), and the Uncensored host has provided some context about why Yeezy pulled the plug on the combative, short-lived chat.
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Morgan hopped on X on Wednesday (May 7), where he claimed that West and his team were giving him the run around leading up to the interview. “He was costing us time and money,” Morgan said. “And my patience was almost running out.”
After getting the go-ahead to conduct the interview, Morgan says the conversation got off to a rocky start when Morgran addressed Ye as “Ye West,” which the rapper took issue with since he’s trying to lose his “slave name.”
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“I did talk to him for about three minutes,” Morgan said. “When I asked him how he was, he pointed to the backdrop behind him. Actually a pleasant backdrop, this time of Mallorca, which implied he was in a great place. I said, ‘You seem happy and content. Which is a direct contrast to what is going on with you on social media.’”
Morgan then got West’s follower count on X wrong, which upset the rapper. The host said Ye had 32 million followers when, in actuality, Ye has compiled just over 33.3 million followers as of press time.
“At that point, he went into a great theatrical strop. It’s not 32 million — it’s 33 million,” Morgan recalled. The interview came to a halt as Ye got up and left, leaving Sneako to deal with a frustrated Piers Morgan.
*NEW* Here’s a snippet of my inside take on the whole Kanye interview debacle that’s now making news around the world. For the full inside story, go to the link in my bio… pic.twitter.com/SCpIuxKfT3— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 7, 2025
So, I interviewed Kanye West again today. As I expected, given what I’ve said about him recently, it didn’t last long or go well. This was him right before he stomped off like a big baby. Drops on @PiersUncensored later… pic.twitter.com/m8TDGDpwgs— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 6, 2025
“You’re not gonna take inches off my di–, bro.” the Chicago native said before he left the interview. “I’m a gift, bro. Why do all you people in media act like you haven’t played my songs at your weddings, or graduations or at funerals or when your child was born?”
He continued: “You take someone like that’s living, like a [John] Lennon or a Michael Jackson. That nuance right there is idiotic. It just shows the hate that you put out for people that put out love. There’s so much love in the art that I put out. This is what you get for now, we can circle back when you can count.”
Morgan referred to Ye as a “sniveling coward” and proceeded to pepper Sneako with questions about Yeezy’s recent tirades on X that have included antisemitic remarks and praise for the likes of Hitler and Diddy.
Watch Ye’s full interview with Piers Morgan below.
This year’s Met Gala was a very different experience for Lorde than the last time she attended the event in 2021.
In a vulnerable voice note sent to fans Tuesday night (May 6), the pop star opened up about having overcome her issues with body image in the four years since she last walked the Metropolitan Museum of Art red carpet, revealing that last time she was there, she’d unhealthily restricted her eating for weeks in preparation.
“I was so hungry,” she recalled of the 2021 gala, the theme of which was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” “I didn’t eat properly for weeks thinking about my little tummy on that carpet.”
This year, Lorde attended once again, sporting a chic slate Thom Browne look that matched the 2025 theme of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Returning to the Met four years later, the singer said it was “moving” to be back in the same place with an entirely new mindset regarding her body.
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“I was there last night fully in myself, and I didn’t have to not eat, I didn’t have to go to the gym a million times,” she told her fans. “I was just fully in myself. Quite beautiful.”
Lorde has slowly been sharing more and more about her struggles with eating and body image in the lead-up to her new album Virgin, which arrives June 27. On lead single “What Was That,” released in April, she sings, “I wear smoke like a wedding veil/ Make a meal I won’t eat.”
In a recent interview with Document Journal, the New Zealand native elaborated on the lyric: “I had made my body very small, because I thought that that was what you did as a woman and a woman on display … I thought, ‘I’m small. This will communicate to people that I’m taking my position seriously.’”
Now, Lorde says she feels fully “embodied,” meaning this year’s Met — which took place one day prior to her voice note — was a much better experience. “It was definitely my favorite Met,” she said in her message before remarking, “It’s really a reality check of where you’re at in relation to, you know, your own public image and how you feel in your body, how you feel among your peers and how you feel in culture and all that sort of stuff.”
One moment from Monday night (May 5) that did make her “so cringed out” at herself, though, was when she commented that her dress was an “Easter egg” in an interview with Vogue correspondent Emma Chamberlain, leading fans to believe the singer was teasing something musical through her attire. “More will be revealed,” she’d added during the red-carpet chat. “To me it really represents where I’m at gender-wise. I feel like a man and a woman, kind of vibe.”
But in her voice note, Lorde clarified, “Just as it was leaving my mouth, I was like, ‘What are you talking about? No, it’s not [an Easter egg]. The language of Easter eggs, I love it as a concept … [but] for what I was referring to, it was not my vibe,” she said. “Please accept me feeling like a loser, I’m sure you don’t care at all.”
The first time Reba McEntire heard “Trailblazer,” she cried. So did Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert as they wrote it.
The star trio are debuting the emotional, mid-tempo ballad about thanking those who came before them — and lifting up those who come after — at the ACM Awards tomorrow (May 8). The song will be available on all streaming services at 8 p.m. E.T. Thursday.
Wilson and Lambert wrote the song with Brandy Clark on Lambert’s back porch, specifically as a song that the pair and McEntire could sing together.
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“We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to do a song with Reba — what kind of song do we write?” recalls Lambert on Wednesday after rehearsals at The Star in Frisco, Texas, in the only interview the three artists are doing together. “We were calling her on the set [of sitcom Happy’s Place] and trying to figure out, ‘What’s the right message for this trio? What do we really want to say in three minutes?’”
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They decided they wanted a country song that talked about influences —the song namechecks “Dolly and Loretta, Patsy and Tammy, too”— and how to pass it down. “We were just having a conversation about how both [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and [about] passing the torch and blazing trails for each other,” says Wilson, who came up with the title. “Generation after generation, it’s going to continue, but we got to keep blazing those trails for the next one.”
It was also important to drop some Easter eggs into the song that tied back to each artist. For example, the lyrics include “Kerosene,” the title of one of Lambert’s biggest hits, and also talk about being from Louisiana, Wilson’s home state, and Oklahoma, where McEntire grew up.
“We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person,” Lambert says. “We had to do it strategically though, because we didn’t want it to be so blatant — but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice.”
But they still needed to keep the song’s appeal universal and beyond music. “I remember thinking that this could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter and a grandchild could listen to,” Wilson says. “And not just about the history of country music… If we’re not thinking about the people that we’re singing to then they’re not going to be able to relate.”
The song came together quickly and felt, Wilson says, divinely inspired. “When you’re writing a song and you get that like feeling, it’s like the Holy Spirit feeling. And you just feel it all over your body. Definitely had that.”
Wilson, Lambert and Clark had butterflies when they sent it to McEntire, but they needn’t have worried. “I remember listening to it in the dressing room. I couldn’t find a flaw in it, not a word,” McEntire says. “It was that great. I was very emotional when I heard it.” The three recorded it together in Nashville with McEntire and her longtime producer Tony Brown co-producing.
Another overarching theme in the song is friendship and the three have clearly cultivated close ties. They giggle conspiratorially when they talk about their group text. “We can’t tell you what’s in it,” Lambert says. “It’s off-color.”
Their relationship exists in a way that McEntire says couldn’t have when she was coming up, in part because of technology.
“There’s something different totally in these generations than the earlier generations, mainly because of the social aspect,” McEntire says. “We’ve got texting, we’ve got emails, communication at our fingertips, and we didn’t have that starting out. And I like it that things are more approachable. When I was getting started, I wouldn’t have even thought about talking to Dolly when she walked by me in 1977. I was brand new. She was a huge, mega, beautiful star. And I don’t know if it’s confidence that’s totally different, but I had [my musical heroes] all up on this pedestal where you can’t touch, you can’t talk. Now, we’re more friends and it’s a family. It’s totally different, and I like it this way.”
The three stress their friendship and McEntire says that is another big takeaway from “Trailblazer.” “We’ve got that camaraderie; we’ve got that helpful nature. If somebody needs something, the others come in to help. That’s very important. A lot of people think it’s backstabbing and so competitive. There’s enough room in this business — and all businesses — for everybody to be successful. We’ve just got to help each other and share what we’ve gone through and say what didn’t work. ‘Now here’s what did work. Maybe it will work for you.’”
There’s a line in the song about paying tribute to those who “gave me a seat at the table.” “One of the very first people to give me a seat at the table was that one right over there,” Wilson says, looking at Lambert. “She made me feel like I was welcome, and like she was my cheerleader. I think a lot of times people like to pit women against each other, and I think we’re just proving otherwise.”
That group text isn’t all about jokes: It provides a tremendous support system. “Sometimes you need someone to talk to when you’re so exhausted,” Wilson says, looking at McEntire. “I know I texted you one timem and you told me, ‘Sometimes I have to get up [on stage] and sing for a different reason. Sing for my sister. Sing for whomever it is.’ I remember those things when I’m on stage and feel like I can’t do it anymore.”
“I remember at the end of one of my long Vegas runs, I texted you,” Lambert says also looking at McEntire. “I was like, ‘I’m crying getting ready. Just wanted to let you know. It’s one of those tiring days.’ And I feel like I’m not alone in that, because they’ve been there.”
When they sing “Trailblazer” tomorrow on the ACM Awards, they will be singing it for more than themselves. “It’s not about us,” Lambert says. “It’s about what the song means to little girls out there watching, or anyone out there watching that really has a dream or needs to be surrounded by people they love, and needs a little nudge to know they’re not alone.”
And there will hopefully be more coming. When asked if “Trailblazer” is their last collaboration, McEntire says “No, ma’am” before the question is even finished. “I love singing with these gals. They’re a lot of fun. They’re great singers. Our harmonies blend so well. So why not?”
The ACM Awards stream live on Amazon Prime Video May 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Rubi Rose says women should be weary of BBL’s and instead advocated for them to hit the gym. On Tuesday (May 6), Rubi Rose pleaded with fans on X to stop getting butt implants after she had shared a video of her twerking in a car. “Please stop getting a— shots,” she wrote. Rose then […]
Mexican band Los Alegres del Barranco has been charged by the Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco (Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office) for allegedly advocating crime. Authorities in the Mexican state are investigating the band after projecting images of a criminal leader while performing the song “El del Palenque” during a concert on 29 March at an auditorium of the University of Guadalajara.
Now, a judge will determine whether or not to initiate legal proceedings against the members of the group, their legal representative and the promoter of their concerts in a hearing scheduled for Monday (May 12), which would mark a precedent in regional Mexican music.
“The members of a musical group that showed images referencing a figure from organized crime during a concert in Zapopan have been formally charged in a criminal court today for allegedly promoting criminal activity,” read a statement from the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday (May 6) shared with Billboard Español. “Similarly, charges were also brought against the group’s manager and the promoter of their concerts.
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According to the statement, the judge imposed precautionary measures on the four members of the band, their manager and the promoter, meaning they are not allowed to leave Jalisco. Additionally, they will have to pay a bond of 1.8 million pesos (about $92,000), which amounts to 300,000 pesos per person.
Article 142 of the Jalisco Penal Code states that publicly inciting the commission of a crime or glorifying it — or any vice — can be punishable by up to six months in prison. Experts consulted by Billboard Español note that since this type of penalty is less than four years, it can potentially be served outside of prison if the judge allows it.
The group and their representatives chose not to make any statements during a hearing on Tuesday, according to the statement. Billboard Español has reached out to the band’s representatives for comment but has not received a response at time of publication.
The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Billboard Español that three open investigations into Los Alegres del Barranco for allegedly advocating crime. The first one corresponds to the investigation against them for projecting images of the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” during their concert on March 29. This fact even caused the United States to revoke the work and tourist visas of its members, as announced on April 1 by the U.S. Undersecretary of State, Christopher Landau, in a post on X.
The second investigation was opened after, on May 3, the group allegedly projected on screens during their show the lyrics of the controversial corrido “El del Palenque,” which alludes to the aforementioned drug lord. The third folder corresponds to another presentation, on May 4, in which the group allegedly incurred in similar acts, in the municipality of Tequila, according to a press release from the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office on May 5.
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Wednesday (May 7) that “it was the decision” of the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute the members of Los Alegres del Barranco for allegedly advocating crime, and reiterated that her government is not in favor of banning the narcocorrido genre.
“My position is that it should not be banned, but that other music should be promoted. Rather than prohibiting, it is more important to educate, guide and encourage people and young people to stop listening to that music,” said the Mexican president during her morning press conference.
The controversy over Los Alegres del Barranco’s alleged homage to the drug trafficker comes in the wake of the debate over how the cartel founded in Jalisco uses clandestine ranches to recruit people to the criminal group through deceitful job offers, as reported by federal authorities and the media. This follows the discovery of the Izaguirre Ranch in the municipality of Teuchitlán, where acts of torture and murder were allegedly committed, as denounced by the Guerreros Buscadores collective in early March.
Ten (out of 32) states in Mexico have implemented several new bans against narcocorridos or any expression that advocates crime, without it being a federal law.
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
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This week: The Bey Hive buzzes over the Cowboy Carter Tour, Mariah the Scientist eyes a proper breakout hit and Katy Perry sees a less-remembered older hit gain newfound interest.
Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Streams Giddy Up 116% Following Tour Launch
If not for the launch of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s long-awaited co-headlining Grand National Tour last month, the most-anticipated live kickoff of the month would’ve almost certainly been Beyoncé‘s latest stadium trek, the Cowboy Carter Tour. Taking Bey around some of the biggest venues in the U.S. — and a couple in Europe as well — the Cowboy Carter Tour opened to rave reviews at Inglewood, Calif.’s SoFi Stadium last Monday (April 28), with fans around the globe gobbling up any live clips available and prepping their own costumes for when the Queen’s rodeo comes to town.
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And those same fans — whether inspired by the clips that have circulated, or merely attempting to bone up on its deeper cuts before future live dates — are of course also streaming the album in droves. From last Friday to Sunday (Apr. 25-27), the three days before the tour’s launch, Cowboy Carter generated 4.7 million total official U.S. on-demand streams across its tracks, according to Luminate. For the three days after the launch (Apr. 29-May 1), that number was up to over 10.2 million — a gain of 116%. Some of the songs from the album receiving the biggest bumps over that period include “Ya Ya” (up 147% to 544,000), “Protector” (up 207% to 438,000) and of course Bey’s reinvention of Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene” (up 118% to 405,000).
The streaming bump can also be seen in the chart performance of Cowboy Carter — which had slipped to No. 193 on the Billboard 200, at risk of falling off altogether, before rebounding all the way to No. 63 on this week’s chart (dated May 10). Will this be a one-week bump for Bey’s latest, or will it extend throughout the tour, Eras-style? That will certainly be one of the many things we continue to monitor about the Cowboy Carter Tour is it gallops around the country from here.
Mariah the Scientist’s New Song ‘Burning’ Up the Streaming Charts
R&B singer-songwriter Mariah the Scientist has developed a strong fanbase and critical reputation over the course of her three studio albums and a variety of one-off singles and feature appearances — including on Billboard Hot 100 hits by 21 Savage (“Dark Days”) and Tee Grizzley (“IDGAF”). But to this point, despite her burgeoning profile — with an added boost in exposure from her romantic relationship with hip-hop icon Young Thug — she’s still yet to notch a true breakout hit of her own as a lead artist.
Well, not until this week, anyway, following the Friday (May 2) release of Mariah’s new love ballad “Burning Blue” — which many have understandably taken to be about her storied beau, who was recently released from prison after submitting a a non-negotiated guilty plea in his RICO trial that resulted in his being sentenced to 15 years probation but no jail time. “Burning” had been teased extensively by Mariah pre-release, and upon dropping, quickly set fire to the Apple Music real-time chart, rising all the way to the top of the listing. In total, the song has racked up over 7.3 million on-demand U.S. audio streams in its first four days of release (May 2-5), according to early estimates from Luminate — an eye-popping number for a brand-new song by an artist with little chart crossover history.
Now, with the loved-up ballad spreading its way through the internet, the song sets its sights on a Hot 100 debut next week — with a good chance of even entering in the chart’s top half — as Mariah the Scientist takes the first big step on what could be a major 2025 level-up for her.
Fans Still “Thinking” About Overlooked Katy Perry Hit
While the headlines haven’t always been the kindest to Katy Perry the past month, she is off on her Lifetimes Tour, and apparently getting fans wistful about some of older hits. One that’s taken off in the past couple weeks is one that didn’t make the tour setlist: lovelorn ballad “Thinking of You,” the lone hit among breakout set One of the Boys‘ first four hits that didn’t make the top 10, peaking at No. 29 in February 2009.
The song has started to spread on TikTok — with some fans comedically taking on her vocal affectations on the track, and others simply pining for Perry at her most Alanis Morissette, a singer-songwriter mode that Perry rarely returned to on her singles after going pop supernova with 2010’s Teenage Dream blockbuster. Whatever the inspiration, the song’s virality has resulted in it nearly doubling in weekly official on-demand U.S. streams, from 279,000 for the tracking week ending April 24 to 539,000 the week of May 1, according to Luminate.
If it’s too late for Perry to work it into her Lifetimes set, maybe opener Rebecca Black could take it on instead? She has previously shown an affinity for covering less-remembered early Katy Perry singles…
Riding the momentum of their viral single “Gnarly,” KATSEYE has announced its second EP, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, slated for release on June 27 via HYBE x Geffen Records. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The announcement was made on the group’s official social media platforms, where fans were […]
Daddy Yankee hits a new milestone as the music video for his hit “Con Calma,” featuring Canadian rapper Snow, coolly crosses the three-billion-view mark on YouTube. The animated visual, packed with electrifying dance moves and reggaetón flow, marks the Puerto Rican superstar’s second video to hit that milestone, following the 2017 chart-topping smash “Despacito.” Explore […]
back number’s “Blue Amber” debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, released May 7, becoming the popular band’s sixth leader on the chart.
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The track is being featured as the theme song for the ongoing drama series starring Keiko Kitagawa called Anata wo ubatta sonohi kara. After being released digitally on April 28, the track came in at No. 2 for downloads (14,750 units), No. 7 for streaming (6,154,747 weekly streams), No. 8 for video views, and topped radio airplay. The song gives the three-man J-pop band its sixth No. 1 (nine weeks in all) on the Japan Hot 100.
Four other songs by back number are currently charting, with “Takaneno Hanakosan” rising 38-35, “Suiheisen” 46-44, “Hanataba” 65-56, and “Happy End” 78-75 this week.
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List of back number’s No. 1 Hits:
“Omoidasenakunaru sonohimade” (“Until the day I can’t remember”) “Christmas Song” [Three weeks]“Boku no Namae wo” (“(You called) my name”) “Old Fashion”“to new lovers” (Japanese title: “Atarashii Koibitotachi ni”) [Two weeks]“Blue Amber”
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “KUSUSHIKI” follows at No. 2. Compared to the week before, streaming and video for the The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Part 2 opener decreased to 93%, while downloads and karaoke increased to 108% and 136%, respectively. At No. 3 is the three-man band’s “Lilac,” moving 5-3. Streaming and video for the Oblivion Battery opener gained slightly, while downloads and karaoke showed significant growth of 121% and 135%, respectively.
≠ME’s “Mobunoderella” bows at No. 4. The title track of the group’s 10th double A-side single released April 30 topped sales with 232,441 copies sold in its first week.
King Gnu’s “TWILIGHT!!!” falls a notch to No. 5. The theme song for the animated blockbuster Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback scores its third week on the tally, coming in at No. 5 for downloads (6,333 units), No. 4 for streaming (7,639,298 streams), No. 6 for radio and No. 4 for video.
Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu’s “Sekai de ichiban idol” debuts at No. 7. The title track of the group’s double A-side single was released April 30 and came in at No. 2 for sales (85,438 copies) and No. 45 for radio.
Also debuting at No. 9 is Travis Japan’s “Would You Like One?” The theme song for the animated movie Tabekko Doubutsu The Movie launched at No. 1 for downloads, No. 67 for streaming, and No. 55 for radio.
Outside the top 10, Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s new song “Tengoku” debuts at No. 11. It’s the theme song for the movie Shinso wo ohanashi shimasu starring the band’s frontman Motoki Omori (alongside timelesz member Fuma Kikuchi) in a feature film for the first time. The track comes in at No. 3 for downloads and No. 12 for streaming.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from April 28 to May 4, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
Before they reunite in 2025 after nearly two years apart, j-hope says that the members of BTS had to grow separately.
In a new interview on the Zach Sang Show posted Tuesday (May 6), the K-pop star opened up about how he and his bandmates had to go through the sometimes difficult process of evolving as individuals and solo artists amid BTS’ break, during which the guys enlisted in the South Korean military while releasing music independent of the band. “In order to make music as a team in a healthy way, as each of us are making their own music, we each go through personal growth and growing pains that come with it,” j-hope explained.
“We learn many things,” he continued. “And then when we reunite after doing our own things, these experiences will fill us with new strength and energy. And now that’s very soon. Everyone has grown while pursuing their solo projects. I think that will contribute to the music we create as BTS.”
The interview comes nearly seven months after j-hope was discharged from the military, becoming the second member of BTS to finish his service requirements after Jin. In the two years since the band announced that it would be taking a break as the members carried out their mandatory civic duties, j-hope has released an album, 2022’s Jack in the Box, as well as an EP, 2024’s Hope on the Street Vol. 1; both projects charted in the Billboard 200 top 10. His latest single, “Mona Lisa,” dropped in March.
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RM, Suga, V, Jimin and Jung Kook are currently closing in on the end of their respective enlistments, after which the band is expected to reunite. “We will quickly get together and talk about what BTS can do in the future,” j-hope recently told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe of the band’s plans post-military. “I think it’s going to be a massive energy.”
On Zach Sang, the “Chicken Noodle Soup” singer also revealed the first thing he did after finishing his own time in the military. “I came to L.A. right away,” he said, laughing. “I wanted to get back into the groove right away. Since I was in a different environment, I wanted to quickly dive back into the places and the culture I loved. I wanted to have fun while gaining new experiences and making music.”
Watch j-hope’s full interview with Zach Sang above.
