News

13 Mar 2023

TLC & Shaggy to Embark on Hot Summer Nights Tour With Special Guests En Vogue & Sean Kingston: See the Dates

TLC and Shaggy look to warm up the tour circuit with their forthcoming Hot Summer Nights jaunt featuring special guests En Vogue and Sean Kingston.

Slated to kick off June 1 in Alabama, the Hot Summer Nights 2023 Tour will land in major markets, including New York, Miami, California, Texas and more. TLC has a laundry bag of Billboard Hot 100 hits across the ’90s and ’00s. Their four chart-toppers include “Creep,” “Unpretty,” “Waterfalls,” and “No Scrubs.” Last June, Chilli, and T-Boz performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Boyz II Men and left the crowd enthralled with their string of classics. The crown jewel of the night came when T-Boz introduced their performance of “Unpretty.” “This next song is near and dear to my heart because I wrote it from my heart. My boyfriend then made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. With social media now, the song still rings true today.” Then to applause, she added, “I kicked his a– to the curb.”

As for Shaggy, the dancehall titan has a bevy of Hot 100 classics, including chart-toppers “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me.” In a 2021 interview with Billboard, Shaggy spoke on the importance of emerging dancehall artists breaking through. “I want the new generation to stream better than me because it boosts the genre and gives it a seat at the table. It gives us some sort of presence where corporate wants to f–k with us. It helps the culture with tourism. It’s a big part of our economy. When you beat me, that’s when we’re forced to be reckoned with.”

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Citi cardmembers can access presale tickets beginning Tuesday (March 14) at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program. The general on-sale starts Friday at 10 a.m. local time on LiveNation.com. See the dates below.

TLC, Shaggy

HOT SUMMER NIGHTS 2023 TOUR DATES: 

DATES INCLUDE FULL LINEUP UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE (SEE BELOW)

^Not a Live Nation Date | ~Tickets for this show will go onsale at a later date

Thu June 1 – Pelham, Ala. – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

Sat June 3 – Miami, Fla. – FPL Solar Amphitheater @ Bayfront Park

Sun June 4 – St. Augustine, Fla. – The St. Augustine Amphitheatre

Wed June 7 – Raleigh, N.C. – Coastal Credit Union Music Park @ Walnut Creek

Fri June 9 – Bristow, Va. – Jiffy Lube Live

Sat June 10 – Holmdel, N.J. – PNC Bank Arts Center

Sun June 11 – Mansfield, Mass. – Xfinity Center

Tue June 13 – Wantagh, N.Y. – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

Thu June 15 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage

Fri June 16 – Saratoga Springs, N.Y. – Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Sat June 17 – Hartford, Conn. – XFINITY Theatre

Wed June 21 – Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio – Blossom Music Center

Fri June 23 – Tinley Park, Ill. – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Sat June 24 – Noblesville, Ind. – Ruoff Music Center

Sun June 25 – Clarkston, Mich. – Pine Knob Music Theatre

Wed June 28 – Maryland Heights, Miss. – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Fri June 30 – Irving, Texas – The Pavilion At Toyota Music Factory

Sat July 1 – The Woodlands, Texas – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Sun July 2 – Lake Cowichan, BC – Laketown Shakedown^ (with Shaggy Only )

Mon July 3 – Austin, Texas – Bass Concert Hall^~ (with TLC, Shaggy, & Sean Kingston Only)

Thu July 6 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Granary Live^ (with Shaggy & Sean Kingston Only)

Fri July 7 – Phoenix, Ariz. – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

Sat July 8 – Irvine, Calif. – FivePoint Amphitheatre

Sun July 9 – Concord, Calif. – Concord Pavilion

Thu July 13 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton EXPO Centre^ (with TLC & Shaggy Only)

Fri July 14 – Calgary, AB – Cowboys Music Festival^ (with TLC & Shaggy Only)

13 Mar 2023

Hey Auntie : Twitter Loved Jonathan Majors & Michael B. Jordan Showing Love To Angela Bassett Following Oscars Loss

HipHopWired Featured Video

CLOSE

Jonathan Majors & Michael B. Jordan Show Angela Bassett Love

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty / Jonathan Majors / Micheal B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors made sure to send love Angela Bassett’s way.

Following Angela Bassett’s loss or “snub,” her Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan and his new bestie and Creed III boxing partner Jonathan Majors came through with some support giving her a shoutout before presenting the Oscar for Best Cinematography.

For those who didn’t tune in or didn’t care to watch the 95th Oscar Awards, Bassett, who was heavily favored to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her stellar performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, didn’t do the thing losing out to Jamie Lee Curtis for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once adding to the film’s epic night.

Many also feel Jamie Lee Curtis’ co-star Stephanie Hsu was “snubbed” and should have taken home the Oscar.

Once Jordan and Majors hit the stage, the Creed III director said “Hey Auntie” to Bassett, a nod to the popular line from the first Black Panther film. Majors told the iconic actress, “We love you.”

Twitter, who was still in their feelings about the “snub,” did appreciate the moment from Jordand and Majors. “Some real gs. Those few words = a whole conversation understood by many of us. What’s understood doesn’t always need to be explained,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Michael B Jordan to Angela Bassett: Hey Auntie. Jonathan Majors to Angela Bassett: WE love you IM CRYING,” another user wrote.

Angela Bassett Has Not Said Anything About The Oscars Moment

Bassett has yet to comment on the night and whether or not she felt she was the victim of another snubbing. She didn’t bring home the gold statue for her brilliant performance in the Tina Turner biopic, What’s Love Got To Do With It.

Speaking with CBS Mornings earlier this month, she spoke about it, saying, “Of course, in the moment, you’re hoping and praying and wishing … but I don’t walk away thinking I’ve been robbed,” she said. “That’s too negative of an emotion to carry with me for the rest of my life.”

You can peep more reactions to Jonathan Majors and Michael B. Jordan’s kind gesture in the gallery below.

—

Photo: Kevin Winter / Getty

2. We did too

13 Mar 2023

Watch Halle Bailey Fangirl Over Meeting Jamie Lee Curtis on the 2023 Oscars Red Carpet

Halle Bailey, you are all of us. Freaking out just like anyone would upon meeting a super famous actress, the 22-year-old Little Mermaid star reacted excitedly when she crossed paths with Jamie Lee Curtis Sunday night (March 12) on the Oscars red carpet.

The sweet moment was captured in the middle of Bailey’s red carpet interview with Variety, during which a reporter advocated for the singer-actress by waving Curtis over and saying, “Jamie, someone wants to meet you.”

Meanwhile, as Curtis made her way over, Bailey nervously whispered, “Oh my god.”

“I know who you are,” the Halloween actress graciously told Bailey, who’d begun introducing herself.

“I’m such a big fan,” the Chloe x Halle musician told Curtis. “You look beautiful, you look so pretty!”

After Curtis posed for a photo with Bailey, squeezed her admirer’s hand before walking away, Bailey gushed, “She’s so nice!”

“Oh my gosh, so many!” she added when asked to name her favorite of Curtis’ films. “Freaky Friday is the one that comes up for me.”

Both Bailey and Curtis had blockbuster evenings at Sunday night’s awards show. Curtis took home her first ever Oscar, earning best supporting actress for her role in this year’s best picture winner, Everything Everywhere All At Once. And Bailey — who looked stunning in an aptly aqua-colored gown fit for a princess — joined costar Melissa McCarthy in debuting the first official trailer for their live-action The Little Mermaid remake during the Oscars telecast.

Watch the adorable moment Halle Bailey met Jamie Lee Curtis at the Oscars below:

13 Mar 2023

Morgan Wallen Notches First Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 With ‘Last Night’

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” leaps from No. 5 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the country star’s first leader on the list. The song, which hit its prior No. 3 high four weeks ago, and debuted five weeks ago, is from his new 36-track album, One Thing at a Time. Released March 3, the set launches as Wallen’s second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the largest streaming week ever for a country album, as well as the biggest week by equivalent album units for any album, among all genres, in 2023.

Wallen also claims five of the Hot 100’s top 10 – becoming the first core country act to stake out half the top 10 in a single week, as well as only the sixth act overall ever to achieve the feat. All five songs are from One Thing at a Time, including three in the region for the first time: “Thought You Should Know,” up 13-7; “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” new at No. 9; and the set’s title track, which charges 51-10. They join “Last Night” and “You Proof,” Wallen’s former top five hit which rebounds 21-8.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated March 18, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 14). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Here’s a look at the Hot 100 coronation for “Last Night.” Released on Big Loud / Mercury / Republic Records, the song becomes the 1,147th No. 1 since the chart began in August 1958.

Streams, airplay & sales: “Last Night” drew 47.5 million streams (up 59%, good for the Hot 100’s top Streaming Gainer award) and 10.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 81%) and sold 18,000 (up 12%) March 3-9.

The track jumps 3-1 on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, where, as on the Hot 100, it becomes Wallen’s first leader. It flies 41-29 on the Country Airplay chart and, being promoted to pop radio, climbs 34-32 on Pop Airplay and debuts at No. 40 on Adult Pop Airplay.

Historic Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs No. 1s: As “Last Night” leads the Hot Country Songs chart, which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a fifth week, it becomes just the 20th song to have topped both tallies. It’s the first since Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” on the charts dated Nov. 27, 2021 – and the first by a solo male unaccompanied by any other acts in over 42 years, since Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” ruled Hot Country Songs for a week in January 1981 and the Hot 100 for two weeks that February-March.

Songs to Have Hit No. 1 on Both the Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs Charts:
“Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, 2021
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, 2012
“Amazed,” Lonestar, 1999-2000
“Islands in the Stream,” Kenny Rogers, duet with Dolly Parton, 1983
“I Love a Rainy Night,” Eddie Rabbitt, 1981
“9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, 1981
“Lady,” Kenny Rogers, 1980
“Southern Nights,” Glen Campbell, 1977
“Convoy,” C.W. McCall, 1975-76
“I’m Sorry,” John Denver, 1975
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell, 1975
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” John Denver, 1975
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” Freddy Fender, 1975
“(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” B.J. Thomas, 1975
“The Most Beautiful Girl,” Charlie Rich, 1973
“Honey,” Bobby Goldsboro, 1968
“Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean, 1961
“El Paso,” Marty Robbins, 1959-60
“The Battle of New Orleans,” Johnny Horton, 1959

Of the 20 songs listed above, 12 were concentrated in 1973-83. Meanwhile, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and Swift are the only acts with two songs each that have crowned both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts.

Big week for Big Loud, Mercury & Republic: Big Loud Records achieves its first Hot 100 No. 1 with Wallen’s “Last Night.” The Nashville-based label formed in 2011.

Mercury Records tops the Hot 100 for the first time since Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” ruled for a week in March 2010. The label, whose history dates to 1945, first led over 64 years ago, with The Platters’ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” in January 1959.

Republic Records, meanwhile, succeeds itself atop the Hot 100, a week after The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” surged to No. 1. Republic, which began in 1995, wrapped at No. 1 on the 2022 Hot 100 Labels recap and has earned the distinction in nine of the last 11 years.

Victorious ‘Voice’ vocalist: Wallen notches the first Hot 100 No. 1 for a contestant from NBC’s The Voice, which has run for 23 seasons, dating to its April 2011 premiere. (Its latest season began March 6.) He competed in the series’ sixth season, in 2014, and was eliminated in playoff rounds. “I didn’t feel like I was the best I could have been,” Wallen told Billboard in reflection of his run on the show. (He first hit Billboard’s charts in November 2016, by then signed to Big Loud.) “So, I practiced harder and really tried to make my voice second nature.”

Wallen with 5 of top 10: Wallen stockpiles half the Hot 100’s top 10, with “Last Night” at No. 1 followed by “Thought You Should Know” (13-7); “You Proof” (21-8, after hitting No. 5 last October); “Thinkin’ Bout Me” (No. 9 debut); and “One Thing at a Time,” the new LP’s title cut (51-10).

Wallen ups his career count of Hot 100 top 10s from five to eight, thanks to “Thought” (33.4 million in radio airplay audience; 20.5 million streams, up 56%), “Thinkin’ ” (20.7 million streams, 7,700 sold in its first week) and “Thing” (21.4 million streams, up 156%; 6.7 million in airplay audience, up 87%). “Thought” led the Country Airplay chart for three weeks beginning in February, becoming Wallen’s eighth and most recent No. 1, while “Thing” is now being promoted to country radio and soars 36-25 on Country Airplay.

“Proof” drew 21.8 million streams (up 58%) and 20 million in airplay audience in the tracking week. The song topped Country Airplay for a record 10 weeks in October-January.

Wallen becomes the first core country act to log at least half the Hot 100’s top 10 in a single week, and only the sixth act overall to achieve the feat. (Drake has posted three such weeks and The Beatles, who inaugurated the exclusive club in 1964, two.)

Acts With 5 or More of Hot 100’s Top 10 in a Single Week:
10, Taylor Swift, Nov. 5, 2022
9, Drake, Sept. 18, 2021
8, Drake, Nov. 19, 2022
7, 21 Savage, Nov. 19, 2022
7, Drake, July 14, 2018
5, Juice WRLD, July 25, 2020
5, Morgan Wallen, March 18, 2023
5, The Beatles, April 11, 1964
5, The Beatles, April 4, 1964

Save the ‘last’ for best: Occasionally, “last” shall be first on the Hot 100. Wallen’s “Last Night” is just the fifth song with “last” in its title to lead the list. Here’s a recap:

“Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, one week to-date, March 18, 2023
“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” Katy Perry, two weeks, beginning Aug. 27, 2011
“Save the Best for Last,” Vanessa Williams, five weeks, beginning March 21, 1992
“Last Train to Clarksville,” The Monkees, one week, Nov. 5, 1966
“Save the Last Dance for Me,” The Drifters, No. 1 for three weeks, beginning Oct. 17, 1960

We love reign-y “night”s: “Last Night” also marks the first “night”-titled Hot 100 No. 1 since Maroon 5’s “One More Night,” which led for nine weeks in 2012. Wallen scores the 30th such No. 1 (including variations “nights,” “midnight” and “tonight” in song titles).

As for the five songs in the latest Hot 100’s top 10 not by Wallen, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” leads them at No. 2, where it holds after spending its first six weeks on the chart at No. 1. It commands the Radio Songs chart for a fourth week, up 4% to 105.8 million in audience, the highest weekly total since The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” drew 114.6 million (May 23, 2020).

SZA’s “Kill Bill” keeps at No. 3 on the Hot 100 after seven weeks at its No. 2 high. It tops Billboard’s multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts for a 12th week each.

The Weeknd and Grande’s “Die for You” drops to No. 4 on the Hot 100 from No. 1, with 79.5 million in radio reach (down 2%), 28.2 million streams (down 13%) and 2,600 sold (down 81%); PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” slips 4-5, after hitting No. 3, as it takes top Airplay Gainer honors (20.7 million in audience, up 72%); and Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” is steady at No. 6, after reaching No. 3.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated March 18), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (March 14).

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.

13 Mar 2023

Angela Bassett Passed Over For Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Twitter Reacts

HipHopWired Featured Video

CLOSE

95th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals

Angela Bassett was deservedly nominated for the Actress In A Supporting Role Oscar in this year’s ceremony, which eventually went to fellow veteran actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. On Twitter, many people are calling Curtis’ win a snub over Bassett with some believing the loss may have stung a bit.

Angela Bassett starred in the stellar Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Queen Ramonda, delivering one of the best performances in the film hands down. Each scene with Bassett as the Queen of the fictional African nation was gripping and she expertly displayed a wide range of pride, beauty, grief, and a warrior’s resolve.

Amazingly enough, this is just the second Oscars nomination for Basett, her first nod happening in 1993 for Best Actress for What’s Love Got To Do With It starring in the role of the iconic Tina Turner.

Curtis, who has enjoyed a long career in Hollywood herself, won the Best Supporting Actress for the acclaimed Everything Everywhere All At Once, which had a big night on Sunday (March 12).

It isn’t clear what Bassett’s real feelings are about losing out to Curtis but the assumption being made on social media is that she wasn’t terribly pleased. That sentiment has only grown in size since the conclusion of the Oscars ceremony. Along with the calls of the loss being a snub, many online are alleging this was the Academy once again passing over a Black actress at the top of her craft.

On Twitter, the reactions to Angela Bassett not winning her first Oscar have been nothing short of passionate. We’ve got those reactions below.

—

Photo: Arturo Holmes / Getty

9. True Words

13 Mar 2023

From Rihanna to Lady Gaga, Here Are All the 2023 Oscars Performances

The 2023 Academy Awards took over Hollywood on Sunday night (March 12) with star-studded musical offerings by Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more for the best original song performances by the nominees.

The Super Bowl Halftime Show performer hit the stage in a custom Maison Margiela Artisanal outfit designed especially for her by John Galliano for the live debut of the Oscar-nominated “Lift Me Up,” one of her two offerings on the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Meanwhile, Mother Monster took the opposite route by stripping down to a simple black tee, ripped jeans and a makeup-free face for her last-minute performance of “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. “It’s deeply personal for me, and I think that we all need each other,” she said prior to launching into the song as the camera zoomed in for the closest of close-ups on her face. “We need a lot of love to walk through this life. And we all need a hero sometimes, there’s heroes all around us in unassuming places. But you might find that you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.”

Elsewhere during the ceremony, 14-time nominee Diane Warren accompanied Sofia Carson through “Applause” from the anthology film Tell It Like a Woman, and eventual best original song winner “Naatu Naatu” from RRR became the biggest song-and-dance spectacle of the evening led by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava.

Plus David Byrne teamed up with best supporting actress nominee Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux for a trippy, cerebral take on “This Is a Life” from fan favorite Everything Everywhere All at Once — giant hot dog fingers included. 

Besides the performances of the best original song nominees, Lenny Kravitz soundtracked this year’s In Memoriam segment with his 2004 single “Calling All Angels.”

Watch each of the performances at the 2023 Oscars below.

13 Mar 2023

Bronx Drill Rapper Nas EBK Arrested For Second-Degree Murder

HipHopWired Featured Video

US-JUSTICE-PRISON-RIKERS

Source: ED JONES / Getty

Nas EBK’s legal woes just took a turn for the worse. The rapper was recently arrested for second-degree murder in New York City.

As spotted on Complex the South Bronx native has been booked on some serious charges. Last week he was picked up for his alleged involvement in a shooting that occurred on Thursday, February 9 in the Times Square district of midtown Manhattan. Police say the artist, born Nasir Valenzuela, shot Idrissa Siby in the chest after a supposed argument. He was picked up by police Friday, March 10.

This is the second time this year the rapper has been in trouble with the law. Back in February EBK was arrested by U.S. Marshalls for making terrorist threats during a YouTube skit with fellow prankster Bubba100x; the same jokester who tried to get too familiar with Maino. In the video, Nas EBK was seen approaching Shoprite shoppers and asking weird questions and responding back by screaming. The goof got intense when he pulled a hat off an employee and eventually pulled out a knife and said “walk toward me again and I’ll violate you”.

Nas EBK has denied committing the murder via an Instagram post. “INNOCENT!! ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME !!! BE HOME SOON !! FREE DA GUYS !!” the caption read. He is currently being held at Bergen County Jail.

13 Mar 2023

Here’s What Nick Cannon Thinks About Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars Monologue Joke About His Kids

In between jokes about the infamous Will Smith Oscars 2022 slap, returning host Jimmy Kimmel squeezed in a jab at Nick Cannon‘s large number of children during his opening monologue at this year’s Academy Awards. And shortly after the ceremony wrapped, the Masked Singer host himself reacted to the callout, which he though was all in good fun.

“I heard about that,” Cannon told TMZ as he was leaving a restaurant Sunday night (March 12). “It’s hilarious. I created Wild N’ Out — I can hear jokes all day long.”

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host effortlessly looped in a joke at Cannon’s headling-making fertility rate — the Drumline star is a father to 12 children, eight of which were born within a two-year span — by mentioning that one of the night’s nominated films, Avatar: The Way of Water, cost Disney two billion dollars to make. “Just to break even, all of Nick Cannon’s kids had to see Avatar four times,” Kimmel quipped.

There’s no hard feelings between the two men, though. “Kimmel’s my man,” Cannon added.

The former America’s Got Talent host first became a dad when he welcomed twins with his megastar ex-wife Mariah Carey in 2011. In the years following the couple’s 2014 split, he had 10 more babies with five other women: Brittany Bell, Abby De La Rosa, Bre Tiesi, LaNisha Cole and Alyssa Scott.

Many have wondered if and when Cannon will put an end to his oats-sowing, including the female TMZ reporter who closed their Sunday night chat by asking if he planned on putting a cap on his child count — not that she got a real answer to the question. “I don’t know. Whatchu doing later?” he joked, laughing slyly as he closed his car door.

13 Mar 2023

Double Up: Ruth E. Carter Becomes First Black Two-Time Oscar Winner

HipHopWired Featured Video

95th Annual Academy Awards - Press Room

Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty

On a standout night for the Academy Awards, Ruth E. Carter became the first Black woman to win two Oscars for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

At the 95th Academy Awards held on Sunday night (March 12th), the iconic costume designer won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on the smash Black Panther sequel film. After accepting the award from presenters Paul Dano and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carter began her speech by dedicating the award to her late mother, who she revealed passed away at the age of 101.

“Thank you for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endures. She loves. She overcomes. She is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week Mable Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment,” she said.

Carter mentioned the late Chadwick Boseman next, asking him to “please take care” of her mother. She continued, thanking director Ryan Coogler and executive producer Nate Moore:  “Thank you both for your vision. Together, we are reshaping how culture is represented.” She would close by thanking those at Marvel Studios and the “many dedicated artists whose hands and hearts helped manifest the costumes of Wakanda and Talokan.”

The win made Carter the first Black woman to win multiple Oscar awards – she previously won for her work on the first Black Panther in 2019. She also became part of a premium category of multiple Academy Award winners in competitive categories who are Black, joining actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali and sound mixers Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II. The 62-year-old has enjoyed an illustrious career, having been previously nominated for her work on Spike Lee’s Malcolm X and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad.

She reflected on her win and her career to reporters backstage after receiving the award. ” I wanted to be a costume designer,” she began.”I studied. I scraped. I dealt with adversity in the industry that sometimes didn’t look like me and I endured. I feel that this win opens the door for other young costume designers that may not think that this industry is for them and hopefully they’ll see me, and they’ll see my story and they’ll think they can win an Oscar, too.”

13 Mar 2023

Which Performance at the 2023 Oscars Was Your Favorite? Vote!

The 2023 Oscars has officially come and gone. Celebrities, actresses and musicians attended the 95th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night (March 12) to celebrate and honor the most talked about movies released within the past year, and of course, the ceremony included performances by best original song nominees Rihanna, Lady Gaga and more.

Ri took the stage in a stunning Maison Margiela Artisanal look — black pants and black bra with dazzling rhinestones parading down the length of her baby bump — to give “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack its live debut. The track marked the pop star’s first Oscar nomination, alongside Tems, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson. The singer delivered a soaring performance of the song accompanied by a backing choir, imbuing the live rendition with as much emotion — if not more — than the original recording.

After initially declining to perform at the telecast, Gaga surprised fans by taking the stage for “Hold My Hand” from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack. The Academy Award winner — who performed makeup-free and in a casual outfit — began the set with a few words. “I wrote this song with my friend BloodPop for the film Top Gun: Maverick in my studio basement,” she began. “There’s heroes all around us, in unassuming places, but you might find that you can be your own hero even if you feel broken inside.”

David Byrne with Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux; Sofia Carson with Diane Warren; Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava; and Lenny Kravitz also performed at the Oscars. Which performance was your favorite? Vote in our poll below.