Pop

Coachella 2024 Expands Asia’s Pop Spotlight With ATEEZ, The Rose, 88rising & More

From YOASOBI and LE SSERAFIM’s sets to the combining of star power thanks to 88rising Futures, the promise of Asian pop music was on full display in Indio.

Historically, Coachella has leaned upon trusted partners to deliver a major “who’s next” artist from Asia when it sets up camp in the desert.

Long-running K-pop label YG Entertainment first landed hip-hop trio Epik High at the 2016 fest before having BLACKPINK in 2019 and 2023 (where the girl group was a headliner), as well as their long-running boy band BIGBANG for the ultimately canceled 2020 Coachella. Music and media company 88rising has brought the likes of Jackson Wang from China in 2023 and as a surprise guest this year, Joji from Japan in 2022, and both NIKI and Rich Brian from Indonesia in 2022. Korean indie-rock acts Hyukoh, those in electronic spaces like Peggy Gou, and even Japan’s vocaloid scene via Hatsune Miku’s booking in 2020 as well as this year all brought a much-needed range of representation to the festival in the past.

But for 2024, Coachella opened its arms to a range of new and rising artists boasting a vast range of seniority, label homes and backgrounds, casting its widest net yet across Asia’s varying pop scenes — most boasting fanbases that display their fandom in fierce fervor — giving the artists a similarly large spotlight offered to pop, rock, electronic and Latin music at the influential festival.

From ATEEZ, YOASOBI, The Rose, LE SSERAFIM and ATARASHII GAKKO! all rocking their own sets to the exciting mashing of worlds and surprise guests that came together at the 88rising Futures showcase, read on for more about the artists representing this year and why Coachella 2024 clearly did their research when it came to this year’s expanded spotlight on Asian pop.

Katy Perry Looks Stunned as TikToker Serenades Her With ‘Prism’ Deep Cut at Coachella

Katy Perry was on both the giving and receiving ends of surprise performances at this year’s Coachella.

Shortly after the pop star made a guest appearance onstage at best friend Mia Moretti’s festival set, she was approached by TikToker Harry Daniels for an impromptu performance of a Prism deep cut — which, a stunned Perry revealed, she just so happened to write about her DJ BFF more than a decade ago.

In a clip posted Monday (April 15), Daniels approaches Perry — who wears a T-shirt with husband Orlando Bloom’s Lord of the Rings character on it — and starts belting out a few lines from her 2013 song “International Smile.” As the American Idol judge’s eyes widen in shock, she looks frantically around and shouts, “Where’s Mia?”

She then explains excitedly: “My best friend that just played Coachella, that song’s about her!”

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“I got really nervous to sing for katy and i blanked,” Daniels captioned the video. “the only song i could remember was this one deep cut from 2013.”

The comedian — who’s known for singing in front of unwitting celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Ellie Goulding and, very recently, President Joe Biden — also crossed paths with Gwen Stefani, Paris Hilton, Tyga, Becky G, Reneé Rapp and Wallows’ Dylan Minnette during the first weekend of Coachella 2024, which kicked off Friday. The festival will pick up again April 19, with headliners Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat returning for round two.

Perry was present at day 3 of this year’s event, joining her longtime pal behind the DJ booth on the DoLab stage Sunday (April 14). At one point, she shot fake dollar bills into the crowd with a money gun while modeling a bikini tee from Moretti’s merch line.

Other surprise guests at Coachella 2024 were Kesha, who showed up during Rapp’s set, Olivia Rodrigo, who appeared during Stefani and No Doubt’s performance, and Eilish, who joined Del Rey on the main stage.

Watch Perry get serenaded by Daniels below.

Taylor Swift to Launch ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Spotify Library Installation in Los Angeles

The Tortured Poets Department is under renovation, with Chairman Taylor Swift gearing up to cut the ribbon on a new library wing ahead of her 11th studio album’s highly anticipated release later this week.

As announced Monday (April 15), the pop star is teaming up with Spotify to launch an open-air Tortured Poets Department library installation at The Grove in Los Angeles, featuring curated poetry excerpts, books and visual surprises for fans to pore over, each representing a small piece of the singer’s new era. Doors will open to the public Tuesday (April 16) and continue welcoming Swiftie scholars over the next two days leading up to the 16-track LP’s arrival on Friday (April 19).

The pop-up will be different each day, with curators planning to add new aspects to the library as the countdown to Tortured Poets gets shorter. Spotify will document the changes on social media; plus, the album’s page on the streaming platform will be continuously updated with any surprises Swifties uncover onsite.

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“This campaign is a continuation of the work we’ve done in support of Taylor over her past few album releases,” Jackie Augustus, Lead, Country & Folk, Artist Partnerships, tells Billboard. “The way Taylor’s fans connect with and champion her music is unlike any other. We’re excited to bring this album activation to life for Swifties in LA this week.”

The installment is only the latest bit of fanfare Swift has enjoyed ahead of The Tortured Poets Department, which follows her 2022 Billboard 200-topping effort Midnights. The 14-time Grammy winner has also been partnering with Apple Music to pump up fans for the new project, unveiling self-curated playlists based on the “five stages of heartbreak” earlier this month and, most recently, hiding one-worded clues about her new album in the lyrics to some of her older songs on the platform.

See Spotify’s announcement below.

11 Rap Songs That Sample Ellie Goulding

Future & Metro Boomin, Drake, Young Thug, Lil Baby, Big Sean and French Montana all have this thing in common in their discography.

“Mile High Memories” from Future and Metro Boomin‘s latest album We Still Don’t Trust You evoked an unexpected memory from pop music: The song contains a sample of Ellie Goulding‘s 2012 track “Hanging On.” And it’s far from the only rap song to sample the English electro-pop singer-songwriter.

Drake famously sampled the two-time Grammy-nominated artist’s “Don’t Say a Word” on the Jay-Z-assisted “Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2,” which she pointed out in a 2020 TikTok video. Her covers of Active Child‘s “Hanging On” and The Weeknd‘s “High For This,” the latter of which is sampled on Soulja Boy‘s “Rockstar,” have extended the original songs’ histories and brought them to new genre territories. And her backwards intros (think Missy Elliott’s “Work It”) from “Hanging On” and “Starry Eyed” are fascinating to follow along to in “Mile High Memories” and “I Know” by French Montana, featuring Chinx.

An Ellie Goulding sample in rap music is so nice, Young Thug had to use it twice. He and Rich Homie Quan sampled “Beating Heart” on “Love Me” in August 2015, and one month later, Thug sampled “Hanging On” on “Calling Your Name.” (“Hanging On” got a remix from British rapper Tinie Tempah.) And one MC’s sampling history with EG led to an actual collaboration between the two: Goulding tapped Big Sean for “Easy Lover” from her last studio album Higher Than Heaven after he sampled “Fighter Plane” on his song “High,” featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang.

Billboard rounded up 11 rap songs that have sampled Ellie Goulding, in order of newest to oldest.

Sabrina Carpenter’s Delicious ‘Espresso’ and 4 More Cool New Pop Songs This Week

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, we’ve got you covered.

These tracks from artists including Perrie, Tinashe, Mimi Webb and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist.

Coolest Pop Song of the Week: Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”



We are now multiple years into Sabrina Carpenter’s ascent to pop’s A-list: beginning with her promising singles in 2021 and continuing with her excellent 2022 full-length Emails I Can’t Send, the former Disney Channel star reinvented her kid-friendly sound, leaned into wink-heavy hook writing and showcased her charisma while expanding her listenership. The commercial wins have kept accumulating: “Nonsense” went viral and became her highest-charting Hot 100 hit (No. 56 peak) last year, then “Feather” lapped it this year (No. 26 peak) while becoming Carpenter’s first No. 1 at Pop Airplay. All the while, Carpenter was playing to stadium audiences while opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, and lining up a high-profile slot at Coachella.

New single “Espresso” was released last week to coincide with that festival performance, and is off to a hot start, creeping into the top 5 of Spotify’s U.S. Top 50 chart on Monday. The song could very well take Carpenter even higher on the Hot 100 and into a new tier of music stardom — which is great, because “Espresso” might be her most immediate, buoyant single to date.

The hallmarks of New-School Sabrina are present: the sunny synth-pop production (with a funk riff here to keep things fresh), the radio-friendly chorus, the tongue-in-cheek lyrics that personalize the entire affair (“My ‘give a f–ks’ are on vacation,” Carpenter shrugs). The difference between “Espresso” and her past singles resides in the coziness of Carpenter’s delivery: the way she sinks into each syllable — “And I got this one boyyyy, and he won’t stop callinnnnn’ / When they act this waaaay, I know I got ‘em” — communicates an easy command that complements both the songwriting and Carpenter’s breathy tone. “Espresso” has a lot going for it, but Carpenter provides its identity, and has seemingly placed her fingerprints on another hit.

Here are some more new pop songs worth checking out this week…

Instagram & Threads Are Celebrating Taylor Swift’s Upcoming Album With Easter Eggs for Swifties

Taylor Swift is just days away from unveiling her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, and Instagram and Threads are celebrating the upcoming release with fun hidden features for Swifties.

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Starting on Monday (April 15), fans can go to Swift’s Instagram page via mobile and see a countdown to the album’s release when they pull down and refresh the profile. The countdown will lead Swifties to follow the superstar over on Threads, where there are two more Easter eggs to enjoy. Conversations tagged #TTPD, #The Tortured Poets Department, #Tortured Poets, #TSTTPD, #Swifties or #Taylor Swift on Threads will reveal a special shimmer effect, while celebratory hearts will appear on-screen when someone “likes” a post tagged with any of the above tags.

Instagram and Threads noted that more exciting experiences will add to their platforms in the coming days.

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The Tortured Poets Department will be Swift’s first album of new material since October 2022’s Midnights, which won album of the year and best pop vocal album at the 2024 Grammys. She also put out (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings of Speak Now and 1989 in 2023, as she embarked on her career-spanning Eras Tour.

Swift has already announced the track list, as well as three variants of the 16-track album, each featuring a different bonus track: “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter” and “The Albatross.” The Tortured Poets Department also features two major collaborations: Post Malone, who is featured on the first album, “Fortnight,” as well as Florence + The Machine on track eight, “Florida!!!”

Dua Lipa Reveals She’s Been Planning ‘Radical Optimism’ Since Before Her First Album Came Out

Dua Lipa‘s Radical Optimism has been a long, long time coming. In the 28-year-old pop star’s TIME cover story published Monday (April 15), she revealed that she’s been planning out her new album for years — before she even made her musical debut, in fact. 

“Since I was very little, I’ve jotted down things I dreamt for myself,” she told the publication. “I’ve always planned ahead. Although surprises arise that I evaluate in the moment, there’s always a long-term goal.” 

One of those goals was Radical Optimism, which she’s been conceptualizing since before her self-titled debut record arrived in 2017. “I remember when I was working on my first album, I was making notes on what my third album was going to be,” she revealed. “It’s mad to think about, but I remember speaking to my close friend and A&R Joe [Kentish], ‘Maybe album three, I could work with [Tame Impala’s] Kevin Parker,’ and he was like, ‘Alright, hold your horses, let’s take baby steps.’” 

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By the time she was three albums deep into her career, she’d hoped that “maybe I’d be deserving to be in a room with an artist I so deeply admire and look up to,” Lipa recalled thinking at the time. 

Seven years later, Radical Optimism‘s collaborators include Parker as well as Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle and Tobias Jesso Jr. Led by singles “Houdini,” “Training Season” and “Illusion,” the 11-track set arrives May 3. 

“The record as a whole is more mature,” the Grammy winner said of the new project. “I’m definitely not the same person I was when I wrote my first album. I’ve evolved and learned so much … taking it as it comes, not seeing anything as bad or something as a setback. That involves a lot of growing and understanding myself, knowing my worth, whether it be in business, love, or friendship.” 

“I’m just a different person, so of course this record is going to be different,” she added. “I have different thoughts, wants, needs and perspectives. I’ve done a 180 on myself … I feel the most confident at this point in my life.” 

The new interview comes one day after Saturday Night Live announced that the “Levitating” singer would be serving as both the host and musical guest for the show’s May 4 episode. Sharing the news on Instagram, Lipa wrote, “DOUBLE DUTY DUA!!!!!!!!” 

The Argylle star also recently dropped the summery music video for her third Radical Optimism single “Illusion,” filmed at the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, with dancers, high divers and synchronized swimmers. “It’s about knowing what you’re getting yourself into, but staying for the hell of it,” she said of the track in a statement at the time.  

“The joke’s on them,” she added. “It’s the fun of playing someone at their own game because ultimately you won’t fall for an illusion.” 

See Dua Lipa’s TIME cover and photos below:

50 Cent Fully Supports Kesha Changing ‘Tik Tok’ Lyric to Diss Diddy at Coachella: ‘Like 50 Told Her To Say That!’

Kesha seriously turned heads when she made a surprise cameo during Reneé Rapp‘s set at Coachella, joining the Mean Girls star for a collaboration on her 2009 breakthrough hit, “Tik Tok.” The song that famously pays tribute to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger (and partying very hard) opens with the iconic line “wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ like P Diddy.”

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But in the wake of a raft of allegations of sexual assault and abuse aimed at the Bad Boy Records founder (born Sean Combs) — whose homes in Miami and L.A were raided last month by officers with the Homeland Security bureau in connection with an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation — Kesha subtly, but pointedly, tweaked the line from her Animals album.

“Wake up in the mornin’ like, ‘F— P. Diddy,’” Kesha sang alongside Rapp, with both pop stars tossing up a middle finger at the same time. Kesha doubled-down later in the night, tweeting out the line as well, just in case anyone missed the reference. In November, shortly after the first stories of Diddy’s alleged actions came to light, Kesha removed the rapper’s name from “Tik Tok” during a performance in Los Angeles.

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The lyrical lambasting was not lost on one of Diddy’s chief hip-hop mogul antagonists, 50 Cent, who has been relentlessly trolling the former Revolt boss over his legal issues in his signature snarky social posts. Above a video repost of the moment, 50 took yet another opportunity to poke at Diddy, writing, “LOL she said [middle finger emoji] Fvck P DIDDY, HAHAAHAHA [eyeball emoji] PUFFY LIKE 50 TOLD HER TO SAY THAT!”

Combs has kept a low profile since the mogul’s former girlfriend, singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit in November accusing the hip-hop entrepreneur of years of abuse and one accusation of rape. The lawsuit alleged that she had “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated beatings and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers”; the suit was settled a day later. Diddy has denied any wrongdoing and in a social post after the Cassie settlement he lashed out at the “sickening allegations,” which his lawyer dubbed a “witch hunt.”

Diddy has also been accused of a “gang rape” of a teen in 2003 in a separate lawsuit, as well as sexual assault and sex trafficking in another lawsuit from music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr.

In December, 50 said he was working on a documentary through his G-Unit Films division about the history of sexual misconduct allegations against Diddy, with 50 promising to donate proceeds to help victims of sexual assault. At press time there was no update on that project.

See 50’s post below.

Billy Joel Fans Not Feeling Alright After Network Cuts 100th Madison Square Garden Show Broadcast During ‘Piano Man’

Sunday night (April 14) was slated to be a triumphant first for Billy Joel. After half a century in the music business, the Piano Man was headed to prime time for his first-ever broadcast network concert special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time.

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Announced during this year’s Super Bowl and taped on March 28 during Joel’s 100th consecutive performance at the legendary New York city venue, the show was slated to run from 9-11 p.m. on CBS. Unfortunately, the network’s live coverage of the Masters golf tournament pushed back the start of the Joel concert’s airing, which meant that the climactic ending of the show was cut off for many viewers to throw to the local news.

To make matters worse, according to posts from livid viewers, the screen went black at the worst possible time, near the celebratory ending of Joel’s signature sing-along ballad, 1973’s “Piano Man.” “#BillyJoel #MSG #100 concert not only starts a half hour late, but then you cut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130?,” read one rage-filled tweet that opened with a not polite, four-letter salutation to the Tiffany network. “Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that’s been advertised for MONTHS, and you f–k it up.”

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At press time a spokesperson for CBS had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment about the abrupt cut-away from the broadcast, which some X users compared to the infamous moment in 1968 when NBC jumped from a nail-biter New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game to switch to children’s movie Heidi.

“CBS has been promoting the Billy Joel concert special every two minutes for WEEKS. So what better way to air it than to preempt it for a half hour and the cut him off MID-PIANO MAN? C’mon guys,” read another annoyed tweet. That same fan further explained that she’d spent “three wonderful years with CBS and I love the network dearly… but as a media professional, I am straight up confounded by this decision.”

In fan video of the moment, Joel is leaning into the denouement of the song, singing, “And the piano it sounds like a carnival/ And the microphone smells like a beer,” amid footage of fans at the MSG show singing along and cheering as the screen abruptly jumps to local news. To be fair, the cut-off came near the end of the final verse, with just a round of choruses, and around a minute, left to go. According to one report, the edit only affected viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones.

While CBS has not issued a statement so far, one of the affected stations offered an apology, with 10 Tampa Bay sport director Evan Closky writing, “As a man who grew up right next to Billy Joel’s hometown, who went to The Last Play at Shea, it was my duty to apologize to everyone about cutting off our telecast of Billy Joel tonight. Not to get into the weeds, but there was a special report after the Masters and it wasn’t accounted for by the powers that be beyond this building.”

Joel will be back at MSG on April 26 and May 9 for two more gigs at his home-away-from-home, before hitting the road this summer for a run of baseball stadium gigs that run through November.

Check out some of the angry tweets below.

Taylor Swift Adores Ryan Gosling’s Cover of ‘All Too Well’ on ‘SNL’

Taylor Swift was watching when Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt performed her song “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live. And she’s all for it.

Gosling hosted Saturday’s episode of SNL, and was joined by his The Fall Guy co-star Emily Blunt for a cover of her Red-era release during the monologue.

At the top, Gosling assured viewers that he “would not make any jokes” about his character Ken from the Barbie movie,“because they’re not funny.” He’s kidding; they’re hilarious. And with that, Gosling set up the musical gag.

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“You know, when you play a character that hard, that long, just letting go feels like a breakup and for processing a breakup, there’s really only one thing that can help: the music of the great Taylor Swift,” Gosling remarked.

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Gosling then slotted in at a grand piano and channeled his loveable-but-dimwitted Ken with a parody of “All Too Well,” complete with dark shades and a white fur coat.

Swift’s lyrics were tweaked for the occasion. “I shredded Venice Beach is true / My clothes were tight / But something about that spandex felt so right / I left my rollerblades in that big pink house / But I still got that fur coat and I’ll wear that right now,” he sings. “If I said that I was doing fine, you know I’d be lying / ‘Cause I was just Ken and now I’m just Ryan.”


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Swift gave the moment her seal of approval with a post on Instagram. “All Too Well (Ryan and Emily’s Version)!!! Watch me accidentally catch myself singing this version on tour. This monologue is everything,” she writes.

Gosling, even when he’s out of character, has a special connection with the song. In an interview with Fandango posted last week on YouTube, Gosling and Blunt talked TayTay while discussing their new film alongside director David Leitch and stunt doubles Ben Jenkins and Logan Holladay.

The actors shared their personal favorite tracks in the 14-time Grammy winner’s catalogue, with Gosling revealing, “‘All Too Well’ right now has a real soft spot in my heart.”

Swift is currently enjoying some downtime during her extensive The Eras Tour. She restarts her schedule with concerts May 24 and 25 at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, followed by a run of eight mid-summer shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.