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East Tennessee native Morgan Wallen had a triumphant homecoming over the weekend, when his headlining tour touched down at Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium for two shows on Friday (Sept. 20) and Sunday (Sept. 22), as the current seven-time CMA Awards nominee welcomed 156,161 fans to the venue.
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He also had several surprise guests over the two shows, welcoming Eric Church for Friday’s, while Miranda Lambert and Darius Rucker made unexpected appearances at Sunday’s show. Hardy and Ernest also joined Wallen on both shows.
Church joined Wallen for a performance of “Quittin’ Time,” before Hardy and Ernest took the stage to join on “Up Down” and a mashup of “Flower Shops”/”Cowgirls.” In introducing Church, Wallen told the crowd how seeing a Church show made Wallen want to sing country music.
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“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, brother,” Wallen told Church.
Eric Church and Morgan Wallen perform onstage for night two of Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time tour at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 22, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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On Sunday evening, Lambert — who just released her new album Postcards From Texas — joined Wallen on stage for a live performance of his “Thought You Should Know,” which the two wrote with Nicolle Galyon.
Wallen said in introducing Lambert, “Me and this next artist, we got together one day and wrote a few songs, and this is the first song we ever wrote. I brought this song into the room and I needed some help from a lady’s perspective to help me write a song for my mama … we wrote a couple of other songs that day. I don’t know if they’ll ever see the light of day, but we drank a lot of vodka and wrote this song right here for my mama.”
From there, Hardy and Ernest again joined Wallen for “Up Down” and “Cowgirls,” but they also added a special song, “Talkin’ Tennessee,” just for the Neyland Stadium shows.
Three-time Grammy winner Rucker also joined Wallen as they performed the former’s RIAA Diamond-certified hit “Wagon Wheel.”
Morgan Wallen and Darius Rucker perform onstage for night two of Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time tour at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 22, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
John Shearer/Getty Images for for Morgan Wallen’s One Night At A Time 2024
Wallen’s guests over the weekend weren’t limited to music artists — he also welcomed two-time Super Bowl champion and former University of Tennessee Knoxville quarterback Peyton Manning for the second of two weekend walkouts on Sept. 22. Manning, who wore his retired college uniform, was joined by current UTK football coach Josh Heupel, quarterback Nico Iamaleava and wide receiver Bru McCoy for an all-Vols walkout. On Sept. 20, Wallen’s walkout included 2024 National Champion Tennessee Volunteers baseball team and coach Tony Vitello.
Ahead of Wallen’s two headlining shows at Neyland Stadium, The Morgan Wallen Foundation donated $140,000 to Gibbs Youth Sports, with the donation going toward renovating Ruritan Park, which serves students from Wallen’s alma mater, Gibbs High School, as well as surrounding areas in Knox County. The donation will allow Gibbs Youth Sports to rebuild the inside of the fieldhouse to offer indoor fielding and batting options, as well as renovations including batting cage and machines, pitching lanes and a fielding area.
Heading into this year’s CMA Awards, Wallen leads all nominees and is up for seven awards, among them entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year and song of the year (“I Had Some Help,” his collaboration with Post Malone). This year’s CMA Award will be held Nov. 20 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Carly Rae Jepsen shared some happy news with fans on Monday morning (Sept. 23). The 38-year-old singer revealed that she and producer boyfriend Cole M.G.N. (Marsden Greif-Neill) are gonna tie the knot. “Very engaged over here,” the singer wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos from the big day as well as wedding ring and red heart emoji.
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In the first snap, Carly is holding her newly be-ringed hand up to her chest as she and M.G.N. stare into the camera smiling, following by a sun-dappled zoom-in on her new bling, a shot of her braided blonde hair from behind as she stands in a field of flowers, one of M.G.N. staring at horses in a pen, another of the couple petting a white horse and a final image of them kissing.
The couple met while Jepsen was working on the dreamy dance pop tune “So Right” from her 2023 The Loveliest Time album, a track was co-written and produced by M.G.N. According to People, it was Jepsen’s management team that paired her up with the former member of indie band Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, who has also won six Grammy Awards for his work with Beck; M.G.N. was previously married to Nite Jewel’s Ramona Gonzalez for 12 years.
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“I would’ve been too shy beforehand to be like, ‘Do you want to do a skit at the beginning?’ But now that we’re so close, it was just really fun and playful to be like, ‘Let’s have this very ’80s drama skit at the beginning where you ask me if I should come over and I say no, but then I come anyways,’” she said about the song’s intro, which features a short talk-up chat between the two about whether it would be a good idea for them to have a late-night hang. “You have to get to a certain level of comfort with somebody before you can get to those really playful, joyful, experimental places.”
At the time, “So Right” was the first track the couple collaborated on, but Jepsen told People that it was probably not going to be the last. “We’ll go traveling somewhere, and we’ll bring a little acoustic guitar,” she said. “I think you’ll see a lot more of our collaboration together for future projects, but this is our first little baby out in the world. We’re both so excited.”
At press time the couple had not announced a wedding date.
Check out Jepsen’s engagement pics below.
It’s officially been one year since Chappell Roan altered the course of her career with the release of debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and the 26-year-old musician didn’t let the anniversary pass without marking the occasion on Instagram Sunday (Sept. 22).
Sharing a photo of herself holding up a Midwest Princess vinyl in front of a wall of promotional posters for the project, Roan wrote that her life “has been changed forever” in the 12 months since she dropped the 14-track LP.
“this has been amazing and hard and beautiful and eye opening and empowering and transformative and every emotion ever,” she continued. “Thank you thank you thank you for everything. Thank you for showing up for this project and believing in me.”
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The Missouri native also noted that the success she’s experienced over the past year wouldn’t have been possible without the help of “a team of people working their a–es off day and night to keep this afloat.” “I am so lucky and feel so loved,” she added.
Produced by Dan Nigro, Midwest Princess didn’t fully take flight until several months after its September 2023 release. After gaining traction with her opening stint on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour this past spring, Roan debuted at No. 127 on the Billboard 200 in April. She’s steadily climbed the chart in the months since thanks in part to her headline-making performances at festivals over the summer, and in late August, Midwest Princess finally reached No. 2.
None of the album’s songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 until June, when “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot to Go!” finally entered the ranking. Since then, Roan’s also notched entries with “My Kink Is Karma,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual” and “Femininomenon,” though her biggest hit to date is still No. 6-peaking follow-up single “Good Luck, Babe!”
And though the rollercoaster ride has led to some major highs — a best new artist win at the 2024 VMAs, for instance — Roan has also been open about the lows of fame. “I went to a psychiatrist last week because I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’” she revealed in a recent interview with The Guardian.
“She diagnosed me with severe depression — which I didn’t think I had because I’m not actually sad,” Roan continued. “But I have every symptom of someone who’s severely depressed. I think it’s because my whole life has changed. Everything that I really love to do now comes with baggage.”
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” earns an 11th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, extending 2024’s longest command. The hit, which became the Virginia-born singer-songwriter’s first Hot 100 No. 1 in July, is one of just five songs to reign for 11 or more weeks this decade, and the first since another […]
“Oh, you wish you were my Levi’s jeans,” Beyoncé sings on the chorus of the Post Malone-assisted “Levii’s Jeans.” Little did fans know, they may soon have the chance to zip up the same denim as Bey.
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Levi’s teased a collaboration with Beyoncé is on the horizon on Monday (Sept. 23). The famed denim clothing company posted an image on Instagram featuring what appears to be Bey riding a horse, à la Cowboy Carter, while rocking a cowboy hat.
Levi’s tagged Beyoncé in the photo on social media, and added a caption to the post hinting at the next era: “INTRODUCING: A New Chapter.” The account also teased fans regarding the collaboration. “Let the countdown begin,” the bio reads.
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“COWBOY CARTER WORLD TOUR SPONSORED BY LEVIIS,” one fan guessed on the Instagram post, while another is ready to hit the checkout button, writing, “sighs and pull out credit card.”
Others’ pockets are feeling stretched. Commented another, “I don’t have no more money, Beyoncé!”
Billboard has reached out to reps for Bey and Levi’s for additional information.
This would mark the first official collab between Bey and Levi’s. Following “Levii’s Jeans” arrival in March, the brand enjoyed a spike in sales and the company’s CFO, Harmit Singh, gave Bey her flowers for the uptick thanks to her The-Dream-produced ode to the jean maker. “There’s no better person than [Beyoncé], who we call the center of culture,” he said in April.
From the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, @LEVIS CFO boasts their recent uptick in impressions, customer traffic, revenue, and stock price since the release of Beyonce’s song “LEVII’S JEANS” on #COWBOYCARTER: “There’s no better person than [Beyoncé], who we call the center… pic.twitter.com/pahJT59aPZ— BEYONCÉ LEGION 𐚁 (@BeyLegion) April 9, 2024
Cowboy Carter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier in 2024 with 407,000 total album-equivalent units. With the feat, Beyoncé became the first woman to debut her first eight albums at the chart’s apex.
The last week of September is proving to be a busy one for Beyoncé. She stunned in three different looks as part of a new promo video for her SirDavis American Whisky brand, which is cued to Betty Davis’ 1974 soul funk classic “They Say I’m Different.”
See Levi’s Beyoncé teaser post below.
The wait is over, almost. After months of teasing their recorded return, The Cure confirmed on Monday morning (Sept. 23) that their first new single in 16 years will drop on Thursda (Sept. 26). The band offered an 18-second preview of the song “Alone,” on which singer Robert Smith sings, “This is the end of […]
Lady Gaga is continuing to send fans spiraling with cryptic messages on Instagram — and no, she doesn’t care to elaborate. The superstar has been posting one new message every day since she first piqued people’s interest on Sept. 20 by sharing a note reading “I’m ready for my interview,” meaning there’s two more to […]
Nicki Minaj is giving Eve her flowers. The Young Money rapper penned a heartfelt message to the Ruff Ryders’ first lady on Sunday (Sept. 22) for being a “trendsetter” and the “groundbreaking” level of “emotional and spiritual maturity” she displayed throughout her career.
Eve has been on a press tour in support of her Who’s That Girl? memoir, and she revealed that she joined therapy after finding out that Minaj was joining the Barbershop: The Next Cut cast in 2016, which seemingly prompted a response from the Barbz leader.
“Dear Eve, The various things you’ve shared recently, are groundbreaking (in my opinion) for so many reasons,” she began in her message posted to X. “First, thank you. The level of grace; the level of emotional & spiritual maturity it takes to be this vulnerable & transparent is a sign of TRUE peace, happiness, fulfillment, & mastery of self. Self reflection @ its height. I always say that I think accountability is the sexiest trait a person can have. I was one of the kids in NY watching Ruff Ryderz on TV.” ”
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Nicki reflected: “I DEFINITELY remember how when you took the game by storm, that there were some ppl who couldn’t hide their insecurities. Even tho it’s swept under the rug now, I remember that you handled it with grace but ALSO a big sprinkle of unapologetic TALENT & charisma. You soared & soared. Classic music w/the illest team, to the BIG SCREEN. And made it look easy, too. Trendsetter. The Eve blonde short cut, the Eve paw print tats on the chest…”
While they never released music together, the Queens artist recalled being on set with Eve for Barbershop and how they bonded amid women typically feeling the pressure to compete against one another. Eve later called Nicki a “good addition to the cast” during an interview with Larry King in 2016.
“I was so nervous coming onto that movie set every day,” Nicki added in her tweet. “You looked like a pro & I admired that so much. Thank you for trying to not do to me what was done to you. Women feel so much pressure to compete & it’s a shame b/c we usually have so much in common & could rlly benefit from one another just as human beings. We all share so many of the same experiences as artists, wives, moms, ups & downs, anxiety, etc. I remember telling a friend of mine that I didn’t think you liked me after our first day on set together.”
Minaj continued: “But you know something crazy? I swear. I KNEW that YOU could tell deep down inside that I really liked YOU. So you went easy on me. lol Loved the way the movie turned out. Blessings to you & your beautiful family. Congratulations on your new book as well as all your many accomplishments in Hip Hop & Film & TV. P.S. you STILL looK sooooo pretty.”
Eve’s Who’s That Girl? with Kathy Iandoli arrived earlier in September. The rapper’s memoir explores the depths of her decorated career and it previously made headlines when she recalled a phone call from Jay-Z where he tried to temper expectations when it came to Eve’s 1999 debut LP. However, Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady went on to top the Billboard 200 with more than 200,000 total album units sold in the first week.
As for Nicki, she’s trekking across North America for a second U.S. run of shows as part of the Pink Friday 2 World Tour. The rest of the month includes stops in San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Nick Cannon, the Wild ‘N Out community and the city of Atlanta are all looking out for the family of Rich Homie Quan following the 33-year-old rapper’s death Sept. 5.
During the hip-hop comedy show’s recent tour stop through the Georgia capital Thursday (Sept. 19), the Masked Singer host brought a few of Quan’s family members on stage and presented them with $25,000, according to local news network WSB-TV. Fans of Wild ‘N Out, Cannon explained, had raised the first $10,000, which he then personally matched in full. The night’s venue, State Farm Arena, provided the final $5,000.
“That’s how much I love that dude,” Cannon said of the late Atlanta musician, who was born Dequantes Lamar. “We’ve got to support one another, because this is what community looks like.”
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Earlier in the night, the Drumline alum and his Wild ‘N Out castmates honored Lamar by performing a handful of Rich Homie Quan songs. The show came exactly two weeks after the “Flex” artist’s death sent the hip-hop world reeling, with Quavo, Playboi Carti, Jacquees and more artists posting condolences online following Lamar’s passing.
The cause of Lamar’s death has not yet been revealed. A memorial service was held for him Sept. 17 in South Fulton, Ga., near his hometown of Atlanta, where hundreds of people — including friends, family and industry peers such as Killer Mike and D.C. Young Fly — gathered to mourn the Rich Gang alum.
At one point, his father, Corey Lamar — who was also in attendance at Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out show two days later — shared some emotional remarks. “From the day I met Quan and I held him, my life changed,” he said. “I knew failure was not an option. But little did Quan know, he pushed me to be a dad, a role model and to be an example as what a man should be. Built upon integrity, morals and values.”
Watch Cannon present Rich Homie Quan’s family with $25,000 and honor the late rapper below.
Chow Lee is basking in the moment. Just a week shy of what was supposed to be the release date of his new album SEX DRIVE, he flashes a dimpled smile on a morning Zoom call before expressing his excitement: “I can’t wait to drop. I’m feigning to drop.”
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Although the 25-year-old Long Island native has recently ascended in the sexy drill wave he co-pioneered with Cash Cobain and Lonny Love, the newly released project SEX DRIVE marks his 12th album since 2018. After sample clearances delayed the album’s release date twice, he’s finally ready to introduce fans to his most versatile ensemble yet.
Like most Gen Z artists, the majority of his references trace back to the early ’00s, when hip-hop and R&B fusions were re-defining both genres. He cites Drake and his OVO imprint as early inspiration when he began rapping nearly a decade ago in high school. He released a string of albums and mixtapes before linking up with the Bronx hitmaker Cash Cobain in 2020. Their instant creative chemistry led to the successful 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy mixtape two years later. They buffed the rough-around-the-edges drill markers with sultry R&B samples and lusty pillow talk on popular tracks like “JHOLIDAY,” and “VACANT.” Not as sensual as R&B, but not as gritty as New York and Chicago drill, sexy drill was born.
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“People were like, ‘Sexy drill? What is that?,’” he recalls.
Last year, he performed on Rolling Loud Miami’s main stage and was recruited to open up for Sexyy Red’s Hood’s Hottest Princess Tour and Lil Tecca’s HVN ON EARTH Tour. He also teased the project with back-to-back one-offs like the TikTok viral hit, “swag it!,” a catchy melodic track with punchy bass.
His horny escapades are at full throttle on SEX DRIVE. He penetrates the sexy drill sound with Jersey club pulses and experimental regional mashups. An unlikely crew of features from AJ Tracey, Anycia, Flo Milli, and Roy Woods takes listeners on a sonic journey from the U.K. to a tropical escape. He links back up with Cash Cobain on tracks like the Bay Swag-assisted “act bad twin!,” a dance mix undergirded by PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Resentment.”
He’s here for a good time, not a long time on sinful tracks like “ms. beautiful v!” and “im not really spiritual!,” featuring U.K. drill vet AJ Tracey. He cruises on loverboy mode on “Tequila Vacay” featuring OVO signee Roy Woods, but reverts back to his old ways on the “Swag it” remix featuring Flo Milli. On “Get Back,” he enlists Atlanta’s newest “It Girl” Anycia whose relaxed delivery is juxtaposed by his retaliatory actions. “Ten times out of ten if you f–king my mans, I’m f–king your friend,” he declares over flirty piano riffs.
A sonic tale of a reckless slizzy summer, Lee’s new album embodies the “love, sex and drugs”-fueled ambitions of a young rapper on the rise. He builds on the heavily sampled sexy drill niche while underlining not-so-guilty pleasures. Right before he headed back to his new home in Miami to celebrate the release of SEX DRIVE, Lee spoke to Billboard about his collaboration with Cash Cobain, expanding his sexy drill sound, and what makes a slizzy summer.
Tracks from the 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy mixtape like “JHOLIDAY” and “VACANT” led up to the sexy drill sound you’re experimenting with on SEX DRIVE. What inspired sexy drill? Was it from the natural creative chemistry that you both share?
It’s really a little bit of both. It was kind of a natural part of our creative process. We talk about women and Cash is the mastermind behind the beats. I’ll give him a song to sample or he’ll sample something. He’ll type in YouTube and ask like, “Give me a song to sample?’’ Then, he’ll sample it. Shit, we’ll just rap on it. That’s really the creative process. And we kept doing that. And we also worked with artists like Lonny Love. He also helped us create sexy drill too. It was all three of us.
You’re definitely making a statement with SEX DRIVE and the cover art. What was the creative process behind the album’s cover art?
We wanted to make it sexy and still be on brand. It’s kind of a high school vibe with the letterman jacket and the cool car. We shot it in Cali and had to get that old school car. I had to go with the American muscle.
You team up with a variety of artists on this album. What was it like to bring together all these different sounds and meld it with your sexy drill signature?
It’s a blessing. It shows that everyone from different places can get on sexy drill. Like [AJ] Tracey is on there. He’s from the U.K. It’s a universal thing. It’s past New York at this point.
Speaking of sexy drill being universal, “swag it” took TikTok by storm and was everywhere. Can you talk about linking up with Flo Milli on the remix?
It was a movie. We shot the video and it was mad cool. She came and loved the song. She made a TikTok to it, so we reached out to her and asked if she wanted to get on the song. She did that s–t mad fast. She was willing to shoot the video so we shot it in L.A. She was a great person to work with. Hopefully I can get her on more stuff and we can drop again.
One of my favorite songs on the album is “tequila vacay!”. What was the idea behind that direction with Roy Woods?
I made that song probably like a year or two years ago. I had contacted him because he was following me. He was like, “Yo send me some s–t and I’ll send you something.” That was the first song that came to my mind ‘cause you know how Roy Woods gets. I was like, “I have to switch it up.” I sent him some s–t I thought he would be good on and he went crazy. I was like, ”Nah, I needed this for the album. They not gon’ expect that one.”
You also enlist collaborators like Cash Cobain, Sleepy Hollow and Bay Swag for a few tracks on the album. Why is it important to show the flexibility of the sexy drill sound?
When you think outside the box, you get better results. You’re not going to get far if you keep doing the same thing. I take my creative process very seriously, and fans are already saying it’s a classic before the album drops. That matters to me.
You’ve been on tour for the past year from performing at Rolling Loud in Miami last summer to opening for Sexyy Red’s tour. What is it like to bring the energy of your songs to the stage?
It’s a movie. You can go on stage and perform your songs, and people will like it and not really know it — but that means something. It’s not that hard to go on stage, you just have to bring that energy. The songs are already getting them lit. It can be a curse sometime, cause some people will be like, “Listen, we wanna see Sexyy Red. Get off stage already.”
Are there any standout songs for you? Any artists in particular who you just had to work with and you got them on the album?
Definitely Roy Woods and AJ Tracey. I always used to bump Roy Woods. I never got a chance to make a song with someone who can sing like that. Usually, I’m making songs with the guys or another rapper. I never got to do a song with someone who can sing. I wanna sing like that, but I can’t.
Take me through your songwriting process. When you’re getting ready to record, are you inspired by a night out or is this just coming off the dome?
It depends on the mood I’m in. I can think about a scenario and write about that and fabricate it or I can talk about something that actually happened with a girl. Or I can make some whole s–t up and write about it. I’ve watched enough movies. I may get drunk and freestyle and say some bulls–t.
How does SEX DRIVE embody a slizzy summer?
A slizzy summer is being outside. It’s a lifestyle. It’s catering to the women, having fun and being yourself. Not being a bozo while handling your business at the same time. SEX DRIVE is just…SEX DRIVE. Keep that sex drive up because we outside. I’m trying to keep it PG-13, but it speaks for itself.