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Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show is officially the most-watched halftime show performance of all time, Roc Nation, Apple Music and the NFL announced on Tuesday (Feb. 11). “We’ve broken the record again! The most watched Apple Music Halftime show EVER, with 133.5 Million viewers,” the companies wrote on Instagram. Lamar’s halftime show performance drew a […]
Even though Kendrick Lamar has five No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 among 88 hits on the chart, there were still viewers who tuned in to the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show seemingly unaware of the depth of the rapper’s decade-plus catalog. So Lamar was smart to lean into his releases of 2024 — […]
Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music and the former president at Def Jam Recordings, head of Warner Music Group’s recorded music division and founder of 300 Entertainment, has penned an urgent open letter to Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — imploring him to stop using antisemitic rhetoric and other actions following a […]
The comma in the title of Bon Iver‘s three-track October EP Sable, was always there for a reason. And on Tuesday (Feb. 11), the musician born Justin Vernon finally revealed what it was, announcing new album Fable — a counterpart project that’ll serve as the direct follow-up to the original release, featuring collaborations with Danielle Haim, Dijon and Flock of Dimes.
Arriving April 11 via Jagjaguwar, Sable, Fable will serve as Bon Iver’s first proper album since 2019’s I, I, which debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200. Described in a release as a “love story set to lush, radiant pop music,” the new project “begins with the vulnerable unburdening” of the Sable EP, before giving way “to a new nine-song saga in which one person becomes two, darkness turns to salmon-colored beauty, and sadness transforms to unbridled joy.”
“Where Sable, is a sparse and solitary reckoning with a pain that long-defined the past, Fable looks towards a vibrant future filled with light, purpose and possibility: a partner, new memories, perhaps a family,” the description continues.
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Dijon and Flock of Dimes will join Vernon on a song called “Day One,” while the HAIM band member’s voice will appear on a duet called “If Only I Could Wait.” The rest of the track list includes titles such as “Things Behind Things Behind Things,” “Speyside,” “Awards Season,” “Short Story,” “Everything Is Peaceful Love,” “Walk Home,” “From,” “I’ll Be There,” “There’s a Rhythm” and “Au Revoir.”
The Wisconsin native also shared the album’s minimalistic cover via Instagram on Tuesday. The geometric artwork simply features a salmon background with a black title in the center. In a concept photo also on Bon Iver’s account, Vernon is dressed in the exact shade of pink standing in a lush natural landscape, while four people covered head-to-toe in black pose around him.
But while fans will have to wait until spring to get their hands on Sable, Fable — which is available to preorder — the project’s lead single, “Everything Is Peaceful Love.” Described as “the portrait of a man overwhelmed with happiness upon meeting the one he will fall in love with,” the track will drop on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) alongside a music video by John Wilson.
Five days later, Vernon will share more about Sable, Fable at On Air Fest in Brooklyn, New York, during a conversation with author Krista Tippett. Ticket information is available on the event’s website.
See Bon Iver’s announcement below.
Cam’ron finally explained why Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana‘s long lost collab album I Can’t Feel My Face never saw the light of day.
During a recent episode of his YouTube show Talk With Flee, Cam’ron talked about the rumors about him being the reason why Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana never dropped their much-hyped project. “So, Juelz and Lil Wayne had a project,” he began. “Def Jam is under Universal, which Lil Wayne was signed to. When they wanted to put this project out, Universal told Def Jam, ‘Well, Lil Wayne still didn’t give us his album yet, so if y’all wanna put this project out, we’re taking 95 percent and Def Jam, y’all can take 5 percent.’”
Cam continued by explaining that the business side of things didn’t make sense and said he wasn’t to blame for the deal eventually falling apart. “Shout to Steve Gawley, he’s now the head lawyer for Universal, at the time he was the lawyer for Def Jam, and we still good to this day. Now go find Steve Gawley and ask him that,” he said. “N—as don’t know Steve Gawley; n—as just wanna blame Cam. We had a joint venture deal with Def Jam, so if that project came out, that means Def Jam would get 2 and a half percent of the album and me and Juelz would get 2 and a half percent of the album. And they said, ‘Cam, we love you and all that, but we’re not doing that.’”
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He added: “Why would I wanna stop making money? My whole thing was to make Juelz a star, to make Juelz rich. However it played out in the end, it played out towards the end. But Juelz said it: ‘Cam gonna make me a star, he’s gonna make me a million.’ We both did what we said we was gonna do. Why would I wanna stop that?”
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There are unofficial versions of the fabled project floating around the Internet made by entrepreneurial mixtape and DVD salesmen from a time when you could buy burned copies of music on a CD from a guy in a barbershop or from a kid at your school. The album was supposed to be released around 2006 after Wayne dropped Tha Carter II and Juelz dropped his sophomore LP What the Game’s Been Missing!
Wayne talked about releasing the project as an album instead of a mixtape with MTV News back in 2006. “It’s a mixtape, but we just sat down and listened to it and noticed that we didn’t use no outside beats,” Wayne said while on the set of his video for “Shooter.” “We used all produced beats. We can go album with this. Look out for it, we are deciding [whether to release it as an official LP].”
You can watch the full episode below.
Ye (formerly Kanye West) is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who says the rapper compared himself to Hitler and threatened her because she is Jewish.
The case, filed Tuesday (Feb. 11) in Los Angeles court, claims he subjected the unnamed woman to “antisemitic vitriol,” including texting her “Hail Hitler” and calling her “ugly” and a “bitch.” And the woman says she was “swiftly terminated” when she complained.
“Ye carried out a calculated campaign to threaten and psychologically torment Jewish people around him, specifically plaintiff,” the woman’s lawyers wrote. “There can be little doubt that Ye treats those around him, especially Jewish people and women, much worse than just a bully. He is a self-proclaimed ‘Nazi’.”
The Jane Doe accuses Ye and his Yeezy LLC of religious and gender discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and a variety of other legal wrongdoing.
The new lawsuit, one of many filed by former employees against Ye, came days after he went on an offensive tirade on X (formerly Twitter) that included antisemitic comments (“I’m a Nazi” and praise for Adolf Hitler) as well as a bizarre demand to free Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently in custody awaiting trial on sex crime charges. On Sunday, Ye ran a TV ad during the Super Bowl that directed viewers to an online store where they could purchase a shirt emblazoned with a swastika.
It was hardly the first time the rapper has made such statements. After a string of similar antisemitic rhetoric and other erratic behavior in October 2022, the star lost much of what was a once-formidable business empire, including fashion partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, as well as his representation by Creative Artists Agency and many of his lawyers.
In Tuesday’s lawsuit, the Jane Doe plaintiff says she was hired at Ye’s Yeezy LLC as a marketing specialist in December 2023, shortly before he issued an apology (written in Hebrew) for those earlier antisemitic statements. But she says the apologetic sentiment was “short lived.”
A month later, amid renewed controversy over the cover art of his Vultures Vol. 1, the woman claims she suggested that Ye issue a statement condemning Nazism. When the message was relayed to the star himself, he allegedly responded with a text message (included in the lawsuit) reading “I Am A Nazi.”
“This not only deeply offended Doe but the loud and proud antisemitism also made her feel endangered,” her attorneys wrote.
Months later, the rapper allegedly texted her and another Jewish employee “What the fuck is everyone here getting paid?” In another screenshotted text, he allegedly followed up: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.”
The abuse allegedly escalated from there, the lawsuit says, including a series of texts in June 2024 in which Ye allegedly said “Shut the f— up b—-” called her “ugly as f—” and texted “Hail Hitler.” Later, he also allegedly texted, “You what’s left after I said deathcon” — a message that Jane Doe says was intended to reference his previous antisemitic rants and meant as a threat based on her religion.
Just hours after she complained about the text messages to her manager, the lawsuit says she was sent an email from an attorney representing Yeezy terminating her employment.
A spokesman for Ye did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday (Feb. 11).
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Paramount Global’s Viacom is calling out Zeus Network for allegedly stealing the vibe of its hit show Wild ‘N Out with their new game show Bad vs. Wild, hosted by Nick Cannon. Viacom says the show is straight-up copying their popular MTV series, especially with how it’s set up. Bad vs. Wild brings together cast members and hosts from other Zeus shows like Baddies, Joseline’s Cabaret, and Aunt Tea Podcast, with special guests joining the fun.
The concept of the show revolves around settling “pre-existing beefs” by splitting the participants into two teams, “Bad” and “Wild,” who then face off in different games. At the end of the episode, a big-name artist performs, which feels just like Wild ‘N Out. And of course, Nick Cannon is hosting and executive producing, just like he does with Wild ‘N Out.
The similarities are pretty obvious. Both shows mix comedy and competition, and both bring on famous musical guests to cap it off. Viacom’s lawsuit points out how Bad vs. Wild follows the same formula that made Wild ‘N Out so successful, claiming that Zeus is profiting off a format Viacom created. With Nick Cannon at the helm of both shows, it’s clear Viacom feels like Zeus is stepping on their toes and taking something that belongs to them.
More news to come as the story develops.
The pop-punk princess is making her Warped Tour debut at last. As announced Tuesday (Feb. 11), Avril Lavigne will perform at one of three stops on the iconic traveling rock show — which is set to make a comeback in 2025 after six years off the road — for the first time in her career. […]
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of The Recording Academy, and Ben Winston, a founding partner of Fulwell Entertainment, will be named 2025 Music Visionaries of the Year at the UJA-Federation of New York’s Music Visionary of the Year Award Celebration. The event, which is marking its 25th anniversary, will be held on June 16 in New York City.
The announcement was made just nine days after Mason and Winston worked together on the 67th annual Grammy Awards telecast. Winston was an executive producer of the show, along with Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins.
“We are thrilled to honor Harvey and Ben as our 2025 UJA Music Visionaries of the Year,” Daniel Glass, founder/CEO of Glassnote Records, chair of UJA’s Music Division and co-chair of UJA’s overall Entertainment division, said in a statement. “They have not only shaped the future of sound and storytelling, but Harvey and Ben also brought that same passion and vision to this year’s Grammy weekend and award show, respectively, rising to the occasion in the wake of devastation to help showcase music’s unparalleled power to heal, unite, and uplift. Beyond their remarkable contributions to the industry, their commitment to making a meaningful impact truly sets them apart.”
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As the first Black CEO of The Recording Academy, Mason has diversified the voting membership and revised rules and processes to make the Grammy Awards more transparent, inclusive and reflective of a wide variety of music genres. He has also enlarged the Academy’s role as a service organization for music creators and restructured the organization to position it for global growth.
Mason is the founder of Harvey Mason Media and a five-time Grammy nominee. He has written and/or produced songs for such artists as Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson.
Winston is a producer, director and founding partner of Fulwell Entertainment. He has won 13 Primetime Emmy Awards — eight for various iterations of the James Corden vehicle Carpool Karaoke; three more for other programs hosted by Corden (including the 2016 Tony Awards); and two for acclaimed variety specials headlined by pop superstars: Adele: One Night Only and Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.
In 2019, Winston received eight Primetime Emmy nominations — a one-year record for an individual. In 2024, he produced the Paris to Los Angeles Olympics handover, a prelude to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Funds raised at the luncheon will go toward UJA’s annual campaign supporting the work of confronting antisemitism, promoting inclusion and caring for New Yorkers of all backgrounds. A portion of the proceeds will also support UJA’s Music for Youth, which helps young people connect to life-changing music programs.
Working with a network of hundreds of nonprofits, UJA extends its reach from New York to Israel to nearly 70 other countries around the world, touching the lives of 5.5 million people annually. Every year, UJA-Federation provides approximately $180 million in grants. For more information, visit ujafedny.org.
If Hurry Up Tomorrow is indeed his final album — as the artist born Abel Tesfaye has hinted at it being, at least under his current artist name — then The Weeknd is certainly going out with a bang.
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Tomorrow bows atop the Billboard 200 albums chart this week (dated Feb. 16) with 490,500 first-week units (with 359,000 in sales), according to Luminate. The debut is the strongest of The Weeknd’s career, beating his previous high of 444,000 (posted by his After Hours blockbuster in 2020) and nearly tripling the 148,000 number that Dawn FM, his prior LP, entered with in 2021. Meanwhile, the set lands 14 tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, led by the Playboi Carti teamup “Timeless” at No. 7.
What does the big debut mean for The Weeknd? And if this is the end of The Weeknd, what could Tesfaye possibly do next? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow debuts with 490,500 first-week units, the best first-week numbers of his career and nearly three times more than the number moved by predecessor Dawn FM in its first week in 2021. On a scale from 1-10, how big a deal is this for The Weeknd?
Rania Aniftos: 9 — it would be a 10, but he’s no stranger to successful albums and likely isn’t too surprised at how well this one performed. However, since he teased this album as the end of The Weeknd (more on that later), it must be validating to have such an impressive end to an even more impressive career.
Kyle Denis: It’s gotta be a 9. The road to Hurry Up Tomorrow was notably rocky, slightly stained by The Idol and bereft of pre-release hits the size of “Heartless” or “Starboy,” so to pull off the best first-week numbers of your career with so many odds stacked against you is nothing less than impressive. With a figure like this, The Weeknd is also bidding farewell to this character while he’s still on top. Narratively, this is a big win for him; imagine if the album touted as the grand finale of his decade-plus career opened with numbers closer to that of Dawn FM’s opening week?
Jason Lipshutz: A 9. This debut demonstrates that interest in The Weeknd remains sky-high, at a moment when he hasn’t had a huge hit in a few years and is about to play stadium shows in a few months. The Weeknd would be an A-lister regardless of what this first-week total had been, but with Hurry Up Tomorrow’s gargantuan debut, he proves that he is still a commercial blockbuster, capable of turning out fans in droves for more than just the old hits.
Heran Mamo: I’d say 9. For a superstar of The Weeknd’s caliber, you’d expect him to go out with a bang if this is really his last album under his current stage name.The only reason I’m not saying 10 is because while Dawn FM might not have been The Weeknd’s best-performing album at the time of its release, its well-conceived concept and ultra-polished production have allowed it to age incredibly.
Andrew Unterberger: Let’s say 8. It’s a big deal, but Tesfaye’s got a lot of big-deal stuff going on right now — from a surprise Grammys comeback to a still-expanding big stadium tour — and I’m not sure it totally stands out from the pack there.
2. What do you see as being the biggest factor in Hurry Up Tomorrow’s stellar early performance?
Rania Aniftos: He really leaned into the idea of “rebirth” and coming back to himself throughout the promo process, which makes me think that fans were more curious than ever about what Hurry Up Tomorrow might sound like. Would it continue be like After Hours and Starboy, or would he return to his House of Balloons or Trilogy roots? To me, it was a seamless mix of both musical eras, appealing to OG fans and ones he made along the way.
Kyle Denis: In his Billboard 200 roundup, our very own Keith Caulfield noted that Hurry Up Tomorrow was available across eight vinyl variants, eight CD variants, a cassette tape, and nine deluxe boxed sets in addition to its standard configurations and access on DSPs. Of course, someone still needs to buy these versions, so the real credit for Hurry Up Tomorrow’s early performance is due to The Weeknd’s deep relationship with his XO fan community. Over the course of his career and the unfurling of the character of The Weeknd, the four-time Grammy winner has garnered an incredibly dedicated fanbase who want to feel as immersed in the story as possible – whether that means collecting album variants, selling out stadiums, or buying tickets for the forthcoming Hurry Up Tomorrow film.
Jason Lipshutz: Unlike the star-heavy start of 2024, the beginning of 2025 has not been jammed with big new album releases — just Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, really — and Hurry Up Tomorrow took advantage of that relative silence. Plus, The Weeknd made fans wait three years for a new project after being omnipresent at the start of the decade, resulting in a thirst for new music that was slaked by a 22-song opus ripe for racking up major streaming totals.
Heran Mamo: Literally, I would say album sales since they accounted for 359,000 of the LP’s 490,500 first-week equivalent album units. But considering this has been touted as The Weeknd’s final album as “The Weeknd,” there’s a lot more riding on this than if it was just another album in his discography, and that’s bound to bring more attention to Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Andrew Unterberger: Good planning with the available variants, combined with strong messaging about the album’s place in his catalog — both as the end of this current 2020s album trilogy, and possibly the end of his entire career arc as The Weeknd.
3. “Timeless” is the highest-charting song from the new set in its first week, returning to the Hot 100’s top 10 at No. 7 after having previously peaked at No. 3. Do you think it will stand as the biggest hit from the set, or do you think another song on the album might pass it?
Rania Aniftos: I do think “Timeless” will continue to be the standout hit from the album, especially since he’s going on tour with his collaborator Playboi Carti, which will likely give the song another boost. I would, selfishly, love to see “The Abyss” with Lana Del Rey have a moment, because I’m a huge Lana fan and I think she and The Weeknd have some serious musical chemistry.
Kyle Denis: In terms of chart peaks, I think “Timeless” will probably remain the biggest hit from the set. In a just world “Cry for Me” is a massive spring hit, but we’ll see how that shakes out. “Wake Me Up” deserves some love too, but people seem to be a bit tired of disco/synthpop Weeknd (R.I.P. “Dancing in the Flames”). If he can convince frequent duet partner Ariana Grande to escape Oz for a moment to record a remix, perhaps she can turn “Open Hearts” into a “Save Your Tears”-esque hit.
Jason Lipshutz: “Timeless” will keep performing well — Playboi Carti’s red-hot streak is still intact, after all — but the focus track “Cry For Me,” which debuted on this week’s Hot 100 at No. 12, sounds like a durable hit, and the type of darkly lit, emotionally heightened synth-pop track that The Weeknd has turned into months-long smashes time and again. It’s unlikely to ever reach “Blinding Lights” heights, but “Cry For Me” should stick around through the spring, at least.
Heran Mamo: It’s hard to say considering “Timeless” had a four-month lead start as a single compared to most of the album’s songs. That 00XO connection between The Weeknd and Playboi Carti has grown stronger and stronger since their “Popular” collaboration with Madonna, and their unreleased “Lose You” joint has been getting a lot of hype since Carti’s Rolling Loud Miami performance last December. And considering “Timeless” is the latest new music release from Carti, fans will be clinging onto that single until I AM MUSIC finally drops (hopefully this year).
I don’t know if “Cry For Me” will surpass “Timeless,” but it’s solidifying itself as one of the most standout tracks from the album. The Weeknd performed both songs during his surprise set at the 2025 Grammys, and “Cry For Me” was No. 1 on the Global Apple Music chart, debuted at No. 5 on the Global Spotify chart and debuted at No. 12 on the Hot 100 this week, making it the second highest-charting track from the LP after “Timeless.”
Andrew Unterberger: Given that The Weeknd seems to be struggling to connect commercially with his more traditional pop songs since “Save Your Tears,” and that his more dramatic left turns like “Sao Paulo” haven’t fared much better, I imagine the halfway-point territory of “Timeless” (with a red-hot collaborator in Playboi Carti) will probably end up faring best from this one. Rooting for “I Can’t Wait to Get There” though.
4. Hurry Up Tomorrow has been teased to be The Weeknd’s final album, at least as The Weeknd. If so, how do you feel it rates as a grand finale for his superstar artistic persona?
Rania Aniftos: I’m very much satisfied. It feels like the end of a decade-plus character arc, a tribute to the mixtapes that put him on the map and a display of his captivating artistic growth ever since.
Kyle Denis: The more I sit with the album, the happier I am with it as a finale for The Weeknd. You get notes of all his past eras and some of his most bone-chilling songwriting (shoutout to “Baptized in Fear”), and he sounds great. His voice is notably more robust which makes for ballads that pack a much heavier punch than some of his earlier efforts in that space. My only hope is that this movie doesn’t ruin the album for me.
Jason Lipshutz: If The Weeknd does stick to this statement, this persona will have gone out on its own terms — the shadowy figure from the PBR&B days of the early 2010s lasting through the mid-2020s, a mystery morphed into a Super Bowl headliner. Hurry Up Tomorrow closes out a trilogy of albums, but it also puts a bow on the maximalist, bleary-eyed, synth-heavy sound that The Weeknd has been tinkering with for over a decade in the spotlight; it’s not his complete project, but it might be the one that’s most representative of who he is, and what he set out to do. And if that’s the case, Tomorrow is a hell of a parting shot.
Heran Mamo: 10/10. His consistent, intentional execution of callbacks to earlier moments from his career have made Hurry Up Tomorrow a compelling closing chapter for The Weeknd. As an artist who’s always idolized and been inspired by Michael Jackson, interpolating “Thriller” on the opening track “Wake Me Up” was an incredible homage. Flipping the song titles and motifs from his previous albums, like “Save Your Tears” to “Cry for Me” and “Escape From LA” to “Take Me Back to LA,” nicely brought things back around. And having the end of “Hurry Up Tomorrow” seamlessly transition into the beginning of “High For This,” the opening song from his debut mixtape House of Balloons 14 years ago, the first chapter of his primary Trilogy, was the LP’s quintessential full-circle moment.
Andrew Unterberger: Yeah, it’s a strong finale — better on each listen and rich enough that I’m still uncovering new details and personal favorites. I do still wish it had one absolute can’t-miss standout smash on it that could sorta live outside the album a bit, but maybe that song just hasn’t quite revealed itself yet. Wouldn’t be the first time one of his deep cuts took a minute to reveal its charms and find its audience.
5. If this is indeed the end for The Weeknd as The Weeknd, what’s your bold prediction for what Abel Tesfaye might do next?
Rania Aniftos: It’s no bold prediction that he’ll make a home in the horror movie world — he’s already working on a psychological thriller. So, I’ll take it a few steps further. I loved his haunted house at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, so why couldn’t he have a whole haunted theme park of his own where fans can experience the dark, twisted aspects of his music in real life?
Kyle Denis: Hopefully, more acting projects that aren’t connected to pop stardom/music… I feel like some space from that world might do him so good.
Jason Lipshutz: The Idol 2: Tedros’ Revenge. I’m half-kidding! I do think he might take a break to explore Hollywood before eventually dipping back into music and reclaiming what is his.
Heran Mamo: He’s going to dive deeper into the TV and film world. His HBO TV series The Idol seemed to be a bit of a false start, but by co-writing, co-producing and starring in his first feature film Hurry Up Tomorrow and launching his own Manic Phase production company, it seems like Tesfaye is creatively rerouting to something he’s always dreamed of doing.
Andrew Unterberger: I’ve said it before, but I think Tesfaye starts anew as a recording artist under a totally different name — and doesn’t let us know for sure that it’s him until well into the project.