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While the past weekendâs KCON festival offered K-pop fans the rare opportunity to see their favorite artists in person through three days of convention and concerts, ZEROBASEONE took full advantage of the Los Angeles audience by surprise announcing a new album on the festâs final day on Sunday (July 28).
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After the nine-member boy band performed the singles âFeel the POPâ and âIn Bloomâ at the Crypto.com Arena, a mysterious video appeared across the KCON marquee with the phrases âCinema Paradiseâ and âAugust 2024â below it. The guys quickly confirmed that the tease was a âcomeback spoilerâ to the audience.
Cinema Paradise will be ZB1âs fourth K-pop release since debuting just over a year ago on July 10, 2023, with their Youth in the Shade EP. See the comeback spoiler âfilmâ below:
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ZEROBASEONE wasnât the only artist to utilize KCON LA to tease new music.
Not long after ZB1 made the surprise album announcement, next KCON performer Jeon Somi revealed at the end of her set that she would be returning to the K-pop scene with âa âfun summer song.â The soloist shared the melody and lyrics from the upcoming track, telling the audience to sing along with the call-and-response lines: âCome and get your ice cream⊠/ Too cold!â
Somiâs agency, THEBLACKLABEL, quickly confirmed that the singerâs new single âIce Creamâ would drop on Aug. 2 and shared the following photos.
Elsewhere during KCON, Billboard 200âcharting boy band P1Harmony hyped up fans when leader Keeho shared the groupâs âcomeback is coming faster than you thinkâ during the âred carpetâ ceremony on Saturday, July 27.
Plus, the Japanese girl group ME:I (created on Produce 101 Japan The Girls, a local version of a K-pop singing competition developed by KCON organizer CJ E&M) shared a live performance of their new single âHi-Fiveâ ahead of its official release on Aug. 28. Previously, the 11-member outfit peaked at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 so far with their debut single âClickâ in April.
The music video to âHi-Fiveâ dropped a few hours after making its live debut to KCON-ers in attendance.
KCON reports that a combined 5.9 million fans showed up in person and online from more than 170 countries across the three days of this yearâs festivities, which is in line with the 5.9 million viewers from 176 regions from last yearâs fest. With the bonus of surprise announcements and new song reveals this year, the upcoming KCON Germany 2024 in September should also boast millions of fans tuning in.
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STAY have made their way to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Team Mexicoâs Alexa Moreno took the mat on Sunday for the ultimate Stray Kids-themed gymnastics floor routine. In a now-viral clip, the 29-year-old athlete is seen performing a series of flips, twists and rolls to the K-pop superstarsâ hits including âS-Class,â âManiacâ and âLALALALA.â Itâs […]
Directioners had the ultimate throwback moment on Saturday night (July 27), when Niall Horan performed One Directionâs âStockholm Syndromeâ during his show at Los Angelesâ Kia Forum. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news âOh, baby, look what youâve done to me/ Oh, baby, you got me tied […]

The morning of the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer Games, NBC Olympics prime-time producer Rob Hyland woke up a little before 7 a.m. in his Paris hotel room and had a sinking feeling. âI had some breakfast, looked out the window and noticed the rain falling,â he recalls to Billboard. âMy first thought was, âWow. This may literally put a damper on an unbelievably ambitious production.ââ
In just a few hours, the eyes of the world would witness the grand opening of the Paris Summer Olympics, a gargantuan undertaking that has been in the works for years. An array of highly speculated moving parts hung in the balance, including headline-grabbing appearances from Lady Gaga (who helped open the festivities) and Celine Dion in a stunning comeback performance on the Eiffel Tower to wrap the kick-off celebration.
âOur first meeting about Paris took place the second Tokyo ended,â explains Hyland of the previous Summer Games, which wrapped in August 2021. âWhen it came to the Opening Ceremony itself, production planning started two years ago with a number of meetings with the creative team who presented this incredibly intricate plan.â
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At the helm was creative director Thomas Jolly, an accomplished French theater director who envisioned the banks of the Seine River as the focal point, with athletes from around the world sailing down its waters and a series of al fresco stages along the way, including on the bridges.
âBut even back then, we understood that the presentation was secretive,â says Hyland. âEveryone whoâs done an opening ceremony as a host nation wants there to be this element of surprise.â
Organizers held their plans so close that even Hyland and his NBC team in charge of broadcasting the spectacle in America had no inkling of specific plans until the relative last minute. âSo although weâve been planning this for a number of years, it wasnât until a week or two up to the event that we started getting more details and breadcrumbs as to what the night was going to be like and who exactly was going to perform.â
For Hyland, a 20-time Sports Emmy winner who is also the coordinating producer for the popular Sunday Night Football broadcast, it was a delicate dance as rumors flew. âBy the midpoint of the week, we did get to see two dress rehearsals without any performers, just stand-ins,â he shares. As a result, he planned his coverage around that. âSeeing the choreography and creative associated with the various performances, I was encouraged to see what itâd look like with whatever top performers Jolly enlisted.â
For a host countryâs creative director, itâs an unenviable task. The veteran director and choreographer Kenny Ortega, who masterminded opening and closing ceremonies of the Atlanta Summer Games of 1996, as well as the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, is one of the few people who understands the undertaking.
âYou have many creative goals including creating a ceremonial pageantry that would excitedly welcome the world, that would celebrate the magnificence of the games history, and to honor the world of athletes coming together in a peaceful competition,â Ortega tells Billboard. He adds of the âexciting and tenseâ workload: âI remember napping under my desk in our ceremony tent on the cool concrete floor in Atlanta.â
For his own broadcast in Paris, Hyland had a surprise of his own independent of the actual ceremony: enlisting BeyoncĂ© to help introduce Team USAâs highly anticipated appearance on the Seine River during the Parade of Nations, a special video package that aired only in primetime during NBCâs coverage. (A live, uncut version of the festivities aired live on NBC on Friday afternoon in the United States, sans BeyoncĂ©âs appearance.)
âIt was a complete collaboration with NBC and her creative team to help bring that to life,â says Hyland of the video featuring the superstar in a call-and-response with Team USA stars including Simone Biles, Lebron James and Noah Lyles set to the superstarâs Cowboy Carter track âYa Ya.â
âThe first time I saw it, I literally wanted to run through a wall with red, white and blue,â jokes Hyland of the video that was directed by BeyoncĂ© herself, styled by frequent collaborator Shiona Turini. Bill Kirstein, who previously co-directed the star in her videos for âRocketâ and âBlue,â served as director of photography.
âWhat a vision to behold, what a team to believe in, what a night to celebrate,â the star cooed into the camera to help introduce the team, which then cut to the excited group sailing majestically down the river. Said Hyland: âIf that doesnât get you excited for the Olympics, I donât know what will.â
At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, NBC had their final production meeting. And at 7:30 p.m. Paris time, everyone was in their places for the ceremony, including commentators Kelly Clarkson (in the host booth with Peyton Manning and Mike Tirico) and Snoop Dogg (positioned on the ground).
âIn terms of the performances, in my opinion the rain really added to a lot of them, even the raindrops on top of the piano during Gagaâs performance,â said Hyland of the star who belted out a version of âMon Truc en Plumeâ in lush French, a song made famous by the cabaret star Zizi Jeanmaire. âSeeing her walk down the steps and perfectly hitting her mark despite the rain was a moment,â says Hyland. In fact, the only casualty from the wet weather, with the rain picking up as the night went on, was an elaborate host of drone cameras to capture overhead shots, all grounded due to the downpour.
The nearly four-hour ceremony represented a variety of genres from the host country, including French rapper RimâK, the jazz vocalist Axelle Saint-Cirel (who sang the French National Anthem) and singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet covering John Lennonâs âImagine.â One of Franceâs most popular stars, Aya Nakamura, performed her hits âDjadjaâ (a No. 1 French track) as well as âPookie.â Of course there was some controversy, too.
But it was Celine Dion â in a comeback performance since announcing her diagnosis with Stiff Person Syndrome â who perhaps garnered the most attention. To close the ceremony, she delivered a heartfelt rendition of French icon Edith Piafâs âHymne Ă lâamourâ while on the first level of a glistening Eiffel Tower. âWe have a camera dedicated to the hostâs position at all times, and I couldnât help but watch Kelly during Celineâs performance,â Hyland says of Clarksonâs emotional reaction. âShe was crying and it was a very authentic reaction to an incredibly moving performance. I got emotional just watching Kelly watch Celine. It was very powerful.â
By the time the ceremony wrapped by 11:30 p.m. Paris time, Hyland and his team breathed a sigh of relief. By Saturday, he was on a plane back to NBC Olympics headquarters in Stamford, Conn., to produce from afar. Then, itâs on to the Aug. 11 closing ceremony, and then plotting the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Get ready, Los Angeles.
Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, weâve got you covered. These tracks from artists including Jorja Smith, Amy Shark, TiĂ«sto and more will get you energized to take on the week.
Coolest Pop Song of the Week: XG, âSomething Ainât Rightâ
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Itâs been quite a few weeks for fans of Asian pop music in the U.S., with the historic Billboard 200 bows of Stray Kids and Jiminâs respective projects this week (following the No. 2 debut of ENHYPENâs new album the prior week), YG Entertainmentâs announcement that 2NE1 will reunite for a world tour, and the return of KCON L.A. boasting a mix of new and veteran stars. Thereâs a lot of new music to appreciate now, and more to look forward to; letâs add XGâs high-velocity new single, âSomething Ainât Right,â and the J-pop girl groupâs second mini-album, which is due out Nov. 8, to that list.
XG arrived in 2022 with a healthy amount of promise, as singles like âTippy Toesâ and âMascaraâ demonstrated the Japanese collectiveâs ability to combine hip-hop, dance, pop and R&B in ways that recalled the modern K-pop superstars but felt specifically tailored to their singular skills. Cocona, Maya, Jurin and Harvey can rap their faces off as needed, and Juria, Chisa and Hinata possess the vocal power to trade off hooks and harmonies. âShooting Starâ and âLeft Rightâ elevated XG (short for âXtraordinary Girlsâ) ahead of their first mini-album, last yearâs New DNA, and after a handful of stopgap singles in 2024, âSomething Ainât Rightâ announces the invigoration next iteration of the groupâs identity.
The single nods toward garage and house music, but âSomething Ainât Rightâ most viscerally harkens back to late â90s rhythmic pop, with a beat that artists like Mya, 3LW and Blaque would have devoured back in the day. Instead, XG revamps that workout-ready bounce for a new take on âSay My Nameâ-esque relationship suspicions: âSomething ainât right/ Youâve been acting funny lately/ You ainât gotta lie/ Got mĐ” out here looking crazy!â Chisa wails, the final word spinning upward and out of her grasp.
âSomething Ainât Rightâ hits the gas early and glides through rolled-eyes rap verses and pleading bridges, efficient in its synthesis of romantic betrayal. Yet the strongest aspect of the track is how much more we understand XG, and the way that its seven members are deployed individually and collectively. After ramping up their streams and followers over the past two years, the group has returned with an established sense of self and an understanding of the pop mode in which they can best operate. Itâs a crowded landscape, but XG is worth seeking out and appreciating.
Here are some more new pop songs worth checking out this weekâŠ
Jorja Smith, âHighâ
Baby, baby, baby do the Biebers seem so excited to welcoming their first child together! As Justin Bieber and wife Hailey Bieber appear to be sharing their final moments of alone time on a babymoon before the upcoming arrival of their first born, Justin posted an adorable video of the happy couple. In the brief […]

Though it definitely made for a soggy journey down the Seine, the steady rain in Paris during Friday nightâs lavish opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics did not deter Lady Gaga from stealing the show early in the four-hour spectacle. And while Gagaâs eye-popping take on Zizi Jeanmaireâs âMon Truc en Plumesâ (âMy Thing With Feathersâ) appeared to dodge the raindrops, thatâs because it was pre-taped to avoid any potential weather-related issues according to choreographer and head of dance for the Olympics and Paralympics Maud le Pladec.
Le Pladec spoke to Variety about the intense preparations for the song-and-dance routine, explaining that Gaga filmed her performance hours before the athletesâ elaborate boat trip down Parisâ iconic river due to safety reasons. Gagaâs vocals were performed live as she made her way up and down a giant set of stairs along with dancers carrying oversized pom poms.
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Gagaâs was one of a dozen original performances created by Le Pladec and Olympics artistic director Thomas Jolly, with Le Pladec saying that the singerâs four-minute set was easily the âmost artistically challengingâ of the bunch. âUnfortunately, it was the only [performance] that, for safety reasons, we had to pre-record late in the afternoon, once we knew for sure that it was going to rain â we had minute-by-minute updates, we had never watched the weather forecast so closely in our lives,â Le Pladec said. âWe assessed that it was going to be too dangerous for performers, even with a few drops of rain. [Gaga] wanted to do it absolutely so we preferred to pre-record it rather than cancel it.â
Le Pladec said the performance surface, including that giant set of stairs, would have been too slippery for Gaga â who was wearing high heels â to perform on. âWe had to be extremely cautious,â Le Pladec said, noting that while she didnât play live, Gaga was on site during the opening ceremonies and watched her bit on screen from her dressing room before returning to her hotel.
Not long after, Gaga wrote on X, âI am also humbled to be asked by the Olympics organizing committee to sing such a special French songâa song to honor the French people and their tremendous history of art, music, and theatre⊠Although I am not a French artist, I have always felt a very special connection with French people and singing French musicâI wanted nothing more than to create a performance that would warm the heart of France, celebrate French art and music, and on such a momentous occasion remind everyone of one of the most magical cities on earthâParis.â
Gaga noted that her team rented the pom poms from a âreal French cabaretâ theaterâs archive, collaborated with Dior to create the custom costumes using naturally molted feathers and that she studied French choreography to put her âmodern twistâ on a French classic. âI rehearsed tirelessly to study a joyful French dance, brushing up on some old skillsâI bet you didnât know I used to dance at a 60âs French party on the lower east side when I was first starting out! I hope you love this performance as much as I do,â she added. âAnd to everyone in France, thank you so much for welcoming me to your country to sing in honor of youâitâs a gift Iâll never forget! Congratulations to all the athletes who are competing in this yearâs Olympic Games! It is my supreme honor to sing for you and cheer you on!! Watching the Olympic Games always makes me cry! Your talent is unimaginable. Let the games begin!â
In keeping with her perfectionist streak, Le Pladec said that the singer was adamant about delivering a spectacle that would feel âauthenticâ and pay tribute to the French performance tradition. That explains her decision to do a cabaret-style act featuring singing and dancing with a mix of humor and glamour. The choreographer said Gaga â a âworkhorse and a perfectionistâ â was working until the final moments on her vocals and steps after training for weeks in Los Angeles with a number of dancers who flew in from Paris.
âShe wanted to make a show à la Française,â Le Pladec said. âShe puts so much effort and thought into everything she does and she has a very developed creative process.â
The party didnât end after the performance, either. Over the weekend, Gaga also surprised French Little Monsters when she blasted what she said were two new songs from her as yet untitled seventh studio album from a laptop while dancing through the roof of her limo. At press time no additional information was available on those songs.
Rita Ora was forced to cancel her planned appearance at the Campus FesztivĂĄl in Hungary over the weekend due to a doctorâs order to rest. The âPraising Youâ singer revealed to fans on Saturday (July 27) that she would be unable to perform at the event that night due to an unspecified illness. In a […]
Surely you didnât think Lady Gaga would fly all the way over to Paris for just one Summer Olympics performance? After the singer lit up the Sienne on Friday night when she wowed the rain-drenched crowd along the banks of the river and all those watching from the dry comfort of their homes around the […]

Lady Gaga called Michael Polansky her fiancé, seemingly revealing the couple is engaged, while introducing him to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
âMy fiancĂ©, Michael,â Gaga is heard casually saying in a clip the prime minister posted on TikTok Sunday night (July 28). The short video shows Attal briefly hugging the singer and shaking hands with Polansky, Lady Gagaâs partner of more than four years, at an Olympic event.
Billboard reached out to a representative for Lady Gaga for comment.
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Gaga and Polansky have been publicly dating since early 2020; she made their relationship Instagram official with a post that February. In an interview a couple months later, she referred to Polansky as âthe love of my life.â
Prime Minister Attal didnât mention the pairâs apparent engagement on TikTok, instead focusing on the pop starâs show-stopping Friday night performance in Paris: âThank you Lady Gaga for your stunning performance at the opening ceremony,â he wrote in a caption. âIt was breathtaking.â
The multi-talented superstar â who will take over the big screen as Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux alongside Joaquin Phoenix when the movie hits theaters Oct. 4 â was the first artist to take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, providing her version of Parisian cabaret-style entertainment ahead of this summerâs games. Lady Gaga performed the French-language âMon Truc en Plumeâ (âMy Thing With Feathersâ) in a highly choreographed, but playful, routine that led her from a long staircase to a piano.
While in France, Lady Gaga surprised Parisian fans on Sunday with the smallest teaser of music from her forthcoming, much-anticipated seventh studio album.
A thumping, dance-ready snippet off of LG7, and another teaser leaning more rock â both heard in the clip below â was played on the street from a vehicleâs rooftop while Gaga pumped her fist and spectators screamed.
âIâm so deeply touched by my French fans this week outside the hotel,â she wrote in an Instagram Story just before coming outside to play the song. âIâm gonna come out and say goodbye tonight with a few seconds of #LG7.â
The as-yet-untitled LG7 will be the follow-up to 2020âs Billboard 200 chart-topping album Chromatica, which was Gagaâs sixth set to debut at No. 1.