Music
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The 2025 Oscars opened on a high note (literally), with a medley of songs from Wizard of Oz-based films performed by the stars of Wicked, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (March 2) night. Wearing a shimmering red dress evocative of a ruby red slipper, Grande sang […]
Ariana Grande‘s staying tight-lipped about a release date for new music. Of course, when you’ve been a patient at Eternal Sunshine‘s Brighter Days clinic, as Grande was in her “We Can’t Be Friends” music video, memories have a tendency to fade away. She reminded an interviewer of this concept on the red carpet at the 2025 Oscars on Sunday (March 2).
Grande, an Academy Award nominee for best supporting actress for her role as Glinda in Wicked, gave a live performance with co-star Cynthia Erivo at Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony. Ahead of the big show at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, she walked the red carpet in a custom Schiaparelli gown.
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While making the red carpet rounds on a night focused on achievements in film, Grande was questioned by Variety on the “next step” of any new music release plans. The singer/actress had previously confirmed there’s a deluxe edition of 2024’s Eternal Sunshine still to come.
“The next step is the next step … It means it must come out. It’s been done,” Grande offered, then was prodded further for a release date.
“You know what, they did the Brighter Days memory erasure treatment to me, so I’m having trouble remembering the details. They’re foggy,” she quipped.
Still dodging questions that would elicit her giving an actual scoop about when to expect the set, she added, “You know what, I’ll have to go back to the clinic to see if they can restore my memory.”
Then Grande was nudged with the word “soon” in relation to the upcoming release.
“You have to learn the language of my fans because ‘soon’ means 10 days or less,” she said. “I’m not allowed to use that word at this moment. I’m not gonna use that word today. I’ll say that.”
“Just keep your eyes peeled. Just keep them peeled. That’s all I’m saying,” Grande suggested.
No specific details have been given about the unreleased deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine. “There’s something I made last year that will come out eventually,” Grande said in an interview at the Golden Globes in January. “It’s an attachment of Eternal Sunshine. So, that does exist, and that will be coming out at some point.”
Eternal Sunshine topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks in 2024, with singles “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends” both reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100. The album’s standard release was already followed by a “Slightly Deluxe” version of the album, with four additional tracks: “Yes, And?” with Mariah Carey, “Supernatural” with Troye Sivan, an acoustic recording of “Imperfect for You” and an a capella version of “True Story.”
See Grande’s latest comments on music in a clip from Variety on X here. Follow the list of winners at the 2025 Oscars, updating live here.
Two musical films and a period drama led in nominations in the run-up to the 97th annual Academy Awards, held Sunday (March 2) at Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood: Emilia Perez with 13 nods, and Wicked and The Brutalist with 10 each. All three are in the running for best picture and original score.
Pop star and actress Ariana Grande earned her first Oscar nod (best supporting actress) for her portrayal of Glinda in Wicked, while her co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, is up for best actress. Emilia Perez stars Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldana are up for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively, while the film also has two tunes in the running for best original song.
A Complete Unknown, the biopic about Bob Dylan, is up for eight awards. Among the nods are best picture, best actor for Timothée Chalamet’s portrayal of the singer-songwriter, best supporting actor for Edward Norton’s portrayal of Pete Seeger and best director for James Mangold.
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Which film will walk away with the most trophies? Keep refreshing this page for the latest winners as the Oscars are handed out Sunday night.
Best Picture
Anora, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, Producers
The Brutalist, Nick Gordon, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, D.J. Gugenheim, Brady Corbet, Producers
A Complete Unknown, Fred Berger, James Mangold and Alex Heineman, Producers
Conclave, Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers
Dune: Part Two, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe and Denis Villeneuve, Producers
Emilia Pérez, Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, Producers
I’m Still Here, Maria Carlota Bruno, Rodrigo Teixeira, Producers
Nickel Boys, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joslyn Barnes, Producers
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Producers
Wicked, Marc Platt, Producer
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Directing
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet
A Complete Unknown, James Mangold
Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
A Complete Unknown, Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave, Screenplay by Peter Straughan
Emilia Pérez, Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys, Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing, Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Anora, Written by Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain, Written by Jesse Eisenberg
September 5, Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David
The Substance, Written by Coralie Fargeat
Music (Original Score)
The Brutalist, Daniel Blumberg
Conclave, Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez, Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers
Music (Original Song)
“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Like a Bird” from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada:
“Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
“Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin
Animated Feature Film
Flow, Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža, Ron Dyens, Gregory Zalcman
Inside Out 2, Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek
The Wild Robot, Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men, Nicolas Keppens and Brecht Van Elslande
In the Shadow of the Cypress, Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi
Magic Candies, Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio
Wander to Wonder, Nina Gantz and Stienette Bosklopper
Yuck!, Loïc Espuche and Juliette Marquet
Cinematography
The Brutalist, Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez, Paul Guilhaume
Maria, Ed Lachman
Nosferatu, Jarin Blaschke
Costume Design
A Complete Unknown, Arianne Phillips
Conclave, Lisy Christl
Gladiator II, Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu, Linda Muir
Wicked, Paul Tazewell
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries, Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari and Hanna Aqvilin
No Other Land, Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
Porcelain War, Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aniela Sidorska and Paula DuPre’ Pesmen
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius and Rémi Grellety
Sugarcane, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers, Kim A. Snyder and Janique L. Robillard
I Am Ready, Warden, Smriti Mundhra and Maya Gnyp
Incident, Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven
Instruments of a Beating Heart, Ema Ryan Yamazaki and Eric Nyari
The Only Girl in the Orchestra, Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington
Film Editing
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, David Jancso
Conclave, Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez, Juliette Welfling
Wicked, Myron Kerstein
International Feature Film
Brazil, I’m Still Here
Denmark, The Girl with the Needle
France, Emilia Pérez
Germany, The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Latvia, Flow
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man, Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado
Emilia Pérez, Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
Nosferatu, David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
The Substance, Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
Wicked, Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth
Production Design
The Brutalist, Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
Conclave, Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
Dune: Part Two, Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
Nosferatu, Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
Wicked, Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Live Action Short Film
A Lien, Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz
Anuja, Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai
I’m Not a Robot, Victoria Warmerdam and Trent
The Last Ranger, Cindy Lee and Darwin Shaw
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, Nebojša Slijepčević and Danijel Pek
Sound
A Complete Unknown, Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
Dune: Part Two, Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
Emilia Pérez, Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta
Wicked, Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis
The Wild Robot, Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus, Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
Better Man, Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
Dune: Part Two, Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
Wicked, Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould
Shakira called off her concert in Santiago, Chile, tonight (Sunday, March 2), just hours before the show at Estadio Nacional was scheduled to go on.
“I am heartbroken that I cannot sing for you today for reasons beyond my control,” the Colombian superstar wrote in a statement posted on social media. In her note, she explained that there were safety concerns regarding her stage production at the stadium, which is located in Santiago’s Ñuñoa district. Shakira was expected to perform at Estadio Nacional for two nights, both of which were sold out.
It’s the second Latin American city to be postponed citing local production issues on Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour, following the cancellation of her Feb. 24 show in Medellín, Colombia — and the third total that she’s had to reschedule since bringing her world tour to the region in February. On doctor’s orders, Shakira couldn’t perform in Lima, Peru, on Feb. 16, as she was hospitalized with an abdominal condition.
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“To my fans,” Shakira wrote in her Sunday update, “you who have been with me for more than 30 years know more than anyone else my professional ethics and how much I strive to always give you the best. For a year I have worked tirelessly, night and day, on the smallest details to achieve an unforgettable experience for my fans as they deserve and as we have been able to enjoy together during the concerts I have been performing.”
The star expressed that connecting with fans every night on tour “is a big part of what makes me wake up every day wanting to celebrate life,” then broke the news that her performance in Chile must be postponed:
“You can imagine how painful it is for me as an artist to see that after so many efforts to come to this country that I love so much, my show in Chile on this occasion must be rescheduled due to circumstances beyond my control or that of my production.
“When an artist travels to a country, their production and team become directly dependent on the local producers. My staff and I trusted at all times that the production company hired by the local promoter would follow to the letter the specifications that were diligently provided by us so that a show of the magnitude of this one could take place.
“The Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour, which I wanted to start in my home, Latin America, is the biggest tour of my career and currently one of the biggest productions in the world. With a stage that weighs 62 tons, unfortunately we have found that the floor of the place where my stage would go is uneven and is not properly stabilized to ensure the safety of my band, dancers, my fans and myself.
“There are two things I would never compromise and that is the safety of my team and my fans, and I would never offer you a show below the quality standards you deserve.”
Shakira intends to return to Chile as soon as possible — even if she has to “inspect the floor and every last screw in the structure that supports my stage” herself, she says.
On the event’s ticketing page, Fenix Entertainment shared the same information in a statement on Sunday: “We regret to inform you that during the assembly process of the show scheduled for today (March 2) at the Estadio Nacional de Santiago de Chile, we have encountered technical problems beyond the control of the artist and their production that prevent the correct development of the concert, since the floor where the stage would be located is uneven.”
The next city on Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran Tour itinerary is Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she’s set to perform at Campo Argentino de Polo on March 7-8.
See her full note about the Chile concert postponement here.
LISA‘s Alter Ego topped this week’s new music poll, which highlights artists from a variety of genres.
Music fans cast their votes in a poll published Friday (Feb. 28) on Billboard, selecting the BLACKPINK star’s debut solo album as their favorite new release of the past week.
Alter Ego received 49% of the vote, leading other notable new music releases such as Feid’s “Nos Desconoximos,” Benson Boone’s “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else,” Lizzo’s “Love in Real Life,” D4vd and Kali Uchis’ “Crashing,” and more.
After months of anticipation, LISA dropped her first album on Feb. 28, featuring 15 new tracks and collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion, Future, Tyla, and others. The highly anticipated project includes previously released singles like “Rockstar,” “New Woman” featuring Rosalía, “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me),” and “Born Again” with Doja Cat and RAYE.
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Alter Ego showcases the Thai rapper embodying five distinct personas: Roxi, Kiki, Vixi, Sunni and Speedi. “It represents five characters of me as well, like I feel related with them,” she told Sean Evans on Hot Ones ahead of the album’s release.
Before Alter Ego, LISA had released only two solo singles: 2021’s “LALISA” and “MONEY,” both of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, she also appeared without her bandmates on DJ Snake’s “SG” with Ozuna, and on “HISS” with the rapper, who features on Alter Ego track “Rapunzel.”
LISA is the latest BLACKPINK member to release solo music in recent months. ROSÉ released her debut solo album, rosie, in December, and two months later, JISOO dropped her EP, AMORTAGE. JENNIE is set to follow with her debut LP, Ruby, scheduled for release on March 7. The foursome announced a summer 2025 world tour in February.
Trailing behind Alter Ego in this week’s poll is Feid’s “Nos Desconocimos,” which earned nearly 38% of the vote. The Colombian star’s new single arrives ahead of his European tour.
Check out the full results of this week’s poll below and visit Billboard’s Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases.
Joey Molland, the guitarist and last surviving member of the rock band Badfinger, has died. He was 77.
Molland passed away on Saturday (March 1) while surrounded by his longtime partner, Mary, his two sons and other family members, according to a post on Badfinger’s Facebook page. While a cause of death was not specified, Molland had faced ongoing health challenges in recent years, including a recent battle with pneumonia.
“Thank you, Joey…for keeping the band’s music alive for so long and for being a friend to us all,” the Facebook post read.
Badfinger, originally known as the Iveys, was one of the first bands signed by The Beatles‘ Apple Records. Molland joined the group in 1969, after the recording of their debut album, Maybe Tomorrow, which featured the Paul McCartney-written hit “Come and Get It.” The song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.
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Molland’s first album with Badfinger was No Dice (1970), co-produced by Beatles road manager Mal Evans. The set featured two of the band’s most iconic tracks: “No Matter What” and “Without You.” The latter became a hit after being covered by Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey.
Badfinger’s main lineup of Molland (guitarist), Pete Ham (singer/guitarist), Tom Evans (bassist) and Mike Gibbins (drummer) recorded five albums together through 1974, producing hit singles like “Day After Day” and “Baby Blue,” both co-produced by George Harrison. “Baby Blue” was notably featured in the closing scene of the final episode of Breaking Bad in 2013.
After the death of Ham, who died by suicide in 1975, Molland and Evans (minus Gibbins) reunited to revive Badfinger, with the guitarist taking on a larger role in songwriting and vocals for the albums Airwaves (1979) and Say No More (1981).
Outside of his work with Badfinger, Molland contributed to Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and The Concert for Bangladesh albums, and played guitar on John Lennon’s 1971 classic “Jealous Guy” and Imagine‘s “I Don’t Wanna Be a Soldier.”
Throughout his career, Molland recorded music both as a solo artist and as a member of the band Natural Gas. In the early 1980s, he formed his own version of Badfinger, known as Joey Molland’s Badfinger, and continued to tour with the act until the summer of 2024.
Molland was the last surviving member of Badfinger’s core lineup, following the deaths of Ham, Evans (who also died by suicide in 1983) and Gibbins, who passed away from natural causes in 2005.
Tate McRae scores her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as her third full-length studio set, So Close to What, debuts atop the list dated March 8. It arrives with 177,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 27, according to Luminate — marking the biggest debut week, by units, for a studio album by a woman in five months.
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It’s the second top 10-charting effort for the singer-songwriter, who previously visited the region with the No. 4-peaking Think Later in December 2023. The album generated a trio of charted songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 3-peaking “Greedy.”
So Close to What was announced in November 2024 and its release was preceded by three charted titles on the Hot 100, including a pair of top 40 hits: “It’s OK I’m OK” (No. 20, September 2024) and “Sports Car” (No. 21 in February).
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The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 8, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 4. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of So Close to What’s 177,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 105,000 (equaling 137.30 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; McRae’s biggest streaming week ever, and it debuts at No. 2 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 71,000 (her best sales week ever, it debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 1,000.
With So Close to What’s launch of 177,000 equivalent album units, the set tallies the biggest debut week for a studio album by a woman since Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet bowed at No. 1 with 362,000 units on the Sept. 7, 2024-dated chart.
So Close to What’s streaming activity was led by the tracks “Sports Car,” “Revolving Door,” “It’s OK I’m OK” and “Dear God,” which collectively comprise a little more than a third of the album’s total streams for the week.
So Close to What was released across an array of permutations and variants. It was issued as a standard 11-song digital download album, a 13-song physical set (on CD, cassette and vinyl), a 15-song digital download and streaming edition, a 16-song digital download and streaming set, and an 18-song digital download sold exclusively in McRae’s webstore. Each variation of the album beyond the 11-song set contained the core 11 songs found on the standard edition, as well as additional tracks (which varied depending on the version).
The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across four download variants (three widely available, and one exclusive to the artist’s webstore), three CD variants (including one signed), seven vinyl variants (including two signed editions) and a cassette.
McRae ushered in the release of the new album with an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, along with interviews with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, iHeartRadio and Allure, among other outlets. The performer’s Miss Possessive Tour kicks off on March 18 in Mexico City and has dates scheduled through Nov. 8 in Inglewood, Calif. McRae will play more than 80 dates in over 20 countries on three continents.
As for the rest of the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200 chart, it’s a quiet week, as McRae’s set is the lone new arrival in the region. PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s $ome $exy $ongs 4 U falls to No. 2 in its second week, earning 119,000 equivalent album units (down 52%). The next five titles on the Billboard 200 are all former No. 1s: Kendrick Lamar’s GNX holds at No. 3 (106,000 units; down 22%); SZA’s SOS is a non-mover at No. 4 (82,000; down 13%); Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 2-5 (76,000; down 51%); Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos falls 5-6 (63,000; down 6%); and The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow drops 6-7 (50,000; down 14%).
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess dips 7-8 (46,000 equivalent album units; down 5%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is stationary at No. 9 (41,000; up 4%), and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft falls 8-10 (nearly 41,000; down 11%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Elton John is speaking out against the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to USAID.
The Trump administration announced plans on Thursday (Feb. 27) to eliminate more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts, as well as $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance worldwide, according to the Associated Press. USAID has been the world’s largest single aid provider for decades.
“The U.S. Administration’s abrupt decision to cut over 90% of USAID contracts could have devastating effects on the HIV response,” John wrote on Instagram Saturday (March 1) alongside an official statement from his Elton John AIDS Foundation. “We are working with our 90+ partners to ensure they can continue to provide lifesaving services and are launching The Rocket Response Fund to help cover immediate gaps in essential care.”
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John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 to fund research aimed at eradicating HIV and AIDS. Over the past three decades, the organization has grown into one of the world’s largest independent AIDS charity organizations.
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The iconic musician continued, “We urge the U.S. government to continue the lifesaving work of bipartisan programs like PEPFAR.”
PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was launched by President George W. Bush in 2003. The program has reportedly been credited with saving millions of lives globally by providing access to antiretroviral treatment, which helps people living with HIV manage the virus and stay alive.
The Trump administration’s announcement follows a 90-day review period initiated in January, during which all projects funded by U.S. taxpayer money were evaluated to ensure alignment with the president’s “America First” policy, Reuters reports.
The decision to cut funding has sent shockwaves through HIV programs in South Africa. “We are being pushed off a cliff,” Dr. Kate Rees, a public health specialist with one of the largest nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) fighting HIV in South Africa, told the AP.
“We will see lives lost,” added Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Center. “We are going to see this epidemic walk back because of this.”
Bekker told the AP that they expected the Trump administration to target specific programs, such as those supporting gay men and sex workers, but were surprised to find that the cuts affected almost every program. She noted that she wasn’t aware of an HIV NGO or health center in South Africa that hadn’t lost its USAID funding.
“This has been across the board,” Bekker said. “This is programs for children, orphans, for young women and girls. It is not hyperbole that I predict a huge disaster … unless we can fill the gap.”
Tate McRae made her return to Saturday Night Live on March 1, delivering a pair of standout performances from her latest album.
The 21-year-old pop star graced the stage for her second appearance on the iconic NBC sketch comedy show, captivating viewers with electrifying renditions of “Sports Car” and “Dear God.” Both tracks are from her third album, So Close to What, which was released on Feb. 21.
For her first performance of “Sports Car,” McRae stepped onto a stage filled with stacked metal chairs, surrounded by male dancers in suits who appeared to be snapping photos of her. Later in the episode, she returned to the same minimalist stage design for a slower, emotional performance of “Dear God.”
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Saturday’s episode was hosted by comedian Shane Gillis.
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McRae is fresh off the release of her latest album, So Close to What. The project features previously released viral singles like “It’s OK I’m OK” and “2 Hands,” as well as a collaboration with Flo Milli (“Bloodonmyhands”). The set also includes a track with McRae’s boyfriend, The Kid Laroi, titled “I Know Love.”
So Close to What follows her 2023 album, Think Later, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The album was bolstered by singles like “Greedy” and “Exes.”
The Canadian-born star first appeared on SNL in November 2023, with Jason Momoa as the pre-Thanksgiving episode’s host. She performed two songs, “Greedy” and “Grave,” to promote her then-upcoming sophomore album, Think Later.
Later this month, McRae will launch a world tour in support of So Close to What. The Miss Possessive Tour will begin on March 18 in Mexico City and will see the singer touring through Europe, Canada and North America until the end of September 2025. Special guests for the tour include Zara Larsson and Benee.
Watch McRae’s SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.
Not everyone could go home with an iconic BRIT trophy.