Music

09 Dec 2022

First Stream: New Music From SZA, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Lana Del Rey and More

Billboard’s First Stream serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, SZA’s SOS marks the return of a queen, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie fights inner demons and Lana Del Rey has a beautiful-sounding fun fact for you. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:

SZA, SOS 

Five years after dropping a jaw-dropping debut with Ctrl, SZA has finally returned with a follow-up that somehow sounds both pored-over, the product of endless hours in the studio sharpening edges and refining ideas, and as natural as the R&B star’s inherent gifts as a vocalist and songwriter. No one else could sing the words of SOS with an ounce of the personality that SZA brings to each track — in part because these songs are breathtakingly intimate, photographs of years of personal evolution as relationships scale up and sometimes crumble — but mostly because SZA is just that special of a performer, with every syllable on SOS popping out from the dense, varied production. SOS takes plenty of time to unpack across its 23 tracks, but whatever expectations you may have had for SZA’s second album probably weren’t high enough.

A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Me vs. Myself 

If Me vs. Myself, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s fourth studio album, ends up being the final major rap release of 2022, the NYC rapper will end up closing out the year on a triumphant note: his latest full-length meets the local-to-national hype that A Boogie has been incubating for years, and features the most complete songs of his career. That list begins with the Lil Durk team-up “Damn Homie,” which augments both rappers’ melodic instincts, and also includes the solo showcase “Ballin” and “Water (Drowning Pt. 2),” a sequel to A Boogie’s recent collaboration with Kodak Black that improves upon the original.

Lana Del Rey, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” 

The Jergins Tunnel, the passageway in Long Beach, Calif. that was abandoned in 1967, is a closed-off tunnel to a California beach — perfect lyrical fodder for Lana Del Rey, who sings on her stirring new track, “I can’t help but feel somewhat like my body marred my soul / Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls.” The title track to her next full-length, “Did you know…” marries Del Rey’s sweeping approach to orchestral pop with an ideal subject, upon which the singer-songwriter can translate her longstanding curiosities with faded American beauty.

Polo G, “My All” 

“I’m just tryna drop a hit and make the club jump / But I hate that I was too deep in so young,” Polo G admits at the end of the chorus to “My All,” a new single to close out the year before it appears on his much-anticipated new project dropping in 2023. Most popular rappers wouldn’t close out a hook with a moment of such succinct honesty — at 23 years old, Polo G is already a veteran who has the ability to entertain the masses yet has witnessed too much personal strife — but vulnerability has always been the key to his mainstream appeal, and “My All” sets the stage for more intricate stories to be unfurled next year.

Paramore, “The News” 

Five years ago, Paramore preceded their album After Laughter with “Hard Times,” a brilliant bit of sociopolitical satire on which Hayley Williams begged to be excluded from reality’s narrative. Ahead of follow-up album This Is Why, the band grapples with everyday life in more serious fashion: “The News” questions how much space in our minds our modern atrocities, specifically wars in far-off countries, can take up before we explode with uselessness, as the band locks in to a jagged groove and Williams oscillates her tone between jittery and outraged to sell the song’s concept.

09 Dec 2022

Snoop Dogg, Master P Say ‘Snoop Loopz’ Cereal Roll-out Getting Blocked: ‘They Can’t Stop Us’

You might have to wait a bit longer to get your early morning Snoop fix. Four months after Snoop Dogg announced that he was headed for the breakfast aisle with his “Snoop Loopz” cereal brand, the legendary MC claimed he’s being blocked by big cereal box.

“So they don’t want us to use Snoop Loopz on our cereal box even though that’s that’s my name. We’ve built a national brand and disrupted the cereal industry, we did it with hard work and integrity,” Snoop wrote in a message posted alongside a video in which he and partner Master P hold up boxes of the gluten-free Loopz that they promised would have “more corn, more flavor and more marshmallows” than other store brands.

“We’ve built a national brand and disrupted the cereal industry, we did it with hard work and integrity. I know they’re uncomfortable and scared. But our mission is to build diversity and economic empowerment. Times have changed. There’s enough room for all of us to be successful,” continued Snoop, who was offering the Loopz product through his Broadus Foods brand shingle.

“This is bigger than us, we are fighting for the next generation of entrepreneurs. We’re no longer just being consumers, we’re educating the culture building our own brands, and passing down generational wealth. Broadus Foods is all about helping the community. It’s official we’re taking over the breakfast foods industry. They can’t stop us.  It’s David versus Goliath. @masterp and I got the slingshot. This is a minor setback for a major comeback. #GodsPlan What do YOU think we should name our new cereal?”

The statement was accompanied by a video in which Master P said the more boxes of Loopz they sell the more they’re helping out their local communities through charitable efforts. “Snoop, you know when you’re doing something good,” P said, “the devil gotta show up,” Snoop replied. “We did this for the people, we did this for the family. We did this to make sure people got something to eat.”

Snoop praised P for distributing the cereal to those in need, with both men explaining — without naming names — that they are trying to make the breakfast aisle “diverse” for the current moment. “Cuz a lot of those cereals are based off past… this is based on the future,” Snoop said, shaking a colorful box of his brand. “We make people products.” When they announced Loopz in August, the pair said each purchase would be accompanied by a charitable donation.

While the rap legends did not name the company that is seemingly blocking their path, Billboard reached out to Froot Loops parent company Kellogg’s for comment; the company had not responded by press time. In the meantime, Snoop and P asked fans for their suggestions for a new name for their product.

Check out Snoop’s Loopz video below.

09 Dec 2022

Flo Milli Gets the Crowd Feeling ‘Conceited’ During Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Concert Event

As the Samsung NXT 2.0 singing competition marches on, Flo Milli, the second celebrity mentor in the campaign, brought the crowd to their feet with an energetic set during Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players concert event.

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Preceding a performance by City Girls, the rising star jump started an evening dedicated to female rap at Hollywood’s Academy L.A. event space. With its industrial architecture, moving light system and customizable LED panels surrounding the walls and roof of the venue, the rapper took to the stage in a sparkling gold two-piece with backup dancers in-tow as the crowd erupted with excitement. 

Kicking off the set with her rambunctious, viral hit, “Conceited,” the Alabama native shared a call to action during her march to the stage. “I need all my bad b*tches to the front. If you feelin’ conceited, make some noise,” she declared upon her entrance, before transitioning into speedy bars and choreography. Right until the midnight hour, Milli showcased her punchy flow and charisma throughout the set by delivering songs, including, “Like That B*tch,” “Hottie,” “Bundles,” “We Not Humpin,’” “Weak” and “In The Party.” One evening prior, Flo closed the curtain on her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Tour,” with a sold-out date at The Roxy, and it was clear that her longtime fans took the opportunity to see the buzzing star up close and personal in the intimate venue.

Paying nod to her mentorship role in the Samsung NXT 2.0 competition, Milli also showed love to those very fans by taking a video selfie with concert-goers with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, the same device that our 12 contestants have been armed with as they continue on with their challenge rounds.

Prior to the show-stopping set, a celebration of hip-hop took place outside of the performance space, with Billboard cover stars Future and SZA, Rookie of the Year Blxst, Impact and Excellence Award recipient SAINt JHN, Pusha T and more.

Flo Milli follows Mariah Angeliq as the second mentor in the Samsung NXT 2.0 competition. A third mentor will be revealed in the coming weeks. The trio of rising stars will share their expertise with the final three contenders ahead of a grand finale in Los Angeles in 2023 and the prizes are major. The winner of Samsung and Billboard’s NXT 2.0 competition will win a special digital Billboard cover opportunity, a meeting with a record label, studio time to record their first single, funding for a music video and tickets to the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.

“As an artist, I understand the importance of having community, mentorship and support coming into this business,” Flo said in a statement. “I’m excited to be a mentor for the Billboard x Samsung competition. My number one goal is to give someone the knowledge and support that’s needed to take their dreams and aspirations to the next level.”

For the latest round, the 12 contestants weretasked with showcasing their musicality with the original song challenge. Click here to see how they fared, as well as additional updates on Samsung and Billboard’s NXT 2.0 singing competition!

09 Dec 2022

10 Insights About the 2022 Year-End Hot 100 Top 10: Pop, Retro, Love Songs & More

As 2022 draws to a close, Billboard has, as always, ranked the top music of the year, with scores of year-end charts recapping albums, songs, artists, labels, touring and more.

On the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart, Glass Animals reign with “Heat Waves,” their single released in 2020 that endured for a record 91-week run on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, including five frames at No. 1.

Following “Heat Waves” on the year-end Hot 100 Songs rundown are Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (No. 2), The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” (No. 3), Adele’s “Easy on Me” (No. 4), Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” (No. 5), Jack Harlow’s “First Class” (No. 6), Latto’s “Big Energy” (No. 7), Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” (No. 8), Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” (No. 9), and Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” (No. 10).

What were some of the most notable sonic characteristics that made those songs bigger than all others in 2022? Here’s a look at 10 key findings about the top 10 titles on the year-end Hot 100 Songs chart.

Pop the Champagne

Pop reigns supreme as the top genre among the Hot 100’s year-end top 10, accounting for 60% of songs for the second straight year. Hip-hop and dance/club, which were no-shows in 2021, round out the genre pool with 30% and 10% of songs, respectively, the latter represented by “Cold Heart.” In their place last year were R&B/soul hits “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA, “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic and “Peaches” by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, and Olivia Rodrigo’s punk-rock influenced “Good 4 U.”

Retro Revival

Retro continued to be current in 2022, with 40% of the year-end Hot 100 top 10 possessing a throwback vibe. The share follows a 50% take in 2021, when the 1970s accounted for 30% and the ’80s, 20%. This year, it was all about the ’80s, with notable representatives in “As It Was” and “Stay.” Last year was, as noted above, that ’70s show, with hits including “Kiss Me More,” and the most authentically retro 2021 year-end top 10, “Leave the Door Open.”

Boys Club

Male vocalists dominated again in 2022, accounting for more than half the year-end Hot 100 top 10. Only 20% were female, via Adele’s “Easy on Me” and Latto’s “Big Energy.” In 2021, male vocalists accounted for 50% of the year-end top 10, with 30% by women.

Less Is More

A hefty 80% of songs in the 2022 Hot 100 Songs top 10 are by a solo performing artist, the exceptions being “Stay” and “Cold Heart.” The onslaught surges past the sum in 2021, when also a majority, 60%, featured multiple performers.

All You Need Is Love

Love ruled in 2022, with 80% of songs in the year-end Hot 100 top 10 featuring a love/relationship lyrical theme, slightly below its 90% haul in 2021. Introspection – shut out in 2021 – followed distantly at 30%, shaping the narrative of inward-looking hits such as “Heat Waves,” “As It Was” and “Easy on Me.” Rounding out the lyrical theme list are lifestyle and hooking up, each at 20%, and boasting, present in the self-explanatory “First Class.”

Don’t You Forget About Me

Along with the ever-popular chorus, 2022’s year-end Hot 100 top 10 includes some additional clever song title placements to ensure that the listener can always name that tune. Among them are the intro, where the title is present in 30% of songs (compared to zero last year), and the outro, where it’s the case with 60% of songs, up from 20%. An example of both is “Heat Waves,” in which the unique, highly effected, low-pitched and processed title hook is in both the intro and outro, bookending the song on a catchy and familiar note.

Hurry It Up

2022’s year-end Hot 100 top 10s sped along at an average tempo of 119 BPM, with 70% landing over 100 BPM. This is notably faster than 2021, when the average was 100 BPM, with only 40% over the 100 BPM mark. This year’s pack was led by the super-speedy “As It Was” and “Stay,” which clock in at 174 BPM and 170 BPM, respectively.

Tighten It Up

In line with the mainstream’s gravitation toward shorter song lengths, half the titles in the year-end Hot 100 Songs top 10 land under the three-minute mark. Shortest of all is “Stay,” at just 2:15. In addition to generally faster tempos, another way that today’s hitmakers are keeping their songs on the shorter end of the spectrum is through the omission of the once-popular pre-chorus. This year, only 30% of year-end top 10s feature a pre-chorus, compared to 60% in 2021. 

Ease ’Em In

Seemingly contrary to the point directly above, intros actually got longer in 2022 compared to 2021 among year-end top 10s on the Hot 100. In fact, they were six seconds longer on average, with the intro in only one song, “First Class,” under 10 seconds, compared to 60% of songs in 2021. That doesn’t mean, however, that these longer-length intros were any less effective. A perfect case is “Heat Waves,” with its super-lengthy 41-second intro. It achieves a multitude of effects without ever losing the listener’s interest, including varying its processing, establishing key vocal and instrumental hooks, setting the song’s tone and vibe and establishing the backing music of the subsequent chorus to seamlessly transport the listener between sections.

Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!

While not an incredibly popular quality due to listener engagement concerns over the past decade, 40% of the songs in the year-end Hot 100 top 10 hit the listener with the chorus before the first verse, up from 20% in 2021, thanks to “Heat Waves,” “Stay,” “First Class” and “Big Energy.” Building anticipation for a song’s chorus helps ensure that listeners stay long enough for a play to count as a stream and be monetized. Otherwise, in our attention-challenged society, fans might get their fill and tune out quickly because they already enjoyed the best part.

David and Yael Penn are the co-founders of Hit Songs Deconstructed. In April, Hit Songs Deconstructed and fellow song analysis platform MyPart partnered to launch ChartCipher, a new platform analyzing hit songs, as defined by Billboard‘s charts.

09 Dec 2022

Fly Me to the Moon: K-Pop Star T.O.P and Steve Aoki Part of SpaceX Voyage

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Friday that K-pop star T.O.P and American DJ Steve Aoki will be among the eight people who will join him on a flyby around the moon on a SpaceX spaceship next year.

The Japanese tycoon launched plans for the lunar voyage in 2018, buying all the seats on the spaceship. He began taking applications from around the world in March 2021 for what will be his second space journey after his 12-day trip to the International Space Station on the Soyuz Russian spaceship last year.

The eight people Maezawa selected for his “dearMoon project” are T.O.P, who debuted as a lead rapper for the K-pop group Big Bang; Aoki; filmmaker Brendan Hall and YouTuber Tim Dodd, also of the United States. The other four are British photographer Karim Illiya, Indian actor Dev Joshi, Czech artist Yemi AD and Irish photographer Rhiannon Adam. American Olympic snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington and Japanese dancer Miyu were chosen as backups.

T.O.P.’s real name is Choi Seung-hyun. The 35-year-old started out as an underground rapper before joining Big Bang, one of the world’s top boy bands, in 2006.

T.O.P. said in a video released by the dearMoon website that he has always fantasized about space and the moon since he was a child and, “I cannot wait.”

“When I finally see the moon closer I look forward to my personal growth and returning to the earth as an artist with an inspiration,” he said.

Maezawa made the announcement on his Twitter and the dearMoon Project website on Friday, after he tweeted last week saying he held an online meeting with Elon Musk and that his “major announcement about space” was underway.

He and the others would be among the first to travel on the SpaceX vehicle. The trip is expected to take about a week. The spaceship will not make a lunar landing but is expected to come within 200 kilometers (120 miles) of the moon’s surface while circling it for three days.

The trip is expected next year, though the exact schedule has not been disclosed.

“Since I was a little I was dreaming of going to the moon,” said Aoki. “It’s becoming more and more real every day. Still hard to believe but very excited for this amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To the moon!”

Last year, Maezawa, 47, and his producer Yozo Hirano became the first self-paying tourists to visit the space station since 2009. He has not disclosed the cost for that mission, though reports said he paid $80 million.

Maezawa made his fortune in retail fashion, launching Japan’s largest online fashion mall, Zozotown. In 2019, he resigned as CEO of the e-commerce company Zozo Inc. to devote his time to space travel. Forbes magazine estimates his wealth at $1.9 billion.

09 Dec 2022

Taylor Swift to Make Directorial Debut For Searchlight Pictures

Fresh off the acclaim for her directorial work on the 14-minute All Too Well: The Short Film, Taylor Swift will be taking her talents to the big screen. Searchlight Pictures announced on Friday morning (Dec. 9) that Swift will make her feature directorial debut for the studio with an unnamed film for which she wrote the original script.

“Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller,” said Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield in a statement announcing the project. “It is a genuine privilege to collaborate with her as she embarks on this exciting and new creative journey.” Swift made history recently when she became the first artists to ever win three video of the year awards at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards and only the second female to direct the winning best longform video winner (for All Too Well: The Short Film).

Swift wrote and directed the 14-minute All Too Well short, which recently screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. Though there are scant details about Swift’s feature directorial debut, The Hollywood Reporter noted that during her TIFF talk, the singer shouted out women directors including Nora Ephron, Chloe Zhao and Greta Gerwig as her directorial influences.

On Thursday, Swift pulled back the curtain on her direction of the heartbreaking “All Too Well” clip starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien in an Instagram post. The behind-the-scenes footage finds a pony-tailed Swift describing to the actors in detail how they should be feeling in the moment, sometimes trading places with them and tracking their approximate movements for them.

“The first seeds of this short film were planted over ten years ago, and I’ll never forget the behind the scenes moments of the shoot,” she wrote in her caption to her post. “I owe everything to @sadiesink_, Dylan O’Brien, my incredible DP @the_rinayang and my producer @saulysaulysauly.”

The All Too Well video — which is eligible for short film submission at the upcoming 95the annual Academy Awards — followed up Swift’s previous stints behind the camera helming the clips for her directorial debut with “The Man” from her 2019 Lover album, as well as her direction on clips for “Cardigan” and “Willow.”

In addition to a brief role in David O. Russell’s just-released drama Amsterdam, Swift has acted in a number of other films, including Cats, The Giver, Valentine’s Day and The Lorax.

09 Dec 2022

Elle King Cancels Trio of Radio Shows After Slipping on Stairs in the Night and Suffering Concussion

Elle King apologized to fans on Thursday (Dec. 8) after she was forced to cancel three shows this week following a slip-and-fall at home. The singer revealed in a note that she had an accident while feeding her newborn son, Lucky Levi.

“Just wanted to check in with a quick update and apologize to my fans in Tampa, Detroit and Seattle. I share your disappointment that I had to cancel my radio shows this week,” she said of pulling out of the gigs in Tampa (Dec. 7), Detroit (Dec. 8) and Seattle (Dec. 9). “No one ever wants to pull out of shows, especially me,” she continued.

“I live for performing. I slipped down the stairs making a bottle in the middle of the night, knocked my ass out, resulting in a concussion,” King explained. “I tired to push through and played 3 shows, but the travel, lights, all of it only exacerbated things.” King thanked all the artists who stepped in to fill her slots and the radio station sponsors for understanding.

King is preparing to release her first full-length country album, Come Get Your Wife (Jan. 27), which will feature her duet with Miranda Lambert, “Drunk (And I Don’t Want to Go Home),” as well as previously released tracks “Try Jesus,” “Out Yonder” and the Dierks Bentley duet “Worth a Shot.”

The singer is slated to hit the road again in February when she kicks off her A-Freakin-Men headlining tour on Valentine’s Day at the Fillmore New Orleans.

Check out King’s tweet below.

09 Dec 2022

Billie Eilish, The Killers, Foals, Imagine Dragons Among 2023 Reading & Leeds Festival Headliners

The lineups for 2023’s Reading & Leeds Festival was revealed on Friday morning (Dec. 9), with Billie Eilish, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Foals, Lewis Capaldi and Sam Fender announced as headliners. It will be a return to the top slot for previous headliners the Killers and Foals, while the rest will be making their topline debut; Eilish, 20, will also become the youngest solo artist to headline.

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Other acts revealed on the first poster for the event that will take place from Aug. 25-27 include Wet Leg, Loyle Carner, Steve Lacy, Central Cee, Slowthai, Becky Hills, Lil Tjay, Meekz, Nessa Barrett, You Met at Six, Nothing But Thieves, Baby Queen, Bicep Live, Georgia, Inhaler, Trippie Redd, LF System, MK, Yung Lean, Tion Wayne and Andy C.

The initial poster also reveals that Don Broco, Eliza Rose, Songer, Lovejoy, Chase Atlantic, Declan McKenna, Muna, Shy FX, Songer and The Snuts will be performing as well. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday (Dec. 12) here.

Fender could hardly contain his excitement, tweeting, “I first went to Leeds festival 10 years ago as a teenager, me and Deano spent the entire week launching hot dogs out of a gazebo pole at random crowds of lads chanting ‘Yorkshire Yorkshire’. One night I was out cold in my tent from necking a bottle of vodka at Eagles of Death Metal my tent got set alight – some fine young hero from Sheffield pissed out the fire to save me. Thankfully because of that lad whose name I can’t remember, I didn’t perish in the flames, little did he know he’d just saved Reading and Leeds’s 2023 headliner.”

Check out the official poster for the 2023 Reading & Leeds festival and some artist reactions below.

09 Dec 2022

Lady Gaga Goes Goth in ‘Bloody Wednesday’ Dance Video Inspired by ‘Bloody Mary’ TikTok Trend

Everyone’s doing the “Bloody Mary.” The viral TikTok dance sensation inspired by Wednesday star Jenny Ortega’s quirky moves that is set to the sanguineous 2011 Lady Gaga song has blown up so big that even Mother Monster couldn’t resist throwing her black veil into the ring.

“Bloody Wednesday,” Gaga dubbed her black and white TikTok response video, in which she quickly applies her gothy white makeup and fills out her eyebrows while slipping into leather Mary Janes, plaid knee socks, black shorts, a matching jacket and a black shirt with a frilly white front. And then she dances. Waving her hands behind her body while rocking an impassive look and then bopping them back and forth in front of her chest to the song’s sped-up, chipmunk-like vocals, Gaga goes full tragic teen.

Born This Way deep cut “Mary” went viral a few weeks ago when TikTokers began using it to soundtrack video recreations of Wednesday Addams’ (Ortega) standout dance scene in the hugely popular new Netflix series about the creepy, kooky family.

It’s not the first time Gaga has nodded to the trend. On Dec. 1, she tweeted, “Slay Wednesday! You’re welcome at Haus of Gaga anytime (and bring Thing with you, we love paws around here ?).” The singer’s tweet was a response to a cute message from the Wednesday Addams official Twitter account, expressing the fictional character’s approval of the “Bloody Mary” trend. “I see you doing my dance moves to @LadyGaga’s Bloody Mary,” it read. “I understand she is followed by little monsters. I approve.”

Just two weeks after its debut, Wednesday is Netflix’s third most-watched English-language series of all time with more than 752 million hours viewed since its Nov. 23 premier.

Clips showcasing Ortega’s instantly lovable portrayal of the gothy teenage character quickly started circulating online after the series dropped, especially a scene in which she shows off her peculiar style of boogying at a school dance. Ortega actually choreographed the dance herself, later revealing on Twitter that she’d taken inspiration from several artists as well as old videos of goths getting down at dance clubs in the 1980s.

Though the dance sequence in Wednesday was actually set to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps, TikTok users started making fan edits with the scene using Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” some of them dressing up in black and doing their hair to match Ortega’s school dance look in Wednesday.

Ortega recently revealed that she was feeling super ooky while filming the scene. In fact, she said that she was sick with COVID-19 during the filming of the now-famous scene, which she choreographed.

Check out Gaga’s dance below.