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Lil Nas X Jokingly Bids the LGBTQ Community Adieu After Saweetie Calls Him ‘So Fine’

Everyone has their celebrity crushes, including celebrities themselves. And when Saweetie revealed who she was crushing, she certainly caught their attention.

In an interview with E! News posted on Monday (March 20), Saweetie revealed that her “celebrity guy crush” was none other than Lil Nas X. She shared that she thought “he is so fine,” and added that “he look better than me … I be like, ‘What is your skin regimen?’”

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It didn’t take long for Lil Nas to hear about Saweetie’s confession. Retweeting a fan account that posted a clip of Saweetie’s response, the “Industry Baby” singer joked that he was ready to switch teams for her. “goodbye lgbt community, we had a great run,” he wrote next to a heart emoji.

The adorable exchange came just a few hours after a dustup of online drama involving the pair, when fans noticed that Saweetie liked a tweet questioning Lil Nas X’s sexuality with a clip from his recent Lollapalooza Chile performance. The “My Type” rapper quickly dispelled rumors that she thought Lil Nas was secretly straight in a tweet of her own, saying, “he was lookin fine af that’s why I liked the video I didn’t see the shadiness …. *unlikes*.”

Lil Nas X also clapped back at the original tweet claiming that he was “not really gay or not really that feminine it’s so forced,” questioning the qualifications of the person making the accusation. “oh no guys it’s the estrogen expert,” he tweeted.

Check out the clip from Saweetie’s interview and Lil Nas X’s response below:

Tencent Music’s Annual Revenues Fall 9.3% on Shrinking Social Business

China’s leading music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) reported on Tuesday a 9.3% decline in the company’s annual revenues last year, as falling earnings from its social entertainment services business compounded a decline in monthly active users on its music platform.

TME’s total revenues fell to RMB 28.34 billion (USD $4.11 billion) in 2022 from RMB 31.24 billion 2021, with revenues for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31 having fallen by 2.4% to RMB 7.43 billion ($1.08 billion) compared to the fourth quarter in 2021.

TME, which owns streaming platforms QQ Music, Kugou and Kuwo, plus karaoke app WeSing, said revenues from its social entertainment services and others fell 19.8% in 2022 to RMB 15.86 billion ($2.30 billion). The number of paying users fell 24.3% due to the macroeconomic environment, competition from other platforms and COVID-19, the company said. 

Revenues from music subscriptions rose 18.6% to RMB 8.70 billion ($1.26 billion) helping TME’s online music services revenues to increase overall by 8.9% to RMB 12.48 billion ($1.81 billion) for 2022. The number of paying subscribers grew by 22.7%. However, average revenue per user was slightly lower — RMB 8.6 in 2022 compared to RMB 8.9 in 2021 — due to higher marketing costs, and the number of mobile monthly active users (MAU) of its online music division fell 7.8% to 567 million in the fourth quarter.

“During the fourth quarter, as a result of macro headwinds, increased competition from other platforms and the surge in COVID cases social entertainment services MAUs and paying users declined year over year,” said Tony Yip, TME chief strategy officer, on a call discussing the company’s earnings on Tuesday.

China’s late-year increase in COVID cases as it loosened pandemic restrictions and increased competition also led to the year-over-year decline in online music mobile MAUs, Yip said.

Declining social entertainment services revenues held one benefit for TME: lower revenue sharing fees in 2022. That contributed to a savings of more than RMB 2.27 billion, as its cost of revenues for the year fell 10.4% year-over-year to RMB 19.57 billion ($2.84 billion).

This helped TME achieve an operating profit up nearly 17% to RMB 4.44 billion ($644 million) in 2022. Operating income is the income that remains after accounting for nearly all costs of doing business.

TME expects 2023 total revenues and profitability to be up from last year, and for the share of quarterly revenues coming from online music services will exceed those coming social entertainment services at some point this year as they continue to achieve “high quality growth in both subscription and non-subscription revenue,” Yip said.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group’s 2022 Highlights:

  • Mobile monthly active users (MAU) for its online music division fell 7.8% to 567 million in the fourth quarter 2022 from 615 million in the fourth quarter 2021
  • Mobile MAU for social entertainment fell 16.6% to 146 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 from 175 million in the fourth quarter 2021
  • Paying users of TME’s online music platform rose 16.1% to 88.5 million in the fourth quarter 2022 from 76.2 million in the fourth quarte 2021
  • Paying users of TME’s social entertainment platform fells 15.6% to 7.6 million in the fourth quarter 2022 from 9 million in the fourth quarter

NCT DREAM Embraces Old-School Hip-Hop in English-Language Version of ‘Beatbox’: Listen

NCT DREAM is giving fans an English single to feast on, and it’s a re-release of one of the K-pop stars’ more recent tracks. The K-pop group shared its new version of “Beatbox” on Tuesday (March 21), alongside a lyric video handwritten by members Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Chenle, Jaemin and Jisung.

“Yeah, pull up to the spot, turn it up (Yeah, yeah)/ Make a beatbox-box and it bump (Yeah, yeah)/ Rhythm with the flow is the gunghap/ Everywhere I go, bring the beatbox/ Yeah, hands up to the top, bring ’em up (Yeah, yeah)/ Make a beatbox-box and it bump (Yeah, yeah) Everywhere I go, make the room hop/ Everywhere I go, bring the beatbox,” the boys sing in unison on the song’s infectious chorus. The lyric video also highlights scenes of the group doing a photo shoot for the single.

“Beatbox” — which serves as NCT DREAM’s second English-language single after “Fireflies” — was originally released as the title track from the group’s second album repackage, Beatbox. The set arrived last year on May 30 and, in addition to the Korean version of “Beatbox,” featured new tracks “To My First,” “Sorry, Heart” and “On the Way,” which did not appear on the K-pop group’s second album, Glitch Mode. Glitch Mode peaked at No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart, while Beatbox, Glitch Mode‘s repackage, peaked at No. 61.

Up next for NCT DREAM is a tour across the United States titled NCT DREAM — THE DREAM SHOW2: In A DREAM tour, which will kick off on April 5. It is set to make stops in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle before concluding on April 21.

Listen to the English version of “Beatbox” in the video above.

Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Odesza to Headline 2023 Lollapalooza

Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Odesza, Karol G, The 1975 and Tomorrow X Together will headline this summer’s Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. The annual throwdown in downtown will take place from August 3-6 in Grant Park and also feature sets from Fred Again…, Noah Kahan, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodies. J.I.D., Maggie Rogers, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diplo and Thirty Seconds to Mars.

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It will mark the first time headlining for Eilish and Lamar and Karol G will become the first female Latin artist to top the bill for the fest, which will host more than 170 bands on 9 stages over four days.

Also slate to perform are: NewJeans, Tems, Rina Sawayama, Lil Yachty, Morgan Wade, Lainey Wilson, Sudan Archives, Sabrina Carpenter, Suki Waterhouse, Louis the Child, Pusha T, Mt. Joy, Sofi Tukker, Portugal. the Man, Yung Gravy, Beabadoobee, Afrojack, Joey Bada$$, Sylvan Esso, Alex G, Knocked Loose, Foals, Maisie Peters, Peach Pit, Declan McKenna, The Knocks, Joy Oladokun and many more.

Fans can sign up for the SMS presale that kicks off on Thursday (March 23) at 10 a.m. CT here to get access to 4-day general admission tickets at the tier 1 price ($365) while supplies last; you can also sign up for 4-day GA+, VIP and Platinum tickets at that time. A public on-sale will take place following the pre-sale for any remaining tickets. One-day tickets and a lineup-by-day will be available at a later date.

Check out the full lineup for 2023 Lollapalooza below.

Lollapalooza

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Watch Taylor Swift Stage Dive at Her Eras Tour Concerts

There’s stage diving, and then there’s literally diving headfirst into a stage floor. Taylor Swift has been adopting the latter approach during the first couple dates of her highly anticipated Eras Tour, performing a one-of-a-kind stunt during a key moment in her show that has been leaving fans speechless.

The move comes toward the end of Swift’s three-hour showcase and serves as a transition from the surprise song section of her concert to the finale, which is dedicated to her most recent album, Midnights. After the 33-year-old pop star sings two random acoustic numbers from her nearly two decades-long catalog on a B-stage, she puts her hands together above her head and plunges into a Taylor-sized hole in the stage floor.

Lighting effects then make it look as though Swift is swimming underneath the catwalk connecting the B-stage and her main stage. When she emerges on the main stage, she performs Midnights single “Lavender Haze” wearing a brand new costume.

The “Anti-Hero” singer officially kicked off the Eras Tour in Glendale, Ariz. — temporarily renamed “Swift City” in her honor — with a pair of State Farm Stadium shows Friday and Saturday night (March 17-18). There were many other stunning moments throughout the concert that left Swifties reeling, from Tay’s sexy “Vigilante Shit” dance routine to her calling out Evermore critics, but the unexpected dive was definitely one of the big standouts. Almost immediately, clips of the plunge started going viral on Twitter, sparking jokes, memes and all-around awe from fans.

Watch Taylor Swift “stage dive” during her Eras Tour show in Glendale below:

Bruce Springsteen Busted Out a Standells Classic During the E Street’s Boston Show

Bruce Springsteen always knows how to give the people exactly what they want. The Boss proved it once again on Monday night (March 20) at Boston’s TD Garden Arena when he gave the Beantown faithful a taste of one of their hometown anthems when he busted out The Standells’ 1965 ode to some of the city’s iconic faces and places, “Dirty Water.”

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According to Boston.com, the run through the garage rock tune came at the top of a 50-minute encore and it was just one of several Boston mentions Bruce tossed out over the course of the show. The rocker also dedicated the classic “Thunder Road” to the nurses, doctors and staff at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and encouraged his fans to donate to the volunteers from the Greater Boston Food Bank who were set up around the arena.

“Dirty Water” was written by the Standells’ producer Ed Cobb, a California native, and it makes mentions of the city’s notoriously fouled Charles River and Boston Harbor (hence, “Dirty Water”), the totally unfair midnight curfew imposed upon female students at Boston University (“Frustrated women… have to be in by 12 o’clock”) as well as the subject of the recent Keira Knightley film Boston Strangler (“have you heard about the strangler?”).

In the years since, the song by the Los Angeles band has become an anthem for Boston sports teams, including hockey’s Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox baseball team. “Dirty Water” peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1965.

Check out footage of the cover below from Boston.com’s Christopher Gavin.

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen performs at TD Garden on March 20, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Kevin Mazur/GI for Bruce Springsteen

Kim Petras Reveals Her Dream Girl Group: Cher, Nicki Minaj & More | Billboard

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Ludacris Spotted In Studio With Ghanaian Rapper Sarkodie

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Sarkodie Perform At The Forum

Ludacris is one of the top-charting rappers of his era and has moved on to become a Hollywood star along the way. While the big screen is still a viable medium for the rapper born Christopher Bridges, music is still a centerpiece of his life as evidenced by Luda being spotted in the studio with popular Ghanaian rapper, Sarkodie.

Ludacris, 45, saw his name trending after being seen on video vibing with Sarkodie over some new tracks. At one point, it appeared that Luda found a moment of inspiration and grabbed his phone to jot down some bars.

In the clip, Ludacris is seen checking out Sarkodie’s track “Country Side” featuring Black Sherif, which has a million views for the video on YouTube.



Sarkodie and Luda are no strangers to each other, this after the Ghanaian star rocked on Luda’s “How Low” track in 2012 during a live performance.



It could be speculated that Luda was in Accra, Ghana to record a remix to “Country Side” and the track, as seen above, would be perfect for Luda and Sarkodie’s dextrous flows.

On Twitter, the excitement about a possible audio reunion between Ludacris and Sarkodie has the streets talking. We’ve got the best reactions to the clips below.

Photo: Ollie Millington / Getty

Cardi B’s $4M Defamation Verdict Against Tasha K Upheld By Appeals Court

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld Cardi B’s $4 million defamation verdict against a gossip blogger who made salacious claims on YouTube about drug use, STDs and prostitution.

In a five-page decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an appeal from Tasha K, who had claimed that the massive verdict against her was the result of “very lopsided presentation of evidence to the jury.”

The appeals court ruled that Tasha K (real name Latasha Kebe) had failed to properly make that argument to the trial judge, meaning she forfeited the right to do so before an appeals court.

“Defendant Latasha Kebe asks for a new trial, saying that there was insufficient evidence for the jury verdict against her,” the appeals court wrote. “But as she all but admits, she didn’t make either of the required post-verdict motions in the district court.”

Tasha’s attorneys had also argued that the judge overseeing the trial withheld key evidence that might have helped her beat Cardi’s accusations, but the Eleventh Circuit rejected that argument, too.

“She never tells us where in the 5500-page record the district court’s alleged errors can be found,” the appeals court wrote. “Because Kebe’s brief falls well short of what we require, she has abandoned this argument.”

Cardi B (real name Belcalis Almánzar) sued Tasha in 2019, over what the rapper’s lawyers called a “malicious campaign” on social media and YouTube aimed at hurting Cardi’s reputation. The star’s attorneys said they had repeatedly tried – and failed – to get her to pull her videos down.

One Tasha video cited in the lawsuit includes a statement that Cardi had done sex acts “with beer bottles on f—ing stripper stages.” Others videos said the superstar had contracted herpes; that she had been a prostitute; that she had cheated on her husband; and that she had done hard drugs.

Following a trial in January, jurors sided decisively with Cardi B, holding Tasha liable for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They awarded more than $2.5 million in damages and another $1.3 million in legal fees incurred by the rapper. Judge William Ray later issued an injunction forcing her to pull the videos from the internet.

Tasha appealed that verdict last summer, arguing in her opening appellate brief that Judge Ray withheld key details from jurors and the verdict was the result of a “very lopsided” trial. She’s vowed to keep fighting the case “all the way to the Supreme Court if need be,” even if it “takes years” to do so.

Following Tuesday’s decision, a trip to the Supreme Court would be the procedural next step, but it’s unclear if Tasha will actually do so. The high court hears only a tiny fraction of the cases it is sent, and Tasha’s appeal does not likely present the kind of close questions that the justices typically want to tackle.

Tasha’s attorney did not return a request for comment on Tuesday’s ruling.

The status of the $4 million damages award is also unclear. In September, Cardi’s attorneys warned Judge Ray that Tasha might use the delay caused by her appeals to avoid paying.

“This is more than a hypothetical concern in this case,” attorney Lisa F. Moore and Cardi’s other lawyers at the time. “During the litigation, Kebe bragged publicly that she had taken steps to insulate herself from a judgment. And there have been recent online reports that Kebe has moved from Georgia to avoid enforcement of the judgment.”

A month later, Judge Ray ruled that Tasha would need to either immediately pay Cardi B, or secure a bond covering the entire amount while she appeals. It’s unclear if she ever did either.

Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ Adds Eighth Week at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” remains the biggest song in the world, as it scores an eighth week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 25).

“Flowers” is from Cyrus’s new album, Endless Summer Vacation, which debuts at No. 3 on the U.S.-based Billboard 200 chart. It’s her 14th top 10, including those under her former Disney Channel-era Hannah Montana alter ego, a run that began in 2006.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. surveys, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Here’s the Dirt: ‘Flowers’ Holds Atop Global 200

Cyrus’ “Flowers” claims an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, with 104.6 million streams (up 7%) and 32,000 sold (up 10%) worldwide in the March 10-16 tracking week.

The song notches its eighth week of over 100 million worldwide streams. Only The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” has logged more such frames since the Global 200 started: nine, in August-October 2021.

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” is steady at its No. 2 Global 200 high; Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” holds at No. 3 two weeks after it soared in at the summit; SZA’s “Kill Bill” keeps at No. 4, following two weeks on top in January; and PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” rebounds 6-5, after hitting No. 3.

Cyrus Also No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.

As on the Global 200, Cyrus’ “Flowers” posts an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 79.9 million streams (up 5%) and 16,000 sold (up 1%) outside the U.S. March 10-16.

The rest of the Global Excl. U.S. top five holds in place from the week before: Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG,” at No. 2 two weeks after it premiered at the pinnacle; The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You,” at its No. 3 best for a third week; Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down,” at No. 4 following two weeks on top in January; and SZA’s “Kill Bill,” at No. 5 after reaching No. 2.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 25, 2023) will update on Billboard.com today (March 21). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.