Pop
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NFL star Travis Kelce and Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan — Taylor Swift and tourmate Sabrina Carpenter‘s love interests — were photographed hanging out together this week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Kelce, who recently made the trek to Singapore to support Swift’s Eras Tour, and Keoghan, who […]
Celine Dion is speaking out on International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day. The Grammy-winning singer, 55, took to social media on Friday (March 15) to share words of encouragement and show her appreciation to fans after being diagnosed with the rare neurological disorder in recent years. “Today the world recognizes International SPS Awareness Day,” Dion […]
Forget about the dog days, the “Days of Girlhood” are here! TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney kicked off the week with the release of her debut non-holiday single “Days of Girlhood” (March 11) and followed that up with the unveiling of the track’s official music video on Wednesday (March 13).
“Calling women of all ages / Girls like me gotta learn the basics / Last look, quick change, sip champagne / Playin’ catch up ’cause we missed the pre-game,” she croons over a thumping pop-rock arrangement crafted by Nick Monson. Co-penned by Mulvaney and Skyler Stonestreet, the sugar-sweet pop single finds the influencer exalting the clichés of girlhood and honoring the impactful women in her own life.
Later in the song, which bears its title from that of her viral TikTok vlog series, Mulvaney appears to reference her Bud Light controversy, chanting, “Boys on the dance floor, it’s finally clear / The patriarchy is over, you can hold our beer!”
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The song’s Kajal-helmed music video opens with Mulvaney taking the dreaded “walk of shame” before assembling her girlfriends to start a recovery process that includes bubble baths, glasses of champagne, fun choreography by the swimming pool, and a strong commitment to pink, Barbiecore aesthetic. Several influences appear in the clip, including Gigi Gorgeous Getty, Veondre Mitchell and Loren Grey.
On Tuesday (March 12), Mulvaney shared a lengthy vlog reflecting on her second year of publicly transitioning to her Instagram and TikTok profiles. At the end of her reflections, she highlighted The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQIA+ suicide prevention, saying, “Every time that you stream my song or use it on a social media app, any profits that I make through Pride Month, I will be donating to The Trevor Project.”
Mulvaney’s debut pop single comes a week after Lady Gaga came to her defense. In celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8), Mulvaney shared a photoset of her and Lady Gaga posing together and interacting on the set of a photoshoot. An avalanche of transphobia ensued and on Monday (March 11), the Oscar-winning “Shallow” singer rebuked the vitriolic trolls.
“It’s obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us,” she wrote. “I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence… I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally.”
While “Days of Girlhood” marks Mulvaney’s first proper pop single, it is not her first musical release. Last year (Dec. 15, 2023) she released a gloomy holiday single titled “Blue Christmas.”
Listen to “Days of Girlhood” and watch the music video above.
BLACKPINK’s 2020 smash hit, “How You Like That,” continues to break records four years after its release. The track has officially reached one billion streams on Spotify, marking the first-ever K-pop girl group to reach the milestone. The song is now available to stream on Spotify’s Billion Streams Club playlist. BLACKPINK, featuring members Jisoo, Rosé, […]
After reserving her right to keep her first pregnancy to herself, Halle Bailey is slowly beginning to share her baby boy with the world. In the music video for her latest single, “In Your Hands,” the Grammy-nominated singer and actress cradles her son as she belts out the moving ballad. “All in your hands, in […]
Is there anything better than the union of two American icons? During his Luck Reunion concert on Thursday (March 14), Willie Nelson performed “Rainbow Connection” with none other than Kermit the Frog. With Kermit on banjo and Nelson on guitar, the pair delivered a tender, heartwarming cover of the classic song. The iconic Muppet has […]
Ariana Grande has had much to celebrate in the week since her new album Eternal Sunshine dropped March 8, including an enormous digital billboard from Spotify promoting the project in Times Square. The 30-year-old pop star took a special trip to the New York City landmark to see the billboard with her own eyes, as […]
Justin Timberlake has been rocking a series of small club and theater stages in the run-up to Friday’s (March 15) release of his sixth solo studio album, Everything I Thought It Was. But on release day, Timberlake and his Tennessee Kids backing band really went micro for a (pre-taped) visit to NPR’s “Tiny Desk” studios for a 25-minute, 7-song set that was heavy on fan favorites while also sneaking in one recent new single.
And though NPR said JT’s expansive live band was not the biggest collection of musicians to squeeze into the Tiny Desk cubicle performance space, the Kids’ 15 members were definitely cheek-to-jowl as they blasted off with the swinging “Señorita,” the first of two songs from the singer’s 2002 debut solo album, Justified.
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With Justin posted up at a keyboard playing conductor, he led the Kids through the song’s Latin-pop groove, complete with soulful backing vocals, a four-part horn section and an equal compliment of back-up singers. They crew seamlessly rolled into the roller boogie jam “Rock Your Body,” briefly turning the public radio office into a daytime disco.
The set list then pivoted to the slinky “Pusher Love Girl” from 2013’s The 20/20 Experience, before bringing things down to a low R&B rumble for the wah-wah-fied “Until the End of Time” from the singer’s second studio album, 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds. With hardly any time to chat the NPR staffer audience up due to the packed nature of the set, JT kept things moving along after a sip of tea, a big “whoo! it’s early” exhale and a thank you to the assembled crowd.
“We’ve been out on the road a little bit,” Timberlake said while strapping on a guitar. “I forget how many of us there are… y’all really lived up to the name ‘Tiny Desk,’” likening the logistics of cramming in the crew to a game of Tetris, while suggesting NPR might want to upgrade to larger, or more, desks.
The band broke into a hushed, acoustic version of the only track they played from EITIW, the previously released single “Selfish” and keeping things on the mellow tip for a meditative, flute-forward version of Timberlake’s 2006 single “What Goes Around… Comes Around.” The set ended with another FutureSex smash, the body movin’ “SexyBack,” which immediately bumped up the energy in the room 10 notches as Justin busted out a mini-bullhorn that gave his typically smooth vocals a staticky edge.
The Tiny Desk drop came just days after JT thrilled an L.A. audience with a surprise *NSYNC reunion that found the beloved boy band running through a few of their most beloved hits.
Watch Timberlake’s Tiny Desk show below.
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Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Kacey Musgraves centers her songwriting, Justin Timberlake returns to the dance floor, and Cardi B has her enemies on alert. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Kacey Musgraves, Deeper Well
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Although Deeper Well could be construed as an antidote to Kacey Musgraves’ 2021 album Star-Crossed, considering how the jagged edges of that divorce meditation have been smoothed down on songs about quiet pleasures and self-love, Musgraves’ stellar songwriting has always remained the North Star of her craft, and prevents her latest album from feeling like a sharp turn. There are plenty of earthy delights to be found deep into Deeper Well, but the opening run of the ‘70s-indebted “Cardinal,” rustic title track and blissed-out “Too Good to Be True” ranks among the strongest 10-minute stretches in Musgraves’ discography.
Click here to read a full review and track ranking of Musgraves’ Deeper Well.
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Justin Timberlake, Everything I Thought It Was
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Six years have passed since Justin Timberlake’s last full-length, 2018’s Man of the Woods, and the pop supsertsr has re-emerged with an album that plucks him out of the woods and better understands his core appeals. Everything I Thought It Was finds Timberlake playing the hits to a degree — shimmering rhythmic pop; crackling, Timbaland-helmed beats; disco grooves that aren’t contained to radio-single lengths; even the return of *NSYNC — but also does not represent a retreat into safe territory. Timberlake may be squarely in his forties at this point, but he still aims to have every moment of a sprawling, 76-minute album be considered thrilling. He’s a consummate entertainer who knows what he’s best at, and still finds occasions to operate in the margins of his aesthetic.
Click here to read a full review and track ranking of Timberlake’s Everything I Thought It Was.
Cardi B, “Enough (Miami)”
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Cardi B is tired of paying mind to her rivals: “I see my opps linking up, I’m like, ‘What in the f–k?’” she spits on new single “Enough (Miami),” which quickly follows another solo track, “Like What (Freestyle),” that similarly took aim at an adversary and her hastily conglomerated cohorts. “Enough (Miami)” is full of eye-rolls from Cardi, as well as killer lines; she may be growing weary of playing defense, but tossing out references to both Dr. Seuss and “Knuck if You Buck” on the same track is always going to entertain.
Zayn, “What I Am”
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Zayn has now spent more years as a solo artist than as an active member of One Direction, and over the course of that run, he’s allowed his curiosity to roam without committing to a single pop blueprint. “What I Am” adopts a folksy approach that we haven’t heard from Zayn before — country great Dave Cobb co-produced the new track, which precedes upcoming album Room Under the Stairs — but his voice continues to resonate, and his lyrics suggest a healthy reinvention: “Take me as I am,” he cries, “I’m tired of dancin’ around the point.”
PARTYNEXTDOOR, “Real Woman”
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“This is the hardest I’ve ever worked on an album,” PARTYNEXTDOOR told Billboard in a recent cover story. Indeed, new single “Real Woman,” which previews PARTYNEXTDOOR 4, features the R&B singer-songwriter sounding reinvigorated while lavishing the woman who’s captured his imagination. Rumbling, sumptuous percussion and backing harmonies assist PND as he climbs into his falsetto, and “Real Woman” immediately becomes a candidate for heavy rotation on R&B radio.
Editor’s Pick: Willow, “Symptom of Life”
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On Willow’s captivating new single “Symptom of Life,” the juxtaposition of the whooshing chorus — fast-moving, chattering, full of unanswerable questions about the meaning of life — and the gentle, wordless breaks of piano and drums demonstrates Willow’s savvy as a pop creator, capable of filling space with commotion and then pulling back for an exhale. “Symptom of Life” carries a whiff of Kate Bush’s wizardry; let’s hope Willow keeps plunging down that rabbit hole on her upcoming studio album.
What would you do if Taylor Swift’s performance of “I Can See You” at the Eras Tour was now available to stream on Disney+? An extended cut of the pop star’s blockbuster concert film premiered Thursday night (March 14) on the platform, complete with previously scrapped footage of four acoustic surprise songs performed at SoFi […]