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15 May 2024

Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey & More Honored at Billboard’s Country Power Players 2024 Event

Billboard honored the country music industry’s most impactful, influential artists and executives during the 2024 Billboard Country Power Players Awards, held at Gilley’s in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday (May 14), just ahead of the ACM Awards slated for May 16.

Lainey Wilson, the cover star of Billboard’s Country Power Players issue, received the Record Breaker honoree. Nate Smith, known for hits including “Wildfire,” was celebrated as Rookie of the Year, while duo The War and Treaty was feted with the Groundbreaker award. Linda Martell, who charted three singles on Billboard‘s Hot Country charts and was the first Black woman artist to perform on the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, was honored with the Legend Award.

Billboard Executive Editor, West Coast and Nashville Melinda Newman presented Big Loud partner/CEO Seth England with the Executive of the Year accolade. Others honored during the evening were Shaboozey, who received a plaque for hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and WME’s Jay Williams, the recipient of the Billboard Country Power Players Choice Award, which was voted on by members of Billboard Pro.

Presenters during the evening included Kelsea Ballerini and Lone River Beverage Company founder Katie Beal Brown (both honoring Wilson), Breland (honoring The War and Treaty) and songwriter Ashley Gorley (honoring Smith).

Wilson closed out the event with a powerful performance of her songs “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” and “Country’s Cool Again.” Sponsors for the evening included Lone River Beverage Company, BMG and Big Loud.

Here, we rounded up photos from the 2024 Billboard Country Power Players Awards.

13 May 2024

Saweetie, Lucy Liu & More Celebrate Asian Pacific & Multicultural Leaders at 2024 Gold Gala: See the Photos

The third annual Gold Gala event took over the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening (May 11), celebrating the 2024 A100 list, which counts down the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific changemakers in culture and society over the past year.

The night featured a performance from 2023 A100 honoree Saweetie, who received the first-ever Billboard Gold Music Honor recognizing her boundary-pushing musical accomplishments. “I be shouting out my mama in my songs, my Filipino queen, through my food vlogs, through sharing old pictures of my childhood, I feel like those are the way I connected with my fans and let them know where my roots come from,” the rapper told Billboard on the red carpet on how she incorporates her Filipino and Chinese heritage into her career.

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo received Gold Ally Honor for her work to advance inclusive representation in front of and behind the camera. “This community has been very, very good to me. I hope to do more work with them and spend more time and hopefully connect more,” she told Billboard.

Other honorees included the cast and creators of Emmy-winning Beef, who receive the Gold Icon Honor and Lucy Liu, who earned the lifetime achievement Gold Legend Honor. Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary was also commemorated with the Gold Generation Award.

The Gold Gala was followed by the inaugural Billboard x Gold House Founders Party, which featured a headlining set from producer/DJ Steve Aoki, as well as a special performance from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 winner Nymphia Wind, a karaoke room presented by Rakuten Viki and an additional set from DJ Hu Dat.

In celebration of the Gold Gala, we compiled all the star-studded photos from the red carpet, featuring striking outfits and homages to the celebrities’ Asian heritage. See the photos in the gallery below.

10 May 2024

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Kicks Off Its European Leg in Paris: Photos From the Opening Show

All eyes were on Taylor Swift on May 9 as she kicked off the European leg of her Eras Tour with the first of four concerts in Paris, marking her first show back after the release of the Billboard 200-topping, record-breaking The Tortured Poets Department.

Not only did the pop star debut seven fresh numbers from the new album (see a full setlist), but she also made multiple changes to her original Eras set. A few fan-favorite songs were cut (sorry, “The Archer,” “Long Live” and “Tolerate It”), while parts of the show were restructured in order to make room for the new material. The sacrifices proved to be worth it, however, when Swift stunned the audience at La Defense Arena with brand new costumes, choreography, visuals and special effects, including an alien abduction and a clever trick that made the star appear to levitate across the stage.

The trek’s nightly high points, however, remained in place. Fans still got to scream along to the full 10-minute version of “All Too Well” during the Red era, hold their phone flashlights up for “Marjorie” in the Evermore set and scream the traditional “1, 2, 3, let’s go b—h” chant during Reputation’s “Delicate.” The surprise song section also remained fully intact as Swift gave Midnights’ “Paris” and TTPD’s “LOML” their live debuts. 

“This has been an unforgettable night in Paris!” Swift gushed to the crowd before closing out as usual with “Karma.” “Thank you so much!”

Check out photos from Swift’s Eras Tour European kickoff show in Paris below.

07 May 2024

Backstage at iHeartCountry Festival 2024: See Photos of Jelly Roll & More

Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Lady A, Riley Green, Ashley McBryde, Brothers Osborne and Walker Hayes took the stage on Saturday (May 4) at the 11th annual iHeartCountry Festival Presented by Capital One in Austin, Texas.

Old Dominion kicked off the show with a performance including some some of their biggest hits “Song For Another Time,” “Hotel Key” and more. The group also brought out Ashley Cooke to sing “Can’t Break Up Now,” a duet they wrote with Megan Moroney.

Jelly Roll also took the stage to sing his sang his country radio hits “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and more. He closed out his set with a characteristically profound speech thanking his fans and iHeartRadio for changing his life before closing with his smash hit, “Save Me.”

Jason Aldean wrapped up the night with some of his most iconic tracks, kicking things off with “My Kind of Party” and continuing with “Trouble With a Heartbreak,” “Let Your Boys Be Country” and “Hicktown,” among others. He also brought out up-and-coming artist John Morgan to sing his latest single, “Friends Like That,” featuring Aldean.

While the fun was going on onstage, Billboard had a photographer behind-the-scenes to take exclusive, backstage photos. Check out all the snaps from iHeartCountry Festival below.

07 May 2024

Met Gala 2024: Photos From the Star-Studded Afterparties

The annual Met Gala took over New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night (May 6), with some of today’s biggest stars ascending the iconic white staircase in creative and jaw-dropping looks to capture the “Garden in Time” dress code.

While the Met Gala looked like a blast itself, the real fun happens after hours, when celebrities hit the town to party the night away in celebration. Among the hottest afterparties was the Après Met 2 Met Gala Afterparty hosted by Carlos Nazario, Emily Ratajkowski, Francesco Risso, Paloma Elsesser, Raul Lopez and Renell Medra — which was notably attended by reported exes Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, who looked cozy as they smiled and chatted on one of the couches together. 

Richie Akiva hosted his 10th Annual “The After” Met Gala Afterparty held at Casa Cipriani, which was attended by another pair of reported exes, Cardi B and Offset, who have been spotted together often recently despite the “Bodak Yellow” rapper declaring that she’s single back in December.

Usher also held his own Secret Garden Met Gala Afterparty at The Times Square Edition, while The Boom Boom Room also hosted an event celebrating the Met Gala.

We’ve compiled some of the best photos from all the Met Gala afterparties for you to check out below.

07 May 2024

Here Are the 2024 Met Gala Musician Looks Ranked

The first Monday in May means it’s one of the biggest fashion days of the year, the Met Gala. Some of the biggest stars walked the red — or white, rather — carpet on Monday night (May 6), showing off some of the most creative looks to capture the evening’s theme.

This year’s theme, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, is set to feature 250 items from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, according to an Instagram post announcing the theme back in November. “From a 17th century English Elizabethan-era bodice and Christian Dior’s famous Junon and Venus ballgowns, to 21st century acquisitions by designers including Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney, and Conner Ives, the core exhibit will span 400 years of history,” the caption reads. See the full post here.

Additionally, the event’s dress code was “The Garden of Time,” inspired by a 1962 J.G. Ballard short story of the same name.

Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez served as co-chairs of the 2024 Met Gala on Monday (May 6) as will Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth and, as usual, Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

Many artists embodied the dress code by utilizing texture, color and, of course, floral accents, but others completely missed the mark. See below for our full ranking of the 2024 Met Gala looks worn by musicians specifically, judged primarily on how well they followed this year’s dress code.

06 May 2024

Met Gala 2024: Photos From the Red Carpet

The first Monday in May is officially here, which means that today’s biggest stars, artists and professionals will take the luxurious white carpet at the 2024 Met Gala.

Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez served as co-chairs of the event at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, as did Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth and, as usual, Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. All five co-chairs stepped onto the carpet upon its opening, rocking jaw-dropping colors and textures to capture the “Garden of Time” dress code. The whimsical dress code is inspired by a 1962 J.G. Ballard short story of the same name.

This year’s exhibit theme, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, is set to feature 250 items from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, according to an Instagram post announcing the theme back in November. The exhibit will appear at the museum beginning on May 10. “From a 17th century English Elizabethan-era bodice and Christian Dior’s famous Junon and Venus ballgowns, to 21st century acquisitions by designers including Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney, and Conner Ives, the core exhibit will span 400 years of history,” the caption reads.

The works will be displayed at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in new ways, including elements such as video animation, CGI, AI and more.

See below for all the red carpet photos from the 2024 Met Gala.

06 May 2024

Paul McCartney Unveils Archival ‘Beatlemania’ Exhibit at Brooklyn Museum: See His Personal Photos

When Beatlemania first swept the United States in 1964, a moment pinpointed in time by the band’s first-ever televised performance on The Ed Sullivan Show that February, only four people knew exactly what it was like to be at the center of such a revolutionary cultural frenzy: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Now, almost exactly 60 years later, American fans are getting the rare chance to see behind the curtain of The Beatles’ unprecedented rise to fame, all thanks to McCartney documenting the period with his personal Pentax film camera more than half a century ago. Upon being recovered from the living legend’s archives, more than 250 of his photographs were put on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London last year – and now, they’ve made their way to the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.

Unveiled Friday (May 3), Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm takes outsiders into the Liverpool native’s surreal reality when he was just 21 years old, on the precipice of becoming one of four of the biggest music stars history has ever seen. The immersive exhibit — a sample of which you can see below — also features video footage and archival materials and traces The Beatles’ ascent from touring at small concert halls in England to dodging hordes of rabid fans and paparazzi in the States.

“Since first arriving in New York in February 1964, Paul McCartney has built a strong, everlasting connection to the city,” says Catherine Futter, the Brooklyn Museum’s director of curatorial affairs and senior curator of decorative arts, in a statement. “His vibrant photographs from The Beatles’ first visit capture the energy of the city, the excitement of the American fans, and the frenzy of the band’s status as celebrities.”

“Yet the images also record The Beatles’ fun and delight with each other,” Futter adds. “Through McCartney’s lens, we feel the intensity of being at the center of such extraordinary events.”

The collection is now available to visit at the Brooklyn Museum through August 18, 2024. Check out a selection of McCartney’s rare photographs below.

03 May 2024

Zendaya’s Style Evolution, From 2010 to Now

The star has been serving up looks since her Disney Channel days.

Zendaya

Zendaya attends the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on Feb. 26, 2023 in Los Angeles.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Zendaya has been serving up game-changing looks since before she was even an adult, a fact that sometimes makes it difficult to remember that the California native is a world-class actress, singer and model in addition to being a modern fashion icon.

But alas, the accomplished multi-hyphenate has done it all — and has looked stunning while doing it. When she shows up to an event or a red carpet, fans can feel certain that she’ll make a statement, whether it’s with a gorgeous gown or a boundary-pushing designer outfit. She’s also known for matching her looks to the films she stars in, from wearing a gorgeous butterfly dress to the Australian premiere of The Greatest Showman to sporting stilettos with heels piercing actual tennis balls on a promotional trip to Rome for Challengers.

It’s also crucial to mention that Z’s reputation as a style tastemaker is thanks in no small part to her partner in crime, stylist Law Roach. The pair have been working together for well over a decade, with the in-demand stylist going from dressing the star for some of her very first events as a Disney Channel breakout star to coordinating show-stealing moments for several Met Galas – an event Zendaya earned the right to co-chair in 2024.

“It’s a little bit of fake it till you make it,” she confessed on The Kelly Clarkson Show that year, admitting that she’s an introvert. “You have to psych yourself up and pretend. Eventually you believe it. You’re like, ‘OK, yeah, I do feel confident today.’ And I think fashion has been a great tool for that for me.”

Keep reading to see Zendaya’s style evolve, as captured in photos through the years, below.

03 May 2024

Bad Bunny’s Style Evolution: From 2017 to Now

From laid-back jeans to skirts, suits and designer clothes, Bad Bunny has been rocking it all with confidence and edge since the beginning of his career. 

If his major red carpet or concert looks are any indication, the Puerto Rican superstar is not one to shy away from innovative outfits. 

“My style influences what my music is and everything that surrounds me within it,” he told Billboard in 2019. “The way you dress is, to say the least, a type of art. Everyone must dress, and use their creativity, express themselves in that way, their feelings, their way of thinking. Everyone must be free in that area and let the mind flow.” 

With that mindset, the “Monaco” singer has turned many heads with his fashion-forward style.

Take, for example, his look at the 2018 American Music Awards, where a then-emerging Bunny walked the red carpet with J Balvin and performed “I Like It” with Cardi B. For that appearance, he rocked a casual-yet-strange fit: black-and-white striped pants, mint-colored shirt with skeletons on fire, and an eye on his forehead. 

“The eye represents many things,” he explained at the time. “Power, trusting yourself, seeing things that others don’t see and don’t understand, both in the world and in yourself, and most of all always having the vision to move forward, grow, and improve.” 

For his Met Gala debut in 2022, the Latin star opted for a custom Burberry boilersuit complete with gold floral hair clips, and later shared he hit the studio in that very same outfit after the high-profile event to continue working on Un Verano Sin Ti. “People at the studio were looking at me like, ‘Really? You’re going to record a reggaeton song with that look?,’” he said an interview with The View.

Check out Bad Bunny’s fashion evolution in the images below: