Music
Page: 95
iHeartRadio has canceled 2025’s ALTer EGO show — which Cage the Elephant, Glass Animals and more had been set to headline — amid the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. In an announcement posted on Instagram Thursday (Jan. 9), organizers wrote, “It is with heavy hearts that we report that we will be canceling our ALTer […]
The first trailer for Investigation Discovery’s upcoming four-part docuseries, The Fall of Diddy, dropped on Thursday morning (Jan. 9), with a preview of its effort to unpack disgraced mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ rise to global stardom and precipitous plunge amid dozens of allegations of sexual abuse, rape and assault.
“Spanning Combs’ decades-long impact on music and popular culture, from his early days as a talented creative to his 2024 arrest, the docuseries uncovers the insidious and terrifying allegations of sexual assault, abusive behavior, violence, and other disturbing claims that lay beneath his success,” reads a release about the series from Maxine Productions (Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV) with original reporting from Rolling Stone Films.
The series will air on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28 (from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery, later streaming on Max), promising to tell the story of Combs’ life from the perspective of those who, “saw his alleged violence and temper during his college days at Howard University and the onset of his career with Bad Boy Records, to those who knew him at the height of his influence and power in recent years.”
The 90-second trailer features a series of interviews from a number of music industry peers and artists attesting to the dark side of the Bad Boy Records founder, with many of the subjects revealing their previous long-held fears of speaking out about the once-powerful music impresario. “I’ve been quiet for 18 years,” says an unseen woman in voiceover at the top of the trailer. “I am absolutely nervous sharing what I’ve seen,” she adds, as a man says, “I can no long just remain silent.” Former VIBE editor-in-Chief Danyel Smith — speaking for the first time on camera about Diddy’s alleged violent behavior toward her — adds, “This is where I’m supposed to be.”
The first glimpse intercuts scenes from Diddy’s glory years in the 1990s with somber shots of the many Combs insiders and industry figures interviewed in the series, which will include former Danity Kane singer D. Woods, as well as Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who has accused Diddy of sexual harassment. In addition, the doc will include comments from journalist Cheyenne Roundtree, former bodyguard Roger Bonds, former personal chef Jourdan Cha-Taun and former driver Wardel Fenderson (who speaks for the first time and testified about Combs’ attempt to bribe him), in addition to Thalia Graves, a woman who has alleged that Combs violently raped her in 2001 and threatened her into silence.
“Through these interviews combined with a vast collection of archival footage, The Fall of Diddy paints a holistic picture of a mogul who is alleged to have wielded his extensive power and influence to obscure, for decades, a pattern of abuse and violence that left an unprecedented amount of pain and suffering in his wake,” reads the statement.
In a particularly harrowing soundbite, Jones recalls Diddy allegedly saying, “I’m Puff Daddy, I’ll eat your face off!”
The trailer includes the now-infamous 2016 footage of Diddy running down a hotel hallway in just a towel in pursuit of longtime ex-girlfriend singer Cassie before he appears to assault her in an incident caught on surveillance footage. Cassie sued Combs in November 2023 over allegations that he repeatedly physically abused her over a decade during their relationship, including claims he raped her and forced her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers” as he masturbated; the lawsuit was settled a day after it was filed, with the terms kept secret.
Last July, in an emotional New York Times personal essay, Smith opened up for the first time about Diddy’s alleged harassment and intimidation of her in the late 1990s. It included a scene from a 2015 party — six months before the assault in the hotel video — where Cassie shakily asked her “How are you doing it?” Smith, who said she’d also been a victim of sexual assault, said she replied, “doing what?,” to which Cassie added, “like, how are you managing?”
“We each wanted to say something. It seemed that neither of us could find the words,” Smith wrote.
Combs, 55, is currently in federal custody after being denied bail three times as he awaits trial on counts of sex trafficking and racketeering in a federal case that is slated to begin on May 5; he has pleaded not guilty to the charges that could land him a life sentence if he’s convicted. He is also facing more than two dozen lawsuits from people accusing him of drugging, raping, assaulting and intimidating victims, with attorneys for some of the victims saying they are representing at least 120 other alleged victims; Combs had denied all the allegations.
“We did not realize the extent of the darkness,” says one of the interview subjects in the trailer. Another Diddy doc, the 90-minute Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, will debut on Peacock on Jan. 14.
Watch The Fall of Diddy trailer below.
Whether they’re physically together or not, the women of BLACKPINK will always be in each other’s area at heart. While speaking to Billboard‘s Lyndsey Havens for the K-pop star’s January cover story published Thursday (Jan. 9), JENNIE opened up about how she and bandmates LISA, ROSÉ and JISOO have stayed close despite taking time over the past year or so to focus on their own respective solo projects.
“We are all so caught up with life,” the “Mantra” singer begins, revealing that the girls talk in a group chat labeled under a sweet family-of-four emoji. “Obviously, we can’t be calling each other every day.”
Trending on Billboard
“Even though we know we can’t see each other so much, it doesn’t really feel any different than all the other years because we know we’re here for each other,” JENNIE continues. “They’re literally a phone call away. And at this point, we respect each other’s space so much. So if there’s anything to be happy for, to celebrate, we’re all in it together.”
BLACKPINK last dropped an album in September 2022, with Born Pink debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. After an expansive global tour in support of the LP, the four girls dispersed to realize their solo dreams; so far, LISA has dropped a string of singles, including “Rockstar,” and taken an acting role in the upcoming third season of HBO’s White Lotus, while ROSÉ released her debut solo album, rosie, in December.
Meanwhile, JENNIE starred in The Weeknd’s HBO show The Idol and is now finishing up her own debut album. “I’ve missed the girls,” the “SPOT!” singer adds to Billboard. “I’ve missed doing tours with them. I miss our silly moments … You know, everyone took their own journey [during] this time, and I’m excited to share that with the girls.”
Full-band activities are expected to pick back up at some point in 2025 for BLACKPINK, although fans can’t be sure yet what the reunion will look like. YG Entertainment promised in 2024 that a tour was part of the plan, but in LISA’s November Billboard cover story, she seemed skeptical.
“That’s what they say?” the “New Woman” artist said at the time, appearing unconvinced.
Even so, LISA added that she “can’t wait” to get back in the BLACKPINK groove. “We know each other so well and know how much energy we have to put into every single project,” she said. “They’re like family.”
Flavor Flav and Guy Fieri‘s Flavortown are a match made in heaven. The Public Enemy rapper is set to perform at Fieri’s third annual Flavortown Tailgate ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, La., on Feb. 9 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time. The event is free for all fans of […]
“I wasn’t about to make the same album twice,” Taylor Swift once mused of the process of crafting LPs. “I wanted to challenge myself. “I tend to write for the entire two-year process,” Swift said ahead of the arrival of 1989. From her self-titled debut in 2006 through 1989 in 2014, Swift released her first […]
Even though he’s been teasing his upcoming solo Bully album, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — still has some promo left for his Vultures 2 collab album with Ty Dolla $ign. Ye and Ty stuck with the AI theme as they released the abstract “530” visual on Wednesday night (Jan. 8). While the […]
Morgan Wallen’s blockbuster country collection Dangerous: The Double Album rules as the No. 1 album of the first 25 years of the 21st century, as it crowns Billboard’s Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart. The 200-position ranking recaps performance on the weekly Billboard 200 albums chart from the start of 2000 through the end of 2024.
After debuting at No. 1 on the weekly list dated Jan. 23, 2021, Dangerous: The Double Album remained on top through the chart dated March 27, 2021, becoming the first album to spend its first 10 weeks at No. 1 since 1987, when Whitney Houston’s Whitney logged all 11 of its weeks in the lead from its debut.
Dangerous: The Double Album, Wallen’s second-full length, has continued to rack up chart feats since its buzzy arrival. When it reached its 86th week in the Billboard 200’s top 10 in September 2022, it surpassed Peter, Paul and Mary’s self-titled set (85 weeks in 1962-64) for the most time spent in the tier among albums by individual acts since the chart began publishing on a regular weekly basis in March 1956.
Through the Dec. 28, 2024-dated Billboard 200 (the final week tabulated for the 21st century charts), Dangerous: The Double Album compiled 158 weeks in the top 10. Only one album has logged more weeks in the region: the original cast recording of My Fair Lady, with 173 in 1956-60.
Meanwhile, Wallen claims two of the top 10 titles on the Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart, as his third studio set, and most recent release, One Thing at a Time, ranks at No. 6. Plus, his debut full-length, If I Know Me, places on the Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart at No. 159.
Below, run down the leading titles on Billboard’s Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart. Also browse highlights of Billboard’s Top Artists of the 21st Century chart and the entire 100-position ranking in Billboard’s charts menu and check back tomorrow (Jan. 10) for the premiere of Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart.
Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Artists chart.)
Lady Gaga, The Fame
First things first. There are (officially) no wedding bells, wedding plans or even an engagement announcement from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The couple have been making headlines for the past year for their very public, globe-hopping romance, but despite the persistent rumors, as far as anyone knows they are still just dating.
That didn’t stop a caller on Travis and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast this week from trying to Trojan Horse some news out of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis by asking the siblings how they feel about fall weddings. The caller, William, said he and his girlfriend talked about getting married in the fall, but he unequivocally told her “good luck with that, I’m gonna be at a football game.”
“Ridiculous,” Jason laughed. “Sounds like this marriage is gonna work out great!”
Trending on Billboard
Travis — who has gotten used to all manner of back door efforts to get him to talk about the couple’s relationship — countered with a very diplomatic answer. “I actually don’t know people who’ve gotten married in the fall,” he said on Wednesday’s (Jan. 8) episode. “My friends always do it in the summer.” Jason noted that “we can’t go usually,” when it comes to nuptials that take place as the NFL season is heating up as the leaves fall.
Travis agreed, counseling the couple to find a weekend when their preferred team is not playing a good team. “Also, if you really do have a problem with that, maybe it’s in her best interest to not have it in the fall so that she knows you’re invested in the anniversary every time it comes around,” he said diplomatically.
He added that the brothers really have no say on the matter, adding that he’s seen weddings in “f–kin’ February… [and] everywhere but the fall. So I’m not sure if the fall is a good wedding season.” Married father of four — with another on the way — Jason also noted that William can record the game because, “there are certain things that are more important than football and if the wedding is not more important than football, we got some bigger issues here.”
“Don’t make my friends have to not go,” Travis said about autumn wedding planning. “Don’t make my friends choose whether or not they’ll have to sell their tickets that week.” In his finest advice, retired Eagles Super Bowl winner Jason said that there are many things more important than football, and “not arguing with your wife is high up there.”
There was, of course, plenty of actual football talk as well, with the brothers setting up this weekend’s first round of NFL playoff games and answering another burning, intimate, “not dumb” question from a caller about their equipment. A woman who rang noted that after watching football with her family she had a query only the siblings could answer: “what happened to the jockstrap?”
“I don’t think you boys wear ’em anymore,” she said as Travis and Jason looked, well, dumb-founded. “You just see everything hangin’ and movin’ and runnin’ and, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!”
“Not as aware as this woman about what’s going on with the genitals throughout the game,” Travis said. “But watch the game for whatever you watch the game for. I’m not here to judge.” Three-time Super Bowl champ Travis will have some time to ponder that some more this weekend thanks to the first-round bye the Chiefs have because of their top seeding in the AFC. Their first game in a bid to be the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls in a row will take place on either January 18 or 19.
Check out the Kelce’s answer about fall weddings below.
As an artist, Joy Huerta says she likes a good challenge. So when the producers of Broadway‘s upcoming adaptation of Real Women Have Curves reached out to her in early 2020 to see if she could write the songs for the musical, she was swept off her feet.
“I said, ‘For sure!’,” the Grammy Award-winning singer of Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy — who had never composed music for theater before — tells Billboard Español. “I saw [the 2002 movie] and said, ‘I love the idea, of course, let’s do it.’ I think it was the weekend before we went into lockdown.” She adds: “You dream of challenges, but you don’t know what those challenges are going to look like.”
Five years later, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is finally giving a glimpse of Huerta’s work ahead of its spring Broadway opening. First, the production released an acoustic performance video of “If I Were A Bird” three weeks ago, in which she sings with fellow Mexican actor and singer Aline Mayagoitia. Now, on Thursday (Jan. 9), arrives “Flying Away,” which Huerta — who is not part of the cast — performs in the clip accompanied by Nadia DiGiallonardo, Rich Mercurio and Yair Evnine. “They gave up so much so I could have more/ And if I don’t go what was all of it for,” say part of the lyrics.
Trending on Billboard
“’Flying Away’ is a song of longing of this teenage girl becoming a woman, who is growing up in a double culture [as the daughter of Latin American immigrants.] She’s becoming her own person while she’s trying to discover who she wants to be, who she is supposed to be, and who her family need her to be,” Huerta explains. “It’s a big struggle for her, and I think she doesn’t wanna let anyone down, but she ultimately has to think about her, without forgetting about her family. ‘Flying Away’ is that type of song about, how can I spread my wings, how can I fly, how can I be who I was born to be without leaving everyone behind.”
Additionally, fans can stream four demo tracks from the show, including “Make It Work,” “Flying Away,” “Daydream,” and “Real Women Have Curves,” all performed by Huerta, here. All songs were written by the Mexican star along with composer/lyricist Benjamin Velez, whom she calls “a very talented guy.”
Known for Hot Latin Songs hits including “Corre!”, “Me Soltaste” and “Ecos de Amor” as part of Jesse & Joy, the duo she shares with her brother, Huerta — who could relate to the story as the Mexican daughter of an American mother — has enjoyed learning the craft of writing songs for a different form of art in this project.
“Also understanding in what way you are telling the story, because the way I tell stories is in 3 minutes. Here, I especially had time to strike a certain nerve, knowing that what I did or said was going to have a domino effect half an hour, 45 minutes later,” she says enthusiastically. “And that’s been phenomenal because for me now writing songs for Jesse & Joy, knowing what I know after five years of working on this project, it’s been fascinating — it’s like I’m stealing little tricks from different sides for both worlds, and it’s been quite fun.”
Based on the play by Josefina López and the HBO’s movie adaptation, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is set in East L.A. in 1987 and follows 18-year-old Ana García, a daughter of immigrants who struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desire of her mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory. The 2002 movie, directed by Patricia Cardoso, put a young America Ferrera on the map.
Now Huerta hopes the show helps people see real immigrants in a different light.
“Something that’s really affected me with this story is that all these issues that were happening in the 80s are still happening today, and you would think no, it’s 2025, so many things have changed, it should be easier, and it’s not,” the artist says, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I have dual citizenship, I feel very privileged, but it is very difficult for those who are going to live right now in this new change of government,” she adds. “One of the reasons I’m very excited about this play is that I feel like, whenever you try and tell the story through a family perspective, a family point of view, I feel like maybe we can stop looking at our differences and we can start looking at each other as people. And when that happens, I think change really starts happening.”
As for her aspirations not only to write but also to perform on Broadway, Huerta would love to do it one day, but right now she is enjoying the ride behind the scenes. “I would definitely love to do it at some point. I would also love writing more for musicals,” she says. “This has been such a rewarding and such a beautiful experience.”
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is produced by Waitress producers Barry and Fran Weissler, and Jack Noseworthy. It has a book by Lisa Loomer with Nell Benjamin, music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo, and direction & choreography by Tony and Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo. Cast and additional creative team will be announced at a later date.
It arrives on Broadway following its 2023 world premiere at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University, with previews beginning on Tuesday, April 1, and an opening night set for Sunday, April 27 at the James Earl Jones Theatre (138 West 48thSt). Tickets can be purchased online now at Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.
Watch Joy Huerta singing “Flying Away” from Broadway’s Real Women Have Curves: The Musical above.
Ed Sheeran has long talked about how vital music education was in his youth, helping him to sort out his feelings and, of course, paving the way for him to become one of the most successful singer/songwriters of the modern era.
Now, the singer is paying it forward with the announcement on Thursday morning (Jan. 9) of the Ed Sheeran Foundation. In an Instagram post announcing the venture, Sheeran explained, “I set up @edsheeranfnd because recently there’s been less and less importance being put on music education. Even when I was in school it was seen as a ‘doss subject’ and not taken seriously. There’s a misconception that it’s ’not a real job’ – when the music industry accounts for 216,000 jobs in so many different fields, and bringing as much as £7.6 billion($9.3 billion dollars) in a year to the UK economy.”
He added, “Not to mention the power our art has worldwide to bring joy to people. It’s something we should be proud of and championing in the UK, not sweeping under the rug and pretending we are just bankers (no offence to bankers obvz). It was incredible for my mental health as a kid, feeling a sense of purpose and achievement, even just learning piano or cello at a young age way before songwriting.”
Trending on Billboard
Sheeran said the goal of the foundation is to help children learn to play instruments, as well as learn production and songwriting and performance skills and “apprenticeship schemes” to teach them about different skills that could help them enter the music industry. As an example, Sheeran said his operation employs 150 people on tour, all with different skill sets, in addition to those that work with him on the label, management, publishing and promotion side.
“Music is such a key part of our society,” he wrote. “The more I do travelling around and visiting schools and grass roots projects, the more I see there’s passion and inspiring people, who are being undervalued and underserved. I’m hoping this foundation is a start to giving them the support they need to keep going, and show them they are hugely important to us.”
Back in 2019, Sheeran launched the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation, aimed at helping young people under 18 living in the Suffolk region of England with “small but useful grants” to help them study or play music.
In the accompany video to the announcement of his latest charitable venture, Sheeran said that music education “shaped who I am,” and that it has given him a sense of purpose and achievement since he was a kid. He noted that he went to a state-funded school, where a supportive teacher gave him the confidence to get on stage and perform.
He said he hatched the idea for the foundation after having a cup of tea with an old music teacher who told him about the poor state of music education. “There are venues getting shut down and there are organizations that do out-of-school music clubs that are getting shut down and I think the foundation’s key is to help those organizations carry on, because they are struggling,” Sheeran said in the video.
At press time no additional information was available about how the Foundation will distribute funds, though on the group’s website it promises to work with “communities, industry and government to make a change in how music is taught across the UK. We want every child to have equal access to express themselves through music and opportunity to pursue a music career.”
The site also says that it will advocate for school-based learning to encourage young musicians, as well as stronger funding and government policies to ensure access to high-quality music education and an investment in schools and grassroots organizations to “help them secure the resources needed for vibrant music programs, from instruments to teacher training.”
The announcement came after Sheeran told Variety in December that following the release of two albums in 2023 — – (Subtract) and Autumn Variations — as well as touring the world for the past two years, he might eschew the typical break he takes after his album/tour cycle because he already has another LP on deck. He said the as-yet-untitled LP is done, with two music videos shot, and plans to shoot two more early this year, as he continues touring in India, China and the Middle East before returning for dates in Europe in the spring and summer.
It feels like I’m getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” he said. “It’s quite exciting.”
Check out the announcement video and see the first posts from the Foundation below.