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Leon Thomas‘ 2024 breakout hit “Mutt” is adding a big dog to the remix: Chris Brown. The fast-rising R&B star officially announced the remix Monday (March 17) on Instagram, writing, “R&B Olympics, this Friday,” while tagging Brown’s account. Thomas debuted the remix while performing at The Garden in Dallas over the weekend. “Mutt” is the […]
At Monday night’s (March 17) 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Taylor Swift‘s groundbreaking Eras Tour was given a title it will spend the next 75 years defending: tour of the century. And to celebrate the honor, Swift treated the iHeart audience to her live performance of “Mirrorball” from the acoustic set of her very first Eras Tour date in Glendale, Arizona.
The Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023 — two years ago today, in fact — and wrapped in December 2024. Swift’s record-setting global trek grossed more than $2 billion and sold over 10 million tickets. The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time, by artists of any genre, and from any era in music history, per Billboard Boxscore. It surpasses the record of Coldplay’s ongoing Music of the Spheres World Tour, the only other tour to gross more than $1 billion.
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Super Swiftie comedian Nikki Glaser announced the tour of the century honor by revealing that she attended 22 concerts of the trek. “Never in my childless dog lady life will I ever witness a live performance of that magnitude,” Glaser promised. “Every single show was a marathon of perfection, the vocals, the athleticism, the costumes, the secret songs, my bedazzled adult diaper — those are memories and a rash I’ll have forever. So it makes perfect sense why iHeartRadio is giving Taylor Swift the award for tour of the century.”
While Swift wasn’t in the building, she did send in a video message to thank iHeart and her dedicated fans.
“I’ve been doing a lot of processing since I’ve been off the road these last few months,” Swift said in the video. “And, you know, people often say that sometimes the greatest challenges in life end up being something you’re so proud of, or end up being the most gratifying feeling in the end, if you can rise to the occasion. And this tour was absolutely the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life. Three and a half hour show,s more shows than I’ve ever done on a tour, and it really was the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done.
“I think about that tour constantly,” she continued. “I’m so proud of it. And the only reason I was able to take on those challenges, among others, the ambition of the production, the length of the show, the amount of shows, all the different countries we played in, that’s all because of the fans. You made the songs for the last couple decades into what they became so that we could do a three and a half hour setlist. You had the passion and the generosity to care about traveling to see us on tour in all these places all over the world. It blows my mind. I’m never going to stop being grateful for it, and I appreciate this more than you know.”
Swift had a treat for the audience in her absence, sharing a video of her “Mirrorball” performance from night 1. Her second of two acoustic songs that night was her first single ever, “Tim McGraw.”
Earlier in the night, while accepting the breakthrough artist award, Gracie Abrams shouted out Swift for including her on The Eras Tour as an opening act throughout its two-year run, giving thanks “for the incredible artists who allowed me to share their stages at different times and in different ways — Taylor and Olivia [Rodrigo] and Noah Kahan and The National.”
Watch Swift’s acceptance speech below:
https://twitter.com/tswifterastour/status/1901812177016860789
Lady Gaga was honored with the Innovator Award at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday night (March 17), and her acceptance speech celebrated the notion that “the most powerful innovation is your authenticity.”
She was presented the award by Doechii, who said the superstar helped the “Denial Is a River” rapper embrace her “weird” side, adding, “Gaga was and always is new, fresh and different. Not only is that OK, but it’s ideal.”
After taking the stage, the “Abracadabra” pop star continued that sentiment, honoring the beauty of weirdness and human differences in every aspect, from age and race to sexual orientation and physical expression. “Winning an award honoring my entire career at 38 years old is a hard thing to get my head around,” she began. “On the one hand, I feel like I’ve been doing this forever. On the other hand, I know I’m just getting started. Even though the world might consider a woman in her late 30s old for a pop star — which is insane — I promise that I’m just getting warmed up.”
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She also discussed her “controversial” career moments that defined her career and made her who she is, from her LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way” to arriving at the 2011 Grammy Awards in an egg. “If I learned anything in the three decades I’ve been at this, it’s that the most powerful innovation is your authenticity,” she told the cheering crowd. “Every time I was the only woman in the room, the loudest voice was inside my own head telling me not to compromise. Listening to that voice always showed me exactly where I belonged.”
Gaga also acknowledged the community that inspired her, including artists David Bowie, Elton John, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Cher and her late friend and collaborator Tony Bennett, “who taught me to embrace the classics but never be bound by them.” She also honored the “fiercely brilliant Italian-American women” in her lineage “who reinvented their destinies with nothing but strength and dreams and determination.”
“Those women, my ancestors, they’re the greatest innovators I’ve ever known,” she continued, before ultimately thanking her fans, the affectionately called Little Monsters. “Thank you for always seeing me so clearly from The Fame to Mayhem. Because you saw me, I learned to see myself. To the LGBTQ+ community, you taught me bravery before the world was able to listen. You have changed the world for the better, and your courage fuels mine every single day,” she shared.
Gaga concluded her heartfelt speech by telling the crowd, “To every artist that’s ever been told they’re different, complicated or too much, please never change. Break the mold. The world doesn’t need another copy. It desperately needs your original.”
Watch Gaga’s full acceptance speech at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards here.
A new large-scale structure will debut at Coachella 2025.
In partnership with Red Bull, the festival will debut Red Bull Mirage, a multi-level, 20,000 square-foot installation located directly across from the festival’s Quasar stage, the lineup for which dropped today (March 17.) See exclusive renderings of Red Bull Mirage below.
Quasar itself will feature two unique lineups across both weekends of Coachella 2025. For weekend one, The Martinez Brothers will play b2b with Loco Dice on Friday, April 11; Barry Can’t Swim will play alongside 2ManyDJs and salute on Saturday, April 12; and Tiësto will play the stage on Sunday, April 13.
For weekend two, deadmau5 will play under his Testpilot alias alongside Zhu on Friday, April 18; Kaskade will play a redux set with Idris on Saturday, April 19; and Alesso will play one of his house-oriented Body Hi sets alongside Gorgon City on Sunday, April 20.
Near Quasar, Red Bull Mirage will offer hang opportunities for all ticket tiers. GA attendees will be able to access bars, activations and shade. The structure’s first level will offer a high-level dining experience, with details forthcoming. The second level will function as an invite-only loft space for artists, industry and media. Meanwhile, the top level will be a private perch for artist and guests to mingle and take in views of Quasar and the polo field beyond.
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Quasar itself debuted at Coachella 2024 as a stage hosting extended dance/electronic sets. The stage was a hit during its debut last year, drawing huge crowds for three-plus hour performances, many of which were special b2b pairings. This year’s addition of Red Bull Mirage indicates that Coachella is investing in the long-term future of the stage.
Upon last year’s announcement of Quasar, Goldenvoice’s Executive Vice President Jenn Yacoubian called it “a stage where we can book talent on it in a way that we’ve felt we haven’t been able to in the past. We’re looking at it as a traditional kind of DJ stage. The thinking was that we wanted people to see a longer format DJ set.”
Red Bull Mirage Renderings:
Red Bull Mirage
Red Bull Mirage
Red Bull Mirage
Appearing on producer Zoomo’s album Absolution, released in October of 2024, the music video for “Good Orderly Direction” featuring Navy Blue is finally here.
Directed by Paul Merelle, the visuals are just as soulful as the beats and the bars as Zoomo and Navy find themselves taking in the sights and sounds of Central Park on what looks like a damp, autumn day.
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With the beat switch in the middle, “Good Orderly Direction” is essentially two songs with the West Coast rapper doing what he does best by getting introspective. He starts off the first verse telling the listener to chill out a bit, rapping, “Alone on a path tryna get the thoughts freed up/I’m goin’ in the game 4-3 up/If you movin’ through this life on the gas, better ease up/Jesus Christ on the cross, gotta bleed/River full of fish, be weary of the greed/Solve our problems with a spliff, every young brotha’ need love.”
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He then ends the with, “It only gets harder as you go/You alive, and that’s the sacred part of how you grow,” reminding us to keep on keeping on because life is a garden, dig it?
On the second verse, after the beat switches a bit, Navy Blue talks about the beauty in facing your anxieties as he stands in the middle of Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell. “Even when I’m hurt, I’ma smile,” he raps. “I done learned just to love me a bit/Fear stacked, I was perched on a pile/Down bad, I can gladly admit/Imperfect, I’m searching aloud/Loose garment, I can’t wear a shroud/And this sack bring a brother closer to God.”
In case you’re not familiar with Zoomo, he’s a producer out of North Carolina who’s down with YL and Starker’s NYC collective RRR and has been bringing the feeling back with beat tapes — a medium in hip-hop that has become a rare occurrence these days — his most recent project Absolution features instrumentals and includes features from Navy, Da$H, AKTHESAVIOR, YL, Starker, Wiki, ANKHLEJOHN, Aasir, VIP Skylark, Goya Gumbani, and Papo2oo4.
You can check out the video below.
Bad Bunny is proving once again why he’s one of the hottest stars in the world, both on and off the stage. The global Puerto Rican sensation has teamed up with Calvin Klein for a sizzling new campaign published by both parties on Instagram, Monday (March 17), that’s already turning heads. Explore Explore See latest […]
Something beautiful this way comes for Miley Cyrus fans. The pop star has seemingly begun teasing her next musical era, with new visuals popping up on her website and social media, as well as on posters around the country. In a black-and-white photo that serves as Cyrus’ new profile picture on Instagram, the backlit singer […]
Playboi Carti showed some love to Kim Kardashian‘sSkims on his new Music album, and the shapewear brand shout-out made it onto the reality mogul’s radar. Kardashian returned the favor by reposting Carti’s “Fine Sh–” lyrics to her Instagram Story on Monday (March 17). “I bought that h- a lot of clothes, but she love her […]
Semisonic‘s biggest hit may have been used in a recent White House video glorifying the deportation of undocumented immigrants, but that doesn’t mean the band approved of it.
After the Donald Trump administration shared a brief clip Monday (March 17) on X depicting Border Patrol agents putting handcuffed men on a plane to the tune of 1998’s “Closing Time,” Semisonic was quick to slam the song’s use in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song in any way,” the Minneapolis rock group began.
“And no, they didn’t ask,” Semisonic continued. “The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”
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Billboard has reached out to the White House for comment.
Released as a single from Semisonic’s album Feeling Strangely Fine, “Closing Time” remains Semisonic’s best-known hit. The track topped the Alternative Airplay chart for five weeks and reached No. 8 on Pop Airplay.
The song’s lyrics find frontman Dan Wilson — who has gone on to co-write songs for hitmakers like Adele (“Someone Like You”), Taylor Swift (“Treacherous”) and Chris Stapleton (“White Horse”), among others — singing about patrons exiting a bar that’s closing for the night. “Closing time, you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here,” he belts on the rock tune. “I know who I want to take me home.”
In the White House’s video, however, the lyrics are reinterpreted in the context of border agents patting down two handcuffed men of color before sending them onto a plane for deportation. Anti-immigration policies have been central to the president’s administration, with Trump emphasizing strict deportation measures — which many who oppose his views have deemed extreme — as part of his “Make America Safe Again” platform.
Semisonic is far from the first act to call out Trump’s unauthorized use of their music in official content, an issue that was particularly flagrant during his presidential runs in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Last year alone, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, Isaac Hayes, the White Stripes and more artists distanced themselves from the politician as his campaign used their songs without permission, with some even taking legal action against him.
After Flogging Molly canceled their 2025 tour itinerary, frontman Dave King’s wife and bandmate, Bridget Regan, took to social media to give an update on the Irish-born singer’s ongoing health condition now that they are “safely out of the woods.”
In the statement posted to the band’s Instagram page, Regan wrote that on Jan. 24, “Dave suffered a brain hemorrhage and underwent two subsequent surgeries to save his life. He then spent two weeks in a coma, followed by varying stages of treatment and recovery. On February 28th he underwent yet another surgery and I now feel confident we are on the other side of this.”
Before thanking the doctors for “saving my husband’s life,” Regan wrote, “He is now entering into the next phase of his recovery and wants nothing more than to play music again. The road ahead is uncertain but we, as ever, will roll with the punches and hope to see you all in the near future.”
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Regan concluded her statement by writing, “Please look after each other and tell your people you love them. Life can change in an instant.”
Read the full statement here.
Last month, Flogging Molly announced the cancellation of all their 2025 tour dates, revealing that King was “battling a very serious health condition,” though the group didn’t specify the condition at the time. The band was scheduled their own Salty Dog Cruise, which was set to launch on Feb. 17 as a five-night trip from Port of Miami to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Flogging Molly’s 2025 tour itinerary was also expected to kick off at the end of February following their cruise, with dates in the U.S. scheduled across February and March, and shows throughout Europe and Canada planned across the summer.
The Celtic punk band released their first album in 2000, with 2008’s Float becoming their most successful to date – peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The most recent studio album, Anthem, was released in 2022.
