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Sabrina Carpenter is giving fans a bit of an energy boost. Just days ahead of her upcoming set at Coachella 2024, the rising pop star announced that her next single “Espresso” is on track to arrive later this week, sharing its release date and cover on social media Monday (April 8). The song’s retro-looking artwork […]
Just two weeks after Olly Alexander rejected calls for him to withdraw from and boycott the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s inclusion, the European Broadcast Union has issued a statement denouncing the “harassment” of Eurovision artists for the same reason.
The statement, which was delivered by Jean Philip De Tender, deputy director general of the EBU, began with an acknowledgment of “the depth of feeling and the strong opinions that this year’s Eurovision Song Contest – set against the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East – has provoked.”
De Tender then turns his attention to the “targeted social media campaigns” launched against certain Eurovision artists, saying, “The decision to include any broadcaster, including the Israeli broadcaster Kan, in the Eurovision Song Contest is the sole responsibility of the EBU’s governing bodies and not that of the individual artists. These artists come to Eurovision to share their music, culture, and the universal message of unity through the language of music.”
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Earlier this year (Jan. 30), several Swedish artists signed an open letter calling for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision, writing, “Allowing Israel’s participation undermines not only the spirit of the competition but the entire public service mission. It also sends the signal that governments can commit war crimes without consequences.”
That same month (Jan. 11), more than 14,000 Finnish artists joined Icelandic artists in signing a petition calling for Israel to be banned from the competition. “It is not in accordance with our values that a country that commits war crimes and continues a military occupation is given a public stage to polish its image in the name of music,” read the petition, which all threatened the absence of a Finnish delegation at this year’s Eurovision should the EBU not weigh in on the matter.
Directly addressing the controversy, the EBU’s statement reads, “While we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, we firmly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest. This is unacceptable and totally unfair, given the artists have no role in this decision.”
The EBU has explanations for the reasoning for the inclusion of Kan, Israel’s eligibility and their response to potential protests available on their website.
“The EBU is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment for all participants, staff, and fans of the Eurovision Song Contest,” the statement continued. “We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to promote the values of respect, inclusivity, and understanding, both online and offline. We urge everyone to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue and support the artists who are working tirelessly – on what is a music and entertainment show – to share their music with the world.”
The 2024 edition of Eurovision is slated to take place in Malmö, Sweden between May 7-11. Last year’s victor was Sweden’s Loreen, who sang her way to the winners’ circle with “Tattoo,” which hit No. 2 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart.
Click here to read the EBU’s full statement.
Louis Tomlinson just got real about those Harry Styles conspiracy theories, which have been following both stars since their days in One Direction. In a Monday interview with the Brazilian news outlet G1 ahead of the Latin American leg of his Faith in the Future World Tour, the singer was asked point-blank about “Larries” — […]
It’s been more than eight years since Rihanna’s last album, Anti, and the Navy is starving for any signs of life when it comes to R9.
RiRi provided a concise update regarding her current relationship with creating music in her Interview mag cover story while chatting with former stylist Mel Ottenberg.
“I have a lot of visual ideas,” she said, which typically isn’t the start of her creative process. “It’s weird. My brain is working backward right now. I usually have the music first, and the music leads me into all of these visual opportunities, and now I’m having all of these visuals.”
Unfortunately, Rihanna admitted she doesn’t have the songs to accompany the visual ideas just yet, but hopefully they eventually come to fruition.
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“I don’t have the songs for them yet, but maybe that’s the key, this time,” the “Work” singer teased. “Maybe the visual ideas are leading me to the songs that I need to make.”
She surreptitiously added: “Random ideas, quirky ideas, things that have nothing to do with me at all.”
Back in February, A$AP Rocky teased that the nine-time Grammy winner — with whom he shares two young sons — is “working” on herlong-awaited album, but Rihanna has remained tight-lipped on the matter. “She’s working on it,” he said while out for Paris Fashion Week.
Billboard‘s Heran Mamo penned an essay in March about the sobering idea that Ri’s Navy may need to come to grips with the fact she may never release another album, and that’s perfectly fine after delivering eight in about a decade’s time.
However, Rihanna did make her return to the stage for her first performance in eight years in March for a pre-wedding celebration for Anant Ambani, who is the son of Asia’s richest man, and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar, India.
The 36-year-old’s most recent musical output came with a pair of singles in late 2022 for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. “Lift Me Up” served as a tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman, along with “Born Again.” The former earned Rihanna a Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media, and an Oscar nod in the best original song category.
Anti arrived in January 2016. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboad 200 in its first full week of tracking with 166,000 units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 4.
Check out some photos from Rihanna’s Interview cover shoot below.
Lizzo‘s got some tips that’ll leave you feeling good as hell this summer. In a satirical video posted on Instagram Tuesday (April 9), the 35-year-old hitmaker hilariously demonstrates three of her best tips for building a perfect “bod” ahead of next season — no gym membership required.
The “Truth Hurts” singer-rapper starts the video in a colorful swimsuit, taking a stroll on a treadmill. “Here’s three exercises to help you get that summer bod,” she tells the camera after serving up a sassy hair flip.
Step one? “Block your ex,” Lizzo says, smiling as she tosses her cellphone into a swimming pool behind her.
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“Remember to hydrate excessively,” she says next, doing a bicep curl with a bottle of white wine.
“And remember,” she adds, introducing her third tip while lounging in the sun. “You can never be too extra.”
“Cus EVERY D–N BODY is a Summer Body in @yitty,” she added in her caption, tagging her own shapewear company.
The post comes less than two weeks after the Grammy winner made headlines for ambiguously declaring “I quit” in a message on Instagram, leading some to assume that she was stepping away from the music industry in light of her recent legal turmoil with a group of her former backup dancers. A few days later, however, Lizzo once again took to social media to clarify her remarks, telling followers in a video: “When I say I quit, I mean, I quit giving any negative energy attention.”
“What I’m not gonna quit is the joy of my life, which is making music, which is connecting with people,” she’d added. “I know I’m not alone. In no way, shape or form am I the only person who is experiencing that negative voice that seems to be louder than the positive … I’m going to keep moving forward, I’m going to keep being me.”
See Lizzo’s summer body post below.
Award-winning artists Josh Groban, Andra Day and Rhiannon Giddens have been chosen as the 2024 honorees for the upcoming Music Will benefit. The nonprofit music education program for U.S. public schools, formerly known as Little Kids Rock, will present its 16th annual event on April 24 at The Novo in Los Angeles.
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In a statement announcing the benefit, Music Will CEO Mike Wasserman said, “Music Will brings innovative and engaging programming, resources and instruments to a community of thousands of music teachers and more than 600,000 students across the country every year. We can’t wait to celebrate on April 24 with such generous and talented artists like Josh Groban, Andra Day and Rhiannon Giddens, as well as student bands from local Music Will partner schools. For one night, our community of educators, corporate sponsors, industry partners and everyone who believes in the power of music will come together for an amazing celebration of music. All proceeds will support Music Will’s programs for students and teachers across the country. Together, we’re changing lives through music.”
Five-time Grammy Award nominee and Emmy- and Tony-nominated actor Groban tells Billboard, “I deeply admire Music Will’s commitment to enacting meaningful, systemic change in music education by meeting kids where they are and prioritizing equity and tangible access in schools. Having had the privilege of working with Music Will and witnessing their dedication to enriching students’ lives firsthand only reinforces my admiration for their impactful work.”
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“Music Will’s commitment to changing the landscape of music education and expanding access to underserved communities is truly inspiring,” adds fellow singer-songwriter Day in comments shared with Billboard. “I believe in the transformative power of music, and I’m excited to collaborate with Music Will to bring that power to even more students.”
Grammy winner Day is also an Academy Award-nominated actress. Giddens, a MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, has won two Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize for her work as a singer, instrumentalist and composer. She, Day and Groban join a circle of prior Music Will honorees that includes Babyface, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, Steven Van Zandt, Usher and Wiz Khalifa. Music Will was founded by Dave Wish in 2002.
Michael Bearden (Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston) will serve as music director for Music Will’s upcoming benefit, which is being presented by the Hot Topic Foundation and produced by MBM Entertainment. Additional information about tickets is available on the Music Will website.
Fans in Brazil are going to great lengths to get Beyoncé‘s attention, and they just got the next best outcome. After a group of admirers used a light show projected on the biggest Ferris wheel in Latin America to ask the superstar to come to São Paulo on her next tour, Queen Bey’s mother — […]
It’s no secret that the pop-punk influences laced into Olivia Rodrigo‘s Sour and Guts albums can be directly traced back to artists such as Gwen Stefani — she even has No Doubt‘s “Just a Girl” on her pre-show playlist, which blares over the venue speakers before each of her Guts World Tour concerts.
Now, the 21-year-old pop star is opening up about her love for the “Hollaback Girl” singer, telling Nylon for Stefani’s cover story published Tuesday (April 9), “Gwen’s ability to evolve and explore different styles of music, songwriting and aesthetic while still remaining true to herself is incredibly inspiring.”
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“To me, she’s a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes and preconceived boundaries and just makes stuff that she thinks is cool,” Rodrigo continued. “If that’s not a true artist, I don’t know what is.”
The new interview comes just days ahead of No Doubt’s highly anticipated reunion at this year’s Coachella, which kicks off Friday (April 12). According to the “Drivers License” artist, she first discovered the band when she was 15, pressing play on its 2000 album Return of Saturn nearly two decades after it was first released (and subsequently debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200).
“Gwen sang about being a woman moving about this world in detail that I had never before heard put to music,” Rodrigo recalled of the experience. “She unapologetically sings about things ranging from wanting to make out with someone to fantasizing about having a husband and kids. There’s so much heart in every word she says, and every song feels like it’s ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know.”
The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series alum will be on the road for the next four months, most recently playing her third of four scheduled Guts shows at Madison Square Garden. Following her final New York City performance on Tuesday, she’ll head overseas for a European leg beginning April 30 in Dublin.
Stefani’s most recent releases have come in collaboration with her husband, former The Voice co-coach Blake Shelton. The pair released a cover of The Judds’ “Love Is Alive” in 2023, followed by a duet titled “Purple Irises” earlier this year.
“When you’re in love and have truly aligned values, nobody can get to us,” the GXVE Beauty founder told Nylon of the country crooner. “You can say whatever you want to say about our relationship — I mean, a week ago we were getting divorced again or something. It’s just lies. The truth is the truth, and we know what that is. And so that [negativity] would never penetrate just by me being vulnerable and sharing a song that I didn’t write for anybody else but myself and Blake.”
While Beyoncé makes history on Billboard’s latest charts with her new album, Cowboy Carter, many of the set’s featured guests score their first Billboard Hot 100 appearances.
Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Shaboozey, Linda Martell, Willie Jones and Beyoncé’s daughter Rumi Carter all earn their first entries on the chart dated April 13 thanks to their credited billings on the album.
Adell, Spencer, Kennedy and Roberts all debut via their team-up on Beyoncé’s cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbiird.” The song debuts at No. 27 with 14 million U.S. official streams and 7,000 downloads sold in its first week, according to Luminate. It also opens at No. 6 on Hot Country Songs.
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The update is also just the second, and top-charting, version of the song to hit the Hot 100, after the Glee cast’s version spent a week at No. 37 in 2011. (The Beatles’ original, from 1968, was never released as a single and therefore wasn’t eligible to chart at the time.)
Not only does “Blackbiird” earn the four up-and-coming singer-songwriters their first Hot 100 visits, but it’s also their first overall appearances on Billboard’s charts.
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Adell, from Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Star Valley, Wyo., released her debut LP Buckle Bunny in July 2023 via Columbia Records. The set’s standout track “Love You a Little Bit” has garnered 27.2 million on-demand official U.S. streams to date. In an interview with Billboard at the CMT Music Awards (April 8), Adell said of singing alongside Beyoncé, “It’s been a grind and just to have someone of that caliber reach down and lift [me] up, it’s really, really special and I’m just very honored.”
Spencer, from Baltimore, released her debut album, My Stupid Life, in January via Elektra Records. She initially broke through with her EPs Compassion in 2020 and If I Ever Get There: A Day at Blackbird Studio in 2022.
Kennedy, an Alabama native, has released more than a dozen songs on streaming services since 2020, including the five-track Tiera in 2021 on Big Machine Label Group. The set includes a collaboration with three-time Hot 100-charting artist Breland.
Roberts hails from Alabama and California, and released her debut studio project, Bad Girl Bible, Vol. 1, in 2023 on ReynaRed Records/EMPIRE. She has been releasing songs since 2019.
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Shaboozey lands his first two Hot 100 entries: “Spaghettii” with Beyoncé and Martell, and “Sweet * Honey * Buckiin’” with Beyoncé. The tracks debut at Nos. 31 and 61, respectively. Shaboozey has been releasing hip-hop-inspired country/Americana-focused songs for a decade and has dropped two full-lengths in that span: Lady Wrangler in 2018 and Cowboys Live Forever, Outlaws Never Die in 2022. In 2019, he scored a placement on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack with “Start a Riot” with Duckwrth.
While Martell is a first-timer on the Hot 100, she’s one of the most commercially successful Black female country stars in history. The country pioneer, 82, became the first Black woman to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in 1970, and charted three singles on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1969-70: “Color Him Father” (No. 22 peak), her cover of Duane Dee’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (No. 33) and “Bad Case of the Blues” (No. 58).
When “Color Him Father” peaked at No. 22, it marked the highest charting song by a Black woman in the chart’s history at the time. She has released one full-length project: Color Me Country, which peaked at No. 40 on the Top Country Albums chart in 1970. In a review of the set, Billboard praised, “She has a terrific style and a true feeling for a country lyric.”
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Willie Jones, from Shreveport, La., debuts for the first time with his Beyoncé team-up “Just For Fun.” He has released two studio albums: Right Now in 2021 and Something to Dance To in June 2023, the latter on Sony Music. He also competed on The X Factor in 2012 and appeared on the Netflix reality show Chasing Cameron in 2016.
Beyoncé’s daughter Rumi Carter also debuts on the Hot 100 for the first time thanks to “Protector” with Beyoncé. At six years old, she passes her older sister, Blue Ivy Carter, to become the youngest charting female artist in Hot 100 history.
As previously reported, Cowboy Carter debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts with 407,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States March 29-April 4 – the biggest one-week total of 2024. She becomes the first Black woman ever to lead Top Country Albums in the chart’s 60-year archives.
Vick Hope is a Swiftie, despite her husband’s history with Taylor Swift. Calvin Harris’ wife shared on her BBC Radio 1 show Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie on Monday (April 8) that she listens to the DJ’s ex-girlfriend when he’s not around. “As soon as my husband goes away, I listen to Taylor Swift,” […]