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08 Jun 2023

Kelis Is Reportedly Dating Bill Murray & Twitter Is So Confused

Kelis’ milkshake brought Bill Murray to the yard.

The 43-year-old “Milkshake” star is dating the 72-year-old Ghostbusters actor, according to a report by The Sun. While the duo have yet to confirm their romance publicly, Murray was spotted watching Kelis’ set at Mighty Hoopla festival in London last weekend and the duo even posed for a photo backstage.

Kelis was previously married to Nas, though their marriage ended in 2009. In 2018, she alleged that he was physically abusive toward her during their five-year marriage, which Nas has since denied. Kelis’ second husband, Mike Mora, died of stomach cancer in March 2022.

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Murray, meanwhile, was married to Margaret Kelly from 1981 to 1996, and later to Jennifer Butler from 1997 to 2008. Butler died suddenly at age 57 in 2021.

Following reports of the unlikely budding romance, fans took to Twitter with all types of reactions, from confusion to memes. See below for some of the best reactions.

08 Jun 2023

Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde, Bailey Zimmerman & More Honored at Billboard Country Power Players Event

Billboard‘s 2023 Country Power Players were feted on Tuesday evening (June 6), during an awards ceremony held at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.

Billboard cover star Jelly Roll was honored with the Breakthrough Award, which was presented by his fellow singer-songwriter Ernest. HARDY honored newcomer Bailey Zimmerman with the Billboard country Rookie of the Year honor, while Terri Clark awarded Ashley McBryde with the Groundbreaker Award.

“There’s a story that my daddy used to tell, ‘You can work harder than everybody, you can put in more hours than everybody, you can be more talented than everybody, you can be nicer than everybody, you can care more than everybody, but if a little luck don’t show up with you, you are screwed in this world.’ I can tell you that God blessed me to be lucky to have friends like ERNEST and HARDY, and Ashley [McBryde] and these people that have came through and helped me put out my first debut country album,” Jelly Roll said during the event.

“It means a lot to receive this, because it means betting on yourself is the right move,” McBryde said in accepting her Groundbreaker accolade.

Meanwhile, Sony Music Publishing Nashville CEO Rusty Gaston was honored with the Executive of the Year award by Melinda Newman, Executive Editor of Billboard, West Coast and Nashville.

“I love this community and what I love most about country music is that we are a community. We are a group of friends that get to work together to help each other succeed,” Gaston said in accepting his award.

The private event was followed by a concert headlined by Jelly Roll and featuring opener Nate Smith.

08 Jun 2023

P!nk’s Daughter Willow Joins Her Onstage for ‘Cover Me in Sunshine’ Performance

P!nk kicked off her fun-filled Summer Carnival tour at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England, on Wednesday (June 7), and she surprised the audience with a performance of “Cover Me in Sunshine” with her 12-year-old daughter Willow.

In a video the singer retweeted from the show, Willow shows off the impressive vocal ability she got from her mom as she belted the second verse. The duo released the song back in 2021 in the height of COVID-19. “This past year has been so many things for us. Sad, lonely, scary, yes. It’s also been quiet, reflective and a great teacher,” P!nk said in a statement at the time. “Willow and I find comfort in music, so we’re putting this song out for no other reason than that we hope it brings you sweetness, sunshine and comfort, too.”

After the show, P!nk also expressed her gratitude on Twitter, writing, “BOLTON!!!!! G-ddarn we have fun, don’t we? Tour kick off was INSANE and I am counting the seconds until we go for ROUND TWO TONIGHT. it feels so good to be back together.”

Following her trek across the U.K. and Europe, the “Just Give Me a Reason” superstar will bring her tour across the pond to North America. The Live Nation-produced Summer Carnival tour will kick off its North American run on July 24 in Toronto at the Roger Centre and hit Cincinnati, Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, San Antonio, San Diego and Los Angeles before wrapping up on Oct. 9 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Watch P!nk sing “Cover Me in Sunshine” with Willow below.

08 Jun 2023

Dua Lipa Wins Copyright Lawsuit, Blueface Arrested for Robbery & More | Billboard News

Artikal Sound System has moved to drop their copyright lawsuit against Dua Lipa; this comes days after a federal judge said its case had serious flaws. Blueface has been arrested in Vegas; the arrest comes less than a year after the rapper was taken into custody for attempted murder. Killer Mike stopped by Billboard News to talk through creating his most personal album yet, the start of his career, Atlanta rappers and his thoughts on Georgia politics. And more!

Tetris Kelly:
Dua Lipa wins in court, Blueface is set to appear in court, and we have Killer Mike in the studio. Plus, we jump back into our K-pop girl groups you should know and run back some of our favorite summer songs.

Tetris Kelly:
Happy Thursday y’all, it’s June 8th. I’m Tetris and this is Billboard News. Let’s jump into our top story. A court battle with Dua Lipa is over as a copyright claim against her is dropped.

Tetris Kelly:
Days after a federal judge said its case had serious flaws, a band called Artikal Sound System has moved to drop the lawsuit against the pop star entirely after they claimed the singer’s massive hit ‘Levitating’ borrowed its hood from the Florida reggae band’s 2017 track ‘Live Your Life.’

Tetris Kelly:
A US district judge ruled strongly for Lipa, saying that there was no sign that anyone involved in creating ‘Levitating’ had access to the earlier song. So in a filing on June 7, attorneys for both Artikal Sound System and Lipa filed a joint motion asking the judge to permanently dismiss the case. Now Dua Lipa can focus on Barbie, and we can’t wait.

Watch the full video above!

08 Jun 2023

‘UFC 289’: How to Watch Amanda Nunes Defend Her Title Against Irene Aldana & More

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The wait for the highly anticipated UFC 289 match is almost over.

Saturday (June 10) will bring MMA fighter Amanda Nunes back to defend her title against No. 5-ranked contender Irene Aldana. The fight (along with preliminary matches) will take place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

For those who can’t make it to Vancouver to watch all the action live, you can take advantage of streaming options and catch the action from the comfort of your couch. Other fights you can look forward to watching include the Women’s Flyweight Bout, Middleweight Bout, Bantamweight Bout, Featherweight Bout and more.

Early preliminary matches will begin at 7 p.m. ET all leading up to the championship matchup of Nunes vs. Aldana at 10 p.m.

Rather than hunt for the nearest sports bar, continue reading to see how you can stream UFC 289.

How to Watch UFC 289

For those unable to catch the action inside the arena, UFC 289 is available to watch exclusively through pay-per-view on ESPN+.

You can get an ESPN+ subscription for $9.99/month, or save over 15% with an ESPN+ Annual Plan at $99.99/year. You can also bundle ESPN+ with Disney+ and Hulu for $13.99/month here.

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$9.99/month

Besides the UFC 289, ESPN+ members can watch live games in other sports, NFL drafts, NFL playoffs, MLB games and exclusive on-demand videos, as well as access content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider. In addition to games, ESPN+ has original shows to stream on-demand, including game recaps, NBA finals and analyses hosted by Peyton Manning, a shorter version of NFL Primetime, as well as full replays of historic NFL games.

08 Jun 2023

Jana Kramer Expecting First Child With Fiancé Allan Russell

Jana Kramer will soon welcome her third child and her first with fiancé Allan Russell.

Kramer said via social media, “We’ve been keeping another secret from you guys…but I’m pregnant!!!! Beyond blessed and grateful for this baby to be a part of our story.”

Kramer also told People, “I didn’t think it would ever happen again, if I’m being honest. I’ve been through a lot, so this has just been a really beautiful thing. I’m letting it all sink in. It’s everything I’ve wanted and more. Allan was so sweet. He wrote me this little sticky note saying, ‘You deserve the happy ending.’”

She added to People, “I’ve had miscarriages, so I didn’t even know if it was possible. I’m like, yes, it’d be beautiful for us to create something because I love this man. It would be the silver lining with everything that happened, but I’d always get kind of down about it because I didn’t know if I was capable of carrying a pregnancy again. I was like, well, I’m going to be 40 in December, so I was like, we have one month to try. Literally one month.”

Kramer has two children — Jolie, 7, and Jace, 4 — with her ex-husband, former NFL player Mike Caussin, while Russell is father to a 15-year-old son from a previous relationship.

The former One Tree Hill actress revealed her engagement to Russell in May on an episode of her Whine Down With Jana Kramer podcast.

“I’ve got an announcement today,” Kramer said during the podcast episode. “Allan and I have been dating for six-and-a-half months and he asked me to marry him.”

Kramer and Caussin filed for divorce in 2021 after six years of marriage.

08 Jun 2023

Lindsay Lohan Shares the Encouraging Parenting Advice Jamie Lee Curtis Gave Her

Lindsay Lohan is ready to be a mom, and the pregnant star recently sat down with Allure to share her feelings as she embarks on her new motherhood journey.

For advice, the actress turned to her onscreen mom, her Freaky Friday co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, who told her to simply “bring the baby with you and everything will be fine.”

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“I can’t wait to see what the feeling is and what it’s like to just be a mom,” she continued, nothing that she’s been crying a lot throughout her pregnancy. “Happy tears. That’s just who I am,” she clarified. “Though now, it’s probably baby emotion.” 

Lohan revealed back in March that she and husband Bader Shammas are expecting their first child. “We are blessed and excited!” she wrote alongside a surprise Instagram photo of a white onesie with the words “Coming Soon …” written on it. “We are very excited for our new family member to arrive and we are looking forward to this next chapter of our lives,” she later shared in a sweet statement to TMZ.

Following her announcement, in April, Curtis showered Lohan with love on Instagram. “My friend and film daughter @lindsaylohan is growing up! So thrilled for her. What a mama she will be,” the Everything Everywhere All at Once star captioned a repost of photos Lohan shared a day prior, in which she’s seen holding her growing stomach, as well as smiling with friends and family at a variety of recent events. 

Back in February, Curtis told Variety that a Freaky Friday sequel is “going to happen” at the Producers Guild Awards. “It’s going to happen,” she said. “Without saying there’s anything officially happening, I’m looking at you in this moment and saying, ‘Of course it’s going to happen.’ It’s going to happen.”

08 Jun 2023

‘Embaaaaarrassing!’: Twitter Reacts To Drake’s Credit Card Getting Declined During Livestream

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Listen—it’s awkward and embarrassing for anyone the moment their debit or credit card gets declined. Those of us who it has happened to are lucky if it’s only a failed transaction witnessed between the cashier and customer, as opposed to an audience of onlookers waiting behind us in line. At least they’re all strangers who won’t even remember your face five minutes later though, right?

But what if you’re a world-famous person whose credit card got declined during a livestream watched by your millions of followers and it turns into a viral moment across social media?

Well, then you’d be Drake.

From HuffPost:

Over the weekend, the Grammy-winning artist appeared on a special Kick livestream alongside rapper Lil Yachty, whom he tapped to help promote the online casino company Stake.

“Yo, listen, I don’t know who owns Kick, but I know the chat wants to see Yachty go live,” he said during the video before he began donating money to fans. “I’ve been telling him I feel like he can take over Kick. That’s just a little business idea for whoever owns Kick; they need to cut the check for my brother.”

Then the Canadian rapper tried to gift $500 to a fan during the live video, only for his credit card to decline.

“Embarrassing,” Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, said in a high-pitched voice as he tried to brush off the blunder.

“Yeah, what just happened?! Yeah, we’re just not even…” the star added.



Now, obviously, Drake can’t have people out here thinking he’s a secret broke boy masquerading as one of the top-selling and most recognizable Hip Hop artists in the world, so he was quick to let his followers know that the rejected card he used for the transaction wasn’t his personal card. But that really doesn’t matter once Twitter gets ahold of a thing.

And thus, viral comedy ensued.

Of course, there were also plenty of Drake stans who, for whatever reason, felt compelled to rush to the “Hotline Bling” rapper’s defense.

Calm down, guys nobody actually thinks Drake is broke. The moment was just funny because a notably rich guy had his card declined for the world to see and he sounded like he sucked up a full helium balloon before yelping, “Emmmmbbbbarrrasing!”

It was quite embarrassing—and hilarious. 

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08 Jun 2023

Official HIGE DANdism and King & Prince Lead Billboard Japan’s 2023 Mid-Year Charts

Official HIGE DANdism and King & Prince top Billboard Japan’s 2023 mid-year charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 28, 2022, to May 28, 2023.

On the Japan Hot 100 songs chart, hitmakers Official HIGE DANdism rule with “Subtitle.” The four-man band’s record-breaking single, featured as the theme of the popular TV series silent, was streamed 287,706,788 times during the tallying period after dropping digitally on Oct. 12 last year. In May it sailed past 400 million streams, breaking the previous record for the time it took for a song to reach that milestone. It also became the record-holder for most weeks at No. 1 after the topping the survey 13 times.

“We’re so very grateful that so many of you have listened to our music,” the band says in a statement. “We’ll keep working hard on our songwriting and live shows, and enjoy being in this band so we can continue delivering music we think is great. Thank you so much!”

Two popular anime series openers follow on the mid-year Japan Hot 100: the Chainsaw Man opener “KICK BACK” by Kenshi Yonezu at No. 2 and the Oshi no Ko opening theme “Idol” by YOASOBI at No. 3. The latter recently made headlines in Japan for becoming the first Japanese-language song to top Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. list.

The No. 1 album on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums mid-year chart is King & Prince’s greatest-hits collection Mr.5. The boy band’s best-of set sold over a million copies (1,376,802) during the surveying period and dominated the physical sales metric as well.

King & Prince

King & Prince

Courtesy Billboard Japan

Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi of King & Prince shared a heartfelt statement expressing gratitude to their fans for their undying support: “We’re thrilled to hear King & Prince’s first best-of album Mr.5 finished first in the album category on [Billboard Japan’s] mid-year charts of 2023. Thank you so much to everyone who picked up a copy and to everyone who was involved in its making!”

“This album was created to reflect upon our journey so far as a group, made together with our fans who walked with us along the way,” they added. “It made us so happy to receive so many votes when we were selecting the tracks, seeing how much people loved our songs. We’re sure we were able to achieve this result because so many of you supported us. We’ll continue to stay true to ourselves and keep delivering our best performances and songs. Please look forward to it!”

The album at No. 2 is Snow Man‘s i DO ME and SEVENTEEN‘s FML follows at No. 3.

Official HIGE DANdism is the top act on the mid-year Japan Artist 100 chart, compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums lists. The band has eight songs in the top 100, including former chart-toppers “Mixed Nuts” and “Pretender.”

The artist at No. 2 is young singer-songwriter Vaundy, whose performance of his long-running hit “Kaijuu no Hanauta” on last year’s New Year’s Eve live music extravaganza Kohaku Uta Gassen stole the show. Following at No. 3 is veteran three-man band back number, with five songs in the top 100 including the hits “I Love You” and “Suiheisen.” 

While the synergistic effects of major tie-ins with popular TV series and anime have led to the accumulation of more points than ever in the digital realms of the chart’s methodology — streaming, video views and downloads — the breakthroughs of hits independent of tie-ins such as Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta,” Tani Yuuki‘s “W/X/Y” and Natori’s “Overdose” should also be noted.

Billboard Japan Hot 100 Mid-Year Chart 2023

1. “Subtitle” / Official HIGE DANdism
2. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu
3. “Idol” / YOASOBI
4. “Kaijuu no Hanauta” / Vaundy
5. “Dai Zero Kan” / 10-FEET
6. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado
7. “W/X/Y” / Tani Yuuki
8. “Overdose” / Natori
9. “Mixed Nuts” / Official HIGE DANdism
10. “I Love You” / back number

Billboard Japan Hot Albums Mid-Year Chart 2023

1. Mr.5 / King & Prince
2. i DO ME / Snow Man
3. FML / SEVENTEEN
4. THE SOUND / Stray Kids
5. Koe / SixTONES
6. Kessoku Band / Kessoku Band
7. Awakening / INI
8. FACE / JIMIN
9. Humor / back number
10. POWER / Johnny’s WEST

Billboard Japan Artist 100 Mid-Year Chart 2023

1. Official HIGE DANdism
2. Vaundy
3. back number
4. YOASOBI
5. Ado
6. Mrs. GREEN APPLE
7. Yuuri
8. King & Prince
9. Snow Man
10. Kenshi Yonezu

08 Jun 2023

‘Little Mermaid’ Tops Soundtracks Chart, Swims Past Peak of Original Album on Billboard 200

The soundtrack to the new live action The Little Mermaid film jumps 4-1 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart (dated June 10), while also surging 103-21 on the overall Billboard 200 chart. On the latter tally, the new set swims past the peak of the original soundtrack to the 1989 animated The Little Mermaid, which topped out at No. 32 in 1990.

The new album earned 22,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending June 1 (up 174%), according to Luminate.

The Little Mermaid’s coronation on the Soundtracks chart is the latest live-action remake of a Disney animated classic to lead the tally. Previously, the companion albums to Aladdin (in 2019), The Lion King (The Lion King: The Gift, credited to Beyoncé and various artists; also in 2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Alice in Wonderland (2010).

The new Little Mermaid soundtrack features new renditions of familiar classics (such as “Part of Your World,” the Academy Award-winning “Under the Sea,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and “Kiss the Girl”) as performed by the cast members, along with a few newly penned tunes.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Billboard’s Soundtracks chart ranks the most popular soundtracks of the week based on equivalent album units.