Music

12 Oct 2022

Nessa Barrett Talks ‘Tired of California,’ ‘Misconceptions’ About Social Media Stars & More

Nessa Barrett is gearing up to release her debut album, Young Forever, on Friday (Oct. 14), and the 20-year-old singer sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to discuss the upcoming album, as well as her new single, “Tired of California.”

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The singer, who got her start on TikTok, revealed that she got “tired of California” right after she moved to the sunny state. “Living in LA and California itself was a dream of mine since I was little. When I was 17, I ran away and moved across the country to be in LA, and it has given me so many opportunities and I love it so much,” she explained. “But, I feel like a lot of people in the industry can relate, we just feel trapped here.”

On her healing while writing such an emotionally charged album, she shared that she’s big on hypnotherapy and inner child work. “I feel like working with yourself and getting very deep and learning how to have compassion for the person that’s inside of you — because we forget that and neglect ourselves in a way — I feel like it’s very important.”

Barrett also shared her thoughts on those who have large social media platforms that are sometimes not taken seriously when trying to take the jump into full-blown musical artist, and then feel confined. “Everyone online isn’t fully the person that they are on social media. So when people start to branch out and do new things or follow a dream of theirs, it’s kind of confusing for people and it’s hard for them to accept,” she said. “Just because you have an audience and a big platform, it doesn’t mean you don’t grow and change like anyone else. That’s part of life.”

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Nessa Barrett above.

12 Oct 2022

Here Are All of Taylor Swift’s Acting Roles, From ‘Amsterdam’ to ‘Valentine’s Day’

Taylor Swift will always be a singer-songwriter first and foremost, but when she isn’t penning No. 1 hits or selling out stadiums on tour, the pop star sometimes trade in her guitar for a script. Since rising to fame as a country darling in the 2000s, she’s made cameos in both big screen and small screen projects, be it as a one-time guest on a random episode of CSI or a lead performer in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats film adaptation.

But while it may seem as though Swift’s acting career stemmed from her success in music, here’s a little known fact: The Grammy winner actually started out with a love for musical theater. As she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in October 2019, “I started out doing musical theater as a kid. It’s what made me fall in love with performing as a medium.”

That said, the musician probably won’t be taking on a second full-time profession any time soon. Three years before appearing in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam — which debuted in theaters Oct. 7, 2022 — she was asked by Webber in an interview for British Vogue whether she’d ever considered fully committing to being an actress.

“I have no idea,” she told the composer, with whom she also composed a song for the movie adaptation of Cats.

“When I was younger, I used to get questions like, ‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?’ I’d try to answer. As I get older, I’m learning that wisdom is learning how dumb you are compared to how much you are going to know. I really had an amazing time with Cats. I think I loved the weirdness of it. I loved how I felt I’d never get another opportunity to be like this in my life.”

Keep reading to learn about all of Taylor Swift’s acting roles to date.

12 Oct 2022

BTS Gets Ready to Fly in Aerial Yoga Class for Special ‘Run BTS’ Episode: Watch

It’s finally here, BTS ARMY — the Bangtan Boys first teased their special yoga-themed Run BTS episode on Oct. 4, which featured members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook giving the aerial silks a try.

Though the K-pop stars were totally game in the teaser to experience a brand new challenge, the septet later ended up quickly struggling with nailing down the moves. Now, ARMY has the chance to see the episode in full — and all the hilarious shenanigans that ensued — in a video uploaded to BTS’ official YouTube on Tuesday (Oct. 11).

After being introduced to their instructor, who greeting the K-pop group by instantly launching to a pose above ground on the aerial silks, BTS gave him a round of applause — but not without gushing over their instructor’s physique and talents. Jimin, impressed with the elegant display, said, “He made a fantastic appearance!” Suga then enquired, “Did you make that body with flying yoga?”

Jin and RM then had their own questions, with the singer asking, “He probably worked out, right?” and the rapper adding, “What if he pumps a lot of metal at home?” The instructor assured the guys that aerial yoga acts as a full body workout, which RM concluded, “Those are muscles that are made in action!”

The rest of the episode sees the BTS members doing a lengthy stretching session, some members more successful at hitting the exercises than others, before giving actual aerial silk moves a try. All of the members struggled with at least one of the moves, but closer to the end of their class, the members had more stability and confidence. Sadly, fans will have to wait for the next episode to see how BTS makes it through the rest of the class.

The next part of “Fly BTS Fly” will first air through Weverse and VLive, and will later be available on YouTube. Watch the newest installment of Run BTS below.

12 Oct 2022

Lizzo Admits She Has a Secret Instagram Account During Hilarious Lie Detector Test: Watch

Lizzo sat down for Vanity Fair‘s Lie Detector Test on Tuesday, and the results were as amusing as you’d expect.

In contrast to the famous lyric in her breakout single “Truth Hurts,” the singer admitted she’s actually never taken a DNA test to determine if she’s really “100 percent that bi—,” as the song goes. (Though if she did, she’d be crossing her fingers to be related to Beyoncé despite her Detroit roots and Queen Bey hailing from Texas.)

However, when it comes to what it takes to actually be “100 percent that bi—,” Lizzo said, “I think it’s owning your identity and having autonomy of your body, and owning that. And of who you are and owning that. Having no shame in your motherf—ing game.”

Later in the interview, Lizzo hesitated to answer a question about whether she’s aiming for EGOT status now that she’s taken home her first Emmy for Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (not to mention her three Grammys), saying, “See, you can’t spell EGOT without ‘ego,’ and I try to keep my ego out of my career and my purpose.”

Knowing she was hooked up to a polygraph machine, the “About Damn Time” singer was blatantly honest about how much time she spends on TikTok (“It’s a lot, it’s embarrassing”) and copped to having a secret Instagram account where she posts pictures with boyfriend Myke Wright, however she got caught in a lie about whether fans would be surprised with what’s on her TikTok “For You Page.”

In the section about her life, Lizzo revealed that she has, in fact, gotten apologies from former classmates who bullied her in high school for being a band geek. However, the apologies didn’t stop her from refusing to give the unnamed bullies free tickets to her show when they asked (“I feel like I should’ve said ‘yeah,’ but that would’ve been a lie”).

Watch Lizzo’s full Lie Detector Test segment below.

12 Oct 2022

How Super Bowl Halftime Shows Lead to Super Sales, From Michael Jackson to Dr. Dre

Ever since Michael Jackson ushered in the blockbuster era of the Super Bowl halftime show when he headlined in 1993, nearly every performer who has graced the stage on sports’ (and TV’s) biggest night has enjoyed sizable boosts in sales and streams. Looking to continue this tradition is Rihanna, who is set to hit the midfield stage early next year when she headlines Super Bowl LVII. 

With few exceptions, Super Bowl halftime headliners have seen a sizable commercial uptick over the last 30 years. In 2002,  U2 saw sales for three of the band’s key albums (All That You Can’t Leave Behind, The Joshua Tree and Best of 1980-1990) more than double in the week following the performance. In 2004, Janet Jackson — in spite of, or perhaps because of, the singer’s infamous “Nipplegate” controversy — saw a similar jump. Particularly large sales gains were also seen for Paul McCartney in 2005, Prince in 2007, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in 2008, Madonna in 2012, Katy Perry and Missy Elliott in 2015, Coldplay and Bruno Mars in 2016 and, in 2017, Lady Gaga, who saw a whopping 1,000%  gain in digital album and song sales on Super Bowl Sunday alone.

In 2022, the halftime show — headlined by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige — averaged 103.4 million viewers across television and streaming in the U.S., according to NBCUniversal, which aired the event. The game itself garnered 112.3 million viewers – its best showing in five years.

Super Bowl halftime performances in the last 30-plus years have spurred some impressive boosts in sales and streams – and on Billboard’s charts. Ahead of Rihanna’s 2023 Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, Feb. 12, here’s a look back at some of the biggest halftime show winners since 1993. (Sales and streaming data for the U.S. only, according to Luminate.)

12 Oct 2022

Angela Lansbury’s Best Music Moments

Angela Lansbury, who died Tuesday (Oct. 11) at the age of 96, never had a Billboard Hot 100 hit and never personally received a Grammy nomination. But, in a long string of Broadway and movie hits, she introduced many songs that are widely known and loved. Among them: “Beauty and the Beast,” the title song from the 1991 Disney film of the same name, which won an Oscar for best original song and a Grammy for song of the year.

Impressively, Lansbury received career-capping honorary awards from three of the four EGOT awards shows. She was inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1996, received an honorary award from the Motion Picture Academy in 2013 and received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement just this year. (Nothing like cutting it close, Tonys!)

Lansbury won four Tony Awards for best actress in a musical – which is still the record in that category – putting her ahead of fellow Broadway legends Mary Martin and Gwen Verdon, with three wins each. Lansbury won for Mame, Dear World, a revival of Gypsy and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. What’s more, Lansbury received a 1985 Emmy nomination (outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program) for a performance of Sweeney Todd on PBS’ Great Performances.

The original cast albums from Mame and Sweeney Todd won Grammys for what is now called best musical theater album. The award for Mame went to its composer/lyricist, Jerry Herman. The award for Sweeney Todd went to its composer/lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, as well as album producer Thomas Z. Shepard. Two of Lansbury’s other cast albums – for revivals of The King and I (1978) and A Little Night Music (2010) – were also nominated in that Grammy category.

Several of Lansbury’s cast albums and soundtracks registered on the Billboard 200. Among them: Beauty and the Beast, which reached No. 19 in 1992; Mame, which hit No. 23 in 1966; Sweeney Todd, which reached No. 78 in 1979; and Dear World, which reached No. 128 in 1969.

Lansbury was also an always-welcome host of awards shows. She hosted or co-hosted the Tony Awards five times, more often than anyone else, and hosted the Emmy Awards once (in 1993). Lansbury received an Emmy nomination for the first time she solo-hosted the Tonys (in 1987). The nod was for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program.

In Lansbury’s memory, here are just a few of her greatest music moments.

12 Oct 2022

Colombian Singer Andres Cuervo Dies

Andrés Cuervo, the Colombian artist behind the hit single “La Receta,” died last week in Paris, according to a statement that his publicity agency JAQUE shared with Billboard on Tuesday (Oct. 11).

According to the agency, headquartered in Colombia, the 40-year-old singer died of a heart attack Wednesday (Oct. 5) in his apartment in Paris, where he had been residing. A few weeks ago, the singer and model had participated in New York Fashion Week, where he walked the runway for fashion designer H.cubel. “Closing the runway and representing Colombia with great pride ,” he captioned a carousel of photos he posted on Instagram.

Born in Barranquilla in 1982, Cuervo began to sing at a very young age, influenced by pop and rock music, and had a knack for songwriting. At 20 years old, he released his first studio album, Tras De Ti (2008), which put him on the map not only in his native Colombia, but across Latin America. With Este Soy Yo, released five years later, he had a breakthrough in Mexico and other countries. His latest production, Historias de Amor (2015), was packed with pop-rock ballads.

His first No. 1 on Billboard was thanks to “La Receta,” which topped the Tropical Airplay chart in 2015. His second entry on the Tropical Airplay tally was “Vivirla Bien” with Osmani García, which peaked at No. 15 in 2018. He also collaborated with Colombian pop star Fanny Lú on his single “No Pidamos Perdón.” Most recently, he had released songs such as “Creo En Ti” and “My Sexy Girl.”

12 Oct 2022

Christina Aguilera Announces New ‘Beautiful’ Music Video: ‘Put Your Mind, Body & Soul First’

Christina Aguilera is celebrating 20 years of her studio album Stripped, and to honor one of career’s biggest singles, the pop superstar revealed on Tuesday (Oct. 11) that she will be unveiling a brand new music video for “Beautiful.”

“In celebration of the 20 year anniversary of Stripped and World Mental Health Day, I’m honored to share a new music video for Beautiful,” she wrote on Twitter, noting that the clip will be arriving on Oct. 19. “Tune out and turn in. Take your space, log off, put your mind, body, and soul first.”

In the accompanying teaser clip, a group of young girls are seen at desks, applying heavy makeup in front of a phone attached to a ring light.

“Beautiful,” released in 2002, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated February 1, 2003 and spent 27 total weeks on the chart. Stripped — which, in addition to “Beautiful,” includes songs like “Fighter,” “Dirrty” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” — also peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, and it spent an impressive 79 total weeks on the chart.

The pop star famously received backlash when she introduced fans to “Xtina” for Stripped, dying her hair black, posing nude on magazine covers and overall flaunting a more sexually explicit persona for her 2002 album. “I hope I paved the way and helped set the ground rules that women can be any version of themselves they wanna be…and proud of it,” Aguilera told Cosmopolitan in 2018.

11 Oct 2022

Kanye West Makes Anti-Semitic Claims & Slams Planned Parenthood in Unaired Footage From Tucker Carlson Interview

Kanye West sat down for a bombshell two-part interview with Tucker Carlson last week, and on Tuesday (Oct. 11), even more footage from the controversial sit-down came to light.

In one clip that Fox News left on the cutting-room floor, shared by Vice, the rapper reveals that he was vaccinated when questioned by Carlson about the COVID-19 pandemic and associated healthcare response. Later in the interview, Ye goes on a tangent about Planned Parenthood, calling founder Margaret Sanger “a known eugenics” (Planned Parenthood has roundly denounced West’s claim that Sanger was a eugenicist) who created the organization “with the KKK to control the Jew population.”

“When I say Jew, I mean the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are,” he went on. “This is who our people are: the blood of Christ. This, as a Christian, is my belief.” (Ye seems to be mixing up his Old Testament stories, given that it’s the 12 tribes of Israel, with Judah being one of the ancient prophet Jacob’s 12 sons.)

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Ye’s fixation on Judaism didn’t stop there, though. The rapper also stated, “Think about us judging each other on how white we could talk would be like, you know, a Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how good they danced or something. I mean, that’s probably like a bad example and people are going to get mad at that sh–,” before pausing to add, “I probably want to edit that out.”

The Yeezy designer also brought Hanukkah into the discussion when discussing his four kids with ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “I was biting my tongue on my political opinion because I thought it would be better for my children. And now you look up, and my kids are going to a school that teaches Black kids a complicated Kwanzaa,” he told Carlson, going on to vaguely add, “I prefer my kids knew Hanukkah than Kwanzaa. At least it will come with some financial engineering.” (He’s possibly making reference here to anti-Semitic conspiracies that Jewish businessmen puppeteer the global financial system.)

Elsewhere in the unaired footage, Kanye bizarrely made claims that LVMH — the parent company of Louis Vuitton — “killed” late fashion designer Virgil Abloh, that “professional actors” and “fake children” were put in his house to manipulate and “sexualize [his] kids,” and that the Kardashians “kidnapped” his daughter Chicago on her birthday. (Khloé Kardashian has already hit back at the latter accusation, saying that Kanye was actually the one who requested dual birthday parties for the now-4-year-old.)

Watch unaired footage from Kanye’s Fox News interview on Vice.

11 Oct 2022

Mark Hoppus on Blink-182 Reunion: ‘I Feel Like a Weight Has Been Lifted Off My Shoulders’

Blink-182 are finally getting back together. On Tuesday (Oct. 11) the pop-punk trio announced a reunion with former bandmate Tom DeLonge for an upcoming global tour and single.

While joining After School Radio on Apple Music Hits, the band’s singer/bassist Mark Hoppus shared his excitement over the news. “Yes, it’s happening. Blink-182, world tour, new music, new album. Tom’s back. Man, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. That was a burden to carry that secret for so long,” he shared.

On keeping that secret, Hoppus also revealed a sweet anecdote from just days ago, when he was asked by a fan when a reunion would happen. “I was at the Dodgers game the other night, and a fan came up. It was a guy and his wife, probably late twenties, early thirties.” the musician recalled. “We take our picture, and he’s like, ‘I love your band. Grew up on your band.’ He’s like, ‘Dude, is there any way, any way at all?’ And I’m like, ‘Any way for what?’ And he’s like, ‘Is there any chance of a Blink-182 reunion tour with Tom back in the band at all?’ And he had such hope and desperation in his eyes, and I just wanted to put my hand on his shoulder and say, ‘My friend, just you wait. Just wait three, four more days.’”

Hoppus jokingly added, “I should have taken his name and should have just posted it on Instagram, been like, ‘This is for you Steve. Great idea.’”

Blink-182’s tour is slated to kick off on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico at the Imperial GNP festival. They hit North America on May 4 with a show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and those dates will run through a July 16 gig in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and then move on to Europe in September and Australia/New Zealand in early 2024.

The group’s new single, “EDGING,” is coming on Friday (Oct. 14), commemorating the trio’s first time in the studio in 10 years.