News
Page: 223
Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com.
Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the United States.
Or, reach out on Bluesky.
Let’s open the latest mailbag.
Dear Gary,
With “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, it joins the list of songs that have incorporated people’s names in chart-topping titles. The song is, of course, a tribute to the late Luther Vandross, who never topped the chart as a billed artist, although his voice has been heard on multiple No. 1s dating back nearly a half-century.
No. 1 songs with proper names in their titles continue a trend that began soon after the Hot 100 started in 1958. Here’s a (long) look at them below (including one famous group name, in a 2016 hit), while realizing that there’s room for interpretation; Faith is a name, but George Michael didn’t mean it that way in his 1987 hit. Thankfully, others are as obvious as can be: “Venus was her name!”
Thanks,
My name … Jesper TanSubang Jaya, Malaysia
Trending on Billboard
“Tom Dooley,” The Kingston Trio (1958)
“Stagger Lee,” Lloyd Price (1959)
“Venus,” Frankie Avalon (1959)
“Running Bear,” Johnny Preston (1960)
“Cathy’s Clown,” The Everly Brothers (1960)
“Mr. Custer,” Larry Verne (1960)
“Michael,” The Highwaymen (1961)
“Hit the Road Jack,” Ray Charles and His Orchestra with the Raelettes (1961)
“Runaround Sue,” Dion (1961)
“Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean (1961)
“Johnny Angel,” Shelley Fabares (1962)
“Sheila,” Tommy Roe (1962)
“Sherry,” The 4 Seasons (1962)
“Hey Paula,” Paul and Paula (1963)
“Dominique,” The Singing Nun (1963)
“Hello, Dolly!,” Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (1964)
“Ringo,” Lorne Greene (1964)
”Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” Herman’s Hermits (1965)
“Help Me, Rhonda,” The Beach Boys (1965)
”I’m Henry VIII, I Am,” Herman’s Hermits (1965)
“Hang On Sloopy,” The McCoys (1965)
“Ruby Tuesday,” The Rolling Stones (1967)
“Ode to Billie Joe,” Bobbie Gentry (1967)
“Judy in Disguise (With Glasses),” John Fred and the Playboys (1968)
“Mrs. Robinson,” Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
“Hey Jude,” The Beatles (1968)
“Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet,” Henry Mancini (1969)
“Venus,” Shocking Blue (1970)
“Cracklin’ Rosie,” Neil Diamond (1970)
”Me and Bobby McGee,” Janis Joplin (1971)
“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” Paul & Linda McCartney (1971)
“Maggie May,” Rod Stewart (1971)
“Theme From Shaft,” Isaac Hayes (1971)
“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” Looking Glass (1972)
“Ben,” Michael Jackson (1972)
“Me and Mrs. Jones,” Billy Paul (1972)
“Frankenstein,” The Edgar Winter Group (1973)
“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” Jim Croce (1973)
“Brother Louie,” Stories (1973)
“Delta Dawn,” Helen Reddy (1973)
“Angie,” The Rolling Stones (1973)
“Bennie and the Jets,” Elton John (1974)
“Billy, Don’t Be a Hero,” Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods (1974)
“Annie’s Song,” John Denver (1974)
“Angie Baby,” Helen Reddy (1974)
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” Elton John (1975)
“Mandy,” Barry Manilow (1975)
“Lady Marmalade,” Labelle (1975)
“A Fifth of Beethoven,” Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band (1976)
“Sir Duke,” Stevie Wonder (1977)
“MacArthur Park,” Donna Summer (1978)
“Bette Davis Eyes,” Kim Carnes (1981)
“Jessie’s Girl,” Rick Springfield (1981)
“Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” Christopher Cross (1981)
“Jack and Diane,” John Cougar (1982)
“Mickey,” Toni Basil (1982)
“Billie Jean,” Michael Jackson (1983)
“Come On Eileen,” Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1983)
“St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion),” John Parr (1985)
“Oh Sheila,” Ready for the World (1985)
“Sara,” Starship (1986)
“Rock Me Amadeus,” Falco (1986)
“Venus,” Bananarama (1986)
“Amanda,” Boston (1986)
“Jacob’s Ladder,” Huey Lewis & the News (1987)
“Dirty Diana,” Michael Jackson (1988)
“A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme),” Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle (1993)
“Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio (1996)
“Maria Maria,” Santana feat. The Product G&B (2000)
“Ms. Jackson,” OutKast (2001)
“Lady Marmalade,” Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & P!nk (2001)
“Hey There Delilah,” Plain White T’s (2007)
“Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera (2011)
“Black Beatles,” Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane (2016)
“The Scotts,” The Scotts, Travis Scott & Kid Cudi (2020)
“Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” Lil Nas X (2021)
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast (2022)
“Jimmy Cooks,” Drake feat. 21 Savage (2022)
“Kill Bill,” SZA (2023)
“Luther,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA (2025)
Thanks, Jesper!
Oddly enough for a tribute song with such a title, as fellow longtime “Ask Billboard” contributor Pablo Nelson notes, the name Luther isn’t said in “Luther” (nor is Bill in SZA’s “Kill Bill”).
Meanwhile, five Hot 100 No. 1s other than Lil Nas X’s above include the word “name” in their names:
“Stop! In the Name of Love,” The Supremes (1965)
“A Horse With No Name,” America (1972)
“You Give Love a Bad Name,” Bon Jovi (1986)
“Say My Name,” Destiny’s Child (2000)
“What’s My Name?,” Rihanna feat. Drake (2010)
It shouldn’t be a surprise that so many songs with names in their titles have topped the Hot 100. After all, everyone hears their name in “Happy Birthday to You,” which is listed first in Guinness World Records’ recap of the most frequently sung songs in English.
As for Luther Vandross, he and Richard Marx shared the 2004 Grammy Award for co-writing “Dance With My Father.” In a 2012 visit to Billboard, Marx mused about meeting Vandross at the American Music Awards in 1990, while they were both touring. “You meet somebody and … ‘I could hang with this guy,’” he recalled of his early impressions of the R&B legend. “Then when we both came off the road, we went to dinner and he offered to sing background vocals on my record I was making” — 1991’s Rush Street, whose lead single, “Keep Coming Back,” with prominent runs by Vandross, hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
“I said at the dinner, ‘Dude, that’s like if I was having dinner with Michael Jordan and I said, ‘You know … me and my buddies play pick-up basketball in the park on Sundays,’ and Michael Jordan said, ‘Do you need somebody for your team?’ ”
Ultimately, “He was just my pal,” Marx said of Vandross, who passed in 2005. “We spent a lot more time watching movies, going to dinner, just driving around. I was in love with his voice, as everybody was, but I just miss him. He was the funniest guy — hilarious. I just miss my friend. My memories of Luther are, 99%: We were bros.”
Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Roberta Flack, who died on Feb. 24 at age 88, by looking at the singer’s second of three No. 1 hits as a recording artist: the instant standard “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” (In case you missed it, here’s a look at her first No. 1, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”)
Roberta Flack could have brought a book or a magazine to read on an American Airlines flight from L.A. back home to New York in 1972. She could have watched the in-flight movie or even taken a nap. Let’s all be grateful that she instead chose to listen to the in-flight audio program, which included a pretty pop/folk ballad recorded by a then-20-year-old singer named Lori Lieberman.
Trending on Billboard
Flack scanned the list of audio selections and learned that the composition, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. Gimbel was then best-known for writing English-language lyrics to such global hits as “The Girl From Ipanema” and “I Will Wait for You”; Fox for creating the sunshine pop musical backgrounds on the hit ABC show Love, American Style.
“The title, of course, smacked me in the face,” Flack later said. “I immediately pulled out some scratch paper, made musical staves [and then] play[ed] the song at least eight to 10 times jotting down the melody that I heard. When I landed, I immediately called Quincy [Jones] at his house and asked him how to meet Charles Fox. Two days later I had the music.”
By most accounts, the song was inspired by Lieberman seeing Don McLean perform at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles in November 1971. McLean’s “American Pie” entered the Billboard Hot 100 that month (on its way to No. 1 in January 1972), but Lieberman was more taken by another song in the set, the haunting ballad “Empty Chairs.” The singer jotted some notes and impressions on a napkin. She later described the experience, and how deeply it affected her, to Gimbel, with whom she was working at the time. (Gimbel and Fox had signed her to a five-year production, recording and publishing deal.)
Lieberman’s description reminded Gimbel of a phrase that was already in his idea notebook: “to kill us softly with some blues.” The phrase had appeared five years earlier in a novel by Argentinian writer Julio Cortázar and Gimbel thought it had possibilities. Gimbel drew from Lieberman’s account, crafted the lyrics, and passed them on to Fox, who set them to faintly melancholy music.
Lieberman did not receive a co-writing credit on the song. There is even a dispute over whether, and to what degree, the song was inspired by McLean’s performance. When Dan MacIntosh of Songfacts asked Fox in 2010 about the McLean origin story, Fox said: “I think it’s called an urban legend. It really didn’t happen that way.”
Lieberman had a falling out with Gimbel (who died in 2018) and Fox (who is still living at 84). This backstage drama is intriguing, but mostly irrelevant to the story of Flack’s recording, which quickly became one of the biggest and best (and most celebrated) singles of its era.
Jones, who died less than four months ago, played a key role in this story a second time. In September 1972, Flack was opening for Jones at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Flack was red-hot at the time, having landed million-sellers that year with the classic ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and the ebullient “Where Is the Love,” a silky duet with Donny Hathaway.
When the audience at the Greek kept cheering, Jones advised her to go back out and sing one more song. “Well, I have this new song I’ve been working on,” Flack replied. “After I finished [‘Killing Me Softly’], the audience would not stop screaming. And Quincy said, ‘Ro, don’t sing that daggone song no more until you record it.’”
As usual, Jones’ instincts were correct. Flack recorded the song on Nov. 17, 1972 at Atlantic Studios in New York. Flack arranged the track, Joel Dorn produced it and Gene Paul engineered. Flack also played piano on the track, while Hathaway contributed harmony vocals. The other musicians were Eric Gale (guitars), Ron Carter (bass), Grady Tate (drums); and Ralph MacDonald (congas, percussion, tambourine).
Flack completely transformed the song. Lieberman’s version of the song, produced by Gimbel and Fox and arranged and conducted by Fox, is pretty, but rather bland. Her version plays like a very good demo, which is essentially what it was.
Flack boldly restructured the song. Her recording has a cold open on the chorus “Strummin’ my pain…” Lieberman’s version opens with a long, moody piano solo (which sounds like it could have been featured in Love Story, one of the biggest movies of the era). Then she sings the first verse, only hitting the “Strummin’ my pain” chorus at the 0:51 mark.
Flack also transformed the song from a pop/folk tune to one that drew from a wide range of American music forms – pop, soul and jazz. A 25-second section, which doesn’t appear at all in the Lieberman version, borrows from the scatting tradition. Lieberman’s version ends with a 40-second instrumental outro. In Flack’s version, she is singing until the final note. And Flack sings the song with more passion, bringing out all the drama of the key line, “I felt he found my letters/ and Read Each One Out Loud!”
Flack’s transformation of this song was as complete as Aretha Franklin’s reinvention of Otis Redding’s “Respect” or Ike & Tina Turner’s re-imagining of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” All three remakes show the power of interpretation – just as Lieberman’s largely unsung involvement in the song’s creation shows the importance of inspiration.
“Killing Me Softly” runs 4:46, longer than any other No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 in 1973. But it doesn’t seem long or padded as it seamlessly moves from section to section.
Fox has suggested that Flack’s version was more successful than Lieberman’s because Flack’s “version was faster and she gave it a strong backbeat that wasn’t in the original.” According to Flack: “My classical background made it possible for me to try a number of things with [the song’s arrangement]. I changed parts of the chord structure and chose to end on a major chord. [The song] wasn’t written that way.”
Flack’s version was released as a single on Jan. 22, 1973, with a version of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” (drawn from her 1970 album Chapter Two) on the B-side.
It was the top new entry on the Hot 100 (at No. 54) on the chart dated Jan. 27. It reached No. 1 on Feb. 24, displacing Elton John’s first Hot 100 No. 1, “Crocodile Rock.” “Killing Me Softly” reached the top spot in just five weeks, the fastest climb since Sly & the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” also reached No. 1 in its fifth week in December 1971. “Killing Me Softly” held tight in the top spot for four weeks before being bumped to No. 2 by The O’Jays’ exuberant “Love Train.”
But “Killing Me Softly” wasn’t done yet. It returned to the top spot for a fifth and final week before being dislodged for a second time by Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” Flack’s five-week run at No. 1 was the longest by any single in 1973.
Flack was a perfectionist, which came into play here in at least two ways. Flack rehearsed the song with her band in the Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, but she wasn’t satisfied with the background vocals on the various mixes. An executive at Flack’s label, Atlantic Records, assured her it would be a hit song no matter which mix was released. She refused to be rushed, recalling later that she “wanted to be satisfied with that record more than anything else.”
Also, Flack didn’t release an album with “Killing Me Softly” until Aug. 1, 1973, more than six months after the single’s release. That delay must have been agonizing for Atlantic executives. The album, with the shortened title Killing Me Softly, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in September 1973. It would almost certainly have been a No. 1 album if it had been released while the single was being played every hour on the hour on every pop, soul and adult contemporary radio station in the land.
Flack followed “Killing Me Softly With His Song” with a slow and somber Janis Ian ballad, “Jesse.” It stalled at No. 30 on the Hot 100.
At the Grammy Awards on March 2, 1974, Flack became the first artist to win record of the year two years running, after taking home the award in 1973 for “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” When Diana Ross announced her as the 1974 winner, a dazed Flack put her hand over her mouth. When she spoke, she simply said, “I’d like to thank the world.” (Since 1974, just two other artists have won back-to-back Grammys for record of the year: U2 triumphed in 2001-02 with “Beautiful Day” and “Walk On,” while Billie Eilish scored in 2020-21 with “Bad Guy” and “Everything I Wanted.”)
Flack won a second Grammy for “Killing Me Softly” – best pop vocal performance, female. (She probably should have won a third, best arrangement accompanying vocalists, but she wasn’t even nominated for that one.) The recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
Killing Me Softly was also nominated for album of the year (losing to Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions). It marked the first time in Grammy history that Black lead artists won album of the year and record of the year in the same year. Gimbel and Fox won song of the year for writing the song.
Flack re-recorded the song with Peabo Bryson on their 1980 double live album Live & More (its title borrowed from Donna Summer’s 1978 collection).
Many other artists have recorded the song over the years, including Johnny Mathis, on his 1973 album Killing Me Softly With Her Song; Al B. Sure!, on his 1988 album In Effect Mode; and Luther Vandross, on his hit 1994 collection Songs.
Fugees recorded an updated, but still faithful and deeply respectful version of “Killing Me Softly” (they shortened the title) on their second album, The Score, in 1996. Group member Pras made the suggestion to cover the song, which showcased Lauryn Hill on lead vocals.
The song reached No. 1 on both the Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts and No. 2 on Radio Songs. It likely would have been one of the year’s biggest Hot 100 hits were it not for rules at the time disqualifying songs not given an official single release. The track won a Grammy for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group and an MTV Video Music Award for best R&B video. Flack and Fugees teamed to perform the song on the MTV Movie Awards on June 8, 1996.
Flack’s original track was remixed in 1996 by Jonathan Peters, with Flack adding some new vocal flourishes; this version topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart in September 1996.
Flack returned to the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 for a third and final time in 1974 with the silky “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” But let’s save that story for the next Forever No. 1 installment.
It’s a Thursday afternoon at a studio in Miami, and Emilia is getting glammed up for a Billboard Español cover shoot. She’s wearing a baby-pink silky robe and striped slippers, and her equally silky, chocolatey brown hair is picked up in rollers as she navigates through her playlist for the perfect song to get ready. She skips through female anthems by Beyoncé, Shakira, Britney Spears, Nathy Peluso and Doechii before selecting Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music.” She sings along and dances to the beat slightly, not to mess up her wavy bucles and makeup.
“Before, to give myself confidence when I went on stage, I would tell myself: ‘You are Rihanna! You are Rihanna!’ But someone on my team recently told me: ‘Now you have to say to yourself, ‘You are Emilia! You are Emilia!’ And believe it,” she gushes.
Trending on Billboard
She is Emilia. And she’s on the verge of a global musical breakthrough as she prepares a 2025 tour across Spain, plans her first U.S. concerts in the U.S., and just recently made her debut at Brazil’s Carnival this past weekend.
In 2024, the Argentine artist earned her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard U.S. Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts with “Perdonarte ¿Para Qué?,” her collaboration with Los Ángeles Azules; she became the first Argentine act to be nominated for best pop vocal album at the Latin Grammy Awards with her sophomore set, .mp3; she was TikTok’s most-viewed and Spotify’s most-streamed artist in Argentina (the first female artist to do so); she sold out 10 shows at Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires in 10 hours — breaking the record previously held by Luis Miguel — and became the first Argentine female artist with four sold-out shows at the city’s Estadio Vélez, to name a few milestones.
Now, Emilia is making a serious bid for international expansion in 2025 that includes her first time at Brazil’s Carnival, where on Feb. 23 she performed “Bunda” with Luísa Sonza, her first track from an upcoming EP; a spring tour across Spain with three dates at Madrid’s Movistar Arena (formerly WiZink Center); and spending more time in Miami not only to be closer to her label, Sony Music Latin, and manager Walter Kolm, but to connect with artists and producers from different territories and develop her career further — a tried-and-true strategy that others have taken before her, including Karol G and Manuel Turizo.
“In Argentina, there are producers that I continue to work with and who are friends. I have everything there; it’s everything for me,” she says. “But I made the decision to come to Miami for a while to work and try new opportunities. I’ll always be returning home anyway. I can’t let that go. But I think what happens at the industry level here in Miami is very big. You come across new artists and producers all the time. And it’s good to experiment.”
Natalia Aguilera
Leaving the comfort of a home territory that sees you as a superstar has long been a challenge for Latin American artists. But thanks to an open-minded attitude, today, Emilia has positioned herself as a versatile pop act who can easily navigate from reggaetón to romantic ballads to cumbia to Brazilian funk and, most recently, vallenato alongside Silvestre Dangond on “Vestido Rojo.”
“She understood that she had to have her base in her home country first. She had to break into her country in every sense, in consumption, transcend that consumption in ticket sales, media visibility, visibility with brands,” says Esteban Geller, GM at Sony Music U.S. Latin. “First, she conquered her country, then the neighboring countries like Chile and Uruguay, and little by little setting foot in territories like Spain, Mexico and Colombia, while simultaneously building her story in the United States. She understood perfectly what her space was in the music scene and that what she did with Los Ángeles Azules and with Silvestre brought her closer to a more commercial space, which is also fantastic. The path has been natural.”
Emilia is already dolled up in a Y2K-inspired outfit for the photo shoot: denim mini skirt, bubblegum-pink zip-up hoodie, glitter stilettos and a fur cap that easily gives off Baby Phat clothing vibes. On her bottom eyelashes is a set of shining diamonds — eye accessories that are signature to her look. Doja Cat’s “Wet Vagina,” from her female-heavy playlist, plays in the background as she flirts with the camera with pure confidence and sensuality — something she’s worked on over time, striking that balance between sexy ingenue and likeable girl next door.
“I was always very outgoing, but I feel that today, I feel more confident with myself than ever. That took time, effort and therapy,” she says.
María Emilia Mernes Rueda, 28, was born in Nogoyá, Entre Ríos, a farming town about a five-hour drive from Buenos Aires. She’s the only child to a baker father and a cook mother. Her grandfather, a plumber but also the only musical reference in her family, gifted her a guitar when she was young so she could start taking music lessons. Growing up, her love for music expanded to uploading covers on Instagram and forming part of a local cumbia group with friends. It was a passion she never believed could go beyond a hobby.
“I thought that dreaming of being an artist, of stepping on stage and being in that world, was impossible. Super far away,” she says. “I never thought I would be able to become a professional in this and be a singer. I saw it as impossible because of where I was from. The opportunities are usually in Buenos Aires, where the casting and music producers are.”
Natalia Aguilera
But her life took a radical turn when the videos of herself playing the guitar and singing covers on social media caught the attention of Uruguayan band Rombai. At the time, the cumbia-pop group gained popularity in South America and was in search of a new female vocalist. Emilia’s first time onstage with the group was in November 2016, when she performed for 12,000 fans at the Velódromo in Uruguay. Three months later, she was performing at Chile’s coveted Viña del Mar Festival and won a Gaviota Award — an experience she describes as a “great opportunity” and “a trampoline” in her career. “The real challenge,” she says, came two years later when she decided to go solo.
In 2019, Emilia signed a record deal with Sony Music Latin and a management deal with Kolm (her former manager with Rombai), becoming the first female artist to sign with Kolm, who also manages Carlos Vives, Maluma, Wisin and Xavi.
“When she told me she wanted to go solo and make the music she liked the most, I saw her with such determination that I decided to be by her side,” Kolm says. “She is very charismatic and has her own initiative.”
Excited for what the future holds, he adds: “She moved to Miami to direct her career from the USA. Emilia has all the potential to be a global artist. She always knew where she wanted to go. This is just the beginning of a career that will be huge.”
Shortly after her debut solo single, “Recalienta,” co-written with Camilo and Fariana, Emilia earned her first entry on a Billboard chart with her Darell collaboration “No Soy Yo,” which debuted and peaked at No. 38 on Latin Pop Airplay in February 2020. She also scored chart entries with “La_Original.mp3,” with Tini; “Tu Recuerdo,” with Wisin and Lyanno; and “Como Si No Importara,” with Duki.
The lattermost song — about a secretive and daring relationship on which her rapper boyfriend Duki’s chanteos lace with Emilia’s dulcet vocals — gave the artist her first entry on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart in August 2021. The downtempo sultry reggaetón song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 in 2021. Emilia then released “Esto Recién Empieza,” which reached a No. 9 high on the Argentina Hot 100 in March 2022.
Natalia Aguilera
At that point, Emilia and Duki had been dating for a year; the couple made their relationship public at the 2022 Premio Lo Nuestro, where they performed “Como Si No Importara.” The collaborations have boosted both artists. Duki is a trap star, so Emilia has helped broaden his appeal to tweens. Emilia is very much a pop star, and dating Duki has given her street cred.
“We may seem different from the outside, but we are actually very similar, and we have almost everything in common. The only thing we don’t have in common is that I like sushi and he doesn’t,” Emilia says with a laugh as she opens up about her boyfriend with face tattoos. “But in general, we share everything, and we have a very nice relationship. We give each other feedback all the time. I love listening to him talk, to get advice from him. Beyond being an incredible artist, he’s a very intelligent, very cultured person. Sometimes he comes into the studio with me and we write together. We’re very passionate about the same thing and it’s beautiful to be able to share it without egos, without selfishness. It’s very genuine, and in a very healthy way.”
Despite Emilia’s celebrity in Argentina and her increasing presence abroad, it wasn’t until last year that the catchy cumbia “Perdonarte Para Qué?” with Los Ángeles Azules gave Emilia her first No. 1 on the Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts. It was a full-circle moment for the once teen girl who had a cumbia band back home.
“From the first time I heard it, I said, ‘100% yes!’” she exclaims. “I remember that it didn’t take me even two days to get into the studio and record it. I was so excited that they wanted to make a song with me, that they had taken me into account, being such legendary artists of Mexican culture and the world.”
Elías Mejía Avante, founding member of the Mexican group, says: “We are happy, but above all grateful to be part of this great musical milestone for her. It will always be an honor to be able to merge the talent of Mexico and Argentina, seeking to infect as many hearts as possible with our cumbia. We feel that therein lies the magic, in bringing joy and authenticity with music from the hand of one of the greats of Latin pop music today.”
Natalia Aguilera
Meanwhile, in her native country, Emilia’s a force to be reckoned with.
She’s placed 39 entries on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart, 20 of those in the top 10 and five hitting No. 1. Her longest-leading hit to date, “Una Foto (Remix)” with Mesita, Nicki Nicole and Tiago PZK, ruled for 10 weeks in 2024 — the third-most behind Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” (16 weeks atop the chart) and Valentino Merlo and The La Planta’s “Hoy” (11 weeks). Emilia has released two studio albums: the ultra-personal Tú Crees en Mí? (2022) and her early-2000s nostalgic set, .mp3 (2023). The latter was Spotify’s second most-streamed album of 2024 in Argentina, following Luck Ra’s Que Nos Falte Todo.
That success on the charts translated to ticket sales.
In April 2024, she kicked off her .mp3 tour with a historic 10-night stint at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires between April and May, later adding four shows at Vélez Sarsfield Stadium in October.
“With artists in development, we’ve had extraordinary success with Emilia and her 10 arena [shows], where she played to over 290,000 people,” Marcelo Figoli, founder and owner of Fenix Entertainment, who produced the shows, previously told Billboard, confident that Emilia “is going to be a big deal in 2025.”
“I underestimated it. I usually set my expectations low, so I don’t disappoint myself,” Emilia admits. “We came out with the ticket sales, and I hadn’t done any shows for my album [.mp3]. We came out with the album in November and at the beginning of December the tickets were sold out. I remember that my team had said that we were going to book 10 Movistar Arena shows because that was the idea. And I was like, ‘I would love it, obviously, a residency at the Movistar Arena, but I see it as difficult.’ I felt like we were going to sell three, four at most, but suddenly it was 10 in 10 hours.”
“The live show is the other big leg of this industry,” Geller adds. “She’s an artist who not only works in one vertical of the business, but also has visibility in the fashion, brand and music sectors and has transcended into selling tickets, which is the best thing. She is already proving it with shows. The success she had in Argentina, the huge success she is having in Spain, that is happening because music is starting to transcend to other spaces, which will surely lead her to a long career. That’s the faithful conclusion that we are on the right track.”
The shows were also a test of resilience in other areas.
“I was rehearsing for the Movistar shows and my dad got cancer… Of the most important things in my life, the two came together and it was very emotional for me, but I was able to handle both,” she says. “Today I have my dad with me, and he can see everything I’m doing. I learned to know myself a little better. What my limits are. To make mistakes and not be so cruel to myself. To value the real people I have in my life… that family is the most important thing. I learned that I love to work and that I must enjoy the moment and not live so much in the future.”
Natalia Aguilera
But living in the future is inevitable for someone on Emilia’s path.
She’s preparing for her 2025 concerts in Europe and Latin America by working out five to six days a week, something she never did before, but is essential for next-level shows.
“The show requires a lot of cardio. You have to sing and dance, you need a good diaphragm, lungs with air, endurance. I hated training! I wouldn’t touch a weight for nothing!” she says, giggling. “But if I hadn’t trained, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Exercise has become something important for me and it does me good. I feel strong and confident.”
Emilia is now in her second outfit for the photo shoot and looks like a glistening goddess dressed in baggy jeans with gold glitter, a gold bustier and matching gold heels, posing for a second round of photos as a fan blows her wavy locks and her entourage hypes her up. This time, she’s serving sultry looks to Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills.” In the far corner, her mother, Gabriela Rueda, gets emotional as she sees her daughter in action, and with tears rolling down her cheeks, she softly tells me she remembers doing photo shoots for Emilia in the living room and her father holding the fan to blow her hair.
“I love to show the ‘Emilia Pop Star’ and get into character,” Emilia says with a smile. “I grew up watching pop divas who do that onstage and it’s like playing for a while for me. But I’m also the Emilia who comes from Nogoyá, who gets together to drink mate with friends, who has problems like everyone else, who cries because I’m very sensitive. I’ve always been firm. I’m very positive too. I’ve always had a very objective and optimistic character and personality. I think that’s what also helped me to be where I am today and achieve everything I’ve achieved.”
It’s a Thursday afternoon at a studio in Miami, and Emilia is getting glammed up for a Billboard Español cover shoot. She’s wearing a baby-pink silky robe and striped slippers, and her equally silky, chocolatey brown hair is picked up in rollers as she navigates through her playlist for the perfect song to get ready. […]
Argentine pop princess and Billboard cover star Emilia is ready to take over the world. She sits down with Billboard to share her journey from humble beginnings to taking over Argentina, how being part of Rombai helped her solo career, the impact of ‘.mp3,’ her relationship with Duki, “Perdonarte ¿Para Qué?” with Los Angeles Azules becoming her first No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard charts, her preparations for her upcoming tour in Spain and more!
Emilia:
Before going on stage, to give me security and confidence, I tell myself, “I’m Rihanna, I’m Rihanna.” And I don’t know who told me, someone from my team, said now you need to say, “I’m Emilia, I’m Emilia, believe it.”
Jessica Roiz:
Emilia, I loved when you were doing the photo shoot. You came out empowered, confident, really secure. Have you always been like that? Or did it take you a while to get to that person?
Emilia:
I feel like I’ve always been hard-headed, always bossy, but I think security was being worked on over time.
Jessica Roiz:
I also loved when you were being styled and when we were at the photo shoot that you had a playlist with a lot of female rappers, you also had a lot of Y2K, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Shakira. Talk to me about that playlist and why you like to listen to it?
Emilia:
Well, it’s music that I grew up with, a lot of them, because they inspire me, and when I listen to their music I get in a good mood, it boosts my self-esteem, it makes me happy, it makes my whole team dance, I dance. It creates a beautiful energy in the place and love comes out.
Keep watching for more!
Liam Payne‘s blood alcohol level was more than three times the limit allowed while driving in the United States at the time of the singer’s death from a 40-foot fall in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October. The results were included in a report from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 14 released on Friday, which showed that an autopsy found that the former One Direction member and solo star had “alcohol concentrations of up to 2.7 grams per liter in blood” at the time of his death.
While Payne, 31, was not driving at the time, for context, the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) in the U.S. for drivers over 21 is 0.08%; 2.7 grams per liter translates to 0.27% BAC, which is more than three times the U.S. driving limit.
Trending on Billboard
According to the American Addiction Centers’ Alcohol.org, that BAC can cause, “confusion, feeling dazed, and disorientation… Sensations of pain will change, so if you fall and seriously hurt yourself, you may not notice, and you are less likely to do anything about it.” Other potential effects include: blackouts, nausea, vomiting and impairment of the gag reflex, “which could cause choking or aspirating on vomit.”
The Cleveland Clinic also notes that while a BAC of 0.15%-0.30% can cause the above symptoms and drowsiness, Payne’s measured level was just below the BAC (0.30%-0.40%) that can cause alcohol poisoning, “a potentially life-threatening condition… [which can cause a] loss of consciousness.”
The Argentinian report noted that in addition to the dangerous BAC, the autopsy revealed that Payne — whose death it said was a result of “multiple trauma and internal and external bleeding” caused by a fall from a three-story hotel balcony — also had cocaine metabolites, methylecgonine, benzoylecgomine, cocaethylene and the medication sertraline (Zoloft).
The prosecutor’s office announced in November that a toxicology report said Payne had “alcohol, cocaine and prescription antidepressants” in his system when he died on Oct. 16.
Last week, an Argentinian court dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the five people indicted in connection with Payne’s death. The court cleared the head receptionist at the CasaSur Hotel, Esteban Grassi, Argentinian-American businessman Rogelio Nores, a friend who accompanied Payne on the trip, and Gilda Martin, the hotel’s manager. Grassi made two emergency calls prior to the deadly accident, first reporting that a guest was “trashing the entire room” and later expressing concerns that the guest “may be in danger.”
In a recent Rolling Stone exposé, Payne’s former girlfriend, model Maya Henry, described the singer’s longtime struggles with depression and addiction, saying he became “someone unrecognizable” when he was using substances.
The 2025 Rocklahoma festival will feature headlining sets from Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin and Shinedown. The hard rock throwdown in Pryor, OK slated to take place from Aug. 29-31 will also feature first-night sets from embattled rocker Marilyn Manson, OG shock rock icon Alice Cooper, The Darkness, Ramones drummer Marky Ramone playing a set of the punk godfathers’ most iconic songs, as well as Hinder, Dorothy, Saliva, Orianthi, The Band Feel, Paralandra and many more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Among those joining Breaking Benjamin on night two at the Rockin’ Red Dirt Ranch Festival Grounds will be: Three Days Grace, Knocked Loose, Rage Against the Machine guitarist and solo performer Tom Morello, Starset, Citizen Soldier, Ayron Jones, Drowning Pool, 10 Years, Return to Dust, Zero 9:36, Fan Halen, Fox N’ Vead and others.
Trending on Billboard
Night three will pair Shinedown with 311, Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, Flyleaf with Lacey Strum, The Struts, Of Mice & Men, Sunami, Barbarians of California, The Funeral Portrait, Mike Tramp’s White Lion, Chained Saint and Wargasm UK, among others. There will also be a Thursday Night Throwdown kick-off concert with sets from Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider, along with Trixter, Sebastian James, Rocket Science and Crimson Love.
Tickets for the festival will go on sale on Friday (Feb. 28) here.
Last year’s Rocklahoma featured sets from Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Slipknot, Evanescence, A Day to Remember, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Skillet, Mastodon, Clutch, Kerry King, Coal Chamber and a reunited Anthrax.
Check out the full Rocklahoma 2025 Festival lineup below.
Rema, Ayra Starr and Tems are among the top nominees for the 2025 Headies Awards, a pan-African music awards event set for April 5 in Lagos, Nigeria. This will mark the show’s return to Africa after holding its last two ceremonies in Atlanta. The Headies Awards will be livestreamed on YouTube (U.S.) and Hip TV (Nigeria).
Odumodublvck is the top nominee with eight nods. Rema and Ayra Starr each received seven. Tems, Shallipopi and Kizz Daniel each have six.
Trending on Billboard
Wale, Skepta, Chris Brown, Travis Scott and Chloe Bailey are vying for international artist of the year.
“We are so excited about this year’s Headies Awards,” Ayo Animashaun, executive producer and founder of The Headies, said in a statement. “Our stellar lineup features dynamic artists from around the globe who have impacted their audience and the industry.”
To mark its return to Africa, The Headies Awards introduces The Headies Festival with a series of activities showcasing the best of Afrobeats and hip-hop music, entertainment and culture. The event schedule will commence on March 29, featuring events such as The Headies Stakeholder Brunch, Official Nominees Party, U.S. Consulate Reception and Afrobeats Conference and will climax with the Headies Awards ceremony.
The Headies Awards, originally called the Hip Hop World Awards, was established in 2006 by the Hip Hop World magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry.
Only music materials released and distributed on digital streaming platforms, and physical music media within the eligibility period (April 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024) were considered for nominations.
Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2025 Headies Awards. For more details, visit https://theheadies.com.
Artiste of the year
Davido
Ayra Starr
Asake
Rema
Tems
Burna
Song of the year
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel
“Commas” – Ayra Starr
“Egwu” – Chike and Mohbad
“Lonely at the Top” – Asake
“Ozeba” – Rema
“Big Baller” – Flavour
Album of the year
Born in the Wild – Tems
Heis – Rema
The Year I Turned 21 – Ayra Starr
Stubborn – Victony
Work of Art – Asake
Rookie of the year
Zerry Dl
Taves
Kaestyle
Llona
Best recording of the year
Tems – “Burning”
Seyi Vibez – “Different Pattern”
Burna Boy – “Higher”
Ayra Starr & Giveon – “Last Heartbreak Song”
Sarz featuring Lojay – “Billions”
Best vocal performance (female)
Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song”
Niniola – “Level”
Simi – “Stranger”
Liya – “I’m Done”
Tomorrow – “Yemi Alade”
Best vocal performance (male)
Lojay – “Billions”
Omah Lay – “Moving”
Anendlessocean – “Gratitude”
Johnny Drille – “For You”
Timi Dakolo – “Ke Na Ke So”
Best collaboration
“Emotions” – Tiwa Savage Feat. Asa
“Blood on the Dance Floor” Odumodublvck, Bloody Civilian and Wale
“Cast” – Shallipopi feat. Odumodublvck
“Egwu” – Chike and Mohbad
“Ole” – Qing Madi and Bnxn
“Twe Twe” Remix – Kizz Daniel and Davido
“IDK” – Wizkid feat. Zlatan
International artiste of the year
Wale – “Blood on the Dance Floor” (Odumodublvck)
Skepta – “Tony Montana” (feat. Portable)
Chris Brown – “Hmmm” (feat. Davido)
Travis Scott – “Active” (Asake)
Chloe Bailey – “Vision” remix (Qing Madi)
Music video of the year
“Charm” – Rema (Rema X Perliks X Folarin Oludare)
“Metaverse” – Olamide (Jyde Ajala)
“Like Ice Spice” – Blaqbonez (Perliks & Emeka Shine Shine)
“Ojapiano” – Kcee (Mattmax)
“Egwu” – Chike & Mohbad (Director Pink)
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel (Tg Omori)
“Na Money” – Davido feat. Cavemen, Angelique Kidjo (Dammy Twitch)
Songwriter of the year
Simisola Kosoko – “Stranger” (Simi)
Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma – “Vision” (Qing Madi)
Michael Ajuma Attah – “Can’t Breathe” (Llona)
Emoseh Khamofu – “Family Meeting (Bloody Civilian)
Fuayefika Maxwell – Stages of Life” (Wizard Chan)
Producer of the year
Sarz – “Happiness”
London – “Ozeba”
Magicstick – “Basquiat”
Rema/Producer X/Cubeatz/Deatz/Kilmberboy – “Hehehe”
Dibs – “Different Pattern”
Best R&B single
Qing Madi – “Vision”
Johnny Drille – “For You”
Simi – “Stranger”
Tems – “Burning”
Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” feat. Giveon
Best rap single
“Cast” feat. Odumodublvck – Shallipoppi
“Blood on the Dance Floor” feat. Bloody Civilian & Wale – Odumodublvck
“Hallelujah” – Ladipoe, Rozzz & Morrelo
“Canada” – Magnito
“Ije Nwoke” – Jeriq
Best street-hop artiste
Seyi Vibez – “Different Patterns”
Ayo Maff – “Dealer” (feat. Fireboy Dl)
Shallipopi – “Cast” (feat. Odumodublvck)
Zhus Jdo – “Johnbull”
Mohbad – “Ask About Me”
Afrobeats single of the year
“Big Big Things” – Young Jonn feat. Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez
“Twe Twe Remix” – Kizz Daniel
“Egwu” feat. Mohbad – Chike
“Remember” – Asake
“Ogechi” remix – Hyce, Boypee, and Brown Joel feat. Davido
“Big Baller” – Flavor
Lyricist on the roll
Mogadishu – A-Q
Chocolate City Cypher – M.I Abaga
Chocolate City Cypher – Blaqbonez
Hallelujah – Ladipoe
Efeleme – Alpha Ojini
Best inspirational single
“Gratitude” – Anendlessocean
“Worthy of My Praise” – Dunsin Oyekan feat. Lawrence Oyor
“Good God 2” – Limoblaze feat. Naomi Raine
“Particularly” – Gaise Baba feat. Tope Alabi
“You Do This One” – Mercy Chinwo
Headies’ viewers’ choice
“Big Big Things” feat. Kizz Daniel and Seyi Vibez – Young Jonn
“Ogechi” remix feat. Davido – Hyce, Boypee, And Brown Joel
“Egwu” – Chike & Mohbad
“Showa” – Kizz Daniel
“Different Pattern” – Seyi Vibez
“Ozeba” – Rema
“Love Me Jeje” – Tems
“Cast” feat. Odumodublvck – Shallipopi
“Dealer” feat. Fireboy Dml – Ayo Maff
“Big Baller” – Flavour
Best West African artiste of the year
Black Sherif (Ghana) – “January 9th”
King Promise (Ghana) – “Terminator”
Himra (Ivory Coast) – “Coulibaly & Diabaté”
Josey (Ivory Coast) – “Venez Bouger”
Toofan (Togo) – “Tone”
Best East African artiste of the year
Bien (Kenya) – “Wahala”
Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania) – “Mapoz”
Juma Jux (Tanzania) – “Enjoy”
Bruce Melodie (Rwanda) – “When She’s Around”
Azawi (Uganda) – “Masavu”
Best North African artiste of the year
Mohamed Ramadan (Egypt) – “Arabi”
Elgrande Toto (Morocco) – “Maghribi”
Soolking (Algeria) – “Tiki Taka”
Balti (Tunisia) – “Dima Mechi”
Abu (Eygpt) – “Hollela”
Best Southern African artiste of the year
Titom (South Africa) –“Tshwala Bam”
Yuppe (South Africa) – “Tshwala Bam”
Tyla (South Africa) – “Water”
Kelly Kay (Malawi) – “Bana Pwanya”
Plutonio (Mozambique) – “Acordar”
Zee Nxumalo (South Africa) – “Thula Mabota”
Best Central African artiste of the year
Innoss’b (DRC) – “Sete”
Gaz Mawete (DRC) – “Dendisa”
Emma’a (Gabon) – “Biso Mibale”
Eboloko (Gabon) – “Satanana”
Singuila. (Central African Republic) – “Sin Saison”
Kocee (Cameroun) – “Credit Alert”
Best rap album
Sideh Kai – Illbliss
Eziokwu – Odumodublvck
Alaye Toh Se Gogo Vol. 1 – Reminisce
Family Time – Erigga
Shiny Object Syndrome – Modenine
Soundtrack of the year
Eledumare – Teledalese (Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre)
Lose to Gain – Kaline (Breath of Life)
Kill Boro – Native Filmworks & Wizard Chan (Kill Boro)
Orisa – Beriola (Orisa)
Emotions – Tiwa Savage & Asa (Water and Garri)
Tribe Called Judah soundtrack – TCJ & Abbey Wonder (A Tribe Called Judah)
Next rated
Qing Madi
Shallipopi
Odumodublvck
Ayo Maff
Nasboi
Afrobeats album of the year
Stubborn – Victony
Work of Art – Asake
The Year I Turn 21 – Ayra Starr
Heis – Rema
Jiggy Forever – Young Jonn
Best performer (live)
Rema – Ravage Uprising: Rema Live From The O2, London
Omah Lay – Live at L’olympia Paris
Flavour – Celebrating You 2023
Wizard Chan – Live in Concert Port Harcourt
Burna Boy – African Giant Live From London
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force – Nuits De Fourvière (Arte Concert)
Digital artiste of the year
Ayra Starr
Rema
Shallipopi
Tems
Davido
Kizz Daniel
Asake
Special recognition
Kingsley Chinweike Okonkwo A.K.A Kcee
Frances Tiafoe never considered himself to be a Swiftie. But after the world’s No. 18-ranked tennis pro met Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chief’s game at Arrowhead Stadium last November — where the singer was cheering on her boyfriend KC tight end Travis Kelce — he came away super impressed, and seemingly pretty buzzed.
In an interview with Tennis TV this week, Tiafoe revealed that not only is Taylor a great hang, she can also toss ’em back like a pro. “We go into this suite, and the first person we see in this suite is Taylor,” Tiafoe, 27, said of the game he attended with his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield.
“We were drinking all day together. She was so cool. One of the most humble people for who she is. Super down to earth. Hopefully, we can do that again,” Tiafoe said, admitting he wasn’t a big fan of the singer before they met. “It’s crazy because, you know like, I’m not even saying I’m a Swiftie, but like, I appreciate greatness so much,” he admitted. “Seeing how cool she was, she’s got my ultimate respect.”
Trending on Billboard
Not only did they enjoy a few beverages, but singer/songwriter/actress/baker Swift also impressed Tiafoe by being “very knowledgable” about tennis, he said, noting that the singer told him she’d wanted to see him play in the final at last year’s U.S. Open, which he narrowly missed after losing in five sets to fellow American Taylor Fritz.
“And she was like, ‘Trav loves you,’” he added.
After wrapping her historic Eras Tour in December, and falling to the Eagles in this month’s Super Bowl LIX, Swift and Kelce, respectively, are seemingly taking some well-deserved time off to recharge.
Tate McRae is having a moment. With her latest album, So Close To What, surging toward the top of the Billboard 200, the singer-songwriter stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (Feb. 25) to reflect on her whirlwind year.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
During her chat with Fallon, McRae reflected on her first time performing with boyfriend and fellow singer, The Kid Laroi, who appears on her new album, as well as the shock of discovering her entire project had leaked weeks before release.
Trending on Billboard
McRae and Laroi’s collaboration, “I Know Love,” marks their first official duet, but the singer admitted to Fallon that singing together didn’t come as naturally as some might expect.
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” she told Fallon. “I mean, the first time we ever sang in front of each other was actually at my MSG show last year.”
She described the awkwardness of rehearsing for that moment. “You just, like, fake sing in front of each other all the time,” she said. “So, like, even when we were at our show last year, we were sitting in soundcheck like, ‘Are you going to sing first?’”
McRae laughed as she recalled their time in the studio together. “It was the same kind of situation in the studio. I was just like, ‘Can you, like, not listen?’”
Beyond the excitement of her new album and collaboration, McRae also opened up about a nightmare scenario for any artist—her album leaking weeks before its official release. “I was sitting in the bathtub, and I get a DM from one of my fans, and they were just like, ‘Here’s the link to the whole album,’” she revealed. “And it was like five weeks till the album was gonna drop.”
“I call my mom, call my therapist,” she admitted. “I mean, it’s just hard because I feel like it takes away all your control as an artist. You want to deliver your art exactly how you want it to come out.”
Despite the setback, McRae took the situation in stride. “I feel like we turned it around and added some more songs,” she said. “I think that’s the only thing you can really do in a situation like this, is just take advantage of it.”
Fallon then shifted gears, bringing up an unexpected feature on the album—Sydney Sweeney’s surprise cameo on So Close To What track “Miss Possessive.” “I was in Pilates and ran into Glen Powell,” McRae explained. “He was like, ‘Oh my God, I was just talking about you with Sydney Sweeney!’”
To her shock, Powell pulled out his phone to reveal that Sweeney had sent him a voice memo about McRae. “Sydney was like, ‘I’m obsessed with Tate McRae!’”
That moment led to McRae recruiting the Euphoria star for a voice cameo. “So, I got her to be on the song!” she said.