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One of the most musical shows on Broadway right now isn’t, in fact, a musical. Pop music has a tangible presence in, and is intrinsic to the fabric of, Kimberly Belflower’s play John Proctor Is the Villain. The story follows a group of girls from small-town Georgia who, amid the #MeToo era, are reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and starting to doubt that the titular protagonist is as morally upstanding as he’s often portrayed to be — just as a classmate and friend (played by Stranger Things star, and now Tony nominee, Sadie Sink) returns to town after a much gossiped-about absence. Concurrently, they decide to form a feminism club in an attempt to learn more about a subject the adults around them don’t seem to love addressing head-on. And from the bop-filled pre-show playlist (constructed meticulously by sound designer and composer Palmer Hefferan) to Hefferan’s original music woven throughout to the references to seminal female pop singer/songwriters like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez and Lorde written into (and crucial to) the plot, the pop music the girls love might as well be another character in the play.
“There’s something about music that is so connective — there’s just this language there that everyone understands,” says actor Fina Strazza, a Tony nominee for her portrayal of passionate overachiever and club founder Beth. “Even if you don’t know the song we’re referencing, you can see what it’s about and what it means to them.”
Chief among those songs is Lorde’s “Green Light,” which is referenced throughout the play before finally being played at its most cathartic moment (no further spoilers here!). Belflower — who calls it “a perfect song” — never considered any other in its place, which made its somewhat complex journey to approval especially anxiety-inducing. Songs are usually cleared off-Broadway on a production-by-production basis, but once John Proctor moved into wider publication and was clearly headed for Broadway, “We were like, ‘OK, we need to clear this song, like, forever,’” she explains, which entailed approaching Lorde’s publisher, UMPG. Belflower wrote an impassioned letter to Lorde, asking that it be passed to her personally — only to get a “no” as the first response from her team.
Sadie Sink and Amalia Yoo onstage.
Julieta Cervantes
“I had, like, a panic attack in the Whole Foods parking lot when my agent called to tell me,” she recalls now with a laugh. But two weeks later, a “yes” came through from the artist herself, saying she loved the letter (and that the initial “no” had just been due to a miscommunication between teams; while Lorde hasn’t seen the show yet, Belflower is hopeful that will change whenever she’s next in the city).
John Proctor Is the Villain — at the Booth Theater through Aug. 31 — is now the most Tony-nominated play on Broadway currently, with seven nods. In advance of the awards ceremony on Sunday (June 8), Belflower, Hefferan and Strazza spoke to Billboard about a few of its most prominent music moments and how they came to be.
Dayna Taymor and Kimberly Belflower on the first day of rehearsals for “John Proctor is the Villain.”
Jenny Anderson
Selena Gomez, “Bad Liar”
Jennifer Lopez unveiled the first look at her next big-screen role in Kiss of the Spider Woman on Thursday (June 5). In the teaser trailer, J.Lo stars as Ingrid Luna, an Old Hollywood actress whose litany of dazzling, song-and-dance roles are dreamt up by a pair of prisoners (played by Diego Luna and Tonatiuh) stuck […]
Griselda Flores caught up with El Malilla at Suenos Festival, and he defines “Mexican Reggaeton,” discusses his dream of touring the U.S. and more! El Malilla: The special case with Mexican reggaeton is that – Hey, how’s it going, everyone? I’m El Malilla, and this is Billboard, VIP Access. Griselda Flores: We’re with El Malilla […]
The BET Awards’ 25th-anniversary show takes place Monday, June 9, and we’re breaking what you can expect, including Kendrick Lamar’s 10 nominations, tributes to Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey, and more. Are you excited for the BET Awards? Let us know in the comments. Tetris Kelly: Kevin Hart, Tyla, Kendrick Lamar, Doechii and more will […]
Halle Bailey has denied DDG’s claim that her history of threatening self-harm poses a risk to their child’s wellbeing, telling a judge that the rapper is exaggerating about her since-treated mental health struggles and she’s “100% available and capable as a parent to our son.”
The arguments come in a custody battle that began last month when Bailey accused DDG (Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) of physically attacking her multiple times in the presence of their 18-month-old son, Halo. A judge granted the 25-year-old singer and actress a temporary domestic violence restraining order and full custody of Halo pending a court hearing.
That hearing was supposed to happen Wednesday (June 4), but got delayed when DDG filed a competing custody case that highlighted Bailey’s history of threatening self-harm. Bailey is now addressing those claims, saying in a response declaration that the 27-year-old Twitch rapper “has exaggerated, lied and misconstrued for the court, not only the history of our relationship, but our parenting and my mental health.”
“I have been very vocal about my anxiety, depression and previous thoughts of suicide,” wrote Bailey in the declaration. “Without waiving the psychotherapist-patient privilege and physician-patient privilege, I have reached out to my doctor and received treatment to address these issues. I have been and remain 100% available and capable as a parent to our son, Halo.”
Bailey notes that the bulk of the mental health incidents cited by DDG date back to 2022 and 2023, when she was “emotionally devastated” by the rapper’s behavior. But Bailey says DDG never raised any concerns about her parenting abilities until the very day her domestic abuse claims were set for a court hearing.
“Had Darryl really been concerned about my parenting, he would have taken action prior to this time,” wrote Bailey. “This is cold retribution to embarrass, humiliate and caused me additional emotional distress.”
On Wednesday evening, Judge Latrice A.G. Byrdsong partially granted DDG a temporary restraining order that bars Bailey from engaging in any physical or emotional abuse. But the judge is leaving Halo in Bailey’s sole custody until the hearing that’s now scheduled for June 24.
The judge also denied DDG’s request to stop Bailey from bringing Halo with her to Italy, where she’s scheduled to shoot a movie for two months this summer.
“The court finds insufficient evidence of imminent emotional and psychological risk to the minor child during petitioner’s business trip to Italy,” wrote the judge. “Further evidence is required at a noticed hearing for the court to issue more restrictive orders.”
Reps for Bailey and DDG did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday (June 5).
Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has some sage advice for anyone who finds themselves in a difficult situation.
“If you’re going through hell,” Homme says, “keep going.”
Easy for him to say: He’s one of the few lucky souls who has left the Paris Catacombs, the subject of his band’s new film and the final home to more than 6 million deceased Parisians following an 18th-century effort to fix Paris’ overcrowded, dilapidated cemetery system. Homme has long been fascinated by the underground burial site, visited by more than a half-million people each year, and chose the dark and foreboding underground capsule as the central motif for Queens of the Stone Age’s new project Alive in the Catacombs, a concert and concept film directed by Thomas Rames and produced by La Blogothèque.
“This place is like trying to run on a sheet of ice,” Hommes explains in the accompanying documentary Alive in Paris and Before, shot by the band’s longtime visual collaborator Andreas Neumann. “You have no idea how much time has passed up there, up above, and no time has passed below. It’s the same time, all the time, every time.”
It’s easy to get lost in the maze-like film as it wanders through the subterranean tunnels and ossuaries buried deep beneath the City of Light. The film captures Homme at a low point in 2024, having to cancel a major European leg of the band’s tour due to a cancer diagnosis from which he has since recovered. Performing in the Catacombs had been a lifelong dream of Homme’s, and he pushes though the pain to delivery a carefully arranged performance of music from the band’s back catalog, “stripped down bare, without taking away what made each one wonderful,” band member Dean Fertita explains in the documentary.
The band recruited violinist Christelle Lassort and viola player Arabella Bozig to repurpose tracks like “Paper Machete,” “Kalopsia” and “Villains of Circumstance”; while each song was performed acoustically, Homme was adamant the project not simply feel like “Queens of the Stone Age Unplugged.”
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“When you go into the Catacombs, there are 6 million people in there, and I think about, ‘What would you want to hear if you were one of those people?’” Homme said Wednesday night (June 4) during a Q&A in Los Angeles following a screening of the film. “I’d want to hear about family and acceptance and things I care about. A lot of the songs we picked are about the moment you realize there’s difficulty and the moment you realize you’re past it, so a lot of the songs we picked were about letting the people down there know it’s all right and that we care about them.”
Homme said the challenges of the performance was that unlike a traditional concert where the band plays to the audience, “We’re in the belly of this thing. The ceiling is dripping and it’s an organic thing that’s really dominating.”
The Paris Catacombs were built during a time of great upheaval in French society, as revolution completely reshaped civic life and laid siege to the political fabric of the French monarchy. There are no coffins or headstones in the Catacombs, with the bones of the princes and kings mixed with peasants and non-nobility.
The band shot the entire film in one day, Homme said, securing permission from the historical group that oversees the Paris Catacombs to shoot on a day the space was closed to the public.
“We didn’t over-rehearse; we just rehearsed twice,” Homme said. “It’s not supposed to be perfect. You try to make a plan, but you go down there and all the plans are off.”
Fans can preorder the film in advance on Queens of the Stone Age’s website; fans who order the video before Saturday will also receive the mini-documentary film. Watch the trailer below:
Source: – / Getty
This week, Saudi Arabia stopped more than 269,000 people from going into Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage because they didn’t have the right permits.
Hajj is a very important religious trip for Muslims, and millions of people from all over the world go each year. The Saudi government is trying to avoid dangerous overcrowding.
In the past, huge crowds in Mecca have led to deadly stampedes and heat-related deaths. To keep things safe this year, officials are being extra strict. Back in May, they also limited certain types of visas and even banned people from 14 mostly Arab countries from getting Hajj visas. So far, about 1.5 million people from outside Saudi Arabia are officially taking part in Hajj this year.
Local people are going too, but the exact number hasn’t been shared.
The Saudi Ministry of Interior has been warning people not to enter Mecca without a Hajj permit. They even started a hashtag in Arabic that means “No Hajj without a permit.” If someone is caught trying to sneak in without the proper paperwork, they could be fined up to 20,000 riyals, which is about $5,300.
This isn’t the first time Saudi Arabia has blocked people from entering Mecca during Hajj. Last year, they stopped nearly 300,000 people who didn’t have permits.
The country is also putting other rules in place to keep people safe. For example, children under 12 are not allowed to go this year. With millions of people all in one place, it’s super important to keep the crowds under control and avoid any dangerous situations. The message is clear: if you want to go to Mecca for Hajj, you need to follow the rules and get the right permit. Saudi Arabia wants to make sure everyone has a safe and peaceful pilgrimage.
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Elon Musk / Donald Trump
It should come as no surprise that the bromance between these two ego maniacs would have come to a fiery end.
We knew this day would come, but no one had Musk and Trump beefing with each other so soon on their bingo cards. The alleged ketamine abuser couldn’t keep his disdain for Trump’s “one big beautiful bill,” calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
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“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk began. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Trump was uncharacteristically quiet following Musk’s initial comments about his legislative centerpiece of his second presidency, the “one big beautiful bill.”
That all changed when Trump finally “clapped back” at Musk while taking questions during his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Trump said he was “very surprised” and “disappointed” by his former financier’s comments about his stupid bill, claiming the Tesla chief saw the bill and understood its inner workings better than anybody, while suggesting that Musk was mad because of the removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles.
Elon Musk Had Time For Donald Trump
Musk responded in real time via his “former platform,” X, formerly Twitter, with a flurry of posts on X accusing Trump of “ingratitude” and “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” while refuting the orange menace’s claims.
“Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,” Musk wrote.
Oh, and he wasn’t done. Musk then hit the president with a low blow, writing, “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Donald Trump Claps Back
Trump finally fired back on his platform, Truth Social, by threatening to cut Musk’s government contracts. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it.” Felon 47 wrote.
Musk replied by threatening to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which could be detrimental to the International Space Station and NASA, as it is described as “the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth” and can seat seven passengers.
Musk also agreed with a post stating that Trump should be impeached and replaced by JD Vance.
Oh, this is getting spicy.
While all of this was going on, CNN reports that Tesla stocks took a hit and Musk’s net worth shrank.
Per CNN:
Tesla shares plummeted 15% this afternoon as Elon Musk’s battle with President Donald Trump intensified.
Trump threatened in a social media post to target Musk’s business empire.
“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Tesla selloff has wiped off more than $150 billion off the market value of Telsa, which started the day worth nearly $1.1 trillion.
It has also erased a chunk off the net worth of Musk, the world’s richest person.
Social media has pulled up all the seats, grabbed some popcorn and are currently watching Musk go at with Trump and his supporters, you can see those reactions in the gallery below.
3. Wellllll, did he?
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President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial travel ban against a small number of countries with majority Muslim populations, and revived the policy this week. On Wednesday (June 4), President Trump signed a proclamation that slapped a new travel ban against a dozen countries and partial restrictions on seven others.
The White House shared the proclamation on its website, which detailed the Trump administration’s plans to bar entry to the United States to individuals hailing from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
In addition to the aforementioned countries, the proclamation placed partial travel restrictions on individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
From the proclamation:
As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks. Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety.
The travel ban that was enacted in 2018 was wildly unpopular as it seemingly targeted countries that President Trump perceived to be enemies of the state. With the Republican Party holding majorities in both chambers, Trump and his administration have been emboldened to expand the travel ban to include mostly African and Muslim countries, and have the support of Republican members of Congress.
Sen. Chuck Grassley defended President Trump’s renewed travel ban, stating that it was in the best interest of national security, as reported by KCRG.
“I don’t know what the basis was for him making that decision, but I assume it’s come because of some terrorist attacks we’ve had in the United States,” Grassley said.
Amnesty International posted a response to the travel ban, which can be read here.
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Billboard is continuing to expand its global footprint with the launch of Billboard Africa, which was announced Wednesday night (June 4) at our inaugural Global Power Players event in London.
In partnership with Global Venture Partners, Billboard Africa will continue Billboard‘s commitment to highlighting major developments within the African music industry and embracing the continent’s diverse voices and rich stories through events, awards and exclusive multimedia content. The platform aims to become the leading hub for African music and culture, strengthening ties between artists and fans as well as the local music economy.
“We are thrilled to launch Billboard Africa, a pivotal step in recognizing Africa’s profound contributions to global music culture,” said Josh Wilson, managing director at Global Venture Partners. “African music is not only rich and diverse but a driving force that continues to reshape global music trends. Billboard Africa will create a space where these voices are amplified, where artists connect with new audiences, and where fans and industry professionals alike can witness the full impact of Africa’s creative energy.”
In honor of Billboard Africa launching, we’re celebrating 11 African artists’ trailblazing efforts in the global music scene.
While Rema‘s “Calm Down,” featuring Selena Gomez on the remix, became the first African artist-led song to hit one billion Spotify streams, he’s not the only African artist in Spotify’s Billions Club. Wizkid was the first African member and also one of the first members ever when Drake’s “One Dance,” also featuring Kyla, became the very first song to hit one billion streams on the streaming service in 2016. And while Wiz is also the first Nigerian artist to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the same song in 2016, South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela became the first African artist to top the all-genre songs tally nearly 50 years earlier with “Grazing in the Grass.” CKay also landed a historic No. 1 on a Billboard chart that was brand new at the time: the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart that we launched in partnership with Afro Nation in 2022, which ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country.
Like Masekela, many African acts have paved the way for others to achieve historic firsts in their own right. Miriam Makeba, also known as “Mama Africa,” was the first African artist to win a Grammy in 1966, and almost 60 years later, Tyla won the first Grammy in the best African music performance category that the Recording Academy introduced in 2024. And Tems, who won her second Grammy in that category earlier this year with “Love Me JeJe,” made history in a whole different field when she became the first African-born woman to own a Major League Soccer team when she joined the San Diego FC ownership group as a club partner.
From the 1960s to the 2020s, take a look back at more of the historic firsts African artists have accomplished.
Miriam Makeba becomes the first African artist to win a Grammy (1966)