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Lady Gaga was honored with the Innovator Award at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday night (March 17), and her acceptance speech celebrated the notion that “the most powerful innovation is your authenticity.”
She was presented the award by Doechii, who said the superstar helped the “Denial Is a River” rapper embrace her “weird” side, adding, “Gaga was and always is new, fresh and different. Not only is that OK, but it’s ideal.”
After taking the stage, the “Abracadabra” pop star continued that sentiment, honoring the beauty of weirdness and human differences in every aspect, from age and race to sexual orientation and physical expression. “Winning an award honoring my entire career at 38 years old is a hard thing to get my head around,” she began. “On the one hand, I feel like I’ve been doing this forever. On the other hand, I know I’m just getting started. Even though the world might consider a woman in her late 30s old for a pop star — which is insane — I promise that I’m just getting warmed up.”
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She also discussed her “controversial” career moments that defined her career and made her who she is, from her LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way” to arriving at the 2011 Grammy Awards in an egg. “If I learned anything in the three decades I’ve been at this, it’s that the most powerful innovation is your authenticity,” she told the cheering crowd. “Every time I was the only woman in the room, the loudest voice was inside my own head telling me not to compromise. Listening to that voice always showed me exactly where I belonged.”
Gaga also acknowledged the community that inspired her, including artists David Bowie, Elton John, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Cher and her late friend and collaborator Tony Bennett, “who taught me to embrace the classics but never be bound by them.” She also honored the “fiercely brilliant Italian-American women” in her lineage “who reinvented their destinies with nothing but strength and dreams and determination.”
“Those women, my ancestors, they’re the greatest innovators I’ve ever known,” she continued, before ultimately thanking her fans, the affectionately called Little Monsters. “Thank you for always seeing me so clearly from The Fame to Mayhem. Because you saw me, I learned to see myself. To the LGBTQ+ community, you taught me bravery before the world was able to listen. You have changed the world for the better, and your courage fuels mine every single day,” she shared.
Gaga concluded her heartfelt speech by telling the crowd, “To every artist that’s ever been told they’re different, complicated or too much, please never change. Break the mold. The world doesn’t need another copy. It desperately needs your original.”
Watch Gaga’s full acceptance speech at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards here.
Nearly three decades after launching NYC’s Fleadh Festival celebrating global Irish culture, two of Fleadh’s founders Joe Killian and Liam Lynch are again joining forces to premiere Seisiún, an Irish music and cultural gathering at Suffolk Downs in Boston.
The Sept. 6-7 event will be produced in partnership with The Bowery Presents, Lynch and Killian, featuring The Pogues and Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys as headlining artists. The Pogues will include original members like banjoist and songwriter Jem Finer, accordionist James Fearnley and tin whistler and singer Spider Stacy. Seisiún will be the Pogue’s first show in the U.S. since the passing of former frontman Shane McGowan in 2023 and the set will celebrate the Irish folk-punkers entire body of work “while honoring Shane, leaving space for alchemy and magic from very special guest performances,” a press release announcing the show reads. A statement from the band confirmed appearances from “such incomparable artists as Lisa O’Neill, John Francis Flynn and The Bad Seeds.”
The band also said: “We are stoked to return to Boston, pretty much a second home for The Pogues in the US – a city where we have shared many unforgettable performances and experiences. We’re looking forward not just to raising a glass or two but also to raising the roof with our fans and friends, old and new, to celebrate the music we’ve made and the alliances we’ve formed over the years.”
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Other artists on the bill include The Hold Steady, The Waterboys, Cardinals, The Rumjacks and Lisa O’Neill. Additional artists will be announced in the future.
Seisiún was created as a two-day festival experience celebrating global Irish music and culture and honoring the memory of the first Fleadh Festival in 1997 on New York City’s Randall’s Island. More than 60,000 music fans attended Fleadh to see sets by McGowan and his band the Popes, Sinead O’Connor, John Prine, Van Morrison and more.
“We’re launching Seisiún at a time when Irish culture is once again witnessing another rich revival and resurgence. There is such an exciting wave of extraordinary cross-category Irish music talent,” explains Lynch. “With this two-day event our hope is to reignite some of that same sense of gathering, of revelry and of community, while also tapping into that emergent new interest in the genre. Let the music keep our spirits high.”
Tickets for Seisiún will go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. ET via AXS.com, the official ticketing outlet for The Stage at Suffolk Downs. Visit StageAtSuffolkDowns.com for more information.
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Jamie Foxx had some words about the Trump administration’s anti-DEI policies and rhetoric during an interview.
The federal government under President Donald Trump has been virulently against diversity, equity, and inclusion policies (DEI) since he took office. Many are upset and vocal about those attacks, including Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx. Foxx voiced his opinion in an interview with Essence at the purple carpet premiere for a new documentary by Apple+, Number One on The Call Sheet.
https://x.com/Essence/status/1900294939684331625
Foxx expressed shock over the rhetoric, seeing as how everyone loves what the Black community offers the world. “Stop playing with us,” continued Foxx. “All that DEI goofiness you talking about man, stop playing. Give us our props. Stop messing with our history. The more you erase, the more we replace. I don’t get why they so mad at us.” He then spoke about how former President Barack Obama’s presence and actions while in office made him take more pride in being Black.
“Somebody said why does it have to be ‘Black excellence’? Why not? Why not…perception is everything,” Foxx said. “You know what [Obama] did for me? He changed my perception because when I would travel the world, the world had a different perception of me as a Black man.” He then went into a quick impression of former President Obama. “They love what we do. I know y’all out there b—ng right now. Y’all love us, y’all love our music,” Foxx concluded. “If y’all talking about DEI then give some of our stuff back, like our R&B. Stop playing with us. Stop singing like us, stop dancing like us. Give us our s—t back. Nah, I’m just kidding.”
The attacks on DEI have been a constant by the Trump administration through executive orders. One recent example is the White House’s refusal to send storm relief aid to Asheville, North Carolina, due to one line in the funding plan, which read: “prioritize assistance for Minority and Women Owned Businesses (MWBE) within the scoring criteria outlined within the policies and procedures.” The move was confirmed by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, who said in a statement: “Once again, let me be clear DEI is dead at HUD. We will not provide funding to any program or grantee that does not comply with President Trump’s executive orders.”
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A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie clearly has angels looking over him because he recently walked away unharmed from a dangerous accident that left his car totaled.
As spotted on TMZ, the Bronx, New York, rapper should be feeling grateful. On Sunday (March 16), A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was in a horrible car wreck that looked pretty bad. Footage captured on the scene after the accident shows that the hood of his sportscar was peeled right off. Additionally, the trunk was also visibly impacted as well as the fenders for both of the front and back tires.
While what caused the accident is unclear, no other car is shown in the video. According to the celebrity news site, his team has confirmed that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie walked away from the car wreck with no injuries and had no need for immediate medical attention. They also stated that the incident took place around 1 a.m. in New York City. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has yet to comment on the accident.
You can see his car after the wreck below.
The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards took over the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Monday night (March 17), celebrating the most-played artists and songs throughout the past year. Leading the pack with nominations this year are Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen with 10 nods each. Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone and Sabrina Carpenter follow with nine nominations each. All five are up for artist of the […]
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Ye aka Kanye West shared his willingness to fight ex-wife Kim Kardashian over the trademark for their daughter North West’s name.
On Saturday (March 15), Ye aka Kanye West shared his anger with former wife Kim Kardashian over an issue involving their daughter, North West. He took to social media to detail how Kardashian went ahead to obtain ownershp of any trademarks in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, beginning with a post showing a document that stated that the reality star is the “sole and exclusive owner” of trademarks. It further states that Ye’s usage violates the stipulated judgement both agreed upon for joint custody of North West.
“This happened without me being aware How do you guys feel about this,” Ye asked followers in the post’s caption. The following post showed Ye reiterating the document’s content, leading to him sharing a screenshot of a text conversation between him and Kim Kardashian. “I’m never speaking with you again,” Ye wrote in the exchange. Kim replied, “I asked u at the time if I can trademark her name You said yes when she’s 18 it goes to her so stop I sent paper work over so she wouldn’t be in the Diddy song To protect her One person has to trademark! We agreed when they were born I would get all of our kids names and trademarks So no one else would take them.” He went on to add, “Amend it or I’m going to war And neither of us will recover from the public fallout You’re going to have to kill me.”
Another post showed Ye explaining his desire to raise his kids and not just “see” them, claiming his rights to do so were taken by the “Kardashian mob,” as well as Hulu and Disney in what he states is a “bigger agenda to use the selectively bred Black children to be platforms to influence Black people.” In a follow-up, he compared his current situation to being in prison and having “visitation” rights before ending with stating he didn’t care about the opinions of “p***y ass celebrities” that are “slaves to the Jews.” Ye then posted a snippet of an unreleased song, “Lonely Roads Still Go To Sunshine.” The track features Ye and North West, as well as Diddy along with his son, Christian “King” Combs and Jasmine Williams, a rising singer with the Yeezy record label. He’d later delete the snippet from his account.
A new large-scale structure will debut at Coachella 2025.
In partnership with Red Bull, the festival will debut Red Bull Mirage, a multi-level, 20,000 square-foot installation located directly across from the festival’s Quasar stage, the lineup for which dropped today (March 17.) See exclusive renderings of Red Bull Mirage below.
Quasar itself will feature two unique lineups across both weekends of Coachella 2025. For weekend one, The Martinez Brothers will play b2b with Loco Dice on Friday, April 11; Barry Can’t Swim will play alongside 2ManyDJs and salute on Saturday, April 12; and Tiësto will play the stage on Sunday, April 13.
For weekend two, deadmau5 will play under his Testpilot alias alongside Zhu on Friday, April 18; Kaskade will play a redux set with Idris on Saturday, April 19; and Alesso will play one of his house-oriented Body Hi sets alongside Gorgon City on Sunday, April 20.
Near Quasar, Red Bull Mirage will offer hang opportunities for all ticket tiers. GA attendees will be able to access bars, activations and shade. The structure’s first level will offer a high-level dining experience, with details forthcoming. The second level will function as an invite-only loft space for artists, industry and media. Meanwhile, the top level will be a private perch for artist and guests to mingle and take in views of Quasar and the polo field beyond.
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Quasar itself debuted at Coachella 2024 as a stage hosting extended dance/electronic sets. The stage was a hit during its debut last year, drawing huge crowds for three-plus hour performances, many of which were special b2b pairings. This year’s addition of Red Bull Mirage indicates that Coachella is investing in the long-term future of the stage.
Upon last year’s announcement of Quasar, Goldenvoice’s Executive Vice President Jenn Yacoubian called it “a stage where we can book talent on it in a way that we’ve felt we haven’t been able to in the past. We’re looking at it as a traditional kind of DJ stage. The thinking was that we wanted people to see a longer format DJ set.”
Red Bull Mirage Renderings:
Red Bull Mirage
Red Bull Mirage
Red Bull Mirage
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Young Thug has been enjoying his newfound freedom for quite some time now and upon his release he was immediately seen in the studio with the likes of Lil Baby and Future and now we’re getting the fruits of their labor and it looks like they got a banger on their hands.
Linking up in the new visuals for “Dum, Dumb, and Dumber,” Lil Baby, Young Thug and Future pull out the big boy toys and get their Fast & Furious on while flashing big bags of cash and pounds of ice while Thugger flaunts a Doctor Doom-ish mask and a tarantula on his head?! We would say prison changed that man but he’s always been on some next sh*t.
Back in Brooklyn, some Hip-Hop OG’s represent for the older heads and in the clip to “Medina,” Smif-N-Wessun and Pharoahe Monch show love to the youth and spread love the Brooklyn way.
Check out the rest of today’s drops and some joints you might’ve missed over the weekend including work from Murda Beatz and Rich The Kid, Roc Marciano and DJ Premier, and more.
LIL BABY, YOUNG THUG & FUTURE – “DUM, DUMB, AND DUMBER”
SMIF-N-WESSUN FT. PHAROAHE MONCH – “MEDINA”
MURDA BEATZ & RICH THE KID – “WAKE ‘EM UP”
ROC MARCIANO & DJ PREMIER – “ARMANI SECTION”
G PERICO & DJ DRAMA – “COMMAS”
KEY GLOCK – “NO SWEAT”
JB CHOSEN – “BOYZ 2 MEN”
BELLY GANG KUSHINGTON – “FOUR ONE”
PEEZY – “POP YO SH*T”
Appearing on producer Zoomo’s album Absolution, released in October of 2024, the music video for “Good Orderly Direction” featuring Navy Blue is finally here.
Directed by Paul Merelle, the visuals are just as soulful as the beats and the bars as Zoomo and Navy find themselves taking in the sights and sounds of Central Park on what looks like a damp, autumn day.
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With the beat switch in the middle, “Good Orderly Direction” is essentially two songs with the West Coast rapper doing what he does best by getting introspective. He starts off the first verse telling the listener to chill out a bit, rapping, “Alone on a path tryna get the thoughts freed up/I’m goin’ in the game 4-3 up/If you movin’ through this life on the gas, better ease up/Jesus Christ on the cross, gotta bleed/River full of fish, be weary of the greed/Solve our problems with a spliff, every young brotha’ need love.”
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He then ends the with, “It only gets harder as you go/You alive, and that’s the sacred part of how you grow,” reminding us to keep on keeping on because life is a garden, dig it?
On the second verse, after the beat switches a bit, Navy Blue talks about the beauty in facing your anxieties as he stands in the middle of Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell. “Even when I’m hurt, I’ma smile,” he raps. “I done learned just to love me a bit/Fear stacked, I was perched on a pile/Down bad, I can gladly admit/Imperfect, I’m searching aloud/Loose garment, I can’t wear a shroud/And this sack bring a brother closer to God.”
In case you’re not familiar with Zoomo, he’s a producer out of North Carolina who’s down with YL and Starker’s NYC collective RRR and has been bringing the feeling back with beat tapes — a medium in hip-hop that has become a rare occurrence these days — his most recent project Absolution features instrumentals and includes features from Navy, Da$H, AKTHESAVIOR, YL, Starker, Wiki, ANKHLEJOHN, Aasir, VIP Skylark, Goya Gumbani, and Papo2oo4.
You can check out the video below.
Bad Bunny is proving once again why he’s one of the hottest stars in the world, both on and off the stage. The global Puerto Rican sensation has teamed up with Calvin Klein for a sizzling new campaign published by both parties on Instagram, Monday (March 17), that’s already turning heads. Explore Explore See latest […]