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Sam Asghari’s relationship with Britney Spears was never going to be normal, given the fact that Spears is one of the most famous women on the planet. But on top of all of that, the singer was famously under a conservatorship for about 13 years — something Asghari says was “strange” for him before their split in 2023.
On the latest episode of The Viall Files posted Wednesday (Feb. 12), Asghari opened up about his relationship with Spears — whom he started dating in 2016 after co-starring in her “Slumber Party” music video — as well as the way her legal predicament affected him as her partner. “She was under the conservatorship, and that was very strange for me to deal with,” he told host Nick Viall. “I got hit with that at the beginning.”
“[Britney] didn’t explain,” Asghari continued, sharing how he learned about the conservatorship through an unnamed third party. “Somebody called me and said, ‘Oh, just so you know, this is this. Make sure you’re obeying by our rules.”
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Wanting to be as supportive as possible, the actor added that he “didn’t go look up what’s happening on the news” and instead tried to understand on a personal level why the conservatorship was “ever in place to begin with.” “You don’t get much to say, especially if you’re just a boyfriend or someone that’s just there,” Asghari noted. “Maybe I was afraid they were going to make me not see her. So you have to be gentle and provide as much support as you can.”
The pop star was first put under a conservatorship in 2008, when a judge gave her father, Jamie Spears, legal control over her life and career. Following a yearslong, fan-led “#FreeBritney” movement, the musician was finally able to get the conservatorship officially dismissed in November 2021, a few months before which Brit and Asghari got engaged after about five years together.
On Viall Files, Asghari recalled that the proposal was “overdue.” “We wanted to get married way before, and because of everything and the situation, we had to wait,” he added. “I was holding her hand when she was speaking to the judge and talking about, she wanted the conservatorship to be done with. The second that happened, that’s when it was the right time to propose.”
The couple eventually got married in a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles in June 2022. And though the relationship would come to an end the following year, with Asghari filing for divorce that August, the model/actor only has fond memories of the superstar. “I always say, even though it’s over now, I’m never sad it’s over,” he said. “I’m grateful it even happened.”
As for the headline-making video Spears posted of herself dancing with knives shortly after the split — the one that led to the police performing a welfare check on the star, after which she assured fans the cutlery had been fake all along — Asghari shared that he wasn’t fazed. “I’m not someone that’s [like], ‘Let me take your phone from you and not allow you to do anything and restrict you from posting your own content,’” he said of the clip.
“She’s a genius artist,” he added. “What’s in her head is gold, and it’s what made her who she is.”
Listen to Asghari’s full interview on The Viall Files below.
Ty Dolla $ign has released a statement condemning all forms of hate speech. The California artist took to his Instagram Story on Tuesday preaching a message of unity and love. “I do not condone ANY form of hate speech against ANYONE,” he wrote alongside different skin tones of emojis. Dolla $ign didn’t name-drop Ye — […]
Halle Bailey is ready for her next musical era. The Little Mermaid star took to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 11) to announce that her upcoming single, “Back and Forth,” will be arriving on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14). The corresponding cover art fits the romantic theme, featuring the 24-year-old singer lounging on a pink platform, dressed […]
Colombia is known for its very rich and diverse culture, including its array of musical styles from vallenato to salsa to champeta to música popular, and beyond.
Among its numerous international artists that include Shakira, Feid, Carlos Vives, Karol G, Juanes, and more, are key Afro-Colombian artists that have also shaped the country’s music industry: salsa giants Grupo Niche and the Latin Grammy-winning ChocQuibTown, for example.
The former, co-founded by the late Jairo Varela and Alexis Lozano, is named “Niche” after a name that is used to refer to dark-skinned people. Last year, Grupo Niche celebrated 40 years of its timeless hit “Cali Pachanguero,” dedicated to the city of Cali, Colombia — with its bustling carnivals, lively atmosphere and beautiful people — narrated by someone who’s far away and yearns to go back home.
“This song was already born big,” the group previously told Billboard of the song’s impact. “Just by the success it had at the fair in 1984, it began to move masses. In fact, at the beginning of those years, the song was only played in Cali because it was from that city. But today, the song has to be played everywhere. It’s a must-play song [at our concert]. Everywhere [in the world], people assume it as their own.”
Other Afro-Colombians that have led the charge include Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Totó La Momposina; Mr. Black, credited with helping steer the champeta movement; and Mauro Castillo, known for his lead role on “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” in Disney’s blockbuster Encanto.
Now, in honor of Black History Month, Billboard Latin highlights a wave of emerging Afro-Colombian artists that we have discovered, and should be on your radar. Check them out in alphabetical order below:
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Anthony Mackie shared that Kendrick Lamar has recorded the title track for Marvel’s new film, Captain America: Brave New World. Keep watching to see what he said and how his previous title track, “All the Stars,” received various accolades. Are you excited for Kendrick’s track? Let us know in the comments! Tetris Kelly:Actor Anthony Mackie has […]
Chappell Roan used her speech at the 2025 Grammys to call on powerful figures within the music industry to better support up-and-coming artists’ need for health coverage. Now, her labelmate Sabrina Carpenter is heeding the call.
According to public donation records from We Got You, the new fundraising partnership between Roan and industry non-profit group Backline, the “Espresso” singer matched a donation from her fellow Island Records artist, giving $25,000 to the initiative’s efforts to “supporting accessibility of health care for artists,” and to “create a safer and more supported industry for artists to thrive.” Backline confirmed to Billboard the receipt of Carpenter’s donation.
Billboard has reached out to representatives for Carpenter for comment.
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The Short n’ Sweet star’s donation also matches those of fellow pop stars Charli XCX and Noah Kahan, both of whom publicly supported Roan’s call for industry-wide health support by contributing $25,000. “I’m inspired by you. Happy to help get the ball rolling. Money where mouth is,” Kahan wrote on his Instagram Stories, prompting Charli to follow suit by adding in her own post: “your speech at the grammys was inspiring and thoughtful and from a genuine place of care. happy to help get the ball rolling too.”
Roan started her partnership with Backline shortly after former A&R executive Jeff Rabhan criticized the singer’s Grammys speech in an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, saying that Roan was both “too green and too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be today.” In response, Roan publicly invited Rabhan to match her $25,000 donation to support artists in need of health insurance. “I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is,’” she wrote at the time. “Genius !!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.” (Rabhan’s name is not listed amongst the public donors to the We Got You campaign).
In a follow-up post, Roan made it clear that she never intended for her Grammys speech to bring about a “crowdfunded bandaid” to the issue, but rather for it to serve as a “call to action” for industry executives to change labels’ current policy of not providing healthcare to their signed artists.
“My mind will not be changed about artists deserving more than what’s standard in the industry,” she said in the statement. “Random dudes are allowed to criticize my Grammy speech, but they best put their money where their mouth is, otherwise MOVE out the way.”
The singer also told her fans in the statement that she did not expect them to “donate a damn penny” to the We Got You campaign — she instead highlighted the fundraiser as “one of many opportunities for the industry powers to show up for artists.” Despite her statement, a number of the singer’s fans have publicly contributed to the campaign, with one writing in their donation “I know she said not to but I’m gonna donate anyway.”
Dua is mourning Duo. Language learning app Duolingo announced the devastating news on Tuesday (Feb. 11) that its mascot, the green bird known as the Duolingo Owl, has died. “Authorities are currently investigating his cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Tbh, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson, but what […]
Zach Bryan is upping the ante on his touring career with a super-sized concert this fall. On Sept. 27, the country superstar will play the inaugural concert at the University of Michigan’s recently-built Michigan Stadium, which is now the largest stadium in the United States. Bryan will be joined on the bill by John Mayer, […]
BE:FIRST’s “Spacecraft” debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 12.
The sixth single by the seven-member boy band dropped Feb. 5 and launched with 104,639 CDs to hit No. 1 for the metric. The track also dominates downloads (26,475 units), radio airplay, and video views to top the Japan Hot 100 with a big lead on the runner-up. This is the ninth No. 1 single by the group, including “Hush-Hush,” its collaborative track with ATEEZ.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” rises a notch to No. 2 this week. Although overall points are down, the track continues to show strength in several metrics including streaming (No. 1 for 23 weeks total) and karaoke (No. 1 for 5 weeks in a row). Dropping 2-3 is “Darling” by the three-man band, which currently boasts 18 singles charting on the Japan Hot 100 with five in the top 10 this week.
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Kenshi Yonezu’s “Plazma” rises 5-4. Streams for the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- theme song is at 88% and video views at 86% compared to the week before, and the single comes in at No. 2 for downloads, No. 4 for streaming, No. 32 for radio, and No. 8 for video.
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Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT.” rises 3 slots to No. 5. After more than 3 months since its release, the global hit is currently at No. 9 for downloads (3,233 weekly units), No. 3 for streaming, No. 23 for radio, No. 9 for video, and No. 23 for karaoke.
In other chart moves, Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” returns to the Japan Hot 100 for the first time in about five months at No. 83, after winning the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance at the ceremony on Feb. 2.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Feb. 3 to 9, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
Billboard’s electronically-monitored Radio Songs chart dates back to the Dec. 8, 1990, print issue.
“Billboard this week introduces the Top 40 Radio Monitor, a new airplay-only chart that provides actual monitored airplay data on top 40/pop stations,” announced a story on page 4 that week. “The chart uses a new technology [that] tracks airplay of songs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in markets where monitors have been installed. The monitors identify each song played by an encoded audio ‘fingerprint.’ Top 40 is the second format in which this information will be made available to our readers; the [Country Airplay] chart has used the methodology since the Jan. 20 issue.
“The Top 40 Radio Monitor chart is compiled by counting the number of times each record is played on each monitored station,” the story further explained. “Each play is multiplied by the number of listeners at that exact time, using [Nielsen Audio] data.”
Starting with the Nov. 30, 1991-dated Billboard Hot 100, the Top 40 Radio Monitor took over as the multimetric Billboard Hot 100’s radio measurement component (replacing stations’ self-reported ranked lists, which had reflected airplay popularity dating to the Hot 100’s Aug. 4, 1958, start). Since renamed Radio Songs, the chart started with a panel of 109 pop stations – in 1998, it expanded to all formats and currently sports more than 1,100 reporters, as monitored by Mediabase with data provided to Billboard by Luminate. A selection of stations remain reporting three-and-a-half decades after the chart began, including WHTZ (Z100) New York and KIIS Los Angeles.
Mariah Carey ruled Radio Songs in the ‘90s with eight of her 11 career No. 1s during the decade. She logged the list’s first leader, “Love Takes Time.”
Who has the most Radio Songs No. 1s over the first quarter of the 21st century? As Billboard celebrates the top-performing artists, albums and songs of the first 25 years of the century since 2000, browse below, the acts with the most No. 1s on the Radio Songs chart in that span.
Plus, check out Top Artists of the 21st Century, Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century and Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century charts, as well as all coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.
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.)
13, Rihanna