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Over his 45-year career, Thurston Moore has always comfortably had his feet in two worlds: the song-centric music of Sonic Youth, the pioneering noise rock band he co-founded in 1980, and the experimental world born from his upbringing in New York’s No Wave scene in the late ’70s and early ‘80s. 

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“I really give equal value to composition … that I would give to improvisation,” Moore tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast from his home in London. “I mean, they really inform each other.” 

Moore’s latest album, Flow Critical Lucidity, released in 2024, often splits the difference between keeping to traditional song structure and tossing the rulebook out the window. Moore was joined in the studio by musicians who have performed on his song-based solo efforts: Deb Googe, the bass player for My Bloody Valentine; drummer Jem Doulton and guitarist James Sedwards. Googe and Sedwards also appear on Moore’s 2020 album, By the Fire, 2017’s Rock N Roll Consciousness and 2014’s The Best Day — albums that harken back to Sonic Youth’s more accessible work and Moore’s 1995 solo debut, Psychic Hearts.

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But much of his work captures his love of experimental music that took root in the New York music scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Spirit Counsel, released in 2019, has three expansive tracks that run a total of 2.5 hours. The free-flowing Screen Time, released in 2021, was fittingly released on Southern Lord Records, the home of drone metal band Sunn O))). 

This month, Moore premiered Guitar Explorations of Cloud Formations at the New Music Dublin festival in Dublin. He was joined by Googe, Doulton and guitarist Jennifer Chochinov, one half of the London-based duo Schande. A suite in nine pieces, Cloud Formations is “very lengthy, repetitive, immersive guitar, sort of drone pieces,” says Moore, “because I wanted to have that kind of elemental nature to them as opposed to being more song-centric.”

Recording and performing a variety of music creates some uncertainty, though, among promoters, retailers and fans. So, Moore is careful to draw bright lines between his different styles to eliminate confusion. Before his recent shows in New York City and Philadelphia, he asked the promoters to make clear that fans would see an experimental trio featuring percussionists Willie Winant and Tom Surgal, not the band that recorded Critical Flow Lucidity. When he performs songs from Critical Flow Lucidity, he wants fans to know they’re not going to see free-form guitar improvisation. And although he could release a torrent of music, Moore is careful to flood the market. 

“I realize that there’s a bit of a responsibility,” he says. “I mean, I know people who I associate with who are musicians who release music every week on Bandcamp, and they’re just constantly recording, releasing. And in some ways, I hold myself back from doing that. I mean, I have gotten into this situation through the years where I want to do a tour and the promoters are like, ‘Well, you were just here playing noise improv in some basement in Paris. So we don’t feel like we can actually book you right now, because the audience is confused.’ Like, what are you going to do? And so that has been a bit of an issue. It’s like, are you going to do your band? Are you going to be playing proper quote-unquote songs, which there’s much a bigger audience for? Or are you going to come here and play with some electronic noise guy? And so I understand that. It’s difficult for the other people involved who are presenting your gig, particularly promoters, because they don’t know how to promote it, and so I’m a bit careful.” 

His desire to push boundaries — and his seemingly never-ending supply of friendships with influential musicians — finds Moore collaborating with some prominent names. Last year, for example, Moore performed a free improvisation set with former Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tenn., and later in London (joined by drummer Steve Noble at one gig). The Big Ears performance was “extremely polarizing” for anybody who expected to hear a cross between Led Zeppelin and Sonic Youth. 

“It was just pretty jarring. It was like creating this kind of sound world of improvised noise music. And the place was just jammed. Everybody wanted to see this. And then I think within 30 minutes, it was half full, and I think maybe people got the idea that we weren’t going to be playing any tunes. We were just into this other thing, which we really wanted to do. And we did it, and I really loved it. I have actually mixed down the session. I’d love to put it out some day.”

Three musicians Moore is unlikely to perform with are his Sonic Youth bandmates: Kim Gordon, Lee Renaldo and Steve Shelley. From Oasis to Pavement, many rock bands from the ‘90s have capitalized on nostalgia and the longevity of their brands by returning to the stage. While Moore doesn’t exactly rule out a Sonic Youth reunion, he says isn’t motivated by the payday and believes the band’s legacy stands firm without one. “We covered so much territory that I don’t feel like it was a story left on untold. I think it really had a nice trajectory, and it certainly doesn’t feel unfinished to me.”

Listen to the entire interview with Thurston Moore in the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Podbean or Everand. 

The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony, the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place in May in Kyoto. Embodying the theme of “Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,” the new international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an association jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry.
This year’s MAJ will recognize works and artists in more than 60 categories, including the six major awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and more, which have gained significant attention and recognition from Jan. 29, 2024 to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced last month and the nominees for each category was revealed Thursday (Apr. 17).

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The third installment of Billboard Japan’s series exploring the trends and characteristics of MAJ will focus on the entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category that honors songs written in collaboration between domestic and overseas artists. Let’s take a look at how Japanese music interacts with the world, using data of the entries for this award.

The Artists’ Involvement in the Creative Process is Key

We divided the 50 entries into five types and calculated the percentage of songs in each. “JOINT PERFORMANCE” refers to co-writing as well as joint performances, and “FEATURING” refers to guest appearances (remixes of existing songs fall under “REMIX”). More than half the entries fall under JOINT PERFORMANCE or FEATURING.

“PRODUCE” refers to tracks where artists from overseas participate as producers in songs by Japanese artists, and accounts for 24% of the total. This includes Fujii Kaze’s “Feelin’ Go(o)d”, f5ve’s “UFO” (both produced by A.G. Cook), and ONE OR EIGHT’s “Don’t Tell Nobody” (produced by Ryan Tedder of One Republic).

For many of the songs that fall under JOINT PERFORMANCE, FEATURING and PRODUCE, the artists themselves participated in the creative process, such as writing the lyrics and composing the music. In the second installment of this series, we noted that the entries in the Top Global Hits from Japan category seem to be slightly more oriented towards artists who write and perform their own works compared to those up for the Song of the Year award, which honors songs popular in Japan. The same can be said for collaborative works that span countries and regions. It seems that, compared to within Japan, it’s more important for artists to be actively involved in the creative process overseas, both from the perspective of listeners and creators.

Affinity With the Collaborators’ Nationalities

The above shows the share of each country/region excluding Japan, calculated by adding up the number of streams of all entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category during the tallying period. The country with the highest share was the United States, and it also leads the list of the collaborators’ nationalities, which we’ll touch on later, but the order below second place didn’t match the collaborators’ nationalities at all. This shows that the collaborators’ nationalities and the countries/regions where the songs are actually listened to do not necessarily match.

For example, “Bekhauf,” the collab between BABYMETAL and the Indian metal band Bloodywood, accounted for 1% of the streaming numbers in India. Meanwhile, “RATATATA,” the collab between BABYMETAL and the German metal band Electric Callboy, accounted for 49% of the streaming numbers in Germany. One reason for this difference is that the market for metal music in Germany is more mature than in India. From this trend, we can see that affinity with the collaborators’ nationality is also an important factor in maximizing the effect of collaborations.

Countries/regions Interested in Collabs Between Japanese and Foreign Acts

Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba)” was the collaborative number with the most streams among this year’s entries, with an large share in multiple countries/regions including the U.S. (68%), the Philippines (79%), India and South Africa (both 87%). When there’s a song with such an overwhelming share, the overall share is greatly influenced by the trend of that song.

So to identify countries/regions with high interest in collaborative songs in general, rather than a specific one, we extracted the top 10 countries/regions for each song’s streaming numbers and compiled the number of songs that charted in the top 10 by country/region. Countries/regions ranked multiple times in the top 10 of each song’s list likely have strong tendencies to consistently support collabs between Japanese and overseas artists.

Top Countries Excl. Japan by Streams According to Luminate

Total Number of Entry Songs in Top 10 by Country/Region

Canada, Indonesia, and Taiwan came in at Nos. 2, 3, and 4. These are all countries/regions that didn’t rank high in terms of collaborators’ nationalities and streaming numbers. These countries/regions are considered to have high interest in songs featuring Japanese artists, regardless of who they collaborate with. Taiwan, in particular, had 32 songs in the top 10 despite its relatively small population.  

The Properties of Collaborative Songs

Next, looking at the domestic and international streaming shares of the entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category during the tallying period, 78% of the total streaming count for all 50 songs combined came from outside Japan. This is higher than the percentage of overseas streams for the entries in the Top Global Hits from Japan category, an award for Japanese music being listened to outside the country (59%), indicating that collaborative songs are more actively listened to overseas. Approximately 80% of the songs weren’t linked to other works or products, suggesting that whether or not a collaborative song is a tie-in doesn’t influence its popularity.

The chart above shows the genre breakdown of the entries. Soul/R&B accounts for 22% of the total, largely due to the six songs by SIRUP that made the list. Hip-Hop/Rap accounts for 20%, and here, all tracks except for two by Chanmina are by different artists. Notably, the share in this genre is 15% more than the 5% in Top Global Hits from Japan. 

The percentage of the collaborators’ nationalities was calculated based on the number of artists. The United States (27%) had the highest percentage, with many collaborations with rappers such as Megan Thee Stallion and Big Sean. The United Kingdom (18%) featured artists associated with Hikaru Utada, such as Sam Smith and A.G. Cook.

South Korea has entries featuring rappers such as ASH ISLAND and Zion.T, as well as collaborative tracks with dance and vocal groups like ATEEZ. Three songs have entered from Thailand: BALLISTIK BOYZ from EXILE TRIBE’s “Meant to be feat. F.HERO & BOOM BOOM CASH,” ATARASHII GAKKO!’s “Drama (feat. MILLI),” and HYBS x SIRUP’s “I’m Blessed.”

Cross-border collaborations are becoming an important channel connecting Japanese music with the world, and the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song award is a symbolic category that captures this global trend. We hope this award will serve as an opportunity to further enhance the presence of Japanese artists in the international music scene.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, the journeyman rockers who brought bar-band authenticity —and hits like the real-life top 10 Billboard Hot 100 smash “On the Dark Side” — to the group portrayed in the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers, have returned with Sound of Waves, their first album of all-new songs in […]

After opening for Taylor Swift at some of the biggest venues in the world, Gracie Abrams says she hopes to return as a headliner someday.
In her Billboard cover story published Thursday (April 17), the 25-year-old singer-songwriter was candid when asked by staff writer Hannah Dailey whether she aspired to someday tour through stadiums amid her recent career spike, which has found Abrams leveling up from playing shows in theater-sized venues to full-on arenas in a matter of months.

“Hell yeah,” the “That’s So True” musician replied immediately, before confessing that she didn’t always feel that way. “I could have never imagined myself admitting to that. I think having had the privilege of opening for Taylor in the stadiums that we played, to now have a visual reference and a real sense of what it feels like to be on a stage in that environment … It’s something that I miss and desperately hope to earn over time,” she added.

The interview comes about two years after Abrams opened her very first show on the “Anti-Hero” singer’s global Eras Tour, which kicked off in spring 2023. In between headlining her own treks for albums Good Riddance (2023) and The Secret of Us (2024), the “Risk” artist would go on to spend a collective six months supporting Swift in stadiums all over North America.

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Shortly after playing her final Eras show in December, Abrams embarked on her first-ever arena trek that began with a month of European shows earlier this year. She’ll continue over the next few months with legs in Asia and Australia, and this summer, she’ll return to the U.S. for more arena dates, including two nights at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Abrams has been open about how studying Swift on the Eras Tour has taught her ways to improve her own performances, but in her Billboard cover story, the former also shared how simply observing the latter has helped her stay afloat amid the new level of fame she’s hit. “It’s like, I really don’t have it that bad in terms of invasion of privacy, you know what I mean?” Abrams marveled. “I feel like I learned a lot from [Taylor], obviously, but one of the things that I’ve felt lucky to observe is how extreme it can be [for her].”

She added, “It helps right-size my own s–t.”

The Grammy nominee also gushed about another one of her past tourmates: Olivia Rodrigo. “She gave me such a shot, opening for her on the Sour Tour,” Abrams raved of the “Vampire” singer. “I adore her with my whole heart for forever and ever.”

“Gracie has such a singular voice when it comes to songwriting,” Rodrigo said in return. “I think it’s rare to be so young and already have developed your very own lane.”

See Abrams on the cover of Billboard and photos from the shoot below.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “KUSUSHIKI” rises 6-1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released April 16.
The three-man band’s latest single is being featured as the opener for the anime series The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Part 2. The song was digitally released on April 5 and debuted on the chart last week at No. 6 despite having only two days to count towards the chart week. Looking at each metric, the track rules streaming (313% week-over-week) and comes in at No. 2 for downloads (92%) and video views (275%), and No. 4 for radio airplay. Other songs by the hitmakers also only saw slight decreases in points and 17 continue to chart on the Japan Hot 100.

HANA’s “ROSE” drops a notch to No. 2 after bowing atop the chart last week. Downloads and video views for the brand-new girl group’s debut single are down to 42% and 78%, respectively, but streaming and radio have gained to 131% and 168% week-over-week. Perhaps due to the impact of its debut at No. 1 last week, the track is spreading across various platforms. 

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” slips to No. 3. Logging its 53rd week on the Japan Hot 100, downloads for the Oblivion Battery opener have gained to 112% and only show slight decreases in other metrics: streaming at 99%, radio at 73%, video at 94%, and karaoke at 87% compared to the week before.

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NMB48’s “Chu Strike” bows at No. 4. The group’s 31st single launches with 253,080 CDs, more than its predecessor, to rule sales this week and comes in at No. 63 for radio.

Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” follows at No. 5. Radio airplay for the track is up to 114% compared to last week and karaoke to 118%. The Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener comes in at No. 14 for downloads, No. 5 for streaming, No. 22 for radio, No. 4 for video, and No. 18 for karaoke.

Snow Man unleashed its catalog on digital platforms during the chart week (April 7) and six tracks by the popular boy band have charted. “Brother Beat” currently leads the pack, hitting No. 48 on the Japan Hot 100 (No. 12 for downloads, No. 51 for streaming), “Tapestry” is at No. 52 (No. 8 for downloads, No. 62 for streaming, No. 93 for video), “Dangerholic” is at No. 64 (No. 23 for downloads, No. 66 for streaming), “D.D.” is at No. 77 (No. 26 for downloads, No. 79 for streaming), “EMPIRE” is at No. 87 (No. 19 for downloads, No. 88 for streaming), and “SBY” is at No. 98 (No. 21 for downloads, No. 57 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 7 to 13, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.

MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ), the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place at the ROHM Theatre Kyoto on May 21 and 22.
With this year’s theme “Connecting with the World, Illuminating the Future of Music,” the inaugural international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry, including Recording Industry Association of Japan, Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, Music Publishers Association of Japan, and All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference. 

Although the entities are in the same industry, the five organizations have rarely collaborated until now because of differences in business and objectives. But the crisis faced by the entertainment and live music industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the spread of streaming services and the success of Japanese entertainment spaces such as the world of anime, prompted the five organizations to unite to work for the future of the country’s music industry.

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The content industry, which includes music, is worth 4.7 trillion yen and gaining momentum. That’s a sizable figure compared to the sectors in Japan’s export sales, as the automobile industry is worth 17.3 trillion yen, the semiconductor industry is worth 5.7 trillion and the steel industry is worth 5.1 trillion. The Japan Business Federation has positioned content as a key industry for the country and proposed that it be increased from 4.7 trillion to 20 trillion yen by 2033. The export of entertainment from Japan to the world is set to become a full-fledged industry. And with the aim of supporting and promoting the globalization and sustainable growth of the country’s music industry, CEIPA joined forces with TOYOTA GROUP to launch the MUSIC WAY PROJECT. In March, the project hosted a showcase event in the United States featuring Ado, ATARASHII GAKKO! and YOASOBI called matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience LOS ANGELES. It was presented by CEIPA x TOYOTA GROUP “MUSIC WAY PROJECT,” and the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony is part of this endeavor.

So, why was the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN created in the first place? The answer lies in the changes in Japan’s unique music market, which sits on the border between opportunity and challenge. According to the RIAJ, physical sales accounted for 62.5% of Japan’s content sales in 2024. According to the IFPI, Japan maintains the world’s second largest market and its market structure differs from that of other countries. The temporary increase in disposable time due to the stay-at-home orders during the pandemic led to the expansion of the streaming market worldwide and a change in market structure has also occurred in Japan. Today, the number of artists gaining recognition in the U.S. and East Asian countries is increasing, and the revenues of the streaming and live music industries continue to rise. The Japanese music industry and companies are seeing potential in the fact that the number of Japanese songs and artists being listened to outside the country are only gaining traction.

When it comes to nominations, MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN places importance on four factors: transparency, global collaboration, celebration and creativity. The awards place the highest importance on trust and fairness, both from the artists and creators involved, as well as from the listeners who support the music. The criteria for selection, including the chart data from Billboard Japan, of approximately 3,000 works entered in the 62 categories include the six major awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and more. The considered works are ones that have gained significant attention and recognition between Jan. 29, 2024, to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced in March, and the nominees will be revealed on Thursday, April 17. The detailed rules and schedule for how these works are selected as final nominees are listed on the website. The overseas voting members include Hannah Karp (Editorial Director, Billboard), Lucian Grainge (Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group), Rob Stringer (Chairman, Sony Music Group) and Robert Kyncl (CEO, Warner Music Group).

Now, CEIPA is calling on music industry professionals eligible to vote to consider the future of Japan and music when choosing works they think deserve an award. This means there is nothing wrong with artists voting for their own work or for those of other artists. There are also categories where fans can vote for the artists they support, too.

The nominated works chosen through this process have just been announced and can be seen onthe awards’ official website. After another round of voting, the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony, which will be broadcasted live on YouTube so viewers across the world can have the opportunity to hear the selected works. This will be a step toward helping artists in their activities overseas. Although the majority of awards are targeted at Japanese works, there are also awards that celebrate Asian artists in collaboration with other Asian countries, and awards that recognize foreign artists who are listened to in Japan.

As the inaugural awards aim to deepen the connection between Japanese music and the rest of the world, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) has been honored with the Symbol of Music Awards Japan 2025. Founded in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono and the late musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, YMO is one of Japan’s most beloved acts who toured successfully overseas from the early days of their career and gained popularity around the world. The “Rydeen” group’s timeless, innovative music, activities and style make them a “symbolic presence that teaches us the future” that the MAJ strives to aim for. A YMO tribute concert will take place at the Kyoto International Conference Center on May 20.

“We want to use matsuri ’25 and MAJ as springboards to promote Japan’s wonderful music content,” Tatsuya Nomura, president of the Federation of Music Producers Japan and chairman of the Music Awards Japan Executive Committee, said at the matsuri ’25 JP Music Industry Mixer & Panel press conference hosted by JETRO. “And we want to create the future of the Japanese music industry through a cycle in which Japanese artists are inspired by these projects and create wonderful works.”

Global music exchange will influence fans around the world and will lead to the enrichment of the global music market as a whole. As the Japanese music industry prepares to make a strong move toward repositioning itself in the world market, it’s surely worth paying attention to the direction it’s taking.

Ben Affleck has nothing but nice things to say about his ex Jennifer Lopez. More than a year after Lopez filed for divorce following the couple’s whirlwind second shot at romance, the actor told Entertainment Tonight that the “Dear Ben, Pt. II” singer remains a vital, loving part of his family’s life.
“For the record, Jennifer Lopez is spectacular, great to my kids, great ongoing relationship with them,” he said on Wednesday night’s (April 17) red carpet for his action-packed sequel to his 2016 drama about an autistic CPA who does forensic accounting for criminal gangs. The praise appeared to be in reference to Lopez’s ties to Affleck’s three children with ex-wife, actress Jennifer Garner, Violet, 17, Seraphina, 16 and Samuel, 13.

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Affleck intimated that he also has affection for Lopez’s children, 17-year-old twins Max and Emme, whom she shares with her ex-husband singer Marc Anthony. “I love her kids. They are wonderful,” he said. “She is enormously important, [a] tremendous person of a lot of integrity who I adore and am grateful to.” The Oscar-winning actor and producer also noted that he was “thrilled” to have his kids and Lopez’s children with him at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles.

“That’s the kind of thing where the relationship that you have with children like that is a joy in my life,” he said, noting that he was “very excited” to have the whole blended family out with him. “Those kids are amazing and I’m glad that this is a movie they want to come to… I love when all the kids come out.”

Despite the tabloid-magnet allure of the couple’s relationship over the past few years, Affleck noted that he doesn’t, “read the stuff online much and sometimes I get the sense that people perpetuate this idea of like, I don’t know, they want to find something negative to talk about.” Affleck and Lopez, both 55, first began dating in 2002 and got engaged before calling things off in 2004.

They reunited in 2021 and got married the following year. Lopez filed for divorce in February 2024, just months after the release of This Is Me Now: A Love Story, a movie co-written by the couple that was loosely based on their real-life love story. A candid behind-the-scenes doc, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, was also released at the time, opening up a window into their private lives. The couple’s divorce was finalized in January.

In March of this year, Affleck opened up for the first time about their second split, saying he had “nothing but respect” for Lopez, adding that there was “no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue” about their divorce.

04/17/2025

The non-singles worth remembering from our favorite albums of 20 years ago.

04/17/2025

When fans finally get to hear Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter VI — an album he’s been working on for six years at this point — they’ll be treated to a mixed bag of collaborators, including two major pop stars.
In a Rolling Stone cover story published Thursday (April 17), the “Lollipop” rapper revealed that both Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus are featured on the June-slated sixth installment of his Tha Carter album series, which has been ongoing since 2004. He didn’t share any further details about what the “Bad Guy” singer and “Flowers” artist’s contributions will sound like, though, simply telling the publication that he’s extra focused on his collaborations this time around.

“If there’s one thing about this album that’s different, it’s me approaching it like, ‘Man, what would I sound like on something with such and such?’” Wayne explained.

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Tunechi did, however, reveal that U2’s Bono will costar on a track titled “These Are the Days,” which also features Wayne’s son, Kameron. Plus, one song on Carter VI will include opera titan Andrea Bocelli singing “Ave Maria.” Wyclef Jean, Weezy’s main collaborator on the album, apparently flew all the way to Italy to ask the tenor for permission, winning him over with the famous story of how Wayne survived a self-inflicted gunshot at the age of 12.

All in all, Rolling Stone reports that Wyclef and Wayne have recorded around 30 songs together for Carter VI, though the final tracklist is still very much up in the air. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, produced a song for the project that may or may not make the cut, while Wayne teased that Elephant Man and MGK could also have guest credits.

Once it finally drops on June 6, Carter VI will mark Weezy’s first album since 2020’s Funeral, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Wayne has been anything but inactive in the five years since his last LP, though, collaborating constantly with artists such as Jack Harlow, DJ Khaled, Drake, DaBaby, Tyler, the Creator, Tyga, Ye and numerous others.

See Wayne on the cover of Rolling Stone below.

BTS‘ Jin announced the dates for his first-ever solo tour on Thursday (April 17), the #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR. The outing that incorporates the singer’s full given name (Kim Seok-jin) will hit nine cities around the globe for two nights each, kicking off with a double-down at the Goyang Auxiliary Stadium in Goyang, South Korea on June 28 […]