Music
Page: 45
Jelly Roll is teaming up with Contemporary Christian Music hitmaker Brandon Lake for a new collaboration on a fresh version of Lake’s hit song “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Both Lake and Jelly Roll teased the song on social media this week, and the collaboration will officially release Feb. 7.
In November, Lake earned his Billboard Hot 100 debut with “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which also became his sixth No. 1 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. The song’s sound and message resonated with listeners, prompting Lake to release his eight-track EP Hard Fought Hallelujah: Heavyweight Edition, featuring various versions of the song, including live, demo, acoustic and instrumental versions.
Trending on Billboard
Lake shared a video snippet of the song on his Instagram, and Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO commented on the post, writing of her husband Jelly Roll, “My baby is fineeee.”
Written by Lake with Steven Furtick, Benjamin William Hastings, Elevation Church singer-songwriter Chris Brown and Rodrick Simmons, the song features lyrics including “I’ll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail, story-to-tell hallelujah.”
“I wanted to give my fans a taste of something special while on the road,” Lake shared of the song, according to CCM Magazine. “This song is about the battles we face, the grit throughout the fight for faith and the praise that comes after. I hope it resonates deeply with everyone.”
The collaboration seems a natural pairing for the two artists, as Jelly Roll often includes faith-centered references in his own music, while Lake’s brand of worship music wraps in hard rock and soulful influences. Jelly Roll’s current album, Beautifully Broken, topped the Billboard 200 last year, while Lake most recently earned Grammy nominations for best contemporary Christian music album (Coat of Many Colors) and best Contemporary Christian music performance/song (for “Praise”). Lake also picked up songwriter of the year (artist) and Pop/contemporary album of the year (for Coat of Many Colors) trophies at the 2024 GMA Dove Awards.
See a preview of “Hard Fought Hallelujah” below:
Though it pulled up just short of the top spot on the Billboard 200 last week, on this week’s chart (dated Jan. 25), Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos claims pole position.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Fotos moves 203,500 units in its second frame — its first full week of release, after having been released on Sunday, Jan. 5, already two days into the prior tracking week. The set, which features Bad Bunny dipping into genres like salsa and plena that reflect his Puerto Rican roots, becomes the superstar’s fourth consecutive No. 1 on the chart, following 2020’s El Último Tour del Mundo, 2022’s Un Verano Sin Ti and 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.
How did the album manage such a successful second week? And what does its success mean for the industry in general? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
Trending on Billboard
1. Debí Tirar Más Fotos climbs from No. 2 to No. 1 this week on the Billboard 200, in its first full week on the chart, to become his fourth consecutive No. 1 album on the chart. On a scale from 1-10, how significant an achievement is this for Bad Bunny?
Jason Lipshutz: An 8. After Debí Tirar Más Fotos started at No. 2 behind Lil Baby’s WHAM (albeit with a truncated first week), it was worth wondering whether the prospect of a new Bad Bunny album still commanded the same level of enthusiasm as it did four years ago, when he first began debuting in the top spot of the Billboard 200 without much issue. With the new album demonstrating its staying power on streaming and pushing to No. 1 in its second week, though, those minor concerns are put to rest. Regardless of where this album peaked, Bad Bunny remained an A-list superstar — but scoring another No. 1 album, which seems to be growing ever more mighty on streaming platforms, reiterates that he’s an A-list albums artist, too.
Sigal Ratner-Arias: A 10. Having four consecutive albums in Spanish reaching the No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 is quite remarkable, if not historic, and I don’t think Bad Bunny takes it for granted either. Benito works hard, knows his audience, reinvents himself once and again while staying true to himself — and, in this case, he also did the extra work, with a huge promotional campaign after releasing the album on a Sunday.
Isabela Raygoza: 9. This accomplishment further highlights Bad Bunny’s exceptional star prowess. It’s important to note that he released the album on a Sunday, deviating from the standard new music release day of Friday. This timing meant that potential sales from a full cycle (seven days) were not captured in the album’s first week on the charts. It’s also important to consider that Lil Baby’s Wham! debuted at No. 1 with 140,000 first-week equivalent album units, while Bad Bunny initially landed at No. 2 with 122,000 units. However, what’s particularly remarkable is Bad Bunny’s streaming success; despite the non-traditional release day, Debí Tirar debuted at No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart. This achievement exemplifies how his solid fan base and increasing streaming strength can significantly impact his chart performance.
Jessica Roiz: 10. This is the album that really hits home for him — lyrically and musically. Strikingly different from El Último Tour del Mundo — which became the first all-Spanish-language album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the chart’s 64-year history — as an album with alternative edge and chill melodies, DtMF embodies the culture and sentiment of an entire island: Puerto Rico. A proud Boricua is what Bad Bunny has been showcasing in each of his perreo and trap projects since the getgo, but to reach No. 1 with a primarily tropical-laced reggaetón album, which also includes salsa, bomba, plena and a lot of Puerto Rican slang, takes the Billboard 200 champ to a whole nother level.
Andrew Unterberger: An 8.5. In a sense it’s business as usual for Benito — just another No. 1 album in what is now a long string of them — but to reach the apex in the album’s second week, and with such a massive number, really shows how excited listeners still are about Bad Bunny. His numbers were mostly still there on Nadie Sabe and its associated singles, but the excitement wasn’t, at least not to this degree.
2. While Bunny’s previous album Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana debuted at No. 1, it did so with a smaller first-week number (184,000) than Fotos posts in its second frame (203,500), and then fell to No. 4. What do you think is the biggest reason for the improved performance of this set?
Jason Lipshutz: It’s the same reason that Debí Tirar Más Fotos started off relatively slowly following its Sunday release, and has been growing by leaps and bounds since then — fans love this new album, although the non-Friday release following the holiday music season may have taken them a minute to embrace it as part of their listening diet. While Nadie Sabe offered a more diverse sonic palette than 2022’s crowd-pleasing Un Verano Sin Ti, the new album represents an anthemic homage to Bad Bunny’s native Puerto Rico, with “DtMF” as the type of standout single that its predecessor lacked. The high quality and accessibility of Fotos have positioned the project as potentially one of Bad Bunny’s biggest yet.
Sigal Ratner-Arias: A loyal fan base and word of mouth, as the album is more reminiscent of the eclectic and experimental vibe of Un Verano Sin Ti – this time infused with Puerto Rican rhythms like plena and salsa — than the more Latin trap-focused Nadie Sabe. An aggressive and fun campaign, with Benito giving more interviews and doing more promotion than with his last efforts; he’s been EVERYWHERE last week. And the announcement of his upcoming Puerto Rico live residency couldn’t be more timely.
Isabela Raygoza: The marked improvement in Bad Bunny’s latest album performance compared to its predecessor, Nadie Sabe, can be attributed to several factors. One is his emphasis on the revitalization of reggaetón — amid the rising popularity of regional Mexican music. In her article, “Regional Mexican Music Sounds & Feels Nothing Like Reggaetón — And That’s Partly Why It’s Dominating in 2023,” Leila Cobo discussed how listeners were beginning to experience genre fatigue with reggaetón (and its repetitive themes of overt sexualization), turning instead to the storytelling and acoustic resonance of regional Mexican music. This trend seemed to forecast a decline in reggaetón’s dominance within Latin music circles. However, Bad Bunny’s latest album challenges this prediction by recentering reggaetón (“Voy a Llevarte Pa PR,” “Veldá”). He has effectively sustained and bolstered the genre’s appeal (as widely evinced in my block in Bushwick, New York), proving its enduring relevance.
Also noteworthy: Bad Bunny intersperses this album with rich, native Puerto Rican styles like salsa, plena, and jíbara. These traditional genre inclusions amplify a sense of Puerto Rican cultural pride and authenticity, significantly resonating with a broader Latino audience. Meanwhile, within the icy trap of Nadie Sabe, he seemed somewhat removed — highlighting the isolations of unattainable superstardom, reinforced by his lack of media interviews around that era. This time, Benito made discernible efforts to re-engage with his audience, becoming more accessible and relatable. Plus, his bare feet and stripped-down attire in his press shots add an authentic and approachable flair.
Jessica Roiz: The impressive marketing plan. Bad Bunny began to tease us with new music as early as one month before the album dropped with the set’s first single “El Clúb.” Though fans didn’t know it was part of an album, we just KNEW he had something up his sleeves. Similar to how he did with YHLQMDLG and Un Verano Sin Tí, the artist began to post clues across social media leading to the album’s release, including a very conceptual short film and hinting at a bomb track list on X. Fans were excited and on edge, waiting for this release — something he didn’t do with his 2023 Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, which dropped as a complete surprise.
Andrew Unterberger: I think this set just has a little bit of a stronger identity than Nadie Sabe, which felt a little all over the place, and not in the fun and satisfying manner of Un Verano‘s eclecticism. It’s a new identity for Bad Bunny, which probably explains why it took the set a little longer to take off — and why none of the advance singles had a big debut outside of the set’s larger context — but taken as a whole, it’s unquestionably one of his most rewarding and exciting full-lengths to date.
3. The set’s quasi-title track, “DtMF,” is the clear breakout track so far — jumping to No. 2 on the Hot 100 this week — despite being buried near the end of the album. Why do you think listeners have latched onto the track as quickly and as enthusiastically as they have?
Jason Lipshutz: The combination of the plinking percussion, extended build-up to the chorus and the enormous call-and-response hook make “DtMF” irresistible upon first listen. Although it doesn’t fully unfurl until nearly halfway through the track, the “DtMF” chorus is a blockbuster, both subtly swaying in Benito’s delivery and ecstatic in the way his backing chorus echoes his words. Until then, the three-note, shape-shifting beat does the heavy lifting, giving him the space to wax poetic about missed connections and his beloved community.
Sigal Ratner-Arias: A highly nostalgic song about appreciating the simple things in life and missing people and moments passed, “DtMF” – initials of the album’s title, which means “I should have taken more photos” – has connected deeply with the audience both for its lively combination of plena and reggaetón, and its profound lyrics. The fact that it is the second to last song on a 17-track album goes to show how much Bad Bunny’s followers are listening.
Isabela Raygoza: I believe the song’s impressive ascent can largely be attributed to its role as the crux of the album. Functioning almost like a thesis statement, it distills the album’s overarching themes into a compelling, catchy track. “We’re here for the things that are worth doing/ For the perreo, the salsa, the bomba and the plena/ I should have taken more pictures of when I had you” he sings, reinforcing the theme against a stripped-down, laid-back rhythm. It’s an invitation to focus on meaningful activities and cultural expressions. This connectivity aspect, paired with the emotional resonance, captures the essence of what fans love about Bad Bunny’s music: It’s vibrant, thoughtful and deeply rooted in cultural tradition.
Jessica Roiz: Simply put, it’s the deep sense of nostalgia the lyrics carry. “DtMF” is about living in the moment and capturing those moments in photos so they can last a lifetime. Furthermore, Bunny reflects on his own lack of taking photos (hence the title “I should’ve taken more photos) and how quickly life has passed by, mainly overshadowed by fame and his luxurious lifestyle: “We are no longer for the movie and the gold chains/ We look for things that are worth it,” he poignantly articulates.
Andrew Unterberger: I mean, wow, what a chorus. “DtMF” doesn’t sound like an obvious top 40 hit — at least not in this country — but you only need to hear that anthemic refrain one time to understand the song’s commercial potential. (Helps, of course, that the song also features a run through the chorus that just sounds like a crowd singalong, allowing fans to imagine how much fun belting it out as part of a crowd of many thousands of fans will undoubtedly be this summer.)
4. “DtMF” is still blocked from No. 1 on the Hot 100 by “Die With a Smile,” Bruno Mars’ and Lady Gaga’s radio-friendlier duet. Do you think it will be able to get over the top on the chart, or will No. 2 ultimately be its best showing?
Jason Lipshutz: I’d expect “DtMF” to hit No. 1 sooner than later, as the biggest new hit of the first month of 2025, and what looks like one of the signature smashes of Bad Bunny’s prime in the spotlight. For this song to stall at No. 2 would underscore what it, and Bad Bunny, accomplished here; he more than deserves a solo No. 1 song on the Hot 100, and “DtMF” will likely burst through that ceiling.
Sigal Ratner-Arias: Yes, I do. I think it will likely climb to No. 1 in the next week or two. “DTMF” has taken on a life of its own on social media, with people using the song to soundtrack special moments in their life. It’s definitely become a trend on IG and TikTok and that could ultimately give it a big push.
Isabela Raygoza: Predicting its potential to reach No. 1 can be complex, especially considering the historical challenges Spanish-language tracks face in securing the top spot on the Hot 100 chart. Notably, Bad Bunny’s only No. 1 on this all-genre prestigious chart came in 2018 as a feature on Cardi B’s bilingual hit “I Like It,” which also included J Balvin. The only other No. 1 Latin songs are these three: Los Lobos’ “La Bamba” (1987), Los del Río’s “Macarena” (1995), and Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” feat. Justin Bieber (2017). While the odds are challenging, the growing popularity of “DtMF” and Bad Bunny’s solid fan base give it a fighting chance to climb to the top. Achieving that milestone would be a huge moment for Spanish-language music.
Jessica Roiz: I think it can potentially and eventually reach No. 1. The song is having a strong resonance on social media, where people across Instagram and TikTok, to name a few, are interacting with its heartfelt lyrics and soft plena melodies and sharing some of their best memories with loved ones.
Andrew Unterberger: I’ll be rooting for it, but it’s gonna be tough for it to get past “Die With a Smile.” That song is still a strong performer in both streaming and sales, and it has the inside track on radio, where “DtMF” will be unlikely to catch up to it. As we saw in 2024 with Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song,” when you’re a consistent performer in all three of those components, you can stay at No. 1 for a long, long time — and “Smile” might only be getting started there.
5. The runaway success of Fotos is hardly shocking coming from an artist of Bunny’s size and caliber, but the arc of its first couple weeks is still unusual enough to make people take notice. What lessons, if any, do you think the rest of the industry can take from its early triumphs?
Jason Lipshutz: We’ve learned time and again that, in the modern music industry, patience is a virtue. If there’s a great artist who has yet to cross over with real hits, give them a few years — they might be Sabrina Carpenter. If there’s a great album that went relatively unnoticed in its release week, maybe a grassroots following turns it into the next The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess. If a former hitmaker hasn’t connected recently, their Brat Summer might be lurking around the corner. Debí Tirar Más Fotos may not have debuted at No. 1 and missed commercial expectations in its first week of release, but by that second week, Bad Bunny had demonstrated his superstar might; the world just needed a little extra time to plug in to his vision.
Sigal Ratner-Arias: Bad Bunny told Billboard something pretty significant this week: the purpose of releasing his album on a Sunday, on the eve of Three Kings Day, was bringing together generations in Puerto Rico and honor his country and its culture — even if that meant that his performance on the charts would suffer. At a time where we see artists release the same album in multiple formats and colors over the months in order to stay on top, it is refreshing to see that a superstar like Bad Bunny is more focused on making art with a clear message and purpose.
Isabela Raygoza: The early success of the album offers valuable insights, particularly in the power of integrating cultural authenticity that resonates with a diverse audience. It highlights the importance of artists maintaining a genuine connection with their fan base and evolving their music to align with changing tastes.
Jessica Roiz: I go back to the remarkable promo plan this album has had, including taking the role of a news anchor at a local Puerto Rican TV station, co-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and giving a free concert in Rio Piedras, Bunny was not afraid to double down on promotion. Add in his just-announced ambitious 30-date residency at El Coliseo, and Bad Bunny really didn’t hold back in building buzz around his new set, something other artists could learn from.
Andrew Unterberger: I think there’s a bunch of lessons to be had here, but one I might zero in on is that single performance isn’t necessarily a barometer for parent-album success in 2025. Neither “El Clúb” or “Pitorro de Coco” debuted within the top 50 of the Hot 100, which could have been taken as a sign that Fotos was bound to underperform commercially. But Bad Bunny is an albums artist first and foremost — most of the biggest global pop stars are at this point — and those songs hit much harder in full-LP context. Now, not only are both songs top 50 hits, but the album has landed three other songs in the chart’s top 10, with room still to grow. Trust in the strength of the your album, and the hits will come.
Rüfüs Du Sol will play a show benefitting Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts on March 6 at the Hollywood Palladium. The one night only performance will feature a DJ set by the Australia-born, U.S.-based group.
100% of the ticket proceeds from the Live Nation produced event will be donated to California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund, which is focused on directing resources with people most in need. Tickets go on sale via Ticketmaster this Thursday (Jan. 23) at 10 a.m. PT.
The show will happen six days before the launch of the trio’s previously announced world tour in support of their fifth studio album. The trek kicks off starts in Guadalajara, Mexico on March 12, extends through November and includes a sold out show at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was home to Rüfüs Du Sol when they first moved to the U.S. from their native Australia, with the trio writing “Los Angeles we love you,” on their social media post announcing the show.
The show announcement comes on the heels of a new fire in the Los Angeles area, with the Hughes Fire forcing evacuations in Castaic, an area just north of Los Angeles, after starting on the morning of Jan. 22. Red flag warnings, which indicate an increased risk of fire danger, remain in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura counties until Thursday (Jan. 23.)
With the show announcement, Rüfüs Du Sol joins a long list of artists getting involved in wildfire relief efforts. The FireAid concert is set to take place on Jan. 30 at the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome with a star-studded lineup including Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews & John Mayer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Green Day, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Peso Pluma, Stevie Nicks, Sting and more. The 2025 Grammys and its attendant MusiCare event has also announced a focus on wildfire relief efforts.
After starting on Jan. 7, the Eaton and Palisades fires have decimated entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles, killing at least 28 people, displacing thousands and damaging or destroying at least 15,000 structures.
If Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” wins record and/or song of the year at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Feb. 2, it wouldn’t be the first hit conceived as a Drake diss track to do so. Childish Gambino’s 2018 smash “This Is America” started off as a funny Drake diss record, the rapper revealed in […]
GloRilla links back-to-back No. 1s on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as her collaboration with Sexyy Red, “Whatchu Kno About Me,” replaces her own “TGIF” at the summit. The switch happens on the list dated Jan. 25, as “Whatchu Kno About Me,” released on CMG/Interscope/ICLG, jumps from No. 3 to become GloRilla’s third champ and Sexyy Red’s first leader on the radio ranking.
“Whatchu Kno About Me” reaches No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, which ranks songs by combined audience totals across monitored adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations, with 16.3 million audience impressions in the U.S. in the tracking week of Jan. 10-16, according to Luminate, a 16% surge from the previous week.
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
The new champ evicts GloRilla’s own “TGIF” from the penthouse after the latter’s 16-week domination from October to January. The move is actually the second straight self-replacement atop R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Directly before “TGIF” captured the throne, Kendrick Lamar successfully engineered a self-swap: The rapper’s “Like That” collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin ruled for three weeks in June before ceding the top slot to “Not Like Us,” which wrapped 15 weeks at the summit.
Among women, GloRilla’s self-replacement is the first since Tems accomplished it in November 2022. Then, the singer-songwriter and Drake featured on Future’s “Wait for You,” which, at the end of its 13-week reign, yielded to her solo hit “Free Mind,” which scored 22 weeks in charge.
With “Whatchu Kno About Me,” GloRilla achieves her third No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. In addition to the incumbent and “TGIF,” she posted a five-week reign through “Tomorrow 2,” a collaboration with Cardi B, in 2022-23.
Sexyy Red, meanwhile, claims her maiden R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1. Before the current champ, the rapper previously had a career peak of No. 5 with “U My Everything,” a team-up with Drake, last September.
In reaching No. 1, “Whatchu Kno About Me” outdoes the chart peak of its Southern rap classic sample, Lil Boosie’s “Wipe Me Down,” featuring Foxx and Webbie, which reached No. 8 in 2007 and spent 31 weeks on the radio list.
Elsewhere, “Whatchu Kno About Me” wins a fifth straight week atop Rap Airplay following an 8% increase in audience and a second week at No. 1 on the spins-based Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 19% in plays for the week).
Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana DeBose, FKA Twigs and Jack Black are among the music stars who are nominated for Golden Raspberry Awards. The Razzies, as they are commonly known, have been criticized as catty, cruel and sophomoric, but they endure because they offer an antidote to Hollywood’s ever-expanding season of self-congratulation.
It’s a simple fact that in the life of a performer, some projects are successful and some aren’t. Gaga’s Joker: Folie à Deux did not find its audience, but, happily, even as her Razzie nomination is announced, her “Die With a Smile” collab with Bruno Mars is in its third week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. And she is heading into the Grammy Awards on Feb. 2 as a double nominee for that sumptuous smash.
Trending on Billboard
Six of this year’s Razzie nominees are past Oscar winners, which again shows that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, to quote an old Carole King song. In addition to Gaga, Oscar winners on this year’s Razzie list are Joaquin Phoenix (her co-star in Joker: Folie a Deux), DeBose, Cate Blanchett, Jon Voight and Francis Ford Coppola.
Joker: Folie à Deux, the musical sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker (which received 11 Oscar nominations and won two) leads the field with seven Razzie nominations. Madame Web, Megalopolis, Borderlands and Reagan are close behind with six nods apiece.
Joker: Folie à Deux is competing for worst picture with Borderlands, Madame Web, Megalopolis and Reagan. It is vying for prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel with The Crow, Kraven the Hunter, Mufasa: The Lion King and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
Leslie Anne Down is nominated for a Razzie for playing Margaret Thatcher in Reagan. Meryl Streep won an Oscar for playing the late British Prime Minister in The Iron Lady.
The Razzie winners, if that is the right word, will be announced on March 1, the day before the Academy Awards.
See the full list of this year’s Razzie nominations below.
Worst Picture
Borderlands
Joker: Folie a Deux
Madame Web
Megalopolis
Reagan
Worst Actor
Jack Black, Dear Santa
Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie a Deux
Dennis Quaid, Reagan
Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted
Worst Actress
Cate Blanchett, Borderlands
Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie a Deux
Bryce Dallas Howard, Argylle
Dakota Johnson, Madame Web
Jennifer Lopez, Atlas
Supporting Actor
Jack Black (voice only), Borderlands
Kevin Hart, Borderlands
Shia LaBeouf, Megalopolis
Tahar Rahim, Madame Web
Jon Voight, Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land and Strangers
Supporting Actress
Ariana DeBose, Argylle and Kraven the Hunter
Leslie Anne Down (as Margaret Thatcher), Reagan
Emma Roberts, Madame Web
Amy Schumer, Unfrosted
FKA Twigs, The Crow
Director
S.J. Clarkson, Madame Web
Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis
Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie a Deux
Eli Roth, Borderlands
Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted
Screen Combo
Any Two Obnoxious Characters (But Especially Jack Black), Borderlands
Any Two Unfunny “Comedic Actors,” Unfrosted
The Entire Cast of Megalopolis
Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie a Deux
Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller (as “Ronnie and Nancy”), Reagan
Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
The Crow
Joker: Folie a Deux
Kraven the Hunter
Mufasa: The Lion King
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver
Screenplay
Joker: Folie a Deux
Kraven the Hunter
Madame Web
Megalopolis
Reagan
Nominees: “Asteroids” (Marlanna Evans); “Carnival” (Jordan Carter, Raul Cubina, Grant Dickinson, Samuel Lindley, Nasir Pemberton, Dimitri Roger, Tyrone Griffin Jr., Kanye West, and Mark Carl Stolinski Williams); “Like That” (Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Kobe Hood, Leland Wayne, and Nayvadius Wilburn); “Not Like Us” (Duckworth); “Yeah Glo!” (Ronnie Jackson, Jaucquez Lowe, Timothy McKibbins, Kevin Andre Price, Julius Rivera III, and Gloria Woods)
Analysis: Let’s be real, it would probably be the most shocking moment of the night if Lamar’s “Not Like Us” doesn’t take home best rap song and performance. A two-week Hot 100 chart-topper that transcended its beef origins and became a cultural anthem, “Not Like Us” is far and away the frontrunner here — even if it’s the subject of Drake’s explosive, ongoing lawsuit against UMG.
Lamar is also nominated here alongside Future, Metro Boomin, and Kobe “BbyKobe” Hood for writing “Like That,” the Hot 100 chart-topped that kicked his feud with Drake into high gear. Future has earned three previous nods in this category, but he’s lost each time. A victory for “Like That” would give Future and Metro their first wins here, and help Kendrick break a tie with Jay-Z to become the rapper with the second-most triumphs in this category (five).
But what if “Like That” and “Not Like Us” split votes? Perhaps, the Academy goes for somebody familiar like Ye (formerly Kanye West), who boasts the most nominations (17) and wins (seven) in this category’s history. Ye’s nomination comes from “Carnival,” his first Hot 100 chart-topper as a part of ¥$ (his duo with Ty Dolla $ign). With Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid in featured roles, a win for “Carnival” would reward hip-hop icons and new class alike.
Rapsody and GloRilla are looking to join Megan Thee Stallion as the only female rappers to win this category. This is Glo’s first nod in a songwriting category, and while “Yeah Glo!” was undoubtedly one of her defining hits from last year, she probably won’t be able to beat out the stiff competition here. Rapsody earned her first nomination here in 2018 with “Sassy.” This year, she’s represented by “Asteroids,” the only song in this category outside of “Not Like Us” to feature just one credited writer. While she was able to score an accompanying nod in best melodic rap performance, missing out on a best rap album nod for Please Don’t Cry signals some weakness in her rap field support.
Prediction: Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Look Out For: Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar, “Like That”
Ana Navarro took aim at Snoop Dogg during Tuesday morning’s (Jan. 21) episode of The View, likening the rapper to a “trained seal” after he performed at a pro-Donald Trump event during inauguration weekend. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The host, who is both a GOP Republican […]
In the earlier days of his career, touring wasn’t necessarily Kygo‘s favorite thing to do.
“It was like every show was life or death,” says the Norwegian producer. “I was always very nervous. It was like, ‘This is the most important [thing ever], and if I mess up tonight, my career is over.’”
With this extreme self-imposed pressure, the artist “wasn’t really able to enjoy the shows that much. At one point I was like, ‘I’m probably never going to tour again,’ because it was just so exhausting.”
Flash forward to the present moment and Kygo — whose real name is Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll — has a fresh approach and attendant attitude, calling his current world tour “definitely my favorite that I’ve done so far.”
Starting last September, the 35-date tour has hit arenas and amphitheaters in North America, Europe and Central America, averaging slightly over 10,000 tickets and $838,000 in revenue per show, according to numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore. The run is continuing into 2025, with shows in Asia and Australia. Additionally, the producer plays this Thursday (Jan. 23) in Toronto and Saturday (Jan. 25) in Mexico City, where Kygo will play what he calls “the biggest show of the tour by far.” See exclusive behind the scenes footage of this tour below.
Trending on Billboard
Despite this success, Shear acknowledges that the run hasn’t made the same headlines as other recent marquee dance tours, such as Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s 2024 Sweat Tour. “We’ve quietly been doing this unbelievable tour that’s sold over a half a million tickets,” he says. “There are a lot of tours out there. There’s a lot of stuff going on, and there’s a lot of new artists. But we’re going out there and doing the business. Kygo is just quietly winning in the dance music world.”
This current run is behind Kygo’s 2024 eponymous album, the artist’s fifth studio project that hit No. 97 on the Billboard 200 after its release last June. The tour is also his first in six years, since the run behind 2017’s Kids in Love. (Golden Hour and Thrill of the Chase came out in 2020 and 2022, respectively, although Kygo wasn’t able to tour behind them because of the pandemic.)
While the Kids in Love tour required 12 trucks to move it from city to city, this current tour requires 17 trucks and a crew of 58. When brainstorming the production, Kygo and Shear decided the music and visuals would lean into the fact that Kygo has been making music for a decade, with this kind of looking back approach inspired, Shear says, by Dead & Co.’s nostalgia-laced run at Sphere in Las Vegas last summer. As such, set lists featured visuals that nod to entirety of Kygo’s career thus far, while the setlist spans albums and hits. Vocalists including Justin Jesso, Zak Abel and Parson James are on the tour to sing their parts on “Firestone,” “Freedom” and “Stole the Show,” respectively.
“Kyrre told me that doing a tour was extremely important to him,” says Shear. “It’s not like every dance artist goes out there like a rock band or a pop star and does hard tickets in arenas or stadiums. “He was like, ‘The fact that I’m able to do it, I want to do whatever it takes to make this tour happen.’”
Kygo himself credits his ability to tour such big rooms — an option available to only a handful of dance acts including Illenium and Odesza — is a function of he and his team “not skipping any steps” while he was building his career. (Kygo is represented by Rob Markus at WME.) His earliest U.S. tour had him playing 200-700 capacity rooms, with each run getting progressively larger.
“We were living with my parents at the time, and Kyrre was staying in my brother’s room,” Shear says of these early days. “I went in my brother’s room, and was like, ‘Hey man, we found this guy who used to work with Disclosure and other big artists. He knows how to build live shows, and I think we should build one. We emptied the bank account making that show.”
This groundwork and investment has paid off, with Shear citing “the most tickets we’ve ever sold” on this current run. “I know so many people focusing on streams or on this or that, but the fans follow you as long as you do them right, take care of them and keep bringing an elevated show.”
Sometimes, this elevation requires some extra effort. The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles doesn’t have the space to erect a B stage where Kygo typically performs his encore. As such, the team improvised for the Oct. 17 show, setting up a riser in the middle of the amphitheater amid the seats. Getting there from the stage just meant, Kygo says, “that we just had to run a little bit.”
Kygo
Johannes Lovund
Outside the tour, Kygo and Shear’s multi-faceted Palm Tree Crew brand continues expanding. Its first brick and mortar space, the 115-room hotel and restaurant Palm Tree Club Miami, opened last December. Meanwhile, Palm Tree Festival has happened in Aspen, The Hamptons, Southern California and beyond over the last several years. Some of these festivals feature Kygo on the lineup, and some don’t.
“I was with him in Paris a few weeks ago when he was playing Accor Arena, one of the biggest shows on tour,” says Shear. “At the same time, we opened a restaurant and club in Miami the night before and we were also throwing a music festival in Australia with 30,000 people and The Chainsmokers, and Kyrre isn’t even at either of them. I think that’s a true testament to a great brand we’ve brought to the world, and one that just sort of feeds off his demeanor.”
This demeanor is one that’s also changed as Kygo has become more experienced, and over time more relaxed, about touring.
“There’s definitely been some f–k-ups on the on the road and some songs where I’m like, ‘Oh, that did not sound good at all,’” he says with a laugh. “But I think that’s just part of it being live. Knowing that, I’m more confident and better able to enjoy myself on stage and not always just nervous about everything that could go wrong.”
Lil Wayne might be one of Travis Kelce‘s favorite musicians, but the Kansas City Chiefs definitely aren’t topping any of the rapper’s lists right now — but the tight end is taking it in stride.
In a pair of posts on X Saturday (Jan. 18), Wayne accused the reigning Super Bowl champions — who that day bested the Houston Texans 23-14 — of cheating during games. “I hate the cheating azz chiefs,” the “Lollipop” musician wrote, followed by, “It’s not even impressive when u cheat and then clearly try to cheat … Just win baby.”
Four days later, Travis — who’s previously been open about his love for Lil Wayne and invited the hip-hop star to headline his Kelce Jam festival last year — reacted to the slight on his New Heights podcast. In the episode posted Wednesday (Jan. 22), the Grotesquerie star’s cohost and older brother, Jason Kelce, was the first to bring up the subject, saying, “I’m sure you saw some of this, but [people] were complaining about the refs again, Trav.”
Trending on Billboard
“Even Lil Wayne,” continued the former Philadelphia Eagles center before reading the rapper’s first tweet — which prompted Travis to burst out laughing.
“Shout out to Tunechi, man,” the Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? host then said, a big smile on his face.
The rapper’s comments come about eight months after Wayne headlined Travis’ second Kelce Jam music festival in Kansas City, which celebrated the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl win in a row. In an interview with Billboard leading up to the event, the football player called the musician “one of my favorites since I was in high school.”
At one point during the festival, Travis joined Wayne on stage with co-headliner 2 Chainz and held up the Lombardi trophy. While at the event, the tight end also raved about Tunechi’s music to Billboard, gushing, “I’m a huge mixtape era guy. ‘Duffle Bag Boy’ is like one of my favorite songs of all time. I have it on my gameday playlists and everything.”
The Chiefs now have one game standing between them and a third Super Bowl in a row, with Kansas City preparing to face off against the Buffalo Bills at the AFC Championships Sunday (Jan. 26). Throughout the 2024-25 season, some NFL fans have accused referees of giving the Patrick Mahomes-led team special treatment, with one roughing the passer penalty on Houston at the Chiefs-Texans game in particular reigniting those claims Saturday.
Watch the latest episode of New Heights above, and see Wayne’s posts below.
I hate the cheating azz chiefs— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 18, 2025
It’s not even impressive when u cheat and then clearly try to cheat. Just win baby— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 18, 2025