Music
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Ava Max‘s new album Don’t Click Play is arriving this summer. The set, featuring lead single “Lost Your Faith,” will be her third full-length album. Max unveiled the album’s release date and its cover art on Thursday (May 1). Pop fans will be able to click play on Don’t Click Play on Aug. 22. The […]
Although the ceremony for the 2025 ACM Awards is still a few days away, Ella Langley and Riley Green are early winners for their breakthrough hit “You Look Like You Love Me.” The surprise was revealed while the pair were on stage at Country Thunder in Tampa, Florida, Friday night (May 2) — with the reveal coming from none other than country icon and 18-time ACM Awards host Reba McEntire.
A special video from Reba, in which she congratulated the two artists as winners of this year’s award for visual media of the year (for their “You Look Like You Love Me” music video), played during Green’s set at the festival on Friday. Langley receives honors for both artist and director in the category.
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“Sorry to interrupt, but I have some big news,” Reba teased in the clip that announced their win. “Congratulations to Ella and Riley! Can’t wait to celebrate with you both in Frisco!”
Langley learned of her first Academy of Country Music award just a week ago, during her set at Rock the Country in Knoxville, Tennessee.
News of that first win — for new female artist of the year — arrived courtesy of friend and co-writer Miranda Lambert via video message. (Lambert, who called Langley “my soul sister in country music and a partner in crime,” was named winner in the same category 18 years ago.)
Langley’s the most-nominated artist at the 60th ACM Awards.
With two awards to her name already, several remain up for grabs for the singer-songwriter at this year’s ceremony: female artist of the year, plus single of the year, song of the year and music event of the year (all for her “You Look Like You Love Me” duet with Green). For song of the year, the two are nominated as both artists and songwriters.
The twangy, flirty barroom duet, released in 2024, made it to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, No. 7 on Hot Country Songs and No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The 2025 ACM Awards will stream live globally on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Expect to tune in for two-and-a-half hours to catch the full show.
The Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show, with its inaugural year being 1966.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
Pop superstar Kylie Minogue capped her first arena tour of the United States and Canada on Friday night (May 2) as her Tension Tour touched down in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena.
“Good evening, Los Angeles! We are here!” the ever-gracious performer exclaimed to the packed house early in the evening. “Thank you so much each and every one of you for coming out tonight, and welcome to the Tension Tour.”
While the two-hour show took fans on a journey through four decades of Minogue’s hits, it also highlighted eight songs from her two most recent studio albums, Tension II (released in 2024) and Tension (2023). Among those choice cuts were Tension’s Grammy Award-winning “Padam Padam,” which was also a top 10-charting hit on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in 2023, and the show-opening “Lights, Camera, Action” from Tension II.
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The Tension Tour is just the third traveling show Minogue has brought to the U.S. and Canada, having previously visited the country with Aphrodite Live in 2011 and the KYLIE trek 2009, with both staged before more intimate crowds as compared to the arena-sized audiences of the Tension Tour. Separate from her three tours, Minogue also mounted her first Las Vegas residency in 2023-24, with 20 dates at the 1,000-seat capacity Voltaire at The Venetian Las Vegas.
The Tension Tour kicked off on Feb. 15 in Perth, in Minogue’s home country of Australia, moved to Asia for a trio of dates (March 10-15) and then reached North America on March 29 in Canada. For the U.S. and Canada run, the Tension Tour played 16 shows between March 29-May 2, including a pair of nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden (April 4-5). The trek now moves to Europe on May 16, then to South America on Aug. 7, and then back to North America for its three final dates in Mexico (Aug. 22-26). By the close of the Tension Tour, Minogue will have played nearly 70 shows in more than 25 countries on five continents.
At one point during the Los Angeles show on Friday, Minogue paused and reflected, “Here we are in 2025 and I get to be on a world tour with these beautiful humans, beautiful intelligent humans — the ones you can see on the stage and off stage. And I get very emotional thinking about this, this… that I’ve… it’s been a lifetime and sometimes it just amazes me. So very, very grateful. Thank you so much for being here.”
That “lifetime” of a musical career was on display through the show, with Minogue offering up a bevy of hits like her first single, the 1987 cover of “The Loco-Motion,” along with “Better the Devil You Know” (1990), “Spinning Around” (2000, and joined onstage by the show’s opening act Rita Ora), “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (2001), “All the Lovers” (2010) and many more.
Before the final song of the night (“Love at First Sight”), a joyful Minogue shared a message with the crowd: “You’ve been beyond tonight. You’ve been here, present, ready, going — thank you so much for being here, for your beautiful energy, for being here for me in all different times of my career. For being there for each other! I just want to give a real shout-out to our entire crew because this has been an incredible run. We’ve loved it, so thank you.” After a moment of applause from the crowd, she then humorously added, “I’ve got some old friends here tonight. Look at me now!”
Rema‘s 2022 debut album, Rave & Roses, spun out the biggest Afrobeats crossover hit in U.S. history (the Selena Gomez-assisted “Calm Down”), and just three years later, the Nigerian superstar has cemented his place in the genre’s Big Four with a fiery, high-octane Madison Square Garden debut in New York City on Friday (May 2).
Named for Heis — his 2024 sophomore LP, which earned him his first Grammy nod for best global music album — Rema’s Heis World Tour is a towering statement of what an impressive career and catalog the 25-year-old visionary has built for himself since exploding onto the scene with 2019’s “Dumebi.” While that early-career hit was saved for later in the night during Friday’s concert, Rema, dressed in a massive fur overcoat and wielding a machete atop a levitating platform, kicked off his headlining set with “March Am,” Heis’ introductory track.
“I wanna introduce to you a man, a myth, a legend,” a faceless announcer declared over brooding, cinematic drums reminiscent of the ones that define the soundscape of Heis. “He goes by many names! He is… Prince of Afrobeats, Rema!” This lead-in may have felt a bit overblown for other artists, but Rema spent the next hour-and-a-half proving why he’s worthy of such an effusive intro. Fellow Heis cuts “Azaman” and “Yayo” followed, keeping the crowd’s energy consistent for the show’s first act before the first of several interludes that chopped up the setlist’s flow.
The concert’s setlist was loosely organized by theme and tempo. What it lacked in continuity, Rema more than made up for with the sheer number of hits he played. A cheeky kiss-cam introduced a mellower, heart-eyed segment featuring cuts like “Favorite Girl” (with Darkoo) and “Soundgasm”; “Calm Down” made for a classic arena sing-along moment, and newer drops like “Bout U” and “Baby (Is It a Crime)” allowed Rema the space to show off both his sultrier R&B side and his swaggering rock edge.
Though his stage was equipped with a sizeable walkway, Rema performed the bulk of his set’s most intense moments atop what appeared to be an entrance to some sort of dungeon. That blocking worked for the show’s overall aesthetic, but it likely would have made for an even more thrilling performance if he hit the night’s most energetic moments closer to the crowd. Nonetheless, from a recreation of the “Charm” music video to the smart additional harmonies sung by his female background singers, the raucous energy of Heis found subtle complements in the pockets of feminine energy that decorated the show.
From surprise guests to eyebrow-raising statements, here are the five best moments from Rema’s Heis Tour stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
A Surprise Birthday Celebration
Fat Joe is mourning the loss of his mother.
On Saturday (May 3), the 54-year-old hip-hop icon shared a heartfelt tribute on social media honoring his mom, Marie Del-Carmen Cartagena, who passed away at the age of 77.
“This a real one, rest in peace to the woman who brought me in this world,” Joe wrote on Instagram alongside a slideshow of family photos. “She didnt have much but she gave us everything.
In the emotional post, the Bronx-born rapper reflected on his mother’s deep love for her family and unwavering commitment to her community.
“Anyone who knows my Mom knows she had a heart of gold, she refused to move out the projects for many years even though i had money,” he wrote. “She loved her community, she loved her people,Ms Ruby the Terror Squad Queen. she was sooooooo proud of us meaning everyone in the crew.”
Joe also shared that his mother died of a “broken heart” following the recent death of his father, Ernesto Delgado, who passed away earlier this year at age 89. The couple had been married for 60 years.
“I tried everything humanly possible,” he continued. “She was happy, to the Castro family, the Cartagena family, the Delgado family i love you and thank you for the outpouring of love.”
Joe concluded the tribute with a touching message to his late mother. “Mommy till i see you again you were my world, my heart, my everything. I’ll continue to make you proud,” he wrote.
The hip-hop community quickly rallied around Fat Joe, offering words of comfort and support in the comments.
“Rest peacefully Beautiful Queen,” Busta Rhymes commented in the post. Questlove added, “Condolences Joe,” along with a prayer hands emoji. And Ja Rule echoed the sentiment, commenting with prayer hands and dove emojis.
See Fat Joe’s full tribute to his mother on Instagram here.
Lewis Capaldi made a rare onstage appearance at Tom Walker‘s charity concert in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Capaldi, who announced he was taking a step back from touring in 2023, was the surprise guest at a benefit show on Friday (May 2) for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) at Assembly Halls.
Fans at the benefit gig were told to stay for a special guest after Walker’s set, with the promise of another surprise appearance alongside him and Nina Nesbitt, the BBC reports. Concert-goers were then stunned when Capaldi stepped out onstage for a six-song performance that ended with his hit “Someone You Loved,” which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019.
“Lewis Capaldi being a surprise guest was the best thing ever. What a gig,” one lucky fan wrote on X. Another added, “lewis capaldi coming out at tom walker oh i’m going to bawl.”
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Attendees at the show were asked not to film any of the sets, with their phones stored in sealed Yondr pouches.
Friday’s event, held ahead of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 12-18), marked the first of three phone-free gigs aimed at raising funds for CALM, a suicide prevention organization. The next show, on Tuesday (May 6), will feature Walker alongside Declan McKenna and Bradley Simpson at Stirling’s Albert Halls. And the final show will take place on May 10 at Glasgow’s Old Fruit Market, with performances by Nathan Evans, Saint PHNX and Caity Baser.
Capaldi announced he was taking a break from touring in a message posted to Instagram in June 2023, just days after struggling to perform “Someone You Loved” during his set at the Glastonbury Festival. Fans rallied to help him finish the song by lending their voices.
“Thank you to Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards,” he wrote. “It really does mean the world.
Capaldi continued, “The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.”
The Scottish artist had previously been open about his struggle with Tourette’s syndrome, revealing his diagnosis in September that year. Months later, in an April interview with the U.K.’s The Times, Capaldi shared that he had been struggling to control his tics while performing, and admitted there may come a day when he would quit music because of it.
Anderson .Paak and Mariah Carey are working on new music together.
During a Friday (May 2) appearance on the social media series Track Star — where guests try to identify mystery songs — the 39-year-old singer-songwriter and producer correctly guessed Carey’s “Always Be My Baby,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1996.
“This would be Mariah Carey. The Mariah Carey,” said .Paak, who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Mariah’s face. “I remember in like 5th grade, or something, watching the music videos and having a huge crush. We’re working on some music on her new album.”
News of a musical collaboration between .Paak and Carey, 56, comes after the two were seen holding hands after the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March 2025, People reports. .Paak helped the superstar singer onto the stage as she accepted the icon award at the ceremony.
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“Thank you iHeart for this incredible honor,” Carey said during her speech. “As a kid, I used to listen to my favorite artist on the radio and dream of being on the airwave myself. Now, for those of you who may not know what airwaves are, think of it as the non-Wifi version of streaming, OK?”
Around the same time, the pair were reportedly also spotted leaving a restaurant together in West Hollywood. Prior to that, .Paak and Carey were seen holding hands following the conclusion of her Christmas tour in December 2024, according to People.
Carey, recently nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, confirmed in an early April interview with the Associated Press that she’s working on a new album, but she did not share additional details. Her most recent studio album, Caution, was released in 2018.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey announced a special expanded edition of the album. The upcoming release will include bonus tracks, unreleased remixes and collaborations, instrumentals, a cappella versions, and live recordings. The two-disc vinyl edition is set to drop through Def Jam Records/UMe on May 30.
From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
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Honored in Los Angeles
Earlier this week, Natalia Jiménez was honored by the City of Los Angeles with an Official Proclamation presented by District 14 Councilvmember Ysabel Jurado. The tribute took place at City Hall as part of the Fiesta Broadway celebrations, where the Spanish singer-songwriter was also named the 2025 Queen of Fiesta Broadway—she will also headline this year’s event.
“It means so much to me because of my strong ties to Mexico and the entire Latino community,” she said in a press statement. “I’ve lived many years in both Mexico and the United States, and I understand what it means to migrate and seek new opportunities. I’m proud to be part of such a united community, especially in challenging times. Thank you for inviting me, for this recognition, and for allowing me to celebrate our culture and language with all of you.”
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Making History on Tour
In other L.A.-related news, Rauw Alejandro made history at the Intuit Dome as the first Latin artist to perform three consecutive sold out concerts. During his Cali shows—part of his Cosa Nuestra world tour—the Puerto Rican artist invited surprise guests Marconi Impara and Yan Block to perform “Espresso Martini” from his album Cosa Nuestra.
Produced by Live Nation, the Broadway-inspired set — a nod to Rauw’s new musical era that symbolizes elegance, maturity and glamour —includes a live band in tow. The Cosa Nuestra stint wraps May 31 in Miami. The “Todo de Ti” hitmaker will perform a four-day sold-out residency from June 5 to 8 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan before taking the tour to Europe.
Rauw Alejandro
Marco Perretta
Heartfelt Bad Bunny Cover
Laura Pausini has paid a heartfelt tribute to Bad Bunny by releasing her own version of his song “Turista,” part of his chart-topping album Debí Tirar Más Fotos. Produced and arranged alongside her husband and musician, Paolo Carta, Pausini delivers a melancholic cover backed by weeping piano melodies and her potent vocals. “I listened to ‘Turista’ and instantly fell in love with it…so I sang it,” the Italian-born, Spanish-singing artist expressed on Instagram. “Some songs don’t need to be part of a new album or promoted as a single. When a song touches your heart, it’s good in any style, at any time. Bravo Bad Bunny.” Listen to the track below.
Perreo: A Revolution
On the heels of dropping her ultra-personal, ultra-vulnerable, and ultra-experimental album Latinaje, Cazzu presents her first-ever book, Perreo: Una Revolución. “This book tells, vindicates, and denies the urban music industry specifically, about life as a woman in music or in any field. But above all, it aims to be a contribution to continue building equality,” she wrote on Instagram. “I dedicate it to the women who love reggaeton, to those who hate it, to those who want to sing, compose, or produce, to my female colleagues who barely made it and continue to resist […] I also dedicate this to my male colleagues and the artists who inspired me,” she adds, admitting that thoughts of writing her own novel began four years ago. The book is available in all bookstores, as an ebook, and an audiobook (narrated by Cazzu).
Mase is considering making an appearance at Diddy‘s upcoming trial. The former Bad Boy artist opened a recent episode of his sports talk show It Is What It Is by asking viewers to vote on whether he should pull up or not. “I wanna put it out to the fans,” he said. “I’ll let the […]
One of the great music cities of America, the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN) gave us Prince, The Replacements, Jam & Lewis, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, The Time, Semisonic, The Jayhawks, Atmosphere and more. Not to mention serving as early stomping grounds for Minnesota-born legend Bob Dylan and, more recently, a pre-fame Lizzo […]