Pop
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When Justin Timberlake said to cry him a river, he meant that wholeheartedly. At the Billboard 200 chart-topper’s one-night-only show at Irving Plaza in New York City on Wednesday night (Jan. 31), he seemingly shaded former girlfriend and pop icon Britney Spears while introducing his Grammy-winning hit.
In fan-captured videos from the free show, Timberlake can be heard proclaiming “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely f—king nobody” as his backing band plays a bombastic overture that leads into the opening notes of “Cry Me a River.” His comment, which comes days after Spears apologized on her Instagram account for some of the things in her new memoir and expressed her love for his new music, did not impress her legions of fans.
“Absolutely disgusting that in 2024 and after Britney literally promoted his trashy song, this a–hole Justin Timberlake is shading her,” one fan tweeted.
“He is such a pompous douchebag, even after Britney was kind to him & apologized without actually needing to,” shared another.
In a Monday (Jan. 29) post to her now-private feed, Spears praised Timberlake’s performance of his new music on Saturday Night Live, writing, “I am so in love with Justin Timberlake’s new song ‘Selfish’… It is soo good and how come every time I see Justin and Jimmy together I laugh so hard???” Her caption also included a general mea culpa to anyone impacted by the revelations in her bestselling The Woman in Me memoir. “I wanna apologize for some of the things I wrote about in my book,” she wrote. “If I offended any of the people I genuinely care about I am deeply sorry.”
While Spears is offering up some remorse, JT wants no parts of any of that. His Wednesday night “Cry Me a River” introduction marks a notable change in disposition from the last time his performance of this song went viral. During a Las Vegas show in December — just a month and a half after The Woman in Me hit shelves — Timberlake stressed that he meant “no disrespect” before launching into “River,” a 2003 Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit widely considered to be a response to the former couple’s split the year prior.
But Timberlake’s fans don’t believe he owes any mea culpas. “I love this side of Justin,” one person shared on X. “I wouldn’t apologize either, f–king telling secrets from 20 years ago.”
“Because you don’t owe anyone an apology anymore,” shared another. “Mic drop, Mr. Justin Timberlake.”
Since the release of Spears’ memoir, Timberlake’s name has become a magnet for controversy. In her book, the pop princess reflects on his infidelity, him ending their relationship right before her music video shoot, and the actor-singer playing guitar as she sept on the bathroom floor after her abortion.
Timberlake debuted “Selfish,” the lead single from his forthcoming sixth studio album, Everything I Thought It Was, on Jan. 25. In an effort to troll JT and his new release, Spears’ fans rallied to send her own “Selfish” — a bonus track from the deluxe edition of 2011’s Femme Fatale — to the top of the U.S. iTunes chart. In fact, Spears’ “Selfish” sold more pure copies over Jan. 29-31 than Timberlake’s.
Watch Justin Timberlake’s proclamation and see how how fans are reacting below:
Absolutely disgusting that in 2024 and after Britney literally promoted his trashy song, this assh*le Justin Timberlake is shading her. Britney didn’t even need to apologize about her single outselling and outcharting his comeback but here he is being a sore loser as always. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/TE79iyeMch— Britboy! (@britboy18) February 1, 2024
Justin during CMAR tonight:“I’d like to apologize to absolutely fucking nobody”LMFAOOOOOOOOO 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭💀💀💀— Jhéani 🌟 (@iamjheani) February 1, 2024
justin timberlake should apologize for not releasing a decent song in over a decade— distracted… (@friggie_smalls) February 1, 2024
I love this side of Justin 😘 no fucks given and I wouldn’t apologize either, fucking telling secrets from 20 years ago, fuck that https://t.co/GxixhDrKH0— Kelly (@kellymroz25) February 1, 2024
Since Justin Timberfad “ain’t gonna fucking apologize to anyone” we ain’t gonna apologize for Selfish outselling his new flop single, stream and buy 💛https://t.co/zb4zkqBGUT— It’s Britney Bitch 📖🌸 (@BritneyDaBitch) February 1, 2024
Justin writes a breakup song. People obsessed with Brit thinks he needs to apologize. Anyone else in the music industry does the same and those same people say omg this is my song and anthem! https://t.co/MdmKIHjWPn— ✨Jennifer ✨ (@Moonlight_Eyes1) February 1, 2024
Justin Timberlake takes ANOTHER shot at Britney right before singing Cry Me A River. “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely f-ing nobody.” He is such a pompous douchebag, even after Britney was kind to him & apologized without actually needing to.… pic.twitter.com/AmDwpEzyCS— Lou M. Taylor Belongs In Jail (@lootmtaylor) February 1, 2024
Justin Timbarlake saying he is not gonna apologize to nobody, even after Britney’s book and her message apologizing to him, gives me a bully vibe pic.twitter.com/dVmu1rQHdt— Doctor P 🏳️🌈 (@DoctorPOfficial) February 1, 2024
“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize… to absolutely fucking nobody.”Because you don’t owe anyone an apology anymore. Mic drop, Mr. Justin Timberlake 😊— Marianne Leigh❤️ (@BenningsMom79) February 1, 2024
It has been more than 1,000 days since Justin Bieber released his last full-length studio album. But on Wednesday (Jan. 31) the singer gave his fans something to be hopeful about when he posted a series of pictures suggesting that their long musical drought might be over. In the snaps, Bieber was captured, mic in hand, in a recording studio with a live band, including shots in which he’s sitting on a glowing cube singing with enthusiasm while a nearby Teleprompter displays what look like lyrics.
In another snap, Bieber sits on a mixing console with a harmonica in his right hand and his left hand extended to his side, along with a pic of him walking through what looks like a rehearsal studio, another of him strolling outside, singing near a drum kit and crooning in close up, his eyes shut tight.
The rest of the reel — accompanied by a shushing emoji — consists of pictures of Bieber on the golf links swinging a club and enjoying a day out with a friend. Photographer Rory Kramer also posted some of the same pictures as well as other more colorful, artsy studio images on his Instagram, showing the heavily tattooed Bieber singing in the studio, both shirted and shirtless, writing, “Grateful for the freedom to do my thing. Thank you for that gift @justinbieber.”
Beliebers lost their collective minds over the images, posting comments including, “The prince of pop is BACK!!!,” “we miss u,” “THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!,” “THE SCREAM I JUST LET OUT!!!” and “Pls drop an album.”
While a spokesperson for Bieber had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time about whether the photos marked a return to music for the singer, the snaps were significant because they suggest that Bieber could be working on his first new music since his 2021 Justice album.
After launching a world tour in support of that collection and his 2020 Changes album in Feb. 2022 — following a nearly two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic — Bieber revealed in June 2022 that he’d been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which had resulted in “full paralysis” on one side of his face, leading to the postponement of some dates.
Though he hit the road again after a break, Bieber was forced to come off the road again after a Sept. 6, 2022 gig at the Rock in Rio festival due to ongoing health issues. At the time, Bieber said that he needed to “make my health the priority now,” announcing that he would take a break from touring for an indeterminate amount of time to rest and recuperate. A week later, Bieber postponed the next month of dates, then shortly after he cancelled all the remaining shows originally scheduled through March 25, 2023.
Bieber kept a low profile for much of the following year, returning in Sept. 2023 for a surprise cameo on the acoustic version of SZA’s “Snooze.” He began his recent slow emergence two weeks ago when the NHL and Adidas announced a collab with Bieber’s Drew House fashion line for a 2024 all-star jersey collection; a few days later Bieber was announced as one of the celeb captains of Saturday’s (Feb. 3) 2024 NHL all-star game in Toronto.
Just before posting his studio pics, Bieber posted a trio of cute snaps with wife Hailey Bieber.
Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman will team up to perform “Fast Car” during Sunday’s (Feb. 4) Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Billboard confirms. Variety was first to report the news.
In 1988, Chapman’s version of “Fast Car” reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, but also became an enduring pop classic over the ensuing decades. Last year, Combs reached No. 2 on the same chart with his version of “Fast Car,” which also spent four weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart.
In July, Chapman offered to Billboard a reaction to Combs’ success with a version of “Fast Car,” saying, “I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced ‘Fast Car.’”
Chapman performed “Fast Car” as the closing performance during the Grammys telecast more than three decades ago, on Feb. 22, 1989. That evening, Chapman garnered three Grammy wins: best new artist, best female pop vocal performance for “Fast Car” and best contemporary recording for her eponymous debut project.
This year, Combs is nominated for best country solo performance for his version of Chapman’s “Fast Car.” He was previously announced as a performer on this year’s Grammys telecast, as part of the second group of performances revealed for this year’s show, though at the time, the Recording Academy had not mentioned the possibility of a collaboration performance. However, a live collaboration of the song has seemed like an inevitability, since Combs’ version of the song soared in popularity over the summer.
During the CMA Awards in November, “Fast Car” earned both single and song of the year, with the song of the year win making Chapman the first Black songwriter to take home that CMA accolade.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t join you all tonight,” Chapman said via a statement that was read from the stage during the CMA Awards. “It’s truly an honor for my song to be newly recognized after 35 years of its debut. Thank you to the CMAs and a special thanks to Luke and all of the fans of ‘Fast Car.’”
Sitting at a small workstation at his Nashville home, alt-pop artist Morgxn holds up a piece of white poster board. On it, he’s drawn a large circle, with scribbled words that have been crossed out, rewritten and crossed out again adorning the wheel’s outer edges. “You can see how chaotic it is,” he tells Billboard over Zoom, chuckling at his frenzied handwriting.
In contrast, the center of the drawn circle is calm, with three words featured front and center: “The Hero’s Journey.” Points surrounding the interior show a variety of steps, like “supernatural aid,” “abyss” and “atonement,” while a large line through the upper half of the circle separates these points into what is “known” and what is “unknown.”
The illustration Morgxn drew shows the cyclical structure of the monomyth, a blueprint for storytelling popularized by Joseph Campbell in which an archetypal protagonist sets out on a transformative journey, succeeds in a moment of climactic catastrophe, and returns home a changed person. The scrawling words outside of the structure, meanwhile, are Morgxn’s own songs, placed strategically to explain his own journey.
“I’ve thought a lot about how my music has always been about tracing the path of my own story,” he explains, gesturing to the the myriad titles he’s crossed out and replaced on the outer rim of the diagram. “Writing this out into my own hero’s journey just felt right.”
All that plotting resulted in Beacon, Morgxn’s latest album (due out Friday Feb. 2 via Nettwerk Music Group) that sees the singer-songwriter claiming his history for himself, and looking for a path forward. With a bombastic pop sound to accompany the lyrics’ unabashed self-assurance, Beacon stands out immediately when compared against the singer’s past work — much like its title would suggest.
Each of the albums 10 tracks — which were culled from “over 100 songs” written for the project, he says — emblematize a different step in the hero’s journey. Where album opener “Beacon” serves as a classic “call to adventure,” later tracks like “What We Could Be” examine the “challenges and tempations” faced throughout the trek, while “My Revival” takes the story to its turning point of “death & rebirth.”
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Yet it’s the song immediately following that turning point, the poignant “To Be Human,” that Morgxn points to as an example of the album’s importance — at the moment of “transformation” in his own journey, the songwriter placed a song about what happens when your life collapses around you. “There’s no journey that that doesn’t hit a peak, and then fall apart,” he says. “That is what happened to me in making music, in the music industry.”
That falling apart came shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down in early 2020, when Morgxn learned that he had been dropped from Hollywood Records. No longer working with the label that served as his home through the release of his breakthrough single “Home” and his debut album Vital, the singer faced the prospect of continuing his music career on his own. “I remember the feeling where I asked myself, ‘I wonder if anyone will hear this. I wonder if I’ll go broke trying to keep on going,’” he says. “Spoiler alert; that didn’t happen.”
Morgxn did what songwriters do best and put those fears to good use. Releasing his single “Wonder” as an independent artist in July 2020, the singer didn’t expect much — but within a few months, the song picked up significant traction on TikTok, leading to a series of remixes and reimaginings, including a duet version of the track with Sara Bareilles that landed him a spot singing the track with her on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I kind of felt like Keanu in The Matrix; like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is not real,’” he recalls. “The things about the music industry that I had been taught were not happening the way [I was told] they would. I made six figures from my music independently, because I owned every part of the process for the first time ever. I was discovering this whole new side of the music industry, which changed the way that I that I went about doing deals. It changed everything, to be honest.”
In this time of rediscovery, Morgxn was approached by Marshall Altman, a producer and A&R representative from Nashville working with Nettwerk Music Group. He’d listened to the singer’s work, and noticed a pattern among his songs; “I’d been singing about home for a very long time, but the idea of moving back home was the most terrifying thing I had ever faced, because all of my trauma exists because of this town,” Morgxn says, referring to Nashville. “Marshall listened to my music and said, ‘I want to do this.’ Because of Marshall and Eric [Robinson, another A&R rep with Nettwerk], I said, ‘I’m going to make this album in Nashville.’”
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In facing his fear of returning home, Morgxn also decided to change his approach to recording. Where past albums saw Morgxn primarily using digital recreations of instruments, Beacon incorporates a live band and chorus throughout the project, creating maximalist soundscapes wherever possible to amplify the underlying message of growth on the LP.
“We stripped everything down to the piano at the beginning, and decided if it didn’t make me and my dog sing, we wouldn’t put it on the record,” he says, scratching his boxer mix Stevie behind her ears. “Once we put the rhythm section on the songs, I think we could just feel it. You can tell the difference between my last record and this record because I put a lot of actual humanity into making this album.”
Part of returning home to Nashville also involved “getting loud,” as he puts it, when things got dire for the queer community. After Gov. Bill Lee passed a batch of anti-LGBTQ laws criminalizing drag performances and gender-affirming care for minors in 2023, Morgxn regularly attended protests against the rise of transphobia and promoted politicians fighting against the wave of bigotry faced by Tennesseans. When progressive candidate Freddie O’Connell won his bid to become Nashville’s next mayor, the politician walked on stage to Morgxn’s track “My Revival.”
As he reflects on his last year in his hometown, Morgxn says that there was never any question that he would push back against the state’s anti-LGBTQ policies. “If you’re trans and you’re looking for trans healthcare, it’s a state that is genuinely scary to live in,” he says. “So, if you’re a white gay person, you should be loud and fighting for all of these people who need your help, and who deserve their rights. It’s not enough to celebrate gay pride if you’re not also standing up for the other marginalized communities that need your voice.”
The final stage of the monomyth is the “return,” where our hero, victorious after his trials in an unfamiliar world, comes back home a changed man. For Morgxn, that return came in the form of “Where I’m From,” a triumphant power-pop anthem that sees him not only accept Nashville as his home, but embrace it in all its vast complexity. “I’m livin’ on the edge, but I still know where I’m from,” he proudly declares on the closer.
Just as the singer’s voice fades away on the final track, listeners hear one final message; Morgxn’s father, leaving his son a voicemail before a show. “I love you, good luck tonight,” his voice says. “Break a leg, I hope it goes great.” It’s the last message he received before his father’s unexpected death eight years ago.
Closing the album on such a poignant note was important to his own healing, Morgxn says — after spending most of his career writing about his relationship with his dad’s death, he’s ready to end this particular chapter. “I wish so much that he could see every part of the journey I’ve been on,” he says, tears welling in his eyes. “I held on to that voicemail for so long, and it kind of feels like when you make an album and you release it; it’s no longer yours. So, for anyone who’s lost somebody, they’re still a part of your journey. And they helped shape who you are, for good and bad.”
Even in releasing Beacon and letting his audience finally take ownership of the music, Morgxn acknowledges that the beauty of the hero’s journey lies in its shape; the circle ensures that reaching the end of one story means arriving at the beginning of another. And even without knowing exactly what it holds, Morgxn knows that his next chapter will be glorious. “I’m breaking my whole idea of what it means to make music in the recording industry in 2024,” he says. “And I’m doing it successfully.”
Like a warm, loving embrace from an old friend that bridges too long a gap, Billy Joel returned to the pop firmament on Thursday morning (Feb. 1) with his first new lyrical single in nearly 20 years, “Turn the Lights Back On.” The title says it all, as the wistful, swaying piano ballad feels like the continuation of an intimate conversation the Piano Man has been having with his fans for nearly six decades.
“Nothing is different, we’ve been here before/ Pacing these halls, trying to talk/ Over the silence,” Joel, 74, sings in strong voice over his familiar, warm piano playing. “And pride sticks out its tongue/ Laughs at the portrait/ That we’ve become/ Stuck in a frame, unable to change,” he continues in lines that hint at grappling with accepting ourselves as we are.
The song was produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Freddy Wexler (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande) and written by Joel, Wexler, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector. Joel will perform the song live for the first time at Sunday’s (Feb. 4) 2024 Grammy Awards, which will air on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.
“Turn the Lights Back On” is Joel’s first pop effort with lyrics since the release of 2007’s Sinatra-like ballad “All My Life,” which he wrote with his then-wife, Katie Lee; the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. Joel’s last album of all-new pop music was 1993’s River of Dreams.
The singer who has scored 33 top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, teased that he was coming out of his long pop hibernation during a Dec. 19 show amid his historic Madison Square Garden residency. “I have good news. I have bad news. I’ll give you the bad news first. We don’t have anything new to play for you,” he told the crowd. “The good news is you don’t have to sit through something you have no idea what it is. Although we’ve got a little something we’ve been working on you might hear sometime.”
The swooning chorus of “Lights” pays tribute to time’s inexorable march, with a suggestion of regret at waiting too long to say, or do, the things we meant to, as Joel sings, “I’m late, but I’m here right now/ Though I used to be romantic/ I forgot somehow/ Time can make you blind/ But I see you now/ As we’re laying in the darkness/ Did I wait too long?/ To turn the lights back on.”
At press time there was still no word on whether “Lights” is a one-off or the signal of Joel’s return to releasing pop albums. In 2014, Joel told the New Yorker that he felt he’d said it all. “Some people think it’s because I’m lazy or I’m just being contrary,” he said. “But, no, I think it’s just — I’ve had my say. If I put out an album now, it would probably sell pretty well, because of who I am, but that’s no reason to do it. I’d want it to be good.”
However, in an earlier 2007 interview with Billboard, Joel left the door a bit more open. “I’m not ruling out the possibility of writing songs again,” he said a few months after the release of the “All My Life” single. “I suppose if I had the motivation to write a song, I’m not gonna stop myself from doing it. I just haven’t felt the compulsion to write songs in pop form. I guess these days I just think of myself as a composer.” His most recent album was a collection of his classical works, Fantasies & Delusions, which was released on Sony Classical in 2001.
While he has not released new pop albums, Joel has continued to perform his beloved hits on the road, which he will hit this spring and summer with old friend Stevie Nicks for a run of U.S. stadium shows.
Watch the lyric video for Joel’s “Turn the Lights Back On” below.
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On Wednesday night (Jan. 31), Justin Timberlake spent his 43rd birthday doing what he loves most: performing. After enjoying his festive homecoming in Memphis last week, the singer headed to New York City’s Irving Plaza for his second One Night Only show.
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Zealous fans worldwide, including London, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, came in droves to see the venerable pop star strut across the stage in his “Suit & Tie” while slinging hit after hit like a Verzuz battle. Despite the nippy temperatures, some fans camped outside as early as 5 A.M., waiting to get inside the venue. Many sported vintage NSYNC shirts pledging their allegiance to Justin and the ’90s boy band, while others held signs wishing the group’s leader a happy birthday. One, in particular, hoisted a cardboard sign that read, “It’s my birthday, too, and this was my only plan.”
Thankfully, for that lucky fan, the birthday boy didn’t disappoint, leaving fans entranced by his 17-song performance alongside his band, The Tennessee Kids.
Check out Billboard’s five best moments from Justin Timberlake’s One Night Only NYC show below.
Standing on Business
The affable Timberlake didn’t ruminate about his past or go into detail about his comeback because the small talk was out the window for tonight’s festivities. Upon arrival, he took the audience to Sunday Service with an electric rendition of his new single, “Sanctified.” Sporting a grey suit with a flashy choker draped around his neck, JT and The Tennessee Kids quickly went to work.
Previously debuting during Timberlake’s SNL performance over the weekend, “Sanctified” oozed with soul as JT sang and danced like a man possessed. The Holy Ghost caught wind of The Tennessee Kids and JT’s backup singers, too, as the party of nine hurled themselves to the front of the stage, joining Timberlake in a cathartic song and dance sequence.
Shortly after, JT shook off the church bug and quickly went to his bag of hits, giving a hearty serving of “Sexy Back” and “My Love.” With the crowd hanging onto every word, the birthday boy caught a case of the restless legs, gliding across the stage with verve, strutting his best moves while maintaining excellent breath control.
Throwback Justin
JT darted past his Man of the Woods blunder and stayed true to his core essentials, which made it easier for his day ones to rally behind this evening. Whether he revisited his NSYNC days and gave fans a sliver of nostalgia with “Gone” and “Girlfriend” or took creative gambles meshing “Summer Love” with Clipse’s “Grindin’,” JT’s boundless attempts to win the crowd over was priceless.
The nimble locomotive never once hit pause, jumping from the keyboard to the guitar. When JT revved his motor back to the Justified era, singing songs like “Like I Love You” and “Senorita,” you could sense his youthful aura from 2002, as he giddily grinned every time he caught a fan reciting his lyrics back to him.
Even when JT’s band took an intermission, he jumped into the crowd and kept the party going, singing some of his most notable features like 50 Cent’s “Ayo Technology” and Snoop Dogg’s “Signs.”
Gifts From Justin
Ahead of his performance, Timberlake’s team airdropped fans an unreleased record from his upcoming album Everything I Thought I Was on their phones to take home. In addition, during the halftime of his set, he treated attendees to a new form called “My Favorite Drug,” which had an upbeat groove and dance sensibilities, encouraging fans to not just “stand around” and move their bodies. Timberlake also treated fans with a performance of his new single “Selfish.”
Jessica Biel Surprises JT
Halfway through his performance, Jessica Biel surprised her husband when she came onstage with a cake. A jovial Timberlake hugged and kissed his wife to much of the crowd’s delight. Fans sang him a happy birthday, and he later blew out his candles after making a wish. Later, Timberlake returned the favor to his wifey when he pointed at her during the show’s final song, “Mirrors,” signaling his allegiance to her.
Justin Pays Homage
As previously mentioned, Justin was on a mission to do it all. Though the night had a party element, there were moments when he slowed things down. He dished out two covers, including Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” and an ode to the city with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” JT’s vocal abilities made these renditions unique, especially after draining his energy dancing. Slowing down the tempo and delivering a how-to tutorial on covering songs added extra depth to Timberlake’s standout effort.
Lana Del Rey is going country. The alternative pop star will take a musical detour on Lasso, a new collection due out in September, Del Rey told the audience at Billboard’s pre-Grammy event in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Jan. 31). While paying tribute from the stage to Jack Antonoff, who is in the running […]
Ed Sheeran may be one of the most successful recording artists of all time, but that doesn’t mean he’s a hit in the feline community. The 32-year-old singer-songwriter recently returned to a cat café he had visited a decade prior to hold a private concert for a group of cats – none of whom were […]
“New Rules” has a hit a new milestone. Dua Lipa‘s breakout hit has officially crossed three billion views on YouTube, marking her first clip to hit that mark. It’s her only music video to surpass a billion views on the streaming platform thus far. Released back in 2017 as a single from the three-time Grammy […]
Sabrina Carpenter notches her first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Feather” flies to No. 37, from No. 56, on the chart dated Feb. 3. The song drew 22.7 million in radio airplay audience (up 24%) and 7.8 million official streams (up 14%) in the U.S. Jan. 19-25, according to Luminate. Newly […]